Wednesday Bible Study: The end of all things- 1 Peter

 

This week I see in 1 Peter a simple instruction in humility.  But Peter knows nothing is simple in fallen man, and he himself has had to have humbleness beat into him. That's why I like him, because he shows that God knows how to beat it into ME.  I hope as I write these down here, they will sink into me, to the depths at which I need them.

First, Peter talks to the elders of the church, because they are the leaders, the shepherds of the flock, and the temptation is too great to power.

1Pe 5:1  So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed:
1Pe 5:2  shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;
1Pe 5:3  not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.
1Pe 5:4  And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

So, three do's and three do nots.    And the first one reminds us that not just everyone is cut out for church leadership.  It cannot, cannot be 'just a job'; last year too many 'high-profile' people involved in ministry either left the church or were escorted (to put it politely) out the door for just that reason.  The only way you can truly do this job willingly is to love God, and use that as your basis.

The first one leads to the second one; if it's just a job, it becomes just like any other job, for the bucks.  And, in some special cases, about the glory.  Sadly, there's no real external 'warning sign' on this one; a Pastor can be led into glorifying himself BY his flock, or a worship leader can 'appropriate' the praises meant for God to his own account.  It's easy to say, as long as they are listening, as long as it's 'being blessed', it's okay.  But it's not about who's listening to you, but who you're listening TO.  Jesus keep me mindful of this... The third is why I started "The Better Part on FB- I have complained too much that too many Christians are losing focus on the job at hand, and too little time being an example of doing it in a better way.

Now, those who AREN'T in leadership are not exempt because of not 'being in charge'.  Peter has three things for them, as well...

1Pe 5:5  Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
1Pe 5:6  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
1Pe 5:7  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

This is kind of the 'but who is my neighbor' passage for humility. Since he had been talking to the elders before, Peter wanted to stamp out any, "Boy he put you in your place" mentality by reminding them that they needed to SUBMIT to those same elders.  The second uses a metaphor our pastor hit hard on when we were just in 1 Peter, the idea of 'clothing' yourself in humility for others.  This doesn't mean you put on something fake; it means it is an every day, every moment battle to think of others more highly than yourself.  And trust me, if you 'get this' and then revert to selfish type, it will leave you feeling naked before God. And of course, the most important part is to humble yourself before God.  Note that last verse, which I pasted as just a throw in.  But now I look at it and see, this is God's example to the elders striving for their third admonition.  How do I "not domineer, but be an example?" By following the example of how the Father in heaven treats US.

Now, join the parts together.

It requires willingness to be subject.

It requires an eagerness to see others ahead of oneself.

And if we lead, we remember how God leads us.

I read these words and I see my frustration with many Christians in that the have not applied these lessons to their reaction to the world of 2020.  But, it starts with me.

Martin World News

 

So tonight, I thought I would do this:  Let's hit the usual spots, subtract all posts about politics, big tech, COVID-19, SJW stories, and celebrity reactions to same, and see what we come up with as the FIRST remaining front page story.  Anyone betting on blank pages?  Let's go!

Fox News: What did they find? a false headline

 Waay down the list on Fox was this headline:

SEE PICS: Divers make chilling discovery on sea floor while searching for crashed plane

Guess what? When you go to the article, the headline changes to "Indonesian Navy Divers search for crashed plane's black boxes."  No chilling discovery, unless it was the divers discovering the water was cold 75 feet down.

CNN:  And now, a word from...

 

The first story meeting my requirements here is a story the Ford Mustang Mach E winning SUV of the year.  In other words, a commercial dressed up as news.  That gives us two slices of baloney so far...

Moscow Times:  And a side of torture with that...

 

A Stalin-themed shawarma shop in Moscow has been forced to close shortly after it opened to outcry over its provocative branding featuring the dictator’s portrait and employees dressed in Soviet-era security service uniforms.

I guess the good thing about this story is that Russia has cancel culture, too....

Xinhua:  Please, Xinhua is ALL politics...

News AU (Australia): Now there's some front page stuff

A famous cricketer having a great day gets accused of cheating in a big match.  What did he do?

On a dramatic day five, which saw India do the unthinkable by surviving for the loss of just five wickets to secure a heroic draw, cameras caught Smith shadow batting on the pitch while Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant blunted the Aussie attack.

Bizarrely, the 31-year-old then used his spikes to scuff up the batsmen’s markings on the crease they use as a guide for where the stumps are behind them.

If there is someone bi-lingual in sports here, we might need a translation.  To me, I gather it's kinda like the batter in a baseball game scraping away the home plate lines "since the umpire can't see them anyway".

Japan Times:  The wheels of justice grind slow, but... no, just slow

  Seoul Central District Court decided Monday to put off the ruling set for Wednesday on a lawsuit filed by former wartime "comfort women," who suffered under Japan’s military brothel system before and during World War II, demanding compensation from the Japanese government.

This came after a decision was scheduled for today, in a suit filed 5 years ago.  Not like it matters anyway, since Japan has already told them they're gonna reject any award on the basis of "sovereign immunity". On the other hand, just think of the tax money they get to waste this way!

BBC:  I didn't care then....

Sex In The City will be coming back without Kim Cattrall.  Which kinda sneaks past the "celeb reactions" piece but, having never watched it, I can't say if it's news or not.

The Copenhagen Post:  Hey keep it clean, willya?

I swear to you, this is the first headline that passes the rules- I guess it's a movie review...

On Screens for December: Pinocchio’s saved Christmas … no, that is not my dick

And no, I didn't ask...

The Better part, week #2

 

This week's Better Part FB posts:

The Better part, day #8:

Heb 12:12 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,

Heb 12:13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

This one hit me like a thunderbolt this morning, especially with a sore leg and after an ad for a local pedorthics place. My question to God having been, "How DO I get rid of habitual sin?" I realized the bad habit is the lame leg and the only way to heal it is to walk as if it wasn't lame- Even if I need a 'cane' to do it! Now, I have to get working on the cane- a new 'habit' replacing the old- so this can be a year of healing.

The Better part, day #9:

2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Last night I happened into a discussion that started in Revelation when two people joined in to tell us all that everything we knew about the Bible and how to read it was wrong. I won't get into the details- mainly because I so much want to- but I will tell you that both of them offered books by 'experts' and the ever-present YT clip that conclusively proved that "70% of Revelation had already happened" and the Lord's return to judge the earth happened "When the Romans destroyed Ireal (sic) in 70 ad."

Not that I believed this garbage at all- in fact, I was a good boy and left with a goodbye and a 'turn off notifications'- but having this verse come up in my morning reading was like a loving pat from Jesus. Unless, of course, the Romans came like a thief in 70 ad and destroyed the entire world by fire. I've seen it too many times- minds that refuse to accept the vastness of God and will listen to anyone who will pare Him down to a non-miraculous, 'man-sized' God. NEVER listen to someone who tries to make Christ "me-sized".

 

 

The Better part, day #10:

Gen 22:7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?"

Gen 22:8 Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.

David Jeremiah was doing a sermon on Abraham today, and I got thinking about "the Friend of God" later on. It struck me that twice in Abraham's life God demanded he give up the most precious thing in his life. The first time, he kinda messed up- instead of leaving everyone behind him and going to Canaan, he drug dad and nephew along and stopped at Haran. Then he got to Canaan- and didn't stay put. The second time, though, God required the most irreplaceable thing he had- Isaac. And he was ready to give him up, until God provided another sacrifice. It struck me that God didn't require that ultimate sacrifice from him- but He required the obedience TO make that sacrifice. God doesn't require that one thing from everyone- but He demands the obedience needed to sacrifice it if called on. And THAT calls for some hard soul searching.

 

 

The Better part, day # 11:

1Sa 19:24 And he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night. Thus it is said, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

I do not want to get into the sorry state of politics here, but everything keeps leading me back to Saul. At this point the Holy Spirit had left him and he had made attempts at David's life, as well as insulting his own son over his friendship with David. Here, he prophesies, but it is the why that is important- not because he is beloved of God, but that while trapped in the ecstasy of the vision, David makes good his escape. Even though he spoke prophecies of God, he himself was not blessed, because of his hatred and jealousy. The people repeating the proverb were saying, "Look at how great Saul is- he's saying all the right things!" But his own spirit was not with God. All over SM you've seen in the last few months people giving our outgoing President almost godlike praise- some still are. But by your fruits you are known- and your 'faith' exposed.

 

 

The Better part, day #12:

2Ch 29:36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had prepared for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

The first thing that caught my eye here, in Hezekiah's revival of Temple worship and celebrating the Passover, was "suddenly". It took 14 Levites 8 days to get the Temple even ready for rededication; another month to celebrate the first Passover in ages. And I saw, through their difficulties the face of our Church today. Trying to keep these posts brief, you think on how today's Church has these same difficulties as I rapid fire them off:

The doors were closed and broken- the way in blocked (v7)

The eternally burning lamps were put out- no Light (v7)

No incense burning- no true worship (v7)

No burnt offerings- No repentance (They ended up sacrificing 370 animals and consecrating another 3,600 just to reopen the place- v7)

Uncleanness had built up (Think about "Amen and Awoman", v16)

The tools of service and worship had been cast off (vv18-19)

The priests were few, and what there were had not been diligent in sanctifying themselves (Mainly because priestly leadership had walked hand in hand with evil kings, v 34)

When the message was proclaimed, it was greeted with scoffing (Ch 30 v 10)

They had a lot of altars to idols to remove (C30 v14)

And a majority of the people faithful enough to come had not properly sanctified themselves (C30v17)

And yet, with obedience and prayer, it was accomplished swiftly, by God preparing the people! And He could do it again, too, for today's Church- if there was any to desire it.

 

 

The Better part, Day#13:

2Ch 28:22 And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz.

I said I didn't want to get political, but here it is, laid out. We have a King of Judah, reeling from defeat by Syria, a defeat caused " for he had given up all self-control in Judah, sinning greatly against the Lord" (v19). So he decided that if you can't beat them, join them (2Ch 28:23 For he sacrificed to the gods of Damascus that had defeated him and said, "Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me." But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel), and now, he was going to be evermore known as "THAT King Ahaz."

It was then, like we discussed last time, that the Temple was shut up, the lamps were put out, and the tools were cast aside. And anyone that could have mis-seen him as a man of God had their eyes open.

His legacy from then on was so bad, that "they buried him in the city, in Jerusalem, for they did not bring him into the tombs of the kings of Israel" (v27). To me, this hits as a rather chilling parallel...

 

 

The Better Part, Day #14:

Pro 10:9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

This further expands the Day #8 post. I look at my life and instead of seeing the straight path, I see myself zig-zagging, weaving in and out, almost as if I think I can do it too fast for God to see. I come away scarred inside with broken toes and briar cuts. How long, o Lord, until this body of flesh understands it's just not worth it?

Time Machine co-ordinates VICXLXIV6581856

 

One can't get away from violence, it seems.  We left our sorry present to emerge on January 8th, 1956- the day the Waodani tribe in South America speared to death five missionaries.  But  one of the martyrs' sons and sister returned 3 years later, and now the 'killers'- who had no cultural restriction on killing, no word for 'peace', and a tradition of cyclical 'revenge killings' that had nearly extincted them- have given their lives to the Lord.

That is the son of one of the martyrs, and 2nd from left is the man who killed his dad- a man who learned from their willingness to return a better way.

But hey, now, this is a music show, and though I'm gonna have to look back to figure out who we've got introducing them, we have songs to appreciate!  BTW, that POTM guest is Rod Stewart!  We do have Rod Stewart, right, Nardole?

N:  Yes, and at the proper age as well!

Well, all right!  Then let's get the show started, with the new debut at #10!  It is a sequel to a track, Mexico, on the band's debut lp back in 1976 and comes off their new lp Comet- this is Firefall...

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Greetings to you, Sir Rod!

Wow!  You mean to say I'm getting a knighthood?

Oops, yeah in about 40 years- 60, from where we are...

Wow!  You mean I'm still alive in 40 years?

Yeah, you and Keith Richards and Roger Daltrey, I think!  We've lost a lot of you old guys- like Gerry Marsden of the Pacemakers a few days ago...

That's a right shame, though I must say I have no plans of living forever!

So we're back in 1956, at which time you're an 11-year old aspiring footballer who just got to see Bill Haley's Comets not long ago.  And, I found out, we have something in common.

Really?  What might that be?

We're the babies of our families by a long stretch- me by ten years, you by 8!

But see, that's how we get off with such an easy childhood.  Between flat spoiling and our parents not being as spry as they used to be...

Yep, your parents were 41 and 40 when you were born, mine were 44 and 40!

I hope you don't think that makes us 'soul brothers' or 'long lost relatives', or somesuch...

Oh, no, just think it's kinda cool.  So we didn't have all that close a race, with but 6 songs from 14 stations, but the fans don't know that, so how about you give us the list they get to choose from?

Of course, that's what the little bald guy... Norton, I think- told me.

Um, that's Nar...

N:  Just go with Norton.  I don't care anymore, and it's better than 'Noodle'.

Okay... let 'er rip, Rod!

All right, we start with Dean Martin's Memories Are Made Of This, #2 on the Cashbox charts...

Then we have Barry Gordon with Ain't Gettin' Nuthin' For Christmas at #12...

Nelson Riddle's Lisbon Antigua at #22...

The Platters have The Great Pretender at #7...

The week's #1, Tennessee Ernie Ford's 16 Tons...

...and to close it out, Frank Sinatra and The Tender Trap at #27!

Thanks, Sir Rod!  I have to let you know that the winner matched the total of the other five combined, so... yes, Rod?

Well, I've heard about your Overseas, If You Please, and I should like to do that as well!

Sure, but you should know that this far back, we only have #1s for the UK and Australia.

Two it is, then!  The top song in Australia is Mitch Miller's Yellow Rose Of Texas; and in England, what else but....

...Bill Haley and his Comets and Rock Around The Clock!

No wonder you wanted to do this!  Anyway, I have a quick couple features for y'all- right after we play the new song at #8!  This is Local Opener- one half of M10er Okey Dokey- again with Dent May...

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Our 6D starts and ends with a native American name:  The starter is Wonga, which was Phil Harris's real first name!  It is Cherokee for "Fast messenger", and Phil was pretty 'wonga' singing voiceover hits for Disney as the cartoon characters Thomas O'Malley on O'Malley the Alley Cat  (The Aristocats) and Baloo the Bear on The Bear Necessities (The Jungle Book).  Both these were Terry Gilkeyson comps, who also wrote Memories Are Made Of This!  And that tune got not only Dean Martin votes, but on Cashbox it was combined for three weeks with those of Gail Storm's second single- which hit #16 solo on Billboard.  Her first charter, though, was at #3 without a panel vote- her version of I Hear You Knocking!  BTW, Gail's real middle name was Owaissa- a Norridgewock Indian word for bluebird.

"Tell me! Everyone is picking up on that feline beat / 'Cause everything else is obsolete!"

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Now, over New Year's Eve, I decided I was going to play every song that was #1 on  NYE from 1945 right on through!  I got to 1991 and Madonna's Justify My Love- a bad Love To Love You Baby impression IMHO- and with a song I truly despise in my rear view (Olivia Newton-John's Physical) and another in the headlights (Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You), I bailed early.  But... I did go on to write all of them down- 92 with 17 times Billboard and Cashbox disagreed- and pick my personal top 20.  So I thought I would share half tonight and half next week! (Thus cutting the size of the post, saving money, and eliminating the need for a fresh feature next week, also saving money- H Bellbottom)  Here are the lower half of my personal picks of my best all time NYE #1s!

20- Elvis, Are You Lonesome To-Nite? (1961)

19- Beatles, I Feel Fine (1965 BB)

18- Marvin Gaye, I Heard It Through The Grapevine (1969)

17- Wang Chung, Everybody Have Fun Tonight (1987 CB)

16- Nickleback, How You Remind Me (2002 BB)

15- Jim Croce, Time In A Bottle (1974 BB)

14- Santana w/Rob Thomas, Smooth (2000 BB)

13- Swing And Sway With Sammy Kaye, The Old Lamplighter (1947)

12- John Lennon, Just Like Starting Over (1981)

and 11- Charlie Rich, The Most Beautiful Girl (1974 CB)

As we close this feature for week #1, let me add that out of the 92, I actually knew 54 of them!  Next week, I'll let you know who had the most individual hits on the all time list!

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The remaining M10:

Ringo moves up one to 9 with Here's To The Nights.

The Cactus Blossom hold at 7 with Happy Man.

Elton John moves up 2 to 6 with The Girl On Angel Pavement.

Back up a spot is former #1 Matthew Sweet, at 5 with At A Loss.

Alkonost makes Superstar status with their 7th M10, Bird moving up 1 to #4.

Jason Isbell- verrrry grudgingly- slips to 3 with Dreamsicle.

Molly Parden moves into that 2 spot with Kitchen Table.  

And holding on top for a second week:

....Saintseneca and Ladder To The Sun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And as for the Panel...

Sinatra, Tennessee Ernie, Barry Gordon, and Nelson Riddle all got just one vote for 7%.

The Platters managed 21.4%.

And the winner, with 50% of the vote... 

... Dean Martin and Memories Are Made Of This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

C'mon back next week- you know it's always a blast with Dino in the house!

Wednesday Bible Study: The end of all things- Obadiah

 

The single-chapter book of Obadiah was a challenge.  On the surface it is a one message to one nation and all fulfilled.  The one Nation was Edom, the people sprung from Jacob's brother Esau; the one message was its judgment, which is obviously fulfilled.  But as I worked on and through it, God told me to "seek Christmas in Obadiah"- and I thought, where is CHRISTMAS in Obadiah?  But on praying about it, God showed me where.

It's in SYMMETRY.  David Jeremiah went through a list of the symmetries of Jesus's life, starting with how the baby Jesus was first laid in a manger never used for a bed, and at the last laid in a tomb never used for a body.  There are so many more- like how Satan's lone 'victory' over Jesus was actually his greatest defeat- but we're doing Obadiah, so what is the symmetry there?

Well, first you have to understand the non-Biblical history of Edom, and how it is perfectly captured by the prophet.  Obadiah starts right off with the temptation that led to Edom's sin:

Oba 1:1  The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord GOD concerning Edom: We have heard a report from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!"

This was when Babylon came to crush Jerusalem for the final time.  The Kingdom of Edom, long dominated by Judah, joined in the attack and the spoils.  Most of the book is about how Edom "On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. " (V11)  God considered Judah and Edom brothers, as were Jacob and Esau, and their participation in its fall was the unforgivable sin.

Oba 1:6  How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out!
Oba 1:7  All your allies have driven you to your border; those at peace with you have deceived you; they have prevailed against you; those who eat your bread have set a trap beneath you-- you have no understanding.
Oba 1:8  Will I not on that day, declares the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?
Oba 1:9  And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

So what happened next was, as the Edomites moved into the hills of southern Judah, other tribes began to force the remnant out of their ancient fastness in the mountains of the Negev.  Eventually they were Hellenized, became known as Idumeans- the people from which the Herods would spring.  Except for religion, they became indistinguishable from the Jews- and here's where the symmetry comes in.

Oba 1:15  For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.

In AD 70, in the Jewish revolt in which Israel was (seemingly) forever scattered, the Idumeans joined with the Jews in the revolt AND the defeat.  And where the first fall they came in as looters, after this second fall they disappeared completely from the pages of history- thus fulfilling that part of the prophecy.

But wait, there's more- as you should know from that last verse's mention of "the Day of the Lord."

Oba 1:16  For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be as though they had never been.

Oba 1:20  The exiles of this host of the people of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath, and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
Oba 1:21  Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion to rule Mount Esau, and the kingdom shall be the LORD's.

Just like most apocalyptic prophecy, there is the present, the near future, and the far future.  The present was Edom's Pyrrhic victory over Judah; the near future was their erasure from history after the Jewish revolt; and the far future is where the evil nations- perhaps the nations of today- receive that same fate when Jesus returns to found His kingdom on Earth.  Now, I want to show you some verses where this becomes a lesson to nations such as our own:

Oba 1:3  The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to the ground?"
Oba 1:4  Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.
Oba 1:5  If thieves came to you, if plunderers came by night-- how you have been destroyed!-- would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleanings?
Oba 1:6  How Esau has been pillaged, his treasures sought out!
Oba 1:8  Will I not on that day, declares the LORD, destroy the wise men out of Edom, and understanding out of Mount Esau?
Oba 1:9  And your mighty men shall be dismayed, O Teman, so that every man from Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.

This both applies to our nation, and those who think that their intelligence tells them there IS no God.  Wisdom not based on God won't hold up; power not based on God will not last.  In an upcoming era where we can expect a new administration to forsake their alliance with Israel, how will our nation escape this same judgment- and how, if you reject the concept of God, will you escape it?

Martin World News

 

Here we go, spanning the globe in trying to find unusual, not-oft-repeated, and somewhat lighthearted events that you get rarely elsewhere, and never without the my precious pearls of wisdom accompanying them!

Story # 1: The funny sh... er, stuff- God created

 Headline: "Box seat: scientists solve the mystery of why wombats have cube-shaped poo", from London's The Guardian

 Frankly, I didn't even know the poor dears pooped cubes, but there it is...

Apparently scientists were baffled at how a non-cubic bu- er, you know- could produce poop briquettes, but after one enterprising vet opened up a wombat hit by a car, he found that the were cubes before reaching, shall we say, the light at the end of the tunnel.  Again apparently, the bugger's intestines have a 'some rigid, some flexible' quality that shapes the pooplet. I don't remember that functionality on my Play-Doh squeezer back in the day...

Story # 2:  In Russia, it is ALL Government

Headline: "Ex-PM Medvedev regrets his Twitter account is marked as a government one", from Tass

 Dmitry Medvedev had a personal twitter account- no, he hasn't dropped it over censorship or 'Cossack Lives Matter' or anything like that- with 4.6 MILLION followers.  His problem- he sits on Russia's Security Council, and since Twitter, according to him, considers Russia one of a group of  "countries with which relations are not very simple", it automatically gets shoved into a government account.  Which means, he's got a personal account which is government whether he likes it or not.  Which also means he can't just share that meme about Putin and the drunken Polar Bear without consequences...

Story # 3: This is a prize?  To each their own...

Headline: "Swedish Covid nurse to watch entire film festival alone in lighthouse", from BBC News

 And yes, Lisa Enroth won this as her prize which she applied for and beat out 12,000 other fans of the Goteborg Film Festival- alone (save for one security person to watch out for her) with a lighthouse and a 60 movie package that everyone else will have to pay to stream. " Ms Enroth, who said she has been "drained of energy" due to the pandemic, will spend a week living alone in the Pater Noster lighthouse on Hamneskar island, without a phone, computer, books or any other form of entertainment."

Me, I'd be drained of energy trying to watch all those movies.  No word on the popcorn concession...

 

Story # 4: Think, 'Hansel and Gretl'...

Headline:  "Russian Artist Brings Baba Yaga Lego Set to Life" from Moscow Times

Baba Yaga, the old grandmotherly type that consumes bad little boys and girls, is being pitched to become a Lego set.

(Artem) Bizyaev’s Lego design includes figures of Baba Yaga as well as her companions Vasilisa the Fair, Bayun the cat and Vova the frog — plus, of course, Baba Yaga’s hut on chicken legs.

The hut comes equipped with all the accessories an ancient witch of the forest might need, from cookware and dishes to the giant mortar she uses to fly around in her free time.

While Baba Yaga is notorious for her child-eating ways, she also occasionally helps other Slavic folk characters who happen to wander into her forest. But only occasionally. 

 Friday it was announced that Artem and BY had received the votes needed in the Lego design contest to be considered for commercial production.  I wonder when the Freddy Kruger set gets pitched...

Story # 5: Off again, on again, gone again, Harrigan

Headline: "Banned 1969 British royal family documentary leaked on YouTube swiftly taken down" from The South African

In 1969, a 110-minute film documenting a week in the life of England's Royal Family came out.  It was meant to "humanize" the Windsors, but in their opinion it did more to satirize them, with bits where Elizabeth compared the American ambassador to a gorilla, and other such bits to which critic Michael McCaffrey says:

“That premise doesn’t fare so well when the Queen goes through her stunning jewelry collection, marveling at the glorious history of pillaging that has bequeathed her such impressive accoutrements.” 

After it was originally shown, the BBC had it suggested to them it never see the light of day.  Which it wouldn't have, except for Netflix.  Their show, The Crown, apparently discussed the making of the show... which led an unknown someone to get ahold of the original and leak it to YouTube.

Story # 6: You could've at least bought me dinner...

Headline: "Man finds gold coins in Germany, but reward unlikely" from Deutsche Welle

So this guy was working a landscaping detail in a dink town called Dinklage (see what I did there?) in NW Germany, and stumbled onto several buried plastic containers that contained an estimated $600,000+ in gold and other cash.  He dutifully reported it to the police, expecting a reward.  However, the cache was, according to the court, neither lost (as it had been purposefully hidden) nor a 'lost treasure' (as several coins were minted 2016, so they couldn't really be considered under the treasure law).  Rub is, the cops haven't been able to locate an owner (can you say, 'inefficient laundering of money?').

Story # 7: More monkey see, monkey do

Headline: "Mysterious monoliths make multiple appearances in Finland" from Helsinki Times

Our final story is a familiar one to some of us- first, it was in Utah where the "monolith" thing occurred.  And now, it has spread at least to Finland-

The story says that "several" have appeared there, including this one in Nurmijärvi, so I looked the phenomenon up, and here's what I found:

Ahmenabad, India

Casablanca, Morocco

4 in Austria

3 in Belgium

Zlin district, Czech Republic

4 in Finland

4 in France

10 in Germany

A field near Budapest, Hungary

5 in Italy

4 in the Netherlands

Kristiansand, Norway

2 in Poland (one roped off for a possible increase in area radiation)

2 in Romania....

I was going to list them all, but got scrolling down the article and found I had well over 60 more to report, including one not far from here in Angola, Indiana, in Bird Song Park with the Roman numerals for '2020' marked on it.  And doesn't THAT just figure!

The Better Part, week #1

 

Last week, I announced that I was doing something- a devotional, of sorts- on FB every day called "The Better Part.  I thought I would collect them here on Sunday from now on.

Welcome to my new years resolution:

The better part, day one:

 

Mar 12:41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.

Mar 12:42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.

Mar 12:43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.

Mar 12:44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." 

 

This spoke to me in an unusual way when I heard it this morning. I have, over the last couple of years, developed an arrogant habit of just tossing pennies away- on the ground, in the

'I don't want this' cup at work, or anonymous places in my bedroom. For this woman, something far less in value was far more valuable. I believe I shall make a change and save this change, collecting it for those who may need a few pennies. I started with two of 'em I left sitting on the break room table. Lord help me to focus on things of real value this coming year.

 

 

The Better Part, day 2:

 

Psa 5:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Jehovah; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and I will look up. 

 

Notice the emphasis on morning. Why is that? David Jeremiah gave us a clue today- I shall try to paraphrase:

"God is a start-over God. Every 24 hours, we get a new morning to start over. Every 7 days, we get a new week, and every four or five weeks, a new month. God could have run all that time together in a bundle. But instead He put us on a planet that every 365 days goes around the sun and comes to its starting point- and it starts over. Even non-believers have a sense of a new year being a place where they can start over- and so can we. God divided time into sections because He IS a start-over God. Jesus died for us so we could start over. And His mercies are new every morning."

Don't let Satan talk you into dragging yesterday's mistakes and missed opportunities into today. The favorite thing for me that Jesus ever said was, "See? I make all things new."

 

 

The Better part, day #3:

 

Psa 5:3 My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Jehovah; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and I will look up. (Yes, the same verse as yesterday)

 

Over the years, I have heard a lot of SM arguing about 'correct posture in prayer/church', which I find extremely silly. But this part gives us a valuable lesson. David is praising God in the morning, and in attitude of praise, he looks UP. Think about this: What do you see when you look down? Your feet (where YOU are headed), your body (needs, desires), and your hands (what YOU can do). On the other hand, if you look up- whether you're under the open sky, the unfurnitured, uncluttered ceiling, or just in the shapeless dark- you see a fragment of the unbelievable vastness of God. How much easier to praise when He is big and you are small.

 

 

The Better part, day #4:

 

Job 42:5 I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye has seen You.

Job 42:6 Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes. 

 

Sometime in the wee morning hours I heard that first verse compared to going from what the world might call prayer to what God calls prayer. And as I studied it, I saw that this is exactly the case: Job, like us, had been going through the motions- devoutly, but without a personal relationship to the God he worshiped. But now, after he ceased protesting his righteousness, shut up and LISTENED, He SAW God- not as something far off but as SomeONE very close. Lord, let me come to you as he did after, not before.

 

 

The better part, day# 5:

 

Rom 7:21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 

 

Last night, a pastor was using this passage to explain how there were 2 types of struggling Christian: The perfectionist, who uses the law to make himself do better, and the defeatist who looks at the Law's impossibility and says, "I can't do it, may as well give up". The first fails to take the power of sin seriously; "Even if, for one day, he can say, 'I did it!' ", the pastor said, "All that would do is make him believe he didn't need a savior." The second- into which category I fall- takes the power of sin seriously, but not the power that Christ gives him to resist it.

Chuck Swindoll this morning mused on the topic in telling a story of a staff meeting. "I used to go to church," a staffer said, "to serve and to be a better person." Chuck asked, "And why do you go now?" He answered, "Because I love Jesus!" And if we love Jesus, it becomes something other than attempting and failing to obey rules.

 

 

The Better part, day #6:

 

Heb 5:7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.

Heb 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 

 

There are at least three lessons about prayer in these 2 verses. The first, it is NOT forbidden to cry out to the Father "with loud cries and tears." God didn't give us emotions to repress them before Him. BUT... the second is, "He was heard because of His REVERENCE. It was coming to our Father with respect, praise, worship, that got His cries an audience. And third- He was heard- but didn't get the answer He asked for ("Remove this cup from me"). But in not getting the answer He wanted He learned obedience. And He had to do that by submitting to "Not my will, but Thine, be done." Our prayers are like that as well. "This is what I want... but lead me to what YOU want."

 

 

The Better part, day #7:

 

Mat 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Mat 7:22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?'

Mat 7:23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' 

 

I was reminded last night that this was the verse that haunted ME until I was saved by the grace of Christ. Growing up Catholic, you can get the impression that as long as you at least hit the high holy days and confession around Easter and Christmas, you should be okay... but I could never shake the "Lord, Lord" feeling until the dark night I gave it all to Him. Even then, I didn't understand that I was embarking on a different journey- that from now on, 'being a good person' and 'knowing there is a God' wasn't enough. And that knowledge needs to expand... the journey isn't over yet!