Seventy-Seven Times

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times." -Matt 18:21-22 (NIV)

When we read this we may think, Wow, what a random number for Jesus to pick out of the air. And yes, it has that nice biblical tone to it, but I don't think that number is so random anymore. I came across this passable scripture this morning:

  Lamech said to his wives, “Adah and Zillah, listen to me; wives of Lamech, hear my words. I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”  - Gen 4:23-24 (NIV)

Did you see what Jesus did there? He told Peter exactly what direction Jesus was going in and that we should follow along on a very different mindset from the way the world thinks. In much the same way Lamech got revenge against those who had done wrong to him- which is a natural and human desire, Jesus is admonishing his followers to forgive those who wrong them.
Yes, we might have gotten the point without the former OT verse, but I think this hits home even moreso.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. -Romans 12:17-21 (NIV)

Wade, the Civilised Mallard.

Wade was a duck. A mallard with a name. Which would be typical if he was somebody's pet, but he belongs to no man. He's his own man... duck even. He wasn't sure how he acquired the name, but he knew it was what his personage was called.

Most of his peers enjoyed swimming in the cool of a lake in the middle of a industrial estate that was fed from the run off of the largely concrete environment that surrounded them. Not Wade. He enjoyed civilisation. He wanted to know what it was like to work like a man.
One day, he ventured into one of the large glass front office buildings seeking to gain a career experience. Not surprisingly, office spaces weren't built with the small to medium sized fowl in mind. The cubicle walls towered above him with the similarity that a farm boy in his first visit to the city experiences. He was overwhelmed and amazed.
Casually strolling down the aisle between the burlap walls, he found a vacant space with an office chair and computer. His beak found the round button which initiated startup. He flapped his wings to roost on his new found chair and watched as the monitor displayed the unfamiliar Microsoft Windows logo.
He found that although the chair, keyboard, and mouse were designed with ergonomics in mind... the designers didn't consider wingtips in their potential users. Nevertheless, Wade experimentally wiggled the mouse and mastered left and right clicks. Soon he navigated his way to the Internet Explorer icon and searched for...

(Your suggestions to how this story should continue would be welcomed in the comments. I just wanted to write again. I realise how ridiculous this story is, but it's fun to write with no limit to the imagination. I think that's what I like best about children's stories.)

Roaring Lions

Many of us (in fact, it's had over 62 million views!) have watched the following amazing video before:

If our church had a way of viewing this video during my sermon tonight, I would have definitely played it. Instead, I merely tried to retell the event, but it didn't meet the impact I desired out of it. I'm a terrible story teller.

My sermon was on Satan and began with this verse:

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8-9

I want to add that the Church is the herd of buffalo:

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

Stand firm then, because God has your back (Rom 8:28f- click "View in Bible Read" and read till chapter 9).

And yes, I realise how incredibly cheesy this post was... I don't care.

First post from my mobile.

This is a first of many. One, my longest break from blogging broken and the first time I've posted from my mobile. I'm also testing to see if it will automatically update Google+.
So, this won't be a long post, as it's a tester and on my mobile (which is difficult to type long posts using Swype™).

Dream Job (working title): Chapter One

Numbers and lines were beginning to blur. Nathan's eyes were dry and ached with strain. What began as a data spreadsheet, was just a white blur with black blobs on it. it didn't help that Nathan didn't know what the numbers meant. it was just some numbers that needed plugging into another spreadsheet. It was his job, and not even he understood the significance of it.
It didn't help that the IT department thought it best to neglect Nathan from the newest monitors with large screens, slim construction and high quality resolutions. While the rest of the floor have had upgrades twice since he started, he was stuck with a monstrous behemoth on his desk. It was especially embarrassing, since the policy to rearrange the office cubicles every 3 months came into effect. It meant having to lug his heavy monitor, clunky desktop, and massive laser printer into a small cubicle.
That's another thing he began to notice, He was sure that each time they moved, his cubicle had been smaller than the one before. It was to promote fairness among the employees, so that everyone had a shot at being near the window. To mention it he began to think about how the policy had affected him. After each move it seemed he got further from the windows and closer to the janitor's closet. Was there somebody up there that had something against him? Not that he was referring to God, but somebody in a higher floor that played the role of god in their office. Someone had it against Nathan.

Fill in the Blank

I've never been really good with names. And it appears when trying to write something, I have a hard time coming up with a good name. I've got his character down in my head, but so far I haven't come up with anything to fit him just yet. So I'm appealing to my readers (all two of you) to help me come up with a name for him. This is his introduction, but it's before the story really picks up at all... and I'm tired of writing Blank for his name.

Numbers and lines were beginning to blur. Blank's eyes were dry and ached with strain. What began as a data spreadsheet, was just a white blur with black blobs on it. it didn't help that Blank didn't know what the numbers meant. it was just some numbers that needed plugging into another spreadsheet. It was his job, and not even he understood the significance of it.
It didn't help that the IT department thought it best to neglect Blank from the newest monitors with large screens, slim construction and high quality resolutions. While the rest of the floor have had upgrades twice since he started, he was stuck with a monstrous behemoth on his desk. It was especially embarrassing, since the policy to rearrange the office cubicles every 3 months came into effect. It meant having to lug his heavy monitor, clunky desktop, and massive laser printer into a small cubicle.
That's another thing he began to notice, He was sure that each time they moved, his cubicle had been smaller than the one before. It was to promote fairness among the employees, so that everyone had a shot at being near the window. To mention it, he began to think about how the policy had affected him. After each move it seemed he got further from the windows and closer to the janitor's closet. Was there somebody up there that had something against him? Not that he was referring to God, but somebody in a higher floor that played the role of god in their office. Someone had it against Blank.

UPDATE: I have decided on the name Nathan. Who bears no semblance of anyone known in real life by that name. I think his last name will have to be Blankenship in honour of his original placeholder.

I may need some help coming up with his alterego RPG/fantasy name. I still want it to be traceable to his original name though.

Honey and Vinegar

I guess it's been made evident to me, that my blog articles are mainly about complaints I have with the church and its people. I rant a lot. I doubt I'll ever have a blog with a large subscription of people, or publish a book that sells millions. I know I'll never do that, because it's not my goal.
My mom used to tell me all the time (because I needed reminding of it often), "You attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."
My reply now is simply, "I'm not wanting to attract any flies."

The Decapitated and Dismembered Church

The title of this post is probably enough to make you wonder what I'm talking about, as was the reaction my mother-in-law expressed when I had mentioned it. I believe it's descriptive of the type of church we are trying to sustain. As you know, a body without a head is completely lifeless, and it's much less a body when it's parts are disconnected. What's the point of trying to keep a lifeless and completely decimated body in the ER? I think we are endangered of entering the morgue if some things don't change soon. I don't mean our local church, but every church I've visited or attended, for the most part, shares the same problems.

Silence in the 21st Century

After reading Richard Beck's, On Silence and Cell Phones, my mind has really given it a lot of thought over the past couple of weeks. I had mentioned deactivating my Facebook account, in a attempt to free up some time that I felt was being wasted. Then that aforementioned blog post came to be and really convicted me to follow through.
Sadly, I think the time I might have saved, has already been swallowed up in other online endeavours, such as Twitter. Currently, I have been restructuring who I "follow". But anyhow that's another distraction to contend with.
What I really wanted to converse about was, How do we as a 21st Century generation that has every means to communicate to the world at large... be silent? In the midst of cell phones (mobiles), twitter, facebook, blackberrys, iPhones and constant communication... how do we detach from all of that and find solitude.
I also remember something (admittedly vaguely) said years ago from Randy Harris, the first Church of Christ Monk (his tagline). He said that 98% of what we say is probably completely unnecessary. I began to think about how that correlates to my online participation. Why is it we feel the need to speak out into the world wide web about every thought that comes through our head? What is our fascination with sharing our every thought with the world at large.
Is it a egotistical view of ourselves? Have we become self-centred? I came across another blog article which put me in my place, yet again. Do I have this subliminal pipe dream to become a great author and speaker of some sort, another voice in the mass of voices calling out Christians, but not discipling and being an example.
At least Paul, writer of half the New Testament spent enough time with those to whom he was writing so that he could say with full confidence:

"Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." -1 Cor. 11:1(NIV)

We surround ourselves with so much noise. I really do find it a relief to have everything turned off (and Josiah to be napping). It's great to have that occasional silence. If only I would venture away from the computer as well, to eliminate even ocular noise. To spend time in absolute solitude.
Granted it's in solitude that we realise we're never alone. Sometimes that is the best time to talk to God and listen for his answers. If only we could take more time to listen.

The Prayer of a Righteous Man

There truly are some hefty promises when it comes to prayer. If you read the gospels, Jesus sounds like he's saying, "Ask and you shall receive (period/full stop)". Well, I've yet to receive that million £s ($1.6million, for you US residents) I've asked for. In all seriousness though, when you look at what the Bible says about prayers and requests... why do we feel like we should offer a way out of God's promises by the ever pervasive quote, "God answers prayers in three ways, 'Yes','No', and 'Wait'". Who started that poppycock (I looked up the origins of that word just now and it made me laugh) anyways? It is in stark contrast to what is taught in God's word.