It's not complicated. We are to be as little children. That doesn't mean that we are selfish little brats, but that we believe God just because he says so!
What does he say to do? Believe in him and trust him. That's faith and it's his gift to his children. We can take the gift or leave it. Like spoiled children, most say "That's not the gift I wanted!", but hopeful children say "There is more to that gift than meets the eye! I hope for more!". They are right because selfish children demand it now, while hopeful children wait for the good part, believing that it is soon to come!
My prayer is that I can put away my misconceptions that adults carry with us, long enough to trust that what God gives is soon to come about. It will be a happy day indeed when what I wanted all along is given to me at last. What is the gift that even children desire, but yet are unaware? We want to be supermen and invulnerable. We desire that kryptonite be forever sunk in a deep lake of fire and Lex Luthar be cast down with it.
We want that we should pass through solid walls and travel quickly in time. We want to live where evil is trumped by good. It's where our home will be protected by super heroes and the mightiest one sits upon his throne. It's where we're a man of steel and sickness cannot harm us. It's where we are happy that justice is now for all. It's knowing that today never ends, and tomorrow never comes. It's where life will be forever, because in grace justice has won!
Friday, May 22, 2015
Thursday, May 21, 2015
How Far We've Traveled!
Astronaut John Glenn said in a newspaper interview this week that there is no conflict between Christianity and evolution. How far we've traveled eh, Mr. Glenn. He's been in orbit and back, and that's a long way, but not nearly as far as the gulf between Christianity and evolution! An even further travel is where Christianity is today and where it was:
In the time of Paul there were three competing heresies with Christianity for the most part: Gnosticism, Simonism and the Nicolatains. Let's take a look at these three in a few short words.
Gnosticism was the major threat. Those who believed that "secret knowledge" was required to be saved, proposed a different God and a different Jesus. The Creator God was materialistic and evil, which stemmed from the philosophy of Plato. When Paul spoke in the Aeropagus this exchange took place:
It is said outright, and it appears that not only philosophy was peeking it's head through, but that some degree of gnosticism was already spreading. Jesus was the talk of the day and the key word here is "resurrection" in contrast to "an unknown God" which Paul accused them of worshiping!
Why is "resurrection" so important in contrast to gnosticism? It's because they believed that material was bad, the Creator God was bad because of the material world he created and that a being made of matter could not have died for the sins of mankind because, as a material human being, Jesus would have to be "bad". They believed that instead of a physical Jesus dying on the cross, it was a mere phantasm or illusion. Paul's teachings were to them "strange things".
Gnosticism was and still is, with their illusory Christ, undermining the truth of Jesus and who he was! Since the belief was centered around Jesus, it was palatable to even many Christians. This competitive religion was temporarily minimized through strong church teachings early on, but with the discovery of the Gnostic Gospels, it's again alive, well and thriving. The popular movie The Di Vinci Code recently revived gnostic thinking.
The second most prevalent teaching contemporary with Paul was Simonism. He was the magician who believed, but misunderstood:
Simon believed and was baptized. Like most people today who claim Christianity, Simon did one of two things: 1) He either had an insincere belief and baptism, or else he went quickly into apostasy! If the former, then Simonism is "an insincere born-again experience" because even the demons believe. If the latter, it exemplifies that the devil still can attack and draw Christians away from the faith.
Later on early church writings tell of Simon traveling just as did Paul, but disputing the word of God, whereas Paul was teaching it. I truly believe that Paul's "thorn in the side" was Simon!
2 Corinthians 12:7-10: "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
(For more on this see my blog Paul's Thorn in the Flesh )
Regardless, Simonism was in direct conflict with Christianity and many people followed and believed in Simon, even as a disciple of Jesus Christ!
The last conflicting belief, of which I will comment, is the Nicolaitanes:.
Paul wanted them to all come back to the doctrine of Christ! "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" to be joined together without division. We are to put away conflicting and sinful doctrines!
Within the modern church the main heresy is "science". It started with The Enlightenment, and honestly speaking, the church had been too harsh on truth. However, that was the period when science began to take precedence over church doctrine! When that era came, many fallacies were corrected. The earth is round, the earth does revolve around the son, and many more truths became manifest when the curtain was lowered in the church.
However, over time, science has been taken to the extreme. The ruminations of dreaming scientists have been written into texts as truths and what is God's Law has been removed for no other than it contradicts popular thought. Scientists who disagree with popular scientific theory are censored and even ostracized. Science leaves little room for disagreement, and it's sad to say that scientists are more cohesive than are Christians, in their opposing belief system! Satan smiles as he organizes his grand army of his republic! Science today is the same as the Inquisition was for the church in the dark ages!
This brings me back to John Glenn. This man is a Presbyterian and should know better. Beginning with the Reformation until recently that denomination was a bastion of Christian truth (albeit they're Calvinistic), but now today we see them quickly "biting the dust" of truth and spinning new doctrines. Evolution has two theories: within species and between species.
We accept the truth that plants and animals do change over time. We know that animals which live in dark places gradually acclimate to the use of different senses. Their color may even change due to lack of sunlight. However, with all these changes a transformed fish is still a fish!
On the other hand, evolutionists propose that one species changes into another. This is the faith that all life evolved from primordial soup, becoming amoeba, then multi-celled, on to birds, monkeys and us! I know it's hard to accept, based on what some people resemble, but mankind did not evolve from monkeys! It takes a leap of faith to believe that even though some monkeys appear to be smarter than the scientists who claim them as ancestors, monkeys are not our antecedents! However, the evidence is not that. It's anecdotal. Science cannot "prove" anything about our origins. They can only maintain it. It's a faith and a very powerful belief system at that. Even John Glenn believes himself to have monkey DNA!!!!
"We've come a long way, baby!" is more than a slogan. We've came along way since Paul preached against these divisions. God clearly states:
1Corinthinans 1:10 "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."
In the time of Paul there were three competing heresies with Christianity for the most part: Gnosticism, Simonism and the Nicolatains. Let's take a look at these three in a few short words.
Gnosticism was the major threat. Those who believed that "secret knowledge" was required to be saved, proposed a different God and a different Jesus. The Creator God was materialistic and evil, which stemmed from the philosophy of Plato. When Paul spoke in the Aeropagus this exchange took place:
Acts 17:18 "Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. 19 And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? 20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean."
It is said outright, and it appears that not only philosophy was peeking it's head through, but that some degree of gnosticism was already spreading. Jesus was the talk of the day and the key word here is "resurrection" in contrast to "an unknown God" which Paul accused them of worshiping!
Why is "resurrection" so important in contrast to gnosticism? It's because they believed that material was bad, the Creator God was bad because of the material world he created and that a being made of matter could not have died for the sins of mankind because, as a material human being, Jesus would have to be "bad". They believed that instead of a physical Jesus dying on the cross, it was a mere phantasm or illusion. Paul's teachings were to them "strange things".
Gnosticism was and still is, with their illusory Christ, undermining the truth of Jesus and who he was! Since the belief was centered around Jesus, it was palatable to even many Christians. This competitive religion was temporarily minimized through strong church teachings early on, but with the discovery of the Gnostic Gospels, it's again alive, well and thriving. The popular movie The Di Vinci Code recently revived gnostic thinking.
The second most prevalent teaching contemporary with Paul was Simonism. He was the magician who believed, but misunderstood:
Acts 8:9 "But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:Before he believed Simon was already regarded as a great one and a disciple of God because of his sorcery which was used to bewitch the people. Jesus had followers because of his miracles. Simon was just like Pharoah's magicians. He did things which misled the people and he was in essence, a false Christ!
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God."
Simon believed and was baptized. Like most people today who claim Christianity, Simon did one of two things: 1) He either had an insincere belief and baptism, or else he went quickly into apostasy! If the former, then Simonism is "an insincere born-again experience" because even the demons believe. If the latter, it exemplifies that the devil still can attack and draw Christians away from the faith.
Later on early church writings tell of Simon traveling just as did Paul, but disputing the word of God, whereas Paul was teaching it. I truly believe that Paul's "thorn in the side" was Simon!
2 Corinthians 12:7-10: "And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
(For more on this see my blog Paul's Thorn in the Flesh )
Regardless, Simonism was in direct conflict with Christianity and many people followed and believed in Simon, even as a disciple of Jesus Christ!
The last conflicting belief, of which I will comment, is the Nicolaitanes:.
Revelation 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.These were folks who believed the lies of the disciple Nicolas. He brought the sins of Balaam into the early church. Simply put; fornication, adultery, deviate sex, orgies and their pimps were overlooked and allowed to be practiced freely among early Christians, victims of Roman morals. The Roman proverb, "When in Rome do as the Romans do!" would be their mantra. As gnosticism has regained a foothold in the modern church the practice of the Nocolaitanes is again prominent in the modern church. God hates that doctrine!
Paul wanted them to all come back to the doctrine of Christ! "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ" to be joined together without division. We are to put away conflicting and sinful doctrines!
Within the modern church the main heresy is "science". It started with The Enlightenment, and honestly speaking, the church had been too harsh on truth. However, that was the period when science began to take precedence over church doctrine! When that era came, many fallacies were corrected. The earth is round, the earth does revolve around the son, and many more truths became manifest when the curtain was lowered in the church.
However, over time, science has been taken to the extreme. The ruminations of dreaming scientists have been written into texts as truths and what is God's Law has been removed for no other than it contradicts popular thought. Scientists who disagree with popular scientific theory are censored and even ostracized. Science leaves little room for disagreement, and it's sad to say that scientists are more cohesive than are Christians, in their opposing belief system! Satan smiles as he organizes his grand army of his republic! Science today is the same as the Inquisition was for the church in the dark ages!
This brings me back to John Glenn. This man is a Presbyterian and should know better. Beginning with the Reformation until recently that denomination was a bastion of Christian truth (albeit they're Calvinistic), but now today we see them quickly "biting the dust" of truth and spinning new doctrines. Evolution has two theories: within species and between species.
We accept the truth that plants and animals do change over time. We know that animals which live in dark places gradually acclimate to the use of different senses. Their color may even change due to lack of sunlight. However, with all these changes a transformed fish is still a fish!
On the other hand, evolutionists propose that one species changes into another. This is the faith that all life evolved from primordial soup, becoming amoeba, then multi-celled, on to birds, monkeys and us! I know it's hard to accept, based on what some people resemble, but mankind did not evolve from monkeys! It takes a leap of faith to believe that even though some monkeys appear to be smarter than the scientists who claim them as ancestors, monkeys are not our antecedents! However, the evidence is not that. It's anecdotal. Science cannot "prove" anything about our origins. They can only maintain it. It's a faith and a very powerful belief system at that. Even John Glenn believes himself to have monkey DNA!!!!
"We've come a long way, baby!" is more than a slogan. We've came along way since Paul preached against these divisions. God clearly states:
Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."Why is this so hard to understand? Why do even Christians deny this claim. God said that he created it all, but clever Christians, such as John Glenn, have the audacity to call God a liar! "How Far We've Traveled". If this was contended just a few years ago, Mr. Glenn would have been dismissed from fellowship. Nowadays even the preachers in these once faithful congregations teach humanistic "crap" (No offense to you intended, John Crapper)!
Matthew 12:30a "He that is not with me is against me..."John Glenn seems to be "against" God since he insinuates that God is a liar. Those against God are antichrists. There are many. My esteem for John Glenn lessened considerably when it became known that he is a Democrat, a party who stands for this "crap" (again, Mr. Crapper. I apologize). Now he declares that his faith is in science; that although God says he is the Creator, Mr. Glenn credits "Chance", his new God with whom Christians cannot join together because "Chance" is not only irrational, but an "Unknown God". Yes, Mr. Glenn, "How Far We've Traveled"!
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
With Eyes Wide Open
Picture this: I was in my mid-thirties driving from Indianapolis to Detroit on Monday as I did about every week. I seldom listen to radio, preferring the music of my own thoughts. Cognition plays a sweet melody if accompanied by discernment. I was playing the song "Why?" in my mind as it all became clear! "Why" wasn't really a song, but an "Ah Ha!" moment. The "Mystery of Christ" was revealed to me!
The "faith of Abraham" is "faith in Jesus Christ"! While I was joyous that "with eyes wide open" the mystery was revealed to me, I was angry that it was never preached to me! I had never had the "Mystery of Christ" taught to me before and I was upset that those called by God to preach had never had the mystery revealed to them!
Furthermore, there is so much more to the mystery! Salvation was not only for the Jews, but for "all the seed" (of Abraham). That's all of us! Likewise, salvation was never by The Law, but was always by faith! That faith was believing in and trusting in Jesus Christ. Abraham was saved by faith in Jesus, just as we are, but it was faith in that which someday would be rather than what has been done! Believing in a promise required more faith than believing in an event. That's Abraham's faith and he, from a justice standpoint, deserves eternal life for his faith more than anyone!
Part of the "Mystery of Christ" is that salvation was never by works! It has always been by grace. The dispensation was always one of grace. The Law was so that the faithful would have a way of measuring their love of Jesus! We know that Jesus didn't come to replace The Law, but to fulfill it! He was the Way to salvation and his fulfilling The Law was grace to supplement obedience in love.
With that said, and a close examination of John Chapter 1, we find that faith in Jesus and his sacrifice to save all of us was God's plan on day one! It was Emmanuel who was "The Voice" who walked in the garden in the cool of the evening. It was Emmanuel who was in the burning bush, it was Emmanuel who was "The Angel of God" wrestling with Jacob in the wilderness, and it was Jesus who was in the fire with Shadrack and his brothers, saving them from death by heat seven times hotter than fire! The "Mystery of Christ" is that salvation was always through faith in Jesus and that his grace is sufficient to cover all the sins of all the nations! "Emmanuel" was called "Jesus"!
Christianity is not a sect of Judaism. Christianity preceded Judaism and Judaism is a sect of Christianity. It's a religion that over time failed to see that the Messiah was the Way and Only Way to salvation! While I now see "With Eyes Wide Open" Jews everywhere have closed their eyes to truth. I now know that from the first day Jesus life and death were the way to salvation, Jews "With Eyes Wide Shut" are still waiting on him! After the rapture 144,000 Jews will have their eyes opened and have to face tribulation. Now is the time to face Jesus "With Eyes Wide Open"!
Romans 16:24 "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:"My "Ah Ha!" was the revelation of this mystery. The scriptures of the prophets (aka, The Old Testament prophecy) is all about Jesus! The "Mystery of Christ" revealed to me is that it was all about Jesus since the world began, but not only that; but it was to be "made known to all nations", not just the Jews!
Ephesians 3:9 "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:"In patriarchal times some knew Jesus. Most didn't. Jesus was hidden under the cloak of God, but he was there at day one. John Chapter 1 tells us that Jesus was there in the beginning. Mankind failed to know Jesus. However, some believed as did Abraham. He knew the mystery because The Word told him in person all about it.
Romans 4:16 "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all..."This verse says much! "The faith of Abraham" is the standard of faith for every Christian. He was the man whose faith was so strong that he obeyed God without question, not because it was commanded, but because he knew that Jesus was Savior... BEFORE Jesus was ever born. He knew that because when "God" spoke with him, it was Emmanuel speaking! My "Ah Ha!" moment was when I understood that Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his own and only (sic) son on a pile of wood was a picture of God sacrificing his first born and only son on the cross of wood. Abraham knew that Jesus was the way to salvation and he accepted the propitiation that Jesus was to make for him before it was ever made, and long before Jesus was ever born.
The "faith of Abraham" is "faith in Jesus Christ"! While I was joyous that "with eyes wide open" the mystery was revealed to me, I was angry that it was never preached to me! I had never had the "Mystery of Christ" taught to me before and I was upset that those called by God to preach had never had the mystery revealed to them!
Furthermore, there is so much more to the mystery! Salvation was not only for the Jews, but for "all the seed" (of Abraham). That's all of us! Likewise, salvation was never by The Law, but was always by faith! That faith was believing in and trusting in Jesus Christ. Abraham was saved by faith in Jesus, just as we are, but it was faith in that which someday would be rather than what has been done! Believing in a promise required more faith than believing in an event. That's Abraham's faith and he, from a justice standpoint, deserves eternal life for his faith more than anyone!
Part of the "Mystery of Christ" is that salvation was never by works! It has always been by grace. The dispensation was always one of grace. The Law was so that the faithful would have a way of measuring their love of Jesus! We know that Jesus didn't come to replace The Law, but to fulfill it! He was the Way to salvation and his fulfilling The Law was grace to supplement obedience in love.
With that said, and a close examination of John Chapter 1, we find that faith in Jesus and his sacrifice to save all of us was God's plan on day one! It was Emmanuel who was "The Voice" who walked in the garden in the cool of the evening. It was Emmanuel who was in the burning bush, it was Emmanuel who was "The Angel of God" wrestling with Jacob in the wilderness, and it was Jesus who was in the fire with Shadrack and his brothers, saving them from death by heat seven times hotter than fire! The "Mystery of Christ" is that salvation was always through faith in Jesus and that his grace is sufficient to cover all the sins of all the nations! "Emmanuel" was called "Jesus"!
Christianity is not a sect of Judaism. Christianity preceded Judaism and Judaism is a sect of Christianity. It's a religion that over time failed to see that the Messiah was the Way and Only Way to salvation! While I now see "With Eyes Wide Open" Jews everywhere have closed their eyes to truth. I now know that from the first day Jesus life and death were the way to salvation, Jews "With Eyes Wide Shut" are still waiting on him! After the rapture 144,000 Jews will have their eyes opened and have to face tribulation. Now is the time to face Jesus "With Eyes Wide Open"!
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Counseling
I majored in "Family Counseling" because I believed that I could help people with emotional problems with some mysterious knowledge that only a trained psychologist would have. That's right: I believed that counselors had secret knowledge which would solve my problems and in turn I could help other people lived functional lives!
However... and there are always many "howevers", there is no secret knowledge nor magical exercise which anyone has which can fix life for any person! I use the term "fix" because those who seek counsel have a broken something, be it spirit, pride, finance, relationship, family, sexual activity, or many other possibilities. Most often, broken emotions which need fixing are systemic. If one area of life is broken, most often most facets need fixed! For me the system which needed fixing was the family. My family was dysfunctional primarily to one member being drug dependent. Because one member was broken the entire system required fixing.
When a person counsels there are four possibilities: 1) self, 2) others, 3) evil spirits or 4) God. Respectively, these four are:
If one wants sex, the easy path is to look for those as willing to give as you are to receive. That path is wide and has always been. People of both sexes have a propensity to pleasure with another. Ask enough random people and soon a willing partner will be found. The hard path is to develop a righteous relationship and then engage in Holy Matrimony. Nowadays, that's the path least taken because it's too hard. The easy way is to tell oneself "It's alright! Go ahead and consummate without the commitment!" Furthermore, any unrighteous act is the easy path which most people take, but there are consequences!
Any sin compounds the ease in which the next sin is precipitated!
Sometimes we counsel with others! There are two types of counseling when a second party is involved. It's righteous counseling and secular counseling. For the most part when others counsel it's from a secular standpoint. I have even heard Christians when married couples are in conflict, who recommend divorce. Although the Christian is the counselor, the counsel may not always be wise nor righteous!
Many turn to Ann Landers, Dr. Phil or even Laura Schlesinger. Wise counsel is not the hallmark of any of the three or any of the others. Dr. Dobson offers the best media counseling and even he has some secular propensities, for instance, self-esteem!
Ann Landers is "the ungodly" as Psalms warns against! Most often Ann Landers will advise against scripture. The path she counsels is the path most taken. It's the unrighteous path. In her view same-sex marriage is normal, shacking up is acceptable, fornication is practice for marriage, abortion is a mere solution to an unwanted person and on and on! People who seek the advice of Ann Landers may not be sick before, but certainly may be after doing what she says. This type of counseling is more entertainment than a science!
Evil spirits come from some counselors. They are called in Psalms "familiar spirits" because although angels of the dark, they disguise themselves as loved people who are trusted. Many people go to mediums and psychics for advice. Others perform or delay daily activities based on their horoscopes. Others use Ouija boards to speak with those relatives now gone. Scripture warns against any counseling with familiar spirits:
The only other option for counseling is God. What he wills for you is to be found in scripture. No other process, method or model is needed. God is sufficient. This type of advice is called "Nouthetic Counseling" and means that one teaches from Holy Scripture what to do in life. It's not scripture and psychology (called Christian Counseling), but counseling solely from God's word. There are those even in the Christian community who disregard biblical counseling as incomplete because they see the need for secular aspects. I believe a mix between psychology and nouthetic counseling as being syncretism because there is another god before God involved in that a mix of counseling which places the secular over the Christian, or at least a side-by-side in an heretical mix!
I'm not saying that all psychology is heresy, because much of it is commonsense. However, I believe you'll find that the commonsense aspects are biblical as well and such practice should come from scripture, not from Freud, Jung, Skinner, or the hundreds of other non-Christian psychologists with their own ideas to what makes God's creation tick! If we want to know what makes the creation tick, we should ask the Creator what causes the ticking... and the mis-ticking!
When we're born there is an instruction book. It not only tells how and why humans were made, but what our purpose in life is to be. It tells how we can go wrong and how to fix it. It's author is the Inventor and Builder. The Doctor is his Son who has the same vein of knowledge that the Father has. The Good Doctor confers with the Builder for us and he fixes what goes wrong with what he built. This instruction book has information not only on how to fix us, but how to avoid going bad or breaking. The reader of this book, if he believes, will live a long and happy life! To avoid premature failure and extinction the wise reader of this book will take care to honor the Builder and his Son.
The reader of this manual will cleanse himself with the miraculous fluid offered by the Son. Although the cleaner is red, it cleans white as snow and once cleaned, a new lease on life is the result. Those who read and trust the instruction manual can provide many years of service. That's the readers major responsibility. He loves his work, his cohorts and his Builder. He cares for all three as he would himself and by doing so, he gets the benefit back.
Those who fail to use this manual, are doomed. It may be that they rust-out because they don't follow the wise instructions it takes to insure a long life-cycle and an eternal endurance. Those who counsel on their own, by others who mislead, or malevolent forces do so at their own peril. Be warned! Take precaution! Follow the manual!
However... and there are always many "howevers", there is no secret knowledge nor magical exercise which anyone has which can fix life for any person! I use the term "fix" because those who seek counsel have a broken something, be it spirit, pride, finance, relationship, family, sexual activity, or many other possibilities. Most often, broken emotions which need fixing are systemic. If one area of life is broken, most often most facets need fixed! For me the system which needed fixing was the family. My family was dysfunctional primarily to one member being drug dependent. Because one member was broken the entire system required fixing.
When a person counsels there are four possibilities: 1) self, 2) others, 3) evil spirits or 4) God. Respectively, these four are:
SELF: Psalm 5:10 "Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels..."
OTHERS: Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly
EVIL SPIRITS: Chronicles 10:13 "So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; 14 And enquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him...."
GOD: Psalm 33:11a "The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever..."When people do self counsel they do what they want to do!
Proverbs 21:2 "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes..."This is the easy way! If it feels good, do it! Where could a person possibly go wrong? The answer to that is "consequences". There are always multiple paths in life and most people take the wide path. It's the one with the least restriction, at least perceived as such! When people want something the propensity is to steal. It takes resistance to not steal. Taking that of which the person has not labored is the easy path.
If one wants sex, the easy path is to look for those as willing to give as you are to receive. That path is wide and has always been. People of both sexes have a propensity to pleasure with another. Ask enough random people and soon a willing partner will be found. The hard path is to develop a righteous relationship and then engage in Holy Matrimony. Nowadays, that's the path least taken because it's too hard. The easy way is to tell oneself "It's alright! Go ahead and consummate without the commitment!" Furthermore, any unrighteous act is the easy path which most people take, but there are consequences!
Any sin compounds the ease in which the next sin is precipitated!
1 Corinthians 5:6b "Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"Leaven represents sin. When a person sins "just a little" the whole is leavened. The person then lives in iniquity. When one yields to temptation there is a problem with the lump being leavened throughout:
James 1:14 "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."Therefore, sin is the result of counseling oneself! Sin is the easy route and the path of least resistance. In mathematical terms: Sin = Interest x Resistance. Therefore, for Sin to remain constant, when interest increases, then resistance decreases! Another way of saying that is with Sin as Interest (temptation) increases our Resistance to Sin decreases! It's the V=IR (voltage = current x resistance) equation for our potential to sin! Self-counseling is unwise! That's why we are to develop relationships with mature Christian mentors!
Sometimes we counsel with others! There are two types of counseling when a second party is involved. It's righteous counseling and secular counseling. For the most part when others counsel it's from a secular standpoint. I have even heard Christians when married couples are in conflict, who recommend divorce. Although the Christian is the counselor, the counsel may not always be wise nor righteous!
Many turn to Ann Landers, Dr. Phil or even Laura Schlesinger. Wise counsel is not the hallmark of any of the three or any of the others. Dr. Dobson offers the best media counseling and even he has some secular propensities, for instance, self-esteem!
Ann Landers is "the ungodly" as Psalms warns against! Most often Ann Landers will advise against scripture. The path she counsels is the path most taken. It's the unrighteous path. In her view same-sex marriage is normal, shacking up is acceptable, fornication is practice for marriage, abortion is a mere solution to an unwanted person and on and on! People who seek the advice of Ann Landers may not be sick before, but certainly may be after doing what she says. This type of counseling is more entertainment than a science!
Evil spirits come from some counselors. They are called in Psalms "familiar spirits" because although angels of the dark, they disguise themselves as loved people who are trusted. Many people go to mediums and psychics for advice. Others perform or delay daily activities based on their horoscopes. Others use Ouija boards to speak with those relatives now gone. Scripture warns against any counseling with familiar spirits:
Leviticus 19:31 "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God."Taking advice from the netherworld is not only stupid and irreverent to God, but it's dangerous. Who comes to you with a gentle voice and pleasant smile is likely an evil impostor of your deceased loved one! He or she will give you what sounds like wisdom from ascended masters, but it's a message from the devil which will eventually damn you.
The only other option for counseling is God. What he wills for you is to be found in scripture. No other process, method or model is needed. God is sufficient. This type of advice is called "Nouthetic Counseling" and means that one teaches from Holy Scripture what to do in life. It's not scripture and psychology (called Christian Counseling), but counseling solely from God's word. There are those even in the Christian community who disregard biblical counseling as incomplete because they see the need for secular aspects. I believe a mix between psychology and nouthetic counseling as being syncretism because there is another god before God involved in that a mix of counseling which places the secular over the Christian, or at least a side-by-side in an heretical mix!
I'm not saying that all psychology is heresy, because much of it is commonsense. However, I believe you'll find that the commonsense aspects are biblical as well and such practice should come from scripture, not from Freud, Jung, Skinner, or the hundreds of other non-Christian psychologists with their own ideas to what makes God's creation tick! If we want to know what makes the creation tick, we should ask the Creator what causes the ticking... and the mis-ticking!
When we're born there is an instruction book. It not only tells how and why humans were made, but what our purpose in life is to be. It tells how we can go wrong and how to fix it. It's author is the Inventor and Builder. The Doctor is his Son who has the same vein of knowledge that the Father has. The Good Doctor confers with the Builder for us and he fixes what goes wrong with what he built. This instruction book has information not only on how to fix us, but how to avoid going bad or breaking. The reader of this book, if he believes, will live a long and happy life! To avoid premature failure and extinction the wise reader of this book will take care to honor the Builder and his Son.
The reader of this manual will cleanse himself with the miraculous fluid offered by the Son. Although the cleaner is red, it cleans white as snow and once cleaned, a new lease on life is the result. Those who read and trust the instruction manual can provide many years of service. That's the readers major responsibility. He loves his work, his cohorts and his Builder. He cares for all three as he would himself and by doing so, he gets the benefit back.
Those who fail to use this manual, are doomed. It may be that they rust-out because they don't follow the wise instructions it takes to insure a long life-cycle and an eternal endurance. Those who counsel on their own, by others who mislead, or malevolent forces do so at their own peril. Be warned! Take precaution! Follow the manual!
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Revisiting the Past
The Washington Post reported today in an article by Sarah Kaplan that scientists manipulated proteins in chickens to create it's alleged forerunner, a chickensaurus, which they believe to be a dinosaur from which chickens evolved. This dinosaur, rather than having a beak, had a snout of bone and pretty much looked, from the artist's concept, as a deformed chicken. It looked that way because that's what it was! Jack Horner, a paleontologist, said "Technically, you are going to have s messed-up chicken. It's not a dinosaur. It's never going to be a dinosaur. It's just going to be a really awful monstrosity."
The dream of scientists everywhere has always been to create what "was" to validate their claim for how it all started. So far, and forever it will be, there will be no return to dinosaurs because, except for their descendants. they are gone! This experiment was not the first!
Auroch cows existed in earlier times and were nearly as big as elephants. They stood over 6.5 feet at the shoulder and weighed about 2200 pounds. They were ferocious beasts and Augustus Caesar admired them for their brute strength. The Nazis wanted these beasts for hunting and Herman Goering set out to recreate these ancient animals. As a result really big cows still exist in eastern Germany forests, but they are not Auroch cows. They are deformed domestic cows. Reverting back to the past has proved to be impossible!
Jurassic Park was a movie where dinosaurs were recreated using DNA from ancient, according to them, bones. That scenario makes for a good movie, but scientists have finally admitted: DNA has a half-life of only 521 years meaning that ancient bone fragments would contain only dead DNA.
The Nazi experimentation with Auroch cows only scratched the surface of their experimentation. It was their desire to design a superior human race on the model of the Aryan people, an ancient "noble" race which is the meaning of the Sanskrit word for "Aryan". It was the desire of devoted Nazis to recreate a superior race from modern peoples by reverting back to what they believed they once were. To improve the future, they were revisiting the past!
Aryans were legend. It may be that there were peoples from the Indus River Valley who were great warriors, but there is no evidence of a super race of people. Not only did Nazi's want to revert back to what was past, but even to what likely never existed!
I'm not a proponent of syncretism, the marriage of different religions. In this case it's where Christians accept archaeology as compatible with scripture, and when there are discrepancies "science" wins out. I don't believe that fossils are billions of years old. I contend that if God is powerful enough to create a universe, he's powerful enough to create a mature earth!
God didn't create a fertilized egg and watch it grow into Adam. He created a mature Adam. God is not limited to what we understand and scientific principles are his rules to break. Furthermore God isn't constrained by time! His creation can be done in an instant, but appear to be over eons of time. That's why he's God and science can neither prove nor disprove him! Therefore, it takes as much faith to NOT believe in God as it does to believe in him!
The entire study of genetics and archaeology is to create a new truth; one that denies the power of God and hands it to a pretender called "Chance". God is personal. Chance is mathematics. For me and my household, we'll place our hope in a personal God. Chance offers no hope!
By revisiting the past and denying it's truth, science endeavors to change the future! Let me give an example. Simcha Jacobovici , a Canadian film-maker found the Talpiot Tomb and claimed it was the tomb of Jesus and that Jesus' ossuary with his remains were still entombed there alongside his family. Scripture teaches that the tomb of Jesus was found empty and that Jesus ascended into heaven after he was resurrected. If Jesus still lies in the Talpiot Tomb, then scripture is all a lie. Simcha, being Jewish, has a bias. He BELIEVES that Christ is in the tomb because his version of Christ has yet to be born in his belief system! By revisiting the past Simcha is endeavoring to undermine Jesus!
If Jesus, whose name was as common as "Joe" is today, indeed lies in that tomb, then the hope of all Christians is gone. Christianity, rather than offering the greatest reward, would be no more than long dead mythologies. That's what non-Christians want so that they won't be wrong! That's pride at work. Disproving the existence of a divine Jesus is the Holy Grail of heresy! The evidence is to be found by revisiting the past.
What science tries to do by DNA, archaeology and atomic experiment; is what the Babylonians did by looking toward the skies! They were scattered and their language confused by desiring to know what God knows. They looked to the sky in attempt to be as gods.
By looking at the sky they were revisiting the past. Since light takes time to travel, the "proof" that God is fiction must lie in the past and that knowledge is to be revealed by looking at light from long ago! By looking into the skies the future is not revealed, but the past is revisited. They hope to find that life did exist out there in the cosmos some time ago and that if they can convince people that it did, then God is disproved. If God was to be "disproved" and scientific experiment can't do that by definition, then prideful mankind would be the master of his own destiny! That's exactly what man has desired all along because with mastering his own destiny comes freedom to pleasure without the constraint of fear of punishment!
It's freedom man seeks by revisiting the past. However, it's the same "freedom" that the Hebrew people enjoyed under Pharaoh. They could have all the pleasures offered by the Egyptians to a race that were slaves. The Jews were acclimated to servitude because they were taken care of by their masters. They didn't really want independence because along with independence comes possible failure and anxiety. People still give up their freedom so that they don't have to face the future with it's unknowns. It's just so much easier for everyone to cope when they just revisit the past in an attempt to dispel the future!
The dream of scientists everywhere has always been to create what "was" to validate their claim for how it all started. So far, and forever it will be, there will be no return to dinosaurs because, except for their descendants. they are gone! This experiment was not the first!
Auroch cows existed in earlier times and were nearly as big as elephants. They stood over 6.5 feet at the shoulder and weighed about 2200 pounds. They were ferocious beasts and Augustus Caesar admired them for their brute strength. The Nazis wanted these beasts for hunting and Herman Goering set out to recreate these ancient animals. As a result really big cows still exist in eastern Germany forests, but they are not Auroch cows. They are deformed domestic cows. Reverting back to the past has proved to be impossible!
Jurassic Park was a movie where dinosaurs were recreated using DNA from ancient, according to them, bones. That scenario makes for a good movie, but scientists have finally admitted: DNA has a half-life of only 521 years meaning that ancient bone fragments would contain only dead DNA.
The Nazi experimentation with Auroch cows only scratched the surface of their experimentation. It was their desire to design a superior human race on the model of the Aryan people, an ancient "noble" race which is the meaning of the Sanskrit word for "Aryan". It was the desire of devoted Nazis to recreate a superior race from modern peoples by reverting back to what they believed they once were. To improve the future, they were revisiting the past!
Aryans were legend. It may be that there were peoples from the Indus River Valley who were great warriors, but there is no evidence of a super race of people. Not only did Nazi's want to revert back to what was past, but even to what likely never existed!
I'm not a proponent of syncretism, the marriage of different religions. In this case it's where Christians accept archaeology as compatible with scripture, and when there are discrepancies "science" wins out. I don't believe that fossils are billions of years old. I contend that if God is powerful enough to create a universe, he's powerful enough to create a mature earth!
God didn't create a fertilized egg and watch it grow into Adam. He created a mature Adam. God is not limited to what we understand and scientific principles are his rules to break. Furthermore God isn't constrained by time! His creation can be done in an instant, but appear to be over eons of time. That's why he's God and science can neither prove nor disprove him! Therefore, it takes as much faith to NOT believe in God as it does to believe in him!
The entire study of genetics and archaeology is to create a new truth; one that denies the power of God and hands it to a pretender called "Chance". God is personal. Chance is mathematics. For me and my household, we'll place our hope in a personal God. Chance offers no hope!
By revisiting the past and denying it's truth, science endeavors to change the future! Let me give an example. Simcha Jacobovici , a Canadian film-maker found the Talpiot Tomb and claimed it was the tomb of Jesus and that Jesus' ossuary with his remains were still entombed there alongside his family. Scripture teaches that the tomb of Jesus was found empty and that Jesus ascended into heaven after he was resurrected. If Jesus still lies in the Talpiot Tomb, then scripture is all a lie. Simcha, being Jewish, has a bias. He BELIEVES that Christ is in the tomb because his version of Christ has yet to be born in his belief system! By revisiting the past Simcha is endeavoring to undermine Jesus!
If Jesus, whose name was as common as "Joe" is today, indeed lies in that tomb, then the hope of all Christians is gone. Christianity, rather than offering the greatest reward, would be no more than long dead mythologies. That's what non-Christians want so that they won't be wrong! That's pride at work. Disproving the existence of a divine Jesus is the Holy Grail of heresy! The evidence is to be found by revisiting the past.
What science tries to do by DNA, archaeology and atomic experiment; is what the Babylonians did by looking toward the skies! They were scattered and their language confused by desiring to know what God knows. They looked to the sky in attempt to be as gods.
By looking at the sky they were revisiting the past. Since light takes time to travel, the "proof" that God is fiction must lie in the past and that knowledge is to be revealed by looking at light from long ago! By looking into the skies the future is not revealed, but the past is revisited. They hope to find that life did exist out there in the cosmos some time ago and that if they can convince people that it did, then God is disproved. If God was to be "disproved" and scientific experiment can't do that by definition, then prideful mankind would be the master of his own destiny! That's exactly what man has desired all along because with mastering his own destiny comes freedom to pleasure without the constraint of fear of punishment!
It's freedom man seeks by revisiting the past. However, it's the same "freedom" that the Hebrew people enjoyed under Pharaoh. They could have all the pleasures offered by the Egyptians to a race that were slaves. The Jews were acclimated to servitude because they were taken care of by their masters. They didn't really want independence because along with independence comes possible failure and anxiety. People still give up their freedom so that they don't have to face the future with it's unknowns. It's just so much easier for everyone to cope when they just revisit the past in an attempt to dispel the future!
Committed
Yesterday I wrote on "commitment". There was a lackluster response to be truthful! Why? Because few of us have commitment. Today I write on "committed". Not in the context of which you're thinking, but an act of mercy for our insanity!
Albert Einstein once said, or he could have said it many times, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Thank you, Al! I could not have said it better, but someone else did which we'll see shortly! Most of us should be committed for our insanity.
Terri and I pass by Hopkinsville Hospital (a sanitorium) on occasion. As we do I never neglect to point out her future home! (Smile). That's not politically correct because dementia, retardation and the like is certainly not funny, but as humans we deal with what's possible by being outrageous. Tomorrow that could be my domain, but by the grace of God, I pray that it won't be! I want to punch my ticket to heaven in my right mind because when I get there, regardless of my insanity here, I will be sane, even wise, there.
While progressives won't like my commentary on insanity because it isn't empathetic by any means, insanity is a common malfunction of mankind.
However, you and I claim success, but one of us is wrong. Which of us is the insane one? We each say "It's not me... it must be you!" because insane people fail to recognize their own insanity! Let me pose a question as an "insanity check". "Did you do something in the past which failed you miserably, yet you did it again... and again?" If you answer that question in the affirmative perhaps you're either a masochist or you're insane, being little difference between the two in the end. I have lived in that crazy world. I know of what I speak!
Let's look at this scenario: You believe in Jesus and that you can't "save" yourself. You even believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Furthermore, you know that in order to be saved, you must commit your life to Jesus. However, "commit" is a strong word, which the reader, if he had read yesterday's blog, would be aware. The devil attacks most heartily the ones who are the most committed, so the Christians who have little commitment are "easy pickin's" Those with little commitment are crazy and just as the insane person is "committed" to a mental institution, the spiritually insane commits themselves to eternal death if we're not careful!
People get "safed" once! When we become "born-again" our life starts anew. However, as we commit ourselves to Jesus, Satan tests that commitment. (I often refer to the story of Job as how that test works). God makes us "safe" from death, but he still allows the devil to lurk around us, wreaking havoc and tempting. Satan doesn't do that for the fun of it. He has a purpose. Satan's M.O. is promoting our apostasy.
God has much grace! Although a new person all still sin. Because he experienced humanity himself, God empathizes. He knows how hard it is and provides a process for us to be renewed. Christians repent! Not just at the altar on occasion, but continual repentance because sinning is continuous. It's when we're above God, our hearts have hardened to the checking of the Holy Spirit, that we may become reprobate, if we're not careful! That's a dangerous position because we can only be born-again one time... not again and again!
Others can't commit us to "cure" our insanity. We must be sane enough to commit ourselves. There is an institution where we are kept from harm, where Satan is held at bay and where peace resides for our safety. That place is in the kingdom of God! That's where we do God's will:
Albert Einstein once said, or he could have said it many times, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Thank you, Al! I could not have said it better, but someone else did which we'll see shortly! Most of us should be committed for our insanity.
Terri and I pass by Hopkinsville Hospital (a sanitorium) on occasion. As we do I never neglect to point out her future home! (Smile). That's not politically correct because dementia, retardation and the like is certainly not funny, but as humans we deal with what's possible by being outrageous. Tomorrow that could be my domain, but by the grace of God, I pray that it won't be! I want to punch my ticket to heaven in my right mind because when I get there, regardless of my insanity here, I will be sane, even wise, there.
While progressives won't like my commentary on insanity because it isn't empathetic by any means, insanity is a common malfunction of mankind.
Ecclesiastes 1:9 "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. 10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit."Perhaps Einstein wasn't the first to define insanity! "Vexation" is extreme annoyance or worry. The results of continual vexation can be that a person becomes "sick" to the extent of having mental abnormality. Worry can drive a person crazy. Insanity is an existence in a world of fiction reinforced by false perceptions of what's real. Those who ruminate on the vanities of life cultivate the rows leading toward the harvest of insane thoughts. "There is no thing new under the sun!" said the wise man, yet we do old things over and over again with the same results: failure. We fail once, then time and time again. That's insane!
However, you and I claim success, but one of us is wrong. Which of us is the insane one? We each say "It's not me... it must be you!" because insane people fail to recognize their own insanity! Let me pose a question as an "insanity check". "Did you do something in the past which failed you miserably, yet you did it again... and again?" If you answer that question in the affirmative perhaps you're either a masochist or you're insane, being little difference between the two in the end. I have lived in that crazy world. I know of what I speak!
Let's look at this scenario: You believe in Jesus and that you can't "save" yourself. You even believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Furthermore, you know that in order to be saved, you must commit your life to Jesus. However, "commit" is a strong word, which the reader, if he had read yesterday's blog, would be aware. The devil attacks most heartily the ones who are the most committed, so the Christians who have little commitment are "easy pickin's" Those with little commitment are crazy and just as the insane person is "committed" to a mental institution, the spiritually insane commits themselves to eternal death if we're not careful!
People get "safed" once! When we become "born-again" our life starts anew. However, as we commit ourselves to Jesus, Satan tests that commitment. (I often refer to the story of Job as how that test works). God makes us "safe" from death, but he still allows the devil to lurk around us, wreaking havoc and tempting. Satan doesn't do that for the fun of it. He has a purpose. Satan's M.O. is promoting our apostasy.
God has much grace! Although a new person all still sin. Because he experienced humanity himself, God empathizes. He knows how hard it is and provides a process for us to be renewed. Christians repent! Not just at the altar on occasion, but continual repentance because sinning is continuous. It's when we're above God, our hearts have hardened to the checking of the Holy Spirit, that we may become reprobate, if we're not careful! That's a dangerous position because we can only be born-again one time... not again and again!
Hebrews 6:4 "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."Being "born-again" AGAIN isn't possible for to allow that would crucify Jesus and shame him. When we're born-again it's a one time event and if we become reprobate, we are in apostasy! Christians who know and have experienced the rebirth experience, yet turn their backs entirely away form God, are insane. When Christians sin time and time again we open our lives to insanity. Rather than being committed to Jesus we commit our minds to a life of insanity. Think about it! It takes an insane person to risk their eternal destiny for a little earthly pleasure, yet we all do that. We all have degrees of spiritual insanity and need to be committed to a protection program (symbolic: Hopkinsville)!
Others can't commit us to "cure" our insanity. We must be sane enough to commit ourselves. There is an institution where we are kept from harm, where Satan is held at bay and where peace resides for our safety. That place is in the kingdom of God! That's where we do God's will:
Matthew 6:10 "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."Our Hopkinsville, where those spiritually insane, is God's Kingdom! There is where we do things right here and now as they are done in heaven! Think on those things and be delivered from insanity. Sinning over and over again, or as Einstein implies, is failing time and time again. We're insane for doing that! We don't HAVE to sin. Sin is a CHOICE! When we sin we do irrational acts which with repetition can lead to that spiritual insanity! We will always do irrational things as all men do, but God's will is that we don't be irrational to the degree of what's insane; being reprobate!
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Commitment
I missed work one day which was terribly uncommon, not having missed even one day in a ten-years period. My boss asked "Were you sick yesterday, Larry?" I answered back "No, I felt really good! I come to work when I'm sick!" (sarcistically). Many, many days I came to work when I was sick. When people take off there is a hole. Allowing for "holes" in the workforce is extremely costly and my part in making GM a success was being there every day whether I felt well or not. In fact, feeling sick was often diminished by having to think and being active. If I had stayed home I would have been miserable in my isolation, but at work I had little time to think about how sick I felt!
I have been blessed! I'm not referring to severe maladies which I never had. I'm referring to common illnesses. True, I could have passed along whatever I had, but I took care to make no contact with others and to sneeze into my handkerchief, etc. Toothaches, back aches, and headaches were just endured, not being a danger to others. I did this because I was "committed". I was dedicated, not to GM, but my work ethic. "Dedication" is when a person does all their capable of for any length of time to make things happen or keep them happening.
In my personal life, I was always committed. I am nobility, so to speak, because people say "You can Count-on Herrin!" Yes, I'm Count Herrin and I am noble to "causes"; especially to God and friends; all of which we are to love!
As with work, when people ask me to do things with them "You can Count-on Herrin!" because I will do what I said I would do just as the saying goes "Come hell or high water!" When I commit to doing something I'm there to do it! There are loop-holes and some people by nature seek them out!
W. C. Fields, on his deathbed was seen reading his Bible. When asked "I thought you were an atheist and don't believe in hell?" he replied "Yes I am, but I'm looking for loop-holes!" Looking for loop-holes is a method of all mankind to remain non-committal. With my oldest son, he was a born lawyer. Any instruction which he was given, he could circumvent it by "legal technicalities". He was a master at finding loop-holes! With him we had to be precise and specific when we gave instruction because we knew that if there was a loop-hole, he would find it! We became a family of lawyers, we parents trying to be definitive and he, trying to outwit us.
Some of my workers did this. When I asked two of my porters at work why they didn't wash the windows as instructed, one responded "We did!" I replied, it's obvious that you didn't for they're dirty and smeared." His response was "Well, you didn't say how well to wash them!" This conversation is real! I'm not making it up.
We had a boat for awhile. Many of our friends learned to water ski and tube towed behind my boat. We always planned ahead and asked people in advance "Do you want to boat with us Saturday?" Without exception they said "We'd love to!" Terri and I would volunteer always to supply the boat, pay for the gasolene and prepare drinks and a picnic basket. Inevitably those people who "would love to" call an hour in advance and canceled out. We were left holding the basket. Most often we would do it alone because our friends were non-committal. Yes, they "committed" but failed to understand that part of "commitment" is following through!
On A Seinfeld episode Jerry made a reservation for a rental car. No car was available. Jerry said "But I made a reservation!" The clerk said "I know what a reservation is, but we don't have a car." Jerry responded "You know what a reservation is, but you just don't know how to keep a reservation!" or a conversation to that effect. Reservations are just as commitments: part of commitments are following through with the commitment!
Christians are as bad at commitment as the next person. Many Christians use "little white lies" in contrast to "big black lies" when failing to honor commitments. It seems that mankind "thinks" they have found a loop-hole: "It's okay to lie as an excuse as long as nobody gets hurt." Let's look for the exceptions to The Ten Commandments; there's got to be a loop-hole there because Christians use it all the time! Here's is what God commands:
Let's look for loop-holes here! Throughout the ages people say about this "Thou shalt not lie". It's finite and direct. The loop holes are "It's not ENTIRELY false." and "He's NOT my neighbor". Loop-holes are unlimited here. God thought this command was pretty clear, but man endeavors to diminish God via technicalities.
Part of finding loop-holes are multiple excuses. My policy is when I decline to do something I merely say "No, I won't be doing that!" There are no excuses. None are needed because from my past reputation people know that I have a "real" excuse. It may be that I just don't want to, but that is a reason, not an excuse! Sometimes I do say "I don't think so for I don't like to do that!". That's honest and a reason, but it's also a VALID reason.
I've had people list multiple excuses: "I'm going to be too tired that day.", "I think I have something else I need to be doing that day.", "My back is somewhat sore.", I need to fix that light in the closet." et al. Many times people aren't convinced that one excuse is good enough so they name many excuses. However, none of the excuses are reasons, but I guess that they believe that multiple excuses equals one good reason!
What's worse "loop-hole looking" and "excuses" aren't limited to work and friends. They are clear signs that commitment just isn't there!
Loop-hole #2. "Love" is gray. It means different things to different people! Well, God gave us a pretty clear definition of what love is:
Then there are those abstract thoughts of all the "heart, mind and soul". Let me clear that up for you! That's with your ALL! Loop-hole number 3 closed!
To show our commitment to God there is one thing we are to do: We are to love the Lord! However, that's one things most people have trouble doing!
It's ironic that we have the liberty to "not love God", but if we "fail to love him" we break The Greatest Commandment "To love God!". It seems that "loving God" is not optional, but a command, and to obey his commands is how we show love for him. How are we to obey those commands? To love! See 1 Cor 13:4-7 above.
I have been blessed! I'm not referring to severe maladies which I never had. I'm referring to common illnesses. True, I could have passed along whatever I had, but I took care to make no contact with others and to sneeze into my handkerchief, etc. Toothaches, back aches, and headaches were just endured, not being a danger to others. I did this because I was "committed". I was dedicated, not to GM, but my work ethic. "Dedication" is when a person does all their capable of for any length of time to make things happen or keep them happening.
In my personal life, I was always committed. I am nobility, so to speak, because people say "You can Count-on Herrin!" Yes, I'm Count Herrin and I am noble to "causes"; especially to God and friends; all of which we are to love!
As with work, when people ask me to do things with them "You can Count-on Herrin!" because I will do what I said I would do just as the saying goes "Come hell or high water!" When I commit to doing something I'm there to do it! There are loop-holes and some people by nature seek them out!
W. C. Fields, on his deathbed was seen reading his Bible. When asked "I thought you were an atheist and don't believe in hell?" he replied "Yes I am, but I'm looking for loop-holes!" Looking for loop-holes is a method of all mankind to remain non-committal. With my oldest son, he was a born lawyer. Any instruction which he was given, he could circumvent it by "legal technicalities". He was a master at finding loop-holes! With him we had to be precise and specific when we gave instruction because we knew that if there was a loop-hole, he would find it! We became a family of lawyers, we parents trying to be definitive and he, trying to outwit us.
Some of my workers did this. When I asked two of my porters at work why they didn't wash the windows as instructed, one responded "We did!" I replied, it's obvious that you didn't for they're dirty and smeared." His response was "Well, you didn't say how well to wash them!" This conversation is real! I'm not making it up.
We had a boat for awhile. Many of our friends learned to water ski and tube towed behind my boat. We always planned ahead and asked people in advance "Do you want to boat with us Saturday?" Without exception they said "We'd love to!" Terri and I would volunteer always to supply the boat, pay for the gasolene and prepare drinks and a picnic basket. Inevitably those people who "would love to" call an hour in advance and canceled out. We were left holding the basket. Most often we would do it alone because our friends were non-committal. Yes, they "committed" but failed to understand that part of "commitment" is following through!
On A Seinfeld episode Jerry made a reservation for a rental car. No car was available. Jerry said "But I made a reservation!" The clerk said "I know what a reservation is, but we don't have a car." Jerry responded "You know what a reservation is, but you just don't know how to keep a reservation!" or a conversation to that effect. Reservations are just as commitments: part of commitments are following through with the commitment!
Christians are as bad at commitment as the next person. Many Christians use "little white lies" in contrast to "big black lies" when failing to honor commitments. It seems that mankind "thinks" they have found a loop-hole: "It's okay to lie as an excuse as long as nobody gets hurt." Let's look for the exceptions to The Ten Commandments; there's got to be a loop-hole there because Christians use it all the time! Here's is what God commands:
Exodius 20:16 "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."
Let's look for loop-holes here! Throughout the ages people say about this "Thou shalt not lie". It's finite and direct. The loop holes are "It's not ENTIRELY false." and "He's NOT my neighbor". Loop-holes are unlimited here. God thought this command was pretty clear, but man endeavors to diminish God via technicalities.
Part of finding loop-holes are multiple excuses. My policy is when I decline to do something I merely say "No, I won't be doing that!" There are no excuses. None are needed because from my past reputation people know that I have a "real" excuse. It may be that I just don't want to, but that is a reason, not an excuse! Sometimes I do say "I don't think so for I don't like to do that!". That's honest and a reason, but it's also a VALID reason.
I've had people list multiple excuses: "I'm going to be too tired that day.", "I think I have something else I need to be doing that day.", "My back is somewhat sore.", I need to fix that light in the closet." et al. Many times people aren't convinced that one excuse is good enough so they name many excuses. However, none of the excuses are reasons, but I guess that they believe that multiple excuses equals one good reason!
What's worse "loop-hole looking" and "excuses" aren't limited to work and friends. They are clear signs that commitment just isn't there!
Matthew 22:37 "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind."This is a command! However, those who have weak commitment look for loop-holes! Jesus didn't COMMAND this, he merely SAID it. If Jesus wasn't serious about this being a requirement, why would he have merely said it? The legal definition of the archaic word "shalt" (now shortened to shall) is the person (him) is "commanded to do" something. When God speaks what he says are commands! Loop-hole number one shot down!
Loop-hole #2. "Love" is gray. It means different things to different people! Well, God gave us a pretty clear definition of what love is:
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV) "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends."How are we commanded to love the Lord (and other people to be certain)? Be patient, kind, without envy or pride, nor arrogance nor rudeness, nor selfish nor irritable nor resentful. We are to do what's right, be truthful, etc. It continues with love as commitment, strong believe, having hope in what is and above all, "love never ends"! What's so unclear about loving? Practice these things and love will become clear as crystal. It is the things a loving person does when loving. Loop-hole #2 closed!
Then there are those abstract thoughts of all the "heart, mind and soul". Let me clear that up for you! That's with your ALL! Loop-hole number 3 closed!
To show our commitment to God there is one thing we are to do: We are to love the Lord! However, that's one things most people have trouble doing!
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."This is one of my most oft quoted verses. Mankind has one way of showing Jesus love (and Jesus is God). That is to "keep his commandments". However, that's what men don't do! That command to love Jesus is a command in itself, but people use Christian "liberty" to do as they please. It's true that we don't have to sin, but that we should want to NOT sin to show God our love! People aren't committed enough to loving God to do what he commands!
It's ironic that we have the liberty to "not love God", but if we "fail to love him" we break The Greatest Commandment "To love God!". It seems that "loving God" is not optional, but a command, and to obey his commands is how we show love for him. How are we to obey those commands? To love! See 1 Cor 13:4-7 above.
Psalm 37:5 (ESV) "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act."Look there it is! Psalms tells us to make a "commitment"! To whom? "The Lord!" What type of commitment? "To trust in him!" Why? Because God will do what he says he will do. You can DEPEND ON GOD because God always does what he says he will do! How about you?
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