Crucifixion - Sunday

My computer crashed so I am on my DD2's computer. Sigh.

The sermon yesterday was on the crucifixion. I was looking at it in Greek while he was talking. Greek verbs are very interesting. I was fascinated.

It was Palm Sunday so that's why he went with that. He also gave an invitation which I liked too.

After the service we went to Buchanans, bought some tomatoes and herbs. We planted the tomatoes. We are right on time. We still have a pepper from last year. It is still alive and we did not have the heart to pull it out. Maybe this summer we will rent the tiller and till in more leaves and grass. There are still lots of rocks where we have put the garden. We have no idea why. Is that why grass does not grow back here.

Anyway we are hopeful about the peppers and tomatoes and the citrus trees. The citrus trees and flowering, the bees are hovering around. We understand we can expect crops this year. Amazing.

Of course I know when summer comes it will be harder to get out and work in the garden. And it will be harder to keep stuff alive.

We drove out to DS and DIL's to see the grandkids and of course the parents. DS is an expert on computers and he has already done a lot to fix the problem. He did a lot of research online. He thinks I really did get a boot sector virus (fourth time) and I probably got it from accepting a friend request that I did not know on Facebook.

Why would I do that? I am also talking to DW about not doing things like that. Anyway we are going to put Windows 7 on the computer hopefully this will make the computer more secure. Before it has always has XP. It's an old computer but DS thinks it can handle it especially if we turn off all the fancy graphics. I don't like the fancy graphics anyway. I will get it when I get back Thursday.

DS wonders what anyone would get out of sending out such viruses. Who knows? And maybe it really is something else. But DS thinks from all he can read it is a boot sector virus.

Then we went to a LW finish party, wrap party if you will. It was at Paddadeauxs. I do not like fish so I got the chicken. Boy was that chicken good! Tasted like steak. It was rich rich rich. There will be a lot for DD2 to eat while we are gone.

Saturday activities

We started a Alpha marriage class the married members of J Dorm at Kegan's Jail downtown. Now I use married advisedly. But today I referred to everyone as husband and wife. Most of them probably are in fact. A positive statement. Nobody corrected me. I wonder what that means.

I was less friendly and more instructive, fatherly you might say, today. We have eight couples with the possibility of more next week. That just about fills the room. We got several two person tables for the couples to sit together at. I had authority baby. That feels weird but it is necessary.

We got in two lessons today and I think everyone listened and got some practical information plus some spiritual encouragement. It was nice that boss lady MB was there. She loaned a lady some reading glasses. She left early so I have the glasses to get back to her Wednesday.

DW and I used to time to do the exercises and work on our marriage. The discussion got louder and louder until the couples near the front couldn't help but hear us. I think one of the women later repeated something we said to her husband in one of their discussions. Hopefully we and them both got some resolution. Lord knows I will try.

After some quiet at home DW and I went to a art exhibition and party at the house of GM in Eldridge Park, out NW of Houston near I-290. The house is very nice. The art was interesting. And old acquaintance at Redeemer is doing wood work, paintings, and other media with a religious theme is a sort of childish manner. She lives in Montana. (Idaho is for weirdohs.) I really liked her work and the prices were reasonable but where would I put it? I need to dig out not get more stuff.

I got to touch bases with some old Redeemer folks, some of whom I regrettably have never had a relationship with. It was time well spent.

As a consequence of a discussion I wonder if I should not see if it not too late to get my Masters and Doctorate and try to do some college teaching. It might be worth looking into.

Amos spoke to a prosperous nation

Amos prophesied their imminent doom. In chapter seven he intercedes for the nation of Israel against the ideas God has for how to punish them.

I am reminded of nations that have been the most prosperous in the world. England was before us, the first most wealthy nation. I enjoy reading novels from 19th century England. It is clear that all roads led to London. But they too had their poor. They too had those who would cheat in business.

This country has been the world leader since WW2. Since the fall of the USSR the undisputed leader. But like all things this too will pass. China is coming fast to dispute our economic supremacy.

Amos speaks of the businesspeople who cannot wait for the holiday to be over so that they can start making money and cheating to make money. Where is the man who will do an honest job and charge an honest fee?

It's not just the rich who cheat. We struggle to find an honest repair man. We try to use small independent guys. DW is ready to believe whatever they say. You should be able to believe them. But most of the time they will take advantage of her. Sadly everyone is trying to find an angle, trying to find a way to make a dollar without really working for it.

This kind of thing, multiplied all over, will be the downfall of our nation. It is what caused the real estate collapse. I believe God did engineer this as a warning but you can give a more natural, economic explanation for what happened. But it boils down to greed and people trying to make a dollar without actually producing any real service.

Brothers and sisters pray for our country, intercede for her, just as Amos did for Israel. But also pray for repentance. Pray that we all give a good days work for our wages. Pray for the raising up of businessmen who are honest and do not try to take advantage of innocent people.

And for those who think the answer is more redistribution of wealth, you are certainly wrong. YOU must be the answer, not your government. See how they exempt themselves and give themselves retirement and health care much better than they can give their constituents. Giving them more power will only tempt them to become more corrupt.

Don't save the china and crystal for later

Remember we never know how much longer we have. This is based on a sermon given by Chuck Swindoll in January 2009.

James 4:13-15: Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord will, we will live and do this or that."

James is not condemning making money or planning or settling goals. He is just saying let God into the equation. You never know how God will disrupt your plans, even to the extent of taking you home.

Do not be so arrogant as to think you can plan your life without regard to God. And remember especially how precious life is. We live by the pleasure of our God. He is the author of all life. We are but a mist. We are here for a little while and then we will be gone. The house we live in will most likely out live us, so will the city. The land, the mountains have been here for thousands of years and will likely be here for thousands after we are gone.

Great pastor Donald Grey Barnhouse of Philadelphia was once asked by a member of his congregation, "How could the children of Israel be 40 years in the wilderness and their shoes and clothes never wore out?" Dr. Barnhouse responded simply, "God." The questioner quickly responded, "Oh, now I understand." Barnhouse replied, "No, you don't son. Nobody understands this."

We do not understand God. Only God knows tomorrow.

This is not an encouragement to give up. No it is an encouragement to live, for God's sake. Jim Elliot said, "Wherever you are, be all there." Live life to the fullest!

A moving story Swindoll read recently: My brother once opened the bottom drawer of his wife Jane's bureau and lifted out a tissue wrapped package. It was exquisite silk, handmade piece of lingerie with a trim of cobweb lace. The price tag was an astronomical figure and was still attached to it. Jane had bought it the first time they were in New York, eight or nine years ago, but she never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion.
"Well", my brother thought to himself, "I guess this is the occasion." He took the lingerie and put it on the bed, along with the other clothes that we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material, and then he slammed the drawer shut and said, "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion!"
Every day you are live is a special occasion. I remembered those words through my sister-in-law's funeral and the days that followed as I helped my brother and my niece attend to all the sad chores that followed an unexpected death.
Let's remember that true story throughout 2010.

Psalm 146

Psalm 146: Praise the Lord! I will praise God while I live!

3. Do not trust in princes (governors, presidents), in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.
(So appropriate to our time, but any time really! So prophetic. We do not trust in Obama or Bush or Perry or the next great hope. We trust in God alone. From him alone can come salvation.)

4. His spirit departs (the mortal man), he returns to the earth, in that very day his thoughts perish.
(I think of myself here, all my blogs, all my ideas. When I am gone these things will not be remembered, they are hardly known now. I hope I will be remembered fondly by those who survive me. But even they will be gone soon enough.
I think now of veterans of WWII. They are mostly gone. No one is here to tell us the horrors of a "just" war. When I was young it was big news when the last Civil War veterans were dying. They were able to tell of the even worse horrors of civil war. We have no real consciousness of that anymore. It is only dry as dust history to most of us now.)

5. How blessed is he whose help is in the God of Jacob! Whose hope is in the Lord God.
(It goes on to describe the nature of a savior. He gives justice, gives food to the hungry, sets prisoners free, opens the eyes of the blind, raises those who are bowed, protects the stranger, supports orphans and widows, thwarts the way of the wicked.)

10. God will reign forever, to all generations. Praise the Lord!
(Unlike me, God is forever. He is actively seeking to work in the world, actively seeking those who will follow him and do as he does. Let us be in that number.)

With the health bill passing we are seeing more of the poor oppressing the rich in this country. This is a colossal attempt to shift wealth from the rich to the poor. I do not think this is what good would call justice.

I hope it does not totally ruin our economy. As dad would say we are working to "kill the goose that laid the golden eggs." Those so called "evil rich" are those who create wealth and jobs and it does trickle down. Without the encouragement needed to allow these people to create wealth we may be in for a horrible economic contraction.

Amos - greed - health care

Amos prophesied judgment while Israel was prosperous. If we are prosperous that means God is blessing us, right? Not necessarily. Amos judged that they were oppressing the poor. The women were enjoying the wealth being made by their cheating husbands. Financially cheating. Amos calls them "cows of Bashan". So all were complicit. It reminds us of the USA lately. Many were cheating. The whole country was seemingly reaping the benefits until financial calamity showed the evil that was going on. Now the whole country is suffering the financial calamity. And few of us are innocent.

Amos' style was interesting. Amos pointed out the sins of the neighboring nations. I think he spoke of the sins of all the major nations around Israel. Surely his hearers thought this was great. They cheered at their impending downfall. Surely God was just in the judgment against these nations.

But then Amos turned his prophesies against Judah and then Israel. Now the cheers stopped. But what was sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, you know. After having been lured into approving what seemed to be good news and God's righteous judgment, the downfall of their sworn enemies, now their joy was tempered. Perhaps they had to begrudgingly admit the righteousness of God's judgment against them.

When we judge the Enron folks, the folks at AGI, or at Goldman Sachs let us not forget that we have been greedy and dishonest too. Many of us have.

I think most who are in favor of this awful health bill think someone else will pay for it. The "rich" will pay for it. Somehow the healthy will pay for it, spreading the risk. This is the kind of foolish greed that the men at these disgraced corporations had. They figured they could act recklessly and someone else would foot the bill. Friends there is no free lunch this plan will cost at least double what they are projecting, probably closer to triple. Others will not pay for this. We are will pay for it, directly and indirectly and our health care will be worse.

I hope that we will have the honesty to admit our sin to ourselves and to God and to ask for forgiveness.

I owe you a blog

I did my political bit at the Senatorial District convention this morning. You'd never believe I wore a suit since I had to get in front of the group and say a few lines. Overall it was a good experience. The people are nice. I ran into some old friends and acquaintances.

Yesterday I did some catching up on Greek. I am also frazzling my mind with Facebook. I should stop, but I won't. I got an interesting book on text based games. It might be too hard to read, it is meant for professionals in the field.

review of Barbara's blessing of Mark and Karen's wedding

Karen and Mark

May the Lord give you favor with your enemies.

May God open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that is too much for you to contain.

May the Lord bless you with rain and the dew every morning.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

We still pray this for you, Karen and Mark

Eldest son - Parable of the Prodigal Son

Sunday night I heard a sermon about the parable. Nowadays people like to talk about the eldest son or the father. Why is that? When I was younger people wished to speak about repentance and the youngest son, the "Prodigal" Son.

LH defined prodigal as one who is profligate with generosity. He thought that refers more to God. Now that is true. It is wonderful to realize how gracious God is. I applaud the change is the emphasis on this parable. As LH said there are many levels to this parable, even an infinite number. He used the word infinite. Now infinite is a large number but I do agree with the sentiment.

But I think those who called the son profligate meant that he went of and spend profligately, which he did. It is certainly true that the Father was profligate with mercy to both sons.

I thought it was marvelous that LH mentioned how the Father not only ran after the younger son but also ran after the elder son when it turned out he would not come to the party.

It is interesting that we are left with an incomplete resolution. We are left with the father pleading with the son. The son is treating his father with contempt. It is not clear that the eldest son will forgive his brother despite the fact that his father certainly has.

LH mentioned that this will affect the elder son financially. Since the assets are still the dads and since the dad has accepted the son back not as a servant but as a son the assets will still be split equally at his death. (I have often wondered about that and wished it to be the opposite.)

But as LH spoke I realized how in my work life I am much like the eldest son. I try not to have temper tantrums like the son in the story did. But it is hard to keep an even keel.

My dad split the assets of his business among us six children. There have been some prodigal sons in this group. But I (along with another son) have kept this thing going. We have had siblings who stopped working yet still got paid. And now that we are dissolving the assets everyone gets an equal amount despite the fact that some of us have worked harder. Well I have been paid well for it. Sometimes they are jealous of my salary.

But I am proud of the fact that I have kept it all together, for the most part, without too much anger and too many lawsuits (just one). Everyone has contributed to this of course and I have made some mistakes.

I think my understanding about forgiveness and trusting God for my provision has helped greatly in my keeping an even keel in all this. I could get angry, like others have, at siblings who took advantage of my dad's goodness. But I refused, for the most part, to do this. And I have argued that we should forgive and understand that the sibling is weak and need some help and pity. I have tried to be a voice of reason.

But I'd never really thought of how closely my situation is analogous to this parable.

The kingdom of God is unshakable

I thought a fund of laddered bonds was a pretty foolproof method to an unshakable retirement. I knew it was not totally assured, only God and his kingdom is unshakable (12:28). Still I thought I had done the best I could to make a secure retirement plan for DW and I. I was wrong. It did not work out so well. It was better than some plans. But still it was very shakable.

Hebrews 13:1-8: The author switches gears now. He gives some practical and also challenging encouragement. Show hospitality, help prisoners, remember they are people too, hold marriage in high regard, do not put your trust in money, respect your leaders. He ends this section by returning to the unshakable quality of our God.

“Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and yes, forever.” This passage (13:8) is a common memory verse. We often use it as a mantra. Of course it is true. It is a wonderful way of restating the unshakableness of our God.
God’s kingdom cannot be shaken. God cannot be shaken either but that does not mean he cannot feel, or change his mind, or regret. Our God is a passionate God and he is involved.

Hebrews 12 - Freeport, Bahamas

Reading through the last part of Hebrew 12 rubs me the wrong way because I am a rebellious sort. Tell me not to touch something and I will immediately want to touch it. The author here is sounding a warning. Warnings make me want to do the thing that I am warned not to. Better for me the earlier image of striving towards the goal, looking to Jesus, who loves me and whom I in turn love back.
Warnings are necessary. I need to heed them. From lots of bad experiences when I did not I have learned to heed them. Often it is not very easy though. Still my mind will think about it. I think about the consequences.
I take few warnings at face value. I am trying to accept the warnings of Jesus at face value. No one else though. Teachers, preachers, and prospective mentors – I struggle to decide if what they say is true.
The people of Berea (in the book of Acts) are commended for searching the scriptures to see if the message of the Gospel is true. I hope that at least sometimes I am to be commended. (Probably not though because often I search my experience first and not the scriptures.)
Test the spirits Paul says in another place. Yes I do test new ideas against what I have learned before. Better to test against the parts of the Bible that I understand. That has served me well I think.

Today we were in Freeport, Bahamas. Freeport is on a pretty large island, well compared to Key West yesterday and the island Nassau is on tomorrow. DW and I took a cab to what is called “downtown”. They dropped us off at what looked like a flea market. DW bought a lot of stuff. It was better when I did not look. When we decided to go back to the ship we went to a taxi stand and took a 12-seater van. It was more like a bus than a cab. The driver, a large woman took a circuitous route and dropped off a lot of people at various houses. Lately she took us on a back road with lots of speed bumps to a private street that dead ended right by our ship. Yet if you had not known about it you would never have seen it. That is because this lady cannot legally take us back to the ship. She is a private bus. Or something. I don’t quite get it. I see signs that tell of some complicated regulations. There are two taxi boards that regulate taxis access to cruise ships. One regulates for one ship, another for all the rest. How’s that? People here drive on the left side, like in England. The last cab did have the steering wheel on the right side, like in England. The first cab has the steering wheel like in the U.S.A., on the left side.
After dropping DW off I decided to go back through the private street to do a second walk. By now it was 1 PM and getting hot. I was a bit worried but people who spoke to me were friendly. The first lady encouraged me to go into a restaurant right through the fence. But I did not carry any more, only a credit card, and I had just eaten so I declined. I actually did not go too far. The houses were a bit depressing. There signs of informal businesses. Then I came to some industrial businesses. I circled back and returned on the main highway. Two people stopped to ask me if I wanted a ride. I think it was simply island mentality, they were being friendly. I told them I was out for a walk and they drove on. I was only gone a little more than an hour.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Hebrews 12:1-3 reminds me of the book Resident Aliens and the concept of being a part of a cloud of witnesses. Picture your family. There are those who came before and those children who will remain when you are gone. Our heavenly family consists of the church, those who came before us and left us a legacy. And there are those we train or give hope by our example. They will remain and do likewise after we are gone.
.
I thought of some people who had a major influence in my walk over the years. I did a quick prayer for each of them. I’m sure I missed some. I know that some have died and gone to their reward. There is one man who was my age. He has already died. I found out after sending him a Christmas card. His wife replied with a nice letter. That was a bit of a shock. Perhaps he was never the most robust man. Still it was unexpected. I know a couple of saints who died pretty young. In both their cases I can rationalize that they were people who were never really of this world. The world, even we worldly Christians, saw them as odd. They never totally fit in. They could not keep steady jobs and it was not for trying. They might do things that seemed out of place. Some might think them crazy. But looking back, after they have gone it seems their going early was appropriate. God bless them. I know he does and has.

We fix our eyes on Jesus. Paul likes the image of the race. One wonders whether he might have done some racing when he was young. You run for the goal. The goal is heaven. You fix your eyes on Jesus who has already finished. He is encouraging you on. He has shown it can be done, with his help.

We have the cloud of Old Testament witnesses. We have Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Jesus endured to the end. So can we. We do not experience the hostility that Jesus did. And even if we did, it would only show that we are on the right track, not the wrong track. The Hebrews and others were tempted to think that since they were experiencing such persecution that might be a sign they were on the wrong track. Some people were using their situation to tell them so. But Jesus endured even more and he was the Son of God! So we can be persecuted and still be right. The author has nothing but condemnation for those who would tempt them to go back to being regular old Jews.

For us in daily living we can think roadblocks to some cherished goal means we were wrong to seek that goal. Not necessarily. It can simply mean we must try harder. I think if we still have the burden, if the attempting still gives us joy it may not be wrong at all. It may just mean the harder work will make us stronger and help to make us finally successful. God usually gives us a strong burden and joy in the attempt. Even if the results do not turn out as we like, that may be enough to show us we are on the right track.

cruising

I bought some minutes on the cruise internet so I can blog a little while I am out of town.
I’ll try to put up some pictures if they are good. Kevin Jr. is struggling with all the new things and he hated waiting in line to get on the ship. It can take a couple of hours to get on. We actually did pretty good. Kevin and Fanny got on in about two hours I think. We however were given favor by the crew who decided that we are disabled. So we got in the fast lines meant for V.I.P.’s and it only took us an hour to get on. We were on by 2 PM. We ate a leisurely lunch, too much really, and then Kevin joined us. Then we took food to the cabin for Fanny and the little man.
Everyone is doing their own thing really. It’s not going to be like the cruise with Deborah and April. The little boy cannot be left alone. I don’t think there will be games on deck or in bars at night.

A good thought from Resident Aliens

on pages 52 - 53 the authors liken becoming disciples as becoming part of a story that begins way before us and it will continue long after we are gone, unless Jesus comes first. The authors do not even mention this possibility but it is. And we should look forward to it just as Paul did.

We are, as it were, jumping onto a moving train. The train (of the church) is moving. Salvation is not static. For us personally it is a part of a process that continues as long as we live. Perhaps in another form it continues into the next life. And corporately salvation is done as part of a group. We need each other. It is so much easier to belong to a group. We help each other. Lone ranger Christianity is so much harder.

God did not mean for most people to be along with their faith or their works. Thank God it is so. Our culture encourages such a lone ranger posture. The Marlboro Man, the John Wayne, the Spiderman type, type is still looked at as an ideal. But God encourages us to thrive in groups (churches).

Salvation is not static. It is not an on/off switch which we turned on when we made a decision for Christ. It may be that but it is just a beginning.

They suggest "we begin in the middle". God is with you. This we know for sure. Romans 6:5-11.

Hebrews 11:32-40 - Resident Aliens

This is the conclusion to the passage on the saints of old. They looked forward to what would come after them, without even knowing what it was. What they looked forward to, and what saved them, was Jesus. Even without knowing him they had faith in him. They knew there was "something better" (40).

I am reminded from this passage and mainly from the commentary I am using of the book by Hauerwas and Willimon called Resident Aliens. I have mentioned it. I am about 25% done.

If I can conclude the point of this book it is that the church must be in the world but different. It will not work to try to change society politically or be the helpful little church by doing social work, feeding the poor etc.

They keeps repeating the point, "How can we be a part of a nation that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima." A major side point is that we worship the nation state now. We have replaced religious wars with wars to defend nationalism. They are very much opposed to nationalism and feel it is a strong idolatry.

When the church allows itself to be co-opted by the nation it looses its identity. It looses its focus. It takes on it's values. They strongly disagree with Neibuhr who feels the church should be part of the culture and try to change it. They feel trying to be part of the culture is a loosing proposition.

I am struggling with this. I find it too pacifist. Can we really allow an aggressor nation to simply take over and not fight back. I know and find tragic that we sacrifice our sons to the nation state to keep us "free".

He is certainly right that we do not take seriously heresy anymore but treat very seriously the charge of treason. It is a great way to make his point. This is a symptom of nationalism taking the place of religion as the most important ideal in the modern west.

Other people of different faiths see their faith as worth living and dying for. Sometimes in ways we do not approve of. This is foreign to us. That is good in that Christians do not become suicide bombers but it is bad in that most of us worry more about our rights than we do giving our lives to Jesus, heading out to dangerous places to share the gospel.

Sabbath?

How do you keep the Sabbath? Do we have a vague guilt that we are not keeping it right. Which commandment is that? The fifth? I think it is the fifth.

Do we somehow rest on the Sabbath? Should we?

As a professor once scoffed, "Sabbath? Look and see what the Israelites meant by that? That is the seventh day. Has any Christian group ever kept the seventh day holy? No, we have almost universally taken the first day of the week as our holy day."

So if Sunday is our new holy day we have already broken the sabbath of the Old Testament. This commandment has been superseded by the New Covenant that Jesus gave us. Do we agree? But then we ask, "Are we to act like it the same sabbath of the Old Testament, only moved?"

Were the blue laws, that kept businesses closed on Sunday a good thing? Or were they a part of Christianity becoming a national religion, replacing show for actual heart felt faith?

I think that is the point. Now it is a matter of the heart. Jesus told us we would worship God in Spirit and in truth. That prophesy has come to pass. The outward observances of a shallow piety are not as important as the heart we give to God. We rest in God and that can be done in many way. Some will not look too pious.

Hebrews 11:6

I was struck by Hebrews 11:6. It seems to summarize what I have been thinking and hopefully blogging lately.

Without faith, no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.

This, in a nutshell defines what faith in God means. We believe God is loving, we know God is worthy of praise and worship. The first part of the prayer Jesus, says "Our Father, hallowed be thy name." God is holy (hallowed). God is deserving of praise. He is only so if we trust in faith that he rewards those who truly want to find him.

So we seek him. There is no end to what we can find out about God. Let us never get satisfied that we know him well enough or we know all this to know. Or perhaps we know all that we are able to know. God is able to creatively show us more and we will understand. We will understand because it is up to God, not us.

As we seek God, God will seek us. God will find us. And he will bless us. That is part of the rewards of God, but it is not all of it.

Thank you God. We bless you and praise your name for your love and faithfulness.

Trying to force God into our little idea of what he should be

Trying to force God into our little idea of what he should be

I have a friend who seems to have fallen away. As far as I can tell he started to think God had to be a certain way. When God seemed to not be like he thought God should be he got disenchanted. Did he start to fall in love with his theories of what God was like.? I run into a lot of people whose excuse for not being a disciple is they would not follow a God who would do (fill in the blank).

So just supposing here, it's too sensitive for me to talk to this guy about it, he started feeling God was not who he thought he was, or what he thought he should be. When he could not fit God into a neat little box (of his own creation) he got disenchanted. He felt he could not love or follow a God who was not like his ideal.

The disciples had a problem like this with Jesus. (More than once actually.) When in John's gospel we hear Jesus talking about eating and drinking his body everyone was grossed out. Many stopped following Jesus at this time. But the disciples decide to stay because Jesus has so many other wonderful qualities, they decide to deal with the dissonance. They don't understand it but decide to take it on faith that Jesus is God's messenger somehow and they want to be where God is. As John so aptly says, "To whom shall we go, you Lord have the words of life."

We can lose our way if we start telling God how he should be, how he should act. His ways are not our ways. Yes we can hang on to the truth that God is love and God is just. Yet he is infinite and we are finite. We cannot even understand what infinite means. We can have faith and trust God.

We can even be God's friend but we can never control him. Nor can we totally understand him.

In yesterday's sermon the preacher mentioned untimely deaths. We are shocked that God would allow them. (Does God totally control the world? How do we understand evil and disasters in the world?) He went on to say, "Everything can be explained by God's love. Yet God's love was expressed by the death of his son." That does not make sense to out little, finite minds. How can God die? How does allowing Judas to betray him seem loving? We don't know. We can try to explain it but we should not take too seriously our explanations.

Faith is involved. We must trust God. We can love him too. God wants a relationship with us. The great infinite God is big enough to love us all individually.