Johnny Ray's Quiet Times

The Light Study #3

2012-02-01T08:20:00.000-06:00

Psalm 27
The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me. Teach me your way, LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

This Psalm is becoming... kind of like my inspiration right now. It gives me hope in my moment of darkness and trying to be restored to God.

The Light Study #2

2012-01-31T07:48:00.000-06:00

2 Samuel 22:26-30
“To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low. You, LORD, are my lamp; the LORD turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.”

2 Samuel 23:2-4
“The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’

Job 12:22
[God] reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.

Job 24:13-17
“There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths. When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up, kills the poor and needy, and in the night steals forth like a thief. The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed. In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light. For all of them, midnight is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness.

Job 28:11
They search the sources of the rivers and bring hidden things to light.

Job 30:26
Yet when I hoped for good, evil came; when I looked for light, then came darkness.

Psalm 19:7-8
The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

The Light Study #1

2012-01-30T07:44:00.000-06:00

Exodus 35:4-29
Moses said to the whole Israelite community, “This is what the LORD has commanded: From what you have, take an offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze; blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.

“All who are skilled among you are to come and make everything the LORD has commanded: the tabernacle with its tent and its covering, clasps, frames, crossbars, posts and bases; the ark with its poles and the atonement cover and the curtain that shields it; the table with its poles and all its articles and the bread of the Presence; the lampstand that is for light with its accessories, lamps and oil for the light; the altar of incense with its poles, the anointing oil and the fragrant incense; the curtain for the doorway at the entrance to the tabernacle; the altar of burnt offering with its bronze grating, its poles and all its utensils; the bronze basin with its stand; the curtains of the courtyard with its posts and bases, and the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard; the tent pegs for the tabernacle and for the courtyard, and their ropes; the woven garments worn for ministering in the sanctuary—both the sacred garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons when they serve as priests.”

Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses’ presence, and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved them came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD. Everyone who had blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen, or goat hair, ram skins dyed red or the other durable leather brought them. Those presenting an offering of silver or bronze brought it as an offering to the LORD, and everyone who had acacia wood for any part of the work brought it. Every skilled woman spun with her hands and brought what she had spun—blue, purple or scarlet yarn or fine linen. And all the women who were willing and had the skill spun the goat hair. The leaders brought onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece. They also brought spices and olive oil for the light and for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense. All the Israelite men and women who were willing brought to the LORD freewill offerings for all the work the LORD through Moses had commanded them to do.

Sodom and Gomorrah Video

2012-01-26T11:13:00.002-06:00

He Hesitated

2012-01-24T16:48:00.000-06:00

Genesis 19:16
When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them.

Mercy Study #4

2011-12-16T13:16:00.000-06:00

I do this search when I study out mercy and I find it interesting to see that over and over again God shows mercy to the Israelite people.

Nehemiah 9:29-31

You warned them to return to your teachings, but they were proud and did not obey your commands. If someone obeys your laws, he will live, but they sinned against your laws. They were stubborn, unwilling, and disobedient. You were patient with them for many years and warned them by your Spirit through the prophets, but they did not pay attention. So you handed them over to other countries. But because your mercy is great, you did not kill them all or leave them. You are a kind and merciful God.

I love that it says that God is a kind and merciful God.

I found this on Wikipedia and it is pretty good. It shows that mercy can be a work but is more about benevolence, forgiveness and kindness than anything else, at least when referring to Christianity. It is my belief that if you are forgiven of your sins, you would naturally want to help others out, either in a 'works' type basis (IE: serving someone or a group of people) or on a spiritual level (IE: praying for others, studying the bible with people, etc.). So if you receive mercy, the tendency would be to give mercy. If you don't receive mercy, the tendency would then to be more inward focused rather than outward focused.

Mercy Study #3

2011-12-13T14:56:00.000-06:00

Matthew 5:1-10

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a hill and sat down. His followers came to him, and he began to teach them, saying: "They are blessed who realize their spiritual poverty, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. They are blessed who grieve, for God will comfort them. They are blessed who are humble, for the whole earth will be theirs. They are blessed who hunger and thirst after justice, for they will be satisfied. They are blessed who show mercy to others, for God will show mercy to them. They are blessed whose thoughts are pure, for they will see God. They are blessed who work for peace, for they will be called God's children. They are blessed who are persecuted for doing good, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them."

I couldn't help it. I had to check out Spiritual Poverty. I had assumed it would be just one word in the Greek, but it is actually two words. Click and have fun.

They are blessed who show mercy... the mercy there means mercy and can not mean anything else. It's just like saying dirt is dirt is dirt and can not be anything but dirt because it is... dirt. So mercy here means mercy which means mercy. This is the Greek word eleemon (pronounced el-eh-ay'-mone).

Mercy means to be compassionate or to have kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy, or other person in one's power. To put it another way, you can either be merciful to someone or be cruel to them, as cruel is an antonym.

Now... God will show mercy to them. The mercy used there has a slightly broader definition, but does mean 'to have compassion toward' and 'to give mercy to'. So if God shows kindness and compassion toward me, isn't that a good thing? And all I have to do is be kind and compassionate toward others.

Gotta Have Faith #2

2011-12-08T07:04:00.000-06:00

Genesis 22:1 After these things God tested Abraham's faith. God tests a person's faith. Or does he? The King James Version says that God tempted Abraham, however, the Bible also says that God does not tempt a person, but only their sinful desires... Bible Tools says that test or prove may be a better choice of word than tempt. I personally don't think that God tempts, as the Devil is the one who is the tempter. God does, however, test.

Isaiah 7:7-9

But I, the Lord God, say, " 'Their plan will not succeed; it will not happen, because Aram is led by the city of Damascus, and Damascus is led by its weak king, Rezin. Within sixty-five years Israel will no longer be a nation. Israel is led by the city of Samaria, and Samaria is led by its weak king, the son of Remaliah. If your faith is not strong, you will not have strength enough to last.' "

I think it is clear that faith and strength are directly related.

Matthew 14:29-31

Jesus said, "Come." And Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. But when Peter saw the wind and the waves, he became afraid and began to sink. He shouted, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter. Jesus said, "Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?"

Faith can be measured... I believe it is measured in strength. It can be tested and it can run out. Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true. Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in accordance with the evidence on which it rests. This is not necessarily a bad definition, however, I feel it is lacking. In what, I am not sure, but it just feels incomplete. I think it put it simply, faith is belief in action.

Mercy Study #2

2011-12-07T13:32:00.001-06:00

Exodus 25:10-22

"Use acacia wood and build an Ark forty-five inches long, twenty-seven inches wide, and twenty-seven inches high. Cover the Ark inside and out with pure gold, and put a gold strip all around it. Make four gold rings for the Ark and attach them to its four feet, two rings on each side. Then make poles from acacia wood and cover them with gold. Put the poles through the rings on the sides of the Ark, and use these poles to carry it. These poles must always stay in the rings of the Ark. Do not take them out. Then put in the Ark the Agreement which I will make with you. Then make a lid of pure gold for the Ark; this is the mercy seat. Make it forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide. Then hammer gold to make two creatures with wings, and put one on each end of the lid. Attach one creature on one end of the lid and the other creature on the other end. Make them to be one piece with the lid at the ends. The creatures' wings should be spread upward, covering the lid, and the creatures are to face each other across the lid. Put this lid on top of the Ark, and put in the Ark the Agreement which I will make with you. I will meet with you there, above the lid between the two winged creatures on the Ark of the Agreement. There I will give you all my commands for the Israelites.

This doesn't have anything to do with mercy directly, but the mercy seat is the lid that went on top of the Ark. It was also called the place of atonement. I thought this was pretty cool, so I decided to add it to this study.

Atonement: satisfaction or reparation for a wrong or injury; amends.

Exodus 33:18-20

Then Moses said, "Now, please show me your glory." The Lord answered, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will announce my name, the Lord, so you can hear it. I will show kindness to anyone to whom I want to show kindness, and I will show mercy to anyone to whom I want to show mercy. But you cannot see my face, because no one can see me and live.

What is interesting is how mercy and love can be used in place of mercy. And it is true. God can show love to whomever he wishes. But can you think of what it would be like if God didn't show love? I think that love is available to whomever wishes to have it, you just have to invest in it. Mercy and love and kindness are always there for you, you just have to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Which brings me back to why am I having these quiet times anyway? Why am I doing this? I pray that I am drawing closer to God by doing so... Johnny OUT.

Mercy Study #1

2011-12-06T14:08:00.001-06:00

What I read today:

Psalm 30

I will exalt you, O LORD, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. O LORD, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning. When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” O LORD, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: “What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help.” You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Psalm 28

To you I call, O LORD my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place. Do not drag me away with the wicked, with those who do evil, who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts. Repay them for their deeds and for their evil work; repay them for what their hands have done and bring back upon them what they deserve. Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD and what his hands have done, he will tear them down and never build them up again. Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Save your people and bless your inheritance; be their shepherd and carry them forever.

As I studied deeper, I found that the NIV took a little liberties in their translation on Mercy on Psalm 28, although it appears to fit well in English... I think the best translation for Psalm 28 goes to the NCV. In fact, Psalm 30 in NCV is pretty solid, too. I think I will post in the future in the NCV, well, at least for now.

I then went to Bible Tools to study the meaning of chânan, which means to have mercy shown upon (evidently there is a particular context which can change the meaning of the word. I think it depends on the surrounding words, but I am a novice at best when it comes to this sort of stuff).

A Simple Message

2011-12-05T23:11:00.001-06:00

Notes from service on 12/4/11

Jamie Parker did the communion service. He referenced a passage on 1 Timothy 1:12-17 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. And when he read this, I couldn't help but notice the mercy part. I was shown mercy. Do I live a life that reflects that I, Johnny Ray, have been shown mercy? Do I even feel that compassion has been shown to me? I mean, God has to have immense patience with me, simply because I am a jerk, for lack of a better word.

Anyway, I need to study out mercy Biblically. I feel I could glean a whole mess of stuff just by cracking open the Bible and seeing what it has to say about mercy.

Jason Lugo actually gave the message, not Jamie Parker. It was entitled 'A Simple Message' and gave focus to John the Baptist (or JTB, as I call him in my mind... probably should be left there, in my mind, I mean).

We first looked at Matthew 3:1-8 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance."

JTB called people to repent. Everyone came and everyone got the same message... ----REPENT----

Jason went over the meaning of repentance or metanoia (see link above)...

We then looked at 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. and we looked at 2 Corinthians 4:5-6 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

It is important to look ahead, but it is also important to not hesitate in going back. Looking ahead can keep us on track and going back can prevent larger mistakes. It is like studying for a test in college. You look ahead to the test and prepare for it. And when you are taking the test, it is wise to check your answers, to go back over the test (time willing, of course), to prevent mistakes. When walking with God, it is important to look ahead and not stay stagnant in your spiritual walk with God. It is also important that if you find yourself becoming stale with God, to go back to the beginning, to check your work and hit back to the basics to get fired up again.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Acts 3:17-19 “Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord...

Repentance brings times of refreshment from God.

Listen to God

2011-11-17T09:41:00.001-06:00

Romans 10:14-17 (The Message)
But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That's why Scripture exclaims, "A sight to take your breath away! Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God!" But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: "Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?" The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ's Word is preached, there's nothing to listen to.

Gotta Have Faith - Study#1

2011-11-08T11:44:00.000-06:00

Isaiah 7:9
If you don't take your stand in faith, you won't have a leg to stand on.

Hosea 4:1-3
Attention all Israelites! God's Message! God indicts the whole population: "No one is faithful. No one loves. No one knows the first thing about God. All this cussing and lying and killing, theft and loose sex, sheer anarchy, one murder after another! And because of all this, the very land itself weeps and everything in it is grief-stricken — animals in the fields and birds on the wing, even the fish in the sea are listless, lifeless."

Nehemiah 1:5-9
I said, "God, God-of-Heaven, the great and awesome God, loyal to his covenant and faithful to those who love him and obey his commands: Look at me, listen to me. Pay attention to this prayer of your servant that I'm praying day and night in intercession for your servants, the People of Israel, confessing the sins of the People of Israel. And I'm including myself, I and my ancestors, among those who have sinned against you.

"We've treated you like dirt: We haven't done what you told us, haven't followed your commands, and haven't respected the decisions you gave to Moses your servant. All the same, remember the warning you posted to your servant Moses: 'If you betray me, I'll scatter you to the four winds, but if you come back to me and do what I tell you, I'll gather up all these scattered peoples from wherever they ended up and put them back in the place I chose to mark with my Name.'

Salt of the Earth

2011-10-26T08:07:00.000-05:00

What is my identity?

Disciples
Christians
Priests
Family of God

Matthew 5:13

1) Salt is a Preservative

(2000 years ago). Salt was very valuable.

Sodom & Gomorrah

~2000 BC

It was a very wealthy city mostly because of the salt trade

Ezekiel 16:49

This was before the 10 commandments, but God still held their actions against them. It was against their law to help the poor. You'd be burned at the stake for helping someone.

Genesis 18:20-33

God says that a little bit of righteous goes a long way with him. God will tolerate the unrighteous because of the righteous in their presence. The righteous preserve the unrighteous

Luke 13:18-21
Your presence makes a difference in the lives of those around you. God likes to use small groups to do big things.

2) Salt Makes Men Thirsty
II Corinthians 2:14-16
Some people will be drawn to your life; others will be repulsed.

The Church of God

2011-10-25T07:03:00.000-05:00

Who is She?

"My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her" (Song of Solomon 6:9)

In the midst of the great apostasy of the last days, God has a true Bride. She is "called, chosen, and faithful." The Church of God is the worldwide, divine institution of believers committed to accepting the whole Bible rightly divided as their rule of faith, practice, government, and discipline, as the Holy Ghost has revealed it in the Scripture. Established by Christ in 28 A.D. and arising from the Dark Ages in 1903, The Church of God is committed to fulfilling the four-fold purpose of Her divine creation.

Information taken from: The Church of God

I was met by a couple of nice guys from the Church of God a couple of days ago. I mean, they were really nice guys. One was originally from Korea, while the other gentleman really didn't speak at all. I noticed several things. First they had this belief that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit really aren't a Trinity, although they will say that they do. They described it as one person doing carrying three different titles, ignoring that Jesus acknowledged both God and the Holy Spirit... and that God acknowledged his Son and so forth. They also introduce a new 'person' to the mix and that is the Mother. So, there is the heavenly Father, the heavenly Mother, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, however, God is at least the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... and could be the heavenly Mother. Probably is, although the bride is referenced to being Jerusalem and the church, which we discussed, but it really did get as clear as mud as to the point they were trying to make.So, I look at this scripture as to why Jerusalem is important in the book of Revelation:Matthew 5:33-37“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Does this make Jerusalem a player alongside the Trinity? No! The Great King is from Jerusalem. Which great king? David? Solomon? Christ? You know, I don't know. I am not going to pretend to act like I know, but what I am sure is that the bride (which I know is the church, the body of Christ) is something that is not directly apart of the Trinity and really shouldn't be considered an equal, even though disciples are brothers with Christ, thus indicating a certain quality of equality (but that is for a WHOLE different discussion). I believe that the Jerusalem in Revelation is mentioned as now (or, as the Bible was written), Jerusalem was the center for the Jews, a religious center, everything in the Jewish world came from Jerusalem. And so in Revelation, a new Jerusalem means something like a new center for information, a new center of knowledge to learn and respond to instead of what the norm has been for them and their lives. Now I could be way off base, but it could also be in the context that they were in heaven, and the bride is the body of Christ, could it be that this new Jerusalem, this bride were the people who did the will of God and Christ on Earth? That, to me, makes the most sense.The bride isn't a 'person' or 'being' unless you are talking about the bride of Christ, the body of Christ, his church. And as far as the mother, the only mother in the Bible (well, actually, there are a whole bunch of mothers in there) is Mary, the mother of Christ. But there's also John the Baptist's mom, Samson's mom, etc. etc. etc.

Godly Sorrow Study #2

2011-10-13T12:11:00.000-05:00

Today is October 13, 2011 and for what it is worth, I amreally bummed about not sleeping. It’s just not healthy.

2 Corinthians 7:8-13a

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party, but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. By all this we are encouraged.

Earnestness means a serious intent, so if I was earnestlyseeking ‘Godly Sorrow’, then you would be able to tell be how serious I was intrying to get Godly Sorrow. Here’s the thing, if I wanted to have Godly Sorrowin regards to something, I would have to have a serious intent, probably to theperson I sinned against would make the most sense. If I took a casual or lazyattitude toward whomever I sinned against, that would make attaining GodlySorrow extremely difficult.

In my restoration process, I lack the earnestness quality. Ithink having a serious state of mind is difficult, at least for my characterand the health challenges that I face. I also think that if I commit myself, mystate of mind to being earnest and serious, then I can be repentant andrestored to God’s church.

*****

Godly Sorrow is:

Earnestness is having a serious intent toward something or someone.
Eagerness
Indignation is a strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting, or base; a righteous anger. Now, I thing of a righteous anger, well, really just any kind of anger, and knowing that this passage means I have to be angry, enraged at my sin. I would have to think that Godly Sorrow has to have some form of anger toward the sin, especially since the sin itself consists some sort of attraction to it or even a form of love towards the sin. To actually repent, the love has to change to anger (indignation) for it to work and stick.
Alarm
Longing
Concern
Readiness

*****

October 12th, 2011

2011-10-12T09:28:00.001-05:00

Today is October 12^th, 2011. I felt the need tomaybe explain how I feel on a daily basis, mainly to just put it on paper formy personal benefit. On a medical level, I am somewhat of head scratcher. Firstoff, I have Bi-Polar Disorder, so I am depressed somewhat often along witha mania-style episode, where I can go sleepless for a substantial amount oftime. What makes that a little worse is that there is some Psychosis that can comewith the manic episodes, so there can be hallucinations, both visual andauditory. What that means is I can sometimes hear and see things when I ammanic, or I could be depressed. And then there are the times in between thesetwo where I am normal, which, thanks to modern medicine, is quite often.

I also suffer from Fibromyalgia, which is a type ofchronic pain disorder. As I write this my wrists and forearms are in a gooddeal of pain. It is a burning pain, like the pain you get from carpet burn. Myright leg hurts, too. The hip was replaced several years ago, and it has beensore ever since. The muscles in the leg are constantly aching, like afterhaving a workout and you overdid it in a bad way. Both of my feet are terrible.I am not sure I can describe how bad they feel, but I will give it a shotanyway. My toes are typically stiff and hurt to bend them. The top of the foot,toward the outer side, feels like it has been cut with glass, like tiny littleglass shards going into it, so it is like an acute burning sensation. That samesensation kind of flashes on and off all over my foot, but it is always aconstant in that particular spot.

My lower back and neck are typically problem areas for me.My shoulders tend to burn and feel stiff on a normal day. They can get worse,but they maintain a lot of normal days, with tightness and bleeding pain onrare occasions. My neck feels like a knife has been jabbed into the base of myneck. I say knife, but really I would say that an ice pick would be moreaccurate. It is a fiery, piercing pain that tends to throb with its own heart.It sends out surges of pain, almost like a distress call forreinforcements. My lower back istypically a tightness of dull pain, but can get pretty intense. The dull paincan be crippling at times, almost paralyzing as it can spread from the lowercenter of my back to my entire lower back, with noticeable tightness and painat the spine. It is like my spine says no to movement.

When I try to go to bed, I have trouble sleeping, as then myelbows, particularly my left elbow, with awaken with its pain. My elbow justdoesn’t like to be touching anything, it is like a ticked off nerve ending, notallowing me to have any comfort what-so-ever. Sleeping is alsomission-impossible, as I have Sleep Apnea, a sleeping disorderwhere I stop breathing while I sleep. This makes things difficult, not thedisorder, but the equipment used to treat the disorder. The CPAP machine, wellthe mask, is difficult to sleep with, as the mask has a hose connected to themachine and I tend to toss and turn while I sleep, so just imagine having anelephant nose while trying to sleep and you get a general idea of what I gothrough each night.

Speaking of treatment, the medication that I take each dayhas its own troubles. The combined side effects tend to make my body believethat it is 150 degrees constantly around me, and I’m not sure if that isFahrenheit or Celsius. I sweat almost constantly for no apparent reasonwhat-so-ever.

With this all said, I do have to say that I feel blessed. Istill have two arms and two legs. I have ten fingers and ten toes. I can stillwalk and talk. I have two wonderful children, a beautiful wife, and a verysupportive family around me. I may hurt all the time and I may not be able tosleep as well as I would like, but the point is that someone out there doeshave it worse than me. In fact, there are a lot of people who don’t have it asgood as I do, that would love to be in my situation.

Philippians 4:11-13 says to be content with whatever situation you are in. The key is to be content with the situation that God has givenme, to be grateful for what I do have and not constantly wondering who has thegreenest grass around town. I have a lot to be grateful for in my currentsituation.

Godly Sorrow Study #1

2011-10-05T15:20:00.001-05:00

2 Corinthians 7:8-13a

*****

Godly sorrow brings repentance. Godly sorrow is not repentance.

Godly Sorrow is:

Earnestness
Eagerness
Indignation is a strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting, or base; a righteous anger. Now, I thing of a righteous anger, well, really just any kind of anger, and knowing that this passage means I have to be angry, enraged at my sin. I would have to think that Godly Sorrow has to have some form of anger toward the sin, especially since the sin itself consists some sort of attraction to it or even a form of love towards the sin. To actually repent, the love has to change to anger (indignation) for it to work and stick.
Alarm
Longing
Concern
Readiness

*****

More to come tomorrow.

Boomerang

2011-09-10T13:08:00.001-05:00

Malachi 3:6-12
“I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.

*****
I was thinking about how God says 'return to me and I will return to you' and wondered if that is robbing God as well. It is with the whole tithing and offerings part of Malachi, but I think it is relevant to consider. Keeping Gods rules for living in place, if you don't do them, are you with God or do you need to return to God? I would say that you need to return to God. You either obey or you disobey. It is pretty simple. It is man, not God, that messes it up.

Treasure

2010-11-29T18:09:00.002-06:00

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. -Matthew 6:21

I'm just putting some thoughts down on here.

What is treasure? Treasure is what pirates go after. Gold, shiny coins, stuff like that, along with the fair maiden. Countries go to war for treasure, money, possessions... memories are considered to be treasures of the mind.

Treasure -noun

1. wealth or riches stored or accumulated, esp. in the form of precious metals, money, jewels, or plate.

2. wealth, rich materials, or valuable things.

3. any thing or person greatly valued or highly prized: This book was his chief treasure.

-verb (used with object)

4. to retain carefully or keep in store, as in the mind.

5. to regard or treat as precious; cherish.

6. to put away for security or future use, as money.

Now, the previous verse says to store up treasures in heaven, treasures that cannot be destroyed or taken away. Proverbs says that wisdom is a treasure and that being righteous gains a man treasure. Isaiah says that the fear of the LORD is the key to wisdom, salvation, and knowledge, which, by the way, are considered treasure.

Controversial artwork won't be returned to display

2010-10-08T15:39:00.000-05:00

A piece of artwork denounced as obscene by church members and allegedly ripped up by a Montana woman using a crowbar won't be returned to display because of safety concerns, city officials said Thursday.

"The incident yesterday was very troubling and also very impactful on the city staff, volunteers and the public at the venue," said Rod Wensing, acting city manager.

Kathleen Folden, 56, of Kalispell, Mont., was arrested Wednesday on a charge of criminal mischief. Witnesses told police that she used a crowbar to smash glass shielding the print at the Loveland Museum Gallery and then tore part of it up.

Folden, a truck driver, told police that she drove from Montana and bought a crowbar in Loveland before going to the museum to destroy the artwork, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by The Coloradoan in Fort Collins.

Police said the damaged part includes what critics say was a depiction of Jesus Christ engaged in a sex act.

Museum visitor Mark Michaels told the Loveland Reporter-Herald that Folden screamed "How can you desecrate my Lord?" during the incident.

The artist, Stanford University professor Enrique Chagoya, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the work has been mischaracterized. He said while the part in question is suggestive, it's not graphic.

The panel includes figures cut out from a comic book, a head resembling Christ and a skeleton with a pope's hat.

"This is not Christ. It's a collage," Chagoya said. "What I'm trying to express is the corruption of the spiritual by the church."

The print was taken by police as evidence.

Folden was released on a $350 cash bond during a court appearance Thursday. Another hearing is set for Oct. 15.

The work that was damaged, "The Misadventures of the Romantic Cannibals," is a 12-panel lithograph that that includes comic book characters, Mexican pornography, Mayan symbols and ethnic stereotypes. It is part of an 82-print exhibit by 10 artists that have worked with Colorado printer Bud Shark that opened in mid-September.

Members of a local church have been among those peacefully protesting outside the city-owned museum for most of the week. A city councilman and some residents had demanded that Chagoya's work be removed, but the council decided Tuesday to leave it on display.

Some of the outspoken critics have condemned the attack on the artwork.

The museum has seen a significant increase in visitors since the controversy started, said Maureen Corey, the museum's art curator. Visitors include supporters and opponents of the piece.

"In my opinion, it's rather sad taking away people's freedom to see the art," Corey said.

Loveland police originally got reports of gunfire at the museum, but said it appears people mistook the banging of the crowbar against the glass for shots. No firearm was involved, police said.

Chagoya said he was sad and disappointed that the work, one of 30 limited prints, won't be on display again in Loveland.

"It will be a loss for everybody, not just for me, but for everybody that believes in the First Amendment," Chagoya said. Suppression of art and ideas is something that happens in totalitarian regimes, not this country, he added.

Time for a Museum of American Religion

2010-10-06T10:10:00.000-05:00

By Chris Stevenson

In 1995, my high school geometry class in south-central Montana was scheduled to learn about the ubiquitous ratio pi. Hoping to broaden their mathematical outlook, I told the students to bring in a Bible the following day, if they had one, and we would see that the author of 1 Kings gives us an early value of pi by using the measured circumference and diameter of Israel's "molten sea," or baptismal font (which they calculated to be three - accurate if not precise). The students were both unified and somewhat militant in their cry: "We can't bring the Bible to school. That's unconstitutional. What about the separation of church and state?" In case you think this is too far removed from us in time, I gave my two children attending our local public high school the same scenario just the other day and heard almost the exact same response.

We are all familiar, and most of us even are comfortable, with this avoidance of faith at school, work and play. However, because most of us still believe religion is indispensable to the country, we've also hoped that our public square, void of religious talk and behavior, would be easily compensated by private worship that would give us robust religious understanding and pious behavior. But, as religious and cultural experts tell us and our everyday observations confirm, this hasn't worked out. For example, more and more Americans find it difficult to marry and then remain married, a religious act with powerful social consequences. It also would be hard to argue that America's religious majority can "remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

Nonetheless, America continues to be unique among developed countries in having a robust and peaceful religious landscape. Yet the forces and movements that make it easier to disregard and even forget America's religious self, such as secularism, materialism, evangelical atheism and even religious extremism, continue to grow and prosper. It appears that the time has come to establish and maintain a National Museum of American Religion on the Mall, which would continuously invite Americans to explore the role religion has played and does play in shaping the social, political and cultural lives of Americans and thus America itself.

Seen as unfortunate and often embarrassing by nonbelievers and as gratifying and often provident by believers, religion has been a viscerally powerful force in American history. From the early explorers and the Puritans to the 13 Colonies; from the Revolution, the Founding Fathers and the writing of the Bill of Rights to Manifest Destiny, the Civil War and the freeing of the slaves; from the devastating wars, an emergent middle class, and the epic social movements of the 20th century to the Cold War and our response to the terrorist attacks of 2001, the strong hand of American religion is everywhere to be seen. This also implies the necessarily broader and deeper influence American religion has wielded in our homes all along. Furthermore, there is a bright thread running through our history, seen by believer and nonbeliever alike, true or false, declaring that God has a special roll for America to play in the world. This exceptional story, in all its representations, stands on its own and begs to be told through a museum in our nation's capital.

James Madison wrote that "the Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man." In this spirit, the National Museum of American Religion must do at least three things with great care and without fail: (1) Present U.S. religious history objectively; (2) remain silent relative to the supremacy of one faith or denomination; and (3) refrain from judging whether American religion has been beneficial or detrimental to the country. Visitors will decide this for themselves. The museum must be philosophically built around what some have called our greatest export, the First Amendment's dual religious liberty clause: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Each citizen, now and in the following generations, needs to be thoroughly reminded of America's religious history, judge it for ourselves and decide on a religious path of progress forward with at least some thought given to the country's long-term health. The National Museum of American Religion would be a treasured jewel in the crown of the many other celebrated museums in Washington that exist as testaments to, and teachers of, this country's wonder, progress and endurance.

The Power of a Conversion

2010-08-15T08:08:00.000-05:00

Acts 26:12-23 "On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

"Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'"

" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

"So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."

Selfishness and Self-Sufficiency

2010-08-14T21:43:00.000-05:00

Self-Sufficiency:

Jeremiah 2:12-13 "Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the LORD. "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me,the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
Psalm 146:3-4 Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save. When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.
Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
Isaiah 44:9-17 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame. Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing? He and his kind will be put to shame; craftsmen are nothing but men. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and infamy.The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint. The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in the form of man, of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow. It is man's fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire." From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, "Save me; you are my god."

Selfishness:

Zechariah 7:4-6 Then the word of the LORD Almighty came to me: "Ask all the people of the land and the priests, 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?"
Esther 6:6 When Haman entered, the king asked him, "What should be done for the man the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought to himself, "Who is there that the king would rather honor than me?"
1 Samuel 25:3-11 His name was Nabal and his wife's name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was surly and mean in his dealings. While David was in the desert, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep. So he sent ten young men and said to them, "Go up to Nabal at Carmel and greet him in my name. Say to him: 'Long life to you! Good health to you and your household! And good health to all that is yours! Now I hear that it is sheep-shearing time. When your shepherds were with us, we did not mistreat them, and the whole time they were at Carmel nothing of theirs was missing. Ask your own servants and they will tell you. Therefore be favorable toward my young men, since we come at a festive time. Please give your servants and your son David whatever you can find for them.' " When David's men arrived, they gave Nabal this message in David's name. Then they waited. Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is this David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants are breaking away from their masters these days. Why should I take my bread and water, and the meat I have slaughtered for my shearers, and give it to men coming from who knows where?"
Proverbs 28:27 He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.

Boldness

2010-08-13T12:24:00.000-05:00

This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 (New Living Translation)

*****
Be strong and courageous. It is so easy to be discouraged and fearful, and this is coming from probably one of the most daring people I know, ME! Phew.

Quebec Rabbis Sign Document to Accept Gays

2010-08-13T12:16:00.000-05:00

By CBC News

Three Montreal Orthodox rabbis are joining an international call for acceptance of homosexual Jews into synagogues.

The rabbis have signed a statement calling for the acceptance of gays, even though the Torah (the Jewish Bible) explicitly condemns homosexuality.

The document is called Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community.

More than 150 rabbis from around the world have signed the statement, which was drafted after extensive debate among Orthodox rabbis, educators and mental health professionals.

"We have wonderful members of our community in our congregation who are gay, and come to us anticipating and expecting to be welcomed into our community," said Adam Scheier, rabbi of the Shaar Hashomayim Congregation in Westmount and president of the Montreal Board of Rabbis.

David Brody, a gay member of Scheier's Orthodox congregation, said the statement is progressive.

"I never thought I'd live to see this," he said.

However, Brody said he does have some issues with the statement, such as the fact that it was only drafted after consultation with mental health therapists.

"They [make] reference to mental health specialists, which makes us sound as though we're all crazy people," said Brody.

Brody would also have liked the statement to allow gay marriage in the Orthodox community.

"It says that we are also created in the image of God, yet we are not allowed to love like heterosexuals," said Brody.

"I do believe that there is a place within Orthodox Judaism for affirmation ceremonies." Brody added.

Gay Priest May Become Church of England Bishop

2010-08-12T15:36:00.000-05:00

Robert Barr The Associated Press

LONDON—The Church of England may be on the verge of promoting a gay priest to bishop, a step that would widen the split over sexuality in the global Anglican Communion.

If that happens, it would appear to be a significant turnaround for Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the Church of England and the world's Anglicans, who recently imposed sanctions on the U.S. Episcopal Church for electing a lesbian bishop.

According to newspaper reports, Williams is prepared to back the elevation of the Very Rev. Jeffrey John, who withdrew seven years ago from an appointment as a suffragan (assistant) bishop in the face of a heated controversy about his homosexuality. Williams' office will not comment.

"I think the strength of the opposition is much weaker this time," Rev. Canon Giles Goddard, the chairman of Inclusive Church, said Tuesday. His group was founded by people disappointed by John's failure to become a bishop in 2003.

John, who is now dean of St. Albans Cathedral, might be seen as a more acceptable candidate than the U.S. bishop because he has declared he is celibate — and therefore not in violation of church teaching.

A Crown Nominations Commission, composed of 14 Church of England representatives, including Williams, met in secret Monday and Tuesday to choose two nominees to become bishop of Southwark diocese, the half of London that lies south of the River Thames.

Prime Minister David Cameron, who has spoken strongly in favour of equal rights for gays, will have the final decision about whom to recommend to Queen Elizabeth II, who will make the formal appointment. Southwark diocese says a decision may not be announced before October.

Williams has said nothing publicly about the issue.

After the Episcopal Church elected Mary Douglas Glasspool as an assistant bishop in Los Angeles, Williams moved to bar Episcopalians from representing the Anglican Communion on international ecumenical bodies. "This is simply to confirm what the Communion as a whole has come to regard as the acceptable limits of diversity in its practice," Williams said in a letter to the global church.

John, who is 57, has claimed celibacy despite being in a civil partnership. Neither Glasspool nor V. Gene Robinson, the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, has claimed to be celibate.

Rev. Paul Dawson, media officer for Reform, an evangelical grouping, objects that John has defended sexual gay relationships that are "Permanent, Faithful, Stable," as the title of one of John's books puts it.

"If you have a bishop who is effectively teaching what is against the Bible's clear teaching and what the Church of England says is its doctrinal position, if you have someone at the highest level saying this is a 'blessing,' this is a 'gift,' that raises all sorts of questions for the average churchgoer," Dawson said.

Appointments to bishoprics are the battleground in the Anglican debate about the role of women and homosexuals in the church.

The Church of England's governing General Synod will resume its debate about permitting female bishops this weekend as it continues trying to mollify conservatives who fought against making women priests and now resist what appears to be general support for women as bishops.

Anglican agonizing over sexuality has dogged Williams since 2002 when he became spiritual leader of the Church of England and of the Anglican Communion.

When John was nominated become bishop of Reading, Williams is believed to have yielded to conservative opposition.

"He cracked after two months of pressure and asked John to withdraw his name, establishing his reputation as a man who could be bullied," religion commentator Andrew Brown wrote in The Guardian newspaper.

"If he is beaten again, he is finished. If he wins, he will have shot the rapids and the Church of England will finally emerge from the turbulence of the last 30 years with a fairly clear and fairly coherent doctrine about sex."

The prime minister, in an interview with the gay magazine Attitude early this year, said his Conservative Party supported equal rights "whether you are male, female, black, white, urban, rural, straight or gay." The church, Cameron said, "has to do some of the things that the Conservative Party has been through — sorting this issue out and recognizing that full equality is a bottom line full essential."

God's Truth

2010-08-12T15:18:00.000-05:00

But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! Romans 1:19 (The Message)

God Made You

2010-08-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

Your hands shaped me and made me. Job 10:8a (New International Version)

*****
Just needing a nugget today. My faith is waving floppily in the wind (in case you haven't noticed)... so, this little passage, well, part of a passage is good to read.

Is God Selfish?

2010-08-10T07:39:00.000-05:00

So, here's the thing. God is the big being, who has power over death itself, he's created the heavens, stars, the universe. He wants everyone to be outward focused, focused on pleasing him. Wait. He wants me to be focused on pleasing him? Does that make God selfish? But the Bible says God is without sin, but he wants everything to be about him? I don't get that.

*****
Galatians 5:16-6:6

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.

Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.
*****
I don't know, but it kind of looks like God is a tad bit selfish, wanting everyone to worship him. God calls us to imitate him, too, so I don't get it. I used to get it, but I don't anymore.

Georgia Pastor Arrested Protesting 'Demon' Mascot

2010-08-09T11:51:00.004-05:00

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. (AP) — Warner Robins police say they've charged pastor Donald Crosby with picketing without a license for protesting Warner Robins High School's "Demon" nickname and mascot.

Police spokeswoman Tabitha Pugh says 36-year-old Crosby was arrested on Monday after police told him he didn't have a permit, as required by the city.

Crosby and supporters set up the protest outside the school on the opening day of classes because of their opposition to the nickname. He says his son attends the school and he doesn't want him exposed to the name's connotations.

Pugh says Crosby, of Kingdom Builders Church of Jesus Christ, is charged with picketing without a license and disorderly conduct for not leaving when asked. Crosby was released from the Houston County jail on bond. He did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

Salvation

2010-08-09T08:11:00.000-05:00

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 (New Living Translation)

God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 (New Century Version)

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." John 3:16-18 (English Standard Version)

*****

It almost sounds like belief is enough, but even if that is the implication, James says that belief is not enough. That demons believe in Jesus, and shudder at the thought. James goes on to show that believing and action produce faith.

*****

Romans 5:1-11

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

*****

We have hope due to character, We have character due to perserverance. We perservere due to sufferings. We have sufferings due to faith. We have faith because we believe. Now, personally speaking, I am not sure what I believe right now. I've experienced sufferings due to a belief in God. I've perservered through those, well, at least most of them. I have felt in many ways that I developed a great character... and in a lot of ways I still believe, but my hope is shaken. That is really the key issue right now. So, am I saved? I don't think so, even though I believe, I don't believe enough to put action to my belief (just like a demon).

Treasure Secrets

2010-08-08T21:44:00.000-05:00

Secrets by OneRepublic

I need another story
Something to get off my chest
My life gets kind of boring
Need something that i can confess

Till all my sleeves are stained red
From all the truth that I've said
Come by it honestly I swear
Thought you saw me wink, no, I've been on the brink, so

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that'll like those ears
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time Don't need another perfect lie
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm Gonna give all my secrets away

My God, amazing how we got this far
It's like were chasing all those stars
Who's driving shiny big black cars

And everyday I see the news
All the problems we could solve
And when a situation rises
Just write it into an album
Seen it straight to go
I don't really like my flow, no, so

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that'll like those ears
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time Don't need another perfect lie
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm Gonna give all my secrets away

Got no reason, Got no shame, Got no family, I can blame
Just don't let me disappear
I'mma tell you everything

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that'll like those ears
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time Don't need another perfect lie
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm Gonna give all my secrets away

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that'll like those ears
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away
This time, Don't need another perfect lie
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm Gonna give all my secrets away

All my secrets away, All my secrets away

*****
Matthew 6:16-24

"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

*****

Treasure in Heaven... it is referenced in Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, Luke 18:22. What is a treasure in heaven? It sounds like a BIG deal and yet it is only mentioned in the NIV five times.

Guard Your Heart

2010-08-06T12:01:00.000-05:00

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
Proverbs 4:23 (New Living Translation)

*****
How many times have I seen this passage.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." is the NIV translation, so determining the course of your life, your heart guides the way. It should be noted that in Old Testament times, the heart was considered to be in the abdomen. It was thought that when you got nervous, it would have an affect upon your heart, thus you would get 'butterflies' in your stomach, your heart was uneasy.

Just knowing where the heart was considered to be in that day and age, it really changes how being nervous affects a relationship with God. It also shows that if you are doing something wrong and don't feel nervous, how far gone you've delved into a sin. One other thing, if you

Love

2010-08-03T16:35:00.000-05:00

"Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading to its hope. It can really outlast anything." 1 Corinthians 13:7 (Phillips)

(The Entire Chapter - The Message)
If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

*****

I don't know, but I think Jesus was the first hippie. Seriously, God is love and if love is the best thing, it is saying God is the best thing, and you can't argue with that. Well, I guess you could, but it wouldn't change my opinion. I guess I should point out that right now, I am not a Christian or a disciple of Christ, but I still believe that Jesus is the son of God. I struggle right now in following him, though. Mainly, I struggle with attitudes... why this and why that. Love doesn't die. That is a POWERFUL statement. Think about that. Maybe I have the attitudes because I care... because if I didn't care, then I wouldn't bother having an attitude in the first place.

Metanoia

2010-08-02T12:08:00.000-05:00

Metanoia

Part of Speech: noun
Definition: spiritual conversion or awakening; fundamental change of character
Etymology: Greek 'change one's mind, repent'

Metanoia (noun)

a profound, usually spiritual, transformation; conversion.

Metanoia

1873, "penitence, spiritual conversion," from Gk. metanoia "afterthought, repentance," from metanoein "to change one's mind or purpose."

Paranoia

"mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions," 1891 (earlier paranoea 1811), from Gk. paranoia "mental derangement, madness," from paranoos "mentally ill, insane," from para- "beside, beyond" + noos "mind."

Metabolic

1845, from Ger. metabolisch (1839), from Gk. metabolikos "changeable," from metabole "a change, changing," related to metaballein "to change" (see metabolism).

Conversion

A converting or being converted; specif., such as a change from lack of faith to religious belief; adoption of a religion or a change from one belief, religion, doctrine, opinion, etc. to another
To change from one form or use to another; transform.

Self-Discipline

2010-08-02T11:46:00.000-05:00

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

2 Timothy 1:7 (New Living Translation)

2 Timothy 1:3-12

I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

*****
Self-discipline is a trust issue. It is trusting in God's plan and not my plan. That's really all I have right now, as my brain is fuzzy.

Truth

2010-08-01T02:41:00.000-05:00

Jesus told him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."

John 14:6 (New Living Translation)

John 14:1-14

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I am going.”

“No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”

Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!

*****

OK, here's the scoop. You can ask for anything and Jesus will do it. Does that make Jesus my puppet? No. If I ask with love in my heart, overflowing love and all that and it is a righteous request, then sure, I can't see Jesus saying no to that, but if you are praying for someone to die in a bloody heap, don't count on it being a request granted. If you are praying to win the lottery, don't hold your breath. If you are praying for a particular person to come to God, well, there is free will, and God will not step in the way of what he has already given, however, if you pray for someone to enter a person's life to teach the person what a Christian is all about, God will totally grant that request.

Quiet Time

2010-07-15T10:41:00.000-05:00

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. -Psalm 139:23-24 (New International Version)

Ambition

2010-07-14T09:57:00.001-05:00

Stay calm; mind your own business; do your own job. You've heard all this from us before, but a reminder never hurts. -1 Thessalonians 4:11 (The Message)

Nourishment

2010-07-12T08:57:00.000-05:00

Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment. -1 Peter 2:2 (New Living Translation)

Righteousness

2010-07-09T08:57:00.002-05:00

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. - Romans 14:17 (New Living Translation)

Restoration is Easy

2010-05-03T14:50:00.000-05:00

2 Kings 5

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the LORD had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

Now bands from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. "By all means, go," the king of Aram replied. "I will send a letter to the king of Israel." So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: "With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy."

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, "Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!"

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: "Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel." So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed?" So he turned and went off in a rage.

Naaman's servants went to him and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!" So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. Please accept now a gift from your servant."

The prophet answered, "As surely as the LORD lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.

"If you will not," said Naaman, "please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the LORD. But may the LORD forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD forgive your servant for this."

"Go in peace," Elisha said.

After Naaman had traveled some distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, "My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him."

So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. "Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Everything is all right," Gehazi answered. "My master sent me to say, 'Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.' "

"By all means, take two talents," said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left. Then he went in and stood before his master Elisha.

"Where have you been, Gehazi?" Elisha asked.

"Your servant didn't go anywhere," Gehazi answered.

But Elisha said to him, "Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money, or to accept clothes, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, or menservants and maidservants? Naaman's leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever." Then Gehazi went from Elisha's presence and he was leprous, as white as snow.

I love this chapter. This is, by the way, the entire chapter of 2 Kings 5. I honestly can't say that I have ever read it, I know I have read it, as I have read the entire book of 2nd Kings, but to focus on it, that is something else entirely. Naaman wants to be restored (actually, to health, not to God, but work with me). He can't wrap his head around that restoration is just splashing around in water. He would want it to be big, glamorous, and complicated. And why not? Isn't the problem all that? He has leprosy. That's pretty complicated.

So Naaman gets frustrated. He wants to be clean, he wants a show from Elisha, but it gets put back onto him. No show. And it is a simple as taking a bath. It begs the question: Am I making things more complicated than they should be in getting restoration?

Current Questions That I Have Been Pondering (related):

I have been praying recently (actually, 11 years) for a righteous change, so can God change me?
If God can change me, why hasn't he? Does God care?
Is the so-called creator of this universe not powerful enough to change me or does God not want to change me?
Is a habit more powerful than God's power?
If David's heart was a heart that pleased God, and David had a habit of women, how does having multiple wives and sexual partners (concubines) please God? (Note: David wasn't alone in this action, either.)
Is restoration and change really the same thing?

Restoration Ideas Thus Far:

A return to God has to happen and Obedience to God is REQUIRED. That is spelled out in Deuteronomy.
God does the restoring (Also in Deuteronomy).
Someone has to INTERVENE. And thus far, it has always been an active representative of God. (Ex: David, Elisha, Samuel)
Action is required (Elisha laid on the boy, David went to restore the land, etc.)

Oh, and Gehazi was greedy. Just touching on that greed can be a downfall, not for just one person, but for the lifetimes of your family tree. It should also be noted that Gehazi's greed led him to lie to Naaman. That's a double sin, greed and lying.

The Restoration Project

2010-04-26T14:30:00.006-05:00

res·to·ra·tion [res-tuh-rey-shuhn] –noun

the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment.
the state or fact of being restored.
a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition.
restitution of something taken away or lost.
something that is restored, as by renovating.
a reconstruction or reproduction of an ancient building, extinct animal, or the like, showing it in its original state.
a putting back into a former position, dignity, etc.

1 Samuel 7:12-14

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us." So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again.

Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

Samuel's righteousness restored Israel.

2 Samuel 8:3-4

Moreover, David fought Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, when he went to restore his control along the Euphrates River. David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.

In this case, David restored his control... knowing David, he did everything he did for God, so David restored the land for God. There's a whole mess of questions with David.

Current Questions That I Have Been Pondering (related):

I have been praying recently (actually, 11 years) for a righteous change, so can God change me?
If God can change me, why hasn't he? Does God care?
Is the so-called creator of this universe not powerful enough to change me or does God not want to change me?
Is a habit more powerful than God's power?
If David's heart was a heart that pleased God, and David had a habit of women, how does having multiple wives and sexual partners (concubines) please God? (Note: David wasn't alone in this action, either.)

2 Samuel 9:7

"Don't be afraid," David said to him, "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table."

Mephibosheth son of Jonathan was restored simply based on the relationship Jonathan had with David. Mephibosheth didn't really have anything to do with his being restored within the Kingdom of Israel.

1 Kings 13:4-6

When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, "Seize him!" But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the LORD. Then the king said to the man of God, "Intercede with the LORD your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored." So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the king's hand was restored and became as it was before.

It is interesting that Jeroboam requested someone intercede for him to be restored.

in·ter·cede [in-ter-seed]

–verb (used without object), -ced·ed, -ced·ing.

to act or interpose in behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition: to intercede with the governor for a condemned man.
to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups; mediate.

Is intercede the best word here? Shouldn't it be said that this man of God petitioned the LORD instead of interceded? I mean, who can be a mediator to God, right, I mean, besides Jesus.

2 Kings 4:32-35

When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he got on the bed and lay upon the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out upon him, the boy's body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out upon him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

Elisha restores a child back to life. Since the boy was dead, someone HAD to intervene for him.

Restoration Ideas Thus Far:

A return to God has to happen and Obedience to God is REQUIRED. That is spelled out in Deuteronomy.
God does the restoring (Also in Deuteronomy).
Someone has to INTERVENE. And thus far, it has always been an active representative of God. (Ex: David, Elisha, Samuel)
Action is required (Elisha laid on the boy, David went to restore the land, etc.)

So, the idea of what is restoration is becoming pretty clear, however, those questions linger to the point to where I have to ask, why? Some may say that is the boobie question, but I feel it is pretty legitimate, at least for right now.

System Restore

2010-04-25T15:55:00.001-05:00

re·store /rɪˈstɔr, -ˈstoʊr/ [ri-stawr, -stohr]
–verb (used with object), -stored, -stor·ing.

to bring back into existence, use, or the like; reestablish: to restore order.
to bring back to a former, original, or normal condition, as a building, statue, or painting.
to bring back to a state of health, soundness, or vigor.
to put back to a former place, or to a former position, rank, etc.: to restore the king to his throne.
to give back; make return or restitution of (anything taken away or lost).
to reproduce or reconstruct (an ancient building, extinct animal, etc.) in the original state.

Genesis 40:13, 20-22

Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.

Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials: He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand, but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

Genesis 40 has the first time that restoring is used in the Bible. It isn't used necessarily in a way that God restores to his kingdom, but the concept is introduced.

Current Questions That I Have Been Pondering (unrelated):

I have been praying recently (actually, 11 years) for a righteous change, so can God change me?
If God can change me, why hasn't he? Does God care?
Is the so-called creator of this universe not powerful enough to change me or does God not want to change me?
Is a habit more powerful than God's power?

Genesis 41:13

"And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged."

Exodus 4:6-7
Then the LORD said, "Put your hand inside your cloak." So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. "Now put it back into your cloak," he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.

Deuteronomy 30:1-10

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you. Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. You will again obey the LORD and follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

To get restoration, I have to obey first. So, that creates a whole new situation. The situation, the question that is mentioned above, is God bigger than a habit? Or, is the habit bigger?

Manna from Heaven

2009-09-18T07:43:00.002-05:00

Exodus 16:31

The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.

I am studying about seeds in the Bible. For an image, go here: Manna from Heaven/

Why Would We?

2009-09-09T07:10:00.004-05:00

I'm sure you are referring to the "whywouldwe.org" billboards. They really do upset me. To be true, Jesus never did discriminate on basis of the group, class, or category to which the person or thing belongs rather than according to actual merit, but he also didn't approve of people acting out in sin, either.

One of the scriptures referred to on their website is Matthew 8:5-13, which reads:
When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering." Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him." The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

They say that Jesus, in this passage, affirmed a gay couple. I have read this over and over and I do not get anywhere in this passage that the two are gay.

This is also recorded in Luke 7:1-10, which reads:

When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Again, all it says is that there is a commander and a servant. It doesn't say anything about them having sexual relations with each other. And judged by Sodom and Gomorrah, we can assume that God doesn't get happy about this type of activity.

The next scripture they refer to is Acts 8:26-40, which is said to welcome a gay couple into the church.

Acts 8:26-40 reads:
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.

"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."

The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

WWWHHHAAATTT?! A Eunuch is an official to the King and Queen and "the goods" are removed so that they will not try to overthrow the thrown. Since "the goods" are removed, they cannot have heirs. They don't have sex. Period. And I have NO IDEA what in the world someone would get the idea that Philip and the Eunuch are a "couple" or even why the Eunuch would have any kind of relationship.

There article states that Eunuchs were set aside for homosexual relationships. And that may be true in some cases, just like some children are set aside by their parents to play and excel in sports. It doesn't necessarily mean that it is true for all situations. Those who held public office during that time HAD to become Eunuchs. The Kings and Queens of that age did not want officials who could overtake the thrown and then create heirs. The Eunuch was the answer to that problem. Officials in these offices generally did not have any romantic relationships of any kind.

Why Would We dot Org mentions Acts 10:34 which states: "Then Peter began to speak: I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism..." and they leave it at that. They failed to mention the remainder of the passage, which reads: "but accepts men from every nation who FEAR him and DO what is RIGHT." (emphasis mine)

It really does seem obvious that whywouldwe.org does manipulate the scriptures.

2nd Timothy 4:3-5 reads:
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

It appears clear that whomever these people are, they are listening to what their itching ears want to hear. I want to caution that we should do what we can to love in this situation and issue warnings whenever the situation dictates.

Finally, Mark 9 says "Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward."

I could also talk about weeds being among the harvest, too... as that does tie into what I am about to say. I think it is best to not necessarily condemn those who have this belief, as I believe that whoever isn't saved will definitely "sifted" out. We know what the scriptures say. Still, Mark 9 tells me to not persecute them. It tells me that maybe in all of that "itching ear" preaching that will occur due to that misbelief, maybe God will bless someone with eternal life. Maybe someone's eyes will be opened. And if that happens, then maybe all isn't necessarily lost.

Touch Bound

2009-07-27T10:00:00.002-05:00

Proverbs 22:15
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

Bound: qâshar (pronounced: kaw-shar'):

To tie, physically (gird, confine, compact) or mentally (in love, league): bind (bind up), (make a) conspire (conspiracy, conspirator), join together, knit, stronger, work [treason].

Bound Up In (idiom):

Inseparably connected with.
Devoted or attached to.
Also, bound up with. Deeply or inextricably involved in. For example, Obviously the candidate was bound up with the negotiations on the party platform, or She is bound up in her church activities. This usage appears in the Bible (Genesis 44:30): "His life is bound up in the lad's life." [Late 1500s]

Genesis 44:30-32
"So now, if the boy is not with us when I go back to your servant my father and if my father, whose life is closely bound up with the boy's life, sees that the boy isn't there, he will die. Your servants will bring the gray head of our father down to the grave in sorrow. Your servant guaranteed the boy's safety to my father. I said, 'If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life!'"

-So... folly is bound up in a heart of a child. It is deeply involved in a child's heart. It is confined in the heart. How about this one: Foolishness is joined together with the heart of a child. It is joined in there... JOINED! The rod of discipline is the tool that does the heart surgery. You use the rod and it removes the foolishness from the child. And if you have a little boy, you can definitely see the foolishness. My son RUNS to trouble. He runs to foolishness.

Rod: shêbet (pronounced: shay'-bet):

Meaning to branch off; a scion, that is, (literally) a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (figuratively) a clan: correction, dart, rod, sceptre, staff, tribe.

Spare a switch... Johnny Out.

One Another: Part VII

2009-07-22T09:20:00.001-05:00

Esther 4:12-14
When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

Esther 7:8-10
Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, "Will he even molest the queen while she is with me in the house?" As soon as the word left the king's mouth, they covered Haman's face. Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, "A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman's house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king." The king said, "Hang him on it!" So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's fury subsided.

Esther 8:15-17
Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy, gladness and honor. In every province and in every city, wherever the edict of the king went, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear of the Jews had seized them.

Esther 9:13, 18-22

"If it pleases the king," Esther answered, "give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day's edict tomorrow also, and let Haman's ten sons be hanged on gallows."

The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.

That is why rural Jews—those living in villages—observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.

Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

-I felt a little back story is required to understand the reason for the Feast of Purim. This was the first time it was celebrated, and was celebrated every year since by the Jews. Haman was killed on the gallows he made for Mordecai. Haman's ten sons were all hung on gallows because of his hatred toward the Jews. Which brings up a question... is there anything good that results from hatred? No. I don't think so. And the Jews were to be annihilated, but instead it was Haman's family that got annihilated.

Now, As a result of everything, the Feast of Purim came about. Also, many people got converted to Judaism. The feast brought about the Jews being unified, as they gave presents of food to each other and took care of the poor. Now that's good. That's a positive side of being unified. It's good to see the fruits of unification and not necessarily the sins of everything. Johnny Out.

Secrets and Hints: Edition #2

2009-07-21T09:35:00.002-05:00

The Bible talks about hints, but in different forms throughout the Bible. In a couple of passages, it talks about a mustard seed. I'll get to that shortly.

Hint (noun):

An indirect, covert, or helpful suggestion; clue.
A very slight or hardly noticeable amount.
Perceived indication or suggestion; note; intimation.
Synonyms: Allusion, insinuation, innuendo; memorandum, reminder; inkling.

Ephesians 5:1-7

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.

-I've already taken a look at greed. How about foolish talk.

Proverbs 4:24 says "Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips."

Proverbs 12:13 says "An evil man is trapped by his sinful talk, but a righteous man escapes trouble."

Proverbs 14:3 says "A fool's talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them."

Proverbs 14:23 says "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."

Ephesians 4:29 says "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

1 Peter 2:13-17

Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Foolish (adjective):

Resulting from or showing a lack of sense; ill-considered; unwise.
Lacking forethought or caution.
Trifling, insignificant, or paltry.
Resulting from stupidity or misinformation; unwise.

So, foolish talk would then be talk that is unwise or simply put, stupid talk. It is talk that comes from a stupid person or from misinformation. God wants not even a hint of foolish talk. NOT A HINT. Wow. talk about setting the bar high... well, good enough. Johnny Out.

One Another: Part VI

2009-07-20T09:20:00.001-05:00

2 Chronicles 20:20-26
Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever."

As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the LORD. This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

-It is good to be unified with the right people. It is better to be unified with righteous people. It's not good at all when you unify yourself with unrighteous people. In this passage, the attackers are unified with each other, but obviously the greed of the attackers took control and they killed each other.

(Commentary)

20, 21. as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood . . . Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem--probably in the gate of Jerusalem, the place of general rendezvous; and as the people were on the eve of setting out, he exhorted them to repose implicit trust in the Lord and His prophet, not to be timid or desponding at sight of the enemy, but to remain firm in the confident assurance of a miraculous deliverance, without their striking a single stroke.

21. he appointed singers . . . that they should praise . . . as they went out before the army--Having arranged the line of procession, he gave the signal to move forwards. The Levites led the van with their musical instruments; and singing the 136th Psalm, the people went on, not as an army marching against an enemy, but returning in joyful triumph after a victory.

22. when they began to sing and to praise the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir--Some think that this was done by angels in human form, whose sudden appearance diffused an uncontrollable panic. Others entertain the more probable opinion that, in the camp of this vast horde, composed of different tribes, jealousies and animosities had sprung up, which led to widespread dissensions and fierce feuds, in which they drew the sword against each other. The consequence was, that as the mutual strife commenced when the Hebrew procession set out from Jerusalem, the work of destruction was completed before Jehoshaphat and his people arrived at the battlefield. Thus easy is it for God to make the wrath of man to praise Him, to confound the counsels of His enemies and employ their own passions in defeating the machinations they have devised for the overthrow of His Church and people.

24-26. when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness--Most probably the conical hill, Jebel Fereidis, or Frank Mountain, from the summit of which they obtained the first view of the scene of slaughter. Jehoshaphat and his people found the field strewed with dead bodies, so that they had not to fight at all, but rather to take possession of an immense booty, the collection of which occupied three days. On the fourth they set out on their return to Jerusalem in the same order and joyful mood as they came. The place where they mustered previous to departure was, from their public thanksgiving service, called, "The Valley of Berachah" ("benediction"), now Wady Bereikut.

-It is interesting to see what others think. They could be right... could be wrong, too. My personal feeling is that it boiled down to GREED. I could be right. I could be wrong. What I do know is that sin was involved. That's a given. What I do not know is what type of sin. It could have been greed. It could have been lust. It could have been something else entirely. But they attacked and killed one another for a reason, a sinful reason, and they were unified, albeit a flawed unification, to wipe each other out. Being unified for the wrong reason will bring a downfall. Being unified for the right reason will bring fruit. Johnny Out.

Legion of Heroes - Part 2

2009-07-18T12:50:00.000-05:00

5:1 And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes.
JESUS HEALS TWO GERGESENE DEMONIACS. (Gergesa, now called Khersa). Matthew 8:28-34; Matthew 9:1; Mark 5:1-21; Luke 8:26-40
And they came to the other side of the sea. They left in the "even", afternoon and were driven forward by the storm, they would have reached the far shore several hours before dark.
Into the country of the Gerasenes. Midway between the north and south ends of the lake, and directly east across the lake from Magdala, was the little city of Gergesa. In front and somewhat to the south of this city Jesus landed. Some sixteen miles away and to the southeast, and seven miles back from the lake, was the well-known city of Gadara. Further on to the southeast, on the borders of Arabia, and at least fifty miles from Gergesa, was the city of Gerasa. The name Gerasenes is, therefore, probably an error of the transcribers for Gergesenes, as Origen suggested. The region is properly called "country of the Gadarenes", as in the Authorized Version, for Gadara was an important city, and the stamp of a ship on its coins suggests that its territory extended to the Lake of Galilee.
5:2 And when he was come out of the boat, straightway there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
There met him out of the tombs. The sides of the mountain near the ruins of Gergesa are studded with natural and artificial caves which were used as tombs.
A man with an unclean spirit. Matthew tells of two, Matthew 8:28, while Mark and Luke describe only one, Luke 8:27. They tell of the principal one--the one who was the fiercer. In order to tell of two, Matthew had to omit the name "legion", which belonged to one; and conversely, Mark and Luke, to give the conversation with one, did not confuse us by telling of two. On unclean spirits, see Mark 1:23.
5:5 And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones1.
And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. The natural spirit of the man seeking to throw off the dominion of the demons would cry out in agony, and the demons themselves, in their own misery, would use him as a vehicle to express their own grief. It would be hard to imagine a more horrible state.
5:6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped him;
And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped him. The demons showed the supremacy of Jesus not only by their cries to be let alone, but by the fact that they made no effort to escape from him. They ran to him, knowing that it was useless to do otherwise.
5:7 and crying out with a loud voice, he saith, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God, torment me not.
What have I to do with thee. On this phrase, see John 2:4.
I adjure thee by God, torment me not. The judgment-day, the time of punishment and torment (Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6).
5:8 For he said unto him, Come forth, thou unclean spirit, out of the man.
Unclean spirit. See Mark 1:23.
5:9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he saith unto him, My name is Legion; for we are many.
What is thy name? It is likely that Jesus asked the "sufferer" his name wished to assure him of sympathy, but the "demons" in him had the floor and continued to do the talking. If Jesus asked the demon its name, he did so that he might disclose this fact to his disciples.
My name is Legion; for we are many. A legion was a division of the Roman army containing from four to six thousand men.
5:10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. As one mouth entreated for many, Mark uses both the singular ("him") and the plural ("them").
5:13 And he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits1 came out, and entered into the swine: and the herd rushed down the steep into the sea, [in number] about two thousand; and they were drowned in the sea.
The unclean spirits. See Mark 1:23.
And the herd rushed down the steep into the sea. About a mile south of Khersa a spur of the mountain thrusts itself out toward the lake so that its foot is within forty feet of the water line. This is the only spot on that side of the lake where the mountains come near the water. The slope is so steep and the ledge at its foot so narrow that a herd rushing down could not check itself before tumbling into the water.
[In number] about two thousand; and they were drowned in the sea. Skeptics have censured Jesus for permitting this loss of property. God may recognize our property rights as against each other, but he nowhere recognizes them in the realm of nature. What was done to the swine was done by the demons, and the owners had no more right to complain than they would have had if the herd had been carried off by the murrain, by flood, or by other natural cause. All animals have a right to die, either singly or in numbers. The demons evidently did not intend to destroy the swine. Their desire to have live bodies to dwell in shows that they did not. But the presence of the demons in their bodies made the hogs crazy, as it had the demoniac, and they ran the way their noses were pointed at the moment. For discussion of demoniacal possession, see Mark 1:23.
5:14 And they that fed them fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they came to see what it was that had come to pass.
They that fed them. There being no fences in Palestine, herds were invariably attended by herdsmen.
5:15 And they come to Jesus, and behold him that was possessed with demons sitting, clothed and in his right mind, [even] him that had the legion1: and they were afraid.
And behold him that was possessed with demons sitting, clothed and in his right mind, [even] him that had the legion. A faint suggestion that there was another. See Mark 5:2.
5:16 And they that saw it1 declared unto them how it befell him that was possessed with demons, and concerning the swine.
They that saw it. The herdsmen.
5:17 And they began to beseech him to depart from their borders.
They began to beseech him to depart from their borders. The loss of the swine moved them to a fear a further loss of property. To them the loss of swine was more important than the recovery of a man. To this day, worldly interests move men more than acts of mercy.
5:18 And as he was entering into the boat, he that had been possessed with demons besought him that he might be with him.
He that had been possessed with demons besought him that he might be with him. As a frightened child newly awakened from a horrible dream clings to its parent, so the man clung to Christ.
5:19 And he suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and [how] he had mercy on thee.
Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and [how] he had mercy on thee. Jesus departed, but left behind him a witness whose very body was a living monument bearing testimony to Christ's compassion and power. Jesus revisited this locality some months later. See Mark 7:31-37.
5:20 And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men marvelled.

This is a commentary I got from Crosswalk.com. What I find interesting about this commentary is that they are assuming that there were two people who got healed and not one. It makes more sense, at least to me. Legion is many. Why not two instead of one person, as the Matthew account would give. Their could still be two people in the other accounts, but they happen to only mention one of the two. Interesting. I like it. I feel this is a good explanation. I will, still, of course study more on Legion in days and weeks to come. Johnny Out.

Five Keys for Quitting

2009-07-18T12:25:00.001-05:00

Studies have shown that these five steps will help you quit and quit for good. You have the best chances of quitting if you use them together.

Get ready.
Get support.
Learn new skills and behaviors.
Get medication and use it correctly.
Be prepared for relapse or difficult situations.

1. Get Ready

Set a quit date.
Change your environment.
Get rid of ALL cigarettes and ashtrays in your home, car, and place of work.
Don't let people smoke in your home.
Review your past attempts to quit. Think about what worked and what did not.
Once you quit, don't smoke — NOT EVEN A PUFF!

2. Get Support and Encouragement

Studies have shown that you have a better chance of being successful if you have help. You can get support in many ways:

Tell your family, friends, and coworkers that you are going to quit and want their support. Ask them not to smoke around you or leave cigarettes out.
Talk to your health care provider (for example, doctor, dentist, nurse, pharmacist, psychologist, or smoking counselor).
Get individual, group, or telephone counseling. The more counseling you have, the better your chances are of quitting. Programs are given at local hospitals and health centers. Call your local health department for information about programs in your area.

3. Learn New Skills and Behaviors

Try to distract yourself from urges to smoke. Talk to someone, go for a walk, or get busy with a task.
When you first try to quit, change your routine. Use a different route to work. Drink tea instead of coffee. Eat breakfast in a different place.
Do something to reduce your stress. Take a hot bath, exercise, or read a book.
Plan something enjoyable to do every day.
Drink a lot of water and other fluids.

4. Get Medication and Use It Correctly Medications can help you stop smoking and lessen the urge to smoke.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five medications to help you quit smoking:

1. Bupropion SR — Available by prescription.

2. Nicotine gum — Available over-the-counter.

3. Nicotine inhaler— Available by prescription.

4. Nicotine nasal spray — Available by prescription.

5. Nicotine patch — Available by prescription and over-the-counter.

Ask your health care provider for advice and carefully read the information on the package.
All of these medications will more or less double your chances of quitting and quitting for good.
Everyone who is trying to quit may benefit from using a medication. If you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, nursing, under age 18, smoking fewer than ten cigarettes per day, or have a medical condition, talk to your doctor or other health care provider before taking medications.

5. Be Prepared for Relapse or Difficult Situations

Most relapses occur within the first three months after quitting. Don't be discouraged if you start smoking again. Remember, most people try several times before they finally quit. Here are some difficult situations to watch for:

Alcohol. Avoid drinking alcohol. Drinking lowers your chances of success.
Other Smokers. Being around smoking can make you want to smoke.
Weight Gain. Many smokers will gain weight when they quit, usually less than ten pounds. Eat a healthy diet and stay active. Don't let weight gain distract you from your main goal — quitting smoking. Some quit-smoking medications may help delay weight gain.
Bad Mood or Depression. There are a lot of ways to improve your mood other than smoking. If you are having problems with any of these situations, talk to your doctor or other health care provider.

Facebook Addiction

2009-07-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, I have a problem with Facebook. It is addicting for me... and I seem to spend way too much time there. I have the habit of doing this with different applications, whether it is an online game, a video game system (like a Playstation or a Wii), and then as time goes on, I slowly spend less and less time with it. I am kind of hoping that is the case with Facebook.

One Another: Part V

2009-07-17T09:10:00.001-05:00

2nd Kings 7:3-20
Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? If we say, 'We'll go into the city'-the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."

At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.

Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace."

So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, "We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.

The king got up in the night and said to his officers, "I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, 'They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.' "

One of his officers answered, "Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened."

So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, "Go and find out what has happened." They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king. Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, as the LORD had said.

Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. It happened as the man of God had said to the king: "About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."

The officer had said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" The man of God had replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!" And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

-It's a long story, but it is worth reading. Going back up to the top, the Arameans freaked out together. They unified themselves in running away by talking to one-another. God is about group mentality. And a lot can influence one group. One person can unify an entire group. That's why there are leaders, presidents, CEOs, Kings, and the like. They direct people in a direction for them to go and the people go in that direction. The Arameans heard something, someone said that what they were hearing was this type of sound, whether it was or wasn't, God made them hear the sound and they assumed it was an army or armies. Someone had to say that the sound was an army and the rest believed that person. And then they fled as a group. That is the power of unity. That is the power of one-another-ness.

Memory Scriptures

2009-07-16T10:55:00.001-05:00

My son, who is four, has two scriptures memorized.

Philippians 2:14
Do everything without complaining or arguing.

Proverbs 19:20
Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.

And this is the passage that he is learning:

Philippians 4:19
God gives us what we need.

Secrets and Hints: Edition #1

2009-07-16T10:50:00.000-05:00

The Bible talks about hints, but in different forms throughout the Bible. In a couple of passages, it talks about a mustard seed. I'll get to that shortly.

Hint (noun):

An indirect, covert, or helpful suggestion; clue.
A very slight or hardly noticeable amount.
Perceived indication or suggestion; note; intimation.
Synonyms: Allusion, insinuation, innuendo; memorandum, reminder; inkling.

Ephesians 5:1-7
Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.

-Now, if a hint is a hardly noticeable amount, and there shouldn't be a hint of greed, impurity, or sexual immorality. Also, it says "nor" in the following sentance, which to me implies that there should be a hint also for those following items. So no hints of greed, impurity, sexual immorality, obscene stuff, foolish talk, and coarse joking. No immoral, impure of greedy people have anything to do with God's kingdom. Interesting?

Let's just start with no hints or noticeable amounts of greed. What is greed?

Greed (noun):

Excessive or rapacious desire, esp. for wealth or possessions.
An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.

Greed can come in many forms. Greed could be a desire for fame, fortune, praise, and knowledge. I would think that the normal form of greed is of money and material possessions. I struggle greatly with greed. I didn't realize I did until recently. I guess that comes with having a sales carrier. You get driven by money... and you think about how to take care of customers, acquire customers, and service customers... and how to develop programs to build a stronger customer base... and before you know it, you are thinking about staying up at night to help develop a database so that you can work the following morning.

One Another: Part IV

2009-07-15T13:20:00.000-05:00

Judges 20:19-23
The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah. The men of Israel went out to fight the Benjamites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah. The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day. But the men of Israel encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day. The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?"

The LORD answered, "Go up against them."

-I like the positiveness of this passage, at least in regards to "one-another-ness". They encouraged each other and because they encouraged each other, they were able to take up the positions once again. And it also should be noted that together, they inquired of God if they should attack the Benjamites.

One Another: Part III

2009-07-14T15:20:00.000-05:00

Leviticus 26:14-45

"But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you."

"If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit."

"If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve. I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted."

"If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. And I will bring the sword upon you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied."

"If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over. You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you. I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled. I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it."

"As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them. They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies. You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you. Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their fathers' sins they will waste away."

"But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers—their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the LORD."

-Interesting passage when you think about one-another-ness. Stumbling over one another... weird. But God, as it would appear, thinks that it is one for all and all for one. He punishes groups, not just individuals. Achan and his family were punished for Achan's sin. It was the whole group (Joshua 7). When David counted the fighting men after he was told to not to do that, the whole country was punished. So, it goes to reason that God wants "one-another-ness" since there is a precidence of punishment as a group, he wants the group to do well, stand together in righteousness.

That brings up a good question that my wife had mentioned sometime ago.

Romans 5:6-8
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Rarely would someone die for a righteous man... but isn't righteousness what we are to strive for as a disciple?

Righteous (adj.):

Characterized by uprightness or morality.
Morally right or justifiable.
Acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous.

But shines some real light on what righteousness is are the synonyms (good, honest, fair, right). That is just an added bonus, by the way. Johnny Out.

Legion of Heroes - Part 1

2009-07-10T09:35:00.001-05:00

Matthew 8:28-34

When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"

Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."

He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

-The story of Legion. Well, we assume this is the story of Legion. It is interesting that in this particular passage that they say two men, whereas in the other gospel's, they say that it is one man. Now, since in Matthew, they do not mention the guys names, it could be a different story all together. Likely? Probably not. I would naturally assume it is the same story, as would probably many others. Here is a parallel passage in Mark.

Mark 5:1-20

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"

Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Luke 8:26-39
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

"Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

-So there is a lot to consider. A lot. First, I would like to take a look at some definitions... going back to the Greek, the word two used in Matthew means two or both. So, this is pretty straight forward. It's two. In Mark 5, he says "he replied", which refers to one or oneself. So there is one person. OK, I don't know if there is one or two... but I am led to believe that this would be two different stories entirely. So, is it two stories, or is there just one actual story but the one in Matthew is told incorrectly? I am not sure. Is this a deal breaker for me spiritually? Well, there is this:

2nd Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2nd Peter 1:20-21

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

-So, scripture comes from the Holy Spirit and not man. And to question whether there was two or only one demon-possessed man, to assume that there is a mistake in the Bible, wouldn't that be questioning whether God himself made a mistake in his own doctrine? There has to be a better explanation as to why one passage says two and the other passage says that there is only one person.

There is this one truth, if one piece of the puzzle doesn't fit, then the puzzle is ruined and useless, am I correct in saying this? If God is all-powerful, if God is divine, then there wouldn't be a mistake or a type-o in his divine doctrine. That's true. And to clarify, I do believe that God is all-powerful and divine... and to be honest, God knows WAY more than I do. Who am I to say that I know even a mustard seed of knowledge compared to my Lord? So for me to not understand something, well, that would be a given on the most basic of levels.

Questions are here to bring about knowledge. we can't come up with answers, if there are no questions. So, why does one passage say two and two other passages say one? I do not know. But I will do my best to find out. Johnny Out.

Encouragement Study: Edition #22

2009-06-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Romans 11:11-16

Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring!

I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

Arouse (verb):

To stir to action or strong response; excite.
To stimulate sexually.
To awaken; wake up.
To awaken from or as if from sleep.

Paul wanted to arouse the Jews, to stir them to action... maybe get them worked up in anger so that he could save some of them. What does this have to do with encouragement? Everything. Encouragement is a feeling from someone's actions. To encrouage someone is to try to get a response from that person. Am I trying to get someone to an excited state? Am I trying to wake up someone in a figurative sense?

Do you know what? I am willing that Paul's actions, to anger and get the Jews to an envious state worked on some of the Jews. I'm not saying that we should go out and try to tick off a whole bunch of people, but I am saying that maybe others should become angery at our righteousness... just a thought. Johnny Out.

Growing Pains: Part III

2009-06-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Galatians 6:6-10
Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

-As it is written, put yourself to the test. So, in the Spirit of testing, it is good to see what we are sowing.

Sow (verb):

To scatter (seed) over the ground for growing.
To spread (land, for example) with seed.
To strew something around or over (an area); distribute something over.
To propagate; disseminate.
To scatter seed for growing.

Disseminate (verb):

To scatter widely, as in sowing seed.
To spread abroad; promulgate.
To become diffused; spread.

Promulgate (verb):

To make known by open declaration; publish; proclaim formally or put into operation (a law, decree of a court, etc.).
To set forth or teach publicly (a creed, doctrine, etc.).
To make known (a decree, for example) by public declaration; announce officially.
To put (a law) into effect by formal public announcement.

So, this is how I understand it: if I sow a bad attitude to other people, what I get in return are bad attitudes. If I talk to people with love, kindness, and goodness... then that is what I get in return, on a general sense.

The question therein is this:

How do people see me? What is my reputation? Am I known as a kind and loving person or am I known as a ill-tempered person?

Johnny Out.

Growing Pains: Part II

2009-06-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

2nd Peter 3:1-18
Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles.

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

-A great way to see if you are making progress as a Christian is to test yourself (Galatians 6:4). And to see if you are making progress, see if you have grown in grace and knowledge of Christ.

Ask questions like:

Have I learned anything about God/Christ in the ten years? five years? two years? year? month? week? day?
Am I making better decisions based on what I know between good and evil?
Am I becoming more and more aware of the grace given to me from God?

Put yourself to the test. The hardest part is to not compare yourself to others. If you have growth, then it is growth. If you don't have any growth... well, then guess what? You don't. But don't compare yourself to someone else. Just compare yourself to yourself... that is the only way to do it. Johnny Out.

One Another: Part II

2009-06-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Leviticus 19:1-14
The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.

"'Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.

"'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.

"'When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up. If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted. Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to the LORD; that person must be cut off from his people.

"'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

"'Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.

"'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

"'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.

"'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.

-There are some differences between this 'one another' and the one from Tuesday. This one uses this another:

Another: ‛âmîyth (pronounced: aw-meeth'):
To associate; companionship; hence (concretely) a comrade or kindred man: another, fellow, neighbour.

So... love one another... love your neighbor. It comes across as one and the same. Here it says to not deceive your neighbor. Do not deceive another person (kindred man).

Deceive (verb):

To cause to believe what is not true; mislead.
To catch by guile; ensnare.
To practice deceit.
To give a false impression.
To mislead by a false appearance or statement; delude.

Deceit (noun):

Concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating.

This is very interesting... deceiving someone is cheating them. It is lying, it is prostituing the heart, soul, mind, and spirit. It is being unfaithful, to God, to those in my life, to myself. That's a lot to think about.

Growing Pains: Part I

2009-06-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

A Catholic Priest, a Baptist Preacher, and a Rabbi all served as chaplains to the students of Northern Michigan University in Marquette. They would get together two or three times a week for coffee and to talk shop.

One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard. A real challenge would be to preach to a bear. One thing led to another, and they decided to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it.

Seven days later, they all came together to discuss their experience.

Father Flannery, who had his arm in a sling, was on crutches, and had various bandages on his body and limbs, went first. 'Well,' he said, 'I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him, I began to read to him from the Catechism. Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle as a lamb. The Bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.'

Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, had one arm and both legs in casts, and had an IV drip. In his best fire-and-brimstone oratory, he claimed, 'WELL, brothers, you KNOW that we don't sprinkle! I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me. So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So I quickly DUNKED him and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus...'

The priest and the reverend both looked down at the Rabbi,who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and traction with IVs and monitors running in and out of him. He was in really bad shape. The Rabbi looked up and said, 'Looking back on it, Circumcision may not have been the best way to start.'

OK, it's been a while since I dropped some humor. A friend sent this to me... and I thought it was hilarious.

Growth (Noun):

The act or process, or a manner of growing; development; gradual increase.
Size or stage of development.
Completed development.
Development from a simpler to a more complex stage.
Development from another but related form or stage.
Something that has grown or developed by or as if by a natural process.
The process of growing; full development; maturity.

So the question has been asked... am I growing? Is there some spiritual growth in my life as a disciple... or am I just becoming stagnant. I guess the question should be this: is there progress in my spiritual walk, or is there regression?

Progress (noun):

A movement toward a goal or to a further or higher stage.
Advancement in general.
Growth or development; continuous improvement.
The development of an individual or society in a direction considered more beneficial than and superior to the previous level.
Forward or onward movement:
The forward course of action, events, time, etc.

Matthew 13:24-30
Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

"'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

"'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"

-Well, the way I see it, there are two types of growth. One growth is a growth in righteousness. The other type is a growth in being unrighteous. I can look back on my years as a disciple and make a judgment in my growth. I can honestly say, I have seen growth in being righteous. Am I perfect? No. In fact, I would say that I am so far from being perfect... yeah, there's still plenty room for improvement.

One Another: Part I

2009-06-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Did you know that there are 72 verses that contain the phrase "one another" in the Bible? This series is a series that I will look at these verses and try to gleen something from each verse. I will be starting from the first one in the Bible and going to the last one. I would assume there would be 72 studies on this... however, it is more likely that some studies will contain more than one verse.

Genesis 42:14-21
Joseph said to them, "It is just as I told you: You are spies! And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!" And he put them all in custody for three days.

On the third day, Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die." This they proceeded to do.

They said to one another, "Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that's why this distress has come upon us."

According to E-Sword:

One: 'îysh (pronounced: eesh)
A man as an individual or a male person; another, any (man), a certain, champion, consent, each, every (one), fellow, (goodman, great, mighty) man, he, high (degree), him (that is), husband, man [mankind], none, one, people, person, steward, what (man) soever, whoso (whosoever), worthy.

Another: 'âch (pronounced: awkh)
A brother (used in the widest sense of literal relationship and metaphorical affinity or resemblance): another, brother (brotherly), kindred, like, other.

I don't know if the other "one another's" in the Old Testament are the same as this one, but this one another is speaking of family. You could say it like this: They said from one brother to another... or like this: They said to each family member... and that would also work.

Now, the question is this: When I address anyone... do I address them in a family demeanor? Do I honor them as I would a family member? How about this: do I honor family members? Tough stuff to think about. And it is worthy stuff to think about, too.

Encouragement Study: Edition #21

2009-05-29T07:55:00.000-05:00

Good morning all,
How are you today? How was your time with God? When you see the title here "wait and see" what thoughts go through your mind? Do you struggle with the waiting? How do you overcome the fact that you have to be patient to see something come to pass that you have hoped or prayed for? The city of Cleveland has waited over 50 years for some type of championship to come to them. There is no promise from God saying that they will have one but my point is that, even our hopes have to be patient. Habakkuk 2:3 (NLT) This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. God makes it very clear several times and gives me a lot of reassurance, when God gives His word, you can count on it! What promises have you read in God's word that seem like they are taking a long time to be fulfilled? Have we waited as long as Abraham waited to see God's promised fulfilled? How about God's promise to David? How about Moses? Even as I type that I can want to think, yeah but that was a long time ago they didn't live our modern age, where things are moving at the speed of light. Yet, when I sit back and really think about it, their time may have been slower but these three examples still have the same needs I have. Hebrews 6:12,15 (NLT) Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God's promises because of their faith and endurance. Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

Father Lord God, you know my heart, you know the pains in which I go through to try to be patient for your plan and your promises to be fulfilled in my life. Lord give me the strength and the courage as I wait and help me encourage others as I wait. I pray you all have a great day today, I love you all!!!

Your Radically Loving Brother in Christ,

Raymond

-I wanted to share Ray's quiet time. I find it encouraging to get his emails. I read some and others I honestly do not read. But just to have an email from Ray, just to see his quiet time in my inbox, well, it is encouraging to see.

Life is tough enough as it is. It's even tougher when we're headed in the wrong direction.

One of the incredible abilities of Jesus was to stay on target. His life never got off track. Not once do we find him walking down the wrong side of the fairway. He had no money, no computers, no jets, no administrative assistants or staff; yet Jesus did what many of us fail to do. He kept his life on course.

As Jesus looked across the horizon of his future, he could see many targets. Many flags were flapping in the wind, each of which he could have pursued. He could have been a political revolutionary. He could have been a national leader. He could have been content to be a teacher and educate minds or to be a physician and heal bodies. But in the end he chose to be a Savior and save souls.

Anyone near Christ for any length of time heard it from Jesus himself. "The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them" (Luke 19:10). "The Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many people" (Mark 10:45).

The heart of Christ was relentlessly focused on one task. The day he left the carpentry shop of Nazareth he had one ultimate aim--the cross of Calvary. He was so focused that his final words were, "It is finished" (John 19:30).

How could Jesus say he was finished? There were still the hungry to feed, the sick to heal, the untaught to instruct, and the unloved to love. How could he say he was finished? Simple. He had completed his designated task. His commission was fulfilled. The painter could set aside his brush, the sculptor lay down his chisel, the writer put away his pen. The job was done.

Wouldn't you love to be able to say the same? Wouldn't you love to look back on your life and know you had done what you were called to do?

-This is from "UpWords with Max Lucado', an email I get, I think weekly. Either way, I get these emails with encouraging scripture. Encouragement can come in many forms. It can come from a friend that you are chatting with over lunch. It can come in an email. It definitely comes from scripture. Still... it can come from a simple hug. It can even come from a simple look. Jesus did look at people and loved them from a simple look. How cool is that? Are am I encouraging others? How about you? How do you encourage others?

Encouragement Study: Edition #20

2009-05-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

Proverbs 24:13-18

Eat honey, dear child—it's good for you— and delicacies that melt in your mouth. Likewise knowledge, and wisdom for your soul— Get that and your future's secured, your hope is on solid rock. Don't interfere with good people's lives; don't try to get the best of them. No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don't stay down long; Soon they're up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces. Don't laugh when your enemy falls; don't crow over his collapse. God might see, and become very provoked, and then take pity on his plight.

-In this few verses, you have it all. Seek knowledge AND wisdom. Don't interfere with other people's lives. Take pity on even your enemy when they fall. God will bless it. Do these things and you will encourage others.

Encouragement Study: Edition #19

2009-05-25T10:15:00.000-05:00

Apathy (noun):

Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.
Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.
Absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.
Lack of interest in or concern for things that others find moving or exciting.

Empathy (noun):

The intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.
The imaginative ascribing to an object, as a natural object or work of art, feelings or attitudes present in oneself.
Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives.
The attribution of one's own feelings to an object.

Sympathy (noun):

Harmony of or agreement in feeling, as between persons or on the part of one person with respect to another.
The harmony of feeling naturally existing between persons of like tastes or opinion or of congenial dispositions.
The fact or power of sharing the feelings of another, esp. in sorrow or trouble; fellow feeling, compassion, or commiseration.

Psalm 72:1-19

Endow the king with your justice, O God, the royal son with your righteousness. He will judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice. The mountains will bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness. He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; he will crush the oppressor. He will endure as long as the sun, as long as the moon, through all generations. He will be like rain falling on a mown field, like showers watering the earth. In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more. He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live! May gold from Sheba be given him. May people ever pray for him and bless him all day long. Let grain abound throughout the land; on the tops of the hills may it sway. Let its fruit flourish like Lebanon; let it thrive like the grass of the field. May his name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun. All nations will be blessed through him, and they will call him blessed. Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. Praise be to his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and Amen.

-Taking pity is a quality of God. If you take pity on someone, you are not being apathetic, but empathetic and sympathetic. Does God want me to oppress others? Does God want me to help others? Let's just assume that God wants me to help others. If I express empathy and sympathy toward others, I am expressing a form of encouragment. And encouraging others is a great

Encouragement Study: Edition #18

2009-05-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Luke 12:1-12
Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

"I tell you, whoever publicly acknowledges me, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But whoever publicly disowns me will be disowned before the angels of God. And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

"When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."

-Jesus gives out some encouraging words. I like to bring up Jesus, since he is the one I should immitate. He stressing that we should fear God only. I am worth more than many sparrows. I am worth much, much more. On some days, that is what I cling to, whereas other days, I find it easy to think I am worth something. I guess on those days, I struggle more with pride.

Encouragement Study: Edition #17

2009-05-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Isaiah 1:2-

Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the LORD has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Ah, sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the LORD; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him. Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil. Your country is desolate, your cities burned with fire; your fields are being stripped by foreigners right before you, laid waste as when overthrown by strangers. Daughter Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a city under siege. Unless the LORD Almighty had left us some survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword." For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

-Wow. God lays it all out right here. He doesn't like sacrifices. He wants righteous actions and a righteous heart. He wants people to CARE about people, to have a genuine concern for others, so that the actions aren't forced but a natural response to a person in need.

Encouragement Study: Edition #16

2009-05-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Job 16:2-8
"I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing? I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could make fine speeches against you and shake my head at you. But my mouth would encourage you; comfort from my lips would bring you relief. Yet if I speak, my pain is not relieved; and if I refrain, it does not go away. Surely, God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household. You have shriveled me up—and it has become a witness; my gauntness rises up and testifies against me.

-What I like about this passage (not the rebuttal against Job's friends) is that I can see what encouragement does and when it is absent, I plainly see what no encouragement has on a person. Job needed to be encouraged. He got bickering friends. When I have a friend in need, do I bicker or encourage?

Encouragement Study: Edition #15

2009-05-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

1st Thessalonians 5:12-15

And now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience. Overwhelm them with appreciation and love!

Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other's nerves you don't snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.

-Encourage the stragglers. What is a straggler?

Straggler (noun):

One who straggles, or departs from the direct or proper course, or from the company to which he belongs; one who falls behind the rest; one who rambles without any settled direction.
A roving vagabond.
Something that shoots, or spreads out, beyond the rest, or too far; an exuberant growth.

Some might see this as a person who is weak. Maybe that might be the case... but it is definitely someone who is not taking part with the whole.

Encouragement Study: Edition #14

2009-05-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

Colossians 4:5-9

Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don't miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out.

My good friend Tychicus will tell you all about me. He's a trusted minister and companion in the service of the Master. I've sent him to you so that you would know how things are with us, and so he could encourage you in your faith. And I've sent Onesimus with him. Onesimus is one of you, and has become such a trusted and dear brother! Together they'll bring you up-to-date on everything that has been going on here.

-Encouragement is lifting others up in faith. The goal is to bring out the BEST in others.

Encouragement Study: Edition #13

2009-05-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

Proverbs 29:9-12
A sage trying to work things out with a fool gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble. Murderers hate honest people; moral folks encourage them. A fool lets it all hang out; a sage quietly mulls it over. When a leader listens to malicious gossip, all the workers get infected with evil.

-Moral people encourage honesty. Cool.

Encouragement Study: Edition #12

2009-04-15T20:10:00.000-05:00

Proverbs 11:24-26

One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. People curse those who hoard grain, but they pray God's blessing on those who are willing to sell.

-He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. I like to read this sometimes and think 'he who encourages others will himself be encouraged.' The Hebrew takes it back to say who "makes drunk, satiates, satisfies" others will himself be (and fill those back in here). I don't think God wants me to go and makes others drunk and make myself a drunk, but it does show what God does mean, in that, to make someone full and satisfied, or to make happy. And that simply shows that I would be encouraging someone and thus be encouraged myself.

Encouragement Study: Edition #11

2009-04-14T19:50:00.001-05:00

Psalm 19
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure, and all of them are righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

-Reviving the soul with scripture. It is a way to keep going in tough times.

Encouragement Study: Edition #10

2009-04-13T19:50:00.002-05:00

Exodus 23:1-9
"Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit. If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it. Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous. Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens, because you were aliens in Egypt."

Romans 12:17-21

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 5:43-48

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Be Perfect...

Perfect: (Pronounced "teleios" tel'-i-os):

Complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); completeness: of full age, man (matured), perfect.

Be mature, therefore, as your heavenly Father is mature. Or can it read: Be complete as God is complete. Be a man as your God is a man. Yeah, that just doesn't sound right...

Encouragement Study: Edition #9

2009-03-22T16:20:00.000-05:00

Matthew 5:3-12
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Matthew 25:34-36

-I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. I was a stranger and you invited me in. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. I was in prison and you came to visit me. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. It does tie into each other...

Encouragement Study: Edition #8

2009-03-21T18:45:00.001-05:00

Psalm 9:12-14
For he who avenges blood remembers; he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted. O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may declare your praises in the gates of the Daughter of Zion and there rejoice in your salvation.

James 4:1-12

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

-How does someone get encouraged? How does someone get lifted up? It is by being humble. Being humble is key. If I am to be encouraging to others, I have to be humble.

Matthew 5:1-12
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

-Here are a few more observations... first off, God is the one who lifts up. He lifts me up. He lifts you up. If God doesn't lift you up, then no one can lift you up. God will only lift you up if you are humble. If you aren't being lifted up, it could be that you aren't humble. And I know I haven't noticed this before... but have you noticed that the person who is suffering in the beatitudes are the ones being comforted by the "sheep" in the 'sheep and goats' passage in Matthew 25? I wonder why that is...

Encouragement Study: Edition #7

2009-03-20T07:30:00.000-05:00

Matthew 25:35

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in...

-I wanted to focus on this verse, since I have been studying the whole passage the last couple of days, this verse stuck out at me... in fact, it was just a part of the verse that caught my eye. "I was a stranger and you invited me in...". When was the last time I had a stranger in my home? When was the last time I really had anyone I didn't know or barely knew in my house?

So, what is a stranger?

Stranger: xenos (pronounced: xen'-os)

Foreign (literally alien, or figuratively novel); by implication a guest or entertainer: host, strange (stranger).

So, a stranger could simply mean a stranger. Alien can mean someone that you do not know... like this is a foreign or alien concept...

Stranger (noun):

A person with whom one has had no personal acquaintance.
A newcomer in a place or locality.
An outsider.
A person who is unacquainted with or unaccustomed to something (usually fol. by to).
A person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like, as a visitor or guest.

Being encouraging means having people you do not know in your home. Weird.

Encouragement Study: Edition #6

2009-03-19T20:15:00.000-05:00

Matthew 25:34-40

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

-Whatever I do, it defines me. Whatever I do defines my character. What do my actions say about me? God wants me, wants everyone to help each other. I really do believe God wants a world where people just help other people live, with the whole brotherly kindness thing going on. So long as there is a sinful nature, there will be selfish, self-centered people out there. And that simply tells me there will never be what God wants, a world of neighbor helping neighbor, going on around here. But you can't help for trying, I guess.

Encouragement Study: Edition #5

2009-03-18T23:00:00.001-05:00

Matthew 25:31-46

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

-There are several ways to look at this passage. You can put yourself into the shoes of the person being called a goat and a sheep. You can also place yourself in the place of God and empathize with him telling his hearers what he observed. But there is also another angle. You can place yourself in the person who needed the person to be a sheep. In other words, be the person receiving food and drink. Be that person in need in this story. What would it be like to need food and water? And when you need it, are you grateful? Are you encouraged? Ever needed shelter or clothes? What would it be like to need shelter and clothes and get it when you need it most? That is encouraging to receive timely help. Sick? In jail? It is encouraging for those who are in need to receive the help.

Tough week.

Encouragement Study: Edition #4

2009-03-12T22:10:00.001-05:00

2nd Timothy 2:1-13
You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

-Enduring is encouraging. How is that? Well, let's say that someone endures some kind of hardship for being a soldier of Christ. Even though that may be tough, not just for that person, but for everyone knowing that person, the simple fact that they continue to push through encourages others.

I've seen it through my experience and I have been encouraged by others who have gone through certain experiences. As a matter of fact, a couple I know has experienced some recent hardship, and seeing how they cling to God is encouraging to me. Johnny Out.

Encouragement Study: Edition #3

2009-03-11T22:00:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah 32:36-41

"You are saying about this city, 'By the sword, famine and plague it will be handed over to the king of Babylon'; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.

-To encourage is to inspire. It can be to inspire someone to do something that will prosper them. And God will inspire his people to fear them. Children fear their parents. It is a respecting fear. My children don't fear me to the point of death... which I think it awesome. I don't want my son or daughter to see me and drop to there knees thinking that they are going to die. That is the fear I am supposed to have with my God. I am also to think of my God as a Father, like my dad in a sense. Still, a father inspires their children. They push them to be more than what they really are... and I say that as, if left to their own devices, they will spend the day in front of the TV, drinking too much soda, and wearing holy underwear. They inspire their children to do things that they don't want to do to achieve the things they've always dreamed about. That was a quote by Tom Landry (maybe not the exact words, but close enough). And God wants to inspire me, to fear, and to obedience. I say AMEN to that.

Encouragement Study: Edition #2

2009-03-05T08:30:00.000-06:00

Well, now that I am working full time, I have to create a new routine that will allow me to have my Quiet Times and still accomplish everything else. It's not easy. I have managed to still be in the word daily, just not posting like I would like. Still consistency is consistency. I can't complain if I am being consistent.Romans 15:4

Now those things which were put down in writing before our time were for our learning, so that through quiet waiting and through the comfort of the holy Writings we might have hope. (The Bible in Basic English)

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope. (American Standard Version)

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (English Standard Version)

Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us patience and encouragement so that we can have hope. (NCV)

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (NIV)

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. (Revised Standard Version)

For all that was written of old has been written for our instruction, so that we may always have hope through the power of endurance and the encouragement which the Scriptures afford. (Weymouth New Testament)

-So, what does it mean to encourage someone else? What is encourgament? Well, let's start with comfort. Comfort is a parralel word from one translation to another. Comfort and encouragement are considered one in the same when translating. At least that is the deduction that I have made in searching this out.

Encourage (verb):

To inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.
To stimulate by assistance, approval, etc.
To promote, advance, or foster.

I can see how giving comfort is also encouragement. It makes sense, at least when you think about it. If I comfort you, you'd be encouraged. Johnny Out.

Encouragement Study: Edition #1

2009-03-01T21:55:00.000-06:00

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

-Salvation. That is what I should encourage my brothers and sisters with... the fact that we are saved and going to get to be with God... that is the heart of encouragement.

New Year Goals - 2009: Update #2

2009-03-01T21:30:00.000-06:00

It is good to have goals... but this year, I am going to approach this a different way than in years past.

Goals:

By Faith, I will be over 90% with my Quiet Times in 2009, with over 90% each month.

I'm looking pretty good with this right now. I normally am at this time of the year... still, it is under 90%... but I have more determination thus far. I have pushed through days where I did not "feel it"... so that is encouraging.

By Faith, a family member will be baptized this year.
By Faith, I will lose weight and be under 175 pounds by the end of July.

I am not feeling to good about this. Still, God works in wonderful ways.

By Faith, Joyville will be up and running by the end of January. -DONE-
By Faith, I will support my wife emotionally and lead her spiritually in 2009.
By Faith, I will read a book a month (in addition to the Bible).

Two months into the year, and I haven't read one.

By Faith, I will consider others and not think of myself.

I talked with my wife and I decided to move my studies to study out encouragement in the month of March.

A Study on Love: Part LII

2009-02-28T21:15:00.000-06:00

This is the last "love study" for the month... at least directly. I am sure it will be hard to continue the next ten months and not at least talk about love once. Anyway, I was pretty successful this month, achieving over 90%... yeah!
Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

-I think this is pretty key to expressing love. The frame of mind has to be thinking about whatever is lovely, true, noble, pure, admirable and right. Whatever is right... do that and it will be expressing love. And loveliness is Godliness, right? AMEN.

A Study on Love: Part LI

2009-02-27T13:30:00.001-06:00

A Good Samaritan who sustained broken bones after pushing three people out of the way of a oncoming pickup has been cited for jaywalking, the Rocky Mountain News reports.

Bus driver Jim Moffett, 58, and one of his passengers decided to help two elderly women who had gotten off the bus on a Denver street in a light snowstorm, the newspaper says.

Moffett's stepson, Ken McDonald, tells the paper that the four had almost made it across the street when the impatient driver of a pickup passed in a left-hand turn lane and hit them.

"He plowed right into my stepdad," McDonald says. "But not before (my stepdad) pushed the old ladies and the other guy out of the way."

Moffett was hospitalized with bleeding in the brain, broken bones in his face, a dislocated shoulder, a broken wrist and possible ruptured spleen and liver, the News writes.

He also got a ticket for jaywalking.

McDonald says the citation should be dropped, but the newspaper quotes Ryan Sullivan, of the State Patrol, as saying that while Moffett's "intentions were good," jaywalking caused the accident.

The driver of the pickup was ticketed for careless driving causing injury.
That guy, in an effort to help someone else, may just cost him his life. And the fine for jaywalking, by the way, is $22 dollars. Yes, he did jaywalk. I'm not sure he deserves a fine for his effort to help others, but then again the law is the law. And if it were me, I would have jaywalked, too.

I think maybe there should be a donation line or a way to donate money, to help this guy with his medical bills and to also pay for the silly little fine. He's just a bus driver so the chances of him having the money to cover his bills is probably limited at best.

I talked to Mr. Moffett, and his wishes were not just to have something for him, but he was more concerned about the older ladies and the other gentleman. He's at St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, which is where I called and talked to him. I am hoping that I will be able to have a way to send money through PayPal so they can be able to help pay on some of their hospital bills.

I just wanted to share a couple of funnies. The top one deals with telling a lie and the one below is about lust. Obviously, the guy talking doesn't get it.

Matthew 25:31-46
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

-Now the reason I share this story instead of the "good samaritan" story is so that I can look at the sheep and the goats. I will have to say, I do not know Jim Moffett. I have talked to him and I have read about him, but I haven't seen him face to face or given the guy a hug or anything like that.

What I like about Jim is his actions. In James, it is written that faith without deeds is dead. And to have deeds that go with your faith, will just let your deeds speak for themselves. I do not know what church Jim goes to, whether it be a Catholic church or a Church of Christ or a Bible church or whatever, but what I do know is that he has a heart for others, a heart for complete strangers. And God will bless him. Or at least I pray that he does. The sheep in the above story helped others because they had love. The goats, well they didn't. They were waiting to be asked to help instead of helping out where there were needs.

Jim is a sheep. He helped out where he saw a need. And to that, I say an AMEN. Helping someone is an expression of love. Even helping a complete stranger. Not helping, well that makes you a goat and it is the same as hurting someone, essentially. Johnny Out.

This is 26 of 27... the typing feature on my photoshop decided to not work... trying to fix it. Also, yesterday's post didn't come through, in fact it got deleted. So, uh... that was weird.

A Study on Love: Part L

2009-02-25T08:00:00.000-06:00

Ephesians 4:2-3

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

-John Lusk talked about the "five stones" at our marriage retreat. Here's a list of the "stones":

Humility
Gentleness
Patience
Bearability
Love

I do not know if "bearability" is really a word, but work with me here. Actually, it is not really a word, but I have to be able to bear with others in love. In fact, I have to bear out with others. I have to be humble to the very end. I have to be patient to the end. If I have those qualities, I will have a great marriage. I will have a great walk with God. I will be what God has called me to be. And if I am what God calls to be, then I will be expressing qualities of love everywhere I go, and that's not a bad thing. Johnny Out.

OK, that is supposed to say 24 of 25 this month.

Wednesday's Workout

2009-02-25T07:30:00.000-06:00

I pretty much have fallen off the wagon. My son went to the hospital a week ago and I really haven't done much of anything since. Monday evening, I kicked a child's car seat and did a number on my leg, however today I will get back on the wagon, irregardless of how I feel. I am healthy enough to workout, just not 100% pain free. I think right now it is not so much of how much I do, it is simply doing something.

A Study on Love: Part XLIX

2009-02-24T15:25:00.000-06:00

Romans 12:3-21
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

-There is a job for me to do. I mean, everybody has a gift. Some people can speak different languages. Others have a gift to be able to organize things. Others have a gift of being an entertainer. And still others have artistic ability. My gift is in entertaining and with artistic ability. Some people have the ability to be able to speak well. I am not terribly sure I fall into that catagory. Others have an ability to lead a group. Others have an ability to encourage people. And I think everyone has a gift to encourage others. It is there, you just have to tap into it. And maybe all of these gifts are there, they just need to be tapped into in a better, more effective way. And using these gifts, it is an expression of love. And expressing that love, it has to be sincere. Expressing love has to have humility to it, because if it doesn't, it's pretty worthless. And by worthless, I mean not effective. Telling someone I love you and doing nothing to express that love really falls short. Telling someone I love you and doing something, whether it be giving a gift, serving that person, or whatever, and having a great heart about it, that speaks volumes of that love. Johnny Out.

A Study on Love: Part XLVIII

2009-02-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

1st Corinthians 3:23
...you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

Matthew 5:48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

1st John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1st Corinthians 13:1-8a
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails.

-Now, I am supposed to be perfect as God is perfect. I am to like Christ who is like God, so therefore I should be like God. And God is love. If I am to be like Christ, who is God, and God is love, the I should be love. So what that means is that I need to place my name in the place of the word love... Johnny is patient, Johnny is kind. He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud. He is not rude, he is not self-seeking, he is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs. Johnny does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Johnny never fails.

That is a humbling exercise. I mean, how much of that is true? I see bursts of those things, but a consistent yes, well, I don't think I can say that about any of those things. An expression of love is an expression of Godliness. This is truly convicting. Johnny Out.

A Study on Love: Part XLVII

2009-02-22T08:00:00.000-06:00

Luke 7:36-38, 44-47
Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

-Now, this is an awesome story in the Bible. In fact, it is one of my most favorite stories in the Bible. This story shows the love I should have for God. It shows that I should be down on my hands and knees, doing everything I have within my being, serving my Lord. This woman broke a jar of perfume worth a years wages. A YEARS WAGES. Let's put that into perspective:

A Farm Manager Made in 2002: $43,740
Scott Kazmir (Tampa Bay Rays) in 2008: $3,785,000
Melky Cabrera (NY Yankees) in 2008: $461,200
Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers) in 2008: $396,830
Michael Young (Texas Rangers) in 2008: $6,174,974
Average Teacher Salary (Texas) in 2008-09: $38,857
Brandon Bass (Dallas Mavericks) in 2009: $826,269
Mike Modano (Dallas Stars) in 2009: $4,250,000
DeMarcus Ware (Dallas Cowboys) in 2008: $2,121,240
Minimum Wage at 40 Hour Weeks (Year): $13,624

In case you are not aware of what this bottle of perfume was worth in those times compared to today's time, the alabaster bottle and perfume totalled to roughly $300 dollars. In Russia, an average salary per year is roughly $545 dollars. So... would you break the bottle and pour a years worth of wages at your Lord's feet? Would you do it? Let's say you're Scott Kazmir, would you pour over 3 million dollars of anything on your Lord's feet? And if not, why not? Keep in mind that Judas was there disputing the act. I mean, this is a years worth of money being poured out with no way to get any physical return on what you are doing. I would have to say that I would have a hard time doing it. I agree with Jesus in saying that it is a beautiful thing. I just don't know if my faith would be there, to do something as wonderful as what she did.

Giving is an expression of love. Sacrificing is an expression of love. This woman did both. She gave up a year's worth of wages, sacrificed what she had and gave it to Christ. Johnny Out.

A Study on Love: Part XLVI

2009-02-21T08:00:00.001-06:00

Matthew 25:1-13

"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

"At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'

"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'

"'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

"Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'

"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour."

-Now, you again might ask, "what does this passage have anything to do with love?" And that would be a good question. Here are five virgins not sharing with the other five virgins. And I am teaching my son to share, which is a good thing. Here's a situation of five women who are prepared. They have kept themselves pure, they have done everything... except prepare. They didn't have enough oil. It wasn't like they didn't know this was going to happen, because they did know. And if I am one of those ladies, and I have enough oil, do I share it with someone who doesn't? This is a metaphor. The oil is like my salvation. Am I prepared? Do I have enough to get me to the end? Am I willing to take a chance of loosing my salvation to help someone else? That's a legitimate question. It is good to be outward focused. And it is not like the five virgins with oil didn't offer a solution, because they did. Sometimes loving someone is doing the harder thing, which is allowing someone to do the work themselves. I am not saying that we shouldn't be outward focused. I am saying that sometimes the better thing to do in a situation with someone is to take a step back, and let that person see the situation they have put themself in. And doing the harder thing, letting someone see their foolishness, is an expression of love. It is the expression most forgotten and it is the expression most appreciated.

A Study on Love: Part XLV

2009-02-20T13:00:00.001-06:00

Mack ate up some coins on Wednesday, so I didn't get to do the workout I wanted. So, I am doing that workout today. Rock on.Mark 7:14-23
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "

After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")

He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

-What does this have to do with love? Well, it is rather simple. What is the opposite of sexual immortality? Purity. What is the opposite of evil thoughts? Godly thoughts. Opposite of deceit? Honesty. These things are the heavenly things. These things are the things that become expressions of love. That's important, since the evil things listed about are not expressions of love. And if they are not expressions of love, then they become expressions of a self-centered personality. The opposite of love, which is an outward focus, is selfishness, which is an inward focus. Johnny Out.

A Study on Love: Part XLIV

2009-02-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

Today, I just will do some cardio. I have learned that I have lost an inch on my waist. That encourages me to continue to workout, even though I am not dropping the pounds, I am still getting results.
Proverbs 14:29
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

Proverbs 15:18,20

A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel. A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

Proverbs 16:28,32

A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

-Patience is an expression of love. God is patient. I lack patience. I know I do. I can be very hasty and very ill-tempered. I am grown in this area, but I still have a long way to go. Just a nugget for today.

A Study on Love: Part XLIII

2009-02-18T08:45:00.000-06:00

I did only three circuits yesterday. Today, my goal is to complete the whole workout. Tough, but that is what I aim to do. I still haven't lost any weight, but I think consistency will change that. Pray for me to lose weight. I really need to shed these pounds and there have been many times where I have just been so discouraged that it brings me close to tears.
Colossians 3:1-17

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 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.

-It is good to know what love is not to understand what love is. Love is not immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, or lying. Love is compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, forgiveness and patience. I like this passage: forgive as God forgave you. God forgives me completely. He doesn't hold on to anything. And that is how I should forgive. Forgiveness is an expression of love. The word forgive comes up in 63 verses in the NIV Bible. And 17 in the first four books of the NT. It is our sinful nature to not forgive. We want to hold grudges against others who hurt us. It just shouldn't happen like that. Love as God has loved us. Forgive as God forgives us. Trust as God trusts us. Hope as God hopes for us. Be patient with others as God is patient with us. Tough things to think about, seriously, but I think this is the goal that God has for me and you. Johnny Out.

A Study on Love: Part XLII

2009-02-17T18:30:00.001-06:00

I didn't workout at all yesterday. So, tonight I will be doing Monday's workout. Why not, right?

Psalm 31

In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends— those who see me on the street flee from me. I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life. But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and lie silent in the grave. Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous. How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

-Trust is an expression of love. Trust is a reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, and surety of a person or thing. Trust is having confidence in someone or something. If you love someone, you have a level of trust in that person. It could range from small all the way to complete and total trust. I have a three, almost four, year old son and I trust him to a certain amount. I can't trust him to do certain things, because that would just be crazy. But the things I ask him to do, I put trust in him to do those things, like pick up his toys. And roughly half the time, I have to chastize him due to him not doing the task trusted to him, but the fact is that I do trust him repeatedly to do these certain tasks. I love my son. I trust my co-workers. Probably not as much as I should, but I do trust them. I love them. Not on the same level as, say, my wife, but I do love them. They are a great bunch of people. Trust is an expression of love that I do not think we tap into, or even realize, for that matter. I think the first step to put trust in God and it will become easier to trust others. Johnny Out.