bierkergaard

Mark 6:39 Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass. These words were from the mouth of Jesus right before he fed the 5,000. I recall my good friend Andrew delivering a sermon several years ago where he noted the "green" reference. It is one of the few sermons of his I recall with an almost You-Tube like clarity. I vividly remember his voice, his intonation, his pace, what he looked like when he said it. The only other time I remember a sermon statement of Andrew's verbatim was his talk on sex where he said if we wanted to "supercharge your wedding night" don't kiss until then. Andrew wasn't being a Legalist...he just wanted what was best for us. I happened to mention to Andrew in an email about a year ago (he is pastor in California now) the "green" reference. It was odd I remembered, odder that I mentioned it, oddest yet after he replied back. He responded amused...a member of his church and he had gotten ...

Mark 14:51-52 And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him but he left the linen cloth, and fled naked. "Here he comes, there he goes And he ain't wearin' no clothes Oh, yes, they call him the Streak Fastest thing on two feet If there's an audience to be found He'll be streakin' around Invitin' public critique" Yup, I am from the 1970's where "Streaking" was all the rage. Above are the lyrics song by Ray Stevens about Streaking that got a lot of air play. I did Streaking a few times with friends. It was weird and uncomfortable and before I drank alcohol. Needless to say, this young man mentioned in the verses from Mark was running naked from an audience and was hardly "inviting a public critique" (how about a public crucifixion?) from the hands of Roman soldiers. Evidence suggests that the naked young man was John Mark, an early follower of Jesu...

John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. Recently Lina and I had to replace our garage door opener (whole shebang). Back in January, when it was in the single digits, the old opener had gone bad. I ordered a new replacement part over the internet. Our wonderful and mechanically-inclined neighbor Mike installed the new part. How cool is Mike the Mechnical? He thanked me for helping him to fix my garage door! I kind of operated like the surgical nurse to his surgeon..."Suction"..."Yes, doctor." We decided to not do a major rebuild with the additional new parts that the company had sent me. It was too cold, time was too short, and we did too little. The truly "Terrible Too's." We were hoping that replacing the one part would fix the problem and save us some cash. Fat chance. All it did was delay the problem. Unfortunately, whatever was wrong with the garage door opener was more than ...

Neh 4:14 And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, who is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters, your wives, and your houses. This verse is quoted by writer John Eldredge in the first chapter of his book Wild at Heart . Eldredge's work admonishes men to be men...to live a life of passion and adventure. The cover of Wild at Heart says it all; it has a photogragh of a man charging and leaping up a rock-face like a mountain goat who has drained a bucket of Mt. Dew. Eldredge disdains "nice guys"...wimps in need of a wedgie (also known as a snuggie , grundie , gotch pull , or mervin . What is up with "Mervin?"....like to do some research on that one...probably came from a boy named Mervin who was on the "receiving end"--get it, "receiving end?"--of so many wedgies that his name became synomous with the...

Rev 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it. (ASV) With the white stone mentioned above in the Scripture verse, "And will give him a white stone" it is "Supposed that by the white stone is meant pardon or acquittance, and the evidence of it; and that there is an allusion here to the custom observed by judges in ancient times, who were accustomed to give their suffrages by white and black pebbles; those who gave the former were for absolving the culprit, those who gave the latter were for his condemnation." (Clarke) What has brought about this essay was my purchasing the other day of some very white and new Nike jogging shoes. My old pair of Nike's have been worn down. I was developing serious pain in my feet which is a solid sign that it is t...

For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer is worthy of his wages." ( 1Tim. 5:18 ) When Thomas Aquinas began to attend classes at the University of Paris in the 13th century, he seldom spoke up in class. His fellow students thought that his silence meant he wasn't very smart, so they nicknamed him "the dumb ox." (from Our Daily Bread) The Urban Dictionary definitions of dumb ox: dumb ox dumbbell stupid dork donkey dimwit cretin boob blockhead ass torpid thick slow-witted sluggish simpleton stolid slow simple-minded simple phlegmatic obtuse numskulled nitwit nincompoop moronic moron meathead lunkhead lethargic jackass imbecile impassive imbecilic ignorant ignoramus halfwit half-witted fatheaded feebleminded foolish dunderhead dunce dumb-blonde dumbo dummy dull dumb dumb head dumdum dumb bunny dolt...

Job 38:22 Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow...? I know that my time is short to write about last Monday's snow. Like a snowflake melting on the tongue, the moment is passing quickly. I was hoping for a blizzard sometime this year. The best shot I have at getting a blizzard at this point with the warming weather is at Dairy Queen. Maybe next year. Monday's snow kind of came out of nowhere. Even at 5:30 on Monday morning, local WGAL weatherman Matt Ritter admitted that he was not sure what the storm was going to do. That was refreshing. It is always interesting when weather broadcasters act so sure when they issue their five day forecast. Grandma's 80th birthday party picnic is coming up on Saturday...want to know if is going to rain? Stick your head out of the window Saturday morning. Otherwise, it is just a crap shoot. If you actually check to see how accurate their predictions are, you'll see that the Groundhog Day prediction is almost as accurate. The Mayo...