Bond of brothers

(Note: I wrote this last year and never published it. It's time.)

  The other day, I thought about the term, "brother". I have decided that the it means different things in different places. As a Yankee in the South, the discovery of a whole new definition was dramatic. As a typical Yankee, I approached it with caution, it being foreign to me.

  Being from up North, the term is used for blood kin, union fellows, members of bikers' groups, other secret society members, and veterans.The most prevalent of these is, of course, our genetic brothers. Brothers of the same mothers. Those that posses a bond that can never be broken, no matter what happens. Because, we all know that things do happen and sometimes relationships between brothers are strained to the point of breaking, even though their ties cannot be.

  First of all, I want to say that this "new" brothers definition is not necessarily a subject limited to a geographical area. Why? Because I have found it to be simultaneously used in certain religious groups throughout the country. However, as I had not heard it used in this way in the North, I assumed it was limited to the South. Wrong.

  Secondly, even in the groups I have heard it used in my place of residence, it is used in many ways. For instance, a man may greet me by saying, "Hello, brother! How are you?" In this contains only a general "howdy-do", because that is how the men of this area greet one another. However, if that same man welcomes me on Sunday morning at church saying those exact words, (I shall not repeat them) then the meaning is entirely different. It, to them, connotes a bond of faith. To me, it draws an raised eyebrow of suspicion. That's right. But, don't get me wrong here. I love every one of them. But the reason this Yankee somehow doesn't trust this is because he knows himself.

  I say this because I share, like these brothers, the same traits. We are all sinners. We all posses that same quality. Therefore, we all should posses a certain level of suspicion of each other. Some men have a high level, some like me, have a low level, being somewhat naive', or trusting to a fault. But being called a brother before I know a person sends up red-flags for me. What about you, Brother?  

Crying "Wolf"

  My son says I have been crying "wolf" for too long. You've heard of that old Aesop's fable before haven't you? (If not, look it up.) For you see, ever since I studied about the Jewish faith in college and on my own, I've declared that the Messiah would return during the Feast of Trumpets, which is a continuation of and begins the fall feasts, which we are now in and ends with the feast of Tabernacles.

  Some theologians say that the three fall feasts have not been, but will be, fulfilled by Messiah, just as He did the rest of them. In order to do that He'd have to come. Thus, why my son says I've been crying wolf. Each and every year since 1980, I've said the Lord will be here this year. But each year I'm that young lad crying wolf. My son doesn't believe me anymore. My wife, even less. Especially in a time such as we have today.

  My wife may have become a scoffer, always wanting the Lord to come, but not expecting Him to. My son, being respectful of his old dad that is really a young man, goes along with me when I tell him the feasts are here and he should look up for his redemption is nigh. Many others have heard this on youtube and other places so many times that people have been called date setters (I'm not one) and many other ugly names, and so, there are many scoffers out there today. I wonder if they would ever want the Lord to return in their lifetimes? Just so they could be right when they say the Lord isn't coming for another 2K years. But it makes me wonder if this is what the Lord was talking about in his parable about the ten virgins? Has the separation already occurred and five are waiting while five are not? Is it really date setting by being ready? Really ready? He is our blessed hope!

  I've spoken with many friends and family that are ready. Many who pray for the Lord to return quickly. They see the signs. Signs that have  never been fulfilled. Death, persecution, and the abomination that causes desolation. It's all set up. Is this the one? The feast of Tabernacles ends on Sunday at about 4pm our local time. On my wife's birthday, as I said in my last post. At the last trump of the feast. So, I hope I have not cried "wolf" again. I'm ready. How about you?

Waiting and waiting and waiting- in lines.

  Have you ever stood in line waiting? I avoid lines. There is a problem with that though- I like going places. But if you go places, there are always lines. Lines to take a seat, to park, to eat. Lines to buy a ticket, to watch a ball, no point in it all! Lines to hear a voice, a band, and there seems to be no choice! Consequently, I rarely go even if I'd like to. I hate lines.

  Even driving to these places I like to go to is a problem. It seems like the lines from point A to point B are longer all of the time! Who planned all of these lines? Was he a crazed lunatic? And the lines are even longer during the holidays. Such nonsense.

  Which makes it easy to go to church. There are never lines going to church. I can drive into the lot and park easily. I can go to my usual pew and sit there without a problem. And I have to admit, I don't mind waiting in line to go to communion, for there is comfort in that. That's the only line I don't hate. And when it's time to leave, the line goes out slowly. That line isn't a problem either. So, if you think about it, what are you waiting for? A line?

Living with Him

  On Sunday, the 16th, the feast of tabernacles began in Israel and throughout the world. It is a week long feast where those born in Israel live in booths made of natural items that are constructed just for the feast. Usually of cloth sides and thatched roofs, the walls are made of local woods. They are primitive, just like the tents in the wilderness.

  Tabernacles was instituted as a remembrance of the fact that God had taken the people out of Egypt and provided for them in the desert while they lived in tents under the stars. He humbled them and in this remembrance brought to mind that He provided everything for them for forty years. It is a time that brings to mind that He lived with them that forty years, as evidenced by the pillar of light at night and the cloud by day.

  Wow. To be able to look out of your tent and see the promise of God in such a way. It is surely a time of reflection. I see it as a promised fulfilled and a promise to be fulfilled. First, Christ came to dwell among us. Many theologians believe that Christ was born on the feast when He came in the form of a babe to Bethlehem. That certainly would fit cold evenings in the fall and the need for shelter for the family. Secondly, that we may tabernacle with Him for eternity. Some evangelical theologians say that He will come at the end of the feast for the second time at the last trump of the feast, which falls, by the way, at sunset on Oct. 23rd this year. That's my wife's birthday. Wouldn't that be a great gift?!

  Wow. Again I say, Wow! To live with Him in eternity is certainly a promise I believe and one that couldn't come soon enough for many. But first, humble yourselves. Give Him praise for providing all you have been blessed with. Repent of your sins. And keep ever vigilant, looking out of your tent. So we wait for the last trump. And it will be "the" last trump when Christ returns, that this time, we might tabernacle with Him for eternity.

  Maranatha! Come Lord Yeshua!

In the Garden

  Last night, in the twilight of the evening and amidst the trees of a country setting, I attended the wedding of a wonderful man and woman. The rain had left us and the slight breeze made it cool, but not difficult to sit outside, in the canopy of white lights and scrub oaks, slowly loosing their leaves. However, the setting, although it reminded me of a God-tailored event as in the days of Adam and Eve, was secondary this time once my friend Pastor Peter Ave-Lallamant got started with the ceremony.

  Pete had a lot to work with. I've seen him do weddings before, as he was my pastor for almost a decade and he can do wonders with weddings. Truly, he can. But in this case, the participants made all of the difference in making their wedding one you were glad to have attended.

  I've known Heidi for over twenty years. She's the daughter of two of my best friends from church. She has struggled in her life, but I believe she has always remained positive in much of the turmoil and has turned to God in order to survive the heartbreak and loss. Mixed in this, she had a little girl I watched grow up in the back pew. She'd stare at me and I'd make her smile back there, shy as she was back then. She's a young woman now and we are all proud of and love her; her new step-dad, Nick, told her so during the ceremony.

  Ah, Nick. I've known him for almost as many days as Heidi, (she says 900 some days) and all I have ever observed is a man wise enough to take the bait and marry this God-fearing woman, and taking on the role of Dad for Rylie. He is a match for them made in heaven. So let's go back to the beginning.

  Pastor Pete had a lot to work with and the vows I heard proclaimed all of the above and much more. God bless this new family who began in the garden prepared for them.

Long Time- no see

     Wow! I didn't realize it had been that long since I had posted here. I have to say that in that time period, I didn't realize the freedom I had here. How is that? Well, when on other social media, the world sees it. Here, I have anonymity of sorts, and I can say anything I wish without being chastised for it. Well, I haven't been in the past anyway, so please don't start now.

     Such is life. We go along doing what we do. We try to do the best we can and then- SMACK! Out of the blue someone comes along and chastises you for doing what you do. And sometimes, you may be doing the same thing as them, and even better, but then, you are told you can't do that anymore. Whoa. Such a change! Such a slap in the face. And none of it is your fault, but you still can't do it anymore. Bummer, in the extreeeeeme.

     Worst part about it, is that you have no recourse. There is absolutely nothing you can do about it. Period. So, you grieve. You pray for peace and acceptance. You submit. You go on. But it is difficult, because now you feel used and at the same time abandoned. Then, you try to go on, wondering what in the world God has in store for you at such a time in your life.

     But you feel all alone. Kinda like no one gives a rip about ya. No one even asks how you feel about things. And that doesn't make it any easier to go on either. So you withdraw. Which makes it worse. So, you try to buck-up, but that's hard, too. You won't be taken advantage of or used. Ever had enough of that? Personally, I'm too old for more of it.

     Finally, you figure it out and leave it all to God. It's His will- not yours that is important. It's not what we want, it's what He wants. I'm fine with that. So, go on and live the present, forget the past, and have hope for the future. Just like we are supposed to.

I give up

  In the past, I decided that in order for me to publicize myself as an author, I needed to be on social media of some sort. I heard that Facebook was the going rage (about ten years ago), so I jumped on board and began to do just that- promote myself. I determined that it was to be the only reason I could justify for me to be there.

  It didn't work out quite that way. Along the journey, I found I gave up much of myself to the world. Many things that would only be shared with people in person in the past, were now out there for everyone and every entity was there to perused, poked at, and purveyed. In the beginning, I perceived that some things had to be shared in order for people to get to know me, what I wrote and where it came from. This led to me establishing a author's page, where I would post "author" type things that many people I didn't know would also get to know me.

  But, it was the people I met along the pathway that either brought me joy or dismay as we walked together on a page meant for friends. That is probably why I'm here to post this today. I'm not going to go into what really makes a true friend here, because you see plenty of inadequate memes on FB that try to define the term in just one sentence wholly incorrectly. What I want to merely state is why I pulled myself from the fray of friends that are not friends at all, just acquaintances, and sometimes hostile ones at that.

  Let me digress. Once in a while, I'd get upset by what someone would post, and throw a tantrum and remove my account. In FB terms, a childish, naive' thing to do. You are not a mature FB person if you do that. Then, there would be times I would post something of my own and it would be derided and I'd also get upset and do the same thing- again. Not a FB mature thing to do. I would also at times, profess my faith in like-minded Christian groups, be made to recant for what was deemed as almost theologically inadequate knowledge bordering on the heretical, and I would remove either the people involved from my friends list, or remove myself from the group, or both. Not a mature thing to do. And finally, at times I'd go through and delete people I had no idea who they were, just because I thought them to be- immature in some way, shape or form. Finally, what has bothered me the most about FB is this one thing- that the world and even many Christians have fallen for the lies of Satan in many subtle ways. That causes me the most pain and I hate to see it and can't - anymore. And if you are one of my old FB friends and are such a narcissist as to think I'm taking about you, you're wrong.

  However, I have now come to the conclusion my entire excursion onto FB has been a waste of time. It is not what I am giving up on. What I am giving up on is the promotion of myself as ever being a well known author. I know that I will never be so. Consequently, as the purpose of me being on FB was to become well known as an author so I could become published and "discovered", I have withdrawn myself from the FB site and a rather immature wasteful exercise. I will only post on FB again if I am discovered, (ha) and I'll let my "people" handle it.

  But, and this is a big but, I would not mind anyone sharing this blog from time to time on their FB page. Especially since I have finished the edit of the proof of my third book of the COTE series called, "The Keeper's Son". I hope to do the final items this weekend and have it on the selves at Amazon next week. I'll post the info on my website, cafiebiger.com when I'm ready.

  In the end, I've come the realization that it does not matter at all if I'm well known by the world for my writing, and I'm OK with what God has in mind for me. For me, that is something to be happy about.