Friday, February 24, 2006

Good Morning

 

Look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday.

 

One bit of commentary on the news, particularly the issue about the cartoons of Mohammad that Muslims around the world are rioting about.  The Vatican put out what I thought was a terrific thought in response -- that people and countries in the West should be respectful of the Muslim faith and concerns in this area, but they also said that Muslim countries need to do far better in their treatment and respect of Christians and others who live in their country in the practice of their religion.  Christians can be arrested for practicing their faith in Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, and there are also all kinds of restrictive laws about Christians in most Muslim countries. 

 

I thought that this was a very good response to this issue, one that the West needs to say more about -- we need to point out that respect for different faiths cuts both ways.

 

Today's Reading:  Revelation 4:2-3; read pages 164 - 166 in Barclay; stop at "The Twenty Four Elders"

 

-- this is the second of four times in Revelation that John says that he was "in the Spirit", which is John's term apparently for being someplace else -- for how he felt when he was seeing his vision.

 

-- as Barclay notes, John doesn't describe God in human terms,  although oddly enough, he doesn't say that it was God on the throne -- it is just assumed that it is God because of the majesty of the presence sitting on the throne.

 

-- While John's description of the colors is specific to him, the idea that being in the presence of God is to look upon bright, vibrant light is consistent with other descriptions throughout the Bible, and is one of those things that everyone just somehow knows -- whenever in a movie or TV show, someone is said to be in the presence of God, or God talking to them, that idea is usually always communicated with the presence of a bright light (The Oh God! movies, where God is George Burns, is one of the exceptions)

 

-- John clearly describes that God is sitting on a throne.  The idea of a throne is one that you would think would start fading from our shared experience, since we really don't have many monarchy's remaining, but it is still, after 2,000 years, a powerful symbol of authority.

 

Today's Scripture

 

God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in uapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.  To him be honor and might forever, Amen.

 

1 Timothy 6:15-16

 

Today's prayer requests:   Corey, Megan's student

 

Corey has been on our prayer list due to brain tumor that he was going to have tests on on March 21.  On Wednesday, he as to be rushed to the hospital with a seizure related to the brain tumor.  His doctors at Children's Hospital are not willing to move his tests up, so it is a waiting game for everyone.  Need to keep Corey, his mother, his classmates and Megan's classroom staff in our prayers will Corey is treated.

Today's class member prayer:

April Walker

Have a great day.

Jay