I love this Christmas carol

This is my favorite Christmas hymn yet I have never sung it in public. Even though I never tried to introduce it to the congregation, I enjoyed it every Christmas, singing it out of the hymn-book or playing it at the piano. It was written by Aurelius Prudentius in the 5th Century and translated from Latin to English by John M. Neale and Henry W. Baker. You can hear it here.

Of The Father’s Love Begotten

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!

From Heaven Above To Earth I Come

The last carol I mentioned post was "A Great and Mighty Wonder", an old and obscure song that I introduced to the church. It became one of my favorite Christmas Carols. There was another song I introduced that became one of my favorites – “From Heaven Above To Earth I Come.” It was written by Martin Luther for his son Hans in 1540. Luther, who loved Christmas, entitled it Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her (doesn't that clear things up?). Since most of us don’t know German, it was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth in 1855. (If you know and like hymns, especially older hymns, then you are familiar with Winkworth.) We sang this to the tune, Sagina (And Can It Be That I Should Gain – a hymn I believe every Christian knows by heart!)

From Heaven Above To Earth I Come

From Heaven above to earth I come
To bear good news to every home;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring
Whereof I now will say and sing:
To you this night is born a child
Of Mary, chosen mother mild;
This little child, of lowly birth,
Shall be the joy of all your earth.

"This is the Christ, our God and Lord,
Who in all need shall aid afford;
He will Himself your Savior be,
Himself from sin will make you free.
He brings those blessings, long ago
Prepared by God for all below;
Henceforth His kingdom open stands
Open to people in all lands.

Now let us all with gladsome cheer
Follow the shepherds, and draw near
To see what God for us has done
In sending us His glorious Son.
Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes!
Who is it in yon manger lies?
Who is this lovely baby boy?
’Tis Jesus Christ our only joy.

Welcome to earth, Thou noble guest,
Through whom e'en wicked men are blest!
In mercy come to our distress,
How can we thank thy gentleness?
Ah, Lord, who didst all things create,
How cam’st Thou to this estate,
To make the hay and straw thy bed
Whereon the ox and ass are fed?

And thus, dear Lord, it pleaseth Thee
To make this truth quite plain to me,
That all the world's wealth, honor, might,
Are naught and worthless in Thy sight.
Ah! dearest Jesus, Holy Child,
Make Thee a bed, soft, undefiled,
Within my heart, that it may be
A quiet chamber kept for Thee.

My heart for very joy doth leap,
My lips no more can silence keep;
I too must sing with joyful tongue
That sweetest ancient cradle-song—
Glory to God in highest Heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given!
While angels sing with pious mirth
A glad new year to all the earth

Singing on Sunday night

I finished reading Joel last night. The first half of the book is full of warnings and judgment, the last half is full of the promises of salvation and restoration. As I was meditating on the promises of restoration, a Scripture chorus came to mind, which I began to sing:


Therefore the redeemed
Of the Lord shall return
And come with singing unto Zion,
And everlasting joy
Shall be upon their head. (2x)

They shall obtain gladness and joy,
And sorrow and mourning shall flee away. (Isaiah 51:11)


After singing this two or three times, another Scripture song came to mind. I thought they were wonderfully related:


Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
and to the house of our God (2x)

and he will teach us of his ways
and we will walk in his paths
for the law shall go forth out of Zion
and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.  (Isaiah 2:3)


I sang them the rest of the night. Praise the Lord! Amen!

A Great and Mighty Wonder

One of my all-time favorites is "A Great and Mighty Wonder." This was written in the 7th century by St. Germanus and translated into English by John Mason Neale (who translated a lot of ancient songs). The tune we used is Ellacombe (“The Day of Resurrection”, another old hymn also translated by J.M. Neale), which is a bright tune and easy to learn.

A Great and Mighty Wonder

A great and mighty wonder.
A full and holy cure:
The Virgin bears the Infant
With virgin honor pure!

Refrain:
Repeat the hymn again:
Repeat the hymn again:
"To God on high be glory
And peace on earth to men!"

The Word becomes incarnate
And yet remains on high,
And cherubim sing anthems
To shepherds from the sky.

While thus they sing your Monarch,
Those bright angelic bands,
Rejoice, ye vales and mountains,
Ye oceans, clap your hands.

Since all He comes to ransom.
By all be He adored,
The Infant born in Bethlehem,
The Savior and the Lord.

Hark, How All The Welkin Rings

Today is the last Sunday in Advent and the last few days before Chistmas. This week I plan to post my favorite Christmas carols. I begin with one we sang a couple of weeks ago, "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing". But, as you can see, the way we sing it today is not the way it was originally written. While I never asked the congregation to sing these opening lines, I did introduce some of these other stanzas. And in case you're wondering, "welkin" is an old word for "heaven".

Hark, How All The Welkin Rings

1. HARK how all the Welkin rings
" Glory to the King of Kings,
" Peace on Earth, and Mercy mild,
" GOD and Sinners reconcil'd !

2. Joyful all ye Nations rise,
Join the Triumph of the Skies;
Universal Nature say,
" Christ the Lord is born to Day!

3. Christ, by highest Heav'n ador'd,
Christ, the Everlasting Lord,
Late in Time behold him come,
Offspring of a Virgin's Womb.

4. Veil'd in Flesh, the Godhead see,
Hail th' Incarnate Deity !
Pleas'd as Man with Men t'appear,
Jesus, our Immanuel here !

5. Hail the Heav'nly Prince of Peace !
Hail the Sun of Righteousness !
Light and Life to All he brings,
Ris'n with Healing in his Wings.

6. Mild he lays his Glory by ;
Born ; that Man no more may die,
Born ; to raise the Sons of Earth,
Born ; to give them Second Birth.

7. Come, Desire of Nations, come,
Fix in Us thy humble Home,
Rise, the Woman's Conqu'ring Seed,
Bruise in Us the Serpent's Head.

8. Now display thy saving Pow'r,
Ruin'd Nature now restore,
Now in Mystic Union join
Thine to Ours, and Ours to Thine.

9. Adam's likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp thy Image in its Place,
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in thy Love.

10. Let us Thee, tho' lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the Heav'nly Man:
O ! to All Thyself impart,
Form'd in each Believing Heart.

"Hymn For Christmas Day"

"Sun of Righteousness"

Words: Charles Wesley (1707-1788) 

Hymns and Sacred Poems, 1739, 1743.

Meter: 77 77

I need cash....

A man came in last night, who has not been in the store in a while. He said, "Been a while since I seen you." I agreed. Then he leaned on the counter and announced, "I need some cash." I looked at him, wondering if he meant what it sounded like (that he was robbing me) and thinking this was strange. He explained, "I've got $16 in mostly gold coins and I need some bills." I laughed, told him what I thought he might've meant and gave him cash for the coins. Then I bought the thirteen gold coins from the drawer. Going in my Hawai'i fund.


Another man came in and had a pack of light blue American Spirit cigarettes in his hand. He said, “I bought these here earlier and it's the wrong flavor. Can I trade them for the ones I want?”
“No.” And then I explained that he didn’t buy them from me, so I don’t know if he bought them here or not, and that once you leave the store with tobacco products you can’t return them anyway.
“Can I buy the flavor I want, get a receipt, and return tomorrow and switch packs for the flavor I want?”
“No.” Then I looked at our cigarettes - we still had 1 light blue box left. I explained, I count cigarettes every night; there were two last night when I counted and I sold one pack after the count… “You didn’t buy these here.”
“I bought them at a Kangaroo, but I don't remember which one...”
Whatever. “Go to that one.”
“Ok. Can I have a pack of Newport 100s?”
So what was all that about???


Still another man came for box of Newports. $5.91. He had $5 in cash and coins. So he went out to his car to look for more money. It always amazes me that people can almost always go out to their car and find money. He came back with 91 pennies. 91 nasty looking pennies. I got a cup and said, "Put the pennies in the cup. I'm gonna wash them first!"


Just another Tuesday night at the Roo.

What a difference it makes when you put a face on it

There is a young woman who often stops on her way home from work, shortly after 2 AM. She works in a, shall we say, not very respectable place. I’ve gotten to know her a little. She and her boy friend now have three children and live with her mom and step-dad. I don’t think her boy friend works regularly. She just recently had her third baby, as in four weeks ago, but had to return to work because she is literally the bread winner in the home.

She came in last night to buy gas and cigarettes. After paying, she told me she was going to hang around for a while because there was a police car parked outside and she had no insurance on her car. I looked out the window and saw the police car. He was poised like a cat ready to pounce, and I had the feeling that he was not on break, but was waiting for her. Sure enough, when she went out to her car, he pulled up and I knew she was busted.

This incident lasted a little more than two hours. They were out by the pump for some time and she was on the phone for most of it. Then she pulled her car to a parking spot by the door as he followed, and I knew what that meant. I went out to talk to her. It seems the officer allowed her to contact the insurance company, but insurance would cost her $93 and had to be paid by debit/credit card. She doesn’t have one and had only $10 cash on her. The officer had also suggested I wouldn’t allow her to leave her car here to wait for the tow truck. (Why would he tell her that??) While I was talking to her, the officer got back out of his car and asked me, “Do you have any questions for me?” (Now why would I have questions for him? I was vexed at him!) “Nope.”

So, her car was towed. Meanwhile, she had to wait for her mom to come get her, from almost an hour away. The towing charge is $110, plus $25 a day for every day the car is on their lot. She can’t catch a break.

It’s easy to be tough on crime when you don’t know the people or their story. But, when you know the story, it breaks your heart. Here is a girl who lives right on the edge. Any thing that happens is nearly catastrophic. And of course, stuff is nearly always happening to her. And now this. This crime has a face and I admit, I was irked that the officer didn’t give her a break. I mean, doesn’t he know that she is trying? and barely getting by?

Is this justification for driving around with no insurance? No. And he did give her a break, he didn’t take her to jail for driving with a suspended license (oh, did I forget to mention, when your insurance lapses your license is suspended?).  But, what a difference it makes when you put a face on the crime.

In Which I Perambulate

I woke up this morning around 5:30 and decided to take a walk outside. I got dressed and took off.

Behind the hotel (we're in Ohio visiting Anne & Dave) I discovered a good sized hill

This is the hill at the end of my walk. It was dark when I began

I climbed the hill and it was all tall grass; in the distance a line of trees. Cool! It is fun walking in a field in the dark, but I kept on. I reached the crest and looked back

This is our hotel

Shortly after this I discovered water. When I drew near, something began plopping into  the water! Frogs?? Couldn't see what it was, so I pressed on.

I came to a patch of briars and when I went around it I came upon a nicely mowed field. Looked like a park.

The view of the other side of the hill

A lone light! Interesting!

I found a huge parking lot and rather large building. So naturally I walked all around it. The  grounds were incredibly well manicured. And the back of the building had a beautiful surprise:

a panoramic view

This turned out to be the Met Life building.

I headed back to the hotel. A nice two hour perambulation!

The view from the hotel parking lot at the end of my walk. Glorious!

A great start to the day!

Did you used to preach?

After paying for his things, the man asked me, "Did you used to preach?"

I don't even know his name. He comes in often. I know what he's going to buy. I know a little about him, but I don't remember telling anything about me.

I was rather surprised. I laughed and replied, "Yes...I used to be a pastor. How do you know this???"

He said, "Somebody told me some time ago but I don't remember who."

We spoke for awhile about spiritual things and then I had to get back to work.

Boy, do I want to know who told him!!

My girls have awesome names

At the gazebo in York: 

Mary K, Sarah, Erica, Anne

In an e-mail I wrote last night, I explained to a friend the K in Mary K, and that led me to think about my girls and their awesome names. In the Old Testament (and many other ancient cultures) names often described character traits. So, in naming our girls, we came up with names that described character traits that we were trusting God to work in them.

ANNE KATHERINE
I had Anne first. I wanted Ann with an e because it looks better and sounds different than without the e. Then we settled on Anne Katherine. We were informed often that it should be Katherine Anne and not Anne Katherine because "you always put the shorter name in the middle." But she was always Anne.
Anne means full of grace, mercy, and prayer. Katherine means pure.
While she was never called “Annie” I did have a nickname for her, Annie Kathy the blues singer. Don’t know why, just always thought Annie Kathy was a great name for a blues singer....

SARAH ELIZABETH
I had the name Elizabeth picked out, but no first name. We wanted this as her middle name because we were concerned people would shorten this to Beth or Liz or Lizzie and we wanted her to be Elizabeth. One Wednesday night, as we were dropping Anne off at the nursery, the worker asked about names for our soon to come second child. We explained our dilemma and she suggested Sarah Elizabeth. We liked it immediately! And, it was always Sarah with the h. Sounds different and looks better!
Sarah Elizabeth means a princess dedicated to God.

MARY KEALA
I had a friend in Hawai’i named Keala and I always liked the name. Mary has her Mom’s name and I thought it would be cool if we continued this tradition – three generations of Mary! I thought Mary K had a nice ring to it. But, and this is important, it is not pronounced Mary KAY, but rather, MARY Kay.
Mary is from marah and means bitter. Oh my. Keala is Hawaiian and means the way or the path. So our intent was, even when life is hard, she will walk in the Way.

ERICA JANE
We weren’t necessarily finished after out first three, but weren’t planning on another one yet. But we began to have reason to think Mary was pregnant. She was volunteering at the local crisis pregnancy center at the time. She went up there one day and called me shortly after she arrived. I answered the phone, “Hello.” (This was before caller ID.) She said, “Hello, DAD.” It was true! We were blessed with another one! Right away, I came up with the name Jane. It is the feminine form of John and means God’s gift. I wanted to name her Leilani Jane, but this did not fly. So I began to search for an acceptable equivalent of Leilani. I found Erica. It means, princess, conqueror, overcomer. Amen. We were good to go.


I was always certain that we would have girls. One reason was we never had a boy’s name. Well, I had one, Coleus Joel. But for some reason, that was never acceptable.

I love my girls. And I’m convinced they have awesome names. My grandchildren have some awesome names as well, but I will leave that explanation to their mothers!

My girls as beautiful young women: 

Mary K, Erica Jane, Anne, Sarah

What do you want to do?

I woke up the other afternoon, I don’t know, around 5 (remember, I work nights and sleep all day), and was still tired. When I said, “I’m tired”, Mary asked me, “What do you want to do, so you don’t wake up tired?”

I am hearing this question often lately, “What would you like to do?”

My first thought is often, What other kind of job would I like? Where do I even look for such a job? But, I am hearing this often enough that I’m beginning to think this is God prompting me to ask myself, What would I like to do?

Last year, April to be exact, my pastor asked me that and it changed my prayer requests. I got specific, I wanted to have the opportunity to preach and teach. And He answered. I’ve had opportunities to teach a couple of times and preach a few times. Not as many as I would like, but a few. And I’m grateful!

And now the question is coming up again. And I’m persuaded this is more than, What kind of job would you like? 

What do you want to do?

This is a big question. Not simply, What can I do, and arrange? But, what has God put in my heart that He can make possible? As I pray and wait on the Lord for vision, I know this much, I am praying for the fulfillment of Psalm 92:12-15 in my life:

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.  
Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.  
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;  
To shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Amen. That’s my prayer in a nutshell, I want to still bring forth fruit in old age.

If you ask me

When the last song was sung, a member of the Praise Team offered words of encouragement from the song and then prayed. The words of a chorus we used to sing in our family devotions came to mind and I wanted to share them. I wanted to testify. But the brethren began to take the projector down and set the pulpit on the podium. Then the pastor was upfront and leading us in prayer. Awkward. And I confess, I don’t really know the rules for testifying in this fellowship. I mean, spontaneous testifying.

More and more I am realizing how strongly I believe such testifying is an important part of church life.

I know how discouraging it can be for the pastor, when he asks for testimonies, and there are none offered. But this is a two-edged sword. When testifying is not a regular part of church life, people are not prepared to testify. I believe we need to develop a culture where testifying is encouraged, welcomed, and sought. One in which it’s not a big deal, an odd occurrence, an unusual thing; in which it’s not awkward, but normal.

I know this can interrupt the flow of the well planned service. But maybe, just maybe, the Holy Spirit has something for the body that wasn’t planned by the leaders. It could happen, y’know!

Let me hasten to add, this is not meant as an attack on the pastor or church! No, no, no! It is true, this is what I believe, but this is more like an “if you ask me” thing. Truth is, I have attended several churches the past few years and none of them seemed to have testifying as part of their body life. I confess further, that the churches I pastored and attended in which testifying was part of the body life all had Sunday night services. While testifying was welcome on Sunday morning, it was much more frequent in the evening service. I know it can be part of a morning service: when I had the opportunity to lead the worship (and preach) earlier this summer, we had a time of testifying. It began with a specific invitation, “Is there anyone here who would like to confess their faith in Christ? Who would like to stand and confess, ‘I believe Jesus is the Son of God’?” It was a blessed time and led to other testimonies and prayer requests. Wonderful!

I believe this is a vital part of a healthy church life. It tells us God is at work among us. And isn’t that awesome?

The right cross I never saw coming

After church this past Sunday, a group of us were talking and the pastor mentioned seeing a man we all knew. He related a little of the conversation he had with him. I know this man better than the others, so they asked me about his spiritual life. I said, “He grew up in church, went to church school, he knows the Bible pretty good, and if you asked if he believes in Jesus, that he is the Son of God who died and rose again, he would answer, Yes.” Then someone asked, “But is he living for the Lord?”

When I was a teenager, I used to box. I’ve been knocked down twice. Once, I was boxing a guy who weighed over 200 lbs. I was maybe 130. He knocked me into the bushes, but that was only because he got his weight behind a punch and pushed me down. Didn’t hurt. One time I was boxing a friend named Roy. Nobody around. He hit me with a right hand. I didn’t go down, but man was I in a daze! Good thing he was inexperienced, otherwise he would have pounced on me….

The point is, that’s how I felt when that question was asked. I don’t think anyone else noticed it, but boy was I dazed! I had several thoughts racing through my head all at once. Is he living for the Lord?

- how do I determine this?

- this isn’t a biblical phrase, what would I use instead?

- would someone say of me, Jeff is living for the Lord?

- I think I know what they mean, but what do we mean by this phrase?

Since that afternoon, I’ve searched for the phrase ‘living for the Lord’ in the Bible. Not there. What do we mean by this phrase? What is the criteria for determining this? But perhaps the better question is, How would Jesus have asked this? And another, How would the apostles have asked this?

Many times and in many places the apostles, in their exhortations, distinguish between real and bogus faith. For example, 1 John 2

4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

So, how do we inquire about someone’s faith? Is he following the Lord? Is he walking in the Spirit? Is he walking in the way of the Lord? Is he keeping the commandments of the Lord?

I confess, I’m still a little dazed. First, by the question on Sunday and now, by my own questions!

Now I know how Naaman felt

Last night I felt terrible. I know this sounds a little odd (but then, what about me doesn’t sound odd?), but I felt my body was telling me I was having issues with my blood pressure. So I asked an EMS friend to check my blood pressure. It was high. High enough to be concerned, so I determined to see somebody about it. And that’s just what I did today, I went to Piedmont East.

I don’t go to the doctor very often, well, hardly ever, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. There were no other patients yet we had quite a long wait. A long wait. Finally, he came in. He asked a couple of questions, looked in my eye, ear, and checked my pulse. Then prescribed some pills and we were out.

When we got home I told Mary, “Now I know how Naaman felt.”

You say, What??

Yeah, Naaman the leper. Here is his story from 2 Kings 5:9-11

So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper.

Naaman expected a show. A big production. Something other than, Go and wash in Jordan seven times. I understand that better now. I don’t know what I expected but something more than, “Take this pill once a day.”

I’ve got more sympathy for Naaman now. But you know what, God was rather patient with Naaman. The promise was still there for him, Go and wash in Jordan seven times. . . and thou shalt be clean. He did and he was made clean. Since I felt like Naaman, I got the prescription filled.

This photo has absolutely nothing to do with my story, it's just the last thing I see when I leave each night for work. Always fills my heart with joy.

Wednesday night at the Roo and a full moon too

Wednesday night began on a strange note. I had several interesting encounters, too many for Facebook posts, so here we go:


A man came in to cash in a lottery ticket. He won $10. He bought three tickets worth $5. He left with three tickets and five dollars cash. He came back a little later and said, “You forgot to give me one of my tickets.”
“No sir. I gave you the tickets along with a $5 bill.” To assuage his irritation, I looked around the counter, went down to the floor and outside with him, looking for the missing ticket.
We didn’t find it and as we parted he mumbled, “You should’ve put them in my hand.”
Ha! Actually, I did!


Two women came in later for a few items, including two hot dogs. Just before they came in I had counted the hot dogs and taquitos on the grill. After they paid and left I went back to the grill to throw the remaining hot dogs away. Lo, they had stolen a hot dog! I’m pretty sure one of them also lifted a USB wall charger. I realized this was going to be an interesting night . . .


The store was empty when a woman came in and asked if she could borrow the phone. My standard response begins, “Is this a local call?”
She said, “I have to call the emergency number.”
“You mean 911?”
“Yes.”
That’s a local call so I gave her the phone. When she finished her call and thanked me I asked her, “Is everything going to be alright?”
Her reply shocked me, “I just found out my boyfriend of three months is a registered sex offender. So I left right away and all my stuff is still there: my birth certificate and other important things.”
“Wow! Are they going to get them back?”
“Yes, the county police are meeting me there right away.”
I have seen and heard of lot of things, but this was a first.


About an hour later a man came in for some beer. He works at a local pizza place. He formerly had a huge beard and had shaved it off. While were talking about this a groups of guys came in and were in line behind him. After he paid for his two 40 oz Miller High Life beers I asked, “You want a bag with that?”
“I need one, right?”
I explained that I have spoken with the Rock Hill Police and they say he didn’t need one, “Just don’t open one in the car.”
The man behind him, “Man, ya gotta have a bag. The police will come down on you if you don’t.”
I again explain what the police have told me. “No, they will. They caught me once with a can on the seat, unopened, and gave me a DUI.”
I replied, “Man, you can’t get a DUI with an unopened can.”
“I did. Got a DUI for an unopened can.”
I told him, “I don’t want to argue with you about this” and put the beers in a bag.
He retorted, “I don’t mind arguing with you about this. I just got back from Vietnam, I’ll argue with anybody. I did three tours over there and just got back.”
He’s like 25. I laughed and said, “I’ll argue with you about that. Vietnam is my era!”
He said, “I meant Afghanistan. Same thing.”
Yeah, Afghanistan looks just like Vietnam.


And last night was a full moon!

Like a kid in a candy store

I went to Utah last weekend to see my mother an' them (as we used to say in Hawai’i). I had a great time visiting with my family. I also took a couple of sightseeing trips.

SATURDAY
Saturday morning I announced, “Whatever else happens today, I wanna go to Mo Bettah for lunch.” Bruce likes that place as well so we planned a trip.

I also thought it would be cool to see Antelope Island, he agreed, so off we went.

To get there, we went north to Layton and accessed the island via the causeway.

Once on the island, we drove to Frary Peak and then back. Frary Peak is 6,596 ft. We would’ve hiked around but we were pressed for time (it was also raining a good bit and we weren’t dressed for it).

I confess, I am not cool. As we were driving around taking in the sights, I was bouncing around in the car, oooh-ing and ahh-ing like a kid in a candy store. “Look at that” Over there” Down there”

Keeping our eye on the clock we headed back and stopped here for lumch

Same thing. I think it is so neat to be able to get a "plate lunch Hawaiian style" in the middle of Utah! I suspect going places with me can be embarrassing sometimes for grown ups.

SUNDAY
Bruce and Tracey said they wanted to check out Big Cottonwood Canyon. We got ready and set out on our adventure.

We traveled the red road, Big Cottonwood Canyon Scenic Highway, going from left to right. The whole thing. And oh the scenery along the way!! This is a beautiful place. Once again, I was bouncing around in the car, oooh-ing and ahh-ing like a kid in a candy store. “Look at that” Over there” Down there”.

I am not cool and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

Tracey and I are a lot alike, we both hear every trail calling us, “Come, take a hike down me.”

At one point I said, “There has to be a better word than awesome for all this.” Then it hit me. There is. And I told them, “I have it, supercalifragilisticexpealidocious.” They weren’t impressed.

Every time we stopped I ran off this way and that. A little down this trail and them another.

Yep, that’s me, just like a kid in a candy store!

Meditations on 1 Peter part 3

Each year, part of my vacation is devoted to spiritual renewal. This year I read 1 Peter. I noticed three themes running through the epistle that Peter presents as foundational to our faith: The Cross, The Resurrection, and The Second Coming. I’ve already written on the cross and the resurrection, so this leads naturally to

The Second Coming

Peter mentions the second coming in every chapter except 3.

1:4  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5  Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6  Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see [him] not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9  Receiving the end of your faith, [even] the salvation of [your] souls.

The appearing of Jesus Christ. This is not a mere doctrine to be believed. We are eagerly waiting for the appearing of Jesus Christ because when he appears salvation will be revealed, and we will receive the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls.


1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace [that should come] unto you:
11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
13  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow – the glory that should follow refers to Christ, when he will appear in glory and power. And we are included in this glory, we will share it with him. This is salvation.

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ – Amen! We have not received it all now. There is grace yet to come, the grace of the salvation of our souls. So his exhortation: gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.


2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12  Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by [your] good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

The day of visitation is the day of judgment. We are to live our lives in the light of the coming of Christ and the judgment to come: Live in such a way that, even though they give you a hard time now because of your faith in Christ, in that great day they will have to admit your life was above reproach.


4:5  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. The coming judgment is a regular them of the apostles.


4:7  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 
The end of all things is at hand, is near. I admit, it is so easy to get caught up with the now. Going to work, days off, vacation, planning for next year, college for your children, retirement…we can easily lose ourselves in the cares of this life. But the Gospel tells us not only the end of all things is coming, it is at hand! We need to be sober and watch unto prayer.


4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
The Christian life is a totally supernatural life: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings – this is not natural. The natural reaction is to grumble, complain, even whine. But the apostle says, Rejoice. What helps us maintain this attitude is, when his glory shall be revealed. Amen. Jesus is coming and things will change.

That . . . ye may be glad also with exceeding joy – we have joy now, unspeakable and full of glory; if we can rejoice now in trials, tribulations, as well as sufferings, imagine the joy of his presence, His glory, His approbation of our living and suffering for Him with joy and longsuffering and patience through the trials and afflictions of this life!

What a day that will be,

When my Jesus I shall see,

When I look upon His face,

The one who saved me by His grace

5:1  The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2  Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight [thereof], not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3  Neither as being lords over [God's] heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
4  And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Peter says two things about the coming of Christ
When the chief Shepherd shall appear – the second coming is personal and visible. Unbelievers have mocked and reviled for centuries, "Where is their God?" The day is coming when Jesus shall appear and every eye shall see him.

The glory that shall be revealed – the brightness of His glory; but also the glory of His kingdom. “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.”


and two things about what we can expect at this coming
we are partaker of the glory that shall be revealed - And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ

ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away – this is addressed to the elders who exercise their oversight properly.


What a hope we have! In fact, Peter begins his epistle by calling it a lively hope. Messiah has come. He was suffered for us, he rose again and ascended into heaven, where he sits at the right hand of the Father. And He is coming again. This same Jesus, born of a virgin, who taught and performed miracles, who was crucified, who rose again, this same Jesus will again appear and bring glory and salvation.

“Don’t you dare quit. You. Keep. Holding on!”

Meditations on 1 Peter part 2

Each year, part of my vacation is devoted to spiritual renewal. This year I read 1 Peter. I noticed three themes running through the epistle that Peter presents as foundational to our faith: The Cross, The Resurrection, and The Second Coming. My first post was on the sufferings of Christ. This one is on

The Resurrection of Christ

The resurrection and the second coming are linked because the second coming and the glory associated with it are dependent on the resurrection of Christ from the dead.


1:3  Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

begotten again unto a lively hope by the resurrection - the resurrection is the power behind our salvation, here called begotten again. Christ’s death is effectual only because he rose from the dead. Death is the great enemy we face, the ultimate foe. We have focused almost exclusively on sin. but sin is not the end:

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

No, sin leads to something worse. Death. Salvation is life. Death passed upon all men. Jesus died and rose again. He defeated death. We now have a lively hope.

Now, I know that lively hope is really “living hope.” But I like the idea of a lively hope. Lively is defined as “full of life and energy; active and outgoing.” Is that not a great description of our hope? It is full of life and energy and it activates us! And the synonyms for lively: energetic, active, animated, dynamic, full of life, vivacious, enthusiastic, vibrant, buoyant, exuberant, effervescent, cheerful. Truly our hope is a lively hope!

So, what exactly is our hope? Life. Resurrection from the dead and eternal life. Death was at work in us. We are threatened with death all around, at every turn. But Jesus rose from the dead and promises us the same life. This hope enlivens us, energizes us. It does not matter what happens to me, I will rise from the dead and live forever! Life. Life. Life. All through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!


1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21  Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

v 20 Christ was foreordained, that is, before creation it was the Father’s plan to send His Son. This is a great mystery.
He was manifest in these last times for you – He came for us, to restore us to God. O what love!

v 21 that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory - The resurrection of Christ is the greatest demonstration of God’s power in the history of the world. This is the central proclamation of the gospel. Through Christ we believe in God because God raised him from the dead. This man was killed. He died and was buried. But God raised him up from the dead. Death had reigned over mankind since Adam and Eve, but by raising His Christ from the dead, God defeated death. By believing in Jesus, that he is the Christ, the Son of God who was raised from the dead, we believe in God.

And gave him glory – crucified, raised, exalted. Jesus is both Lord and Christ.

that your faith and hope might be in God – This is not philosophy, or moral renovation, or good works, or even my faith. No, my faith is in God, who by His great power raised Christ from the dead. My hope is in God, who by raising Christ from the dead has promised me eternal life. Praise the Lord!


3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit – He was made alive by the Spirit. I confess, this and the next couple of verses are difficult. Paul has something similar to this in 1 Corinthians 15:45, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.


3:21  The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
22  Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

He says baptism now saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is power in baptism, grace received in baptism, however you choose to explain it, but not of itself. Honestly, it’s not even faith that gives baptism effectiveness. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. At the very least, baptism is identifying with Christ, a declaration that we believe in Jesus. But there is no power, no grace if Jesus has not been raised from the dead. Once again, as important as faith and baptism are, they do nothing if Jesus was not raised. It’s not me, it’s Jesus. BUT, by believing in Jesus and being baptized in his name I do receive grace from God because Jesus has been raised from the dead. Hallelujah!

by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

This sounds like Peter’s preaching in Acts, “Jesus was crucified, but God raised him from the dead; he ascended to heaven and has been exalted at the right hand of God.” Amen! I confess, this is exciting: Jesus is alive! Jesus is Lord! And as we shall see, Jesus is coming again!

Meditations on 1 Peter part 1

Each year, part of my vacation is devoted to spiritual renewal. This year I read 1 Peter. I noticed three themes running through the epistle that Peter presents as foundational to our faith: The Cross, The Resurrection, and The Second Coming. In my next few posts I will share my thoughts as I meditated on these themes.

The Cross
1:2  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

He says three things about being chosen: according to the foreknowledge of God, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Election is unto obedience and sprinkling, that is, the purpose or goal is that we might be obedient and sprinkled with the blood of Christ. In one of our hymns we sing,

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Emmanuel’s veins

And sinners plunged beneath that flood

Lose all their guilty stains

I find it interesting that Peter simply says sprinkling. This is clearly a reference to the Old Testament. By the sprinkling of the blood we are forgiven our sins and cleansed from guilt. He starts his epistle with the assertion that our salvation is a work of God. But even here, he points out that election us unto obedience.


1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

The sufferings of Christ were prophesied. In other words, He came to suffer for us.


1:17  And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning [here] in fear:
18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold, from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers;
19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

What an exhortation! pass the time of your sojourning here in fear
He offers two reasons for this charge:
1) the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work
2) you have been redeemed from your vain conversation
- not with corruptible things, as silver and gold
- but with the precious blood of Christ
This follows the exhortations:
gird up the loins of your mind
be sober
hope to the end
be holy in all manner of conversation

So, Peter is appealing to redemption with the precious blood of Christ as a motivation for holy living. He is very practical.

redeemed . . . from your vain conversation [received] by tradition from your fathers – you were living an empty life, empty of truth and the presence of God; but God has made a way for you to come back to Him. Salvation is leaving the old ways and living a new life of obedience to the Father (v 17), all made possible by the redemption or forgiveness through the blood of Christ.

as of a lamb without blemish and without spot - This is Old Testament imagery, just like the sprinkling of the blood from v 2.

And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning [here] in fear – It seems Peter didn’t get the memo: “judgment and fear are out, too negative and scary”.


2:21  For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22  Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23  Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed [himself] to him that judgeth righteously:
24  Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
25  For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps
He had just stated in v 20, but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. The suffering of Christ is an example for us to follow when we suffer (persecution) for Him, and in 22 & 23 he describes how Christ endured his suffering. But, there is an element of Christ’s suffering that we cannot follow:

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
There are two parts to this suffering:
+ Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree – He bore our sins, our sins were placed on Him; He died for us, took our penalty
+ by whose stripes ye were healed – He paid our debt and by His suffering we can be healed, forgiven, cleansed, restored to God, or as he says it, For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Peter’s view of salvation is very dynamic. Not only is it, you are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls, but also, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. Peter sees salvation as not merely, my sins are forgiven, but, I have died to sin (turned away from it) and now live unto righteousness.


3:17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Once again He sets forth the sufferings of Christ as an example for those who are suffering for him. But he again states that Christ’s sufferings were higher than ours could ever be, For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.
The just for the unjust - in our place, suffering our penalty
that he might bring us to God – He didn’t die as an example, He died to save us. Amen!


4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
2  That he no longer should live the rest of [his] time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

Yet again, Peter sets forth the suffering of Christ as an example for us.


5:1  The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

Peter was an eyewitness of the sufferings of Christ.

According to Peter, Christ’s death was substitutionary
Christ suffered for sins
The just for the unjust
He bore our sins in his own body on the tree

His suffering was effectual
sprinkling of the blood (cleanses us)
you were redeemed with the blood
by whose stripes ye were healed
that he might bring us to God

(I noticed that Peter speaks of the suffering of Christ but does not dwell on the details of the agony. It is enough that He died, there is no need to dwell on the details or how bad he hurt etc)


Peter is very practical. While he does speak of salvation through the sufferings of Christ, his emphasis seems to be on the sufferings of the Savior as a motive to holy living and an example for us as we endure suffering. And his presentation of the effectiveness of the sufferings of Christ is dynamic: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Amen.

You look like you’ve got some experience

A man came in late last night. As he stood at the counter he looked at me and said, “You look like you got some experience (being translated, that means, You’re old!), you married?”

“Yeah.”

“How long?”

(Oh great, I can’t remember how long…) “Since 1975.”

“How do you make it last?”

What a question for the middle of the night in a convenience store! And what a person to ask!! But I could tell he was serious and troubled, so I attempted to answer . . .

I told him about love, and doing unto others as you want them to do to you, and doing these things even if the other person doesn’t respond. I talked about how we are so sweet and considerate when dating and the temptation / tendency we face to stop doing that and the subsequent danger of speaking roughly or harshly to our wives and how once we start it can become a fixed pattern. Not only should we treat our wives as kindly and respectfully as we do others, we should actually treat them better than we do others . . . (this is the Reader’s Digest version).

“The second thing,” I continued, “is God. He created marriage and wrote the Book on it. So you need to pray a lot.” I confessed that my prayers are mostly for God to work on her, but that God had been showing me that I needed to pray for me to be a better husband. And that we needed to love as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for it – we need to lose our lives for our wives. (I know, I know, I’m talking to myself as much as to him!)

“How long you been married?” I asked.

“We’re not married yet,” he said. “We’ve been together for three years. We’re getting married soon, though, and just had a baby.”

“Ah, one of the advantages of being married is commitment. When you get married you make a commitment to stay married “for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer…” ” I told him that we’d had problems, but that my wife was committed to the marriage and to me and stuck it out...

We are talking between customers, what are all these people doing out at 2 am?? He starts to leave, but hesitates, he has one more question. Finally, he asks it, “When do you know it’s over?”

Wow!

“When you commit to someone the question is not, “When is it over?” but “How can I make this work?”

So easy to say when you don’t know the people or their struggles or even how they are getting along. So I tried to get practical. I told him how the time right after a woman gives birth is often difficult for her and subsequently for him, "but love her and hang in there, it gets better!"

I said, “Man, you asked a simple question and I’ve given you a long answer” (much longer than I’ve related here).

He said, “That’s OK. It was good. Thank you.”

This happens often. People are really hurting. I am thankful that I can be there for them from time to time and that they feel safe to ask me these kinds of questions. Of course, the hard work is when he gets back home.

A startling conclusion

Every year, part of my vacation is a study of a word or phrase in the Scriptures. This year I settled on 1 Peter. I confess, I only made it through the first three chapters. I spent a lot of time meditating on a passage in chapter 2 and that slowed me down. Driving home on Saturday I was meditating on this passage:

1 Peter 3:21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

I was so absorbed in thought about this that I think this contributed to my missing of the I-77 exit in Columbia!

I came to a rather startling conclusion. But first a little background. No evangelical would ever use this phraseology, The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us. This verse is never used in gospel tracts or preaching. When someone does bring it up, evangelicals go into defensive mode, “What this verse really means…” I don’t know that they would actually say this, but I suspect it is secretly thought, “What an unfortunate choice of words…”

You see this verse conflicts with evangelical theology. So, even when teaching on baptism, or preparing someone for baptism, it is rarely (never?) used.

I thought about other problematic passages on baptism:

Mark 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 

Acts 2:38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 22:16  And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. 

What was my rather startling conclusion? Whatever these passages mean, whatever they teach about baptism, if my theology/doctrine doesn’t allow me to speak this way about baptism, doesn’t allow me to routinely quote them in reference to baptism or use them when inviting people to come to Christ, my view of baptism is not biblical.

Well, that was horrible

Dave and I went kayaking today. A trip that turned out, well horrible!

I picked the route: begin at the red dot on top and end at the red dot on the bottom. Second mis-pick in a row. Someone else needs to pick my next trip.

If someone says (or you think), “It can’t be that bad.” It will be worse.

The Edisto River has no current. We knew the high tide would have an impact on the first part of the trip, but we banked on the river’s current after high tide. There is no current. The first part of the trip, to Raccoon Island was like a lake. A lake with a current going upriver. As we rounded Raccoon Island we encountered strong head winds, which created a current upriver, and waves. You could not stop paddling. If you were close to shore (attempting to avoid the current) you were shoved into the marsh. If you were out from the shore, you immediately went backwards. After a while, Dave paddled up to me and said, “This is officially no longer any fun.” I responded, “Oh, the fun disappeared two hours ago!”

Things on the water are always further away than thfy look.

I confess, after a while my language got rather salty.

I officially and publicly thank Jesus that we made it. It was in doubt toward the end. I was so tired – tired? I was exhausted – I was not sure I could cross one more turbulent area. I was taking small steps, Let me just make it to that bunch of grass etc And my prayer was literally, Lord, give me enough strength to make it across the river…or send a boat close to me to pick me up!”

I took some photos but stopped after a while because the current was so strong. Here is our starting photo

No photo at the end, I was too tired. But a lady we did not know offered, "You boys look pooped." Yeah.

I made it. I am not going kayaking tomorrow. I almost didn’t even tie them onto the trailer. But I thought, It’s not their fault so I will…”

To sum it up, this did not go as I envisioned!! And boy did we get sunburned!