Bitter, Water, Faithfulness, Test, Disease

Topic: Narrative Theology

I was listening to the Jamie Soles‘ song “Jealousy Test” about Numbers 5 from the Album Memorials.
I suddenly had a mental flash that I ran to check out, and I think it pays off:

Compare Numbers 5.11-31 to Exodus 15.22-27 [Click to read at BibleGateway].

Both passages contain:

The Waters of Marah/Waters of Bitterness:

Numbers 5.18, 19, 23, 27  –    –  Exodus 15.23

A Test

Numbers 5.15, 29-30        –    –  Exodus 15.15

for Faithfulness

Numbers 5.12                     –    –  Exodus 15.26

Diseases

Numbers 5.21-22, 27        –     –  Exodus 15.26

I don’t have a conclusion here, but the connections must be drawn before the questions can be asked.

But I do want to point out this oddity:

Immediately before the “Waters of Marah” in Ex 15.22, is 15.21:

“And Miriam sang to them:

“Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”

She also protected Moses in the water (Ex 2.4), but the Song of Marah is “The waters of the Lord tested between the Faithfulness of ISrael and the Unfaithfulness of Egypt.”

Egypt was plagued with diseases and the loss of children (Compare Ex 11, Num 5.28).

—–

Another MARAH – Mary, was not “put away for unfaithfulness” but was alowed to bear a very important child.  Who was the only real “faithfulness” for Israel unto God.  (Matt 1.19-25).

The Holy Spirit and The Jordan – “The Descender”

Topic: Narrative Theology

Jordan means either “River” in very ancient middle eastern linguistics, or it is considered to be related to the Hebrew word “to descend” hence “the descender.”

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Matt 3.13-17

Rediscovering the Psalms – post 1

I have had the great pleasure of being reintroduced to the Psalms in the last several years.

The more I devote myself to them, the more I wonder:

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE!”

I say this as a son of the church, as a Sunday School trainee, and as someone who has led worship in several ministry contexts.  I  don’t think that we should avoid writing new music for church.  But how did we ever get to think it was okay to conduct worship without any conscious Psalm-singing?

I am not saying that everyone’s service needs to be changed over to all Psalms, or that we have to all be ready this Sunday.  I just think we need as a Christian culture to recognize that we have a whole hymn book free with every Bible.

Please contribute thoughts.  Here are questions to answer:

1) How will we get there?

2) What will it change?

3) How will it encourage us?

4) How will it confront us?

Sons of Korah, Psalm 117 live

Pentecost – Paedocommunion

…that connects homies with their peeps….

I just checked Google on a whim, and sure enough, the gangsta replacement for facebook is:

“fizzlebook”

…tru

.

Supreme Court – Sotomayor – Life?

Dear Luke,

We’ve been working hard in the lead-up to the Supreme Court nomination to prepare . . . and today was the day.  As you know, the President nominated Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

We’ve spent the day responding to requests for a response from a pro-life perspective — running from the Associated Press to the BBC to FOX Radio and more.

The Washington Post gave AUL credit for leading the way in researching Sotomayor’s record and being one of the first pro-life groups to comment on her nomination.  We want to keep you informed as this nomination process goes forward, so please stop by AUL.org for more background on Judge Sotomayor.

So what do we think?  Frankly, this is a very troubling nomination. In listing his requirements for a Supreme Court pick, President Obama highlighted “empathy” rather than loyalty to Constitutional principles.  Now, we see what that means — a judge who makes it clear she decides cases on feelings, not facts.  She is a radical judicial activist who readily admits that she applies her personal political agenda when deciding cases.

In a speech at Duke Law School at 2005, Sotomayor said that her own Court of Appeals — not the democratically elected legislature — is “where policy is made.” Taking such “judicial action,” she said in a 2004 speech, is part of the “heroics of judges today; it may dwell in protecting our own turf and ensuring that it is we who interpret the law.”

Sotomayor’s philosophy of radical judicial activism is exactly the thinking that led to the Supreme Court turning into the “National Abortion Control Board,” denying the American people the right to be heard on this critical issue.  She will further entrench the Court’s self-appointed role as the sole arbiter of abortion policy.  Based on her judicial philosophy, we expect her to elevate unrestricted, unregulated, and taxpayer-funded abortion-on-demand to a fundamental constitutional right by reading the sweeping Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) into the Constitution.

Pro-abortion groups are already lining up to endorse Obama’s choice.  NARAL praised her “distinguished record of professional accomplishments,” while the National Organization for Women (NOW) said it would “celebrate” the nomination with a “Confirm Her” ad campaign.

That’s why it’s so important we get out the truth about Sotomayor’s radical judicial activism. Our recent polling data shows 69% of the American people believe that “some federal judges have gone too far by doing more than just interpreting the law and instead are making new law.” Mainstream America will not tolerate the choice of a Supreme Court nominee who, instead of following her duty to uphold the Constitution, chooses instead to dictate her own personal political agenda.

We need your help to make sure the next Supreme Court justice rules on facts, not feelings.  Will you send a generous gift today? We want to send a loud and clear message that the American people will not tolerate a judge who believes in setting her own policy and “protecting [her] own turf.” But we need your help to keep pounding the message home during the confirmation process.  Let’s show our politicians and the American people that a vote to confirm her would be a vote to strip Americans of the ability to choose for themselves how to regulate abortion.  Thank you for standing with us!

For Life,

Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Americans United for Life

P.S. — Your gift will help us make sure the next Supreme Court justice rules on facts, not feelings.

Life and the Supreme Court

Dear Luke,

As you’ve undoubtedly heard, Justice David Souter is leaving the Supreme Court, and President Obama will soon nominate a replacement.

Since casting his first vote against life in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, Justice Souter has repeatedly voted to extend the tragedy of abortion — into all nine months of pregnancy, at any time, and for any reason.  In 2000 and again in 2007, Justice Souter voted to make partial-birth abortion a Constitutional right.

You and I don’t want another Justice Souter on the Supreme Court, so we have to make our voices heard.  People are waiting to see if we will respond.  I’ve had countless reporters ask me what the pro-life movement is going to do.

That’s why AUL’s work is so important.

In everything from the Wall Street Journal to the Congressional Quarterly to the Chicago Tribune, AUL is speaking out against any nominee who intends to implement a radical abortion rights agenda as a Supreme Court Justice.

In addition, the AUL Legal Team has put together and is distributing widely a comprehensive report on potential Supreme Court nominees. The report examines those we believe are on President Obama’s “short list,” as well as other potential nominees he may be considering.  Every potential nominee is pro-abortion and would advance President Obama’s radical agenda to pass FOCA, eliminating every restriction on abortion nationwide.  You can read the report to see just how radical the President’s nominee could be.

Right now, I need your help to continue this vital work.

Already, pro-abortion groups like NARAL and Planned Parenthood are raising money to help them make sure the next Supreme Court Justice will not only uphold Roe v. Wade, but go even further.  They want the new Justice to read the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) into the Constitution — striking down every abortion restriction in the nation.

You see, they haven’t yet succeeded in getting FOCA through Congress.  And their Plan B — passing FOCA through Congress “by stealth” — is taking longer than they’d like.

In the meantime, they’re moving ahead with Plan C — to have an activist Supreme Court erase every pro-life law nationwide.

Unfortunately, a new Justice who would read FOCA into the Constitution wouldn’t be alone.  Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has even written a law review article detailing how she would do it.

So you see, the stakes are very high indeed.  If President Obama sends a pro-abortion nominee to the US Senate, we will do everything possible to make sure that nominee is rejected.

We need your help to make sure we don’t get another pro-abortion Justice.  Will you send a generous gift today?

Time is of the essence.  We must show the US Senate that we will not stand for another Justice Souter who will continue to undermine our right to protect women and children from the tragedy of abortion.  Together, we can make our voices heard.

Yours for life,

Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.
President & CEO
Americans United for Life

P.S. — With a vacancy on the Supreme Court, we must act now to stop Planned Parenthood and NARAL from getting a new Justice who will read the Freedom of Choice Act into the Constitution. Please give generously today to help.  Thanks!

EJOTY – E J O T Y

Yes, yes…… sometimes I post weird math posts.

I like to keep up with the numeric value of letters.  A = 1, B = 2, …. Z = 26.

I devised the phrase EJOTY to help me be quicker in calculating the value of words.

E =  5

J= 10

O= 15

T= 20

Y= 25

It’s easier to count this way, and not have to do the whole alphabet.

I also thought of

C Filo Rux (that’s every 3rd letter) – Not as useful; not as efficient.

Examples:

ONE

(15)+(14)+(5) = 34

TWO

(20)+(23)+(15) = 58

THREE

(20)+(8)+(18)+(5)+(5) = 56

FOUR

(6)+(15)+(21)+(18) = 60

FIVE

(6)+(9)+(22)+(5) = 42

Not that any of this is useful – but I was stuck in a traffic jam this morning.

Looking for Math Textbooks

I have been dying for a long time to find the old math textbooks that my high school used.

I was at Southwest High School in Fort Worth, Texas from 1992-1996.

I think the covers of the books were green or teal and had a square or rectangular design in the middle of the covers.

I know they aren’t in circulation anymore.  I wish I had the slightest clue how to find them.