The moral dilemma of The Office December 4, 2009

A couple months ago we signed up for Netflix. Apparently we were the last people in North America who hadn’t yet signed up. Soon after the Feast Charlie started exploring the shows and movies that were available for free streaming from the web. This led him to discover The Office, and it was all over from there.

We started with Season 1 and started watching every episode. Saturday nights, up to six hours at a time. Then Sunday nights. And sometimes on a weekday night after a hard day. It was an obsession. I’d start thinking about it as soon as Friday rolled around. We got through to halfway through Season 5 in not very many weekends.

Around about Season 5, though, I started thinking seriously about the show and having moral doubts. As much as I enjoyed and loved watching it, the scenes with any immoral nature were the ones that would stick with me and replay over and over in mind (especially while painting when there’s nothing you can do about it). It was hard to shake. As much as I appreciated the brilliance of the humour, the more I thought about it, the more I could no longer justify it.

1. Other gods before God
2. Worship of idols through the celebration of pagan holidays
3. Taking God’s name in vain. A lot.
4. Definitely not keeping the Sabbath
5. Not showing honour to parents through lying, etc.
6. Hateful attitudes
7. A lot of fornication and aldultery
8. Stealing of time and materials
9. Constant lying
10. Coveting neighbour’s wife, possessions, etc.

It’s hard to get around that.

As much as I loved the show and looked forward to watching it, it got to the point that I could no longer justify spending so much time of my life with a show that so consistently broke God’s commandments. Eventually I made the decision to no longer watch The Office.

I realize that no show or form of entertainment in this Satan-led world is going to be perfect. But there are so many things I want to do and learn and study, and I already don’t have time for all of them, even without including time spent on things that are not uplifting.

I do have a point here. I’m not saying this to be preachy. I know many people will not agree, and I can understand that. My question is, if you watch The Office or a similar show, how do you justify it? Do I just have an overactive conscience? Am I being unreasonable by not allowing myself to participate in things like this?

The reason for my disillusionment. June 1, 2009

There really is no good news in the world of health. It makes me wonder how much of this is a curse on Israel (or at the very least just the consequence of forsaking God) and if there really will be any improvements before the end. I kind of doubt it.

Deut. 32
¹⁵ “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
      You grew fat, you grew thick, 
      You are obese! 
      Then he forsook God who made him, 
      And scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

 ¹⁶ They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods;
      With abominations they provoked Him to anger.

 

‘Healthy lifestyles’ wane in US

The number of US adults following a healthy lifestyle has fallen in the last two decades despite increasing public health campaigns, a study shows.

…

The number of people exercising three times a week or more fell from 53% to 43%, while the number of people eating five portions of fruit and vegetables a day fell by nearly 40%.

At the same time, smoking levels remained the same and moderate drinking slightly increased.

Overall, researchers found, the number of people adhering to all five “healthy habits” – including maintaining a healthy weight and stopping smoking – decreased from 15% to 8%.

Agggggghhhhhhh.

Anniversary. March 12, 2009

Thinking of those who went to sleep on March 12, 2005, and those who survived.

KC Weekend. November 10, 2008

Dec. 27-28, details and registration here.

A message from Dr. Meredith September 22, 2008

Dear Fellow Ministers and Brethren,

 

             I want you all to know that I suffered a mild stroke this past Friday night, September 19. I decided to have my son and my wife take me to the hospital as I was feeling unbalanced and my left leg felt wobbly.

 

            After an extensive series of tests, and a MRI, the neurosurgeons said that I had suffered a “mild stroke,” but should be okay within a few weeks. But everyone said I should “take it easy” for a few months, and not push myself as I am used to doing. And we are concerned that I may not be able to preach for a few months—though I hope to go to the Feast and at least make a few announcements. I know that God is in charge and that He will be with me if I do my part.

 

            So, brethren, I will really appreciate your prayers. My wife is much better and your prayers for her have been heard! However, please do not send me any flowers as I would rather you use any extra money to increase your offerings for the Work of Christ. Many new “doors” to preach the Gospel are now opening and I hope with all my heart that all of us will increase our offerings this fall Holy Day season. Let us all be generous with the Work of God and—in every way—follow the Apostle Paul’s instruction, “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14).

 

            Thank you, brethren, in advance, for your prayers and for your part in the very Work of our Savior and living Head—Jesus Christ! We must always remember that this is His Work, not ours. And in spite of all these trials and tests along the way, in the end, “We win!” May God bless you and inspire you as you prepare for His Holy Days!

 

With Christian love,

Roderick C. Meredith

David=David vs. David=Jesus. March 27, 2008

I’m working on a study into the titles of Jesus.  We were recently given a Holman Christian Standard Bible as a gift, and I noticed that in the back they have a nice list of all the titles of Jesus, along with Scriptural references.  This seemed like a nice easy way to do a general overview study, so I launched into it.

Along the way, there were a few titles that didn’t really make sense.  It seemed that in some cases what was an obvious analogy or poetic phrase was somehow being perceived as title for Jesus.  Well, whatever, no big deal.

Then tonight I came across a “title” that really stunned me.  “David their King.”  I was admittedly going through the list kind of mindlessly and didn’t think about it until I actually pulled up the scriptural reference.

Jer 30:8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘That I will break his yoke from your neck, And will burst your bonds; Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
Jer 30:9 But they shall serve the Lord their God, And David their king, Whom I will raise up for them.

Wait, what?  I thought that said David their king.  You know, as in, David.  The king.

The other references were:

Eze 37:24 “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.

Hos 3:5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.

Um, I’m pretty sure those all say David, and are in no way using “David” as a title of Jesus.  Why would someone think that David=Jesus? 

I brought it up with Charlie, and he explained to me that when the premise of your faith is that Christianity is all about Jesus saving you from hell, you have to explain a lot of things away.  Why would David be “raised up” if he’s already in heaven?  Allegory, nice stories, etc.

But why would you believe that?  The scriptures plainly describe that David the king is going to be resurrected, and will become king.  And just in case there was a need for any further clarification:

Act 2:29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
Act 2:34 For David did not ascend into the heavens…

It just makes me crazy to think that even something as small, simple and obvious as this could be misconstrued.

Isa 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Prayer Request Updates. March 22, 2008

Here are the latest updates I have on Glen:

______________________________________

Good evening,
 
Thank you so much for getting in touch with us and for all your care and concern.  We have relied on our church family for prayers and we know God heard our cry for help as soon as we contacted our Local Elder.  The timing of events couldn’t have been more precision if they had been planned from the 911 call to the arrival in hospital, of which there were two.
He had his best day yet.  Now off ventilator and on an oxygen mask.  His ability to speak is greatly hampered but he can hear and understand.  He had two fractures to his skull, 9 broken ribs, punctured both lungs, lacerated spleen, broken leg and lots of bruising on his arms.  The CT scan showed no swelling in the brain, the leg was surgically set but the chest area has been the most concern.  Both surgeons and all the ICU nurses have said he is lucky to be alive.  We know luck had very little to do with it and can’t tell you now much we appreciate everyone’s prayers.  So lots of pain, but lots of life.
Wohoo!
 
Best regards,
John and Barb
… and Glen

_______________________________________________

Hi Everyone,
 
We just got home from the hospital and the good news is that Glen came out of ICU at about 3:00 pm today.  Your prayers are still requested for two areas of concern:  Blood clot and pneumonia.  Also, that fever just won’t let up.  He can sit on the edge of the bed, stand up to the walker and pivot into a wheelchair where he can sit for up to an hour without too much trouble.  The Doctor told him yesterday that if he had been 16 yrs old, he wouldn’t be with us today because of the damage to the lungs … but because he is 17, that extra year allowed the lungs just that much more development that is allowing for the recovery.  We are so grateful for all your care and concern.  Please don’t let up just yet – it’s working.  For those of you who are able to visit, he is in Surgical Ward Room 116 (South Pavillion).  Visiting hours are any time during the day but not too late.  Only 2 at a time and just for a short time.  He is really looking forward to seeing people one minute and then gets worn out and falls asleep.  So it’s hit and miss just yet.  We’ll keep everyone updated as we are able.
 
Warmest regards,
 
John & Barb
… and Glen

Three year anniversary. March 12, 2008

Thinking of the folks in Milwaukee today.

Today the temperature got up to 74F.  And we went running.  Normally when the weather warms up I completely lose all endurance and become a pathetic heap of overheated woman.  Today, however, was pretty good.  We ran 5.5 miles total, although we did stop a couple times for various reasons.  All in all, though, I was pretty impressed with myself.  The last time I tried to run in warm temperatures was an immense failure, so today was much better.  Yay!

3 1/2 weeks to go.

Proverbs 31 Woman. March 5, 2008

I’ve recently been doing a fairly in-depth study into the highly proclaimed Proverbs 31 woman.  It’s really a fantastic study; I’d highly recommend it.

I came across this FANTASTIC commentary (or, at the very least, summary of commentaries) from UCG.  Of all COG-related materials, this is one that I would highly recommend that everyone (especially women) read.  (Disclaimer: This does not constitute an endorsement of UCG doctrine.)  (And just for added synchronicity, the commentary is the assigned reading for UCG’s Bible reading program – on my birthdate.)

I knew that the passage was an acrostic poem using successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, but I had no idea of the depth of the poetic structure.  It’s really quite astounding.  In some ways it reminds me of Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter, although I’m of the opinion that Proverbs 31 is more impressive.

Mr. Smith recently gave a Bible study/sermon on The Plain Truth About Heroes of Faith.  In it he referenced Gideon and the Proverbs 31 woman.  I learned tonight that the angel’s declaration of Gideon as a “mighty man of valor” (Judges 6:12) was the masculine equivalent of what is translated “virtuous wife” or “woman of valor” (Prov. 31:10) (Heb. esheth-hayil for the woman vs. gibbor hehayil for the man).  “Virtuous wife” or “virtuous woman” has always been somewhat of an enigmatic title to me, but “mighty man of valor” seems fairly majestic.  It’s encouraging to know that the two are equivalent.

One thing that struck me, though, was that it seemed that every commentary which was used in the article made some reference to the standards of Proverbs 31 being unattainable.  The UCG writer also comments, referring to a commentary’s suggestion that the passage is truly about wisdom, rather than a woman:

But the commentary gives some good reasons for at least seeing important symbolism here and not treating the poem of Proverbs 31 as some kind of numbered checklist of female righteousness.

I’m not so sure.  I don’t think that men should use the checklist in determining a “suitable” mate, and I don’t think that you can check off characteristics on the list and determine yourself “righteous.”  But I do think that it can serve as a very helpful guide, especially for women, of what we should be shooting for.  Prior to reading the commentary, I actually did make a list entitled “Things you should know about/be involved in” based on the virtuous woman’s characteristics.  It helped me realize that I do have a responsibility for being financially and business literate, among other things, and this is one characteristic that I need to work on.

I also tend to disagree with the idea that the Proverbs 31 woman is some sort of unattainable ideal, with this woman shining in gold upon a pedestal while we underlings gaze on in amazement.  No, no woman is going to achieve it perfectly.  Keep in mind that if the virtuous woman is indeed a physical woman, she has never been and will never be perfect.  But we can all certainly make strides in each of the identified areas and show progress. 

I think Proverbs 31 women are around us every day.  After making my list of “Things you should know about/be involved in,” I later went through it and considered whether or not I thought my mom met the criteria.  In pretty much every case, I think she hit it head on.  Is my mom perfect?  No.  But she has set a high standard for those of us who follow to measure up to.

Anyway, it’s a good study.  Look into it.

Read your Bibles.

P.S. 4.5 miles Friday, 4.5 miles Sunday, 4.5 miles today.

Prayer Request March 5, 2008

This is a prayer request for a young guy in BC whom several of us met at the Feast in Canmore a few years ago.

—————————————————–

Glen ___, the son of Mrs. Barb ___, a member of LCG, was in a very bad car accident Monday evening.  He is on life support, has two punctured lungs, broken ribs on both sides, broken legs, spleen damage, facial damage, concussion, possible other internal damage.  There appears to be no brain damage, or spinal cord damage. An operation was performed yesterday in which one leg was wired. It is uncertain at this point as to whether or not the spleen will be removed.  He will require several operations. He is very heavily sedated.  Glen is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Roley ___, who attend the Kingston church congregation.  Glen attends LCG with his mother in the B.C. area.  Mr. Eldon Davis has anointed him. Please pray for this young man’s recovery.

Glen was not driving the car, but was a passenger with another young man in the back seat.  They were returning one of the boys home when they decided to take a short cut over the mountain.  Upon discovering they had taken the wrong road, they turned around and went over an embankment with a 60-70 foot drop.   This is the understanding we have at this time.  We will keep you updated.