for the last number of months i have been studying justice in the old testment. i am currently and possibly for the foreseeable future involved in very thoughtful, hopefully prayerful, very intense study of what justice is and what is my part, if any, in it. this has resulted from my spirit repeatedly returning to the terse commands of isaiah 1:17.
they are WASH YOURSELVES...MAKE YOURSELVES CLEAN...REMOVE THE EVIL OF YOUR DEEDS FROM MY SIGHT...CEASE TO DO EVIL...LEARN TO DO GOOD...SEEK JUSTICE...REPROVE THE RUTHLESS...DEFEND THE ORPHAN...PLEAD FOR THE WIDOW.
several observations: 1. they are words, from God said by isaiah. all scripture, of which isaiah's words are a part, is inspired of God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work II timothy 3:16-7 tells us. so although isaiah's words were not written to you and i they are in a real sense for us... they are to teach us what to do and what to refrain from doing. 2. isaiah 1:17 was written TO judah and jerusalem (v1) and more specifically to 'you RULERS of sodom' and 'you PEOPLE of gomorrah (v10). so they are to guide both us and those in government.
the first five commands i see as a commentary on the last four. the sense seems to be 'both you who govern and you who are governed are responsible to seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan and plead for the widow. by not doing these things you are sinning against me. as long as you don't do these you will be sinning against me. i command you to do these things. if you obey you will NEGATIVELY you will remove the evil of your deeds ( more accurately, the evil involved in your lack of these deeds) from God's sight and, in so doing, wash and cleanse away your guilt before Him. POSITIVELY by doing them you will learn to do what God calls good.
i did intensive word study on the last four and here is an expanded wording based on this study.
'seek with care, inquire, require what is needed in order to know, find out in detail and care for JUSTICE which in the ultimate sense is the RIGHTNESS which is rooted in the character of the God who reveals Himself in the Bible.
cause those who are cruel, pitiless, barberous and insensible to the miseries of others to turn away from this and walk in a path that will result in people enviously desiring to be like them.
drive from, thrust back from, repel from the orphan all those who would try to wrongly control, abuse, take advantage of and otherwise oppress him.combat, strive and contend with anyone who seeks to oppress the widow.
how does all this relate to babies murdered while in the womb of their mother. orphan is defined by webster as one bereaved of (to deprive/separate by death or violence) mother, father or both. is not such a murdered baby an ORPHAN SQUARED since he is not separated by the loss or death of his parent(s) by by his own death, as it were, by their hand and consent!
more questions? who is primarily responsible for abortion? in one sense it is the mother. then the father, family or others who may pressure them to abort.
do we have the right to keep them from murder? in a state of nature it would be the naturally right thing to do to try to keep one person from premeditatedly killing another. we are not in a state of nature. God tells us in romans 13 that we are to be 'in subjection to the governing authorities. for there is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God. therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves' (v1-2).
why is this true even in the case where there is evil going on? well, it seems that this is because authority is given by God primarily to make sure justice is done, they are God's instrument to bring justice, in this case, to those who murder their baby for God goes on to say 'but if you do what is evil, (in this case the ones complicit in murder of a baby) be afraid it (authority) does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil' (v4). so we can do nothing but appeal to authority ie. our government.
where does that leave us when our government is in favor of babies being murdered, not by their fathers or anyone else but, by their mothers at the hand of one sanctioned by our government. is not justice in this case that babies be kept from being killed? if judged by the standard of the God of the Bible the answer would be- JUSTICE DEMANDS THAT BABIES BE PROTECTED FROM MURDER AND THAT IF THEY ARE THEN THE ONE WHO MURDERS MUST BE PUT TO DEATH for He says 'whoever sheds blood, by man (authority) his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man' (genesis 9:6).
that brings us to this question. who are the ruthless who need to be made to walk in a good path in regard to the murder of babies? in a government of, by and for the people who we are told to submit to as the ones who will carry out justice...in our case, since we have no right being under an authority ordained by God to take matters into our own hands but must deal with authority alone, we are to reprove government.
how are we to do that? to answer look at definition of defend
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
1.29.09 DO I STAY AT THIS CHURCH!?
dear brother,
i write because i don't see you that much any more and i'm sensing that you are discouraged/disallusioned with the church lately. if i am correct in this then we are both in the same place. the church, i have learned that every church i've been a part of, is a grand disappointment. when i came to our church i determined that i would only leave if there was doctrinal error taught from the pulpit or some such standard as this. little did i know what i was determining. my life has taught me something i now hold as axiomatic until shown differently and that is that the closer you get to knowing yourself or any other person the more disappointed you will be. this, as usual, has been borne out in our present situation. the Lord knows you and i perfectly and in one very real sense is extremely disappointed on a continuing basis. in another He relates to us not based upon how we are but based on how He IS. that seems to say to me that i need to relate to others, and myself, based on how He is not how we are.
with a view to encouraging another weary saint who may be tempted to focus on the situation rather than the God of the situation let me quote a bit from the chapter entitled 'the life of faith' in 'the spiritual man' by watchman nee.
'
God realizes His child is most eager to suffer if he is comforted and is delighted to follow His will if he is accorded joy. but God now wishes to learn what motivates him; whether he suffers exclusively for the Lord's sake or for the sake of being consoled; whether he heeds God's mind because it should be heeded or because he derives some joy by so heeding. for this reason, after a christian has made some progress spiritually God commences to withdraw the consolation and delight which he gave him in the hour of suffering and obedience. now the Christian must suffer without any ministration of comfort from God; he suffers externally while feeling bitter inwardly. he is to do the will of God without the least thing to stimulate his interest. indeed everything is dry and uninteresting. by this process God will learn precisely why the believer suffers on His behalf and obeys His will. God is asking him: are you disposed to endure without being compensated by My comfort? are you ready to endure just for Me? are you amenable to perform labor which does not interest you a bit? can you do it just because it is My purpose? will you be able to undertake for Me when you feel depressed, insipid and parched? can you do it simply because it is My work? are you able to accept joyfully physical suffering without any compensation of refreshment? can you accept it because it is given by Me?
this is a practical cross by which the Lord reveals to us whether we are living for Him by faith or living for ourselves by feeling. frequently have we heard people say, ' i live for Christ'. what does this really convey? many saints assume that if they labor for the Lord or love the Lord they are living for Christ. this is far from being exactly so. to live for the Lord means to live for His will, for His interest, and for His kingdom. as such, there is nothing for self - not the slightest provision for self-comfort, self-joy or self-glory. to follow the mind of God because of comfort or joy is strictly forbidden. to recoil from, to cease or delay in obedience because of feeling depressed, vapid or despondent is positively impermissible. we ought to know that physical suffering alone may not be regarded as enduring for the Lord, for often our bodies will be bearing pain while our hearts are full of joy. if we actually suffer for Him, then not only do our bodies suffer but our hearts feel pained as well. though there is not the least joyfulness, we yet press on. (note: i used to think of joy as only an emotion but have come to understand it, at core spiritual, as a delight in the Lord which may or may not include emotion.) let us understand that to live for the Lord is to reserve nothing for self but to deliver it willingly to death. he who is able to accept everything gladly from the Lord - including darkness, dryness, flatness - and completely disregard self is he who lives for Him. should we walk by emotion we can perform God's desire only as we have a happy feeling. but should we live by faith we can obey the Lord in all regards. how often we do realize a certain matter is in fact God's will yet we have not the least interest in it and so we feel parched when we try to perform it. we have no registration that the Lord is pleased nor do we experience His blessing of strengthening. rather do we feel as if we are passing through the valley of the shadow of death, for the enemy is contesting our way. and alas, without mentioning the innumerable believers who today do not even follow God's will, there are those few following it who more or less only follow that part which interests them. they obey the mind of God solely when it suits their emotion and desire. unless we advance by faith we shall flee to tarshish. '
my downfall is desiring people's approval and respect so when i get used, get talked about, get ignored, get the back of the hand i am ready to pack it in. God gave me a verse early on with this group when He told me to stop judging, stop feeling sorry for myself and start being a servant to others (i hate to serve someone who treats me as a servant!). 'be like the household of stephanas, He said, who devoted (literally, appointed) themselves for ministry to the saints'. (I cor. 16:15)
if this is wide of the mark in your case, i apologize, but i sensed you were in need of encouragement along this line. wherever you serve i pray that it will be in a place where you can bear the above practical cross and thus do every bit truly for the Lord as you gird yourself to wash the feet of His undeserving saints. God bless you until we meet again! your brother and fellow soldier in Christ, stephen paine
i write because i don't see you that much any more and i'm sensing that you are discouraged/disallusioned with the church lately. if i am correct in this then we are both in the same place. the church, i have learned that every church i've been a part of, is a grand disappointment. when i came to our church i determined that i would only leave if there was doctrinal error taught from the pulpit or some such standard as this. little did i know what i was determining. my life has taught me something i now hold as axiomatic until shown differently and that is that the closer you get to knowing yourself or any other person the more disappointed you will be. this, as usual, has been borne out in our present situation. the Lord knows you and i perfectly and in one very real sense is extremely disappointed on a continuing basis. in another He relates to us not based upon how we are but based on how He IS. that seems to say to me that i need to relate to others, and myself, based on how He is not how we are.
with a view to encouraging another weary saint who may be tempted to focus on the situation rather than the God of the situation let me quote a bit from the chapter entitled 'the life of faith' in 'the spiritual man' by watchman nee.
'
God realizes His child is most eager to suffer if he is comforted and is delighted to follow His will if he is accorded joy. but God now wishes to learn what motivates him; whether he suffers exclusively for the Lord's sake or for the sake of being consoled; whether he heeds God's mind because it should be heeded or because he derives some joy by so heeding. for this reason, after a christian has made some progress spiritually God commences to withdraw the consolation and delight which he gave him in the hour of suffering and obedience. now the Christian must suffer without any ministration of comfort from God; he suffers externally while feeling bitter inwardly. he is to do the will of God without the least thing to stimulate his interest. indeed everything is dry and uninteresting. by this process God will learn precisely why the believer suffers on His behalf and obeys His will. God is asking him: are you disposed to endure without being compensated by My comfort? are you ready to endure just for Me? are you amenable to perform labor which does not interest you a bit? can you do it just because it is My purpose? will you be able to undertake for Me when you feel depressed, insipid and parched? can you do it simply because it is My work? are you able to accept joyfully physical suffering without any compensation of refreshment? can you accept it because it is given by Me?
this is a practical cross by which the Lord reveals to us whether we are living for Him by faith or living for ourselves by feeling. frequently have we heard people say, ' i live for Christ'. what does this really convey? many saints assume that if they labor for the Lord or love the Lord they are living for Christ. this is far from being exactly so. to live for the Lord means to live for His will, for His interest, and for His kingdom. as such, there is nothing for self - not the slightest provision for self-comfort, self-joy or self-glory. to follow the mind of God because of comfort or joy is strictly forbidden. to recoil from, to cease or delay in obedience because of feeling depressed, vapid or despondent is positively impermissible. we ought to know that physical suffering alone may not be regarded as enduring for the Lord, for often our bodies will be bearing pain while our hearts are full of joy. if we actually suffer for Him, then not only do our bodies suffer but our hearts feel pained as well. though there is not the least joyfulness, we yet press on. (note: i used to think of joy as only an emotion but have come to understand it, at core spiritual, as a delight in the Lord which may or may not include emotion.) let us understand that to live for the Lord is to reserve nothing for self but to deliver it willingly to death. he who is able to accept everything gladly from the Lord - including darkness, dryness, flatness - and completely disregard self is he who lives for Him. should we walk by emotion we can perform God's desire only as we have a happy feeling. but should we live by faith we can obey the Lord in all regards. how often we do realize a certain matter is in fact God's will yet we have not the least interest in it and so we feel parched when we try to perform it. we have no registration that the Lord is pleased nor do we experience His blessing of strengthening. rather do we feel as if we are passing through the valley of the shadow of death, for the enemy is contesting our way. and alas, without mentioning the innumerable believers who today do not even follow God's will, there are those few following it who more or less only follow that part which interests them. they obey the mind of God solely when it suits their emotion and desire. unless we advance by faith we shall flee to tarshish. '
my downfall is desiring people's approval and respect so when i get used, get talked about, get ignored, get the back of the hand i am ready to pack it in. God gave me a verse early on with this group when He told me to stop judging, stop feeling sorry for myself and start being a servant to others (i hate to serve someone who treats me as a servant!). 'be like the household of stephanas, He said, who devoted (literally, appointed) themselves for ministry to the saints'. (I cor. 16:15)
if this is wide of the mark in your case, i apologize, but i sensed you were in need of encouragement along this line. wherever you serve i pray that it will be in a place where you can bear the above practical cross and thus do every bit truly for the Lord as you gird yourself to wash the feet of His undeserving saints. God bless you until we meet again! your brother and fellow soldier in Christ, stephen paine
1.29.09 RESPONSE TO $819 BILLION ECONOMIC 'STIMULUS' BILL DO NOT SPEND ANY MONEY FOR ANYTHING!
dear senator specter,
thank you, in advance, for not voting for the $819 billion bail out bill. i do not want to pay 1 cent in taxes for this. the Bible says owe no man anything but to love one another. please do not act in such a way that i am forced to disobey my God. in plain political parlance this is 'taxation without representation'.
if someone in government spends money that the taxpayer does not want spent they are complicit in stealing that money. let any help that is given at any level be voluntary not compulsive. God says 'thou shalt not steal'.
let the natural laws of supply and demand determine money issues. this works best since it does not violate any of God's commands. we cannot expect God's blessing if we ignore His commands. He is well able to do what needs to be done. our suffering is a very fine corrective for doing wrong. we learn through our suffering while premature aid hardens us in error. we are in this economic crisis because we have done wrong. let God work. He is much more merciful than you or i.
please let me know your thoughts. respectfully, stephen paine
thank you, in advance, for not voting for the $819 billion bail out bill. i do not want to pay 1 cent in taxes for this. the Bible says owe no man anything but to love one another. please do not act in such a way that i am forced to disobey my God. in plain political parlance this is 'taxation without representation'.
if someone in government spends money that the taxpayer does not want spent they are complicit in stealing that money. let any help that is given at any level be voluntary not compulsive. God says 'thou shalt not steal'.
let the natural laws of supply and demand determine money issues. this works best since it does not violate any of God's commands. we cannot expect God's blessing if we ignore His commands. He is well able to do what needs to be done. our suffering is a very fine corrective for doing wrong. we learn through our suffering while premature aid hardens us in error. we are in this economic crisis because we have done wrong. let God work. He is much more merciful than you or i.
please let me know your thoughts. respectfully, stephen paine
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
1.27.09 WHAT CAN i DO ABOUT ABORTION!!!!?
john, 1.26.09
i think it's great that you are picketing abortionists homes and supporting those in prison in the cause seeking to end abortion. Jesus clearly said, 'I was in prison and you came unto me (matthew 25:36;visited me,v.43). the idea is one of watching over someone with the goal of caring for them. i don't know how many who are thus in prison are Jesus' brethren but if there are any such, Jesus says to you, john, 'inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me' (v.40). although this has nothing to do with granting forgiveness for your sins, it certainly is laudable in the sight of God!
a comment on the liberty tree amendment idea...i may be wrong but i kind of despair of a 'legislative coup' ,as it were, at this point. the liberty tree amendment is a great and sound idea but i don't personally see it as having the means of fulfillment. as i see it there are not enough people, either in political office or among the voting public, to effect a change that would criminalize abortion from a political angle. our moral or Biblical values as a nation are washing away...
on the other hand, i don't see deadly force as the answer either. if we condemn the use of deadly force as it is seen in abortion, we condemn ourselves in the use of it to stop abortion.
on the third hand, i am grieved as i read the latest edition of world magazine which advocates efforts at educating/changing our society's mind and offering greater, more widespread support to women who are likely to abort for reasons of 'peer' pressure, avoidance of 'shame', perceived financial inability, etc. not that i'm necessarily against these things but i guess, to me, it smacks of reasoning with little johnny for having just chocked his little sister to death. sure, the line goes, there are still over a million a year murdered in this way but it's lessening due to these efforts...i want to vomit... my mind keeps returning to isaiah 1:17...'seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan'... isaiah has just said, 'hear the word of the Lord, you rulers (politicians) of sodom; give ear to the law of your God, you people of gomorrah' (v.10). so it seems either our politicians do it or we must. the only other acceptable path i see remaining is what gandhi called satyagraha (firmness for the truth). i cannot fight fire (murder) with fire. education, help, political remedies do not seem to match the offense either. but i can, i am thinking, speak out clearly that this is unacceptable, can clearly tell government officials that this must change and then (with no acceptable response) take some nonviolent, noncooperative, symbolic action to defend the murdered orphan with the result being jailed...a jail term that either extends to the limit of my life whether by one sentence or a number (ie. every time released after serving my sentence i would immediately provoke another arrest by repetition of the same symbolic action). this is one citizen saying, 'if you will not give up murdering the innocent, i will not support you but will welcome your stiffest penalty...i would prefer the death penalty. if you kill the babies, be consistent. kill those who take their lot with the babies. paul clearly writes 'there is no power except of God; the powers that be are ordained of God. therefore whoever resists the power resists the ordinance of God and those who resist shall receive condemnation upon themselves' (romans> 13:1-2) this paul wrote when emporer nero (the one who used christians for torches to light up the night) was in power. we have no right as individuals to 'govern' when government fails. God knows what He is about. but neither should we be complicit in evil. in daniel the three hebrew children, ordered to bow down to the golden image of nebuchadnezzar, a direct affront to the commandment of God against idols, said to nebuchadnezzar, 'be it known unto you oh king that we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image which you have set up' (3:18). one the one hand, i am a part of a government that purports to be of and by the people...a government that 'legalizes' premeditated murder in abortion. on the other hand, i am commanded not to murder by my God. i believe myself to be complicit in the ongoing murder of the babies. i believe i must do something to extricate myself from that complicity. is there not another way? education, support and political involvement seem to fall so short. they seem to be rationalizations, excuses...'who loses his life for My sake will find it' echos in my spirit...am i crazy? i ask myself but hear no answer... you ask me, why are you not in jail? i do not have a good answer for you but hopefully i will sooner than later. if everyone in montgomery county, where i live, surrounded the planned parenthood where i bear witness of opposition to their abortions every friday morning...let's see, that would be several million people...everyone who did not want to be brutally murdered unawares in their sleep...say for a couple weeks maybe the state of pennsylvania would declare it a capital offense to have an abortion and we could invoke the doctrine of interposition so that the central government stayed out of this business...so i dream...and so i illustrate the power, or lack of it, that seems to come with numbers. but having said that i think of an amazing verse in ezekiel that i have been attracted to and been thinking about lately. 'the people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery and have vexed the poor and needy, yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. and I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none'. (22:29-30) ... stephen paine
i think it's great that you are picketing abortionists homes and supporting those in prison in the cause seeking to end abortion. Jesus clearly said, 'I was in prison and you came unto me (matthew 25:36;visited me,v.43). the idea is one of watching over someone with the goal of caring for them. i don't know how many who are thus in prison are Jesus' brethren but if there are any such, Jesus says to you, john, 'inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these My brethren, you have done it unto Me' (v.40). although this has nothing to do with granting forgiveness for your sins, it certainly is laudable in the sight of God!
a comment on the liberty tree amendment idea...i may be wrong but i kind of despair of a 'legislative coup' ,as it were, at this point. the liberty tree amendment is a great and sound idea but i don't personally see it as having the means of fulfillment. as i see it there are not enough people, either in political office or among the voting public, to effect a change that would criminalize abortion from a political angle. our moral or Biblical values as a nation are washing away...
on the other hand, i don't see deadly force as the answer either. if we condemn the use of deadly force as it is seen in abortion, we condemn ourselves in the use of it to stop abortion.
on the third hand, i am grieved as i read the latest edition of world magazine which advocates efforts at educating/changing our society's mind and offering greater, more widespread support to women who are likely to abort for reasons of 'peer' pressure, avoidance of 'shame', perceived financial inability, etc. not that i'm necessarily against these things but i guess, to me, it smacks of reasoning with little johnny for having just chocked his little sister to death. sure, the line goes, there are still over a million a year murdered in this way but it's lessening due to these efforts...i want to vomit... my mind keeps returning to isaiah 1:17...'seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan'... isaiah has just said, 'hear the word of the Lord, you rulers (politicians) of sodom; give ear to the law of your God, you people of gomorrah' (v.10). so it seems either our politicians do it or we must. the only other acceptable path i see remaining is what gandhi called satyagraha (firmness for the truth). i cannot fight fire (murder) with fire. education, help, political remedies do not seem to match the offense either. but i can, i am thinking, speak out clearly that this is unacceptable, can clearly tell government officials that this must change and then (with no acceptable response) take some nonviolent, noncooperative, symbolic action to defend the murdered orphan with the result being jailed...a jail term that either extends to the limit of my life whether by one sentence or a number (ie. every time released after serving my sentence i would immediately provoke another arrest by repetition of the same symbolic action). this is one citizen saying, 'if you will not give up murdering the innocent, i will not support you but will welcome your stiffest penalty...i would prefer the death penalty. if you kill the babies, be consistent. kill those who take their lot with the babies. paul clearly writes 'there is no power except of God; the powers that be are ordained of God. therefore whoever resists the power resists the ordinance of God and those who resist shall receive condemnation upon themselves' (romans> 13:1-2) this paul wrote when emporer nero (the one who used christians for torches to light up the night) was in power. we have no right as individuals to 'govern' when government fails. God knows what He is about. but neither should we be complicit in evil. in daniel the three hebrew children, ordered to bow down to the golden image of nebuchadnezzar, a direct affront to the commandment of God against idols, said to nebuchadnezzar, 'be it known unto you oh king that we will not serve your gods nor worship the golden image which you have set up' (3:18). one the one hand, i am a part of a government that purports to be of and by the people...a government that 'legalizes' premeditated murder in abortion. on the other hand, i am commanded not to murder by my God. i believe myself to be complicit in the ongoing murder of the babies. i believe i must do something to extricate myself from that complicity. is there not another way? education, support and political involvement seem to fall so short. they seem to be rationalizations, excuses...'who loses his life for My sake will find it' echos in my spirit...am i crazy? i ask myself but hear no answer... you ask me, why are you not in jail? i do not have a good answer for you but hopefully i will sooner than later. if everyone in montgomery county, where i live, surrounded the planned parenthood where i bear witness of opposition to their abortions every friday morning...let's see, that would be several million people...everyone who did not want to be brutally murdered unawares in their sleep...say for a couple weeks maybe the state of pennsylvania would declare it a capital offense to have an abortion and we could invoke the doctrine of interposition so that the central government stayed out of this business...so i dream...and so i illustrate the power, or lack of it, that seems to come with numbers. but having said that i think of an amazing verse in ezekiel that i have been attracted to and been thinking about lately. 'the people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery and have vexed the poor and needy, yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. and I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none'. (22:29-30) ... stephen paine
Monday, January 26, 2009
1.26.90 THE CHURCH IGNORING ABORTION - 'SING A LITTLE LOUDER!'
After a speech, activist Penny Lea was approached by an old man. Weeping, he told her the following story. "I lived in Germany during the Nazi holocaust. I considered myself a
Christian.
I attended church since I was a small boy. We had heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews, but like most people today in this country, we tried to distance ourselves from the reality of what was really taking place. What could anyone do to stop it? A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from a distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when one Sunday we noticed cries coming from the train as it passed by. We grimly realized that the train was carrying Jews. They were like cattle in those cars! Week after week that train whistle would blow. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry out to us as they passed our church. It was so terribly disturbing!
We could do nothing to help these poor miserable people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly at what time that whistle would blow, and we decided the only way to keep from being so disturbed by the cries was to start singing our hymns. By the time the train came rumbling past the church yard, we were singing at the top of our voices. If some of the screams reached our ears, we’d just sing a little louder until we could hear them no more. Years have passed and no one talks about it much anymore, but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. I can still hear them crying out for help. God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing to intervene.”
Now, so many years later, I see it happening all over again in America. God forgive you as Americans for you have blocked out the screams of millions of your own children. The holocaust is here. The response is the same as it was in my country - SILENCE!"
Have you ever wondered how people could stand by and let this happen? Why the Christians responded to the cries of the victims by singing louder? The old man’s story is in the past - it cannot be changed. It is easy to think we would act differently now. But the old man’s last words are chilling: "It’s happening all over again in America with abortion."
As American Christians, we have become comfortable in our lovely church buildings and padded pews. We have beautiful halls for our many banquets. We have the latest sound equipment for our praise and worship. We have computers to keep our records. We gather each week inside our churches and raise our voices in the name of God. And yet in the heavenly realm the sound of our voices lifted in praise is lost in the agonized screams of millions of babies being executed before they are born. We can’t see them. We can’t hear them. But it is happening as you read this! Babies are being aborted up to the day of birth in this country. Their organs and brains are "harvested" for use in medical research. In Wichita, Kansas, the smoke stack from the furnace of Dr. Tiller’s abortion clinic belches black smoke and the sickening smell of the burning flesh of the bodies of preborn seventh, eighth and ninth-month babies being "disposed of."
If the Christians in the old man’s church had tried to intervene they probably would have been killed. That is not true today. We don’t even have that excuse for our silence. Years from now, will you be like the old man, making excuses for your apathy as millions were given up for slaughter in abortion clinics? Or will you raise your voice and cry out in protest for those who have no voice? The choice is yours. Please, join the fight for the unborn and pray, work, and witness for the defenseless ones who have no voice!
Gail Hoffman
Gail is a very effective sidewalk counselor at an abortion mill located in a small town in Maryland near the West Virginia and Pennsylvania borders
Christian.
I attended church since I was a small boy. We had heard the stories of what was happening to the Jews, but like most people today in this country, we tried to distance ourselves from the reality of what was really taking place. What could anyone do to stop it? A railroad track ran behind our small church, and each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from a distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when one Sunday we noticed cries coming from the train as it passed by. We grimly realized that the train was carrying Jews. They were like cattle in those cars! Week after week that train whistle would blow. We would dread to hear the sound of those old wheels because we knew that the Jews would begin to cry out to us as they passed our church. It was so terribly disturbing!
We could do nothing to help these poor miserable people, yet their screams tormented us. We knew exactly at what time that whistle would blow, and we decided the only way to keep from being so disturbed by the cries was to start singing our hymns. By the time the train came rumbling past the church yard, we were singing at the top of our voices. If some of the screams reached our ears, we’d just sing a little louder until we could hear them no more. Years have passed and no one talks about it much anymore, but I still hear that train whistle in my sleep. I can still hear them crying out for help. God forgive all of us who called ourselves Christians, yet did nothing to intervene.”
Now, so many years later, I see it happening all over again in America. God forgive you as Americans for you have blocked out the screams of millions of your own children. The holocaust is here. The response is the same as it was in my country - SILENCE!"
Have you ever wondered how people could stand by and let this happen? Why the Christians responded to the cries of the victims by singing louder? The old man’s story is in the past - it cannot be changed. It is easy to think we would act differently now. But the old man’s last words are chilling: "It’s happening all over again in America with abortion."
As American Christians, we have become comfortable in our lovely church buildings and padded pews. We have beautiful halls for our many banquets. We have the latest sound equipment for our praise and worship. We have computers to keep our records. We gather each week inside our churches and raise our voices in the name of God. And yet in the heavenly realm the sound of our voices lifted in praise is lost in the agonized screams of millions of babies being executed before they are born. We can’t see them. We can’t hear them. But it is happening as you read this! Babies are being aborted up to the day of birth in this country. Their organs and brains are "harvested" for use in medical research. In Wichita, Kansas, the smoke stack from the furnace of Dr. Tiller’s abortion clinic belches black smoke and the sickening smell of the burning flesh of the bodies of preborn seventh, eighth and ninth-month babies being "disposed of."
If the Christians in the old man’s church had tried to intervene they probably would have been killed. That is not true today. We don’t even have that excuse for our silence. Years from now, will you be like the old man, making excuses for your apathy as millions were given up for slaughter in abortion clinics? Or will you raise your voice and cry out in protest for those who have no voice? The choice is yours. Please, join the fight for the unborn and pray, work, and witness for the defenseless ones who have no voice!
Gail Hoffman
Gail is a very effective sidewalk counselor at an abortion mill located in a small town in Maryland near the West Virginia and Pennsylvania borders
Sunday, January 25, 2009
1.25.09 CURRENT PROLIFE PRISONERS listed in john dunkle's newsletter 'abortion is murder'
below you will find a listing of people who are in prison currently for taking forceful prolife action. these people have come to the attention of john dunkle, a prolife activist from reading, pa. (his contact material also is below. i met john through a prolife person, gerry mcwilliams, i met when picketing planned parenthood on louis drive in warminster pa. i went to picket abortionists homes in montgomery county and in philadelphia, pa. i do not subscribe to their belief in using force but much of what they have to say i do agree with. you will be grey-listed if you receive the newsletter but it is worth the trouble.
PO Box 7424, Reading, PA 19603Phone – 610-809-3388 (new), Machine -- 610-396-0332Email – johndunk@ptd.net Web – skyp1.blogspot.comCirculation – 111John Dunkle, Editor Abortion is Murder, a weak, pathetic response to baby murder, is sent out at least once a month. If the gestapo hasn’t jailed you for defending the innocent realistically, you either have to tell me you want it or go the website. Faxes and emails are free but snail-mail is free only for POC’s, $20 for others.Because I believe we should use every legitimate means, including force, in our attempt to protect those being tortured to death, I want to hear from people who’ve been forceful. I’d also like to hear from those who disagree with me.
Prisoners of Christ:1. Cook, Robert 06767-424, Safford FCI, P.O. 9000, Safford AZ 85546 (new) 1/272. Evans, Paul Ross 83230-180, USP McCreary, P.O. Box 3000, Pine Knot, KY 426353. Gibbons, Linda - Vanier WDC, 655 Martin St., P.O. Box 1040, Milton, ON, Canada L9T 5E64. Griffin, Michael 310249, Okaloosa Correctional Institution, Crestview FL 32539-6708 9/115. Hill, Paul, graduated summa cum laude, 3/9/036. Jordi, Stephen 70309-004, FCI P.O. Box 33, Terre Haute IN 47802 6/30 7 Knight, Peter CRN 158589, Port Philip Prison, P.O. Box 376, Laverton, Victoria, Australia (new)8. Kopp, James 11761-055, USP Canaan, 3057 Easton Tpk., Waymart, PA 18472 (new) 9. McMenemy, David Robert 08168-030, FCI Elkton, P.O. Box 10, Lisbon OH 4443210. Rudolph, Eric 18282-058 US Pen. Max, Box 8500, Florence CO 81226-8500 11. Shannon, Rachelle 59755-065, FCI Dublin Unit A, 5701 8th St., Camp Parks, Dublin CA 94568 3/3112. Smart, Leland 07321-040, U.S. Penitentiary, P.O. Box 33, Terre Haute IN 47808 5/1413. Waagner, Clayton Lee 17258-039, United States Penitentiary, P.O. Box 1000, Lewisburg PA 17837 8/2514. Weiler Jr., Robert F. 39385-037, FCC - Delaware Hall, Box 1000, Petersburg VA 23804 (new)
PO Box 7424, Reading, PA 19603Phone – 610-809-3388 (new), Machine -- 610-396-0332Email – johndunk@ptd.net Web – skyp1.blogspot.comCirculation – 111John Dunkle, Editor Abortion is Murder, a weak, pathetic response to baby murder, is sent out at least once a month. If the gestapo hasn’t jailed you for defending the innocent realistically, you either have to tell me you want it or go the website. Faxes and emails are free but snail-mail is free only for POC’s, $20 for others.Because I believe we should use every legitimate means, including force, in our attempt to protect those being tortured to death, I want to hear from people who’ve been forceful. I’d also like to hear from those who disagree with me.
Prisoners of Christ:1. Cook, Robert 06767-424, Safford FCI, P.O. 9000, Safford AZ 85546 (new) 1/272. Evans, Paul Ross 83230-180, USP McCreary, P.O. Box 3000, Pine Knot, KY 426353. Gibbons, Linda - Vanier WDC, 655 Martin St., P.O. Box 1040, Milton, ON, Canada L9T 5E64. Griffin, Michael 310249, Okaloosa Correctional Institution, Crestview FL 32539-6708 9/115. Hill, Paul, graduated summa cum laude, 3/9/036. Jordi, Stephen 70309-004, FCI P.O. Box 33, Terre Haute IN 47802 6/30 7 Knight, Peter CRN 158589, Port Philip Prison, P.O. Box 376, Laverton, Victoria, Australia (new)8. Kopp, James 11761-055, USP Canaan, 3057 Easton Tpk., Waymart, PA 18472 (new) 9. McMenemy, David Robert 08168-030, FCI Elkton, P.O. Box 10, Lisbon OH 4443210. Rudolph, Eric 18282-058 US Pen. Max, Box 8500, Florence CO 81226-8500 11. Shannon, Rachelle 59755-065, FCI Dublin Unit A, 5701 8th St., Camp Parks, Dublin CA 94568 3/3112. Smart, Leland 07321-040, U.S. Penitentiary, P.O. Box 33, Terre Haute IN 47808 5/1413. Waagner, Clayton Lee 17258-039, United States Penitentiary, P.O. Box 1000, Lewisburg PA 17837 8/2514. Weiler Jr., Robert F. 39385-037, FCC - Delaware Hall, Box 1000, Petersburg VA 23804 (new)
1.25.09 MAY YOU LIVE FOREVER!
last week was an intense, exhausting week. monday spent a long day painting dick and eileen's spare bedroom and it's bath. we were able to get everything painted and the furniture placed, then sat down to pizza in front of conservative-talk-radio tv..is the best way i can describe it. tuesday, wednesday worked full days, thursday russ stence, a friend from rochester, ny, and melody, his daughter, joined our bus from leidy church in going down to the right to life march in washington, friday i collapsed, saturday was an all day meeting out in lancaster county. am thankful that the Lord enabled us to get everything done on monday, that He brought me some work-for-pay, that He enabled us to be a part of some 3 to 400,000 pro life people, enabled the three of us to pray in front of the white house for president obama and sing 'mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord' there, enabled us to interact with so many people, especially teenagers, who were interacting with our sign of a 22 week old aborted baby and the message on the other side which said,' would it bother us more if it was 'legal' to grant men the 'privacy' to murder babies they didn't want?' and to end up singing a number of songs during the march, on the streets of washington, in the mass transit area, in the bus (we all three love to sing and melody, in particular, has a beautiful voice)...quite frankly, it was hard to stop the 'primed pump' once it started...maybe God will bring us together again..people interacted, sang with us, many took in the multi-media message. (Lord, would You take the seed sown and multiply it in justice and righteousness for the oppressed) , that He enabled me to recoup from physical exhaustion and spiritual oppression ( i don't believe satan, the Deceiver and Destroyer, was or is happy with what went on in washington), that He enabled me to gather much more inside information through first hand reports of the rapidly increasing governmental incursion into the private sector, knowledge about improving diet and the means of growing that type of diet....and that in the midst of all the spiritual-physical chaos of the week that He has kept me and caused me to seek Him to the degree i did. truly, without Him i believe i would be obliterated. God is good! just about the time that the pastor announced about the flowers, from a wedding, that were on the piano my eyes scanning the bulletin lighted on ' flowers today given by stephen paine in loving memory of his parents, alvin and evelyn paine' which were one of the many details which never appeared on the week's radar! well at least they know i love my parents...probably have to sneak something up there next week..maybe...
you know i have so much more i'd love to tell you about but i think i need to stop for this week. hope you have a good week...oh one more. i called in on the reporter's anonymous 'sound off' line and said, 'oh Lord, forgive me for not obeying Your command while i observed president bush destroy us. forgive me for not making entreaties for him every day! help me pray for president obama everyday! they all scare me, Lord, when they keep talking about the solution to our problems being WE rather than falling down before You, looking only to You. oh God of the Bible, put Your merciful finger under President obama's little chin and raise it gently to see only You, to do only what is Your will. oh Lord, along with president obama's little chin would You mercifully raise our little chins too! for You know that cursed is the man who puts his trust in man'. also.... heard this am that president obama signed FOCA friday pm...this draws my mind to psalm 2, 'why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord...saying, "let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us". He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. the Lord shall have them in derision...He shall speak unto them in His wrath... Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. be wise now therefore, oh ye kings. be instructed, ye judges of the earth. serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. kiss the Son, lest He be angry and ye perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little. blessed are all they that put their trust in Him'. hope you have a good week. love, dad
you know i have so much more i'd love to tell you about but i think i need to stop for this week. hope you have a good week...oh one more. i called in on the reporter's anonymous 'sound off' line and said, 'oh Lord, forgive me for not obeying Your command while i observed president bush destroy us. forgive me for not making entreaties for him every day! help me pray for president obama everyday! they all scare me, Lord, when they keep talking about the solution to our problems being WE rather than falling down before You, looking only to You. oh God of the Bible, put Your merciful finger under President obama's little chin and raise it gently to see only You, to do only what is Your will. oh Lord, along with president obama's little chin would You mercifully raise our little chins too! for You know that cursed is the man who puts his trust in man'. also.... heard this am that president obama signed FOCA friday pm...this draws my mind to psalm 2, 'why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord...saying, "let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us". He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh. the Lord shall have them in derision...He shall speak unto them in His wrath... Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. be wise now therefore, oh ye kings. be instructed, ye judges of the earth. serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. kiss the Son, lest He be angry and ye perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little. blessed are all they that put their trust in Him'. hope you have a good week. love, dad
Sunday, January 18, 2009
1.18.09 MAY YOU LIVE FOREVER!
i keep reading, the latest from marvin olasky in world magazine, that we should be encouraged about abortion. we should realize that although many are being murdered some are being saved. we should work for a change of heart in women by providing understanding and support of different kinds. all these things are great. they are components of a solution. they are commonsensical and reasonable. but they only make me want to cry out, 'but people are being murdered... i mean, would we use this reasoning if infants in souderton were one by one being murdered in their cribs. we are living with total injustice. i have now since the early part of 07 had one thought concerning abortion: resist it and pay the price. i keep praying 'Lord, what do You want me to do?' it is somewhat stupid to pray about something when you've already been told to defend the orphan. the things olasky mentioned above are a defense of sorts. the only trouble is it is a defense that has holes so big convoys of murderous mack trucks can drive through.
in my current study of justice in the old testament i may have come across something in ezekiel 22 'the people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but i found no one. (22:29-30) this is not a new verse to me but i have gained a fresh view of it through the lens of justice. someone could say that no man but the God-man, Jesus Christ, could be in view here, but if this is not just prophetic of Jesus and is a legitimate search on the part of God for a sinful man then that means someone like little, old, sinful me could in some way 'stand in the gap'. so i muse on this and, perhaps,crazily, i think that by going to prison i could be that man...that in some weird way by taking that action as a solemn protest against our ho-hum attitude to baby murder...that that would cause God not to destroy us (..a man...who would...stand in the gap...so that I would not destroy it..). abraham got God down to 10 people for which God would not destroy sodom. is it lunacy to think He would not destroy us for one who would offer himself up? is offering oneself up to prison by means of a symbolic act that in a real sense means nothing equal to standing in the gap? what exactly does standing in the gap mean? i don't have a clue. the whole idea of standing in the gap by going to jail could be directly from the devil ...anyway, something strange happened in my spirit as i read those 2 verses...God's improbable math, 1 for 330 million? sounds too crazy. i must be misunderstanding what it means. one thing i know that the slow boil of isaiah 1:17 continues in my soul. may God guide me.
russ stence, his daughter melody and possibly a friend are coming down from rochester tomorrow night to go to the right to life march thursday. wrote a letter on abortion to the editor of the souderton independent and it was rejected by the executive editor of montgomery newspapers, mike morsch, once again. he now says that i can only submit one letter per month. so i guess my public free speech is down to 300 words every 30 days.
i have been led to share little 30 second blurbs in the reporter, in lansdale. this format, sound off, is anonymous so maybe i can start to share things in that way. this am i called in 'oh Lord, forgive me for not obeying Your command while i observed president bush destroying us. forgive me for not making entreaties for him every day! (this command is in I tim. 2:1 i believe) help me pray for president obama every day! they all scare me, Lord, when they keep talkig about the solution to our problems being WE rather than falling down before You and looking only to You. oh God of the Bible, put Your merciful finger under president obama's little chin and raise it gently to see only You, to do only what is your will. oh Lord, along with president obama's little chin would You mercifully raise our little chins too! for You know that cursed is the man who puts his trust in man.' so we'll see if it sees print.
well its now tuesday night so i got to get this off to you. i pray about what to share with you and often i'll get a sense that i should share something and will jot it next to 'fame' (that means family email). well i still have so many items there and only 16 minutes more i can write so ...Lord, help me know what to share...recently read a short article on fasting by derek prince. he dealt with the passage where the disciples of john the baptist come to Jesus and ask why do we and the pharisees fast but Your disciples do not fast. Jesus' response was to use the illustration of a bridegroom with his attendants. they couldn't fast while with the bridegroom, but the time would come when the bridegroom would go away and then they will fast. very familiar story. a story that in a niggling way always quietly said, Jesus is the bridegroom. He is gone now. it is appropriate for you, who say you are associated with Him, to fast now that He is not here. as i've probably told you i've virtually never fasted as an act of obedience or to be in the position He wants me in. i casually dismissed it because it was too hard. it was something i did not like to do. as i read i guess the Lord just...kind of gave me grace and i decided i would start. as i prayed i came up with the idea of copying my father in his habit of fasting on fridays (he got it from john wesley who got it from the early church). it seems it was common to fast wednesdays and fridays. also thot friday was appropriate for that is the day i go to planned parenthood. last friday was able to, so...God helping me i hope to fast fridays. isaiah 58 has often spoken to me about the numerous benefits of fasting. oh may God help me to want to please Him in each detail of life. well i blabbed out the whole 16 minutes on that. anyway, may God bless you and i hope you have a good week. love, dad
in my current study of justice in the old testament i may have come across something in ezekiel 22 'the people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but i found no one. (22:29-30) this is not a new verse to me but i have gained a fresh view of it through the lens of justice. someone could say that no man but the God-man, Jesus Christ, could be in view here, but if this is not just prophetic of Jesus and is a legitimate search on the part of God for a sinful man then that means someone like little, old, sinful me could in some way 'stand in the gap'. so i muse on this and, perhaps,crazily, i think that by going to prison i could be that man...that in some weird way by taking that action as a solemn protest against our ho-hum attitude to baby murder...that that would cause God not to destroy us (..a man...who would...stand in the gap...so that I would not destroy it..). abraham got God down to 10 people for which God would not destroy sodom. is it lunacy to think He would not destroy us for one who would offer himself up? is offering oneself up to prison by means of a symbolic act that in a real sense means nothing equal to standing in the gap? what exactly does standing in the gap mean? i don't have a clue. the whole idea of standing in the gap by going to jail could be directly from the devil ...anyway, something strange happened in my spirit as i read those 2 verses...God's improbable math, 1 for 330 million? sounds too crazy. i must be misunderstanding what it means. one thing i know that the slow boil of isaiah 1:17 continues in my soul. may God guide me.
russ stence, his daughter melody and possibly a friend are coming down from rochester tomorrow night to go to the right to life march thursday. wrote a letter on abortion to the editor of the souderton independent and it was rejected by the executive editor of montgomery newspapers, mike morsch, once again. he now says that i can only submit one letter per month. so i guess my public free speech is down to 300 words every 30 days.
i have been led to share little 30 second blurbs in the reporter, in lansdale. this format, sound off, is anonymous so maybe i can start to share things in that way. this am i called in 'oh Lord, forgive me for not obeying Your command while i observed president bush destroying us. forgive me for not making entreaties for him every day! (this command is in I tim. 2:1 i believe) help me pray for president obama every day! they all scare me, Lord, when they keep talkig about the solution to our problems being WE rather than falling down before You and looking only to You. oh God of the Bible, put Your merciful finger under president obama's little chin and raise it gently to see only You, to do only what is your will. oh Lord, along with president obama's little chin would You mercifully raise our little chins too! for You know that cursed is the man who puts his trust in man.' so we'll see if it sees print.
well its now tuesday night so i got to get this off to you. i pray about what to share with you and often i'll get a sense that i should share something and will jot it next to 'fame' (that means family email). well i still have so many items there and only 16 minutes more i can write so ...Lord, help me know what to share...recently read a short article on fasting by derek prince. he dealt with the passage where the disciples of john the baptist come to Jesus and ask why do we and the pharisees fast but Your disciples do not fast. Jesus' response was to use the illustration of a bridegroom with his attendants. they couldn't fast while with the bridegroom, but the time would come when the bridegroom would go away and then they will fast. very familiar story. a story that in a niggling way always quietly said, Jesus is the bridegroom. He is gone now. it is appropriate for you, who say you are associated with Him, to fast now that He is not here. as i've probably told you i've virtually never fasted as an act of obedience or to be in the position He wants me in. i casually dismissed it because it was too hard. it was something i did not like to do. as i read i guess the Lord just...kind of gave me grace and i decided i would start. as i prayed i came up with the idea of copying my father in his habit of fasting on fridays (he got it from john wesley who got it from the early church). it seems it was common to fast wednesdays and fridays. also thot friday was appropriate for that is the day i go to planned parenthood. last friday was able to, so...God helping me i hope to fast fridays. isaiah 58 has often spoken to me about the numerous benefits of fasting. oh may God help me to want to please Him in each detail of life. well i blabbed out the whole 16 minutes on that. anyway, may God bless you and i hope you have a good week. love, dad
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
1.16.09 SASD TEACHERS' CONTRACT - 2008-9
mr. currie,
thank you for all you and the school board are doing. we deeply appreciate all the time, effort and dedication you all give and your stance in reference to the teachers' contract.
i wrote an open letter to the board which appeared in the souderton independent awhile ago and would like to follow up on that with you.
during the last 20 years how much has been spent, by year, for all teacher benefits including retirement; bonuses for national board professional teaching standards, various continuing educational credits, other (?); curriculum rate; health benefits; sick/personal days (including what the teacher is paid and what the district pay to cover the teaching responsibilities); other? can a spread sheet covering item by item year by year be made available to the public? what percentage of the total cost of education is dedicated to teacher benefits? do you know what the inflation rate has been in the last 20 years?
how many days, by law, must a teacher teach? are there exceptions to this? how many days per year, between sick, personal, association and other(what are these, if any), are given to the teacher?
are any fact-based performance standards (facts that must be mastered in a particular subject, or during the course of an elementary year) in place? are these currently being met? why did the board offer $150,000 per year for meeting standards?
how much more are we, as a district, going to have to pay for the new high school (how much of the cost has been paid for to date, how much will it cost per year and for how many years?)? how much in other capital expenditures are projected? how much money do we currently have in a capital expenditures account?
what are the state regulations (i thought i read recently of a new position that has been required by the state?) that require the expenditure of money? how much does each regulation cost per year?
is the current contract the teachers are under on line to be viewed in its entirety?
what happens in non-binding arbitration if the board and teachers do not come to an amicable agreement? is there a set timetable in place as to when this (must?) take place and if so what is that timetable?
why are you collecting union dues and requiring non-union teachers to pay them?
why have you not publicly answered the questions i sent before? i heard something about a blackout on information about how the negotiations are going and i can understand that but i believe the public needs a lot more information so that they can let you know how they feel about what type of contract is acceptable.
my prayers are with you that you will be given wisdom to take the facts to the people who are paying for this contract and to refuse to be intimidated by the union and forces outside the district that have nothing to say about how we govern our affairs here...unless they pay for it out of their own (not the taxpayer's) pocket. thank you for your time and may God bless you. sincerely, stephen paine
thank you for all you and the school board are doing. we deeply appreciate all the time, effort and dedication you all give and your stance in reference to the teachers' contract.
i wrote an open letter to the board which appeared in the souderton independent awhile ago and would like to follow up on that with you.
during the last 20 years how much has been spent, by year, for all teacher benefits including retirement; bonuses for national board professional teaching standards, various continuing educational credits, other (?); curriculum rate; health benefits; sick/personal days (including what the teacher is paid and what the district pay to cover the teaching responsibilities); other? can a spread sheet covering item by item year by year be made available to the public? what percentage of the total cost of education is dedicated to teacher benefits? do you know what the inflation rate has been in the last 20 years?
how many days, by law, must a teacher teach? are there exceptions to this? how many days per year, between sick, personal, association and other(what are these, if any), are given to the teacher?
are any fact-based performance standards (facts that must be mastered in a particular subject, or during the course of an elementary year) in place? are these currently being met? why did the board offer $150,000 per year for meeting standards?
how much more are we, as a district, going to have to pay for the new high school (how much of the cost has been paid for to date, how much will it cost per year and for how many years?)? how much in other capital expenditures are projected? how much money do we currently have in a capital expenditures account?
what are the state regulations (i thought i read recently of a new position that has been required by the state?) that require the expenditure of money? how much does each regulation cost per year?
is the current contract the teachers are under on line to be viewed in its entirety?
what happens in non-binding arbitration if the board and teachers do not come to an amicable agreement? is there a set timetable in place as to when this (must?) take place and if so what is that timetable?
why are you collecting union dues and requiring non-union teachers to pay them?
why have you not publicly answered the questions i sent before? i heard something about a blackout on information about how the negotiations are going and i can understand that but i believe the public needs a lot more information so that they can let you know how they feel about what type of contract is acceptable.
my prayers are with you that you will be given wisdom to take the facts to the people who are paying for this contract and to refuse to be intimidated by the union and forces outside the district that have nothing to say about how we govern our affairs here...unless they pay for it out of their own (not the taxpayer's) pocket. thank you for your time and may God bless you. sincerely, stephen paine
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
1.14.09 THANK YOU FOR WRITING GUIDELINES to mike morsch, executive director, montgomery newspapers
dear mike,
i had a conversation with you after you declined to publish a letter to the editor of the souderton independent. you suggested i make the letters: less preachy, shorter, local. i just wanted to thank you.
i wasn't real happy about that advice at first but upon reflection and providential circumstances have come to see that it is possible to be less preachy while still acknowledging my God. the thing i believe He pointed out to me was that 'preachy' may rightly point to self-righteous judgmentalism. He directed me to several things i had written and their self-righteousness. quite frankly i became ashamed of myself as i read. self-righteousness stinks to me because i (claim to)believe that neither i nor any other human being can be righteous in themselves but we all must have the righteousness of Christ to be accepted by God.
in talking to friends about the idea of shortness they both thought your advice good. one said, you've heard the saying, 'i was going to write you a short note, but i didn't have time so i wrote a long letter'. the idea being that brevity is good because it forces one to think about what they are saying, what needs to be communicated. he also shared something he had heard from a priest's homily 'what you say should be like a woman's clothing. short enough to cover the essentials and long enough to be revealing'. so thank you for your advice. i will work at it. stephen paine
i had a conversation with you after you declined to publish a letter to the editor of the souderton independent. you suggested i make the letters: less preachy, shorter, local. i just wanted to thank you.
i wasn't real happy about that advice at first but upon reflection and providential circumstances have come to see that it is possible to be less preachy while still acknowledging my God. the thing i believe He pointed out to me was that 'preachy' may rightly point to self-righteous judgmentalism. He directed me to several things i had written and their self-righteousness. quite frankly i became ashamed of myself as i read. self-righteousness stinks to me because i (claim to)believe that neither i nor any other human being can be righteous in themselves but we all must have the righteousness of Christ to be accepted by God.
in talking to friends about the idea of shortness they both thought your advice good. one said, you've heard the saying, 'i was going to write you a short note, but i didn't have time so i wrote a long letter'. the idea being that brevity is good because it forces one to think about what they are saying, what needs to be communicated. he also shared something he had heard from a priest's homily 'what you say should be like a woman's clothing. short enough to cover the essentials and long enough to be revealing'. so thank you for your advice. i will work at it. stephen paine
Monday, January 12, 2009
1.12.09 NO GOVERNMENT IN PRIVATE SECTOR! - pa. senators and congressman dent 1.09
senator casey, i hope this finds you well, trusting in the God of the Bible. what is your position on the government providing taxpayer $ to private business? what have you specifically done during the recent economic crisis? i believe our economic problems have resulted from greed, dishonesty and other character defects. i believe it is outside the scope of government, other than prosecution of wrong doing, to 'help'.i would ask that you, in the capacity of a governmental official woul not give any help. let the lessons be learned that need to be learned. we each need to suffer according to our faults and if God's mercy be granted it should be voluntary not forced. going into debt is a character defect. taking some people's $ to help other people who have done wrong is a character defect. government character defects cannot solve personal character defects but only make them worse.thank you for your consideration in this matter. sincerely, stephen paine
1.12.09 TEACHERS' UNION MUST GO or 'don't feed the monster'
to the editor:
In belated response to two lead headlines in your newspaper in december ('student says contract impasse causing fear, anger' and 'teachers say board is driving them away') ,i am disappointed with your penchant toward sensationalism. What readers need is cold, hard facts upon which to make wise decisions and assessments unobscured by emotion. Reading between the lines and based on what i have heard from local parents, there are some teachers, at least, who are 'going through the motions'. Such teachers are not the type we want educating our children. As a union mentality grows so does such an attitude.
This leads to the second article. I disagree with the assessment presented as to what teachers should be paid. We should not pay 1) what is paid in the next district or 2) the law of supply and demand as it applies to non-teaching positions (ie.speech therapist). Mr. Luck, a local teacher, feels that the board is not respectful of teachers because it is not willing to pay them what they want. He must be referring to Webster's third definition of respect: to view or consider with some degree of reverence based on being esteemed as possessing real worth. This should be given by all to all since we all are created in the image of the God of the Bible. However a teacher should endeavour to ensure respect not on how much he is paid but by his proven ability to communicate knowledge and character with the result that all his students will, as adults, excel in wisdom, character and productivity..a blessing to all.
In light of the continuing slant towards the taxpayers bending to the union's will I would encourage the school board to: 1)not collect union dues 2)not allow non-union teachers to pay union dues 3)get rid of all non-teaching functions. (the public mandate is only education. All else is in the purview of the family.) 4) give no pay raise but rather move teachers progressively from being about $20,000 above to the place where they match the average annual salary of the district's taxpayers 5) rescind the 2.5 % given the administrators and move them to the position of the teachers with a 10% adminstrative bonus. This should remain a FIXED PRINCIPLE: those paid by means of taxes should prosper (or not) as those paying their salary do. It should be remembered that in any position a person of excellence is never paid near what they are worth nor do they seek it.
In belated response to two lead headlines in your newspaper in december ('student says contract impasse causing fear, anger' and 'teachers say board is driving them away') ,i am disappointed with your penchant toward sensationalism. What readers need is cold, hard facts upon which to make wise decisions and assessments unobscured by emotion. Reading between the lines and based on what i have heard from local parents, there are some teachers, at least, who are 'going through the motions'. Such teachers are not the type we want educating our children. As a union mentality grows so does such an attitude.
This leads to the second article. I disagree with the assessment presented as to what teachers should be paid. We should not pay 1) what is paid in the next district or 2) the law of supply and demand as it applies to non-teaching positions (ie.speech therapist). Mr. Luck, a local teacher, feels that the board is not respectful of teachers because it is not willing to pay them what they want. He must be referring to Webster's third definition of respect: to view or consider with some degree of reverence based on being esteemed as possessing real worth. This should be given by all to all since we all are created in the image of the God of the Bible. However a teacher should endeavour to ensure respect not on how much he is paid but by his proven ability to communicate knowledge and character with the result that all his students will, as adults, excel in wisdom, character and productivity..a blessing to all.
In light of the continuing slant towards the taxpayers bending to the union's will I would encourage the school board to: 1)not collect union dues 2)not allow non-union teachers to pay union dues 3)get rid of all non-teaching functions. (the public mandate is only education. All else is in the purview of the family.) 4) give no pay raise but rather move teachers progressively from being about $20,000 above to the place where they match the average annual salary of the district's taxpayers 5) rescind the 2.5 % given the administrators and move them to the position of the teachers with a 10% adminstrative bonus. This should remain a FIXED PRINCIPLE: those paid by means of taxes should prosper (or not) as those paying their salary do. It should be remembered that in any position a person of excellence is never paid near what they are worth nor do they seek it.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
1.6.09 RESPONSE TO CHRISTIANITY TODAY: pivoting toward the faraway neighbor
to the editor,
you may not know the answer to this but why does the international justice mission focus on all the little injustices of the world and not at all on the most massive and heinous of all - abortion, defenseless human beings murdered 'legally' now over 50 MILLION here and 1.5 BILLION around the world? or is this just another instance of 'the emporers new clothing'? why are we all in such denial? IJM is in the himilayan foothills with mt. everest untouched. hitler's germany, stalin's russia, mao's china will all rise up in the judgment and condemn us for surely we are far more murderous than they, are we not? thanks for the article by richard foster. very helpful. God bless you. stephen paine
you may not know the answer to this but why does the international justice mission focus on all the little injustices of the world and not at all on the most massive and heinous of all - abortion, defenseless human beings murdered 'legally' now over 50 MILLION here and 1.5 BILLION around the world? or is this just another instance of 'the emporers new clothing'? why are we all in such denial? IJM is in the himilayan foothills with mt. everest untouched. hitler's germany, stalin's russia, mao's china will all rise up in the judgment and condemn us for surely we are far more murderous than they, are we not? thanks for the article by richard foster. very helpful. God bless you. stephen paine
1.6.09 WHERE IS A WOMAN WHO WILL CRY OUT AGAINST ABORTION: quotes Dead Reckoning (NR editors, 1.26.1998, National review
to the editor:
The following, in quotes, is taken from 'Dead Reckoning' in the National Review 1.26.1998.
'The abortion regime was born in lies. In Britain (and in California, pre-Roe), the abortion lobby deceptively promoted legal revisions to allow "therapeutic" abortions and then defined every abortion as "therapeutic". The abortion lobby lied about Jane Roe..the number of back-alley abortions..Justice Blackmun relied on fictitious history to argue..that abortion had never been a common law crime.'
'The abortion regime was also sustained by lies. Its supporters constantly lie about the radicalism of Roe..most Americans..think that it left third-term abortions illegal and restricted second-term abortions. Then there are the euphemisms..terminating a pregnancy, abortion providers, products of conception, the fetus is only a potential human being - as if it might as easily become an elk..a decision between a woman and her doctor - the latter an abortionist who ..never met the woman before and..has a financial interest in her decision..they said it would reduce illegitimacy', child abuse 'and..poverty, predictions that now seem like grim jokes.'
'Pro-lifers were..more prescient. They claimed the West had started down the slippery slope of a progressive devaluation of human life. After the unborn would come the elderly and the infirm -' (then you!... for whatever reason deemed important by the central government) 'more burdens to others; more obstacles to others' goals; probably better off dead, like "unwanted children"..so now we are'..allowing euthanasia, "creating" embryos (human beings) for experimental purposes, at the door of pressing out human clones..'what greater claim on our protection, after all, does that infant have a moment AFTER birth?' She 'still lacks the attributes of "personhood" - rationality, autonomy, rich interactions -that pro abortion philosophers consider the preconditions of a right to life. the argument boils down to this..IF WE WANT TO USE OR ELIMINATE YOU AND YOU CANNOT STOP US, WE ARE JUSTIFIED IN DOING IT.'
As we all continue bowing before WOMAN her ABORTION has corrupted everything it has touched- the murderous triumvirate of "mother", "father", "grandparent", the medical healers cum killers, society becoming more morally degenerated as they look the other way, the judicial "gods"-in-the-place-of-God pervert God's justice ('if the courts can invent such a right, unmoored in the text, tradition, or logic of the Constitution, then they can do almost anything; and so they have done.') Finally, the corrupted government, right and left but especially left, reflects a corrupted society.. at least 'liberalism could until the early seventies claim a proud history of standing up for the powerless and downtrodden, of expanding the definition of the community for whom we pledge protection, of resisting the idea that might makes right'. it has 'casually abandoned that legacy. Liberals' commitment to civil rights, it turns out, ends when the constituency in question can offer neither votes nor revenues'.
Where is WOMAN!? where is there ONE woman who is CRYING OUT...not 'pro-life, not a 'pro-life activist', not involved in a crisis pregancy center, etc but CRYING OUT AGAINST THE CARNAGE PUBLICLY...you know, kicking a bloody, royal, public fuss about what her gender is doing!?!
Unless we do justice to the preborn murdered, the God of the Bible will use this little, "invisible" choice to wipe us from the earth.
stephen paine 54 w. chestnut st. souderton 215-721-9821 emily, would you save this to publish the day before roe v. wade day, jan. 21. any questions, comments please call.
The following, in quotes, is taken from 'Dead Reckoning' in the National Review 1.26.1998.
'The abortion regime was born in lies. In Britain (and in California, pre-Roe), the abortion lobby deceptively promoted legal revisions to allow "therapeutic" abortions and then defined every abortion as "therapeutic". The abortion lobby lied about Jane Roe..the number of back-alley abortions..Justice Blackmun relied on fictitious history to argue..that abortion had never been a common law crime.'
'The abortion regime was also sustained by lies. Its supporters constantly lie about the radicalism of Roe..most Americans..think that it left third-term abortions illegal and restricted second-term abortions. Then there are the euphemisms..terminating a pregnancy, abortion providers, products of conception, the fetus is only a potential human being - as if it might as easily become an elk..a decision between a woman and her doctor - the latter an abortionist who ..never met the woman before and..has a financial interest in her decision..they said it would reduce illegitimacy', child abuse 'and..poverty, predictions that now seem like grim jokes.'
'Pro-lifers were..more prescient. They claimed the West had started down the slippery slope of a progressive devaluation of human life. After the unborn would come the elderly and the infirm -' (then you!... for whatever reason deemed important by the central government) 'more burdens to others; more obstacles to others' goals; probably better off dead, like "unwanted children"..so now we are'..allowing euthanasia, "creating" embryos (human beings) for experimental purposes, at the door of pressing out human clones..'what greater claim on our protection, after all, does that infant have a moment AFTER birth?' She 'still lacks the attributes of "personhood" - rationality, autonomy, rich interactions -that pro abortion philosophers consider the preconditions of a right to life. the argument boils down to this..IF WE WANT TO USE OR ELIMINATE YOU AND YOU CANNOT STOP US, WE ARE JUSTIFIED IN DOING IT.'
As we all continue bowing before WOMAN her ABORTION has corrupted everything it has touched- the murderous triumvirate of "mother", "father", "grandparent", the medical healers cum killers, society becoming more morally degenerated as they look the other way, the judicial "gods"-in-the-place-of-God pervert God's justice ('if the courts can invent such a right, unmoored in the text, tradition, or logic of the Constitution, then they can do almost anything; and so they have done.') Finally, the corrupted government, right and left but especially left, reflects a corrupted society.. at least 'liberalism could until the early seventies claim a proud history of standing up for the powerless and downtrodden, of expanding the definition of the community for whom we pledge protection, of resisting the idea that might makes right'. it has 'casually abandoned that legacy. Liberals' commitment to civil rights, it turns out, ends when the constituency in question can offer neither votes nor revenues'.
Where is WOMAN!? where is there ONE woman who is CRYING OUT...not 'pro-life, not a 'pro-life activist', not involved in a crisis pregancy center, etc but CRYING OUT AGAINST THE CARNAGE PUBLICLY...you know, kicking a bloody, royal, public fuss about what her gender is doing!?!
Unless we do justice to the preborn murdered, the God of the Bible will use this little, "invisible" choice to wipe us from the earth.
stephen paine 54 w. chestnut st. souderton 215-721-9821 emily, would you save this to publish the day before roe v. wade day, jan. 21. any questions, comments please call.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
1.4.09 may you live forever!
read a article in christianity today this week that really describes in part 'where i'm at' as far as spirituality these days. i never heard of the author, richard foster, but he really puts into words a good bit of what i've been thinking. most of this will be direct quote but i take liberties of various sorts to personalize what he said - our world today cries out for a theology of spiritual growth that has been proven to work in the midst of the harsh realities of daily life..vast numbers ..have exhausted themselves in church work (me up until some point during 2008)..others have immersed themselves in multiple social-service projects..still others have a practical theology that will not allow for spiritual growth..to them it smacks of works- righteousness and they are saved by grace!..finally a general cultural malaise touches us all in some way..we have become accustomed to the normality of dysfunction as reported and portrayed by the media that true integrity spiritually can seem impossible (yet through the last 2000 years there have been many examples of real, substantive transformation into the likeness of Christ) we desperately need spiritual formation..this is not a toolkit for fixing our culture, churches or selves. fixing things is not our business. we do it because it is kingdom work and leave all else in the good hands of God.
God tells us to 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ'. (II pet 2:18) all real spiritual formation is heart work for the heart is the wellspring of all human action. john flavel, 17th century puritan, notes that the 'greatest difficulty in conversion, is to win the heart TO God and the greatest difficulty after conversion, is to keep the heart WITH God..heart work is hard work indeed'. focus on the heart means that external actions are never the center of our attention.. this follows the ancient maxim actio sequitur esse, 'action follows essence'..this does not discount good works but of primary significance is our vital union with God, our new creation in Christ, our walking in the Spirit..when the branch is experientially united with the vine ..spiritual fruit is a natural result..it is no vain thing for us to return to our first love over and over again. it is an act of faith to continually cry out to God to search us and know our heart and root out every wicked way in us (ps. 139:23-4). this is a vital aspect of the salvation of the Lord, but God does not come uninvited. we must seek, we must welcome, we must respond to divine scrutiny...our being born from above must include being formed from above
so we begin to pray, to enter into an interactive communion with God. at first our praying is uneasy and halting. it's an alternation of our attention back and forth from divine glories to the mundane tasks of home and work. back and forth, back and forth and often the alternation is worse - much worse- than not praying at all. one moment we are reveling in divine glories, the next moment our minds are wallowing in the gutter of base desires. our lives are fractured and fragmented. in time though, in the depths of our being, violent alternation starts to give way to a life of more and more unbroken , humble adoration in the living presence of God...we develop the habit of divine orientation..this is no perfectionism but spiritual progress. (while here we will always be a work in progress..hopefully) the interior work of prayer moves toward simple (little glances heavenword and quiet breathings of submission) as well as (according to nee) more powerful resisting and wrestling with the evil spirit..
as apprentices of Jesus we are learning , always learning how to live well; love God well; love our spouse well; raise our children well; love our friends, neighbors, even enemies - well; face adversity well; run our businesses well; form community life well reach out to those on the margins well; and die well - ars moriendi.
as we learn to live well, we share with others what we are learning. we are not alone in this work of the reformation of the heart. IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR US TO HELP EACH OTHER IN EVERY WAY WE CAN..the desperate need is for the emergence of a massive spiritual army of trained spiritual directors who can lovingly come alongside precious people and help them walk by faith in the circumstances of their own lives..trained not certified. these directors are life-trained not book-trained.
a spiritual director has a continuing hunger for intimacy with God; an ability to forgive others at great personal loss; a lively sense that God alone can satisfy the longings of the human heart; a deep satisfaction in prayer (and nee again...is willing to suffer and resist and engage in spiritual warfare in prayer);a realistic assessment of personal abilities and limitations; a fundamental freedom from focus on spiritual 'accomplishments'; a demonstrated ability to live out the demands of life patiently and wisely.
spiritual direction is an interpersonal relationship in which we learn how to grow, live and love in spiritual life; involves a process through which one person helps another person understand what God is doing and saying; cannot happen without discernment; involves no comination or control; without being 'established in God' it cannot happen.
this is the first step to congregational renewal. as the church the closer one looks it is true that we have a name that we live but we are dead. we have 'hurry sickness' looking for the magic pill (patient, time-consuming care is always the hallmark of spiritual formation work)... we have a Christian entertainment industry masquerading as worship..we are consumers which keep ourselves front and center (i want what i want, when i want it and to the measure i want it.) the andidote to this is Jesus Christ seen in life-trained persons! if i am longing to know Jesus and follow Jesus and serve Jesus and be formed into the image of Jesus - then i am powerfully drawn toward anyone and everyone who is seeking to know Jesus in this way. a person filled with the beauty of Jesus has fellowship gathering power.
we need to do all we can to develop the ecclesiola in ecclesia - 'the little church within the church' (as i have been wrestling over what to do in reference to the group of believers of which i am a part this is exactly where God has been leading - don't wander elsewhere but BECOME WHAT YOU DON'T SEE IN OTHERS. this means being deeply committed to the life of the people of God (BE TO THEM WHAT THEY ARE NOT TO YOU) and is not sectarian in any way. no separation, no splitting off.. no setting up a new denomination or church. we stay within the given church structures and develop little centers of light within those structures and then let our light shine. (historically this approach as well as separation have both happened many times) 3 historical expressions of this can be seen in philipp jakob spener (1635-1705) and his collegia pietatis..john wesley (1703-1791) with his societies (for the purpose of fellowship), class meetings (for accountability) and bands (for the purpose of loving each other and mutual confession of sin)..hans nielsen hauge (1771-1824) and his 'inner mission'.
we need to learn to suffer together, to share openly and to actively support one another.
finally we need to address the cultural mandate. this involves training the heart in two different directions: toward contemptus mundi, the process by which God begins to pluck the world out of our hearts.. it is a loosining of the chains of attachment to positions of prominence and power. all our longings for social recognition, to have our name in lights, begin to appear puny and trifling. we learn to let go of all control, all managing, all manipulation. we freely , joyfully live without guile. we experience a glorious detachment from all this world offers.... then toward amor mundi, where we and God together carry the world in infinitely tender love. we deepen our compassion for the bruised, the broken, the dispossessed. we ache and pray and labor for others in a new, selfless, joy-filled way. it is this that compels millions of ordinary folk like you and me to minister life in Christ's good name to our neighbor, our nigh-bor, the ones near us.
well God enabled me to work 30 per week just about on the button for 2008. now the plan is to go to 20. i guess that will do away with any more saving but..hey..we'll just have to see what God will do. am finishing this up monday pm so i better just send it off. God's best to you in 2009. love, dad
God tells us to 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ'. (II pet 2:18) all real spiritual formation is heart work for the heart is the wellspring of all human action. john flavel, 17th century puritan, notes that the 'greatest difficulty in conversion, is to win the heart TO God and the greatest difficulty after conversion, is to keep the heart WITH God..heart work is hard work indeed'. focus on the heart means that external actions are never the center of our attention.. this follows the ancient maxim actio sequitur esse, 'action follows essence'..this does not discount good works but of primary significance is our vital union with God, our new creation in Christ, our walking in the Spirit..when the branch is experientially united with the vine ..spiritual fruit is a natural result..it is no vain thing for us to return to our first love over and over again. it is an act of faith to continually cry out to God to search us and know our heart and root out every wicked way in us (ps. 139:23-4). this is a vital aspect of the salvation of the Lord, but God does not come uninvited. we must seek, we must welcome, we must respond to divine scrutiny...our being born from above must include being formed from above
so we begin to pray, to enter into an interactive communion with God. at first our praying is uneasy and halting. it's an alternation of our attention back and forth from divine glories to the mundane tasks of home and work. back and forth, back and forth and often the alternation is worse - much worse- than not praying at all. one moment we are reveling in divine glories, the next moment our minds are wallowing in the gutter of base desires. our lives are fractured and fragmented. in time though, in the depths of our being, violent alternation starts to give way to a life of more and more unbroken , humble adoration in the living presence of God...we develop the habit of divine orientation..this is no perfectionism but spiritual progress. (while here we will always be a work in progress..hopefully) the interior work of prayer moves toward simple (little glances heavenword and quiet breathings of submission) as well as (according to nee) more powerful resisting and wrestling with the evil spirit..
as apprentices of Jesus we are learning , always learning how to live well; love God well; love our spouse well; raise our children well; love our friends, neighbors, even enemies - well; face adversity well; run our businesses well; form community life well reach out to those on the margins well; and die well - ars moriendi.
as we learn to live well, we share with others what we are learning. we are not alone in this work of the reformation of the heart. IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR US TO HELP EACH OTHER IN EVERY WAY WE CAN..the desperate need is for the emergence of a massive spiritual army of trained spiritual directors who can lovingly come alongside precious people and help them walk by faith in the circumstances of their own lives..trained not certified. these directors are life-trained not book-trained.
a spiritual director has a continuing hunger for intimacy with God; an ability to forgive others at great personal loss; a lively sense that God alone can satisfy the longings of the human heart; a deep satisfaction in prayer (and nee again...is willing to suffer and resist and engage in spiritual warfare in prayer);a realistic assessment of personal abilities and limitations; a fundamental freedom from focus on spiritual 'accomplishments'; a demonstrated ability to live out the demands of life patiently and wisely.
spiritual direction is an interpersonal relationship in which we learn how to grow, live and love in spiritual life; involves a process through which one person helps another person understand what God is doing and saying; cannot happen without discernment; involves no comination or control; without being 'established in God' it cannot happen.
this is the first step to congregational renewal. as the church the closer one looks it is true that we have a name that we live but we are dead. we have 'hurry sickness' looking for the magic pill (patient, time-consuming care is always the hallmark of spiritual formation work)... we have a Christian entertainment industry masquerading as worship..we are consumers which keep ourselves front and center (i want what i want, when i want it and to the measure i want it.) the andidote to this is Jesus Christ seen in life-trained persons! if i am longing to know Jesus and follow Jesus and serve Jesus and be formed into the image of Jesus - then i am powerfully drawn toward anyone and everyone who is seeking to know Jesus in this way. a person filled with the beauty of Jesus has fellowship gathering power.
we need to do all we can to develop the ecclesiola in ecclesia - 'the little church within the church' (as i have been wrestling over what to do in reference to the group of believers of which i am a part this is exactly where God has been leading - don't wander elsewhere but BECOME WHAT YOU DON'T SEE IN OTHERS. this means being deeply committed to the life of the people of God (BE TO THEM WHAT THEY ARE NOT TO YOU) and is not sectarian in any way. no separation, no splitting off.. no setting up a new denomination or church. we stay within the given church structures and develop little centers of light within those structures and then let our light shine. (historically this approach as well as separation have both happened many times) 3 historical expressions of this can be seen in philipp jakob spener (1635-1705) and his collegia pietatis..john wesley (1703-1791) with his societies (for the purpose of fellowship), class meetings (for accountability) and bands (for the purpose of loving each other and mutual confession of sin)..hans nielsen hauge (1771-1824) and his 'inner mission'.
we need to learn to suffer together, to share openly and to actively support one another.
finally we need to address the cultural mandate. this involves training the heart in two different directions: toward contemptus mundi, the process by which God begins to pluck the world out of our hearts.. it is a loosining of the chains of attachment to positions of prominence and power. all our longings for social recognition, to have our name in lights, begin to appear puny and trifling. we learn to let go of all control, all managing, all manipulation. we freely , joyfully live without guile. we experience a glorious detachment from all this world offers.... then toward amor mundi, where we and God together carry the world in infinitely tender love. we deepen our compassion for the bruised, the broken, the dispossessed. we ache and pray and labor for others in a new, selfless, joy-filled way. it is this that compels millions of ordinary folk like you and me to minister life in Christ's good name to our neighbor, our nigh-bor, the ones near us.
well God enabled me to work 30 per week just about on the button for 2008. now the plan is to go to 20. i guess that will do away with any more saving but..hey..we'll just have to see what God will do. am finishing this up monday pm so i better just send it off. God's best to you in 2009. love, dad
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