View of My Sneaker Facing Palomar Mtns to the East on June 1, 2015

Photo #5/9 » View of My Sneaker
Facing Palomar Mtns to the East

Happy beginning of National Cancer Survivor Week.
Time to put my feet up and convalesce.

Sometimes I plug in the ear buds and play this super relaxing, trancey music
and I am gonzo gone.

» Stars

Tho I will tell you a secret, my friend.
If you promise not to tell anyone.

The best time to come out here to this spot, to this chair .. is at night.
Particularly on nights when there is no moon, or a new moon.

When the sky is dark .. so you can see the stars.
We are a good ways from urban centers, so the stars come out in force.

I am thinking of getting a telescope.
Especially since the Palomar observatory sits yonder right across the way.

And the chair is always wet at night due to condensation. So I have to flip the cushions or bring a towel.
And sometimes I even bring along a blankie.

And I position the chair so that its angle is laid back.
And I look up at the sky, the starry sky.

» Gratitude

And I feel grateful to be alive.
Genuinely, no-shit grateful.

And for not having tubes sticking out of my body.
And for not needing an oxygen bottle nearby.
You know.

And I sometimes think about what the Psalmist thought.
When he stared up into a similar night sky.
Some centuries ago.
Millenia, actually.

» Watching

And sometimes, particularly when I am feeling the spirit ..
.. I will quote out loud a verse from Habakkuk the prophet.

Which is my way of letting God know that I am listening.
So I listen.

And if there's one thing that a Navy nuclear-trained reactor plant operator knows how to do ..
.. it's to » stand his watch.

This is a good time because the night is quiet and the mind is calm.
Very calm. And peaceful.

» Writing

Now, I admit that sometimes I say, "I cant say that."
But normally, afterwards, I will get up and go inside and write the vision.
So to speak.

And of course, I try to make it plain.

» Prophets & Prophecy

After I read about how Dostoevsky was considered the great prophet of the twentieth century,
I looked more closely into the subject.

And especially after I read that Scripture instructs the christian to "desire earnestly" and "eagerly pursue" spiritual gifts.
And specifically mentions » "that you may prophesy."
As the thing the christian is to earnestly desire and eagerly pursue.

Tho the subject comes with the inescapable awareness
that prophets often arent appreciated by the rich-n-powerful.

» New Testament Guidance

For example, under the New Covenant, Christians arent supposed to seek guidance from prophets
like they did in the Old Testament.

» The Spirit of the Living God Himself Residing Within You

The New Testament Christian is supposed to be led by the Spirit of God (within him).
As promised to Abraham.
And as prophesied by Ezekiel.

Procured by the Source of Eternal Salvation Himself.
Paid for in blood.
You know the deal.

Available to all Believers today.
By faith, of course. Never as a result of good works.
(You could never be good enough to earn that kind of reward.)

Tho faith without corresponding actions is not faith.
James is basically saying that your actions are of crucial importance.
Because, if you really believe it, you will ACT like it.
(Which is why everybody knows that actions speak louder.)

[ I used to think that faith was simply not denying the existence of God.
Or perhaps it was agreeing that the scriptures do indeed represent the word of God.

But now I can see that faith is simply acting like you really believe what the scriptures teach.
It is kind of profound and intuitively obvious .. all at the same time.

It should be self-evident that, it is not merely knowing what the scriptures teach
that brings the blessing .. but rather doing what they teach
Tho, somehow, I did not see this before. ]

» The Promise of the Spirit

The Spirit is given as a Pledge of the Believer's inheritance.
The Spirit of God .. Who leads and guides and directs the Believer into all the Truth and shows him "things to come".

[ Notice the "things-to-come" part .. cuz that sounds a lot like what the Old Testament prophets did. No? ]

And Who bears witness with our spirits (not our minds).
Continually.
And this "bearing witness" will » furnish evidence.

» The Prophet's Freedom & Responsibility in Writing the Vision

Anyway, I noticed that .. sometimes God tells the prophet what to say.
But other times he just gives/shows them a vision.

And I would imagine that the prophet is free, more or less, to put the vision into his own words.
I mean, long as he genuinely tries his best to articulate the vision.

And as long as he is careful not to read anything into the vision ..
.. what more can we ask of him? Of the prophet?

And he will necessarily use the language of his intended audience, no?
A language that they understand.
If he wishes the vision to be understood by "the one who reads".

Even tho it might not be clear what the vision means.

Do not all the prophets have their own, distinct voice?
With their own distinct personality?

» Auteur Theory

Notice in the description of auteur theory
that » "the auteur's creative voice is distinct enough to shine through studio interference..."

"Studio interference" .. I would expect the prophet would get something like that
if he tried to say something that he definitely couldnt say.

There have been times [ not many ] when I have tried to say (write) something
and I could feel my way blocked, my path shut down.

So I tried alternates routes .. to deliver my clever message. But all were blocked.
After 3 or 4 attempts, even I can figure it out ( and leave it alone ).

Otherwise, if he gets no stop-sign, the prophet is free to » write the vision.
As he sees fit. No?
(I am just musing out loud, here.)

And naturally, he would need to communicate the vision in a language
and in a manner that his intended audience understands.

» Resonating with Ezekiel

Currently I find myself resonating with what Ezekiel wrote here.
Because, for a long time, I could not do much except » "shut myself up" in the house.
And there was a while where I "was bound" and "could not go out" among them.

And now I sometimes wake with horrible dry-mouth (from the radiation cooking my salivary glands),
which makes my tongue feel like it's sticking to the roof of my mouth.

And the radiation-scarring of my voice-box makes me not want to talk.
At least, not for very long.

Ezekiel said all kinds of cool stuff.

» The Polite, Religious, Enthusiastic Social Christian

Many church-going christians, I feel, are not real christians.
Not real, scriptural christians.
I bet that Halee knows what I am talking about.

Scripture teaches clearly that, just because someone is enthusiastic (zealous, even) about God,
does not necessarily mean that their enthusiasm (or zeal) is based on accurate knowledge.

Because there is world-of-difference between
knowing what somebody else said about the scriptures .. and knowing what they say for yourself.

Rather, they are (merely) social christians .. who certainly look religious enough and are probably very polite.
They are there at church, primarily, to make friends with folks who might need a new toilet from their plumbing company in town.

And there is nothing wrong with this, per se ..
.. nothing wrong with social engagement for business purposes.
But you dont want to base your eternal salvation on a profitable rolodex.

Some christians seem to be talking about money all the time.

Dont get me wrong .. I am not unsympathetic towards the polite, social money-loving christian. No, sir.
Because I understand (all too well) the challenges associated with the other.

» Not Easy

Because God is famous for telling people to do the impossible,
things that they are certain that they can't do.
Notice how the thing that did it for Abraham .. was when he believed the imposible.

And if this constant "Keep doing the impossible until I tell you to stop," isnt enough to frighten you off,
then wait until you start doing the righteous things that he tells you to do.
Welcome to the place where no good dead goes unpunished.

» You Can't Handle the Truth -- Yet

Notice here how Jesus is quoted here as saying,
"I have much more for you .. but you cannot handle it right now."
Because that sounds a lot like he is saying "You cannot do the impossible -- yet."

» You will Still be Surprised

Even tho both John and Peter warned you and said, "Dont be surpised, dude, if the world hates your ass."
.. you will still be surprised.

Hate is a strong word.
But I dont think you can ever really be ready for the level of hate.
Cain slew Abel with that hate.

Esau planned to kill his brother Jacob with that hate.
You know the deal.

 

Photo taken June 1, 2015
Shortly before sunset
San Diego county

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