If It Ain’t Gnats, It’s Flies!

If It Ain’t Gnats, It’s Flies! This is an idiomatic phrase commonly used in the Southern United States. Since idioms do not translate well, here it is: this reflects the frustration expressed at seeing one problem or irritation followed by another and then another. It is the feeling of being surrounded by nothing but problems, aggravations, and irritations.

Anger and irritation are actually normal and are not inherently evil. Unchecked anger is.

Often, anger is really about a problem within yourself. If you are a normal person, you have many unmet expectations and desires.

Anger can be righteous when it aligns with the Lord’s hatred of sin and injustice. It is a holy act to ask the Lord to help you to properly handle anger.

John 16:33; James 1:2-4, 19-20; Matthew 11:28-29; Ephesians 4:31-32; Isaiah 41:10; Psalms 34:18, 37:8; Proverbs 14:17-29, 15:18, 19:11; Ecclesiastes 7:9; Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 15:18; 1 Corinthians 13:5; 2 Corinthians 10:15. 

Lead Me Not Into Temptation

I saw this printed on a hand towel. I do not know the source of this riff on The Twenty-Third Psalm.

"Lead me not into temptation ... oh, who am I kidding ... follow me, I know a shortcut."

We all know many shortcuts. Every human is tempted numerous times each day.  Even Jesus was tempted. The Bible records one major temptation episode that Satan launched against Jesus but surely there were many more.  Two are very obvious.

Jesus surely was tempted to heal his good friend Lazarus before the man died but he intentionally delayed his arrival. Lazarus' sister was angry and disappointed with their friend, but Jesus had a reason for his delay. Read the story at John 11: 1-44. "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"

Jesus clearly dreaded what was to come for him on the cross and he was probably tempted to do exactly the thing which he said he could do (Matthew 26:53). He did not do it because it would have meant that Satan had won. "But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?"

Jesus is the only person who has ever live a life totally free of sin. Here is the hard part. He was tempted just like we are. Hebrews 4:15

A Threatening Christian Assault!

At the start of 2017 one of my fellow employees placed a calendar in the employee break room. It featured beautiful high definition photographs of nature scenes. Along with each picture was a single praise verse from the Psalms. The overall tone of the calendar to a non-Christian would have been rather generic, along the order of a sweet Helen Steiner Rice poem.

Last week the calendar was taken off the wall.  The explanation from the supervisors was that there had been a complaint.  Someone had found the calendar to be offensive and threatening. Threatening?  REALLY???

Our national tradition in the United States is freedom of religion and a separation of church and state. Some have begun to believe that this means that any mention of religion must be removed from public sight.  Religion must be stifled and repressed.  Utter hypocrisy!

They, in effect, do what they accuse others of doing; they impose their religious view (agnosticism, humanism, or atheism) on others. They deny to others the right to practice or express their religious views.

Liberals and progressives scoff at and ridicule the idea that there is a War on Christianity in all corners of the United States.  In ways large and small, the evidence is ample and glaring that they are wrong or disingenuous.

Film Comment: Mom’s Night Out

The Erwin Brothers of Birmingham, Alabama (USA) have set a new standard for Christian films which too often in the past have been obviously low budget, preachy, and sadly, painfully amateurish in execution. The movement began with the Kendrick brothers of Georgia who recruited their church members to produce and act in surprisingly high quality films such as Fireproof, Courageous, Flywheel, and Facing the Giants. 

I have said before that truly quality films are rarely about what they appear to be about on the surface. The Erwin Brother’s films are examples of this. October Baby can be seen as an anti-abortion film but the deeper meaning is about the redemptive power of forgiveness. Woodlawn is a football film which is not in any way about football. Football is merely the setting of this film which recounts events which seem impossible but which actually happened. The film depicts the personal, social, and racial reconciliation which can occur when the power of the Lord is unleashed.

Mom’s Night Out (2015) is another Erwin Brothers film but it is a departure from the others in that it is a comedy. A real comedy, A fall on the floor and laugh out loud comedy. And a totally Christian film. Just remember to forget subtlety.

The film is about a woman who is living her dream, She has a loving, loyal, and successful husband, a nice home, beautiful children, and attends an actively growing and supportive evangelical church. She is miserable.

She feels stressed from every direction and feels inadequate to handle her life. She often fells as if she is a failure, especially when she explodes like a volcano during her frequent emotional “moments.”

The plot of Mom's Night Out involves a stress-free night she plans with her friends, who are also secretly suffering from serious stress. The fathers will keep the children! The women invite the pastor’s wife whom they all admire because she always seems so able to remain calm in any situation.(An aside: the pastor’s wife is touched that the other women chose to include her in the event since no one has invited her to anything in five years.) Surprise! The simple event rapidly devolves into a worst night of your life scenario.

Without ruining anything for you if you choose to view this film, here are the take-aways:

1. Everyone is stressed. Stress is normal.
2. Pastors and their families are just like everyone else. They are stressed too.
3. You cannot fix everything.
4. God does not take away all of our problems.  He helps us find meaning in the problems and chaos.
5. Take the focus off of yourself and return it to God where it belongs. He is in control.

Psalms 46:10

The Purpose of Christianity

Dr, Atul Gawande is an internationally known surgeon and author working in Boston, Massachusetts. He writes books and articles about performance and the human quest to do and be “better.”

Dr. Gawande has said that, despite the best efforts of his parents, he is not a very good Hindu. He did, however, find the Hindu rituals meaningful when his father died and the family gathered in India to scatter his father’s ashes into the Ganges River which is sacred to Hindus.   The rituals gave Dr. Gawande a sense of solidarity with his family and a feeling of continuity with his history; a sense of belonging to something bigger than himself.

I think that many Christians also see this as the purpose of religion. That, and also the civilizing effect that religion can have on their children. They totally miss the point!

Here is a list of some of the things which Christianity is NOT about: Making us feel good about ourselves. Connecting us with our families. Socializing our children. Making us into nice people. Creating social justice. Fighting abortion or sex slavery. Fighting poverty. Continuity with our traditions. And many more.

Christianity is about bringing glory to the Lord God. All the other good things, important as they are, come about because we wish to obey and glorify God. 

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork." Psalm 19:1

Does 12-13-14 Have Any Special Meaning?

I imagine that the numerologists are very busy today looking for arcane messages in today’s date, 13 December 2014. This date can be represented as 12-13-14.  This alignment of dates will not happen again for 100 years.  Surely it must have some cosmic significance! Personally, I think it is just a coincidental arrangement of numbers due to our current dating system.

When I noticed the 12-13-14 arrangement, I thought about the significance of numbers, especially in the Bible, which does use numbers as symbols. Think of the numbers 3, 7, 666, and 1000. Some people think that they see beyond the obvious symbolic use of numbers and that they can detect many numerological messages secretly embedded in the text by God. This is on the same order as belief in the controversial Torah Bible Codes.

The hidden messages which do undeniably exit in the Bible were of human origin. For instance, investigate ATBASH. An example occurs at Jeremiah 25:26. These messages were meant by the writers to obscure the true meaning from hostile governmental authorities who might read the texts. The idea is "to hide in plain sight." Also investigate the use of acrostics, an intentional literary form used by some of the Old Testament writers. Two examples of biblical acrostics occur at Proverbs 31:10-31 and Psalms 119.

I do not believe that the Bible is full of hidden supernatural messages. That is a pagan Gnostic idea. God inspired the writing of the various books of the Bible as a coherent whole and it is intended to be understood. It is a tool, a book of revelation about the nature of God, not a book of puzzles.

The Bible tells us that God is not a man and that His ways are not our ways. God is totally other, unknowable, and perfect.  He moves in the sub-atomic places and in the cosmic places. The Bible is part of God’s effort to make the utterly unknowable (Himself) understandable, at least partly, to our inadequate tiny little minds. Over and over we are told, “the Kingdom of God is like ….” I believe that God has used the entire Jewish religious and cultural system to explain what He is like. The entire Bible points toward Jesus, Who is the ultimate revelation of Who God is.

Make a Joyful Noise

We all sing the best we can.  Cody gives it his very best shot.  His happy tail tells me that he is making a joyful noise.

http://www.mostwatchedtoday.com/tag/dog-yelling/

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” Psalm 98:4

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.” Psalm 100:1

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.” Psalm 95:1

Psalm 119

Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem intentionally built by the author. This is an ancient Hebrew literary form which is not evident in translation.  The poem is built on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, in alphabetical order.



Verses 1 - 8 all begin with the letter Aleph.

Verses 9 - 16 all begin with the letter Beth.

Verses 17 - 24 all begin with the letter Gimel.

Verses 25 - 32 all begin with the letter Daleth.

Verses 33 -40 all begin with the letter He.

Verses 41 - 48 all begin with the letter Waw.

Verses 49 - 56 all begin with the letter Zayin.

Verses 57 - 64 all begin with the letter Heth.

Verses 65 - 72 all begin with the letter Teth.

Verses 73 - 80 all begin with the letter Yodh.

Verses 81 - 88 all begin with the letter Kaph.

Verses 89 - 96 all begin with the letter Lamedh.

Verses 97 - 104 all begin with the letter Mem.

Verses 105 - 112 all begin with the letter Nun.

Verses 113 - 120 all begin with the letter Samekh.

Verses 121 - 128 all begin with the letter Ayin.

Verses 129 - 136 all begin with the letter Pe.

Verses 137 - 144 all begin with the letter Tsadhe.

Verses 145 - 152 all begin with the letter Qoph.

Verses 153 - 160 all begin with the letter Resh.

Verses 161 - 168 all begin with the letter Sin/Shin.

Verses 169 - 176 all begin with the letter Taw.

How Many Words Are In the Bible?

The hopelessly complicated and voluminous United States tax code made me wonder just how many words are in the Bible.  United States Representative Dave Camp, the Chairman of the House (of Representatives) Ways and Means Committee said of a watchdog agency report, “This report confirms that the code is 10 time the size of the Bible with none of the good news.”  Estimates place the word count of the 16,845 page document to be approximately 3,800,000.  The document consisted of 11,400 words in 1914.

The word count of the Bible depends, of course, on which language and which translation is used and how the words are counted.  Should you include the names of the books or the word “chapter”?  Should you use the Greek and Hebrew originals, which, of course, do not apparently still exist in their autograph state?  Especially with the Greek text, there are numerous variants, which, while not changing the meaning of the text, would cause the word count to vary.

Should you include the supercripts  and postscripts to the Psalms (http://www.bombaxo.com/blog/?p=330)?

If one uses the King James version of the Bible, there may several word counts derived based on the method used for the count.  One estimate is 783,137 words.  Another is 788,280, while a third is 823,156.   All are far short of 3.8 million.

http://www.biblebelievers.com/believers-org/kjv-stats.html

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_words_in_the_King_James_Bible

Recognizing the Scriptures

From yesterday’s post, Paul said: “Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”  Acts 13:35

Paul here did not give a page and verse citation for the quotation.  Those would not exist for centuries.  Instead, Paul assumed that his listeners would be familiar with the verse.  Jewish men of Paul’s day could be expected to know the passage, having spent every Sabbath listening to scripture reading in the synagogue.

The books (actually the scrolls) of Scripture did not have names but were known by the first few words of the first sentence.  The listeners had heard the readings so many times that they knew the book and the passage being disvcussed as soon as the words were spoken.

How many modern Christians (or Jews) can identify the book and passage from which a random scripture text is taken? 

Messsianic Prophecies: His Body Will Not Decay

“For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Psalm 16:10

David is speaking here in the Psalm and many then and now believed that the “holy one” of whom he speaks is David himself.  Holy as in the sense of holiness and being a saint, set apart from the world and dedicated to God.

Hell can be interpreted as separation from God.

Peter, in Acts 2:27, reinterprets the passage as a reference to Jesus’ resurrection.  Most conservative Christians now see this verse as a messianic prophecy.

“Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” Acts 2:27

Paul also used the verse in the same way.

“Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.”  Acts 13:35

The Orbit of the Sun

“His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.” Psalm 19:6 (This verse is referring to the sun.)

Many critics of the Bible said that this verse describes a geocentric view, ie; that the sun revolves around the Earth. Since the sun was thought to be stationary, this would be an “error” in the Bible.  Modern astronomy has unintentionally resolved this supposed “error.”

The sun and the solar system are moving as a group in a circular orbit around the center of the Milky Way galaxy at a rate of about 220 kilometers per second.  An orbit of the galaxy takes about 225,000,000 years.  This is called a cosmic year.

Science says that the sun is about 5,000,000,000 years old, so it would have completed about 20.4 orbits if the dating is correct.

The Psalms

The Hebrew name of The Psalms is Tehilim which translates into English as “praises.” 

These songs were apparently sung to the accompaniment of stringed instruments and the musical instructions such as "selah" probably indicated sucj information as tempo or the tune to be used.

The English language name of the book, Psalms, comes from the Greek name Ψαλμοί (psalmoi), a translation of "mizmor," one of the types of psalms.  “Mizmor” is a Hebrew word meaning a sacred song set to music.  Psalmoi is derived from the infinitive “psallein,” “to play the harp.”

The other types of psalms also bear designations. “Shir” means the flow of speech in a straight line.  “Michtam” means “gold,” something you would keep close to yourself.  “Tehillah” means “a praise.”  “Shigayon” means “a mistake,”  songs of regret for sin.

(I tried repeatedly to place the Hebrew text into this post but the word processor insists on reversing the letter order no matter what I do.  Hebrew is read right to left instead of left to right.  The Greek text does not present this problem.)

The Power of Words

(Some videos will not play properly when you click on the triangle.  Instead,  click on the title line in the picture and the video will begin .  When the video is completed, close the You Tube pop-up window to return to this blog.)

James 3

1”My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. 2For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. 3Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. 4Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. 5Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. 7For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: 8But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. 10Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 11Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? 12Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

13Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”

 Words can hurt, words can cut.  Words can also heal and empower.  Your words reflect what is in your heart.

Christians, with the Mind of Christ, can, as they listen to the Lord, be led to say the right things, the needed things, the things God wishes to be said, at the times He wishes them to be said.  If that sounds like a lot of responsibility, it is. But remember, God will never ask you to do more than He will empower you to do.

Proverbs 16:24, Psalms 39:1, Colossians 4:5-6, Ephesians 4:29.

Put On the Full Armor of God

“Soldiers don’t arm themselves partially leaving the rest of their bodies unprotected.  For if they received their death wounds in the unprotected area, what would be the point of their partial armor? … The gospel implies that those who try to build a tower, but spend all their time on the foundation and never finish, are ridiculous.”  Gregory of Nyssa (330 – ca. 395) in On Virginity, 17.

Gregory was talking about those who never develop in their Christian understanding past that of infants, babies, the ones which Paul said were still drinking milk when they should already have been eating meat (1 Corinthians 3:2, Hebrews 5:12).

The reference to the soldiers calls to mind the instructions of Paul that we should put on the full armor of God in our battle, and whether or not we realize it, we are in a battle.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.   For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.   Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.   Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,   nd with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.   In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.   Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.   And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”  Ephesians 6:10-18

“He shall say: “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them.  For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” Deuteronomy 20:3-4

God has given us powerful spiritual armor and weapons for our fight.  Our real enemy is a person, Satan.  It is not popular to say this.  Satan has been able to convince the world that he does not really exist.  We don’t regularly see exorcisms and demonic activity (thank goodness) because Satan, the deceiver, knows that it is much more effective to work “under the radar.”  When we think of Satanic rituals, Rosemary’s Baby, little red devils with horns and spiked tails, and all the other popular images, we think of the devil as silly, funny, or entirely superstitious and fictional.  This is one of his strongest weapons.

“Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.”  Psalms 33:20

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart”  Hebrews 4:12

“O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.”  Psalms 140:7

“He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.”  Isaiah 59:17

“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”  Ephesians 3:14

Satan wins by deceit, lies, and half-truths, not by courage.  He is a master manipulater and wins his arguments.  Do not waste your time arguing with him.  Never yield in any degree.  Instead, look him in the eye, and, with the name of Jesus on your lips, walk toward him.  He runs from the name of Jesus.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  James 4:7

May God Bestow on Us His Grace

In 1523, Martin Luther (1483-1546) wrote the lyrics of the hymn "Es woll' uns Gott genadig sein" (“It wanted us to be God Genade”) Genade is a Dutch word meaning “grace” or “mercy.”  The English title is “May God Bestow on Us His Grace.”

The song has been called “the first missionary hymn of Protestantism.” "Timeline of Christian Missions," Wikipedia.  The hymn is inspired by Psalm 67:1.  It is Hymn 500 in the Lutheran Hymnal.

http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/a/maygodbs.htm 

Watching

Yogi Berra (b. 1925, in Missouri, USA, as Lawrence Peter Berra) is considered to have been one of the greatest players ever at the Catcher position in professional baseball.  As a team manager he led teams in both the American and National Leagues to the World Series.  He deservedly became a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 but, in the mind of the general public, he is best known as a mangler of the English language.  One of his most famous malapropisms is "You can observe a lot just by watching."


Malapropisms, on their faces, seem to be absurd, but sometimes they carry a grain of truth.  You really can observe a lot by watching.

"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." Luke 12:27  (If God takes care of mindless plants, He surely will take care of you!)

"Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace." Psalm 37:37  (Strive to imitate the finest examples of humanity.)

Go to the ant, O sluggard, Observe her ways and be wise, Proverbs 6:6 (Use the hyper-industrious insect as an example for your own life.)

Be an example for others:

http://www.openbible.info/topics/lead_by_example

An Example for Other to Imitate

http://bible.org/seriespage/mark-1-example-others-imitate

Names in the Bible: Ethan

The name אֵיתָן
, Ethan, is of Hebrew origin and means "strong," or "enduring."  There are several men named Ethan in the Bible.

1.  Ethan, a son of Mahol, was a wise Ezrahite who live during the reign of King Solomon.  He was possibly a cymbal player in King Favid's court and was the author of Psalm 89.  1 Kings 4:31, 1 Chronicles 2:6,  Psalms 89
2.  Ethan, a son of Zerah and a grandson of Judah.  1 Chronicles 2:6, 8
3.  Ethan, a descendent of Gershon.  This Ethan was an ancestor of Asaph the singer.  1 Chronicles 6:39-43
4.  Ethan was a son of Kishi/Kishaiah, a descendent of Marari/Merari.  This Ethan was a singer. 1 Chronicles 6:44; 15:17,19

Bible Printer's Errors: The Pay for Peace Bible

Not all Bible printer's errors occurred hundreds of years ago.  One happened as recently as 1966 in the first edition of The jerusalem Bible, produced as a translation from the original Greek and Hebrew rather than Latin of Jerome's Vulgate.  The translation came about because, in 1943, Pope Pius XII suggested that the Roman Catholic Church should translate the Bible from the original languages rather than from Latin.

Psalm 122:6 read "pay for peace" instead of "pray for peace."

The Jesus Vine

I do not for one second believe that this is a divine manifestation, but it is very interesting.  Every time something like this happens people rush to declare it a "sign."  To me it is a sign that people are desperate for "proof."  The problem with "proof" is that knowing is not faith, knowing is not trusting.  The devil and his demons know, and they believe (James 2:19).

A self-described non-believer noticed that a patch of kudzu vine on a telephone pole in Littleton, Colorado resembled Jesus hanging on the cross .  Pause the video at 00:55 and look at the clearly visible face.

The signs are all around us for anyone who has not intentionally shut their eyes and ears.  We don't need to see Jesus in the water stains on a wood door, on the browned portions on a piece of toast , in the shape of a cheese puff , or in a vine hanging on a telephone poll.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork." Psalm 19:1