'Received an email today from a friend, Ted, with a good comment, so here is Ted:
* * * * *
We all have choices in this life we lead. We choose many things every day and some of those choices have consequences that ripple for generations. Moses talked about this with his people just before he died in Deuteronomy 30:
19 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,
20 "by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
There were choices that were going to be made that would have impact on his tribe and he was exhorting them to choose well. We have the same situation today. God sets before us life and death, blessings or a curse and the result is determined by our choice.
Joshua had a similar message for the Hebrew clan when they were in the land of promise; Joshua 24:
15 "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
Today there are many gods competing for our attention and devotion. We still have to make the choice as to which god or God we will serve. Some of those gods are actually our tribal religious traditions that we think are right and good but they are blocking God’s full intention for our lives because they are more important than a deep relationship with Him.
The Most High God will not allow any other gods to rule over Him. Even gods that are wrapped in religious packages that sound right and good but are not from Him will not be allowed.
Lord, help us to love You correctly and well. Help us to hear and obey Your voice. Help us to hold fast to You and You alone.
As for us … and our house …. we will serve the Lord.
* * * * *
Friday, March 05, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Protect and Nurture
A definition of “love,” not to be confused with lust, that I have come to adopt and use was offered by Josh McDowell. This definition is that “love” is the protection and nurturing of one by another. This pretty much covers the subject and is worth pondering, even adopting in daily use in every relationship such that one asks of every action in a relationship, “Am I protecting and nurturing this person?”
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Lack of Knowledge
Years ago, many years ago, I met for lunch, with a "potential new client," at a pizza shop north of town. He invited his Pastor to the lunch meeting. The prospective client was not confident in his own business acumen and respected the Pastor, who had business experience prior to taking up a pastor's ministry and who maintained a business interest. Through the course of the meeting I became impressed with the Pastor. More specifically, impressed with Pastor's inability to utter half a dozen phrases without interjecting, "dang." Perhaps sprinkling the term "dang" in one's speech may indicate connection with contemporary culture
The term "dang" is found in a dictionary as an euphemism from 1797 that is used as a transitive verb and means "damn." Of course, "damn" is a transitive verb from the 13th century and a condemnation to Hell. More recently, "dang" is noted as a modifier (adjective or adverb) from 1914, that means "damned," again, a condemned to Hell
Those who believe that Hell is an actual place also tend to believe that Hell is the worst and last place to be. Most people, generally, will not offhandedly grievously wound a person; throw a brick into someone's kneecap, for example. Odd that many blithely proclaim condemnation to Hell, though
Should not one who follows, and especially one who publicly makes known their service to, Jesus hold himself to a high standard of behavior, distinct from secular standards? Should not such a one self discipline, as in disciple?
Leaders in a community conspicuously violating rules of good conduct, even laws, is bad (Romans 13:01-03), though often accepted these days in the secular worldview. Consider, one who is anointed to teach, anointed to set an example for others, and carelessly proclaims condemnations to Hell. Careless use of the term "dang" should be unacceptable to one who appears as a leader in a church. Begs a question whether a leader has spiritual empowerment
As for me, I am glad to be a student, seeking knowledge and "truth," not a teacher. Thus, I presume a privilege of positing suppositions such as this. Perhaps it may be considered by expertise
- Relevant Notes -
Hosea ch04, v06, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . .."
Luke ch12,v48, ". . . For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
James ch03, v01, "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation."
Ephesians ch04, v27, ". . . Neither give place to the devil."
knee•cap•ping \ noun ; kneecap \ verb transitive (1974)- the terroristic act or practice of maiming a person's knees (as by gunshot) © 1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
The term "dang" is found in a dictionary as an euphemism from 1797 that is used as a transitive verb and means "damn." Of course, "damn" is a transitive verb from the 13th century and a condemnation to Hell. More recently, "dang" is noted as a modifier (adjective or adverb) from 1914, that means "damned," again, a condemned to Hell
Those who believe that Hell is an actual place also tend to believe that Hell is the worst and last place to be. Most people, generally, will not offhandedly grievously wound a person; throw a brick into someone's kneecap, for example. Odd that many blithely proclaim condemnation to Hell, though
Should not one who follows, and especially one who publicly makes known their service to, Jesus hold himself to a high standard of behavior, distinct from secular standards? Should not such a one self discipline, as in disciple?
Leaders in a community conspicuously violating rules of good conduct, even laws, is bad (Romans 13:01-03), though often accepted these days in the secular worldview. Consider, one who is anointed to teach, anointed to set an example for others, and carelessly proclaims condemnations to Hell. Careless use of the term "dang" should be unacceptable to one who appears as a leader in a church. Begs a question whether a leader has spiritual empowerment
As for me, I am glad to be a student, seeking knowledge and "truth," not a teacher. Thus, I presume a privilege of positing suppositions such as this. Perhaps it may be considered by expertise
- Relevant Notes -
Hosea ch04, v06, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge . . .."
Luke ch12,v48, ". . . For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
James ch03, v01, "My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation."
Ephesians ch04, v27, ". . . Neither give place to the devil."
knee•cap•ping \ noun ; kneecap \ verb transitive (1974)- the terroristic act or practice of maiming a person's knees (as by gunshot) © 1996 Zane Publishing, Inc. and Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Press Forth
It merely occurred to me, so I am sharing - - -
Many people have come to consider Nobel prize winner Albert Einstein with great revere regarding physics, at least. If Mr. Einstein were to say something to the effect of, "The one thing I know - - -," that one thing would receive great deference by a wide audience
Many people have come to consider the apostle Paul with great revere regarding knowledge and practice of the Christ Jesus and His Way
So, if this Paul were to say something to the effect of, "The one thing I know - - -," should not that one thing require deference?
Philippians 03:13b ". . . one thing -- the things behind indeed forgetting, and to the things before stretching forth -- . . .." (Young's literal translation)
Seems that while one may learn from past experience, one should not dwell in the past. Once the lesson is learned, dismiss the past. Rather than dwell in the past, one should look to the future and become prepared to meet the future. There is no present; only an interface between future and nothing
A rhetorical, perhaps a caution, to what extent do you dwell in the past; to what greater extent should you press to the future?
Many people have come to consider Nobel prize winner Albert Einstein with great revere regarding physics, at least. If Mr. Einstein were to say something to the effect of, "The one thing I know - - -," that one thing would receive great deference by a wide audience
Many people have come to consider the apostle Paul with great revere regarding knowledge and practice of the Christ Jesus and His Way
So, if this Paul were to say something to the effect of, "The one thing I know - - -," should not that one thing require deference?
Philippians 03:13b ". . . one thing -- the things behind indeed forgetting, and to the things before stretching forth -- . . .." (Young's literal translation)
Seems that while one may learn from past experience, one should not dwell in the past. Once the lesson is learned, dismiss the past. Rather than dwell in the past, one should look to the future and become prepared to meet the future. There is no present; only an interface between future and nothing
A rhetorical, perhaps a caution, to what extent do you dwell in the past; to what greater extent should you press to the future?
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
“I’ll believe it when I see it”
“I’ll believe it when I see it”
Too late! One can not believe “it” when they see “it.” The statement, the concept is incongruous, internally incompatible. The statement is, therefore, inherently untrue. A belief, to believe, is an acceptance or trust in a future or otherwise unknown event or occurrence. A capacity to believe is quenched or extinguished upon knowledge. The state of being in belief and the state of having knowledge are mutually exclusive
- - - - -
“I don’t believe in spiritual things”
An unprejudiced conscious being; namely, one perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation and with an open mind not clouded by suspicion, fear, or intolerance; may not truthfully say, “I don’t believe in spiritual things,” In consideration of Misters Merriam & Webster, the term “spiritual” things includes incorporeal things, having no material body or form. Many incorporeal things are widely acknowledged, including light, wind, and consciousness
Light, for example, an electromagnetic radiation, is incorporeal. Light itself is not perceived. One does not see, smell, taste, touch, nor hear light. Rather, one perceives that which is illuminated. Like wind. One does not see wind, nor smell, taste, touch, or hear wind. One perceives the effects of wind, the effect of a movement of air, though wind would not be the air itself, only the movement
To deny the incorporeal, one must deny one’s own consciousness. In the instance of a person at the point of death, the only difference between the live person and the corpse a few seconds later is a few seconds and the presence or absence of consciousness, the soul or spirit of the person. One’s consciousness is not a physical body or form. Can not, for example, organs and even a whole body be mechanically maintained without any measurable brain activity, without the consciousness? Yet, without the consciousness, the body is not a person, is not considered viable. Back in the day as it were, a human body was determined to comprise about fifteen dollars of common chemicals. Like light or wind, consciousness is not seen, smelled, tasted, touched, nor heard. Only the effects of consciousness are perceived
Too late! One can not believe “it” when they see “it.” The statement, the concept is incongruous, internally incompatible. The statement is, therefore, inherently untrue. A belief, to believe, is an acceptance or trust in a future or otherwise unknown event or occurrence. A capacity to believe is quenched or extinguished upon knowledge. The state of being in belief and the state of having knowledge are mutually exclusive
- - - - -
“I don’t believe in spiritual things”
An unprejudiced conscious being; namely, one perceiving, apprehending, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation and with an open mind not clouded by suspicion, fear, or intolerance; may not truthfully say, “I don’t believe in spiritual things,” In consideration of Misters Merriam & Webster, the term “spiritual” things includes incorporeal things, having no material body or form. Many incorporeal things are widely acknowledged, including light, wind, and consciousness
Light, for example, an electromagnetic radiation, is incorporeal. Light itself is not perceived. One does not see, smell, taste, touch, nor hear light. Rather, one perceives that which is illuminated. Like wind. One does not see wind, nor smell, taste, touch, or hear wind. One perceives the effects of wind, the effect of a movement of air, though wind would not be the air itself, only the movement
To deny the incorporeal, one must deny one’s own consciousness. In the instance of a person at the point of death, the only difference between the live person and the corpse a few seconds later is a few seconds and the presence or absence of consciousness, the soul or spirit of the person. One’s consciousness is not a physical body or form. Can not, for example, organs and even a whole body be mechanically maintained without any measurable brain activity, without the consciousness? Yet, without the consciousness, the body is not a person, is not considered viable. Back in the day as it were, a human body was determined to comprise about fifteen dollars of common chemicals. Like light or wind, consciousness is not seen, smelled, tasted, touched, nor heard. Only the effects of consciousness are perceived
Friday, January 16, 2009
When God's Role Becomes Obvious
A portion from Rabbi Daniel Lapin, in his book America's Real War, 1999 Rabbi Daniel Lapin, p138-139:
The opening sentence of Maimonides' monumental work "Mishne Torah" reads: "The foundation of the entire structure and the pillar of all wisdom is to know that there is a Fundamental Cause (God)" The important word is not "believe" but "know." The eternal challenge to the person of faith is to acquire so clear an understanding of how the world works, that God’s role becomes obvious. In the Jewish view, it has nothing to do with fervent proclamations of faith or serendipitous moments of epiphany. It has everything to do with years of disciplined intellectual dedication. It may not be easy, but neither is body building. In both cases, devotees consider the effort worthwhile; what is more, both provide highs along the way. For this reason perhaps, the Hebrew term for God-fearing is similar to the phrase "seeing God."
At quite a young age, my number-three daughter was once candid enough to tell me that she did not believe in an afterlife because she knew of no proof for its existence. She explained that she felt immeasurably saddened at the thought that when she died, there was to be nothing else. I pointed out to her that she accepted many things for which she had no independent proof, in fields such as science, medicine, and economics, simply because experts whom she trusted told her so.
We all accept that neurosurgery, ballet, and plumbing are examples of fields in which he who has studied extensively possesses an advantage. Somehow the error has crept in which allows us to suppose that the deepest mysteries of God are accessible to the ignorant. We are all certainly entitled to a profound and loving relationship with God; we are not all vouchsafed His secrets equally. Those secrets are available to all but remain the reward of individual effort. The knowledge and data is certainly accessible to each of us just as anyone who really desires to master neurosurgery, ballet, or plumbing can also do so. But whoever does invest the time and effort will know and understand more than those who do not. I explained to my daughter that she needed to locate an expert in religion whom she trusted and modestly submitted my candidacy for consideration. Over time this helped to reduce her anxiety.
I often think that the depression which has become endemic in our teenage population is another consequence of the secular world view with which we have indoctrinated our young people. We teach the textbooks of science, medicine, and plumbing; it is baffling to me that we would decline to teach the textbook of God.
- end of quote -
Rabbi Lapin is an Orthodox Rabbi, not a Christian and not a Messianic Jew. As such, he demonstrates himself to be learned and well considered regarding the way of the god of Abraham; the god of Abraham commonly called God by Christians and Jews.
Upon musing the above notion of personal effort in study, people as a society of North America, seem to have been schooled since the mid twentieth century, toward and seem to have learned a condition of “Entitlement.” In the condition of Entitlement, one has “rights” and no personal effort or responsibility should be required to acquire; typically acquire a mere perception of happiness. Thus, for example, people lazily default to reliance upon so called “Experts” to do their research and their thinking, and even their choosing. As such, fewer and fewer people, including, the Experts, cultivate basic skills of research and of logical consideration. Rather, they accept or reject the dominate sound bite opinion through a filter of emotion, seeking to feel good, suppressing logic, and do not know, actually know, what is true.
In short, people in a condition of Entitlement tend to remain adolescent. Consider, for example, the well known tale of a person seeing a butterfly struggle to escape its cocoon. The person assists the butterfly such that the butterfly does not meet its struggle, does not mature, does not realize its beautiful potential, and dies early in its undeveloped state.
The opening sentence of Maimonides' monumental work "Mishne Torah" reads: "The foundation of the entire structure and the pillar of all wisdom is to know that there is a Fundamental Cause (God)" The important word is not "believe" but "know." The eternal challenge to the person of faith is to acquire so clear an understanding of how the world works, that God’s role becomes obvious. In the Jewish view, it has nothing to do with fervent proclamations of faith or serendipitous moments of epiphany. It has everything to do with years of disciplined intellectual dedication. It may not be easy, but neither is body building. In both cases, devotees consider the effort worthwhile; what is more, both provide highs along the way. For this reason perhaps, the Hebrew term for God-fearing is similar to the phrase "seeing God."
At quite a young age, my number-three daughter was once candid enough to tell me that she did not believe in an afterlife because she knew of no proof for its existence. She explained that she felt immeasurably saddened at the thought that when she died, there was to be nothing else. I pointed out to her that she accepted many things for which she had no independent proof, in fields such as science, medicine, and economics, simply because experts whom she trusted told her so.
We all accept that neurosurgery, ballet, and plumbing are examples of fields in which he who has studied extensively possesses an advantage. Somehow the error has crept in which allows us to suppose that the deepest mysteries of God are accessible to the ignorant. We are all certainly entitled to a profound and loving relationship with God; we are not all vouchsafed His secrets equally. Those secrets are available to all but remain the reward of individual effort. The knowledge and data is certainly accessible to each of us just as anyone who really desires to master neurosurgery, ballet, or plumbing can also do so. But whoever does invest the time and effort will know and understand more than those who do not. I explained to my daughter that she needed to locate an expert in religion whom she trusted and modestly submitted my candidacy for consideration. Over time this helped to reduce her anxiety.
I often think that the depression which has become endemic in our teenage population is another consequence of the secular world view with which we have indoctrinated our young people. We teach the textbooks of science, medicine, and plumbing; it is baffling to me that we would decline to teach the textbook of God.
- end of quote -
Rabbi Lapin is an Orthodox Rabbi, not a Christian and not a Messianic Jew. As such, he demonstrates himself to be learned and well considered regarding the way of the god of Abraham; the god of Abraham commonly called God by Christians and Jews.
Upon musing the above notion of personal effort in study, people as a society of North America, seem to have been schooled since the mid twentieth century, toward and seem to have learned a condition of “Entitlement.” In the condition of Entitlement, one has “rights” and no personal effort or responsibility should be required to acquire; typically acquire a mere perception of happiness. Thus, for example, people lazily default to reliance upon so called “Experts” to do their research and their thinking, and even their choosing. As such, fewer and fewer people, including, the Experts, cultivate basic skills of research and of logical consideration. Rather, they accept or reject the dominate sound bite opinion through a filter of emotion, seeking to feel good, suppressing logic, and do not know, actually know, what is true.
In short, people in a condition of Entitlement tend to remain adolescent. Consider, for example, the well known tale of a person seeing a butterfly struggle to escape its cocoon. The person assists the butterfly such that the butterfly does not meet its struggle, does not mature, does not realize its beautiful potential, and dies early in its undeveloped state.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
God Loves, a rhyme (simple and true)
God loves me when I’m good,
doing everything I should.
And, God loves me when I’m bad,
though I cause Him to be sad.
doing everything I should.
And, God loves me when I’m bad,
though I cause Him to be sad.
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