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* WEEKEND,
SEPTEMBER 27-29, 2003
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Phil Lambert
Columnist
Eliiah
You would not expect the
Bible to be the place to look
for a good laugh, but sprin
kled in with the great sto
ries of faith, holiness,
power, and miracles are a
few chapters that will tickle
your funny bone.
One of my personal
favorites is found in I Kings,
chapter 18. At this time,
Israel was under the leader
ship of the evil king, Ahab.
Ahab had turned away from
the God of Israel and chose
instead to follow the pagan
God, Baal. In turn, many in
Israel followed Ahab’s lead.
The Scriptures tell us that
Ahab’s heart was so evil
that he did “more to pro
voke the Lord, the God of
Israel, to anger than did all
the kings of Israel before
him.” ■
On the flip side of Ahab
was Elijah, one of the great
prophets of God. He came
before the king and the peo
ple of Israel with messages
of judgment for the sin and
idolatry that was dominat
ing the land. Things finally
reached a boiling point
when Elijah commanded
Ahab to bring the people of
Israel to Mount Carmel for
a good ol’ fashioned
Western shootout to see
whose god was for real.
The story gets interesting
when Elijah asks Ahab to
bring the 450 prophets of
Baal and the 450 prophets
of Asherah to the show
down. One prophet of God
versus 900 false prophets of
idolatry might seem to be
quite a mismatch, but
Elijah’s boastfulness in the
power of God is just begin
ning!
Elijah stands before the
people and issues a simple
test of faith: “If the Lord is
God, follow him; but if Baal
is God, then follow him.”
Then, he lays down the
rules for the contest. Two
bulls will be prepared and
placed on separate altars.
One altar will be for the
false prophets, the other for
Elijah. Both will be given
time to call on their respec
tive god to set the altar on
fire. The god who answers
will be declared the winner,
the true God.
The false prophets go
first. They call on Baal
from morning till noon, but
he doesn’t respond. They
even mix in a few altar
dances to get his attention,
but that doesn’t work
either. Elijah decides to
have some fun.
“Hey, shout louder!
Maybe Baal’s in deep
thought, or busy, or travel
ing somewhere. Who
knows, maybe he’s asleep!”
This provoked the false
prophets even more. Their
shouts grow louder and they
• begin to slash themselves
with swords hoping that the
sight of blood will generate
a response from Baal. The
afternoon turns into
evening without as much as
a whimper from their god.
Elijah is now ready to
take center stage. He calls
the people of Israel to the
altar of God which was in
ruins. With 12 stones he
rebuilds the altar and digs a
trench around it. After
preparing the altar he asks
the people to fill four large
water jars and pour it on
the altar. This is repeated a
second time and again a
See LAMBERT, page 7A
Spiritual Living
Helping those in need, a Biblical perspective
By Brian Reid
Outreach Minister
Perry Volunteer Outreach
Then the righteous will
answer Him, ‘Lord, when
did we see you hungry and
feed you, or thirsty and give
you something to drink....’
Then the King will reply, 7
tell you the truth, whatever
you did for the least of these
brothers of mine, you did for
me’
From the Sermon on the
Mount
Matthew 25:37-40
We are facing tough times,
or so we are told, but are we
really suffering? Families
with joint incomes of
$70,000 are finding it hard
to make ends meet. The
average person being helped
by Perry Volunteer
Outreach (PVO) earns about
$7,000. Why does the family
earning s7ok struggle when
we expect people to live on
$7,000?
I believe the answer lies in
our expectations. Young
marrieds expect to be able to
Pope selection process changed under John Paul fl
By Thomas Hargrove
Scripps Howard News
Service
As he prepares to cele
brate the 25th year of his
papacy on Oct. 16, John
Paul II has dramatically
changed some say revolu
tionized the College of
Cardinals both in the men
he has appointed to it and
the rules under which it
must operate after his
death.
In past centuries
European kings and emper
ors handpicked their
favorites to head a church
that held political as well as
religious sway over most of
the West. More recently,
local clergymen from the
surrounding Italian coun
tryside informally selected a
bishop to serve the Diocese
of Rome.
“The shepherd of the
Lord’s whole flock is the
bishop of the church of
Rome,” John Paul II said in
1996 when announcing new
rules for the selection of his
successor. “It is therefore
understandable that the
lawful apostolic succession
of this See has always been
the object of particular
attention.”
The next pontiff will be
chosen by an international
gathering of about 120 car
dinals, all under age 80, who
must assemble at the
Temper youngster 1 * defiance by Insisting on respect
QUESTION: My 6-year
old has suddenly become
sassy and disrespectful
in her manner at home.
She told me to “buzz off”
when I asked her to take
out the trash, and she
calls me names when she
gets angry. I feel it is
important to permit this
emotional outlet, so I
haven’t tried to suppress
it. Do you agree?
DR. DOBSON: I’m afraid
I don’t. Your daughter is
aware of her sudden defi
ance, and she’s waiting to
see how far you will let her
go. If you don’t discourage
disrespectful behavior now,
you can expect some wild
experiences during her ado
lescent years.
With regard to your con
cern about emotional venti
lation, you are right in
believing that your daughter
needs to express her anger.
She should be free to say
anything to you, provided it
is said in a respectful man
ner. It is acceptable to say, “I
think you love my brother
more than me,” or “You
weren’t fair with me,
Mommy.” There is a thin
line between what is accept-
wi
BRIAN REID
support a sloo,ooo+ home
plus two SUVs or big trucks.
Take a look around your
church parking lot and see
how many expensive big
vehicles there are. Twenty
years ago the parking lot
would have been filled with
small Honda Civic type cars
and small pick-ups.
Dare I suggest that we are
more concerned about how
the world sees us, than how
Jesus thinks?
If Christians won’t help
the poor, who will? The
Vatican within 20 days of
John Paul’s death. They
must cast written ballots
rather than using oral
“acclimation” or any other
method of potentially emo
tional verbal voting.
Most important, more
than 80 percent of the
College of Cardinals will
come from counties other
than Italy, a distinct change
from 1939 when a majority
of the college’s voting mem
bers were from the Italian
peninsula. “That is an enor
mous difference,” said
Father Thomas Reese, edi
tor of the Catholic America
newspaper in New York. “It
was Pope Pius XII who
started internationalizing
the college and it was con
tinued under all of his suc
cessors.”
Under John Paul 11, who
has hand-picked almost all
the current voting cardinals,
the international flavor of
the college has so increased
that Italians have become a
distinct minority. About 20
percent of the voting cardi
nals come from Latin
America, while the conti
nents of North America,
Asia and Africa each account
for 10 percent or so of the
college. The Catholic
Church, in terms of its high
est leadership, is Roman no
longer.
“The universality of the
Dr. James Dobson
Focus on the Family
www.family.org
able and unacceptable
behavior at this point.
The child’s expression of
strong frustration, even
resentment and anger,
should be encouraged if it
exists. You certainly don’t
want her to bottle it inside.
On the other hand, you
should not permit your
daughter to resort to name
calling and open, rebellion.
“Mom, you hurt my feelings
in front of my friends” is an
acceptable statement. “You
stupid idiot, why didn’t you
shut up when my friends
were here?!” is obviously
unacceptable.
If your daughter
Bible teaches us a lot about
attitudes to the poor. James
2:16-17 says “Suppose a
brother or sister is without
clothes and daily food. If one
of you says to him ‘Go, I
wish you well; keep warm
and well fed,’ but does noth
ing about his physical needs,
what good is it? In the same
way, faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by actions, is
dead.”
I hope that you tithe. The
tithe should go to your
church to support it, and its
home and foreign missions.
Everything over and
above the tithe is called
offerings. Offerings are the
sacrificial giving. Blessings
will follow the offerings.
Over and over again Jesus
taught about the blessings
that come from helping the
poor.
At the end of this column
are many verses in Luke’s
Gospel that show how con
cerned Jesus was about the
poor. Here is one example
from Luke. Jesus said “Sell
your possessions and give to
the poor. Provide purses for
I ‘|mH| \ » i
Steven G. Smith/Rocky Mountain News, Scripps Howard News Service
Pope John Paul II has not let failing health stop him from serving his flock. This photo
was taken last summer in Mexico City.
church is clearly expressed
in the very composition of
the College of Cardinals,
whose members come from
every continent,” John Paul
II said when announcing his
rules for selecting his suc
cessor. Among the rules:
The College must assemble
in the Sistine Chapel under
the ceiling decorations of
Michelangelo where, John
Paul II said, “everything is
conducive to an awareness
of the presence of God.”
His rule decrees what had
been a Vatican tradition.
Voting members of the
College shall be limited to
“120 electors made up of
approaches you rationally,
as described in the first
statement, it would be wise
for you to sit down and try
to understand her view
point. You should be big
enough to apologize to her if
you were wrong. If you feel
that you were right, howev
er, you should calmly
explain why you reacted as
you did and tell your daugh
ter how you both can avoid a
collision next time. It is pos
sible to ventilate feelings
without sacrificing parental
respect, and your child
should be taught how to do
it. This communicative tool
will be very useful later in
life, especially in marriage.
• • •
QUESTION: My wife
and I are keenly aware of
how difficult it is to be
good parents, and at
times we feel very inade
quate to do the job. How
does a mom or dad know
what’s best for a child
from day to day?
DR. DOBSON: The most
dedicated parents go
through times when they
fear they aren’t responding
properly to their children.
They wonder if they’re over
reacting or underreacting,
being too strict or too
yourselves that will not
wear out, a treasure in heav
en that will not be exhaust
ed .... for where your treas
ure is, there your heart will
be also.” (Luke 12: 33-34)
Is your heart in your pos
sessions or your Christian
duty to the poor?
Perry Volunteer Outreach
has so many applicants for
aid that we have to turn
many away, and reduce the
amount of aid we give to
others. The help we give
includes helping those who
face eviction, or their utili
ties cut off, help with med
ications and emergency
home repairs. Why do they
need help? There are many
reasons, but two of the most
common given are the inad
equacy of minimum wage
and of disability.
It is difficult to live on
minimum wage, but that is
further aggravated by the
fact that employers are not
giving minimum wage earn
ers a full 40 hours.
25-30 hours is fairly typi
cal. That gives a take-home
pay of less than S7OO per
cardinals coming from all
parts of the world and from
very different cultures.”
Continuation of Pope Paul
Vi’s recommendation that
voting cardinals must be 79
or younger. Past practices of
selecting pontiffs through
voice vote or by a special
selection committee are
strictly forbidden.
“The only form by which
the electors can manifest
their vote ... is by secret bal
lot,” John Paul II said.
If the cardinals fail to give
two-thirds of their votes to
one candidate, the ballots
“must all be burned” and a
new vote taken. By tradi
lenient. They suspect that
they’re making major mis
takes that will haunt them
later on. Fortunately, par
ents don’t have to do every
thing right. We all make
thousands of little mistakes,
and a few big ones, that we
wish we could reverse. But
somehow, most kids roll
with these blunders and
come out just fine anyway.
Let me give you what I
consider to be the key to
good parenting. It is to learn
how to get behind the eyes
of your child, seeing what he
sees and feeling what he
feels. When you know his
frame of mind, your
response becomes obvious.
For example, when he’s
lonely, he needs your compa
ny. When he’s defiant, he
needs your help in control
ling impulses. When he’s
afraid, he needs the security
of your embrace. When he’s
happy, he needs to share his
laughter and joy with those
he loves. Raising healthy
children is not so much a
science as it is a highly
developed art, and most of
us have the natural intuitive
faculties to learn it.
Take the time to observe
PAGE 8A
month. Rents in low quality
housing areas usually run at
S4OO per month. Then you
need slso+ for utilities; add
telephone, cable and car, and
there is nothing left for food.
Many therefore cannot
afford to run a car, and if
you cannot run a car you
can’t get a better job.
Disability is even worse -
imagine living on $550 per
month.
If it were not for the
Loaves and Fishes ministry
in Perry, and the food bank
ministries of about 12
churches in Warner Robins,
people would be starving on
our own doorsteps. PVO is a
501 c charity and donations
can be sent to PO. Box 1824,
Perry. If you live North of
Hwy 96 and want to help in
Warner Robins call Chuck or
Gillian Carter at 328-6103
and they will guide you
towards an appropriate min
istry.
Here is a quick Bible
Study on our duty to the
poor.
Luke 3: 11; 6:30; 14: 13-
14; 16: 9; 18:22; 19:8.
tion, the ballots are mixed
with chemicals to produce
black smoke so that the
world may know a new pon
tiff has not been selected. If
the cardinals fail to elect a
pope within three days,
“voting is to be suspended
for a maximum of one day”
to allow a period of “prayer,
informal discussion and a
brief spiritual exhortation
by the senior cardinal.” If
cardinals are deadlocked,
they are to have three ses
sions of seven ballots. Each
session of balloting is to be
followed by “additional
pause for prayer, discussion
and an exhortation.”
those kids who live in your
house. If you tune in closely
to what they say and do, the
feelings behind those behav
iors will soon become appar
ent. Then your reaction to
what you’ve seen will lead to
more confident parenthood.
• • •
Send your questions to Dr.
Dobson, c/o Focus on the
Family, PO. Box 444,
Colorado Springs, CO
80903. These questions and
answers are excerpted from
books authored by Dr.
James Dobson and pub
lished by Tyndale House
Publishers. Dr. Dobson is
the Chairman of the Board
for Focus on the Family, a
nonprofit organization dedi
cated to the preservation of
the home. Copyright 2003
James Dobson, Inc. All
rights reserved.
International copyright
secured.
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