A Thought on Love

Throughout the Bible, the concept of love is expressed as an action, not feeling. It is a matter of character, not blind luck. Does not the will enter into this? Cannot a man or woman or child make a conscious choice? Is not love a willful behavior? Matters of character are up to the individual, but love is often referred to in our culture as something where we “can’t help ourselves.” Why is this? Would it not be better to listen to the Word of God and note all of the commandments to love?

O Lord,

Please grant me the grace to continue with your will, even as it relates to chatting.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Well, Well, Well

So I’m sitting in the computer lab, thinking about my “dearest,” and checking my Yahoo! mail, and, lo and behold, there she is on my online list! Scared about trying to chat I am though, because I know where I stand. I’m still her ex-Brian and until that changes on her part, I dare not intrude into her world. Ironic, Isn’t it? I mean I love her enough to leave her alone, even if I don’t like it, because I realize that she wants it. Still I struggle with the feeling. Is she thinking about me, too?

“eirelavuoyevoli”

Update

Well, it’s been a while since I wrote a post on this blog. Since my accident, I got another car, a burgondy 2005 Ford Taurus. I also enrolled in seminary for the fall term. And for all of you IE7 users out there, today I fixed the bug that prevented the drop capital from showing up. I call it the Double Colon Bug because when you use the CSS double colon (::) syntax, IE7 ignores the selector as invalid. I think someone should speak to Microsoft about that...

Owwwwwch!

So I got a 2003 Dodge Neon back at the end of January, and have been driving it ever since—well, not quite. Until Saturday, April 14, that is. I must be very dumb, stupid even. I turned into the path of an oncoming midsize car, and, well? my Neon was toast. So was the food I was about to deliver. And I’m so sore that I have to take pain medicine. But I’ll be OK, I guess. And cars are replaceable. So I guess the blessing is I’m not dead or seriously hurt. But what was I thinking? I usually check the other direction before making a left turn…

Hmm...

This should be the part where I just shut up an go away... um...

Welcome to IE7!

And welcome to a new set of bugs! All of you should see a drop capital on the first letter of each post. All of you except those viewing with Internet Explorer 7. Alas, my schedule is full, and I have no time to investigate the problem. Oh, well!

Which Greek NT?

On the question of which Greek New Testament text should be used for serious Bible study, there is much debate. On the one hand, there are those who hold that the oldest available manuscipts alone, which happen to be of the Alexandrian textform, are to be trusted. This selection was made by Westcott and Hort, who favored Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus almost exclusively. On the other, there’s the “King James Only, ergo Textus Receptus all the way” camp, which appears to favor the Byzantine textform in most cases but occasionally favors the Western textform when such is the only available source for some traditional passages. There are also those who claim that the original text of the NT has been lost forever, and it is up to them, out of scattered readings found across the various manuscripts from the Alexandrian, Caesarean, Western and Byzantine forms, to assemble a reasonable facsimile. This is known as modern eclecticism, and forms the basis of Nestle-Aland and UBS texts, which are at best a stab in the dark.

Somewhere in the middle, the Byzantine textform has gone largely unnoticed and ignored, due to its reputation for being a "late" form, in spite of manuscripts that date as early as the 4^th century AD. To complicate matters further, Byzantine manuscripts bear about 80% of the total textual witness, and most Byzantine manuscripts are in more agreement with each other than can be said of those from any other texform, even the precious Alexandrian. But despite this weighty evidence, the Byzantine-Priority position has fallen by the wayside in favor of other forms of textual criticism. Why, when such a choice is so obvious? Why not check out The New Testament in the Original Greek: Byzantine Textform 2005 and decide for yourself? It’s edited by Maurice Robinson and William Pierpont. Happy studying!

On Relationships and Fire

I think if I had another chance to love someone, I would do things differently than I have previously. When it comes to loving and bonding with another human being, I think it is somewhat like fire:

1. Fire provides warmth and comfort and meets legitimate needs in the right context, but if it’s not kept in its proper setting, it can cause damage.
2. Fire that is tempered serves a useful purpose, but if it gets out of control, it destroys people and possessions alike.
3. A roaring bonfire is sometimes necessary, and sometimes a smaller fire is called for. Timing and setting are important.
4. A blazing fire will consume more fuel and die out quicker.
5. If you play with fire, you are certain to get burned.

So it is with relationships, togetherness, passion, etc. If you don’t watch a relationship closely, things could get out of control. If you don’t feed it, it could die. If a relationship is started and/or maintained in the wrong context, it will cause great damage and destruction. Well, that’s my thought on life for the day. I hope I have given you a little something to take with you and use.

Selfishness?

Have you noticed that the letter that begins the last five posts is the letter I?

Confessions of an Occasional Bible Reader

I’m starting to get worried. I haven’t read my Bible for more than maybe one chapter a week in the last 2 months. This isn’t like me. And it explains a lot about my attitude. I’m beginning to question my own sincerity and to feel that I’ve let my master down. Well, we never survive on last month’s food. I know what I must do. I need to disperse the haze and fog that I’ve created for my own soul, by looking intently into the perfect law of liberty and continuing therein, not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work. Matter of fact, I’ll do so right now...

The trouble with Hezbollah

In the wake of recent mispronunciation of Hezbollah (HEZ bo LAH), I got to thinking: All the Israelis are doing, really, is eradicating the Hezbola virus from the middle east! Heh, heh. (A little terrorism-as-a-disease humor there. And terrorism can be just as deadly, you know.)

To be a better listener

In pursuit of better communication skills, the thought has occurred to me: effective communication is more than just talking. Communication is a two-way street. If I expect others to listen to me, I need to listen to them. And listening requires active participation. Simply hearing the other’s words is not enough, nor is it enough to perceive and parse what has been said. To be a better listener, I must honor the wishes of the other person. This is not simply doing what I want to do with their wishes, but seeking to understand and do what they want done. I think after so many years I am finally starting to get it. I just hope I get far enough along in my understanding before I would mess something else up.

I never knew.

I did what? Oh, that was your food? You didn’t eat because I did eat? Why didn’t you tell me what your food allergies were? We could have discussed these things intelligently instead of waiting for them to become problems. Guess that’s my fault; I spent so much of our conversations talking about what interested me. I regret not paying attention to the issues that were important to you. Now I see that the hurt has gone deeper than I could ever have imagined. Will you forgive me, Valerie?

I know what I believe...

I know that I believe that marriage is sacred. This is because God created it back in the Garden of Eden when He made Eve out of Adam’s rib. Yes, I do believe this account and take it literally. But I digress. My response to marriage in my own life was not in keeping with this precept: “And they two shall become one. What, therefore, God has joined, may man not separate.” May God forgive me; I failed to do all that I could when I had ample opportunity.

Hm...

Now, I know what I believe, and why I believe it. But how does it apply to me personally? What would you do if your beliefs on a certain issue came into conflict with your behavior toward it?

The Word from God

How do you view the Bible? Is it above every other book, or is it just another of many books written by fallible man and therefore not entirely trustworthy? Is it divine revelation? If so, does God speak in riddle and metaphor, or does He speak plainly? Can we trust what we read about the creation of the universe, the fall of man into sin, the global flood, the life of Abraham, etc., or do we need to delve for some hidden meaning? All of this is part and parcel of your worldview. Cheers!

The Truth

Your worldview is important because your view of the world around you affects your view of realty. This in turn affects your opinions of what is true and what is false. If you have a worldview that says everything is relative to the individual, for example, then what's real to you may not seem real to me, and therefore, what's true for you may not be true for me—in other words, a relative concept of truth. On the other hand, if you believe that truth descends from God, and God is not relative to any individual, then you must conclude that truth is absolute, whether it is believed by the majority or not. So how you view the world is important, vitally important.

Worldview: What is it, and why do I need one?

Your worldview is your set of basic assumptions about the world around you, which in turn affects your basic philosophy of life. How you view the world around you is important because it influences your understanding in every area. It colors your interpretations of everything from science to history to ethics to your choice of religion—you name it. There is nothing your worldview does not touch. I will discuss this topic at greater length in later posts. Have a nice day, and God bless you.

Looking within myself

Whenever I say something that annoys a person, even if it’s something as simple as “Happy birthday” or “Having a good evening?”, I always tend to hand them the blame for not responding as I had hoped. But I find more and more that the answer lies with myself.

This is my new approach: when I hurt someone’s feelings, I must look first for where I went wrong: not necessarily that what I said or did had no reason behind it, or that I meant it to come out that way, but who was I thinking about when I said or did it—myself, or the other person? If I’d had a genuine interest in the one with whom I was dealing, it would have showed. On the other hand, if I was self-absorbed and trying simply to get by with as little effort as I could, that definitely would show. If we judge ourselves, we will not be judged (read 1 Corinthians 11:31).