The Lion and the Lamb.

So we have all heard the Statement: "The Lion shall lie down with the lamb". We have all heard it used by pastors and teachers alike. But where is that verse found in the Bible? Word for word it is not in the Bible. However, there are two verses very similar that I think it has been taken from.

~Isaiah 11:6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

~Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.

So while at some friends house I saw the following and thought of that popular saying with a little different take on it. I guess we must be getting closer to the end if we have resorted to the dog and the rabbit. :)

Amos 8:11&12

" Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, " That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD. They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it.

AMERICA! Land of who?

'In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language.. And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.'
Theodore Roosevelt 1907

To be seen....

"It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up WHOLLY unto Him[God]!"

The Blessings of God!

A month and a half ago God looked down on me and smiled. He smiled on me in a way that I had never even dreamed about. Rewind about a month and a half. I was sitting with my family enjoying a nice traditional Sunday afternoon lunch. This week we had a couple over that we had known for a long time and worked with them in ministry. During the course of lunch the conversation between “Tom” and I rolled around to the subject of photography. Tom had been actively involved in photography until a health condition forced him to cut back several years ago. God had blessed him in a way that allowed him to have some VERY nice equipment including his own darkroom. Over the course of our discussion Tom mentioned that he no longer used any of his old film equipment because of his health limiting his activities. He talked of all the dust they were collecting and the space in the hall closet they were occupying. Then he turned to me and said, “Richard would you or your sister like any of my old film cameras. They are top of the line the best money could buy, really nice equipment!” And without even allowing me to answer he went on, “How about you call me next week and I will see what I can do. Meanwhile, I am thinking to myself, “hmmm, film, I would not really use that much.” But he was adamant about giving Elizabeth and I SEVERAL of his old film cameras.

Two weeks went by with us playing phone tag and missing each other every time we called each other. Then I was gone from town for a while and he left just before I got home… So now April 16^th, 2010 8:30am. I am working away trying to finish up a pile of work so that I can be gone to ALERT to teach at the Leadership Training Camp and ATI Regional Conference. My phone has been ringing off the hook, emails coming in faster than they are going out, needing to install a revolving door on the front of my office; it was a real zoo! 8:31am my phone rings, I recognize Tom’s number and answer it. “Richard! Are you busy this morning? Once again no time to answer…. So I have been telling you I wanted to give you a camera. Well, I finally got it out of the closet and have it sitting here; can you come by this morning within the hour?” CRINGE Everything I have to do prior to my 4pm departure flashes back. What to do, what to do? “Let me check with dad and see if that works and I will get back with you…” Whew, ok deep breath and down the hall to see dad I go. Dad simply says, “Yes, you should go we will make do with whatever you get done today or don’t get done”.

Off I go across town and then some. I walk into Tom’s house and he is ever so glad that I could come. He walks over to the buffet in the entry and hands me a BRAND NEW, NEVER USED, Canon 5D! NEW, NEVER USED. I stand there gasping for words and thinking to myself, “Say something intelligent Richard”! Whoa God, You are amazing, Far above all I could ever ask of think. SO blessed, after talking for a while I headed over to the church to pick up some sound equipment we were donating to ALERT and headed back north to the office. And God worked everything out so that I was able to get everything done that I needed to that day. Praise Him.

His ways are higher than my ways, and His thoughts are NOT my thoughts! Praise God.

Am I a Post Egypt "Israelite"?

In the past few days I have been reading through the book of Exodus on my way chronologically through the Bible. Just about every chapter I there is at least one instance where God specifically told them what to do or just delivered them from some impossible situation and just days or even moments later they are right back to sinning major sins. Ok, So I know that God does not grade sins BIG or Little. So what I mean is OBVIOUS [like elephant in room] sins. I am sitting there reading and thinking to my self you dummy's, you were thirsty. So God gave you water. Can't you trust Him for quail and manna the next day? Or that fact that God brings them from Egypt, loaded with gifts, splits the Red Sea in half, gives you water from a rock, sends quail and manna in response to your grumbling, and has an amazing lightning and fire(works) show on Sinai and you go make your {OWN} God? Come on... The lightning and thunder has not quit yet and you already forget the events of the past month and Moses who is in that lightning and thunder TALKING to the God who made you? All this prompted me to think about my life and heart. Am I like the Egyptians? Does He open His storehouses from Heaven upon me and then what do I do the next day? Am I back to a lukewarm life? A life filled with short comings and sin?

This also brought to mind another thought. Last year I was introduced to a new song by a friend who is really like a brother. Anyway, we shall protect the guilty and not mention any names. :-)

Hey there Delilah, this is your ex-boyfriend Sampson,

And I know you thought that lifting weights, made me so buff and handsome,

You were wrong, it's 'cuz I let my hair grow long, it makes me strong,

Hey there Delilah, you came in while I was sleeping,

And I didn't feel you cutting and I didn't hear you creeping

out the door, You left my hair piled on the floor, while I just snored

Chorus:

Oh, it's what you did to me, Oh, while I was asleep,

Oh, I'm a Nazarene, Oh, but you shaved me clean,

Delilah you're so mean

Killed a lion, big and mean, and slaughtered many Philistines,

All with a donkey's jaw bone, that's no lie,

But now I'm chained up to a wall, and I can't cry no tears at all,

Because the came and gouged out both my eyes...

Why'd you grab those clippin' shears, and shave my head like Britney Spears,

'Cuz now I'm standing hear in total shame, Delilah, you're to blame

Hey there Delilah, why did you have to deceive me?

It's so hard for me to think, not long ago I wanted you to be my bride,

But you took too much off the sides,

hey there Delilah when you die,

Just tell the devil, I said "hi",

He'll know why

Chorus 2:

Oh, it's what you did to me, Oh, Now I'm up the creek,

Oh, now I feel so weak, Oh, I look like a freak,

Delilah, you're such a geek...

While the song is funny and we might laugh and enjoy it. It hit me as a ton of bricks, a wake up call. It was not like Delilah just came in and boom loped off Sampson's hair. It took MANY repeated times of pleading and seducing him. Our sinful downfall and destruction does not happen all at once. The people of Israel did not just suddenly become wishy washy in their faith in God. It was a slow graduated process that weakened them. It took time for Delilah to win Sampson's heart. Little by little I have allowed small things into my life to weaken me. To draw my heart and relationship with God apart. Because of that I do not have the strength or wisdom to recognize the "little" sin's in my life that are reducing my effectiveness for HIM. What are you going to do about it?

♫ “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. ~Matthew 5:13

So my friend Paul Stefan is an amazing man of integrity and wisdom. A few days ago he shared this on his blog here. It caused me to look at my life in a different way and resolve to make changes. changes in my lifestyle, words, attitudes, and actions. May our Father bless you as He has blessed me through Paul!

On the Present Reality of Reaching 21 Years of Age with Respect to Appropriate Future Developments in the Life of a Young Man:

While a thorough catalog of the past is a useful tool for self evaluation purposes and can serve helpful purposes in the formation of conclusions for the future and the recommendation of appropriate courses of action for others, the formation of an objective purpose for the realization of future ideals based on present realities rather than the comprehensive enumeration of historical events is sometimes of tremendous benefit, so I am undertaking a synopsis of the latter rather than the former.

The device of the resolution has served others well in the past, so it seems prudent to endeavor to exploit it for my own purposes rather than to develop an alternative concept at this time.

1) Resolved, to live every moment as though it could be my last, for one moment will be my last, and prudence throughout the course of life is best fostered by a solemn attendance to the end of life even during what many consider to be the prime of youth; lives may be cut short abruptly, and it would be foolish to presume that this could not be the case with me.

2) Resolved, to zealously guard the moments of each day, not only for noble causes, but also for a wholesome distribution of attention to various matters in such a way as is prudent and most appropriate for any given season of life with which I am presently concerned.

3) Resolved, to pursue and endeavor to maintain a healthy disposition of magnanimity toward others, recognizing that to exclusively serve self is to be subject to the cruelest of masters.

4) Resolved, to boldly embrace responsibility, avoiding all excuses for incompetence and apathy and instead following a path of indefatigable dedication to duty.

5) Resolved, to practice healthy habits of thorough contemplation and evaluation for the purpose of leading a life that is freed as much as possible from the vicissitudes of haste and ignorance.

6) Resolved, to avoid all comparisons not serving to illustrate personal insufficiency; using wholesome examples where appropriate to spur myself to greater achievement, but refusing to derive any pleasure or illusion of progress from the criticism of those who may seem to be inferior in points.

7) Resolved, that the chief areas of knowledge of concern in life are the knowledge of God and the knowledge of oneself, the former being the lens through which the latter is made possible and the latter being the necessary agent for the progress of humility.

8) Resolved, to neither terminate ventures merely out of frustration with increasing challenge, nor to vigilantly cling to enterprises out of prideful assertion of personal adequacy for the realization of high ambitions, recognizing that both errors are dangerous and must be avoided.

9) Resolved, to consider the welfare of the body (while secondary to the welfare of the soul) to be an important matter worthy of thorough study and application, being a matter of personal stewardship of divinely endowed resources.

10) Resolved, to develop the health of the mind by pursuing a disciplined course of continuous learning in a broad range of subjects, viewing the acquisition of knowledge as a noble endeavor worthy of the greatest dedication and avoiding all justifications of intellectual laziness (particularly those which veil slothfulness of mind with the garb of personal religious piety).

11) Resolved, to embrace the potential of the present, neither excessively bemoaning past failures nor inappropriately worrying about the future, knowing that the present is of immediate concern and that present actions have future implications of tremendous consequence.

12) Resolved, to think and act as a leader, not waiting idly for orders to be issued but rather seeking out opportunities and maximizing them, for the good of any whose service in which I happen to be.

13) Resolved, to respect the institution of the family by neither hastily and unwisely rushing into the establishment of one nor needlessly delaying it, knowing that much is required in that noble enterprise and that a postponement of it until one presumes to be fully prepared for it can only be disastrous, as it wastes time and forms false pretenses of personal adequacy.

14) Resolved, to grow in matters of self expression, knowing it to be an important concern for the development of attributes pertaining to leadership and an essential element in the formation of one’s own character and knowledge, for it is in communication that intellect is matured.

15) Resolved, to consider every moral profession to be of value and worthy of interest, avoiding unfounded elitism of vocation and seeking to recognize the valuable of a broad range of disciplines.

16) Resolved, to measure personal growth not in terms of speed and numbers of resources explored but rather by thoroughness and application of study, knowing these to be far more valuable indications of progress than other metrics.

17) Resolved, to actively develop friendships with those who are older and wiser than myself, maintaining an awareness of the need for growth and the incredible potential insight available from others, seeking to minimize the amount of personal error experienced in the development of personal ventures.

18) Resolved, to pursue sacrificial giving in friendship, seeking to be a blessing to all with whom I come into contact, desiring their good above personal gain, knowing that this perspective is entirely appropriate and is established as the measurement of true friendship according to divine fiat.

19) Resolved, to pursue wise stewardship of every aptitude and opportunity made available to me, neither wasting skills by permitting them to rot, nor diminishing the possibility of true mastery the the excessive compounding of simultaneous and unrealistic ambitions, for the purpose of realizing the best possible uses in my case for a broad range of interests in such a way as maintains consistency with the divine affections.

20) Resolved, to follow a process of thorough learning, refusing to make assertions on a concept prior to accomplishing a substantial level of proficiency in it and maintaining a humble disposition with respect to personal opinion even when the opinion is firmly held, so as to promote intellectual credibility rather than the disdainful dogmatism of delirious dilettantism.

21) Resolved, to value association by actively forming and strengthening connections, serving to advance the state of ventures I consider to be of importance, with the intention of serving as an agent in the compounding of interests and accomplishments for the realization of effects transcending those possible from a single cause.

Thanks Paul!