We’re gonna start this week’s Deja Vu with something to look forward to. This morning we read Matthew 21, Matthew’s account of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. This next week we will read and discuss the events of the Passion week, ending with Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection. Two Gospels share the story of Jesus’s birth, all four tell about his death, burial and resurrection. After we finish Matthew we will jump back into the Old Testament and read Leviticus.

The Read the Bible podcast is now available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible and iHeart Radio. Every time you listen, like, subscribe and share on any of the platforms an angel gets its wings. No, that’s not true. But it is appreciated. Engagement means the show will be shown to and suggested to more people.

Comments are open but… First time commenters require moderation. WordPress filters out lengthy comments or those that have an excessive number of links as potential spam. Sometimes things get filtered that should not and occasionally I approved comments that are spam they relate to the original topic or illustrate the point that I am making. A WordPress user named Mosckerr recently wrote a post about how the Torah views the New Testament and the Koran as avoda zara, a Hebrew word meaning strange worship. It is used to identify foreign worship or idolatry. He copied and pasted the entire blog post in the comment section of my Matthew 20 post yesterday. I am not approving that comment; I will, however, provide this link to his original post. As we read and study the Bible, it’s important to realize that our Old Testament is essentially the Hebrew scriptures. Messianic Christians are a valuable resource in helping us understand those original texts but there are also Jewish worshipers that, based on those same texts, regard Christianity and Islam as idolatry, forbidden worship as defined by the LORD at Sinai. I would not recommend trying to engage with this writer but I want us all to be aware, advised and informed.

Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King and the Kingdom of God – America just celebrated Juneteenth which some of its critics would like to rename Emancipation Day. I wrote this article on the occasion of Martin Luther King Day back in 2010. This is easily the most read blog post I ever put up with nearly 24,000 views. Some of that traffic has to do with the way search engines work and the fact there were fewer blogs back then than there are today. I’m editing this entry to remove some rambling discussion about math, but I will drop what I cut out into the comments for anyone interested.

You may have noticed that after 17 years we have removed the WordPress name from the URL. You can now easily find The Master’s Table by typing themastertable.blog into you browser’s address bar or searching for the Master’s Table blog. There are other things out there titled The Master’s Table, including a catering company in Winder, GA.

The truth is stranger than fiction. I may have moved on past middle age but I do not consider myself an old curmudgeon, yet. My friends and family in real life know that our home shows no signs of Christmas anything until after Thanksgiving and yes, I am unapologetically judging every single one of you that puts up a tree and starts playing Christmas music in October. I don’t fault the stores for putting decorations and merchandise out early because we need to be ready when the time comes; I’m a big advocate for planning ahead. Sometimes I wonder, throughout the year, who is buying this stuff now? The screen above is from my own Facebook feed. One of my FB friends was looking for Halloween stuff in the store this week and couldn’t find any. Look at the response: I cannot imagine thinking intensely about Halloween in the middle of June. I’m thinking about 4th of July right now, then it will back to school. We do start decorating for fall around the beginning of September but at our house – especially since we live in the church parsonage – it is generic fall stuff that will stay until Thanksgiving.

People think I’m an extrovert because sometimes I’m loud and draw attention to myself. But that’s part of it; I am more comfortable standing on a stage in front of a large audience, especially if it’s people I don’t know, than in a small setting with people I see every day. If I’m preaching, speaking or performing in front of an auditorium, even if it will replay on local television – or uploaded to the church website – I don’t have to interact with people. There is no one making counterpoints or asking questions that I have to formulate answers and respond quickly to. Comments and questions, either here, on social media or even a text message, I can work out my response. Sometimes, and I know others do the same thing, I write a long response then delete the whole thing. Writing can be edited, things I say live cannot. But at Walmart I much prefer the self-check out some of you seem to hate because I don’t have to talk to anybody. My wife doesn’t understand why our daughter does not like to order for herself at fast food or take away places. I understand because I didn’t want to when I was a kid either. Honestly I’m not crazy about doing it now. Sometimes I have my speech all planned out and they throw me by asking questions. Some people don’t know what they want and they need the server or cashier to talk them through it, I get that. But if the person taking orders would just listen to my prepared monologue, maybe they wouldn’t need to ask any questions. “But you’re a pastor. You’re supposed to make hospital visits, and offer pre-marital counseling and pray with people that come to the altar…” Yes, I know. I do all of those things. But if I cannot draft a script ahead of time then it’s outside of my comfort zone. My wife knows that if it can be a text message or an email there is no reason to call on the phone.

The best way to view Magic Eye is to click on the image, view in full size on your full screen. I have trouble even with my new glasses seeing these on a phone screen so I recommend a laptop or tablet.

Here’s an illusion anyone can see. The parts that look recessed on the left appear to be raised on the right and vice versa. But it really is the same image. If you turn off the auto rotate feature you can flip the image and see for yourself. It has to do with the direction the image is lit from and how our brains perceive the reality of what is around us. If you are going to tell spooky stories around a camp fire, shine a flashlight on your face from underneath. It’s unnatural because natural light sources come from above.

And finally…

If you can’t be good, be careful.