Voice Crying in the Wilderness

John the Baptizer is attributed as being a voice crying in the wilderness preparing the way for the Christ.

Did he start his job as soon as he was born? Little Ida Claire (named after the Gulf Coast Hurricane in her honor and when you say it together you get, well, I dee clare, a wonderful Suthern xprehshun) sure announces her presence by crying. She gets the whole house's attention. Was this what the Bible means when it described JB as a voice crying? I doubt it, but it sure fits.

And what about little baby Jesus himself? Here is the Word of God lying in a manger, one week and a half after bring born, not being able to say one syllable. He could only cry. And since this was their firstborn, were they able to understand what he was trying to communicate?

WOW. How humbling for God in human flesh, who could not speak but cry.

Away in a Manger

A couple of Sunday's ago they pulled out the Christmas songs starting with "Away in a Manger."

The first line struck me.

"Away in a manger no crib for a bed."

We had just ordered our crib, and today we picked it up. Obviously, we know Jesus did not have a crib only a manger. But this Christmas the birth of Jesus is just a little more special with our little one on the way.

Yeah, Mary did not have a shower. We have had 4. We have a crib. In fact, we have a crib and a pack in play, which is a bassinet and a play pin. And we have the travel version. Mary had to travel with Jesus in her arms, or give him to Joseph. I am thinking of their going to Egypt with an newborn/infant. No car seats. No car seat installations. Just their arms.

And speaking of traveling, Mary had a long walk down to Bethlehem. And I know that would be a long slow walk if Lady R and I had to do that. That maybe why they arrived too late in Bethlehem to get a room in the inn. And maybe that's why she went into labor when they got down there.

And how did they cut the umbilical cord? And what did they do for diapers? and wipes? and lotion? and any diaper rash? And what was the first bath like? What were all the small details at that first Christmas? There were no cameras to document, no videos to show, no blogs to write. All we have is how the story was reported by Matthew and Luke.

This will be a different Christmas. Little One will be taking center stage. And we, the parents, will begin reading the Christmas story empathizing more than ever with Mary and Joseph wondering how they did it with nothing.

They wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manager.

Nevermind I'm pulling my recommendation

After last night's episode of Flash Forward, I will no longer be watching the show. Beside the fact that the show is just simply boring now, I do not have to watch two lesbians kissing if I don't want to. And I don't want to.

Pro-giving

This is a follow up from the post below.

So many times in the realm of ideas and philosophy I tend to state what I am against but not what I am for. I take a more defensive stance rather than an offensive. So, in an attempt to state what I do believe about giving, I give you this post.

In review, I am against church or denominational mandatory tithing. I am against the idea of the church being the storehouse of God. It simply is not.

As Christians we are to support its mission, which is to be examples of loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves, despite how much we fall short. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. This is how we do it.

If you earn some money, first determine how much you can give back to God happily. Set it aside and then give. That may be 1%, 10%, or 50%. The percentage does not matter. You may not even know the percentage. You may can only joyfully give $5 out of $1000 you make. Fine. Give the $5. But if you can raise your threshold of giving, you will notice God's provision.

This system is not a the-more-I-give-the-more-I-get system. This is not health and wealth which is a lie too. This is one way that God has give his followers to be active in his work everywhere. You decide how much you can participate. I've seen $10 go further than large amounts.

This is not exhaustive but does give the basic idea of Christian giving

Anti-tithing

Disagree that Christians are required to "tithe," or give 10% of their income to the church.

Proponents of the teaching have as Malachi 3:10 as their proof-text, as was the case in tonight's sermon. The argument is tied to the word "storehouse," equaling the "church."

I did a quick search in the OT for the word, "storehouse." It is actually made up of two Hebrew words 1) house and 2) treasure. It is mostly a place for storing things such as wine, oil, and food. What one finds more often is that the word "treasure," relates to the riches of kings or the riches of the house of God. In the book of Ezra and Nehemiah one finds these references to money being paid to the treasury (of work). And in Nehemiah 10:38 one finds that a legit Levite was to take a 10% of the tithes and bring them to the "storeroom," (the NIV is a bit tricky here, I prefer "treasure room," rather than "storeroom.") of the treasury. However, the word for "treasury," is the word used in Malachi 3:10.

A couple of observations: 1) In the above mentioned Ezra and Nehemiah passages that speak of money being paid or brought to the treasury, there is no mention of it being a tithe. 2) In the Nehemiah 10:38 passage, one does bring a tithe but Nehemiah 10:39 shows that it was not 10% of anyone's income.

Someone may want to say that God's people (i.e. the children of Israel) were to take care of the needs of the priests (and maybe later even the workers of the walls and temple) by giving them items that would sustain them. And that by comparison, church members should give 10% of their income to sustain the church and her ministers. Thus, we should all give 10% to the church.

It is true that all the other tribes were to support the priestly tribe, the Levites with tithes. And even the Levites had to tithe what they received. But this does not connect the "church," with a "storehouse," not even by comparison.

The Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT) has one word for the two Hebrew words and that word comes from a verb meaning "to store up," giving a definition that means a place for keeping things safe. A storehouse.

I am pretty sure as Christians we are not suppose to be giving to the church so she can "store up," what we've given. In fact, as Christians we are not to store up treasures (same word as above) that will disintergrate.

We are not storehouses, keeping it all in for ourselves, are we?

Click on this link for the ironic name of this church pictured above.

Suffering

Bart Ehrman claims that he's given up on God because the Bible fails to answer our questions about suffering.

Many atheists concur that they can't possibly believe in a good God who allows evil things to happen.

Suffering. It's part of the human experience. Because we feel, we notice suffering. Rocks do not feel and are not bothered my waves that roll over them constantly or wind that beats them. But we are not rocks nor trees pummeled by nature's forces. We feel it when nature hits us with disease and pain.

I'm reading Don Piper's 90 Minutes in Heaven, and I agree with him in one chapter then disagree with him in another on the proper response of people to the injured.****WARNING: DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT A SPOILER*****

Don was in a severe car accident and died for 90 minutes. Upon his return to life he describes his rehabilitation in the months that followed.

The beginning of chapter 8 "Pain and Adjustments," begins with,

" Even though they didn't realize it, visitors made my situation worse. They cared for me and wanted to express that concern. Because they cared, they did the most natural thing in the world-they visited my hospital room. That was the problem."

He goes on in chapter 9 to talk about how these visitors would show up, and when they were leaving they would ask, "Is there anything I can do for you?" And his response was always, "No. Thanks."

A mentoring type retired minister would often visit with him. And one day he got fed up with Piper's refusal to allow others to do even small acts of kindness for him such as retrieve a magazine or buy a strawberry milkshake. So the minister gave Piper a strong rebuke telling him to, " 'You need to get your act together. You're just not doing a very good job.' " He goes on to state that the visitors love him and he was not showing appropriate appreciation to them.

I know how Piper felt when he responded with, " 'I don't want them to do anything... The truth is I don't even want them to be here. I'd just as soon they didn't come. They must have better things to do...' "

I disagree with the aged reverend when he said to Piper, "It's not your call."

When we were in France, both Lady R and I were sick more often and more severe than we ever had been our whole life in the States. I was on some strong medication that made me feel like every breath would be the one before I threw up everything I had eaten in the last 2 days. Lady R was rushed to the ER more than once for a still unknown cause of misery. All topped off with a miscarriage. In the last case, people were offended and hurt when we told them we really didn't need them and that we just wanted to be left alone for a while. Of course, they backed away (a good thing) but then treated us as loose canons (a bad thing). They really wanted to help. I believe that. And they, like the visitors to Piper's room, did what they thought they should; call, offer to come over and stay, "be there if we wanted to talk," etc etc. It was the wrong response. Plain and simple.

Service to others is not what I want to do for others, service is doing for others what they need me to do for them. Otherwise, their service is a hindrance. They will walk away hurt because they will feel rejected. Whereas, if they would serve according to my needs rather than their wants, we both could benefit. When we serve others it is not about making me feel good. It's about alleviating other's burdens not making it heavier. Of course, that's what those who love us WANT to do, but they miss the mark when they think of service in an universal one-size-fits- all means.

Why the onslaught

I realize this has been an onslaught of posts.

I am guessing this will the last month where I will have a little bit of time to blog before MAJOR changes occur in the pecheur household.

I'm trying to get out everthing I want to blog and read whatever I can before time runs out.

Got to figure out how to install a car seat and finish getting the hospital kit ready. Just today, we've heard of stories of friend's who went into labor at 5.5 weeks before the due date. That's exactly where we are.

Mentally, I'm trying to get prepared for the delivery. What i've heard is that if you are prepared you are less likely to pass out and actually be a help inside of being mopped up off the floor.

Tonight begins our first classes at the hospital.

=)