Israel vs. God's People

Many of my Christian brothers and sisters are somehow convinced that the modern state of Israel is the equivalent of the children of Israel in the Old Testament and thus uniquely authorized by God to demand and receive military and political aid, privileges, and concessions. They also believe God will, at the return of Christ, reestablish the theocracy that was Israel 2000 years ago, complete with temple worship and animal sacrifices. To those brothers and sisters I say with the prophet Isaiah, “Come let us reason together.”

Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that God has a vested interest in the physical existence of the essentially atheistic, militaristic, geopolitical state of modern day Israel. Let us assume that God is therefore on their side politically and militarily. My question is this. If God is intent on establishing an earthly kingdom with headquarters in Jerusalem, does the Ruler of the universe need special concessions , military aid and financial help?

And, if the state of Israel is “God’s People” to whom all of Biblical prophecy applies,  what am I, chopped liver?

"Dating" the Universe

In my single days, I “sort of” dated a number of odd characters. I say “sort of” because I only remember being actually asked out two or maybe three times. In all other cases, the young man in question and I found ourselves in deep philosophical discussions or other compromising situations without our having formalized the event with an invitation. Case in point: a gentleman who stood out on our otherwise homogenous, Christian college campus. 

“Clark” was a bit older than the majority of students, and tall enough to impress. He furthered his gravitas by wearing tweed suits, dress shirts, and ties to class. In addition, anyone in his wake was treated to a sweet, earthy smell that my friends convinced me was marijuana. (I still don’t know if they were pulling my leg, but I remember the smell distinctly and have suspected many a soul since, guilty or otherwise, of smoking weed.)

Our liaisons typically began after our shared Theatre Lit class in which discussions could devolve into taunts. After a heated debate over Shaw’s “Man and Super Man,” I told him his conclusions smelled of sulfur. He responded by bringing a book of matches to our next class, striking them and blowing the smoke my way. Thus began our theological debates.

I learned that he believed in a creator because he had “proven it mathematically.” I had never considered mathematics as a basis for belief, but have since come to understand that such proofs are possible, especially given scientists’ current ability to date the beginning of the universe.

“Clark” claimed he did not believe in a personal God because a “good, omnipotent God” would not allow suffering. To prove his point, he showed me a picture of his bed-ridden grandmother, wasting away in discomfort, and virtually unaware of her surroundings. “What do you have to say to her?” he asked.

I did not come up with a definitive answer to the problem of pain, but after considerable thought I had two responses:

1.       If I ever find myself in such a situation, I pray that God will give me grace to remain faithful and thankful.

2.       If she is a believer, I would tell her, “It won’t be long now. Your suffering will end, and heaven is worth it all.”

I do not know if our discussions ever led him to belief. Things came to an abrupt halt when he issued a matter-of-fact proposal that went something like this, “I am a genius, and you are a genius. We should get married and have perfect children.”

A couple of years later, my discussions with “Clark” did bear fruit when I found myself in debate with another weirdo, the militant atheist who is now a Christian and my husband.

My Writing Process

I’m plugging away at the next Grit and Grace Mystery, "Murder Abominable," and thought I might give any would-be authors out there some insight into my process. The first passage below is a rough draft, the second is an edit, possibly the final edit. In any case, notice the &&& marking that I place in my rough draft to mark spots that need to be “fixed.” Sometimes I leave notes to myself to help me remember what I want to do. In this case the &&& is followed by the note (Make this more immediate.) In other words, bring the scene closer to the reader. Bring the reader into the scene. I believe I have achieved that goal. Read both passages to see if you agree.

ROUGH DRAFT

“But I’m telling you, Franklin, it’s illegal.” Rake Cradoc, Jr. of Cradoc and Cradoc Attorneys at Law, clung to his phone with white knuckles. “You can’t charge that kind of interest in this state.”

Franklin Stewart answered evenly, “You set it up yourself, Rake. We’re off shore. State laws can’t touch me.”

“But the Feds are sniffing around. They are going to trace the money back to Golden Goose and from Golden Goose to you. I don’t know how much longer that ruse in the Bahamas is going to hold up.”

“It will hold up as long as I remain mindful. I’m controlling my own destiny. I can’t stop living my destiny because I might be breaking a few tax laws.”

“What if your destiny is prison, Franklin?”

“What a negative way of thinking, Rake. You aren’t living in the moment. You aren’t being mindful of your present state of being.”

“Listen, Franklin.” Rake raised his voice and resorted to biting humor. “Exorbitant interest is illegal in your present state of being.”

“Rake, Rake.” Franklin clucked. “Have you even started to read that book I gave you?”

&&&(make this more immediate)

Rake had tried. Science of Mind, advocated, as far as Rake could make out, plain old positive thinking. But there was a side order of access to the Infinite—access obtained with “no system of sin and punishment, no rule of conduct, no profession of faith.” Rake was intrigued; he was not a religious man. On the other hand, if, as he suspected, there really was an “Infinite Intelligence,” he was pretty sure he was not, as the book seemed to claim, it. Nor did he believe that his inmost being harbored that Intelligence. But the chapter that claimed every human on the planet “shares unlimited access to the infinite curative power of the universe,” caused him to throw the book across the room. “That power,” he had read, “is obedient to our expectations, it manifests exactly as we think and believe.” In other words, Science of Mind stated that anyone could, with the proper thought processes, control the universe. "Disease is not a truth,” the author claimed. “The truths within Infinite Intelligence include health, abundance, security, love, peace, and happiness - all of which make up our natural state. Anyone, by claiming those truths and acting confidently on them, can bring them into manifestation.” Anyone, Rake knew, did not include the author, Earnest Holmes, whose natural state at the moment was, dead.

 

REVISED VERSION

“But I’m telling you, Franklin, it’s illegal.” Rake Cradoc, Jr. of Cradoc and Cradoc Attorneys at Law, clung to his phone with white knuckles. “You can’t charge that kind of interest in this state.”

Franklin Stewart answered evenly, “You set it up yourself, Rake. We’re off shore. State laws can’t touch me.”

“But the Feds are sniffing around. They are going to trace the money back to Golden Goose and from Golden Goose to you. I don’t know how much longer that ruse in the Bahamas is going to hold up.”

“It will hold up as long as I remain mindful. I’m controlling my own destiny. I can’t stop living my destiny because I might be breaking a few tax laws.”

“What if your destiny is prison, Franklin?”

“What a negative way of thinking, Rake. You aren’t living in the moment. You aren’t being mindful of your present state of being.”

“Listen, Franklin.” Rake raised his voice and resorted to biting humor. “Exorbitant interest is illegal in your present state of being.”

“Rake, Rake.” Franklin clucked. “Have you even started to read that book I gave you by Earnest Holmes?”

Rake had tried. Science of Mind, as far as he could make out, advocated plain old positive thinking with a tantalizing side order of Divinity—Divinity obtained with “no system of sin and punishment, no rule of conduct, no profession of faith.” He was not a religious man, but he had been intrigued. There might very well be an “Infinite Intelligence,” but Rake was pretty sure he was not, as the book seemed to claim, It. Nor did he believe the book’s claim that “The truths within Infinite Intelligence include health, abundance, security, love, peace, and happiness—all of which make up our natural state. Anyone, by claiming those truths can bring them into manifestation.”

Rake closed down his Kindle app and Googled “Earnest Holmes.” The current natural state of Earnest Holmes was, Rake learned, “dead.” He reopened Science of Mind and punched “delete.”

Body and Soul

What is your reaction when you see pubescent females in tiny bikinis? My reaction is fear.

 

I fear for children whose parents have no more regard for their safety than to (literally) expose them to the leers of whoever may be present. I fear for children who could be targets of rapists, kidnappers, or human traffickers.  I am afraid for children whose pictures, if posted on the internet, could be classified as child porn.

 

And I fear for the souls of children who are not taught the sanctity and holiness of the human body.

 

I hope the insights presented by swimsuit designer Jessica Rey in the  link below are a sign that modesty is "New-fashioned" and on the rise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im0O-IVzoWE

Spirit, Soul, and Body

The Bible urges us to share strong feelings (emotions) with our Christian brothers and sisters.

 

One of many examples: Phil. 2:1-3

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

 

Strong feelings of love, tenderness, and compassion (compassion means “feeling together”) involve physical and chemical reactions in our (dare I use the word) bodies.

Having recently begun to attend a Pentecostal church, I am learning that emotions combined with spiritual and physical phenomena can be confusing, exhilarating, and nearly overwhelming.

Satan has tried to exploit my confusion to convince me that my feelings of affection, joy, and connection are or could become sinful. This fear pushes me away from my brothers and sisters.

 

But scripture pushes me toward love and promises that God will strengthen my heart to make me able to practice pure and holy love.

 

Ephesians 3:15-19

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you , being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 

I Thessalonians 3:12,13

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

 

I Thessalonians 5:24,25

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

 

I refuse to allow Satan to make my relationships with my Christian brothers and sisters anything but holy.

Easter Passion

When asked if I have seen the movies “The Passion of the Christ,” or “Son of God” I want to say, “No, I haven’t paid to watch the torture, humiliation, and murder of my best friend and brother. But thank you for asking.”

And I despise sermons that exploit the agony of the crucifixion—the stripe by stripe, blow by blow, gasp by gasp description of Roman cruelty.

First and foremost, such sermons are not Biblical. If God had wanted Christians to be guilt-ridden by the appalling physical aspect of Christ’s passion, you would think at least one of the four gospel writers would have gone that direction. Instead, in regard to the actual manner of death, we have this:

Matthew: “When they had crucified him. . .”

Mark: “And they crucified him.”

Luke:  “. . . there they crucified him . . .”

John: “When the soldiers crucified Jesus . . .”

Second, if the point of Christ’s death were the pain, there are hundreds, if not thousands of more dreadful ends. For one, He could, like my own mother, live to be over 90 and die of multiple, painful conditions that kill by inches. Or he could have simply remained on the cross for the typical two to three days instead of dying after six hours.

I do not mean to downplay Christ’s physical suffering, but, over the centuries, tens of thousands of human beings have been and are being crucified.

Only one had the power to save himself yet willingly chose to die.

Only one lived a sinless life and chose to die as a sinner.

Only one died for me.

Only one is still living.

MESSY

 

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.” I John: 4:1-3.

This scripture was not typically preached in the denomination in which I was raised. Many Christians under that label do not acknowledge the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and most believe that the need to “test the spirits” ended in the first century.
That view of a Christian’s walk on this earth leaves us with a couple of options: One, we read the Bible and try to arrive at the truth all by ourselves, or two, we ask the preacher or the elders or the brotherhood bigwigs what to believe and how to behave.

The former method, without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is hopeless; the latter results in comfortable, codified, legalism.

But, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Ephesians 6:12, 13.

Who or what are these evil powers/spirits? Do we see them? Hear them? Feel them? How do we resist them?
And if the Holy Spirit dwells in us and gives us gifts, how do we recognize Him and practice our gifts individually, in the body, and in worship?

Though the Bible offers guidance, the answers to these questions are not and cannot be codified. They are experiential and cumulative. They must be practiced over a lifetime.
And life is MESSY.

A Passing Miracle?

     Age and acid reflux have taken a toll on my vocal chords, and, for the last few years, anytime I have attempted to sing, my voice has broken, cracked, and squawked. BUT, for the last three months, I have been able to sing.  Being able to sing again is pure joy for me, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude every time anything other than screeching comes out of my mouth.

     I believe God did this. I am not sure why or how, but He restored my voice in November, shortly after my father died and my husband and I began attending a church where I, in spite of being female, am allowed to “bring a hymn”* to the worship service. Incidentally—I thought—I had also started taking a powerful medication for dry eyes.

     Then, the medicine, although working beautifully for my dry eyes, began to seriously disturb my balance. I fell—twice. No dizziness, weakness, nausea, or lightheadedness, I simply fell. I called my eye doctor who instructed me to stop using the drops. That was at the end of December, and I have not fallen since.

     I saw that doctor today. While I was in his office, the coincidence between the medicine and my voice occurred to me, and I asked if the drops could have restored my vocal chords. He said, “They do run down the back of your throat after they leave your eyes, and anything is possible.” He added, “Get your singing in now; the medicine will be out of your system in another month.”

     I am seriously sad and considering trying to take the eye drops again if my voice starts to go. I am praying that the drops have nothing to do with my voice and that my miracle will last just a little longer.

*What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. (I Corinthians 14:26)

You REALLY had to Be There

If you have never seen 25 kids, all under 8 years of age, sing and dance their way through the Christmas story, you have missed an indescribable joy. The Sunday before Christmas, Bruce and I attended a children’s cantata at our church, Christian Fellowship Assembly in Tunnel Hill, GA.

Tiny angels, shepherds, the Magi, Mary and Joseph worshiped with abandon.  A grinning four-year-old in  gold lame’ sat atop her father’s shoulders and led the cast, including a donkey, a cow, a sheep, a bird, and a couple of critters of unknown species, to the baby in the manger.

The unconventional Christmas pageant was punctuated with familiar but reimagined carols. I don’t know about you, but toddlers bobbing up and down and singing “O, Holy Night” to a polka beat is beyond my ability to describe. You really had to be there. The director, a young woman with entirely too much energy and infinite patience, waved and pointed and shouted out the lyrics.

One thought has filled my heart and given me great pleasure ever since witnessing this miniature spectacular: never in these children’s lives will anyone at our church tell them, “You can’t worship like that.”

Praise God!