My Old School

Show biz kids making movies
Of themselves you know they
Don't give a f*?# about anybody else….

(‘Show Biz Kds’ from the 1973 Steely Dan album ‘Countdown to Ecstacy’)

Steely Dan (Donald Fagan and Jeff Baxter) shaped a good portion of my listening and playing

 time as a musician.

I met Donald backstage in Saratoga. It was very cool.

The song lyrics reflect a truth that Donald Fagan witnessed …

                                              and was compelled to write about in song.

This one is one of my favorites…

                  And..

                                  Yes, and that is the ‘F’ bomb.

                                                     softened up...with the symbols.

                He wouldn’t want you to miss the passion..

                                     as he looked out upon the poverty in our culture.

       

   You may find some ‘Show Biz Kid’ in you.

       

                                                        I know I find it in me.

Softened with symbols

                              A Passionate Man..saw the poverty in a culture 2000 years ago..

I will omit the symbols this time…as I am here to talk to you

               

                of the Paramount manifestation in flesh..

                                                we can sacrificially offer each other..and God.

This, is about Marriage.

Marriage Is Sacred and Binding

   ³¹ “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality^[e] causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Ok…

       Adultery.

Adultery in the Heart

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said to those of old,^[c] ‘You shall not commit adultery.’^{[d] 28} But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Wow Man…that is a little harsh

        Don’t you think?

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made^[a]them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’^{[b] 5} and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?^{[c] 6} So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” ⁷ They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” ⁸ He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality,^[d] and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” ¹⁰ His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

That I look at marriage of man and woman (yes male and female) as the manifestation of Gods Church (as opposed to ‘our’ church)..

                                        Isn’t just ‘my’ idea.

                        Of course..if you don’t know Christ as Lord…

Well….

             Look for your ‘loophole’ in scripture to get a divorce

          or

                     To get married to your farm animal!

 

                                                                               

                                                                         Class dismissed.

It is easy to get distracted by those that profess to know Christ..

                That have ‘changed partners’ 1, 2, 3 or more times..

                        And are raising their hands in praise every Sunday.

Is it a mockery?

                  Or

                           Is it ignorance…

                         Of Who they are raising their hands to.

(‘…making movies of themselves, you know they don’t give…’)

Just who is to blame?

  In the name of numbers..

                How superficial has ‘the News’ of The Son of God become?

Maybe if ‘we’ make it easy..

                And use some ‘tools’

                                Hey man, be careful.

                                               

    If…

                 Marriage is His Church.

                        What is Its Foundation?

What have you and I adapted into our lives…

                to be a little more acceptable..

                                         While fostering ignorance in the wake.

So..

                does quoting the ‘Judge’ make me ‘judgmental’?

I’ll share my

          My fear…

       

                My conviction..

                                Is that I wake up one day..

       

                                                      standing before a beaten Man…

holding the bloodied ‘tool’ that was used to inflict the freshest wound..

                                              And Him looking up at me

And then higher

                         saying..

                        Forgive him…

                                  he just didn’t know… Me.

As I kick around ‘town’..

        And our Lord engages me where I am at…

He lets me understand the importance of me..

                                -me Choosing-

You know..

                I like the new bike…

                                        But…I gratefully park it…

                In front of ‘the old school’.

( a little heavy…take your time)

               

Thus when our Lord further saith, unless a Man forsake all that he hath, he cannot be my Disciple; the Reason is plain, and the Necessity absolute. It is because all that the natural Man hath, is in the Possession of Self-love, and therefore this Possession is to be absolutely forsaken, and parted with. All that he hath, is to be put into other Hands, to be given to Divine Love, or this natural Man cannot be changed into a Disciple of Christ. For Self-love in all that it hath, is earthly, sensual, and devilish, and therefore must have all taken away from it; and then to the natural Man all is lost, he hath nothing left, all is laid down at the Feet of Jesus. And then all Things are common, as soon as Self-love has lost the Possession of them. And then the Disciple of Christ, though having nothing, yet possesseth all Things, all that the natural Man has forsaken, is restored to the Disciple of Christ an hundred-fold. For Self-love, the greatest of all Thieves, being now cast out, and all that he had stolen and hidden thus taken from him, and put into the Hands of Divine Love, every Mite becomes a large Treasure, and Mammon opens the Door into everlasting Habitations. This was the Spirit of the first Draught of a Christian Church at Jerusalem, a Church made truly after the Pattern of Heaven, where the Love that reigns in Heaven reigned in it, where Divine Love broke down all the selfish Fences, the Locks and Bolts of me, mine, my own, &c., and laid all Things common to the Members of this new Kingdom of God on Earth.

       

                                        William Law in the year 1749

How long have you been settling for good…

                                                          While the Best laid it all out for you…

                                Again and again

                                                                        So many years ago.

                        You’ll pay more attention to what He says…

                     When you Believe.. He and God are One in the same.

the wheels on the bus

The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town.

                                               (author-unknown)

It is really amazing how a little weight added to the Wheel

          At just the right spot

                                       Smooooooths out the entire Ride.

         

  ---  It is a fresh spring day and the morning sun is splitting the horizon..

                       

                            I am just encountering creation from the saddle of my ‘10

Merging with traffic from the ramp..

                   Rolling it on to 74 mph

            And I notice a certain…

                                      distracting…

                       ’feel’ to my wheels.

           

                    Like an unsafe…

                 

                                    not quite in control.. wobbly thing

                                    Pulling over..

                                                  

                    I ponder..and exhale

                                                          ’ok Lord, now what.’

  beside the idling black and chrome.

        I kneel down to check out the front rim.

                                                           Sure enough….the ‘sticky’ is there,

               but the lead weight is missing.

 (You know, I always worked around that unsightly weight ..

                                                 when washing and polishing the ‘important stuff’ .)

_______                                                                                                     __________________________

                       How about the balance of ‘your’ ride?

                                                        You know man,

             ‘ chrome’ won’t get you Home, right?

           

                      Think about it…

there may be a certain person in your life..

                                                           that you would never have thought..

                                                               made such a difference

               as you worked ‘around’ them,

                                                          polishing the ‘important’ stuff.

                                         Listen up.

                                                                   Today

                  

                                                           as the black board

         

                                                                             of your mind fills up

                                       with formulas and solutions

                                            

                            things …

                                     you have written ON IT through your encounters in life..

                                                        Ask God for His Erasure.

                      to wipe it clean.

                                                      Then..

                                                             start again..

  and take the Chalk

 and put a Cross in the center of it.

           

                                               

 Today

^{Psalm 51
10} Create in me a pure heart, O God,
       and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
 ¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
       or take your Holy Spirit from me.
 ¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
       and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

The Sacrifice Fly

'Oh put me in coach, I'm ready to play today

                             look at me...I can be...centerfield' 

                                                               ('Centerfield' by John Fogerty- 1985 )     

                                

            of all thoughts that could have been impressed upon me this past week..

                  I didn't expect.. a ball game.           

        you know...end of the Season..playing at home..

       

the bottom of the ninth, one out -

                                 

                        winning run on third...

                                        kind of ball game.   

        about the ever capable Batter.. sent in by His Coach...

          to open the doorway for His team to win.

    that this Batter maybe could have chose  to blast that ball out of the park...

               run the bases.. to the applause of His fans

                                             but..

                      His Coach sent Him in.. 

                                  to use all His training..His power... His abilities...

                  to do the sure thing, that would bring His team Home in victory.

                                      
    - the Sacrifice Fly -

                                       Today...

       

             remember what an incredible opportunity..for billions on 'third base'..to know the Way

                  and because The Out .. is His ...

                                                                 The victory is ours.

                       He was brought into the game, and He remained true.. to 'the bottom of the ninth'..for you,

                                     so you could come Home.

 

signs of life

So excuse me forgetting but these things I do
You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue
Anyway the thing is what I really mean
Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen

                                                (‘Your Song’ from the 1970 album “Your Song’ by Elton John)

I had just finished eating an apple puff..

                Sitting at a table in a café with a friend.

                And there were a few crumbs on my plate.

I said to ‘Harry’, as I looked at the plate,

                                        ‘Harry, there is something about this ..’

He probably thought ..

                                    this email is coming.

^--31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

I asked him.. 

 

           ‘When you look up in the sky at night..

                                             Do you see stars… or groups of stars?’

He said

   

       ‘stars.’

                And we agreed.

 We put them into ‘groups’, so we can identify with them.

                Another day

                 I asked ‘Wes’ the same question..

                       he said ‘stars’

                And continued  ‘It is all a matter of perspective…

       

                                   and looking at stars from another, would not reveal things like a ‘dipper’.

 I began to think ..

²⁷ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

       

                Male and female…we are mankind.

How much more are we to Him than ‘stars’.

                To send His Incarnation…The Son,

that we can have the relationship again with Him..

        As in the Beginning.

                                As Creator of all…His stars.

      Jesus repeatedly said..

                                        ‘few’ are saved..

                                                because few are willing

                                                                    to encounter their Sacrifice.        

^{Mark 14
\60} Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.
   Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
   ⁶² “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
 ⁶³ The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. ⁶⁴ “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”
   They all condemned him as worthy of death.

  

 ‘To Go’

        Today

                        bearing the gift of Compassion …

                                          Rather than one of ‘compromise’

                                                      Is to truly Love those,

                               With whom you share His Good News.

               

²¹ Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack…….

It is the difference between..

  sharing with someone that you heard about a wedding in town..

                                               or inviting someone to marry the One you Love.

                          __Think about that for more than a moment__

                       Compassion, is to sacrifice in Truth to anyone..

                                                                                because of Love

                                                                                                not compromise.

And then the Gift, is a Gift of Sacrifice, for all.

                                                               

        Remembering that we are the ones that divide the stars into groups…

                                                                                Not God.

               

And maybe the crumbs I leave on my plate

                                                Are the evidence left.

             That something I ate

                                      was worthwhile.

Signs of life.

     Matthew 26
 ²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
 ²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the^[b] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

     Our Sacrifice…

          Has been made for us.

                                            He is the sign of Life.                                     

Revelation 5

The Scroll and the Lamb

 ¹ Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. ² And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” ³ But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. ⁴ I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. ⁵ Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”

 ⁶ Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders……

And He is coming back…again.

Happy Easter