More than Thunder

 I recall a line from the trailer for the movie Jaws, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..." Then the ominous theme song would play.

I thought about that early this morning as wave after wave of thunder rolled over my eardrums and through my head; some claps were close enough to rattle the house. It also reminded me of the song More than Thunder recorded by Ken Young and the Hallel Singers in 2005. It is a contemporary Christian song about the awesomeness of our God.

More than Thunder
You calm the storm and walk on water.

You heal the blind and raise the dead from out their slumber.
Some hear the voice of God and say, "It's only thunder!"

But as for me I stand amazed.

You make the bread to feed the hungry.

You turn the water into wine for all the thirsty.

Some go away content and fail to see your glory.

But as for me I stand amazed.

When mountains shake, I will not forget to praise you!

When eagles soar, I will glorify your name!

When lightning flashes, I will celebrate your wonder!

Lord, may it always be to me more than thunder!

You make the stars shine in the heavens.

You tell the moon to move and stir the mighty oceans.

Some see your wonders and they never sing your praises.

But as for me I stand amazed!

When mountains shake, I will not forget to praise you!

When eagles soar, I will glorify your name!

When lightning flashes, I will celebrate your wonder!

Lord, may it always be to me more than thunder!

Who is like the Lord our God?

Great and wondrous are his ways.

Who is like the Lord our God?

Let all the earth be filled with praise!

When mountains shake, I will not forget to praise you!

When eagles soar, I will glorify your name!

When lightning flashes, I will celebrate your wonder!

Lord, may it always be to me more than thunder!

This morning from about 2-6 a.m., there was lots of thunder at my home; but it wasn't only thunder. Psalm 29: 3 sums it up well: "The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders!" It was the voice of my Creator.

As Zephaniah reminds us: "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing." I can imagine it was God's way of delighting in and rejoicing over me...and it sounded a lot like thunder! It was more...a lot more. Certainly it was MORE THAN THUNDER!

The God of Glory Thunders!
[photo: Virginia, 2008]

Love

 One of my favorite musicals from back in the day is Oliver. A highly esteemed song from that movie's soundtrack is Where is Love? The opening lyrics of the first verse ask two questions about where love might perhaps be found: "Does it fall from skies above? Is it underneath the willow tree that I've been dreaming of?" The answers to both queries are a resounding, "NO!"

That reminds me of another popular song, Looking for love in all the wrong places. I imagine there are hundreds of songs that attempt to answer questions about finding love.

A religious song, another favorite of mine, actually gives us an answer to a far question: "What is love?" These lyrics were written by Dottie Rambo in 1969. Ponder these words while you remember the message of I John 4:10: "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

If That Isn't Love

1. He left the Splendor of Heaven knowing His destiny

Was the lonely hill of Golgotha there to lay down His life for me.

If that isn't love, the ocean is dry; there's no stars in the sky, and the sparrow can't fly.

If that isn't love, then Heavens a myth; there's no feeling like this, if that isn't love.

2. Even in death He remembered the thief hanging by His side.

He spoke with love and compassion then He took him to Paradise.

If that isn't love, the ocean is dry; there's no stars in the sky, and the sparrow can't fly.

If that isn't love, then Heavens a myth; there's no feeling like this, if that isn't love.

photo by Emmanuel Phaeton on unsplash.com

BOOK of Books

When my Pop Pop Strawbridge (grandpa on my mother's side) passed away in the 1970s, he left me the family Bible. It was a huge Pictorial Family Bible published by C.R. Parish & Co. in 1893 in Philadelphia. Its dimensions are 12.5" x 10" x 5"; it weighs about 16 lbs. It's incredibly ornate and extremely delicate.

Recently I took the opportunity to thumb carefully through its pages. I have owned several study Bibles over the decades, but this BOOK of books has study helps that I'd never imagined. Let me list/describe briefly some of them:

• The entire King James Version and Revised Version of Old and New Testaments in parallel columns.
• Copious (their word) marginal references with chronological tables and many important and valuable aids to the study of the Holy Scriptures written to increase the interest in and simplify the Word of God.
• Table of Contents with a list of the essence and topics of each book.
• Natural History of the Bible containing descriptions and illustrations (drawings and photos in color and black and white) of the animals, birds, insects, and reptiles mentioned (by Rev. A.F. Thompson).
• Botany drawings and photographs of trees, plants, flowers, and fruit of the Bible with descriptions by Rev. William Jones.
• Illustrations and descriptions of ancient money including Greek, Roman, and Hebrew coins mentioned in the Bible with their value in American money.
• Stories of the Old Testament Heroes -- Patriarchs, Prophets, and Kings -- with drawings of scenes and events.
• History of the writing of the books of the Holy Bible.
• Biographical sketches of the translators, reformers, and martyrs written by Rev. Joseph Jenkins.
• History of the Religious Denominations of the World both Ancient and Modern written by Rev. H.D. Northrop.
• Comprehensive and Critical description of the Israelitish Tabernacle and its sacred furniture.
• Complete and Practical Household Dictionary of the Bible comprising its Antiquities, Biography, Geography, and Natural History by William Smith.
• Captivating Bible Stories for Young People.
• The Only Authentic Self-Pronouncing Dictionary of the Proper Names of the Bible (about 4000).
• Apocryphal Literature including I and II Esdras, Tobit, Judith, Esther (chapters not found in OT), Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirac), Baruch, The Song of the Three Holy Children, The History of Susanna, The History and Destruction of Bel and the Dragon (cut off from the end of Daniel), and I and II Maccabees.
• Sacred Biography and History being an account of the lives, teachings, sufferings, and martyrdoms of the Holy Apostles and Evangelists of Our Blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by Rev. John W. Fennimore.
• The Parables of Our Lord illustrated and explained.
• The Hofmann Gallery of original New Testament Illustrations.
• A  Chronological Index to the Holy Bible.
• Four Thousand Questions and Answers on the Old and New Testaments intended to open up the  scriptures for the use of students and Sunday-School Teachers.
• Scripture Difficulties Explained.
• Cruden's Concordance to the Old and New Testaments giving the leading words of all important texts.
• Cruden's Concordance to the Proper Names of the Holy Scriptures.
• Psalms of David in Metre (this one really fascinates me).

We open the Book of books almost every day at our house. We just don't open this special BOOK of books very often because of its fragility.

ornate cover - 1893 Bible

16 lb. BOOK of books

Skills

When it comes to fixing, building, creating, or taking stuff apart and putting it back together...I have no skills. Even more than that, I have no interest or desire to perform or even assist with any of those tasks. Good thing I married a woman with enough curiosity and intelligence to tinker with things in order to determine whether they can be fixed simply or not. She has skills!

Yesterday our push mower bit the dust. I was weedeating out front and my wife was going to start the mowing to be relieved by me later. She came from the backyard to inform me the machine wouldn't start. I just needed to add my male muscle and we would be good...or so I imagined. It had happened that way before. Nothing doing this time. The old self-propelled, mulching mower was door-nail dead.

I returned to finish the weedeating. My wife visited our neighbor to see if we could borrow her push mower. We had already been looking for a replacement mower since our second one had died some months earlier. It was our habit for me to start with the larger, heavier machine our front while my wife began in the back with the lighter grass cutter. We would meet somewhere out back in half the time it took for one of us to cut the yard. We'd been taking turns in the heat this summer ever since the demise of the smaller mower.

After a few minutes my wife accompanied the neighbor on her riding mower to our side yard. She gave me a quick lesson showing me how to use her rider...something I'd avoided doing my entire life...until today. It was a fairly simple new trick for this old dog to learn. It was quick and the yard was mowed in no time. It helped that my wife took the neighbor's push mower to our back part by the creek and mowed that area, so I didn't have quite so much maneuvering to do on the borrowed monstrosity. Once that task was completed, we now had at least a week to shop for a new mower.

Morning dawned. Flashback to the first paragraph of this blog...remember my wife? She has skills! That and her curiosity for tinkering found us in our garage at 8:00 a.m. We brought both mowers from  the storage shed, put down a plastic sheet, got a kneeling pad, and a couple of tools from the kit in the corner of the garage, and she began. She started her tinkering. Some things she tried didn't work; some things seemed to help. Bottom line...The major culprit on each mower may have been its air filter. By the time I returned these mowers to their side-by-side places in the shed, they both were working. The air filters had been cleaned and successfully reassembled. Wow! What a wife! Told you she has skills.

This brought to mind my early years in education. I began my 40-year career in the 70s with nearly a decade as a high school English teacher. One of my yearly activities with my senior students was a classroom auction. I would participate as moderator and bidder as well. Each of us had $5,000 to spend on a long list of items ranging from vacations to careers and personal attributes...anything of sentimental or financial value to an individual. I remember bidding on, and often b

All kinds of amazing skills!
Photo in Virginia, 2008

uying as high bidder, power over machines. I have always wished for several things in my life: a canoe, a liking for iced tea, and power over machines. I wanted to enjoy and have the knowledge to tinker with and fix things. Alas! I have no skills of that kind. My talents all seem to lie in the areas of reading, 'riting, and...No! Definitely not 'rithmetic!...teaching.

I was sort of fascinated as I sat in my garage this morning on a lawn chair and watched my wife battle those two mowers. She eventually won the war! Did I mention SHE HAS SKILLS?

We will test those skills in a week or so by mowing the yard once again. She will start in the back and I up front. Hopefully our mower shopping will be postponed until at least the off season. We shall see. Time will tell. It's incredible that after 49+ years of marriage...my wife still amazes me!

In His Presence

I believe in partaking of the Lord's Supper every Sunday. It is a pattern of what Jesus did at His last Passover. He ate supper and then the bread and fruit of the vine with His apostles. We follow His example to feel and be in His presence. Acts 2:28 (NET) states: "You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of joy with your presence." When we remember His sacrifice by eating emblems that represent His body and blood, we commune with Him and one another in a special spiritual event.

A question I've pondered frequently is whether or not Jesus was advocating a special kind of bread and fruit of the vine? There were special arrangements made for the Passover, but were there special arrangements for the Lord's Supper? He took break. What bread? The bread that was available. Are we limited to yeastless, Jewish feast type bread? What about our wine? Like the  bread it was what was served as part of the evenings festivities. If we look closely at the ingredients in our loaf and juice today, we might be surprised. My opinion? These concerns don't matter...to me.

I do affirm I'm never going to spread peanut butter on a cracker as part of communion. The importance of the ceremony is that I should be full of joy with Christ's presence. The words of Sandi Patty's song In His Presence released in 1992 express it well:

In the quiet of this hour, as I kneel before You now, I believe Your promise to be faithful. I don't always understand what Your perfect will demands; but I've learned to trust You more in Your presence, Lord.

In Your presence there is comfort; in Your presence there is peace. When we seek to know Your heart, we will find such blessed assurance in Your holy presence, Lord.

There can be such sweet reward when we wait upon the Lord. As we take the time, He gives His perfect wisdom. To be found in Him alone; all our deepest secrets known. We're surrounded by His grace When we seek His face.

In Your presence there is comfort; in Your presence there is peace. When we seek the father's heart, we will find such blessed assurance. An ever open door to know our Savior more, in the presence of my Lord.

photo by James Coleman on unsplash.com

Dress Codes

photo by Charles Deluvio
on unsplash.com

 

As an educator for 40 years before retirement three years ago, I was subject to and frequently in charge of implementing and enforcing school dress codes. They were nearly always negatively received by some, relatively unenforceable, and largely ambiguous. In other words dress codes were impossible.

Sometimes there were dress-up days or dress down days. There were casual Fridays for staff. There were a variety of Homecoming themed days such as come as you are, tacky, Sixties, clash, school spirit daze, etc. There were too many to mention. No doubt each of us could conjure up a long list from memory.

Dress code issues can be applied to many careers and professions. Every business and social setting from corporations and churches to McDonalds, 3M, and the military expect adherence to their written policies or understood social mores. The 21st Century has seen many changes in expectations of acceptable standards.

During my 40 years as an educator, I saw the dress code for teachers shift in many places from "Sunday best" to jeans and spirit t-shirts (especially on Fridays). My last 16 years as a college professor were begun in dress shirts and ties. They concluded in casual professional attire - khakis and collared shirts. Those were my choices as I conformed to comfort and colleagues' preferences. My suggestion to my student teachers was a dual approach that included modesty and neatness. Semantics and popularity often dictated what was worn.

Church has gone the same direction in many places. Some still wear coats and ties, but many dress casually including jeans or even shorts. Should this be an issue at all if we are trying to follow what we used to refer to as New Testament Christianity? What would Jesus do? What did Jesus do?

From what I read in the Bible, He wore his only outfit everywhere and for all occasions. He dressed the same way to the synagogue, market place, temple, weddings, feasts, mountain tops, and boat travel. He even wore the same robe to walk on water. There were two occasions when he change. One was voluntary when he put on a towel to wash the disciples feet in the upper room. The other was when they stripped His garments for the trial and crucifixion. He also seems to have left his grave clothes in the tomb at his resurrection.

What's the point? I don't really have one. These are just some thoughts that came to mind this morning as I contemplated my blog. I have an idea file that I've been adding to for decades. It contains stuff that I found interesting at one point in time...back in the day. I have always believed "if it isn't in writing, it doesn't exist." When I get a thought that I might find useful someday, I write it down. If folks find it useless or worse, there is an APP for that. It's called the delete key.

My 21st Century Church

I ask myself what is the function of THE church today, and is that the function of MY church? My thinking takes me down several paths to conclusions about our meetings together. Places can vary from buildings, to tents, to caves, to a front yard. In the following list I will refer to the church as "she" based on the Biblical declaration that she is the bride of Christ functioning in various ways.

We fellowshipped with one another, sang hymns of praise to God, and prayed to the Father. It was a fellowship of caring and loving. The hospital had gathered. The social club came together. The party was filled with smiles and rejoicing. A museum of stories and memories were shared.

1. Sometimes she can be a museum for housing/archival/exchange of church history, stories, teachings, documents, memories, etc.
2. Sometimes she can be a social/country club for the gathering and interaction of Christians.
3. Sometimes she can be a hospital for sinners searching for a covering of or cure for sins.
4. Sometimes she can be an entertaining concert/party for celebration of the Savior.
5. Sometimes she can be an evangelical/edifying fellowship for its members.

Or...she can be some of all of the above depending on the needs, spirituality, and hearts of people.

Two days ago several hundred members of the Lord's church gathered in the front yard of a beloved constituent who is fighting cancer. He is ready to meet God. Some of us are not quite so eager for that event to occur. 

The subject of the celebration sat in a rocker on the porch surrounded by family, an arm lifted with outstretched hand toward heaven, a big smile on his face, and tears streaming down his cheeks...tears of JOY!

What we all experienced that evening in addition to the amazing faith of a brother in Christ was the absolute genuineness of one ready to meet his Maker. I can't wait to see him underneath the shade of the Tree of Life, surrounded by happy children supervised by Enoch, Elijah, and Jesus Himself! When we finally miss Kerry down here...rest assured, he'll be singing up there!

One of the songs might just be: "If you miss me singing down here and you can't find me nowhere nowhere, you just come on up to bright glory; I'll be singing up there!" I imagine he might be passing out candy as well...

Yes! Jesus loves me!

Que Sera Sera

Iceland photo by Davide Cantelli
on Unsplash.com

Toward the conclusion of a particularly moving sermon yesterday, our minister mentioned one of our elders who has had a tough struggle with cancer. He is not responding to the treatments and has decided to discontinue them and rest at home with family for the time that is left to him on this earth. Apparently his doctors have stated that as 6-8 weeks. Though that is very sad, this man of God's attituded is phenomenal.

He always has a big, friendly smile along with words of encouragement for all. The children know him as the Candyman. He is seldom at church without his plastic box filled with hard candies of all kinds, shapes, and colors. Knowing the power of prayer and the membership at our congregation, I can state confidently that the prayers for his full recovery will continue to flow up to the Lord during this time.

This reminded me of a song I used to sing in my preteen years long ago. Que Sera Sera was first recorded by Doris Day in 1956. I was probably about eight years old when I first heard it. I used to change the character in the song to a little boy. Here are the [slightly edited] lyrics:

When I was just a little [boy] I asked my mother, "What will I be?

Will I be [handsome]? Will I be rich?" Here's what she said to me:

Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see

Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.

[When I was] just a boy at school I asked my teacher, "What should I try?

Should I paint pictures? Should I sing songs?" This was her wise reply:

Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see

Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.

When I grew up and fell in love I asked my [sweetheart], "What lies ahead?

Will we have rainbows day after day?" Guess what my [sweetheart] said:

Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see

Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.

Now I have [grand] children of my own; they ask their [Grandpa], "What will I be?

Will I be pretty? Will I be rich?" I tell them, "Wait and see."

Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see

Que sera, sera. What will be, will be.

I'm pretty sure that's the outlook of the man who is the subject of this blog. What will be, will be. I imagine his testimony would be similar to the Apostle Paul's in Philippians 1:22-26 (MSG): As long as I’m alive in this body, there is good work for me to do. If I had to choose right now, I hardly know which I’d choose. Hard choice! The desire to break camp here and be with Christ is powerful. Some days I can think of nothing better. But most days, because of what you are going through, I am sure that it’s better for me to stick it out here. So I plan to be around awhile, companion to you as your growth and joy in this life of trusting God continues. You can start looking forward to a great reunion when I come visit you again. We’ll be praising Christ, enjoying each other.

My other blog, Imagine! is all about what I imagine heaven was/is like for Jesus and subsequently for us. I like to imagine...so allow me to do that for a moment as I close these thoughts.

I imagine someday walking the streets of gold, crossing the bridge over the River of Life, and there in the distance spying a man standing in the shade of the Tree of Life. He is surrounded by children. They are happily singing and dancing as they enjoy his smiling countenance and the treats of varied fruits and candies he is dispensing from the plastic box he holds in his hand. Both he and they are joyful in the moment as they relish this new life. Thriving in the light of God's love in this most beautiful place called Heaven. Can you imagine?

Great Somebody

Great Somebody is a song I grew up singing. It's part of a notebook of favorites that I compiled as a teenager. I liked to go through the several hundred typed pages (from an old dot matrix printer) and sing to myself. My notebook is a hodgepodge from the light rock and popular genres (radio tunes), musicals, ballads, folk songs, etc.

I tried searching on Google for this delight from my past but couldn't find it. So here are the lyrics to Great Somebody. No, I'm not going to sing it and attach an audible link. (Don't beg; it's not becoming.)

You get up in the morning and you see the sun high up in the air.

You know there ain't a man who's tall enough to hang it way up there.

Only some Great Somebody could've hung that sun up there.

Now I didn't do it, and you didn't do it. Gotta be a Lord somewhere.

You wonder why the flowers and the trees all bud when you expect they should.

You know there ain't a man who's smart enough to pull a trick that good.

Only some Great Somebody made the buds pop everywhere.

Now I didn't do it, and you didn't do it. Gotta be a Lord somewhere.

Whoever made the smile on a baby's face sure is wonderful.

You know there ain't a man with heart enough to make that miracle.

Only some Great Somebody could've made a thing so rare.

Now I didn't do it, and you didn't do it. Gotta be a Lord somewhere.

Gotta be a Lord...somewhere!

In the beginning God created...(Genesis 1:1)

Yellowstone NP, 2010

Celebrate!

photo by Ian Stauffer on unsplash.com

In Luke 15:31-32 (MSG), Jesus tells of the prodigal son's return and the father's reaction to the older brother's jealousy: “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”

When I think about going to church tomorrow morning, I have a difficult time with the concept of having to celebrate. I like to think my attitude is one of getting to celebrate rather than having to.

Whenever I contemplate the wonder of heaven, I ponder several things:

1. God rejoices over us with singing! "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV)
2. We win! "They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” (Revelation 17:14, NIV)
3. How long is the party (the celebration)? "After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever." (1 Thessalonians 4:17, NIV)

Years, perhaps decades ago, I heard a preacher/teacher use an interesting example to illustrate eternity. Select a person, any person. Tell that person he must perform these four tasks:

1. Pluck every leaf from every tree on the planet.
2. Count all the pine needles from every forest on Earth.
3. Pull up every blade of grass growing in the world.
4. Catch every fly buzzing over the ground.

After all that is accomplished, the party in heaven will have only just begun. Though I am not worthy, I still want to be part of that celebration. That is God's gift to me and you...made possible by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. As Kool and the Gang once sang, "Celebrate good times, come on!"