Opus 2024-068: Falling in Love

What do I do in the mornings?  If the neighbors notice me out on the front porch they probably raise their eyebrows and mumble about that crazy old man.  How do you explain the world of worship.  The best I could come up with this morning is the idea that it’s like falling in love.   Think of a time where you saw someone “across a crowded room”, as the song says.  You understand the phrase, “One enchanted evening.”  You just were overcome by the sight.  You may have never spoken to them.  You might never have a chance to speak to him.  But all you could think about was them.

The analogy breaks down, because as I’m sitting here, staring with adoration at God’s creation, and thus at Him.  I am not ignoring Him, and He is not ignoring me.  I am worshiping that which I love, and that which takes my focus.

Every morning I wonder if it will be another glorious day.  To be honest, some days it is only average.  But other days it lives up to all of the hype.

It brings new meaning to the greeting, “Good Morning”.  Good morning, indeed.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-067: Ho, Hum from Texas

So, did everyone survive the eclipse?  Except for one moment of looking out the windows and thinking it was a bit dark, I forgot all about it.

I live right in the middle of the path it was supposed to follow.  If I had been enthused, I would have been heart broken because this part of Texas had heavy cloud cover all day.  I guess if the aliens were doing a fly by no one would have seen them.  If Jesus had decided to appear in the sky we would have only known it by the sound of the trumpets.

It is only the middle of the afternoon but I have a feeling that civilization, such as it is, has survived this moment.  Whether it will survive the election in November, I am not so sure.

Stay tuned.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-066: O’Henry Theology

I think Satan is locked in time about the same way we are.  When you consider the glee he must have felt after the sin in the Garden of Eden, and the way in which mankind had fallen, he must’ve been excited about what he saw happening in the world.  God looked on and decided that he was going to destroy it all.  I am not sure if Satan considered that a victory or a defeat.

Satan can’t have known what was coming which means that he couldn’t see the future.  He could not know what God was willing to do.  He was limited to the facts on hand and his own blind spots.

How many times in the Bible has Satan been suckered in by this kind of thing?  Picture the crucifixion.  Satan must have thought he got the gold ring but it was forecast in Genesis about the Messiah stepping on his head.   Then you have the persecution of the early church which caused the flight of believers.  Instead of ending it all the Christians spread the good word.  

It is possible that Satan is also not a very good student history.  He can’t seem to remember all the times he thought he had a victory, and yet it went sour on him in the long run.

So be of good cheer.  Things look dark now but if you read the book you won’t need to wait for the movie.  Think of it as the classical O’Henry ending.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-065: Moving Ahead

In a discussion with a friend he talked about progressive revelation.  I am not sure I agree with him in the sense that he means it, but it is obvious that God has revealed more of His truth as time went on.  This makes good sense.  Obviously Adam and Eve did not know about the law.  Moses did not have the benefit of the 23rd Psalm.  It is part of growing up as a people and as individuals.  We as believers also grow in our understanding of the revelation of God.

A good parallel to this would be the study of mathematics. You can look at it as a child, learning, mathematics, or you could look at it as a field in which new ideas are being brought out and new depths of understanding developed.  A child learning his multiplication tables does not have a clue about algebra.  What we know about mathematics today is much further down the road than what was known three hundred years ago.

In the same way, the Bible is written revealing what we need to know step-by-step.  Every speculation is not necessarily worth developing and considering seriously yet we use our thinking ability to come to a deeper understanding.

The God who existed in the first chapter of Genesis is the same God that existed at the end of Revelation.  Having said that, we do not understand him the same because we know Him better. The theology did not change, it just was revealed, and we are changed as we learn more.

Onward.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-064: Dark Thoughts: Hunting Zombies

On Easter Sunday as we were eating dinner, we were discussing different aspects of the resurrection story and the crucifixion.  One of the events that we found puzzling was all the people that evidently were raised from the dead, and came out of their graves at the moment of Jesus death.

(Mat 27:52 KJV)  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
(Mat 27:53 KJV)  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Someone asked what happened to them?  Someone else suggested they went home to see their families?

I have no idea.  The Bible doesn’t tell us, but this morning, sitting in the dark, I wondered what Jesus did during the time between his appearing in the upper room and his ascension.  We have a couple of events related to us, but most of it is history.

It occurred to me that perhaps he was out gathering up these wandering souls and bodies and returning them to their graves.  Or he could’ve been gathering them and sending them straight to Paradise.  We will never know but these are the strange paths that my mind goes through sitting on the porch in the morning.

Yes, you can pray for me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-063: Wildflower Watch: Chaos

It is wrong.  Just wrong.

I have been in Texas now for about seven years.  During that time I have been watching the yearly parade of wildflowers in Hill Country and trying to make sense of it.  I felt like I was making progress.  Now all is in chaos.

Some wildflowers are pretty but are so similar to others that they are impossible to tell apart with ordinary human wisdom.  Those come in yellow and white.  Some stand out and I found them coming in order.  The first were the blue bonnets.  Toward the end were the Indian blankets and Mexican hat.  Today as I walked I saw blue bonnets, Indian paint brush, Mexican hat and a red globe that I will have to look up again.  Not only were they on the same walk but were in the same yards.

This is not the way it is supposed to be.  It is how it is.

I will have to deal with it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2024-062: Keep Living

If you’ve been following the news, you have heard about the cargo ship which ran into the bridge.  I have not been following all the details but I have been listening to my wife go ballistic about it.

I think we all need to have a good time discussing it, but we need to beware that we don’t go into bunker mentality based on this.  We need to keep going about our lives and doing our business.  We need to be careful not to become so afraid that we change how we live our lives.

Part of the plan of terrorism is to change peoples behavior in such a way that their lives become one of fear and intimidation.  We are Americans.  Many of us are Christians.  Not only do we live in the greatest country in history, but we serve the only true God.  Keep living your life.  Enjoy your freedom.  Trust in the principles of our country and trust in the grace of our Lord.

Don’t hide in your garage because someone ran a ship into a bridge.

homo unius libri