So old news I am sure. The series has spanned years, was an utter box office failure and surprisingly not only did I enjoy watching this yesterday, but even youngest daughter was fixated by it!
The first episode, introduces you to a government out of control, becoming more authoritarian in order to try and control a massive depression. Of course, the governmental actions only caused the situation to become worse. The owners and innovators of industry begin disappearing. And the owners of a train company are caught in the middle of this push and pull between government and industry. I found myself slowly drawn in to the story, though morality has little to do within the storyline and zippers have a hard problem staying up. Clip five seconds and it would be a much better film. No nudity, just inappropriate situations.
The second episode, brings industry and government to outright opposition, eventually the suspension of the Constitution and any rights. More disappearances, the train company on its lips as it finds it no longer is allowed to make choices for itself - just be stuck with responsibility for the affects of government's imposed involvement. And the question keeps coming up, whom is John Galt? Again no morality but situations are less than in the first episode.
Who is John Galt?, the third episode is just to answer the question and show that if capitalism and failure were to fail due to the rise of a totalitarian state, then the argument of what underlies libertarianism is the only true solution for man and the governmental state ...
Problem is ... libertarianism really does not work well. It certainly is desirable compared to the form of fascism I current under. I have lived under pseudo-democracy, communism, fascism and yes, even under libertarianism. Each has it problems, each has it advantages, the question behind any government philosophy remains one of: will the state allow other's choices impact me or not? It is a balance, other people's choices or governmental choices impacting me. In the middle is the desired state - the government does not impact the reasonable person, nor do other's choices impact me either. But, we live in a broken world where POWER is sought over others and personal RESPONSIBILITY is to shunned. Given how many decades ago this story was written by Ayan Rand, it was very well done. Equally, I do not think that Rand understood the brokenness of fall mankind...
Personally, these three movies are a must own for me because they draw me into a storyline which is not similar to the usual movie genre I enjoy. No James Bond, no romance (lust is not romance, sorry!), mostly just dialogue that builds the story and tension. It could have been awesome if some real money and the same actors were used throughout the movie. However, I always enjoy Diedrich Bader and was delighted to see him appear in episode two.
October 31, 2014
October 30, 2014
Too Weird
I expected my recent heart stent placement to be just like the one I went through 2013, but it was far from that! So, port installation in the Femoral Artery, knock me out cold for six hours and then a few days in the hospital. The prep staff got into a fight over which side the port was to be installed on, so I ended up with a bikini trim - LOL. Part of that argument was whether or not they should use a razor or do a wax job! Really? Dear Lord rescue me! Add to that fight, the on over whether or not PRN was a Greek term or Latin. Like someone really cares? Then in the surgery room, they did not like the trim job and so they had to redo that one, I really do not like having my nether region being a subject of attention and I am overly ticklish! Naturally, they would not knock me out first!
So, having gone through this twice!, I got to learn they were now going to go through my right wrist! And yes, I got to have my right arm shaved! Lord knows, it is not like I have hair of any amount on my arms! Then I found out they were not going to knock me out, no I got to enjoy all of the needles, IV installation and shots to kill the nerves in my wrist - fully awake! It took a great deal for them to understand they HAD to install a restraining strap on my arms because I can not control the desire for self protection. Just learned reactions, thanks to the US Army decades ago, which I learned I still possessed by blowing a nurse through a wall one time. That was no exaggeration there, he went through the wall I hit him so hard. I was amazed I still had those skills, I was more amazed that move actually worked! Through all of that training, we never actually hit someone that hard for real! Yeah, once I got it through their heads they brought out a restraining strap. And even at that I twice had to be asked to stop trying to get out of the straps! All subconscious, really, I am glad those straps were there!
And being wide awake, I felt everything! Really? I could feel the wires? going in and out of the port, going through the arteries, especially through the elbow and shoulder areas ... even the snaking through my heart. And in two hours it was over.
Seems they were only able to set one stent, as the other artery was so clogged that there was no access through a single port. Sigh ... Yeah, I get to go through this again around Christmas time I guess. Sigh ...
Monday was one weird experience that is for sure!
So, having gone through this twice!, I got to learn they were now going to go through my right wrist! And yes, I got to have my right arm shaved! Lord knows, it is not like I have hair of any amount on my arms! Then I found out they were not going to knock me out, no I got to enjoy all of the needles, IV installation and shots to kill the nerves in my wrist - fully awake! It took a great deal for them to understand they HAD to install a restraining strap on my arms because I can not control the desire for self protection. Just learned reactions, thanks to the US Army decades ago, which I learned I still possessed by blowing a nurse through a wall one time. That was no exaggeration there, he went through the wall I hit him so hard. I was amazed I still had those skills, I was more amazed that move actually worked! Through all of that training, we never actually hit someone that hard for real! Yeah, once I got it through their heads they brought out a restraining strap. And even at that I twice had to be asked to stop trying to get out of the straps! All subconscious, really, I am glad those straps were there!
And being wide awake, I felt everything! Really? I could feel the wires? going in and out of the port, going through the arteries, especially through the elbow and shoulder areas ... even the snaking through my heart. And in two hours it was over.
Seems they were only able to set one stent, as the other artery was so clogged that there was no access through a single port. Sigh ... Yeah, I get to go through this again around Christmas time I guess. Sigh ...
Monday was one weird experience that is for sure!
October 29, 2014
Thanks For All The Fish
Well, the surgery went extremely well. But, I am utterly dead at this point - so no long post today!
The hospital was staffed by complete loonies, it was fascinating. And then in turn they all came to meet the patient with the Sardonic Wit. Yeah, I quickly gained world class status there!
But, all went well, though i am being crippled by panic attacks if i shut my eyes or do not concentrate on my breathing - each and every breath!
As I left, I wrote on their hospital board:
So Long and Thanks For All The Fish ....
The hospital was staffed by complete loonies, it was fascinating. And then in turn they all came to meet the patient with the Sardonic Wit. Yeah, I quickly gained world class status there!
But, all went well, though i am being crippled by panic attacks if i shut my eyes or do not concentrate on my breathing - each and every breath!
As I left, I wrote on their hospital board:
So Long and Thanks For All The Fish ....
October 28, 2014
Recovery
If all went well, I will be drugged out of my mind and recovering from the heart surgery yesterday. On the other hand, if all went badly, well I could be playing badminton with some historical dude I like ... yeah, maybe even having a talk with David and discovering just how hard I need to hit him over the Book of Psalms ...
Of special concern is my ability to clot, as all of us inbred Habsburg's bleed like stuck pigs ... sigh.
Keep praying, I want out of the hospital tomorrow!
Of special concern is my ability to clot, as all of us inbred Habsburg's bleed like stuck pigs ... sigh.
Keep praying, I want out of the hospital tomorrow!
October 27, 2014
In Surgery
So today is heart surgery number two, sigh.
Back in 2013, coincidental with my heart failure at the time, was shoving a camera up my right femoral artery to see what is wrong with my heart. They found three blocked arteries. After two days of effort they were able to open one of them with two stents, as for the other two? Well, seems God saw fit for me to be formed with curved arteries and so they had to be left clogged.
Now with my heart growing weaker, it is time to unclog those curved arteries. To do so though, takes a specialist and he did not even exam me! He just looked at the charts and photos, asked if I was still considered able to think for myself and then told his nurse to move stuff around to open up a slot asap.
Hey! I thought I gave good answers! But, Kris does not speak medical-ese ... But, that does not make me a moron, quite yet. :)
Your prayers are sought and appreciated. Surgery is at 1:00 US Pacific coast time and expected to last six hours ... so plenty of time to do so if you would.
Back in 2013, coincidental with my heart failure at the time, was shoving a camera up my right femoral artery to see what is wrong with my heart. They found three blocked arteries. After two days of effort they were able to open one of them with two stents, as for the other two? Well, seems God saw fit for me to be formed with curved arteries and so they had to be left clogged.
Now with my heart growing weaker, it is time to unclog those curved arteries. To do so though, takes a specialist and he did not even exam me! He just looked at the charts and photos, asked if I was still considered able to think for myself and then told his nurse to move stuff around to open up a slot asap.
Hey! I thought I gave good answers! But, Kris does not speak medical-ese ... But, that does not make me a moron, quite yet. :)
Your prayers are sought and appreciated. Surgery is at 1:00 US Pacific coast time and expected to last six hours ... so plenty of time to do so if you would.
October 25, 2014
Musical Saturday Morning
Good Morning!
As I was trying to think of something new, something different for today ... I remembered a song I have not heard since I lived in Germany, not that the band was not popular in the US but that they quickly followed up with so many hits that this one just sort of got lost in the platter shuffle it seems! I remember that by the time I graduated from high school I was just plain tired of their command of the airwaves!
I am listening to it right now and it cracks me up at how they so obviously were copying Paul Revere and the Raiders, styles, harmony, even dress and looks! I had to crack up because the Raiders had their set style for over a decade before they roared onto the national scene - and Mark Lindsay was the one pushing to imitate others. Go figure ...
Sorry for no live performance here, the group in all of the recordings were either nude or too stoned to do this song any justice ... so album cover and a much better copy of the song in the long run.
Enjoy!
As I was trying to think of something new, something different for today ... I remembered a song I have not heard since I lived in Germany, not that the band was not popular in the US but that they quickly followed up with so many hits that this one just sort of got lost in the platter shuffle it seems! I remember that by the time I graduated from high school I was just plain tired of their command of the airwaves!
I am listening to it right now and it cracks me up at how they so obviously were copying Paul Revere and the Raiders, styles, harmony, even dress and looks! I had to crack up because the Raiders had their set style for over a decade before they roared onto the national scene - and Mark Lindsay was the one pushing to imitate others. Go figure ...
Sorry for no live performance here, the group in all of the recordings were either nude or too stoned to do this song any justice ... so album cover and a much better copy of the song in the long run.
Enjoy!
October 24, 2014
Out of Place Artifacts
Ignore the Aliens! Ignore the conspiracy theories! Ignore the paranoid delusional ravings of people whom write about this stuff ... Just consider these pictures of Mankind's prehistory ... for us Christians, evidence of pre-flood civilization ... And, yeah, if you want to know more about any of them just comment and I can do write ups on what interests you without the hype or hysteria!
Ah the stuff which makes up my wonderfully weird world ... :)
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| Shoe print in slate |
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| These are known from the Andies, Egypt and the Near East |
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| IRON hammer discovered in limestone |
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| 8.5 feet tall burial |
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| Bosnia rock paved street deep underground |
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| Brass gears and wheel conglomerate |
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| Iron fitting in basalt (many around the world found) |
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| Bronze disc/ball, thousands have been found |
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| Screw in basalt |
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| IRON pot found embedded in a coal seam |
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| Hammer IRON chunk predating the iron age |
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| Machined, not molded, bronze |
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| The famous coal seam find, a brass bell with angel/demon figure |
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| Never heard of this before yesterday, a human footprint (left side you can see one toe) overlaid by a dinosaur track! |
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| Mass extinction of man, dropped in their tracks on an ancient street |
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| Petrified lattice work |
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| Fossilized 14 year old girls finger |
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| Screw preserved in rock |
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| Petrified wood with an axe chop mark |
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| Fossilized head cast? |
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| Fossilized head cast? |
October 23, 2014
Memories of Art Class
It was August 1966, and as a new year of school started at Laon AFB, in northern France, I walked into a greatly diminished class than the year before. In June there had been two complete classrooms of fifth graders, now there was only half a classroom of sixth graders! We barely had enough members to field a soccer team - if we were to let the girls play! And we were sort of missing a teacher and the girls really did not care about soccer at all ...
NATO was pulling out of France, at de Gaulle's insistence, and all of the bases were being drained of work statements, mostly being transferred to Upper Hayford in England (the secret base known as Upper X) or Germany. Of course, this also meant that families were being sent either to England or Germany. We however sat dead in the water. We were German and the British seemed reluctant to have the "enemy" on it shores, so to speak. Or maybe it was just that what father did was appalling to British senses concerning nuclear weapons. But, for our return to Germany required the US Statement Department to get involved, father feared arrest, mother feared the German's would not allow me to leave once I was there, etc... All very convoluted, all very involved, all very much the product of Cold War hysteria.
So, the school needed a few weeks to catch up with hosting a new school year ... so we were offered a 10 day trip to Austria for glacier skiing - which I had just returned from a week earlier ... or ... a chance to take a class from Pablo Picasso. Well, since I was not allowed to even draw a line on paper at home, for father's hatred of artists was so great! - I sort of lost the skiing paperwork so it looked like I could only stay home or go on the art trip.
Even in my third story loft, I could hear that fight that night between my parents on the first floor over that one! In the end father had to choose between him taking the time off to stay home with me or let me go. :) Yeah, I knew I would at long last get an art class!
In the end, six of us were relocated to Marseille, in southern France and turned over the tutelage of Pablo Picasso.
First off, he was an 84 year old grumpy old man, he really did not care much for kids, he did however like almost any woman and the nuder the better. I was 11 and really did not care about the surrounding nudity and since I was raised in a God-less family, well it was "what-ever" to me. And worse, questions of any kind were really not allowed during the lectures. I spent my free time going through his paintings and observing color, technique and subject matter; the others were on the beach or trying to get polio eating the local ice cream. I also went through books of his works. There was little else to do. But, I was going to use every single moment for art in some form or another! I was in hog heaven!
On the last day, Picasso turned to me and said, "Christophe, do you have any questions for me?"
I thought, oh what the heck - I did have a burning question for him, so I presented him with his painting from 1901, First Communion:
And I then contrasted his Dora Maar:
So, I asked him, "If you can paint like this," pointing to the Communion, "then why would you ever paint like this?"; pointing to the Maar.
Pablo, with a twinkle in his eye replied, "I paint like this" pointing to the Communion, "but it is this that people will pay for.", pointing to the Maar portrait.
I followed up with, "Well, if you did Maar in a Cubist Style, then why does the cat look normal?"
He laughed, "Well, I liked the cat better ..." and laughed and laughed and laughed.
It was only this past week, as I was preparing to do a presentation on Picasso for an art class, I discovered that Picasso followed up my visit with him by sitting down and painting this watercolor in the following days:
Seems he truly was a master and still had "it".
I also think he was proving to himself that he still was the king ...
I may not care for the vast bulk of his work, but when I see this above picture done by an 84 year old man - I am brought to tears at the thought of the talent this man possessed!
I do not care either for "picture perfect" paintings, such as First Communion, but where the subject is the focus and the remainder is left up the mind of the viewer - awesome!
And this was in watercolor, as hard a medium as there is!
You were awesome Pablo ...
NATO was pulling out of France, at de Gaulle's insistence, and all of the bases were being drained of work statements, mostly being transferred to Upper Hayford in England (the secret base known as Upper X) or Germany. Of course, this also meant that families were being sent either to England or Germany. We however sat dead in the water. We were German and the British seemed reluctant to have the "enemy" on it shores, so to speak. Or maybe it was just that what father did was appalling to British senses concerning nuclear weapons. But, for our return to Germany required the US Statement Department to get involved, father feared arrest, mother feared the German's would not allow me to leave once I was there, etc... All very convoluted, all very involved, all very much the product of Cold War hysteria.
So, the school needed a few weeks to catch up with hosting a new school year ... so we were offered a 10 day trip to Austria for glacier skiing - which I had just returned from a week earlier ... or ... a chance to take a class from Pablo Picasso. Well, since I was not allowed to even draw a line on paper at home, for father's hatred of artists was so great! - I sort of lost the skiing paperwork so it looked like I could only stay home or go on the art trip.
Even in my third story loft, I could hear that fight that night between my parents on the first floor over that one! In the end father had to choose between him taking the time off to stay home with me or let me go. :) Yeah, I knew I would at long last get an art class!
In the end, six of us were relocated to Marseille, in southern France and turned over the tutelage of Pablo Picasso.
On the last day, Picasso turned to me and said, "Christophe, do you have any questions for me?"
I thought, oh what the heck - I did have a burning question for him, so I presented him with his painting from 1901, First Communion:
And I then contrasted his Dora Maar:
So, I asked him, "If you can paint like this," pointing to the Communion, "then why would you ever paint like this?"; pointing to the Maar.
Pablo, with a twinkle in his eye replied, "I paint like this" pointing to the Communion, "but it is this that people will pay for.", pointing to the Maar portrait.
I followed up with, "Well, if you did Maar in a Cubist Style, then why does the cat look normal?"
He laughed, "Well, I liked the cat better ..." and laughed and laughed and laughed.
It was only this past week, as I was preparing to do a presentation on Picasso for an art class, I discovered that Picasso followed up my visit with him by sitting down and painting this watercolor in the following days:
Seems he truly was a master and still had "it".
I also think he was proving to himself that he still was the king ...
I may not care for the vast bulk of his work, but when I see this above picture done by an 84 year old man - I am brought to tears at the thought of the talent this man possessed!
I do not care either for "picture perfect" paintings, such as First Communion, but where the subject is the focus and the remainder is left up the mind of the viewer - awesome!
And this was in watercolor, as hard a medium as there is!
You were awesome Pablo ...
October 22, 2014
Death of an Antagonist
I am a fairly easy to get along with kind of guy, mostly because not much actually matters to me. Oh, I have some, well many, hard and fast beliefs but honesty, if you do not care to believe as I do - that is your problem, not mine, and we will not discuss the matter again. Well, unless it is something important and you need to learn whatever the point is ...
Do you have an antagonist? You know, someone whom is more than happy to cross swords with you - over just about everything? I did, but the real problem enveloped a church and destroyed it - and - God continues to judge that church to this day over what happened ...
So try and picture the situation: Swiss Boy (me!) and Hutterite by faith, visits a Conservative Baptist Church about 30 years ago. In the Sunday School, one of the men takes on the task of educating me in front of the class on real Christian doctrine. I still sort of feel sorry for him, because he lost mightily. It is not that I am right and he is wrong, it is that he is the product of a degenerate Christian culture which actually does not believe the Bible anymore. And, I am a Biblical literalist.
He and I stayed in loose communication through the years, I think because I made him think. I taught a series of classes not so long ago on Archaeology and the Bible. He came and was a real asset. Not to say it was all that good because we also had to cross swords one night after class because --- yes he brought up what killed the church we had met at and how it was the Devil whom destroyed that church. And yes he did not understand he was the one representing Satan viewpoint there and its ways ... He never has understood because his culture, his Christianity, do not allow for such a thing to occur - nor could his best friend have done what was suggested that started the war at the church in the first place. No, the problem must be some where else ....
Sad part was, his friend was guilty and of even more than I was aware of at the time. When that friend died, all came out about him and what the church had done to cover up the problem in the community! OMG!
And now my antagonist is dead. Sad. I actually liked him.
He was not that much older than me, maybe ten years at the most. He knew his Bible, within the context of his culture, he did well raising his family and providing for his own. From the Germanic viewpoint, he did well.
Is he in Heaven? Probably, we are judged yes, by our testimony of salvation, but also within the context of what our cultural understanding is about Jesus. And I would add, what we do with what we have, in obedience to Him. Jesus has to judge that one, no man can judge another in that regard.
He will be missed and I am left with the thought of how fragile man is, when something as simple as going to a sauna can overheat you to the point of a heart attack ... Sigh ... But, it must have been his time. Sauna, backed over by a bread truck, flu ... all the same to God, same end for us - when the appointed hour comes, we go, we have no say in the matter.
Do you have an antagonist? You know, someone whom is more than happy to cross swords with you - over just about everything? I did, but the real problem enveloped a church and destroyed it - and - God continues to judge that church to this day over what happened ...
So try and picture the situation: Swiss Boy (me!) and Hutterite by faith, visits a Conservative Baptist Church about 30 years ago. In the Sunday School, one of the men takes on the task of educating me in front of the class on real Christian doctrine. I still sort of feel sorry for him, because he lost mightily. It is not that I am right and he is wrong, it is that he is the product of a degenerate Christian culture which actually does not believe the Bible anymore. And, I am a Biblical literalist.
He and I stayed in loose communication through the years, I think because I made him think. I taught a series of classes not so long ago on Archaeology and the Bible. He came and was a real asset. Not to say it was all that good because we also had to cross swords one night after class because --- yes he brought up what killed the church we had met at and how it was the Devil whom destroyed that church. And yes he did not understand he was the one representing Satan viewpoint there and its ways ... He never has understood because his culture, his Christianity, do not allow for such a thing to occur - nor could his best friend have done what was suggested that started the war at the church in the first place. No, the problem must be some where else ....
Sad part was, his friend was guilty and of even more than I was aware of at the time. When that friend died, all came out about him and what the church had done to cover up the problem in the community! OMG!
And now my antagonist is dead. Sad. I actually liked him.
He was not that much older than me, maybe ten years at the most. He knew his Bible, within the context of his culture, he did well raising his family and providing for his own. From the Germanic viewpoint, he did well.
Is he in Heaven? Probably, we are judged yes, by our testimony of salvation, but also within the context of what our cultural understanding is about Jesus. And I would add, what we do with what we have, in obedience to Him. Jesus has to judge that one, no man can judge another in that regard.
He will be missed and I am left with the thought of how fragile man is, when something as simple as going to a sauna can overheat you to the point of a heart attack ... Sigh ... But, it must have been his time. Sauna, backed over by a bread truck, flu ... all the same to God, same end for us - when the appointed hour comes, we go, we have no say in the matter.
October 21, 2014
Once Saved, Always Saved?
Another of the chewy questions I get asked at least once a year: can you lose your salvation?
John Calvin, highly esteemed within the Protestant Movement, felt strongly: No.
Arminius, the Dutch reformer, felt strongly: Yes.
So strongly did both feel on this subject that some 220,000 of their followers were killed in just one afternoon of battle over this issue. Of course, the Hutterites, could shake their heads on this issue and know both sides were whacked ...
So who was right? Yes, you should read though these verses, recognized by others as applying to the issue, and make your own decision! I have tried to sort them into two groups:
Always Saved:
John 15:16
Romans 8:30
Romans 8:33-34
John 3:3
Titus 3:5
John 14:17
Romans 8:9
1 Corinthians 12:13
John 3:15
Romans 8:38-39
John 10:28
John 3:3
Romans 8:15
Philippians 1:6
1 John 2:19
Matthew 13:1-9
Matthew 13:24-30
Matthew 7:21-23
Isaiah 29:13
Mark 7:6
2 Corinthians 13:5
1 John 4:7-8
Galatians 5:22-223
1 John 4:13
Matthew 7:16-20
John 15:2
2 Peter 2:1-3
Hebrews 4:14-16
Hebrews 10:26-29
Luke 9:23-26
Luke 14:25-33
Nope, Gonna Lose It!
1 Timothy 4:1
2 Peter 2:20-22
Hebrews 6:4-6
Galathians 5:1-5
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
1 Samuel 10:6
1 Samuel 16:14
Philippians 2:12
Romans 11:18-22
Ephesians 5:3-7
1 Corinthians 6:9
1 Corinthians 9:27
Galatians 5:19-21
Revelation 21:6-8
Revelation 22:19
Matthew 6:15
Matthew 19:21-35
Matthew 10:31-32
Luke 12:41-46
Colossians 1:22-23
Hebrews 3:6
Hebrews 3:14
Revelations 2:10
Revelations 2:25-26
Revelations 3:1-5
Whew! That is a load of reading (and typing!) and I hope you bothered to look into what the Bible has to say!
Personally, if Jesus payment and resurrection is insufficient to assure our salvation, well then there is NO hope for any of us! And I know that my only hope is in Jesus and on nothing that I am capable of doing! So, just this once, I side with John Calvin ...
John Calvin, highly esteemed within the Protestant Movement, felt strongly: No.
Arminius, the Dutch reformer, felt strongly: Yes.
So strongly did both feel on this subject that some 220,000 of their followers were killed in just one afternoon of battle over this issue. Of course, the Hutterites, could shake their heads on this issue and know both sides were whacked ...
So who was right? Yes, you should read though these verses, recognized by others as applying to the issue, and make your own decision! I have tried to sort them into two groups:
Always Saved:
John 15:16
Romans 8:30
Romans 8:33-34
John 3:3
Titus 3:5
John 14:17
Romans 8:9
1 Corinthians 12:13
John 3:15
Romans 8:38-39
John 10:28
John 3:3
Romans 8:15
Philippians 1:6
1 John 2:19
Matthew 13:1-9
Matthew 13:24-30
Matthew 7:21-23
Isaiah 29:13
Mark 7:6
2 Corinthians 13:5
1 John 4:7-8
Galatians 5:22-223
1 John 4:13
Matthew 7:16-20
John 15:2
2 Peter 2:1-3
Hebrews 4:14-16
Hebrews 10:26-29
Luke 9:23-26
Luke 14:25-33
Nope, Gonna Lose It!
1 Timothy 4:1
2 Peter 2:20-22
Hebrews 6:4-6
Galathians 5:1-5
1 Corinthians 15:1-2
1 Samuel 10:6
1 Samuel 16:14
Philippians 2:12
Romans 11:18-22
Ephesians 5:3-7
1 Corinthians 6:9
1 Corinthians 9:27
Galatians 5:19-21
Revelation 21:6-8
Revelation 22:19
Matthew 6:15
Matthew 19:21-35
Matthew 10:31-32
Luke 12:41-46
Colossians 1:22-23
Hebrews 3:6
Hebrews 3:14
Revelations 2:10
Revelations 2:25-26
Revelations 3:1-5
Whew! That is a load of reading (and typing!) and I hope you bothered to look into what the Bible has to say!
Personally, if Jesus payment and resurrection is insufficient to assure our salvation, well then there is NO hope for any of us! And I know that my only hope is in Jesus and on nothing that I am capable of doing! So, just this once, I side with John Calvin ...
October 20, 2014
Hectic
I tell you, last week was extremely hectic!
Besides the usual cleaning around the house, up after an incontinent dog, storing stuff from the aborted antique show I was going to do, then the stresses of a weak heart. Add a conference I got to go to, which was fun as it involved my old work and the application of the principals to new fields. But, it was also stress as I was out of my comfort zone which is not always so good. In all it was not a good week.
So, sorry for a vacant last week of posts!
I hope I can do better this week, but as I have second heart surgery on next Monday, I am guessing I will be a bit busy!
ciao!
Besides the usual cleaning around the house, up after an incontinent dog, storing stuff from the aborted antique show I was going to do, then the stresses of a weak heart. Add a conference I got to go to, which was fun as it involved my old work and the application of the principals to new fields. But, it was also stress as I was out of my comfort zone which is not always so good. In all it was not a good week.
So, sorry for a vacant last week of posts!
I hope I can do better this week, but as I have second heart surgery on next Monday, I am guessing I will be a bit busy!
ciao!
October 18, 2014
Musical Saturday Morning
Well, if I remember correctly, this is the first still Octoberfest season! So, some good old fashion tavern music is called for! I never really got into Octoberfest while living in Germany and since I was 14 when I was brought here to America, not surprising. The other problem other than age, is that I just never really got into German Beers! I liked and still do, Pilsner Urquell, a Czech lager. Outside of that single lager, it is only stouts I drink! Except Guinness, I hate Guinness!
Anyway enough of my beer problems, enjoy and dream of brats, brot and kraut - with spicy mustard of course:
Anyway enough of my beer problems, enjoy and dream of brats, brot and kraut - with spicy mustard of course:
October 14, 2014
The Unpardonable Sin
Well, my next question actually was answered in my readings this past weekend!
"What is the unpardonable sin?", which equally was asked, "What is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?"
Yummy!
Now understand that the answer comes in two parts:
Read Mark 3:22 - 30
The Scribes completely missed who Jesus is!
The Scribes could see what Jesus was doing,
The Scribes witnessed what Jesus did,
And the Scribes went on a smear campaign to discredit Jesus.
The Scribes Claimed Jesus Was Demon Possessed
John 7:20
John 8:48
John 10:20
The Scribes Argued Jesus Spent His Time With Sinners
Luke 7:34
The Scribes Claimed Jesus Was A Bastard
John 8:41
God Can Forgive ALL Sin Except One?
All transgressions against God or God's Law can be forgiven.
Whatever you can imagine is forgivable.
... But ...
The Unpardonable Sin / Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit
To attribute Jesus and His ministry, by those whom were there, to demons or Satan ...
To reject the witness of the Holy Spirit in your life so that you can never understand whom Jesus is ...
*****
And it is hard to watch someone reject the Holy Spirit's witness.
I saw this in my father's life across 36 years of praying for him to come to Jesus.
To the end, he refused to listen and not curse Jesus and God for what happened to his beloved Germany.
I see this in my mining partner's life across 40 years of prayer for him.
I almost got him once to start asking questions but his son walked up and that was the end of that!
And I am still praying ...
"What is the unpardonable sin?", which equally was asked, "What is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?"
Yummy!
Now understand that the answer comes in two parts:
Read Mark 3:22 - 30
The Scribes completely missed who Jesus is!
The Scribes could see what Jesus was doing,
The Scribes witnessed what Jesus did,
And the Scribes went on a smear campaign to discredit Jesus.
The Scribes Claimed Jesus Was Demon Possessed
John 7:20
John 8:48
John 10:20
The Scribes Argued Jesus Spent His Time With Sinners
Luke 7:34
The Scribes Claimed Jesus Was A Bastard
John 8:41
God Can Forgive ALL Sin Except One?
All transgressions against God or God's Law can be forgiven.
Whatever you can imagine is forgivable.
... But ...
The Unpardonable Sin / Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit
To attribute Jesus and His ministry, by those whom were there, to demons or Satan ...
To reject the witness of the Holy Spirit in your life so that you can never understand whom Jesus is ...
*****
And it is hard to watch someone reject the Holy Spirit's witness.
I saw this in my father's life across 36 years of praying for him to come to Jesus.
To the end, he refused to listen and not curse Jesus and God for what happened to his beloved Germany.
I see this in my mining partner's life across 40 years of prayer for him.
I almost got him once to start asking questions but his son walked up and that was the end of that!
And I am still praying ...
October 13, 2014
KJV Says Cockatrice
Another of the enigmatic Biblical animals is the Cockatrice. A supposed half chicken, half serpent, something which just does not exist. Now all modern Bibles use the term Adder, but as you will see, that would incorrect, since the Adder never existed in the Holy Land ... so the Cockatrice must be something else ...
Isaiah 11:8 - "And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the Asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the Cockatrice den"
Isaiah 14:29 - "... for out of the serpents root shall come forth a Cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent"
Isaiah 59:5 - "They hatch Cockatrice eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs deith, that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper."
Jeremiah 8:17 - "... I will send serpents, Cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed and they shall bite you ..."
Proverbs 23:32 - "At the last it biteth like a serpent ..."
(oddly KJV uses Adder here.)
According to Alexander Neckam's, De naturis rerum (ca 1180), the cockatrice was supposed to be born from an egg laid by a chicken and incubated by a toad; a snake might be substituted in re-tellings. Cockatrice became seen as synonymous with basilisk when the basiliscus in Bartholomeus Anglicus', De proprietatibus rerum (ca 1260) was translated by John Trevisa as Cockatrice (1397). A basilisk, however, is usually depicted without wings. It is thought that a cock egg would birth a cockatrice, and could be prevented by tossing the yolkless egg over the family house, landing on the other side of the house, without allowing the egg to hit the house.
The Basilisk was first mentioned by Pliny the Elder, in his book Natural History (ca 79 AD):
"There is the same power also in the serpent called the basilisk. It is produced in the province of Cyrene, being not more than twelve fingers in length. It has a white spot on the head, strongly resembling a sort of a diadem. When it hisses, all the other serpents fly from it: and it does not advance its body, like the others, by a succession of folds, but moves along upright and erect upon the middle. It destroys all shrubs, not only by its contact, but those even that it has breathed upon; it burns up all the grass, too, and breaks the stones, so tremendous is its noxious influence. It was formerly a general belief that if a man on horseback killed one of these animals with a spear, the poison would run up the weapon and kill, not only the rider, but the horse, as well. To this dreadful monster the crow of a rooster is fatal, a thing that has been tried with success, for kings have often desired to see its body when killed; so true is it that it has pleased Nature that there should be nothing without its antidote. The animal is thrown into the hole of the basilisk, which is easily known from the soil around it being infected. The weasel destroys the basilisk by its odour, but dies itself in this struggle of nature against its own self."
I think a strong case could be made that this snake Pliny is talking about is a cobra of some type and they mongoose has become a weasel in this telling.
Okay. I am a firm believer that the Bible was written for people to understand and just because we are ignorant does not mean that prior generation were! So, we need to dig into the world of snakes here to figure out what the Cockatrice could have been!
The snakes we know as Viper, Asp, and Adder are all names for the same snake. However, there are varieties within the species. Note that the Cockatrice is considered a separate creature.
So we have some clues here:
A snake
Venomous
Not a Viper, Asp or Adder
Laid by egg, so not a live birth
Range included the Middle East
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And drum roll please! We do have a snake which meets all of these conditions: the Cerastes gasperettii !
Known as the Arabian Horned Viper or more commonly as the Sidewinder there. Its range was throughout the Middle East once, now limited to northern Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Northern Israel. It is laid by egg, not similar with Vipers, very venomous.
Since it is a sidewinder, it does lay its eggs in a den (Isaiah 11:8), "fly" up to 24 inches when it strikes and "fiery" due to its venom (Isaiah 14:29), the hatched babies are fully loaded with venom for hunting (Isaiah 59:5), the snake can not be charmed like a cobra or distracted (Jeremiah 8:17), and it will bite you! (Proverbs 23:32).
Another Biblical mystery solved!
Aren't you glad you asked!
Isaiah 11:8 - "And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the Asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the Cockatrice den"
Isaiah 14:29 - "... for out of the serpents root shall come forth a Cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent"
Isaiah 59:5 - "They hatch Cockatrice eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs deith, that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper."
Jeremiah 8:17 - "... I will send serpents, Cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed and they shall bite you ..."
Proverbs 23:32 - "At the last it biteth like a serpent ..."
(oddly KJV uses Adder here.)
According to Alexander Neckam's, De naturis rerum (ca 1180), the cockatrice was supposed to be born from an egg laid by a chicken and incubated by a toad; a snake might be substituted in re-tellings. Cockatrice became seen as synonymous with basilisk when the basiliscus in Bartholomeus Anglicus', De proprietatibus rerum (ca 1260) was translated by John Trevisa as Cockatrice (1397). A basilisk, however, is usually depicted without wings. It is thought that a cock egg would birth a cockatrice, and could be prevented by tossing the yolkless egg over the family house, landing on the other side of the house, without allowing the egg to hit the house.
The Basilisk was first mentioned by Pliny the Elder, in his book Natural History (ca 79 AD):
"There is the same power also in the serpent called the basilisk. It is produced in the province of Cyrene, being not more than twelve fingers in length. It has a white spot on the head, strongly resembling a sort of a diadem. When it hisses, all the other serpents fly from it: and it does not advance its body, like the others, by a succession of folds, but moves along upright and erect upon the middle. It destroys all shrubs, not only by its contact, but those even that it has breathed upon; it burns up all the grass, too, and breaks the stones, so tremendous is its noxious influence. It was formerly a general belief that if a man on horseback killed one of these animals with a spear, the poison would run up the weapon and kill, not only the rider, but the horse, as well. To this dreadful monster the crow of a rooster is fatal, a thing that has been tried with success, for kings have often desired to see its body when killed; so true is it that it has pleased Nature that there should be nothing without its antidote. The animal is thrown into the hole of the basilisk, which is easily known from the soil around it being infected. The weasel destroys the basilisk by its odour, but dies itself in this struggle of nature against its own self."
I think a strong case could be made that this snake Pliny is talking about is a cobra of some type and they mongoose has become a weasel in this telling.
Okay. I am a firm believer that the Bible was written for people to understand and just because we are ignorant does not mean that prior generation were! So, we need to dig into the world of snakes here to figure out what the Cockatrice could have been!
The snakes we know as Viper, Asp, and Adder are all names for the same snake. However, there are varieties within the species. Note that the Cockatrice is considered a separate creature.
So we have some clues here:
A snake
Venomous
Not a Viper, Asp or Adder
Laid by egg, so not a live birth
Range included the Middle East
Known as the Arabian Horned Viper or more commonly as the Sidewinder there. Its range was throughout the Middle East once, now limited to northern Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Northern Israel. It is laid by egg, not similar with Vipers, very venomous.
Since it is a sidewinder, it does lay its eggs in a den (Isaiah 11:8), "fly" up to 24 inches when it strikes and "fiery" due to its venom (Isaiah 14:29), the hatched babies are fully loaded with venom for hunting (Isaiah 59:5), the snake can not be charmed like a cobra or distracted (Jeremiah 8:17), and it will bite you! (Proverbs 23:32).
Another Biblical mystery solved!
Aren't you glad you asked!
October 11, 2014
Musical Saturday Morning
I just caught a snippet of this song as I was eating breakfast last Friday, and had to search it out to hear the entire song! I really liked it. So first Youtube video was just the album cover but I saw a link to what looked like a video by the group doing the song - and it brought back a few memories!
It was 1969, this new little German boy - raised as an atheist Jew, is now transported to South Carolina and you better believe they had to drag me from my homeland to this America kicking and screaming the entire way! And one of the boys in my new 9th grade class invited me to his church ... seemed innocent enough. But, no, they were into snake handling, passing out, hitting each other on the head, screaming utter gibberish and this little atheist ran for it!
So, I love this song by One Republic, and the video brought back some bizarre memories of an odd October night in 1969 ...
Their album seems have quite a few great songs on it and Youtube has what has to be the most visually stunning music video I have seen since perhaps 1986! Anthother One Republic song but wow, talk about well staged / executed / whatever you want to call it ....
It was 1969, this new little German boy - raised as an atheist Jew, is now transported to South Carolina and you better believe they had to drag me from my homeland to this America kicking and screaming the entire way! And one of the boys in my new 9th grade class invited me to his church ... seemed innocent enough. But, no, they were into snake handling, passing out, hitting each other on the head, screaming utter gibberish and this little atheist ran for it!
So, I love this song by One Republic, and the video brought back some bizarre memories of an odd October night in 1969 ...
Their album seems have quite a few great songs on it and Youtube has what has to be the most visually stunning music video I have seen since perhaps 1986! Anthother One Republic song but wow, talk about well staged / executed / whatever you want to call it ....
October 10, 2014
KJV Says Unicorn
Questions, I just love questions ...
"The King James Versions says Unicorns exist(ed) in Job 39:9-10, Psalm 22:21 and Isaiah 34:7. Did they exist? How come they are not in the fossil record?"
I know from my readings in old Biblical Commentaries, dating back to the 16th century, which I studied from for many years, the idea was always that the unicorn was the rhinocerous! Horse like, sort of, but with usually only one horn. Made sense to me.
But, then one of my friends came up with the idea that no one today believes this, it was just some unknown animal being identified.
So, unknown animal, untranslatable from Hebrew. Therefore it seems likely that this animal no longer exists. It had to have lived or at least been known in the Middle East.
Job 39:9-10; an illusion is being made to making it work like an oxen and plowing fields, idea being NO WAY!
Psalm 22:21; it has a horn or horns
Isaiah 34:7; whatever these animals are they will die in the sacrifice of God's cleansing of the land
Hmmmmmmmmmm
And then I remembered the once widespread, now extinct - Auroch.
Beginning in World War II, Herman Goering, an avid hunter, was given the task of hunting a hunting preserve roughly the size of half of today's Poland. He had a breeding program to recreate the native wild horse population, he set about having the auroch recreated by breeding from existing primitive cattle stocks from around the world, and to have some fun while this going on - he imported raccoons from the US Pacific Northwest.
The German breeding program was quite successful, the horses still roam the northern forests of eastern Germany and Poland.
The raccoons, like rats have over run most of Europe.
As for the Auroch, yes they did breed something huge, fearsome and very much auroch like! And the local villagers were not amused. There was a reason these animals were hunted to extinction in the 17th century.
So, two horns, can not harnessed to pull a plow, yeah, I think we have just found the KJV Unicorn reference ...
Aren't you glad you asked?
:)
"The King James Versions says Unicorns exist(ed) in Job 39:9-10, Psalm 22:21 and Isaiah 34:7. Did they exist? How come they are not in the fossil record?"
I know from my readings in old Biblical Commentaries, dating back to the 16th century, which I studied from for many years, the idea was always that the unicorn was the rhinocerous! Horse like, sort of, but with usually only one horn. Made sense to me.
But, then one of my friends came up with the idea that no one today believes this, it was just some unknown animal being identified.
So, unknown animal, untranslatable from Hebrew. Therefore it seems likely that this animal no longer exists. It had to have lived or at least been known in the Middle East.
Job 39:9-10; an illusion is being made to making it work like an oxen and plowing fields, idea being NO WAY!
Psalm 22:21; it has a horn or horns
Isaiah 34:7; whatever these animals are they will die in the sacrifice of God's cleansing of the land
Hmmmmmmmmmm
And then I remembered the once widespread, now extinct - Auroch.
The German breeding program was quite successful, the horses still roam the northern forests of eastern Germany and Poland.
The raccoons, like rats have over run most of Europe.
As for the Auroch, yes they did breed something huge, fearsome and very much auroch like! And the local villagers were not amused. There was a reason these animals were hunted to extinction in the 17th century.
So, two horns, can not harnessed to pull a plow, yeah, I think we have just found the KJV Unicorn reference ...
Aren't you glad you asked?
:)
October 9, 2014
Are You A Nut?
Is your family much like fudge? You know, a whole lot of sweet with more than a few nuts mixed in? Well ...
Consider Mark 3:20 - 21 and 31 - 35
Are You A Nut?
Are you willing to be seen as crazy for Jesus / God?
Jesus is being seen as being "out of his mind".
His mother, brothers and sisters are travel to meet with him - perhaps in hopes of straightening him out?
He is the oldest child, the head of the family if Joseph is now dead. And as the eldest son, he is not a part of his family, not taking responsibility required of him! Intervention is required!
I think it fair to say that his family was behaving with the norm culturally:
Blessing or Burden
Sweet or Nuts
You are a part of God's family.
But, Jesus rebuffed his physical family. They probably came to take him home.
This was SCANDAL in the first century!
Can You Keep Perspective?
Like all things in life, your physical family, as well as, your spiritual family needs to be kept in perspective!
We are apart of something eternal.
This family is eternal, our physical families apparently not so much so.
This new family is bigger than us or our problems.
We are to be living for the KINGDOM together, physical and church family inclusively.
We are to be FAMILY.
That means we actually care for and about one another!
Would Jesus Have Called Your Family?
He knows each of us as an individual.
Our obedience is part of our relationship with Him.
Eternity is not dependent upon your relationship with your physical family, it is about your relationship with God! And yet, we invest so heavily in our physical families to the point of ignoring we even have an eternal family!
Consider Mark 3:20 - 21 and 31 - 35
Are You A Nut?
Are you willing to be seen as crazy for Jesus / God?
Jesus is being seen as being "out of his mind".
His mother, brothers and sisters are travel to meet with him - perhaps in hopes of straightening him out?
He is the oldest child, the head of the family if Joseph is now dead. And as the eldest son, he is not a part of his family, not taking responsibility required of him! Intervention is required!
I think it fair to say that his family was behaving with the norm culturally:
- They were concerned for Jesus personally
- The family image was probably under attack
- He was not acting responsibly
- No matter how he felt
Blessing or Burden
Sweet or Nuts
You are a part of God's family.
But, Jesus rebuffed his physical family. They probably came to take him home.
This was SCANDAL in the first century!
Can You Keep Perspective?
Like all things in life, your physical family, as well as, your spiritual family needs to be kept in perspective!
We are apart of something eternal.
This family is eternal, our physical families apparently not so much so.
This new family is bigger than us or our problems.
We are to be living for the KINGDOM together, physical and church family inclusively.
We are to be FAMILY.
That means we actually care for and about one another!
Would Jesus Have Called Your Family?
He knows each of us as an individual.
Our obedience is part of our relationship with Him.
Eternity is not dependent upon your relationship with your physical family, it is about your relationship with God! And yet, we invest so heavily in our physical families to the point of ignoring we even have an eternal family!
October 8, 2014
Fan or Follower, Continued
I posted some comments on Mark 3:13 - 19 two weeks ago and then had some time to think on more comments during last weeks down time, sigh ...
Think of the mixed personalities present during this portion of the story of Jesus' ministry. If you look at TV and the most popular shows or the most popular entertainment groups or whatever the situation - the mixtures of personalities, the variety present, makes for great stories and settings, in the end adding to the drama of what is to be presented. Think of the Marx Brothers, an Agatha Christie novel, the National Socialism Party aka NAZI's, Big Bang Theory, whatever the venue - the most successful will be the one with the most variety and inner personal drama offered.
And here we are in a non-electronic entertainment age, where interactions with people will be well witnessed, attended and reported upon! It was the variety show it town - where ever Jesus appeared! And you better believe that Jesus called "quirky" people to follow Him!
Now we talked about Fans last time, so this time we are interested in the concept of Followers:
Followers Stay Close
Conversely, fans just fade away. Once the entertainment value is passed.
Jesus chose whom He desired to follow Him.
These were the ones whom were to follow.
But, there were also the Disciples, those whom came to learn - to be like the Master.
Followers Are Family
Conversely, fans are individuals in the crowd of followers.
Think in terms of twelves:
The Twelve, those future Apostles, were to take the message forward in the world.
They and each of us are to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Even in a Post-Christian Age ...
Think about that ...
Think of the mixed personalities present during this portion of the story of Jesus' ministry. If you look at TV and the most popular shows or the most popular entertainment groups or whatever the situation - the mixtures of personalities, the variety present, makes for great stories and settings, in the end adding to the drama of what is to be presented. Think of the Marx Brothers, an Agatha Christie novel, the National Socialism Party aka NAZI's, Big Bang Theory, whatever the venue - the most successful will be the one with the most variety and inner personal drama offered.
And here we are in a non-electronic entertainment age, where interactions with people will be well witnessed, attended and reported upon! It was the variety show it town - where ever Jesus appeared! And you better believe that Jesus called "quirky" people to follow Him!
Now we talked about Fans last time, so this time we are interested in the concept of Followers:
Followers Stay Close
Conversely, fans just fade away. Once the entertainment value is passed.
Jesus chose whom He desired to follow Him.
These were the ones whom were to follow.
But, there were also the Disciples, those whom came to learn - to be like the Master.
Followers Are Family
Conversely, fans are individuals in the crowd of followers.
Think in terms of twelves:
- Sons of Jacob
- Hebrew tribes
- Main disciples
- To be list of Apostles
- They had lives
- They had nicknames within their family
- They had their own prejudices
- They had failures
- They had victories
- They had varying tales and experiences
The Twelve, those future Apostles, were to take the message forward in the world.
They and each of us are to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Even in a Post-Christian Age ...
Think about that ...
October 7, 2014
Gaining Understanding
So, it was July 12th, when I shared that my life was about to change mightily. God had been thoughtful enough to warn me about this happening back in May, when I had actually written that July post. Before the last heart attack at the beginning of June, before so many changes occurred within me and about me; that heart attack was the sign of the beginning of the end for me, all was over and He was in charge - and I knew it at that time. I was now just along for the ride. But, what do you tell your friends and family, when all believe you are now quite insane?
And, just as with all such paranormal events in my life, I hold little emphasis for them. Not going to help them along, not going to fight them. Why? Because if it is of God, then the impossible is going to come into being - if we are talking God's determinative Will. Perhaps permissive Will is involved, but then it really does not matter to Him, so why should it matter to me? Determinative Will, will come to pass no matter what ... so just sitting on my hands and waiting is perfectly acceptable. But, I did take the step of severing as best I could my relationships so that everyone around me will be protected - because I only know change, not the content of the change and those I care for, I protect if I can.
I had to learn about contrasts, something I could not really understand, only we are talking heart knowledge - not head knowledge here, I know each of these but I had to experience them it seems. To quote what God had told me, "I had to have my face rubbed in failure":
I have spent much time in bed due to my back being painfully out and still being forced to do all work around this house, since nobody else will. And so, I returned to my unnamed ancestor's writings to work through his numerous meditations. Mind you, the 13th century mind is pretty rough to understand in places! Their culture and thought processes were nothing like ours!
Anyway, my ancestor writes of one he knew in the Prussian campaign:
I must have reread this a dozen times, working on the translation, was I doing this correctly? Did he really say that? This man, though of a different culture and time, I already knew was smart - he understood reading and writing in an age when it was rare. His meditations might seem odd to us but given the state of Christian understanding in his day, he was probably right on, if not way ahead of his contemporaries, and I had to remind myself again he was no fool. He wrote what he understood, much as the Apostle John did. And his words this time spoke to me but I had to drop all of those cultural filters and look to what he was expressing within the context of what knowledge both of us possess.
Then I was suddenly reminded of May and what God had told me, and the humiliation I have lived with since. It all fitted together - far too well. Love is the missing key within me...
Across two years, God has brought me through each phase of Love to teach me what I needed to know, to understand Him, to now understand that the only way to truly know Him is through Love for Him.
So this is where I stand today. Across the summer I have concluded the introduction to Love, in all of its sorrows, and my next step concludes the current lesson series. Faith, real faith based upon a new man within me, unable to see clearly any longer - must purely in trust, hold fast to what I know - that He leads, that He has my back - as I take that first step into the great unknown called life. Doing the wrong things to do the right thing - what He decides, not me nor logic.
Yeah, almost there ... almost human ... Learning Love and a new type of faith ... And yeah, I expect to fail.
And, just as with all such paranormal events in my life, I hold little emphasis for them. Not going to help them along, not going to fight them. Why? Because if it is of God, then the impossible is going to come into being - if we are talking God's determinative Will. Perhaps permissive Will is involved, but then it really does not matter to Him, so why should it matter to me? Determinative Will, will come to pass no matter what ... so just sitting on my hands and waiting is perfectly acceptable. But, I did take the step of severing as best I could my relationships so that everyone around me will be protected - because I only know change, not the content of the change and those I care for, I protect if I can.
I had to learn about contrasts, something I could not really understand, only we are talking heart knowledge - not head knowledge here, I know each of these but I had to experience them it seems. To quote what God had told me, "I had to have my face rubbed in failure":
- God's ways are not my ways
- I can understand only partially
- What appears wrong can actually be right
- Conversely what appears right can actually be the wrong thing to do
- I had to understand Love, before I could understand God
- I had to fail before I could ever move forward
- I had to understand what being human meant, in tears and pain
I have spent much time in bed due to my back being painfully out and still being forced to do all work around this house, since nobody else will. And so, I returned to my unnamed ancestor's writings to work through his numerous meditations. Mind you, the 13th century mind is pretty rough to understand in places! Their culture and thought processes were nothing like ours!
Anyway, my ancestor writes of one he knew in the Prussian campaign:
- Above conscience
- No sense of sin
- Whatever he did is right
- Killing meant nothing
- Unable to know right from wrong, he became his own god
- As a god he could do no wrong
- Therefore he was sinless in his own eyes
- And being sinless, condemned himself to hell
I must have reread this a dozen times, working on the translation, was I doing this correctly? Did he really say that? This man, though of a different culture and time, I already knew was smart - he understood reading and writing in an age when it was rare. His meditations might seem odd to us but given the state of Christian understanding in his day, he was probably right on, if not way ahead of his contemporaries, and I had to remind myself again he was no fool. He wrote what he understood, much as the Apostle John did. And his words this time spoke to me but I had to drop all of those cultural filters and look to what he was expressing within the context of what knowledge both of us possess.
Then I was suddenly reminded of May and what God had told me, and the humiliation I have lived with since. It all fitted together - far too well. Love is the missing key within me...
Across two years, God has brought me through each phase of Love to teach me what I needed to know, to understand Him, to now understand that the only way to truly know Him is through Love for Him.
So this is where I stand today. Across the summer I have concluded the introduction to Love, in all of its sorrows, and my next step concludes the current lesson series. Faith, real faith based upon a new man within me, unable to see clearly any longer - must purely in trust, hold fast to what I know - that He leads, that He has my back - as I take that first step into the great unknown called life. Doing the wrong things to do the right thing - what He decides, not me nor logic.
Yeah, almost there ... almost human ... Learning Love and a new type of faith ... And yeah, I expect to fail.
October 6, 2014
Ugh, Another Week
Well, another Monday, another day, continuing to heal, trying not to get injured again.
Sigh ...
It was a long week last week. Having my back go out again was about the last thing I expect last week. But, a week of laying about on codeine seems to have helped quiet the back and allow some strength to return. Not much but enough to allow me to walk without a cane, bend over occasionally and still keep my humor!
And I ache for my friend whom hurts. A hurt I can not understand, nor can be communicated well it seems. They hurt and I am powerless to help. Very frustrating.
At 25 days now until a massive change occurs in my life, still yet to come. It is culmination of all God was telling me back in May and June. No, still no idea how it will all play out, I know what I hope, but I am unworthy any consideration, so I am ready to live beneath the boughs of that cedar tree somewhere.
It is a nail biter I tell ya!
Sometimes I wonder why I ever wanted to become human. The cost seems to be very high.
But, the pain and uncertainly of being human is far to be desired to the life I lived for almost my entire life.
It was a long week last week. Having my back go out again was about the last thing I expect last week. But, a week of laying about on codeine seems to have helped quiet the back and allow some strength to return. Not much but enough to allow me to walk without a cane, bend over occasionally and still keep my humor!
And I ache for my friend whom hurts. A hurt I can not understand, nor can be communicated well it seems. They hurt and I am powerless to help. Very frustrating.
At 25 days now until a massive change occurs in my life, still yet to come. It is culmination of all God was telling me back in May and June. No, still no idea how it will all play out, I know what I hope, but I am unworthy any consideration, so I am ready to live beneath the boughs of that cedar tree somewhere.
It is a nail biter I tell ya!
Sometimes I wonder why I ever wanted to become human. The cost seems to be very high.
But, the pain and uncertainly of being human is far to be desired to the life I lived for almost my entire life.
October 4, 2014
Musical Saturday Morning
Yes, it is first Saturday of the month and yes, it is time for another 1980's music video!
This time I thought I would highlight someone whose incredible voice sort of took the 1980's by storm. I remember I was in Denver on a visit to see my father and his new wife, someone I had gone to high school with (for pete's sake!) when i first heard this on the radio. So from 1986 or so ...
This time I thought I would highlight someone whose incredible voice sort of took the 1980's by storm. I remember I was in Denver on a visit to see my father and his new wife, someone I had gone to high school with (for pete's sake!) when i first heard this on the radio. So from 1986 or so ...
October 1, 2014
Life In A Parking Lot
Tuesday, one of the men in my church called up and asked if I wanted to do lunch. He had heard about the accident on Monday and thought I might like to get out of bed and the house. It was good of him and we got to telling the "dumbest" stories.
I opened with the blonde lady one day in the Sears parking lot whom was bent over and had her mouth on the keyhole of the door. So, I had to ask ... She told me she had locked her keys in the car and had seen a video on Youtube of another blonde blowing in the keyhole and unlocking it. Oh dear Lord, it was all I could do to keep a straight face! So, she bends over and continues blowing into the keyhole. I walked around the car and opened the passenger door, which was unlocked, and pulled her keys out. I walked back around the car, pushed the unlock button on the remote and dropped the keys in her purse. She was delighted she had done it right and embarrassed that the keys were in her purse the whole time!
He countered with how he saw some guys working on a door trying to open it without result. He tried the hatchback and it opened. He crawled through the car, pulled the keys, got back out and handed them to the owner. The guys were still busy working on the door. Utter clueless...
So I told how Dutchman and I had left a store one time to find a young woman sobbing and crying beside her van. Dutchman wanted to help her but I tend to avoid crying women if at all possible! I just have nothing in me to respond with. But, Dutchman asked her what was wrong. Yeah, she was locked out of her van and running late. It seems she did have the keys and handed them to Dutchman, whom then told her the batteries were dead but in an emergency like this the ignition key can be used in the door lock. She was abundantly grateful and gave him a twenty. I was by his car banging my head on the roof gently and screaming .....
Yeah, life in a parking lot can be fun ...
I opened with the blonde lady one day in the Sears parking lot whom was bent over and had her mouth on the keyhole of the door. So, I had to ask ... She told me she had locked her keys in the car and had seen a video on Youtube of another blonde blowing in the keyhole and unlocking it. Oh dear Lord, it was all I could do to keep a straight face! So, she bends over and continues blowing into the keyhole. I walked around the car and opened the passenger door, which was unlocked, and pulled her keys out. I walked back around the car, pushed the unlock button on the remote and dropped the keys in her purse. She was delighted she had done it right and embarrassed that the keys were in her purse the whole time!
He countered with how he saw some guys working on a door trying to open it without result. He tried the hatchback and it opened. He crawled through the car, pulled the keys, got back out and handed them to the owner. The guys were still busy working on the door. Utter clueless...
So I told how Dutchman and I had left a store one time to find a young woman sobbing and crying beside her van. Dutchman wanted to help her but I tend to avoid crying women if at all possible! I just have nothing in me to respond with. But, Dutchman asked her what was wrong. Yeah, she was locked out of her van and running late. It seems she did have the keys and handed them to Dutchman, whom then told her the batteries were dead but in an emergency like this the ignition key can be used in the door lock. She was abundantly grateful and gave him a twenty. I was by his car banging my head on the roof gently and screaming .....
Yeah, life in a parking lot can be fun ...
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