Sleep, Peace, and Lions

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Psalm 4:8 King James Version

⁸ I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

 

I love the majestic English of the King James Version of the Bible, don’t you? I read Psalm 4 this morning, and it reminded me of an incident in our Tanzanian experience and also of Rose, our fearless leader, who assigned us the prompt: “Write about the blessings you have in your life.” During this NaNoWriMo month, I am trying to whip my Ikizu Memoirs into final or at least semi-final form. I am on chapter 53 of 58 planned chapters. Sylvia is my editor, and she recently sent me chapter 41 entitled Lion Encounter.

On Sunday night we were camping with our group in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Serengeti National Park. In our tent we had our one-year-old daughter and the three Conway children, too. I awoke in the predawn to the sound of something dropping onto the roof of our tent. Deciding it must be a small branch from the tree we had pitched under, I turned over to go back to sleep. Suddenly, George’s shout: “Get out of here!” from the next tent, shocked me into action. Grabbing a flashlight, I jumped up and raced to the door of the tent, unzipped it, and shone the flashlight out into the darkness.

I stopped dead. Frozen. Not ten feet were the shining eyes of two lions staring back at me. There was nothing between me and two lions! They lay between me and the campfire. Time stretched out. The lions watched me but made no move. I remained still. Slowly, I swung the light of the flashlight in a wider arc. There were at least seven lions around our campfire, staring at me. Their eyes roved a bit to my right. There was George, clad only in his briefs, standing frozen in his doorway—and more lions.

I yelled to wake up the others in the group. Two teenagers sleeping in an old Land Rover looked out their windows. They started the Land Rover, and it backfired into action. All the noise was disturbing the lions’ tranquility. Slowly they got up and stretched. Regally, thirteen lions filed out of our campsite. There was no hurry, no obvious fear in their attitude, maybe only a bit of disgust.

No one got any more sleep. When daylight arrived and we got up to eat breakfast, on the roof of our tent we found two dusty lion footprints. Conversation centered around whether or not the lions were hungry. Two or three miles down the track towards the park headquarters in Seronera, we came upon our thirteen lions, busily polishing off two Thompson Gazelles. That ended the discussion about the lions’ lack of hunger.

This morning, my gratitude extends from not being devoured by lions then to an almost complete Ikizu Memoir now. Rejoice with me!

How grateful we are, Lord, that we can lie down and sleep because of the assurance that You make us dwell in safety.

 

 

 

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[1] https://www.instagram.com/elmarvn/p/CqPs67XKbTg/

Dog Walking and Terror

 

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Psalm 4:8 American Standard Version (ASV)

⁸ In peace will I both lay me down and sleep; For thou, Jehovah, alone makest me dwell in safety.

Cleo, our German shepherd-Labrador mix, and I had a routine that we went through every night. If I forgot one thing, she refused to do the next thing. When it was bedtime, she got restless. She sighed heavily, then came over and lay down where ever I was sitting. Finally, I’d take the hint and go to the coat closet and fetch her leash, a small flashlight, and a plastic bag for her indiscretions. Then we walked across the street and out into the desert beyond.

The desert is always solitary and indeed deserted. The city lights are ever close, so our stroll was never in the deep darkness of the desert a long way beyond us. But enough stars are actually visible to make out the constellations. The planets do indeed wander through the background of stars beyond. At the time, Saturn was bright in the sky and had been sneaking up on Spica for several months.

Often coyotes were singing to the moon all around us. On occasion we even saw one watching us boldly or slinking slyly away. Cleo was a bit larger than even the largest coyotes, and she has a great love of chasing them. I would slip her leash loose and watch her eagerly give chase. She was far too old and fat and slow to get too close. But she loved it, and the coyotes seem to love it, too. As they got to a “safe” distance, they would stop, turn around, and watch her, sort of egging her on.

One time, years before Cleo was born, I was walking Brenna, another of our line of dogs, when a woman appeared from the south with a couple dogs in tow. She was surprised or even shocked by my appearance. Our dogs were on leash, so there was no potential dog fighting.

“Oh! I’m terribly sorry. I promise I’ll never come out here again!” She was overcome with fear.

“Don’t worry,” I answered. “You’re not doing anything wrong and certainly in no danger. I like to walk my dog here, too.”

“Please let me go!” she pleaded. In her terror, she continued verbally groveling, making very little sense in what she said.

I was surprised by her attitude. I, an old man, was certainly not threatening her. I was at least twenty yards from her when she saw me and was not even walking towards her, let alone pursuing her. That she lived in fear was evident in everything she said and in every movement she made. She turned and hastened back towards the houses and streets.

Thank You, Lord, for a feeling of safety and that every night we both lie down and sleep.

 

 

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[1] https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP._6oRDiZBYfh4V7VuUe_VIAHaEb%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=67572bdf60898b97f1494ba51058ec7f616bc3670dd0efaa2216ac2d1c5e8393&ipo=images

Do Not Forgive!

 

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John 20: 23 Good News Translation

³ If you forgive people's sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

 

For 27 years I worked with a man who remembered every mistake or imagined mistake I had ever made and freely reminded me of all of them every time he took me to task about another imagined transgression. He often spent 40 minutes and more recounting everything I had done, or he had at least accused me of doing. At times I would leave the office, blood pressure sky high, shaking with rage. I began to fear that I would die of a heart attack from his merciless accusations.

In the Lord’s prayer He admonishes us, 

“Forgive us the wrongs we have done,
              as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us[2].”

Then He elaborates on this, lest people think that by giving us the power to forgive or to retain people’s sins we actually have the power to save or condemn them. Instead, He is pronouncing judgement on the person who refuses to forgive. He makes that crystal clear in his caveat immediately following the prayer:

“If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.”[3]

Throughout the centuries the Christian church has chosen to not forgive people their sins and to torture them mercilessly, even burning them alive or locking them in foul dungeons for years. Its leaders have claimed that Christ gave them that power in John 20:23. They have ignored Christ’s statement about not forgiving those who are unforgiving—those who abuse that power.

And now, the rest of the story of my merciless accuser. I started seriously praying for the salvation of my accuser. As time went by, he left off his accusations and became my strong supporter. I didn’t realize it at the time, but by praying for his welfare, I was indeed forgiving him for his accusations. This resulted in my having a much more tranquil, healthy, and productive life. Christ never did say, “You don’t need to forgive them!” in spite of the accompanying picture.

Dear heavenly Father, give me the grace to forgive others.

 

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[1] https://rockchurchfargo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/You-dont-need-to-forgive-them.jpg

[2] Matthew 6:12 GNT

[3] Matthew 6:14, 15 GNT

I Will Always Keep You Safe

Isaiah 46:4 Contemporary English Version

⁴ I will still be the same
when you are old and gray,
    and I will take care of you.
I created you. I will carry you
    and always keep you safe.

 

It is Sylvia’s birthday today as I write this. She loves the Lord. She has always loved the Lord. When I got disillusioned and was ready to throw out the baby with the bathwater, she still clung to the Lord. Growing up she aspired to be a missionary to Africa, to the islands, to Asia, to South America, no matter. We ended up going to Tanzania in Africa. When it came time to leave Africa, she resisted until the Lord almost had to chase her out.

Two of her babies were born in Africa. Numerous times her first daughter nearly died of malaria there, but our great God took care of both her and the child He gave her.

She had placenta previa when her second daughter was born, and she praised the Lord that He placed her in the greatest hospital in Iowa. He had her up and walking the next day.

Later South African Airways tried to ban her from flying because she was with child. They were heartless and anxious to destroy her by abandoning her in the big city of Paris. However, God carried her and kept her safe. He forced SAA to abandon their malicious attempt.

When she was “old and gray,” she fell some thirty feet down a rock face, broke seven bones, and gashed open her head. God sent a helicopter to pick her up and take her to hospital. Again, she was up and walking around the next day.

She was a passenger in a car when an 18-wheel truck T-boned her. In what appeared to be a sudden death situation, God stepped in and slid the car out of the path of the accelerating truck after letting the truck push it sideways for over 50 feet. Insurance totaled the car, but she got out and walked away.

Yes. She had her bout with COVID-19. For ten days she could barely keep either food or water in her stomach. She ran a fever and coughed. God helped modern medicine shake her out of death’s clutches.

Thank You, Lord, for taking care of and keeping Sylvia safe through more than eight decades!

 

Enthusiasm in Worship

 

Habakkuk 2:20 King James Version

²⁰ The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

 

The words of this text were stretched in a banner across the front of our church when I was a kid. They were read from the pulpit, and we were urged to exercise reverence before the Lord. Our songs were sung in subdued voices. Only very seldom did someone in the congregation venture a softly spoken, heart-felt “Amen!” There was definitely no running in the sanctuary. The robed choir would sacredly chant these words as they filed somberly in and took their places on the platform.

My grandfather was hard of hearing, so our family always sat on the right-side, front pew. Since Dad was an honored member of the church, his family was expected to behave with perfect decorum. Mom was very cognizant of this expectation and did her very best to make the family live up to the ideal. Yes, we respected the fear of the Lord—and of the razor strap behind the bathroom door at home.

Our salvation was received with solemn acceptance under the realization that it could be withdrawn on the slightest infraction. We trembled lest there be a hidden sin lurking in our past that might be revealed on the day of judgement, and we would be cast into the outer darkness, where all unfortunates cringed weeping, wailing, and gnashing their teeth.

We read, but rejected and ignored, such verses as “You will take up your tambourines and dance joyfully!”[1]  “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.”[2] “Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.”[3] “Clap your hands for joy, all peoples! Praise God with loud songs!”[4]   

A visiting week of prayer pastor taught us to sing the following with gusto (* indicates repeat three times):

 

I've got a home in Glory land that (clap) outshines the sun, *
Way beyond the blue.

Do Lord, oh, do Lord, oh, do remember me, *
Way beyond the blue.

 

I took Jesus as my Savior, (clap) you take him too, *
Way beyond the blue.

Do Lord, oh, do Lord, oh, do remember me, *
Way beyond the blue.

 

The next year the song was banned because it had a beat to it, and this caused the youth to move to the music. God forbid!

Was it always this way? “I saw,” wrote Ellen White in 1850, that “singing to the glory of God often drove the enemy, and shouting would beat him back and give us the victory. I saw there was too little glorifying God in Israel and too little childlike simplicity.”[5] In Paris, Maine, in 1850, Ellen White noted: “Sunday the power of God came upon us like a mighty rushing wind. All arose upon their feet and praised God with a loud voice; it was something as it was when the foundation of the house of God was laid. The voice of weeping could not be told from the voice of shouting. It was a triumphant time; all were strengthened and refreshed. I never witnessed such a powerful time before.”[6] Ron Graybill noted these and many more instances in his article “Enthusiasm in Early Adventist Worship” in the October 1991 issue of “Ministry Magazine.”[7]

John the revelator reported on Christ’s reaction to lukewarm religion: “Because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth!”[8]

Dear Lord, build a fire under us and send us forth with an enthusiasm that will ignite the earth!

 

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[1] Jeremiah 31:4 GNT

[2] Psalm 32: 11 KJV

[3] Psalm 149:3 KJV

[4] Psalm 47:1 GNT

[5] Ellen G. White to Arabella Hastings, Aug. 4,
1850 (letter 8, 1850).

[6] Ellen G. White to The Church in Brother
Hastings' House, Nov. 7, 1850 (letter 28, 1850)

[7] https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1991/10/enthusiasm-in-early-adventist-worship

[8] Revelation 3:16 GNT

Toy Trains

 

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[2]

 

Ezekiel 37:5 Good News Translation

⁵ Tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to them: I am going to put breath into you and bring you back to life.

 

 

The first few thoughts that flowed through my waking brain this morning were the words of the last verse of Amazing Grace. As I remember it, it goes--

When we’ve been there ten thousand years
            Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise,
            Than when we first begun.

 The vision of Revelation of the 24 elders sitting in a circle around God’s throne and continually throwing themselves face down on the ground and praising Him in vivid poetry flashed through my mind. I confess to not being inspired to an eternity of that nature. But then other things raced through my mind.

I have always been intrigued by languages. I listened to a series of 34 lectures by a Great Courses professor entitled Language Families of the World. He described the various classes of some 7,000 languages spoken in the world today and their unbelievably different ways of expressing ordinary thoughts. I’ve dabbled in over 10 of them. I would love to spend time exploring them all. The words of my thesis advisor came to mind, “I only have one life to live!”

As I tackled graduate mathematics, I found myself at the bottom of a vast quantity of knowledge surrounding me in every direction. I recognized that I had to forge my way through this in one direction until I reached its fringe. Then I pushed outwards and added a new bubble to it. What this did was open an even more vast array of unknowns to explore. I then had even more questions I wished to answer. The more we know, the more we realize how much more there is to discover. My curiosity is endless.

As a child I longed to have an electric train. We were much too poor to even consider buying one. I discovered a little shop in Bulawayo that had a delightful array of electric trains. I could stand there for hours and imagine what I could do with them. On one of our trips, Sylvia and I discovered a farm in southern Wisconsin where a farmer had a whole barn filled with trains and tracks. His wife showed us around, ran a bunch of the trains for us. When she left, she turned the power off, and all the trains stopped and sat there, dead, until she would provide them power again.

Life is like that barn of trains. The huge array of life thrives around the world. All of it depends on external power. When that “power” is cut off, life ceases. Everything lies there in obvious readiness to spring into action. Life is like that barn, and in some ways, God is like that woman in the barn. As long as God provides that elusive spark of life, it roars on; otherwise, nothing—desolation. We need the Sovereign Lord to put breath back into the dead bones.

Lord, thank You for Your constant supply of breath and life and the glorious promise it holds for our future.

 

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[1] https://www.scenicpathways.com/toy-train-barn-argyle-wisconsin/

[2] https://www.travelwisconsin.com/museums-history/toy-train-barn-198829

Woman Snake Enmity

 

 

 

Genesis 3:15

Good News Translation

[God said to the snake] ¹⁵ I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel.”

 

From across the street, Shirley came breathlessly into our house yesterday. I was in my office in the back of the house. All I could hear was impassioned conversation between Shirley and Sylvia. Finally, curious, I walked into the front room. Shirley described how her grown son, Ivan, who was on his way out the door, said: “Be careful when you walk out into the backyard. There’s a rattlesnake out there.”

“Well, aren’t you going to do something?” she asked in half panic.

“Nah,” He drawled, “Just be careful where you walk,” and he was out the door.

Shirley told me she placed a tub over the snake and came over to our house. Her breath was short, and her whole demeanor radiated distress!

Rattlesnakes live in the hills around our neighborhood. Katie and I find them occasionally. I have taught her to beware of them and give them wide berth. She can sense a bit of alarm and warning in my demeanor when I see the snake. I do fear that she will try and protect me by rushing in and attacking the snake—which would be a fatal move on her part. So far, she has yielded to my commands. I don’t kill the snakes in the hills—I feel that they serve a purpose in keeping the vermin down. And I sense that I am in their territory. But when they come into our area, they are out of line. I have been instrumental in getting those snakes killed. All my neighbors concur with this decision.

“Is it in the open?” I knew what I had to do.

“It’s under the tub! Oh. I’m scared!” she shivered, “What can we do?”

“Give me a minute!” and I walked towards the back door.

“What are you going to do?” she was desperate and figured I was doing like Ivan and leaving her to it.

“I’m going to fetch a spade,” I said matter-of-factly.

“He’s going to kill the snake!” Sylvia had no doubts. She has lived with me long enough to understand me.

Shirley led me around to the back of her house. There I saw a little red plastic tub lying upside down in the mowed grass. I looked at Shirley, “You’re brave to have done that! Good for you!”

I stuck the blade of the spade under the edge of the tub and flipped it. A large western red diamondback rattlesnake immediately began to take up attack mode. The first thing I noticed was that it had no rattles. The snake moved rapidly, and my first strike hit it about a foot down from its head, breaking its back. It’s wide-open mouth, fangs protruding, struck the spade. My second strike severed the head from the body, leaving it hanging by only a bit of skin.

“Wow! You’re so brave,” Shirley cooed, “Now what are we going to do?”

“Do you have a bag?”

She brought a plastic garbage bag stuck in a large paper bag and stuck it in a cardboard box. She placed this on the ground nearby and made sure the garbage bag was wide open. I picked up the snake by its rattle less tail and dropped it into the bag, tied it shut, and placed it in her garbage bin. I’ve heard that in some parts of the U.S., rattlesnakes are evolving into rattle less rattlesnakes. This has me concerned because rattlesnakes have always warned those who approach of their presence by their rattles. If that happens around here, it will make hiking in the desert more dangerous.

Satan, the old serpent, has been attempting to camouflage his presence, even getting the more gullible to deny his very existence. In this way they are not prepared for his attacks.

Preserve us, Lord, from the devil and save us from sin, so we will be ready for Your soon return.