Drinking Water

Word of the Post
Today's word is: felled
/feld/ verb, adjective
To bring to the ground, cause to fall, to level.
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Dearest friends, we gather here today to mourn the loss of a beloved piece of nature. Today, the baby tree in the front yard has been felled. The poor thing got sick two summers ago, when we couldn't water it, because we were being limited by water rationing. After a year of striving to live, the poor arbor succumbed to the dehydration. Viewing will be allowed starting tonight, and ending when the trash truck comes tomorrow. Firewood is available if you will come to get it. Pallbearers are Chelf, and some guy named Fred who brought the chainsaw.
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When I was in a junior college, I used to eat my lunch in the car while at a park. I would read, or do homework, and enjoy the nature around me. In that car, I carried a $20 bill in the glove box, a Bible in the backseat, and I usually left the car unlocked. I figured, if anyone was dumb enough to try to steal that piece of junk, they could have it. They could also have enough gas money to get far away from me ("hell hath no fury" and all), and a Bible that they obviously needed more than I did.

One day, I was startled by a woman knocking on my window. She was a Jehovah's Witness, and was trying to get me into a conversation. She was amazed that I was reading the Bible, and I told her that I did this quite often. She was keen to know what church I attended, I guess to see which argument she was steeling herself for. I hemmed and hawed for a few minutes, and finally confessed that I attended a church of Christ. She jumped right at it. "You guys don't believe in God!"

Yes, I was as dumbfounded as you probably are. Whaddya mean I don't believe in God? Of course I do! So I asked her where she heard that. She said that since we "worship Jesus only," we obviously don't believe in One God. So, I asked her to explain God to me. I figured that maybe I could understand her point if I got her to explain MY supposed point. She said that God the Father was the supreme being, and that Jesus was the first creation. The fact that he was a prophet was just more testimony to the "fact" that he was only human.

I let this go on for a few minutes, and then I HAD to say something. I couldn't let her go on belittling my religious beliefs, especially since they were supposed to be so similar to hers. I started with a different direction. "Do you like drinking water?" This caught her off guard, because she had apparently never been asked this before.

So I ask you now, do You like drinking water? God is similar to water. Get a piece of paper and fold it in half. Open it up, and one side, draw three circles. They don't have to touch. Just make sure that they are in close proximity, like the corners of a triangle. Now, do it again on the other side. You want two batches of circles. In the first batch of circles, write one letter in each circle: O...H...H. In the second batch of circles, write one word in each circle: Father...Son...Spirit. Got it? Now...this is where it gets tricky. In the first batch of circles, you have the chemical designation for Water: H2O. In the second, you have the basis of the Trinity concept.

While drawing this for her, Ms. J.W. was getting very curious as to where I was going with this. It is pretty good, I think. Please don't think I came up with it, I think the Holy Spirit gave it to me for Ms. J.W.'s benefit. We can get into the Holy Spirit's guidance later.

Back to the illustration. On the first set, draw a line through the triangle, separating one of the H's from the rest of the pack. Do you know what you get if you take one Hydrogen away from a molecule of water? You get what is called Hydroxide, usually an acidic base. Draw another line through the triangle, separating the O from the rest of the pack. Do you know what you have when Oxygen is removed from Water? Hydrogen gas, which is highly flammable. Water has to be all three parts in one, in the same harmonious arrangement, or it is something entirely different. Water is always in the same chemical lock, as shown below. Makes it kinda look like Mickey Mouse. This has a name, but I can't remember it.








On the second set, draw a line through the triangle, separating the Father from the rest. What do you get without the Father? God has no Plan. Separate the Son, what do you get? God has no Sacrifice or Salvation. Separate the Spirit, what do you get? God has no Action. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all very different pieces, but they all must be included, in the same harmonious arrangement, or God is not complete. I happen to think that God the Father is kinda like the Oxygen, a little bit bigger than the other two. After all, Jesus said that the Father was the only one who knew the day and the hour of his return; that it would be revealed to Jesus when the time came.

Who is to say that the world has no plan, no intelligence, no design? They need only drink a glass of water, and be happy that it is not acid or flammable gas. I find it intriguing that the Creator, the original three in one, made us out of mostly water, also three in one. There are three in one combinations all around us: apples (skin, meat, seed), and eggs (shell, white, yolk), and Humans (body, mind, spirit). Why is this such a difficult thought to absorb?

Ms. J.W. tossed some books at me through the window, and ran. I made her think, and I don't think she liked it. I hope that in some way it made her question the junk that she was trying to teach me. Did it make you question your books? Did it confirm your belief?

So You're From That ONE Church...?

Word of the Post
Today's word is: discipline
/dis"ci*pline/ noun
Development of the faculties by instruction and exercise; subject matter of instruction; education; training.
I wanted to focus not on the common use definition for Spanking, but on the learning portion of the word, for example the discipline of Yoga, or the discipline of religion.
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I really need to discipline myself to perform more housework and less computer gaming. I have so much that I wish to do with my life, and my time, that I cannot sit and do nothing near my computer all day. Dishes and Laundry need to be washed, Books need to be read, and Bible needs to be studied. Direction needs to be chosen, and course plotted. I need to show some exercise of time management, and show that I indeed own a bit of discipline.

In speaking of discipline, and of religion as a part of that, I would like to ask and answer a few questions. I like to think that I know some things about my choice of religion, and that I can come up with an answer when asked questions pertaining to my beliefs. I request that you ask me questions. I will post the questions, and then discuss the answers I have. I will always do my best to refer to the Bible first, but I may have other sources to reference as well.

I have in the past dealt with a friend who is Lutheran. We have had many discussions. There are many similarities and, unfortunately, many differences. The big one for me is that Lutherans call themselves after Martin Luther. Luther himself told them to call themselves after Christ, who died for them, not after any man, and not after Luther. The name on the door suggests that they did not listen to the man they claim to follow. If you follow the teachings of Christ, then Christian should be on the door.

Is the name on the door all that important? Yes, I believe it is. Community Church comes to mind. Did the Community around you die for you? No. Christ died for you. The name on the door should be that of Christ, the Savior who gave his life to save yours. Luther did not die for your redemption. Using terms that the Bible used should be of first importance. The Body of Christ is his Church. The English word "church" is from the Greek word "ecclesia", meaning "called out". The Spanish language uses this same basis to refer to churches as well, "iglesia".

Now, this argument can be taken too far in the other direction, as well. This results in denominations. All names are used as signs to tell the outside world some of what goes on inside the building. Differences between them can be monstrously large, or microscopically small. The point here is that the Body of Christ should all share one name, that of Jesus Christ, but we don't. We continually divide over petty things like the color of the carpet and whether to have candles in the building; we argue over salvation issues like baptism and what constitutes sin.

The Lord Jesus himself prayed to the Father that His followers would all be ONE. He knew that we would probably mess this up, just as we have messed up many of God's plans before this. We may not always do exactly as God wants, but His plans never fail.

Go read Ephesians 4:1-6. Pay special attention to verse 5. "one Lord, one faith, one baptism;" We are instructed to follow Christ, and His one path. I do believe that one church will go to heaven. The Bride of Christ, the church he died to save, the humans doing as He called out, these are the "one church" that will be in heaven. I do not believe that the name on the door has anything positive to do with that. If anything, the name on the door will prevent some groups from going to heaven.

Knowing that many older members of the Church of Christ will have an issue with this opinion, I am sorry. I do not mean to demean your belief. I merely wish to state and Biblically defend my own. I believe that on the day that Christ comes back, there will be many in the "church of Christ" that will be calling to the Lord, and be told "I never knew you", for their hypocrisy and pride. I also believe that many from other buildings with other names on the door will come to the Lord, and be welcomed, for their honesty and humility in doing what the Bible said.

Thankfully, the judgement is not up to me, but up to the Father.

Kicking Back For The Sit-In

Word of the Post
Today's word is: recalcitrant
/re*cal"ci*trant/ adjective
Stubbornly resistant to authority or guidance; obstinate; repugnance with opposition.
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I have started writing something several times today, and each time, the subject loses my interest in the second sentence. I have thought about history (birthday of Shaquille O'Neal in 1972, and death day of Pearl S. Buck in 1973). I have thought about discussions, and arguments I could start. I have pondered the consequences of saying questionable words, and actually defining them for the populace.

I come up short. Nothing keeps my interest long enough to continue speaking of it.

Had my mother known today's word, I am sure it would have been applied to me more often than necessary. She used to say that I would argue with her over the color of the sky, just to argue. Then she would say the sky was blue, and I would have to correct her. It was purple. Pink. Polka-dotted. Whatever I could come up with. Unfortunately, when I would argue that she was wrong, I proved her point. I still have some of this fight in me.

Some days, it takes a lot out of me to hold my tongue (or sit on my fingers, as the case may be, with my chat group). I have a hard time understanding the left side of the table. They don't help me any by yelling names at me. I can handle name calling. I was abused by it early, it no longer stings. What I really don't understand is the blind faith that they accuse me of is the same blindness they suffer for their cause, as well. I am not blindly following the words of random people. I research what I question, and I agree with thoughts that are like my own. Interesting how others expect respect, but do not show it.

I am sure this is sounding a bit out of tempo. I am feeling a bit lost at sea. I have so many ideas that would make wonderful posts, and yet when I sit to type them, my mind goes.... blank. Totally, completely, and boringly blank.

I am done for today. I will bore you more later. Thank you for dropping by. Well, thanks to everyone but Jared, who lobbed fruit at me on his way past. To Jared, I throw a mud pie. Eat THAT with your tomatoes! Ha!