Lessons from Kota

Our three year old Dobie, Kota, passed away a few days ago. He had been acting not quite himself for about a week, so we took him in to the Vet. He was a little scared when we went in the exam room, so I sat on the floor and had him lay his head on my lap. Gave him a treat, and I thought he went to sleep. The Vet came in a few minutes later, and...he was gone. I didn't even know it. Still petting his head. Just gone.

The Vet did an exam. Kota had a heart attack. Congenital problems with his heart, liver and kidneys. His parents weren't supposed to breed. Cherish didn't know any of that when she rescued him two years ago. He was malnourished when we got him...covered in sores, and very skittish. Acted like he had been beaten. The Vet said with all that was wrong with him, if Cherish hadn't rescued him when she did, he probably would have been dead in a month.

So, we gave him two good years...and he died peacefully. His last act on this earth was eating, which was his favorite thing. Then he went to sleep...and woke up in heaven...probably at my Mom's feet in her kitchen. Knowing my Mom, she had a steak cooking for him on the stove...with gravy. Good deal for Kota. We should all be so lucky.

Everyone who knew Kota was aware that he wasn't the sharpest dog out there. Handsomest Dobie you ever saw, but not overly bright. People would stop their cars when we were walking the dogs just to admire him. We used to make jokes about how he might have been cheated in the brains department, but damn...was he good looking.

I try to learn from everyone and everything I encounter...I may be an old dog myself, but I like to think I can still learn a few tricks.

Here's what I learned from Kota:

• You don't have to be smart to appreciate what you have.


• A roof over your head, a hot girlfriend, a loving family and great food, should be enough to make anyone happy.
• If you're only good at a couple of tricks, do them well...and be proud of them.
• Enjoy every walk. Smell the air, look at everything, rub up against your babe...you never know if it might be your last one.
• Cuddle the ones you love whenever you can...even if they don't want you to. They'll be glad someday.
• You have no control over where you were born...or to whom...or with what. Let it go.
• You can control where you are today. Make the most of it...and don't look back.
• It's OK to walk in circles...as long as you're still moving forward as you go.
• Howl when you feel the need. People may laugh at you...but sometimes they'll join in.
• It's OK to be afraid of deep water...as long as you're willing to jump in anyway.
• Run, don't walk, run to the door when your loved ones come home.
• Enjoy whatever is a treat to you to the fullest.
• A warm fire is a good friend on a cold night.
• If people you love give you silly clothes, were them anyway...and with pride. You'll make them very happy...and who cares what strangers think? They don't feed you or scratch you in just the right spots.
• Don't be an asshole to the ones you love just for attention...a hard lesson for Kota...harder for me.
• Be gentle with little ones. Dogs and people.
• Protect your family from anything...it's better to bark at the wrong times than to be too afraid to bark at all. If they don't need your help right then, they'll tell you to shut up.
• Give it one extra bark...just to make sure.
• If your Mom tells you that squirrels are evil, chase them away from her whenever you can. She'll love you for it.
• Try not to bite people when they wake you up. They don't know your nightmares, or why you have them...and if you love them, you don't want them to.
• Never try to be somebody else. You'll fail twice, instead of once.
• A collar and a leash are wonderful things...they mean you belong to someone...and they don't mind being seen with you in public.
• A homemade sweater from your Mom...or one of your dad's shirts...both mean love.
• If you hurt someone you love, go and lay at their feet with your head down. You may not be able to say I'm sorry, but they'll know what you mean.
• Actions definitely speak louder than barks.
• Loving...and being loved...are better than brains...better than looks...better than food...better than anything.

I know that when I close my eyes for the last time on this earth...they will open immediately in Heaven. I will be greeted by my Savior, my loved ones...and all of my wonderful dogs...and I look forward to each one...

I love you Kota Bear...tell Granny I said to pour a little extra gravy on your food...and tell her to get the fried chicken started...we'll all be there before you know it.

LOST: The Statue

There have been many theories about the Statue on LOST, ever since the four toed foot was seen in "Live together, die alone" in season 2. It appears to have been seen again in "LaFleur".

I believe that it could be a statue of SEKHMET.

The name Sekhmet derives from the word "Sekhem", which means power or strength. SEKHMET literally means, "THE POWERFUL ONE". She was originally linked to PTAH, the Creator, although her myths predate his by hundreds of years. In later myths, she is called the EYE of Ra. It is said that Ra was so angered by mankind that he sent Sekhmet to destroy them. She did too well, however, and Ra had to get her drunk(on beer stained red like blood) to stop her.

Among her many titles are: The One before whom evil trembles, Mistress of dread, Lady of Slaughter, Avenger of Wrongs, the Scarlett Lady, and the Lady of Flame.

She carried a unique duality:Powerful destructive force and Avenger, as well as ruling over women's menstrual cycles and being the Goddess of healing and physicians.

She was said to have given birth to the most notable of Pharaohs, as well as being mother to Imhotep, who we will cover in a future blog on LOST.(Think Richard)

Sekhmet's action is always the right, or 'appropriate action'. When She destroys it is an appropriate destruction or vengeance. It is never chaotic or random. It is always what is needed at the time. Even though Sekhmet is not intimately linked with the aspect of destruction, as Netjer Set is, She removes threats and punishes those who do wrong against Ma'at.

Ma'at is the concept of balance or justice. Thus, Sekhmet is also known as "The One Who Loves Ma´at and Who Detests Evil"...even though Her actions might not always seem to mortals as just.

More Lost blogs to follow...on Horace(Horus), Jacob, Ben(ben-oni/ben-jamin), the Hyksos, and Imhotep.

PS

Look at the statues...Sekhmet standing always carries an Ankh, and sometimes a papyrus sceptre...and is frequently depicted with four toes...

Anti-Semitism, Replacement Theology, and the Church

I heard something on the radio the other day that angered, upset, and saddened me. A noted radio host, The Bible Answer Man, had a caller who questioned the antisemitism of Martin Luther. She was fairly new to Christ...had been raised in a Lutheran Church...but had never read the vile, hateful things that Luther had written about the Jews. She was understandably confused and shocked. What followed, from the supposed "Bible answer man", can be found here...
http://www.oneplace.com/common/player/oneplace/CustomPlayer.asp?bcd=2/26/2009&url=mms://wm.salemweb.net/a3186/o29/oneplace/wm/bam/bam20090226.wma&MinTitle=Bible+Answer+Man&MinURL=http://www.oneplace.comhttp://www.oneplace.com/ministries/bible_answer_man/&MinArchives=http://www.oneplace.comhttp://www.oneplace.com/ministries/bible_answer_man/archives.asp&Refresh=&AdsCategory=MINISTRY.BAM&Show_ID=243
beginning at about the 40 minute mark. Listen for yourself.

There is no place in the life of a Scriptural Christian for antisemitism, no matter how you couch it. There is no justification...no excuse for the vile, hateful rantings of Martin Luther. Period.

There is no place in the Church for any doctrine, even one solely on eschatology, whose end result brings about hatred...especially of the Jews. If you can't see the error of that, then may God have pity on you. I don't.

When the Church adopts the hate speech of racist groups...whether they be Klan, white supremacists, Nazis, etc...it is a shame to the Cross of Christ. If you speak against the Jews with hate, you are a disgrace as a Christian. If you attempt to mask that hate with feigned logic and reason, you are a coward. If you attempt to misuse and distort the Scriptures to justify your position of hatred toward the Jews, then you are anathema.

I had planned on this being a long, scholarly piece on the inaccuracies of the preterist position on eschatology and its end resulting error of Church involvement in world politics over the last 1600 plus years...and that involvement leading to the absolute disgrace of the Church, both Protestant and Catholic, being the number one persecutors of the Jews.

I can't...at least not right now. My hands are shaking as I type. I feel the same right now as I would if someone prostituted the words of my beloved wife to justify such a truly evil position.

Search out the Scriptures for yourself. Search out history. Try and find, within the Bible, any justification for what the Church has done, is doing, and continues to do to the Jews. There is none. None.

I am ashamed. I am angry. I hope that you either are, or will be.

My son was watching a special with me on TV many years ago. The special was on antisemitism. One of the scenes showed a cross burning while the words of Luther were being read. Chance was only about four years old. He looked at me, puzzled.

Daddy, is the man talking a Christian?

He was supposed to be son, yes.

Isn't Jesus Jewish?

Yes son, He is.

Then that man is stupid...and so are those people burning that cross.

Then he got up and left the room.

Out of the mouths of babes...

There is No "I" in Church...the failing of the Church in the last forty years

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13



No...you can't.



You can't save anyone. Especially yourself. You can't condemn someone to eternal punishment. You can't change the sentence that God has passed on Satan. There are a multitude more.



So...no, you can't.



Why, then, is this verse in the Bible?



The constant miss-use of this verse over the last forty or so years is emblematic of the number one problem in the Church today. "I". "I" is not the actual subject of this verse, nor should it be the subject of our focus or attention. Christ is the actual subject of the verse, just as He should be the subject of our lives.



Panta/ ischuo/ en/ to/ endunamounti/ me/ Xristo.

All these things/to be strong/in/the/who strengthens/ me/Christ

It is Christ who empowers me to be strong in all these things.

Christ's indwelling power enables me to do these seemingly impossible things.



Greek, as I've told you, is a funny, yet powerful language. The structure is not the same as ours. The correct reading of the verse, in today's language, is closer to the last one I've written. How can I be so sure? Outside of giving you boring lectures on Greek grammar and syntax?



Easy...the three Cs. Context...context...context.



The context of the verse within the passage. The context of that passage within the book that contains it...and finally, the context of both within the Bible as a whole. So, let's first look at the context of the passage.




But I rejoiced in the Lord
greatly, that now at the last
your care of me hath flourished
again; wherein ye were also
careful, but ye lacked
opportunity.


Not that I speak in respect
of want: for I have learned, in
whatsoever state I am,
[therewith] to be content.


I know both how to be
abased, and I know how to
abound: every where and in all
things I am instructed both to
be full and to be hungry, both
to abound and to suffer need.


I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me.



Paul is speaking to the Churches of Philippi about their gifts. He thanks them, and reassures them. Not their fault they hadn't sent anything in a while. They didn't know what he needed. But they should never worry about him anyway. The Lord has taught him to be content in any circumstance.



Now he tells them something else. Something amazing. Something that, to the human mind, is impossible. God has taught him to be humble and exalted...at the same time! To be hungry and full in all things...at the same time!



Think about it...I command you to be faster than the speed of light...and never move...at the same time. I command you to be taller than a mountain, and smaller than an ant...at the same time. You would think I'm crazy...or at the very least, unfair. How can you be up and down...North and South...frozen and boiling...all at the same time? These are not just extremes...they're extreme opposites. Impossible!



If Christ commands me to do two impossible things at the same time...He will give me the power to accomplish what He has commanded me to do. The focus from Paul is on Christ...not himself.

The second "C" is the context of the book of Philippians. It is a book that exemplifies contrasts. Extreme contrasts.
For me to live is Christ...to die is gain.


Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to
be equal with God:

But made himself of no
reputation, and took upon him
the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men:

And being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the
cross.

Wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above
every name:

That at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of
[things] in heaven, and [things]
in earth, and [things] under the
earth;

And [that] every tongue
should confess that Jesus
Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of
God the Father.

The first is the opposite of how we think...to live is Christ? To die is gain? Yet Paul tells them he's in between a rock and a hard place. He's ready to go...wants to go...home. But he knows it's better for them if he stays for a while longer. Not how we look at life.

The second is mind boggling to me. The All Mighty God came and put on a tent of human flesh. Lived like us. Was scorned. Spit on. Beaten so badly His face wasn't recognizable as the face of a man. Every hair of His beard plucked out. Mocked to the point of His death. The ultimate in power made Himself nothing for us. Wow.

The third "C" is the Bible itself. The Bible does not glorify man. It glorifies God. It doesn't start out, In beginning Man...

The first sin, by Lucifer, was the five "I wills". We sin, or miss the mark, because, "to will is present in me." We are saved by Grace...we are the called out ones...chosen.

The Greek word for Church is Ekklesia. Ek/out...Kaleo/to call. To ekklesia/ the out called ones. Once again you see that the specialness is in being called out by someone else. Not yourself.

Why is this problem so prevalent in the Church? It starts at the top. I can't tell you how many Pastors I've heard this little gem from..."I'm a fine instrument for God's use." Yeah...right. No, you're a dirt bag...just like me. My only saving grace is the fact that I know I'm a dirt bag. No delusions of grandeur here. I'm not doing God any favors by doing His work. It's the other way around.

Where do they get it from? I would think, from what I've learned, that it's systemic. It begins with the teaching at the seminaries. Pastors are taught that they know more, know better, than their congregations. Most of what they are taught, especially in higher criticism, can't be trusted to the masses. Too dangerous. It's the old shell game of the heresy of the Nicolaitans: you must rule over(Nicos/completely conquer and vanquish) the laity/people(laoston/people) for their own good.

The Bible expressly forbids this. Jesus taught that we should call no one Master or Lord(Reverend or Pastor) because we are all brothers and sisters in Christ...we have but one Lord and Master...Christ Himself. Paul took on the title of doulos, or bond servant, which we translate minister. It means far more than that. A bond servant was someone who screwed up so badly that they were sold into slavery for their debt. Their Master paid the debt, and they had to work for that master until the debt was paid. In our case, as Paul's, the debt is our life...which God paid for with the life of His Son. So, our debt will never be paid off...at least not in this lifetime.

If you look at yourself that way, it makes it much harder to have your ego fly off into flights of fancy...to elevate yourself, or your knowledge, above others. To think that "I" can do anything.

Sadly, that is the state of the Church as a whole today. I name it and claim it. I have needs. I sow my seed. I need extra classes at Church for what I want. I need support groups to minister to me. I need God to bless me financially. I need God to heal me. I need...I need...I need...sounds like Bill Murray in "What about Bob", doesn't it?

Story time. I told this one at my Fathers funeral.

My dad taught me everything I needed to know. How to be a man. How to be a husband. How to be a Father. Most importantly, he taught me how to be a servant to my Lord and Master. He didn't teach me these things by preaching to me...or at me. His testimony was his life...the way he lived it...the way he treated me...and the examples he set.

I can still remember the time my brother and I "painted" the shed for my dad. I was about four years old. My dad had built the garage on our lot back in the forties after he and my Mom bought the house. He built a little shed onto the back of it a few years later. Now, it was time to paint them both. My dad was going to paint the garage. We wanted to help. We were still young enough to have that desire...to help our dad.

He took us around behind the garage to the shed. Set us up with paint...brushes...rollers...the whole deal...then he went to paint the garage.

We painted the sidewalk...the brick wall behind us...the avocado tree...the dogs...the dirt...and each other. I think we might have accidentally gotten some paint on the shed. We had quite the high time back there.

My dad came around back when he was done with the garage. Cleaned us up and sent us in to my Mom to take baths. Then he had to clean up our mess...and still paint the shed.

Any time anyone came over for the next six months or so, they commented on how great the garage looked. You could see it down the drive way from the street. My dad would make sure I was around before he led them behind the garage...to the shed.

"Look at what a great job my boys did on the shed".

My chest would swell in pride every time. My dad was proud of me.

I was crying when I said this at my dad's funeral. I'm crying now.

I didn't realize I hadn't helped him paint the shed. I was only four. I hadn't helped him at all...in fact, I'd been in the way. He had to work ten times harder, just to let me help. He cleaned up all of my mess, and still did the job.

I looked back on this, and many other things that my dad did when I got older. Why would he go to all that trouble? I knew the answer not long after my oldest daughter was born. He wanted me to learn, at an early age, that it's not what you are able to do that counts. It's your attitude...your willingness...your desire. He wanted to reward that...and make me feel good about myself. Most importantly, he wanted me to know that he loved me...that he was proud of me...no matter how ineffective I might be.

He loved me.

But...he also wanted to teach me what it means to be a servant of Christ. We are, all of us, four year olds painting the shed. We aren't helping God...in fact, we're in the way...and not even aware of the big job He's doing while we're screwing up the little one he gave us...the one no one can even see. He cleans us up...does the job...and then praises us to everyone for how hard we worked...when we never did a thing worthwhile.

Read Hebrews chapter 11 when you have time...and you'll see why I call it God's wallet. He takes out the pictures of His kids...and brags about them...but if you read their stories in the rest of the Bible, you'll see what monumental screw ups these "heroes of faith" really were. Most of them would never even make it into a Church today, let alone be in any position of importance...but to God....well, they're His kids. He loves them. He's proud of them...in spite of their faults.

You see, everyone of them was a four year old painting the shed...and that's what God wants from us. He wants us to have that earnest desire to serve, like a four year old...and yet, at the same time, He wants us to grow into the maturity of knowing that we can't do anything but screw up...and still show up anyway.

Some people here today have asked me if I think I can fill my Father's shoes. The answer is painfully obvious...no. But I can do my best to keep them shined...because he taught me how.

I love you dad.