What's this blogger look like, anyway?

Argh! Lots n' ye has been wonderin' what ol' 'Pirate Ted' be lookin' like. Well, ifin' ye didn't see me in my cameo role in the big Simpson's movie this summer (because it wound up on the cutting room floor) HERE be a recent mug-shot.

Weekends; Open invitation

I generally try to observe the separation of Church and State, unlike a lot of Christians, I think it's actually a pretty good idea. Be that as it may, I do want to offer a standing open invitation to anyone who ever wants to come check out the high school Bible study that I lead every Sunday morning at 9 in the basement kitchen at St John Lutheran Church in Charter Oak.

Click here to see the kind of things we cover.

If you're nervous or shy or embarrassed or whatever, don't be. There's no obligations whatsoever. you don't HAVE to stay for church, upstairs at 10, to bring any money for an offering, or even to come back if you decide you don't like it. But of course, you are certainly more than welcome to stay for church, or to join our LYF if you want to for that matter.

Just follow HWY L51 into Charter Oak, you can park by the back and come in through the back door on the North West corner, keep coming through the room with the refrigerator, water heater and trash cans and I'll be there to your left at the end of the kitchen table. Of course, if you live IN Charter Oak, scratch that whole part about highway L51.

Right now we're studying Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. In October we'll start on how to think positive and try to fight off depression with Paul's letter to the Philippians.

Everyone is always welcome, but I'll never try to force my beliefs on you in school, but I'm always here if you need someone to pray for you about something.

Are you Salt y & Luminous?

Once again this Sunday, we looked at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12
Rate yourself on a scale of 1-4 (4 being the highest) on each of the 8 qualities prescribed in the Beatitudes:

• Poor in Spirit/ recognize your need for God
  
• Mourn/ admit your sin, take responsibility
  
• Meek/ Don't always have to get your way or be in control
  
• Spiritual hunger/ Want to know God better, He is #1 in your life
  
• Merciful/ Empathetic, compassionate, concerned for others
  
• Pure in heart/ Open, honest, known for integrity
  
• peacemaker/ Work out differences without having to get even, constructive
  
• Persecution/ Willing to stand alone for what is right, can take criticism without being defensive or feeling self-pity.

Here are some questions to ask yourself about the beatitudes;

• Where did you rate yourself highest? What's your lowest area?
• Do you know someone, a teacher, parent, relative, or friend who you feel demonstrates one of the 8 beatitudes in his or her life? How?
• If you're honest with yourself, is there one that you've actually gone to great lengths to avoid?
• Which of the 8 would you like to improve on the most? How do you think can God help you to get batter at it?

Now let's consider the very next 3 verses (Matthew 5:13-16):

13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

What is salt good for?

"Animals including humans need salt in their diets. Salt is used to season and preserve food. It is also used in making soap and glass...

Since ancient times, salt has been used to flavor and preserve food. Early trade routes and many of the first roads were established for transporting salt. Many ancient civilizations levied taxes on salt. Salt was considered so precious that it was traded ounce for ounce for gold." (http://42explore.com/salt.htm)

• Perservative
• Flavor enhancer
• Medicine, antiseptic
  
• Provokes thirst
• Ice melt
• Allows water to get much colder without freezing (like in home made ice cream makers) and allows water to get much hotter before it boils or evaporates.
• Helps you retain water (it's in many sports drinks)
  

So ask yourself, how and why does God want you to be salt in this world? Would you be more useful to Him or less useful, depending on how many of those beatitude qualities you got '4's on?

How can you help preserve people? Bring out the best in people? Help heal wounds? Make people thirsty for Jesus, the "Living water?" Melt hardened hearts? Intensify God given talents? Help people to "keep the faith?"

Lighten Up

Think about being the light of the world. Do you ever feel like you're stumbling around in the dark? Do you know people who seem to be lost? Depressed, under a gloom of fear, doubt, anxiety, hate, guilt, or anger? Sure, we all do- heck we all feel like we are from time to time.

The light's not somehow "within you" like Gnostics, Taoists, Buddists, Hindus, or Scientologists all claim- rather Jesus is the REAL light of the world, but when God created us in His image, that means He intended us to reflect His love and His glory- sort of like how the moon reflects the sun's light.

Think about a lonely country road in the middle of the night. Way out in the middle of nowhere. When there's a "new moon" it can be pitch black. Without your headlights, you'd be blind. It would be easy to run of the road into a ditch, or to hit a deer or a tree. Ah, but on a night when there's a full-moon, you could practically drive without headlights. Once your eyes adjust, you can see deer, cows, owls, raccoons, everything out there. And if there's snow on the ground, the moon reflects the sun and the snow reflects the moon. Add a few clouds and they reflect the snow... "a luster of mid-day to the objects below."

Ever notice how the bugs flock to a light in the summer? If you are a humble, honest, caring, kind, person of character, if you have the qualities that Jesus talks about in the beatitudes, you will attract people. You will "win friends and influence people" as Dale Carnegie once said. They will be drawn to you as a leader and who will you be showing them? Who will you reflect? Duh, Jesus.

Are you a floodlight? Are you a 300 watt bulb? Just a 100 or 75 watt bulb? Just a tiny night light? How can Jesus help you to shine brighter?

Here's a great song by the Newsboys about learning to SHINE.

Fwd: Chastity speaker at CO-U

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Allen & Peggy Staley
Date: Sep 14, 2007 11:29 AM
Subject: Chastity speaker at CO-U
To:

Greetings!

Rollie Wiebers has been gracious enough to allow chastity speaker Jason Evert of San Diego, CA to speak at Charter Oak-Ute High School on Monday, March 31 at 7 pm.

Students in grades 7 - 12 are strongly encouraged to attend along with their parents. Evert's message is very timely, his presentation is witty and entertaining and you will not be disappointed.

Most importantly, Evert's message will educate parents and students as to the real, often unknown, physical and emotional dangers of sex outside of marriage.

Evert is a Catholic but his talk at CO-U will be secular in nature. If you want to know more about Jason, you can go to his website, www.pureloveclub.com, or watch his show "The Pure Life" which airs on EWTN (DISH network channel 261) on Thursdays at 9:30 pm.

I would love to see the area churches join forces in promoting this event. Please pass this email on to anyone you think may be willing to contribute. Thank you.

Peggy Staley

Box 146

Charter Oak

_____________________________
Pirate Prayers at:
http://malloryprayer.blogspot.com

Ted's cartoons, artworks, photos, and commentary at:
http://tmal.multiply.com

"The gospel is meant to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." ~Garrison Keillor

HSBS: the Beatitudes

This hillside is the traditional site of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (see Matt. 5-7).

"1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

~Matthew 5:1-12 (New International Version)

We started this week by taking a look at what Jesus taught. This brings us to Matthew 5, the Beatitudes (the blessings) from His sermon on the Mount. I used the Serendipity Bible for discussion starters and questions.

One of the things that we learned (that frankly, had never dawned on me before) is that in this passage, Jesus isn't DESCRIBING what He thought were good people, He was PREscribing how He'd like His followers to be. Also, just like with the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20), God offers a promise (a blessing or "beatitude") that will come to anyone who lives out each of these 8 qualities. EX: If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you'll be filled.

I thought it was important to look a little closer at "Blessed are the Peacemakers." Obviously if you look at the rest of this website, beyond just the high school bible study stuff, you'' notice my leftist political bent, needless to say I'm opposed to the war in Iraq. So let me be perfectly clear, Jesus is talking in more broad terms than that. He's not saying "blessed are the antiwar protesters."

To really understand it, it may be worth your time to take a look at 2 Corinthians 5:16-20:

16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Being a peacemaker, is being a bridge-builder, someone who reconciles rather than becoming defensive, entrenched or self-serving. A peacemaker is someone who helps heal and build relationships as opposed to holding grudges, burning bridges or hiding out on their own private island. Ultimately, a peacemaker is someone who helps others come to be at peace with God.

Jesus is the ultimate peacemakers since through His sacrifice, we who are born at war with God in our natures can become part of His family.

We also turned Matthew 5 :3-12 into a payer, (If this is your first time to this website, I try to make prayers blue and in Arial font, that way you know that you can pray it as you read it.)

Dear Lord,

Teach us to be poor in spirit, to always remember that we are nothing without Your grace and mercy- Thank You that because of Jesus, we can now be called Your children (1 John 3:1)
Help us to recognize that our choices and actions all have consequences, Lord. Make us responsible for our mistakes and our sins, and help us to see how our lives effect the lives of others.
Lord, help us to put the needs of others before ourselves and our own selfish desires.
Give us a hunger and thirst to know You, Your Word and Your will better, God.
Teach us to have empathy for others and to have compassion on others, and help us to learn from our pain and our struggles, so that we can bring comfort to others.
Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10)
Use me as a peace maker, as a bridge builder and a fence mender, help me to forgive those who trespass against me just as you have forgiven me. Make me Your ambassador, Lord.
Give us the courage to not be afraid to stand up for what we believe in and help me to not be ashamed of the Gospel, but instead, to let our light shine in this dark world, even if it means being made fun of or being unpopular.

In Jesus name we pray,
Amen

Sunday School: Armor of God; Shoes of readiness to share the Gospel of Peace

Ephesians 6:15

Ever have the wrong shoes, especially for... hiking, bowling, running track, playing football or golf? Tap dancing? Ballet? Walking on the beach? Believe me, the shoes make the job much easier. Just ask any of the WWII soldiers who fought in the Battle of the Buldge, or in the Korean war, or the Civil War or with General Washington at Valley Forge.

Tip #1 if you live in earthquake country? Keep a pair of shoe by the bed. When we woke up to the Northridge Earthquake in January 1994, we were in total darkness once the tremors ceased. As we tried to find our way out of our destroyed apartment we could hear glass crunching under our feet. We totally expected to be bleeding profusely. What saved us from walking directly on all the broken windoes, picture frames and glasses and dishes were the layers of books that had fallen off of the shelves. But ever since that morning- shoes by our bedsides. Believe it.

If you are going to "stand firm" against the devil's schemes, God wants you to make sure that you have His shoes on.

Here are a few passeges to look up if you want to know how to strap on the shoes of peace:

Are you like me? Embarassed by your homely feet? Got yucky toenails? Major tan lines? Hairy nuckles? Well, don't be embarassed anymore, because you've got GOOD NEWS!

"How beautiful are the feet that bring good news" Isaiah 52:7

Feel nervous or anxious about sharing the Good News? That's okay, God will not only give you peace, "He'll BE your peace!" Micah 5:4-5

Just like John the Baptist's dad prayed for him before he was born, God wants to lead you in the paths of peace. Luke 1:68-79

Once, you were God's enemie, but Jesus put an end to that state of war, now there is peace between God and us. Romans 5:1

So, you can be calm, you can be at peace, and that makes you ready. What do I mean, "ready?"
You've got to be ready to explain to people why you have so much hope and peace. Be ready to tell them the Good News that brings such peace. 1 Peter 3:15

You say you wish you had more peace in your life?
Well, here's how. IF you bring EVERYTHING "by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving... to God" in prayer, then- guess what? THEN "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus!" Philippians 4:6-7

Be prepared, Walk on and Peace OUT!

Me ka pule,
Ted

Sunday School: Armor of God; Breastplate of Righteousness

This week we look at the breastplate of righteousness in Ephesians 6:14.

When you think about it, the breastplate may be one of the most important pieces of a knight's armor. Certainly, if you are a police officer or a soldier fighting in Iraq, you don't go without your handy kevlar vest. Why? It protects you heart and vital organs- duh! You can survive a shot to your arm or leg, but if you're hit in the heart, "th th that's all, folks!"

Your heart is not only the very real center of your body, it also represents the very heart and core of your being- your hopes, beliefs, what you love most. But the key in the case of Spiritual warfare, is not relying on you're own righteousness, but instead, putting on Christ's righteousness instead. We looked up a lot of verses this morning to drive that home.

First, we saw how in Isaiah 59, especially verse 17, how God puts on His own righteousness when He gets ready to do battle. It made me think a little about Superman putting on his cape in a phone booth.

Then we read in Zechariah 3 about how Jesus )AKA "THE Angel of the Lord") took away the high priest Joshua's filthy clothes and replaced them with His clean ones. This was symbolic of how God removes our sin and dresses us with His righteousness. It's important to remember that "the Righteous shall live by faith" as it says in Habakkuk 2:4.

Philippians 3:8-9 and 1 Thesselonians 5:8 remind us that it is Jesus' righteousness, that we accuire simply by having faith in Him that protects us.

Finally, Proverbs 11:5 and Ephesians 4:22-24 tell us about some of the benefits to wearing God's righteousness, which include being able to resist the pull of temptation, as well as long life and honor. Best of all, when we wear it, we become new creatures.

Next week: look out Nike, we're strapping on footwear that will make us always ready. We're talkin' the Gospel of peace.

Me ka pule,
Ted

Sunday School: Belt of truth

So, while we were studying the Full Armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-19 the first piece of armor that we come upon is the belt of truth (verse 14). What is the belt of truth? Well, I kind of think that it has to do with integrity and transparency, it's really at the core of having character (no mistake that it covers your core, abs/waist/guts). You've hear the old adage, I think it was Mark Twain who said that if you're always honest you won't have as much to remember. There's a political maxim that says that the cover-up is always worse than the crime. That means that we all sin and make mistakes, and if you fess-up and take responsibility for your actions in the first place, you usually don't lose much credibility, people will still trust you, at least they'll regain trust in you sooner. Whereas if you keep in lying and trying to cover up what you did, you will trip yourself up, your enemy won't have to get you, you'll get yourself.

In a graphic novel I recently read, "Batman;Year One" by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, Gotham Police Lieutenant James Gordon (eventually to become Co missioner Gordon) is under a lot of pressure trying to keep his new job, clean up corruption in his department and make time for his pregnant wife. He lets himself become close to a female detective to whom he's very attractive. They don't have sex, but they do let themselves get more involved than they should. They decide to cut it off and she gets a transfer to another city, but not before they're caught on film by Gordon's political enemies, who take advantage of his indiscretion to try to blackmail him into backing off of his investigations. I think Miller makes Gordon into a greater hero than Bruce Wayne and Batman. Gordon bites the bullet, he faces the music and confesses his adultery to his wife, who stand by him. Because he kept the belt of truth buckled, he and his wife weren't blind-sided when the accusations came by phone calls and press leaks. He was able to stand firm and (with a little help from the dark knight) he brought down the corrupt political machine and much of the organized crime establishment in Gotham City.

Now, I know that example is from a comic book, but the principle sticks. Without truth and integrity- including confession and admission of guilt and need for a savior, our enemies (the world, the flesh, and the devil) can take advantage of our weaknesses.

Here's a true story I shared with my Sunday School class last week- when I taught in L.A. our football team made the playoffs. Our game was up in a small oil town in the mountains of central California. Some of our kids were trash talking our opponents for being hicks. One of our players had to serve as water boy because his grades made him ineligible to play. He was so into the urban hip-hop thing, that he had a pair of pants that had to be ten sizes too big. Baggy was really in back then. Anyway, the poor guy forgot his belt. When he had to carry two carts of water jugs out onto the field, you can guess what happened. He didn't have three hands, so his pants fell and he tripped in the middle of the field, in front of the whole crowd.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness – 1 John 1:9.

Of course, the other truth is Jesus, He calls Himself the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). Think of it like wearing BOTH a belt AND suspenders. Whether you're a soldier, a fireman, a mountain climber, a policeman, or a football player, you need to keep your pants on to be able to do your job, right? To stand firm against the assaults of Satan and evil spirits, the temptation of your own sinful nature, or the whims and rocks and rapids of this cruel world, wouldn't it be great to have some extra protection? Think if it like an athletic supporter or a big Depends diaper or however it helps, but just know that God's Truth helps you stand. If you KNOW the truth, you can be unflappable. As a parent I may not enjoy having my child throw a tantrum, but if I KNOW more than they do, if I KNOW that in the long run, the boundaries I set for them are best, they can't wear me down. As a teacher, if I understand that kids will always complain and that they need to do a particular assignment, I don't take it personally when they whine. If I'm James Gordon and I KNOW that my wife loves me and will hopefully forgive me and I KNOW that the drug dealing and bribe taking hurts more people than a kiss, then I can stand to have someone try to smear me. Just like if I KNOW that I'm not a poop-poo head, then sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me. You have to KNOW that Jesus died for you, that Jesus rose again and lives for you. If you KNOW that God loves you no matter who you are or what you've done or been through... guess what? You can stand up under an awful lot.

Oh yeah, if you're honest- especially with yourself, let alone with God and other people- guess what else? You won't risk being a hypocrite either.
Next Sunday (March18), the Breastplate of Righteousness...

Prayer Request

Please pray for me.

My pastor called this afternoon to ask me to cover the HS Bible class for the next month or two as the 80-something former History teacher who teaches it is going into the hospital for cancer treatments. Naturally I have to start the morning we "Spring forward" our clocks. I'm looking for materials, of course there are only 3 boys who attend and with the time change I won't be at all surprised if they don't even show up.

I pray that God uses me and that it goes well.