Moses the scholar

I heard some people in the last couple of weeks that held the view that Moses borrowed his story from his era and his cosmology(*) was full of inconsistencies.

Ironically, Moses was thousands of years ahead of his time. Around his time, it was thought and taught that the earth and moon came from the corpse of the 'mother god'.

Moses taught that there was a real creation, and before this time there was not a universe.

Moses wrote that life was created from the first life (plant life) . . . down until there was man.

It would be a thousand years before scientists (many and very educated men and women) would begin to write a theory of cosmology that would begin to compare to that of the theory that Moses wrote of.

A shepherd that says God told him to write the theory? Or many men and women that are still writing their theories?

I believe that Moses was closer than we like to think. Why wouldn't I believe that? I have read and studied Moses and a significant portion of modern evolutionary theory (a major branch of modern cosmology).

Either Moses was smarter and luckier than many thousands of scientists, or someone else told him what to write.

(*) Cosmology is the study of the beginning of the Universe.

One great Tuesday.

One great Tuesday.

Today was the last day of my old job. Today is the first day of my new job(s).

I am again an Oracle Instructor.

I sell nudura (www.nudura.com or www.futurestone.com).

I am a church planting pastor (I start new churches).

Three risky adventures with three great awards ahead of me.

May the Lord shine upon you, your life, and those around you.

Mondays

As Mondays go, today was a pretty good Monday.

I thank God for His kindness.

On any given Sunday

On any given Sunday, God wants all of His children to be about sharing Jesus with others.

What did Jesus do?

A friend of mine called me today. He shared a story with me. He shared with me how my investing time in other people, had led him to lead a friend of his to do the same thing.

First, let us look at the historical picture that I did not know about when I was just doing what I always try to do - follow Jesus.

About a hundred years ago, a pastor began asking "What would Jesus do?". His book was a success, and his book led to the use of that phrase again at the end of last century. When I began engaging people in their lives, I had no idea about Reverend Sheldon and his book. I had no idea that his book had led to the mini 'movement' that had bracelets all over the world with the letters: "WWJD". I did not understand that asking "what would Jesus do?" was even 'important' to what I was doing.

Rather, I was trying to follow Jesus. And in following Him, I always thought about "What did Jesus do?" I did not concern myself as much with "What would He do now?" as I did with "What did He do then?"

So, what did Jesus do? I ask this on a journey to find what would Jesus want us to do.

I believe one of the greatest stories of what He did do is found in the story of the woman at the well. The story of the woman at the well (aka the Samaritan woman) leads me to find some nuggets in the daily life of Jesus Christ.

First, Jesus was going about his day . . . He did not stop by the office and pick up tracks on how a Samaritan woman can be saved. He was just going about His day.

Second, He engaged the woman where she was. He engaged her in conversation. Admittedly, His talking with a woman of low character was not what she expected. However, He engaged Himself into her life. He did not say to Himself, "This is a woman that a respectable Christ should be seen with." No, He engaged a woman that He knew had potential. He looked passed her past and looked into her future.

Third, He knew (He believed) that He could make a difference in her life. He did not start with "If you do not repent, you are going to burn in Hell." Instead, He expressed genuine compassion for her condition. And He brought her to the realization that she should change. He did this not by looking down His nose at her, rather He showed her that he cared. His caring for her, was probably the first time in her life that a man had genuinely cared about her well being.

Why did my friend share with me a story about his fried witnessing to some people in Omaha? Because my brother in Christ had been moved by my interaction with other people. You see I have a habit. I have a habit of finding out where people are on their journey to meet the 'Maker'.

Our brother had picked up my habit. And as often as he can, he leads other people to begin this simple habit. So my brother Grizzly Wilson was calling to let me know that his friend had stumbled while using 'your technique, Wayne'. (Like I develop techniques for God instead of God developing techniques for me . . . )

;)

Wayne, you should have been there. "He just couldn't seem to get a rhythm with what he was trying to say, but finally he used your technique: "We have a habit of praying before our meals, and we would like to know if there is anything we can pray about for you"?" His answer must have let them down, because he said, "No."

But, he came back later and knelt down beside their table and said, "Nobody has ever asked if they could pray for me. I want to know more."

First, they were just going about their lives. Second, they just casually engaged someone around them. Third, they believed that they could (the Gospel through them could) make a difference in this man's life.

WHEW!

WHEW!

God made a hot day today . . . whew!

With heat index, the temperature is 95. The actual temperature is about 90 with a high relative humidity - and a hot July sun beating down on you.

God must know that I prefer the hot days (above 95) to the cold days (below 40).

;)

But, seeing as how I feel old, I may start preferring 65 - 70 with low humidity. That is not a complaint, just a comment upon how I truly feel nowadays.

God bless and enjoy the beautiful weather!

Wayne

What a life change . . .

WHEW!!!

I underwent two procedures to check my insides out.

. . . . And I got a job offer that I accepted.

. . . . And I quit my old job.

. . . . And if my replacement, that I am training, had not pointed out just how terrible what I was doing IS, he would have made my life miserable. However, he has clearly pointed out that the tasks that I was doing were terrible, boring, and beneath the normal employee. And here I was thinking that I was only slightly annoyed that he spent hours a day without enough work to do, and I was spending hours each day producing these tedious reports.

. . . . Thank you my friend for pointing out the obvious - I get to leave the tedium behind. And thank you for giving up your free time to do those horrid reports for me. You have set me free from the guilt that I felt for leaving the job.

So in your words, thank you for nagging like one of your girlfriends. Thank you for the behavior that you tell me you truly loath in other people. Thank you for stooping to such a low position and set me FREE!

Thanks!

Wayne

Bar-B-Que

Bar-B-Que makes great food, friendship, fellowship, and just plain good ole fun.

That is what we need more of today.

Insensitivity

Insensitivity has may forms, and while it is most noticeable in politics, news, personal prejudices, and maybe even driving patterns, what I would like to address is our insensitivity to our Creator.

In our strange pursuit of absolute 'freedom', we have not done ourselves justice. In our allowance of so many absurd protections, we are becoming unreasonable. Our culture has become so intolerant (the result of over tolerance) that this behaviour is sickening.

CNN reported that a student flew a banner on a school promoting 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus'. In a strange twist, one reporter wrote of Justice Stevens "It takes real imagination to read a 'cryptic' message (the court's characterization, not mine) with a slanting drug reference as an incitement to drug use."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/07/06/court.harsh/index.html, accessed July 7th, 2007.

At what point are we going to say, "OK! Enough is enough. Even if we do not deserve to protect ourselves from ignorant and offensive speech, doesn't God deserve to not be offended."

At least on one occasion, shouldn't the God, that created the Universe, be able to listen in on our public speech and say, "Today, this was not intended to offend ME."

Why does a Judge believe that advertisement (in the public arena) of drug use that misuses the Name of Jesus needs to be protected? How do we go from it is illegal (drug use) to it should be ok in a public school to advocate it (drug use) when we advertise in a way that should be considered base humor?

If the student had advocated the murder of a Justice, would the Justice see that advertisement as protected free speech in the public arena? If a citizen cannot bear his shotgun in the Justice's face, then why is it 'OK' for anyone to be offensive in the public arena. It is such failed logic to say that, "I, as a Justice, should be protected from someone practicing a couple of their Constitutional rights (speech and bearing arms), but students in school do not deserve similar protection from offensive speech. Base humor always shows our failed logic, our lack of grace, and our insensitivity to others. Yet, we are truly showing our insensitivity to God Himself.

Take the clear rights of one group away from them and give a greater right to the offender. Somehow, I just cannot envisage the Framers thinking that intelligent and educated leaders would even think of such an interpretation of the 'Freedom of Religion clause'.

Maybe, just maybe, this all began when we failed to realize what the First Amendment was really about? Yes, I believe that our insensitivity towards God has begun to shade even our interpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights:

"Amendment I.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion . . ."

http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html

I pay too much in taxes to believe that our students should be given a failed education. I pay too much school tax to not get a value in return for what I have paid. Students in schools that we subsidize deserve to go to a school where a reasonable atmosphere of learning can be maintained. Allowing sophomoric humor to permeate the atmosphere of a school under the guise of 'Free Speech' is not a reasonable atmosphere of learning. Had the student been offensive in his room and the limitation placed upon him, I might support his 'Freedom of Speech'.

Teaching our students to be insensitive base in public is just not what our tax money should be about.

Teaching our students that they have permission to offend God is not what my tax dollars should be about.

We need to become sensitive again to what God desires - a pure and contrite heart . . .

4th of July . . .

It is the 4th of July and to tell the truth: well, I am really not in that patriotic of a mood. The medication I took earlier today made me really sick. Of course it was supposed to make me sick. Aren't the fireworks and the music and people celebrating the 4th of July supposed to make us feel patriotic? I guess they are supposed to. But, what if we are not in the mood? It is a great country. And I reckon that we live in one of the few places on earth where we are free to feel unpatriotic even when we are supposed to 'feel' patriotic. Me? I am gonna go back to feeling sick. But, in my heart, I am saluting those young men and women that are keeping me safe and free. I thank God that He has seen fit to keep this country free.

In our midst

In our midst . . .

In our midst, God works through us to change the world.

Sunday night, a friend came by and asked me to talk with him. Finally he says, "You seem to be a lot closer to God than I am, would you pray for me?"

After I prayed for him, he said, "You pray differently than anyone I have heard pray before."

Then the phone rang, and it was the former girl friend that seldom called him. He said to me a few minutes later, "That was a God thing! It may not seem like much to you, but I know that was God telling me that walking away was what He wanted me to do."

Sometimes God speaks louder through the little things of our lives. Or, maybe that is just when we are listening the most.

Thank you God for giving me the privilege of watching You work.

What a day! Thank you Pete!

As God has always been, He has been so good to me today. It has been a really great week.

And this all started because I was having a not good week, but wanted to say 'hello' to an old friend and brother in Christ, Pete.

Thank you Pete!!!