Monday Madness!

What is it about Monday that makes the crazies crazier? *checks wikipedia* Aha! Monday means "day of the moon". Got it! (I sincerely hope the fundies don't read this site, because then we will have to endure some ridiculous movement to change the names of the days of the week to nonpagan words. (Christday, Jesusday, Godday, Bibleday, Goodnewsday, Raptureday and Heavenday, no doubt.)

Today's Israel Watch (God's Prophetic Clock!) by Jim Fletcher just ratchets up the crazy!

He Knows You

If you’ll be kind enough to indulge me, I want to continue this week with the theme from last week. God will provide blahblahblah The subject I’d originally chosen can wait awhile. The feedback I got convinces me more than ever that we need to encourage each other. True, but I have yet to feel encouraged.

Like you, I continue to hear stories that are beyond sad. Me, too. I’m not going to dwell on stories like this, but you know how it is. Economic gloominess, outrageously exemplified by our incoming “leader,” why the quotes? The President is, by definition, the leader of the US. Barack Obama (“the economy is going to get worse.” Merry Christmas! Truth is bad? Should he lie and tell us it will all be puppies and sunshine come January? Sheesh.) has gripped folks like that horrible movie I saw last year, “The Mist.” I like Stephen King. Stop the hating.

However — for the Christian, there is always a however Worship the Lord or burn in hell, however . . . nope, no however there. I think he's trying to say that Christians have forever. — we will once again this week explore God’s provisions for His people. I have always felt there is a direct correlation between Bible prophecy, and the lives of individuals around the world. Be prepared to show your work.

I almost feel like this is the jump-off point. Ummm . . . that's not puppies and sunshine. That sounds like a call to suicide. There's a hotline (1-800-273-TALK) for that. That my whole life has built to this moment, in which predictive prophecy what other kind of prophecy is there? the definition of prophecy is the foretelling or prediction of what is to come. Could we please stop being redundant? is coming so sharply into focus that it doubles as a personal faith-builder. Oh, my.

If I can’t rely on my portfolio, or the government, or other human inventions…who can I turn to? I'm still all about the Suicide Hotline. There is a woman who saved my friend's life, through the simple kindness of listening to a stranger cry. I hope she knows she helped more than one person that night. His children will celebrate another Christmas with him this year through her grace alone. I will turn to the God who has supernaturally proven Himself to me through His provision for the Jews. Huh?

Go with me now to a place you’ve heard about all your life. Disneyland?

In Bethlehem today, and in the surrounding Judean countryside, the air is clean. So the Israelis are doing more for the environment than we are. Good for them. Dianna and I were there last year, on our own little pilgrimage to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. Actually, I do want to see Israel. It's a place of such history. Driving over and around the hills that become progressively more bare as one heads south, toward the desert, we noticed just how much the whole place still looks like it did on that special night 2,000 years ago. How would you know? Shepherds still tend flocks, Arab men travel on donkeys, and sheep and cattle graze on the hills. Other than the Arab men on donkeys, I can see all that in Ireland, to name just one place. Tell me what's special.

Unlike liberal Christians those nonhomophobic bastards will rot in hell! and atheists like Richard Dawkins and me! (what does he do for Christmas?)

STOP. Just stop it. I'm betting Mr. Dawkins does what I do for Christmas: hang lights and wreaths, cook lots of food, and put up a PAGAN Christmas tree. He probably exchanges gifts and enjoys the time with his family. We don't believe in god, it doesn't make us less than human.

, I believe Jesus was actually born in this place, that he grew up, began ministry, then fulfilled the prophecies by dying and being resurrected in Jerusalem. There was an actual, historical figure. Oh, I'll buy that. There is too much evidence that some person existed named Jesus too deny that he was an historical figure. I just don't believe he was the son of god. Explain to me again why god had to sacrifice god to god to change a rule god made? And also explain to me why dying, when you know damn well you won't be dead for long, is such a sacrifice? The soldier who jumps on a grenade to save the rest of his squad sacrifices more.

Bethlehem today, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, is still small and compact. Palestinian merchants virtually beg tourists to shop. Capitalism! Manger Square — a large plaza area — was not overly crowded.
Stooping to enter the small door in the Church of the Nativity, Dianna and I emerged into a huge room, sandwiched between rafters and floor mosaics that date from Byzantine times. There were quite a few scenes reminiscent of, say, a Catholic church yeah, because the Catholic church was the original church. In fact, there was no other church for what? oh yeah, 1000 years.: candles, icons, elaborate alcoves of rich artifacts. rich artifacts? gold statues, perhaps? 2,000 year old urns? what?

Descending into a cramped space underneath the floor basement? catacombs?, we were surprised to find ourselves at the traditional place of Jesus’ birth. We quickly had our picture taken while an annoyed fellow tourist waited her turn.
At least for me, I think it’s important to know that these places actually exist. They are tangible. yeah, and I can check out all the places in a Ludlow novel as well, it doesn't make the book fact.

Upon returning to the King David Hotel I don't know why, but I find that hilarious! Last in the line of King David . . . Hotel! later that evening, we made plans to visit the Garden Tomb and Calvary the next day, which we did. Could we just move directly to your description of the Garden Tomb and Calvary? I don't need a minute by minute description of your travel plans. That put an exclamation point on our visits to these holy sites. !

My point? The Bible is not a collection of myths. Oh, yes it is. Find me some manna out in the desert, buddy. It is a vibrant, full-color description of real people and places. There is a 6 page description of the Tabernacle and how it was to be built, right down to the exact embroidery on the priests' robes. It's like a cross between Extreme Home Makeover and What Not to Wear. It describes the place where Jesus was born, died, and rose again. The complete story, that gives breath to our faith. sentence fragment.

It is this whole story that we all need now, more than ever. The comments that I hear from readers confirm this in a big way. Just this morning, I heard that a friend died of cancer; she was only diagnosed just before Thanksgiving! This is, sadly, a terrible time for many people. Sad, but how does one person dying of cancer relate to the current troubles in our country? Unless this is a call for Obama to move quickly on health care reform.

But folks, this is where the rubber meets the road. hee hee We have heard about our faith, and heard about the last days all our lives. We have hoped for it, this great desire for the end of world can only be described as disturbing in the extreme. Don't enjoy life, just wait for it to be over. but let’s be honest: it still seemed far away, didn’t it? hopefully. If you can do nothing else positive this season, run your finger over the Holy Land maps in the back of your Bible. or donate to charity, volunteer at a soup kitchen, smile at a stranger You might not get there in this life, but you can know that they are there. who? Jesus was born there, walked there, died there, and rose to life there. He is alive now. He promised that He would hold us close (Matthew 11:28). He promised us that He had already overcome this sorry world (John 16:33).

The actual quote is but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. note the conspicuous absence of "sorry". You know what drives me crazy about these people? When you keep your eyes to heaven, you ignore the earth. There is so much each and every one of us can and should do to improve our world. You don't have to be MLK or Ghandi or Mother Theresa. You can recycle, put a dollar in the Salvation Army thingy or just refuse to participate in hatred and bigotry. These rapture freaks aren't doing any of that. They're so focused on the end of the world, they're ignoring the suffering now. It's shameful.

You can depend on that. Yeah, I'll depend on me and go from there. Whatever your problems, I urge you to simply tell Jesus about them. "My daddy is raping me, Jesus" see how little that accomplishes? It really is as simple as our old Sunday school faith, the faith of a child. We are all children, whether we pretend to be tough or not. No, we're not children. We're adults. It's not about pretending to be tough. It's about the incredible changes the brain undergoes as we age. Biology! We are children of the Most High God, and His tenderness is available to you this Christmas season. Wheeee.

My prayer is that you will be blessed and comforted quit with the praying and go do something!