God’s Accounting: 101

Last night I was reading Acts 5: 1-11.  You know the story: Ananias (God is gracious) and his wife, Sapphira (beautiful), sold their land, hid some of the money back, gave the rest to the church claiming it was the entire amount and both were struck dead when found out. (RTP)  Now that is what I call an accounting.  Good thing the IRS is in league with Satan and not God.

 

Do you think Ananias’ parents might have wanted to rethink that name again?  Back to the story, I am not so sure whether their sin was not giving the full amount or the fact that the lied to the church (God) and said that they had.  Either way what would your church look like after an audit by God?  Unfortunately, I probably wouldn’t be there to see the results.

 

Verse 11 states that: the news about the conniving couple spread quickly and everyone who heard developed a great fear and respect for God.  The revival that followed this damned duo’s demise was massive and miraculous. (RTP)  No kidding??  There is a lot of dialogue today about trying to live like the 1^st century church, but what would that look like with a 1^st century God?

 

Something to think and pray about, RT               

Pity from a Perspective of Prosperity and Privilege

Damn Home and Garden TV!  Damn DIY Network!  Damn Home Depot!  Why you ask?  They appear harmless enough at first glance, but they are in league with the prince of darkness himself.  I can’t watch HGTV or DIY without realizing my need to renovate my home and my need to spruce up my landscaping.  Then, along comes Home Depot and seduces you with the promise of low monthly payments.  All of this combined, forms a sense of discontentment and despair. 

 

This distorted self pity comes from a perspective of privilege which blinds us from reality.  All of these “needs” imply prosperity and privilege.  The need to improve a home implies the privilege of home ownership, hence prosperity.  Landscaping is a privilege, just to have a place for a vegetable garden is a privilege.  But we as a nation of consumers can only hunger and thirst for more.        

 

Shouldn’t just having a roof over my head, food in my stomach, and clothes on my back be privilege enough?  Could I be a better steward of what I have been given?  Could I need less and give more?  I think so.  How about you?

 

Check out how much you have been given in comparison with others:  http://www.globalrichlist.com/

 

It is all in your perspective, RT    

Blessed are the Persecuted?

In His sermon on the mount, Christ said “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Blessed is good, right?  Does that mean persecution is good?  If so, then why do we react so negatively towards persecution?  I admit that I often want to react in anger when I perceive persecution towards another or myself.

 

The persecution of Tibetan monks by Chinese officials has made headlines recently.  It has cast a dark shadow over China’s attempt to present itself as open and worthy of the world’s trust/trade.  There have been calls for Olympic boycotts, trade sanctions and protest.  The torch bearers have become clandestine candle carriers as protesters try to steal or extinguish the flame.  Blessed are the persecuted?

 

Christians in China are blessed by persecution as well, but not by the media. Their house arrest, imprisonment, torture and executions are not news worthy.  Where are the calls for Olympic boycotts, trade sanctions and protest to bring freedom and justice to these Christians?  Blessed are the persecuted?

 

During a discussion of these topics, a sister in Christ recently expressed that her views of persecution have changed after time spent over seas.  That maybe persecution is a good thing; at least you know who the “real” Christians are.  I wondered about those early Christians who where alive during the time Constantine put his stamp of approval on Christianity.  Talk about revival.  Billy Graham would have been pleased with the number of converts to Christianity in the following days.  In the midst of this whirlwind of soul-winning, how did they know who the “real’ Christians were?   Blessed are the persecuted?

 

Christ said, “Persecuted because of righteousness”.  Now there is an often misunderstood and misinterpreted word; righteousness.  It can bring about thoughts of religious piousness and better than thou”ness”.  (There is some persecution I could get behind.)  However, if we look to the Eastern meaning of the word righteous we find it equates to “just”.  As in God is just, therefore Jesus is just.  Righteousness then takes on a meaning of justice.  Justice takes on a meaning of doing God’s will.  And if we are doing God’s will/Great commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself”, would there be any persecution? 

 

Blessed are the persecuted, but what about those who do nothing to stop it?

 

Thinking out loud, RT   

My Second Window of Opportunity

My second window of opportunity (WOO) presented itself during my middle school career.  I don’t remember the exact grade (I think 9^th), but I do remember the class and the teacher.  It was a Biology class with Mr. Shoemaker at the helm.  We were deep in the middle of the long awaited fetal pig dissection.  I mean this was truly part of the middle school rights of passage; the subject of adolescent legends.  We had been long awaiting this day since grade school and it had finally arrived.  I can still remember the smell of the formaldehyde as the pigs were distributed to the eagerly awaiting groups. 

 

The task at hand was simple: carefully open up our pig, then identify and remove the specified list of organs.  Easy enough.  Things were going great as we removed each organ, labeled it, and tossed any unnecessary parts out the open window next to our lab table.  We thought we had finished until we realized that we had everything we needed except for a spleen.  We frantically referred to our fetal pig dissection manual, but to no avail.  Either our fetal pig was born (well you know what I mean) without a spleen or we had misplaced it.  You can’t imagine our panic we realized our faux pas.

 

The window was about the same size as the one through which I had staged my “great escape” earlier in my academic career, but unfortunately I was substantially larger.  As my lab partners formed a human screen between the open window and Mr. Shoemaker, I contorted my body through the open window.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a fetal pig spleen in the midst of a dormant Bermuda covered school yard?  Well, probably not.  Let’s just say providence was with me that day.  So it was with spleen in hand, I deftly made my way back through the window and was able place the rogue spleen in its rightful place among the other labeled organs.  No harm, no foul.

 

Mr. Shoemaker seemed a little puzzled as to why there was some dried grass clippings on our spleen, but didn’t push the subject.

 

  Like I have said before, WOOs don’t come along everyday, so when they do you had better jump on it or out it.

As always, RT

Things I’ve learned working at Wal-Mart:

 Flatulence is not odoriferous in a walk-in freezer.  I don’t know the exact science behind it, but I assume that it has something to do with the slowing down of the methane molecules.  With that being said, I can only surmise that whoever claimed that his s- – t didn’t stink, was either an Eskimo or was standing in a walk-in freezer.

 

Bluetooth technology has great entertainment value.  If you have never witnessed a Bluetooth One Man Show, you are missing out on some fine entertainment…..  He was large, pushing a cart with one hand, swinging the other hand about violently in the air.  He was talking angrily and loudly as he approached.  “Another satisfied customer”, was my first thought.  However, as he came closer I saw it, the glowing little blue light on his ear.  I don’t know who he was talking to, but I am glad it wasn’t me.  Since that time I have learned to appreciate the performances so many Bluetooth users provide, unwittingly bringing thespian joy to an otherwise tedious venue.   

 

Pork butt isn’t really butt.  Who would have thought it?  In my tenure as an evening meat department associate, I have really come to know my cuts of meat.  Look out Dave!  The cut known as pork butt is actually from the top part of the shoulder.  A little misleading isn’t it?  What’s next; is a split pigs foot really a foot, is cow tongue really a tongue?  Please don’t tell all of those avid tailgaters and BBQ aficionados that what they are grillin/smokin isn’t butt, they get too much mileage out of it.

 

There is an art to frozen turkey bowling.  All you need are ten two-liter bottles of soda (brand name optional) and one 16 pound frozen tom; sounds simple doesn’t it?  Not so.  First of all frozen turkeys don’t roll very well, so it becomes more of a cross between bowling and shuffle board.  Another thing, did you know room temperature two-liter soda bottles when struck by a frozen turkey sliding at 48 mph will explode?  Well, they do if you were wondering. 

 

Pallet-jack racing is not an amateur sport.  Those yellow, hand-pulled pallet-jacks you see in every Wal-Mart are not just for moving heavy pallets of freight.  In skilled hands, they can become high speed scooter of sorts.  Stand on the forks facing the upright handle and move the handle right then left in a rhythmic sweeping motion.  Soon, with a little practice and God given ability, you will be gaining momentum.  Balance comes into play in while cornering and depth perception is critical when trying to maneuver between two pallets placed precariously close together.  Just a note here: helmets, wrist guards, and knee pads are available in the sporting goods department.

 

While this is not an inclusive list of what I’ve learned working at Wal-Mart, it is something to ponder…

 

As always, RT 

 

Who is in your 100?

Watch this video :  http://www.miniature-earth.com/me_english.htm  Is this the 100 you thought it would be?  Is this the 100 you would choose? 

Maybe it is time to look beyond our own consumer crazed, dividend driven society of excess and get a just a glimpse of the real world. 

Questioning as always, RT. 

Ghana Bound

A young couple, Shane and Tanna, will be leaving May 1^st for Ghana on a medical mission.  Tanna, a PA student, will be doing one of her residencies there through the Institute for International Medicine (INMED).  They will be taking three other people along with them.  Tanna will be there six weeks, while the others will only be able to stay for three. 

This is a group of young people with love and passion for Christ.  The Lord opened a lot of doors, moved some mountains and softened a few hearts to bring this mission to fruition.  The purpose of me telling you this is to ask you to include this group in your prayers.  Pray for their safety and the fruitfulness of their mission. As always, RT Link to Tanna’s Ghana Blog:  http://inmedblogs.us/tannadonalson     

Gum Rule

I would like to share with you my thoughts on what is wrong with Public Education, seeing that everyone else seems to be doing so.  It is my belief that all of the woes of public education can be traced back to one issue: The Gum Rule. 

That’s right the Gum Rule.  The gum rule or more specifically the NO GUM ALLOWED AT SCHOOL RULE has always been part of the Board Approved Student Handbook.  Yet on any given day in any given classroom there they are:  Gum chewers, rule breakers, rouge chomppers blatantly flaunting their disregard of the Gum Rule!  When and if this violation of board policy is addressed, consequences are rarely applied.  

Now, let me interject here that I earnestly believe the kiddos in the US are anything but stupid.  With that being said, what lesson do you think they are learning from “getting away” with breaking the gum rule?  You guessed it!  “That the rules and their consequences don’t apply to me.”

This mindset is often transferred to other rules of conduct and academics.  Teachers and administrators are often overwhelmed with trying to encourage, enlighten and educate students not to mention dealing with “big” issues such as fights, weapons, and drugs; that violations of long standing rules of decorum and civility are being over looked and not addressed. 

Academically, if a student chooses not to study and pass, oh lets say their math class, there is no consequence. Even though they have been told that they will not be able to go on the next grade they know they will.  Why?  Because research has found that retention does nothing to improve the educational success of the student.  In reference to conduct; school hallways are becoming mosh-pits that would make visiting sailors blush.    

I reiterate:  What lessons are we really teaching our students, because folks, they are learning them well!!  We are not losing the battle for the culture of education; we are willingly surrendering it without a fight!

Hey, don’t call me a legalist.  I don’t even agree with the Gum Rule.  I encourage students to present reasonable and articulate dialogues to have the Gum Rule removed. However, I will follow and enforce it as long as it is a rule.    However, by not adhering to and enforcing the gum rule and any other rule/policy/law, we as adults are being poor role-models.   Who is watching you?

Looking the other way, RT.