Signs

"Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."

-Revelations 7:3

 

Some believe that some of the signs we see today are pointing to 12/12/2012 being the end of the world, but people from the past have wrongly predicted dates that have already come and gone, so there's little reason to be certain that date is it.  Either way, it shouldn't matter because we should always be doing what we are supposed to be doing because we don't know when our life is going to end (which is infinitely more important than when the world is going to end because each of us has a soul and the world does not).  I could even see the argument for God showing people things that may be interpreted as the signs if it gets more people to convert before they die, whether the world ends then or not. 

 

I saw a rerun of Taxi once when the hippie cab driver Jim made all these predictions about fellow cab driver Alex, some of which seemed to be coming true like a beautiful girl falling into his arms - she got knocked over in a crowded restaurant.  The trouble was the end of the dream was also the end of Alex: Thursday, 8 PM in his apartment.  Now Alex didn't believe in superstition, but their boss Louie was concerned and didn't want Alex to be home at 8 PM that night.  Alex wasn't planning on being there anyway because he had a date with the girl, but then she cancelled at the last minute.  Still, as Louie tried to convince him otherwise, Alex was set on doing what he would have done if there was no prediction, which was watch TV at home, especially since the other predictions leading up to his death seemed so ridiculous: being mistaken for a girl and then wearing a dress doing the can-can.  Of course, a wrong number asking for "Susan" put Louie over the edge.  Alex was so fed up about trying to convince Louie that there was no such thing as fate, that he was going to tempt fate: he put on a dress and started the can-can when his clock chimed 8 PM and nothing happened.  Louie was about to apologize when there was a slow, but firm knock-knock-knock at the door.  Despite Louie's pleas, Alex opened the door only to find a girl scout selling cookies.  There was nothing to the predictions.

 

I suppose the first paragraph would have served the purpose of this entry, but I really enjoy telling the Taxi story.  In any case, I hope all of us get that seal on our foreheads if we are around for the end times.  I know the mark that they used to indicate the chosen in Ezekiel was a Tau.  Franciscans, like me, wear a Tau as a sign that we are Franciscan (which should mean we are part of the chosen just like others who wear traditional crosses or other signs of their faith).

Bin Laden

"But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool."
-Hebrew 10:12-13

This has definitely been one of the longer gaps between posts in quite a while for me. A lot has happened in the greater world. Yet my world remains the same. If news had not reported 9/11, I still would not know about it. No one I know was affected by it, or if they were it has never come up in conversation with me.

Of course the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are due in great part to 9/11 and I do know some relatives that went over there and came back seemingly the same as they did when they left. Because of the media though, I realize their service is far from nothing and provides the level of freedom that we enjoy and subconsciously take for granted. Sometimes I think we take what God provides us for granted as well.

Bin Laden took a lot away from people, but he didn't do it single-handedly. Capturing him would have been little reason to celebrate because he didn't carry out any attacks himself and the kinds of people that acted on his plans are still out there. Some say the numbers are even greater than before, but whether that's true or not is of little consequence.

I was angry when I saw certain Muslims watching the towers fall in New York and celebrating. I was not as angry when I saw Americans celebrating the death of Bin Laden, but I wasn't celebrating either. Being pro-life, I am against the death penalty, but I am more offended by abortion because that is taking innocent life. Bin Laden took innocent life. His life was far from innocent.

In all fairness, I don't believe Bin Laden would have ever repented, so taking his life likely didn't change anything, but I still don't believe that any person had the right take it from him. Perhaps the plan was to capture him alive and his death could be considered self-defense since he was moving towards a weapon and not surrendering. On the other hand, if one had the ability to incapacitate his wife in the leg and then put a bullet in his eye, did they have the ability to incapacitate him as well? I give the SEALS the benefit of the doubt like I give the police the benefit of the doubt. Pittsburgh especially has seen more than its share of police officers killed or wounded on duty, so I feel if they shot to kill in the line of duty they would be justified.

Typically, my posts have a clear message, but even with the time I have had to reflect since my last post, I feel left with more questions than answers. Like the quote above suggests, maybe we don't have the answers yet because we are still waiting for our enemies (if we are on God's side) to be put under his feet.

Honor your spouse

“Likewise, you husbands should live with your wives in understanding, showing honor to [them], since we are joint heirs of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

-1 Peter 3:7

 

I don’t know how many husbands read this because the majority of comments left here and on Facebook are by women.  Nevertheless, the advice probably went without saying to women back then, who had to show honor to their husbands.  Being subject to so much here on earth, their prayers were undoubtedly heard by God just as those less fortunate (of either sex) are heard by God today.  So show honor to your spouse if you want God to hear your prayer.  For example, since the Penguins were eliminated from the play-offs last night, I shaved my beard, which made my wife very happy.  However, I suppose my making my wife happy shouldn’t have been dependent on the Penguins losing in the first place.

 

My prediction

"The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame."
-Isaiah 50:7

I have confidence that good will prevail. This is timely because my union proposed a retirement incentive that would save the district $1.19 million by eliminating 14 of the highest paid teachers, whereas the board would have to furlough 29 of the least experienced teachers to save as much. The proposal is good for the 14 because it pays an extra $26K over three years and good for the district because eliminating only 14 teachers instead of 29 helps to save the number of programs we offer the students. It was tabled by the board yesterday instead of approved, which made people think they were either intending to cut programs and all the teachers involved in those programs to save even more money or hoping legislation in Harrisburg allowing them to furlough the highest paid instead of the least experienced would help them save more money by reducing the quality of the programs. As a sign of my faith, I posted a prediction on my wall last Friday stating that the board will ultimately furlough nobody and rehire the two teachers allegedly furloughed illegally last year.

You're Low

“God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.”

-1 Corinthians 27b-29

 

In this case, being low isn’t such a bad thing.  All good things come from God, but it’s easier to believe when those that seem incapable of doing great things do great things.  They (people like us) couldn’t do great things alone, so it must be a miracle when things go right.  It must be God in control.  Yesterday’s quote talked about how God takes revenge, we don’t take revenge ourselves on those who do wrong, but in some situations, God may work through us or other people to humble the proud.  We can’t volunteer ourselves for that job, but we can be open to it if God calls our number.

 

Vengeance

"But, you, O Lord of hosts, O just Judge, searcher of mind and heart, Let me witness the vengeance you take on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause, O Lord my God!"
-Jeremiah 11:19-20

This doesn't seem very Christian, but I guess that's because it's Old Testament. One thing that's important is that Jeremiah isn't trying to take revenge himself. He's still letting God judge, even though these people are just like those people who we have been talking about the past two days (the rude ones that drive us crazy). Nevertheless, he does want to be there when justice is served. I guess that's OK.

For example, when someone speeds by me or cuts me off in traffic I try to remind myself to say, "God bless them anyway." I picked that up driving around with a priest in high school. However, when I see that same car pulled over to the side later on down the road, I still get a sense of satisfaction from it.

Venting

"I have stretched out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, Who walk in evil paths and follow their own thoughts, People who provoke me continually, to my face."
-Isaiah 65:2-3a
 
As important as it is to have poise in the moment (referring to yesterday's post), I guess you are allowed to vent to your journal or to God about those rude people in your life that drive you nuts as Isaiah seems to do.