Opus 2024-278: Twisted

I discovered there is a conspiracy going on in the bread business.  You are aware, if you know which side of the bread the butter goes on, of the twist ties that are sometimes on a loaf of bread. I’m sure you’ve noticed, or you should have, that sometimes the twist goes to the right, and sometimes it goes to the left.  For those of us who wear glasses, it is often a challenge to look at it and figure out which way we turn to open it.

I think it’s a conspiracy, a conspiracy to make us old people feel inadequate.  Perhaps we could mount a class action suit.  Perhaps we could boycott the bread industry.  Perhaps we could just shut up and get on with life.  We might ask our grandchildren to open the bread for us the first time and then we can close it the way we like.  There are many solutions.

I hope the problems your face today or no bigger than this.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-277: Dark Thoughts: The Image

What does God see in human beings?  What is there about us that garners His attention?  Even asking the question seems to be heading down the path marked heresy..

I was wondering if out of the millions of people who love and serve Yahweh there were any that ever had a thought original and creative enough to somehow affected the being of God.  I’m not even sure what kind of word to use here to describe it, but something that is expressed in a different way, a new way or is totally creative.  And then you add the billions that live in rebellion and reject Him.  He is aware of their thoughts as well.  In all of that mass of humanity are their creative moments that speaks to the inner person of God?

We know that God is complete.  We know that He doesn’t need anything.  We know that He doesn’t have to do anything.  There’s a term in theology, aseity which refers to the concept that God is self contained and not dependent on anything.  And yet when He made us in His image, I’m wondering if that did not also give us the ability to be totally creative, to come up with things that are genuinely new.

Real creativity is a rare thing even in human circles.  Much of what we call creative is just making a small variation on something that another person thought up . Occasionally, though, someone actually comes up with something totally new and outside the box.  It could be something as simple as the wheel or as complex as the theory of relativity.  I’m wondering out of the trillions of thoughts every day by those created in God’s image, is there an occasional glimmer of something new that catches God’s attention?

There must be some reason He created us and keeps us around.  It certainly isn’t for our looks, our singing voices, obedience, or a myriad of other things.  But here we are, and here He is.

Someday I will get an answer.  Probably in eternity.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-276: The Muse Strikes

We were kibitzing at church and having a good time, throwing back-and-forth all the things that good friends can throw back-and-forth.  They were tongue-in-cheek telling me that I couldn’t be old enough to remember some thing that they remembered.  And I came up with one of those statements that looking back was kind of clever,

I am not as young as I look, or as old as I feel.

It will never make it into a book a famous quotations, but I think it was pretty good off the cuff.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-275: Christian Clichés: Prayer Requests

I am questioning the power of prayer today.  Yesterday we received word that the granddaughter of one of our people died of cancer.  She had been fighting a long time.  We have been praying for her a long time.  There have been some good moments and times of hope.  There was a growing sense of sorrow.  First the doctors said there was nothing else they could do.  Then she went on hospice.  We all held our breath during the last trip of the grandparents to see her while she was still coherent.

During the entire time we were paying praying with fervor.  From our point of you, our prayers were not answered.  Obviously, God said, “No”.  We don’t like that or at least I know I don’t like that.

I am trying to find answers.  While my mind wanders it comes to that verse that talks about God sending Jesus in what He called the “fullness of time”.  There were many factors that came together to say that was the moment Jesus would come.  We speculate on those factors, but we will never know if we got them all or if the ones we do have our correct.  Only God knows that.  The point is it was the focus of time.

I don’t know that I find comfort in it, but I find understanding in the fact that they are possibly many different reasons why this young woman, mother of three, happily married, had to die at this point.  I don’t like it, but I accept it.

As usual, my mind went on another tangent, you know “squirrel”.  I was asking myself why did God give His law to Moses instead of presenting it at the very beginning.  He had the kind of communication with Adam where he could have passed it along with that point.  He could  have established what the standards were then.  At that point everyone would be under the law and have a chance to understand it instead of wandering in the moral wilderness of personal opinion.  But He didn’t.  He waited until the “fullness of time” came for the law.

In so many ways God brings things into our lives when it is our personal, “Fullness of time”.  We can’t know when that is.  We might have a clue, but we can’t know.

Have you ever watched a great cook working in the kitchen?  Many of them don’t have any idea where they left the measuring spoon or measuring cup.  They do almost everything by feel.  When you ask them for a recipe, they will talk about a pinch of this and a dash of that.  They know exactly what they mean even though it’s not always the same thing.  They know how much cayenne to put in the chili by feel not by some silly idea like measuring.  They follow some inner law, some inner standard.  And they usually come out right.  I would say always come out right but I’m not there all the time.  By the same token, I can come up with a recipe and measure everything out precisely and no matter what I do, it just comes short of working.

So trust the chef.  He knows the rules.  He wrote the laws of physics.  He created the stars and the gaps in between them.  He made you and me.  He knows what will work for us in regard to eternity, and He sees through the quick fix.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-274: Baking Bread

Recently at church we were discussing the providence of God.  One of the people came up with a rough paraphrase of this verse,

Psalm 37:25 (KJV) I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

His paraphrase made it seem like we had a promise from God that we would never lack bread.  We contrasted that with other scripture that seemed to indicate that we would be persecuted and all that involved.  We did not resolve the seeming contradiction.

There is an important consideration that was missed by not actually looking up the text being quoted and studying it.  If you read it over it is not God making a promise.  It is David the king saying that he had not seen any such thing.

First consider the life of David and what you know about it.  When he says he has never seen the righteous forsaken that does not mean they were never persecuted.  Think about how many times Saul tried to kill David.  Remember him hiding in the cave.  Think of his son rebelling and driving him out of Jerusalem.  He was persecuted but he was not forsaken.  That would be consistent with the teaching of the New Testament.  

(2Co 4:9 KJV)  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

As for begging for bread.  If you have time look at chapters 20 and 21 of I Samuel.  David was on the run from Saul and stopped at the tabernacle.  He and his men were hungry.  He asked, or begged, for bread.  After telling a few lies and pressing his luck he was given the shewbread.  Not only would I call this begging but I would point out that the bread was consecrated and he was not supposed to eat it.  

The first issue I have an answer for, the second, not yet.  Maybe you do.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-273: Sweat vs Effort

As I sat listening to a CD of a very talented lady playing hymns and choruses, I am reveling in the way in which she is conveying her love of God.  When I hear this kind of thing, I sometimes wonder if I could’ve ever achieved that, if I had just been more focused and disciplined.  I assume I will never know because I am not focused or disciplined.

Is the glory that she is conveying the result of talent, or gifts or is it the results of discipline and sweat?  In reality, I’m sure it’s both.  We all know people that have a lot of talent but they don’t put in the effort to develop that talent.  I think of one young man, who was incredibly talented on the piano, and could play by ear just about anything he heard, but was limited by the fact that he never practiced and or disciplined himself to learn the really hard things.

On the other hand, I have heard people who have played guitar or piano, or some other instrument who do a yeoman’s job at conveying what the music says.  They serve.  They bless others.  They never achieve the heights of talent that some people have just by nature.

What joys do we miss simply because we are not willing to push ourselves and discipline ourselves in a certain area?  It could be music as I’ve been relating.  It could be in sports.  It could be in mechanical ability.  It could be in writing books.  What lessons have we missed simply because we don’t have focus and discipline?

One of my hopes is that in eternity we will not only have the time but we will have the opportunity to give it another go.  I hope the removal from the sinful world will also give us the discipline and focus.  I want to be able to sit down at a piano and bless the angels.

I won’t force you to listen.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-272: Questions Welcomed

I just got through writing about God and feelings, specifically his feelings.  I wondered if I had crossed over into heresy.  That brought to mind another thought.  I think God enjoys our asking difficult questions.

Some people are afraid to ask questions.  Some people quake at the idea of having a contrary opinion.  It’s not that way with God.  He is very secure in who He is, and created us to be curious and creative ourselves, a reflection of Him.

I think God really enjoys when we ask genuine, sincere questions.  They don’t even need to be well thought out.  It could be just shooting from the hip, or off the shelf, or off the top of our head.  I think God loves it, that we are free to interact with Him.

If I am wrong you might want to invest in a lightening rod.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-271: Feelings Source

I’m wondering if one of the roles that we have in creation is to supply a pool of emotions for Almighty God.  I’m not sure where or if I’m crossing into heresy here, but I wonder if one of the reasons God wants us around is because He feels because of us.

I was thinking about God being filled with sorrow, and I thought well, maybe God doesn’t feel sorrow, but He does feel wrath.  We know that.  Then I got to thinking about how it seems to me that God feels sympathy for us, empathy, sorrow, rejection, and so forth.  The only target He would have for these feelings is humanity.

Creation itself is inanimate; it is not responsible for what it does.  It does not have free will.  It cannot respond.  It cannot feel.  Nebulas don’t repent and ask for forgiveness.  When a star goes supernova it does not feel remorse.  Black holes don’t feel pain.  Human beings do all of those things.  In some way that I don’t really want to approach, God is enriched by interacting with us.

Sounds like heresy when we’re talking about the sovereign God.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-270: The Invisible Teleprompter

I watched the debate last night.  I didn’t really want to because my mind is made up and I know who the candidates are.  But as somebody said, “I watched it so you wouldn’t have to.”  Actually, I watched it because I wanted to be able to ignore the spin that everybody else wants to put on it.

If I were an alien from outer space, and we’re simply evaluating what I saw with no background, no knowledge and living in a bubble, I would give Harris the win.  But I do know the background.  I do have a memory.  I am reasonably intelligent.  That makes me a bit hesitant to give her advantage in reality.

What I noticed about both candidates is that neither one of them answered the questions.  Some of the questions were actually decent.  The problem was that there was no follow up and no holding the feet to the fire.  Take the simple question about whether people were better off than they were four years ago.  That is a hard question with an easy answer or an easy question with a hard answer.  For Harris it was a good question with no answer.  I believe she went off on her values again.  What?  How did she get there?

With that I am ready to suggest that, although there was no Teleprompter on the stage, Harris had one built in.  She obviously had prepared.  Her speeches were ready to go.  They was well rehearsed.  She had worked on her facial expressions, her eyes, her mouth, her smiles and gestures.  All of it was worked out very carefully ahead of time and memorized perfectly.  This is clear and should have been a problem, because none of her answers had anything to do with the questions she was asked, but the answers were free-flowing, eloquent and repeating the Democrat sound bites.

It is as she had a Teleprompter but we couldn’t see it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-269: The hour of the 11th

We have a lot of dates that stand out in our minds.  In the positive sense we have birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Easter, the day you got your first kiss.  Use your imagination.  Dates have a lot of positive meetings

They also have negative meetings.  December 7.  October 7.  And today we remember September 11.  It is good to pause, and remember in many ways.  If you knew someone who was killed or maimed on these dates, you might want to remember them either by making a phone call if they still survive or just offering up a prayer for their eternal condition.

We also want to be grateful that we have survived these dates so far.  But as we’re being grateful, we need to remember.  We need to call to mind what actually happened and filter out the spin the America haters and put on these things.  On September 11 it was hard to find anyone who was not shocked and concerned.  Actually that’s not an accurate statement.  Remember that in much of the world people were dancing in the streets and celebrating the attack on the great Satan.  Remember that in this country there were people joining that celebration.

My feeling is that these are the same people that were celebrating on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel.  While much of the world is filled with horror at the attack on people attending a peace concert, the same people who danced in the streets on September 11 we’re at it again.  And of course the same people were calling for peace when Israel responded.

Don’t just remember what you think you remember.  Make sure you don’t except what you remember by the presentations at the media.  Check your facts.  Check your memory.  Check with your friends.  We are in danger of being overcome by the same people who deny the Jewish holocaust.  There are people who are not ashamed to show their face in public, who claim that it never happened.  Keep in mind that there are evil people around you; that there are people who lie around you.  There are people around you who are just waiting for the evil to come for you.

So remember.  While you are Remembering, don’t forget to be as prepared and alert as you possibly can.  December 7 was not the last time America and Americans were attacked.  September 11 is not the last time either.

May God encourage you and give blessings to your soul.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-268: On the Street: Bad Luck

We all know about black cats crossing our path.  I am wondering if a centipede crossing your path is also bad luck.

I was walking along, minding my own business, and suddenly I noticed this long stringy black thing hustling across the pavement in front of me.  I realized it was a centipede.  I had a momentary urge to stomp it, but I refrained.  I have this covenant with God‘s creation.  When crazy creatures are active and they’re being crazy in their world, I leave them alone.  You may question the food chain, but it exists.  Centipedes may just be eating mosquitoes. but I’ll leave them alone.

When they intrude in my part of the world, all bets are off.  That is when having big feet can pay off.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-267: Yes, You Can

As I was reading in Psalms, I came across a passage that seemed to imply the free will of man.

(Psa 36:9-10 KJV)  For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.  O continue thy lovingkindness unto them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.

For those of you who are concerned about salvation, coming through grace from God and not from our own works, you will find verse 9 encouraging.   It is very clear that David considers God as the source of his salvation and his “life”.

On the other hand, look at to whom He is extending that salvation.  Notice that it is people who know Him, people who have His righteousness in their hearts.  Now, if they need God’s “fountain of life” extended towards them, then there is still a lack.  But if God is extending it towards those who are already seeking it, free will is very important.

Nothing can water down the truth, that we cannot deserve our own salvation.  There is nothing that we can do within our power, except for trusting and obey, to make ourselves sin free.  Only Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross could offer up a sufficient price for our sin.  That concept is a done deal and is consistent through scripture.

But what I also see consistent through scripture, but widely denied by theologians of all camps, is this idea that there can be a desire for the things of God that comes from my heart, and not just from the gift of faith.  I believe that Psalms at least teaches that we can have a desire for the things of God on our own initiative.  What I am seeing is that some people are, by their own choice, inclined toward evil, and some people are inclined toward righteousness.

Feel free to disagree.  If you disagree, you have to somehow work out these two verses.  You also need to go back to the beginning of the Psalm where David goes into great detail about the planning that goes into the evil that surrounds us.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-266: Change of Perspective

I wonder if eternity will give us a totally different insight into the sacrifice that Jesus made by becoming a man.  In one sense that is a rhetorical question.  It is obvious that we will have deeper insight.  We will have greater knowledge.  We will have an expanded ability to understand.

My thinking though is that we will understand on a level where we can’t even begin to comprehend the level.  While that will be exciting on an intellectual and emotional level, it is even more desirable when you think about how that will allow us to love Him even more.

We have no comprehension of what eternity will be like.  I say that in an excited way.  We can comprehend our incomprehension, if you know what I mean.  If you don’t know what I mean, then you’re not begining to comprehend.  It will be glorious in a way that will bring new sensibilities and awareness.  We may see new colors and hear new sounds.  We may become aware of emotions that we never dreamed were possible.  Just the reality of being in the presence of the Almighty, and not being consumed in a flash of ash, is rather incredible.

I’m old enough to be ready.  I’m old enough to have seen most of the glory that this life can give.  I am quite ready to enjoy my grandchildren and my children for a good while.  I am ready to go out to dinner with family and friends, and to go to church and worship with my brothers and sisters there.  In other words, I’m not necessarily ready to go, but I am ready to go.  I wait for the coming years with anticipation.  My hope is that I will go quickly, possibly in my sleep, after a big family Christmas.  But then again, that’s probably just selfish on my part because it might leave everyone else feeling a little down.

But, I am ready. I hope you are too.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-265: Ear or Mouth?

It’s interesting that interacting with some people tends to stimulate your mind, wake you up, and make your productive.  Other people act like a fog of torpor which does nothing but deaden your senses.

How much of the reaction is the listener’s problem and how much should you lay on the speaker.

I know some people who will take an hour to answer a simple 30 second question and often still miss the point.  Often I can take one of those monologues and, if I wanted to take the time, compare it with what I have already heard several times.  If you had it typed out and could delete the duplications you might end up with a couple of incomplete sentences.  If you don’t know what I am talking about either you are one of those people, you never listen or you are incredibly blessed.

I also know that sometimes my mind wanders.  I go into the conversation with certain expectations and make sure that they are fulfilled.  

And it is possible that there are some people that you have a built-in antipathy towards.  It may be based on past experiences that need to be overcome.  It may be on a deeper level that defies understanding.  

Seek out people that challenge you.  Seek to be a person who challenges.  I find that with my questionable memory it helps to only talk about things that have happened since I last saw the other person.  That keeps me from being the one who is a walking looped recording.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-264: Election Prayer

Sunday it was announced that at church that November 3, instead of the regular Sunday school class we, would be having a prayer breakfast in regard to the coming election.  The plan is to start with something light to eat and then spend the rest of the time in various expressions of prayer and calling on God for his intervention.

I just thought I would write and share that with you and suggested perhaps you might take that idea to your church and suggest the same thing.  Maybe you are already planning it.  Although elections are important and we believe in the rule of law and the republican form of government, we believe even more in the God of the universe.  It was suggested that it might be a good idea not to wait for the 3rd to start praying.

National renewal depends upon spiritual revival. Join us.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-263: Election 2024: Tips

I am hearing repeated references to Trump’s proposal to exempt the tips of waiters and waitresses from the income tax.  I think that’s probably a decent idea, not because servers deserve a special break, but because anything that reduces the tax burden is a good thing.

However, his promise or his desire is stillborn, or will be stillborn, if we cannot elect people to Congress who will pass the legislation for his signature.  That is why the primaries were so important, but we are past that now.  We are now down to the general election.  It is not just important that we elect a president.  It is vitally important that we elect a Congress that also cares about the American people and the Republic.

That automatically rules out the Democrats.  I wouldn’t actually deny that there might be a worthy Democrat out there somewhere but the odds of finding him are very slim.  I will admit that the Republicans in many cases are not much better.  However, slightly better is more desirable than overwhelmingly worse.

So make sure that you vote down the tickets.  Try to find out who in your state is on the right side.  The hard ones will be the judges, county officials, and city councils.  We need a clean sweep.  Just selecting a man at the top, assuming we can overcome the cheating, will not do it.  We need change all the way down.

Since real Americans can’t vote often, make sure that you vote early.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-262: Noah Law

According to the apostle Paul, the purpose of the law was to show us what righteousness was, and what sin was.

(Rom 3:31 KJV)  Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

(Rom 7:7 KJV)  What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.

This is in the middle of a long discussion of the law.  I am simplifying so don’t take this to the bank as a proof text.

Now, hold that thought and go back to the time of Noah, in Genesis 6.  This is centuries before Moses was given the law.  Technically there was no law to break.  Ask yourself how was mankind being judged as evil if there was no law by which to measure?  How can people be judged by God if they don’t know what is the difference between right and wrong?

I think my conclusion would be that people and their inner man make a decision which direction they’re going to go.  You see this kind of thinking all through Psalms and Proverbs, two books I am currently spending more time reading than any other part of the Bible.  I realize they are written after God gave the law to Moses and before the sending of the Holy Spirit but I find verses like this,

(Pro 4:16 KJV)  For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.

This is more than original sin or the sinful nature.  This is a conscious decision to embrace evil and advance it.  This is bigger than the law.

When we talk about law there are two important statements that must be considered.  The first was the statement of Jesus when he said that he did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill the law.

(Mat 5:17 KJV)  Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

The second, mentioned earlier, was when Paul told us that the law was there to show us the boundaries, but that we were not saved my following that law.

If you put these together, it makes you wonder if the concept of fulfilling the law means that the laws are now moving from being legalistic statutes to being moral principles.

Recently when I was on a road trip I drove through some mountainous terrain.  I was not on the Interstate so the pavement followed the contour of the ground along the path that the cows used to travel to get back to the barn.  The road was probably first paved when Model T’s were the common mode of transportation.  They were graded flat.  Some wise person who did little driving decided that the curve required a 35 MPH speed limit and put up a sign to enforce it.  At the time it made sense:  Marginal grading, slippery surfaces, poor suspension and new drivers could combine to deliver death and destruction.  It was the law and to disobey was a recipe for disaster.  

Move forward 100 years.  The road has been regraded.  The surface has been improved.  You car has the suspension for the Indy 500 and you have been practicing spin outs in your dad’s car for years.  The sign still says 35 MPH.  The hill is still the same.  The laws of physics have not changed.  Also, I guess the local cop could still give you a ticket for going 40.  That law needs to be fulfilled not destroyed.  The principle however still is as real as ever.

This concept of principle vs statute would not apply to clear moral laws such as theft and adultery.  They are fulfilled because the Holy Spirit has us acting that way.  Other laws such as the sacrificial system, diet and rules for gardening are in a different category.

Is there a danger here?  Obviously.  We tend to push as far as we think we can get away with.  I took the curves at 60 MPH and lived to tell about it.  The fulfillment comes from having the Holy Spirit give us guidance and living in obedience.  The example in Matthew is in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount.  Many people say that is an impossible expectation.  I would say they might want to put a little confidence in the Spirit and walk with Him.

Thoughts and speculations for working out what seems to be a conflict.  I don’t require you to agree but I would request that you put away your branding irons reserved for heretics.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-261: You Have to Be There

Honestly, I think that most of the world would consider me unbalanced and crazy.  We have a family in our church with a granddaughter on hospice at 30 years of age.  Her husband and three young children are watching her die.  I am praying for healing.  I am praying for restoration.  I’m ready for God to say, “No.”

I think the world can understand that in a sense, but what they can’t understand, is the sense of peace and hope that I have in the midst of this.  I feel this in a very real way, because I have a daughter and grandchildren that are close to that in age.  The thought of losing them tears me up inside.  And yet I know that in the face of that there is still a real peace and a real hope that is based in the promise of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Call me unbalanced.  Call me, I denier.  Call me anything you want.  The hope is still there.  I would prefer that the hope would turn into a providential miracle, but as Jesus said, in the garden, “...nevertheless, Thy will be done.”  If was good enough for Jesus facing a cross it’s good enough for me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-260: Headlines: The Horn of Africa

One of the sites I check to hear what is happening in the world is called The Wire.  I subscribed on You Tube.  It gives a daily update that lasts from 2 to 8 minutes.  It often covers things that are downplayed by the other news sources.

This morning he touched on the rising tension between Ethiopia and Somalia.  It seems Egypt has sent troops to Somalia for “war games” and Ethiopia is reinforcing their border.  I’m hearing all kinds of reasons and rationales.  What I’m not hearing is the possible religious difference.

Somalia is Muslim.  Ethiopia, at least historically, has been Christian.  I realize that religion is not the only source of conflict in Africa but it seems like it might be one of the elements.

I did a quick scan of other news clickbait sites and could find no mention of the conflict.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-259: Barriers to Survival

When I look at the state of the country and wonder if we are going to live through all of this there are three things that I am concerned about.

The first is the utter determination of the elites to either win or destroy the country.  Actually, I think their purpose is to destroy the country and there is nothing they will not do to drag it down.  They consider winning the end of American excellence.  They hate western culture.  They hate Christianity.  They even hate people.  They hate liberty.  They will sit and cackle over the flames as they burn the culture down.

Second is the large number of people who seem totally ignorant of what’s going on.  They don’t see, they don’t hear, and they certainly won’t talk about it.  I really can’t understand how people don’t see the danger of declaring anything you disagree with as hate speech and making it a category to be persecuted.

The third group would be those who see, and understand, but don’t care about it.  They figure they will be above it.  They figure won’t touch them.  They don’t have any strong convictions that are at risk.  We have a growing group of self-centered, narcissistic individuals, who think that they are about all of this.  So why get excited?

Will there be enough of us who believe in the rule of law, genuine justice based on that law being equally applied and unchanging truth involving moral issues?  I will continue to look for places to speak up and make a difference.  Maybe if enough join in the republic will revive.

The time to get serious about prayer is now not when the storm troopers from the alphabet agencies show up at your door or your child comes home from college with pink hair and tattoos.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-258: Know Your Place

In the course of my wandering mind this morning my father’s death came back to me.  It was the first time that anyone had died that really shook me.  I had known people who committed suicide.  I had known people who died in Vietnam.  I had a friend who died of leukemia as he was preparing to be a missionary doctor.  We have friends who had lost a baby minutes before it was born.  I was not a stranger to death.

My father‘s death was somehow different.  I remember going down the street and noticing that the rest of the world was going on just as it always had.  I felt like stopping and screaming at people.  I wanted to ask them, “Don’t you know what just happened?”  I didn’t do that, but I wanted to for quite a while.  The center of my world, in a sense, that come apart, and I wondered why everybody else didn’t care.

The reason my wandering mind went there this morning was I was struggling with the concept of God relating to Israel as a nation as opposed to God relating to individuals in the plan of salvation.  As a nation, God could punish the entire body of people with dire consequences.  On the other hand our eternal salvation is one-on-one.  It is us and Jesus.  It is up to us where we spend forever.

This gives me insight into the God  I love and serve.  On the one hand, He is capable of keeping the entire universe going.  We have supernovas taking place.  Scientist think there are such things as black holes.  At the same time, this God is concerned about me and His Holy Spirit acts as a Comforter, a Helper, the Paraklete.  He is at the reaches of eternity, and at the same time He’s giving me individual attention in my heart.

And both go on at the same time.  What happens to me does not really matter to the Andromeda galaxy.  I could die tomorrow and it would not affect the red spot on Jupiter.  At the same time I am important to Him.  He will give me that individual attention that is not based on my narcissism, but upon His love.  The universe will go on, no matter what happens to me.  Life will continue no matter who wins the election and what the actual results are.  America may fall. Communism may triumph for a while.  But I am still a child of God and citizen of eternity.

Nothing can change that, even the big bang.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-257: Blessing the Hands

As I sat worshiping this morning, it came to me to put on a certain CD that had been made by the pianist at our church.  She made it maybe 20 years ago when she was at the height of her talent and expressing her gift.  It’s all piano music.  I’m told that she went through the entire disk of 20 some songs, and only had to redo one of them.  That was because the motorcycle went by and broke through the soundproofing.  It is a glorious worship experience.

That made me think of all the different people, known and unknown who contribute to my worship experience.  I think of the unknown hands that went into making my Bible, assembling, my iPod, picking and packing my coffee beans.  What about the chair that I sit in?  Those are the unknown hands.  Then there are the people who have gone into making the room I sit in.  I am sure I have said this before but it keeps coming back to me.  You can go on and on, and they will never know how grateful you are.

Above all there is the presence and guidance of the Holy Spirit as He continues to remind me of the glory of God.  He reminds me of what it cost Jesus to become a man, walk the path, die on the cross, and come back to life.  What a glorious heritage we have.  What a solid foundation for coming into the presence of God.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-256: The Value of Focus

I just finished reading the Old Testament book of Isaiah.  What makes it worthy of note to me is that it was a focused read.  By “focused” I mean that I was really trying to pay attention as I read.  When I was a child and in a Bible reading contest I would “read” in a way that was really skimming or scanning.  Retention was not on the list of priorities.  I still find myself doing that with books that I want to finish quickly or if my mind wanders.  

It is a much more interesting experience when you are paying attention.

I remember from my college and seminary days that the scholars we today might call “woke” were talking about Deutro-Isaiah and even Trito-Isaiah.  They claimed that they had discovered something that the original Hebrew speakers had missed:  Isaiah was not written by Isaiah but by three different authors.  I would guess that there are other scholars out there who are extending the list to many more than three.  Keep in mind that scholars must publish and they get more publicity when they make startling discoveries.  Also keep in mind that their scholarship starts from the point of view that the Bible is the product of primitive, ignorant, superstitious, mud-hut dwellers who need modern, cultured, educated paragons to clarify what they said.  They also assume that they, as enlightened moderns, have a better idea of what God wanted to say than the Holy Spirit could produce.

I enjoyed the journey through Isaiah.  It helps when you pay attention.  I can see how someone who is a pagan in Christian clothing and needing his name on a book cover could come up with more than one author.  There is a different flavor to different parts of the book.  That is the nature of real authors.  They tend to write different when they have a headache than when they are at the cusp of health.  Picture accusing your Grandmother of not making the casserole because it tastes different than it did last week.  I guess these scholars are fortunate that God does not carry a cast iron skillet to apply to the side of their head.

Reading Isaiah reinforced some of my reservations about prophecy.  I remain convinced that much of prophecy was not meant for us to understand 2,000 years later.  I would even guess that Isaiah had the locals scratching their heads much of the time.  Layered in the sandwich of glorious word pictures and literary devices where some good lessons and some prophecy that is clearly applicable.  The amusing thing is that some of the things that would have been a mystery to them in ancient Israel have become clear to us today.

My plan is to now read through it again and maybe do a deeper dive.  That is my intent.  I hope it does not end up in the freezer with the leftovers from Grandma’s casserole.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-255: Bumpers and Plates: Makes You Wonder

Seen on a Jeep I was following, “Not all who wander are lost.”

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-254: The Canaanites Among Us

I was raised to turn the other cheek.  I was raised with the Biblical idea, found in the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal.  I was raised to give people the benefit of the doubt.  I’m finding it harder and harder to adhere to that standard.

I’m beginning to think that the Canaanites have been resurrected.  If you look at the Old Testament, you see how God told Israel to at least drive out, and in many cases totally destroy the Canaanites, who lived in the promised land.  There was a reason for that.  It was because of the consummate evil that was part of their culture.  Not only was it part of their culture, but it summarized their culture.  In addition to all the aspects of general pagan practices, they were also very committed to the concept of child sacrifice.  And it wasn’t just child sacrifice as we would look at abortion.  It was taking a living baby and placing them in a heated cauldron to burn to death.

Today’s culture models one side of the divide that is rapidly approaching that point, if they have not already crossed the line.  It is impossible for those of us raised as Christians, or as Americans in a basically Christian culture, to grasp the evil that is going on around us.  At the base level it is out and out lying.  When is the last time you read a newspaper article about anything controversial that you felt you could believe?  When was the last time that you heard politicians speak the truth?  From general lying the lies move on to specifically undermine everything of value.

When we had just one or two in our midst we had special names for them.  We called them “psychopaths”. Or “sociopaths”.  Or we just considered them some kind of mental deviant that didn’t understand how to function in our culture.  We locked them up to make the rest of society safe.  Now they are main stream.  Now I’m afraid we call them Democrats.  If we want to be more inclusive, we call them Progressives.  In reality they are Canaanites.  They are evil.

Does that mean that every member of the Democratic Party is totally and irrevocably evil?  No, there are some that are so ignorant or so isolated that they don’t understand what’s going on.  I think of abortion.  I’ve seen the sonograms.  I’ve also seen the body parts.  I’ve watched two of my children to be born.  I know what is in the womb.  I taught human development in my science classes.  I showed students the copy of Life magazine, which had pictures of the developing babies and pointed out to them at the end that each and every one of those developing babies was the result of an abortion.  It is really hard not to be aware, but some people manage.

Is ignorance evil?  Not if you’re talking about what your wife wants for Christmas.  Not if you’re wondering whether you should order medium or medium well.  But if you are choosing presidential candidates, who are in favor of murdering babies, bringing back communistic pricing of groceries, wanting to disarm America, open borders, censorship and a myriad of other positions, then yes, you at least make it to the semifinals.

Pray that God intervenes so that the Canaanite solution is not necessary.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-253: Texas Vocabulary

I really don’t know if they say this anywhere else in the country, but I get this phrase from people when I go shopping.  Instead of saying “Have a nice day”, they say “Have a blessed day.”  I am determined to adopt that greeting.

As I sit here, thinking of my blessings and thanking God for all of the wonderful surroundings he has given me I sometimes get touched by a little bit of guilt.  You may have experienced this.  You look at how good you have it, and realize that it is so much better than most of the world, or most of history for that matter.  You feel guilty.

What have I done to deserve living in an air-conditioned house in Texas with a view across the valley and plenty of food in the refrigerator?  What have I done?  I will admit my wife and I made some good choices but so did many others.  How am I better or more deserving than someone living hand mouth in a Third World country?

The simple answer is nothing and I’m not.  I have not earned it.  I do not deserve it.  And that’s the glory of the blessing.  All of this wonder is because of the gifts of God.  I don’t need to second-guess Him.  I don’t need to be overcome with inadequacies.  What I need to do is thank Him and know that tomorrow is as much in His hand as today is.

I honestly believe in my heart that if things go south in our country, if the economy crashes, if the communist overlords take over and force us into camps, I will still be able to praise my God.  I honestly believe that even in that situation, I will be able to reach out to Him and He will meet me at the point that my reach stops.  It won’t be as comfortable as it is now.  I would not enjoy it as much as I do now.  But I will still bask in the presence of Almighty God.  The Holy Spirit will still be the Comforter.  I can still recite. “the Lord is my Shepherd.”

I hope it never happens.  I hope I never have to test it.  But I have the hope if it does.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-252: Precious Memories

Will our memory in eternity be perfect or selective?  If it is perfect, will all of the fog and distortion be removed so that we see everything with clarity?  That could be very painful, let alone embarrassing.  If it is selective, what is the criteria?

I believe that there are reservoirs within us.  Those reservoirs contain buried treasure, and to be honest, dead frogs.  There are many things that I will celebrate remembering.  There are many things that I don’t want to admit happened.

In this day and age as we get older and die later, dementia and mental problems become a real issue.  We look at loss of memory as a tragedy.  It can be if we forget who our grandchildren are.  It can be if we forget things that are treasures in our life.  At the same time we are probably able to forget some of our worst moments.  I don’t think I’m there yet, so I’m not sure how this works.  Some people may totally dispute this and say that they remember their failures with great clarity, and wonder if they were ever successful at anything.

As anything I ever say, having to do with eternity, I fall back on the belief that whatever God has for us is going to be so more glorious than what we have now that we won’t even recognize where we come from.  I picture harmony with 100 parts.  I picture delectable delights with no health issues.  I picture scintillating arguments with no anger and possibly no resolution.

There are times when I can hardly wait, but God says I have to.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-251: The Glory of Hard Times

One of the great things about hard times or what we face now, the unknown, is that it gives us the opportunity to decide which way our hearts are going to go.

Are we going to give into despair?  Are we going to surrender to the defeatist attitude?

Or, are we going to continue to glorify our God and look to eternity?

We get to decide.  God is not going to change.  We don’t know how He’s going to work things out but we can decide whether we are going to live in despair or hope.

The choice may not change anything in our surrounding world, but it will change the way in which we interact with our environment.  One of the great truths of life is our attitude towards what is around us affects how that surrounding deals with us.  It’s a mystery.  It doesn’t make sense.  It does make a difference.  I think of the old story about two shoe salesmen who went to the South Seas island where the locals all went barefoot.  The first salesman wired back, “This is a hopeless situation. No one here where is shoes.”  His replacement got all excited and sent word back, “Send more shoes.  No one here has any.”

An old story, but an even older reality in our lives.

Live in hope if you know Jesus.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-250: Tradition

One of the traps that we can fall into has to do with tradition.  Much of what we believe, declare and practice is based more on tradition than actual truth.  This applies to both the Bible and the Constitution.  That can be a problem or it can be a blessing.

Some tradition is simply taking old habits and rituals and continuing to apply them because that was how it was always done.  This does not have to be evil but it can be if it replaces the clear teaching of scripture.  Tradition in a good sense does not conflict with what the Bible says; it enhances it.

Other traditions are made up out of whole cloth.  They have no substance behind them and again they can be either beneficial or damaging depending on how they’re applied and how much you build using them as a foundation.  Traditions should be decorative and enhancing not foundational.

Then there are those traditions which are clearly the manipulation of carnal men try to make the Bible say what they wanted to say.  These are the traditions that Jesus spoke out against.  These are the traditions that Paul responded to.  We need to be careful about these kind of conditions because the odds are that they have nothing to do with the Bible and in fact are often contrary to what the Bible teaches.

Let me say it again, our foundations and our theology should be based on the clear teachings of scripture not the interpretations of theologians or scholars or, worst of all, heretics.  When it comes to the Constitution you can substitute “lawyers” for “heretics”.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-249: Honing Your Brain Palate

I was enjoying my oatmeal this morning and being thankful for the presence of honey in it.  I realized that this was rather mundane and ordinary, compared to being thankful for the incarnation, and the crucifixion, and the resurrection and so forth.  Yes, it was still gratitude at the blessings God gives.

From there my mind went to how do I tell the difference between the honey and the artificial sweeteners I have used which are made up of chemicals and additives.  When all I had were the chemicals in additives, it was quite adequate.  Once I went to the honey, I could tell the difference.

This brought to mind the old illustration of how do you bank tellers know the difference between genuine money and counterfeit bills.  The answer was not that they knew all of the attributes of counterfeit money, but they knew what the real thing felt like.  So much of our life we fall short in because we have never experienced the real thing.

To be honest, some people never can experience the real thing.  I think of how taste buds are actually different, how some people taste bitter, and others taste nothing.  We even taste sweets differently.  It is literally a genetic difference.  There is nothing they can do about it.  Then you have limitations like bad eyes.  Some people can correct their vision totally either with glasses or some type of surgery.  Others like myself have a bad eye which is just a bad eye there is nothing to do about it.  You learn to live with it.  You’re aware of the problem but you get on with life.

In many areas, we can develop an awareness of the differences.  I think of politics.  The elites that try to manipulate our thinking, and are doing everything they can to destroy the country know exactly what to tell us.  They know how to get inside our minds and warp are thinking.  If we are not alert and aware they can do a very good job.  The best antithesis to phony thinking is being aware of the real thing.  The many different branches that lies can take can never be kept up with.  However, if you have actually read the Constitution, then you know when they are feeding you bogus nonsense.

I find the same true when it comes to such phrases as “Islam is a religion of peace.”  That sounds really good.  People want to believe it.  You can quote the Quran in such a way as to make it sound like that’s what it teaches.  However, if you have read the entire Quran, you find that is a nonsense statement.  When you know the real thing, it’s hard for the lies to sneak by you.  It can still happen.  We need to stay awake and keep our boloney meters turned on.  But we can tell the difference.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-248: Differences

The first place that it really came home to me that everyone is different was when I was in the early stages of admitting I was diabetic.  I saw how diabetes strikes different people in different ways, and often it seems to have nothing to do with what they have actually practiced.  Obviously, there is a correlation between lifestyle and type 2 diabetes.  At the same time, for reasons I certainly can’t figure out, two people can do the same things and have different results.

Where that is coming home to me currently has to do with answers to prayer.  Some people are healed.  Some people aren’t.  We recently had a man in our church who went through triple bypass surgery.  He is the picture of fitness.  Slender, active, walking 45 minutes today, and yet, one of his arteries what is 100% clogged.  Go figure.  He survived and is doing well.

Where this is leading is the thought that crossed my mind that these kinds of differences reflect upon the nature of God.  God is not a machine where you punch a button and get a candy bar.  According to the Bible, He is a living being.  He feels anger.  He feels disappointment.  I think He experiences the gamut of emotions.  That means that He is free to respond to us as individuals based upon what He says needs to happen.  We don’t have the big picture.  He does. We don’t have the final word.  He does.  We are not God.  HE is.  Yes.

homo unius libri