Tuesday, August 18, 2009

2Sanuel 5:11-6:23; 1 Chron13-16

Ren: [addressing the town council, reading from his notes in the Bible] "From the oldest of times, people danced for a number of reasons. They danced in prayer... or so that their crops would be plentiful... or so their hunt would be good. And they danced to stay physically fit... and show their community spirit. And they danced to celebrate." And that is the dancing we're talking about. Aren't we told in Psalm 149 "Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song. Let them praise His name in the dance"?

And it was King David - King David, who we read about in Samuel - and what did David do? What did David do? [paging frantically through Bible]

Ren: What *did* David do? [audience laughs]

Ren: "David danced before the Lord with all his might... leaping and dancing before the Lord." [smacks table in front of Reverend Moore]

Ren: *Leaping* and *dancing*. [stands up straight]

Sorry, I knew this sounded familiar and so I did a little investigating.

Chapter 6 is a short chapter packed with enough drama to fill hours and hours of discussion. It starts with David and his new house. He wants the Ark to be moved to his new home. He sends a couple of men to get it. Whist transporting it, the ox stumbled and it almost falls off the cart and so Uzzah grabs it to steady it and he is smote, not slew. This leads to the question, should he have let it fall to the ground?

David hears this and is angry with the Lord and says, FINE, I don't want it. He sends it to stay with someone else, this guy, Obed-edom, the Gittie.

What should happen to his house? Its glorified, blessed.

David wants a piece of that action and sends once a gain for the ark. This is the part that struck me as familiar. David leaps and dances before the Lord as the Ark is being driven into his city.

This next part cracked me up, because most wives who had been to a wedding reception with their drunk husband in tow, know from where Michal comes. She is none to happy with David and all his leaping and dancing. She doesn't think he should be leaping and dancing in front of the servants. Does a King forsake a little cred if he leaps and dances in front of the help?

David puts her in her place by telling her that he is leaping and dancing FOR the Lord......."You know, THE LORD that chose me to be king over your dad AND anyone in your family, you remember Him?"

WORD

This is so Jerry Springer.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can make all the jokes you want, but your salvation is nothing to take lightly. I would like to see you make light of the KJV NT's gospel, see how funny you think you are then.

Whendsome said...

Then by all means stick around, because I'm willing to put money down on the fact that I will STILL crack myself up.

Jamie said...

The guy was struck dead because he wasn't purified to be touching it. Further in the reading it explains that they didn't properly transport the Ark (with the poles) and by the priests who were sanctified to be handling the Ark. David is careful to do it right when he finally has it moved from O's house to the place he made for it.

Michal does think David wasn't acting very dignified, I guess. But who tells a king what's dignified and what isn't? Who tells a king how he should behave? She sounds a little snooty. Snooty? Snotty. Snotty? David unashamedly celebrates and praises the Lord. Many Christians do this now. They sing and praise the Lord in church, but when they go out to Sunday dinner afterwards, they don't pray before they eat. Is it because theyre a little embarrassed to pray in a restaurant in front of non-Christians?

Anon, I can tell you that Crystal's humor in her writing is in no way meant to be disrespectful. That's just the way she writes. I am completely confident that God knows the sincerity of her heart, and therefore, knows it too. Judging people and condemning them isn't a good way to plant seeds of salvation. In the New Testament you reference, it says to not judge - this pertains to non-believers. Although it is permissible to hold accountable other Christians, you shouldn't throw the first stone at non-believers. Writing with a sense of humor (esp. what she wrote in this comment) is not a sin. You should be careful about unilaterally determining what is sin. Her humor is NOT akin to blasphemy.

Anonymous said...

You make a lot of claims to know the mind of God, mister.

Additionally, not to argue with you, since this is your web-site, but you make some judgmental comments then in the very next paragraph, you say don't judge. LOL!

I'll keep an open mind and pray for Cristal, and also pray for you Jamie.

Jamie said...

Anon, I make zero claims to know the mind of God except what is expressly or strongly inferred in the Word of God. It's just that the only sin Crystal could be even close to committing is blasphemy, and I don't think finding humor in a Bible story (and there is plenty) constitutes blasphemy. Your tone in your first comment was seemed somewhat judmental, that's all I was saying. And I've re read my comment and have found nothing in there to be judgemental. It's ok to point out when someone is wrong or commits a sin, but that's not synonymous with casting judgement. I didn't say David's wife was bad because she seemed snooty, that would be judging. Not merely pointing out that her comments/thoughts came across as snooty. Regardless, God apparently thought so because He blessed her with no children. I'm confident in going with God's judgement of her.
Thanks for praying for us, we need it. And I like being called mister...no body calls me that, makes me feel like an adult.
I will say this, though...I sometimes think Crystal's humor is a little off color, but as long as it isn't blasphemous, then I don't see what the problem with it is. God clearly has a sense of humor. And since it was King David she was comparing to a drunk husband at a wedding and not Jesus or God, then I would venture to say it's ok. Let's not forget David was less than perfect...conspiracy to commit murder and adultery.

Jamie said...

Anon, if you, at any time have a different interpretation of our readings, by all means, write a comment and tell us what that interpretation is. That is exactly what this blog is about. Thanks.

Whendsome said...

I also want to say thank you for praying for us, I love the idea of some "anonymous" person praying for me. I think thats pretty amazing. As far as my humor goes, admittedly it about as dark as it gets. If dark humor is offensive to you then may I suggest that maybe you shouldn't read this.

Anonymous said...

I am not offended, it's not my soul at stake.

Whendsome said...

Good then, neither of us need worry.. My soul's just peachy.

Anonymous said...

Your soul is most definitely not peachy. You are on a path that will lead you away from salvation, not towards it. Without accepting the role of Jesus Christ, as your personal savior, you are without any hope of redemption, I am sorry to say.

Jamie said...

J, I mean Anon, Crystal is definitely on the path to salvation. Do you know, or have you ever known, a border-line atheist that agreed to read and write about the Word of God everyday? I dare say, not. As a Christian you should well know that even a 5 minute talk with someone can plant a seed of salvation in them that can grow. So how much more then an entire year of reading the entire Bible? You should be rejoicing and praising God that she is allowing the Word of God to be planted and take root in her heart. By saying her soul isn't peachy, you are being judgemental. I won't re-hash what we already talked about concerning being judgemental. Now, once we are done with this, she may or may not stay on this path. She may very well choose to go back the way she came. I won't go over the parables of the mustard seeds, but you should know what they are. So, let's continue to sew these seeds and tend to them, not agitate or uproot them. Afterall, it was Jesus who said, 'he who is without sin cast the first stone.' when the prostitute came to seek Him. So, are you then going to cast the first stone although Crystal has not sinned in any of her writings? It is absolutely permissible to seek answers and to try and understand God's Word, Creation, Will, etc. It's apart of being created in His image. It is permissible to respectfully ask questions. God never says that's wrong or a sin. It is permissible to point out a sin, but not to pass sentencing in the name of God. You are passing sentencing. How's the City of Angels? Btw, you had the quickest conversion in history, probably.

Anonymous said...

Romans chapter 8 is considered the great chapter in the Bible that teaches us about being led by the Spirit.

But it is also a chapter that explains some of the differences between the law and grace. In fact if you want to clearly understand the idea of being led by the Spirit then you need to understand the difference between law and grace.

The differences between living by the law and living by grace are the same differences as living a life led by the Spirit and living a life not led by the Spirit.



The Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse 1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

This Bible verse is one of the great promises of God. What Paul is teaching here Jesus already taught in John chapter 3:17 when He said, “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” The promise is that any human being who trusts in Jesus Christ will find himself free of guilt, free from condemnation, no longer in danger of facing the wrath of God.



The word condemnation in both of these verses comes from the same Greek word which means to judge. To be condemned means to be found guilty, guilty of doing wrong and breaking the law. In human society if you go to court and a judge finds you guilty, then you are condemned and there will be punishment. The same is also true with God. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement:”

All human beings will die one day and all humans will stand before God to be judged. The Words of God here in Romans 8:1 are like a sweet song that will sooth the penitent mind because just as the Bible says in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” Romans 8:1 says that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Anonymous said...

The reason that there is no condemnation is because of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 verse 17, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Jesus Christ fulfilled the law 2000 years ago by living a life without sin, by never once breaking the law of God. And even more importantly Jesus died for your sins and for mine and He rose again on the third day. He sacrificed Himself. He took your condemnation. Therefore, if you take Him, there will be no condemnation for you because you will be in Christ Jesus.

God has created man with a conscience. Your conscience is the ability God has given you to understand the difference between right and wrong. How strong your conscience is will depend upon what you choose as your moral standards and it will depend upon how well you understand the Bible. But no matter how weak your conscience is you cannot escape guilt in this life or especially in the next. Galations 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” The results of sin include guilt, corruption, suffering, death, and eternal condemnation from God. Have you ever heard a child or any other person ask, “Why did that person die?” The answer is: because we are all sinners. Only those who understand their own sinfulness can truly appreciate the great blessing found in the promise of Romans 8:1.


If you want to be a partaker of the peace of mind and eternal assurance that this verse provides, study the law of God and examine it closely. If you rely upon the grace of God to give you the courage to face the truth, you will discover just how miserably you have failed in keeping God’s law.

I am not casting stones, and my conversion happened when I was 15 years old, and again when I was 41 years old after straying from the Church and my God and to be perfectly frank, my marriage. I don't make the rules, or the dire situation you find yourselves in with regards to the prospect of your eternal damnation without Christ.

We hold ourselves accountable, and shine a light up to those who do not, and neither is accusatory or damning, but enlightening!

Jamie said...

All of you should know that the recent "Anon" postings shown here are in fact, Groman from before. He has changed his tactics and heightened his stupidity to new levels. He is now, as you can well see, attempting to disrupt the blog by arguing as some sort of fundamentalist on "my" side now.

His last two postings have been plagiarized, as have been at least one from before when he was still utilizing "Groman" as a name.

Even if this anon weren't Groman, and were a "real" Christian. You can see by all of his erroneous judgemental statements that he has put himself in quite a position. As I'm sure many of you have noted, I have said that in the N.T. it tells believers that they have an obligation to rebuke one another when they see one another committing a sin. Well, ANON, you have done just that. Plagiarism is at least lying, and probably stealing....most likely both. Lying and stealing, as you know, are sins. From one Christian brother to another, consider yourself rebuked. I trust you'll remedy the situation.

The place he stole his last couple of comments from was: Biblegems.com/BRUCEROM8V1-4.HTM

So, here we have someone who claims to be a Christian, judging an atheist who is making an outstanding effort to understand and seek God by reading His word everyday, claiming or at least inferring that she is committing some sort of sin by finding humor in the Bible, yet he is caught lying and stealing via plagiarism. We are all sinners. "All have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." - Rom. 3:23

J, G, Anon, whatever, I think I can comfortably speak for Crystal (and most definitely Christians) by asking that you no longer participate, in that, you are being decidedly unhelpful. Thanks. Good luck to you.

Jamie said...

Anon, btw, plagiarism is not only immoral as noted, but also illegal. In fact, in this case, state lines have been crossed, therefore this may be a felony. We'd rather not take this to the next level so please don't push us to do so.

And to all, please reference your sources if you're going to use other's materials...Bible not necessarily withstanding as this is about the Bible.

Anonymous said...

You can call me whatever you like, but I'm neither G nor J.

Your blog was referenced on both Rapture Ready forum as well as a few "atheist debate" sites with a call to action, from www.whywontgodhealamputees.com forums by someone asking for help to debate.

If you would like my contact information, I'd be glad to share it with you, but I will not do so on the open net.

As for plagarism, there are people more eloquent than I and I would love to express myself as wonderfully as others, and do so when I can.

I would be glad to link sources if you can show me how to do so. More importantly, you should focus on continuing to curb some of the blasphemy that permeates this dicussion from your opponent.

Jamie said...

Anon, it doesn't matter what your reason is for stealing another's writings. It doesn't matter how eloquent they are, or you aren't. It is stealing and lying. And those are both sins. It's not ok to steal someone else's car because it's better than yours. Why are you worried about the speck in your sister's eye, when there's a plank in your own? And now, by your attitude and non-answer over getting caught, and by continuing to declare Crystal as blaspheming when she is not, you are causing her to stumble....yet another sin. You need to concentrate on you and getting yourself into order.
If I saw Crystal put something on here that was blasphemous I would definitely point that out. However, I have not yet seen that. If anyone else has, they have failed to point it out as well.
And she is not my opponent. She is a friend who is interested i learning more about what and why Christians and I think and believe the way we do, because she is interested in possibly coming to know Christ herself. You are attempting miserably at making her adversarial.
Being a computer guy you should know that we know who you are. It is one thing to get embarrassed by being caught, whether that is trying to be someone else or plagiarizing, but to then continue to deny it or gloss over it with compliments is only serving to make yourself look ridiculous.
The writings you stole and attempted to pass off as your own had nothing to do with our discussion or our reading for that day. We will fully get to all of that in due time. If you continue with these distractions I'm afraid you might have more to fear than my rebuke, Crystal's disdain, or a plagarism charge.

Jamie said...

BTW, you will never be able to set us against each other. Likewise, you will never get me to say that any particular sin she may commit is ok. Crystal is not a Christian, in that she hasn't prayed "that prayer", but I can tell you in the practice of how she lives her daily life, she more closely follows the precepts of the Bible than many believers I know. So, if at some point she becomes a believer and prays that prayer, she will have easier adjustments than most. Since she is not a believer it is not really my responsibility or yours to bring to light every time she sins. We both have enough of our own sins to worry about. However, blasphemy being as serious as it is, if I saw something that I thought was close, I'd definitely point it out, as I did to you the last time I responded to you when you were still going by Groman. In other words, you're wasting your time.
We will finish the Bible
We will finish this blog
We will remain friends regardless of her choice at the end of this blog.
God's Will will be done.
I will do all that I can to promote His Will.

Anonymous said...

It absolutely is my responsibility as a Christian to point out when people reject or are ignorant about the message of God, and to the intent of the gift of salvation.

In Matthew 18:21 peter said to the Lord, "How often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" I think that each of us have a duty to give testiment with patience, but that certainly doesn't give us the ability and freedom to simply stand by while blasphemy and mockery takes place both from your posters and in fact YOU and your Opponent in the debate. Whether you are "friends" as you put it, or not, is not my place to say or criticize, but as a CHRISTIAN it is 100% in my right to point out the hypocrisy of facilitating discussions that are at best blasphemous.

Another verse, and sorry like you said, it's not about what this entry is, but since you are attacking me over and over for NO REASON WHATSOEVER, I'm going to igoore it and keep on talking.

Go read Matthew 13:44 for more insight to what I'm talking about

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it."

There is no magical bullet that you can shoot to give your friend the ability to find Christ, just as you didn't have it forced down your throat, I'm guessing. You have to weigh it and find out if that's what you need in your life and whether salvation is something you feel you deserve and can earn through serving God and Jesus Christ.

Our goals as Christians and our RESPONSIBILITY should clearly be to make sure they understand the seriousness of the wager, and that they were born into this sin with only one way out and to weigh that and embrace and accept Christ willingly.

And this constant badgering about knowing who we are is very odd, i'm unsure of the roots, of this behavior, but I can, again, contact you if you would like to speak off line, as I indicated previously. You apparenly have some issues with stalkers, unfortunately.

Either way God bless you and I will keep both of you in my prayers and thoughts.

Jamie said...

Wrong. It is not your responsibility to judge non-Christians. Especially when you still refuse to acknowledge that you plagarized someone else's work. You deceived (lied) and stole. Yet you continue to run your mouth about imaginary blasphemy. Therefore, it is YOU who is ignorant of God's Word. You should have realized before you undertook this nonsense that you, as an atheist, would be even worse at arguing from a Christian perspective than from your own. Duh.
At best blasphemous? Oh, boy. You really are ignorant. Since blasphemy is the only sin that the Bible says is unforgivable, then that statement is one of the truly most ignorant statement of all time.
Crystal knows perfectly well the seriousness of her non-belief from a Christian perspective, and she knows the only way she receive the free gift of salvation, soooo... once again, you have no idea what you're talking about....which means once again that you are talking from ignorance.
We do have a problem with people who are stalkers that don't get what this is about for some reason, or don't care. Which, any true Christian would. Any true Christian would fully expect the powerful Word of God to do its work in an atheist if that atheist would only read it with an open mind....which is absolutely what she is doing.
You have: judged, lied, stole, refused rebuke, caused an unbeliever to stumble, and erroneously defined humor as blasphemy. And you continue to ignore everytime these are mentioned, as though they'll just go away. Crystal pretty much knows everything that is a sin. She is currently a non-believer. You are a believer. What's your excuse?
Burn those bridges, Justin, burn em.

Jamie said...

BTW, I'm going to talk to Crystal about it, and assuming that she at least grudgingly agrees, I'm going to poke around on Monday and see who I can speak with about the whole plagarism thing. I'll speak with the folks that run this site as well as the authorities in your area; afterall, you were given a fair warning, and it is my duty as a Christian to report criminal/unlawful activity. That, of course, will not stop me praying for you, specifically that you'll come to realize that you need to ask God for willfully and deliberately lying and stealing.

Oh, and Justin, in case this is a feeble attempt to try and cast a poor light on Christians, you should know that both Crystal and I are fully aware that there are some "Christians" who act in a non-Christian way. Crystal as also been made aware that people who willfully and deliberately live a life of sin are, in fact, by Biblical definition, not Christians. I'd say it was a nice try....but it really was kind of weak - much too aggressive and too obvious for a special ops guy.