Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven;
(Ecclesiastes 3:1, NKJV)

Lists! Making lists seems to be a popular thing, and, to an extent, necessary. We make lists of things to do, like schedules, shopping lists, birthdays and anniversaries.
If you are like me, once more than one thing is on the agenda - even a little bit in advance - it better be written on the master calendar. Even so, a phone call from the doctor’s office, or the vet, sometimes sends us scrambling to the master schedule list to confirm the call. And - they do sometimes get their list messed up, and some juggling goes on. But, yes, something written down trumps brain cells for permanence.
There are two ways to go shopping for the daily bread, experts say. One method is to go to the store, walk the aisles, scanning the goodies, say, “I need that,” and toss it in the cart. Still, the pantry shelves sometimes end up with a stash of an item that we are sure is in demand, until we add the new supply to it.
The better way is to take - you guessed it! - a shopping list. Now this takes will power, or perhaps ‘Won’t power.’ If you fully develop that list, and stick to it as you traverse the racks and shelves, if you summon up the courage of your convictions and walk on by those tempting displays that practically reach out and grab your hand, you will end up with fewer items in the cart, and a lower number at the checkout.
A list containing names of items is not enough when shopping for clothing, hardware, or maintenance supplies. Especially if the designated shopper is not the person needing the item. The designee typically stands staring at an unbelievable array of choices in color, size, quality and other miscellany that boggle the mind. That’s why you so often see a shopper standing in front of a furlong sized display with a cell phone pressed to their ear.
Sewing supplies, nuts and bolts, potions, lotions and notions! Our society is certainly productive. Sizes most definitely matter, as well as content, additives, containers and material. Physical properties, all. A list is mandatory.
Another currently popular list is the “Bucket List,” things to do before you “kick the bucket”- that is, die. Perhaps it could be called a life list. One internet site that I found advises to “stop putting off your dreams for ‘someday,’ and ask yourself, “If I had one year left to live, what would I be sure to do.?”
Typical list suggestions include trips, adventures, and special activities. Visit that exotic spot; ride a camel; parachute from an airplane; drive a racing car; climb a mountain. That sort of thing.
Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 presents a well-known list of life events, including:

“A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to love, and a time to hate.”

Verse 11 states that God has made everything beautiful in its time, and put eternity in our hearts. Nothing is better than to rejoice, and do good during life.
“I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from it.” (verse 14)
The ‘Preacher’ concludes, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Ecc. 12:14)
Eternity is forever! Be sure your list includes preparations.

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Ezekiel wrote, “What do you mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?“ Ezekiel 18:2, NIV

I have observed that most people, including myself, become very uncomfortable when there are no benchmarks. We all want something that serves as a standard by which to measure or judge. A common reference point.
When we go into a new situation, we want to know what the accepted customs are. Visiting a foreign country can bring about “culture shock,” often in unexpected ways. For example, when my son and I were visiting with some people in Latvia, one man noted that we said we were married, but were not wearing wedding rings. “Oh, yes we are,” we said, holding up our left hands. He looked startled. Then it was our turn to be surprised. He held up his right hand, indicating the custom in use in Latvia; wedding rings on the right hand.
The French use the word “gauche” to describe someone lacking social experience or grace. Manners matter! One of the benchmarks for polite society has long been instruction in, and observance of, customary practice, rite, or ceremony. Those who lacked, or failed to display, the niceties of etiquette were, well, gauche. That is ‘gross’ without the ‘r’! Riff-raff, low-life.
What can we say to one who literally tears apart Miss Manner’s book? “Didn’t your parents teach you to . . . ?” While that may indeed be a fact, and the parents may be a mirror image of their offspring’s behavior, it is the particular individual at fault who must bear the burden in each situation. In other words, “Your mother doesn’t work here; pick up your own mess.” When we stand in the judgment, casting blame just won’t work as an excuse. Ezekiel shares God’s word on this matter; take time to read the 18th chapter of Ezekiel in the Bible. The people were blaming their parents for their current suffering, complaining that God was holding them accountable for the sins committed by preceding generations.
God set a benchmark: “The soul who sins is the one who will die (vs, 4.) A righteous man will live, even if his son is violent and commits many sins.
Likewise, a righteous son of a sinful man will be judged on his own life, and not that of his father.
The benchmark is repeated again in verses 19 and 20: (If)“the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, or the father share the guilt of the son.” That is the benchmark by which we will be judged when we stand before the Throne. Our life, and no other’s.
If you are making New Year’s resolutions, you are setting benchmarks. Set them firmly, and observe them faithfully!
December 28, 2003

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Adam said,
“I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.” Genesis 3:10, NKJV

Perhaps you have heard the maxim, as I have:
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
In theory, the thought is supposed to help us shrug off taunts and name calling. In theory! In fact, words can wound deeper than a sharp blade, can bruise greater than a cudgel.
The injury from a rear-ender car collision often produces “whip lash,” a stressing of the neck, which may leave no visible external evidence, but may cause severe internal damage.
We have only to follow news reports to witness the result of “word lash,” which can also create severe internal damage, psychological damage that sometimes comes out in violent confrontations, perhaps resulting in the death of several people.
More often, though, people ‘hide’ themselves by building a shield - a psychological shield - and hide within it. Henry David Thoreau observed in "Walden", 1854 “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” He also noted: “Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.“
It is not just cruel, hateful words that can bring us to destruction, however. Sometimes seemingly innocent words of advice, craftily proffered, can bring down the gullible, or even the diligent soul who seeks to walk in the paths of righteousness. Adam and Eve knew well God’s words concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden. “You shall not eat (of it) for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Words can not be much plainer than that!
Yet note the words of the cunning serpent: “You will not surely die. . . . You will be like God.” Sweet talk, craftily proffered. And they ate.
In Genesis 3:11 God asks Adam, “Who told you that you were naked?” But this is more than an issue about a lack of clothing. This was something new, an awareness of a vulnerability, a sense of the loss of innocence. Previously, Adam and Eve had nothing to hide from God; they had nothing to be ashamed of. Now, the knowledge of their disobedience envelops them. God knows! His words concerning the tree in the midst of the garden rang in their conscience, weighing heavily and guiltily on their minds. Adam thinks of himself as not only guilty, but as naked before God.
Guilty! They have sinned against the Word of God. Too late. Excuses will not build a shield to hide behind. The serpent (Satan), the woman, and Adam all sinned, and all were punished. Yes, it was God’s Word, and not Satan’s words, that prevailed.
Yet, “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam, all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21-22, NKJV)