Monday, August 27, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
A warning to our society, and our nation.
"Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil ; Who substitute darkness for light and light fordarkness ; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!" - Isaiah 5:20
I look at our country, our society, our government, and I see us doing exactly what this passage says we ought not do! This verse is not just a suggestion, but a pronouncement of a curse upon those who do what it warns against!
We are calling same-sex (read: homosexual) marriage a good thing, and those who oppose it, we are trying to get them labeled as mentally ill! We are getting deeper and deeper in debt, calling it "good" economics, while the Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:7:
"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." (emphasis mine).People, I believe that the US is either under a curse, currently, or soon will be due to our ignorance of the Word of God. It is timeless, and applies to all nations, and the arrogance of our nation will be a downfall to us. So if the US does fall, nations of the world, heed this warning. Do not go the way of this Nation, but follow God in all.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Why do I read the Bible (almost) every day?
As I walked to work this morning, I was listening to an old sermon from my church (I have a schedule that now makes me work on Sundays, so this is how I get my teaching, now.) and Pastor Dave Wick was preaching in this one about "sanctification" and the difference between "pietism" and "legalism".
So, as I started reading my Bible this morning, I got to thinking, why am I reading the Bible? Is it because I think it's required by God as some sort of act that will sanctify me, or do the actual words on the page have some sort of divine power in and of themselves? Well, the written word in a book, itself, has no power, except for what the reader attaches to them. And to someone who is not a Christian, I'm sure some impact would come, because the words written are full of wisdom.
But for a Christian, one who has been baptized by the Holy Spirit, there is a power in the words. But it does not come from the words themselves, as if the words are indwelt by that same Spirit. The power comes from my eyes being opened to the truth by the power of the Spirit. It doesn't come from my own wisdom, because my wisdom is corrupt, damaged by the fall and the sin which pervades this present world.
In other words, without the Spirit, I have no power to gain any other than the most rudimentary insight from the written words of the Bible. The Flesh, as Paul referred to the sinful component that every man is suffused with since birth, cannot understand the Truth of the Bible without being given the power and ability by God, through the power of His Spirit.
So, I came to the conclusion that I read, not because the act itself sanctifies or even saves me, but because the Spirit within me has given me the desire, and the ability, to read and understand the words of the book. Without Him, it's just another book of wisdom, but a wisdom I would never fully grasp. As Paul, in Romans, makes so primitively plain, our Salvation comes solely, totally, completely from the Lord, so that I can never boast that anything I have done has brought me salvation. From the act of hearing and understanding, to actually believing, and finally submitting to that Truth, it all comes from Him, to His Glory alone!
So, as I started reading my Bible this morning, I got to thinking, why am I reading the Bible? Is it because I think it's required by God as some sort of act that will sanctify me, or do the actual words on the page have some sort of divine power in and of themselves? Well, the written word in a book, itself, has no power, except for what the reader attaches to them. And to someone who is not a Christian, I'm sure some impact would come, because the words written are full of wisdom.
But for a Christian, one who has been baptized by the Holy Spirit, there is a power in the words. But it does not come from the words themselves, as if the words are indwelt by that same Spirit. The power comes from my eyes being opened to the truth by the power of the Spirit. It doesn't come from my own wisdom, because my wisdom is corrupt, damaged by the fall and the sin which pervades this present world.
In other words, without the Spirit, I have no power to gain any other than the most rudimentary insight from the written words of the Bible. The Flesh, as Paul referred to the sinful component that every man is suffused with since birth, cannot understand the Truth of the Bible without being given the power and ability by God, through the power of His Spirit.
So, I came to the conclusion that I read, not because the act itself sanctifies or even saves me, but because the Spirit within me has given me the desire, and the ability, to read and understand the words of the book. Without Him, it's just another book of wisdom, but a wisdom I would never fully grasp. As Paul, in Romans, makes so primitively plain, our Salvation comes solely, totally, completely from the Lord, so that I can never boast that anything I have done has brought me salvation. From the act of hearing and understanding, to actually believing, and finally submitting to that Truth, it all comes from Him, to His Glory alone!
Friday, August 17, 2012
Who's to blame for our Governmental mess?
I've spent much time thinking about our current state of affairs in this nation. And everyone is looking for a scapegoat, someone to blame for all our problems. So I figured, let's look at all those who are having fingers pointed at them and see.
First, the Republicans and Democrats.
Well, "We, the People" are the ones who keep putting them back there, expecting them to do things differently. (Isn't doing the same thing over and over the definition of insanity?) So we cannot directly point the finger at "them".
How about "Big Business".
Well, we keep giving them our money. We keep letting them fund candidates who will allow them to break rules the rest of us can't. We keep our Congressmen in power for 5-10-20 terms, and they keep doing the same crap. So we can't blame "Big Business".
How about the "1%ers"?
Well, it's been the people we've elected, and the things we buy that have created the 1%ers. If we stopped doing the two things above, the 1%ers would look more like us. So we can't blame them.
What about big banks?
See the previous three.
What am I getting at here? WELL, it is US, the People of these United States of America, the ones who vote based on what these creeps can give to us, or take away from us. WE are all at fault for our crisis. We don't remember history. We fail to teach ourselves economics, both micro- and macro-. We fail to give up what "belongs to us" (though it never belonged to anyone before us). We vote based on race, on religion, on what "[our] country can do for [us]", and not "what [we] can do for [our] country".
Until we get truly educated on history, and what it teaches us, no matter how we vote, this will ALWAYS happen. It's time for people to learn for themselves, and stop letting others do the "due diligence" for them.
First, the Republicans and Democrats.
Well, "We, the People" are the ones who keep putting them back there, expecting them to do things differently. (Isn't doing the same thing over and over the definition of insanity?) So we cannot directly point the finger at "them".
How about "Big Business".
Well, we keep giving them our money. We keep letting them fund candidates who will allow them to break rules the rest of us can't. We keep our Congressmen in power for 5-10-20 terms, and they keep doing the same crap. So we can't blame "Big Business".
How about the "1%ers"?
Well, it's been the people we've elected, and the things we buy that have created the 1%ers. If we stopped doing the two things above, the 1%ers would look more like us. So we can't blame them.
What about big banks?
See the previous three.
What am I getting at here? WELL, it is US, the People of these United States of America, the ones who vote based on what these creeps can give to us, or take away from us. WE are all at fault for our crisis. We don't remember history. We fail to teach ourselves economics, both micro- and macro-. We fail to give up what "belongs to us" (though it never belonged to anyone before us). We vote based on race, on religion, on what "[our] country can do for [us]", and not "what [we] can do for [our] country".
Until we get truly educated on history, and what it teaches us, no matter how we vote, this will ALWAYS happen. It's time for people to learn for themselves, and stop letting others do the "due diligence" for them.
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