Open the Door, Part 2

Again, recall the principle: If it involves human activity, there will be politics. Regardless of any divine mandate and purpose for that activity, while the world remains in a fallen state, human activity will breed politics.

Here in the Western world, we generally recognize three basic models in organizing our religious activities. The democratic model assumes a group of souls gathering more or less as equals. This emphasizes all of us standing individually before God on the same footing: grace. Consensus is not automatic, so leaders are chosen who are expected to exert influence so things keep moving. Many questions are brought to the body as a whole, and openness is assumed. The presbyterial model assumes certain members of any group have more experience and talent for leadership, and at least a part of the procedural matters can be dealt with by this group, often referred to as a board of elders. The magesterial model assumes God has called only one person at a time to run things, and their vested authority is rather unlimited. No one of these is perfect.

Indeed, each offers its own weaknesses. Democracy frequently devolves into a popularity contest, subject to skillful manipulation. A leadership board runs quickly to cronyism, excluding those who think differently. The arrogance and lack of accountability of monarchs is obvious. None of these is particularly biblical, and choosing any of them, or variations of all three, is properly a matter of cultural background and so forth. Whichever assumption you bring to the Word is the what you'll find when you dig. Scripture assumes however you get behind the wheel, you are accountable to God first. It's all too easy to seize upon that as the excuse to ignore comments and questions from the passengers. As we are all simply humans, Scripture assumes it is necessary you make yourself accountable to other humans in whom Christ also lives.

Frankly, the New Testament answer is written between the lines. Any decisions you make as a human regarding establishing organization naturally serves to limit God. The less organized you have to be, the better God can work His way. The level of organization, of governing the body, should reflect necessity, not human comfort, and certainly not simply following some human tradition. Anything done by man in the flesh, redeemed soul notwithstanding, remains open to revision. Not wallowing in minute examination and debate -- that's a false spirit in itself. The leadership itself should be ready to question in their minds whether there is a better way, making room for God to move.

All of this rises from an ideal situation seldom approached on this earth. I've been in little churches where consensus was quick and easy, not because they didn't know anything, but because the Lord ruled at least in that one area. Other places I've been the leadership dreaded every meeting, even with small and unimportant committees. Contention was simply built into the basic spirit of the people. That doesn't have to be seen as evil, just difficult for us humans to face when we lead.

The one thing we can't afford is to forsake truth and revelation. The fundamental nature of following Christ is laying bare the very foundation of our beings, and letting the world see with all our very great flaws, God Almighty is not held back in using us. Even if everything we touch breaks and falls apart, the very failures of our hands by His power become miracles of change, yet another revelation of God. While I can as leader by no means reveal your private details, I can seize the courage to reveal my own and show you why you need to confess your own sin. When the rest of the group has a hard time swallowing a decision to remove fellowship from someone because I can't in good conscience tell them everything I know about the situation, you can be sure I'm letting them see I'm transparent in myself.

That's because when people allow me to lead them, they really need to trust me when things get rough. During times of quiet I owe them the maximum revelation of myself, the self God knows and has called to His service. If learning some basic character flaw is enough to lose their trust, then I'll lead someone else, anyone who decides I'm heading to the right place. Yes, posting some things about myself on this blog would simply cause a senseless uproar. Jesus Himself often commanded people not say He was the Messiah, because the people hearing such a thing were not fit to hear it, would expect something from Him which was utterly false. On the other hand, if you really wanted to know my deepest darkest secrets, I suggest reading the bulk of what I've written here and elsewhere would provide sufficient clues for bright minds to figure it all out.

Meanwhile, I'm not calling a group together to form some virtual church on the Net. I'm not organizing anything at all. I simply tell you truthfully what I feel God has given me to share. If it calls to you, walk alongside me. Walk as far as you believe is appropriate, until He calls you to another path. Along the converging routes we tread, let's share His love.

Life of Christ: Mark 8

Jesus the Messiah was a mystical spiritual King. Mundane concerns hardly mattered to Him. Whatever His spiritual priorities required in this world was simply provided. Indeed, He would eventually have to shed human existence itself to take His throne. Until then, He needed to make His disciples understand, to shift the focus of their minds to the Realm of the Spirit.

We aren't told exactly where Jesus is teaching at the start of the chapter. The only thing we know for sure is the location is far from any human settlement, and many in the crowd were quite far from home. Having stayed in this area for three days, it was clear the people had consumed whatever provisions they might have brought. Their apparent devotion to Jesus' teaching filled Him with compassion at their plight. He shared this with His disciples, testing their reaction. As before, they were at a loss to provide any answer. When asked, they produced seven of the flat disks of bread common in that time and place. They also had a few small fish, probably pickled or smoked.

Yet again, Jesus directed His disciples to organize the task of feeding, gave thanks and blessed God in plain view of all. Then He began handing out the bread and fish, breaking off chunks from a stack that never ran out. This time the word for "basket" indicates something quite large, and they filled seven of these with the left over pieces. Four thousand had eaten. Once again, Jesus showed human limits meant nothing to Him, as whatever was needed simply appeared for the sake of the Kingdom. Dismissing the crowd to their homes, Jesus directed His disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee.

Best we can tell, Dalmanutha is the name for the western-most shore area of the Sea of Galilee. While there, a group of Pharisees approached Jesus demanding a sign they would recognize. It was not enough Jesus taught and healed, but they required something according to their own teachings, though we aren't told what it was. Most likely it would have been some spectacle, but this was unsuitable for a spiritual King. Miracles came not on demand, nor in answer to mere human need, but always to meet the need of the Kingdom. Whatever they asked for made Jesus groan over their hardened hearts, and He rebuked them sharply, refusing their request. His choice of words showed He recognized the Pharisees as the primary influence on the Jewish people of that day.

In His disgust, He simply walked to the shore and got into their boat. The disciples steered a course to the opposite side of the sea, toward the area called Bethsaida. There is some dispute over the name, but it surely means something close to the mouth of the Upper Jordan River, where it emptied into Galilee. It was the original home of several disciples, and a place which seems to have rejected much of Jesus' message. As soon as they were under way, Jesus commented about the leaven of the Pharisees and Herodians.

Leaven was widely recognized as a symbol of impurity. It made bread taste much better, but was used to illustrate the idea of something which grew and insinuated itself into everything if you weren't careful. In the case of the Pharisees, it would be their rejection of the spiritual mysteries in favor of concrete and visible reality. For the Herodians, it was simply a case of pure greed. There was little difference between the two flavors, for both would destroy the soul by denying the Realm of the Spirit.

Sadly, the Twelve were afflicted by the tutelage of Pharisees and Herodians, for the men were pretty sure Jesus was fussing about their failure to pack provisions for the trip. It must have been quite annoying His closest companions were still so deeply infected with the leaven of worldliness, but Jesus patiently explained by walking them through the two miracle feedings. Since when did mere food matter to Jesus?

Upon reaching their destination, a blind man was led to Jesus. Apparently Jesus pulled the man out of town because this city didn't deserve to have miracles done in it. It seems the man was not born blind, but it was the result of something which came upon him later. Whatever the condition, it included the eyes weeping something which gummed the lids together. Using saliva, Jesus first removed this material and asked the man to describe what he could see. The man expressed being unable to distinguish humans and trees, except humans moved. Then Jesus touched his eyes to heal this problem. When the man realized he could see clearly, Jesus ordered him not to return back to the city, but go to his home, which was obviously in another direction.

Then Jesus and His disciples also left the area, hiking north along the main road toward the far northern reaches of Philip's Tetrarchy, the city of Caesarea Philippi. It was time to nail some things down. In Dalmanutha, the Pharisees brought to the fore their teachings regarding what Messiah must do to proclaim Himself to the satisfaction of the Jewish political class. Such a Messiah would never come, for their teachings were mere human legends. Rather, Jesus began addressing the real meaning of Messiah, the necessity of a spiritual focus, not of this world. He began by asking who other men thought Jesus was. Did they agree with those assessments? No. Peter bluntly stated His rabbi was the Messiah. Since the rest of the world was so sure the Messiah must be something other than what Jesus had been so far, it was obvious they couldn't announce His title to them. They would misunderstand, and act rashly upon that false understanding.

Apparently the disciples didn't understand either. As soon as He began expanding on the matter by describing in literal terms what would happen to Him soon, this same Peter rebuked Him for straying from the commonly held Messianic script. Jesus offered His own rebuke in return, for Peter clearly did not get it. Expecting the Messiah to establish a political rule was hardly what God had promised. Peter was still spouting legends of human imagination, not the spiritual concerns of Almighty God. If Peter meant to distinguish himself as leader of the Twelve, he had a long way to go.

To help clarify the matter, Jesus addressed the whole group, apparently more than just the Twelve. He began teaching the spiritual meaning of living. Clinging to this sorrowful existence was a fundamental error. This life was already forfeit, not worth much concern. Serving with Jesus meant choosing the Cross, the most gruesome torture and execution known in the Roman Empire. Eternal life after this one was more than worth the price of such an end. Why would Jesus cling to His human existence when the only throne which mattered lay beyond the grave? Eternity and clouds of angels was not some fairy tale. It was real, more real than this sorry life. Anyone not willing to carry their cross in the wake of Christ's death march were not worthy to share the ultimate victory.

Open the Door, Part 1

Sunshine. We use that term in a series of laws aimed at honoring at least the theory behind our national government. Since the people make the decision who gets to run things, they have a right to know what sort of people are asking for a chance to run things. If these are the right sort of people, then things can go forward with some confidence. Further, once in the driver's seat, these people chosen to drive remain open to inspection. All their actions on behalf of the rest, all their decisions, remain open to inspection.

In our attempt to build and maintain a civil society, we should realize that means not everything is open. Civility itself assumes some of what crosses my mind is unworthy of your notice, and life would get needlessly complicated if you knew. As long as I don't harm anyone else, let's keep it under my hat. A very biblical principle it is to note I can't really know what's in your heart; I am commanded by God to operate on what I can see in your conduct. I can infer your heart by that, but "heart" in the Bible means not your inmost feelings, but your will, the part of you which ultimately makes the decision to act one way or another. It has nothing to do with the fundamental nature of you and I standing before God, because God alone knows that. If someone is accused of having an evil heart, it's because their decisions were flawed, as evident by their actions. Some things are private, but an open and civil society assumes you would default to revealing things without a compelling reason to hide them.

There is an obvious overlap between civil society and a spiritual fellowship, and for obvious reasons. A civil society as defined by Scripture assumes man is fallen and imperfect, in need of restraint. Those redeemed need less restraint in theory, but we trust no human flesh fully. We trust the God working through that flesh, but a part of our trust in Him is realizing the best spiritual leaders are still flawed. The dividing line is contextual, shifting with the moment under the power of the Holy Spirit. We do our best to see where His hand is working. We will inevitably fail. We will trust when we should be inspecting, and fearful when nothing is amiss. Good leaders expect this, and will tend to remain open because, while it does make things inefficient, it ministers to the needs of those being led. A spiritual society is presumed to be a civil society, because it is far more.

Those who wear the vestments of trust the longest ever remain at risk of violating that trust. There is no predictive formula because people in positions of trust seldom know themselves what tricky situation coming tomorrow may catch them in a weak moment. We choose leaders because we know somebody has to be the focus of decision, somebody has to be the lever's pivot. We take some trouble assessing their ability to keep an eye on their own weaknesses. Too often we assume far too much from a rather limited apparent success. The hero of the moment in a crisis may be little more than that, but whom do we often promote to ultimate leadership? Or he may be the worst scoundrel, simply adept at keeping it from everyone. You just can't know, ultimately. You simply take the path down which you honestly feel God is leading at the time. Too bad our fundamental flaw is not only do we not hear Him, but don't know we don't hear Him. That some leader fell is hardly proof of a wrong choice for leadership. That one did not fall is no proof he was the right choice. There is actually no proof at all until we stand before God and all is revealed.

To assume any group leadership is worthy of anything approaching adulation is to tempt them to sin. Our culture leads us to do this wrong, and most spiritual groups have consistently blown it one way or another. That's because most spiritual groups assume too much the importance of the group once it is launched. We assume God would never sink His own boat, and that assumption is a fatal idiocy. Organizations are mere tools, and when a tool wears out, or the job changes, we get a different tool. We hate that. It reflects a fundamental flaw from the Fall. We fear change, unless it seems to bring relief from some perceived misery. Need I explore here our failure to understand what God calls "misery" compared to what we call it? The best leader is the one who willingly lays aside the vestments of trust, and takes them up reluctantly.

Too many leaders take themselves too seriously. They identify themselves with their office, and vice versa, when neither is critical for very long on this earth. There is no purely spiritual office on earth; involve other humans and it's politics. We can purify our politics by honorable conduct. A signal honor offered to those led is to open the door by default, because that's what honors God. How did I come to this decision? Be honest with yourself, and then tell the people how you got there. Offer yourself for dismissal every moment, even during emergencies. Invest yourself fully, but never pretend to own that investment. Nail it to the Cross every few minutes as a discipline of the mind. In the long run, every political arrangement collapses. Keep your eye on the spiritual result, a result you cannot truly measure in the first place.

When I read about politics in religious institutions, I often see a very hideous lie hiding in the discussion, that the institution and its "life" is somehow sacrosanct. This is the fundamental flaw which locks a Holy God out of the process, because there is no place left for Him to liquidate something which has outlived its usefulness in His divine plan. We simply assume He wouldn't do that, when Scripture shows too often He does. It is this fatal flaw in our understanding of the Kingdom, by clinging to the trappings of this earthly manifestation, which creates most of the political turmoil.

I'm not promoting simple openness to the voters and constituents, but to God Himself. Open the door to Him, and openness to the membership is a whole lot easier. You can hardly stop a mob action based on false information, and there will always be the restless churning at the bottom of the structural food chain. You cannot stop the rabble from poking a finger in your chest and making accusations you aren't doing the right thing. You may know beyond all doubt before God they are acting on false information, but if you haven't searched your conscience about having done all to clarify the confusion, privacy becomes secrecy, and you have failed one way or the other. You'll have enough trouble leading without creating situations where your ministry is shot down over silly secrecy.

Score One for the WSJ

It's not often I find articles worth reading at the Wall Street Journal online. I know almost nothing about the radio program Issues, Etc. except what I've read in the past week when the hubbub began. On one blog which covers the issues, I posted some comments regarding what I did know from my experience with the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS).

My first consciousness of that denomination was during the 1970s. This was the height of the battle in several church groups over a brand of theology called "neo-orthodoxy." It wasn't new, and it was hardly orthodox. A quintessential element of that intellectual strain was claiming we could deny the historicity of the Scripture narrative without giving up the spiritual significance. Nice try. It was called various things, but "Battle for the Bible" seems to have stuck. The reaction to neo-orthodoxy was to affirm the Bible is infallible. I've said in the past this is asking the wrong question, but the error is on the side of the neo-orthodox. You can't question the narrative without destroying the message, because the narrative is all we have as a source.

The battle among Southern Baptists is pretty much over on this, but not without horrendous consequences for them. The SBC lacked any credal foundation for tossing out this rebellious crew, who found a foothold. The only leverage left was politics, and that's just plain nasty and evil. While the neo-orthodox in the SBC are now fairly marginalized, and a full separation will probably come later, the whole question destroyed the soul of the SBC by virtue of the bitterness and ugly maneuvering of the conservatives. Meanwhile, this business kept anybody from noticing the filthy Market Driven stuff sliding in the now unguarded back door.

The LCMS did have a creed, a rather good one. The grass roots of that denomination rose up against the neo-orthodox leadership and simply kicked them out. A famous example is firing the seminary professors who were behind much of this trouble. These displaced educrats then formed the infamous "Seminex" -- seminary in exile. Maybe you can find out what happened to them yourself, but the main core of the denomination went on victoriously.

While I never could understand how Lutherans could reject Luther's Bondage of the Will, I did rather like the work of the LCMS on many thing. At one point I joined them and volunteered in one of their churches. My downfall was not realizing just how prissy and Victorian their leaders could be. You see, the folks who gain political power are the busybodies who have time to stick their nose in things which are none of their business. It looks good on paper, so they are put in charge of things. Truth is hardly a concern, and they'll attack any truth which fails to come clothed in their preconceived notions. I fled eventually.

Still, I had hopes my experience was local. Sadly, it is not. We see the denomination has been seized by, of all things, Market Driven madness. One more time, boys and girls: Self-help psychology is just fine, but don't you dare call it the gospel of Jesus Christ. The mandates of grace weigh upon us in spite of how good we feel about ourselves and whether we are making it in the middle class merchant civilization founded on materialism. Jesus died in part to release us from bondage to a life of woe pursuing worldly success.

If my church can't come up with a coffee bar in the lobby to draw the hipsters, it's not a mission failure. I do make really good coffee, as the testified to by serious coffee drinkers I know, but Jesus didn't' call me to serve latté under the roof of some high-priced architecture. It is not we who sell our brand of Jesus to a fussy market with high expectations. Even if we succeed, what have we gained? Souls are not added to the Kingdom by a purchase decision, but by grace through faith -- that word "faith" means commitment of the whole soul, not a mere contract. It is Jesus who offers His power and grace through the most unlikely places, in the greatest display of creativity since Creation itself. He said Himself following Him would surely bring us into conflict with the world, and our victory is when we realize that conflict is a good sign. Not for the sake of the conflict itself, but conflict of that sort is good because it comes at us from the same world which demanded His crucifixion. We may well be successful in this fallen world, but only by accident, not as the central tenet of our faith.

If church is little more than another seminar on obtaining worldly peace and comfort, it's time for another exodus. Let them have the facilities, big budgets, expensive degrees, and all the worldly success they like. Let them continue putting on their Sunday shows while we gather under a tree, or on the shore, sit on a rock, or just in any empty building space we can find and teach the Word of God. Then, when it has branded our souls and changed our natures, let's take it out into the world and let them see a power which ignores all the things they vainly strive to gain. We have joy, whether we have stuff or not. We don't have to market a thing. Truth makes its own path.

It certainly made some fans for the radio program shut down by the LCMS leadership. A primary earmark of evil is keeping decisions in secret, and squelching dissent. It's also a hallmark of the Market Driven movement in American churches.

Rumblings Behind the Scenes

Can you hear that? Like the sound heavy furniture being slid across the wooden floor of a stage... The Lord won't let me peek behind the stage scenery.

I'm too busy anyway. Still, I can hear stuff moving...

Our house church isn't growing in numbers. My readers will be the first to realize that means nothing of itself. "Where two or more are gathered" remains true every day, for as long as it takes. That I feel the burning desire to be heard by a larger audience is what matters in this context. I still assume this is not our final mission field geographically. So when our lease expires, I fully expect the Lord will have shown us another place to abide.

We've found a particular hymnal we like and it's cheap enough we can buy new ones. For now, our target is a dozen. We've already been using them here in our home worship. Singing has been so very critical in bolstering our faith during difficult times. We could settle for just a hymn sing if we had to cut something out of our meetings.

Still, the teaching must spread. No, not by my ambitions. I could care less who carries the fire and gets paid for it. Steal all my stuff and put your own name on it, if it suits you. At any rate, by some means yet unseen, what I'm doing will gain new disciples. Seems to me I'll be in the middle of it for a time, and it will be bigger than now. Not formalized into a denomination -- Lord, please don't let that happen! Rather, this teaching will become more widely spread.

(rumble, rumble)

I love my job, but it's only a bridge to something more important. I can't see the other shore, but it's a bridge. Given my conviction the economy and current government system is doomed, I suppose the next part will be unimaginable from here. No, not paradise, but terribly important and absorbing. I'm gaining just enough income to take care of some issues we can't let get in the way of that future service.

Do we understand well enough why all the predictions about economic collapse can only say, "Yep, gonna fall"? We can't begin to say when it will be, because it all hinges on when some critical mass of humans here and elsewhere decide the greenback is nothing, and decides with enough conviction to do something about it. So any nightmare vision is just relative to what the mind can conceive. Take all my predictions with a grain of salt; keep your salt shaker handy. I'm just guessing and I'll admit it. The only part I'm not guessing about is the certainty of God's judgment on this nation. We have sinned. The much berated Rev. Jeremiah Wright wasn't wrong to condemn America, despite his many theological errors.

So whatever flag waves over my head in the coming years won't matter much to me. My only loyalty is to my King and Savior. He makes me to love people without regard to political boundaries. Somehow, His love living in me as I go about my current job will be the anchor line pulling me to the next task.

All this stuff I've been learning about computers and the Internet, at first just a hobby, will become essential in the future calling. So I dare not stop reading technology news, Net threat news, etc. That will continue to be an important tool in spreading His Word for me. There is still a server and some form of self-hosting out there. There is still this haunting vision of a Net War taking down a bunch of machines. Somehow, the stuff I've learned will be used to help Christians recover from some great loss.

The rumbling furniture keeps me awake some nights...

Twisted World

I am perverted. So are you. The root meaning of "perverted" is "twisted." We live in a fallen world, and a part of us remains fallen until we leave it all behind. Humans cannot be perfected on this earth; that's one of the oldest heresies. Regardless of His Holy Spirit living in us, we remain with one part of us fallen. Without His grace, we have no hope.

At age 51 now, I've seen things I wish my eyes had never captured. Each of those foul memories is a blot on my soul, a deep wound. Had I never seen the blood-spattered vehicles of those run off the road by drunk drivers, I wouldn't be haunted by the images of needless human suffering. Recovering human remains is something I wish no one ever had to do. And -- Oh, Lord! -- how I wish I had not seen flashed on my computer screen the graphic images of child sexual abuse. Or men abusing each other. Spyware, browser insecurity, tricks of the trade from foul vendors on the Net.

Each such incident is a wound. It's a fiery dart. Had I not seen them, the crazy fallen human desire to see more would never have been awakened. Because some dying part of me still wants more, it becomes grounds for accusation from Satan. Had he not so many friends in this world, I'd never have found the seeds of his sorrows sown in my being. These things torment me, haunt me, twist me.

What have you seen? It has twisted you. God's power is great. Have you not seen how His hand prevents you from that sin your flesh so desires? Yet we so easily shy away from anyone who admits their own sinful desires, regardless how long they have lived without falling into that particular sin. We are hypocrites.

Yes, we are twisted. We are perverts.

Hebrews 6

Jesus came to the Nation of Israel, such as it was in His day, and preached, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." Whatever it was Israel was doing, they needed to repent. He seemed particularly concerned the Pharisees and other religious leaders repent from their sins. We have ample evidence what He found at fault in them. For some years now I have striven to indicate much of Jesus' criticism can be summed up as pressing Israel to return to their Hebrew Mystical roots, because so very much of Israel's sin was the result of leaving those roots. The shallow, soulless ritualism of the Jewish leaders Christ confronted was a direct result of embracing Hellenism, and its utter lack of a higher realm of truth. Beyond mere ideals and human perceptions of them via logic, Hellenism asserted there was nothing. Mechanical ritual observance was a direct result of such thinking. It was all foreign to the fundamental assumptions of the Scripture. Jesus was calling the people back to those Hebrew Mystical assumptions, to turn away from this world and the limits of mere human logic, to embrace the Truth, not as a body of understanding, but as Person who must be known as such.

Thus, our writer calls for his Jewish readers in Rome to realize just how far they were supposed to have come. Did they, like Peter walking on water, find the place of Christ so utterly foreign they could not lay hold of Him? Had they not already laid the ground of finding in Christ the ultimate higher truth of which the rituals and teaching of Moses were but a mere symbol? Seize this and move on! It's no longer up for debate and rehashing to the nth degree, as rabbis so loved to do. Jesus was the clarification of all things; now follow Him on into a higher understanding where God is to be found.

It is the fundamental nature of Christians to grow, to keep seeking the next level of faith and understanding. If it is possible for a soul to have sampled the realm of the Holy Spirit, that mystical, unspeakable glory of God's own very Presence and power, and then turn back to that false understanding of Moses, there is no hope. Indeed, it is not possible; but if it were, such a soul might as well go ahead and die, for Christ cannot save him yet again. The anchor for the change in your nature in Christ is in Heaven, in God Himself. The Son died for sins once for all; do you intend to crucify Him again? If you can renounce Him after getting to know Him, you bear even more guilt than all the Jews who never embraced Him in the first place. In modern parlance, it is worse than a plot of ground so infertile, it can serve only as a parking lot. No, this is ground which perverts good seeds into weeds.

As harsh as these words may be, our writer's faith realizes anyone who could leave Christ never knew Him. Anyone capable of embracing His Spirit of sacrifice surely has given the only true evidence of redemption. Where this Spirit is born, we expect in due time to see diligence in making Him known. This, at the cost others in Christ have borne before us, tossing their worldly existence aside as excess baggage.

As it is today, so it was in ancient times: Some court cases came before a judge with insufficient evidence. Lacking a conclusion, the cloud of suspicion remained, and could hinder normal life. Settling the issue to allow the suspect complete freedom often required submitting a bond of some value, but that would include laying one's reputation and social privileges on the line. This hardly applied to those at the bottom of society who might be punished on general principle alone when accused, but for those of some status, this was important. Regardless how great the man may be, he would swear an oath in the name of someone greater, someone who could and would back him up if the judge bothered to ask. Sometimes an agreement or alliance would come before a judge, and it was handled similar to a question of whether the parties were trustworthy, or whether they were guilty of lying. God, in offering a covenant to Abraham, whom the Jews claimed often as their father, bound Himself by an oath on Himself, since there was no greater power as guarantor.

The whole point behind such covenants and oaths was to provide a reasonable assurance, to compel one or both parties to go forward under the assumption this agreement or settlement was based in reality. Stop doubting, stop investing resources in a backup plan; just go and do. It implied the one party must now choose to honor the other. While Western culture introduces the element of skepticism, as if it's wise to doubt, in Eastern cultures you were required to embrace with a whole heart, and strive in the name of your gods to ignore feelings of doubt. It was this which was laid upon Abraham, for it was his very God who both backed up the warrant, and offered it Himself. Can Jehovah fail?

Abraham found God did not fail, for the writer quotes from the passage in Genesis 22, where Abraham prepared to offer up Isaac on Mount Moriah, the same ground upon which stood Herod's Temple. On this ground, God promised anew two things. He would speak well of Abraham, and when God says good things about you, all nature must respond accordingly. He would also insure Abraham had more descendants than anyone could count. That's because the Covenant of Abraham was extended by Christ, renewed in Him, the original covenant of individual faith and redemption. Abraham left behind everything which mattered to a man in his world, and traded it for a future of which he knew nothing. He offered his only chance at having a son to carry his name. Jehovah Jireh (God Our Provider) took care of all his needs. Those who embrace faith in Christ are children of Abraham, a number far greater and broader than mere DNA could mark. Those of us turning to Christ will find the spiritual riches of the Kingdom more than compensate for the loss of paltry worldly possessions. We find the power of Life in the Holy Spirit more than adequately replaces this miserable existence in a fallen world.

Jesus took up the vestments of that former ancient Covenant of Faith, a covenant which stood before, during and after the Covenant of Law, never abrogated, being the literal fulfillment of the Promise of Abraham. Mount Moriah was just a place; what happened there is what mattered. The Temple standing at that time on Mount Moriah was just a building, a poor shadow of God's Court in Heaven. The veil in Herod's Temple was torn when Christ cried out, "It is finished!" The veil which hides God Himself from those in the flesh has been breached forever by the Son of God, as both man and God. He is the final representative of that ancient covenant of which Melchizedek was a symbol. Embrace the mystical truth of God's revelation, His Son.

Is It Really New?

Caution: Mature audience advisory for this post.

Among other things, I'm called by God to play the pastoral role. Sweeping sin under the rug won't do much to help people stop sinning. We've got problems, brothers and sisters, and we need to work on them. My regular readers likely know I'd be the last to propose a legislative solution to sin, because we of the Kingdom are under a different covenant than the rest of the world. The Covenant of Civil Law -- AKA, Covenant of Noah -- is not our field of action. Yet, we naturally encourage reasonable efforts to restrain unbridled chaos and sin.

Go ahead and run an Internet search; you'll find dozens of new stories about teachers in particular, and other adults in general, having sexual relations with youngsters. What really makes the news is the surprising number of adult females pursuing teenage boys. Yes, there are quite a number of such stories.

We have to ask ourselves if this is really a new thing in our corroding society, or if it is simply hitting the press more. On the hand, we must affirm we can see the world around us is more evil than before. Ask any missionary who's been away from the US for a decade or so, living in a more primitive society. They are often stunned by the shift in TV alone toward lower morality. At the same time, it's quite likely we are simply hearing more about it than in the past, because frankly to two are linked. One feeds off the other.

Yet to suggest this is something unique to our generation is pure ignorance. This has been around for ages. Having researched and written at length on this subject in the past, I can easily show how it would appear we simply make more noise about it than past generations. It was only during the past century our concept of adolescence was born, and our feeling about "childhood" has come to include those years past age 14 or 15. In other words, most emphatically I must state we place age limits far higher than was considered normal in other cultures.

Frankly, we still cling to a very unnatural, artificial view of human sexuality, and read that back into the Scripture. This is the typical result of each generation assuming subconsciously all things began with them. A critical element in the definition of "lower order primate" includes the lack of inter-generational communication of experience. Gorillas have no history; we simply ignore ours.

It is the very silliness of our artificial view which encourages the sin we see. Were we promoting the truth of what God has made, and what we find ourselves working with after the Fall, it would be much harder for Satan to raise up an opposing standard. No, I'm not going to suggest we let "nature" take its course with our children in the fallen world. That's what sinners are saying, because it makes more sense than what we tend to say as modern American Christians.

Nor will a simple bullet list of ideas correct our false view. Sure, I could propose some items for review, such as noting our assumption good girls only marry their age peers is altogether recent in history. Yes, human nature itself actually calls for boys to be restrained until well past 20, while girls should be married off no later than age 15. An age disparity of 10-20 years in couples is how we are designed, regardless of other considerations. That our culture militates against that is a major part of our problem. When you turn things upside down and call it upright, don't be surprised when it all comes apart.

We, the Modern Western Church, have laid the foundation for Satan's works. Instead of discussing human sexuality matter-of-factly, by making it something almost shameful in our prissy veneer, we have abandoned that ground to evil. Anyone attempting to correct that mistake is branded loose and worldly. We have cast the seed of falsehood in our children's hearts, and the first time someone promises to approach things differently, whether evil or good, they seize upon it. We have primed them to become victims of predators because we have failed to strengthen them. We have built a false world, where children can scarcely receive a hug in public without someone screaming "child molester!" So the genuine safe cuddling we all need is denied them, and they can't wait to grab the next hug at any price.

Like the Pharisees and their bogus Talmud, we have raised a hedge around the truth, expressing a zeal God will not support. We make the rules interpreting the underlying truth more binding than that truth. I submit, it's too late to hold forth a true standard in this society. We'll have to wait for it to come crashing down before we get a chance to try again.

Life of Christ: Mark 7

Procedures save time by removing certain questions from a task. They are only so useful as they bring about the required end product. The task itself may not even be the point, as the desired product may be the state or state of mind of those having performed the task. So it is with religious rituals, and those of Moses are no different. The Law required holiness in terms of ritual and external action. Only a spiritually blinded soul would conclude these were all that mattered to the Creator of all things. Jesus made it plain the Law of Moses was not about the provisions of ritual and conduct, but about what they symbolized, a higher reality. Jesus did not defy the Law, but clarified its purpose.

Coming up to Galilee, a delegation of Pharisees and Scribes -- essentially professors, bureaucrats and lawyers -- arrived from Jerusalem to confront this rabbi who had gained so much attention. They wasted no time in noting Jesus had not taught His disciples to observe the traditions of the elders regarding ritual washing.

Mark goes to some lengths to explain the Pharisee Party had developed a huge long list of ritual cleansing provisions. Since no man could be certain he did not accidentally touch something which would defile him in the market place, it was mandatory to wash before eating. We believe this was using a small container to pour the water over the hands, such that the water flowed first over the fingertips, then down the fingers, across the hands, and off the wrists. They had similar rules about all sorts of daily household items. Mark also points out this is a matter of human tradition, not the Law of Moses. We know these traditions today generally by the term "Talmud."

So the basic point of issue was how Jesus could pretend to be a rabbi without enforcing the Talmudic traditions. We can be sure the disciples were probably as sensible as anyone might be about sanitary measures. The complaint was they didn't wash with the proper ritual. They accused the disciples of being defiled, unfit to serve a rabbi, and unfit to teach, preach, or heal, etc. Jesus answers by quoting Isaiah 29:13, where the Lord notes the Nation of Israel was all about hypocrisy; they put on a show to be seen as something they were not. Already in Isaiah's time, writing sometime before 700 BC, mere ritual observance was the sum total of the nation's religion. They were spiritually blinded, thinking the works of their hands could accomplish the holiness of God. Now, these seven centuries later, things had only gotten worse. What began as an explanation of the Law became a displacement of the Law.

The hand washing ritual was not commanded by God, but the things He did command were nullified by these human traditions. Pharisees in particular were materialistic, and always looking for an edge to getting and keeping worldly goods. A tradition they taught allowed a man to decide he would place all his possessions in a trust for the Temple -- Corban. As long as he lived, he could continue to use these things for his personal benefit. However, the trust would not allow him to provide for even his own parents should they have need, because the value of the estate must be protected, since it "belonged to God." This was just an excuse to get a big public pat on the back while being stingy, because it was contrary to the clear command of God. Even pagans did better than that.

We can safely assume the delegation from Jerusalem heard what came next, at least second hand. Jesus called the multitude together and gave them a parable. What goes in is not sin; what comes out makes a man dirty. Later, as usual, the disciples missed the point. Jesus explained ritual defilement had no effect on a man's character. He might not be able to go into the Temple defiled, but he was not excluded from God's presence. If anything kept a man from God, it was a fallen character. The Pharisees as a group were about as evil as could be, with their greed, arrogance, racism, murderous hatred, lying, corruption, and everything else. They entered the Temple smugly, yet never met with God.

That His disciples did not grasp the parable was reason enough to withdraw for a time of private teaching. By leaving Jewish territory, Jesus removed Himself from public ministry. They had a place to stay, but efforts at privacy failed completely. Even Gentiles knew He was called to reach Israel, to bring them one last chance to seize their calling to take the revelation of God to all nations, to be a kingdom of priests. Still, in this foreign land, He faced someone pleading for a miracle. A local woman came repeatedly asking her daughter be released from a demon. Using a gentler version of the epithet Jews typically used to describe Gentiles, Jesus said He could not take the blessings intended for God's children and throw them out to the puppies. Folks from a Semitic background despised canines, and everyone else knew it. No Jew in his right mind would seek to tame dogs by feeding puppies; when grown just a few months they would feel welcome to prowl the house, and perhaps attack the children whose food they had eaten greedily. It was not right for Jesus to step outside the Covenant of Moses just yet, and the woman's very act of requesting this would be regarded by the Jewish elite as defiling.

Seizing upon Jesus' words, the woman made note she wasn't asking much, not enough to deny any Jew something they really needed. Even good children, when very young, could hardly keep from dropping crumbs on the floor. By understatement, the woman made clear she knew Jesus was rejected by His own nation, so surely His power was great enough to leave a spiritual crumb or two? Her faith was painfully obvious, so committed she was to waiting on God. Dog she may be, but she would accept whatever the Lord offered. Her faith was the key, and Jesus said so. Remotely and without so much as a command, Jesus simply declared it to be, and the woman grasped it in that same faith. She found her daughter resting and recovering from the torment.

From there, Jesus gave Galilee wide berth, passing through Decapolis before approaching the sea again. The wording leaves us wondering the exact path, but it seems He consciously avoided entering Jewish jurisdiction. Nor do we have any idea how long it took, though it must have been at least a month for the entire vacation. There on the Decapolis shore of Galilee, someone led to Jesus a man who was deaf, and barely able to speak

What happened next is puzzling to many even today. Of the Gospels, Mark alone mentions this, and does so in this specific context teaching about defilement. Jesus took the man aside privately. He poked his fingers into the man's ears, then spat on one finger, and touched the man's tongue with it. Merely touching the Gentile man made Jesus ritually unclean by Pharisaical standards. Spitting was a mark of contempt in just about every culture, but seems to be related to the concept of driving evil or demons away. Jesus didn't spit in the man's face, but on His own hand. Compare this to the Pharisees fussing about ritual hand washing. What comes out from an evil heart is what defiles; what comes from a holy mouth cleanses. Most likely Mark notes Jesus makes a subtle joke of the sanctimonious nonsense of the Pharisees. A Roman audience would have chuckled over something so clever.

Jesus groaned, then called for the man's ears and mouth to be opened. The man was healed. Bringing him back to the crowd gathered there, Jesus ordered them to keep it quiet, again a pun -- a deaf mute hearing and speaking would say enough. They were having none of it, but broadcast the miracle all over. This sort of miracle was simply unheard of in their land.

The Jewish leadership had completely forgotten why their nation existed in the first place. When Jesus came along teaching the heart of God, they didn't recognize it. They were too busy swatting at shadows of imaginary sins, enforcing human traditions in the name of a God they didn't know. When Jesus blessed people, gave them healing and deliverance, they fussed about water trickling over fingers.

Canada Oppressing Christians?

Take the report with a grain of salt, but it seems we have a new incident of Canadian government going after genuine expression of Christian convictions. They've essentially told MacGregor Ministries to stop presenting their brand of faith as better than others. This assumes you understand Jesus actually meant it when He said He was the only way to the Father, and any other way means going to Hell.

First, it's only fair we take a quick glance at the MacGregor Ministries website. Aside from a surprising number of typographical errors, you'll find rather strong condemnation of things like the Seventh Day Adventists, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and other favorite targets of mainstream orthodox Protestant religion. You'll also see a powerful promotion of the idea women preachers are okay, which won't play well with a lot of folks I know. So we see a group which will certainly meet some resistance among other Christian institutions.

Unless you are possessed of a strong conviction regarding perfection in all things, you aren't likely to take offense at these folks, even if you do disagree with them on some points. They do a fine job, for example, showing the SDA folks consider Ellen G. White the one last Apostle of the Church. They also note there is more than one SDA stream of teaching, and some aren't quite so in love with White. Sharply worded, but not so inaccurate as to be just plain lying. Make of them what you will, but I find their site uninteresting.

We consider that this article is linked on the front page of WorldNetDaily's site for 22 March 2008, when at least one other Canada-bashing article appears. It is typical for editors to group articles in themes in the same edition of their publications. On the other hand, WND also tends to promote a resistance to the North American Union. Pointing out apparent oppressions in Canada, which have already been echoed here far too much, would help to make the case we don't need any closer union with them.

However, we have already seen plenty of news coming across our northern border showing Canadian government is actively seeking to shut up the Christian witness. A fundamental element of Christian faith is to embrace the idea Christ is the only way for all mankind. Further, it is imperative we tell others about that faith. It's a command; there are places and times when Our Lord indicates it's unwise, but as a fundamental element of our existence in this world, there is no doubt we must witness to our faith in Him. Thus, this story is just one more example of a government now hostile to the essence of Christianity.

Shock and horror should have worn off long ago. The pendulum of government tolerance for Christ has begun to swing the other way. Frankly, our faith suffers most when government embraces it, because that can only mean compromise will follow. Our faith is purest when there is every reason in this world not to commit to Christ. Jesus and His followers have warned us all too often persecution for following Him is to be expected, and is a badge of honor. Only a madman loves pain; only a sinner rejects the Cross.

Addenda: I received a comment which was not consistent with my moderation policies. However, I will note there was a link which readers may consider interesting, revealing a fairly consistent conflict between governments and the JWs. Such problems as I may have with JWs, I can't criticize them on that grounds. Be warned, the site has at least one popup: http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/.

Poof on Proof

It's not just the blogosphere. All over the world, on paper and in oral and visual presentations, Christians put serious effort into providing logical and significant proof Jesus lived, died, and rose again. You see a lot of that around this time of year.

Naturally, we Christians like that stuff, and often flock to find yet another piece of information or talking point to clinch our arguments with doubters and various naysayers. We call it a part of the valid field of study known as Apologetics. The Scripture seems to commend this: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15).

Yet in this very passage, within the context of what Peter is discussing, we see this long and strong effort to make the gospel message reasonable is not what Peter is teaching. Rather, he teaches our conduct is the answer. The context shows clearly we put to shame accusations and judgments from those who believe they stand on a higher ground of morality somehow when they castigate our faith. If our conduct is according to the teachings of Jesus, we have that "answer" to their questions.

There is a whole lifetime of work correcting many false impressions about what it means to walk the walk of Jesus, and just about every individual and group is pretty sure they have the one right answer to that question. However, there is in Scripture no significant emphasis on reasoning with folks about our faith. When Paul spoke on Mars Hill, he offered his best PhD level presentation. The response was pretty slender. It was worth it, because some did indeed believe. Still, regarding this experience we get the feeling Paul was pretty let down. He had given it his best shot on their own terms, but these learned men were mostly moved by the habit of learning, not about the content.

Paul was so disgusted he proclaimed:

And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2)

Go ahead; make your faith as reasonable as you can. But don't ever expect it to accomplish much. That's not where the action is. The action is in living the truth as the whole character of your life, not just your words. Further, I would say words are by far the least important part of your message. Paul states rather bluntly here for us "proof" as an exercise in logic has no bearing on truth, because truth is a living being, Truth -- we know Him as our God.

A dead spirit will not discern Him, and logic won't help. So, please, in the Name of Jesus, a little less proofing by logic and words and a lot more evidence by conviction and faith alive in your conduct.

Envy This

My wife has been home this week because our school systems are on Spring Break. In her role as homemaker, she is Queen of the World -- wonderful, amazing, marvelous, terrific.... You get the picture.

Today, after a hard morning at my keyboard, I caught the whiff. I forgot what I was doing, and was drawn downstairs. Halfway down, I was hit with a wave of fragrant yeast rising. Fresh, home made bread!

Sliced through the lightly crisped crust, juggled the still hot end of the loaf, and dropped two slabs of butter on the steaming white face. It hardly had a chance to melt. Nothing on earth can compare to it.

Eat your heart out.

Hebrews 5

Our writer closes the door back into the Law a little more tightly by showing there is but one High Priest whom God will accept, and that one does not stand in Herod's Temple. Further, he warns the spiritual reality of things has eluded them completely, because they have refused to grow beyond their poor Hellenized Judaism.

While there may be some debate about the absolute accuracy of it, the various rabbinical colleges all had a copy of the roll of High Priests, going all the way back to Aaron. Each man's name, lineage, and some words about his service, etc., were included in this roll. Some of them were quite famous, offering exemplary service during their term of office. Some were equally infamous for their failures.

The office of High Priest was conceptually fuzzy in our minds. In standard Hebrew fashion, the logic is symbolic, not concrete, not merely a matter of metaphor or allegory. Spiritual truth is hardly explained, only exemplified within a context. The calling of High Priest was at the behest of God. He set forth the original calling of Aaron, and commanded how this office would be carried on by future generations. Obviously no single man in this fallen world could live forever, so the office had to pass from one man to the next. There must always be a man in the office for as long as the Covenant of the Law stood.

Because these were humans, chosen from among the Nation of Israel, they could empathize with the human failings which bound Israelis in their sins. He could serve in his representative office before God Almighty because he was called to it by God, but did so with a human heart no less fallen than those whose offerings and burdens he presented. He had to offer covering sacrifices for his own sins before attempting to offer them for others. Were he not called into the divine Presence by God, He would be stricken dead immediately. Often enough the sins of the nation caused this anyway. At this, it was not literally God's presence, but merely an earthly representation of such a presence. It was an earthly model of God's throne room in Heaven. Yet, for the sake of sufficient sin, the High Priest could well expire on the Day of Atonement when he carried the blood sacrifice into that little room with the wooden box coated with gold leaf and mythical sculptures. He was just a man representing other men to a God no man could see.

Again, this was by God's command. All the desire in the world could not make a man High Priest. It was an ironclad birthright issue. By Hebrew logic, this took away any pride a man might have, for what did he do to merit such an office? It was not possible to wear the vestments by merit, but by grace alone, by God's command. So it was with Christ. He came to Israel by God's command. Further, He came not merely as one of the Jews, but as the Son of God who commanded. Our writer quotes again the coronation song, Psalm 2, which bears a Messianic truth. If the Davidic king could be called a son of God, how much more so the Messiah Himself, the one who was both anchor and end of the House of David?

Many of the mystical connotations of David's reign are tied up in the Messiah. The writer quotes also Psalm 110. We are reminded David was permitted to touch the Ark of the Covenant. While under that covenant for which the Ark existed, it was forbidden. He was permitted because he somehow had seized upon the faith and covenant which came much earlier, and still stood. The Covenant of Abraham, which included Melchizedek, both as men of faith who had fully committed their lives to Jehovah, was of a much higher order than the Law. We note the Law was merely an outward expression of what holiness would be under strictly circumscribed limits: that people, that land, that time. It was not the ultimate revelation of holiness, but was actually a very poor reflection of it. While very much binding on the Nation of Israel, it could never save souls. That was a matter of faith, of commitment as a gift of grace. When David embraced that level of faith, the Law was fulfilled. More, he could approach the Ark, the symbolic Throne of Jehovah, directly himself, as if he were a High Priest of some other order. That was the prior order of Melchizedek, the order of Abrahamic faith.

Thus, in that Psalm, David reveals an oracle of God which named him as a High Priest of that other, older order. This was the reason why this and other Psalms sound God's command all the world should bow before His King on earth. Not as King of Israel, though it was dressed in that robe, but as King of Faith, the faith Israel was meant to have, but rejected. Still, that faith was at work, and it wrought the Messiah. These were prophecies of the Coming One, who would be God's own Son, and High Priest of Faith. This was Christ Jesus.

While on the earth as a man, this Jesus was a vastly superior High Priest, for His offering never failed. When He stood before the Throne of God, He was there as Son. His appeals for mercy were surely granted, for God was granting them to Himself. Waxing yet more lyrical, the writer tosses in an old play on words in Greek. It was a common game to combine two similar sounding words in Greek or Latin as a phrase which encouraged some virtue, or made some pithy statement. Here he uses emathan and epathen -- "learning is suffering." Jesus didn't learn how to obey; obedience to God was His very nature. Rather, He learned that obedience was suffering, a very Hebrew concept. To gain was to grow, to be changed, to cut off things of the past, to leave behind the comfort of the womb. In short, the trauma of birth itself was hidden in learning by experience. What a man hears, he knows. What he sees, he understands. What he experiences, he is.

Summing all this up with His life, pulling together all the unfinished threads of human history and God's promises, He redeemed all mankind. As He is even now High Priest in Heaven, any other man claiming that role is a blasphemer. The standing High Priest so-called in Herod's Temple at that moment was a fake. For this Hebrew audience in Rome, our writer warns there is no place to go if they leave Jesus.

On the cusp of further explaining the image of Melchizedek, the author stops; he pulls his readers up short in their headlong rush back to the comforts of a familiar Judaism. He's wary of explaining because his readers are weary of hearing. After this many years of walking in Christ and reclaiming their true Hebrew identity, they still remain mere Jews of that latter day corrupt Judaism. They had not traveled back into the land of parabolic truth, of symbolic logic, of things which cannot be taught, only caught by the spirit enlightened by the Spirit of God. They were sucklings, tender and fat of soul. No wonder persecution was so hard on them. What infant is ready to face hardship? These readers were unable to sift the truth from the mystical viewpoint of the old Hebrew mind. They were still hardly grasping concrete toys of mere human logic with clumsy grasping little hands. They knew the nursing of simple ideas, but the meat of truth was not something they recognized as food.

Burdens and Baggage

As a child, I was utterly terrified of being exposed in the sense of having fun made of me. Ridicule and embarrassment were my death on a regular basis. Who's to say whether I got more than my share? What matters is how deeply it hurt. It left me with a persecution complex, mild paranoia, and a few other crippling problems in my psyche. Poor little baby boy!

For the longest time I faked being thick-skinned, because it seemed an adequate defense. It reduced the taunting to a manageable level. I was over 30, almost 40, before I actually began rising above those demons. These days I'm not likely much concerned what you think of me. For the most part, I'd rather people of this world didn't think of me at all. What mankind in the mass loves is usually evil.

To this day, I often find my unconscious mind pulling up vivid memories of embarrassment, most often when in a dream state. For those of you unfamiliar with dream analysis, dreaming you are naked or simply under-dressed represents a fear of exposure to ridicule or similar concerns. All the rational answers in the world won't erase these feelings because it requires the reparative power of the Holy Spirit. In a few small cases humans manage to get around these obstacles on their own, but there is no true healing without God.

As the broken bone heals to become stronger than the original unbroken bone, so the healed wounds and weaknesses of the psyche bear the harvest of strengths which match. A nasty and critical soul becomes a loving and committed watchman for moral problems. The heartless greedy operator becomes the careful and resourceful steward of God's provision. Some may recognize these under the teaching of Spiritual Temperaments. So it is the whiny, paranoid baby becomes the watchman of grand plans of evil.

To many, believing in conspiracy theories makes one a nutcase. This, despite the great mass of rational evidence proving conspiracy-as-theory is the single best explanation of history at large. Every government in human history was the result of several actors conspiring to take control. While the great charismatic leader may have stumbled into his role, what followed behind him in the longer term was the result of conspirators seeking to use him. Theories are merely attempts at explaining the observed events coherently. Theories of history which assume human behavior is at the fulcrum of events generally a matter of conspiring parties are the simplest answer, the best way to account for all the facts.

Tools of the Kingdom can be quite burdensome at first, and lugging them around is heart breaking. That is, they are a burden until we need them. Teaching soldiers to keep certain essential combat tools at hand 24/7 is very much about getting the job done, not a perverse desire to see people suffer from the inconvenience. I submit far too many military trainers do suffer from such perverse desires, but often they have little control over such rules as what must be drummed into the heads of recruits.

Christian, the burdens and chains of Satan upon your soul may well be reforged by the Father into swords and armor against his wiles.

I Get Paid for This?

I love my job. Really, I do.

Today I stood in with a session for one of my co-workers. She wrecked her vehicle after having already put off this last session with the client. So she asked me to take her place for the session scheduled for today.

This was a rare gentleman, a Navy veteran. He relied less on ZoomText than most of our clients. When I showed him the white-on-black reverse color theme for Windows, he was tickled with how much easier he could see everything on the screen. His wife also watched on and learned a bit, too.

These are some of the finest humans I've met. They absorbed my instruction like sponges, asked intelligent questions, and seemed to understand some of the more complicated theory behind it all. All they needed was someone to take a little time to point out something they had never seen before. And somehow the words "gracious hospitality" ring hollow compared to the way they treated me.

When you run across people like this, you get the sense you should be having to pay for the privilege. God is soooooo good.

Life of Christ: Mark 6

People hate change. Once we become comfortable with a situation, we are disturbed even when things are actually improved for us, unless the change is one we brought on ourselves. However, if the people facing forced changes happen to be politically powerful, their resistance to change is often fatal for the changers. Jesus brought change, yet threatened no one in any way.

Mark gives us the feeling Jesus left this unnamed town where Jairus was a chief in the synagogue, heading directly to His childhood home of Nazareth. It's hard to imagine He would not be invited to teach in the synagogue there. This was not the Jesus they remembered. A fellow's hometown tends to celebrate if he goes out into the world and becomes significant. Having him come home with a load of fame can only cast them in a positive light. Yet this town did not celebrate their home grown hero. Rather, they were offended because their hearts were hardened against the gospel message. Precious few people in Nazareth were moved in faith to seek His healing hands.

Since the Twelve were with Him, this experience was a good launch pad for the next phase of their training. Without any planning or collecting provisions, He sent them out in pairs on a preaching tour. The authority rejected at Nazareth was granted to them, and they were to rely on the famous Eastern hospitality. He was careful to admonish them they dare not respond to rejection, except in the symbolic act recognized in most of that world in those days: They were to make it plain for such hard hearted people, the very dust of their town's streets defiled the feet. It was an act of judgment which left the sentence in God's hands. Jesus also went on tour Himself, preaching in the cities of Galilee.

The message was to repent, for the Kingdom was at hand. Soon it would be too late, and the Lord would in some way visit the land. Those found in their sins would be rejected, judged and punished, indeed. This message could hardly avoid stirring a strong response one way or the other. News of this revival reached Galilee's king, Herod Antipas. His kingdom was two halves, Galilee and Perea, separated by the section of the northern Jordan Valley belonging to Decapolis. He was apparently at his palace-fortress in the far south of Perea, in the hills east of the northern Dead Sea. The news struck this Herod as a blow to his conscience. He was pretty sure this Miracle Man in Galilee was John the Baptist resurrected to haunt his kingdom.

Mark backtracks to the time not long before this preaching tour, when John the Baptist was executed for daring to preach Herod Antipas had sinned in marrying his half-niece, essentially stealing her from his half-brother, Philip. While Antipas dared not harm John, his illicit wife, Herodias, wanted his head. She got it by catching Antipas entertaining guests. In a pretense of holding to fabled Persian opulence, Antipas had food, wine and dancing girls. These latter would normally be slaves, but Herodias seized the moment and sent her daughter to dance before the men. In keeping with his Eastern extravagance, he offered her anything she asked, up to half his kingdom. She checked with her mother, and Herodias sprang the trap. Forcing Antipas to fulfill her wish lest he lose face before his guests, John was beheaded right away, because his prison was on the palace grounds. With his remains taken away for burial, Antipas was sure John's disciples had managed to resurrect him. All of this was no surprise to a Roman audience, who were used to rulers putting on airs and being caught by their own pretenses. They would have immediately understood the superstition someone returning from the dead would have incredible powers.

What the Roman readers also would see immediately was Jesus could have destroyed Antipas, or any other political ruler, with great ease. To them, it was a glaring truth, for lack of political ambition is conspicuous by its absence. All the more so with what follows. Given the attention they had garnered, Jesus wanted to let the agitation die down a bit, and give His men a chance to rest. After gathering back in Capernaum, He had them take a small boat down the coast, most likely near the northeastern corner of the sea. Yet, as their boat was visible from the shore, the crowd simply followed their craft to its landing. Lesser men would be irritated, but Jesus saw only how these common Galilean people had been so abused spiritually, they were like sheep without a shepherd. It was impossible as the Good Shepherd not to care for them, to instinctively want to pastor them.

So He did, teaching them until it was late afternoon. He cared so deeply for them. When His disciples suggested it was time to send the crowd away to find food. Most of them were poor, and buying food for so many of them would cost a fortune. They had just about enough time to walk back to a town before sunset, but Jesus had an important lesson in mind for His men. He told them they would feed this massive crowd. Then He said they should see what food was available from the crowd, and it wasn't much. Flat pita bread and smoked or dried small fish were a common meal around there, but this wasn't much more than a snack for the group themselves, never mind the huge crowd. Still, Jesus had His disciples organize the crowd in groups ranging from fifty to a hundred, a common pattern for handling large groups in ancient Semitic cultures.

Then He began passing out the food, but somehow the food never ran out. Not only did they feed the massive crowd, but had enough left over for the Twelve to pack a day's ration each for tomorrow. For Mark's Roman audience, this was an obvious signal. Roman commanders would each day issue to their troops the food rations for the next day -- giving them their "daily bread." It was a strong link, for it was clear the commander looked after the welfare of the troops, but would not give them enough to desert their post easily in remote areas. They got just enough to keep serving another day. To the Roman mind, Jesus was acting with a commander's immense authority, but clearly seeing to the details of daily life maintenance. To God, such things mattered.

Again, Jesus had no intention of disturbing the political situation. Romans would be puzzled if a man seeking to change the world didn't take advantage of this moment. Here was a crowd of some 5000 men with their families, eager to follow this man wherever He went, and He had no problem feeding them, not to mention healing them and teaching them His ways. Here was a willing army to vanquish the local Roman garrisons, and just a victory or two would swell the army to become a genuine challenge to Roman authority. Instead, He sent His lieutenants away, and dismissed the crowd. His priority of meeting their very real needs was covered; they could walk home now in comfort. Meanwhile, He had an appointment with prayer. Whatever Jesus was, He never intended to challenge any legal authority. His powers were focused on a far different kind of kingdom.

To emphasize the other-worldly nature of this kingdom, Mark tells us of Jesus' actions after that time of prayer. Seeing from afar His disciples struggling to keep the boat upright in a storm, He walked out to them on the water. Such a man had no need for armies and navies and massive forts. When the superstitious disciples cried in fear they were seeing a ghost about to welcome them to the realm of the dead, Jesus called out they should take courage, for it was not death, but life which drew near. Upon His entering their boat, the storm ceased. By now, they should hardly have been surprised. Had these men seen and experienced all this power and still not grasped what it was all about? Indeed, for the miracle of the feeding was lost in having just another afternoon of work. They themselves were no doubt wondering just when their Messiah was going to organize His realm. They wondered because they did not understand the nature of His realm.

On the opposite upper shores of Galilee, the northwestern, was a relatively flat area called Gennesaret. The people here realized who was getting out of the little boat, and rushed to bring out all their ailing and needy friends and family. A grapevine was set up to track His movements, and more diseased and demonized were brought to Him, as a sort of odd welcoming committee everywhere He went. By faith, these people claimed His authority to heal by so much as touching the blue tassels hanging from the fringe of His out garment. Romans who had seen Jews before would recognize this as part of the uniform typically worn by rabbis -- a rather fine, lightweight robe, often white with pale blue stripes, and blue tassels.

It was a subtle reminder to Mark's readers Jesus was first and foremost a teacher of righteousness. Had He intended any form of earthly rule, it would require He wear something else, something which would signal His political aspirations. Instead, He stuck with the image of a simple itinerant rabbi.

Tribulation Report #008: Dollar Slide

Unless you've been paying no attention at all to the situation, you probably know the value of the US Dollar has continued to slide. For several decades we have walked on the knife-edge of economic failure. Now, the combined load of economic activity precariously perched atop the wobbling commerce of this country has broken loose, and the whole thing is scattering down the slope on both sides of the blade.

This summer will be rough, as the dollar price of oil and petroleum products soar. The barrel of crude has hit $111, and around my home a gallon of gas is just over $3. We expect to see $4 and up before August. Grocery prices are following proportionately, if somewhat behind the trend.

Let's face it: My well-paying job as a private contractor in adaptive computer instruction with the Veterans Administration will be just about enough to keep tires on my bicycle and beans-n-rice on the table. My prayers for a newer vehicle to take me all over our service region have become something more survival oriented. I plan to keep my ancient Isuzu pickup running for now as best it will, fix our teeth and get new eyeglass prescriptions. If things hold out, we'll get a new bed.

Then we'll start focusing our acquisition efforts on stable food stocks and the means to defend them. Next winter will be particularly rough. By no means do I wear the camel-hair and leather belt. I'm just guessing, but I'm hardly alone in what I see coming. Barring God's tender mercies in making winter somewhat warmer next year -- noting the trend is actually the other way -- life will change dramatically.

I doubt all the public utilities will shut down across the country, but they will become very expensive to maintain. Any local and state government entity with poor budget discipline will harvest chaos in their constituency. That is, without the lavish supply of money in taxes and loans, all the things they used to buy peace will quit working. It will then fall back on the character of their citizens, and their ability to organize and carry on without government supply. Yes, I am referring to vigilantism. Where the official government fails, the de facto governments take their place. Right now, that usually finds expression in gangs.

One and a half millenia back in history, the established civilization broke down across the Atlantic, and feudalism arose, as it had so many times in the past. So it will be here. No one living can predict the degree or particular expression it takes. Just as our federal government today uses the word "terrorism" to label any resistance to her edicts, so you can call anything you like "gangs" and "vigilantes" -- it won't change the nature of what is happening. One government replaces another, with varying degrees of on-going conflict until one or the other yields or collapses, renouncing its claims. Whether that requires actual violence depends on the people involved. I find violence highly likely given the collapse of American civic culture long accomplished already.

Further, it really won't matter whom you blame for this. I can tell you with utter conviction at least part of this mess was planned and sought by humans whose hands now rest on the levers of political power. There is much profit in human misery, war most of all. When we examine the historical record from a balanced view, we find almost every war was manufactured by similar leverage, because the mass of people will not naturally go to war without a whip hand stirring up sinful passions. In the end, it's always Satan, taking advantage of our Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the Eyes, and Boastful Pride of Life.

As the byline above says: Tribulation is here. How are you coping?

Twinkling Stars

The first couple of verses of Hebrews 1 remind me of twinkling stars and the blazing sun. Prior to the Son, revelation came in flashing shards, just enough to obey at some minimal level what God required. It didn't matter no one had a full understanding, because those imbued with a spirit to follow and serve Him would always find a way to please Him. Indeed, it turns out the desire itself is what pleases Him. That part has not changed, though now we have as full a revelation of God's will as we ever will get. It's still a matter of desire, and that has been clarified beyond all doubt.

My desire is hardly what it ought to be, but it fires me to press ahead because I can't fix what has already passed. In the twinkling stars of my own understanding of God's will, my flesh fails continually, getting in the way of doing the right thing. Still, He sees my desire, and turns my mistakes into victories.

Some concrete examples of that are before me now. I sit here in my designated computer room in our apartment. It became vacant when my son and his wife got their own place. The effort to find them a place went into overdrive when I was under the impression I was about to move to Muskogee, some 130 miles away. The Muskogee move fell through, but not before my son found his own place. God arranged a deal when their chances looked awfully dim. For all I know, my urgency in the spirit might not have arisen had I not thought we were moving so quickly.

I was going to obtain a server of some sort and begin self-hosting. It was going to be a ministry based on my teaching, particularly the return to a Hebrew world view as the fundamental viewpoint of Scripture. Two deals on servers were held up, until I realized that vision was false. Then, suddenly I had the desire and money to build a desktop. When the time was right, I pressed ahead and built -- a machine more powerful than I would have hoped to buy as a server. I know now this will eventually be a server box for some purpose I cannot foresee. I still am convinced I will need one in the future, and am reading up on various uses, but nothing seems concrete to my spirit, yet.

While I was waiting for my son to move, the traffic and noise level in the house pushed me to obtain a laptop, which allowed me to hide in my bedroom away from the noise. I got some things done. Right now it doesn't see a lot of use. I thought I had to run Windows until I stumbled across the obscure detail which fixed my troubles under Linux. So now it runs Linux again. It's waiting for some future use. I don't yet know exactly what that is.

Behind me sits an eMac. I got as a generous exchange, trading for something I owned which was worth a lot less in resale value. I really don't know what I'll do with it. It doesn't work the way I do, so I'll just let it sit there and allow guests to use it for accessing the Internet. I suppose I will upgrade it to a later version of OS X, if we can work that out at Open for Business and I'll write an article or two. I already know it won't see much use the way I work on computers, but I'm sure God has some purpose. The only thing I do know is I'm supposed to keep it for now.

Lots of computer hardware sitting around me; nice stuff, not junk. Frankly, these things are just tools. Back when it really mattered to me, God allowed me to use junk which kept falling apart. I learned a lot that way. Now I've got solid tools, stuff which will probably keep working for years, long after they are quite obsolete. Now that it really doesn't matter, now that my lust has died away, I have the stuff for which I lusted, and more.

The stars are twinkling around me. While the Son is shining, I am as yet blinded by my sinfulness, and all I see are stars. Somehow He still uses me, still confirms in my soul He wants me. I'm just along for the ride, while He steers a course I'll probably never understand.

Hebrews 4

To most of us in the Western world, this chapter sounds almost like self-contradiction. It's hard to put Hebrew thoughts into Greek language, and I suspect it's a little tough for Alexandrian minds to grasp these spiritual things. While a one-to-one allegory is just fine for them, a spiritual truth which defies definition by being several things at once on different levels may be a factor in the Jewish Christians at Rome struggling to stay oriented on Christ. However, our writer is confident he can draw them up to a higher spiritual grasp. It remains for us to untangle something which is a Hebrew thought written in a Greek language and translated into English.

On the seventh day of Creation, the Word says Our Lord rested. The word used for "rest" is essentially the word "Sabbath" itself. While the root meaning is rather broad, the context would connote celebration of a completed task. It is conceptually related to the Hebrew word usually translated as "peace" -- shalom. This is more than mere tranquility, but tranquility of heart and soul resulting from having achieved, having prospered, found plenty, protected from threats. It was to this sense of rest which David referred in the 95th Psalm, quoting from Moses in Exodus 17.

On the one level, the Covenant of the Law promised a worldly peace, a material health and wealth. This was a law of mere behavior bringing promise of what mere behavior can purchase: worldly success. The Law was binding on this one nation, in this one place, during that one period of time. Obviously, they failed to achieve even that little bit of worldly rest. Joshua performed his duty rooting out all the pagan worship centers in the land. The sources of Canaanite cultural and religious corruption were gone. In due time, by adhering to the Law, Israel would easily slaughter or drive out the remaining occupants. They did not adhere to the Law, nor did they finish off the Canaanites. Instead, they compromised militarily and ritually. They were unfaithful to their part of the Covenant of Moses.

The Nation of Israel had one "gospel" of Law. It was indeed pretty good news God offered everything every other nation of men desired. He gave them far more than they deserved of it. They lacked what little commitment was required for that worldly success. They never quite rested. Just as the first generation died in the wilderness, rejecting their gospel, so the Nation of Israel died in this fallen world because they rejected the gospel of the Messiah. It was to them first. Just as Joshua and Caleb survived the change, so some Jews did indeed pass into the Kingdom. It would be silly to attempt wringing from God's truth a mathematical precision, since He Himself does not require it back from us. It is not somehow holier to make "that generation" mean every breathing human soul since a few did meet God's demands for entering the Promised Land, and some did enter the Kingdom of Heaven. A few did indeed embrace the gospel of their time.

Thus, the door of Heaven remains open to Jews, but only if they come through Christ. There does indeed remain that elusive rest of the soul, that Sabbath of the spirit. Fear of persecution is not a part of the faith which seizes the gospel and grants the victory. This is the same promise given to Abraham, whose covenant remained in effect throughout the period of the Law of Moses. The latter gave worldly blessings, but eternal life was still in the former throughout the life of the Nation of Israel. The Covenant of Abraham was actually more about dying to the old ways, and embracing the sacrifices of the new. One who clings to that fundamental demand could always find eternal salvation throughout the Old Testament. Christ in one sense merely renewed Abraham's Covenant of personal faith, placed it in a new context, and extended it to all humanity. So the path to Moses was closed at the Cross. Whatever could have been had under Joshua was merely an earthly symbol of what really mattered. We must not miss the play on words, as the names "Joshua" and "Jesus" are but two different spellings of the same name. To join in the rest of God's Eternal Sabbath requires doing the works of God, a conquest of the life, a spiritual labor with a spiritual reward.

It is a rare body of Christ which does not teach memorizing the verse regarding the Word as a sword. This is quintessential Hebrew logic, comparing an earthly thing, along with the full implication of what that thing does, to a spiritual concept. In the Kingdom of Heaven, the one weapon of conquest over the flesh is the revelation of God in Jesus Christ. That Living Word is able to clarify with savage efficiency what is godly and what is not, what must be retained, and what must be cut away. We end this life so the other may be born in us. With such piercing glare as the pure light of truth slashing through our souls, can we doubt He knows us better than we ever could ourselves? No motive escapes His notice. The obvious implication relates to the previous verses: How do you expect to pass back into the Eden of Rest if you do not fall under the Flaming Sword which guards the way (Genesis 3:24)?

The writer flatly tells his Jewish readers in Rome again the Mosaic path is closed. The only High Priest of God is there with Him in Heaven. His Law is not the precise and pedantic silliness of the Talmud, nor even the simpler Law of Moses. Who wasn't aware strict Pharisaical obedience could be paired with moral depravity? Our Savior is the High Priest who reads not mere conduct, but our very souls, and judges the truth with mercy. Having been in our place, He knows intimately what we suffer here. Unlike the priests in earthly Zion, His Temple is in God's very presence, as very God Himself. Unlike priests whose moral imperfections did not disqualify them, but ritual impurities did, our High Priest in Heaven is sinless in His very being. He has conquered this fallen life in person and in His Person. Let us hold fast to Him; let us keep that link alive. As His own, we can boldly come before God Almighty, whose purity sees the very depth of our sins, but whose Son stands beside us to cover those sins. When things get rough on this earth, we can know it is for our good, and He will grant us His strength to stand the sorrow and misery.

Clean RealPlayer

Not long ago I learned RealPlayer for Windows was essentially spyware. That is, it misbehaves, does things without user input which are not in the user's best interest. You can read about it in more detail here but the criticism includes noting the player inserts itself in the SysTray for no good reason. Turn it off and remove it from the startup list, and the next time you run it, the beast puts itself back on the startup list. Also, it phones home with an awful lot of details about you and your music/video habits.

I can't in good conscience help my clients install this thing. It's just wrong. However, there is a way to get around it. One is to install Real Alternative player. The other is to work your way through the BBC Radio website and find the the download page which will take you to a version of RealPlayer which has all those spyware features removed. Since the BBC has some very strict -- but sane -- privacy policies for their listeners, they demanded RealPlayer offer this stripped down model or they would use some other format.

I have installed the iPlayer on our only Winbox here at home. In appearance it is pretty much the same, but RealPlayer complains it can be updated to a newer version. That may be the only hounding I'll see. I noticed it does not insert itself in the startup by default. That's a good thing. The ads are family friendly in the sense I didn't see anything "adult oriented." I'll wait for another guinea pig to test the Real Alternative.

Politics: Fred Said It for Me

Perhaps in a hundred different little pieces, what I've been trying to say about politics is magnificently covered in one fell swoop by Fred Reed:

To disguise all of this, elections provide the excitement and intellectual content of a football game, without the importance. They allow a sense of Participation. In bars across the land, in high-school gymns become forums, people become heated about what they imagine to be decisions of great import: This candidate or that? It keeps them from feeling left out while denying them power.

It is fraud. In a sense, the candidates do not even exist. A presidential candidate consists of two speechwriters, a makeup man, a gestures coach, ad agency, two pollsters and an interpreter of focus groups. Depending on his numbers, the handlers may suggest a more fixed stare to crank up his decisiveness quotient for male or Republican voters, or dial in a bit of compassion for a Democratic or female audience. The newspapers will report this calculated transformation. Yet it works. You can fool enough of the people enough of the time.

When people sense this and decline to vote, we cluck like disturbed hens and speak of apathy. Nope. Just common sense.

America has been a soft dictatorship for a very long time. Here and there a single elected official has been a real statesman, but the majority have been solidly elitist in maintaining the facade. Now we see some of the softness falling away, and more of the undisguised type of dictatorship.

Indeed, it's already here, but practically nobody has noticed. Your opportunity to bleed in Christ's name is fast approaching.

Addenda: Today is a twofer. Noting our despotic regime ignores our wishes and best interests in pursuing fake wars abroad against non-existent threats, simply to enable a more insidious war against the citizens here, Will Grigg points out a primary mark of evil in government: torture. He does so by describing accurately the best -- and only biblical -- means of interrogating enemies. The shining example of this was Hanns-Joachim Scharff of Germany in WW2, who simply talked to his captives in friendship to get the information he needed.

We know nothing of such honorable conduct these days.

Life of Christ: Mark 5

In the Roman world, those with authority knew they had it. While the world offered plenty who made too much of that, those with true power and authority never surrendered to panic when things seemed to fail. The low-keyed self-assurance Jesus projected to the world around Him spoke volumes.

Even more, His sinless perfection screamed at demons. After Jesus stilling the storm, the disciples found themselves on the eastern shore of Galilee. Best we can tell, the only place which best matches the description is a village today called Kursi, which would be right on the border between the Decapolis and the Tetrarchy of Philip just to the north. The area is quite hilly and rugged, with a steep slope dropping into the sea. In such a land, it would be common to find tombs, as there were many recesses and small caves. Here dwelt a demonized man, and under the influence of that demon, was compelled to worship Jesus.

While no one feels blessed at recognition by the piteous wailing of a scarred and naked tomb-dweller, it was the filthy spirit which was most unfit to call Him Lord. Nonetheless, it is quite obviously meaningful when the powers of Darkness fear Him. Those powers having impelled this man to break all efforts to bind him, and every imaginable means of self abuse, we can't imagine how the man himself would be able to avoid clinging to Jesus, even as the demons cried out in fear. Upon questioning, we find the demon was actually a legion of demons. It does no good to build a theology of demons on this short narrative, except to note the obvious authority of Jesus over them.

While Romans were no doubt aware of the Jewish attitude about swine, they provide an important element in the story. There were approximately 2000 of them. There were enough demons to drive the whole herd into the sea. While curious and envious of each other, pigs are hardly like lemmings or sheep. They are more intelligent than most animals domesticated by men, so knew the dangers of the sea. Yet every one of them perished under the influence of the demons driven out of the man.

We aren't told of their conversation, but the man obviously spent some time cleaning up, getting clothed, and being taught by Jesus. The swine herders had time to run into the nearest town, tell a bunch of people what they saw, and lead a large crowd of them back to the scene. After seeing the tomb dweller a different man, and asking a hundred questions, they finally decided whatever Jesus was doing was a threat to them. Keep in mind, if these are folks from Decapolis, they are pretty much Hellenized and superstitious, though aware of Jewish ways. If Jews from the northern side of the border, they would have stood to suffer much economic loss from Jesus demanding they reform their practices, such as no longer raising hogs for the Decapolis market. The saved man was ready to get away from either mess. Still, with Jesus unwelcome there, the only witness to truth would have been this former tomb dweller. Indeed, what a testimony he had! We are told he was quite effective in his witness in that whole region.

Jesus' authority over Satan was complete. It extended also to authority over the works of his hands and the consequences, as well. Back on the west shore of Galilee, where we are not told, Jesus was met by a welcoming committee. One of the synagogue bigshots came and fell at His feet, clearly and publicly recognizing His authority. The man, Jairus, had but one child -- a 12-year-old daughter -- who was on the verge of dying from a fever. Jesus willingly complied with the request to come heal the girl. Such hideous and heartless afflictions were a direct result of Satan's leading humanity into the Fall.

As we would expect, the crowd pressed in upon Him the whole way, people wanting to see Jesus, to speak with Him and touch Him. Many of these had been healed or knew someone else who had. Somewhere in this crowd, a single touch out of thousands had far more meaning. A woman suffering from a hemorrhage was hoping to touch Him unnoticed. For twelve years she had suffered from vaginal bleeding. Just about every culture in the Mediterranean Basin would have marked her as loathsome for this. Given what we know of Jewish medicine at the time, no one is surprised it was only getting worse. She took a great risk because no other hope existed, and reached in to touch just the hem of His outer garment.

She knew immediately she was healed. So did Jesus. Make no mistake: Jesus knew who it was. His question was to compel her into a faith building situation, and the crowd to gain some new insight regarding the Kingdom of Heaven. So His question was for the sake of everyone else, especially His disciples. They thought it was silly to ask who had touched Him in that crowd, when everyone was touching Him. He waited. She was healed, touched by God, set free from bondage. Regardless of the cost, she knew she must confess both her action -- a serious breach of etiquette -- and her healing. Blurting out the whole story at His feet, we can see the crowd wondering how she dared to hinder the Master in such a critical moment.

She was a nobody, a repulsive social outcast just a step above lepers, surely a sinner blamed for her own malady. Jesus was on the way to rescue the only child of a very important man. He ignored the tension, and spoke to faith. Her faith was the power make a desperate choice, to perform such an insignificant act, and obtain what she sought. The faith of everyone else would grow by knowing this is how God operates.

Sadly, it seems this nobody had gained her healing at the cost of death for Jairus's daughter. Messengers came to announce it was too late; she had died. Again, Jesus spoke to their faith. The One who wore the crown of ultimate authority was hardly ready to mourn, nor allow any one else to mourn. He commanded the crowd to stay with nine of His disciples, as they would probably protect the woman who had just been healed from the possible response of an angry mob. Besides, only a few would know what to make of what He was about to do next.

At the residence of Jairus, the official wake had begun. The whole place resounded with loud wailing and crying. Jesus rebuked them for the commotion, saying the girl was merely asleep. In later times, it became a teaching of Christians those physically dead were merely "asleep." This is because the spirit of a person remained under God's control, and this girl's time was not gone. After ejecting the noisy crowd, Jesus led the trio of disciples with the parents into the girl's bed chamber. We can easily see Him in all earnestness and tenderness asserting His full authority over the situation. He called for the girl to arise.

They were stunned, shocked beyond words. Death had no power to deny Jesus. The ultimate consequence of sin on this earth was simply wiped away by the gentle words of this Man. The girl got up and walked around quite restlessly. Such an active child, after such a long time too sick to eat must have been famished. Jairus and his household needed to spend time enjoying their daughter's restoration, and Jesus told them to forget any social obligations they may have felt about giving Him proper credit and fame. Besides, there was no sense aggravating the conflict with the Pharisees already rising. The time for that was later. Apparently they complied with His request, because we hear nothing else about this.

Here we see Mark has portrayed Jesus as holding the ultimate authority over the Spirit Realm. Oh, the things He could have gained from that! No, He was worthy of that authority, more noble than any nobleman. Instead, He patiently set about to show His world how they could claim a piece of that authority, by exercising faith and commitment to His teachings. Neither demons, nor the most repulsive disease, nor death itself, could resist His power. How He wielded it showed it fit Him well, always with the greatest wisdom. Jesus was truly Lord of all.

Grammar Curmudgeon: Word Order and Taste

Grammar rules are stupid. Yes, I really mean that. While they do provide a sense of framework, the English language simply does not hold up that well under rules. After all, it is primarily a spoken tongue, for which we then try to gain some understanding by discerning patterns. These patterns we make into rules.

It doesn't help we have taken so many words from other languages. Remember:

English does not borrow words from other languages. It chases other languages down dark alleys, assaults them and rifles their pockets.

This means we often give the words new meanings, or confuse two words from different languages by giving them identical spellings. Calf, anyone? Sometimes we adopt the rules of the source tongue, and sometimes not.

At any rate, most of our guidelines (not rules) are based on how a word sounds. You may know the whole issue of whether to add an apostrophe or apostrophe-s after an final s is a matter of how it sounds. We don't say "Jesus-es" because there are too many s sounds together. We do say "Jones-es" because it sounds alright. Thus: Jesus' and Jones's are both the proper possessive form.

All that to say the issue of split infinitives is about how it sounds to English-speaking ears. That fancy grammar term means a verb in its rawest form, which in English seems always to include "to". Whether I should have in that previous sentence inserted "always" between the "to" and "include" is a matter of taste. However, we can make a sort of guideline about it.

That is, if it sounds okay to jockey the adjective around before or after the infinitive, we do so. Not to be stuffy sounding, but whether the meaning remains clear. If we can't, then split the darn thing and be done with it. Sometimes poetic and grand sounding speech will require it. If the adjective is the emphasis of the thought, put it where it wants to stand. I can't avoid the most popular proper splitting of infinitives from the original Star Trek series: "To boldly go where no man has ever gone before." Splitting the infinitive "to go" with "boldly" is emphasizing the boldness.

There are other reasons for doing so. The best reason is to avoid having to displace other critical word-order concerns. Ending with a preposition? What else can you end it with? Sure, you could have begun the sentence with "with". It doesn't sound quite right. Many phrasal terms require letting the preposition hang off the end, as the two words together form a distinct meaning, without which either word changes completely. Mix it up. The idea is to avoid doing it the same way all or most of the time.

Grammar rules in English are stupid. That's why spell checkers are often worthy of correction, useful mostly for catching typographical errors. Grammar checkers are just about worthless. Consider them suggestions at best. If you feel it matters, learn to write as it should sound for the context of your writing. Just being concerned about such things puts you among the elite, so let's do our elitism correctly.

Love Your Job?

I love my job. I did for a long time without pay, I enjoy it so much.

Sitting and helping people configure and secure their system is not so bad, but it's more fun if you get to explain what you are doing and why. There's nothing so motivating to a teacher as a motivated learner.

Teaching people how to make sense of the Internet, email, search engines, media players, etc., is rather pleasant. Even if they can't remember from one lesson to the next, seeing them get that "aha!" look on their faces is precious to me. Seeing them smile and enjoy their new skills is all the reward I need.

If I lost my job, I'd still do the same work. I'm just blessed of God for this time to receive pay for something I have always done to please Him. Please note: In my theology, I don't have to mention His Name for the Holy Spirit to make His Presence felt. When you serve the Lord with a strong desire to be Jesus to others, they know.

Lying to Myself

"Hey, it should be good enough." It was not. It broke the first time it was used. If it was the money that mattered, I'd bury it behind the common expectations of this world. Money does not matter, and I can't forget. It burns in my conscience because it violates my convictions.

"Who's going to notice?" God will. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing for Him. It has to be right. How can I face Him otherwise?

"I don't have time right now." No, and I have even less time later.

When will I learn? Maybe never. Just when I figure I've got it, something else pops up and hurt somebody again. My heart breaks from the scars on my soul of injuries I've left on others. When will it be over? When He calls me home. Until then, I have to put up with this fallen nature.

Adam won't stay on the Cross. I have to keep the hammer and nails handy.

Hebrews 3

The Exodus was the very foundation, the defining event of Israel. If the Exodus was a myth, so was Israel as a nation. While they pointed with some smugness to their specialness before the Lord some fourteen centuries later, they paid only lip service to the duty of expressing contrition for the nation flinging challenge after challenge into God's face. The story of the Exodus is the sad tale of whining and bickering slaves who preferred their slavery to the freedom and identity as God's Own People. The entire Exodus generation remained unfit for the Promised Land, conditioned as they were to bondage.

Our writer calls this to mind, charging his readers as being the same sort of people. When Christ came to fulfill the promises of Exodus, how very many of God's Own People rejected Him! The Roman Jews were among those called into the Kingdom of Heaven, a far higher calling than the Kingdom of Israel. They were called by Christ, God Himself. If Moses can be held up as the model of faithfulness, who was but a servant in the household of God, how much Christ the Son. It was for Christ the household was formed as His inheritance, and by Christ it was built.

And it was Christ who faithfully discharged all the duties of His Sonship. If He owned it all, He was the very definition of faithfulness. The first household was just an earthly temple. When it's purpose was fulfilled in His death on the Cross, it was torn down. From the rubble were found a few stones still of use to God. He chose from among Jews and all humanity stones suitable for His house. He built up His household by His teaching and power, which was the means of trying the stones. These Roman Jews were a part of that which had passed the test. How then could they return to a house which no longer stands, except in the fallen imagination of mere men? Hold fast the confession of your faith in Christ! It is the only thing which is real.

The writer quotes Psalm 95:7-11. Here David recalls testing of the Lord by Israel at Meribah (Rebellion) and Massah (Trial) in Exodus 17:2-7. This was rather early in the journey up from slavery, during the first shock of introduction to desert nomad living. Had they but called out to God in faith, the whole scene would have been remembered as a triumph. Instead, they gave Moses much grief, and God took it personally. For the next forty years, Jehovah faithfully stood by them, led them, took care of their every need. Every step of the way, they whined and attacked God's chosen servant. For the Roman Jews, Jesus was the new Servant, the actual Son of God. This Roman persecution was just the spiritual nomad boot camp. Bitterly wishing they had not come on this spiritual journey was to wish for slavery, granting Satan the victory. It was treason to side with the enemy.

As the Lord swore in His just wrath the Exodus generation would die in the wilderness, so the Roman Jewish Christians risked losing all hope of finding the true Promised Land of Heaven. Those without Heaven in their souls cannot enter Heaven when they die. Allowing doubts to rise about whether serving Christ was worth it were silly. The word "today" is but the moment of testing, and is quickly past. Today we should all face testing with joy and confidence. Were these readers among those who would die in the spiritual wilderness today? Or were they among those who clung to the revelation of Christ and would pass into the Promised Land to see God's face?

No one can do it for you. God will carry you through, but you must accept His power to commit yourself to His plans. They won't be like your plans, no more than the Exodus brought Israel to a place like Egypt. Their souls were at home in the swampy river bottom of slavery, not out in the rocky heights of freedom in Christ. All you have to do is hang onto Him.

The World of eMac

As part of my new job, I took a good used computer on a 100-mile trip to one of my fellow employees. Her old Win98 box had died, and I had a really decent Win2K box donated. It really broke my heart when the 19" monitor died shortly after we got the thing setup and running. We ended up having to use a very ancient 14" monitor until she could get another. They were going to pay me for this service, but I gave myself a cut for the loss. All the more so because the lady gave me her eMac in exchange. Being generally a novice user in Windows, the Mac was completely out of her range.

This thing is one of the decent ones, with a G4 1.25 Ghz CPU, and a nice 17" display. It had tons of junk from its past life, so I decided to see if a reinstall was advisable. The disks were included. Sure enough, with 10GB of junk from who-knows-where, it seemed the best answer. I've never seen anything with more obscure controls than a Mac. To get the tray open during bootup, you hold the mouse down. To get the thing to reboot from the CD, you hold down the "C" key. Uff.

So behind me it's reinstalling while I write this. I suppose for now I intend to use it to learn a little about Mac, but mostly to offer as a guest machine for the Internet.

God has a funny way of meeting needs I didn't know I had. It's possible I'll eventually pass this on to someone else who needs it. For now, it's a very interesting toy, not to mention a rather expensive one. It should serve to broaden my experience. Now that I have found out how to get my laptop to use Linux without any further trouble, that makes two SUSE machines, and only my wife has a Winbox around the house.

Moving Tale of the Big Lie

It's no secret I consider Modern Israel a big lie. The people are not Hebrews; most are Ashkenazi, Khazars who are pretty much Caucasian, not Semites. The land was given to Israel, but they lost it when they rejected their Messiah. They can never have it back again. Dispensational eschatology is a big lie sold to convince American Christians to support Israel carte blanche, a theology unheard of before 1830.

Herein lies our great national sin: We give Israel money and weapons, pay them to lie to us while they commit crimes, not just mass murder on the previous inhabitants of the land, but oppress and terrorize them every way possible. Even if we allow for a return to the land and a revival of the Old Testament nation, this Israel utterly fails every test to win that honor. These people send agents into places like Gaza and fire rockets on their own people to keep the heat of world opinion against Palestine. Only America buys the lie.

I want to recommend the series on a recent visit to Gaza by Charles Carlson. The titles are posted in reverse order like a blog. If you have time for only one, let me suggest Life In The Gaza Strip Gulag.

Please understand, these crimes stain our national honor. They have us standing before God utterly filthy as party to some of the worst murderous hatred the world has ever seen. There is no oppression of Israel, but a tremendous amount by Israel, and we are their primary supporter in it. The refugees crammed into Gaza stand before God with hands far cleaner than ours. In the end, this is what will destroy us and Israel, too. The so-called Palestinians will win because our Christian God is actually on their side in this fight. We are Babylon, and Babylon is falling.

Life of Christ: Mark 4

While noting Jesus was a man of virtue by Roman standards, Mark cannot let us forget He was an Eastern man, a mystic. While mysteries were necessary, they were never meant to put truth out of reach; on the contrary, parables were designed to bring truth within reach of His followers. Even as far west as the Roman capital itself, residents were much more familiar with such diverse cultural variations as Eastern Mysticism than is typical in the West today. While Romans might debate whether there was much to gain from a deeper understanding of mystical insights, there was little debate there were things beyond normal human logic. Mark hints to us sadly how the enemies of Jesus had over generations lost their way, lost their understanding of their own cultural truths. This loss was reflected in the lack of comprehension exhibited by His disciples, men who were raised under Pharisee cultural control.

The Parable of the Sower should have been relatively easy to guess nonetheless. Perhaps they were simply trying too hard. When they asked Jesus about the parable in private later, Jesus enunciated the principle of spiritual division. Truth clothed in parables served to separate between those led by the Spirit and those who rejected the Lord. That's how the Holy Spirit works: where He is present, truth cannot be denied. Where He is absent, truth cannot be found. This was the foundation of the parable itself. In one sense, this was a parable about parables. Unlike the popular mystery religions of that day, there is no need to hide the truth from outsiders -- they cannot grasp what is obvious to their faces.

Mark paraphrases Isaiah 6:9-10 to show this was a basic principle from long ago. Truth has always made its own path in the human heart. Those unworthy of truth cannot hear it. Jesus warns His disciples if they cannot embrace the spiritual view of life, they cannot hope to understand, much less teach, the Word of God. He explains the imagery to them. Then He adds a parable about the purpose of lighting a lamp. This is no insider mystery religion; this is about ultimate reality. Truth is not something hidden by intent. Just a little truth opens the door to far more. Just a little darkness takes you deeper into ignorance. As revelation is proclaimed and preached, those open to truth will naturally grow richer in it. Those closed to truth will lose what little they have.

Yet another parable shows who the preacher need not understand at all how truth does its work. Just as a farmer sows and reaps with no idea how dry seeds come to life and grow into fruitful plants, so the servant of God cannot comprehend the nature of truth. He knows only doing his work and seeing the results. Further, like a mustard seed, the smallest bit of truth can grow into a massive bush, even a tree, large enough for birds to perch in flocks. This is the way of the Kingdom, for it cannot be detached from the truth upon which it's built. It, too, grows from the most insignificant starts. Where it is started, it blossoms beyond all comprehension. No man can grasp just how, but can know for sure such things are without failures. Thus, Jesus established the pattern of His ministry. All the most important things were taught in parables. Then He would explain them to His disciples privately.

Yet, for all these efforts, it seemed His disciples were none the wiser. Indeed, they may well have been by human standards the worst choices for followers any leader ever gathered. For while Jesus was careful to insure the principles of His truth and authority were clear to them, they never seemed to embrace it to the point they had His faith and trust in the Father. In one incident, as they crossed the Sea of Galilee, a sudden storm blew over them, as was typical of that body of water. It could go from gentle breezes to violent and deadly storm in just a short while. The disciples panicked, and cried out in fear of this storm. It should have been a clue to them that Jesus was asleep, as if nothing significant was happening. But they woke Him, and He stilled the storm with a word or two. They were stunned by this display of power.

We are left wondering in our minds why Jesus chose these men. Yet it was surely the same reason God had for choosing Israel. The prophets of the Old Testament made it clear Israel was chosen precisely because she was the worst choice of all nations on the earth. By choosing the most hard-headed bunch, God showed the greatness of His power and grace. In choosing what seems the slowest-witted of men from His nation, Jesus shows the greater power of truth to change the world. These men were wholly unfit, and so are you and I. All virtue comes from above, and it good and fine men enter the Kingdom, it proves nothing. If the most useless of all become pillars in the Kingdom, that in itself is the clearest declaration possible of God's grace and mercy.

Live from the SUSE Server

This post comes to you from the keyboard of the new SUSE x64 server. It was not completely straightforward installing, but it works and I'm happy to be surfing the Net in safety, viewed from 1600x1200 on a 21" monitor. Actually, it's a little too big, but it's the best quality monitor I have. Eventually I'll be configuring this thing as a LAN server. For now, I'm still tweaking and fiddling.

Addenda: What follows are technical details for those googling the hardware....

Motherboard (mobo) GA-M61SME-S2 (rev. 2.x) has nVidia GeForce 6100 graphics chip and nForce 405 chipset. Installs openSUSE 10.3 x64 very nicely. The chipset is fully recognized from the start. One gotcha with SUSE x64: you must use the nvidiaG01 packages from the SUSE Community build service to get full acceleration.

The board itself is balky. It did not boot after assembly, not even a POST; using a jumper to reset didn't work. We had to remove the CMOS battery and wait a few minutes. On our third try, it booted and allowed us into the BIOS. After making settings, we noted every time you modified the peripherals, it required a reboot. For example, when I decided to enable the sound in KDE and add speakers, no amount of fiddling the settings worked. It required a reboot just from plugging in speakers. Fortunately, using the USB ports doesn't do that, so far.