I Love John the Baptist

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JB?

Oh, he's the man, the voice, the forerunner, the prophet, the psycho, the stand-alone. He's the leather-underwear-wearin', giant-bug-eatin', water-baptizin', repentance-preachin', mega-cool, spiritual commando. From womb to river to jail to chopping block to heaven, JB is the studliest. Anyone the Almighty would hand pick to be his one man advance team has to be reckoned with, for sure. I mean, Jesus and JB were tight in the womb for goodness sake!

He had the spiritual gift of telling people off. He knew how to stick it to "the Man." Yet, he knew his place and was as meek as an Arabian horse (ask me for an explanation later if needed). No self-aggrandizing with the Voice.

Who needed thrashing prior to Jesus' ministry?

1. Roman soldiers ... check.
2. Jewish religious leaders ... check.
3. Lazy, unrepentant multitudes ... check

JB was the man for the job.

We need some JB-like men. There is enough ham-handed, spineless, laughing gas, lying, presumptuous, God-misrepresenting, charlatan pulpiteering to keep a thousand JB's busy for a lifetime in the good ol' US of A alone.

Heed the words of the Sanchez, you neophyte, sermonette cobblers and gobblers. Who am I kidding? JB would have a pretty large paddle ready to spank my soft hide were he to return for a whirlwind world tour.

I didn't say I wanted to be JB, only that I like him oodles. That whole getting your head cut off thing, not for me. Nevertheless, should I have the priviledge of losing my head for the truth I will be looking for JB under the altar so we can hang.

With most people, I would say, "Don't believe the hype." With JB, you'd better believe he lived up to his billing. Selah.

Turba Gallorum - What Is It?

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Turba Gallorum means "a bunch of roosters."

From time to time I would like to share some thoughts from writers who have been helpful to me. People who have participated in the process of waking me up theologically. We all need such individuals in our lives for we are prone to spiritual slumber. COCK-A-DOODLE-DO!

Enjoy.

Turba Gallorum # 1 - George MacDonald

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I've been using George MacDonald's "Diary of an Old Soul" as a devotional. You owe it to yourself to own and use this book. Here's a stanza:

"Not, Lord, because I have done well or ill;
Not that my mind looks up to thee clear-eyed;
Not that it struggles in fast cerements tied;
Not that I need thee daily sorer still;
Not that I, wretched, wander from thy will;
Not now for any cause to thee I cry,
But this, that thou art thou, and here am I."

MacDonald recognizes in the last line the realities that are constant through all the vicissitudes of life, one contingent and one transcendent: my existence and God. These two realities are connected, otherwise I would not exist. So I cry to You.

Whether my immediate performance has been good or bad, I cry to You. Whetheror not I am thinking noble, accurate, impressive thoughts, I cry to You. Whether I recognize my dependance or flail in self-sufficiency, I cry to You. If I think I am doing well, I will still beat my chest and say, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." If I know I am a failure, I will not put on a fig leaf and retire from walking with You.

You are, and I am as I am in communion with You. Otherwise, I devolve into non-being. So, in whatever state I find myself, full of high thoughts or broken in despondancy, teach me to recognize the two unchanging realitiies, my existence and You. Amen.

Seeking God Needs No Justification

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"There is no justification needed for our searching for God." - Dennis Kinlaw (This Day with the Master 10/5)

When I decided to go to Wesley Biblical Seminary my primary reason was not vocational. I did not move to Jackson with the thought that my degree would first serve some sort of ministerial function. Having a Masters of Divinity will certainly help fit me for whatever ministry I fulfill in the future, but my focus was upon the Pearl of great price. My time at Wesley Biblical Seminary has only enforced my conviction that deepening fellowship with God is the end in itself.

We do not study God like other subjects. That is one thing that I think is such an offense to spiritually minded people when they think about seminary (or cemetary, as the case may be). God is often approached as an impersonal object whose properties we are able to discern and discuss. We never rightly speak of God in the third person. God must reveal Himself to us. Therefore, theology is always a conversation in which we participate. Theology done in an atmospere that neglects worship is sure to lead one astray into dangerous areas of heresy, unbelief and immorality. We are well advised to remember "lex credendi lex orandi." The law of faith is the law of prayer.

Preaching, teaching and witnessing Christ to others must be seen as sitting together at the table of fellowship and being instructed by the Father as He reveals Himself in Christ by the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures. The table metaphor is certainly not the only one that applies to God's communication, but is is an essential one. Recognizing that we never preach without interpretation, we must also be vitally connected to the Church's consensual, traditional exegesis (interpretaion) of the Scriptures. This connection to tradition guards us against wandering into "private interpretations" against which the Apostle Peter clearly warned. We trust that God the Holy Ghost has been at work in the Church's history leading Her into all truth. "I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." "The Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God."

Poem - Triune Praise

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Effusive praise is not enough
To tell the Father's love for me.
A pool of tears cannot convey
Th'atoning Savior on the tree.
None my thoughts can comprehend
The Spirit's life whom God did send.

The grace of Christ keep all your way.
The love of God hold total sway.
The Spirit's fellowship to free
Each and all redeemingly.

My prayer, dear Father, that you would
Reveal your filial love to me.
My prayer, dear Son, that I would know
Your wounds, your joy transformingly.
My prayer, dear Spirit, now and ever,
My life conforming to your pleasure.