Gardening

2:43pm

Two things for certain here in Central Texas: (1) Gonna have some fire ants and (2) 20% vinegar will work fast and furious as a weed-killer when it's hot!

Well, my vinegar supplier has been out of the stuff this week so I bought some of the 5% kind at the grocery store this morning. Will let you know if it feeds the weeds or gets rid of them :-)

Trivia fact: Did you know when you let a 2 1/2' x 3' settin' of carrots go to seed you will get two overflowing wheel-barrows full of plants?

Pray that your gardening is as much of a blessing to you as it is to us.

9:00am

One of the things that I am praying for our Fellowship is that we would be faithful to the gospel. We want others to hear the unadulterated truth about Jesus Christ. We want them to realize that repentance and faith in Jesus is the only way to the Father. Many of the things that they might have done earlier will not save them: Praying a prayer, walking the aisle, a mountain-top experience, etc. will not save the unsaved.

As we are faithful, I am asking the Lord to bring increase, if that is His will.

Work

Since I am a college professor, I have some "free time" in the summer. Besides being a teacher I am also a homeschooling father and an elder in a local church. Thus the parentheses around free time.

Our two youngest children are 15 and 17 years old. We are trying to teach them the value of hard work this summer. It is already quite hot here in Central Texas (mid-90's) so the boys are doing their outside work in the morning and their "schooling" in the afternoon.

They have been learning how to paint this summer. They are in the process of scraping, priming, and painting the exterior of our house. All skills that they can use in the future. One thing that I am trying to teach them is that "the job isn't done until the site is clean and all the tools are put up!" I want them to learn the value of a job well done. Also, that work done unto the Lord is glorifying to His name.

Work is a blessing and a gift from the Lord. With it we provide not only for ourselves, but for others less fortunate than ourselves (widows and orphans in their distress). The first-fruits of our labor should, of course, go back to the Lord. All that we have is a gift from Him in the first place. My brother and my wife's older brother are both out of (full-time) work. They are both hard-working individuals. Both of them understand the value of work, currently not having enough of it.

If you have enough work, you should be thankful. If you have "free time" as I do this summer, you should use it to prepare others to do their work heartily unto the Lord. You should also consider doing mission work, whether in your community or around the world.

Importance of Prayer

9:00am

Paul tells us that the first rule of household order is prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-8). Undoubtedly, most of us know that prayer is of primal importance in living our lives for the Kingdom (Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ). We aren't very potent against spiritual wickedness on our own (Not at all, actually!). My natural reaction, however, is to try and fix whatever is wrong ASAP! I am working on asking God to take care of the problems, and then asking Him to use me when He wants to.

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Thoughts

I was having some problems yesterday with my attitude as I was reading a book over ways to have a healthy Assembly. The book was replete with the pastor, new pastor, and the like. It was written as if a guide book for a single man leading an institutional church. I emailed the author and asked if he thought that the modern pastor and biblical elder were different roles. He emailed back and said that his ministry took the position that they were one and the same.

After further reading in the book, I did find affirmation that the author indeed believes in an elder-led Body. However, there was a HUGE caveat in his teaching on this subject: There is a deliberate distinction between Staff and non-Staff elders. The non-Staff elders (in his opinion) should rotate out of the ministry while the Staff elders do not rotate. Again, while affirming (in my opinion) the veracity of elder-rule in Scripture, he quickly re-establishes the (non-biblical) clergy-laity distinction. In-other-words, the Bible-school/seminary-trained Staff has a distinction over the lay-Staff. All of the arguments for rotating non-Staff members relate to Staff members, EXCEPT that Staff members get paid, and this would cause a hardship for them. "Follow the money!" is the rule even in the Church.

Trip to Enchanted Rock State Park

I found an interesting translation while reading through Isaiah 34 this morning:

“And the palaces of Edom break out into thorns, nettles and thistles in its castles; and it becomes the abode of wild dogs, pasture for ostriches. And martens meet with jackals, and a wood-devil runs upon its fellow; yea, Liiliith dwells there, and finds rest for itself. There the arrow-snake makes its nest, and breeds and lays eggs, and broods in the shadow there; yea, there vultures gather together one to another.(34:13-15; K&D)”

In the Webster and KJV translations, the wood-devil is translated "satyr."

After the sword of the Lord destroys His enemies, Edom (representing the world) will be a habitation for wild animals and strange creatures, including Liiliith (Lilith, George Macdonald). Liiliith represents evil spirits, and she has now found a home in the place where Edom (the world) once inaugurated its kings and leaders.

"Lı̄lı̄th (Syr. and Zab. lelitho), lit., the creature of the night, was a female demon (shēdâh) of the popular mythology; according to the legends, it was a malicious fairy that was especially hurtful to children, like some of the fairies of our own fairy tales" (K&D).