Move that mountain

Going to church doesn't move mountains. Singing praise songs doesn't move them. Giving money doesn't level them. And certainly worry doesn't bring them down to size. We can be involved in all kinds of activities in the church but still have mountains that can't be moved except by prayer and fasting.— Christianity Lite, page 67

<idle musing>
But that doesn't fit in with good-time christianity! Self-denial? You've got to be kidding me, right? : (
</idle musing>

By what criterion do you chooose?

Plenty of people choose churches today with one criterion in mind: they're looking for a pastor who will tell them what they want to hear. They want pleasant messages about God's love and promises about God's blessings. They'd like to be entertained by wonderful music and inspiring stories, but they sure don't want to invest time and passion in prayer.— Christianity Lite, page 66

<idle musing>
Can you say "itching ears"?
</idle musing>

What about you?

Many modern people don't pray because they trust advances in technology and medicine to solve their problems.— Christianity Lite, page 62

<idle musing>
What about you? Is your god really technology? When you have medical issue, to whom do you turn?

Our response to that question reveals our real god.

Or, suppose you lose your job. To whom do you turn for financial support? Emotional support?

The fires of daily life just reveal our true heart--that's why James could say to "count it all joy."
</idle musing>

Why did Jesus pray?

As we read the Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus, one of the most startling observations is that He spent so much time in prayer. He was God, wasn't He? Why did He pray so much? I don't believe it was only because He needed to pray; I think he wanted to pray. He wanted to spend time with the Father, enjoying the give-and-take of love and determining direction for the future.— Christianity Lite, page 61

<idle musing>
The theologians might not like his answer, but I think it makes sense...
</idle musing>

Bored yet?

I have a confession to make. Before we moved to Grand Marais (over 13 month ago now), I was concerned I might not have enough to do. I told Debbie, Jim, and Shannon that. They all laughed. Jim said, "Only if they close the library!"

Well, I certainly haven't been bored! On the contrary, I've been almost overwhelmed at times. Yesterday was the first day in ages that I didn't have proofreading, editing, or other projects hanging over me. And we only had 1 set of guests leaving and one coming in. And because we have guests in the cabin we are trying to paint, I couldn't do any painting.

Wow! What to do? Believe me, there was still plenty, but it wasn't rushed. I was able to organize the hoop house stuff that was just thrown in a couple of stacks earlier this spring. I'm getting ready to put it up in the backyard, so that was nice.

Plus, I was able to modify the rabbit hutches, putting 1/2 inch mesh on the floor instead of the 1/4 inch that I had used. Oh, you didn't know we had rabbits? We have 2 mini-Rexes. We have had them for almost 2 weeks now. I'll try to get some pictures posted later today or tomorrow. Plus, we are taking care of Joel & Renee's 2 mini-Rexes while they are in Alberta. The 1/2 inch mesh allows the rabbit poop to fall through; I don't have to clean the cage every day anymore : )

Today, we only have one cabin leaving and no one coming in! Wow! We're planning on going hiking. We haven't had a chance to go yet this summer. That's about the only downside to seasonal based work like this. When the weather is good for outdoor activities, the guests arrive to take advantage of it. You have to squeeze it in as best you can... But we love it!

Just an
<idle musing>

It's the truth

Don't assume you're powerless and helpless any longer. God has entrusted His power to everyone who has trusted in His Son. If you're depressed, there's a power to give you hope. If you're addicted, there's a power to set you free. If you're sick, there's a power to heal. If you're in a strained relationship, there's a power to forgive and be reconciled. There's a power to overcome your fear, loneliness, self-pity, and suicidal thoughts. You may feel stuck and hopeless, but God's power is far greater than chains of sin, doubt, and disease.— Christianity Lite, pages 59-60

<idle musing>
It's the truth! But do you believe it? If you say you do, but your life isn't reflecting it, then I would say you don't really believe it. Intellectual assent isn't the same as belief—even though our society seems to equate the two.
</idle musing>

Believe it!

He [God] doesn't send His power to those who don't want it, don't believe in it, and will misuse it.— Christianity Lite, page 47

<idle musing>
Unfortunately, I think he is mistaken in the last part of his statement. I've seen far too many misuse God's gifts over the years...
</idle musing>

Thought for today

What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not? (1 Corinthians 4:7 NIV)

Who's in control?

Evil spirits don't obey nice sermons, and they don't flee from good programs and beautiful buildings. They only obey the power of God.— Christianity Lite, page 44

<idle musing>
Tempting to think it's our power, though, isn't it? But it's the power of God and all our programs, sermons, and buildings can't conjure that power up. It has to be God.
</idle musing>

Friday's thought

The issue isn't that we ought to be different if we claim to know Jesus; it's that we will be different if our hearts have been transformed by the power of His grace.— Christianity Lite, pages 37-38

<idle musing>
Yep. It isn't by my power or strength; it is all by his strength and power at work in me through the Holy Spirit.
</idle musing>

Being formed into the likeness

Jesus doesn't want us to insult Him by going to church week after week without genuine change. More and more churches have forgotten they exist to see people transformed. Have we torn the pages out of our Bibles that call us to authentic Christianity?— Christianity Lite, page 31

<idle musing>
In the words of 2 Peter 1:4, "...so that by means of what was promised you may become partakers of the divine nature" (NET). The change is via the power of the Holy Spirit—don't ever forget that and try to produce the change on your own strength, though. Dead to self, but alive in Christ Jesus.

That's good news!
</idle musing>

Thought for a very busy Monday

What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:1-4 NIV)

Come let us worship--ourselves

In our society today we seem to think we have the inalienable right to feel great about ourselves. The “self-esteem movement” has swept our school systems. “Grade inflation” is used to give almost all kids a high mark, no matter how poorly they've performed in the classroom. However, the thirst for a positive self-image isn't limited to education. We avoid honesty in our homes, friendships, and businesses because our first priority is to avoid hurting anyone's feeling...ever...in the least.

Even a casual reading of the Bible shows us that God doesn't let us off the hook so easily. He points out our sins at every turn—not because He's a sadist who enjoys blasting us, but because blunt honesty about sin is the only way to expose our need for His forgiveness and restoration.— Christianity Lite, page 20

<idle musing>
We are definitely a self-centered culture. How can God break in on our obsession with ourselves? It can only be by the power of the Holy Spirit within us. Praise God for the "hound of heaven" as Augustine called the Holy Spirit.

Come, Holy Spirit! Search us and and cleanse us!
</idle musing>

Where's the change?

If you think you've encountered Jesus Christ but there's no difference in your attitude or lifestyle, you need to reexamine your understanding of saving faith.— Christianity Lite, page 18

<idle musing>
No transformation = no salvation. How can you encounter the living God and not be changed?

Salvation is not just a forensic exchange—if it is that at all! No! It is an encounter with God that results in the living God taking up residence in you—"Christ in you" is how Paul describes it. That has to result in changes. But, always remember, those changes are wrought by the presence of the Holy Spirit in you and never as a result of self-effort. All by grace, always by grace. All freely available to all through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, sealed by the resurrection and confirmed by the Holy Spirit.

Now that's good news!
</idle musing>

I want the original

When advertisers promise their product has fewer calories, they mean they've tampered with the original. They want us to think it tastes the same and looks the same, but it's fundamentally changed. It's not like it used to be. Christianity Lite is fundamentally different from the original. It says God will please our sense, but we don't have to pay the price. It promises life without any hint of death.— Christianity Lite, pages 13-14

<idle musing>
Reminds me of Luke 5:39, "And none of you, after drinking old wine, wants the new, for you say, ‘The old is better.’”
</idle musing>

Watered-down

If you prefer the watered-down version of the faith, Christianity Lite, you can certainly have it, but it inevitably leads to disappointment, heartache, and emptiness because it can't provide the firm foundation of hope, forgiveness, and purpose. It's self-focused, not Christ-focused. It's shallow, not deep. It's weak, not dependent on the Spirit's power. Isaiah said it's like a bed too short to lie down on and blanket too narrow to keep us warm (Isa. 28:20). It just doesn't work!— Christianity Lite, pages 8-9

<idle musing>
Amen! I prefer my Christianity undiluted.
</idle musing>

It's not the same anymore

The Christian life, then, isn't just a different set of moral laws, rigid rules, or habits to follow. It's dying to ourselves and being raised back to life in Him! Now everything is different. Nothing is the same. Things that used to be so important begin to lose their grip on our hearts. We want to know, love, serve, and honor God out of a full heart of thankfulness. Our purpose has changed, our hearts are transformed, and our loyalties are forever altered.— Christianity Lite, page 6

<idle musing>
At least we hope that's the case! If it isn't, I wonder how much of a grip Christ has on your heart...
<idle musing>

The bottom line

Today many Christians are convinced that Jesus Christ came to earth to make them happy and successful. In the church world we seem to gravitate to books and messages that focus on success, fulfillment, and pleasure. When they experience any kind of disappointment, they believe God has let them down. Pain isn't part of the plan! They then assume God is mean because He let them be hurt. But Jesus didn't come to make us feel better about our selfishness and sins. He came to forgive our sins, transform us, and change our hearts so we find sin detestable instead of desirable. To make that happen, something deep inside us has to die.

Here's the truth: Jesus didn't come to hurt you. He came to kill you.— Christianity Lite, page 4

<idle musing>
Yep! And praise God for that! I don't want to live in the old self; it stinks. I'd rather live in the new creation, filled with the Holy Spirit and manifesting the fruit of the Spirit. Wouldn't you?

By the way, this is the first of many excerpts from this book; I hope you enjoy them enough to read the whole book. : )
</idle musing>

Substitution

We must not think of our salvation as less than a complete exchange, for there is nothing good in fallen Adam, he is totally and incurably corrupt in all his parts and passions, There is therefore no hope for him; death is the only “cure,” for it is by death only that Adam can be saved from his fallen self and become a new creation. That is is what Christ has done for Adam. He took his place, not only as his Substitute to take away his sins, but as his Representative to crucify his fallen nature, that in his sinless body he might slay and remove the old, and by his resurrection replace it with the new.—William Still, Towards Spiritual Maturity, cited in The Shack Revisited, page 256

<idle musing>
This is the final snippet from The Shack Revisited. I hope you enjoyed my selective excerpts; it was an excellent book which I can easily recommend. : ) </idle musing>

It's real

Our freedom is not an illusion. We are free to be exactly what we are. For the Father, Son, and the Spirit want the real us, not the Sunday church version, to experience their shared life and love.— The Shack Revisited, page 237

<idle musing>
Amen! That's freeing, isn't it? God already knows what we are, so why try to hide it behind that facade? And he loves us—not some whitewashed version of us that we project to the outside world.
</idle musing>

Don't listen!

There are two knowings within us. The one is the knowing of the Spirit, the other is the knowing formed in the crucible of our experience and the whisper of the father of lies. The witness of the Spirit gives us a divine basis within our own darkness, for repentance and new faith, which lead into liberation and life.— The Shack Revisited, pages 235-236

<idle musing>
We need to learn to ignore the lies and only listen to the Holy Spirit. Once we learn that, we can experience true freedom and the abundant life.
</idle musing>

Summer? in Grand Marais

It's been a while since I gave a status update, so let's give it a shot...

It's been a cold spring/summer here so far, averaging about 10°-15°F below normal. That, in turn, affected the number of people vacationing in May/June. That actually was a blessing, because we weren't really ready when we opened in May. It took us about 2 weeks more to get things where they needed to be—just in time for Memorial Day!

It's been fun watching the weather here. The lake and the ridge behind us have a strong effect on it. There has been a lot of fog—or low-lying clouds if you look up the ridge : ) Not infrequently, there will be fog rolling in from the lake, obscuring anything beyond the harbor and then, if you turn around and look up the ridge, the fog will be rolling down the hill. A neat effect that is difficult to describe.

Needless to say, we've been busy. The cabins have kept us hopping and then I've been trying to get a garden going. Dave and Geneva had a garden, but I've expanded it a good bit (no surprise there, eh?). I'm experimenting with different vegetables, especially short-season tomatoes. We'll see how it goes. So far, we've been eating radishes, broccoli raab, Romaine lettuce, mizuna, arugula, and spinach from the garden. I planted some short-season flint corn (for cornmeal); it wasn't knee high by the Fourth of July, but it has really taken off in the last week.

As far as other things go, one of the proofreading jobs that I had was pulled in-house to save money. But, God has given me other jobs—almost too many sometimes! I'm finishing up a job for Baker right now, doing the on-line flashcards for the Cook and Holmstedt Hebrew Grammar. That's been fun and frustrating at the same time. The web site they are using doesn't know what to do with close parentheses when you mix Hebrew and English... I've also proofed a couple of books for Augsburg/Fortress.

God has pulled me—kicking and screaming—into doing some copyediting. I've always sworn I wouldn't do any—after working with some of the best in the industry at Eisenbrauns, I've been intimidated to try. But God made it abundantly obvious that I was supposed to do it. So, I'm copyediting three dissertations right now; they are all defending in August! That's quite a tight schedule, to put it mildly!

My spare time (right!) has been filled with reading copyediting books...which explains the dearth of posts here. Enough for now...

There's hope

We bring into Jesus' relationship with us a most bizarre and alien way of thinking and seeing, which, of course, makes perfect sense to us, and to which we cling with a vengeance. And as we cannot hear our own accents, neither can we see our own blindness. It is impossible for us to push aside the weeds of our fallen minds and believe anything other than what we perceive through our blindness, but Jesus has penetrated our darkness and brought the Spirit of truth with him.

The Holy Spirit is not a spectator watching from the outside, giving abstract and external instructions that she hopes we will apply to our lives. She meets us in our gardens, in our garbage cans, in our shacks, bearing witness to the “unbelievable” world of Jesus and his Father—and our world, too...But we are a hardheaded lot, strong-willed and obstinate. Like first graders who think they are college professors, we know it all and cannot be told a thing, even as we leave a trail of wreckage behind us.— The Shack Revisited, pages 233-234

<idle musing>
Praise God that the Holy Spirit isn't on the outside! But we are a hardheaded group of people. I like his comparison of first graders and college professors; it sums up the situation nicely.
</idle musing>

Eyes to see

Inside our darkness is the one, special, and unique Spirit of the Father and Son, the Holy Spirit. And she [he follows the Hebrew in giving the Spirit a feminine pronoun] is the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of adoption, and the Spirit of grace, and the Spirit of life in Christ, working with and within us that we may become what we are in Jesus. But like a briar patch, our inner world is a tangled mess of guilt and shame and anxiety, of self-centeredness, hiding, and fear, all of which coalesce to give us a profoundly wrong way of seeing.— The Shack Revisited, page 231

Thought for the day

Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31, 32 NIV)

Faith

Faith has no power without truth. Without reality, without Jesus, faith is simply a form of magic where we try to weave our spell over someone, wrest the cosmos to our will apart from Jesus.— The Shack Revisited, page 223

What, then, is salvation?

...it involves giving ourselves—our minds, hearts, and wills—to participate in what Jesus is doing. Our agenda, our independence, our confused self-will must die, so that the life and concerns, the burdens and joys, the music and other-centered love of the blessed Trinity can come to undiluted and unique expression in us.— The Shack Revisited, page 222

<idle musing>
Amen and amen! That is good news! And so much better than the "say a prayer, go to heaven someday" kind of salvation that is so common.

Salvation, having cost God so much, should involve the whole life of a person—now and in the future.
</idle musing>

Unwitting cooperation

As a shrewd political move, Caiaphas and the priests sacrificed Jesus to save their place. But it was an unwitting move of dramatic irony, which became the occasion of infinite grace. For in sacrificing Jesus, Caiaphas became the only high priest in Israel's long history to actually do his job: he offered up the one, true Sacrifice—though he never knew it, and did it for the wrong reason.— The Shack Revisited, page 201

<idle musing>
Interesting thought, isn't it? I hadn't realized this until he mentioned it. I wonder how many times we unwittingly assist the Lord in doing his will? Food for thought...
</idle musing>

Now THAT is good news!

It deserves repeating again: the gospel is not the news that we can accept an absent Jesus into our lives. The gospel is the news that the Father's Son has received us into his. In Jesus the alien world of our darkness and pain, of our obstinate pride and anger, was drawn within the life of the blessed Trinity, and the trinitarian life of God set up shop inside our hell forever. Our adoption is not a mere theological doctrine. Adoption is the way things really are, now and forever.— The Shack Revisited, pages 194-195

<idle musing>
Amen! May this truth be real in your life today!
</idle musing>

Ain't it the truth

What kind of reconciliation would it be that declared humanity legally clean, yet left us lost in the darkened cosmos of the fallen mind and its appalling pain?— The Shack Revisited, pages 186-187

<idle musing>
And yet, that is exactly the "gospel" that most believe and is most widely preached : (
</idle musing>

Come let us reason apart...

The one thing that the Lord could count on from his fallen creatures was that we would not be able to cope with his presence and love, and that we would do everything within our power to escape them both, including twisting his Word into religions custom-designed by our fallen minds to keep the Lord at a distance.— The Shack Revisited, page 178

Where do your thoughts go?

Some, and I fear a multitude which no man can easily number, there are amongst us, who call themselves Christians, and yet seldom or never seriously think of Jesus Christ at all. They can think of their shops and their farms, their plays, their balls, their assemblies, and horse-races (entertainments which directly tend to exclude religion out of the world); but as for Christ, the author and finisher of faith, the Lord who has bought poor sinners with his precious blood, and who is the only thing worth thinking of, alas! he is not in all, or at most in very few of their thoughts.—George Whitefield

Made in our image

In our pain, we, like Adam, have condemned ourselves, created a god in the image of our shame and handcrafted religions to go with it, all of which we project onto the Father and defend with a vengeance.— The Shack Revisited, page 172

<idle musing>
I'm proofreading a book on the history of Christianity right now, so I can verify that we defend false doctrine with a vengeance! : (
</idle musing>

And what about the Fall?

The problem of the Fall, of evil and sin, is not simply that there has been disobedience to a divine command. The problem is that Adam is now so lost in his own fallen mind that he is utterly incapable of relationship with the Lord. How could he possibly trust the God of his broken imagination? Trapped in the tragic nightmare of his self-referential confusion, he has become the judge, and in his judgment, he believes that the Lord is the enemy to be feared and avoided. He is ashamed of himself and terrified of God. He hides.

The hiding of Adam—from the presence of the concerned and caring Lord—tells us that the Fall, at the very least, is about a terrible twisting of human perception, about an alien, ungodly confusion that so warped Adam's fundamental way of thinking that he actually hid from the greatest friend in the universe—and believed he was right.— The Shack Revisited, page 170

<idle musing>
And we still hide. We think that we can fix ourselves and then we'll be good enough for God. It doesn't work that way...we'll never be "good enough for God." And the wonderful thing is that we don't have to be; "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!" What a blessed promise that is!
</idle musing>

The effect of the love of Christ

is practical, as Finney notes:

Oh, when this love has taken its effect on our hearts, how deeply do we feel that we can not hate any one for whom Christ died? Then instead of selfishly thrusting our neighbor off, and grasping the good to which his claim is fully as great as ours, we love him with a love so deep and so pure that it can not be in our heart to do him wrong.—Charles Finney

What happened?

For Anselm, the problem of sin lay in the fact that it was committed against the great King, the eternal God himself, and therefore even the smallest sin necessarily carried the weight of an eternal offense. But in the Garden of Eden, it is difficult to find such an offended God, or to see sin being weighed over against God's eternal worth. We see the Lord, who by our way of thinking, should have been highly offended, and who had every right to curse Adam, and destroy him utterly—but he didn't. We see the Lord putting aside all his rights to abstract justice and punishment, and we see him more concerned about his lost and terrified creatures than he is about his honor.— The Shack Revisited, pages 169-170

<idle musing>
That statement is bound to get some people riled up! But, look at the text. As I've said for years now, God doesn't curse humanity in Genesis 3; he provides for a future and a hope of restoration in the forthcoming Messiah. It takes a while to get there, but Jesus' coming is there from the beginning...
</idle musing>

Blinded

This is the problem with evil and sin. The impossible has happened: the truth about the love of the Lord is eclipsed, so eclipsed it has now become inconceivable. A profound blindness has taken over Adam's mind. He cannot see the Father's face. There is now a terrible incongruence between the being and character of God as Father, Son, and Spirit and the divine being that Adam perceivesand believes God to be. And for Adam, and indeed for all of us, the God of our imaginations is the only way God can be. Any other God is inconceivable.

From this moment, our shame will disfigure the Father's heart. The projections of our fear will rewrite the rules of his care. He will continue to bless us beyond our wildest dreams, but in our mythology we will never see it.— The Shack Revisited, page 166

Thought for today

What is it? Does it really lead them to purify themselves as Christ is pure? Nothing like it. It is not a hope that they shall see Christ as He is, and be forever with Him, and altogether like Him too, but it is mainly a hope that they shall escape hell, and go as an alternative to some unknown heaven.

Such professed Christians can not but know that their experience lacks the witness of their own consciences that they are living for God and bearing His image. If such are ever saved, they must first be convinced of the folly of a hope that leaves them unsanctified.—Charles Finney

The lie

He [Satan] confuses us so that we willingly, though perhaps unwittingly, give ourselves to operate in his diabolical matrix of unbelief, confusion, and meaningless darkness. And so he finds a place for his dastardly and perverse ways in the good creation of the triune God.

His chief deception is to invite us to doubt the Lord's goodness, creating insecurity and anxiety in us, which in turn drives us into independent action. All this is then shrewdly woven into the lie that we are separated from the triune God.— The Shack Revisited, page 164

<idle musing>
And it is terribly effective, isn't it?

Repeat after me, "God is love!" But do we really believe that?
</idle musing>

Idle musings on miscellaneous things

I was musing the other day about some of the thoughts that run through my head as I do the maintenance and housekeeping around here. It's interesting what happens when you cross my ANE/biblical studies training and background with "real" life; here's a sampling...

<idle musings>
This winter, while I was digging through a 3-4 foot tall, 6-10 foot wide snowbank, I kept reciting the Hezekiah Tunnel Inscription. It didn't make the shoveling any easier, but it made it seem smaller :)

Last week, as I was sweeping gravel off the driveway running between the cabins, I couldn't help but think I was fighting against Yammu, pushing him back into the sea. The words of Isaiah about setting a boundary for the sea kept coming to mind. At least we know that YHWH's decree stands. Mine, commanding the rocks to stay off the drive certainly won't!

Two nights ago, as I was forking a new bed for the garden, I hit an especially dense section of sod. As I pushed back on the fork, breaking the sod's roots, the whole section lifted up, well beyond the fork's tines! Reminded me of Amos 8:8, "The whole land will rise like the Nile" (and somewhere in Isaiah, too).

I guess I just think in mythopoetic ways...or maybe I have a misdirected sense of what's important? : )

Just some
</idle musings>

Thought for the day

How remarkable that persons will claim to be Christians when they have rejected every distinctive doctrine of Christianity. Indeed, such persons do sometimes claim that by thus rejecting almost the whole of the Bible, and all its great scheme of salvation by an atonement, they have become real Christians. Now they have got the true light. Indeed!

Sinners are very apt to suppose that they do believe the Gospel. They confound faith with a merely intellectual assent, and so blind themselves as to suppose that they believe God in the sense of Gospel faith.—Charles Finney

<idle musing>
And it's not just sinners who "confound faith with a merely intellectual assent"! Would that it were, because then coming to know Jesus would cure us all!
</idle musing>

Center of focus

Without seeing Jesus as the center of all things, we are doomed to live without hope in an essentially joyless and meaningless cosmos. But seeing Jesus, and ourselves and all creation gathered in him, and included in his relationship with his Father and his anointing in the Holy Spirit, is seeing “the light of life.”— The Shack Revisited, page 159

<idle musing>
And who wants to live without hope?! Especially when the alternative is life with God!
</idle musing>

Thought for a Tuesday in June

So long as we think of God only as One to be feared, not to be loved, there will be a prejudice against Him as more an enemy than a friend.—Charles Finney

<idle musing>
With a God like that, you might want to be saved (just to avoid hell), but you certainly won't want communion and fellowship, will you? And, you won't believe that his plans for your life are happy ones...God's will for you will become something burdensome and wearying—just the opposite of what scripture says!
</idle musing>

A sad turn of events

When legal holiness became the foundation for our idea of God, the biblical story was reframed in terms of law, guilt, and punishment. God is holy (legally speaking). We have failed; there must be restitution. The story of Jesus' coming and death then followed this larger story, and his death was understood as God's punishment for our sins.— The Shack Revisited, page 130

<idle musing>
And that was a very sad change! It affects our theology to this day here in the west...
</idle musing>

Law or grace?

If relationship is not the deepest truth of God's being, then the holiness of God is not a relational idea at all. And if holiness is not a description of the utter uniqueness of the trinitarian life, what is it? The door is now wide open for our idea of holiness to be filled with all manner of notions. And that is what has happened in our Western conversation. The holiness of God was detached from the relationship of the Father, Son, and Spirit, and reconceived within the world of Roman law, becoming a legal idea. Instead of holiness being a name for the incomparable love of the Father, Son, and Spirit, it became a matter of law, morality, and ethical perfection...— The Shack Revisited, page 129

No magic pills...

You cannot buy your health; you must earn it through healthy living. Visiting physicians, acupuncturists, chiropractors, homeopaths, naturopaths, osteopaths, and other health providers cannot make you healthy. You can receive symptomatic relief for your condition, but treatments do not make you healthy.—Eat to Live, page 171

Oh blessed thought

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. (Isaiah 43:25 NIV)

What a relief!

The doctrine of the Trinity means that God is a relational being—always has been, and always will be. Relationship, fellowship, self-giving, and other-centeredness are not afterthoughts with God, but the deepest realities of the divine Being. For the Father, Son, and Spirit it is always about love, relationship, and sharing life, not about what they can get from us. We were created that we could be, that we could live and share in the life and joy of the triune God. Jesus' Father is not holding his breath to see if we will jump through the right hoops before he decides our fate. There is no list. We are not here to “glorify God” by our religious performance. We are here to live “in the glory” of the blessed Trinity.— The Shack Revisited, pages 120-121

The evidence is there

Today the link between animal products and many different diseases is as strongly supported in the scientific literature as the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. For example, subjects who ate meat, including poultry and fish, were found to be twice as likely to develop dementia (loss of intellectual function with aging) as their vegetarian counterparts in a carefully designed study.—Eat to Live, page 101

<idle musing>
But it took about 40 years for people to accept that you shouldn't smoke in public—and cigarette smokers were in the minority! How long will it be before people are willing to accept a whole-foods, plant-based diet? I suspect never! Unless the unsustainableness of the thing forces the issue...
</idle musing>

The great exchange

The Father, Son, and Spirit love us for our benefit, not for increasing their membership rolls, or for making themselves look good, or for anything they can get from us. There is no need in the blessed Trinity. It is an overflowing fountain of other-centered love. The shared life of the Father, Son, and Spirit is about giving, not taking; sharing, not hoarding; blessing others with life for their sake, not manipulating for divine control. The Father, Son, and Spirit are focused upon giving themselves for our benefit, so that we, too, can experience real life. They need nothing in return.— The Shack Revisited, page 120

<idle musing>
I like that! The terms of the exchange are great: They love us! And they give us love so we can return that love to them and to each other! What a God we have!
</idle musing>

And where do you eat?

In 1978, 18 percent of calories were eaten away from home; the figure is now 36 percent. In 1970, Americans ate 6 billion fast-food meals. By 2000, the figure was 110 billion.—Eat to Live, page xviii

<idle musing>
I wonder what the figure is now? It's definitely higher; the economic slump didn't keep people from eating out, it just caused them to transfer it to cheaper places...
</idle musing>

Why?

Are we loved for what we can potentially bring to God's table, or are we loved for our own sake? Does the love of he Father, Son, and Spirit come with strings attached? Is our existence about relationship, or is it about performance? Is the universe the product of divine self-interest, or need, or perhaps boredom? Are we here to do something for God, for God's benefit?— The Shack Revisited, page 118

<idle musing>
In some people's theology, that's the way we are viewed. It certainly isn't biblical, though...
</idle musing>

Things that make you go hmmm...

How many baked potatoes do you think you can eat to get the same amount of fat as in 1 teaspoon of olive oil? If you said 70, you are right. Which do you think will make you feel more satisfied, one teaspoon of oil or 70 baked potatoes?— Fasting and Eating for Health, page 189

<idle musing>
Indeed! What's for breakfast? 140 baked potatoes! Or a three egg omelet fried in 2 tablespoons of oil (which is about how much they use in a restaurant—believe me, I was a grill-fry cook!). I'll take the potatoes, myself—but that should feed me for about 4 months of breakfasts...no wonder over half of Americans are overweight.
</idle musing>

What are you doing today?

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “ ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.” Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” (Revelation 4:8-11 NIV)

<idle musing>

As I read this today I realized how little I really love God. It should be my heart's desire to do this very thing. But is it?

Lord, kindle this desire within me!

</idle musing>

What is a person?

I suspect that part of the difficulty surrounding the Spirit is the way we in the West think of a person. According to Boethius's famous (or infamous) definition, a person is “an individual substance of a rational nature.” But what if instead of trying to fit the Holy Spirit into this definition of a person and finding her [he follows the Hebrew in referring to the Spirit as feminine] wanting, we reversed the order and let the Spirit expand our ideas of personhood? The Spirit is profoundly other-centered, humble, patient, and good. She loves communication, fellowship, and togetherness. Perhaps we need to modify our notion of personhood to include being a facilitator of fellowship. Perhaps a real person is not simply an individual substance of a rational nature, but one who loves bringing others together to share life, an individual who is other-centered, relational, and full of passion for communion.— The Shack Revisited, page 104

Revelation (not the book!)

Revelation is not a thing or a doctrine, mere information that can be transmitted from mind to mind. Revelation involves the unveiling or uncovering of God's Self in personal disclosure. What one encounters in revelation is not simply facts about God, or even accurate information, but God in person. Revelation involves an encounter with the person beyond the words, and gives rise to communion.— The Shack Revisited, page 79

<idle musing>
I read a few years ago about a theologian who said we tend to think of people as "brains on a stick" and that was the source of our errors...Communion—fellowship, oneness, theosis—that's what God is all about! Give me more, Lord!
</idle musing>

People of the lie

The message that people hear is that it is okay to continue with their present diet, as long as they supplement with vitamin pills or other nutritional supplements. This is a powerful lie, but it is attractive because it is what people in general want to believe. However, you cannot achieve optimal wellness as long as present-day dietary habits continue— Fasting and Eating for Health, page 49

I believe in God the Father...

We're starting a new book today, The Shack Revisited. A few months ago, Debbie was in a big box retail store (not Walmart! We don't shop there...) and saw a book display. She picked up a few books, this one among them. When she brought them home, I started reading this one. I thought readers of this blog might enjoy some snippets...(by the way, if you don't like T.A. Torrence's Trinitarian theology, you won't like these excerpts; the author of the book did his Ph.D. under James and Thomas Torrence).

Jesus lives by relating to God as his Father, by seeking him and knowing him as Father and loving him with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength. His life is not really his at all; it is sonship. He never lives on his own, doing his own thing, following his own agenda. He has no self-interest.— The Shack Revisited, page76

<idle musing>
Mutual indwelling, the heart of the Trinity! And the heart of the Gospel, too—theosis anyone? : )
</idle musing>

Too much of a good thing

Sufficient amounts of protein are obtained when caloric requirements are met from wholesome natural vegetable foods. Plant products contain an abundance of protein, without being excessive. How else could the gorilla get to be 800 pounds of muscle, eating solely fruit and leaves? The main point is that we should be concerned about too much rather than too little protein. It is ironic that the chief argument used to promote the use of animal products—the idea that they are rich in protein—is a great reason to avoid them.— Fasting and Eating for Health, page 40

Antibiotic use

More than 90 percent of all antibiotics produced are slated for animal administration.— The Pleasure Trap, page 128 (in CAFOs, etc.)

<idle musing>
I read in a more recent book (2012 publication), that the number is above 80 percent, not 90. But, what is more scarey was that the development of "superbugs" is almost totally because of the use on animals...we're killing ourselves by what we choose to eat and how we raise that food...
</idle musing>

Finally...

The strong opposition of the biblical writers to necromancy can be explained by necromancy’s being viewed as a violation of YHWH’s sovereignty and denial of his being the only source of divination. Furthermore, the blurring of boundaries between the living and the dead must be taken into account, because interaction with the spirits of the dead is dangerous.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 494

<idle musing>
That's the final snippet that I'll be posting from this book. It's a monster of a book and I enjoyed it immensely, especially the sections on the names. That section could have been a book in itself.

Next up will be something a bit more theological—stay tuned!
</idle musing>

Whole? Not likely

Incredibly, less than 2 percent of the wheat products consumed in the U.S. Are “whole wheat.” This means that the majority of plant-based food products we wat have had some or all of their fiber artificially extracted.— The Pleasure Trap, page 78

They ain't gods, folks

One of the most important contexts for ritual activity other than the regular domestic cult was burial and post-mortem care for the dead. The significance of cultic activities for the deceased in Israelite religion has been a controversial subject of recent discussion (Spronk 1986: 247–50; Lewis 1989: 171–81; van der Toorn 1996b: 206–35; Niehr 2003; Schmitt 2007 et al.). We prefer the term care for the dead instead of terms such as cults of the dead and ancestor cults, because the latter terms imply veneration of ancestors similar to that of gods, and this is not attested in our sources. Care for the dead underlines the ongoing social relations between the living and the deceased members of a family, clan, or other community. Honoring and remembering ancestors were an important aspect of building and maintaining family identity in ancient Israel.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 493 (italics theirs)

But it's not the American way!

The real culprits in most modern-day health problems are excesses, not deficiencies. It is the subtraction of these excesses that will solve most of the problems, not the addition of medications or supplements. Not surprisingly, the subtraction of excess is nearly always more effective at restoring health than is the addition of anything, be it dietary supplements or medications.— The Pleasure Trap, page 54

That's a mouthful!

Based on the cultic apparatuses found in the domestic structures, we can conclude that the predominant ritual actions were libation rites with stands and zoomorphic vessels, dry offerings in the stand bowls, the burning of aromatic compounds, as well as votive practices and other ritual actions with human and animal figurines. The ritual apparatuses suggest that daily offerings and gifts were given to deities and ancestors, the latter of which may have been represented by human figurines. The human representations, predominantly the JPFs [Judean Pillar Figurines] in Iron Age IIC, are not divine representations, given their lack of divine emblems, but more probably likenesses of humans, expressing human needs and wishes such as fertility, plentiful progeny, ample lactation for the mother, etc. They were generally multipurpose objects used in various contexts (domestic residences, temples, graves), especially for votive practices. We define votive practices as the use of the figurine as an ex voto, both to give thanks for a benefit from the gods and to give to the gods in exchange for a benefit; they also served as media for prayer by representing the petitioner, and for magical rites such as love charms and apotropaic rituals (see Schmitt 2004: 187–89). Unambiguous divine figures (carrying divine emblems) used in domestic cult activities have not been found in Iron Age Israel, but they are occasionally found in Transjordan and Phoenicia and also in Philistia, where they were more common.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 479

So true

Wealth can ransom a person’s life, but the poor don’t even receive threats. (Proverbs 13:8 CEB)

Thought for today

The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. (Proverbs 12:10 NIV)

Can you say deception?

The greatest danger we face from modern medicine is not the risk of misusing short-cut Pain Relief Goal procedures. The greatest danger in not from addiction to pain-relieving medications, though this is a serious problem worthy of our collective concern. The greatest danger comes from an altogether different quarter—a threat that is purely psychological. Simply stated, our greatest threat is our awe of modern medicine. It is our belief that doctors, hospitals, and high-tech equipment are omnipotent, and that with the help of fancy tools and brilliant people, we can circumvent the laws of nature.— The Pleasure Trap, page 38

<idle musing>
In other words, we can be God! Genesis 3 all over again...

Lord! Deliver us from idolatry and false gods!
</idle musing>

Ancestor cult?

Both textual and archaeological evidence supports a variety of forms of mortuary rites and ritual communication with the dead. This evidence reveals that, in ancient Israel, there was no ancestor cult in the sense of ancestors being venerated as divine or quasidivine beings, although the dead may have been addressed as preternatural beings.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 471

Count the cost

Modern medical science has given us wonderful gifts, but these gifts have not been free. The astonishing technical capability of medicine, while invaluable in certain areas, has exacted an enormous price from our collective understanding. The medical doctor holds one of the most respected and admired places in our society. But that awe has produced a danger: Most people believe that ingenious medical procedures are likely to save them from any disease process that they may have to face! This belief is absolutely false. The truth is far different and ominous.— The Pleasure Trap, page 37

<idle musing>
Can anyone say "Idolatry!"???? Far too often, I fear, when we say we are thankful that so-and-so got better, we aren't so much thankful to God as to medical science. That's a slap in the face to God...

Lord! Forgive our idolatry and set us free! Open our eyes to the ways we have allowed culture to dictate our way of life instead of your Holy Spirit!
</idle musing>

Eternal supply

The relatively small number of vessels that accompanied each inhumation does not support the supposition that they served as supplies either in the grave or in Šĕʾōl for longer periods extending into eternity. It seems more likely that the food provisions served for shorter, transitional phases during which the person may have been believed to be present, or possibly until the body had decomposed (Wenning 2005: 129–30). The latter case was apparently the opinion in rabbinic sources (see b. Šabb. 152b; m. Nid. 10:4).—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 454

Thought for today

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes. They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn will be lifted high in honor. (Psalm 112:6-9 NIV)

The power of addiction

..if you give a laboratory rat a choice between cocaine and food, he will choose the cocaine, because cocaine is a more powerful cause of pleasure and thus a stronger signal of success than is food. Incredibly, this will remain true even as death by starvation approaches.— The Pleasure Trap, page 22

The dead

The significant omission of specialized vessels for libation and incense burning is perhaps best understood by presuming that the dead in Šĕʾōl did not need to sacrifice anything. Moreover, no sacrifices were performed by the bereaved in the cave proper. Conversely, the presence of other ritual media such as terra-cotta figurines of various types, amulets, and perhaps weapons suggests a perceived need for protection.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 454

<idle musing>
More evidence for no cult of the dead...
</idle musing>

The wrong questions

Some people ask if there is any difference between nutrients in 'chemical' or 'organic' form, but that is really asking the wrong question. We should actually be asking how stable and soluble the nutrients are.—How to Grow Winter Vegetables, page 36

<idle musing>
Aren't we always asking the wrong questions, though?
</idle musing>

What of the dead

The concept of the deification of the dead as a universal religious phenomenon belongs to the evolutionist paradigm of 19th-century scholarship. Because the Hebrew Bible contains almost no evidence that family (or royal) ancestors were worshiped, it seems to provide a strong argument against the universality of this phenomenon.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 433

<idle musing>
But that doesn't keep it from being repeated!
</idle musing>

Thought for today

Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge? The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile. (Psalm 94:9-11 NIV)

How high?

May it not also be the case that some have opposed the doctrine [of holiness] really because it raises a higher standard of personal holiness than they like—too high, perhaps, to permit them to hope as Christians, too high for their experience, and too high to suit their tastes and habits for future life?—Charles Finney

<idle musing>
Yep!
</idle musing>

The power of a blessing

Blessing and curses were not magical acts that merely manifested the inherent power of words but were ritual acts of speech that mediated or anticipated God’s favor or disfavor and were performed by a person endowed with authority, even when that authority was merely situational. This authority in familial contexts would usually have resided in the pater familias. 410

Some good stuff

I've been busy getting the cabins ready for the season—we're officially open! But, only two are really ready as of this moment—and one of those is rented.

We'll have them all ready to go by the middle of next week, but it's been a bit hectic in the meantime. In fact, I should be doing other things right now! : )

Anyway, some good stuff that I just now took the time to read:

Alan Knox has a good series on the love problem. The first post has a link to them all. Here's a good appetizer:

ately, whenever I’ve talked about this “love problem,” I’m often met with reasons, excuses, justifications, conditions, and finger pointing. This has happened several times. I’ve rarely been met with this answer: “You’re right… we’re not very loving.”

This is a problem. It’s a problem we must own up to. It’s a problem we must address.

Yep!

And, Roger Olson has a good post on the Bible. Here's the heart of it:

First, speaking only for myself, and realizing I will sound like a fundamentalist here, I don’t think the Bible is all that unclear if read and studied properly, that is, reasonably–recognizing the Bible for what it is (now I’ll stop sounding like a fundamentalist)–not a source book of propositional answers to curious questions but a complex narrative written and compiled by human authors led by but not over ridden by the Holy Spirit.

Second, still speaking only for myself, in my opinion, everything we need to know to have a sound relationship with God and to become whole and holy persons is clear in Scripture.

Third, just because people disagree about what a text means does not mean it isn’t clear. There are all kinds of reasons why people don’t “see” what is clear. They approach scripture with preconceived interpretive frameworks that don’t really fit all of scripture or they are morally challenged and don’t want the Bible to contradict their lifestyle or vested interests or they are looking for harmony beyond what the Bible offers or was intended to offer. There are many conceivable reasons why people disagree about what the Bible says.

<idle musing>
About sums it up, doesn't it? My experience tells me that the most common problem is the first one: a source book for everything. Folks, it ain't! It's designed to bring us to Christ, who is the source of everything!
</idle musing>

Taste good?

Our tongue is able to distinguish five tastes: sweet, salt, sour, bitter, and savory. Sugar covers up all four. It covers up salty (trail mix, honey roasted peanuts), sour (the acidity in processed tomato sauce provided by less-than-ripe tomatoes, or lemonade), bitter (milk chocolate). And savory (sweet-and-sour pork). Sugar covers up the inequities of foods, making not-so-tasty food seem like it is worth eating. Bottom line, you can make pretty much anything taste good with enough sugar. And the food industry does.—href=http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781101606582,00.html target=”_blank”> Fat Chance, pages 170-171

<idle musing>
Yep! And they do : (
</idle musing>

Firstborn

As concluded by Milgrom (2000: 1590), “There is no evidence that the firstborn, except in crisis situations (e.g., 2 Kgs 3:27), were sacrificed; there is no indication that Israel’s God ever demanded or even sanctioned this practice.” The demand that the firstborn be offered therefore represents thanksgiving to YHWH for granting the first child and for enabling the mother and child to survive the birth.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 403

Final excerpt from Hannah Whitall Smith's book

Just as light drives out darkness, so does the realized presence of God drive out sin, and the soul that by faith abides in His presence knows a very real and wonderful deliverance.—Hannah Whitall Smith

A different perspective

A woman in childbed was deemed impure for 7 days following the birth of a son and for 14 days after the birth of a daughter (Lev 12:2, 5). This status of impurity was associated not only with the mother’s bleeding during parturition but also with her close encounter with the divine during the birth process.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 391

<idle musing>
Hadn't thought of that angle before...what would that mean for the extended separation for a girl baby, then?
</idle musing>

Thought for today

People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself. Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them. Though while they live they count themselves blessed— and people praise you when you prosper— they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish. (Psalm 49:12-20 NIV)

Comforting thought

If any of us, therefore, have that in our past which has caused us anxiety or remorse, let us lift up our heads in a happy confidence from henceforth, that the God who is behind us will set it all straight somehow, if we will but commit it to Him, and can even make our very mistakes and misdoings work together for good.—Hannah Whitall Smith

Magic

In considering trajectories of human social development from the 19th century onward, many people (including those associated with the so-called phenomenological school and the German “Religionsgeschichtliche Schule” of the first half of the 20th century) assumed an evolutionist paradigm and were misguided into thinking that human progress had followed a path from “savagery, through barbarism, to civilization” (Morgan 1877). According to this evolutionist paradigm, magic was an expression of the first and most-primitive forms of human religion, born of belief in the hidden powers of nature (as in manaism or dynamism) or of spirits (as in animism). Up to the second half of the 20th century, many exegetes and scholars of religious studies believed that monotheistic religion had supplanted beliefs in magic with conceptions of the absolute dependence of man on the one true God, and thus this dependence was in no way amenable to manipulation through magic...

Over the last decade, however, as anthropology has turned more directly toward cultural phenomena, the perception of “magical” practices in Old Testament studies has changed (Cryer 1991; Jeffers 1996; Schmitt 2004), as it has also in studies of the ancient Near East (for example, Thomsen 1987; Abusch 2002; and Schwemer 2007) and Egypt (for example, Assmann 1991 and Ritner 1993). Magic and divination have come to be seen more as performative acts and comprising the more integral part of religion and the entire symbolic system of a culture. Accordingly, magic in the Old Testament, as in the ancient Near Eastern world, was not so much a manipulation of matter and beings through the use of dynamistic or animistic powers as it was the result of a belief in the absolute power of the divine. The absolute divinity was the final or sole authority able to intervene by supernatural force in the human realm. Magic as a descriptive term denotes ritual practices that were intended to effect particular results through rituals or acts performed in anticipation of divine intervention (see Schmitt 2004: 92–93). Thus, the rites and rituals of family religion—as well as the rituals of official cults—were strategies of ritual behavior that must be seen as genuine expressions of religion, regardless of differences in socioreligious settings.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 388

<idle musing>
Same results, though. Man trying to control God!
</idle musing>

Food

Micronutrients matter—the biochemistry says so—except they don't work when provided as supplements in clinical trials. How many studies do we need? Now you're ready for the dénouement: Real food, containing endogenous micronutrients, prevents metabolic syndrome. Processed food causes metabolic syndrome. And nutritional supplements can't reverse that which have previously been destroyed.—href=http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781101606582,00.html target=”_blank”> Fat Chance, page 156

Seraphim, etc.

...the symbolic system pertaining to personal piety reveals perceived needs for protection in a more general sense, as represented by the various motifs of protective spirits and apotropaic monsters. An interesting phenomenon that again reflects the coincidence of the symbolic systems of official and personal religion is the frequent presence of winged Uraei in Israelite iconography. Particularly in Judean iconography, this stands in stark contrast to the very few occurrences on other West Semitic seals (table 5.16). The winged Uraei, which have generally been associated with biblical seraphim, along with the sphinxes, who were in turn associated with cherubim, may together be considered protective lower deities who would have been of some importance for personal piety and possibly also as mediators of YHWH. The popularity of the seraphim in particular reveals that elements of the official symbolic system, especially aspects of an apotropaic or protective nature, were eminently able to be assimilated in realms of personal piety.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 385

Spirit led

It is wonderful to see how naturally and earnestly the Spirit leads us to pray. If we were really led by the Spirit, we should be drawn many times a day to secret prayer, and should be continually lifting up our hearts in silent ejaculations whenever the mind unbends itself from other pressing occupations. The Spirit in the hearts of saints is pre-eminently a spirit of prayer...—Charles Finney

Changeable

These characteristics, however, do not mean that she was not adopted for use in the present context because, in family religions, the characteristics of all deities were altered in accordance with family needs.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 365

<idle musing>
Just like today, eh? We adapt/alter God to make him into our needs...
</idle musing>

Thought (Praise!) for the day

The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, who saves me from my enemies. You exalted me above my foes; from a violent man you rescued me. Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing the praises of your name. (Psalm 18:46-49 NIV)

Protector

Ancient Near Eastern societies were predominantly patriarchal. The father at least symbolized (or assumed, in practice) all responsibility, care, and protection for his entire familial group, and thus family gods were naturally commonly referred to as “father.” Gods were also often named “brother,” which reflected the practice of an older brother’s assuming responsibility for the family after the unavoidable absence or death of the father (see, for example, Genesis 44). References to the father’s brothers appear for similar reasons.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 351

Thought for today

Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish; they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame. (Psalm 6:8-10 NIV)

Hmmm...

One current fad is to juice the entire fruit into a “smoothie.” Juice bars have popped up all over the West Coast, ostensibly because juicing is healthy. The problem is that the shearing action of the blender blades completely destroys the insoluble fiber of the fruit. The cellulose is torn to smithereens. While the soluble fiber is still there, and can help move food through the intestine faster, it now does not have the “latticework” of the insoluble fiber to help form that intestinal barrier. The sugar in the fruit will be absorbed just as fast as if the juice were strained with no fiber at all. You need both types of fiber to derive the beneficial effects.— href=http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781101606582,00.html target=”_blank”> Fat Chance, page 134

Theology of Proverbs

Proverbs even reveals a social dimension to the creation motif that we saw was so central to family piety. The belief that YHWH created each and every individual can only mean that no human being, no matter how poor or unfortunate, should be despised and that all social stratification must be restricted and limited as much as possible (14:31; 17:5; 22:2; 29:13). Thus, Proverbs considers YHWH to be not only the creator, supporter, and protector of all individuals but also their examiner, their judge, and the person who will retaliate on their behalf.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 338

Too far?

After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. (1 Kings 12:28-30 NIV)

<idle musing>
Too far to go to Jerusalem—but not too far to Dan!?
</idle musing>

On quenching the Spirit

If you have seen cases of this sort you have doubtless seen how as the truth pressed upon their minds they became restive, sensitive-- then perhaps angry-- but still stubborn in resisting-- until at length the conflict subsides; the truth makes no more impression, and is henceforth quite dead as to them; they apprehend it only with the greatest dimness, and care nothing about it.—Charles Finney

Names again

From the very beginning of a child’s life, his or her identity and self-perceptions were imposed based on the religious experiences and beliefs of the parents. But these considerations reveal the social reasons rather than the religious. The religious foundation underlying the personal relationship with the divine is illustrated more directly by the formal analogy between the names that express lifelong personal relationships to a deity (such as והידבע ʿAbdiyāhû ‘servant of Yhwh’) and equivalent names of creation (such as והישׂעמ Maʿaśēyāhû ‘work of Yhwh’ or והינקמ Miqnēyāhû ‘creature of Yhwh’). The former formulate from a human perspective what is conceived by the latter from a divine perspective: one is related to god for one’s entire life because god has created every individual and thus has entered into a relationship with each one.—Family and Household Religion in Ancient Israel and the Levant, page 333

<idle musing>
The Hebrew is backwards! I haven't been able to figure out why. When I copy it from the PDF, it is correct, but when I paste it in here it reverses : ( I suspect it is because there is a buried command in the PDF that doesn't get transferred...
</idle musing>

Kindness misunderstood

“I have already said that the princess was, at this time of her life, such a low-minded creature, that severity had greater influence over her than kindness. She understood terror better far than tenderness.”—Excerpt From: MacDonald, George. “A Double Story.”

<idle musing>
That is a sad commentary on a person. Lord, don't ever allow me to degenerate to that level!

By the way, this book is an excellent parenting manual. If you only ever read one book on parenting, this little children's story should be it. Best part is that it is available online here (in multiple formats, too).
</idle musing>