Unused names of Jesus

Isaiah 49:7
"Thus says the LORD,
The Redeemer of Israel,
their Holy One,
To Him whom man
despises,
To Him whom the nation
abhors,
To the Servant of rulers:
"Kings shall see and arise,
Princes also shall
worship,
Because of the LORD who
is faithful,
The Holy One of Israel;
And He has chosen You."

This is one of those prophecies of Jesus that has God Speaking to Jesus, about the days when people will wake up and say, "Hey, Jesus is worth worshipping (divine)." If you think he may be referring to the nation of Israel here, read the whole chapter and you'll see why its basic math that this is Jesus.
If you're not used to passages like this then here is one that's similar, to stretch your mind...

But look at the names:
"...Him whom man despises..."
"...Him whom the nation abhors..."
"...the Servant of rulers..."

Are these some of the names of Jesus that don't make it onto the Zondervan roster? Along with "Friend of Sinners", "Glutton", "Drunkard", "Demoniac", "Worker of the power of Beelzebub"...

How about His description in Is. 52:14-15
There, he is called "Marred" in face and body more than anyone else! He sprinkles the nations with his blood, and kings are in awe of Him...

Jesus was a friend of sinners.
He came to love the outsiders
and fling wide the gates to God for them.
But the insiders didn't get it.
and they flung him out.

but that's how he accomplished His goal.
so now,we don't have to worry about being
flung out
by "insiders", do we?

...and I don't know exactly what I feel about the neglect of these names of Jesus. They bring me a lot of encouragement and comfort. I really like them.
...and I wonder what dark thing could cause the people who call themselves His followers to not only neglect these names of Jesus, but to lacquer Him over in such a muck of ungrace and religious form that he's hidden to the honestly hungry soul...

This is very very good and funny...

Jim Wallis Speech re: War in Iraq

you all know I'm not a news hog, but Read Jim Wallis' speech. Don't skip it. Definitely important. We are poised, brothers and sisters. Poised.
CLICK HERE

Thoughts about Lists

Sometimes I perceive the need to say:

"There is no list of things we've done that we can prepare in this life and bring to the throne of God. We don't present credentials, there."

Matt. 7

...and...


"There is a list of things we've done that awaits us there."

Daniel 7

Rev. 20

...and...

"Though we can't bring a dossier/portfolio, what went around does really come around..."

Rev. 14

...and...

"G.I.G.O."

1 Cor.3 Trial by Fire

One hour at the Park

Down the street two blocks is the Northside Children's Park. Seth and I go there now and then to play.
Yesterday we were there for an hour.

I played tag.
Pushed kids on swings.
Re-
connected with kids who've known us all this time.
They haven't been out much
since the cold set in...

When We'd been there for a few minutes,
a little guy, probably in the 5th grade, produced a 4 or 5 inch knife. I approached him and told him to hand it over. He passed it to his buddy. They passed it back and forth. Finally they listened to reason.

I dropped it in the sewer.

I made sure to tag that kid and include him in the games, showering blessing and fun on him. It warmed him up just fine.

Then, about 30 minutes in, we were all getting our hats stolen and chasing each other and one kid got mad, grabbed a crutch from a little girl whose leg was injured, and proceeded to pursue and menace the kid with his hat... or was it a shoe?

I don't remember, but I do remember that when he was swinging it around I grabbed it and told him to cut it out or leave the park. I was a grown-up. It takes a village.
Was that little guy going to pull a gun?
Were his family bangers who'd cap me on the way home?
I can't care about that.
I have to add a drop of Father to this 'hood while I live.

That boy left and returned with a big piece of lumber, which he menaced with. I took it again, and sent him off. He left uttering terrible threats about killing and shooting and what his cousins would do...

So that's how we played yesterday. Not a single parent around. Not a single supervising adult, outside the dope-boys on the corner.

Hey, if you're a pastor, or a church person, and you read this:
We need actual help.

The roof leaks.
Our people live skinny, without money enough to take the time to work the fields of the Lord without suffering loss in their family income.
These fields are ripe.
Why don't you help support the work in the field, so we can be more available to minister to our neighbors?

News on Tom

Our beloved Tom has been re-classified in the KY Correctional System. He has been downgraded from Medium to Minimum Security. This means he'll move outside the big fence, and have a lot more freedoms. His visiting hours and times will change, as well as some other stuff.

He continues to serve the Lord as the Chaplain's Assistant. Keep him in prayer.

Check out this LINK to his prison.

John Wallis is coming back to town!

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure, the Wallises are a local family that has spent the last year or two living in Delaware. they adopt kids. Lots of kids. They have 15 total, now, I think. That includes 4 of their natural-born kids and a whole lot of kids from all over the world.

Their newest, Seth, is still in China, where Sydney is picking him up in the next 24 hours. They'll come home soon, and the family will be set to rejoicing over him.

Then, John will start his new job in Cinci, and they'll move back here in the spring.

Please pray for the sale of all their houses and whatnot. That stuff gets pesky, and they really need the Lord's blessing in it.

Pray for all the people in the church that they left behind to forgive them for moving away when they went to Delaware. That seemed difficult to understand at the time for some, but when you have all these kids and an MDiv and no churches want you to minister, you gotta go where there's a job that'll support.

Now that job is in Cincy. Totally...