The Silversmith

I don’t recall the source of this story/illustration. It obviously is an old one, but I am reminded of it each time I read Malachi 3:2-4. 
Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to study the scriptures. While reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver (Malachi 3:3)." 
One lady proposed to visit a silversmith, and report to them on what he said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling the object of her errand, begged the silversmith to tell her about the process of refining silver. 
After he had fully described it to her, she asked, "But Sir, do you sit while the work of refining is going on?" 
"Oh, yes madam," replied the silversmith; "I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured." 
The lady at once saw the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." God sees it needful to put His children into a furnace; His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for us. Our trials do not come at random, and He will not let us be tested beyond what we can endure. 
Before she left, the lady asked one final question, "When do you know the process is complete?" 
"Why, that is quite simple," replied the silversmith. "When I can see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished." 

[Originally posted on Facebook on April 5, 2010.]

Malachi’s Path of Repentance

Our church, First Baptist Church in Jefferson City, TN, is launching a monthly emphasis today called “Grant to Us Now a Refreshing.” Today’s emphasis is on “Repentance.” Here are my musings of the path to repentance as outlined by Malachi. 

1. God holds supreme authority (1:11,14b) 
2. We fail to respect and honor God’s authority (1:6,12-14a) 
3. We show little concern for God’s favor and grace (1:9) 
4. God loves us but is displeased with our lack of concern (1:2,10) 
5. Disobedience and disinterest have consequences (2:2-3,8-9) 
6. God calls for repentance and obedience (2:1-2) 
7. Levi is a model of God’s expectations (2:5-7) 

[Originally posted on Facebook on February 7, 2010.]

The Conundrum We Face with Government Spending

Here are some statistics cited in the New York Times article that I recently recommended:

• In 2000, 37% of federal and state government revenue was spent on "safety net" support for Americans. In 2010, that percentage had increased to 66% of government revenue.
• In 1979, 54% of government "safety net" benefits went to families in the bottom 20% of household income. In 2007, that amount had dropped to 36%. This means that almost 2/3 of government assistance is now going to "middle class" families.
• In 2010, 48.5% of Americans lived in households that received government benefits.
• For every $3 in Medicare benefits provided today, only $1 was contributed through Medicare taxes.
• Since 1980, support for Republican candidates (who generally promise to cut government spending) has increased in states where the federal government spends more than it collects. Support for Democratic cabdidates has increased in states where federal revenue is greater than expenses.

The New York Times article contains interviews with people who want to cut safety net benefits while drawing from those same benefits. It appears to me that either too many Americans think they have "earned" the benefits they receive and that others recipients don't deserve what they are getting, or they hold an unrealistic expectation that "my benefits" won't be affected by budget cuts.

[Originally posted on Facebook on February 12, 2012]

Thoughts on "Class Warfare"

Let's see if I have this straight. It IS "class warfare" to ask the top 10% of Americans who are economically advantaged and control 90% of America's wealth to pay more taxes. It IS NOT "class warfare" to bust unions, cut Social Security, cut Medicare, cut college loans, cut funding for research on global warming, cut funding for education, advance "tort reform" (which makes it more difficult to sue for malpractice), and cut dozens of other programs that especially affect the bottom 50% on the economic scale. Somebody's "platform" shows whose waging war on whom!

[Originally posted on Facebook September 20, 2011]

A PRAYER FOR LABOR DAY

Oh God, on this day that we have set aside to celebrate the work of our hands, we also celebrate: 
• the time and physical energy we employ in our vocations, 
• the gifts and creative talents that spring from our very beings, 
• the industry that grows from our intelligence honed by education and training, and 
• the opportunities of employment that enables us to enjoy a bountiful life. 

Forgive us when we merely make Labor Day another day of: 
• meaningless observance, 
• purposeless activity, and 
• selfish indulgence. 

Instead, may this day become: 
• an expression of gratitude for the opportunities and blessings that we enjoy daily, 
• a time of reflection on the unmerited grace represented in each of those opportunities and blessings, 
• an occasion for expressing gratitude to our family and friends who enable us and encourage us in our journey through life, and 
• a dawning of compassionate awareness of the multitudes in our world who lack the education, training, and opportunities that we take for granted and who even lack the physical energy to pursue purposeful goals because of poverty, malnutrition, and oppressive circumstances. 

Lord, with Your having worked the work of grace in our lives, may we become instruments of Your grace. May we today put our hands, our time, our energy, our gifts, our minds, our training, and our opportunities under Your control so that our lives may be abundant, not just in material prosperity, but in wealth of heart, soul, mind, and strength. May we this day love You more, and may we love our neighbors near and far in word and in deed as we love ourselves. 

Amen 
[Originally posted on my Facebook page September 7, 2009]

A CALL TO HOLY LIVING: 2 Peter 1

1.   The things we need for faith, life, and godliness (v. 3)

·                     The righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ (v. 1)

·                     Precious and great promises (v. 4)

·                    The things that support faith (vv. 5-7)

·                     Confirmation of our call and election (v. 10)

2.   The dangers we face

·                     Lust—worldly corruption from lust (v. 4)

·                     Laziness—becoming ineffective and unfruitful (v. 8)

·                     Laxness—carelessness that is nearsighted, blind, and forgetful of cleansing of past sins (v. 9)

3.   Our ultimate goals

·                     Participating in the divine nature (v. 4)

·                     Entering into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (v. 11)

4.   The means for achieving these goals

·                    Constant reminders (v. 12)

·                    Refreshing our memories (v. 13)

·                    Reflection (v. 15)

·                    Practicing the faith (“do these things”, v. 10)

·                   Attention to the Scriptures (vv. 19-21)

A Possible Breakthrough Interpretation of Paul and the Viper’s Bite in Acts 28

I have just returned from a week of travel with a group of Jewish and Christian scholars following the final stages of Paul’s travel to Rome. Our tour started on Malta, the island on which Paul and his fellow travelers were shipwrecked (Acts 28:1). We traveled by boat to Syracuse (v.12), Rhegium (v.13), and Puteoli (v.13). We then transferred to a motor coach and visited the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns (v. 15) before ending our tour in Rome.

One of the most astonishing experiences on the trip was a demonstration on Malta of a possible explanation of why Paul did not die from the viper’s bite. As you will recall, Paul and all his party survived the shipwreck but arrived on Malta in a cold rain. As a welcome, the Maltese built a fire for them. After gathering a pile of brushwood, Paul was feeding the fire when a poisonous snake hidden in the brush fastened itself to Paul’s hand. Paul shook off the snake into the fire and, to the amazement of all, suffered no consequences from the snakebite. The superstitious among the observers assumed that Paul must have been a god because he did not swell up and die from the poisonous bite.

Our tour guide, Francis (who, by the way, was named after Pope Francis I), gave us a demonstration of a possible solution to the biblical event. He had a wooden box about 12 x 18 inches wide and 12 inches deep. He removed the top of the box and asked one of our fellow travelers, Isaac, to take out what was inside. Isaac peered inside and said there was nothing in the box. Antonio lifted the box, turned it upside down, and a rather amorphous glob that looked like the wood from which the box was made fell out on the pavement and immediately changed colors to look like the pavement. “Watch closely,” Antonio said. He then took a small bundle of sticks and placed the sticks on top of the flattened glob that could hardly be distinguished from the pavement. Almost immediately, the glob assumed the shape of a branch and changed colors again to blend in with its new surroundings. Francis said that this Mediterranean sea creature could very well have taken the shape of a branch, had attached itself to Paul when he picked it up, and was assumed by the observers to have been a viper. When Paul shook it off into the fire, no evidence remained to verify whether it had actually been a viper.

About all I could grasp from Francis’s explanation was that this creature was a protoplasmic organism from a branch associated with the octopus and squid families. Like the octopus, it can change its appearance to match its background but can also change its shape to match its immediate environment. It can assume a flat appearance like its background in the box or on the pavement, but it also can match the color and shape of rocks, branches, or other objects. Francis gave us a technical name for this creature. I think it was something like “impullingyourlegus.” Happy April Fools’ Day! (Feel free to “like” this on Facebook, but please don’t give away the joke.)