daily java

Daily Java:

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. (Philippians 1:20-22)

There does come a point in your life when you get tired and are ready to be through. It is not that you seek death, or anything weird like that, but you just are through.

That is what happened to John, the apostle, when he said at the end of the book of Revelation: He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” .Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
He was ready. He was old and tired and just ready.

And I think that sometimes myself. I am solidly in my 60’s now and have stuff wrong with me. Just general stuff, of course, not cancer or the like. At least, I don’t think so. But then again, sometimes Ella looks at me oddly. Maybe she knows something I don’t.

Anyway, I am probably fine. But I am also at the point that if God took me, I would be glad.

The only problem is that my wife would be alone. I also would not have any more chances to witness to my son and my grandson. I would not be able to help Pastor Mel understand hard passages of scripture and show him the other hand.

The thing is, leaving my own wonderful and valuable indispensability behind, there are things I need to do. For one thing I would leave my wife and who would lift her scooter into and out of the car? I am our primary cook, so she would end up eating junk or –blecch – frozen dinners.

I would not be there for my son or to see my grandson, Brody, grow up. I would rather give him stuff than have him inherit them. I’d like to watch his eyes when I give him my broadsword, or the other stuff I plan to unload – I mean bestow on him.

Other people I would not be able to touch if I were dead.

That is what the apostle Paul was talking about. There were people he wanted to touch, to teach, to talk to. Places he wanted to see. Ideas he wanted to pursue.

And he couldn’t do it if he were gone. All he would be would be happy in the presence of Jesus in heaven.

I don’t know. That doesn’t sound so bad, though. But I know how he felt.

daily java

Daily Java:    

You are intelligent people. Look now and see for yourselves whether what I am about to say is true. (1 Corinthians 10:15)

One of the denominations had a slogan a few years ago that said in essence, Don’t leave your brain at home when you go to church.

Their idea was that any faith, any religion, any way of thought that had to be performed without thinking was useless.

And they were right.

God never expected us to do what we do mindlessly.

In fact, there were several people in the New Testament who were plain old intellectuals.

The apostle Paul was highly educated and even taught in an institute of higher learning at one time, the School of Tyrannus.

The author of the third gospel, Luke, was a physician. His writing is extremely detailed.

When I was in seminary and taking Greek, we used the book of John, a simple fisherman, as our lab project to translate from the Greek to the English. We couldn’t use Luke until we got better because he was just too detailed. We had to wait until we got better to tackle it.

In fact, Luke makes no secret of the fact that he wrote the companion books of Luke and Acts as a research paper for one he called Theophilus. He checked everything out and then, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote it down.

For that matter, I believe the Bible is inspired word for word. However, I also believe that the writers wrote it from their own perspective and their own vocabulary, their own thoughts and ideas flowing onto the page. But I also believe they did it by the inspiration and guidance of the Spirit.

The idea of the writers of the New Testament sitting around drinking coffee when they suddenly were seized by the Spirit and when they came to, they had written the book of James is a foolish one.

Even a cursory glance can tell that the books were written by different people from different perspectives. That is because God used their minds to do what he wanted.

Is God so small that he cannot work through us? After all, if God is a God that can speak light into existence, he is a God who can order what is to make it what he wants. His presence in the mind of the writers was what caused his written word.

He used their minds, he used minds down through the years, and he can use your mind. You do not have to come to church as a mindless automaton, ignorant and stupid. You come as you, with all your education, all your successes, all your failings, all your problems, and he uses you.

Anyone who says otherwise is usually trying to excuse the fact that they were too lazy to learn.

You do not have to leave your brain at home when you go to church. God made it too and expects you to use it to his glory. Everything you do is worth thinking about and considering. His word is one that can be understood and accepted.

Think about it. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

he is our strength

My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

As a young man, I was always very strong. So I got used to doing things for myself. I would move that couch if I needed to and not wait for anyone else, I would lift this or that no matter the consequences.

And there were, of course, consequences of being stronger than you are intelligent. Today (in facet his very minute) I suffer them.

We just got through moving from Lincoln back to Fayette to stay with my daughter and her husband until we get an apartment (which hopefully will not be long as I hate living with people).

This move was one of the worst we have ever done. Ella is getting weaker as her MS rages, so she has fallen a few times. We did most of  the packing a lot of the moving by ourselves and she has fallen a few times. She also has trouble walking on her best days so she has had a lot of trouble standing for the length of time needed to pack.

But I noticed that I had a lot of trouble. And it all stems from one source: me. I have gotten to the age where I cannot deadlift a refrigerator any more. And my abilities are diminishing, little by little, day by day. This move has really shown me that.

I hate it. But it is a fact of life that everybody gets old.

I remember seeing a picture of Johnny Weismuller (you remember, the guy who played Tarzan back in the 1930’s or 40’s) when he was old. And it was startling at the toll age had taken on him.

You can see the same thing by looking at Arnold Schwartzenegger at the beach today. He does not look as good as he did and he never will again. He is a year older than me. Geezer.

Again, sooner or later, you have to acknowledge the fact that you cannot do what you did. You are too old to do what you used to do. To try to keep on doing it is foolish.

In Christianity, it is the reverse to a degree. As young Christians, you rely more on God; as an older one, you have more spiritual strength (1 John 2:12-14). But, even so, God is your strength, not your own ability.

And your ability to do what you do is because of him, and it shows his strength in your life. What we do as Christians is because of him, not in place of him. We are strong because he is strong. Without him and under our own power, we are lost.

Give him your life and he will make you strong.

daily java

Daily Java:

The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. (Romans 13:12-14)

We live in a culture that glorifies the tawdry.

I was looking at a commercial for overpriced jeans that said Stupid is the good way to go, smart isn’t. it went several different ways to say that but essentially that was the gist.

One o f the most successful movie franchises is the Jackass Movies, wherein people do really stupid and dangerous things. Cursing and sexual activity are becoming more and more prevalent on TV in prime time.

More and more teachers are becoming involved with their students. More and more authority figures are showing themselves to be foolish. Clothing is becoming briefer and briefer, morals looser and looser, we will talk about just about anything in any venue at any time.

Reading the internet, you see more and more stuff happening as it seems people slide deeper and deeper into the abyss. We are becoming a culture that is unbelievably coarse.

The apostle Paul said here to not participate in these things. Now that doesn’t mean become a monk and live in a cave. Even Jesus lived in his culture and did stuff with people that, in  some people’s minds compromised himself.

But it does mean that you heart and your life has to remain clear, the light must keep on shining.

You are a child of God and as such are above the world. Someone always says to you, What? Are you too good to go with us to do whatever it is they want to do? And your answer is yes. I am a child of God. God and his grace live within me and govern me.

My life is not my own. I want to live it in such a way that all can see God in me and that his name can be glorified.

daily java

Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
    “I will take revenge;
     I will pay them back,”
     says the Lord.
Instead,
    “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
     If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
     In doing this, you will heap
     burning coals of shame on their heads.”
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. (Romans 12:19-21)

When Jesus was tried, convicted and killed, there is one thing that stands out about him: he never answered back. He knew he was innocent and he knew it would do no good to defend himself. So he remained quiet.

That was so apparent when he was taken to see the Israelite King, Herod. Herod was interested in him. He had heard of him and wanted very badly to talk to him. He figured that since he was Jewish too, they would discuss stuff. Maybe even Jesus would do a miracle.

But Herod was a hypocritical person to the max, a poseur, one who tried very hard to balance subservience to Rome with pretending to be a great king himself. He was a debauched person with a debauched court.

I always thought the portrayal of Herod by Josh Mostel in Jesus Christ Superstar was a great one. His court was full of transvestites and weirdoes and he himself was not all that great looking.

It was evident that Jesus had nothing but contempt for him and didn’t even say a word to him. It made Herod so mad.

So it is in my life. In the past couple of years I have had some bad things happen. But I made a decision that I will not answer, and I will not defend. If my life cannot show my dedication, nothing I say will either.

And I will not take revenge. Revenge is for God. One day the accounts will be settled and I will be justified, if I need to be.

And I will be nice to those who have hurt me. I will not necessarily like them, but I will be kind.

Now I have to admit, I fall down here and do not always follow my own advice. I am after all human. When people hurt me, I bleed. That sounds kind of pathetic, but what I mean is I don’t always do the right thing.

But I try. And that is all God wants.

Doing nice things for people who have hurt you affects them far more than doing bad things. Paying back in kind never does any good.

And they may continue to be the way they are. If so, it is not your doing. You not acted like Jesus, they have not.

This does mean that I accept them back into the leadership they left. It just means that I treat them the best I can and allow the love of Jesus to show through me.

I don’t always and I am sorry when I don’t. But evil is prevalent enough without it ruling in my life, too.

High sounding words and I wish I did them better.

daily java

Daily Java:

  You don’t let me sleep.
      I am too distressed even to pray! (Psalm 77:4)

I am reading  the Psalms right now in my daily Bible reading. They vacillate between joy and depression. Right now, I seem to be in the midst of a group of depression Psalms. With my current situation, that doesn’t help any.

But I have come awake too early. It is 5:30 and I am not a morning person. However, it is too bad a I am going to lie there awake if I stay in bed and that is no fun either. So I might as well get up and come in and do something profitable.

Today I leave Lincoln and the ministry. I never thought this day would come but it seems that it has. Someone was telling me yesterday of a relative who was still preaching at 85. I figured I would be. But it is not to be.

The truck is almost completely loaded. I still have to put on the mattress and box springs we slept on last night. That is going to be hard by myself, but since I have had a dearth of helpers, I suppose I will.

And I wait. I believe in God and in his power. I also believe that he is in control. The possibility
of him not being is just too bleak to consider. I have served him all my life, sometimes well and sometimes not. But I have always loved him.

I do not believe that there is a purpose for everything. Some things are just too bad. There is no purpose in a baby contracting AIDS, or horrible car crashes that kill children, or rape squads in Muslim countries, the events of 9/11.

However, I do believe Romans 8:28 when the apostle Paul says: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. I believe he can take the bad and turn it to good in our lives.

I wait for that now. I plan to go back to school and learn something new. Web design interests me and goes along with my desire to go into full time writing too. I think I will pursue those interests.

We will get an apartment, and just live quietly. I will be involved in church but in no leadership capacity. I will also take care of Ella to he best of my ability. She needs me now more than every before.

Life will go on. And I praise his name, even when I am too distressed to pray.

daily java

Daily Java:

Arise, O God, and defend your cause.
      Remember how these fools insult you all day long.
Don’t overlook what your enemies have said
      or their growing uproar. (Psalm 74:1-2)

I was just listening to that old song Have I Stayed Too Long At The Fair (in the post before this one)?

It was a rather plaintive song in which a woman asked if she had just lived too long. Had they outlived their usefulness, their dream? The music had stopped, the clown was no longer clever, the ribbons were no longer shiny and pretty.

There’s nothing to sin and there’s no one to want me. Have I stayed too long at the fair?

I think I stayed too long at what I have been doing. For the past several years it has seemed that I was spinning my wheels, accomplishing nothing, being in general a fool.

I always thought of myself as a fool for Christ (1 Corinthians 4). Here the apostle Paul says that so many had considered them foolish for what they did and what they suffered. His answer was that he would gladly be considered a fool for the sake of Jesus Christ.

I always thought that. Then I began to wonder: what if I was just a freelance fool and just happened to be working for Christ and not for, say, Amway or something like that?

What if I had been doing what I had been doing for too long and had ceased to be useful?

What if the calling of God – if ever there in the first place – had ceased in my life and all I was doing was “kicking against the pricks” as the Old King James Version says in Acts 9?

Things which were good are no longer that, ways in which I worked I am unable to now. Preaching itself, something that was so easy to me, has become difficult. I have gotten to where everything I do in ministry seems wooden and rote, and all of the joy is leached out of it.

Some of it is the resistance against me that has always been in my ministry and always will be. I have gotten tired of the people who feel it God’s will to tear me down. And I have gotten tired of the people in the churches I have sacrificed for who have felt it inevitable to give in to them.

This very church I am leaving has gone right back to the people who were tearing it up and accepted them back into their fellowship. It is almost too much to bear. These people have driven off two ministers now that I am leaving. They have done a lot of damage to the kingdom. Yet they are back to leading worship and dictating policy for the church.

They left when I was there because they knew they could not control me, but now that I have left, they crow about how they were “praying me out.”

This has gone on too long, I suppose, that I have come to feel that whatever anointing I had, if any to begin with, is gone.

There are things I did so easily as a minister, and many of them I felt God had given me. but they seem gone and so is my spirit, my joy.

I just stayed too long and need to go do something else. I just wish God would do something about these fools who insult him by their very presence in his church.

Someone once said that we knew it was God’s church. Otherwise, the brethren would have destroyed it.

So it goes. Today I move and, lucky me, it is raining. Why am I not surprised?

have i stayed too long at the fair

Have I Stayed Too Long At The Fair?

I wanted the music to play on forever
Have I stayed too long at the fair?
I wanted the clown to be constantly clever
Have I stayed too long at the fair?

I bought me blue ribbons to tie up my hair,
But I couldn't find anybody to care;
The merry-go-round is beginning to slow now
Have I stayed too long at the fair?
The music has stopped and the children must go now
Have I stayed too long at the fair?

Oh, mother dear, I know you're very proud,
Your little girl in gingham is so far above the crowd;
No, daddy dear, You never could have known
That I would be successful, yet so very much alone...
I wanted to live in a carnival city,
With laughter and love everywhere;
I wanted my friends to be thrilling and witty,
I wanted somebody to care;
I found my blue ribbons all shiny and new
But now I discover them no longer blue...
The merry-go-round is beginning to taunt me,
Have I stayed too long at the fair?

There's nothing to win
And there's no one to want me
Have I stayed too long at the fair?

Billy Barnes

i just took a long time to grow up

It is interesting to be going somewhere where you do not know what you will be doing.

I have decided to give up pastoring, so I really don’t know what will happen. I would like to get into writing full-time and I am going to try my best to do that, but that is an uncertain business.

I have about three books in my head that I want to write. It shouldn’t be that difficult. The average book is about 60,000 words and in the past year and a half I have written over 400,000 words just in my blog and in my Facebook devotionals. That is not counting other things I have written.

No idea right now where I will go to sell stuff, but I have to make the attempt.

But the idea of no longer pursuing the pastorate is odd. For almost forty years I have been a pastor. I feel, though, that God is through with me in that. I don’t know what he has for me now, maybe nothing, but I will no longer look to doing that.

It’s strange. Almost like a kid looking at the world and saying what shall I be when I grow up? I guess I just took a long time to grow up.

daily java

Daily Java:

The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand. (Psalm 119:130)

Hermeneutics is the art of studying the Bible. A hermeneutical principle is a principle you use to figure out what a verse means. People who go through seminary training always take a course in hermeneutics so that they can see how to understand the Bible.

That is designed to help them figure out what God is saying. And sometimes help is needed. A few of the verses are obscure and you need some guidance to get at the bottom of them. Sometimes they are vague, sometimes just plain strange.

But one thing is for certain. The Bible can be understood by anyone who has a relationship with God. God did not give us some strange document that requires years and years of advanced study, several languages, a PhD in ancient near eastern history and one also in philosophy just to be able to understand it.

You want to know what God says? You read your Bible. Anyone can understand it.

It takes a theologian with several degrees and an intimate knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew to turn the Bible into something that cannot be understood without help. But God said, just look at it. Read it. Understand it. You can know it in your heart well without all that theological help. 

As I have gotten older, I have gained a new hermeneutical principle (a principle for understanding the Bible). It goes like this. The longer it takes to explain what a verse means, the more wrong the person explaining probably is.

It’s kind of like coming into the house and having a broken vase with two children standing nearby. You ask, Who broke the vase? The one with the longest answer is probably the one who is guilty.

The same goes for the Bible. You ask, What does this verse mean? One guy gives a ninety minute, one hundred page answer, based on the original languages, with a sidebar on historical context and deep philosophical meanings. The other guy gives a simple answer.

Chances are the simple answer is right because the Bible says even the simple can understand. If that were not true, the Bible is a liar and not worth following. If God cannot make his divine will understandable to us as finite humans, he is not worth worshiping.

Of course, that is also why those who are outside of God and his will cannot understand it. To them it is all pretty gibberish. God intended that it work through our relationship with him.

The written word of God was intended for ordinary people, not for theological scholars. God said, just look at it. Just get a modern version and read it. Understand it. It is from his heart to yours.