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®ll£ ISuttUll * WEEKEND, SEPTEMBER 27-29, 2003 111 pi? infl VJBft. I 1 1 I m 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. WG(? 99.9 FM Dr. Dobson is brought to you by WCOP 99.9 FM. You can hear Dr. Dobson Monday - Saturday at 11:30 a.m., 8 p.m., Sat. 8 p.m.