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Sunday, 20 May 2001
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No entry.
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Monday, 21 May 2001
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No entry.
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Tuesday, 22 May 2001
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Well! That was a busy spell. Saturday my daughter came over for a while and helped me decorate the apartment. She's kind of opinionated, but mostly she's right. Hm. Then that evening we had a service at church to thank the Lord for helping some of our number graduate this month. That was really nice. Old friends came from far away... Lovely. Then Sunday they stayed to go to church again with us, and out to dinner afterwards. And Sunday afternoon I went with my cousin to see Shrek (#1 this weekend with $42M in sales, jeepers!), which surprised me by being fairly cute. Some sly digs at Disney from the Dreamworks team. Awesome new generation of computer animation, with some scenery looking photorealistic. And then yesterday I spent all day at a customer site, inventorying their PCs. Today's project is to turn that data into information, and give them some recommendations for getting everybody on the same page hardware-wise. All told, a schedule which leaves little time for web logging. Hoo hah. And away we go.
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Wednesday, 23 May 2001
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I was catching up yesterday on reading the Daynotes journals, and I came to something from Dave Farquhar that made me think. He was talking about a conversation with someone who believes in the "health and wealth" gospel as espoused by Benny Hinn. The brother with whom Dave was speaking was under the impression that Christians can get God to do pretty much anything they want Him to do for them, if only they have enough faith. It was an interesting discussion, and I found myself agreeing with Dave's take on the matter. Personally, I pray constantly, as I go about my normal business, and at various other times when I can be alone with God and just concentrate on Him. But I have never at any time seen any reason to believe that I could ever twist God's arm, or place Him under some kind of obligation to me. The goal for all Christian prayer should clearly to pray "in Jesus' name." So what on earth does that mean, besides ending a prayer with some variation of "in Jesus' name, amen"?
It seems pretty clear to me that this is no different from doing any other thing in the name of somebody else. Our secretary of state, former General Colin Powell, is currently touring Africa, exploring the AIDS problem and seeking to influence some of the various African military conflicts. Secretary Powell is clearly doing this "in the name" of the United States government, and specifically "in the name" of his boss, George Dubyah. Doing business "in the name" of someone else places constraints on Secretary Powell. Whenever he attends a meeting, he is there specifically to urge the other parties to agree with the policies of the United States and George Dubyah, no matter what his personal opinions might be. Whenever Secretary Powell opens his mouth in those meetings, he does so "in the name" of the USA. When he makes a request, it has to be for something that his boss has told him to ask for. When he states a policy position, it has to be a position expressly designed by the State Department and George Dubyah. And how does Secretary Powell know what positions to take? Extensive consultations and briefings; and personal knowledge of his boss, and of the way his boss' mind works.
So how does that apply to Christian prayer? Well, firstly it clearly implies that Christians are expected to know what God wants to do. To be familiar with the "policies." But more than that — to have an intimate personal acquaintance with Jesus, so we will know how His mind works. And so we can ask Him for clarification of sticky points, and actually have Him tell us what we need to know. The good news is that this relationship and degree of communication actually exists. The bad news is that so few people, "Christians" included, believe it. It's much easier to scoff, and say "So you believe God actually talks to you?" Many people have the impression that anyone who believes that God talks to them is trying to set themselves up as a prophet, on a par with Moses or Paul. And heaven knows, there's no shortage of charlatans. Ever since the very beginning of Christianity, there have been posers. The New Testament book of Acts tells (8:9-11) about a man named Simon, who amazed the people with magic tricks.
But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God." And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time.
And hardly a month goes by without another story of some so-called church leader making some outrageous statement, or getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Clearly, these people are not in communication with their putative boss. But public misdeeds notwithstanding, the fact remains that thousands of very ordinary people go about their daily lives in constant communication with God. Two-way communication. These are the people who are actually able to pray "in Jesus' name," because they are able to know what Jesus wants to do in a given situation, and then they can ask God to do that. And then He does it. Quietly, with no headlines. Because this kind of thing was always intended to be the stuff of everyday life. Not remarkable. Of course God is there, and of course He wants to answer prayers, and of course He wants to help us pray wisely. We're ambassadors like Secretary Powell — of course we're expected to know what the boss wants, and not to simply improvise and expect our superiors to back our play. So forget about coercing God to do what we want Him to, as if He were a genie in a bottle, or about twisting God's arm to get our own way. God's way is better.
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Thursday, 24 May 2001
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My mom died last March at the age of 77. From time to time she used to say "Getting old isn't for sissies." On good days she might say "I'm not in too bad shape, for the shape I'm in." As I progress through my middle years (are they called that because our middles become so much more prominent at this time of life?), I understand better and better what she was talking about. Few of us have succeeded in arranging our lives in such a manner that health is a priority. When faced with the choice of exercising at 5:00 in the morning before work, or exercising at 10:00 at night before bed, or simply trying to sleep at those times, sleep wins hands down. And at other times of day, there's seldom the leisure to spend an hour or three exercising. *Sigh* Some people manage to do it, I hear.
The other evening I did manage to go for a nice walk for about an hour and a half. I like where I live. My apartment is about two blocks from the beginning of a city park, through which flow both the Genesee River and the famed Erie Canal of song and story. The canal in particular has miles of footpath beside it, as one might expect from the fact that when it was still used as a transportation corridor, mules trod the path towing barges. Nowadays it's mostly maintained by the various towns along the canal banks in hopes of stimulating tourism. From my point of view, I live a five-minute walk away from unlimited hiking along mostly-scenic parkland, with occasional interruptions for touristy shoppes. Nice! So if I can find the free hours, the venue awaits. Hope springs eternal...
Alas, this morning sleep molecules have clustered behind my eyelids, and I face the prospect of an exhilarating evening at the laundromat, rather than one spent sauntering jauntily (okay, trudging pudgily) along the picturesque and justly-renowned canal bank. Did you know that watching three loads of wet cloth rotate squishily for an hour or two is positively hypnotic? I bring along my HP Jornada and read a book in Microsoft's Pocket Reader, or play a stimulating game of Solitaire. Right now I'm reading Julius Caesar's History of the Gallic Wars. Really. Not in the original Latin, unfortunately, as I lack the requisite erudition. But it's still interesting. Even more so than watching soggy clothes revolve. Be still, my heart...
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Friday, 25 May 2001
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No entry.
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Saturday, 26 May 2001
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No entry.