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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, August 29, 2014
Everyone lies sometimes...don’t we?Everyone lies
sometimes...don’t we?
 “Everybody lies...every day, every hour, awake, asleep, in his dreams, in his joy, in his mourning. If he keeps his
tongue still his hands, his feet, his eyes, his attitude will convey deception.” ~ Mark Twain
“I don’t lie”
Really!
“in a study published
in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, DePaulo and Deborah A. Kashy, Ph.D., of Texas A&M University,
report that
"frequent liars tend to be manipulative and Machiavellian, not to mention overly concerned
with the impression they make on others.
Still, DePaulo warns that liars "don't always fit the stereotype of caring
only about themselves. Further research reveals that extroverted, sociable people are slightly more likely to lie, and that
some personality and physical traits—notably self-confidence and physical attractiveness—have been linked to an
individual's skill at lying when under pressure.” - http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199704/the-truth-about-lying
These studies show everyone lies!
How about
in the bible? Anyone of importance there lie when under pressure?
Take a look at Abraham.
Yes! I am talking of the Abraham.
In Genesis 20 it says...
Now Abraham moved on from there into the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while
he stayed in Gerar, 2 and there Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelek
king of Gerar sent for Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as
dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
4 Now Abimelek had not gone near her, so he said, “Lord,
will you destroy an innocent nation? 5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and didn’t
she also say, ‘He is my brother’? I have done this with a clear conscience and clean hands.”
This King Abimelek gets into a bit of trouble
with God for something he didn’t know about because of Abrahams lie.
God intervenes on Abimelek’s behalf... Then
God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning
against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet,
and he will pray for you and you will live.
But the question
is...did Abraham lie?
Here is what Abraham said about what he said...
11 Abraham replied, “I said to myself, ‘There
is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she really
is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife. 13 And when God had
me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we
go, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”
The definition of a lie is “a false statement made with
deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.” (Dictionary.com)
Was Abraham intending to deceive?
Yes!
Abraham lied!
Notice that fear is often a generator of lies. Abraham feared, so
he lied and got Sarah to lie.
The great couple lied together.
What is God’s attitude? Does he approve of the lie?
God acknowledges Abimelek
was honest and protects him from the lie. Yet it takes repentance to fully restore Abimelek back to the same condition as
before the lie. Abraham had to pray! We don’t get the subject of Abrahams prayer to God but we do get told...
Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek,
his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again, 18 for the Lord had kept all the women in
Abimelek’s household from conceiving because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.
My guess is that Abraham apologised to God and asked God to undo what had been done by his lie.
Lies are wrong, and a true
statement is that we all lie!
I guess that makes us all liars and in the wrong?
Our lies are like licking
the blade of a sharp knife. We can only do it a short while before we get cut. Yet we all lick madly, like insane masochists.
With this background
I come to this statement by John, a guy who walked around with Jesus.
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever
says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But
if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever
claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.(1 John 2)
How can we keep Jesus commands if we are all liars?
The bible says Jesus is the way, truth and life.
If
we lie and Jesus is truth we are not in Him, are we?
Worse according to John is that if we say we know Jesus, but don’t do what he says, we don’t
have truth.
Doing
what Jesus wants us to do is as important as knowing Jesus.
He says we should be truth, but we lie and so are not!
We fail don't we?
Abraham
said one thing and did another as well. To correct this he needed to connect with God and ask forgiveness to set things
right.
We
need to do the same with regard to our lies.
Jesus died so that we could get out from under the load our lies pack onto us.
His death hauled that load off our backs, but to get it off, we need to ask Jesus to help. Then, we are expected to do things
in way Jesus sowed us was the right way.
There is only one person who didn’t lie! Jesus!
Jesus is the only one who can make the way for us. We then obey
his words and get forgiveness for areas we slip, making us able to live in truth.
Then we know that if anyone obeys
his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims
to live in him must live as Jesus did.
Fri, August 29, 2014 | link
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Hypocrisy and politicians...Hypocrisy and
politicians...
 A hypocrite is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a speech for conservation.~Adlai
E. Stevenson
In my previous blog I was talking about individuals who are hypocritical. Today I want to take a country
and show how it is hypocritical.
Reading today’s headlines that are reporting on voice of America in Africa we see “Libya:
Foreign Intervention in Libya Seen As Further Destabilizing a Fractured Country”
This is one of the
main stories on Google News in this region this morning.
What is it about?
Well the article goes on to say “Senior U.S. officials say
Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have launched airstrikes against Islamist militants twice in the past week in the Libyan
capital. The move caught the United States off guard.”
It turns out that Egypt and United Arab Emirates joined forces to
try and stop a bunch of Islamist groups from taking over airfields and imposing their will on locals who are militant to protect their country from
potential influence and attack.
The USA doesn’t like this?
Why?
Maybe because USA didn’t start it, or control it, know it would
happen, or have a say?
What is the USA doing to help Libya since the they and the world destabilized it? Not much right?
What are USA doing
in Syria and other areas of the Middle East?
Exactly what Egypt and the Arab Emirates are doing in Libya!
Talk about hypocrisy! USA is full of it in this instance!
I
am not arguing that Egypt and Arab Emirates are right, only that the USA is being hypocritical in their opposition and injection
of comments.
Silence in this regard would perhaps have been a better response.
When we shout off our mouths to tell
others that they are doing wrong we need to remember that simple bible story by Jesus:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For
in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at
the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How
can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your
own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove
the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7
None of our countries is perfect, but sometimes I feel as if the USA acts like a bully in world affairs and is extremely selfish.
Let’s pray for our countries
and those in power.
Pray that they would have compassion and love for others as well as those within our borders. Let’s pray for wisdom
in making and applying policy. Let’s pray for a reduction in fear and hypocrisy. Let’s pray for peace and destruction
of lies. Let’s pray for the men and woman who have to make difficult choices and statements. That they would have integrity
for all to see instead of blatant hypocrisy.
Have a great day!
Wed, August 27, 2014 | link
Monday, August 25, 2014
Hypocritical Christians, am I one?Hypocritical
Christians, am I one?
 If there is no Hell, a good many preachers are obtaining money under false pretenses ~ Billy Sunday
“Say one thing, do another!”
I know a man who professed to be a very solid Christian, but who drove like a maniac, sometimes 50km over the speed limit and who according to his
wife (I wouldn’t drive with him) was aggressive with other drivers.
That’s not being respectful of others.
There are Christians who go to church every
Sunday, but if they have to go out of their way to help another or have to spend time with an alcoholic or person who is destitute,
avoid it like the plague.
That’s not being respectful of God.
We as Christians are meant to do God’s work on earth.
We are to do what Jesus did, live
in honesty, truth and love. Unconditional love. Not only love of those like us!
John summaries this very well and he lived with Jesus so knows exactly what he is saying:
We know that we have come to know him if we
keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and
the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them.
This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
True Christians follow what Jesus said.
Many don’t!
Does this mean Jesus is not who
he says he is?
Let’s say you meet a person who says that BMW is the best maker of cars and they sell cars. Yet when you come
to their home for a barbeque, all you find in their garage is Suzuki cars and bikes. That makes them hypocrites. Does it mean
that BMW’s are not good cars?
No!
What a hypocrite says and does in no way compromises the subject of their speech and actions. It compromises them!
The same with Christian
hypocrites.
What the
Christian hypocrite says and does in no way compromises Jesus, the subject of their speech and actions. It compromises them!
Let’s remember
this consideration when we find people who are missing the point of Jesus good news, otherwise we too are hypocrites.
Jesus wants us to love even those who make these mistakes.
Do we?
Mon, August 25, 2014 | link
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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 | | | | |
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