Those were the days....

This is a picture from 1973; its a picture of my brother David's first wedding. I guess I had weddings on the brain because yesterday one of my fellow workers was leaving to attend HIS brother's wedding. The thing is: when I saw this picture I had mixed emotions; I was happy to see how young and great looking everyone was, but sad to think about some of them must look now. Yet, for many of them, I imagine they have had a full life. I only know about my brother (who is permanently disabled) and myself. Beyond that, I can only wonder. Consider the following passage from the book of Ezra to see what remembering can lead to.

Ezra 3:8-13 (WEB)
8) Now in the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and all those who were come out of the captivity to Jerusalem, and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to have the oversight of the work of the house of Yahweh.
9) Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to have the oversight of the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brothers the Levites.
10) When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Yahweh, they set the priests in their clothing with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise Yahweh, after the order of David king of Israel.
11) They sang one to another in praising and giving thanks to Yahweh, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Yahweh, because the foundation of the house of Yahweh was laid.
12) But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ households, the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:
13) so that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people; for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off.
(Ezra 3:8-13, WEB)

Human beings have feelings; this is common to us all, but we show them differently. Many of the Jews who had seen the first temple remembered it. How clearly they did this is in doubt because the exile lasted seventy years, but nonetheless, they remembered. I can only imagine the depth of feeling a truly faithful Jew must have held towards the temple, but for some of them it was too much to hold in; they wept. Memories are like that, sometimes they are just hard to remember. I seems unbelievable that I once looked like I did at Dave's wedding, but then was then and now is now. Look for the good and move on. I just can't help but wonder though, were the old men crying out of sorrow or joy?

A Lion of a different color

What an unusual lion! My first thought was: "how cute"! Then I remembered a taped show from Animal planet about Lions that I saw this evening. Lions are such stately, beautiful creatures that its easy to forget the power they have. This show reminded me of their awesome destructive power. With that in mind, consider these few verses from the book of Revelation.

Revelation 5:1-5 (WEB)
1) I saw, in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, a book written inside and outside, sealed shut with seven seals.
2) I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to break its seals?”
3) No one in heaven above, or on the earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book, or to look in it.
4) And I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, or to look in it.
5) One of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals.”
(Revelation 5:1-5, WEB)

Plain and simple; Jesus has the power. Power to heal, power to forgive and the power to initiate judgment. Don't be deceived; Jesus is not someone to be taken lightly. I believe that if you study carefully, you will see that the Bible shows his powerful side quite clearly; that as Yahweh of Armies, he has been executing judgment since the beginning and will do so at the end. (See Revelation 19:11ff.) Somehow, the Lion in the picture just doesn't seem the same now.

Expect the unexpected!!!

I downloaded this yesterday from a website that listed it and several others under the general title of "thinking outside the box". Give it a few minutes thought and you will probably guess the answer, but if not, don't worry.... I didn't get it. When I did learn the answer, it was a surprise to me, but life is full of surprises. Here is one such tale that involves a surprise.

Matthew 20:1-16 (WEB)
1) “For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
2) When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
3) He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace.
4) To them he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way.
5) Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.
6) About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’
7) “They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ “He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’
8) When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’
9) “When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius.
10) When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius.
11) When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household,
12) saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’
13) “But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius?
14) Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you.
15) Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?’
16) So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few are chosen.”
(Matthew 20:1-16, WEB)

For a Jew, works were everything. It meant fulfilling the Law through obedience, by doing. So when those who worked only a short time received pay, it was the natural thing to assume that those who worked more should obtain more. Wrong!!! This incident was meant to be a lesson in the Grace of God, which had nothing to do with meritorious performance. Surprise, God wants to be merciful, not just to be obeyed. They didn't think outside their little "box" of the LAW, but WE CAN! As far as the puzzling pictures goes.... well, they arrested the fireman, BECAUSE HE WAS THE ONLY "HE" THERE; the rest of the group were women. God works this way as well, so go ahead, try your very best to understand HIM, but remember: Expect the unexpected!!!!

Are you excluded?

Today I read something about a person suffering because of her core religious beliefs. She believed the Bible teaching about homosexuality and was rejected for believing it. Lately , it has become fashionable to accept homosexuality as just another lifestyle and anyone who speaks against it obviously has something wrong with them and therefore must be punished. I thought about this for awhile and the following portion of Scripture came to mind.

Matthew 10:16-33 (WEB)
16) “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
17) But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you.
18) Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations.
19) But when they deliver you up, don’t be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say.
20) For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21) “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.
22) You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved.
23) But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most certainly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man has come.
24) “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord.
25) It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!
26) Therefore don’t be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered that will not be revealed; and hidden that will not be known.
27) What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops.
28) Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.
29) “Aren’t two sparrows sold for an assarion coin? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father’s will,
30) but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
31) Therefore don’t be afraid. You are of more value than many sparrows.
32) Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven.
33) But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.
(Matthew 10:16-33, WEB)

Jesus sent out his disciples to proclaim the truth. These were to encounter resistance of all kinds, but this was not to be a surprise, for look how they treated Jesus; harshly to say the least. When I saw the picture, I realized that many people will not really be your friend if you are different from them (whether it is physical difference or a religious one). When push comes to shove, you will be on the outs, just like the "undesirable" chubby girl in the picture. Trust in God, follow what he tells you and let what happens, happen. Faith makes even the "undesirable" precious in the sight of our heavenly father. I don't know who the heavy set girl is, but I think I like her already!!!

The possibility of the impossible

When is a circle a rectangle? When its The Red Rectangle Nebula, that's when. The rectangle is actually an illusion caused by two diametrically opposed cones of gas on opposite sides of the star. As far as I can tell, no one is really sure why the Nebula is red, so theories abound. When I saw this picture it brought to mind a seemingly impossible concept, that is, heaven on Earth. Read on to see what I mean.

Ephesians 1:1-23 (WEB)
1) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;
4) even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;
5) having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,
6) to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely bestowed favor on us in the Beloved,
7) in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8) which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9) making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
10) to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
11) in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;
12) to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
13) in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14) who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.
15) For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints,
16) don’t cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,
17) that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
18) having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19) and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
20) which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21) far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
22) He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the assembly,
23) which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
(Ephesians 1:1-23, WEB)

Heaven, Earth, a mystery and a revelation; who could ask for more? All summed up in one personage: Jesus, the Christ of God. Are things on Earth perfect? No, but the Spiritual blessing that God gives us are. So, those who genuinely follow God are blessed Spiritually, but still live in a corrupt world and must suffer all the things everyone else does. But! When the physical part of our beings is gone and only the blessed Spiritual part remains..... THEN, WE WILL UNDERSTAND COMPLETELY and the seemingly impossible things of this life will be transformed into the totality of union with the perfection of Almighty God. Maybe then God will explain more fully how a circle can be a rectangle and maybe even why the star is red. Who knows, maybe at that time we won't even care? Still, I think I will ask because I just don't like loose ends.

With a bridge under my feet

This picture immediately caught my attention because of its beauty. Then the old Simon and Garfunkle song "Bridge over Troubled waters" that I had heard the other day came to mind. I could almost picture myself standing on the bridge singing it. There are all sorts of bridges in our lives; helps from different sources. One of my favorites is found in this little story from the book of 2 Kings.

2 Kings 6:8-18 (WEB)
8) Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
9) The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you not pass such a place; for the Syrians are coming down there.”
10) The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice.
11) The heart of the king of Syria was very troubled about this. He called his servants, and said to them, “Won’t you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”
12) One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
13) He said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” It was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.”
14) Therefore he sent horses, chariots, and a great army there. They came by night, and surrounded the city.
15) When the servant of the man of God had risen early, and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16) He answered, “Don’t be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17) Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha.
18) When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
(2 Kings 6:8-18, WEB)

Go ahead, try and figure your life out! You will fail. Why? Because there is a whole spiritual realm out there that we can not see. We are not alone, God helps those who HE desires to and really does help in our most needful circumstances. Elisha was blessed with the ability to be able to literally see what God could provide, but we have to be content with the eyes of faith. Hopefully, for most of us, faith is enough. Whenever I hear "a bridge over troubled waters", I always associate the one who helps as being God. Works for me.... next time you hear the song, I hope it does for you as well.

Don't bother me

Don't bother me, I am doing something VERRRRY COOL! OK, you may see it another way, but to me this little one shouts attitude. Attitude is a funny thing; where do we get it from, what is its purpose and does it have any REAL VALUE? Somehow the word pride keeps coming to my mind, but, hey, that's just me. See if you can see the connection between this picture and the following passage from 1st Corinthians......

1 Corinthians 1:20-31 (WEB)
20) Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the lawyer of this world? Hasn’t God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21) For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe.
22) For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom,
23) but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks,
24) but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26) For you see your calling, brothers, that not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble;
27) but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong;
28) and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are:
29) that no flesh should boast before God.
30) But of him, you are in Christ Jesus, who was made to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption:
31) that, according as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
(1 Corinthians 1:20-31, WEB)

Attitude takes a nose dive when we put things in their proper perspective. No matter how smart or clever or intelligent or wise we may think we are.... God is one up on us. We are human beings subject to all the frailties of existence and someday will cease to exist. Then, those who know God will really have something to boast about and they can have all of that attitude they want.