Plan B by Pete Wilson

Plan B, a book written by Pete Wilson and published by Thomas Nelson, covers the subject of facing difficulties in life. While I give kudos to Pete Wilson's attempt to undertake the tough questions of "why" and "what happens now", I must say that it falls short. Wilson obviously put a lot of effort into writing the book to give hope, and I did find encouragement in the book with reminders that God is always in control. I liked the Bible stories he chose to use, but he failed to point out that all too often when God brings a "plan B" it is due to our disobedience or lack of faith with His original plan. He used many stories of those under his ministry who were facing their fears and problems - perhaps a few too many of those stories rather than drawing from the rich Biblical stories in God's Word.

The humor he used in the book was awkward and felt out of place, especially the story of his son peeing in the pool. I was also concerned that he quoted Alcoholics Anonymous rather than just sticking with God's Word. There were also were two big concerns that I had as I read the text. One was that of his calling Christ's death "the ultimate Plan B", and while he did state later in the book that this was God's perfect plan, I feel it came too late in the book to offset the "second" plan ideas that in my opinion is not founded in, or is accurately interpreted scripture. The other concern involved the writer's take on Jesus' prayer in the garden and how Christ questioned his ability to handle what he was about to face. Mr. Wilson added too much personal interpretation that portrays Christ as being overwhelmed or really not wanting to participate in the crucifixion but would "do it" because God wanted it to be done that way. This could lead young Christians, or unbelievers to see Christ as not capable of following God's plan, while I believe that Christ was not only capable but willing to endure the cross because I feel He had a part in planning this path in eternity past. I believe Jesus didn't lay down his plans but that Jesus' plans were the same as His Father's since they are a part of the three in one.

While there was a good deal of positive teaching and advice, I would not feel free in recommending this to others due to the theological differences I encountered while reading.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Protecting Your Noggin

It has been almost two week, or more, since writing on the Armor of God. Much has been going on and between work and family activities, I have not made the time to continue with this blog series.

Verse 17 finishes out the Armor with "Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God's word". Today I will deal with the helmet, or as it was called in the first century a "coolus". There were many different styles and types of helmets used by the Roman army.


While they may differ in details most helmets had the crown covering the skull, a fixed band of metal about 3 to 4 inches wide, on the neck, and hinged cheek protectors that tied at the bottom to hold the coolus on. These helmets were used to protect the head, and thus the most important organ in the body. With a serious head injury the legionnaire could not perform his duties and would probably die. The coolus protected the soldier from sword, club and sling strikes and could even deflect arrows.

Paul referred to this piece of armor as our salvation. Salvation is defined as:

1. The act of saving; preservation from destruction, danger or great calamity.

2. Appropriately in theology, the redemption of man from the bondage of sin and liability to eternal death, and the conferring on him everlasting happiness. This is the great salvation

Salvation is everything, the most important aspect of our Christian lives, with the exception of the Holy Trinity, and determines our fate throughout eternity. Our salvation, was and is secured by Christ's death on the cross and the shedding of His blood. This fulfilled the blood sacrifice requirement of the Old Testament, and was a gift of grace to us as sinners.

When one accepts this this gift it is a decision that, while may be an emotional event, it is still a decision, a choice of the mind. I feel this is why Paul tied the protection of a helmet to the mind. Definition #1 fits this idea perfectly, The mind must be protected from Satan's attacks, even unto death. Lucifer would like nothing more than to destroy not only Christians but mankind in general. In 2 Corinthians 4:4 we see this design by Satan. Our salvation provides us protection, like the helmet, from "wounds" to our heads. It also protects us from the snares and traps that Satan lays along the path that God has laid before each one of us. Wearing our "helmet"(salvation) will protect our minds as we step onto the battlefield.

Relief

A couple of weeks ago I went to a ear, nose and throat specialist about the dizzy spells. The doctor diagnosed me with Meniers disease, which in a nutshell is to much fluid in your inner ear. This results in major vertigo attacks. Well as part of the exam the Dr. ordered a MRI and mentioned that he wanted to make sure there were no "growths" on the audio nerves or inner ear. It took a moment for that to sink in, but it did especially since my father died of cancer that started in his sinus cavities, under his brain. Since the inner ear is tied into the sinus cavity, more than once the comparison crossed my mind as I waited for the MRI and the results. I have prayed that whatever the outcome was I would be able to deal with it, and God at least gave me a peace this week that enabled me to not dwell on this all the time.

Well the doctor's office called today and said everything was normal. No growths or abnormalities. What a relief. I praise God for the outcome, and I know that He would have walked with me had the findings been different. Now while I still am waiting on the results of the ENG(I think) balance testing, and will have to live with the Meniers, I am thankful that God has allowed the MRI to be clear.

Psalms 119:65-72

I have been reading through Psalms in the mornings, a chapter each day. Upon reaching chapter 119 I decided to take one or two letters of the Hebrew alphabet each day. Toady's reading was verses 65 - 72 under the letter Teth, and for some reason this passage really impressed me. I ended up photocopying it and putting it on my tool box today and meditated on it. Here it is.

65 LORD, You have treated Your servant well,
just as You promised.

66 Teach me good judgment and discernment,
for I rely on Your commands.

67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep Your word.

68 You are good, and You do what is good;
teach me Your statutes.

69 The arrogant have smeared me with lies,
but I obey Your precepts with all my heart.

70 Their hearts are hard and insensitive,
but I delight in Your instruction.

71 It was good for me to be afflicted
so that I could learn Your statutes.

72 Instruction from Your lips is better for me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.


Verse 71 was the one that really hit me. Though everything I have experianced, the good, the bad and (really tempting to put "the ugly", but won't) just daily living, God is working on me. The times I grow closer to Him are usually the times that I'm "afflicted"

(Emphasis is mine)

"Do we have shields, Scotty??" "Aye, Cap'tn."

Being a Star Trek fan I have seen almost every show of not only the old series but Next Gen., DS9, and some of the Voyager series, as well as most of the feature length Star Trek films. A part of almost every show the question is asked about the status of the shields. While these are science fiction shields that protect these futuristic ships, shields have been a part of most if not all armies throughout history. Even today’s warriors wear a type of shield, the body armor vest combatants use in Iraq and Afghanistan. This was also true of the Roman soldier.

Our verse from Ephesians, verse 16 which continues the passage with "In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one." The Romans used shields as effectively as any army ever has. The first century "Scutum", Latin for shield, was approximately four foot tall and two foot wide, made of three thin layers of curved wood glued at right angles (similar to modern day plywood) covered in leather and rimmed in bronze or leather. These shields had a bronze or iron boss, a metal dome, in center and leather handles on the back side. Though mostly used as a defensive weapon the shield could be used to strike an enemy before use of the short sword. Designed to deflect arrows, lances and swords, these shields were the heart of defense for the legionnaire. The primary danger Roman soldiers faced when attacking an enemy was from pikes or lances and arrows from opposing archers. When a group of soldiers, anything from a squad on up, were together these shields could be placed side by side with edges overlapping and even held overhead to provide a very solid wall of protection for this fighting unit.


As with the legionnaire, Paul knew that Satan would and does attack us with "flaming arrows". Arrows of contempt, malice, hatred and temptation are used by Satan in his quest to "kill" mankind. We as believers must defend ourselves with the shield we call FAITH. One of Noah Webster's definitions in his 1828 dictionary on faith is:

4. Evangelical, justifying, or saving faith, is the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to his guidance, and dependence on his merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation.

Faith is believing in what God can and does do in our lives. We all as Christians, need faith to step into the spiritual battle, if we are to survive the onslaught. Trusting God whatever come into our lives is sometimes very difficult. At these times we need to be like the Roman soldier, standing firm with our shields of faith out in front, trusting God at every turn. This may even require us to lean on our fellow brother's and sister's in Christ, interlocking our "shields" together to protect and hold up each other.

Change - Pfffft!!

If you you can't tell by the title I do not like change. (by the way that is the best way I could come up with for a raspberry). Most of us don't. Change comes into all our lives, some good, some bad, some indifferent. In my life most of the changes have been good, even though I did not want to "go down that path" in the first place. Many changes come initially as trials that I believe God allows into our lives. My sister-in-law has been blogging about this in some of her recent posts. These trials, when we approach them from a human view can be devastating, but from God's view they can mean many things.

I and my family are embarking on one of these "going down a new path" trips. Over the last several months I have had four bouts of extreme vertigo, all appearing suddenly, causing me to have to sit or lie extremely still (mainly due to being able to look up much less stand), and on two occasions having nausea. The first of these episodes occurred at work in Feb. and resulted in a trip to the ER. There they ran a catscan, EKG, X-ray and complete lab work, looking into a heart attack. No heart attack, which is a good thing, but the ER doctor said he didn't know unless it was an inner ear infection, which he ruled out due to blood work done. He then walked out and I went on with life.

Some of the symptoms, other than the vertigo, I have had for over a year. Loss of hearing in one ear, ringing and fullness like that of changing altitude but without being able to pop my ears. I just figured it was due to being exposed to loud noises off and on my entire life. After having the knee surgery, I have had three more episodes and decided I had better get to my dr.

Dr. Powell sent me to a nose, ear and throat specialist today, and he diagnosed me with Menieres disease. This is actually a syndrome and not a disease, but in a nutshell one has too much fluid in their inner ear. The medical world does not know what causes it, there is no cure and you can only treat the symptoms, which are dizziness, vertigo, hearing loss, inner ear pressure, tinnitus and nausea. (We found a lot of info on http://www.menieres-disease.ca/index.htm)

"Attacks" occur suddenly and last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours, with after effects lasting up to several hours more. Mine have been 1-2 hours long. I will be having and MRI and an ENG balance test to confirm the diagnosis, but the Dr. said he was sure that is what I have. I am going into this with a positive attitude, knowing this will be a challenge but at least it is not lethal and it is not hereditary. Knowing the attacks can start in a matter of seconds does add "spice" to everyday activities such as driving, working and even walking, but should not interfere with most things. On a lighter side, at least Sandra and the kids have had some practice, due to being immobile from my knee surgery. :)

I don't have a clue what God's fixing to change in me or my family but with His help and guidance, I hope that I keep listening and don't try to step off the "path" too often.

Getting a Foot up.

What do you wear on your feet? Most of the time I wear steel toed work boots due to working in a manufacturing machine shop. Footwear is important depending on what you are doing. Runners have track or running shoes, mountain climbers wear boots with crampons for ice, fishermen wear rubber boots to protect them from water, and our military personnel wear combat boots made for all aspects of being a soldier. Verse 15 continues our passage with "and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace."

The same is true for the Roman soldier. He had to have footwear that was appropriate for the job set before him as a combatant for the Roman Empire. That empire was vast covering most of what we know of Europe, including much of England, most of North Africa, much of the Middle East and at it height as far east as modern day Iran. Due to the vastness of this empire Rome built one of best road systems that rivals many third world countries in modern times. It covered the empire from east to west, and these roads were used to move the Roman Legions where they were needed. All travel was by ox cart, on horse or in most cases by walking.



As you can see form the map that to move a legion would entail a great deal of walking for the legionnaire, and he would have to have the right shoes for travel not to mention for battle. The Roman soldier wore a shoe or sandal called "Caligae" that was a early precursor to modern combat boots. Caligae were made of leather cut in a shape that allowed them to be lace up around the ankle, with a heavy sole that had iron studs in the bottom for traction.
The iron studs and heavy duty soles not only allowed for better traction, but enabled the caligae to last longer not needing replacement as often as regular sandals. He had to have better traction than his opponent in order to win the battle. The legionnaire had to firmly plant his feet, along with his fellow soldiers, to endure the oncoming charge of the enemy both as a group or in single combat.

We as followers of Christ are told, as part of our armor, to have "your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace." Just as the Roman soldier had to have his boots on and ready for his assignments, so must we. The Gospel of Christ or "Good News" is THE only thing that can bring peace to our lives or our world. A peace not only that we will have eternal salvation and be with Christ and His Father our God, but a peace that is with us in every trial, temptation and event that enters our lives. We must be ready to spread that gospel by every means available, ready to dig in and resist the assault of our enemy, Satan. By having the Gospel of Peace we have sure footing in God's truth as our "ground" to stand as we step into our spiritual battle.

Photo of Caligae from www.legionxxiv.org and map from www.makedonija.info/roman.gif