The book of Lamentations has been badly served by the title it carries in our English versions. For it is not a collection of breast-beating self-pitying poems, a mere lamenting of the sorry state of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. It is rather the record of a Hebrew poet’s coping with crisis, a deeply reflected proposal for the handling of grief. Most attribute the authorship to Jeremiah, but here’s the point I want to make today. Continue reading ‘What’s To Lament?’
Monthly Archive for May, 2007
Now we come to that snake in the grass, or was there any grass? Was there a snake/serpent? Since we’re dealing with an allegory, you know where I’m going. In actuality there are many ways that I could go. My current preference is that the snake/serpent represents the EGO: the false ego, the Ernie that’s not the real Ernie- voices in my head, from my head. There really is an authentic Ernie that shows up from time to time- not often enough. Let’s look at some of the options since metaphors can stand for, or fill in for more than one option. Continue reading ‘# 3- The Garden Revisited’
What I did this morning is changing my day and having a great impact on this year. For that matter what I did this morning was nothing unusual other than it affected my destiny. Say what? Yep, I PRAYED! Some mornings, I get nothing at all and other mornings, I can’t sit still due to all the illuminations that break forth. And, it’s not something I only do in the morning. I am writing this at 11:30 am Wednesday (for a Thursday am post time). And I am writing because of the “message” that just came to me- to share with you. Continue reading ‘Creating Our Future’
Jesus was one of the worlds greatest MYSTICS!
With the exception of a few verses that we can attribute to Paul, he was a long ways from being a mystic: he was more like a reformed legalist. The church today is following Paul. And in way too many cases the church is following the local culture. I submit that we desperately need to get back to the mystical lifestyle that Jesus modeled, and there was no statement that depicted that any greater than “Abba Father“. Continue reading ‘Abba Father Says What?’
Say what!
I have said many times that I was held back by kind, but unknowing, teachers who filled me full of head knowledge about first one belief then another: concepts upon un-ending concepts. I became pretty self confident about what I KNEW. I now look upon that season as one of arrogance and ignorance. What I knew just so happened to be only partially true and here is why. Continue reading ‘# 24- Subordinate Your Intellectualism’
The allegorical tree of “good and evil” (Genesis 2:17) has such a powerful, non-literal meaning that unfortunately gets missed in the midst of the prose. Like the story of Jonah which has so many principles that we seemingly can’t see or don’t wish to follow, this tree lays down such astounding life models for us to follow. Let’s see if we can’t grasp them NOW. Continue reading ‘# 2- The Garden Revisited’
Most of us understand that we are spirit being, but it usually stops there. God is Spirit and we are spirit. But, let’s open this envelope a little further. Spirit (you and I) is never born. Spirit (you and I) never dies. How cool is that? While the I AM that we all are subjectively never dies, the Ernie that I am which is spiritual, does decay and does die. Matter always wears out. Eventually everything will at some point decay. So, let’s connect these dots and see where they lead. Continue reading ‘Spirit, Spiritual, and Material’
The Bible tells us that as a man thinketh (KJV) in his heart so IS he (Prov 23:7). But, when you really get in touch with the Spirit that dwells within you, and when you realize God comes AS you, then you can go to an even deeper level. Such as, God is thinking through you! He’s thinking through me right now as I type these words. God is our inspiration and very ground of being. Get this now. Continue reading ‘As Who Thinks?’
This is the start of 1-5 commentaries, I think. We’ll just see how it goes. I have a couple of liberating thoughts that I want to share and it’s best to soak them in gradually because what I intend to write surely doesn’t fit the “fundamentalist paradigms“. What’s new, eh? But, remember that truth (any truth) is initially rejected when it opposes our existing belief systems. I want to start with some foundational principles and concepts of writing. I grew up laboring to make sense of so many things that my denominational teachers passed along to me that they said were LITERAL! Let me say up front that the second creation story (Beginning with Genesis 2:4) is an ALLEGORY and isn’t LITERAL! Keep your powder dry until we get through at least a couple days of pondering and then fire away. 
Continue reading ‘# 1- The Garden Revisited’
# 4- The Garden Revisted
Okay, let’s take on the BIG ONE- the Adam and Eve metaphor within the creation allegory. Do I believe that there are real live historical Biblical characters. Absolutely. But, is the Bible primarily written to teach us natural sciences or history? Absolutely NOT! There’s way too much history and historical accounts to not accept Moses as an historical figure as an example: or Isaiah, Elijah. The New Testament goes without saying due to many extra-Biblical accounts and thousands of years later than Adam or Eve. So, do I believe Adam and Eve were real historical people? I doubt it, but it doesn’t matter one way or the other because the message, moral, and mission is found in the metaphors they stand in for in the creation allegory. Check this out. Continue reading ‘# 4- The Garden Revisted’