MLK jr. quotes for today's holiday

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'
Martin Luther King, Jr.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

We must use time creatively.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle. And so we must straighten our backs and work for our freedom. A man can't ride you unless your back is bent.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Water Festival Tragedy - in Cambodia

 As we arrived at the water festival, there were all sorts of snacks and toys and decorations. You could tell that everyone in the city from the very young to the very old were enjoying themselves. Ryan looked up information about the water festival online and discovered that
"Bon Om Thook (Khmer) n), the Khmer Water Festival, is a Cambodian festival celebrated in November. Every town and province joins in with the festival but the biggest celebrations take place in Phnom Penh. For three days, workers from every province join with the city's residents to celebrate by night and day.
The festival lasts for three days, and commemorates the end of the country's rainy season,^[1] as well as the reversal of flow of the Tonle Sap River.^[2] It includes boat races and concerts, and attracts several million people each year... The Tonlé Sap is unusual for two reasons: its flow changes direction twice a year, and the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons. From November to May, Cambodia's dry season, the Tonlé Sap drains into the Mekong River at Phnom Penh. However, when the year's heavy rains begin in June, the Tonlé Sap backs up to form an enormous lake." - Wikipedia
This is different from the other water festivals in southeast Asia which commemorate the new year.

 The streets were packed with people - mostly young people.

 We saw the traditional boat races. This tradition is an ancient one.

 People were flooding the area around the river to watch the boat races; There they said that over 1 million people typically attend this festival.

 We headed down by the palace where the king of Cambodia lives. The people really love their king, although they do make jokes about him being single and enjoying ballet.

 To our surprise, army and police officials began to line up - and a few moments later the king himself came to join in the fun at the water festival. Jayne Anne McKewin was thrilled to see the king! She always was a bit starstruck by him.

 Kids were everywhere - playing with small tires, small fish-shaped boats, they were digging in the sand and running around - sometimes holding a younger sibling on their hip.

 This is photographic evidence that Jayne Anne saw the king. And that was our water festival experience - until later when we went to the beach and heard through the grapevine about the tragic events of 11/22/10. "At least 349 people were killed and hundreds injured in a stampede in Cambodia that broke out while thousands were celebrating a water festival on an island in a river in Phnom Penh late on 22 November 2010." - http://www.rediff.com/news/slide-show/slide-show-1-celebrations-turn-deadly-in-cambodia/20101123.htm
The people we were staying with were all horrified - They felt the way Americans did on 9/11 - but it was much closer to home for them. The population of the entire country is less than 15 million and the entire country is only about twice the size of Ohio.

 This is the bridge where the stampede took place. We went to see it after we arrived back in phnom penh from the beach.

 These golden papers were littered everywhere around the scene - I'm not entirely sure of their significance.

 The vendors came with their wares as the mourning people congregated in the area.

 There was caution tape around the scene and monks visiting. Family members and friends gathered together in a somber mass around the river. Many people were crying or praying.

Some people (maybe some of the monks?) spread a rumor that was going through the city. People believed that there was an evil spirit that was like a dragon and killed people and might kill again if the spirit was not appeased. Additionally, it was said that only bananas would appease this specific spirit - so demand for bananas skyrocketed raising the price to $10 a bunch. The equivalent of a month's wages for some. Then the expensive bananas were left out in shrines such as this one as an offering to the spirit.
It was pretty wild and sobering to experience this national tragedy firsthand. I felt like it would be good to share some of the photos with others who might be interested in what went on there.

CG notes - Intro to the King

this is the final paper i had from the other night - the class notes themselves.

Challenge Group ’10- ’11 The Life of the King

Introduction of the King

1.      Introduction to our study

-         Why Study Christ?

a.     Every Heresy denies Christ. Christ is even controversial within “Christian” churches. 1 John makes it clear that people who want to be in with God need to have a proper outlook on Christ.

b.    Christ is who we aspire to relate with and become like (2 Cor. 3:17-18)

c.     Christ is the earthly representation of God – part of His role is to show us God’s character/relational pattern/wisdom/ etc.. in a way we can better comprehend. (Jn. 1)

d.     Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King ministers to every part of our souls. Christ the Prophet (truth-teller) ministers to our minds as we see the truth; Christ the High Priest (intercessor) ministers to our hearts as we realize our acceptance; and Christ the King (sovereign) ministers to our wills as we see He is worthy of our submission.

e.     Christ offers a “new and living way” of living a spiritual life on earth. (sidewalk example/ vitamin example – take in/ assimilate)

f.       Also, Christ is the crux of our whole belief, salvation, eternity, sanctification, ministry “fruit”, and anything we study in the Bible plays a part in pointing to Christ. He is the Ultimate.

-         Our study

2.    Map/Timeline/Resources/Homework

3.    Christology

-         Fully Human = Heb. 2:14-18, 1 Tim. 2:5, Jn. 8:40, Rm. 5:12-19

-                   Importance = Mediation/ Death

-         Sinless Humanity = 2 Cor. 5:21, Heb 4:15, 1 Jn. 3:5, Heb. 7:26-28

-                   Importance = Substitution/ Sacrifice

-         Full Deity = Col. 2:9, Rm. 9:5, Jn. 1:1-10, 30; Heb. 1:10-12, Jn. 1:18, Heb. 1:1-3, Heb. 10:10-12

-                   Importance = Paying for an infinite amount of sin;    

                        Revealing God to us.

-         Kenosis = Mt. 24:36, Mk. 6:5, Jn. 4:4, Heb. 4:15, 9:14, Jn. 5:30, 1 Cor. 15:3, Php 2:6-7, Jn. 14:10, 15:9, 14:28, Acts 2:22, 10:38, Heb. 2:17, 1 Cor. 15:21, Jn. 14:10-17

-                   Definition: At the incarnation, Christ gave up not only the environment of the Godhead and His position as Ruler, but also the use of His Divine attributes.

-                   Importance = Jesus can sympathize with us, and shows us an example of a life led in dependence on the Holy Spirit. Jesus made real sacrifices for us; not only on the cross – but even before that.

-         3-Fold Office of Prophet, Priest, King = Jn. 1:1-18, Rev. 22:3, Jn. 17:4, 14:24, Acts 2:22, Mk. 6:14, Lk. 4:43, Mt. 19:16-26, Isa. 9:6, Deut 18:15, Jn. 20:26-28, Lk. 7:16, 24:19, Heb. 4:14

-                   Importance = Fulfills prophecy and typology of the OT. Ministers to our needs as truth-teller, intercessor, and ruler. Defeated Satan, death, slavery to sin, and deception with His truth, love, and authority.

-         Pre-Existence =

-                    Importance = not a demigod.  He had true authority and infinity. Jesus being a Deity is something we cannot bend our beliefs about.

-         Salvation and Resurrection =

-                    Importance = Nothing matters without this.

-         2^nd Coming and Role in Eschatology =

-                    Importance = This world is not in order currently; things will be made right in the future. Jesus still has an important role to play. He is not just a sacrificial Lamb; but also a living King with a Kingdom.

4.    History/ Background

-         OT ends during the Persian kingdom; that was a time of re-building and general peace

-         Then Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and as he marched into the city of Jerusalem was welcomed to read the Law and Prophets and see prophecies about himself within them. He left Israel in relative peace also.

-         When Alexander died young, the kingdom was divided into 4 quadrants under his 4 generals. The Ptolemys of Egypt ruled over Israel. They lived in harmony with each other; this is when the Septuagint (LXX) was written.

-         Then the northern kings in Syria began to take control of Israel – they were not as kind. One of the Syrian kings was Antiochus Epiphanies who desecrated the temple (by slaughtering a pig on the altar) and killed 40,000 people in the city of Jerusalem. The Syrian kings began religious persecution of the Jews, and eventually made Judaism illegal as they were trying to assimilate them into the Greek culture (Hellenizing) During this time, the Jews began to rely more on town synagogues and lawyers (teachers of the Law) and Pharisees.

-         The Maccabean Revolt took place led by Mattathias and his family. They were tired of the years of oppression and the lack of religious freedom. Members of Mattathias’ family went on to begin the sect of the Saducees.

-         Pompey of Rome took control of Israel around 60 years before Jesus was born (63 BCE) He gave control of Israel to a wealthy Edomite/ “Idumaean” officer who found favor with Pompey. Also, the Sanhedrin was set up at this time.

-         The Edomite/ “Idumaean” ruler of Israel had 2 sons; one of whom was Herod the Great. This is likely the king who was ruling at the time of Jesus’ birth.

-         After Herod the Great died; Israel was divided up into 3 tetrarchies. Archelaus was tetrarch of Judea, Herod Antipas was tetrarch of Galilee and Perea, and Herod Philip was tetrarch of Trachonitis, Aurtanitus, and Batanea.

-         Archelaus was unpopular and ended up being banished in 6 CE. He was succeeded by a string of Roman proconsuls, the 5^th of whom was Pontius Pilate. After Jesus’ death, Pilate was later banished to Gaul and ended up committing suicide in 36 CE.

-         In 37 CE Caligula made Agrippa I king of first the area that Herod Philip had, and later the area of Galilee and Perea.

-         In 44 CE, Caligula reversed his policy of having a puppet-king, and reverted back to using proconsuls. Two of these are mentioned in Acts 23-27 = Felix and Festus.

5.     Birth

     - Born of a virgin (Genealogy)

     - Shepherds and manger in Bethlehem

     - Circumcision and naming (8^th day)

     - Redemption of firstborn and purification of the mother (1 month old. Num. 18:15-16; Lev. 12:1-4, 8) Simeon and Anna meet Jesus and speak (Lk. 2:25-38)

     - Visit of the Magi in a house in the city of Bethlehem (Mt. 2:11; also Herod’s edict about children 2 years old and younger means that this was likely at the time Jesus was around 1 year old)

     - Flight to Egypt

     - Return to Nazareth

     - Education

     - At age 12, he was attending feasts in Jerusalem

Discussion = Why is not much written about Jesus’ boyhood? What things about Christ have stood out to you and taught you something about yourselves?

"Jesus Christ: Prophet Priest" by Andrew Murray

This book was amazing. It was so good to read Andrew Murray again; he really knows how to communicate deep truths about Jesus more than anyone.

This book is on the short side; and actually is a written version of 4 of his spoken sermons.

Section 1 is on Jesus as our Prophet, Priest, and King.
Murray discusses how Jesus was the ultimate Prophet, Priest, and King. And how these different roles minister to our innermost being. He brings up the 3 "faculties" of man= mind, heart, and will. And then he proceeds to talk about how each of these faculties are damaged by sin, yet can find light and blessing through Christ. He says that Christ the Prophet shows our minds how lost and broken we are; then Christ the Priest shows the way to God and the love and acceptance therein. Lastly Christ the King is fit to rule over my life. It's a really nice picture of how our anxious hearts can go to the One with the answers.

Section 2 is on Jesus the Completion of Priesthood
He speaks in this section about the work of the cross. At first he gives a theology for why Jesus needed to be fully God and fully man; then goes on to talk about our nature. An ox is completely satisfied in a field of green grass; whereas we could never be satisfied with that. It's because the ox has a different nature than we do; and our nature has to be transformed - we need to be "born again". "I must have a nature in harmony with the Kingdom." (p.30)
Another blessing of this new nature, or heart, is that the law of God is written on our hearts. He speaks about it this way: "When I speak of an acorn, how do I know that it will grow up into a mighty oak tree that may stand for a hundred years? Because the law of the oak tree has been written on the heart of the acorn." (p.29) In the same way, having Christ within us gives us the chance to grow in huge ways because of the nature he brings into our souls. "Jesus, the High Priest, does His work within us. He gives us His own life." (p.33) He claims that this point isn't thought about often enough. He says we often talk about the external/legal/transactional element of Christ's redemption - but may skip over the internal redeeming presence of Christ within our hearts.

Section 3 is called, "The Lord Jesus Christ: Our Way into the Holiest"
In this section he muses on how for 1500 years, our God sent a message to all people that they are not worthy to come too near to God. The veil in the temple, the holy-of-holies, the whole priestly sacrificial system. And then on the day of the cross, the veil was ripped open! We live in a privileged time. Furthermore, Christ provides the ability to walk with Him. A "new and living way" according to Scripture. If we moan and say, We can't walk with God! It's too hard! He urges us to think about what walking with Christ is actually like. He gives an example of walking on a sidewalk and getting tired, and says - the sidewalk won't carry you by itself, because the sidewalk is dead. But we have a NEW and LIVING WAY- something (someOne really) who does carry us forward when we are too tired to take another step.

Section 4 is about Jesus being the food for our soul
In this section, Murray describes how food and nourishment works; then he talks about how we are to eat Christ - and then God will Himself release the nutrients into our bodies and strengthen us from within. "God has ordered everything so that the assimilation goes on quietly without any effort on your part, and without your noticing it...The eating is your work, the inward assimilation is God's work." (p.61)

A very good read overall! I highly recommend it, or any other Murray book having to do with Jesus.

kings of Israel and Judah

So, I did a study of the kings of Israel and Judah; and thought I would share my list for anyone interested. It's hard to format to show the chronology/who was ruling at the same time as who - so, I'll just list them seperately for this blog.
Kings of the Northern tribes of Israel=
Jeroboam - king for 22 years. evil. 1 Kings 12ff
Nadab - king for 2 years. evil. 1 Ki. 14:20, 15:25ff
Baasha - assassinated Nadab. king for 24 years. evil. 1 Ki. 15:27ff
Elah - king for 2 years. 1 Ki. 16:8
Zimri - assassinated Elah. king for 7 days.
Tibni/Omri - divided Northern kingdom/ civil war for 6 years
Omri - Tibni was killed by Omri's people. king for a total of 12 years. evil. 1 Ki. 16
Ahab - king for 22 years. married to Jezebel. very evil. 1 Ki.16:29-1 Ki. 22:40
Ahaziah - king for 2 years. evil. 1 Ki.22:40ff
Jehoram/Joram(son of Ahab) - king for 12 years. evil 2 Ki. 3ff
Jehu - assassinated Jehoram/Joram(son of Ahab). king for 28 years. 2 Ki.10ff
Jehoahaz - king 17 years. evil. 2 Ki. 13
Joash/Jehoash - king for 16 years. evil. 2 Ki. 13
Jeroboam 2 - king 41 years. evil. 2 Ki. 13-14
Zechariah - king 6 months. evil. 2 Ki. 15
Shallum - assassinated Zechariah. king 1 month. 2 Ki. 15
Menahem - assassinated Shallum. king 10 years. evil 2 Ki. 15
Pekahiah - king 2 years. evil. 2 Ki. 15
Pekah - assassinated Pekahiah. king 20 years. evil. 2 Ki. 15
Hoshea - assassinated Pekah. king 9 years. evil. last king of Israel. 2 Ki. 15-17

Kings of Judah - the Southern tribe =
Saul
David - king for 40 years. right.
Solomon - king for 40 years. right, but corrupted by wives.
Rehoboam - king for 17 years. evil. 1 Ki. 12ff
Abijam - king for 3 years. evil. 1 Ki 15
Asa - king for 41 years. right, but died of foot disease. 1 Ki. 15ff
Jehoshaphat - king for 25 years. right. 1 Ki. 22:41ff
Jehoram/Joram(son of Jehoshaphat) - king for 8 years. evil. 2 Ki. 8
Ahaziah - king for 1 year. evil. also killed by Jehu. 2 Ki. 8-9
Athaliah - queen for 6 years. evil. Ahaziah's mother; assassinated most of the court. 2 Ki.11
Joash/Jehoash - king for 40 years. right. 2 Ki. 11-12
Amaziah - king for 29 years. right.  2 Ki. 14
Azariah/Uzziah - king for 52 years. right. 2 Ki. 15
Jotham - king for 16 years. right. 2 Ki. 15
Ahaz - king for 16 years. evil. 2 Ki. 16
Hezekiah - king for 29 years. right. 2 Ki. 18ff
Manasseh - king for 55 years. super evil. 2 Ki. 21
Amon - king for 2 years. evil. 2 Ki. 21
Josiah - king for 31 years. right. 2 Ki. 22ff
Jehoahaz - king for 3 months. evil. taken into captivity by Pharoh Neco. 2 Ki. 23
Jehoakim/Elikim - king for 11 years. evil.
Jehoiachin - king for 3 months. evil. taken captive. last in the line of Davidic kings (until Messiah) 2 Ki. 24
Mattaniah/Zedekiah - king for 11 years. evil. tried to rebel against Babylon and got overthrown. Last king of the Judah kingdom. 2 Ki.24-25

I looked at Chronicles too; but didn't list those passages for this blog. When it says, "right" that means that it said of that king: "did right in the sight of the Lord" - although, it was often qualified by big sins that the king committed -- none of the kings were perfect.