#237: Lin Chi the Puritan

I'm sitting here enjoying my "Feng Shui" album...ooops, cd...looking over my Facebook Profile while the Triumph, Mob Wars, and Might of Many applications move on to the next bit of stuff I need from them in order to go back to war in the virtual world. I clicked on the "What Chinese Philosopher Are You?" application to see what the other guys are like besides good old Lin Chi who I apparently resemble. (This is a guy who "lived during the Tang Dynasty and died in 866 AD. He formed the Linji school of Chán Buddhism. His method to help students attain enlightenment was to yell at them and strike them abruptly with a fly-swatter, so as to shock them into a religious experience.") Now, with that methodology, can you see why I call him a Puritan? Can you say Grumpy, Constipated Christian with a Dunking Stool?!!

Maybe his whole philosophy/theology was not Biblical (according to Wikipedia, Christianity has been around in China since at least the 7th century), but I remember the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthians of his day in 1 Corinthians 4:21, "What do you desire? Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of gentleness?" I guess Paul either didn't own a fly swatter or thought his charges needed a bit more disciplining seven centuries before Lin Chi. Or maybe under that gruff exterior, Old Lin Chi was a softy and only wanted to leave little welts on his students' carcasses?!!

As I was reading about the five other Chinese Philosophers I was tickled with the description of Lao Tzu, who is represented by 9% of those taking the quiz. (I'm in the 7% class...the most exclusive, naturally! ;P) It appears, "We don't know when he lived or died; the best accounts detail him being born after 62 years in the womb with a full beard." Poor Momma Tzu!! OUCH!!

One tang-ential thought...Did the Tang Dynasty invent a powdered orange drink that eventually became popular in America in 1959 and even moreso when NASA started giving it to its trainees in 1965...with or without hitting them with a fly swatter?!!
Happy Sunday!!

#236: Brutal Fight of the Ages

I'm currently reading The Leaders We Deserved by Alvin S. Felzenberg, a book rating U.S. Presidents' terms of office and came across an interesting quote from President Woodrow Wilson, an Evangelical Christian who was so affected by being born in Virginia in 1856 and going through the Civil War as a child that he was a peacenik long before the term came to be. It's ironic that his League of Nations notion which led to the United Nations will someday germinate in the One World Government of the Antichrist, methinks...but, hey, that's just my opinion!

Here's the quote. "In the period when Wilson was still struggling to keep the United States out of the war in Europe, he voiced fears that American entry into the conflict would take a severe toll on civil liberties at home. 'To fight you must be brutal and ruthless,' he told an editor, 'and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into every fiber of our national life...'"

Now, translate that into the every day Battle of the Ages Christians are involved in according to the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10-20. It would appear to me after 28 years' involvement in the conflict that instead of being brutal towards rulers, powers, principalities, demons, world forces of darkness, spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places, and Satan himself through prayer against such individuals, Christians are much more preoccupied with beating up on each other; which means Satan can relax and laugh at us. This could be why there are so many passages in Scripture calling for unity, mutual "one anothering" for the good, and keeping alert to the fact that our battle is NOT against flesh and blood but against unseen forces that often appear as angels of light! Wake up, people...we're in THE most brutal war EVER!!
Got your armor of light on?

Source: Felzenberg, Alvin S. The Leaders We Deserved. Perseus Books Group, New York, 2008.

#235: The Band Theology

I'm sitting here enjoying some Vacating Time in the basement of Stonewalled Charismatic Presbyterian Church, listening to The Band, one of my favorite 60s bands, sing "The Weight." The chorus makes me think of 1 Peter 5:6, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you."

After telling us he "just pulled into Nazareth, feelin' about half past dead" (notice the reference to Christ's hometown), he tells how he is refused lodging when "he needs a place to rest his head." (Sound familiar to Joe and Mary's Xmas Tale?!!)
Well, the chorus then says, "Take a load off Fannie, take a load for free; Take a load off Fannie, And (and) (and) you can put the load right on me." There's the trigger for this mental gunshot: You can put the load right on Me!! You folks out there who are weighted down with cares beyond all you can ask or think...hand them over to the Lord if you're already His. Or, if you're not, ask Him to take the even bigger load of sins you've accumulated while shuffling around on this mortal coil!!
'Nuff said...enjoy the upcoming weekend.

#234: Buckaroo Bonzai Theology

One of the all time cult classic Marvel Comic based movies, "Buckaroo Bonzai," has the line in it, "Remember, wherever you go...there you are!" I was thinking yesterday about this when I read one of the lines of one of the devotionals I use each day. The Biblical principle is "love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself." I've observed that it is absolutely impossible to love someone else if you don't love yourself very much. No matter where you go, you're always there to mess up the mixture of personal relationships.
Fortunately, you take the Holy Spirit with you if you're a Christian, so you can rely on His help to give you the raw materials to be able to both love yourself because He loved you first and then to translate that to whomever it is you're trying to get squared away with on a horizontal level.

Actually, if you look at the prescription, Jesus says to love God first...visualize me drawing a vertical stroke representing the upright member of the Cross in the air...which can lead you to love yourself because of your identity in Him...and then loving horizontally...here goes a second air-stroke representing the cross beam...your neighbor. If you try to have good interpersonal relationships without getting right with God in the first place, you're skunked...it's just that simple, as I say to Elfson and Archangel so frequently.

Well, my stomach's growling...
Got baloney sandwich?

#233: 1984

I spotted an interesting note at the top of today's entry of The One Year Book of Christian History that I peruse in my Inner Chamber daily. Exactly 24 years ago To The Day (thank you Frodo, for that phrase here at The End of All Things) I started praying for Revival of the American Church through Persecution, if necessary, with a subsequent Great Awakening among all the nations, tribes, and tongues found in our borders.
George Orwell's famous book, 1984, brought to our minds yet another example of Big Brother government and extrapolated what would occur. My research that concluded in God Caused the Civil War had an interesting twist in it. Author Mitchel Snay's Gospel of Disunion concluded that the spiritual split North/South over slavery in The Church had to occur first in order to bring about the political split of the Civil War. I've observed in my book that there are at least 37,000 independent, apparently Evangelical congregations with 10 million adherents, according to research from Hartford Institute for Religion Research. Well, that leads me to conclude that there will be a massive split up of the States into some feudal system OR in order to keep order, we'll develop into a totalitarian state that'll make Nazi Germany look like a picnic.
Just a thought.
Got votes in November?

#232: To Everything There Is A Season

You folks that have stumbled onto this site or intentionally decided to come here know that I am an observer of things of all sorts in a Sherlock/Mycroft Holmesian sort of way. Well, today's crap emails...I think calling them spam does a GREAT disservice to an ABSOLUTELY delicious canned product of my youth...spark some thoughts about what I'll call The Crap Email Year. Here's how it goes:

January to about April: The incoming material has to do with sex, your loved ones, and Viagra and all its associated products. (Preliminary and follow-up to National Procreation day, a.k.a. Valentine's Day.)

April to June: A handful of viagra ads (for summer fun, I suppose) and a proliferation of "Buy Your PhD" ads and the QVC wannabees of jewelry (I suppose for graduation gifts).

June to August: Vacation possiblities and naked Angelina Jolie and Others videos for your summer time entertainment possibilities, I suppose.

August to October: Vegas ripoffs, makeovers of all sorts (I guess so you can be El Spiffo for Fall Term), and a smattering more of watches and other sellable junk.

October to December: Another smattering of Viagra et al offerings (I guess they figure it's time to renew your prescription), some pre-Christmas odds and ends, and a TON of rolodex and other junk offers for the Silly Season, as Mel Gibson's character, Martin Riggs says in"Lethal Weapon."

Oh, for you not-Sherlock-Holmes-fans...Mycroft is his portly brother who is even more brilliant than old Sherlock but stays within a circumscribed area in London learning everything, knowing everything, and saving the British Government's Victorian Bacon behind the scenes! Yes, Yes... I actually read the ENTIRE Holmes 2-volume opus from beginning to end last year or the year before. It was elementary, my dear Watson!!
Got bookmarks?

#231: Ecclesiastes Allergy Alert

Here it is, almost the end of August, Labor Day Weekend before us and, as Solomon and The Byrds say, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under Heaven." It would appear that the Lord's purpose under Heaven for me today is to be loaded with histamines so I awake early wired to the hilt! This is not necessarily a bad thing, except for the sneezing that can be controlled with Allegra-D; which Doc says is hard on my fibrillating heart, but prayer based on Pv. 3:5-8/Ps. 91:11 on my behalf will counterbalance that affect.
Sooooo...

I began reading Ecclesiastes on my 22nd read-through of the Bible in 28 years and I had some questions the other morning and again today. Did Solomon keep his "vanity" in the bedroom with the chest of drawers and bureau? Should a bureau of foreign affairs (of which Solomon had many, based on the number of wives/concubines he had) be kept in the bedroom or placed in an administrative office?

Gotta go restart Firefox Update. Later.

#230: Facebook Missionary

Yessiree, Bob, that's what I've been called since I described my Facebook gaming strategy to a guy this morning. I figured I get a bunch of Friends to enlarge my Mob on Mob Wars as well as Advisers for the Triumph war game and let them see my whole Profile. On top of that, I pop my usual "status reports" on them as well as other folks who hear from me with a decided Gospel ring to many of them, in my own fashion.
The way I look at it, this is one of those "open windows" that result from "closed doors" of the past that so many people talk about but so few climb through. Even if these folks don't read the Scripture that's on my Profile or pay heed to my status reports, but only put up with me in order to further their gaming interests, they can't turn back my Acts 26:18 prayers for them!
Gee, maybe I should copyright the title "Gaming Evangelism" so other Christians have to pay me for doing what the Holy Spirit moves them into the way Christians buy up public domain music and charge others to sing them.
Ooops...getting preachy.
Gotta go.

#229: Feng Shui Kinda Day

The Feng of the Holy Spirit is moving, I think, and I've just prayed that the Shui of Living Water would wash over 26 new "Friends" in my Facebook deal that I've accumulated through the war game "Triumph" and the Monopoly with Guns game, "Mob Wars." I've also been making comments to folks who have the "Daily Bible Scripture" application these last several days and thought I'd cut and paste today's thoughts for you.

The daily verses are 1 Corinthians 3:11-14: "For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward."

As I said there...For some reason, this verse reminds me of the tale of the Three Little Pigs, but Jesus will be the Consuming Fire as Hebrews says, not the Big Bad Wolf. I guess we'd be the Little Sheepies, not Pigs, too. Oh, speaking of sheep... did you know that they are the dumbest, most helpless animals on earth? The Lord's analogy calling us His sheep may be reassuring, but it aint complimentary!!
Well, gotta go tear down some "rulers, powers, world forces of this darkness, and spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." Y'all have a good weekend.

#228: Mukyokai Christian

I love it how the Lord takes mistakes I make and turns them to my good...Hmmm...sounds a bit like Romans 8:28. A near typo just now makes me think that sometimes the book should be called Roamin's because we roam all over the place in our walk in order to get back onto the path the Lord had for us and sometimes I think that, as Malcolm Reynolds says in "Firefly," I LIKE being in the woods because that's the only place I can see the path! (You also get to see some interesting trees in Fangorn Forest and encounter squirrels, nuts, Archangels, and Elves heading for the Grey Havens every so often.)

Back in Post #213, "Hiroshima's Fallout," I mistakenly wrote Mitsuo Fuchida's name, "Fushima" and was promptly corrected by a brother who contributed to my next steps that led to #215, "My Bad." Well, back then I promised a report when I read God's Samurai, so here it is now that I've been reading it directly and off handedly as I play some Triumph and Mob Wars and the engine that runs both those applications spurts and splutters occasionally like a WWII fighter plane about to run out of gas. On page 290 of God's Samurai it says, "Originally Fuchida was baptized a Presbyterian, but as his devotion to Christ grew so did his dislike of specific doctrines, and he became a mukyokai (no church) Christian..." Given my recent path in the woods, I've wondered just how many Christians in America are mukyokai. I wonder what the Japanese characters are for the word? Maybe it could become a popular tattoo among the tattooing Christian set? Why, it could even be one of those "witnessing tools" I've heard about for so many years in this part of the woods to all kinds of people they meet!

Where am I going with this? Beats me. I'm still in the woods waiting for the "light of my path" to illuminate which direction is next. One thing, for those of you on Facebook, you could go to my Profile and add the "Daily Bible Scripture" application to get a daily dose of the Bread of Life and Living Water if you want. Hmmm...Bread and Water seems to go along with my predictions of imminent incarceration for the Saints in America. Just a thought.
Got paper plates and Dixie cups?

Source: Prange, Gordon W. God's Samurai: Lead Pilot at Pearl Harbor, Brassey's (US), Inc., Maxwell Macmillan Pergamon Publishing Corp., Washington et al., 1990.

#227: Midday Musings Over Spicy Food

Yessiree, Bob...I was sittin' there at the table depicted in the picture (without the beer) reading from Proverbs 27 and 28 while scarfin' down last night's leftover hot dog and beans casserole. MAN I LOVE SPICY FOOD ON DAY 2!! ;P
Well, some questions came to mind from my readings and musings:

If "Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend," is that where the idea of a hatchet-face comes from?

When Job told God "there is no umpire between us" was he referring to being called out at home plate on an attempted slide?!! Or, considering God's last several chapters of questions, was Job the catcher and God just bowled him over for a home run?!!

Pv. 28:1 says, "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion." Would that be that lazy male who lets the female do all the gathering or the lioness who will mince you into big cat food for messing with her cubs?

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Who in the name of my great Aunt Lizzie's hair bun kisses his enemy or lets him kiss first?!! I'll bet the Fellowship of the Ring would let the Uruk-Kai smooch THEM!!
Maybe the answer to the last one is the guy mentioned in Pv. 26:18-19, "Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, is the man who deceives his neighbor, and says, 'I was only joking!'"

Well, I'm mused out for the moment, God's in His Heaven, and Bob's Your Uncle.
Got other sayings?

#226: Profiling & Conspiracy Theory Theology

I've been sitting here thinking this morning...scary thought, isn't it?!! When police forces observe recurring patterns of behavior and conduct in their sometimes highly dangerous business by "criminal profiling," it is considered wrong behavior and most definitely politically incorrect. It can even be yet another one of those ploys lawyers and the ACLU can use to get actual criminals out of jail on technicalities. (It just now occurs to me that newborns these days ought to be issued a dozen or so...13 would be a lucky number as well as a baker's dozen... "Get Out Of Jail Free" cards with their birth certificates just for the heck of it. We could save a lot of time and extra effort in the legal system and it would give counterfeiters something else on which to ply their trade.)

On the other hand, everybody on Facebook, My Space, Tagged, and whatever other "socializing networks" are out there that this techo dino doesn't know about, is already profiling every single time he/she gets on the application...not only about him/herself, but by reading over other individuals' self-proclaimed dossiers. Folks scroll down over a person's profile, picking up all kinds of information from the various applications installed that the user wants us to know about; otherwise, he/she would not have put it up on the Internet. The irony is that I've heard of people who blog or have profiles actually being angry when what they've posted on the Net is known by personal friends. HELLO!! METHINKS THE LADY/GUY DOTH PROTEST TOO MUCH!! (Tip of the hat to Willie Shakespeare's Hamlet.)

Now, tell me that every enforcement agency in the world doesn't have SOME way to tap into all this bank of information in order to check out who they think is going to do whatever it is they don't want them doing!! Security...my great Aunt Lizzie's hairbun!! All you people out there...especially those of you who profess belief in an inerrant and infallible document that is LOADED with what is coming to be known as hate speech literature had better wake up to the facts of the matter. If you don't want to pay attention to my way of thinking, pick up one of Frank Perretti's excellent novels and get some fertilizer for the old paranoia plants of your psyche!! Oh, and as your angst and nail biting go up, don't forget about Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes [my Calvinistic emphasis] all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren..." Part of that image is in Isaiah Chapter 53...the Suffering Servant Image. You might also look up Acts 9:16, the terms of Paul's calling: "...I will show him how much he must suffer for My name's sake."

Gotcher concentration camp picked out, Saints in the USofA?

#225: Early A.M.

The Lord's given me the ability to sleep like I'm dead...once fell asleep running a jack hammer while working as a carpenter...and wake up refreshed early in the a.m...like 4!! (No, excuse me, not "like" 4, Elfson... FOUR!!!!!)
Anyway, I'm mixing "Feng Shui" and "Lord of the Rings" music with reading and commenting on Scripture in the Daily Scripture deal on Facebook, playing Triumph, Mob Wars, and My Heroes Ability (hey, I know it should be Hero's, but the game creator is obviously not an English major computer geek!!), and taking more of these fabulous quizzes...OK, so Archangel is right...I need parents. Blame my Mom who gave me all those Golden Books back in the 50s to read in the early morning hours to keep me quiet at 4-5a.m. back then for developing my mental eccentricities!! You know..."I'm a victim! I'm conflicted!! I have issues!!! I'm full of...well, Self Indulgent B.S.!!!! EEEUUUUWWWW!!!!!"

Now that that rant is over...some of these quizzes are absolutely moronic, created by folks who mean well but must be spatially challenged between the ears. Of course, I said to myself...much like those parent/teacher meetings I mentioned in last night's post..."Who's the bigger moron, the quiz maker or the quiz taker? HUNH?!! Who's the bigger fool, the fool or the fool who follows the fool? (Thank you, Obi Wan!!) When you ladies are whining about your boyfriend, fiance, or husband...who's the bigger fool, the fool or the fool who's dating/married to the fool?!! And besides, guys have one bright moment in their entire lives, so Mr. Special to you used up his wits deciding to love you, Right?!! Checkmate...game/set/match to Uncle Bob the Encourager of the Christian Marrieds.

Oh, by the way, I've been praying for y'all since forever that the Lord would CAUSE Romans 12 to be worked out in your lives, so look it up and see what you can do about "working out your salvation with fear and trembling" today.
Got objections?

#224: Random Questions Of An Evening

Yeah, I'm here at what for me is an odd hour, playing Triumph and Mob Wars on Facebook and looking over Friends' stuff.
One home schooling Mom reports she got through her first day. Well, do home schoolers talking to themselves constitute a parent-teacher meeting?

A young Mom is overwhelmed because her son has chicken pox. Has there ever been a case of duck pox recorded? Or pigeon pox, considering you can get pigeon toes? And if home school kids throw things at each other, do they cry "Duck?" Why not "Rabbit" in good Bugs Bunny fashion?!!

When a husband gets in trouble, is supper hot tongue and cold shoulder with icy glare to wash it down?

A buddy is preaching on the topic, "Chapel Hill: A great place to enjoy music." Should the follow up sermon be "Boot Hill: A nice place to enjoy some quiet?!!"

#223: Holy Hades Batman!

For those of you who lived through 1966 to 1968 watching the schlocky TV series, "Batman," starring Adam West (or you young'uns who caught the reruns on Nick At Night or whatever network carried it)...you just had a flashback to Robin the Boy Wonder, now, didn't you?!! Well, as you visualize the Caped Crusader and his sidekick "climbing" sideways up a wall, I'm going to discuss personality quizzes on the narcissistic medium known as Facebook. Oh, by the way, in the DC Comics hero category...I'M BATMAN!! (Did you just see Michael Keaton or Christian Bale?!!)

Yessiree, Bob, I've been taking Facebook Quizzes over the last several days and have some news. They are a CROCK in most cases...who can conceive of me as a New York Style Pizza?!! Either it's pepperoni and anchovies or I'll be a Philly Cheese steak!! Well, I commented on three of the quizzes in my Facebook blurb yesterday, indicating I'm "a Spartan like Hades, with a good personality, who needs to be sanctified...like, Duh? Really?!!" Post #218, "Facebook Foxed Me", comments on my color as White and the way I'll die. Well...in their own vague-as-any- horrorscope way, these quizzes comment on us all, based on Galatians 5:19-25, "Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Quiz Accumulation says (with spellings and words corrected and edited):
"When it comes to battle, you don only a spear and leather briefs...because it's all you need."
"Simple out you are a cruel and mean person. You make people feel horrible and blue."
"Your best quality is your personality. People like you because you are an all around good person. You have good manners and values. You also like to express your personal style and interests."
"The Bible says we are 'washed white' when we believe in Christ's death for payment of sin."
It seems to me, considering Christians are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at conversion, that you're never alone in a room with a Christian or a schizophrenic!
Got Spirit Shui Feng? (Born of water and Spirit?)

#222: Pennsylvania Bob and the Temple of God

Yessiree, Bob...that title's an intentional play on "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," the most demonic of the series that I've seen, since I haven't seen the latest. All that aside, today marks 28 years that the Spirit has been in me...almost exactly half of my 56.75 years shuffling around on this mortal coil. I figure on February 17th it will be exactly half, so maybe I'll remember to give you another reason to crack open a coupla cold ones then, too...Good Lord willing and the river don't rise, as the saying goes! ;)
In any event, be encouraged by Ezekiel 36:26, "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes [my emphasis], and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."

IT DON'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS SHORT OF HEAVEN ITSELF!!! I GOT HIM ALL!!! OOORAH, OOORAH!!!

#221: Table Talk

OK...so it aint gonna be Martin Luther's famous words over beer and sauerkraut, but the title gives me a chance to exhibit my carpenter's handiwork...my Platonic vision of a table better known as the one I built for sorting laundry at the Grey Havens. Yeah, I know, even with the flash working, it's not such a hot picture...so sue me or click on it to see it in full screen size. Or...send me a higher tech camera for any unbirthday you want between now and November 15th!! ;)

The title also stems from what I read yesterday and today in Proverbs 23:1-3, "When you sit down to dine with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you; And put a knife to your throat, If you are a man of great appetite. Do not desire his delicacies, For it is deceptive food." As I munched on my Cheerios I thought that this is an interesting opposite to all the admonitions throughout the Bible to dine with The Ruler Who says in Isaiah 55:1 "Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost."

Then there are the passages where Jesus describes Himself as the Bread of Life and later on the promise spoken of as the Marriage Feast of the Lamb to which I've referred occasionally among these posts. (#39, 121, 131, 141, 158, 175, &195 to be specific.) I think it's significant that the One who calls Himself the Bread of Life was born in Beth-lehem (Hebrew words for "house of bread") and was placed in a feed trough (manger) at His birth. Seems rather a providential coincidence, if you ask me...as I often point out to new Hebrew classes here at Camp Cornelius!

Once again, that's it for now. Oh, if you need a reason to throw a party tomorrow, just in case I'm doing something else and don't post anything, feel free to celebrate the 28th anniversary of my rebirth on August 17, 1980. Belly up to a table and chow down!! OOORAH, OOORAH!!

#220: Whoa Man!

Long ago, in discussing the creation story in Genesis, it was stated in my presence that God created Adam and called him "man." Then God created Eve, Adam saw her naked and said, "Whoa, Man!"...and that was how her gender got the name. (This all presupposes Adam spoke English...hey, why not?!!)
Well, today while discussing various aspects of work and how guys get to use their time with a brother, I concluded that Adam, not when he saw Eve naked, but when he was presented with the first "Honey, Do!" list that was a mile long said, "Whoa, Man...I aint got the time or energy fer that!" (Presupposing Adam spoke English with a Philadelphia accent!)
Just another one of my guesses.
Like Beekeeper said in "The Alamo"...That's All!

#219: Addictive Personality

This morning's ramblings were partly inspired by the coffee table set up outside one of our classrooms, partly by Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it" that I read yesterday and then again this morning with my Cheerios. (Hmmm...I wonder if the namers of that cereal were British or wanted to make you think their product was going to cheer you up?)

For those of you with children in any of those "difficult" periods of life...like from 0-100...be encouraged of the truth of Pv.22:6; especially if you're dealing with Teens or Tweens (20-somethings in Hobbiton). If you've trained them up Biblically as children (which I think ends at age 12 technically, but which extends the rest of your life as a parent) and they are rebelling against this...hold fast, keep praying for them using Psalm 119:9-18/Mt. 6:33, 34 as the basis of your requests, and wait to see when the Lord returns them to what you consider His Path for them. (If they're Christians, they're never out of His grip, but they may need a good spiritual wedgey to bring them around.) Oh...and NEVER, EVER pray for patience...you've already got the trial causing you to exercise the patience you've got as part of the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5: 22,23.

Now, for the rest of you Christian Addicts...did you ever notice how at Christian conferences or retreats (a term that's annoyed me for 28 years, since I think we should be "standing firm" in Him, not retreating in any way) coffee/drinks and some kind of food ABSOLUTELY HAVE to be served?!! If you want to get a bunch of supposedly "spiritual giants" whining and complaining as a group, take away their drugs of choice...caffeine and sugar!! ;P Or, for those pastoral types, make a book table available to them, but only for display and ordering purposes and you'll hear them grousing and complaining that the books are not IMMEDIATELY available, but ordering a ton of them anyway. (I've found that the best way to cure Book Lust is to move 10-12 times in your life and have to do the moving yourself!!...Oh, and you're never actually cured...the process is just continually choosing the lesser of two weevils, as Captain Jack Aubrey says in "Master and Commander!!")

Well, I don't know what's got its claws in your hide these days that's controlling you, but the solution for EVERY addiction...remember, being "born dead in trespasses and sins" is the primal addiction with multiple outworkings...is to become a Jesus Addict...get born again and use His resources to deal with all your Natural Man addictions. And while you're in the process, ask Him to show you how to transform the addiction into some useful activity for the Kingdom...like using Facebook to "blurb" the Gospel to your friends through your profile and status options.
Got ideas how?

#218: Facebook Foxed Me!

Ninety-nine times out of a hundred in what life throws my way I'm not surprised; irritated sometimes, but then I try to remember that ALL things work together for my good and ask the Lord to show me just exactly how whatever is bugging me does. Yesterday was #100 for a pleasant change. I was sitting around killing time while it was gradually killing me, taking several of the Quizzes on Facebook. (FYI...I'm either going to die of old age, in an electric chair like Ted Bundy, or of old age in the electric chair...perhaps one of those vibra-massage recliners with a short circuit when I'm in my 80s or 90s?!...that's the conclusion of "How Will You Die?" and "What Serial Killer Are You?")

Getting back to the surprise...Here's the result of "What Color Are You?":
"White symbolizes purity and cleanliness. White is worn by brides at weddings to symbolize this. The Bible says we are "washed white" when we believe in Christ's death for payment of sin. You and white inspire clarity, pure thoughts, and pure actions." The quiz actually includes this as an option for where the quizzee will spend eternity: "In heaven, thanks to faith in Christ's death, burial and resurrection." Can you believe THAT?!! Methinks the constructor of the quiz has revealed something about his/her presuppositions, mayhaps.

Well, now that you're done laughing at trying to visualize me described as white in this sense of the word (I am Caucasian, after all, due to my Anglo-Scottish-Russian-Teutonic genetic roots), let's get down to theological brass tacks...I AM WHITE positionally in Christ, even if the external package aint!! OOORAH, OOORAH!! Granted, my Natural Man may be like Ted Bundy, a Flood for a Disaster, a Chinese philosopher, Lin-Chi, who used to yell at his students and hit them with a fly swatter to shock them into a religious experience, and most importantly, BATMAN...but there's the nasty package Christ redeemed and whose sins have been made "white as snow" according to Isaiah 1:18!!
Folks at Camp Cornelius already KNOW how I can yell. Have I inspired you to clarity, pure thoughts, and pure actions or do I need to go find a fly swatter?!!

#217: 8/11/1778

Today's reading in One Year Book of Christian History was about Augustus Toplady, writer of the hymn, "Rock of Ages" who had his eternal Home Going on this date 230 years ago. The authors point out that it is the most popular hymn in the English language. Now, I might be biased...REALLY ;p?!!...but I think "Amazing Grace" is. Guess we'll have to settle the argument at the Marriage Feast. Maybe John Newton and August can have a wrist- wrestling competition to see who wins...although, with two resurrected bodies, that might take a while to resolve!! But, what the heck, it'll be Eternity then, and we'll have plenty of time...my bad... plenty of no-more-time, that would be!

In any event, "Rock of Ages" was not only my Mom and Dad's favorite hymn...hence the picture above...but also that of Confederate General and solid Christian, James Ewell Brown Stuart, known as JEB to friends...and history. One bit of trivia I've noticed each of the 33 times I've watched the movie, "Gettysburg", is that the background music being played when JEB and his cavalry ride into Lee's camp on the evening of the second day of the battle is "Rock of Ages". Researchers for the movie did a good job.

So, what's my point? Remember Isaiah 26:3-4 today when life hits the fan, "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock."
Got that?

#216: Saturday Speculations

I love Dictionary.com that also functions as a thesaurus. I wanted to alliterate for today's post title, so I simply "sought and found," as Matthew 7: 7-8 says, a word that means "thoughts" and begins with the letter "s." (Yes, Bert, Ernie and Big Bird are in the wings of the stage of my mind prompting that "today's letter is 'S.'")

I'm reading through Proverbs these days and have some of my marginal comments to share based on some of the verses. They will be in no particular order nor logical sequence...so what else is new?!!

Proverbs 18:2, "A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind" seems to me to be the description of most Talk Radio I've tuned into; especially the call in shows that actually raise my blood pressure if I hear them while driving to the doctor's for blood work.

Proverbs 17:11, "A rebellious man seeks only evil, So a cruel messenger will be sent against him" describes God's judgment on the Christians like Robert Barnwell Rhett of the Confederate States of America who were directly responsible for the War when He sent Union General Uncle Billy Sherman and 90,000+ Yankees through the South on his March to the Sea.

Proverbs 16:7, "When a man's ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" was the reason that Federal troops during the Civil War actually cheered when Confederate General Stonewall Jackson rode by outposts during times of truce.

Well...for now...that will do.

#215: My Bad

Yes, Elfson and Anonymous Man...I actually used that phrase in a post because it's absolutely appropriate, even if linguistically parallel to scraping your fingernails on a chalkboard to some folks!!
Post #213: Hiroshima Fallout was written from memory...obviously faulty...because I was too lazy to walk my butt from The Big House down to the Grey Havens to check my sources! All that being said, here's a correction one reader of Self Indulgent sent me via email...Thanks, Wes!!

"It was FUCHIDA, and the tract was ABOUT DeShazer and was given out by Timothy Pietsch to Fuchida. See more here on my website:

http://home.comcast.net/~winjerd/Page09.htm#Fuchida

Sorry, some of those links are not working anymore."

Brother Wes also recommends I read God's Samurai, so I'm going to head to the Library in about 15 minutes to check it out or get in on Inter Library Loan and will update you after I read it.
Proverbs says a lot about stumbling with the tongue. I figure stumbling with the fingers on a blog site is parallel, 1 John 1:9 covers ALL my sins YET AGAIN, and I'm off to make this as much of a vacation day as possible, assuming I don't get too antsy doing things other than work!

Oh, yeah...this is summer...the Library doesn't open until 9am! My Bad #2!!

#214: Early Morning Questions

I've been thinking since about 5:05am. Here are a few ruminations for you:

Since Jesus "...Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted," what carpentry mistakes did He make that might have been covered up but to which He owned up in order to come to my aid when similar things happen?

Did Solomon print out his Proverbs and put them on the bumpers of his chariot? Did his chariot have bumpers? Did Solomon get any of his fabulous wealth from selling chariot bumper stickers?

How calloused were Jesus' hands from all that carpentry He did? Did His hands ache at the end of the workday or was He still too young to deal with arthritis? What did He say when he got the inevitable splinters in His hands...or hit His thumb with a hammer?

Where's the balance in taking pride in your work...doing it "as unto the Lord" as Colossians 3:23 says...and pride going before a fall?

Would Jesus have had a Facebook profile? Would anyone have believed the statistics? What applications would He have put on it? How many Friends would He have? Could the Bible be considered Jesus' Facebook? Or would it be Face The Music Book?

Gotta go play with some prospective fire wood.
Got further questions?

#213:Hiroshima's Fallout

Yep, back in 1945, Harry Truman authorized the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on this day in history. Three days later he had Nagasaki removed from the face of the earth... except for the rubble, of course. That makes Harry the only world leader so far to actually use nuclear weapons on an enemy, not just threaten to use them. A Democrat from Missouri...the I'll Show You State! in this case...pulled the trigger. Makes you think about the Party's hot air stance on war and the like, if you think about that sort of stuff, of course.

Now, the Japanese Empire broke the Christian Sabbath on December 7, 1941 by bombing Pearl Harbor. The irony is that they failed on all three of their objectives: to eliminate the U.S. carriers, to destroy the oil fields, and to keep the U.S. out of the war...and, now they have the distinction of being the only nation in history to actually have nuclear weapons used against them...assuming you don't count the tests the U.S. has done in our own atmosphere as an attack against ourselves and the Chernobyl meltdown back in '86 in the Ukraine as an attack against themselves!! Oh, fyi..."Chernobyl" means "wormwood" in either Russian or Ukrainian, I forget which...one of the words in the Book of Revelation describing future nasty events when bowls are poured forth, etc.

Now, a Japanese brother pointed out to me that some medical fallout from the bombing of Hiroshima is that the treatment of leukemia was significantly advanced and has benefited millions of people over the last half century as a result of Japanese doctors' work in the field.
It is interesting, too, that the guy who led the raid on Pearl Harbor, Mitsuo Fushima, was given a Christian Gospel tract in Tokyo by an American, Jake DeShazer, who had gotten converted in a Japanese p.o.w. camp when he went down in enemy territory with the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo. Fushima then became a premier evangelist in Japan in the late 40s through the 50s.
You just never know how good can come of evil in the providence of the Lord.

I guess Daniel 2:20-22 are a good historical perspective to keep in mind at all times, no matter what the times are, "Daniel answered and said, 'Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, And knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.'"
Got radiation therapy?

Source: Rusten, E. Michael & Sharon. The One Year Book of Christian History. Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 2003.

#212: 180,000 and Counting

Well, I didn't get where I was going in the prayer journals yesterday, but today...the "tomorrow" I did NOT worry about yesterday...I did. Since December 13, 1980, the Lord has answered 180,000 specific prayer requests of which I know; which means there's probably ten times that many that I don't know about that are already answered, too.
In any event, I did not get injured cutting up parts of a felled oak tree for firewood for a buddy today.
Some missionaries to Russia did get their 3-month visas.
And, as usual, I recorded the Ten Daily Basics for me and The Cook. You need to know about them because you're missing out on "counting your blessings" every morning you awake. Here's how it works. If you've prayed for:
Strength for the day (Dt. 33:25)
Daily Bread (Mt. 6:11)
Forgiveness for any particular thing (1 John 1:9)
Protection from evil or "lead us not into temptation" (Ps. 91:11)
More answers (Jeremiah 33:3)
...then every morning you wake up after a day when you've received these items, you've got five more answers to prayer you probably haven't even considered when you've been wondering if the Lord actually hears you or not.
Not much more need be said.
Got your prayer journal started yet?

#211: 20 Years Ago Yesterday

Since I was away yesterday, I didn't get to read my usual morning 4 devotions, so I doubled up today. My notes in One Year Book of Christian History (you all should really get a copy!) indicates that 20 years ago yesterday I began praying for Christian Singles as a group, one of the categories mentioned in Post #209. I figured Singles...that would be never-marrieds, divorced types, and widows/widowers...who really need helpmeets should follow the simple instructions of Matthew 6:33,34 and watch how the Lord provides in answer to my requests based on that Prayer Rock. (Post #207) Here's the text: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

So, my request is, "Cause them all to be seeking first Your Kingdom, Lord, then match up the horn dogs who need to get married in Your perfect timing!" Hey, Jesus was a redneck carpenter who created the procreative function, so why shouldn't I just talk to Him the way He already knows I'm thinking before I ask?!! Besides, the Spirit's working within/alongside me to clean up my prayers that I don't know how to pray aright, so I can't lose!

Speaking of that...it's time to do some journaling. I've got 179, 944 answers in my journals and I want to see if I can hit 180,000 by the end of the day. Catch y'all later. I'm kinda wound up this morning and aint got no parents! ;) (Smile, Archangel!)
Got personal notes?

#210: Guardian Angels and Blood Brothers

Well, The Cook became The Baritone this weekend and sang up a storm...well, practiced during a storm...in his hometown. Actually, four of us had a good laugh as thunder rolled in the background as he worked through "When The Storm Passes By." He sang quite well today and caused a bunch of the cotton-headed saints to rejoice that they've known him. I'm glad the Lord has given him the talents he has that I've been able to benefit from for 28 years of being Jesus' Blood Brothers as well as the opportunity to pray for him as he sings to hold him up as his angels do...the same two that kept him safe at Hershey Park several weeks ago. This here picture of an angel is ok, but I think the ones guarding us are a lot fiercer and faster, based on our travel time There and Back Again, as Bilbo wrote in the Red Book of the Shire, and some of the spiritual scrapes we've been in for almost three decades.
We didn't run into any Nazgul on our trip (other than the one by whom we're occasionally haunted at the dinner table) but we did get to see Art Monk, a devout Christian who played wide receiver for the Washington Redskins, inducted into the Football Hall of Fame on the motel TV as we rolled channels. It was once again a case of "...he who honors Me, I will honor..." being worked out and a solid testimony of Christ's faithfulness presented to a ton of people on ESPN.
If you're reading this and don't know what the heck I'm talking about, don't worry, I'm listening to the soundtrack from "The Lord of the Rings" I was recently given by The Cook/Baritone and I'm waxing eloquent with some tears running because of the one track that's playing.
Better quit before I actually get sentimental and get salt water in the keyboard and Elfson has to replace it with yet another!
Got tissues?

#209: Pray By Categories

On May 13, 1983...yessiree, Bob, it was a Friday!...I had a localized epiphany. I was reading in Ephesians chapter 6 and came to the part that said, "Pray at all times in the Spirit for all the saints." The question to ask when you get a Biblical command is not "Why?" but "How?" I figured there was no logistical way I could either know who all the saints are worldwide, nor did I have the time to pray for all of them even if I spent 24 hours in the presence of the Lord...not a bad idea, actually, but my creditors expect me to pay up through working by the sweat of my face.

Soooo...the Spirit reminded me that the Father is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient...all powerful, everywhere, and knowing everything. Eureka! The answer was to pray for "All the Saints" at the same time, not with a "God bless us, everyone" watered down, Tiny Tim prayer, but by using Scripture to put teeth into the requests. For instance, take Ephesians 6:10-20 and reword it back to the Lord, with direction from the Spirit (cf. Romans 8:26) something like this: "Lord, CAUSE all Christians to stand firm in Your strength, to know the spiritual warfare we're in, to put on the whole armor of light daily, to be praying for each other in the Spirit, and to be boldly proclaiming the Truth as You give us opportunities!!" (Number of exclamation points are optional, indicating your fervency to see it done.)

What this morphed into was establishing groups of people and Scripture Shorthand in my journals along lines like this:

Pregnant Sisters: Dt. 33:25 strength for the day, minimize Gen. 3:16 birthing pains, Phil. 4:4-19 to work out in their lives.
Teaching and Ruling Elders: Ephesians 4:11-16 (equip them to equip others)
Bible Translators: 2 Timothy 2:7, John 14:26, 1 Cor. 15:58 (teach them what they need to know, bring it to their remembrance, keep them steadfast)
Sick (physically/mentally) Saints: James 5:13-16/Mt. 11:28/Dt. 33:25/Pv. 3:5-8
Single Saints: Mt. 6:33,34/Ps. 119:9-18 (cause them to seek first Your Kingdom...grant them what/who they need & keep their ways pure according to Your Word)

You get the idea. Got categories of your own?!! Pray 'em up!!

#208: Happy Birthday Bud Key

For some reason, I'm guessing because Frances is the female sound-alike name...or maybe "Francis" sounds a bit too formal, men born since the 1920s (maybe earlier) with the name Francis are usually called "Frank" or "Bud" by their friends and relatives.

In any event, Francis Scott Key was born August 1, 1779 ("back in the day" when using all three of a person's names was popular). I'm guessing that most Americans know that he wrote "The Star Spangled Banner" in 1814 while watching Fort McHenry being shelled by a British gunboat during the War of 1812; although, these days that may be a brash assumption to make. Except for those of us who read The One Year Book of Christian History or do research for religious magazines, most folks probably don't know he was a devoted Christian and presided over a meeting of the American Sunday School Union in 1830 that set a goal of establishing Sunday schools in the towns and villages of the Mississippi Valley region that covered about 1.3 million square miles. The effort, by the way, was successful but took 50 years instead of the ambitious 2 the original plan anticipated.

The tune to "The Star Spangled Banner", according to Wikipedia, was the official song of the Anacreontic Society that was designed to praise music, but had lots of lyrics that caused it to be known and become popular as a "drinking song." Even if you knew Key wrote the SSB, did you know that he also wrote the hymn, "Lord With Glowing Heart I'd Praise You?" There's an interesting article at [http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1995i/Mosher.html] if you have a hankering or your interest is piqued to check out the hymn and some things about it.

My brain sees all sorts of twists and cul-de-sacs to run into with comments on our national anthem being connected with a drinking song, but rather than run completely down hill, I'll simply bring us back to celebrating the Lord's Providence in raising up one of His own for just such a time in American history as was needed at the time. As 1 Samuel 2:30 says in part, "...for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me will be lightly esteemed"...even as part of that great cloud of witnesses Hebrews 12:1 talks about, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..."
So, America...this Bud's for you!
Got Amazing Grace?