Destruction

I have come to the conclusion that one of the most destructive forces of nature is a bored, playful, and/or curious cat.

Goose bumps!?

It was with some dismay that I read this commentary by T.D. Jakes this morning.

I want to stress that it was some dismay, not complete dismay, or even much dismay, for Rev. Jakes does not say that he supports Sen. Obama for President. What he does say, though, concerns me, not for what is explicitly stated, but for what may be implied. What he does say, essentially, is that as a black man--excuse me, African American--with an African American son, that he is encouraged and excited by Sen. Obama's apparent impending nomination for President of the United States by the Democratic Party. This is because it demonstrates that his race is not the liability that it once was. Further, it demonstrates that democracy is alive and well, giving opportunity to all. He also says that change has happened, is happening, and hopefully will be happening, and that is a good thing.

Race has never mattered to me in how I treat people and I have never subjectively understood why it should. However, I do objectively understand that it does matter to many people, even though it is not right that it should. I understand that the effect of this is negative, profound, pervasive, and even overwhelming. I understand that the effect on the oppressed can tend towards being definitive. As a white man in the USA I can almost certainly never fully understand what it is like to be raised as a black man in this country. But before you jump on me for thinking that I can even think that I could understand one teeny bit try being from a Christian home and going to a public school. as a boy I have felt oppressed because of being different because of faith, though certainly not to the extent of those in Muslim or Communist countries. Still, it did exert a huge negative influence on my life. And, before you tell me that this is so small that it is nothing like it, stop. I once had someone tell me that the grief that I felt over losing a beloved cat was nothing like losing a child, so I could not understand. I have since lost a spouse, and while that is still not the same as losing a child, I have found that it was quite similar to the grief I have felt over losing Kei, just much, much worse. I have found that I was right that I did understand something about it beforehand, it just took imagination (and maybe some masochism) to extrapolate from the smaller to the larger. I believe I can understand what oppression feels like by imagining what I have experienced on a larger, deeper scale.

Here's the thing: it doesn't really matter. When one is a Christian, a follower of Christ, a child of God and a member of His Kingdom, all other identities are to become either subsumed or supplanted underneath. We are new creations and supposed to put off the world and the things of it. Paul wrote in Galatians (3:26-28, NIV) that "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female,..." and dare I add, neither black nor white, "...for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

The questions that came to me, the questions that I have to ask Rev. Jakes are, In November, will you vote as an African American, or as a Christian? Will you vote your African American heart, or God's heart? Which is more important (to you)? Are you a new creation, or an old one to whom Christianity is a tool?* Where is your hope, in the Lord, in democracy, or, God forbid, Sen. Obama?

What about you that are reading this, will you vote God's heart in November?


*From Modern Black Church Shuns King's Message

The Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta,
where King preached, says that prosperity preaching is not just a distortion of
Jesus' message but a betrayal of the black church's heritage. The black church
was formed by slaves who saw Jesus' message as a tool for social justice. [Emphasis mine]

"The prophetic voice of the black church is the very reason for its being," Warnock
said. "The only reason that there's such a thing as the black church is because
of the question of freedom, justice and equal access."

I love my cat, ya wanna make sumthin' of it?

Still have not done a lot the last couple of days, but I keep a file of things in progress to post here, so I will dip into that and finish some things. The following, however, is new, and in response to the attitude I run across here and there (way too often) that real men love dogs and hate cats. This is, of course, rubbish. :)

Why loving cats is manlier than loving dogs:

1. They hunt. (Professionally!)
2. They bring home the bacon (and birds, and rabbits, and rats, and mice, and moles, and…).
3. Dogs are armed with teeth…cats are armed to the teeth.
4. When cats play it sharpens their work skills.
5. Cats don’t need to get all hyped up to attack, they’re always interested in pouncing on something.
6. Cats don’t talk their prey to death before pouncing, they get on with it. Cats invented silent but deadly. =D
7. Cats are their own people, not somebody’s “lap dog,” even when they are on your lap. Whoever heard of a “yes” cat?
8. When cats say something it has a purpose. They don’t endlessly whine and yammer on like dogs.
9. Cats are loving and loyal but don’t insist on reminding you of it every five seconds, nor do they have to slobber all over you.
10. It has been said that dogs are like “little furry men” and that cats are like “little furry women”…if this is true then any man who prefers the company of a “little furry man” should probably keep his mouth shut about masculinity.

* * * * * * *

I said to someone that I met a while back that I want to find a woman like my cat. She said, "Ooooh, I don't think that you want to tel any women that." I said, "Let me explain." lol

My cat, Yuri, will often start purring just because I'm in the room. I can come into the room with some laundry, move around putting things away, and I will hear her purring from the other side of the room; she is loud! I can sit next to her, or put my hand on her, and she starts purring. She is like a mini chainsaw (albeit one that doesn't run steady). I am looking for the woman that will "purr" because I am around...and I will "purr" because she is around.

The woman I was talking to said that she understood, and that is how she felt around her fiancee (they have since married).

One of the things that I love about cats is that they purr. It's great! Nothing like it. =)

Been "gone"

Been quite sick the last couple of months, so have not written anything. Starting to get better and came down with a bad cold. At the moment can't talk without coughing, so even when I feel like talking to someone otherwise, I can't. Hmmmm...guess I can write a little. Maybe tomorrow.

Another dream

Another dream early this morning. It did not have the oomph of the other one, but two things stand out. First, I was with, at several points, a group of four pastors. One of them was Nathan Fillion, who played Mal on the TV series "Firefly" and in the movie "Serenity." In the dream I did not know him as "Nathan Fillion," but I did eventually recognize him as the actor who played Mal and called him by that name to let him know that I recognized him. He responded in good humor, and said that he had wondered if I would recognize him. This is the second dream with an actor in it--as himself--in three days...hmmmm.... Unlike the dream with Pierce Brosnan I do not know what to do with this one; maybe today I will pray for Nathan Fillion and that God's purposes be fulfilled in his life.

The second thing I remember fairly well is a house that was in bad shape. It was unlivable, if for no other reason than that the floor was not there in large areas. The thing that was interesting was that, although there was a basement, the main floor was in places supported at one time by the top of rock upthrusts from below. At a later point in the dream there is some sort of evangelistic drama meeting being held in the house, like with hundreds of people, and flyers being handed out. The house was still a wreck and did not start out seeming big enough, but then you know how dreams are. Anyway, this was not something I remember as real interesting--it was the rock upthrusts that became part of floor support.

Music to drive to

I have long held that Disco is great music to drive to. It is lively (it varies), energetic, interesting (as in there are usually different things going on musically), etc. It helps one--this one, anyway--stay awake. I have tended to extend this opinion to all dance music, and when driving and tired (and/or bored) sometimes put some dance music in the CD player. Tonight, while on the way home tired, I played a CD that I have used to help stay awake in the past. (A lot more frequently I have used it to work out to.) I made a discovery tonight, however...it is NOT a good idea to listen to Trance while tired and driving on the Interstate. Fortunately I realized this before plowing into the back of another car and shifted (from Fluke's "Kitten Moon") to a different track (Juno Reactor's "Mona Lisa Overdrive" from The Matrix Reloaded).

The Shroud of Turin

Ran across this today:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/03/21/shroud-turin.html

My question is, what proof would be conclusive? And if they find that the Shroud is not a fake, but is authentic, will they believe it even so?

James Bond

Had a dream. I don't remember most of it. I'm in this northern country that seemed like a miniature Scandinavian Canada. I'm a different me and I had a purpose there, but I can't remember what...putting on a convention of some sort...something to do with some kind of event? There is water and boats, some of it very much working boats rather than the nice pretty, touristy things. [Ya know writing this now I am remembering something that came before this about alien invaders, a resistance, and such, but it is very tenuous and it doesn't matter, I think.] Anyway, in this dream I end up sitting down and having a conversation with Pierce Brosnan!

The only topic of conversation that I remember is why people like James Bond. So here I am, in this dream, sitting down at an outside table, on a very nice day, telling Pierce Brosnan why people like James Bond (he asked!). I actually can't remember any of the reasons, but here are the ones that come to mind:

• He fights against incredible odds...and overcomes. (Luke 10:19; Rom 8:37; 1 John 2:14; 4:4; 5:4)
• He is ruthlessly persistent...implacable. (Heb 3:14, 12:1)
• The bad guys are, well, really bad...evil, in fact. (Eph 6:12)
• He is fighting for something bigger than himself, even if not to save the world, which he often is, then for his country/kingdom. (Mt 19:29; 1 Cor 9:23; 2 Cor 4:5; 2 Thes 1:5; 2 Tim 1:8)
• He puts it all on the line. (Rev 12:11; Gal 2:19-20; Col 3:3; )
• He is handsome, smooth, tough, resourceful, etc.,...what's not to like? (Ps 139:14; Zeph 3:17; Eph 2:10; 6:10)
• He rescues people. (Luke 4:18-19)
• He is a team player. (I Cor 12; Eph 4)
• He gets the girls. (Sorry, no scriptures for this one.)

With the exception of the last, I see a lot of parallels with what Christians should be like spiritually. (What, did the scriptures give me away!?) Okay, even the last, if only one girl, not many, since I believe that God's will is for most of us to marry. The first two things are quite related; Bond wins, in part, because he does not give up, ever. I could go on, but I don't want to spend all day on this right now...

Oh, scriptures references above are not exhaustive.

Our actions have consequences:

Suppose you were driving along and a cop pulls in behind you. You check your speed and you are going 25 mi/hr over the limit. You pull over, your mind races. You know the speed limit on that stretch of road. You know that speeding can get you a ticket. Further, you know that driving that much over the speed limit can get your license suspended and your car impounded. You know all of this, yet you were speeding anyway.

As your mind flashes through all of these things, as you think about how stupid you were, you get more and more desperate. Not only do you not have the money to pay the ticket, but forget about getting the car out of impound. Even worse, if you lose your license you will lose your job. No job, no money...how will you live? Even if you can get a nothing job so that you can eat and pay rent, your career will be derailed. Oh, and no more fun--no more nice restaurants, no more trips, no more drinks at the bar with your friends.... To cap it all off, the embarrassment is more than you can face.

But, wait, there is a way out, you have another choice! It is one that you never thought you would use. It is one that you do not wish was necessary. You have a gun in your purse, given to you for self-defense. This is self-defense, right? You are defending your right to live your life as you want, your right to pursue happiness. All you have to do is shoot the cop and the whole thing goes away....

Ridiculous? No more so to me than killing an unborn human being and calling it a choice.

[This was originally posted as a response to someone's comments on this blog entry.]

SLED for local church bodies

As I was writing the previous post I kept mixing in ways that SLED applies to church bodies. So, I split it out:

Size:
Does the size of the church matter? Does God love larger church bodies more than smaller ones? Sure, a larger church has more resources, can maybe “do” more for the kingdom…, but is the number of programs and meetings intrinsically important? What if the numerical growth has come at the expense of individual spiritual growth? What if the busyness, the pride, the self-sufficiency, the many voices calling for attention take away from knowing God, spending time with Him and hearing His voice? The job of the Church is to baptize and disciple. Numbers are important to God because people are important, and He wants all to be saved. Healthy local church bodies should grow numerically, but making sure that the people in the church actually are saved and growing in Him comes first, and all sizes of churches can be trapped in religion/ineffectiveness/etc.

Level of Development:
Does it matter how developed a Church body is? Continuing the parallel of a church body being like a living human being, no, I don’t think so. What matters is whether the body is: a)Christian (i.e. following Christ and seeking God, and therefore alive) and; b)growing (at least in seasons).

Environment:
Does it matter where a church is? Is a church in America more Christian than one in Africa, like Americans seem to believe? Nope. Not to say that it cuts the other way, but how many churches in America have had someone raised from the dead? I have heard of this happening in Korea, Russia, and numerous times in Africa. I think, though, that has to do more with the both the previous and the following points, rather than this one.

Degree of Dependency:
Does it matter how dependent a church body—and for that matter, a Christian--is? You know what, I think it does. Not in the way of whether the church needs outside financial or ministerial support, but in the way of how dependent on God is the church body. As I hinted at above, many churches are inferior—or at least are in jeopardy—because of their strength. They become self-sufficient and proud, and that pulls them away from the true source of their strength, even from life itself. I wonder how much damage has been done out of the arrogance that comes from size/resources/wealth/education/etc. Just like individual, adult Christians, local church bodies must learn and re-learn to come as a little child… for when they are weak they are strong.

SLED for Children of God

"The sense of distance we often feel between Christ and ourselves is a deception."

As I thought about the above, and the rest of Chapter 23 in Francis Frangipane's The Days of His Presence, I remembered the acronym SLED. This is to help one remember four counters to the abortionists’ arguments that a fetus is not a human being qualifying for the same protections as the rest of us. SLED stands for Size, Level of Development, Environment, and Degree of Dependency. To briefly sum each up in my own words:

Size:
Unborn babies are smaller than the rest of us, but this does not make them any less a human being than it makes any of you who are shorter than my 6’1”, or that weigh less than my 190 lbs, less human than I am.
Level of Development:
Unborn babies are less developed than the rest of us, but this does not make them any less a human being than it makes a ten year old, whose brain is less developed than mine, less of a human being than I.
Environment:
Unborn babies live in a different environment from the rest of us, but this does not make them any less a human being than it makes someone any more or less human if they live in the jungle rather than in the desert, or space, or etc.
Degree of Dependency:
Unborn babies are more dependent on someone else’s care and resources than most human beings, but this does not make them any less a human being than it makes someone on kidney dialysis less of a human being than I.
(If you are interested in more on the SLED counter-arguments to abortion you can start with these links : http://arizonarighttolife.org/uploads/what_is_a_person_I.pdf
http://www.prolifetraining.com/)

What has this got to do with the quote with which I started out? Well, it occurred to me that Christ is no more or less distant from us because we are short or tall, thin or fat, light or heavy. He is no more or less distant from us because we are reading the Bible for the first time or for the 50th, have faith for $10 or for $1,000,000, are 10 years old or 60. He is no more or less distant from us because we live in the USA or in Africa, in the city or in the country, in a hut or in a large house. He is no more or less distant from us because we are poor or rich, on medicine or not, need frequent encouragement from others or not. None of these things, in and of themselves, affect how close Christ is to you or to me.

Now, I’ve got to throw in that I think that, along with sin, some of these things may affect how much we seek to draw near to Him, which may in turn affect how near He is to us (James 4:8). Jesus talked about how riches and the things of this world can pull us away from God (e.g. Mark 10:24-25). Further, anything that we put above Him in our priorities puts distance between us and Him (e.g. Luke 14:26-7; 16:13).

Having said this, the point of what I quoted is that feelings based on any sort of physical or mental “reality” are not a trustworthy measure of our closeness to the Lord. No matter what your physical, mental, or spiritual size, level of development, environment, or degree of dependency you are no more nor less a Child of the Living God than anyone else is, once you have believed in Jesus and made Him your Lord (Rom 10:9-13).