I hope I don't get zapped for this, but chapter 13 of 2 Corinthians is, in my muddled opinion, Paul at his most obtuse. No matter which version I read, I have to go about three times around the barn before I distill out the point he's trying to make, which I believe goes like this:
If I have to come back to Corinth and chew you all out yet again, because you brick-heads are listening to people who claim I don't know what I'm talking about, it will make me look like I AM doing my job. However, I would RATHER look 'weak' in those people's eyes, because that would mean that you all are doing what you SHOULD be doing, and I could visit with all smiles and cuddles.
That about it, Paul?
Hmmm...
Most of that is wrapped around the one solid no-matter-how-you-read-it pair of verses in the whole chapter:
2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 2Co 13:6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.
Here is where Paul turns the doubters' question back on them: Are YOU in good shape faith-wise? IF they were strong in faith, they would see the leading of Christ IN them- and thus, they would be in accord with Paul. If they don't have Christ in them, then Paul had indeed failed- as his goal was to bring Christ TO them. But what was happening, as had been happening in Corinth previously, you had a bunch of "Korah, Dathan, and Abiram"s (see Numbers 16), trying to tell everyone that they were as knowledgeable about Spiritual matters as Paul and Apollos (thus why Apollos refused to return to Corinth one assumes, last week). Those three tried the same thing with Moses; they got swallowed alive into hell for their troubles. Why didn't Paul just come there and do the same? Well for one, he shouldn't have to, since they had the Scriptures; for another, consider what Jesus said when James and John wanted to give the Samaritans the ol' Sodom and Gomorrah treatment:
Luk 9:52 And He sent messengers before His face. And they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him. Luk 9:53 And they did not receive Him, because His face was going toward Jerusalem. Luk 9:54 And seeing, His disciples James and John said, Lord, do You desire that we command fire to come down from Heaven and consume them, even as Elijah did? Luk 9:55 But He turned and rebuked them and said, You do not know of what spirit you are. Luk 9:56 For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save. And they went to another village.
"Not to destroy men's lives, but to save." The ball game had changed from the OT days. When you are a child and are disobedient, you (should) get a whupping. When you are older, it is time to learn by explanation- a concept Paul was having a time trying to get through to this church. Later on though (v11), he gives them the 5-point plan to be at peace (rather than war) with God:
-Rejoice!
- Perfect yourself (meaning 'be thoroughly equipped', so Paul doesn't have to read the riot act when he comes because you'll KNOW what to say to these doubters)
- Encourage yourselves
- Be of ONE mind (not like the incessant debating of the people calling them into question)
- Live peaceably
Because all of these debaters and doubters are trying to divide the Church against itself by appealing to their old, I-love-an-argument nature.
So see, Paul? If you'd have just started THERE and worked your way back up to where I started....
You know, these aren't that easy to come by. Her ability to scare everything off combined with nothing being around, and what little there is around beating hasty retreats, my will to fight with my camera's stupid "only at room temps" batteries is a bit shrivled. Nevertheless, here are some I have snapped lately...
This set was from one week ago. Here we are at the Swamp...
At least she's not chasing joggers anymore...
This will be fun in a few months when the green slime returns...
My best attempt at an entire tree full of squirrels running around like they just got back from Starbucks. The brown object upper middle is the only one I got.
"But how do I get up there?"
We now move to Saturday. This was what I posted Sunday on FB.
The text with it was:
Highlights of Misty's walk:
1- Tries to take poop, cuts loud fart
2- Gets teased by squirrel who looks at her eye-level from across the trail on a tree going 'nyah nyah'; She chases him up the tree, loses sight of him, sees him back on the other side of trail, breaks the plastic loop to my handless doggie belt while in pursuit, goes no farther b/c she wraps leash around the tree while in pursuit
3- Tries repeatedly to wade into river to chase geese, amuses old man sitting in his truck watching
4-Impersonates a Pointer (see picture)
This was after the first squirrel teased her and before the other one made her break the belt...
She is NOT a one-person selfie dog...
Sunday morning...
This is a bird she just chased from 2 different 'safe spots' on the ground and up into a tree.
This is her trying to grasp that birds, as well as squirrels, can go up into trees.
Sure sign of spring- redwings back in force
And finally, one from today...
Watching the two ducks she just scared out of the Duck Pond sailing away...
Yes, that's not Jesus at the top of a Sunday Message. That's Chipper, and those of you that follow my Time Machine posts know that he is part of a video by Real Estate called Paper Cup- a video I told you was "the dumbest thing that ever made me cry." And as it turned, it taught me a valuable lesson about grief. I have a lot of friends who have dealt with long-standing grief, losing partners, even years later. And I admit, sometimes their marking of such anniversaries puzzled me.
But it turns out the thing that puzzled me there also kept me from figuring just WHY the Chipper video made me cry every time (and still is). But a few nights back, I stopped and read some of the comments on the video on YouTube. There were a LOT of people who had reactions just like I did. Some of them were just as confused about it as I was, others had it dialed right in. And one of those answered my question with his comment about why it hit him so hard:
This reminds me of when my boyhood dog died in my arms and waited to see me one last time before dying after my overnight shift (at) a group home ...
And it hit me so hard- I was the boy, and Chipper was Scrappy...
Which explained why I was beginning to have "bad Scrappy days" again, despite having Misty. And as I meditated about it, I realized what my friends already knew- it's not good to build a new 'love of my life' over an old foundation. And as I prayed, I heard Jesus' words in Mark 2- a verse that I had always struggled with the deeper meaning of...
Mar 2:21 And no one sews a patch of unmilled cloth on an old garment, else it takes away its fullness, the new from the old, and a worse tear occurs. Mar 2:22 And no one puts new wine into old skins, else the new wine bursts the skins, and the wine pours out, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh skins.
And that is really what was happening- I was trying to pour new wine into old wineskins. I was telling myself that I wasn't 'allowed to ' think about losing Scrappy anymore, because it wouldn't be fair to Misty. But what wasn't fair to Misty was using her as an excuse to suppress honest grief.
A lot of you already got that. I get it now. And thanks be to a merciful God who gives us the ability to keep the old wine, and put the new wine in new skins.
Today we come in on March 6, 1962- T-minus-71 days until I make my squawling entrance into the world, and the midst of the Great Ash Wednesday Nor'easter of 1962. This was an AWESOIME storm- the tenth most powerful in the USA in the 20th century- and rather than tell you about it, let me give you a few hunks of the story via The Weather Channel:
Nearly all of Sea Isle City, New Jersey's, 1,200 residents were forced to evacuate their homes, many of which became submerged in up to 5 feet of water. Many Cape May, New Jersey, residents had to leave after they lost electricity, water, heat and sewage facilities during the storm. Atlantic City, New Jersey, was inundated with 25-foot waves and wind gusts as high as 58 mph... In the Atlantic Ocean, the nor'easter split a 500-foot Liberian tanker in two, and it took three Navy destroyers to rescue the 27 men left stranded in the stern. A cruise ship sent a lifeboat for the remaining three men in the bow. Unfortunately, 15 men out of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, were lost at sea on fishing trawlers... The American Red Cross credited the death toll at 40 people along the East Coast, 10 of them in New Jersey alone.
Winchester, Virginia, picked up 23 inches of snow from this event, the heaviest single snowfall on record in that city, at the time. As much as 42 inches of snow were measured in the adjacent Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia.
Snow was reported as far south as Alabama, and temperatures in the 30s plunged into portions of Florida.
In the meantime, it was 38 and breezy here in Fort Wayne. We had about 4/10ths of an inch of snow over the period.
And welcome to another Time Machine, in this episode we have a totally out of place Guess Who appearance, three new M10 debuts, and a Twist contest, no foolin'! So get yer dancin' shoes on, and prepare to swing it!
Our first debut is a real honor, because this artist has actually been IN my home! He's the hubby of a longtime bloggy friend who fulfilled a lifelong dream and got a record contract for an ep called Stranded in Transit. It's described as 'instrumental alternative soul', and while I never got a chance to chart one of the ep songs, he just released a new single whose title stems from an encounter while stepping out for a smoke with a neighborhood critter- A Song For An Opossum. He goes by the handle of Speaking In Squares, and he debuts at #10...
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Randy: So I'm a bit confused why we're here... something about 1962? Burton: Yeah, this was Chad's band back then...
Yeah, I know, let me try to sum things up. Last week, Percy Faith tried to insinuate that I had something against Canadian acts- and as my son can tell you, that was a crock. He tried to support his case by the fact you've never got voted in as POTM, which is not under my control. So I told him I was gonna have you on THIS week, and I brought you here from 1967 because you were closer to the lineup I grew up with and loved. And despite the fact we shorted Chubby Checker to bring you here, we have more than a few things to make up for his absence in this segment. Does that help?
Jim: Well, kinda... but why are we here?
Let me guess- Nardole forgot the briefing...
Gary: Is that the bald guy, the stuffed shirt, or the weird dude in the tux?
The bald guy. The weird dude is Wayne Newton.
J: Crazy.
So once again, I go to a site that has radio station charts from throughout history, pick the current week in a certain year, count up the #1 'votes' like an election, and have last week's winner- whom you all are standing in for- read off the top 3 or four songs for everyone who cares to to guess the winner from.
J: Can I just guess? I don't wanna read 'em off... R: Jimmy, just settle. So what's this list?
They're some items you can let the folks know about before you get to the finalists.
B: Okay, I think this'll work out... G: Sounds like a good lyric, man... B: Okay, I'll write it down here in a bit. Anyway, one of the votes went to Ketty Lester and Love Letters, which was the big mover, from #81 all the way to 40. G: Who was Ketty Lester? B: Some American Woman. Hmmm... anyway, the UK #1 song this week was also in the countdown- Elvis Presley with Can't Help Falling In Love. It was # 33 and going down in the USA. What was it in Canada, dude?
No idea, Google says there wasn't a Canadian Chart until 1964...
J: Oh, yeah... G: Like you knew that! Hey, what's the deal with this one at #135?
That was a real poser! Some classical-style composer named Elliot Evans got a vote for something called the X-15 Concerto. The flip side was the same thing arranged by Neal Hefti, best known by us neanderthals as the man who wrote the Batman TV show theme...
R: So we had 40 votes for 15 songs all together, and it looks like three of them make the final! Who wants to go first? J: I don't wanna do one. I just wanna guess. B: We know, Jim. Here, the first finalist is Bruce Channel's Hey Baby, at # 2 in the USA... G: The second one is Shelly Fabres and Johnny Angel at... hey, is this right?
Yep, she became the lowest charting finalist in Panel history, debuting just this week at #97....
R: Okay, and the last finalist is the number one, Gene Chandler and Duke Of Earl. Okay Jim, what do you wanna guess? J: I wanna guess His Girl by the Guess Who!
That's a great song, but you won't be doing it clear back in '62.
J: But we just did it last week at a show! R: Don't worry 'bout it, boss. We'll explain it to him...
Thanks, Randy, thanks everyone, it's been fun!
So here we go with a LIVE 6D! Those of us that listened to classic rock back in the day (the day in question being the mid-1980's) remember the late Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble, and in '85 he hit #17 on the mainstream rock charts with Look At Little Sister, an old blues tune first done by Hank Ballard and the Midnighters on their lp Mr Rhythm and Blues in 1960. Now another Hank Ballard tune plays heavily into today's post, as his band had a bit of a minor hit with a song that caught Dick Clark's ear. Dick wanted to have them do it on Bandstand, but they weren't available. So, kingmaker that he was, he found someone else locally who had a similar style to perform it, and the rest is history. In fact it is our 6D song sitting at #3 without a Panel vote- our good buddy Chubby and The Twist!
"What else you got for me, man?"
I'm so glad you asked, because this week in 1962- just after you hit #1 with The Twist for the SECOND time in 68 weeks- there were NINE songs that had something to do with the twist on the hot 100- 2 more in the bubbling under, including David Seville and Alvin's Twist! One of those songs, I left out (accidentally, but it works) because the 'twist' part was a subtitle (Billy Joe and the Checkmates with Percolator [Twist] ), but the other 8 Laurie and I listened to in a somewhat warped version of
and we ranked them according to what we thought of them. So I'll quickly average the scores out and show you how we voted them...
With 2 of a possible score of 16, the Marvelettes with Twistin' Postman at #34 this week. We both found it incredibly annoying and put it last.
Scoring 5 points was Joey Dee and the Starlighters with Hey Let's Twist at #41. I put it next to last- I thought it a flat version of their OTHER hit; but Laurie didn't mind it and put it her #6.
With 6 points was an instrumental by King Curtis and his Noble Knights called Soul Twistin' at #72. I thought it was pretty funky (#5), but Laurie continued her campaign to wipe out instrumentals and put it at #7. (Just kidding, dear...)
With 8 points was the duet of Chubby and Dee Dee Sharp, Slow Twistin' at #71. I've always found it a bit too slow for my tastes (#6), but again Laurie saved their day (#4).
With 10 points, we begin the serious contenders with Gary US Bonds and Dear Lady Twist at #11. I'm big on GUSB, so I had it at my #3, while Laurie debated long and hard on the top ones, putting it at #5.
11 points means 3rd place for Joe Dee and the boys' OTHER hit, the Peppermint Twist at #8 on Cashbox this week. I think the difference for me is that I keep hearing the former #1 M10 cover of this by Sweet, and it weakened it for me (#4), while Laurie had it edging out GUSB for her #3.
And the top two we both agreed on- Chubby at the top with The Twist, and Sam Cooke next with his #21 this week, Twistin' The Night Away. Congrats, Chubby, winnah and still Champeen!
Gee whiz, and I have two debuts yet to play- and now I gotta do 'em back to back! The first at #9 I actually got from last week's Thumbs segment! I believe my comment was, "Wow...just wow!" From 1963, here are the Duprees...
And, at #7, their second M10 hit- and first since 4 years and one month ago- from the new lp Always Tomorrow, this is Best Coast...
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The remaining M10:
Agnes Obel moves up 2 with Camera's Rolling...
White Reaper, with a song that has been on my top tens shuffle since Christmas, holds at 8 with Might Be Right...
Fertile Crescent gets rudely shoved back one spot with Onion Garden...
Zooming up 4 spots with a cover from the Beatles' White Album, Brooke Annibale is at #4 with I Will...
Ozzie and Elton slip out of the top to #3 with Ordinary Man...
Anna Burch to #2 with Party's Over....
And a song that is going to lead into a Sunday Message post this week, a song I learned last night that many, many people have had the same reaction that I had (namely, crying)...
...Real Estate and Paper Cup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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And the Panel picks?
If you chose the Duke, you got 15%...
If you took Bruce Channel, you got 20%...
But your winner- from #97 this week, with a whopping 25%...
...Shelly Fabres and Johnny Angel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And you better darn well believe SHE'S gonna be on the show! Be here then for 1963!
First of all, let me apologize for my dumb scheduling skills that had two posts come out on the same day. At the other hand, as I told myself then, obviously God had someone in mind who needed to see both posts.
Next, we are on to the end of 1 Corinthians- chapter 16. Much like Colossians, this is a 'be sure to greet' ending, but two points screamed at me to look at- and I have spent all week trying to ingrain the bigger one into my head. The other, like last week, is a contrast between two of Paul's fellow workers. Last time, it was Mark and Demas; this time it is Timothy and Apollos.
1Co 16:10 When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. 1Co 16:11 So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers. 1Co 16:12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
Backdrop on Timothy: He's a good preacher, full of the Spirit, but young and a bit timid and not of a real robust constitution...
1Ti 5:23 No longer drink water, but use a little wine on account of your stomach and your frequent infirmities.
Let's not get into the drinking ramifications here, only the idea that he got sick a lot.
2Ti 1:6 For which cause I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.
2Ti 1:7 For God did not give a spirit of cowardice to us, but of power and of love and of self-control.
2Ti 1:8 Then do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, His prisoner. But suffer hardship with the gospel, according to the power of God...
I should put in a bit on the timeline here, and since I recently re-discovered my favorite source (as wiki likes to play "Bible deniers"), this is how it's publishers feel the evidence shows it playing out. They put our target letter at about 56 AD. So this would be Timothy's first exposure to the wider world of personal ministry. 1 Timothy came, some believe, at the beginning of his service in Ephesus in 62 or 63; 2 Timothy came about 3 years later, after he was established there. So the reminder in 2 Timothy 1 is a reminder to a young-ish pastor to stand his own ground in the faith, and I would guess Paul wouldn't have said it without reason.
And then, why would Paul have to warn the world-wise, back-bickering Corinthians to 'lay off the kid'? Well, the commentators believe that has to do with the next part- why Apollos had no plan to go to Corinth at the present time. Earlier on in the letter, Paul describes the Corinthians as given to listening to only one pastor or another...
1Co 1:11 For concerning you, my brothers, it was shown to me by those of Chloe that there are strifes among you.
1Co 1:12 But I say this, that each of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ.
1Co 1:13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized into the name of Paul?
1Co 3:4 For when one may say, Truly I am of Paul, and another, I of Apollos; are you not fleshly?
1Co 3:5 What then is Paul? And what Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, and to each as the Lord gave?
1Co 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God made to grow.
1Co 3:7 So as neither he planting is anything, nor he watering, but God making to grow.
1Co 3:8 So he planting and he watering are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
Evidently, as Apollos tried to 'water', the Corinthians gave him backsass about, "That's not what Paul said,", or, "That's not what Peter said", and he was well done with it. But Paul, in addressing these things together shows us much of value.
First, about the power of forgiveness. I think the fight over Mark in Acts really changed Paul; he had to learn that there was a time to push off, and a time to repair. I think he understood that Apollos had been hurt by the Church in Corinth, and would need some time to heal. And I think he also understood that these people, if they could do so to the strong personality of Apollos, they would really tear up the milder spirit of Timothy. So a warning, both to this church and ours- be careful how you treat your shepherds. They may be your servants in the Lord, but a servant does not equal a dishrag, as apparently it did to the so-recently entitled Corinthians.
Now, the part that really hit ME is the very next verse in the chapter.
1Co 16:13 Watch! Stand fast in the faith! Be men! Be strong!
Watch: Being awake in prayer is what this means. There is not a day left to blow off prayers 'because I don't feel like it'. Not then, not now.
Stand fast: Pretty self explanatory, other than this means weighing EVERYTHING that happens EVERT DAY in that same scale.
Be Men: Don't think of this gender-wise; translate it, "Don't act like a baby!" An especially appropriate message to this lot, who were a lot like those addressed in Hebrews 5:
Heb 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,
Heb 5:13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.
Heb 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
That two very different groups have need of that same message shows that this is a problem for ALL of us.
Be strong: This is the one that turned me around on this post. For, the translation...
From G2900; to empower, that is, (passively) increase in vigor: - be strengthened, be (wax) strong.
"BE strengthened..." a reminder that the strength to DO these things doesn't come from us.
Thus, the words
Awake
Stand fast
Be a man
Be strengthened
are now pasted up in my work area, right next to the items I learned from the study on Jericho we did a while back, because they tie together. They are all part of the daily doing of God's will.
Sunday was babysitting day, while Mom and Dad went to work out. It looks like a nice peaceful day, right? Well...
First problem encountered was a fussy Wiggles who was, in fact, hungry. So I doo-bee-dooed a little song to him, and he chilled until the bottle was warm. This took more time than expected because this bottle apparently refused to yield temperature testing liquid to Laurie's wrist.
With Laurie feeding Wiggles, the next hiccup was that we weren't thinking about that Peanut is potty training. By the time we figured out what he was asking, I got halfway across the room and heard, "Too late." I sat him on the pot while Laurie checked for the backup pants that Mom and Dad did NOT send. So I texted Mom. She returned, "Crap we're almost done let him run around naked we do". The next hour then became a constant battle to keep Peanut from polishing his tools (Although he did pat me and say 'It's okay' when I apologized for missing his need to pee), a game at which he became increasingly clever. Needless to say, I'M not playing with those toy workbench pegs anymore...
Next came what might look like a nice easy round of pictures... except first, Wiggles wouldn't smile for the camera until I got behind Laurie and made faces, and the usually photogenic Peanut, strategically behind the table, refused to pose for the first time since he was Wiggles's age. Moments later, Peanut was swinging his things over Wiggles head. When I yelled at him, he goes, "I was only teasing." If you only knew, this kid doesn't have a vast vocabulary yet, so that was a real gut-buster.
In between all of this, I had a dog who wanted her turn at play as well, and I was playing catch with one boy and fetch with one dog. Somewhere in all this, Wiggles dumped a room clearer that made Peanut whip out his favorite phrase, "Did you poop?" Amazingly, for all the red face and the room-emptying noxiousness, the diaper sustained no damage.
And just for a fine finale, Wiggles likes to stand. And dance. So I had him up by his hands, doing the twist, and he was loving it! Laurie tried to video his dance to share on FB- when right at the end, a tiny bare butt made a brief cameo appearance. So much for that.
By the time Mom and Dad got home, we were down to one pouting bare-butt boy, one passed out on Grandma baby, and one doggie still trying to figure out what the heck just happened. Good times.
A quick one here, about elephants, the ones that get in the room. We had a sermon last week about fear keeping us from what we need to do in the Lord, and one statement from it played into my Monday last week. You see, as the Pastor was telling his personal story of fear, he described his first oversea air trip. He at some point fought with his fear telling him he would end up 'One with the Caribbean'. This is the part that would get me.
You see, I knew two things that had bugged me all weekend- that we were coming up on some longer hours at work, and that I would rant and pout and do all the things I normally do when I feel my 'God-given right to work 40 hours' is about to be abridged. And I tried all weekend, right up into Monday morning, to pray about it, and all weekend, God kept telling me, "That's Monday. Concern yourself with today."
And Monday came and I made it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Little things became huge disasters, 'calm responses' came out of my mouth snappy, and I ended up trying to un-convince the Plant Mgr that my upset was over WORKING the OT- which in my head I accepted because we need the $. My problem was that I had let my reactions to everything else become the reactions I feared.
And when I finally managed a prayer that wasn't a frustration-laden tirade, you know what I heard in my head?
"I have become one with the Caribbean."
And when I got that I was pushing on the butt of an elephant I built my house around, trying to get him out, it was over. I can't say the rest of the week went exactly smooth, or that the OT did NOT hit (it did), but I did get back up on 'dry land' the rest of the week. Lesson being: When you TRULY seek wisdom on a thing from God, remember He teaches NO lesson he doesn't teach step-by-step.
A lone man looking for means of expression in a tsunami of information. Seeking truth justice and the American way in the perspective of a Nixon conservative. And the Commissioner of the free world's smallest and best fantasy football league.
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