Like most anyone else I have experienced ambitions to succeed at this or try that or do the other. As the years have passed my thoughts of ambition have continued to some small degree though experience has quelled the impulse to apply action to those desires. The desires to do something noteworthy that have most bewildered me are those I thought to be directed at glorifying God. Evidently all too many of them were colored by personal ambition I did not understand. As I reflected on God’s goodness, my failure to take ahold of Him to the degree I desired or serve Him in the way I thought desirable, I saw in my mind’s eye what my ambition should be. I possess because of His gift a most precious resource. I don’t want misunderstanding of my poem so consider that holding the jug means to possess the gospel while raising it refers to witness, that is, offering the gospel, and pouring would equate with praying with someone to receive Christ:
Only a lowly servant holding a water jar
But oh, refreshing contents rescued the very same
Now to offer water to travelers near and far
Brings joy to him and to his Master fame
Standing by the seated Master pouring on command
As one by one thirsty souls file past the servant there
Water offered unto all, received by those pre-planned
Await the Master’s nod, then pour with flare
Why so rarely raised the jug Master offers to all?
Servant holding back more for self that supply not fail?
The joy is more when raised or poured, not one drop will fall
Every single draught will for sin avail
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My family and I have watched a 12 part BBC series on the Charles Dickens comedy Pickwick Papers. Many scenes are funny and others sobering. And since it is evidently true to the book, I could recommend either. Without giving away the story, there is a despicable character named Mr. Jingle whose oddity is speaking in one to three word phrases with dramatic intonations and short pauses. There is a complete economy of words and yet a rich and clearly understood meaning to all that he says. I do not encourage his actions but his speech compels me to want to learn this mode. While reflecting on this speech the other day I attempted to write a poem in that form. I will know if I have succeeded if you understand the poem. If you know the subject about which the poem speaks, comment your knowledge below:
Temptations rife
Hazard all
Indiscretions, fall
Shame, strife
Blame wife
Cover all
Oh the gall
Death not life
Pay the fife
Lost all
Darkness fall
Sorrows rife
Took the knife
Once for all
Order tall
Gave us life
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One of the ways that God has given us to communicate with people is through words. Body language and acts of kindness, hatred, or neglect are other ways. Not only kind, encouraging words, but constructive criticism words and instructive and insightful words that build someone up and demonstrate concern are helpful. As the Proverbs say, “Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad,” (12:25) and “A man has joy in an apt answer, and how delightful is a timely word,” (15:23) and “Faithful are the wounds of a friend,” (27:6) and “Heed instruction and be wise,” (8:33) and “the tongue of the wise brings healing,” (12:18), and “he who forsakes reproof goes astray,” (10:17) and many more good words.
But I have observed that though the eargate be open and the volume be sufficient and distractions be few, many good words are not heard. In fact, the emotional baggage and relationship histories can shut a mind down to where it not only refuses to accept good words, rejecting them or twisting them to have some nefarious meaning or intentions, but such a mind can deny before witnesses that the words were ever spoken. Though this is an amazement to me, I have both observed it and commited this crime of unkindness to the speaker. So, I am resolved to hear better and attribute intentions as purer to words that are of benefit to me while understanding that discouraging or untrue words may well come from a speaker who does not fully understand the source of their own intentions. To this end I have composed a poem:
What is the need for a stern word From loved ones, colleagues, or stranger A cautionary note not absurd When it rescues one from dangerWhat is the use of a taught word Is it something you need to know Keep you from running with the herd Help your mind continually grow
What is the goal of a wise word Of discernment that penetrates So that on your life you may gird Tools for living, such worthy traits
What is the help of a kind word With regular sincerity Just like a beautiful song bird A seasonal sound rarity
Posted in General, Poem, Random thoughts, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining | Tagged Random thoughts, Remembering, Strength, Sustaining | 2 Comments »
Soon many Christians of the world will celebrate Epiphany (“appearance” of Christ and visitation of the Wise Men, January 6th). But to whom were these Magi coming, a mere peasant or the forsaken descendent of a long defunct dynasty? If the New Testament is to be believed He was and is much more. My last article demonstrated in part the external, pre-Nicean and internal, scriptural evidence for the New Testament’s reliability. The presence of each of the 27 books and the absence of others (particularly late, Gnostic writings) is valid apart from accusations that the Council of Nicea and emperor Constantine contrived it. The same Scripture and pre-Nicean church fathers present a clear and strong case for who Jesus is.
Following are quotes of church fathers from AD 105 to AD 305.1 Recall that the Council of Nicea occurred in AD 325.
“God himself was manifested in human form.” (Ignatius)
“It is fitting that you should think of Jesus Christ as God.” (Clement)
“The Father of the universe has a Son. And he… is even God.” (Justin Martyr)
“He is God, for the name Emmanuel indicates this.” (Irenaeus)
“…Christ our God.” (Tertullian)
“No one should be offended that the Savior is also God” (Origen)
“…He is not only man, but God also…” (Novatian)
“Jesus Christ, our Lord and God” (Cyprian)
“…He truly was and is… with God, and being God…” (Methodius)
“We believe him to be God.” (Lactantius)
“Christ performed all those miracles…the…duty of Divinity.” (Arnobious)
Polycarp, disciple of the apostle John who “was not only instructed by apostles, and conversed with many who had seen Christ”, wrote in his Letter to the Philippians (not the book in the Bible, this having been written between AD 120-140), “to all those under heaven who will yet believe in our Lord and God Jesus Christ and in his Father who raised him from the dead.” Polycarp was burned at the stake in AD 155 affirming his belief in Christ as his Savior. These men were not no-names or cronies from a political party. They were leaders in their churches, different nationalities and generations (independent sources), who affirmed that Jesus is God.
How could they do otherwise and be truthful? The New Testament gives abundant testimony to the nature of Christ as both fully man and fully God. The most clearly attested New Testament books, the Gospels, record Jesus’ declarations of who He is. “So the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.’ Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him…” (John 8:57-59). The strongest evidence that this clearly is a declaration of deity by Jesus was given by the Jews who attempted to stone Him. They rightly understood that Jesus was declaring Himself to be the “I AM” of Exodus 3:14 and proceeded to execute the judgment of “anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death” (Leviticus 24:16). Jesus also said, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30). On another occasion Jesus said to His disciple, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9). These two declarations of unity with the Father do not mean similarity but congruence of essence and nature. But why doesn’t Jesus just say He is God? The reason is clear. Jesus says of Himself, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;” (John 8:54). Jesus is giving more than enough information for anyone who hears Him to believe that He is claiming to be God and backs it up with miracles and fulfilled prophecy. But “The Jews gathered around Him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me.’” (John 10:24-25). What a privilege I have to begin the New Year with the declaration that Jesus is my God and Savior. What a good time for Him to become yours.
1A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs, editor David Bercot, 1998.
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It was one of those “around the end” weather patterns that bring us the big snows. When we more typically get a front come over the mountains, because we are in the lee, most of the snow is shed on the Tennessee side and in the mountains. But when the cold comes over the mountains and the moisture comes from the Gulf by way of a low pressure moving around the southern end of the Appalachian chain then near to shore or across the coastal plain, watch out.
Catalpa Drift
I went out this morning to take pictures before the temperature began to rise and the foot and road traffic began to obscure the beauty. I discovered last evening while taking a 4 mile walk with two of my sons that they prefer frolicing while my disposition of years causes me to prefer soaking in the beauty. The storm, of course, reminds us of the ’93 blizzard, and from a localized perspective it may be apropos in places, but the snow is nowhere near as deep and the extent of the storm does not compare. Still it will be a snow to remember and my youngest son just saw his first 6+ inch snow of his young life. 
It may have caused me to start my school break 3 days early. If the temperature stays low enough to preserve some snow or cause icy spots on the road, we’ll stay home. I have no lack of reading, writing, and chores to keep me busy. Snow presents multiple opportunities for pursuits not otherwise available. It is one of the
The evidence
pleasures of snow days: Time spent with family, varied activity, exercise, rest, and memories. The mystique surrounding a snow may have more to do with what else happens because of the snow rather than the snow itself. But on the otherhand snow is refreshing to the soul and few there are that don’t get excited at its sight. I am thankful to God for the timing, its beauty, a warm dry house, and family to enjoy it with. I hope people are finding shelter and being prudent about travel. I think I’ll continue my snow day activities and hope yours are pleasant to you.
A Snowball Bush
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During a few sleepless moments last night a nebulous concept began to condense into a question within my mind. What is the basic unit of a thought? Or to put it another way, of what is a thought composed?
In order to communicate the complexity of the question as I am considering it fully awake let me begin by relating an analogy. As a Biology teacher at present, I teach students many parts or units of structure and function. One example is the protein. The protein is the basic unit of function for accomplishing tasks within a cell. A protein is twisted into a specific shape that enables it to function properly because of an exact sequence of sub-units called amino acids. Imagine a necklace of differing color and shape of stones all tangled up as it sits in a jewelry box. But the amino acids have parts called atoms and atoms are made of smaller parts yet (Being an analogy I will leave it to the nuclear physicists to parse quarks and strings, and energy, what ever that is.). Which part or piece is the basic unit? Is it the smallest part or is it the association of parts that function as a unit? Is it the atom that makes up the protein or the protein that functions as a whole, or is it the amino acid of which the protein is composed?
An example of a ……. an idea might help. Several days ago my wife and I were taking a pleasant and brisk walk on a cool evening in our small town. As we approached an intersection near the town square someone passed us. As I squinted in the evening sun I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke. Now I have smelled cigarette smoke in many contexts over my nearly 50 years but at this moment I was immediately translated in mind to the pavement, crowds, rides, sounds, and sights of the Tennessee Valley A & I Fair in Knoxville, walking beside my father as a child. I have heard that odors constitute the most thorough associations and memories and, by the way, I would not have thought any good association would be in my mind from tobacco smoke. Was the TV A&I Fair-cigarette smoke complex a thought or was the cigarette smoke the thought that drew along in its vapors many rapid fire associations?
If thought is as simple as a transistor switch on a microchip where one state results in an “on” switch and the other state results in an “off” switch, then the basic unit of thought is the most simple differentiation of this but not that, black not white. But perhaps thoughts must need to be a functioning unit to exist or be remembered or be used.
At some point in time a young child discovers the concept of two. Perhaps his mother was carrying him to the bathtub for his Saturday evening bath. The procedure included her handing him his yellow rubber ducky. He gets so excited about the bath that she can hardly hold onto him. Because this procedure is a time honored tradition in the family, the pair pass his older brother coming out of the bathroom, wrapped in a towel, carrying his yellow rubber ducky. He squeals and raises his ducky toward his brother’s who reciprocates with a tap of the two toys together. Having made this discovery, is the thought of “two” (of course devoid of word or Arabic numeral or math at this point) a complex association of bath, brother, mom, ducky, and so forth, or is it a mere recognition of two duckies? It seems as though “two” generalized to number of siblings or number of dissimilar toys is a future and further association which may amend or truncate or revise “two”. But is the thought of two from that point in the subconscious mind of this man a reflection on the set of associations surrounding rubber duckies or is it a continually revised concept that is both increasing in complexity by associations and simplified in the basic idea of what “two” is?
Is the basic unit of thought static or dynamic, a complex association or a singular point? And despite the consternation of the materialist is the complexity of thinking a suggestion that the whole is more than the sum of its parts? Is there any suggestion from these musings or deeper study that thought has a deeper Source than chemical reactions, associations, and natural selection? Just a thought.
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Many students are deceived by a common perspective in high school and college classrooms of today that attributes the core doctrine of Christ’s divinity and the books accepted as inspired by God to the political scheming of Emperor Constantine at the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. Are these two ideas, that Jesus is God and that the canon of the New Testament includes the 27 books that it now contains, the convenient creation of a Roman emperor and his political cronies for political gain? No, they are not, because the evidence of both predate the Council of Nicea by 150 to 200 years.
New Testament historian and apologist, Michael Licona states, “Within 300 years of Christ almost 36,000 quotations of the New Testament appear in the writings of the early church fathers. In fact, every verse in the New Testament is quoted but 11.” Among these church fathers were Justin Martyr whose writings around 150 and 161 AD affirmed the four Gospel accounts and the Revelation by John as teaching from God. And Irenaeus of Lyons, disciple of Polycarp, disciple of the Apostle John, in his writing about 180 AD quoted from 22 out of the 27 books now in the New Testament in defense of their truth. And Tertullian of Carthage between 200-220 AD affirmed all of the present New Testament books quoting from them, except II Peter, James, II John, and III John. All of these church fathers and more stated and confirmed what the Council of Nicea merely clarified later.
On the other hand, a book like the Gospel of Thomas was not affirmed by any of the church fathers and certainly condemned by Origen of Alexandria. This matters for two reasons. This book (and others, like the Gospels of Mary, Judas, Matthias, Philip, and Truth and about two dozen others) was a Gnostic writing written at least a century later than the books of the Bible. Gnosticism was a prevalent religion of the second and third centuries that taught the dualistic view that spirit is good and material is bad. It twists what the Bible has to say about Jesus. Secondly, many modern writers, teachers, and some film makers choose to believe these heretical stories, deceiving many to believe lies about Jesus and early Christianity.
The evidence for which books were considered to be Scripture before Nicea is strong. The evidence against other books grew as their heresy spread and church leaders spoke against them and confirmed the God given books. But what difference does it make? It is very important because our salvation depends on what we believe and what we believe is based on what sources we accept and read. Paul says in II Timothy 3:15-16 that “you [Timothy] have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable to teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”. If the Scripture is added to by accepting books that twist who Jesus is and what He did, we will not have the “wisdom that leads to salvation”. Jesus declared His purpose for coming in Luke 24:45-47 when “He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ’Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” And Paul the Apostle further confirms what is Scripture when he quotes the words of Jesus (Luke 10:7), and the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 25:4) by saying, “For the Scripture says” (I Timothy 5:18). And Peter declares, “our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him wrote to you, as also in all his letters speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” And I might add to the destruction of those deceived by them. The Scripture is internally consistent and clearly attested by external sources so that we can know that the person and work of Christ for salvation is true.
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Pain is a teacher unlike the rest
Mastery through continual test
Speaks loud and clear the nerves to molest
Difficult friend and unwelcomed guest
Told to rejoice through various trials How so when all comfort it defiles Raises high fears deep emotions riles Makes a few steps seem as many miles
The answer comes through what is induced Frivolous pursuits greatly reduced Priorities from limits deduced Perseverance and faith both loosed
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The young man was serious. “We can’t know what is true.” He was asked if there is any objective truth, that is, things that are always true regardless of your opinion or mine? “No, I don’t think so.” Furthermore, “all religion is just man-made ideas about who God is,” and “logic may not be right”, that is, may not lead us to the right conclusions in evaluating whether an idea is true. Do you agree even in part with the statements above? Probably many of you do because these ideas are taught in various forms of media, schools, conversation, and even from pulpits. But is it really true that we cannot know anything, and is there nothing that is always true in every situation?
It is very hard to discuss worldviews or beliefs if the other party is not willing to admit reason as a trusted way to evaluate truth. I suspect that such a disbelief in reason does not really exist. First of all, people act on what they believe. I don’t know of anyone who refuses reason consistently to run traffic lights, or jump off of high places unprotected, or ignore all social norms, or break the law totally unrestrained. It is simply too difficult to consistently ignore all reason, and one who does ignore it probably does not live long. Secondly, I think the fact that people operate on reason otherwise but refuse it on issues of worldview suggests they don’t want answers. Reason is necessary for survival and well proven by experience and practice in such areas as science and law to work well in evaluating truth claims.
Logically, then, “we can’t know what is true” is a self-defeating argument because it says there is one thing we do know, namely, “we can’t know what is true.” An even more self-defeating argument states that there is not anything that is always true, that is, absolute. If you say there are no absolutes then that is an absolute statement. If you think there may not be absolutes, or we can’t know for sure, then there is the possibility of absolutes about which you are ignorant and which may be found. And saying all things are true breaks the law of non-contradiction, which states that two contradictory statements cannot at the same time and in the same sense be true. For instance, stating that ‘God exists’ and ‘God does not exist’ cannot both be true.
So then, does God exist? In a recent talk at a local church entitled “God and Science”, Prem Isaac showed the reasonableness of God’s existence. One way he did this was by applying the Law of Causality: If an object had a beginning it must have had a cause. A corollary law states that the cause cannot be the same as the effect. Now people as diverse as Big Bang theorists, ancient cultures, all of the major religions, and primitive cultures all say that the universe had a beginning. Therefore, according to the Law of Causality, the universe had a cause. And because the universe has space, time, matter, and energy, the cause of it cannot have any of these. If you say that the cause does have these characteristics it is a mere secondary cause and not the ultimate cause itself. Unless you simply give up on the law and declare an endless chain of causes, there must be an un-caused Cause which is eternal (outside of time), immutable (not made of matter), without size or shape (doesn’t occupy space), immutable (does not change as the universe does), powerful (to create all), and intelligent (since there are laws, information, and design). This infinite cause is what we call God.
There are many more logical steps from there to the God of the Bible, based on the reliability of Scripture. Perhaps we can develop a few of these, but here is what God declares in Isaiah 45:5 about Himself, “I am the Lord, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God.” And Peter says of “the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene”, “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10,12) He is the eternal, transcendent Cause who also showed up personally in time to save those who would receive His gift. The mind (reason), the universe, and the Scripture testify to Him for those who will listen.
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What do you aspire to do?
What motivates and drives you through?
Is it comfort, security or ease of pain?
Power, influence, life in the fast lane?
Why do you work hard, or at other times sit idle?
Why do you follow rules, but then rear your head without bridle?
Are there goals, a plan, or reasons behind?
Fears, ambitions, or answers to find?
Do you know why the questions never cease?
Why all the efforts but no peace?
Would you want to know if you could be told?
Or shrink back in fear and your spirit fold?
If the answer is Jesus will you reject Him out of hand?
Will you still turn away if your reasons won’t stand?
Do you want peace and purpose, a plan you’ve sought?
Security, comfort, and answers that can’t be bought?
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Father, we look forward to a good school year, but we won’t have one without Your active presence. We acknowledge Your goodness, and request that Your hand of protection be upon us. We ask that You teach us truth so that we may communicate it to students and adults. And all of this we ask for the glory and in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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Psalm 103 begins with both a call for the hearer to worship and summary of what the psalmist desires to communicate to himself and those listening to him. David is alerting his own soul to bless God’s name and His benefits. But names of God seem to be absent and even the word “name” only appears once in the psalm, so how is His name blessed? Consider, how do we know the greatness of God’s name? We know the greatness of it by what He has done. All works He has done are benefits to those who trust Him, and the greatness of His name is revealed through these benefits. Add the admonitions of verses 11,13, and 17 to fear Him and we see the summary teaching and application of the Psalm: Bless His name, remember His benefits, and fear Him. This application is not merely a spiritual ‘icing on the cake’, it is the means of survival amidst spiritual battle. David knew the value of it. In First Samuel 30:3-6 we observe a desperate situation for David and his men. Having just returned from following the Philistines, they find their hometown, Ziklag, burned down, their wives and children kidnapped to become slaves, and most of their possessions stolen. The men have wept over their families until they have no strength and are discussing stoning David because of the loss. The Scripture records David’s reaction: “But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.” (v.6). Now your plight and mine probably are not presently so severe. The danger is to ignore the need for strengthening ourselves in the Lord. We are thus rendered weaker for the lesser battles and ill-fit for the greater battles. And so David urged his innermost being to bless the Lord and not forget His benefits. May we practice the psalmist’s discipline and experience God’s joy.
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Based on a response I received from comments I made in church I began to review and reflect on physical Israel and spiritual Israel. Most of what can be gleaned from Scripture about the relationship between these two and the existence of the latter as distinct from the former is found in Romans and Galations 3.
In Romans 2:28-29, Paul clearly says that being Jewish is not merely physical, having the sign of circumcision. Real Jews would have physcial and spiritual (“by the Spirit”) circumcision. There is, however, a physical Israel, Paul’s “own race”, still recognized by God, who have a type of adoption and the covenants and more but are lost (Romans 9:3-5; 10:1). Romans 11:28-29 sets forth the relationship between them and the redeemed (spiritual Israel). They are clearly enemies in the sense of being unbelieving and counter to the gospel of Jesus, but because “God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable” (cannot be nullified), God still has a plan for them and we should still love them. They are lost apart from CHrist, but some will not be in the future and others are part of God’s end time plans as set forth in the seventieth week of Daniel (9:24-27). And God is saving Jews as Paul testitfies about himself and other “He foreknew” (Romans 11:1-8). The remnant that believes is exemplified by the 7000 of Elijah’s day who had “not bowed the knee to Baal” (11:4). So Israel, the elect, have not fallen “beyond recovery” (11:11). And Israel as a whole provided the means for fulfilling God’s plan of salvation (Romans 15:8; Act 2:22-24).
But what of this spiritual Israel, is it merely the saved Jews? No, for Paul says, “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel” (Romans 9:6), but rather, “the chidren of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring” (9:8). Who are these other children of Abraham? “Those who believe are children of Abraham” (Galations 3:7). “God would justify the Gentiles by faith” (3:8), and “those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham” (3:9). We receive “the blessing of Abraham… to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus” (3:14). “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (3:29), what I’m calling spiritual Israel.
How did this transition in Israel come about? Paul uses the analogy of grafting branches onto an olive tree in Romans 11:17-24. Israel was cut off because of unbelief and Gentiles were grafted in based on belief. The reverse is said to be possible as a warning against unbelief. The fact that Israel is referred to as “natural branches” (11:21) once again emphasizes that physical Israel exists and has a claim on God’s calling.
A better understanding of these concepts may be gained by reading the fuller passages to which I have referred, namely, Romans 2:17-29, Romans 9-11, and Galations 3.
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On the hallway wall next to the door is posted “Room 417 Storage”. In this fairly new facility it is used as an occasional office. The majority could not tell you where it is or for what purpose it is utilized. I was assigned to sit in silence in Room 417 with three other people for two and a half hours. I’m a teacher; you figure it out. Here are my impressions of the space, the activity, and our path.
In a claustrophobic room Painted white no decor there Neither flower nor mind could bloom Though florescent lights and vented airWhite noise from conditioned air Abundant plastic, metal too Nothing the senses would find fair Though clean and bright and also new
Sanitized of all that harms Disease, sharp corners, tanning rays Not a thing the spirit alarms Though emergency exits map ways
Thus the danger to our lives All is well but dead inside No awareness that life never thrives Except in Sonshine and change of tide
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Physics is the way to go
Or stop or go with the flow
Or at least know how it works
Like impulse of bumps and jerks
Who cares may be your question
Each action has reaction
Energy conserved as well
Even if you cannot tell
Not effect your life you say
Neglect it and you will pay
Efficiency or power
Safety of bridge or tower
Go away leave me alone
Please change frequency and tone
Add net force and head for home
Physics guide you as you roam
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During D’s Christmas break, he, P, and I went to the Linville Gorge here in our county . Well, I had a bushwhacking in mind, knowing the gorge much better than in previous years. We went atop the ridge, down a narrow cut between 300 foot cliffs, waded the river without mishap, went upstream, waded the river with some small clothes wetting, and started up the ridge. The uphill was so strenuous that the clothes wetting and near-freezing temperatures were no problem. Then began the adventure. With the shortened hours of winter pushing us, we tried to find a trail I had never been on, though marked on the map. We didn’t find it so we started up the side of the ridge, a very steep talus field. From the bottom we could see that it would not be hard to avoid confronting a large cliff in this section so we pushed on confidently. About halfway up we encountered the remains of a forest fire from about 5 years ago. No, it’s not what you expect. The downed pine trunks were thick and thicker still were the 4 year old saplings, about wrist thickness diameter, a foot to foot and a half apart and 6 to 8 feet tall. The going got extremely difficult, steep upslope, flexible but stiff trunks to push through, and intertwined trunks in varying degrees of rot at waist or chest deep. The way back was not an option with dark, potential wetting, and significant distance further to go. The way forward seemed unassailable. I knew we simply had to make the ridge and trail by dark, though it was obvious there was a goodly hike from there to the truck in the dark. The guys quieted down to the labor ahead with only occasional exclamations of amazement at how laden with traps the way forward had become. We reached the ridge as the last orange glow of sunset faded. After a quick rest we began a long, quick-paced hike out, but the adventure was far from over. Soon I had to don my head lamp, in recent years a necessary part of any hike, day or overnight. We surged forward, but had to rest soon after the exertions of the entangled climb. We got up and went on, noticing that we had a curious view of an adjoining valley we did not expect. Yes, it was dark and so far moonless, but the lights in the valleys were as jewel-like as the stars. The ridge ran over to the left and the trail began to descend. I began to have misgivings out loud but continued on. D stopped us and explained why this could not be the way. We turned, emotionally fatigued by the setback. At the point we had stopped to rest we discovered the trail had taken a 180 degree switchback. The trail we had started down, after inspection was the other end of the one we sought to find at the bottom of the gorge. We rushed on through open forest across the top of the ridge, up and down. After traversing a deep gap we were to come on top of a wide-backed, straight and level ridge before a steep drop to the truck, perhaps a mile and a half left. Soon after we reached the top of the ridge we came upon our most mentally trying difficulty. A more recent forest fire had totally decimated the landscape (we have suffered extended, several year drought which only in the last month did the NWS say was over). There are scatter boulders, but otherwise large areas were ashen and very moon-scape in the starlight. Nothing appeared alive and no remains of plant material was more than knee high. The soil was almost entirely eroded into ash flows with 100+ yard lengths having no evidence of trail. Then brush would obscure what indention in rock and gravel suggested the remains of trail. There is a 300 foot cliff on the right and a long slope that extends for miles through National Forest on the left. The way is forward. I would have the guys stand at the last perceived semblance of trail while I searched the scorched landscape for evidence of the way forward. When I found what seemed to be the way I would call them forward. After a 1/2 mile or so intermittent areas of unburned forest would arise with definite trail and even blazes on trees, only to be followed by burned out moonscape again. The temperature was dropping into the mid-twenties and the wind gusted hard in the bare places. I was thankful for the cool heads of my guys and the seemingly strong headlamp. Finally we came to the small, tree lined bog that marks the 3/4 point of the ridge. From here on the forest was thick until we came back to our full circle and the way down where the older fire had ruined the now slowly returning south exposure pine forest. To say we were exhausted seems trivial but we were also thankful. P managed to get a cell phone call out (rare on this ridge) to say we were safe and don’t send out the rescue squad. P has not been hiking since, nor has D but he has lacked opportunity. I was very thankful for God’s watchcare over our adventure and my unwise choices. It was an adventure to write home about and probably to give the old man a hard time over in future years. Did I learn anything? That depends on who you ask.
Posted in General, Outdoors, Random thoughts, Sustaining | Tagged Outdoors, Random thoughts, Sustaining | Leave a Comment »
On my classroom wall is posted the statement, “Bored is not a circumstance; it’s a state of mind.” From the frequency of gaming, surfing the web and channels, and various other vicarious pursuits of entertainment coupled with short attention spans and lack of excitement for anything short of amazing I would say it is a common state of mind. Other evidences may be harder to see: boredom with marriage, the job, the church, or life itself. As Thomas Dubay puts it in The Evidential Power of Beauty boredom is “an insipid tedium with existence itself. Reality [is] a colossal blah.” (p.73) What is the cause of this state of mind? Part of Dubay’s answer is as follows: “The personal inability to perceive truth and beauty is related as first cousin, if not sibling, to a lack of wonder, which in turn, often if not always, arises from jadedness, from a perduring and even disgusting boredom caused by excess and overindulging” (p.72) He is in fact repeating himself because jadedness means dullness brought on by excess. So many people are seeking out more amazing, more sensually beautiful, or more violent stimulation to stave off boredom but these things are causing it. In fact, “fully jaded men and women, old or young, marvel at nothing.” (p.73) One area where this dullness is resulting in a desire to ramp up the stimulation is the immodesty of dress in public and in every form of media. I think that the following statement relates to this idea: “It is one of the notable sadnesses of our time that so many are incapable of fascination with the deeper levels of human beauty, especially those rooted in the spirit, levels that far transcend physical attractiveness.” (Dubay, p.64) To summarize, boredom occurs because over stimulation dulls the mind so that it cannot in turn “perceive truth and beauty”.
But if over stimulation were the primary cause would it not be eventually self-correcting when the stupor of dullness persists? Would not the bored soul stop pushing forward into continued boredom? I believe the answers are no. The bored person is addicted to the stimulation of senses because he or she is trying to fill a great void, an emptiness in their soul brought on by their own sin or very frequently the hurt caused by someone else’s sin. Jeremiah 2:13 says that people “hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Obviously the answer is not pouring in more stimulation to relieve the boredom or hurt because the void can never be filled that way. As a friend of mine said recently, when people are so focused on themselves they cannot help but become bored. They need to focus on something outside themselves.
You may say, “What’s the big deal. Someone is bored. Get up and do something; get over it.” I am not referring to a momentary Tuesday afternoon lack of something to do. As I have observed it this boredom is a growing disease that is robbing people of purpose and happiness. To the unbeliever I would say, you need Jesus who can heal your sin and your hurts. As He has said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) God’s salvation is sufficient but that salvation will need to be worked into a person’s life through a growing relationship with God that will heal hurts. The believer who is bored has either given up ground or never taken it from the enemy. The first part of the verse above about broken cisterns says, “My people have committed two evils: The have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters”. Our primary focus must be God. Part of the solution for the believer may be to fast from mere entertainments and seek more profound beauty. “Cease striving and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) Seeking God will increase your thankfulness and erase the dullness of reaction to beauty and truth. The dullness of boredom can be erased by knowing and serving God rather than things or ideas or self.
Posted in Beauty, Cultural commentary, General, God Thoughts | Tagged Beauty, Cultural commentary, God Thoughts | Leave a Comment »
The United States is not a Christian nation any more than the Northern Kingdom of Israel was a godly nation in the days of Elijah. King Ahab and his father had made sure of that by not merely carelessness with God’s commands but actually having ”forsaken the commandments of the Lord” (I Kings 18:18). As it says in Nehemiah 9:26, “they…cast Your law behind their backs.”
So Elijah comes along to chide Israel, God’s people for turning godless, right? No, hear what he said: “Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. But the people did not answer him a word.” (v.21) The challenge that Elijah gives these wayward people is actually an idiom, or word picture, in the original language. As Charles Ryrie conveys it the question should read literally, “How long are you hopping between two forks?” Picture someone, who is not well endowed with balance high up in a tree, trying not to fall as he jumps between two branches, wanting to discover which is easier to perch upon. Their choice was between the covenant keeping God, the Creator, Who was the Originator and Sustainer of Israel on the one hand. On the other hand is Baal, whose name means ‘lord’, an idol who is the fertility god and rainmaker and highly favored in the palace to the risk of life and property if you did not worship him. So the people ‘play both sides’ or ‘ride the fence’ as we say. “The people did not answer him a word.” What can they say? He has described their procedure. When you are desperate or needy apply to this God for help; when it’s safe and convenient declare for that one.
And how is it different in America? “I believe in God. I go to church. I’m a Christian.” But all too frequently under the surface you will find a humanist, who is one who “upholds human [as opposed to God’s] reason, ethics, and justice, and rejects supernaturalism.” Based on this stance they are apt to say things like the following. “If it’s an unwanted child wouldn’t everyone be better off if it were aborted?” “God could have created using evolution.” “How I dress is my own business.” “I just couldn’t live with him/her.” And in numerous other ways we ignore God’s Word for our own preference. Elijah’s challenge to you, America, is declare for God and live for Him or stop pretending and live for your idol, yourself. God hates vacillation, for He says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm…I will spit you out of My mouth” (Revelation 3:15-16).
See where complete departure from God gets you. Of course, many are refusing to acknowledge God and our society is coming apart at the seams, beginning with the family. Elijah challenges those people as well: “Elijah said to the people, “let them [the prophets of Baal] choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people said, ‘That is a good idea.’” (v.22-24) The prophets of Baal dance and sing, pray and yell and cut themselves all day long, “but there was no voice and no one answered” (v.26). The path we as a people are taking is failing as fast as the day comes to an end. We will not succeed apart from God because there is no truth for living life there. And we will not succeed in wavering between two opinions.
Americans, Burke County residents, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). It is a good way and a way of life and truth.
Posted in Cultural commentary, General, God Thoughts, God's Word | Tagged Cultural commentary, God Thoughts, God's Word | 1 Comment »
A common thought and pronouncement in our culture is, “That’s not fair.” But we don’t really want fair ultimately because then we would all be in a world of hurt. And that world is called hell. What we want is privilege. Privilege is offered to all who will accept it by admitting they have done wrong and trusting the Savior to rescue them from fairness, that is, hell. Without hell there would be no need for a Savior.
So why not choose to believe that there is no hell and no Savior? There are several problems with that decision. First of all, if there is no hell it is not fair or logical. If there is no hell then God is not just because everyone who does bad things no matter how heinous gets away with it. If you execute them they either go to heaven or cease to be. This lack of belief in hell is one of the reasons I believe there is an ongoing occurrence of mass murders followed by suicides. If someone kills a dozen people and then kills himself he thinks he has avoided all punishment while expressing his deep anger and controlling his own destiny. We need to teach people about hell so they will have a vague sense of the torture that awaits those who neglect the Savior for control of their own destiny. God says, “He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished” (Exodus 34:7) and “The soul that sins will die” (Ezekiel 18:4).
So how about having a Savior? Is that fair? Is that just? An evil person does a horrendous crime to another individual or to a whole nation and later believes that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). How can God be just to let this monster off the hook? He is just because Jesus took the punishment on the cross by being “marred more than any man” (Isaiah 52:14) and by being “sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 6:21). On the other hand, why should someone who told a “little white lie” be committed to hell? It is because “whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10). So, if you want fairness you cannot eliminate hell and if you want privilege you cannot eliminate the Savior.
Secondly, you cannot arbitrarily refuse the existence of hell and believe in God because God’s Word says it exists. Jesus speaks of hell frequently in His great sermon as when He says that anyone who speaks to his brother “’you fool’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell” (Matthew 5:22). Later in Matthew 10:28 Jesus warns us, “Do not fear those unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” You may object that you do not believe the Bible or do not accept all parts of it. Then you are creating your own god. How do you know this god exists and what is your basis of authority for this belief? My authority is the Bible.
Maurice Rawlings, an initially skeptical emergency room doctor, corroborates the evidence for hell in his book, “To Hell and Back”, by chronicling a number of near death experiences of those claiming to have been in hell. Why do the popular accounts record “warm lights” but never include these horror stories? Dr. Rawlings notes, “If the interview is delayed just a little bit…only the positive experiences will be found. The negative experiences have long since been relegated to the painless portions of the memory, the victim apparently unable to coexist with this painful memory.” (p.33) His most striking story is about a man whose treadmill test was shortened. Several times he collapsed and was revived by Dr. Rawlings applying CPR. He says, “I would reach over and start him up again. But this time he was screaming the words, ‘Don’t stop! I’m in hell! I’m in hell!’ Hallucinations, I thought…But he was saying the opposite: ‘For God’s sake, don’t stop! Don’t you understand? Every time you let go I’m back in hell!’ When he asked me to pray for him, I felt downright insulted. In fact, I told him to shut up…” (p.36-37). After the patient’s pleading and the nurse’s “expectant look” he makes up a prayer, “Jesus Christ is the Son of God…keep me out of hell, and if I live, I’m on the hook. I’m yours.” (p.37) Dr. Rawlings reports, “A religious conversion experience took place…He was no longer the wild-eyed, screaming, combative lunatic who had been fighting me for his life. He was relaxed and calm and cooperative. It frightened me.” He confides that besides converting the patient “this miserable prayer of mine had opened the road to my own salvation.” (p.37)
You can have fair if you like but I prefer the privilege of rescue from hell through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Posted in Cultural commentary, General, God Thoughts, God's Word | Tagged Cultural commentary, God Thoughts, God's Word | 2 Comments »
CreatorWorship 
Review of what we should have learned
February 2, 2010 by creatorworship
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