Reminiscing

Last night (Christmas Eve), Mary and I went to Longhorn Steakhouse for our “Christmas Feast” and we fell to reminiscing about past Christmases.

When we first met and married, Mary’s folks lived in Jackson, TN and we used to go home all the time. All of her family was still home then, except for her older brother, Ronnie, who was off at college (Jackson, MS). And he would come home for Christmas. After we had been married a few years, her parents began moving again. They lived in Arkadelphia, AR, Jackson, MS, Natchitoches, LA, and Hamilton, AL. Meanwhile, Ronnie, Mark and Debbie also married and we all began having children. But every year at Christmas, we all trekked to where they were living for our family get-together. And none of these places was close to where we lived!

Hamilton was where they retired to and built their dream house. It wasn’t quite the “bunk house” her Dad had talked about building for his growing family, it was much nicer, but it was a place intended to be large enough to accommodate most of us and our kids. And let me tell you, Hamilton was in the middle of nowhere! A very small town in a sparsely populated corner of Alabama. And a very hard drive! Yet, that was where we all gathered for Christmas. There were so many of us by then that we had to rent a couple of hotel rooms.

One year, when they were living in Arkadelphia, we were living in Pensacola, FL. We woke up Christmas morning. It was extremely cold and there was a dusting of snow on the ground – in Pensacola! Yet we loaded the car and headed off into a blizzard because it was time for the family Christmas gathering. We left early in the morning and didn’t arrive until late that night. The roads were covered with ice and the town was practically locked in. Yet the entire family made it.

One year, I want to say it was when they were in Jackson, MS, it was so cold that their pipes froze (the Pearl River froze as well). They had no water and yet the family was a-comin’! I remember jumping in the truck with her Dad and going up to “the place” (he was Food Service Director for Belhaven College and that is how he referred to the cafeteria) to get and bring back water to the house!

Eventually, we began to gather at each other’s houses, but the Christmas gathering tradition continued. Slowly this tradition died out. We thoroughly enjoyed the gathering, the food, the fun, the chaos. For some reason that was not something we were able to pass on to our own children.

We also talked about one of our activities at our gathering. In the beginning, it was just  Mark, her younger brother, and me. He and I would go out to the back yard and play “punt return.” We would line up at each end of the yard, opposite each other, and one of us would punt the ball to the other one. The receiver would try to return it for a touchdown, while the punter tried to tackle him. Or we would play basketball at the goal in the backyard. I remember one afternoon running full tilt in an attempt to catch a pass from Mark when I was suddenly laid out in the yard. I had run into that pole!!

When Ronnie came home we would play “goal line stand.” One on offense and two on defense. Four plays to make it into the end zone. Tackle. In those days, Mark was all elbows and knees too. When Dave joined the family we would play two-on-two tackle football. Slowly, as time crept up on us, we began to grudgingly play touch football. But that was only because it was taking too long for us to get up from each play. Ha!

The year of the blizzard in central Arkansas is also the year of the famous “Ice Bowl.” I’m telling you, there was so much snow and ice that the town was shut down. One night we were out at midnight sliding down the frozen streets! Well, we wanted to play some football, so we layered up, put on our big coats and our gloves and Ronnie, Mark, Dave and I headed off for the field. Yes, we had to walk a ways to get to the field. Mary and I laughed as we recalled her Mother’s parting words as we were going out the door, “If you get hurt, don’t come back here crying!!” We all laughed thinking, We won’t – get hurt or come back crying. And we didn’t. And we had a blast!

What wonderful memories. We gathered for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and we even took vacations together. I will admit, some of the gatherings turned into small disasters, but overall they were good times. A good tradition. I’m sad that it came to an end and sadder that we were not able to continue it in our family. But I am grateful for the times that we do get together and enjoy each other and our own growing families.

Ah, another post with no point. Just assorted and random Christmas memories on this Christmas morn.

Where did they go?

I’ve been thinking about people who used to be but who are no more.

Like the Mayans. This came up when I made a post about the supposed “Mayan apocalypse” of 2012. One person said they had been "exterminated" (ouch!) and another commented, “It seams to the most of us that they just got up and walked away.”

Which one is it? Are they no more or did they just move?

And there are other ancient people who used to be but are no more: Incas, Aztecs, Persians, Babylonians, Ammonites, Philistines, Moabites, Sumerians, Akkadians, Hyksos, Celts of Britain and Indian tribes of North America. And many, many more.

Where did they go?

Some of these people are truly no more. 

Many Indian tribes along the Atlantic coast completely disappeared shortly after European contact. George Catlin spent a lot of time among the Plains Indians and seems especially fond of the Mandans. Their population is reported as 3,600 in the early 18th century. In 1836, there were over 1,600 full-blood Mandans, but this number was estimated to have dropped to 125 by 1838 because of a small pox epidemic. The last full-blood Mandan died in 1971. They are no more. The Edisto Indians have a similar story. They were and they are no more. Oh, there are a few who claim to be related to these tribes, but they are mixed and mingled with other tribes. They are no more.

And it is the same with many others. Incas, Aztecs, Ammonites, Philistines, Moabites, Sumerians, Akkadians, Hyksos. Gone. I realize that there is also a matter of civilization, but these people seem gone. But this does lead to the next possibility

Some of these people were once great civilizations, but were diminished and basically absorbed by another people.

Take the Celts. They were conquered by the Romans and became part of the Empire. Then the Romans left. Long story short, then came the Angles and Saxons. They took over the joint and the Celts were no more. Or rather, they were totally subjugated, and those who did not flee to Wales or Brittany were wiped out. Not every single individual perhaps, but as a people. Those who were not exterminated were absorbed into the Anglo-Saxon civilization, culture, and language.

Or Persia. The civilization collapsed and is gone. But many of the people in Iran are called Persians. There also seem to be people called Persians in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. They have been absorbed.

Some of these ancient people were once great civilizations. When their civilization ended they continued, but were absorbed by other civilizations. This rise and fall is explained by Acts 17:26, And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place. They are no more as a civilization, a world power, but as a people they can still be found.

Well, back to the Mayans. Clearly their civilization collapsed. And relatively quickly. Did they simply move? That answers nothing because logically the next question is, Where to? And if no one knows, isn’t that essentially the same thing as saying exterminated? But what about the nearly 7 million people in Central America who consider themselves Mayan? It seems that whatever constituted Mayan back then still exists today.

I have no real point to this post, or argument to advance. I’ve just been thinking about people who used to be but who are no more. Some of these were ethnic groups that were truly “exterminated" or blotted out from under heaven. There are unique people groups who used to be, used to walk on the earth, and who are no more. And as I think about it, I find that kind of sad. Others were not so much a single ethnic group, but a collective term that embraced many distinct populations, societies, and ethnic groups, who together formed Mayan or Persian or Inca etc. And this I find interesting. They rose to power and prominence for a season. Then, for some earthly reason, this dissolved and they are no more. The parts are there, but as a whole, they are no more. I believe that reveals the hand of God.

As I said, I’m not trying to prove anything, just writing down what I’ve been thinking about.

Happened again

It happened again this morning. The pastor told us to turn to 1 John 4:7-11. As soon as he started reading, Mary and I both looked at each other and I began to sing (inside!):

Beloved, let us love one another: 
for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, 
and knoweth God.
He that loveth not (clap clap clap) knoweth not God; for God is love.
Beloved, let us love one another
1 John 4: 7 & 8

When I mentioned this after church, I discovered I wasn’t the only one! It’s neat to be able to sing the Scripture.

A little later he read 4: 19, We love him, because he first loved us. And guess what? Ha! Yep:

O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
O how I love Jesus,
Because He first loved me!

On the way home I mentioned this to Mary. We talked about how we learned two other choruses that went with this. And we worked it out and sang them all – much to the delight of Isabelle and Jack. “Sing it again.” That’s right, I was asked for an encore!! The three together are:

O how I love Jesus (3x)
Because He first loved me!

To me, he is so wonderful (and I love him) (3x)
Because he first loved me

Wonderful, wonderful, 
Jesus is to me,
Counsellor, mighty God,
Prince of peace is He.
Saving me, keeping me
from all sin and shame,
Wonderful is my Redeemer.
Praise His Name.

Hope this set you to singing. What? You don’t know these songs? Come hang out with me and I can learn you to sing them. And Mary will make sure we hit all the right notes!

Unto you is born a Savior

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord

What glorious good news – a Savior! I heard this verse read in church last Sunday and I have been meditating on it since then.  How does He save us? By His:

INCARNATION
By the incarnation the door to heaven is opened.
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same…For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.

LIFE
By His life he revealed the Father, He taught us the ways of God; He lived a life of faith and obedience.
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

CROSS
His death on the cross He purchased salvation for us.

RESURRECTION
This man took on death and overcame it. For us!
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

ASCENSION
Jesus Himself is our hope and our Hope has entered heaven.
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus

EXALTATION
The Son become a man, who lived among us, died for us, rose again, and ascended into heaven. This Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father, where He makes intercession for us, pleading His blood for us, that where He is we might be also; waiting to return in glory.

RETURN
When He returns Jesus will bring the promised salvation with Him!

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; 
for he hath visited and redeemed his people

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us 
in the house of his servant David

A well-beloved Christmas Carol

This is one of my favorite Christmas carols. Even though I never tried to introduce it to the congregation, I enjoyed it every Christmas, out of the hymn-book or at the piano. You can hear it here 

Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore!

At His Word the worlds were framed; He commanded; it was done:
Heaven and earth and depths of ocean in their threefold order one;
All that grows beneath the shining
Of the moon and burning sun, evermore and evermore!

He is found in human fashion, death and sorrow here to know,
That the race of Adam’s children doomed by law to endless woe,
May not henceforth die and perish
In the dreadful gulf below, evermore and evermore!

O that birth forever blessed, when the virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving, bare the Savior of our race;
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face, evermore and evermore!

This is He Whom seers in old time chanted of with one accord;
Whom the voices of the prophets promised in their faithful word;
Now He shines, the long expected,
Let creation praise its Lord, evermore and evermore!

O ye heights of heaven adore Him; angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him, and extol our God and King!
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert sing, evermore and evermore!

Righteous judge of souls departed, righteous King of them that live,
On the Father’s throne exalted none in might with Thee may strive;
Who at last in vengeance coming
Sinners from Thy face shalt drive, evermore and evermore!

Thee let old men, thee let young men, thee let boys in chorus sing;
Matrons, virgins, little maidens, with glad voices answering:
Let their guileless songs re-echo,
And the heart its music bring, evermore and evermore!

Christ, to Thee with God the Father, and, O Holy Ghost, to Thee,
Hymn and chant with high thanksgiving, and unwearied praises be:
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory, evermore and evermore!

Aurelius Prudentius, 5th Century

translated from Latin to English by John M. Neale and Henry W. Baker

A Poem

the fire burns
the gift is there
now he speaks
into the air

will there be
in time to come
the grace to bless
or is he done

by His grace
the soul, restored
for the spirit,
healing implored

does the kindling
of the flame
mean he can work
for His Name

Observations from behind the counter – EBT

This year we began accepting EBT. That stands for “Electronic Benefit Transfer” and is basically food stamps.

I always thought EBT was for essential food stuffs, but I was wrong. The only thing I figured you could get at my store by EBT was bread and milk. Not so. You can get candy and soda and chips with your EBT card! Back in November I posted this on fb:

EBT run amok. Last night, a man and a very pregnant woman came in and purchased:
a large bag of Cheetos
a large bag of Munchies chips
a 2 liter Sierra Mist
2 packs of sunflower seeds (regular, dill pickle)
6 Firecracker Red Hot Pickled Sausages
1 Giant Slim Jim 
a bag of Hostess sugar doughnuts
a package of Uncle Al's Lemon Creme Cookies
2 Apple Danishes
And all this as an approved EBT purchase. Ludicrous.

So distressing and irritating. Such an abused gov’t give-away. Oh, they can’t get fountain drinks or coffee with EBT because that is considered “prepared food.”

My manager told me about a woman who came in the other day with her little girl. They both had a handful of candy. As he began to ring them up, the woman said, “This is not together. Mine is on EBT. She will pay for her own.” Oh, he was livid when he told me this!

Then he reminded me, “Never ring up candy on EBT and then give them cigars.” I was flabbergasted! You know, “they can afford tobacco and alcohol but not food??” But I just told him, “So you will know I would never do that, I hate selling candy on EBT, I would never give anyone tobacco on EBT!!”

And just so you’ll know that I am not some hard-hearted, uncaring person. I don’t mind helping people eat who for good reasons, temporarily, need assistance. But it should be essential food stuffs: flower, sugar, beans, meat, fruit, vegetables, dairy, etc. Y’know MEAL stuff. It is ridiculous that they should be able to buy candy and chips and sodas and doughnuts. And I think it is totally out of hand if their EBT assistance frees up their cash to buy alcohol, tobacco, and lottery tickets!

Is it tomorrow yet?

I am either fascinated with “time” or obsessed with it. I think about it a lot and have written about it often. And since I work 3rd shift, I regularly have a conversation like I did tonight, around 12:30:

Me: Thank you, Sir. Have a good night!
Customer: It’s not night. This is early morning! I need to get to bed.
Me: Ohhh-Kay.  (But I’m saying to myself, It’s night to me)

When does tomorrow begin? I know, I know, "Tomorrow never comes, because as soon as it does it’s today!" And I also know that our day, for some strange reason, runs from midnight to midnight. So that means, that technically, tomorrow begins at midnight.

Isn’t that strange? The new day begins at mid-night? I admit, I have never understood that.

There have been people who had their days set up differently. For them the new day began at sunset. Thursday ended at sunset and Friday began. The Jews understood it this way. That’s why the Bible says, Evening and morning were the first day. The Celts and Anglo-Saxons understood it that way. Christmas Eve was not the Night before Christmas Day, it was the night that belonged to Christmas Day because every day began with the night: December 24th ended with sunset and the 25th began with the darkness or night time (that is why the Christmas story is read on Christmas Eve and yet we say that He was born on Christmas Day - Christmas Eve belongs to the 25th!!). I like that. I would be comfortable with that.

But, as a third shift person, I look at it this way. I go to work at 11 pm Wednesday night and get off at 7 am Thursday morning. So, until I get off (or really the sun rises), it is Wednesday night. I think a lot of 3rd shift people think this way. If I am talking to a police officer at 3:30 am Thursday and he asks me, “Are you working tomorrow night?” we both immediately know this means, Are you working Thursday night? Makes it hard to talk to first shift folk.

So, for me, as long as it is still dark outside, it’s Night, no matter what the clock says. And I will wish people a good night. But once the sun comes up, Day has begun and my parting words often go like this: “Have a good night, uh, it’s day now, Have a good day!”

Is it tomorrow yet? I got off at 3 am tonight. It's still dark outside. So, No, it is still Thursday night! When I wake up it will be Friday morning.

That much being said, I will confess that working nights begets confusion. I have my way of viewing time yet the world runs by a different clock, so I am never quite sure what Day it is!

Bury me with my glasses

This is from Chapter 57 of Tertullian’s book, On the Resurrection of the Flesh. He is writing about those who deny the resurrection of the flesh and upholding the apostolic faith concerning it.

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Hence now comes the well-known quibbling of vulgar unbelief; "if," they say, "the selfsame substance is brought back with its own shape, outline, character, therefore it must be in company also with its remaining characteristics. Therefore the blind, the lame, the paralytic and all others marked by some special characteristic at death, will return also with that characteristic."
What is belief in a resurrection, if it be not belief in a complete resurrection ? For if flesh will be restored from a state of decomposition, much more will it be brought back from a state of torture. The greater lays down the law for the less. Is not the amputation or crushing of any limb the death of that limb? If the death of the whole is annulled by resurrection, what of the death of a part? If we are changed into glory, how much more into soundness? Damage to bodies is an accidental character, soundness is their rightful character.
As life is brought to us by God, so also is it brought back. We who get it back are the same people as get it at the beginning. It is to nature, not to injury that we are restored: we recover again our original life, not our injured life. If God does not raise us whole, he does not raise the dead. For what dead man is whole, even if he dies whole ? What dead man is entire ? What body is unharmed, when it has been killed, when it is cold, when it is ghastly pale, when it is very stiff, when it is a corpse? When is a man more maimed than when he is maimed in every part ? When is he more paralysed, than when he is immovable ? So for a dead man resurrection is nothing but the becoming whole, lest he should still be dead in that part in which he has not risen again.
God is competent to restore what He made : this sign both of His power and of His generosity He already sufficiently promised, or rather fulfilled in Christ, who is not only the resuscitator, but also the renewer of the flesh. And besides the Apostle also says: "And the dead shall rise again uncorrupted." How can this be, except as whole, though previously they had wasted away alike through the fault of ill-health and the long time of burial ? For in making both statements earlier also, that " this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality," he did not repeat the thought, but commended the difference to their attention. For by separating the two, and making "immortality" refer to the annulment of death, and " incorruption " to the blotting out of corruption, he adapted the one to resurrection, the other to renewal. I fancy he promised to the Thessalonians also the renewal of their whole being. Therefore in the future bodily blemishes will not be dreaded.
So the flesh will indeed remain liable to suffering even after resurrection in virtue of the fact that it is itself and the same, yet incapable of suffering in virtue of the fact that it was liberated by the Lord for this very purpose - that it should not suffer any more.

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Amen! In that day, old one-eyed Jeff will be able to see out of both eyes! I tell you again, bury me with my glasses - I want to stomp on them and crush them to bits when I am raised from the dead and no longer need ‘em!!! Hallelujah! Maranatha! 

Can any thing good come from Jeremiah?

I have made a few posts about my recent trip through the prophet Jeremiah. This is the last one.

Jeremiah lived and prophesied around 600 BC. He lived in Jerusalem. He lived under the Law. He prophesied of judgment - doom and gloom, maybe he could even be called a ‘hellfire and damnation’ preacher! – and he is known as “The weeping prophet.” So why, when so much of the church today is concerned with being fun, positive, cool, and culturally relevant, would anyone want to read the words of someone known as the Weeping Prophet (“Not fun”), who spoke so much about judgment (not positive – "We like to talk about the love of God”), who lived 2600 years ago (completely irrelevant to our culture)??

Can anything good come from reading Jeremiah?? To quote the apostle Paul, much in every way.

First, Jeremiah is part of the Word of God. And we know what the Apostle said about that. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. And all this profit can be gleaned from Jeremiah.

Second, We learn a little more of the history of Israel. Why is this important or how is this helpful?
1 Corinthians 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 
Romans 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Third, we see God. What do we see about God in Jeremiah? He is Holy. Righteous. Faithful. Love. Judge. Savior. I know, there is a heavy emphasis on judgment and wrath and that these are attributes we would like to forget. But these same attributes are spoken of in the New Testament. We just ignore them there, too!
I realize there are folks who like to represent God, as He is found in Jeremiah (and the whole Old Testament), as an angry, petulant God, so different than the God of the Gospel. But this is such a distortion of the truth. Why was God angry with Judah? Did He just wake up on the wrong side of the bed? Was He unreasonably irritable? No. First Israel, then Judah, had sinned for generations. Idolatry – in your face idolatry, in the temple idolatry – was everywhere, immorality abounded, injustice was the law of the land. The princes, the priests, the people, were wholly given over to sin. To make matters worse, they maintained a facade of keeping the covenant:

Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

And, God has sent them prophets warning them, calling them, exhorting them to return to Him so He could bless them. And they refused. Judgment was all that was left. I admit, it was severe: the land was emptied, the city was burned, the temple was desecrated. But God had mercy even in wrath. When they were in Babylon He raised up Ezekiel to speak to them (still rebellious) and then Daniel. And after 70 years they were restored to the land. We don’t like this story, but do we think we can sin and rebel with impunity and God will not judge us? We need Jeremiah!

Fourth, we learn what God wants from us, His people. I have already written about this . We can learn from Jeremiah how to maintain a strong walk with God.

Fifth, Messiah is spoken of. 
Jeremiah 23:5-6  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jeremiah 31:31-34   Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah…

Amen! This is the New Covenant. Our Covenant! Jesus speaks of this. Hebrews spends a lot of time on this.

Six, not only is it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, but I believe a couple of times Jeremiah sees down to our day. Obviously in the promise of the New Covenant, but I also believe in chapter 33 Jeremiah sees beyond the restoration from Babylon to Messiah, and the times of Messiah, and that’s us.

Seventh, preachers can learn a lot from Jeremiah. There is the obvious prophetic ministry: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. Jeremiah was full of the Word of God. But he was also full of the love of God. He wept for the people because these were the people of God, the beloved of God, and through their sin they brought such destruction on themselves. And it broke his heart because if broke God’s heart. There was no delight in his message. He wanted salvation, deliverance, rescue, restoration; and when the Jews would not return to the Lord, he wept. It was the Spirit of God weeping in him. Preachers need the love of God poured out into their heart, they need the heart of God, so that they will weep over their flock, their city, even as they boldly warn of the coming judgment.


This is the good that comes out of Jeremiah. We need Jeremiah. We need to hear his message and feel his heart.

Could this be me?

As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth . . .

Jeremiah 44:16-17

People often say that because the Bible is so old, it is irrelevant today. But this certainly sounds timeless to me. In fact, this sounds like the campaign slogan for western culture today: “We will NOT do what the Bible says, but we WILL do what we say. In fact, we are working on making it illegal for you to even TELL us what the Bible says.”

I have been sitting on this post for some time. I was going in a certain direction with it and every time I came back to it, I felt a hindrance. Perhaps I was guilty of having a thought and then tacking a Bible verse to it to make it sound better.

At any rate, I read this passage last week. It is stunning. Shocking. Pure willful, intentional, rebellion.

We recognize this attitude in unbelievers. The question believers need to ask, that I need to ask is, “Is there any area of my life where this attitude reigns?” That’s a fancy way of asking, “Do I have any behavior or thoughts that I know are contrary to God’s Word that I have refused to change?”

thy life will I give unto thee for a prey

In reading Jeremiah I came across a very interesting expression: thy life will I give unto thee for a prey. 'Prey' is the same word that is translated 'spoils.' I admit, this literal translation doesn’t make a lot of sense, it seems to be an idiomatic expression. Or, as Adam Clarke said, “This is a proverbial expression. It appears to have this meaning. As a prey or spoil is that which is gained from a vanquished enemy, so it is preserved with pleasure as the proof and reward of a man’s own valor.” So that would make it something like, “Thy life will I give unto thee as a spoil of war.” Or, as we might say, “I will give you your life.”

This is spoken to three people. (Interestingly, none of whom are Jeremiah! Maybe he didn’t need the encouragement…)

Jeremiah 38:2 Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live.

The Lord was bringing judgment upon Jerusalem. The Babylonians were coming to empty the city and then burn it with fire. This judgment was so severe that God warned them several times, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. These were unspeakably terrible times. I doubt that any of us can even come close to comprehending that.

But there was hope - but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. If they believed the Lord and did as He said (not resist but surrender), they would live. He shall have his life for a prey. That is, like a spoil of the war they were in. Stay in the city, refuse to believe God and His Word, and you will die by the sword, by the famine, or by the pestilence. Believe God’s Word and surrender yourself to the Chaldeans, and you will live. In Babylon, but you will live. I will give you your life.

Jeremiah 39:18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
This was spoken to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian. He was a eunuch in the king’s house, and he stood up for Jeremiah when he was cast into a well. He seems to have become sort of the personal guard of Jeremiah. Just before the Babylonians arrived God said to him in Jeremiah 39:16-18

16 Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before thee.  
17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.  
18 For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.

In this time of coming judgment and calamity, a truly fearful time, Ebedmelech put his trust in the Lord. And God gave him his life as a prey: he would not die from the sword, the pestilence, or the famine.

Jeremiah 45:5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
This was spoken to Baruch. He was Jeremiah’s assistant. He seems to have become fearful of his future and even began to wonder what he was going to get out of his service to Jeremiah. God rebuked him for his selfish concern (avarice?) and told him what He would give him, thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. You may not get rich, but I give you your life, wherever you wind up.


As I said, this is very interesting. In all three cases, they witnessed the judgment of God; they lived through the calamity. Their faith in God did not guarantee them freedom from troublesome times, but because of their faith God gave them their life. In other words, faith doesn’t always deliver you from trouble. I mean, who wanted to live through those times? We can’t even imagine how utterly difficult they were. When the cost of food went up, they also paid the ridiculously high prices. When there was no food, they didn’t eat either. When the lights went out, they were in the dark. They lost their house and property and probably their jobs too, like everyone else. And so on. But because they put their trust in the Lord, God gave them their life for a prey.

My reading partner in Jeremiah must have seen the same thing because he said, “For those who faithfully trust the Lord, in spite of the calamity around them, God will make a way.” (Well, he said something like that. He said it, I liked it, but then we couldn’t quite remember how he said it the first time. It was early in the morning!)

I realize this is not a promise given to us, but I do believe it has application for us. I don’t know how far to take it, I’ll leave that to you. I just found it interesting. And encouraging.

thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me

Four of the Strongest Words in the Old Testament

As I mentioned in a recent post, a friend and I are reading Jeremiah. Jeremiah was sent by God with quite a message, “Thus saith the Lord, I am fed up with you and I am about to remove you from your land.” But once they went off into captivity, God gave Jeremiah a message of hope, “I will return you and restore you.”

But, even in the message of judgment, God offered hope to Judah. Throughout Jeremiah God repeatedly tells the people that if they will respond to Him, He will save and deliver them. And what does He want from them? I think Jeremiah 35:15 is a good representation of His plea:

I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.

I am amazed at the strength of these words. God is not playing games with them. When it comes to what God is looking for in man, these may be the four strongest words in the Old Testament!

Return – turn from your evil ways and turn to Me. Sometime back I wrote a post about turning to the Lord. This word occurs numerous times in Jeremiah and is the fundamental word for describing getting right with God, Turn unto me.

Amend your ways – make your ways good

Incline your ear to me – listen to Me

Hearken unto me – we think of hearken as an old way of saying hear, but in the Hebrew it is a much stronger word. It means to hear, listen to, to obey. To hearken means you listen with the intention of doing what you hear.

God is very clear, “You have turned away from Me. You are not living the way I told you to live. Turn to Me by forsaking your sinful ways and begin again to obey Me.”

Two things strike me about this message.

1) The message is NOT simply, “Jeremiah has my words, believe I sent him, believe I am your God and everything will be OK.” Faith is important and forms the foundation of “turn unto me”, but they cannot receive the blessing if they “believe” these things but don’t amend their ways.

2) There is nothing in this message about how bad they should feel about their transgressions. I’m sure that when they come to their senses they will feel bad about their sinful ways, but God doesn’t seem too interested in their feelings. Instead He says, “Amend your ways.”

Is this an Old Testament message, a message of the Law, that has been replaced a message of grace? A new message that says, “I’m not really concerned with how you live or what you do, just believe.” No! I’m working on a post on repentance that will explore this further, but consider this:

John the Baptist – Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance

The Apostle Paul: Repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

The Lord Jesus: Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works

These are literally taken from the beginning, the middle, and the end of the New Testament. The message has not changed. What does God want from me? He wants me to incline my ear to Him, to hearken unto Him. And if I fall into sin, He is not really interested in how bad I feel about it, He wants me to return to Him and amend my ways.

Turn unto me. Amend your ways. Incline your ear to me. Hearken unto me. Strong words. God is not playing games with me. And if I want the blessing of God, I can’t play games with Him.

False prophets here, false prophets there, false prophets everywhere

A friend and I are reading through Jeremiah. We read about a chapter a day (I am always at least one chapter behind him) and then try to briefly discuss what we read.

I have really enjoyed this. We have seen and discussed some interesting and challenging things. One thing that really sticks out is the number of false prophets around in Jeremiah’s day. As I was pondering this, I realized how utterly confusing this must have been for the people. On the one hand there was Jeremiah: “Judgment, destruction, captivity. You are wicked sinners and you must amend your ways.” On the other hand, there were several powerful prophets: “Peace, peace. You are wonderful and beautiful people just like you are.”

Jeremiah said they were false. They said Jeremiah was false. How were the people supposed to know who was from God and who was speaking lies?? My friend and I have discussed this a couple of times, even trying to apply this question, and any answer, to our own day.

Apply this to our day? Yes. Whatever you think about prophets and spiritual gifts (whether they are for today or not), there are different versions of the gospel being preached today. Radically different. How do we tell who is true and from God and who is not?

As I was thinking about this, I came across 1 John 4:1

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

That’s right, try or test the spirits: test, examine, prove, scrutinize, to see whether a thing is genuine or not, and recognize as genuine (only) after examination. 

As I meditated on this verse, I remembered that ALL of 1 John would be applicable for this. He wrote to some believers because they were being harassed by false teachers, and he told them how to recognize them. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. It would seem that not every preacher/teacher out there is from God.

I am persuaded that there are three tests that we can apply to determine whether a preacher/teacher is from God or not

1. What do they teach about Jesus? 
Jeremiah spoke of those prophets in his day who drew the hearts of the people away from the Lord. So today: Do they preach Jesus? They all talk about Him, so more accurately, Do they preach the faith which has been held since the beginning? Or are they preaching something new? Do they exalt Him, promote Him, and draw your hearts toward Him? Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.

2. Are they personally living a righteous life, or are they openly living a sinful lifestyle?
In Jeremiah’s day, the people, the priests, the prophets, the princes were wholly given over to ungodliness. The prophets were guilty of idolatry, immorality, greed, and injustice. I’m not talking about occasional failures, I’m talking about a pattern of life:

For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so [are] their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so Jer 5:26-28, 31

3. Do they call you to obedience to Christ and conformity to His Word? Or do they encourage and endorse a sinful lifestyle?
The prophets in Jerusalem did not urge the people to return to God and amend their ways. They didn’t think anyone was doing anything wrong. Well, except for Jeremiah. They were having a party and he was bringing them down with all his talk of judgment.


I have been working on this post for awhile now, and while I have been thinking on it I came across an amazing article -   “A Christless Pentecost: Is Christ Becoming A Stranger Among Us?” by David Wilkerson. I highly recommend it.

I realize that some of you reading this may not be familiar with Azusa Street, and if you are, or as you realize that it has something to do with Pentecostal/Charismatic churches you may say, “I ain’t no charismatic, so this can’t be for me.” I assure you of two things: (1) this is not a Pentecostal apologetic and (2) this is a powerful word that speaks volumes to all of us today! His three points are:

I. We Make Christ A Stranger - By Giving The Holy Spirit Pre-Eminence Over Him!
II. Christ Is Made A Stranger When People Praise Him, But Will Not Pray To Him!
III. Christ Is Made a Stranger In Our Midst - When We Want His Power More Than His Purity!

We have a problem with false prophets in the Church today and we need to test the spirits, to see whether they are of God. But there is a another problem amongst Bible believing churches, that of carnal and worldly prophets and this article speaks to that.

I hope you read the article by David Wilkerson. And I hope you read 1 John.

A Thanksgiving Rant

A co-worker came to work Thursday morning, Thanksgiving Day, and greeted me with, “Happy we-killed-the-Indians-and-stole-their-land Day.” I encounter this attitude here and there. This is an attitude gaining ground in America, “We are such a sorry people – we done the Indians wrong.” And is quite often carried all the way back to Columbus: “Curse that evil man, Columbus, for his greedy and thieving ways!” Sadly, such bunk is often the only view presented in many-a public school.

As you might have already guessed, I find these views ignorant and hypocritical.

“Ignorant? Didn’t early Americans, including the government, lie and cheat and swindle the Indians and then kill them to boot? And aren’t we living on what used to be their land?” I never said there was no truth to it. Even some people living in early America were aware of our maltreatment of the Indians. Not every single person was engaged in wholesale rape and slaughter of Indians. By ignorant I mean ignorant and short sighted.

The European conquest of the Americas was not the only time such a thing happened. This is the story of man. Have these people never read a history book? So much of human history is the story of one people moving in and either forcing the relocation of the previous people, enslaving them, or simply wiping them out. The Celts came storming into Europe, Britain and Ireland and conquered the previous people. The Germanic tribes followed, chasing the Celts out of their land. And what do you think the Romans were doing?

England was once known as Britain, named for the Celtic tribes who lived their, the Britani. The Romans came along, uninvited and unwelcome, and conquered them. When the Romans left, the Saxons and Angles came over and dispossessed the Celts (now only to be found in Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Brittany). Britain became known as Angle-land. No one weeps for the dispossessed Celts. Then William the Conqueror of Normandy came ashore and did the same to the Saxons! And this is only the English-speaking world!!

And do you know what those “peaceful Indians” were doing before Europeans arrived? They were busy killing each other! Every early writer describes their “continuous internecine warfare.” Tribes were constantly relocating, being chased out of their previous habitation by another tribe. The Plains Indians were formerly of the northeast, but were forced to move by stronger tribes!

Does this vindicate those early Europeans and their treatment of Indians? Of course not, but it does put it into perspective. This was not something unique. Every single nation throughout history began by conquering another nation. It all began with Cain, who “conquered” Abel because Abel had something Cain wanted.

And hypocritical. All these people vilify our European ancestors on this continent, “They done the Indians wrong! They stole their land! There were pure evil!” There are still Indians around, why don’t they give back their land?? If they are really serious about their charges, the Indians’ land was stolen, pure and simple, why don’t they give back what they can – whatever land they own? And move back to wherever their ancestors came from? They will never do this. Never.

I agree, bad things were done. Does that make us a bad people? No more so than any other people in history. Ah, but doesn’t this invalidate Thanksgiving Day? No, since Thanksgiving Day is NOT a day that commemorates the conquest of the Americas. It is a day set aside by the nation to acknowledge our blessings and to thank God for them.

In an effort to end on a positive note, I hope you had a great thanksgiving! This is based on the Old Testament practice of feasting before the Lord – God has blessed us with abundance so we will feast before Him as a way to thank Him. I hope you were moved to thank God for His abundant blessings on our nation. Truth be told, I hope that you acknowledge His blessings in your life everyday.

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, 

and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:  

To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, 

and thy faithfulness every night

† Since I posted this my daughter told me about an article that is much more extensive than my little rant. It is an excellent article and you can read it here. It actually deals with the Puritans and their relationship with the Indians and their foundation for the nation.

Beauty, Prison, Good Music – and it’s only 8 am!

I woke up (for good) this morning at 5:30. It is now 8 am and I have already seen unspeakable beauty, a near prison, and heard some great music.

4 AM
I have no idea what is so special about that moment on the clock, but I wake up every morning at that time (well, at 1:15 and 2:22 as well, but that is another story!). I woke up like an alarm clock had gone off. Happily, I was able to fall back asleep and by 5:30 I decided just to get up. I thought, “I’m up so I will see if I can take Tiernan and Isabelle to school.” So at 6:30 I sent a text to Sarah and asked her if that would be OK and she said it would.

BEAUTY
I wanted to get some Dunkin Donuts for them so I was out the door by 6:40. It was still night, but there was a full moon shining. It was awesome to step outside and see the driveway illuminated. I was excited. Then, when I came out from under the carport I looked up and saw the moon. I nearly fainted. Unspeakably beautiful!

My heart soared in praise to the Creator and pure delight! I got the donuts and raced back to the house to take a picture. But my camera struggles with shots of the moon. You would think it would have learned by now, as many times as I have tried. (The halo around the moon is due to the camera fogging)

Now I was off to pick up Tiernan and Belle. The Allman Brothers, Brothers and Sisters CD was playing. But more on that later.

PRISON
We were just a tad late getting to school and I knew we would have to go through the office to sign in. I asked Isabelle if she knew how to get to her class room from the office and she didn’t, so I thought I would get to take her and help Tiernan carry his big bag of canned goods (for some drive) to his room. But I really knew they wouldn’t let me.

I signed them in and said Isabelle didn’t know how to get to her room and suggested I could take her. Oh no! They would find someone to do that (and they did, a woman talking on her cell phone, not even paying half a mind to Belle). You see, you are not allowed past the front desk. They know who I am. They know I am with them. But the mere suggestion that I might walk past the front desk sent them scurrying. In fact, when I walked around the corner of the desk, to let Isabelle’s ‘guide’ know that Belle didn’t have her permission slip (to be walking the halls after the bell), the lady behind the desk almost leapt over the counter to hand the slip to Belle’s guide! Tiernan had a large and heavy bag to take to his room. I would not be allowed to help with that either.

I don’t know if you have ever been to a prison, but I had occasion to visit folks in prison when I was pastoring. The inmates enter and may not leave on their own. When you visit them, you have to check in at the desk, get a guest permission slip, and enter when they open the door. That’s the routine for visiting the school. I'm not joking.

MUSIC
By now it was fully day. On the way home I was struck by the beauty of the fall colors. Amazing! My heart soared again! And I turned my CD back on. The song that began to play is called Jessica. I turned it up. Really loud. And rolled down the windows, because that’s what I am used to in the jeep. Man, what a great start to the day! And it’s only 8 in the morning!

Now, I’m going to go eat my donut and watch an episode of Emergency.

THIS is a canoe trip!

This is from Chapter VIII of George Catlin’s book, Life Amongst the Indians, which he wrote for young readers. George Catlin (July 26, 1796 – December 23, 1872) was an American painter, author and traveler who specialized in portraits of Indians. He also wrote about the many tribes and their culture.

SEATED in a light and frail canoe in front of the American Fur Company's Fort, at the mouth of the Yellowstone River, Jean Ba'tiste, a Frenchman, Abraham Bogard, a Mississippian, and I took leave of M'Kenzie and his little colony, for a voyage to St. Louis, which, by the winding course of the Missouri, was but about two thousand miles ; and the whole of that way without other habitations than the occasional villages of the wild Indians ; and without inhabitants, excepting wild men and the wild animals that roamed over and through it.

We three, then the two first of whom with good rifles, and knowing well how to use them; and myself with a good double-barrelled fowling-piece, for ducks, and geese, and prairie hens, and a first-rate rifle for long range, and a belt with two side pistols for nearer quarters took our seats in our little bark ; the first in the bow, the second in the centre, and myself in the stern, with my steering-paddle, with which I steered it in safety, but not without some accidents, amid snags, and sand-bars, and sawyers, and rocks, to the wharf in St. Louis, whilst the boiling current swept us along, and Ba'tiste and Bogard, and most of the time all three, paddled.

We had powder and ball in abundance laid in, and our fishing tackle ; some good robes to sleep upon and under ; a tin kettle, a coffee-pot, a frying-pan, plenty of ground coffee, of sugar, and salt ; each man a spoon, a knife, and a tin cup ; and though we had no bread or butter, the little reader, whose imagination is pretty strong, will easily see we had a tolerable chance for enough to eat, and that there was a glorious prospect for the indulgence of my sportive passion.

At our starting, we had another " compagnon du voyage," which I had almost forgotten to mention. Mr. M'Kenzie had made me a present of a full-grown, domesticated war-eagle, the noble bird which the Indians so much esteem for its valour, and the quills of which they so much value to adorn the heads of chiefs and warriors. I had a perch erected for it some six or eight feet high, over the bow of the canoe, on which it rested in perfect quietude, without being fastened, silently surveying all that we passed above and below ; thus forming for our little craft the most picturesque and appropriate figure-head that could be imagined.

From day to day we thus passed on, surveying the beautiful shores ; the grassy and rounded bluffs rising in groups, sometimes hundreds on hundreds, appearing in the distance as if green carpets of velvet were spread over them ; sometimes speckled with herds of buffaloes grazing on their sides.

The sand-bars in the distance sometimes seemed as if they were covered with snow, from the quantities of pelicans and white swans that were grouped upon them. The white wolves that were looking at us from the banks got an occasional pill from one of our rifles, and sometimes the terrible grizzly bear, that trace the water's edge for the carcasses of dead fish, and the buffaloes often left fastened in the mud, where large herds have been crossing the river.

We went ashore every afternoon a little before sunset, where we could discover dry wood enough to make a fire with, cooked and ate our supper ; and then, leaving our fire, paddled on till some time after dark, hauling our buffalo-skins out, and, scarcely knowing what was around us, quietly spreading our beds upon the grass, lest prowling war-parties might be attracted by the smoke of our fires, and strike a blow upon us in their sudden way, mistaking us for their enemies or for some of the fur traders, against more or less of whom these people have long and just causes of complaint, and for which we are, in such cases, liable to pay the forfeit.

We were generally off again at daybreak, and usually stopped at eight or nine in the morning, to make and to take our breakfast.

Our noble and beautiful pet was a picture to look at : he held to his perch, and could not have been made to leave us. He was well fed with fresh buffalo meat, and sometimes with fish. His eagle eyes gazed upon all around him, and he seemed to be owner and commander of the expedition. We always found him on his stand in the morning ; and during the day, as we were gliding along, when he became tired of his position, he would raise himself upon his long and broad wings, and spreading them over us, would hover and soar for miles together, a few feet above our heads, and in precise progress with the canoe, looking down upon us, and fanning us at times with fresh air, and at other times shading us from the rays of the sun !

Birds of all kinds and wild fowl, as they flew over, this monarch of the air would gaze at from his perch ; and whenever he discovered one of his own species soaring in the sky, or even in the clouds, which was sometimes the case, he commenced a chattering of recognition, which they invariably answered. He knew them, and could easily have gone to them in a moment, but the perch that he clenched in his feet he preferred, for there he was sure of his daily food.

One day, while we were passing through what is called the Grand Detour, a deep gorge through which the river passes, with precipitous clay banks, some hundreds of feet in height, on each side, our royal guest rose suddenly, and unusually high from his perch, and flapping his long wings, flew back some distance, and kept rising, when we all of one accord exclaimed, " He has gone ! he has taken final leave ! " but he made a circuit or two in the air, and then a stoop, just grazing the side of the ragged clay bluff, from which he lifted a huge snake, that was writhing and twisting in his deadly grasp as he was coming towards the boat. "Sonnette! sonnette!" exclaimed poor Ba'tiste, as the snake, when the eagle was on his perch, was to hang right over his head !

It happened, luckily perhaps, not to be a rattle-snake, but a harmless reptile, probably better known to eagles than to us, which the eagle's eyes had discovered basking in the sun as we had passed, and which he had gone back for, and now on his perch, directly over poor Ba'tiste's head, was making a delicious meal of. Ba'tiste soon got over his fright, and admitted that "it was all right, that we were all hunters and adventurers together."

Annoyed to agony, and sometimes almost to death, by the mosquitoes that infest the shores of that river in some places, we generally selected a barren sand-bar or sandy beach as the place of our bivouac, for they generally fly only as far as the grass extends.

Having one night selected such a beach, and drawn our canoe well on to it, we spread our robes on the soft sand, and got a comfortable night's rest ; and a little after daylight in the morning, I heard Ba'tiste exclaim" Voila, Mr. Caltin ! voila Caleb !" I raised myself up, and found Bogard and Ba'tiste rising gradually, with their hands on their rifles, and their attention fixed upon a monster of a grizzly bear, sitting a few rods from us on the slope of the prairie, reconnoitring us ; and at a little distance farther, the female with her two cubs; we three would have furnished a comfortable breakfast for them, for which they were no doubt, with some impatience, waiting.

They had been waiting for us to wake up, for it is a curious saying of the country, and probably a true one, that that grizzly bears will not attack a man when he is asleep, although they are sure to attack him if they meet him on his feet. We all alike knew the motto of the country, yet I believe none of us were quite disposed to go to sleep for our protection.

A council of war was the first thing that was necessary ; and as we discovered, on looking around, that these terrible beasts had been in our canoe and hauled every article out of it on to the beach, and pawed them open, and scattered them about ; and that our poor eagle was gone, and swallowed, no doubt ; and knowing the danger of attacking them, we agreed that our canoe was the first thing ; the scattered remnants of our property the next preferring to have our battle afterwards. We simultaneously arose, moved our canoe into the water, and got our paddles into it, and our guns safe in our hands.

The animals made no move towards us in the mean time, and we began to gather our robes and other things which were strewed in all directions.

We had three or four days' supply of fresh meat laid in, and some delicious dried buffalo tongues, and a quantity of pemican, all of which were devoured. My paint-box was opened, and nothing left in it, the brushes were scattered over the beach, and many of the bladders with colours tied in them, chewed, and the contents scattered and daubed, in strange mixtures of red, and green, and all colours, over everything. Two packs of Indian dresses, safely tied with thongs, were as regularly untied as if done by human hands ; and shirts, and leggings, and head-dresses, and robes, were daubed in the mud and spread out upon the beach as if to dry, or to be disposed of in lots at an auction sale.

In taking up our sleeping robes, the enormous footprints sinking two or three inches into the hard sand, showed us that these stupid and terrible beasts had passed many times around and between our beds, which were not more, perhaps, than two or three feet apart. Was not here enough to shake one's nerves a little ?

Our things thrown in confusion into our canoe for a better arrangement at a more agreeable place, we pushed out a little from the shore, and felt again at ease, knowing that the grizzly bear will never enter the water for anything.

The moment our canoe was afloat, with the accustomed flappings of his wings, the long and yellow legs of our illustrious passenger were reaching down for their perch, whilst he was drawing in his long wings, and seemingly shrugging his shoulders with satisfaction at being back to his old stand, and out of danger, as he was casting his piercing eyes around and over the gathered wreck, which he seemed to be aware of. From what hill-top or ledge this noble creature descended, or where he got his night's lodging, no one had the least knowledge.

Now we were ready for the attack. Bogard and I levelled at the male he being the nearest to us Ba'tiste reserving his fire, which he gave to the female as she came, in all fury and with horrid growls, to the water's edge ; she received his ball in her breast, and, galloping off, followed her companion, which had got our two rifle balls, and entered a thicket of high grass and weeds.

We were now floating down stream again, and though I urged my two companions to go back with me and complete the engagement, they both had fears, and most likely very prudent ones, of following those creatures into a thicket ; so we left them to die, or to cure their wounds if they could, in their own way.


This is just the beginning of their adventure. They obviously made it all the way to St. Louis because he lived to finish and print the story as part of his book.

The Bible and who I should vote for in November

America is a great country, isn’t it? And one of the great things about America is I can have an opinion, I can voice my opinion, and I can vote for someone who shares my opinion.

On November 6th we are voting for the next president of the US. I am a Christian. Does the Bible tell me who I should vote for in this election? To hear some people tell it, it must. I am told that to vote for so-and-so is either a vote for or against the Gospel. Funny thing is, both sides use this tactic. Admittedly, it is more common among conservatives, but liberals use it too. Is this true? Is a vote for Romney more biblical than a vote for Obama? Or, would Jesus vote for Obama instead of Romney?

When we check with the Bible, we discover disturbing news for those who present their political positions as biblical:

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world

My kingdom. Jesus has a kingdom but He says it is not of this world. Not of this world means it does not belong to this world, is not a part of this world. The Gospel is about a kingdom, but not a kingdom of this world. The Gospel offers no political platform; it does not endorse any political view or party; nor does it give any commands or offer any advice concerning the conquest of a country or people.

What?!?!? That’s right, the Gospel does not tell me who to vote for for president. Not only that, but did you know that it does not tell us what kind of government we should have? Democratic or Socialistic, free market or commune, president or king.

Ah, what about the Old Testament? Does it not offer commands and precepts concerning government? Yes, it does. And these all concern the nation Israel. God clearly tells Israel what kind of government to have. But we are not Israel. Yet even under the Old Covenant, God did not tell the other nations how to run their governments, other than that it should be conducted in righteousness.

Once again, the Gospel is not about worldly politics. It does not offer anything concerning what kind of government a country should have, or who I as a Christian should vote for.

So, does this make the Gospel truly irrelevant for today? I mean, we have a government that allows each one of us to vote yet the Bible doesn’t tell me who to vote for. Surely, what people have been saying is true, the Bible was good then but is irrelevant now. Oh no, the Bible is a very political book. What is our politic? The kingdom of God.

saying there is another king – Jesus

We preach the kingdom of God and seek first the kingdom, but we are not a political party or movement. We have not been sent to fix the world. We are a called out group, forming our own community within the community at large. Our politics? Jesus is King. We are calling people out from the world because the King is coming back!

For those who are sure that the New Testament guides us concerning what kind of government is best, consider this: it offers no legal framework, no government structure,  nothing about the appointment of leaders, monetary systems, education, etc. As I mentioned, in the Old Testament God formed Israel to be a people, a nation, a political entity, and therefore it speaks of all the matters concerning governing a people. But the Gospel introduced something entirely new. The people of God is now the Church and we are not a physical, political people. It is this very truth that makes the gospel workable in every culture, and under any government.

The Church, rather than being a political force is to be a prophetic voice to the culture, calling it to righteousness. We are to speak out against the immorality and ungodliness and unrighteousness of both parties. We should decry abortion and the dissolution of the family and the general immorality of the country AND the oppression of the poor and the danger of wealth. When we affiliate ourselves with a political party, we become partisan, and lose that prophetic voice. Historically, we find the Church at her best when she is exercising a prophetic voice and at her worst when she is involved in politics!

And speaking about being relevant, the New Testament is very clear about how I should relate to the government:

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation . . . Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;  For kings, and for all that are in authority

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;  Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. . . Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

remind them to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates

Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. (ouch!)

I am an American. I have my own political views and I will vote according to those views. And as an American I will discuss politics with you and urge you to come around to my well reasoned and rational view point. But I cannot tell you that my political views are necessarily more biblical than yours. More importantly, I am a follower of Christ. And while the Bible does not speak about Democrats and Republicans, Libertarians and Independents, it definitely tells me to pray for and obey my government, honor my leaders, and not speak evil of them. And you know what is a sad reflection on my spiritual life? I spend more time talking about politics than I do praying for kings and all that are in authority.

My brethren, these things ought not so to be. 

Songs I sang this morning

This morning at the beginning of the service, the song leader read Psalm 91:1. I immediately leaned over to Mary and she was already nodding her head. You see, Howard Childers taught us and we used to sing Psalm 91:1-2. And so I began to sing:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High 
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty 2x

And I will say of the LORD, 
He is my refuge 
and my fortress
my God
in him will I trust. 2x


At the start of his message, the Pastor read Psalm 46. When he reached v 10 I began to sing:

Be still, and know that I am God  3x


Then a little later in his message, he had reason to go Psalm 18. And I began to sing:

From v 2
Praise the name of Jesus (2x)
He's my rock, He's my fortress
He's my deliverer, in Him will I trust
Praise the name of Jesus

And then from v 3 and 46

I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised
so shall I be saved from my enemies. 2x

The LORD liveth; and blessed be the rock; 
and may the God of my salvation be exalted. 2x

Great songs!

I knew there was another song from Psalm 18, but since I *was paying attention it didn’t come to me until I got home. And actually, I know it, but we never sang it. from 18:29

I can run through a troop and leap over a wall Hallelujah, hallelujah!
He's my strength and my shield He gives power to all Hallelujah, hallelujah!
I am free from condemnation Jesus is the Rock of my salvation.
I can run through a troop And leap over a wall Hallelujah, hallelujah!

So I sang a lot this morning, officially and unofficially! Funny thing is, in all the songs I sang in my head, I was never off key. Not once!

Choruses I sang last night at work

Last night I read Joshua 5, which ends this way:
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?  
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?  
15 And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.

And that naturally reminded of the chorus, For The Lord is Marching On. I cannot remember if we sang this at Bible Covenant, but I have always loved this song. Sad to say, all I could recall last night was the refrain, but when I got home I sang it all a couple of times! Hope you know it and can sing it as well!!

For the Lord Is Marching On
by Bonnie Low

For the Lord is marching on
And His army is ever strong
And His glory shall be seen upon our land
Raise the anthem, sing the victor's song
Praise the Lord for the battle's won
No weapon formed against us shall stand

For the Captain of the host is Jesus
We're following in His footsteps
No foe can stand against us in the fray

We are marching in Messiah's band
The keys of victory in His mighty hand
Let us march on to take our promised land!
For the Lord is marching on
And His army is ever strong
And His glory shall be seen upon our land

© 1977 Scripture in Song

And that led me to this next song, which I know we sang at BCCC (and I think it was a favorite). Again, I could only sing the refrain last night, but this morning…

Gird up your Armour

The Lord has given a land of good things
I will press in and make them mine
I’ll know His power, I’ll know His glory
And in His kingdom I will shine

With the high praises of God in our mouth
And a two-edged sword in our hand
We will march right on to the victory side
Right into Canaan’s land

Gird up your armour, ye sons of Zion
Gird up your armour, let’s go to war
We’ll win the battle with great rejoicing
And sing His praises more and more

Ahhh, go ahead and sing out loud to the Lord! What, you don't know these? Make an appointment with me and I will teach them to you!

It’s just stuff – or is it?

My youngest daughter recently experienced a fire, her apartment burned. When she contacted us to let us know what happened her initial assessment was, “I lost everything but the clothes on my back.” This is from the poem I wrote that night:

I was awakened today

Bad news from far away

“Wake up” I heard him say

“Erica’s house burned down today.”

And in a scene straight from a dream

There was Erica’s tear stained face

“My place burned up, I’ve lost it all”

That was the reason for the call

How do you remember everything you’ve lost?

How do you figure up how much it costs?

This is hard, but how can I really know how rough?

I sit surrounded by all of my stuff

Our stuff. We have so much of it. It is really hard to imagine losing all your things. Harder to actually suffer through it! This got me to thinking about all my stuff.

Jesus said, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

We know this is true, but imagine your life if you possessed nothing. Too drastic? Imagine your life if you could only keep what would fit in your car. Wow!

I know of Christians who live in “community.” I perceive that to mean, they all live in the same house and hold all things common - they own nothing individually. Many years ago I heard about another group in the US living like that, and I wondered what it would be like. I was astounded, I immediately missed my things!

You are not what you own. Yet there are people who judge me based on my things. My car. My clothes. My cell phone. My computer. My TV. My house. The money I make and the job I have that makes it. To them I am the sum of my stuff.

 But, if a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth, what do I do about all my stuff? Even if I reduced my possessions to what would fit in my car, I’m still always thinking about them: “If I get this new item, will it fit in my car?”

Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. But, I have an abundance of things. This raises some questions:

How many things can I have?

How can I possess my things without making them the sum of my life?

Am I covetous?

Am I content? Or, does my happiness depend on my possessions?

These are some serious questions. Or as I would have expressed it when younger, These are some heavy questions. I think it is inevitable that we will accumulate possessions, and I don’t know that you can put a number on how many you can or should have. But these are excellent questions nonetheless. And maybe the last two are the most important.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

And I haven’t even mentioned giving/sharing.

Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

This is what I’ve been thinking as I’ve tried to imagine what it would be like to lose all my possessions at once. For me it’s just wondering, but for Erica it’s a reality.

God had mercy on my child

And now may He give her grace

And wipe those tears from her face

And fill her heart with His love

Is Moses a type of Christ?

The Old Testament speaks of the coming Messiah from Genesis 3 on. It does this by direct prophecy and through types. A ‘type’ is an event or a person that God intended to be a picture of Messiah; in which or by whom Christ casts His shadow across the Old Testament. These types are found throughout the Old Testament: Adam, the serpent on the pole, Joshua, and many more.

What about Moses? As the author of most of Genesis to Deuteronomy he wrote often about the coming Messiah, even prophesying of him, The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken. But was Moses a type of Christ?

Now Moses was a great man. Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. He led Israel out of Egypt, gave them the Law, and was one of the greatest intercessors ever. In Isaiah we read, Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. The Jews understood it to mean that Messiah will be exalted above Abraham, extolled above Moses and very high over the angels. Amen! But was he intended to be a type of Christ?

Last night I thought about the time, when, as a young, growing, eager believer, I asked my spiritual mentor if Moses was a type of Christ. I was taken aback by the swift and definite “No” that I got in response. I remember the No but I don’t remember an explanation being given.

Well, as great as Moses was, he was not a type of Christ. And this is the explanation, Moses represented the Law. He was the great Law-giver.

Moses is compared to Christ,
And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant…
But Christ [was faithful] as a son over his own house…

What is the significance of this? The law cannot save you. And this is illustrated in the entering of Israel into the promised land. Moses did not get to lead them into the land, because the law cannot take you there. Joshua, who is a type of Christ, did lead them in. (That Joshua is a type of Christ was established by God when He had Moses change his name from Oshea to Joshua - Joshua and Jesus being the same in Hebrew and Greek.)

So, is Moses a type of Christ? No. He was a great man, one of the greatest men in the Old Testament, and he was a part of the Old Testament witness concerning Messiah, but he represents the Law, not Christ. God was gracious to Moses and took him to the mountain so he could see the promised land before he died; and he had the privilege and honor of appearing with Christ in the mount of transfiguration, and so he was able to see Messiah as well. But he is not a type of Christ.


How a type of Christ kept Moses from the promised land
There is an actual incident which kept Moses from entering the land. Israel was at a place where there was no water, and they murmured against Moses. Moses took it to the Lord and God showed him a rock and told him,
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

However, Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly.

For this God kept him out of the promised land. What’s the big deal? The big deal is the rock is Christ. The first time they ran out of water, God told Moses, Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And the second time he was to only speak to the rock.

The rock is a type of Christ and the water is eternal life. Christ must be smitten before the water will come forth. But Christ only needed to be smitten once, after this, we only need to speak to Him to receive the water of life. And Moses messed up God’s type by smiting the rock a second time!

Not only was Moses not a type of Christ, but a type of Christ kept him out of the promised land.

Anyway, that’s what I thought about last night at work.

Why I will vote ‘No’ on November 6

On November 6 this will appear on the ballot in York County:

Countywide Question
Shall the Department of Revenue be authorized to issue temporary permits in this county for a period not to exceed twenty-four hours to allow the sale of beer and wine at permitted off-premises locations without regard to the days or hours of sales?

Yes, in favor of the question
No, opposed to the question

This is a good illustration of obfuscate! The question is, 'Shall we allow the sale of beer and wine on Sunday as well as every other day?’ Currently, beer may be sold all day, every day, except between midnight Saturday and 7 am Monday. I will be voting, No.

In this post I will explain why I am voting No, not attempting to persuade anyone else to do the same. So don’t get your knickers in a knot if you don’t like my reasons!

First, the issue of Sunday. I know this is the last of the Blue Laws. When we first moved to York in 1989, the Blue Law was still in effect. You could not buy anything other than groceries on Sunday until 1 pm. I suppose this was an attempt to ‘honor the sabbath.’ This is not the reason I will be voting No.

Second, the matter of government. I believe in limited government, so I suppose it seems kind of odd that I would cast a vote that allows the government to determine when I can buy alcohol. My reasoning goes like this: I’m not asking the government to do anything it is not already doing. It already forbids the sale of beer on Sunday and my vote is to not change that. See, I am a conservative, Don't change anything. ha!

Now to the positive reasons:

What a difference there is between Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday night! Well, actually, they start drinking on Thursday night in Rock Hill. And you simply don't have that on Sundays. We all know that if this passes, Sundays will be a madhouse for at least the first few weeks, “Hey, we can drink our brains out on Sundays too!!” I do not look forward to that.

Then there is the matter of restraint. So many people have no self-restraint and I think the government can and ought to supply it. “They will get it somewhere else.” I realize that possibility, but nearly every one I refuse the sale of beer to on Saturday nights, simply won’t go up the road to Tega Cay, where they can purchase beer. Restraint.

Our society is already rushing headlong toward unrestrained gratification of every desire and confusing that with ‘freedom.’ As in, “If I want to do it, it should be immediately available.” I don’t believe it is beneficial for a society to spend so much of it’s energies getting drunk and/or stoned. And that is where so many are today. Will refusing the sale of beer on one day stop that trend? No, but it is a speed bump.

A couple of objections that I have heard:

“Will one day make that much of a difference?” All I can tell you is how nice Sundays are. I really don’t see how people are inconvenienced by the inability to buy beer on Sunday.

“We’ll lose tax revenue.” I don’t care! Money is not God.

To sum up why I will be voting No:

It provides a nice break from the alcohol frenzy that makes up the rest of the week.

It promotes restraint and self-control, which I believe is good for a society.

It encourages planning. If you want to drink on Sunday, then buy it on Saturday. What’s so hard about that? This must be something people need help with because I regularly hear at 2 am Sunday morning, “Is it Sunday?”

That’s why I will vote No on November 6.

How I read the Old Testament

So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" (Acts 8:30-31)

In my last post I asked, Should Christians even bother with the Old Testament anymore? and I concluded with, “Yes, we should read the Old Testament. We should know it well. But now the question is, How should we interpret what we read?”

Therefore Philip’s question is timely. The eunuch replied, How can I, unless someone guides me? I’m not attempting to guide anyone as much as I am simply sharing how I approach the Old Testament. But I do believe I am following the Apostles.

First of all, there is a distinction to be made between interpretation and application. Interpretation is, What does the passage say? What did it mean for the original hearers? Application is, What does this mean for me? How does this work in my life?

As far as interpreting the Old Testament, I believe it can be interpreted as literally as we interpret the words of Jesus. And I think it is pretty clear when Jesus says something that we should take literally and when he says something that is figurative. Even so with the Old Testament. The narrative/historical sections should be read as literal history. When we get to the poetical and prophetical sections, we recognize there are figures of speech, and similes, and metaphors. But each figure of speech means something specific, not whatever we want it to mean at the moment. For example, Ephraim is a cake not turned. Ephraim is not really a cake, it is a figure of speech, conveying something about Ephraim. (I confess, I have never understood this figure!)

Here is how I read the Old Testament and seek to apply it to my own life:

† I read it as the Word of God. I accept the historical sections as true, whether speaking of creation, Abraham, Israel, Moses, the exodus, Joshua, or the sun standing still. I accept the prophecies as true, with many of them already fulfilled in the first advent of Messiah and anticipate the rest to be fulfilled when He comes again.

† I believe Jesus and the Apostles after Him, left us a template for understanding the Old Testament, which can be summed up in a few words:
- The Old Testament speaks of Jesus (it is a Jesus book and is therefore for me as a Jesus follower)
- We are under a new and different covenant. In other words, the law has been fulfilled in Christ and we are no longer under the law.
- The Law consisted of carnal ordinances (feasts, circumcision, sacrifices, temple, priests etc), and these have been superceded by spiritual ordinances (ie the sacrifice of praise)
- The Church is spiritual Israel. As such, we are the inheritors of the promises.

This last one means I can read the Old Testament with the expectation that God will speak to me, that there is something for me, a precept, a promise, a principle for my walk with the Lord. So, when I read the Old Testament I am looking for spiritual truths that transcend covenants. Since I am currently reading in Deuteronomy*, let me offer a few examples from that book:

8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee in the wilderness, that he might afflict thee, and try thee, and that the things in thine heart might be made manifest, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no.
I interpret this literally - this is what really happened to them. But I see here a principle: Here is the purpose of my trials – that what’s in my heart might be made manifest.

8:11 Take heed to thyself that thou forget not the Lord thy God, so as not to keep his commands….
The passage goes on to detail the dangers of prosperity. ‘Nuff said.

10: 12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, and to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul;  13 to keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and his ordinances, all that I charge thee to-day, that it may be well with thee?
That seems rather straightforward.

12:2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places in which they served their gods, whose land ye inherit, on the high mountains and on the hills, and under the thick tree.  3 And ye shall destroy their altars, and break in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their groves, and ye shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods, and ye shall abolish their name out of that place.
Ah-ha! Spiritual truth time. They literally did this, but we do not have here a command for us to go out and wage war on idols. This is done spiritually, in our hearts.

20:1  And if thou shouldest go forth to war against thine enemies…
Again, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, so this is applied to spiritual warfare.

I could go on and on with examples. Deuteronomy is a great book and full of spiritual benefit for us today. I admit, Deuteronomy is sometimes more difficult than Psalms or Isaiah because there is so much law, so many ordinances etc. We know these do not apply to us, but there is an underlying truth that does. There is a lot about their social and civil life. We can learn about justice and mercy from that. There’s a lot about defiling the land, which is a really interesting concept… There is mention of capital punishment for certain offenses, and aren’t we glad that churches do not deal with sinners this way? But there is that pesky principle of remove the evil one from yourselves which is for today.

Do you understand what you are reading? How can I, unless someone guides me? That guide is the Gospel, and following that guide you will find  the Old Testament profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Amen.


*All quotations from Deuteronomy are from the English Translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton 1851