Wanderings

Wanderings

Yearly Archive: 2008

Wanderings > 2008

Who’s Yer Daddy?

December 10, 2008 Faith

Whoever he is will make a difference in you – male or female, we are each influenced by our dad. I don't remember much about my father before I was a teenager, since my mom and dad got a divorce when I was a little guy under 5. Once I became a teenager, my dad did not seem much different than my step-dad. While my dad seemed more open (party loving) and humorous (more like he was enjoying life more), my step-dad was quieter and deep in thought – he'd think about things before acting. Maybe it was the occupations too – carpenters work in crews (my dad) and mechanics (my step-dad) work alone under cars.

Other kids I ran around with seemed more like their dads too.

That is part of the point that John makes in chapter 3 of First John.He does not "ask" us to act a certain way. Rather he tells us that as "children of God" we cannot see what we will be, but we will be like Him (Jesus). I like John's words "if your hope is fixed on Him" you will be different.

I remember talking to some farmers about how they got those straight rows in their fields. Asking them how they accomplished that, their response was "when you sit at the wheel, pick a spot at the other end and keep the tractor pointed at that spot." Never got a chance to try it, but continued to look across acres of corn, soybeans or wheat.

Keep your eyes fixed on the goal. If you don't have one, you will wander.

The Recount Goes On and On

December 9, 2008 Political

There's just something about that Minnesota recount (and others as well) that continues to amaze me. They keep finding votes for one person or the other, but apparently the votes on nothing else is changing. How can that be. If you are doing a recount, and have the ballots and you end up with a different total for the two candidates, why doesn't the vote change on anything else?

This is worse than the "hanging chad" in Florida. The Democrats say that if the Republican doesn't win by enough votes, they will challenge the count. They have been present while the ballots have been retabulated, and they have been right there recounting along with the election workers.[more]

Then, there were the missing 133 ballots that apparently were counted at the precinct on election night, but cannot now be found for the recount. Apparently they were Franken votes. This one should be easy – see if the ballots you do have equal or match the count you got on other issues. If they do, then the "protested" 133 votes were pure fiction to begin with, and someone should be arrested. Period.

Oh well, we'll stay tuned to see who finally wins.

Thirty Years Ago

December 9, 2008 Church, Faith

The news last month was filled with "Special Reports" on the 30th anniversary of the end of Jim Jones and his "People's Temple". That was a point in history that was very close to me, since I lived in San Francisco at the time. I remember clearly where the Temple was located, and do remember a couple of people who worshipped there.

This low point in history really stands out in the end chapter 2 in First John. John cautioned the early church to beware of those who "preach a different gospel." His words struck clearly at people who lied about the Gospel, and people who fell for the lies. It was kind of like a parent saying to a child "didn't I tell you…"

I think that is one of the reasons I like First John – he keeps on saying over and over again, "I want you to know." It was not simply enough that you listened, but you reached the point where you knew something. Kind of like "knowing" arithmetic – someone can't give you the wrong change in the store, because you know that 25 cents plus 75 cents is one dollar.

The people who perished with Jim Jones were there in his "church" for many different reasons – they liked the music or the communal living or the "whatever." But shame on them for not comparing what he taught to the truth they knew.

Maybe that was it – they did not know the truth, and so they followed in the hopes of discovering the truth. They failed to read the truth for themselves – they listened to what Jim Jones had to say about the Bible. Read IT for yourself, and let the "Book" talk to you, then decide.

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