Daily Java: The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.
His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory. (Psalm 97:1-6)
What a picture. The presence of the Lord as so great and powerful that the elements melt in his presence.
The coming of the Lord is shown the same way in 2 Peter 3:11-12 when Peter writes, Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
This is a powerful God, one who is no one to mess around with.
It is in total contrast to the god that so many worship, the one who would worry about the kind of car we drive, or whether or not we eat meat, or any of the million little trivial things we want him to buy into.
He is not a God that buys into anything just because we decide he should support it. He is God, the one who made heaven and earth and created man to have dominion over it.
That isn’t to say that this mighty, all-powerful God doesn’t care about the small things. I think it is accurate that he would be at least somewhat touched by our destroying his world. But, on the other hand, he made a world that will recover. No world made by the hand of the all-powerful God would be so fragile that a few people could wreck it in a few years.
And besides, Jesus said that his kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). His kingdom transcends the things of this world; it is above them.
His kingdom is about the souls and hearts of mankind, about our very lives. He made us to worship him, not serve the planet. He made us to sing his praises, not the praises of vegetarianism.
No problem with being concerned with any of these nor with taking them as inmportant. But they are not his mission.
Jesus came, Luke 19:10 says, to seek and to save what was lost. He came to bring us back to God, not to save this temporary world. This planet, our food, everything else was meant to be temporary, not permanent.
It was designed to serve us, not us to serve it.
When God gets ready, he will destroy it and make something better. It will melt before him.
What a day that will be.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
forgiveness
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:36-38)
I just read an account of a man who witnessed the execution of the third member of the gang that raped and murdered his daughter 20 years ago.
Three trips to the execution chamber in Huntsville, TX.
It mentioned the other two trips he had made and how each time the prisoner about to be executed apologized. He told them to stick it. No way would he accept an apology.
I remember a few years ago, a woman was executed for a crime she had committed as a young woman. She had become a Christian in the decades since, but she still one day came up for execution. She went to her death understanding that she had to pay, and asking for forgiveness. There was a lot of people outside that were praying for her to have the sentence commuted. She had been a Christian and active in it for a long time. She even led praise in her worship assembly.
But there was also a group outside calling for her death.
When the family was asked, their comment was, we have waited a long time and she deserves it. We will not accept an apology and we do not accept the fact that she could have changed.
She died a free woman. They watched her die as people enslaved to anger and bitterness. Some of them remarked that they would never be free of the bitterness. They would always be enslaved.
In Les Miserables, the main character had stolen and was put in jail. When he got out he stole again from a priest who forgave him and allowed him to keep that which he had taken. He came to another town and became a leading citizen off the wealth he had stolen. But he realized the grace the priest had given him and he changed. He realized he had done wrong and became giving and caring, one that the town (who didn’t know his past) grew to love.
In the end, the policeman that had hunted for him for so long could not accept the evidence in front of his eyes that the man had changed. He could see he had changed, he heard the testimony of the townspeople, yet in his heart he did not think people could do so. There was a disconnect there that he could not reconcile.
The policeman finally killed himself because of the war within his mind.
The prisoner who dies while within the grace of God is free. The people who were wronged and clamor for his death, jubilantly watching it, are enslaved.
This is not to say that the death penalty should be abolished. I believe that it is a massive deterrent to crime when used right.
But I know this. Things have happened to me in my life and I understand the man’s perspective. Unless we forgive, we will die enslaved.
Jesus looked down at people who were killing them and asked God to forgive them. How can we do any less?
I just read an account of a man who witnessed the execution of the third member of the gang that raped and murdered his daughter 20 years ago.
Three trips to the execution chamber in Huntsville, TX.
It mentioned the other two trips he had made and how each time the prisoner about to be executed apologized. He told them to stick it. No way would he accept an apology.
I remember a few years ago, a woman was executed for a crime she had committed as a young woman. She had become a Christian in the decades since, but she still one day came up for execution. She went to her death understanding that she had to pay, and asking for forgiveness. There was a lot of people outside that were praying for her to have the sentence commuted. She had been a Christian and active in it for a long time. She even led praise in her worship assembly.
But there was also a group outside calling for her death.
When the family was asked, their comment was, we have waited a long time and she deserves it. We will not accept an apology and we do not accept the fact that she could have changed.
She died a free woman. They watched her die as people enslaved to anger and bitterness. Some of them remarked that they would never be free of the bitterness. They would always be enslaved.
In Les Miserables, the main character had stolen and was put in jail. When he got out he stole again from a priest who forgave him and allowed him to keep that which he had taken. He came to another town and became a leading citizen off the wealth he had stolen. But he realized the grace the priest had given him and he changed. He realized he had done wrong and became giving and caring, one that the town (who didn’t know his past) grew to love.
In the end, the policeman that had hunted for him for so long could not accept the evidence in front of his eyes that the man had changed. He could see he had changed, he heard the testimony of the townspeople, yet in his heart he did not think people could do so. There was a disconnect there that he could not reconcile.
The policeman finally killed himself because of the war within his mind.
The prisoner who dies while within the grace of God is free. The people who were wronged and clamor for his death, jubilantly watching it, are enslaved.
This is not to say that the death penalty should be abolished. I believe that it is a massive deterrent to crime when used right.
But I know this. Things have happened to me in my life and I understand the man’s perspective. Unless we forgive, we will die enslaved.
Jesus looked down at people who were killing them and asked God to forgive them. How can we do any less?
our day has passed
When we were young, we felt that we had life by the tail. When we got older, we realized that we had something by the tail and we were afraid to let go.
The problem is that we boomers seem to have, as one young man put it, a “cultural death grip” on society.
Listen to the music in the stores. It is ours. Listen to the music being used to sell stuff on TV and radio. It is also ours. Our groups drives advertising and just about everything else.
It is no wonder that younger people get irritated with us.
I asked my son one day what music did he thing he would be listening to when he was my age. His response: probably yours.
I am not sure what we have done to our kids, but there is no real culture at their age.
When we were young, we listened to a shared music, had probably the first nationally shared interests in the history of the world. A lot of that was because of television. We could see stuff and could want to become a part of it immediately.
And it was fun.
The Beatles came on Ed Sullivan and we were enthralled. Overnight, schools had to ban Beatle haircuts. We saw protests and heard music and watched a war that we were winning at one time be trashed by news anchors and bought into it all.
But as we got older, especially since there were so many of us, we began to like to remember.
The Toys R Us ad campaign that said, “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys R Us Kid” was right down our alley. People in our age bracket on one hand liked to talk about how old they felt, but on the other hand, didn’t want to grow up. We wanted the age without any of the responsibility. We wanted to be perceived as being older and wiser but didn’t want to act older and wiser.
It was our generation that stopped kids calling adults Mr and Mrs, that stopped kids from acting respectfully towards adults. One way we did that, of course, was by acting like jerks in front of the kids. That is the best way to remove the feeling of respect.
We were young, we were strong, we were physically powerful – then we got older and we can’t seem to acknowledge that. It is weird how many women and men we see in the mall who are dressing just like they did 40 years ago (or how they wished they could have dressed). A generation trapped in perpetual adolescence.
We will get to the retirement homes and the Stones and Beatles will blare out of the speakers, we will sit around and talk about how great it was back in the day. It will be silly.
I suppose, though, no sillier than listening to the same music we have listened to for the past 50 years, playing over and over again on our radios. The singers are getting older and older, dying off one by one, until we just have to admit that the day is gone when we were young.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. The Turtles sang that same thing back in the 60’s. of course, that song will come on again every couple of days on the oldies station, and will put a lie to itself.
Things have to pass. I guess part of the problem is that there is nothing better right now to pass on to. Our society is not particularly fun or good right now. There is no real music outside of Contemporary Christian music that is any good, so we look back, constantly wishing we were young again.
Our day has passed. Another day is waiting to dawn. I wonder what it will be.
The problem is that we boomers seem to have, as one young man put it, a “cultural death grip” on society.
Listen to the music in the stores. It is ours. Listen to the music being used to sell stuff on TV and radio. It is also ours. Our groups drives advertising and just about everything else.
It is no wonder that younger people get irritated with us.
I asked my son one day what music did he thing he would be listening to when he was my age. His response: probably yours.
I am not sure what we have done to our kids, but there is no real culture at their age.
When we were young, we listened to a shared music, had probably the first nationally shared interests in the history of the world. A lot of that was because of television. We could see stuff and could want to become a part of it immediately.
And it was fun.
The Beatles came on Ed Sullivan and we were enthralled. Overnight, schools had to ban Beatle haircuts. We saw protests and heard music and watched a war that we were winning at one time be trashed by news anchors and bought into it all.
But as we got older, especially since there were so many of us, we began to like to remember.
The Toys R Us ad campaign that said, “I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys R Us Kid” was right down our alley. People in our age bracket on one hand liked to talk about how old they felt, but on the other hand, didn’t want to grow up. We wanted the age without any of the responsibility. We wanted to be perceived as being older and wiser but didn’t want to act older and wiser.
It was our generation that stopped kids calling adults Mr and Mrs, that stopped kids from acting respectfully towards adults. One way we did that, of course, was by acting like jerks in front of the kids. That is the best way to remove the feeling of respect.
We were young, we were strong, we were physically powerful – then we got older and we can’t seem to acknowledge that. It is weird how many women and men we see in the mall who are dressing just like they did 40 years ago (or how they wished they could have dressed). A generation trapped in perpetual adolescence.
We will get to the retirement homes and the Stones and Beatles will blare out of the speakers, we will sit around and talk about how great it was back in the day. It will be silly.
I suppose, though, no sillier than listening to the same music we have listened to for the past 50 years, playing over and over again on our radios. The singers are getting older and older, dying off one by one, until we just have to admit that the day is gone when we were young.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. The Turtles sang that same thing back in the 60’s. of course, that song will come on again every couple of days on the oldies station, and will put a lie to itself.
Things have to pass. I guess part of the problem is that there is nothing better right now to pass on to. Our society is not particularly fun or good right now. There is no real music outside of Contemporary Christian music that is any good, so we look back, constantly wishing we were young again.
Our day has passed. Another day is waiting to dawn. I wonder what it will be.
daily java
Daily Java: I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. 3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 6Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. 8 Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. 1 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings. (Romans 16:1-16)
In Romans 16, Paul greets a whole lot of people in the Roman church by name.
I believe the Roman letter was Paul’s idea of systematic theology written before he died and a circular letter like 1 John. I also believe a separate ending was put on each letter depending upon where it went. The letter we have preserved in the Bible was sent to Rome, so we have that record of that church.
That makes sense to me for the simple fact that the writers just plain did not have time to write out that many letters. Since the early church was taught in this way, and since there was no compilation of the Bible until later, all of them, or at least the major churches, received a copy.
For one thing, the ending of the book, from the middle of chapter 15 to the end is different in tone from the rest. It stops being formal and becomes personal.
But one thing kind of comes out to me in this ending. He said hi to a lot of people. But you know there were some he did not say hi to who felt they deserved a “shout-out” since they felt they were prominent people in that church. And they probably got miffed that they were not mentioned.
I have known pastors who, when they were not recognized from the pulpit at a church they visited, would get offended. They felt it their due as a minister of the gospel to be noticed. And they weren’t.
People love to be noticed. I recently had a person become angry when they were not noticed publicly for doing something, and left the church. I suppose I should have commented on it publicly, but there was more than that at stake.
It is a desire to be seen, a desire to be authentic in what you are doing. Or at least, a desire for others to see you as authentic.
In Matthew 23:9-11, Jesus talks about this desire for public recognition. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant.
It is good to notice people for what they do, but a desire to be noticed can easily morph into pride and arrogance. When we do what we do to be noticed, we have lost the point.
The point is to serve God. We are, after all, the servants of a servant. We are assistant servants. If Jesus could do what he did without looking for people to acknowledge him. He knew God saw him so he was fine.
I suppose that I get this from 36 years of ministry and viewing people’s reaction to stuff. Those who were mentioned were pleased to have been and those who were not were probably disappointed that they weren’t.
Of those who were not mentioned there were probably those who were angry because that is human nature. Some overcome it with humility and love, some give in to it and cause trouble in the church.
It is a sad part of the church but true nonetheless.
In Romans 16, Paul greets a whole lot of people in the Roman church by name.
I believe the Roman letter was Paul’s idea of systematic theology written before he died and a circular letter like 1 John. I also believe a separate ending was put on each letter depending upon where it went. The letter we have preserved in the Bible was sent to Rome, so we have that record of that church.
That makes sense to me for the simple fact that the writers just plain did not have time to write out that many letters. Since the early church was taught in this way, and since there was no compilation of the Bible until later, all of them, or at least the major churches, received a copy.
For one thing, the ending of the book, from the middle of chapter 15 to the end is different in tone from the rest. It stops being formal and becomes personal.
But one thing kind of comes out to me in this ending. He said hi to a lot of people. But you know there were some he did not say hi to who felt they deserved a “shout-out” since they felt they were prominent people in that church. And they probably got miffed that they were not mentioned.
I have known pastors who, when they were not recognized from the pulpit at a church they visited, would get offended. They felt it their due as a minister of the gospel to be noticed. And they weren’t.
People love to be noticed. I recently had a person become angry when they were not noticed publicly for doing something, and left the church. I suppose I should have commented on it publicly, but there was more than that at stake.
It is a desire to be seen, a desire to be authentic in what you are doing. Or at least, a desire for others to see you as authentic.
In Matthew 23:9-11, Jesus talks about this desire for public recognition. And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant.
It is good to notice people for what they do, but a desire to be noticed can easily morph into pride and arrogance. When we do what we do to be noticed, we have lost the point.
The point is to serve God. We are, after all, the servants of a servant. We are assistant servants. If Jesus could do what he did without looking for people to acknowledge him. He knew God saw him so he was fine.
I suppose that I get this from 36 years of ministry and viewing people’s reaction to stuff. Those who were mentioned were pleased to have been and those who were not were probably disappointed that they weren’t.
Of those who were not mentioned there were probably those who were angry because that is human nature. Some overcome it with humility and love, some give in to it and cause trouble in the church.
It is a sad part of the church but true nonetheless.
Monday, August 16, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. (Romans 6:18)
When I was in basic training in the army, it was hard. I was tired and sore and pushed almost beyond my ability to do stuff. It didn’t seem worth it at the time.
But when I was through, I was lean and strong and capable of things that I was never capable of before or since. I was fit and in shape big time. I could run long distances, I could do innumerable situps and pushups. My body had, it seemed, no limits.
The suffering I went through in basic training was worth it to make me a fit soldier. When I came home afterwards, I looked good. Tall and straight. One of my friends said I looked like a recruiting poster, I looked so good. My girlfriend was impressed.
I got into power lifting at one time a few years ago. For a while I was sore, but after a period of time, I was strong. The old saying is “no pain, no gain.” It is true. You cannot get anywhere worth going to without some kind of long trip.
You cannot make your body better by coddling it. You have to push it.
Our present sufferings, as the apostle Paul calls it, don’t really have any comparison with what God has in store for us. Sure it is hard here and people do stuff to make it even harder. It seems sometimes like it is a nightmare.
But God says, look at what awaits you. There is glory in eternity for this short time of pushing and suffering.
Life can be terrible at times. But heaven is great. And besides, the knowledge that you are doing something worthwhile with your life makes it good anyway.
You are not just marking time until you get old enough to die. You are gaining a crown. You are not just wandering through a life desert wishing things could be better. You are a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
There is a perspective that Christians have before they go to be with God. The fact is, we are already with God. He lives in us now. The glory begins now in one sense. The glory that is him and his grace is inside us taking us right now through all the bad stuff.
It is not just future, it is present. We have a purpose and meaning to our lives that people outside of God cannot imagine. Our perspective, our motivation, our raison d’etre, all these things, are his glory.
They are now, but they are also then. And then they will be great.
Eternity with God for just a few short years here.
No comparison.
When I was in basic training in the army, it was hard. I was tired and sore and pushed almost beyond my ability to do stuff. It didn’t seem worth it at the time.
But when I was through, I was lean and strong and capable of things that I was never capable of before or since. I was fit and in shape big time. I could run long distances, I could do innumerable situps and pushups. My body had, it seemed, no limits.
The suffering I went through in basic training was worth it to make me a fit soldier. When I came home afterwards, I looked good. Tall and straight. One of my friends said I looked like a recruiting poster, I looked so good. My girlfriend was impressed.
I got into power lifting at one time a few years ago. For a while I was sore, but after a period of time, I was strong. The old saying is “no pain, no gain.” It is true. You cannot get anywhere worth going to without some kind of long trip.
You cannot make your body better by coddling it. You have to push it.
Our present sufferings, as the apostle Paul calls it, don’t really have any comparison with what God has in store for us. Sure it is hard here and people do stuff to make it even harder. It seems sometimes like it is a nightmare.
But God says, look at what awaits you. There is glory in eternity for this short time of pushing and suffering.
Life can be terrible at times. But heaven is great. And besides, the knowledge that you are doing something worthwhile with your life makes it good anyway.
You are not just marking time until you get old enough to die. You are gaining a crown. You are not just wandering through a life desert wishing things could be better. You are a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
There is a perspective that Christians have before they go to be with God. The fact is, we are already with God. He lives in us now. The glory begins now in one sense. The glory that is him and his grace is inside us taking us right now through all the bad stuff.
It is not just future, it is present. We have a purpose and meaning to our lives that people outside of God cannot imagine. Our perspective, our motivation, our raison d’etre, all these things, are his glory.
They are now, but they are also then. And then they will be great.
Eternity with God for just a few short years here.
No comparison.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.
For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands. (Psalm 92)
There is nothing much better than singing praise, especially if I can do so with my family.
In the 1990’s,we sang a lot together. Sam, our son, played drums and I played guitar. Ella and Abby, our daughter, sang with us. We sounded good together.
One reason we sounded so good together was because we just enjoyed the praise. I guess, in retrospect, my son less than us, but we did like to sing.
Much of it is the proclamation of the Lord in harmony. We have always sang in harmony, coming from the Church of Christ as we did. The sang in four part acappella harmony all the time, so we came from that background.
The psalmist also liked to sing. He would pick up his harp, a small stringed instrument, and sing into the night as he watched the sheep. I imagine that after he was king, he kept a harp nearby so he could sing when he wanted to. The people who hung around the king’s court probably knew that any minute he was liable to do that.
Compared to some of the kings, that was pretty pleasant. And it reflected his relationship with God. He was called a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). He was always searching ways to make God pleased.
That’s where the psalms came from. They were original songs written mostly by David. Some were by others, one even by Moses. All were written in response to the heart’s cry to God. They were prayers and petitions, but mostly they were praise.
And nothing is better than good full throated praise.
We went to a church in the mid 90’s that had a Friday night service. The reason we went is because one of the pastors told me on the phone that they had “blow your face off music.” They did, too. It was full bore rocking praise and it was good. It made me realize what could be.
I decided that I would lead no more boring songs services. I wanted to lead or have in my church real live praise to God, praise like in the Old Testament, loud musical, people shouting praise.
I haven’t gotten it yet, but I will one day.
And it will be good.
and make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre and the melody of the harp.
For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands. (Psalm 92)
There is nothing much better than singing praise, especially if I can do so with my family.
In the 1990’s,we sang a lot together. Sam, our son, played drums and I played guitar. Ella and Abby, our daughter, sang with us. We sounded good together.
One reason we sounded so good together was because we just enjoyed the praise. I guess, in retrospect, my son less than us, but we did like to sing.
Much of it is the proclamation of the Lord in harmony. We have always sang in harmony, coming from the Church of Christ as we did. The sang in four part acappella harmony all the time, so we came from that background.
The psalmist also liked to sing. He would pick up his harp, a small stringed instrument, and sing into the night as he watched the sheep. I imagine that after he was king, he kept a harp nearby so he could sing when he wanted to. The people who hung around the king’s court probably knew that any minute he was liable to do that.
Compared to some of the kings, that was pretty pleasant. And it reflected his relationship with God. He was called a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). He was always searching ways to make God pleased.
That’s where the psalms came from. They were original songs written mostly by David. Some were by others, one even by Moses. All were written in response to the heart’s cry to God. They were prayers and petitions, but mostly they were praise.
And nothing is better than good full throated praise.
We went to a church in the mid 90’s that had a Friday night service. The reason we went is because one of the pastors told me on the phone that they had “blow your face off music.” They did, too. It was full bore rocking praise and it was good. It made me realize what could be.
I decided that I would lead no more boring songs services. I wanted to lead or have in my church real live praise to God, praise like in the Old Testament, loud musical, people shouting praise.
I haven’t gotten it yet, but I will one day.
And it will be good.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
daily java
Daily Java: To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:14,20)
You can almost imagine the picture. He stands at the door and is knocking. He wants to come in and be part of your life. He wants to be in your heart.
He is waiting and ready. All he waits for is your permission to come in. But he will not do it unless you ask.
That is a strong part of God. He will not force himself on anyone. He will not force his salvation, his presence, his love on anyone who doesn’t want it.
True, he will move where he wants to move and use people to accomplish his actions. In Exodus, the word says that the Lord wanted Pharaoh, the king of Egypt who was keeping the Israelites captive, to let them go.
Pharaoh didn’t want to, since they were his workforce. Exodus also says that he hardened his heart against the Israelites (Exodus 8:32). But it also says that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 10:27).
What that meant was that God allowed it to happen. He knew his will would not be Pharaoh’s will but he did it anyway. By his doing what he wanted to do, he made Pharaoh rebel.
He could have entered into Pharaoh’s mind and changed his heart so that the Israelites could have gone out easily. But he didn’t. Instead, he did what he wanted knowing that it would make Pharaoh mad.
God will not force his love on you, nor will he force his presence. But he will do his will. His will is immutable and works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). He does what he wants regardless of what you want, because he is God.
But he wants you to love him and he wants to love you in a personal way. He stands at the door and knocks. He waits for you to let him into your heart.
His love is unconditional. His presence is conditional. It is depending on you and what you want.
You can almost imagine the picture. He stands at the door and is knocking. He wants to come in and be part of your life. He wants to be in your heart.
He is waiting and ready. All he waits for is your permission to come in. But he will not do it unless you ask.
That is a strong part of God. He will not force himself on anyone. He will not force his salvation, his presence, his love on anyone who doesn’t want it.
True, he will move where he wants to move and use people to accomplish his actions. In Exodus, the word says that the Lord wanted Pharaoh, the king of Egypt who was keeping the Israelites captive, to let them go.
Pharaoh didn’t want to, since they were his workforce. Exodus also says that he hardened his heart against the Israelites (Exodus 8:32). But it also says that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 10:27).
What that meant was that God allowed it to happen. He knew his will would not be Pharaoh’s will but he did it anyway. By his doing what he wanted to do, he made Pharaoh rebel.
He could have entered into Pharaoh’s mind and changed his heart so that the Israelites could have gone out easily. But he didn’t. Instead, he did what he wanted knowing that it would make Pharaoh mad.
God will not force his love on you, nor will he force his presence. But he will do his will. His will is immutable and works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). He does what he wants regardless of what you want, because he is God.
But he wants you to love him and he wants to love you in a personal way. He stands at the door and knocks. He waits for you to let him into your heart.
His love is unconditional. His presence is conditional. It is depending on you and what you want.
Friday, August 13, 2010
i loved my wife before i knew her and will until i die
I met my wife in February of 1969 at the Pasadena Lanes bowling alley in Pasadena, TX.
It was a youth night at Pecan Park Church of Christ, one of the Churches of Christ in Houston. This was a night of the Gospel Meeting (which usually lasted a week) in which the evangelist took time out from hollering at the members and hollered at the teens. Teens from all of the Churches of Christ around Houston came to be hollered at, then go to the bowling alley afterwards and hang around with their friends.
Friendships in the Churches of Christ were strong in the Houston area. The Churches of Christ had a camp called Camp Mohawk in Alvin, a sorry, swampy little camp with no a/c, no real comforts and was considered to be just this side of heaven by those who went to it, which was just about all of the kids from the Churches of Christ in the Houston area. We saw each other for a week at camp and that caused us to seek each other out at all of the “Monday Night Devos” which were youth events sponsored by the Houston area Churches of Christ.
Our circle was quite large, too, since the Church of Christ was big in Texas. And we knew people sometimes that we didn’t realize we knew. We would meet someone and realize that we had met at camp and were instant friends. We never passed up an opportunity to be together.
This was such an evening. It was a Friday night and we were told that everybody was going to the Pasadena Lanes for bowling. So I went.
I had my brother, Gerald, with me that night. He was 3 ½ years younger than I so he was not necessarily welcome. I lived in Texas City, 35 miles south, so I didn’t know much about Houston. I spent a fair amount of time trying to find the bowling alley. About the time I thought I would give up, there it was. We pulled up and I promptly ditched Gerald. I have no idea what he did that night.
I, on the other hand, walked into the Pasadena Lanes, looking about, scoping the situation and surroundings. One could imagine Clint Eastwood coming into the bar, checking out everybody, the theme music from Good Bad and Ugly playing in the background.
As I got my bearings, a woman came over to me and asked if I was by myself. I said yes. Faster than I could think, she picked me up and plopped me down in the midst of five girls. Needless to say, I was nonplussed.
One of the girls asked me my name and said she thought she knew me. I was either younger than her or older than her, but she thought I had gone to Houston Christian School, a defunct Church of Christ school. To me it sounded like a line, but I replied that I didn’t think so. But hey, she was a good looking girl, so I went along.
Her name was Ella Mochman. We talked and got to realize that we had something. I told her that I was about to move to Houston as I trying to get a job with the Telephone Company.
The other girls were surprised, since Ella had never gotten serious with a guy before and out of the blue, I came along.
Two of the other girls were really quite attractive, but Ella was who I looked at. There was something about her. I think I fell in love at the moment.
I asked her to let me take her home, she said no, she was on the church bus, she had better not, besides, I had my little brother. She really would have gotten into serious trouble if she had gone with me, in addition to blowing everybody’s mind. This was the good girl here who made great grades and was serious and all, and a guy – an older guy out of high school – comes in and clicks with her.
When I left, I promised to see her at the next Monday Night Devo, which would be in a couple of weeks. I hated to leave her, and she hated to see me go. Her friends were all over her when I left. I drove home in a fog.
Two weeks later I met her again at the Monday Night Devo in Clear Lake City. It was a huge affair. She was at the door waiting for me. I had a temporary job with Galveston County seeding the sea wall and other stuff and was quite sun-burned. Add to that, I had on an orange shirt with my sport coat and tie, and I stood out.
We sat together and held hands.
A couple of weeks later we got together for a concert at her church and things didn’t work out well between us.
I moved to Houston on April 4th, 1969. I had started my job at the Telephone Company the Wednesday before and had Good Friday off, so I had found an apartment and moved that day. Saturday, I goofed around.
Sunday morning, April 6, 1969, I was on the steps of her church, Sun Valley Church of Christ in Houston, two hours early. I thought I would give it one more shot. Her parents were early, she saw me. She was wearing a blue and white dress and was beautiful. I had on a black and white checked sport coat, a white shirt, black slacks and a dark red and black tie. Don’t why I remember that but I do.
She saw me and married me a year and a half later, merging her life with mine.
I loved her before I knew her and will until I die.
It was a youth night at Pecan Park Church of Christ, one of the Churches of Christ in Houston. This was a night of the Gospel Meeting (which usually lasted a week) in which the evangelist took time out from hollering at the members and hollered at the teens. Teens from all of the Churches of Christ around Houston came to be hollered at, then go to the bowling alley afterwards and hang around with their friends.
Friendships in the Churches of Christ were strong in the Houston area. The Churches of Christ had a camp called Camp Mohawk in Alvin, a sorry, swampy little camp with no a/c, no real comforts and was considered to be just this side of heaven by those who went to it, which was just about all of the kids from the Churches of Christ in the Houston area. We saw each other for a week at camp and that caused us to seek each other out at all of the “Monday Night Devos” which were youth events sponsored by the Houston area Churches of Christ.
Our circle was quite large, too, since the Church of Christ was big in Texas. And we knew people sometimes that we didn’t realize we knew. We would meet someone and realize that we had met at camp and were instant friends. We never passed up an opportunity to be together.
This was such an evening. It was a Friday night and we were told that everybody was going to the Pasadena Lanes for bowling. So I went.
I had my brother, Gerald, with me that night. He was 3 ½ years younger than I so he was not necessarily welcome. I lived in Texas City, 35 miles south, so I didn’t know much about Houston. I spent a fair amount of time trying to find the bowling alley. About the time I thought I would give up, there it was. We pulled up and I promptly ditched Gerald. I have no idea what he did that night.
I, on the other hand, walked into the Pasadena Lanes, looking about, scoping the situation and surroundings. One could imagine Clint Eastwood coming into the bar, checking out everybody, the theme music from Good Bad and Ugly playing in the background.
As I got my bearings, a woman came over to me and asked if I was by myself. I said yes. Faster than I could think, she picked me up and plopped me down in the midst of five girls. Needless to say, I was nonplussed.
One of the girls asked me my name and said she thought she knew me. I was either younger than her or older than her, but she thought I had gone to Houston Christian School, a defunct Church of Christ school. To me it sounded like a line, but I replied that I didn’t think so. But hey, she was a good looking girl, so I went along.
Her name was Ella Mochman. We talked and got to realize that we had something. I told her that I was about to move to Houston as I trying to get a job with the Telephone Company.
The other girls were surprised, since Ella had never gotten serious with a guy before and out of the blue, I came along.
Two of the other girls were really quite attractive, but Ella was who I looked at. There was something about her. I think I fell in love at the moment.
I asked her to let me take her home, she said no, she was on the church bus, she had better not, besides, I had my little brother. She really would have gotten into serious trouble if she had gone with me, in addition to blowing everybody’s mind. This was the good girl here who made great grades and was serious and all, and a guy – an older guy out of high school – comes in and clicks with her.
When I left, I promised to see her at the next Monday Night Devo, which would be in a couple of weeks. I hated to leave her, and she hated to see me go. Her friends were all over her when I left. I drove home in a fog.
Two weeks later I met her again at the Monday Night Devo in Clear Lake City. It was a huge affair. She was at the door waiting for me. I had a temporary job with Galveston County seeding the sea wall and other stuff and was quite sun-burned. Add to that, I had on an orange shirt with my sport coat and tie, and I stood out.
We sat together and held hands.
A couple of weeks later we got together for a concert at her church and things didn’t work out well between us.
I moved to Houston on April 4th, 1969. I had started my job at the Telephone Company the Wednesday before and had Good Friday off, so I had found an apartment and moved that day. Saturday, I goofed around.
Sunday morning, April 6, 1969, I was on the steps of her church, Sun Valley Church of Christ in Houston, two hours early. I thought I would give it one more shot. Her parents were early, she saw me. She was wearing a blue and white dress and was beautiful. I had on a black and white checked sport coat, a white shirt, black slacks and a dark red and black tie. Don’t why I remember that but I do.
She saw me and married me a year and a half later, merging her life with mine.
I loved her before I knew her and will until I die.
watching a merry-go-round
I was watching the merry-go-round at the mall the other day. I have always thought that they are one of the most overrated things in the world. They are bright and cheerful and promise a lot, but when you get on them all you do is go round and round, getting off near where you got on.
There was a hand-carved carousel in Spokane, WA, when I was there. It was beautiful and came from some European country the first part of the 20th century. I was doing youth work at a church there and the teens wanted me to ride the carousel. I didn’t want to, but they felt that if I did, it would be great.
Finally one of them bought me a ticket and gave it to me. So I rode it. I sat on it and felt kind of goofy, and was glad when it was over. I even grabbed a brass ring.
I think of that whenever I see a carousel. They are so pretty but like so many things in life, they do nothing but provide flash.
Of course, little children love it. And parents love for their kids to ride. In fact, one parent at the mall walked around the carousel the opposite direction so she could see her child more times. Every time she saw her child, she would wave. It went on for around five minutes.
I thought it was interesting at the mall that there were oldies on the sound system. Usually it is calliope music.
When I hear the calliope music, it really hits me and it all looks so good. Then I remember that all you do is go around and around. But since we sit near the carousel when we go to see the wackos and I like to hear oldies. But it is kind of funny to think of these kids listening to 45 year old music while they ride what is in effect a 19th century carousel.
Odd way for life to go.
There was a hand-carved carousel in Spokane, WA, when I was there. It was beautiful and came from some European country the first part of the 20th century. I was doing youth work at a church there and the teens wanted me to ride the carousel. I didn’t want to, but they felt that if I did, it would be great.
Finally one of them bought me a ticket and gave it to me. So I rode it. I sat on it and felt kind of goofy, and was glad when it was over. I even grabbed a brass ring.
I think of that whenever I see a carousel. They are so pretty but like so many things in life, they do nothing but provide flash.
Of course, little children love it. And parents love for their kids to ride. In fact, one parent at the mall walked around the carousel the opposite direction so she could see her child more times. Every time she saw her child, she would wave. It went on for around five minutes.
I thought it was interesting at the mall that there were oldies on the sound system. Usually it is calliope music.
When I hear the calliope music, it really hits me and it all looks so good. Then I remember that all you do is go around and around. But since we sit near the carousel when we go to see the wackos and I like to hear oldies. But it is kind of funny to think of these kids listening to 45 year old music while they ride what is in effect a 19th century carousel.
Odd way for life to go.
cheap calculator
I read an ad for WalMart today for a Texas Instruments IT-30X IIS 2-Line Scientific Calculator for $12.
I worked for Monroe Calculators back in the early 70’s in Odessa, TX, as a salesman. Our main models were a rather large and clunky calculator (about the size of an average VCR or maybe a little larger) and a hand-held calculator (about the size of a larger paperback). The calculator was around $400 and the calculator (which only added, subtracted, divided and multiplied) was $150. Monroe was proud of it.
Then, Texas Instruments invented the chip. And it drove Monroe out of business.
Hewlett Packard had a programmable 35 function scientific calculator that cost just a few dollars more than our hand-held unit, but did everything but make coffee. And everywhere we went to show our model, they had been.
What do you have like this, someone would say, holing up the TI unit. Nothing, I would say and leave. And we had nothing to compete with it.
Besides, Monroe Calculators had made the astonishing business decision to go all American. No more of that Japanese junk.
It was a magnificently stupid move and it killed them as a company. I thought it was funny when Doc Brown in Back to the Future talked about Japanese junk and Marty McFly told him all the good stuff was made in Japan. It threw Doc Brown for a loop. Who could have known? In the 50 and 60’s, stuff from Japan was substandard and throwaway.
Of course, Hewlett Packard knew. Japanese stuff was fixing to become good stuff. And Monroe found out real soon.
That all came back to me when I read the article.
I worked for Monroe Calculators back in the early 70’s in Odessa, TX, as a salesman. Our main models were a rather large and clunky calculator (about the size of an average VCR or maybe a little larger) and a hand-held calculator (about the size of a larger paperback). The calculator was around $400 and the calculator (which only added, subtracted, divided and multiplied) was $150. Monroe was proud of it.
Then, Texas Instruments invented the chip. And it drove Monroe out of business.
Hewlett Packard had a programmable 35 function scientific calculator that cost just a few dollars more than our hand-held unit, but did everything but make coffee. And everywhere we went to show our model, they had been.
What do you have like this, someone would say, holing up the TI unit. Nothing, I would say and leave. And we had nothing to compete with it.
Besides, Monroe Calculators had made the astonishing business decision to go all American. No more of that Japanese junk.
It was a magnificently stupid move and it killed them as a company. I thought it was funny when Doc Brown in Back to the Future talked about Japanese junk and Marty McFly told him all the good stuff was made in Japan. It threw Doc Brown for a loop. Who could have known? In the 50 and 60’s, stuff from Japan was substandard and throwaway.
Of course, Hewlett Packard knew. Japanese stuff was fixing to become good stuff. And Monroe found out real soon.
That all came back to me when I read the article.
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