42 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 10-29-16”

  2. Good morning Aj.
    Good Afternoon Tychicus
    Sweet dreams Jo.

    😆

    I’m working on something I did last night. When I finish I will publish it. I know most of you aren’t interested in the subject, but I think it’s worth consideration given the state of the world at this time. I know. They said that in 1939 too. That’s the point.
    CUL

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  3. I am reading What in the World is Going On? by Dr. David Jeremiah. He is a student of eschatology and pastors a church in San Diego. Lots of people follow him.
    He brings up the issue of battles mentioned in the Bible. I came to the computer to write down some thoughts, mostly to get my mind straight on why I disagreed with Dr. Jeremiah. Then I came back and cleaned it up and added some thoughts for publication

    My initial question about Dr. Jeremiah’s theory is that he places the Gog and Magog battle before the tribulation. He says that Russia and Middle Eastern Allies will invade Israel, He bases his argument on Ezekiel 38:2f where the nations go up to war against the prosperous land without defenses (38:11) However this can’t be so on two counts:
    1. Israel is not defenseless and a seven year treaty will not make them so. This has to be at another time.
    2. Revelation, Ch. 20 tells of the binding of Satan and the Thousand Year Reign of Christ. Premillenialists call this the Millennial Reign of Christ. After this, according to Rev. 20:7, Satan is released. Then is Gog and Magog. The thing that is missing here is the length of time this requires. Scholars who write about this seem to think that Satan gets out and immediately gathers Russia and Iran, et. al. to go to war. But it likely doesn’t happen that way. There is no Islam nor Buddha, etc. The world is at peace. Satan has to re-corrupt the world to get a following. We don’t know how long that takes. A hundred? Five hundred years? In any case, Gog and Magog have nothing to do with Antichrist.

    Armageddon is mentioned once Rev 16:16 tells that Satan will gather his armies of the “kings of the east” at Armageddon. It doesn’t say what happens there except great natural calamities and the destruction of Babylon. (Whatever city that is.) God definitely has something against Babylon. But I can’t identify a candidate city. Not Rome, as some would say. But there is no indication of a real battle, as such.

    There is another battle described in the Bible that appears to be a real battle. Zech. 12 tells that Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone for all people and the governors of Judah are like a blowtorch in a woodpile. The armies will invade and be partially successful. But God will intervene, not as Armageddon, but will strengthen the Israeli army. (12:8) At this time, Israel will, as a nation, repent and turn to Christ. (Zech. 12:10, Ch 13, , Matt. 23:39) And God will intervene with utter destruction (Ch. 14). We can’t be sure of the relative timing of this, but I have to presume –presume that is- that every time I see “in that day” it refers to the Day of the Lord. i.e. His return and physical intervention into history again. That phrase is used a lot in Isaiah and Ezekiel. I presume that it all refers to the same time. But I’m not certain.

    The thing about all of this is: We have nothing to do with Gog and Magog. The battle of Armageddon is a battle of judgment. We don’t even know if opposing armies are really involved. However, the battle described in Zechariah 12 is a real battle and could happen at any time. The world is ripe for it. I mentioned elsewhere that the Russians have crippled the USS Donald Cook by flying over it. It this is true, the ramifications are significant. We no longer have a Sixth Fleet. We have a nation the size of New Jersey with a population of around seventy million at the mercy of……………

    It may be that the world is ready for the Twelfth Imam.
    At my age, I doubt that I will see much of this happen. But I strongly suspect that many of you will. I suspect it will happen all of a historical sudden. I Thess. 5:3 “For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes….” I pray for America and specifically for my children every day. For protection, that is.

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  5. Interesting thoughts Chas, and ones I am willing to consider. You have lived longer and seen more than the rest of us have. It gives you a better perspective in which to view our current situation. I am also concerned for my child. She has been raised in this society.

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  6. Thanks for sharing that, Chas. I’ve been thinking more often lately of the end times and how they might play out. The end seems much, much closer, IMO, than it did even a year ago. I can’t explain it. Glad God knows.

    End of another week, and, as it often does — well, practically always, actually — the end of the week in hindsight looks a fair amount different than it looked like it would go at the beginning of the week.

    I got home from church last Sunday and thought, wow, a whole week ahead of me with no scheduled out-of-home activities. Usually there is a Bible study or a local music association meeting or my daughter’s ministry volunteerism that I drive her to, or a combination of those.

    All of those things were off this week, and the only thing I’d planned on leaving the house for was grocery shopping. Friday mornings are when I most often do this.

    Well, turns out I had to make a trip to town Monday for some items for a pet that appeared to be getting sick.

    Things are better on that front.

    Tuesday was a stay-at-home day as planned.

    Wednesday I had to print some things, but our printer is malfunctioning, so I went to the library and copied what I needed.

    Thursday, another day at home.

    Friday, at my parents most of the day, something I didn’t know I would be doing until Thursday afternoon.

    And since I didn’t get the the big grocery run done yesterday, that will be today.

    Hmmm, thought I would have five full days at home after Sunday, and I only ended up with two. Such is life.

    Off to get those groceries now, then come home and cook and bake and tackle my own basement with the kids.

    Have yourself a nice day, whatever you all plan to do. 🙂

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  7. I slept in and it felt wonderful, although I’m having trouble snapping myself into any kind of action. I have/had a big day planned in the house, we’ll see how much of it gets done.

    I filed one of the two campaign stories I had to do late yesterday, just one more to do in this coming week. The one yesterday was a state senate seat — 2 Democrats (because our primaries now pit just the “top 2” finishers against each other for the general election. Since there are maybe 15 Republicans left in LA, that almost always means 2 Dems running against each other in November. Yawn.

    That’s what I mean when I say so many of the races are ones I often opt out of now altogether. I will have a spotty ballot with lots of gaps this year. 🙂

    I may vote for one only because he makes noises about working with Republicans in Sacramento.

    What are you going to do?

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  8. A lovely day here…and I am going to stay home today…oh yes I am!! This week has been nuts…and much like you 6arrows, I had plans to stay home and get things done and it just didn’t happen! Grandkids will come over this evening for a few hours while their parents attend a gathering of adults….that is a perfect ending to a productive day I say! Now I need to get a move on….
    Thanks for sharing your thoughts Chas….I read it to Paul…he is pondering it as well…..
    One thing I do know….we are living in a fallen world…and it seems to be in a downward spiral…I pray for my children and grandchildren….

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  9. I find it interesting, Chas. It is good food for thought. DJ is just a man, although he MAY have studied it more. I suspect we will find things quite different from what we thought. I take this from the way it was when Jesus came the first time. No one thought it would quite go that way, it seems. Hindsight is 20/20 and it is good to look at the prophecies. It is also good to do so with humility and an awareness. Although we may be wrong, God and His word will stand forever.

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  11. Thank you, Chas, for your valuable insight. It was worth the effort you put into it. I have friends who really want grandchildren. I was telling Art this week that because of the shape the world is in that I am okay if that does not happen for us.

    I had a week like you mentioned 6 Arrows. I admit to laughing hysterically when Art told me the doctor’s office had a cancellation and could fit him in the next day. And we added going to vote into the mix. Art was grumpy when I said we needed to go ahead and take care of that. As it turned out, we got fast tracked through the elderly and handicapped lane so we were out quickly. It was good, and Art was happy we took care of it.

    Since my brother has his new job in the store, I am not hearing from him as frequently. But I am surprised he has so much to tell me about when we do talk. He has a positive attitude about the work and serving customers. He said he has been surprised by the number of people who are buying aaccessories which allow them to video themselves in their cars while they travel. I told hin Facebook Live is still fairly new, and it may be related to that. He thinks it could cause accidents.

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  15. When I bought cat food today at the pet store, they gave me a fancy box as a gift for my at! She’ll probably just sniff at it, but you never know . . . all in honor of national cat day, of course.

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  16. I grew up hearing predictions of the end times and I know enough about history to know it has been very bad many times before. I tend to think Christ will return as the Flood came, when people are most complacent, not when they are most unsettled. However, the closer we think the Second Coming of Christ is, the more we should concentrate on the work God has called us to do. We do not control world events, God does. Christ said, when speaking of his return, “That slave whose master finds him working when he comes will be rewarded.” (Matthew 24:46, HCSB).

    I’m in the middle of preparing for a tough assignment. This coming week, the class has to write an in-class essay worth a sizeable percentage of our final mark. The topic will be drawn at random from a prepared list of ten topics. This is for anatomy & physiology, and we are expected to give accurate and detailed answers, showing that we understand the processes involved. So, I’m in the middle of researching and writing practice essays. My mind gets tired of the scientific language and needs to see or hear more normal word patterns to renew my concentration ability.

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  17. Mr P and I enjoyed the day and having a convertible . we stopped a a flea market. He lunch at one of our favorite restaurants . WNT to Perdido Key then than Flora-Bama then home. We are tucked in watching football. Life is good

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  18. Met up with the bead board guy at the dog park, he suggested going to Home Depot or elsewhere to find the caps and baseboards I want which was (I don’t know why) a novel idea to me. The place I’m ordering the beadboard from has very limited selections, but we were looking at Home Depot’s options on his iPad and there were some simpler craftsman-like styles I’d prefer.

    On the way back from the dog park, I was pulled over by the LAPD !! Yikes. I saw all these lights flashing behind me, couldn’t figure out what the heck I’d done. They were very nice, just turns out that my right brake light is out and they wanted to tell me to go fix it. 🙂

    Saw some of the film crew equipment left over on the waterfront where the NCIS car chase was set to happen last night. I’ll have to watch for that in a coming episode.

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  19. The division captain likes me (and us at the paper in general), but it didn’t seem to require a “name-throw” in that circumstance since the ticket book wasn’t ever pulled out.

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  22. Me too — I did a story on a local guy, a Little League coach who grew up in Chicago and has been a die-hard Cubs fan forever, whose friends and family raised $$$ to get him and one of his sons tickets for the Saturday game.

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  23. Oh but we were sitting on the sofa with two of our grandsons cheering on the Indians!! It was nothing but celebration for us tonight…and the grandsons went home with huge smiles upon their sweet faces!! ….and their tummies full of pizza and chocolate chip cookies!! 🙂

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  24. NIneteen year old daughter got pulled over. Again. This time because the duct tape she had used to fix her taillight had loosened and the bulb was visible. He noticed she had expired tags. She told him she had them, had just not made time to put them on. He offered to put them on for her and proceeded to do so. No ticket. Again. She wants to be a police officer eventually but can’t start until she is twenty or so.

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  26. I am not concerned with how the end times play out, I know God has it all covered. I am curious because it does involve people I love or will love. But how we view God and our relationship with Him does influence how we live for Him now and that is what I am most interested in. The pastor made an interesting connection last week in his talking when he referenced Thomas Aquinas. He mentioned the guy was Catholic and we should get our meat where we can. I realized that is what I am doing at this church, finding the meat and leaving off the things I cannot connect with Scripture. Well, I am putting my children in the same church and many of them do not have the maturity to do that. Would it not be wiser to take them elsewhere? That is what husband and I are thinking, but since he is gone, looks like it will be me.

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  27. Be careful wherever else you take them Mumsee. Your options may be limited.
    Do not fix your taillight with duct tape!

    With most cars, fixing a taillight is a trivial matter.
    I have been over this with Donna before.
    With most cars, a medium sized Phillips head screwdriver will do it.
    You don’t have to be smart. I can do it.

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  29. And daughter is a fix it person with lots of tools and know how to use them. But, she wants people to know how poor she is so she advertises where she can. Did I mention that most of my children have issues? Lots of them? I know, all of us do, but trust me, some of these go beyond the norm.

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  30. I like it, bathroom repair-themed jewelry.

    Jeeps have issues with lights. Typically not just a bulb. We got it fixed a while back (blown fuse) but I guess it’s back. I’ve also noticed when I turn my headlights on the cabin lights fade and are barely visible.

    And the squirty water is out for the windshield, I suspect that had to do with having to get the windshield replaced.

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  31. When I learned that I needed cataract surgery, I was told that many people don’t need regular glasses anymore, although they usually need reading glasses, but I would probably still need regular glasses. After wearing glasses for the past 47 years, I thought it would be cool to only need reading glasses, so kind of hoped that would be the situation for me.

    Well, since not being able to use my old glasses, & having drug store reading glasses to help me read, I have to say that . . .I want regular glasses again! I keep having to run into another room to retrieve the reading glasses, or forgetting where I put them down.

    Won’t be able to get a new prescription until after the next post-op appointment, when hopefully she will “clear” me to go back to my regular eye doctor. Actually looking forward to wearing them full time again. 🙂

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  34. I’ve thought of that, Kathaleena! 🙂

    DJ – It is in the process of clearing up still. It is still not as clear as the left eye, but much better than the first couple days post-op. I’ve been using the gel drops several times a day to help combat the dryness, (I think I told you the doctor described my cornea as looking “roughed up”.)

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  35. I thought I had posted this but it’s not here now:

    Kizzie, I have a pair of glasses in the living room, the dining room, the kitchen, beside the bed and in the bathroom. I also carry a pair in my purse, one in the car and a couple at work. That’s probably more than I need, but it lessens my frustration. Plus, it’s fun having different styles and colours of frames. 🙂

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  36. My husband has several pairs of readers, too. I guess in the unlikely case that I don’t need regular glasses, I’ll either have a couple or more pairs of readers, or get the strap to wear them like a necklace. 🙂

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  38. Fun weekend. My youngest sister and brother-in-law and family are here in the Midwest, having traveled from the east coast, as I pointed out earlier this week. We all (my siblings and I and our families) celebrated my mom’s birthday today. 76 years old. It was a nice time.

    East coast sister has four adopted children, and on the day they left for here (last Wednesday), it was their “gotcha” day — the anniversary of the day they adopted their first two, twin boys. Fifteen years ago that was, and now the boys are 20-year-old young men. My sister noted with interest that on that day 15 years ago, they had a 17-hour train ride after getting the boys from their orphanage in the Ukraine, and this year, leaving on the “gotcha” day, they had a 17-hour car ride to the Midwest. 🙂

    They head back home again tomorrow. Prayers for safe travels again are appreciated.

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  39. I had the creative urge to compose more music this weekend around the other things I was doing at home and out and about.

    Friday I composed a short piece (16 measures) for string quartet. I might have to dig out my viola and round up a couple of violinists and a cellist and see what it sounds like. 🙂 I play a couple of parts at a time on the piano to listen to some of the harmonies, but of course, even if I could play all four parts at once, I still wouldn’t get the sonorities I would if played by the intended ensemble.

    Then yesterday I started work on a brief work for jazz band. I’ve never played in such an ensemble, but it was pretty fun deciding how to divvy up the notes that went with the harmonic structure I planned for the piece. Yesterday I got most of the piece done — all the parts for flute, trumpet, trombone, guitar, piano, double bass, bass drum, snare drum & cymbals. Today I finished off the work with soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. (I kind of cheated on those, not creating any new music. They each doubled an existing line of music — soprano sax/flute, alto sax/piano melody line, tenor sax/guitar, and bari sax/double bass. But the saxophones are all transposing instruments, so I couldn’t just recopy the notes on the exact same place on the staff as where I’d originally written them for the instruments that play in concert key.)

    This is what keeps my brain active. And something I enjoy doing, too. 🙂

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  42. I am at the hospital with Karen since about thirty minutes ago. She went to ER by ambulance. I hope she will be calm and sleep tonight. Me, too, in a recliner chair. We have no details, but hope for answers and solutions tomorrow.

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