Three Mountains

One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Psalm 121. Here are the first two verses from the NASB:

1I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.

Growing up, we had a view of a mountain range some 7000 ft. higher in elevation. It was a lovely sight, especially in winter when it had snow cap. At any rate, I have always had an interest in mountains, having spent a lot of time in them before moving away from Arizona. This passage caught my eye when I first read it many years ago. At first I thought the second line was a statement, since in the KJV it does not have a question mark. I always imagined a soldier in battle, seeing the enemy getting the upper hand, looking towards the mountains to see if reinforcements were coming. Then I got a NASB as a gift and saw my error. My help comes from God.

There are many references to mountains in the Bible, and one look at a map of Israel tells us why: it is a very mountainous land. While several are mentioned, three come to mind for their significance, either in what happened there, or their symbolism. One can think of Mt Carmel, where Elijah challeenged the priests of Baal to prove which god was real. There is Ararat, where the ark rested and Noah and his family began the rebirth of the human race. But I want to focus on these three: Moriah, Sinai and Golgotha.

We read of Moriah in Genesis 22, when God told Abraham to take his only sin Isaac and sacrifice him "in Moriah, on a mountain which I will show you (vs 2). I believe this mountain is also in Jerusalem, where the great temple of Solomon was built.The event is a picture of God giving His Son as a sacrifice in our place. Rather than putting His wrath for sin where it belongs- on us- He placed it on Jesus. Moriah represents also the sacrificial system established in the Law of Moses and carried on today in the Roman Catholic mass. It does nothing to rid us of sin, but makes us feel good anyway.

Sinai represents the Mosaic Law. "Do this and live," says the Law, but there is no way anyone could ever meet the requirements. Yet men continue to try. How many say that we just need to follow the Ten Commandments to be saved, fialing to read James 2:10 "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all (NASB). What do these people do to atone for their sin when they break one of the commands? Do they also realize what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount about adultery and murder? He says: "...I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart " (Matt 5:28) and "...I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty" (of murder) (Matt 5:22).

Neither Moriah or Sinai, nor all they represent, are anything compared to Golgotha. It was on this mountain that the Lord of all creation, God as man, in the form of Jesus Christ, died once for all sin. "(W)ho, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil 2:6-8) Though I understand it, I cannot explain how the eternal creator would come down to us and give Himself in our place. Charles Wesley said it best: " 'Tis mercy all, the Immortal dies! Who can explore His strange design?"

Celebrate May!

April is almost gone. May arrives next week with all its importance. Several big days here at 3rd and College. My birthday and anniversary. The end of school for another year. Several religious holidays. In Missouri, state workers and some schools take a day off to celebrate Harry Truman's birthday on the 8th. Then there is Memorial Day, which has been proclaimed the unofficial beginning of summer.

And what month is not complete without its odd festivals. Pella, Iowa, celebrates its Dutch heritage with the Tulip Time May 7-9. It's a great way to see thousands of flowers in one place. My family and I went one year. It was cold and rainy, so there was not much enjoyment. the flowers were droopy because of the wind, and some of the events got canceled, so we did not stay long.

Many other communities around the globe have their special days, too. In a quick search, I discovered that England has two interesting ones. One is the Rochester Sweeps Festival, in which chimney sweeps have a big party with music and dancing. The other I found was the Cheese Rolling at Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, England. From what I can tell, people actually win prizes for rolling a round block of cheese down a very steep hill. And this thing has been going on for generations! Sounds like fun. My problem would be eating the cheese instead of rolling it.

So, enjoy May to its fullest. Enjoy the warming temperatures before the heat of summer melts us away. Unless of course, you live South of the Equator, where you are entering the cold season.

Are there any interesting festivals where you live or that you have heard of? Tell me about them.

Passing thoughts

April has arrived. There were no major “April Fools” jokes around here, other than my son putting an “engagement announcement” on his Facebook page. We played along and emailed him that he needs to tell us such news before “going public”. He wrote back to tell us it was an April Fools joke. I wrote back that now I needed to send another email to everyone in the our address book the truth. He wrote back thinking I was serious. We fooled him! Our daughter had told us it was not real before we ever wrote him.

April is a good month to have a harmless day of jokes, as it is a crazy month weather wise. It was 60 and sunny last week. There were snow flurries earlier today, and tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50s. Welcome to Springtime in Missouri. I cannot find it, but Mark Twain is supposed to have said that if one does like the weather here, wait a little while and it will change. While that quote isn't necessarily his, he did say this: “In the Spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.” And this, in an editorial: “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”

Two down, 46 to go

It has been two months since we inaugurated a new president. He has already proven himself a true politician in that he has broken several campaign promises. He said he would vet his appointments and not have any lobbyists. One of his first appointees was a lobbyist. He spoke against wasteful spending in government, then proceeded to sign the biggest spending bill ever, which included a lot of earmarks (if it has to be added at the last minute, it is probably wasteful). He said he would let the public see and review any spending bill for five days before signing, then signed the bill within two days of passage. I could go on, but you all know what the politicians in Washington have been up to. Unfortunately, it is not just the Democrats who are to blame, but most of them in both parties.

I am so glad this world is not my home. No matter who is in the White House, God is in control!

Thoughts from a wedding

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending a wedding- my daughter’s! Yes, I was the father of the bride. Many asked how I felt. I honestly cannot say for sure. It was with mixed emotions, as I knew the man she married before she did, and thought he would make a good husband for any young woman. Besides that, Daughter L left home for college four years ago, and has not been a part of the household much since then. Though we all miss having her here. She did honor my desire to see her again the weekend before the wedding so we could watch Father of the Bride.

Times sure have changed since my lovely wife and I wed 27 years ago. I suggested that she keep it simple. I guess it was much simpler than many weddings I have been to, so I will not comment on that further. That said, here are a few thoughts:

Even with a coordinator, there is some miscommunication. No one is perfect, so no wedding comes off without a glitch or two.

No matter how old children get (my daughter is 23) they still are our little girls and boys, in many ways.

Hearing all the great things people said about her during the toasts at the reception made me wonder if this really was my daughter. I thank the Lord that she turned out so wonderful. It was not my doing.

I am also thankful that her new husband is who he is, and trust that he will keep my daughter well.

Okay, now a question about a tradition: Why do we “give the bride away”? God lent her to us, she is His, not mine. So why did I say “Her mother and I do,” when asked “who gives this woman to this man?” Should I not have said “God lent her to us. So who am I to give her to a man?”

(Photo credit: Rachel Greene. Thank you!)

Chicken Little, your services are requested.

Whew! If we listen to the "Hope and Change" President, we would think economic disaster is waiting in the wings and will strike any minute. (Where's the hope in that?) So let's act now and not worry about the debt we leave to our great-great grandchildren. (Where's the change in that practice? It sound's like the last economic act of the previous president.) In the 1980s, we had Reaganomics, which GHW Bush dubbed as “Voodoo Economics”. This was followed by Bush’s “Read-my-lips-onomics”, in which he promised not to raise taxes, but did anyway. (Granted the Democrats in Congress convinced him they would cut spending if he raised taxes, but they typically did not follow through.) Then we had the socialistic ideas of Clintonomics in the 1990s. For the last eight years, we have been through the cut-taxes-but-increase-spending debacle of Dubyanomics. So, now that the new president got his plan through with dooms-day, the-sky-is-falling rhetoric about the whole economy collapsing, can we call Obamanomics “Chicken Little Economics”?

His Love

I guess I couldn't find the time for another post the last two days. At any rate, here is the second installment on the Love of God.

Another favorite song of mine that speaks volumes about God's love is called "His Love", but it is not a hymn. It was written about twenty years ago by a preacher named Mark Webb. I cannot seem to find an Internet site that he used to have with his music, so I cannot link to the song. But the lyrics are what caught my attention the first time I heard this song.

Oh the wonder of wonders, that God should love me!
Love a sinner so guilty, so vile and unclean.
To love the unlovely, how can it be done?
'Tis only in Jesus, in His blessed Son.

Long before I ever knew Him, my Lord first knew me.
Before I ever sought Him, my Lord first sought me.
When I was in darkness, His sworn enemy,
He purchased my pardon, on Calvary's tree!

Chorus:
His Love is a mountain, that I cannot scale.
As wide as an ocean, that I cannot sail.
I'll never lay hold of, my mind fully see.
This love that in mercy, first laid hold of me.

Not that I first did choose Him, for that could not be.
Still this heart would refuse Him, had He left it to me!
I'd still fight that battle, that no man can win.
I'd still bar the heart's door, that letteth Him in.

Such richness in a few short verses, and more truth than in many modern songs. We can never attain the salvation on our own merits, and we will never be worthy of God's redeeming love without the blood shed on Calvary. "This is the love of God, that when we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" says Paul in Romans. Any child in Sunday school memorizes that verse, but oh, to really know it in our heart!

The Love of God

This Saturday, the world celebrates Valentine's Day, in which we all give little trinkets to someone we "love", whether it be school children sharing tacky cards with drawings of Cupid and red so-called "hearts" or adults buying chocolates and roses for their beloved. But is this really what love is? Where did it originate?

God.

We are told in the Epistle of First John "God is love" (1 John 4:8) The Bible tells us many ways in which God expresses his love to us, which you can find if you do a search of the scripture. (A good start would be at Bible Gateway.) Then, many hymn writers and other Christian musicians have penned words which express that love as well. This week, I will attempt to post my thoughts on several of those.

One of my favorite hymns is "The Love of God", which was found written on the wall of an cell at an insane asylum in the early 1900s. The author obviously has all his senses when he wrote it, or else he was inspired by God at the time.

Here are the words:

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.

Refrain

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Refrain

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Refrain


The first two verses define the love of God in as good a way as any definition ever penned outside of scripture. Cyber Hymnal says the last verse is a translation of a 1050 A.D. Jewish poem. I love that verse. Once, I was driving through Iowa on a sunny summer day. The corn was tall and abundant, and the sky stretched out as far as the eye could see. I was reminded of this hymn, thinking of how much writing one could do on such a huge page. Then I though of all the water on earth -- 75% of the surface of the planet! That is a lot of ink!

Oh the wonder of the love of God!

Will the spending ever end?

As I was driving to work listening to the news this morning, they mention that Republican senators are questioning the $900 billion spending bill when we have huge deficits. Then they broadcast for all to hear a quote from Pres. Obama, saying “There was a deficit when I got here.” Is that his reasoning for spending more, because we are already so far in debt that we will never pay it off, so let’s spend more? I wish I could run my household like that! I would buy a palace, buy that expensive convertible I want, take the trip of my dreams and all the while not even batting an eye at the cost, knowing someone else will pay it off. Talk about change!

I read today that if someone spent $1 million a day since Jesus was born, he would still have over $200 billion to go to get to $1 trillion spent. Can you imagine that? I remember when the government started saying billion and thinking that was an unfathomable number. Now it is a-trillion-here-a-trillion-there-ho-hum-when’s-lunch? We have been so desensitized to the amount of money, that we say “Tax the evil rich” to get what we want. If every “rich” person gave every penny of income to Uncle Sam, would there be enough for this “stimulus” package? I hope the Republican senators are as smart as the House members, and all vote no. Let the Democrats holler partisanship all they want. I hear Obama saying the Republicans need to get on board. That’s bi-partisanship? It is inviting unwilling crew members to board a doomed ship that is already up to its deck in water.

A new President

So, it begins. Barack Obama is officially the President of the United States (POTUS). Interesting last couple of months since the election. I made a few predictions on the coming term a few posts down in "We’ve only just begun". Since then, Mr O has sounded more like his opponent than himself, making a few proposals that sound like a moderate Republican. As much as I do not want Mr Obama to be president, he is for at least four years. I want the country to do well, so he needs to succeed in recovering our economy.

A few of thoughts:

-- He is only a man, and as such has no miraculus powers. All those promises he has made? Do not be depressed if they don't happen, because many of them will not.
--God is still in control.
--We survived Carter and Clinton, if the Lord wills, we will survive Obama.
--Bush made a mess of the economy, with the help of the Congress while controlled by both parties. Perhaps it is time to either totally redo the Republican party, or work towards strengthening the Constitution or Libertarian parties.
--Write the RNC and tell them to change the rules such that independents and Democrats cannot vote in Republican primaries, thus not giving candidates like McCain the edge.
--Pray! It is a commandment of Paul in the epistles, so it is not something to forget to do.