Monday, April 12, 2010
Found art work
Yesterday I found a pencil sketch of a girl I called a coal mine angel. I had sketched it on old piece of paper and supposedly I liked the picture and kept it. On March 26, 1999, for some reason I was doodling with pencil and paper, a favorite hobby.The words I wrote then were "Coal miner's angel, out there in the dark, alone in eternity, feeding the pigeons in the park-- alone."
Why I found it yesterday April, 11, 2010 I do not know, but since it was fitting for the tragic times, I am placing it here. Surely, thinks, I, there must be many a child out there now feeling alone and missing their loved ones. It is to them I offer my childlike thoughts.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Tragic Mine Accident in WV
Lord:
Only you know what is going on down in the ground in this terrible tragedy that has happened in West Virginia. All I can say, is please give help to those who are suffering and see that out of this comes hope for those who are most in need of it.
We human beings are laughing one day and crying the next. That is life, and only You can teach us how to deal with both the good and bad days that comes to us all. Suffering is the lot of humanity, and it is clear the families of the victims are having their share of that. See, that it is not wasted. Yet who am I to tell You that?
The above words are full of nothing, but I felt I must say something. Usually when I feel deep sadness, I simply keep quiet from not knowing what to say. Today is different.
Only you know what is going on down in the ground in this terrible tragedy that has happened in West Virginia. All I can say, is please give help to those who are suffering and see that out of this comes hope for those who are most in need of it.
We human beings are laughing one day and crying the next. That is life, and only You can teach us how to deal with both the good and bad days that comes to us all. Suffering is the lot of humanity, and it is clear the families of the victims are having their share of that. See, that it is not wasted. Yet who am I to tell You that?
The above words are full of nothing, but I felt I must say something. Usually when I feel deep sadness, I simply keep quiet from not knowing what to say. Today is different.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Studying the Bible When Uninspired
It is easy to write and praise the Lord when one is inspired and when one makes good resolutions; it is not so easy when one is concerned with other more earthy matters. Yet the challenge is even greater there. Yesterday, when creating this blog I made myself a promise to daily add a few paragraphs from the bible and make some comment on them.
What say I today? I would rather not, but here I am making the effort. What am I to make of Jerimiah 18:18? That happens to be where I mindlessly placed the bookmark the last time I read the bible.
"Come", the said, "let us contrive a plot against Jerimiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests, nor of the counsil, nor the counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets. And so let us destroy him by his own tongue: let us carefully note his every word."
How does he manage this? He leaves it in the hands of the Lord. And so will I. This is as common today as it was then. People for whatever reason, will set out to malign others for no other purpose than they probably don't like what they say. In other words, they set out to kill the messenger, when they don't like the message. Will that undo the message? Of course not. Only God can take care of this kind of back biting and hatred.
Having given no thought to this message beforehand, I have nothing much to add here. If I ever had any such enemies, I doubt if I would ever have done much but to dodge them. And were I to comment with any authority, I would have refreshed my memory of what the plot was all about, and that I have no done. At least today, I have commented, for what it is worth.
March 8, 2010
Jeremiah is an Old Testament Prophet that was living and teaching in 627 BC. I am by no means knowledgeable about Jeremiah, of the bible for that matter. I know only that he was a prophet, somewhat of a quaint one if reading his prayers to his Lord is an any indication of how he thought.
He is probably better known to non Bible studying people through that song that was well known about thirty ago, Jeremiah was a Bullfrog. Even though that song with a catchy tune was well liked, it was not downgrading to him. At least I never though so. It only forced me to like him even more. It told me also, that he was probably made fun of during his reign as a teacher, but while that was annoying, it did not stop him from delivering his messages from the Lord.
What is probably truly important about him is that he was true to the Lord and wanted to lead his people faithfully, but he no doubt suffered for it.
What say I today? I would rather not, but here I am making the effort. What am I to make of Jerimiah 18:18? That happens to be where I mindlessly placed the bookmark the last time I read the bible.
"Come", the said, "let us contrive a plot against Jerimiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests, nor of the counsil, nor the counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets. And so let us destroy him by his own tongue: let us carefully note his every word."
How does he manage this? He leaves it in the hands of the Lord. And so will I. This is as common today as it was then. People for whatever reason, will set out to malign others for no other purpose than they probably don't like what they say. In other words, they set out to kill the messenger, when they don't like the message. Will that undo the message? Of course not. Only God can take care of this kind of back biting and hatred.
Having given no thought to this message beforehand, I have nothing much to add here. If I ever had any such enemies, I doubt if I would ever have done much but to dodge them. And were I to comment with any authority, I would have refreshed my memory of what the plot was all about, and that I have no done. At least today, I have commented, for what it is worth.
March 8, 2010
Jeremiah is an Old Testament Prophet that was living and teaching in 627 BC. I am by no means knowledgeable about Jeremiah, of the bible for that matter. I know only that he was a prophet, somewhat of a quaint one if reading his prayers to his Lord is an any indication of how he thought.
He is probably better known to non Bible studying people through that song that was well known about thirty ago, Jeremiah was a Bullfrog. Even though that song with a catchy tune was well liked, it was not downgrading to him. At least I never though so. It only forced me to like him even more. It told me also, that he was probably made fun of during his reign as a teacher, but while that was annoying, it did not stop him from delivering his messages from the Lord.
What is probably truly important about him is that he was true to the Lord and wanted to lead his people faithfully, but he no doubt suffered for it.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
1 Corinthians 4:10-13
(Corinthians 4:10-13)
"We are fools in Christ's account, but you are wise in Christ, We are weak, but you are strong; you are held in honor, but we are in disrepute. To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clad and roughly treated, we wander about homeless. And we fail. When working with our hands, when ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond, gently. We have become like the world's rubbish, the scum of all, to this very moment."
What's this all about? That was Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. Time wise it was the first century and the purpose was to admonish his children. Why is this letter important? It gives insight into the mood of the first century when Christianity was first beginning. This community was founded by Paul in 51 AD while he was on his second missionary journey. At that time it was being led by a preacher namee Apollus.
Corinth was important to the early Church because it was a crossroads community where many different cultures met to buy and sell. Essentially, it was much like most of the seat ports of the middle east in those times. Christianity was having a hard time getting started due to the diverse thinking of the area, but those who took it more to their hearts were the poor and the disenfranchised. In this letter, he saw himself as one of them. It was to them that his teaching was most heard and upheld.
Now rumors has it that much of this teaching was being altered and he sat out to take care of the problem. The leaders were antagonistic toward the poor and had set themselves above reproach. Indulging themselves in drinking too much wine and merry making and making of Christianity something it was not meant to be, brought on this scolding.
The letter was written from Ephesus in the year 56, five years after he had established the church. More importantly, this letter gives us a clearer view of Paul. It lets us in on what kind of personality the early Church members were dealing with.
In order to fully understand why Paul wrote the letter, it is necessary to read from the beginning. Bible readers, who pick up the bible and take in a message here and there settles on words that strikes a bell, such as what happened here with the above quote, become so intriqued with the words, want to know why the words were necessary.
This is learned by reading from the beginning and then, only then, can they grasp the mood of the times. To take the small bit out of context and make of it what a reader, or writer, wants to make of it, is missing the point. Up to this time, supposedly it was a letter to inform and to send routine messages to those in charge, but when it is learned that the church is being corrupted, much as it has been at various times in the past 2000 years, then the letter takes on an added meaning. Not only that, it once more become new, immediate, and of paramount importance.
He is cordial. At first he writes "you have been called to be holy" and he greets with the peacd of the Lord. Then, as any good letter writer writes, he puts them in a proper frame of mind for reading his message. He offers them praise and encouragement. Then he sets out to cite, alphabetically, the problems with the Church in Corinth.
He wants no divisions and he wants them all to be of one mind and of one spirit. How to do that has been a big problem throughout the 2000 years of Christianity and persists even today. Questions here might be, how can this be reconciled since all people are created with varying qualities of mind, spirit, and body?
Each sees the message according to their education and their knowledge and of course, their faith. God only permits them to see according to thier understanding. How then can they be of one mind? Paul, of course, understands that and cautions against the foolishness of human wisdom. In 1:25 "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."
In the second chapter, he explans his reasons. As he says "But it is written "what eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him." He then explains this is revealed to them through the spirit.
How does this work? It works through sincere prayer. The world has problems. It is hurting. Many are at their wit's end. They pray for understanding and for an ability to overcome their discomfort, or at least to understand its cause, it it cannot be removed.
In chapter three he explains and refreshes their memory of how he taught them while he was still among them. He talked to them as people of the flesh, not of the spirit. There were not yet ready for solid food, he tells them, they were being fed milk. (1 Corinthiand 3:2)They still are unable to take solid food, he tells them. In the most basic terms he explained that he planted, Apollus watered, but God caused the growth. (3:7)
Then we see the letter and the admonishment. He is endeavoring to backtract, to reinforce his builers so they will continue building according to his specifications as together they poured the foundation.
In Chapter four, he reiterates what a good Christian should do to become better stewards of the mysteries of God. They should be trustworthy and should understand that only God judges, and he alerts them to be beware of pride. Then he himself enters the picture. It is obvious he is being undermined by some of the leaders of the group, and possibly falsely accused of crimes he did not commit. Some of what he has heard, may be overly reactions to gossip.
It seems that his displeasure with them stem, in great part, to their assuming stances he felt they should not take. Self-satisfaction, laying up riches, become kings without including all of the Christian group. This is a long letter, yet the quote about the poor at the beginning of this article, is at the heart of it. The next question is how can we make it a guide against today's wickedness?
Inspiration from the Bible
When I am lonely and wondering about life and feeling insecure, or when I desire a closer walk with my Lord, I always turn to the bible. I have done this off and on for my whole life. Even as a small child I read the bible even though I had not a clue, often about what I was reading. Truthfully, this was probably the only book that was there, and it was one I had earned by reciting bible verses.Yet, this book had words and even then they fascinated me. I've simply never gotten enough of them and daily I work with them. I find them most useful when I am in the mood for meditating and I want to pick a subject and spend some time trying to get inside a favorite quote or a profound statement from the bible.
This blog is all about such happenings in my life. It only takes a sentence or two of profound thought to get me started on the road to thinking and interacting with the good book.
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