A Defense Against Our Enemies

     Although rarely mentioned, the Bombardier Beetle is a fascinating creature. I first stumbled across it during my "Creation vs. Evolution" personal study. Its special design comes from a special Creator. It has a unique defense against its enemies, which is almost a mixture of tear gas and a tommy gun. It shoots a boiling 212° mixture (the boiling point of water) out of 2 rear nozzles, which can be rotated at an 180° arc for aim accuracy. It's similar to an explosion when activated. Also, it never blows itself up because it was designed with the 2 twin nozzles to release the brewing hydrogen peroxide, hydroquinone, and benzoquinone mixture. Amazingly, this insect only ever aims at its enemies. It knows its foes from its friends and acts accordingly.

    

 (Video on the Bombardier Beetle)

               

Bombardier Beetle

    When I first began studying this insect, I was fascinated. It is one thing (of many) that Evolutionists cannot explain. I mean, how does a bug brew inside of itself a boiling mixture, yet not blow itself up in the process? It was specially designed by a Special Creator to respond to its most common enemies in this unique way. If you stop and ponder that thought, so are we. If we take a look around our world today, it is not hard to find "enemies" everywhere. We see children's TV programs showing direct disregard and violations of God's marriage ordinance (1 man, 1 woman, for life); we see horrific crimes unfolding in our schools because hatred boils thicker than the love does. We see miscommunications, petty arguments, and immaturity divide marriages and families. We hold grudges for years and become "grievance collectors," all the while locking ourselves in a prison of bitterness (#guilty). Yet, with all these things, we were never intended to become like this. We were never created to be enemies of God or each other; we chose to become that. When Adam and Eve chose to heed the voice of Satan above the Lord that gave them everything, they signed the agreement to become an enemy of God (deceived or not, it was still a choice they were responsible for). From that first bite of fruit, sin crept inside of mankind and due to that sin, we were deemed enemies of God (Romans 5:10). Yet, through all this chaos, God left us an example of how to deal with our enemies. That example? Love and forgive them like He did.

    In Matthew 18:21-22, Jesus says to forgive 490 times DAILY. It is practically impossible to be offended 490 times a day (although some days, I question :) ). I might become agitated 489 times a day, but not 490 😀. Working in a call center, I deal with rudeness all day long. I get yelled at, cussed at, lied on, and treated poorly sometimes by callers over things that are not my fault. No joke, the ice cream machine could be down at McDonalds and, already agitated, they will call me and fuss because the application they submitted 10 seconds ago has not been viewed yet. Sometimes I want to argue, somedays I want  to reach through the phone, slap them, and hang up. Other times, I want to chunk my whole phone system through the window and leave. I have learned that it is so easy to become annoyed...and yet, that alone shows the magnitude of the example Jesus left behind with a basin of water, a towel, and a servant's heart. Curious now, eh? Let me explain...

    If we take a look at John 13:1-20, we will see John's account of the Last Passover. If we really pay attention, we can see the beginning stages of Jesus' s agony and the obliviousness of the disciples who were hearing to His words, but not listening His words. After having feasted, Jesus rises from the floor (in Bible times, they ate on the floor), and fills a basin with water. Now Jesus was fully aware that although He had 12 disciples in the room, He only had 11 friends present. One (Judas) had already planned to betray Him that night, and was just waiting for the right moment to do so. I can't imagine the sense of betrayal that you would feel, knowing that one of your disciples, one that had witnessed you teach firsthand, watched you in all the moments unrecorded in the Bible, dedicated 3 years of their life to literally follow you, and had just shared in your last meal on earth, was the same one anticipating your capture and demise. If I were Jesus (and thank God, I'm not), I would have dumped that basin of water all over Judas, and then, not so gently,  knocked him in the head with the basin. Yet, Jesus didn't do that. He didn't explode on him. He didn't yell. He didn't fight. Instead, He knelt down, took off Judas's sandals, and washed his feet. The very feet that, in less than an hour, would run faster than Sonic to go betray his "friend" for 30 pieces of silver (anywhere from $250-$3500, depending upon the coin's weight). I can only imagine the memories going through Jesus's mind at that moment. Yet, Jesus knelt right in front of him, looked the snake in the eye, and washed the feet of an enemy alongside the feet of His friends. You see, Jesus was Judas's enemy, but Judas was never Jesus's enemy (enemy of God due to sin? Yes. Jesus’s personal enemy? No.).  He went to the cross to save people like Judas. Jesus chose a servant's role (only servants washed feet in Bible times) when washing the disciples' feet, showing the depths that love would go to show man the main message since The Fall: That God loves and God forgives.

    At any time, Judas had a free-will to accept the gift of salvation. It's a sad reality that Judas let the Lamb of God wash the dirt off of his feet, but not the sin out of his heart. He chose fortune, while Jesus chose forgiveness. This was symbolized with every step He took to Calvary, with every mocking taunt left without a rebuttal, with 10 legions of angels standing at the ready, yet never called upon, with "Father, forgive them..." being one of the last sentences He uttered while literally suffocating on Calvary. It shows the great depth Love goes to mend a broken relationship, to heal a wounded past, to become a grievance forgiver instead of a grievance collector. As for Judas, he ended up hanging himself because fortune never satisfies, especially when you betray friends for it.  At the very moment Judas looped that rope around the tree, Jesus was on trial in order to forgive mankind's sin, and that included Judas's, if only he would've asked.

    As with the Bombardier Beetle, the marvelous nature of the Creator is always evidenced in His creation. He designed it so unique that there isn't anything like it, and scientists cannot explain it. We can be the same way. When a situation demands a negative response, we can practice love and forgiveness, just like Jesus. When the most common response to an enemy is violence, hatred, or bitterness, we can be unique (just like our Creator) and forgive. God did it and God never gives us anything that He Himself does not possess (Example: We are not made to hate because God is not a God of hate, but a God of Love- that is why hatred is against nature). He would never tell you to forgive if He Himself did not forgive. The goal is that we are what He is, modeling after His example and character. In all 783, 137 words in the KJV Bible, we see the example left for us on how to handle our enemies: Love them and forgive them just like He did.

(If you pull up on the video from the top left and pull down from the bottom right at the same time, it will enlarge the video. The words are harder to see on a phone)

 

Song of the Week:

(Please ignore the backdrop :) it looks better when you do sign language in front of it 😜)

Dinner Table in Bible Times

A “Greater Yes”

     This week, Passover Week, is a great week of reflection for me. A week where we see sacrifice on full display in every sense. A week like this shows a surrendering of the will.  In ancient times, people would be on the search for the most perfect, spotless lamb, in order to sacrifice to have their sins forgiven. The shedding of blood was required for the remission of sins. Since life is in the blood (Lev. 17:11), blood must be shed for the atonement of sins (since sin brings death - Romans 6:23). Lose enough blood, and you’ll die. Since oxygen is transported to the brain by blood (through different arteries), any mishap along this transportation route could result in death. So, we can see the picture emerging about just how important blood is. This week, I just can’t help but think about Christ’s surrender to the cross. In Luke 22:44, we see Jesus, in so much anguish, that he began to sweat blood. This condition, called Hematohidrosis, is caused when the sweat glands rupture due to so much pressure, and is a condition most commonly found among people on death row. The realization of the agony that He was about to endure caused so much anguish that He started to sweat blood. If you look in John’s account of Jesus’s death (19:34), we also find that His side was speared, and out flowed blood and water(that signifies that He used every amount of His blood on Calvary to cover all mankind’s sins). So powerful. So profound. A love so deep that He was willing to surrender and shed all His blood for me? A true sacrifice. 

    As I watch the sun coming up on yet another beautiful day, I can’t help but to take a moment, and remember that sacrifice. I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:11 that says:

Although written almost 950-1000 years before Christ’s birth, I can’t help but relate Easter with this verse. A verse like this takes away my desire to be so caught up in my will and timeframe, and be more surrendering to His will and His timeframe. Yet, life gets in the way, and that oh-so-stubborn human will. The age- old battle of wanting life our way; the refusal to surrender. However, as I study the Bible, I realize I am not the only one who struggles with this. 

    If we take a look in Luke 10:40, we’ll see a frazzled Martha trying to host a meal for Jesus and His 12 disciples, while her sister sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to Him teach. Now, I understand Martha being frazzled. I am not the best hostess in the slightest. I mean, you can walk into some people’s homes and it’s like you’re royalty, you’re greeted and spoiled as soon as you grace the doors. I’ll try my best, but don’t expect anything more than a cookie and milk and barrage of dog hair on your clothes before you leave. It’s just not my thing, but for Martha, this was how she served the Lord. With that in mind, I understand her anxiety and stress.  I mean, she had to feed 14 grown men (Jesus, the 12 disciples, and Lazarus, her brother). The stress  and anxiety of her plan not going to plan made her lash out at the very One she was trying to serve. Righteous intentions; bad delivery, Martha. Of all the things she could have said (like yanking Mary to the side and with a death stare say, “Come. Help. Me. Cook. Now”), she marched straight to Jesus and accused Him of not caring about what bothered her. Human nature tends to play the blame game on innocent bystanders when, it all reality, it’s usually our refusal to surrender to Him the thing  that’s agitating us that is causing the problem. Yet, the most caring person in the world was accused of not caring all because the pita bread, cheese, and  olives weren’t being served in a timely manner. Wow. However, she was not the only one to say this type of thing to Jesus. We hear that same statement uttered by the disciples while being tossed at sea (Mark 4:38); by the Israelites after being rescued from slavery they begged to be delivered from (Exodus 16:3); from Jonah who got mad when a gourd dies, yet was literally fish food and lived to tell about it (Jonah 4:3,8). As we can see here, it’s usually ones who know the Lord most that accuse Him first (His followers).

    Throughout all these examples, I see myself. Like a mirror reflecting back an image, the Bible not only helps you see without, but also within. I see myself accusing the Lord of the very same thing sometimes. I remember many times praying and asking God if He really cared about me as much as the Bible said He did. I even wrote a song lyric once that said, “Sometimes it feels like I’m talking to the air. It feels like I’m knocking on Heaven’s door, asking, ‘God, are You still there?...’”. I literally felt like God had stopped caring about me because He wasn’t answering my prayers like I thought was best. Yet, God’s “no,” at that time was a “greater yes” for my future. Him not answering my one prayer actually answered all my prayers that I had previously prayed. You see, God had a perfect will for my life, when my prayers at that time were only seeking God’s permissive will. Sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers in the way we want them, and that’s okay because He always answers in the way we need them. God wanted me to see that the goal wasn't just to seek what God allowed, but rather to seek what God desired (a "greater yes"). He sees the whole picture, whereas we only see half of it, so trust in God's plan was a safe place. The point is that surrender was the action that was needed on my part. 

    The truth is, sometimes, no matter how many times God has shown me that His plans are better, I still fight these feelings. As I watch cancer wreck the mind and body of the ones I love and admire, the question still rings in my mind occasionally. Yet, Ecclesiastes 3:11 still rings as true today as the day it was penned. As I watch the sun rise from my office window, I am reminded that in time, it will all make sense. I find hope in knowing that God’s plan is best. Even Jesus, while praying in the Garden, sweating blood, prayed that God would let “this cup” (the cross) pass from Him, and even He didn’t have His agonized prayer answered in the way He asked. Yet, God’s “no” to Jesus while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane had the greatest “yes” in it towards us. Redemption was the plan and God’s perfect will was to be accomplished, no matter how painful it was in that moment. Jesus’s answer? “...Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). Surrender on full display, and because of that surrender, I live free indeed. He surrendered, so I can too. In His time, it will all be beautiful.  

SONG OF THE WEEK:

(Please Take a Listen:)

    

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A wheat harvest is used  to symbolize (in spiritual terms) an “advancing state of love and charity; a field signifies the church and thus the things of the church...” (biblemeanings.info).

There’s just something about learning. “Epistemophila” or “the love of knowledge” is a word many of us can add to our list of words used to describe ourselves ( and boy, won’t you sound smart when you use it :). Personally, I absolutely love learning new things. I believe we all do to some extent. I want to see new things, experience new things, and most of all, learn new things. Usually, my love of learning tends to grow when I read, although I am not an avid reader (a little oxymoronic, don’t you think?). However, when I do read, I want it to be encouraging, eye-opening, and worth my time. So, I love to read books from Christian authors who teach the old paths in new ways. Sometimes they challenge me. Sometimes they open my eyes by confronting me with the facts that I overlooked or ignored in the past. Yet, from their experiences and personal studying, I glean little sheaves of wisdom in every page. I like to imagine that I am gleaning “handfuls of purpose” from a field like Ruth did (Ruth 2: 15-17). With the labors, sweat, tears, and even blood of many, I glean spiritually from their time and effort in the “fields” they planted.  Their lives and stories teach me something. Like Ruth picking up the remaining barley that had fallen to the ground just for her, so am I. I am gleaning from the fields of others in words and actions, and my  prayer is that this blog (one of my “fields”) will be beneficial for you as well.  We’re here to learn and grow, and together we’ll find handfuls of purpose along the way. 

Now, come on, friend. We’ve got a lot to learn and a field to glean :)

 

                                                                                                  Sheaf of wheat 

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