In earlier posts I spoke of how, while living in rural ranch country, a snow storm could come through causing the main highway to be closed for a week or more. I spoke of preparing a nice pantry and storing it with things to eat. I spoke in another post of my recent rebuilding of my pantry. It’s funny, ‘cuz it has less in it now than before I started to redo the shelves. We intentionally used a lot so we didn’t have to deal with it while my slow rebuild was in progress. It will get back up to a nice level as soon as I shop again at CostCo.
Since writing/blogging about preparing for storms, stocking pantries and such, the eastern United States has been struck with a hurricane and a Nor’eastener. Two back-to-back storms that have played havoc on millions of people. A neighbor here in Georgia finally reached her sister, who lives in Long Island, and evacuated to a place that was safe, but didn’t have electricity. She was hard to reach, as she’d left her cell phone off to conserve power, having no way to recharge it. This brings to mind a communications plan. My aunt once posted a contact list to our family’s website/Yahoo! group. She was traveling and wanted us all to know who to contact “just in case.” It’s a pretty good idea. Make a Plan. Share the Plan.
Okay. So here’s a parable told by Y’shuaJesus, recorded for us by Matthew:
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Matthew 25:1-13
There are two types of people spoken of in this parable: wise and foolish. If the parable were set today, there might be three types. The third being the doormat Christian. Think about it. I’ll get back to you.
In the meantime: Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . . and help you prepare for the night that comes before the dawn.
In other news conservative commentator Glenn Beck says it’s time for conservatives in America to leave liberal states. He sites Israels Babylonian exile as an example of how a people who are exiled can build, prosper, and bless others.
A round bale of hay with a flag of the United State of America on display for the 2008 presidential election on New Hope Church Road (Highway 1723) . Note the solar panel and spot light set up to illuminate the display at night. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Today is America’s Election Day. For months now candidates have made great efforts to gather support, thereby enough votes. As this day approached, a lot of people speculated who would be the next president of the United States. Yet, American voters, according to a variety of polls, are evenly split between the incumbent president and his primary rival as we go to the voting polls.I read an article that outlined what to look for today as the voting progressed. We can predict the outcome early. We seem to want to know, now, and not wait. Oh, well, that’s not really unusual; we want to know what’s going to happen. Then thing we need to remember is that we just don’t want to take it too far, like King Saul did.
“When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreamsor by Urim or by the prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.”
1Samuel 28:5-9, 11-19, NKJV
King Saul inquired of the Lord. Then, not hearing an answer, inquired of a witch. Not a good thing to do. While I’ve never inquired of a witch, that I know of, I know that I’ve prayed about something and before hearing an answer, gone off and mentioned something to someone, who wainting to be helpful, gave me some answers that I acted upon. Later I wondered if I’d done the right thing.
Learning to wait. Wait upon the Lord. Let Him bring answers to us as He desires.
This pray comes to mind today again. “. . .Lord direct your hearts into the love of G-d, and into the patient waiting of Messiah.” [2Thess 3:5] Also, Lord Y’shuaJesus Bless you, Keep you, and Shine upon you always.
. . . a song came on XMRadio’s The Message that used the Lord’s Name, Jesus.
Jesus, Your Presence is Heaven to Me, by Israel & New Breed surprised me with it’s frequent use of the Name of Jesus. Check it out here. Here’s a link to some other of Israel & New Breed videos on Yahoo!
It doesn’t seem to politically correct (PC) to say that people are peculiar. If we were to refer to [insert a religion here] as a peculiar people we’d be in PC hot water. Depending upon the religion we inserted, we might have our picture on a wanted-dead poster. On the other hand, perhaps it’s just me that interprets the word peculiar as meaning odd, strange. I picture in my mind the word peculiar as being said with a grimace. I infer something wrong, maybe something heinous. “That’s peculiar.” Something isn’t right.
King James Version of the Bible (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
But that’s my problem with the KJV, and my argument with A.W.Tozer. I deeply respect Mr. Tozer, and yet he advised that no version of the Bible except the King James is acceptable for usage. My objection has been the same for many years–it’s like reading a foreign language most of the time. I’ve recently come to read the King James, translating in my head as I read the obvious thee and thou to more modern words. Then I come to peculiar, which sets me off on a task to translate.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people. . .
1Peter 2:9 KJV (emphasis added)
Defining the word peculiar, I find it has a lot of meanings.
pe·cu·liar [pi-kyool-yer] [from Dictionary.com]
adjective
1. strange; queer; odd: peculiar happenings.
2. uncommon; unusual: the peculiar hobby of stuffing and mounting bats.
3. distinctive in nature or character from others.
4. belonging characteristically (usually followed by to ): an expression peculiar to Canadians.
5. belonging exclusively to some person, group, or thing: the peculiar properties of a drug.
6. [in astronomy] designating a star or galaxy with special properties that deviates from others of its spectral type or galaxy class.
noun
7. a property or privilege belonging exclusively or characteristically to a person.
8. [British usage] a particular parish or church that is exempted from the jurisdiction of the ordinary or bishop in whose diocese it lies and is governed by another.
And in another Bible version, I find the translation as follows: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. . .” (1Peter2:9 World English Bible: Messianic Edition)
When I look at the comment on KingJamesBibleOnline.org, I find the following about the word peculiar, “As used in the phrase “peculiar people” in 1 Pet. 2:9, is” “derived from the Lat. peculium, and denotes, as rendered in the” “Revised Version (“a people for God’s own possession”), a special” “possession or property. The church is the “property” of God, his” “purchased possession (Eph. 1:14; R.V., “God’s own” “possession”).”
Strongs concordance shows two words of interest and translated peculiar. First Kaleō, which is to “call” (properly aloud, but used in a variety of applications, directly or otherwise): – bid, call (forth), (whose, whose sur-) name (was [called]). Second is peripoiēsis, acquisition (the act or the thing); by extension preservation: – obtain (-ing), peculiar, purchased, possession, saving.
Matthew Henry comments that Peter wants to assure Jews who would believe in Y’shuaJesus as Messiah will not become like gentiles, thus losing their place as G-d’s people: “they should lose no real advantage, but continue still what they desired to be, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, etc. Learn, [1.] All true Christians are a chosen generation; they all make one family, a sort and species of people distinct from the common world, of another spirit, principle, and practice, which they could never be if they were not chosen in Christ to be such, and sanctified by his Spirit. [2.] All the true servants of Christ are a royal priesthood. They are royal in their relation to God and Christ, in their power with God, and over themselves and all their spiritual enemies; they are princely in the improvements and the excellency of their own spirits, and in their hopes and expectations; they are a royal priesthood, separated from sin and sinners, consecrated to God, and offering to God spiritual services and oblations, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. [3.] All Christians, wheresoever they be, compose one holy nation. They are one nation, collected under one head, agreeing in the same manners and customs, and governed by the same laws; and they are a holy nation, because consecrated and devoted to God, renewed and sanctified by his Holy Spirit. [4.] It is the honour of the servants of Christ that they are God’s peculiar people. They are the people of his acquisition, choice, care, and delight. These four dignities of all genuine Christians are not natural to them; for their first state is a state of horrid darkness, but they are effectually called out of darkness into a state of marvellous light, joy, pleasure, and prosperity, with this intent and view, that they should show forth, by words and actions, the virtues and praises of him who hath called them.
Clarke comments that “They were a holy nation, Exo_19:6; for they were separated from all the people of the earth, that they might worship the one only true God, and abstain from the abominations that were in the heathen world.” (Adam Clarke (1760 or 1762–1832) was a British Methodist theologian and biblical scholar.)
Okay. So we’re a peculiar people in that we are G-d’s possession, for G-d has purchased us through the action of His Son, Y’shuaJesus. Being G-d’s possession means that Jewish Believers or Messianic Jews, continue in their rightful place as G-d’s special people atoned for through the blood of Y’shuaJesus, rather than the yearly sacrifice of an animal. For a Gentile who comes to accept Y’shuaJesus as Lord and Redeemer, it means he or she is grafted into the holy tree as a twig.
While that covers the spiritual and eternal aspect, being G-d’s possession means some other things as well. I am still thinking on this part. I’ll save it for another time.
A thought I have in conclusion, is that by not fully understanding a word from the King James, I delve into the language and come out ahead. Study always takes some work, but is rewarded in a sweetness at the end. . . and more to challenge my thinking.
May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.
Thessalonians (2 Thes 3:5)
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
John Wayne and Angie Dickinson from the trailer for the film Rio Bravo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
There’s a group of men and women that shoot real and replica guns from the late 19th Century. It’s called Cowboy Action Shooting. There are matches at one of the local ranges. The participants must wear replica clothing, to resemble cowboys, outlaws, lawmen, card sharks, and ladies of the west.
Some years ago I joined one of the associations that promotes this type of shooting, and when asked for a name to be known by at events, like Black Bart, or Trader Joe, I gave Montana Preacher. I did it out of respect for my great-grandfather. He and his wife owned and lived on a ranch in western Montana for a time around the turn of the 19th Century. On my first deer hunt I carried the Winchester he’d had on the ranch. Anyway, I finally got around to thinking about clothing to make my appearance at a Cowboy event at the range, and thought I’d cut the belt loops off of old dress trousers, wear my Ariat Roper boots, and trim the collar on a shirt that looked like it might fit in well. I have a hat and braces (some call them suspenders) that would work nicely, too. I did some research online to see what some western preachers wore. I found there were many circuit preachers that rode from town to town holding church services. The pictures showed them all wearing black, just like so many preachers and all Catholic priests. The problems is that my boots are light brown, the trousers dark brown, and the shirt beige.
So, why do preachers wear all black clothing? When I looked for an answer online, here’s what I found at answer.com:
im not sure, why anyone wears all black!
in the 70’s it was witch covens that wore black
in the 60’s it was beatniks
i heard sinbad (comedian) talk about people who wear black were vampires
i saw a show called “in search of” with leonard nemoy, about those witches and now HE wears all black.
one person told me its about “respect” which is a Sin in the bible.
i think people who wear all black are antichristian and christians wear black to go along with the secret combinations and do not know it is against christ.
others say wearing all black is a form of protection against evil. witch Paglini of the genisarian clans teaches this
ive heard that Judges wear black robes because of the worship of saturnia. even someone said that the earth used to orbit around saturn or jupiter and they could see saturns rings.
my simple opinion is that it is about power and witchcrafts or sorcery. i have never met a person that wears all black and at the same time be a saint or even trying to be a saint. to me they all look like terrorists and anarchists.
Got any ideas?
Have a lovely fall day! Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
2 Peter 1:12
“We must be established in the belief of the truth that we may not be shaken by every wind of doctrine, and especially in that which is the present truth, the truth more peculiarly necessary for us to know in our day, that which belongs to our peace and which is more especially opposed in our time. The great doctrines of the gospel, that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, that those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved, and all that believe in God must be careful to maintain good works. These are the truths the apostles insistend on in their day. These are faithful sayings and worth of all acceptation in every age of the Christian Church.” -Matthew Henry
It seems to me that one might easily write these “present truths” on a card, kept ready to refer to when anyone states anything regarding the maintenance of our religion. These are our Standards, by which all is to be judged. We will weed out deceptive thinking before it embeds in our souls. We may use this present truth to purge false and damaging ideas from our being.
Have a great day and weekend. Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
Brandy is our first dog. She’s a “sweetheart,” as most describe her, and is now nearly nine years old. We got her as a puppy from a group who rescues dogs. She’s a mixed breed: Golden Retriever and Shetland Sheepdog. At the same time we got Brandy, we got a kitten that is named Tabby. They’ve been raised together, but give each other plenty of room. Tabby hisses at Brandy once and a while, which scares Brandy. A year ago we picked up another rescued dog, Sina (pronounced SHE-NAH). Now Sina doesn’t give into Tabby at all, and from day one, Tabby gives Sina plenty of room. Hum. Guess Tabby got what was coming to her. Now, occasionally, Sina chases her around. Sina doesn’t hurt Tabby, just likes to sniff at her. Sina seems to understand Tabby is part of the household. Though they’re still not buddies, exactly.
Sina is a good hunter, and eats squirrels and rabbits she finds out back. She’ll see a rabbit on the other side of the fence, and has not problem heading over it to chase it. Brandy, on the other hand, chases squirrels and rabbits but doesn’t have a clue what to do with them. One day she chased one around the yard and it finally got stuck trying to get under the corral fence. Brandy just stood there looking at the poor thing until I came out to help it get away. Sina would have eaten it without a sidewards glance.
Brandy likes to talk tough, though. One day, barking up a storm after seeing something in the back, I let her out just to shut her up. She flew down the stairs then out through the garden to the fence that runs along a creek. It wasn’t two minutes and she was back at the door whining to get in. I opened the door and Brandy sulked in, tail between her legs, and went into hiding. I think she barked at a coyote hunting the creek.
This morning when I came into the kitchen, Brandy and Sina lay on a rug together. Tabby lay under a dining table about five feet away. They had a truce going, I suppose. What popped into my head was that there is a time coming when the lion lays with the lamb. To me it means there’s no longer conflict. And I’m just a little tired of conflict. It’s in all the soap opera-style television shows, especially the “reality” shows. And the traffic, whew! People cutting people off, and I’ve mentioned how frustrated and irritated I get, and how upset I am with myself when I participate myself. I should somehow be better than all that.
There’s the crime that seems so rampant in our “modern” society. It means we have built up our local sheriff to be a military operation ready for combat.
Israel Intifada 1986-87 photo by Wil Robinson
Which brings me to real combat, real conflict. The Earth is at war. World War III. It seems everyone is against someone. And being an American, if feels like every one is against the United States. Jealousy? I really think so. But it’s not just us. At one time there were 80 or so wars going on in different places around the globe. Most were not reported on in the world media: too small. For instance, While I was in Darjeeling a number of years ago the Gurkha “patriots” were fighting against India for their own place in the world. On the opposite border of India, in Kashmir, there were constant clashes with the Indian Army. And India and Pakistan have been at war seemingly forever. When lines were drawn by colonial powers, like the British, they lumped a lot of cats and dogs together, so to speak.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
Romans 8:19-21
And so we groan, too, to be set free. And through Lord Y’shuaJesus, Messiah, we have been spiritually set free and in time shall be physically free from the conflict of this world. Until then we Praise the Name of Y’shuaJesus, and say “Maranatha! Come, Lord, Come!”
Here’s a very interesting article about G-d’s final, final, final warning that people haven’t taken His Word and His Mercy to heart, have fallen away from Him, and are in deep dodo.
The Warning at Understanding the Times
Time (Photo credit: Moyan_Brenn_BE_BACK_on_10th_OCT)
As with all things, consider and pray that Mr. Oakland’s message is for you.
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
The snowshoe hare is one animal that changes color in winter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
. . . turns to what can only be thought of as the desolation of winter, I trust that Spring is just beyond. Hope in spring makes winter more tolerable, even enjoyable. And fall means that winter is soon to come.
Trust is a gift of G-d for those who will believe in His Son, Y’shuaJesus. Trust. Faith. In the midst of winter, spring is yet unseen except through the eyes of faith. In the midst of seeming desolation, there is hope for those whose names are written in the book of life. In Messiah Y’shuaJesus, there is life.
There are other types of winters. One is the winter of disaster. It is not bound by a set number of months, and occurs often without warning. Earthquake is a great example. It affects regions of a country. And there is the winter faced by only one or more families when paychecks end after layoffs from jobs. To weather these calamities we must trust in the LORD.
The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
Psalm 34:22
And:
Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment. . . . Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Matthew 6:25, 27
There are practical considerations to be made as winter approaches. I’ve written about these before. While we are to trust and have faith, we are also called to be prepared. Please check out From the Lighthouse blog for a very balanced article on this subject. Then visit our government’s preparedness website READY.GOV. It’s not too late to “Be Informed; Make a Plan; Build a Kit.”
Jonah’s Song 