Let Her Be Covered Part Four
November 5, 2007
Again, let’s call attention to our text: "Let her be covered."
One more question: "Why?"
Well, I hope that some answers have already gotten through to you. To all that, I would add this: Wear the headcovering because you know God wants you to! I cannot supply you with a more valid reason for the performance of any deed than simply to know that God wants you to do it. Can you? Can you think of a more valid reason to motivate any action? For every pliable saint, what God has written right here should be enough to settle the matter.
It is here made apparent that God wants to preserve an awareness of His divinely established order. That is urgently needed in today’s society. Furthermore, he wants YOU to have a part in that, not only the sisters, but also the brethren. He wants both Christian men and Christian women to give visible evidence of their pledge to abide by that order. For the man, that visible witness is given by the non-wearing of a religiously significant covering. For the woman that witness is given by the wearing of a religiously significant covering. The God-supplied long hair will not suffice for this because it is not a personally supplied witness. It doesn’t necessarily reflect a personal endorsement of God’s arrangement. It doesn’t convey the clear signal that "I’m voluntarily submitting to man’s leadership." The humanly supplied covering should be worn to convey that signal. To all who see it, it proclaims this message: "I will not attempt to dominate, I will not attempt to manipulate my head. I submit to God’s plan."
Magickal Baths
November 4, 2007
Taking a Magickal Bath doesn’t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as running to your local drug or beauty supply and buying a product that is appropriately scented or contains an herb or essential oil. The important thing about taking one of these baths, no matter how humble or expensive the ingredients are, is to meditate on your intention while you are sitting in the tub.
You can get a little fancier, by making an infusion from flowers, herbs or other elements. Brewing the herbs as you would brew a cup of herbal tea and then pouring the strained infusion into your bath water is the easiest way to make an infusion. You can also put the ingredients in a cheesecloth bag that hangs over the bathtub faucet and have the hot water run through the ingredients. In some cases you can actually buy tea bags and just toss them in the water. I’m a purist so personally I love to throw the entire herb, flower or vegetable in the bath. It makes me feel like I am Cleopatra having a bath in ancient Egypt or like some kind of wicked harlot getting ready for her Roman Soldier.
Let Her Be Covered Part Three
November 3, 2007
Now, let’s recall again the text: "Let her be covered." That is God’s decree.
All right, let who be covered? That is question number 4. "Who is to be covered?" If this is for Mennonites only, as some wrongly suppose, then it ought to read "let every Mennonite sister be covered." But the text has in it no such limitation. This is not a denominational teaching. This is a Bible teaching.
Already in verse 3 we are being prepared to think in a much broader scope, for there, where the principle is in focus, it is stated that the head of EVERY man is Christ. No exception is made. Christ is the authority figure for every man, whether or not he obeys Him, Christ is his head. And, by the same token, man remains woman’s God-appointed head, whether or not she submits. And then when we come to the application, verses 4-6, again it’s EVERY woman and EVERY man, indicating the widest possible application, conveying the idea that this practice is intended to be universal. There’s also no reference here to marriage, which eliminates the idea that this is applicable only to women who are married. You may sometime be confronted with that idea. Really, the headship of man over woman is an aspect of God’s government in this world. And, as such, it is not limited only to life in the Kingdom of God. But, since judgment begins at the house of God, Paul is here singling out an instance that would constitute a violation in the context of church life.
Enron?s Ultimate Victim: Ethics
November 2, 2007
FROM the ‘MORAL HIGH GROUND’, where we imagine ourselves, the Enron fiasco should have come as no surprise. Enron is simply a quintessential example of the degradation of principles such as trust, loyalty and ethical standards.
Why it happened,however,is what really needs to be understood if business is to restore its ethical foundation and survive tumultuous times.
Few will argue that business today is more challenging and competitive; most everyone accepts that the marketplace is more cutthroat than ever. We live in a dog-eat-dog world where for most, corporate survival is focused on just trying to not get eaten.
Not long ago, things were not so ruthless, or so we’d like to think. Companies had a tacit understanding with their employees: the company will always be there for you. The expression, "I’m a company man," once represented the unquestioned relationship between employees and employer. The company was our family, and families looked out for one another. Anything less was considered disloyal and unacceptable.
A Maiden Trip
November 1, 2007
I belong to a hamlet called ‘Konthai’ which is in South Tamil Nadu, India. Twenty years back I was there as an unemployed graduate hunting for a job. Among the competitive examination the one conducted by the Staff Selection Commission for the non-gazetted posts was popular as it was the only mass civilian recruitment by the Central Government. Even petty shops one can find the application form. So as a annual ritual, I used to appear for the examination but never bothered about the results.
One day to my surprise, I got a letter from Defence Ministry with a posting in Delhi (Capital of India). The moment I saw the letter, I felt that as if I were on the top of the world. My joy knew no bounds. Without knowing my handicaps ( I was knowing either Hindi or spoken English), I decided to accept the offer. All my relatives and friends expressed their apprehension about my ability to manage in Delhi due to its erratic weather condition as well as language problem. But the very though of ‘getting a job’ made me to push aside all the other things to the back seat.
Let Her Be Covered Part Two
November 1, 2007
The framework for the message this morning will consist of a series of questions revolving around this command: "Let her be covered."
The first of these questions is: "To whom is this command addressed?"
Now that’s a very simple question. In your opinion, perhaps, it’s too elementary to even raise. Your answer might be, "Why, it’s addressed, of course, to the Corinthians!" and that’s right. They were the initial recipients of it. Does that mean, then, that it was exclusively for them? Does that mean that what was enjoined upon them is not binding upon us? Have the teachings of the epistles been generally understood in that way? Among Christian people, is the Bible usually viewed as "out of date"? No! The Bible has been studied and applied because it is believed to be relevant for today.
If 1 Corinthians was intended only for the Corinthians, then we might as well close our doors and go out of business. A very few would take so radical a stand as that. The continued observance of the communion ordinance is evidence of the widespread conviction that not the Corinthians only, but we, too, are being addressed in this epistle. But, as was pointed out earlier, it’s unfortunate that, in that larger group, there are those who, at certain points, draw back from that position in order to escape the reproach of Christ. And so you have this practice of teaching one part of the chapter, but not the part of the chapter that might make you unpopular.
