I ain't dead yet...

(a thought for the new year...)

"Well it's all right, even if you're old and gray

Well it's all right, you still got something to say"

 "End of the Line" by the The Traveling Wilburys

Ok, possibly not the strongest of references for making a philosophical point, but it works for me.

After watching a recent interview of the reknowned Canadian author, MARGARET ATWOOD, I decided that PERSPICACITY might be a worthy goal for 2014.

Around the same time, I was studying the life of Samuel: such an inspiring example!

The Denouement...

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1Co 13:12)

denouement: the final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

My least favorite moment while watching an interesting program is when these words pop up at the end: "To Be Continued...". I like things resolved, loose ends connected, mysteries unraveled. And I don't want to wait a week either. Similarly, it may be more realistic to read a book where the ending is anti-climatic and you are left wondering... but it is not as fun.

He should have stayed in Zoar...

“The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.” (Ge 19:23)

From Scripture, we have been apprised of two underlying truths about the human condition and the temporal existence assigned to us:

• the world lies in wickedness. (1 John 5:19)
• nothing new ever happens. (Ecclesiastes 1:9-11)

Demythologizing the Beats...

What a difference a decade makes. In the mid-1950's, I was happily growing up in what sociologists defined as a NUCLEAR FAMILY: dad, mom, son (that would be me) and daughter. Dad worked, Mom was the homemaker, my sister and I went to school.

Consoler-in-chief...

This is not a partisan statement. U.S. presidents do this, regardless of party affiliation.

This is not a statement intended to question the appropriateness of a U.S. president addressing a painful national tragedy.

This is not a statement about being patriotic or unpatriotic. It is about registering a concern for the proper exegesis and application of the Word of God.

The lovebird incident...

 Linda has a pair of lovebirds.

Their cage hangs outside on the balcony during the day. We keep a closer eye on them than we used to.

I recently happened upon a snake inside the cage. It was about 3' long, coiled and working its way up. The birds were silently glowering at it from the highest corner they could squeeze into. I wisely froze and screamed "no! no!" Jeremy (our son) came to the rescue (paramedics are good at this). He shook the cage and the snake flew out. It was beaten to death posthaste with a broom. 

But that's not what I want to write about.

Machpelah's cave...

(This entry ties in with an earlier one, which has also been the one most viewed on my blog:
The Beloved Country).

“That he may give me the cave of Machpelah...for a possession of a buryingplace amongst you.” (Ge 23:9)

I solemnly dedicate this to all of God's emissaries who have died or will die in a land far away from their birthplace because they were convinced that HE had led them there to proclaim the Gospel of HIS SON as foot soldiers in an army of saints who happened to take God's command literally and personally:

“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mr 16:15)

Abraham needed a burial place. He owned nothing else, mind you, in the promised land. But he needed a final resting place that he could call his own; a place where Sarah could be laid to rest; a place where there might be some assurance that, when his time came, his remains would end up beside hers.

Figs and dates...

It is not always easy to see the line in the sand between genuine zeal and fanaticism.

Wishful thinking does not a prophecy make... nor does the false fervor of prophecy mongers needing visible validations to keep the offerings rolling in.

Back in the day, we attended one of those crusades. Yes, God's simple plan of salvation through what Jesus did for us on the cross was wonderfully proclaimed. But, parallel to that was this also: based on the evangelist's calculations, within 90 days of his crusade (circa 1973) the invasion of Israel from the north, Gog and Magog (i.e. the Soviet Union) would materialize. That meant that the Rapture was imminent. I wrote letters to family and friends warning them that if they were considering being saved, they needed to do it soon because there was little time left to make that decision.

Imagine my chagrin forty years later.