Thursday, March 29, 2012

1815- HEAD TRANSPLANT

I have been reading the San Antonio paper the last few weeks- and they have been running some ad for dental implants [fake teeth].

They have the ‘before/after’ pictures- whenever I see the ad- I think ‘before what? A complete head transplant’!

Yes- the before shots remind me much of my homeless buddies- the after shots look like glamour pictures for the ‘most beautiful person in the world’ contest.

This last week I have reached a sort of milestone- a few years ago I began praying [more than usual] for all types of criminal cases that I read about- or see- on the news.

I actually painted their names all over my gazebo- the back fence- and yes- right on the back and sides of the house [along with lots of bible verses].

I have hundreds of pictures/articles cut from the paper- their pinned to my office walls.

You say ‘John- I know you mean well- but do you think this is normal’.

Actually no- neither does my wife.

I have been threatened ‘if you keep doing this- I will paint the whole house’.

My paints [and brushes] have been hidden [by others!]- and when Christmas comes around- I tell the kids ‘hey- just get me another 5 gallon bucket of paint- I’m running low’ [yes- this part is a joke].

Some of the more severe cases- the ones that stick in my mind- I paint their names- the others I just pin up the article.

Sometimes I see the cases more than once- at the time of the crime- and then when they get sentenced.

This week Jacob Gonzales was sentenced to life without parole.

He plead guilty to a triple homicide he committed last year- shot 3 girls in cold blood.

The worst homicide the city has ever seen.

So I had written the name of Jacob down- and saved the article.

As I looked for a spot to paint the name- I realized that I already wrote the name Jacob- in big letters- on a ladder on my gazebo [long story- bible verse about Jacobs Ladder].

So it kinda just fit.

I knew his case was significant- I do ‘forever’ pray for these guys [and women] and being it was a local case- and he will be in jail for life- he would benefit more from the prayers.

During my normal reading for the week- I was reading Jeremiah chapter 31.

I usually focus on one or 2 chapters a week- and if I remember I comment on them at the end of the week.

As I read chapter 31- it starts with a verse that should be added to the previous chapter.

Sometimes you run into a chapter like that- our bible chapters and verses are really ‘man made’ that is the chapters themselves are not inspired- just the content [chapter divisions].

So I thought ‘heck- let me go ahead and see if the Lord has something for me in chapter 30’.

Now- this is the week where I added Jacob to my prayer group- again.

And I felt there was some special significance to his case.

In Jeremiah chapter 30 the Lord says ‘this is the time of Jacobs’s trouble- and I will save him out of it’.

It would take too long to teach the actual doctrine of Jacobs Trouble- but it is a long- and sometimes controversial teaching that we find all through the bible.

I say controversial because many [most?] Protestants have an ‘end time’ teaching about this [called Dispensationalism] that I don’t agree with.

I hold more to the historic churches’ view on these passages [Catholic, Orthodox, etc.]

But Jacob- in the bible- is the son of Isaac- the son of Abraham.

God changes his name to Israel [he is the father of the 12 tribes of Israel].

And the name obviously holds a lot of significance in the bible.

The ‘trouble’ part refers to the passages we find in the bible that speak about a very troubling time for Israel as a nation- in many of the End Time books/movies- it’s called ‘The Great Tribulation’.

But the significance for me- this week- was God kinda spoke to me thru the connection of this kid Jacob- who I prayed for all week.

Yes- Jacobs’ time of trouble.

In chapter 31 [Jeremiah] God tells Israel ‘there is coming a time when I will make a new covenant with you- not like the one I made with you during the time of Moses’.

This fits in with what I taught last week- how the apostle Paul said we are not under the old law [Moses and the 10 commandments] but under a new covenant- the new and everlasting covenant of the Blood of Jesus.

In the chapter it says God will write his law on our minds and hearts- it won’t just be an outward law- written on tables of stone- but one written on the inside.

Yes- he says ‘all things will be new- I will never remember your sins any more’.

You know- I guess complete head [heart] transplants can happen- but it takes a miracle from God.

www.corpuschristioutreachministries.blogspot.com

Note- Do me a favor, those who read/like the posts- re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. Thanks- John

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