CHOOSING OUR LOYALTIES

Titus 2:4, 5
(4) . . . so that [the older women] may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, (5) to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.

The Bible uses a woman as an example to illustrate loyalty. She is to keep her loyalty in one place, to the people God defines as important to her. This loyalty takes the first precedence over other places which might side-line or even oppose her family and children.

We can only be truly loyal to one place, not several. When there are different simultaneous requirements to several loyalties, we must choose one and let the others fall aside. What are other loyalties? They can include work outside or inside the home, her birth family like her mother father brothers sisters etc. They might be her friends, her ardent beliefs such as politics or perhaps a different church.

There are no exceptions. As the Bible says, if a husband is to "love his wife as himself" he also must have the same kind of loyalty, or better, toward his wife and family.

PEOPLE TURN AWAY

It seems that Christianity will be a challenging work, at times without a lot of reward. Some people will turn away.  This will be because some people will not accept good doctrine, they would rather follow their own lust. At such a time it is good to read 2 Timothy 3 and 4 to see that this is expected and understand that the good Christian must continue as God instructs.

Those others will turn away their ears from the truth to fables. People will want to hear any other thing than the Word of God.  Their ears will "itch" for such things.  Among those may be two kinds that turn away: those that never were taught what God has to say, that grew up with parents or conditions that were away from God; and those that have heard and know what the Word of God says but choose to walk another way.

Why is this so? Perhaps it is because God's way does not always guarantee immediate gratification of certain things. Some things take work and persistence.

But does anything worthwhile come without effort?

RECENT PAINTINGS

These are the latest pictures I painted and gave to my boys:

 

 

PUSHED OUT

We see from Exodus 1 that Pharaoh wants to subdue the Hebrews, but he does not consider expelling them. Verse 10 says: “Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, otherwise they will multiply, and in the event of war, they will also join those who hate us, and fight against us and DEPART FROM THE LAND.” [emphasis added] Why did he not want them to “depart from the land? I speculate they brought value to Egypt that the Egyptians either did not have or did not care to develop.

The initial Hebrew, Joseph, had come to Egypt because his own brothers hated him and would have killed him or sold him into slavery. However, because of his character and work ethic he rose in Egypt to position and importance wherever he was; either as a servant or as a prisoner or as second in command to Pharaoh. He always did the best he could for whoever "owned" him. The “owners” prospered because of Joseph’s service; they liked what Joseph did for them. Because of Joseph in Pharaoh’s service Egypt not only was saved from famine but also prospered. Pharaoh brought Joseph’s family to Egypt and gave them land. All were content.

Apparently for a long time the Hebrews were no threat or irritation to the Egyptians because they not only stayed in the land but multiplied. The Egyptians were agreeable to this because the Hebrews were content to stay in the land. There was nothing reported in the Bible about any Hebrew discontent or rebellion. I would guess the Egyptians enjoyed the food stuffs, crafts, and skills the Hebrews brought with them.

Eventually a Pharaoh that “did not know Joseph” (see verse 8) becomes worried about the Hebrews because of their sheer numbers. Ignoring that the Hebrews had been among them for a great while he worries they will side with an enemy in the event of a war. He ignores that they had apparently never showed any signs of discontent or rebellion. He decides to put them under hard tasking; in other words, they became slaves. Even though the Hebrews are oppressed they still do not rebel or leave. I am curious why the Pharoah did not think this drastic change in Egyptian attitude would not make the Hebrews favorable to leaving

And that, under Moses and through God’s help, is just what they did.

MYSTERIOUS WORDS

I finished one of C. S. Lewis’ books last light: THE FOUR LOVES. I did not understand a lot of it. It looks as if he just writes out what he is thinking in his mind. The sentences tend to be long having many commas and parenthetic phrases. Some of the sentence phrases contradict other phrases within the same sentence. For example: “While I say this, and I am not saying that, we must realize the other thing is happening.”

Part of my problem is I sometimes skip over an important word. It may be a small word like “not” which reverses the meaning of the sentence.

I found I had to read slow, moving my lips, and saying “period” when I came to one. Even then I would not understand what I just had read.

The back cover of the book said Lewis was a brilliant, important man. It must have been intended only for other brilliant, important men.

POSITIONING BY TRADITION

2 Timothy 1
God has a plan for us, a calling, according to his own purpose. God has had a plan for us which in was in place before we ever started to plan our own lives. It was in place "before the world began". Paul was called to be a preacher, apostle, and teacher of the gentiles. Paul served God "from his forefathers". The tradition of serving God came to him from his family. His father served God, his grandfathers served God, his nation served God. Paul grew up in a family that served God. Timothy also had a line of faith starting with his grandmother Lois. The tradition of serving God makes it easier for us to serve Him.

Some of where we are in life will be because of God's positioning. The more we have been sensitive toward God, the more likely we have not disturbed the positioning God has made for us. The more self-centered and worldly we have been, the more likely we have made the position less effective.

How can we know what God’s positioning is for us? We can know by:

-- the word of God
-- prayer
-- opportunities
-- observation
-- words and examples from other people

As Paul said, Timothy had "that good thing" - - whatever that was. Maybe God is not specific about what Timothy's gift was so that the book of second Timothy can be applied to all believers. In other words, this is not just a personal note from Paul to Timothy, this is a note to all of us. Let us all daily consider our positions. Even if we do not come from a tradition like Paul or Timothy we still have a position. Are we doing a good job? Where could we do better?

SERVING STICKS

God (Jesus) washed the disciples' feet and said, "as you have seen me do, so should you do to one another ". But this is not actually true, has not God always been the master and not the servant? Was it not his creation to use and protect as he pleased? Yet he gave it to his created beings to use. He provided for them. He overlooked many insulting and grievous transgressions against him.

What do we do? Like Him we create; we take sticks of wood and construct a house. Then we become concerned over the house. The house becomes our protection, it is our peace giver, it is our thing of beauty, it is our future, it is our life giver. We forget the source of us and all that we use. We forget who made the trees, the metal ores, the materials for concrete, paint and glue. We forget our creator.

We do not realize the house is not serving us, we are serving the house. We have come to worship the house. God serves us and provides for us, but he remains God. We are never, were never, and will never be God. How can we forget God and serve a pile of sticks. Can we not remember: "as you have seen me do, so should you do to one another."

WHAT ARE DOCTRINES

Much of our understanding of the Bible is based on teaching, and teaching is based upon doctrine. Doctrine is a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school. In Christianity doctrine is a systematic way men have that describes what the Word of God says about a certain topic. We can think of a doctrine as represented by a window through which we look at a portion of the Word of God. One window may open on one area while another views a different area. Each window looks at a different area; Some windows cover only their own area while other windows overlap the area other windows also view. Some larger windows can include smaller windows.

One doctrine may be about marriage, another about Creation, another about proper and improper conduct.

There are elements within the Word of God that can be taken and used as building blocks for doctrines. Yet doctrines taken individually cannot represent all of what the Word of God says to us. Some doctrines can use one or more elements of other doctrines. It is possible many doctrines linked together can approximate much of what the Word of God says.

The Word of God is always larger than the efforts of men to classify or explain it. Given the limitations of our flesh, God has told us (mankind) more than we can comprehend, understand, or explain.

In the world of technology by comparison: no single man can comprehend fully all the knowledge wrapped up in a microchip. God has made His Word greater than microchips.

Doctrine classifies and simplifies God’s word so that we can understand and apply it to our lives. Trouble comes when doctrines take what God said simply and makes it so complex that men become discouraged or go wrong. Trouble also comes with the notion that God's word is so complex that men must simplify it by doctrine for doctrine can be wrong, either partially or wholly.

Some doctrines help us, and others hurt. We must carefully weigh what each proclaims. To do the weighing we need scales, and the only true scale is the Bible.

FAITH – MIND OR FEELING

Is our faith a matter of the mind only or is there some feeling mixed in with it? Some charismatics look for the feeling/experience alone. The legalistic look for teaching only from the Bible and refuse feelings. When the Bible says we walk by faith, not by sight, does that mean we must set aside the feeling and recall from our minds what God said in walk that way? What feeling could there possibly be that would be a reason or justification enough to go against God's word? What if I don’t know enough about God’s word to challenge a feeling -- or accept it?

What if sermons can be rated as to worth, say from $1 to $2, When a preacher could preach a $2 sermon, what does it mean when he preaches $1.80 sermon? Do I have to add to it $0.20 from my own storehouse so that it can be a balanced sermon? What if the preacher delivers a $2.00 sermon, do I do damage it when I add $0.20 to it? What if this happens Sunday after Sunday? What about the parishioners who don't have anything to add? What do they do?

The way I define faith, at least religious faith, is very simple: I choose to believe something and do not require any proof. I believe God exists; I do not need to prove it. I believe the Bible is the written word of God; I do not need to prove it . Some choose to believe there is no God. Some believe the Bible is merely the work of men. We all have the agency, the power, to choose what we believe. When your life in the flesh is over (and the day is coming when it will be over) what can you do when you find there is a God, there is life after death and there is a judgment?

INSTRUCTIONS

The Bible is not the only place to obtain good instructions. We also can get our instructions from other people, godly people, as well as the scripture.  God has many ways to teach us, but it is not always easy going. In 2 Timothy 2, Paul told Timothy to be strong in the things he heard from Paul as well as in the grace of Christ Jesus. It is hard to work to keep on the true course. Along the way we must (like Timothy and Paul): endure hardness, keep from entanglement, strive lawfully, suffer trouble, endure all things. As we meet others we should: put them in remembrance, give them a charge, challenge them to study. We all need to shun profane and vain babblings, depart from iniquity. As best we can we need to recover from hurts from bad thinking, we should flee youthful lusts, follow righteousness, avoid ill-conceived questions. We should not strive, but be gentle, meekly instructing others as we have opportunity.

Be cautious of: "words that are to no profit but to the subverting of the hearers, profane and vain babblings". Bad words will eat like a canker. We must be aware so we can identify, avoid, and fight against false teaching. Yet we should not jump down the throat of everyone that says something wrong. We should attempt to achieve a right understanding in line with God's principles.

Then we can be a means of changing those who want to be godly. If they won't change, we should avoid them and take steps to protect the innocent, if necessary.

THE IMIGRANTS OF THANKSGIVING DAY

We can be thankful for the Christians who wanted religious freedom and left England to come to this land to gain the liberty. In a way, we can also be thankful for the Church of England which was then repressing them. Were it not for this grouping of churchmen who had grown used to their organization of ecclesiastical power, the other groups – the Pilgrims and Puritans – would not have sought freedom from them. And we can be thankful the emigrating groups were not dominated by those whose sole purpose was to gain riches, control, and power.

READING AND LISTENING TO THE BIBLE

There are many ways to go through the Bible beside actually reading it, for example: audible Bibles.  Many versions are available at Amazon.com. I recommend any audible version without music or sound effects. I hate those. The “extras” are not needed and distracting. In audio Bibles there are many different readers to choose from.

You have options of many different versions: KJV and others. We are currently using the NKJV (New King James Version). It uses less old English words (like thee and thou). Make sure you use a translation, preferably by a group of people, not a single person. A group keeps individual biases to a minimum.

Commentaries are not needed. God says what he means and knows how to say it. You can understand the Bible for yourself. Sometimes (and not often) it takes a while to catch the meaning. Sometimes after many readings. Sometimes another person’s opinion helps (but remember it is only that person’s opinion). Avoid someone who just paraphrases what he thinks the KJV says; it needs to be a translation from the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic.

My wife and I have been reading together for 47 years. You must start somewhere. You really can’t get past “Day One” (just starting to read - or - listen). As far as the actual place to start, I started at the gospel of John. As a new Christian the Old Testament was difficult for me. Yet you need the Old Testament to understand the sacrifices, religious seasons and history. A regular reading place (like a room, or the kitchen table) and a regular time are really helpful. We read for 47 years that way. 

 You will never reach day 17000 without starting at day 1.

DISCERNING THE LEADERS

2 Timothy 3
In first and second Timothy Paul has been instructing Timothy as the new pastor of the Ephesian church. He is warning him of the presence of evil men there who may be influential in the congregation. He tells him to turn away from such people. He reminds him to take the example of the manor of life and leadership Timothy saw in Paul when he was with him.

The descriptions of bad men fit well some of the current day church people. It seems to me that the list can apply equally well to lofty legalists and flamboyant charismatics. Aberrant charismatics are more open and easier to see than those hiding behind a prim, stony exterior. These have the "form of godliness but deny the power thereof". We are warned:

". . . evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them . . ."

And here was the key for Timothy (and for us):

". . . and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." [2 Timothy 3:13-17]

We, like Timothy, should continue in the things we have learned from scripture and from other good and reliable sources. This is how we get to know basic truth, by continuing in things we have learned, tested, and proved. We shun the bad when we discover it as bad, and learn things having come from good sources.

IT IS THE FAULT OF THE KING

In Exodus 20 Moses has performed the miracles in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and has come to the foot of mount Sinai to receive the commandments of God. He has gone up to speak with God and has come back down to bring the people of Israel up to hear themselves directly from God. Verses 18 and 19 say: "All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.’"

What they wanted was an intermediary, someone between them and God. They wanted Moses to tell them what God said, they did not want to listen directly to God. Later, in Deuteronomy 17:14 we are told what the people would say: "I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me". Here is another middleman, a man, not God, to lead them. They wanted someone to take responsibility for doing the work of governing. They did not want it for themselves. They wanted to point to the government for the common provision and common security, they did not want to bother themselves. "I can do whatever I want to do but it is the outside government that is responsible". We want the government, parents, to do something for us, yet in other things we want complete autonomous power, we do not want interference.

If there was lawlessness it would be the King's fault, if there was general immorality it would be the King's fault. The King would pay for their health care and their education, the King would be responsible for their mental health.

I perceive this as a general sin: "Let the government do this or that for me; I am not responsible."

God wants people to obey his law. Everyone should obey God’s law within himself. Every man is to know what God's law is and every man should keep the law. He should regulate himself so that he knows and obeys the law. Every man is responsible for his own actions and thoughts. Every man is responsible to administer his actions. Every man must govern himself.

But people do not want God, they want a King, a responsive Big Brother"

Knowledge of God’s law, his requirements, his wishes is readily available to us: it lies within the Bible, largely unread on the coffee table or on a shelf nearby.

TREATMENT OF WIDOWS

First Timothy 5 speaks of treating people in the church as family. We are not to, “ . . . sharply rebuke an older man, but rather appeal to him as a father, and to the younger men as brothers, to the older women as mothers, and to the younger women as sisters, in all purity.” We are to be particularly careful of windows. The first in line to be responsible for widows is her family, the most responsible of them being her own children. Following them are her extended family, primarily her nephews. If there are none, the responsibility falls to the church.

However, God speaks very strongly against widows having a life of ease. There is an obvious difference between the woman who "continues in prayers and supplications night and day" (we suppose for food and basic needs) - - and the woman of verse six who lives in pleasure (not having to worry about food and shelter).

In contrast to these is the widow shown in verse 10. This woman has enough to have performed good works, brought up children, lodged strangers, washed less Saints feed, relieved the afflicted, followed good works. Apparently, she had something to work with when her husband died. She spends her time actively pursuing God's work rather than "wandering about from house to house."

Then there is the younger widow. The Bible says it is better for the younger widows to marry, to bear children and guide the house, then to risk a time of idleness where they can learn a and use poisonous tongue.

A conclusion to draw is:  do not draw automatic conclusions about a woman who is a widow. Before offering help, whether church or family, we must consider her true situation.

RELEVANT REVELATION

I had a recent conversation someone expressed his doubts about the true relevancy of Bible revelation. The book of Revelation says of itself in 1:3: " Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near."

He seemed to take the same position that people ages ago took, which was noted by the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3:3-4: “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue just as they were from the beginning of creation.’”.

What can we who believe what the Bible literally says is truth? All things do appear to have continued just as they were from the beginning of creation, and Jesus has not yet come down “with a shout, with a loud voice, with the trumpet of the archangel”. This is where we apply faith, just as we did when we believed in Jesus as our savior. We believe He is who He said he is. We believe He did as the Bible says he did. We believe he will come again for Christians, and we forever will be with him.

The problem is:  if the book of Revelation is somehow wrong and written by out-of-touch old time zealots years ago, what other books of the Bible are wrong?

We are free to believe whatever we choose, but should we quake with uncertainty every time some other doubter raises an objection? There will always be those who will not believe all that the Bible says.  There is no reason to take the word of a man over the word of God.  They can, but we won't.

QUALIFICATIONS OF CURCH OFFICIALS (AND OTHERS)

I thought I would write some exposition of 1 Timothy 3 which concerns the qualifications of church officials. It speaks of Bishops (Overseers) and Deacons and addresses some qualities they should have. All of us, in fact, should attain these qualities. Upon re-reading the chapter in a couple of different versions I see that it is clear enough so that another reader really does not need my help.

However, we notice in today’s Church that many men (and women) in these positions have come short. (And we ourselves, if honest, know we also are short on these requirements).

This leads me to make a general comment pertinent to most, if not all, human organizations: Church, Government, School Districts . . . They are like ladders starting with a bottom rung leading to the top rung. It is common among men to want the position of top rung. Most start the climb from the bottom and proceed upwards. A few get to start a little further up because of family, wealth, or other reasons. Everyone wants the next rung (or two or three) up. Some are patient and trudge along at a fair, legal rate. Ohers are impatient and force themselves up in an unfair, perhaps illegal rate, pulling the ones above off and stepping on the fingers of the ones below.

On our trip up the ladder, we must keep in mind the qualifications set for us by God in 1 Timothy 3. At the end of our life God does not judge us on the rung we attained, but the manner by which we climbed the ladder. Have we been: blameless sticking to one spouse, vigilant, sober (levelheaded), of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach, not greedy for money, nonviolent, etc.?

If we have not, we can do better today.

QUESTIONABLE SURVEYS

I’m always careful about entities that ask for me to fill out surveys. They may not want what the survey title seems to really ask. It may just be seeking personal information. Maybe that information is your email address or your phone number or other personal information. Maybe all it wants is just to know someone responds at this point of access.

For example, I'm a conservative. The Republican party sends survey requests. Since I am a registered Republican, they already generally know what my opinions might be. The survey questions seem to stroke for emotional responses like (and I exaggerate), "Do you feel the country is going in the toilet?", "Do you think every democrat ought to be replaced next election?" There is always a request for money contributions (the real reason for the survey). I am sure the Democrats to the same.

Other example are: Trump Haters and Trump Lovers. These sites are based on emotional opinions. These sites often want money. They often want your phone number. There is also a possibility they are being used by the opposite side to develop information to harass you. They could be digging for your personal information, phone numbers, addresses and other potentially harmful information that could be harmful.

I personally very rarely open a survey let alone fill out surveys. For one thing they rob me of my time. I stop filling them out as soon as I understand the real purpose is to get donations or to steal personal information. Keep in mind, they already know something about you. They know you have an interest because you contacted them. Whether by phone, or text or email or by your visiting their website they know how to contact you. I think it is best not to respond. If they show a form that asks you to “verify your phone number”, and you see your phone number is already there, it might be a trap. You may have enabled an “autofill” feature on your computer which automatically filled in the phone number field. By filling in the “verify your phone number” field you may be giving a criminal your personal information. Too bad if you have already spent a lot of time completing the survey; just let it go, delete the form, and go about your other business.

THE REPROVING DUTY

Some jobs are hard. Second timothy 4 tells us (via instructions addressed to Timothy) to stand firmly and to contend for the faith. We are to reprove, rebuke, an exhort using patience, persistence, and teaching. We are warned that there will be those who will resist and pull away.

Using the new American Standard Bible consider some of the action words found there:

PREACH: to talk or, and correctly interpret, the word of God. Just to be clear, I take the “word of God” to mean the Bible. This does not mean someone’s dream, feeling, hearsay, or what they read in a commentary.
Be PREPARED (be ready): to have read the Bible to have considered what it says, and to have considered how best to explain it either to a believer or someone who does not (yet) believe.
CORRECT: to help another more perfectly understand the meaning of some biblical passages.
REBUKE:  to correct a person who, for whatever reason, seems to purposely be misrepresenting what the Bible says.
EXHORT: to encourage others to read the Bible and understand it the best they can; and tell them to tell others and encourage them.
Using PATIENCE: we should realize all are not at the state of development we have achieved, and; some others have developed more than we have.

Even when we do this, we must be aware some, perhaps many, will, “not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

Sound like today? Sound like some public posting sites?

SETTING AND RELIEVING DOUBT

Psalm 11
The first part of this Psalm shows questions of doubt that  an enemy is trying to put into a believer. Or perhaps it is a question of doubt the believer himself is asking.

“In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, ‘flee as a bird to your mountain? For, behold, the wicked bend the bow, they have set their arrow on the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?’ ”

These dark questions are what we commonly fear. They suggest: You should retreat, the wicked are working, they do it in secret, no one sees, if the foundations are destroyed what can the righteous do?

The rest of the psalm answers the doubts.

“The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes see, His eyelids test the sons of mankind. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked and His soul hates one who loves violence. He will rain coals of fire upon the wicked, and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous. [Yet] He loves righteousness; the upright will see His face.”

God still reigns in heaven and earth. God sees all; God tries everybody. He hates and will punish the wicked. God sees and will reward the upright.

It is easy to doubt in the dark times, the times of trial. This psalm reminds us God sees, reigns, and takes action against the wicked and for the righteous. To relieve the doubt we must remember He loves righteousness; the upright will see His face.

KIND OR HURTFUL CONSIDERATION

Proverbs 10:32.
"The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness" (being head strong, with stubbornness, self will). The righteous shows kind consideration. He knows what is acceptable because he has studied the other person and knows something of their state. He considers how difficult words would affect him. The wicked also knows the other person but speaks away from the appropriate answer. The wicked could care less about the other, thus he shows hurtful consideration, the desire to oppose.

Verse 11 says, "The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life, but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked". We know a well is an opening from which something must be drawn out. The good is inside the righteous and must be drawn out. He is not quick with his answer. But the answers are healthful, as water is healthful. If there is any healthful thing with the wicked it is inaccessible because the well is covered. What is obvious to all is the violence that covers his mouth. It is always on top, always presenting to people.

Lord help me - - give me the grace to be a healthful speaker. Please do not let me do damage and violence with my mouth. Give me the grace to be helpful.

THE TIME IN COURT WILL COME

Psalm 9:7
“But the Lord sits as King forever; He has established His throne for judgment . . .”

I wonder, if men are not sinful would God not have to set up his throne for judgment? His throne would be for ruling, but it would not have to be for discovering and pronouncing punishment of the wicked. But since there are wicked, God is preparing his throne for a time when they will be brought to account for their transgression of God's will. God will outlast any hope of the wicked covering up, or justifying, or getting past (hoping the deeds will be forgotten) their wicked deeds.

From the time a wicked act is performed, God's judgment throne is ready to pronounce a punishment for the act. The time in court will come.

Let the faithful not forget judgment of wrongdoing is not only for the wicked.

ONLY ONE THEORY IS TRUE

Faith comes by hearing. In many cases you must hear something to even know what it is. But that is not always true. You could be a man alone living in the jungle and decide for yourself something other than me made all that is outside of me. You could observe that it is well organized, interdependent, and extremely complex. In a natural sense you would be more likely to think that a single power created all. That which surrounds you is so mutually dependent how could it be otherwise? You would not be likely to think that all arouse from nothing millions of years ago.

Today, in these times, outside of the jungle, living with and dependent upon other people, we are told about the “old earth”, billions of years theory - - and we are told about the creator God. We choose between one or the other.

If not informed of an “old earth” you would most likely conclude for yourself there was a creator. The trouble for some people is the creator might tell you, “You can do this but you can not do that.” If you opposed some of those impositions you might shun them and suppose for yourself (and for convenience) a different view: one without the authority. You would invent the “old earth” theory that would require billions of years to evolve that puts the creator conveniently out of sight.

DOING IS NOT ENOUGH

 Being a Christian has nothing to do with what you do. It has to do with what Jesus did. You can do all you want but it will make no difference in the end.  It' Jesus who saved you and you must just believe that. If anyone tells you something different, that you need to do something more, you need to mistrust some of the things that he' telling you. The things that other people say and do does not make them a better Christian than you. Knowing that Jesus died for your sins and rose from the dead makes you a Christian. All they did, and all you need to do, is that simple fact: believe that Jesus died for their sins and rose again.

DO THE BRUTISH UNDERSTAND

Proverbs 30
Why does the writer, Auger, start out this way - - to say he is brutish, has no wisdom, understanding or knowledge? Should we ignore what follows after because he has no understanding or knowledge? - - OR - - is it to say that even though he is not a learned man he can still observe that there is a creator and what he has created? Even the uneducated can say that every word of God is pure. Maybe it demonstrates (because Auger "prophesied") that even uneducated men, who are earnestly seeking, will achieve an understanding of God.

"Add not unto his words lest he reprove thee and you be found a liar". We saw a preacher the other night. He seemed to take a verse and apply meaning to it that is not necessarily there. He also went fast with what he was saying so that you did not have time to consider whether he has rightly applied the verse. But if you tuned him out and thought about the verse he quoted, and the meaning he applied from it, you wondered if he is not adding to the word.

There are interesting comparison and contrasts in Proverbs 30. Among them it says there are things never satisfied and do not say it is enough:
1. The grave, everyone will die.
2. A barren womb, it always wants its own children.
3. The dry earth, it soaks up all the water
4. Fire, it consumes all fuel provided.

Auger says: things I do not know - - too wonderful for me:
1. The eagle in the air, how does he fly.
2. The serpent on the rock, how does he move control his body?
3. A ship, in the sea, how does it float?
4. A man with maid.

The earth disquieted and cannot bear:
1. A servant, who Reigns.
2. A fool filled with meat.
3. An odious woman who is married.
4. A handmaid who is heir to her mistress.

Things that are little but are somehow wise:
1. Ants who prepare food in summer, how does it know?
2. Conies, who build houses in the rocks, try and dig them out.
3. Locusts who go by bands, you can’t get just one, or ten of them, you must get them all.
4. The spider, takes hold with hands, look up in the far corner of the ceiling and go after it.

Things that go well and are comely in their going:
1. The lion who is strongest among the beasts.
2. The greyhound.
3. The he goat.
4. A king who cannot be rebelled against.

ROCK-AND-ROLL

Some thoughts from Proverbs 28.

Webster’s definition of rock-and-roll: "a style of popular music marked by heavily accented beat and a simple repetition phrase structure". (Sounds like some church music today.)

(Verse 7) "A companion of riotous men is a shame to his father". Since some rock music promotes those who disrespect authority, it can be a groundwork of riotous men. Therefore, we should be careful how we use it. As with anything that requires caution with its use, perhaps there are times we should not even have it around. How many rock-and-roll concerts are there where the Star, every member of the band, the promoters and all the audience have a good walk with God? Even then there should only seasons of rock-and-roll; not rock-and-roll all the time. We should avoid riotous and men and activity.

What is a sample of some of the people at secular rock-and-roll concerts? Loud beer drinkers, sensual dancers, woman that dress to excite lust, men who look for such women, men who exude dominance and violence, litterers, people who can't be quiet and listen, people who think authorities (police, teachers, parents, etc.) are "them", drug users? The beat raises emotional excitement, the loudness numbs the mind; if we add words that veer from God’s word, we could have an irrational mob.

(Verse 9) To want the rock-and-roll, to the point of turning the ear away from the law will isolate us from God. Conversely, to the so enamored of grace (unmerited favor) to think, "rules are not important" is to turn away from the law. This can isolate us from God.

(Verse 10) There are some that cause the righteous to go aside into an evil way. We must be careful of rock-and-roll for that very reason. Although rock-and-roll seems to have originated in the world, not the church, much of “contemporary Christian music” is rock-and-roll based.

We must be diligent to keep in the godly way.

CLEANING UP

A song said: "open the doors of paradise", meaning the gates of heaven. We want that, but we know we are not worthy. We know: I'm standing outside but I'm too dirty to come in. Lord, I am not fit to enter in - - make me fit. Lord, my mind thinks wrong thoughts - - renew my mind. Lord clean me from my filth - - wash me in the blood of the lamb. Lord, my clothes are ragged and dirty - - give me a wedding garment. If my way is wrong before your eyes, make me to think and feel the right way.

We think that, but for a while we forget:
". . . because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." (Romans 10:9-10)

It’s so easy we stumble at it: we must believe Jesus is Lord, that he died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead, is in heaven, and will receive us with him when we pass from this physical life. But Christian phrasing sometimes does not make it easy. Christians frequently use words or phrases which they understand among themselves, but which are not understood among non-Christian people, or among new Christian believers. Some of these phrases can become stumbling blocks when unexplained or misunderstood.

Some examples are:
"Born again”, what happens when a person believes that Jesus died for his sins and rose again.
"Saved”, when a person is born again, he is saved.
"Redemption”, when we are saved, we are redeemed from the ultimate consequences of a sinful life (hell, or separation from God).
Sanctification, the lifelong process of overcoming our sinful habits, thoughts and actions.
"The blood of the lamb”, a reference to what Jesus did on the cross and how it could, and can, affect our lives.

We Christians should be sensitive that our hearers understand what we mean and be ready to explain the meaning.

TALEBEARERS

A "talebearer" is one who bears a tail, a story, or "news". In other words, he is a gossip. Proverbs 26 speaks of this type of person in the sense of one who intends to bring bad or disparaging information about another. This is one that meddles in strife that is not his own. He hears something from another and carries the tale to others. The tale does not even have to be true. The damaging news would not spread If it were not for the talebearer. Strife ceases when there are no talebearers. The tales the talebearer spreads bring damage to the one of whom he speaks.

You can tell when you are listening to a talebearer. You can tell who not to listen to when it you know that he is dissembling . He is a person of hatred and deceit. We are not supposed to believe such people.

Except in wartime and against an enemy who would want to forward deceit? In wartime and against an enemy it's called "Propaganda". 

DILIGENCE VS HASTYNESS

Proverbs 22 notes how the thoughts of the diligent tend only toward plenteousness, but the thoughts of everyone that is hasty only to want. The way I have thought of this verse is: the diligent will have plenty, as in abundance, whereas the hasty will have want, as in the feeling he has not enough. In truth the diligent will identify what he wants and what is important. He will have a good idea of what needs to happen in terms of effort and material required to make it happen. He will create a plan, then implement the plan and will obtain all, if not more, than what he envisioned. The hasty just starts off with no idea of material, effort, or cost. He will spend up the little that he had and end with nothing. Perhaps he will be bitter about a dream lost with no idea of why it never became real.

Here is another way: the diligent will think in terms of having plenty, of being well prepared, of allowing for contingencies. While the hasty obsesses over his wants, of what he possesses, of what he perceives to be a need, of making life pleasant for himself.

It is OK to want things, but the wants must be tempered with reason and planning. There is a path to get there, but you must know what the path is and if it’s worth the trip. Once you know that, you must actually start taking steps along the path.

CALLING ON GOD

Psalm 8 . . .
"I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies".

The psalmist calls the Lord.

God answers the call with mighty works.

God delivers the psalmist.

God rewards according to righteousness and clean hands.

God shows himself according to how people act.

The psalmist wars against his enemies but it is God that gives him the capability and the victory.

Give praise to God who delivers.

I need to learn to always call upon the Lord particularly in times of trouble. But also, in times when I cannot balance the checkbook, fix the car or find something. I need to call upon the Lord when I am at a loss for something to do or stalling to start a project. God is not interested only in big troubles but in small ones too. He is always with the Christian, always wanting us to rely upon, call upon him - - and thank him.

HOPING FOR MY BOYS

My boys do not find enjoyment in those that talk of nothing deeper than sports, fishing, or cars. This is very pleasing to me. However there is always the danger that they will encounter some who are mentally sharp and interesting, yet wrong. I hope they will come out undamaged and even stronger. They will have to judge between what these will say in what the truth is.

Proverbs 8 says wisdom, personified as a woman, is everywhere addressing mankind. Yet she can be one voice among many and the voice you are listening to at the present moment is the loudest. Consider that in the chapter before (7:10) the opposite of wisdom is also speaking. What *she" says opposes wisdom.

My prayer is they will take time to consider all and choose the right one. Lord , please quicken my boys’ mind, make them sharp for the truth.

USE OF THE WORD “SCIENCE”

I find it irritating the way some people use the word “Science”. Some use the word to establish an atmosphere of authority, to say something you can not argue about. They use phrases like: “Science says . . .”, or "Science now knows. . ." They also use related phrases like: "Research has shown . . .", "Extraordinary new light indicates . . .", "New evidence has shown . . ." , "We now know . . .".

Science involves the use of the scientific method of investigating nature. One observes a phenomenon and forms a theory about its cause. He then devises an experiment to prove the theory. He records the results, and if the theory seems to be proved he writes a paper about the phenomenon, the theory of its cause, and the experiment that is supposed to prove his theory. Others can then repeat the experiment and if the same results occur they can agree that the theory is most likely true. The theory of the structure of atoms is based on such experimental work that is so repeatable it is safe to assume the atomic theory is true. A definition of science I read said it is "the systematic study of the nature and behavior of the material and physical universe, based on observation, experiment, and measurement, and the formulation of laws to describe these facts in general terms."

I have heard the word “science” used as a phrase which I call "self-fulfilling introduction". These statements, “science says” and the like, are intended to give an air of established truth to the content that follows them. The introductory phrases appear to give authority to what comes next, as if to say, "let there be no question about this". They provide appearance of a reliable source, albeit an unnamed and unexplained source. I find this particularly irksome with respect to the topic of evolution vs. creation. Many use “science” to express the pervasive concept of evolution-as-fact. Evolution is not fact, it is an unproven theory that can neither be tested nor repeated. Evolution requires the concept of millions of years. No set of humans have ever actually observed millions of years.

“Millions of years ago everything we see evolved from nothing, or a 'singularity', or a single atom.” Who was there to know this? The concept can only exist in theory. To believe it takes a great amount of faith - - faith that this theory is indeed the truth.

I’d rather believe, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This also takes faith. But I know one who was there, I’ve read his book.

WORKING ADVANTAGES

Psalm 15
The Psalm asks: "who may abide in your Tabernacle" then goes on to say, "he who walks uprightly, has integrity, practices righteousness, speaks truth in his heart, etc." But we know that Christ is our righteousness, and nothing that we do (but what Christ did) gets us past the gates of heaven. Since born again Christians already have secure entrance into heaven, what does “your Tabernacle” mean and how much does "walking uprightly" really matter, is it an advantage? Perhaps it indicates how we can abide with God while still on this earth. The motivation would be wanting to please God. We do right, we abide in the Tabernacle.

Surely it should not mean seeking status for yourself. Sadly, most of the time our motivation comes from the desire for status, pride, or maybe a fear of rejection. Wanting to "abide in the Tabernacle" for the reason of having a self-advantage does not work well. It is in direct competition with other things that want advantage for the self. When you are advantaging yourself for Tabernacle status another worldly advantage opportunity can shove it aside. The flesh easily sees (and wants) things that have more immediate reward.

If you do a good thing and are "walking uprightly" for God's advantage, then it has the potential of lasting, even though you may later slip into works of the flesh. I wonder if doing it for self-advantage ever pleases God. Proverbs 15:9: the Lord loves him who follows after righteousness.

THE LIAR LAYS IN WAIT

Very windy and cloudy today (19 Feb 2021) yet a lot of birds are flying around. Just as I finished the first sentence the sun came out. That shows man's words mostly stand only for the moment they speak them. Only God's word for sure stands. We hope that most men are true and stand by what they speak - - and repent and confess when they are mistaken.

For those who want to hear something badly enough there will always be a liar to tell them what they want to hear.

The prophets that I journaled of the other day - the ones that said Donald Trump would be the next president - confidently said "Trump will be President". Some may have even said "God said - ", or "God told them - ". It is terrible that they speak this way - - and that so many believed them.

I prayed, God please punish the ones who spoke out knowing that God did not speak to them; show them as liars to the public. How terrible will it be for them at the Judgement to have knowingly spoken lies.

Please show the ones who spoke but were deceived to know and to repent of the deception and to diligently seek to only recognize what is true.

Please cause the gullible ones who believed the lies to see their weakness to believe what they wish would be. Help them to hear, to seek and to test all things whether there be any truth in them.

HOME STATE YET EMPTY

[While on Government travel years ago at a Wendy’s in Maynard, Ma. I wrote:]
(Maynard, MA) I have strange feelings being back at my hometown area. I feel useless, valueless. It seems I have no connection here whatsoever. Even the thought of being in the same geographical area as my sister Anne or Uncle Elliot has not changed the feeling.

I had no success calling anyone, even home to Florida. I'll drive back to Acton again. If I have no success there, I'll go back toward Bedford and try Uncle Elliot. From either Acton or Bedford I will try to get hold of my old friends Don or Steve Murphy.

If we (Lizzie, the boys, and I) were to move to a new area I'm afraid of what this type of feeling would do to me: no extended family, no friends, no church. I wonder if I could overcome.

There is a group of families here, 2 or 3 little ones, all less than ten, and four older ones, of which two or three might be teens. They are a talkative group which shows they have confidence to socialize. One of the young ones laughs and jokes with her mother. I suspect their being here together shows evidence of a sound family and, though not here, a good man? I wonder, does an indication of a good man, or men, show godliness?

TIE WISDOM TIGHT

Proverbs 7
We are to keep God’s words close to us. Proverbs 7 says: “. . . Say to wisdom, ‘You are my sister,’ and call understanding your intimate friend, So that they may keep you from an adulteress, from the foreigner who flatters with her words.”

Ungodly words are like an adulterous woman:  They are very appealing, but they are not right. We might also think of then as groups of people who are off (wrong, distorted) according to true doctrine. For this reason, we are to lay up God’s words, or keep them, bind them up tight to us. To say, "thou art my kinswoman, thou art my sister". Why? to keep us close to God and away from the strange woman.

The "young man" in this chapter is described as simple, he doesn't know much. It is night signifying the absence of God's word. She (the ungodly wisdom) wears the attire of the harlot: she is very appealing to the desires. She is subtle, loud., stubborn, not abiding in her house. She is very crafty and evasive with issues. She picks on minor points attempting to defeat a larger truth. She opposes the traditional ways. She goes outside of her house seeking to win and bring in others. She has "peace offerings", she says she is alright with God.

She has "decked her bed" : she seems to have good things that go on at her worship, things that take skilled craft. They are very appealing. She says "Let us take our fill until the morning" - she wants you at her church until you die (the morning). She says, "The good man is gone" - Christ as the Bible teaches him is not there. She says, "He will come at the time appointed" - he will respond as she has appointed, and not as the Bible says he will. She has fair speech and flattery - she is very skillful with her "logic" Her words appeal to the part of the young man that is looking for a compliment.

Keep wisdom, the kind you find in the Bible, tied close to you. Know what it is. When you know what truth is, you can easily spot the imposter, the adulteress.

STRIVING FOR WISDOM

Proverbs 2
It takes a lot of continual effort to get knowledge, understanding and wisdom. These things don't come easy and they don't come quick: it takes work, and it takes work every day. God says to listen, to receive, incline the ear, apply yourself, cry for it, lift your voice, seek, search.

When you seek for silver and search for hidden treasure it's not done in five minutes of idle time after watching a video. To seek you must decide where to go then go there and inspect every rock formation. To search you must do diligent research and then methodically and diligently comb the area, balancing your resources while doing it. It takes time and it takes resources. You must spend something.

So, we have to spend something at God's word. The application of seeking understanding, knowledge and wisdom is to know the right path. God’s word provides the right path. We must seek with the head but be open to the heart. We must be sensitive to the heart but be controlled by the head. We cannot fill the head if we do not attend to the words of the mouth of God. We cannot fill the heart if we refuse to experience what God will give us.

HUMILITY PUTS YOU FORWARD

Proverbs 22:4
God says, "by humility in the fear of the Lord are riches honor in life".

The world says, "put yourself forward and listen to your own standards; To get rich is an honor, for riches and honor are your life".

About humility God says: think of others, do what is right, give others the way when it seems to be their time.

The world says about humility: think of yourself, do for yourself, take your chance, don't let others get in the way or you'll miss out.

About the fear of God, God says:  obey God's rules, respect authority.

About the fear of God the world says: Be concerned for yourself.  Stick by whatever sort of standards work, as long as they suit your goals.  Use the authorities, or get around them, or bribe them; whatever works for you.  Maybe kick A-- if you don't like what's going on.

You will get ahead either way, but God’s way lasts beyond this lifetime. How far forward do you want to go?

PRAY FOR LEADERS

These are the US Presidents of my lifetime:

Roosevelt, Franklin D. - 3/04/33 - 4/12/45
Truman, Harry S. - 4/12/45 - 1/20/53
Eisenhower, Dwight D. - 1/20/53 - 1/20/61
Kennedy, John F. - 1/20/61 - 11/22/63
Johnson, Lyndon B. - 11/22/63 - 1/20/69
Nixon, Richard M. - 1/20/69 - 8/9/74
Ford, Gerald R. - 8/9/74 - 1/20/77
Carter, Jimmy - 1/20/77 - 1/20/81
Reagan, Ronald W. - 1/20/81 - 1/20/89
Bush, George H.W. - 1/20/89 - 1/20/93
Clinton, William J. - 1/20/1993 - 1/20/2001
Bush, George_W. - 1/20/2001 - 1/20/2009
Obama, Barack - 1/20/09 - 1/20/2017
Trump, Donald – 1/20/17 – 1/20/2021

The Bible says in1 Timothy 1-4: "First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (NASB)

I am a Republican; did I pray with any consistency for the Republican presidents? No. Did I pray with and consistency for any of the Democratic presidents? No. Once I became a Christian should I have? Yes. Will I in the future change my habits and pray for and about government officials, including president-elect Biden? My intention is that I will. I think other believers should too.

THE WORD MUST FIRST BE SPOKEN

“Modern” people often say that Paul (or Peter, or James, or John, etc.) wrote as they did because they came from an old culture. They would say the 2000s represent a different culture; so, we do not have to apply their writings to ourselves in the same way. Behind that issue is the assumption that Paul (or Moses, or David, or Elijah, etc.), not God, was the author of these words. They might even say, "We do not have to accept them as scripture because God did not write them" . In contrast, we believe every page of the Bible is inspired by God; they are all his words.

How did the men that God used to select which scriptures were cannon (like a letter from Paul to the Hebrews)? Was it because a man like Paul wrote it and was obvious to those men that Paul was God's tool, he having lived in the time Jesus actually worked and lived? Maybe it was because of who the authors were: Apostles or "blood relatives" of the Lord Jesus. They might have accepted the book of Hebrews because of the sheer logic and brilliance of the writing.

Paul’s days were days when public discourse was oral. Even written words were not dominant because there was yet no printing press. So, all common discourse tended to be local.  Yet the fame of Paul was widespread. If this was not a sign of God's working through Paul, at least it is a sign of the magnitude of his importance. Since his words were copied and recopied there had to be something more behind them than a mere letter of a churchman.

We remind ourselves, as the Bible says, that God was:
- manifest in the flesh
- justified in the spirit
- seen of Angels
- preached to the gentiles
- believed on in the world
- received up into glory

At the time of the events of the Bible God was working in real living people who were doing and saying things among other living people. They wrote it down soon after it happened. God worked among people you could have heard with your own ears and could touch. God is working among men in the church today. Although what they write will not be in the Bible.

A book like Hebrews is "high I cannot attain to it". God gives it to us so that we can grow toward it. A piano teacher knows his student cannot do all that he can, yet he still teachers knowing the student someday will. God gives us Hebrews so that we, someday, will improve to higher Heights.

WHO DOES THE WORK?

Jesus came to us in appearance as an ordinary man and not as the truly Superior being that he is. He is maker of all and absolute ruler, but he did not show himself that way to us. He wants to be intimate with us, and not for us to be too frightened to approach him. He said he is our “friend”. He said in John 15:15 “but I have called you friends” In that light - in the way of being on our level - he was a carpenter, a tradesman or craftsman.

Let us consider some different divisions of work. Here is how many companies are organized:

A. Operations - Decide what Tasks should be done.
B. Administration - Decide how to accomplish the tasks: when and where.
C. Laborers/Craftsmen – Perform the Manufacturing or service

Jesus at his appearance placed himself in the labor/Craftsman class. By this example he is one of us. Who understands you better, and can talk to you at your level, better than the other bag-boy or assembly line worker? Jesus knows all about us. He has been there.

These have built this country. Everything rests on the backs of the laborers, farmers, craftsmen. Indeed, ALL of us are dependent on the trades. If you live in any type of shelter or use water and electricity, thank a tradesman. The most highly educated University professor or most powerful CEO or government official depends on the trades. Thanks to the tradesmen/tradeswomen. Turn on a light switch, flush a toilet, drive on a road, be thankful for the Trades. And we all depend on the farmers and cattlemen.

Do we need the “higher” levels, the Owners, the Managers, the Administers? We surely do. There must be the financing, the vision and direction of any human organization. And Jesus is all that to us too. He is the Owner. He sets the vision. He directs the organizational duties and the day-to-day duties of man kind.

So, who does the work? Jesus does.

THE BETHLEHEM STAR

THE BETHLEHEM STAR IS NOT A NATURAL OCCURRENCE
Some have remarked that the recent 2020 conjunction of planets could be the Bethlehem Star. It was not. The Bethlehem Star was not a normal occurrence. It was a unique, God-instituted, one-of-a kind event.

The Bethlehem Star was the star that led the Maji to Jesus. Mankind have known about conjunctions for centuries. They knew what stars were and what were conjunctions of planets. Since the Magi were called "Wise Men" in the Bible we must assume they in fact were wise. People of wisdom do not willy-nilly run off after natural known occurrences like planet conjunctions. They would note the conjunction but have no reason to see it as unusual. Therefore, the appearance of the Bethlehem Star must have been a truly out-of-the-ordinary event.

A Nova would have been much more unusual than a conjunction, it would have been a truly unique event and would have lasted much longer than a conjunction of planets. However, a nova would, like the stars, always stay in the same position in the sky; rising in the East and setting in the West each night for as long as it lasted. If you noticed where it set each morning over several days you would have traveled toward the West. Where would you stop? What is not far enough and what is too far? This type of travel would not have led you to a precise point, such as exactly to where Jesus was.

However, the Bethlehem Star would have to always be at the same compass bearing on the horizon to give an accurate line-of-travel. Moreover, as you neared Jesus' position the Star would appear to move to the zenith. When you reached Jesus the star would be exactly overhead. When it is so near the zenith to be confusing you would stop and ask for directions, which is what they did when they spoke to Herod. The Magi were men of great importance. We know because they came bearing expensive gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because of their stature they could get directly in to see, Herod and Herod listened to them.

The Magi traveled a good distance from the East to where Jesus was. Being men of influence, they would have traveled with a large entourage: camels, servants, bodyguards, supplies for the trip and return. Moving so many people over a great distance would have taken a long time: weeks or months. Few people can afford such expense and time.

It would take a very unusual occurrence, like an exceptional direction-pointing star, not a nova or a conjunction, to cause these men to take such long, arduous trip.

IMMAGINATIONS BECOME REAL

I have been trying to do away with my unfruitful imaginations. I wonder if they do not short-circuit some good that I might do. It might proceed this way: I imagine it; therefore I have "done" it; therefore I do not really do it.

God says without vision the people perish. Some sort of thinking about what will happen is good, but I wonder if some of my imagining takes away from positive action. Certainly, negative imagining is not good, or it sets an evil cast upon events which have not happened. I think "Men do not want me around" and I launch my imagination off in that direction and exclude myself from fellowship. I need to say, "I resist that thinking; God said, ‘reject the devil and he will flee from you, draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you’; In the name of Jesus I resist that thought".

Other times it puts future events in the framework of the way we are used to events happening, They may not happen that way and we become disillusioned or disappointed.

Maybe my mind, being so full of imaginations, keeps me from hearing the spirit of God. I need to walk "by faith and not by sight". While I am doing what faith says (what the Bible says) I can observe the results of faith.

What would faith teach me about my relationships with other men? It is important to know that what God says is right, is right. We can see this in the law, psalms, proverbs, parables Gospels - - throughout the whole Bible. We see this in good examples, as in the life of Jesus and Paul, and in bad examples as with Jezebel and Ahab.

BEING YOUR OWN ADVOCATE

As I was thinking about a computer problem (Excel not working), I suddenly realized (thanks Holy Spirit) that I was feeling bad that I could not solve the problem alone. The Oliver B. Green program had been offering a book called Jesus Our Advocate. I thought how would you like to be your own lawyer before God in heaven's courtroom? How wonderful that Jesus is our advocate, our lawyer. Being a man, and not God, there are some things I cannot do. Then I remembered that God says that ". . . in the multitude of counselors there is safety." So, I should not feel bad to need another to help me solve a problem.

Also, when working, I was not among the highest qualified for the advancing to a GS 13. Though I had been feeling bad about it and thinking about challenging it, God says, "riches and honor come from me alone . . .".

How could we keep ourselves straight if we did not remind ourselves by reading the Bible daily, prayer, seeking fellowship, and going to church? This is how we learn about God and his ways. Even with all that we need his Holy Spirit. The world is such that if you do not keep growing pouring energy into it, it will dissipate to nothing. We must keep active to keep anything we value.

Thank God he streams energy into us.

IN THE BATTLE

Psalm 55
Verse 10 shows how the wicked man is vigilant to do his wickedness. Yet consider them, they are like us: they eat, sleep, marry, do business, seek to attain things. We Christians do those things. Most other religions seek to do the same things. The difference is that the wicked do them from motivations that God defines as wickedness. The things they do sum up to be offensive to God. Some things that are innocent enough when based on the true God of the universe (admiring what your neighbor has) become wickedness when not based on him (coveting what your neighbor has).

Some things that the unsaved do around us can become oppressive to Christians. We must make sure what we do is motivated by God and his principles.

Verse 17: The psalmist says he will "cry aloud" . He is saying he speaks his prayers aloud, with an audible speech, to God. He is speaking with urgency when things are urgent. Perhaps this is a good practice for everyone. Maybe when alone I should pray aloud - - not to mutter or speak softly but pray aloud so that a natural person could hear me. That would keep my prayer concentrated, coherent, focused. It shows that you think God is real - - respected enough to speak so that he can hear you.

Verse 18: "He delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me." There was a battle and others were getting wounded and tried, yet God delivered his man in peace. Let’s not forget, there are many with us.

KNOW YOUR SOURCE

I get judgmental about how much time of life people give to Facebook and other social media. They look at it a lot. They let the things they see there tell them what the world is like.

We all look to other things to tell us what the world is like. We need to inspect carefully the source of what we are looking at, or what we are listening to.

It is helpful to think: do they want something from you; do they want you to act a certain way; do they want to define certain things for you; do they want your health or your destruction? Do they want to give you something helpful; do they want to take away something from you; do they want you to come with them or do they want you to disappear?

Everything has a reason for being. What is that reason; what is its purpose? Humans have a real reason for being, and they have a reason they imagine for themselves, which may have no relation to the real, actual reason.

“But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them . . .” (2 Tim 3:13, 14)

REST AND ACTION

Psalm 46
The Psalm alternates between a description of rest and a description of action. The rest (verses 1, 4 - 5, 7, 11) speaks of God as our refuge, a peaceful safe place. The action (verses 2 - 3, 6, 8 - 10) speaks of jostling seas and mountains and of God’s control of them, as he controls the quaking events in our lives.

A refuge is a place to go to get away from an unwelcoming set of events. It is a place to be safe from them. God may be our refuge in two ways: we withdraw inwardly to where God is, or God protects us from the events that are happening around us. Verse four says, "there is a River". Is this the spirit of God? Is this the, "rivers of living water"? Is this the WORD, "the washing of water by the word"? It could possibly be all three.

Verses 4, 5 show that God is in us.

“There is a river whose streams make the city of God happy, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her [when morning dawns.”

You are of the city of God.

ELECTRONICS DEPENDENCE

Do we depend on electronics too much? I can think of the following questions:

Can you sit alone without picking up your phone? Can you get through a day without using your computer? Must you know every hour of the day what the latest news is? Would you ever consider hand-writing an actual letter on paper to someone? Must you know what someone else’s opinion is, or do you just need to think a little more deeply? Can you walk with other people or sit in a restaurant without looking at your phone? Do you feel that you are actually, physically with others on a Zoom call or Facetime? After the computer is off and the phone is out of reach do you feel alone? Can you read the Bible on an electronic device without jumping from place to place, or worse, referring to a commentary? Would you even be reading this if not for a blog or Facebook?

When I was young (65 years ago):

There were no cell phones; only comic books or science fiction conceived of such things. The phone was connected by a wire to a telephone pole. Phones did not even have touch screens or buttons, nor did they yet have what were called "dials". (Do you know what a “dial” is?) To use the phone, you would pick it up and wait for the operator to ask you for the number you wanted. The phone company had what were called “private lines” and “party lines”.

As far as electronics go we at one time only had a Radio. We had 78 rpm record players which played vinyl records that sounded crappy. When we did get a TV, it was very large and had a small round screen. It only showed fuzzy black-and-white images. TV only broadcasted during limited, mostly daylight, hours. They showed “test patterns”; do you know what a “test pattern” is? There were no remotes. TV and radio news services made an earnest attempt at reporting news, not opinion. Opinion was identified as such. There were no personal computers, let alone laptop computers. There was no internet.

Yet, somehow, we survived without instantaneous, constant, invasive electronic connections. We are better off for electronic advances - - if we are careful how we control them privately and publicly. These days we need to resist being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” (Eph 4:14)

PROPER PRAYING

Psalm 35
This Psalm has the writer asking God to avenge the wrongful doing that others have done against him. We need God’s protection and should pray for it. We surely have not experienced what David had experienced when he wrote this - - active military, "I'll kill you" type of persecution. We are not actively sought out for persecution politically unless we fall victim to Facebook Trolls. In our lives the only persecution we can point to from the church is what we imagine in our heads.

Verse 28 says, " . . .and my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and of thy praise all the day long." Some people end their prayers with these words. It seems to me they are actually praying: "If you do this, God, then I will give you praise". Two things occur to me - God cannot be bribed, it is wrong (an insult, even) to offer to pay Him for something. And second - we may well forget to praise God after He has done what we have asked; we just accept it and proceed on. Not thanking God is wrong anytime. It seems very wrong to promise Him thanks and then forget.

ALONE IN THE ROOM

(WHAT IT'S LIKE FOR THE HARD OF HEARING)
I went to a "real" Sunday School class a few days ago. It was "real" in the sense it was in the presence of other people and not on a computer or TV screen. But it was difficult for me because of my hearing handicap. It was a big room with a lot of people. When there are a lot of people, they make a lot of noise because they all talk at once. When there is a lot of noise it is exceedingly difficult for me to make out any one person. They must be speaking directly to me, looking at me and speaking loud enough so I can hear distinct words. Plus, there was loud music being performed in another part of the building which bled into our space.

The speaker had a microphone, but it was difficult for me to hear him. I lost the thread of what he was saying whenever he used too many verbal pauses like "ers" and "ahs" and "sos". I assume those sounds are supposed to be words, but they are not. Whenever he used a parenthetical expression, and I don't catch on that the speech subject was temporarily on a siding, I lose the thread of the topic. Once I am forced off the subject it is hard for me to keep track of the course of the topic.

There were others near us not paying attention and speaking among themselves, thus distracting me. When anyone else speaks at the same time as the principal speaker I cannot hear both, so I hear neither.

So, the cumulative effect of all this is that I go, I sit, I cannot understand what is being spoken. The result is I am effectively alone in a room where there are other people and I must sit quietly for a half hour or hour until they get done. Then I can leave.

LIGHTS AND GATHERING

When God set lights in heaven their purpose was to divide: night and day, signs, seasons, days, and years.

At creation was darkness and God created light making for day and night - - "Evening and Morning" - - but there were no "lights". By using the lights (Sun, Moon and Stars) men would be able to organize time into days (as of the days of the month), and years, and seasons. With just light and dark they could not do that.

Dividing of the waters may be the establishment of an atmosphere. What we see as the firmament (Sky) occurs because of the atmosphere being held close to the earth by gravity. It could also mean the first existence of the different states of matter, as in solid, liquid, gas. Without any water vapor and "lights" there would be no "firmament" to perceive - - only blackness of space. When God made a firmament maybe he "split" water vapor from liquid water. The "gathering together" of waters may have resulted as heaver liquid water descended and land was pushed up from below.

When standing on the earth, air, water vapor and lights appear to be stretched out as a dome overhead. As we progress up through it the gas gets thinner until it contributes no longer to the appearance of a firmament. The fact that this is no solid surface, as a dome stretched out over the earth, may say something about the nature of the difference between the physical and spiritual.

QUESTIONS TO ENCOURAGE ANSWERS

Consider how God Himself often used questions to help humans think about important matters and look at their real motivations. Immediately after Adam sinned - - with help from his helpmate - - God asked a series of questions:

Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” He said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

Obviously, God knew the answer to every question He posed to Adam and Eve, so God wasn’t seeking unknown information. So, why did He use questions?

Questions hold us in suspense until we find what we believe are good answers. Questions can engage us to think about specific information in a matter. Questions are great educational tools because they prompt us to recognize facts on particular topics. When we hear a question on a subject important or interesting to us, we want to know the answer.

Consider a few questions asked by the Lord Jesus Christ to guide and direct the thinking of His hearers:

“Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me?”

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”

When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

Asking questions can be very helpful in apologetics-oriented conversations. Consider how these questions invite, if not trigger, analytical thinking:

Why are the evolutionists’ anticipated “missing links” still missing?

Why do Darwinists use the term “natural selection” to refer to creatures’ interactions with their nonliving geophysical environment - - something that cannot think or make the kind of value judgments indispensable to any kind of “selection”?

Why does the real-world ice-core layer data fit the biblical record regarding Earth’s climate history, yet it clashes with the uniformitarian (evolutionist) assumptions about Earth’s history?

Why do evolutionists continue to use such discredited ideas as vestigial organs and Haeckel’s “recapitulating” embryos?

Why were evolutionists so easily fooled by the Piltdown Man hoax?

Why do we need reliable witnesses to know about unique events of Earth’s past such as creation week events or the global Flood? **

Leading questions like these can guide discussions with those who question - - as well as those who might not have been paying enough attention to have a question - - ultimately pointing those with “ears to hear” in the right direction and aiming natural curiosity toward relevant truth.

Can you think of some questions that can point thinking people toward the right answers?



** There can be no “reliable witness” among men. All men have (other than the witness of God in the Bible) is speculation - - guesses. No human existed at the beginning of creation week. Only God was there to provide us a description.

FESS UP

PSALM 32:3-7
"3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [Selah] 5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. [Selah]
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. [Selah]."

This shows how important it is to be close to God. Keep the accounts short. Keep the lines of communication open. Do your confessing business at a time when the confessing needs to be done, not when the floods come in. There may be a time when it is too late to confess, or at least not profitable - - when you get into the stage of being in the "floods of great waters".

If you’re standing in the swamp when the flood comes, who’s fault is that?

QUESTIONS ABOUT CREATION

When God created the heavens, some other things are there also: darkness, the deep, waters. Did these things come along with the creation, or was there darkness before there was an earth? Before there was a heaven or earth was there nothing? Or was this the place where, in the course of the spiritual dimension, God set the physical dimension to run - - as a new thing? Spiritual always, physical in time. God is everlasting but the creation had a start.

The earth was without form and void, was it empty? Does this mean there were no geologic features (lakes, mountains, seas) - - or does it mean the earth somehow did not coagulative (into a solid physical sphere)?

Where was the deep? On the earth? Outer space? God created light and saw that it was good. Did God "see" anything before there was light. “Seeing” is a tricky concept when thinking of God because we are physical and need eyes to see other things. We have the sense of sight. Once we see them, we have the beginning of an understating of them. This is different from “seeing” in the sense of “understanding”. Here the verb, “to see”, is used as a means to convey to us, who are physical and finite, something which is also finite, but began at some point in the infinite.

If darkness was upon the face of the deep, where was it not? Were there other places that darkness was not upon? If there were such places, what was upon them? (not light because light came after darkness).

God divided the light from the darkness (implying that light and darkness were mixed together). When he did, ". . . the evening in the morning were the first day". This seems to be the start of time. Apparently, God was not satisfied with darkness and water alone because he did not "see" that they, were good. When God created light, he "saw" that it was good.

We as created beings can not know apart from God’s description what precisely occurred at the creation because we were not there before day one. No one was. We have only God’s description to us. Else we can make stuff up like, "Everything came from nothing and gradually established order upon itself to end up as people, who say confidently, 'Everything came from nothing' ".

I SAID I NEVER WENT TO ART SCHOOL

On Facebook I showed a painting I recently did in a previous Facebook post where I said I never went to art school. Upon thinking about that I thought, in fact, I did have some art training. My High School was broad enough to offer art classes and I took one. After high school I was heavily into photography and read all sorts of photography magazines. Somewhere, somehow, I took a photography class which allowed me the use of a fully equipped darkroom. I watch many painting shows on PBS which provide instruction.  And I did take that Bob Ross class I mentioned in a previous Facebook post.

For some reason I always liked to draw. I progressed in skill because I did reasonably well and no one in by family discouraged me. I don't know if this was a gift from God, or because anyone can do it if they practice enough. But we all must remember: no one person will be a copy of another, all have different motor skills and all see the world differently. Some may be like Picasso, some may be like Grandma Moses. But all are different, all are individual. No one else can be like you.

So, I did come to know different aspects of art which would have been taught at Art School like perspective and composition and selection of subject, if I had gone to Art School.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2020

I heard that someone said after the recent presidential debate, “I will not vote for either of them.” Why would you not want to place your influence behind the better of what seems to you two bad options? Why do you not want to influence the future in a way that, if not positive, at least is not so damaging? Not voting means you are allowing others, who like the one you most dislike, to have your vote.

You don’t like either candidate. You think one is directing your ship into the rocks while the other is directing your ship onto a sandy beach. But you will not do anything to avoid the rocks. In effect you are ignoring the destruction of your ship.

People died so you could vote the way you wanted. People died to protect you from those who would prevent you from voting. By not voting you shun thousands of people who have lived and died for you to have a safe place, a safe country, to live.

If you protest by not voting, who’s going to know about your protest? There is nothing to show for it. You could vote for an Independent candidate if there’s one running. I suppose your vote could be seen then. But realize an Independent candidate will not win and you will have lost your influence.

UNDERSTANDING TONGUES

One of the purposes of 1 Cor 14 is to describe a responsible use of unknown tongues.

An "unknown tongue" or “speaking in tongues” is speaking via the Spirit in a language unknown to the hearers. This is not merely a foreign language; it is a language unknown to humans. Someone during a church meeting is impressed by to Spirit to "speak in tongues" and most, if not all, do not know what is being said. "Speaking in tongues" is often a point of confusion and contention among Christians.

Verse 14:6 prefers the use of these types of speech to unknown tongues: Revelation, the definition or explanation of a truth from God; Knowledge, the expansion in understanding of the revelation; and Prophecy.

1 Cor 14:3 defines Prophecy as: Edification, the result of revelation and knowledge, Exhortation, the urging to use the revelation and knowledge; and Consolation, the direction and comfort we should obtain from using revelation and knowledge.

Notice this is different from how many usually define Prophecy: a speech that predicts the future.

1 Corinthians 14 (NASB)
3. But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification and exhortation and consolation. 4. One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but one who prophesies edifies the church . . . 6. But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of revelation or of knowledge or of prophecy or of teaching . . . 9. So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air.

ANT WORK

Proverbs 6:8
The Ant provides her food in summer and gathers her food in the harvest.

As you think of it, farmers are like ants and almost all people on the planet need farmers. To make this provision means they have taken forethought to assure food is always present for use. It is there for use in the summer when no other crops are available because the winter’s supply is almost totally gone, and the new supply is presently growing. There will be no food available until the harvest, when the crops ripen and are ready. This means there must be plans to store part of the harvest to eat over the winter and through the sowing and growing season until the next harvest. This has to be done for all future harvests. Additionally, he must gather and protect the seed for planting, and the crops as they grow. He must keep his harvest tools prepared. There is a controlled rate of consumption and a cyclic rate of harvest he must match together. He must be acutely aware, have plans, and follow the plans.

Most all of us need farmers. They grow not only enough for them, but for us too. We don’t even have to think about seed and soil and machinery and tools; we just buy our food whenever we want it, any season we want it. Those unfortunate of us who are homeless still need farmers. Convicted criminals in jail need farmers.

Most of us are not farmers. Very few of us are hunters and gatherers. Let’s face it, if we had to farm, or hunt, or gather, we would starve.