Maedhros Makes Pancakes

A very simple introduction to

The Silmarillion 

by J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien wrote many amazing books and stories in his lifetime.  His personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is so easily recognised in his works.  In fact, although most believe C. S. Lewis, one of Tolkien's contemporaries and friends, is more religious in his telling of tales when you actually look closely, Tolkien makes no apologies for his obvious love of the Lord.  

I think the misunderstanding comes because Tolkien's works are seen as too complicated to decipher -- he was a linguist and loved making up words, but then the Bible is filled with many difficult names of characters and places! 

Having spent over ten years studying Tolkien alongside the Bible, it is a joy to share Tolkien with others who do not yet know Jesus Christ...because His message is so clear in Tolkien's stories.  (A little bit of sneaky evangelism.)

Here is a story where I've taken a great deal of creative license with a key family in Tolkien's book about Creation and the Old Testament struggles - The Silmarillion.  I write parodies, poems and stories for those who are interested about Tolkien, in the hopes that they will explore a bit deeper.  

Here for you now is just one of these little stories.  Let me know what you think.

Setting:  At a barding (telling of stories and reciting poetry time).  The character telling the story is called Nerdanel.  She is the wife of the famous key character, Feanor.  Maedhros is the first born of Nerdanel and Feanor.

=========================================== . 

You were only six years old at the time Maedhros, and one Saturday you got up very early because you decided you wanted to fix us pancakes in bed.  Here is how the story goes.

Maedhros found a big blue bowl and large wooden spoon.  He pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister...he spilled some on the floor, but no matter.

He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, loving the feeling of squishing the stuff between his fingers.  He mixed in almost a full glass of milk (after taking one big sip just for good measure), then added some sugar, because the mixture tasted awful when he licked some of it off his fingers...and he did like sugar quite a bit!  

He left a floury trail on the floor as he carried the bowl to the big table.  His ginger kitty tracked through the flour as she followed him everywhere like a shadow.  This, of course, carried the mess a bit more broadly throughout the kitchen.

By this time, Maedhros was also covered with a bit too much flour and he was growing impatient and frustrated.  He so wanted this to be something very special for Mommy and his Daddy -- but this was much more difficult than it looked when Mommy made pancakes!

He didn't know what to do next.  Did Mommy put all this into the oven, or did she put it on the stove?  He wasn't sure how to USE the stove or the oven for that matter and was quite sure his father would not let him, even if he knew how!

Suddenly, he looked over and saw his sweet kitten licking from the bowl.  He reached over, checking around to be sure no one was looking and pushed the kitty away, but in doing this he knocked off the carton of eggs that he had just remembered he was going to break into the mixture.

There they went, as if in slow motion...all eleven eggs... smashed onto the floor with a series of soft fuuff sound.  He tried to walk around the mess to get his kitten but ended up slipping on the egg and fell to the floor.  

There he sat in his jammies covered with flour, milk, sugar and now also with egg.

He looked up as if to ask Iluvatar (God in Tolkien's stories) for help and then he saw Feanor standing in the doorway to the kitchen.  Big, huge crocodile tears welled up in Maedhros' eyes and began to slowly run down his beautiful face.

All he really wanted to do was to surprise his mommy and daddy....to do something good for all the good things they did for him.  And now he had made a terrible mess and they would be angry.  He just knew it.  He was going to get a scolding for sure and maybe even a big spanking.

Instead, his father just watched him from the doorway....and the slightest hint of a smile lit up his face.  Then, he walked carefully through the mess, trying not to slip.  He leaned down and picked up his crying son, hugged him and cuddled him --getting his own pajamas messy and covered with egg and flour and sugar.

****************  

You know... this is how God deals with us.   Sometimes we try to do something good in our life and it turns out to be a BIG mess.  Sometimes we just stand there and we have tears in our eyes because we can't think any more of what to do next.

And that is the time we are gently picked up and loved and carried through our mess.  But just because we mess up, we can't give up trying....Sometimes making pancakes teaches us many things.

One thing it always reminds me of is that I must say I love you more often to those I care about.  Because we are all "making pancakes" in our lives.  

So, I love you for helping me make pancakes...and for sometimes being the arms of Iluvatar to pick me up -- and most of all...just for caring about me even though covered with flour, milk, egg and a little sugar!

How Very, Very Great Thou Art!

God is the first and the last, 

the beginning and the end!

He is the keeper of creation and the Creator of all!

He is architect of the universe a

nd the manager of all time!

He always was. 

He always is. 

He always will be.

Unmoved. 

Unchanged.

Undefeated. 

Never undone.

Never to end.

He was bruised and brings you healing!

He was pierced and eases your pain!

He was persecuted and brings you freedom!

He was dead and brings you life!

He is risen and brings you 

the power of the Holy Spirit!

He reigns and therefore, 

brings you peace that can't be understood!

The world can't understand Him.

Armies can't defeat Him.

Schools can't explain Him.

Leaders can't ignore Him.

Herod couldn't kill Him.

The Pharisees couldn't confuse Him.

The people couldn't hold Him.

Nero couldn't crush Him.

Hitler couldn't silence Him.

The New Age can't replace Him.

Donahue can't explain Him away.

He is light, love longevity and the Lord.

He is goodness, kindness, gentleness and God.

He is holy, righteous, mighty, powerful, 

pure and the Holy Spirit.

His ways are right.

His Word is eternal.

His will is unchanging.

His mind is on you and me.

He is our redeemer.

He is our Savior.

He is our guide.

He is our peace.

He is our joy.

He is our comfort.

He is our land.

He rules our lives.

We serve Him because His bond is love.

His burden is light.

His goals for us is abundant life.

We follow Him because 

He is the wisdom of the wise.

He is the power of the powerful.

He is the Ancient of days and the ruler of rulers.

The leader of leaders 

and the overseer of the overcomers.

He is the Sovereign Lord of all 

that was and is and is to come.

His goal is a personal relationship with you and me!

He will never leave us.

He will never forsake or mislead us.

He will never forget you and me.

He will never overlook us.

He will never cancel our appointment with Him 

in His appointment book!

When you fall, He lifts you up.

When you fail, He forgives.

When you are weak, He is strong.

When you feel lost, He is the way.

When you are afraid, He is your courage.

When you stumble, He is there to steady you.

When you are hurt, He heals you.

When you are broken, He mends you.

When you are blind, He will always lead you.

When you are hungry, 

He promises to feed you.

When you must face trials, 

He promises you will never face them alone.

When you face persecution, 

He will shield you from the pain.

When you face problems, 

He will comfort you.

When you face loss, 

He will provide for you.

When you face death, 

He promises to carry you home to be with Him.

He is everything for everyone everywhere!

Every time and in every way!

He is God.

He is faithful.

You are His.

I am His.

He belongs to each of us.

A Most Surprising Review

I found this film by mistake and was rather surprised at how well it depicted a story we all know so well.  And it is haunting in the way it conceptualises this time.

A good preparation for the remembrance time of our Saviour's birth.  

You will need to set aside an hour and 40 minutes, but it will be so valuable for you.  

Take care with love, especially His.  

Let me know what you think.

A Sad Day in America

If you watch any news, history or crime TV shows or movies, you would be aware that in some cultures when one member of a family is threatened or accused of a crime, it is not just the person, themselves, who is in danger.  The accusers will, while they are taking the law into their own hands, also round up, accuse, accost, hold an instant trial and execute the members of the accused's family.

We hear, read about or watch these horrible things occur and shake our heads and wonder at such barbarism.  Yet, today, as I began to write the WeakDay Devotion; as is my habit, I searched the news to see if there was anything pressing for the Body of Christ to be praying about.

What I found was unexpected, yet suspected and very sad for me.  Over this past weekend, a young man is accused of setting out and detonating a series of bombs in New York and New Jersey in the United States of America.

Radicalised To Be Terrorists

It is apparent, the entire world has become more -- and rightfully-so -- skittish about "hidden radicals" in every corner of the most unlikely and most likely countries.  Nevertheless, New York would easily hold the title "poster child for terrorism".  It is an ever-present, underlying edginess that accompanies us if we travel to this popular American destination. 

However, few expected that on a casual and relaxed Saturday night, as people strolled around familiar streets in the Indian Summer warmth, that danger stalked.  Friends sat with friends at local cafe's and favourite night spots for a good meal and maybe a drink or two. 

At approximately 8:30 PM local time an explosion would occur and change many lives.  Luckily no one was killed but 29 unsuspecting individuals were wounded both physically and psychologically. 

Investigative Training

After the initial carnage was managed, experts began to sift through everything for acres in the same "needle-in-the-haystack" way we have become accustomed to if we watch any of the many forensic crime shows on television or at the cinema.

(It is because of these scientifically accurate programs that I actually have learned how to ensure law officials are greeted by a completely clue-free and neutralised crime scene, how to build a pipe bomb from grocery store ingredients, including what makes the best shrapnel, how to torture someone for the most pain and effect and so that they live a long time through the torture, how to escape with the least chance of apprehension, etc.  Really good training for those who wish to DO harm. 

And the new media is as much to blame.  The investigation and analysis of data and security camera footage were played out step-by-step.  Every nuance and bit of minutia were reported by hungry-for-ratings-and-more-advertising-dollars news reporters.

How to Build a Bomb and Not Get Caught

What always astounds me is just how they deliver so much educational information to the next erstwhile criminal!  For instance, some cub reporter at the scene of this bomb blast, finding an unexpected crumb that might get them promoted to proper reporter, shared how they knew for certain the young man was the perpetrator because he left a fingerprint on the keypad of the mobile phone that was used to detonate the bomb. 

Furthermore, there were detailed reports on just how the mobile phone was used as the detonation device timer; how the maker of the container for the explosives (in this case a pressure cooker - why didn't I think of that?) could be traced by this or that method. 

More information followed including, the explosive materials used and in what proportion, the BBs and ball bearing shrapnel bits inside.  And a picture of the completed bomb, to ensure that while building your own bomb in the back room of your house, you could see if it looked right.  A satisfying and complete recipe for another attempt by someone even MORE clever.  Salivating viewers and listeners lapping it up and some even taking notes  

Manhunt

The manhunt was served by a series of short video clips from the ever present "security camera witnesses", showing over and again the central TV camera frames of the blast itself.  They also focused more closely on a suspicious individual whose image was discovered at two of the four scenes where bombs were placed.  The second bomb placed in New York failed to detonate. 

A name appeared and the witch hunt began.  Someone who could easily be racially profiled as potentially radical was identified.  They were reported to have been born in Afghanistan, where radicals are as common as heroin poppies or so we are told by the trusty-greedy media.

Best friends of the identified suspect, acquaintances, employers and neighbourhood spies were identified and interviewed -- not by the authorities -- but again by the media, where opinion outweighed facts.  Every possible lead was reported in living colour. 

It is easy to imagine, the media sometimes is like a concert conductor, directing people to move to the rhythm of their motions and suggestions....from this side of the city to another in perfect harmony.

Where could this horrible demon BE?  Who were his accomplices?  How did we miss someone so dangerous?  And most of all "Who is to BLAME?".  A common question today where over-specified weapons are available as easily as buying a pack of "cancer sticks" giving access to weapons that can easily shoot a hundred rounds of ammunition with a single trigger shot. 

The hunt went on. 

The authorities appealed to the public, as they typically do, for calm and stability, so they can do their jobs.  Asking the nation to not jump to any conclusions.  It is, of course, important that someone is not tried in the media or it can hamper or thwart the legal process.

Sleeping Monster

Then strange and as unlikely as it sounds, a young man was found sleeping in the doorway of a restaurant in a nearby town (which is rather odd, when you think about it).  The owner of the restaurant (an immigrant from India) who noticed the exhausted person, reported it.  Police, FBI and a bevy of heavily armed police (and the press) came to awaken this sleeping giant who then shot at them.  A hullabaloo shootout took place. 

Peace officers were shot and so was the young man (in the leg by the way - a tribute to the myriad of accusations of rampant police brutality.  Actually, who would want to BE a peace officer anymore?  No matter what you do you are accused of doing something wrong...or you're shot at.  A topic for another time!)

The young man, to be clear, is reported to have fired on the officers first, although no one volunteered any ubiquitous phone video footage that daunts many police operations nowadays, or CTV to substantiate this. 

But then, why would they, the young man is Muslim (not Black), so racial profiling would tell you immediately there will not be anyone to protest as to whether there was police brutality or whether Muslim lives matter.

Cameras rolled as a bleeding figure, covered in white blankets was wheeled to near the back of the waiting ambulance.  His light brown skin, dark eyes, hair and beard telltale signs that this was the monster, fully awake now as the world witnessed the start of his journey.

Meanwhile, forensic experts and psychologists, physicians and terror experts were interviewed to fill in the time while no new news was forthcoming from tight-lipped hospital administrators.  Then confirmation of his identity, his past in detail, the charges to be laid that were laid, bail set and then quiet. 

More Blame

The neighbourhood where the cafe bomb in New York was detonated was being swept and scoured.  New cafe chairs were set out and the world was pretending to return to normal. 

Yet anger lingered as strong as fear in a nation that has recently been led to think outside the rational dots.  And so like a milling crowd people began to search for reasons and targets of blame. 

They found it this morning when some clever person realised that the parents had a little family restaurant.  Social media to the rescue as they posted a picture of it with address.  The "mob" headed toward the little shop. 

Just like in Nazi Germany, the social media information was not unlike marking the shop with the "yellow star".  And this angry mob in the United States of America stoned the windows to shattered dreams of having a better life in America.  The owners fled in fear for their safety. 

So much for innocent until proven guilty or for that matter -- and so important is -- not guilty by association.  As if the guilt of horrendous acts was as contagious as the measles!  

What is happening that we have lost our senses so!  And last but not least, If 60% of the individuals who live in the United States of America admit to being Christian, I wonder....

References:

     1.    New York Times, "Manhattan Bombs Provide Trove of Clues; F.B.I. Questions 5 People", 18 September 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/19/nyregion/new-york-explosion-chelsea.html        

     2.    BBC News, "US terror blasts: Bomb suspect's father called FBI in 2014", 21 September 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37421074

     3.    http://www.newser.com/story/231348/yelp-reviewers-target-bomb-suspects-family.html?utm_source=8at8&utm_medium=email&utm_content=1636099697961099576&utm_campaign=20160920

Are Christian Values Dead?

As I work on editing a new Kindle, "Where is Christ In America?" I've been praying, reading, researching and studying other Christian teachers and leader's writings and comments on values.  I guess it would be obvious I feel inadequate to the task and wonder how or why the Lord has laid this heavy load on my shoulders.  

Nevertheless, as I put some final touches on the work, I came across some YouTube presentations as I searched for information on "How Should We Then Live".  This is the title of a book written by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, who I had the privilege of studying under.  

"His thought  leadership inspired several generations.  He is described as a theologian and philosopher, foremost evangelical thinker of our day, who's brilliant analysis of Western man's development and future direction is the result of a lifetime of intensive study of humanism and Christian Truths." (from the back cover of his book)  

Dr. Schaeffer is quoted as saying:  "I believe people are as they think.  The choices we make in the next decade will mold irrevocably the direction of our culture...and the lives of our children." (1976)  

I highly commend this "Christian Manifesto" lecture to you.  It was delivered at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church pastored by Dr. James Kennedy, who created the course on sharing your faith called, Evangelism Explosion (published originally in 1970).  

He and Dr. Schaeffer have both gone to be with the Lord now, but the work they've left behind can still move hearts and change lives as our world tumbles around in the mire of humanism, doubt and fear.

"There is a way that seems right to a man, 

but the end is the way of death." Proverbs 14:12

Perhaps the weaknesses that have taken foothold in America result from not enough praying for these two things:

"Two things I ask of Thee, do not refuse me before I die:  

Keep deception and lies far from me, 

give me neither poverty nor riches; 

Feed me with the food that is my portion, 

lest I be full and deny Thee and say, 'Who is the Lord?'  

Or lest I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God." 

Proverbs 30:7-9

THE King is Coming...the kings are going.

"And the kings of the earth, who committed acts of immorality and lived sensuously with her, will weep and lament over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance because of fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city!  For in one hour, your judgment has come.'" Revelation 18:9-10 

"And Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you hesitate between two opinions?  If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.'  But the people did not answer him a word." I Kings 18:21

There are 44,686 books about leadership listed on Amazon today. 

A Google search for leadership gives you 765,000,000 results in the first 0.53 seconds. 

Do you know why there are so many?  Because being a leader is not easy. 

To be a leader you must be humbled to realise that others may trust and follow you -- that they will rely on you and respect your guidance because they hope you are trustworthy and honest in a world so filled with anything but trustworthiness and honesty. 

Leaders have foundational morality and ethics.  They have unwavering and apparent values which are admirable, not based on selfish ambition or the political correctness of the day. 

Leaders have demonstrable wisdom and resolute clarity of vision for those around them.  They have the courage of integrity to help others see a vision and walk with them toward it. 

Leaders are not managers and they are not dictators! 

In the passage of Revelation above, the kings of the earth who have grown undeniably strong and rich under the leadership of the evil one, gather.  They got what they wanted and did it their own way no matter who tried to oppose them.  

Only their opinion counted and they dictated the future, doing what was right in their own eyes and for adulation and unquestioning loyalty. 

They never cared about those who were relying upon them.  They only cared about winning and consuming and being obeyed.  They have been redeveloping the decadent city of Babylon to spite God.  They believed it would be their impenetrable bastion of safety against all comers. 

Satan has taken his dragon and is heading for Har-Maggedon for the final battle and the kings reluctantly must also join them.  You see...

THE King is coming and they are but dust.  The battle for ultimate leadership is already written.

When you are called upon to choose if God be God...choose well and lead others to Him!

Why God Is NOT Enough!

[Jesus teaching] "'Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 

"'And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And you know the way where I am going.

"Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?' 

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.'" John 14:1-7

Believing in God or a god has always seemed wise - like a spiritual insurance policy.  Even the most immoral, crass and greedy believe in some kind of "higher power". 

From the beginning, Adam and Eve BELIEVED in God.  They SAW Him every day!  Yet, they did not love Him enough to obey His simple prohibition. 

The entire Old Testament is witness of the most gross and selfish of sinful behaviours.  And most of those we read about in the Old Testament BELIEVED in God, too. 

The Problem?

What WAS the problem?  God loved His creation so much.  He longed to walk daily together with each individual.  To share thoughts and feelings and observations...to fellowship. (He still does!)

He gave the Ten Commandments, and elaborated them for the nit-pickers, to try and save arguments, heartache, suffering and sorrow.

Consistently, men and women wanted to do what was best in their own eyes.  God did not want us to be robots, He wanted us to WANT Him, so He gave us the right to choose our own way.  And so a great canyon grew between God and men -- dug out by sinful choices.

Solutions of Men

But men longed to be close to God...to have God on their side...to be "safe".  So they started building bridges to get across this canyon to God.  They built churches and "religiously" went there often to impress God with how dedicated they were. 

They gave money to God to demonstrate to Him their generosity.  They wrote stories and songs and made the commandments and laws into more of a game or a test to complete so they could win Sunday school medal to prove to others their holiness and to win favour with God. 

They identified sin in others and tortured or killed them, imagining evil behind every shadow to make obvious to God they meant business in His name. 

They even made a business out of God, selling His favours or selling books, coffee mugs and other trinkets designed around His neat-o sayings, like the pretty ones in Psalms and Ecclesiastes!

They gave God new names and new identities, creating liturgy and rituals and rules, smells, bells, sacrifices, etc.  They killed one another over the gods they chose and blamed God for their motivation to kill. 

Some even established anti-God groups that worshipped the enemy and declared God dead, absent always and gone forever.  They ate frogs and boiled eye of newt and drank blood and killed cats and babies in the names of their anti-gods.

God wept.

Then He dried His eyes and made a plan for a new and living way for us to come to Him.  It was His "Plan-J" conceived in Genesis 3, hidden in God's curses.

You see God HATES sin.  He HATES looking on sin.  And there is a price that He demands is paid for our sin -- if we are to have fellowship with Him.  This is to be justified (clean) from all sin.  And this takes  a living sacrifice to pay for sin. 

To bridge the canyon between Him and us, God knew it would take an extraordinary act of purity.  And this would hurt Him so much it is impossible for us to imagine -- and that was Jesus. 

Jesus, you see, is God's only Son, and it is Jesus that makes our relationship with God so VERY different from people who pride themselves on believing in God.

Believing in God is NOT Enough!

I read a news article recently about a woman who was teaching in a Bible-based Christian university who decided to wear a special head scarf of another religion and push the boundaries.  She insisted we all worship the same God, which for all the controversy, IS true (Genesis 15-16).  There IS no other God, but the Almighty! 

Anyone can believe in God - the REAL God.  But it is only by our own choice that we accept the one and only way God has created for us to have a RELATIONSHIP with Him and that frees us from the sin debt we each owe to Him. 

That is why we HAVE Easter. 

We take a day (some take the 40 days of Lent) to remind ourselves and celebrate once a year.  Those of us who have accepted this full, perfect and complete payment for our sin; know Jesus died on the cross as that payment. 

And THIS and this ALONE is what IS different for those who are Christians...for those who are saved to eternal life. 

Be Encouraged TODAY!

(There are some really bouncy versions of this wonderful song, but I thought this one was good for us today.  Also, one version encouraged us to rejoice in Him, rather than focusing on the sorrows and suffering we feel.  It is a new perspective to consider.  Take care with love, especially His!)

The Lord does own all the cattle on all the hills.

He prospers for His plans, not ours.

What mountain is too heavy for Him to move!?

===============

THIS is the day the Lord has made!

Rejoice and be glad in each moment.

No one gets a do over,

but we do get right now.

Thank Him for understanding.

We all have past regrets.

We all know in our hearts

of things we could do better

if we could just have a second try.

Just try right now..

Looking back should be

To search for learnings

To apply to right now. 

If you're getting bogged down

It is not the Lord you're listening to about the past

Our Lord is weaving your past together for His good and your grace.