Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8 NIV
"Man does not talk because he thinks, but thinks because he talks, because he has words to play with, and thinking is only the tumbling about with words." Lin Yutang
Words from Where? Lin Yutang said we think because we talk, but where do we get the vocabulary that molds our mind, influences our actions, and determines our topics of conversation and thought? We are increasingly a passive entertainment-oriented society. Rather than read, or converse intelligently with others, we are spectators, watching TV, sports, movies, internet. Society is not only spoon-feeding us our vocabulary but spoon-feeding us our thoughts as well.
Captured or Captive Paul said, "Take every thought captive;" 2 Cor. 10:5. We should take charge of what we read, and talk about, and think. But have you ever really tried to "capture" your thoughts? I pity the Zen Buddhist who, after years of meditation, rejoices that he has finally achieved the stage of nonthinking--only to realize that his realization of this is itself thinking.
As James noted (3:2), we cannot control our tongues, much less capture our thoughts. But what we cannot capture, our Father can--if we interrupt our ceaseless monologue and start listening.
Don't Just Talk, Listen. Above all, begin each day not talking but listening to the still, small voice of our Father, who will teach us through our daily actions and experiences how to think His thoughts, and to live a rewarding life with purpose and direction. And our sense of direction and purpose are a compass for our actions--which in turn will reinforce our thoughts.
I Am What I Do We know attitudes affect actions, but our actions also influence our attitudes and thoughts. In the military, I felt sharper and more alert when standing erectly at attention than when I slouched. During prayer, I feel more reverent when I kneel than when I sit or stand. At school, I feel more professional when I slip out of the T-shirt and jeans (which I prefer by far) and into the suit and tie. None of the above are necessary for me to be alert, reverent, or professional--but they do help.
Do to Others, or Don't Do? Jesus taught us to "love others as ourselves," but he also gave us the Golden Rule: "Do to others what you would have them to do you", because he knew helping others heightens our sense of compassion, even as hurting others deadens our conscience and compassion as we rationalize our actions or inaction.
Compare Jesus' "Do to others" with Confucius' "Do not do to others what you don't want done to you," which leads not to compassionate involvement but complacent avoidance.
Jesus said "Your heart will be where your riches are." (Luke 12:34 NIRV). If we give our riches (our time, talents and money) to others, even for the wrong reasons, it may influence our attitudes towards them. In the same way, if we don't help others, or if we hurt them, we end up justifying our attitudes and actions (the West with its Opium Wars, the Japanese in Nanjing, the Germans in Auschwitz--the Chinese during the not-so-Cultural Revolution...
As Paul wrote, "if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." And then do such things.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8 NIV
www.amoymagic.com
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
The Freedom of Limits
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law." Prov. 29:18
"Christianity only added the seeds of decadence such as forgiveness...and the very denial of the evolutionary laws of survival of the fittest..." Hitler
I've only received a couple traffic tickets in the U.S.
over my decades of driving, but I've received dozens in Xiamen, which is ironic because I drive much more carefully than the Chinese Darwinian Drivers for whom traffic really is the "survival of the fastest". But the Chinese Darwinian Drivers receive far fewer tickets because they know the rules (and the speed traps). They'll drive 90-to-nothing and then slam on the brakes and crawl--while pointing to the overhead cameras.
I usually obey the speed limit anyway, but when I receive a "revelation" (from "on high" or "on low") that the road ahead is teeming with cops and cameras, I slow down even further, in spite of ridiculous limits like the 15 m.p.h. highway exits. But I still get tickets now and then for not reading the "fine print."
The Fine Print. Just about every Chinese city has signs with small characters explaining local rules such as--I kid you not!--different speeds for different types of vehicles, on certain days, during certain hours, on odd and even days. And some places don't even use signs. I was ticketed once in Xiamen for disobeying a law that was not posted. The policeman said, "No excuse. It was posted in Xiamen Daily 18 months ago. I pity a driver from out of town who did not read the Xiamen newspaper (and did not have a very good memory of all he read).
But in spite of the ridiculous laws, I'm glad we have them, because if driving is bad with limits, it would truly be hell-on-wheels if there were no laws at all. And complaints and jests aside, driving is getting much better in China; though maybe it's just because the bad drivers are killing each other off? (I wrote in China Daily a few years back that all Chinese license plates should end in "007" because Chinese drivers are all licensed to kill).
The Law of Life Even as we need rules of the road, we need rules in life--not to limit us but to help keep us on the path (and to help us from running over the pedestrians). The Jews had laws, but like Chinese traffic police, they multiplied laws until they were not a benefit but a burden. Jesus' greatest anger was directed at the hypocritical law-makers, of whom he said, "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." Matthew 23:4
Jesus knew we needed law, but he revealed a new law, a simpler law, that covered every contingency: "Love your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself." Such a law does not limit us but frees us; it does not burden us down but lifts us up. No wonder Jesus said, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30
No Law? No Restraint! For horrifying proof of the proverb that "without revelation, there is no restraint," turn to the writings of Hitler, who used Darwin to justify his slaughter of millions. Hitler wrote:
"Christianity only added the seeds of decadence such as forgiveness, self-abnegation, weakness, false humility, and the very denial of the evolutionary laws of survival of the fittest, the most courageous and talented."
Millions sought freedom in Hitler's call to throw off restraint. They were rewarded not with freedom but bondage and death.
In an hour I must drive across Xiamen, so I"m thankful I know a bit about Chinese traffic laws and Darwinian Driving. But as I hit the day, I'm also thankful that I not only know the rules of the road but also the laws of life, and Jesus has made it a simple law: "Love God, and love others as myself." Such a law is not a burden but a blessing. It does not restrict me but frees me to accomplish all our Father expects of me, but without stepping on others to do it.
And once we know our limits, there are no limits.
www.amoymagic.com
"Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law." Prov. 29:18
"Christianity only added the seeds of decadence such as forgiveness...and the very denial of the evolutionary laws of survival of the fittest..." Hitler
I've only received a couple traffic tickets in the U.S.
over my decades of driving, but I've received dozens in Xiamen, which is ironic because I drive much more carefully than the Chinese Darwinian Drivers for whom traffic really is the "survival of the fastest". But the Chinese Darwinian Drivers receive far fewer tickets because they know the rules (and the speed traps). They'll drive 90-to-nothing and then slam on the brakes and crawl--while pointing to the overhead cameras.I usually obey the speed limit anyway, but when I receive a "revelation" (from "on high" or "on low") that the road ahead is teeming with cops and cameras, I slow down even further, in spite of ridiculous limits like the 15 m.p.h. highway exits. But I still get tickets now and then for not reading the "fine print."
The Fine Print. Just about every Chinese city has signs with small characters explaining local rules such as--I kid you not!--different speeds for different types of vehicles, on certain days, during certain hours, on odd and even days. And some places don't even use signs. I was ticketed once in Xiamen for disobeying a law that was not posted. The policeman said, "No excuse. It was posted in Xiamen Daily 18 months ago. I pity a driver from out of town who did not read the Xiamen newspaper (and did not have a very good memory of all he read).
But in spite of the ridiculous laws, I'm glad we have them, because if driving is bad with limits, it would truly be hell-on-wheels if there were no laws at all. And complaints and jests aside, driving is getting much better in China; though maybe it's just because the bad drivers are killing each other off? (I wrote in China Daily a few years back that all Chinese license plates should end in "007" because Chinese drivers are all licensed to kill).
The Law of Life Even as we need rules of the road, we need rules in life--not to limit us but to help keep us on the path (and to help us from running over the pedestrians). The Jews had laws, but like Chinese traffic police, they multiplied laws until they were not a benefit but a burden. Jesus' greatest anger was directed at the hypocritical law-makers, of whom he said, "They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." Matthew 23:4
Jesus knew we needed law, but he revealed a new law, a simpler law, that covered every contingency: "Love your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself." Such a law does not limit us but frees us; it does not burden us down but lifts us up. No wonder Jesus said, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30
No Law? No Restraint! For horrifying proof of the proverb that "without revelation, there is no restraint," turn to the writings of Hitler, who used Darwin to justify his slaughter of millions. Hitler wrote:
"Christianity only added the seeds of decadence such as forgiveness, self-abnegation, weakness, false humility, and the very denial of the evolutionary laws of survival of the fittest, the most courageous and talented."
Millions sought freedom in Hitler's call to throw off restraint. They were rewarded not with freedom but bondage and death.
In an hour I must drive across Xiamen, so I"m thankful I know a bit about Chinese traffic laws and Darwinian Driving. But as I hit the day, I'm also thankful that I not only know the rules of the road but also the laws of life, and Jesus has made it a simple law: "Love God, and love others as myself." Such a law is not a burden but a blessing. It does not restrict me but frees me to accomplish all our Father expects of me, but without stepping on others to do it.
And once we know our limits, there are no limits.
www.amoymagic.com
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Coming & Going; Tao or Father?
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going." Jesus, in John 8:14
"Far reaching implies returning to the Source." Lao Tse [Laozi, 老子], founder of Taoism.
We joke that a confused person "doesn't know if they are
coming or going," but in truth most people have no idea where they are from or where they are headed.
Source, Force, or Father? When Taoism's founder Lao Tse spoke of man coming from and returning to a Source, he did not mean an impersonal, blind New Age or evolutionary "force" but a Spirit that actually cared for its beautiful creation down to such small details as forming the down of a bird in autumn (this reminds me of Jesus' saying that not one sparrow falls to the ground without our Father's knowledge; Matthew 10:29). The great Taoist philosopher, Chuang Tse [Zhuangzi,庄子] wrote eloquently of this "Spirit of the Universe":
"The Sage looks back to the beauty of the universe and penetrates into the intrinsic principle of created things....The spirit of the universe is subtle and informs all life. Things live and die and change their forms, without knowing the root from which they came. Abundantly it multiplies; eternally it stands by itself. The greatest reaches of space do not leave its confines, and the smallest down of a bird in autumn awaits its power to assume form."
Unknowable Source Taoists knew of the Source, but had no way to know the Source itself. Chuangtse wrote, "Whence comes the spirit and how did consciousness arise? The Sage's wisdom must derive from something...[but philosophers] seldom comprehend adequately the beauty of the universe and the ways of the spirit... Each man thinks what he likes and creates his own system. They shall never find the truth."
Chuang Tse concluded, "The creation lies spread before me, but in none of these things can be found the true source."
From Nowhere to Nowhere As Chuang Tse predicted, Taoists never found the truth, and over the centuries, Taoism degenerated into a religion of magic and alchemy. And 2,500 years of philosophy has not brought us any closer to the truth. Where Taoists once wrote of their inability to understand the "Spirit of the Universe," scientists and philosophers now simply deny its existence. Today we are to believe that the universe simply popped out of nowhere, and that mindless chance set everything in motion and guides us upward and onward. But if evolution is just a vehicle driven by a blind, mindless force on a randomly laid out road, logic says it could have no direction or purpose. We are truly from nowhere, and headed nowhere very quickly. We are all the Beatle's "Nowhere Man."
From Someone to Somewhere Fortunately, our lives are determined not by a mindless force, or even the Taoist Spirit or Principle, but by a Father. And how can we know Him? Chuang Tse was on target when he wrote, "Speech by its very nature cannot express the absolute." And because our finite minds cannot grasp the infinite, our Father sent his Son to show us the Way not through words but through example. As Jesus said quite simply, "If you know me, you know my Father."
The Way in the Beginning. One of my favorite verses in the Chinese Bible is John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word," [约翰福音1:1,"太初有道"] because 'Word' is translated as 'Tao' [道]. Tao means 'The Way,' and early Christians were called followers of 'The Way.' Tao is not the New Age 'Tao' but the original Tao of Lao Tse and Chuang Tse--the Tao they so revered but could not understand. But we can understand the Tao because John 1:14 said, "The Word [Tao] became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." [道成了肉身住在我们中间，充充满满的有恩典有真理。我们也见过他的荣光，正是父独生子的荣光]
Where Are We From? Jesus could say he knew where he was going because he knew where he was from. If we are mere products of blind chance and random evolution, then we are from nowhere, and going nowhere very quickly. But if we are from a loving Father, then we know that this life has meaning and purpose because he has put us here to learn, and grow, and to ultimately return to Him.
Where Are We Going? Today is not just one of 26,000 aimless, purposeless days between birth and oblivion, but an important stage in a Journey of discovery. Today is another day of class, taught by a Father who cares for me much more than Jesus' "sparrows of the field" and Chuang Tse's "autumn down of a bird."
www.amoymagic.com
"my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going." Jesus, in John 8:14
"Far reaching implies returning to the Source." Lao Tse [Laozi, 老子], founder of Taoism.
We joke that a confused person "doesn't know if they are
coming or going," but in truth most people have no idea where they are from or where they are headed.Source, Force, or Father? When Taoism's founder Lao Tse spoke of man coming from and returning to a Source, he did not mean an impersonal, blind New Age or evolutionary "force" but a Spirit that actually cared for its beautiful creation down to such small details as forming the down of a bird in autumn (this reminds me of Jesus' saying that not one sparrow falls to the ground without our Father's knowledge; Matthew 10:29). The great Taoist philosopher, Chuang Tse [Zhuangzi,庄子] wrote eloquently of this "Spirit of the Universe":
"The Sage looks back to the beauty of the universe and penetrates into the intrinsic principle of created things....The spirit of the universe is subtle and informs all life. Things live and die and change their forms, without knowing the root from which they came. Abundantly it multiplies; eternally it stands by itself. The greatest reaches of space do not leave its confines, and the smallest down of a bird in autumn awaits its power to assume form."
Unknowable Source Taoists knew of the Source, but had no way to know the Source itself. Chuangtse wrote, "Whence comes the spirit and how did consciousness arise? The Sage's wisdom must derive from something...[but philosophers] seldom comprehend adequately the beauty of the universe and the ways of the spirit... Each man thinks what he likes and creates his own system. They shall never find the truth."
Chuang Tse concluded, "The creation lies spread before me, but in none of these things can be found the true source."
From Nowhere to Nowhere As Chuang Tse predicted, Taoists never found the truth, and over the centuries, Taoism degenerated into a religion of magic and alchemy. And 2,500 years of philosophy has not brought us any closer to the truth. Where Taoists once wrote of their inability to understand the "Spirit of the Universe," scientists and philosophers now simply deny its existence. Today we are to believe that the universe simply popped out of nowhere, and that mindless chance set everything in motion and guides us upward and onward. But if evolution is just a vehicle driven by a blind, mindless force on a randomly laid out road, logic says it could have no direction or purpose. We are truly from nowhere, and headed nowhere very quickly. We are all the Beatle's "Nowhere Man."
From Someone to Somewhere Fortunately, our lives are determined not by a mindless force, or even the Taoist Spirit or Principle, but by a Father. And how can we know Him? Chuang Tse was on target when he wrote, "Speech by its very nature cannot express the absolute." And because our finite minds cannot grasp the infinite, our Father sent his Son to show us the Way not through words but through example. As Jesus said quite simply, "If you know me, you know my Father."
The Way in the Beginning. One of my favorite verses in the Chinese Bible is John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word," [约翰福音1:1,"太初有道"] because 'Word' is translated as 'Tao' [道]. Tao means 'The Way,' and early Christians were called followers of 'The Way.' Tao is not the New Age 'Tao' but the original Tao of Lao Tse and Chuang Tse--the Tao they so revered but could not understand. But we can understand the Tao because John 1:14 said, "The Word [Tao] became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." [道成了肉身住在我们中间，充充满满的有恩典有真理。我们也见过他的荣光，正是父独生子的荣光]
Where Are We From? Jesus could say he knew where he was going because he knew where he was from. If we are mere products of blind chance and random evolution, then we are from nowhere, and going nowhere very quickly. But if we are from a loving Father, then we know that this life has meaning and purpose because he has put us here to learn, and grow, and to ultimately return to Him.
Where Are We Going? Today is not just one of 26,000 aimless, purposeless days between birth and oblivion, but an important stage in a Journey of discovery. Today is another day of class, taught by a Father who cares for me much more than Jesus' "sparrows of the field" and Chuang Tse's "autumn down of a bird."
www.amoymagic.com
Friday, March 27, 2009
The Crucible of Praise
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives. Proverbs 27:21 NIV
Two of my Xiamen University MBA students' responses to my praise taught me that we must be very careful in both how we receive praise and how we give it. My praise encouraged one student to do even better, and they literally aced my course. But my praise of the other student seemed to suggest to them that they had already done enough to get by [like the rich man in Jesus' parable who decided to kick back and enjoy life], and they went downhill from there, in spite of subsequent warnings. And when they received a low grade, they blamed me!
Self-Esteem--Two-Edged Sword. As I teach in Organizational Behavior, to change actions we must change attitudes, and a pivotal attitude is self-esteem. Of course, some Christians have a knee-jerk reaction to the very word and quote, "I can do all things through Christ..." (Philippians 4:13. That is one of my favorite verses as well--but Christ also taught us that whoever is faithful in small things will be given greater things to do. Christ taught this because he expects us to learn, and grow. Life is about growth--spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.
God's Children Grow. We are children of God--but our Father also expects us to grow up. Paul wrote, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." 1 Cor. 13:11 NIV Our Father gives us vision, skills and abilities, and then he gives us a task to use them. The more we can do, the more he gives us to do. True, we do all things in Christ--but it is still we ourselves that have to do those things. (Someone said, "Without God, man cannot; without man, God will not". That may be simplistic, but there's a point to it).
Part of growing up is expanding our awareness of what we can and should be doing, and increased self-esteem does not necessarily mean we esteem God less. Prince William in England obviously thinks pretty highly of himself--but he also knows that much of his position and power rests in his being a member of the royal family. If that family fell, he could be looking for work like other Englishmen. We too are royalty--children of the Father (and our Family will not fall). We should have confidence in our Father, but we should also grow up and have confidence in the abilities and traits that our Father has blessed us with.
Encouraged or Inflated? Whether we give praise or receive it, we must be cautious that praise serves to encourage and built up, and not just to inflate immature egos. Overly-inflated egos are as easily burst as the cheap Chinese balloons we used to buy for our sons' birthdays.
Praise or Flattery? We should distinguish between praise and flattery. Praise elevates the receiver; flattery elevates the sender, because the flatterer hopes their honeyed words will get them in their targets' good graces.
Always Growing We must be careful that praise does not make us complacent but instead spurs us on, because no matter how deserved the praise may be, life is about continued growth. If we cease growing, then we may very well cease living--like the rich man in Jesus' parable [ Luke 12:16-21].
The rich man said to himself, "I have so much wealth that I don't have enough room to store it. I must build more barns, and then I will sit back and enjoy life." And he died that night.
If you are praised today, be thankful for it, and be encouraged--but don't let it go to your head. A sportsman who receives a trophy does not sit on his laurels but places the trophy on his shelf and continues to train, because if he does not keep training and running, he'll be taken off the team and spend the rest of his life sitting on the sidelines, accumulating dust like his trophies.
Give praise, and receive praise. And then "forgetting what is behind, press forward." Philippians 3:!3
www.amoymagic.com
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but man is tested by the praise he receives. Proverbs 27:21 NIV
Two of my Xiamen University MBA students' responses to my praise taught me that we must be very careful in both how we receive praise and how we give it. My praise encouraged one student to do even better, and they literally aced my course. But my praise of the other student seemed to suggest to them that they had already done enough to get by [like the rich man in Jesus' parable who decided to kick back and enjoy life], and they went downhill from there, in spite of subsequent warnings. And when they received a low grade, they blamed me!
Self-Esteem--Two-Edged Sword. As I teach in Organizational Behavior, to change actions we must change attitudes, and a pivotal attitude is self-esteem. Of course, some Christians have a knee-jerk reaction to the very word and quote, "I can do all things through Christ..." (Philippians 4:13. That is one of my favorite verses as well--but Christ also taught us that whoever is faithful in small things will be given greater things to do. Christ taught this because he expects us to learn, and grow. Life is about growth--spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.
God's Children Grow. We are children of God--but our Father also expects us to grow up. Paul wrote, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." 1 Cor. 13:11 NIV Our Father gives us vision, skills and abilities, and then he gives us a task to use them. The more we can do, the more he gives us to do. True, we do all things in Christ--but it is still we ourselves that have to do those things. (Someone said, "Without God, man cannot; without man, God will not". That may be simplistic, but there's a point to it).
Part of growing up is expanding our awareness of what we can and should be doing, and increased self-esteem does not necessarily mean we esteem God less. Prince William in England obviously thinks pretty highly of himself--but he also knows that much of his position and power rests in his being a member of the royal family. If that family fell, he could be looking for work like other Englishmen. We too are royalty--children of the Father (and our Family will not fall). We should have confidence in our Father, but we should also grow up and have confidence in the abilities and traits that our Father has blessed us with.
Encouraged or Inflated? Whether we give praise or receive it, we must be cautious that praise serves to encourage and built up, and not just to inflate immature egos. Overly-inflated egos are as easily burst as the cheap Chinese balloons we used to buy for our sons' birthdays.
Praise or Flattery? We should distinguish between praise and flattery. Praise elevates the receiver; flattery elevates the sender, because the flatterer hopes their honeyed words will get them in their targets' good graces.
Always Growing We must be careful that praise does not make us complacent but instead spurs us on, because no matter how deserved the praise may be, life is about continued growth. If we cease growing, then we may very well cease living--like the rich man in Jesus' parable [ Luke 12:16-21].
The rich man said to himself, "I have so much wealth that I don't have enough room to store it. I must build more barns, and then I will sit back and enjoy life." And he died that night.
If you are praised today, be thankful for it, and be encouraged--but don't let it go to your head. A sportsman who receives a trophy does not sit on his laurels but places the trophy on his shelf and continues to train, because if he does not keep training and running, he'll be taken off the team and spend the rest of his life sitting on the sidelines, accumulating dust like his trophies.
Give praise, and receive praise. And then "forgetting what is behind, press forward." Philippians 3:!3
www.amoymagic.com
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Mind is a Monkey
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
[God] said, "I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri...I have filled him with the Spirit of God. I have filled him with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts. " Exodus 31:2,3
When God gave Moses and the people of Israel the designs for the beautiful temple and its artistic furnishings, he also gave them the "Spirit of God" so they would have the skills to build them. God, the Creator, wants creative children. In Exodus 31:4-6, he said, "He can make beautiful patterns in gold, silver and bronze. He can cut and set stones. He can work with wood. In fact, he can work in all kinds of crafts....I have given ability to all of the skilled workers. They can make everything I have commanded you to make."
God still blesses us with creativity and inspiration even today--to scientists' puzzlement. Much research has gone into trying to understand how great ideas, art, music and inventions seemingly pop out of thin air. Consider simultaneous inventions, for example. People in different countries have literally dreamed the same inventions at the same time, with no communication between them--and often these inventions are quantum leaps in understanding, seemingly unrelated to what has preceded them. Many scientists have explained this with, "the time was right." Maybe so--but our Father is the one holding the timepiece.
Today, like 3000 years ago when Israel was building its tabernacle, our Creator has gifted us with minds and imaginations. What are we doing with them? Are we exercising and using our gifts, or allowing them to atrophy and wither away?
The Mind is a Monkey Lin Yutang wrote, "The quality of learning, like the kingdom of God, is within you, and it must come from the inside of your mind. The mind is a monkey; all you need to do is to let the monkey into a forest. You do not have to tell him where the nuts are to be found. You don't even have to guide him toward the good nuts." ("From Pagan to Christian," pp. 29).
Our Father gave us this playful and inquisitive "monkey mind" and placed us in the great forest with all of the good nuts we could ever want. We have only to open our eyes and hearts and take them. As Jesus said quite simply, "Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7.
Theologians will of course dissect Jesus' "seek and ye shall find" until it is no longer a promise but a platitude. But the child of our Father will take it literally because Jesus said precisely what he meant. As Lin Yutang wrote,
"Jesus spoke as no teacher of men ever spoke. Jesus never expounded His faith; never reasoned it out. He spoke with the simplicity and certainty of clear knowledge. At most He said, "How is it that ye do not understand?"
How is it we do not understand? Jesus said "Seek and ye shall find!" Our Father would not give his children a universal desire to seek, and then deny us the object of our search. Jesus said, "Suppose your son asks for bread. Which of you will give him a stone? ...Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:9, 11.
Retired and Pretired Most people have given up the search. They no longer ask for bread but settle for the scraps tossed to the dogs beneath the table. But if you still possess that God-given urge to seek purpose and meaning in life, use that inquisitive monkey of a mind and seek until you've found it. And once we've found our God-given desire, our Father will gift us with the creativity and knowledge to do something special with our lives. After all, there's no point in allowing a monkey to find a good nut if he has no way to crack it open.
In closing, I fear this has been a nutty noodle, but such is life! And now...I'm going nut hunting.
www.amoymagic.com
[God] said, "I have chosen Bezalel, the son of Uri...I have filled him with the Spirit of God. I have filled him with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts. " Exodus 31:2,3
When God gave Moses and the people of Israel the designs for the beautiful temple and its artistic furnishings, he also gave them the "Spirit of God" so they would have the skills to build them. God, the Creator, wants creative children. In Exodus 31:4-6, he said, "He can make beautiful patterns in gold, silver and bronze. He can cut and set stones. He can work with wood. In fact, he can work in all kinds of crafts....I have given ability to all of the skilled workers. They can make everything I have commanded you to make."
God still blesses us with creativity and inspiration even today--to scientists' puzzlement. Much research has gone into trying to understand how great ideas, art, music and inventions seemingly pop out of thin air. Consider simultaneous inventions, for example. People in different countries have literally dreamed the same inventions at the same time, with no communication between them--and often these inventions are quantum leaps in understanding, seemingly unrelated to what has preceded them. Many scientists have explained this with, "the time was right." Maybe so--but our Father is the one holding the timepiece.
Today, like 3000 years ago when Israel was building its tabernacle, our Creator has gifted us with minds and imaginations. What are we doing with them? Are we exercising and using our gifts, or allowing them to atrophy and wither away?
The Mind is a Monkey Lin Yutang wrote, "The quality of learning, like the kingdom of God, is within you, and it must come from the inside of your mind. The mind is a monkey; all you need to do is to let the monkey into a forest. You do not have to tell him where the nuts are to be found. You don't even have to guide him toward the good nuts." ("From Pagan to Christian," pp. 29).
Our Father gave us this playful and inquisitive "monkey mind" and placed us in the great forest with all of the good nuts we could ever want. We have only to open our eyes and hearts and take them. As Jesus said quite simply, "Ask, and it will be given to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7.
Theologians will of course dissect Jesus' "seek and ye shall find" until it is no longer a promise but a platitude. But the child of our Father will take it literally because Jesus said precisely what he meant. As Lin Yutang wrote,
"Jesus spoke as no teacher of men ever spoke. Jesus never expounded His faith; never reasoned it out. He spoke with the simplicity and certainty of clear knowledge. At most He said, "How is it that ye do not understand?"
How is it we do not understand? Jesus said "Seek and ye shall find!" Our Father would not give his children a universal desire to seek, and then deny us the object of our search. Jesus said, "Suppose your son asks for bread. Which of you will give him a stone? ...Even though you are evil, you know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7:9, 11.
Retired and Pretired Most people have given up the search. They no longer ask for bread but settle for the scraps tossed to the dogs beneath the table. But if you still possess that God-given urge to seek purpose and meaning in life, use that inquisitive monkey of a mind and seek until you've found it. And once we've found our God-given desire, our Father will gift us with the creativity and knowledge to do something special with our lives. After all, there's no point in allowing a monkey to find a good nut if he has no way to crack it open.
In closing, I fear this has been a nutty noodle, but such is life! And now...I'm going nut hunting.
www.amoymagic.com
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Lin's God of Chinese Mountains
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
Hi!
This "Noodle", Lin's God of Chinese Mountains, is taking a lot longer than I thought (two days so far). It will be about my favorite modern Chinese philosopher, Lin Yutang, and why he turned away from God, and how his subsequent study of Chinese classics, and modern Western philosophy and science, led him back to God, and to Christ. Lin's clarity of perception, his logic, and his writing style (what Chinese philosopher would draw a Chinese Mickey Mouse in his book?!) remind me somewhat of C.S. Lewis--except that Lin had the advantage of being thoroughly grounded in both Eastern and Western thought.
I hope to post this in the next day or so. In the meantime, please click here for a brief Lin Yutang biography.
Click here for 林语堂一位“国际化”的中国作家
Lin Yutang Photo Album
Blessings,
Bill
www.amoymagic.com
Hi!
This "Noodle", Lin's God of Chinese Mountains, is taking a lot longer than I thought (two days so far). It will be about my favorite modern Chinese philosopher, Lin Yutang, and why he turned away from God, and how his subsequent study of Chinese classics, and modern Western philosophy and science, led him back to God, and to Christ. Lin's clarity of perception, his logic, and his writing style (what Chinese philosopher would draw a Chinese Mickey Mouse in his book?!) remind me somewhat of C.S. Lewis--except that Lin had the advantage of being thoroughly grounded in both Eastern and Western thought.
I hope to post this in the next day or so. In the meantime, please click here for a brief Lin Yutang biography.
Click here for 林语堂一位“国际化”的中国作家
Lin Yutang Photo Album
Blessings,
Bill
www.amoymagic.com
Monday, March 23, 2009
Little George Changes the World
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
Passing Torches, Part 2
"But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me. Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" Isaiah 49:14, 15
The sickly young black orphan huddling in a stranger's barn probably felt abandoned by God and mankind, but this little child was destined to take up the torch and change the world, thanks to a slave named Libby.
Libby risked beatings to secretly teach other slaves, like Mariah Watkins, how to read. And years later, it was Mariah who found little George sleeping in her barn. He had come to their town to attend school, so she and her husband gave George room and meals in return for doing some chores. When George said he was lucky to have chosen her barn to sleep in, Mariah said, "Luck had nothing to do with it. God brought you to our yard. He has work for you and he wants Andrew and I to help you."
Be Like Libby Mariah told George, "You must learn all you can, then be like Libby." She taught George not only cooking, cleaning, knitting, and crocheting, but also the medicinal uses of herbs and roots. George learned all he could from Mariah, and from any school that would accept him. He eventually became director of Tuskegee Institute's agricultural experimental station. This so-called agricultural station had almost nothing to it (a
butter churn, sickly pigs, and worthless land), so George and his students scrounged together whatever they could and built a laboratory from the ground up.
Open my Eyes, Lord Over the next 50 years, George Washington Carver was phenomenally creative, developing hundreds of products [see list at end] from peanuts and other vegetables. Where did he get his ideas? Literally straight from his Father! George rose every morning at 4 a.m. to walk in the woods, pray, and read the old Bible that Mariah had given him. And each morning he prayed, "Open my eyes, Lord, that I may see wonderful things out of your Word." When people asked why he was experimenting on okra, wheat and artichokes, he said, "because God told me to look there." The media and scientists ridiculed this "unscientific" approach, but they could not deny the results.
World Changer. Little George grew up to be adviser to three U.S. Presidents and international leaders like Gandhi, and friends of people like Henry Ford. The first U.S. national monument dedicated to a non-President was the 210-acre George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri, where Carver grew up. When he died, Carver left his life savings to the George Washington Carver Foundation. On his grave is written, "He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world."
Libby would have been proud.
Passing the Torch. George probably felt abandoned during his sickly youth, but our Father said, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast? Neither will I forget you." Isa. 49:14 God never forgot George--but he cared for the child through people like Libby, an unknown slave who passed the torch of courage and hope to Mariah, who in turn passed the torch to little George, who passed it on to us.
Who has our Father brought into your life to help you? And whom can you help? Accept the torch, run with it, mount up with wings as eagles [Isaiah 40:31] --and pass it on!
Supplement: Carver's Inventions
Over 300 peanut products, as well as hundreds from sweet potatoes, soybeans, and pecans. They include chili sauce, biofuel, buttermilk, bleach, adhesives, instant coffee, linoleum, mayonnaise, metal polish, meat tenderizer, paper and plastic, shaving cream and shoe polish, wood stain, synthetic rubber, etc. Sweet potatoes yielded 118 potential products, including rubber, 73 dyes, 14 candies, 5 breakfast foods, 5 library pastes, vinegar, coffee, etc. He also published 44 practical bulletins for farmers, and popularized many modern agricultural practices.
Carver's 8 Guidelines
www.amoymagic.com
Passing Torches, Part 2
"But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me. Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" Isaiah 49:14, 15
The sickly young black orphan huddling in a stranger's barn probably felt abandoned by God and mankind, but this little child was destined to take up the torch and change the world, thanks to a slave named Libby.
Libby risked beatings to secretly teach other slaves, like Mariah Watkins, how to read. And years later, it was Mariah who found little George sleeping in her barn. He had come to their town to attend school, so she and her husband gave George room and meals in return for doing some chores. When George said he was lucky to have chosen her barn to sleep in, Mariah said, "Luck had nothing to do with it. God brought you to our yard. He has work for you and he wants Andrew and I to help you."
Be Like Libby Mariah told George, "You must learn all you can, then be like Libby." She taught George not only cooking, cleaning, knitting, and crocheting, but also the medicinal uses of herbs and roots. George learned all he could from Mariah, and from any school that would accept him. He eventually became director of Tuskegee Institute's agricultural experimental station. This so-called agricultural station had almost nothing to it (a
butter churn, sickly pigs, and worthless land), so George and his students scrounged together whatever they could and built a laboratory from the ground up.Open my Eyes, Lord Over the next 50 years, George Washington Carver was phenomenally creative, developing hundreds of products [see list at end] from peanuts and other vegetables. Where did he get his ideas? Literally straight from his Father! George rose every morning at 4 a.m. to walk in the woods, pray, and read the old Bible that Mariah had given him. And each morning he prayed, "Open my eyes, Lord, that I may see wonderful things out of your Word." When people asked why he was experimenting on okra, wheat and artichokes, he said, "because God told me to look there." The media and scientists ridiculed this "unscientific" approach, but they could not deny the results.
World Changer. Little George grew up to be adviser to three U.S. Presidents and international leaders like Gandhi, and friends of people like Henry Ford. The first U.S. national monument dedicated to a non-President was the 210-acre George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri, where Carver grew up. When he died, Carver left his life savings to the George Washington Carver Foundation. On his grave is written, "He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world."
Libby would have been proud.
Passing the Torch. George probably felt abandoned during his sickly youth, but our Father said, "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast? Neither will I forget you." Isa. 49:14 God never forgot George--but he cared for the child through people like Libby, an unknown slave who passed the torch of courage and hope to Mariah, who in turn passed the torch to little George, who passed it on to us.
Who has our Father brought into your life to help you? And whom can you help? Accept the torch, run with it, mount up with wings as eagles [Isaiah 40:31] --and pass it on!
Supplement: Carver's Inventions
Over 300 peanut products, as well as hundreds from sweet potatoes, soybeans, and pecans. They include chili sauce, biofuel, buttermilk, bleach, adhesives, instant coffee, linoleum, mayonnaise, metal polish, meat tenderizer, paper and plastic, shaving cream and shoe polish, wood stain, synthetic rubber, etc. Sweet potatoes yielded 118 potential products, including rubber, 73 dyes, 14 candies, 5 breakfast foods, 5 library pastes, vinegar, coffee, etc. He also published 44 practical bulletins for farmers, and popularized many modern agricultural practices.
Carver's 8 Guidelines
- Be clean both inside and out.
- Neither look up to the rich or down on the poor.
- Lose, if need be, without squealing.
- Win without bragging.
- Always be considerate of women, children, and older people.
- Be too brave to lie.
- Be too generous to cheat.
- Take your share of the world and let others take theirs.
www.amoymagic.com
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Passing Torches
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. " Isaiah 40:31
I was on a FJTV panel when the Beijing Olympics torch was passing through Fujian Province, and I had a photo taken with a girl athlete who carried the torch (she dwarfed me!). Imagine the excitement of carrying a torch with a flame kindled in Athens, but today you and I can run with an even greater torch--the ancient yet ever new torch of life and hope.
Few are honored to carry the Olympic torch, but the torch of life is there for anyone who will receive it--which is perhaps why we take it for granted. But if we do receive it, do we "soar on wings like eagles" and run with it, or do we let our torch sputter and die?
You and I won't be here 100 years from now, but our influence upon future generations can endure--or it can dissipate, like the calligraphy written in the sand beside Xiamen's boardwalk.
Receiving the Torch. Some lives flicker feebly and briefly, and then burn out, because they burn from their own strength. On our own, we are but a candle in the gale. But when our Father fuels our lives, we can blaze bright enough and long enough to touch the lives of others. But the torch is not thrust upon us. We must reach out and receive it, and take responsibility for it until we pass it on.
Refueling the Torch. Like candles and torches, we will burn out unless we keep in contact with the Source, continually refueled through daily prayer (conversation with our Father) and reading his word. As Jesus said in John 15:4, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."
We are also refueled by the encouraging words and examples of those whom our Father brings into our lives--and in the same way we must be a light to others.
Passing on the Torch. Like an Olympic torch, our lives blaze for a time, and then we must pass the torch on in the same way in which we received it--by our encouraging example and words. And you never know how a few words may change the life of a person--or even a nation! For example....
J.C., born 1913, was the poor descendant of American slaves, and at age 7 picked up to 100 pounds of cotton a day to help his sharecropping parents. He was sickly, caught pneumonia several times, and almost died twice. His life changed when he moved to Cleveland--and so did his name. His teacher could not understand his country accent so she thought his name was "Jessie," not J.C., and the name stuck.
When the Olympic Champion Charley Paddock spoke to over 1000 students at Jessie's school, he said, "Do you know who you are?...you are children of God. You can be somebody. You can be anything you want to be if you have a goal and will work and believe and have good moral character. You really can be what you want to be with the help of the good God."
The students were electrified, but after the talk, they all went back to class--except Jessie. He stayed behind to thank Paddock, and when they shook hands, Jessie felt an actual spark pass between them. He decided to be an Olympic athlete, and in the end became ever greater than Paddock--though he did not have it easy.
The "3 Ds" Jessie could not practice with the track team after school because he worked, so the coach helped train him before school, making him focus daily on "3 D's": dedication, determination, discipline."
In 1936, the Olympics were held in Berlin. Hitler made fun of the American team for having ten blacks and two Jews, but Jessie Owens set world records and won three gold medals. He then returned to America and took a common job as a playground instructor, where he passed the torch of life and hope to countless children, including Harrison Dillard (the only male to win Olympic medals in both sprinting and hurdling).
One speech and a handshake were enough to pass the torch to Jessie Owens. A caring school coach kept it burning. And then Jessie passed it on.
Take up the torch, run with it, and then pass it on!
Note: Flame or Smoke? Jessie Owens died at age 66 of lung cancer. Like many poor children, he'd taken up smoking early, and smoked his entire life. Don't be a smoking torch but a blazing torch!
www.amoymagic.com
"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. " Isaiah 40:31I was on a FJTV panel when the Beijing Olympics torch was passing through Fujian Province, and I had a photo taken with a girl athlete who carried the torch (she dwarfed me!). Imagine the excitement of carrying a torch with a flame kindled in Athens, but today you and I can run with an even greater torch--the ancient yet ever new torch of life and hope.
Few are honored to carry the Olympic torch, but the torch of life is there for anyone who will receive it--which is perhaps why we take it for granted. But if we do receive it, do we "soar on wings like eagles" and run with it, or do we let our torch sputter and die?
You and I won't be here 100 years from now, but our influence upon future generations can endure--or it can dissipate, like the calligraphy written in the sand beside Xiamen's boardwalk.
Receiving the Torch. Some lives flicker feebly and briefly, and then burn out, because they burn from their own strength. On our own, we are but a candle in the gale. But when our Father fuels our lives, we can blaze bright enough and long enough to touch the lives of others. But the torch is not thrust upon us. We must reach out and receive it, and take responsibility for it until we pass it on.
Refueling the Torch. Like candles and torches, we will burn out unless we keep in contact with the Source, continually refueled through daily prayer (conversation with our Father) and reading his word. As Jesus said in John 15:4, "Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."
We are also refueled by the encouraging words and examples of those whom our Father brings into our lives--and in the same way we must be a light to others.
Passing on the Torch. Like an Olympic torch, our lives blaze for a time, and then we must pass the torch on in the same way in which we received it--by our encouraging example and words. And you never know how a few words may change the life of a person--or even a nation! For example....
J.C., born 1913, was the poor descendant of American slaves, and at age 7 picked up to 100 pounds of cotton a day to help his sharecropping parents. He was sickly, caught pneumonia several times, and almost died twice. His life changed when he moved to Cleveland--and so did his name. His teacher could not understand his country accent so she thought his name was "Jessie," not J.C., and the name stuck.
When the Olympic Champion Charley Paddock spoke to over 1000 students at Jessie's school, he said, "Do you know who you are?...you are children of God. You can be somebody. You can be anything you want to be if you have a goal and will work and believe and have good moral character. You really can be what you want to be with the help of the good God."
The students were electrified, but after the talk, they all went back to class--except Jessie. He stayed behind to thank Paddock, and when they shook hands, Jessie felt an actual spark pass between them. He decided to be an Olympic athlete, and in the end became ever greater than Paddock--though he did not have it easy.
The "3 Ds" Jessie could not practice with the track team after school because he worked, so the coach helped train him before school, making him focus daily on "3 D's": dedication, determination, discipline."
In 1936, the Olympics were held in Berlin. Hitler made fun of the American team for having ten blacks and two Jews, but Jessie Owens set world records and won three gold medals. He then returned to America and took a common job as a playground instructor, where he passed the torch of life and hope to countless children, including Harrison Dillard (the only male to win Olympic medals in both sprinting and hurdling).
One speech and a handshake were enough to pass the torch to Jessie Owens. A caring school coach kept it burning. And then Jessie passed it on.
Take up the torch, run with it, and then pass it on!
Note: Flame or Smoke? Jessie Owens died at age 66 of lung cancer. Like many poor children, he'd taken up smoking early, and smoked his entire life. Don't be a smoking torch but a blazing torch!
www.amoymagic.com
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Stormy Lake or Still, Small Voice?
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Let us go over to the other side." Mark 4:35
What a vivid scene--Jesus sound asleep in a tiny boat tossing in a storm, and the disciples yelling, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" Jesus sat up, rebuked the wind and waves, and asked, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:41 NIV
1. The Parables Jesus asked, "Are you "still" afraid?" because he had spent the entire day teaching a crowd so large that he had to preach from a boat. Mark said that Jesus taught "as much as the crowd could understand", but he only used parables. By speaking indirectly, he left it open to his listeners to accept or reject as much as they were ready for--but even his own disciples did not understand the parables.
2. The Theory. Mark 4:34 says, "But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything." Imagine listening to Jesus for an entire day, and then having him explain further, one-on-one. And he finished the day with the powerful analogy of a mustard seed (in another passage, he said that faith even as small as a mustard seed could move mountains). I'm sure the disciples sat enthralled, and said the obligatory "Yeah, Lord!", "Amen," etc. But obviously it was just in their heads, not their hearts, because after a long, tiring day of teaching, Jesus said, "Let us go over to the other side."
3. Crossing the Lake. I can just imagine Jesus smiling to himself as the disciples set sail across the lake. Jesus went to sleep, the storm hit--and you know the rest. If Jesus had power over wind and waves, certainly he also knew, as did the simplest fisherman, that evening squalls were common on the Sea of Galilee?. But Jesus did not wait until morning because he knew that an entire day of teaching, followed by one-on-one explanations, had still not got his message across to his hard-headed disciples. They had dry head knowledge but no practical heart belief, so Jesus let them put the theory into practice (which, unfortunately, is often the only way we can learn).
4. Storm or Silence. The disciples could have been spared the terrifying lake crossing had they really listened to and believed Jesus' message. We, too, choose daily how we will learn. We can learn from that still, small voice within us, or we can ignore Him, and force our Father to plop us down in a small boat in a stormy lake to get our attention.
5. The Other Side. After Jesus quieted the wind and waves, the disciples exclaimed, " "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Mark 4:41 NIV. But while wind and waves obey, we often do not. We can choose to learn at his feet, or we can cross the stormy lake. Fortunately, if He does tell us to cross a stormy lake, we know that He will also take us to the other side.
And if we foolishly decide to cross a stormy lake on our own initiative, for our own purposes, well, that's another Noodle...
www.amoymagic.com
"Let us go over to the other side." Mark 4:35
What a vivid scene--Jesus sound asleep in a tiny boat tossing in a storm, and the disciples yelling, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" Jesus sat up, rebuked the wind and waves, and asked, "Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Mark 4:41 NIV
1. The Parables Jesus asked, "Are you "still" afraid?" because he had spent the entire day teaching a crowd so large that he had to preach from a boat. Mark said that Jesus taught "as much as the crowd could understand", but he only used parables. By speaking indirectly, he left it open to his listeners to accept or reject as much as they were ready for--but even his own disciples did not understand the parables.
2. The Theory. Mark 4:34 says, "But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything." Imagine listening to Jesus for an entire day, and then having him explain further, one-on-one. And he finished the day with the powerful analogy of a mustard seed (in another passage, he said that faith even as small as a mustard seed could move mountains). I'm sure the disciples sat enthralled, and said the obligatory "Yeah, Lord!", "Amen," etc. But obviously it was just in their heads, not their hearts, because after a long, tiring day of teaching, Jesus said, "Let us go over to the other side."
3. Crossing the Lake. I can just imagine Jesus smiling to himself as the disciples set sail across the lake. Jesus went to sleep, the storm hit--and you know the rest. If Jesus had power over wind and waves, certainly he also knew, as did the simplest fisherman, that evening squalls were common on the Sea of Galilee?. But Jesus did not wait until morning because he knew that an entire day of teaching, followed by one-on-one explanations, had still not got his message across to his hard-headed disciples. They had dry head knowledge but no practical heart belief, so Jesus let them put the theory into practice (which, unfortunately, is often the only way we can learn).
4. Storm or Silence. The disciples could have been spared the terrifying lake crossing had they really listened to and believed Jesus' message. We, too, choose daily how we will learn. We can learn from that still, small voice within us, or we can ignore Him, and force our Father to plop us down in a small boat in a stormy lake to get our attention.
5. The Other Side. After Jesus quieted the wind and waves, the disciples exclaimed, " "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Mark 4:41 NIV. But while wind and waves obey, we often do not. We can choose to learn at his feet, or we can cross the stormy lake. Fortunately, if He does tell us to cross a stormy lake, we know that He will also take us to the other side.
And if we foolishly decide to cross a stormy lake on our own initiative, for our own purposes, well, that's another Noodle...
www.amoymagic.com
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Ancient Crossroads
Bill B. Xiamen University
"This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'" Jer 6:16
"I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost.
Years ago, while climbing "Five Old Men Peaks" behind Nanputuo Temple with my son, who was eight then, we came to
a fork in the pathway and I asked, "Which way?" When Shannon pointed to the right, I asked why, and he said, "It goes up. Up is always more fun."
Each morning we stand at a new crossroad in life. Do our decisions take us up--or down? What should I study in college, and where? Should I marry, and when? Should I go to English Corner or stay home and sleep?
Most day-to-day decisions seem trivial, but over the decades they are the small steps that complete the "1,000 mile journey" we call life. Do our daily decisions lift us up or lead us downward? Bring us closer to our goal, or further from it? And how do we make our decisions?
In "The Art of War," Sunzi said to, "Know yourself." What goals, motives, priorities and values direct our decisions? Do we base our decisions solely on our own experience, and the short-term benefits, or do we seek wisdom to make decisions that reinforce the unique purpose of our own lives. In Jeremiah 6, Jerusalem was urged to:
1. "Stand at the crossroads and look." How many times do we race through the crossroads without even thinking about alternative paths? We already know what we want, and we just go for it, blind to other options, and sometimes we must retrace our steps with our tails between our legs.
2. "Ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is." If I were walking through swamps of quicksand, I'd rather follow a reliable map than chance getting sucked under. Fortunately, though life can seem like a swamp of quicksand, we have both a map and a Personal Guide to help us get through it. The swamp shifts daily, but the Ancient Paths and the One who guides us through them do not. The basic principles for how to live, rather than just get through life, are recorded clearly in our Father's Word, but a good example is always better than a lecture, so He also sent his Son to show us, firsthand, how to live.
3. "Walk in it and you will find rest for your souls." It is not enough to just know the path; we must walk in it. We will not be carried. We must rise daily, look at the crossroad, discern the Ancient Path--and then lace up our hiking shoes and walk.
Follow the Crowd or Keep the Course? We can live each day deliberately, with direction and purpose, or we can wander aimlessly, without direction--like the vast majority of people on our little planet. No wonder Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matt. 7:13,14
The path to failure was widened not by God but by the countless people trampling blindly down it. The road to life and purpose is narrow only because so few people choose it. But both paths, the wide and the narrow, are before each of us daily. We can choose the Ancient Path--or we can refuse. As Jeremiah said of Jerusalem, which persisted in going its own way, "But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'" Jer. 6:16
Today we face yet another Crossroads. Don't rush through that crossroads blindly. Stop, look, seek wisdom, and then follow the Ancient Path that is the surest route to purpose, fulfillment and joy.
The following story about Shannon was adapted from "Magic Xiamen--Guide to Xiamen").
Look UP! On a crisp November morning, Susan
and Matthew went shopping and Shannon and I took the road less traveled—the trail up the mountain behind Nánputuó Temple and monastery, past the sign that says “No foreigners beyond this sign,” and over the crest.
We drank deeply of the silence as we picked our way over damp boulders covered in lichen. We waded through ferns, and ducked beneath the grayish green moss covered branches. At times I sunk into reverie, imagining that we were blazing trails where no man had gone before. And every time, I was rudely yanked back into reality by the sight of Chinese characters carved deeply into the granite cliffs by ancient poets seeking immortality with a hammer and chisel centuries before Eric the Red took up real estate in Greenland.
I paused at one fork (or maybe a chopstick) in the path and asked Shannon, “Which way?”
“Up!” he said.
“Why up?” I asked.
“Because up is more fun," Shannon said.
It takes a decade or more for children to unlearn their inborn inclination to climb. By adulthood, many no longer know which way is up, or care. Yet there lingers a memory of Up, and a vague discontent for which we compensate by looking out, or in, but seldom Up. As Thoreau put it,
“We seem but to linger in manhood to tell the dreams of our childhood, and they vanish out of memory ere we learn the language.”
"What is man that you are mindful of him...You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings... You made him ruler over the works of your hands..." Psalm 8:4-6
I suspect that children are a different species, a little lower than the angels and a little higher than man, given us that we may rediscover childhood’s marvelous mix of ambition tempered with contentment. Of such is the kingdom.
Shannon and I sat on the sun-baked granite summit of the Five Old Men Mountains behind Nanputuo Temple, and I penned in my notebook,
UP
The simplest seed, entombed
ignobly on its noggin,
impugns the claims of gravity
and turning, strives to gain
the unseen sun.
Bill B. (Nov. 1997)
Life’s magic lies in looking up!
Of course, in China at least, when lo0king up, watch where you're walking.
www.amoymagic.com
"This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'" Jer 6:16
"I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference." Robert Frost.
Years ago, while climbing "Five Old Men Peaks" behind Nanputuo Temple with my son, who was eight then, we came to
a fork in the pathway and I asked, "Which way?" When Shannon pointed to the right, I asked why, and he said, "It goes up. Up is always more fun."Each morning we stand at a new crossroad in life. Do our decisions take us up--or down? What should I study in college, and where? Should I marry, and when? Should I go to English Corner or stay home and sleep?
Most day-to-day decisions seem trivial, but over the decades they are the small steps that complete the "1,000 mile journey" we call life. Do our daily decisions lift us up or lead us downward? Bring us closer to our goal, or further from it? And how do we make our decisions?
In "The Art of War," Sunzi said to, "Know yourself." What goals, motives, priorities and values direct our decisions? Do we base our decisions solely on our own experience, and the short-term benefits, or do we seek wisdom to make decisions that reinforce the unique purpose of our own lives. In Jeremiah 6, Jerusalem was urged to:
1. "Stand at the crossroads and look." How many times do we race through the crossroads without even thinking about alternative paths? We already know what we want, and we just go for it, blind to other options, and sometimes we must retrace our steps with our tails between our legs.
2. "Ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is." If I were walking through swamps of quicksand, I'd rather follow a reliable map than chance getting sucked under. Fortunately, though life can seem like a swamp of quicksand, we have both a map and a Personal Guide to help us get through it. The swamp shifts daily, but the Ancient Paths and the One who guides us through them do not. The basic principles for how to live, rather than just get through life, are recorded clearly in our Father's Word, but a good example is always better than a lecture, so He also sent his Son to show us, firsthand, how to live.
3. "Walk in it and you will find rest for your souls." It is not enough to just know the path; we must walk in it. We will not be carried. We must rise daily, look at the crossroad, discern the Ancient Path--and then lace up our hiking shoes and walk.
Follow the Crowd or Keep the Course? We can live each day deliberately, with direction and purpose, or we can wander aimlessly, without direction--like the vast majority of people on our little planet. No wonder Jesus said, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matt. 7:13,14
The path to failure was widened not by God but by the countless people trampling blindly down it. The road to life and purpose is narrow only because so few people choose it. But both paths, the wide and the narrow, are before each of us daily. We can choose the Ancient Path--or we can refuse. As Jeremiah said of Jerusalem, which persisted in going its own way, "But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'" Jer. 6:16
Today we face yet another Crossroads. Don't rush through that crossroads blindly. Stop, look, seek wisdom, and then follow the Ancient Path that is the surest route to purpose, fulfillment and joy.
The following story about Shannon was adapted from "Magic Xiamen--Guide to Xiamen").
Look UP! On a crisp November morning, Susan
and Matthew went shopping and Shannon and I took the road less traveled—the trail up the mountain behind Nánputuó Temple and monastery, past the sign that says “No foreigners beyond this sign,” and over the crest.We drank deeply of the silence as we picked our way over damp boulders covered in lichen. We waded through ferns, and ducked beneath the grayish green moss covered branches. At times I sunk into reverie, imagining that we were blazing trails where no man had gone before. And every time, I was rudely yanked back into reality by the sight of Chinese characters carved deeply into the granite cliffs by ancient poets seeking immortality with a hammer and chisel centuries before Eric the Red took up real estate in Greenland.
I paused at one fork (or maybe a chopstick) in the path and asked Shannon, “Which way?”
“Up!” he said.
“Why up?” I asked.
“Because up is more fun," Shannon said.
It takes a decade or more for children to unlearn their inborn inclination to climb. By adulthood, many no longer know which way is up, or care. Yet there lingers a memory of Up, and a vague discontent for which we compensate by looking out, or in, but seldom Up. As Thoreau put it,
“We seem but to linger in manhood to tell the dreams of our childhood, and they vanish out of memory ere we learn the language.”
"What is man that you are mindful of him...You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings... You made him ruler over the works of your hands..." Psalm 8:4-6
I suspect that children are a different species, a little lower than the angels and a little higher than man, given us that we may rediscover childhood’s marvelous mix of ambition tempered with contentment. Of such is the kingdom.
Shannon and I sat on the sun-baked granite summit of the Five Old Men Mountains behind Nanputuo Temple, and I penned in my notebook,
UP
The simplest seed, entombed
ignobly on its noggin,
impugns the claims of gravity
and turning, strives to gain
the unseen sun.
Bill B. (Nov. 1997)
Life’s magic lies in looking up!
Of course, in China at least, when lo0king up, watch where you're walking.
www.amoymagic.com
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Wal-Mart Funeral
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
Last week at XICF, LT shared what happened at Wal-Mart right after his father's funeral. What happened was--nothing! Life went on. Even in that small town, most people had no idea LT's father had been dying of cancer for six months, and had just been buried. Only a very small circle of friends knew or cared--and it would have been even smaller had LT's father not been fortunate enough to have been given a death sentence in advance so he would have time to heal his broken relationships.
Death Sentence = Life Sentence Many people say they want to die quickly and painlessly in their sleep, which is fine if you're really ready to die--but what if you're not? When doctor's told LT's father he had only six months to live, he was shocked, but as he wasted away to nothing he had time to reflect upon his life and to put some things right. For decades, he had refused to speak to family, friends and church members because he felt he had been wronged. And maybe he had been cheated, but with death staring you in the face, priorities change, and a few thousand dollars lost decades ago no longer seems important. LT's father made amends, and renewed some friendships during his final months, but as he breathed his last, and those friends stood around his bedside, I'm sure he regretted waiting so long to seek reconciliation with wife, family and friends.
Our Death Sentence. The death rate for 21st Century Asians is the same as for 21st Century Westerners: 100%. But unlike Steve Cochran, the beloved Xiamen teacher who passed away just before Christmas 2008 (see "Sown in China"), most of us don't know if we'll die in our own beds or shrivel away in a hospital bed. Do we need death to stare us in the face to humble us and awaken us to life?
Death Sentence = Humility. It is amazing how proud we can become in life, as if we are somehow responsible for the very breaths we take, but someday even the mighty Donald Trump's toupee will lie flat on his sweaty brow, and he'll worry more bedpans and bowel movements than hostile take-overs and firing incompetent mortals. What will seem important to Trump then? What will seem important to us?
Seize the Day, or Seize the Life. Although death is a certainty, life is not. We have to choose to live, rather than merely existing day-to-day. When LT's father learned he was dying, he "seized the day", but what a pity he had not "seized his life" and embraced relationships, because life is 100% about relationships. We're all tossed in together in life, like rough stones in a jeweler's tumbler, and the pommeling either polishes us or breaks us--or we can take the easy way out and separate us from others, but it is a
lonely way to go, and we do not grow.
Better or Bitter. If someone wrongs you, seek reconciliation, not revenge [I Thess. 5:!5, "don't repay evil for evil"]. If you can't work it out, forgive them. If you don't, it will eat away at you while those who wronged you go on their merry way, oblivious of your pain. When it comes to the end of the road, it will be the relationships we will value, or miss, and not the things we argued over.
The big relationship is, of course, marriage. After almost 30 years with Sue, how grateful I am that my wife and I stuck it out, even though we wanted to kill each other a few times. We are not only husband and wife but best friends, through ups and downs. I cannot imagine how life would have been without my wife and sons (and new daughter-in-law). Relationships aren't made, they are grown, over time--and they are worth the effort.
When Paul said goodbye to the Corinthians, he said, "Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." 2 Cor. 13:11
Live in peace, and our Father will live in peace with us, and in us, and will be with us even after the funeral, when everyone else has headed for Wal-Mart.
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Jesus, in Matthew 25:40
www.amoymagic.com
Last week at XICF, LT shared what happened at Wal-Mart right after his father's funeral. What happened was--nothing! Life went on. Even in that small town, most people had no idea LT's father had been dying of cancer for six months, and had just been buried. Only a very small circle of friends knew or cared--and it would have been even smaller had LT's father not been fortunate enough to have been given a death sentence in advance so he would have time to heal his broken relationships.
Death Sentence = Life Sentence Many people say they want to die quickly and painlessly in their sleep, which is fine if you're really ready to die--but what if you're not? When doctor's told LT's father he had only six months to live, he was shocked, but as he wasted away to nothing he had time to reflect upon his life and to put some things right. For decades, he had refused to speak to family, friends and church members because he felt he had been wronged. And maybe he had been cheated, but with death staring you in the face, priorities change, and a few thousand dollars lost decades ago no longer seems important. LT's father made amends, and renewed some friendships during his final months, but as he breathed his last, and those friends stood around his bedside, I'm sure he regretted waiting so long to seek reconciliation with wife, family and friends.
Our Death Sentence. The death rate for 21st Century Asians is the same as for 21st Century Westerners: 100%. But unlike Steve Cochran, the beloved Xiamen teacher who passed away just before Christmas 2008 (see "Sown in China"), most of us don't know if we'll die in our own beds or shrivel away in a hospital bed. Do we need death to stare us in the face to humble us and awaken us to life?
Death Sentence = Humility. It is amazing how proud we can become in life, as if we are somehow responsible for the very breaths we take, but someday even the mighty Donald Trump's toupee will lie flat on his sweaty brow, and he'll worry more bedpans and bowel movements than hostile take-overs and firing incompetent mortals. What will seem important to Trump then? What will seem important to us?
Seize the Day, or Seize the Life. Although death is a certainty, life is not. We have to choose to live, rather than merely existing day-to-day. When LT's father learned he was dying, he "seized the day", but what a pity he had not "seized his life" and embraced relationships, because life is 100% about relationships. We're all tossed in together in life, like rough stones in a jeweler's tumbler, and the pommeling either polishes us or breaks us--or we can take the easy way out and separate us from others, but it is a
lonely way to go, and we do not grow.Better or Bitter. If someone wrongs you, seek reconciliation, not revenge [I Thess. 5:!5, "don't repay evil for evil"]. If you can't work it out, forgive them. If you don't, it will eat away at you while those who wronged you go on their merry way, oblivious of your pain. When it comes to the end of the road, it will be the relationships we will value, or miss, and not the things we argued over.
The big relationship is, of course, marriage. After almost 30 years with Sue, how grateful I am that my wife and I stuck it out, even though we wanted to kill each other a few times. We are not only husband and wife but best friends, through ups and downs. I cannot imagine how life would have been without my wife and sons (and new daughter-in-law). Relationships aren't made, they are grown, over time--and they are worth the effort.
When Paul said goodbye to the Corinthians, he said, "Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you." 2 Cor. 13:11
Live in peace, and our Father will live in peace with us, and in us, and will be with us even after the funeral, when everyone else has headed for Wal-Mart.
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Jesus, in Matthew 25:40
www.amoymagic.com
Monday, March 16, 2009
That Kind of Movie?
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar..." Luke 3:1
That Kind of Life! When someone heard I wrote a "Noodle" about the movie Groundhog Day," they asked me, "Was it that kind of movie?" I said, "Yes, because this is that kind of life!"
If we have "ears to hear," there is a lesson to be learned in everything that our Father allows us to experience, whether it be a lofty Sunday sermon or a Friday afternoon drive through Xiamen rush hour traffic (where Darwinian Driving imparts valuable lessons in patience, humility, and survival). Not everything that happens to us is good, but everything should offer good lessons--even if the lesson is no more than "Don't do that again!"
Eyes to See Mat 13:34 records, "Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable." The parables sounded almost childlike in their simplicity, yet their profound truths escaped most people--including Jesus' disciples, because they did not have eyes to see and ears to hear.
In Matthew 13:12.13 (NIRV), Jesus said, "Everyone who has that kind of knowledge will be given more. In fact, they will have very much. If anyone doesn't have that kind of knowledge, even what little he has will be taken away from him. Here is why I use stories when I speak to the people. I say, "They look, but they don't really see. They listen, but they don't really hear or understand."
Two Ways He Talks to Us Our Father speaks to us daily in two ways--through that still small voice within us, and through that din of life outside of us. Because we seldom slow down and listen to the Voice within, we usually learn more from what happens to us rather than what happens within us. But if we want to move forward and quit repeating the same lessons over and over, we must learn from life, not just live it or observe it. To learn, we must look.
That Kind of Caesar? Luke takes great pains to point out that John the Baptist arrived during the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar's rule (and he noted other rulers as well). Was Tiberius "that kind of Caesar?" Luke's point was not that Tiberius was anything spiritual, but that John the Baptist and Jesus did not show up in a political and historical vacuum. Both of them lived and worked within the context of their world at their time--and what a time it was! The Roman Empire was corrupt, immoral and decadent, but it was also ordered, controlled, and stable, and also had a common trade language and unparalleled expanse of roads for trade. And Christ was born strategically at just that time and place in history because the Roman roads, trade language, and political stability allowed his message to spread in a way never possible before. Luke saw all this because he had eyes to see. Do we?
That Kind of China? For those with eyes to see, there are striking parallels between ancient Rome and Modern China. Despite its obvious problems, for the first time in it's 5,021* years of history, China's 1.3 billion people have stability, a common language, and a road system so comprehensive that even back in 1994 we were able to survive (barely) our 40,000 km. drive to Tibet and back (see "Tibet or Bust"). For those with eyes to see, it is an exciting time to live in China--or anywhere else.
Spectator or Participant? Those with eyes to see can detect our Father's hand at work in every detail, at every level, from personal to global. But don't just use your eyes to see. Learn from life, participate in it, and make a difference.
And while you're at it, watch "Groundhog Day." There aren't any three point sermons in it but there is a good lesson or two.
*Re: China's 5021 years of history. A Chinese professor told me that China had 5,000 years of history, but that was 21 years ago.
www.amoymagic.com
"In the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar..." Luke 3:1
That Kind of Life! When someone heard I wrote a "Noodle" about the movie Groundhog Day," they asked me, "Was it that kind of movie?" I said, "Yes, because this is that kind of life!"
If we have "ears to hear," there is a lesson to be learned in everything that our Father allows us to experience, whether it be a lofty Sunday sermon or a Friday afternoon drive through Xiamen rush hour traffic (where Darwinian Driving imparts valuable lessons in patience, humility, and survival). Not everything that happens to us is good, but everything should offer good lessons--even if the lesson is no more than "Don't do that again!"
Eyes to See Mat 13:34 records, "Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable." The parables sounded almost childlike in their simplicity, yet their profound truths escaped most people--including Jesus' disciples, because they did not have eyes to see and ears to hear.
In Matthew 13:12.13 (NIRV), Jesus said, "Everyone who has that kind of knowledge will be given more. In fact, they will have very much. If anyone doesn't have that kind of knowledge, even what little he has will be taken away from him. Here is why I use stories when I speak to the people. I say, "They look, but they don't really see. They listen, but they don't really hear or understand."
Two Ways He Talks to Us Our Father speaks to us daily in two ways--through that still small voice within us, and through that din of life outside of us. Because we seldom slow down and listen to the Voice within, we usually learn more from what happens to us rather than what happens within us. But if we want to move forward and quit repeating the same lessons over and over, we must learn from life, not just live it or observe it. To learn, we must look.
That Kind of Caesar? Luke takes great pains to point out that John the Baptist arrived during the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar's rule (and he noted other rulers as well). Was Tiberius "that kind of Caesar?" Luke's point was not that Tiberius was anything spiritual, but that John the Baptist and Jesus did not show up in a political and historical vacuum. Both of them lived and worked within the context of their world at their time--and what a time it was! The Roman Empire was corrupt, immoral and decadent, but it was also ordered, controlled, and stable, and also had a common trade language and unparalleled expanse of roads for trade. And Christ was born strategically at just that time and place in history because the Roman roads, trade language, and political stability allowed his message to spread in a way never possible before. Luke saw all this because he had eyes to see. Do we?
That Kind of China? For those with eyes to see, there are striking parallels between ancient Rome and Modern China. Despite its obvious problems, for the first time in it's 5,021* years of history, China's 1.3 billion people have stability, a common language, and a road system so comprehensive that even back in 1994 we were able to survive (barely) our 40,000 km. drive to Tibet and back (see "Tibet or Bust"). For those with eyes to see, it is an exciting time to live in China--or anywhere else.
Spectator or Participant? Those with eyes to see can detect our Father's hand at work in every detail, at every level, from personal to global. But don't just use your eyes to see. Learn from life, participate in it, and make a difference.
And while you're at it, watch "Groundhog Day." There aren't any three point sermons in it but there is a good lesson or two.
*Re: China's 5021 years of history. A Chinese professor told me that China had 5,000 years of history, but that was 21 years ago.
www.amoymagic.com
Unfading Beauty
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"[your beauty] should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." I Peter 3:4
"Beauty is only skin-deep but ugly goes clear to the bone." Popular saying.
"Ugly is skin-deep; beauty goes clear to the soul." Bill B.
Yesterday I wrote of Yongtai's lush valleys, deep gorges, rivers and streams, high mountain meadows, and wildlife. There was even beauty in the thousands of foil bags on loquat trees, sparkling on the sunlit hillsides like fields of Oriental Christmas trees. And perched proudly in the midst of Yongtai's natural splendor was an impressive new cliff-side luxury resort. But unlike living Creation, which is breathtakingly beautiful whether viewed from afar by telescope or under close scrutiny of the microscope, the resort was less impressive up close.
Workmen had slopped together some of the tiles, splattered cement on the floors, misaligned window frames, installed leaky pipes. Rust stains seeped from metal frames, the wallpaper had already peeled in places, and the wood-grain tiles had loosened. In a few years, the tree roots will buckle walkways and floors, and in a decade it will probably resemble the cheap place we spent the night (which ten years ago was sparkling new).
Back home in Xiamen, one of my favorite hotels glistens and sparkles in the public areas, but it is a constant battle to keep it that way, and the hotel has had more facelifts than Elizabeth Taylor. And take the staff's entrance and you find that behind the facade of luxury are the bare bones of painted concrete--which makes sense, of course. Why waste money on something no one sees or cares about? My point is simply that the closer we look at manmade beauty, the more we find fault with it, and over time the beauty fails, whereas the closer scientists examine the so-called "natural" Creation, the more they marvel at its intricacy and beauty, which does not unravel but unfolds. because it is alive.
A century ago, Gulangyu Islet was the richest square mile on earth. Today, most of the hundreds of opulent mansions are decaying and abandoned, the grand gates have fallen. The only survivor of Gulangyu's Colonial opulence are the giant banyan trees, which grow right out of the walls so proudly erected 80 years ago.
True beauty is not skin-deep but emanates 
from the very core of our being. True beauty is alive, and with age grows more beautiful, not less (like my Susan Marie!). Beauty dies only when we reject life, or try to live it our own way, which is rather like a child trying to improve ayour inner self, the unfading beauty of a Picasso with a crayon.
Peter said, "[your beauty] should be that of gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." I Peter 3:4
Like all Creation, we were blessed not only with life
but purpose. It is in fulfilling our unique individual purpose that we become beautiful--to others and to our Father, and experience that peaceful inner spirit that can leave a lasting legacy in the lives of those we touch.
Embrace life, purpose, and beauty.
www.amoymagic.com
Friday, March 13, 2009
Eye of the Beholder--Lilies & Geese
Bill Brown ...Xiamen University
Why the lilies & Geese
Luk 12:27 "Think about how the lilies grow. They don't work or make clothing. But here is what I tell you. Not even Solomon in all of his glory was dressed like one of those flowers.
"The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection; the water has no mind to receive their image." Zen poem
While in beautiful Yongtai, near Fuzhou, we marveled at the beauty of the White Horse Falls, the narrow gorges and streams, the vibrant colors of the wild flowers, butterflies, birds, the rich lushness of the giant ferns--even the mosses on the rocks were beautiful, as if someone had splotched the boulders with bright shades of green paint.
A lone Chinese woodsmen lived near the falls in a wooden cabin, his only companions a scraggly kitten and a beautiful white duck tethered to a rock--and it occurred to me to wonder just why I thought duck was beautiful--or why anything else was "beautiful."
I thought of Jesus comment that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like a simple lily of the field--but why is nature beautiful?
The very existence of beauty argues the existence of purpose, direction, and meaning. Beauty truly is in the "eyes of the beholder," and nature and life can be beautiful to us only because we see nature through the eyes of our Father, our creator. If we did not have his heart and soul, his breath to animate us, we would be no more than the animals. A cat catching a fish does not see beauty in the iridiscent sparkling of the fish's wet scales in the sunlight. The eyes of the feline beholder sees nothing but a meal to toy with and then devour.
A 20-year-old would not see beauty, perhaps, in a 60-year-old worn with life, but her husband, who has seen her mature, and mother his children, and become her best friend, would perhaps see more beauty in her than the day he married her--the beauty within that animates her every expression and emotion. He sees beauty in her because he loves her.
The Bible says our Father created the heavens and the earth and then said, "It is good." It was beautiful to Him because he had lovingly created it, and he loved it--and us. And we see beauty in nature because we see through our Father's eyes, whether we care to admit we have such a Father or not.
In an increasingly chaotic world, isn't it refreshing to just sit on a rock in a Fujian mountain spring and bask in the sun, and listen to the rippling creek, and watch the butterflies and listen to the birds? Why do the birds and the creek make music instead of noise?
Beauty and music are in the eyes and ears of the Beholder. We see through our Father's eyes--but what does he see through ours?
Consider the lilies of the field, the wild geese, the canopy of stars at night, and listen for the still small voice of the Father who whispers why it is beautiful.
www.amoymagic.com
Why the lilies & Geese
Luk 12:27 "Think about how the lilies grow. They don't work or make clothing. But here is what I tell you. Not even Solomon in all of his glory was dressed like one of those flowers.
"The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection; the water has no mind to receive their image." Zen poem
While in beautiful Yongtai, near Fuzhou, we marveled at the beauty of the White Horse Falls, the narrow gorges and streams, the vibrant colors of the wild flowers, butterflies, birds, the rich lushness of the giant ferns--even the mosses on the rocks were beautiful, as if someone had splotched the boulders with bright shades of green paint.
A lone Chinese woodsmen lived near the falls in a wooden cabin, his only companions a scraggly kitten and a beautiful white duck tethered to a rock--and it occurred to me to wonder just why I thought duck was beautiful--or why anything else was "beautiful."
I thought of Jesus comment that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like a simple lily of the field--but why is nature beautiful?
The very existence of beauty argues the existence of purpose, direction, and meaning. Beauty truly is in the "eyes of the beholder," and nature and life can be beautiful to us only because we see nature through the eyes of our Father, our creator. If we did not have his heart and soul, his breath to animate us, we would be no more than the animals. A cat catching a fish does not see beauty in the iridiscent sparkling of the fish's wet scales in the sunlight. The eyes of the feline beholder sees nothing but a meal to toy with and then devour.
A 20-year-old would not see beauty, perhaps, in a 60-year-old worn with life, but her husband, who has seen her mature, and mother his children, and become her best friend, would perhaps see more beauty in her than the day he married her--the beauty within that animates her every expression and emotion. He sees beauty in her because he loves her.
The Bible says our Father created the heavens and the earth and then said, "It is good." It was beautiful to Him because he had lovingly created it, and he loved it--and us. And we see beauty in nature because we see through our Father's eyes, whether we care to admit we have such a Father or not.
In an increasingly chaotic world, isn't it refreshing to just sit on a rock in a Fujian mountain spring and bask in the sun, and listen to the rippling creek, and watch the butterflies and listen to the birds? Why do the birds and the creek make music instead of noise?
Beauty and music are in the eyes and ears of the Beholder. We see through our Father's eyes--but what does he see through ours?
Consider the lilies of the field, the wild geese, the canopy of stars at night, and listen for the still small voice of the Father who whispers why it is beautiful.
www.amoymagic.com
Off the road
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
Hi! I'm off into the mountains, and no internet access, for a couple days.
Blessings,
Bill
www.amoymagic.com
Hi! I'm off into the mountains, and no internet access, for a couple days.
Blessings,
Bill
www.amoymagic.com
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Soaring Achievement or Faulty Bows?
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow." Psalm 78:57
"We are the bow and they are the arrow" (Kahlil Gibran)
Li Chengfen (1600 A.D.), said that archery flowing from the heart to the hands creates a sense of "inexpressible soaring achievement." Given that the Bible likens us to bows (some faulty, some faithful), I wonder if the Archer who wields us feels such a sense of achievement? I'm certain he was pleased with John Lloyd, who came to Xiamen in December, 1844 to serve in the Amoy Mission.
Within two years of Lloyd's arrival, he spoke Amoy Dialect so well that locals said they could not tell from his voice that he was a foreigner! It seems a waste, therefore, that this diligent and gifted man died within four years, in Dec. 1846.
But the arrows that Lloyd let fly during those four years are hitting their target even today, because his notebooks on the Amoy Dialect were the foundation for Carstairs Douglas' Amoy Bibles, and the Amoy dictionaries used by businessmen, diplomats, missionaries, and even the Chinese. Lloyd was certainly no "faulty bow." Are we?
1. The Archer. If we are bows, there must be an archer. What do we know about Him? The entire Bible echoes Jesus' theme that God is our Father, and wants not rites and religion but love for God and one another, not sacrifice but obedience and justice.
Samuel said, "To obey is better than sacrifice." 1 Sam. 15:22 And what are we to obey? Jesus said the entire Bible was summed up in, "Love God, and your neighbor as yourself." (Matt. 22:37-39). If we have love, justice and mercy will follow.
2. What Kind of Bow? Our life would be meaningless without direction or purpose. Fortunately, even as there are many kinds of bows for different purposes--long bows, cross-bows, compound bows, recurve bows, we too have been individually crafted for special purposes befitting our unique personalities, abilities, likes and dislikes. Are we faithful to our design? When the master wields us, do we bend, or do we balk until we break?
3. Our Arrows Bows are useless without arrows. Lloyd's arrows were his gift for languages, his diligence in studying, his perseverance, and his winning personality. We develop our own arrows as we gain experience and knowledge and sharpen our skills and abilities. Are our arrows dull sticks that bounce off the targets, or straight and finely feathered, and sharp enough to stick?
4. The Targets. We can tell the kind of target we are to be used for by looking at the kind of bow we have become (who we are), and the kinds of arrows we have (what we can do). Are we faithful to our purpose, or are we the unfaithful "faulty bows" of Psalms?
5. Soaring Achievement. We all want success, but that is okay because that is the way our Father created us. We were each created for a unique purpose, and when we hit the target, both we and our Father experience Li Chengfen's inexpressible joy of "soaring achievement".
Conclusion: Other Bows To be used by the Master is a privilege, not a right. If refuse to be used, the Archer has many other bows. As Talmage wrote after Lloyd's death, "What a lesson this, that we must not overestimate our importance in the work to which God has called us. He can do without us."
God can do without us, but he does not want to do without us--and we most certainly cannot do without Him. Your Father wants you to share with him the "inexpressible soaring achievement." Discover the unique target he has prepared for you and go for it.
Related Blogs:
Discipline or Death: (why the 1000 mile journey does not begin with the first step!).
Trust God, but Keep your Knife Sharp:
Have Faith, then Shovel Mountains (Faith and works):
Grandpa's Pearl Knife (Ready for what we pray for?):
Snake or Fish (Xiamen Univ. "fish story"):
Chinese Archery Quotes:
Confucius was an archery instructor, and taught that archery was mastered in the mind, not in the hands (even as Chinese strategists said battles were won or lost in the mind before entering the battlefield).
An archery quote attributed to Confucius: "Thus archers were required to meet the requirements of the rituals on entering, leaving or making turning movements in any direction. When their minds were composed and their posture straight, they grasped the bow and arrow and concentrated. Only when the archer had grasped the bow and arrow and concentrated was it possible to talk of meeting the requirements of the Rituals."
The Ming writer, Li Chengfen (c. 1600), wrote:
But in the end, a bow and arrows are just tools. Archery is no more than a skill. The ‘tool’ represents the lower form, the ‘method’ represents the higher form. ‘Skill’ represents preparedness at the lower level, ‘virtue’ represents preparedness at the higher level. [Confucius said:] ‘There is more to the rituals than jade and brocades; there is more to ritual music than bells and drums.’ [Likewise,] there is more to archery than bows and arrows. The pulling of bows and grasping of arrows is a method of ‘study at ground-level’; but when [the skill] comes naturally to your hands and flows from the heart, then it becomes ‘a soaring achievement.’ I can write about the ‘study at ground level’, but words cannot express the ‘soaring achievement.’
www.amoymagic.com
"Like their fathers they were disloyal and faithless, as unreliable as a faulty bow." Psalm 78:57
"We are the bow and they are the arrow" (Kahlil Gibran)
Li Chengfen (1600 A.D.), said that archery flowing from the heart to the hands creates a sense of "inexpressible soaring achievement." Given that the Bible likens us to bows (some faulty, some faithful), I wonder if the Archer who wields us feels such a sense of achievement? I'm certain he was pleased with John Lloyd, who came to Xiamen in December, 1844 to serve in the Amoy Mission.
Within two years of Lloyd's arrival, he spoke Amoy Dialect so well that locals said they could not tell from his voice that he was a foreigner! It seems a waste, therefore, that this diligent and gifted man died within four years, in Dec. 1846.
But the arrows that Lloyd let fly during those four years are hitting their target even today, because his notebooks on the Amoy Dialect were the foundation for Carstairs Douglas' Amoy Bibles, and the Amoy dictionaries used by businessmen, diplomats, missionaries, and even the Chinese. Lloyd was certainly no "faulty bow." Are we?
1. The Archer. If we are bows, there must be an archer. What do we know about Him? The entire Bible echoes Jesus' theme that God is our Father, and wants not rites and religion but love for God and one another, not sacrifice but obedience and justice.
Samuel said, "To obey is better than sacrifice." 1 Sam. 15:22 And what are we to obey? Jesus said the entire Bible was summed up in, "Love God, and your neighbor as yourself." (Matt. 22:37-39). If we have love, justice and mercy will follow.
2. What Kind of Bow? Our life would be meaningless without direction or purpose. Fortunately, even as there are many kinds of bows for different purposes--long bows, cross-bows, compound bows, recurve bows, we too have been individually crafted for special purposes befitting our unique personalities, abilities, likes and dislikes. Are we faithful to our design? When the master wields us, do we bend, or do we balk until we break?
3. Our Arrows Bows are useless without arrows. Lloyd's arrows were his gift for languages, his diligence in studying, his perseverance, and his winning personality. We develop our own arrows as we gain experience and knowledge and sharpen our skills and abilities. Are our arrows dull sticks that bounce off the targets, or straight and finely feathered, and sharp enough to stick?
4. The Targets. We can tell the kind of target we are to be used for by looking at the kind of bow we have become (who we are), and the kinds of arrows we have (what we can do). Are we faithful to our purpose, or are we the unfaithful "faulty bows" of Psalms?
5. Soaring Achievement. We all want success, but that is okay because that is the way our Father created us. We were each created for a unique purpose, and when we hit the target, both we and our Father experience Li Chengfen's inexpressible joy of "soaring achievement".
Conclusion: Other Bows To be used by the Master is a privilege, not a right. If refuse to be used, the Archer has many other bows. As Talmage wrote after Lloyd's death, "What a lesson this, that we must not overestimate our importance in the work to which God has called us. He can do without us."
God can do without us, but he does not want to do without us--and we most certainly cannot do without Him. Your Father wants you to share with him the "inexpressible soaring achievement." Discover the unique target he has prepared for you and go for it.
Related Blogs:
Discipline or Death: (why the 1000 mile journey does not begin with the first step!).
Trust God, but Keep your Knife Sharp:
Have Faith, then Shovel Mountains (Faith and works):
Grandpa's Pearl Knife (Ready for what we pray for?):
Snake or Fish (Xiamen Univ. "fish story"):
Chinese Archery Quotes:
Confucius was an archery instructor, and taught that archery was mastered in the mind, not in the hands (even as Chinese strategists said battles were won or lost in the mind before entering the battlefield).
An archery quote attributed to Confucius: "Thus archers were required to meet the requirements of the rituals on entering, leaving or making turning movements in any direction. When their minds were composed and their posture straight, they grasped the bow and arrow and concentrated. Only when the archer had grasped the bow and arrow and concentrated was it possible to talk of meeting the requirements of the Rituals."
The Ming writer, Li Chengfen (c. 1600), wrote:
But in the end, a bow and arrows are just tools. Archery is no more than a skill. The ‘tool’ represents the lower form, the ‘method’ represents the higher form. ‘Skill’ represents preparedness at the lower level, ‘virtue’ represents preparedness at the higher level. [Confucius said:] ‘There is more to the rituals than jade and brocades; there is more to ritual music than bells and drums.’ [Likewise,] there is more to archery than bows and arrows. The pulling of bows and grasping of arrows is a method of ‘study at ground-level’; but when [the skill] comes naturally to your hands and flows from the heart, then it becomes ‘a soaring achievement.’ I can write about the ‘study at ground level’, but words cannot express the ‘soaring achievement.’
www.amoymagic.com
Monday, March 9, 2009
Fighting Fear with Fear
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." Exodus 20:20 NIV
"A single spark can start a forest fire." Mao Zedong
"A single Spark can stop a forest fire." Bill Brown
Author Jill Briscoe shared during a Hong Kong conference how during her youth in war-time London her sister warned her against going to a wild party. When she refused to listen, her sister said, "Well, be careful. If you got pregnant, think what it would do to Dad." During the party, when Jill refused to pair off and head for the upstairs bedrooms with the others, the boy with her said, "You're just afraid of what your father will do to you."
Jill replied, "No, I'm afraid of what this would do to my Father."
Jill's fear was not just of her father but for her father because she loved him. And this healthy fear probably kept her from making many youthful mistakes that could have destroyed her life. It is the same way with fear of our Heavenly Father.
NonChristians often criticize the Bible for warning us to "Fear God." Why fear a loving Father? Exodus 20:20 even seems rather contradictory, with "Do not be afraid" followed with "the fear of God will be with you!" But the fear of our Father is like Jill's fear of and for her father, who wanted the best for her, that she could live a life without fear.
I love my sons and would have preferred that they never fear me. But during the years that they were omniscient teens, if they would not obey me out of love or respect, I preferred they obey me out of fear, because I wanted to protect them from harm that could have lasting consequences.
In the same way, our Father's goal is not to "spoil" his child's fun by limiting us, but to make life even more enjoyable and rewarding, and to free us from the fear of harm or failure.
Fear Fights Fear Uzziah was only 16 when he became King, and he reigned in in Jerusalem 52 years. It is written, "He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success." 2 Chronicles 26:5 NIV.
Zechariah instructed Uzziah to fear God, not because God wanted to hurt him, but because God wanted to ensure Uzziah freedom from failure and fear of others. As Jeremiah 29:11 so clearly puts it, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." NIV
I was delighted to become Xiamen's "Firefighting Ambassador" in 2006 because, like many American children, I wanted to be a firefighter when I was a child. I did become a volunteer fire fighter in Taiwan, and I learned firsthand that sometimes the only defense from fire was to set a strategic fire around us to destroy the encoraching fire's fuel.
In today's chaotic world, our media daily proves the truth of Mao's "a single flame can start a forest fire". The news networks fan small worries into overpowering and debilitating fears that assault us from all directions. But the Bible teaches, "Fear God...fear not." Our healthy fear of our Father can be the fire that fights fire--a strong wall that does not limit us but frees us and empowers us.
"Fear God...fear not."
"The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today." Deuteronomy 6:24 NIV
A Candle in the Gale
Related Verses:
Exo 18:21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
www.amoymagic.com
Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning." Exodus 20:20 NIV
"A single spark can start a forest fire." Mao Zedong
"A single Spark can stop a forest fire." Bill Brown
Author Jill Briscoe shared during a Hong Kong conference how during her youth in war-time London her sister warned her against going to a wild party. When she refused to listen, her sister said, "Well, be careful. If you got pregnant, think what it would do to Dad." During the party, when Jill refused to pair off and head for the upstairs bedrooms with the others, the boy with her said, "You're just afraid of what your father will do to you."
Jill replied, "No, I'm afraid of what this would do to my Father."
Jill's fear was not just of her father but for her father because she loved him. And this healthy fear probably kept her from making many youthful mistakes that could have destroyed her life. It is the same way with fear of our Heavenly Father.
NonChristians often criticize the Bible for warning us to "Fear God." Why fear a loving Father? Exodus 20:20 even seems rather contradictory, with "Do not be afraid" followed with "the fear of God will be with you!" But the fear of our Father is like Jill's fear of and for her father, who wanted the best for her, that she could live a life without fear.
I love my sons and would have preferred that they never fear me. But during the years that they were omniscient teens, if they would not obey me out of love or respect, I preferred they obey me out of fear, because I wanted to protect them from harm that could have lasting consequences.
In the same way, our Father's goal is not to "spoil" his child's fun by limiting us, but to make life even more enjoyable and rewarding, and to free us from the fear of harm or failure.
Fear Fights Fear Uzziah was only 16 when he became King, and he reigned in in Jerusalem 52 years. It is written, "He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success." 2 Chronicles 26:5 NIV.
Zechariah instructed Uzziah to fear God, not because God wanted to hurt him, but because God wanted to ensure Uzziah freedom from failure and fear of others. As Jeremiah 29:11 so clearly puts it, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." NIV
I was delighted to become Xiamen's "Firefighting Ambassador" in 2006 because, like many American children, I wanted to be a firefighter when I was a child. I did become a volunteer fire fighter in Taiwan, and I learned firsthand that sometimes the only defense from fire was to set a strategic fire around us to destroy the encoraching fire's fuel.
In today's chaotic world, our media daily proves the truth of Mao's "a single flame can start a forest fire". The news networks fan small worries into overpowering and debilitating fears that assault us from all directions. But the Bible teaches, "Fear God...fear not." Our healthy fear of our Father can be the fire that fights fire--a strong wall that does not limit us but frees us and empowers us.
"Fear God...fear not."
"The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today." Deuteronomy 6:24 NIV
A Candle in the Gale
Related Verses:
Exo 18:21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.
www.amoymagic.com
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Whose Harps?
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Berthold Auerbach (German novelist, 1812-1882)
"We played the flute for you and you did not dance." Matt. 11:17
My good friend Margaret Canavon just shared about a Peruvian harp concert, though the harpist was actually a Cuban who grew up in Venezuela and gave up his medical practice to play and teach harp in California (figure t
hat out!). The miraculous provision of a harp when he was an impoverished youth in Cuba reminded me of my own harp miracle...
When I was young my parents could not afford instruments so I made my own--garden-hose flutes and panpipes, Quaker oatmeal box drums, wooden cigar-box guitars, stick and string violins. The first major purchase I ever made was a guitar. And while in the Air Force in Taiwan I fell in love with the Chinese zheng (zither, harp), so I was delighted when years later, Sue bought me a Chinese harp for my wedding present in Taiwan. But while returning from our Taiwan honeymoon, I left my beautiful Chinese harp on a San Francisco airport bus.
I was so discouraged. I'd lost my wedding present even before I got it home--and there was no identification on it or in it, so no way for it to be returned to me. But to my surprise, a month later I was called to the school's office--and there was my harp! Someone had found it on the San Francisco bus and somehow traced it to me, and delivered it right to my school in Los Angeles! I had no idea even who to thank, but I certainly knew to thank my Father, who went to so much trouble to return a Chinese harp to his careless child because He knew how important the harp was to me. He also appreciate the importance of music to me.
Music --the Language of God. Mathematics is often called the language of God, but if so, I think math is the written word, and music his spoken word, his actual voice. We see mathematics at work in the order and genius of creation, but we hear the music within our hearts and souls. Good music lifts us up, and heals, as it resonates with our Father's song within. Good music transports me back to the time when we walked hand-in-hand with our Father in the Garden.
But what happens when music, even the sweetest, does not reinforce but replaces the Song within us? Amos (6:1,4,5,7--see below) wrote that complacent Israel would be exiled because of their feasts and wine and "sweet music," which served only to deaden them to their inner emptiness, and to the injustice around them.
The Day My Music Died Before marriage, my house in Texas had little furniture but it did have wall to wall shelves for my books and my hundreds of record albums (real records--the vinyl kind). I had every genre imaginable, from classic and Gregorian Chants to Celtic and 70s Rock. I lived and breathed music, but I slowly realized my obsession with music was beginning to silence the music within. I struggled with the growing inner silence, and in the end decided to give up the music, at least for awhile.
Jesus said, "If your hand offends you, cut it off..." I piled my hundreds of albums in the back yard and set them ablaze. As clouds of black smoke wafted heavenward, like some hellish offering in an Oriental temple, I felt as if part of me died with my record collection. But I also felt an unexpected sense of relief and release, like an addict who had survived going "cold turkey."
For a couple years, the only music I listened to was what I played on my guitar and other instruments. Today, I again enjoy others' music but I am careful that the music outside of me never again desensitizes me to the music within--that still, small voice that not only whispers but also sings softly to His child.
In closing...I certainly do not recommend burning your music! Music is one of God's greatest gifts to his children. But if it should threaten to supplant the Song within us, it would be better to feast on the Sounds of Silence for awhile.
Related Blog:
The Sounds Within the Silence
New Day, New Song (Karaoke Theology)
Related verses:
"...holding harps of God." Rev. 15:2 NAS
Amo 6:1, 4, 5,7 "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,...You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments....Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.
Isaiah 14:11 "Your pomp and the music of your harps have been brought down to Sheol (the grave)." NAS
www.amoymagic.com
“Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Berthold Auerbach (German novelist, 1812-1882)
"We played the flute for you and you did not dance." Matt. 11:17
My good friend Margaret Canavon just shared about a Peruvian harp concert, though the harpist was actually a Cuban who grew up in Venezuela and gave up his medical practice to play and teach harp in California (figure t
hat out!). The miraculous provision of a harp when he was an impoverished youth in Cuba reminded me of my own harp miracle...When I was young my parents could not afford instruments so I made my own--garden-hose flutes and panpipes, Quaker oatmeal box drums, wooden cigar-box guitars, stick and string violins. The first major purchase I ever made was a guitar. And while in the Air Force in Taiwan I fell in love with the Chinese zheng (zither, harp), so I was delighted when years later, Sue bought me a Chinese harp for my wedding present in Taiwan. But while returning from our Taiwan honeymoon, I left my beautiful Chinese harp on a San Francisco airport bus.
I was so discouraged. I'd lost my wedding present even before I got it home--and there was no identification on it or in it, so no way for it to be returned to me. But to my surprise, a month later I was called to the school's office--and there was my harp! Someone had found it on the San Francisco bus and somehow traced it to me, and delivered it right to my school in Los Angeles! I had no idea even who to thank, but I certainly knew to thank my Father, who went to so much trouble to return a Chinese harp to his careless child because He knew how important the harp was to me. He also appreciate the importance of music to me.
Music --the Language of God. Mathematics is often called the language of God, but if so, I think math is the written word, and music his spoken word, his actual voice. We see mathematics at work in the order and genius of creation, but we hear the music within our hearts and souls. Good music lifts us up, and heals, as it resonates with our Father's song within. Good music transports me back to the time when we walked hand-in-hand with our Father in the Garden.
But what happens when music, even the sweetest, does not reinforce but replaces the Song within us? Amos (6:1,4,5,7--see below) wrote that complacent Israel would be exiled because of their feasts and wine and "sweet music," which served only to deaden them to their inner emptiness, and to the injustice around them.
The Day My Music Died Before marriage, my house in Texas had little furniture but it did have wall to wall shelves for my books and my hundreds of record albums (real records--the vinyl kind). I had every genre imaginable, from classic and Gregorian Chants to Celtic and 70s Rock. I lived and breathed music, but I slowly realized my obsession with music was beginning to silence the music within. I struggled with the growing inner silence, and in the end decided to give up the music, at least for awhile.
Jesus said, "If your hand offends you, cut it off..." I piled my hundreds of albums in the back yard and set them ablaze. As clouds of black smoke wafted heavenward, like some hellish offering in an Oriental temple, I felt as if part of me died with my record collection. But I also felt an unexpected sense of relief and release, like an addict who had survived going "cold turkey."
For a couple years, the only music I listened to was what I played on my guitar and other instruments. Today, I again enjoy others' music but I am careful that the music outside of me never again desensitizes me to the music within--that still, small voice that not only whispers but also sings softly to His child.
In closing...I certainly do not recommend burning your music! Music is one of God's greatest gifts to his children. But if it should threaten to supplant the Song within us, it would be better to feast on the Sounds of Silence for awhile.
Related Blog:
The Sounds Within the Silence
New Day, New Song (Karaoke Theology)
Related verses:
"...holding harps of God." Rev. 15:2 NAS
Amo 6:1, 4, 5,7 "Woe to you who are complacent in Zion,...You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves.You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments....Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end.
Isaiah 14:11 "Your pomp and the music of your harps have been brought down to Sheol (the grave)." NAS
www.amoymagic.com
Friday, March 6, 2009
Timbuctoo or Tampa?
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"All things work for good." Romans 8:28
"Anything but China!" Robert Morrison, 1st Protestant Missionary to China.
When I was young, the word "Timbuctoo" conjured up visions of the absolutely remotest place on the planet that one could go to--and that is exactly where China's first Protestant missionary, Robert Morrison, planned to go! He had heard that the London Missionary Society planned to open a station in Timbuctoo, Africa, and decided that was for him. But while he prepared for Africa, he also constantly prayed that God would send him to wherever the obstacles and difficulties were greatest, even seemingly insurmountable. So of course he ended up not in Timbuctoo but China!
Everyone was against Morrison. The Chinese didn't want him (it was a capital offense for a foreigner to learn Chinese, or for a Chinese to teach it!). The British didn't want him--lest his illegal activities hurt their trade. Lonely, discouraged, and ill, at one point he complained that he would gladly give up China for any job in England or Scotland that would pay him a paltry $250 a year! But he persevered, and the rest is history.
I had my heart set on Africa as well, and then South America--and then I wandered into the Air Force recruiter's office out of curiosity and, to my surprise (and regret) wandered out again enlisted. The first day of basic training I suspected I had made a big mistake--and I was certain it was a mistake after training. One reason I joined was to see the far corners of the world, but instead of Timbuctoo, I was sent Tampa, just 45 miles from home! How I chafed at the bit. But my "mistake" in joining the Air Force was the best thing that ever happened to me because I learned a lot about discipline, perseverance, and professionalism--and it was the Air Force that sent me to Taiwan, where I fell in love with China (and that led me to Susan Marie as well).
Perhaps the reason the Air Force was so good for me was that it was indeed a "mistake." It was totally unlike what I expected, or even wanted--but that was what made it so good for me. We often talk about God being a potter and we being the clay, but the clay must be shaped to be useful. To be shaped, the potter must apply pressure to it, and mold it. The clay is no use unless shaped, and if it is not flexible, the clay breaks and is useless.
We must change if we are to grow, but change only follows conflict. It is our problems and pressures that change us--or break us (though I'm certainly not one of those brave souls that prays for problems to strengthen them).
Though I may well have made a mistake in joining the Air Force, I am fortunate that my Father does work even my mistakes towards the ultimate good. (Romans 8:28 does not say that all things are good, but that all things work together for good. And that's good enough for me.)
I've made so many mistakes over the years, but in retrospect I marvel at how every mistake was used to teach me a lesson, even if it was no more than, "Don't do that again, Dummy." And today we may be in the wrong place--Timbuctoo, Tampa, even China. But I press ahead anyway, confident that I will eventually learn the lesson that this mistake offers, and be led to the right place--which hopefully isn't Tampa again.
www.amoymagic.com
"All things work for good." Romans 8:28
"Anything but China!" Robert Morrison, 1st Protestant Missionary to China.
When I was young, the word "Timbuctoo" conjured up visions of the absolutely remotest place on the planet that one could go to--and that is exactly where China's first Protestant missionary, Robert Morrison, planned to go! He had heard that the London Missionary Society planned to open a station in Timbuctoo, Africa, and decided that was for him. But while he prepared for Africa, he also constantly prayed that God would send him to wherever the obstacles and difficulties were greatest, even seemingly insurmountable. So of course he ended up not in Timbuctoo but China!
Everyone was against Morrison. The Chinese didn't want him (it was a capital offense for a foreigner to learn Chinese, or for a Chinese to teach it!). The British didn't want him--lest his illegal activities hurt their trade. Lonely, discouraged, and ill, at one point he complained that he would gladly give up China for any job in England or Scotland that would pay him a paltry $250 a year! But he persevered, and the rest is history.
I had my heart set on Africa as well, and then South America--and then I wandered into the Air Force recruiter's office out of curiosity and, to my surprise (and regret) wandered out again enlisted. The first day of basic training I suspected I had made a big mistake--and I was certain it was a mistake after training. One reason I joined was to see the far corners of the world, but instead of Timbuctoo, I was sent Tampa, just 45 miles from home! How I chafed at the bit. But my "mistake" in joining the Air Force was the best thing that ever happened to me because I learned a lot about discipline, perseverance, and professionalism--and it was the Air Force that sent me to Taiwan, where I fell in love with China (and that led me to Susan Marie as well).
Perhaps the reason the Air Force was so good for me was that it was indeed a "mistake." It was totally unlike what I expected, or even wanted--but that was what made it so good for me. We often talk about God being a potter and we being the clay, but the clay must be shaped to be useful. To be shaped, the potter must apply pressure to it, and mold it. The clay is no use unless shaped, and if it is not flexible, the clay breaks and is useless.
We must change if we are to grow, but change only follows conflict. It is our problems and pressures that change us--or break us (though I'm certainly not one of those brave souls that prays for problems to strengthen them).
Though I may well have made a mistake in joining the Air Force, I am fortunate that my Father does work even my mistakes towards the ultimate good. (Romans 8:28 does not say that all things are good, but that all things work together for good. And that's good enough for me.)
I've made so many mistakes over the years, but in retrospect I marvel at how every mistake was used to teach me a lesson, even if it was no more than, "Don't do that again, Dummy." And today we may be in the wrong place--Timbuctoo, Tampa, even China. But I press ahead anyway, confident that I will eventually learn the lesson that this mistake offers, and be led to the right place--which hopefully isn't Tampa again.
www.amoymagic.com
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Night after Groundhog Day
Bill Brown ... Xiamen University
"I die daily." 1 Cor. 15:31
"Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, The death of each day's life..."Macbeth
In "Groundhog Day." Bill Murray plays an arrogant, self-centered TV weatherman who visits a small town to report on Groundhog day--and gets trapped into reliving the same day over and over. At first, he thinks that waking up at 6 a.m. on the same day over and over is heaven. He can do anything he wants without worrying about the consequences because the next day he gets to start again from scratch. He thinks he's a god because he knows in advance every detail of the day ahead of him, and he twists them to his own demented ends. But as boredom and senselessness set in, this heaven becomes hell--and he makes life hell for everyone else as well. Eventually, something clicks in his head or in his heart. His scorn and bitterness give way to understanding, acceptance, perhaps even love. He weeps when an old man dies of starvation and cold, and when the nurse says, "Sometimes people just die," he replies, "Not on this day." He then sets out to make his one eternal day perfect, doing all he can for every person he encounters. And in the end.... Well, watch the movie to find out if there is an end!
I Die Nightly? What a blessing that we don't have to repeat the same day over and over until we get it right. Like Paul, who had to "die daily" (1 Cor. 15:31), we have the opportunity to be recreated each morning. As D.H. Lawrence wrote,
"And if tonight my soul may find her peace
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created."
~D.H. Lawrence
We awaken from the "little death" each new day (over 25,000 of them in 70 years!) to the same life but to new opportunities to do it differently. Hopefully each day brings us a little closer to becoming the kind of child our Father meant for us to be, and we are closer to the day that we shall Awaken into the real Life.
I'm not sure what is ahead this today, but I'm thankful it is a new day, and not just a repeat of yesterday. I'm going to start it off with some quiet time with my Father, getting centered, and getting some direction--and then I'm going to see what this new day has in store for me.
Go rent a copy of "Groundhog Day," and after you've watched it, be thankful that we don't have to relive the same life over and over, but are blessed with a new life each new day.
A favorite "Sleep" quote
"Sleep is the interest we have to pay on the capital which is called in at death; and the higher the rate of interest and the more regularly it is paid, the further the date of redemption is postponed." ~Arthur Schopenhauer
More about sleep and rest:
http://ourdailynoodles.blogspot.com/2008/11/3-reasons-why-67.html
"Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care
The death of each day's life...": sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast." Macbeth
www.amoymagic.com
"I die daily." 1 Cor. 15:31
"Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, The death of each day's life..."Macbeth
In "Groundhog Day." Bill Murray plays an arrogant, self-centered TV weatherman who visits a small town to report on Groundhog day--and gets trapped into reliving the same day over and over. At first, he thinks that waking up at 6 a.m. on the same day over and over is heaven. He can do anything he wants without worrying about the consequences because the next day he gets to start again from scratch. He thinks he's a god because he knows in advance every detail of the day ahead of him, and he twists them to his own demented ends. But as boredom and senselessness set in, this heaven becomes hell--and he makes life hell for everyone else as well. Eventually, something clicks in his head or in his heart. His scorn and bitterness give way to understanding, acceptance, perhaps even love. He weeps when an old man dies of starvation and cold, and when the nurse says, "Sometimes people just die," he replies, "Not on this day." He then sets out to make his one eternal day perfect, doing all he can for every person he encounters. And in the end.... Well, watch the movie to find out if there is an end!
I Die Nightly? What a blessing that we don't have to repeat the same day over and over until we get it right. Like Paul, who had to "die daily" (1 Cor. 15:31), we have the opportunity to be recreated each morning. As D.H. Lawrence wrote,
"And if tonight my soul may find her peace
in sleep, and sink in good oblivion,
and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower
then I have been dipped again in God, and new-created."
~D.H. Lawrence
We awaken from the "little death" each new day (over 25,000 of them in 70 years!) to the same life but to new opportunities to do it differently. Hopefully each day brings us a little closer to becoming the kind of child our Father meant for us to be, and we are closer to the day that we shall Awaken into the real Life.
I'm not sure what is ahead this today, but I'm thankful it is a new day, and not just a repeat of yesterday. I'm going to start it off with some quiet time with my Father, getting centered, and getting some direction--and then I'm going to see what this new day has in store for me.
Go rent a copy of "Groundhog Day," and after you've watched it, be thankful that we don't have to relive the same life over and over, but are blessed with a new life each new day.
A favorite "Sleep" quote
"Sleep is the interest we have to pay on the capital which is called in at death; and the higher the rate of interest and the more regularly it is paid, the further the date of redemption is postponed." ~Arthur Schopenhauer
More about sleep and rest:
http://ourdailynoodles.blogspot.com/2008/11/3-reasons-why-67.html
"Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care
The death of each day's life...": sore labour's bath
Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,
Chief nourisher in life's feast." Macbeth
www.amoymagic.com
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