November 27, 2022
His name is Chaplain Bob Miller. I cold-called him, asking for help one day. When he returned my call, he was driving back from the airport with his wife; they had just arrived home from Cuba.
Bob was warm and inviting. He understood my situation. He had a lot on his plate at the time, but he took a couple of moments to meet with me and briefly listen to my quandary. Little did he know, I hadn’t told him my true quandary– the real reason I had sought Chaplin Bob-out.
But Chaplain Bob gave me exactly the help I needed. I needed a place to sleep and shower and shave and get off of the road for an evening. I needed a job. I needed money to buy food and put gas in the Jeep
Bob forked-out $118.00 at the Red Roof Inn in Ocala Florida and insisted that I take the room- wouldn’t let me sleep in the Jeep that night.
“I’m giving you the last bit of cash I have.”
Chaplain Bob smiled as he handed me a ten dollar bill from his wallet.
He attempted to furnish me with a pair of work boots, but he couldn’t find a pair that fit me, even though I insisted that I would be able to afford a pair of Ariats in a week or so. He put his hand on my shoulder and, though he had only known me a few hours, he treated me as if I were his best friend’s grandson. I spent the night at the Red Roof Inn- one of the best- sprawled-out across the bed sleeps I’d ever had! The next morning, I skipped work and went to Chaplin Bob’s Sunday church service.
Ocala Farm Ministry Sunday Service
November 27,2022
ALMOST THE MINUTES:
Announcements
Chaplain Bob described his visit to a Sports Camp in Cuba. It is a camp for young boys between the ages of 14 and their early twenties. He briefly described Santa Clara, which is the third largest city in Cuba. “We did some sight seeing, but not much.” Bob’s wife’s brother, Hugo, snapped quite a few pictures. Here they are: ……..
Deloris Lights the First Candle of Advent. “We are lighting our first candle for advent. This is the first week of advent, and the message of the first week of advent is:
FAITH
She cited PSALM 27:14.
“Wait for the Lord;
PSALM 27:14
be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Then, she cited Hebrews 11:3.
“By faith we understand that
HEBREWS 11:3
the universe was formed at God’s command,
so that what is seen
was not made
out of what is
visible.”
Deloris spoke about how, before David battled Goliath, “David already knew that the battle was the Lord’s.”
“Now, I light the candle as we await the 25th.” D. said.
When she said that, I thought, “What is the twenty-fifth?” I pondered for a moment. “Today is November 27th;” I thought. “What is the 25?,… Oh, Christmas!” I remembered.
Deloris said the phrase:
“…The Plurality of God…”
Joey Sings two beautiful songs, then shares, “I was going to keep on driving, but I said, ‘You know what?,… I’m going to Church!”
“Though we walk in the shadow of death, he is always with us. … from the tips of your toes to the top of your head!”
Joseph (Joey)
Joey is very, very high energy!
Clear Is Kind.
Chaplain Bob approaches the pulpit and announces:
“The Tennessee Tattler!… I know he’s got something to tell!”
Ronnie Shares some truth and some humor.
“The Holocaust was legal, but those who hid the Jews were criminals.”
Ronnie
“Our government and their laws are not God’s ,too! On a lighter note, … received a notice in the mail that his car warranty has run out!”
Ronnie
Doug Kindred shares his thoughts and chooses not to buy a Lincoln.
“I realized I was Sinning!”
Doug Kindred
"I'm the first child; I'm the stereotypical first kid!" Doug proclaims.
He then lists the chapter headings for the book of JOEL and describes the progression of most profits.
“It’s almost always about wealth.”
Doug Kindred
He references ROMANS 10. “Heart and Mouth.”
“For it is with your heart that you believe
ROMANS 10:10
and are justified,
and it is with your mouth
that you profess your faith
and are saved.”
“The only thing I’ve ever coveted before is Michelin Tires!”
Doug Kindred
Then, Doug touched upon First JOHN, chapter two, verses fifteen through seventeen.
“For everything in the world- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- comes not from the Father but from the world.”
1st JOHN 2:16
Chaplain Bob delivers the body of the service.
Doug Kindred shares how Hearing the word is most important.
“Just reading it isn’t enough; there is something about hearing The Word that does something for the Spiritual part of your mind.”
Doug said.
Chaplain Bob mentions how there are not many people in the congregation. (Before service had started, he sat next to me and said, “Well, you’re going to be about twenty percent of the church today.”)
“I was talking to Chip earlier about the Pareto Principal.” He vocally pondered how we could do differently to attract a larger following.
“…You could go driving around town in a new Lincoln,…”
He Joked!
“I want to talk about three things.” Chaplain Bob began:
- Patience
- Forgiving
- Mercy
“Love Is The Essence of God.”
Chaplain Bob Miller
“What will keep us from being like Adam and Eve?”
He challenged us.
You see, Adam and Eve were in paradise;
didn’t need anything,
but they still chose to disobey God.
“What will keep us from choosing free will
and sinning
when we are in heaven?”
He begins the discussion and quickly concludes that it is too deep of a venture to fully entertain this morning, but is one that requires the next day’s of thought to bring that such conversation to the pulpit.
“Men choose to shine the light of darkness, because their deeds are evil.”
“God’s love is constant”
Chaplain Bob Miller
“Let light shine out of darkness.”
“ For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge…”
2 Corinthians 4:6
“I should probably be trying to figure out something simpler.” Chaplain Bob then said.
“We will be like him when we see him face-to-face.”
Chaplain Bob Miller
HARMONY.
Practice Silence; interrupt with neither word or expression.
“Arrogance (is what usually) leads to conflict.”
Chaplain Bob Miller
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.”
ROMANS 12:16-18
“By the sweat of your brow
GENESIS 3:19
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
Chaplain Bob mentioned,
“There’s a country song that goes, ‘It’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way!'”
After that, Chaplain Bob referred to a Bob Dylan song, saying, “…People won’t want to be around us if we are honest all the time.”
He Cited Colossians 3:12-17.
“…clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:12-17
Bear with each other and forgive one another
if any of you has a grievance against someone.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as members of one body
you were called to peace.
And be thankful.
Let the message of Christ
dwell among you richly
as you teach and admonish one another
with all wisdom
through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit,
singing to God with gratitude in your hearts…”
He touched upon how a Man Of God should comport himself.
“People knew (early) Christians from their walk and demeanor,” he said. “They were a Peculiar people; people were not used to others who were in sincere service (to others).
“People knew Christians from their walk and demeanor.”
Chaplain Bob Miller
People had not before experienced such sincere service to their fellow man!
Because of that, early Christians were viewed as, “a peculiar people”.
“I am eternal; I have plenty of time. … but, then I get in my Lincoln…”
Bob chuckled, poking fun at Doug!
Then, he expressed how it is difficult to navigate in a world where people are leery of honest, sincere people. However, he spoke how:
“He has created a new group of people who are like-minded.”
Then, he advised:
“Have the mind of Christ,… who humbled himself to death.”
“Faith in what? … You gotto have faith in something!”
Chaplain Bob Miller
Doug spoke about how important it is to HEAR The Word read out-loud:
“There is something about hearing that changes the soul.”
He stated.
Reading is not good enough;
you need to HEAR the word read/spoken;
for the musical reason,
the sense of hearing
beckons
the curiosity of the soul.
After the service, Doug and I spoke in the kitchen about his distain for marijuana, and he shared a personal story. Upon leaving, he handed me some cash to put food in my belly.
“I wrote a book. I want to give it to you,” he said. Doug handed me his work.
Joey wanted to help me, so he told me to follow him He took me to a Waffle House where we shared a big meal over relaxed conversation. He took me to the Silver Springs Motel and asked the manager if he had any vacant rooms, but the manger thought we were homosexuals and said, “No.” So, he took me to a shoty place up the road where I stayed. That place was quite a gem!
Joey helped me find lodging, and he paid for it!
That place had no Bible; neither did the Red Roof Inn.
Observation of the Influence Which Emotion Wields Over a Man’s Ability To Reason:
It seems Bob and Jordan Peterson are experiencing a similar force by-which emotion over-takes their ability to reason efficiently. They get teary- eyed and tend to venture off from an analytical, only-guided-by-logic approach to an appeal to an emotionally propelled, open-ended query, propelling their thought process into a realm which is non-congruent with the original topic.
Though that particular human experience is a useful tool for exploring psychology, that becomes a distraction- a hinderance; … THE hinderance, one might Buddhistically suggest.
Washed-out in a face full of tears, (these two) men tend to forget the question they were seeking to ask; and therefore tend to create the, “the questioning, itself, is the answer,” paradigm! In that, “The Answer,” they seek cannot materialize. Instead, the, “investigation,” becomes a self-exploration, describing the whole of humanity, fueled by pent-up emotion (which they want to share,) consequently being extinguished by the arrogant affect of being the observer attempting to objectively observe itself.
As a picture of a pencil cannot draw itself, the human attempting to reconcile with its own cognitive dissonance by way of cognition is the same as the ocean attempting to dry itself off by splashing around!
The reason I pose the above notion is because I became curious as to why Jordan Peterson has allowed his emotion to interfere with his oratory skills. Here is an example: