I just heard an awesome sermon on the topic of "Who is Jesus Christ"; I even got to be the opening act(I read the Scripture from Mark 8: 34-38 which was the text).
Basically, our youth minister asked three question as related to the passage. They were:
1) Who do men(others) say that I(Jesus Christ) am?
2) Who do you(listeners-in this instance, his disciples) say that I(Jesus Christ) am?
3) Who do you(finger pointing at you) say that I(Jesus Christ) am?
Men have a number of opinions as to who Jesus is. Some say that He was John the Baptist; and some say that He was Elijah; and still others say that He was one of the prophets.
Simon Peter stated that Jesus was the Christ. The coming promised Messiah of God.
But, here is the key question. Who do YOU say that Jesus is? Remember, even the demons believe that Jesus is the Christ of God, and fear. But, He is NOT their Lord and Savior. They know who He is, and from whence He came; but He is not THEIR Lord and Savior. Knowing the facts about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him experientially. They can fear Him and realize that there is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved; but they do not have the intimate knowledge of what God has done for them personally through the name of Jesus. That is what each of us has to experience individually. We are not saved because our parents were or because we go to a certain church. We are saved because we KNOW Him-He is OUR Savior and Lord-it is personal.
The thing is: only the Holy Spirit can open our minds-our souls, if you will. Without His drawing us to God, we CANNOT come to Him on our own. Only then can we actually experience what God is doing. I believe that this is the reason that it is stated that we will shine like stars in the heavens-there are actually very few believers in contrast to all the people who have ever lived. There will be many believers; but the percentage of all those who have ever lived who are believers is small.
Anyway, it is who Jesus is to you-the Jesus you know through your own life experiences-what He has done in your own life that is important-not what you read or believe-but what you KNOW that matters.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Gardener extraordinaire
I come from a line of gardeners-at least, I think I do. In one census, my great great grandfather listed his occupation as 'commercial gardener'. So obviously, it must be in my genes?
I remember that my grandmother(granddaughter of said commercial gardener) did lots of stuff with plants-and it seems like she had lots of house plants. And two of her daughters(my aunts) always seemed to have a lot of plants scattered around their houses. Plus, my uncle(brother of said aunts) was big in the day lily world. Even though he has been dead for several years, if you go online you can still find his patented day lilies for sale.
Unfortunately, my purported green thumb seems to actually be brown. I either water plants too much or else try to wean them off of water entirely. Most do not survive in our house too long. I plant trees-after a year or two they become sticks. My Colorado blue spruce lasted two winters-but it turned brown this spring. Hybrid elm, which is supposed to be fast-growing, is now just making my life difficult when I have to mow around its lifeless stub.
Today, I decided to do some more work in the garden. Got it mostly tilled(tiller was brand new last year)-then the tiller decided to die on me(like the plants)! Refused to start again. I pulled the starter cord one time too many and threw my back out. Now, I am sitting in my recliner hoping the Tylenol does its magic. Hopefully, my gardening is not over for any extended period of time. I still have to mow almost 3 acres of lawn every week for the rest of the summer and it is early June.
Oh, to emphasize my further ineptitude-I have a second tiller-one of those little ones that have the very high speed-it won't start-don't know what I have done to it.
And my chainsaw-I have trees which need trimming-brush that needs to be cut up-won't start.
And my new weed eater-same story.
I also have an older pick-up truck-the only way I can keep the battery from running down is to unhook the battery cables every time I turn it off. Replacement part plus repair will cost far more than the value of the truck.
It really doesn't make much difference whether the engine is old or new-it seems to develop health issues. Just like my plants. So, I am thinking that mayhaps; gardening skills and mechanical ability are related-but not necessarily transmitted through our genes. Both have certainly bypassed me.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Stupid Americans
How stupid have Americans become?
Seems like a fair question to me. Just read a news article on Yahoo! concerning a rape in India. Apparently, some American woman went to visit some friends; then at about 1:00 a.m. decided to return to wherever she was staying to spend the night. She started walking, but then hitched a ride(I assume it was not in one of those pedicabs) with three men whom she did not know. End result: she was raped.
First question for me is, "Why was a lone woman out that late anywhere in the world-not just in India?" Common sense dictates this is not a good idea. No matter where you are, a woman by herself away from the confines of a safe haven after dark is not the best situation-no matter what the feminists would have you believe. Not to say that a man by himself would not also entail certain risks.
Where have we come up with this belief system that all people are basically good? Mankind is evil-we are a fallen race, thanks to our first ancestors. Sin is the lifestyle of unregenerate mankind-male and female. We are basically an evil race, sometimes with a bent toward good; not a good race with a bent toward evil.
Second, if these people were the friends of the woman, "Why did they allow her to set out for her room(hotel, whatever) by herself at 1:00 a.m.? They were evidently locals-could they not persuade her to stay or offer her a ride home? There must be more to this situation than the information which was reported in the media. Kind of like the adage that 'friends don't let friends drive drunk'. These friends should have been concerned about the welfare of their 'friend'.
Third; "If you have any regard for your personal safety, why in the world do you climb into a vehicle with men you don't know?" That is an invitation for trouble. I would think that the woman in question is fortunate to be alive.
In summary, why was the woman(I am not calling her a lady) out alone in a foreign country in the first place? This was the root cause of her difficulty. Whether she needed male protection(anti-feminist ranting here) or not-it would have been prudent to either go with friends or to refrain from traveling alone-so, I reiterate-"How stupid have Americans become?"
Seems like a fair question to me. Just read a news article on Yahoo! concerning a rape in India. Apparently, some American woman went to visit some friends; then at about 1:00 a.m. decided to return to wherever she was staying to spend the night. She started walking, but then hitched a ride(I assume it was not in one of those pedicabs) with three men whom she did not know. End result: she was raped.
First question for me is, "Why was a lone woman out that late anywhere in the world-not just in India?" Common sense dictates this is not a good idea. No matter where you are, a woman by herself away from the confines of a safe haven after dark is not the best situation-no matter what the feminists would have you believe. Not to say that a man by himself would not also entail certain risks.
Where have we come up with this belief system that all people are basically good? Mankind is evil-we are a fallen race, thanks to our first ancestors. Sin is the lifestyle of unregenerate mankind-male and female. We are basically an evil race, sometimes with a bent toward good; not a good race with a bent toward evil.
Second, if these people were the friends of the woman, "Why did they allow her to set out for her room(hotel, whatever) by herself at 1:00 a.m.? They were evidently locals-could they not persuade her to stay or offer her a ride home? There must be more to this situation than the information which was reported in the media. Kind of like the adage that 'friends don't let friends drive drunk'. These friends should have been concerned about the welfare of their 'friend'.
Third; "If you have any regard for your personal safety, why in the world do you climb into a vehicle with men you don't know?" That is an invitation for trouble. I would think that the woman in question is fortunate to be alive.
In summary, why was the woman(I am not calling her a lady) out alone in a foreign country in the first place? This was the root cause of her difficulty. Whether she needed male protection(anti-feminist ranting here) or not-it would have been prudent to either go with friends or to refrain from traveling alone-so, I reiterate-"How stupid have Americans become?"
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Holy Bible Numbers chapter 5 verses 11-31. How is this inspired in today's world?
The Adultery Test
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'If any man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, and a man has intercourse with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has defiled herself , or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself, the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of memorial, a reminder of iniquity, "Then the priest shall bring her near and have her stand before the Lord, and the priest shall take holy water in a earthenware vessel; and he shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water...
I don't even want to type the rest of this statement out-it goes on for another, like 14 verses-read it for yourself if you want to see the yea or nay outcome of this test-did she or didn't she?
My problem is: what is the correlation between not following Biblical dictates and today's radical feminism: single mothers raising children by themselves, women and men cohabiting without the benefit of marriage, homosexuality, etc.?
Obviously, we; American society, and the world in general, are ignoring the clear commands of the God of the Old Testament. I might suggest that this commandment was solely for the Israelites to whom it was addressed, and not for 21st century Earth. Is that correct? By that logic, the Ten Commandments, which most societies honor(not because they consider them necessarily sacred, but because they set moral parameters that a society needs to abide by to survive) can be ignored with impunity. But we ignore the Ten Commandments at the peril of civilization-without a moral compass, we will descend into savagery.
To be fair, the woman accused of adultery was the subject here-the man is not mentioned. However, this was just the TEST for unfaithfulness-PUNISHMENTS for both the man and the woman who engaged in adultery are covered other places in the OT.
I have questions here-no answers. But, I do have beliefs.
Technology has given women a sexual freedom which they never possessed at any time in our past. With that freedom, we see the accompanying breakdown of the family. Men do not stay with women, because they can find another woman who will give them what they want(free sex) without the commitment of marriage. Why should a man commit to one woman when he can find another who will give him the same satisfaction with no strings attached? Men are short-sighted that way!
I believe that without a strong male presence in the home we see an accompanying rise in homosexuality. Young men with a strong female presence in the home, and no counterbalancing male influence yield to dark side lusts to indulge in homosexual behavior. The tendency is there in a small percentage of males, and with no man around, coupled with the societal acceptance, they are embracing this deviant behavior in frightening numbers.
I have not considered the case of lesbianism, but suspect the increases we have seen are due more to the laxness of our society than to the absence of the father from the home.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'If any man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him, and a man has intercourse with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has defiled herself , or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself, the man shall then bring his wife to the priest, and shall bring as an offering for her one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it, for it is a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of memorial, a reminder of iniquity, "Then the priest shall bring her near and have her stand before the Lord, and the priest shall take holy water in a earthenware vessel; and he shall take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water...
I don't even want to type the rest of this statement out-it goes on for another, like 14 verses-read it for yourself if you want to see the yea or nay outcome of this test-did she or didn't she?
My problem is: what is the correlation between not following Biblical dictates and today's radical feminism: single mothers raising children by themselves, women and men cohabiting without the benefit of marriage, homosexuality, etc.?
Obviously, we; American society, and the world in general, are ignoring the clear commands of the God of the Old Testament. I might suggest that this commandment was solely for the Israelites to whom it was addressed, and not for 21st century Earth. Is that correct? By that logic, the Ten Commandments, which most societies honor(not because they consider them necessarily sacred, but because they set moral parameters that a society needs to abide by to survive) can be ignored with impunity. But we ignore the Ten Commandments at the peril of civilization-without a moral compass, we will descend into savagery.
To be fair, the woman accused of adultery was the subject here-the man is not mentioned. However, this was just the TEST for unfaithfulness-PUNISHMENTS for both the man and the woman who engaged in adultery are covered other places in the OT.
I have questions here-no answers. But, I do have beliefs.
Technology has given women a sexual freedom which they never possessed at any time in our past. With that freedom, we see the accompanying breakdown of the family. Men do not stay with women, because they can find another woman who will give them what they want(free sex) without the commitment of marriage. Why should a man commit to one woman when he can find another who will give him the same satisfaction with no strings attached? Men are short-sighted that way!
I believe that without a strong male presence in the home we see an accompanying rise in homosexuality. Young men with a strong female presence in the home, and no counterbalancing male influence yield to dark side lusts to indulge in homosexual behavior. The tendency is there in a small percentage of males, and with no man around, coupled with the societal acceptance, they are embracing this deviant behavior in frightening numbers.
I have not considered the case of lesbianism, but suspect the increases we have seen are due more to the laxness of our society than to the absence of the father from the home.
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