Tribute to my mom

Today, the 16th is my mom's birthday. She moved on 24 Dec, 2015. This birthday will be the first without her. I have processed her death so it is not so traumatic. She was not perfect and spent many years as an alcoholic. One fact I can say is that she always supported me. She would listen to me and was my primary counselor when I went through a divorce. Actually, she was the one who encouraged me to ask Sveta out on her birthday. She was still in Montana at the time. We were talking on the phone and I did not know what to do about my birthday; I was all alone at the time. She suggested I ask someone out-a really strange comment considering the circumstances. I mentioned one person, Svetlana, but I told my mom that she would probably not go out with me nor should I at this time. But my mom told me to call and if she did not go, ask someone else. So I asked Svetlana, expecting to be turned down. Sveta asked me who was coming and I said only you. She was gracious to go with me and I figured we would be friends. At the Edelweiss restaurant (German), something happened inside me and I fell in love with Svetlana. That is ironic, because I did not like the dress she wore or talking with her. I initially thought the whole idea was a mistake and was waiting for it to end. Then one of the musicians came in and played "Edelweiss" on the guitar. Something transformed inside me about Sveta. So I owe my true love and best friend I ever had in my life to my mother.

Mathematics and sex

I was looking for an ice breaker for one of my classes and I recalled the old Ma and Pa Kettle math. A funny clip on how you do the math https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8XMeocLflc . Then I found an Abbott & Costello spoof on "7 into 28" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS2aEfbEi7s . In the list I saw a Ted Talk regarding Mathematics and Sex. I thought, how can you relate the two? The author was interesting, but I had to view two times through to try to access what was her point. She showed some formulas, but did not explain anything. I saw other related topics on sex.

As a sex addict, I was a little concerned about going down this path and watching these presentations on sex. Would it be like the alcoholic that has a drink or a drug addict that tries another drug. Yet, an Israeli, Ran Gavrieli, spoke on "why I stopped watching porn." he basically equated it to exploitation of women. He has a BA in gender studies and working on a PhD on the same topic. That means he has done extensive research on the topic. So the question lingers: "If pornography is bad in the long run, why is it so acceptable?" The proverb I read today comes to mind. There is a way that seems right to a person, but the end thereof is death (in Proverbs 14).

Gavrieli states: "Israel is not dealing with it. Not yet. Just like the U.S., the Israeli government cares more about money and taxes coming in from porn than it cares about [the] education, values and identity of the next generations.”

The heart and sex - the negative

Well, the negative side of the heart and sex is more discussed. "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" Jeremiah 17:9. Just when I think I have my heart guarded something springs up and I am off track...again. This verse explains why so many of us fall into sin. Only a blinded and proud person can say that he or she is above deceit. I remember a woman claiming she had not sinned in over 20 years. Must be nice. I cannot get through a single day without going off track. Lately, something has changed in my life. I do not seem to be drawn by the deceit of sex. As a sex addict, it seems to be lessened. I wish I knew the secret code; I have made many changes that perhaps lessen the draw. I am reading more books than spending time on the Internet. Without a television, I am not bombarded by the advertising and visual temptations. I spend more time in prayer and listening to the bible in my car. Also I listen to worship, although I find the increase in YouTube commercials annoying; I have not considered paying to turn them off. Reading and keeping busy with work and now with the spring weather- working out in the yard seems to keep me on a steadier path.
    
"For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, ... adultery, ..." Mark 7:21. Evil thoughts come and go faster for me. I figured by now in my Christian life, the desires would go away, but, alas, they just keep coming. And the capacity for evil is scary.  It just seems easier to admit the thoughts are there and move them out as soon as possible. Sometimes, I have to repent and turn directions. The trouble is we have to act like we are perfect as Christians and do not have an outlet to confess our sins. Sure you can confess to God, but there is something about confessing to each other.

The heart and sex - the positive

How much does the heart play in sex? The physical urge is strong and I spent most of my adult life sex starved. It used to drive me nuts from about age 16 until Sveta came into my life. I could never seem to get to a place of fulfillment until I bonded with Sveta. Sex does create a chemical reaction in the brain. That reaction produces a feeling of pleasure.  It creates a strong bond between two people, yet it can be so fickle. Emotions can help and hinder. In the case of helping, emotions build strong relationships, because the patterns in the brain follow the same patterns. The transmission of chemicals and electrical impulses like the path of least resistance. Sometimes it seems the desire is stronger than the physical urge.
     For those with strong urges, marriage is the best option. That is why the Apostle Paul recommends "But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. "But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion" (1 Cor. 7:9). 
    So, why do we not hear about people who have fantastic sex lives in the Christian world? If it is even talked about it is the negative aspects of adultery and perversion. So we know we need to guard our hearts against those damaging acts, but what does a good sexual relationship look like? How often do hear from the Song of Solomon? Some parts of that book are quite graphic and intimate. My point is that we are usually left to figure it out on our own. And yet the church is being wrecked by sexual sins. In the hundreds of men's meetings that I have attended, rarely is sex discussed and typically it is a warning against the negative side. Why do we not teach the real positive aspects of sex and leave it up to the world or trail and error to figure it out?

The heart 3

I landed on Psalm 62:8. "Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge." The psalmist says that we should pour out our hearts to God. You do not read much about speaking your mind to God. Speaking our mind to God is probably because we cannot afford to "lose our minds" in a discussion with God. In my case I do not get anywhere when I try to intellectually engage with God. However, emotions are real and one cannot deny them. Since the preface to pouring out our hearts is "at all times", We can trust God to listen in good times and bad ones. We can pour out our hearts in joy and in sorrow.
     In my own life, I connect with God several times throughout the day. In the morning, I almost always read with audio the Proverb of the day. That is easy because I only have to look up the day of the month and find the corresponding chapter. I planned to do that every month this year. Now that I am on the 4th month and considering I have read the entire bible about 40 times, I am really irritated that I cannot pull up a single Proverb from the day. I mean later on in the day or at night when Sveta and I pray, I cannot recall a single one. I know it is in there, but why am I not able to pull up something on demand? That really bothers me and I let God know. I have no answer, but I continue the practice. I really like reading the Proverbs and processing the wisdom provided.

The heart part 2

     Many scriptures refer to the heart and mind. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" Mark12:30. Within our 4 dimensions, height, width, depth, and time, this idea is not hard to figure out. But when you add the spiritual dimensions, the complexity is beyond me. I will look at heart      The heart can influence us differently. So I took an assessment of my heart from a positive aspect. The first emotion I want to experience is to be close to God. I find myself wanting to spend time with the Spirit and forget about the world. A really close second to me is that my heart longs for my Sveta. That relationship is a paradigm shift for me. I have traveled extensively and can honestly say I never missed anyone when I traveled. Last year when she went to Russia for a month, it seemed like a year or more. I wanted to be next to her. In the same way I am sensing that feeling with God. What a tragedy if we do not miss God. I heard a comment last week about a person hearing people who were practicing their rituals and did not feel near to God. Obviously feeling is not the whole picture, but it is also an important part of a relationship.
      After God and Sveta, the jury is out on the rest. I have so many feelings and thoughts, I could neither rank them nor prioritize time. There are professional objectives and tasks to do. I have many relationships in my life. I have a desire to invest in the kingdom of God, yet that is such a "humungolonious" concept. I have an objective to research and write on orphans. I like to read and study. I like to work on the house and yard. As a planner, I have to let it go and move with the Spirit. Planning just does not work right now. I would have to do that at the expense of being open to the moving of the Spirit and also responding to other people who appear to need me right now. Being in the world, but not of the world causes conflicts in our heart.We need to periodically assess our heart to see what we truly love.

The heart

The scripture describes the heart as a place to delight in the Lord. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Also the scripture warns that the heart is deceitful. So where is the heart? We know that surgeons can transplant a heart from one person to another and that person still maintains the same identity. It seems the heart may originate in the brain. Changes in the brain produce the chemicals that give us feeling. That feeling can influence the heart to pump faster; perhaps slower. So we go back to the mind. The mind also is an electrical process. That means the signal from the brain or a temptation from the evil one travels down the brain through the least path of resistance. Electrical signals are lazy and take the most traveled path in the brain. That makes it important to guard the heart so when the signal is triggered, the path leads to a desired outcome.
"A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit" Proverbs 15:13. I felt that today in a strange set of events. I was in a restaurant and happened to see a place that I had been in the past- the Louisiana Superdome. However, what should be a positive and funny memory turned out to crush my spirit. One of the persons in that memory caused me severe pain and it is no longer something I want to be reminded of. So now I have to let it go and literally think of something else. And I know over time it will fade. If I dwell on the broken relationship, the heartache will continue to crush the spirit. To guard the heart is to deal with it; I cannot change the situation - I tried. I must guard my heart by not allowing the memory to crush my spirit. I remind myself of other positive thoughts such as delighting in the Lord. 

Trauma of violent conflict on children part 2

Continuing on an article from "Russia Today", The title states "87 million children under 7 spent entire lives in conflict - UNICEF.

The trauma of conflict interferes with the normal development of the brain. The constant exposure to violence causes irreversible damage to the brain. Children need safety and a nurturing environment to properly grow up. This disruption to their lives from conflict has long term effects. The article states that 80% of the 8.4 million children in Syria have lived in the civil war. One of three were born since the armed conflict began. This puts fear and loss into their minds. God have mercy on these little ones! I do not know any Syrians and it breaks my heart.

Sometimes I wonder if we spend more time and resources in cleaning up after these conflicts rather than preventative measures. I wish we could outlaw war. As I mentioned in the previous post, we are stuck with wars and rumors of war until Christ returns. That also means were are stuck with the trauma and trying to find ways to clean up after the damage.  There will come a time when war will be outlawed-permanently.

What a challenge and what a stretching of my own faith to try to meet that challenge. There are so many organizations and people trying to help orphans, Their work is quite commendable. As for myself, I am still trying to figure out my role in all this. Keeping focused is something I need to work on. We all get involved in many things as life happens. I know that I am in the center of God's will. And we have to give ourselves grace with jobs, helping people, and our own human limitations. I was so physically weak, I could hardly function the past 4 days. But we pick up again and continue the journey to meet our objectives. I still keep the objective to help orphans in their distress in my mind.

New born baby found after bombing

I am reading a book (in Russian) titled the "Blockade Book". At 550 pages, I understand 95% and only have to look up a word or two a page to understand the content. The book is about the Siege of Leningrad from 1941-1944. In one story, a woman was on her way to work. Bombs fell near the building she just passed by. She turned around and went to look for survivors. She describes how they had to maneuver around obstacles and climb around to look for people. She hears a voice crying from the stairwell but cannot pin point it. With the help of a young man (15-16 years), they are able to break down the door to the apartment. The place is empty but they still hear a voice. The apartment is filled with dust and with a flashlight she makes her way back into the bedroom. The bed was made of iron and underneath she finds a baby all wet with the umbilical cord attached! The child was still alive. The place was so dusty she had to have the young man hold the baby while she cut the cord. They had to take the baby out naked into the street and hold it under the coat until an evacuation truck arrived to take the baby to the hospital. The rest of the story is unknown, but what courage and fortitude on the part of the woman to save a child.

Trauma of violent conflict on children

I stumbled accross an article on the effects of war on chidren. We still estimate the number of Syrian orphans and do not have good figures.  The report states that 87 million children around the world have lived at least 7 years in violent conflict. From the psycologicl side the trauma has quite an effect on the brain's development and the mental health of the child. Worldwide 1 of 11 children spend most of their first six years in a state of violence. How do we mitigate such a horrendous situation?
The first step would be to outlaw war. We play so many games by trying to follow all the rules of what should and should not be done during a violent conflict. For example, what ction is right or wrong. That depends on one's view. Then there is the criticism about how people were killed and who was killed i.e. who can be killed and who shold not be killed. Would not a ban on war|violent conflict reaalt resolve most f the issues? As optimistic as I would like to be, we have to reconcile the words of Jesus. We will always have wars and rumors of wars. Until Christ return, that is the hand we are dealt. So then how do we handle this tragic situation?

https://www.rt.com/news/337054-un-report-children-conflict/

The non-sexual side of evildoers part 2

     Finishing up the issue of non-sexual sin, we have slanderers and swindlers. Slanderers are people who speak falsely about others. The scriptures a loaded with references about falsehood. To lie in general is covered in other places, but this reference refers to talking about others. How often do we find ourselves criticizing others and "stretching" our words and saying words that harm others. The frequent scenario is the practice of putting others down so that we can look better in our own eyes or in front of a person or group.
    The last group are the swindlers. That comes in two forms in our technologically capable world. People trick others into giving money in various forms. There are so many examples on the Internet. The motivation is money. Money is neutral; it is a tool accomplish basic functions in life. The love of money drives people to swindle. Perhaps fraud is a more common term.
     I remember the last time I was swindled. It was part my own fault due to my own lust. Actually it was humorous. Several years ago I was listening to a virtual class for my doctoral program. The professor was talking about a leadership style with the acronym SCARF. he mentioned one could look it up in Google. So taking the power of suggestion, while he was talking I open up another browser window and tried it out. Rather than seeing the SCARF leadership model, I saw more pictures of women with scarves. It gets better. I saw one model with a really nice red scarf. I thought, wow I would like to see Sveta in this scarf. It was a long scarf and the lady was naked, but covered up. So I clicked on the picture to see if they had any others. In the meantime, I went back to the virtual session. I noticed my camera activating, but was caught between what is going on and paying attention to the lecture. Then the computer froze with a screenshot threatening me with some kind of crime. My picture was there with some kind of threat regarding the FBI and for $40 (or $60, I cannot recall the amount) I could clear the record. My computer had just been hijacked by a malware virus. I knew right away that it was a fraud, but I felt more stupid for falling for it. After hours of trying to fix it and hours of research on another computer, I managed to clean my computer. So the moral of the story is to not let momentary lust or desires deceive you. I am much more careful about clicking on links and pictures. This lesson has kept me out of much trouble when I am visibly stimulated.

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were (I Cor 6:9).

The non-sexual side of evildoers

     Now that the topic of sexual sins was covered, the impact of non-sexual sins bears mention. On the subject of thieves, we would typically not think a shoplifter as deserving a death penalty as it is considered a petty crime in the judicial system. With the commercial world of large retail stores, what is a person really doing when he takes a small item. Or steals because she is hungry. Thievery is looking at a lifestyle in this context. Swindling might be more of the grand theft and cheating people out of large sums of money. Yet the scripture is quite clear, a practice of stealing will exempt a person from inheriting the kingdom of God.
     What about cheating on taxes? Even Jesus stated we are to give to Caesar what is Caesar's, so that means we should pay taxes and not worry about the finances. We have to trust God and be good stewards of our resources. With such a complicated tax system, I always wonder if I covered everything. I do use tax software and that is supposed to be statistically about 40 times more accurate than doing it on paper forms.
     I remember when I was in the Army, that a captain was put out of the military for stealing a pair of sunglasses. He walked out of the Post Exchange and was caught. When I worked at Sears, I remember the cost of stealing was around 10% for the store. When my son worked at King Sooper's grocery store, he watched a person walk right out the door with a 12 pack of beer. They were told not not confront thieves and let security handle it. The risk of someone becoming violent was considered a business risk for not getting involved.
   Combine thievery with greed. In an affluent society we do not consider greed such a sin worthy of the death penalty. We barely address greed in most conversations about sins. The desire for material wealth drives people to commit acts they would not normally do. I read an article about an Easter egg hunt this year. PEZ sponsored a huge event and it turned out negative. Some frenzied parents pushed kids out of the way, knocked some down, and tore down signs for designated areas. Are we so focused on material gain that we forget the values we pass on to children?  Is this a sign of the impending times that describes people being lovers of themselves?
     Stealing is not an issue for me, but I can see why people do it. Some like the challenge. Others steal to support another bondage such as alcohol or drugs. A person may be desperate enough such as hunger to steal to survive. Realistically that would be stupid thinking as we have enough charitable organizations that provide food and these folks are all over the city. As a last resort one could find a piece of cardboard and set up operations on a street corner. When I found out how money some take in, I actually considered it as a part time option. Can you imagine Dr. Lewis standing on a freeway ramp with a sign: "Need money for my mission trip. Anything will help. God bless you." 
     Note the scripture says that we were like these characteristics, but following Christ means we no longer are identified with these characteristics. We turn away from them and have a new nature. No one should be able to call our behavior according to these former habits. When we recognize them or someone pints one out, we need to turn away from these characteristics:

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were (I Cor 6:9).

The sexual side of evil doers

     How many pastors who have fallen due to sexual immorality have repented are are back in the ministry? Their lives were broken and they had to process the sin and move on to repentance. They still sense that call of God. Their ministry may not be as great as before, but they are serving God. Should they continue serving in the capacity of a pastor? Does it take a broken person to better grasp grace and mercy?  I can point to three times in my life when sin broke my life. As I turned from it, the concept of grace became clearer to me and I could better extend mercy to others. I am a judging person by personality so perhaps I need to be broken from time to time to be able to extend grace to others. And I hope three times is enough, I do not look forward to another one or plan for another broken experience from my sin.
    Back to our scripture on inheriting the kingdom of God. "Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God". I would like to zero in on the three sexual descriptions. Sexually immoral is separated from adultery and the Greek word is where we get the term porno. Men who have sex with men is mentioned and not the wider circle of women and transgender. Now we know from the statistics that the population of lesbians, gays, and transgenders is still very small. yet they receive far more attention in the media than in proportion to their numbers in society. The focus is on the rights of each individual to live as he or she wants. Yet the consequences are so high, that people just tune out the threat risk. And to confront them, one has to deal with a lower level of argument - name calling. If a person does not accept their choice, they use terms such as "bigot" and "narrow minded". All of us underestimate both the concept of grace and the impending judgment.
     It would not be appropriate for me to disciple a lesbian, at least not without my wife. But what if God brought a homosexual or transgender (who is really a male) into my life?  Jesus was known for spending time with the sinners of the day- tax collectors and prostitutes. (I might add that prostitution was considered illegal according to Jewish law and Jesus had a tax collector on his team). Or what if I came across someone who claims to be gay or transgender? One quarter I had a student who was a man. The next quarter the student came in a dress and purse and put a different name on the name card. It took some adjusting, but I engaged the student just like any other one. Mentoring a homosexual or transgender to follow Christ would be an interesting challenge.

The residue of an evildoer

     As I reflect on my own life, I see we have the residue of past behaviors. Unfortunately, as a follower of Christ, we can leave negative impressions on others when we fall into sin. I was recently reminded by a person who brought up my previous adultery.  Even though this is years and years ago, the residue still is in the memory. It is said that an alcoholic is always an alcoholic even if he or she never drinks alcohol again. I have talked with many former drug and alcoholic addicted people. Most gave it up and could not return. They say they have to stay sober to make it.
     Although I would consider myself cured and non-practicing, I would not identify myself as an adulterer anymore. According to 1 Cor 6:9 that would disqualify me from inheriting the kingdom of God. I have made a course correction. I have repented and turned from it. Honestly, when Svetlana came into my life, she prayed for me and my life changed. Words cannot express how she influenced my life to a positive faith.
     The apostle Paul was a murderer and persecutor of Christians. After repenting and turning to Christ, several times in the Book of Acts, we find he was not easy to get along with. For example, he spit with Barnabas and had an argument with Peter. We tend to side with Paul because much of the Book of Acts tells us about the initial spread of the gospel. yet a wise person can see Paul made his mistakes. He even describes a thorn in his flesh that God does not take away  because His grace is sufficient for us. A person needs grace when they mess up i.e. sin. I think of someone with whom I worked that reminds me of the apostle Paul. He could really get tasks done. I managed to get along with him and agreed with the vast majority of what he was trying to accomplish. But he was like a bull charging into matters and the top leadership forced him out.

What is an evildoer?

I got carried away yesterday on scripture chapter and verse designation and missed my original intent. In our Western culture we seem to have a much narrower concept of an evildoer. We manage to agree on the murderer, the terrorist, the pedophile, the serial rapist. But do we really catch the significance of some other types of people mentioned in 1 Co 6:9? Society is proliferated with tolerating the various sexual orientations; we are supposed to treat it as normal human behavior. The lesbian, gay, transgender are supposed to be normal. Yet according to the scripture, they have a great threat risk regarding salvation. What about the thief, someone who walks into stores and steals all the time; even petty theft is considered a disqualification for salvation. We do not even consider greed in a prosperity society; the fact that tithing as around 5% in America is a huge indicator of greed. Alcoholics are classified as not entering the kingdom of God; they say once an alcoholic always an alcoholic. The person that is freed from alcohol is a non-practicing alcoholic. The same logic would go for the others. These labels prevent a person from inheriting the kingdom of God. I see one on the list that had me bound as a Christian and now I am a non-practicing one. Continuing on the list, slander has many references in the Proverbs; do not speak falsely about anyone. No one likes a swindler, but many deceive to gain riches. These identifications are quite serious and we seem to be more tolerant in general than we should be. How do we address them without incurring the wrath of society; actually there is no easy way to present truth without repercussions. However, if a person repents and turns from these behaviors, then they should be accepted for turning from evil. Yet that person will always have the residue of the label. The evildoer continues in the behavior and has no future hope.

Do not fret because of evildoers

    or be envious of the wicked,

20 for the evildoer has no future hope,

    and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. Proverbs 24.

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Cor 6:9

I am reading a chapter from Proverbs each day. I had read a book about the Proverbs. It was mostly a prosperity oriented message, but had a few nuggets of wisdom. One of my take aways is to read a chapter from the book of Proverbs each day. So far I am on track and plan to finish out the year. This thought is different, but I wonder if the peopple who divided the bible into chapters and verses had considered some books into 30 chapters. If the gospels were set into 30 chapters, a person could read one each month Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in four months. Then we could through them 3 times a year.   Then one could pair the lessor text of Mark with the book of Proverbs. I am probably more caendar oriented, but sometimes it helps.

Do not fret because of evildoers
    or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evildoer has no future hope,
    and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out. Proverbs 24.

Reflection on men's retreat

Thank you to all who covered me in prayer. The session I presented went quite well. I had a very interactive discussion on what I call the Iron Triangle. According to research, these three issues challenge men the most: money, power, and sex. We used the scripture and personal experience to describe the positive and negative sides of each topic. I was glad that I could be brave and share not only my victories, but my failures. The vast majority of us are afraid to confess our sins publicly, but several chatted with me afterwards about their struggles. I challenged everyone to find some brothers to form an accountability group. I mentioned that I have a group of men in which we can confidentially share and our primary rule is that it stays within the room. Many say, I confess to God and that is good. Yet, the scripture also states "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" James 5:16. Some Christian churches have confession to the priest or father as a practice. In other situations we need to confess to someone to get it outside of ourselves. Having a trusted person is a challenge for many.

Speaking at men's retreat

This post is more of a request for prayer. I will be speaking at a men's retreat this weekend March 19th. I have the 9:30-11:30 slot to present to a group of about 25 men. If you would be so kind to pray that the Spirit of God will come upon me and teach the men how to live righteous lives. My plan is to address the big three for men- power, money, and sex. I call it the iron triangle and many are in an iron cage from one or more of these issues. Finally, I will make a call to link up in small accountability groups. My hope is that men will be strengthened and have a group of men to connect with. Thank you.

Cyclical versus linear time

When I finished reading Eliade's book on "The Myth of the Eternal Return", I finally figured out the main point of the text. Ancient society viewed time as cyclical i.e. creation to destruction and back to creation. Life is cyclical and this pattern continues forever. It does seem logical as we have the sunrise and sunset and that repeats itself every day. We have the seasons and mark the cycle with the New Year. How many times did I hear people talk about liking the four seasons. For fallen humans, the seasons bring variety that lessons boredom and gives us a sense of change-something different. Living in Colorado I would really like 2-3 months more of summer, but not the hot, humid climate when I lived in the deep South. Perhaps I am just acclimatized to the northern climate. Anyway, the Judaeo-Christian faith is based on a creation to judgment line. Within that line of time we have recurring cycles of days and seasons.
     Popular culture is trending back to cyclical time. And why not, if life just repeats itself, there is no judgment for our actions. Off the top of my head I think of the animation Lion King. The circle of life is restored and life is expected to follow that cycle. Star Wars has the good and bad side of the force; it goes in a cycle from bad temporarily triumphing, but ending with light overcoming the dark side. The fallacy in these philosophies is the lack of a future judgment. The book of Hebrew states that is appointed for a person to die once and then the judgment. Secondly, humans are more than simply physical beings. We have a supernatural component that has eternal consequences.An impending judgment should make us consider what we do with the time and resources we have.

Eliade, M. (1971) The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1971

Why faith is unique to Judeo-Christian

In Eliade's book, The Myth of the Eternal Return, he describes why the concept of faith is unique to the Judaeo-Christian spirituality. Child sacrifice was a common practice that was expected from the gods. Typically it was a way to regenerate the gods; the young sacrifice would contribute new energy to an aging god. In Abraham's case, Isaac was a gift of God. Sarah was unable to have children and well past child bearing. Abraham believed God would provide a son for him and God delivered one. In the ancient mind, to sacrifice a fulfilled promise did not make sense. So Abraham trusted God and went through the sacrifice. Faith is a new concept that is attributed to Abraham and why the scriptures describe Abraham as having faith in Yahweh and it was accredited to him as righteousness. Eliade is saying that the custom of child sacrifice was a custom and to sacrifice a "Son of God" was unique. Notice a lamb was sacrificed; fast forward to Jesus and we see a the Lamb/Son of God was sacrificed for us. Even for us today, this is an act of faith. We believe in something we cannot see nor make sense of (until after the Holy Spirit comes into our lives).

Mountain of God

One of my greatest desires is to live in the mountains. Seeing the Rocky Mountains everyday is beyond words. I can not capture in words how I feel and what I sense being around mountains. There is a special connection with God. Every morning I can look out my bedroom window and see the peaks. It reminds me of God's presence and I am always thankful. I am able to shake off the bad dreams and start with a positive outlook.
If Israel had Mount Sinai and Mount Zion as holy places, then Pike's Peak would be the holy mountain for me.  Another was Mt. Hood, Oregon. I had hiked around or up many peak's. After the Spirit of God renewed me I went on a hiking trip around the mountain in August after my Senior year. I had seen Mt. Hood so many times, but something was different. I saw the real beauty and my perception increased. It was like I saw the splendor for the first time. I can not describe it, but I remember the view was so contrasted to anything I had seen in the past. It was like a reflection of the sacred.
If mountains represent the connection between earth and heaven, then it seems to be so with me. When I go to the mountains, I have a connection with God. It is beyond the beauty. I sense the presence of God. Next week I am going up into the mountains for a men's retreat. It has been over 2 years since I managed to get up "into" the mountains. I definitely want to spend some time alone with God up there.

Eternal return

Reading the text by Eliade makes me think. He refers to connecting to the supernatural or sacred with the profane or natural. The premise is that reality is only possible when connected to the supernatural. Eliade's eternal return is distinguished from a philosophical approach called eternal return. That philosophy claims life is only a system of circular events. The scriptures support a linear time line, yet certain patterns exist that replicate circular concepts. We have the New Year which is based around "out with the old, and in with the new". This follows a pattern of creation and destruction. A person is born and a spirit filled believer is born again. Then it is appointed for us once to live and then the judgment (Heb 9:27).
       What struck me last night was the concept of holy ground. God told Moses to take off his sandals as a show of respect for a patch of land near the mountain of God. Many traditions describe a mountain as the focal point between humans and God (or the gods). Mt. Olympus is the classical setting for Greek mythology. Mt. Sinai was the place where the Israelites had many supernatural events such as the burning bush, God writing the law, and Moses striking a rock so that water came out. Yet no one can find it today. The mountain had meaning for the people of that day and something to remember.
     One of my favorite prayer times is to go in the backyard and pray in the evening. Three times I saw the heavens open and experienced supernatural events. Yet I have no way to put them into human words. I went out this morning and looked at the spot. It is just some sand with grass growing on top. What is so unique about it? It is not a cathedral, or mountain, or holy rock, or bones or anything of religious value. Is the encounter with the supernatural  attributed to the person's frame of mind, the timing, the location or a combination of all of these factors?

Reflection of God

A friend and colleague recommended a text. The author Mircea Eliade, a Romanian, write about the parallels of the spiritual and the natural. He makes one think when he talks about how people will select a holy rock from among thousands. I have always struggled with the symbol versus the actual representation of the divine in the natural. Eliade uses the terms sacred and profane. The cross symbolizes the death of Christ for our sins, yet does the particular cross he died on have any significance? If I made a cross, is it any less sacred. The physical objects give us meaning in this world. I always feel silly for trying to take rocks and have them mean something. I do not know why, but in 1984 I picked up three rocks from the Puget Sound as a dedication to God. I have completely lost the reason I did it. I do know I felt a severe conflict between what I perceived my calling from God was and how life turned out. I just went looking to see if I still had them. I think that I tossed them out because my modern thinking tells me they are just a bunch of rocks and have no value. It is not rational to attribute something spiritual to something natural.
    When I was in Arizona mourning my mom's departure to heaven, I picked up a rock. I brought it home and threw it in with the white rocks of our rose bush. I attach memory to a rock, but do not attribute a reflection of the supernatural to it. This whole concept has turned my world upside down. I wonder if there is any merit to this universe as a prototype of the heavenly realm.


Eliade, M. (1971) The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1971

Natasha- A Russian orphan mentor

This prayer request popped up from Orphan Tree for one of their staff members
www.orphanstree.org

Growing up in the Neya orphanage in Russia's Kostroma region, Natasha Koryakina couldn't have imagined what God had in store for her! Her first memory of American Christians was, as a nine year old frightened little girl, when a group arrived at the Neya Orphanage and placed a pair of new shoes on her feet. Today, Natasha speaks fluent English and plays a major role in our ministry in Kostroma. "I wouldn't be what I am today without the Ministry Center," she says, recalling her days as a young tech school student. "The Ministry Center became my home and where I wanted to spend all my free time." An American missionary who was working at the Kostroma Ministry Center took an interest in Natasha and pressed her about what she wanted to do with her life. Not having any idea, Natasha gave the first answer that popped into her mind: "Teach English." The missionary hired a tutor for Natasha, and now she utilizes her English skills every day. Natasha gets to "pay it forward" by investing her life in a younger generation of orphans. At the Kostroma Ministry Center, she wears many hats, including office manager, translator, and English teacher. She especially has a heart for working with the special needs orphans who come to the Ministry Center. "I received so much support here," she says. "I want to be able to extend that to as many others as possible." Please pray for Natasha and her important work as she ministers to orphans. Also pray for each of the orphans that she serves, knowing Natasha walked the same path, she will be able to speak words of comfort, guidance and wisdom into their lives. On a personal level, Natasha is currently planning on purchasing her first apartment and is trusting the Lord for His guidance and blessing.