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Getting somewhere requires effort, it takes
faith to push on, it's easy to screw up,
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Friday, October 4, 2013
Blessed assurance, I’m not just fine! Confidentially, the type of male I find most enjoyable for a friend is one who has enough fire and assurance to speak
up for his convictions.~Marilyn Monroe
Have we got fire and assurance to speak up for our convictions?
Today’s world is so critical of religious people speaking
isn’t it?
It is safer to be quiet isn’t it? In Quebec Canada some people in politics are even trying to outlaw the wearing of
religious clothing. This is the time for everyone to speak out and wear all their religious clothing I think!
What does our
relationship with Jesus mean to us? Does it mean enough that we will speak of Him to other Christians… only?
Our lives should be sated with
Spirit led activity and thought. Every time we encounter a new situation we should expose it to the layer of Spiritual evaluation
and find out how it measures to the Word of God.
We should pray for daily activities and stand out for Christ instead of swallowing our words and taking backstage when the tough
discussions surface.
What does our relationship with Jesus mean to us? Have we faced the tough questions like how do commonly accepted scientific knowledge
and the bible align? What is the alignment between the bible and evolution? How can Christians work in the modern scientific
world if they reject the scientific premises? Science and the bible should align since God created the laws of science, right?
At least it should align to the extent that a book on spirituality would have odd mentions that relate to science and is not
a science textbook. How many of us are even aware Genesis was written in poetry (chiasmus poetry)?
I have blogged about how people can be strong scientists and still be strong Christians without having to choose between faith in God and
science.
Which idiots started that false
notion that science and religion do not align?
This false concept has taken hold of both the church and the world and that idiot is laughing at us!
Want
to know the name of the idiot that did this?
Satan!
Yes, he
has driven a wedge between Christians and between non-Christians and Christians with the same weapon. The one that says the bible and science
don’t agree.
Then
avid creationist’s who have huge bankrolls blindly take up the chase and propound Satan’s
lie with vigor.
Is
God a confidence trickster?
Did he create dinosaur bones, linkages between radioactive aging, fossil records, geological and astronomical
time tracks that show billions of years simply to trick our minds.
How do we explain that the light changes as it comes from different
stars at different distances and that that light would not only have to have been created travelling if the earth was 6000
years old but would still need to be being created second by second, simply to trick us into thinking the universe is
old.
Does this
sound like the God of our bible? No!
Have we even considered these things? Why are we we afraid by facing truth we can disproved God? If so we
are not truely believing in God and his power are we?
Do we instead simply tout religious words the way we were taught bymisguided
or mal-informed people without even understanding or investigating them?
Many of us do!
Is it wrong?
Probably, but then we are all sinners and there is that aspect that we sin even without intending to
or being deliberate about it. I may have sinned in some of my words I have just put out and not be aware of it.
We do our best, but fall short of the glory
God wants for us. We
grasp but our reach is just too constrained to grab eternity without help.
God reaches through into space and time with his son Jesus to extend that reach and give us the gift
we desire but cannot earn on our own terms.
Jesus bridges the gap but at the cost of his life. We connect with God and Holy Spirit grows in power within us as we
understand the free gift and the power God imparts to our lives.
Then we can say in the words of that old hymn…
“Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase
of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.” ~ Fanny Crosby.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Reusing old gods... “The biggest
difference between time and space is that you can't reuse time” ~ Merrick Furst
Have you ever had some really
good clothes that you like very much, but which are kept for the occasional special use?
We tend to put off wearing these types of
clothes until the right occasion comes and then we enjoy these moments of joy, comfortably wearing the well-fitting beautiful clothing with great enjoyment.
Time marches
on however, then, the day comes when they become older , or we do, and we switch them into another role, a role of common day-to-day use. Their importance
dwindles fast and they then become the same as any other item of our daily wardrobe. These special clothes are special no
more, and no longer have any of the power we gave them.
Today, I was reading an article from the Jewish press published on 28th August 2013 which refers to a Canaanite ritual stone.
This was a stone used to worship the Canaanite gods.
I guess it was important
to them and the Canaanite’s gave it the power of their rituals customs, and it was put into a place of honor.
This probably annoyed the Jewish people and according to the Jewish press article, a Jewish farmer when he got the chance, took a piece
of it ,and built it into a doorpost of his farmhouse.
He used something others would have considered special,
for a common task.
This was during the time of the second temple, so he did this somewhere between 530 B.C. and 70 A.D.
The reuse of areas and goods common to gods
was prevalent in ancient times.
Jacob after his dream of going up a ladder to heaven did just this, to an area of the country called Luz.
(Luz means “to turn aside” or “to Depart”)
Genesis 28:18-20 (NIRV)
18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone
he had placed under his head. He set it up as a pillar. And he poured oil on top of it. 19 He named
that place Bethel. But the city used to be called Luz.
20 Then Jacob made a promise. He said, “May God be with me.
May he watch over me on this journey I’m taking. May he give me food to eat and clothes to wear.
The new name of Luz was Bethel,
which means “House of El” or “House of God” (“El” is a word for God in the Old Testament Hebrew).
Jacob repurposed an area.
It is interesting that Archeology backs up
that this place referred to by Jacob and it was an important religious site all the way back to the age of the patriarchs.
It’s mentioned
many times in the bible. Joshua 18:13, Judges 1:22-26, Genesis 12:7-8, Genesis 13:1-4.
In the early days God allowed men to setup worship sites. Mainly because mankind had not developed
far enough to actually understand they didn’t need them. Our God is compassionate and has always met us at the point
of our knowledge and abilities, encouraging us to move on.
Yet God also later told Jewish people not to make images of him.
What God may
have been doing ,was actually putting himself one step above the other gods of the time.
No-one could build a Jewish God’s form into the doorpost
of a house.
God reserved
his name to be the highest.
Maybe that’s why Archeologists have such a rough time finding out about ancient Israel.
They just don’t
have many stone images of a god to find, in order to help them.
Simply because our God who made everything, does not want to be represented as
part of his creation, when he is all of it! (at least that’s my perspective on the matter, and I will really want to ask God his when I get
into heaven and have the opportunity to put these types of questions).
We as Christians need to honor God correctly.
We need to understand we cannot put him into a space
and lock him down. God is timeless, and that means that even if we can box him as many people are trying to do in
the world of today, by regulating him to a place called church, then all God needs do is slide back or forward in time to
a place where the church was not yet, or ceases to be, and he has escaped our human bondage.
We are locked by time and space. God is locked
by neither!
Yet, and here is the important part, God choses a time and space of His overall existence, in which to exist in a special way!
The bible says Galatians 4
But then the right time came.
God sent his Son. A woman gave birth to him. He was born under the authority of the law. 5 He came to set
free those who were under the law. He wanted us to be adopted as children with all the rights children have.
6 Because you are his children,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. He is the Holy Spirit. By his power we call God “Abba.”
Abba means Father.
7 So you aren’t slaves any longer. You are God’s children. Because you are his children, he gives
you what he promised to give his people.
We are God’s children and Jesus in the form of Holy Spirit has located himself in our hearts, and moves through
time with us by His own choice.
God changes
us from Luz to Bethel! God is timeless, yet chooses to walk through time in our shoes!
Isn’t that amazing?
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Sometimes it’s good to see what people consider important “Never
let a problem to be solved become more important than the person to be loved.” ~ Barbara Johnson
Sometimes it’s
good to take a step back and consider what people are doing to see what they consider is important.
Today I had a quick look at blogs of mine that people have been viewing
in the first part of this month.
Highest in viewing is a what I consider a rather complex and academic study on the inter-testamental period. This describes the times between the old and new testament period of the bible. I guess it’s thinkers and people who
really want to increase depth of biblical knowledge that read that.
Next is my advice to parents who have a child who has grown up and doesn’t
seem to be following God in My child has grown up, and is living with a non-Christian…what should I do? This is important especially for those whose child is living with a non-christian.
Next is my blog series on science and Genesis. So many young people go to university and feel they have to choose between the bible and science. This is not true! The
two align more closely than we can ever imagine. This series convers many facts in this regard.
People then are reviewing Is it good to give? Why are gifts of any value and when should we give them, a discussion of how we use our talents effectively.
There are those who need to know they are welcome in a huge family. My blog Hey! Everyone is welcome to this family, anytime! Explains that.
How do the Christian sacred writings teach? “Spin” or fact? Touches on global warming to illustrate how we should present facts not spin. It draws parallels to how Christians should
present information to others.
Is there a less self-conscious world emerging? Looks at facebook, social media and modern interactions and what the older generation needs to consider in this newly emerging
world.
Then Regretting regrettable regrets? provides for a view of dealing with regrets in a Christian way.
The variability and breadth of the interactions show we have diverse needs. Today
as we deal with and consider others let’s try to remember that and give each person some special attention they deserve.
I trust you will find something in the materials I provide that will help you to. Have a wonderful blessed day and may God
lead and guide you today!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Why do we fail to agree?
“Men
argue, nature acts” ~ Voltaire
There is a difference between an argument and a quarrel isn’t there?
A quarrel is an angry argument! People who have different views
on things can argue without quarreling. I trust at the government level in America that there are arguments and not quarrels.
I also trust that Voltaire
is correct and that both parties will become subject to the force of nature as shutdown of the American government starts
to have impact and nature drives true resolution on academic issues.
In the Christian church we also differ and in many cases argue about differences.
Being a Christian does
not automatically switch everyone’s mind into the same track and align all thoughts to a collective. In simple terms
we are not the Borg and have no wish to be assimilated.
Christians are individuals who love others.
Each of us has free will and uses
it, but due to being shown the glory of our God, we as Christians tend to want the same or similar things.
Yet in some things we
differ. Baptists and some groups want full emersion baptism, while Anglicans and others are happy with water sprinkled. Does
this mean we agree on baptism?
As a sacrament and one we need to do “yes”!
Regarding the method “no”!
God wants us to work with the bible…
Ps. 119:97
Oh, how I love your
law!
I meditate on it all day long.
2 Timothy 2: 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who
correctly handles the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,
rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for
every good work.
We need to immerse ourselves in God’s word to grow and thrive. This
does not mean we will all understand God's word fully or interpret it identically.
There are a few reasons why not…
1. Sin is in the world and taints our thoughts and thinking. It
is like a bias that pulls us away from truth. We cannot eradicate sin so cannot get rid of this bias. All we can do is minimise
it’s impact and keep ourselves from doing it or allowing it to influence us as far as possible.
2. There is cultural
difference between us and the original writers and their audience. There is cultural difference between us
ourselves in different parts of the world geographically. Since God made us that way it’s okay, but we need to take
this into account.
3. We don’t know everything. Only God does. So let’s understand
that should we today try to explain to Acient Moses what DNA is, or how a nuclear power plant works, we would ahve emmense
difficulty doing so. This is a small part of the difficulty God has communicating with us. We are just so simple
mided that we cannot understand very much. That means God has put things in simple terms for us. Simple terms means
some diverse understandings when we interpret these terms in teh light of lifes revelations. God also put the exact same information down
for Moses. Hardly surprising we find it difficult to follow sometimes, I guess Moses had a similar problem. It’s
credit to the amazing ability of God that our scriptures are so accurate in so many details and as understandable as they
are! Where we fail to understand things, it is sometimes because we yet have to get to the point where we can.
With this understanding, let’s
give each other room to be different and still love God. We can argue, but let’s not quarrel! Good to take that into
our homes as well isn't it?
Have a great day! (and how about praying for our governments everywhere today)
Monday, September 30, 2013
Can we trust God’s word? The bible says
“Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”
Psalm 30:5
We don’t start off believing
that!
I think most rational people start off with a healthy skepticism. That’s good!
We need to be willing to check things out, to validate their authenticity and make sure we are
not being duped.
It’s good to check and see if the bible is a made up book or based on truth.
Investigations that involve comparisons
with archeology will show immediately that the good book is supported by archeology. May places and names of ancient locations and people are super
accurate.
Next
maybe we would want to see if God is real. Maybe we go to church and get connected with Christians. This has various outcomes. Sometimes positive but
sometimes not. Strangely enough, if we really search for God, we find him.
We may look at science and the bible. There are a number of blogs I have written about this showing
you can be a scientist and love and follow Jesus without ambiguity or suspension of beliefs.The bible and science agree to a huge degree!When we take the words as written in the context and to the context
they were originally written, we cannot but find that we are shocked at the amazing exact truth they impart.
The wisdom of the words God provides
us in the bible is overwhelming and is probably the reason why most of the western world bases it justice system on principles inside those words.
God is good,
he is truthful!
There are however those who twist and change his words.
The psalm continues…“Do not add to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”
Words are important!
Let’s consider how we use them. They can hurt or heal!
Jesus would have us heal!
Today as we read God’s word and go into the big world we
live in, lets keep our words true, simple and honest.
That’s what God would want!
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If you want to see a short blog describing a perspective on what I believe click here
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Rift in Evil
By Ken
X Briggs - Published: September, 2010
- Format: Perfect Bound Softcover(B/W)
- Pages: 208
Size:
6x9 - ISBN: 9781450250894
Available from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iUniverse. |
Credit cards are acceptable on sites having Ken's books: 
:)
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| Ken's book covers are displayed below. . . | |  This
suspense thriller centers on Kiara, a beautiful young woman pursued by a murderous group of people, who relentlessly and ruthlessly
hunt her and her sisters. Kiara has no idea why she is being targeted! When Kiara and her family turn to the law for help,
this fails. Her pursuers’ powers reach deeply into the political and law enforcement world. Family support for her dwindles
when they too have to flee her pursuers. Can Kiara escape the clutches of both the law and dishonest big business? With the
media broadcasting that Kiara and friends are dangerous and subversive, can Kiara clear her name and bring her pursuers to
justice?
| | | | | To purchase Kiara's Pursuer ebook
@ $1.99 kindle version click here, To contact the author contact Author@KenXBriggs.com | | | | | | | | The town of Zinaville is dropped into a spiral of evil causing a young man and a beautiful but abused woman
to launch into an investigation that unveils an evil conspiracy. A horrific mining accident results in Joshua
Robyn's father being killed. Joshua struggles both with himself and his townsfolk as he tries to make sense of an incomprehensible
situation. Is it an accident or a murder? Why is there a seeming link to evil? Why is his work environment suddenly threatening?
What is the conspiracy about and what are they trying to do? As action moves dramatically from exotic African grasslands to
the heart of North America's cities, the plot unfolds and the pace quickens. Will there be time? Why is a beautiful abused
young woman in the center of this plot? Evil tendrils tighten on their lives and the interplay between the visible
and invisible world shows opposing forces at work. Will there be a rift in evil? Will they be able to stop the
evil in time? | | - Published: September, 2010
- Format: Perfect
Bound Softcover(B/W)
- Pages: 208
Size: 6x9 - ISBN: 9781450250894
Available
from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iUniverse. Chapters | | | | |
| Frugal Eating Advice |
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| Good advice for students living on limited $'s. Click on the image! |
May you be blessed today!
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