I'm alone in a hotel room, many states apart here in America from my family as I do some schooling. I can tell you, I prepared to leave the hotel to get some food and felt a little overcome by loneliness and the fact that I can be a bit of a social misfit. This is partly because I'm not content with superficial relationships.
But anyway, as my heart ached over having to eat a meal alone, I praying that if it were His will, that God might send someone to eat with me. I even took the longer route through the hotel and checked the lobby to see if anyone was around from my class. Well, I made it to the car and drove toward a restaurant but decided I was going to rent a movie and get a frozen pizza instead. I had let go of the desire for companionship and decided I was content with whatever God wanted.
As I was searching a local movie rental, one of my classmates called me, a guy who happens to be Jewish and outspoken, called and asked if I'd like to have dinner with him. It was unusual because He knows of my faith in Jesus and the like. We had a nice meal and good conversation. I am thankful to have spent the time tonight with a friend and thankful that what I needed was also what I wanted this time.
Now, I'm sitting here searching through Amazon.com's selection of 36 "free sampler" Mp3 albums. I've got some cool music from India, some Celtic Summer 2009, and some stuff from Israel. All modern music. You could give it a look..er, a listen. :) Prayer, I mean. But the music too, of course.
-James Matthews
As I was telling a co-worker or two on Thursday, my wife and I are going through a little "grouchy" or "gripey" season lately. To put it plainly, we've been bickering here and there and more than what is normal, as of late.
Today, we went over to the house of a friend of ours in order to celebrate their daughter's birthday today. (If you've seen me posting on Facebook then you realize this is the 6th birthday-related event we've taken part in this month. Good gravy!)
The husband and I are friends and we talked about bickering with our wives and, as it turns out, he's been clashing with his wife too and he often responds the wrong way and makes things worse. I had to laugh because I knew exactly what he was talking about. I know what I should say or do (to avoid offense and cool an argument down) but that thing I really want to say...well, I sometimes just blurt it out and it feels so good to say it, for a second anyway, but it's never worth it, in the end. He told me about a verse in the Bible that says a mature man can control his tongue. I must still not be mature then and laughingly said he must not be either.
He furthermore suggested that when someone says a hurtful thing, responding the right way and not retaliating is a part of suffering with Christ. During an argument, we can take in hurtful words and build up those dark thunderclouds of anger and finally decide we've had enough. We bring down a fury of backlash and stand up for ourselves. "I don't have to take this!"
But what about Christ? He was on the cross but He didn't have to take it either. He could have come down from hanging on those nails. He could have stood up for Himself and brought down an Army from Heaven to avenge His suffering. But He didn't. He hung there, suffering and in agony, and His only response to the abuse was "forgive them, Father. They don't realize what they are doing."
That's amazing. Suffering with Christ can include not retaliating when someone is hurtful. It's letting go of my right to defend myself. It's deciding to hang there on the cross and take it, and forgiving them with sympathy. "They don't really know what they are doing" instead of taking revenge.
My sister, Lydia, is visiting us this week and it's a joy to have her here. She and I had changing parental circumstances growing up but one variable did not change; we grew up together and we had each other.
Last night, I dreamed that I was walking through my grandparent's home (our grandparents raised us for awhile and one them, our grandmother, has already passed away) and it was obvious that, in the dream, they were no longer alive and everything was different. Everything was messy and in disarray. To my relief, I found one room in the home that was "devolving" like the other rooms but was similar enough to how I remembered it in order for me to feel comfortable remembering how it was living with them.
So anyway, thinking about them, Lydia reminded me of a delicious snack that our grandmother, Nonny, used to make all the time; fried Cheerios. I'm putting a YouTube video link here for your viewing pleasure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f93j3foTt5s
You melt a pat of butter in a frying pan and leave it on medium heat. Pour a cup or two of Cheerios into the pan and fry until they begin to darken a little. Then pour in few tablespoons of powdered sugar and stir that in. They taste awesome. My wife suggested I sprinkle in a little cinnamon and I did that also. A dash of salt and you have a perfect snack.
My kids loved it and I felt like I passed on some of my Nonny's love to the kids. With my wife's help, we added our own love and "improvements" and made it our own.
Here's the link to the video I found that partly shows the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f93j3foTt5s
A friend of ours, Christopher, and his cousin, Jake, are going camping and tubing with another person that I work with. Since they won't be back until Sunday afternoon, Chris and Jake asked if we'd help take care of their pets while they are away.
My kids were especially excited and we all agreed. Chris and Jake have a variety of pets and so there's something of interest for just about everyone. They have a cute kitten and a couple of snakes. They have mice and rats (some of which are for the snakes to eat!) and I don't recall what all else.
The biggest pet responsibility they need us to handle for them, though, are their three baby, Desert Cottontail rabbits that Jake rescued the other day. Their mother was gone and so he decided to care for them. Chris and Jake brought the rabbits over for us and showed us how to bottle feed them, hold them, and gave us some general tips and info. We'll be feeding them about five times per day and giving them playtime in the grass.
This morning, it was an adorable sight to see my wife bottle feeding these cute bunnies with a goat-milk filled syringe. After Heather fed the first two bunnies, she handed them to my daughter, Hannah, who took them outside to play in the backyard grass.
Sadly, when my wife reached into the cage to get the third rabbit, nestled into a little, cave-like area, she said "this one is awfully cold..." and then exclaimed a moment later "oh...it's dead." We wrapped the rabbit's little body and placed it in the refrigerator so that Jake can properly bury the rabbit's body once he gets back from camping. The other little ones are doing well, but this is a tragic but unavoidable part of life.
After further inquiry, one of my children admitted that the same bunny who was dead this morning happened to jump out of their hands last night and had landed on the hard floor. I recall Jake emphasizing how fragile their little bones are. My children feel badly and so do I. We'll have to work on being more careful in the future.
Anyway, we'll head over to Chris and Jake's apartment later today and check on the rest of the "zoo" over there. Life is so full of lessons at every turn. The joys and wonders of God's creations, the fulfillment of nurturning life and the satisfaction of helping others and growing bonds of friendship. And sadly, that death is a part of life; that we can't control every circumstance but we have to keep moving forward when life takes a harder turn sometimes. That we have to forgive ourselves and forgive others if things don't always go well. That we can hope others forgive us when we need it from them.
(This is a post I submitted to the site: www.purechristianity.blogs.com )
The word "Righteousness" is derived, in biblical terms, from the Hebrew word "sedeq" and denotes right standing and consequent right behavior within a community. (New Dictionary of Theology - Wright/Ferguson/Packer)
I think that all those with faith in Christ form one, big family. One big community. Those who enjoy this blog site regularly are part of a community centered here on what the Brooks are doing as well. So, we are all here together in this boat. Hi neighbor.
To me, Righteousness is not something I can earn by doing or not doing certain things. It's something that God stamps upon me when I accept what His Son, Jesus, did to pay for all the punishment I deserve and so I am again able to relate to God and to fellowship with Him again, based upon my cleanness or righteousness given to me by God. So, I can by no means be Self Righteous unless I can somehow claim that God is pleased with me based on how I behave. God calls me 'Righteous" but I guess you could say I am "Christ Righteous" instead of "Self Righteous."
But why, then, are there things that I don't do anymore? Why would that be important? Well, when my conscience relays a strong reaction to something, then I pray and ask God about it. If I can't seem to feel right about it, then I'll stop doing whatever that thing is. This does not mean I have now become "Self Righteous" but instead it could perhaps be said that I am now simply "Obedient."
Whoa. But wait, does that mean that I'm accusing anyone else who still does that thing that I have stopped doing, (like watching Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Dark Chrystal), of not being obedient to God? That's hard to answer because I have no idea what God is telling them. Did you know it is possible that you are watching those three things, for example, and being obedient and that, at the same time, I am not watching any of those things and also being obedient as well? Yes. It's true.
Many say that the "unity of the faith" means that everyone is acting, looking, talking, and behaving the same. I say that true "unity in the faith" comes more so when everyone is being obedient and allowing each other the breathing room to not conform to themselves, but instead to be sensitive to God and obey Him where ever they are at in their "walk with God." If you check out some of the New Testament writings, you'll find Paul saying that some think one day is special above all others, and then others think all days are equal and that, somehow, both types of people are obedient.
Another example shows that some people eat meat and drink wine and are right in God's eyes, while another group never eats meat or drinks any wine and they are also right in God's eyes. That's what I'm saying here. If you like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and Dark Chrystal and anything else, that's just wonderful for you. All you are responsible for is simply being honest with yourself and with God and with others. If you can honestly say your conscience isn't bothered and God isn't asking you to stop, well then that's great. If your brother or sister next door, however, doesn't do those things, well, that's okay too. No need to be angry with them or start calling them names. Leave them alone and let them obey God too. There may be a reason that this "weaker brother" or sister isn't able to watch them right now and you don't want to be responsible for keeping them from growing and obeying God.
Paul says that he would not eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that would cause his "weaker brother" to stumble into what would be a sin for that weaker brother. This means that Paul recognized that he was in a relationship and a community with his fellow brothers and sisters. Paul had the freedom in Christ to enjoy meat eating and wine drinking but he would not do these things in front of those he was in fellowship with if it would offend them. I'd like to challenge you to consider the same.
Don't continually throw your participation and enjoyment in things that offend others you are in community with, up in their faces. Enjoy those things you do, in obedience to God, but enjoy them on your own. You don't have to draw attention to them constantly and thereby cause others to stumble, be offended, and eventually lose fellowship with them.
I'd say we all need to grow up a little bit and try and enjoy the "unity of the faith" by not trying to get everyone else to agree with our point-of-view but instead, let God's miracle of unity in spite of differences shine forth.
James Matthews