Seeds For Thinking

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

* Calibration
* Scripture: Paul told Timothy, "The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right. It is God's way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone. " 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Living Bible

Discord! I carefully tuned my mandolin with my digital tuner, and started to play with the band. Whoa! Something was very off key, and it was my instrument that was out of tune. I had to get right with the others.
I later found that my tuner was not aligned to the proper tuning pitch, and it threw me way out of tune with the everyone else! And I thought I was 'right on.' Fortunately, I was able to calibrate my tuner with a standard frequency source, and all is well again.
We have to depend on proper calibration and accuracy of many things we encounter in life. Perhaps you have noticed a little seal or sticker on the scales at the checkout counter at the market, or on the pump where you fill your fuel tank. Somebody has checked them all, and assures that the device is accurate.
We have to trust that the "Sealer" is reliable, trustworthy, and has accurate standards by which to judge the equipment that he certifies. What a world this would be if we couldn't depend on the accuracy of anything.
An extra few cents at the pump or scales might not bruise your pocket book very much, but the knowledge that it did so would not likely bring you back to that business again soon. It might compromise your peace of mind, but not endanger your health.
However, when you go to your doctor, and the nurse pops that thermometer into your mouth, you want it to show the exact temperature. Suppose it was only five degrees wrong. Do you think that you would agree that it really didn't matter that much? Not likely! Even a few degrees can make a vital difference. Few people are willing to compromise with such a critical measurement.
On the other hand, you might like it if the bathroom scale reads your weight a little on the low side, but would probably say a few unkind words about a scale that added a little weight. A few pounds incorrect? Well, maybe not enough to matter. Many people have a casual attitude about the effect a few pounds might have on their health. Some ignore blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other vital signs. It is common practice for people to engage in 'pleasurable' activities until it is too late to correct the damage that may result to one's health.
Many people go through life with a casual attitude about other things as well. Consider traffic violations, cheating on any number of endeavors such as scholastic tests, reports, and expense accounts, embezzling from the workplace, or indifferent personal relationships.
Many colleges are now teaching ethical behavior, even to graduate students in Business Administration, because of necessity. We seem to have spawned a society of three-year-olds, whose ethical code is "What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine, if I can take it from you."
Yes, there are ethical standards, and moral standards, as well as spiritual standards, which we ignore to our peril. They are a measure of our Godly 'temperature,' and every bit as critical as our body's temperature.
Yes, this is about standards, about references with which to compare and, if necessary, calibration to get "in tune" with the rest of the world. We have a National Bureau of Standards in the USA that maintains the references by which all other measurements are compared, down to the smallest fraction of a second.
We also have the Bible, the Scriptures, the Ten Commandments, with which to measure our lives. We need to assure ourselves that we are equipped for every good work that God has for us by frequent calibration with the Heavenly Standard. Check it often!
July 30, 2006

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

Scripture: Jesus said, “What shall I compare the Kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.” Luke 13:20-21, NIV

Noah and the Ark; Moses and the tablets with the 10 Commandments; Adam and Eve; Jesus born in a manger; angels in heaven, playing harps. . . . Subjects familiar to even non-church people because they are shown so often in art and cartoons. Still, many people have no idea of the story behind the names. Or the role they play in the Bible and God’s kingdom.
Mention the Laws of Moses and most people think of the Ten Commandments as the entire package, when in truth, there was an entire body of laws specific to everyday needs of a community, both social and sacred. When is the last time you sat down and read the Book of Leviticus?
What was required of the owner who finds mildew in his house? Read Leviticus 14. Gleaning the fields is specifically mentioned in Leviticus 19:9-10. Leviticus goes beyond the Commandments to get to specifics. Remember the man who asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” Leviticus gets down to the nitty-gritty, and covers all kinds of situations.
Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind. Why? “Fear your God. I am the Lord.” 19:14.
How long after entering the “land” and planting a tree before you can eat the fruit of it? 19: 23-25.
Ready to rush out and get a tattoo? Read Leviticus 19:28 first, and maybe you will change your mind . . . IF you respect the Lord.
I had been wondering what in the Bible was responsible for the practice of depicting the departed floating on clouds, robed in white, playing a harp. Clouds and white robes of linen are mentioned often in Revelation. The “Bride” of the Lamb wears white linen in Rev. 19:8; “Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.”
Those who had been victorious over the “beast and his image and over the number of his name” held “harps given them by God”. . . Rev. 15:2.
Now I had read Revelation several times without taking particular notice of the passage on harps. This time, the passage popped out at me. I probably would not have read the entire book again, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, had it not been assigned for Bible Study.
There is so much yet to learn. So much not yet revealed. Dust on the Bible? I pray not!
Reading the Word of God is like the yeast mixed in flour, which Jesus said, “work(s) all through the dough.”
Don’t leave your knowledge “flat.” Fluff it up with some “Yeast” from God.
September 15, 2002

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

Scripture: The (the lawyer) answered and said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27, NKJV

You pass a lot of things as you drive down the road or across town, physical things. Cars and trucks in the next lane, behind you and before you. Buildings and bridges, Structures large and small, from the tidy to the tawdry, ‘McMansions’ and monuments. Even the magnificence of natural ‘wonders’ pales to insignificance when compared to the one element that grabs our attention, and our emotions - People!
Take away the human element and the most grandiose monument is just a pile of stone. Erase the names from the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC, ignore the association with its reason for being, and it retains only one thought in our minds - Who built it, and why. Stonehenge intrigues us, only in part because of its composition, but primarily because somebody built it. We know ‘What’ it is, and ‘Where’ it is, but we are driven to discover the ‘Who’ and the ‘Why’ - the people connection!
So, too, with any history we may compile. The physical elements are akin to computer firmware - things to touch and see. But people, ahh, people! That is the ‘software’ that gives life to history, that makes monuments truly majestic, and puts the “Awe” in awesome. Feelings, thoughts, emotions - the ties that bind and the forces that drive us.
Yes, we can analyze, we can describe, we can measure and calculate the attributes of things, but life is not in them. Because we are human, things are only complete when we imbue them with a relationship to our humanity.
The Bible, the sacred volume of God’s People, is neither, in the truest sense, a history, nor a chronological record of events. Rather, it is a chronicle of relationships - yes, the ties that bind and the forces that drive us.
There are recountings of places and things, remarkable only in their relationship to the people, God’s People. We read of monuments and memorials, such as that of the Memorial of the Crossing, in Joshua Chapter 4. Institutions and observances are established; Passover, for example (Exodus Chapter 12), or The Lord’s Supper. (Luke 22:14-20)
The true significance of monuments and institutions lies not in their being, but in their function: to remind us of our relationship to God, and to each other. Such was - and is- the purpose of the stone tablets and the Ten Commandments themselves, to remind us that:
“You Shall have no other gods before Me.” (Deuteronomy 4:7) “You shall love the LORD your God” - in totality!
Likewise, the children, all of God’s children - yourself and your neighbors - are worthy and deserving of God’s Love (Agape), one to another.