newcreation

It is 9:52 AM Sunday morning in the flow of existence. I have been up since 7:05 AM. I got up and put all our clocks one hour ahead. We have in our house 10 clocks to govern our existence. I hate to be a clock watcher. I hate knowing we are chained to Time. My hope is that right now I am experiencing the life of God in Christ Jesus. If I am In Christ then I have been set free from Time.

So I got up and put all the clocks ahead one hour and then got dressed and took Rudy for a walk downtown Holland. After walking Rudy I went to Lemonjello’s and got a mocha and a muffin. (Carol just called me from the Grand Canyon, Arizona-she has a cold).

Grand Canyon National Park
http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

While at Lemonjello’s I looked through the Sunday New York Times and then came home to wait out my existence.

Last night I went to bed and read these books till 11 o’clock PM—

“From Resurrection To New Creation: A First Journey in Christian Theology” by Michael W. Pahl

“Life in the Spirit: Spiritual Formation in Theological Perspective” Edited by Jeffrey P. Greenman & George Kalantzis

“Reading To Live: The Evolving Practice Of Lectio Divina” by Raymond Studzinski

I plan to read this morning these books—

“Worshiping With The Church Fathers” by Christopher A. Hall

“The Love Of Learning And The Desire For God: A Study of Monastic Culture” by Jean Leclercq

The time is now 10:15 AM Sunday morning. It is a cold wet damp gray day, ugly weather.

I have nothing pressing on my mind this morning. I have nothing new to write in my blog.

Well I will close to sit in silence before the Lord God. Before I close is a quote from the book “Reading To Live”—

“With these shifts a different type of reading emerges. Scholastic reading gradually gains prominence over monastic reading. This new way of reading, taught in the growing number of cathedral schools, put emphasis on intellectual clarity and forceful and carefully constructed arguments about theological and philosophical matters. By contrast, monastics remain the conservative practitioners who fall silent before the sacred mysteries; scholastics innovate by creating new words and using abstract terminology to probe the mystery of God and humanity. Scholastic curiosity and complexity is a counterpoint to monastic humility and simplicity. Monastic lectio gives way to scholastic lecture. Disputation, noisy by its very nature, displaces the soft murmuring of monastics reading in an atmosphere of silence. Indeed, with the surge of speculative theology in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the experiential, scriptural language of the monastic tradition with the accompanying silence and reserve characterizing the via negativa becomes even more distanced from scholastic discourse. Monica Sandor notes that during the eleventh and twelfth centuries “the leaders of the great monastic revival and reform movements, and particularly the Cistercians, came to see the monastic lectio first and foremost as a distinctive method of approaching texts, one which differed radically from those of scholastic theological study or secular learning.”" pg. 144 Raymond Studzinski

Last night I was reading “From Resurrection to New Creation” and came across something in the book I want to quote. I was banned from teaching Adult Sunday School at Messiah Independent Reformed Church several years ago for believing to what is quoted below. We left Messiah Independent Reformed Church many years ago, because we were no longer in agreement with them over what the Bible teaches on living the Christian life (Christian ethics).

“As we have seen, the resurrection of Jesus as an eschatological event, a “renewal.” Jesus’ resurrection marked the time of the eschaton, announcing that the era of the fulfillment of God’s promises had arrived. And one of these crucial promises to be fulfilled was the promise of the outpouring of God’s Spirit on the people of God at the time of the end, a mark of the new covenant God was to make with them.

The story of Pentecost in Acts highlights this, as Peter’s sermon opens with this quotation from the oracles of the biblical prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” Acts 2:17-18; see Joel 2:28-29.

The original passage in Joel was part of the a promise of what God would do when he restored the people from their exile, gathering them from among the nations. While God’s Spirit had been active in the world since creation, the Spirit of God would do something new at this time of eschatological fulfillment.

Similar promises in other Old Testament prophetic writings make explicit the idea that this restoration by God’s Spirit would include a new covenant, a new relationship between God and God’s people. Jeremiah spoke of a “new covenant” between God and the people, with God’s Law “in their minds” and “on their hearts,” with all God’s people knowing God in fully forgiven intimacy (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Ezekiel also prophesied about this future restoration, describing a “new heart” and a “new spirit,” God’s Spirit, placed within God’s people enable them to keep God’s laws (Ezekiel 36:24-28). And Isaiah predicted a similar reality at this eschatological time of renewal, declaring that this future covenant would mean that God’s Spirit would never depart from among God’s people (Isaiah 59:21).

Three features of the eschatological, new-covenant Spirit of God are especially prominent in these sorts of biblical prophecies and particularly highlighted in the New Testament descriptions of God’s Spirit. First, the new-covenant Spirit of God enables God’s people to know God in intimate relationship. As the passage from Jeremiah indicates, this personal knowledge of God would not merely be reserved for priests and prophets, but all of God’s people, “from the least to the greatest,” would know God personally and intimately. This idea is behind the descriptions of “re-birth” or “regeneration” in the New Testament writings. For example. Jesus’ call to Nicodemus to be “born again” or “born of the Spirit” is a call to enter into this promised new relationship with God, to be made new by the refreshing winds of God’s Spirit (John 3:3,5,8).

In several places Paul describes Gentile Christians as those who once did not know God but now do know God as part of this new covenant with him, and it is Paul’s fervent prayer that they would “grow in the knowledge of God.” Thus, Jews and Gentiles together are heirs of this new-covenant promise, together entering this new relationship with God; as Paul asserts, “we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body-whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Corinthians 12:13).

Second, the new-covenant Spirit of God enables God’s people to fulfill God’s will in acts of love. This appears in several of the Old Testament prophecies quoted above, particularly in the idea of God’s Law being “written on the hearts” of God’s people with God’s Spirit prompting his people to follow the divine decrees. The broader contexts of these prophetic passages tend to focus on two areas in which God’s will needs to be fulfilled: bringing justice for the oppressed and marginalized, and showing mercy to the needy and the lowly. As we have seen, this sort of justice and mercy was exemplified by Jesus in his life and death, a complete self-giving for the benefits of others, even for those viewed by the world as the last, the least, and the lost-a self-giving summed up in the word “love.”

This is also the way the Spirit-filled believers are described in the early chapters of the book of Acts bringing in the community of God’s people those who were on the margins, sharing with all those who had need. As Paul highlights in both Romans and Galatians, it is by the Spirit that Christians truly love others, and so fulfill “the righteous requirement of the Law” (Romans 8:3-4; Galatians 5:13-26).

Third, the new-covenant Spirit of God enables God’s people to perform God’s mighty acts of deliverance in the world. Luke’s Gospel especially portrays Jesus’ public career in this way. He proclaims God’s message and heals people “by the Spirit of God,” and so demonstrates that the time of eschatological fulfillment has arrived. Luke’s second volume, Acts, continues this idea but applies it to God’s Spirit-filled people. The apostles in particular proclaim God’s message of salvation through the resurrected Jesus and perform extraordinary acts of healing by the Spirit. Paul even goes so far as to say that such “signs, wonders, and miracles” are the “marks of a true apostle,” one truly sent by Jesus to be his representative (2 Corinthians 12:12). Because the time of fulfillment has arrived in Jesus the people of God empowered by the Spirit of God can do the mighty salvific works of God: proclaiming the message of God’s salvation, living out this salvation, and providing a foretaste of its ultimate fulfillment.” pg.74-77 Michal W. Pahl

It is 2:30 PM Sunday afternoon. I am alone in my cell. No one has called me on the phone this afternoon. No one has come by to see if I am still alive. I hate to die in my sleep and no one knowing. I hate to think of Carol coming home from New Mexico and finding my rotten corpse in our bed.

I have been this afternoon read the Book of Genesis and these books—

“The Liberating Image: The Image Dei In Genesis 1″ by J. Richard Middleton

“An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical. Canonical, And Thematic Approach” by Bruce K. Waltke

Not much else to report this afternoon. I am enjoying the peace and quiet this afternoon. I do wish someone would talk to me about the love of God this afternoon. I worked with professing Christians for 15 years and they never talked to me about the love of God at the bottom of the egg pit. Yesterday when I was at our local public library I ran into the wife and child of a fellow I worked with for 15 years at the Hamilton Farm Bureau-Egg Division. This fellow I worked with also was a member of the church we were members of for 10 years (we were founding members of Messiah Independent Reformed Church located here in Holland, Mich.). I asked the wife of the Cal the fellow I worked with for 15 years how he was doing? Cal had been working at HFB since he was in High School-his wife told me Cal was parking their car and I should talk to him. I did not talk to Cal because he I knew he hated my guts even though we were for 10 years members of the same church. I could sense from Cal’s wife the same spirit of hostility when I asked her if Cal was still working at the HFB. Cal when I worked with him was always ready to explode with anger if you asked him anything. I realize now that Cal was full of anger because he was full of anger at being trapped with a horrible job. But at the same time I realize Cal maybe knew nothing else but working for the Hamilton Farm Bureau-Egg Division. Cal’s father Lloyd worked for HFB-Egg Division till he was 65 years old. I told Cal’s wife I suppose Cal would slave for the Egg Beast till he was 65 years old? (Cal was in High School when he started working for the Egg Beast-when I got fired from the Egg Beast in June 2007 Cal was I believe in his early 30’s-I expect Cal to slave for the Egg Beast till he is old and worn out.)

I worked with Cal for 15 years and he showed to me only anger even though we were members of the same church. Cal was full of bitterness from what I could gather in our brief exchanges. One time when I was working with Cal I asked him to explain to me how a sinner gets saved. Cal could not tell me. Sad. What was really sad is that Cal was considered by Messiah Independent Reformed Church to be “born again” a Christian. I found that scary since I knew personally working with Cal that he was full of bitterness-no love for God or men.

When I was working for the HFB-Egg Division my boss was an ruling elder in the Christian Reformed Church. I once asked him to explain to me the doctrine of justification of faith. My professing Christian boss could not explain to me the doctrine of justification by faith. I realized then that I was surrounded by people who claimed to be Christians, but knew nothing of saving religion.

When I was attending church people found it strange that I loved the Bible and that I studied the Bible when I was not killing myself at the bottom of the egg pit (Hamilton Farm Bureau-Egg Division). What I found sad when I was going to church that people found it odd that I found delight in reading and studying the holy Scriptures.

Well here I sit at 3:01 PM Saturday afternoon talking to myself. The other day on Facebook the fellow I did my minister internship added me to his friends list. What scared me is that my new friend would read my Facebook profile and judge me to be out for lunch. It has taken me years to accept myself for who I am in Christ. I love the Lord and I know I am not your typical Christian evangelical.

Well it is now 3:08 PM Sunday afternoon and I will close to read and write. The Lord is good.

It is 6:10 PM Friday evening. I finished reading The Revelation of St. John the Divine, the last book of the New Testament. I have finished reading the Bible. Now to start over again this week. I will go to the front of the Bible and start reading the Book of Genesis. This time around I plan to read the Bible and not list all the books I have on each book of the Bible. I am going to try to pray through the Bible. I am really going to focus this time on reading the Bible to hear the voice of God and pray to God what He impresses on my heart.

I wanted to mention a book that came to my mind as I was reading the last chapters of Revelation titled “The End of the Beginning: Revelation 21-22 and The Old Testament” by William J. Dumbrell. I also recommend these other books by Dumbrell—

“The Faith of Israel: Its Expression in the Books of the Old Testament” by William J. Dumbrell

“The Search for Order: Biblical Eschatology In Focus” by William J. Dumbrell

“Covenant And Creation: A Theology Of Old Testament Covenants” by William J. Dumbrell

Once again I want to mention the book “The Theology Of The Book Of Revelation” by Richard Bauckham. This is the best book I know on the theology of The Book Of Revelation-an excellent book!

I started reading the Bible back in January 2009 and now it is March 12, 2010.

Well I suppose I will close to drink a cup of tea and wait for salvation history to come to a new beginning-the eschatological state of glory.

“10: And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.
11: He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
12: And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
13: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
14: Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15: For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
16: I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
17: And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
18: For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
20: He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
21: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Rev. 22:10-21

It is 10:06 AM Wednesday morning in the flow of exist

ence. I got up this morning around 6:30 AM. When I got up I made a pot of coffee and let Rudy outside to do his thing. It is a warm hazy morning today. It is suppose to rain this evening. The snow is slowly disappearing. The earth is still brown, but soon there will be flowers.

I took Rudy to get groomed this morning around 8 o’clock AM and then I drove over to Grand Rapids to the Eerdman’s Bookstore to picked up the book “Predestination: The American Career Of A Contentious Doctrine” by Peter J. Thuesen. I was at the Bookstore around 8:50 AM and while there I also bought these books for my library.

“1 & 2 Peter” by Douglas Harink [Brazos Theological Commentary On The Bible]

“God the Peacemaker: How atonement brings shalom” by Graham A. Cole [New Studies In Biblical Theology]

“The Deliverance Of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul” by Douglas A. Campbell

“Unlocking Romans: Resurrection And The Justification Of God” by J. R. Daniel Kirk

“The Letter To The Hebrews” by Peter T. O’Brien [The Pillar New Testament Commentary]

I bought the above books and came straight home, because I feel freaked today. I need to stay home from now on. Also I got to pick up Rudy at Noon at the groomer’s. I hate leaving Rudy at the groomer’s all afternoon since he rather be home.

Carol has not called today from New Mexico. Next week Josiah and Bethany will be on Spring break.

So here I sit waking up to another day of existence. I have no plans for the day. I will take Rudy for a walk someplace this evening. This morning before taking Rudy to the groomer’s I walked him around our neighborhood. It amazes me Americans keep going when our whole economy is ready to totally collapse. Our whole way of life in America is running on empty. How long can America keep running when there is no money? America is bankrupt. Scary to think what is going to happen when there will be no money to pay policemen. I keep telling Carol we need to buy guns to protect ourselves from the millions of people someday who will be attacking our home wanting our food and shelter. Carol and I are both hoping the Lord Jesus will come soon.

Last night I watched television and went to bed early. I read before falling asleep last night a book titled “Growing Up Absurd” by Paul Goodman. I also read last night the holy Bible. I am reading through the Revelation of Jesus Christ the last writing of the New Covenant.

Well I will close to wait for the world to go up in smoke.

“9: And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11: And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
12: And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13: And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14: And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15: And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16: And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” Rev. 6:9-17

music: Wild Beasts “Two Dancers”

It is 3:21 PM Wednesday afternoon. I am waiting for the daily local newspaper to appear on our drive way. I do not read our local newspapers. My dear wife loves reading newspapers. I love reading the holy Scriptures.

Carol called me this afternoon from Gallup, New Mexico. She is out West for two weeks visiting our children Joe and Beth.

I am sitting here listening to music and waiting for Time to disappear.

I am having a private party this afternoon. I am also reading Revelation of Jesus Christ, the last book of the Bible. I hope to start reading this month the Book of Genesis.

Well I will close to take my daily hot shower. There is usually nothing on television worth watching on Wednesday nights. I will read these books this evening and go to bed the usual time—

“Under The Sign Of Saturn” essays by Susan Sontag

“Growing Up Absurd” by Paul Goodman

“From Resurrection To New Creation” A First Journey in Christian Theology” by Michael W. Pahl

“Life in the Spirit” Spiritual Formation in Theological Perspective” edited by Greenman & Kalantzis

Well I will close for the day.

music: Eat Skull “Wild And Inside”

<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/20831498@N03/4401192899/” title=”Jonny by keenjonny, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2570/4401192899_fbef945b72.jpg” width=”500″ height=”375″ alt=”Jonny” /></a>

“1: From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
2: Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
3: Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
4: Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
5: Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
6: But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
7: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8: Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
9: Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
10: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
11: Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
12: There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
13: Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
14: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
15: For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
16: But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
17: Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” James 4:1-17

It is 9:09 PM Thursday night in the flow of existence. Carol went to work around 7:55 PM. I went to a Party Store and then to the Full Circle music shop to pick up a CD order. I then came home to wait till it is time to go bed. Existence keeps flowing by.

I am listening to the new Blockhead CD “The Music Scene”.

Today after walking Rudy downtown I spent the day writing and reading from these books—

“A Collection of Essays” by George Orwell

“The World In The Evening” a novel by Christopher Isherwood

Tomorrow is a Friday in the flow of existence. It is suppose to be another sunny day tomorrow, but still cold.

It was a blessing to see the sun shine today. I told my wife even though the sun shone today I still have in me  black shadows. I do not want my wife to believe I find my life a piece of cake.

In the mail today I received the new Xiu Xiu CD “Dear God, I Hate Myself.”

I should go to bed and read the Bible. Usually on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays I try to read books that feed my soul and not my intellect. Well I try to read spiritual books.

I am weary right now and should just relax both mind and spirit.

Carol will be home late tomorrow morning from work, because she is going out for breakfast with a gang of girlfriends.

Well I will close to wait for sleep state to come.

music: Blockhead “The Music Scene”