Andy

Special Meaning for the Disabled

Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Today's Thought

Morality is not relative, but sin is.

Thoughts?

Wisdom and Politics

... seem to be like oil and water.

He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.

Proverbs 9:7-8

Have you ever seen elected officials or the media do this, ever? Perhaps more to the point, do you believe it is possible or, dare I say, wise for a government or large institution to operate with these principles?

Psalm 11

In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

Psalm 11

The Lord Works

... and sometimes in not-so-mysterious ways.

If you read my last post, you no doubt recognized that I had some difficulties last evening. That continued, and I got very little sleep on account of both the state of my health and of my mind. The morning today was hard. Part of the afternoon was hard.

... but it's Sunday, and I have made a ritual of reading some of my Bible on Sunday, outside when possible. I am currently in the middle of II Chronicles in my overall reading, but I got it in my head today that I wanted to read something from the New Testament, the Sermon on the Mount if I could locate it. I wandered down to the pier with my remaining lawn chair and I wound up locating it almost instantly as it turns out. I read the sermon and came back inside almost a new man. I then did something at the computer and decided to go back out again to re-read some as well as to flip to another message from Jesus in the "red text" (a random one, but really relevant as it turned out.)

So I did my second reading and was there just long enough to observe a duck mom and her six barely teenager-kids (still really cute but slightly larger than the infant-types) as they meandered into the neighborhood of the pier. Now, it's August 27th. As far as I can recall, all of my duckling observations in the past (and I have experienced a lot of them) have taken place mainly in mid to late July, early August at the latest, but here they were on August 27th swimming all around me. Mom did check me out first to make sure I was ok, but I must have passed. The kids were at the age where they pretty much dictated where they wanted to go on their own, and mom trailed behind patiently.

Did you know that duck moms stay in constant communication with their young, and that the ducklings are perpetually responding back to her? It can be hard to hear because it all happens very softly, in a very non-ducklike manner you might say. Mom sounds something like a squeaky joint as it is being tightened on a pipe, and the kids voice this little "peep" at a much higher pitch. You can barely tell the kids are making the sound unless you are either used to it or very close. Amazing.

So that is my story of the day. I feel a whole lot better now. I didn't necessarily solve all of the world's problems, but they sort of feel less urgent now, or less important even. I most certainly was reminded of how to properly face some of those problems, and how prayers can be answered or acknowledged sometimes almost as they are proffered.

You can read the sermon on the mount in the King James text here here, and in the more readable but somewhat less poetic New King James at this address.

Forgotten Commandments

I’ve been doing a fair amount of Biblical reading of late as part of a new plan I have constructed for myself. I just finished the first five books, which reminded me of a fact which has bothered me for years. Despite what I would consider to be a growing secular element within our culture, America generally views the Ten Commandments as words to live by in one form or another. Sure, lots of people might cheat on their spouses or disrespect their elders, but by and large those things are still collectively frowned upon by most. There are, however, two commandments, numbers three and four, that seem to have been all but entirely forgotten, even by many or if not most religious communities.

• Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
• Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Does this bother anyone else?