I see so many people unaware of their surroundings as they interact with their electronic devices. They look at them as they walk and do not see what is around them. They look at them when they are with other people in restaurants.
It is easy to be persuaded by them (the thing, not the nearby person). While involved they are not aware of their situation.
What is ahead of them?
What is behind them?
What is to the right of them?
What is to the left of them?
What is above them?
What is below them?
Are there any flowers, what color of flowers, what kind of flowers?
Are there any trees, what kind of trees, is it a healthy tree?
Is the retention pond full or drying up?
They are listening to music or a radio broadcast, or an audio blog. Are the people in it real or fictional? Is it possible they have an agenda? Is it possible you are listening to opinions and not facts?
If they were engaged in business would another place or time have been better? Would it be better to see them in real time, in real life, in real space?
We should be full of care about how and when we use our electronics.
Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Friday, April 26, 2024
THE AI GATEKEEPER
I became frustrated with trying to give information to a website. For many minutes (notice the word, “many”) I tried and waited for some sort of response. I tried my best to avoid the “Chat” option. After many minutes (notice the word, “many”) I finally pushed it. I was allowed to “chat” with a robot. The robot, after many minutes, allowed me to “chat” with a real human who could, and did, solve my issue. At least I guess it was a human.
I hate “Chat” sessions. Do you hate “Chat” sessions? You are not “chatting” with a person, you are interfacing with software on a machine. This software is otherwise known as “Artificial Intelligence”, or AI. There is no “intelligence” about it, though it is very much artificial. What was intelligent was the person or team of persons who wrote the software. These had to guess what questions you might ask and upon what various tracks the answers might lead. Once the software is devised, coded and loaded onto a machine the human intelligence is completed. There is no humanity left. There is only the software and the machine that contains it. You type to a machine which receives the electrical signals form the internet and processes them through the software to formulate an “answer”, untouched by human hands.
We are getting accustomed to being used by machines. We often do not think about it, we even want it in some cases. We need to be jealous of our humanity, or we may be imprisoned in a software/mechanical/electrical world.
I hate “Chat” sessions. Do you hate “Chat” sessions? You are not “chatting” with a person, you are interfacing with software on a machine. This software is otherwise known as “Artificial Intelligence”, or AI. There is no “intelligence” about it, though it is very much artificial. What was intelligent was the person or team of persons who wrote the software. These had to guess what questions you might ask and upon what various tracks the answers might lead. Once the software is devised, coded and loaded onto a machine the human intelligence is completed. There is no humanity left. There is only the software and the machine that contains it. You type to a machine which receives the electrical signals form the internet and processes them through the software to formulate an “answer”, untouched by human hands.
We are getting accustomed to being used by machines. We often do not think about it, we even want it in some cases. We need to be jealous of our humanity, or we may be imprisoned in a software/mechanical/electrical world.
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
ASSERTIONS
We must be careful to not blindly accept the assertions that are put forward in the material we read. I use the following sentences as an example:
"Gases like carbon dioxide and methane act like a blanket, heating up Earth in an unnatural and unprecedented way. The rapidly rising temperatures are directly connected to increased extreme weather events like severe storms, worsening wildfires, and devastating droughts."
This set of sentences came from Nick Paschal writing in “The Cool Down”. Lets look at some of the phrases:
“Gases like carbon dioxide and methane act like a blanket . . .” What other gases? Should we be frightened if there is a complex assortment of gases acting like a blanket? Humans and animals that breathe air output carbon dioxide every time they exhale. We, and they, can not stop exhaling. Plants need to take in carbon dioxide to live. Natural processes also output methane. Carbon dioxide and methane will not (and cannot) cease to exist and will continue to give us this “blanket”.
“. . . heating up Earth in an unnatural and unprecedented way.” There is nothing “unnatural” or “unprecedented” about these gases. Their chemical agency has not changed. They act as they always have acted since humans have learned to investigate them and their effects. In themselves they are not alarming.
“The rapidly rising temperatures. . . “ Really? How rapid, compared to what? Many scientists may not agree the temperatures are “rapidly” rising. There is currently dispute about this point. We can all agree we are not in an Ice Age. We all agree the Ice Age took place long ago. Climates have changed and will continue to change. Climate changed before there was any significant human activity.
“[T]emperatures are directly connected to increased extreme weather events . . .” No one likes severe storms, wildfires or devastating droughts. By their very nature they are severe, wild and devastating. They always have been. But which is increasing – the events, or our recording and reporting of them? The reporting of them and the varied interpretations of them certainly has increased. The outlets for our reporting have increased like Facebook, X, Twitter, and “The Cool Down”.
All of us should be careful of the assertions we read and hear and beware of the bias of the information. But we should also beware of our own blinders and earmuffs.
"Gases like carbon dioxide and methane act like a blanket, heating up Earth in an unnatural and unprecedented way. The rapidly rising temperatures are directly connected to increased extreme weather events like severe storms, worsening wildfires, and devastating droughts."
This set of sentences came from Nick Paschal writing in “The Cool Down”. Lets look at some of the phrases:
“Gases like carbon dioxide and methane act like a blanket . . .” What other gases? Should we be frightened if there is a complex assortment of gases acting like a blanket? Humans and animals that breathe air output carbon dioxide every time they exhale. We, and they, can not stop exhaling. Plants need to take in carbon dioxide to live. Natural processes also output methane. Carbon dioxide and methane will not (and cannot) cease to exist and will continue to give us this “blanket”.
“. . . heating up Earth in an unnatural and unprecedented way.” There is nothing “unnatural” or “unprecedented” about these gases. Their chemical agency has not changed. They act as they always have acted since humans have learned to investigate them and their effects. In themselves they are not alarming.
“The rapidly rising temperatures. . . “ Really? How rapid, compared to what? Many scientists may not agree the temperatures are “rapidly” rising. There is currently dispute about this point. We can all agree we are not in an Ice Age. We all agree the Ice Age took place long ago. Climates have changed and will continue to change. Climate changed before there was any significant human activity.
“[T]emperatures are directly connected to increased extreme weather events . . .” No one likes severe storms, wildfires or devastating droughts. By their very nature they are severe, wild and devastating. They always have been. But which is increasing – the events, or our recording and reporting of them? The reporting of them and the varied interpretations of them certainly has increased. The outlets for our reporting have increased like Facebook, X, Twitter, and “The Cool Down”.
All of us should be careful of the assertions we read and hear and beware of the bias of the information. But we should also beware of our own blinders and earmuffs.
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
GREY OR NOT
It’s a grey day today. A painter would say that there are cool colors. Our thoughts can be like grey days. Sometimes ideas flow out of the head too fast to write them down. Other times there seems to be nothing of importance. Things seem to be too trivial, too insignificant to record. It is difficult to articulate insignificant thoughts. Are they worth the time and exercise?
What kind of grey day is this? It is not cold and it is not hot. It might rain, yet it might not. Many times in Florida grey days turn sunny whereas in Massachusetts they are apt to stay grey for a stretch of many days. Are we presently like Florida or Massachusetts?
Sometimes our minds are like Florida or like Massachusetts, some get sunny quickly, some stay grey for many days. But even if you live in Boston, Massachusetts or Regina, Saskatchewan, in your mind you can decide to have a Florida day. If you live in Quito, Ecuador you can have a Massachusetts day.
What kind of grey day is this? It is not cold and it is not hot. It might rain, yet it might not. Many times in Florida grey days turn sunny whereas in Massachusetts they are apt to stay grey for a stretch of many days. Are we presently like Florida or Massachusetts?
Sometimes our minds are like Florida or like Massachusetts, some get sunny quickly, some stay grey for many days. But even if you live in Boston, Massachusetts or Regina, Saskatchewan, in your mind you can decide to have a Florida day. If you live in Quito, Ecuador you can have a Massachusetts day.
Monday, March 4, 2024
WHAT ARE WE SPEAKING?
The words that we speak can be helpful or hurtful. For example, it can be helpful when we speak uplifting words. Proverbs 20:3 says, “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.” When we are speaking uplifting, constructive, and positive words, we are not fermenting strife in those we are addressing. For most of us, almost all the time, we are not hoping for strife. Although others may itch for a fight, that is not us, that is not who we are. Let malice reside in the hearts of them, not us.
Yet sometimes seeming too optimistic can misfire. Proverbs 25:20 says, “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda.” Singing songs to a heavy heart can cause a bad or harmful reaction. When one is sorrowful singing a happy song invites comparison which may make the hearer feel worse. He will compare his feelings with the happiness of the song which will make him notice even more the sadness of his own state. Likewise, singing a sad song is likely to make him feel worse. There are times when there should be no music.
Like Proverbs 25:25 says, “[As] cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” There is something refreshing about a faithful messenger and good news. So when we speak to a sad or heavy-hearted person, we must be careful. What is it we intend to say? Will it be like water or gasoline on a fire? Take time to think before you speak. Are you comforting, or standing alongside, or correcting wrong thinking? If you could imagine yourself in his shoes what would you want to hear?
Yet sometimes seeming too optimistic can misfire. Proverbs 25:20 says, “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda.” Singing songs to a heavy heart can cause a bad or harmful reaction. When one is sorrowful singing a happy song invites comparison which may make the hearer feel worse. He will compare his feelings with the happiness of the song which will make him notice even more the sadness of his own state. Likewise, singing a sad song is likely to make him feel worse. There are times when there should be no music.
Like Proverbs 25:25 says, “[As] cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.” There is something refreshing about a faithful messenger and good news. So when we speak to a sad or heavy-hearted person, we must be careful. What is it we intend to say? Will it be like water or gasoline on a fire? Take time to think before you speak. Are you comforting, or standing alongside, or correcting wrong thinking? If you could imagine yourself in his shoes what would you want to hear?
Monday, February 5, 2024
TREASURE TAKES WORK
Proverbs 2:1,2
"My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; "
The action phrases: “receive”, “treasure up”, “making [the ear] attentive, and “inclining” seem to require work.
It takes continual effort to get knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. These things don't come easy, and they don't come quick. It takes work, it takes work every day. Receive, find value, listen up, and lean into wisdom. Apply, cry, lift your voice, seek, search.
When you search for silver and hidden treasure it is not done in five minutes of idle time before watching a video. To seek it you must decide where to go. You must decide to go there. You must inspect every rock formation. You must be diligent in research and then methodically and thoroughly comb the area, balancing your resources while doing it. It takes time and it takes resources. You must spend something.
So it is we have to spend something at God's word.
The application (one of them) of seeking understanding, knowledge, and wisdom is to know the right paths, the right way. Men and women, who are wicked, walk the wrong paths. The knowledge of the truth would have shown them the proper way.
How can one know which is wrong and which is right? Ask one who knows, read what he has written. Read the Bible and pray. You must ". . . receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; "
"My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; "
The action phrases: “receive”, “treasure up”, “making [the ear] attentive, and “inclining” seem to require work.
It takes continual effort to get knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. These things don't come easy, and they don't come quick. It takes work, it takes work every day. Receive, find value, listen up, and lean into wisdom. Apply, cry, lift your voice, seek, search.
When you search for silver and hidden treasure it is not done in five minutes of idle time before watching a video. To seek it you must decide where to go. You must decide to go there. You must inspect every rock formation. You must be diligent in research and then methodically and thoroughly comb the area, balancing your resources while doing it. It takes time and it takes resources. You must spend something.
So it is we have to spend something at God's word.
The application (one of them) of seeking understanding, knowledge, and wisdom is to know the right paths, the right way. Men and women, who are wicked, walk the wrong paths. The knowledge of the truth would have shown them the proper way.
How can one know which is wrong and which is right? Ask one who knows, read what he has written. Read the Bible and pray. You must ". . . receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; "
Monday, January 8, 2024
SOURCES
By looking at Genesis 1
I will make an observation: all things that appear to have a cause-and-effect may not have, or may not always have had, a cause-and-effect relationship. God first made the light, then he divided it from the darkness, then he named the darkness "night" and the light "day". Then the evening and the morning were the first day. It was after that (three days later, on the 4th day) that God created the lights, sun and moon, and attached them to the day/night cycle (to rule over the day and over the night).
-There was light without a source for it (sun, stars).
-There may have been day and night without the rotation of the earth.
-Things may become associated into cause and effect after they both are brought into existence,
There was light -- then there was sources for the light -- then the sources were made to rule over the light . Might there be other things that seem to be in a cause-and-effect relationship which really are not that way? Were energies made before the sources for them came into being? It is not possible for humans to create "energies" before we create the "sources". We always start from the source of the energy.
Does an idea come from a thought, or the thought from the idea?
The Holy Spirit comes from God but where does our human spirit come from? Does it come from the soul? Which came first the soul, or the spirit?
Does feeling produce a thought, or does thought produce a feeling, or can it happen either way?<
I will make an observation: all things that appear to have a cause-and-effect may not have, or may not always have had, a cause-and-effect relationship. God first made the light, then he divided it from the darkness, then he named the darkness "night" and the light "day". Then the evening and the morning were the first day. It was after that (three days later, on the 4th day) that God created the lights, sun and moon, and attached them to the day/night cycle (to rule over the day and over the night).
-There was light without a source for it (sun, stars).
-There may have been day and night without the rotation of the earth.
-Things may become associated into cause and effect after they both are brought into existence,
There was light -- then there was sources for the light -- then the sources were made to rule over the light . Might there be other things that seem to be in a cause-and-effect relationship which really are not that way? Were energies made before the sources for them came into being? It is not possible for humans to create "energies" before we create the "sources". We always start from the source of the energy.
Does an idea come from a thought, or the thought from the idea?
The Holy Spirit comes from God but where does our human spirit come from? Does it come from the soul? Which came first the soul, or the spirit?
Does feeling produce a thought, or does thought produce a feeling, or can it happen either way?<
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
WASTING AWAY
Proverbs 5:3 and following: "For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword."
Her mouth "drips honey" , her mouth "is smoother than oil". This is how the wisdom of the world sounds: it is sweet and smooth. It is difficult to overcome because it sounds like it is good (honey) and it sounds so logical and solid (smoother than oil). But if we read further on we find it is death.
The wisdom of the world is movable (verse 6) meaning it has no standard upon which it is based, so it is free to drift in any convenient direction. When you shine the light of scripture and logic upon it to show that it is incorrect, it moves aside avoiding discovery. The wisdom of the world will cause you to give honor to others who are unworthy (verse 9). Your sense of worth and dedication will be merge with those who directly oppose what is written in God’s word, like the evolutionist, and not with God's people or family.
Your years may be spent with the cruel and your time will have vanished among the godless and not with gods people or family. Careerists, strangers, and materialists may eat up your laborers. At the end of your life your flesh and body may have been spent for humanist education, for feminists and homosexuals, for possessions many of which have long since decayed, or for your career, which did not further God's Kingdom .
When you choose your occupation over your family, when you seek your toys like your automobile over God's will or improvement of your character, when you select your fulfillment over your proper relationship to others -- then you will, at the end, find honor gone to others, years to the cruel, strangers filled with your strength, laborers in the house of others and your flesh and body consumed. You will no longer be able to correct what you have done.
But keeping in God's word is like staying with your wife and receiving refreshment by her. You should bring water out of your own cistern and well -- use God's instructions and not the instruction of the world.
Her mouth "drips honey" , her mouth "is smoother than oil". This is how the wisdom of the world sounds: it is sweet and smooth. It is difficult to overcome because it sounds like it is good (honey) and it sounds so logical and solid (smoother than oil). But if we read further on we find it is death.
The wisdom of the world is movable (verse 6) meaning it has no standard upon which it is based, so it is free to drift in any convenient direction. When you shine the light of scripture and logic upon it to show that it is incorrect, it moves aside avoiding discovery. The wisdom of the world will cause you to give honor to others who are unworthy (verse 9). Your sense of worth and dedication will be merge with those who directly oppose what is written in God’s word, like the evolutionist, and not with God's people or family.
Your years may be spent with the cruel and your time will have vanished among the godless and not with gods people or family. Careerists, strangers, and materialists may eat up your laborers. At the end of your life your flesh and body may have been spent for humanist education, for feminists and homosexuals, for possessions many of which have long since decayed, or for your career, which did not further God's Kingdom .
When you choose your occupation over your family, when you seek your toys like your automobile over God's will or improvement of your character, when you select your fulfillment over your proper relationship to others -- then you will, at the end, find honor gone to others, years to the cruel, strangers filled with your strength, laborers in the house of others and your flesh and body consumed. You will no longer be able to correct what you have done.
But keeping in God's word is like staying with your wife and receiving refreshment by her. You should bring water out of your own cistern and well -- use God's instructions and not the instruction of the world.
Monday, December 4, 2023
JESUS APPEARANCE
The most significant of all creation, the Creator himself, came in apparent insignificance. The one of All Significance appeared to be insignificant. He first appeared as an unborn child of an insignificant yet-to-be-married (?) couple. His apparent Father was a tradesman, a carpenter. Mary was of no prominent family we know of. They had to travel to Bethlehem alone, as far as we know. She, though pregnant, had to endure a ride on a donkey.
After she gave birth, the announcement of the savior’s arrival came to Laborers, the shepherds, not to noblemen, not the powerful, not the influential. The shepherds were the ones that witnessed the heavenly host rejoicing. They were the ones who first saw Jesus as a newborn.
The announcement was hidden from the high-ranking Jewish people. It did not come to their rulers and not to the religious prominent of the Temple. It was not announced to the politically powerful administrative authorities (the Romans).
Jesus allowed himself to grow up to obscure adulthood under subjection to his parents. He was probably a journeyman carpenter under his adoptive Father. Jesus did not make himself known until after he reached the appropriate time.
He was insignificant all that time, until he became the most significant of all – to those of us who recognize it.
After she gave birth, the announcement of the savior’s arrival came to Laborers, the shepherds, not to noblemen, not the powerful, not the influential. The shepherds were the ones that witnessed the heavenly host rejoicing. They were the ones who first saw Jesus as a newborn.
The announcement was hidden from the high-ranking Jewish people. It did not come to their rulers and not to the religious prominent of the Temple. It was not announced to the politically powerful administrative authorities (the Romans).
Jesus allowed himself to grow up to obscure adulthood under subjection to his parents. He was probably a journeyman carpenter under his adoptive Father. Jesus did not make himself known until after he reached the appropriate time.
He was insignificant all that time, until he became the most significant of all – to those of us who recognize it.
Thursday, November 23, 2023
GOD AND WISDOM
Proverbs 8:22
God created everything as it says in the book of Genesis. For us, as created beings, everything that we know has been established by God. This includes the idea of wisdom. Proverbs 8:22 through 31 tells us wisdom was present at the inception of the creation. Wisdom was there before He made the heavens; wisdom was with the Lord before he made the earth.
God did not “make” wisdom, wisdom is something God always possessed. Since we are made in God’s image, wisdom is a property we also possess. We can develop the wisdom we have, we can learn from God and others.
We know that these characterize wisdom: it speaks of excellent things. right things. It speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to wisdom. Wisdom does nothing forward or perverse. It is plain to him that understands, right to those that find knowledge as we have read in the proverbs.
Wisdom is the ability, or result of an ability, to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, and insight. Since we know that God has all knowledge, understanding and insight we should look to what He plainly says to us in the Bible.
God created everything as it says in the book of Genesis. For us, as created beings, everything that we know has been established by God. This includes the idea of wisdom. Proverbs 8:22 through 31 tells us wisdom was present at the inception of the creation. Wisdom was there before He made the heavens; wisdom was with the Lord before he made the earth.
God did not “make” wisdom, wisdom is something God always possessed. Since we are made in God’s image, wisdom is a property we also possess. We can develop the wisdom we have, we can learn from God and others.
We know that these characterize wisdom: it speaks of excellent things. right things. It speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to wisdom. Wisdom does nothing forward or perverse. It is plain to him that understands, right to those that find knowledge as we have read in the proverbs.
Wisdom is the ability, or result of an ability, to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, and insight. Since we know that God has all knowledge, understanding and insight we should look to what He plainly says to us in the Bible.
Monday, November 13, 2023
UNKNOWABLE DREAMS
I once had a dream that I was walking home (I guess) from a meeting of Navy chief petty officers. It was on a modest tree lined road at night. There were no streetlights. The road was wet. I was walking on the left side of the road ducking under the branches of bushes or trees that over hung the road shoulder. A few cars were passing me and going the other way. One car came on the right side and slowed and stopped, moved slowly forward and stopped several times. I looked at it and wondered what they were doing. The headlights were reflecting on the street. I assumed there was more than one person in the car. I considered running into the undergrowth to my left. Then in the daytime I was at a gas station. Somehow I knew the police had said I was beaten so badly that I couldn't remember it. I could not.
I had no idea what this meant, and still do not. Dreams are strange and often do not bear directly on our experience. I’m sure there is a catalogue of dreams, or dream types, written somewhere probably by degreed Psychiatrists or Psychologists who proport to be experts in dreams. Maybe there are several dream books which argue dream “facts” that disagree with other books written about dreams. In the end no one can be really sure.
There are very few, like Daniel or Joseph, who can know the meaning of dreams. It is a gift of God. The crowd of others that say they can – can’t.
I had no idea what this meant, and still do not. Dreams are strange and often do not bear directly on our experience. I’m sure there is a catalogue of dreams, or dream types, written somewhere probably by degreed Psychiatrists or Psychologists who proport to be experts in dreams. Maybe there are several dream books which argue dream “facts” that disagree with other books written about dreams. In the end no one can be really sure.
There are very few, like Daniel or Joseph, who can know the meaning of dreams. It is a gift of God. The crowd of others that say they can – can’t.
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
WHAT IS THE WEALTH OF THE SOUL
Proverbs 22 verses 22, 23 say: "Rob not the poor because he is poor neither oppress the afflicted in the gate. God will plead their cause and spoil the soul of those that spoil them."
My definition of "to spoil" is to remove the wealth of a person once you have the victory over him. It’s easy to rob the poor and oppress the afflicted because they have little power to resist you. You don’t even have to fabricate a fight with them as an excuse; you can just rob and oppress. But God will remove the wealth from the soul that has oppressed the poor and afflicted.
What is the wealth of the soul? Since the soul is non-material, I expect the elements of wealth are non-material as well. They would be such things as: intellect, confidence, joy, sense of direction, and knowledge of accomplishments. The loss of such things is clearly not wanted, but God will remove them from the oppressor of the poor and afflicted.
Hopefully, we are of the sort that would not even conceive of afflicting the poor and afflicted. We are to seek to be like Jesus. Jesus instructs us to care for them. Jesus instructs us to never oppress anyone. Why would we? Why should we?
My definition of "to spoil" is to remove the wealth of a person once you have the victory over him. It’s easy to rob the poor and oppress the afflicted because they have little power to resist you. You don’t even have to fabricate a fight with them as an excuse; you can just rob and oppress. But God will remove the wealth from the soul that has oppressed the poor and afflicted.
What is the wealth of the soul? Since the soul is non-material, I expect the elements of wealth are non-material as well. They would be such things as: intellect, confidence, joy, sense of direction, and knowledge of accomplishments. The loss of such things is clearly not wanted, but God will remove them from the oppressor of the poor and afflicted.
Hopefully, we are of the sort that would not even conceive of afflicting the poor and afflicted. We are to seek to be like Jesus. Jesus instructs us to care for them. Jesus instructs us to never oppress anyone. Why would we? Why should we?
Monday, September 4, 2023
PHRASES CHRISTIANS USE
This is a blog about phrases Christians commonly say that the hearers may not understand, or they may understand it in a different way than the speaker intended. This is most often true when the hearer is not a Christian, but it can also be true when he is. I will state some of these Christian phrases below and will add to this blog from time to time as I think of others. I will welcome suggestions about other phrases (although I am not sure at this present time how you can communicate them to me).
‘=======================================================
JESUS IS MY PERSONAL SAVIOUR.
This could also be. “Accept Jesus as your personal savior.” What does the word “personal” mean? Some do not understand this phrasing or can be annoyed by it. We know that the Bible says that Jesus is the savior of all mankind, so some think adding “personal” is either useless or must mean something different.
I think a speaker uses the word “personal” to focus from Jesus’ general application to all mankind to the individual level. From all men to just one man - to the individual listener. The offering of salvation is meant for an individual person. While it is an open offering available to everyone, the speaker is telling the listener the offering made specifically to him. He should therefore take the opportunity to accept this offer. The decision can be to accept the offer, or to reject it. It is "personal" in the sense that the ability to accept or reject rests solely in the volition of the person who hears the offer. He is the agent, no one can act for him. At his hand lies two stamps: one says “Accept”, the other says “Reject”.
I have used the “Accept” stamp. I did this personally, by my own will, therefore Jesus is my personal savior.
‘=======================================================
COME TO CHRIST.
‘=======================================================
YOU MUST BE SAVED.
‘=======================================================
XXX.
‘=======================================================
JESUS IS MY PERSONAL SAVIOUR.
This could also be. “Accept Jesus as your personal savior.” What does the word “personal” mean? Some do not understand this phrasing or can be annoyed by it. We know that the Bible says that Jesus is the savior of all mankind, so some think adding “personal” is either useless or must mean something different.
I think a speaker uses the word “personal” to focus from Jesus’ general application to all mankind to the individual level. From all men to just one man - to the individual listener. The offering of salvation is meant for an individual person. While it is an open offering available to everyone, the speaker is telling the listener the offering made specifically to him. He should therefore take the opportunity to accept this offer. The decision can be to accept the offer, or to reject it. It is "personal" in the sense that the ability to accept or reject rests solely in the volition of the person who hears the offer. He is the agent, no one can act for him. At his hand lies two stamps: one says “Accept”, the other says “Reject”.
I have used the “Accept” stamp. I did this personally, by my own will, therefore Jesus is my personal savior.
‘=======================================================
COME TO CHRIST.
‘=======================================================
YOU MUST BE SAVED.
‘=======================================================
XXX.
Saturday, August 19, 2023
THE LIGHTED PATH
Proverbs eleven shows that righteous people shall live through troublesome times, but the wicked will perish in them. Righteousness and wickedness start from within. It starts from how each of us deals with the sin nature that dwells within us. Yet for the righteous, what is rightly dealt with within will preserve him when the trouble comes, when the outward, uncontrollable, hurtful situation occurs. They must choose the right path.
Character and righteousness do not just happen, they are built up step by step on a daily basis. It is not an "unchangeable" part of our character - something like our body type that has been given to us at birth. If we haven't been working on it when we need it will not be there.
The righteous would have been doing good acts, gaining a reputation for it perhaps. Maybe the good acts condition them toward salvation. Right internal corrections result in the right outward responses during the time of trouble. It might be the righteous have developed righteous friends when the wicked have not (at least not the good type of friends).
By contrast what is internal to the wicked will have no worth for delivery to others, except to others who are like them. They have chosen to develop inwardly the opposite way. Proverbs 4:16, 17 says: "For they [the wicked] cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence".
Proverbs 4: speaks a lot of following the right path. The admonition is to keep on the right path. By contrast, the wrong path of the wicked leads to a downfall. To be doing wrong is to not be doing right. Everything that is not on the righteous path leads into the area of wickedness. When you do mischief, you are knowingly working against some God-established ways. And if it were not good enough to be there themselves, the wicked attempt to trip others on the path of righteousness.
Righteousness follows the path of light, whereas there is darkness everywhere on the path of the wicked. It is very important to keep on the lighted path.
Character and righteousness do not just happen, they are built up step by step on a daily basis. It is not an "unchangeable" part of our character - something like our body type that has been given to us at birth. If we haven't been working on it when we need it will not be there.
The righteous would have been doing good acts, gaining a reputation for it perhaps. Maybe the good acts condition them toward salvation. Right internal corrections result in the right outward responses during the time of trouble. It might be the righteous have developed righteous friends when the wicked have not (at least not the good type of friends).
By contrast what is internal to the wicked will have no worth for delivery to others, except to others who are like them. They have chosen to develop inwardly the opposite way. Proverbs 4:16, 17 says: "For they [the wicked] cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence".
Proverbs 4: speaks a lot of following the right path. The admonition is to keep on the right path. By contrast, the wrong path of the wicked leads to a downfall. To be doing wrong is to not be doing right. Everything that is not on the righteous path leads into the area of wickedness. When you do mischief, you are knowingly working against some God-established ways. And if it were not good enough to be there themselves, the wicked attempt to trip others on the path of righteousness.
Righteousness follows the path of light, whereas there is darkness everywhere on the path of the wicked. It is very important to keep on the lighted path.
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
LANGUAGE AS A WEAPON
Language is a dynamic and changing thing. Changes occur in every language. There are many reasons for it. They change from country to country. German is spoken in Germany, French in France, and English in England. But the French in France has differences from the French in Quebec which is different from the French spoken in New Orleans. The English we speak in America has difference from the English spoken in England. England's English has words Americans do not know and vice versa. I was reminded of this while reading an Inspector Morse book by Colon Dexter. Even different geographical areas within the same country show language changes from place to place. In America there is Northern English and Southern English, Getto English and up-town English, and Midwest English, Boston English, California English.
Yet Hitler cleverly and effectively used German language on Germans to cause them to waste their woman, men, machines, materials, resources, and wealth to nearly eradicate Germany; and nearly destroying other countries too. Will we allow the use of language to waste our moral underpinnings?
Even though languages naturally undergo change, what disturbs me is when a group of people who, from a different moral view, pervert the language by attempting to change meanings of words into something never intended. “Gender” is a fine example of this. Gender always referred to “sex” meaning male or female. No one can ever “transition” into the other sex. Sex is determined at the cellular level, not the surgical level. Whatever anyone’s sexual preferences are, there are only two sexes (male and female), never more than two. Fantasies or imaginations will never change this basic physical fact.
I object to groups that take words in common use trying to force a moral code upon another. Sadly, the major media outlets and national Government have capitulated to this effort. We do not have to parrot or repeat what others may falsely say. I believe we should not, and cannot, call a "transitioned man" a woman, nor should we call a "transitioned woman" a man. The government can do it and the media can do it but we should never do it.
Yet Hitler cleverly and effectively used German language on Germans to cause them to waste their woman, men, machines, materials, resources, and wealth to nearly eradicate Germany; and nearly destroying other countries too. Will we allow the use of language to waste our moral underpinnings?
Even though languages naturally undergo change, what disturbs me is when a group of people who, from a different moral view, pervert the language by attempting to change meanings of words into something never intended. “Gender” is a fine example of this. Gender always referred to “sex” meaning male or female. No one can ever “transition” into the other sex. Sex is determined at the cellular level, not the surgical level. Whatever anyone’s sexual preferences are, there are only two sexes (male and female), never more than two. Fantasies or imaginations will never change this basic physical fact.
I object to groups that take words in common use trying to force a moral code upon another. Sadly, the major media outlets and national Government have capitulated to this effort. We do not have to parrot or repeat what others may falsely say. I believe we should not, and cannot, call a "transitioned man" a woman, nor should we call a "transitioned woman" a man. The government can do it and the media can do it but we should never do it.
Friday, August 4, 2023
DO NOT ENTER
Prov: 4:14-16
Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
Saturday, July 22, 2023
NO TRANS
There is no such thing as a “trans woman” or a “trans man”. These terms are faddish; they are part of the current “trans” fad. A “trans woman” is in fact, and biologically a male even if “altered” physically. A “trans man” is in fact, and biologically a female even if “altered” physically. There are only two sexes: male and female. There can be no others. People who have homosexual desires cannot either by surgery or by wishing change their sex.
No matter how many times the media repeat these phrases they cannot change biology.
No matter how many times the media repeat these phrases they cannot change biology.
Monday, July 10, 2023
TO UNDERSTAND AND TO SPEAK
PROVERBS 2
SOME THINGS TO DO
These are some things to do to understand "the fear of the Lord" and to find knowledge of God:
SOME THINGS TO DO
These are some things to do to understand "the fear of the Lord" and to find knowledge of God:
RECEIVE GOD’s WORD
Read God's words and believe them. Welcome what you read as for what it says and expect it to be the authority. Expect God's words to take authority.
KEEP THEM
Keep them tucked away in private places, hide his commandments with you. Let them be so internal that they pop up automatically in your thoughts. Memorize them.
INCLINE YOUR EAR
Incline your ear to wisdom. When you hear wise things focus your attention on them. Tilt the head by hearing clearly and attempting to understand. Apply your heart to understanding. Work for understanding, spend time at it.
CRY AFTER KNOWLEDGE
Read God's words and believe them. Welcome what you read as for what it says and expect it to be the authority. Expect God's words to take authority.
KEEP THEM
Keep them tucked away in private places, hide his commandments with you. Let them be so internal that they pop up automatically in your thoughts. Memorize them.
INCLINE YOUR EAR
Incline your ear to wisdom. When you hear wise things focus your attention on them. Tilt the head by hearing clearly and attempting to understand. Apply your heart to understanding. Work for understanding, spend time at it.
CRY AFTER KNOWLEDGE
Cry after knowledge. Call out for knowledge, arrest knowledge’s attention by calling after it. In public visibly point out the facts. Lift up your voice for understanding. The call for truth is like a case to be presented to the courtroom. In public make a plea for the true relationship among ideas, things, and situations.
SEEK TRUTH
Seek truth as silver. Search for understanding. Search for truth as hid treasures. Search by overturning seemingly unrelated things if truth may be behind them.
REMEMBER GOD
Remember, God’s kingdom is overall.
SEEK TRUTH
Seek truth as silver. Search for understanding. Search for truth as hid treasures. Search by overturning seemingly unrelated things if truth may be behind them.
REMEMBER GOD
Remember, God’s kingdom is overall.
Sunday, July 2, 2023
ANYTHING YOU WANT.
Someone says, “You can make the Bible say anything you want.
It is true that different people make different interpretations about the same Biblical passage. If one interpretation conflicts with another, which one is right? Some interpreters have academic degrees from Seminaries. Others do not have formal Biblical training. Some read the Bible. Some others read books about what others say about the Bible.
So which interpretation is correct? I council you to read the Bible for yourself and make up your own mind. Ask these questions for yourself: What does the Bible passage say? What does it mean? What does it mean to me? Is there some way in which I should change either in thought or action?
Also keep in mind, what does the questioner have in mind for you? Does he or she pushing a certain agenda? What might that agenda be?
With that in mind here are some verses from the Bible to consider:
=================================================================
Leviticus 20:13 ESV
If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Jude 1:7 ESV
Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
1 Corinthians 6:9 ESV
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, . . .
1 Timothy 1:10 ESV
The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
Romans 1:26-28 ESV
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Mark 10:6-9 ESV
But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
1 Kings 14:24 ESV
And there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
1 Timothy 1:8-10 ESV
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
1 Corinthians 7:2 ESV
But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
Genesis 1:27 ESV
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
2 Kings 23:7 ESV
And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
Matthew 19:4-6 ESV
He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Romans 1:32 ESV
Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
1 Kings 15:12 ESV
He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 ESV
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.
Leviticus 18:22-24 ESV
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion. “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean,
Judges 19:22 ESV
As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.”
Revelation 21:8 ESV
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Genesis 1:28 ESV
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
1 Kings 22:46 ESV
And from the land he exterminated the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa.
Deuteronomy 23:17 ESV
“None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute.
1 Timothy 1:9-11 ESV
Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
Genesis 18:20-21 ESV
Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
Deuteronomy 22:5 ESV
“A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.
Romans 1:24-27 ESV
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Genesis 1:27-28 ESV
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 19:1-13 ESV
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” ...
1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
Mark 7:20-23 ESV
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
James 4:12 ESV
There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
James 1:13-15 ESV
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Hebrews 13:1-5 ESV
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Isaiah 3:8-9 ESV
For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence. For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
Matthew 15:19 ESV / 985
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Matthew 5:27-28 ESV / 927
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Colossians 3:5 ESV / 851
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Revelation 9:21 ESV / 772
Nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Revelation 22:15 ESV / 697
Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Acts 15:29 ESV / 683
That you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
Someone says, “You can make the Bible say anything you want.
It is true that different people make different interpretations about the same Biblical passage. If one interpretation conflicts with another, which one is right? Some interpreters have academic degrees from Seminaries. Others do not have formal Biblical training. Some read the Bible. Some others read books about what others say about the Bible.
So which interpretation is correct? I council you to read the Bible for yourself and make up your own mind. Ask these questions for yourself: What does the Bible passage say? What does it mean? What does it mean to me? Is there some way in which I should change either in thought or action?
Also keep in mind, what does the questioner have in mind for you? Does he or she pushing a certain agenda? What might that agenda be?
With that in mind here are some verses from the Bible to consider:
=================================================================
Leviticus 20:13 ESV
If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.
Jude 1:7 ESV
Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
1 Corinthians 6:9 ESV
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, . . .
1 Timothy 1:10 ESV
The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
Romans 1:26-28 ESV
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Mark 10:6-9 ESV
But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
1 Kings 14:24 ESV
And there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel.
1 Timothy 1:8-10 ESV
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
1 Corinthians 7:2 ESV
But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
Genesis 1:27 ESV
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
2 Kings 23:7 ESV
And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah.
Matthew 19:4-6 ESV
He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Romans 1:32 ESV
Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
1 Kings 15:12 ESV
He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 ESV
Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy. They were haughty and did an abomination before me. So I removed them, when I saw it.
Leviticus 18:22-24 ESV
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion. “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean,
Judges 19:22 ESV
As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.”
Revelation 21:8 ESV
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Genesis 1:28 ESV
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
1 Kings 22:46 ESV
And from the land he exterminated the remnant of the male cult prostitutes who remained in the days of his father Asa.
Deuteronomy 23:17 ESV
“None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute.
1 Timothy 1:9-11 ESV
Understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.
Genesis 18:20-21 ESV
Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
Deuteronomy 22:5 ESV
“A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.
Romans 1:24-27 ESV
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Genesis 1:27-28 ESV
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 19:1-13 ESV
The two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth and said, “My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way.” They said, “No; we will spend the night in the town square.” But he pressed them strongly; so they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made them a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them.” ...
1 Corinthians 6:18 ESV
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.
Mark 7:20-23 ESV
And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
James 4:12 ESV
There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
James 1:13-15 ESV
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Hebrews 13:1-5 ESV
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Isaiah 3:8-9 ESV
For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the Lord, defying his glorious presence. For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.
1 Thessalonians 4:3 ESV
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
Matthew 15:19 ESV / 985
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Matthew 5:27-28 ESV / 927
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Colossians 3:5 ESV / 851
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Revelation 9:21 ESV / 772
Nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Revelation 22:15 ESV / 697
Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Acts 15:29 ESV / 683
That you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”
Monday, June 26, 2023
PLANNING TO BE GOOD
PROV 14:8 "The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is to deceit." You should understand your way. You should know what you are going to do and how, and when you are going to do it.
Verse 12 "There is a way which seems right to a man but the end thereof are the ways of death." In your plans make sure you are going where God wants, and not some other way. Many ways seem good, but the outcomes may be opposing what you wanted.
Verse 15 "The simple believeth every word but the prudent man looketh well to his going." Look well to the way you go and be cautious of your counselors. Every word of counsel should be examined and reexamined. All should match what God says, and be in conformance with his word, and be for the building of God's Kingdom.
Verse 18 "The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge." The simple inherit folly because they have not made any plans. They get whatever Satan brings their way. However, the prudent see their plans accomplished.
Verse 23 "In all labor there is profit, but the talk of the lips tends only to poverty." Plans are good, but if you only talk of them (or just write them) and never work them, they are useless. You have to take action on your plans. You also have to evaluate, reevaluate, and adjust them.
At the end of my life I want to have been one who built up the Kingdom in truth, In word, in deed, and truth in my family, in truth in the church, and in the community. I want to build in work, recreation, education, and health.
Verse 12 "There is a way which seems right to a man but the end thereof are the ways of death." In your plans make sure you are going where God wants, and not some other way. Many ways seem good, but the outcomes may be opposing what you wanted.
Verse 15 "The simple believeth every word but the prudent man looketh well to his going." Look well to the way you go and be cautious of your counselors. Every word of counsel should be examined and reexamined. All should match what God says, and be in conformance with his word, and be for the building of God's Kingdom.
Verse 18 "The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge." The simple inherit folly because they have not made any plans. They get whatever Satan brings their way. However, the prudent see their plans accomplished.
Verse 23 "In all labor there is profit, but the talk of the lips tends only to poverty." Plans are good, but if you only talk of them (or just write them) and never work them, they are useless. You have to take action on your plans. You also have to evaluate, reevaluate, and adjust them.
At the end of my life I want to have been one who built up the Kingdom in truth, In word, in deed, and truth in my family, in truth in the church, and in the community. I want to build in work, recreation, education, and health.
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