You Belong in the Hall of Faith!

The enemy wants us to settle.  The enemy wants us to settle for something other than what Jesus is holding out to us.  He wants us to settle for a fast-food version of religion rather than a Steak House feast with our LORD.  He wants us to settle for a life in the church pew listening to what someone else heard from God rather than also having a two-way conversation with Jesus ourselves. The enemy wants us to settle for being satisfied in the grip of worldly attractions and the culture’s gadgets rather than experience real agape love and freedom from sin’s grasp.

The Significance Apparatus

Note:  I found this letter/essay on a faded piece of school notebook paper in an old book that I purchased at a recent used book sale.  There was no signature or byline.  It was very hard to read.  It was practically scribbled. But the first line grabbed me, because I am interested in discoveries. And so I struggled to read it.  I had to rewrite it because it was really hard to decipher.  It looked like it was a huge effort for the person that wrote it.

The Significance Apparatus

In my research I have discovered a new physiological protein receptor that when activated can lead to very addictive postures.  

It is well known that drugs like cocaine simply activate receptors in the brain that already exist for other purposes.  Usually the drug acts just like some other molecule in our body only the drug works "better".  We have switches in our brain that when turned on can cause a myriad of responses.  Some molecules attach to molecular receptors on nerve endings and the thrown switch may be a sense of well-being or even euphoria.  Often times what the drug does is it grabs onto the receptor better than the natural molecule. The drug may bind tighter and not let go like the weaker natural molecule does.  In that way, it works "better."  The result of the drug is a much stronger or prolonged stimulus. It is often so strong that entire brain pathways are altered.  Proteins in the brain can be chemically changed resulting in what we call "addiction".

The receptor I discovered is similar, but it is activated by a touch not by a specific drug. The receptor is near the middle of the back.  When a simple tap activates this receptor the subdermal protein's structure is temporarily altered and it sends a signal to the brain.  It is almost like pushing a button. A feeling of well-being follows. Some have described the experience as a sense of importance or significance.  That is why I call this protein the “significance receptor”. There is also a noticeable reflective response. The person receiving the stimulus almost always stands up straighter.  It is almost impossible for an individual to reach back and pat their own receptor, although some have been seen trying to activate their own receptor.  The "natural" purpose of the receptor is probably to cause a very positive feeling like when a mother wraps her arms around a young child and unwittingly activates the protein receptor.  Most people are not even aware of the actual receptor.  They just think patting someone on the back is a perfectly natural thing to do.  Some say it is just a cultural gesture.

I just happened upon the discovery of this protein by accident.  

The Neglected Roof

The other day I was working around in the workshop in my garage and needed to go up in the attic for something.  Usually when I go up into the rafters I carry a flashlight.  I have one of those lights that I need to keep shaking and knocking otherwise it does not work.  So, as usual, the light went out, but I could see just fine in my attic.  Uh-oh, that’s bad.  One thing you don’t want in an attic is lots of sunlight especially with the first big El Nino storm two days away!  

The lots in my old neighborhood are set up so that the homes and garages sometimes sit only inches from the property lines.  What that means is that I rarely see the south side of my garage.  The north side looks just fine.  The roof is old but quite intact.  However the south side faces my neighbor’s yard.  It is conveniently out of my daily sight.  When I climbed up on the roof and looked at my neighbor’s view of my roof I was at first astounded, then flooded with embarrassment.  The sun over the last few summers had baked half of my roof to a char-broiled crisp.  There are, or were, three layers of roofing material.  The top layer had almost completely worn away, piece by piece into my neighbor’s yard.  There were several places where I could see the original wood shingles from 1923.  And there were a couple of large holes.  I was hoping that my neighbor was not at home when I tried to assess my roof and cover the biggest holes with some remnant shingles, but no such luck.  “Sucks when a roof gets old,” I heard from down to my left.  

There must be entire chapters in Proverbs written about the fool?

“For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them..” Proverbs 1:32 (Emphasis mine)

Ouch!