15 Minute Ramble

Yesterday my friend challenged herself to writing daily for just 15 minutes, attempting to break a habit we all have: wasting time on such frivolities as watching TV or playing a video game. I can pat myself on the back for not falling prey to the first vice, but the second one surely has me hooked. I convince myself that I am "exercising my brain" - important to us who have the dubious privilege of having Alzheimer's in our family and finding ourselves to be of an age that worries about that kind of thing every time we find ourselves repeating a story, misplacing our keys (or glasses, or phone...)

It would be easy enough for me to look back on my day and lament the things that I did not get done - but I'm rarely willing to admit that the amount of time spent on sudoku or mahjong contributed to that. 

It's all well and good to acknowledge our shortcomings, but that is the easy part of the battle. I like to claim that my sister inherited all of our mother's "self-discipline gene" - just reading her daily rundown of things accomplished makes me want to take a nap. (Although, to be completely honest, most anything these days makes me want to take a nap... so, there is that.)

Just knowing that we have an area that needs some work and then ignoring it by playing a puzzle is, in my mind, akin to an alcoholic who acknowledges they might have a "problem" as they crack open another can. Or, another analogy that we can all identify with: hearing the alarm clock and knowing it's time to get up, then rolling over in bed for another 15 minutes. (Bazinga!)

I have read countless self-help books and websites designed to inspire and motivate me to focus on the areas that I know should be priorities, but setting the book down or turning off the computer is really the answer. 

Watching TV

Today's post is from my friend ToriLynn...

There are probably one hundred reasons I waste my time watching TV several hours a day. And probably a few reasons of why it is so hard to break the habit.

When I was a kid, the default on Saturday and in the evenings was to be plopped in front of the TV. We watched whatever the parents wanted. We were rather well-versed on current events because they watched the news and all the things going on. I remember the Nixon/Kennedy debate. I remember the hullabaloo after Kennedy was shot. I remember Lyndon B Johnson lifting his beagle up by its ears. I remember the moon landing footage, and the riots in Watts and the tanks going down Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California. And I remember the Mr. Ed song, ‘A horse is a horse of course of course, unless of course it's a talking horse...’ and many more, Casper, and Miss Nancy, and Captain Kangaroo. And Sunday at 7 p.m. was an hour of the Wonderful World of Disney programs.

It's not that I (we) didn't play outside or in our rooms. We sure did! But my mom wasn't a "Go outside and play!" type of a mother, most of the time. Sometimes... but not usually. If we got rambunctious that was another story. We rode bikes and climbed on rocks and in trees and shot our little cowboy pistols at bad guys and went over to the friend's house down the street to play hide and seek in the dark and my sister and I even had a Kool-Aid stand for 2¢ a paper cup. But we always came in before supper and watched afternoon cartoons. I don't know why.

As a little girl, I contracted Rheumatic Fever and had to not be active for months at a time. The second time I got it, I was in bed for six weeks. My mom piggy-backed me to the bathroom because she followed the doctor's instructions to the tee. That lasted a day or so before she decided that I was just across the hall from the toilet and I was ten and pretty normal size for my age... not a little kid. But I was in bed with books and the teacher, Mr. Hackett, came by with homework once a week. That was when I read Black Beauty and the one thing I remember most was that Ginger, the horse, got her tail cut down to nothing and couldn't swat flies away from her anymore. That was probably when I learned to be a voracious reader. But still, you could watch TV from the couch made up as a bed... And on my 11th birthday, the girls came over and we had a dinner party. We played pin the tail on the donkey out back, and then we went in to watch the first ever showing of "Flipper, faster than lightning, no one you see is smarter than he... under the sea." So, TV was used as an enforcement for keeping quiet. Which may have led to "self-medicating" on TV as an adult. It's always about being physically quiet.

I still read sometimes, but my sight isn't as good as it used to be and you can make the print on electronics as big as you want it to be. (The Bible is not very generous in the print sizes.) Electronic research is so nice now, but it's not as trustworthy as the old card catalogue and running around the library looking for the reference books, nor as fun as writing information out and having all the papers spread around, cutting the sections apart and putting them in order. The original cut and paste. Yet the default is TV or YouTube or scrolling. 

Why is TV the default when I'm feeling restless? Who knows? But I am currently working on doing other activities. Yes, I still watch things, but I'm trying to do one thing between Andy Griffith and Leave It To Beaver; between "Matlock" and Elsbeth. Eventually, when Father Brown episodes run out, I will not replace it with another show, but with a project or walking the dog a second time. One new practice, that I pray I can stick to daily, is writing 15 minutes a day. Perhaps praying a little more would be a very good thing. My health is good enough to be active, pickleball? More time cleaning house and doing yard work? Only the LORD knows. But with prayer and encouragement, it can change and my life can be more productive.

You've Heard it Said... (Part 2)

How many times have I heard people say things like, "There are 613 Commandments in the Torah - I can't keep them all!" (Usually followed by another misconception, such as: "The law is a curse!")?

I will tell you - I cannot count the times...

But I do have to wonder: these people who think it is "impossible" to keep the Commandments - have they ever actually read the list of commandments? My guess is "No."

I Googled it once and found a helpful website, Hebrew4Christians, which lists the commandments and the corresponding scripture for each. One of the very first things I noticed as I made my way down their list was the overlapping of commandments. In fact, the website comments on this:

The website goes on to comment that "some laws do not apply at to [Gentiles] at all (for example, laws concerning Temple practices, agricultural laws, civil laws...)" etc. By the time you cross out anything that applies to the King, a judge... and whatever other category does not apply to you, the arbitrary number of "613" has been significantly reduced.

I was encouraged to read a similar comment on a Bible study website that I follow:

The common refrain ... is “There are 613 laws, we can’t possibly keep them all!” This is pretty much always spoken by someone who has never taken the time to read Leviticus and know that no one is asking us to obey all 613 laws. Are you a Levitical priest? Are you a farmer? Are you a woman? Are you a man? Are you a judge? Do you live in Jerusalem? Is there an earthly temple right now?  If you answered “no” to any one of these questions then a large portion of those 613 don’t even apply to you. Answer “no” to more than one? Even fewer.

Our duty can be summed up in what is known as the Ten Commandments.  If we set our hearts to follow those and to remain in His word, seeking His guidance on our lives, all other commandments (laws) that apply to us will naturally follow suit.

In contrast, there are so many laws in the United States that they do not even have a count of them but estimates are that they exceed 25,000. Most folks I know will proudly state that they are a law abiding citizen of the United States.

And that’s when the real reasons come out for why people don’t want to obey God: We feel we are being “inconvenienced” when it comes to giving up things we want to do, and can’t understand why God won’t let us do things like eat bacon or spare ribs, go to a baseball game on Saturday, and other seemingly “harmless” things that everyone else is doing, and they’re fine! So why shouldn’t I? God is not that mean, God doesn’t care about such trivia; after all “Jesus Paid It All” and it’s now all about Grace, Grace, Grace. I mean, "Jesus nailed all that to the cross, right?"

Again - have these same people actually read their Bibles? And again, my guess is: "No." Because if they did, they would have read in Colossians 2:13-14: 

When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

This is the verse so many people quote, thinking that it means "Jesus nailed 'the Torah' to the cross." But if you go back and read it again with fresh eyes, not influenced by all the so-called doctrine you have heard all these years, you can see for yourself that Jesus nailed our DEBT to the cross. It simply does not mean the same thing!

Back in 2016, I posted about wearing tzitzit... in which I mused:

I don't need a "logical" reason. I need to do it because He asked me to.

In my mind, the same logic applies to our basic obedience to God's instructions for living a godly life. Because that is exactly what "The Law" is - God's instruction manual. It's not a set of arbitrary rules set down by a "mean God;"  instead, they are principles to live by that will bring us blessing. That is what He promised, and that is what I believe is true.

If you don't agree with me, see for yourself what Jesus said about it.

(... and you may have noticed, I have already expounded on this same topic previously... but it keeps coming up!)

45762 :: More Musings on Jeremiah

 Continuing in the Jeremiah vein, the scripture I picked up on today was Jeremiah 32:32-33 - the one where God is saying that His instructions will be written on our hearts instead of just tablets of stone. (Although I think sometimes that our hearts must be made of stone... there is so much evil and hatred blatantly displayed all over the world.)

I think as society has walked away from God's teachings, basic civility has been on the decline. So, with whatever time we have left before "the days to come," it falls to us who love God's law to walk in the opposite sprit and overcome our base human nature that defaults to wanting to return evil for evil - but instead find ways to (metaphorically speaking) "turn the other cheek"; when we see unkindness, we respond with kindness. When we see greed, we respond with generosity.

What will that look like in real time? I'm guessing "easier to say - not as easy to do" without the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.

I will put My law in their minds
and inscribe it on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
and they will be My people.

-Jeremiah 31:33b 

 

45761 :: Taking a Leap from Jeremiah to Ephesians

 As I think over what I have just finished reading in Jeremiah, I can't hep but feel grateful that God has opened my eyes and opened my ears to hear His Word.

I also think back to the details I read recently about William Tyndale and his efforts (and martyrdom) to get the Word of God into the hands of the people in their own language. It does not escape my notice that we have 30+ copies of the Bible in our house. So, with the privilege and ready availability of having the very Word of God so accessible, wouldn't you think that our society would have improved by now? I'm not talking about medical or technical advances that have made our lives better (although that might be debatable...) but the condition of our hearts.

No, I rather think that with every opportunity that is presented to us to grow closer to God, the enemy has ramped up his deceptive schemes to pull us away - to take our focus off of our own salvation; we have lost our devotion to God and the things of His kingdom.

All the more reason to STAND.

Ephesians 6:14-18 - Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with Truth, and having on the breastplate of Righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace; ABOVE ALL, taking the shield of Faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of Salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is THE WORD OF GOD: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit...

(I quoted that from the KJV, as that is how I memorized it when I was young, but I am a fan of understanding what I am reading, so recommend using a modern translation, as the English vernacular, despite having dictionaries available since 1604, has continued to morph and evolve through the centuries.) 

I have lately become a big fan of the Berean Study Bible, which translates it:

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition.

 

Not Sorry to be Set Apart

I knew there was a reason I have been hesitant to join in the Lent observances that have begun to be practiced every year at our church. (Beginning, if I remember correctly, when a former staff pastor who is decidedly on the side of traditional liturgical practices instituted it.) I have gone once or twice, did the "Stations of the Cross" that were set up around the auditorium, and even had ashes placed symbolically on my forehead. But, to be quite honest, it seemed like meaningless ritual to me. I "tried" to feel more spiritual through it all, but just could not drum it up.

Turns out, my Southern Baptist roots are probably at fault for this. I remember, when I was in high school, many of my friends asking, "What are you giving up for Lent?" Having not a clue, I asked my mother, who informed me, "We don't observe Lent. That's what the Catholics do." (In case you did not know, there never seemed to be any love lost between the Baptists and Catholics - at least the way I saw it.)

However, that did not deter me from wanting to fit in with my friends (ah, peer pressure!) so the first year I valiantly gave up French fries for lunch. (Believe me, that was a sacrifice.) Over the years I have given up chocolate, given up drinking anything but water - even these days, I have friends who go dark on Facebook for Lent. 

Today, in preparation for Lent observance, I decided to Google "is Lent Biblical?" and not to my surprise, a transcribed podcast from a Independent Baptist Church in Indianapolis jumped to the top of the list. I read their arguments with interest.

They went into great detail about the meaning and timing of Lent, and the significance of it as it is based on the worship of Babylonian fertility goddess "Ishtar" and her son Tammuz. (Sound familiar? I have known for years that the word "Easter" is derived from "Ishtar," but that is a different bunny trail.) This false god worship is mentioned in Scripture in Ezekiel 8: ...Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD’S house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these... (Yes, you heard that right. God called their observance an "abomination.")

Just the simple fact that Lent was not celebrated by the apostles or the early Christian church until the early 4th century is reason enough to ignore the custom, in my opinion. But wait! There's more!

Some feel that by observing Lent, we are showing "solidarity" with the rest of the Christian church. (Presuming they mean the "denominations" that hold on to the Catholic traditions.) But is that really a legitimate reason? WDSS? (What does Scripture Say?) I don't know about your Bible, but mine calls me to "Come out from among them and be separate." In other words, just because every other denomination is doing something is not justification for doing something that is not only unscriptural, but counter to the tenets of our belief. Nothing that we can do, no ritual that we perform, no ashes on the forehead can replace the grace and forgiveness we have received freely from God by believing and trusting in His son, Yeshua (Jesus.) 

Another reason given by some is that "We need time each year to repent." Well - sort of. We actually need to take time EVERY.DAY to repent. Besides that, why would we align our Day of Repentance with a decidedly pagan observance when the Lord gave us a perfectly good commandment to observe the Day of Atonement (which - surprise - does not fall anywhere near Easter.) Nowhere in my Bible does it say this is for Jews only. If we have aligned ourselves with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we want to claim the blessings God gave to them, why ever would we turn around and align ourselves with Babylonian sun god worship? That just makes no sense to me.

So, here I am, still faced with the fact that our assembly is inviting us to participate, and having to choose to stand on the truth that we are called to be separate from those who mix holy with common. Religious rituals and symbolism are a sorry substitute for Grace through Faith. 

I guess you can take the girl out of the Baptist church, but the Baptist church never really comes out of the girl. Sorry if that hurts anyone's feelings - but not sorry to be Set Apart.