brb4311's Xanga Sitewe'll see what comes of this
brb4311
read my profile
sign my guestbook

Visit brb4311's Xanga Site!

Name: Bruce
Birthday: 1/1/1951
Gender: Male


Interests: chess reading theology
Occupation: Administrative
Industry: Banking/Finance


Message: message me
Website: visit my website


Member Since: 12/31/2003
True

SubscriptionsSites I Read
almadenmike
templestream
steve12345seo
StainedGlassWindows
shelmybel17
ckristas
brb4311
roboteater
barbbaker1102
strongsag
Beyounce
SulacoX59
syrupPlease
deborah_tree
wondering04
Sailawaynow
DreameroftheDay
disguised_blessings
RanulfsSon
MichaelPreaches
Kongzi
pchung79
Forever_Mommy
kicking_and_screaming
AnaMarisolCFNI
courtsnicole
resplendentRachel
aliaszelda
Summerdale
daveless
jamiejubilee
embracing_extraordinary
mindyswee
Quinmarti
TopherThoughts
piecefulgurl2b
Chaiisgood
Hmmmm_m
JimsonA
polarbearinasnowstorm
lizzzzbet
oatwoman
Daveys_playground
naijatexanstud
ashkins529
dgausepohl
kiarrith
remember_remember_when
buyit
mglnt
starrywaters
sillie
chleaf68
omgoshfritopie
notidown
Tactixpimp
Frenchorn925
johnBMW04
sonicsloth
tx_eggman
cosmolovely
three65daysofchad
the_art_couple
shaeman
cranmer
Aprilb312
tippy1018

Blogrings
~Rice University~
previous - random - next

The Vineyard Church of Houston
previous - random - next

The Lord speaks to me through movies
previous - random - next


Posting Calendar

|<< oldest | newest >>|
view all weblog archives

Get Involved!

Suggest a link

Recommend to friend

Create a site


Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Psalm 121 - God's faithfulness forever

Psalm 121  A song for going up to worship.

I look up toward the mountains. Where can I find help?

My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let you fall. Your guardian will not fall asleep.

Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.

The LORD is your guardian. The LORD is the shade over your right hand.

The sun will not beat down on you during the day, nor will the moon at night.

The LORD guards you from every evil. He guards your life.

 The LORD guards you as you come and go, now and forever.  (Psalms 121:1-8 GW)

 

This is a wonderful psalm.  As I read it though I grow doubtful.  Do I believe this?  Yes, but..   But what if …? But what about that poor person?  I know people that it seems like God did not deliver.  What about them?  God knows and I do not.  Can I trust him?  I know for me it has been a great ride.  God has been gracious and a guardian.  God has looked after me all day long.

Then the nagging thought comes, but what about tomorrow?  What about your old age?  A few years I had some horrible nightmare that made me think perhaps I would be helpless, like some I have seen in old folks home, for a while.  Can I love God even then?  Can I trust God at times like that?  God give me grace if it does come to that.  Can he be glorified even then?  I hope that I will be able to give him all the glory even in an infirm old age if it comes to that?

Would I wish for death?  I think God is telling me not to.  I will wait for God’s time to die.  Let me live on my memories if that does happen.

Have you seen God be your guardian throughout your life?  Do you have faith in God’s trustworthiness?  Lord I have faith!  Help me when I do not have faith!

 


Gotta Serve Somebody - by Bob Dylan

Gotta Serve Somebody

You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage,
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
You may be a business man or some high degree thief,
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk,
You may be the head of some big TV network,
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame,
You may be living in another country under another name

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You may be workin' in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy,
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy,
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray,
You may call me anything but no matter what you say

You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Copyright ©1979 Special Rider Music

Bob Dylan has never been particularly complicated.  I love that about the man.  I loved his music before he became a Christian,   I am mighty glad he made his conversion and continues to be himself.

I am looking over an old RC sermon.  He quotes the refrain throughout the sermon which is about true righteousness. 

At the end he quotes Bob Dylan from January, 2008.  "They always said I was a prophet.  Now as a Christian proclaiming the gospel those same people say I am not a prophet."


2 Samuel 24

Lordy, in Life Group I get to test how I am doing with all this stuff I preach.  We are a bunch of cantankerous old fools.

Second Samuel
24 tells three stories about David but it is one flowing narrative.  When I start reading these chapters from Samuel to Chronicles often I do not want to stop at one story or one chapter.  I enjoy the flow of the narrative and am always curious to learn from history.  Each time I read it I pick up new things.

First is the story of the census and then the punishment.  I do not think it is ever explained why a census is bad.

Secondly we do not want to think of God as inciting someone to sin.  Verse one, God is described as angry at Israel (why) and then he incites David against them.

How is David against them?  David (vs. 2) has the army register all the people and count their number.

It is interesting that after nine months of counting (vs. 9) the results that we are told is how many fighting men there were.  Did other types of people get counted and we are not told?  It seems that David and the army are only interested in numbering the able bodied men.  Those who were deemed too old or too young are left off.  Women, it seems, were not counted.

I have heard sermons and commentators try to explain away how God can be said to incite David against the people.  Does God tempt or even force people to sin?  This seems contrary to his nature as we read in many places in the Bible.  I do not believe God entices people to sin.  But how do we explain these words?

Similar words are used in other places. God incites Pharaoh against God's people and ultimately to his own harm by not allowing the Israelites to go.  I guess we do not object to that so much.  Pharaoh is evil.   Yet we are told Pharaoh was not stubborn of his own accord.

Some commentators would use these passages to explain that God is in control of all man's actions.  Is there no room for free choice?  Surely we sin because of our own pride?

Everyone but the king seems to know this census is a bad choice.  Joab (vs. 3) and the commanders (vs. 4) know it is a bad choice yet in deference to the king they obey.  No one but the king is held responsible for this action.

And yet it seems they do a thorough job.  Commentators have also spent lots of effort telling us why a census is bad.  Your guess is as good as anyone's since we are never given a clue.  We do a census every decade in the U.S.A.  Is it a curse for us to do so?  What evil comes from doing a census?  The founding fathers of the U.S.A. in their wisdom included instructions for one in the Constitution.

Finally, verse 10, David knows he has sinned.  He and the prophet Gad work out his punishment.  But nether David nor Gad ever explains why a census is bad.  You probably have your opinion.  So do I.  But the Bible does not tell us in these passages what God thinks.


Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Terrorism at Fort Hood

I wonder at the reception given to terrorism on our shores.  The reaction of the press seems muted.  If this were a sitting Republican I suspect he would be accused of incompetence.  But Obama seems to be teflon.  Why?  Is he not just as responsible for our protection as a Republican would be?

It seems that the Democratic response to terrorism is to pretend it did not happen.  We remember Clinton's response to the failed attempt on the World Trade Center while he was in office.  He pretended it did not happen.  Now we see Obama doing the same thing.

When the WTC was destroyed at least Bush did not try to pretend it did not happen.  I guess he could not so many people were killed.  And so much heroism was shown in response, by the fireman and police in NYC and by the passengers on the fourth plane who heroically took down the plane rather than allow it to fly into the White House. 

Bush did respond.  He fought back.  And he was fairly successful judging by the lack of further terror in this country during his administration.  Unfortunately it was very expensive.

Democrats have responded to that by trying to claim that he set the whole thing up.  Some say the towers were actually attacked by our own bombers and rockets.  How crazy is that?

I have heard it said a day of mourning should have been allowed after this terrible tragedy at Fort Hood.  Surely our president should have seen to that.  The Yankee celebration parade should have been put of out of respect. 

But no, this administration, with the willing support of our press has worked to pretend that nothing happened.  The whole situation is very sad.  And it is very outrageous.


Monday, November 09, 2009

2 Samuel 23, close to the end of the saga of King David

2 Samuel 23:8-39 The commentator calls these “campfire stories”.  Or war stories, the kind veterans might tell each other.  These are bold deeds, some foolhardy, that brought success.  The story about David’s whim and the fact that he poured out the water rather than drink it showed the love the men had for David as a commander.

These last few chapters and the one following seem out of chronological order.  There is no attempt here to write a chronological history.  These are stories and remembrances from the time of David’s kingdom.

For example 2 Samuel 20:23-26 reads like an ending.  This is a list of David’s most trusted assistants.  This reminds me of the things that must be in the Books of the Kings mentioned in Chronicles (?).

In a few days it will be Veteran’s Day.  These stories are like the one’s veterans tell and really only veterans can understand.  The military life is really not like any other.  Veterans usually do not feel comfortable talking about fighting and war with anyone who has not experienced it himself.

Let us be sure and remember those who did fight and put themselves in harm’s way for us and our freedom.  Let us stop and say a prayer to God for them and for those who died, especially I think for the loved ones and families of those who died in battle.  War seems a necessary evil in this most imperfect world.

These stories in 2 Samuel 23 are told around campfires encourage soldiers.  They tell exploits of the past.  It glorifies war and battle.  No doubt in the telling they get embellished.  If you are a soldier who knows whether you might be involved in similar endeavors that might be the subject of stories in the future.  You might die too.  But perhaps you realize that you fight for something greater than yourself.

At the end of this passage is a list of David’s mighty men.  These are men who distinguished themselves in battle.  This list might be for us like naming great sports heroes of the past.  But the last one, in verse 39, brings us up short.  The last one is Uriah the Hittite.  Why is he listed last?

We know his story.  He was cuckolded, betrayed, and murdered by his own king.  Did Solomon know how his mother came to be his father’s wife?  Surely he did.  What a horrible thing to have to live with all one’s life!  The world is very imperfect.

Uriah really did not have a chance.  Victim is a word thrown around all too easily but Uriah really was a victim.



Next 5 >>