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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, February 28, 2014
Say it or do it? The cockroaches dilemma.Say it or do
it? The cockroaches dilemma.
 When I say I’mma do something I do it – Eminem (not Afraid lyrics)
The cockroach was bragging about moving a soccer ball
that stood on the hard dirt in the hot sun. Those around him ridiculed him.
“You’re crazy Roach!” they said. “See
the size of that thing! You’re to small for that!”
Every day he told them he was going to do it, and every day he got
the same abuse and laughter.
This carried on for a few months until Roach was mocked openly each day.
Then one day Roach’s
friend scurried into town. He watched what was happening. He was about the same size as Roach but was the silent type. He
watched and waited until later afternoon when the other cockroaches were sleeping, hiding from the sun.
Then he went out and wedged
his body under the ball and heaved. The ball only moved a tiny amount, but just enough that using his back legs he could
scrape a few grains of sand under that side of the ball to keep it from rolling back into position.
Then he went around the other
side and dug a few grains of sand out from that side. Going back to the first side he heaved again and it moved a little more.
Working this way, Roach’s friend moved the ball an inch or more that day before he had to leave to go back to his own
hole.
Before
he went, he explained to Roach how to move the ball. Roach went every day and moved the ball just under an inch a day.
At first
nobody noticed, but when they did, curiosity set in. “Is the ball moving they asked?”
Roach was no longer bragging,
he was simply determined to move the ball and spent the effort moving it each afternoon.
One afternoon, a young member of the community
saw him doing it and reported it to the other cockroaches.
That afternoon a crowd gathered and watched as he worked. The ball
moved, imperceptibly, but it moved. For a while they watched then one called out.
“How you going to get rid of the ball from
our area smart Roach?”
Roach had learned his lesson. Instead of bragging, or saying how, he simply waved his feelers invitingly
to the teenage roaches. “Want to be a part of something bigger than yourselves?” he asked.
The young cockroaches were
up for a challenge and the community watched as a small team of them worked together heaving, shifting sand under the ball
and then digging out the other side. Finally the ball have moved a few feet and it came to a place where it was on a slight
incline. The next time the ball heaved it started to move, and then slowly, continued. As everyone watched the ball gained
momentum rolling down the incline picking up speed until it finally hit a stone and bounced right out of sight.
“Speech! Speech!”
the crowd clamoured and Roach was covered with well-wishers.
Roach had learned.
All he said is “No speech. Together let’s
just believe and do what is needed from now on!”
Readers, let us realize when in the bible James says…
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone
claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes
and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing
about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action,
is dead.
18 But
someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by
my deeds. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. James 2
He is saying “Together
let’s just believe and do what is needed from now on!”
Fri, February 28, 2014 | link
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Rich vs. Poor, how do we fit in? “I
think that, people are people. That's why the way I treat the lady working in the deli who slices my ham is the same way I
treat my friend who drives a Chrysler. That's why the way I treat the guy who packs my groceries is the same way I treat my
rich friends. Because people are people. Some are rich and some are poor, and they're all people.” ~ C. JoyBell C
“I treat everyone the same”
Really?
Let’s understand that some people are poor due to fewer skills that are in demand by society than others.
Some just don’t have what it takes to achieve the specialized
skills that are worth paying more money for.
This
is a fact of life !
Unfortunately unless we have a cookie cutter for perfect pregnancies and parents, this will always be the case.
Some people will have the DNA that gives them an advantage on certain tasks of life.
The rest of us have to make do with lesser versions
of the DNA inheritance.
This is not something we can change. It’s a fact of life!
It is a fact that ensures some people have less money and stuff than
others.
We choose to call those with less stuff and
money, the poor in our world.
Some
of us are poor and some are not.
So what does God have to say about this? Jesus brother says this…
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen
those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
(chapter 2)
Notice the poor have the extra handout of faith. Why?
Because they need it!
If you know where your next meal is coming from you just don’t have to have the faith of the man who
prays to God for it,
and then spends the day searching for opportunities to get it. That man has to operate in faith to survive and that’s
way easier than operating in faith with a full stomach and bank account.
Let’s understand that faith is something that when exercised
gets stronger day by day.
This means that the poor have the advantage in this area due to their circumstances.
Now this doesn’t mean richer people have no opportunity
to develop faith, only that the drive is less strong and so the richer people have to work harder at it. The rich need to deliberately have faith in everything rather than spontaneously
have faith.
Really
whether rich or poor we need that faith and to can get to the point where it builds us and others up, it’s just the
poor can do it more easily than the rich, right?
Okay, so what does James continue saying…
6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not
the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to
whom you belong?
In
those days the rich were normally the Sadducees and Romans and neither had a love for Christians.
The Christian types were derided and feared (sound familiar) since both of these groups
had reason to be concerned.
The Christians were pacifists who did good in their communities.
The power of helping others built strong
relationships with people and so these other groups felt they were losing control of the poor (whom they exploited
to make their wealth and goods).
Does
any of this sound even vaguely familiar?
Our modern world has invented this thing they call the economy and
using various techniques have shown us we must make it “strong”.
What this means is we have to work to gather more than
we need, want what we do not have to have, push others out the way and ignore them because they get in the way of
making the money or goods, and spend as much of our time as they can get from us to build this “economy”.
In so doing we often we lose
respect and value for those who have a different DNA that perhaps makes them into people who value aesthetics, simple pleasures
of life, and loving relationships instead or wealth and goods. These “poor” people often cooperate and work together
to help those less fortunate than themselves. (sometimes they don’t and waste things…but not always!)
James all those years ago understood
this…and not much has changed in this regard, he said…
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love
your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted
by the law as lawbreakers.
James points out Jesus, who was God on earth, had shown him that one of the most critical things we
as people have to do to improve our world is to love others independent
of whether they are rich or poor.
Being rich or poor is probably DNA selected and environment matured, not selected by the individual alone.
This means that we need to have compassion for the poor.
I find it strange how some
of my rich friends judge poorer people negatively and can only think it is because the poor “Deserve it”. Perhaps
they have not got to know some of them properly.
Yes, there are a small fringe of poor who don’t need to be that way, but that is not an excuse for
rich to make out ALL poor are that way.
Some people just have hard times in life.
A man who devastated by the loss of his wife walks out from home
and cannot go back as his mind is damaged. Forlorn and in pain he wanders the streets.
An elderly couple who cannot work due to medical issues but who
scavenge every cent they can get to make sure their child who also has medical issues does not have to live like they do,
giving the child a little of everything they need to live and denying themselves.
A man who upon losing everything made over the last in 50 years
in a court case, cannot deal with it. He has nowhere to go but the streets and turns to alcohol with the few cents remaining
in his pocket, loosing himself to that alcoholic demon.
Do we ignore helping these people in their need?
Probably!
We probably walk past then looking
the other way to avoid getting to know them.
We should be treating them the same way we treat other richer friends. We should take the time to hear them out and understand their
circumstances. We should try and give them hope (sometimes that’s more important than money and stuff), and look for
ways to change their situation.
Each can be dealt with differently. Each has different needs. The drunkard need hope a job and to avoid alcohol, so don’t hand him money
or it makes his situation worse. Also, don’t do nothing…he needs help right?
The elderly couple need to be connected with medical services
and a food bank, but most of all want help for their child. Anything we can do their will be more important than money right?
The man with the wife
he loss needs a man who has lost his wife and found hope in God and the Christian family to come alongside doesn’t he?
If we ignore
them we are not doing the right thing. We need to do what we can in the time and activity of each day. We cannot solve everything but we can deal
with areas God shows us during the day and we need to take time for these people who are important to God but who are of then
rejected by many others in this world.
James continues…
10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just
one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
Let’s remember to keep to what God wants us to do. If we fail, we are just in the same situation as
many of the poor, forlorn and missing on God’s free love.
Whether rich or poor if we are in that situation we have no advantage
over the other.
All of us need God’s love, Jesus forgiveness, Holy Spirit in our hearts and lives, and to live in vitality each day, challenged by God to do something to
improve our world.
How
about we do that today?
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
If you show favouritism, then you are not following God's way correctlyIf you show
favouritism, then you are not following God’s way correctly!
 “the gods play no favorites.” ~ Charles Bukowski
We want fair wages, we want fair prices for our goods,
we want to be treated fairly.
We know this is right don’t we?
Do we really?
How big is our list of wants? How much of this is something we
desire to have over others? Do we want better houses, cars, opportunities?
Really? Is this fair?
When we deal with others do we treat everyone the same way?
Really?
People in this world are not always
motivated by fairness but by greed.
In fact there is a a famous Ivan Boesky in 1986, at the UC Berkeley's
School of Business Administration commencement, in which he said, "Greed is all right, by the way. I want you to
know that. I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself".
Then in the 1987 film Wall Street, this statement
is made "greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and
captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge
has marked the upward surge of mankind.”
Greed is NOT the Christian way of doing things but shows
how deeply evil has crept into people’s minds.
James, Jesus brother says;
“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus
Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes,
and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes
and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit
on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”
Greed has almost become an idol of western society. Our economists
think it drives our society to success and fail to remember every culture that has idolized greed has finally fallen. We are
sweeping away the foundation of strength on which our society is built.
Greed didn’t build success in this world. Inspired men without
greed in their minds, often trying to understand God’s creation more deeply did!
Favouritism is a lesser form
of greed that is worse in that it demeans others.
Let’s not think anyone has more value than another. God
doesn’t!
Over and over again in the bible God rejects favouritism
1 Timothy 5:21 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and
of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.
Leviticus 19:15 `You
shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your
neighbor fairly.
Exodus 23:3 nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute.
Proverbs 24:23 These
also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good
Deuteronomy 10:17 "For the LORD your
God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor
take a bribe.
2 Chronicles 19:7 "Now then let the fear of the LORD be upon you; be very careful what you do, for the LORD
our God will have no part in unrighteousness or partiality or the taking of a bribe."
I think we get it, right?
Wed, February 26, 2014 | link
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
How can entanglement occur in a logical world?How can entanglement
occur in a logical world?
 Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.vb~H. L. Mencken
There is a scientific
occurrence described by Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen in 1935 and a little later
by Erwin Schrödinger that defies logical thinking of us more normal types, and is impossible according to conventional
logic.
Alert Einstein went as far as to label it a “spooky action
at a distance”.
We so often think that our science world describes everything perfectly, and forget how many times it has incorrectly
described things, before they were shown to have truth different than what the scientific papers had proclaimed for years.
Then there
are those times, when science just cannot explain things.The interesting thing is that we have been so brainwashed in the modern world
that we think if science cannot explain something, it doesn’t exist.
Hence since science cannot explain God, he cannot exist, and somehow
we think that simple fact should erase God.
Hardly!
There are even things
science cannot explain.
Do you know there is something we can PROVE moves FASTER than the speed of light,
and we cannot explain how. (We can explain what happens and re-test this over and over again…but the exact
how eludes us).
In
simple terms there are pairs of particles that can be measured to have position, momentum, spin, polerization, etc to be synchronized
or correlated. i.e. if one spins in one direction, the other spins in the opposite direction. What is interesting is that
if we switch the spin of the one, the other switches immediately, although there is nothing between them. It has been shown
this communication occurs faster than light could travel between the sites of measurement. i.e. people have checked that it
occurs in 1/10000 of the time of the speed of light between measurement sites.
The limit of this test is the limits our ability to measure this
incredible speed.
To all observers this occurs immediately.
The distance between them does not impact the switch. i.e. the communication moves faster than the fastest
known item in the universe, which is light.
This is illogical in normal real terms!
They call this entanglement!
What is interesting
is this enables the truth that we are all interconnected at some level to be put forward with sound argument, at
a scientific level.
As Christians we know this already, for God created and sustains all things. In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1
We are all part of God’s creation!
Cast your cares on the Lord
and he will sustain
you;
he will never let
the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22
If we are all one we need to do what God says. We are not here to be a piece of meat
moving around on a piece of dirt. That demeans us, and God!
No! We are to care for, love, and synchronize our life’s with God who is the
life force of the universe, and in so doing add to his wonderful creation. We need to take care of it and each other. We are
not only to hear things, but do them.
James 1 says 22 Do not merely
listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Later he also says
Religion that God our Father
accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted
by the world.
Let’s go care for others and keep ourselves
from being polluted by the world, knowing that some things of science are yet to explain, but God has already revealed them.
Tue, February 25, 2014 | link
Monday, February 24, 2014
Is the devil real? Is the devil real?
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One
is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They
themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight."
-
C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
There are incredible horrors in this world, and the worst of these are those horrible things people
do. Animals may be cruel, but compared to humans their cruelty evaporates and blows away.
To be really evil one needs a human being doesn’t
one?
We all know
this because in some small way, we all know we have done things that lead us towards similar evils. Most of us however resist
these evils. I am not only talking of Christians, non-Christians know there is evil, and avoid it as well.
Yet, when a Christian starts to talk of the devil, it is
as if the average person starts to suppress laughter, or want to make some amusing comment about crackpots or crazies.
Today. most fall into the first error
C.S.Lewis described. They are tricked by the very devil they reject, into denying his existence.
Perhaps by denying the existence of the supreme motivator
of evil, they can deny their very own evil nature and excuse some of the things they have done or will do. Avoiding
responsibility is after all a secondary tactic of evil. “Simply shrug these idiotic comments
off” we can hear the demons whispering into our ears. “There is not such thing
as evil, just bad decisions”.
Really?
Is not
life a series of decisions flowing past us each moment of each day?
Isn’t our work of life to make decisions continually?
If that is the case, is it not likely in a universe of decision
making, that those that want to corrupt and manipulate it would want to do so at the decision making points?
The bible states there IS a devil.
It states it many times!
Here is one time…
Scripture
says, “When you are angry, do not sin.” (Psalm 4:4) Do not let the sun go down while
you are still angry. Don’t give the devil a chance. Ephesians 4:26&27
Here is another…
8 Control
yourselves. Be on your guard. Your enemy the devil is like a roaring lion. He prowls around looking for someone to chew up
and swallow. 9 Stand up to him. Stand firm in what you believe. All over the world you know that your brothers
and sisters are going through the same kind of suffering. 1 Peter
5:8-9
The most famous describes the impact of this spiritual power and its dominion in Ephesians 6.
10 Finally, let the Lord make you strong. Depend on his mighty power. 11 Put
on all of God’s armor. Then you can stand firm against the devil’s evil plans. 12 Our fight is not
against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly world.
13 So put on all of God’s
armor. Evil days will come. But you will be able to stand up to anything. And after you have done everything you can, you
will still be standing.
14
So stand firm. Put the belt of truth around
your waist. Put the armor of godliness on your chest. 15 Wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good
news of peace. 16 Also, pick up the shield of faith. With it you can put out all of the flaming arrows of the evil
one. 17 Put on the helmet of salvation. And take the sword of the Holy Spirit. The sword is God’s word.
18 At all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds
of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all of God’s people.
In all these instances, note that we are advised to stand against
the devils influences.
Who should stand against the Devil?
Us! You and me!
It takes Gods wisdom and
knowledge of God’s guidelines and truths, to unveil what the Devil is doing, but we have inherent in us the ability
to stand against the evil. God gave us as humans, a human spirit that can decide to ignore the devils schemes.
We need not fear the Devil! That would also be wrong!
Sure, it is important to know God’s
work and words and how to use them to maximum effect, but it is equally important to know God wants US to stand against the
Devil.
God gave us Holy
Spirit to guide us. The Devil cannot hear the advice we get from God, but that advice comes out of knowledge of what
is in God’s word, his bible.
This means knowing and memorizing pieces of God’s word is critical to ultimate
power over evil.
Non-Christians
may accidentally reject evil advances at times, but the Devil creates chocolate covered poison options, that require advanced
learning to fully avoid. It is hardly surprising that so many people get confused as to what is, or isn’t evil.
Almost everything todays is built to
pleasure us and give us emotional highs and satisfaction. There is little the Devil has to do other than coat the poison in
these enticements.
Let’s
not get taken in by this today. Let’s acknowledge the Devil exists but God within
us and his word that is imbedded in our hearts, is stronger than the Devils schemes.
Let’ us destroy advances of evil in our hearts, and worship
Jesus.
Have a good day!
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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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Click
on XML Click here =>  to be told of new blogs
| 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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