Seeds For Thinking

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

Scripture: Paul stood in the midst of them, and said,“ . . . now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship.” (Acts 27:22, NKJV)

Shortly before midnight on April 14, 1912, four days into the ship's maiden voyage, the passenger liner Titanic struck an iceberg, with an unthinkable result. The unsinkable ship sank two hours and forty minutes later, early on April 15, 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.
The Titanic ‘wireless’ (radio) operator began tapping out a distress message immediately after striking the iceberg: CQD - MGY.....CQD - MGY... which translates to: CQ = attention all stations, D = distress or danger, and MGY was Titanic's radio call letters(1). There was apparently much confusion concerning the interchange of messages between ship and shore wireless stations. Wireless protocol was not fully developed at the time; many ships had no radio equipment at all, and still others shut down their radio room at night. The closest ship didn’t get the message about the sinking(2).
One of the fascinating accounts in the Book of Acts describes a shipwreck on the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean. The voyage began at the port of Caesarea, in Palestine, with the intent to sail to Italy. The ship, carrying the Apostle Paul and some other prisoners, sailed within sight of land, along the coasts of Asia, past Cyprus, to the city of Myra. There, they changed ships, and set sail for Rome.
Sailing became increasingly dangerous. Paul counseled the men that the voyage would end in disaster. (Acts 27:10) They intended to sail on, to winter in the harbor at Crete. However, the ship was caught in tempestuous head winds, and driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea.
Fearful of running aground, they struck the sail, and lightened the ship by throwing cargo and the ship’s tackle overboard. Still, the storm raged for several days; the men gave up all hope that they could be saved.
Finally, Paul stood in the midst of them, and told them that they would indeed run aground, loosing the ship, but that not one soul would be lost. An angel of God had appeared to Paul, and assured him that he indeed would be brought before Caesar in Rome.
On the fourteenth night of the storm, Paul gave thanks to God, broke bread, and began to eat. They were encouraged, and also took food themselves. They ran the ship aground, and although it was broken up by the waves, every one of the two hundred seventy-six persons on the escaped safely to land.
While there are many differences between the two shipwrecks, including the type and size of the ships, and the reason for their destruction, there are similarities as well. The Titanic was thought to be unsinkable; the helmsman and owner of the Alexandrian ship had more influence than Paul as the voyage began, thinking themselves and the ship to be capable of weathering the storm. Leaders stepped forward in both cases, with Paul setting the example when all hope that they would be saved was finally given up.
Paul didn’t have a radio to send a distress call, but he did have prayer, and his God heard him, loud and clear! God sent back a message, via angel: “There will be no loss of life among you.” Wherever he went, in whatever situation he encountered, Paul was a faithful witness to God.
March 7, 2010

Notes:
(1)The distress signal, SOS, was also used, but it was not the primary signal at the time. Contrary to popular belief and myth, CQD and SOS do not stand for any particular words, such as, ”Save our Ship,” or, “Come Quick Disaster.” They are merely a ‘code’ call, a set of telegraphy characters easily recognizable by all operators.
(2)The Titanic disaster would prove the necessity of having radios on ships and the necessity of having them manned on a 24 hour basis. At the third international radiotelegraph conference in 1912, it was agreed that ships would listen for distress signals on a wavelength of 600 meters. International law required each ship to cease transmitting for three minutes at 15 and 45 minutes past the hour. During this interval they were required to listen for distress calls.

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

Scripture: Gamaliel said, “If their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God. Acts 5:38b-39, NIV.

If you have been involved with a male child within the past several years, you have possibly come into contact with a rather ingenious toy that means “change” with a capital “T” - “Transformer®”. And change it does! What looks to be one object becomes quite different in appearance and function in the hands of the one who “transforms’ it.
Now that I have established “transformer” as my operative word for the day, let’s proceed to the main topic, the Sanhedrin. It was the highest Jewish tribunal during the Greek and Roman periods in Israel/Palestine, rather like our supreme court. Many versions of the Bible do not use the actual name Sanhedrin but follow the form of Matthew 16:21, which mentions the “elders, chief priests and teachers of the law.” This body, composed of seventy members drawn from the leaders mentioned above, plus the high priest, who was president of the Sanhedrin, was the final court of appeal for all questions connected with Mosaic law, including blasphemy.
The Sanhedrin quite naturally has a negative connotation for most Christians, for it was this body that convicted Jesus of blasphemy, and condemned Him to death. Convened by the High Priest Caiaphas, the night-time session of the Sanhedrin did not follow established protocol (See Mt. 26:57-66.)
However, it was this group of Jewish elders, chief priests and teachers of the law who in actuality, brought God’s work to completion! No, I am not suggesting that you come to revere these men, but to so transform your thinking that you appreciate how God can “transform” the actions of men to accomplish His purposes. (See Mt. 26:56)
First of all, consider that God sent Jesus to reconcile all His people to Himself. Under Mosaic law, reconciliation required sacrifice, a blood sacrifice. As Hebrews 10:1-18 explains, Jesus became that once-for-all-time sacrifice, the propitiation for our sins. Tell me, how would YOU have made this happen? If it were not for the crucifixion, we might still be under the Old Testament sacrificial system. Something to indeed think about.
Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin (John 3:1) was the one to whom Jesus spoke the words of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world . . .”, the same Nicodemus who helped Joseph of Arimathea bury Jesus (John 19:39)
A man named Gamaliel, a Rabbi honored by all the people, counciled the other members of the Sanhedrin to let the Apostles go. (Acts 5:38) One of Gamaliel’s students just happens to have authored more books of the New Testament than any other person, one Saul of Tarsus, a.k.a. Paul, the Pharisee God transformed to become the missionary to the Gentiles.
Let the Greatest TRANSFORMER of all go to work on your life. You will be amazed at what He can do!
April 6, 2003

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

Scripture: Paul said, “If God is for us, who can be against us.”
Romans 8:31,
The Disciples were with Jesus in midst of a very popular ministry; they experienced the crowds following him everywhere he went.
And why shouldn’t people seek him out! For one thing, Jesus had the power of healing.
The gospels gives us many examples:
The lame walk; the blind see;
Hearing and power of speech are restored -
The paralyzed were given full mobility. They ‘took up their beds, and walked.’ after encountering Jesus. In some cases, this marked the first time ever, in their lives, to be able to hear, to talk, to walk.
The Disciples have seen: shriveled hands made functional;
Leprosy cured . . .
The outcasts, the ‘unclean’, the untouchables - restored to live full lives in society.
Jesus had the power to exorcise demons, to drive out evil spirits - spirits who recognized Jesus as the Son of God - when most people didn’t know who he truly was.
People crowded around just to see Jesus, to touch him.
Mark records that a woman in the press of a crowd was healed of an issue of blood that had been going on for many years - after touching him.
Jairus’ daughter was brought back to life.
They experienced all these things - and more - first hand. However, all these things did not make the Disciples into the Apostles we see in the Book of Acts. What brought about the Big Change?
Let’s turn to a man who came face to face with Jesus ... and lost his sight.
Saul of Tarsus, whom we know best as Paul,
writing to the church at Rome - advises:
Set your priorities on the most important thing of all; Think of the best that can happen;
Nothing else will matter!
His actual words contained in his letter to the Romans, Ch. 8:31-39 are these:
“If God is for us, who can be against us.
He goes on to say, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, nor the present nor the future, neither height or depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Holy Spirit is a helper: “The spirit helps us in our weakness” - vs 26 - “We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.“
So what is the very last thing you want to lose? Hopefully you will say. ”The love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
How much do other things matter?
March 9, 2003

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

Scripture: Paul wrote, “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Phi. 3:20, NIV
They called her Little Miss Sure-shot. Annie Oakley was renowned all over the world for her marksmanship. Although she was famous for her remarkable performances in Wild West shows, she learned to shoot accurately to help support her family. She provided food for the table, and sold some of the birds she shot to hotels and restaurants.
She had the unique ability to not only hit a target every time, but also to hit a moving target - even if she was moving on horseback.
Some pioneer marksman were also noted for their skill at hitting a moving target. They called it “Kentucky Windage.” The technique requires the shooter to aim at where the target will be when the bullet gets there.
Not everyone has that ability, nor even the accuracy to hit a stationary target. The story is told of a boy who spent a lot of time shooting. Fence posts, barns, trees - all over the community there were targets drawn with a bullet hole in the dead center of them. One day a man complemented the “marksman” on his accuracy. “Aw, shucks, taint nuthin’,” replied the boy. “I just shoot first and draw the circles after.”
Some people are like that with their spiritual life. They “Just Do It,” and then claim that there is nothing wrong with what they have done. In truth, they have “missed the mark.”
Paul wrote to the Philippians concerning those whose “God is their stomach, and their glory is their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” (3:19, NIV).
Their ‘target’, their goal is pleasure now! They give no thought as to where they will be in the future.
We need to aim for heaven, just as Paul did, and just as he advised the church at Philippi. Earlier in this letter, he said, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” (1:27)
The Greeks had a word for it - hubris.
It literally means, “missing the mark.” Someone guilty of hubris would show “wanton insolence or arrogance resulting from excessive pride or from passion.” (Webster’s New World Dictionary, 2nd ed.)
Pride in living an ‘earthly’ lifestyle certainly misses the mark as affirmed in the Bible by the prophets, the apostles, and by Jesus the Christ.
Keep your eyes upon Jesus, who even now is in heaven.
July 8, 2001

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Scripture: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” Rev. 1:8 NIV
Ahh! The Thirst for Knowledge! Especially when the quest is for more about God, and His creation. Yes, I’ve been immersed in reading again. It started with a Christmas present, a book on Roman history. Not just dates and who did what, but coverage of how people lived, how they farmed, built, fought, and worshiped. The early church was born in the early days of the Roman Empire; they sort of grew up together. Just like Jacob and Esau, the elder (Roman) was in time made subject to the younger (The Church.)
You can not read the New Testament without encountering the Roman Empire. It was a Roman census that sent Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. It was a Roman governor that approved Jesus’ crucifixion. Roman emperors persecuted the church, and made martyrs of many Christians, including Peter and Paul.
However, just as a building is created from the foundation up, so the history of the church, and world, was built from the Creation onward. Christ and Adam are often compared. Sin came through Adam; salvation comes from Jesus Christ. The Promise came through Abraham. The Genealogy of Jesus (Luke 3:23-37) took me back to the “begats” in Genesis.
A chance encounter of a time-line that mentioned that Noah’s son, Shem, was still living during Abraham’s lifetime piqued my curiosity about the overlap in the lifespans given in Genesis.
Taking the dates and times given in the Bible, I have prepared the attached chart for you.
Talk about long marriages. . . What did Adam and Eve talk about for 900 years? We say, “Oh! Methuselah lived 969 years. Neat!” If so, why didn’t Noah take his grandfather on the ark? But. . . .did he die in The Flood ?
And look at this: Adam was still alive into the lifetime of Noah’s father and grandfather. They would have had the Creation story from The First Man himself! Methuselah and Lamech could have directly passed this family history on to Shem, and Shem on to Abraham.
I even found a reference that “tradition/legend” mentions that the mysterious Melchizidek, to whom Abraham paid his tithe to God, was none other than Shem, the aged son of Noah!
Pity they didn’t include the women!
February 4, 2001