Romans 3

We are enjoying a sermon series at church on Paul's letter to the Romans . It is probably Paul's most important letter, because it explains the brokenness of humanity, how that brokenness separated us from God, and what it takes to bring healing to that relationship. It also explains many of the technical aspects of the salvation process and lays the ground work the thousands of theology text books that followed.

To say that what Paul wrote was abundantly clear, would be easy, but it might also be incorrect. Over the last two thousand years there has been much disagreement. There was the battle between Augustine and Pelagius and later between the theologies of John Calvin and Jacobus Arminius. There are many, many more.

Most of my life, I have come down between the two major arguments of these men, seeing truth in the writings of all these men. However, as study expands my outlook, I have come to believe that Pelagius was indeed a heretic. He posited that it was possible for a man to always choose not to sin; that a perfect life was within the realm of possibility.The fact that no one besides Jesus had ever done it, did not phase him. The perfect man would never need Jesus. The sinful one does need Him.

Pelagius is clearly wrong. I do not believe it is possible for humans to live in this world and not sin. It is impossible. We cannot not sin.

This is not to say that I agree with Calvin or Augustine before him. I am much closer these days to Jacobus Arminius.

Let's just say that we inherit a propensity to sin from our ancestors and that , in spite of a will to do something else, we will still eventually sin. Adam and Eve made their fateful choice in full knowledge of what God's perfect will was and this resulted in the bending of the spiritual and physical gene pool of humanity until the end of time. We are not totally depraved as Calvin would have it, but we are partially depraved, being able to respond to the truth when it is presented to us. This does not mean that the response will always be positive. It is possible to resist in disbelief and choose to do so.  Indeed, it is possible for us to walk away from the Spirit working through the Word of God when it is presented. In other instances it may not have any effect at first or it may be a slow eroding process in which the spirit of the hearer is slowly broken or convinced, but be assured that when conversion happens, it is entirely the choice of the hearer. God would not have it any other way. He wants us to choose Him of our own free will. He could have made automatons to serve Him, but He did not. He made us. All of our choices, both good and not so good (bad), bind us to Him. Now, when we fail as His children, we can go to Him without fear.

When the process of conversion is complete, God's Spirit dwells in us. We have been regenerated and made more able to resist sin, but we have also been justified before God. We also enjoy an immediate sanctification and we take on His righteousness because of our faith. There is also a long term sanctification process that begins. This will take a lifetime. We are slowly remade in His Image and in His likeness as we submit and conform to His Word and His Spirit within us. We do become better people, but the only reason we might become perfect is because of the righteousness He imputes to us for our faith. We will never be without sin in this life. I do not say this to discourage you. It is just a fact. As long as we live in these bodies bent by sin, we will always be weak. On the day the new body is received, all of that will change. Perfection will be in our grasp. But until that time we will continue to be dependent on God's grace. We are still sinners, but sinners saved by His grace.     

Romans 3:11,12

“There is no one righteous, not even one;
¹¹     there is no one who understands;
    there is no one who seeks God.
¹² All have turned away,
    they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
    not even one.”^[b]

Romans 3:21-26

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

We are saved by grace through faith, There is no other way. 

So did God create us as flawed beings from the beginning? Were we bound to fail? When given a choice, do we always choose our own short term interests over God's will? Possibly. We will never know the answer to these things in this life.

What we do know is this. God has always loved us. His interest was always to have a people that choose to serve Him voluntarily out of love for Him and faith in Him. This has not changed. The law showed us His standard which no one has achieved except Christ Himself. The gospel shows us His grace that is available to all that believe in Him. His grace is waiting. Come to Him now.  
      

Odd....

I have had 99 blog hits since my previous two posts concerning the 'religion of peace' (just over an hour ago). Odd how they happened all at once. There are certain words that command attention of unwanted readers. These were all from the United States. I would wager that if I traced them more carefully, I would come up with a location very close to Washington DC (which is another suspect word...just you watch the hits just keep on comin). It is so annoying. All you have to do is express an opinion and the thought police are on it. It's true that I do not know which thought police at this point, but it does not matter. They are all the same fascists. My opinion again.

UPDATE...make that 113 hits

Dreaming of Jesus In the Lands of Muhammad

There is apparently salvation for the followers of Islam through Jesus Christ. The odd part is that this is not happening through missionary efforts. Reports reveal that Muslims all over the world are having dreams and visions of Jesus Christ. Because of the dreams, they are compelled to investigate the claims of Christ and the veracity of the Bible and many, many are converting.

God's grace and love knows know bounds, but it does make sense. These misguided Muslims are the sons of Abraham through the hand maiden of Sarah (whose name escapes me). Why would God not offer them redemption through Jesus?

I also admire the courage of those that convert to the One True Faith. In Muslim culture it is very dangerous to live as a Christ follower and that brings me to my last point here.

Why is this happening? It is because, we, the western church, have failed in our approach to Islam and where we failed, Jesus stepped in to make it happen. This is a powerful event that should not be ignored. Jesus is taking His own from every race and faith on earth. He will not be hindered by His followers. If we will not do the job, He will do it for us. Go here for another good article on the subject. 

I have about as much grace and love for these uncivilized animals as I would for a pederast or a serial killer. None. Yet Jesus is finding the ones He wants and is taking them for Himself. That is as much a warning to me as it is a blessing to them. Who am I to judge another man's servant?

Islam Adapts as the World Changes....ya right

There is an interesting story on the World Net Daily website about recent fatwas issued by the religious authorities in Turkey and also the Grand Mufti in Saudi Arabia. For those unfamiliar, a fatwas is a religious edict put forward by high ranking Imams within Islam to settle religious questions. Most of them concern what is permissible behavior and what is not. Here are some excerpts.

"In Turkey, the top religious authority, known as the Directorate of Religious Affairs or Divanet, proclaimed that though water is the preferred method of cleansing oneself after using the toilet, paper is now an acceptable alternative if a water source is unavailable, reports the nation’s Hurriyet Daily News.
“If water cannot be found for cleansing, other cleaning materials can be used,” the Divanet statement said. “Even though some sources deem paper to be unsuitable as a cleaning material, as it is an apparatus for writing, there is no problem in using toilet paper.”"

And this one is my favorite....

'Meanwhile, in Saudi Arabia the grand mufti has reportedly found a new definition of halal – determining that, in the event of extreme hunger, it is acceptable in Islam for a man to chop up his wife and eat her – or one of them as the case may be.
The edict has been attributed to Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, though it is yet to be officially confirmed.
The rationale, according to multiple local reports, is that the husband and his wife’s body will “fuse together after the husband eats his wife.” The husband would be permitted to eat “parts of her body” in such cases."

Islam. The religion of peace and civilized behavior. I wonder what wine you would serve with leg of wife...or perhaps he is a "breast man".

These people are animals. How we can regard them as allies is beyond me. If this makes me intolerant, then so be it.

Lord, if they cannot be saved, then please bring down your judgement on such people. Crush them with your righteous hand and send them to the Abyss along with the demon they worship.  

The Flathead Beacon Police Blotter

I'm not sure why I enjoy reading this so much. It's kind of like Mayberry in the 21st Century I guess. Anyway, her you go...

7:57 a.m. Someone called 911 regarding a Shetland pony that was standing on the side of Highway 2 West.
9:50 a.m. A woman on Whalebone Drive reported that a mechanic stole the stereo system out of her car.
10:06 a.m. Someone in Kalispell found someone’s W2, an iPod and seeds in their drop box.
1:32 p.m. A county inmate fell off of his chair yesterday.
3:49 p.m. A lost and lonely beagle was rescued from its aimless journey down Highway 93 South.
4:45 p.m. A new transient camp was discovered behind the old Walmart.
5:08 p.m. A resident on Ezy Drive reported that a few of her chickens have gone missing. She suspects that the neighbor’s dog may be involved.
6:32 p.m. A complaint was made about a guy on a street bike who was “showing off” by standing on his seat and such.
9:37 p.m. A local man called 911 to report that a man who looked like he “had been on meth for thirty years” approached him and his girlfriend at a gas station and made a very uncomfortable proposition.
10:01 p.m. A resident on Ridgewood Drive in Whitefish reported that his roommate found a “husky” man in their laundry room.

A Prayer

Lord, sometimes my concentration is not the best. My mind wanders. So I write.

I do want to be sure and thank you for the important things - things that make the rest of life possible. Thanks Lord for food, clothing and shelter - the necessities. Having those things available makes other things easier.

Thanks for the time I've had with the parents and the grandparents in the past years. Thanks for putting the grace in their heart to welcome me back after my time away.

And thank you Lord for welcoming me back into your family. Thanks for your patience, kindness, forgiveness and compassion. You give me hope. I know I tend to sit back in the corner and watch. It may be better that way for both of us. :^))

Thanks for church, work and Sunday school. Those things are the best part of my week.

Lord, please forgive me when I fail you. I know sometimes I don't even see it. Please help me to see it so someone does not have to tell me about it. Sometimes I just look right through people like they are not even there. I know it's not right. Please give me the strength and the desire Lord to just smile and say 'Hi'. Help me to see with your eyes instead of the eyes of my cold, hard heart. You showed me mercy and grace. Help me to return the favor with others.

Please take care of my Dad today while I am absent. Help him to focus, to think, to pay attention and to remember. Keep him safe and do not let him hurt himself in some way. Give him the where with all to call me if he is in need.

Please bring healing to my friend Nina. I have known her and Phil for a good portion of my life. Raise her up and help her move forward Lord. Make your presence known to her as you have done for me. And ask her if she has planned my trip to New Zealand yet. (:^))).

Lord, please place your hand on the staff and leadership of our church. Help them to find the direction in which we should go and so take us there.

Lord, please bless our efforts at work today. Please bring resolution to the current difficulties and help us move forward. Please help me to lead them and show them the way. Inspire me Lord. I need some inspiration.

Finally lord please bless and bring faith to all those that I have known and befriended in the past. I was not carrying or torch for you back then and I was probably not the best example for them. We did have fun Lord, but it was a bit self centered and hedonistic.

It's good to have you in my life. We can really talk because you already know me inside and out. I can't hide from you so why bother. Thanks for the opportunity to know you again. Thanks for the love. I love you too. I know I ask for way too much, but there are some things that only you can provide.

In Jesus Name I pray these things.

Amen

Russia - UPDATED

I had 19 blog hits from Russia today. What is up with that???

UPDATE....19 more hits today...I heard Obama got hacked by the Russians yesterday too. What are they up to?

2nd UPDATE...as you can see, I did not write anything new today...not because of the Russians...having a bit of psychomotor brain fog...if I start having de ja vu, there will be trouble...I have to give it a rest.

The Cost of Leaving the United States

I'm not talking about going on a vacation abroad. I am talking about leaving the United States and making another country somewhere in the world my new home. Have you ever considered that? Renunciation of US citizenship is a big step. Most folks that go cite tax reasons or dissatisfaction with the political direction of the US or the cost of living in the US. And it's true that your US dollar will go farther in some other countries, at least right now.

So I was wondering how much it would cost to leave. I was just curious, so I did about 40 seconds of research and came up with an article in Forbes magazine about it. 

"Over the last two years, the U.S. has had a spike in expatriations. It isn’t exactly Ellis Island in reverse, but it’s more than a dribble. With global tax reporting and FATCA, the list of the individuals who renounced is up. For 2013, there was a 221% increase, with record numbers of Americans renouncing. The Treasury Department is required to publish a quarterly list, but these numbers are under-stated, some say considerably."

Apparently we are leaving in record numbers. Soon they will have to build walls to keep us in.

"To leave America, you generally must prove 5 years of U.S. tax compliance. If you have a net worth greater than $2 million or average annual net income tax for the 5 previous years of $157,000 or more for 2014 (that’s tax, not income), you pay an exit tax. It is a capital gain tax as if you sold your property when you left. At least there’s an exemption of $680,000 for 2014. Long-term residents giving up a Green Card can be required to pay the tax too.
Now, the State Department interim rule just raised the fee for renunciation of U.S. citizenship to $2,350 from $450. Critics note that it’s more than twenty times the average level in other high-income countries. The State Department says it’s about demand on their services and all the extra workload they have to process people who are on their way out."

So there is a fee of $2,350.00 just to renounce and if you are rich or close to it, there is an exit tax.

It seems to me that someone is trying to keep us from leaving and that makes me want to go before it becomes impossible. On the other hand, do I want to be an immigrant in another culture? Even a legal immigrant? Well maybe if they spoke English in my new country and there was a Walmart and a Hy Vee. What are the odds? I guess I could immigrate to Kansas, but that would defeat my purpose of getting away...unless Kansas secedes from the Union. Is there any hope of that?

I did hear that there is a danger of secession in California, New Mexico and Arizona and it's because of the huge number of immigrants there. Spanish is becoming the first language in those states and I suppose there is some poetic justice in Mexico maybe getting back what it lost back in the 1840's.

Whatever the case, it would seem that the manifest destiny of the white man is just about at an end. Europe is falling to immigration from the middle east. Muslims are taking over what was once Christian territory and why not? Christianity is all but dead there. They are almost post post Christian. Europe will soon change forever unless the nationalists there can get their immigration problem fixed. They better hurry. There are not a lot of white folks left.

Western Caucasians have had a death wish for most of the last century and into the 21st. The convenience of birth control and abortion along with the need for two income families has shrunk the size of white households considerably and even below replacement levels. Governments have been forced to open the flood gates to hordes of immigrants that are not melding into the once white culture of the west. Socialism requires taxes. Taxes come from workers. If workers are not produced in sufficient numbers, then they must be imported to support the social welfare system.  The reality though is that increases in immigration into the host countries also increases the size of it's welfare rolls. It is a burden that could bring down the entire west and fracture the nation status of the US and EU. I do believe that day is not far off.

ISIS is a minor threat by comparison.

And that is why I'm thinking about a place to escape to. I do not want to be here when the feces hit the oscillating wind device.

Can they build a wall around Kansas? Probably not. We are all doomed. What is a groundhog to do?

I Was Advised To Take A Day Off

....and on The First Day of The Week

 
It was a new day. It was early Sunday morning. Pilate slept. The high priests slumbered. Judas was dead. The Devil was in Hell and those in his prison had been released (1 Peter 3:19, 20). God's Chosen One, once again, walked the earth. He was ALIVE!

John 20:1-18

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ² So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
³ So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴ Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷ as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. ⁸ Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹ (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
¹¹ Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹² and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” ¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

He defeated death and the power of sin. He can do the same for you. There is still time. He is waiting.

Another Perspective

Bad Moon Rising

Actually, it will be setting here in Iowa. There will be a total lunar eclipse at around 5:30 AM on the western horizon just before moon set in the morning. The actual eclipse will happen quickly, and will probably not last for more than 5 minutes. The shadow of the earth will cover the moon, blocking the rising sun's light and making the moon appear blood red, hence the name "blood moon". There are many religious types, among them the  fundie Christians and orthodox Jews, that are seeing this as some kind of sign from the Almighty since this is happening on Easter/Passover weekend. It is being interpreted as a sign of impending judgement or some other gloom or doom. For me, it's just a natural phenomenon and a thing of beauty. Somehow, I think if God wanted to tell us something, there would be frogs and locusts or maybe the death of the first born. God does not mess around with moon shadows when there is serious judging to be done.  Enjoy the light show.  

The Day Love Died

 

Mark 15:25-41

²⁵ It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
²⁷ They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. ^{[28] [a] 29} Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰ come down from the cross and save yourself!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! ³² Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
³³ At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[b]
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
³⁶ Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
³⁷ With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
³⁸ The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,^[c] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
⁴⁰ Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,^[d] and Salome. ⁴¹ In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

It was not a Good Friday for Jesus, but it is what He was born to do. He became the lamb of God. He took on our sin and then became our sacrifice. He stood in our place, taking our punishment, suffering the worst form of execution devised by the hand of man - crucifixion. The hope of the whole world rested on His act of selflessness. His death became our gain. He made it possible for us to stand before God without fear, forgiven of sin as children of the living God. 

But it was not over. Sunday was coming and the hope that He gave in His death would translate to victory and life eternal on the first day of the new week. Sunday was coming...                     

Good Company To Be In

I can relate to this...

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I am no Paul, but I understand this. My situation is not the same, but the thorn I have is every bit as perplexing and it certainly proves to me daily that I have nothing to be conceited about. I am not sure I am to the point of delighting in weakness, but I may be getting there. 

Paul, thanks for sharing. Someday I hope to tell you so in person.   

My Anger

From the age of about 14 to 19, I was a legalist. I subscribed to the Christian faith, but I was all about making others live in fear of losing their salvation if they did not do things the way I saw them in scripture. I was skilled from an early age at negatively motivating people and holding their feet to the doctrinal fire. It was also a very good way to keep people from looking at my life and holding me to the same standard. No one wants to challenge their inquisitor.

I also had a smoldering anger with God. I felt like He had set me up to fail because of certain issues in my personal life which I hoped I would grow out of as time went on. One of them I did grow out of, but the other one remained....to this day. I still take it to God with no result except maybe the will to resist. But getting back to my legalist persona... 

The problem with living like this is that no one could live up to the standards I set....including myself.  Like everyone else, I had character flaws as mentioned above. Like everyone else, my flesh was bent, and I had some pretty serious bends. I was setting up a conflict within myself that was going to make me lash out at God in anger and send me to the desert for 18 years.

I went to Bible college when I was 17 ready to receive my tassels so I could sit in the seat of judgement with the other Pharisees. This is not a good motivation for going to Bible college. I learned quickly that most of the Christians there were not like me. They were submitted people that realized they were sinners saved by grace and they wanted to help other people get there. That was not me.

Anyway, I took many classes, most of them from the Old Testament and I sharpened my rhetorical skills. In my personal life however, I undertook a study of Romans in the New Testament and this...this became the source of my irritation and anger with God. There were things in there that were completely out of line with my personal interpretation of the scriptures. At the same time, I was searching for answers regarding my personal spiritual issues that I could not harmonize with God's Word. 

I was in conflict. I had determined that God was unfair and unjust for many reasons. Then I got to Romans 9. Adding to what was God's utter rebuke to my approach to the faith, He sent me a very strange room mate. He was a Catholic charismatic from Cleveland. Looking back, I think God did that on purpose. Kind of rude Lord. Anyhow...

Being 18 years old (by that time), I was completely frustrated by the time I read this:

Romans 9:14-21

¹⁴ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
    and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”^[f]

¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. ¹⁷ For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”^{[g] 18} Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

¹⁹ One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’”^{[h] 21} Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

These words, to my mind, were completely unfair. Who could stand against a God that treats His creations this way? Why would I want to submit to this? 

It turns out that submission was part of the problem. To that point in my life I had not submitted to much of anything. When you're right, you don't have to submit to anyone? So it became my will against God's Will. All of my personal standards that I had spent so much time developing fell to the ground like a shattered pane of glass. I was going to Hell because I could no longer justify myself, the junk in my personal life or the way I was living. On top of this, I had a Catholic Charismatic room mate that was trying to get me to lighten up, be more tolerant and enjoy my faith.

I was a walking tragedy. I gave up. I quit praying, left the school I was in and moved to Texas to pursue a liberal arts degree in political science. I went to a Christian college there, but I did not participate in the Christian life. I found a group of nere-do-wells and spent a lot of time doing drugs and drinking. I also fell in lust with someone that I had a relationship with for about 9 months. It was a strange and completely different life. I found that I liked these people. They seemed more normal and in touch with themselves than any Christians I knew. They were real. They were open and honest about their pain and their pleasures. They were not afraid to be who they were.

Having never lived that way, I found it refreshing and fun. I really pushed the envelope. It is a wonder I did not end up in jail. I did get suspended from school for a couple of weeks, but my grades were good and my life was uncomplicated by excessive rule keeping.

The problem with living like that is that it can shorten your life. It can also inhibit your ability to support yourself in the real world where what you do really matters. So at some point after graduation, I had to get my life back together, at least enough to work. I managed to do that. I have worked for a number for reputable companies without ever quitting my job. Lots of buyouts and mergers kept me employed.

I never did get back to the church in those early years. From age 24 to 37, I was unchurched and I did not really miss it.  I found I did not like Christians all that much; even the 'cool' ones. So I worked and did little else except go fishing and go home once and a while.

Home was a problem for me. I found that every time I went home, I would get depressed. I missed home, my parents, my grandparents and...yes...even the church I grew up in. It set up a longing in me to go home that did not stop until I actually got here. It was this longing for home that put me in touch with God again. I wanted to go home so badly that I prayed. It was like He was waiting by the phone. It all happened very quickly. I ended up back in the church after a time and I have not really looked back since that time.

I know the Lord in a different way now. The lens through which I view Romans 9 has been refocused. In my anger, I had completely missed the most important part of that passage in verse 16.

 ¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

It is by God's mercy and grace that we are saved. There is nothing I can do to earn it. I have nothing of value to offer in exchange for it. I can only accept it when He gives it. I am pleased to say I have accepted.

I still slip into Pharisee mode occasionally. I usually receive reminders when I do. As for my personal issues with God - we still discuss them. There may be some lingering anger, but I love Him too much to hold the bentness of my own flesh against Him. I still wish He would have fixed them, but I would have missed so many other learning experiences if He had done so.

Looking back, my own failure to submit my life to Him is what has been the real issue. I still cling to some things that I should not. I need to let them die. I think there is time for that to happen. I may be looking pretty good when I get to the Pearly Gates. 

What a long, strange trip its been 

News of Flathead County

From the Flathead Beacon Police Blotter

7:42 a.m. Someone driving down Highway 35 in Kalispell reported that a woman with “irregular leg movements” was standing next to her car on the side of the road.
12:50 p.m. An uncatchable cocker spaniel remains at large on Farm to Market Road.
1:28 p.m. Cigarettes and sunglasses were reported stolen from an unlocked vehicle on South Cedar Drive.
1:40 p.m. Reportedly, people have been stealing items out of a collection bin at a thrift store in Bigfork.
2:52 p.m. A woman was overheard laughing with a man and discussing the fit of someone’s tunic during an accidental call to 911.
6:37 p.m. A local man reported that someone stole money out of the wallet he left in his unlocked car. He called back later claiming that his money was never actually stolen.
6:50 p.m. A runaway dog adamantly refused to return to its home in Columbia Falls. The owners granted the dog’s request and it was taken to the animal shelter.
7:33 p.m. A Bigfork man reported that his ex-wife crept in through a window and stole his cat.

The crime wave continues unabated. How can a community live like this when miscreants run wild and unchecked.

Resurrection

Sunday is Easter.  I prefer to call it  Resurrection Sunday. It is celebrated by Christians around the world as the day on which Christ rose from the dead three days after His brutal execution on a Roman cross. It is the central miracle of the New Testament; that someone who is dead can live again. It is the driving force behind the Christian faith, that you too can enjoy resurrection to a better life after you have shuffled off the mortal coil. It is one reason why believers actually believe.

You find allusions to resurrection throughout the New Testament, but Paul does an excellent summary of 'resurrection knowledge' in 1 Corinthians 15. He writes first about the resurrection of Christ and the witnesses to the event that includes himself, having seen Jesus at a later date than the other witnesses. In shear numbers, there were over 500 witnesses. To me, this constitutes proof. Jesus Christ lives.

Paul also talks a bit about the resurrection of all the dead in general, but his focus is mostly on believers. The fate of the resurrected unbelievers is not discussed here to any extent, but we know their outcome is not good.

He ends the discussion with a description of the process of resurrection itself. The prospect is exciting. He says,

1 Corinthians 15:51-58

    ⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— ⁵² in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. ⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”^[h]

⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”^[i]

⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Those of us that still live when Christ returns will not die in the classic sense, but we will be changed, we will be transformed. Our physical selves will become our everlasting selves in unity with our immortal spirits. From that point, we will live forever.

Those of us that are dead at His second advent, will receive new physical bodies and we too shall live forever with Christ. The universe will be renovated, renewed (not discussed here) and we shall rule and reign with Him forever. 

The future is bright. As the old creation, marred by the effects of sin and death winds down, it will give birth to the true new age and we will be there with life that will never end. The day is coming.

The nature of the resurrection body is a bit of a mystery, but we have clues. The record of Jesus' resurrection body can be found in the gospels. When he appeared to the disciples on the road to Emmaus  in Luke 24 and again to the apostles shortly after this, there was some confusion about the nature of His physical self. Initially some thought He was a ghost, but He proved to them He was not merely spiritual, but also physical. He was both body and spirit as a man should be. Humans are incomplete without both (and this is why death is an unnatural state for humans). Nevertheless, there were differences between Christ the man and Christ the resurrected man. 

As the resurrected Christ, Jesus was able to prevent people from recognizing Him until He desired to be known. He was able to pass through locked doors and just 'appear'. We know however, that He was a physical being. It was possible to touch Him. The wounds from His execution were apparent. He was able to eat and to drink and speak. It was as though He was existing on another plain of reality, but was still able to enter our reality. Truly a miracle man.

Will our resurrection bodies be like His? I believe so. 1 John 3:2 says this,
 
² Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

This is my hope, to be like Jesus, both spiritually and physically.  

Thank you Lord for the hope. Thank you for your willingness to come here and struggle with us and offer your life to save us. You have marked us with your Blood and your Word. You have joined your Spirit with our spirit. You have made us Yours for all time. I praise your precious name for this kindness and grace. You are Mighty God and Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the One True God and I do not know where I would be without you...wait...yes I do. Thank You for saving me from that fate. Praise and honor and glory to you Lord. In Your name I pray...Amen

Random Notes

This will probably be all over the place today, so bear with me. First of all, my friend Steve the preacher, put out an excellent sermon on the nature of righteousness. It managed to move even me, the tower of ice and self righteousness, to tears, so you know it was good. Steve is pictured below waiting for a deer to walk by.




I also wanted to add a comment to my Genesis 3 post.  When I teach, I always like to ask the class how they would react if they were in the situations we are studying. So I asked myself this morning, If I were Adam, would I have fared any better during the whole temptation process?

The short answer is no, but the whole scenario would also have gone down differently. If I had been Adam, I think that God and I would have had a long discussion immediately about this tree. I would have asked Him why he even put it there. I would have asked Him if He was setting me up to fail. I would have said, why the challenge? Do you not trust me? And I think all of this would have occurred long before Eve came along. Shortly after the discussion, I'm sure I would have ceased to exist and God would have started over if you know what I mean. So I guess it's good I was not there.

Please pray for my friend Nina. She is having medical issues. The prognosis is good, but it never hurts to pray about these things.

It was good to talk to my special friend, Eric on Saturday. He is the closest thing I have had to an accountability partner in my life besides Jesus. Eric, I appreciate the things you have to say to me. You are not as smart as Jesus, just so you know, but you make great back up. :^)))

Dad broke a tooth yesterday. He goes to the dentist tomorrow.     

I Am A Goat

In biblical terms, a goat is not a good thing to be. They are self willed and sometimes a real pain in the shepherd's backside, but they can serve a purpose in the herd if they make peace with the shepherd. I made peace with the Chief Shepherd some time ago, and looking back on it now, I think my training may end up being successful despite early prognostications to the contrary. I am still happily a goat and I still have a will of my own. I just struggle to keep it in alignment if you know what I mean.

If this mood continues, then tomorrow should be interesting. Look out Sunday School class. The Old Goat is coming.

Follow me. Never mind the associate shepherds. They think they know where they are going. We will have to show them other avenues of pasturage. Bring some sheep. They are clueless, but there is strength in numbers. We can make them aware. Making a sheep look up is fun. Forcing the shepherds to work is even more fun.

See you in the pasture.

The Passover

The Passover feast is a celebration of the time when God, by His Mighty Hand, forcibly removed His people, the nation of Israel, from involuntary servitude in Egypt. He eventually brought them into their own land and settled them there, but they were commanded to remember that Day annually when God acted on their behalf and saved them from bondage and servitude in Egypt.

The Passover celebration took prep time but it always ended with the eating of a meal that was symbolic of their hasty departure from the land of Egypt. At the first Passover, young lambs were slaughtered for the feast. The blood of these lambs was painted on the doorposts and lentils of all the houses where the Hebrew people lived. God was about to judge Egypt with the death of all her first born and the Destroyer (angel of death) would recognize the Hebrew houses by that blood and pass over it, saving it's first born inhabitants from God's wrath that was being poured out upon this nation. God did this for the Hebrew people because of the promises He had made to their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is a God that keeps His promises and He is also a gracious, forgiving God to those He calls. And such was the occasion on the first Passover.

The people roasted the slaughtered lambs, ate it with bitter herbs and unleavened bread and drank some wine. The lamb provided a mark that set them a part with it's blood. The bitter herbs reminded them of their bitter bondage in Egypt. And the unleavened bread was the bread of haste. There was no time for a nice yeasty loaf. In the morning the Lord would call and they would have to depart quickly. It was a time of thanksgiving and it was a time of sadness. Many died in Egypt on that night. If the blood of the lamb was not on your doors and lentils, your firstborn would perish in God's judgement. But it also represented a new day for God's people.

Fast forward now almost 1500 years to Passover in Jerusalem. Jesus and His disciples have taken to the upper room. They are in the midst of the meal. Jesus knows His time is short. He has been trying to reveal as much as He can to his disciples so they will be prepared for the events that are about to unfold. Here is how it went down.

Luke 22:14-23

¹⁴ When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.^{[a] 21} But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!” ²³ They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

At the beginning of Jesus' ministry, John the Baptist announced Jesus as "the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world". After three years of teaching and preaching, Jesus was now ready to become that lamb in the fullest sense. He was betrayed by one of His own, He was tried by the authorities, both Jewish and Gentile. And he was finally executed by the state. Prior to those events though, Jesus transformed the meaning of the elements of the Passover. The unleavened bread would represent His body and the fruit of the vine would represents His blood. From this point on, when His disciples ate this meal, they were to remember Him and offer thanksgiving for the grace and love of God that was made available to all humanity by His selfless act.

Brethren, Christ is our Passover lamb. It is His blood that is painted on the door posts and lentils of our hearts. It is His mark; a sign to His Father, that when judgement comes, He will pass over us. We will be saved by the blood of Christ and the grace and love of the Living God.

It is a powerful thing. He brings us out of the land of sin and selfishness and makes us new. We are His new nation as promised; a people called by His name. We are His light in a dark world.

In today's church, we celebrate what Christ did for us when we take communion. It is not the Passover meal of the Jews, but is to be a time of remembrance and thanksgiving. It is not to be a time of repentance or petition for forgiveness; the time for that was before you approached His table.

It is to be a time of celebration! The creator God of the universe loved us so much that He saved us in spite of our choices. We are forgiven. We are free. We will live and reign with Him forever. The cost was high, but Jesus turned our mourning to joy. We no longer need to fear the wrath of God.

We are saved. Remember that when you take the cup and the bread on Sunday. Praise God for His grace.

Frustrating People

Ya, I know. It's funny. I have been a frustrating person (turns out I'm pretty good at it) and I have also had to deal with people that frustrate me to no end. So I have experience at both ends of that spectrum.

For myself, I think I am an acquired taste. Some try and try, but they just can't find a way to be able to warm up to me. It's mostly because I do not cooperate. I do not trust easily and if I sense any trace in you of the manipulator or user, you just ain't gettin in my head. Sorry. But I am also very set in everything I do and that gets on peoples nerves. I refer to it as my 'Aspergers like demeanor'. I have purpose and intention. I do not need your interference. Just stand back as the feces hit the oscillating wind device.

The people that frustrate me are the ones that always want to help me or involve me in their plans or find a place for me in their big picture. Problem is that I do not usually want to play. Please do not try to make me play. You want to be my friend? Then let me be. Do not frustrate me. I have work to do.

Ya, but what about growth and working together and being involved with each other?

What about it? Why do things always have to be a group activity? Are you so unsuccessful on your own that you need me? Come on. I'm sorry, but a bunch of people pooling their ignorance on a subject does not promote growth.

There is much to be said for the solitary life. Frustrating huh?   

Work, A Job, An Occupation, A Career or A Calling

Which one of those do you have? I pretty much just have a job. It could have been a career had I chosen the path ever upward in the pyramid of authority, but I did not. I always thought it required too much personal compromise. This groundhog has principles. One of them is not to be a corporate shill for the sake of advancement and wealth.

I may have had a calling or callings at one time, but I managed to successfully ignore them. A calling is work that you have a potential to really be good at. It usually involves work that is not necessarily profitable, but serves the greater purpose of humanity or God or even self fulfillment. Callings are enjoyable for the most part, even though drudgery may be involved. People that have a calling to do a specific thing cannot see their way clear to do anything else. They fail at other things because other things do not work for them. There is no fulfillment or joy in the success at other things.

The callings that I denied in my life are at least two. If I had been on top of it when I was younger, I might have been able to write for a living. I also might have been able to teach. If the subject is right, you cannot shut me up about it. I do a bit of both of these in my job. I also teach at church, but it's far from enough to make me consider a switch at this late age which is 57. I dabble.

I know at least a couple of people that have callings and practice them. Their particular callings are frustrating to them. They both love it and hate it and consider walking away frequently. My advice to them is, do not do it. A calling is a sort of gift. For my money, it's a gift from God. You should not walk away from it, especially if the pull is strong despite the dissatisfaction. Serving a purpose greater than yourself, whether it be God or people, is not only noble, it is a privilege. Take hold of it and make it your own as best you can and let God sort out the details. He just needs you to do whatever it is. So what if you never see any fruit from it? It does not mean it is not serving the intended purpose.

Perseverance is the key. Think about Moses. Think about the first generations of Americans. Think about the work Paul did to keep the Church growing in it's infancy.

I will leave you with this:

Colossians 3:15-17  


¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
 

People Are Watching

Most of my life I have endeavored to keep my personal issues personal. Despite pressures of life, I have tried not to wear my troubles on my sleeve and burden others with my difficulties.

Recently however, I have had the need to talk about these things and I have used this blog for that purpose. To be sure, my blogging has not been limited to my personal issues, but by in large, what I am finding is that my blog posts with the personal stuff get the most hits.

Why do people like to hear about the suffering of others? Is it the same thing that makes people slow down at car accidents? Or is it that we do not like to see anyone escape this worldly existence unscathed? 

I think it's - plain and simple - exhibitionism. If you leave the windows of your life open, people will look. Some want to help. Others need a good laugh. And still others just want to feel relief that it is not them enduring those circumstances.

We humans are a fine bunch.

Genesis 3 - Why Do We Always Believe the Lie?

Consider this; the most important chapter in the Bible.

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Interesting. Who is this serpent? Moses tells us that he is more crafty than any of the animals God created. I am thinking that it is a cunning creature that has been possessed by a dark, malignant spirit that stands constantly in opposition to the Lord God and tries to destroy everything He creates. This spirit is none other than the adversary himself, Satan, Lucifer and Belial. This serpent is the material face of evil in a garden that is otherwise perfect.

What is the first thing this serpent does? He speaks to the woman (who has not yet been named Eve). His first words to her are that her creator is a liar. He questions what God has told them about eating from the trees of the garden. Eve immediately spills what she has learned, probably from her husband, that they must not eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Then the serpent lays out the lie in full. Eating the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden will not cause death and will give godlike qualities.

This is the point where it would have been good for Adam to speak up or barring that, they both could have called on God to settle the issue. What happened though was that Adam just stood there while Eve considered the statements of this wise reptile and looked over this fruit. This forbidden fruit looked delicious. It was beautiful  and it might, it just might impart knowledge. What is wrong with that? Why would God want us to remain uninformed and simple? Why is He holding out on us? What is He afraid of? So she ate and she also shared with her husband. Neither one of them questioned the information they received. They simply believed it. 

Adam and Eve had one rule, one command given them by God to obey, but they could not do it. They did not think to discuss the issue with Him. They simply did what they wanted to do and ignored their creator.

Is this not what we have all been doing in some form since that time? I truly believe that most sins are committed in full knowledge of the fact that they are wrong. We do them, commit them, because we want too. We deliberately defy God.

The fact is that Adam and Eve already knew the difference between good and evil. God had told them about the tree and it's fruit. He said 'do not eat'. They knew eating the fruit of the tree was wrong. But they did it anyway. They knew what was and was not God's will. They knew the difference. They had knowledge of good and evil.

What they did not understand was the consequences of sin; fear of punishment and guilt.

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Now there's a smart idea. Hide. Can you hide from God? No. Apparently the fruit was not as effective as promised. And when God finally catches up to them - finds them - they start the blame game. Adam blames God for giving him Eve. Eve blames the serpent and the serpent...well, he says nothing, but is most likely laughing quietly to himself and thinking, "game on". No one takes responsibility. No one tries to repent or begs for mercy. There is just a lot of stone faced buck passing. Denial is the rule of the day.

So in the face of all this hard heartedness, God does the only thing He can do. He renders judgement.

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring^[a] and hers;
he will crush^[b] your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.”

¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;
    through painful toil you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.
¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow
    you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”

²⁰ Adam^[c] named his wife Eve,^[d] because she would become the mother of all the living.

²¹ The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ²² And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side^[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

God curses the serpent, the woman and the man. They all receive punishment and ultimately a death sentence for their unrepentant disobedience. But in the midst of this judgement, there is a twinkle of hope. God offers it as a future solution to the problems caused by the serpent and the defiance of God by His creations. It's in verse 15.

¹⁵ And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring^[a] and hers;
he will crush^[b] your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

The day will come when the progeny of the woman will yield the One that will crush the serpent (the adversary, Satan, Lucifer). In that day, the evil events of Genesis 3 will be undone and God's enemies will be put in submission, and those that wish to join with God for eternity will be able to approach Him. This progeny is Jesus and the time is now. He can help you get right with God. Right now, you stand before Him naked. Your sin is exposed and it cries out from the earth to Him demanding His justice. Wouldn't it be nice to avoid that justice? Jesus can make it happen.

Beyond that, I said in the previous blog post that this was the most important chapter in the Bible. I still believe that.

If the events of Genesis 3 had not happened, none of the rest of what happens in the Bible would have been relevant. Genesis 3 is the pivot point for the human race. Jesus is the One that returns the balance to our favor.      

Genesis 3

In the 19th century, certain Bible scholars in Europe tried to take the Bible apart and treat it like any other collection of ancient literature. This is not unusual. It has been happening for centuries, but these men did their best to destroy the central message of the Scriptures as they took it apart. It started in Germany and moved west. The men became what has been called the "School of Higher Criticism" even though they were not all in one place or one university.

They could not accept, for instance, that Moses wrote or at least dictated the first five books of the Old Testament, aka, the Torah or Pentateuch for us Christians. They chopped up those books and credited the different parts to different writers according to the way they referred to God. It's a ridiculous idea on it's face because there are whole chapters and even single verses where different names for God are used. This did not stop them however.

They also decided that the first eleven chapters of Genesis should be relegated to myth; stories that were passed down orally through the ages that are not literally true, but are symbolic of what really happened in those times. They had many reasons for this. One of them was that these stories are similar to stories told or recorded in the ancient history of cultures all over the world. To me, this is a testimony to the truth of it rather than any alleged myth status of these chapters. But none of this is really the point.

My personal opinion is that the most important chapter in the Bible is Genesis 3. Yes...the most important.

It records the fall of humanity from God's grace and the fall of God's creation with them. Without Genesis 3, the entire concept of humanity's need for God's redemption falls to the ground. If those events did not happen, then there is no need for all the other stuff in the Bible. It becomes an irrelevant record of the ancient history of the Jews and nothing more. It renders Jesus to the status of a slightly mad prophet with delusions of grandeur. It makes Paul and the Apostles savvy street preachers;  manipulators that work crowds for their own purposes and not the salvation that can only come from God.

In short, the 'plan' to discredit the biblical record and show it as false or manufactured or ancient myth worked to a certain extent. Western Christian culture no longer had to respect the Bible as the inspired Word of God if they chose not to. It became entirely acceptable to reject it's authority and view it as a collection ancient stories. As you might expect, the intelligentsia of the time and even now laugh at the veracity of the Scriptures. Others continued on in their faith and have formed churches, schools and colleges dedicated to the preservation and integrity of the Bible and the one true faith.

Those of us that believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures, hold fast to a literal interpretation of the events of Genesis 3. They are central to both orthodox Judaism and evangelical Christianity.

The message of that chapter is this. We need God and His saving grace because we make bad choices without Him in our lives and many times we make bad choices when He is right there with us.

There have been and are secret societies throughout history who also call themselves Christian that believe what happened in the Garden of Eden was the great turning point for humanity and that, in fact, we did become like God as the serpent suggested to Eve. We are allegedly on the rode to replacing God with ourselves. These people were the Gnostics of old that later became the Cathars, the Templars, the Rosicrucians, the Illuminati and the Masons. All of these groups trace their philosophical history back to Nimrod, a post deluge descendant of Noah and also Solomon, the third King of Israel. And it's my personal opinion that Solomon is symbolic Nimrod in these secret societies.

These people are delusional along with the 19th century scholars that try to disarm the Scripture of all its salvific power. All of these people have one common purpose. They do not want to surrender to the power of the living God and repent. Their god is themselves and their only interest is to create their own morality and live in their own reality. They, like Adam and Eve before them, are choosing to deny the will of God and believe the lies of the adversary. This is why Paul says in Romans 1 that God turned them over to their own desires for their own destruction. In my next post, I will write a bit about my view of Genesis 3.

I Think This Is Me

From  http://www.dudeimanaspie.com/2009/11/dude-im-aspie.html

Weirdness With the Blog

I have mentioned in the past that I get reports on sources that check out TDGH. I know what operating systems and internet browsers are used to access the blog and I also know what country in the world the blog is accessed from. Other than the United States, the countries that most often come to TDGH are Norway and Russia. I am not sure what that's about, but it's nice to have them stop by. Recently there has been an uptick in visits from browsers in the Ukraine.

I also had another Linux attack the other day. I got a spike of 70 hits all at once. This has to be a governmental or corporate entity since no one that I know of has a Linux operating system on their device. Why these entities would bother with TDGH is a mystery to me. It does tell me that all personal and public speech is being monitored by these entities. I suppose they have their reasons and I find myself wondering how long it will be before it will become impossible to find TDGH in a GOOGLE search, because one of these entities does not like what I may have to say. It worries me that free speech incites this kind of reaction in high places. I am small potatoes. But even so, they seem to be running a scan regularly. Key words set them off. I could list them for you and get a blog visit again this week. Next time this happens, I think I will.     

My Talent

I really don't have one. Ya, I know. Some of you have heard me teach. I am moderately skilled at that. I am no Plato or Paul, but I do all right. I do not consider it a gift. It is something I have sharpened with practice and if I am not studied or prepared the result can be disastrous. I am not a natural teacher. It's just not who I am. People sometimes think that because you know stuff, you should be able to help someone or teach. Not true.

What is within my skill set is to deliver a lesson from scripture and be as prepared as possible to field questions that may come up. What I like to do is ask questions and guide people to the correct answers. My method is a modified Socratic method. It works for the group I teach at church. Another thing that makes me successful at teaching this class is that everyone in my class has known me for decades. If I did not have that advantage, I probably would have failed as a teacher some time ago. These people tolerate me because they know me and love me and I am very grateful for that advantage. They are also patient with me and more than willing to correct their teacher when they think he is wrong. Another reason why I love these people. They are gentle, but firm. Not easily mislead.

I was asked today if I would advise someone on a particular subject. That is not really something I do. I am not a tutor or mentor. My personality quirks alone would be enough to mess someone up unless they really understood me and knew I did not intend harm.

I thought about this for a while and actually considered doing it and then said no. I know who this person is. She has attended my class in the past with her father. I did not figure that out until just now, but I believe that's true. She will do just fine without me. She has a strong faith and a desire to make that faith work. She does not need the advice of this old codger whose real life experience is very limited.

So I think I will stick to my little group at 0800 and teach them until we are all dead and then move on to the next stage. My skill set is limited. The time I have left is limited. I have enough responsibilities to keep me busy until that time is up. My usefulness to the body ends there. I haven't got anything else to give that is worth anyone's time. But thanks for asking.

Love Your neighbor...The Post Script

I thought it might be useful, if not instructive, to revisit the second greatest commandment which is "Love your neighbor as yourself". This commandment laid down by Jesus in the gospel of Matthew 22:40 is also the second half of a commandment of God in Leviticus 19:18. The full verse in context reads like this, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as your self. I am the Lord."

When Jesus said what He said in Matthew, was He changing the intent of the command from Leviticus or was He merely expanding it and in the broader context of the Christian faith and the Church, what does it really mean?

It's obvious to me that the Leviticus passage is intended to apply to the Hebrew people of Israel and how they related to each other on a daily basis. The intention is that instead of trying to avenge every wrong committed against you; you should leave room for a bit of forgiveness and grace. You see to your neighbor's needs as they arise and you treat them in the same way you would like to be treated in all of life's situations.

Does this mean that you actually have to like your neighbor or spend time with them beyond what is needed to achieve love's purpose? I don't really think so. As a matter of fact, it might mean just the opposite. It might mean giving them their space or leaving them alone or simply making yourself available if there is a need. The best neighbors are considerate of all needs. They are not always up in your bidniss as the expression goes.

I do not think that it was Jesus' intention to change this meaning. I do believe He intended to expand it beyond just the Jewish people however, because he knew the age of the gentile church was coming.

So how does this second greatest commandment apply in the church age. The book of Acts tells us a lot about how the Church lived and existed early on. What we see there almost communal living. Acts 2:42-47 indicates that the new church members held everything in common, they shared everything, they ate together and they sold their possessions as needed to give the proceeds to those in need.

The question is, were they applying the principles of the second greatest commandment or was their behavior merely an act of survival? I am voting for survival here. The early church was persecuted and it was mostly poor Jewish and Greek Jewish people. There were many widows that were uncared for. They were seeing to each others needs in very simple and unique ways. They did these things because they had to, otherwise the whole of it would have fallen apart. To be sure, they were loving their neighbors through these actions and it was needed in that environment, but their survival also depended on it.

And that brings me to today. Should the Church be living in the same fashion today as the early church did? Do we need to be living communally and sharing everything? Is that degree of togetherness really necessary here in North America?

As the Church, we have many responsibilities to each other and we should be helping each other as needed, treating each other as we would like to be treated, but I reject the idea that we need to be in each others houses all the time, eating together and being together. As a wise Chinese philosopher once said, "company, like fish, begins to stink after three days." Even the early church evolved to the point that they were meeting once a week.

There is a strain of thought in the church today that suggests, if your church is not the church of Acts 2, then it's not New Testament. I reject this categorically. Nothing could be further from the truth (in my opinion). If members of your church are calling you in the middle of the week and wanting to come over to your house to "pray" and you are not up to house guests because you have worked all day, you should not have to concede to their self invitation. If, on the other hand, they are calling you because they want you to participate in helping someone from church with a meal or a place to stay, that's entirely different and well within the realm of the second greatest command. And so is taking them out to eat and putting them up in a hotel, if you are not up to house guests.

After a hard day at work, I want to be alone. I want to relax and unwind. I do not want to entertain Christians that for whatever the reason cannot not stand to be alone. If you need my help in some tangible way, I will try to help within the scope of my financial ability and my skill set, but just because we are all part of the same Body, it does not mean you can invite yourself over or pressure me into inviting you. If I want you to come over, I will ask.  And for the record...it's OK to say 'no' when I do. It doesn't mean I don't love you. It does mean I want you to respect the boundaries I have in place...and I will respect yours...I am treating you as I would want you to treat me. Please love me enough to do the same.