Doug Van Pelt

Jesus Vexed Them...

In Matthew 22, we read of the continuing adventures of Jesus, Whom the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Herodians all tried to trap and trick with their questions.

He answered questions about the morals of paying taxes by saying, "Whose image is on the coin?" And then, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar, and to God what is God's."

He answered a question about whose wife a 7-time married woman would be at the resurrection, to which He said, "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven."

He answered a question about the "Greatest Commandment" by saying, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind...and the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

He also posed a question to the Pharisees about His own identity: "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to Him, "The Son of David." He replied back, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool?' If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"

That is so awesome how He displayed His wisdom as a man filled with the Spirit. This again is perhaps an example of how we can be filled with the Spirit and know what to say when we need to say it. Jesus stayed in "tune with" His Father by spending time in prayer and not only talking to God, but listening to Him as well. We could do the same.

The chapter starts with a harrowing tale about a wedding feast, which we've often heard, where the guests decline and excuse themselves, so the king has everyone on the "highways and biways" invited in. The scary part is the guests who excused themselves were destroyed, and one guest who didn't put on a wedding garment was stopped and asked why he didn't put one on. He was speechless and then cast into out darkness. Jesus culminated the story with the statement, "For many are called, but few are chosen."

One thing I guess that underscores is that God makes the rules; and we don't play games with God. We should obey Him, revering Him for Who He is.

Out of the mouth of babes...

"...You have perfected praise?"

That is a verse that Jesus quoted when He made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem for His last week before His crucifixion. The author (Matthew) quoted another obscure verse when he described the fact that Jesus rode in on a donkey.

It's neat how seemingly insignificant things can turn into major roles in God's plan, like those "obscure" verses being messianic.

He had some strong words to say to the chief priests, who were afraid to answer Him directly when they questioned Him about His authority and He answered back with, "I'll tell ya, but let me ask you first -- John's baptism, by what authority did he baptise?" They weighed out the political options of either answer ("God" or "man") and lamed out with, "I don't know."

I think that's funny.

I'm here in Sacramento at the Youth Specialties convention. I hope I can bless those around me. The youthworker is often a very special individual, and there'll be a lot of them here. I'm sure I will be blessed by them.

Jealous Brothers

Matthew 20 tells a story that I reference in a recent conversation. Jesus tells a parable of "workers in a vineyard," where a landowner hires some men to work in his vineyard. At about the "third hour" (I think that means 9 am), he saw some guys out in the market standing around, doing nothing. He hired them as well. He did the same at the sixth and ninth hours. He did this once again at the 11th hour (I guess that's 5 pm). Then he paid them all a denarius. When those hired at 6 am arrived, they figured they'd get more. Instead of being happy with what they agreed to work for, they grumbled and comoplained. Their rebuke was strong and put them in their place:

"'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I w ant to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'"

Wow. Shut down. Put in their place. Those idiots. But the thing is, it's easy to sit on this side of the story and say that, "Oh yeah, those guys had the wrong perspective." But until we are in their shoes, working 11 hours through the heat of the day and then see some guys (who we probably know got up late and lazed around most of the day) get the same wage, it might make us resentful, too. While it's easy to judge these men from our perspective, if we place ourselves in their shoes, we can see that it's not too far-fetched to think that we'd behave in the same manner.

This is like another example of how the Word of God becomes the great equalizer. We are all idiots before the Lord. We all fail. We are all stupid, resentful, jealous little brothers -- at least from time to time and to some degree. The key, I believe, to rising above this pettiness, is to come to grips with forgiveness. We need to realize that we completely stink. We deserve to be slapped around for our thoughts, speech, and behavior. But we are given mercy. God forgives us if we ask Him. He has already decided to forgive us, so the only thing we have to do is ask. He is that loving towards us. Then, when we truly see how unworthy we are and drink in the love and forgiveness that is showered upon us, and we let that imprint our hearts and minds, then we're probably a lot more likely to cut other people slack and be quick to forgive them, too.

This chapter has another zinger that I love, too. Jesus tells us that, "If we want to be great, then we need to be a servant."

I hope to remember that and put it into practice. Not just today, but this weekend as I travel to Sacramento to attend the Youth Specialties convention (we'll have a booth for HM Magazine). And not only this weekend, but every day after that, too.

It's Easy to be a Christian...when...

When things are going right, you're alone, you're just worshipping God, things are quiet.

It begins to be a challenge when you are forced to interact with others. People are of utmost value, not objects or obstacles in your way. However, it's easy to see them as such. People are free will agents, and their choices, habits, and manners do not always coexist peacefully with yours. Therefore, conflict arises. This, like any time of stress and testing, is when the mettle of a believer is shown. Are they full of grace and compassion? Loving those around them so consistently that an impression can be made?

Jesus gave us a blueprint for conflict that is so easy to understand. He said (in Matthew 18:15):

"'If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.'"

There is no scandal there. No gossip. No public lynching. This is a private matter, and it should be settled as such. Jesus cares about people's dignity, and so should we.

"'If he listens to y ou, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'"

This is tough-love confrontation, but it's powerful and humbling for all those involved. This step is only to be taken, of course, when step one has been done and failed. Skipping ahead to points two and three have been done within the body of Christ a few times without bothering to do step one (you think?); and this is sad. It's such a simple blueprint and guideline that we should not screw this stuff up.

"'If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

"'I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

"'Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My Name, there am I with them.'"

If we actually believed in Jesus, we would see ourselves on a divine mission, supplied with divine power. I'm not exactly sure what this "binding and loosing" stuff is or means, but I think it's closely linked with our call as "ministers of reconciliation" and "ambassadors" and "disciples," whom He anointed and basically said, "Go and do what I did."

If we took that at face value (I don't think this was just some metaphor), we might see those around us benefitting from us being here. If all we are is Christians who the people around us would rather see dead, then I don't think we are accomplishing our mission (unless, of course, it's that blind hatred that led to persecution and martyrdom for so many in the first century who took Jesus at His Word).

Jesus goes on to tell an awesome parable about forgiveness in this chapter. A guy who owed this other powerful guy a ton of money was brought before him and forced to pay off the huge debt. His family was going to be sold as slaves to help lower the debt. He pleaded for mercy and, you know what? He was given mercy. Then this guy with his new-found freedom found some other guy who owed him a little bit of money. He began to choke him and demand his money. The guy got on his knees and begged him for mercy, but found none. Instead this newly forgiven servant threw his fellow servant into debtor's prison. When the more powerful guy found out about it, he was furious. Surely, this guy who was forgiven much should have forgiven others (especially the little debt/offense). This guy was turned over to be tortured, until he paid back the debt. It's interesting to note that the story doesn't have a nice Disney rated-G ending. The third servant with the small debt doesn't get talked about. We don't learn that he gets set free. We might have to assume that he's still in prison, too. That's gnarly.

Then Jesus says, "'This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.'"

We must forgive others. We must be about peace. We've been given a mission. When we first accept Christ, we can go through a "honeymoon phase," where everything is joy and happiness, as we look around and see God at work "everywhere," but when time marches on and the "rubber meets the road," it's those life challenges that will test us and also give us opportunity to let God's life live in us.

Jesus and His Siblings

It's interesting how when Jesus went into His hometown to preach that the people in their synagogue were amazed.

"'Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. 'Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?' And they took offense at Him."

It kinda disproves the "perpetual virgin" theory, doesn't it? It's funny how familiarity bred contempt here and mistrust. Since they knew Him, surely He couldn't be some special agent of God, could He?

I was reading a devotional Bible and it brought up a good point about the illustration Jesus was sharing prior to His hometown visit. He talked a lot about judgment and fire and weeping and gnashing of teeth. He was talking about soil, and about how some seeds landed in "good soil," some on "rocky soil," and others on "thorny" soil. The question posed was, "how do we cultivate our hearts so that it becomes "good soil?" Good soil is, of course, the same as the other soils, only it's been worked over, tilled, broken up, and whatnot. Perhaps the greatest thing we can do to "farm our hearts" is to read the Word. Allow a steady diet of God's Words to examine our hearts and lead us into truth, which should destroy the "weeds" of doubt, deception, and wickedness. When we stay close to and sensitive to God, it really empowers us to live good lives. This, in and of itself, keeps us from living "bad lives" and sort of preoccupies us, so that making poor choices becomes less and less of an issue. We don't really have to "resist" sin, like some sort of anti-negative effort, but submit to God and walk with Him. The temptations come, but can slip off and not "stick" to us because we are sort of preoccupied with God and His ways. It's a subtle change, but significant.

In chapter 15, we see some great teaching on being "clean." Jesus said:

"'Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.''"

When His disciples asked Him to explain, He responded:

"'Are you so dull?' Jesus asked them. 'Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.''"

If we watch our mouths, control our tongues, we can remain clean and pure. This would be good. I don't think most of us want to be or be around the following: slanderers, murderers, thieves, liars, adulterers, sexually immoral. That's just not good.

I don't mean we shouldn't hang around people guilty of those things (at one point or another, all of us are guilty of those things), but I'm just being real and stating that, "It's not a pleasant thing." These are basic things and guidelines that even the most calloused of heart would agree on. Where there is failure, there is mercy; but I'm talking about choices and lifestyles. If we are pursuing a lifetime of lying, we're going to make ourselves and those around us miserable. That's not good.

Eisley Kills at ACL Fest

In the sweltering 104 degree high humidity in Austin's Zilker Park, 60,000 fans braved the conditions for some sweet music. Robert Randolph & The Family Band brought the house down last night; which was no surprise, but what shocked a few was how often Randolph left his slide guitar stool for a six-string slung over his shoulder, jamming away.

Eisley played a good hour set, featuring old songs and songs from their full length. Sharing lots of sweet sibling banter between songs, they made the outdoor crowd of a few thousand (5 to 10,000 maybe?) feel like they were family, too. They didn't waste much time, though, almost rushing through the set for us, "so ya'll don't have to stand out there so long," yet they filled their one-hour time slot, even though they started 10 minutes late.

The swirling harmony vocals sounded as dreamy as ever, floating in the outdoor air like kid's balloons.

"We were going to rehearse a lot for this show, but instead we worked up this new song, 'Many Funerals.' It might not sound great, but you guys will be the first to hear it." It featured some cool call and response vocals. We also heard "Marvelous Things," "Head Against The Sky," "Telescope Eyes," and "Memories."

An old song they dusted off and re-recorded, "Head Against The Sky" was the only song in the set where one instrument (guitar) competed against the vocals a little too much for portions of the song.

They ended with "Tree Tops," which was ironic, because the Cingular Stage they played on bordered the park against some huge Oak trees.

Touring the grounds revealed that this was simply a first class festival. It's like going to an arena that's in an outdoor field. You don't have to worry about camping and that fact helps bear the barely bearable conditions. I visited the nicest and cleanest porta-potties I've ever seen at a festival. And there were over a dozen of Austin's finest restaurants offering quality food at an affordable price. Most meals were $5 or below. Nice.

I got a chance to see the Kaiser Chiefs and their fun show. The New Amsterdams started off day 3 really well. The Capitol Metro stage showcased Gospel and Blues all day long. I had a chance to see a show-stopper in Ruthie Foster. She was really gettin' down in a major way, speaking over the music in a powerful way. Her band was solid, using slide guitar to spice it up just right, and the rhythms were as thick as BBQ sauce.

Tonight should offer some pleasant shows, with Franz Ferdinand and Coldplay ending this up. The music will be over by 10 pm, which makes for a do-able music marathon.

It was a trip watching Franz Ferdinand within an outdoor crowd of 60,000. You're so far from the stage, yet can still see what's going on on top of it -- not to mention the jumbotron screens blowing up the action. Very cool. The helicopter that flew over for a few passes was so close to the crowd and the trees. Amazing. Fun bunch of guys, that band.

Hurricane Rita

Well, it looks like the storm didn't hit Houston like originally forecast. My friend that was staying at the office had been watching the storm via the news on his computer (yeah, internet), and decided to head home at 1 am, when I finally left the office for 95% of deadline is finished. I asked him to call me when he got home and he got back to Katy TX around 5 am. He said it was clear sailing all the way home, with little to no traffic.

I'm thankful that the storm damage wasn't like Katrina. I've been so consumed with the magazine deadline the past few days that I haven't done the usual monitoring of the Weather Channel.

This weekend Austin City Limits Festival is going on. I finally got a (one-day) press pass this year, so I should be able to see Eisley tomorrow, among other bands. I'll be missing Robert Randolph & The Family Band tonight, which is really missing something, cuz that band always brings it.

Rita, The Meter Maid

"Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Those poor hypocrites and their sons. I can imagine that some of their error might've just been due to blindly following tradition, not giving a second thought to the in-appropriateness of their prideful actions. 'This is how alms are given to the poor,' they might've thought, as the trumpeteers blasted away. How silly, but it might've been the "norm" for some misguided folks.

A couple chapters later in Matthew, we hear of horns again. There was a ruler whose daughter just died and there were professional mourners there for the crowd. Jesus told them to go away, and then He raised the girl from the dead. On His way to that house, a woman touched the edge of His garment, "claiming" her healing by faith, as it were. Apparently Jesus felt the healing power for her leaving His body. That's interesting. He later healed a couple of blind men, asking them first if they had faith that He could heal them. They did and He did. Then He told them to keep quiet about it. But they didn't. The news spread throughout the region.

I wonder why Jesus instructed them to remain quiet. Was it a good deed attempting to be done in secret? Was it so that His fame wouldn't spread to mega-star proportions and make daily life and transportation more difficult? Was there some divine order to it all that called for smaller crowds and fame? I don't know, but I do know that Jesus always spent time in prayer, and He listened to what the Father said, and that's what He did. He took His "marching orders," so to speak, and did what the Father wanted Him to do and say what the Father wanted Him to say.

I remember a great "start the day" prayer that my grandad shared with me once:

"Good morning, Father. What are you up to today? And how can be involved in it?"

Well, it's the last day of deadline. I've got 12 "pick of the litters" to write, two small news stories, the placing of ads, "pre-flighting" every page to make sure it uses only CMYK or grayscale images (no RGB), all the right fonts, and then convert each page into postscript and then into a PDF document, and "ftp" it over to our printer's server. I will try to get all of this done today, before the storm hits and before we face any power outages, etc. I have some family at my house and a friend at our office, all from Houston, riding out this storm.

Oh yeah, Life goes on...

Jesus said, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

It's been said that the moon's light is only the reflection of the sun. It might be true that we'd shine brighter if we spent more time with the Son, letting His glory, His presence, His character, and His goodness shine on us. Maybe a little bit will rub off on us just because we're hanging out with Him. It makes sense to me. Whenever I spend even just a little bit of quality time with the Lord, it changes my outlook, gives me a fresh perspective, and I'm usually less prone to anger, and more thoughtful and loving towards others. It helps me meditate on God's Word if I spend a little time reading it in quietness before Him. Praying for others is always appropriate, because just knowing a few people gives me reasons or requests to bring before the Father. There never seems like a shortage of things to pray about.

Please remember your friends in prayer, any enemies you have, and those people on the Gulf Coast bracing for Hurricane Rita. My sister's family plans to come evacuate here at our place tomorrow. I'll be praying that it's not too crowded on the way out, or at least orderly and peaceful, as many evacuate into this area, away from the coast.

Matthew

The New Testament. The New Covenant. I'm so glad God enacted His plan (Plan A, known from the beginning) with us. Even though I wasn't around when the covenant was made, I get to benefit from its provisions.

Matthew 1shares the geneology of Jesus, going all the way back to Abraham, whom God promised a multitude of offspring. At the end of the first chapter we read that Joseph was going to quietly divorce his fiance, Mary, when he found out she was pregnant. An angel visited him and convinced him otherwise. The last verse states that "he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the Name Jesus." I was talking to a good friend once, who happened to have a position in the Catholic church. We talked about various Catholic doctrines, one of which was the "perpetual virgin" belief that Mary was a virgin her whole life. It was the first time I ever heard an explanation as to how this last verse in Matthew would not disprove that belief. He said that there was a phrase or figure of speech that was spoken that way, that did not always mean that the action spoken of took place at the end of the time frame referenced. For example, "He did not taste wine until he reached the age of 21" would not mean that he had wine on his 21st birthday, or at any moment after that. I don't buy it, but I can see why a learned man might believe that.

In chapter 4 we read about the "temptation of Jesus." After fasting forty days and forty nights, Jesus had to be at the breaking point. Doctors say that the body will begin to devour itself, so to speak, and vital organs will get permanently damaged after the 40th day of fasting. So this was probably His weakest point in the fast. We might wonder how Jesus could be weak at all. I mean, He is God Incarnate, right? How would He be tempted at all by Satan, whom He knew to be a fallen angel, God's most prominent known enemy? Well, I have to believe the conclusion I make that Jesus lived under a self-imposed limitation, where He never used or manifested His true identity or godhood. He kept it at arm's reach, so to speak, and never grabbed for it. If that was the case, then Jesus was the perfect example of a man living filled with the Holy Spirit, completely dependent upon God. And if that was the case, then His understanding was limited, not infinite. If that was the case, then He really did have the ability to blow it and succomb to the temptations of Satan.

Food, miraculous extreme-sport death-defying power, and the power of leadership were all valid temptations for any man. The food temptation was first. Jesus passed. The thrill-seeker playing with God's supernatural powers temptation was next. That would be hard to resist if I could tap into that so easily. And then there was the third temptation, which would've cost Jesus true satanic worship. He refused. But it probably wasn't as easy as it sounds.

First of all, we know that Satan is the "Father of lies," according to the Words of Jesus. Therefore, we could deduce that he did not have the rulership of all the kingdoms of earth to offer Jesus. This might be true (it probably is), so how could this temptation not be "easy to see through?" Well, perhaps it was the miraculous power that Satan apparently used to show Jesus all the kingdoms of the world from the perspective of just one mountaintop. Surely they weren't all visible to the naked eye. It must've been some projection screens against the clouds type of action going on. This display must've been impressive. That alone might make me have some questions that perhaps maybe this guy did have the ability to deliver all those kingdoms to me. After all, he could show them to me. Anyone with the authority over them would probably have this kind of ability, too. So, maybe that's how this third and supposedly climactic temptation had some real "bait" to it. I don't know. It's just my speculation. The response of Jesus was confrontational and pretty much fighting words: "Away from Me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'"

After this, something really cool happened. It says, "Then the devil left Him, and angels came and attended Him." Now, that must've been really cool for everyone involved. I bet Jesus got the refreshing moist towel type treatment, a neck, back and foot massage, and some really tasty food. Perhaps a choice steak, or maybe some heavenly angel food we don't know about... Nah, it was probably fish. He was living as a man, after all. I bet the angels were thrilled to offer the King of the universe some refreshment. Just serving Him had to be exciting. It must've been exceptionally exciting to talk to Him after such a great hard-fought victory. Seeing Him be tempted and being held back and not being able to help Him until afterwards must've been hard. That restraint must've felt frustrating, so when it was time to render aid, there was probably some urgency and joy involved.

Right after this, He began ministering and preaching that "the kingdom of heaven is near."

We are 3 days away from deadline. I've got about 5 days' worth of work (I think), so this will require some focus and hard work. I will dedicate this work, as well as "the move" to the Lord, not knowing how it will turn out, but thanking Him in advance for any and all the good things that will come about. Let the adventure resume!

Violation of the Priests

In Malachi (the last book of the Old Testament), we find that God is basically punishing His people for going astray. He is specifically mad at the priests:

"'For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction -- because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.
But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,' says the Lord Almighty. 'So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.'"

I'm reminded of the public scandal of some priests in America that were exposed as sexual predators, molesting young kids in their care. This is something that should've been handled with furious judgment from within the church -- and it was -- and it was so bad that the world is scorning these men, too. This is but a tiny indicator of how angry this type of abuse and mishandling makes the Lord Almighty. He does not take this stuff lightly. The fact that these men were humiliated in public for all the world to see is a good thing, at least in light of this scripture. It's as if God is saying, "Enough!" He exposes them for ridiculing and scorn, for their behavior warrants it.

God also goes on to rebuke His people for divorcing:

"'I hate divorce,' says the Lord God of Israel, 'and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,' says the Lord Almighty." Malachi adds: "So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith."

God also points out something else that really bothers Him: tithes and offerings. He states that the entire nation is under a curse because they have withheld tithes. He tells His people, "'Test me in this,'" daring us to take Him at His word and give Him the tithes that are His. If you are brought up in the church and are used to this concept, it's not that radical. But if you convert to Christianity and then are faced with the challenge of setting aside 10% of your earnings (for those that care, taxes weren't withheld until the middle of last century, so calculating 10% would be from "gross" not "net," unless we are somehow better than all the believers before the mid-1900's)... this can be a radical and difficult change to make. You'd be amazed at how something so simple and practical can change your life for the better. Are we obligated by law to do this? Well, not really. The tithe was established before the "Law," so the fact that Jesus fulfilled the "Law" doesn't erase this obligation. It is not necessary for salvation, but if you want to grow (and be "sanctified" or developed in your growth as a believer), then it'd be good to pay attention and do. I'm not a man of conflict (I don't think), and I'd hate to see people get "hung up" on this subject (I considered not bringing it up today), but I'd encourage anyone to "take God up" on his challenge. Test Him. See if your finances don't get blessed by giving your money away. (defining the "storehouse" is another topic, as well, but to be brief, I'll share my conviction: you could give that money to anyone, but to line up with Scripture, the "storehouse" would be a place that was local, and a place that you yourself could go to in time of need. Your local church best fits this description, as the 700 Club is glad to receive your donation, but they won't be as likely to give you a handout when you lose your job as your local church, who knows you, would be... So, best definition, IMHO, is: local church = storehouse).

4 Days, 3 hours, 33 minutes, and 33 seconds left in deadline.
Sam Farries, our newest intern, is here now, so we are blessed. Check out his intern diary after today (his first day).

More Scripture Swimming

In the past week or two (it's hard to guage time in the "normal" way during deadline, because my face is set like flint towards finishing the issue...days come and go and the calendar becomes a necessary crutch or tool to keep track of the days), I have been noticing things in Scripture that I'm doing my best to consider coincidence. I mentioned yesterday how the passage talked about laboring hard and harvesting little. I could relate to that, but am not convinced that the application is to find a "temple" and "build it." In similar ways, I've seen names in the Bible similar to the one of a mean ole landowner in Pflugerville who is displacing our office (along with 150 or so other manufactured homes) in a land buy and re-zoning. It's very unpleasant and seemingly uncaring to do this to so many people, myself included, that it's been on my mind. So, when I see a character in the Word (a villainous one, no less) that is very close to this guy's name, I snicker. I wonder if there's a connection. I want to be open to that, but I also don't want to be so gullible that I jump to or cling to quick fixes and magic "words" to help me through my difficult times. In Zechariah 7, I'm reading about:

"This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'"

The homeowners out here are trying to band together to at least bargain with the power of numbers in getting bulk pricing on moving and whatnot. It seems like justice and mercy are not being considered in this situation.

The passage also reinforces the popular verse in Micah (6:8):
"And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God."

These are the common tenets of God's will for mankind. We are to act justly. That is huge, and spans the "Golden Rule" and the Sermon on the Mount. Loving mercy and walking humbly with our God is way at the top, too. Doing all three interact with and reinforce each other. It's like loving God first allows us the perspective to love others next, ahead of ourselves.

I finally did the interview for the cover story (late in the production cycle here) earlier this week. I had two great conversations with the Jasons from No Innocent Victim. Moody, the vocalist shared his heart on the hardcore scene and laid bare the motivation of why this hardcore powerhouse came back together. Ad sales came through to a really good number. There are 7 days, 2 hours, 2 minutes, and 12 seconds left of deadline. It's looking pretty good, although I'm sure there'll be a few more late nights like last night.

Praise You, Father. You are so good to us. You have given us air to breathe and so much bounty. We bless You and thank You for what You've given us. We ask that Your Spirit would continue to remind us of the things Jesus taught, and that You would continue the work that You started in us, making us more prone to act justly, love mercy, walk humbly before You, and love others more than ourselves. Forgive us for loving ourselves more than others and being selfish. Bless those who are working to assist all the victims of the wars, the tsunami, and hurricane Katrina. You are wonderful. Amen.

The Lord's House?

Often times, when I read Scripture, I ask myself, 'How can this apply to my life?' This is a good motivation, but it cannot cloud my study of the Bible. For instance, the battles in the Word, the chopping up of a murder victim into 12 pieces -- one for each tribe of Israel... Stuff like that. The "application" might be to learn a lesson, see what God was teaching His people from a big perspective, not the details of some violent act or ceremonial law.

Such is the case when I read the first chapter in Haggai. The Lord's "House," or temple, is in ruins, and His people have said, "The time has not yet come for the Lord's house to be built." God was not pleased with their actions and attitude. He says: "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?" We've probably heard the story before. What's interesting is what the Lord says next:

"Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.' This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored.' says the Lord. 'You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?' declares the Lord Almighty. 'Because of My house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house. Therefore, because of you the heavens have withheld their dew and the earth its crops. I called for a drought on the fields and the mountains, on the grain, the new wine, the oil and whatever the ground produces, on men and cattle, and on the labor of your hands.'"

Wow.
I want to 'give careful thought to my ways,' if for no other reason than to just walk humbly with God. I don't want to get distracted and find myself doing something useless. But I also want to give careful thought to my ways because I feel like this sometimes -- like my work is not producing enough fruit, like my wages are going into a purse with holes in it. I have long felt like HM Magazine should have grown or be growing much faster and bigger than it has. We work very hard here and it sometimes seems like a little gain here (like getting a new advertising client aboard) is met with a little loss there (like a different client going out of business or a big retail chain ceasing to carry our magazine). It is frustrating to feel like we are taking one step forward and two steps back. I wish I knew what I was doing wrong. I listen to suggestions, but nothing seems to hit the mark. I look at a passage like this and wonder, 'Is there a temple I need to be building, or something? Is God wanting me to focus on something that I'm ignoring, and thus He's holding back His blessings?'

Again, this may not be the purpose of this passage of Scripture. Sometimes there are words that are, like "WORDS" that have an immediate, personal application, like a little miracle or "word of knowledge." But sometimes the right thing is to learn a lesson from Scripture and the personal application is just knowing more about God, His Word, and growing in wisdom.

But I'll be honest, these are questions I have about HM Magazine. If the Christian music scene is growing in numbers, why aren't HM's numbers growing? Sometimes God seems to step in and bless us with growth here and growth there, but it sure seems like we could have 30,000 subscribers instead of 4,500. It seems like we could sell 15,000 on newsstands, instead of 9 or 10,000. This is something I have to give careful thought to, as well. 'How to make HM Magazine grow.'

I will press on, seek the Lord, and continue doing what I know I should be doing, and perhaps a breakthrough will come. It seems kind of convenient, sometimes, how God's people had prophets that explained what was wrong or missing in their live context...in "real time."

Why. WHY? Why don't you love me?

Those thunderous verses in the Type O song I was listening to on the way to work fit well with the passage of Zephaniah 3, and how the Lord loves His people. After being fed up with Israel and all the pride and arrogance within her, God removes "those who rejoice with pride," leaving within her "the meek and humble, who trust in the Name of the Lord."

God was telling the people through Zephaniah to sing:

"Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away your punishment,
He has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm...

"The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."

Wow. That is real rejoicing. I'm reminded of a couple in the park, one singing over the other with joy. Or a mother or father singing with delight over their child. This is God's love for us.

The Hard News section is done. The Man Alive, Paramore, Staple, Nodes of Ranvier, Demon Hunter, and Spoken stories are laid out. The Album Reviews are almost all laid out. We're getting closer to finishing up this issue.

[Pictured at top is the "UT Tower," which lights up in burnt orange at the top when the Texas Longhorns win a big game or match (like the victory over Ohio State last weekend). Here it is lit up in a giant "L" to celebrate Lance Armstrong's 6th Tour de France victory last year...]

"I'm Going to YOUR House Today..."

Habakkuk 3 is a prayer. As is appropriate with ANY prayer, it starts off with praise:

"Lord, I have heard of Your fame;
I stand in awe of Your deeds, O Lord."

In verse 12 he proclaims what God has done:

"In wrath You strode through the earth
and in anger You threshed the nations.
You came out to deliver Your people,
to save Your anointed one."

Now, sometimes in the Old Testament, a reference to "Your anointed one" is a messianic reference to Christ, the Son of God that would come later. In this context, that hardly seems the case. Perhaps he is talking about himself. Perhaps he is talking about another one of God's people. It got me to thinking.

'Aren't we all anointed? Haven't we all been given a 'special touch,' position, or gifting?' (By "we" I'm refering to those that believe in, cling to, trust in, rely on Jesus the Messiah...) If that's the case, I wonder how many of us look at ourselves as anointed, as special.

It is true that we need to be humbled. Sometimes we just get on a prideful bent and think too highly of ourselves. Sometimes, though, I think I can actually perpetuate this "humility" thing in such a way that it gets twisted upside-down and becomes pride. I become "proud of my humility." How stupid is that?

But then other times I hold on to the "woe is me" part of humility and kind of wallow in my fallen-ness. I think this is missing the mark as well. Our personalities often inject themselves into our theology, and that's understandable, but it should make us motivated to seek the truth and understand theology as correctly as we can.

Being picked last for the softball team in P.E. can make us feel like we are second class athletes and second class people. Just as self-important people can easily think that they are God's favorite children, rejected people can falsely think that they are God's red-headed step-children (no offense to the red-haired readers). As always, I think there's a balance. I believe that each of us needs to experience being "put in our place" by God, where He reinforces the attitude that we need to put others before ourselves; and I also think we need to experience having the special, focused attention of the Creator of the universe. We need to have a "Zacheous experience."

Remember the story? Jesus was passing through and people lined the path to see him. Short little Zacheous wanted to see, so he climbed up a sycamore tree. (Luke 19:4 actually specifies the type of tree he climbed, isn't that interesting?) When Jesus saw him, he said, "Zacheous, come on down, for I'm going to your house today." This was a great honor for Zacheous. It was a self-esteem booster, to be sure. The balance of the esteem issue was that Zacheous repented publically at the gathering. I think it'd be wonderful if we all felt -- at least once, but preferably many times in our lives -- that God was choosing us. That He was favoring us. That He was saying, "This person is special. I love him/her..." That sense of love is very reassuring and can motivate us to do great things.

There's 10 days, 4 hours, 26 minutes and 14 seconds left of deadline. The owner of the property we rent to house our manufactured home that we call the HM office (We don't live here, but instead use the spacious 5 bedroom home to be our office) has been foreclosed upon. The bank has sold the land to a developer who is going to use the land to build brick homes on. In other words, we are being kicked off the land and given 120 days to vacate. It will be interesting to see where we end up. We have to trust God that we'll be taken care of.

Check...Out...Habakkuk...one...two

Scott Wenzel used to say that during soundcheck. Some syllables, like the hard "k" sound are good for measuring peaks in sound settings. Like a "p" sound, the voice kinda spikes there.

Nahum is a short book, with only 3 chapters. It had to be a comforting message for God's people, as those countries around them seemed to constantly besiege them. Part of the prophecy in the first chapter underscores that God is in control:

"The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in Him..."

It's good to remember and know God's character. Sometimes our problems seem to consume us, and remembering these things is a challenge.

The context in Habakkuk is similar. The prophet is asking God why He allows injustice and evil to go on. The enemies of God, whose mighty strength is their god, trample over His people. God's answers makes clear that He will punish evildoers. Habakkuk's prayer response is one of worship and commitment in spite of the circumstances around him.

"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
He makes my feel like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to go on the heights."

I would do well to follow. Though I am overweight and I snore, keeping my wife awake at night, and though my puppy has reverted back to pooping and peeing in our house; I will rejoice in the Lord. He is my refuge and my strong tower. In Him will I trust. While I think that I have no time for these problems that arise in the midst of my deadline schedule, I will "make time" to spend with the Lord. I will seek His face when I'd rather just sleep or fume in anger. I will praise His Name, for He is good.

The Crazy Christians

I love that Isaac Air Freight skit, "The Crazy Christians." It sounds like a Giant Truck Competition radio ad or something...

Micah chapter 6 starts off with instructions to:

"'Stand up, plead your case before the mountains;
let the hills hear what you have to say..."

Now, some will say not to take it literally, and that's probably the case in this context, because the Lord is inviting Micah to bring an accusation against Himself, which is ridiculous. But, the Christian life is not one where praying outloud and/or declaring to creation something of God's truth. This could be seen as the actions of a lunatic. Have you ever been praying in your car, with your lips moving, and knowing that people in traffic can see you and you look like you're talking to yourself?

Following Christ should not necessarily be something that belittles your dignity. God is a gentleman. He will humble you, but trample on your dignity? I don't think so. It kind of depends on your definition of dignity and the degree with which you are carrying dignity. If it goes to the extreme of pride, then yeah, God's going to humiliate you. But if it's a healthy and balanced dignity, I don't think God is too interested in chipping away at your value as a person. See the difference?

Anyway, being in the media has made me aware of the public around me. I might think this way even if I wasn't in the media, but I'm often aware of how others may perceive me. This is a good thing, in that it forces me to choose my words and actions carefully. It could be a bad thing if I wrestle in my mind and succumb to the snare of "the fear of man."

A friend told me that Stephen Baldwin was crazy. He was skateboarding down Broadway in Nashville during GMA Week, listening to tunes on his headphones, oblivious to the honking cars in a line behind him. While I can relate to my friend's reaction, I also like the fact that someone famous, like actor Stevie B, would cast his cares about what the public thinks into the gutter and just enjoy himself. There is a freedom in that, and the further you go up the fleeting totem pole of celebrity-ism, the less and less of that freedom you have. To break free and not care what people think is a good and necessary thing (within context, of course).

Right now on this blog I have a resonsibility to think about what I say. If I just went hog wild with my stream of consciousness crazed imagination, I'd probably scare some people!

Bottom line, I guess is this: we should fear God. The fear of man is a snare. It's good to act wise and speak carefully and thoughtfully. And always stay sensitive to the Lord's will. He may ask you to do something wild.

Micah 6:8 is a very popular verse:

"He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God."

There you go.

Jonah & Jesus

Jesus referred to His resurrection as like "Jonah being in the belly of a giant fish for three days," so we know there are similarities in the two stories. In Jonah 1 we see Jonah disobeying and running away from God, buying a ticket to Tarshish and sailing away. While a storm rose up that freaked all the occupants on board out, Jonah was below deck in a deep sleep. Sound familiar? Except for the disobedient and running away part, of course... Jesus was in a boat sound asleep when a violent storm arose. His disciples woke Him up, "Don't you care if we perish?"

"The captain went to him and said, 'How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us, and we will not perish.'"

Then the sailors cast lots to find out who was responsible for making all this trouble.

When Jesus was on the cross, soldiers cast lots to see who could take His seamless garment.

It's always interesting how people refer to the giant fish as a whale, when the Bible doesn't refer to it as such.

Jonah prayed a very Psalm-like prayer while inside the fish:

"'In my distress I called to the Lord,
and He answered me.
From the depths of the grave I called for help,
and You listened to my cry...
...But You brought my life up from the pit,
O Lord my God.
When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered You, Lord,
and my prayer rose to you,
to your holy temple.
Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
Salvation comes from the Lord.'"

And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

In John 21:12 we see Jesus telling His disciples, "Come, let us eat breakfast." (that's my favorite humorous verse) He's preparing and eating fish. There's another story of a fish swallowing something funny in the Gospels. Jesus is pressed about taxes, and He commands a disciple to grab a fish, open its mouth, and a coin was there with which to pay the tax with.

Jesus, Who was in the "heart of the earth" for three days, said that the men of Nineveh would rise up at the judgment "with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here."

It's interesting how the men of Nineveh quickly turned to the Lord. "They believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth." When the news reached the king of Nineveh, "he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust." He gave a decree that asked, "'Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from His fierce anger so that we will not perish.'"

It's neat that they turned from sin and towards God. Even the ones who were busy with a magazine deadline or whatever partook in the fast. I'm sure there was some inconvenience involved. The stomach always protests when it misses a meal. Yet the people corporately (like a church) did something to honor the Lord. They got His attention and He "did not bring upon them the destruction He had threatened."

And the prayer of Jonah? How amazing was that? "'Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.'" What an understanding of (New Testament) grace! Wow. And to think we could forfeit (or give up, or refuse to accept) that grace!? Unreal. There is so much richness and depth to this book of Jonah.

Obadiah

What a great name. If I had a son, his name would surely be Obadiah. Of this I jest. The vision of Obadiah brings to mind something interesting that befalls us believers -- pride.

"'The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
'Who can bring me down to the ground?'
Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,'
declares the Lord."

Sometimes we get a little arrogant towards non-believers. We smugly and wryly "read their minds" and "see" the lust, greed, selfish and gluttonous attitudes that live in those "sinners'" hearts. 'We used to be one,' we think, 'so we know how they operate.

This is kind of like the father of daughters who remembers the kind of mindset he had when he was 16, 17, 18, and doesn't trust any guys that approach his daughter. 'I know what's on their minds,' he muses. It's good that we can still remember the depraved minds we once fed (I guess it has some benefits), but the problem with this is we are not giving people the slack and grace that our Father in Heaven does. If we are going to be mean, unloving, and mistrusting towards non-believers, how are they ever going to find God's love? How on earth could we have been saved if God had not looked past our sin to lovingly save us?

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I once had a cool impression in my imagination during a worship time. I guess one might call it a "vision." I was at the foot of the cross during the pain and anguish of Christ's crucifixion. You know, he had to press his feat up against that stake that probably pinched many major nerves, pushing against the splinters of the rough wood, and possibly dislocating his shoulders just to take one breath. In the midst of that pain, I was raising my arms to Him and just praising Him and declaring my love for Him. And He looked down on me and smiled. While that image makes me think that Jesus was "looking" into the future and the by-product of people worshiping Him and adoring Him, which made Him realize that His tough and dying work was well worth it, and it made Him smile.

A more accurate vision might've been that while on the cross He looked into the future in 1982 and saw me drunk with friends and forcing a guy who threw up at the party to ride home in my trunk (!), or the time I tied up a dog and threw rocks at it, or the time I put some used gum on the seat of the girl in front of me, ruining her nice new dress. It would be accurate, too, to fathom that Christ saw me doing this stuff when He died. He saw me at my worst -- in the midst of my sin -- when He willingly died for me. I'm really no better than the guy in New Orleans who took advantage of the hurricane by raping a defenseless woman and stealing a tv set.

If we can keep a balanced perspective of living in the light and walking in His way, but also realizing that we don't deserve His mercy and we're only walking in His power and His Spirit; then we might not be so arrogant towards "sinners."

(That's the perfect word to signify the self-righteousness of the person saying it. It almost thrusts itself down the nose of the person saying, "sinner." Perhaps we should all wear a scarlet letter -- the letter "S" for sinner, or the letter "L" for loser.)

There's a difference between wallowing in our failure and focusing on our status (or former status) as sinners and realizing that we are just a beggar telling another beggar where to find bread -- a sinner saved by grace. And there's also a difference between the uppity self-righteous person and someone who turns from sin and walks in God's ways, leaving behind the practice of or the "life of sin." It is somewhere in those differences that we must dwell. Not staying in our state of death and sin, but not gloating over the fact that we've been saved, either.

The Mighty Jeremiahs, featuring Greg Martin of the Kentucky Headhunters, has some fun blues songs, like "Ole Cheap Bottle of Wine," which sings, "My life used to be like an ole cheap bottle of wine / no matter how hard I tried, it never got better with time..."
:?)

[pictured above: me and john having fun in california. john wilson was "butch," the bass player for lust control.]

God's Love Is Free

Hosea 11 is a lovely chapter, where we find God talking about His love for His people. It's all the more amazing when we hear Him lament, "But the more I called Israel, the further they went from Me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images." How that must break God's heart when we stray like that and go to such ridiculous extremes. Yet God is ever loving:

"'My heart is changed within Me;
all My compassion is aroused.
I will not carry out My fierce anger,
nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.
For I am God, and not man --
the Holy One among you.
I will not come in wrath.
They will follow the Lord;
He will roar like a lion.
When He roars,
His children will come trembling from the West.
They will come trembling like birds from Egypt,
like doves from Assyria.
I will settle them in their homes,'"
declares the Lord.

It's funny, but even the ones of us who have caught a glimpse of God's love and have heard about it a thousand times, we still need that reminder, so as to turn us to the One Who can heal us and guide us.

It has been cool to watch so much of the church stand up and be counted (for love) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. If all of the Bible were just a fairy tale and there was no afterlife, the greatest legacy of Christianity would still be worth it all -- love. When the Body of Christ is expressed in this way, it is so beautiful and redeeming. It was exciting to hear our Marketing Director, Heather Reynolds, talk about volunteering downtown in Austin, which has received thousands of evacuees from the New Orleans area. She took her 9-year old daughter with her, which is awesome to let a child see love in action. It's one thing to hear about it, but quite another to experience it and give it. Simply helping out with the needs that great numbers bring is such a right thing to do. If there was ever a reason for not being zapped into Heaven upon conversion, it is our preserving, redeeming, and loving presence on Earth.

It's uncanny that King's X has a song called "Hurricane" on its new album, Ogre Tones, but it's so sad that there's also a song called "Get Away," where the words say, "Dear God, I watched the news today. Why are Your people so (bleeping) mean?" It's not sad because the songwriter said such a damning thing (although it is partly sad that someone would see "the glass half empty"); but it is sad that some believers (I guess all of us at some point in time) have given the church -- the bride of Christ -- such a bad name and reputation. People like that misguided dog who started a website called Godhatesfags. That is mean. But if you turned on the news today, you might have to ask, "Dear God, I watched the news today. Why are Your people so incredibly loving?" And what's cool is probably all of those people aren't helping because they want to give God some "brownie points," but simply because they have compassion for their fellow man, who is suffering. That is cool.

Joel chapter 2 reinforces these same principles. Even in the face and history of God's people turning away, prostituting themselves and basically slapping God in the face, He sees beyond that. He is hurt, but His love overpowers His sorrow. His mercy triumphs over judgment. If given the chance, I like to tell people that their refusal to surrender to God is like flipping Him off. That's what really got my attention -- not that visual, but the verse in James 4:4, which states that "if we are a friend of the world, then we are an enemy to God." Of course, it has nothing to do with showing compassion to non-believers and everything to do with walking in the "world's ways" and abandoning the ways of God.

And what's so amazing and such beautiful news (like fresh cold water to a thirsty man) is the abundance of God's grace that He pours out to the repentant heart.

"'I am sending you grain, new wine and oi8l,
enough to satisfy you fully;
never again will I make you
an object of scorn to the nations.'"

He goes on to tell about driving the northern army far from them and into the seas. He brings sweet deliverance to His people. And then He brings them new wine. It's like His refreshing Spirit, which He pours out on all people. His gives this abundant, new life. It's free and given without counting. And its given to those that want Him and surrender to Him. He talks in this chapter about not just going through a ritual or the "motions" of turning to God... He says He wants us to render our hearts to Him, not our garments. (It was a tradition then to tear our shirts in two if we were in great anguish before God, kind of an outward expression of being offended and shamed for God's sake, like "Oh, how could this happen?" But God didn't want the outward sign, He wanted a rendered heart, that was laid bare before Him and given over to Him.)

As a relationship is started or repaired with God, then there comes the required maintenance. It's interesting to note in Amos 3, where God is asking some rhetorical questions, He adds, "'Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?'" It states the obvious: that relationships take work. While it would not be good doctrine to say that our relationship with God is dependent on our actions, it would probably be accurate to say that it's a "two-way street," where each party brings to the relationship. What's great about this is that we're like the small kid getting protection from the bully by another very big person. God's help in our "relationship maintenance" is divine and powerful. His Spirit comes alongside us and carries us, educates us, protects us, and guides us. Another great benefit is the easy motivation we can have. While it's normal and quite possible to look at Bible study and prayer as chores and ritualistic exercises, it is also very possible to look at is as a lover would -- having the privilege of hanging out and discovering the traits of a wonderful Person.

We're 17 days, 2 hours, 54 minutes and 40-something seconds away from deadline for the Nov/Dec issue. Much to do. This might be the last issue of the magazine that is produced at this location. The offices of HM Magazine are in a home. A large, 5-bedroom mobile home that we purchased and had moved to a community that rents us the land it's on. The owner of the community apparently allowed foreclosure, and the new owner is about to close. This guy is a developer of fine homes in the area, and will kick all 150 or so families/homeowners off the land, which he will develop brick and mortar homes on. That means when this becomes official (probably in the next week or two) that we'll have 3 to 4 months to find another place to put this home on.

Sigh.
That is a daunting task, but on this side of this "mountain," I trust that God has a placed picked out. It'll be exciting (and maybe very inconvenient and frustrating, too) to see how it all works out.

P.S. Here's a bit of good news that kinda underlines the benevolence of several people in the Austin area:

This is from the city's Katrina help Web site, ci.austin.tx.us/help/katrina.htm:

Due to traffic congestion and manpower issues, new volunteers and donations are no longer being coordinated at the Austin Convention Center. Effective immediately (Monday, Sept. 5, 6:15 p.m.) the City of Austin has put a temporary hold on all donations. City officials will continue to update this Web site with specific calls for donations at the Freescale Semiconductor site (formerly Motorola) at 3501 Ed Bluestein Boulevard. City officials appreciate the more than 20 truck loads of donations currently being distributed as needed at the Convention Center. Please contact your local Goodwill store prior to dropping off donations to assess if additional donations are needed. Also effectively immediately, all persons interested in volunteering to help should be directed to report in person to the American Red Cross facility at 2218 Pershing Ave. The hours of operation are 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Only those volunteers previously registered and scheduled through the Red Cross Center are to report to the Convention Center.

Times

Today I passed a gas station on my way to work. Regular gas was $3.01 per gallon. Yikes. Here in Central Texas we've always had gas prices about as cheap as they come, seeing how we're so close to the oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. That proximity isn't keeping the prices so low anymore.

It's hard to fathom the disaster that is the Gulf States region right now. My parents were here this past weekend and part of this week, escaping and evacuating from Hurricane Katrina. On Sunday night as we watched the Hurrican footage on the news, no one knew how bad it'd be. It looked like a category 5 and it might be the biggest storm we've faced in a long. long time. We prayed. By early Monday morning, it looked like it lessened to a Category 4. When it was hitting, judging by the reports we were getting, it looked like it wouldn't be as bad as we'd feared. My dad had pictures of his home later on that day, showing water from the bayou up in his yard, but not as high as the house in NW Florida. Having been through this so many times (especially recently), it was hard not to feel relieved when the storm went inland and broke apart. It looked like the damage wouldn't be that great. And then it got worse. That was a surprise. It might be awhile before we actually know the toll that the storm has taken and continues to take. It's all quite a shock.

Watching the news footage is horrific.

Hosea 6 has a wonderful prayer and admonition:

"'Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces
but He will heal us;
He has injured us
but He will bind up our wounds.
After two days He will revive us;
on the third day He will restore us,
that we may live in His presence.
Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge Him.
As surely as the sun rises,
He will appear;
He will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.'"

God's people had been like an adulterous woman to Him,
abandoning His ways in selfish living. This book tells of an incredible picture that God paints. He asks Hosea to marry a prostitute, who continues to be unfaithful to Hosea. This is how God's people are repeatedly unfaithful to Him, yet He loves His bride. He stays faithful to her.

The above admonition to return to the Lord is for our restoration and it's a turning away of a lifestyle against God and one towards Him. His ever-welcoming love is amazing and without cynicism.

The Rapture is a Non-Essential

Daniel 12 goes into some interesting stuff, talking about great distress, deliverance of the people "found in the book," and multitudes of dead people will rise up. The last three chapters of Daniel are the passages where an argument for a "mid-week rapture." The question is asked, "How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?" And a man "clothed in linen" responds by lifting his hands toward heaven, swearing by Him Who lives forever, and saying, "It will be for a time, times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed." Later on it says, "From the time that the daily sacrifce is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days." Like many prophetic writings, it is kind of a mystery. At one point in time I was somehow convinced that this passage pointed to a rapture that happened right in the middle (3.5 years into) the "Great Tribulation." Like practically any believer in the USA, I've heard countless teachings and sermons that point to a "pre-Trib" rapture, which happens at the beginning of the "seven years" of great tribulation. I've also studied Matthew 24 and been convinced that Jesus taught that the rapture of the church would happen at the end of the Great Tribulation, or a "post-trib" rapture. I've actually held the belief of all three popular scenerios (pre, mid, and post), but at this point I don't really care.

Sure, I care and I "hope for the best and prepare for the worst," but I don't hold it as a standard with which to judge other believers by. It's not essential. I love Jesus and I await His physical return, but that may or may not happen in my lifetime. If someone has a different "timeline" than I do, I can find that fascinating and enjoy conversing with that person, but I would not hold them at arm's length just because we might not see eye to eye on this debatable subject. Because we are not fallible, each of us will be wrong about something (a doctrine, a political viewpoint, a perspective on history), so getting uptight about someone else's opinion on a non-essential thing is completely pointless and a big waste of time.

If we boil down things and figure out "what exactly are the 'essentials,'" we're likely to live a more peaceful and loving life, because loving God and loving others as ourself are the two top essentials. Making peace with God through the finished work of His Son, Jesus, gives us a peace with God that should motivate us to be at peace with others, reconciling differences and hurts. That's kind of an obvious point, but basic and essential.

I've found that one of the biggest tests of a person's character and maturity is by seeing what they do when someone does them wrong. It's those tough times where the love and peace of God can really shine through.

Once again, it's also times of emergency and disaster that God's people can shine. Hurricane Katrina has devestated many and destroyed much. Help can come through active assistance (going there) and giving.

Here's an article about volunteering personally.

Here's some relief organizations taking donations:
Red Cross

Salvation Army

World Vision

Operation Blessing