A Great Thought, A Great Blog & A Great Voice

1) I’ll just say this once.  Christmas gift giving should only be for kids.  For adults sharing the spirit of the season should be enough.

2) The most insightful blog I read is Gitzengirl, Sara Frankl.  Sara shares her condo with Riley.  It’s really Riley’s condo, his paw print might even be on the certificate of title. 

Mondays post belongs in my all-time top ten.  Sara writes about the “Joys hidden in the cracks”. 

http://gitzengirl.blogspot.com/2009/12/brought-to-you-by-letter-j.html

3) If you only get one Christmas music c/d this year make it Andrea Bocelli’s “My Christmas”

http://www.amazon.com/My-Christmas-Andrea-Bocelli/dp/B002L430KK

This is another song from the Album, “Angels We Have Heard On High”:

Defining The Human Spirit

I has been a bit if a brain dead week for me, only 2 post.  I was searching for something to post about today when I came across this video, on the online edition of the British paper, The Guardian.  It’s an interview with  US  army specialist Brendan Marrocco, who lost all four limbs in combat in Iraq, as he learns to use his prosthetic arms and legs.

It’s a miracle of modern medical science, and the human spirit. 

Christmas Music Videos

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?

I just found this video of Andrea Bocelli singing White Christmas.  It’s is my new favorite Christmas song:

Another YouTube favorite of mine:

Yo Yo Ma & Alison Krauss – The Wexford Carol

Bible Study – Justification

Starting the week off with a bang , I picked the Christian theological issue of “Justification” to discuss.  I couldn’t possibly cover this issue in any detail.  I’ll just go over my general perceptions and thoughts.  Hopefully my Christians friends will clarify any of my mis-conceptions.

Justification is God’s act of declaring, or making, a sinner righteous.

The Christian world became deeply divided over this issue when Martin Luther began his revolution against the Catholic Church, the Protestant Reformation, in 1517.  The Christian world remains divided today, although no longer with the violence that followed the Reformation.

I’ll start with what I see as points of agreement.

All Christians believe that is was Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross that bought the redemption of man.  His righteousness is transferred to believers when they surrendered their will to God.

All Christians believe that it is God’s guidance to help others, and perform “good works”.

All Christians believe they will be judged by God when they die in the world.  That they will be held accountable by God for their sins.

As someone outside the Christian faith the only important thing to me is that believers surrender their will to God.  That they follow God’s guidance to avoid sin, help others, and perform good works.  How God will judge you is up to God.  A Christian should have no expectations of how they will be judged other than that God is just.

Justification By Faith

Romans 4:25 (King James Version)

²⁰He (Abraham) staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

 ²¹And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.

 ²²And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

 ²³Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

 ²⁴But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

 ²⁵Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Romans 3:20-26 (King James Version)

²⁰Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

 ²¹But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

 ²²Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

 ²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

 ²⁴Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

 ²⁵Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

 ²⁶To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Jesus died for your sins and was raised to life for your justification. Righteousness comes from God through faith in Jesus.  All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.  God presented Jesus as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.

Justification By Faith Plus Good Works

 James 2:15-26 (King James Version)

¹⁵If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

 ¹⁶And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

 ¹⁷Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

 ¹⁸Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

 ¹⁹Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

 ²⁰But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

 ²¹Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

 ²²Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

 ²³And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

 ²⁴Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

 ²⁵Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?

 ²⁶For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

True faith in God brings a desire to follow his guidance to love one another.  This will result in performing good deeds.  In verse 24 James clearly writes that man is not justified by faith alone.  In verse 26 he states his belief that a body without spirit is dead, and faith without works is also dead.

Conclusion – I think of religious monks, and nuns, who choose to live lives isolated, as much as possible, from the world. They devote their lives in contemplation of God.  I don’t see where they are performing any good deeds such helping others.  My guess is that God would welcome into Heaven, even though they maynot have performed good works.

Music Video Friday – 12/4/09

This been one of the slowest weeks in blogland in this year, perhaps too much shopping and turkey.    I will put off until Monday a Bible study post.

Everyone have a great weekend.

What song(s) have you heard this week put a smile on your face or lifted your spirit., on the radio (assuming anyone still listens to the radio), on the net (Youtube, iTunes, etc) at a concert or in church.

The most talked musical perfomers(?) I read about this week were Lady Gaga and Adam Lambert.  It may be another sign that I am getting out of touch with the current music scene, but I would rather stick hot needles in my eyes that watch Lady Gaga or Adam Lambert.

Anything with the muppets in it brings a smile to my face.  I saw the following on YouTube yesterday.

The Muppets – Bohemian Rhapsody

Dancing always lifts my spirits.  One of my favorite dancing songs is Mary Chapin Carpenter – Down At The Twist And Shout.

Another classic dancing tune that is a great cure for the blues.

Steve Winwood – Higher Love

Pork In A Petri Dish – Yum, Yum

Scientists in Holland have grown meat in the laboratory for the first time. They used cells from a live pig to replicate growth in a petri dish.  Pork in a petri dish, yum, yum.  Of course the scientist have not yet actually eaten any of their lab grown product.

Would you eat meat grown in a petri dish?

As long as it’s served with a good sauce I’ll eat pretty much anything.

Do you think growing food in a test tube is a good idea?

Since most of the food we now eat, be it animal or vegetable, has been dramatically modified from what exist in the wild, I see Lab grown food as just another farming technique.

From an article in the UK Times Online, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/article6936352.ece:

“They initially extracted cells from the muscle of a live pig. Called myoblasts, these cells are programmed to grow into muscle and repair damage in animals.

The cells were then incubated in a solution containing nutrients to encourage them to multiply indefinitely. This nutritious “broth” is derived from the blood products of animal foetuses, although the intention is to come up with a synthetic solution.”

“Global meat and dairy product consumption is expected to double by 2050, according to the United Nations. This could have an unprecedented impact on climate change because the warming effect on the atmosphere of methane, a digestive by-product from farm animals, is 23 times greater than that of carbon dioxide. The UN has attributed 18% of the world’s greenhouse gases to livestock.”

The Vegetarian Society reacted cautiously yesterday, saying: “The big question is how could you guarantee you were eating artificial flesh rather than flesh from an animal that had been slaughtered. It would be very difficult to label and identify in a way that people would trust.” Peta, the animal rights group, said: “As far as we’re concerned, if meat is no longer a piece of a dead animal there’s no ethical objection.”

People Making A Difference – Pastor Richard Berry

The latest in the Christian Science Monitor series “People Making A Difference”, http://www.csmonitor.com/makingadifference/ , focuses on Pastor Richard Berry.

The greatest change in a society often comes from the actions of its citzens, more than it’s government.  It’s individuals, like Pastor Berry, doing what they can to help their less fortunate neighbors, that creates the compassionate community we all want our society to become.

Before I go on to the article about Pastor Berry I’ll ask my question:

Name a person, more than one if you care to, about a family member, friend or neighbor who, like Pastor Berry, is someone making a difference.

I work part-time at a shelter for the homeless.  The guy who manages the shelter, John, was climbing the corporate ladder of success when realized he was not getting the personal satisfaction he needed from his job.  Encouraged by his wife, Camille, they moved to a smaller house, sold their BMW, and began working at the shelter he now runs.  As he says, it was one of the best decisions they ever made.

From the Christian Science Monitor article, by Cynthia Anderson, about Pastor Barry, of the Trinity Evangelical Free Church, in Skowhegan, Maine.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1123/p07s01-lign.html

It’s easy to miss the Trinity Evangelical Free Church, set back as it is on a side road in this mill town in central Maine. Nothing would seem to distinguish it from a thousand churches like it across the state.

The same might be said of Trinity’s pastor, Richard Berry, a woodsman-turned-preacher who umpires softball in his spare time. When Berry scraped together money to attend college after his brother-in-law was killed by a drunken driver, he imagined neither fame nor notoriety in his future. Now he has both.

Since September 2008, Trinity has been operating as a homeless shelter – the only one, it turns out, in a county tied for second place as the poorest in the state. Twenty-three men live at the church in former Sunday school classrooms next to the sanctuary where services are held. The criteria for entrance? “You’re homeless, and you’re hungry,” Pastor Berry says.

The place has a homey, if utilitarian, look. On a recent Sunday the men watched TV, cooked dinner, or lounged outside in easy chairs on a makeshift patio. One split wood for an outdoor furnace that provides heat and hot water. At 7 p.m. everyone crowded into a basement room for bible study, led by an associate pastor.

“This is crazy stuff,” says Berry of what has ensued since he decided in July 2008 to let one homeless man temporarily spend nights at the church on a sofa. “There are days I can’t catch my breath. I never envisioned any of it.”

By “any of it,” Berry’s referring to the fact that last year, when he asked his congregation for permission to operate the church as a shelter, about half of its members quit. “They didn’t want to be associated with ‘people like that,’ ” Berry says with a shrug. “They decided they wanted out.”

Trouble also arrived in the form of town officials and the state fire marshal, who threatened to shut down the shelter for code violations. Berry pushed for a compromise that allows Trinity to remain open as long as he agreed to construct a new shelter, the groundbreaking for which began last summer with a donated backhoe, bulldozer, and building materials.

Ned Goff, a Skowhegan business owner, loaned heavy equipment for the excavation of the site, next to the existing building. “I knew there were a lot of people in the area in need,” Mr. Goff says. “Pastor Berry was doing something about it, and I felt that we could help.”

Still, money is tight. The shelter operates on effectively a zero budget, dependent on a grocery chain for free vegetables, meat, and canned goods, and on a local bakery for bread. The bunks where the men sleep are salvaged, and other furnishings are minimal.

But Berry has no intention of giving up. Beneath his laid-back demeanor, and a warmth that makes him as likely to extend a hug as to proffer a prayer, is a stubborn core. Also compassion, as both his mother and wife will attest. If Berry is surprised by what has transpired at Trinity, his wife, Selma, is not. “Richard has a huge heart,” she says. “That’s what drew me to him in the first place.”

More than 100 men have lived at the church in the past 16 months. The 23 there now, Berry says, are “a motley crew” – some recently released from prison and some facing down addiction or mental illness. They seem to be a thankful crew, too. One after another they express gratitude for having found Trinity.

“I don’t know where I’d be without Pastor Berry and this church,” says Mike Boutin, who became homeless in November 2008 after the house where he was living burned. Mr. Boutin was already unemployed and drinking heavily. Mostly on a whim, he says, he went one night with a friend to Trinity. It wasn’t long before Boutin signed a contract that allowed him to live there. He had to agree to stringent policies, secular and religious: no drugs or alcohol on the premises; a 9 p.m. curfew; attendance at daily 7 a.m. prayers and 7 p.m. bible study, and four weekly church services.

Boutin adjusted. “It’s not about rules and regulations,” he says. “There’s a family atmosphere here. We eat together, we pray together, we sleep together.”

Thanks Giving on Thanksgiving.

With the traditional Thanksgiving Holiday coming up here in America I’ll ask a traditional question. 

What events happened to you in 2009 that you are thankful for?

This will be my last post for the week.  I hope everyone has a healthy and happy holiday.

1) Blog buddies Papa and Mama paid me a visit in October.  We had a great lunch, and walk along Long Island Sound.

2) One of the former regulars at the shelter I work at, 4 hours a week, got a job, an apartment, and has straighten his life out.

3) I have lunch twice a month with retired friends.  It is nice to have one group of friends where I am the youngster.   Three are cancer survivors, and we have all had health issues at one time of the other.  We are thankful ever time we all make it to lunch healthy.

4) I began a Bible Study series on my blog.  All the great dialogue has helped me understand better the gudiance that has shaped society for 2,000 years.

5) I had an unexpected plumbing bill.  I was able to find a job, in this terrible recession, and payoff my bill.

I am thinkful I have had no major crisis in 2009 and will be thrilled if 2010 goes as well.

Most Popular Post – Cakewrecks

This Wednesday I noticed a record number of “hits” on my blog, over 500.  It was because people had used a google image search to view a post I put up last August, , about one of the more popular blogs in blogdom, Cakewrecks .  I revisited that site and found some more interesting, and bizarre, pictures of cakes, which I have posted below.

What is your favorite cake?  If you aren’t that fond of cake, what is your favortie pie.  If you don’t like either cake or pie you must have some outer space alien DNA in your taste buds. 

In my heading I have put up a Cakewrecks gallery.  Which is your favorite cake picture in the Gallery?

Some recent cakes on the Cakewreck site:

Bible Study – Simon Peter the Apostle

Simon Peter the Apostle is one of the most important figures in the New Testament.  As it says in Mathew 16:18 Jesus refers to Peter as the rock he will build his church on.  Peter’s faith in Jesus however did not become strong until after Jesus was crucified, and the resurrected Jesus appeared before him.

Do you agree that in order to develop a strong trust in the source of your faith, it must first help you get past a crisis. 

In Mathew 14:25-31, when Jesus walks on the lake, Peter asks “Lord, if it’s you command me to come to you on the water.  Jesus tells him to come.  Peter gets out of the boat, but fear overcomes him and he sinks into the water.

In Mathew 16:21-23 Jesus tells his disciples that he will suffer many things, must die, and on the third day he will be resurrected.  Peter takes Jesus aside, saying, “Never Lord! This shall not happen to you.”  Jesus response is “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me.”

After Jesus is arrested Peter denies him three times:

Mathew 26:69-75

⁶⁹Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

 ⁷⁰But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

 ⁷¹Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

 ⁷²He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

 ⁷³After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away.”

 ⁷⁴Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

   Immediately a rooster crowed. ⁷⁵Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

However, after seeing the resurrected Jesus, Peter affirms his love to Jesus three times:

John 21:15-17

¹⁵ When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
       “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”
       Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

    ¹⁶ Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
       He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
       Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

    ¹⁷ The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
       Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”
       Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.

My perception of the lesson Peter’s life has to the CF is that being human you will have moments of doubt.  You will not pass every test of faith you face.  Do not let these moments of doubt turn you from your God.  Persevere and your faith can become stronger.