Tuesday, November 29th
Recent Reflections
OK, it has been since the 23rd since I have posted… it’s been a while. I have been faithful and continued studying and having QT’s. I have considered the whole thing with Kip and the Portland situation and I actually started studying the Mandate studies, which a part of me thinks it wouldn’t be wrong to do so, however seeing on the Boston website all who signed off on what appears to be a second response, signed by some of whom I have met and respect, and others that I converse with via email and I know I will meet someday, if not in this lifetime, in the next. These people I know do not sign off on something with study and review. They do not take something at all lightly and having read what they committed their name to, there is something going wrong in Portland. What Portland needs is a Paul to come and see them; someone to preach within their temple walls and in the streets.
Last night, I was full of energy when I went to bed. I could have easily talked myself to sleep and I wanted to chat with my wife as we lie in bed. My wife, however, has a long, long day (pretty much every day is an exhausting day for her), and when she goes to bed, she wants to go to sleep (shocking!). If you think my quiet times dig deep into thought, you should talk to me at bedtime, when I get ready for bed (why is that, I wonder?). So last night, I ponder the whole numbers thing (not Numbers, the book of the Bible, but numbers in general), and I think about the whole significance of numbers used in the Bible. Acts is chock full of numbers. 3,000 baptized here and a bunch more over there, it’s really full of counting the people. Then there is Jesus feeding a whole bunch of guys, and if they are like my brother-in-law, then he sparked a huge amount of food for the guys and added some for the women and children, too. It’s also noted that Jesus was baptizing more than John the Baptist… comparisons were being made amongst the two “groups,” even though they were both working for the same cause. But the numbers that really stood out in my mind was a story from the Old Testament.
1 Kings 18:22-38
22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God."
Then all the people said, "What you say is good."
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire." 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."
34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
Note: So, there is this whole thing, Elijah vs. The Baal prophets. 1 prophet vs. 450 prophets… and being that I can relate life to baseball or a game of chess, I see the same in this situation. And here is what I know… people who signed off on the letter, I know and respect. I have tried to contact Kip in months past, and he hasn’t returned my calls or emails, for that matter. With the current situation, I must admit, that has been a bit discouraging. I am reminded of the saying “can’t we all just get along?” Really, can’t we all just repent and move forward? Why does repenting have to be a long drawn out thing? I don’t think that would please God.
I had the undo pleasure to see the U2 concert a month ago and they, in an interesting way, preached a message of “COEXIST” and the way that applies to me is this: There are over 6 Billion people on this planet, and if we all got along and respected others and their beliefs, we would not have war, hunger, and all the other problems that tend to go with the acts of the sinful nature. I personally think that there may still be problems in the world even if we lived a life with U2’s principles, but the thought is a good one all the same. And has it ever been tested? No. And I don’t think it will ever be on this planet, but we can hope and pray for such a reality. And even with those principles, if we see sin in other people’s lives, it doesn’t mean we let them go on with dirt on their face. I would call it out and should they choose to ignore it, then so be it. “Agree to disagree and let it be.” I have an alcoholic for an uncle-in-law, who drinks and drives, and is just about always seen with a beer in his hand. I have addressed the issue and he has ignored it. The hard part is letting it be. So when the sacrifice challenge comes to head, if there becomes a split between the two movements (which I am praying doesn’t come down to), I want my bull with water on it, soaked to the max.
I really could go on and on about all the things I have been thinking of late, really good stuff I think. But I feel that I have passed the waning faze and have become a new Moon, or a new creation. I was baptized in 2001, but to renew convictions and renew hope within the heart; that can be done everyday. Thanks for reading… hopefully I will be able to renew the habit of posting on a more continual basis. Johnny Out.
Recent Reflections
OK, it has been since the 23rd since I have posted… it’s been a while. I have been faithful and continued studying and having QT’s. I have considered the whole thing with Kip and the Portland situation and I actually started studying the Mandate studies, which a part of me thinks it wouldn’t be wrong to do so, however seeing on the Boston website all who signed off on what appears to be a second response, signed by some of whom I have met and respect, and others that I converse with via email and I know I will meet someday, if not in this lifetime, in the next. These people I know do not sign off on something with study and review. They do not take something at all lightly and having read what they committed their name to, there is something going wrong in Portland. What Portland needs is a Paul to come and see them; someone to preach within their temple walls and in the streets.
Last night, I was full of energy when I went to bed. I could have easily talked myself to sleep and I wanted to chat with my wife as we lie in bed. My wife, however, has a long, long day (pretty much every day is an exhausting day for her), and when she goes to bed, she wants to go to sleep (shocking!). If you think my quiet times dig deep into thought, you should talk to me at bedtime, when I get ready for bed (why is that, I wonder?). So last night, I ponder the whole numbers thing (not Numbers, the book of the Bible, but numbers in general), and I think about the whole significance of numbers used in the Bible. Acts is chock full of numbers. 3,000 baptized here and a bunch more over there, it’s really full of counting the people. Then there is Jesus feeding a whole bunch of guys, and if they are like my brother-in-law, then he sparked a huge amount of food for the guys and added some for the women and children, too. It’s also noted that Jesus was baptizing more than John the Baptist… comparisons were being made amongst the two “groups,” even though they were both working for the same cause. But the numbers that really stood out in my mind was a story from the Old Testament.
1 Kings 18:22-38
22 Then Elijah said to them, "I am the only one of the LORD's prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God."
Then all the people said, "What you say is good."
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire." 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. "O Baal, answer us!" they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me." They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, "Your name shall be Israel." 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, "Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood."
34 "Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: "O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again."
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
Note: So, there is this whole thing, Elijah vs. The Baal prophets. 1 prophet vs. 450 prophets… and being that I can relate life to baseball or a game of chess, I see the same in this situation. And here is what I know… people who signed off on the letter, I know and respect. I have tried to contact Kip in months past, and he hasn’t returned my calls or emails, for that matter. With the current situation, I must admit, that has been a bit discouraging. I am reminded of the saying “can’t we all just get along?” Really, can’t we all just repent and move forward? Why does repenting have to be a long drawn out thing? I don’t think that would please God.
I had the undo pleasure to see the U2 concert a month ago and they, in an interesting way, preached a message of “COEXIST” and the way that applies to me is this: There are over 6 Billion people on this planet, and if we all got along and respected others and their beliefs, we would not have war, hunger, and all the other problems that tend to go with the acts of the sinful nature. I personally think that there may still be problems in the world even if we lived a life with U2’s principles, but the thought is a good one all the same. And has it ever been tested? No. And I don’t think it will ever be on this planet, but we can hope and pray for such a reality. And even with those principles, if we see sin in other people’s lives, it doesn’t mean we let them go on with dirt on their face. I would call it out and should they choose to ignore it, then so be it. “Agree to disagree and let it be.” I have an alcoholic for an uncle-in-law, who drinks and drives, and is just about always seen with a beer in his hand. I have addressed the issue and he has ignored it. The hard part is letting it be. So when the sacrifice challenge comes to head, if there becomes a split between the two movements (which I am praying doesn’t come down to), I want my bull with water on it, soaked to the max.
I really could go on and on about all the things I have been thinking of late, really good stuff I think. But I feel that I have passed the waning faze and have become a new Moon, or a new creation. I was baptized in 2001, but to renew convictions and renew hope within the heart; that can be done everyday. Thanks for reading… hopefully I will be able to renew the habit of posting on a more continual basis. Johnny Out.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment