MY LIFE IN INK --

I'm off to the dentist again this morning -- this time to start a root canal. Will work on the blog after I get back, make a new recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup so I can feed the hungry man running around the house, and settle in to wait for the snow stormy blizzard that's forecast later today. That will be a really good time to stay indoors!

Later --

Root canals are really not all that bad. But then, I suspect that the dentist uses the atom bomb of pain killers before he exposes a root and starts digging around in there. I got numbed three hours ago and I still don't feel a thing. But then, the dentist warned me that the tooth would probably be "sensitive" when the numbies wear off. I can translate that little warning to a super "ouch" so I took an Aleve right away when I got home. And I just might follow it up with a whole bunch of Ibuprofen. It just depends on how much "ouch" I feel.

I admit that I'm a big baby when it comes to tooth discomfort.

But the first stage of the Cream of Mushroom Soup is cooking. I'm using the Barefoot Contessa's recipe from Food Network. I substituted beef broth for the wine and also evaporated milk for the half-and-half and heavy cream.

She served it one night recently and had Mel Brooks on as a guest soup tester. While I was at the dentist, Quint went foraging for mushrooms. I needed regulars, bellas, and shitakes. He got everything necessary for the soup mix.

On another matter, don't you just feel for some 200 million Chinese persons who are stranded in the snow and ice? They were traveling on what looks like a main road; were en-route to be with families for the Chinese New Year celebration.

But since the population of the United States is 310 million, that would be like 2/3 of our entire population being stuck on I-80! Dear Lord, let those people get home safely. Sadly, the death toll is at 37, I believe.

Well, I'm ready to start Phase 2 of the soup recipe. And get the Parmesan Cheesy Biscuits ready to pop into the oven at just the right moment.

Be back later to do the Bible Study.

##

NEW FORUM FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT AIRPORT SECURITY:

http://www.tsa.gov/blog

It's a brand new blog and so far, there have been 297 responses added. So if you want to add your two cents worth, I'm sure it will be both appreciated and informative to other readers.

I read some of the entries and will admit that they are interesting. Don't know if they're reduce the frustrations of standing in line, but perhaps --

##

GET READY TO VOTE

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071023/NEWS09/71023045

That's the web site that you can go to and see which states are having primaries and caucuses on what dates.

Main thing is to go vote. For whoever you think is going to be the best candidate. It doesn't have to be my favorite. In fact, I'm hoping I've disguised my preferences enough so that you couldn't tell. But maybe you can.

Doesn't matter. The United States of America has a political system like no other on the planet. Because it works. It has its faults, but it works.

So don't even think of not voting. And even if you don't want to pick a presidential candidate right now -- go to the polls anyway and vote for your congressional race and referanda if those are coming up on your ballot.

The opportunity to vote is the 1st Prize of democracy. So go for the gold and collect the prize by voting!

##

BIBLE STUDY: 2 Corinthians 5:1-21

In this chapter, Paul likens our bodies to tents.

So what are tents? Well, we know they are pretty temporary places to live. Permanent, they aren't. And I wouldn't want to be living in one when dust storms blow in from across the desert. They don't have any foundations. The don't have attics. And I've never seen a kitchen with a microwave and dishwasher in one. About all they can do is keep a person dry and provide a place to get in out of the weather.

So how is our human body like a tent? The big difference, Paul says, is that tents are made by human hands. That's not like our heavenly dwelling at all. When we get to heaven, we're going to get a dwelling place that's made by Jesus -- because he's there right now preparing a place for us.

But the tent that Paul is talking about is our human body. It wraps itself around our soul. And when we die, the tent becomes useless and gets tossed aside. At the point of death, our soul goes to be with the Lord. We don't need the tent of our physical being anymore. But even when this tent is cast aside by death, we aren't naked either. Instead, we go to a heavenly dwelling. That dwelling is made by the Lord and we joyfully come into his presence.

Just the thought of doing that one day is reason a'plenty for honoring and praising the Lord every day of our lives -- even though we'd prefer to be at home with the Lord, we can't just yet. That is, not until he says it's time to go to him and be with him. Until that moment, we have to stay in the tent of our human flesh.

And while we are in this human body, we'd better behave and do what we need to do to honor the Lord, praise him and do whatever we can do please him.

And why is that? Well, Paul is very explicit about this in verse 10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Paul repeats this theme in verses 14-15: For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Paul takes this message and wraps it so beautifully around the concept of reconciling ourselves to God. He says that he no longer views human beings from strictly a human point of view. And then he admits that at one time he even looked at Christ strictly from a human point of view.

But no anymore.

In verses 17-19: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

So Paul is trying very hard to help the Corinthians understand that, yes, we're all human. And sometimes our humanness is a burden that gets in the way of our doing the things that God wants us to do. We're sinners and we're human and all we have is this old tent to wear to hide our nakedness.

The tent becomes a burden -- our humanness becomes a burden. We don't want to be burdened anymore, but the tent hides our nakedness so we'd better keep it on for a while.

Besides, God knows full well that we're all sinners. That's why he sent his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus absorbed our sins. Not because God wants us to get rid of this drab, flimsy little thing of a tent we are wearing, and take on a new designer outfit that would be more appropriate for heavenly dress.
 
Oh, that's not it at all. Our new heavenly dress is beautiful all by itself because it comes to us through this reconciliation process that God brings through the Holy Spirit. This reconciliation is a gift from God to all who believe in Christ.

We are the new creation -- not our outfit! The word "naked" is not in the vocabulary of heaven. We are new creations in Christ. So life becomes brand new for us.

Paul builds this message to a crescendo as he finishes this chapter. We are so blessed to have the messages that the Holy Spirit brings to us through Paul's writings. Paul says: We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Could you ever doubt that Paul was alive for Christ?!

##

Discussion points:

1. You've heard the old saying that God doesn't call the people who are equipped, but rather, God equips the people he calls.

So when you hear God knocking at the door of your heart, let him in. He has a job for you to do and he has a job for me to do. He wants you to let him into your heart. To be reconciled with him. To be his ambassador.

What are some things you can do as one of God's ambassadors?

2. Sometimes I think we are waiting for big projects to do. You know, make a big splash in the ministry puddle. But there are so many things that we can all do that are of the smaller variety.

On my desk, there sits a photo of a young man who is from our town -- you know the type of article -- local hero, etc. -- who is in the hospital recuperating from an IED explosion in Iraq. I kept looking at the photo thinking I ought to send him a get well card. Then last Sunday a nice lady at church, Merilyn, brought this same photo from her paper and asked us all to send him a note or a card. I didn't have a get well card on hand so I wrote him a little note instead. Well, Quint can tell you that I never write a "little" note that's less than five pages.

I don't know any of the shut-ins in our new church but one of the things I can do is drop them a "little note" and let them know I'm thinking about them and praying for them.

I can make cookies for our preschoolers who meet at church after school on Fridays.

What are some "little" things you can do as an ambassador for Christ?

We pray: Oh Lord, I pray that you would help me make better choices with how I spend my time.

I just whittle away the hours and don't get a whole lot done. I get even less done for you and spreading your word. I pray that you would empower me with your Holy Spirit so that I can be more energized and be a better ambassador.

I pray for Victor who had a stroke on Monday. I pray that the Divine Healer will be with his physicians and nurses who are helping Victor recuperate.

I pray for John who is recuperating from a by-pass. I pray for health and healing for John.

I pray that Karla will find a new church home that will give her many new friends who are bound together in your love. Karla has so much talent and joy to bring to friends who have not met her yet. I pray that you would call her to serve you in her new church home.

I pray for Laura and her husband who are settling in a new home in Georgia. I pray that you would bless them and strengthen them as they get into their new church home.

I pray for Patti and her family. I pray that you would bless them all and keep them healthy in these cold winter months. I pray for energy and blessings and joy for this young mother.

And I thank you for all the blessings you have gifted Quint and me with. Joy is ours to share as we minister to those around us. Thank you for prospering us with health and comfort.

Amen.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

I don't care what the politicians say -- the big story this morning is the weather. It was 58 degrees when I left the dentist's office yesterday. Then we went to the mall to walk for two miles and when we were ready to get back in the car, the temperature had dropped down to 32 degrees and a howling wind was blowing stuff around like you wouldn't believe!

We expected to find a bunch of tree branches down when we got home, but I guess they fell during the last few wind gusts. It was a good night to snuggle in and watch vote returns from Florida.

McCain led the GOP from out of the gate and never did lose his edge.

Same goes for Hillary, but the newsies kept calling the Democratic primary in Florida a "beauty contest." Guess that's because Florida moved its primary date up ahead of Super Tuesday -- which is February 5 -- and so the Democratic National Committee says that none of the delegates will count.

Florida is one of those states where you can only vote on a Republican or a Democratic ballot. Independents luck out, as do any other political party. That sounds like a lawsuit coming. Oh, Mr. DNC Chairman Howard Dean, what will you ever do about that?

And Rudy announced he was bowing out -- will make an announcement today sometime. Same goes for John Edwards. They just don't have the cashola to run a campaign in all the states that have Super Tuesday primaries. As it is, their campaigns run about $500,000 a week. So they say.

My big news is that we're going to go over 90,000 hits by the end of the week here. That's since June 2006 when I started this web site. I thank you -- each and every one of you. And I also thank you for clicking on the little ads when it strikes your fancy. I don't think it costs you money unless you actually double click to buy something. But I get the tiniest piece of a penny if there's just one click to the advertisers' web sites. So I thank you for clicking. It helps pay the web site fees. They aren't free. And I want to keep the web site subscription free.

But enough of that. I pray that all of you are safe and staying warm. We have to check in with our forty-something rug-rats in Idaho today to see how they're doing. They had an 8-inch snowfall yesterday afternoon. Brrrrr.

I pray that all of you are safe. And warm.

##

BIBLE STUDY: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

When I think of the Apostle Paul, I think of a man who has a legalistic mind. Someone who excels at debating with the masters. A rabbi who was taught by Gamiliel, the best of the best.

I don't think of Paul as a poet. That is, until I read and re-read the chapter we are studying today.

He uses metaphor when he compares his creaky, old wasting body to a jar of clay.

Back in those days, people used jars of clay to hide their valuables in. Clay jars did just fine for keeping what treasures people had out of plain view. And leave it to Paul to use this metaphor to underscore his point that the real treasure in our lives is the good news that Christ died for our sins, and that because of this, we will have an eternal life that joins us all with our Heavenly Father.

In the very first verses of this chapter, Paul tells the Corinthians that it is through God's mercy that he has this ministry. And then comes the renunciation of those people who are skulking about in the shadows where truth no longer exists. These people are shameful, Paul says in verse 2. In their deception, they distort the word of God.

Paul, on the other hand, speaks the truth. And when he commends himself to their conscience, it's like he's saying to them, "You know what I'm talking about." 

How many times have you taken such a position with an erring child. When you talk and you talk and you talk, and finally, you say, "You know what I mean!"

Well, Paul gets to this point, and he goes deeper. He says in verse 2: ...by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

So if these ne-er-do-wells have invaded the new congregations in Corinth and are scurrying about trying to uproot the seedlings of salvation that Paul has planted. And Paul is reminding the Corinthians that what he is telling them is the truth. And God is Paul's witness.

But if they still insist on not believing, then Paul says in verses 3-4: And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Well then! What could the unbelievers possibly say to that! We've got this veil again that Paul talked about in the last chapter. It was the veil that Moses had placed over his face so that the children of Israel would not die if they gazed directly upon the glory of God. But when Christ came, recall that he lifted the veils in our hearts.

But there were some -- there will always be some, it seems, in every church. No matter how earnestly Paul preached the gospel message, they still would not believe. It was as if the veil was still hanging over their hearts, blocking out the light they could have seen of Christ's glory.

And because Christ is the son of God, he reveals the image of God to all of us who absorb this light of the gospel and step from our sinful lives into the glory of Christ.

Paul tries further to convince the Corinthians of their folly in verses 5 and 6 when he says that he isn't preaching about how great he is, but rather, that he comes as a servant. Paul is doing what God has told him to do; that is, take the light of Christ and let it shine in all the dark places in peoples' hearts.

And then comes the metaphor about the jars of clay, in verses 7: But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Paul even goes into some detail about his physical condition and how he is wasting away to draw even more attention to the fact that the frailty of his humanness is like a jar of clay.

And, for goodness sake, he's even going to die. And when he dies, his body will be like any other inanimate object -- even a jar of clay.

But then, take heart -- because the jar of clay that he likens his weak human body to, holds an inner treasure. Forget mortality and the fact that we all carry Jesus' death around in us. Paul reminds the Corinthians --and he reminds us too -- that we also carry Jesus' eternal life around in us as a treasurer. Because Jesus resurrected from the dead, we will also.

Paul brings this truth home to all believers in verse 13-15: It is written: "I believed: therefore, I have spoken." With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Paul then closes this chapter with the thought that he doesn't lose heart even though he's clearly struggling, probably financially and physically as well, he also feels renewed every day that he lives because he has the Spirit of Christ alive inside him. That means more to him than anything else, he says in verse 17b.

Paul seems to balance himself between his spiritual being and his physical being. When he closes this chapter in verse 18, he says he's not concerned so much about what his eyes cannot see, but rather, he's far more interested in what's going on inside him spiritually.

That part of your spiritual being that you cannot see when you look at yourself in the mirror -- that's the part of you that lives forever. 

What the eyes can see will one day die and waste away into mortality. It will become inanimate -- like a jar of clay.

Discussion points:

1. What are some of the ways that we hang onto our humanness and minimize the importance of our spiritual beings? Granted, self-preservation is a powerful instinct that keeps us in a "fight for life" mode, but do you ever feel your spirituality being challenged too?

For instance, our culture is rocked in its polarized position of Right to Life and Pro Abortion, although I think the pro abortion people now call themselves Pro Choice. Do you see this as a spiritual matter, not a political one? 

2. In our humanness, our jar of clay risks being cracked and ruined by sins. You might want to think of undoing these 7 Deadly Sins from your life: pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth. To learn more about this list which dates back to medieval times, go to this web side: http://www.deadlysins.com/sins/history.html. Make a checklist of these sins and see how you're doing each day. If you are having difficulties, pray for strength. Ask God to send help to you.

Along about 410 A.D., a poet named Prudentius named Contrary Virtues to these deadly sins in his poem which translates Battle for the Soul. Practicing these virtues is supposed to protect you from temptation of these sins:

Humility against pride
Kindness against envy
Abstinence against gluttony
Chastity against lust
Patience against anger
Literality against greed
and Diligence against sloth.

The Apostle Paul named Faith, Hope and Love -- with love being the greatest virtue.

The early church fathers also had a list called the Seven Corporal Works of Mercy:
Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Give shelter to strangers
Clothe the naked
Visit the sick
Minister to prisoners
Bury the dead

This list sounds like something Jesus said, don't you think?

We pray: Oh Lord, I pray that you will shine your light through me so that I can reflect your glory to others around. 

I pray that you will protect me from Satan and all that is evil so that I can resist the temptations of sinning. I pray that you will keep me strong and help me so that I will not hurt others.

I pray for safety for all who are suffering the effects of the winter storms that rage -- and especially, I pray for those who are without electricity today. I am especially concerned and pray for those homes where people need electricity to operate health-related machinery, such as dialysis equipment, and those homes where there are little babies who need warmth. I pray that you will keep everyone safe.

I pray for those who are struggling financially. I pray that you will reach down your bountiful hand and prosper your servants who are in need at this time.

I thank you for all the blessings in my life and I pray that you will keep Quint safe and strong, and our children -- Dean and Vern and Teri and Sharon and their spouses, and children. Bless them all and keep them in your care.

I pray that you will bless all who life their prayerful concerns to you this day. Amen.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

Of course we watched the State of the Union (SOTU) message last night. I realize that there is a growing sentiment that's anti-Bush but I have my own list of reasons why I am still glad he's president. The first of these is that he makes me feel safe -- 9/11 was a horrendous experience for the United States and I want a big tall Texan who won't back down or run like a chicken in the face of danger. The second reason is his faith practices. I want a president who has faith in God and goes to church regularly to worship God.

I realize that other people have other reasons -- and many of those reasons are political reasons for not supporting Bush any longer. But people don't have to agree with my reasons and I don't want to be evangelized about what someone else's reasons are either. We're all entitled ...

I am so glad that he said he was going to issue an Executive Order today instructing employees at the federal cash register not to pay out any cashola requests that are earmarks which were not voted on by congress. I echo the president's sentiments that if the programs were all that good, then they ought to have been included in an appropriations bill where the program could have been debated and decided on the house floor.

Bush had requested that congress reduce earmarks -- what we used to call pork projects -- by 50% in the 110th congress. They didn't even get close. Our great governors could only figure out how to whittle down 25%. Not good enough.

The problem with earmarks is that they get added into bills after the bills have been passed. Sometimes, the earmarks are just numbered. No reference to the congressperson or senator who snuck the earmark in there -- or even what it's for. Too much opportunity for corruption. I mean who's to say that some corrupt-minded legislator (gee, that never happens) couldn't set up a shell company back in the home district and divert some chinka-chink out that way. So no more sneaky earmarks.

I think the latest number I heard is that this latest package has about 11,000 earmarks that bloated out the spending bill by $15 billion.

Here's another little tidbit that ought not to surprise anybody. It has to do with alternative fuels. Remember how excited everybody was when ethanol was viewed as the perfect solution to reducing dependence on foreign oil? Well, guess what? Tyson Foods has announced that its quarterly profits are down 40%. And why would that be? Rising costs of grains. The little chickens do have to eat, you know. Look for costs of beef to go up next. They eat a lot of corn too. Especially the corn fed steaks.

And can you believe it? McDonalds sales are flat! Where'd all those happy meals go?

And American Express says its revenue is down 9.9% -- that's pretty close to 10% so why don't they just say their income is down about 10%!?? Anyway, higher delinquencies and more loan write-offs are taking their toll on Am Exp. Guess the green card isn't so green anymore.

And, of course, the really big news of yesterday is that the Kennedys have come out in force to endorse Obama. Hillary and Bill did not like that. In fact, if you can read between the lines of the stories out yesterday, there was a lot of sucking up going on to get the Kennedys to endorse the Clintons. Didn't happen. That's quite a coup for Obama.

I don't care what her handlers are telling her, the Hill&Billary Show would do a lot better without him. He's is going to continue to cost her votes and position. All that whatever it is that comes spewing out of his mouth is not classy and it turns people off. Not that the Clintons ever had to worry about losing my vote.

Obama can just leave the Clintons sputtering in the dust behind him. But if he thinks the Kennedys are such great political advisers, just keep in mind that Teddy's presidential campaign didn't exactly work out so well for him either.

Someday they'll all figure out that money doesn't buy class. Class rises up out of character. Have you seen any lately on the campaign trail?

Oh, and the other little nugget that's probably going to surface is news from Rudy's camp. He'll probably drop out about this time tomorrow.

Other than, things are going smoothly here. My bread turned out okay again. I really like the recipe for the Depression Bread. And there's one lonely little piece of Monkey Bread from the weekend.

The thought hit me that the next time we have an Italian dinner, I'm going to make the monkey bread recipe but instead of a cinnamon sugar wash to roll the little nuggets in plus chopped pecans to roll them in, I'm going to make a garlic butter wash, then roll the little balls of dough in Parmesan cheese. That ought to be just about plain old good.

I was almost done with knitting the tiebacks for the curtains. Got the dining room finished and have one window to go in the living room. Then I noticed that my ring finger on my left hand was kind of numb. Wondered what that was all about and when I was knitting last night -- while Quint was talking to the TV set again -- I realized that I use that finger to rest my knitting needle on. So I probably won't kit today.

That happened to me years ago when I decided to make my very own Christmas cards. My right thumb went numb from cutting out a bunch of stuff. The problem was the design I made was a partridge in a pear tree and by the time I cut out all those little pears, I had cut off the circulation to my thumb.

Anyway, I'll be fine and I'll do some counted cross stitch until my knitting fulcrum finger gets better and behaves again.

Oh -- and I just heard that Mexico has issued an arrest warrant for that Marine who is the main person of interest in the death of the Marine they found buried in his back yard.

##

THE SEVEN DWARFS -- from Joyce Cunningham

The seven dwarfs always left to go to work in the mine early each morning. As always, Snow White stayed home doing her domestic chores. As lunchtime approached, she would prepare their lunch and carry it to the mine.

One day as she arrived at the mine with the lunch, she saw that there had been a terrible cave-in. Tearfully, and fearing the worst, Snow White began calling out, hoping against hope that the dwarfs had somehow survived.

"Hello, hello!" she shouted. "Can anyone hear me? Hello!"

For a long while there was no answer. Losing hope, Snow White again shouted, "Hello! Is anyone down there?"

Just as she was about to give up all hope, there came a faint voice from deep within the mine. "Vote for Hillary, Vote for Hillary."

Snow White fell to her knees, crossed herself and prayed, "Oh, thank you, God. At least Dopey is still alive."

##


TOP TEN PREDICTIONS FOR 2008 -- from Antoinette Oberheu, Mark Stubbe, and Caroline Switz

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.

God whispers in your soul and speaks to your mind.
Sometimes when you don't have time to listen,
He has to throw a brick at you.
It's your choice:
Listen to the whisper, or wait for the brick.

##


BIBLE STUDY: 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

I don't know about you folks, but I wouldn't have the slightest idea of how to go into an unChristian land and convert people to Christianity.

But Paul could. And he did. The churches he started in Corinth were successful and blooming when he left them. And then the Judaizers came in and started casting doubt on the gospel message that Paul had left them with. These false teachers were worming their way into the hearts of the new believers.

Paul did not like that. So he starts off with his "what's going on here?" message in verse 1: Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?

Well, letters of recommendation would take care of the impostors, wouldn't you think? These false teachers would need some kind of authentication to give some idea of "where they were coming from," as we would say nowadays.

But Paul says he didn't need such a letter -- either to introduce himself to the Corinthians, or to get a letter from them, since the people in Corinth were, themselves, the only "letter" he needed. As Paul puts it in verses 2-3: You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and ready by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.

The ink, you see, is a physical thing that can fade and pass away. Even stone tablets are physical things and they can pass away too, although it may take longer.

But the spiritual essence that miraculously the Holy Spirit uses to write on our hearts is a forever thing. Better than ink. Better than stone. Better even than diamonds, which the commercials tell us last forever. Not true. Physical things don't last forever. But what the Holy Spirit writes on our hearts does last forever. It takes us all the way to eternity. It joins us with our heavenly father and it joins us with Jesus Christ. It lasts forever.

And because the tablets receive the result of a writing instrument -- like ink -- Paul likens the Christian hearts to those stones because they receive the result of the writing instrument that our heavenly father uses -- the Holy Spirit is the ink that God uses to write on our hearts with. That message, my friends, lasts forever. It is not a physical ink that fades away.

Paul is glad to bring this message to the new believers at Corinth, but he wants to make very sure that the believers understand that any competence he may have as a minister where this message is not coming from himself, but "our competence comes from God" (verse 5).

Paul then begins a beautiful message comparing the old covenant that the children of Israel had with God to the new covenant that Christ brought when he came to earth.

The covenant of the Old Testament that was given to Moses brought the laws through the Ten Commandments. These laws were from God -- no doubt about it. And even though these laws were written in stone, they were from God, so they were still glorioius in God's eyes.

So why would Paul liken these stones to a ministry of death in verse 7? 

In verses 9-11, Paul explains what he means in a full circle: If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!

Okay, so the Mosaic law was good. After all, God wrote the laws that he gave to Moses to bring to the children of Israel.

But Paul says he's not like Moses.  

Another comparison here. When Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, he had put a veil on his face so that the people would not be able to see the glory of God that was still on Moses' face. Moses kept this veil on until the glory had faded.

Remember that anyone who looked at God's face died immediately! And God's glory was present on Moses' face, thus the veil when he came down from the mountain.

Paul, on the other hand, brings a new covenant in Christ. Paul does not wear a veil. And you can be sure that all the while that Christ walked the earth as both man and God, there were many, many people who looked at his face. They didn't die.

And neither did they die when they looked at Paul, even though Paul brought them the new covenant that was also from God. It was a new covenant that transcended the old Mosaic law. This new covenant was also from God.

But back to this veil for a moment. Paul says that even when people read the old law, there is still this veil that makes their thinking dull. Even after all those many years, that veil was never taken away. That is, not until Christ came (verses 14-15).

However, the good news, says Paul in verses 16-18: But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

And keep in mind that it is this Spirit that gives life. This Spirit frees us from the death that the law condemned us all to. This Spirit is both the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit that comes to all who believe in Christ.

We can turn to Galatians 2:20 to learn what Paul means: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

And in Romans 8:9 -- You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

These verses remind us that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. They accomplish their purposes  through the Holy Spirit.

Let's go back, just for a moment, to Acts 6:6-7: Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.

Discussion points:

This chapter brings such a richness that I have to read and re-read it.

1. When you realize that Christ said, "I bring you a new law," what do you think he meant? Does this chapter help you realize that he did not intend to do away with the old law but rather, to bring us salvation from the condemnation under the old law?

2. Sometimes I read Bible passages too quickly and miss important thoughts and concepts. I am glad for this chapter for it brings me back to the realization that believers bring the Spirit of Christ into their hearts. Have you found yourself thinking of the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit being the same person? Can you think of different ways that they manifest in our lives?

3. The Holy Spirit fulfills the purposes of the Father and the Son. Our heavenly father makes the Holy Spirit available to us so that the Father's and the Son's purposes can live through our lives. What are some ways that you need to call on the Holy Spirit for help in your life?

We pray: Oh Spirit of the Living God, I am so thankful that you help me in my life. I need your help so that I can do the things that I am supposed to do, but cannot when left to my own devices.

I am not strong enough.

I am too selfish.

I am too distracted.

I pray that you would enter my heart anew each day so that everything I do on this day will be to live out the purposes of my Heavenly Father who has adopted me and joined me with Christ as my brother. Amen.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

I'll have you to know that it's going to get up to 52 degrees this afternoon, although we have a wind advisory until 9 o'clock this evening.

That pretty much coincides with the president's State of the Union (SOTU) message which we will most certainly be watching this year. We've relied on snippits from the newsies in years past because we were at the office, so tonight we get to watch the whole thing from the ceremoniously beginning of his entry, to the speech which is about 15 typed pages long.

Let's see now, if I remember from my puppet show days, two typed pages of script takes about 5 minutes. But that was a double-spaced script. So if his speech is single-spaced, it would be 5 minutes for each page. -- Ought to be a fifteen minute speech then, not counting time for ovations.

Someone will be counting the ovations.

And someone will also be counting the number of times that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blinks her eyes. Body language experts will try reading something into that.

Senator Hillary says she's not going to the SOTU speech. Campaigning in Florida is far more important that listening to anything the president has to say. And her democratic audience probably doesn't care about President Bush or his SOTU either. They probably think that no one but a democratic president would have anything useful to say.

We've certainly become polarized in this country, haven't we?

It seems that the far left and the far right declared war on each other and there's no meeting in the middle. Well, I have news for them all. It's that middle ground where anything that's lasting ever gets accomplished. And sometimes it takes a lot of work and a lot of compromise for both sides to work their way back to the middle ground, but that's where meaningful agreements are carved out.

So the pontificators ought to just get off their high horses and come down off the Mt. Olympuses they've built for themselves and join the rest of us regulars. Taxpaying citizens, that is. If they weren't so insulated by their sycophants, they'd realize this little truth.

In other news, up north the "mighty" Kankakee River is swelling up. It does this just about every year. Ice jams are going to start to thaw there shortly. Especially if they get temperatures in the 50s like we are having down here in the middle of the state. The melting will make the Kankakee River go over its banks. I, for one, would not want to live along the Kankakee. Had too many clients who fished down there and more than one have told me about catching water moccasins instead of fishies.

I don't like poisonous critters -- that is, unless the scientists are looking at the venom of these million year monsters to help out with cancer cures, or something else useful. Otherwise, stomping them into oblivion seems like a good thing to do to snakes.

Politics and snakes. Now I'm getting too worked up. I need to go sit and chill out for a minute or two. Get a grip on my psyche and just calm down!

##

BIBLE STUDY: 2 Corinthians 2:1-17

In first verse of this chapter, Paul says he has made up his mind not to make another "painful visit" to the Corinthians.

He doesn't give us any clues about what he means by "painful." And the Greek text reads: I determined not to come to you again in sorrow. What you take from this is speculation -- or scholarly best guess.

Did someone hurt Paul's feelings? Not likely that this would stop him. Paul was a master at confronting people who tried to chop him off at the knees. And here's a clue: they would lose any such confrontation. The reason for his success: Paul stayed on the intellectual side of any such fray with others. He did not get down in the emotional dirt and "wallow around" with people who wouldn't maintain the sobering truths of intellect.

But he would enter into a dispute with those who tried to erode the spirituality of his church congregations, or his own spirituality too, for that matter. And where Paul was concerned, he had the mega mo-jo help from the Holy Spirit to help him with any spiritual encounters with anybody who wanted to mess with him.

This would not have been a painful experience for Paul, I believe. Rather, he would have rejoiced at any such opportunity, likening it to a mission quest.

And it's also not likely that Paul would have singled out any particular individual who may have brought a painful experience to him. Paul would most likely have gone to an individual and reconciled the difference.

In my view, Paul shrunk away from no one. There was nothing that anyone could do to Paul that he and God couldn't handle. So what he means by commenting about a painful experience as the reason for his not going back to Corinth is conjecture.

We do get somewhat of a hint in verses 2-4, though, for Paul says: For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.

When Paul says, "...I wrote as I did..." some scholars say that he is referring to another letter, perhaps written in between the first and second letter. Others say that this letter may actually have been appended to the second letter, as the last four chapters of 2 Corinthians where Paul defends his ministry, talks about false apostles, even talks about his own personal sufferings, talks about his vision -- perhaps too boastfully for some -- talks about his concern for the Corinthians and leaves them with some final warnings.

But I get ahead of myself. We will look at those chapters when we get to them in a week or so.

For now, perhaps Paul was misinterpreted when he reiterated to the Corinthians about how Jesus had chosen him for the mission field. We do know that Paul was adamant about not offending anyone. In fact, in another passage, he warned that if anyone would contemplate doing anything that just might be offensive to anyone for any reason whatsoever, to avoid doing it.

Perhaps there was money missing from the "benevolence fund" for the poor that Paul was going to collect and take to Jerusalem. And maybe the real culprit was discovered, even though some accused Paul of taking the money for himself.

The truth is, we just don't know what Paul truly meant.

And the reason for some thinking that a "missing" letter just got tagged onto the second letter -- kind of as an afterthought as some would believe -- maybe yes, maybe no.

Those kind of minute details are a distraction from the real truth and beauty of Paul's gospel message. I prefer to focus on this gospel truth -- and not get lost in whether or not Paul ran out of postage and added a few chapters onto a letter so that it would be delivered at the same time.

And then, the thought struck me. Can you just imagine what Paul would have done if he'd had the Internet available to him? He could have readers all over the world and there probably wouldn't have been a single non-Christian left anywhere on the planet.

But wow, does Paul give them all something to really think about. He tells the Corinthians that anybody has caused any kind of grief, then that person ought to be forgiven, not punished. He ought to be forgiven and comforted so that he wouldn't be overcome by "excessive sorrow."

Paul urges the Corinthians to reaffirm their love for this person.

And besides, the reason Paul says he wrote them about this incident in the first place was to see if they would stand the test and be obedient in everything (verse 9). Then he goes on to say in verses 10-11: If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven -- if there was anything to forgive -- I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Whatever it was, it certainly bothered Paul, because he says that even when he went to Troas to take his gospel message to those people, he still didn't have any peace of mind about the matter. Paul says he was looking for Titus in Troas, but not finding him there, he decided to go to Macedonia.

Paul expected to find Titus and learn about what was happening in the churches in Corinth. A study note in my Concordia Study Bible (page 1777) says that Paul trusted Titus very much. In fact, Titus was supposed to collect the poverty funds that were collected for the poor folks in Jerusalem.

Then Paul becomes himself again and likens his ministry to a triumphant procession for Christ -- not unlike the generals leading warriors into battle.

This forward march for Christ brings a most welcome fragrance to God.

Remember back in the Old Testament when the references of the altar sacrifices lifted a pleasing arose to God in the heavens?

Paul likens this fragrance of the gospel message as also pleasing to God for in verses 14-16: But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.

Paul's reference to the "smell of death" reminds us all that unbelief in this gospel message bring the stench of death to those who reject Christ, and thus God, who sent Christ to save all mankind. Unbelievers choose this death for they banish themselves to eternal damnation in the fiery abyss.

Then Paul closes this chapter with this thought in verse 17: Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

For discussion:

1. This chapter brings a couple of important thoughts. The first is this business of getting into too much minutiae in our discussions of Bible truths. Have you ever done this? Did it work? 

For so many -- especially potential new Christians -- this can be a real turn-off. Do you have any words of encouragement for people who want to gently back out of this kind of "painting themselves in a corner" with the minute details of a message they want to share?

Oh sure, there are many who still would say that they think they have a responsibility to just go right ahead and bring this kind of an "overload" to unbelievers. If that's the case, then I wonder what the real goal is -- impress someone with how much you know, or try to bring them to faith in Christ?

2. And secondly, Paul has some strong messages to say about forgiveness in this chapter. Go back and re-read those verses that pertain to forgiveness. If you are challenged by forgiving someone else, or even yourself, can you get some comfort by asking the Holy Spirit to come to your aid?

Paul talks about embracing someone in the church at Corinth -- apparently someone who has done something wrong -- with love. But I would say, from a mental health perspective, that a person has to be in a very strong place psychologically for that to happen.

When our psyches are wounded, we have a responsibility to become whole again. That takes a lot of work and it most certainly is going to require you to bring the Holy Spirit deep into your heart because you cannot do this job by yourself. I don't care who you are -- you just are not strong enough to do it all by yourself.

But the good news is that God, our heavenly father, is willing -- even eager -- to send the Holy Spirit to you to help you grow to this point of benevolence -- forgiving and then replacing the pain of whatever that grief was -- with the love that comes from knowing that whatever is done to us through some other human being is really the work of Satan -- not that other human being who acted out of a weakness of his/her own spirit.

We bring our prayers to God: Dear heavenly father, I need to ask you right now to send your Holy Spirit to me so that I can become whole again and bask in the joy of love toward others.

I pray that you will protect me from Satan and all that is evil so that I will not cause pain to anyone.

And I pray that you will forgive me from all my sins -- the ones that I know I commit and even the sins that I commit that I don't even know about -- sins that are at some depth in my being that I am not consciously aware of.

Thank you, dear God, for sending your son Jesus Christ to die for my sins and to rise again in the truth of your most profound love for me.

I pray for all those in the mission field who walk in dangerous places around the world to bring your gospel message to unbelievers. I pray that you will keep them safe and that your message will rise in fragrance to you from their work. Amen.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

Today is winter's last blast -- hopefully. It was 6 degrees this morning with the promise that it's going to warm up throughout the day and stay "warm." That is, if you can count temperature in the 20s as warm. There's a real hope that it will be in the upper 40s by Sunday afternoon. Wonderful!

Next stop: Ground Hog Day! Then spring. Every day that passes is one day closer to spring.

My peach jam turned out A-OK as Quint says. I bought four bags of frozen peaches and squooshed them up with the new hand-held blender that I had forgotten I had. Obviously we have too much stuff if I can't even remember what I have. And I was going to go buy another one. Silly me.

I even found the calendar that has all the birthdays and anniversaries on. This year I thought I'd take a clue from how my mom used to do it. She never forgot an important birthday or anniversary. People still remember and cherish her for remembering them every year. I's her legacy.

Anyway, every year on New Years Day she would sit down with a big calendar and go through it with the one from last year and write down whose birthday or anniversary was on which date. I did that too this year. Only problem is, I did something with the calendar and couldn't remember where I put it. I found it yesterday though. It was in the middle drawer of the library table in the living room. I only missed three birthdays by the time I found it.

My mother would sit down on the first day of every month and get all the cards ready to mail. She would write the date of the event in the little area where the stamp goes and that would give her a clue of when she was supposed to mail the cards. Then she'd put a stamp over her handwritten little note.

Worked like a charm for Mom, bless her heart. She made so many people feel so special just by remembering them.

It really doesn't take all that much to affirm someone's value in our lives. And besides, doing something nice for someone else is one of the ways we build happiness into our own lives. It gives our own self-esteem a big boost when we do something nice for someone else.

Bringing joy to others circles its way back to us.

##

BIBLE STUDY: 2 Corinthians: 1-24

In Paul's first letter, we learn much about how Paul thought the congregations ought to behave and how they ought to interact with one another. He was especially concerned about the ever-present vulnerabilities to backsliding to idolatry. He was concerned about the presence of some who put the spiritual life of the congregations at risk by challenging the gospel message that Paul had brought them.

In this second letter, Paul brings kindness and comfort to the congregations where he had been stern in his first letter. He tells the Corinthians that he's coming for one long visit to them, rather than two short ones. The people who opposed Paul seized upon this change of mind or change of itinerary, or perhaps he just didn't have the resources to travel twice to Corinth. These people said that the churches couldn't count on Paul -- that he didn't mean what he said.

Not only that, but they accused him of taking the money that they had collected for the poor and using it for himself. This must have been a hefty sum of money since the Corinthians had been setting the money aside for nearly a year.

And we learn much about Paul himself as we read this letter. He shares a great deal of his own biography in this letter. And he reassures the Corinthians that he does, indeed, mean what he says.

We learn in the very first verse that Paul is the author of this letter, and that Timothy has joined him. He doesn't say that Timothy is the co-author of this letter but, rather, that Timothy also sends greetings to the Corinthians.

I have always found great solace in these early verses of this letter in verses 3-5: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

Particularly as we approach the beginning of the Lenten season and prepare for the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, this last sentence compels me to go deeper into my daily prayers: "For just as the sufferings of Christ flow into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

And just as we are comforted by our Heavenly Father, we are also to bring comfort to others around us. Paul reminds us of this in verses 6-7.

Then Paul gives the Corinthians some insight into what he has been going through in verses 8-11: We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us.

Does this passage remind you a bit of the faithful lessons from the Old Testament where the Israelite suffered hardships when they forgot that it was God who was really in charge of their lives.

Remember the battle of Jericho? God said, "Now, here's how I want you to do it." And the walls tumbled down.

We need always to remember that God is abundantly willing to bless our lives and prosper us, if only we make a commitment to follow the path he wants us to take.
 
Paul then explains to the churches in Corinth that he has to make a change in plans about his visit. He says that he had planned on coming to Corinth on his way to Macedonia, then come back to Corinth from Macedonia.

How often we make plans for a trip, then change the itinerary when we think better of it. Or not go at all. Paul had to make such a change in plans and he appeals to the churches at Corinth to not misunderstand this need for a change as a lessening of his steadfastness. Or to let this misunderstanding cloud how they felt about the gospel message that Paul brought to them.

The Corinthians -- particularly this yeasty little bunch of troublemakers in the churches -- really held Paul to an incredibly high standard, don't you think? Paul's presence may have changed but his message hadn't.

He wanted them to be sure of this, for in verses 21-22: Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Paul wants to remove any ambiguity that the Corinthians may have had in the gospel message that Paul brought them and he does not want them to interpret a change of plans as anything but just that -- a needed change of plans. This change of plans does not water down the strength of the gospel message that Paul brought to them, for that message is from God through Paul.

Paul, in essence, takes a vow as he closes this chapter when he calls on God as his witness that he didn't return to Corinth to spare them. He says in verse 24: Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

We'll look to Chapter 2 to see what Paul may have meant by this distress and not wanting to grieve the Corinthians with two visits instead of one.

For discussion:

1. What sufferings are you enduring at this time in your life?

2. Do you feel discomforted, as if everything seems to be going wrong? Or are there just a few little pangs that disquiet your days? Remember that Christ suffered greatly and God delivered him. But oh my goodness -- what a task Christ was sent to do before that deliverance came about.

3. We've all had to change plans because life circumstances changed. Given what you know of Paul, see if you can think of different circumstances in his life that may have prompted him to change his travel plans. Certainly weather could have become a hindrance to travel. Did he even have enough money to travel? What do you think?

We pray: Dear Heavenly Father: I pray that you will help me through all my sufferings, even what may seem to be only a small thing to someone else. These sufferings sometimes threaten to tear me apart. I pray that you would help me remember that you are always aware of my sufferings and that your help is so near to me, if only I would ask for your help.

I am asking now that you bring your great comfort to me and that you would bring an end to my suffering. You know what that suffering is and I pray for your comfort and solace in getting me through these tough times. And I pray that you will deliver me from those things that plague my joy and well-being. Amen.

##

INTERESTING STUFF -- from Becky Mayfield

In the 1400s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have the "rule of thumb."

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only -- Ladies Forbidden" -- and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury.

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

The state with the highest percentage of people who walk to work is Alaska.

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness is 28%. Now, get this: the percentage of North America that is wilderness is 38%.

The cost of raisign a medium-size dog to the age of eleven is $16,400.

The average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour is 61,000.

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

The first novel ever written on a typewriter was Tom Sawyer.

The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile national monuments.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades -- King David
Hearts -- Charlemagne
Clubs -- Alexander, the Great
Diamonds -- Julius Caesar

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of their birthplace.

What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laster printers all have in common? They were invented by women.

What is the only good that doesn't spoil? Honey.

On which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year? Fathers Day.

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase, "Goodnight, sleep tight."

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarters. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them, "Mind your pints and quarts and settle down!" It's where we get the phrase, "Mind your Ps and Qs."

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had  whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

You'll be proud of me -- I have no political news to report. We went to a prayer group at church last night and when we came home, watched a movie called Driving Lessons. It was a comedy.

And I knitted. Owing to both the comfort and convenience of UPS, I did not have to drive all the way to Terre Haute to get Sizes 1, 2 and 4 knitting needles. Quint ordered them for me from Jo-Ann Fabrics (online). Guess he got a bit tired of me planning this huge 67 mile trek over to Terre Haute to the Jo-Ann Fabric Store. I got some metallic thread from Wal-Mart the other day to make a scarf and anything bigger than #1 needles are way too big. So I cast on about 80 stitches and knitted my little heart out during the 2-hour movie. Got a whole inch done. Guess it will be a scarf for next winter, since Ground Hog Day is one week from this Saturday. Then spring is right behind the furry little beast whether he sees his shadow or not.

Not much else to report unless you count on the fact that the weather hit the pits again. It was only 6 degrees when I got up this morning. A mighty good day to stay indoors. I'm going to make a Shepherds Pie for lunch. Also some peach jam this afternoon. Yum yum. I made bread yesterday afternoon. We are getting really spoiled with the homemade bread. And we're consistently losing weight too. Maybe because it's real bread. Or maybe because we've given up diet soda pop -- one of the side effects of aspartame is weight gain. So why do they use it to sweeten diet pop? Go figure. Even that sugar free lemonade stuff is sweetened with aspartame.

So I got some unsweetened Koolaid and am going to sweeten it with Splenda. That works.

##

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 16:1-24

Paul starts off this chapter with instructions about collecting money for poor people. He says the Corinthians ought to put aside money on the first day of each week just like the churches in Galatia do. Then, when Paul comes to visit the churches in Corinth they will have saved out money for the poor people. Then, Paul says, the churches can select men that they want to take these funds to Jerusalem. And if they want, Paul has volunteered to go with the men.

Paul says he'll be in the Corinth area after he makes a trip through Macedonia -- maybe even be able to spend the winter with the Corinthians. This was a change of plans for Paul. He had originally planned on going to Corinth first, after he left Ephesus, but must have thought the better of it. So he changed his mind (Concordia Study Bible, page 1771).

In verses 8-9, Paul explains why he will stay a bit longer in Ephesus: But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has been opened to me, and there ae many who oppose me.

(Just a reminder note that the word Pentecostmeans "50." Pentecost is the 50th day after the Passover. That's when the Jews celebrated the Feast of Firstfruits. Concordia Study Bible, page 1771)

We learn in verse 10 that Timothy is not with Paul in Ephesus. He must have gone on a separate mission assignment because Paul asks the Corinthians to send Timothy back to Paul if they see him. Paul also asks the Corinthians to "be nice" to Timothy and not to do anything that would scare Timothy. Apparently Timothy was somewhat shy and Paul wanted to make sure that the Corinthians offered Timothy everything that he needed while Timothy was in Corinth.

Paul then addresses a concern that the Corinthians must have raised in the letter that they sent to Paul -- which is one of the reasons that aroused this responsive first letter back to the Corinthians. The Corinthians wanted to know about Apollos.
 
Paul tells the Corinthians, in verse 12, that he had really tried to get Apollos to come back to the churches in Corinth but for some reason, Apollos really didn't want to do that. When Paul says that Apollos was "quite unwilling to go now," couldn't we figure that Apollos just plain old refused? Paul leaves the door open for reconciliation with the added thought, "but he will go when he has the opportunity."

Paul then adds this admonition in verses 13-14: Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love.

It seems to me like Paul is warning the Corinthians to be vigilant and watch out for all those people who were lurking about just waiting for opportunities to lure them back into temptation -- maybe to get them back into the temples of false gods and goddesses. Or maybe to come over to their houses for feasts that included food from the sacrifices at these temples.

So Paul tells the Corinthians to be on their guard.

That's good advice for us today too. There are all kinds of people who cross our paths who would just love to tempt us into doing all kinds of naughty things. Things we certainly wouldn't do if Christ were in the room with us and watching us. Oh, but he is. We have to remember that Christ is always with us. And always hoping that we won't give in to temptations that come at us through other people. So we have to be on guard too!

Then Paul tells the Corinthians about the household of Stephanas. He says that the people in this home were the first converts in Greece (Achia). They are devoted to doing whatever they were asked to do. Paul encourages the Corinthians to be like them. And he says he was glad when they came to visit him, because Stephanas and his fellow travelers supplied what was lacking from the Corinthians. Paul was probably talking about affections because he said that the group from Stephanas' household refreshed his spirit (verse 18).

And finally, we have Paul's closure to this first letter. It is, after all, a letter in the classic Greek form. It begins with the first verse of the first chapter identifying the writer, and the whole middle part of the letter is filled with news and admonitions and encouragements from Paul. And then he closes this letter saying that all the churches in Asia send greetings to the churches in Corinth.

He mentions Aquila and Priscilla and all the people who meet at their house. Everyone sends greetings and a holy kiss. These holy kisses were kisses of greeting -- men kissing men; women kissing women, etc. They were not long, enduring kisses of passion.

Then Paul finishes off the letter with the assurance that he had written it himself, and adds this note in verse 22: If anyone does not love the Lord -- a curse be on him. Come, O Lord.

And in verses 23-24, we hear the pastoral benediction: The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus. Amen.

For discussion:

1. In your own church, how do you extend a welcome to new visitors who come to worship with you? We recently moved a couple of hundred miles south and when we had to find a new church home, I will tell you that we settled into a church where we had been welcomed by a number of people as we left the sanctuary.

2. Paul starts off this chapter with the instruction to put aside some money on the first day of each week for the poor. Most pastors have a "Good Samaritan" fund where they dispense money to people who come into the church looking for assistance. Does your church have such a fund? If so, are you a regular contributor in addition to the money you put into the offering plate that pays the expenses of the church?  

3. Paul expresses his concerns about the people at Corinth not falling back into their earlier temptations. What temptations do you guard yourself against?

4. Do you ask for heavenly beings to come to your aid? Do you ask our Lord to put a hedge around you? Do you use the full counsel of the Holy Spirit to strengthen your resolve?

5. And finally, how do you serve others in Christian love?

We pray: Oh Spirit of the Living God, I pray that you will give me the strength that I need to resist Satan and all that is evil. I pray that you would put a hedge around me so that no evil can get to me.

I thank you Lord for all the blessings you have given to me. And I pray for all people everywhere who need the help and support of your faithful believers.

I pray for the millions of children who die every year -- 9.7 million last year did not make it to their first birthday and four million died during their first month of life. I pray that all of us everywhere in the world could do what we can to overcome the deadly ravages of pneumonia and malaria and infections that could be healed so easily.

And I pray for an end to the wars around the world. And especially the deadly war in the Congo where thousands are dying every month.

I pray for peace everywhere in the entire world. Amen.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

I feel better now that I'm taking a reprieve from all that political stuff. Will most definitely watch the results come in on Saturday evening though, since both South Carolina and Florida are having elections that day. And Super Tuesday on February 5? Well, that will probably be a late night with big bowls of popcorn!

Shouldn't take too much time out of our Saturday evening, since the news channels have gotten into the bad habit of "calling" an election with a very small percentage of the results in. Like 12% in the Nevada caucuses. If they aren't careful, their advertisers will start running ads only in the first forty-five minutes of the broadcast.

I guess the newsies figure it's no big deal, since they've called the elections right so far.

One of these days, though, the politicos are going to figure that out and start holding back precinct tallies. Then the broadcasters will have egg on their faces. That's what's happened to the pollsters. Now they're taking entrance and exit polls. And folks aren't always telling them how they really voted.

In the meantime, we're watching programs on the History Channel and Discovery and other stuff that Quint likes to watch. So far, I've learned what the earth will look like when there are no people left on the planet. Here's a tip: the little "designer doggies" don't fare too well. The big dogs revert back to the wild and start foraging for little critters to eat. And cats move into the high rises.

And we watched New York being hit by a really big earthquake. And lots of volcano shows and other programs that retired scientists like to watch. And when people make outrageous claims that require a "suspension of his belief system," Quint talks to the person on the TV screen.

I don't care. I'm just knitting and lovin' it. Great way to spend a cold, wintry evening all cuddled up in our nice warm house. Thank you, Mr. Providence (that's my affectionate name for my Heavenly Father.)

In case you have not checked the prayer request page, I have to tell you that our friend John has made a miraculous recovery from his heart-related problem. He's up and walking around. That's fantastic, considering that his heart stopped more than a couple of times while he was in ICU. Ended up with a pacemaker to keep his ticker pumping like it should. Prayers continue for you, John.

If you have a prayer request, just send me an e-mail and I'll add it to the prayer request. Just be sure to put "prayer request" in the subject line. I'll be glad to lift your concerns up in prayer.

##

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 15:1-58

Paul delivers a sermon, or homily, in this chapter.

Can't you just seeing him rise from his seated position in the crowd and, standing there, he says: Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. (verses 1-2)

Paul apparently felt that these warnings were necessary -- after all, evil was all around the church members in Corinth. The idolaters didn't go away just because Paul had started a church. And the temples to the little false gods didn't get torn down. No indeed. The warnings were there for the Corinthians just as surely as Moses had warned the children of Israel to hold onto their faith and not go over to the side of the devil where idols were waiting.

Paul then makes this restatement of the gospel message (verses 3-4): For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

Then Paul lists six different times that Christ appeared physically after his death and resurrection:

1. he appeared to Peter
2. he appeared to the Twelve
3. he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep
4. he appeared to James
5. he appeared to the apostles
6. he appeared to Paul, as to one abnormally born
(verses 5-9)

The note added to #3 that some have fallen asleep is a common expression the Greeks used to note that someone had died.

And in verse 6, Paul refers to him as "one abnormally born." What is generally thought is that Paul is saying that Christ chose him a little differently than he did the disciples.

That is, when Christ chose his disciples, he kind of tapped them on the shoulder and said "Follow me." With Paul, however, Christ used a rather dramatic technique that literally stopped Paul in his tracks. Christ blinded Paul on the road to Damascus. Paul had to be led to someone's house where he was cared for and restored to sight.

So the great persecutor of Christians was taken from his tormenting life and brought to a great faith that led him to become the greatest missionary of all times, in my view.

Paul did not mind sharing this history of himself with non-believers if it could help to bring them to faith through the gospel message. And I can tell you that I do not hesitate to use the example of Paul whenever I run into people who have difficulty forgiving themselves for something they have done that they feel is unforgivable in God's eyes. I mean, after all, if God would forgive Paul for all the persecutions and murders of the early Christians, then God will forgive each of us for anything that we have done in our own lives.

Our heavenly father wants to forgive us. He wants us to be bathed in the glory of Christ's resurrection for it was for our sins that he sent his son to die for our sins in the first place. If we aren't going to turn that around and accept forgiveness, then aren't we turning our backs on God's most cherished gift to us?

Think about this: the next time someone gives you a gift, would you turn it back and say, "I really don't deserve this; I've done nothing to deserve this gift, so I won't accept it." How do you think the gift-giver would feel if you rejected the gift? So when it comes to the time when you ought to forgive yourselves for something -- anything -- just get down on your knees and say "Thank you God. I know I don't deserve it, but then -- nobody does. Thank you. I'm even going to work on forgiving myself. I can give myself this gift, thanks to what you've done for me."

In verse 12, Paul mentions that some of the Corinthians were saying that Christ didn't really come back from the dead.

In fact, the Sadducees do not believe in the resurrect to this very day. The Pharisees do though. It was the same back in Paul's day. And since there was a pretty good sized group of Jews in Corinth, Paul addressed this point about the resurrection.

Paul says that if they didn't believe in the resurrection, even that Christ had not come back to life, then Paul's preaching was useless and so was their faith.

It's Christ's resurrection from death that is one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith!

Then Paul goes on to say that if he was going about the countryside bearing a false witness about God because he was preaching that God had raised Christ from the dead and if that were not true, then the Corinthians, and we are too, still living in our sins. (verses 15-19)

And if that's true, then everybody who has died, are still in their sins.

But take heart. In verse 20, Paul assures us that Christ has indeed been raised from the dead.

And Paul likens Christ to the first-fruits of the harvest and in doing so, all who have fallen asleep belong to this same harvest of souls.

In verse 21, Paul brings the whole story of mankind full circle: For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

So Adam brought death to mankind through his sin -- and Christ brought life to mankind through his resurrection from the dead. And when Christ comes back for the second time, he will gather all who belong to him and bring them to his Father in heaven.

When Paul is talking about destroying all who have dominion, authority and power over people in verse 24, he's talking about the people who do not belong to Christ and all those who oppose Christ.

In verse 25, Paul says that Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

Some say that Paul is referring to the 1,000 years that is mentioned in Rev. 20:1-6; however, John had not written The Revelation at the time that Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians. But the Holy Spirit most certainly could have inspired such a thought to Paul. (It's pretty well accepted that Revelation was written much closer to the end of the first century -- about 95 AD, where this letter to the Corinthians was written closer to the middle of the first century A.D.)

Paul also clarifies what he means when he says that when Christ returns, he will put "everything" under his feet. Paul says in verse 27: Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.

Paul mentions baptism in verses 29-30 almost in passing when he says: Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them? And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?

You might be surprised to learn that some of the Corinthians were being baptized kind of like by proxy for their deceased relatives. They wanted to make sure that their relatives would enjoy the afterlife when Christ returns. Paul did not bring much detail to what he was thinking here. Nor did he leave a footnote for this thought.

Paul quotes from the Greek poet Menander in verse 32b: Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we did. Then he adds in verses 33-34: Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God -- I say this to your shame.

Specifically, ignorant of God because they did not believe in the resurrection. These are the people Paul is talking about when he says that bad company corrupt good company.

Someone then asks Paul what people are going to look like when they come back from dead. Would they be able to recognize their loved ones? On its surface, that's not such a ridiculous question. Keep in mind that the Greeks were enormously curious about a lot of intellectual things, including minute details that most of us may not even think about.

So, yeah. They were very curious about what their loved ones would look like when died and came back to life. I often have the same question about moms who have miscarried their beloved infant babies. They most certainly want to know what their babies will look like and whether or not the babies will recognize them. I don't have an answer for those questions, but I do believe that God will draw loved ones together when he joins us in heaven.

Paul goes into a great detail about how God made us different from the animals and plants. It just depends on what kind of seed you came from. That determines whether or not you're human, animal, plant, or even if you a heavenly body. In the final analysis, God makes things as it pleases him. 

Even Adam, from dust, was made by God. Adam was the first living being. And so it is, as Paul says in verse 45b, the last Adam -- that is, Christ -- is a life-giving spirit.  Very important difference here between the first Adam and the last Adam. When Christ returns, he will give his believers a glorious physical body. In verse 49 we read Paul's words: And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

Then Paul shares this secret in verse 51-52: Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed -- in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

After this change, Paul says that what is written is true -- that is, the sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (verses 54b-57)

Paul leaves this chapter with the following admonition: Therefore, my dear brother, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (verse 58)

---

Discussion points:

1. Imagine that you were a missionary going into a gathering of people who had never ever heard of Jesus Christ. Using Paul's thinking, can you restate the gospel message of Jesus Christ?

2. What are you thoughts about Paul's reference to himself as being "abnormally born?" Since he doesn't really say what he means by that, he kind of leaves us to our own conjecture.

3. Belief in the resurrection of the dead is one of the things that set Christians apart from other religions that do not believe in the resurrection. Do you believe that when you die, you will enjoy an afterlife in heaven?

4. Re-read verse 29 and discuss the matter of baptism, specifically in terms of the Corinthians being baptized for other people. What did Paul say about this?

5. This chapter is rich in its details about Paul's thinking and instructions about how we are to believe in the resurrection. As you read this chapter in its entirety, do you still have unanswered questions about meeting your loved ones in heaven?

6. And finally, what does Paul say we are to do with our lives in verse 58?

Closing prayer: Oh Lord, I come to you filled with wonder and amazement about everything you do for me and everything you have done for me. Most of all, that you would willingly sacrifice your son to die for my sins.

I just am amazed that you would do that for me. Thank you, Lord. I don't deserve it. I can't earn it. I can only thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul.

I pray that you would guide me, fill me with your love, and be with me every day of my life as I try to do your work. And if I falter, I pray that you would catch me and keep me on my feet.

I ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

I'm not sure quite how it happens but a tooth underneath a bridge snapped off at the gum line. Oh well. I needed to find a new dentist since our move anyway. So now I have a new doctor. Seeing him this Friday morning. And today I saw my new dentist. I had so many pictures taken of the inside of my mouth that I feel like a movie star. Well, not quite. Actually all you can see are the roots of my teeth. Not very glamorous.

Remember when I told you that the candidates were going to start cannibalizing each other? Apparently this started at the Democratic debate the other night. Hillary and Obama finally took off their phony little smiles and started verbally slapping each other around. Oh boy.

And then there was that awful photo of Billy Boy falling asleep at a speech on MLK Day at some Baptist church down south. How embarrassing can that be for Hillary's campaign? It's old news by now and the best way to make it go away is to just ignore it like it never happened. Politicians are good at that unless it's a faux pas on the other side. Then it's a bid deal that they keep bringing up.

The attack plan now includes South Carolina and Florida. Democratic primary coming up this Saturday so we'll see who's loved the most -- Obama or Hillary. It's Obama's turn to win one. So we shall see. The Republicans already primaried out of South Carolina. McCain won the gold, as Romney would say.

Both the Democratic and Republic primaries are in Florida on January 29, so it's going to be a busy Saturday for everybody.

I'm personally hoping there's some good movies added to On Demand. What I want to know about the primary winners I can get from the news. I don't need to sit and watch the pundits sitting around a table prognosticating for three hours. What I really don't like is when the networks "call" an election after only 12% of the results are tallied.

Let's see -- what else is going on in the world around us.

The Dow opened more than $500 down this morning. That prompted the Feds to lower interest rates by 3/4 of a point. Good news -- in fact, great news for you if you're going to be buying a house or a car. Or if you have any kind of financing that's tied to the prime.

The Dow is coming back up now. At this point, it's only down $179 and some change. Chinese stock market fell sharply, as did the British FTSE -- all because the credit crunch/mortgage blues in the United States is scaring everybody. Not to worry, guys -- so don't panic. We'll get things tweaked out just fine. Have a little patience. But from now on, no more 100% mortgages. Those days are gone, comprehendo?

Good news for the baby mortality rate. It's lowering. Used to be, until this new data, there were 10 million babies who died each year. The latest data are 9.7 million. That's still way too many. About 9.7 million too many, but at least the trend is getting better. Sadly, 26,000 children die every day because of pneumonia, malaria and other health problems, according to UNICEF. Four million children die in their first month.

So don't you think our politicians in the United States could fly commercial jets instead of those posh little private things, and donate some of their very own money to UNICEF? Or maybe give up one clerk in their offices. Some of these senators, for instance, have pretty good sized little dynasties. Imagine how much antibiotics they could buy with that $35,000-$60,000 a year!

And then there's the Congo. Still ravaging effects of war, disease and malnutrition are killing 45,000 people every month in the Congo according to the International Rescue Committee. So far, a total of 5.4 million people have died in the Congo in almost the last decade. That's like the entire state of Colorado, or the entire country of Denmark!

Don't we have some antibiotics stockpiled somewhere that we could ship off to the Congo too? And put some food on the plane too. For crying out loud, nobody should be starving to death in this day and age.

The United States has the richest people in the world living here -- just look at the Hollywood types. They want millions to do one picture. Sometimes they only work a month or so for their part in a movie, the collect big paychecks. Hey, share the wealth you guys.

Same goes for the rich politicians who live our on the east coast, like Washington, D.C. Give some of your recent raise away and help poor people living in needy places around the globe.

You'll feel better for it.

And for all you music fans out there who want a good web site, here's a link that's go all the news about who got the Oscar nods: http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/22/oscar.nominations/index.html

As usual, Quint and I have not seen a cotton pickin' one of them. I'm still pouting about the know-it-all Hollywood types who think they can preach politics to me, so I'm not giving them any money. Also, I am totally opposed to all the trash coming out of Hollywood. I don't need nudity to tell a story, and all that language is horrible. They all need their mouths washed out with soap. And the only naked man I need to see is my husband's body. Nudity is just not necessary. I do like a good story though. And you can have a good story where everyone keeps all their clothes on.

##

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 14:1-40

Paul makes a distinction in the early verses of this chapter between prophesying and speaking in tongues.

He says that when you prophesy, you talk to the people around you.

But when you speak in tongues, you are speaking to God -- no human can understand your mutterings, because people who speak in tongues are talking about mysteries with his spirit.

People who prophesy build up the church. Paul says, in verse 5b, that those who prophesy are greater than those who speak in tongues.

People who speak in tongues build themselves up. No one understands them unless they have an interpreter. Paul says in verse 9: Unless you speak intelligible words with your tongue, how will anyone know what you are saying? You will just be speaking into the air.

But Paul recognized that people really wanted to have gifts from the Holy Spirit, so he adds in verse 12: Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

Paul says that he speaks in tongues. In fact, in verse 18 he says he speaks in tongues more than all of them. But, in verse 19, he says: But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Paul reckons that speaking in tongues is for unbelievers where prophesy, on the other hand, is for believers. For instance, if someone came into the church gathering and everyone was speaking in tongues, the new person would think that all the people in the church group were out of their mind (verse 23). But if they were prophesying, and were understandable, then the new visitor would be convinced that he was a sinner and that the secrets of his heart would be opened up and would fall down and worship and say (verse 25b): God is really among you.
Paul says in verse 33: For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.

That follows several verses (26-32) of Paul's admonition to the Corinthians of how they are to bring order to their worship service. He clarifies once again that the people who speak in tongues are to sit down and be quiet, unless they bring an interpreter with them. He should just speak to himself and to God.

But prophesying -- on the other hand -- is another matter. Remember, Paul said that people who prophesy speak to other people. So when prophets speak, their speech should be weighed by other prophets who are present. After all, the spirit of the prophets are controlled by other prophets.

And then Paul talks about what women ought to be doing in church (verse 33b-35): Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

I have to tell you that we spent a couple of weeks in a rather spirited discussion just on these two verses at our Sunday morning Bible discussion some time ago. I was glad that our pastor was able to give us the Greek interpretation of just what Paul had said. And since Paul wrote the letter to the Corinthians and since Paul was a very literate person, and since Paul's writings had clarity, we can be sure that the meant exactly what he said.

So when he said that women shouldn't talk in church, he wasn't talking about them sitting up there in the balcony exchanging recipes or decorating tips or child-rearing techniques, as I've heard some professors claim.

No. Paul was talking about women addressing the congregation in a pastoral role. I confess that I do not read or speak Greek, but I trust my pastor, who does. And the English word "speak" is translated from a Greek work that means teacher/leader/pastor.

I admit that I like things the way they are, but I also recognize that there are some church groups that ordain women. I can agree to disagree with them. There are many different ways that different church groups worship God. And as Christians, we all worship the same God.

So Paul makes this point, then quickly goes back to the matter of prophesying and speaking in tongues, and finally comes to this reckoning point in verse 39-40: Therefore, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

Brrrr -- I thought it would be warmer than 18 degrees today. Wishful thinking, I guess. We have all this arctic stuff still blowing down from our neighbors from the north.

Quint says he read in his latest issue of Science magazine that there is an active volcano underneath the glacial ice in Antarctica -- actually on the sea floor -- that can be somewhat of a cause of ice sliding into the ocean down there. Not to worry -- it has been erupting for about 2,000 years. Could this account for the warming effect that's making those icebers calve? Gee, but I thought Al Gore said that was human-caused-global-warming. Can humans cause volcanic eruptions underneath the glacial ice in Antarctica? How'd he do that?

Have you noticed? Things are getting kind of mean over in the Democratic camp. All of a sudden, after Obama got the culinary workers endorsement in Nevada, the Clintons accused him of voting irregularities because the caucuses were being allowed in the casinos. Clinton said that's like giving the culinary union workers five votes to the other caucus votes being valued at only one. Huh?

Something about the casino caucus votes being weighted in favor of Obama.

Then the Clintons won the Nevada caucus so all the talk about voting irregularities kind of vanished into thin air. Then Obama came out with a veiled accusation of voter fraud.

Then the gloves came off. So to speak.

Even Teddy Kennedy told Bill Clinton to pipe down. It's not appropriate for an ex-president to attack his party's presidential candidate. But then, things get complicated because the ex-president is campaigning for his wife's presidential run for the rose garden.

And then Duncan Hunter closed down his presidential candidacy on the Republican side.

Politics in the United States has become a major industry. No doubt about it. Dinner for the Clintons the other night was reported to be in excess of $1,000. Don't know if they had guest. Maybe it was a super-post restaurant with just the four of them on the campaign trail -- Hillary, Bill, Chelsea, and Hillary's mom. Maybe a seven course meal? But then, maybe Hillary bought cheeseburgers for all her campaign workers. Nah. Probably not.

The race is really centered around getting a whole bunch of delegates at this point. There are 4,049 delegates in total on the Democrat side. Whoever gets a majority of the delegates going into the convention will get the party's nomination.

So that means the nomination will go to the candidate who gets a minimum of 2,025 delegates.

At this point, Hillary has 210 delegates. Obama has 123, Edwards had 52 and Kucinich has 1. These are delegates who are committed to vote for them at the convention based on the campaign outcome in the states they win in.

We have South Carolina coming up this Saturday -- that's a juicy state with lot of delegates for the Democratic winner. In total, I think I read that there are 54 delegates available in South Carolina.

And then there's Florida. Lots more population and more delegates. Maybe 210 delegates in this densely populated state.

Not to mention Super Tuesday -- there's more than 400 delegates to be won in that horse race. More than twenty states have primaries on February 5.

And about the time you think you may have it all figured out on the Democratic side where the delegates are awarded by some kind of formula that considers congressional districts, population and some other number (like maybe the square root of the number of ice cream cones consumed by Democratic candidates during July????) -- who knows how they figure it out.

Anyway, the number count and system to figure it out is computed differently in the Republican primaries.

So all the candidates are running from state to state, setting up headquarters with telephone lines (money money money), running ads (supermoney supermoney lotsamoney) and eating in restaurants, not to mention the highway robbery price gasoline -- comes down to lotsabucks for each state where primaries are being held. And thousands of gallons of jet fuel because you just know these elite-noseintheair candidates don't fly ordinary commercial flights. Oh no. They have chartered special planes loaned to them by their corporate buddies.

So they're counting the delegates. And whoever gets the majority of the delegates gets to the party's nominee at the conventions this summer. And about the time you think you absolutely can't watch another political ad -- and about the time that you think you've heard everything there is to debate, then comes the conventions and the race will be down to one Democrat and one Republican candidate.

That's when campaigns begin in earnest. All the way up to the real election in November. Then it comes down to number of votes because that determines how many electors come from each state. And then after the November votes are all tallied, the electoral college gets together and they vote for the presidential candidate.

And the winner gets to stand up on the reviewing stand on a cold January day in 2009 and be sworn in as president for four years. And then two years after that, the whole process starts all over again, because it seems that we have presidential candidates running around for two years prior to the election, setting up feasibility committees, fundraising committees, etc etc etc. Anything to get their name out there. Familiarity wins elections.

It's an industry, folks. I've often wondered what, if anything, is made in America these days. Seems like everything I pick up in a store has been made somewhere else.

Except politicians. That's what we make in America. We make politicians. It's rapidly becoming our national past-time.

And by the time election day rolls around, all our politicians start to look like little bobo-dolls.

##

WOW! LISTEN TO THIS

New rule in Saudi Arabia: women can now stay in hotel rooms alone. Used to be that they had to have a male attending them. They were not allowed to stay in a hotel room or in an apartment either with an unrelated male.

That's progress coming from the sand dune capitol of the world.

I think I also read in another article that women were also going to be allowed to drive. Yes, that's right. Women drivers in Arabia! Whatever is this world coming to? And isn't it just about time, don't you think?!!

##

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

The theme for this chapter seems to be "why can't we all just get along."

Paul uses his gift of hyperbole to start off, though, by making another comment about people speaking in tongues. He says that if you're speaking in tongues and nobody knows what the heck you're saying and if you don't have any love for your fellow man, you might just as well be a gong, or a cymbal. Nobody is going to understand you, so you're just making noise.

Same thing for prophecy. If you have this gift and can understand deep mysteries of the ages, but if you don't have love, you're nothing. It doesn't matter if your faith can move mountains.

And even if you sell everything you have and give it to the poor, if you don't have love, you're worth nothing.

Even if you let yourself be martyred and let yourself go up in flames, if you don't have love, you're nothing.

And here comes the passage that most brides are all too familiar with in verses 4-7: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

How many times I have used that passage with couples who come for marriage counseling. I especially like the one part that says love keeps no record of wrongs. We would call that living in the past.

Love does away with all those dialogue-busting, heart wrenching, painful things that people do to one another.

Continuing in verses 8-10: Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

When perfection comes, of course, will be when Christ returns to the earth. Everything else that comes out of the human brain and the human mouth will cease. We won't need humans to prophesy -- we won't need human beings to go around speaking in foreign tongues -- we won't need our imperfect bits and pieces of knowledge. The need for these things will cease to exist because Christ will be here to share perfection with us.

Won't that be great?!!

So Paul closes the chapter with the thought that when he was a child, he thought like a child. And when he became a man, he thought like a man.

But there's an even better opportunity coming when we will know perfection. When that time comes, what we know will be the whole story, not just the little parts of the truth that man knows.

We will finally be able to figure out things that our human brain just aren't big enough -- or developed enough -- to wrap itself around. Christ will bring perfection with him when he returns.

And then Paul closes the chapter with this thought in verse 13: And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

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MY LIFE IN INK --

It is a bright, cheery day! Never mind that it's going to be cold outside. I'm not going outside anyway -- except later this afternoon for our walkabout in the mall.

In the meantime, I'm going to make bread and cranberry nut muffins. I use a Bisquick recipe and just substitute Splenda for the sugar. Yum Yum

And the politicians are starting to sound like big cry babies. Wah wah wah -- Told you they'd start cannabalizing each other. What I meant by that is that they'd start chewing each other up. They've been out there on the campaign trail long enough that their real personalities are starting to show, probably owing to physical crises brought on by sleep deprivation. 

Doesn't bode well for people who are used to being in control of everything that moves across the stage of their lives. Out there on the campaign trail, they become enslaved to their calendars. It gets harder and harder for their handlers to get them to venues on time so they can make their little speeches, usually about each other.

That's an old political trick -- to put your opponent on the defensive. If the other guy has to stop what he/she is doing and defend a position, it gets them off point and disrupts the seamless flow of their own offensive maneuvers.
 
Makes politicians frustrated. And woe be to a reporter who stops them to ask a question about a position which they have to defend. Then all that angst gets transferred onto the reporter.

It's starting to happen. This is where the candidates enter into the psychological game of their campaigns. It's going to become like a little mini-psychological war of strategies.

And in the end, if we stay tuned, we'll see someone with real class emerge -- someone who looks like a statesman who deserves to be a player on the world stage. And everybody who's stuck in the adolescent trick of blaming everybody else for their troubles can just go home to that dark psychological cave that they live in.

This is where it gets really interesting.

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HERE'S MY STIMULUS PACKAGE:

I'd like to see all the lawmakers in Washington give up the big fat juicy raises they give themselves every year and get back to working a full five-day workweek just like the rest of America does.

I'd like to see all the senators get off the campaign trail and get back to Washington when the senate is in session. In fact, I'd like to see that session start right after New Years. And if they aren't there when the senate is in session, I'd like to see them forfeit their pay for that day. That's the way it used to be until they quietly repealed that little law.

And I'l like to see the congresspersons work a full five-day week, not start on Tuesday and leave after the Thursday "week" to go back to their districts (at taxpayers expense probably).

But most of all, I'd like to see all of the lawmakers -- congress and senate alike -- subjected to the very same retirement package that they're giving all the rest of the taxpayers. Let them give up their juicy retirement plan and go on Social Security benefits. That would be the very same year that Social Security would get fixed. Believe me!

And finally, get rid of all the pork spending -- now called earmarks. If people in Iowa or Nevada, or wherever, want special programs, let them build them and pay for them in their own states or counties or municipalities. People in one state ought not to have to pay for programs in other states.

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MORE BAGHDAD NEIGHBORHOODS ARE SECURE

There are now 75% of the neighborhoods in Baghdad that are classified as secure. That is, enemy activity is pretty much eliminated and economic activity is resuming.

In February 2007, only 8% of Baghdad neighborhoods were classified as secure -- that's a really big improvement in less than a year. Gee, that means it's even safe to walk down the streets in those secure neighborhoods.

The surge is working, folks!

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BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 12:1-31

This is the chapter where Paul lists the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to believers. We also learn the other mighty powers that the Holy Spirit has.

Sometimes I think that we spend more time thinking about what God the Father does for us. And, of course, we all know what the Son of God did for us to cleanse us from our sins. But the Holy Spirit?

I need a chapter like this one to remind me that the Holy Spirit is a powerful, powerful influence in my life. I need to remember that the Holy Spirit is available to give me that quiet advice I hear in my heart when I am perplexed. I definitely to call on the Holy Spirit for help when someone has brought me to pain or grief and the challenge of forgiving may be a bit too much for my human stubbornness. The Holy Spirit is always there to help -- just for the asking.

And Paul wanted the Corinthians -- and us too, through God's Word -- to keep in mind that the Holy Spirit has enormous Godly powers that are available to us.

Paul starts off this chapter telling the Corinthians he's going to help them out. Why? Because he doesn't want them to be ignorant. And he reminds them of the time when they were pagans. Somehow, other people led them astray -- led them to worship idols that couldn't speak to them because they were mute idols (verses 1-2).

He gives some examples of false claims about talking idols in verse 3: Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.

What Paul meant was that if a believer has become a place where the Holy Spirit resides, he would never say anything like Jesus is cursed. On the other hand, it is the Holy Spirit who brings a person to proclaim that Jesus is Lord.

All these gifts that believers are given come from the same Holy Spirit. Let's continue in verses 4-11: There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom,

to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit,

to another faith by the same Spirit,

to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,

to another miraculous powers,

to another prophecy,

to another distinguishing between spirits,

to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,

and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

It amazes me that people often do not think they have any spiritual gifts. None at all. As if they weren't "worthy" to receive any spiritual gifts. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Everyone who worships Christ as the Son of God --everyone who believes that Christ died and rose again for the sins of each person -- everyone who has faith is given that spiritual gift of faith by the Holy Spirit.

Every Sunday School teacher, every church leader, every pastor has the gift of knowledge that they share with others.

True, not all individuals are given the gift of prophecy. Not everyone can speak in tongues. Not everyone can perform miracles. Not everyone can interpret when people speak in tongues.

But all believers receive gifts from the Holy Spirit and who gets what is determined by the Holy Spirit.

We all came to the Holy Spirit in our baptism, Paul says in verse 13: We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body -- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free -- and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

Paul then talks about body parts -- like the hand can't say it doesn't belong to the body, or the foot, etc. All the body parts make up one body, and each body part should have concern for the other body parts (verse 25b) and if one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (verse 26)

And now, by and through the Holy Spirit, all believers become a part of the body of Christ -- not of Christ's physical body, but rather, individual members joined together in communion with each other through their belief in Christ.

Paul reiterates his discussion about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in verses 27-31: Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?

Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Discussion points:

1. What gifts from the Holy Spirit do you recognize within yourself? True, we can't all be missionaries but we can teach Sunday School or Vacation Bible School and use the spiritual gift of knowledge to share with others.

We may not be able to write a monthly newsletter for our church, but we could help staple and fold the newsletter or in other ways, use the gift of administration.
 
And certainly we can all use the gift of helping, whether it be for ushering or greeting others who come for worship.

Too often we may think that the gifts of the Spirit are for big jobs, but the truth is, we are given gifts that we can use every day of our lives just by helping others -- doing a good deed is a way of helping others, for instance.

2. Take a few minutes to think about the tasks of the Holy Spirit and how it has touched your life. If you have not yet been baptized, contact your pastor and ask to be baptized. If you are unchurched and reading this on the Internet, find a church home and tell the pastor that you want to be baptized into the body of Christ.

3. Are there areas of your life that perplex you that you could ask the Holy Spirit for assistance with? If you desire that warm inner peace deep within your soul but you just aren't able to forgive someone who has greatly wronged you, did you know that you could ask the Holy Spirit for help with this?

Oh my dear friends, there have been many, many times in my life when I have needed to do this. And I can tell you that it is a wonderful feeling to have all that pain and anguish lifted out of me. If it isn't "instant" enough for you, keep asking.

We pray: Dear Heavenly Father: I pray that you would continue to bless me with the gifts of your Holy Spirit so that I can serve you. I pray that you would let me bring your message to others and when I am timid about doing this, that you would put the words in my mouth so that I can tell others about my own faith.

I thank you for so many gifts that you have given me that make my physical life more comfortable and I pray for all who are not as blessed as I am. I pray that you would extend your blessings to them.

I pray that all who are unchurched will find the spiritual strength to reach out for baptism into the body of Christ. I pray that you will lead people to your House of Worship so that they can enjoy knowing those of us who meet to worship and praise you for the mighty things you do in our lives every day. Amen.

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MY LIFE IN INK --

This probably won't make big headlines but the initial jobless claims fell again -- for the third consecutive week. This week, the number of jobless claims for first-time filers decreased 21,000 from last week.

The only reason I bring that up is because political candidates are running around saying the economy is in such horrid shape and unemployment is on the increase. Another reason why you have to check out all those claims that the would-be presidentials are making. Further, the political rhetoric that's out there could serve as a type of constitution test. For instance, the president does not raise or lower taxes. Tax matters come from the House of Representatives, and specifically the House Ways and Means Committee.

What the candidates are promising to do is not within their power or constitutional authority when it comes to taxes. One candidate says he's going to raise the capital gains tax. No can do.

Another candidate says he's going to cut taxes. No can do.

All the president can do is strongly recommend that congress do something. Then it's up the president to sign the bill or veto it. And Bush has vetoed spending packages because they contain too much pork -- that is, favorite little projects of individual congressmen that have nothing to do with the bill itself.

We used to call that pork. Then when the taxpayers got clued in, congress changed the term to "earmark." So when you hear the candidates talking about earmarks, they're talking about pork.

I personally think earmarks ought to be outlawed totally. It's not that I'm opposed to some of these earmarked projects but rather, I think they ought to be discussed in an open forum out on the house floor. For instance, I'm a taxpayer from Illinois. I don't particularly favor the idea of federal tax funds to build a fine arts theater in some other state. It isn't that I don't favor projects like a fine arts building, but rather, I think the local citizens ought to pay for such things. And they can do that with fundraisers, not tax monies.

But the congresspersons would say that there isn't enough time to stick individual spending requests that are now secret little earmarks into spending packages. Oh, they have time. It just might mean that they would have to work all day Monday and all day Friday, instead of Tuesday through Thursday. They have time. I just might mean they'd have to work a five-day week instead of three.

So I'm listening to candidates when they talk about earmarks. So far, I've only heard McCain say he's never used an earmark and that he doesn't believe in them. Now if he'd just have an epiphany when it comes to amnesty for illegal aliens, he might be my candidate. Otherwise, I'm going to keep looking. I'm not asking for much: a pro-life candidate, one who doesn't believe in earmarks, and someone who is opposed to amnesty for illegal aliens. He got 73% on the scorecard when I took the test at the top of my home page. Fred Thompson got 70%. I'd like to be able to vote for a candidate who at least got an A -- that is, 90% or above.

73% is a compromise vote, I think. And when it comes to voting for a president of the United States, I'm tired of compromising. But then, it's early in the game. We have until conventions this summer. That's when the "hopeful field" narrows down to just one candidate for each party.

Nothing else going on. The weather is mild for a January day -- it's 32 degrees. For two people who are used to subzero stuff in the Chicago area, this is a welcome balmy difference.

We are definitely staying indoors. That is, until it's time for us to drive over to the mall for our afternoon walkabout.

But first I have a couple of telephone counseling sessions scheduled for this morning.

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BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 11:1-34

We can only guess that there must have been some discussions about the relationship "order" between men and women because Paul spends the first ten verses explaining that men aren't required to cover their heads when they go to church. This is because man was created in the image of God.

Women, on the other hand, ought to cover their heads when they go to church. If they don't want to cover their heads, then they ought to cut their hair off, but they can't do that either because that would be a disgrace. So they ought to just cover their hair.

So a woman with her hair covered provides a sign of authority for herself, but a man is not required to cover his head. Then there's that comment about the angels in verse 10: For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.

Paul writes about angels in his other letters too. It appears that Paul wants people to realize that angels have an interest in what is going on in worship services, particularly how people are behaving. He makes another reference to angels in Ephesians 3:10: His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms...

Some have said that this head covering requirement of the woman is to set her under the authority of man, but in verses 11-12, he refines his meaning: In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.

For as women came from man, so also man is born of woman.

But everything comes from God.

What follows next is far from a gentle rebuke from Paul. He has learned that people are coming to communion as if it were a meal. He says this in verses 20-22: When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

Tradition has it that the Greeks had a kind of potluck meal in connection with communion. I'm guessing that the rich folks brought more food while the poor brought what they could. But there were some who managed to get to the food first without really waiting for the others to come to the serving table.

Paul didn't find this behavior worshipful. And it certainly defeated the purpose of sharing, like the agape feast was intended to do. And besides, if you're all that hungry, eat something at home before you come to worship.

Then Paul shares what we call the Words of Institution -- they're the words of Christ at his own Last Supper, in verses 23-26: For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Paul continues his explanation in verses 27-29: Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Paul wanted the Corinthians to know that the act of what we would call "communion" or the "Eucharist" was a most serious matter. It wasn't to be treated lightly as an add-on following the agape meal, as if it were dessert or something.

No indeed. This communion was to be done in reverence and remembering of all that Christ had done for sinners -- namely, that he shed his own blood and died so all mankind could be freed from the hold that sin had on him. That is what Christians are to remember when they take part in communion.

Paul then makes a point, in verse 31, that if we judged ourselves, we wouldn't come under judgment.
 
But if we are judged by the Lord, Paul says in verse 32, then we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.

Discipline, keep in mind, provides opportunities to repent and change behavior. Parents discipline their children so that they will change their behaviors. Our Lord disciplines the believers, the faithful, just as a parent disciplines a child.

Then Paul closes this chapter by saying that when he gets back to Corinth, he'll explain this more (verse 34b).

Discussion points:

1. Does it surprise you to think that angels in heaven might be watching us while we are in worship? What do you think Paul's point was in telling the Corinthians that women ought to cover their heads because of the angels (verse 10)? Think of how we tell our own children that they ought to behave because God is watching them. Could Paul have been making a similar case for the Corinthians to watch themselves because angels are watching their behavior?

2. Modern tradition has done away with the requirement for women to cover their heads in many Christian sects. Do you think it interferes with worship one way or the other? Does it matter if a woman wears a hat or a veil?

3. The matter of behavior prior to communion is discussed more fully in this chapter. The agape meal before communion becomes a kind of sticking point with Paul who reckons that the remembrance of what Christ did for us is the purpose of the communion service, not the meal prior. How do you prepare yourself for communion? Do you fast? Do you pray earnestly in the worship service so that you participate in communion with a deep reverence for Christ's suffering and death on the cross to bring us forgiveness of sin?

We pray: Dear Heavenly Father -- as I sort out the meanings of Paul's word in this chapter, I pray that you will enlighten me with these messages so that I can gain a fuller meaning.

I especially pray that my own observance in communion services at church will be with the full remembrance of everything that you have done to redeem me as a sinner and I thank you for sending your own beloved son to die for my sins. I know that I can never be worthy of this gift you have given to me, because it is only by your loving grace that you have saved me from my sins.

I pray that you will strengthen me through your love so that I am able to resist all the temptations that are set before me. I thank you, Lord, for all the ways that you show your love for me, but especially for the gift of forgiveness which I do not deserve. Amen.

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MY LIFE IN INK --

Romney won the Michigan primary. It's starting to look like the Republicans can't make up their minds. Or the Democrats either, for that matter. So far, we've got Huckabee winning in Iowa, McCain winning in New Hampshire, and now Romney winning in Michigan. It's just possible that Fred Thompson may wake up the South Carolina voters enough to put him over the top in that state, and Rudy is down in Florida campaigning his little heart out.

And on the Democrat side -- it's clearly just a race between Hillary and Obama, and by the time the election rolls around, they may have nibbled away at each other so that there won't be much left to vote for. They each have secrets they're whispering about. You just know they're saving the best parts for the "October surprise."

But, in this case, I agree with Quint. There's going to end up being what's called a "brokered convention" this summer. Either in one camp or the other.

The Iraq question will just about be off the table by November. Especially now since the Sunnis and Shi'ites have nearly reached an accord on how to share power and govern their country together.

The economy is going to keep rolling along. True, the growth isn't as robust as it could be -- especially now that the housing market has hit the doldrums, but keep in mind that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers remain in positive territory and as long as those numbers are on the positive side, a recession is not in the definition. And the new job numbers continue to grow too.

May not be true in Michigan, but in the country overall, jobs are growing. Used to be that 6% unemployment was considered full employment in this country. That figure was way back in the old days (1990) when I was taking economics courses at Concordia University in River Forest. That is to say, everybody who wanted a job was working.

I personally would like it better if unemployment were down to 0% but that will never happen. In the meantime, encourage your kiddos to stay in school and take all the computer courses they can get their hands on. And some critical thinking courses. A psychology course or two would also be a good idea -- you know, just to get people away from this notion that they can read other people's minds.

And some good literature and fine arts courses to calm the hungry beasts that live deep inside us. Just to take the edge off, you know.

My point is, this is going to be an interesting election year. A brokered convention just means that each convention is going to open up without a clear-cut winner for the nomination. 

That is, the presidential nominees would be decided by the delegates after the convention is called to order. And it may take more than one ballot. Quint and I are old enough to where we've seen that happen before. That happened in 1976 when Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan were running for president.

A brokered convention happens when a candidate does not have enough delegates pledged from the primary races. You can bet there's a lot of "horse trading" when the convention is called to order, and what usually happens is one candidate will then be considered to be the "most electable" -- and the other candidate will compel his/her delegates to vote for the other guy. Then they call for another vote -- or ballot.

This is all part of the governmental process in the United States. And you can bet that when it comes down to horse trading, politicians do not easily give up anything.

I was amazed when I was watching one of the news programs over the weekend. A reporter was interviewing some young college kids -- can't remember where. The point is, the students were asked if they were going to vote since they were so enthusiastic about one of the candidates.

But they couldn't vote, they said. Why? They weren't registered. Just didn't get around to registering to vote. And that's what happens with the young 20 somethings in this country. They come out in full swing, but they can't vote.

So I'm going to add a civics or government class to that list up above. But then, they all have to pass a constitution test before they got a high school diploma. Were they not in school that day?

Quint and I usually time ourselves when we go to the polls. The most time is has ever taken us was 28 minutes. And that was from the time we got out of the car to the time we got back in to drive away!

So I hope everybody gets excited enough to vote on election day.

In the meantime, winter has returned to central Illinois. It's going to be down in the teens by the weekend. Guess we'll pay for that really nice 60 degree weather we had last week.

Oh well. Spring is coming. Every day we get behind us is one day closer to spring!

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ANOTHER UFO SIGHTING -- OVER TEXAS AGAIN

This time, the UFO was seen by a lot more than a few. Interesting phenomenon, whether you "believe" in UFOs or not.

This UFO, according to a sheriff who was being interview, was about a half mile wide and a mile long. It gave the townspeople who had gathered quite a little light show, then zoomed off.

Is it a fake? Who knows? Did anyone get a video? No. Don't you think that if everybody went out to see if the UFO would come back, that someone would have brought along a video camera?

Here's the video of what folks said: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2008/01/16/reaves.texas.ufo.search.wfaa


BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 10:1-33

As we start this chapter, Paul makes an interesting use of the word "baptize."

Baptism, as we know it, was a sacrament that had its beginnings in the early Christian church. However, there certainly were instances of ceremonial washings in the Old Testament. Hebrews 9:10 makes such a reference: They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings -- external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

Paul makes references to two different baptisms -- John's baptism was a baptism of water, while Jesus came after John and brought a Spirit baptism. In a Spirit baptism, a person receives the Holy Spirit.

Like any good debater, Paul is trying to reach a common ground for his discussion about baptism with the church at Corinth. The Corinthians were starting to slide backwards after Paul left them. Baptism was apparently an area that became a concern for Paul. Had he learned that the Corinthians were no longer baptizing? What exactly did the messengers tell Paul when they went to see him at Ephesus. Now comes a letter this first letter to the Corinthians and Paul is trying to get them back on track, back to the worshipful place where he left them, back to the thriving spiritual worship they had engaged in while Paul was with them.

First he reminds the Corinthians about the forefathers coming up out of Egypt. In the story lore that had been passed down through the generations, the Jews in Corinth would certainly know about the Jews coming up out of Egypt under the cloud provided by God.

Paul uses this piece of their  history to set the stage for where he wants to go forward in the construction of his argument. Interesting comment that Paul uses the water element when he writes in verses 1-3: For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

These two verses are rich in their analogy. The Old Testament writers used the term "ceremonial washing" while the New Testament references are to "John's baptism" and a "Spirit baptism" that Jesus brought to earth. And here comes Paul with a reference to a "Moses baptism."

Paul wants to make the point that through baptism, we exist under a new covenant of obedience to God. The children of Israel certainly made that pledge when they walked across the Red Sea -- certainly they did not become fishes and pass "through the sea" -- but metaphorically, they passed through the sea because there was a wall of water on either side of the path they were crossing. And we know that pathway was not a permanent one because the sea closed up again and drowned the Egyptian army that was pursuing the Israelites.

Paul uses the reference to baptism as a new covenant of submission to Christ.

And since the church at Corinth was comprised of both Jews and gentiles, Paul wanted a common ground that would be meaningful to both. He was able to reach this common ground with his discussion about baptism and what it meant from a Jewish reference and from a Christian reference.

In the next several verses, Paul talks to the Corinthians about the disobedience of the Israelites. Even with all the privileges that God had bestowed on the Israelites, they would fall into times of disobedience. God didn't like this. Time and again he made his displeasure known. And a wake of dead bodies left a trail across the desert as the children of Israel wandered their way from Egypt to the promised land. And upon arrival to the threshold of the promised land, only Caleb and Joshua were allowed to enter.

Don't you think, that if you were a disobedient, backsliding Corinthian, hearing Paul say that would give you pause to re-think your position? That is, if you were being disobedient. Like if you had gone back to one of the temples of those little gods and goddesses that were all around the town.

Paul still is doing his "don't you remember" story when he reminds the Corinthians about what the Israelites had done in verses 7-10: Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."

We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did -- and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.

We should not test the Lord, as some of them did -- and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did -- and were killed by the destroying angel.

Paul then says These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall. (verses 11-12)

And then comes this message from Paul in verse 13: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Temptation, in and of itself, is not sinful. After all, even Christ was tempted by the devil. But yielding to temptation is another matter. That's sinful. So when we are tempted, we especially need to pray for strength to resist temptation. And because we are baptized into Christ, the Holy Spirit has set up camp in our soul deep inside us. It is there that we can win the battle to resist temptation. But if we still need more, it's ours for the asking.

God is ever near. He does not want us to fall into temptation. He will do whatever he can to help us resist Satan and all that is evil.

Paul then moves from the subject of baptism to feasts and the Lord's Supper. Recall from Chapter 8 that there had been a discussion about the Corinthians eating the leftover food from the pagan temples.

Now Paul is saying, "Don't do that." In verses 20-22, he makes his assertion most strongly: ...the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

But there must have been some groups who thought they had the right to do what they wanted to, and since they were most likely free men (not slaves), who could stop them?

Paul has an answer for them in verses 23-24: Everything is permissible -- but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible -- but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

And then there's that question of what to do if you're invited to a dinner party and the food being served is this leftover food from a temple. What do you do then? Would it be rude to your host if you made a big fuss about not eating temple food?

Apparently this was a common occurrence in Corinth. After all, there were lots of temples to "lesser gods" -- and the meat that was left over from the sacrifices made their way into the meat markets. So it was possible that when the housewife went shopping for her dinner parties, she'd stop by the butcher shop and get meat that had been part of a sacrifice but hadn't been eaten.
 
Here's what Paul has to say about that: If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience' sake -- the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?

So Paul is talking about going to dinner at an unbeliever's house. Well, that makes sense. Because a Christian wouldn't be buying meat at the temple butcher shop anyway. But you could end up with temple food on your plate -- then what?

Don't eat it, Paul says. Because if you do, everybody sitting around the table might think you condone eating food that had been sacrificed to a false god. That would give the wrong impression. Or, as Paul put it, that would be a judgment of conscience.

Paul continues: So whether you eat or drink of whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God -- even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

Discussion points:

1. You've probably heard 1 Cor. 10:13 misquoted as "God will never give you more than you can bear" in the context of suffering. But when you read the actual quote and realize that this verse is about resistance to temptation, what does that bring to mind for you?

2. In your morning, mid-day and evening prayers, do you also include a petition for God to protect you from Satan and all that is evil? This is one prayer that you can be assured that God will answer -- immediately, on the spot.

3. Were you surprised to learn that the as many as 23,000 disobedient Israelites died on one day? Do you think such calamities happen in the present day?

4. If you believe that there are such calamities caused by God, do you think that prayers by groups of earnest people reach God above and thus avert disasters? I draw your attention to the little alpine village of Oberammagau.

Going way back in history to 1634, the black plague was making its way across Europe. In nearby Munich, some 15,000 people had already died. So the people who lived in this little town prayed to God for protection and deliverance from the black plague.

They promised that they would do something to tell the story of Jesus Christ and that everyone who lived in the town would participate. The town was spared. And since that time, every ten years and going on forever, the townspeople of Oberammagau have presented The Passion Play.

I think that when God looks down to earth from heaven, he sees us praying our individual prayers as little beams of light shining up to heaven. But when a group of us pray together, it's as if all our individual little light beams form together and make a bigger beacon of light. And when we go to church and pray together as a group, that beacon of light must look like a floodlight.

Don't you think God loves to see all those beams of light coming up to heaven?

5. Has there been anything that you've started to do, but changed your mind, and didn't do it because you did not want someone to get the wrong idea? Or would have been offended by something you might have done.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

Big primary going on right now in Michigan. Looks like it's going to come down to a race between McCain and Romney on the GOP side; Obama isn't on the ballot, so it ought to be wide open for Hillary, unless Edwards comes from way behind and starts nipping at her ankles.

Next big deal primary before Super Tuesday on February 5 is Florida. That vote is set for January 29. Rudy's down there beating the bushes for votes right now. He skipped the Michigan primary, I believe.

If you have an interest in such things, the people in Stephenville, Texas, are talking about a big UFO recently seen flying low in their night skies. This one seems different. It changes its light configurations and is a lot closer to the earth than usual. You can read the story at: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,322751,00.html. End times? They're wondering.

We're staying inside today. It's not even 20 degrees yet. Maybe we'll dash out to the car and drive over to the mall for our walk this afternoon.

##

REARRANGED LETTERS from Rick Farcas

DORMITORY -- rearranged: dirty room

PRESBYTERIAN -- rearranged: best in prayer

ASTRONOMER -- rearranged: moon starer

DESPERATION -- rearranged: a rope ends it

THE EYES -- rearranged: they see

GEORGE BUSH -- rearranged: he bugs Gore

THE MORSE CODE -- rearranged: here come dots

SLOT MACHINES -- rearranged: cash lost in me

ANIMOSITY -- rearranged: is no amity

ELECTION RESULTS -- rearranged: lies - let's recount

SNOOZE ALARMS -- rearranged: alas -- no more z's

A DECIMAL POINT -- rearranged: I'm a dot in place

THE EARTHQUAKES -- rearranged: that queer shake

ELEVEN PLUS TWO -- rearranged: twelve plus one

MOTHER-IN-LAW -- rearranged: woman Hitler

##

FOOD CONNECTIONS -- from Beverly Thoele

A sliced carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look like the eye -- and yes, science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flood to and function of the eyes.

A tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. Research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of a heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles and folds on the nut look just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neurotransmitters for brain function.

Kidney beans actually heal and maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy and Rhubarb look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, avocadoes and pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female -- they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and helps to prevent cervical cancer. And how profound is this? It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them.)

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the number of sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet potatoes look like the pancreas and help to actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives help assist the health and function of the ovaries.

Grapefruits, oranges and other citrus fruits look like the mammary glands of females and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

##

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 9:1-27

There seemed to be questions in Corinth and elsewhere in the region that Paul was not really an apostle of Jesus Christ. So Paul spends much time in this chapter offering assurances that he was, indeed, a true apostle of Christ.

So what, if any, difference is there between a disciple of Christ and an apostle?

The word disciple comes from the Latin discipulus, or pupil.

The word apostle comes from the Greek apostolos, or delegate. This is a close approximation to the Aramaic word seliah, which referred to those who were dispatched from the mother city by the rulers of the race on any foreign mission.
read more: http://ask.yahoo.com/20030418.html

Basically, a disciple is someone who believes the doctrines, teachings, or philosophy of someone else. A disciple is a learner -- a student of someone who is teaching him.

On the other hand, an apostle is someone who is sent out to teach and preach to other people.

So while Christ was alive, his disciples were learning from him and after he died and rose again, his disciples became apostles when they went out to teach others the message of salvation they had learned from Christ.

The question about Paul's authenticity arose because people knew that Paul was not one of the twelve disciples handpicked by Christ. Oh, but Paul was picked by Christ. Remember the road to Damascus when Christ appeared to Paul? That appearance to Paul should end any doubt that Paul wasn't handpicked by Christ.

We hear Paul's discussion about his apostleship in verses 1-2: Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

We know from our readings in Acts that Paul did indeed see the Lord Jesus (Acts 9:1-9; Acts 22:6-16; and Acts 26:12-18).

And Paul adds that his ministry -- as an apostle -- has produced spiritual fruit for the Lord by establishing the church at Corinth.

Then there's this matter of who should support the apostles who are devoting all their time and energy to bringing this message out to others. After all, they had to eat. Paul asks in verse 6; Is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?

Paul asks the questions of whether they have the right to eat and drink, or marry a believing wife. The other disciples did. Even the Lord's brothers did. And so did Peter (Cephas). They all had wives.

Paul raises some other for instances, and finally, in verses 11-12 he concludes: If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more?

And since the Corinthians were all too familiar with this whole business of eating food that had been offered at the temples, Paul even used this as an example to further his logic along, in verses 13-14: Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.

Well, Paul may have been deserving of this support but it doesn't mean that it's what he was looking for in this letter. He did not write the letter to the Corinthians with the thought that they'd send him money. In verse 18 comes this assurance: What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

Then Paul explains to the Corinthians that he has made himself a slave to everyone so that he can win as many as possible. So even though Paul, as an apostle, was entitled to their support, he deprived himself of it.

And his goal? To win people over to Christ.

In verses 22b-23, he explains it this way: I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Paul then likens his efforts to getting ready to run in a race. Now, for the Corinthians, this made a good point. They understood all too well how important it was to train so that they could run in a race. In fact, they had their own games which occurred every other year. These games were second only to the Olympic games in importance. So, yes, you can bet they would understand what Paul was talking about when he talked about running in a race.

Curious, though, that Paul makes the comment that only one runner will get the prize, even though everyone who competes in the race goes into strict training (verse 25). He continues: They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

But this is where it's easy to miss something in Paul's message for I believe that all who run in the race toward Christ gets the prize of salvation or eternal life. When we become believers, we become heirs to God's kingdom and we become children of God.

But listen to what Paul then says in verses 26-27: Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Discussion points:

1. Have you ever worked so hard at any task that you felt like you'd literally beat yourself up? What were you doing? Studying? Students often pull "all nighters" when they prepare for exams. Parents caring for their children and household will often work well into the night with all their tasks. People often work so hard at their jobs that they seem to be a slave to the tasks.

In this century, we use the term "workaholic" -- Paul used the term "enslaved." Same thing. Do you think this is what Paul is talking about at the end of the chapter? Keep in mind that Paul is writing this letter to the Corinthians toward the end of his three-year stay in Ephesus. Because he was in Ephesus preaching and teaching and setting up churches, and not on the move, he may have fallen back on his past career of tentmaking to support himself. While still taking care of pastoral duties. Yeah -- he's probably feel like he was beating himself up.

2. Paul says in verse 27 that he worked and trained hard because he didn't want to be disqualified from the prize. Paul is trying to get the Corinthians to understand that it takes a lot of effort to resist all the temptations that were in front of them.
Resisting sin is takes much effort. It's more a mental and spiritual effort than it is physical effort. If you have ever struggled to rid yourself of temptation, then you know what Paul is talking about. And he wanted the Corinthians to understand that he understand this too. We have all been tempted -- maybe some more than others -- are there temptations you have been successful at resisting that you would share with your discussion group?

3. In this day and age, it goes without saying that our pastors ought to be supported by their church congregations. But in the early days of Christianity, new rules and expectations were being set up for others to follow. Paul speaks to this very plainly when he writes letters to the churches in Corinth and elsewhere. Do you agree that the new churches could have supported this early apostles who were working so hard to bring the gospel message to unbelievers throughout the region? What about today's missionaries in far away places? Does your church support missionaries and is there an opportunity for you to do so? If so, what could you do?

Closing prayer: Our Father in Heaven, we pray that you would continue to bless the work of all who take the message of salvation to unbelievers to others. We pray also for their safety when they are in dangerous places. We pray for their physical beings and for their health and we also pray for freedom from hunger.

We thank you for this chance to look for deeper meanings in your Word and we pray that you will send your Holy Spirit to guide our studies.

We pray for strength to resist Satan and all that is evil.

We ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

Well, finally! The sun is coming up one minute earlier. We have been gaining a minute of added sunshine a day since the winter solstice, but it's been due to later sunsets. For some reason, and I'm sure an astronomer with a bigger brain than I have could explain it, but the sun was coming up at 7:14 for the longest time. Now it's finally decided to wake up earlier. By a minute. But minutes count when it comes to solar heat. It's an extra sixty seconds of warmth from the sun. Helps warm up our dirt.

I made another batch of strawberry jam over the weekend. I use the flash frozen strawberries that I get at Aldi. They actually work better than the fresh ones, I think. They're big and plump and juicy and each one is perfect! Don't you just hate it when you get the fresh strawberries and find those little moldy ones hiding in among the good berries? Do you think they pack them that way on purpose so we can't find the bad ones when we're inspecting them at the store?

I only have enough Sure Jell to make 1 1/2 batches of jam, so you know who is going on an adventure search in the middle of winter for Sure Jell! Uh, that would be me. I get the Sure Jell that's made for "No Sugar Added" and I've fiddled with the recipe enough to make it just fine for putting the jam in the freezer. Since the jam doesn't get cooked to death in a water bath (for 35-40 minutes), it retains all the fresh yummy flavor.

Anyway, as I've been unpacking the boxes in the upstairs bedroom and hallway, I am finding things I forgot I had. Like my hand held blender. It works so much better to smush the strawberries than my potato masher.

And Quint found two more bulk bags of crushed red pepper yesterday afternoon. Can't ever get too much crushed red pepper. I guess. I put it in just about every kind of soup I make. Really bams things up. We like spicy. Which is why is bought red pepper flakes by the bagfuls!

And PBS is running a Jane Austen festival on Sunday evenings, starting last night. I am an absolute sucker for everything the dear lady wrote. With only a minimum amount of education, she wrote the most endearing stories of ladies who ended up with their soul mates. 

She was born in 1775 and died in 1817 at the age of 41 1/2. She was a spinster who lived with her folks until the day of her death. All of her ladies depended on marriage, back in those days, for their social status. Her family was gentry and owned their own land. Back in those days, that was really something. And for most of her life, her father George also served as the rector for the Steventon and Hampshire Anglican parishes. (The Steventon parish church was built in 1100.)

She went away to boarding school with her sister Cassandra when she was eight years old, and returned home three years later. The rest of education came from her father, as well as her own readings. And then abruptly, her father retired from his life as a rector and moved relocated to Bath.

read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen

We were in Bath when we went to England in 1996, but I had no idea that it had been granted city status by Elizabeth I in 1590!

Bath is situated about 100 miles west of London. It's in the valley of the River of Avon and was actually built by the Romans during the year 69-70 A.D. when Claudius was emperor. I guess the Romans came riding into town and took over the town of Bath from the occupying Celts. The Romans built huge public spas so they could enjoy the mineral baths.

Edgar of England was crowned King of England at Bath in 973 A.D.

Bath has large crescents (kind of look like half moons in shape) of row houses. I remember our tour guide pointing out that the front doors of the townhouses are all painted different colors, offset by the creamy gold color of the stone buildings. Maybe to tell them apart from a distance? Anyway, Bath attracted the well-heeled aristocrats who regarded an address in Bath as quite the fashionable place to live. 

Well, and to live in one of the crescents, whether the Royal Crescent, the Kings Crescent, the Lansdown Crescent, or the one by Pulteney Bridge -- whatever. It was quite the place to live. That is, if you had lots of the green stuff. Or, I guess I should say silver stuff, as in pound sterling.

In the early 1800s, when the Austens would have settled down in Bath, the population was over 40,000. That made Bath one of the biggest cities in all of England.

No wonder Lizzie I broke away from Rome. She wanted her lands back. All of it!

Anyway, on Sunday evenings, if you're a Jane Austen fan, check your PBS station and see if you can get in on the Austen festival. It'll be going on for some time because Jane Austen produced quite an extensive addition to world literature. And if you ever get to England, Bath is one of my recommended stops. Most tours of England include Bath and you'll get to walk about quite a bit and see the big old tubbies that the Romans left behind when they got run out of England.

read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath,_Somerset 

##

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

If you're wondering what happened to Chapter 7, I wrote this study on Saturday. So you can scroll down to add it to your studies.

--

In this chapter Paul gets after the Corinthians who are worshiping idols again. They were even sacrificing food to these idols.

Big no no! They weren't supposed to be offering sacrifices to idols, nor were they supposed to be eating the leftovers, or selling the extra meat in the public butcher shops.

In verses 7-8, he explains it this way: Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.

But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

Then go back to what Paul says in verse 2: The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.

The thing to be careful about, by Paul's reckoning, is to be careful that were might become a stumbling block for others who have a weak conscience. After all, if they were to see the Corinthians eating food that had been offered to idols, then they might want to eat likewise. So even if the Corinthians knew that the food offered to idols wouldn't actually make them smarter, other people might not know that and would want some of the idol's food so they could get smarter.

Paul puts it this way in verses 10-13: For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?

So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.

When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

Discussion points:

1. We don't really build temples to false gods in our present day. But can you think of anything that you do, however innocently, that would possibly offend someone who may be watching you?

2. The converse of that may be true also. Can you think of things that you do which could be a good example of someone who may be watching you?

3. Expressing anger is a self-indulgence. Could a little temper tantrum, even though it is an expression of your freedom of speech, be offensive to someone who might overhear you.

4. Reread verse 2: Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Keeping in mind that  you only "know" what you see or hear. Everything else is a deduction. So in your relationships with other people, you can't really "know" what someone's motives are unless they tell you. Paul is warning against the sin of pride, of arrogance -- when he says that knowledge puffs up. Better that we speak to others using words of love. In that way, we build each other up. 

We pray: Dear Heavenly Father, there are so many times when I just absolutely think I know something when I'm only making a deduction. I pray that you would guide me through these times and that your Holy Spirit would brush away the proud moments when I think I know more than I really do. 

I pray that you would keep my heart filled with your love so that I can use my words to build other people up and make them stronger in their faith. I pray that you would help me resist anything that would offend anyone else, no matter what it is.

I pray that you would take the arrogance of my foolish pride away and leave me with an earnest desire to serve you and to warm my heart with your great love. Amen.

##
 

MY LIFE IN INK --

I don't usually post a blog on Saturday or Sunday, but I'm taking a break from my knitting.

Quint is off to the lumberyard so I'm guessing he's going to be building things when he gets back. The urge to hammer and nail things together builds up inside him until he can't stand it anymore, then he takes his ballooned out ambition over to the lumberyard. After a while he came back loaded down with long boards to do something with. He has something in mind, I'm sure. But he's not telling me what. I do hear sawing and hammering sounds coming from the basement. Curiosity will get the better of me here shortly and I'll go downstairs to see what in the world he's doing.

I finally found a really yummy recipe for bread. It's light and fluffy. In fact, when it was rising for the second time I thought it was going to take up the inside of my oven. You see, I put the bowl that has the yeast in it into the oven and then put a saucepan that I boiled water in underneath the bowl of yeast. Helps keep the dough nice and warm while it's blowing into puffy dough.

The other thing I do every time is to "proof" the yeast. That way, if the yeast is not any good, or if I've put the yeast in water that's too hot and I killed it (which has happened recently), then the dead little yeasties float up to the top of the water. I guess I was trying to be too scientific because I used a thermometer to make sure the water got up to the 110 degree point. Well, guess what? The yeasts didn't work too well.

And Quint, bless his heart, said the bread was good. He called it "artisan bread." Nice of you to say so, Quint. But I call it a brick of bread! But isn't he sweet.

I have since changed my method and now just use tap water when it's at its hottest. I even tested the temperature yesterday when I made the bread and it looks like it only gets up to about 110 degrees. That's still in the zone, so I used it.

So when I proofed the yeast, it really bloomed. Almost out of the little dish that I had put the water and sugar in. In this particular instance, I did use real sugar since it's only a small amount that gets spread out over the whole recipe.

So here's the recipe for ANGIE'S DEPRESSION BREAD:

4 cups all purpose flour (I use bread flour if I have it; otherwise, I use presifted)
1 1/3 cups warm water (105 - 110 degrees)
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 large eggs
1 pkg. active dry yeast.

In a small bowl, mix 1/3 cup of the warm water with yeast and 1 Tbsp of the sugar. Allow to dissolve and "proof."

In a large mixing bowl, coming remaining water, sugar, salt and eggs. Mix thoroughly with whisk. Add 2 cups of the flour and mix thoroughly. Then add the yeast mixture and stir it up really good. Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix thoroughly. Cover the bowl and place in a warm place to rise. Let it rise for at least 2 hours.

(Most recipes tell you to use a damp towel, but if the dough rises too much, it could stick to the towel. What I use is the "release" aluminum foil and even spray the foil with some spray oil.)

Not only that, but you could let the dough rise more than 2 hours if you want to. Like, you could put the dough in the bowl to rise, then go grocery shopping or someplace for more than a couple of hours -- if you need to. Quint says his mom would sometimes let her dough rise most of the afternoon. Me? I'm too anxious to take the dough to the next step, which is:

Punch the dough down and roll out onto a floured surface. DO NOT KNEAD THE DOUGH. That's the part I like best about this recipe. No kneading. I have memories of watching Julia Child beating up her dough. She said you had to get really hostile with beating up the dough. The purpose of kneading in other recipes is to get the gluten working through the dough. This bread works just find without kneading.

Lightly roll the dough to about 3/4" to 1" thick. Using a cutter or drinking glass, cut 2" to 2-1/2" in diameter rolls, cut them and place in a 9" x 14" glass pan, lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Arrange the rolls 3 wide and 5 to 6 long, being careful not to crowd them. Allow to rise again until double -- or about 2 hours.

I made a loaf of bread and six rolls in a 2-quart pyrex dish.

Bake 12-16 minutes in a 400 degree oven (375 for metal pan) or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve immediately. You can brush with melted butter if you like. I didn't. I try not to add more calories than necessary. Anyway, it makes your hands greasy and you're going to butter the bread anyway. Probably.

I got this recipe from one of the Internet recipe sites -- don't remember which one. What I like about this recipe is that it uses a minimum amount of ingredients and is very simple to make. A lady named Angie developed the recipe because of the high price of sugar and other ingredients during the depression.

And now we have light, fluffy bread which is more to my liking. And the other "artisan bread?" I'll make bread crumbs in my little baby blender, put some oregano in when I'm pulverizing the bread and make a meatloaf, or maybe breading for a pork chop dinner or fried chicken. Who knows. But it's not going to be for making sandwiches anymore.

But try this depression bread. You'll shine like a champ and everyone will be smiling at you.

And that's about it for this bright, sunny Saturday morning. But wait, did you notice that I added some news feeds at the bottom of the home page? Supposedly the news feeds get updated through the day.

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BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Paul expands his ministry in this chapter to include marital behaviors, specifically how a couple should act toward each other in their sexual life. He encouraged couples to share their bodies with each other and in verses 5-7, he says: Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

I say this as a concession, not as a command.

I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

As far as widows and unmarried women are concerned, he said: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Well, that's pretty straightforward. Keep in mind that Paul was more than aware of Corinth being the "Sin City" of the area. Maybe there were wild toga parties that he'd heard about. Or maybe a lot of marital infidelity going on. Either way, Paul admonished the Corinthians to get themselves under control and go on and get married if they were have all these deep passionate feelings. But he hastens to point out that these commands are coming from the Lord (verse 10: To the married, I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

Then there's the question of staying together even if a spouse is an unbeliever. Paul points out that the unbelieving spouse is sanctified through the believing spouse. In that way, their children are holy. If that were not so, then the couple's children would be unclean. (verse 12-14)

However, if the unbelieving spouse leaves, then the believing spouse is not bound in such a circumstance, Paul says in verse 15. Then Paul addresses the matter of circumcision once again. Paul says that if a man is circumcised when he comes to believe, then he's not required to become uncircumcised; or counter to that, if a man is uncircumcised when he comes to believe, then he's not required to become circumcised. Paul says in verses 19-20: Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him.

Okay, so I get that. But wasn't circumcision also one of God's early laws? In fact, this is such an old rule that you have to go all the way back to Genesis 17:10: This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

This is the proverbial "nail" that the Jews in Paul's day were hanging their hats on, so to speak. And the answer to that can be found in Romans 2:28-29: A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.

In Paul's view, the real sign that someone was a believer was not what they did to the outer body, but rather, by the Holy Spirit that lives in the soul of the believer. So if you are, you are -- and if you aren't, that's okay too.

Paul recognizes that the believers in Corinth often felt the crush of a cultural crisis when they would not participate in sexual immoralities going on around them. Because of this crisis, Paul speaks to the virgins too (verses 25-26): Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are.

So Paul is talking as Paul in those verses. However, if you accept that Paul's writings were inspired writings, then you can recognize the authority of his messages as coming from God through the Holy Spirit.

And then we have verses 29-31, which has always been a kind of confusion to me: What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.

What I find curious about these verses is the seeming contradiction to the earlier verse in this chapter -- that we are not to keep our bodies from our spouses and yet, in this verse 29, Paul tells the men that if they are married, they should live as if they didn't have a wife.

This would be a good discussion opportunity if you are meeting in a discussion group. Keep in mind that this admonition might be wrapped around Paul's information that persecutions are coming to the Christian believers when he says "Time is short."

Paul gives us a clue into his thinking in verse 35: I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

Clearly, we are to live our lives devoted to the Lord's affairs and Paul does not want us to forget this -- nor did he want the Corinthians to forget it either.

Paul sums it up in the final verses of this chapter, beginning at verse 39: A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is -- and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.

FOR DISCUSSION:

1. Traditionally, it is accepted that Paul never married. We also have reason to believe, specifically from this chapter, that Paul's life was one of celibacy. What did he tell the Corinthians about his own reason for staying celibate?

2. How do you compare today's divorce rate with Paul's view of marriage?

3. In this chapter, Paul gets down "in the trenches" of the married person's sexual life. Does Paul's view of a couple's conjugal life match your perception of what married life should be like?

4. And here we are talking about circumcision again. This seems to be a major difference in why the Jewish leaders wanted to avoid the Gentiles whom they considered unclean. In fact, we have Biblical reason to believe that Jesus was also circumcised. Yet Jesus told his followers that he brought a new law. How did Paul reconcile this difference of thought?

CLOSING PRAYER: Oh Lord, our Father in Heaven, I pray that you would enlighten me as I read your Word. I pray that you would give me what I need to know so that my life will reflect the joy of following you all through my life.

I pray that you would bless all the people in my life with your gracious love. I thank you for the joy of marriage and children and that you have built in my heart a home that is a house of prayer.

I pray that you would bless all who join us in our Bible Study each day and I pray that you would watch over them in places around the world where they may not be safe in studying your Word. I pray that you would put a hedge around them and protect them from Satan and all that is evil so that they will not be in danger. I pray that you would bless all of us here in the United States who enjoy freedoms of religion and who join us in Bible Studies every day. Amen.

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5-STAR STUPID AWARDS from Mark Stubbe

When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a holdup in Long Beach, California, would be robber James Elliott did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and fired the trigger again. It worked this time.

A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear space for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find that a woman had taken his parking place. Understandably, he shot her.

After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar in Zimbabwe, a bus driver found that the 20 patients he was transporting from Harare to a mental hospital in Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, he went to a nearby bus stop and offered a free ride to everybody standing there. He then delivered the passengers to the hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and given to flights of fantasy. It took 21 days before the deception was discovered.

A Texas teenager was in the hospital recovering from head wounds from an oncoming train. When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told the police he was simply trying to see how close he could get to the train before getting hit.

A man went into a convenience store in Louisiana and put a $20 bill on the counter and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the guy pulled out a gun and demanded all the money in the drawer. The clerk gladly gave it all to him. The thief left in a hurry but failed to take the $20 bill. And the amount in the cash drawer? Only $15.

Seems an Arkansas man wanted a drink pretty badly. He figured all he had to do was throw a cinder block through the window of a liquor store, run in and get the booze, then be on his way. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit him in the head, knocking him unconscious. The window was made out of Plexiglass and the whole incident was caught on the store's security camera.

The Ann Arbor, Michigan, News reported that a man had gone into a Burger King at 5 a.m. and demanded all the cash. The clerk said he wasn't allowed to open the cash drawer without a food order. So the man ordered onion rings. The clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away.
 
When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got a lot more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to the motor home near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said the man admitted admitted to trying to steal the gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle decline to press charges, saying it was the best laugh he'd had in a very long time.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

Wow! Snow in Baghdad! Can you believe it? The children were literally dancing in the streets. They had never seen snow before in their entire life.

And this morning I watched the Iraq National Orchestra in rehearsal. One gentleman says that his prized 19th century violin was destroyed during the war. Someone heard about it all the way over in Australia and made arrangements to get another violin from that same time period. The violinist was overjoyed. Also, a fifteen year old French Horn player had auditioned and gained a seat in the orchestra. Then they played a piece that I'm not familiar with, but it was very nice and peaceful.

Civilization is returning to Baghdad. There hasn't been much credit given to that. In fact, half of the provinces in Iraq have been turned over to the Iraqis.

So the Iraqis are getting their national orchestra back. Democracy is returning and it's snowing on the streets of Baghdad. The children will be making snowmen any minute now. So far, a pretty good day, don't you think?

Well, from the sounds of it, the debate in South Carolina was quite something. We're taking a moratorium from all the political stuff. It's not that we've lost interest in the process, we just to a point of overload. We just decided that we've watched one debate too many and sat back with a movie instead.

But wouldn't you know, we missed the good one?!! Fred Thompson rang the bell more than once with some good one-liners. Rudy pulled his people out of Michigan supposedly because he's running out of money and has asked his campaign people to work for zip, nahta. Guess he's down there in Florida trying to re-connect from his New Yorkies who became snowbirds. McCain is sounding more and more presidential and Huckabee says the Iranians are getting close to the gates of hell if they think they can play recklessly in the Straits of Hormuz with American warships. Hormuz is international waters but ships at sea are sovereign. And it's Mike who?

Apparently the Democrats all went to Nevada. Hillary is now saying that caucuses are disenfranchising and the Culinary Arts Union endorses Obama. Richardson dropped out with the insistence that he's really happy being New Mexico's governor. At least for a while, politics is the only game in town.

Then comes Super Tuesday on February 5. That's the game of "Last Man Standing."

We may just continue watching spy movies, or Quint's favorite, "Monk." He says "I like that guy." To which I say, "But he's not level." Then Quint comes back with, "But I understand him." Well, okay then. I'm just sitting here tending to my knitting. For a change. Just playing nice.

Oh -- forgot to welcome readers in Germany, Senegal and the Netherlands. Welcome welcome welcome.

##

Story About the rabbi and his son -- from Mark Stubbe

A rabbi's son had just gotten his drivers license and asked his father for permission to use the car.

His father said, "I'll make a deal with you. You bring you grades up, study the Talmud more, get your hair cut and then we'll talk about it."

After about a month, the son came back and asked for the car again. His father said, "I'm proud of you. You've brought your grades up and I see you studying the Talmut more, but you haven't got your hair cut."

The son said, "You know, dad, I've been thinking about that. You know, Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair and Jesus had long hair."

"That's true," his father said. "And everywhere they went, they walked."

##


BIBLE STUDY -- 1 Corinthians 6:1-20

Since Paul closed the last chapter with the admonition that the believers were not in a position to judge those people who lived outside the law. Rather, those "outlaws" -- that is, criminal types -- were to be left to civil authorities who had the right to judge them. And places to put them, too. Like jails.

Now Paul comes into this chapter telling how the Christians, or saints as Paul liked to call believers of the Way, are to resolve their disputes. Paul says in the very first verse that these disputes ought not to be taken before the ungodly for judgment.

This might sound like a contradiction. Not necessarily so. Apparently Paul was talking about resolving property matters, not criminal matters which belong to the civil rulers.

Verse 2 seems to spell out this difference: Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?

These "smaller" matters were better off being judged by believers who had the advantage of seeing things from a godly perspective. That's a note made on p. 1752 of my Concordia Study Bible.

Paul even says in verse 3 that "we will judge angels?" But how could that be, you may wonder. After all, aren't angels heavenly beings created by God to carry God's messages to the people living on earth?

I have a cross reference to Jude, verse 6: And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home -- these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.

So where is Paul going with all this? The believers were not to judge criminals but they could judge each other in smaller matters. 

But how in the world would a person even recognize a rebellious angel who refused to perform the job that God sent the angel to do?

Are those the "secret things" that Paul referred to earlier? The secret things that God had gifted the apostles with knowing? Are the apostles the "we" in verse 3 when he says "we will judge angels?"

There isn't enough information in this passage to do little else but speculate as to Paul's meaning when he refers to being able to judge angels. I don't know how a person would even recognize an angel -- whether obedient or disobedient.

Perhaps Paul wants the Corinthians to just realize that their judgments are limited. They can make judgment calls in trivial matters, like property encroachments. But not criminal cases.

We get a further hint about how Paul wanted the Corinthians to behave toward each other in verses 7-8: The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers.

Given what was happening in Corinth at the time, it seems to me that Paul wanted the believers in the church at Corinth to resolve their disputes among themselves and stay out of the Roman legal system. Don't go filing disputes in court, but rather, set up a type of committee among themselves to resolve these small, trivial matters. And maybe there's a warning here not to make a public spectacle out of themselves by bringing trivial matters to the big deal Roman courts.

I've often wondered as I read this chapter why Paul spent so much time belaboring what the Corinthians could judge and what they couldn't -- then immediately moves into three different kinds of sexual immoralities that Paul defines as wicked in verses 9-10: Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Okay, so if these instances of immoralities cause a person to come to the wrath of God, to the point where God denies their entrance into his kingdom, are these wrongdoings more serious than the trivial matters that the believers could judge among themselves?

It's starting to sound like the wicked people were just plain old doomed -- like they didn't have a chance at eternity. It's like Paul was saying, "Now you've done it."

But then, he brings great solace to the Corinthians because he knew that some of them had been engaging in sexual immoralities in their own little version of Sin City. Let's see where Paul is taking them in verse 11: And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, your were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Paul brings the gospel message of Jesus Christ back to them, and the assurances that Christ's death on the cross for all of their sins -- and our sins as well -- washed all mankind from sin. In verse 14, Paul brings the promise: By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

In verses 15-17, Paul warns the Corinthians that when they engage in the immoral acts of having sex with a prostitute, for instance, they become immoral too: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who units himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.

Sin makes us dirty. And all the dirtier if we sin on purpose. And then we want Jesus to come and take up residence in our hearts?! After we've made ourselves dirty?

Paul didn't like that. And if he could judge the angels, along with the other apostles, then he could also judge the people in his church who were committing these immoral acts.

These immoral acts are not trivial matters. They are sins that are committed against the person's own body. All the other sins that man commits are done outside his body, but sexual immoralities are much more serious.

Paul concludes in verses 19-20: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Yes, my friends, we were bought with a price and that price was paid for in the blood of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.

We also have been given the Holy Spirit by none other than God himself. It is the Holy Spirit who will give us the power to resist evil and help us avoid the temptations of immoralities.

Discussion points:

1. What matters do you think you have the right to judge about others?

2. When you have difficulties letting things go and turning situations back to God, do you think of asking the Holy Spirit to come into your heart so that you can let go of painful old hurts that have been done to you?

3. When you read that Jesus Christ died for your sins, can you let go of the guilt from things you have done in the past?

4. Where do you put smoking, alcohol abuse, laxative abuse, anorexic behaviors, over-eating, and other risk-taking behaviors in there when you define your body as the temple of God?

5. Do you quiet down every day for a few minutes and listen to the still, small voice that is God talking to your soul?

And so we pray:

Oh, Spirit of the Living God, I pray that you will come to me this day and bring me the power and strength I need to resist all forms of sin and immoralities -- big and small.

I know what I'm supposed to do but I don't always do it. Please help me live the life you want me to so that I can be a presence for you in the hearts of others.

I pray that you would bless me this day and that you would put a hedge around me to protect me from all that is evil.

I thank you for your continued blessings and the grace you have bestowed on my life. Amen.

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MY LIFE IN INK --

Welcome readers in Nigeria and India. And last night we filled up the clock. That is, somewhere on earth someone is reading the blog during each hour of the day and night.

And since you are clicking on the tab that leads to this page, I pray that your Bible Study reading will be blessed and that your hearts will be filled with great joy. Christians enjoy a unique experience in that we are able to go directly to our Heavenly Father with all our prayer concerns.

We are also able to listen to what God wants to tell us. And we can do that by reading his Word every day of our lives. True, the Bible is not a seamless work of history. In fact, there are many gaps in time sequences. But the Bible gives us what God wants us to know in order to lead a Godly life.

And since a number of you are using these Bible Studies for your own group studies, starting today I am going to include a discussion question or two for you to think about and talk about in your groups. I am also going to include a closing prayer for you to consider.

As you meet for your studies of the Bible chapter by chapter, I have to tell you that when Quint and I went to England and Ireland several years ago, we went into many cathedrals (and castles, of course). But the cathedral at Salisbury absolutely amazed us because we were in a chapter house. This is where priests come every day to read and study a chapter of the Bible.

Salisbury Cathedral is also the site of where one of the four surviving copies of the Magna Carta is located. You can bet it's properly preserved and sealed up to keep tourists from turning it over, or snipping off pieces to keep for bragging rights later, and other touristy type activities.

The original cathedral at Salisbury was built in 1075, then went into deterioration. It was rebuilt in 1220. The cathedral is an absolutely beautiful piece of architecture. Its spire is the tallest in the UK. And Handel is said to have stayed in one a room above one of the gates of the cathedral. Lots of rich, rich history connected with this cathedral. Read more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury,_United_Kingdom

or this site that shows the architectural beauty: http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbi.cgi/Salisbury_Cathedral.html/cid_1755561.gbi

This aerial view will give you some idea of the breadth of the cathedral with its inner courtyard, the connected buildings in the lower right area -- the smaller one houses the Magna Carta and I believe the larger, kind of octagonal building is a chapter house: http://www.greatbuildings.com/cgi-bin/gbg.cgi/Salisbury_Cathedral.html/51.064944/-1.797557/18

We get to stay in our little house all day today. That is, until we go for on our gerbil trail around the mall later this afternoon. You do know that if you want to lose weight, you can't just reduce calories, don't you. Unless you exercise too, your weight loss will be more muscle mass reduction, not fat burn. So we're up to a two mile hike every time we go over there. We have to drag each other out the door, though. But on our way home, we pay each other on the back a lot. Us being glad handers and all.

##

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 5:1-13

We get another insight into the depth of Paul's thinking in this chapter. The word had gotten back to him that the people in Corinth were engaging in sexual immoralities. And to Paul, the worst of the worst involved an incestuous relationship (verses 1-2): It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife.

And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?

Imagine, if you will, the Corinth that Paul's eyes looked at when he arrived there on his second missionary journey.

Here was a growing, bustling metropolis. Its Chamber of Commerce could boast, as our own Sin City does -- Las Vegas -- that what happened in Corinth stayed in Corinth.

Except that someone in Chloe's household got a message to Paul that the Corinthians seemed to have let go of the spiritual truths they once professed. They had become arrogant -- their worship was turning back to pagan practices -- and now, of all things -- there comes word that a man was engaging in sexual intercourse with his father's wife!

This wasn't a disguised, subconscious Oedipal thing going on -- this was out and out sexual perversion. And Paul would have none of it!

It didn't matter that there was a temple in Corinth where Aphrodite was worshipped. The Corinthians may have called Aphrodite the goddess of all things sexual, but we know what Paul thought about false gods and goddesses.

Paul makes his view known plainly in verse 3: Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.

So what are they to do with this man? Read where Paul's judgment falls (verse 4-5): When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

My Concordia Study Bible has this note on page 1751: Abandon this sinful man to the devil that he may afflict the man as he pleases. This abandonment to Satan was to be accomplished, not by some magical incantation, but by expelling the man from the church. To expel him ws to put him out in the devil's territory, severed from any connection with God's people.

What Paul is saying here is that since the man had contaminated his faith by having sexual intercourse with his father's wife, he was to be more than shunned -- he was to be cast out, excommunicated from the community of believers.

Interesting remedy, don't you think? There was no "Matthew 18" suggested where people were to go to a sinful person and confront that sinner in hopes of bringing the sinner back into the fold. Nope. Paul says to kick him out and since the man had weakened corrupted by following the wiles of the Liar, then he needed to be put out of the church so that Satan could destroy the man's sinful nature.

Then Paul uses an allegory and compares malice and wickedness to yeast -- the leavening agent that works through the entire loaf of bread. Paul said that they needed to get back to sincerity and truth and that would mean getting rid of the old yeast because it was still working and thus making the bread rise up with corruption (verses 6-8).

Paul wants the bad guys to go. And by "bad guys" he specifically means those people who are sexually immoral.

Then Paul is quick to point out that when it comes to dismissing immoral people, he's not talking about those who are greedy and swindlers, or idolaters (verse 9-10). No, if you're going to do that, you'd have to leave the earth. These kind of immoral people are everywhere.

But when it comes to people who are sexually immoral, don't even go over to their house for dinner (verse 11).

Again, I refer to my Concordia Study Bible for a note here on p. 1752: Calling oneself a Christian while continuing to live an immoral life is reprehensible and degrading, and gives a false testimony to Christ. If the true Christian has intimate association with someone who does this, the non-Christian world may assume that the church approves such immoral, ungodly living and thus the name of Christ would be dishonored.

And then Paul explains to the Corinthians that he has no business making any judgments of what people are doing outside the church. Paul says that God will judge those people who are outside. So by expelling the sexually immoral people from the community of the church worshipers, then they are no longer subject to Paul's judgment.

Paul is strongly encouraging church members to exercise a spiritual discipline over its believers, but that's where their judgment ends. The church is not to judge all the unsaved people in the world -- those people are subject to civil authorities that have penal codes to deal with lawbreakers. 

The final, ultimate judgment for both the believer and unbeliever will be from God.

For discussion:

1. As you read this chapter, do you think there is a sexual contamination present today?

2. It's a fairly easy profession of faith to think of Paul's view of sexual immorality as being "right on." But when you watch movies or television episodes that portray sexual immorality, what do you think this is doing to the core of our culture?

3. How is this either different or like the yeast that Paul refers to?

4. What would you do if you were confronted with information that there was something of a sexually immoral nature going on in your church? Who would you tell? What if it involved incest? These are tough instances of confrontations, and I hasten to tell you that it's going on in churches even today. Would you look the other way and say something like, "I can't really prove it" and then shrug your shoulders?

5. Is it easy for you to give up judging others? Paul closes this chapter with the thought that the final judgment belongs to God. Can you let go of wrongs that have been done to you and forgive someone, knowing that in the end, God will make a judgment.

6. There are Ten Commandments that God has given us. Why do you think that stealing and idolatry and other acts of sin are not to be handled in the same way as sexual immorality? Does this mean that sexual immorality is more important?

Closing Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that you will send your Holy Spirit into our hearts to guide us through this day. I pray that you will fill me with love for all fellow believers and that I will be a strong voice for faith when I am confronted with any sexual immorality. I pray that you would protect me from Satan and all that is evil so that the Evil One cannot touch me with his lies. I pray that you will keep me strong so that I can share the good news of your love. And finally, I pray that you will give me the strength to do this with strength and joy. Amen.  

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MY LIFE IN INK --

Welcome readers in Portugal, Brazil, Canada and Spain. I like to especially add a thank you for joining us because all of us here in the United States welcome you to our little blog family. Well, I guess we aren't so tiny anymore -- expect to go over 83,000 hits by the end of this week. I wonder when we'll get to 100,000 hits. Won't that be exciting? If the trend line continues, it will be some time this year, for sure.

McCain took New Hampshire -- that wasn't a surprise.

But was a surprise -- at least to the pollsters and pundits who sat around their mogul tables as the results streamed in -- was the Hillary upset. Obama was the favored one but even from the first poll result that trickled in, Hillary took the lead and managed to hang onto it until the last vote drew breath.

Oh, it wasn't a big win. Single digits, in fact. But no matter. A win is a win. Obama probably had to scramble to revise his victory speech into a concession speech. But he did a good job as he congratulated Hillary and went on to deliver his "Yes We Can" speech which, truthfully, sounded an awful lot like a victory speech with just a sentence or two at the beginning to acknowledge that he had, in fact, not won.

Such is politics.

Now back to the real world. For us, that's taking down Christmas decorations. Still. I'm so grateful that we now have an attic. When we lived in the condo we were at the mercy of wherever there was room in a closet. Even the storage closet couldn't accommodate all the decorations.

I'll put more spider traps up there. Spiders, especially Brown Recluse, like to hide out in secret places, like dark attics. I use a mouse trap to catch the spiders. It works like a charm. I get the mouse traps that make a little fold up tent. Used to be able to get an actual spider trap that does the same thing, but the mouse traps work just as well. The point is the traps have this super sticky stuff on the inside and when the spiders go in there, they can't get off the sticky stuff.

One of the traps I took out from the attic had a pile of spiders stuck and dead. I didn't look closely enough to see if there were any Brown Recluse. I'm not an entomologist so I don't know if I would recognize one if I saw it.

Anyway, if you want to try a mouse trap to catch spiders, it will work. Just get the kind of mouse traps that have all that sticky stuff on the inside and folds up into a triangular kind of tent. And if spiders don't know that they aren't mice, that's their problem. Guess I'm a spidercider.

Oh -- did you know that if you want to make the type size bigger when you're on the Internet, all you have to do is hold down the Control key and then turn the wheel that's on your mouse? That's a great trick, especially if you get some stuff printed in what I call "mouse print" -- that is, 6 point type. My friend Patti told me that a while ago. And it works. It's a great trick for people who find it easier to read the larger type. And thanks for sharing that with us, Patti.

Well, we're going to pay for those balmy springlike days when we enjoyed 60 degree temperatures. It was 30 degrees this morning and going up to maybe 33 this afternoon. But we only have about 24 days until Ground Hog Day and the days are getting longer by a minute every afternoon.

##

BIG EARTHQUAKE IN CANADA? HUH?!!

Yes. It was a 6.1 and hit at 6:40 a.m. Pacific time about 389 miles WNW from Vancouver, British Columbia.

Don't know anything else about damages or the epicenter.

Maybe this will tell you something: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2008lzas.php

Oh, and Quint says a new cycle begins for sunspot activities. He says he got that infrom www.noaa.gov -- threatens the power grids, GPS, satellites, phones, etc. He hastens to add that one sunspot won't do it, but rather -- it begins a new cycle.


BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 4: 1-21

As Paul begins this chapter, he again makes the statement that the apostles are servants of Christ and are those who have been entrusted with the secret things of God (verse 1). Paul doesn't say exactly what these secret things are, but we do know from Acts 17 that discernment is one of the spiritual gifts given to some believers by the Holy Spirit.

But it doesn't end there. Paul continues in verses 2 and 3 to tell us what that means for those people who have been given this precious gift of discernment: Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.

There's a powerful warning here, I believe, for people who think they are the "best Christians" -- who become haughty and lofty in their sense of righteousness -- who become so proud of their piety that they fill up with arrogant pride.

In a way, I think we can say that Paul is telling the Corinthians that they don't know as much as they think they know. After all, if they had really gotten any special message from God they wouldn't have been so reluctant to share what they knew with unbelievers. God wants the good news -- the gospel message -- shared with everyone.

And God certainly does not want people to think they're squandering his good will by not sharing the gospel with people they thought didn't deserve to know the things of God.

Nope. That's a judgment call that men ought not to be making.

So Paul says he's been told the secret things of God. And the people of Corinth know that Paul has been out there on the dusty trails going from one little town to another sharing the gospel message of Christ and bringing the good news of God to everybody who will listen to him.

On the other hand, the people of Corinth had formed a church. They met as a community of believers. All was well until they started to get the idea that they had an exclusive little group going.

When Paul heard about this, he probably figured that they were in need of an attitude adjustment. After all, the gospel message that they seemed to be hoarding was the very message that he, Paul, had shared with them.

And Paul reminded him that this gospel message had come from none other than God. So who in the world were they to hoard this great truth of belief?

In verses 4 and 5, Paul continues: My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive the praise from God.

It was time for the Corinthians to come down off their pedestal. They could not read men's minds; they couldn't figure out what the motives were in other people's hearts. They had not received the gift of discernment, apparently, from the Holy Spirit so they ought not to set themselves up to judge others.

They especially weren't supposed to be the deciders who thought of themselves as experts on the faith, and then, because of their haughty judgmental attitudes, lost the one thing that Paul had hoped to instill in them -- that God's love and acceptance is one of grace. And this gracious love is the path to salvation, righteousness and redemption. It is a path that leads to Christ and through Christ to God.

In verses 8 through 14, Paul uses a message dripping with irony to describe himself against a backdrop of the Corinthians who thought they were doing just fine. In fact, better than fine. They were pretty darned proud of themselves. 

If they thought they were rich and wonderful because of what they had come to know, Paul wanted to remind them that he thought of himself, first of all, as a sinner; that he felt like he was dishonored and persecuted and was the scum of the earth. He told them that he went hungry; that he was homeless; that he worked hard with his own hands.

So if he, Paul, thought of himself as undeserving and humbled, why should the Corinthians think of themselves as rich and kingly because it was Paul who brought them the gospel message that they just conveniently re-engineered into some kind of aggrandizing self-image that had nothing to do with what God wanted them to be like.

No. That was not the message that Paul wanted them to have of themselves.

Instead, in verse 16, he says: Therefore I urge you to imitate me.

At this point in his letter, Paul introduces Timothy to the Corinthians. He tells them that Timothy is his son whom he loves. And Timothy is faithful in the Lord. Timothy will remind the Corinthians of the way of life they're supposed to be living -- that being a life in Christ Jesus.

If the Corinthians can do that then that would agree with what Paul preached everywhere in every church.

At the end of this chapter, Paul reminds them (verses 18-21): Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.

What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?

##

OKLAHOMA CITY IS GOING TO LOSE ONE MILLION POUNDS!

At least that's what the Mayor Mike Comett is hoping when he made this his New Years resolution for 2008. Guess he didn't like his town being one of the most obese cities.

So he called for volunteers to sign up to lose weight. Pecan pie will be severely limited. So will cornbread with butter slathered all over it. And sausage and gravy? Only in moderation.

And chicken fried steak? Let's see -- used to be we'd take a steak then roll it in a breading then fry it. Just to see how many calories we could add on. Well, no more. This southern obese-driven delicacy may just go back to being a plain old steak.

So far, some 1200 people have signed up and they've lost 300 collective pounds in the first few days of the new year.

Comett wants to add bike trails and more sidewalks to encourage his citizens to get out and move around. Losing weight is one thing but you tend to lose muscle mass if you just reduce caloric intake and don't exercise. You don't burn fat sitting in a chair even if you do reduce calories.

Good for Oklahoma City! This story inspires me to keep walking through the mall every day. Two miles a day, and believe me, we're not setting land speed records, but at least we're out there moving our bodies around. It's making a difference too.

##

SISTERS -- from Antoinette Oberheu

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

"Don't forget your sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of the glass. "They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.

"Remember that 'sisters' means all the women -- your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. You'll need other women. Women always do."

"What a funny piece of advice!" the young woman thought. "Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple world. I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake. A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile."

But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstays of her life.

And after more than 80 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT --

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girlfriend is never farther away than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you -- or come in and carry you out.

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

Today is the New Hampshire primary! The claim is made that with very few exceptions, the New Hampshire winners have been the party nominees in the last 28 elections.

So you could say that as New Hampshire goes, so goes the country. Except that it is not necessarily true anymore. Actually Bill Clinton was the first primary contender who lost in the New Hampshire primary but went on to win the White Office.

In 1992, Bill Clinton only got 24% of the Democratic primary votes. He lost to Paul Tsongas' 33%. -- In 1996, Bill Clinton did better, with 83% of the Democratic votes.

Then in 2000, George W. Bush gleaned 30% of the Republican votes in the primary, to John McCain's 48%.

What that tells me is that after Ronald Reagan's White House years, the voters in the United States have become polarized. At least to me, it isn't about Republican turnout or Democratic turnout, but rather -- it's the Independents who come out to vote who determine who gets elected.

Anyway, here's the very interesting website for some history of the New Hampshire primary results that go all the way back to 1952 which was the year I first became interested in national elections: http://www.politicallibrary.org/Past-Primary/History.aspx

It helped that Alben Barkley came from Paducah, Kentucky, where I grew up. He was a vice president and a local son who made good. He had been a lawyer and a judge in Paducah, then went on to be elected to the House of Representatives, then to the U.S. Senate and while a senator, was Senate Majority Leader. He served as Truman's vice president. Barkley died in 1956 and I remember standing at the curb waiting for the hearse to bear his body to the church for his funeral. He is buried in Mount Kenton Cemetery out on Lone Oak Road which isn't too terribly far from where my mother lived.

I couldn't wait for the Saturday Evening Post and Life Magazine to arrive. And the Weekly Reader. I don't remember reading any of the news magazines but I did follow the news about national campaigns that were printed in the Paducah Sun-Democrat.

I was in the fourth grade. I don't know too many fourth graders today who could tell you who the candidates are in the presidential race for 2008, much less go to the library to read about the political goings on in the magazines. But then, I was always a bit "bookish." Besides, today all the news is all over the Internet so maybe the youngsters know more than I think they know. That wouldn't be the first time that ever happened!

It's something else that Quint and I have in common. We have long debates on politics and when the debates start to turn toward an argument, we have enough sense to agree to disagree. We don't let outside stuff interfere with our relationship.

I hope you're all following the news. This is going to be an important election year for our country. And I am thrilled to see so many young people on the news and talk shows getting all fired up about the election and getting into the national dialogue about the candidates.

Well, so much for that. I ended up going to the dentist yesterday after posting the blog and it was rather late when I got back so I didn't get to the Bible Study. Besides, the computer decided it didn't want me to be on the Internet.

So I went back to my knitting instead. After I filled up the cookie jar again. I finally put the finishing touches on the sugar-free sugar cookie recipe and they pass Quint's "quality control" nibbling.

Quint finally got the Internet up and running just in time for dinner. But he can't get on the Internet at the same time as I do so that won't work either. He has more work to do on the configuration but said he'd wait until after I'm done with the Bible Study.

Isn't he nice?

##

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

In this chapter Paul makes a distinction between "baby Christians" and "mature Christians." (Those are my words, not his.)

In verses 1-3 he tells how he makes these determinations: Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly -- merely infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?

The immature Christians that Paul refers to as milk consumers are the new believers. These are the Christians to whom Paul give milk, not solid food.

What is the solid food he is referring to? Who are these mature Christians and how are they worshiping and living their lives that are different from the immature Christians who are still on a "spiritual diet" of milk?

To make this distinction, we have to turn to Hebrews 5:12-14: ...by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Uh, does this mean that we are to go around pronouncing people as "evil" or "pagans" in their faith?

I don't think so. Remember only a few verses back we read that only God knows what is in the hearts of man.

So you don't know if someone is evil. But you can tell if someone is behaving badly. Will there be murderers in heaven? Will there be thieves in heaven? If you believe Jesus, there is. Remember the man who was on the cross next to Jesus? Jesus told him that he would be with Jesus that very day in paradise, yet this man was someone who had broken the laws sufficiently to be executed.

Can you honestly tell if someone is sitting quietly, just observing others or in a quiet moment of reverie -- or if that person is praying? Without an outward show, you don't know. But God does.

And some things we need to leave to God's discernment and get the proverbial plank out of our own eyes.

When Paul makes the comment that we have to train ourselves to discern good from evil, I think he's talking about how we react to temptations that are around us -- all the time.

We all have opportunities to be naughty -- to break the laws. Do you cheat on your income tax filing? Do you go speeding down the interstate so you won't get run over by people going even faster than you? Do you tell stories about people that are not true? Do you take things that don't belong to you? Do you have that extra little glass of wine at dinner even though a little voice inside you tells you that you've had enough?

Paul is saying that mature believers are able to tell the difference between good and evil. If you go toward temptation, then you are worldly. You're living your life by human standards, not be spiritual standards that would make you one of God's people.

Then Paul tells a story about the difference between him and Apollos.

Apollos was a church worker in those days. He worked with the new converts that Paul sent him. Apollos' job was to help develop the spiritual strength of the new converts. But Paul wants the people at Corinth to know there is value with what each of them are doing.

Let's read what Paul says in verses 4-9: For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe -- as the Lord as assigned to each his task.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.

So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.

The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building.

In the next few verses, Paul compares his work to that of laying a foundation for a building. But he warns in verse 10 that anyone who builds upon his foundation. And especially, if someone else is going to try to lay another foundation, it had better be the foundation of Jesus Christ -- because fire will test that work. Gold and silver and costly woods -- they all go by the wayside when the fire tests the quality of man's work.

But -- if what is built survives, then that builder will be rewarded for what he has done. If the building is burned up, he will suffer a loss. The man won't be burned up because he'll escape the flames, but the building will be lost. (verses 12-14)

Now comes one of my favorite passages in verses 16-18: Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

This is the passage that gave me the strength to resist a lot of temptations -- and finally quit smoking many years ago. It's giving me the inner strength to stay on a better diet and to get more exercise. But that's just my physical being. I have to keep my heart and soul and spirit in such a place that I am not vulnerable to the temptations of Satan and all that is evil.

God's temple. God created mankind to be different from the animals that walk the earth. It is within each of us that God wants to take us residence. God gives us a soul. This is where his temple is. In each of us.

But don't get too high and mighty. Paul warns the Corinthians about this and he warns us even today (verses 18-19a): Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight.

So you see, we don't know so much. We just learners. Every time we think we've discovered something great and might, just keep in mind that God already knew that.

What is really important -- what really matters -- can be found in the final verse of this chapter: All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future -- all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. (verse 22b-23)

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

We must be in record temperature territory -- can't believe it was in the 60s yesterday afternoon! Felt like Spring weather. I'll bet we pay for it later though. I'm enjoying it but I know the other shoe will fall one of these days.

We are having computer problems this morning. Fortunately, Quint knows everything there is to know -- that we need to know -- about our computers so he was finally able to get me up and running. And while he was doing that -- took him a little more than an hour -- I added 24 rows to a scarf I'm knitting and watched a biography of Jack Nicholson on television.

I'm getting tired of all the politics. All these presidential campaigners are promising things that they cannot deliver. In the first place, all things that have to do with taxes have to start in the House of Representatives and specifically in the House Ways and Means Committee. The White House doesn't lower or raise taxes. But the political game gets played out and for sure, whoever is sitting in the Oval Office has veto power -- or can strongly suggest a tax cut. But it becomes a legislative action, not an executive one.

Barack Obama, for instance, says he wants to raise the capital gains tax from 15% to 25%. He can't do that. He can only ask the House Ways and Means Committee to present that little package to the rest of the House, and then it goes on over to the Senate to see what the one hundred little miniature presidents will do about it.

Obama is the new senator who come to Washington from Illinois and it seems to me that I heard that when he was an Illinois senator, he didn't vote for a lot of the bills that came before the Senate. What did he do? He said "Present." In fact, according to the New York Times, Obama voted "Present" 130 times. It's worse in Washington. The Washington Post says he missed 166 votes -- 37.6% of the votes. The voters of Illinois are not being represented with Obama out on the campaign trail instead of doing what the taxpayers elected him to do. Maybe he figures he could be a "junket king" if he got elected president. 

So the vote in New Hampshire will be done tomorrow. Actually they start voting at midnight in New Hampshire on their primary day. You just know that the exit poll strategists are going to be busy all day.

Here's a little tidbit that came in under the media radar -- Romney won the Republican primary in Wyoming the other day. The Democratic causes aren't held until March 8.

So much to do, so little time.

In the meantime, I'm just about due at church for Ladies Aid meeting right after lunch. Then I'll come back and continue the Bible Study for the next chapter of Corinthians.

Ta Ta.

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

First of all, I have to correct myself -- comments made about the winners of the Iowa caucuses never go on to win the party nominations or the White House.

That should be "almost never." When someone looked at me at a meeting at church the other night and said, "Really?" I thought it would be a good idea if I looked it up.

Sure enough, here are winners of some thirty years of Iowa caucuses:
2008 -- Barrack Obama (D-IL); Mike Huckabee (R-AR)
2004 -- John Kerry (Dem); George W. Bush (Rep) -- Bush was unopposed -- does that count?
2000 -- Al Gore (Dem); George W. Bush (Rep) *
1996 -- Bill Clinton (unopposed) -- Bob Dole (Rep)
1992 -- Tom Harkin (Dem); George H. W. Bush -- unopposed
1988 -- Dick Gephardt (Dem); Bob Dole
1984 -- Walter Mondale (Dem); Ronald Reagan -- unopposed
1980 -- Jimmy Carter (Dem); George H. W. Bush
1976 -- 37% of the Democrats were uncommitted although 28% committed to Jimmy Carter; Gerald Ford (Rep)
1972 -- 36% of the Democrats were uncommitted and Edmund Muskie got 36% also; can't find a history that the Republicans even caucused in Iowa in 1972

* It was George W. Bush who was the only non-incumbent candidate to ever win his party's caucus and go on to win the White House in 2000.

So what's the big deal about Iowa? Well, it starts the momentum. In less than a week, the voters in New Hampshire will hold a primary. Then early in February, voters in 29 states will hold primaries on the same day -- known as Super Tuesday.

So who won in Iowa? Clearly the businesses! The candidates have pumped $9.1 million into Iowa's economy. Except for Christmas day, you probably couldn't walk or drive a mile anywhere in the state without tripping over somebody from someone's campaign, or the candidate.

So today is the day after. And the business owners in Iowa can go out to celebrate and take their cash registers to the bank. That's who won and good for them!

I did hear one amusing comment: people in Iowa pick corn; people in New Hampshire pick presidents. Well, that's not entirely true either. John Kerry won the New Hampshire primary and couldn't beat George Bush.

Just file all those pithy little truisms under hyperbole -- unless, of course, they do come true.

And a big welcome back to readers in China, India, Great Britain and Brazil this morning. And also all over the United States. If you're alive out there in Iowa, hope you got some rest last night. Your little eyeballs must be weary from having to stay propped open for a long night.

Quint and I stay up to watch election results. Always did in all the years we've been married. We have more than an avid interest in election results -- he was an election judge for many, many years and I was a precinct captain. So you could say we have a participating interest in how the elections go, even if it's vicariously at this point in our lives.

Hope you've hopped into the election process. Your vote matters.

I've learned a new "Philadelphia lawyer" word out of all these media blitzes. It's disingenuous. I will admit that I kind of gathered from the context that it could mean something kind of next door to a lie. I finally looked it up. False could definitely be a synonym but disingenuous means something a bit more -- like disreputable -- or getting a logical fallacy from a false dilemma. Hmmmm. That's good. But how could they say a candidate's position was disingenuous? The really good definition for disingenuous is "false positive."

So when the candidates draw positive conclusions from all those polls to figure out how they're doing, their claims of victory are disingenuous.

But watch out, disingenuous can also be interpreted as disreputable. And since it's the word de jeure for the 2008 elections, I suspect the media moguls are really saying something's a lie but they don't want to just out and out call someone a liar.

Like Hillary Clinton said to General Petraeus that in order to believe what he said when he reported to congress about Iraq, she'd have to first suspend her belief system. Then later she denied that she had called him a liar. Well, maybe not in those words, but c'mon Hillary. The world knows what you meant. You did say the world was watching you, didn't you? Or was just a disingenuous suspension of your belief system?

##

DONNER PASS GETS SNOW DUMPED ON IT AGAIN

If you want to read some really interesting pieces of history, google "Donner Pass" and read all about it. The infamous accounts of people being stranded there following a 22 foot snowfall led to cannibalism to stay alive. Not all the members of the Donner party died, however.

The Donner party did not have I-80 to get them safely across the mountains like travelers do today.

That must often be a snowy place. I, for one, cannot fathom how those people even got those big wagons across the mountains on a warm, sunny day. But in the winter?

Actually, they didn't. They made a wrong turn and got to the pass too late to cross it. But they weren't ready for a 22' snowfall.

Well, last weekend, the people in Truckee -- which is the town near Donner Pass -- got a 10' snowfall and howling winds that gusted up to 145 mph. That's a Cat 4 hurricane, my friends. And they're expecting another 10' of snow again.

##

BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 2: 1-31

Paul continues his concern about the Corinthian congregations having the wrong concept of Christianity when he begins this chapter of his letter.

And we get a glimpse of a very human side of Paul when he writes in verses 1-5: When I came to you, brother, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

Paul stayed focused on Jesus Christ. He wants to keep the gospel message of Jesus Christ in the forefront of his discussions in all his preaching.

Make no mistake about it, Paul was as good an orator as they come. But he didn't want the Corinthians to be persuaded because of his skill as a debater or an orator. Rather, he wanted them to soften to the message because of the Holy Spirit. Paul believed that unless the Holy Spirit was active in the heart of the listener, it didn't matter how good the speaker was. Paul clearly was not trying to outshine anybody in presenting an intellectual, persuasive argument.

Rather, he wanted to bring souls to Christ. That's a spiritual flame that must spark. A purely logical argument wouldn't get him anywhere and Paul knew that. Because Paul was guided by the Holy Spirit, he had complete reliance on this spiritual work that was being done by God, using Paul as a vessel of truth.

We could all follow that example when we witness our faith. Intellectualizing our faith in a logical argument doesn't work well -- and many times, it's a really big turnoff to someone who just likes to bait an argument. Turn those arguments back to the Holy Spirit and let God do this.

Paul talks about this revelation when he continues with verses 6-8: We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

How about that?!!

Paul says he wants to share God's secret wisdom with them. As we read more and more of the letters that Paul wrote to the different churches, we find out more of what this secret wisdom is that God shared with Paul. It's that message that Paul wants the Corinthians to pay attention to and to keep in their hearts.

Then Paul says with firm assurance that the rulers of that day didn't have a clue as to what this secret wisdom was. They didn't have a clue as to what God was trying to say to them, and to all who walk the face of the earth.

How did Paul know this? Easy. If the rulers had known and accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, they certainly would not have killed him.

So there you have it. You can't earn your salvation by good works or by doing things that make other people think you're a really pious Christian. But if you are a Christian, you lead a Godly life.

Good trees bear good fruit, James said.

Paul then quotes a verse from Isaiah 64:4 when he says in verse 9b: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.

"but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. (verse 10)

Sometimes I think we overlook just how active the Holy Spirit is in our lives and in the world. Speaking for myself, I know I spend a lot more time thinking about what Jesus did for us, and how mighty and powerful and all-knowing God the Father is, but I don't think of the Holy Spirit as much as I should.

It is the Holy Spirit that is the voice in my soul deep inside me. It is the Holy Spirit that guides me and gives me counsel -- all I have to do is ask. It is the Holy Spirit that goes out to others when I pray for them, even those who don't necessarily like me. And it's the Holy Spirit who takes my quiet prayers on up to heaven and presents them to God the Father.

How active is the Holy Spirit? Paul tells us in verses 11-12: For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him?

In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of god.

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

This is what Paul was also telling the Corinthians. He sums it up in verses 14-16: The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:

For who has known the mind of the Lord that we may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

When Paul speaks of the man without Spirit, he is referring to those people who are non-Christian who live their lives dominated by their instincts and see the world of merely physical and defined by natural life. These people do not have a spiritual life until they are born into a new life in Christ. As such, they are not able to absorb this truth from the Holy Spirit until they accept a new life that brings them to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

And while Paul was most eager for the Corinthians to come to this point in their spiritual lives, he recognized that because the Corinthians thought they had gotten this part of the gospel message, they won't supposed to go around bragging about it and hiding the message from others.

No, indeed. Paul wanted the Corinthians to be "sermons walking." This gospel message was not something that they were supposed to savor just for themselves.

-----

And good morning to Melanie and her neighbors. I have learned that they are using the Bible Studies printed here for their own Bible Studies. God's richest blessings to you as you study, Melanie and friends.

I also know that the same thing is happening in China. One of the readers in China is using this study for their own get togethers!

Isn't God an awesome God? Two groups of people -- one in Illinois and another in China sharing the word of God!

##

MY LIFE IN INK --

A big hearty winter hello to our peeps in China, India, Great Britain and Brazil this morning. And to all of you here in the good ole USA!

It was all of a big entire 3 degrees (-16 C)at 4:30 this morning. Just in case you might be wondering why I know that, house moans and groans woke me up. I thought I heard metal popping and tearing apart so I got up so I could hear better. Then decided that it must be the vent system of the furnace and went back to bed.

We haven't spent a winter full-time in this house before and all that moaning and groaning is new to me. Oh, for sure, there were some sounds when we lived in the condo but since we lived on the second floor, we didn't get as many house moans as we do here. Not sure that would make a difference, but it seems to.

HEY, HILLARY: SAYING IT DOESN'T MAKE IT SO -- I was really surprised the other night to hear that Hillary made a comment about all Musharraf cares about is getting re-elected. I will admit that it was a fleeting comment and I heard it as I was going through the hallway on my way to the kitchen, but when I went back to ask Quint if she really said what I thought she said, he agreed that I'd heard correctly.

It had something to do with the details of Bhutto's death and why there had not been a more definitive investigation into the real cause of Bhutto's death. You can't have alternative plausibles. Bhutto either got hit by the gunman (who, it appears was standing only a few feet from her if you look at the video), got hit by shrapnel from the bomb's explosion, or hit her head on the lever of the sunroof when she got back down inside the vehicle.

Now Musharraf is asking Scotland Yard to come on down to Pakistan and help get things sorted out, and hopefully the truth will come out.

But in the meantime, we have zillions of candidates running around Iowa and New Hampshire -- each claiming to be experts on foreign affairs and ready to hit the ground running when they get elected.

Problem is, Hillary's handlers should have told her that Musharraf isn't even running for office in the Pakistani election that he keeps delaying. Members of parliament are seeking office in this election.

If they'd have asked Quint, he could have told them. Musharraf was elected in October 2007 and his election was confirmed in November 2007 by the Pakistan Election Commission for a five year term.

I will admit that he came to power in 1999 because of a military coup de'tat that he master-minded and he forced Nawaz Sharif out of office. That doesn't spell "democracy" to me. No doubt, he has other things up his sleeve but getting re-elected is not one of them.

So for Hillary to be running around Iowa saying that's all he cares about is getting re-elected doesn't make her a foreign relations expert either.

Just ask Quint if you have any questions about history or foreign affairs or anything else that requires common sense. He'll be glad to tell you what he knows. And if he doesn't know, he'll find out and get back to you. But even he does not claim to be a foreign relations expert.

THE OTHER POLITICAL BIGGIE IS THE ECONOMY -- There is a simple formula used to define whether or not our economy is in a recession.

Here it is: the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has to be decreasing for two or more consecutive quarters.

The politicians don't get to redefine what is an economic recession is just by saying that unemployment is going up (which it isn't), or the value of the dollar is going down against world currencies (which happens from time to time).

In fact, there were 40,000 new jobs created and added to our economy just in December 2007. Even so, Wall Street won't be happy because it's lower than expected.

Now, I will admit there's going to be a job crunch -- maybe -- when our military personnel start coming back from Iraq. There may be an increase in unemployment at that point, but if the returning soldiers are able to get back to work -- either through jobs that are being held open for them or through new jobs that are created by our very healthy economy that we currently are experiencing, then we still won't be in a recession.

Here's my point -- the liberals need to somehow convince voters that there is a recession and the economy has gone sour. It's their only chance of getting elected to anything.

My other point on this cold blustry morning is that you should do your own homework. You can't necessarily believe anybody who's running for president. After the primaries are over -- and maybe while they're even running for the primary races -- you're going to hear some pretty desperate stuff coming across their lips.

Thank you and good day! Today I'm staying indoors and working on my sugar free fudge recipe.

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BIBLE STUDY: 1 Corinthians 1:1-31

It's during Paul's Second Missionary Journey that he comes to Corinth. This second journey of Paul's has him traveling much more extensively and by the time he returns to where he started from, he will have put some 2800 miles in his rear view mirror. That would be something like going from Houston, Texas, to Washington, D.C. and back again. Probably on foot!

How in the world did he do that? Did he walk? Did he ride a horse? Where did he eat and sleep?

Those highways and byways weren't always friendly places to be. There's a reason they call the people who jump out from behind the rocks "highway robbers." Keep in mind the story about the Good Samaritan.

People did not generally travel alone for that reason. And for this second missionary journey, Paul is traveling with Barnabas. Then at Antioch, John Mark (who, by the way, was Barnabas' cousin) wants to join them.

Paul did not like this idea. Not at all. After all, he reasoned, John Mark had deserted them once before in Pamphylia. Perhaps Paul didn't think he could count on John Mark. There was a very heated and serious disagreement between Barnabas and Paul.

Paul says, "Fine!" Or something like that. Barnabas and his cousin went off in one direction and Paul was joined by Silas as his traveling companion and helper.

Incidentally, Paul does reconcile his heart later about John Mark. He comes to regard Mark as a very helpful colleague (Col. 4:10, 2 Tim. 4:11 and Philemon 24). This is the same John Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark. And Mark also acted as Peter's closest helper -- even served as an interpreter in Alexandria. (Concordia Study Bible, p. 1744)

Anyway, at this point, Barnabas and Mark sailed together back to Cyprus.

I found a really good animated map that shows the route of this second missionary journey. Go to this web site: http://www.apostlepaulthefilm.com/paul/journey_02.htm -- what I like about the map is that it shows in which order Paul goes where.

You'll like it.

In these letters to the Corinthians -- which are written from Ephesus when Paul stayed there for an extended period of time during his third missionary journey -- there are lots of references about how people are to behave during worship.

It's almost like we are able to lift the roof off the buildings and peer down inside to listen while people are worshiping. You'll see what I mean as we go along.

What is so disturbing to Paul and what prompted him to write these letters -- is that the people at Corinth had begun to think of themselves as the experts on salvation. Like they had the secret. They thought they could re-define salvation and think whatever they wanted about the gospel. They just seem to conveniently forget the fact that it is through Christ that we have salvation, righteousness and redemption.

And if you remember from Paul's rather blistering letter to the Galatians, nothing irritates Paul more than having people mess things up about the gospel of Christ.

After all, Paul got his information from none other than Christ himself, and the Holy Spirit as well. Paul was the vessel, personally selected by Christ on the road to Damascus. It was his appointment from Christ to bring the gospel message to all people.

True, Paul may not have been a hand-picked disciple who walked with Christ before Christ's death and resurrection, but there can be no doubt whatsoever that Christ personally called Paul to be his apostle.

Well, Paul may not have had the lightning speed of the Internet, but news got around pretty quick back in those days. People were sending letters back and forth to one another.

No doubt when people at Corinth heard that someone was going to Ephesus, they'd say, "Would you drop off this letter to Paul when you see him?" Well, word got back to Paul that factions were building and some sexual immoralities were becoming normalized again. Paul had warned the Corinthians not to associate with those who were sexually immoral so it was disturbing to Paul that people were starting to slip back to their old ways of behaving.

So Paul is going to re-instruct the church at Corinth about the error of their ways. And make no mistake about it, we can benefit from Paul's instructions in our present day.

So here we go. Book 1. Chapter 1.

Paul starts out softly after he introduces himself as the writer, in verses 4-9: I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way -- n all your speaking and in all your knowledge -- because our testimony about Christ as confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

And then Paul tells them that some people from Chloe's household have brought stories about their quarrels and dissensions.
 
That's when Paul opens his appeal in verse 10: I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

Paul's words start to heat up in verses 13-17: Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.)

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel -- not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Now, Paul was trained in the art of persuasive argument and he was quite the orator, believe me. He could hold his own in synagogue in discussions about the Jewish laws. And Paul was also a Greek. From what I can gather, he was highly educated.

I personally would not want to enter into any kind of debate with Paul. And the people of Corinth should have known that Paul could out-dance them in any discussion about matters of the gospel.

But Paul is not impressed with himself when it comes to intellectual matters about persuasions. Absolutely not! This man is on fire with the gospel message that he wants them all to know.

He tells them exactly what he thinks about the great mind-benders that they think they are in verse 18-25: For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." (quotation is from Isaiah 29:14)

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified; a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

And finally, Paul tells them exactly what he thinks about all their bragging in verses 26-29: Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things -- and the things that are not -- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

Next time you are tempted to feel just a tad high and mighty, come back to these verses and read them again. Or, as my grandma used to say, "Don't get too big for your britches."

Paul tells the Corinthians that if they're going to brag about anything, they ought to brag about Christ.

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MY LIFE IN INK --

Welcome readers in Germany and Great Britain and, of course, our peeps in the United States.

Remember to be sure to change your dates to 2008. Last year I wrote a couple of checks in early January with the previous year in error. The bank returned the checks because they said the checks were "stale dated." Ooops!

Remember -- new habits or changing old ones -- takes 21 times before the new behavior gets "seated."

Well, the Iowa caucuses are tomorrow and I'll bet the people in Iowa will really be glad to get all those politicians out of their state. The state is literally infested with politicians. I, for one, am getting tired of the political ads and we aren't even near the primary here in Illinois.

I am really sorry that the University of Illinois lost its big game in the Rose Bowl. But then, just getting to play in the Rose Bowl is a really big deal that they can be very proud of. I couldn't watch, though, after those mean old players from USC ran away with the game and the score got into the 30s against the Fighting Illini's mere 10 points. I think the final score was USC with 49 points and the Illini at a distant 17 points.

I pray that this will be a good year for us -- and also for all of you.

Yesterday gave me some time and opportunity to put the finishing touches on a brownie recipe that's sugar free. I use cocoa which does not have any sugar in it. And it's sweetened with Splenda, or Altern when I can get it, usually at Wal-Mart. Anyway, it's ready to go onto one of the panels of the recipes, instead of the oriental sauce.

I'm also working on a fudge recipe that will be sugar free.

The sauces will be another set of panel recipes. So far I've only got the oriental sauce, tomato ketchup, and I'm working on a barbecue sauce. I need two more recipes to complete that set. I do have a really good ranch dressing though.

It was cold this morning. Really, really cold. Quint says it was only four degrees with a wind chill of 11 below. But we take heart because the forecast for this weekend is up in the high 50s and a promise of 61 for Sunday with sprinkles. That won't be bad at all. It will melt the snow that's getting dirty ugly.

And in my resting moments, I'm still knitting. Almost finished with the birthday scarf I'm making. Then I'm going to make a bunch of little baby blankets. Maybe donate them to our local pregnancy center for teen moms.

That's about it for today. I am going to the doctor with Quint -- more to introduce myself and fill out the new patient form. Quint is fine -- just needs a re-check on his prescriptions with the new internal medicine doc.

We're taking our tree down. It takes a while because a lot of the ornaments are dated ones. When we first got married we started buying a pretty dated ornament each year. We have a lot of very special ornaments and last year, we added one that was for "first year in new house." We also have some very precious ornaments that were either gifted by clients or made by children -- both grandchildren and children I used to see in the practice. And I have a number of little dolly ornaments. I have also kept the little lizards that our grandson Jerry made out of beads when he was about six. He's going to be 20 this year, so you see, the little lizards are now teenagers. Anyway, all of those ornaments make the tree a lot of fun and it brings a great deal of joy to us both as we remember the special things that people have done for us over the years.

We are so blessed!

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BIBLE STUDY: Galatians 6:1-18

This is the final chapter of Paul's letter to the Galatians. It is a letter filled with Paul's passion as he brings some rather stern warnings to the congregations he started when he was in Galatia on his first missionary journey.

And in this letter, he identifies the fruits of the Holy Spirit -- fruits that give evidence in our daily lives that we have become filled with this Spirit of God.

Now, in this ending chapter, we see Paul concerned about each of the Galatians caring for each other.

In verse 1: Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently.

Paul uses the word "restore" to mean that the Galatians are to repair discord if its in their midst so that there won't be separating factions within the congregation.

I can tell you that this is a major concern in any congregation today. Pastors care very much when there are opposing factions of worshipers. New building projects can bring out the best or the worst in a congregation. People can sometimes rise up within a congregation and bring discord with them.

Satan, it is said, does his hardest work within a church. Satan doesn't need to go to the maximum security prison -- he's already won those people over. But Satan does go whispering down the aisle of churches, looking at each and every worshiper -- trying to figure out where the weaknesses are so that he can move on in and take over.

Paul knew this about factions and how they could get started in congregations. He most certainly did not want that to happen to any of the churches in Galatia.
 
I particularly am fond of verse 2: Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Although Paul was most likely talking about moral burdens, as my Concordia Study Bible supposes, I think it's important for each of us, as Christians guided by the Holy Spirit to be a minister of presence to those around us. Sometimes this is about going to a funeral to comfort the bereaved. Sometimes it's about writing cheery notes to people who are ill. There are so many ways that we can help each other carry burdens.

Paul then admonishes the Galatians to kind of mind their own business and don't get so filled up with themselves -- not to compare themselves to others, but rather to themselves. After all, each one of us is responsible to God and God is going to ask us about our own life -- not how our lives or actions compare to other people. 

In verses 7-10 Paul tells us that we shouldn't kid ourselves -- if we think we can fool God, we are dead wrong: Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good, to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

It is my own belief that we get very few instances in our lives when we really get an opportunity to test our sense of belief in God -- when we really get that chance to truly forgive someone, regardless of whether they are sorry or not. Regardless of whether they have apologized or not.

If we are spiritual persons, we are required -- absolutely required -- to forgive people when they have wronged us. And you may get only one chance in your entire life when you are put in a position where you have to really get down into the depths of your soul and struggle all the way to your bones with this idea that you have to forgive someone that you don't think deserves your forgiveness.

In those mind-ripping moments, God is with you. He's watching to see what you do. He's hoping that you'll be able to let go of whatever you're holding onto. He's hoping you'll give all those ugly little feelings over to him. He's hoping you'll find it in your heart and soul to forgive. If you can do that -- if you can give all those toxic feelings to God, he will exchange the infecting, toxic stuff with so much peace that you are going to wonder why you even bothered hanging onto unforgiveness.

But if you want to be pigheaded about it, God will let you do that too. But he is watching you and he's going to remember your unforgiveness when you come to him and ask for him to forgive you for something you've done.

Then Paul reiterates his position about circumcision before he closes this letter.

And he also tells the Galatians that he is a servant of Christ because he bears on his body the marks of Jesus.

Just as Jesus was persecuted and whipped and flogged horribly before he was crucified, Paul also bore the marks of suffering because he refused to stop spreading the gospel message -- these marks include the beatings and stoning -- these were the marks of a slave. And Paul most certainly considered himself to be a slave to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

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