Like An Anchor

I <3 Yurts

9 April, 2013

So, I realized that I subtitled this blog “Thoughts about everything from cooking to yurts to Jesus” and I haven’t yet mentioned yurts at all. I’ve been talking to so many people about them in person that I keep forgetting to write something.

A book about yurts

For those of you who don’t know (as I didn’t just a few months ago), a yurt is a round structure based on several types of houses used by nomads in Asia. The basic design is a circular lattice all with a door frame topped by roof beams that attach to a center ring. Traditionally, the wood frame is covered by felts. Modern yurts use architectural fabrics and NASA-inspired insulation, or permanent walls.

I’ve always been drawn to round spaces: Hobbit holes, gazebos, outdoor spaces with curved hedges or plants for “walls.” Looking back though one of my sketch books, I realized I was dreaming about yurts even before I had any idea that’s what they were called. This sketch is from a dream I had and features a little fairy house topped by a hibiscus flower.

Fairy yurt on shelf fungus

Why yurts? Maybe it has something to do with what yurt designer Morgan Reiter said in the book I just finished reading.

Shortly after I started to build yurts as a business, we did a home show where we set up a demonstration yurt. People would walk in, look around, and then comment on how good it felt. I remember a woman leaning over to her husband and saying, ‘I love the way this feels!’ it was the first time I’d ever seen a building produce an emotional reaction.

When we’d do a home show with rectilinear models, people would make comments like ‘love your work, nice lines’ or ‘nice trim work,’ but we’d never get an emotional response. I realized that conventional construction can look nice, but with the yurt there is a ‘feel.’ an epiphany of sorts.

Maybe people really do feel more comfortable in places with curves instead of angles. After all, God didn’t create many things with harsh angles in nature. Rivers curve, trees have round trunks, even the earth is a sphere. Rocks and mountains can have sharp angles, but I don’t really think they feel very cozy.
Heart of Worship

7 April, 2013

In my last post on worship, I talked about blowing kisses to God, from the Greek word proskuneō. This time, I want to write about a more sobering verse, contained in one of Christ’s discussions with the scribes and Pharisees.

Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. (Matt 15:7-9; Mark 7:6-7)

This word for worship is sebomai (G4576 σέβομαι), which Zodhiates lists as a synonym of proskuneō. It means to fall before, worship, adore. The word translated “in vain” is matēn (G3155 μάτην). It can also mean, “In a casual sense, meaning groundless, invalid” (Zodhiates). Used together, it means worship that is a vain and idle show of adoration rather than the real thing.

Trying to understand what invalidates a person’s worship of God, I went to the verse Christ was quoting from Isaiah. It reads, “this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men ” (Is. 29:13).

The state of our hearts is extremely important when we consider what genuine worship involves. It is clear from statements throughout the Old and New Testaments that “the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7) and expects His people to be pure on the inside. The last thing we should do is remove our hearts from God.

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. (Prov. 4:23)

And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. (Jer. 24:7)

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matt 5:8)

It is equally clear that we cannot fool Him with worship that is not genuine. Read Psalm 139. God knows us to the very center of our being. He is the one who searches the heart and discerns our thoughts and intents (Jer. 17:10; Heb. 4:12). An idle show of adoration certainly will not fool our God, nor will He accept such worshipers when He is seeking those who worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24).

I want to close with a lovely song, from which I have borrowed the title for this post.
Blowing Kisses To God

3 April, 2013

This is a post I’ve been meaning to write for some time. I had intended for this to be my first blog post, but didn’t like the way it was coming together. Now, after hearing a seminar title “Wasted Worship” this weekend, I think I’m finally ready to write it and I think it will be at least two articles.

It all started, as so many of my Bible studies do, with looking in to the words for worship. The Greek word most often translated “worship” in the New Testament is proskuneō (G4352 προσκυνέω). Its most basic meaning is to adore, show respect, bow down, or prostrate oneself. My favorite Greek dictionary says it literally means, “to kiss toward someone, to throw a kiss in token of respect or homage.” It is connected with an ancient oriental greeting. When one party was “much inferior, he fell upon his knees and touched his forehead to the ground or prostrated himself, throwing kisses at the same time toward the superior.”

I love this mental image. Worship involves us bowing down and blowing kisses toward God. I think of small children who loves their parents so much that they blow kisses to them at every opportunity. We should be so in love with God, so much in awe of Him, that we want to spend time every day seeking to “worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23).

There is no room for pride in this definition of worship. It is the kind of worship that happens before God’s throne, which we are given a glimpse of in Revelation:

And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Rev. 4:9-11)

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. (Rev. 7:11-12)

And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. (Rev. 11:16-17)

What should blowing kisses to God look like for us? Assuming that worship is more than falling to your knees and literally blowing kisses sky-ward (though I’m certainly not excluding that), what do you think worship should be like?

I have some thoughts about this, but I’d love to hear what you think. Part of worship involves demonstrating our love for God by keeping His commandments (John 14:15), praying and praising Him, and studying His Bible. What are other practical, daily ways that you think we can show God our adoration and love?
The Altar of Our Hearts

29 March, 2013

A verse that my father pointed out yesterday when I was Bible studying has been on my mind and I’d like to share some thoughts about it before I take off for Michigan for the weekend. It is the first part of 2 Chronicles 16:9

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.

The word ‘perfect’ is from the Hebrew shâlêm (H8003 שׁלם). I know very little about Hebrew, but the definintion for this word that is given in my Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible is intriguing: “It means complete, whole, perfect … uninjured, unhewn, untouched stones … peaceful, friendly, cherishing peace and friendship … It is interesting that the stones for the original altar and Solomon’s Temple were uncut (shâlêm).”

It is indeed interesting that the word for a heart that is perfect with God is the same word used to describe an altar upon which sacrifices could be offered to God. It is even more compelling when we consider the New Testament verses that speak of us as “the temple of God” (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16). The Greek word in these verses is naos (G3485 ναός), which is used to refer to the Holy of Holies.

As we continue to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it is a good time to examine our hearts before God. Are we offering ourselves as acceptable sacrifices? Do we say with the Psalmist, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalms 19:14).

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1)

By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. (Hebrews 13:15)
Unleavened Banana Bread

25 March, 2013
View out the back door this morning

Following a meaningful Passover service last night, I’m devoting the daylight (and snow covered!) portion of this day to writing, and baking for Night to Be Much Remembered. My family will be getting together with friends to share a meal and remember the deliverance God accomplished in Exodus 12:40-42.

One part of Passover and the accompanying seven-week festival of unleavened bread that I look forward to each year is baking. For tonight, I’m making a New York cheesecake with unleavened crust, and my unleavened banana bread. This banana bread has become my family’s favorite recipe for this time of year. Some even prefer it to the light and fluffy version.

We received this recipe in an e-mail several years ago and I bake many loaves over the course of the seven days of unleavened bread. Since my brother has gotten older, we’ve discovered a ratio of 1 loaf to 1 teenage boy every 1-2 days must be maintained throughout the entire week.

Unleavened Banana Bread

Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup oil
- 2 eggs, well beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 large bananas, mashed
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (or 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup chopped nuts
Instructions

Cream sugar and oil. Add vanilla, bananas, and eggs. Beat with electric mixer until smooth.

Sift flour(s) and salt together. Add to creamed mixture, with nuts. Stir.

Pour into a well greased loaf pan.* Bake for 45-60 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the top is slightly rounded and a nice golden brown.

*The original recipe calls for using a single loaf pan, and that does work pretty well. It can be a challenge, though, to get the bread to cook all the way through without burning the edges. I now cook it in 3 mini loaf pans for 30-40 minutes, which eliminates the soggy middle while keeping the edges from burning.
Passover Love

23 March, 2013

Having stayed home from Sabbath services for three out of the past four weeks (our group is meeting in a room that triggers an allergic reaction – can take half the week to recover), I have had a chance to do more thinking and writing than usual on the Sabbaths. This week, I thought I would take the opportunity to begin a personal blog that I’ve been planing for some time.

I was reading John 16 and 17 yesterday as part of my pre-Passover routine, and two of my favorite passages stood out:

“At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” – John 16:26-27

“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” – John 17:22-23

Agape and Phileo

One thing I find fascinating about these verses is that two different Greek words are used to describe God’s love for us. Of the Greek words for love, the one we talk about most in the church is agape (Strong’s G26, ἀγάπη). This is the word used when John writes, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). The most commonly used basic definition is that agape means Godly love.

But this is far too simple an explanation. Another commonly word used for love in the NT is phileo (Strong’s G5368 φιλέω). It and the related philos mean “to love .. to have affection for someone … with the idea of overweening fondness … Specifically, to kiss” (Zodhiates). There is no easy distinction between the usage of the two words, because agape and phileo are both used in various places of man’s love towards God, God’s love towards man, and inappropriate attachment to earthly things. Zodhiates writes that, in general, agape involves perceiving the needs of the one being loved and meeting that need, “not according to the object’s concept of need, but that of the one who loves.” Phileo implies having common interests and a friendship with the object of one’s love.

Back to John 16 and 17

The word used for love in John 16:27 is philos. What this verse is saying is that the Father Himself has common interests and friendship with those who love and believe in His Son. This is the same word translated ‘friend’ in the verse where is says Abraham “was called the Friend of God” (James 2:23). In this context, it is certainly not a lesser love than agape. Philos is an incredible kind of love to share with the creator of the universe.

In John 17:23 the word used for love is agape when Christ says that the Father “hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” If John 16:27 doesn’t touch us to the heart, this should. God shares the exact same love that He has for His Son, the One Who gave up eternity to pay the penalty for sin, with us. Even knowing all the sins we’ve done and thought and said, He loves us that much.

This love is one of the chief messages Christ wanted to communicate with His people before He was sacrificed as our Passover lamb. We know by heart that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). But I think we often lose sight of how incredible this love actually is. God and Christ call us Their friends, and share Their own love that They have for each other with us. That is a powerful message to take with you into the Passover.