tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16886176591914991012024-03-19T00:17:20.680-04:00More Light Than HeatAn attempt to discuss spiritual matters in a way which creates more light than heat Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-53262374953024247992019-11-11T20:00:00.000-05:002019-11-11T20:01:09.131-05:00Prescription for a troubled economy: cast your bread upon the watersThe following post was first published in the now defunct Examiner.com on July 9, 2010. I thought now would be a good time to re-publish it. While the description of the weather doesn't apply, the recent political talk in the race for the Democrat nominee for President prompted me to dredge up this post. It adds to the discussion on the proposed "billionaire tax." Here it is, for what ever it's worth:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , serif; font-size: 24.0pt;">Prescription
for a troubled economy: cast your bread upon the waters<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Corn field along CR 6
just east of County Line (Ash) Rd. July 9, 2010<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Photo by Mark Sommer<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The hot, rainy weather here in the
South Bend area this summer has apparently been great for the corn crop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">An old farmer’s rhyme says, “Knee
high By the Fourth of July.” This year, in most corn fields in Michiana, the
lines from “O What a Beautiful Morning” (Oklahoma!) seem to be more
appropriate: “The corn is as high As an elephant’s eye.” As the supplied photo
shows, less than a week after the Fourth some corn stalks are already forming
ears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In one episode of <a href="http://www.gilligansisle.com/scripts/script66.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3;">Giligan’s Island</span></b></a>, Mary Ann quotes the
“Farmer’s Formula” to the Professor: “one part sunshine, two parts water and
three parts prayer.” This old saying reminds us that without God, who provides
sunshine and rain “upon the just and the unjust” (Mattherw 5:45), there would
be no crops. The farmer plants and tills and fertilizes, and can even irrigate,
but it is God who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In biblical times, farmers would
often employ a no till method by casting their seed upon the shallow flood
waters in the spring. When the water receded, animals were allowed into the
area to trample the seed into the soil. (See Isaiah 32:20.) The writer of
Ecclesiastes was apparently familiar with this method of farming, which helps
explain what he meant in Chapter 11.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Cast your bread upon the waters, for
after many days you will find it again.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> (11:1
NIV)<o:p></o:p></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Instead of hoarding grain for food,
farmers had to set aside a portion to plant the next year. This is a lesson
that modern society has forgotten. We spend virtually every penny we earn –
often more than we earn – and invest little for the future. We hoard things for
ourselves instead of investing in what would provide opportunity for others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus told a parable (Luke 12:
15-21) about a rich man whose crops are so abundant that he has huge barns
built to store it. But the barns are not the problem; his attitude about his
wealth (the grain) is. Having abundance is not in itself wrong; it’s what we do
with our abundance that makes the difference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The rich farmer decides to quit
working and live off what he has accumulated. He has enough for “many years.”
Instead of investing that grain into the ground where it would provide an
income for his workers, and support the poor from its gleanings, the farmer
became a miser. His thoughts are all about what his riches can do for himself
instead of what it could do for others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Perhaps the biggest problem with our
economy here in the United States is that we have become a nation of greedy
hoarders instead of entrepreneurs and investors. We accumulated real estate and
commodities, assuming their value would continue ever upward, instead of
investing in businesses that actually produce a needed product and provide a
living wage for its workers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Greed takes root when we depend upon
ourselves instead of God. We need to get back to trusting the God “who gives
the increase” and “spreading the wealth around” – not because the government
redistributes it, but because we invest in enterprises which help others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-61622268169528283902018-04-04T17:50:00.000-04:002018-04-04T17:50:14.513-04:00A Dream Made Possible at Easter: Remembering the Death of Another King<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL11JKeRRtkrSjNxywBA4tK-sZohGoZuJGl56rDvFqPL0pOCbxWytt_UKJTfqrbpngkz0PYUqm6YSn_lVcy3WfH0Kj-wKcphLvLfMPXd3Jz1gATWTiBmKZxIy-DS7rrzKZQtvgOcAZraqu/s1600/King.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="372" data-original-width="283" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL11JKeRRtkrSjNxywBA4tK-sZohGoZuJGl56rDvFqPL0pOCbxWytt_UKJTfqrbpngkz0PYUqm6YSn_lVcy3WfH0Kj-wKcphLvLfMPXd3Jz1gATWTiBmKZxIy-DS7rrzKZQtvgOcAZraqu/s320/King.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. <a href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/martin-luther-king"><span style="color: #4489e3;">Martin Luther King</span></a>, Jr. <span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin-Luther-King-1964-leaning-on-a-lectern.jpg" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wikimedia</span></b></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<i><b>This post originally appeared on April 3, 2010, the day before Easter, on the now-defunct Examiner.com. I thought today, the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death, would be an appropriate time to share it here. </b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Forty-two years tomorrow, Martin
Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed at the prime of his life in Memphis,
Tennessee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Shattered dreams,” a sermon King
wrote as he sat in a Georgian jail cell, begins by recalling the Apostle Paul’s
desire to bring the Gospel to Spain. Paul’s life had ended in martyrdom at
Rome, and it is assumed by most Bible scholars that he never made it to Spain.
Paul’s experiences, in many ways, seem to foreshadow what happened to King.
While King lived to see the legal end of desegregation, the “promised land” of
integration still faced a long, turbulent struggle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">King made at least two appearances
in northern Indiana during the 1960’s. In October of 1963, he gave a lecture
entitled ‘Facing the Challenge of a New Age” to the Citizens' Civic Planning
Committee in </span><a href="http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/home/pages?page=http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/kingweb/publications/inventory/inv_06.htm" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">South Bend.</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> In 1960, just a few days after the famous </span><a href="http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/chronologyentry/1960_03_06/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">march on Montgomery</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, he spoke at </span><a href="http://www.goshen.edu/mao/Programs/mlk/goshen_visit" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Goshen College</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Several years before his death, the
famous pastor put together an anthology, <i>Strength to Love</i>, which
consists of fourteen of his sermons and a updated version of the autobiographical
article “Pilgrimage to nonviolence.” This final chapter in the book traces
King’s journey from a young man of privilege “raised in a rather strict
fundamentalist tradition,” (p. 146) through the embracing of Liberalism during
his education, to a more moderate position as he became involved in the civil
rights movement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is most striking through the
book is King’s deep faith. Some have <a href="http://mrlghtthnht.blogspot.com/2017/01/martin-luther-king-and-racial.html" target="_blank">doubted whether the man was a “true Christian,”</a> but it is hard to imagine even conservative evangelicals coming
to that conclusion after reading this book. Staunch Calvinists may balk at much
of what King has to say, but those of us who still believe in Free Will will
find little to quibble over theologically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">King’s faith in God and emphasis on
love is refreshing in the current political climate where both sides of the
political fence, while often ev</span>oking<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> God’s name, also seem to be intent on
spreading vitriol. King sought to open up dialogs through peaceful
demonstrations, entreating what Abraham Lincoln called “the better angels of
our nature.” Too often today’s rhetoric shuts down dialog by appealing to our
baser instincts, such as bigotry, hatred, and fear.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">King’s ideals went beyond bringing
about change through nonviolent protest and civil disobedience. He knew that
what the nation needed was not just a change of laws, but a change of heart.
This is why he rejected the Communist model. While Communism’s ideal of a
society of equals where everyone’s needs are met is laudable, the means by
which it sought to accomplish this were the antithesis of Christianity.
Communism was based on a materialistic philosophy which leaves out God. Change
was forced on the community, with “the ends justifying the means,” and the
ultimate value is in the state, not the people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">However, there is also a danger in
capitalism with its ultimate in the profit motive. As King points out (p.
103-04),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Capitalism may lead to a practical materialism
that is as pernicious as the theoretical materialism taught by Communism.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We must honestly recognize that truth is not
found in traditional capitalism or in Marxism. Each represents a partial truth.
Historically, capitalism failed to discern the truth in collective enterprise
and Marxism failed to see the truth in individual enterprise.
Nineteenth-century capitalism failed to appreciate that life is social and
Marxism failed, and still fails, to see that life is individual and social. The
Kingdom of God is neither the thesis of individual enterprise nor the
antithesis of collective enterprise, but a synthesis which reconciles the truth
of both.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The answer is not to be found in a
political philosophy, but a change of heart. King was interested in more than
forced legal integration, but a transformation of our characters as we
cooperate with God, allowing him to change us from the inside out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Evil can be cast out, not by man alone nor by a
dictatorial God who invades our lives, but when we open the door and invite God
through Christ to enter. ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock; if any man
hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him,
and he with me.’ God is too courteous to break open the door, but when we open
it in faith believing, a divine and human confrontation will transform our
sin-ruined lives into radiant personalities. (p.126)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tomorrow we remember the death of a
great leader who was a catalyst for social change in America. He would also
have us remember the life, death, and resurrection of the one who stands at the
door of our hearts inviting us to let him in. It is only then that the ideals
which Martin Luther King, Jr. dreamed and talked about can become a reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<i><b><br /></b></i>
<i><b><br /></b></i>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-30020626527622905172018-04-01T15:41:00.005-04:002018-04-01T22:48:09.461-04:00C S Lewis, Easter, and the Dramatization of Christ<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08tiSHayiluD5cld2fn4872Ms2makfKwtKmgNVPxEM0zkT2Jq9yl7jzzyjbiAWJhZpwNhw72ORKCNQzdxqnJdpLTZvISO3kDE6qIsngjcnKckrC-LdnhQ__d5iDqZKgZNm28twSA-Pnm-/s1600/man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="239" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh08tiSHayiluD5cld2fn4872Ms2makfKwtKmgNVPxEM0zkT2Jq9yl7jzzyjbiAWJhZpwNhw72ORKCNQzdxqnJdpLTZvISO3kDE6qIsngjcnKckrC-LdnhQ__d5iDqZKgZNm28twSA-Pnm-/s320/man.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<b>A version of the following first appeared in this blog in November of 2008. It was re-worked as an Examiner.com article in 2010. I thought this Easter was a good time to reproduce this version. (Examiner.com is no longer in existence, and all its contents have been removed from the internet.)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It
has been </span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Sayers_Dorothy_L.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">said</span></b></a></span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> that </span></b><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><b>C S Lewis</b></span></span><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">, the famous author of <i>The Chronicles of
Narnia, Mere Christianity</i>, and dozens of other works, read <i>The Man
Born to Be King</i> every Easter.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Dorothy L. Sayers, who was an
acquaintance of C S Lewis, is probably most famous for her Lord Peter Wimsey
mystery series. She was also a writer of “religious” plays and other works with
theological themes. In a time and place where representing any member of the
Trinity on stage had been illegal (See Sayers’ Introduction, p. 17.),<i>The Man
Born to Be King</i>, a BBC radio series which dramatized the life of Jesus
Christ, was groundbreaking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The twelve-part “Play-Cycle” was
aired in Britain during World War Two from December 1941 through October 1942.
The series was so popular that a book of the plays, including all of the
director’s notes, was published in 1943. In the Foreword to that book, J. W.
Welch, the Director of Religious Broadcasting of the BBC, commented (page 12):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
minimum duty of religious broadcasting to those outside the churches is to say:
“Listen: This is the truth about the world, and life, and you”. But how were we
to say it so people would listen? Conventional church services and religious
talks were of little avail. Obviously, something new was needed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The archaic language of the
Authorized King James version of the Bible had long been a hindrance to people
understanding the reality of which it speaks. While using the King James
verbiage in the introductory narratives, Sayers put the dialogue in the
language and dialects of mid-20th-century England. Although criticized by much
of the religious community for the “liberties” she took, she connected with the
people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Before there were books, God’s Truth
was spread by word of mouth. After the invention of writing, God instructed his
followers to record his teachings in written form. These scriptures were
collected and compiled into a book that became known as the Bible. The
invention of the printing press made it possible for more and more common
people to have their own copy of God's Message. We are now in a time when
communication has come to the point where video can be transported around the
world in an instant by satellite and the Internet. Certainly God is using
modern technology to reveal himself to the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Scripture tells us Jesus was the
“exact representation” of God while he was on earth (Hebrews 1:1-3 NIV). His
life dramatized in a visible way what God is like. That is not to say that
radio plays or movies about the life of Christ have the same weight as the
inspired scriptures. The Bible is the final authority. But the Truth of
scripture is not dead dogma; it is “alive and powerful” (Hebrew 4:12), and
should be presented as such to the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">As we seek to dramatize the deity
through modern technology, we must remember to present Truth in love (Ephesians
4:15). Part of that love is conveying Christ in a language and manner that will
resonate with the common man, woman and child. Presenting the drama of Christ's
life – whether in a simple Easter pageant at a local church, or an elaborate
screen play – is one way the Church can resonate the message of Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Man Born to be King</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> was reprinted as recently as 1990 by Ignatius Press.
Used copies are available on </span></b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Man-Born-Be-King/dp/0898703077" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amazon.com</span></b></a><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and other online resources.</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></b>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-39926799736483510742017-08-30T21:45:00.000-04:002017-08-30T21:50:17.432-04:00Letting Scabs Heal<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewWoZArBnYnQAiMmfow5PKer2y1yzL70ZZ2uAHeUIpo5RZSSDlLop1OBLxcQxImIiTN79gYUTjrYrmkZGdudH8XBPhhgVqDZd-8b5nKtxrSOZ8RF8Z0xmSZjnmDrtRjubYHvrxSJMusJG/s1600/Scab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgewWoZArBnYnQAiMmfow5PKer2y1yzL70ZZ2uAHeUIpo5RZSSDlLop1OBLxcQxImIiTN79gYUTjrYrmkZGdudH8XBPhhgVqDZd-8b5nKtxrSOZ8RF8Z0xmSZjnmDrtRjubYHvrxSJMusJG/s320/Scab.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Healing Scab<br />
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Scab.jpg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><i>The following was posted as a status update on Facebook April 30, 2012. It well describes what I believe God is doing with me at the present moment. Trying hard not to pick at the scab.</i></b><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I was thinking today about scabs. No, not those who cross picket lines, but that crusty stuff that forms over a wound. Our tendency is to try to remove that sca</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">b before its time. We don't like that ugly, itchy patch of clotted blood, and want it to go away.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">But scabs indicate that healing is taking place underneath. It is needed to cover the wound until the body has completed the job of healing.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">When we are wounded emotionally, psychologically, or spiritually, healing takes time. Remember that Jesus did not always heal people immediately; sometimes there was a process involved. (Mark 8:22-25) We like to try to force the process to an early completion, but, like picking at a scab, our efforts can end up making things worse and hamper what God is trying to do.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Even after the scab has loosened and the wound has healed, there is often a permanent scar. Scars can be a reminder not to repeat stupid behavior so an accident is not repeated.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Scars can also be an indication that something good has been done to you. Those of us over 45 or so have a vaccination scar from when we were inoculated against smallpox. The healthcare professional who gave us the injection didn't do it because she wanted us to have an ugly mark on our shoulder. She did it in order to prevent a fatal disease.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">God sometimes allows us to be scarred for our own good. He allows certain circumstances into our lives because He is trying to lead us in a certain direction which will avoid greater heartache, because He wants to create an empathetic spirit within us... or for a myriad of other reasons that might never become apparent to us.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Is it obvious that there is a "scab" or "scar" in your life? Be patient. Let God use it for the purpose for which He allowed it.<br /></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves... and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." Romans 8:26-28 in The Message</span></blockquote>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-87656721706133943112017-01-16T15:35:00.001-05:002017-01-16T15:35:36.929-05:00Martin Luther King and racial intolerance<b><i>The following post was published on the new-defunct Examiner.com on this date in 2010. I reproduce it here for posterity, for whatever it's worth.</i></b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZp6aeJbhN39rItENgXH7gG6-RxnDbyyfYuEncezgqlBnOAXBv5kofrF3Of8ni8w57tiBLt5zB2_GCLo-pTTNUekzaEEDx1iZSUSRsW7CYzuTv5zlIuoUUHEsb7JrkXavDb1-Vc1ZBKKF/s1600/king.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZp6aeJbhN39rItENgXH7gG6-RxnDbyyfYuEncezgqlBnOAXBv5kofrF3Of8ni8w57tiBLt5zB2_GCLo-pTTNUekzaEEDx1iZSUSRsW7CYzuTv5zlIuoUUHEsb7JrkXavDb1-Vc1ZBKKF/s320/king.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Martin-Luther-King-1964-leaning-on-a-lectern.jpg" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wikimedia</span></b></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Although Friday, January 15, 2010,
was actually the 81st anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth, the
official holiday will be observed throughout the United States Monday. The
South Bend Tribune lists a </span><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100116/News01/1160355/" target="_blank">variety of activities</a> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">which will mark the occasion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The activities include free admission
to South Bend’s </span><a href="http://www.artseverywhere.com/event/detail/40039" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Center for History</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, which will show three films from the 1960’s with racial
themes:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">10:00
a.m. – <i>To Kill a Mockingbird </i>(1962)<br />
12:30 p.m. – <i>A Raisin in the Sun </i>(1961)<br />
3:00 p.m. – <i>Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner </i>(1967)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Even as we remember his birth, there
is a debate about whether King was a true Christian and believed the Bible.
There has been talk for years about his moral lapses. (See </span><a href="http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_martin_luther_king.htm" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The 'Truth' About
Martin Luther King</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.) But who
of us is without sin?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One</span><a href="http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/king.htm" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"> </span></b><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">website</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> has
an article which purports to show King’s doctrinal position was heretical. It
quotes two papers written while King was attending Crozer Theological Seminary.
Although the contents of these papers would cause most conservative Christians
concern, it must be remembered that these were written when he was a young
college student, and do not necessarily reflect his beliefs as he got older.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the contrary, an article by
Charles Gilmer on <a href="http://www.everystudent.com/features/dream.html">EveryStudent.com</a>
indicates King had a very high regard for the Bible and its teachings. Gilmer
points out that the civil rights activist did not teach racial “tolerance,”
which is often based on moral relativism, but love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> “At the center of the Christian faith is
the affirmation that there is a God in the universe who is the ground and
essence of all reality. A Being of infinite love and boundless power, God is
the creator, sustainer, and conserver of values....In contrast to the ethical
relativism of [totalitarianism], Christianity sets forth a system of absolute
moral values and affirms that God has placed within the very structure of this
universe certain moral principles that are fixed and immutable.”<br />
….<br />
“Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” (Strength to Love,
p. 51) [Cited by Gilmer.]<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That Martin Luther King understood
the message of the Gospel is clear in another passage quoted in the article.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> "Evil can be cast out, not by man
alone nor by a dictatorial God who invades our lives, but when we open the door
and invite God through Christ to enter. 'Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and
will sup with him, and he with me.' God is too courteous to break open the
door, but when we open it in faith believing, a divine and human confrontation
will transform our sin-ruined lives into radiant personalities." (Strength
to Love, p. 126)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As we remember Martin Luther King
this weekend, remember these words. He was not striving for us to just
“tolerate” each other, but to let God’s love transform us so that we would
truly love one another.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-28847774012415588652017-01-02T08:55:00.001-05:002017-01-02T08:56:59.994-05:00Treasures of snow from God's storehouse<i>Where I live, 2017 has come in with most of the snow cover melting, and there are prospects for only light snow this coming week. 2010 was a bit different, and I wrote this piece for Examiner.com "inspired" by the weather. Although I probably would have gone a different direction if I had written this today (even if we currently had heavy snow), the themes of God's provision and providence are still near to my heart. </i><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgfzVIUEvexkrdqZRAGWLz3fwW0epHqbB6-mcoCI0mfPJEP6T8H-fMo_O2zQmYV7Zn0GM_Na-OUGQGArrFabn-4-EP0xPxgSm1w7lHYe5_-EqzaLaQ5oOEfjHbDbg5hS6JsRXA2kZqhNj/s1600/snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRgfzVIUEvexkrdqZRAGWLz3fwW0epHqbB6-mcoCI0mfPJEP6T8H-fMo_O2zQmYV7Zn0GM_Na-OUGQGArrFabn-4-EP0xPxgSm1w7lHYe5_-EqzaLaQ5oOEfjHbDbg5hS6JsRXA2kZqhNj/s400/snow.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Photo by Mark Sommer<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Many places in Michiana have already
seen close to a foot of snow since the New Year rang in, and there is still
more lake effect snow on its way. This area had been spared much of the wintry
weather this season, but, if the weather forecast is even close to being
correct, there is plenty more to come this week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Although snow can be a nuisance,
there is also a beauty about it that cannot be denied. And in the land of the
Bible, mountain snows can bring refreshment as they melt and form streams which
provide water for thirty plants, animals and people.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">In Proverbs 25:13, the refreshment
of snow is compared to a faithful messenger.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Like the cold of snow in time of harvest<br />
Is a faithful messenger to those who send him,<br />
For he refreshes the soul of his masters. (NKJV)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">To appreciate this verse, the reader
needs to understand something about messengers, and the harvest, in Bible
times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you needed to get an important
message to someone, you couldn't just pull your cell phone out of your pocket,
or send an e-mail, or use a phone. You couldn’t even put a letter in a mailbox.
You would have to send someone you trust to deliver the message in person.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The harvest time was the hottest and
driest part of the year, so the reference to snow pictures quite a contrast.
Some scholars interpret the reference to “the cold of snow” as meaning cold
water from a snow-fed stream. Thus the </span><a href="http://www.americanbible.org/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">American Bible Society</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">’s
Contemporary English Version translation of this verse:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A messenger you can trust is just as refreshing
as cool water in summer.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Winter snow was designed by God to
give refreshment to us during the rest of the year. It melts in spring, giving
added moisture to the soil. Snow-fed streams provide water throughout the year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">God’s ability to control the weather
is a major theme of Job 38, where God answers Job’s complaints about how he was
being treated. Verse 22 talks about the “treasury of snow” – a figure of speech
used to show how God in his wisdom reserves the snows for the time which will
suit his purposes. The whole point is that God knows how and when to direct the
forces of nature. We often do not understand what he is doing, but his wisdom
always assures that the timing of the weather is always for the best.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">If we are to live biblical lives, we
need to trust that God knows what he is doing even when we don’t understand.
That is much of what faith is all about. His wisdom and understanding is beyond
description. Remember that as you shovel out your car for the umpteenth time
this week.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The verse in Job about the “treasury
of snow” was part of the inspiration for the song <i>Indescribable</i> by
Chris Tomlin. A video of that song with the lyrics is available on </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-zJHgaoVa4" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">YouTube</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">.
Take some take to listen and reflect on God’s wisdom and power.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-28375373750764568922016-12-27T09:13:00.003-05:002016-12-27T09:13:42.226-05:00Fighting over Christmas and missing its meaning<i>I originally posted this to the now-defunct Examiner.com seven years ago today. The supposed "War on Christmas" debate continues to this day. Donald Trump declared recently that we are going to hear "Merry Christmas" in stores again. My thoughts on the subject are pretty much the same today as they were in 2009. Why are so many obsessed with political power instead of spreading goodwill? </i><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvozp7cyjcyitdcS9WgjwTxsRh68z_7QrQE3GV-CnKb670yIVU5nDZKwFy61zl_uVuFqyuhzBLiRnebCN3mslYjeMletjVP2aLmQOI9UrRE7rjmJXjAr3JUzqbyWOKvrVVW6i6_wbdIua7/s1600/merry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvozp7cyjcyitdcS9WgjwTxsRh68z_7QrQE3GV-CnKb670yIVU5nDZKwFy61zl_uVuFqyuhzBLiRnebCN3mslYjeMletjVP2aLmQOI9UrRE7rjmJXjAr3JUzqbyWOKvrVVW6i6_wbdIua7/s1600/merry.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blessed are the Peacemakers <span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blessed_are_the_peacemakers.jpg" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wikimedia</span></b></a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You find it in Examiner.com
articles, message boards, e-mails, and all over the blogosphere: “Don’t say
‘Happy Holidays,’ say 'Merry Christmas.’" We are being told that there is
a “</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">War on Christmas</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,” and it is implied that people are trying to undermine
Christmas by using the generic phrase.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But using the phrase "Happy
Holidays" does not necessarily mean the well-wisher is consciously
avoiding the term "Christmas." The generic greeting is, first and
foremost, shorthand for "Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New
Year." And when we talk about the "Holiday Season" in today's
culture we are usually including Thanksgiving as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Not everyone who says "Happy
Holidays" or "Holiday Season" has insidious motives, as some
might have us to believe! This time of year good cashiers used to mix up their
closing remarks to avoid sounding stilted: "Merry Christmas" or
"Happy Holidays" or even "Have a great evening." But with
the attitude of some today, retail workers are afraid to say "Happy
Holidays" lest someone thinks they are heathen!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On the other hand, some of the
nonsense from the other side of the issue is just ridiculous. Calling a
Christmas tree a "Holiday tree" is just silly. One ad even went so
far as to say that their item would cause joy when it was unwrapped on
"Holiday morning." Come on. Have we really come that far in this
culture that we are afraid to call things what they are lest we offend anyone?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In the 1960's and 70's the big deal
was X-mas. Don't put X-mas on your store signs--that's blasphemy! That's X-ing
Christ out of Christmas. Well, not exactly. Christians have been using
"X" for Christ since the first century. The letter X looks exactly
like the Greek letter Chi (pronounced khee), which is the first letter in
Christos--Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A ladies singing trio from the late
50's and early 60's, The White Sisters, sang a song titled "Keep Christ in
Christmas." Whether the whole X-mas controversy "inspired" the
song or not is unclear. Part of the song speaks about letting "Christ have
first place" at this time of year. But it does not seem that Christ is
having "first place" in most of the complaining about and campaigning
against "Happy Holidays." When Conservative groups send out e-mail
newsletters saying "Send us money because we’re getting Christmas back
into the stores," is Christ getting first place? When the average person
sees "Christmas Tree" instead of "Holiday Tree" is he more
likely to think of the "true meaning of Christmas"? These questions
should give the Christian pause.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Christmas is about giving, not winning. Christ
himself was the first Christmas gift. If Christians spent their time giving
themselves to feed the poor, visit the sick and generally spread goodwill among
men, instead of organizing boycotts and sending threatening e-mails, wouldn't
that better reflect what Christmas is all about?</span><br />
<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-68179106866602199362016-12-22T08:31:00.001-05:002016-12-22T08:31:45.505-05:00The Manger and the Swaddling Bands<i>The following was originally published on the now-defunct Examiner.com on December 22, 2009. </i><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMKRhqZ6AgEVseBhZ101hIewpkixGaqX7w4MzTZf74-yvfkSLx7kawt-nGo3LAT6-kiHlnRTtOrVkf6FUxuuGDbYdKl4dZE3KBANp388L1GmTq0r6_m3Vot1ZKmmH8rYN-EpN1xJXaX5K/s1600/bands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBMKRhqZ6AgEVseBhZ101hIewpkixGaqX7w4MzTZf74-yvfkSLx7kawt-nGo3LAT6-kiHlnRTtOrVkf6FUxuuGDbYdKl4dZE3KBANp388L1GmTq0r6_m3Vot1ZKmmH8rYN-EpN1xJXaX5K/s320/bands.jpg" width="217" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Modonna & Child Ambrogio Lorenzetti 1319 <span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ambrogio_Lorenzetti_021.jpg" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wikimedia</span></b></a></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sweet little Jesus boy<br />
They made you be born in a manger….</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So begins a traditional </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Christmas</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> song.
In a few words which seem almost an afterthought, Luke 2:7 tells us why Jesus
was placed in a manger: “because there was no room in the inn.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bethlehem was so crowded there was
only room in a cattle trough for the Child. Much has been made of the five
small words “no room in the inn,” and rightly so. These words picture what the
Apostle John tells us in his Gospel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">He was in the world, and the world was made
through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own
people did not receive him. (John 1: 10-11 ESV)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sweet little holy Child,<br />
We didn't know who you was.</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But there were two at the scene,
Mary and Joseph, who did know who he was. They didn’t understand everything,
but they had been told by God through his angels who the child was. They only
had a manger to lay him in, but they received him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Luke 2:7 tells us Jesus was placed
in a manger. Why? Because there was no room. But what they did before they laid
him there is significant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mary "wrapped Him in swaddling
cloths." </span><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=6OJvO2jMCr8C&lpg=PP1&pg=PA670#v=onepage&q=&f=false" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Swaddling cloths or
bands</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> were a tradition that had been
handed down for centuries. When a child was born, its skin was rubbed with salt
and oil, and cloths were wrapped around it. It was thought that this would also
insure the child’s limbs would grow straight. In Ezekiel 16:4, a baby that had
not been wrapped in cloths is used to describe an abandoned child.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With this in mind, note the
paradoxical scene. Here is a baby in a cattle trough, probably cut into the
wall of a cave used to shelter domestic animals – not the place you would
normally find a baby. There is a horror in the sight of a child so treated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But there are also the swaddling
bands – an indication that the child was loved and cared for. Mary and Joseph
made the only room they had available, and cared for the child as best they
could. His own people had not received him, but Mary and Joseph did.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The scene of Jesus lying in a cave
wrapped in swaddling bands is reminiscent of another scene – Jesus wrapped in
grave cloths lying in a tomb. Again we have a picture of horror, and yet of the
love which prepared the body for burial. It was another Joseph, the one from
Arimathea, who had provided the tomb and had wrapped the body in linen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The only room for Jesus according to
those who rejected him was in the grave. He was there because the religious
leaders of the day had no room for him. But even in his death there were those
who cared.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 86.25pt; margin-right: 86.25pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">But to all who did receive him, who believed in
his name, he gave the right to become children of God. (John 1:12 ESV)<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do you have room for Jesus?</span>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-15898774281797641992016-09-06T18:42:00.000-04:002016-09-06T18:45:26.575-04:00Labor Day Rest for Your SoulsI don't know about you, but my Labor Day weekend was way too short. Last year today's date fell on a Sunday, so we were right in the middle of the long weekend at this point. On September 6, 2015, I posted the following article on Examiner.com. Since Examiner has closed their cyberdoors, removing their content, I replicate the post here for posterity.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZsatu0vWXYR4R1TiSUg2gDQ_3jayOu8edYmbhxEtHX2oLqCwxXkAGanPa7KP6Hp_d-glW0Y4-ZFS0uRHsNVpn1wKm71jYw6mQI1oqQ0ZvxgSenA-sgFCtsEsA8YCOdWrfKOKgrGCTi3i/s1600/labor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZsatu0vWXYR4R1TiSUg2gDQ_3jayOu8edYmbhxEtHX2oLqCwxXkAGanPa7KP6Hp_d-glW0Y4-ZFS0uRHsNVpn1wKm71jYw6mQI1oqQ0ZvxgSenA-sgFCtsEsA8YCOdWrfKOKgrGCTi3i/s640/labor.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 107%;">Public
Domain via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ALabor_Day_New_York_1882.jpg</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Many laborers are enjoying some
well-deserved extended rest this weekend as the United States celebrates </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Labor Day</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Monday.
The FOX28 website gives some </span><a href="http://www.fox28.com/category/174418/labor-day-celebration" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">recipe ideas</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"> for you to use this holiday, and the South
Bend Tribune lists some </span><a href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/entertainment/inthebend/eventnews/things-to-do-this-labor-day-weekend/article_6010d6cc-5244-11e5-8d8f-4b1c6eee7836.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">activities in the area</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Labor Day isn't considered a
religious holiday, but the words of Jesus come to mind as many workers take an
extra day off.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I
am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My
yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">Jesus was not just talking about
physical rest. He was offering spiritual rest—rest for your souls. This rest
doesn't involve inactivity, either, as implied in the phrase "Take My
yoke." A yoke is a device used by farmers to link animals together
when working the fields or pulling a wagon or cart. Jesus invites people to
join his team, and promises to pull together with them and refresh their souls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus' words end chapter 11 and lead
up to a confrontation with the Pharisees in chapter 12. Jesus and his disciples
are walking through a grain field and gleaning some of the grain and eating it.
The Pharisees are incensed – not because they are stealing; the provision of
leaving grain for the poor to glean was part of the Jewish law. The Pharisees
objected because Jesus and the disciples were "working" on the
Sabbath. Jesus responds first by declaring his authority. But even if the
Pharisees do not recognize his authority, their legalistic response goes
against the spirit of the law. In verse seven (NKJV) Jesus asserts, "But if
you had known what this means, ‘I desire </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;">mercy</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and not sacrifice,’ you would
not have condemned the guiltless."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 to show the
Pharisees they had the wrong spirit in how they applied the law. In the
parallel passage in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus adds, "The Sabbath was made
for man, and not man for the Sabbath." [Mark 2:27 NKJV] God's law was made
for our benefit; to use it in a merciless way so an individual is not
benefited, or is oppressed, is not God's intention in giving it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Jesus came to give us rest. Not by
putting a yoke on us which we are unable to bear (See Acts 15:10.), but by
working with us and in us to help us be what God intended us to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-70319998467712885022016-09-05T10:16:00.001-04:002016-09-05T10:16:15.135-04:00Notre Dame Football and Fundamentals<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2C-wRNRfrVkWWHAykc2wuOwyMoeDARgh1fTJHiL4d8aX9frK64853DMaLjIDigAhFZdV0lUIvX4HdWD7Tl1dbLYXmvEyZyS6BuIi8RDXyAk0kI8a_UFS302acm7EGsALJhheFOda29SUG/s1600/nd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2C-wRNRfrVkWWHAykc2wuOwyMoeDARgh1fTJHiL4d8aX9frK64853DMaLjIDigAhFZdV0lUIvX4HdWD7Tl1dbLYXmvEyZyS6BuIi8RDXyAk0kI8a_UFS302acm7EGsALJhheFOda29SUG/s320/nd.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Notre Dame Stadium<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Public domain photo from Wikimedia</span></i></div>
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<i>Last night, Notre Dame lost a heart-breaker to the Texas. Both teams were up for the game, and neither gave up. It should be an interesting season for Irish and Longhorn fans. Back on this date in 2010, I wrote an article for Examiner.com. Since Examiner has ceased to exist, and their posts have been removed from the internet, I am re-producing that article (slightly edited) here. Although dated, the themes I discuss are relevant today.</i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 15pt 0in 8.05pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">2010
Notre Dame football - the fundamental difference<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Notre Dame's overall impressive
23-12 win over Purdue Saturday come down to one word: fundamentals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">People are talking about it all over
the Internet, expressing what this Examiner was thinking all through the game.
It was obvious. The team has been concentrating on the fundamentals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Do a basic Google search for
"notre dame football fundamentals" and you will see it over and over.
Three replies left to </span><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/article/20100904/SPORTS13/100909776/1001/Sports" target="_blank">Al Lesar's South Bend
Tribune article</a> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">stressed it. </span><a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/451930-notre-dame-football-post-game-awards-pur-didnt-edition#page/8" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Matt Mooney</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><a href="http://bleacherreport.com/articles/430420-a-decided-schematic-advantage-why-notre-dame-is-better-off-without-it" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Eric Murtaugh</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> both mention it in their articles for
BleacherReport.com. </span><a href="http://irish.nbcsports.com/2010/09/five-things-we-learned-notre-dame-vs-purdue-1.html.php" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Keith Arnold</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> wrote about it for NBCSports.com. I could go on and
on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No matter how good your coaching on
game day, if you haven't gone over and over the fundamentals during practice, it
will show during the game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At about the turn of the Twentieth
Century, a movement began in American Christianity called Fundamentalism. When
we hear the term "Fundamentalist" today, it is usually said in
derision. But, just like football, getting back to the basics can be a good
thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The early Fundamentalists were not
concerned with political power. They were not interested in building huge
monuments or enterprises. Their focus was on the need to restore Christianity
to the "fundamentals of the faith": such as the deity of Christ and
the authority of the scriptures. The movement crossed denominational
boundaries, building bridges instead of creating secluded islands.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Whatever happened to Fundamentalism?
Where did it go astray? Perhaps Jesus gives us a hint in his rebuke of the
Pharisees in Matthew 23:23-28 (NIV):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></i></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">"Woe to you, teachers of the
law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill
and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the
law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter,
without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but
swallow a camel. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed
and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and
dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law
and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful
on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything
unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but
on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."</span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Pharisees were the strict
Fundamentalists of their day. They were very particular about how they followed
the scriptures. That was not the problem. The problem was that they replaced
mercy and love for others with a lot of outward ritual. They thought they could
think and act toward others any way they pleased as long as it looked like they
were outwardly following all the religious requirements.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Those of us who claim to follow the
fundamentals of Christianity need to examine ourselves whether we have replaced
love and mercy with keeping a list of do's and don'ts. It's not that we should
abandon the fundamentals, but we need to relax a bit and not become a bunch of
killjoys.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After the win yesterday, the team
was not exactly exuberant. Especially late in the game there were some mistakes
that could have lost them the game, and their focus was on the mistakes instead
of the win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's not that they should abandon
the fundamentals this coming week in practice. You can be sure there will be
some intensive drills related to securing the football. But Coach Kelly told
the media that the team needs to lighten up and enjoy the win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Christians are on the winning team.
Do the drills, but lighten up and enjoy the victory!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-61222607711121359512016-08-31T09:16:00.000-04:002016-08-31T09:16:16.258-04:00Searching for a Real Faith: Review of Clear Winter Nights<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96n3_pVvLL8u2SJ6nPPVqxiAJnvBkZ14VqCYVMqrGr29iflhLODwZ7OVhETWwx0bN7FuKrG-alfCvxB_z1xmV9-0Cx64U6wsl-LMXWL4k1U1h4-IKtTHd5jUc7djXi_aqiGbuK1MEnkpG/s1600/winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh96n3_pVvLL8u2SJ6nPPVqxiAJnvBkZ14VqCYVMqrGr29iflhLODwZ7OVhETWwx0bN7FuKrG-alfCvxB_z1xmV9-0Cx64U6wsl-LMXWL4k1U1h4-IKtTHd5jUc7djXi_aqiGbuK1MEnkpG/s320/winter.jpg" width="224" /></a><i>Last year on this date, I posted a review of this book on Examiner.com. Below is the text from that review. An earlier, more personal, version of the article can be found on <a href="http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/clear-winter-nights/">HollywoodJesus.com</a>. Following review are some quotes from the book I had <a href="https://www.facebook.com/markasommer/posts/10201286448256196">posted to Facebook</a> while in the process of reading the book.</i><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Believable
novel examines a millennial's crisis of faith <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Clear Winter Nights: A Journey
into Truth, </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;">Doubt</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, and What Comes After </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">is one of those rare books which examine </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/christianity"><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Christianity</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in a thoughtful way. It is a bit different in that it
is touted as “Theology in Story,” and is about a young man who has a crisis of
faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Examining theology through novel is
not exactly a… well… novel approach. But doing it well without being cheesy is
difficult. Trevin Wax is up to the challenge. His attention to detail gives the
reader the impression he is present, watching the events as a semi-omniscient
fly on the wall. And, while not being afraid to tackle some deep issues, Wax is
also not afraid to let the reader come to his own conclusions. Nor does he
attempt to tie everything up in a tidy bow at the end of the story. The
characters feel real, and the story is believable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The book follows a few days in the
life of Chris, who is on the verge of marriage and becoming a leader in a new
church being planted. However, Chris’s doubts, exacerbated by revelations about
his father, cause him to break the engagement as he reexamines his faith. He
ends up visiting his grandfather, Gil, an retired preacher who is recovering
from a stroke, and his honesty about his doubts sparks a lengthy conversation
over a few days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The book has much to say to
millennials who are wondering about their faith, and to those in older
generations who are seeing the church change. There is a paragraph in the book
which meaningful to parents and grandparents of millennials, and hopefully many
who read it, from every generation, will take it to heart. Near the end of
their time together those few days, Gil says to his grandson (p. 129),<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">I’m proud of the young man you are becoming.
You’ve come face to face with some devastating sin and hypocrisy. You’re asking
big questions and wrestling with important things, and there’s no shame in
that. You want to own your faith, not satisfied to go through the motions of a
faith you’ve inherited. That’s admirable, if you ask me.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For millennials who may be reading
this review, know that many in older generations admire you when you honestly
wrestle with the truth. Keep being real.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Quotes from Clear Winter Nights:</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px; margin-top: 6px;">
“Truth is not a formula… Truth is a Person.”<br />“No Christian who truly understands grace can feel superior to anyone else. Grace shatters any sense of superiority.”<br />“A Christian is not defined by the sins of the past or the struggles of the present but by the vision of the future.”<br />“The world says, ‘Be true to yourself.’ King Jesus says, ‘Be true to your future self.’”<br />“The true rebellion is in the heart of the Christian who follows King Jesus by swimming upstream against the current of the world.”<br />“Don’t trust in your strength, because there is such a thing as pride. Don’t despair in your weakness, because there is such a thing as forgiveness.”<br />“Authenticity isn’t accepting your sins. It’s admitting your sins and then being true to the person King Jesus has declared you to be.”</div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-49958171884613806132016-08-21T13:15:00.001-04:002016-08-21T13:15:45.342-04:00Remembering the Ashley Madison Scandal: The Consequences of Sin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNvqXgRCt2jK4J-Bkp5v6y5WnwVa64PVbWiqB1eik8EUXItYR-6tlMUgZeC4cAvZWfWM36NdNECZtG4_LJ5u_G7v9PY4HrbZ3-zgXHRzC10Hxoa5oxXMoq6WIFxqHDLkAtrB7AmSAtQAVt/s1600/ashley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNvqXgRCt2jK4J-Bkp5v6y5WnwVa64PVbWiqB1eik8EUXItYR-6tlMUgZeC4cAvZWfWM36NdNECZtG4_LJ5u_G7v9PY4HrbZ3-zgXHRzC10Hxoa5oxXMoq6WIFxqHDLkAtrB7AmSAtQAVt/s320/ashley.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Last year, the country was rocked by the Ashley Madison scandal. On this date in 2015, I posted the following article on Examiner.com. Since the powers that be have decided to pull the plug on that website and remove the content from the internet, I am re-posting the article here.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 24.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Ashley Madison
cheaters include local officials: your sin will find you out</span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The internet is awash will news
about the hack on </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/ashley-madison"><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ashley Madison</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,
the website whose mantra is "Life is short. Have an affair." Recently
it was </span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/evidence-infidelities-spreads-online-wake-hack-144026220.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=fb" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">revealed</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> the hack uncovered hundreds of federal employees used
government computers to access their paid accounts at the website for cheaters.
This raises concerns those in sensitive positions might be blackmailed,
potentially compromising government secrets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The list revealed by the hack
includes military email addresses, which the Pentagon is said to be looking
into. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Adultery</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is
potentially a court-marshable offense. White House and Homeland Security
computers were also used to access the website.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Local media is reporting the hack
has also implicated a local official and some non-elected workers. The <i>South
Bend Tribune</i> </span><a href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/south-bend-clerk-s-email-is-among-those-in-ashley/article_ebf1909e-480a-11e5-a990-6f83a608e896.html" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">reports</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> a South Bend Clerk used a government computer to
access the site, and email addresses linked to the city of Mishawaka were also
used. Investigations into the matter are being conducted by both cities.
WSBT </span><a href="http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/mishawaka-south-bend-govt-domains-reportedly-tied-to-cheating-website/34845040" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">reports</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> email addresses from some Indiana law-enforcement
agencies, including The State Police and the Attorney General's office, were
also involved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Earlier this week, it was discovered
Josh Duggar of TLC's <i>19 Kids and Counting</i> fame was among the
myriads of account users on the Ashley Madison site. On the Duggar family
website, Josh released a </span><a href="http://www.duggarfamily.com/2015/8/statements-from-jim-bob-and-michelle-duggar-and-josh-duggar" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">statement</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, which reads:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I have been the biggest
hypocrite ever. While espousing faith and family values, I have been unfaithful
to my wife. I am so ashamed of the double life that I have been living and am
grieved for the hurt, pain and disgrace my sin has caused my wife and family,
and most of all Jesus and all those who profess faith in Him. I have brought
hurt and a reproach to my family, close friends and the fans of our show with
my actions. The last few years, while publicly stating I was fighting against
immorality in our country I was hiding my own personal failures. As I am
learning the hard way, we have the freedom to choose our actions, but we do not
get to choose our consequences. I deeply regret all the hurt I have caused so
many by being such a bad example. I humbly ask for your forgiveness. Please
pray for my precious wife Anna and our family during this time.</span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There is a verse of scripture which
may come to mind when Christians hear about names being revealed in this
scandal. The last phrase of Numbers 32:23 (KJJV) reads, "...be sure your
sin will find you out." However, this often misquoted verse does not say,
"people will find out about your sin." There are many things which
will never be revealed until judgement day—"the day when God judges
people’s secrets." (Romans 2:16 NIV) The context is when the children of
Israel are about to invade the promised land. The two and a half tribes were
tempted to remain beyond the Jordan river and not help their brothers take the
land. But God tells them that would be sin, and sooner or later they would have
to face the consequences of that sin. The verse is not talking about someone
finding out about the sin, but the consequences they would face. (Some might
call that karma.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sometimes the best thing that can
happen to us is that our sin is revealed. If the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">statements by Jared Fogle's lawyer</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> can be taken at face value, the revelation of child
porn on his computer could be the beginning of the healing of his soul. It is
easy to go on letting our secrets gradually destroy us when nobody knows.
Family and friends may be kept from the hurt for a time, but the hidden sin
gradually eats you alive and twists your spirit. Hopefully this huge scandal will
lead to many getting their lives back on track. That should be our hope and
prayer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-77472227768330239112016-07-20T18:34:00.000-04:002016-07-20T18:34:02.079-04:00Revisiting Super Tuesday 2008This is not intended to be a political blog. But quite often, I'm sure, politics will come into it. As Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer so wisely <a href="http://philvischer.com/stories-ramblings/help-kids-survive-crazy-election-season/" target="_blank">posted in his official blog today</a>:<br />
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...<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">politics isn’t the primary way Christians are called to change the world. Love is.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">Not that Christians can’t be involved in politics. We can. Not that change can’t happen through legislative process. It can and it has. But God did not become man to show us how to vote. He became man to show us divine love, and then to teach us to do likewise. Christians lose the Gospel when we become known more for how we vote than how we love.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.32px;">"But if we can change the laws, we can change the culture." Ehhh… not really. Any good student of legal history will tell you that laws don’t shape culture, culture shapes laws.</span></blockquote>
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Back in 2008, I posted an opinion piece on my <a href="http://ihaveaninkling.blogspot.com/2008/02/special-super-tuesday-edition-what-do.html" target="_blank">I Have an Inkling blog</a>, which was also published on <a href="http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/special-super-tuesday-edition/" target="_blank">Hollywood Jesus</a>. It was titled Special “Super Tuesday” Edition: What DO We Want Changed? With all the craziness this week in politics (with more sure to follow next week), I thought it might be good to re-post the article here. Certainly there are concepts which are relevant to today. Here goes:</div>
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Special "Super Tuesday" Edition: What DO We Want Changed?</h3>
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There are some mistakes which humanity has made and repented so often that there is now really no excuse for making them again. One of these is the injustice which every age does to its predecessor; for example, the ignorant contempt which the Humanists (even good Humanists like Sir Thomas More) felt for medieval philosophy or Romantics (even good Romantics like Keats) felt for eighteenth-century poetry. ... Why should we not give our predecessors a fair and filial dismissal?</blockquote>
<br />So C. S. Lewis began "The Funeral of a Great Myth" (published posthumously in the anthology Christian Reflections, as I mentioned in a <a href="http://ihaveaninkling.blogspot.com/2008/01/c-s-lewis-in-praise-of-evolution.html" style="color: #771100; text-decoration: none;">recent Blog entry</a>). Lewis realized the wisdom in taking the good from those who have gone before us while we seek to improve and expand our knowledge today. We must be cautious of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" as they used to say.<br /><br />As we arrive at "Super Tuesday," it seems that every candidate is claiming to be the "Candidate of Change." America seems ripe for "change," and perhaps rightly so. But we must beware of change for change sake.<br /><br />Jesus was certainly a catalyst for change, but even He said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." [Matthew 5:17 NKJV] "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." [Luke 13:52] As we seek new and better ways of running government, we must not forget the old foundations.<br /><br />We must also beware of the tendency of politicians to--how shall I put this politely--exaggerate to try to make a point about their opponent. This has been going as long on as our country has had elections. James Madison, in the Federalist No. 55, 15 February 1788, commented on the mudslinging going on even then:<br /><blockquote>
As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust: So there are other qualities in human nature, which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence. Republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form. Were the pictures which have been drawn by the political jealousy of some among us, faithful likenesses of the human character, the inference would be that there is not sufficient virtue among men for self-government; and that nothing less than<br />the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another.</blockquote>
<br />As we seek change, we need to not only be aware of the good of the past, but we must seek the truth in the present. Don't take what your favorite candidate says as the unvarnished truth--do some digging. When Jesus said, "The Truth shall set you free," He was speaking primarily of the truth about Himself. But the principle applies to other areas of life, not the least of which is politics. In this case, we may lose political freedoms if we are not careful to seek the truth. How often lies have led nations into slavery. With much freedom comes much responsibility. Choose wisely.</div>
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Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-89020100219877625622016-07-05T13:25:00.001-04:002016-07-05T13:25:46.176-04:00Pastor reflects on the chaotic childhood which helped shape his life<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Disclosure: I have known
the Thornton family since the early 1970s, attending Twin Branch Bible Church
with them for years. While never experiencing first-hand the chaos of the
Thornton household, I was blessed by the personal lives of John and Bev
through the years, especially Bev's encouragement in my own ministry. I
was licensed to the Gospel Ministry at Twin Branch in 1997. This review was recently published on Examiner.com.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Growing up, Shawn Thornton had no
idea how God was going to use his chaotic home life to shape his future. The
story begins before he was born. His parents, John and Beverly Thornton, had
just begun to get acquainted when the seventeen year old son of well-to-do
parents agreed to take the girl of fourteen on an expedition to Goldblatt's in
the new Town and Country Shopping Center. John didn't see the truck as he
negotiated his new 1962 Corvair into Miracle Lane. He woke up in the hospital
later that evening, and his parents took him home. Bev would remain there quite
some time, at first in a coma, and then facing some grueling physical therapy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">John continued to see Bev, and even
picked her up for school when she was eventually able to return. However, beside
the obvious physical disabilities, Bev's mental state had been permanently
affected, and it was soon obvious she would have to drop out of school. John
decided to join the military, but corresponded with Bev while he was stationed
in Korea. They married when he was on leave in 1966. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">After the honeymoon, John
was deployed to Vietnam, where he was when Shawn was born. (A brother, Troy,
would come later.) His term of duty ended in June of 1967, just before the
North's major escalation when the U.S. suffered its worst casualties.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But a war was already brewing at
home. After the accident, Bev was prone to outbursts of anger since the day she
awakened in the hospital. As the years progressed, her tirades escalated,
involving salvos of both physical objects and vulgar profanity. There were even
occasions when she tried to throw herself from the car at highway speeds.
However, as the back cover of Shawn's new </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/memoir"><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">memoir</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> puts it, "this same woman was also a devoted Bible
reader, Sunday school teacher, and friend to the elderly, the poor, and the
marginalized wherever she went. How the same woman could be a saint one minute
and a nightmare the next was a constant source of frustration for the
family."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It all came to a head one night as
the police knocked at the door, and after a brief conversation, led Bev off in
handcuffs. In one of her fits of rage, she had thrown nearly every loose object
in the house, leaving broken glass everywhere. She would spend several weeks in
the hospital mental ward. While she was there, she did learn some techniques to
help calm herself, and John firmed up his commitment to do everything he could
to keep peace, enlisting his two sons to help as much as possible around the
house. Despite the changes, Bev was still prone to her outbursts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Shawn trained for the ministry,
he was becoming sure he understood his mother's problem. He was convinced it
had to be a problem with sin in her life she wouldn't let go of. During one
Christmas break during his junior year of college, he confronted her. "As
long as you have sin in your life like cussing and irrational anger, throwing
things and threatening to kill people, you will never be right! Never!"
[p.265]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At this point, his father burst into
the room. "If you think this approach is going to help your mother, you're
dumber than I thought you were. And you will never talk to your mother that way
again. It's time you got off your high horse. You are not going to fix her with
this stuff you're bringing back here. Now get out of here and never talk to her
that way again."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As Shawn walked up Victory Road
where they lived, he began to cool off, and started to change his tune.
"God impressed on me that the issue was not just the combative spirit in
which I approached her, it was that I was <i>wrong</i>,"<i> </i>he
writes<i>. "</i>Confession and repentance would not 'cure' Mom. Her
problems were more complex than my simple formula." [p.266]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On another occasion, John shared
with Shawn some research he had been collecting over the years about
TBI—traumatic brain injury. At the time, this was a subject that was just
beginning to be understood. We know now from </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/08/09/430877562/is-football-worth-the-brain-injury-risk-for-some-the-answer-is-no" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">research on NFL players</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> more about what such injuries can do. Shawn was
beginning to understand her mother's case was not a problem with willful sin,
but had a physical cause. This knowledge has served him well in his ministry as
senior pastor at</span><a href="http://calvarycc.org/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Calvary
Community Church in Westlake Village, California</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, affecting the way he deals with people. Combined with his
experiences growing up, he is able to empathize and help people in a way he
wouldn't have been able to otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is so easy for those of us who
call ourselves followers of Jesus, who try to order out lives by the words of
the Bible, to get on our "high horse" like Shawn did that December
day. We think we have it all figured out. But things are not always so simple
as we think. Shawn's story will hopefully speak volumes to those who read it.
The book has a Foreword by </span><a href="http://www.joniandfriends.org/jonis-corner/jonis-bio/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Joni
Eareckson Tada</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and an Afterword by </span><a href="http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/about-nick/bio/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Nick
Vujicic</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Joni and Nick are both Christians
who have what seem devastating disabilities, but have been greatly used by God
to encourage others. Add Beverly Thornton to that list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">You can find out more about the book and pastor
Shawn's ministry at </span><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="http://www.pastorshawn.com/author/pastor-shawn/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">PastorShawn.com</span></a></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">.</span></b></div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-80594723019281019142016-07-04T09:04:00.001-04:002016-07-04T09:28:21.175-04:00Have Christians become what Jesus came to stop us from being?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NTBKe-lvDUtGI9NOWUAWctGySzDvrQb07Vd49WGrNqp8oOkTPw33qBqqXFmaFI-l8RecjvAzIRg2ebHqOHoQSF7MESuwqns6Rp9RsU681EMtY_CV_uFFW5BRxTS-dqMDMBzEkVq5GhyL/s1600/how.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9NTBKe-lvDUtGI9NOWUAWctGySzDvrQb07Vd49WGrNqp8oOkTPw33qBqqXFmaFI-l8RecjvAzIRg2ebHqOHoQSF7MESuwqns6Rp9RsU681EMtY_CV_uFFW5BRxTS-dqMDMBzEkVq5GhyL/s320/how.jpg" width="207" /></a><b><i>This post is adapted from an article I recently published on Examiner.com. </i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Morgan Guyton is a fairly popular
online presence, blogging for years under the title </span><a href="https://morganguyton.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none;">Mercy
Not Sacrifice</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, </span><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mercynotsacrifice/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none;">now
part of the Progressive Christian Channel</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> at
Patheos.com. Some will immediately balk at the word "progressive,"
but, although Guyton can be very political at times, his writing does not
always fit the typical rhetoric of the Left. As </span><a href="http://www.patheos.com/search/jsp/templates/primaryJSP/fullview.jsp?keyword=Edwin+Woodruff+Tait" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none;">Edwin Tait</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> asserts
in his </span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1GZWGLWT6ADXK?ref_=glimp_1rv_cl" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none;">review of Guyton's new book on Amazon.com</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">, "the book is far more than yet another attack on the
distortions of conservative Protestantism, and the </span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/christianity"><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none;">Christianity</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> it offers should challenge anyone who thinks that '</span><a href="http://www.examiner.com/topic/progressive-christianity"><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none;">progressive
Christianity</span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">' is just a watered-down, culturally
accommodated version of the real thing. This is a winsome, beautifully written,
passionate presentation of the central truths of Christianity."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">"Mercy Not Sacrifice" is,
of course, based on Hosea 6:6, which reads in the NIV: "I desire mercy,
not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings."
Jesus quotes this passage in Matthew 9:13 and 12:7, telling his critics they
have not understood the significance of the passage in Hosea. In Chapter two of <i>How Jesus Saves the World from Us</i> (Mercy, not Sacrifice: How We
Love People), Guyton points out the word "mercy" in Hosea could be
translated "steadfast love" (as in the New Revised Standard Version)
or "loyalty"—"the kind of unconditional love that people have within
a family." In verse four, God compares Israel's love to morning mist or
dew which quickly disappears. God wanted people to be loyal to him instead of
going after other gods. The Pharisees thought they were being loyal to God by
judging Jesus and his disciples for eating with sinners and plucking grain on
the Sabbath. But Jesus says they are not understanding loyalty to God involves
how they treat others. "Jesus' interpretation means that the best way to
show God steadfast love is not through a stringent life of <i>sacrifice</i>,
but by extending <i>mercy</i> to other people."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">This is reminiscent of what the
Apostle John writes in his first epistle: "...if we don't love people we
can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?" [1 John 4:20 NLT] We
too often forget our love for God is demonstrated in how we treat people. Our
devotion to God is shown, not by being nit picky and critical of what people do
– as if God needs us to keep people perfectly in line, but by showing mercy.
Isn't that how we would want to be treated? As the master in one of Jesus'
parables puts it, "Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant
just as I had on you?" [Matthew 18:33 NIV]<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">The first chapter of the book
describes how we are able to love God because of the mercy he has shown us. If
conservative Christians have any doubts about the gospel Morgan is promoting in
his book, they should be relieved by what he says in the chapter: Worship, Not
Performance: How We Love God. There can be no doubt about the author's
commitment to justification by grace through faith. He writes, "God loves
it when we do our best. god loves hearing us sing our hearts out and watching
us perform the deeds of our lives with excellence. But God doesn't want us to
do anything out of an anxious need to justify ourselves.... the Christian
gospel teaches that instead of being justified by our good deeds or right
answers, we are <i>justified by God's grace</i>." He goes back to the
beginning with Adam and Eve and discusses how the Fall caused them to lose
their innocence and become self-conscious. Humans now learn to hide under
"masks of social performance" in order to look good to other people –
and to God. Jesus can to save us from that so we could freely worship him
instead of trying to perform well enough to be accepted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Many conservative Christians have
forgotten their roots and what the gospel is really about. This comes out in
our judgmental spirit and self-righteous attitude toward others. Morgan would
call this toxic Christianity. But he doesn't exclude himself as part of the
problem, as implied by the "us" in the book's title, "How Jesus
Saves the World from Us: Antidotes to Toxic Christianity." In a </span><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mercynotsacrifice/2016/06/14/this-is-why-im-right/" target="_blank"><b><span style="color: #4489e3; font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt; text-decoration: none;">recent blog post</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">,
he gives this humble assessment of himself: "A wicked thought came into my
mind when I learned about the shootings in Orlando: <i>This is why people
need to read my book</i>. Thankfully, before I could post anything stupid on
Facebook, the Holy Spirit convicted me with a second thought: <i>This is
why you’re still toxic</i>."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Morgan would be the first to admit
he is not perfect. His book is not perfect. But hopefully people will give his
book a try in the same spirit of humility he tries to bring to his blog. There
are twelve total chapters which follow the same pattern: This, Not That: How
We... He describes what he believes are toxic attitudes, what these attitudes
should be replaced with, and how we should live. You may not agree with
everything he says, but, as someone wisely said, in order to grow, read those
with whom you disagree.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1688617659191499101.post-27289364218410991872016-07-04T08:35:00.000-04:002016-07-04T08:35:23.119-04:00More Light Than Heat<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zkp3SSM-KJe_mZqEBXA9Cm4K8OAkYUnjhsKPWVbiTXzbBS1RLSXSJ9vpWxPRYt2ofAXGQeCRpxMBImgDzV4zkfeKYtSKq-H5op2yjMSpcShF9t0WlP0Wbjvrj_64TthH-tojXQEU-sYY/s1600/light.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1zkp3SSM-KJe_mZqEBXA9Cm4K8OAkYUnjhsKPWVbiTXzbBS1RLSXSJ9vpWxPRYt2ofAXGQeCRpxMBImgDzV4zkfeKYtSKq-H5op2yjMSpcShF9t0WlP0Wbjvrj_64TthH-tojXQEU-sYY/s1600/light.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b><i>This post is adapted from an article originally published on Examiner.com July 3, 2010. </i></b><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Photo by Mark Sommer<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Storms become more likely as heat
and humidity build up in the atmosphere. For those of us who love the cool
weather, the past few days of sunshine without the sticky heat have been a
welcome relief.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As the atmosphere can become
unstable and stirred up by the heat, so harsh words can stir up anger and
strife. Gentle, tactful words, however, are like a dry high pressure system
keeping the storms away. (Proverbs 15:1)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Too often our society is
characterized by more heat than light. An open dialogue about important issues
is vital for a democracy, but talk show hosts who deliberately use inflammatory
words to create ratings are not helpful. Politicians more concerned about
“energizing the base” than solving problems only make things worse by their
combative rhetoric. Creative banter can be a good thing, but name-calling and
mudslinging do not create an atmosphere where rational decisions can be made.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That is not to say that we should be
afraid to speak out on the issues. Jesus and his first century followers
certainly made some waves. But they did it in a spirit of humility, with love
and compassion. The Apostle Paul wrote of “speaking the truth in love.”
(Ephesians 4:15) Sharing God’s love in the spirit of humility is a far cry from
self-righteously beating a person over the head with “the facts.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The recent sunshine and cooler
temperatures have been nice partly because we had plenty of rain earlier.
Sunshine without rain is only a good thing for a while. The atmosphere needs to
get mixed up occasionally or the flowers will wilt and the crops will die. But
how much better it is to have a nice gentle soaking rain than thunderstorms
laced with tornadoes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This blog is an attempt to present spiritual matters in a way which creates more light than heat. That does not mean I will never present anything controversial—far from it. But I will </span>endeavor to present facts and logic without resorting to name-calling and tirades. Although not always successful, I try to live by what C. S. Lewis called "intellectual hospitality." For more on this subject, please refer to a post on my companion blog here on blogger.com. See </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://ihaveaninkling.blogspot.com/2016/07/c-s-lewis-and-intellectual-hospitality.html" target="_blank">C S Lewis and intellectual hospitality: learning to listen to the opposition</a>.</span></i></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b>Markhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03746604209969641921noreply@blogger.com0