salguod.net

An "Occasional Series" here at Salguod.net. Inspired by Daniel at Alien Soil, I fire up Media Player on random and post the first 5 songs here.

I'm going to try something different this time. I'm going to head over to blip.fm after I post this and blip each track so you can listen. Head to my blip.fm profile to have a listen. I'll tag them #five4friday too. If it works OK, I'll keep doing it when i post a FfF.

1. First Call - Parable of the River from God is Good
   This is my favorite First Call song. It's got an 80's rock/pop feel to it (1989 actually) mixed with the passion of an old school gospel. Great song.
2. REO Speedwagon - Ridin' the Storm Out from The Hits
   I love 70's rock and this is an awesome live version of a great REO tune.
3. Heart - Magic Man from These Dreams: Heart's Greatest Hits
   More classic 70's rock and another great tune. The 70's were awful for cars, but pretty good for music.
4. Solomon Burke - Fading Footsteps from Make Do With What You Got
   I got turned onto Solomon Burke, I think, by listening to WCBEs Blue Collar blues show on Sunday nights. Blue Collar has been in reruns for months, unfortunately. Not a bad track, but not the best on the disc.
5. Casting Crowns - Shadow of Your Wings from Until the Whole World Hears
   My enthusiasm for Casting Crowns has faded, too much airplay on the local station. But this is a good, harder driving track than their normal stuff. Pretty good, if you're turned of by the mainstream pop nature of CC, give this a listen.

Your turn, fire up your MP3 player, put it on random and give me yours in the comments.

So, last weekend, on Valentine's day, Maria asks me to join her for some errands, including a stop at the pet store. So, we've got all the stuff for the cats and on the way to the checkouts, she makes a turn to the adoption area. Next thing I know, we're heading home with a 2 year old lemon beagle named Copper.

OK, it wasn't quite like that. There was nothing sneaky going on and no arm twisting. She had no intention of coming home with a dog that day, this one just reached out and grabbed her heart. She'd been talking about getting a dog for a long time and this was the one. It was unexpected, for both of us. Well, more so for me. :-D

He's a great dog. Quiet, housebroken, and follows Maria closer than her shadow. A welcome addition.

Jared Wilson, long time blogger, recent author of the excellent Your Jesus is Too Safe and often quotes here, has a new Bible study resource coming April 1st called Abide: Practicing the Rhythms of the Kingdom in a Consumer Culture, from Threads media. I'm really looking forward to it.

Galatians 6:1-2 - Verse 2 says, "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." I've long thought of this, and heard it taught I believe, that this means that we should work with each other through hard times, helping others work through hard 'stuff'. Job loss, family loss, depression, etc. But Paul states this in the context of someone being caught in sin. They aren't working through it, they are caught doing it. What burdens does someone in that circumstance bear? Guilt. Shame. Fear. So this then is what we bear with them. We stand with them, not ashamed of them, bearing their shame and guilt so that they need not bear it alone. This enables them to stand, to move on, to heal. They know they are accepted, in fact, in this way we demonstrate the truth of Christ's acceptance of them, reminding them of whom they belong.

Thinking of it in this way reminds me of Jesus with the woman caught in adultery. The pharisees and teachers were ready to toss her aside, but Jesus stood with her. Instead of joining them in their accusation, he crossed over to be with her and she was not alone facing her accusers.

When we bear our brothers burdens of sin, we do the same. We stand with him in the face of Satan the accuser, and he is reminded that he is not alone. Of course, Jesus is always there, but when we are caught Jesus can be hard to see. If we stand with him, he is enabled to see Jesus in us.

Galatians 6:3-5 - Verse 5 says, "For each will have to bear his own load." Given what I just wrote (which I stand by), I honestly don't know how to put verses 3-5 in context with 1-2. Is Paul being sarcastic? Doesn't seem to be. Any thoughts?

Galatians 6:7-10 - Paul talks throughout Galatians, and the New Testament, about works vs. faith, slavery vs. freedom. But here he points out that our actions, our 'works', are not for nothing. We do reap what we sow. Not that we work to be saved (notice in verse 8 he says eternal life comes from the spirit), but that what we do will produce something - corruption or life.

Galatians 6:13 - There's a clue here to verses 3-5. Those compelling the Galatians to be circumcised want to do so so that they can boast in the Galatians actions. See in verse 4 Pauls says "But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor." It's about standing on the works of flesh or the works of the spirit.

The Hemmings blog, in two posts, pointed me to some nifty van stuff this week. I generally like vans, the minivan in particular because it does so much well, but I also grew up during the custom van craze of the 70's. I remember going to van shows in Southwyck Mall in Toledo (now gone) with my Dad. Check these out:

The first post led to this:

They found it at Big Blue's Online Carburetor. Can you guess what it does? Here's a video of one just like it in action:

I really want one, but the You Tube link says it'll destroy your records. Still, how cool is that?

The second post pointed me to Vans and the places where they were, a photo collection of old custom vans. Check this one out:

Yeah, that's a complete greenhouse from an 80's Ford Escort grafted on top, complete with opening hatchback. Here's another:

This van, unlike most of those at the site, is close to what folks were doing in the 70's. Wild paint and custom windows. The later conversion vans were the the mass production outcome, but at first every one of them was a one off like this one.

This video does a better job in about a minute and a half of explaining what seat belts do and why you should wear them than all the well thought out arguments of the last several decades combined. Powerful stuff, please watch.

HT: Autoblog

Galatians 5:1 - "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." There's so much power in this statement. Do not submit to a yoke of slavery. Slavery of performance, Slavery of perfection. Slavery of doing the right thing. Slavery of making the right choice. Slavery of finding the right way. Slavery of working to become worthy.

God has chosen us, bought us for a price. He's already said we are worthy, set a price on us that's higher than we would have paid. So why do we think we have to prove ourselves?

Galatians 5:7 - All this talk against the law, against circumcision and here he asks "Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" What is this talk about obedience if the law is nothing? We are still called to obey, the question is why do we obey and what? Do we obey from a call to duty, out of a desire to please Him who has already shown His pleasure with us? Or, do we obey because of the love he has already lavished on us? Do we obey the failed rules and laws of old that did nothing to truly sanctify those who followed them or do we obey the call to simple faith in a God who became man to rescue us?

Galatians 5:16-24 - For so long I lived and preached this section (verses 19-21 particularly) as law, rules to live by. Her was the list of don'ts (oh yeah, and some dos in verses 22-23) to avoid. This is how you live as a disciple of Jesus, here's how it works.

But I missed the 4 1/2 chapters proceeding it. For 4 1/2 chapters Paul railed on living by the law, by the dos and don'ts, going as far here in Galatians 5:4 to say that those who follow that path are "severed from Christ, ... fallen away from grace.".

Paul here is contrasting living by the spirit, which leads to the acts of the spirit, with living by the flesh which produces these (and other)acts of sin. He's calling them, not to do their best to eliminate these sins and incorporate these acts of righteousness, but to live by the spirit.

We like the rules, they're easy. Do this, don't do that. Instead, Paul says look to Jesus and don't worry about what to do. If you truly seek to follow him, the spirit will take care of your transformation. You will naturally move toward the acts of the spirit and leave the acts of the sinful nature. but we don't trust the spirit, it seems to ethereal or mystical. We want a plan of attack, something we can do to better ourselves. But faith says that we can never better ourselves enough and puts our betterment in His hands.

An "Occassional Series" here at Salguod.net. Inspired by Daniel at Alien Soil, I fire up Media Player on random and post the first 5 songs here.

1. John Gorka and Lucy Kaplansky - A Saint's Complaint from WCBE - Vol. 9 - Double Dose
   Another great live tune from one of WCBE's 'Live From Studio A' recordings. A folksy tune recorded with acoustic guitar and two singers.
2. The Turtles - Happy Together from Happy Together
   The 60's were awesome times for popular music, weren't they? I'm betting that many of you will leave this post with this song in your head. You're welcome.
3. Don Henley - Sunset Grille from Building the Perfect Beast
   I think this was one of the 2 or 3 hits from this 1984 release. A bit long at almost 6 1/2 minutes. Don Henley has a cynical edge to him that appeals to me, which is not likely a good thing. A good disc overall.
4. Styx - The Best of Times from Classics, Vol. 15
   This was originally from Paradise Theater, arguably their peak album. This was a more mellow, pop oriented Styx than their earlier stuff. Still feels like classic Styx, though, with their unique harmonies and piano work. (Of course, the next album, Kilroy was Here, was full on 80's pop with a little rock opera mixed in, but I'll save that for another FfF.)
5. Ben Harper and the Blind Boys of Alabama - Mother Pray from There Will be a Light
   The Blind Boys are awesome. I wish I could generate the kind of resonance that bass does. Heard these guys on WCBE a while back.

Your turn, fire up your MP3 player, put it on random and give me yours in the comments.

Galatians 4:1-7 - I've read this over maybe 4 times just now. It feels like there's some profound truth in there that's eluding me, but maybe it's simply this:

Jesus changes everything. Everything.

We were once enslaved children, now free men. Once slaves, now sons and heirs. Once under law, now adopted as sons.

I think I tend to operate as if nothing has changed when in reality everything has changed under Jesus.

Galatians 4:9 - As if on cue, Paul gives me a spiritual dope slap. "... how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world ... ?" Indeed, but I am so forgetful.

Galatians 4:21-31 - Paul contrasts the sons of Abraham's two wives, one a slave and one free. He pleads with them to remember that they are children. like Isaac, of the promise, children of freedom.

Yet Christians today pile rule upon rule, attempting to live right by becoming slaves to them instead of embracing the undeserved freedom from Christ and letting it compel them to live by righteousness.

Galatians 3:1 - "O foolish Galatians!" Paul says. Why? Because they were buying into the notion that they had to follow the law to be justified. What law? Well, specifically he refers to circumcision in chapter 2, but not directly. I don't think it's clear here what law or laws they were relying on, the sense to me is bigger than that. It's not that this law or that one isn't needed, nor that the law isn't valuable, it's that it is powerless to save. Not only that, but they were taught not to rely on the law but on faith in Jesus, so Paul calls them fools.

If Paul came back, i suspect he'd enter many of our churches and cry out "You foolish Americans!" hearing sermon after sermon on proper moral living and how to improve ourselves. We like to think that we can pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, that we can work hard to fix ourselves. We cannot, and to preach, teach or live by that philosophy is the height of foolishness.

In fact, if we could fix ourselves, it was Jesus who was the fool for coming here to be tortured and die for nothing.

Galatians 3:10-14 - The standard of the world is that if you follow the rules, things go OK. Well, that's conventional wisdom anyway, we see examples all over of folks who skirt the rules and get ahead anyway, at least superficially. but Paul here refuses even to pay lip service to conventional wisdom, pointing out the elephant in the room - that we simply can't follow the letter of the law. We forget the rules, we defy them, we are simply pulled into disobedience by the attractiveness of sin. So, if we rely on good behavior, we are finished before we've begun.

But, he says, Jesus turns the conventional wisdom (that's patently false in reality) on its head. He becomes the one and only human in all of history to follow the rules, the only one qualified to receive the prize on his own efforts, then he swaps rewards with us. We get his (eternal life with the father), he gets ours (death on a cross). Remember Monte Hall and Let's Make a Deal? You've won a new set of cookware, but do you want to trade it for the mystery behind door number 3? It might be junk, might be a new car, who knows? Well, Jesus took the deal and swapped rewards with us, except he knew both prizes ahead of time and that His rightful reward was far superior to what we earned. But he knew that the only way that we would earn anything but death was if he earned it for us, so He made the deal.

So don't pretend that you are all that and have worked hard for that which Christ has gave you. And don't fall into the trap that, somehow, if you're not good enough, Jesus is going to switch back. He's not.

Galatians 3:15-29 - Most of this stuff goes over my head. I squint my eyes, cock my head and read it over and over and I still don't quite get it. One thing I do get is that Jesus is the fulfillment of a promise made to Abraham long before (centuries before) the law was given. No number of laws can make that covenant void. The law was given temporarily, our guardian is says in Galatians 3:24-25 (ESV), until the promised faith was revealed completely in Jesus. Now that He is here, its purpose is complete, its job done, and we have no need of it. Wow, cool.