Life has all sorts of intrigues.
You will find ou have been played by those you trusted.
You may even find you treated poorly the innocent based on corrupt testimony.
You have a log in your eye, as you heap shame on someone with dust in theirs!
You may even oneday discern you are trapped in your own sin cycle .....
You have to get rid of the wrongs in your life!
Psalm32
Holding it in Hurts You!
Psychology has show that holding on to anger can dramatically shorten your life!
Not seeking God's forgiveness can damage us physically, mentally and spiritually!
Consider David's really mucking it with Bathsheba!
And to murder Uriah, to cover his own sin and disgrace?
Sigh, oh David how far you fell!!!
How far you still had to go to reach your bottom!
sigh!
To pseudo-quote, David,
"I was living in a hellish nightmare!"
And is a nightmare, without God slapping you in the face?
Yes, Nathan, the Prophet, comes to David and confronts him with his sin!
Yeah, that always shuts people up real fast.
Of course they are trying to figure how yo could have possiblky known ....
God has NO business telling others about me!
GRRRRRRRRR!
As I said, people don't like being confronted by the failures!
Getting It Out
Confess your rebellion to God.
Yes, even as a Christian!
You must agree with God on what He knows about you!
Then you must chane your behavior!
David recognized his willful rebellion to God.
David recognized his sin.
And in verse 5 we have his confession!
Then he recognized he was forgiven.
Therefore would not be held accountable before God, one day!
Don't be Mule-headed!
Don't force God,
To force you.,
To see you sin!
Don't be stubborn!
See your pain clearly.
Find ways to deal with it.
Turn your heart and spirit back to God!
Showing posts with label Discernment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discernment. Show all posts
April 18, 2019
December 10, 2018
Knowing Good from Bad
In summary:
Good equals love and kindness
Bad equals hate and evil
Not exactly rocket science there, but in the real world - possibly no way to know soon enough!
1 John 4:1-6
John knew there were wolves in the church - looking to lead the Church astray
Think of the heretic, Marceon, whom almost destroyed the original following of Jesus!
He pick and chose what he wanted to believe as a follower of Jesus.
Luckily, he was found out and expelled from the early Church.
Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the existing church went with him!
Are You Following A False Prophet
Don't believe everything you hear.
Test the spirits!
Falsehood echoes throughout the history of the Church and today's electronic media!
Half-truths are always worse than falsehood.
Unity in the essentials of the faith.
Freedom in all else.
D not just accept and believe!
Test, Pray, Wait!
The True Jesus
Which Jesus do you believe in?
We continually create Jesus in our own image!
Our worldview.
Supporting and bound by our culture, wants and desires ...
Jesus was God
Came in the flesh
Was cruxifed
Was resurrected
And is still God.....
Are You Trusting The Greater Spirit?
Is your God an overcomer?
A champion?
A companion?
Living?
Does your faith yield the fruits of the Spirit?
The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus.
Are You Listening To The Right Teachers?
Who is your authority?
1. Scripture
2. Orthodox
3. Jesus centered
4. Biblical
5. Results in Unity, not division
Good equals love and kindness
Bad equals hate and evil
Not exactly rocket science there, but in the real world - possibly no way to know soon enough!
1 John 4:1-6
John knew there were wolves in the church - looking to lead the Church astray
Think of the heretic, Marceon, whom almost destroyed the original following of Jesus!
He pick and chose what he wanted to believe as a follower of Jesus.
Luckily, he was found out and expelled from the early Church.
Unfortunately, about two-thirds of the existing church went with him!
Are You Following A False Prophet
Don't believe everything you hear.
Test the spirits!
Falsehood echoes throughout the history of the Church and today's electronic media!
Half-truths are always worse than falsehood.
Unity in the essentials of the faith.
Freedom in all else.
D not just accept and believe!
Test, Pray, Wait!
The True Jesus
Which Jesus do you believe in?
We continually create Jesus in our own image!
Our worldview.
Supporting and bound by our culture, wants and desires ...
Jesus was God
Came in the flesh
Was cruxifed
Was resurrected
And is still God.....
Are You Trusting The Greater Spirit?
Is your God an overcomer?
A champion?
A companion?
Living?
Does your faith yield the fruits of the Spirit?
The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus.
Are You Listening To The Right Teachers?
Who is your authority?
1. Scripture
2. Orthodox
3. Jesus centered
4. Biblical
5. Results in Unity, not division
September 27, 2018
A Study Gone Awry
Less you think I am perfect or that everything goes as planned:
Now I am not at my sharpest any longer.
If I ever was.
Though I am told I am still formidable in a question of logic and reason.
I think I am dumber than a stump these days.
But .....
This week's study was done along an intuitive line of reasoning.
Usually with reasonable results.
This week, not so much.
We were looking at John 2:4 .....
It is the story of Jesus' first miracle.
I expected a discussion perhaps as to why were they in Cana in the first place.
Maybe something on the presumption of Mary.
But no ....... It was the water pots!!!!!!
One person commented that the water was the entire point.
Another that the jugs were really wash basins.
etc
etc
ETC!
By the time they were done,
They had completely lost the point of the story:
Jesus was obedient to his mother.
As any good Jewish son would be.
They spiritualized the water, the jugs, the wine, the bride-groom.
Nothing was left in the story of God, Jesus or tradition.
I was thunder struck.
Even with a partial brain, it was obvious, at least to me.
But I held my tongue.
I am now slow to speak.
For I truly lack any knowledge anylonger.
Sigh ...
So the meeting ended in a stalemate.
Only frustration and confusion.
And I sat there stunned.
How could something so simple be so easily missed?
How could a knowledgible group be so mislead?
It is like a veil lay over their eyes ......
What does the future hold?
I really do wonder.
And pray with trembling this not a sign of the future ......
Now I am not at my sharpest any longer.
If I ever was.
Though I am told I am still formidable in a question of logic and reason.
I think I am dumber than a stump these days.
But .....
This week's study was done along an intuitive line of reasoning.
Usually with reasonable results.
This week, not so much.
We were looking at John 2:4 .....
It is the story of Jesus' first miracle.
I expected a discussion perhaps as to why were they in Cana in the first place.
Maybe something on the presumption of Mary.
But no ....... It was the water pots!!!!!!
One person commented that the water was the entire point.
Another that the jugs were really wash basins.
etc
etc
ETC!
By the time they were done,
They had completely lost the point of the story:
Jesus was obedient to his mother.
As any good Jewish son would be.
They spiritualized the water, the jugs, the wine, the bride-groom.
Nothing was left in the story of God, Jesus or tradition.
I was thunder struck.
Even with a partial brain, it was obvious, at least to me.
But I held my tongue.
I am now slow to speak.
For I truly lack any knowledge anylonger.
Sigh ...
So the meeting ended in a stalemate.
Only frustration and confusion.
And I sat there stunned.
How could something so simple be so easily missed?
How could a knowledgible group be so mislead?
It is like a veil lay over their eyes ......
What does the future hold?
I really do wonder.
And pray with trembling this not a sign of the future ......
August 17, 2018
Creffield, Vigilantes and Discernment
Walked into my local bookstores, rather - the ONLY bookstore left within 8 miles of my house!
There was a book on display called, The Vigilante Newspapers.
The jacket seemed to pose many questions.
Is murder ever justifiable?
What do you do when justice is failed by the law?
Woah! Meaty questions there!
The book is oddly written.
It just does not flow well.
However:
A man named Creffield arrived in Corvallis, Oregon about 1903.
He was a bit of a lunatic and managed to convince many that he knew the truth about life, the universe and everything.
He quickly gathered a following of mostly teenage girls and bored housewives.
From there, it went straight downhill into a living Hell for everyone.
If you ever heard the term "Holy Rollers", he is where this came from.
As the point of his "services" revolved around scantily clad young women rolling on the floors in "ecstasy", while, he being nude joined them!
The community of Corvallis tolerated him right up until his latest revelation from God, "You must burn all of your possessions!"
Free sex is apparently one thing, but burning all you own - in a poor community, was intolerable.
He was jailed frequently.
And as stories of what went on spread, there was reasonable outrage!
The story centers on a 15 year old girl, Esther, whom he seduces - as well as her older married sister, whom also is prey for this sex predator.
At one point, 5 men in Corvallis are all gunning for Creffield, intending to kill him for his debauchery on sight!
But, no one succeeds.
Creffield flees to Seattle, but no one knows where he went.
Just that he is gone.
Only, the married sister is seen boarding the train for Portland.
Then older brother gets a gun and decides to defend his sister's honor.
Everyone ends up in Seattle with the trial of the new century!
Brother does succeed in killing Creffield on a Seattle street in broad daylight.
Which in itself was unusual.
But the following trial for the young man was national news.
The court had to address some weighty questions:
Are women easy swayed in their judgement?
Is it the obligation for family to protect its own?
Is it reasonable that a sexual predator be dispatched?
Is an insanity plea reasonable in this situation?
And the answer was a resounding "Yes", to all of the above!
Yeah, read that list of questions again ......
Young man is released and told to go home.
Esther crosses his path and tells him good-bye.
In final terms.
He commented that he wished it was not so.
And she shot and killed him on the spot!
A little police work revealed that older sister was behind this revenge killing.
Although, Esther felt no remorse over it at all!
Both were jailed.
Older sister commits suicide while in jail.
Esther is found incompetent to stand trial and sent to an asylum for 5 years.
On release, she returns to Corvallis, marries.
And then commits suicide as well!
(my comment: that poor family! 3 members dead! and the story does not end here!)
The turn of the century was not a great time.
Religion had been attacked, based on Darwin's observations on a trip around the world.
And lost.
Workers were in rebellion in various industries.
And the government had its problems.
Newspapers were the major communications tool.
And as they had learned in the prior century, yellow journalism sells!
Ignore facts, ignore law, just tell people what you deem necessary!
And that was how the whole disaster which swirled around Creffield went!
Calling for action, will yield action.
Calling for violence, will lead to tragedy.
And, where was the real church in all of this?
Well, not in Corvallis!
Even to this day this town is lacking in a true Christian community.
Borderline cults are popular.
And yes, I am familiar with the state of faith in Corvallis ...
Back in the day, this was a Friends community.
I know the Friends very well.
Nice people.
But, the tolerance shown outright sin is a real problem.
Yes, they jailed Creffield.
Tarred and feathered him even.
But only when the damage was already done!
And no one had the nerve to drive home the point,
"You are not wanted here. Return and you will die!"
Train ticket to Kansas, good bye, sorry about the broken knees ......
Ask me how I really feel about predators sometime.
Unfortunately, his lies created an environment which did not die when he was killed.
Nor with the death of his 2 most ardent followers!
Fifty years later, their rituals were still in full swing!
Police did raid after raid on homes along the Willamette River.
"Holy Rollers" filled the news on Saturdays.
"Oh my!", mother would exclaim!
Little did she realize that maybe I could not talk, but I understood her younger brother barely escaped by the skin of his teeth!
Yeah, he would not have liked that on his record!
As it was, he left to join the Navy.
Once he graduated.
It would not surprise me if this pagan worship is still celebrated today.
Sex sells and is a strong lure.
Just as it was in Jesus' day.
So, sad that the church lost its witness in this society.
These are people whom need reached.
Obviously they are searching.
And they substituted the lie of sex for truth of Jesus ...
There was a book on display called, The Vigilante Newspapers.
The jacket seemed to pose many questions.
Is murder ever justifiable?
What do you do when justice is failed by the law?
Woah! Meaty questions there!
The book is oddly written.
It just does not flow well.
However:
A man named Creffield arrived in Corvallis, Oregon about 1903.
He was a bit of a lunatic and managed to convince many that he knew the truth about life, the universe and everything.
He quickly gathered a following of mostly teenage girls and bored housewives.
From there, it went straight downhill into a living Hell for everyone.
If you ever heard the term "Holy Rollers", he is where this came from.
As the point of his "services" revolved around scantily clad young women rolling on the floors in "ecstasy", while, he being nude joined them!
The community of Corvallis tolerated him right up until his latest revelation from God, "You must burn all of your possessions!"
Free sex is apparently one thing, but burning all you own - in a poor community, was intolerable.
He was jailed frequently.
And as stories of what went on spread, there was reasonable outrage!
The story centers on a 15 year old girl, Esther, whom he seduces - as well as her older married sister, whom also is prey for this sex predator.
At one point, 5 men in Corvallis are all gunning for Creffield, intending to kill him for his debauchery on sight!
But, no one succeeds.
Creffield flees to Seattle, but no one knows where he went.
Just that he is gone.
Only, the married sister is seen boarding the train for Portland.
Then older brother gets a gun and decides to defend his sister's honor.
Everyone ends up in Seattle with the trial of the new century!
Brother does succeed in killing Creffield on a Seattle street in broad daylight.
Which in itself was unusual.
But the following trial for the young man was national news.
The court had to address some weighty questions:
Are women easy swayed in their judgement?
Is it the obligation for family to protect its own?
Is it reasonable that a sexual predator be dispatched?
Is an insanity plea reasonable in this situation?
And the answer was a resounding "Yes", to all of the above!
Yeah, read that list of questions again ......
Young man is released and told to go home.
Esther crosses his path and tells him good-bye.
In final terms.
He commented that he wished it was not so.
And she shot and killed him on the spot!
A little police work revealed that older sister was behind this revenge killing.
Although, Esther felt no remorse over it at all!
Both were jailed.
Older sister commits suicide while in jail.
Esther is found incompetent to stand trial and sent to an asylum for 5 years.
On release, she returns to Corvallis, marries.
And then commits suicide as well!
(my comment: that poor family! 3 members dead! and the story does not end here!)
The turn of the century was not a great time.
Religion had been attacked, based on Darwin's observations on a trip around the world.
And lost.
Workers were in rebellion in various industries.
And the government had its problems.
Newspapers were the major communications tool.
And as they had learned in the prior century, yellow journalism sells!
Ignore facts, ignore law, just tell people what you deem necessary!
And that was how the whole disaster which swirled around Creffield went!
Calling for action, will yield action.
Calling for violence, will lead to tragedy.
And, where was the real church in all of this?
Well, not in Corvallis!
Even to this day this town is lacking in a true Christian community.
Borderline cults are popular.
And yes, I am familiar with the state of faith in Corvallis ...
Back in the day, this was a Friends community.
I know the Friends very well.
Nice people.
But, the tolerance shown outright sin is a real problem.
Yes, they jailed Creffield.
Tarred and feathered him even.
But only when the damage was already done!
And no one had the nerve to drive home the point,
"You are not wanted here. Return and you will die!"
Train ticket to Kansas, good bye, sorry about the broken knees ......
Ask me how I really feel about predators sometime.
Unfortunately, his lies created an environment which did not die when he was killed.
Nor with the death of his 2 most ardent followers!
Fifty years later, their rituals were still in full swing!
Police did raid after raid on homes along the Willamette River.
"Holy Rollers" filled the news on Saturdays.
"Oh my!", mother would exclaim!
Little did she realize that maybe I could not talk, but I understood her younger brother barely escaped by the skin of his teeth!
Yeah, he would not have liked that on his record!
As it was, he left to join the Navy.
Once he graduated.
It would not surprise me if this pagan worship is still celebrated today.
Sex sells and is a strong lure.
Just as it was in Jesus' day.
So, sad that the church lost its witness in this society.
These are people whom need reached.
Obviously they are searching.
And they substituted the lie of sex for truth of Jesus ...
July 11, 2018
Undestanding
The last time was I down in Westcliffe was 42 years ago.
Then my father threw me out of the family for refusing to marry his choice of bride for me!
I was "too stupid" for him to tolerate any longer..
Of course, a few years later, he threw his wife away but too but, I would not have imposed on her down there!
But she had been a good mother, so I kept her!
But tried to never impose.
In the years when I did go done there, we played games endlessly!
She and her first husband had built their house there in 1957.
Her sister built hers next door.
And so did most of her husband's coworkers!
They all were big time bridge players.
A game which makes no sense to me what so ever!
So, geeky computer nerd turned loose in the midst of a group of nuclear scientist types!
Now there was one young lady close to my age in the group down there.
And we laughed, played, sang random songs.
She was very much my doppelgänger, or muse, if such is the correct word here.
I missed her when she went off to fame and fortune.
I on the other hand .... oh, well.
And now 42 years later, here she is again.
Standoffish, cool, detached.
Well, that was taken as a challenge!
Down with all walls!
By evenings end, she was back to her crazy 20-something year old self!
It was great to see her back!
I think it stunned her husband!
But the next day was one of great moroseness for her.
So, I did what I swore I would never do again - I discerned her problem.
(no, not going there!)
But now I understood where she was coming from and the basis for the unhappiness.
(sorry, not saying more)
So, I got her into a Beatles greatest hits sing along.
And she perked up.
What a voice that woman has!
In the end, I understand her far more than ever before.
And by way of her, our culture at large.
As she is a victim of what is seen as fame and fortune.
All the gratifications of life!
And yet, unhappy, unfulfilled and about to reach the point of seeking life's answers.
I am hoping she will talk with me at some point.
But I am in prayer for God to reach out to her via an older female she can trust and respect.
It would be nice for her to make peace with God.
Well time for a nap!
If only I had a plate of maple bars to precede that nap .....
Then my father threw me out of the family for refusing to marry his choice of bride for me!
I was "too stupid" for him to tolerate any longer..
Of course, a few years later, he threw his wife away but too but, I would not have imposed on her down there!
But she had been a good mother, so I kept her!
But tried to never impose.
In the years when I did go done there, we played games endlessly!
She and her first husband had built their house there in 1957.
Her sister built hers next door.
And so did most of her husband's coworkers!
They all were big time bridge players.
A game which makes no sense to me what so ever!
So, geeky computer nerd turned loose in the midst of a group of nuclear scientist types!
Now there was one young lady close to my age in the group down there.
And we laughed, played, sang random songs.
She was very much my doppelgänger, or muse, if such is the correct word here.
I missed her when she went off to fame and fortune.
I on the other hand .... oh, well.
And now 42 years later, here she is again.
Standoffish, cool, detached.
Well, that was taken as a challenge!
Down with all walls!
By evenings end, she was back to her crazy 20-something year old self!
It was great to see her back!
I think it stunned her husband!
But the next day was one of great moroseness for her.
So, I did what I swore I would never do again - I discerned her problem.
(no, not going there!)
But now I understood where she was coming from and the basis for the unhappiness.
(sorry, not saying more)
So, I got her into a Beatles greatest hits sing along.
And she perked up.
What a voice that woman has!
In the end, I understand her far more than ever before.
And by way of her, our culture at large.
As she is a victim of what is seen as fame and fortune.
All the gratifications of life!
And yet, unhappy, unfulfilled and about to reach the point of seeking life's answers.
I am hoping she will talk with me at some point.
But I am in prayer for God to reach out to her via an older female she can trust and respect.
It would be nice for her to make peace with God.
Well time for a nap!
If only I had a plate of maple bars to precede that nap .....
May 2, 2018
South Africa
South Africa, as it exists today, is largely the product of ill educated Americans blackmailing and bribing to create what was supposed to be a democratic nation - in place of the white-centric totalitarian government those in power in America, wanted out!
Mind you, every time America has mettled in other countries politics - it has backfired. But, never condemn the naively presumptuous for their continued optimism ..... their voters are not the ones being butchered. And collateral damage is just that, a statistic!
Back in 1965, camping my way through Spain and into Portugal, I kept seeing the same faces - so finally had to ask whom they were. They turned out to be a group of college students on vacation from South Africa. Now South Africa was in the news quite a bit in the German news, so I took them straight into examination of very hard questions. And they realized I was thinking my way through what I had read and heard.
I learned about the ill conceived policy of apartheid. The politics of those in power and came to understand that these white young men were just as trapped by these policies as the native and immigrant populations were! And the same could be said for the Rhodesians I met as well!
As history has shown, Rhodesia fell to a tribal based communist army and the bloodshed was appalling! To this day, the white fortresses have successfully held off the entrenched army for decades. And ever so often an enclave surrenders with guarantees of safe passage. I have only heard of once that passage was not being given safety and both sides suffered appalling losses!
Of course this did not happen in South Africa, thanks in part to an iron fisted will of the President whom sought healing for the nation. And this held for 25 years .... but now, the silent Christian ruler is dead and a tribal war is erupting as it did in Rhodesia. You can call it anyway you want but it really boils down to pagans vs Christians. You might remember how costly that battle was in Rome, certainly over 1,000,000 killed. In Rhodesia, perhaps around 500,000 initially - many, many more across time. Now South African Christians have been in a physical battle for a year!
Expect a mass exodus of up to 3,000,000 at first and another 5,000,000 casualties and escapees by end of next year.
Expect a bloodbath.
And note, it is not just whites being attacked, it is any Christian. But, you really do not want to be white or mixed race at this time either!
So, powerless, I sit and listen, and contemplate the future of my grandchildren, as the world slowly turns upon Christians .....
Yet you, like I, are powerful if we would just get down on our knees and pray.
Seriously, it is time to take sides with prayer.
God can and does do wonders if we are just willing to ask according to His will in all matters.
Mind you, every time America has mettled in other countries politics - it has backfired. But, never condemn the naively presumptuous for their continued optimism ..... their voters are not the ones being butchered. And collateral damage is just that, a statistic!
Back in 1965, camping my way through Spain and into Portugal, I kept seeing the same faces - so finally had to ask whom they were. They turned out to be a group of college students on vacation from South Africa. Now South Africa was in the news quite a bit in the German news, so I took them straight into examination of very hard questions. And they realized I was thinking my way through what I had read and heard.
I learned about the ill conceived policy of apartheid. The politics of those in power and came to understand that these white young men were just as trapped by these policies as the native and immigrant populations were! And the same could be said for the Rhodesians I met as well!
As history has shown, Rhodesia fell to a tribal based communist army and the bloodshed was appalling! To this day, the white fortresses have successfully held off the entrenched army for decades. And ever so often an enclave surrenders with guarantees of safe passage. I have only heard of once that passage was not being given safety and both sides suffered appalling losses!
Of course this did not happen in South Africa, thanks in part to an iron fisted will of the President whom sought healing for the nation. And this held for 25 years .... but now, the silent Christian ruler is dead and a tribal war is erupting as it did in Rhodesia. You can call it anyway you want but it really boils down to pagans vs Christians. You might remember how costly that battle was in Rome, certainly over 1,000,000 killed. In Rhodesia, perhaps around 500,000 initially - many, many more across time. Now South African Christians have been in a physical battle for a year!
Expect a mass exodus of up to 3,000,000 at first and another 5,000,000 casualties and escapees by end of next year.
Expect a bloodbath.
And note, it is not just whites being attacked, it is any Christian. But, you really do not want to be white or mixed race at this time either!
So, powerless, I sit and listen, and contemplate the future of my grandchildren, as the world slowly turns upon Christians .....
Yet you, like I, are powerful if we would just get down on our knees and pray.
Seriously, it is time to take sides with prayer.
God can and does do wonders if we are just willing to ask according to His will in all matters.
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