A Study on Love - Edition #13

Monday, January 16th, 2006

A Study on Love – Edition #13

The three things:

• Is there a fact to believe here?


• Is there a promise to trust?


• Is there a command to obey?

Deuteronomy 23:5
5 However, the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loves you.

This one verse really makes me think. God would not listen to Balaam and turned a curse meant for his people into a blessing. I simply wonder what all the curses out there are perplexed around into blessings. What bad things that should happen end up being good things in the end. I want an expensive sports car and go and try to get one… and am not able to afford it, and end up getting an economy car instead and low and behold, it’s more than making me happy. It felt bad at the time, but now I am overjoyed. (It didn’t really happen, but I had to make an example within my head to paint the picture out.) A curse is an appeal or prayer for evil or misfortune to befall someone or something, but a blessing is something promoting or contributing to happiness, well-being, or prosperity. I think it is God alone who can turn misfortune into prosperity.

Matthew 5:43-48
43 “You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons 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. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

It rains on everyone. The good, bad, and worse, it rains on us all. And when I think of the word rain… I think of the phrase, “When it rains, it pours.” It’s like the proverbial thought of when one thing goes bad, the domino effect has begun. Maybe that is how the Friday the thirteenth stuff came about… not really sure, don’t really care, either. But here’s a thought, if I like to receive help in days of rain, wouldn’t it make sense to do the same for others and give them help? Do I love the pagans? Am I helping the unrighteous? When someone spits in my face, how do I react? I can tell you now; my response wouldn’t be the pretty righteous response I would like for it to be… (And this isn’t an invitation to come up and spit in my face, peeps… please don’t do that.) I really think I need to spend a little more time in prayer for those I know who don’t like me… anyway, Johnny Out.

A Study on Love - Edition #12

Sunday, January 15th, 2006

A Study on Love – Edition #12

The three things:

• Is there a fact to believe here?


• Is there a promise to trust?


• Is there a command to obey?

Deuteronomy 21:15-17
15 If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love, 16 when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love. 17 He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.

This is crazy. I guy has two wives and one of them he doesn’t love. This is something I don’t think I will ever grasp… being married to two women (one) and (two) it being acceptable to not love someone. But I believe this was put in the bible for a reason. I understand that the firstborn is a huge deal. And to me, it still is a huge deal. I have a firstborn son and I pray daily for him to be not just a man of God, but a strong man of God. You see, with David, he spilled blood and couldn’t build the temple. That was Solomon’s job. And with me, I feel there has been “blood spilled” on my watch, per se. I mean, I have done some horrible things in my day. Some may say that the things I have done are nothing in comparison to what they themselves have done… and maybe the world would view it as the case… but I see it, my sins have been great… many people still see me as the “old Johnny” and I don’t really think I am going to shake that. But my son isn’t known by anyone as an old this or that and that gives him a better chance. I pray that I am able to give my son a double portion. Hopefully my brother will get a double portion as well. He’s definitely got more strength than I… his strength could arm-wrestle even the best into submission. When he plays “pass-the-pigs,” he actually picks up two hogs and throws them around. He was the stunt double of the baby Clark Kent in Superman and actually picked up that car. OK, well maybe not… but you know, he’s a strong guy. Now, preschool kids have actually made me yell uncle. I won the Mr. Weak Man competition in 2003, 2004, and 2005… so being a sign of my father’s strength isn’t much of anything for me. Pretty much out of that running… the right of the firstborn son is huge to God. Jesus was a firstborn son. Esau was very upset about Jacob taking his birthright. Many times God commanded the people to redeem the firstborn son. And one dictionary I found says to redeem is to save from sins. My duty as a father, and I won’t simply stop with my first son, is to save that child from sins. So not only do I bear the responsibility to present my wife before God as clean and holy, I have to redeem my children. I don’t have that kind of strength. But God can give it to me… if I ask of him for that kind of wisdom.

A Study on Love - Edition #11

Saturday, January 14th, 2006

A Study on Love – Edition #11

The three things:

• Is there a fact to believe here?


• Is there a promise to trust?


• Is there a command to obey?

Deuteronomy 13:1-18
1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. 9 You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you to live in 13 that wicked men have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. Destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. 16 Gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt. 17 None of those condemned things shall be found in your hands, so that the LORD will turn from his fierce anger; he will show you mercy, have compassion on you, and increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your forefathers, 18 because you obey the LORD your God, keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.

Even this is Old Testament, I think the message still applies today. If someone comes along trying to sway me and become a Hindu or Jew or whatever, then I should not yield to them. But on another hand, I should instead try to sway them to my side of things. Obviously stoning and killing is not apart of the New Testament, but taking the rest of what is said is very much apart of what God wants from me. He wants me to be strong in my faith, strong with my heart, and strong with my convictions. So when a guy with cunning words comes along, I won’t be broken away from my God. Verse 4 really puts it clear. “It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.” Now, hold fast means to stay firm and not let go… to stick to. It is important for me to hold onto my God and not let go… otherwise, everything I do is for nothing. Meaningless, as Solomon would say. Anyway, this is pretty much it for today… take care all and have a great Sunday service.

A Study on Love - Edition #10

Friday, January 13th, 2006

A Study on Love – Edition #10

The three things:

• Is there a fact to believe here?


• Is there a promise to trust?


• Is there a command to obey?

Superstition (noun):

• An irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.


• A belief, practice, or rite irrationally maintained by ignorance of the laws of nature or by faith in magic or chance; A fearful or abject state of mind resulting from such ignorance or irrationality; Idolatry.

So, uh, I am not sure what to make of superstitions… I mean, to think something is going to happen when you break a mirror or walk under a ladder, well that is… well, crazy. I was in a hospital once, and a guy told me I was going to hell because of the shirt I was wearing… and to be honest, there wasn’t anything wrong with my shirt. I was wearing a “there’s something about Mary” shirt that had that dog is a full body cast. I’ve never seen the movie and have no desire to see it, for that matter, but the shirt is funny. But we can be like that. The penguin always faces east. I have to adjust my gloves after every pitch. I have to get up every morning at 2:36 AM to wash my face or I will get acne. If I don’t do twenty hail-Mary’s everyday, then God isn’t going to forgive me… God’s love is bigger than that. And I have to admit, with today being Friday the 13th, a lot of talk is going to go about saying this or that evil, mean, bad, and nasty stuff is because of the date. But I do have my own personal quirks. My wife will love me more if I do the dishes, laundry, and have dinner ready for her when she gets home… her love is bigger than that, but I tend to think that way, irrational as it may be.

Now, Deuteronomy, I found, means repetition of the law. Love is used 33 times in this book (NIV), almost once each chapter on average.

Deuteronomy 10:12-22
12 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

14 To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the LORD set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today. 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt. 20 Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is your praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Whenever I hear the word “alien,” I think of the little green men, the X-Files, and all those movies, like E-T, Alien, and so forth. And with that, what makes it come clear is what if it was so? I mean, hypothetically speaking, what if God were telling me to love people who I don’t know? People I have never seen before, is he telling me to love them also? And I think so. The definition I love the most about love is “a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.” I need to treat outsiders like insiders… family. And that is not the easiest thing to do, and I am nowhere near this in my character, but it is something I will have to focus and guide my heart to. Johnny Out.

New Cell Phone Law

According to a proposed new law that would go into effect Jan 1, 2006, you will no longer be able to use a cell phone while driving unless you have a "hands free" adapter. I went to Circuit City and they wanted $50 for a headset with a microphone for my cell phone. Having a friend in the cell phone business, I talked with him and was able to come up with an alternative, working through Office Depot.  

These kits are compatible with any mobile phone and one size fits all. I paid him $0.08 each because he bought in quantity. Then we tried it with Motorola, Sprint, Verizon, and Nokia units and they worked perfectly.

 

A photo is attached, so click the link & take a look. Let me know if you want one. Also, forward this to anyone you know, who has a cell phone, and who may want one!

 

http://trexchickens.blogspot.com/2005/01/hands-free-unit-for-phones.html