Friday Lightness

This was on the dining room ceiling a few mornings ago.


 Apparition?


 Sign?

Kinda looks like an eye....

The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.  Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.  If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light. from Luke 11

Here's the culprit:

Sunlight reflecting off  shiny plastic. I don't think Batman is involved, though.

For the word of God is living and operative, and keen above any two-edged sword, and penetrating up to the parting of soul and spirit, both of the articulations and marrow, and is a judge of the sentiments and thoughts of the heart. And there is not a creature which is not apparent in its sight.  Now all is naked and bare to the eyes of Him to Whom we are accountable. from Hebrews 4

Paul Could be Disqualified?

What the


What?

 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 1 Cor 9:24-27

Check out Strong's use of castaway (adokimos) here.


I could read some commentaries, but I'd be interested in your thoughts.

I'm not Special

Yesterday during our church service, the pastor asked for some testimonies from the congregation as to who Jesus was to them.


While listening to the half dozen or so people who spoke out about what God had done in their lives through Jesus, I heard many of the same things that I had experienced.  In a way, if I am completely honest, I felt a little jealous.


HEY! That is MY Jesus you are talking about. He belongs to me.


What a strange thing to think, huh?






It got me to thinking about the workers in the field parable, where the early hired were upset because the late hired got the same reward, also about James and John requesting to be the greatest in the Kingdom, how Martha was busy doing busy work and Mary was sitting at His feet, how John called himself the disciple who Jesus loved.


Also about Hagar, when cast out by Abraham and Sarah, heard the Lord's voice and was saved from death in the desert. Peter's call to the Gentiles and him realizing that God was no respecter of persons.





How He says He gives rain to the just and the unjust.






 And I wonder, if He is perfect love, then He could and does love all of His completely and in an extremely personal way. THAT is amazing and something I can't even comprehend being so selfish in my own flesh.

But He does it, I'm sure of it. Somehow. He has His own relationship to each of us uniquely.






Susan and I were discussing how getting real with God is so important to the relationship, not just head knowledge. I went off into the head knowledge thing as more preferable for a time, it seemed safer.


Paul likens our relationship to Christ in more intimate ways, though.

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. (Eph 5:29-32)

 I fear sometimes that if God loves everyone like He does me, then there won't be enough of Him for everyone! Ridiculous!

 Job 12:10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

Acts7:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

1 Cor 15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

He Spake to them in Parables

And without a parable spake He not unto them.





I've been thinking about the meaning of the scriptures as a whole.  Being staunchly literal in my interpretation for a very long time, some things are popping out as never before for some reason.  I can't speak of them all here, I won't make any sense, but check these out.

My paraphrases will follow the references



Matthew 16:6-12

Jesus tells His disciples to beware of the leaven of the religious big wigs. They start saying to each other,  "Man, we didn't bring any bread. What were we thinking?" Jesus reminds them of the miracle they just saw, you know the feeding of multitudes with practically nothing, and then tells them plainly He isn't talking about leaven or bread at all!

Come on guys how are you so dense? Have you no faith?




John 3

Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about being born from above. Nicodemus, seemingly thinking Jesus is talking about another physical birth asks him how this could possible. Jesus again explains that this is a SPIRIT thing, spiritual birth= not literal. He also seems a bit exasperated that Nick isn't gettin' it.  He was a "spiritual" leader after all, and he can't see these things?






John 2:19-25

Jesus says that if they destroy this temple (Him being in the temple area I presume) He would raise it again in three days. They thought he meant the literal temple, why wouldn't they?  It was only after He rose from the dead that his disciples figured it out. OH, He meant the...yeah.

Again not literal



It is amazing now that I am paying attention (taking off doctrine  systematic theology *glasses), that almost everything Jesus said had a spiritual meaning, meanings that were hidden from those looking for literal things.


Hmmm

It is the spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and are life.

 


In the epistles, Paul also spiritualizes things that were always thought to be literal (and yes they were, but they pointed to something else).


Hagar and Sarah

The muzzling an ox thing....

look them up;)



So for what it's worth, it's got me thinking.

Edit:

*Gregg pointed out in the comments that doctrine is not bad, and is a Biblical term. I agree and have amended this to better reflect what I was trying to say.

Are Cloth Napkins Worth It?

In an attempt to be frugal and thrifty and stick-it-to-the-man like I started making (not buying mind you, but I don't make the cloth, so then I'm back to consumer-ing) cloth napkins for the family.  We've been doing this for several years, but I'm starting to wonder.



I have about 3 dozen made, but three meals a day times 8 people = I'm washing cloth napkins constantly in order to keep up. I could make more...I plan to, really.




Every night when my daughter sets the table and says, "There's no napkins," I wonder where in the world they all go. I find them under the couch and in the toy boxes and out in the yard and everywhere else, but there never seem to be enough clean. I recently discovered my 3 year old was using them as blankets for her baby dolls. As cute as this is, and it is cute, this is not their intended purpose.

There's one

I'm feeling the tempatation to buy a package of cheap paper napkin's at the ol' Dollar General and call it quits.

What do you think? Do I make more and keep trucking or give in and go paper? Anybody got the numbers on laundering vs. disposable costs?






What do you use and what works for you?