The Laundry Woman’s Husband

Just got information about our laundry woman’s husband. She showed up here in tears just a couple of hours ago when I was not here.

One of the problems after the flood is so many people with previous problems (like diabetes) have had wounds that were infected by the dirty standing water as they attempted to save items from their homes and/or clean their homes. Her husband’s wound on his leg has become ’so’ infected that it is already purple now all the way up to the knee.

Just got information about our laundry woman’s husband. She showed up here in tears just a couple of hours ago when I was not here.

One of the problems after the flood is so many people with previous problems (like diabetes) have had wounds that were infected by the dirty standing water as they attempted to save items from their homes and/or clean their homes. Her husband’s wound on his leg has become ’so’ infected that it is already purple now all the way up to the knee.

They may need to amputate later, but for now he needs a shot that will ease the infection and the pain. Our laundry woman is only asking that she can borrow the money. That she will work it off later. But for now her husband is in urgent need.God has given us enough to help with this but it is still hard. I think about the money that I have set aside for the purpose of helping others according to God’s will; but then I also think about money that we were saving for other medical and education “needs” of the family and how that is going down faster than it is going up.

Like most people I have this part of me that wants to believe that it is money that I need in order to provide for what my family needs. The part of me that is unfaithful to God’s promises wants to trust that the money we have set aside is what I will find my security in. However, just as my phrases ablove alludes to, I know that instead I need to trust in God.

Though there is an unfaithful part of me that wants to say trusting in what God has given me is the same thing as trusting in God; I know better. I know that “trust” is intricately bound to the very essence of “love”. So, if I trust in what God has provided me (and my mind is on the wealth that He provided me) then what I am actually trusting in is the wealth itself; as if God was only able to work through money. Though there is nothing wrong with money, the ‘love’ of the stuff is the root of all things that separate us from God.

God has given us the opportunity to give. And moreso I need to remember that He loved me so much through His son to give us life eternal. That was a very hight cost that was paid. And it’s not this world that we are taught by Him to invest in. It is the kingdom that will be prepared for all those that believe.

Which Version of the Scripture should I Use

In regard to the very old argument about which English version of the scripture is better I won’t deny that KJV & the ASV and a few others are closer to the more literal meaning given to us in the Greek and Hebrew. But what I am suggesting is that to get into a heated divisive debate about how one translation is better than another, you can instead say what can I do to care about this person who says they are my brother or sister in Christ; who admit that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God and who was risen on the third day from death to life.

In the new testament you can read in Acts 16 and other chapter how brothers were already debating about issues even as unimportant as circumcision. Those who were the spiritual leaders, apostles and teachers at the time knew that these issues were of less importance than issues of how Jesus was the Christ the Son of God. 1 John 4:1-3 … so, just in one example in Acts 16 the spiritual leaders decide to submit to this lesser important matter of circumcision just so it would not be a “stumbling block” to their delivering the more important message of Christ crucified for the forgiveness of sins.

What Cause Should We Support?

There are a lot of things in this world that are “wrong”. And a lot of people that have problems which “need to be solved”. If we as individuals chase after each one that we think are worthy of our time and attention then we will do little more than wear ourselves out and help them little (if at all). God is a whole lot smarter than us. If we can learn to listen to that quiet voice that comes from Him, we can direct our individual efforts where they can make the most difference.

God knows much more than we do; what the most important things are. If there is the one that ‘God’ is leading you to be a part of, then do it with all of the effort and strength that He is able to give you. He deservedly gets the credit for everything that has been corrected and/or what He has given us the strength and inspiration to correct. And we deservedly get the credit for everything that we’ve messed up.

YOU Help the Poor !

The greatest benefit of serving those that are in need is that it will bring you toward a greater opportunity for a relationship with God.

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James 1:27, Acts 9:36, Acts 10.

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Notice how God not only ’says’ that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and .. is …to look after orphans and widows in their distress”; but he also shows us in other scriptures how ‘He’ has reached out to those who have reached out to those who are in need.

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Also consider Matthew 10:42 and Mark 9:41.

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In mind of those last two, notice that it does ‘NOT’ say “anyone who gives money to an organization and has that organization give a cup of water in my name” … Instead it speaks to the individual doing it.

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When was the last time that ‘you’ gave to those that needed food and/or clothing. Jesus gave us an example to follow. His command is that ‘you’ follow that example. So, either you need to follow it or stop dirtying His name by not following it but still calling yourself a Christian. … ME TOO!

The greatest benefit of serving those that are in need is that it will bring you toward a greater opportunity for a relationship with God.

James 1:27, Acts 9:36, Acts 10.

Notice how God not only ’says’ that “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and .. is …to look after orphans and widows in their distress”; but he also shows us in other scriptures how ‘He’ has reached out to those who have reached out to those who are in need.

Also consider Matthew 10:42 and Mark 9:41.

In mind of those last two, notice that it does ‘NOT’ say “anyone who gives money to an organization and has that organization give a cup of water in my name” … Instead it speaks to the individual doing it.

When was the last time that ‘you’ gave to those that needed food and/or clothing. Jesus gave us an example to follow. His command is that ‘you’ follow that example. So, either you need to follow it or stop dirtying His name by not following it but still calling yourself a Christian. … ME TOO!

Sin is Fun !

I wish I could write a whole book on this subject but I just don’t have the talent/time. The talent that I have for writing is more suited for short entries into a blog (which I do) but not for the content of an entire book. To do so would require that I live like a hermit completely uninterrupted for three to five years. And since I have a family and I am not independently wealthy, the likelihood of that happening is very small. I’ve only heard one speaker dare to say “Sin is Fun” (a few years ago). As I searched across the internet it seems that the religious right only wants to talk about how sin is ‘not’ fun and all of that “wages of sin is death” stuff which has nothing to do with whether or not sin is actually fun.

I mean, how can anyone deny it? When I was “out there” doing whatever I wanted, I did enjoy it. How could I not; I was out there doing whatever I wanted with little or no restraint. Sex, women, alcohol, drugs, stealing, lying, pursuing a career that gave me a certain level of respect or power, “getting over” on someone who I considered less intellectually capable than I was; etc. I wouldn’t have done any of these things if I had not thought they were not fun. “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time.” … Heb 11:24-25

But I can attest to how short lived this fun is. When I had finished have a night out with a woman, I had to go to work the next day. When I had a few drinks or smoke a little weed with friends at the bar or a one of their houses, the effect of the alcohol or marijuana eventually wore off. When I was young enough to be surrounded by friends who were impressed with my stealing, eventually the thrill and the bragging rights were over. And after I had climbed a few rung up the ladder of power, I eventually realized that even ‘my’ loose definition of morals and ethics were starting to become strained, and that wasn’t any fun.

Yes, the wages of sin is death; something much greater than death in this world. And the fun of doing things that are contrary to what God wants us to do (sin) is certainly temporary; not normally more than just a few hours; or a few days (if you don’t count the hours of gaps between “the fun”. I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say that my heart sometimes longs for the things that I once did several years ago. But then I don’t give much attention to my heart “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” … Jeremiah 17:11

What I do give regard to is something that doesn’t sound too sane for those that don’t believe in God and the Spirit of God that Jesus Christ said that he would send. I give regard to a “separate voice” (which is more like a separate thought really). But none-the-less I have truly come to understand that it is actually something completely different than I am because I have dared to follow it’s “voice”. And although there aren’t hundreds of times that I can tell you amazing stories, there are enough amazing stories for me to go ‘wow’ “I can’t ignore that there is something more hear than I can just simply see, hear, touch, and taste.

It’s because of this faith that God has given me that I can not deny Christ. I can not ever deny what I have personally experienced. I don’t need a bible to tell me that it is true, and I don’t need a pastor to tell me what I know for myself.

Letting Scripture Interpret itself

From time to time I hear someone tell me that the bible is up for interpretation. What they refer to as the bible is something that I more literally refer to as scripture. I do this because I think that it is important to let the scriptures interpret themselves. Very similarly to the way a specialist takes an unknown language and then begins to compare the symbols with each other until he eventually find meaning in the previously unknown symbols.

I wonder what target he 'is' gonna hit?

Someone more familiar with this idea than myself listed this idea in these terms –> The text of Scripture must be interpreted by historical exegesis, taking an account of its literary forms and devices, letting Scripture interpret Scripture and not relying on the knowledge of man. The reason we should let the Scripture interpret itself is because the bible always tells the truth concerning everything it talks about, but man continually makes errors. If man interprets the bible then the interpretation is open to error, but if the bible interprets the bible, it will always be completely true. This is why the exegesis of passages is important, so that we know what the scripture is actually saying, contrary to what we think it is saying.

It’s usually the people that have something they don’t want to give up that like to adopt the idea that the scripture is up to interpretation. Of course if they ever accept the idea of letting the scriptures interpret themselves then they’ll probably resort to some other form of poking holes in the idea. They would rather do that than think that they themselves are not living up to a mark that the believe is true. “The mark” obviously has to change, because they certainly are not going to change :-)

A Season to Plan

I smiled when I read a devotional that my friend Malu sent me today because I thought to myself how I have ineffectively commuicated to her in regard to my thoughts about planning. She concerns herself so much with my tendency to not plan at this point in my life which is a complete turn-a-round to how I used to be. However she wasn’t around a few years ago when I was a planning fool. However even that “turn-around” has only to do with a season of my life.

I think that in each of our lives that God is working with us according to what ‘we’ need to be addressing. And I can see how I am being led to do more planning in recent weeks, we’ll see how that turns out. I think God will lead me to pick back up the outlines and the five year goals soon enough.

My faith says that for some of us it is the season to plan according to God’s will, and for others it is the season to submit to God’s plan for their lives. ,,, I happen to have gone through the latter for the last two years because of my “relying on myself” weakness that the Lord has had to deal with me on. Though the Lord has not yet finished in this area with me I believe that a great deal of progress has been made.

It is neither planning nor a lack of planning that is to be followed. But instead the Will of God which happens in the moment. Whether that moment is a moment of submission to the whims of the living Spirit of God to ‘act’ or the whims of the Spirit to “plan”.
… Let it be :-)

THE SPARROW AT STARBUCKS

I’ve copied THE SPARROW AT STARBUCKS below. I don’t know the author but I hope to run into them one day. I can relate to their experience, I believe that God operates this way in all of our lives. We just have to “stop and listen”. I’ll post their story here for now.

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THE SPARROW AT STARBUCKS
by: Winda

It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square. Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it’s enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth.

For a musician, it’s the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I’m told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing.

Word Of God

Is the Word of God and Scripture two different things, or is it the same? Is ’scripture’ the Word of God? I hear people over and over again tell others that they need to ‘read’ the Word of God. And they will follow up that sentence with several other sentences that make it clear from the pulpit that ‘they’ believe ‘and’ they are trying to convey that the Word of God ‘is’ the scripture. “for the Bereans were more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11 . And I believe that those that teach this are in grave error and they are incorrectly handling the Word of truth.

I believe that they are in ‘grave’ error because ‘I’ believe that to lower the ‘Word’ of God to be other than what it truly is, is to take away the attention and the honor that should be given to the ‘Word’ and instead belittle that truly precious ‘Word’ of God into something that is comparatively stagnate. ‘Not’ to take anything away from the scripture, that too is precious. But compared to the ‘Word’ of God, which ‘is’ Jesus, nothing else can be compared to be even close. Let’s further go to scripture for this point to be clearly understood. Be careful about your thoughts and attitudes as you read the following. Because the following teaching flies in the face of much of the ‘tradition’ that many of us have been taught.

What does ’scripture’ say about itself and what does ’scripture’ say that the ‘Word’ of God is? “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it lays bare everything before the eyes of whom we must give account.”Heb 4:12-13. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing has been made.” John 1:1-3 Notice that the word “scripture” hasn’t even been brought up yet ‘in’ the scriptures. Many of us have learned contrarily from very Godly men whom we have come to know and trust. We should remember that God’s grace has been extended to us, and to them as well. We are all bound to make mistakes, even if we are praising God’s name from the pulpit.

Let’s go further to see what scripture says about itself: “and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”2 Tim 3:15-17. These were some of the first scriptures that I ever read that ever started to clear it up for me what the ‘Word’ of God truly was. And when I realized what the Word of God was I clearly began to understand that the Word of God was ’so’ much more than scripture. The Word of God ‘was’ and ‘is’ Jesus. Jesus is alive and all around us. It is clear when you actually ‘read’ scripture that it is never referrring to “scripture” when it says “the Word”. The ‘Word’ has always existed, always was, always is, and always will be.

Scripture on the other hand was something that was written. And when that 2 Tim 3:15-17 was written, it wasn’t referrring to itself. It wasn’t even referring to Matthew, Mark, Luke & John because none of them had been written yet. Consider some of the esimates as to when these books were written; Matthew 37-68 A.D., Mark 40-65 A.D., Luke 59-61 A.D., and John 80-98 A.D.. I encourage you to do your own research. Some of this sort of research can be found here click here, and here> although these studies can get on a bit of a tangent it is still quite facinating/interesting to understand more about the origins of the scriptures.

A very remedial understanding of the times of the early followers of Christ make it clear that what ’scripture’ referred to for them was the old testiment. And then, as time went by, men decided for themselves what they believed was “useful for teaching, rebuking, and training, in righteousness”. Men are charged, ‘you’ are charged, with the task of turning to the Word of God (Jesus), as you are guided by the Holy Spirit, and examining to see if what I or anyone else is saying is true. And if I’m not correct (based on scripture) then please let me know so I can understand where I have errored. The Bereans questioned what the apostle Paul said and were considered noble for it, how much more would it be considered noble to question what your pastor, elder or I attempt to teach you!

Satisfied With Little Or Much

When I hear people say they are praying about decisions regarding the changing of their careers I think to myself are they praying about it to decide what is best for ‘them’ or are they praying to decide what direction the ‘Lord’ is leading them for the LORD’s fame, benefit and purposes. The difference is the pursuit of worldly wealth and financial success for their familiy vs. the pursuit of God’s plan for ‘their’ life which is ‘only’ in the pursuit of God’s righteousness and not in the pursuit of wealth at all. I think about King Solomon here, who by the way was given much much wealth ‘because’ he ‘only’ pursued God’s righteousnes but never made the pursuit of wealth a goal of his.

On the other side of the coin I want to make sure that I am not judging everyone and jumping to the conclusion that everyone is pursuing wealth as a goal of their’s. It just seems like so often everyone around me changes their plans and changes the direction of their lives, not for the purpose of doing what they believe God wants them to do, but rather for the purpose of greater prosperity.

It is so easy to think that God would want us to pursue prosperity because he wants the best for us, but that is a very deceptive twist that the enemy tries to place in our hearts. Because God’s prosperity usually does not look like our idea of prosperity. These are all things that followers of Christ should know already. I pray that we will all seek God’s glory and God’s plan for our life only. And we will be satified with the little, ‘or’ with the much that the Lord has given us.