When or What...?

PBT brings light..!

When you write about an incident ... do you emphasize "When" or "What...?"

Ancient writers make it difficult for modern readers.  Which was the most important to the author - "When" or "What"...?

Ancients wrote for "What."  Sometimes, things recorded  bounce around time wise.  Where we moderns assume chronological order -- often it was not. Maybe today it depends on your worldview.

Today's reader in a developing country, perhaps exposed to the Gospel for the first time.... well, "What" may take precedence over  "When."

And, how about you...? If you grew up in the same 20th century as myself - ah ha...  I must admit ... often I  read for "When."    I mean, the Old Testament did happen in this order, didn't it...?   And, that "rise up in three days..."  Hmm.... Friday, Saturday, Sunday... or was it Saturday, Sunday, ...?  And, "What...?"  Oh yea... He arose...! The tomb is empty...!  See, see... you do it too. We moderns are linear. I want everything to fit in my day planner.

Pioneer Bible Translators - ah...they daily delve deeply into the most fascinating book.  Nothing exceeds God's Word...!!

Stop by the PBT Booth at the NMC.  Pickup my clipboard survey and mark..."When" or "What."
I will report results here.

Which does your modern eye actually read for --first?  See you at our booth... National Missionary Convention... Lexington, KY, Nov. 18-21, 2010.

Our First Date

44 years ago Charliece and I went on our first date.  We drove from Bristol, TN to Johnson City, TN for the Friday night high school football game. Tomorrow night we will drive the exact opposite route to again watch BTHS football.  The  BTHS Class of '60  is attending our 50th high school class reunion.  Don't tell Charliece that I have ordered her a maroon and white corsage from the local florist. 


But,  how can this be..?  Are we having an out of body experience..? The clock  must be skewed.  We are too young. 


This weekend the BTHS Class of '60 will live in the present time...  and weep...  and laugh...  and mourn...  and dance...!


I have performed funerals and used:
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 NRSV
"1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance......"

Yes...


This weekend the BTHS Class of '60 will live in the present time...  and weep...  and laugh...  and mourn...  and dance...!

Ladies... Here it is ... Perfume and Perfumers - for you!

"But some of the priests took care of mixing the spices." 1 Chronicles 9:30 NIV

Perfumers were valued skilled professionals.  The climate  (dry and dusty in the Near East) caused skin to cry out for pampering.  Even some priests acquired the skill set.

Bodies beautiful...  were regularly moisturized using perfumed oils.  Even Esther probably had a "pamper me" plan. "...six months with oil of myrrh and six with perfumes and preparations for beautifying women." Esther 2:12c NKJV

Calamus, cassia, cinnamon, bdellium, frankincense, galbanum,myrrh, nard, and saffroon were all sought after... some from distant lands.

"Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart..." Proverbs 27:9 NIV

So, here it is ladies.... your next rationalization... (not that I think you need one...) Go for it!   After putting up with we men you owe it to yourselves.

Read more details on Page 301 of the NKJV Chronological Study Bible.

Rights and Privileges - Hear..!

"Let's remember, our rights and our privileges flow from our creator and not from our member of Congress," said a political candidate recently. I could "make hay" with those words from the mouth of a politician. Ah well.... get the plank out of my own eye...!


sorry...setting aside satire...


Traveling way back to Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!" These wonderful words are the basic confession of Jewish faith. They are called the Shema (the Hebrew word meaning "hear"). The words have been repeated privately and in public liturgy continuously. Traditionally they are the last words at death of many Jews.


To me.... "... The Lord our God, the Lord is one!.."  ......this is the core of my soul.  God is outside time and space. God is creator. God is one. 


Hmmm... this God is one..... thing... 
It seems to permeate Jewish, Islam, and Christian thought.


Yet division also permeates...!


Ah well... we are... again back to politics.


Keep praying brothers and sisters. 

God's Energy

Ancient's imagery of the heavens frequently referred to the physical sky with words that portrayed something stretched out and flattened, like hammered metal or a curtain. This acknowledged the immense power or energy required to create and sustain space. 


The night sky "star walks" I have conducted over the years allowed me to share my awe of God's creation.  The planet Jupiter, and her moons, seen through even  a small 4" scope give some perspective to God's power. 


I have found people respond to God's night sky all around the world. This allows us to open the door  to  talking about Jesus.

Isaiah 40:22 - "It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, 
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, 
Who stretches out the heavens like a  curtain, 
And spreads them out like a  tent to dwell in."
NIV 

Manila, Philippines

Interesting....


Manila, Philippines -- is located central to much of South East Asia.






Matthew 28:19-20  ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. NRSV

Wash yourself....

Did you ever notice  the way the whiteness of clean clothes is used as a metaphor in the Bible?   Water alone cannot remove grease and oil from clothing.

Pioneer Bible Translators just held our annual Pioneer Missions Institute.   Missionaries and students filled our Dallas, TX International Service Center for two weeks of intensive sharing.

Pictured here are Rebecca,   Director of Training,  and Bill,  Director of Support Services, down on their hands and knees, cleaning up tempera paint from the carpet of the children's programming area.

Back in Biblical times alkalines like naturally occurring soda helped clean.   Lye and soap are also alkaline and  used for removing grease and oil from clothing because water by itself can not do the job.

Millions do not yet have God's Word, in their own heart language.  Water and the best soaps will not clean their souls... only God's Word can cleanse us.  Please help Pioneer Bible Translators - Pray, Give, Come serve with us.

For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, [Yet] your iniquity is marked before Me," says the Lord GOD. Jeremiah 2:22 NKJV