Tag Archives: principle

Christian Soapbox, Nathan Dooley

COUNT THE COST

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There was a time… a time when I transitioned from a site supervising security officer to an engineer of a 14-story class double “AA” office tower that required knowledge around high end M&E (Mechanical and Electrical) equipment to manage through SCADA systems alongside my chief engineer. These machines were the power of the Tower, everything was programmed to turn on and off at specific times: lights on, air moving, water flowing, and doors secure.

The environment was damn near perfect for any and all the fortune 500 companies. A fortress of success and cutting edge technology… What could go wrong? As long as the condition was perfect my job was humbly making keys, eliminating odors from p-traps, painting, changing ceiling tiles, etc. And it was during that time as an engineer I became inspired by an idea. I decided to start a ministry called “Salvational Engineering” where I would pick up trash around our little place in the hood. 

The idea was to prune the ministry by hitting every neighboring’ hood encompassed around mine—and you wouldn’t believe some of the things I found as trash, or actually… you just might!

So while that was in the making, a friend of mine invited me to help him on a move. I thought it was just me helping a friend; I tried to refuse payment, but he insisted on paying me for the hard work. And it was HARD work! Moving is no joke!

Then the friend called me again for a move, then again, again, and again. As this became something of a normal thing I saw the potential my friend had to do something about this moving thing and planted the idea of him starting a moving company; to which if he did, I’d be his right hand. Next thing I know we’re free falling, quitting our careers to pursue this entrepreneurial thing; it was grind time, everything changed! Salvational Engineering quickly faded into the background and eventually was set aside for an unexpected future resurrection.

At this junction the risk became surreal when my friend and I didn’t get that expected direct deposit into our accounts. We had to get side jobs to stay afloat: stained fences, landscaped – from planting flowers to cutting down trees – and then beating up rich people… ask Fred! (I’m joking). The business grew and grew, beyond our expectations, it was amazing to see how God took care of us at every turn, overcoming every obstacle. My wife was able to quit her job for us to focus on making them babies, but then… guess what happened! I’d later get terminated due to a story for another time…

Nathan preparing to recruit and my “conscience” (wife) interrupting 😂.

I know, the suspense will kill but long story short; we’d worked out our problem with another christian brother because after all we’re members of the same body in Christ. I was invited to come back as part of the Swan Moving Services team but had decided that continuing on that journey wasn’t worth the potential destruction of our friendship.

The principle that was crucial for me to understand before anything and everything else was that as believers I belonged to Christ before the business, relationship, and especially my own soul! I am going to teach you what that means and how to meet that principle as the story continues. Remember the machines that keep the power in the Tower; we function like machines, and the power in our “Tower’s” is the Spirit of God if the Spirit of Christ dwells in us (Romans 8).

James 3:1

“Do not become teachers in large numbers, my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a stricter judgment.”

I have a responsibility, especially in the trouble of today, to be humble before the Holy Spirit as He helps me navigate from the sin of past experiences to the discipline of our heavenly Father. I have believed and am believing with enduring faith in trials and temptations of this present evil age, humbled to suffer in the name of Jesus Christ as a son of God. Discipline hurts but produces the trait of humility and fruit of righteousness which is of heavenly value through Jesus Christ exalted as head over all.

So there I was, free to do whatever again…

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Christian Soapbox, Journal, Nathan Dooley

WAIT ON THE LORD

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“Alexa, play thunderstorm sounds.” So majestic is the sound of thunderstorms that I could listen to it on loop. It seems to soothe the soul much like when David played the harp for King Saul when terrified by an evil spirit from the Lord according to 1 Samuel 16:14-23, not that I have an evil spirit that terrifies me, but I’d like to think I’m aware of such a spirit.

God means what He says because of the serious consequences experienced when disobeying His instructions. And as I discover more and more His instruction to the Church—myself a member—I am terrified at what His instruction means as I come to understand the Spirit of Christ in me. It’s simple to hear and read the words, “whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospels will…find it…save it…keep it…to eternal life”, but to make that spiritual principle of understanding, a reality, is not so simple and in fact, it’s a figure of death to self through the literal death of Christ, the ultimate means of worship and praise to the glory of God. How to exemplify that is envisioned by revelation when looking to the Word of God.

My heart stirs as the spirit moves within me to the skill of a coach. It’s dark in the belly of a fish; scales blind the eyes. To see, one must become blind to this present world of blood lust, pride and sexual immorality. To hear, one must become deaf to the sirens of worldly devices and coins clanging in the pockets of the rich. Don’t go the way of a fool seeking to save their life by selling their soul to secrets of darkness for the pleasures it’s of. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the Lord.

Nathan Dooley

Weigh The Meaning Of Value In The Balance

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QUESTIONING VALUE

I’ve been thinking A LOT about the significance of “value” for a few weeks now… “what does it mean? How is it defined?“ When I wake up and decide to drink some water, take in sustenance; I don’t naturally think to myself… “why am I doing this?”. I just do it. But thinking about it now, it feels as though I’m a slave to this…“value system”. Things just don’t add up. “Is this our purpose in life?” Wake up and use the restroom, drink water, eat food, calculate your contribution to life and go to work. “Where is the value?”, I wonder. I’ve decided to detach myself from what I think the meaning of value is in the world and take on a different approach. “What if I choose to go to work without earning money?” The idea is to work as though I wasn’t going to receive a paycheck, that may sound stupid but in principle, it’s not. Money is not God, it is a necessary tool of prerogative for not offending the world governed by such a value system (as though it is God). Let me explain.

In the gospel according to Matthew 17:24-27; my understanding from research is that the temple tax collectors came to Capernaum and confronted Peter about Jesus paying the temple tax (that apart from the priests every Jew 20 years and above was required to pay) which is basically contributing to the upkeep of the temple (where God dwells). And seeing how Jesus and the apostles were not considered priests of the temple, they too were required to pay this tax according to the custom of old testament law. However, let’s investigate what Jesus says and does about this temple tax collection considering how Jesus is actually, the ultimate Priest. The power of the priest is found in virtue, not money. Observe…

24 When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 25 He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt. 27 However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”

Now according to google and the coinmill converter, a shekel today is worth 0.29 cents of the United States Dollar. There is so much I want to dive into with this idea of currency, but what fascinates me presently is the measure of value exchange between the Israelite’s and their temple priests collecting this two-drachma tax at that time. According to my research—specifically amazing discoveries—in Exodus 30 and Numbers 3 we find the reason for this contribution to the temple.

“11 The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, 12 “When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. 13 This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD. 14 Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD.” (Exodus 30:11-14)

44 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel and the cattle of the Levites. And the Levites shall be Mine; I am the LORD. 46 For the ransom of the 273 of the firstborn of the sons of Israel who are in excess beyond the Levites, 47 you shall take five shekels apiece, per head; you shall take them in terms of the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), 48 and give the money, the ransom of those who are in excess among them, to Aaron and to his sons.” (Numbers 3:44-48)

But why did Jesus make a point to question Peter about the collection of customs? Who are the kings of the earth? And why did Jesus say that the …sons are exempt? It sounds to me like Jesus is clarifying a point for Peter to recall later. Are all Israelites exempt from such customs? The answer is yes, but it was not time for that answer to come into fruition yet. The next phrase from Jesus is of most importance because it gives revelation to the meaning of value. “However, so that we do not offend them…“, but why? Why not offend these collectors with the truth about the pointlessness of this contribution?

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