Calling Aspiring Writers

I like to pretend I can write well. Apparently my pretense is mildly successful, because I was made the Associate Editor at Open for Business (OfB), a webzine. Not that it pays anything, but it's fun to see my stuff posted where a wider audience is likely to see it.

It's possible some of my readers are actual writers, or perhaps you would at least pretend as I do. Either way, you are heartily invited to submit articles for publication at OfB.

Open for Business accepts commentaries and other works on technology, current events, politics, philosophy, business and other relevant matters for publication. Commentaries should be 600-800 words in length, other works vary but should generally be kept to less than 1500 words. If you think you would like to contribute, contact OFB's editor, Timothy R. Butler.

There's a link at the site for this, down in the lower right-hand corner of the front page. However, you can also submit them to me via comments here or email. We'll be glad to do the formatting, and even edit them if you wish.

Server!

As far as I know, all the parts have been gathered for our new Winserver. While it uses a mere micro-ATX board, I'm using a medium sized case for lots of air flow. I was fortunate to find a dual core AMD64 CPU at a price I could afford, and for now just 1GB of RAM. I found a Seagate 250GB EIDE drive on closeout for only $50, which was about the same price as the Asus LightScribe SATA DVD-RW. Someone gave me a used generic NEC flat keyboard still in very good condition, and I have left over from my spare parts an old Logitech optical mouse. Finally, someone gave me a marvelous Dell P1230 CRT for the display.

This is not boasting in my fancy toy, but boasting in what God can provide when it's in His Kingdom's interest. I didn't simply ask for a new computer -- I realized my service required one. Frankly, I'd have spent the money some other way were it up to me.

FireFox Works with ZoomText

Okay, so score one for the Open Source Team.

Yesterday, I decided to see if the boasting from FireFox was justified regarding disabled access. I installed it on a client machine which is set to display just about everything white-on-black. This is a very good, high contrast theme for many people with marginal vision.

The trouble is twofold: (1) Internet Explorer can only with great pain and sorrow be made to honor this scheme in displaying webpages. In the process, it applies the same color changes to things sent out via formatted email and in printing. Yes, changing HTML links to yellow in the browser makes then yellow in emails and print. (2) Many webpages are unreadable if you force the font and color scheme. Using wide fonts (Bookman Old Style and Verdana) is a common way of relieving eye strain, too.

FireFox does permit enforcing the color scheme with great ease, without affecting output anywhere else. Further, it tends to render most webpages rather readably with enforced fonts and color scheme. Finally, it works rather well with ZoomText. It honors the focus model, even allowing the modified cursor (big green circle around it) on the front page of Google, sitting in the search entry box.

Let's hear it for FireFox.

Too Comfortable

In some ways, I could be associated with "terrorists" -- because I don't think highly of Western Civilization. Of course, I don't promote violence to change things, but I do warn violence will come, because God does things that way. When nations ignore His revealed demands, those nations are destroyed eventually.

Instead, I seek to warn people not to get too comfortable. Christians specifically I warn not to get to cozy with this world. We seem to have forgotten the theology which brought us here. Maybe an old hymn will jog your memory?

Oh Lord, You know I have no friend like You.
If Heaven's not my home, then Lord what will I do?
The angels beckoned me from Heaven's open door,
And I can't feel at home in this world any more!

The very essence of Christian faith is stepping outside our human comfort zone. We exchange it for a spiritual comfort zone, wherein our actions must align with our convictions. We seek comfort in conformity to God's eternal purpose, a purpose with which this world is at war.

Islam is no threat to the US. The citizens are the greatest danger, because they refuse to obey God. Were we faithful to Him, no power on earth could harm us. That we are not faithful assures our destruction, and it won't take much to topple us.

Coming Soon: A Winserver

Well, there's no accounting for the Lord's taste at times. I'm sure it's actually a matter of ours being messed up, but I'm still struggling.

I came into the Open Source world and was sure I had found software the way God intended it. That may well be true, but it's not what He intends for me to use. Sure, I could just install FreeBSD on my future desktop unit, but then I'd not be able to use it for my job. Further, I know nothing of LAN networking from the Unix standpoint.

So in keeping with my job working in Winland, I'm going to build a Winserver. It'll be XP, of course, and LAN networking is just too simple with other Winboxes. I note my company would never permit a Vista box anywhere in our inventory. It breaks too many of our adaptive packages.

Since my brother and I are working together on this, we'll be building a pretty zippy machine. Specs aren't known yet, but I'll post those when we know. It'll be 64-bit, of course, but it's uncertain I'll be running it that way. Naturally, the minute I don't need to run Windows any more, it'll be a Unix box within a matter of hours.

Update: Okay, maybe not. Looks like I can run openSUSE and accomplish pretty much the same thing. I note I am typing this from a resurrected machine I once gave to my son, on which I installed CentOS 4.6.

Life of Christ: Mark 3

On another visit to the Capernaum Synagogue, the leaders had set a trap for Jesus. Having seen Him drive out a demon during a previous meeting, they wondered if He would also heal on the Sabbath. While dispatching a demon was hard to pin down as breaking the Sabbath observance, healing they were sure was wrong. They watched intently for a concrete reason to judge Him sinful by their standards.

Jesus had just declared Himself competent to judge what was appropriate for Sabbath observance. Here was a clear example of the conflict. Rabbinical teaching said refusing to use the power one had to protect the powerless made one a murder. For Jesus to neglect using His power to heal the man in need was the same as crippling the man. These men could no longer grasp their distance from God; their hearts were like stone. They adhered to a petty rule forbidding healing or medicine of any sort on the Sabbath unless the patient was near death. The obvious meanness in this idea was lost to them. Jesus was justly angry with them.

How odd it seems these who had a short time before condemned Him for eating with "traitors" were now conspiring with similar "traitors" -- the Herodians were a political party which collaborated with Rome. Mark shows us these Pharisees were completely without principle in their drive to shut up Jesus and His message. As soon as they left the meeting house, they went to find their erstwhile enemies, to see if this Jesus was enough trouble to justify an alliance against Him.

Unlike the Jews who rejected Him, Jesus was sought hard by the thousands from all over the region, from the Dead Sea to Lebanon, from the southern wilderness to Damascus. The diseases and demons fled His touch, for which cause those afflicted pressed hard upon Him. Indeed, the text describes vividly people throwing themselves at Jesus there on the shore of Galilee. It was necessary to keep a small boat at hand to rescue Him if things got too rowdy.

We see that Jesus was above petty human politics. His Kingdom was of the Spirit; political parties and their agendas had no bearing on things. Thus, His choice of the Twelve ranges from all of life: fishermen and political hucksters, Roman collaborators and rebels against Rome, quiet men and tempestuous men -- it mattered not that these were all least likely to be chosen by the Pharisees for much of anything. God saw their hearts and needed talents men would not recognize. Mark notes in passing the inner circle got nicknames, a rare event in Eastern religious practices to mark notable achievement. In this case, these were obvious jokes. To call Simon "a rock" was the height of sarcasm. The Sons of Zebedee -- whose name meant a gift, rather like a dowry -- became Sons of Tumult. These Twelve were the founding members of His divine royal court.

It seems neither Jesus' enemies nor His friends understood Him. With all the constant hubbub and crowds, Jesus and His disciples hardly had time to grab a bite of food. His relatives came to take Him into custody, fearing He had gone mad. For their part, His enemies were sure He was demonized Himself. Indeed, demonized by the Chief of Demons, since He had so much authority over them. Did not the demons call out in recognition of His authority?

First, Jesus dealt with the more dangerous sin, that of the Pharisees. His point was they were so insensible, they couldn't tell the difference between God and Satan. So determined they were to hang onto their prerogatives, they were willing to twist basic logic and violate theology. Jesus pointed this out: How reasonable was it to expect Satan to destroy his Kingdom of Darkness by rolling back his own conquests? Did they think Satan a complete fool? Rabbis had long taught it was a sin to insult any angelic being, including Satan. Jesus was conducting a conquest and plunder of Satan's realm. They never seemed to notice the great mass of good done to so very many souls, souls they often condemned as not worth any trouble. So deep was their error, it showed they were beyond redemption, for they had rejected the love and mercy of God for others.

His relatives simply figured all this attention had gone to His head. When people in the crowd passed the message to Him His family was trying to reach Him, He took the moment to point out the nature of the Kingdom of Heaven. Blood kin meant almost nothing. What mattered was commitment to truth, also called "faith." People determined to obey the Father had qualified themselves to be called and treated as His family.

It required no mystical understanding to realize the Kingdom of Heaven preached by Jesus was about good and right living. Jesus placed ultimate truth well within reach of the most common people. For this, He was rejected by the insiders, the elite rulers of His age. He eschewed tricks and twisted logic, seeking to bring light and redemption to those who most needed and wanted it. This laid a solid foundation for understanding more advanced concepts of the Kingdom.

Mozilla Stuff: Substandard for Disabled

Not so many years ago, I still spent a lot of time in a wheelchair. There's nothing like using a wheelchair to discover obstacles. Sometimes you have to live with it to understand it, or at the very least follow around someone else who does. So it is with Internet applications. Until I spent time testing various packages against assistance software, I didn't realize Mozilla stuff is not quite there yet.

One of the main uses of ZoomText is having the speech module read things to the user. Aside from reading stuff over which the pointer passes, there are a couple of functions for selecting a starting place inside a document and getting the synthesizer to read it out loud. In each case, this requires the user with limited sight be able at least to click in the document interface so ZoomText can begin reading the contents of the document frame. When clicking inside the text display frame, a cursor is planted -- that flashing vertical bar which indicates where the attention is focused, either for writing or for reading.

Now, Outlook is huge, and it's interface is just entirely too busy. So most of my clients are going to need something simpler. I really like the simplicity of Seamonkey/Thunderbird for the email interface. I like how configurable it is, because often MS products don't honor their own Windows color scheme, including font choices. However, not a single window in the Mozilla mail applications will accept the cursor for reading purposes. That is, clicking inside the email window does not allow the ZoomText reader to find the text, because there is no cursor in that window. Nor can we get the mouse to activate the reader on much of anything. Further, we cannot activate the simplified document reader windows at all. ZoomText can't find the text inside the document frames.

In Outlook Express, at least, we can get a cursor to appear by clicking inside the email documents. The interface is equally simple like Seamonkey/Thunderbird, but it works with ZoomText. Mozilla stuff is not compliant. I never thought I'd be recommending Outlook Express to anyone, but I don't have any choice.

Mozilla folks, you have failed.

Falling Into Place

Between walking in my convictions and facing what comes, I found the ministry on which I had been waiting is this work with the VA and vision impaired veterans. I had been pretty sure it was something which would come suddenly upon me, and there really was little I could have done to prepare. This turned out to be true, as the job was dropped in my lap one day out of the blue. This answered the question of what I should be doing with the Latitude laptop and what sort of desktop computer I should build. Unfortunately, it forces me to run Windows on all of them, but that's God's choice. There are many other little things which keep working out for us.

This leaves still a few questions unanswered. Of primary interest is the future of our worship. I have long said if an existing church could see my written work and declare me tolerable, I'd be glad to worship and teach there. So far, I've not found such a place in this area. Given the prospect of decent pay, perhaps in a year we can be living somewhere else, with a better opportunity for finding an established church. Barring that, we continue to worship here at home.

My wife and I take it seriously because God does. We do have some outreach, and the community here knows who I am, that I am a believer. Because I can't place a sign advertising it, they may not be aware of our open worship, but I may end up advertising on a t-shirt or something soon. Still, we sense no loss of spiritual approval from God. It's a little odd, but we have no other solution for now.

God knows His plans, and His timing. He only tells us what He wants us to know.

Getting Busy

I completed my first training contract today. I'm still trying to learn the software we use for making computers usable for those with limited vision, but that puts me way ahead of them who have never seen it before.

This is just a note to warn my readers I will be missing more days of blogging in the coming weeks. Because I am running hither and yon several hours each day with this new ministry working with the Veterans Administration, I don't have time to sit and let lots of great ideas germinate.

On the other hand, should anyone have a question, this would be a great time to submit them. Good questions prime the pump, and asking them is a critical talent in studying the Word. Sometimes I don't know what I know until someone asks the right question.

Hebrews 2

According to Paul (Galatians 3:19) and Stephen (Acts 7:53), it is fair to say the Law of Moses was delivered by the hand of angels. By no means did this weaken its authority as God's revelation. Failure to obey brought the wrath of God by the hands of the same angels. Yet the Law had distinct limitations, for it only applied to things of this earth, bringing blessings only in this world, and applied only to one nation in this world. Jesus Christ brought an end to that covenant. He was the very person and character of God, bringing an eternal covenant, which applies to all mankind throughout history. His teaching received the same miraculous support as that of Moses, but with the added power and presence of His own Spirit, rather than mere angels. Thus, being so much a higher covenant and truth, how can we afford to let it slip away?

Calling attention to a Jewish Messianic phrase -- "the world to come" (olam habba) -- our writer points out the angels are not masters of the Kingdom of Heaven. David in Psalm 8:4-6 refers to the proper view of mankind as fallen, sinful and wretched. In this context, the phrase "son of man" is not a Messianic title, but would be taken by Jews as a reference to the first Adam. This reminds us in Hebrew writing context is everything. As fallen creatures, why does God even bother with us, who trashed His Creation? He placed us at the head of this world, subjected all things to our mastery, even commanding angels. Yet clearly, we have so corrupted His image of us we can barely make our way through life. It now appears we aren't masters of anything, and certainly not angels. Into this very fallen existence came Jesus, who walked as mere man, far below His rightful place. On behalf of us all, He took from us and for us the just sentence of death. This made Him rightfully Master of All Things in Heaven and Earth.

He translated death into Life. By absorbing the penalty for sin, He makes death a rite of passage into the Kingdom, rather than the first step to damnation. He accepts our death, and trades it for His death; He takes our old life and gives us His New Life. As the very living expression of God's authority and nature, the Agent of Creation, His death fulfilled all requirements to inaugurate the Kingdom of Heaven. As our Commander, He calls us His brothers.

Rightly do we understand Psalm 22 as a prophecy of the Messiah. It dramatically recounts the experience of Jesus, beginning with the crucifixion, words which Jesus quoted from the Cross. We can almost see Him rising from the grave, as He declares His victory in His Father's response to that sacrifice. He has gained the authority to remake those called by the Father into His new children. On our behalf, He declares His trust in the Father's will, in a quote found all over the Old Testament. Just as Isaiah stood before God faithful, with his two children bearing prophetic names regarding God's deliverance, Jesus stands before His Father having faithfully carried out the Word, in the company of those changed by that Word, as granted by the Father's grace.

By His willingness to wear human flesh and bear our sins, Jesus was given power to render Satan harmless. He took from Satan the only weapon he had. Since death is no longer the end, those who follow Christ are truly free to serve without restraint. No earthly persecution, nor even the grave, are a threat to His brothers and sisters. He did not come as an angel, but as a Hebrew, of the bloodline of Abraham. To Israel He came as an Israelite, able to sympathize with their condition. He was the perfect High Priest who covered the sins of all, not with some sacrifice of another, but of Himself. He passed through all the same temptations, and intimately understands what we face.

Thus, He was fully aware of all the Hebrews were facing in Rome. Their situation was not unique, their sorrows not greater than those Christ faced. He gave Himself over to far worse, and came through the victor, offering that same victory to the Hebrew readers of this book.

No Shortcuts

The antithesis of God's miracle power is magic. The whole point behind magic is getting what you want. That's the first mistake. The second is trying to get it any way except God's provision.

Passing along a book rack I spotted the title, Praying the Names of Jesus. I didn't pick it up. The title said it all. It's as if there is something magical about speaking words of power using all the names of Jesus, perhaps including a bunch of "secret" names. The title itself was offensive.

Whatever happened the biblical injunction to simply know the Word and obey it? There's no shortcuts to holiness, to power, to spiritual enlightenment, etc. Whatever it is you seek, stop. God is perfectly capable of deciding for you what you need. Our focus is simply knowing Him better and loving Him more. That way we can follow Him more closely.

No shortcuts, no magic formula, no easy or quick path. Just follow Him, obey His Word.

Life of Christ: Mark 2

Mark in the previous chapter established the virtues of Jesus. He was strong yet kind, regal yet generous and patient, friendly but not foolish, really knew what He was talking about, yet showed Himself reasonable in all things. He was the model of manhood. This obviously put Him at odds with the corrupt mainstream officials of His day, the Pharisees.

Keeping in mind we are reading second hand the story told by Peter, we find ourselves back at the apostle's home in Capernaum. That he and his family were engaged in a fishing partnership would naturally make Peter somewhat middle class. Thus, his home would include an inner courtyard with an outer wall or fence, accessed by a gate out on the street. After being home from their preaching tour a few days, word got out Jesus was back in town. The house was packed, as well as the courtyard, and the crowd spilled out into the street.

A group brought a paralyzed man. Most likely he was carried in a hammock like affair suspended by the four corners. These could hardly approach Jesus with their burden, so they climbed the outside stairs found on almost all houses in that part of the world. The roof would be flat with a parapet, a good place to catch the breeze and to place things for drying in the sun. The structure of the roofing varied, but most of them had clay or tiles laying over a framework woven in with long thin sticks and stiff grasses. It would be a simple matter to break away the covering, dismantle some of the lath, and drop this paralyzed fellow between the frame members. By the time this was done, everyone below would have become focused on the source of noise and the odd sight.

The first conflict with His opponents came in Jesus' response to the faith of the man and his friends. Jesus pronounced his sins forgiven. Most people in this world would tend to think such an affliction was related to some sin. This resolved that issue for the man, but immediately raised one for the Pharisees. If Jesus were just another man, this would be blasphemy. However, Jesus claimed to speak for God. He argued with their unvoiced thoughts. Anyone can say a man's sins are forgiven, and it proves nothing. But to prove Jesus had the full authority from God to forgive sins, He told the man to get up on his feet. The authority to forgive is demonstrated by the authority to heal; the man got up and walked out in view of all. Had the man not been able to respond thus, Jesus could fairly be viewed as a fake. The people watching were beside themselves with amazement.

On another of His walks by the sea, Jesus stopped at the toll booth and called out Levi (Matthew) to join the group and become a full time disciple. The Roman audience would see this as vindicating Roman authority, since Jesus didn't see anything disqualifying in Levi's occupation. This was quite the contrary to the Pharisees' view of things. Levi celebrated this new status in the Kingdom by hosting a feast. It's natural he would invite those in his social circle. As an outcast among Jews, that left only other outcasts from mainstream Jewish society. The Pharisees referred to a broad swath of folks as "sinners." How could a rabbi eat with such, since it was illegal by the Talmudic standards, the same as eating with Gentiles? Mark's Roman audience would chuckle at the arrogance so typical of Pharisees. Jesus replied He had come to call sinners to repentance. Since the Pharisees were self-righteous, they would not acknowledge any need of a Savior. The outcasts of Jewish society were eager to be saved, and welcomed Jesus as a spiritual physician.

More than likely, this celebration fell on one of the fast days declared by the rabbinical teachings (Monday or Thursday). When the Pharisees commented how John's disciples joined in this observance, they wanted to know how Jesus did not. Jesus made out like the celebration was a wedding feast, which was exempt from the fasting rules. Further, it was a royal wedding feast, for Jesus was the heir of the Kingdom, a wholly new thing. The old ways of the Pharisees were about to pass away, and new ways were needed. This new Kingdom and teaching was not a patch to fix the old, but something altogether different. Nor could it's joyful fullness of life fit in the old forms, but needed its own new forms.

At some point later, Jesus was strolling with His disciples through a field of ripe grain. It was perfectly lawful for them to graze as they passed, eating what they could without carrying any away. What the Pharisees regarded unlawful was considered "labor": harvesting, threshing, etc. This was a petty, nit-picking expansion of Sabbath law. Jesus reminded them human need trumped ritual observances. David and his bodyguard were allowed to eat the ritual bread which had been set before the Lord. When the day was ended, the old bread was set aside for the priests only to eat. Yet David and his friends were allowed to take it. The priest of that day knew full well there was a common-sense exemption. Thus, Jesus reminded them the Sabbath was a gift from God to mankind, to prevent the rich and powerful from abusing their servants and employees. Ordinary people got a break on the Sabbath; that was the purpose of the Law. Jesus then bluntly claimed He was Lord over such Law, that He had authority to declare the true meaning of things.

Thus, we see an image of Jesus as one who authoritatively corrects a very corrupt regime, one which arose to enslave men. This brought Him into open conflict with the legal authorities of His day. By no means did this conflict intimidate Him. He feared no man.

Symbolism Versus Reality

Were he still around, Abraham probably would have been upset at the burning of Joseph's Tomb. He was willing to go through a lot of hassle to legally obtain full possession of a burial cave, in part to prevent becoming a vassal to a pagan man. However, in his world a human grave was pretty important, rather sacred ground. It's that way in a lot cultures, going back so far in time, we can't pin down where that attitude began.

And much has been made of a recent lightening strike on the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From unbelievers we have lots of jokes about it being an omen. I would agree, but for a totally different reason.

The statue is of no real importance in Christian belief. Paganized versions which dominate the world don't understand the true biblical message: If you can hold it in your hands, it just does not matter much. This is not some revival of Platonism, but a much older belief. Even Abraham would understand an attack on the tombs of his relatives would be no more than a personal insult. In the long run, it is the memory of people which matters, not their surviving artifacts. Things are only so important as they serve the Kingdom purpose. As soon as they cease to be useful, they are tossed aside. A tomb and its contents are a matter of personal memories, and not inherently sacred. Nor is a statue which advertises the importance some people attach to a historical religious figure.

What really matters is whether you are called into His Kingdom. That artifact in Rio is probably a pretty good lightening rod. It means nothing to my faith, changes nothing. The same could be said of Joseph's Tomb. It's just a building marking the alleged location of someone's remains. Claims by Muslims Joseph was one of them is just noise. Let them talk. Those moved by the Holy Spirit will not be able to walk away from the truth of Christ's lordship, and the lessons of Joseph. Those who are not moved by the Holy Spirit are doomed.

Hebrews 1:8-14

Psalm 45 is rooted in a royal wedding, probably of David or Solomon. The Sons of Korah came back from that celebration filled with joy, and wrote this song to mark the spiritual insights revealed to them during the ceremony. While it would be hard to know just what sort of Messianic theology was held during the United Monarchy, scholars are convinced this psalm is about the Messiah. Clearly the writer blurs the line between addressing his king and his God. The writer of Hebrews justly quotes this as a plainly Messianic prophecy. The spiritual truth behind the meaning of symbols of office and the ritual anointing are rather plain.

The 102nd Psalm has inspired several pieces of modern music. This is called a "plaintive psalm," a cry to God for help, with flashes of faith and trust in His Eternity. This is directly addressed to Jehovah, and is not viewed as specifically Messianic. Still, our writer justly pulls it in to celebrate the understanding clearly annunciated by John at the opening of his Gospel. Jesus was the agent of Creation, and was there from the start. When the created universe has served its purpose, and has been put away, Jesus will still be there.

In contrast to this vision of an Eternal Son, our writer notes nothing like this was said of angels. Unlike them, the Son was told in a quote from Psalm 110 that He should take a seat at the Father's right hand until all things are accomplished. Jesus quoted this passage as applying to Himself, using it as a way to demonstrate Hebrew paradox as a contrast to the Pharisees' shallow literalism. Obviously David wrote this prophetically, somehow glimpsing a vision of The End.

Again, the writer notes angels exist merely to serve those who serve this great God. Those of us who embrace the Son as our Savior and Lord inherit Eternity. In this, the angels are used by God as messengers and runners from His Heavenly Courts. They do for us things not within human power. They do it because we serve Him.

Zig-zagging Again

This is getting a little boring. For some weeks now I've been having hardware errors on my laptop with openSUSE. Coming up out of suspend mode (S3) it has gotten pretty consistent presenting a corrupted display. This requires a reboot, which pretty much defeats the purpose of using the suspend and hibernate modes.

I gave up. I'm running XP again. Very soon, Lord willing, I can obtain a desktop system and run something decent. I'm not at all happy with Windows of any kind, but this peculiar hardware Dell uses just doesn't like Linux and vice versa.

The time it consumed re-installing and updating has prevented much work getting done. Maybe tomorrow I can produce the next episode in the Hebrews series.

Hebrews 1:1-7

Right off the bat, our writer shows us the Hebrew standard for handling the Old Testament text. Departing from the Hellenistic methods of slavish textual analysis, but not yet as rootless as the Alexandrian adaptation, this is a peculiarly Hebrew way of quoting from the Old Testament, sometimes blending into the quote a free ranging commentary. This is more than just targum, a restatement in modern terms, but an application it seems the original author did not intend. Thus, even when his use seems to us unjustified by the context from which it was taken, employing too much of poetic license, we must accept this is proper and correct as testified by this book being regarded as God-breathed. That is, we realize the author read his Old Testament with a truly inspired understanding, and his adaptations were an example of that deeper understanding which was not bound by mere words, but a fuller grasp of the greater revelation of God as a Person. There is no profligate abuse of the Old Testament text, as most New Testament quotations of the Old are fairly easy to explain. Yet we do find occasionally a poetic license which makes us uncomfortable until we grasp revelation from the Hebrew mindset. The same God who inspired the first writer inspired the second. While we must be hesitant in copying such behavior, we are forced to conclude the message is more important than the means for conveying it.

Thus, we see God used all manner of means to reveal Himself. That revelation came bit by bit, rather like the twinkling of the stars in the sky. A glimpse here, a manifestation there, a word, a dream, a vision, an angel, an event, etc. God has never bound Himself to any one particular method, and held all accountable to even the most incomprehensible messages. However, to inaugurate the much prophesied "Last Days," God sent a personal representation of Himself. Insofar as one is ever going to understand Jehovah, He must embrace His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Jewish people of the First Century, with a highly corrupted understanding of their Bible, came dangerously close to worshiping angels. Given that high reverence, our writer bluntly states Jesus was most certainly above those angels. He does so first by referencing material familiar to his audience. In Psalm 2, we have a song celebrating the royal coronation, perhaps used annually during the Monarchy Period. The Psalmist aims to show the King of Israel is the chosen of God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth. To resist this king is suicide, because no nation of men holds that level of interest for Jehovah. Taking off on the hyperbole of that psalm, our writer points out Jesus, as prophesied heir of David, was most literally The Son of God. In similar fashion, with Solomon being "adopted" as a son of God, so Jesus inherited it literally by virtue of His divine birth. This, without the caveat in the rest of that verse (2 Samuel 7:14) about any possible iniquity. Arguing from silence, the writer mentions not a single hint of such elevation was offered to any angel.

Next, we have a quote from the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1-43). This passage is a prophecy which sums up the history of Israel nicely. In the end, they face the wrath of God for their idolatry, but the final end of that matter is the blessing to all nations. In the final verse of that song, our writer quotes from the Septuagint version, the version most familiar to his Hellenized readers. He doesn't bother with whether it's the proper text; he accepts the inserted phrase many regard spurious simply because it is good theology. A similar sentiment is found in Psalm 97:7, though some translations choose to render the ambiguous elohim as gods rather than angels. We note, either way, it's still good theology. There is not a being in existence throughout all Creation exempt from the command to worship the Son of God as the fullest expression of God Himself. Given the angels are created beings, they must also fall at His feet. Using the materials he knows the Hellenized Jews would accept, our author gets his point across: by comparison to His Heavenly Heir of all things, the angels with their abilities to alter the very physical reality at the whim or God, are mere messenger boys (Psalm 104:4).

The Peace of Great Books

I was disturbed recently to discover some of the classics of great English literature are hard to find in the local library system. Not because they are all checked out, but because they are missing. Sure, you can find some of them thinly scattered across the dozen or so facilities owned by the county library system, but it shows the people in this county don't care enough to demand those books.

Not alarmed, mind you, but it disturbed me to think literature is being replaced with a TV sitcom grade of reading material. That or corporate money-speak. So my wife and I decided to begin collecting old used copies of the classics and good quality school books from days of old. We are going to have a library of stuff people should want to read, once they have a genuine education.

Obviously, we are preparing resources for home schooling, as well. I am fully qualified to teach, not simply because I once held a public school teaching license, but because I thoroughly understand just why that license didn't mean squat. I have studied the trashy trendy baloney called "pedagogy" and I know why it fails, producing adults who can't make change and hate to read. They are bored with TV because stuff doesn't happen fast enough, the visual stimulus is too tame, and God forbid they should have to actually think!

Someday, a genuine education will mean something again. I'll be ready to make it happen.

Life of Christ: Mark 1

It is critical to realize Jesus was a fulfillment of ancient prophecies. Mark's Roman audience was familiar with Eastern Mystical religions, and would recognize the importance of predictive prophecies. In this case, even the royal herald was prophesied. John the Baptist is described in terms anyone could see made him a man who had nothing to gain by selling snake oil. He was an ascetic, a man focused on principles, not on material gain. He was the messenger come to declare the approach of one far more important than himself. His message was of repentance, symbolized by ritual washing. Huge crowds went out to this man because his message found traction with the people. They came confessing their sins. He warned those who might be phony in their confession. Water wasn't much of a challenge, but passing through the cleansing fire of God's holiness would search the very hearts and souls of men; from Him nothing could be hidden.

To show His support for this message, Jesus traveled the long distance from Galilee to participate in the ritual washing of John. This was in obedience to His Father's command. Thus, upon coming up from the water, a powerful omen appeared: an opening between this world and the Spirit Realm permitted the Holy Spirit of God to appear, descending upon Jesus like a dove. The Voice of Heaven itself proclaimed Jesus His beloved Son. Further, the Voice proclaimed He was pleased with the obedient choice the Son made. Then the same Spirit commanded Jesus go out into the wilderness and fast, to pass one more test of His fitness. He faced a hostile environment. Not only was the place forbidding, but so were the creatures haunting the place. Worst of all, He faced Satan, the enemy of God. After passing His temptations, Jesus was served by angels from God. Could there be any doubt the authority of this Jesus?

The imprisonment of John the Baptist hardly intimidated Jesus. Returning to Galilee, Jesus began preaching the same message, and more. He announced the time of the Kingdom had come, that a change was demanded of the world. Those who refused to turn and embrace this Kingdom would face the wrath of God.

The ancient heart of Galilean economics was the sea. It was a massive fresh water lake, drawing thousands yearly to the shore for recreation and for livelihood. As one might expect, the Lord found fishermen there. He chose His first disciples from those fishermen: Peter and Andrew, and James and John, fraternal pairs. Upon His first calling to them, they left their worldly pursuits and followed Him. His challenge would be they could fish for souls of men. Whatever it might have cost the family business, this business of the Kingdom was far more important.

In His travels around Galilee, Jesus went into the synagogue at Capernaum. When He was permitted to teach, He spoke in manner wholly unaccustomed to His audience. Instead of quoting dozens of previous teachers, He spoke from His own authority. His native expertise in the material was all too obvious. The Romans had seen enough Jewish rabbis to be familiar with how shocking this would be. To back up His claims to authority, Jesus faced down a challenge from someone there who was quite obviously demonized. Speaking through the man, the demon begged Jesus to leave. The demons were afraid, for they knew Him to be the anointed One of God, with authority to destroy them. With but a word, Jesus dispatched the demon. This demonstration of authority in their sacred meeting place was beyond their experience, and their traditions offered no explanation. Thus, His fame spread quickly in that region.

Jesus' authority extended over all things on earth. When the stopped by Peter's home, the five men found Peter's mother-in-law ill. Upon hearing about it, Jesus went to her bed and healed her. So completely was her recovery she immediately resumed her domestic duties. This power of Jesus was inexhaustible. As the Sabbath came to a close at sundown, people from the whole city brought their sick and demonized relatives to Jesus for healing. Because the demons were not fit to acknowledge Him, He ordered them silent.

An austere man, Jesus rose before dawn to commune with His Father in prayer. His four followers searched until they found Him out away from all human habitation. They asked if He would continue helping the people in Capernaum. But He had no plans to confine His ministry to such a small scale. Instead, He told them He had been out in prayer, preparing to take His message into all the cities and towns in Galilee. It was already time to be going. Thus, He preached in the synagogues of that whole region, demonstrating His authority, particularly by dispossessing demons.

Yet by no means was His authority a challenge to the established Covenant of Moses. His message and authority was clearly in line with that ancient Law. At one point, a leper knelt before Him. Rather than order the man to leave, as most Jews would, Jesus allowed the man to plead for healing. This man clearly knew the Lord's authority. Jesus exercised that authority gladly on the man's behalf, and the leprosy disappeared. In obedience to Moses, Jesus instructed the man to obey the Law regarding cleansing from leprosy, and that he do so right away. For joy at his salvation, the man failed to obey, and broadcast his story to everyone. The resulting news of someone having power over even leprosy, a message spread by a well known former victim of that disease showing to all and sundry his obvious proof of healing, caused a commotion in the region. From then on, Jesus had to stay outside the towns and cities. So dense and large were the crowds coming to Him, there was no way to accommodate them without disrupting daily life and having people hurt in the rush of the mobs coming from all directions.

Life of Christ: Introduction to Mark

Growing up in Jerusalem, John Mark was just a teenager at the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. His mother Mary, apparently a widow, owned a significantly sized home in the city, and was a follower and support of Jesus. This was probably the home with the Upper Room. Given the importance of this visitor, and all the talk of death and such, we should hardly be surprised if the lad was the one who had slipped out of his room clothed only in his bed-sheet, and who tailed the group to the Garden of Gethsemane and part way to the High Priest's palace before he was nearly arrested himself (Mark 14:51-52). We note Mark's Gospel is the only place that little story is recorded, and it really doesn't fit in the narrative very well, but would prove how Mark knew at least some of the gospel first hand.

Given some of the Twelve were cousins of Jesus (see my introduction to Matthew), we should hardly be surprised at how many of the primary figures in Acts are relatives. Barnabas was instrumental in the early growth of the church, and helped bring Paul into acceptance after the latter's conversion. This man was Mark's elder cousin, and brought the young man along on Paul's first missionary journey. The boy bailed out on them at Perga in Pamphylia. For this reason, Paul balked at having him along on the second journey. Barnabas was more forgiving, and took Mark with him on a separate journey, while Paul took Silas.

Eventually Peter took to Mark as his own son, and they worked as a team. Mark showed his worth, and was reconciled with Paul. It appears Mark had been working in the Roman churches for a while by the time Paul and Peter were executed. These churches didn't want their last living link to the Savior to die himself without a written record of the gospel, so they prevailed upon Mark to write something. The account he wrote was probably first published around 67 or 68 AD. This would be after Peter's death, but prior the destruction of Jerusalem, a signal event he fails to mention. All the more important for him to write then while the risk to his safety was high during the persecution of Jews and Christians leading up to the march of Titus on Jerusalem.

Thus, at about the age of 50, Mark wrote his Gospel in Rome for the Christians there. This accounts for the brevity and tone of Mark's Gospel. While he wrote as an insider of the Hebrew society, intimately acquainted with details of the geography, he does not focus on the teachings of Jesus, because there was little to address a Gentile audience. Rather, he states with clarity and force what made Jesus unique in the world, and emphasizes the outline of Jesus' plan to train up and equip the Apostles for taking His message across the world. We see, then, the logic of Jesus' actions as the essence of Mark's message. Jesus was the faithful Servant of His Father, willing to sacrifice Himself for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Getting a Real Job?

My friends know I'm semi-retired. That's in part because I'm rated as 50% disabled by the VA. I don't have to work; it's your federal tax dollars which keep me from needing it. However, with all the ugly stuff going on regarding recently disabled vets from the Middle Eastern Theater, I was looking for a way to volunteer and give back.

Today I was called by a company having a contract with the VA to provide services to sight-impaired veterans. It may not be full time, but that's hardly important. It also pays quite well, but again, that's a poor reason for doing anything in the Kingdom. What matters is I can give the time and attention these folks need in something I know about: computer assistance services.

I won't know much more for a week or so, but I'll keep my readers posted on this.

When It Matters: FreeBSD

This is a shameless plug for my series on installing and configuring FreeBSD. However, it is not without some justification.

If you are running Windows, there is probably no way you can prevent the FBI or some other agency from installing their own brand of spyware on your computer. That may not bother you, but there is plenty of reason to be worried. If you happen to share that Windows computer with any other person(s), and aren't in a position to watch them every moment while they use it, you can't be sure what sort of activity they have been pursuing, what sort of websites they might visit. Someone else can get you in deep trouble real easily.

If you are running Mac, you might be more secure, but the Mac operating system is not open. That means it's possible the company making it has been forced to open back doors for the NSA the way MS was. They certainly aren't going to tell you if they have. If you run Linux, it's much more secure, because thousands of people check the code, people who just would not allow that sort of thing without screaming loud enough for the whole world of geekery to hear. I recommend Debian if you are pretty serious about learning Linux.

However, for an even more paranoid and higher level of security, you can always try FreeBSD. Following the tutorials I linked above, most people with only a moderate technology inclination can figure it out. Here's the main advantages:

• Stability: It won't fail until the hardware does. Trust me; I've used it enough to know this for a certainty. You can break it by fooling around with things, but my tutorials won't tell you how to do that.


• Security: I won't say it can't be cracked, but it will be about the hardest sytem to crack. Further, following my instructions for updating the core system, you can periodically replace the whole thing to keep it clean and secure.


• Performance: Once you have given the proper settings for your particular hardware, you can optimize every binary on the system to run as fast as possible on your machine. Further, the basic design of the underlying system scales quickly to handle really demanding tasks.

If it matters, I recommend FreeBSD. The next desktop system I get will be running it.

Introducing Hebrews

The book is commonly called "The Letter to the Hebrews." While it may have been delivered to its intended audience as a letter, its format is more of a scholarly treatise. Only the final chapter contains material typical of letters. Further, it pretty much assumes a rabbinical cast of mind, and while fully committed to Christ, thoroughly Alexandrian in training. The author appears to have been a priest or Levite, trained in the highest standard of Alexandrian Greek, using the Septuagint. Thus, his audience would appear to be rather the same sort of people.

What can be discerned of these people would indicate they are a Hellenistic Jewish community, or several communities. They are quite possibly in or near Rome, or some other part of Italy. Persecution has struck hard, and they have stopped their regular community worship. They are contemplating a return to Judaism, in part just to stop their suffering. The writing addresses the more educated leadership of these people, formerly rabbis in Judaism.

The hints within the text suggests a time just before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Part of the arguments offered in this treatise would require significant change if the Temple were no longer standing. However, it is quite likely they were converted under Paul's teaching. It's unlikely they would have embraced Christ so easily unless their intellectual objections were answered by someone who knew those objections beforehand, knew their flaws, and could offer a high level of reasoned response. This narrows the time frame to some point after 64 AD, when it appears Paul finally visited Rome at the expense of the imperial government, as a prisoner. This timing coincides with a known period of imperial persecution, climaxed in the march of troops into the Herodian lands in 68 AD.

It is in this book we receive details which indicate a large body of scholarly understanding of details from the Old Testament, but not recording there. This is the only place where so much is made of Melchizedek, for example. While Paul does offer glimpses of this material in his letters, the writer of Hebrews dumps large lots of it. Thus, while the treatise is thoroughly Hellenist or the Alexandrian flavor, it is distinctly Old Testament Hebrew in content and reference.

Get the Nails Out

I'm looking over the economic news today. You may be aware employment is declining. Lots of high-paying jobs are simply going away. Big employers are closing or down-sizing, and there aren't even enough low-wage jobs to pick up the slack in most places. At the same time, everything costs more. There's no place to pick up the slack as food banks are being hit hard with declining donations and massive requests for food. We don't have the swelling ranks of soup lines just yet, but I wonder how far we are from that.

Governments are borrowing like crazy, at all levels. They try to maintain the boom-times appropriations, but it just ain't happening. Not just loss in property taxes from foreclosures, but declining revenue from every direction. So fees and fines are going up, and some say enforcement measures to create new fines are reaching desperation. That is, fine-producing violations are handed out like advertising fliers, and fewer people are able to pay them.

It's not looking pretty. For many, there will be no recovery to the good times already slipping away.

This is the time for Christians to take courage. If nothing else, He is shaking His Body to see who really belongs to Him. When things get tough, only the true believers cling to Him. Are you ready to lose a bunch of worldly possessions? Can you face a dramatic decline in your standard of living? Will you still gather with His people and worship Him when everything around you falls apart?

If there was ever a time to get serious about clinging in faith to Christ, this is it. Hang on, Christian. Hang on while your world changes. Not that I claim He's going to take care of your mortgage payments and keep your steak-n-shrimp habit fully funded. You can't expect to keep the boat, nor the vacation cabin. I'm not claiming He'll even save your job. No, more likely those things won't happen. Rather, He'll continue loving you and showing you His power in spite of every loss. You have to be willing to look for it. You have to know all that other stuff is inconsequential.

Keep your eyes on Jesus. Say it often to yourself: "I have been crucified with Christ...."

Ministry Update: No Change

No change in our location for now. We can't take the house in Muskogee because we can't get the minimum necessary to pay for everything and move, too. That's a pretty clear sign from God.

No change in the websites, either. We've decided to put off getting a server and self-hosting for now. Instead, I'm going to get a regular desktop/workstation machine. This laptop will be mostly for service calls, since I'm getting a few requests for computer help these days. The only change has been moving my personal blog to Opera's community website. You can find it here: Just Passing Through.

This week I'll be starting a new study in Hebrews. Since we've finished Matthew, the Life of Christ study will continue in Mark's Gospel.

Life of Christ: Matthew 28

At times, Matthew's language is very precise, along with being often graphic. In this final chapter of his Gospel, the scene offers a completely different feeling. An abrupt shift in mood from the trauma of the previous narrative justifies the chapter break.

We can almost hear the song birds as the sky begins to lighten that Sunday morning. We are presented with the two Marys coming to check on the tomb where Jesus was laid. A tremor had struck, an aftershock from the earthquake which opened other tombs while Jesus was still on the Cross. They would have been concerned about making sure Jesus' body had not been exposed. There were other women present, but Matthew does not mention them.

As a dramatic device, he inserts something which had happened some short time earlier, while it was still dark. An angel came down from Heaven and moved the stone completely away from the entrance of the tomb, then sat down on it to wait for the women to arrive. It's as if he paid no attention at all to the soldiers guarding it. While maintaining a rather human aspect, the angel glowed with the power of the Spirit Realm. The soldiers nearly fainted for fear, knowing this was not someone they could have faced in battle. Nor are we told of Jesus' resurrection, but apparently the soldiers fled when there was nothing left to guard.

The women thus found the only the angel near the tomb. He invited them to inspect the tomb, to see Jesus was gone. Most emphatically the angel asserted Jesus had risen back to life, just as He had promised. They were instructed to take a message to the surviving eleven disciples. They were told to return to Galilee and meet where Jesus had told them they could find Him. In case anyone doubted, it was an angel of God who had spoken on this matter. The women were appropriately impressed, and wasted no time complying.

Somewhere between the tomb and Bethany, where they had all been staying during the Passover, perhaps in or near the Kiddron Valley, they encountered the risen Lord Himself. His greeting stands as an example for His followers, considering the circumstances at the inauguration of the Kingdom of the Spirit, variously translated, but we should prefer "Rejoice!" They mobbed Him, falling at His feet. It was an altogether and appropriate response, given He was so very obviously the Son of God. He reminded them fear no longer had any place in the Kingdom business. He refers to the Eleven as "brethren," significant in releasing them from guilt over their previous fears. Reinforcing the message from the angel, He said He would be there in Galilee to meet them.

Meanwhile, across town the guards reported to the chief priests. This shows they had been detached from their normal duties, and reported to the ranking Jewish officers. We note the priests grasped the story, and did not argue with it. Rather, they make it a point to insure no one else hears it. They bribed the guards to tell a story soldiers would be loath to admit: the disciples managed to steal the body while they slept. This would make the disciples criminals, and put the guards at risk for not remaining alert. Given this warranted summary execution for the guards, the priests promised to offer political protection. They would convince Pilate it was necessary to go along with this tale, and prevent them being disciplined by their commander. The guards accepted the bribe and the deal, and began telling the false story. Matthew tells us this remained the official report among Jews even as he was writing this.

While this lie was growing in Jerusalem, the disciples hastened back to Galilee. Gathering on the mountain where He had promised to meet them, they saw Him coming from a distance. Could it really be Him? Matthew does not report the pleasantries. He notes only that those present worshipped, and others weren't too sure what they were seeing and hearing. The closing comment by Jesus is best read in light of all Matthew had written up to this point. Throughout His ministry, Jesus labored to show the Nation of Israel had long ago left the original intent and meaning of the Old Covenant. He had promised it was all coming to a close in His Person, as the final and ultimate revelation of God. The time of the Jews had passed, and God's dealings with mankind would now be on a spiritual plane only. He had paid the price, and there was now no further sacrifice required. Rising from the dead on His own initiative, He answered for all time every challenge to His right to speak for God.

Thus, all authority rested in Him, in both Heaven and earth. Nothing else mattered; they need not consider the claims of any other office, above or below. Satisfy Christ, and all else is immaterial. As His duly appointed messengers, these eleven men were to disciple people from all nations, just as Jesus had discipled them. National identity meant nothing, only Kingdom Citizenship. These new disciples from across the full scope of humanity were to be immersed wholly into the full identity of the triune Godhead. In so doing, they would teach them to obey everything Jesus had explained and exemplified. At no time would they ever again be without His divine presence. The man now divine would be present in all their labors on His behalf. While they were yet to see precisely how that would be, it was a promise they could never forget.

Matthew leaves the story there. For him, the whole gospel hung on knowing who and what Jesus was, particularly in context of a contrary message from the Jewish leadership. These did not even know God any more, so they were unable to recognize His Son, His teaching, His power, and His demands. They had died to the truth long before, and it waited until God's good pleasure to end their part in His plans. They never noticed what really happened, so foreign had they become to God. From then on, all mankind must approach God from the same place, doomed to Hell, and escaping only through His Son.

Rearranging the Home

My son and his wife have now moved to their own apartment. This is a good thing for both pairs of us. Their former bedroom makes a dandy office and computer room. We've pretty much gotten that part arranged, but the resulting space available downstairs is set for major redesign. With all the hobby stuff gone, there is a large amount of space for new seating arrangments. I'll never have to worry about the TV interfering with my reading any more.

At any rate, to get things like this, it was necessary for me to load and unload our pickup about a half-dozen times. I've carried a queen size bed, two different recliners (a swap), a heavy love seat, a couple of shelf units, and innumerable boxes. My son collects things like swords from different eras of history, chainmail and armor, etc. He makes outfits for various historical periods, and has his own bulky sewing machine. Of course, he was at work today. Except for a few more items, his entire collection of worldly goods now crowds his own apartment.

Ah, space! Oh, and the Bible lesson will be tomorrow's post.

Bible Application: What's That in Your Eye?

Given my claim the Law of Moses can be abstracted to a basic set of principles which reflect the nature of Creation, and the nature of God Himself, perhaps we can address a few practical matters of human morality in terms of conduct. Knowing our obedience to Christ fulfills all other requirements does not weaken the value of input from lesser included covenants.

The area of human nature which offers a most prolific collection of temptations is sexuality. We start our biblical application with the reminder all human appetites can be fulfilled righteously. Hormonal lust for sexual pleasure is not itself a sin. Nor can we find any justification for saying it's only there to fire procreation. Sex can serve other righteous purposes. The problem is when we seek a frivolous recreational exchange of body fluids from partners God forbids us.

Getting there most often includes a path through the eyes. For the most part the eyes are those of men, and women reflexively tend to seek ways to draw that gaze. Throughout Western culture, and to some degree other cultures, it's an unquestioned assumption women are supposed to be as beautiful as possible. That means different things to different people, but most of the modern world seems to have caught onto our interpretation of this, with increasingly narrow variations. This is more than just the vagaries of fashion, but about the fundamental assumptions of how things are supposed to work.

In the Spirit, we know what the eyes of flesh see tend to be the poorest means of determining what is good, right, appropriate and useful. The Kingdom does not operate on appearances, but upon proven worth in promoting the Kingdom message. Why do we preen and adorn ourselves for worship meetings? It's certainly not a spiritual value. Satan can wear the best conservative suits, too -- often does. And angels can wear a shapeless sack. Yet we insist folks must not be taking church seriously if they don't "dress right." Most of us know this, even if our reflexes are all wrong on the issue.

Why do we then ignore basic human frailty when it comes to feminine exposure? I can hardly support the Muslim burqa, nor the Islamic teaching women are at fault for getting raped. That's just tribal male truculence, a deeply fallen and sinful assertion. Still, our casual attitude about, say swimwear, is equally wrong. Let's be clear: The foundational element is drawn from the hand to the eye. What the hand seeks came first to the eye. When some sweet young sister in the Lord wants a hug, I can assure you it better not last too long, or I will be struggling. My hormones are the same as any other fellow's. The same goes if she uncovers too much.

What defines "too much" does vary with men and cultures. The difficulty here does not excuse ignoring it. Nor can we presume to tell the rest of the world they must straighten up and fly right according to our dictates. There is no one appropriate standard for all men and women in all places. There is today a constant effort to push the envelope on what's lawful even by fallen standards under the Covenant of Noah. Our place in such things is to season the pot, as it were, by making a persuasive case. Barring that, we do our best to cut a path of holiness in a filthy world.

Still, we have surely done too little to address the obvious. Somewhere between too withdrawn from the world and too worldly, we have failed. Try telling your budding teenage daughter she can't swim coed. If you can pull it off and know she'll respect that decision with good grace, you are on the leading edge of spiritual power in this world. Anything less and you have already lost something precious. The conditioning of our fallen world is too easily accepted, too easily absorbed without question.

Of all times in human history, we are in danger today of losing the unique witness of truth shining in a dark and ugly world. Saying we are born again, as if that fundamentally changes things, when our conduct is not significantly different, is to make God a liar. It doesn't matter what you are inside if people see nothing different on the outside. We are changed precisely so it can be seen, not simply so we can enjoy the enlightenment of God by consuming it privately. It would be all too easy to descend into a false Platonic war over legalism versus identity. Plato was a liar, a man defined in Scripture literally as a "damned fool." The perceived division between conduct and being is utterly false; it's based on a fallen understanding of the world. Spiritual living is showing contempt for the things of this world. Walking in the Spirit means contempt for norms which ignore God's revelation.

Application: Guys, do your best to avoid seeing too much. Look at your daily habits with a sharp mind to see places where you needlessly expose yourself to temptation. No, you can't avoid it all, but you can surely avoid more than you do already. Turn off the TV, don't rent that movie with risqué scenes, and look at something else when she walks by with too little covering. Gals, cover up. If you can't buy it, make it yourself. Yes, it will cost one way or the other, but it's a sacrifice to the Kingdom. Stop modeling the behavior of sinners.