Post Modern Bible Stories

Jacob Wrestles God Genesis 32:22-32

Love Songs for Biblical Types Song of Songs 1-8

Job Passes the Test Job 1-42

Thirty Pieces of Infamy Matthew 26:1-5, 14-16

Post Modern Bible stories is a book of 45 postcards illustrating Biblical verses. Created by some of the best illustrators and graphic designers in the world (yet they didn't ask me??!) this is one of the best creative Christian products I've seen in a long time. Sadly, your local (NZ) Christian store probably won't know about this, but anyone who knows me will be able to get a copy, if they want to part with some serious pinga...

Three Times Denied

MANNA: Heb. man-hu

"What is that?" the name given by the Israelites to the food miraculously supplied to them during their wanderings in the wilderness (Ex. 16:15-35). The name is commonly taken as derived from _man_, an expression of surprise, "What is it?" but more probably it is derived from _manan_, meaning "to allot," and hence denoting an "allotment" or a "gift."

According to Moses it’s the Bread God has given you (the Israelites).

But rather than bread, it was a white flake like substance, as fine as the frost you find on your car on a cold morning.

And now for the interesting stuff. I had always figured that it must have been a pretty sweet life, having God supply all your needs, whilst you kick back and have a 40 year holiday, sleeping in, and having the good Lord serve you your meals. But on closer examination of the scriptures, it seems life might have been a little harder.

For example, Manna appeared on the ground after the dew. It wasn’t ready for eating, it had to be baked or boiled. Which means that you had to gather it. Now it’s lying around on a dirty, sandy desert, so you’d have to be careful that you didn’t mix it up whilst you gathered it.

And how much did you need to gather? 3.35kg for each person. Feeling a little peckish? Wanted to gather a little more cause you’re a XXL and you have the munchies? Well God’s got you on a diet – no matter how much you gather, when you’ve finished gathering you’ll only have 3.35kg.

Want to have a sleep in? Don’t. You’ll go hungry if you’re not up before the sun starts to melt away all the Manna.

Not very hungry and want save some for tomorrow? Not a good idea – hoarding isn’t approved, and your food will spoil. Except on a Saturday – you can gather enough for two days ‘cause the Sabbath is a holy day and there’s no Manna.

But what did Manna taste like – quite yummie actually – like wafers made with honey. But after a week it might have gotten a bit boring, and after a few years it might not feel like a blessing.

But in the words of Dozer from the Matrix Movie: It's a single cell protein combined with synthetic aminos, vitamins, and minerals. Everything the body needs.

God supplied everything the body needed to survive for 40 years. Nothing more, nothing less.

I came here to tell you how it's going to begin.

I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid. You're afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell you how it's going to begin. I'm going to hang up this phone and then I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you, a world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries, a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.

Ostraconophobia

Apparently, to live life to it’s fullest, we should strive to expand our comfort zone. If this is true, then by the end of this week I will have lived life just a little bit fuller.

It all started last night, with Dinner at a little commune located in the shadow of No Tree Hill. I’m always nervous when going out to dinner, especially when it’s the first time you’ve been to some ones house and eaten what they eat. You see, I’m what my wife calls ‘a tad fussy’ when it comes to food. To be fair to my self, I’ve expanded my palette amazingly over the last 15 years, but it is still some what constrained.

So any way, We arrived and were given the obligatory guided tour, and one this tour I saw dinner being prepared in the kitchen - and it was seafood. Oh crap. Seafood? Oh crap, bugger, damn. You see I have an unhealthy fear of seafood. Oh sure, I like a nice piece of fresh white fish, cooked to perfection by my wife, but seafood? Little curled up orange thingies? Nope. Never. Not in a million years.

Of course saying not in a million years is a silly thing, especially when you’ve got 30 minutes tops before dinner. Oh well, grin and swallow, grin and swallow.
As it turns out though, those little orange curled up seafood thingies were quite nice. Yummie in fact. The curry sauce was a little on the hot side for my timid taste buds, but damn (can I say that twice in one post?) the dinner was damn nice.
The company was great, and we all went out to see a delightful little movie. I’d tell you about the movie, but some other people have done a fine job of that here, here and here, so I’ll leave you to go read what they had to say.

And to finish off my week, I’ll be temporarily reallocating outside of my comfort zone on Sunday night. But for the details of that, you’ll just have to wait.

Life; to be lived at it’s fullest.

The Revolution Begins On A Five Dollar Note

Church Last Night #2

Once Again, The West Ignores Palestine

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- The shelves at Shifa Hospital's pharmacy are half empty. A shortage of anesthesia means surgeons can do only emergency operations. The kidney unit has cut back on dialysis because it's low on filters, and four of the unit's patients have died from a lack of medicine, officials say.

The West's economic boycott of the Hamas-led regime has brought the perpetually strained Palestinian health-care system to the brink of disaster, international aid workers and government officials say. They warn of an epidemic of preventable deaths if money is not found soon.

The cash crisis also could lead to the collapse of the Palestinian sanitation and sewage systems, raising the threat of cholera and other diseases breaking out during the sweltering summer, municipal officials say.

Western nations say they continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, just not to the regime led by the Islamic militants of Hamas. [full story]

In light of reading Brother Andrew’s Light Force and the dwindling number of Palestinian Christians struggling to make a difference in an Arab dominated society, it’s sad to hear that West refuses to help a country in need just because it’s democratically elected government is Hamas, a supposed enemy of everyone.

As Western Christians, what should we be doing?

Church Last Night

Last night we started another series, this time on the life of Moses. We were encouraged at the later part of the service to take a cd sleeve and write our thoughts about where we were in our lives in relation to Moses.Not quite sure why, but that’s all that came to mind.

Friday Humour

Smile

i see what a smile can say about me i know that words are not always what speak sometimes it's not what I say that the world around me seems to understand

Why Blame The Dark?

Why blame the dark for being dark?

It's far more helpful to ask why the light isn't as bright as it should be.

-Rob Bell

Laws that need to be reinstated.

#1 A wife must be careful with money and must not waste it.
The punishment: She may be drowned or made a slave.

#2 If a married woman earns any money it belongs to her husband, even if he leaves her and goes to live with somebody else.
And if she doesn’t come up with the goods: imprisonment.