Almost eleven years ago, you and I began meeting here in this space craftily hidden somewhere inside the Mechanicsville Local. Now, over a decade (and 502 columns) later, we come to our final visit together via this medium. A lot has happened over those years! When we started this column, the world was different place. It was January of 2000, twenty-one months before the terrible attacks of 9-11, Bill Clinton was finishing his final days as our President and I was just 39 years old! A lot has changed! Together we have looked at current events, natural disasters, Biblical prophecies, “off-the-wall” thoughts that came to my mind and various funny scenarios that I got myself into, but each time I wrote with a “view” towards allowing the Holy Spirit to bring conviction, comfort, insight and motivation from His Word through it all. In my very first column I stated my goal: “My pledge to you is to endeavor to always come back to the central truth that will set you free – the gospel of Jesus Christ!” I hope that I have been able to do just that, and if I have, then it’s been worth every minute of my time and every dime that Hanover Friends Church has spent over these years to give me this sacred privilege. Thanks for allowing me to share my view with you!
So what’s next? Well, Des and I will be moving to a new pastorate at Rose Hill Friends Church. It’s a smaller congregation, in a country church just a mile or so outside Rose Hill, Kansas. If you’re so inclined, you can see the church here: www.rhfc.org . I will try to keep up with my writing of the “View” and I’d like to say I am firmly committed to it, but without a newspaper “deadline,” I know I will find it hard to be as regular with my in-print musings! However, if you still want to read along, there are a couple of ways you can make that happen. You can follow “The View From Here” on my blog, www.davidacrisp.blogspot.com. On my blog site, you can become a “follower” and receive notification of new posts on your Google or Yahoo e-mail accounts or on Twitter, or subscribe to receive it through a “reader.” Believe me, I don’t understand all that lingo either! For the next few months at least you will be able to view and print any “View From Here” articles I have written over the past few years by going to: www.friendlychurch.org and clicking on the button titled: “The View From Here,” and then accessing the archive on the left hand side of the page. Hanover Friends Church will be suspending their contract with the Local for the time being until they get a new full-time Sr. Pastor, and the new pastor may or may not decide to continue this avenue of outreach. Please be praying for our church as they go through this transition. Make it a habit to pray for all our Mechanicsville churches! (Every time you drive by this or any church, shoot up a quick prayer for that house of worship and their pastor!)
I‘d like to thank the wonderful staff at the Mechanicsville Local who have been so cooperative, especially Sarah Oswald and Cindy Grant. It has truly been a joy to serve this community for our nearly 18 year tenure here. I love the fact that a whole generation of Mechanicsville kids grew up with me at Friendly Care Day School and I still get greeted all around town with hugs and “Hey, Pastor David!” from kids 3 to 21. This is a great place to be. It was a wonderful place to raise our family and we have loved our church, this town and its people.
I suppose the thing that God keeps speaking to my heart through this big life-change is this: “This world is not out home! We are just passing through on our way to our real home: heaven!” There, we will never say good-bye again! What wonderful reunions there! Let me leave you with a few final exhortations, one from God’s Word and one from me: “The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power forever and ever!” (1 Peter 4:7-11) “You can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd, but you can be happy, if you've a mind to!”
David A. Crisp, Pastor, Hanover Friends Church, Dec. 22, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday Evening Bible Study 12-08-10
A continued look at some of the more “obscure” parts of the “Christmas” narratives:
Last week- thoughts on the two genealogies form Matt. and Luke and how they related to a “curse” in Jer. 22:30!
Tonight, let’s do a little thinking about the Magi …(wise men).
According to the Bible, how many were there that came to Judea? (trick question!)
How many gifts? What were they? What special purpose(s) did they have?
(side-note about swaddling clothes)
Did the Magi come to the stable in Bethlehem? How do we know? Matt. 2:11, 16
Conflict! (again with the conflict?!) Okay, this time it’s not in the Bible… but dueling Christmas carols:
The First Noel: “They look-ed up and saa-aw a star shining in the ________ beyond them far…
We Three Kings: “Star of wonder , star of light, star of royal beauty bright, _____-ward leading, still proceeding…..” SO… which is it? Clue : (or maybe not?) Matt. 2:2, then 2:9
Question: Where did they come from? How did they know when to look for a star and how did they know what the star meant? No prophecy in Hebrew scripture instructs about a coming star...
But a “wise” man could know from scripture when to look up! Daniel 9:25 is an amazing prophecy which predicts exactly when Jesus would be born! How does this relate to 9:24? So 483 years (7 x 69) after the decree was issued by Cyrus the Mede to re-build Jerusalem the Messiah (King of the Jews) was to come.
How did Daniel know this decree would come? Dan. 9:1-2 What was he reading? Jer. 25:12,
Isa. 44:24-45:7 (application?)
So Daniel understands the "when" from Jeremiah and the "who" from Isa.
Now what do you know about the position that Daniel held in the kingdoms of Babylon, and Medo-Persia?
In Daniel 1, Daniel and his three buddies write the first veggie-tale: Then what happened? 1:18-21
In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream…then what? 2;2, 10-13, 17, 24, 27-28, 48
So. putting this all together….How did Persian Gentile Magi “wise men” know what it meant when a “new” star, or some sort of heavenly sign appeared in the constellations?
They knew because a Hebrew prophet named Daniel who was in charge of all the “wise men” of Persia 500 years earlier had written that the Jewish Messiah would appear that year. (Which he got from and angel and from other prophecies written generations before him!) So when the star appeared the wise headed out to Jerusalem since they were looking for the “king of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2) They did not “follow” the star until after they left Jerusalem and it “led” them to (probably) north Nazareth in Galilee, not Bethlehem. (Even though Herod's scholars had told them Bethleham.) Makes sense huh! Why would they need the star to "lead" them if they were going to Bethlehem when they already had directions from Herod!
So what does this do for you?
Last week- thoughts on the two genealogies form Matt. and Luke and how they related to a “curse” in Jer. 22:30!
Tonight, let’s do a little thinking about the Magi …(wise men).
According to the Bible, how many were there that came to Judea? (trick question!)
How many gifts? What were they? What special purpose(s) did they have?
(side-note about swaddling clothes)
Did the Magi come to the stable in Bethlehem? How do we know? Matt. 2:11, 16
Conflict! (again with the conflict?!) Okay, this time it’s not in the Bible… but dueling Christmas carols:
The First Noel: “They look-ed up and saa-aw a star shining in the ________ beyond them far…
We Three Kings: “Star of wonder , star of light, star of royal beauty bright, _____-ward leading, still proceeding…..” SO… which is it? Clue : (or maybe not?) Matt. 2:2, then 2:9
Question: Where did they come from? How did they know when to look for a star and how did they know what the star meant? No prophecy in Hebrew scripture instructs about a coming star...
But a “wise” man could know from scripture when to look up! Daniel 9:25 is an amazing prophecy which predicts exactly when Jesus would be born! How does this relate to 9:24? So 483 years (7 x 69) after the decree was issued by Cyrus the Mede to re-build Jerusalem the Messiah (King of the Jews) was to come.
How did Daniel know this decree would come? Dan. 9:1-2 What was he reading? Jer. 25:12,
Isa. 44:24-45:7 (application?)
So Daniel understands the "when" from Jeremiah and the "who" from Isa.
Now what do you know about the position that Daniel held in the kingdoms of Babylon, and Medo-Persia?
In Daniel 1, Daniel and his three buddies write the first veggie-tale: Then what happened? 1:18-21
In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream…then what? 2;2, 10-13, 17, 24, 27-28, 48
So. putting this all together….How did Persian Gentile Magi “wise men” know what it meant when a “new” star, or some sort of heavenly sign appeared in the constellations?
They knew because a Hebrew prophet named Daniel who was in charge of all the “wise men” of Persia 500 years earlier had written that the Jewish Messiah would appear that year. (Which he got from and angel and from other prophecies written generations before him!) So when the star appeared the wise headed out to Jerusalem since they were looking for the “king of the Jews” (Matt. 2:2) They did not “follow” the star until after they left Jerusalem and it “led” them to (probably) north Nazareth in Galilee, not Bethlehem. (Even though Herod's scholars had told them Bethleham.) Makes sense huh! Why would they need the star to "lead" them if they were going to Bethlehem when they already had directions from Herod!
So what does this do for you?
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Predictions for 2011
Once again I take pen in hand, or at least mouse under hand, to make my prognostications for the coming year. I do not purport these as prophetic, they are just my opinions based on my “view from here!” We’ll see how many come true, but either way it’s interesting and hopefully motivational for us to, as the Boy Scouts say, “Be Prepared” and as Jesus put it, “Watch and pray! Look up for your redemption draws near!” Someone asked me last week about my predictions for 2011 and I answered with three ominous letters… W… A… R.
• I have been predicting for 2 years now that Israel will strike Iran to prevent the Iranians from making their nuclear arsenal operational. While I was a little “off” on my timing, I still see this as the next “big thing” to happen in the Middle East. Look for a strike in the first 90 days of 2011 followed by global condemnation of Israel, chaos, and a regional war. This war could turn out to be the “hook in the jaw” that pulls the “Chief Prince” from the far north to attempt an invasion Israel expanding the regional war to where it will engulf many nations. (Ez. 38:4-13)
• The US will stay out of direct military involvement in this regional war but will offer weapons, aid and logistical support to Israel. Iran will call for suicide bombers to attack the US in retaliation and we will see some terrorist attacks on US soil.
• As a result of this war, global fuel prices will rise dramatically deepening the economic crisis here and around the world.
• North Korea will provoke a real “shootin’ war” on the Korean peninsula, dragging the U.S. into this decade’s old conflict, and proving once again the old axiom that any “unfinished” war has to be fought again. The only way wars are ended is with the complete victory or defeat of one side or the other. Read your history books. Any war that ever ended temporarily (even for decades) in a truce or cease-fire, eventually flared up again. The reason for that is that the underlying cause for the war was not dealt with. This holds true for spiritual warfare too! (Chew on that for a while.)
• Pakistan and India will move closer to war as Pakistan becomes very unstable.
• Vladimir Putin will strengthen his grip on a resurgent Russia.
• In Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will go through several attempts at his removal both violent and political but he will emerge stronger and more "Hitleresque" than ever.
• Here at home, look for Hillary Clinton to resign as Sec. of State sometime this fall in preparation for a primary run against Barrack Obama for the 2012 Democratic nomination.
• Palin, Huckabee and Romney will fade. Chris Christie of N.J. and Rick Santorum of PA will be the front runners for the Republicans going into 2012.
• “True Grit” will win “Best Picture” at the Oscars, and a “surprise” team will win the Super Bowl!
Some of these things MIGHT come true…. But here’s what we KNOW FOR SURE: “Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”
• I have been predicting for 2 years now that Israel will strike Iran to prevent the Iranians from making their nuclear arsenal operational. While I was a little “off” on my timing, I still see this as the next “big thing” to happen in the Middle East. Look for a strike in the first 90 days of 2011 followed by global condemnation of Israel, chaos, and a regional war. This war could turn out to be the “hook in the jaw” that pulls the “Chief Prince” from the far north to attempt an invasion Israel expanding the regional war to where it will engulf many nations. (Ez. 38:4-13)
• The US will stay out of direct military involvement in this regional war but will offer weapons, aid and logistical support to Israel. Iran will call for suicide bombers to attack the US in retaliation and we will see some terrorist attacks on US soil.
• As a result of this war, global fuel prices will rise dramatically deepening the economic crisis here and around the world.
• North Korea will provoke a real “shootin’ war” on the Korean peninsula, dragging the U.S. into this decade’s old conflict, and proving once again the old axiom that any “unfinished” war has to be fought again. The only way wars are ended is with the complete victory or defeat of one side or the other. Read your history books. Any war that ever ended temporarily (even for decades) in a truce or cease-fire, eventually flared up again. The reason for that is that the underlying cause for the war was not dealt with. This holds true for spiritual warfare too! (Chew on that for a while.)
• Pakistan and India will move closer to war as Pakistan becomes very unstable.
• Vladimir Putin will strengthen his grip on a resurgent Russia.
• In Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will go through several attempts at his removal both violent and political but he will emerge stronger and more "Hitleresque" than ever.
• Here at home, look for Hillary Clinton to resign as Sec. of State sometime this fall in preparation for a primary run against Barrack Obama for the 2012 Democratic nomination.
• Palin, Huckabee and Romney will fade. Chris Christie of N.J. and Rick Santorum of PA will be the front runners for the Republicans going into 2012.
• “True Grit” will win “Best Picture” at the Oscars, and a “surprise” team will win the Super Bowl!
Some of these things MIGHT come true…. But here’s what we KNOW FOR SURE: “Do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”
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