Noah, the Jewish Fly Chapter 4

   As Al bar Levi approached I could tell by his grin he had spotted the two Pharisees scurrying in the opposite direction. I hitched a ride on top of his turban for what turned out to be a two block journey to his house.  The Pharisees had said enough for me to know that bar Levi was very likely the one I was looking for.  Or, has God picked him out? Hm. That's kind of presumptuous. Why would God take even the least notice of me?
  At his house we passed through a gated wall into a courtyard cooled by a fountain and shaded by two palm trees. Inside, a male servant met us in the entry, removed bar Levi's sandals and washed his feet, dried them and put house slippers on his master. That looked like it would be refreshing for my six feet also but I wouldn't have survived even the gentle scrubbing. We moved on into the study where the rabbi placed the two scrolls, he had carried from the Temple, on a large table and his coin bag in a cabinet.  He selected, and ate, a few dates from a brass plate presented by a female servant.  The  dates looked delicious and I was sorely tempted to get a nibble but summoned enough will power to resist.  Maybe later. After the servant retired and the rabbi was seated I hopped over to the top of a nearby empty seven-branched candle holder. I took a deep breath and thought,"Well; I guess this is as good a time as any to introduce myself.."
  "Al bar Levi,"  I said softly, my voice quivering.
  Bar Levi slid from his chair and knelt with his palms and forehead on the floor. "Here I am, Lord," he said.
  "Uh,---It's not the Lord, Rabbi,"  I replied.  "It's me, Noah."
  "Noah?"  Bar Levi raised himself to a sitting position, still on his knees.  "Where are you?"
  "Over here; on the top branch of the menorah."
  "I can't see you.  Are you a spirit?"
  "No, I'm not a spirit.  I'm a --uh--fly."
   Using the table top for support, bar Levi pulled himself up to his feet.  He smoothed his robe and took two steps closer to the source of the voice he had heard.  Leaning forward he squinted at the candle holder.
  "Well so you are," he chuckled.  "You had me going there, Noah."
  "You don't seem at all surprised that a fly can talk."
  "Is anything too hard for God?"
  "Well no; of course not.  But why do you think God is involved in this meeting?"
  "Surely you remember the story of Balaam's donkey speaking to Balaam,"  the rabbi said.
  "I do," I responded.  "I'm also reminded that Balaam wasn't surprised to hear his animal talking."
  "God opened Balaam's eyes so he could understand why the donkey spoke to him."
  "Do you think God will open your eyes?  And/or mine?"  I asked,
  At that moment I heard a sound like distant thunder; a compelling sound unlike anything I had ever experienced.  From bar Levi's stricken expression it was evident he knew the sound was not due to an approaching storm. A cloud enveloped the rabbi and he immediately fell to his knees again in his former pose. From then on until the thunder ceased and the cloud dissipated, I didn't speak nor did Iunderstand any thing that transpired between the intermittent thunder and bar Levi, now hidden within the cloud.

  "Arise, Al bar Levi. I already know you are my devoted servant.  You don't need to demonstrate.   Besides you're getting too old for that up and down business."  The voice was calm and gentle.
  "Lord, I am not worthy that you should come to me,"  the rabbi mumbled.
  "Do I need an invitation to come to you?"
  "Oh, no.  Heaven forbid----I mean,------goodness gracious I don't know what I mean."
  "Calm down, son of Levi.  I merely want to discuss Noah the fly with you. Why do you think I have visited you?"
  "You know, Lord."
  "Yes, I know.  Since you have not had time to get acquainted with Noah, I should like to point out some of his attributes and characteristics that I find very pleasing; more pleasing than all burnt offerings.  I also have some instructions for you."

Chapter 5 in the next blog. What do you suppose God would find pleasing about Noah?
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  Now, a completely different but spiritually related  matter:
  I recently had open heart surgery; quite unexpected since there was no heart attack and symptoms were mild. So mild in fact that I, like most men, would have dismissed them.  But not my faithful wife.  Off to the family doc and then to the cardiologist.  Multiple tests, poking and prodding.  Serious deterioration of aortic valve.  Go to Houston for conference with noted heart surgeon.  Valve must be replaced.  We left his office at 5:00 pm, I was in a hospital room by 7:00 pm and wheeled into operating room around 7:00 am the next morning.  I told the surgeon I had changed my mind and wanted a tummy tuck instead.  He had great sense of humor.  Three days in Intensive Critical Care Unit, then back to hospital room.  All was well.
  Two cows were talking about a steer who had recently been placed in the corral with them.
  Bessie said to Lucy, "He's such a bore.  All he wants to talk about is his operation."
  My operation is just the setting for the point of this story.  This is the point:  From the moment it was apparent an operation was necessary I did not have one nano-second of fear, anxiety, worry or concern about the proceeding or the outcome.  Why?  Because I had perfect peace in Jesus Christ.
This was not a case of my bravery or "manning up" or a show courage.  The peace had nothing whatever  to do with my personal resources.  Instead I was totally assured by the scripture: "To live is Christ; to die is more of Christ."  I was in a win-win situation; I couldn't possibly lose.
  I am no spiritual giant and God is no respecter of persons to single me out.  I only know that Christ is exactly who he says he is.  He has proven that over and over in my life and the lives of others.

John 14:27
John 14:21

 It took twice as long for me to return to the inn because I couldn't seem to fly in a straight line. My navigation system had become distorted by the extraordinary news I got from Rabbi Al bar Levi.  After bouncing off a building wall my brain was jolted back on track and I began to try to sort out events up to now.
 About a year ago I felt compelled to get deeper into the scriptures and to find a rabbi/teacher to help me in my search for spiritual meaning and to reinvest the ancient scriptures with the joy, promise and hope God intended.  I hate to admit it but my faith had become sterile; a matter of form and following the rules that the priests had heaped over and above the Ten Commandments. In addition to the common folk's everyday struggle just to survive they also had to obey psuedo-commandments governing the smallest details of their lives. The religious hierarchy obeyed the laws if they found it convenient to do so.and if a show of obedience promoted their public image of righteousness.
  Of course there were, and are, truly devout and sincere religious leaders who do their best to be trustworthy shepherds of an often confused flock waiting to be led to the truth. But sadly, most of the so-called 'leaders' are in business for themselves and a very profitable business it is. The money- changers who make a profit on exchanging Temple coins for unacceptable Roman money are required to pay a fee to the priests. It's sort of a franchise. Only Temple money can be used for paying Temple tax, tithes, and special gifts.
 Worshippers bringing animals for sacrifice must bring only those "without spot or blemish."  Such sacrifices were later recognized as a symbol of the ultimate sacrifice of the Messiah who was without spot or blemish.  Not surprisingly the priests reject the animals, brought by the worshippers, as being blemished or spotted no matter what their condition.  In order to offer a 'proper' sacrifice, the worshipper has to buy, at an exorbitant price, an approved animal from the priests.  What a racket.
 When religion becomes institutionalized, perpetuating the institution and the leadership become the only reasons for its being.  Blasphemy and worldly reasoning are acceptable if that will protect the institution and thus the leaders' bird nest on the ground..  No wonder Jesus lost his cool and took a whip to the money changers.  They're fortunate He didn't send them to their reward immediately.
 What with the rattling of coins and the all the animal noises it was hard for me to hear in this place where only praises and and the voice of God should prevail. But, I didn't really know what I was looking or listening for in my search for a mentor so the noise wasn't much of a bother.
 I noticed two elegantly dressed Pharisees gossiping through their perfumed beards ( their mouths were moving; a sure sign that they were gossiping. )  They seemed to have positioned themselves beside a building column as though to be remote from the peasantry. I flew onto the turban of one of the men in time to hear him say the name "Al bar Levi."
 "I'd heard Al bar Levi was in line for a seat on the Great Sanhedrin," said Amos. "That was until a rumor started that he thinks the Messiah has already come and is in our midst at this very moment in the person of Jesus. If the rumor is true, it would ruin any chance he might have had.about the possibility of being on the Sanhedrin."
 "How foolish,"  Abijah, his companion responded. "Even if he really believed that nonsense he should have kept quiet about it. Once on the Sanhedrin he would have been set for life."
 "Remember not to say anything about this to anyone," Amos said in a low voice.    This is just a rumor, you understand.  Personally I like bar Levi.  There's something charming about his eccentricity but I just don't think he's fit for the Great Sanhedrin. Obviously. he is completely wrong about the Messiah since this Jesus fellow is from Nazareth. Why,---- everyone knows nothing good ever came from Nazareth. Besides, the scriptures are very clear that Bethlehem will be the birthplace of the Messiah."
 "You're right as usual, Amos," Abijah said. " Well, I must be going,  I am to continue instructing a class of converts this afternoon."  He sighed. "Gentiles are so stupid.  One of them actually asked if his conversion will impact his spiritual life in some way.  I set him straight right then.  I told him to follow the rules, do as he was told and he would eventually become as spiritual as me."
 "Well done old friend,"  Amos said.  "By the way you must tell me where you got that beautiful turban. Say,---isn't that Al bar Levi over there?"
 "Where?"
 "Over there by the Laver; talking to a priest."
 "Yes it is.  Oh no; ---I think he's seen us," Abijah said in a panicky voice.  He tugged on his friend's arm.  "Come on; we can't afford to be seen talking to him."  They pulled up the fringed hems of their fancy robes and scurried off to escape Al bar Levi.
 Left in their wake I detected an unexpected but familiar odor.  The odor of Death.

  I could tell I was not the only one in the room who was unsure of what Jesus was talking about.  The twelve men present also appeared puzzled by his remarks and they conversed with each other in low tones, gesturing for emphasis.  My own questions bubbled out into my consciousness almost faster then I could consider them.  Was Jesus setting himself up as leader of a revolution against the Romans and these men were the nucleus of his army? No insult intended but although he had a definite air of authority about him, this gentle little guy hardly looked the military type.  Besides, according to the rumors I'd heard the conflict was between Jesus and the Jewish power structure; not the Romans.  So; maybe Jesus intended to lead a popular uprising to get rid of the Jewish rulers and install a new, Godly and spiritually pure priestly class. Lordy; there certainly was need for change. The Pharisees utterly despised the peasants and didn't hesitate to take away their property in the courts or steal it outright. Together with wealthy landowners and the religious leaders,the Pharisees--snakes dressed in robes of gold threads-- preyed on widows, orphans and the desperately poor, without mercy. And they had the nerve to say flies are nasty  
  I hopped up on the cushion close to Jesus to listen in on the conversation he was having with the fellow next to him. (Jesus call him John.)  Jesus looked down at me and stopped in mid-sentence.  His brown eyes were so soft I felt I could float in them. He smiled and gently picked me up by the wings.  "Greetings, Brother Noah," he said. "Make haste; visit Al bar Levi and then return quickly."  He let go of me and my wings revved up, lifting me toward an open window, my mind whirling as fast as my wings were beating. How did Jesus know my name? And how did he know that Rabbi Al bar Levi and I were friends?  This was getting more and more exciting and mystifying. But why was I being sent to visit my rabbi?  I didn't want to leave. The action was here in the upper room and I was afraid I would miss something important. But I had felt the touch of Jesus and the irresistible persuasion of his words moved me to do as he said.
  I was in Rabbi Al bar Levi's study in just a few minutes.  "Master," I said, a little out of breath, "I have been celebrating the Passover with a group of men at an inn a few blocks from here. The leader of the group, a man named Jesus, told me to come see you and then return quickly."
 Bar Levi looked up from the scroll of Isaiah spread before him.  "Jesus, you say?" Bar Levi stroked his beard and appeared thoughtful.  "Why did he send you to me?"
  "I--I don't have the foggiest,"  I stuttered.
  "I believe I do," bar Levi said, still fingering his beard. 
  "Is he a rabbi?"
  "The Rabbi of rabbis."
  "A prophet?"
  "The Prophet of all prophets.  But neither of these is the purpose of his being."
  "What, then?"
  Bar Levi placed his hand on the scroll.  "It's all right here.  Isaiah gives you a complete description of Jesus the Messiah. Everything but his name."
  The rabbi's words reverberated and crashed like thunder in my brain.  "The Messiah?  That unimposing little man?"
  "That unimposing little man and his twelve companions are about to turn the world upside down.  Now; up with you.  Fly, Noah, fly.  Return and see the unveiling of what was prepared before the world began."

More of Noah's adventure in the next blog.
 

  Hello; I'm a fly. That's right; a fly,...with wings and everything. Wait a minute; don't hit 'delete.' I know that I and my kind can be very, very annoying.  We show up, uninvited, at your picnics, barbeque's etc and walk all over your food. Yeah, we're universally hated and reviled and the word 'fly'is usually preceded with the word 'damn.'  But, hey, flies have to make a living too, you know? Nothing personal; it's the way we're made. I guess we're not all that bad 'cause how many times have you said, "I wish I could be a fly on the wall" so you could eavesdrop on your friends, family and neighbors?  Gotcha.
  Well, I can be a fly on the wall and boy, the stories I could tell.  All of which brings me to a story I can tell you, passed down from my great-grandfather 7 or 8 thousand times removed: Noah Fly lll. Ol' Noah III was the great grandson of one of the two flies taken on the Ark and he lived a long time. (All the male animals and insects brought on the Ark took the name Noah.  I bet you didn't know that.)  Anyway, here's his story as he told it.
  "In the year 33 A.D. I had taken up residence in the second story of an inn.  My wings were getting heavy and my wandering days were over.  This upper room was comfortable and food was plentiful.  I didn't have to share it with any other flies because they stayed away out of respect for my great age and my vicious left hook.
  "This particular day was the time for the Feast of Passover and, being a good Jewish fly, I looked forward to sharing it with whoever rented the room.  The servant girls came early and arranged couches in a circle and placed small low tables close to them.  Later, a group of men filed in and reclined on the couches; the humans customary way of dining.  The men seemed to defer to one member of the company. There was nothing in his appearance to distinguish him from the rest. It was plain that he was of peasant stock but there was an air of charisma about him that even I could detect.  The servant girls brought the Passover food and wine and left. As I listened to bits of conversation going on I began to get the feeling that this was not going to be your usual Passover celebration.  For once in my life I forgot all about eating and pestering the diners.
  "Suddenly, a hush fell over the crowd as the Leader began to speak.  'I can't begin to tell you how much I wanted to eat the Passover with you before I suffer.  I won't eat it again until the Kingdom of God comes.'  Whoa. This really got my attention.  What did he mean about suffering?  And, if he's not going to eat the passover again I suppose he knows he's going to die. Wait a minute; I'll bet this the fellow the servants have been talking about.  They said the Pharisees have been harassing someone named Jesus because he's been making things uncomfortable for them and the Sanhedrin. Don't those people have anything better to do?  I turned off my buzzer and flew right below him on the floor. 
  Jesus held up a whole loaf of unleavened bread, broke it, gave thanks and said, 'This is my body broken for you; do this in remembrance of me.'  Crumbs fell and I ate one.
  Next, Jesus picked up a goblet of wine and said, "Each one of you take a drink of this and pass it around 'til it's all gone.'  A drop appeared on the floor beside one of the fellows and I slurped it up. 'This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you,'  Jesus said.
  Like all Jews I had memorized the scriptures and Jesus' words reminded me of some passages in Isaiah. I felt certain I was on to something; but what?

 Follow Noah's search in my next blog.
 

  The existence of God, or the divinity of Jesus, cannot be proved or disproved using intellectual argument.  C.S. Lewis asserts that we have an "incurably abstract intellect."
  This intellect, along with the five senses, forms a barrier against letting total reality get through to us. If we cannot see, smell, touch, hear or taste God then our mind, our intellect, tells us God does not exist. But our senses equip us only to experience the physical world around us; to tell us what is real and what is not.    If one comes into contact with something foreign to one's experience, memory, assumptions or preconceived ideas and if at least one of the senses doesn't transmit positive information to the brain, then one is likely to dismiss whatever it is as an aberration.  We would also consider ourselves as being "sensible" for recognizing such supposed aberrations and rejecting them.  
  It is no wonder then that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned." 1Cor.2:14.
  No where is that more true than in the realm of science. Science rejects spirituality because it cannot be measured or proved in the laboratory.  Richard Dawkins, British evolutionary biologist said, "Many of us (scientists) saw religion as harmless nonsense.  Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people need a crutch for consolation, where's the harm?"  Dawkins also said with unbridled condescension, "(Religious) Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence.  Faith is belief in spite of, or even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence."
  He is snared by his own words because scientists have great faith in the unproved theory known as the  "Big Bang."  Where is the evidence?  Until the 1920's scientists believed that the universe consisted entirely of the Milky Way galaxy though it is now known there are billions of galaxies. And, until the early 1900's it was thought the universe was static although later investigation showed the universe is actually expanding. Then, later, astronomers thought the expansion was slowing until they proved it was actually accelerating. What is the universe expanding into? Is there Super-Space beyond the space containing the universe?  Science cannot answer the question of what existed before the Big Bang and how the whole thing started. Dr.Dawkins, in a rare moment of humility, admitted, "I don't know how (it all started), nor does anyone else."
   I am one of those you look down on, Dr. Dawkins, but may I offer a possibility? Isn't it possible that the Bible has been right all along? I believe that, in the future, when all investigations have been completed, that will be the only and final conclusion.  In the meantime, I have all the convincing evidence of God's creative power that I need. Whether God used evolution or the Big Bang or anything else you come up with I believe that you, Dr. Dawkins, and your fellow scientists, will arrive at the same truth.
   I don't mean to mock science. Far from it. I am fascinated by all the discoveries being made. My point is that science is constantly changing whereas the Word of God is forever. The Bible is not a scientific book and is not in competition with science; it deals with spiritual and practical matters.  Christians are not stupid because they are not scientists or because they choose to believe as they do. There is one point of contention: Scientists claim to know what happened a millisecond after the Big Bang; Christians know what happened before it ocurred and scientists do not.

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   In spite of common sense to the contrary, our congress and president have involved our country in another war. What unmitigated nonsense. Has our government not been spending fast enough to send us into bankruptcy? Is this another attempt to make the world safe for oil companies? Libya is no threat to the our country. Is this part of some secret stragety to isolate Iran? If our involvement is, as the U.S.propagandists say, a humanitarian neccessity  then why has the U.S. all but ignored the horrific genocide in Darfur?  How do funds magically appear for these foolhardy military adventures and yet are not available for feeding the millions of children in our own country who do not have enough to eat?  Would you walk by and ignore hungry children on your way to deliver tons of food to Afghanistan and other countries?  That is what's happening with our government.
   "The U.S. has not just misplaced its priorities.  When the most powerful country ever to inhabit the earth finds it so easy to plunge into the horrors of warfare but almost imossible to find adequate work for its people or to properly educate its young, it has lost its way entirely."  Bob Herbert, NY Times columnist.
  The Arab League was quite happy for the U.S. and other non-Arab countries to risk their pilots to provide a no-fly zone. Then that same League complained that the Allies took the mandate too far. Although Arab countries have planes made in America and pilots trained here, only two (French) planes from the tiny Arab country of Qatar are in combat. These mid-East countries are made up of various tribes, Shiites and Sunnis, all of whom have their own ideas about freedom and government which don't coincide with Western democracy. The Muslim Brotherhood and the Al Queda are supporting the rebels and the U.S.in the position of fighting for these organizations in Libya and against them in Afghanistan.. What irony. You can be sure the rebels, if they are successful, will do what they feel is best for them and that doesn't include being beholden to the U.S.  They will continue to regard us as the Great Satan.  They don't hesitate to work with who they consider to be the devil to pull their fat out of the fire.
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  Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economics at Columbia University, recently had this to say, "Washington is unrealistic. They are not talking about real things like military spending and entitlement programs.  Instead, Congress and President Obama seem set on cutting civilian discretionary spending, including education, that directly impacts mainstream America."
  "There is such a disconnect between what American people say, and what Washington does, you wonder if this is a democracy.  The American people say, 'get out of Afghanistan, stop wasting money on the military, raise taxes on the rich and (opt for a) public option on health care.  Of course, the interests, the powers that be oppose all of that."
  "I think we are in a decline because our political class is so dishonest right now and so disconnected from American values that we are not finding a way forward.  In the long term America will continue in decline as long as we play these games."  Amen,  brother.
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   General Electric made a profit of $14 billion in 2010; $5 billion of that was earned in the U.S.  GE did not have to pay any U.S. taxes. Not a single penny. Nothing.  Jeffrey Immelt, chief executive of GE, is also  leader of President Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.  Imagine that. What a cozy little coincidence.
  The Time's David Kocieniewski reported, "Its (GE's) extraordinary success is based on an aggresive strategy that  mixes fierce lobbying for tax breaks and innovative accounting that enables it to concentrate its profits off-shore."
  This kind of skullduggery will go on whether there are Repubs, Democrats or chimpanzees in Congress;
Wall Street, the Military, Corporations and Unions control the government.
God help us.

My number one source for Headlines Subject to Unintended Interpretation is our own Lufkin Daily News. The latest: "Duo Found Guilty of Animal Cruelty for Fighting Chickens." Why didn't these men pick on someone their own size? As we can see from the abundant carcasses in supermarkets, chickens are virtually defenseless. To even the odds, I say tie down these men, cover them with chicken feed and turn a flock of their feathered opponents loose on them.

Article below is from the Houston Chronicle (From my files. Date unknown but something like this plays out every day)

"Sammilu Williamson Evans was the graceful and elegant beauty queen with girl-next-door charm, but somewhere within her sculpted beauty she grappled with private demons. The 46-year-old woman who won a string of beauty contests in the 1960s and 1970s, stepped off the balcony of her posh Galleria-area condominium Wednesday. Police said she had been drinking before the fall from the 23rd floor of the Bristol condominium. Family and friends were left wondering why the woman who had it all would end her life."

(Italics mine)
All? All what? Beauty. riches, fame; the popular notion of what constitutes "having it all." But these could not protect Ms. Evans from "private demons" because she apparently had few, if any, spiritual defenses. When there was no more adulation, and applause and beauty had faded, riches were very cold comfort for loneliness and loss of identity. She no longer knew who she was. Life and beauty queen had become synonymous to her. When she was no longer beauty queen, life lost its meaning. Why go on?

If having an abundance of the pleasure and treasure that the World offers is the ultimate key to happiness then celebrities and the rich and famous should be the happiest people on earth. There is ample evidence that they are not.

Jesus said "What profit is there if you gain the whole world and lose eternal life? What can be compared to eternal life?" What indeed? Yet, many are gambling that there is nothing after this life. They want what they want and they want it Now!

It's popular to (figuratively) beat up on Hollywood, the media, liberals, humanists, politicians, etc. for what's spiritually wrong with our country. Sure; some of them are part of the problem but perhaps we need to look closer to home for who is really to blame. According to statistics more than 75% of Americans maintain that they are Christians. Based on that, the U.S. is generally portrayed as a Christian nation. I disagree with that idea. I've given my reasons and said my piece about that in earlier blogs.

Is there a noticeable gap between what Christians profess and how they act? There are those inside and outside the faith that will answer with a resounding Yes. We are supposed to be imitators of Christ, sharing the good news of salvation, visiting the sick and prisoners in jail, clothing and feeding those in need, turning the other cheek, being humble before God, allowing ourselves to be moved by the Holy Spirit into the will of God, serving others in the spirit of true agape love, etc. OK; I admit I don't measure up. Of course there are those who quietly go about God's work under the radar of recognition and personal glory. But,religious writers and critics say, these are in the minority. The majority are biblicaly illiterate and have not been discipled. This results in producing lukewarm evangelism, "silent Christians" and "Diet Christianity" guaranteed to limit spiritual growth. Some television preachers have substituted "positive thinking" for faith.

The 13th chapter of 1Corinthians, the "Love Chapter," has been used so many times at weddings some think it applies only to marriage and that Paul wrote it for that purpose. Not so. It is Christ as LOVE; a personification of the kind of love Christians should have for each other and to demonstrate to all those they come into contact with. Apparently some of us Christians have failed to read the memo. Pat Robertson has portrayed God as vengeful; saying God caused disasterous hurricanes to punish America because of homosexuals.  There were hurricanes for thousands of years before America existed. Was God just practicing?

We don't have to go around in an animal skin, carrying a staff and calling down the wrath of God to show we are serious about our faith. Consider this example: Following hurricane Katrina, an avowed atheist wrote to the British left-wing Guardian Weekly asking , "why Christians are the people most likely to take the risks and make the sacrifices involved in helping others. It ought to be possible to live the Christian life without being a Christian or, better still, to take Christianity a la carte. Yet, it is impossible to doubt that faith and charity go hand in hand." All kinds of organizations were involved helping in the aftermath of the hurricane but it was the actions of Christians that were recognized by the atheist. Even the New York Times described how the church groups were doing a better job than government agencies and didn't object (!) that when those "doing temporary repairs and cleaning up debris give homeowners a signed Bible and pray with them."
Jesus, with 12 ordinary men, "turned the world upside down." (Acts 17:6) with a message of salvation, peace and love. We can't all go to sites of devastation to put our Christianity into action but we can all continue the work of turning the world upside down where ever we are and whoever we are.  We don't need a seminary degree to demonstrate agape love or to do simple acts of kindness and courtesy inspired by the spirit of Jesus.
We can't leave evangelism entirely to the clergy or wrap our cloaks of righteousness about us and take refuge in church services and expect the Good News to flow into the world by osmosis. It won't happen.
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Many, perhaps most, Americans are cheering for those people in the mideast rebelling against dictators and for democracy, envisioning that if they attain it, it will be just like the democracy we enjoy. Consider that a poll in Egypt found that 84% of Egyptians favored the death penalty for anyone who leaves the Muslim faith.
What kind of democracy will that be?  Shiites and Sunnis may have a common enemy now but they have been at odds for hundreds of years and are not likely to suddenly come together after the shooting stops.  .
 Nature abhors a vacuum and if the rebellions are successful, the leadership positions must be quickly filled or chaos will result. The turmoil is a long way from being over in Egypt.
The rebels in Libya are asking for American air raids against troops loyal to the Libyan dictator.  Mr. President, don't do it. It would put the U.S.in an absolute no-win position.  Send humanitarian aid but do not risk anymore of our military as is being done in Afghan and Iraq. (Since I wrote the above comments, Britain sent a small mission group of diplomats and commandos who secretly parachuted into Libya to talk with the rebel leaders. They were arrested and temporarily detained on suspicion of being enemy mercenaries.  Baffled by their unfriendly reception, they are now back in Britain with perhaps a little better understanding of who and what the West will be dealing with if they foolishly get involved

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" The (Arkansas) Secretary of State's race pits a Democratic candidate who says he has detailed ideas for the office and a Republican candidate who says he has few plans and that's the way it should be."  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 9/19/2010
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"M. B., 82, has been given a ticket and fined $1,103 after an Oregon state trooper clocked her driving 110 mph in a 55mph zone."  You Go Granny. NASCAR is calling.
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A news article says that Jennifer Aniston has changed her hair style.  Who is this woman and why is the world being kept up-to-date on her coiffures? I know she's an actress but the question remains.

"We need too have a vote on it (Obamacare repeal) because we promised the people we would," Senator John McCain, R-AZ, said Sunday on "Face the Nation" on CBS. "We have to have a vote on repeal so that everybody is on record whether they want repeal" (Lufkin Daily News, 1/24/11)
If you are hoping that Obamacare will survive the recent turnover in Congress, relax; all is well. But, if you are hoping the Repubs will force repeal of Obamacare you're out of luck. They won't succeed in their bogus attempt to repeal it because insurance and pharma companies, huge donors to the Repub party, don't want it repealed. House Repubs will make a great smoke and mirrors show of fulfilling their campaign promise of voting to repeal the law knowing full well that it won't get by the Democratically controlled Senate. If it should, Mr. Obama will veto it. Then the elephants can say, "See? We tried but those stubborn ol' donkeys wouldn't cooperate." Business as usual.

If we put our ultimate trust in anyone or anything other than God we are sure to be disappointed.

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I noticed in an NFL ad that the play-off games were being seen by our armed forces in 175 countries.

a.) I didn't know there are 175 countries

b.) What business do we have putting our troops in those countries? Who made us the
world's police force?

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The Pope recently said he was shocked to hear that Christians have been killed in Egypt and other Muslim countries. With all due respect to your exalted position, sir, you should know this is not something new. It has been going on for centuries and will continue until.......?

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A small Christian group has been persuaded by Harold Camping, who heads up evangelistic Family Radio, that the world is coming to an end on May 21, 2011. (Time mag Jan. 4, 2011) Mr. Camping made a similar prediction that was to take place on Sept. 6, 1994. Did that happen and I missed it?

The group under Mr. Camping's wing is distributing flyers about the "coming" event and feverishly trying to inform the public before it's too late. Evangelism is good but I don't think this is the way to go about it.

Jesus said that no one knows the date when the world will end; not even Jesus. Yet, people will continue to believe they have found secret codes in the Bible that enable them to figure out the date. Even Isaac Newton, the great English scientist, spent years poring over the scriptures and eventually thought he had determined a date for the end of the world. God had something to say about this in Isaiah 44:25. "I am the one who shows what liars all false prophets are, by causing something else to happen than the things they say. I make wise men give opposite advice to what they should, and make them into fools." No matter how devoted and sincere decoders and self-appointed prophets are, no one can know the mind of God except the Spirit of God.

We are to be spiritually ready for whatever happens, not frightened or worried about the apocalypse. "Be not afraid; only believe" Mark 5:36
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According to recent news articles, cursive writing will soon be as unintelligible as Elizabethan English is to most of us. Cursive is sooo twentieth century. Just think; people over thirty will be able to write messages in cursive that will be a mystery to the youngsters now in school. And if the cursive document includes correct grammar it will be a double mystery. On the other hand, I confess that twitter (tweet? twert? twizzle?) language might as well be Chinese to me.
lol, bff. There; did I just say something nice or gross?**********************************************
Cleaning out our house after Nita's death, I threw or gave away hundreds (literally) of things that had been accumulated over the 60 years of our marriage. Included were plaques representing awards of various kinds. After my departure from this vale of tears no one would remember (even my memory was a little hazy about some of them) or care what they were for. I was not the least bit sentimental about them so into the dust bin they went. This led me to wonder: what, if anything, of worth and endurance would I leave behind?

My name? The Marsellos family name will disappear with the passing of my son. Not always succesfully because of all my multitude of weaknesses, I have tried to uphold the name without stain and I know he is doing, and will continue, to do the same. In the areas of father, husband, grandfather, etc., architect, poet, novelist, artist, Christian, etc., I can say without false modesty and with complete honesty that I have never felt I was more than average. ( One definition of average: The best of the worst and the worst of the best. Ugh.) Paul said we are not to think better of ourselves than we ought.

Does life have a point or is it only a collection of random events? Do we have a reason for being or are we like a weather vane, doing our job as we and others see it but being moved only by the vagarious winds? I firmly believe we have free will but is there some Grand Scheme in which, under the right conditions, my free will ultimately blends with God's will for His purposes?

It can occur at any age but middle age seems the time when many examine their progress in life. I know I did. I found that I was, so to speak, "Weighed in the balances and found wanting." (Daniel 5:27) I had no spiritual weight at all. For me, life was bleak and without real satisfaction. There are numerous ways to temporarily cover up spiritual hunger and deficiencies: appearing religious (talking the talk. I was very good at that), church attendance in body but not in spirit, denial that anything is missing, alcohol, illicit sex, drugs, work, pride (remember the Pharisees? Nothing wrong with us. We're sons of Abraham), gathering possessions, etc., but only one way to level the balances.

Jesus said to Nicodemus (and us), "You MUST be born again." There is no wiggle room in this statement; it is absolute. Take it or leave it; there's no middle ground. It will do no good to stand before God and say,"I was an Eagle Scout" or "I attended every church service all my life" or "My grandfather was a preacher" or "Our family is very prominent. We have always been good people and contributed millions to good causes." Fine. Wonderful. Congratulations. But, none of that matters unless you have been born again.

All of the above leads to a dream I had recently. In the dream I was conversing with a group of people; none that I recognized. I don't know if there were 2 people or 20. But I distinctly and clearly remember that I declared,

"I know why I was born! It was so I could lead (---?---) to Christ!"

The name of the person was a blur. Was it someone I had the privilege to influence for Jesus in the past or someone in the near future? I don't know. But I do know the joy I felt to have the confirmation of the reason for my existence. Everything else in my life has only been background.

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"Now the God of hope give you all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit" Romans 15:13