Proverbs 2:1,2
"My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; "
The action phrases: “receive”, “treasure up”, “making [the ear] attentive, and “inclining” seem to require work.
It takes continual effort to get knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. These things don't come easy, and they don't come quick. It takes work, it takes work every day. Receive, find value, listen up, and lean into wisdom. Apply, cry, lift your voice, seek, search.
When you search for silver and hidden treasure it is not done in five minutes of idle time before watching a video. To seek it you must decide where to go. You must decide to go there. You must inspect every rock formation. You must be diligent in research and then methodically and thoroughly comb the area, balancing your resources while doing it. It takes time and it takes resources. You must spend something.
So it is we have to spend something at God's word.
The application (one of them) of seeking understanding, knowledge, and wisdom is to know the right paths, the right way. Men and women, who are wicked, walk the wrong paths. The knowledge of the truth would have shown them the proper way.
How can one know which is wrong and which is right? Ask one who knows, read what he has written. Read the Bible and pray. You must ". . . receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; "
Monday, February 5, 2024
Monday, January 8, 2024
SOURCES
By looking at Genesis 1
I will make an observation: all things that appear to have a cause-and-effect may not have, or may not always have had, a cause-and-effect relationship. God first made the light, then he divided it from the darkness, then he named the darkness "night" and the light "day". Then the evening and the morning were the first day. It was after that (three days later, on the 4th day) that God created the lights, sun and moon, and attached them to the day/night cycle (to rule over the day and over the night).
-There was light without a source for it (sun, stars).
-There may have been day and night without the rotation of the earth.
-Things may become associated into cause and effect after they both are brought into existence,
There was light -- then there was sources for the light -- then the sources were made to rule over the light . Might there be other things that seem to be in a cause-and-effect relationship which really are not that way? Were energies made before the sources for them came into being? It is not possible for humans to create "energies" before we create the "sources". We always start from the source of the energy.
Does an idea come from a thought, or the thought from the idea?
The Holy Spirit comes from God but where does our human spirit come from? Does it come from the soul? Which came first the soul, or the spirit?
Does feeling produce a thought, or does thought produce a feeling, or can it happen either way?<
I will make an observation: all things that appear to have a cause-and-effect may not have, or may not always have had, a cause-and-effect relationship. God first made the light, then he divided it from the darkness, then he named the darkness "night" and the light "day". Then the evening and the morning were the first day. It was after that (three days later, on the 4th day) that God created the lights, sun and moon, and attached them to the day/night cycle (to rule over the day and over the night).
-There was light without a source for it (sun, stars).
-There may have been day and night without the rotation of the earth.
-Things may become associated into cause and effect after they both are brought into existence,
There was light -- then there was sources for the light -- then the sources were made to rule over the light . Might there be other things that seem to be in a cause-and-effect relationship which really are not that way? Were energies made before the sources for them came into being? It is not possible for humans to create "energies" before we create the "sources". We always start from the source of the energy.
Does an idea come from a thought, or the thought from the idea?
The Holy Spirit comes from God but where does our human spirit come from? Does it come from the soul? Which came first the soul, or the spirit?
Does feeling produce a thought, or does thought produce a feeling, or can it happen either way?<
Wednesday, December 13, 2023
WASTING AWAY
Proverbs 5:3 and following: "For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword."
Her mouth "drips honey" , her mouth "is smoother than oil". This is how the wisdom of the world sounds: it is sweet and smooth. It is difficult to overcome because it sounds like it is good (honey) and it sounds so logical and solid (smoother than oil). But if we read further on we find it is death.
The wisdom of the world is movable (verse 6) meaning it has no standard upon which it is based, so it is free to drift in any convenient direction. When you shine the light of scripture and logic upon it to show that it is incorrect, it moves aside avoiding discovery. The wisdom of the world will cause you to give honor to others who are unworthy (verse 9). Your sense of worth and dedication will be merge with those who directly oppose what is written in God’s word, like the evolutionist, and not with God's people or family.
Your years may be spent with the cruel and your time will have vanished among the godless and not with gods people or family. Careerists, strangers, and materialists may eat up your laborers. At the end of your life your flesh and body may have been spent for humanist education, for feminists and homosexuals, for possessions many of which have long since decayed, or for your career, which did not further God's Kingdom .
When you choose your occupation over your family, when you seek your toys like your automobile over God's will or improvement of your character, when you select your fulfillment over your proper relationship to others -- then you will, at the end, find honor gone to others, years to the cruel, strangers filled with your strength, laborers in the house of others and your flesh and body consumed. You will no longer be able to correct what you have done.
But keeping in God's word is like staying with your wife and receiving refreshment by her. You should bring water out of your own cistern and well -- use God's instructions and not the instruction of the world.
Her mouth "drips honey" , her mouth "is smoother than oil". This is how the wisdom of the world sounds: it is sweet and smooth. It is difficult to overcome because it sounds like it is good (honey) and it sounds so logical and solid (smoother than oil). But if we read further on we find it is death.
The wisdom of the world is movable (verse 6) meaning it has no standard upon which it is based, so it is free to drift in any convenient direction. When you shine the light of scripture and logic upon it to show that it is incorrect, it moves aside avoiding discovery. The wisdom of the world will cause you to give honor to others who are unworthy (verse 9). Your sense of worth and dedication will be merge with those who directly oppose what is written in God’s word, like the evolutionist, and not with God's people or family.
Your years may be spent with the cruel and your time will have vanished among the godless and not with gods people or family. Careerists, strangers, and materialists may eat up your laborers. At the end of your life your flesh and body may have been spent for humanist education, for feminists and homosexuals, for possessions many of which have long since decayed, or for your career, which did not further God's Kingdom .
When you choose your occupation over your family, when you seek your toys like your automobile over God's will or improvement of your character, when you select your fulfillment over your proper relationship to others -- then you will, at the end, find honor gone to others, years to the cruel, strangers filled with your strength, laborers in the house of others and your flesh and body consumed. You will no longer be able to correct what you have done.
But keeping in God's word is like staying with your wife and receiving refreshment by her. You should bring water out of your own cistern and well -- use God's instructions and not the instruction of the world.
Monday, December 4, 2023
JESUS APPEARANCE
The most significant of all creation, the Creator himself, came in apparent insignificance. The one of All Significance appeared to be insignificant. He first appeared as an unborn child of an insignificant yet-to-be-married (?) couple. His apparent Father was a tradesman, a carpenter. Mary was of no prominent family we know of. They had to travel to Bethlehem alone, as far as we know. She, though pregnant, had to endure a ride on a donkey.
After she gave birth, the announcement of the savior’s arrival came to Laborers, the shepherds, not to noblemen, not the powerful, not the influential. The shepherds were the ones that witnessed the heavenly host rejoicing. They were the ones who first saw Jesus as a newborn.
The announcement was hidden from the high-ranking Jewish people. It did not come to their rulers and not to the religious prominent of the Temple. It was not announced to the politically powerful administrative authorities (the Romans).
Jesus allowed himself to grow up to obscure adulthood under subjection to his parents. He was probably a journeyman carpenter under his adoptive Father. Jesus did not make himself known until after he reached the appropriate time.
He was insignificant all that time, until he became the most significant of all – to those of us who recognize it.
After she gave birth, the announcement of the savior’s arrival came to Laborers, the shepherds, not to noblemen, not the powerful, not the influential. The shepherds were the ones that witnessed the heavenly host rejoicing. They were the ones who first saw Jesus as a newborn.
The announcement was hidden from the high-ranking Jewish people. It did not come to their rulers and not to the religious prominent of the Temple. It was not announced to the politically powerful administrative authorities (the Romans).
Jesus allowed himself to grow up to obscure adulthood under subjection to his parents. He was probably a journeyman carpenter under his adoptive Father. Jesus did not make himself known until after he reached the appropriate time.
He was insignificant all that time, until he became the most significant of all – to those of us who recognize it.
Thursday, November 23, 2023
GOD AND WISDOM
Proverbs 8:22
God created everything as it says in the book of Genesis. For us, as created beings, everything that we know has been established by God. This includes the idea of wisdom. Proverbs 8:22 through 31 tells us wisdom was present at the inception of the creation. Wisdom was there before He made the heavens; wisdom was with the Lord before he made the earth.
God did not “make” wisdom, wisdom is something God always possessed. Since we are made in God’s image, wisdom is a property we also possess. We can develop the wisdom we have, we can learn from God and others.
We know that these characterize wisdom: it speaks of excellent things. right things. It speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to wisdom. Wisdom does nothing forward or perverse. It is plain to him that understands, right to those that find knowledge as we have read in the proverbs.
Wisdom is the ability, or result of an ability, to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, and insight. Since we know that God has all knowledge, understanding and insight we should look to what He plainly says to us in the Bible.
God created everything as it says in the book of Genesis. For us, as created beings, everything that we know has been established by God. This includes the idea of wisdom. Proverbs 8:22 through 31 tells us wisdom was present at the inception of the creation. Wisdom was there before He made the heavens; wisdom was with the Lord before he made the earth.
God did not “make” wisdom, wisdom is something God always possessed. Since we are made in God’s image, wisdom is a property we also possess. We can develop the wisdom we have, we can learn from God and others.
We know that these characterize wisdom: it speaks of excellent things. right things. It speaks truth. Wickedness is an abomination to wisdom. Wisdom does nothing forward or perverse. It is plain to him that understands, right to those that find knowledge as we have read in the proverbs.
Wisdom is the ability, or result of an ability, to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, and insight. Since we know that God has all knowledge, understanding and insight we should look to what He plainly says to us in the Bible.
Monday, November 13, 2023
UNKNOWABLE DREAMS
I once had a dream that I was walking home (I guess) from a meeting of Navy chief petty officers. It was on a modest tree lined road at night. There were no streetlights. The road was wet. I was walking on the left side of the road ducking under the branches of bushes or trees that over hung the road shoulder. A few cars were passing me and going the other way. One car came on the right side and slowed and stopped, moved slowly forward and stopped several times. I looked at it and wondered what they were doing. The headlights were reflecting on the street. I assumed there was more than one person in the car. I considered running into the undergrowth to my left. Then in the daytime I was at a gas station. Somehow I knew the police had said I was beaten so badly that I couldn't remember it. I could not.
I had no idea what this meant, and still do not. Dreams are strange and often do not bear directly on our experience. I’m sure there is a catalogue of dreams, or dream types, written somewhere probably by degreed Psychiatrists or Psychologists who proport to be experts in dreams. Maybe there are several dream books which argue dream “facts” that disagree with other books written about dreams. In the end no one can be really sure.
There are very few, like Daniel or Joseph, who can know the meaning of dreams. It is a gift of God. The crowd of others that say they can – can’t.
I had no idea what this meant, and still do not. Dreams are strange and often do not bear directly on our experience. I’m sure there is a catalogue of dreams, or dream types, written somewhere probably by degreed Psychiatrists or Psychologists who proport to be experts in dreams. Maybe there are several dream books which argue dream “facts” that disagree with other books written about dreams. In the end no one can be really sure.
There are very few, like Daniel or Joseph, who can know the meaning of dreams. It is a gift of God. The crowd of others that say they can – can’t.
Wednesday, November 1, 2023
WHAT IS THE WEALTH OF THE SOUL
Proverbs 22 verses 22, 23 say: "Rob not the poor because he is poor neither oppress the afflicted in the gate. God will plead their cause and spoil the soul of those that spoil them."
My definition of "to spoil" is to remove the wealth of a person once you have the victory over him. It’s easy to rob the poor and oppress the afflicted because they have little power to resist you. You don’t even have to fabricate a fight with them as an excuse; you can just rob and oppress. But God will remove the wealth from the soul that has oppressed the poor and afflicted.
What is the wealth of the soul? Since the soul is non-material, I expect the elements of wealth are non-material as well. They would be such things as: intellect, confidence, joy, sense of direction, and knowledge of accomplishments. The loss of such things is clearly not wanted, but God will remove them from the oppressor of the poor and afflicted.
Hopefully, we are of the sort that would not even conceive of afflicting the poor and afflicted. We are to seek to be like Jesus. Jesus instructs us to care for them. Jesus instructs us to never oppress anyone. Why would we? Why should we?
My definition of "to spoil" is to remove the wealth of a person once you have the victory over him. It’s easy to rob the poor and oppress the afflicted because they have little power to resist you. You don’t even have to fabricate a fight with them as an excuse; you can just rob and oppress. But God will remove the wealth from the soul that has oppressed the poor and afflicted.
What is the wealth of the soul? Since the soul is non-material, I expect the elements of wealth are non-material as well. They would be such things as: intellect, confidence, joy, sense of direction, and knowledge of accomplishments. The loss of such things is clearly not wanted, but God will remove them from the oppressor of the poor and afflicted.
Hopefully, we are of the sort that would not even conceive of afflicting the poor and afflicted. We are to seek to be like Jesus. Jesus instructs us to care for them. Jesus instructs us to never oppress anyone. Why would we? Why should we?
Monday, September 4, 2023
PHRASES CHRISTIANS USE
This is a blog about phrases Christians commonly say that the hearers may not understand, or they may understand it in a different way than the speaker intended. This is most often true when the hearer is not a Christian, but it can also be true when he is. I will state some of these Christian phrases below and will add to this blog from time to time as I think of others. I will welcome suggestions about other phrases (although I am not sure at this present time how you can communicate them to me).
‘=======================================================
JESUS IS MY PERSONAL SAVIOUR.
This could also be. “Accept Jesus as your personal savior.” What does the word “personal” mean? Some do not understand this phrasing or can be annoyed by it. We know that the Bible says that Jesus is the savior of all mankind, so some think adding “personal” is either useless or must mean something different.
I think a speaker uses the word “personal” to focus from Jesus’ general application to all mankind to the individual level. From all men to just one man - to the individual listener. The offering of salvation is meant for an individual person. While it is an open offering available to everyone, the speaker is telling the listener the offering made specifically to him. He should therefore take the opportunity to accept this offer. The decision can be to accept the offer, or to reject it. It is "personal" in the sense that the ability to accept or reject rests solely in the volition of the person who hears the offer. He is the agent, no one can act for him. At his hand lies two stamps: one says “Accept”, the other says “Reject”.
I have used the “Accept” stamp. I did this personally, by my own will, therefore Jesus is my personal savior.
‘=======================================================
COME TO CHRIST.
‘=======================================================
YOU MUST BE SAVED.
‘=======================================================
XXX.
‘=======================================================
JESUS IS MY PERSONAL SAVIOUR.
This could also be. “Accept Jesus as your personal savior.” What does the word “personal” mean? Some do not understand this phrasing or can be annoyed by it. We know that the Bible says that Jesus is the savior of all mankind, so some think adding “personal” is either useless or must mean something different.
I think a speaker uses the word “personal” to focus from Jesus’ general application to all mankind to the individual level. From all men to just one man - to the individual listener. The offering of salvation is meant for an individual person. While it is an open offering available to everyone, the speaker is telling the listener the offering made specifically to him. He should therefore take the opportunity to accept this offer. The decision can be to accept the offer, or to reject it. It is "personal" in the sense that the ability to accept or reject rests solely in the volition of the person who hears the offer. He is the agent, no one can act for him. At his hand lies two stamps: one says “Accept”, the other says “Reject”.
I have used the “Accept” stamp. I did this personally, by my own will, therefore Jesus is my personal savior.
‘=======================================================
COME TO CHRIST.
‘=======================================================
YOU MUST BE SAVED.
‘=======================================================
XXX.
Saturday, August 19, 2023
THE LIGHTED PATH
Proverbs eleven shows that righteous people shall live through troublesome times, but the wicked will perish in them. Righteousness and wickedness start from within. It starts from how each of us deals with the sin nature that dwells within us. Yet for the righteous, what is rightly dealt with within will preserve him when the trouble comes, when the outward, uncontrollable, hurtful situation occurs. They must choose the right path.
Character and righteousness do not just happen, they are built up step by step on a daily basis. It is not an "unchangeable" part of our character - something like our body type that has been given to us at birth. If we haven't been working on it when we need it will not be there.
The righteous would have been doing good acts, gaining a reputation for it perhaps. Maybe the good acts condition them toward salvation. Right internal corrections result in the right outward responses during the time of trouble. It might be the righteous have developed righteous friends when the wicked have not (at least not the good type of friends).
By contrast what is internal to the wicked will have no worth for delivery to others, except to others who are like them. They have chosen to develop inwardly the opposite way. Proverbs 4:16, 17 says: "For they [the wicked] cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence".
Proverbs 4: speaks a lot of following the right path. The admonition is to keep on the right path. By contrast, the wrong path of the wicked leads to a downfall. To be doing wrong is to not be doing right. Everything that is not on the righteous path leads into the area of wickedness. When you do mischief, you are knowingly working against some God-established ways. And if it were not good enough to be there themselves, the wicked attempt to trip others on the path of righteousness.
Righteousness follows the path of light, whereas there is darkness everywhere on the path of the wicked. It is very important to keep on the lighted path.
Character and righteousness do not just happen, they are built up step by step on a daily basis. It is not an "unchangeable" part of our character - something like our body type that has been given to us at birth. If we haven't been working on it when we need it will not be there.
The righteous would have been doing good acts, gaining a reputation for it perhaps. Maybe the good acts condition them toward salvation. Right internal corrections result in the right outward responses during the time of trouble. It might be the righteous have developed righteous friends when the wicked have not (at least not the good type of friends).
By contrast what is internal to the wicked will have no worth for delivery to others, except to others who are like them. They have chosen to develop inwardly the opposite way. Proverbs 4:16, 17 says: "For they [the wicked] cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence".
Proverbs 4: speaks a lot of following the right path. The admonition is to keep on the right path. By contrast, the wrong path of the wicked leads to a downfall. To be doing wrong is to not be doing right. Everything that is not on the righteous path leads into the area of wickedness. When you do mischief, you are knowingly working against some God-established ways. And if it were not good enough to be there themselves, the wicked attempt to trip others on the path of righteousness.
Righteousness follows the path of light, whereas there is darkness everywhere on the path of the wicked. It is very important to keep on the lighted path.
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
LANGUAGE AS A WEAPON
Language is a dynamic and changing thing. Changes occur in every language. There are many reasons for it. They change from country to country. German is spoken in Germany, French in France, and English in England. But the French in France has differences from the French in Quebec which is different from the French spoken in New Orleans. The English we speak in America has difference from the English spoken in England. England's English has words Americans do not know and vice versa. I was reminded of this while reading an Inspector Morse book by Colon Dexter. Even different geographical areas within the same country show language changes from place to place. In America there is Northern English and Southern English, Getto English and up-town English, and Midwest English, Boston English, California English.
Yet Hitler cleverly and effectively used German language on Germans to cause them to waste their woman, men, machines, materials, resources, and wealth to nearly eradicate Germany; and nearly destroying other countries too. Will we allow the use of language to waste our moral underpinnings?
Even though languages naturally undergo change, what disturbs me is when a group of people who, from a different moral view, pervert the language by attempting to change meanings of words into something never intended. “Gender” is a fine example of this. Gender always referred to “sex” meaning male or female. No one can ever “transition” into the other sex. Sex is determined at the cellular level, not the surgical level. Whatever anyone’s sexual preferences are, there are only two sexes (male and female), never more than two. Fantasies or imaginations will never change this basic physical fact.
I object to groups that take words in common use trying to force a moral code upon another. Sadly, the major media outlets and national Government have capitulated to this effort. We do not have to parrot or repeat what others may falsely say. I believe we should not, and cannot, call a "transitioned man" a woman, nor should we call a "transitioned woman" a man. The government can do it and the media can do it but we should never do it.
Yet Hitler cleverly and effectively used German language on Germans to cause them to waste their woman, men, machines, materials, resources, and wealth to nearly eradicate Germany; and nearly destroying other countries too. Will we allow the use of language to waste our moral underpinnings?
Even though languages naturally undergo change, what disturbs me is when a group of people who, from a different moral view, pervert the language by attempting to change meanings of words into something never intended. “Gender” is a fine example of this. Gender always referred to “sex” meaning male or female. No one can ever “transition” into the other sex. Sex is determined at the cellular level, not the surgical level. Whatever anyone’s sexual preferences are, there are only two sexes (male and female), never more than two. Fantasies or imaginations will never change this basic physical fact.
I object to groups that take words in common use trying to force a moral code upon another. Sadly, the major media outlets and national Government have capitulated to this effort. We do not have to parrot or repeat what others may falsely say. I believe we should not, and cannot, call a "transitioned man" a woman, nor should we call a "transitioned woman" a man. The government can do it and the media can do it but we should never do it.
Friday, August 4, 2023
DO NOT ENTER
Prov: 4:14-16
Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
Saturday, July 22, 2023
NO TRANS
There is no such thing as a “trans woman” or a “trans man”. These terms are faddish; they are part of the current “trans” fad. A “trans woman” is in fact, and biologically a male even if “altered” physically. A “trans man” is in fact, and biologically a female even if “altered” physically. There are only two sexes: male and female. There can be no others. People who have homosexual desires cannot either by surgery or by wishing change their sex.
No matter how many times the media repeat these phrases they cannot change biology.
No matter how many times the media repeat these phrases they cannot change biology.
Monday, July 10, 2023
TO UNDERSTAND AND TO SPEAK
PROVERBS 2
SOME THINGS TO DO
These are some things to do to understand "the fear of the Lord" and to find knowledge of God:
SOME THINGS TO DO
These are some things to do to understand "the fear of the Lord" and to find knowledge of God:
RECEIVE GOD’s WORD
Read God's words and believe them. Welcome what you read as for what it says and expect it to be the authority. Expect God's words to take authority.
KEEP THEM
Keep them tucked away in private places, hide his commandments with you. Let them be so internal that they pop up automatically in your thoughts. Memorize them.
INCLINE YOUR EAR
Incline your ear to wisdom. When you hear wise things focus your attention on them. Tilt the head by hearing clearly and attempting to understand. Apply your heart to understanding. Work for understanding, spend time at it.
CRY AFTER KNOWLEDGE
Read God's words and believe them. Welcome what you read as for what it says and expect it to be the authority. Expect God's words to take authority.
KEEP THEM
Keep them tucked away in private places, hide his commandments with you. Let them be so internal that they pop up automatically in your thoughts. Memorize them.
INCLINE YOUR EAR
Incline your ear to wisdom. When you hear wise things focus your attention on them. Tilt the head by hearing clearly and attempting to understand. Apply your heart to understanding. Work for understanding, spend time at it.
CRY AFTER KNOWLEDGE
Cry after knowledge. Call out for knowledge, arrest knowledge’s attention by calling after it. In public visibly point out the facts. Lift up your voice for understanding. The call for truth is like a case to be presented to the courtroom. In public make a plea for the true relationship among ideas, things, and situations.
SEEK TRUTH
Seek truth as silver. Search for understanding. Search for truth as hid treasures. Search by overturning seemingly unrelated things if truth may be behind them.
REMEMBER GOD
Remember, God’s kingdom is overall.
SEEK TRUTH
Seek truth as silver. Search for understanding. Search for truth as hid treasures. Search by overturning seemingly unrelated things if truth may be behind them.
REMEMBER GOD
Remember, God’s kingdom is overall.
Sunday, July 2, 2023
ANYTHING YOU WANT.
Someone says, “You can make the Bible say anything you want.
It is true that different people make different interpretations about the same Biblical passage. If one interpretation conflicts with another, which one is right? Some interpreters have academic degrees from Seminaries. Others do not have formal Biblical training. Some read the Bible. Some others read books about what others say about the Bible.
So which interpretation is correct? I council you to read the Bible for yourself and make up your own mind. Ask these questions for yourself: What does the Bible passage say? What does it mean? What does it mean to me? Is there some way in which I should change either in thought or action?
Also keep in mind, what does the questioner have in mind for you? Does he or she pushing a certain agenda? What might that agenda be?
With that in mind here are some verses from the Bible to consider:
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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.
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