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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The map & the plan. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff

The map & the plan. | Stuff Christians Like – Jon Acuff:

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I want a plan.
I want a 10-year vision with details and steps and instructions.
I want to map out the next 40 years of my life and know exactly where I am going and how I am going to get there.
And every time I pray about that desire, every time I ask God for that, his answer is really simple:
“No.”
Maybe you’re having the same conversation with him I’m having right now. Everyone told you that college was going to be the “best years of your life,” and you’re a sophomore and they haven’t happened yet. Or you’re a junior and graduation isn’t a release, it’s a time bomb waiting to send you into the worst employment situation we’ve had since World War II.
Maybe you had a picture of how marriage was going to be. But in what felt like a blink of an eye, the word “divorced” was added to your bio.
Maybe you’re unemployed, and it feels like you lost more than just your job, you lost your identity.
Maybe you can’t imagine sitting in a cubicle for the next 40 years of your life. Little kids don’t dream about growing up to be what you became.
Regardless of the path you took, a lot of us end up in the same place – the woods of life.
The trees are darker than we thought, the path more difficult to find, the way home wholly lost.
And so we turn to God asking for a plan and he says, “No.” Or he doesn’t say anything, which feels like no in most ways.
That’s exactly where I found myself three-and-a-half years ago.
It was November 5, 2008. Stuff Christians Like had existed for 9 months. It was growing, but I didn’t know why. I was going somewhere with my writing, but I didn’t know where. I felt stuck and confused, sitting in a cubicle for 40 hours a week at an IT day job while this other thing started to tug at my sleeve.
And so I wrote in my journal a lot, especially on that Monday, because I’d just visited Dave Ramsey’s office for the first time.
I spoke to his whole team, and it was the second time I’d ever spoken professionally. I had no idea what I was doing as a blogger, a speaker or a writer, but when presented the opportunity to speak there, I took it. And it went well.
A week later, I was back in my cubicle, back in my normal life, and frustrated with the thought that there was something else I was supposed to be doing.
This is what I wrote down in my journal:
“God, I’m afraid of giving the Stuff Christians Like blog everything I have and getting my hopes and dreams tied up in it because at some point it will end. It will disappear and I’m afraid that when that happens I’ll be left with nothing.”
As a way to prevent myself from being hurt, I’ve inappropriately taken the attitude before of “If I don’t care that much or get that excited, I can’t be hurt that much if things don’t work out.” This is a toxic way to go through life, but that’s where I was at that moment. Afraid to let go. Afraid to let loose.
This is how I felt like God responded to my fear of giving too much to Stuff Christians Like. I didn’t see these words written on a wall or receive them from a burning bush. This is just what I heard in my heart and scribbled down in my notebook:
“Good, you’re right to fear that Stuff Christians Like will go away. Because that will happen. It will vanish and evaporate one day. That’s why I don’t want you to give your all to the site. I want you to give your all to me. I want all your hopes and all your dreams.
Because I am unchanging. I will not go away. I will not fade, I will not vanish. I am the great I am. I and I alone can make that statement. You can’t see it right now. Your eyes are blind to the things I’m doing, but know that in the mosaic of my mind, the only mind that spans generations, I am preparing you for something. I am tilling your heart and your soul right now. I am stirring up everything you think you know about you and me because I am preparing you for something. And what that is, I will not say, but know that it is mine, and things that are mine begin in love and end in love and they never make sense to the human mind because my designs are too wonderful to fathom.”
At the time I wrote that, I could have never imagined I’d one day join Dave Ramsey’s team. I didn’t know that we’d move to Nashville. I didn’t know I’d get to write books or travel around the country or do any of the ridiculous things that have happened in the last three years.
But God knew, even if he refused to tell me.
I don’t know where your path is going to lead. I don’t really know where mine will lead next, to tell you the truth, but I don’t need to.
Because if I could tell you one thing today, I know what I’d say. In fact, if I could build a time machine and go back to that frustrated, angry, confused Jon Acuff that scribbled in a 5 star notebook in his car before he went inside to start his day job, I’d tell him the same thing:
You don’t need a perfect map for your life. You’ve already got a perfect Messiah. And, though it feels impossible to believe sometimes and doesn’t match your expectations, he’s got a plan more wondrous than you can even imagine.

Monday, March 26, 2012

11 Paths to Prayer, Spiritual Living, Christian Faith

11 Paths to Prayer, Spiritual Living, Christian Faith:

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Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of Matt Woodley's recent book, The Folly of Prayer: Practicing the Presence and Absence of God, (IVP Books, 2009).
Sensing God's presence with you when you pray is exhilarating, but feeling like you're getting no response can be exasperating.  If you want to connect with God but don't seem to be making contact through the way you usually pray, it could be time for to try a new approach.  There are many ways to pray - many paths of communication that can lead you closer to God.
Here are some different paths you can take to prayer:
"Guttural groaning":  When you feel pain or doubt so deeply that you can't express verbally, you can simply groan in your spirit and God will hear.  The Holy Spirit within you will intercede to God the Father for you to express what you can't put into words.  Guttural groaning will open your heart to God's comfort, hope, and compassion.
"Skin, trees, blood, bread, and wine":  When you pray using your physical senses (such as seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, or tasting), you can deepen your connection to God.  Start by celebrating Communion for a powerful encounter with God.  Then try other sacramental approaches to prayer, like praying with other people whose faces you can see, touching someone you're praying for, praying outside in nature, moving your body when you pray (kneeling, raising your hands, dancing, walking, making the sign of the cross, or anything else God may lead you to do).
"Desperation":  When you cry out to God from the depths of your helplessness, God hears you.  Don't let either pride or insecurity keep you from praying when you feel desperate.  Remember that Jesus has given you the freedom and confidence you need to turn to God in the midst of desperate situations.  Open yourself up fully to receive His help.  Expect God to reach out to you.  Let the desperation you experience motivate you to pursue God more and develop deeper compassion for other people in need.
"Mystery":  When your prayers go unanswered and you don't know why, don't hesitate to ask God questions and express your agony to Him.  Choose to trust God's promise that He will do what's best when you pray.  Realize that He may be using unanswered prayers to change you for the better as you go through difficult circumstances.  Understand that sometimes God will choose to give you something more valuable than answers to your prayers: Himself.  Get to know the Giver rather than just the gifts.  Make your ultimate goal in prayer to spend time with God instead of trying to get something from Him.  Ask God to help you surrender your will to His will and trust that He will work out every situation according to what's best when you invite Him to do so.
"Absence":  When God feels far away, recognize that as a normal part of your spiritual journey, but remember that God hasn't abandoned you.  He has promised always to be with you, but when you don't sense His presence, you're experiencing it in a whole new way.  During the time that you feel separated from God, He can wean you from your attachment to immature thoughts and feelings about Him and help you grow to eventually see Him in clearer ways, experience His love more deeply, and let it flow through you to others.
"An argument with God":  When you argue with God through prayer, you can actually grow closer to Him by engaging with Him in real, raw, and honest ways.  Be humble yet confident about confronting God about an issue in your life.  God would rather have you argue with Him than not care enough to confront Him about what's troubling you.  Feel free to wrestle with God as part of the process of passionately pursuing Him.  Don't be afraid to tell God: "I love you, but I'm mad and confused."

Paul spent a night at Cos (Kos) | Ferrell's Travel Blog

Paul spent a night at Cos (Kos) | Ferrell's Travel Blog:

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Paul spent a night at Cos (Kos)

Paul and his companions, including the physician Luke, made their way from Miletus to Cos (Kos).
And when we had parted from them and set sail, we came by a straight course to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. (Acts 21:1 ESV)
Cos is one of the islands belonging to a group of 12 called the Dodecanese. Patmos is also an island of this group. The Mycenaeans settled Cos in the 15th century B.C. In the centuries to follow the island came under the control of the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. In modern times the island has been under Turkish and Italian control, and German occupation. Since 1948 it has been part of Greece. My only visit to Cos was a brief stop en route from Patmos to Rhodes in 1984. Here is one of the photos I made.
The harbor on the Island of Cos in 1984. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
The harbor on the Island of Cos in 1984. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
In the time of Paul, Cos was noted as the birthplace of Hippocrates, the “father of medicine.” Hippocrates was associated with the Asclepium, ruins of which can still be seen. A Hellenistic gymnasium and some Roman ruins, including portions of a Roman road, may also be seen. There is also an archaeological museum.
Howard F. Vos describes the island with these words:
One of the most beautiful ports of the ancient world, Cos not doubt was most famous as a health resort. It was the site of the first school of scientific medicine and the sanctuary of Asclepius (Esculapius). The island had a healthful climate and hot ferrous and sulfurous springs, which the great Hippocrates (ca 460–377 b.c.), the father of medicine, first used to cure his patients. (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, revised.)
James Strahan, in the old Hasting’s Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, says,
It was renowned for its vines and looms, its literature and art, and above all for its temple of Æsculapius and school of medicine, which must have made it especially interesting to St. Luke.
According to Josephus, Herod the Great assisted the people of Cos with grain and other goods. (JW 1:424).
Two Other Good Sources:
Fant, C. E. and M. G. Reddish, A Guide to Biblical Sites in Greece and Turkey.
Wilson, Mark. Biblical Turkey: A Guide to Jewish and Christian Sites of Asia MinorThis book deals with Turkey, but devotes ½ page to Cos as a Sidetrip.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Refining Silver


Refining SILVER
Posted: 19 Mar 2012 09:00 AM PDT 
via  Knowing God through His Word...Day by Day

Our passage from Deuteronomy mentions “God testing us.” The Bible tells us that a believer is like gold or silver that must be “tried” in a furnace to remove all the impurities in the metal. What is that process of refining silver?

Psalm 66:10 For you, O God, have tested us;  you have tried us as silver is tried.
Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;  I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

The story is told of a woman who called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.  As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time thesilver was being refined.  The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.  The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?” He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when I see my image in it.”
If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you. There is a purpose for all that God allows into our lives, including the troubles and suffering.
  • Romans 8:28-29 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
  • 1 Peter 1:6-8 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
  • Malachi 3:2-3 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold andsilver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.
  • Isaiah 1:25 I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross as with lye and remove all your alloy.
  • Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
  • Psalm 66:8-12 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net;you laid a crushing burden on our backs; you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
  • God has a purpose for all the trials in our lives.  He is purifying us, removing the “dross.”  He is making us more and more like Jesus.  God is perfect in wisdom, in power and He will finish the work He has begun in us!
  • Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
  • Job 23:10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
  • 1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
  • 2 Timothy 1:12 But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Alexander the Great and the Book of Daniel | Ferrell's Travel Blog

Alexander the Great and the Book of Daniel | Ferrell's Travel Blog:

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Alexander the Great and the Book of Daniel

Josephus, the late first century Jewish historian, records the visit of Alexander the Great to the city of Jerusalem in the 4th century B.C. He recounts how Alexander “went up into the temple” and “offered sacrifice to God.” He says that the Book of Daniel was shown to Alexander. Alexander assumed, as have many commentators since that time, that Daniel was prophesying of Alexander.
Bust of Alexander in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Bust of Alexander in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Photo by Ferrell Jenkins.
Here is a portion of the account from the Antiquities of the Jews. Notice especially section 337.
336 And when he had said this to Parmenion, and had given the high priest his right hand, the priests ran along by him, and he came into the city. And when he went up into the temple, he offered sacrifice to God, according to the high priest’s direction, and magnificently treated both the high priest and the priests.
337 And when the Book of Daniel was showed to him {a} wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended; and as he was then glad, he dismissed the multitude for the present; but the next day he called them to him, and bade them ask what favours they pleased of him;
338 whereupon the high priest desired that they might enjoy the laws of their forefathers, and might pay no tribute on the seventh year. He granted all they desired; and when they entreated him that he would permit the Jews in Babylon and Media to enjoy their own laws also, he willingly promised to do hereafter what they desired:  (Ant 11:336-338)
Read Daniel 8 for more details of the conflict between Alexander, who is compared to a male goat, and the Persian king who is likened to a ram.
As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. (Daniel 8:5 ESV)

Sunday, March 18, 2012

God loves ME!


 When I look at your heavens, 
the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 
what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 
                                                                                                                                                Psa 8:3,4  


This is one among many of the most amazing quotes in the scripture.  What is man, that God takes the time to even consider him? Last Sunday morning, we looked at 1 Jn.4:18, that complete love casts out fear. Not because we are sinless, but because we know God loves us and that if I try to be like Him in all things, then God's love and presence is complete in me. What then of the above statement from the Psalm?  

We become vulnerable to the fear because of self-doubt. The effect of sin is always insecurity - leaving us wondering why God even considers us, much less loves us. Through the eyes of fear, we are always vulnerable.  However, through the eyes of God, we are loved.  We are created by God, and God does not make junk. He knew us before we were in our mother's womb (Psa.139:13), knows the hair upon our heads (Mt.10:30) and the inward thoughts of our hearts (Heb.4:12)

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world 
to be holy and blameless in his sight”                
                                                                                                                     Eph.1:4.

Jesus died on the cross, paid for all our sins, and covered us with his love. God looks down at you and says regarding Jesus, "And a voice came from heaven, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.(Mk.1:11)"  

"By this is love perfected with us,
 so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment,
because as he is so also are we in this world."
                                                                                                                     1Jn 4:17  

We were created by God, and your relationship with Christ has makes us acceptable. It doesn’t matter what you say about yourself; it doesn’t mater what other people say about you. If God says you’re OK, then you’re OK. PERIOD!   No matter who rejects you, God never will if we love Him!

Some Things To Think About
  • How would your life change if you begin to understand today how much God loves you?
  • How would your life change if you begin to understand that God considered you worth the sacrifice of his son?
  • How much closer as a Christian would you walk with God, if you begin to understand that He looks upon us with love and says "you're like my Son!?"

Jim

NT Blog: Questioning the Identity of Ossuary 4 in Talpiot Tomb B

NT Blog: Questioning the Identity of Ossuary 4 in Talpiot Tomb B:

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Questioning the Identity of Ossuary 4 in Talpiot Tomb B

When looking at pictures of the photographs of the Talpiot Tomb B ossuaries, I found a number of anomalies.  I wrote these up in the form of questions in a post headed Anomalies in the Talpiot Tomb B Photographs.  The difficulty with that post is that it was over-technical, over-detailed and un-illustrated.  So I decided to focus on just one of the issues, the question of the identity of ossuary 5, and was able to demonstrate successfully that the photograph below, found in Tabor's Preliminary Report, p. 37, fig. 7, was actually of ossuary 4 (now corrected in that report, though without acknowledgement).  I would now like to move on to a related issue, the question of the correlation between these 2011 photographs and the 1981 photographs from the initial Amos Kloner investigation.

Take a look again at the photograph of the inside of Ossuary 4, below.  I have highlighted a crack in the top right hand corner:

Inside Ossuary 4, kokh 2, 2011, Preliminary Report, p. 32, fig. 7, annotated to draw attention to the crack at the back of the ossuary.

Now, according to James Tabor, this ossuary is the same one that was photographed in 1981.  He explains (Preliminary Report, 14) that:
This ossuary is in its original position. It is ornamented but due to its distance in the niche and its closeness to the wall we were not able to examine its façade closely. Its far end has a name inscribed in Greek but unfortunately even our snake camera probe could not reach far enough inside the niche to shoot back at that end and get a clear wide shot of the letters. All we have is the 1981 enhanced photo in which the Greek letters are faintly visible but remain undeciphered.
 It is featured on the right in the picture below:

"1981 Photo of Ossuary 4 (right) with faint inscription in Greek", Jesus Discovery Website

In this picture, the façade is facing to the left, towards ossuary 5.  The panel with the faint inscription is facing towards us.  Although the ossuary is apparently in its original location in kokh 2, it is clearly not "in its original position".  If this is the same ossuary, it is now switched around, with the façade facing the wall and the inscription panel on the far side.  Now, if this is the case, then we have an anomaly.  Look again at the photograph above that is taken inside ossuary 4.  There is a crack at the back, on the top right.  The same area in the 1981 photograph ought to be the top left as we look at it now, but there is no crack:


1981 Photo of Ossuary 4 (right), top left highlighted to the lack of a crack

There are two possibilities here.  It could be that the crack was caused in 1981, but this seems unlikely given that only "scratches" are mentioned (Preliminary Report, 5) and not major damage.  It seems more likely that we are not looking at the same ossuary.

There is a related question.  Ossuary 4 is described in the Complete Findings as "Plain (Not fully explored)", which conflicts with the idea that it is "ornamented" ("Preliminary Report", 14).  If the 1981 photo above is of Ossuary 4, there is no question that it is ornamented.  Here is the detail of the façade as we see it above:

Close-up of ornamented facade on ossuary 4 (1981)

In summary, there are conflicts between ossuary 4 as it is apparently represented in the picture from 1981 and as it is represented in the recent investigations.  In one it has a big crack and in the other it does not.  And while it is described as "plain" in one place, it is described as "ornamented" in another.

I am grateful also to David Meadows for useful discussion of the issues here -- see his Pinterestpage on this topic.