Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my favorite Christian figures of the 20th Century.
7:37 min of the Knock at Midnight sermon:
“He promised NEVER to leave me alone.”
Each year I try to post on something about his work and mission. I refer you to my previous tribute posts here and here.
These posts include his thoughts, quotes, a famous prayer, and an extended quote on “loving ones enemies”. All quite inspiring, so please enjoy them, as you remember this Christian brother who lived out his core Christian convictions on social justice, and maintained the highest level of ethical devotion.
To fix your mind on what is good, and right is counter-cultural. It’s much easier to get a laugh at someone else’s expense, to find something smug or snide to say, to look for the negative in circumstances or other people, and to grow cynical. But doing that changes us. It spiritually forms us into a malformation. Then our aim, and our work in this world is badly compromised and less effectual. MLK is a model for us to live out such ideals–even to die for them.
Today, co-opt with these thoughts. Thoughts close to this pastor and leader in the American Civil Rights movement–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. Ingest them and emulate them. Thank you for reading.
Philippians 4:8
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. (NLT)
Also-American King James Version
Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Together, we’ll be covering the questions: What is fasting?
What does it involve? Who fasts; or who should fast?
What’s the point of fasting?
What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks?
How and when has it been used in the Bible, and throughout Christian history?
What kinds of fasting are there?
Should I fast, and for how long?
Guidelines, explanations, and interaction this coming Sunday, January 23rd, and 10 a.m. Bellegrove United Methodist Church, Anneville, Pa. (Worship service, with Pastor Dave Alderson, begins at 8:45a.m.) We hope to see you. The previous post with more details, here.
For those who can’t make it, I’ll post some notes on the lesson, next week. Or, if you’d like to set up some sessions with your group, of 5 or more, contact me.
Have you ever fasted?
Please, share your last experience with fasting, here. Thank you for reading.
It’s not so much a matter of who we are, but who we belong to.
This poem was written by a man who would soon die at the hands of his Nazi captors. At the end of his life, he could question who he was, and who he had been, but his resolution to all of that rests in Theological principle, in worldview.
Pastor Dave Alderson and I invite you to learn and experience 4 classes on Spiritual Formation topics, at the Bellegrove church a bit north of Anneville, PA.
Going southbound down Rte 943, this beautiful stone church building is located on the left, just north of the small village of Bellegrove. It is 5 miles from I-78 exit South from the Annville/Ft. Indiantown Gap exit for [South] Route 934 heading toward Lebanon Valley College, Anneville (Anneville @ Rtes 422 & 943).
(Get custom directions here.)
I will prepare 4 interactive sessions for the 10 a.m. time slot, for this January 16, 23, 30 and Feb 6, 2011. If you plan to come, please leave a comment below, or call the church (717) 867-7460, so I can prepare materials for your use.
Topics will include prayer, spiritual growth,devotional practices, fasting, and related subjects. Brief and engaging explanations will precede class discussion and involvement. This time is sure to bring added vitality to your prayer and worship experiences with God, and promote spiritual growth and intimacy with our Savior, both collectively and individually.
We really look forward to seeing you!
Please-DON’T Forget! Here is the book I’m giving away (to one “lucky” reader this January) to make Bible reading WAY more interesting and effective.
Can’t make it? Contact me and we’ll come up with something. :)
It happened in a spot located on the north bank of the Jabbok close to the Jordan River. God and Jacob grappled. Um, what?
This has to be one of the most fascinating stories in the Bible. It’s just 9 verses long. Click this to read it quickly, in a cute, new window.
(And, no, I don’t think the angel/incarnation of God had wings like we see depicted in this illustration. And I have to believe he had a much nicer hairdo, too.)
SO! After that all-night bout, Jacob names the place Peniel, which means “facing God”. Once you go head-to-head with God Almighty, in the flesh, in an epic OT (Old Testament) Smackdown, you just have to name the place something cool, or memorable. You have to do it…so you don’t convince yourself that you were just dreaming, like before. Later, you’ll say, “Yes, kids, I wrestled God all night right here. I had a pretty mean grip on him, and my hip has been killing me ever since.”
The incarnation of God dislocates Jacob’s hip, with just a touch. But, you know what? Jacob still hung on tightly and relentlessly until the angel granted him a blessing. Thus, Jacob carried a permanent reminder of struggling with God.
The hip joint is very strong. Hip injuries like this are not too common, but they do occur sometimes in rough and tumble sports. Here is a little research I gathered, so we can better understand the marathon of a match, and the (possible) physical consequences.
This injury is more common in such sports as football, rugby, hurling, and soccer, the individual is hit in the front of the thigh, forcing the thigh/hip complex backward, resulting in hip dislocations. This tears the ligamentum teres and the posterior capsule.
(In folk style/scholastic wrestling, there is a technique/move called “Jacob’s hook”. Yes, it can be dangerous, cause a hip dislocation, and lasting pain.)
Sciatic nerve and the hip joint. Ouchy.
The vascular supply to the femoral head is stretched and torn as the posterior displacement increases. Generally (in athletics), the participant is not allowed to return to athletics for a minimum of three months. Long-term consequences of posterior hip dislocations can include sciatic nerve injury, avascular necrosis of the femoral head (hip joint damage due to decreased blood supply), and significant arthritis and cartilage damage.
A joint dislocation significantly disrupts all the structures that support the joint. The athlete will be out of commission for a minimum of three months if he/she does traditional sports medicine treatments. Even after all of that time, there is no guarantee that one will be left with a strong hip joint.
The children of Israel remember the event by never eating this part of an animal. The sciatic nerve is known in Hebrew as the gid hanasheh. The process of removing the sciatic nerve (as well as certain large blood vessels and forbidden fats) from the surrounding meat is known as nikkur, or “deveining.” Since this is a difficult and delicate process, cuts from an animal’s hindquarters (including the Filet mignon) are generally not sold as kosher.[2] (from wiki)
Part of the blessing Jacob receives involves his name change ushering in a new identity for this youngest and far sneakier of the twins boys of Isaac. He is given the name Israel.
Yes, Jacob hangs on all night. Yes, the passage makes it seem like the angel had to keep an early morning appointment elsewhere, with all that “Let me go for it is daybreak” business, as if he’s Edward (the vampire) in the Twilight series. He seems to give in to Jacob’s iron grip. But…
Israel means “God prevails”.
The ending of the name Israel, “el” is most often translated from Hebrew as God, or god.
The first part of the word (isra, or some approximation) is translated – as contended, or striven, or wrestled.
Sometimes this story is interpreted that it is Jacob who does the prevailing or overcoming; but it is God who heals Jacob by revealing himself to him, man-to-man. He “breaks” him to begin to heal him, in every way. God perpetuates a grappling stalemate. Although he could, God chooses not to defeat Jacob in a straight-forward victory by a submission hold, or pin, etc. Jacob’s tenacity is rewarded. Eye of the tiger, baby!
God welcomes our struggling with him, when we patiently and boldly holdout for the blessings that only can come from him.
Have you ever realized that God wants you close, even if you are struggling against him? He wants us to know him in that up close way, face-to-face in all our messiness. He seems to route for us, and hope we hang on all the way to the end of the dark night for the blessing.
