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.
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
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:
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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:
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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.
Tuesday, June 13, 2023
GOD AND THE TREE
In 1997 at the property we once lived there was a very large pine tree that had died. I was worried about it. It was eventually going to fall down. There were many places it could have landed that would do much damage. I could neither afford to pay for the potential damage nor to hire a tree company to take care of the tree.
God answered our prayers about taking down the tree. He sent a wind and broke it off midway up and laid the top part over in the yard in a way I wouldn't have envisioned. It was pointing toward the house, but the part that broke was not long enough to reach the house. Only a few twigs were taken off a sweet gum tree, and a few minor branches of the Laurel oaks toward my brother-in-law Timothy’s yard. It did not land near the Well. Everything we were afraid might be damaged was spared: the trees, the power lines, the well, Timothy's yard, the road, our cars.
What I could afford was a chainsaw and a wheelbarrow. At that time there were no open-air burn laws. So, I just sawed it into pieces, wheeled it to the back yard, and burned it.
One more thing to remember God for, and to thank Him.
I will use this opportunity to say something that will encourage some people. Lizzie and I prayed about the tree. At no time did I have any unusual feeling before the event. I had no “Word of Faith”. I did not “bind Satan”. I did not “speak a word of power”. I did believe God could do whatever He wanted to do in His creation. That work could have included causing the tree to fall in such a way to take down the power, smash the well and a car, or to fall on the road. But He did not. He knew then, and knows now, what the course of my life will be, and what challenges He might bring to me for my growth. Although He cares for my prosperity, protection, and power, He is concerned most about my character. My character is what He wants developed when I reach heaven.
God answered our prayers about taking down the tree. He sent a wind and broke it off midway up and laid the top part over in the yard in a way I wouldn't have envisioned. It was pointing toward the house, but the part that broke was not long enough to reach the house. Only a few twigs were taken off a sweet gum tree, and a few minor branches of the Laurel oaks toward my brother-in-law Timothy’s yard. It did not land near the Well. Everything we were afraid might be damaged was spared: the trees, the power lines, the well, Timothy's yard, the road, our cars.
What I could afford was a chainsaw and a wheelbarrow. At that time there were no open-air burn laws. So, I just sawed it into pieces, wheeled it to the back yard, and burned it.
One more thing to remember God for, and to thank Him.
I will use this opportunity to say something that will encourage some people. Lizzie and I prayed about the tree. At no time did I have any unusual feeling before the event. I had no “Word of Faith”. I did not “bind Satan”. I did not “speak a word of power”. I did believe God could do whatever He wanted to do in His creation. That work could have included causing the tree to fall in such a way to take down the power, smash the well and a car, or to fall on the road. But He did not. He knew then, and knows now, what the course of my life will be, and what challenges He might bring to me for my growth. Although He cares for my prosperity, protection, and power, He is concerned most about my character. My character is what He wants developed when I reach heaven.
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
TV AND MOTELS
In the days I worked for the Government I frequently traveled out-of-state for several nights. During those times I would stay at Motels. After work and the evening meal in the motel room I would face the issue of how to spend my time. There was no internet then but there was always the TV. On the TV I could watch either broadcast stations or what was offered on cable. Rarely did the broadcast stations offer anything agreeable to me so I would revert to the HBO guide to consider a program. I would think something like, "What benefit will it be for me to learn of Charles Barkley? Will I be better off because of it?" It helped me to realize that the TV had virtually nothing of real lasting value to offer me. It is just temporary entertainment -- a diversion.
These days I do not travel and have more free time. Thankfully, I am not constrained to broadcast TV or to Cable. Because of my internet connection I can select from YouTube what I want to watch. I can watch CBN, or build-it shows, or painting demonstrations, pretty much anything I want. I am not limited to what someone else (especially a liberal someone else) wants to present me. I can also watch broadcast TV, but the only channels I watch are on PBS, and I watch very few of those.
But what need do I have to be diverted as much as I allow myself to be diverted? What should I do of lasting benefit during the same time? I do other things: I Write (as you are now reading), I read, I draw and paint, I talk with my wife and sometimes spend time with my children and grandchildren.
Ephesians 2:10 we are created in Christ unto, for the purpose of, good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. God had those good works in his mind perhaps even before he made us. In any case, we and those good works are made to go together. This is what I pray, “Lord please help me to do those good works you have intended for me. I would like to know what they are. I would like inspiration to do them.”
These days I do not travel and have more free time. Thankfully, I am not constrained to broadcast TV or to Cable. Because of my internet connection I can select from YouTube what I want to watch. I can watch CBN, or build-it shows, or painting demonstrations, pretty much anything I want. I am not limited to what someone else (especially a liberal someone else) wants to present me. I can also watch broadcast TV, but the only channels I watch are on PBS, and I watch very few of those.
But what need do I have to be diverted as much as I allow myself to be diverted? What should I do of lasting benefit during the same time? I do other things: I Write (as you are now reading), I read, I draw and paint, I talk with my wife and sometimes spend time with my children and grandchildren.
Ephesians 2:10 we are created in Christ unto, for the purpose of, good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them. God had those good works in his mind perhaps even before he made us. In any case, we and those good works are made to go together. This is what I pray, “Lord please help me to do those good works you have intended for me. I would like to know what they are. I would like inspiration to do them.”
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
TREAT A WIFE LIKE WISDOM
Proverbs 4
In the Bible wisdom is often given personification as a woman. Wisdom, understanding, and instruction are often personified as women. Verse four shows the passing on of wisdom and instruction is a generational thing. A Father talks to his child and speaks of wisdom’s value using female pronouns. If wisdom is female, could you interpret the Proverbs portrayal of wisdom as how a husband should interact with his wife:
-- forsake her not (and she will preserve thee)
-- love her (and she will keep thee)
-- exalt her (and she will promote thee)
-- embrace her (and she will bring you to honor, she will [be as an] ornament of grace, [a] crown of glory)
-- keep her (for she is thy life)
In the Bible wisdom is often given personification as a woman. Wisdom, understanding, and instruction are often personified as women. Verse four shows the passing on of wisdom and instruction is a generational thing. A Father talks to his child and speaks of wisdom’s value using female pronouns. If wisdom is female, could you interpret the Proverbs portrayal of wisdom as how a husband should interact with his wife:
-- forsake her not (and she will preserve thee)
-- love her (and she will keep thee)
-- exalt her (and she will promote thee)
-- embrace her (and she will bring you to honor, she will [be as an] ornament of grace, [a] crown of glory)
-- keep her (for she is thy life)
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
WHERE DECEIT RESIDES
Who wants to live where there is no truth and where there is evil? Who wants deceit to reside in his heart?
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
CHRISTIANS IN A BOX
Some expect people who call themselves "Christian" to love everyone. Their thinking is wrapped around the way they define the word "Christian". They define a Christian in some ideal way they have established in their own minds. If someone is not acting in conformance to their expectations, they are not being a "good Christian". For these a good Christian is good, loving, and kind; and gentle toward all men, always, everywhere. Above all, a Christian is not judgmental. Some of these consider themselves to be good Christians because they accept all people.
But the definition of Christianity has a much narrower definition than that. A Christian is a person who knows he is a sinner and who believes that Jesus died for their sin. They know that Jesus rose from the dead and he will bring them to himself in the last times to be with him in heaven.
How do they know this? Because they believe the Bible is God's revealed word that tells them if they believe in Jesus' atonement for their sins, and his resurrection, they will be what they call "saved". But the Bible also prescribes what is right and what is wrong and how God expects men to act. For example, we are not to kill. We are not to steal. We are not to commit adultery. The Bible also says we are not to commit homosexual acts.
Let's face it, sometimes the Bible gets in the way of what we want to do. We get really annoyed with other people, even hate them; we badly want what they have; we want to have sex with someone not our husband or wife; we want to have sex with someone who is the same sex as we.
Some get so irritated they throw over Christianity entirely. They put Christianity in a box, shut the lid, and put it to the side to be ignored.
Christians can be extremely annoying, but it’s dangerous to put them in a box.
But the definition of Christianity has a much narrower definition than that. A Christian is a person who knows he is a sinner and who believes that Jesus died for their sin. They know that Jesus rose from the dead and he will bring them to himself in the last times to be with him in heaven.
How do they know this? Because they believe the Bible is God's revealed word that tells them if they believe in Jesus' atonement for their sins, and his resurrection, they will be what they call "saved". But the Bible also prescribes what is right and what is wrong and how God expects men to act. For example, we are not to kill. We are not to steal. We are not to commit adultery. The Bible also says we are not to commit homosexual acts.
Let's face it, sometimes the Bible gets in the way of what we want to do. We get really annoyed with other people, even hate them; we badly want what they have; we want to have sex with someone not our husband or wife; we want to have sex with someone who is the same sex as we.
Some get so irritated they throw over Christianity entirely. They put Christianity in a box, shut the lid, and put it to the side to be ignored.
Christians can be extremely annoying, but it’s dangerous to put them in a box.
Monday, March 27, 2023
LIKING THE JOB
When I was working for a contractor to the U.S. Navy I sometimes wondered if I was where I should be. I developed the following prayer:
"Lord thank you for my job and where you placed me in it. I have confidence that this, for the immediate present, is the place where you want me to be. I pray that I will learn well the lessons you have for me here while not neglecting all the tasks and responsibilities you have for me outside of work. Indeed, the sum total of my life will not look like the product I am now producing. It will look like wife, children, family, church, people, relationships, and the works of your Kingdom forwarded. I think a pastor said something like ‘pray for enthrallment on a boring job’ -- excitement in a positive sense. God please help me to either like my job or move to another where it is your will that I work."
My character was somehow transferred to the character of that job, and all the other things outside the job.
I decided to not only do what I was asked, but to do more than I was asked, beyond the minimum, to do the best I knew how to do. I grew to like my work. Now, years after, I thank the Lord for that work.
"Lord thank you for my job and where you placed me in it. I have confidence that this, for the immediate present, is the place where you want me to be. I pray that I will learn well the lessons you have for me here while not neglecting all the tasks and responsibilities you have for me outside of work. Indeed, the sum total of my life will not look like the product I am now producing. It will look like wife, children, family, church, people, relationships, and the works of your Kingdom forwarded. I think a pastor said something like ‘pray for enthrallment on a boring job’ -- excitement in a positive sense. God please help me to either like my job or move to another where it is your will that I work."
My character was somehow transferred to the character of that job, and all the other things outside the job.
I decided to not only do what I was asked, but to do more than I was asked, beyond the minimum, to do the best I knew how to do. I grew to like my work. Now, years after, I thank the Lord for that work.
Friday, March 3, 2023
CHOOSE WISELY
"Ashes to ashes and dust to dust"
Gen_3:19: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for DUST thou art, and unto DUST shalt thou return." Gen_18:27: "And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but DUST and ASHES:"
This is where the concept of “Ash Wednesday” came from, a reminder we will again become dust. In fact at the event of the death our physical body will, if left to itself, decay and eventually become part of the ground. It will become dust. Ashes remind us of dust.
The process will take longer if we permit the body to be treated by an undertaker. He will remove certain things and pump it full of preservatives. Even then it will eventually decompose and become part of the earth. This will happen although we try to protect it in concrete and titanium boxes. Given enough time all will disperse.
But the soul, the spirit, will never end. It will continue forever. You have a beginning (birth) but you have no end. At death you have one of two places to go: to heaven to be with Jesus, or the other place ever to be separated from him; a place some of us call “Hell”. During your physical life you have a choice of which of these destinations you will go. You will have no chance to change your mind after the physical dies. Choose the best option now while you can, the spirit dies not turn to dust and ashes.
Gen_3:19: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for DUST thou art, and unto DUST shalt thou return." Gen_18:27: "And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but DUST and ASHES:"
This is where the concept of “Ash Wednesday” came from, a reminder we will again become dust. In fact at the event of the death our physical body will, if left to itself, decay and eventually become part of the ground. It will become dust. Ashes remind us of dust.
The process will take longer if we permit the body to be treated by an undertaker. He will remove certain things and pump it full of preservatives. Even then it will eventually decompose and become part of the earth. This will happen although we try to protect it in concrete and titanium boxes. Given enough time all will disperse.
But the soul, the spirit, will never end. It will continue forever. You have a beginning (birth) but you have no end. At death you have one of two places to go: to heaven to be with Jesus, or the other place ever to be separated from him; a place some of us call “Hell”. During your physical life you have a choice of which of these destinations you will go. You will have no chance to change your mind after the physical dies. Choose the best option now while you can, the spirit dies not turn to dust and ashes.
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
HOW DO I TREAT MANAGERS
When I was a working man it sometimes seemed hard just to go
to work in the morning or to have a positive thought about what was happening
there. It was easy, some might say almost natural, to think about the management,
people in a superior position over me, in a negative light. Maybe this is true
for many people: in our imaginations we place upon management thoughts,
attitudes, and actions we have no factual knowledge about.
We find it easy to think of the management as careerists,
self-serving and disorganized. Sometimes this is true, but are we deceived? Are
they really that way? What concrete proof do we have other than feelings,
unsubstantiated thoughts and hearsay? Could we list those things on paper and
back them up in a court of law? Or are we perhaps deceiving ourselves?
I did not want to work from a deceived heart. If I held
people to be wrong in my estimation I did not what myself to be wrong. I wanted
to hold those wrong whom God knows to be wrong. For this reason I needed to
pray to God, “Please work in me to rid deceit from my mind, my heart, my
spirit. I wish only to entertain the truth. Lord, please counsel me about what
I should think of this job. I am often depressed about it. Should I look for
another or should I learn contentment here? Please show me directly and put
people in my way to give me good counsel. When I view my authorities here at
work should I try to see you in them? You in the big boss, you in the sub-boss,
you and in the administrators? Or should I want the customer as the ultimate
boss? When I go to them, please be with me to show me what I should see and
hear. Please help me to make the correct observations and correct judgments
about them. Please help me to have an open mind about what happens and what is
said. Please help me to spend my time and resources wisely for the beneficial
effect of your Kingdom.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
BRING OUT WHAT IS GIVEN
God put "wisdom and understanding in the hearts of Aholiab and Bezaleel." (Ex36:2) God put the wisdom and understanding in their hearts but consider this: perhaps they had to bring that wisdom and understanding to the outside.
May I then say that God put wisdom and understanding in my heart about music, and now I must bring it to the outside by practicing? With the "putting of wisdom and understanding" does God also put the skill to bring it to the outside? Or does he merely give us the music shelves, and we must stock them; he gives us the music muscles. and we must exercise them to strength?
Does loving gospel bluegrass and mandolin mean I am capable of it? Well, it sure is a good start, but then I must also acquire the knowledge and skill – and long hours of practice. How much and what kind of practice did Aholiab and Bezaleel need?
Oh, I would also have to own a mandolin. But I wouldn’t practice it if I had one. But I can practice wisdom and understanding.
May I then say that God put wisdom and understanding in my heart about music, and now I must bring it to the outside by practicing? With the "putting of wisdom and understanding" does God also put the skill to bring it to the outside? Or does he merely give us the music shelves, and we must stock them; he gives us the music muscles. and we must exercise them to strength?
Does loving gospel bluegrass and mandolin mean I am capable of it? Well, it sure is a good start, but then I must also acquire the knowledge and skill – and long hours of practice. How much and what kind of practice did Aholiab and Bezaleel need?
Oh, I would also have to own a mandolin. But I wouldn’t practice it if I had one. But I can practice wisdom and understanding.
Saturday, February 11, 2023
FEELING THE SPIRIT
[Ephesians 1:13] "…You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Which is the earnest of your inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praises of his glory".
I’ve always had this unease when people say they “feel the Spirit” (meaning the Holy Spirit of God). How exactly do they “feel” the spirit? What do they mean? Does the sensation they are having have a numinous quality? If the Holy Spirit is really there, why do I not sense Him or “feel” Him? Although I profess all the right knowledge, am I actually a godless person because I do not feel something?
To what extent are we to called "feel" the Holy Spirit? How are we to "hear” from God? How much reliance are we to place on impressions of others? Are they really “hearing” the Spirit? Are those who somehow do not feel the spirit godless, unsaved?
Ephesians says we (Christians) are given the Spirit which is the “earnest” of our inheritance. "Earnest" is akin to the earnest money of a real estate transaction; it is the money we pay to show we intend to go through with the deal. God does this. God not only made promises, he has already concluded the deal – we have the Holy Spirit, He is the “earnest” of his transaction with us.
What God says he is going to do he does. He says he has given us the Holy Spirit therefore we possess the Holy Spirit, feel it or not. The evidence of this when the Spirit is when he:
- reveals knowledge of him (meaning God)
- opens the eyes of our understanding
- lets us know the hope of his calling
- lets us know riches of his inheritance in the Saints
- lets us know the greatness of his power toward us.
We know him if we:
- increase in knowledge of him by reading scripture, fellowship, etc,
- if our understanding seems to grow deeper,
- if we apprehend a little more each year his calling.
- if we grow in gratefulness of his gifts to us and use of us,
And if we have witnessed events that are more easily explained by the hand of God then by our own efforts or circumstances.
When we experience these things is it OK that we do not “feel the presence of God” when others say they do. We know we have the Spirit of God. We have the earnest of his inheritance.
I’ve always had this unease when people say they “feel the Spirit” (meaning the Holy Spirit of God). How exactly do they “feel” the spirit? What do they mean? Does the sensation they are having have a numinous quality? If the Holy Spirit is really there, why do I not sense Him or “feel” Him? Although I profess all the right knowledge, am I actually a godless person because I do not feel something?
To what extent are we to called "feel" the Holy Spirit? How are we to "hear” from God? How much reliance are we to place on impressions of others? Are they really “hearing” the Spirit? Are those who somehow do not feel the spirit godless, unsaved?
Ephesians says we (Christians) are given the Spirit which is the “earnest” of our inheritance. "Earnest" is akin to the earnest money of a real estate transaction; it is the money we pay to show we intend to go through with the deal. God does this. God not only made promises, he has already concluded the deal – we have the Holy Spirit, He is the “earnest” of his transaction with us.
What God says he is going to do he does. He says he has given us the Holy Spirit therefore we possess the Holy Spirit, feel it or not. The evidence of this when the Spirit is when he:
- reveals knowledge of him (meaning God)
- opens the eyes of our understanding
- lets us know the hope of his calling
- lets us know riches of his inheritance in the Saints
- lets us know the greatness of his power toward us.
We know him if we:
- increase in knowledge of him by reading scripture, fellowship, etc,
- if our understanding seems to grow deeper,
- if we apprehend a little more each year his calling.
- if we grow in gratefulness of his gifts to us and use of us,
And if we have witnessed events that are more easily explained by the hand of God then by our own efforts or circumstances.
When we experience these things is it OK that we do not “feel the presence of God” when others say they do. We know we have the Spirit of God. We have the earnest of his inheritance.
Monday, January 16, 2023
ELEMENTS THAT SEPERATE HUMANS
Recently a woman was walking her child to the school across the street. She was walking ahead and looking at the phone. If the child had turned and walked away from her would she have noticed? How involved do we become with our technical gadgets and ignore real people around us? What elements separate us from them?
I have noticed when people communicate with each other there are elements that cause various degrees of separation between them. People use words and sometimes visual cues to convey meaning to another. There is no element of separation when we speak directly to another person or group of people. All are present in the same space. All can hear and all can see the speaker.
Elements that disconnect begin when the physical distance between them increases. When people are close it is easy to hear the other and to see facial expressions and gestures. Physical distance means the speaker’s voice must be louder and the gestures broader and more exaggerated, facial expressions can get lost. Physical distance introduces elements of separation such as the need for a microphone and amplification system and the Sound Man. These are present and make a separation between speaker and hearer. Still greater physical distance may require the use of a large video screen, and the use of cameras, cameramen and attendant engineers. From simple speaking together we have introduced microphones, speakers, amplifiers, cameras and a number of technicians, perhaps also directors and producers. We have introduced into personal conversation elements of separation, disconnection.
Once these elements are in place the listener does not even have to be present at the same place as the speaker. He can watch a video in another room, another building, another state, another country. He does not even have to hear or see the communication at the time when it occurs; he can listen or watch later, perhaps much later, perhaps never. He requires something in between: a radio, a TV, a video, CD player or theatre projector and screen. He can be rude and does not have to worry about talking while the speaker is talking or worry about walking out of the room.
An originator could also write something. He could write an essay, a book, an email. All these are tangible elements between the writer and the reader. Unless there are illustrations, charts, maps, or pictures there is only text. There will be no live visual cues or voice inflections to help the meaning. The text must be clear, and the reader must have a certain level of education to interpret and understand the text.
If a phone is between the speaker and the listener, the element of voice inflection and volume is added back into the conversation. Speaker phones add a limited number of participants to each side. Video calls and Facetime add in the visual possibilities of communication. Zoom calls visually add in many people located in diverse places. With all these things comes the requirement for technical devices – other elements between speaker and listener.
One-on-one phone calls or speaker phone calls, video calls, Facetime, Zoom calls, texting, and “chats” are all “live” communications, they happen in real time. Other kinds are not “live”, like movies, TV shows, emails, letters, books. These all introduce elements separation, disconnection, between the originator and those watching and listening. One cannot speak or signal back to the originator. The “one-wayness” of them isolates the participant. Emails are unlike “chats” because no one is there for immediate interaction. A replier to an email does not know if the sender is available to respond at the time the reply email is sent.
A recent article I saw said “NVIDIA’s Software Will Make Your Eyes Look at Your Webcam”. This introduces an unreal, software manufactured element between the communicator and communicant. The “eyes” become a software manipulated digital deception.
How much do each of us allow elements of separation to isolate us from real people? Do we look at our phones in restaurants? Do we while away our day on Facebook? Is our interaction with the outside world on Netflix or YouTube? Are we satisfied with “chats”? Do we look at our phones while walking our child to school?
I have noticed when people communicate with each other there are elements that cause various degrees of separation between them. People use words and sometimes visual cues to convey meaning to another. There is no element of separation when we speak directly to another person or group of people. All are present in the same space. All can hear and all can see the speaker.
Elements that disconnect begin when the physical distance between them increases. When people are close it is easy to hear the other and to see facial expressions and gestures. Physical distance means the speaker’s voice must be louder and the gestures broader and more exaggerated, facial expressions can get lost. Physical distance introduces elements of separation such as the need for a microphone and amplification system and the Sound Man. These are present and make a separation between speaker and hearer. Still greater physical distance may require the use of a large video screen, and the use of cameras, cameramen and attendant engineers. From simple speaking together we have introduced microphones, speakers, amplifiers, cameras and a number of technicians, perhaps also directors and producers. We have introduced into personal conversation elements of separation, disconnection.
Once these elements are in place the listener does not even have to be present at the same place as the speaker. He can watch a video in another room, another building, another state, another country. He does not even have to hear or see the communication at the time when it occurs; he can listen or watch later, perhaps much later, perhaps never. He requires something in between: a radio, a TV, a video, CD player or theatre projector and screen. He can be rude and does not have to worry about talking while the speaker is talking or worry about walking out of the room.
An originator could also write something. He could write an essay, a book, an email. All these are tangible elements between the writer and the reader. Unless there are illustrations, charts, maps, or pictures there is only text. There will be no live visual cues or voice inflections to help the meaning. The text must be clear, and the reader must have a certain level of education to interpret and understand the text.
If a phone is between the speaker and the listener, the element of voice inflection and volume is added back into the conversation. Speaker phones add a limited number of participants to each side. Video calls and Facetime add in the visual possibilities of communication. Zoom calls visually add in many people located in diverse places. With all these things comes the requirement for technical devices – other elements between speaker and listener.
One-on-one phone calls or speaker phone calls, video calls, Facetime, Zoom calls, texting, and “chats” are all “live” communications, they happen in real time. Other kinds are not “live”, like movies, TV shows, emails, letters, books. These all introduce elements separation, disconnection, between the originator and those watching and listening. One cannot speak or signal back to the originator. The “one-wayness” of them isolates the participant. Emails are unlike “chats” because no one is there for immediate interaction. A replier to an email does not know if the sender is available to respond at the time the reply email is sent.
A recent article I saw said “NVIDIA’s Software Will Make Your Eyes Look at Your Webcam”. This introduces an unreal, software manufactured element between the communicator and communicant. The “eyes” become a software manipulated digital deception.
How much do each of us allow elements of separation to isolate us from real people? Do we look at our phones in restaurants? Do we while away our day on Facebook? Is our interaction with the outside world on Netflix or YouTube? Are we satisfied with “chats”? Do we look at our phones while walking our child to school?
Friday, January 6, 2023
KEEPING OUR TEACHING STRAIGHT
2 Tim 3:14 tells us: ". . . continue in the things you have learned, knowing of whom you have learned them."
So much of what each one of us knows about God has been learned from someone else. The verse demonstrates this process is acceptable. It tells us to continue learning things. But we should always be wary of the sources of our learning. We should know, respect, be confident in those who are teaching us. We certainly should not carelessly believe everything we hear or read (specially from Facebook or other social media).
In 1 Tim 1 God has given the truth to men, like Paul the apostle, so that we can know what the truth is. Yet men for their own purposes corrupt what God has taught. They are supposed to “. . . teach no other doctrine. . .". I think this means if you cannot clearly get a teaching out of scripture, you should not put your complete trust in that teaching. Some teaching can result in questions rather than enlightening God's ways.
The Ephesians referenced in 1 Tim 1:3-4 were into fables and endless genealogies.
Fables are a story you make up to illustrate a teaching, like the “Tortoise and the Hare”. We should be very careful of illustrations that purport to teach what the Bible teaches.
Endless genealogies are in attempt to rank yourself in some status among men. There is no reason to mark any genealogy outside of scripture.
It is not that we should ignore the cultural setting in which God sets forth his principles, but if God has set forth a principle in one culture, and the principle is true since it is God’s principle, it is always true, everywhere. It will be true in any other culture. The principle may take different forms between cultures. For example, shamefacedness may mean a veil in Iran, shamefacedness means something else in the USA. But it still means shamefacedness, i.e. modesty, restraint.
The whole problem with taking what God has said beyond it’s true meaning is that we are saying God wrote an irrelevant book. Sections of it have gone out of date and have lost their meaning. Sections of it apply to those other people, but not to us. We think we can determine on our own what is the best meaning. If we can throw out this part of God's word, what other parts can we throw out? Which of God's principles can be selectively regarded - - or disregarded?
We must always keep ourselves grounded in what God says, what the Bible says. And how can we if we do not read it and think about it? Hopefully daily.
So much of what each one of us knows about God has been learned from someone else. The verse demonstrates this process is acceptable. It tells us to continue learning things. But we should always be wary of the sources of our learning. We should know, respect, be confident in those who are teaching us. We certainly should not carelessly believe everything we hear or read (specially from Facebook or other social media).
In 1 Tim 1 God has given the truth to men, like Paul the apostle, so that we can know what the truth is. Yet men for their own purposes corrupt what God has taught. They are supposed to “. . . teach no other doctrine. . .". I think this means if you cannot clearly get a teaching out of scripture, you should not put your complete trust in that teaching. Some teaching can result in questions rather than enlightening God's ways.
The Ephesians referenced in 1 Tim 1:3-4 were into fables and endless genealogies.
Fables are a story you make up to illustrate a teaching, like the “Tortoise and the Hare”. We should be very careful of illustrations that purport to teach what the Bible teaches.
Endless genealogies are in attempt to rank yourself in some status among men. There is no reason to mark any genealogy outside of scripture.
It is not that we should ignore the cultural setting in which God sets forth his principles, but if God has set forth a principle in one culture, and the principle is true since it is God’s principle, it is always true, everywhere. It will be true in any other culture. The principle may take different forms between cultures. For example, shamefacedness may mean a veil in Iran, shamefacedness means something else in the USA. But it still means shamefacedness, i.e. modesty, restraint.
The whole problem with taking what God has said beyond it’s true meaning is that we are saying God wrote an irrelevant book. Sections of it have gone out of date and have lost their meaning. Sections of it apply to those other people, but not to us. We think we can determine on our own what is the best meaning. If we can throw out this part of God's word, what other parts can we throw out? Which of God's principles can be selectively regarded - - or disregarded?
We must always keep ourselves grounded in what God says, what the Bible says. And how can we if we do not read it and think about it? Hopefully daily.
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