Monday, April 28, 2014
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Kissin' Jesus (a little bit about the Eastern Orthodox Christians)
First of all, I present to you a reading from the book of Matthew. All these verses show some meaning related to my post, so please read carefully.
That Which Defiles
15 Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’[a] and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’[b] 5 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to God,’ 6 they are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you:
8 “‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’[c]”
but their hearts are far from me.
9 They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’[c]”
10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots.14 Leave them; they are blind guides.[d] If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15 Peter said, “Explain the parable to us.”
16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”
I have noticed something quite interesting when I walk into the churches of Sofia lately. On Saturday evening I walked into St. Alexander Nevsky (one of the largest Eastern Orthodox churches in the world), to do my bi-weekly honoring of the good Lord. I am unaware of English church services here so I tend to walk into a church every three or four days, light some candles and say some prayers. Sometimes just silence and serenity is all one really needs in the Lord's palaces.
When I walk into these churches I often watch the Eastern Orthodox parishioners. One can gain a little comfort through the whole "monkey see, monkey do" element when in different environments. Saturday evening I entered the sanctuary of the church and walked toward the left-hand side, and stood between beautiful pictures of Mary and Jesus. In front of these wonderful pieces of art were candelabras, so I placed a candle in front of each picture.
Next to me stood an older lady reciting a prayer, and lighting her candles as well. The next thing I saw is what gave me the goosebumps. This was something I had seen a few times in other churches, and once at a village gathering as well. On a small podium stood a picture of Jesus located across from the candelabras. She approached the picture and kissed it in the middle, right on the face of Jesus. I wanted to be certain of this, so I watched a gentleman do it as well.
I walked around thinking if they are so devoted to their Lord and Savior, then why should such a task seem so strange? So as the lady, and gentleman previously did, I walked up to that picture and kissed my lord. Did it feel strange? As they say "When in Rome, do as the Romans." My interpretation of that related to this incident would be "If you love Jesus enough, then show your love to him."
In all honesty, I can confess that I am a germa-phobe (which according to spell check is not a word). When I worked with those little children in South Korea, I was constantly washing my hands or drowning them in anti-bacterial stuff. I never have a problem with getting marker, dirt or blood on my hands. For some reason when a kid sneezes or coughs in my direction, I freak out. Sharing food was definitely not an easy task in that beautiful "culture of sharing". I still firmly believe that those people would not be as sick if they did not eat off the same fork or set of chopsticks.
My point in saying all that is this. There are many of us germa-freaks in this world. Would the average person, or even the average anti-germ human do when asked to kiss their Lord, Jesus Christ? How many people kiss those beautiful art pieces daily? There is no telling. They probably get wiped down sometime during the week. In our world many of us are so paranoid about the little parts of life, that we sometimes ignore the important parts.
I could just imagine Jack Nicholson's character in the movie Something's Gotta Give, as he watches the devoted followers kissing their Lord and Savior. He would probably have a special spray, or even some fancy plastic to cover the picture, so he could perform the sacred act as well. Or he would kiss hands (with rubber gloves on) and then lay his hands on the picture as his act of loyalty. For those of you who know this movie character, you are probably thinking "Nah, he'd freak out, and just leave the building." That would be the unanimous vote.
Anyway, let us remember the words of verses eight and nine in the above mentioned passage from Matthew 15: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.
So it a joy to serve as an eye witness to people who do honor their Lord and Savior with not only their hearts, but their lips as well. As a well qualified germ-freak, I can say that I do not hesitate when showing my love for Jesus with my lips as these fine Eastern Orthodox have all of their lives.
Prayer for today: Dear Lord, grant us the discipline and devotion to honor you with all of ourselves, and not just part of ourselves. Whether we are dirty, or have germs crawling around us, we remember that our priority is instilled in us through your son Jesus Christ. Love conquers all. Devotion and loyalty towards you conquers all as well. Teach us also dear God, to be open to
experience the loyalty and devotion of your followers from other parts of our world. As students of your word, may we be able to teach others about loving you, but most importantly, be able to learn from them as well. In your son's name we pray, Amen.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
This is one of the best. . . . .
verses with a ton of real-life meaning to it. From Proverbs 18:21 - Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit - you choose.
This has definitely applied to some of the recent events that have occurred here in this hostel. One of the other hostel workers, who will remain unnamed for now, has been very tired and frustrated on a daily basis. As the young Aussie Jimmy and I have been able to warm up to the 'ole man, this other person has not been able to do so. It may be that he is frustrated at staying in this hostel for so long. It may be that he does not have enough money to continue his journey to Tibet. It may be that he feels like a slave here at times to the owner, who does not appear or seem to be such a demanding person.
The words that come out of this other man's mouth have been very few lately. When words have come out of his mouth they have felt like to poison to those of us around him. We are wise enough to not let the poison of his words affect us, and we continue on with our daily routines. I do feel that prayer has helped me with Mr. Rolin, (our Russian American guest), and hope that it can help give new life to this man that I speak of.
Words of poison can come from someone who is a staff member, and someone who is also the manager or owner. Every day I have heard something about the "Fat American", who is staying in our hostel. The man of references is Mr. Rolin, who some of us had our struggles with before Sunday evening's big event (you can learn about that event sometime in the next day or so). Anyway, I have kept my mouth shut most of the time, just out of respect for the owner, Mikhail. As a man in power, I feel that an owner or manager should show respect to all guests no matter who they, or how they have acted.
With technology as advanced as it is these days, this verse can be very effective. So remember choose your words wisely. Let them give life to others, so they can show compassion. Do not let your words be a sword in someone's side.
Prayer - Heavenly Father, help us to use our words, so they may honor you. Words of love, words of compassion, words of kindness, words of hope. Lord, give us the strength to forgive those who use their words as poison - those who may hurt us with their words that feel like that sword in our side. May you help them as well, dear God. Show them love, compassion, and kindness, through forgiveness, so that they may understand Godly love. Be with us as we give life to others through the fruits of our labor, and the fruits of our words. Amen.
This has definitely applied to some of the recent events that have occurred here in this hostel. One of the other hostel workers, who will remain unnamed for now, has been very tired and frustrated on a daily basis. As the young Aussie Jimmy and I have been able to warm up to the 'ole man, this other person has not been able to do so. It may be that he is frustrated at staying in this hostel for so long. It may be that he does not have enough money to continue his journey to Tibet. It may be that he feels like a slave here at times to the owner, who does not appear or seem to be such a demanding person.
The words that come out of this other man's mouth have been very few lately. When words have come out of his mouth they have felt like to poison to those of us around him. We are wise enough to not let the poison of his words affect us, and we continue on with our daily routines. I do feel that prayer has helped me with Mr. Rolin, (our Russian American guest), and hope that it can help give new life to this man that I speak of.
Words of poison can come from someone who is a staff member, and someone who is also the manager or owner. Every day I have heard something about the "Fat American", who is staying in our hostel. The man of references is Mr. Rolin, who some of us had our struggles with before Sunday evening's big event (you can learn about that event sometime in the next day or so). Anyway, I have kept my mouth shut most of the time, just out of respect for the owner, Mikhail. As a man in power, I feel that an owner or manager should show respect to all guests no matter who they, or how they have acted.
With technology as advanced as it is these days, this verse can be very effective. So remember choose your words wisely. Let them give life to others, so they can show compassion. Do not let your words be a sword in someone's side.
Prayer - Heavenly Father, help us to use our words, so they may honor you. Words of love, words of compassion, words of kindness, words of hope. Lord, give us the strength to forgive those who use their words as poison - those who may hurt us with their words that feel like that sword in our side. May you help them as well, dear God. Show them love, compassion, and kindness, through forgiveness, so that they may understand Godly love. Be with us as we give life to others through the fruits of our labor, and the fruits of our words. Amen.
Friday, August 30, 2013
My Struggles with the Old Guy
Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Since last Friday, August 23rd, I have needed this verse daily. I am thankful for now I have located it; still waiting for my bible and devotional to come from the village where I was living at the beginning of the month. At least there are biblical apps that one can use, so I can hear God saying to me now, "no excuses, Mr. Tower, you still have the word on that handy little device of yours."
Here's the story now. Hold on, need a little music to get the mind stimulated. Now I am ready to type away. So we have this guest who has stayed in the hostel since last Friday. He came in from Serbia, on a bus, I vaguely recall. He paid us for ten days, only carrying a briefcase with him. Conversation with him that day was somewhat pleasant. We gave him some suggestions on places to get food, and to purchase inexpensive clothes as well. Mr. Rolan, who is a Russian-born American citizen, literally came in with just the clothes he was wearing.
Starting Saturday evening the man kind of turned into this Scrooge-like character. Whenever someone in the hostel would attempt conversation with him, negativity would just come rolling out of his mouth like wildfire. Sometimes he would say something and one would be unable to hear what was said. Then the man would become very upset, because he would have to raise his voice. One night he even came in the common room area, sat down and started telling me Jewish jokes, which even came with a few lame punchlines. According to our owner, he is a Jewish man, who has lived in Russia, Poland, America, and perhaps some other lands as well.
Now let's progress to this week, when things have come very close to hitting the fan. I have tried to be as positive as possible about this situation, because you never know what someone has been through, especially if their lives have spanned a much longer time. In our hostel there is still a little work to be finished, so there is one toilet and shower for about 6-10 of us these days.
As a "staff" member, I tend to move around this place quite a bit, and check on things every few hours. There have been instances where I am coming from the dining/bathroom area into the main common area. At the same time this older man will be walking towards the bathroom. Whenever Mr. Rolan sees me walking from that area he will stop, and then I will stop as well, waiting for him to pass by, as I should. One would expect he would acknowledge the respectful gesture and pass on by with appreciation. Instead he becomes very disgusted, and will walk back to where he was sitting on his bed in the big dormitory room area.
I believe Tuesday was one of the days that one of these little episodes took place. I saw the man coming, begged and begged him to pass by, and he refused. Instead of walking to the common room, I just directed myself towards a room that was being painted this week. That way he would pass by eventually, or so you'd think. After a good 5-10 minutes, I went to grab something from my bed.
This is part where the you know what hit the fan. As I stepped in the room for a quick moment, the man looks me and says "you know I was going to the restroom." That's the clean version for ya. I responded by saying "I know you were going that way, and as someone who was taught respect at an early age for someone older, I was waiting to let you pass." At that time, another few unkind words rolled out of his mouth. Instead of walking out of the room, I let him get the best of the Tower.
Looking straight at him I wanted to make something clear. "If you are going to disrespect me, then make sure you do it without yelling profanities at me. I do not appreciate of this, and I have been very respectful towards you (especially when others badmouth him behind his back, just being a few feet away). He did apologize and said he would not use such language around me next time.
This negativity has drug on and on this week from this man. The Lord has blessed me with a TOUGH challenge. It is hard to accept that someone like this can exist, especially with an American passport too. I even asked him yesterday if there was something that bothered him, or if someone had done something to him. He got really offended by this and yelled "are you going to play Mr. Psychology now?" I almost wanted to say yes I understand Psychology, especially after killing a few people during my childhood.
There were even moments when Jimmy the Aussie, and I would be scratching the back of our heads as he passed by, and we get our heads eaten off. Turns out in some countries there is an offensive gesture that stems from touching the back of your head? Both of us were clueless as to how we offended him on that one.
There is so much more that could be written, but it will not be written tonight. God has given me a test, and if he asked me to grade myself, I would say "God, I give myself an 82%." I could have used a little more of the gentleness medicine on him, and I probably could have ignored the profanities that have been mumbled under his breath too. He has three more nights here, and perhaps everyone can be friendly enough towards him that something will trigger the kindness button inside of him to turn on. I did hear the words "excuse me", and "please" out of him last night, so there is hope. Gotta have hope.
Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Since last Friday, August 23rd, I have needed this verse daily. I am thankful for now I have located it; still waiting for my bible and devotional to come from the village where I was living at the beginning of the month. At least there are biblical apps that one can use, so I can hear God saying to me now, "no excuses, Mr. Tower, you still have the word on that handy little device of yours."
Here's the story now. Hold on, need a little music to get the mind stimulated. Now I am ready to type away. So we have this guest who has stayed in the hostel since last Friday. He came in from Serbia, on a bus, I vaguely recall. He paid us for ten days, only carrying a briefcase with him. Conversation with him that day was somewhat pleasant. We gave him some suggestions on places to get food, and to purchase inexpensive clothes as well. Mr. Rolan, who is a Russian-born American citizen, literally came in with just the clothes he was wearing.
Starting Saturday evening the man kind of turned into this Scrooge-like character. Whenever someone in the hostel would attempt conversation with him, negativity would just come rolling out of his mouth like wildfire. Sometimes he would say something and one would be unable to hear what was said. Then the man would become very upset, because he would have to raise his voice. One night he even came in the common room area, sat down and started telling me Jewish jokes, which even came with a few lame punchlines. According to our owner, he is a Jewish man, who has lived in Russia, Poland, America, and perhaps some other lands as well.
Now let's progress to this week, when things have come very close to hitting the fan. I have tried to be as positive as possible about this situation, because you never know what someone has been through, especially if their lives have spanned a much longer time. In our hostel there is still a little work to be finished, so there is one toilet and shower for about 6-10 of us these days.
As a "staff" member, I tend to move around this place quite a bit, and check on things every few hours. There have been instances where I am coming from the dining/bathroom area into the main common area. At the same time this older man will be walking towards the bathroom. Whenever Mr. Rolan sees me walking from that area he will stop, and then I will stop as well, waiting for him to pass by, as I should. One would expect he would acknowledge the respectful gesture and pass on by with appreciation. Instead he becomes very disgusted, and will walk back to where he was sitting on his bed in the big dormitory room area.
I believe Tuesday was one of the days that one of these little episodes took place. I saw the man coming, begged and begged him to pass by, and he refused. Instead of walking to the common room, I just directed myself towards a room that was being painted this week. That way he would pass by eventually, or so you'd think. After a good 5-10 minutes, I went to grab something from my bed.
This is part where the you know what hit the fan. As I stepped in the room for a quick moment, the man looks me and says "you know I was going to the restroom." That's the clean version for ya. I responded by saying "I know you were going that way, and as someone who was taught respect at an early age for someone older, I was waiting to let you pass." At that time, another few unkind words rolled out of his mouth. Instead of walking out of the room, I let him get the best of the Tower.
Looking straight at him I wanted to make something clear. "If you are going to disrespect me, then make sure you do it without yelling profanities at me. I do not appreciate of this, and I have been very respectful towards you (especially when others badmouth him behind his back, just being a few feet away). He did apologize and said he would not use such language around me next time.
This negativity has drug on and on this week from this man. The Lord has blessed me with a TOUGH challenge. It is hard to accept that someone like this can exist, especially with an American passport too. I even asked him yesterday if there was something that bothered him, or if someone had done something to him. He got really offended by this and yelled "are you going to play Mr. Psychology now?" I almost wanted to say yes I understand Psychology, especially after killing a few people during my childhood.
There were even moments when Jimmy the Aussie, and I would be scratching the back of our heads as he passed by, and we get our heads eaten off. Turns out in some countries there is an offensive gesture that stems from touching the back of your head? Both of us were clueless as to how we offended him on that one.
There is so much more that could be written, but it will not be written tonight. God has given me a test, and if he asked me to grade myself, I would say "God, I give myself an 82%." I could have used a little more of the gentleness medicine on him, and I probably could have ignored the profanities that have been mumbled under his breath too. He has three more nights here, and perhaps everyone can be friendly enough towards him that something will trigger the kindness button inside of him to turn on. I did hear the words "excuse me", and "please" out of him last night, so there is hope. Gotta have hope.
Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
With a post so long, this verse had to be placed down here as well.
Prayer - Dear God,
Please teach us patience, even in the most extreme cases where you challenge us to a point where we may acknowledge that we have had enough. Teach us to choose compassion and kindness over anger and negativity. Through this dear God, we learn our true strengths, and learn to attack our weaknesses. In doing so Lord, may we be a light for others. Bless us God in order that we may use compassion and kindness as weapons to rid the world of hate and negativity.
We thank you for your compassion and kindness God. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Just a pretty picture for you
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
The Dream
When I was living on the 'ole CROP Farm recently, I had quite a few strange dreams. One in particular really stayed with me though. I recall that I was sitting in church during this dream. I was becoming very impatient with something in that dream. It turns out that I was getting very frustrated locating a certain bible verse. I was confused for the first day or two after. The confusion was due to a mix up of numbers. One thing was certain: In the dream I was searching for 1 Corinthians. Was it 1 Corinthians 10, or was it 1 Corinthians 1:10. After reading through both a few times, I assumed God was telling me to read chapter ten of that book.
So I share with you two parts of 1 Corinthians 10.
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[d] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
I know that there are moments in the last year or so where I have succumbed to some elements of temptation. So I definitely believe God was talking to me through this little piece of scripture in the dream. There was one more passage in this chapter that caught my eye as well.
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others
There were moments last week where I recalled getting frustrated at Ian. We were few workers with many tasks to complete (and we were only supposed to work 6-8 hours a day. . . . hmmm). One of the young German girls mentioned to me that I was a little too judgmental at times. I was very pleased to her this though. As verse 24 states above we must work together, because of course there is not an I in the word team. It seemed that after one of the days of work last week, everything just gelled together really well.
So when you are working, whether it be alone, or with others, remember a few things. First of all, someone paved the way for you to be where you are in life. Secondly, without the assistance of others, we could not make it in life. Most importantly, you may be bettering your life in what you do, but in the grand scheme of things, you are better things around you too. What should be good for us as individuals, should be for the good of others as the verse suggests.
Prayer: Ever so firm and gentle Lord. Helps us to remember that individual accolades have significance in your kingdom. Bless us with Christ-like abilities to make an even greater impact on the lives of those around us, in comparison with our own lives. May we remember your faithfulness to us, so that we may be faithful to those that we love dearly. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.
So I share with you two parts of 1 Corinthians 10.
12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation[c] has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted[d] beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,[e] he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
I know that there are moments in the last year or so where I have succumbed to some elements of temptation. So I definitely believe God was talking to me through this little piece of scripture in the dream. There was one more passage in this chapter that caught my eye as well.
23 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others
There were moments last week where I recalled getting frustrated at Ian. We were few workers with many tasks to complete (and we were only supposed to work 6-8 hours a day. . . . hmmm). One of the young German girls mentioned to me that I was a little too judgmental at times. I was very pleased to her this though. As verse 24 states above we must work together, because of course there is not an I in the word team. It seemed that after one of the days of work last week, everything just gelled together really well.
So when you are working, whether it be alone, or with others, remember a few things. First of all, someone paved the way for you to be where you are in life. Secondly, without the assistance of others, we could not make it in life. Most importantly, you may be bettering your life in what you do, but in the grand scheme of things, you are better things around you too. What should be good for us as individuals, should be for the good of others as the verse suggests.
Prayer: Ever so firm and gentle Lord. Helps us to remember that individual accolades have significance in your kingdom. Bless us with Christ-like abilities to make an even greater impact on the lives of those around us, in comparison with our own lives. May we remember your faithfulness to us, so that we may be faithful to those that we love dearly. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Guest Article
Here is a wonderful piece done by a Pastor that I've spent some great amounts of time working side by side with. The Rev. Matthew Covington wrote this piece of the Bowling Green Daily News recently. I feel it is a duty of mine to share it with everyone.
have a read
have a read
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)