October 8, 2023

                                                                                                                       Wrestling           

It is not enough that I am going to be reprogrammed to think there is nothing wrong with dementia riden Biden, that the border is secure, there is not crime wave, and all criminals are oppressed and just trying to get some bread to feed their families, and the loot from all the smash and grabs are reparations, Mr. Irami Osei-Frimpong thinks I should be killed because I am white! Mr.Irami Osei-Frimpong, frimp for short, or maybe ping-pong, says, “some white people may have to die for black communities to be made whole in this struggle to advance to freedom” and compared southern whites to “autistic kids” and “sociopaths.” Since I am only part southern white, (6th grade to 12th grade), I probably will get a partial death, which will certainly cause me to change my lifestyle. Two peas in a pod, Hilliary and Frimp. Wait, she is a southern white. What does Frimp do with her? I know, she has the “D” after her name and has that list of 50 some people who have committed suicide or died under strange circumstances so she is a card carrying member of the progressive woke morons,
Frimp is a professor at the University of Georgia, who backed his play until benefactors said, wait a minute, They are now going to “investigate”, probably like they did Pelosi’s part in January 6. It pays to be a card carrying member and know the secret handshake of the real progressives, not just the ones in the media and cabinet. I might have to look into the reprogramming program in the desert run by Sharpton and Reid.
I was wondering yesterday, when does an exciting goal become a chore to finish? I don’t think I am there yet, but there are times I have a difficult time getting out the door to do my 100 miles in one hour, Yesterday, I messed around until almost 12 befroe I left the house. And I don’t think I can really say what I was doing during the hour leading up to opening the door and closing it from the other side. It wasn’t exactly because I didn’t want to go, but I was not in a hurry, like I would be if they were giving away free ice cream on the other side of the door.
I took my time getting the grist done, I had a call from a client, I ate a Thomas Muffin, I put one sock on and did some errand and then put the other one on and next thing you know, it was almost noon and I was thinking about the heat, which I could feel on the handle as I tried to open the door, and then it felt like a furnace when I finally did open the door. It must have been my imagination as none of the free ice creme waiting for me was melted and was still hard as a rock in the carton. It wasn’t quite a chore but the horns were not letting everyone know I was on the prowl.
You are probably not going to believe it, but the earphones, (the ones I forgot the other day), started saying the message everyone dreads to hear, – “battery low”. I panicked as I knew I was going to have to work on the prayer thing-a-ma-jig again and I didn’t want to have to confess to the table next Thursday I failed again. Woe is me, quoth the raven, (I think he said “nevermore” but woe is me fits better here). But then I could be like Dimaggio and put on that outer shell I am really good at and just not tell anyone. I am getting a lot out of these Thursday night lessons! They did actually quit about mile one and the panic because even more real.
During the walking around Alhambra yesterday, (I am 85% done with Alhanbra), at about mile 4, I started wondering if my marathon days were coming to a close. Not that I couldn’t do the 13.1 or 26.2 miles, I just don’t think I could do them anywhere near the time limits. I do mess around a lot but my miles are being done in 25 minutes. I am not stopping to rest but I stop to look at the map, look at stuff on the ground, (I found 13 cents yesterday, maybe this will be my new job), talk to someone, wait at lights, (the one crossing Atlantic seemed to never change), pet dogs, etc. Very few of those things are found at a marathon, well, maybe the light when I get a little behind and the officers go home, but I doubt I am going to move that 25 minture time down to thirteen or fourteen minutes so I can finish a half in 3 hours. Now it is time for the raven to quote, “nevermore”.
I wonder what the sermon will be about this morning in this series, “Wrestling with God”? Have you ever really thought about how you would “wrestle” with God? Could you get Him in a sleeper hold? How about a body slam? It does not give details about Jacob’s night in the ring with God in Genesis so I wonder what he did during the wrestling after the bell sounded? Was there a bell? It was not a two our three falls match, it seemed to be a last man standing match, except it was last man or God standing match. Can you see the angel going around the ring with the card saying what round it is? Or maybe it was a seraphim? Or how about one those riders on the horse in Revelations? Now that would be something!
I think I could make a case for how we are wrestling with God when we are trying to get our way, trying to get something we want, maybe even trying to get relief for someone else. How about that is what we are doing a lot time when we are supposedly praying, we are wrestling with God and trying to take His spot in the winner’s circle? That is obviously what the guy with the pitchfork wanted to do, or at least he wanted to join Him in the winner’s circle and be equal.
But if you look at Jacob’s story of wrestling with “the man”, he did ask for a blessing before he would let the man go. Why did the man have to ask permission of Jacob to leave as it was getting to be dawn? You would think Jacob would be the one who was wore out after a night of wrestling with “the man” and would be asking Him to leave, after being blessed, of course. Probably why he would let “the man” leave as he wanted that blessing. Here is another point, Jacob was willing to persevere until the blessing came. Now I have a problem with some of my premise above. This is just as difficult as the question, “If God can do anything, can He make a rock so heavy He can’t lift it?”
I thought the Bible had all the answers, instead of nothing but questions. I thought the Christian life was easy because the yoke was made to fit me and it would be a cakewalk. At least church hasn’t become a chore yet so I am going to go and get shaved and showered so I can sit in my favorite seat, (I don’t really have one), for this morning’s ear banging on wrestling with God, as if I haven’t been doing that for almost fifty years now. I do wish they would get a new referee as that might make the difference. I think the Holy Spirit is a little biased.

 

October 9, 2023

The Two Ends of the Spectrum

I could name today’s grist, “Living in the Past”, or maybe, “True Confessions”, (will I have to make more than one since it is plural?), because I said yesterday we were in the “Wrestling with God” series and we are in the “True Lies” series, which we started last week. Doesn’t mean I was off base in my thoughts, other than I was stuck in the past on where we were in church messages.
Does that mean I wasn’t paying attention and acted like I was praying with my eyes closed during the service? I have perfected the ability to nod every once in a while to keep up the appearance I am awake when I am really sound asleep. I can even regulate my breathing so it does not become heavy or loud like some people who snore. That wasn’t the case as it has been at least a month since I caught myself nodding more than usual and “True Lies” just started. But just so you know, I have graduated and learned to sleep with my eyes open!
Maybe it is just where my speed thinking went yesterday? I’ll buy that one. I know there is someone who wonders how I can be speed thinking about something that was taking place two or three weeks ago and think they are still in that place in life when that is more like you are just carching up rather than moving forward. And if you understood what I am talking about, you’re a better man, (woman) than I am, Gunga Din. It is probably better that I just admit I was on a roll about wrestling with God and enjoyed my morning. No shame in that.
I do wonder how many waking moments we take trying to explain something that really doesn’t need an explanation, e.g, how many lost souls reading this would even know the series had moved from “Wrestling with God” to “True Lies”? That number could be, NONE!, if none is a number, is it? So now I am confessing to a group of individuals who do not exist. I have to be careful when I leave this morning so I can avoid those guys with the big butterfly nets who sometimes chase me to my car.
As I continue down the page, I hear the voice outside the door saying he is in there and he will have to come out sometime. Little do they know, I have put in supplies for just such an emergency as this and can stay for months, if necessary since I had that secret passage built to the bathroom. But do I want to continue down the page? No, I want to cry out like Paul says in Romans 7:24, and say, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” NASB Does seem a bit overboard, doesn’t it? But who knows the results from the mountains we have made from the molehills in the steps we take everyday on the path of life?
How many times have you been trying to console someone and during the gathering of facts, discovered you are having a problem understanding what the problem is? The person is breaking down before your eyes and to you, it doesn’t seem like there is a problem anywhere to be found, except the person has found one laying out there in plain sight for everyone to see. Why can’t you see it? Or maybe even worse, why can’t you solve the problem?
Then there must be some people who are on the other end of the spectrum, who are unable to see the problem, even though it is right there in plain sight and everyone but them sees the problem. And here comes the next confession, (since it had to be plural), I have been on both ends of the spectrum on occasion. In order to get out of the place I find myself this time, I must cry out like the Psalmist says in Psalm 34:6, “This wretched man cried out, and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.” NASB (Do you know wretched is only in the NASB eight times?), Then, when I am finally out of that fog of denial or whatever fog I have been flying through, I get to repeat Paul’s words in Romans 8:1. “Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.” NASB, over and over and over. I know how to pick and choose my verses!
I should have written this when I got home from church, rather then spending my Sunday peeking out the window and wishing all those people who knew I must have been sleeping during the service would go home and take their signs with them.

October 10, 2023

Reasoning

It is impossible to “reason” with a person either possessed or as Rob Reiner is, so overtaken with TDS, that your mind does not, will not, and can not operate with any semblance of common sense or ability to think or reason. Archie Bunker was right about Meathead and all it was good for was a laugh instead of a warning of things to come. The real problem is all those who are following in his footsteps, in fact, they are following so close there is only one set of footsteps in the snow. I will admit, Meathead may not be the leader or the first in line, but the Congo Line of Meatheads are plentiful and just as dumb as him.
If you are in that line, then you agree with Meathead that Hamas killing civilians, kidnapping civilians and committing all the evil deeds they are doing was caused by Donald Trump. In that line of Meatheads, Jen Psaki does not understand what “fungible funds” are and can not follow the line of reasoning that giving someone $1,000.00 that can only be used for food frees up the $1,000.00 that was going to be spent on food and can be used for any other purpose, like maybe rockets, although you wouldn’t get too many with $1,000.00, but you sure could with $6 Billion.
The scorecard reads, 120 Billion to protect a border in Ukraine and $0.00 to protect our most imporant friend in the Middle East. Maybe if we declared Hamas as parents invading a school board meeting, we could get some assistance sent over to help the school board from the terrerorists attacking instead of hosting a bar-b-que while innocent school board members are being kidnapped, killed and maimed? That is probably not reasoning in the Meathead line and they would unfortunately call it misguided idealogy on our part as the terrorists are here in the United States or in Israel, just ask any member of the Squad.
While the Gaetz and McCarthy feud has spilled over into the public arena, using the excuse of Congress being unable to act is a farce. There is a temporary Speaker and I am sure all the aid sent to Ukraine had a Biden stamp of approval and maybe even used his hand to hold the pen that made out the appropriation. But, alas, the White House at first did not want Israel to retaliate in their tweets, which they have now deleted. How is that for not liking a man because of his tweets. But we can not like Biden’s tweets and his policies, whereas you could only go after the tweets for number 45, not his policies, no matter what Meathead says.
Trump allowed many of the old guard to get into his cabinet, who were there only to sabotage his polices, but he did have one box he tried to check and didn’t always check it, but Biden does not even have that box, which is merit/ability. Biden has put the worst mis-mash of people around him, only because they check a box for the socialists, e.g., Britton, Buttigieg, Harris, Granholm, Levine, and the list goes on and on as there is also a box on each of their resumes that says, “incompetent”, and then one which states they qualify to be a host on the View. Grusome has learned from the best as you can tell by his pick to replace Feinstein as a senator.
Since there isn’t an ability to reason with those who have been so infected with TDS, they still see every evil event in the world emanating from Trump Tower or maybe, Mar A Logo, what do the people in their right mind do? I think of the passage found in Mark and Luke 8:35, which either Pat Davis or George Caywood, two chaplains at the Union Rescue Mission when I was there, came up with the thought about being clothed in our right mind from those verses, i.e., Luke 8:35: “And the people came out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened.” NASB
These men of God realized we were like the man who Jesus cast out the demons when they came to Christ as their Savior, and we now sit at His feet, clothed and in our right mind. The Union Rescue Mission was a place where the Gospel was in action and you better believe those sneaky little demons, (I guess they do come in all sizes and colors, so maybe there were some pretty large ones!), were always creeping around trying to stir up trouble and keep their semblance of disorder active. I believe I once wrote about the time one of the men brought me a bottle which he said he had captured a demon that was in the bottle and wanted me to take the bottle and destroy it. Life was real and raw on Main Street back then and it looks like when the shining light of the Mission moved from the area, it has been taken over by the darkness, as has the White House by the present administration. Strong words but I will “reason” with anyone who can sit down clothed and in their right mind.
This does not mean one has to start blowing the horn and laying down the palm fronds for Trump when he walks up on the stage. But it does mean that is the facts are laid out, there is the ability to admit that having no border means you are not really a country, that America is not systemically racist, that the BLM organization is a Marxist organization, (they admit it so that really shouldn’t be that hard to get off their bandwagon), and a host of other items. In fairness and in the name of reason, and because I am not a fascist, (unless you want to say that believing Jesus it the way and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him is fascist), when we are laying out the ground rules, you may have some things you want to work on having me admit, and I will if reason says I should, so long as they are not directly from Meathead and his crew. The bottom line, is the ability to reason and use common sense is the only criteria, along with any and all demons, which are plentiful in the Meathead line, are relegated to outside the circle we are using to debate. Maybe we add the clothed part as mandatory?

October 11, 2023

Be Accurate

The First Amendment gives the idiots who want to tar and feather me for saying there is only two genders, the ability to say it is ok for Hamas to commit evil crimes against innocent individuals, leading all the way to shouting Hallelujah when babies are decapitated. Just as we see which side one is on when mutilating children is discussed, we see which side one is on when evil atrocities are discussed. The truth about the Middle East situation has been stated by smarter people than me, that it is not about territory but about wiping out the Jewish nation. We always speak about remembering where we were when the planes hit the Twin Towers, We will now be able to remember where we were when the mass genocide started on Saturday morning, November 7, 2023. And the resulting death toll on all sides who become involved will be way more than just the one who was shot on January 6, or the nearly 3,000 on 911.
Someone tried to tell me we are in the end times because of all the signs. While I can see the signs seem to say that, I asked the question of the person, “who is the antichrist?” I was seeking a name and responded with a comment about the antichrist in Revelations who died and came back to life and everyone followed him. We didn’t get anywhere as there obviously is no one who could fit that bill in today’s group of woksters.
The problem now is I read chapter 13 of Revelations again and the word antichrist is not founf in that chapter. In fact, in the NASB, it is only found four times: 1 John 2:22, “Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”; 1 John 2:18: “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.”; 1 John 2:22, “Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.”; 1 John 4:3, “and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world.”, 2 John 1:7, “For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.” So much for my pontificating!
It has been more than one day since I looked at Revelations and much longer than that where I have thought about the 1000 year period, and made more than a casual reference to the rapture of the Saints. So, during that period, I had used the movies, the books I had read and my speed thinking to give the name of the one who returns from being dead, the Antichrist, and was now willing to argue to the death that the name, Antichrist, was found in Revelations. I wonder how many well-meaning Bible thumpers lose friends, lose positions in life, lose something important, over a position we take, either from Scripture or in Scripture, and be on sinking sand rather than the rock? I don’t see a loss of salvation, and the loss we suffer is no way comparable with losing one’s salvation, but losing a blessing could still be devastating to the rest of our years as we wait to join the Lord.
The next thing that occured while I was reading the headings of each section of Revelations from chapter one up to eighteen, I realized I had kind of forgotten there were more events that were not really ones to look forward to experiencing other than those found in one or more of the calling out of the seven churches at the beginning of Revelations.
Then I started thinking about the times in which John wrote Revelations compared to today’s lifestyle, technology, even the capability to get this down on parchment compared to me writing the grist on a computer. We think we have fortitude and sticktoittiveness, (like that word?). And the realization there was no spell checker for the writer and there are no misspellings found on the parchment. There were two main cashes of manuscripts, I think they ere Alexandria and Byzantine, and when omparing them, they did not misspell the words. I will confess, it sounds like chalk on a blackboard when someone says something about they don’t got any money or any other statement that demonstrates grammar is not something that is important. I know I miss some spelling as the spell checker is not working in my word processor and the misspelled words are not always in red, so I can’t use all the chalk up on other people’s glaring mistakes.
When I was trying to memorize a verse a week, (if I had of stuck with that program, I would be close to knowing the whole Bible by now because I know my competitieness would have moved me to more than one verse a week at some point), one of those verses was II Tim. 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” I have to confess, I missed the mark on the last part of that verse. And wouldn’t you know it, that is the verse the Holy Spirit used to bring me back to reality and off my high horse thinking I knew evreythig when I knew more than nothing but a long way from everything and I had not handled the Word of Truth accurately.
So, now I am forced to apologize for my arrogance. I do not think the discussion went so far as to have to buy a present in order to mend the fence I built as the friendship is still intact, but I will have to eat some crow the next time I talk to the offended party in person or on the phone. The test will be if I go all the way and acknowledge she was right concerning her answer about there being many antichrists, (I John 2:18), and she could give me many names.

October 12, 2023

Vulnerable

Made it to Thursday and I only have about five pages left to read for tonight’s Lifegroup. I need to look over the questions but I have spent a little time reading this week without using my 1,000 page a minute reading speed so I am probably prepared for whatever Pastor Naomi will throw at me.
I have to admit, I, personally, am not a big fan for the self-help books. Don’t get me wrong, it is not because I don’t think or know I could learn from them, it is just that they always seem so common sense and work on spelling out what the problem is, which most of us already know or have been told over the years, and are unwilling or maybe even unable to deal with the issue. But the real issue for me is how “all” of the self help books forget the one ingredient which is always true, we all are made in the image of God, but somehow sin has caused us to not all be exactly look-a-likes, and we all do not come out with the same capabilities and abiities.
Justin came by yesterday to give us a bid on the counter tops and it turns out he played on Western Michigan football team as a defensive back. He played in the Horseshoe and was burned by one of the stars on Ohio State,. That one play was not what kept him from making it into the pros as he admitted he has the people skills, along with the other requirements for being a really good sales person for the company he works for, while his brother is the line backer and leading tackler on the Kansa City Chiefs, who was the leading tackler on the Chargers last year. Justin looks like he is still in playing shape but the other skills he has are allowing him to make the money his brother must be making or living the life his brother is. My point is not to compare one against the other or say one is more successful than the other, but to say they each have a different set of skills and abilities. What they each do with what they have is what is important.
But when you read a self help book, the answer to the problems are given in general terms and made to apply to everyone, no matter what their level of understanding reads on the measuring table. When Ali was starting school, her birthday was just past the cutoff and they wanted her to wait one more year before she started first grade. I said that was ridiculous and asked for her to be tested to see if she could do the work or not, and if so, then she didn’t need to wait one more year to start. She started first grade that year, To my point, there were a number of kids who were eligible to start and did and probably shouldn’t have started for two more years.
The whole idea of not leaving one child behind actually stunts the growth of those who should be moving ahead because they can but are unable because they have to move at the pace of the slow learner. The same thing with most self-help books, they make the generalities, and fill the pages with common sense solutions, forgetting the different capabilites for handling the truth, which then go in one ear and out the other for a great percentage of the purchasers of the book. Guess what? Then time creeps up on them and responsibilities are given by either the boss at work or the boss at home and before you know it, the chapter is not read and if read is not absorbed and acted upon, the dust on the book becomes so heavy you can’t lift it off the shelf you placed it on while you carried in the groceries or the kid ot ???, and all that common sense stays in the book rather than moving inside the noggin.
I will say the book we are reading for the lifegroup is one of those books that gives real life examples but still gives out what are common sense adjustments, and while it attempts to show there are some differences in our DNA, most of the examples are not applicable to my childhood, e.g., there was no alcoholism, violent outbursts, etc. Did my parents get along? I think so but I see I am moving towards criticizing the book and that is not where I was heading. I am getting some introspection from the book so it would be foolish for me to throw out the baby with the bath water.
If I wrote a best seller self-help book using common sense to solve a problem, I could write a few pages with the premise of solving an alcoholic’s problem of drinking and help them to lead a productive life by simply stating they have to stop drinking. What could be more common sense than that? Here is where I would find it hard for me to keep reading after chapter one as the problem is now solved. And then the real difficulty becomes a glaring issue, as that solution does not take into consideration all the complexities involved in the actual stopping and or address the complexities of how each individual stays stopped with their backgrounds, education, etc.
Now we are where, as they say, the rubber meets the road While many of the illustrations in our book are not applicable to my background or present day situation, some are. And those are just as serious to making me whole as the ones that apply to others. We are working on “emotionally healthy spirituality” in our lifegroup and while I am no where near a beginner, I am not so far gone I think I have no room to improve. So, while I am not a fan of books that offer solutions for better living, I am learning to take the things which the Holy Spirit puts in large letters as I read the book and work towards being the Man of God the Lord wants me to be. I have to remember my mantra,, which was the stolen valor when naming chapter two, and know who I am, i.e., a child of the King, continuing to mature in my “emotionally healthy spirituality” in the Lord. Let’s see how vulnerable, (unfortunately, a requirement in all self help books), I can be tonight so I can mature even more.

October 13, 2023

Walls?

I just noticed when typing in the date that this is one of the few Friday the 13th’s we celebrate every so often. I don’t believe this day is any different than any other day in regards to being more lucky or unlucky than Mulvaney is a woman and I am a light bulb. Along with Mulvaney being awarded the woman of the year award in the UK, there are two men masquerading as women who are going to represent their respective countries in the competition for the Miss Universe title! This is what happens when idiocy is not called out for what it is and you start out with not caring what people do so long as it doesn’t hurt you personally. They are not hurting anyone other than themselves so let them play with that live wire hanging from the pole. They are not bothering you, leave them alone. Stay out of the individuals bedroom, which is true, but this is is being acted out on the world’s stage, not in their bedroom.
As usual, I started writing this morning and the words jumped onto the page. I wish I could make the claim the Holy Spirit was the One who was typing with my fingers on the keyboard and if I had the nerve to do so, I would. But I do know the issues of the day are important to be addressed and you have to live your beliefs or they are just talking points. The issue behind that statement is your beliefs must be founded on something other that just what you like or feel. That is an advantage, (if you could call it an advantage because it will hurt you at the end and for eternity), for the atheist, as they get to make up their own rules up as they go through life and can change them on any whim or fresh breeze blowing through their hair,
Ali is not an atheist but it took a herculean effort to get her to just say whether men should be allowed to play in women’s sports. I get it that she has some friends that do not agree with that but we are back to living your beliefs and what I call that moral compass which hopefully points towards the pearly gates and not off into the black hole.  I wasn’t thinking about the verses the author in our book we are studying on Thursday night used where Jesus’ mother and brothers are outside the home where He is ministering and He asked them to tell Him who His mother and brothers are and answered with His family were those who did the will of His Father. But I could have been by changing the word “family” for “friend” and making it apply to her inquisitioning, which is what she calls it when we start a discussion because I have a problem with non-committal answers when discussing things which require one to take a position on life determining choices of which path to take. It is not that you have to take the path I think you should, you have to take one or the other or you just keep banging your head on the sign that gives you the notice there are two paths, and in most cases, one goes up and one goes down. And don’t kid yourself, eventually you will have to take one or the other when you meet that sign yourself.
All of the above kind of stems from reading the start of chapter four this morning, which talks about a “wall” we meet in our Christian walk. It may or may not have anything to do with the wall and if not, that is what I had to get off my chest in order to get to the wall in chapter four. And now I am back with one of my complaints about books that have the answers, which is there is once again a chart which seems to have stages we go through and it is required we all go though the stages in his order and it is the same for everyone. Right off the bat, I remember riding in the car to hear a Christian baseball player and asking the pastor what do you do if you think you are called into the ministry and you have an alcoholic wife. I was told to start getting an education in the Word and let God work it out. The story of the next period in my life that had me spending time at the Union Rescue Mission while attending Biola would take too long to tell here. My point is that I did not follow the chart but did come up against what the author called a “wall” on many occasions and still arrive at “walls” today, some more famous than others.
I do not remember when I came up with one of my mantra which addressed those “walls” but it had to be kind of early on in my walk with the Lord. I read in the Scriptures that I should be filled with the Holy Spirit, should pray without ceasing, should not be afraid for anything, and I could do all things through Christ. So the obvious way to accomplish the list was to believe that because I was filled with the Holy Spirit, the obstacle, or “wall”, had to react to me and not me to it. I wish I could say every “wall” has opened wide without me having to get out my sledgehammer and chip away at it until I realize the Holy Spirit had been trying to get that sledgehammer out of my hand for days, and in reality had been trying to tell me not to even pick it up because He had the bulldozer cranked up and ready to go. I was so blinded in thinking my way was the way because I could do it, that it affected my hearing and I couldn’t hear the engine roaring right beside me and ready to go!
One of the questions we were to answer a week ago concerned what was one thing that hindered our walk with God. We often do not recognize that what is one of our strengths can also become one of out greatest weaknesses. I have some abilities and gifts which allowed me to complete tasks or attain goals before I gave my life to the Lord which I could be proud of. After the day of conversion, which was actually done at night at a weekly church service, I learned I was bought with a price and now had a new “helper” that was really going to put me on the map. But thinking I could use that sledgehammer to take a shortcut through the “wall” because of my talents is a hindrance to my walk with the Lord. Admitting that at the table a week ago was both easy and difficult.
You wouldn’t think it could be both easy and difficult. But last night we had to come up with things we heard when we were growing up that have caused us difficulty in spiritually maturing emotionally in Christ. One of the things mentioned was about men not crying and I could add to that about men not admitting they were weak or having trouble. And that was why it was difficult because I had been told admitting a hindrance was present is a sign of weakness and not available to real men. Threre are no hindrances, just something to quickly dispatch and move on. And that makes it easy for me to pick up that sledgehammer rather than listening to the Holy Spirit. If I could only stay on track with my mantra about the “wall” having to react to me rather than me reacting to the “wall”, my “weakness” will not be able to take over.
Time to go see what the six stages are all about in chapter 4 so I can at least try and keep up with the wisdom that will be shared at my table next Thursday night as I let the “walls” of this week crumble under the bulldozer as it continues to run interference for me. Maybe there is an NFL contract waiting for me!

October 14, 2023

The Fingernails

We went to Bishop Amat’s football game last night, where our granddaughter on Dorothy’s side of the family is a senior cheer leader. It was their homecoming and they named the individual prince and princesses from the sophomore to senior grades and of course the Homecoming King and Queen. The princes came from one side and the princesses from the other side and we were sitting on the side where the princes approached the platform, who were accompanied by a female, who, in most cases seemed to be their girlfriend from what the announcer said in the introduction. They announced one of the princes and used masculine pronouns, but the individual walking up to the podium was wearing a dress, had long flowing blond hair and was by himself.
The book our Thursday night lifegroup class, working through about healthy emotional spirituality spends a great deal of time on emotions, and obviously it should from the title, but seems to always focus on dealing with what are usually labeled as extreme negative emotions, e.g., anger. While I always try to get more out of each sermon or class I attend than just the fellowship, I took to heart the exhortation in the last part of Phil. 2;12 a long time ago, which says for us to work out our salvation, i.e., “ So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;” NASB
So these past few months, I have been working through a jumble of emotions that seem to sit on the stove and come to a boil every so often, are usually not in the catagories mentioned above, and are not so perplexing or devastating I cringe when they raise the lid on the bubbling pot. And in this case, the salvation is directed towards how easy it is to speak about a subject when you have no skin in the game and how it changes when you do have skin in the game and how do you do not allow the skin in the game to change the message if it is from God’s Word or even more demanding, from the Holy Spirit. And I wish it would be as easy as it was in Scripture where God seems to speak to people in audible words, even if it does come out a donkey’s mouth. Maybe He is speaking to me like that as it does seem like a lot of donkey’s have been braying at me lately.
As to last night’s prince, I wondered if his girlfriend was to escort him, would it be a gentleman in a suit? Would this prince be able to play on the girl’s sport’s teams? This is a Catholic school with the prayer beginning the game and the many arms of the students and parents all doing the stations of the cross in unison, so how was this addressed, if it was addressed? And the biggest question is: “How big a deal do I make about it?”, when it does not seem to be a big deal to all those in attendance. I guess it could also be asked if I am even supposed to make a big deal about it?
I do not think or believe I am supposed to be put forward for a plaque in the Hebrews hall of martyrs. I say I will not deny Christ but who knows what I will do when the first fingernail is pulled off and they are coming for the first toenail, knowing there are still eighteen more nails to go. I now have a nail in the game but still no skin as these guys are good at what they do.
Because the struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the list of evil doers as named in Eph, 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”, the real question is how do you call out the rot that is trying to pull our fingernails out while they are so good at it that most do not even know they have already pulled out all but one nail and it is flopping around, barely hanging on? Yes, how do you do that?
Most would say they are not called to do so. I would say that is a shame as silence when you know something is wrong is always wrong. The key is knowing when it is wrong, I guess. The bystanders who are streaming the little old lady being attacked and not doing anything but filming are wrong but do not think they are wrong I understand how if you are by yourself and have to go at the assaulter by yourself how hard that would be, but how do you let the person on the ground take that beating and sleep soundly that night?
And there is the rub. It is easy to put the admonition down on paper for everyone to follow, What happens when it is me, (or you), who suddenly have skin in the game, or as in the illustration, we are the ones who come up on the person being assaulted and have to act? I guess it could be worse if we are the one on the ground being assaulted and then a person comes up who just wants to film our assault and the beating continues until the director of the film in which we are playing the leading role, wants us to sign the release so we can be on the local news and maybe even on a national newscast.
There is a time coming in each Christian’s life where a decision will have to be made concerning whether you are a person of talking points only or a person of faith built on the Rock. One glaring problem is, if you are unable to know what God’s rules and directions are for your life, you will be unable to choose wisely. I believe Peter made those denials because he didn’t understand fully what was about to take place. If he did, he would not have cut off the ear of the soldier. He put two and two together eventually, but I am fearful that many today are not adding the second two and are stuck at two, never getting to four, and thereby allowing that evil list in Eph, 6:12 to take advantage and you can take it to the bank, they know how to take advantage.
As I said, I am not equating myself with an Old Testament prophet or even a New Testament writer, but I do wonder how Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Paul, Peter, or even a more recent man of God like Charles Spurgeon or Charles Finney would handle watching a boy parade down to the platform as a prince in a dress or a person being assaulted in front of them? I doubt any of them would have stood up and challenged the crowd but they may have tried to chase off the assaulter. But I do know there would be prayers extended towards Scripture being taught as the Word of God, Infallible and Inerrant, and life to continue on with each one working out their own salvation until the second coming happens. Hopefully, that last fingernail holds on until the second coming does happen.