Observations on Genesis . . . the first few chapters

Genesis 1,

The creation story is to me the beginning of a conversation between God and man.

Man's accountability began, his innocence ended. Man's wisdom for his plight? The wisdom he gained from eating that tree? Let's see,

* Adam and Eve hid themselves

  --> both with sewn together fig leaves and in the shrubbery when they heard God comin' awalkin'

* they tried to re-direct blame, deflecting?

* Cain killed Abel to deal with jealousy, and God's displeasure

* God's heart was broken, because man's violence. That is when the flood was imminent. Then he found Noah, and decided to slay all but his family, and the animals.

   --> it was because of violence "brotherly hatred" instead of "brotherly love"

God's solution, the remnant. Mercy!

Authenticity of the Bible. Its really true, as it is written, its the inspired word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16-18

Genesis 1... In the beginning God

• He started it all
• He continues it
• He is in control

Romans 1:21

Troubled Times

What exactly is the nature of my own 'unbelief'? In the past I've thought maybe God would protect us from all that ails the worldly, but I realize we are all just as vulnerable to cancer - for instance - as anyone is. I've been teaching this Sunday School class now for going on two years. One thing I keep going back to is that the time of testing is coming to us all, like a path we cannot climb out of, and the path leads to a furnace of fire, but there is a door into it, and a door out the other side . . . there's a time of testing, and that time will pass. And what comes out is not the same as what goes in. Raw goes in, and Gold comes out. And of this time of testing I say this, that it is our relationship with God NOW that will take us through that time of testing.

When my first marriage fell apart, I was so steeped in sin, so confused, and all along feeling like I was doing just fine. I was so far from where he has brought me to now. So much has been shed, and burned away, that I could not even begin to list them, and good riddance! I'm not perfect... having not yet passed from this life to the next . . . but it is always in hind sight that we see how Blind we've been.

I once told God, I'd go anywhere He'd call me to go, as long as He'd be there with me, and that has never changed. I just never imagined the trials He would call me to!

The nature of my 'unbelief' ? I don't believe in a trouble free life anymore. I don't believe that I'll some day be exempt from life's hard times. And when I am going through hard times, I need to more and more realize it has nothing to do with me somehow deserving it (as in punishment from God) and has more to do with the perfecting of my faith.

See 1 Peter chapter 1

Prayer

Reading my buddy Ken's journal today I was once again inspired about prayer. I realize that I've let seemingly unanswered prayer discourage me, and life itself discourage me from praying.

Today is Sunday, and I'll be singing for the first time up front with a small group of men. I'm one of the two tenor's. It's one of my desires ---> to bless others through singing and music.

Well, keep it short, eh? This is pretty short! Have a good day.

Diagnosis

On October 30, 2010 I went to the lab to have my quarterly blood work done, and I'd already made an appointment to see a new doctor who was closer to home. My reason for changing doctors was mostly because my original doctor was about an hour's drive away from my place, and add that to waiting in her office for an hour, even if I had an appointment, that was a pretty big chunk of day to have available - 3 hours!
I had some other periodic things to look after like having my prescriptions refilled, and I needed a physical for work, which needs being done once every three years, but I also had one big thing on my mind, and that big thing was me! I'd weighed myself on the home bathroom scale, and I was an enormous 280 lbs. I'd been holding out at 260 lbs for the last couple of years, and suddenly going up 20 lbs really scared me. I found myself trying to figure out a way to beg the doctor to help me lose weight. My last doctor told me to go out and buy a book on the south beach diet . . . which is full of recipes containing foods that are way out of my price range. "Let them eat cake" comes to mind!
Well, upon entering my new doctors office on the Tuesday following my lab work, he pulled up my chart, and there on the screen he said was evidence that I was now officially a diabetic. My previous doctor had been warning me about this, and expecting it as sure as sure, so it wasn't a big surprise to me. But on the other hand, the doctor seemed to be quite serious about the need to do something about it all, and promptly made an appointment for me to come in a couple of weeks later to see him and a nurse, who turned out to be a "Chronic Disease Management Coordinator" for my area here. But, I'm jumping ahead!
The following Friday Cheryl and I went out and during out grocery shopping I found one of my favorite little kind of journals. Its Black with Red Corners, and just lined paper on the inside. Its about 5 x 6 " per page. That would be November 5, 2010. That night, and the following day were the beginnings of my diabetic journal. My plan was/is simple, to keep track of  my daily battle with Diabetes, and my weight. My wife has been diabetic now for years, so the fear aspect of it was minimized for me, since I've seen for myself how manageable it is with diet and exercise. We'd also taken a course together on the topic at a local hospital, and learned all about blood glucose testing, etc. Since Cheryl had a test kit already I just started to use hers, so that when I went to see my nurse and doctor again, I'd have some data for them to examine, and speed things along with my treatment. I began to keep track of what I ate, my blood sugar data, and any exercise. By the time I got there for my next appointment, they could at least see my motivation for getting well, and I had some good questions for them to answer, and they gave me some unexpected information as far as what my goals should be.
I've been quite nervous about the regular exercise part of it for quite sometime now, and its mostly just neurosis, ie) fears not based in fact . . . perhaps I could be kind to myself and call it anxiety . . . regardless, I held off on the exercise part of it. As a bit of a bonus I've been able to see independent results for what impact diet has had on my diabetes without the exercise. And now that I've begun the exercise part of it now, so I'm able to see just how that bumps up the impact.
Ever since November 5, 2010 I've kept track of all of these things. At first I was testing 10 times a day, but I'm down to about 6 times per day now. And I'm only testing when I do something new. For instance, a new recipe or meal plan will generate a before and after test. And these past two days I've done a before/after workout testing.
The most thrilling part is that for the most part I've lost or held my weight everyday since. A couple of days ago I had a beer with dinner, and omgosh! I was 4 lbs heavier and my blood glucose was higher than its been for days! Most days I've been at about 6.6 mmols, but this day after the beer was 7.9! I was aghast!
I've also been doing some research into what restaurant food will do. That is to prepare ahead for the inevitable day when I am out of time in the morning getting out the door for work, and needing to go out to eat before I can get back home. So far Thai Chicken Salad at McDonald's, and a 6" Veggie with Cheese sub with 9 grain whole wheat from Subway are both good choices. But I do notice that the sodium content sends me into a weird kind of hyper feeling.
I found out from the wife that my starting weight was 280 lbs minus a 3 pound correction, equals 277 lbs. This morning I was at 264.5 lbs.
Well, that's all for now, take care anyone!

Salvation

Saved from what?

How important is it, I wonder, for us to realize our own sinfulness? 1 John 1:9 comes to mind.

• 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness

When I'm typing up these thoughts I'm using a standard computer, with a screen, mouse, and keyboard. In order to begin typing I have to see where my cursor is. Without the cursor, I have no common beginning point with the computer. As I hit keys on the keyboard, the computer will interpret these key strokes based on where the cursor is. This is a simple illustration of where we're at with God. Acknowledging our sin is the beginning point of faith. Faith is living according to the word of God rather than according to our own  understanding. Our understanding can be from our minds, our emotions, or cravings. In order to live according to faith, we also need to realize we become new creations when we accept Christ, through faith.

• Ephesians 1:13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

This is the beginning of the path called the walk of faith. You heard the word of truth, and believed. That's your part. God's part is bringing the good news of the gospel to you, and when you respond by hearing and believing God continues the conversation by giving us the promised Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit becomes resident within us from this point. The guarantee is through the process of sanctification, where the Holy Spirit leads us into truth, the truth of God's word. Our response of obedience, yields the fruit of the spirit.

Phew! God Bless you today. If you have any questions, please submit them via comments, and then everyone will benefit from the question and the answer!

Faith

I'm thankful this morning for so many things. One that's brought me to my blog is my job. I was in a pastor's office when he helped me to see that the way out of my current dilemma was to pay attention to the need at hand. I had a wife, and two children, and no job to support us. That was about 20½ years ago. I sat down, and figured out how much money I needed to support them, broke it down to an hourly wage, and began looking for a job that paid at least that much. I applied for a position as a bus driver, based on the wage. It turned out I had an aptitude for the job as well, which came to light as I went through the hiring process.

At the time my idea of how I would fulfill the calling on my life was dramatically different than what it is now. And the idea of getting a job like bus driving seemed to be far from what God would have in mind for me. I thought I was headed for being a pastor of a church quite frankly. And yet at the same time I thought God's will for my life would be foreign, strange, and unexpected. I didn't realize that God's will for my life would be as simple as the bible says. Let's start with that verse about whatsoever your hand findeth to do, do with all your might.

• Ecclesiastes 9:9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going. 11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. (ESV)

Wow! There's lots more there on this topic than I realized, God's so good! I often find if I go an look up a scripture that's only partially come to mind, that God has something more for me there than I initially realize! I think the "wife" here is figurative as well as literal. One's wife is what one is devoting one's self to. If you're unable to put your spouse first, don't have a spouse. And realize this from the start. But if you have a wife, devote yourself to her, meaning she has a high place in the day to day priorities of life, the first priority. Second only to God himself. Salomon's labeling of our lives as "vain" is intriguing! There is no work or toil in the grave . . . and then finally he lists the six basic pursuits, swift, strong, wise, riches, intelligence, or knowledge. And then notes that "time and chance" happen to them all. Those pursuits may be for happiness, or security, or for peace . . . I think the list refers back to the wife reference. Its a famous expression amoung the youth I've spoken to, "I'm not going to end up like..." and they have some person (usually their parents) whom they're not going to end up like. They have come up with the opposite of role model. They know what they DO NOT want to end up like. I call this living life according to a negative rather than a positive.

So to really boil it down to a simple statement, how 'bout "Apply yourself with your whole heart to the demands of the moment". What we perceive as a "demand" comes from within. And a demand can only come from who is in charge. What scares you the most, what causes you to stop whatever you are doing and listen, and obey. Its like you're walking along through the woods, looking for food cuz you're starving. . . when suddenly! a rifle shot, a bullet whizzing hissing hits the tree beside you and showers your face with splinters! You dive for the ground, no longer thinking of hunger! That's a demand! With that another couple of verses spring to mind, Matthew 6:33-34, and Proverbs 1:7

• Mt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (ESV)
• Pr 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. (ESV)

Jesus is the one speaking in Matthew 6 here. Its part of the "Sermon On The Mount."

God is the only one you need ever fear, all else is secondary. "His Kingdom" is one which acknowledges him as supreme. And HE IS supreme. To "seek" that is to acknowledge it, and to interpret all that happens in the light of that ultimate truth,

• Romans 1:²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

And there in vs 34 of Matthew 6 we see "the moment" don't worry about tomorrow, take care of today. Looking at "His Kingdom" would simply be defined as what? Let's go to Websters on-line and see what they have to say, I looked up "kingdom"

• "a politically organized community or major territorial unit having a monarchical form of government headed by a king or queen"

HIS kingdom would give us the mono- of monarch. Sole authority. Very foreign to us democracy types. We've steered away from having one person in charge. For what? To get away from corruption and abuse? Really? Yet God's word says that HE is in charge, it IS his kingdom! He's on the throne! Regardless of whatever else gives us cause to fear, our primary concern is God's opinion on matters at hand. The story of Robin Hood comes to mind. His allegiance is to the King Richard, and his rebellion against Prince John is due to Prince John's rebellion against King Richard. Note that Robin Hood cares for the needs of the helpless go read Matthew 25:31-46 for a tangent I'll resist for now! Robin Hood doesn't willingly martyr himself, who would care for the needy?


His Righteousness? Well if the one in charge has such a thing, we'd better make sure we know what that is! There is a differentiation being made here between His Righteousness and any other kind of righteousness, but first of all Jesus is telling us that we need it! There are two basic pursuits above all others. His Kingdom and His Righteousness. And the promise is that "all these things" will be added as well. That's a reference to all the things Jesus has just spoken about in the previous verses of Matthew chapter six.


So, what is His Righteousness?

• Matthew 22:36 "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" 37 And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."

I'll give you a clue, Jesus is "His Righteousness" through him we have forgiveness... that's where we all need to start. And that forgiveness comes through us acknowledging we have not lived according to the rule of God's authority - the term we know so well - sin.

• Romans 14:23 ". . . and everything that does not come from faith is sin."

Jesus is talking about living by faith. Faith begins, continues, and ends with those two things, "His Kingdom" and "His Righteousness".

May God hold your feet to your own flames

• Isaiah 50:4 The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. 5 The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. 7 Because the Sovereign LORD helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. 8 He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! 9 It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me. Who is he that will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up. 10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. 11 But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.

•  Isaiah 50:11 ...set your fires, stir people up, blow on the flames, But don't expect me to just stand there and watch. I'll hold your feet to those flames. (The Message)

Quite often, if not always, my attempts to stir up trouble for others has backfired, and I end up being the one burnt!
And quite often, I pray it be more often, how often I am comforted while comforting others! My calling and passion is described there in verse 4,

• The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.

Our brothers lay at our feet as though dead

• "Perhaps no violence would be done this book [Revelation] or any other book in the Bible, if we did not know definitely the identity of the penmen. But we do know from John's own witness that he saw and heard the things which he wrote (Rev 22:8).He lived during the reign of Domitian, under whose firm rule the Christians were severely persecuted. He identifies himself with other of the suffering saints as their "brother and companion in tribulation" (Rev 1:9). He himself was sent in chains as a prisoner to the small and dreary island called Patmos, about twenty-five miles off the coast of Asian Minor, in the Aegean Sea. It was while he was there that God turned his bondage into a blessing. The Patmos of persecution became to John the open door for service. the chains of pagan Rome bound his body but they could not bind  his soul. Shut off from the rest of the world, he entered into a communion with his Lord he had never known before." (Lehman Strauss, Commentary on The Book of the Revelation, 1964)

 John's reaction to Christ's appearing to him there,

• Revelation 1:¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, ¹⁸ and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

This is the same John who spent three years with Jesus. John wrote five books of the New Testament. And his reaction to our risen Lord was utter humility. I know that Jesus is our friend, our companion, and intercessor before the father - standing before the Father on our behalf. But I must also take care to know also that he is this fearsome figure brought to us through the penmanship of John, son of Zebedee. There's something good, and emptying in  knowing this about Christ Jesus our Lord. Pride is something that comes and goes from my pallet like every other sin, but its the least likely to be immediately detected, and it's the most embarrassing one. We always see it in others, and others always see it in us.


What should my attitude be toward the one's that cross my path day to day? I am to be Christ to them. Is this the Christ they'll see? The one that causes them to fall down as though dead? 

• ^{Revelation 1:9} I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
  

That's more like it! May I bring the compassion of Jesus that reaches down to the one humbled by their circumstances and says, "Jesus is greater than OUR struggles, lets spend time together and talk it over"


Oh, God, my God, my lord and Father. Empower my life to serve you fearlessly, yet reverently continue to know the perspective of who I'm in the presence of! May I never lose sight of your sovereign majesty! May I never again take my seniority in the faith as an excuse to treat those yet to come in, or recently entered like crap! May I never be a cause for fear and loathing. Its so easy to get caught up, Lord, in the struggle to keep my own life afloat, while clutching all that is mine in mindless fear, thrashing at those around me like a madman telling them to back off what's mine! So many of my choices have led to a man such as me. I'm in debt, and that means my money is already spoken for. My time is not my own. I can't lend myself to your work, without it directly impacting my master the money lender. Heal me here Lord! I'm feeling so fat, so overweight and out of shape. I don't want to die just yet! I want to live on to bless you, and bless your people. I want this life I've led to not end up being in vane. I long to bless others, and give them a shoulder to lean on in their times of suffering. Heal me in this way, also, Lord. Let my next 47 years be one's more to your benefit than my own. Even so Lord Jesus, come, come take me home to be with you forever! Do with my life as you would. But put it firmly in your hands, Amen.

Walking in His Shoes

There was a time when my life had fallen apart and wasn’t yet laying in pieces but was still in mid air. The jagged shards of dreams shattered were shredding every aspect of my life. I was an emotional disaster area, and I began spending my emotional reserves. Soon I would run out, and would be in need of medication, counselling, and time off work. In the midst of that confused, dark cloud I was grasping for help, just to keep my head above water. I know in hindsight that I wasn’t yet ready to learn, nor be taught anything. I still had the world by the tail, and I was straining for vindication and to be avenged of all the wrongs being done to me. I was without stain, and had the notion that what was happening to me was part of what the bible speaks of when it speaks of persecution.

That may seem vague, and it’s deliberate. If you’ve gone through it, or you are going through it now, you’ll see yourself in that whirl wind of a first paragraph. Now let’s see if you can see yourself in the other guys shoes, those who were in a position to help me, who could only stand on the sidelines out of fear, and ignorance.

One such person, who shall remain nameless, is a friend of my older brother Andrew’s, and a sort of acquaintance of mine at the time. Let’s call him Freddy, no . . . that’s too happy a name. hmmm, let’s call him Arthur. Arthur and I first crossed paths in elementary school. I have vague memories of him bullying me. His father was a social worker, and later on when I was in Jr. High School (grades 7-9) we took in a foster child through Arthur’s father. Fast forward to me and what I described in the first paragraph. I was homeless, and had few options. My brother Andrew suggested I call up Arthur, who had just graduated from a seminary overseas, Scotland I think, and had acquired a master’s degree, maybe even a doctorate in Divinity. He’d been hired on as a professor at a local Christian University, and lived near where I needed to be. I called him. And his not so carefully thought out answer was,

“What did you ever do for me?”

He continued by pointing out that I’d had lots of time to befriend him previous to my time of need, but had not done so. If only I’d done that, then I’d have a place to stay. Was that Christian love? Was that what Christ meant when he said, “love one another” ?

He was the first of many who passed by on the other side – yes, I’m alluding to the parable of the Good Samaritan – So, I vowed that when I got out of the present mess, I would do for others what had not been done for me. I had an opportunity a couple of times now to be there for folks who didn’t deserve a hand, but got one anyways from me. I suffered both times. I guess that’s why Jesus included the terms of such loving manoeuvres, “lay down your life for others . . .” taking his example who laid down his life for us.

I learned through the years that overcoming one’s fears in order to love others isn’t as easy as it seems. Courage takes faith, and faith takes courage. It also takes knowing, and truly believing all this stuff we talk about in our bible studies, Sunday School classes, and Sunday morning sermons. And now when I find myself with paralysed hands unable to reach out and help, I find myself praying, “help me lord, help my un-belief!” Give me a faith so strong, and a willingness so full that I can reach out to them, counting on you, and not loving my own life, more than another’s.

So, that young man I'd turned to back about 12 - 15 years ago. His youth was his excuse? Of all the theory of theology, and correct splitting of hairs on scriptural context . . . the lesson's he'd learned added up to, "What have you ever done for me?" And I think that most of us who have been steeped in Christendom all of our lives have missed the point as well. That passage from Matthew 25 is so vividly in view for me once again.

• Matthew 25:³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

Fear

I had yet another lesson in fear and anxiety this past week. It all gets summed up in the observation that even after all this time I still have trouble believing that God cares about the seemingly little things in life.

My wife and I planned out a 10th birthday party for our son. As we prepared each aspect I managed to doubt again and again. When she and I actually started fighting with one another over it all, that showed me how much stress we were both under.

We'd planned on taking four of our son's friends to a local bowling alley that we'd gone to many times as a family before. So, this past Wednesday I phoned up the place to make sure we had a reservation for 5 bowlers, and to work out exactly how much money it would all cost. We'd already invited 4 of 4 guests, and gotten confirmations they'd be coming. We'd already told our son the whole plan! And the bowling alley is closed for the day we'd planned on going!!! There aren't too many bowling allies around these days, so we scrambled to find another 5 pin place. In the process we came across a real dudd! It was everything you'd hope for in a strip club without the strippers, but the rest of the seediness was intact! Another place had a bad review on-line, and new management was cited as the reason. The landlord had taken over running the place, and didn't have a clue! Finally I remembered a place I'd passed by during my work hours, and drove over there. It turned out to be way better than our usual place, and is now our new usual place!

The whole party turned out awesome, and I was so blessed by the little things that God did to encourage us along the way.

Thank You, Lord!

Share The Burden

In Exodus 18 there is a story that moved me to tears, and I'm not even sure why. This is usually a case of the Holy Spirit being with me, teaching me, and moving within me.

I really want to seek the Lord, and to know him. A daily knowing of his presence in my life. Fear and passions quickly crowd him out, but so also is this thing I'll call detachment for now. I grow detached from my life, going through the motions of the day to day activities. My professional driving lends itself to such automated movements. Struggling out of it is like getting out of a comfortable bed.
Well, I asked God to show me a scripture he'd like me to read today, and I started to noodle around at Bible Gateway. I had heard a sermon this past Sunday preached from Luke 17, and the one leper had turned back before showing himself to the priest, but after he'd seen that he'd been cleansed. Jesus is our high priest. The Mosaic law stated that a leper must be declared clean by the priest. Jesus was honoring the law by telling them to show themselves to the priest. I'd never before thought that the leper had returned to thank Jesus BEFORE he'd shown himself to the priest. Well, I did a search for the word 'priest' in the entire bible, and found this story in Exodus 18. Jethro, Moses father-in-law is referred to as the Priest of Midian.

• "10 Jethro said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods..."

This further explains a mystery earlier in the life of Moses and Zipporah, his wife, Jethro's daughter. Its found in Exodus 4, and its only a couple of verses, but is very disturbing because it says that God was going to slay Moses, but Zipporah intervenes and saves Moses life by circumcising their son. Another question is, why would a Hebrew child not yet be circumcised? Also, why is Zipporah angry with Moses?!? Further investigation reveals that Zipporah is  a Midianite. Where did the Midianites come from? In Genesis 25 we learn that Midian is a son born to him by another wife of Abraham. This shows that Midian, being a child of Abraham would have been circumcised, but the practice of circumcision was possibly not carried on with the successive generations afterward. Jethro's declaration regarding Abraham's God is one of great interest. Jethro acknowledged God's place above all other gods! Its a scene that reminds me of a person coming to confess Jesus as Lord and Savior!

Later in Exodus 18 we see Jethro gives counsel to his son in law, Moses, to appoint judges over 10's 100's 1000's who will settle small matters and Moses will be left to settle difficult disputes. Moses instructed the people in the law, and he taught these judges to do the same.

Drawing Near

When I was in my late teens I read a book by John White, "Daring To Draw Near". And the one thing that has stayed with me ever since then is that God initiates, and we respond. So, what do we make of James 4:8-10? It truly seems that WE are to initiate, doesn't it? When James encourages US to "draw near..." ?

This is a good example of reading the scripture in context, and in the light of other scripture. Keeping in mind what we've learned through other scriptures, and through teachers who have spoken from their study and experience we hold onto that truth while we venture forth into scripture we haven't read, or haven't read very much of. Let's do that here, we have the quote "Draw near to God..." let's look at that first.

• James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (ESV)

We initiate, and God responds? The conversation begins earlier . . . if we go to James 4 verse one we see a slightly different story unfolding. 

• 1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 

There, do you see it? James traces a path from our interpersonal conflicts straight to the God over us all, and our relationship with him. Another perhaps more subtle point is that James is confronting the blame game,

"Why are there quarrels among you?" he asks.

Think of the people in your life whom you are currently at odds with in one way or another. People you can't stand be around. People you hate. People who irk you, bug you, irritate you. Ultimately the source of your hatred and quarrel with these people can be traced back to the passions that war within you. And the message James is bringing to us as we read this forth chapter of James is that it is God who is opposing us: the proud ones.

Still following the logic here? Our struggles begin and end in at the same cross road. When we submit to God, we are also to resist the devil who will then flee. As we take time to draw near to him, God responds to our humility with his presence. He draws near to us.

After these verses of clear "steps to take" James returns to the main message. 

• James4:11-12 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers... who are you to judge your neighbor?

My response to being at odds with others is to examine my own life, and bring my passions and desires under submission to God.

"Cleanse your hands you sinners" I'd like to pursue what James means by that in another blog. I've benefited from this so far. I hope you have as well.

Amen

God is in charge

Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.


We've had an interesting thing happen to us here lately at our home. It involves a stray cat we've seen all summer long around the neighborhood. About a week ago it was laying on our picnic table, which has a big shade umbrella over it. I decided to put some smoked salmon I had out for it to eat. Well, it chowed down on the piece pretty ferociously, and accepted another few pieces! Pretty soon it was at our door for some more, and coming into our house. We gave it some more food, and it was here more often. A couple days ago I came home from work, and my loving wife had set out a towel for it to lay down on, and it was with her in the living room.

I cautioned her that we're not allowed to have pets, that it might have flees, and she shouldn't be letting it get so comfortable. The animal actually let me pick it up, and that's when I noticed, nipples, and a chubby belly! So, its a she! And possibly pregnant! The next time she came into the house after some food we gave her she was snooping around for out of the way places, like behind the couch, and under my son's bed. Yup, she's pregnant, and looking for a place to have her babies, its called "nesting behavior"

Well, we set out the bedding under our patio table, which is a little bit dryer, but not hugely than our rain swept back yard. She stayed out there over night. As my son and wife were becoming more attached to her, I realized something had to be done.

I called the local SPCA, and we took her over there. They confirmed that she's indeed pregnant, and we filled out the paper work. We donated our cat carrier, the food, and a towel we'd given her for bedding.

I am thankful that God allowed us to be part of caring for this animal. All the factors that led up to us taking her added up to it being just in time. The lady at the shelter said that they stop eating for 24 hours before they nest, and she was still eating ferociously. That I tried feeding her was such a good thing, because she was so hungry. She was probably feeding on mice, and scraps up to now.

Knowing that I'm just a part of God's world, and part of our community I put God in charge, by not dishonoring our landlord by secretly having a cat. Truthfulness, and faithfulness to my word I'd given him that we would have no pets.

I rest in the fact, God is in charge!

Tender Hearted

1 Peter 3:8 Finally, all [of you] should be of one and the same mind (united in spirit), sympathizing [with one another], loving [each other] as brethren [of one household], compassionate and courteous (tender hearted and humble).


I felt God speaking directly to me this past Sunday. The pastor taught on the subject of all of us getting on the bus, the vision bus. And he asked those of us there to come forward, and "get on the bus". This was/is a decisive act of obedience. To be united in spirit.

I am a bus driver after all. It may look like a bus driver is in charge, but he is actually performing the task set out for him by the management. In some respects I have a truly mindless job! All I have to do is be obedient! I obey the schedule and prescribed route for my bus. I obey the policy and procedures of the company in my dealings with the public. I obey the traffic laws. Yet it is not a given that I will behave like that. Quite the opposite. In fact, the longer I am on the job, the more I tend toward attempting to take over control of the company. I do this by bad mouthing the company, my fellow workers, and the public. I begin to think the problems I face in carrying out my job description could be solved "if only..." and out pours criticism of everyone around me. I'm expressing my frustration in a manner which doesn't take the truth into account. See my posting entitled "Expectations"

When I come back to my senses, I come back to the things I did at first. And my first attribute as a driver was humility, and obedience. My attitude of submission to leadership and authority is out of reverence for God. In First Peter we see Peter speaking of this same quality. To honor leadership out of reverence for God. God put them in charge. God ordained their ministry.

1 Peter 1:22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

Are you on board THAT bus?

Expectations

I wanna do a little low budget film of something that happened to me years ago. I was just wrapping up our family night out on the Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway. We'd had ourselves a nice open fire, and enjoyed a couple of big gulps from 711. With the ocean water being readily available I thought of a less boring way to douse the fire out. My plan was to insert the big gulp cup full of sea water into the middle of the white hot coals of the fire. It was so hot that any wood that I placed in the center of the fire would instantly be ablaze. I reasoned that if I put the big gulp cup (a cardboard cup coated with wax for those of you who don't know what a big gulp cup is) into the center of the fire it would burst into flames, and the water would gush all over the fire and put it out!

I went over to water's edge, filled up my cup to about 3/4 of an inch from the brim, and grabbing it by the top, lowered it into the center of the fire. To my amazement, the results were not what I expected! The cup didn't burst! The only part that burned was the portion of the cup that was above the water line. The rest of the cup didn't even go black, or scorch! Soon the water was boiling, and as it boiled, the water evaporated and the water line was always at the brim, because the fire would steadily burn away any exposed cup from the evaporation!

There was something that I didn't know, that was obvious!

Let me cut out of the story for a second to venture over to our daily lives. We do things all the time based on our limited knowledge, and when the results don't line up with our expectations, we become frustrated. We apply some poorly thought out solution, and when we're out of idea's and lame brained solutions, we become angry. We probably also become discouraged, and this leads us to do some pretty strange things. Self destructive things! But worse than that we  usually take out our frustrations on those around us. We complain about the leadership of our local governments, civic, provincial, and national. We look around at people. The boss, our co-workers, and customers and assess their part in the blame. Soon we have stock piled a load of evidence of why things aren't going according to our plans, and we end up pretty miserable frustrated individuals! We fail to see that our expectations are based on our limited understanding of things. We fail to listen to God's word!

In Matthew 6:33-34 Jesus punctuates his teaching by pointing to the one and only solution to our daily worries. What is the relationship between worries and expectations? All our strivings of yesterday didn't add up to our expectations. And we reasonably come to the conclusion that we are woefully out of hope regarding tomorrow's worries! I say reasonably because it is our ability to reason that we so often rely upon! Who can blame us! Shouldn't we rely on our reason! Isn't that what sets us apart from the animals!

NO! It is found in Genesis chapter one, and it is found here in Matthew 6! It is our place in God's heart! It is our place in this world in which we live! We are made in his image. We are made to fellowship with God! To know him, and to daily be seeking him, and knowing him! That is a two way dynamic, and he always gives us what to do!

"30... O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

We need to abandon reason, and embrace faith! Reason is the natural man, and faith is the spiritual man! Its all done with the same mind, but the Christian has a renewed mind, and not only that but a continuously renewing mind! (see Romans 12) Our part in this isn't what we might think. Its in filling our mind with the word of God (see Psalm 119:11) We store up the word of God in our hearts, and God himself applies the truth of his word to our hearts through the ministry of the person of the Holy Spirit. (see John 14:26)

Read over Galatians chapter 5. Paul speaks of this battle between the two aspects of the inner man. The spiritual self and the flesh. We are told here to keep in step with the Spirit! And that means to heed the indications of the spirit within us. There are two lists given, one is the obvious deeds of the flesh, and the other is the attributes of what is of the spirit of God. Paul calls these the fruit of the spirit, and the greek word used is singular. I personally think that this signifies that it is the attributes of Christ himself that we are to be in harmony with. That if any of the flesh is at work, then we need to be careful to seek his cleansing, and empowerment to overcome that work of the flesh. This again is HIS work. He does it (Ephesians 2:8-10 and 1 John 1:9)

And what then becomes our expectation? That he will guide us, and lead us! That he will always be there! And those are the promises we stand upon! And if we know that the way we got to "Point A" is by listening to HIM, then we can be confident that he will continue to lead us. And by his grace its never too late! Though at times we find ourselves in a HELL of our own making, we can trust that he'll lead us out!

Now, back to our Big Gulp cup. The fire kept burning, the water kept evaporating, and the cup gradually disappeared like a candle. The water into the air, and the paper into smoke and ash!

but why?!? Paper burns at 451 degrees Fahrenheit, and water BOILS at 212 degrees Fahrenheit!  The paper cannot burn until it reaches 451 F, and the water's presence in the cup keeps the cup below that! The maximum temperature the cup can get to with the water in it, is 212 F. So, regardless of how hot the fire is, the cup will not burn until the water has dissipated. This scientific fact is used to keep engines cool, using coolant that is capable of much higher temperatures than water, and the radiator that cools the liquid as it circulates through the engine's cooling system. Survival experts will tell you that if you're stuck in the woods with a paper bag full of eggs, use the paper bag to boil the eggs! Its possible! I've tried it!

So, if we come up against an unexpected situation, we need to accept that there is something we don't know. Accept that we are not in control of people, places or things. In any given situation or circumstance, in our relationships, and daily interactions with others, if things don't turn out the way we expected, then we need to give it a re-think, and find out what we don't know . . . and the place we need to look is God's word! If any of you lacks wisdom ask God! (see James 1:4-6) That's prayer!

Eventually we may even get ahead of the game, and ask God first :)

Wisdom with a connection

There is a direct link between the wisdom from God, and being in Christ. The scripture actually teaches that Christ Jesus himself lives within us! If I could only take hold of such a truth as that!

In Ephesians 3 Paul's prayer for them is that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith. An active dynamic! Not a stale once repeated simple few phrases and boom, I'm all wise, all knowing, etc. But the faith connection is there!

An example of this truth found in Romans 1:11-12 is in a new friend of mine, Scott. I'm not sure what he would label himself as in terms of being a Christian or not, but my experience with him is that there is a fellowship in the spirit with him. This makes Paul's greeting in Romans 1 all the more significant to me. The reason I bring attention to his confession of faith is that as I have spoken with him on numerous occasions the Holy Spirit's presence has been evident. I know that Scott has also marveled at the presence of the Spirit, and the witness within his own heart, but I gather from what he has said that he thinks the connection and the wisdom is of human origin. He once asked me if FAITH is the bridge between the sovereignty of God and man's freewill. This statement has intrigued me ever since.

And I think that here in Ephesians 3 we have a bit of a mystery. The letter is to Christians, and yet Paul is praying that Christ would dwell in their hearts... isn't he already dwelling there? The key, I believe is the "through faith" part.

We Are Members Of One Another

Romans 1:11-12

• Romans 1:11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. (ESV)

When I was about 16 or 17 years old I had a spiritual awakening. I had prayed a simple prayer, based on some simple logic. I accepted that there was indeed a God, and that I was less than He in every way. I also accepted something else, but it was more unconscious than anything else. I accepted at the time that I was vulnerable to the persuasions of others, especially my elders, and that I couldn't necessarily trust everything they all said. I didn't realize that this was actually a fear of man. I also kept me as the point of safety, I would keep me safe. But my prayer that night, standing on a dark street corner not too far from my house is one that I know God heard, and has honored ever since.

"God, you are more than me, and I am less than you. God make up for  my weaknesses, and show me yourself. Is this bible truly YOUR word? Are all these things my parents have taught me YOUR TRUTH? Teach me in a way that I can understand"