Fear the Forgiver

Psalm 130.3-4 has an interesting twist on Fear of the LORD:

“If you, O LORD, should mark inequities, O LORD, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”

Lots of time the fear of the LORD follows a punishment like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts  5.1-11) or a “melting away” victory like Jericho (Joshua 2.8-9).  But fear over forgiveness?  How do those two concepts fit together?  Here are two reasons to support an awe-filled wonder and trustful terror when considering the One True God of the universe.

First, no other god or religion even offers forgiveness.  Others are all about “doing your best” and “working harder” or “accepting yourself as you are”.  But Jesus’ recurring admonition to “Repent and Believe” can be made because there is indeed forgiveness for those who recognize their sinful nature and come to Him with a contrite heart.  Such a God can be worshiped and served in loving reverence.

Second, and more in line with the Ananias story, is that a God with the power to forgive also has the power to NOT forgive.   Like Jesus says in Luke 12.5: “But I warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.  Yes, I tell you , fear him!”

Run toward the savior and accept his redemptive offer.  Fear for those whose hard hearts make them avoid and neglect forgiveness.

 

History Test Answers

The following are actual answers provided by 6th graders during a history test.  (Watch the spelling! Some of the best humor is in the misspelling.)

Ancient Egypt was inhabited by mummies and they all wrote in hydraulics. They lived in the Sarah Dessert. The climate of the Sarah is such that all the inhabitants have to live elsewhere.

Moses led the Hebrew slaves to the Red Sea where they made unleavened bread, which is bread made without any ingredients. Moses went up on Mount Cyanide to get the ten commandments. He died before he ever reached Canada.

Solomon had three hundred wives and seven hundred porcupines.

The Greeks were a highly sculptured people, and without them we wouldn’t have history. The Greeks also had myths. A myth is a female moth.

Socrates was a famous Greek teacher who went around giving people advice. They killed him.  Socrates died from an overdose of wedlock. After his death, his career suffered a dramatic decline.

In the Olympic games, Greeks ran races, jumped, hurled biscuits, and threw the java.

 

Love the LORD

In Deuteronomy 10.12-13, Moses lists what the LORD your God requires of you.  It is an exhortation with the same question as Micah 6.8 and sounds like an expansion of the First Great Commandment:

–          Fear the LORD your God

–          Walk in all his ways

–          Love him

–          Serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul

–          Keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD

The blessing at the end states that the commandments and statutes are given “for your good.”  It will be a benefit to keep these laws.

Angel In Jerusalem

Acts 12.1-19 contains a thrilling story of an angel helping Peter escape from prison.  James the brother of John had been killed already, and Herod intended to kill Peter also, because “it pleased the Jews.”  Herod must have had some fear of an escape – there were four squads of soldiers, two chains, and sentries guarding the doors of the prison.

An angel shows up late at night, and “a light shone in the cell.” Peter was kind of groggy because the angel had to tell him everything after whapping him on the side to wake him up. “Get up.” “Get dressed.” “Put on your sandals.” “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”  This sounds like the instructions that parents give to their child when they are about to leave someone else’s house.

The chains fell off, the guards didn’t notice them passing by, and the iron gate leading to the city “opened of its own accord.”  And ‘poof’ the angel is gone, just as Peter wakes up.  Miracle upon miracle.

Peter goes to his friends’ house and knocks on the door; they had all been praying for his safety.  Like in a television sitcom or a Marx Brothers film, Rhoda recognizes Peter, goes to tell the group, and leaves Peter knocking at the door!  Eventually they let him in and he tells the marvelous story.

Peter departs to another place, the group rejoices, and the next morning Herod has all the sentries killed.

Sequence Day

Today, 11/12/13, is a great day partly because it is a sequence and mostly because it is my sister Cindy’s birthday. My other sister Elaine had her sequence day three years ago on 8/9/10. 

Cindy pointed out that lots of people are lining up to get married next year on 12/13/14 thinking it is the last sequence day of the century.  Just for some precision, note that it is the last sequence of one; the last sequence of any kind will be 12/31/50 – a sequence of 19.

This gives some hope to my brother Scott, who can claim 8/17/26 as his sequence (of 9) day.

Alas, I am not sure what someone with a November 5 birthday is to do.  11/5/17 has all the numbers for a sequence of 6 (and a halfback day!), but in the wrong order.  11/5/-1 might be interpreted as 11/5/99 in some negativo universe. 

I guess some birthdays just don’t get sequence days.

Daylight Savings Bites

Daylight savings ended for the year last Sunday morning and we were ready to use that extra hour.  We reset the clocks early on Saturday evening and ignored them long enough to get to sleep.  Then we woke up “early” on Sunday morning to enjoy a leisurely breakfast prior to church.

But Tuesday was Election Day in Lansing.  Because many Lansing schools are polling places, it was a day off for students and teachers.  That meant that Diane’s alarm would not be going off as usual, so I needed to get myself up to lead the prayer meeting at 7:00. I set my watch alarm and checked it twice – an alarm at 6:17 (always have a prime number on the minutes) allows enough time for getting dressed, having a quick breakfast, and being on the way in a timely fashion.

I woke up at 4:30 to go to the bathroom and was pleased to have another hour and a half of sleep ahead.  It felt too soon when the alarm woke  me; indeed, it was only 5:17! What!

The alarm time was set correctly, but the watch time had not been reset for removal of Daylight Savings… both were thinking it was 6:17.  I can’t just go back to sleep, because there is nothing to wake me up.  The watch battery was low enough that the lighted face did not show clearly.  Arghhh… I end must go in the other room and turn on the light in order to set the watch to the correct time. But now I am awake and there is no getting back to sleep.

I am thankful this did not happen in March when Daylight Savings started because I would not have made it to prayer on time back then.  But someone owes me another hour.

Cool Number Dates – 11/10/13-11/16/13

There are three DIFFERENT kinds of days this week!

First and foremost, 11/12/13 is not only a sequence, it is my sister Cindy’s birthday.  Happy birthday, Sister Cindy!

There are two dates, 11/11/13 and 11/13/13, that are all prime numbers.  And we all remember fondly (but sadly) the Veteran’s Day MSU basketball game on an aircraft carrier on 11/11/11 (MSU lost).

The third type is a half-back day – 11/15/13.  Go up four from 11 to fifteen and come half-way (2) back to 13!

Even More Announcements

See October 12 and 26 for more airline attendant announcements.

Overheard on an American Airlines flight into Amarillo, Texas, on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the pilot was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight attendant said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Amarillo. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what’s left of our airplane to the gate!”

After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the Flight Attendant came on with, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we’ll open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.”

“In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, a mask will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child… pick your favorite.”

From a Southwest Airlines employee: “Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 1342 to Phoenix. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised”

Part of a flight attendant’s arrival announcement: “We’d like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you’ll think of US Airways.”