Wednesday, July 21, 2004

letter to Sen. Dayton

Dear Sen. Dayton;
I am very disappointed that you chose not to represent the views of the vast majority of Minnesotans by voting against the Federal Marriage Amendment.
I commend you for your study of the Holy Scriptures. If you truly believe that marriage was ordained of God, you know that it was divinely ordained between one man and one woman. I believe it to be a very significant fact that marriage is the only institution founded before the fall of humanity.
Now mankind, consistent in its rebellion against the Almighty, seeks to alter the quintessence of the human relationship.
You know very well that a federal judge could find unconstitutional the definition of traditional marriage, therefore I find your arguments disingenuous.
I urge you to reconsider your position and to vote in favor of the amendment.
Thank you for your attention.
sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. El Norteno 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
“The First Amendment of the Constitution was not written to protect the people of this country from religious values; it was written to protect religious values from government tyranny." Ronald Wilson Reagan

Saturday, July 10, 2004

Re: an Essay on the Trinity by Jonathan Edwards

Yeah, I was thinking tonight about going back through it and just extracting the highlights out of it. One of the main things was about how Jesus was begotten of the Father by being God's perfect idea of Himself-His exact reflection as it were. Or as Paul said in Heb. 1.3- who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person. That explains for me how Jesus could be "begotten" but not created.

And the other interesting thing was about the Holy Ghost. The Father and the Son love and adore each other; Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him. Pr. 8.30.
I, Wisdom, Jesus, was the Father's delight, AND I was rejoicing always before (or in ?) Him. So they were rejoicing in each other. Edwards contends or at least puts forth that that adoration, that Divine Love is the Spirit of God. God IS love. IJn. 4.16. Here is a quote:
(That God's love or His loving kindness is the same with the Holy Ghost seems to be plain by Psalm 36:7-9, "How excellent (or how precious as 'tis in the Hebrew) is Thy loving-kindness O God, therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings, they shall be abundantly satisfied (in the Hebrew "watered") with the fatness of Thy house and Thou shalt make them to drink of the river of Thy pleasures; for with Thee is the fountain of life and in Thy light shall we see light."

Doubtless that precious loving-kindness and that fatness of God's house and river of His pleasures and the water of the fountain of life and God's light here spoken [of] are the same thing; by which we learn that the Holy anointing oil that was kept in the House of God, which was a type of the Holy Ghost, represented God's love, and that the "River of water of life" spoken of in the 22nd [chapter] of Revelation, which proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, which is the same with Ezekiel's vision of Living and life-giving water, which is here [in Ps. 36] called the "Fountain of life and river of God's pleasures," is God's loving-kindness.

But Christ Himself expressly teaches us that by spiritual fountains and rivers of water of life is meant the Holy Ghost. (John 4:14; 7:38,39).That by the river of God's pleasures here is meant the same thing with the pure river of water of life spoken of in Revelation 22:1, will be much confirmed if we compare those verses with Revelation 21:23, 24; 22:1,5. (See the notes on chapters 21, 23, 24) I think if we compare these places and weigh them we cannot doubt but that it is the same happiness that is meant in this Psalm which is spoken of there.)


Interesting, eh? And also interesting is the number of Scriptures he cites where love and the Spirit, and joy and the Spirit are mentioned together. I haven't written them down and looked them up yet but they will be some good meditatin' (or masticatin') when I do!
Let's let Rev. Edwards sum up:

And this I suppose to be that blessed Trinity that we read of in the Holy Scriptures. The Father is the Deity subsisting in the prime, un-originated and most absolute manner, or the Deity in its direct existence. The Son is the Deity generated by God's understanding, or having an idea of Himself and subsisting in that idea. The Holy Ghost is the Deity subsisting in act, or the Divine essence flowing out and breathed forth in God's Infinite love to and delight in Himself. And I believe the whole Divine essence does truly and distinctly subsist both in the Divine idea and Divine love, and that each of them are properly distinct Persons.


There. That might be a little more digestible. Enjoy!

Socially acceptable bigotry


for some reason links aren't posting, so here's the url www.metropulse.com/dir_zine/dir_2003/1322/t_gamut.html
This is a kinduva long article but please read down at least to the 3rd subhead and see what you think.
And let me know.
love y'all

P.S. WARNING: Some offensive language in the article

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

email

Hi Brooks-
I found online what we were talking about on the 4th. Good luck! It takes quite a bit of mastication (look it up, Dr. Q) but will repay the effort. Just the first four or five paragraphs is enough to keep me occupied for a week.
He elaborates quite a bit on the Holy Spirit which is very interesting and not just because of the novelty of it. This expalins the tremendous joy that I felt welling up inside me as we walked. I knew it was much more than fine weather. The Holy Ghost was walking with us and in us!
Scott and Ralph, any thoughts?
In His joy,

here's the url- http://www.ccel.org/e/edwards/trinity/trinity.html

Monday, July 05, 2004

Prophecy

June 26

We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ep.2.10

This is the verse that has been rolling around in my heart all week. At church this morning Peter told me a Word he had gotten two weeks ago while we were praying in the choir room before service. We were praying greatly. I began swinging my Bible this way and that in front of me, slashing the air with it like a machete. Every once in a while Peter would come over and touch me lightly. Today he told me that once when he did, the Holy Ghost gave him a word for me which was “Young man, I have more work for you to do.” Peter repeated this many times this morning. He asked me which felt better, that the Lord called me a young man or that He had more work for me to do? I answered that that they both went together.

We rejoiced and prayed in the Spirit. He said that I will put my hand to the plow and not look back and plow the fields which the Lord has ordained. That reminded me of the verse I had been meditating on all week.

I will be starting my new job after the Fourth of July. Maybe those are the new fields which I will be plowing. In one sense they will be for certain. But I still feel there is a greater calling yet unfulfilled. But it's coming... It gets closer every day. Habakkuk. 2.3 says: For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

After church I was talking to Monroe. He was talking about ministering to people at work. Some day we will be done with that. On occasion I have gone to the church administrative offices and there is Mary at the receptionist’s desk greeting visitors and answering phones. And I just get the impression that that is so wrong. She is so marvelously gifted to minister to God’s people and there she is answering phones. But the day is coming when that will change, when she and we will walk in the fullness of our callings.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. I Jn. 3.2,3.