Surprised by Friendliness

A couple of weeks ago I went for my walk and was surprised by a very unusual display of friendliness.  Something happened that I have not encountered in at least fifteen years.  As I was walking, a police car approached on the same road, with two police officers: one was driving; the other, in the right front seat, seemed to be taking notes or examining something.  As they drew near I looked at them and made eye contact and the one on the passenger side waved to me.

Wow!  I have not encountered this in well over a decade!

In times past, I nearly always waved to the police.  I counted the police officers as public servants, as my friends who devoted their lives to me and the rest of the community, serving to help keep us all safe.  Twenty years ago I would not have thought it a wonderful surprise to have a police officer wave to me, especially not in response to my initial show of friendship and confidence.  But that was many years ago.

Since then I have stopped waving.  After about a decade of waving with no friendly response whatsoever from any of the officers to whom I waved, sometimes even encountering a scowl instead of the friendly smile and wave that I expected in return, I gave up waving.

In fact, I have actually become afraid of waving to them.  Whereas I previously looked to the police with trust, I now fear them.  I many times in the past ten years have called 911 to report people on the busy expressways who were in need of assistance.  Since such busy expressways are not appropriate places for a person without flashing lights and the authority to redirect traffic to attempt such things, I have called for those properly equipped.  But after a number of years of attempting to be of service as a good and caring citizen, I became aware that I was drawing attention to myself.  I was making myself known to those who track such things.

An example is when a fellow had an extension ladder fall off his truck and block portions of the expressway.  I wanted to stop and help clean it up, but knew that I would increase the danger by blocking the road with my vehicle and by adding another person to the scene.  So I called 911.  The response of the dispatcher made it clear that I was adding to the file that was being kept on me.

911 keeps track of every word.  911 asks for identification of the caller, and for the phone number, and many other bits of information that have nothing whatsoever to do with the incident.  It makes me cringe even to think of the number of times that I am listed as a person who involves himself in things.  Today this is a red flag.  In times past such people were counted as good citizens.

The fear of red flags kept on me does not keep me from caring and from becoming involved in helping others.  However, it does make me much more leery of the police and others who are keeping track of me.

So it was a delight when this police officer waved to me.

Yet it also left me wondering what this really means.

It is saddening to me to realize that our nation and society have become such that even an act of kindness or a show of friendliness, especially from someone working for the government, has come to be cause for suspicion.  It makes me sad to know that my perspective has been thus affected.  It makes me even more sad to acknowledge that such a change in perspective is largely justified.

Nevertheless, it is still a joy to report this instance of what at least I perceived as a kindly show of friendliness from one whom I have become conditioned not to expect to demonstrate such.  It was a joy to see this police officer wave to me.

And yes, I did wave in return.  I did so sheepishly and leerily, but also with a glimmer of hope.

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Discipline and Holy Fear

Parenting is an enormous responsibility and challenge.

On a friend’s Facebook page, she has expressed the frightening experience of having her child hide from her at bath time.  The little boy determined to go outside and hide rather than to join with his little sister for their bath.

Mommy is indeed acting rationally concerning her fear in this regard.  Such disobedience in a child is a frightening thing.  Without a child’s unwavering obedience, no parent is able to provide protection for one’s child.  Obedience is absolutely necessary in the parent and child relationship.  This obedience must be instilled in the child through careful discipline or discipling.  This requires the parent to act very sternly and powerfully, actions that are emotionally difficult to govern with consistency.   But parents are not the child’s peer, nor even buddy.  Parents are the overlords of their children, appointed so by the Father of all, for the good of all.

In the case of my friend, I fear that she may have done as many mommies do.  She very likely has played hide and seek with her young child.  This is a very dangerous game for a parent to play, a game that teaches the child not to obey the voice of the parent when the parent calls.  As fun and innocent as this game and many others may seem, they are not proper for parents in which to engage with their children.  Parenting is an all encompassing responsibility, one which requires the parent to assume the overlord authority at all times, even in play times.

My father understood this, and was often criticized for his wise fatherly actions.  He was not without fault, but he did understand the role of fatherhood and overall was a very good and effective as well as loving father.

I am the firstborn, so my parents were learning much with my arrival under their care.  Two experiences are very powerfully ingrained in my memory.

One is when I was very young, I determined that I would visit Grandpa and Grandma Siems, who lived a quarter mile through the woods.  So off I went, without a thought of my mother’s frantic response.  I climbed onto my little tricycle with its 12 inch drive wheel and 4 inch rear wheels and began to make my way through the sugar sand and palmettos and briars and rattlesnakes to my grandparents’ house.  I do not remember how many hours this took me.

When Mom finally arrived she was frantic.  I do not know whether they called her or even how long I was gone.  Mom was both frantic and furious, as I remember.  But I had not yet been disciplined in the way of informing my mom and asking permission for such ventures.  I remember Grandma coming to my defense till Mom calmed down.  For I had not been deliberately disobedient.  I simply had not yet been properly discipled.  This was a learning experience for us all, and I am sure that I received intense instruction after this, though I don’t really remember that part.

What I do know for certain is that the 4th Commandment, “Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother that it may be well with thee and thou mayest live long on the earth.” is deep seated in my personhood.  I also know that this was not driven into me, but was born in me so that it fills me as it flows from the first three commandments.  True fear, love, and trust in God is the beginning of all right understanding for life.  True honor of parents cannot be taught apart from this.  The mechanics of the Fourth Commandment can be effected without fear, love, and trust in God, but not the natural flow of true and genuine honor of parents.

The other experience that I remember, not so much from my own remembrance, but because it was told to me several times, is the time that I encountered a nine foot diamond back rattlesnake as a toddler.  This huge viper was slithering after a covey of quail in the front yard when I saw it and began toddling toward it saying “Pretty snake.  Pretty snake.”

Grandpa and Grandma Heumann, Aunt Esther, and Mom were all yelling “No Paul.  Stop!  Come back!”  When Dad heard the commotion, he came running, and flying out the front door he yelled, “Paul!  HOT!”  Upon hearing this I immediately turned and came back to the safety of my loving overlords.

Some time previously, Dad had astonished the rest of the family by teaching me to fear the electric stove.  He placed his hand on the burner, turned the knob to warm and waited for it to become uncomfortable, took my little hand and placed it on the burner crying, “HOT!”  The others thought this to be terrible, but he wanted his little boy to be safe.  He wanted his little boy to stay away from anything that was declared to be HOT.

I share this to demonstrate that true love does not always bear the outward appearance that people expect.  True love sometimes appears hard and harsh and intolerant.  True parenting requires wisdom in knowing what true love demands.

The best way for parents to learn this is to observe the one who Himself is Love, the Father of all.  He has provided for us a written accounting of His interaction with His children.  He has given us this so that we may know Him as our loving Father, and so that we may learn from Him the form that true love takes.

We have the complication of our sinfulness that interferes with this understanding and blurs our perspective.  Thus we always must hold our actions to the accounting of the Commandments, by which we see where we fall short and need to have our ways amended.  But even the Commandments fall short in that they only show us what should be, as they show us how God is as the one who is truly holy and righteous.  The Commandments cannot be taken as stand alone directives.  They must be understood in the light of the Gospel, which shows how God gives the Commandments for our instruction, but also shows that He is the one who fulfills all righteousness for us.  He does not demand that we make ourselves righteous through striving to obey the Commandments.  Rather, He makes us righteous as He joins us to the merits of Jesus, who has fulfilled all righteousness on our behalf.  He applies this to us through Baptism and the Holy Supper.  There we encounter His righteousness and are made to be partakers of Him and His righteousness.

This is what parents need to realize about the responsibilities that God has given to them.  They are to do similarly to their loving Father.  They are to live the sanctified life of their baptism so that their children receive this as their own.  As the parents fear, love, and trust in God and live lives that flow from this, so their children do also.  They learn God’s love through the loving actions and lordship of their parents.


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Intriguing Images

Here are some intriguing images from Indian Libertarians's Photos:



























As for myself, strictly speaking, I am not a Libertarian.

I do not believe that true liberty can exist without it being given from above.  Liberty does not exist in a fallen world unless the hearts of people are first changed so that they love their neighbors as themselves.  This requires that people love themselves.  This requires that they know love themselves.  This knowledge is a gift from the one who is love.

Love must first rule over all in order for true liberty to be realized by and for anyone.

Where love does not stand over all, tyranny raises itself and tramples all.

Love is a bondage in which true freedom is realized: freedom to love and live in love.

To break from this bond in an attempt to live freely is to bind oneself to everlastingly lovelessness and the fear of abuse.  This is to make oneself both an abuser as well as the abused.

Government and governance are not causes of tyranny and abuse.  Those who usurp this role are the causes of tyranny and abuse.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18)

For all who live in the subjugation of God’s love, there is no fear of punishment nor torment.  Where God’s love rules, those who are ruled live in the happy freedom of loving and being loved.

Such is the governance that exists in God’s kingdom of righteousness and holiness.  In His kingdom the Law is nothing more than a declaration of His holiness which is shared by all.

It is only when His rule of love is not acknowledged that the Law takes the form of something to be feared, because then the Law has a sharp edge that cuts and pierces, as well as the blunt force of the hammer that crushes and mangles and destroys.  Then fear of the consequences of disobedience arise.

When these laws are enforced by ungodly rulers, then fear of abuse also arises.

Such is the world in which we live, because the holy fear of God that casts out all fear is not observed.

People generally do not understand how fear of God can cast out fear.  And so they redefine fear as something else, such as, respect.  But true respect flows from perfect fear, love, and trust.

As an example, consider the force that we call gravity.

Ordinarily we give it little thought, even though we fear it.  It is a powerful force that can destroy us.  It causes us to experience what we call weight.  It allows us to propel ourselves on account of the friction that it produces between our feet and the ground or our tires and the pavement.  It keeps us from floating off into space.  It holds things in place.

But if we fall, it causes us to accelerate toward the ground so that we receive injury.  If we go deep enough under water it causes us to be crushed.

We fear it because it is powerful and so we also respect it and live in accord with the manner that it requires of us.  But we cannot live safely without it.  While it restrains us in certain ways, it also gives us freedom to live and act within the parameters that it establishes for us.  Most of the time we do not even notice the restraining functions of this invisible force, simply enjoying its benefits to us.  We ordinarily do not act fearfully concerning it and are even glad to experience its power in our daily activities, even though we many not consciously consider it.

In many ways, true and holy fear of God is like this.  For those who truly fear God, love and trust are inseparable aspects of this relationship.  When the triune God is known in connection with this trinity of relational aspects, life is experienced in its fullness and perfect freedom is enjoyed.  Through this God rules the heart with grace, mercy, and peace.  For those who truly fear, love and trust Him above all things, this is true even now, even while tyrants rule and abuse and pillage and plunder, but through lawlessness and through abusive laws.

Thus, while Libertarianism has worthy points, I am not a Libertarian.  I rather confess and walk and live in the way of bondage to true freedom and love.

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Whom Shall We Trust?

Whom Shall We Trust?

This question is one that always looms before us.  Whom shall or can we trust?

On this blog I include links to Alex Jones’ Prison Planet/InfoWars because this site presents much valuable reporting of information.  Included in this is exposure of the dangers of processed free glutamic acid and aspartic acid being added to our foods and vaccines.  This really is very important news.

However, also on this site is the promotion of products from which Alex receives income to support his news network.  Among these products are the Youngevity products, including one that Alex promotes highly, Beyond Tangy Tangerine.

Here is the product label listing the ingredients from http://www.deaddoctorsdontlie.com/Beyond-Tangy-Tangerine.463 and http://www.american-nutrition.com/beyond_tangy_tangerine.html:



In the “OTHER INGREDIENTS” section are other items of concern, but specifically listed under the amino acids are aspartic acid and glutamic acid.

Both of these are in free form, having been processed, and therefore having the effects of excito-toxins.  Alex has rightly made a big deal about the dangers of both of these when they exist in this free form and are added to our foods to be ingested.

So I e-mailed him and his associates at every e-dress provided on their contact page, drawing to their attention that they were promoting a product that includes the very things that they are warning people to avoid.

Sadly, I never received a response and Alex continues to promote this product heavily.

My conclusion is that I cannot trust Alex not to compromise when money is at stake.  This is typical.  It is true of many companies, news sources, and even the mainstream church bodies.

So who can we trust?

As a pastor I have always admonished those entrusted to my spiritual oversight that they should never trust me and what I say without being certain that what I say is actually in accord with the Scriptures.  While I explained that it is right for them to give their pastor the benefit of the doubt and not to suspect him, they nevertheless should do like the people of Berea, in Acts 17:10-12, who carefully examined what St. Paul preached to them to be sure that he was preaching what the Scriptures declare before they received his preaching as true.

Regarding the Gospel, this is the most important area in which we must be absolutely certain of what we are hearing and receiving.  But we should also apply this caution to those to whom we turn for our news and nutrition and health information.

After all, what we don’t know can indeed hurt us, especially if we do not know that we are being fed spiritual and/or bodily poison.

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Honestly

If a person is said to be the most honest person that one knows, what is really being said about that person?

Can a person that is mostly honest be trusted?

If a person declares that lying is sometimes appropriate, can that person ever be trusted?

If a person declares that lying is sometimes appropriate, is that person not declaring that lying is always appropriate, if that person determines the circumstance to warrant it?

If a person is said to be the most honest person that one knows, is this not equal to saying that the person is dishonest?

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Feed Me! Feed ME!

Here are some photos of some baby grackles that were in a nest in a tree that I pruned and cleaned earlier this year.

These little baby birds stand as an example of all of creation since the fall of man into sin. Since Adam chose to invent the notion of free will, which is nothing more than rebellion against God’s declared will, this is the way of the world. Me! ME! ME!!

These little baby birdies exemplify the selfishness that rules over us and over all of creation since that day that Adam decided that he could rise up for himself rather than trusting the goodness of the Lord.

They care not for their siblings. “Feed me!” “Feed ME!” “Feed ME!!” They each care only for self, jumping at the slightest vibration, striving to rise up above one another to be the one to receive the food that the parents carry to the nest.

Until the Holy Spirit intervenes, coming to us in our baptism to regenerate us from above, we are just like these little birdies. “Me. Me! ME!!”

Entirely contrary to what so-called naturalists and environmentalists and scientists try to convince us, this way is not at all natural. This is not the way that the Lord ordained for His creation. This is what man caused through his imaginary free will. Tempted by the devil to imagine that choosing for himself was better than trusting the good that the Lord had established and declared, Adam brought death and all of the unnatural daily consequences of death to the world. All of creation moans and groans under this burden.

Yet the Lord reacted in a way that is very foreign to our ways. He overturned the destruction that Adam imposed upon us. While the Lord most assuredly is angry over the sin that Adam chose for us, the way of death and destruction that the devil tricked the first two humans to accept and choose for themselves and all future generations, wrath is not the Lord’s primary reaction. His wrath is actually His secondary response.

His first and primary response is to look upon us with love and mercy. His wrath is displayed so that we may be made aware of what our rebellion causes. Much like a loving parent will spank a young child so as to steer their beloved child away from things that are harmful, so God uses His displays of wrath to make us aware that we need to hear Him and be restored by Him to the way of everlasting safety. Love is the true attitude of God toward us, even in His displays of wrath.

At the Last Day, those who have refused to hear and be turned will be sent away from God’s presence. Their belligerent choice to be separated from the Lord will be enacted fully. Since all of God’s loving acts to call them into His repentance were ignored and defied, they shall finally receive the wrath that has been stored up for the devil and all who follow him. They shall be sent off to the place where they will be confined together forever. Then they will bring upon themselves the fullness of what the Lord lovingly and mercifully limited during the present age. All of the evil that they hold in their hearts will become fully manifest and the terror that God has prevented, they will unleash on one another forevermore.

Yet these little birdies also display something of value. While they do display selfishness, nevertheless they also remind us of our absolute dependence upon our heavenly Father for all good things. While we should not be like the birdies in striving to rise up above one another but should trust that the Lord knows our needs and will provide for us fully in the appropriate time, yet we can learn from the birdies that we should indeed look up and cry out to the Lord for our every need. Such trust will never leave us disappointed.

Here is another photo, a photo of a tiny little bunny that scooted in front of me where I park my work truck. (Click photo for larger view.)

This little bunny was almost 4 inches long. It had not yet learned to hop but simply scurried as quickly as its little bitty legs would carry it. This little one also reminds us of our dependence upon the Lord. We are just little babes who need His continual care. He treasures us and wants good things for us. When we look to Him in faith, we see this.

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We Dare You Guarantee

When a company stands by its products, I like to support that company.

The Duluth Trading Company has shown itself to be such a company. In the photo below is shown their “We Dare You (to wear them out) Guarantee”.




The company stands by this. My wife began purchasing for me their Fire Hose Logger's Pants, and then also purchased the Work Pants for me. I now have 3 pairs of Logger’s and 2 pairs of the Work pants. They are very attractive and durable pants.

But as an arborist, I am very hard on clothing. I have worn through 4 pairs of their pants. They have replaced them all. We were responsible for the return shipping cost to them. A short time later the brand new pairs arrived with no additional charges to us.

We are very pleased with their clothing and their service. Their guarantee is wonderful!

If you have need of durable work clothing, or any of the other items offered by Duluth Trading Company, I am sure that you will find satisfaction through doing business with this company.