O Lord, you have searched me and known me.She was still awake, so then I gave her something from Ephesians 1, or maybe it was Colossians 1. I don't remember whether she was asleep by the end of that (I tried to say it in a monotone) but what I am sure of is that I passed out myself shortly after that -- if I even finished saying it.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You know my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.
You hem me in, behind and before,
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me;
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you.
The night will shine like the day
for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the bowels of the earth
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious toward me are your thoughts, O Lord --
how vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake you are still with me.
...(I left out the less peaceful bits here)...
Search me, O Lord, and know my heart.
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me
and lead me in the way everlasting.(most of) Psalm 139, NIV
Friday, August 10, 2007
Lullaby
The other night, the lovely Carol couldn't sleep. No, I didn't sing to her, but instead I said something like this:
Friday, July 27, 2007
Fixing a washing machine: Kenmore series 80, model 110.28802890
If you have a Kenmore Series 80, model number 110.28802890, and your washing machine fills and fills and keeps filling -- even though you've got the water level set on small load... and the book's advice (i.e., ensure sufficient air gap for the drainage hose) doesn't help, then the problem might be what I had. To find out, here's what you gotta do.
First, open up the control panel. If your control panel looks like this:
then pop off both end caps and remove one screw under each one:
Slide the bottom of the control panel toward you then lift it, then flip it over so you can see the underside. On the left side, behind the water level switch, it should look like this:
See that hose? If it's not connected to the water-level control -- i.e., if it's just hanging loose like mine was -- then that will tend to make your washing machine fill and fill and fill, because the water-level control doesn't know how much water is already there.
Anyway, after replacing the hose, I set the water level on "small load" and started it. After a short time, it stopped filling and started agitating. Yipee!
First, open up the control panel. If your control panel looks like this:
then pop off both end caps and remove one screw under each one:
Slide the bottom of the control panel toward you then lift it, then flip it over so you can see the underside. On the left side, behind the water level switch, it should look like this:
See that hose? If it's not connected to the water-level control -- i.e., if it's just hanging loose like mine was -- then that will tend to make your washing machine fill and fill and fill, because the water-level control doesn't know how much water is already there.
Anyway, after replacing the hose, I set the water level on "small load" and started it. After a short time, it stopped filling and started agitating. Yipee!
Update: 02 November 2008
It happened again! Same cause, too. So, two tips:- When you stick the hose back on, don't just jam it back on; it might fall off again. If you have a hose clamp handy, use that (don't overtighten!) -- if you don't, a piece of solid #12 or #14 wire, wrapped around the end of the hose, should help (again, don't overtighten). Also, is there anything, like a stupid-looking clip, that would tend to put tension on the hose and pull it off the control? Unhook it from said clip.
- Second, once you replace the hose, drain the washer completely before testing. I drained it only part way, and the pressure or whatever didn't equalize. Move the control over to the spin cycle, then let it drain. Then fill again, setting "small load" and set a timer for about 5 minutes.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
About 9:15 Wednesday morning, Jenny and I took off on approximately this route to Big Basin. Google maps seem to think that it's 14.5 miles or so from our house to Woodside and Skyline; I thought it was about 15. Let's say it was 14.5. And about 1400' elevation gain. That was about 10:55am, and we bought a BALT sandwich (that's BLT plus avocado), a pork tamale, a lemonade, and a bag of evil crispy salty snacks (Cool Ranch Doritos® if you must know). We started riding again at about 11:30.
The "paddle markers" on Skyline read about 10.19 when we started, then went down to 0 and started down again from 17.05; there was a lot of climbing -- at least 1000' (punctuated by some downhills -- i.e. 1000' of climbing, not necessarily 1000' net). We pulled off the road at a CDF fire station -- Saratoga Summit, it said, because there was a vending machine that had water! A friendly young man came out, and asked where we'd been. We said we'd had a lot of climbing, and he told us, "Well, you're at the top here!" (Is that what "summit" means? Cool!!)
I told him we were looking to refill our water bottles. He said, "There's some here," indicating the vending machine, "but they'll charge you." A dollar! He pointed over past the driveway. "There's a tap over there by the picnic table." I drink from the tap at home, so why not here? We thanked him and investigated the water spigot. My bottle was about ¼ full of warm (not yet hot) water, which I dumped before refilling it.
There was one more brief hill, and where the mileage markers would have said about 14.00, we made the right-hand turn onto highway 9. Highway 9 was nice, and we made some 5 miles in what felt like 5 minutes, but was probably more like 10 or 15. Once onto 236, there was a lot more uphill -- I think the map warned us about 600' elevation gain (climbing, not necessarily net) -- from about 18.3 to about 14.30 on the paddle markers. The next 5 miles were a lot easier, and we paused somewhere on route 236 to eat some almonds and あられ-and-peanut mix I had packed.
It was about 6 hours from garage door (the lovely Carol closed the door for us) to finding her welcome note on the message board at Big Basin Redwoods State Park Headquarters. But before we did that -- ice cream! The camp store, across Highway 236 from Park Headquarters and a little to your right, has $3 bars and $2 bars. I chose a neapolitan sandwich, and Jenny took a banana fruit ice. They were certainly cold enough. Yum!
Over to the campsite, and we had a happy reunion. (Carol, Sheri, and Keith had left the house about noon and drove down to Big Basin.) I popped a couple of ibuprofen pills, took a shower, and pretty soon it was time to start dinner. I set up our propane stove and connected it to our least-empty canister. I found the rice that I had packed in a plastic container, dumped it into a pot, then rinsed it in the pot, ending up with what seemed like enough water. (At sea level, this formula usually works: get the height of the rice, then add enough water so that the water level is twice as high as the height of the rice. So for example, if the rice level is about 1cm from the bottom of the pot, make your water about 2cm from the bottom of the pot. This is over twice as much water as rice, because there's also water between the grains of rice.) The rice pot went onto the stove's left-hand burner, covered, on high heat.
Next I poured a little oil into another pan, dumped in the kielbasa that the lovely Carol had sliced up at home, and added the sliced cabbage, also lovingly prepared at home by The Gorgeous One. The cabbage and the sausage took quite a bit of stir-frying. Not to cook the sausage (already fully cooked) but to soften up the cabbage. Every once in a while I peeked into the rice pot to see if it started boiling yet. As soon as I saw a respectable rate of bubbling, I cranked the heat down as low as it would go.
I kept stir-frying the cabbage and sausage, sampling the cabbage frequently. "Boy, there's a lot of cabbage," I said. It was a little bitter. I kept cooking it, and someone suggested adding butter and salt. That would have been a good idea, but I didn't know where the butter was. I sprinkled some salt on it.
Meanwhile, I looked at the rice. When there was no visible liquid, I sampled a few grains of rice from the top. Bah! They were rock-like in the center! I guesstimated about another ¼ cup of water, tossed it in, and covered it again, meanwhile stir-frying the cabbage and sausage. When I could stand it no longer, I turned off the sausage pot.
In another 10-20 minutes or so, I sampled the rice again. Perfect! I killed the heat under the rice, and left table-setting for others.
I should tell you about our campsite. We were at #153, Blooms Creek. A terrific site! It was separated from the road by some bushes, unlike the other sites in the area. Some people call it the "honeymoon site" だそうです. I wouldn't go quite that far, but it was nice.
Keith made a fire, using the teepee method. I might have heard about this 20-40 years ago, but I didn't remember it. It really works well.
I won't give you all the details of Thursday, except that we went on a short (maybe 2-3 miles?) hike and had lunch on the trail; we had burgers for dinner. This morning we made it out of the park by about 11, driving through Boulder Creek (where we bought sandwiches at about 11:40 and filled the gas tank) and Felton. We continued on 17/880 into San Jose, exited at The Alameda, and after just one wrong turn, made it to the Caltrain Depot, due south (I should remember that next time) of the Fee-Arena (aka HP Pavilion). I walked my bike into the station about 15 minutes before the next departure.
The lovely Carol took the kids over to "Raging Waters" for fun in the sun, while I headed home to try to fix the washing machine, which would completely fill the tub and never get around to the "wash" cycle -- regardless whether we told it small, medium, or large load.
On the train, the bike car was practically empty! All the way to Menlo Park (34 minutes) I think I saw maybe 3 other bikes. Now that's the way to take a bike on the train!
I pedaled home, making it in under 15 minutes (I'm feeling stronger every day!) and found everything in perfect order -- except of course that the washing machine was still busted.
I'm thankful that fixing it went well. God is good.
Everyone returned while I was writing this entry -- all reported good times at Raging Waters.
For dinner, I was the chef de cuisine again: rice (this time in the rice cooker), "ma po tofu" from a mix (just add oil, ground pork, and tofu), and left-overs:
An outstanding mini-vacation!
The "paddle markers" on Skyline read about 10.19 when we started, then went down to 0 and started down again from 17.05; there was a lot of climbing -- at least 1000' (punctuated by some downhills -- i.e. 1000' of climbing, not necessarily 1000' net). We pulled off the road at a CDF fire station -- Saratoga Summit, it said, because there was a vending machine that had water! A friendly young man came out, and asked where we'd been. We said we'd had a lot of climbing, and he told us, "Well, you're at the top here!" (Is that what "summit" means? Cool!!)
I told him we were looking to refill our water bottles. He said, "There's some here," indicating the vending machine, "but they'll charge you." A dollar! He pointed over past the driveway. "There's a tap over there by the picnic table." I drink from the tap at home, so why not here? We thanked him and investigated the water spigot. My bottle was about ¼ full of warm (not yet hot) water, which I dumped before refilling it.
There was one more brief hill, and where the mileage markers would have said about 14.00, we made the right-hand turn onto highway 9. Highway 9 was nice, and we made some 5 miles in what felt like 5 minutes, but was probably more like 10 or 15. Once onto 236, there was a lot more uphill -- I think the map warned us about 600' elevation gain (climbing, not necessarily net) -- from about 18.3 to about 14.30 on the paddle markers. The next 5 miles were a lot easier, and we paused somewhere on route 236 to eat some almonds and あられ-and-peanut mix I had packed.
It was about 6 hours from garage door (the lovely Carol closed the door for us) to finding her welcome note on the message board at Big Basin Redwoods State Park Headquarters. But before we did that -- ice cream! The camp store, across Highway 236 from Park Headquarters and a little to your right, has $3 bars and $2 bars. I chose a neapolitan sandwich, and Jenny took a banana fruit ice. They were certainly cold enough. Yum!
Over to the campsite, and we had a happy reunion. (Carol, Sheri, and Keith had left the house about noon and drove down to Big Basin.) I popped a couple of ibuprofen pills, took a shower, and pretty soon it was time to start dinner. I set up our propane stove and connected it to our least-empty canister. I found the rice that I had packed in a plastic container, dumped it into a pot, then rinsed it in the pot, ending up with what seemed like enough water. (At sea level, this formula usually works: get the height of the rice, then add enough water so that the water level is twice as high as the height of the rice. So for example, if the rice level is about 1cm from the bottom of the pot, make your water about 2cm from the bottom of the pot. This is over twice as much water as rice, because there's also water between the grains of rice.) The rice pot went onto the stove's left-hand burner, covered, on high heat.
Next I poured a little oil into another pan, dumped in the kielbasa that the lovely Carol had sliced up at home, and added the sliced cabbage, also lovingly prepared at home by The Gorgeous One. The cabbage and the sausage took quite a bit of stir-frying. Not to cook the sausage (already fully cooked) but to soften up the cabbage. Every once in a while I peeked into the rice pot to see if it started boiling yet. As soon as I saw a respectable rate of bubbling, I cranked the heat down as low as it would go.
I kept stir-frying the cabbage and sausage, sampling the cabbage frequently. "Boy, there's a lot of cabbage," I said. It was a little bitter. I kept cooking it, and someone suggested adding butter and salt. That would have been a good idea, but I didn't know where the butter was. I sprinkled some salt on it.
Meanwhile, I looked at the rice. When there was no visible liquid, I sampled a few grains of rice from the top. Bah! They were rock-like in the center! I guesstimated about another ¼ cup of water, tossed it in, and covered it again, meanwhile stir-frying the cabbage and sausage. When I could stand it no longer, I turned off the sausage pot.
In another 10-20 minutes or so, I sampled the rice again. Perfect! I killed the heat under the rice, and left table-setting for others.
I should tell you about our campsite. We were at #153, Blooms Creek. A terrific site! It was separated from the road by some bushes, unlike the other sites in the area. Some people call it the "honeymoon site" だそうです. I wouldn't go quite that far, but it was nice.
Keith made a fire, using the teepee method. I might have heard about this 20-40 years ago, but I didn't remember it. It really works well.
I won't give you all the details of Thursday, except that we went on a short (maybe 2-3 miles?) hike and had lunch on the trail; we had burgers for dinner. This morning we made it out of the park by about 11, driving through Boulder Creek (where we bought sandwiches at about 11:40 and filled the gas tank) and Felton. We continued on 17/880 into San Jose, exited at The Alameda, and after just one wrong turn, made it to the Caltrain Depot, due south (I should remember that next time) of the Fee-Arena (aka HP Pavilion). I walked my bike into the station about 15 minutes before the next departure.
The lovely Carol took the kids over to "Raging Waters" for fun in the sun, while I headed home to try to fix the washing machine, which would completely fill the tub and never get around to the "wash" cycle -- regardless whether we told it small, medium, or large load.
On the train, the bike car was practically empty! All the way to Menlo Park (34 minutes) I think I saw maybe 3 other bikes. Now that's the way to take a bike on the train!
I pedaled home, making it in under 15 minutes (I'm feeling stronger every day!) and found everything in perfect order -- except of course that the washing machine was still busted.
I'm thankful that fixing it went well. God is good.
Everyone returned while I was writing this entry -- all reported good times at Raging Waters.
For dinner, I was the chef de cuisine again: rice (this time in the rice cooker), "ma po tofu" from a mix (just add oil, ground pork, and tofu), and left-overs:
- lamb and spinach casserole
- Chinese broccoli and Polish kielbasa (Now that's international!)
- Chinese broccoli and oyster sauce, served cold
An outstanding mini-vacation!
Friday, July 20, 2007
Am I a Real Christian?
Some decades ago, when I came to know Jesus, a friend gave me a set of cards with Bible verses on them. They were headed by topics: Assurance of Salvation for example, Assurance of Guidance, Assurance of Answered Prayer -- this sort of thing.
I don't think I'd say I was naive back then -- well, maybe I would -- but things seemed simpler. Am I a real Christian? Well, let's see:
But it's not that easy. Here's a different question. Consider this:
So here's the trouble I have with some of these verses: depending on my frame of mind, or my mood, I might feel like, "OK, that matches" or "Whoa, 'do the will of my father who is in heaven' -- am I doing that?" and get real nervous.
The lovely Carol said that the book of 1 John gives us some tests, some ways we can tell. She's right, as usual, but some of the tests are kind of opaque. For example, consider this:
So these tests aren't all straightforward.
That said, they can indicate things to us. And I do think that I can answer some of them. So here are a few. I am going to stop writing in about 15 minutes, in order to spend some up-close and personal time with the lovely Carol.
OK, so here's one of the indications:
If you're not sure, do you want to find out? If you're asking God to show you, if you want to do what he wants -- and nobody does it perfectly, right? -- then that's an indication that you are wanting to walk in the light. By the way, I think that holds in 1 John 2:6 also:
Here's another indication:
My time is up, so I'll write more on this later.
I don't think I'd say I was naive back then -- well, maybe I would -- but things seemed simpler. Am I a real Christian? Well, let's see:
This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son. He who has the son has life; he who doesn't have the son of God doesn't have life.Easy, right? Do you have the Son of God in your heart? Well, I invited him in, and he promised that he would come in, so I guess so.1 John 5:11-12
But it's not that easy. Here's a different question. Consider this:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'The question is: How do you or I know that we won't be one of the "evildoers"? This makes it sound like these people will be surprised.Matthew 7:21-23
So here's the trouble I have with some of these verses: depending on my frame of mind, or my mood, I might feel like, "OK, that matches" or "Whoa, 'do the will of my father who is in heaven' -- am I doing that?" and get real nervous.
The lovely Carol said that the book of 1 John gives us some tests, some ways we can tell. She's right, as usual, but some of the tests are kind of opaque. For example, consider this:
The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.Now to what degree must one carry out his commands, obey his word, walk as Jesus did, in order to know that we are "in him"? Think back to the many who will say to Jesus, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy... drive out demons, and perform ... miracles?" Surely they must have done some of that in order to drive out demons and perform miracles, etc., but Jesus calls them evildoers! I've never performed a single miracle or cast out a single demon, so...?1 John 2:4-6
So these tests aren't all straightforward.
That said, they can indicate things to us. And I do think that I can answer some of them. So here are a few. I am going to stop writing in about 15 minutes, in order to spend some up-close and personal time with the lovely Carol.
OK, so here's one of the indications:
If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just; he will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.I think this is something that's not too hard to find out. If you pray that prayer from Psalm 139, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the everlasting way" then I think that's part of walking in the light. Do I want to know whether I'm right? Or is it more important to me to prove to others (and myself) that I am right about something?1 John 1:7-9
If you're not sure, do you want to find out? If you're asking God to show you, if you want to do what he wants -- and nobody does it perfectly, right? -- then that's an indication that you are wanting to walk in the light. By the way, I think that holds in 1 John 2:6 also:
Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.Remember, there is no way to earn a right relationship with God. Not a single one of us will ever be good enough to deserve the right to live with him. That's not what it's about.
Here's another indication:
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.The fact that you're reading this -- assuming you're reading it because you're interested, rather than because you want to ridicule it -- is a suggestion that you're more interested in God than in the world. If you were only interested in the world, you'd probably be doing something a lot more world-focused.1 John 2:15
My time is up, so I'll write more on this later.
What about other religions?
One of our pastors, John, opened his current sermon series (on "Faith and Doubt") by reading from a letter. The letter asked, very intelligently and eloquently, how we could be sure that Christianity reflected ultimate truth, given that there are many other beliefs and cultures, and that people of other faiths have accomplished much good in the world, and some of their adherents live lives that seem more peaceful and developed (etc) than our own.
Last week, he answered a completely different question, viz., "Why should I believe that there is a personal god who has something to say about right and wrong, good and evil?" -- specifically why he (our pastor) believes that.
Last night, a friend brought up the question of what happens to people who do not believe in Jesus when they die. Do they go to heaven or to hell?
Here I offer short answers to the first two questions, and a meta-answer to the third.
First, how do we know that Christianity, rather than Judaism or Islam or Buddhism (etc) is the truth? Well, one reason I believe it's the truth is basically this: We can be reasonably sure that Jesus Christ said a lot of the things he did. In particular, he said that he would be killed, and resurrected on the third day. This actually happened (the tomb is empty, and people like F.F. Bruce(?) and Lee Stroebel, who try to explain away said tomb, end up becoming Christians themselves). Hence everything else Jesus said is probably just as reliable. That's my short answer #1.
Pastor John answered the second question much better than I could. He gave several reasons, of which I can currently remember these:
The third question... what happens to people of other faiths? Well, if you read Romans chapter 2, you might get the impression that they'll be judged based on what they know. Romans 10 (particularly around verses 10-15) might give you a different idea.
So what's the answer? Well, it beats me. But I suspect one thing and I know one thing.
What I suspect: What you believe about this question has more to do with your personality than anything else. If you're an angry sort of person who likes to tell people what to do, you're more likely to say God will send them to hell. If you're a warm and fuzzy type, you're more likely to think God takes a more inclusive view.
What I know: God does not show favoritism. -- Romans 2:11
Fortunately for everybody, it's God who will decide these things, not you or I.
Last week, he answered a completely different question, viz., "Why should I believe that there is a personal god who has something to say about right and wrong, good and evil?" -- specifically why he (our pastor) believes that.
Last night, a friend brought up the question of what happens to people who do not believe in Jesus when they die. Do they go to heaven or to hell?
Here I offer short answers to the first two questions, and a meta-answer to the third.
First, how do we know that Christianity, rather than Judaism or Islam or Buddhism (etc) is the truth? Well, one reason I believe it's the truth is basically this: We can be reasonably sure that Jesus Christ said a lot of the things he did. In particular, he said that he would be killed, and resurrected on the third day. This actually happened (the tomb is empty, and people like F.F. Bruce(?) and Lee Stroebel, who try to explain away said tomb, end up becoming Christians themselves). Hence everything else Jesus said is probably just as reliable. That's my short answer #1.
Pastor John answered the second question much better than I could. He gave several reasons, of which I can currently remember these:
- People may say ethics are arbitrary, but their arguments prove they actually think otherwise.
This is basically C.S. Lewis's first argument from Mere Christianity. I think the first chapter of that book is titled "Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe" or something like this. - Personal beings point to the existence of a personal creator.
He pointed out that we never put animals on trial. A dog wrecks the carpet or furniture, and we don't debate whether the dog is good or evil; the dog was just doing what dogs do. We don't computer programs on trial, either. If they're defective, we fix them, or we erase them and start over. Researchers in artificial intelligence have been trying for decades to produce "intelligent" machines, but even if they succeed, that only reinforces the point that the existence of personal beings strongly suggests that they were created by someone (or Someone if you prefer) personal. I'm sure I've left out many of the intelligent things he said about this one. - The experience of joy points us to something beyond it.
Joy is great, but it suggests to us that there's something more that we long for. - God changes lives, and our lives need changing.
Nobody has ever said, "I used to be selfish and greedy, but the Big Bang theory has persuaded me to be generous and giving." Or, "I used to kill people and do drugs, but now that I've come to embrace the ultimate meaninglessness of life, I now help homeless people to get back on their feet."
The third question... what happens to people of other faiths? Well, if you read Romans chapter 2, you might get the impression that they'll be judged based on what they know. Romans 10 (particularly around verses 10-15) might give you a different idea.
So what's the answer? Well, it beats me. But I suspect one thing and I know one thing.
What I suspect: What you believe about this question has more to do with your personality than anything else. If you're an angry sort of person who likes to tell people what to do, you're more likely to say God will send them to hell. If you're a warm and fuzzy type, you're more likely to think God takes a more inclusive view.
What I know: God does not show favoritism. -- Romans 2:11
Fortunately for everybody, it's God who will decide these things, not you or I.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
spiritual descendants?
I wrote to one of the older teen's friends about the idea of spiritual descendants, because Genesis chapter 22 came to mind when I was thinking about her.
In Genesis 22, God meets Abraham on the mountain and provides a ram for a burnt offering (instead of Abraham's son Isaac). God then gives Abraham a promise about his descendants: that they will be like the stars in the sky or the sand on the seashore, they'll possess the gate of their enemies, that the nations of the earth will bless themselves by Abraham's descendants. This is a blessing God would love to give you and me, I said, possibly in the sense of spiritual descendants.
Whether Abraham understood descendants in the genetic/biological/physical sense only or not, Paul tells us in Romans 4 that we who believe are Abraham's descendants -- it's not just those who follow the same religious rituals (verses 11, 13, 16-17). Paul talks about being father to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 4:15), because he imparted life -- eternal life -- to them through the gospel. So there are a couple of examples anyway where the idea of being a descendant is used in a spiritual sense -- a pioneer or a mentor or an evangelist is like a father or an ancestor.
(By the way, when Paul says he's a father, he's not taking away God's role in really giving them life. A human father contributes half the genetic material, but let's face it, the new life is nurtured 100% by the mother for the first 40 weeks or so. Similarly, it is God who is the real source of life, but the mentor, the friend, the evangelist has a significant role in bringing the life forth. Of course Paul understands this; didn't he say somewhere that one man planted, another watered, but God causes the growth?)
Now somewhere in Isaiah chapter 58, it says that you will raise up the foundations of many generations (in one translation anyway) -- which some have taken to mean generations of believers, i.e., spiritual generations. The passage paints a picture of healing, restoring, building. H'm, on closer examination it looks like that "generations" stuff might be more backward-looking than forward-looking.
But it's still a great passage. "You will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets..." -- sounds good to me! Any idiot can break things; healing and restoring are special.
And what does it take? Looking back in that Isaiah passage, we see the antecedent is "if you pour yourself out (extend yourself) to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted" -- that is when your light will shine in the darkness, and so on. A little before that, in chapter 57 I believe...yep, 57:15, he talks about the humble and contrite in spirit. These are characteristics he values in any servant of his. Because he does not delight in the strength of man or beast, but the Lord favors those who fear him, those who wait for his lovingkindness.
And on what did he base his astonishing promises to Abraham? "Because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:18). We don't have to be successful, spectacular, or famous in our lifetimes, but if we obey... that's what delights God.
And this just struck me: who is it that multiplied Abraham's descendants? Was it Abraham? Ah, no. Abraham didn't even see that many descendants I think. Jacob had 13 offspring and a bunch of grandchildren, but how many grandchildren did Abraham see? So about your spiritual descendants or mine -- the spiritual fruit of our lives -- whose job is it to multiply them? Who is it that will make our lives fruitful and useful?
If it has to be you and me, then we've got a lot of pressure on us, but no -- it's God who brings about the fruit, if we remain in him.
OK, time to stop writing and go to bed. I hope this helped.
In Genesis 22, God meets Abraham on the mountain and provides a ram for a burnt offering (instead of Abraham's son Isaac). God then gives Abraham a promise about his descendants: that they will be like the stars in the sky or the sand on the seashore, they'll possess the gate of their enemies, that the nations of the earth will bless themselves by Abraham's descendants. This is a blessing God would love to give you and me, I said, possibly in the sense of spiritual descendants.
Whether Abraham understood descendants in the genetic/biological/physical sense only or not, Paul tells us in Romans 4 that we who believe are Abraham's descendants -- it's not just those who follow the same religious rituals (verses 11, 13, 16-17). Paul talks about being father to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 4:15), because he imparted life -- eternal life -- to them through the gospel. So there are a couple of examples anyway where the idea of being a descendant is used in a spiritual sense -- a pioneer or a mentor or an evangelist is like a father or an ancestor.
(By the way, when Paul says he's a father, he's not taking away God's role in really giving them life. A human father contributes half the genetic material, but let's face it, the new life is nurtured 100% by the mother for the first 40 weeks or so. Similarly, it is God who is the real source of life, but the mentor, the friend, the evangelist has a significant role in bringing the life forth. Of course Paul understands this; didn't he say somewhere that one man planted, another watered, but God causes the growth?)
Now somewhere in Isaiah chapter 58, it says that you will raise up the foundations of many generations (in one translation anyway) -- which some have taken to mean generations of believers, i.e., spiritual generations. The passage paints a picture of healing, restoring, building. H'm, on closer examination it looks like that "generations" stuff might be more backward-looking than forward-looking.
But it's still a great passage. "You will be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets..." -- sounds good to me! Any idiot can break things; healing and restoring are special.
And what does it take? Looking back in that Isaiah passage, we see the antecedent is "if you pour yourself out (extend yourself) to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted" -- that is when your light will shine in the darkness, and so on. A little before that, in chapter 57 I believe...yep, 57:15, he talks about the humble and contrite in spirit. These are characteristics he values in any servant of his. Because he does not delight in the strength of man or beast, but the Lord favors those who fear him, those who wait for his lovingkindness.
And on what did he base his astonishing promises to Abraham? "Because you have obeyed me" (Genesis 22:18). We don't have to be successful, spectacular, or famous in our lifetimes, but if we obey... that's what delights God.
And this just struck me: who is it that multiplied Abraham's descendants? Was it Abraham? Ah, no. Abraham didn't even see that many descendants I think. Jacob had 13 offspring and a bunch of grandchildren, but how many grandchildren did Abraham see? So about your spiritual descendants or mine -- the spiritual fruit of our lives -- whose job is it to multiply them? Who is it that will make our lives fruitful and useful?
If it has to be you and me, then we've got a lot of pressure on us, but no -- it's God who brings about the fruit, if we remain in him.
OK, time to stop writing and go to bed. I hope this helped.
Javascript but not Klingon
Well, I just learned a little javascript, the hard way, by constructing http://cpark.users.sonic.net/oyb/, which when you load it will try to give you a page that depends on today's date. The idea is that the One Year Bible has readings for every day, and I have comments on the reading for most days. The reading for today (in your timezone I think) should show up when you click here.
That took way longer than I thought it should, but it's computers -- so what else is new?
(ah, the title for this article comes from a line in Weird Al's "White 'n' Nerdy")
That took way longer than I thought it should, but it's computers -- so what else is new?
(ah, the title for this article comes from a line in Weird Al's "White 'n' Nerdy")
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