tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4831393638628667742024-03-19T17:03:29.108-05:00Kick the Whirlwindthe adventures of kid christmasKid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-91428393493105327522010-10-20T15:24:00.000-05:002010-10-20T15:57:01.977-05:00God in a HurryWe've all heard that certain evangelical strain of pathos: "Thousands are dying without Christ every second" or "Let's finish preaching the gospel in one generation so that the end may finally come!" Yeah, as if I needed to put any more pressure on myself. I have been reading J.B. Phillips' book <u>Your God Is Too Small</u> for the last few days. The book was written in 1952 but aptly categorizes the many false gods or images of God that many "modern" people hold. I do not know the punchline of the book yet - the pithy ending where Phillips tells me how I might open up my view of God to be larger - but his descriptions of the small gods people serve (or avoid) have unmasked several points of small-mindedness within my own view of God.<br /><br />The most poignant example for me has been Phillips description of the "God in a Hurry" conception of God. When I am being particularly hard on myself (and when am I not), I end up feeling something like a trusty little red wagon that God has piled all his hopes and dreams up in for the Kingdom. Yes, to an extent, "Christ in me the hope of glory," is the equivalent of having all of the glory, honor, and miraculous potential of God's cherished Son in my wagon, but I so easily mistake my "light load" for something heavy.<br /><br />I have been in a hurry for most of my evangelical Christian experience. Eagerly I read my Bible, go to Church, do good things, and try to shine my bright light for others to see so that I may somehow graduate to the next level of spiritual maturity. I want to do miracles. I want to see people changed and freed and loved. I want to see the kingdom of this world crumble in the face of a powerful Kingdom of God restoring order to all creation. Yet I forget, as Phillips writes, the "quietness of Christ."<br /><br />When Jesus was hanging in Bethany across the Jordan teaching and healing, his good friend Lazarus passed away. As God incarnate, he probably knew Lazarus was dying, but the messenger did not probably reach Jesus until Lazarus had already falled into eternal sleep. Even so, Jesus still waiting another day to depart to the other Bethany. His disciples were worried he would be killed by outraged Jews in the city of Bethany where Lazarus had lived. Anyway, Jesus finished what he was doing (purposefully) in Bethany across the Jordan before bravely returning to the home of his friend. We know how the story turns out. Jesus shows death to the door and welcomes Lazarus back to the living.<br /><br />It's easy to see Jesus as some kind of Greek hero going here and there, escaping death, feeding thousands, healing hundreds (or more), and making friends with the lowly. It's easy for me to think that as a "little Christ," I should be here and there, escaping death, feeding thousands, and healing the sick, and befriending the lowliest. I have been told to do that my whole life. Now. Quickly. It's urgent. Don't stop. Don't look back.<br /><br />Not surprisingly, I am no match for my conceptions of "God in a Hurry" and my visions of "Kid Christmas in a Hurry."<br /><br />I want to re-aquaint myself with the purposeful kind of God who puts me where He needs me when He needs me there. I also want to believe in a God that will patiently wait for me to not only hear His voice but obey His voice instead of frantically following my own plans.<br /><br />This is the theme of my time in FrXc0, CO. Slow Down. Stop being so hard on yourself. God is not in a hurry. So I should not be either.<br /><br />To quote from a recent favorite song:<br /><br />Why must I negotiate<br />Why must I think You hold my fate dangling from a string that's worn and frayed<br />I used to think, it was all mapped out<br />While I stayed the course, You rethought the route<br />When lost for good, I tried to sort it out alone<br /><br />But now You're here<br />Oh what love I've found<br />You found me, my days rewound<br />I need Your love more than I need to understand<br />If I could I would fall backwards...<br />I think I'm falling backwards<br /><br /><em>fin</em>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-79835317413455694422010-09-13T16:07:00.000-05:002010-09-13T16:26:41.907-05:00My First BlogSo, however long ago when I started this blog, I imagined I would fill it with the interesting details of my soon to be ever-so-adventerous life. I planned to be in China touring and teaching English, savoring the culture and learning to share my faith as easy as breathing in and out. <br /><br />I still live in Colorado. I just got married. Sharing my faith is a challenge. And China is really far off. Honestly, it's still a bit shocking. But strangely ok. <br /><br />Kicking the Whirlwind for me has meant letting go of all the plans I had made for myself, plans which I thought were god-given but were actually me-driven. For me, being accomplished meant being a missionary and teaching people about Jesus. Now, I'm not sure what it means to be accomplished, but I have bravely tried many new things in the last few years:<br /><br />1. Taking a scholarship opportunity in S. California at a Bible College for one year<br />2. Grant writing and non-profit fundraising<br />3. Working for a home inspector and helping to grow his business<br />4. Redefining my idea of Church and the Body of Christ<br />5. Meeting, loving, and marrying the best gift God has ever given me - my husband Chris<br /><br />I've only been married for nine days, but there is a great sense of adventure in joining myself to Chris because God has combined our likes and passions in such a way as to make for a much bigger whirlwind. Somewhere in Ecclesiastes 4 the verses say something like: "Two are better than one, for if one falls down, the other can help him up. Likewise, if one is cold, two can keep warm together. Two can also fight off their enemy. Finally, a chord of three strands is not easily broken."<br /><br />Chris and I will kick our whirlwind together. We want to bravely seek out the Lord's plans, even if that means giving up a great deal of security to wander nomadically together in search of the place God has for us. <br /><br />Well, there you have it - my first blog as a married woman.Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-71073825000870876022010-03-02T18:21:00.000-06:002010-03-02T18:25:31.267-06:00wrtign blehI am forming a theory...that I don't want to grant write anymore because I have been forcing myself to write so many pieces that I don't care about for the last 14 years. School has done this to me. I hate writing assignments that do not mean anything to me. Bleh. Can I be burnt out? Can I be finished for a while.<br /><br />Perhaps after a time passes, I will want to pick up the pen again.<br /><br />Truth is, I won't stop writing. I just don't want to write about topics and for purposes that mean nothing to me. <br /><br />Irony? I had to write to say this.Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-87176628271307200862009-06-10T16:31:00.000-05:002009-06-10T16:41:40.785-05:00Economics of the heart...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIA6d22O3Kji9eK1bDEijuvgc4h8IGbHuMk0jaOH4t-RSiEEBcy3eyIAVgRM2uOaFKo9kpxhjsjqfouprwgbdk8FqeflWhQlytHcNETA1E3PZTAPPKcFyEd7aytNOj9dMZWq9Cw_A2GBLH/s1600-h/Carry+Your+Thing.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345815679945112146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIA6d22O3Kji9eK1bDEijuvgc4h8IGbHuMk0jaOH4t-RSiEEBcy3eyIAVgRM2uOaFKo9kpxhjsjqfouprwgbdk8FqeflWhQlytHcNETA1E3PZTAPPKcFyEd7aytNOj9dMZWq9Cw_A2GBLH/s320/Carry+Your+Thing.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">D</span>oes change inevitably mean a low tide of emotions? I woke up and discovered suddenly that I had made a life here in the Fort. I am pestered by my attachment to people and places.<br /><br /><br /><br />I was in a hurry to decide and go, but now I find I will be carrying many things with me...even missings and rebuttles that will never now have a chance to be argued.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">O</span>pportunity cost is something my twelfth grade Economics teacher taught me. How did I know then that Economics of the heart would bring the lesson home?Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-49601634226122291672009-05-25T19:32:00.000-05:002009-05-26T08:27:11.456-05:00"So they pulled their boats up on the shore..."<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66rF3B1ZIxGApCOWNZcF__ti3_2trJ1Qn-3z8HnltJrKQw3t8UtN92ZEoO6ldjsRW6k1hyRuY5MXvDXZED6NQyeexlP76ovqVudswPSqyVyVKt092D5gx4jpThnKQgEW5FdQTsnZtDvAi/s1600-h/Spring_2009_008.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339932452578860130" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi66rF3B1ZIxGApCOWNZcF__ti3_2trJ1Qn-3z8HnltJrKQw3t8UtN92ZEoO6ldjsRW6k1hyRuY5MXvDXZED6NQyeexlP76ovqVudswPSqyVyVKt092D5gx4jpThnKQgEW5FdQTsnZtDvAi/s320/Spring_2009_008.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><em>When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.<br />Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke5: 8-11)</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">T</span><span style="font-size:100%;">he pastor had spoken about Jesus calling Peter from a livelihood of catching fish to a life of catching people. He emphasized that the remarkable portion of the passage was not simply that Peter's impression of Jesus as a wise Rabbi caused him to cast out to sea after an already long and fruitless night spent fishing. The remarkable part wasn't even that Peter and Jesus caught so many fish. Nor was it that Peter profoundly realized (<em>"Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"</em>) that Jesus was someone more than a wise Rabbi. No. The crashing epicenter of this story was the probable history from which Jesus redeemed Peter instantly.</span><br /><br />He expounded further that Peter was probably in his early twenties when this exchange between he and Jesus took place, which means he had been out of Hebrew school since he was Bar-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">mitzvah'd</span></span></span> at the age of twelve. Only the few, the proud, and the ingenious were chosen to continue past Hebrew school into a selective process that would eventually yield one or two young people to be the follower of a Rabbi. Peter, who had already spent years in a worthwhile trade was not exactly the type to be a Rabbi follower. Yet right then, Jesus picked Peter out, set him apart, and called him to be his follower, telling him, <em>"From now on you will catch people."</em><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">I </span><span style="font-size:100%;">listened to that sermon closely and sensed a timely message hidden for me in the pastor's words. I thought, "I want so very badly to be a catcher of people," and then I heard it all so clearly in my heart. </span><br /><br /><em>"Noelle, put down your net. After all, you are a catcher of people."</em><br /><em></em><br />Isn't it funny how much influence pastors have? Later that same Sunday, I ruminated more about the sermon and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">remembered</span></span> something another pastor once told me. "Noelle, if they stick you in some corner and expect you to write for eight hours a day, you won't be happy. That would be the worst thing for you."<br /><br />No cruel person intentionally stuck me in a corner and commanded me to write for the last seven months. I have been working for a wonderful company that is a key participant in bringing God's Kingdom to earth in the darkest parts of our world. I serve under leaders who have victoriously walked through the lowest of valleys over the last year, spending their every ounce of strength fighting to keep the ministry financially stable so that our English teachers can continue living as salt and light in Asia. However, as much as I personally am passionate about evangelism and discipleship in Asia, as much as I have the skill to write fundraising documents, and as much as I love new adventures, this first adventure into the working world has revealed a great deal about who God has created me to be.<br /><br />I love people. I love the Church. I love the spirit-led influence pastors have on their flocks.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;">O</span><span style="font-size:100%;">n Monday, May 18, 2009, I turned in my formal letter of resignation from my position of Advancement Grant Writer. After much prayer and seeking the Lord and the wise counsel of others around me, I have decided to return to Grand Junction in order to be closer to my core spiritual community, my family, my boyfriend...<em>and hopefully to pursuing more closely my call. This is not as much of a total change of direction as much as it is a redirection to a more specific goal. </em>What would this adventure have been worth unless it allowed God to refine me and the call He has for me? </span><br /><br />The Lord has graciously already opened several opportunities for meaningful work, a possible living situation, and a chance to actively serve my local church body (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">yay</span>!). <strong>Please pray that the Lord would clearly open the door to my next job. Ask that I would finish well at my current job. </strong><span style="color:#993399;">If you live in Grand Junction, start looking for me around the beginning of July!</span> I am energized by the new possibilities.<br /><br />Leaving Fort Collins will be bittersweet in many ways. I have met some wonderful people (hopefully you know who you are) with whom I hope to continue friendships long after I have returned to Grand Junction. I am grateful that someone took a chance by hiring a young kid to write fundraising proposals asking for millions of dollars from people she may never meet. I hope to continue maturing the skills I have in grant writing so that more of the world's money can be transferred into the Kingdom while taking a more active ministry role in my local community.<br /><br />Fort Collins was a wonderful place to be, but my roots are not here...my roots are on a different shoreline and in a call to be a catcher of people in a different sea.<br /><br /><em>Post Script:</em><br /><em>I want to give a special thank you for all your prayers over this last year of major personal transitions. From health issues to trying to answer the question "what should I do after college?" you each have been there right beside me in support and prayer. Your prayers have moved heaven on my behalf on many an occasion. My health continues to improve greatly. I even find that I am able to eat grains occasionally without terrible side effects. Many of my body aches and pains have subsided and I am able to ride my bike more than a couple miles without collapsing. I can now ride upwards of 12 miles. I am hiking and walking and running. All of this is a testimony to greatly increased energy and stamina through God's healing hand. The Lord has provided for me financially. I also am continuing to grow in my walk with the Lord, which is the ultimate blessing. I am so thankful for God's goodness and your faithfulness! May He continue to bring me to your mind and heart in my times of need. May He also continue to bring you to my mind and heart in your times of need.</em>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-10756596691666840172009-01-11T17:33:00.000-06:002009-01-11T19:23:35.787-06:00Kite Flying<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHBOv0B6VjCZpCyvFfru1lsSPaWGCLBB_UcixOajczW4P79ajU2KKdMM8vYXaS4OSZ5NWP8k2CCCSDCtfLrXkDOsPap7_dpLaHl25w-Czs6BgmtF0J9oKDhM_5lB0KkqLlRRN3KV0FEhc/s1600-h/December+2008+067.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290205184599658930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 195px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 272px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqHBOv0B6VjCZpCyvFfru1lsSPaWGCLBB_UcixOajczW4P79ajU2KKdMM8vYXaS4OSZ5NWP8k2CCCSDCtfLrXkDOsPap7_dpLaHl25w-Czs6BgmtF0J9oKDhM_5lB0KkqLlRRN3KV0FEhc/s400/December+2008+067.JPG" border="0" /></a>On Sunday, I went to the park just down the street from my house in Fort Collins to try out my new kite. The blue sky contrasted the golden-crunchy grass, and I knelt down to open up my kite case to start putting its seven-foot, rainbow-colored awesomeness together. Several attempts to catch the wind by letting the kite float lightly and take off running failed.<br /><br />I heard someone about thirty yards away chuckle to a companion, "Failure to launch." I just ignored the comment and kept trying.<br /><br />Another man walked by a few minutes later and said, "Any luck? Doesn't seem windy enough today."<br /><br />The wind never did start to gust enough. I stuffed the kite back in its case and rewound the kite string. On Thursday of last week, I felt like a crashed kite missing the wind that usually pushes it higher. I returned home from almost two weeks of spending holidays with people that felt more like home to me than my new home in Fort Collins. A friend called this "re-entry shock" to normal, post-holiday life. Fort Collins does not quite feel like home yet. I know the wind will pick up again, but there will be days, even beautiful days spent in parks, when the wind just will not blow. So it goes.<br /><br />As far as work goes, my boss's assistant was "let-go" last Friday. This is a difficult blow because she performs so many vital tasks. Many of her duties will fall to me in the coming weeks. We need to hire two on-site Advancement workers but they may not be hired for several months. Please pray that ELIC's Advancement department can continue to successfully bring in the necessary funds in light of economic and organizational deficits.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJ9RFMOUn8sks9M4ezn_DeqR9MFAxLFnZK6T9yvpwpOiIV_mSX0ADL8Mwnz8H3Ic3CHdCamuHY2B-oCMtUo4DyO3coWlZjqWwCkjI-MY4FeBnsuVy59Vnz4HGOKmvOOFZjm2xx4pPWAFJ/s1600-h/December+2008+047.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290206009897666162" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 304px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisJ9RFMOUn8sks9M4ezn_DeqR9MFAxLFnZK6T9yvpwpOiIV_mSX0ADL8Mwnz8H3Ic3CHdCamuHY2B-oCMtUo4DyO3coWlZjqWwCkjI-MY4FeBnsuVy59Vnz4HGOKmvOOFZjm2xx4pPWAFJ/s400/December+2008+047.JPG" border="0" /></a>After the last update e-mail update, several of you asked how Chris and I are doing. He and I spent Christmas with his family in Kansas. I had a delightful time getting to know not only his parents but his extended family too. I must have met about forty people, including some of Chris's dearest high school/college buddies. It was wonderful to meet the people and see the places that shaped who Chris is today. We continue to see each other several times a month, both of us travelling back and forth over weekends.<br /><br />Regarding my health, I broke the no sugar/no <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTyAZMKCJzckfOL_wW1GclD-ZUKxix5xa6FWumaMNF3LPP1HB6bMCPIbm7PmbWUS5K7dI2j3nQQTp-NSz46q5xf6bU9qRLTjHBcxM7fgpE0qXuR-QiketKlIJiS7zA0e3gMSR1v0-RegV/s1600-h/Chris's+Pictures+453.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5290208615806453490" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 220px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 289px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTyAZMKCJzckfOL_wW1GclD-ZUKxix5xa6FWumaMNF3LPP1HB6bMCPIbm7PmbWUS5K7dI2j3nQQTp-NSz46q5xf6bU9qRLTjHBcxM7fgpE0qXuR-QiketKlIJiS7zA0e3gMSR1v0-RegV/s320/Chris's+Pictures+453.JPG" border="0" /></a>grains diet during the holiday season, but interestingly, did not feel awful. I think I am starting to see some healing and am once again returning to a more strict diet. I believe I will see permanent healing from God's hand and from faithfully following the diet.<br /><br />For those of you that do pray for me, please continue to lift my health and my relationship up - great things are happening in both these areas of my life! At work, some days are harder than others. The leanness of my department at work provides a multitude of opportunities to learn <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyVSZZkjUUgE6TovEFlHStvvUAt6DNn_DRAbQDLnazcb187MXzUX5-Y6_AuD8u8JnXlR8Wy4uzFKIr7_gPh3mdzVWPQ9xrwoLE9b3x9YCOBHq-5cVAJniF8xmwDW6f8FGVlzBfMnqvmJ0/s1600-h/Chris's+Pictures+457.JPG"></a>problem solving skills and teamwork. Please pray for peace, cooperation,<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzdUa33e5YKLb4motY0qUXzTiG_altRlNhagjef2h3BHAcPJjBgyxCvKN0AKSaUchhe6eGz3EgOHmpejERynkZl0UYtL0FBogxR2vwQW6m7-JF3mqaxUG4utrwFMKIHfSVFW_-HmpxOSa/s1600-h/Chris's+Pictures+457.JPG"></a> endurance, favor, and wisdom to flow through me.<br /><br />As always, I love to hear how each of you are doing, even if I do not have the chance to respond immediately to your e-mails. I pray the Lord is showing you His design for the New Year!Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-70105297958640452922008-12-14T23:36:00.000-06:002008-12-15T10:00:36.647-06:00Date BarsThere are many jokes to be made out of the phrase "date bars."<br /><br />Ex1:<br />"I'm going home to make date bars tonight."<br />"You're going to what?<br />and<br />Ex2:<br />"I'm going home to make date bars tonight."<br />"You've been doing that a lot lately. It must be working out well for you."<br />and<br />Ex3:<br />"I'm going home to make date bars tonight."<br />"What? You're going to bars to find dates and make out?"<br /><br />Those are just a few examples. I am sure you can only imagine the other possibilities. However, "I'm going home to make date bars" has fallen from my lips several times this last week, and today I succeeded. I love Larabars - an energy-type delicious bar wrapped in clever packaging - and every Larabar usually only has 2-5 ingredients. I decided I wanted to try my hand at making them when it became impossible for me to eat less than one a day.<br /><br />So off I went to Wal-Mart to find dates, almonds, and coconut. Mmmm, coconut. Then, the experiments began. My friend Bethany suggested I boil the dates so as to make them a stickier binding agent. Then I chopped up the almonds and coconut in a food processor. I combined the boiled dates with the dry ingredients (including a dash of cinnamon) and food-processed it more.<br /><br />I then tried several different baking methods at varying temperatures and times. I finally settled on the following method:<br /><br />Grease cookie tray<br />Roll mixture into little balls<br />Place on try<br />Press flat with bottom of cup (to 1/2 inch thick or so)<br />Bake at 315 for 30 minutes<br />Eat<br /><br />I am so excited that I unlocked the secret to my own Larabar version. In fact, I believe the Larabar company must dehydrate or otherwise slowly cook the bars because they do not have the baked texture, making my little cakes totally original.<br /><br />I shall call them:<br /><br />Noellabars<br /><br />Ingredients: Dates, Almonds, Coconut, Cinammon, Elbow Grease, Ingenuity, Love<br /><br />200 Calories of<br />non-gluten, anti-processed sugar, dairy-free, potato-free, corn/corn-syrup/other-corn-derivatives-free, legume-free<br />BLISSKid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-63653679229491268072008-12-10T15:52:00.000-06:002008-12-10T16:05:29.687-06:00Post Christmas Party Joy<div>I just had my first Christmas office party. It's so great to be part of an organization that celebrates the heart of Christmas. Further, I led us in singing two Christmas carols. How does it get any better than that? Five or six years ago, I wouldn't have imagined being able to play Christmas tunes on a piano let alone sing and play. It gives me such great joy each time I have the privilege to provide this service for people. It is one thing that makes my heart sing.</div><br /><div>This week has been a bustle of activity for me since I realized the need to buy all my Christmas presents before I go home to GJ for the weekend. The coming weekend at home will be the last time I see certain friends and family until after Christmas and New Years. I hope to make this weekend as special as can be.</div><br /><div>Now I should actually start working again. I just needed to express the joy of a day well-spent so far.</div><br /><div>PS: Here is a picture I really like - <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrdj5psBejhDDaSTe3R8FmeHFqr4epr8nbPd5aOCFZJlLJNv6x9GQHxyRYQVfxmX7BBVUge7HuIqSvuYn0-sKSDf7bSg5zR3emwx9A51G2jxP_ps7EDv5kiLIFfirUYpz_bJXnzFDBpRUe/s1600-h/MongolianKids.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278284801651692210" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 269px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrdj5psBejhDDaSTe3R8FmeHFqr4epr8nbPd5aOCFZJlLJNv6x9GQHxyRYQVfxmX7BBVUge7HuIqSvuYn0-sKSDf7bSg5zR3emwx9A51G2jxP_ps7EDv5kiLIFfirUYpz_bJXnzFDBpRUe/s400/MongolianKids.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div>I keep imagining elements of the Christmas story in different ways this year. Like, what if the angels came to some Mongolian goatherders. The shepherds that first visited Jesus must have been really dirty and smelly from being out in the fields. Even baby Jesus - I often picture him with open eyes, looking angelic, and smiling up at the shepherds. Well, if they visited him right after his birth, he probably couldn't open his eyes yet. He couldn't hear the noises going on around him well. All Jesus could do a few weeks after his birth was sleep, eat, cry, and gurgle. Baby Jesus was totally helpless - born into a grimy barn to road-wearied parents. I love thinking about this. </div>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-71392489860218376412008-11-12T21:40:00.000-06:002008-11-12T22:20:01.369-06:00Believe in Someone Today - You May Change a Life<div>I just checked my work e-mail. Lame. You know you are new in town when you don't have anything to do on a Wednesday night except watch "Pushing Daisies" on abc.com and take a few moments to edit a letter for a co-worker. Yep.<br /></div><div>So to the news. I have a new job. I am the Advancement Writer for ELIC, a non-profit that sends English teachers to Asia. If you want more information than that, then you'll have to ask me in person. My job is kind of top secret...or on the dl...or must submit to the CG (correspondence guidelines) set forth by ELIC. Yep. We're not newsmakers, and we'd like to keep it that way. </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKP1EejNs5xcjOerqlcUiNlXulDHMgNvywVdzMK09oUBHc0J9d68m6G1d316KtmLC6OJU6Ipu2iAmfT0zisuyEZsgr3DGt8t5PYn9mJayxteakbWvLd5su44jVyRHwrWyRgTaM0Q2f_eQ/s1600-h/Fall+2008+052.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267990126868830210" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKP1EejNs5xcjOerqlcUiNlXulDHMgNvywVdzMK09oUBHc0J9d68m6G1d316KtmLC6OJU6Ipu2iAmfT0zisuyEZsgr3DGt8t5PYn9mJayxteakbWvLd5su44jVyRHwrWyRgTaM0Q2f_eQ/s400/Fall+2008+052.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>The excitement I have for this job is truly true, however. If I could have written, directed, and cast my own first real job in the real big adult world, I would have been hard pressed to develop something as well-suited to my skills and interests as being the Advancement Writer for ELIC. It combines my people, writing, editing, and managing skills in one role. Plus, I get to be extremely nerdy about words and research.<br /><br /></div><div>Further, I have learned that most people are good at heart.<br /><br /></div><div>I pondered often when I was waiting to hear about this job, two months of pondering and waiting to hear, if I was qualified enough. I pondered how I performed at the initial interview. I also pondered if sending my new boss two personality profiles (I'm an S-I-C on the DISC test, btw), four more writing samples, calling, and several e-mails would be too much. After all, he did ask me to send him anything and call with thoughtful discussion questions regarding the job. </div><br /><div>So I did. I pondered and I was over-actively persistent. My now-boss terms my obsessive persistence "showing initiative." After three and one-half days on the job, he asked me what I really thought. He wanted to know the "true dirt" I had told my good friends and mom up to that point - first impressions about the job and such. So I ever so delicately ventured,</div><br /><div>"I feel like I have been lifted out of nothing and given <em>something</em>," heavily emphasizing the <em>something</em> in a positive manner.<br /></div><div>And here is what he said,</div><br /><div>"Sometimes we just need someone who will believe in us and give us a chance no one else will."</div><br /><div>Then he back-peddled,</div><div></div><br /><div>"I have full-confidence you can do this job well based upon your leadership skills, writing skills, people skills, and self-starting attitude, but not everyone would have given you this job."</div><br /><div>Truth be told, the other person they considered strongly for the job of Advancement Writer had a journalism degree, one-year of teaching experience in Asia, grant-writing experience, and had actually published some writing. Me, with my English degree, no grant-writing experience, two months of teaching experience in Asia, and no published pieces, should have been an obvious "no." </div><br /><div>But then there is grace. My boss's wife told me at the new office building dedication ceremony ELIC held last Thursday evening that there really was not any competition. Her husband preferred me from the start. Plus, she told him my writing was better.</div><br /><div>I am not writing that to sound cheeky, but here are my take-aways (a business-y term I picked up this week, meaning most important ideas to put in your tool bag and utilize when most efficient):</div><br /><div>1. First impressions count.</div><br /><div>2. Persistence pays out.</div><br /><div>3. Be hungry.</div><br /><div>4. Show initiative.</div><br /><div>5. Never give up in the face of giants.</div><br /><div>6. Believe you are the best you that you can be.<br /></div><div>7. Say yes when opportunity knocks.</div><br /><div>8. Be ruthlessly honest.</div><br /><div>9. Be yourself.</div><br /><div>10. Don't be afraid to show <span style="font-size:78%;">some</span> emotion during an interview.<br /></div><div>11. Venturing out into the real world is fun.</div><br /><div>12. Always be inspired by your close friends.</div><br /><div>13. Know that love is a constant.</div><br /><div>14. Fear not.</div><br /><div>15. Embrace the new.</div><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;color:#6600cc;">I dedicate this blog-entry to Carrington Schaeffer for always encouraging me to write. Thanks pal.</span></div><br /><div><span style="color:#000000;">PS I have a boyfriend. More on that later, but for now, know that waiting two months to hear about this job just may have been perfect timing in more ways than one.</span> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL6TcyRvc6rf4m4VZuPvVCYIfHkvTBnhTnQMhyphenhyphendHBdeJxE0s87sBJxcHBxrWQp4Y1HUICzcNtNdqH7LMKlKPYyEc5EoV8d5cd4en-6d2XTS2qZ9nwdfe-RJmEE_pfHyMOj1w5t4SDgP9ku/s1600-h/Fall+2008+022.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267990735505751346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL6TcyRvc6rf4m4VZuPvVCYIfHkvTBnhTnQMhyphenhyphendHBdeJxE0s87sBJxcHBxrWQp4Y1HUICzcNtNdqH7LMKlKPYyEc5EoV8d5cd4en-6d2XTS2qZ9nwdfe-RJmEE_pfHyMOj1w5t4SDgP9ku/s400/Fall+2008+022.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL6TcyRvc6rf4m4VZuPvVCYIfHkvTBnhTnQMhyphenhyphendHBdeJxE0s87sBJxcHBxrWQp4Y1HUICzcNtNdqH7LMKlKPYyEc5EoV8d5cd4en-6d2XTS2qZ9nwdfe-RJmEE_pfHyMOj1w5t4SDgP9ku/s1600-h/Fall+2008+022.JPG"></a></div>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-12260506034822352352008-09-02T21:10:00.000-05:002008-09-02T21:17:56.718-05:00A Little Slow on the UptakeWell, I am no longer between California and Colorado, just Colorado for now. I decided not to return to school in order to take care of some health issues I have been having - possible Celiac or some acute allergies to wheat and other mystery foods. <div><br /></div><div>I am not avid blogger. I am sure if you check this blog ever, you will notice the inconsistency of my entries. Whelp, I simply journal a lot on paper. </div><div><br /></div><div>Beyond the prior prattle, I am beginning to settle in to home again...although "home" in and of itself is an ambiguous term for me right now. I am not living at home with the parental, nor am I really living anywhere for certain, just kind of floating from one twin bed to the next. I hope to hear back from a Denver friend with the ok to move into her parental's basement for the next few months. </div><div><br /></div><div>Job interviews are great. I love to talk to people, a quality, which incidentally may not work out so well at a law office that's interested in hiring me. They are all down to business there. All two of them. It should be interesting and fun, but slightly more quiet than what I am accustomed to. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the meantime, I am taking time to re-establish old connections, make new ones, and start my own house-cleaning business. I hope to visit a professor, an old travel buddy, and a best friend before the week in over. I will also go geo-caching with a few new friends I met last week at a college Bible study group. Then, it's re-connect time with the bff. All in all, settling in isn't so bad. </div>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-59834530959513726542008-04-28T00:19:00.000-05:002008-04-28T00:44:15.914-05:00Ticket GeniusLet's face it, gas prices are only going up and up, which also means plane tickets are going up and up. Tonight I looked for a one-way ticket from GJ to Ontario, CA (20 minutes from my school) and found tickets no less than 300 <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/buckeroo">buckeroos</a> and up to 550 buckeroos. I was not having this, so I tried to get creative. If you live in GJ, you may know that there are Las Vegas flights on Thursdays and Sundays. So, I checked them out. $141. How does that get me closer to Ontario?<br /> Enter Southwest Airlines. This airline has a "Wanna Get Away" ticket category. And get this - I found a ticket from Las Vegas to Ontario for $69. Yes! What great success. It gets even better...the lay-over time is only an hour and ten minutes between flights. I have just enough time to sip a Naked Juice and a read a chapter in a book. Sweet genius. I lose a day at home, but I save almost $300. I can live with that.Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-15082662671610948002008-04-26T01:27:00.000-05:002008-04-26T01:28:01.602-05:00Change or Rest Until You Get Up<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">W</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">ell, the whole going to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Honduras</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> for the summer just became really different. I am still going down to </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Honduras</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">, but instead of staying there until the end of June, I am staying until the end of May, which is quite the change from my original plans I wrote about in my newsletter. The dust is still settling, and to be honest, I do not know how best to express what has happened to me this week as far as my plans changing! :) (it's all good, by the way).<br /></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">O</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">n Monday, one of my professors said something very frank to me. She said that she would not take me out on the field right now if she were my team leader because of how tired I am. Wow. That hit me like a load of bricks - a pleasant load of bricks in the shape of hearts. She noticed acutely that I am on my way to being a "ministry casualty." The Lord has been telling me all year to rest. I must humbly admit that I do not know how to rest. I have tried to rest, but resting is so foreign to me that I have pretty much failed at it. But God is gracious. He is giving me the opportunity to respond to Him and use wisdom. Learning to rest is perhaps one of the greatest challenges culturally for Americans and especially for those within service-oriented occupations such as pastoring. If I do not learn how to rest and care for myself now, I will probably never have such a gracious window of time as the coming summer.<br /></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> am now flying home May 29th, in time for my cousin Andrew's wedding. I have not seen all of my cousins all-together for almost eleven years, which is almost criminal! Then I plan to seek the Lord in deep rest for the remainder of my summer. I know I am not supposed to work, and God has even told me not to stress out looking and applying for scholarships for school next year. His mandate is simply difficult: rest!!! <br /></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> will still be leaving for </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Honduras</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> on May 18th, so even though my stay in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Honduras</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is much shortened, I need to raise $1000. Air travel is expensive in contrast to the relatively low cost of staying in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Honduras</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";"> for a week and a half. I am growing accustomed to the idea of not being in </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">Honduras</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">, and I know there will always be opportunities to return there. However, I am learning that if I do not take much needed opportunities for rest, I may not have future ministry opportunities. <br /></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">T</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">here is still a need for prayer and financial support, but both are being modified to fit this new situation. Even though I will be at home for most of the summer, I still need prayer covering for that time...that it would indeed be a time of rest, healing (I really need my tonsils to heal because they are swollen, and I do not want to have tonsil surgery), and spiritual-strengthening. I believe my swollen tonsils are connected more to being exhausted and to the spiritual bondage I am trying to walk out of - it is truly a fight for me to rest. Please pray also that my time would be protected from anything and anyone that would take away from my rest for the next three months. It might sound strange for an almost 23 year-old to be burnt out, but that indicates just how busy and stressful my life has been for a number years. <br /></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">L</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman";">et me know if you have any insight for me in the area of resting. I hope this answers any questions you may have due to all the changes in my plans.<span style=""> </span>I would love to hear from you!</span>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-44662031834839931352008-02-18T14:28:00.000-06:002008-05-06T01:57:42.022-05:00The Fast - How to Become Spiritual People<span style="">School this semester has been going well! On Jan 29, I spoke to my entire school at a chapel service about the subject of "<a href="http://www.lifepacific.edu/chapel/files/07%2008/08/1-29-08%20Noelle%20C.wma">fasting</a>." At the close of the service, I invited my school to join me in a three-day fast this coming week. Over half the campus signed up to join me in fasting! <span style=""> </span>We ended the fast together with a service in my school’s chapel and chicken salad.<span style=""> </span>We encountered spiritual opposition during that time with almost the whole campus coming down with a flu bug, death of close friends/family, and spiritual discouragement, but we pressed through to the end.<span style=""> </span>God brought forth several promises of revival during that time.<span style=""> </span>Particularly, God confirmed a word from Acts 2, which tells of the Day of Pentecost.<span style=""> </span>We know that God will pour out His Spirit on this campus and that God will be restoring our sense of community unto true devotion: “They devoted themselves to…teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done…” (Acts 2:42-43)</span>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-21858450269927380592008-01-21T00:52:00.000-06:002008-01-21T01:36:35.370-06:00Evangelism<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">The look on a child’s face who has just pulled on someone’s hair or stolen a pretzel from a classmate or lied about stuffing toys in a closet instead of carefully putting each where it belongs is a telltale sign of our <i style="">common humanity</i>.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Children instinctively know from an early age what right and wrong behavior is.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Extrapolate this innate knowledge a few years further, and there is similar evidence that humans of all ages are perfectly aware of how their overt and closeted beliefs and behaviors each fall into two categories: right and wrong.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Biblically this concept is also known as righteousness and unrighteousness.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">We seem to understand ourselves as either being right with God, the universe, and everything created or terribly wrong with all of the above.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">We all share the common and fundamental knowledge that we must embrace our humanity as a blessing and a curse because we begin life with a basic knowledge of the truth about God but quickly fall away from that knowledge into human foolishness.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Paul explains the blessing and curse of being human in the first chapter of Romans.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He writes that “since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that <i style="">men are without excuse</i>” (1:21, italics mine).</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He writes further that “although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and…. exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” (<st1:time minute="22" hour="13">1:22</st1:time>,25).</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Gradually, for those hardened to, fallen from, or unexposed to the sacrifice of Jesus, salvation from sin, promise of new life, and discipline of following Jesus, the truth with which they began life – the truth about God and His laws – is replaced by compromise against God and against their soul.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">So we are all without excuse. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">It is this <i style="">common humanity</i> with which the would-be evangelist is confronted.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">We grapple with people’s stubborn resistance to truth.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">This is the truth which people already know even when that truth is buried beneath years of mind-warping sin.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The job, then, of the evangelist is to utilize two main tools: <i style="">conviction </i>and<i style=""> compassion</i>.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Apostle Paul, evangelist to the Gentiles, provides an excellent demonstration of the type of conviction of which I speak.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The historian Luke records in the book of Acts a time when Paul walked into <st1:city><st1:place>Athens</st1:place></st1:city> to find a city full of idols.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He made his way to Mars Hill and to the <i style="">Areopagus</i>, a gathering of the philosophical elite of the city, to convict the Athenians of their common humanity.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He begins his poetic speech by saying:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Men of <st1:city><st1:place>Athens</st1:place></st1:city>! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. <i style="">Now what you worship as something <span style=""> </span>unknown I am going to proclaim to you</i>.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">(Acts 17 22,23, italics mine)</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">With adept perception, Paul compliments the Athenians on their interest in religious elements and subjects.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He acknowledges that he and the Athenians share a common knowledge and interest in all things divine.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Yet, for all of their statues and philosophies, they do not know the true God.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He points out how they make themselves busy worshipping something they do not know. </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Then, fully inspired by and filled with the Holy Spirit, Paul brings home the punch line.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He promises a revelation of the full-truth that will illuminate all the tainted half-truths of which they were already painfully aware.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He describes the one, true God with the following:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">places where they should live. <i style="">God did this so that men would seek him and <span style=""> </span>perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. <span style=""> </span>'For in him we live and move and have our being.</i>' As some of your own poets </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">have said, 'We are his offspring. (Romans 17:24-28, italics mine)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Paul convicts them of their historic opportunity to reach out for God, no longer allowing the Athenians to lay claim to ignorance or confusion with his concise description of God’s intentional design and placement of each human being on the earth.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Paul’s idea echoes a much earlier writing by an ancient Hebrew poet who wrote, “He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end….God does it so that men will revere him” (Ecclesiastes 3:11b,14b).</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Truly, no person is without excuse before God.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">God’s spiritual presence in this earth is always working to confront and convict people everywhere of that deep something they already know about God and his laws.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Paul left the Athenians with one alternative to their groping for God: repentance.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He finishes his speech by saying, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts <st1:time minute="30" hour="17">17:30</st1:time>).</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">A few notable members of the <i style="">Areopagus</i> decided in that moment to repent and believe.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Holy Spirit’s conviction comes from such an otherworldly place, a pure and heavenly place, that un-believers (ie: people who once believed; I reject the notion of the non-believer, since this implies absolutely no knowledge of God and his laws) cannot help but alter their behavior around the in-dwelt believer.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">It is one thing to have convictions about sharing the gospel, but it is quite another thing to be so powerfully in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit that the Spirit of God walks into all of life’s situations with you and performs the work of loosing and convicting the hearts of the lost for you.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I experience this phenomenon of conviction most often in the workplace.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">When I worked as a barista at a coffee shop in my hometown, my co-workers would often carry on hushed conversations in the back room.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The hushed tones and trembling excitement in their voices always signaled to me that they were talking about one of three things: sex, drugs, or cussing someone out.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I would purposefully walk to the back room just to see ‘what-up,’ and immediately those conversations would halt.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Out of curiosity, I began asking my co-workers why they would stop their conversations around me.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I relay their unanimous response to illustrate the power of Holy Spirit’s conviction.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Their unanimous response was always something like, “You are too pure.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I know I won’t offend you, but I don’t want to corrupt you.”</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">My response was usually something like, “Oh yeah, what makes you think I am pure or that your conversation could corrupt me?”</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Again, people innately know right from wrong, even if they claim that wrong is right.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">This was clear around my co-workers.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The righteous presence of the Holy Spirit in me was enough to convict their hearts of their sin.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">It was not so much that I was “pure” or even somehow better at being human than them.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">They were simply reminded by me everyday that all was not right with their state of common humanity.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">They knew the truth but did not live by it.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">So how does the convicting work of evangelism move people towards repentance and belief?</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">The prophet Isaiah filled his book with acute descriptions of the Israelites’ failings in their relationship with God.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">They of all people understood the plight of knowing God’s truth and being seemingly incapable of living by it.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Amidst this atmosphere of foolish living, Isaiah prophesied to them a great hope and promise from God.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He wrote that if they turn from their selfish and worldly habits to a true <i style="">compassion</i> for all people, that their “righteousness will go before [them], and the glory of the LORD will be [their] rear guard” (Isaiah 58:8b).</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Essentially, the going before and behind of the Lord’s righteousness and glory works like the Holy Spirit conviction of the New Testament, but Isaiah also described in detail what their compassion should look like in the two preceding verses.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He wrote the following as a direct oracle from God:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Is it </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">not to share our food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your </span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">own flesh and blood?” (Isaiah 58:6,7)</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;">This is the <i style="">compassion</i> of evangelism.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">When people are convicted of their own tragic displacement within God’s good order, they do not go looking for a good beating.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The conviction of the Holy Spirit causes them to examine the loneliness of their hearts and souls.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">They realize how wrong they are.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">They become broken.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;">It may be that the Holy Spirit uses you to speak to them in their brokenness, but such speech must be compassionate and not harshly judgmental.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The compassionate speaker identifies him/herself as having been commonly human too and compassionately offers the hope of being lifted up out of pain, hurt, and despair by a God that seeks people out of His love for them and who longs to end injustice, oppression, hunger, poverty, and the nakedness of His creations that strayed from Him.</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;">However, the Holy Spirit may use you to perform compassionate acts in order to speak louder than words to hearts of the broken.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">This requires self-sacrifice and the discomfort of risking all of your heart and life to save a life.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">So you sell everything you have to move to a foreign location in order to teach English or open an unassuming coffee shop or an orphanage to be with broken people and offer them the hope that is found in Jesus Christ.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Or you stay where you are at a job or school you love or hate in order to continue having short lunch-time conversations with your co-worker who is recently divorced and likes to tell you all the gory details.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">We offer our lives as “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:2) as our only act of gratitude to the God who makes Himself known to all people through the most convicting and compassionate man to walk the earth, His son Jesus the Messiah.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him will not perish but acquire everlasting life” (I John 3:16).</span></p><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The work of evangelism uses the tools of conviction and compassion to turn the broken back to the truth about life and God, to a lifestyle of glorifying and thanking God for sending his Son.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">These two tools issue from the Holy Spirit’s presence in the life of the evangelist.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Such in-dwelling is my desire.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Come Holy Spirit, come.</span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-75169293209272844602007-11-25T02:30:00.001-06:002008-01-21T00:59:27.130-06:00O is for Observation (this is tedious but gives you an idea of the kinds of observations noted for further study)<span style="font-size:85%;">Actually, this project and these observations represent a fraction of the readings and observations I normally make. Other projects have involved observations in of Genesis 1-13; Exodus 19-24/Deuteronomy 4,5 and 28-32/Leviticus 26 (this one slew of observations was 31 pages long, if that gives you an idea); and Luke 1-15. The Psalm project was considerably easier than all of the above.<br /><br /></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:85%;">Kid Christmas<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:85%;">Practicum</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:85%;">Professor Tremper</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:85%;"><st1:date year="2007" day="12" month="11">12 November 2007</st1:date></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">IBP # 3: Psalm Project – Psalm 118</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">I.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Observations</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">A.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Theme – God’s love endures forever (1)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">B.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Key Words – faithful, love, endures, forever, refuge, surrounded, thanks (1)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">C.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Laws of Composition – figurative language – metaphor, simile, repetition, rhyme of thought, personification, pleonasm, apostrophe, enveloping, refrain (2)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">D.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Type of Psalm – Thanksgiving [for victory]</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">(2)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">E.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Observations of Psalm 118</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">1.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Verses 1-4</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Repeats the same refrain “His faithful love endures forever,” yet calls for this refrain from <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, house of Aaron, and those who fear the Lord (2)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">1)<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What is it about God’s “faithful love” that is forever enduring?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">2)<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">How does this endure forever?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">3)<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why is this a key characteristic of God in this Psalm?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">4)<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Who is the speaker?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">5)<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why does the speaker ask for a repetition of the refrain from <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>, house of Aaron, and those who fear the Lord? </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 2.25in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">6)<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What does “those who fear the Lord” mean? – synecdoche?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The repetition makes a bold statement of rejoicing(2)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">c.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Forms part of the “envelope” for the entire Psalm with the refrain (2)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">d.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">This stanza states the purpose of the psalm – to give thanks (4)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">2.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Verses 5-7</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Recounts the moment of distress (2)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Uses a rhetorical question – “What can man do to me?” (2)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">c.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Uses “a spacious place” as a figure – what does this mean? And is it like a circumlocution? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">d.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Repeats “I” like a pleonasm (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">e.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why is God equated to a “helper”? (4)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">3.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Verses 8, 9</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">These verses use antithetic parallelism by making a statement about trusting God and then comparing God to men/nobles (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Lays out a spiritual principal about the blessing of trusting God (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">c.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Repeats “It is better” and “take refuge in the Lord” as a kind of emphatic repetition (epanadiplosis or epizeuxis) (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">d.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why would someone trust nobles and man? (4)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">4.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Verses 10-14</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What are “the nations”? – metonymy – why so many enemies? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What is “the name of the Lord”? – metonymy (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">c.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Uses simile (like bees, fire) – how does this language affect the image of the enemy? – why use fire and bees? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">d.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Uses metaphorical language to describe God – strength, song, salvation – how does this work? – what do these qualities confirm about God’s character? – why are these qualities important for victory in battle? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">e.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Repeats the same phraseology (“in the name of the Lord,” “they surrounded me”) for emphasis – epanadiplosis – why is there such repetition of phrases? – Is this a refrain technique? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">f.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Action verbs repeated (destroyed, extinguished, surrounded, pushed, helped) – what does this do to the tension of the stanza? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">g.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Who is “You” in verse 13? – “You pushed me hard to make me fall” (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">h.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why is the “name of the Lord” required alongside victorious action? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">i.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">This is a description of a battle, but it never says “battle” explicitly – Why? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">j.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Is God working with, alongside, in, through, or for the speaker? – why would God work against the speaker’s enemies? (4)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">5.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Verses 15-18</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">“Tents of the righteous” – who are “the righteous”? – Is this a synecdoche? (2)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Personification of God – “The Lord’s right hand” – also repeats this description three times exuberantly (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">c.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why the “right hand” and not the left? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">d.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why the “hand” and not the foot? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">e.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">“The Lord’s right hand strikes with power!” frames “The Lord’s right hand is raised!” – these three</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">lines form a refrain or an epanadiplosis within the stanza (3)</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">f.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Verse 17 repeats “I” and uses “but” to show contrast between the first “I” and the second “I” (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">g.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why does this stanza seem to infer that the speaker was close to death as a result of disobedience (that he/she needed disciplining)? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">h.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why would God want to kill the speaker?</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Is this hyperbole? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">i.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why does the speaker want to “proclaim what the Lord has done”? – does this contradict what others might do in the same situation? (4)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">6.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Verses 19-24</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">To who is “open” a command in verse 19? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What/where are the “gates of righteousness”? – circumlocution – why should the speaker enter through them? – is this necessary to give thanks to God? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">c.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Repeats “You” – pleonasm – why the emphasis of You rather than a name for God? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">d.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why is the speaker giving thanks? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">e.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Uses metaphorical language to describe God (“become my salvation”) (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">f.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Who is the “stone” and “cornerstone”? – metaphor – why is this language being used? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">g.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">In verse 23, what is “This” and “it” that came from the Lord and is wonderful? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">h.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What does “This is the day that the Lord has made” mean? – what is the day for? – is it different from other days? (synecdoche) (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">i.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Who are the people included in “us” in verse 24? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">j.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why do “the righteous” enter the “gates of righteousness”? – why does the gate belong to “the Lord”? – what does God owning the gate indicate about His nature? (4)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">k.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What was the speaker’s question or call that the Lord would have “answered”? (5)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">l.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Does the stone and cornerstone allude to Christ? (5)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">m.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why were the gates closed? (5)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">7.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Verses 25-29</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Who are the “us” in verse 25? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What are they being saved from? – does this refer back to the second stanza? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">c.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why is the one blessed “who comes in the name of the Lord”? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">d.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why do the “we” from verse 26 bless people from “the house of the Lord”? – what is “the house of the Lord”? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">e.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why has God given “light”? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">f.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Why is there a sacrifice being offered? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">g.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Verse 28 contains a synonymous parallelism – why is the phrase “You are my God” emphasized? – what does using the possessive “my” do to the tone of the phrase? – what does this phrase demonstrate about God’s personal qualities? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">h.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The psalm ends how it begins with “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever,” completing the envelope (frame) begun in the first lines of the psalm – why does the speaker frame the psalm this way? – what does it emphasize? (3)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">i.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What kind of “success” is being asked for? (5)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">j.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">What are “the horns of the altar”? (5)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">k.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Does the speaker represent more than just him/herself at times, like representing the people as a whole? (synecdoche) (5)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">F.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Basic Outline – Psalm 118</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">1.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The purpose of the Psalm (1-4)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Give thanks</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">People give thanks</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">2.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The situation that invokes thankfulness (5-7)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">A call of distress</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The rescue</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">3.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">A principle of trust (8, 9)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">God is trustworthy</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Humans are not trustworthy</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">4.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">A description of the battle (10-14)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The overwhelming position of the enemy</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The victory of partnership between God and speaker</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">5.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">A declaration of God’s justice </span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">(15-18)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">God’s right hand is praised by those in the tents of righteousness</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The speaker is thankful for God’s mercy</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">6.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Entering into a place of righteousness and praise (19-24)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The speaker enters a good place (in life)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">The speaker describes the blessing of a secure position</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 117pt; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">7.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Final requests of and blessings to God (25-29)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">A request for continued success</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.75in; text-indent: -0.25in; line-height: 150%;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">A sacrifice of praise</span></p>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-34150430993846525742007-11-25T02:27:00.000-06:002008-01-21T00:59:55.508-06:00I is for Interpretation of Genre<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">I.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Formal Essay</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><u>The Nature of Biblical Poetry: the Challenges Created by the Ancient Poet<o:p></o:p></u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Poetry is a literary form dating as far back as any other kind of literature, if not the farthest, because of the way in which poetic verses are easily called to memory.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Ancient Biblical poetry presents a number of difficulties to modern readers because the original poets had a specific goal in mind that was couched within their particular historical situation.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">How does Biblical poetry challenge the modern reader?</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">In general, Biblical poetry uses figures of speech and other language structures that were specific to its time and context and that are not often obvious in the present day.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Specifically, as is the focus of this essay, the Psalms present further poetic challenges through their many purposes and forms.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The original goal, the several different types, and the language of the Psalms are the three main barriers to understanding the vast and wonderful content of the Psalms.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The original goal of the Psalms is buried beneath years of history, presenting a challenge to modern readers when they try to understand the purpose of these ancient song-poems.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Psalms were originally meant to be heard in the context of a worshipful conversation with God, and each psalm “served the crucial function of making connection between the worshiper and God” (Fee 210).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Biblical Psalms were usually “sung in worship at the temple” and were highly valued by the Israelites as well as other ruling nations (Klein 354).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">As such, the Psalms, like most poetry, are individual and independent from each other; each psalm is “its own literary context” (Klein 358).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">This means that each psalm does not depend upon any other psalm for the meaning of its context, but this does not separate the psalm from a certain sense of historical context (358).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Again, this historical context would normally place the psalm as an element of temple worship.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The historical context being such, the modern reader of psalms can use the psalms as “a guide to worship,” a demonstration of honest dialogue with God, and a reminder of the positive benefit of “reflection and meditation on things that God has done for us” (Fee 223).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">However, the modern reader is also challenged not to “overexegete” the psalms (207).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The psalms are “addressed to the mind through the heart” (207), so the interpretation of a psalm should lead to an emotional effect rather than a purely mental effect.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Using the Psalms as a tool to allow emotions to flow to God is perhaps the best way to understand the original goal of the psalmist.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Another challenge to readers is the challenge of understanding the original purpose behind each psalm.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The historical function of the biblical Psalms was to make a connection between people as they express their emotions to God as He listens.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">However, as much as there is a wide array of emotion to be expressed, so too are there many genre of psalms found within the Biblical collection.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Understanding the genre of a psalm better aids the reader in understanding the emotional and worshipful goal of the original author.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">There are several different types of Psalms: lament, thanksgiving, hymns of praise, salvation-history, celebration, affirmation, wisdom, songs of trust, and imprecatory (Fee 212-214, 220).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Identifying what type of psalm is being read then allows the reader to read the poetic language of the poem in light of its specific function.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">For example, a lament expresses deep sorrow and distress regarding the true-to-life experience of the author.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Knowing that a psalm is a lament will aid the reader in understanding the type of emotional poetic language being used.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Psalms employ figurative language from an ancient time where useful analogies and other relationships between words may be lost to modern readers.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Common to all psalms is a use of metaphor and simile.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Both figures of speech make comparisons between two essentially different things in order to add color or to infer a new meaning based upon the juxtaposed relationship.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">When interpreting ancient metaphors and similes, the savvy interpreter should try to “listen” for the original “intent” of the language (Fee 208).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Likewise, when hyperbole, asyndeton, synecdoche, repetition, or personification confront the reader, identifying the genre of each individual psalm as well as the original goal of the poet will help flesh out the possible meanings of figurative language (Tremper 34-36).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Having a firm understanding of figurative language is essential to understanding the Psalms since poetic language is not usually literal in any way.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Many challenges face both the casual reader and the experienced Bible scholar when interpreting psalms.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The distance of time between the ancient days and modern days makes understanding Biblical psalms difficult for three reasons: the original goal, the genre, and the figurative language all stand as barriers to proper hermeneutics.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The way to overcome these challenges is to carefully reconstruct the original intent of the psalm as well as the social environment in which it was read. </span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">With this understanding, describing the psalm in terms of its genre helps the informed reader gain valuable insight into the many figures of speech found therein.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Psalms are challenging but not impossible.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The most important thing to remember about interpreting the Psalms is to focus upon the emotional impact of the psalm and to not use the psalm in a setting much different than its original setting of worshipful connection with God.</span></p>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-17152274516939494202007-11-25T02:26:00.000-06:002008-01-21T01:00:27.808-06:00I is for Interpretation<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">III.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Poetical Analysis of Psalm 118</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><u>Psalm 118: If the Shoe Fits, Wear It</u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Genre provides several key pieces of information for biblical psalms.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Genre helps to narrow the function of the psalm down from a more general function in a worshipful setting to a specific function that addresses the needs of a specific worship event.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Worship, that act of connecting people to God through expressive songs, serves several purposes, and the many purposes of worship help define common psalm genres.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">When dealing with a specific psalm, the first step towards interpretation is picking which function of worship is most appropriate.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">What are the various genres of the Psalms?</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The genre types for the Psalms include the lament, thanksgiving, hymns of praise, salvation history, celebration/affirmation, wisdom, and songs of trust.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Analyzing Psalm 118, for example, through the lens of genre will demonstrate the usefulness and necessity of using genre to create a deeper understanding of the original historical event that inspired the psalm.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The reader can often identify the genre of a psalm by reading through the first couple of lines.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The intent of the psalm is often placed right at the beginning.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Psalm 118 begins with “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good” (<u>HCSB</u>), and from this explicit beginning, the psalm speak immediately about <i style="">thanksgiving</i>.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Fee and Stuart identify a general form that all thanksgiving psalms follow; the form has five parts: introduction, distress, appeal, deliverance, and testimony (218).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The form progresses from general praise of God to the specific details of how God moved in mercy back to a general praise for God’s steadfast character.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The beginning refrain of Psalm 118 that helps identify it as a thanksgiving psalm also serves as part of the introduction, where the audience learns a “testimony” (218) of God.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The thanksgiving within the psalm is based upon the theme that God’s “faithful loves endures forever.”</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">God’s faithfulness is then demonstrated by the account of distress, appeal, and deliverance that follow.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Psalm 118:5 explains how the speaker “called to the Lord in distress,” and this marks the beginning of the account of distress all the way through verse nine.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Following the distress call, the speaker describes the type of battle s/he fought in.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The enemies of the speaker are said to have “surrounded” (vv 10-12) and “pushed” (13), and this language helps to identify these verses as an opportunity for appeal.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The speaker makes a poetic appeal “in the name of the Lord” (vv 10-12).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">This appeal is meant to move the Lord to action in favor of the speaker.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The appeal flows naturally into an account of deliverance.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The speaker in the poem hears “shouts of joy and victory” as the Lord’s “right hand strikes with power!” (v 15).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Lord mercifully disciplines the speaker but ultimately saves the speaker, and the s/he declares, “I will not die, but I will live and proclaim what the Lord has done” (v 17).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The next stanza is a proclamation of deliverance where the speaker is brought into a safe place, “gates of righteousness” (v 19), and once inside, the speaker says, “I will give thanks to You/ because You have answered me/ and have become my salvation” (v 21).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The deliverance is so complete that the psalmist calls God “my salvation,” and the use of the possessive pronoun shows how personally the writer views God.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Psalm 118 ends appropriately with a renewal of the original testimony offered in the first lines of the psalm: “Give thanks to the Lord,/ for He is good;/ His faithful love endures forever” (v 29).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Identifying the genre of a psalm has several implications.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The genre type distinguishes the form of the psalm from other types of psalms, preserving the idea that psalms are individually independent and can stand alone as statements of worship that address a specific need.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The specific need expressed in Psalm 118 is one of thanksgiving.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">As a thanksgiving psalm, Psalm 118 ascribes to a typical thanksgiving form in five parts.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Once all five parts of the thanksgiving psalm are identified, the next step for interpretation is to take a closer look at the types of figurative language being used.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The figurative language in use should be linked somehow to the idea of thanksgiving, and most specifically, the five parts of the thanksgiving psalm help the reader understand the use of repeated phrases and words throughout single sections of the entire psalm.</span><span style=""> </span></p>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-32303573576241937602007-11-25T02:25:00.000-06:002008-01-21T01:00:52.694-06:00C is for Correlation<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">IV.<span style=";font-family:";" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Theme and Expected Emotional Response to Psalm 118</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><u>I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy Down in My Heart Tuesday!</u></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">On the surface, Psalm 118 stands out as a thanksgiving hymn wherein the speaker is saved from great danger and brought to a place of peace inside the gates of God.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The thanksgiving within the psalm is certainly the driving force behind the genre of the psalm as well as much of the content, but the true theme of the psalm reflects God’s nature instead of the act of giving thanks to God.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Psalms function to remind readers and singers and musicians about God’s character in such a way that invokes a deeply felt inward emotion that then brings about the outward response of praise and thanksgiving.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The theme of Psalm 118 then focuses on the quality of God’s love for His people.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The theme of Psalm 118 is shown in the repeated refrain “His faithful love endures forever,” and the emotional response this divine characteristic summons is a feeling of joy that then bursts forth in praise and thanks to God.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The refrain “His faithful love endures forever” envelopes the psalm, opening and closing the lyrics.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The refrain identifies the main theme that is developed through the recounting of how God saves the speaker of the psalm in the middle section of the psalm.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The “Lord” places the speaker in a “spacious place” (v 5), which intones a place of safety and refreshing.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Lord then is compared to a “helper” (v 7) and to the idea of “refuge” (vv 8, 9).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">As such, the Lord becomes the speaker’s strength, song, and salvation (v 14) from the nations that surrounded him/her (v 10).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The idea that the speaker’s enemy was “the nations” also implies that though the speaker in the psalm is predominately singular, the speaker more than likely represents his/her family, tribe, or the nation of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">This may help explain why the speaker switches from first person to third person pronouns in verses 23 through 27; the speaker begins to say things like “let <i style="">us</i> rejoice and be glad in it” and “The Lord is good and has given <i style="">us</i> light” (vv 24, 27 italics mine).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Further, there is a chorus of “shouts of joy and victory in the tents of the righteous” (v 15), which reinforces the corporate aspect of Psalm 118.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The words “rejoice” and “glad” and the phrase “shouts of joy and victory” indicate the kind of emotion involved in singing/reading this psalm aloud; the readers/singers of this psalm are to be filled with an overwhelming sense of joy.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The content of the psalm suggests that it functions to aid a number of worshippers in thanking and praising God for His “faithful love.”</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">All of the praising and thanking emphasizes the theme that God’s people should give thanks to God as their reaction to His “faithful love [enduring] forever.”</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">One of our modern thanksgiving hymns, written by Chris Tomlin, takes its theme from Psalm 118.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Chris Tomlin’s song has been pumped through Christian radio and featured by worship leaders across the world.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The opening lyrics are, “Give thanks to the Lord, our God and King, His love endures forever.”</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Driven by an upbeat bass line and intense percussion crescendos, Chris Tomlin’s song serves the function of uplifting the spirits of modern day worshippers by reminding them that God’s goodness is “above all things” and that this eternal quality is available to God’s people in their time of need.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">It is no surprise then that the psalm from which Tomlin derived his modern hymn of thanksgiving functioned to create the same uplifting effect thousands of years ago to Israelites worshipping in the <st1:place><st1:placetype>temple</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename>God</st1:placename></st1:place>.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Seeing how Chris Tomlin’s refrains are used in the church today serves to underscore the original purpose, function, theme, and emotional response engendered originally by Psalm 118.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The theme is God’s “love endures forever.”</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The expected emotional response is to be uplifted by emotions of joy into such a state as to posit the human heart in a posture of external thanksgiving and praise.</span><span style=""> </span></p>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-73203478229342763422007-11-25T02:22:00.001-06:002008-01-21T01:01:14.557-06:00A is for Application<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.75in; text-indent: -0.5in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:85%;" ><span style="">V.<span style=""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:85%;">Original Psalm</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><u>Psalm 151: A Lament for Rest</u><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I call to the Lord in a time of brokenness;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">In a time of inner-sickness I cry out.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">My body fails me in light of the mountain I climb;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The rocks of the mountain tumble down against my spirit.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">My eyes are filled with the heights above;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">My body trembles for the steep hills below.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">But in the dawn of each new day</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Breaks forth, to my great joy, a strong light.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The Lord comes each morning to care for me.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">In the dawn of each new day,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Lord is constantly beside me,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Preparing the path ahead and placing each of my steps.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The way of the Lord is firm and always leads to rest</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The breath I breathe comes easily on the path that leads to my salvation.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The hard work of the day cuts the strength of my spirit;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">In the name of the Lord, I find strength to stand.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Food that should nourish my body saps my strength,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Thirst is never quenched by the wells of man’s hand,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">And crowds dampen my mind with their sorrows;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The name of the Lord is my strong tower and my hiding place.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The fortress of peace stands strong against cares and troubles;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The name of the Lord is my rest.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">My soul cries out:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“The Lord is my shield and my buckler!”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“The Lord fights for those He calls His own!”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">“The Lord is my shield and my buckler!”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Even though I have wandered into danger, </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Foolishly saying “yes” and “no” without wisdom,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Lord makes plans to preserve His child.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">In great mercy the Lord spares my life.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I call for wisdom;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">I cry out for wisdom.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Continually place me within the boundary of Your goodness,</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">And heal the sickness of my body</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">That I may serve You in fullness of health until forever.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Be with me in the morning, the day, and the nighttime.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Do not let your servant be overcome by mountains high and valleys low;</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Hear my cry from within the avalanche.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I wrote the psalm above to address my current circumstances.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I have struggled for most of my life with health problems that impinge upon every moment of every day.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I am often exhausted and have forgotten what it feels like to be rested and alert.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">My health worsens with stress and lack of sleep, yet I find it difficult to take better care of myself.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Even though I am a college student with a full plate, I still make choices about how I use my time.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I have never seen a successful model of the balanced life I know I need to live, so I find it difficult to not over-extend myself.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I think to myself, “I have already said ‘no’ so many times that this one time of saying ‘yes’ to an activity or person won’t hurt,” but every ‘yes’ has the potential to derail a night’s sleep or a moments peace.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; line-height: 200%;"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Through this all, I keep turning to God, asking Him to show me what it means to live in His peace.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I am trying to listen to His voice.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I depend so literally upon Him for everything else, but I still find it difficult to listen as He is continually available to direct each step and ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in my life.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I think sometimes the “manual car,” the thing I need to know how to do better than anyone else is to learn how to <i style="">rest</i>.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">If I do not learn how to rest better, I will lose my place as an effective instrument of the Lord, and I desperately do not want that.</span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-39768954784872409212007-11-25T01:55:00.001-06:002008-01-21T01:01:41.666-06:00We Learn as We Go<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Kid Christmas<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Professor Hetzendorfer</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Counseling</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><st1:date month="10" day="10" year="2007">10 October 2007</st1:date></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">Response #2: Death<o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">A person told me that “God did not design us to die, and that’s why we as fallen humanity have no innate ability to understand death.”</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Death is a topic about which no one, including the Church, can offer a succinct/final answer.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Often the first question the person experiencing the loss of a loved one will ask is “Why?”</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The obvious answers (sickness, old age, accident, suicide, murder) do not sufficiently explain death.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Death is not merely a tangible cause and effect situation.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">When a person dies, the person takes with them his/her spirit, mind, will, and emotion out of this world to – Christians say heaven – whatever comes next.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">People deal with death on more than a purely physical level; death causes people to begin asking questions about God, about eternity, about goodness, about justice, and about the nature of existence. This paper is a reflection upon my recent experiences with death.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">In particular, I will explore my pain and anguish over the death of a close friend, a young friend.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">A year ago I received word that something had happened with my good friend Landon.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I have known Landon since high school.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">After high school, Landon left <st1:city><st1:place>Grand Junction</st1:place></st1:city> and came to <st1:place><st1:city>Orange County</st1:city>, <st1:state>CA</st1:state></st1:place> to attend <st1:place><st1:placename>Vanguard</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>University</st1:placetype></st1:place>.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">He would come home every now and then to visit for holidays.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The last time I saw him was his 21<sup>st</sup> birthday, but a year ago, Landon sent a suicide letter in the mail to a college friend.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The letter arrived three days after Landon committed suicide somewhere in the <st1:place><st1:placename>Big</st1:placename> <st1:placename>Bear</st1:placename> <st1:placetype>National Forest</st1:placetype></st1:place>.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Only, for the last year, many of us from <st1:state><st1:place>Colorado</st1:place></st1:state> still believed he was still alive because the original search and rescue teams found his abandoned car but not his body.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Last month I found out that a hiker found what has been be identified as Landon’s remains.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">My friend is dead.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">My friend was dead that whole year.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I will never see him again in this life.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I will never hear his laugh or hear him sing or squeeze his arm or hug him.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I feel like I have been through every stage of grief.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I feel sad.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I have felt angry that such a young and talented man had been stolen from this earth by depression and identity crisis.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I have asked why.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I do not really understand how it is that he is gone.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I believed so strongly for a whole year that he was still alive.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I miss him.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I want to retroactively comfort him; I wish I could have been there for him more.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I regret not calling him more often.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">In the end, I feel futile because I can not do anything about what is already done.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I have no say, and that feels unjust.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Death is unreasonable to the human mind, but the Bible does offer a doctrine of comfort for those who mourn. </span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Matthew 5:4 says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Also, Job 5:11 says that “Those who mourn will be lifted to safety.”</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The Bible promises comfort and safety to me.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Jesus, the ultimate peace-giver, experienced mourning for a close friend’s death when Lazarus died.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The scripture says that “Jesus wept” (John <st1:time hour="11" minute="35">11:35</st1:time>).</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I find comfort in knowing that Jesus knows exactly how I feel.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Through this painful experience, I have made it my goal to pray for the salvation of Landon’s family whenever I think of the loss of his life.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I also remain open with my friends.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">It helps to discuss such a difficult issue with others who will simply listen to me.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I decided to get out pictures of Landon and to focus on remembering his amazing qualities rather than being critical of his decision to commit suicide.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I hope that God will show me how Landon’s death can glorify His name.</span><span style=";font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I may never understand Landon’s death, but I know that I receive comfort when I allow God to guide my emotions through this time.</span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <span style=""></span>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-63688870041844758482007-11-25T01:53:00.000-06:002007-11-25T02:46:40.759-06:00Throw a Rock at GodKid Christmas<br /> <p class="MsoNormal">Professor Salmeier</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Theology I</p> <p class="MsoNormal">19 November 2007</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center">Case Study 3 – Experiencing God<o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>The stairs were only another fifteen feet away, and I knew that if I could reach the top of the stairs I would be home free.<span style=""> </span>The quick walk from my car to the quiet of my office on the second floor of the academic building involved the game of dodge-student.<span style=""> </span>Not that I minded speaking with students who came up to ask me this or that odd question about their homework assignment.<span style=""> </span>It was more that I liked so much starting my day quietly and simply.<span style=""> </span>I walked faster.<span style=""> </span>A new student of mine stepped out of the school café.<span style=""> </span>I glanced at her and knew that my quick pace would not outdo the look of hope that was in her face.<span style=""> </span>She turned and walked my way, intercepting my path to the stairs.<span style=""> </span>She wore a blue-hooded sweatshirt with blue pajama pants and looked tired and disheveled.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Professor Salmeier?” she said, “Hey, so you know Case Study 3?<span style=""> </span>And do you remember how I didn’t turn it in on Monday?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Yes.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Well, funny thing.<span style=""> </span>I wrote it and intended to stick it under your door on Friday afternoon, but just as I was almost finished, I had to leave my room.<span style=""> </span>So I saved the document again and x’d out of the Word window.<span style=""> </span>Then I realized I never hit “save as…”<span style=""> </span>When I x’d out of the Word window, the file got erased.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“I am sorry to hear that about your paper.”<span style=""> </span>I smiled at her, but she looked like she had more to say.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>My game of dodge-student was over, so I motioned her to stand to my left.<span style=""> </span>“Would you like to follow me to my office,” I asked and finished, “I just arrived, and I have a class in an hour, but we can talk about this until then if you would like.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Thanks Professor Salmeier.<span style=""> </span>That would be great.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>The two of us climbed the stairs and entered the little hallway that lead to my office.<span style=""> </span>Between the bottom of the stairs and the top of the stairs, she explained how her paper was erased again.<span style=""> </span>Her voice sounded high pitched and tense.<span style=""> </span>She called the event of her paper being erased an “academic trauma” from which she would not soon recover.<span style=""> </span>I chuckled at that.<span style=""> </span>She assured me that the paper had been excellent and creative.<span style=""> </span>We reached my office door.<span style=""> </span>The wad of keys the school gave to me contained at least a dozen similar-looking brass keys.<span style=""> </span>The key to my office door was subtly etched with an ‘A-217’ and was, as usual, the last key I looked at after having looked at all the others.<span style=""> </span>I unlocked the door, but left the sickly fluorescent lights off.<span style=""> </span>It was better to open the window blinds than to shock myself with the annoying buzz of the light bulbs and the slight flickering common to all fluorescent lighting.<span style=""> </span>The chair in front of the desk was pushed in, so I pulled it on its wheels across the plastic desk mat that hides the carpet and motioned her to sit down.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“So, Noelle, when you wrote your paper the first time, how did it go?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“It was so great.<span style=""> </span>It was the first time I tried to write a paper for Theology as a philosophical conversation rather than a step by step academic paper.<span style=""> </span>I felt I was capturing the concerns of ‘Samantha’ and her annoying friend, I named him ‘Joe,’ as well as a representation of a real-life conversation.”<span style=""> </span>She stared out the window while she spoke with a savory look in her eyes like she could still see the lost essay in her periphery.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Well tell me about your dialogue,” I said.<span style=""> </span>I hoped that by talking about it she could regain the confidence to write the paper again.<span style=""> </span>She took a deep breath and paused a moment.<span style=""> </span>She looked at her hands and wiggled her fingers like she was typing something.<span style=""> </span>Then, she opened her mouth and began talking.<span style=""> </span>The tone of her voice sounded more relaxed as she began to explain her lost paper to me.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 153);">“Ok.<span style=""> </span>I set the scene in the coffee shop</span>.<span style=""> </span>Samantha and Joe asked their questions, and I invited them to sit down at my table with me.<span style=""> </span>In the dialogue, I had just finished a one-pump mocha, one-pump almond, soy caffé misto with cinnamon powder on top.<span style=""> </span>I wrote that Samantha knocked my empty cup over, so I picked it up and weighed it in my hand.<span style=""> </span>I started the conversation by saying, ‘I wonder if I could build a cup too heavy for me to lift.<span style=""> </span>I think your friend’s questions are very interesting and worth answering.<span style=""> </span>I think we should discuss each question (the rock, the shutting of one’s mouth, and the way we experience God’s power) because each question is tied directly to the others.”<span style=""> </span>She had moved her hand to simulate the picking up of an empty cup.<span style=""> </span>Her description of the scene was filled with warmth and I could tell she regarded her characters, Samantha and Joe, as seriously as she would real people.<span style=""> </span>I did not interrupt her but waved my hand for more.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Then, we all talked about how it was possible for each of us to build a cup too heavy to lift.<span style=""> </span>We talked about how there are certain limitations to being human.<span style=""> </span>Then I asked Samantha to tell me what God must be like in comparison to human beings.<span style=""> </span>I assumed that her character would have said something like, ‘God is the most perfect, perfect being imaginable because he is everything I am not.’<span style=""> </span>I thought that was a great way to introduce the concept that God, being infinite, is essentially different from his finite creations.<span style=""> </span>I remember discussing that in class last Monday.<span style=""> </span>So from there, I wrote more about how God’s infiniteness is different that human finiteness.<span style=""> </span>I thought that the idea of the ‘cup too heavy to lift’ was like the idea of the ‘rock too heavy to lift,’ so from there I explained how the question was perhaps an appropriate test of human power and ability but that the question was self-contradictory when applied to God because the question requires an illogical and impossible combination of ‘things’ (Mavrodes 280).<span style=""> </span>I understood Mavrodes argument about the square-circle as a smaller model for the impossible reconciliation of God’s infinity with a finite rock.<span style=""> </span>Either God would become less immaterial and omnipotent in order to not lift the rock, which is impossible since he is essentially infinite in power and divinity, or the rock would become less material and finite in order for it to outweigh God’s omnipotent power to lift, which is impossible since the rock is essentially material and finite. <span style=""> </span>This led to a discussion of what it meant for God to have omnipotent power.<span style=""> </span>I pointed out, again because of Mavrodes and our discussion in class, that omnipotent power is equivalent at all times, meaning that certain expressions of God’s power are proportionate to others.<span style=""> </span>I explained how God’s power to lift is not greater or less than his power to create since to be omnipotent is to be simultaneously and equally powerful in all ways (281).<span style=""> </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“In the dialogue, Samantha seemed ready to accept this explanation of omnipotence, but Joe still wanted to push the topic further with his ‘shutting-mouth’ test for God’s omnipotence.<span style=""> </span>So I conflated the topic of Joe’s ‘shutting-mouth’ mouth question with the underlying and most important question of them all, being ‘Does God express his power in ways that humans can experience and understand and so have belief in God?’”<span style=""> </span>Noelle’s voice had risen excitedly at this point and she paused to look directly at me.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>I said, “Yes, that does seem to be the key question of the case study.<span style=""> </span>It’s important that you noted that people desire to experience and understand how God expresses his power because this lays a foundation for all further beliefs about who God is.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Yeah!” she said. “That’s what I was going for because it seems like ‘Joe’ and ‘Samantha’s’ questions were merely screening a deep-seated desire to know and understand God but they were afraid and rightfully concerned if they couldn’t see a tangible proof-by-experience of God expressing his power.<span style=""> </span>Then they would necessarily be able to conclude that God is not omnipotent and further, that God might not even be God in that perfect and infinite sense.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“So I gave them biblical examples from Acts 7 and 9 about the stories of Stephen and Saul, explaining that the former displayed a case where it looked like God should have acted but didn’t and the latter displayed a case where God should have acted and did.<span style=""> </span>If I were Stephen, I would have hoped that God would save me, but instead, God does not ‘show up to save the day,’ so to speak.<span style=""> </span>Even so, Stephen expresses his belief in God’s power to act to his last breath, saying, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them!’ (7:60).<span style=""> </span>The narrative denotes that a man named Saul is standing by while Stephen is martyred, looking approvingly upon the scene.<span style=""> </span>Stephen’s dying request of God is for God to show his mercy to those that sinned by participating in his murder.<span style=""> </span>It’s not that Stephen exercised any control over God, affecting what would happen next, but the case seems to be that while God did not rescue Stephen, God chose to express his power in another way.<span style=""> </span>Chapter 9 of the Acts of the Apostles returns to Saul’s narrative and provides a case where God expresses his power and mercy by stopping Saul as he journeyed in search of more Christians to persecute.<span style=""> </span>The narrative says that a ‘light from heaven flashed around him…and he fell to the ground and heard a voice’ (9:3,4).<span style=""> </span>The voice identifies itself as ‘Jesus whom you [Saul] are persecuting’ and tells Saul to enter <st1:city><st1:place>Damascus</st1:place></st1:City> and wait for further instruction.<span style=""> </span>Blinded and overcome by the experience, Saul’s men take him into the city where he waits for three days.<span style=""> </span>At some point in those three days, God summons a disciple named Ananias to pray for Saul.<span style=""> </span>The result is that Saul regains his sight and is radically changed from a persecutor to disciple.<span style=""> </span>Saul’s life was spared and Stephen’s was not.<span style=""> </span>This may seem overwhelmingly unfair from a human perspective, especially since we are predisposed to like Stephen and vilify Saul, but neither the lack nor the presence of God’s intervention indicates that God is more or less powerful.<span style=""> </span>God’s infinite perspective does not conform to the finite perspective of humanity.<span style=""> </span>God chooses to act how he will, and his actions do not depend upon the situational needs of people.<span style=""> </span>I explained this in my dialogue with ‘Samantha’ and ‘Joe’ to show Joe that his desire or lack of desire for God’s omnipotent intervention was not sufficient or necessary to preclude an experience of God’s power,” she paused and looked up, “Sorry, that was quite the mouthful.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“That’s ok.<span style=""> </span>I think you used the biblical examples well, but while you were writing did you begin to think about the implications of the difference between the human and divine perspectives?<span style=""> </span>The human perspective of interaction is usually this: when I don’t interact with people I am usually ignorant of their existence, apathetic towards their existence, or purposely ignoring the fact of their existence.<span style=""> </span>When I choose to interact with people it’s usually because I value their existence as being pertinent to my current needs.<span style=""> </span>For example, if Sally walks into a room, I can choose to greet her or not.<span style=""> </span>My decision to greet Sally depends upon whether or not I achieve an end to some means by greeting her.<span style=""> </span>Perhaps that’s why God’s interactions with humans can leave you and characters like ‘Samantha’ and ‘Joe’ feeling unsettled.<span style=""> </span>Did you come across this as you wrote your paper?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Yes, except that when I thought about it further, it’s not simply a question about how God chooses to interact with people.<span style=""> </span>I think it’s actually a question of whether God has the power to interact with his creation at all,” she hesitated then said, “right?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Yes, right.<span style=""> </span>The focus needs to stay on God’s power.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“But I do believe that God has the power to interact with his creations in an experiential way.<span style=""> </span>And that’s why in my paper I started to describe the accounts of experiencing God’s power that I discovered when I interviewed my three people.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Oh, who did you interview?” I said.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“I interviewed my quad-mate Melissa Crowe, Ginny Drews, and Professor Cassandra.”<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“And what did you decide about God’s power to interact with his creation?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Well, it’s not like God’s interactions are predictable in content or context, but they do conform to some kind of thematic pattern.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“What kind of theme did you find?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Well it seems like no matter what kind of experience my sources had, their experiences pointed to God’s omnipotence being active in their lives and that his omnipotent actions specifically addressed the needs of each person, even if the way in which each person’s needs were addressed was unexpected.<span style=""> </span>I also discerned certain levels of interaction, from implicit spiritual feelings to explicit demonstrations of God’s power.<span style=""> </span>For example, when Cynthia Cassandra was a little girl, and before she was saved, she would often go and sit in a Catholic parish during lunchtime. She was young and should have been afraid of the darkness of the room and the mysteriousness of all the images of saints and Mary and Jesus, but she felt an overwhelming sense of peace.<span style=""> </span>My friend Melissa felt intense emotion when she committed her life to Christ.<span style=""> </span>She remembers feeling so empty and lost and sad, but when she accepted Jesus as her Savior, she was overcome by an inexplicable sense of love that surrounded her and filled her emptiness inside.<span style=""> </span>Both experiences of God’s power present two distinct cases: a case where God’s power was felt by a non-Christian and a case where God’s power was felt in the conversion from unbelief to new belief as a Christian.<span style=""> </span>Ginny Drews experienced God’s power more on the explicit level of interaction.<span style=""> </span>Sometime after becoming a Christian, Ginny wanted to go on a mission trip to <st1:country-region><st1:place>France</st1:place></st1:country-region>, but she did not have enough money to go.<span style=""> </span>She prayed for God to provide all of the money, and within two weeks she had a number of people walk up to her a give her money.<span style=""> </span>In this tangible way, God displayed his tangible power to Ginny by meeting her practical need.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“I had the idea that ‘Joe’ would then help bring my paper to a close by becoming frustrated that he had never experienced God’s power like my three friends in his life before,” she stopped and let out a deep breath.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>I waited for a few seconds, then asked, “Did you develop a compassionate response to ‘Joe’s’ dilemma?”<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Well, I guess I did.<span style=""> </span>I wrote that God’s seeming lack of power in ‘Joe’s’ life did not reflect an imperfection in God’s omnipotence.<span style=""> </span>I addressed this to ‘Samantha’ as well since she was thinking that a lack of experiencing God’s power makes a belief in God less true.<span style=""> </span>People often miss God’s displays of power.<span style=""> </span>Again, I returned to ideas about God’s perfection, infinite essence, and omnipotent ability to create.<span style=""> </span>The dialogue in the paper here turned into a consideration of further evidence of God’s creative power.<span style=""> </span>‘Joe’ and ‘Samantha’ had agreed with me that an infinite and divine conception of God includes his omnipotent power to create.<span style=""> </span>I gently asked, or wrote how I asked, ‘Joe’ if he had ever admired a sunrise or enjoyed the stars at night.<span style=""> </span>‘Joe’ answered yes in the paper.<span style=""> </span>Then I gently explained, ‘Joe,’ that means you have experienced God’s creative power, but there is so much more to God than his power to create and maintain the universe and everything in it.’<span style=""> </span>He asked me how he was supposed to experience more, and I wrote, ‘You need to have a personal relationship with him.<span style=""> </span>You need to invite him to have more power in and through and over your life.’<span style=""> </span>I left the dialogue at that.<span style=""> </span>I guess I wanted to imply that ‘Joe’ and ‘Samantha’ could either begin to consider the idea of a relationship with God or decide to reject the idea.”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Well do you think you can rewrite that for me, by say, next Monday?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;"><span style=""> </span>“Yes, but I just wish you could have read the first one,” she said as she got up to leave. </p>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-20943332005270389362007-11-25T01:49:00.000-06:002007-11-25T02:46:40.759-06:00The Best Catch UpI know that my updating of this blog is scant at best, so in an effort to make up for the last few months of silence, I would like you all to have an idea of what I have been doing at Bible College all this time. So, the papers may be really academic and boring on the surface, but each paper discusses key issues I believe mature Christians should consider. I hope you enjoy. I will be home in Grand Junction for Christmas Break as soon as December 20th. I look forward to this break so much!Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-41944163460186231102007-11-25T01:45:00.000-06:002007-11-25T02:46:40.759-06:00The First Installment of Bible College Papers<p class="MsoNormal">Kid Christmas<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Professor Salmeier</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Theology I</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Case Study – Inerrancy</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:date year="2007" day="1" month="10">1 October 2007</st1:date></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: 200%;" align="center">Bees in Our Theological Bonnets: A Case Study of the Christian Doctrine of Inerrancy </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>A young lady named Sheryl has a problem.<span style=""> </span>She finds herself in an academic environment with information flying about like bees in the springtime.<span style=""> </span>Recently, Sheryl has been stung by a bee, and her bee has come in the form of a sticky theological conundrum.<span style=""> </span>One of Sheryl’s professors has been teaching her that the Bible contains errors, yet this professor also claims that the Bible is authoritative, the final word, for daily Christian living.<span style=""> </span>Christians find that many of their foundational beliefs rest within the pages of their holy Bible.<span style=""> </span>Since the Bible is so foundational for Christian belief systems, the Bible is under close scrutiny by many interested individuals and groups.<span style=""> </span>A key debate rages surrounding the doctrine of inerrancy.<span style=""> </span>The Orthodox view of this doctrine claims that the Bible <i style="">is</i> the plenary, authoritative, and inspired word of God, being the perfect words of a perfect God.<span style=""> </span>Sheryl does not understand how her professor reconciles his belief in errancy with his belief in the authority of the Bible as God’s words to people.<span style=""> </span>Sheryl is not alone in her dilemma, and her situation makes way for a detailed discussion of both sides of the argument.<span style=""> </span>A closer look at the arguments against inerrancy and the rationale supporting inerrancy will help to create an informed view for Sheryl and others who struggle to correlate conflicting messages from errantists and inerrantists. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style=""> </span>Errantists claim that the Bible “contains internal contradictions and discrepancies” (Williams 53) that necessarily show the flaws behind the doctrinal position of inerrancy.<span style=""> </span>This claim about the lack of internal coherency in the Bible assumes that the rational belief in inerrancy requires the absolute corroboration of scientific, mathematic, literary, and historical evidence within the Bible itself.<span style=""> </span>Then, the errantist position assumes that if the Bible is internally self-contradictory that the argument for inerrancy becomes null and void.<span style=""> </span>The general layout of an errantist argument then is to highlight the internal conflicts contained within the Bible by making examples of specific passages that demonstrate error.<span style=""> </span>The conclusion then, indeed a persuasive conclusion, is that the doctrine of inerrancy is an <i style="">a priori</i> construct wherein a man-made idea is forced upon a divine document (71).<span style=""> </span>This would mean that theologians constructed the doctrine of inerrancy before finding sufficient internal scriptural evidence.<span style=""> </span>The errantist position then pushes for a more open view, a redefinition, of the tenets of viewing the Bible as the inspired, plenary, and authoritative words of God.<span style=""> </span>The final claim creates a new “platform for admitting a very human Bible,” meaning a Bible that contains internal errors and contradictions, that is still “authoritative as a witness to God’s revelation in Christ” (73). </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style=""> </span>However convincing the errantist’s position is, the position argues against two specific views of inerrancy.<span style=""> </span>Specifically, the above errancy argument casts a shadow of doubt upon the extreme fundamentalist’s view of inerrancy.<span style=""> </span>The extreme fundamentalist’s view of the doctrine of inerrancy requires a kind of hyper-defensive stance, necessitating a “harmonizing hermeneutic” (Williams 67) that goes to the extreme of explaining errors using seemingly sub-rational methods.<span style=""> </span>Additionally, the errantist argues that the conservative inerrantist position of “suspended judgment” is equally irrational (Moreland 77).<span style=""> </span>While sub-rational methods might be used in some cases of harmonizing hermeneutics, the position of inerrancy, whether harmonizing or suspended, remains defensible from a rational standpoint.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style=""> </span>If a rational position that supports inerrancy in the least accommodates suspended judgment, then belief in inerrancy would be rational.<span style=""> </span>A basis for validating inerrancy is based upon a discussion of the nature of rationality.<span style=""> </span>If a standard that sets the criteria for rationality is established then a person can use that standard to prove the rationality of inerrancy.<span style=""> </span>J.P. Moreland discusses this approach in “The Rationality of Belief in Inerrancy.”<span style=""> </span>His system of rationality is based upon the idea that a person can know <i style="">a priori</i> a case as more certain than other cases as a reflection of the innate and rational ability humans have to perform the function of knowing.<span style=""> </span>Since humans must be able to know certain things, Moreland uses two technical phrases to explain the rationality of believing.<span style=""> </span>These two phrases are the “presumption of favor” (79) and the “noetic structure” (82).<span style=""> </span>Moreland argues that holding a rational belief requires at least a minimal presumption of favor, or obvious benefit to belief, than no presumption of favor.<span style=""> </span>This idea is tied closely to the paradigm of the noetic structure.<span style=""> </span>The noetic structure is a conceptual model for a belief system wherein a set of beliefs are interconnected like a spider web.<span style=""> </span>The web of beliefs expresses a hierarchy since certain beliefs have a more structurally important role than others in holding the web together.<span style=""> </span>The more “ingressed,” or critically important, a belief is, the more presumed favor that belief retains since changing a key belief would entail restructuring the entire web. <span style=""> </span>The belief in inerrancy is deeply ingressed in several key Christian doctrines.<span style=""> </span>Therefore, according to current noetic structures for most Orthodox Christians, the inerrancy of scripture is a rational belief.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style=""> </span>The debate comes to a head when, like Sheryl’s professor, many hold to errancy as well as the authority of Biblical scripture.<span style=""> </span>Authoritative errantists are a seemingly self-contradictory anomaly.<span style=""> </span>However, one may employ the rational strategy of the inerrantist to reconcile such a view.<span style=""> </span>The noetic structure of this view has a different core structure than a strict inerrantist.<span style=""> </span>Authoritative errantists redefine the core issue at stake.<span style=""> </span>Whereas a strict inerrantist holds that the inerrancy of the Bible reflects a perfect God, an authoritative errantist holds that errors in the Bible have no bearing upon the perfection of God.<span style=""> </span>For the authoritative errantists, the key issue is not God’s character, since they believe that the Bible authoritatively reveals God’s character as the standard of righteousness and love and Christ as the ultimate revelation of God’s character (Williams 73).<span style=""> </span>The key issue lies in the idea that the Bible was passed through erring human hands and cannot possibly be technically perfect; however, this idea is supported by the belief that the Bible Christians have today is exactly the Bible God meant them to have, “warts and all” (72), for even if Christians had a perfect collection of God’s words to people, the flawed nature of humanity would prevent correct interpretation just as it does today.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><span style=""> </span>The debate over inerrancy involves a wide spectrum of issues that really seem to be heart issues more than rational issues in the end.<span style=""> </span>From every angle, the debate reflects the problems of human character as revealed by the problems readers of Biblical scripture have discerning God’s character.<span style=""> </span>The extreme inerrantist approaches the doctrine as the lifeboat for the rest of her/his beliefs about God, for God’s perfect character must be taught by a perfect text.<span style=""> </span>This view supports a fearful heart attitude since one must work so anxiously and depend upon inerrancy so much that one does not depend enough upon God. <span style=""> </span>However, the other end of the spectrum holds to the belief that the Bible contains internal as well as external errors.<span style=""> </span>This can lead to a boastful attitude wherein the advocates of that position may begin to think of themselves as there own authority.<span style=""> </span>The authoritative errantist seems to strike a balance between what a person rationally knows as well as the limits of human perspective, but this group too may fall victim to an attitude of apathy since epistemically since they seem to have stepped outside of the debate by redirecting the focus of errance/inerrance from the perfection of scripture to the acceptability of flaws and the authority God has to reveal Himself however He wants.<span style=""> </span>For students like Sheryl, knowledge of the different types of arguments for each viewpoint as well as what is theologically and emotionally at stake hopefully creates an opportunity for Sheryl to talk again with he professor.<span style=""> </span>Knowing that inerrancy is rational may support her in her journey towards finding the answer for herself as well maintaining unity in the Body of Christ by maintaining a peaceful and understanding relationship between her and her professor.<span style=""> </span></p>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-19611198439422698882007-09-11T14:06:00.000-05:002007-09-11T14:25:47.236-05:00Angeles<span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">T</span><span style="font-family: arial;">he thing about moving to a new place is that no one knows you. Obvious right? Well, no one knows me in LA, and a funny emotion begins to arise whenever I think about that. So much of my identity is tied to information that other people present to me about myself. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">B</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ack</span> home, for example, people I know usually demonstrate my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">huggability</span>. Also, people usually say nice things to you when they know you, like, "You are talented at this and such," or, "I really like your hair." When you are in a new environment you don't hear those things in the same way. I mean by this that even if someone is saying them to you, that someone is new to me too, and I don't really know if they </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">know</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> me yet. So when I hear the old compliments out of new mouths, they don't carry the same weight. Rather, the same compliments out of new mouths hold a new weight, a precarious weight. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">T</span><span style="font-family: arial;">he weight is precarious because I have to decide to trust them or not. I have to decide who I really am again in a strange way. If I start to accept compliments and remarks about my character, habits, and talents here, then I will begin to represent those remarks and compliments, and incidentally, they may not be the same kind of remarks and compliments as the ones I am used to at home. Further, they may be the same, and I have to decide all over again if I really like that.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">I </span><span style="font-family: arial;">stand on the precipice of change. I also stand simultaneously on the precipice of remaining the same. It's really exciting. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">O</span><span style="font-family: arial;">n another note for those of you reading this from back home, I love my school. I am making friends with a few really neat girls: Liz, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Krysten</span>, Melissa, and Chelsea. Chelsea is my roommate, and we couldn't be better suited to each other. I already admire my professors. It's so different to be in an environment where my passions and the passions of my professors run together in the same stream. Each class is an absolute joy, and my mind is full of explosions of new information that will forever change how I read, discuss, and write about Biblical literature. My coursework will all be very challenging but ultimately satisfying for what I will be learning and practicing. </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">A</span><span style="font-family: arial;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">lso</span>, I need prayer for a few items:</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">1. A car</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">2. A stipend from my internship</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Favor with President Dan</span><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Vision</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">I</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> am enjoying the process of re-self-discovery in my new environment. The food is good, and it's lunchtime right now. A college student has got to eat!</span>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-483139363862866774.post-83585244345492796342007-08-27T00:18:00.000-05:002007-08-27T00:37:15.564-05:00The Work Finished<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsbhKDyakuJBWxWiaPmHLoQpIa4XfsbMNHj_jqNTBlMFOW5KUmuBjKkiES4Y-wE8QYHoAhajpdTjbqF5ZZn3SgW9uX9sj1jumN3KySOkf8gtVcAT9_X7OCuiu8qLAs6Znu5k_xj0ygpbF/s1600-h/Summer+2007+015.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsbhKDyakuJBWxWiaPmHLoQpIa4XfsbMNHj_jqNTBlMFOW5KUmuBjKkiES4Y-wE8QYHoAhajpdTjbqF5ZZn3SgW9uX9sj1jumN3KySOkf8gtVcAT9_X7OCuiu8qLAs6Znu5k_xj0ygpbF/s400/Summer+2007+015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5103248575346229842" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6eHCi4hSvZB9MT_d6GVR4mcysxiz32dIU6z_akpfNFm14s27OExlPURC6j9zQvNbgIX54ByrDStnXj1Ew859CTS1MLAP4r93b2L9g-JgHU2u_q1TJ7qUfcM8I6bjimR5o4xP0S3fC7OTC/s1600-h/Summer+2007+002.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6eHCi4hSvZB9MT_d6GVR4mcysxiz32dIU6z_akpfNFm14s27OExlPURC6j9zQvNbgIX54ByrDStnXj1Ew859CTS1MLAP4r93b2L9g-JgHU2u_q1TJ7qUfcM8I6bjimR5o4xP0S3fC7OTC/s400/Summer+2007+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5103248197389107778" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27uDnJysKfkRI8goVndQndQHv6-TBp94wdReAPPJ_iBol1QROokQoWc1m6Tj70NlyBIwV9Qzb4i-JOwlX1ZC7rorMbN359Ab1CkRpSgT8bY82b7XeR-0xUzUUA_tuY7aWgqBtKRjpFDc7/s1600-h/Summer+2007+020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg27uDnJysKfkRI8goVndQndQHv6-TBp94wdReAPPJ_iBol1QROokQoWc1m6Tj70NlyBIwV9Qzb4i-JOwlX1ZC7rorMbN359Ab1CkRpSgT8bY82b7XeR-0xUzUUA_tuY7aWgqBtKRjpFDc7/s400/Summer+2007+020.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5103248850224136802" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBNzbqaPHrMU1j7TUqC86J8ObzP_eNm7VunAkPJKeeHLUfoBiwApxEvytV4ztfVagZ_z0mKCifLEjcUo2vrRYl0HI2p1tbGa7xX5CkBXngsXMdbOZ_jsPUavwhuzJVj6-4OjDXKgbLjsP/s1600-h/Summer+2007+019.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBBNzbqaPHrMU1j7TUqC86J8ObzP_eNm7VunAkPJKeeHLUfoBiwApxEvytV4ztfVagZ_z0mKCifLEjcUo2vrRYl0HI2p1tbGa7xX5CkBXngsXMdbOZ_jsPUavwhuzJVj6-4OjDXKgbLjsP/s400/Summer+2007+019.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5103249773642105474" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRCc3yMj9cld5yomqsgIXbQ85Rc6PZ3CMwUntNsk_s1G5RgFqtWLaax81bVcnHT0W9X_OnGH3BoFMDITeRtWa7-srPnRmI3T61G14n6j-mOdZdrkrlr_zUZnTg-JzskERHwIdzw2M6Zwy/s1600-h/Summer+2007+018.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRCc3yMj9cld5yomqsgIXbQ85Rc6PZ3CMwUntNsk_s1G5RgFqtWLaax81bVcnHT0W9X_OnGH3BoFMDITeRtWa7-srPnRmI3T61G14n6j-mOdZdrkrlr_zUZnTg-JzskERHwIdzw2M6Zwy/s400/Summer+2007+018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5103249468699427442" border="0" /></a>Kid Christmashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16353290555270829087noreply@blogger.com0