I haven’t posted here in a good long while because I am busy building up another project which requires my full attention. The website for this project is now live. If you would like to know who I am and what I do, please take a look. The ‘walking question mark’ is now going into archive mode and will not be added to further.
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Matt 27:45-46
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying,
“Eli, Eli, lema sabaktanei?” that is,
“My God, My God, why have you foresaken Me?”
Of all the astonishing words that Jesus of Nazareth shared with with us, this short, final utterance touches me more profoundly than any other. The man who had to be “emptied out” is heard. In this moment, he declares what he feels: alone and abandoned. Jesus recalls us to the truth of his humanity with the anguish of this plea. He reassures us that the arising of fear and doubt is a legitimate part of this earthly trial of (apparent) separation.
He knows what we know. It is hard it is to be here.
*Now go and read Psalm 22 for further consolation.
Music for a time of endings. With love to all who continue to tend to beauty, truth and goodness.
For all those who have been hurt, neglected, abused, abandoned or otherwise damaged by their faulty earthly fathers, this is a beautiful reminder of where we will find what we yearn for.
In recognition of Dr Mike I wanted to share what I wrote to him earlier this month – a brief expression of my deep appreciation for his life and his ministry. I am a student of his theology school and the school administration kindly passed on these words to be read to him by his family shortly before his graduation ‘to the unseen realm’. Dr Mike was a tenacious bible scholar and an excellent teacher, one of a tiny number of individuals whose influence on my walk with God has been profound.
Dr Mike,
I can think of no other biblical scholar who has managed, as you have, to reach into the hearts and minds of fringe dwellers and perennial questioners like myself – those who really want to know the truth but have found themselves dislocated from mainstream Christianity. You helped me to see the full technicolour glory of the scriptural picture, and to grasp the astonishing reality of what it means to be an ‘imager’. Your wisdom and insight are an inspiration.
God bless you.
With gratitude,
HG
If you’d like to know more about the theology school that Dr Mike founded, please see this website:
https://awkngschooloftheology.com/
Or you can browse his own website for a vast array of listening and reading introductions:
There is a digital memorial for him here:
https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/jacksonville-fl/michael-heiser-11168525
And for an enjoyable introduction to Dr Mike’s insight into the supernatural view as presented throughout scripture, watch this documentary:
May God make your year a happy one! Not by shielding you from all sorrow and pain, But by strengthening you to bear it as it comes; Not by making your path easy, But by making you sturdy to travel any path; Not by taking hardships from you, But by taking fear from your heart; Not by granting you unbroken sunshine, But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows; Not by making your life always pleasant, But by showing you when people and their causes need you most, and by making you anxious to be there to help. God's love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead. - From the Sisters of Charity of Paul the Apostle, Birmingham, England.
When there is no absolute, there is only fashion.
Elisabeth Elliot, The Glad Surrender
"Job never knew why God allowed him to suffer. He never knew. But he came to the point where he believed that God knew, and he was prepared to leave the answer with God. That is the secret. I have never met anyone yet who ‘conquered’ suffering properly and hadn’t come to that same point: I don’t know why, but I believe God does and I am going to trust Him.”
- David Pawson, Spoken sermon, Problems of Faith in Modern Society
For You have put us to the test, God; You have refined us as silver is refined. You brought us into the net; You laid an oppressive burden upon us. You made men ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water. Yet You brought us out into a place of abundance. Psalm 66:10-12, NASB
A false witness will not go unpunished,
And he who speaks lies will not escape.
PRoverbs 19:5
Being a walking question mark 