And yet again...

 This week, it was yet another back attack, coupled with OT tomorrow to reclaim part of the 2 days I lost, that will scuttle another M10 show.  Sorry!

Wednesday Bible Study: Abraham plank by plank part IX

 

If you thought I had confused you before, pull up a chair!  Often, God teaches me what I need to know through the connectivity of the Bible, and you are about to see how that works for me.  You see, I have a morning routine of Bible reading- A chapter starting from the beginning of the Bible, a chapter in Psalms, and a chapter in the prophets.  With God there are no coincidences, and I knew something was up when I simultaneously reached the back halves of both Exodus (where God takes several chapters discussing the building of the Tabernacle) and Ezekiel (where He spends several chapters describing Ezekiel watching an angel "measuring" the Temple to come when Jesus rules on Earth.  This stuff- unless you are a detail nerd- is heartbreakingly boring, but I knew there was a point.  And that there was a point was virtually shouted to me when I hit the end of each the same morning.  I don't want to exhaust your good will by describing what happened in detail, but let me show you just one verse each from the two chapters:

Actually, one chapter shy of the end in Exodus: Exo 39:30  And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like to the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD. 

And Ezekiel: Eze 48:35  It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. 

So I found myself having to parse through these stories to see what He was telling me.  The first thing was, "Ezekiel is your attention-getter.  The meat is in Exodus"

Second, He had me take apart the whole story of the making of the Tabernacle, and it comes down to this:

-God had the plan from the beginning.  You get that concept because He showed the layout to Moses- just like He showed (in measured detail) the Heavenly Temple to Ezekiel.

- God anointed a messenger, Moses, to bring God's Word to the people, as he would Ezekiel later.

- God placed the idea in Moses' brain so vividly, he forgot not one detail, and his explanation was carried out as if the workers had seen it, too.

- God gave them the materials to build the Tabernacle, when He had them "plunder" Egypt when they left.

- God put the generosity in their hearts to give the resources- much more than enough- to build it.

- God gifted the craftsmen the ability to make the intricate details.

- God made sure the name of each tribe was inscribed on the gems of the Ephod, placed in His order.  Thus not only including everyone, but making sure they knew it was by HIS arrangement, so there would be no fighting over 'pecking order'.

-And finally, God through Moses blessed the outcome.

And the Ezekiel connection?  Not once is it said anything about any hand of man working on this Temple.  Like all the abilities it took to build the Tabernacle, God GAVE IT.

So what, pray tell, does this have to do with Abraham- or us?  Here we go.

The 13 years are up and God makes two visits to Abram.  The first was just God's voice.  It was a renewing of all the promises God had made previously.  But this time, Abram had grown deep enough in faith to be able to question God- plus, while having a kid at 86 was a stretch, having one at 99 seemed impossible.  But God not only assured him, He added a sign- every male was to be circumsized. Then, a second sign- He changed their names.

To me, I believe this first was God's way of showing Abram, "Do not be afraid to cast off flesh- I AM not flesh, and My Word is more than flesh.  The second symbolized a change in their positions.  Abram meant "High father", a term that gave glory to Abram. He became Abraham- "Father of a Multitude"- a feat that would take a miracle of God.  Likewise Sarai, which meant basically, "dominant", was switched to Sarah- a "noble lady".  

Less than a month later (according to the Book of Jubilees), they were visited by "three men"- who as the story goes, were actually Christ Himself in bodily form, with two angels.  This is where we had that little happening with Sarah we talked about a few weeks ago:

Gen 18:12  So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” 

Gen 18:13  The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 

Gen 18:14  Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 

Gen 18:15  But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” 

One can only suppose Abraham chuckled to himself here, as God had already told him the child's name would be Isaac- which means "laughter".

But there is something else here.  Sarah basically said in v12, "To have a child, you have to have sex.  And look at us!  We're about dead, why would we have sex?"  Note that the LORD did not say, the power of the Holy Spirit will overshadow you, like He had the angel tell Mary.  He just said, "You're gonna have a kid."  But there's a way this makes sense.  Consider, Two things happen before the story of Isaac's birth- and one of them is Abraham repeating his deception of Pharaoh with King Abimelech.

Gen 20:1  From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 

Gen 20:2  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 

Why would Abimelech take Sarah, a 90-year old lady too "worn out to have pleasure"?  Because she was HOT again- at least as much as she was back in Egypt.  I believe God turned back the aging process for these two- something I never considered before, and I apologize for earlier speculations.  Think about it- she's going to need her breasts to nurse Isaac ( I kinda doubt she'd pass the job off to Hagar), not to mention energy enough to raise him.  Annnd... we have the evidence of Abimelech hitting on her to confirm.

Just one more little item to add to this story before I tie everything together.  As the "three men" started to leave, and Abraham, being the good host, saw them off, the Lord muses about whether He should tell Abraham the REST of the reason for their visit- the destruction of the evil cities of the Plain.

Gen 18:17  The LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 

Gen 18:18  seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 

Gen 18:19  For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 

What do I hope to tie in here?  That God is inclusive to those who love Him.  That's why He has us pray, even though "He knows what we need before we ask".

Okay, so let's go back to what we learned in Exodus.

- God had the plan from the beginning; it grew in detail as Abraham gained in faith, but it never changed.

-God had called the man who was to set the plan in motion- Abraham.

- God took the time to build this plan into Abraham SO completely, he never even blinked later on when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac.

- God provided everything Abraham and Sarah needed to complete the plan- including, I believe, restored youth.

- God had, just as David described in Psalm 139, knew and patterned Isaac all along, "written in your book and planned before a single one of them began".  God gave their bodies the ability and the gifts to "make" Isaac, and I think this is important.  Like the goldsmith Bezalel and his learned crafts, the happy couple were born with the ABILITY to have children- but it was the GIFTS- skill to Bezalel, youth to Abraham and Sarah- that made it happen.

-God had it planned from the start that EVERYONE would be included in His plan- and in HIS order.  Thus, Abraham is the Father of MANY nations- not just Jews.  Remember what John the Baptist said to the self-righteous Jews:

Mat 3:9  And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 

- And finally, God blessed Abraham for his faith, by sharing a confidence about what was about to happen to Sodom and Co.

And what does Chris and his readers pull out from all this?  Two big things.  One, God has our lives in His hands- planned out to the most intricate detail.  If you don't believe me, I dare you, go ahead and wade through the ends of Exodus and Ezekiel.  Or, you might just read this:

Jer 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

And two:  It's all GIFTS FROM GOD!  Oh, we might have to do our part here and there- like Abraham and Sarah apparently did ;)- but any skill we did it with, any material we used in it, and any plan we devised- it came as a gift from the God that loves us.

Next up: Shake and bake in Sodom...

M10 show week #152

 

You are looking live at a just being typed M10 show, live from cold Indiana!  I just wasn't at the point last night to do it and save it, so...

Elvis:  Okay, we get it, boss!  Let's get on with it!  It's entirely to early to be a-preachin' here...

Not to mention it's only 13 minutes before release time!  Okay, we are in 1972 this week, AND we have 2 debuts to play!  Fire up the first one!

Yeah, returning ta the countdown fer the 13th time, here's new Lucius...

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Thank you, sir!  And now... 

Ya got 9 minits...

Thank you Guy Fieri!  As I was trying to say, we are in target year 1972, where Al Green holds the top spot with Let's Stay Together- a tune that made a peak of 19 in Australia, but a shocking #43 in Canada!  In Australia, we had Benny Hill's Ernie, The Fastest Milkman In The West (which I always seem to have the luck of hitting on these things), and in Canada we have Don McLean's American Pie- which had been #1 2 weeks ago here and would be #1 IN 2 weeks in Australia!

There's timin' fer ya!  Speakin' of timin', how 'bout that other debut?

Timing is right, because I didn't know these guys were even still around since 1980's Turning Japanese!  But here they are with brand new stuff- and all the way up at #5- the Vapors....

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Ya think we c'n git-r-dun in 2 minits?

No, and don't worry it!  I'm sure no one is waiting with bated breath for this at their keyboard, waiting for our latest antics.

Say, you shoulda AIed the beginning, with you an' Brent Musberger!

I tried, but I ended up looking like the Capitol One ad man, Brent looked like his own grand kid- although Grok did his best job yet on Misty...

Haw, what a mess!  I only got Noodle last week by asking fer "a bald guy"!

Anyway, here's what else we need to talk about this week in 1972.  There were 4- count 'em, four- songs that moved up 13 spots, but the only one I really knew was the Supremes 2.0 and Floy Joy at #22.  Second was Paul Simon's Mother And Child Reunion climbing 15 to #33.  It would hit 5 in Australia and Canada, 4 here.  And the biggest mover is someone on our countdown this week- up 21 spots from 39 to 18...

... Neil Young's Heart Of Gold!  A #1 across North America, it would make #14 in Australia.

For me, with American Pie on the way down, I would probably have had the #4 song this week for my favorite- the Carpenters and Hurting Each Other, a #2 across the north and a #4 to the south.  Okay, give me the rest of the M10!

Got it!

9 and slipping a spot- Shannon and the Clams with Wax and String.

8 and up 2, Shilpa Ray an' Portrait Of A Cat Lady.

7- an' up 2, Maggie Rogers an' So Sick Of Dreaming.

6- an' holdin' Japanese Breakfast an' Kokomo, IN.

4- the former #1, Geowulf an' Stay Baby.

3- an' holdin' Neil Young an' Tell Me Why.

2- Up 2 fer Matt Berry an' Silver Rings.

And that makes the new #1- his second on the M10, both posthumously-

...Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers an' Never Be You!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yikes! 22 minits late!

We're in a Tardis!  Either no one will ever know, or it'll seem normal...

Wednesday Bible Study: Abraham plank by plank part VIII

 

Gen 3:6  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

You might ask me, "Why are you tripping back to the Adam and Eve story?  You're supposed to be doing Abraham and Sarah!"  And the answer is, in many ways it's the same story.  And in many ways, it's different.  The idea was given me as I listened to a pastor describing the Eve story, but I had missed the beginning.  As he described the Eve story, pointing out that the deception was what Eve fell to, but the SIN was Adam's because he had been taught better- I was thinking, "Yes, that's exactly right- Abram knew better, and yet he went along with Sarai."  And it was a mild shock when the pastor 'revealed' he was telling the earlier story.

So what story was I thinking of?

Gen 16:1  Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. 

Gen 16:2  And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 

Abram had been told by God that he would be the father of many nations- that a son of his own flesh would be the bridge to that.  And he had no doubt explained that to Sarai.  Because Abram was the head, the 'priest', if you will, of his family of two; He was God's go-between on earth.  And while God had told him the future plan, and he had told it to her, God didn't explicitly say, "from Sarai."  God assumed Abram knew-

Gen 2:24  Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 

Thus, what God said to one, applied to BOTH.  Sarai, his wife, was to be that mother.  But just like Eve, whose misinterpretation of what God told Adam gave her the 'loophole' to try the fruit, Sarai thought that leaving her name out was the loophole she needed to speed the Lord's plan up.  Was this a sin?  No, this was a cultural thing; Sarai had deceived herself that it didn't HAVE to be miraculous.  And the man, the priest of the family?

...and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

 ....And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 

Abram should have said, "No, but the Lord is not asking this thing..." just like Adam should have.  And of course, in Adam and Eve's story, because Adam did not stand up for what he KNEW from God, things got a lot worse, for them and all of us.  Same thing in Abram's story...

Gen 16:4  And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. 

Gen 16:5  And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me!” 

(Before I go on with Abram's story, let me connect something as a sidelight:  How was Abram's mistake one that made things worse for ALL of us?  Because the child Hagar bore was Ishmael, and because Abram would later pray that Ishmael would become a mighty nation, the Lord granted the request.  Ishmael would become the Arab nations, the Arabs invented Islam... I think you see the point.)

Note that the reaction was much the same in the Abram story as it was in the Adam story- except that, with no Serpent in the picture (physically), Sarai blamed Abram.  And Abram, did he not 'pass the buck' on to the woman?

Gen 16:6  But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her. 

Once again, Abram copped out of the situation.  But God wasn't about to let them escape the consequences:

Gen 16:7  The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. 

Gen 16:8  And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” 

Gen 16:9  The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” 

Thus, Abram and Sarai were forced to live with the fruit of their sin ever before them, at least for a time.  And the chapter- Genesis 16, makes the point that Abram was now 86 years old.  But chapter 17 begins-

Gen 17:1  When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram...

Wow, what happened to those 13 years?  I'll tell you.

Remember the old joke page that used to go around, the "Attaboy Award"?  It praised all your hard work and dedication, and told you that collecting 1,000 of them would bring you fame, riches, etc.  And in fine print on the bottom, it said:

Caution:  One AWSHIT wipes out all collected Attaboys.

And so too with Abram.  Remember way back at the beginning of our journey, I mentioned how the 13 years Abram wasted with his family in Haran would be repeated here?  God had to start over to repair the damage Abram did to the Abraham He was building, starting with that 13 years.

So we really get three lessons from all this.

-First, The man of the family needs to be the "priest of the family", and not just go along with whatever seems convenient to the time.  He needs to be faithful to God.

-Second, don't expect God's forgiveness, which He freely gives through Jesus, to include escaping the consequences of the sin.

-Third, If you ever want God to 'finish' building you in some area, STOP knocking down what He's building!  Another lesson I need tattooed on my eyeballs.

M10 show week #151

 

Now listen, Noodle.  The boss has been havin' some trouble with inspiration, so we's gonna do the show for him this week...

N: The name, sir, is Nardole.  N-A-R-...

E: Let's not go through that whole bit agin, comprende?  I got all his notes, so just hit the buttons like I tell ya.  An' don't call me sir!  Gits me itchin' like a cat on a fuzzy tree...

N:  I've heard that somewhere...

E: So this week we's in 1973, an' before we get started on that, we got 2 new debuts.  An' the one at # 10  is her 6th time on the chart, though it's been a while.  Here's Shilpa Ray...

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N:  Well, that went well...

E: Yew just push the buttons, Noodle, an' we'll be fine...

N: Yes sir!

E: NO! Not...

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E: ...yet.  Well, that there was the other debut at #9, Maggie Rogers an' So Sick Of Dreaming.

N: Sir, who are the Knicks?

E: Never mind.  Now I gotta do the go-back to 1973.  #1 here in the US of A was Elton John and Crocodile Rock...

N: Do I need to hit a button, sir?

E: NO!  Just siddown till I get to ya.  Australia had this hit #2, but Canada agreed with us.  Canada this week, though, had Edward Bear and Last Song at the top...

N: My word!  A real bear?

E: No, Noodle!  This song hit 3 here an' 2 in Australia.  Now, Australia had Lobo- no, he's wasn't a real wolf, Noodle- with I'd Love You To Want Me at the top this week, which was a uni... una...

N: Unanimous?

E: Yeah, thanks, no wonder the boss just says, "across the board #1"!  Now, Chris found three songs from this week'n '73 that moved up double ditches...

N:  Do you mean, 'double digits'?

E: Is THAT what he's been sayin' all this time?  Yeah, so they were 12- spot moves for two songs. One was the Moody blues with I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock'N'Roll Band), up to 35 this week.  It was a peak of 39 in Australia, 16 in Canada, an' 8 on Cashbox.  The other'n was Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly, landing at 27.  It wuz another "across the board" #1.

An' the... what now, Noodle?

N:  How does one kill someone softly, sir?

E: She used the durn bear, ya idjit!  An' the big mover, up 14 to #15- was the Dueling Banjos theme from Deliverance.  It would hit 2 in North America an' 3 in Australia... yes, Noodle?

N: What is a "Deliverance"?

E: Yer too young fer that.

N: Sir, I am an android who has travelled extensively across time and space.  Age is not a concept that applies to me!

E: Don' matter.  Yer still too young.  Now just go ahead an'  read off this here list of the rest of the M10- and quick, before the boss comes in an' catches us...

N:  Very well.  May I just say I am honored that you are allowing me this task, and I...

E: Read. The. List.

N:Yes, sir!

8- Shannon and the Clams move up 2 with Wax And String.

7- The Heavy Heavy down 1 with Miracle Sun.

6- Japanese Breakfast with Kokomo, IN, down 3.

5- Hana Vu holds at 5 with Care.

4- Matt Berry up 5 with Silver Rings.

3- Neil Young up 1 with Tell Me Why.

2- Tom Petty holding at 2 with Never Be You.

And, holding at the top:

...Geowulf and Stay Baby!!!!!!!

E:  You idjit!  He ain't with the band anymore!  Ya gotta ask for a picture with just her!

N: Yes, well, how do I...

WHAT are you two doing in here?

E:  Boss, we did the show fer ya!  Perty good job too, I think...

Yeah, well, you two vamoose while I review this and see what  kind of damage you did to the brand.

E:  No prob, boss, you'll like it!  C'mon, Noodle...

N:  Sir, what DO the Japanese have for breakfast?

E: (sigh) Prolly bear....

Wednesday Bible Study: Abraham plank by plank part VII

 

Very briefly, I am going to jump 15 years ahead in our story, give or take...

Gen 18:13  The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ 

Gen 18:14  Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” 

Because this is the point of what comes next.  Now, revert back to where we were, to a time where God and Abram come to an understanding...

Gen 15:1  After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 

Now, Abram has heard this before; but water has gone under the bridge, and he knows the NORMAL time for these things is running out; so, he questions God...

Gen 15:2  But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 

But God goes on to do a lot of sharing in this encounter.  Why is this time different?  Because of one change of heart:

Gen 15:4  And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 

Gen 15:5  And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 

Gen 15:6  And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. 

God said the word- and now, when it was becoming (but not yet) impossible, he truly believed God could still do this, and "it was accounted to him for righteousness"- just as our faith gives us Christ's righteousness in our account!  The sacrifice Jesus would make so far in Abram's future now covered him, because he believed God could do the impossible.  And God was going to test that faith, and make things MORE impossible!  But now, with Abram firmly in God's hands, God was willing to do MORE...

Gen 15:7  And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 

Gen 15:8  But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 

What follows is a strange-to-us ceremony, to seal a covenant, in which God both proposes the deal, and seals it in His own Name, to assure Abram that what he said WOULD occur.  And after that, God gives word of the future nation Abram would sire...

Gen 15:13  Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. 

Gen 15:14  But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 

Gen 15:15  As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. 

Gen 15:16  And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” 

And God was good to his word.  After 30 years with Joseph, the Israelites would remain in Egypt another 400 years..

Exo 12:40  The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. 

Exo 12:41  At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt. 

But back to our focus on Abram.  So he had his "deal" with God (in quotes because was both the initiator and the guarantor), and it was time to await that child!  But there was yet 2 things God had to deal with before that happened.  One, as I have mentioned, God wanted to make it TRULY impossible.  Two, He had to deal with Sarai's lack of faith...

Gen 16:2  And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the LORD has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. 

Next time, I will look at how this was not "Abram being taught not to listen to his wife", but Sarai being built into the mother of Abram's many nations...

Monday pictures

 I only have 2 days to share, I'm really getting over winter at this point.  Anyway...

My calendar tells me this was last Monday night...

...the first day it was worthwhile to sit in that yard chair, and of course it's now gone

Plenty of people and doggies taking advantage of the weather- it won't last

We had about half the river unfrozen

From the Big Hill

Saturday, we had to get it in quick- Ice storm on the way

Somebody lost a combo lock

The robins' hideaway bar

Oreo and Dad were way ahead of us

"Darn it!"

A set of new "no trespassing" signs along the backwoods road
 

My guess, they are prepping for another hobo camp

That's what those slabs were for- new benches!

The one patch of snow left- so Misty GRAZED it...

The ABCs of Politics.

 Serious post here, but I NEED YOU TO KNOW this is not about anyone who is a current reader/commenter of this blog- at least, not the bad part.  Please listen, and do not put yourself in as a character in the bad part, anyone.

This is about the ABCs of current politics.  

You see, I ran into a very disturbing formula applied to me yesterday.  Let's call it, If A and B, then C.

A is, "I don't like the policies/statements of this person/group."  Well, to be fair, perhaps one or two of them that override anything else they say or do.

B is, "My friend supports this person."  Never mind the totality of what A is, or asking why said friend would support whatever.

C is, "Therefore, my friend is a terrible person as well."

Thing about that is, not only are you ignoring the whys of A and B, but you are saying, "The thing I don't like about A is so overriding, I must ignore EVERYTHING ELSE I know about my friend and skip right to C."

Thankfully, anyone likely to read this doesn't let A override B.  Even if something is poorly worded or misunderstood, they remind themselves of the totality of the friend behind the B, and don't rush to jump right to C.  They remember nothing in A makes the sky less blue, the sun a degree colder, or there next sip of water any sweeter.  They know who they are, and I want them to know they are appreciated.

Those who jump to C will likely never see this.  But if they could, I would say this:

It's not worth it.  Look at what you are thinking, and decide who was the faithless friend.  Ask yourself if your political hurt was worth the heart hurt.  Decide what really matters.  Don't get so angry you don't ask questions first.

I have in the last few years seen three shades of this.  One was just an unreasoning hate from the start, egged on by talking heads who have agendas not completely disclosed.  One had a legit grievance, but with the policy, not the friend.  And one flat out admitted politics was more important than any friendship in their mind.

I think seeing oneself-including me- in any of these should be chilling.  And yes, some things CAN be over the top.  But I think all of us need to do a little more self-examination before responding.  Myself included.

Maybe in another week...

 ...I'll feel up to the tomfoolery needed for a good M10 post.  This week, though, I'll just catch you up...

Last week, the Cardinals and Let It Ride slipped to 10, drops into the "lower five" this week.

The former #1 by the Cowsills, She Said To Me, slips to 9 last week, and likewise into the 11-15 range this week.

Last week this "debuted" at #8- and moves up to 4 this week.  From 1970's After The Gold Rush, here's Neil Young:

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The Heavy Heavy moved 10 to 7 last week and 7 to 6 this week with Miracle Sun.

Hana Vu moved down one to six last week, and back up to 5 this time, with Care.

The monster hit Move Your Feet by Junior Senior slid to 5 last time, and to8 this week- which will put it into a 3-way tie for 28th all time.

The Linda Lindas apparently hit their peak with Nothing Would Change at #4, up 2, last week; this week it drops to 7. 

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers shot up 4 to #3 last week with Never Be You; this week, up one to #2.

Before we hit the top, this week had two debuts.  At #10, new stuff from Shannon and the Clams:

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And more new stuff from Matt Berry at #9:

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Last week, Japanese Breakfast had a second week at #1 with Kokomo, IN; it slides to #3 this week, while the song that was at #2 goes to the top- making five toppers for Geowulf, with Stay Baby!!!

Hope you enjoy the clips, and I'll see about getting back in the swing next week.

Around the world

 

So this time, I'm using a 'random nation generator' to pick me ten nations to observe- so blame it if the stories don't fly...

Gibraltar (yes, I know, not an independent country.)

So I was trying to read a story about an inquiry that was making fresh headlines, but paywall issues led me to dig into it from the back.  Seems that we start with a corruption inquiry after former police commissioner Ian McGrail claimed that someone at the highest reaches of the Rock forced him out of an investigation into a friend of the Chief Minister, and then into early retirement.  Then, as the investigation into McGrail's claims was about to start, these same officials began to try to pass laws allowing it to "Halt public inquiries"- seems a lot like the Dems reactions to DOGE here.  None of which seems to be terribly related to the original story I tried to look at- where, in response to an inquiry from someone in the House of Commons, the UK Ministry of Defense that Gibraltar is "likely the key" to defending Western interests in the Mediterranean. 

If the HoC really needed a 'report' to figure that one out, I begin to see why the UK is in so much turmoil anymore...

Ivory Coast (or, in French, Cote d'Ivoire)

Our subjects here, along with neighboring Senegal, are booting French troops out of their countries.  Why were they there?  To combat (with negligible results) Islamist fundamentalist terror groups.  Why did they fail?  You mean outside of France's 0-for streak in wars since 1871?  How about, "It's hard to prevent terrorists with a straight face when we welcome them to Metropolitan France"?  Y'all need a new Napoleon...

Grok made this for me- Napoleon, Trump, Nixon, and Cleopatra discussing the situation...

The Bahamas

Now here's a front page you really don't want on YOUR doorstep:

-The Police Union claims they aren't getting payouts on their insurance policies since the government is $100 Million behind on their premiums...

- Traffic deaths, suicides both up last year...

- Plus, murders up 9%...

-Plus, complaints about those un-insured cops are up 114% last year...

-Plus, despite efforts both inside and outside the country, the government does not consider marital rape a crime...

-AND a woman will be going to trial for throwing acid on her brother and his girlfriend (sorry, no other juicy details)...

Austria

Definitely the most aggravating to find so far.  First, a web search refuses to give you a legit, from-the-country website.  You have to fight your way to one. Even on BBC World, where I used to find news sites on their "country profiles", when I tried this, clearly typing "Austria Country Profile", I get profiles for Croatia and Poland instead.  Finally finding the Weiner Zeitung (Vienna Times) site, I find nothing but stories about 'fake news'- oh, and the travails of editor Verena Franke, who had all but signed the deal to buy her first house- only to find out that she needed life insurance, and because she's a type 1 diabetic, nobody but nobody would insure her.  Here she might could sue- there, maybe not so much.

Germany

In an apparent attempt of influencing German elections, Russian agents vandalized 270+ cars in 3 German states and Berlin.  Trying to make it look like the Green Party did the deed, they filled exhaust pipes with expanding construction foam.

Stickers were then left on the damaged cars depicting Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, the Green Party's chancellor candidate in the upcoming federal election, and bearing the message: "Be greener!"

Of course, if environmentalists weren't touring Europe splashing paint and cheez-whiz on priceless paintings to "make their points", no one would have fell for the scam.  Sometimes you reap the whirlwind, kids.

Chile

In what may have been our first contestant for "World's stupidest criminal, the Catholic Church defrocked priest Tulio Soto Manquimilla for conduct unbecoming.  Included in his offenses...

The now former priest of the archdiocese of Puerto Montt, Manquemilla had been under investigation since 2018 after a series of irregularities came to light. Soto had hired himself to increase his salary and lent Church money to individuals. The transactions were even documented before a notary public, which made auditing easier.

Hires himself, to increase his salary...  Wonder if Pelosi figured that scam out...

US Virgin Islands (again, not an independent, and possibly not a virgin)

A  19- year old went on an 11-day, 4 robbery spree, ending in, of all places, a K-Mart.  Day one,  Tyshaune Rey Jr, started out robbing a jewelry store- but from there, he devolved in his choices. Six days later, it was a McDonalds; then a liquor store, before finally being apprehended on one of the few K-Marts left on earth.  He's being held in lieu of $135 K bail.  

Fun fact- there are 4 full-out K-Marts left on earth; 3 in the USVI, one in Guam.

Comoros

In a lame attempt (IMHO) of doing you-know-what down one's leg, President Azali Assoumani has had his 'deputy secretary-general' explain how, when he said he planned on passing the office down to his son, he really didn't mean his 'son', exactly...

Hafi (the DSG) stressed that Assoumani was speaking in metaphorical terms of his future successor and that to report otherwise was "misinformation".

"He [Assoumain] spoke of a son in terms of his three families: his political family, his government family and his nuclear family...In 2029, he will choose, within the framework of the party, a child of the party to run for the universal suffrage of the Comorian people," Hafi went on.

Togo

Not a lot to choose from in this tiny splinter of a country, so when I saw...

Lomé will host the third edition of the "Les Afropéennes" festival from February 20 to 23, 2025

...I said, please tell me that "Afropeennes" is going to be something dirty, or at least interesting..." Nope, just an art festival.

And, finally- perhaps mercifully...

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

At least they had interesting news, if not exactly ripe for my spin news.  Still once again I had hopes when I saw the headline:

NLM to Host March & Rally Against Social Injustice in Layou

And I'm like, is this their version of Black Lives Matter?  If so, what is the "N"? Nematodes? Neptunians? Navigators? (They were talking about regattas coming up in April in another article).  But no- it was the National Liberation Movement- apparently a new political party...

The National Liberation Movement (NLM) is pleased to introduce itself to you as the true voice for economic, transformative, social and political change built on principles of Meritocracy, Pragmatism, Integrity, Accountability, Transparency and Equity.

They are a "third party" outfit, splitting the difference between the moderate conservatives on one side and 'democratic' socialists on the other.  I had to laugh a little bit about the Dem-soc's party acronym- The Unity Labor Party, or "ULP"...

Grok comes through for me again...I think I have just gained a new super power...

Wednesday Bible Study: Abraham Plank by Plank part VII

 

The 14th chapter of Genesis is one of my favorites, and I see now it has an overarching message for my journey through the life of Abraham.  It also is very historical, which means it will be easy for me to skip the point, but I want to do this in such a way that we wring all God means for us to know out of it.

We begin with a list of kings- and at least two of their kingdoms (Shinar, which is Mesopotamia, and Elam) tell us they are not from around here.  The KJV dictionary gives us further clues:  Amraphel is Babylonian, as is Arioch; Chedarlaomer, the apparent ringleader, is Persian.  Tidal, usually translated "king of nations" is named Canaanite; possibly he is the group's rep in the area.  They had a certain sway over the area Abram lived in, after their first win over the area 13 years before.  But now the local leaders- chief among them the kings of the cities of the plain, Sodom, Gomorrah, Zeboiim, Admah, and Zoar- had rebelled, and they were working their way towards the rebels.  First, though, they had to get through the races of the giants, that we mentioned last week.  Verses 5-6 describe this, because

... the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emims in Shaveh Kiriathaim, 

Gen 14:6  And the Horites in their mount Seir....

that they smote in those verses WERE the giants.  You see, we learn in 2 Samuel 21 that the giants- specifically the brothers of Goliath- had extra fingers and toes, and thus may have been suffering some form of retardation.  Certainly every time we encounter them in the Bible, they are only good for intimidation and not for warfare.  Chedarlaomer and co.  did the Lord's work here in thinning them out into a remnant.  First lesson then, from this passage, is, sometimes your "giants" aren't as tough as you think.  I could have used that tattooed on my head this week!

After the "Big Alliance" finished off the sons of Amalek in v7, they went on to face the rebels of the "Little Alliance" in the Valley of Siddim, which would shortly be part of the Dead Sea.  The valley was full of tar pits, and the LA kings got confused; according to the book of Jubilees, the King of Gomorrah was killed, and he may have been their ringleader, because after that the Little Alliance was scattered. The BA took prisoners and booty, and headed the long journey home; part of the booty happened to be Lot.  Here's where we note a couple of things.  First, Abram was content to let the area's politics play out without him, until Lot.  Lot wasn't just someone else's business, it was the man he raised from a boy, and now it was personal.  That's our second lesson- we take politics too seriously, and let it divide families.  But Abram knew: it's not personal UNTIL it's personal.

Second, this was a time you didn't get along well unless you were in an alliance.  And Abram put together one, with kinsmen who had also come to Canaan from the Amorites- Mamre, Eschol, and Aner.  And if you want to do a little digging, you can see the difference between them and the Canaanites of the area.  The Canaanites had already become so debauched, they couldn't put up a good fight (Genesis makes a point in v9 that it was 4 kings whipping five), and thus lost to the Big Alliance.  However, look at the name meanings of Abram's allies:  Mamre is "vigorous", Eschol is "fruitful", and Aner is "youth-energy".  And thus, the more vigorous and energetic Amorite alliance of 318 men were about to chase down and whup the "Big Alliance".

Looking at last week's map, Abram and friends chased them down, caught them in Dan (north of the little blue dot that we call the Sea of Galilee) and destroyed them all the way to near Damascus at the very top of the map.  That's vigorous!  Lot was saved, all the booty was brought back- and back at home, the new ringleader, the King of Sodom, was waiting on them (having not had the vigor or courage, or both, to join them), and went up to meet them in the plain of Shaveh, near what is now Jerusalem.

But... first, Abram had an appointment with a man of legend, both here and later in the NT Book of Hebrews...

Gen 14:18  And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 

Gen 14:19  And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 

Gen 14:20  And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. 

Who is this Melchizedek?  God leaves it purposefully blank, if you remember our time in Hebrews, and we are left to speculate- was this a visit from the pre-incarnate Christ?  Textual evidence leans against it, but it seems in the realm of possibilities.  What we do know, is that the tithe is established there;  and of all the booty, Abram gave it back to the cowardly lion, er, king of Sodom, except what was owed the others of the Amorite alliance.  Now, we are ready for that overarching message:

Now that Abram was done doing it his way (for now) and willing to do things God's way, God was ready to USE HIM.  He used him in what was a political battle, but not until it became personal.  He made good use of people around him to get the job done.  He was willing to lay down his pride, give the glory to God, and  thus received both victory and a blessing!  And when the job was done, he didn't magnify himself by ruling the Amorite Alliance, slapping down the king of Sodom, or even keeping for himself what he won- he gave it all back.  Far from the man who reaped from the Egyptian larder without conscience, he went back to just being the man he was- God's man.

This wasn't the great victory of Abram over the Big Alliance- this was the great victory of Abram over himself.  But lest you think it's all gonna be sunshine and lollipops from here, think on a lesson I had pointed out to me this week:

Saul was king, and had the greatest prophet of his time guiding him.  And he messed up.

David was king, and he was 'the man after God's own heart'.  And he messed up.

Solomon was king, and he had greater wisdom and riches than any who lived before him.  And he messed up.

We WILL mess up.  And so will Abram.

I guess I could do some pictures...

 Considered briefly this morning something along the lines of "That is not a headline", but someone else must have agreed with me, because the FoxNews headline that inspired it has, well, disappeared.  Not that the pictures started much better...

Gray,  a bit foggy, Thursday afternoon

Darn squirrels, always leaving their silverware lying about

This lawn chair has been sitting there for 2 weeks...

At least now you can see the trail...

Misty insisted on going to the river, despite me telling her there was no free water available...

So she ate snow.

Saturday was colder, but the sun looked so good...

Friday was all day rain.  Those are the frozen tracks I made bringing groceries in...

Plenty of ice on the sidewalks with all the rain, followed by the temp drop.

A drink at the footbridge...

...which crosses the disc course...

To the stone bridge here, and another drink.

Misty meets a friend!

Yes, this dog has 3 legs- it is the one we saw a while back, whose owner had to lift it out of her car.  They played for a few minutes, while the owner- on the other side of the woods- continued up the trail oblivious.  Just when I started getting concerned, I think doggie has like an electric signal in its collar for when it gets too far, because suddenly, it turned and went straight back to its owner.

I tried to teach her to eat the ice I broke with Stick, but she much preferred the remnants of dirty snow.

That night:  My boys, my beers, my late besties.