QUOTE:
This new documentary examines what many consider to be the most powerful refutation of Darwinian evolution—the Cambrian fossil record. The Cambrian explosion has been called the most spectacular event in the history of life, for in a moment of geological time complex animals first appeared on earth fully formed, without evidence of any evolutionary ancestors. Now, the producers of Club favorites, The Privileged Planet and Unlocking the Mystery of Life complete their Intelligent Design trilogy with Darwin's Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record.
Of the Cambrian explosion, paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould says, "The fossil record had caused Darwin more grief than joy. Nothing distressed him more than the Cambrian explosion." Charles Darwin realized that the fossil evidence did not support his theory of gradual, step-by-step evolutionary development. He had envisioned the evolution of life through a multitude of small, undirected steps. He hoped that future generations of scientists would make the discoveries necessary to validate his ideas.
Today, after more than 150 years of exploration, fossil evidence of slow, incremental biological change has yet to be excavated. Instead, we find a picture of the rapid appearance of fully developed, complex organisms during the outset of the Cambrian geological era. Early in the Cambrian period compound eyes, articulated limbs, sophisticated sensory organs, and skeletons burst into existence seemingly out of nowhere. This remarkable explosion of life is best explained by the existence of a transcendent intelligence. Darwin's Dilemma explores the Cambrian explosion and the scientific controversy that still surrounds it. Where are the missing transitional forms that Darwin's theory requires? Can any undirected evolutionary process explain the origins of animals?
Filmed on four continents, this fascinating documentary examines some of the most important fossil discoveries ever made… and, with them, a mystery deeper than Darwin ever imagined. For the Cambrian explosion was actually an explosion of biological information: assembly instructions in DNA and embryonic blueprints that directed the development of the first complex organisms that embody almost all the major animal body plans that exist today. Darwin's Dilemma delivers information that points unmistakably to foresight, purpose, and intelligent design.
END QUOTE
LeRoy
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This question was asked on the forum of chivalrynow.net :
Should we look at freedom as a goal, as many do, or as a means for something else?
If so, what?
I posted the following:
FREEDOM
Sitting on a concrete bed in the complete isolation of the hole of Segregation, I had time to think. Freedom, my personal freedom, and freedom in general, was the topic on my mind.
I was 18 and still juvenile and still delinquent.
I refused to surrender my personal freedom: the freedom to think and analyze and decide for myself what acts I would perform and when and where and for what purpose. I refused to bow my knee to any man or governing system solely on the grounds that it might be required of me by others.
It was an epiphany for me that marked the moment I took responsibility for me.
And when next I was asked if I was ready to go back to work in the kitchen, I said yes because my long term interests (getting out on parole) would best be served by complying with orders given.
But it was my decision based on my choice made of my own free will.
It was needful in my young life that I was forced to face the choices I needed to make. Thereby was I rescued from a worthless and painful life.
A goal if freedom of thought is lacking. A goal if freedoms are lacking.
By means of freedom we are gifted with creativity and innovation and prosperity.
By means of freedom we are able to bless others as we choose.
By means of freedom we are allowed to reach for the heights of spiritual growth.
All manner of good flows forth from freedom and is nurtured in freedom.
And freedom can be abused.
Something else? I would say it describes a vital facet of my being. I am free.
LeRoy
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The Command Presence Personality
Now when Joshua was near Jericho,
he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him
with a drawn sword in his hand.
Joshua went up to him and asked,
“Are you for us or for our enemies?”
“Neither,” he replied,
“but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.”
Joshua 5:13-14
Command Presence. Think of that. Here is this war camp of the battle hardened Israeli invading force. Joshua, the commander, is in the middle of that camp and well protected by his army. And here comes this one with a drawn sword in his hand walking up to Joshua. Joshua is surprised because he looks up and here is someone with a drawn sword in his hand. Not one sentry, soldier, or officer had challenged his progress toward Joshua. Joshua had to be the one to give the “halt, who goes there.” challenge that the sentries would have, had they been less subdued by such command presence.
PsychoCybernetics
I read a book, once, called Psycho-cybernetics, by Maxwell Maltz. It opened a window of understanding for me about the workings of the human mind/brain/spirit/self. Simply put, imagine the grey matter as the hardware and the conscious and the unconscious mind as software. You, the computer operator, need to know how to operate the programs.
You are the character, attitude, personality, and spirit that is at the controls of the subroutines, for good or for ill. Some come to an understanding of themselves that is sufficient for them to survive life with varying degrees of personal and social success. Others without understanding have less control of their impulses and often engage in self destructive behavior.
We have sub-routines that operate just beneath the surface of our conscious mind. Think of the out fielder whose brain calculates all the variables of the power and angle of the pitch, the swing of the batter, the contact of the ball with the bat and the angle and velocity of the trajectory, the effort needed to place the outfielder in a position to catch the ball, the angle of the interception point, and all this calculating is done in a fraction of a second ... and the outfielder is moving at the crack of the bat.
Subroutines operate just below the conscious level but nevertheless are operated by the conscious mind. The outfielder could be consciously thinking of something else while he positions himself for the catch. The calculations had been done beneath the conscious level of his mind. By sub-routines.
Another example of how subroutines handle problem solving. When one has a problem that begs a solution, then one goes about to gather as much information about the subject as is available. Usually in this process of problem solving, the answer we seek becomes obvious when we have gathered enough information. But sometimes the answer is not immediately obvious and so we have a tendency to go over the available information again ... trying to make sense of it all. But instead of finding an answer, we find ourselves going over the same material again, and again. We end up worrying the subject to death. Our mistake is that we have these subroutines standing by, waiting to go to work on the problem, but won’t start until we release them to go to work. They’re on hold while the conscious mind worries the problem. But the minute we put our conscious mind on some other mater, the subroutines go to work and some time later the answer will pop into our conscious mind, seemingly out of nowhere.
The Self Image
Next is the outworking of the image we vividly imagine ourselves to be. Those subroutines project what we believe about our true selves. If you have the self image of a cowboy, you’ll dress and act accordingly. If you see yourself as a business executive you will act and dress according to that. Whatever image you have and believe about yourself, you will project that, because you will act according to what you believe about yourself.
Who Am I?
The question, “what self image ought we to have?” is the question of the ages. Each man, and woman, wants to know what that image ought to be. We all wonder who we are and what we were created for. We all have a self image but most lack a good self image. Jesus is, by far, the number one choice of personality, character, attitude and Spirit that anyone can name as the perfect example of who and how we ought to be.
Personally, I’ve chosen to live as I believe Jesus would if he were me and not the savior of the world. I’m not saying I’m God, but He knew who He was. Remember what he said when they were going to kill him for saying “I and Father are one.”?!
Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"
"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."
Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came—and the Scripture cannot be broken— what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'?
Jesus was quoting the 82nd Psalm.
1 God presides in the great assembly;
he gives judgment among the "gods":
2 "How long will you defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?
Selah
3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;
maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 "They know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 "I said, 'You are "gods";
you are all sons of the Most High.'
7 But you will die like mere men;
you will fall like every other ruler."
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.
I also take into consideration the prayer of Jesus:
“ I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."
It is Faith to both: believe that the Father has heard the Son and answers his prayer because the Son does not ask for anything not of the Father; and to act accordingly.
That being said, What? I am God. Hardly. And yet who am I to believe? YHWH or the enemy, that deceiver of old? [punctuation intended]
Genesis 2:16
The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
(At this point, let me point out that since, to God, a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day, Adam DIED that first millennial day. He was only 930 years old. He died in the day he ate of the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil.)
So, man does not have an immortal soul, but rather is a mortal soul.
And, whereas the wages we earn by sin is death, Eternal Life is the gift freely given by God to the contrite.
The Great Lie is that we have, or are, an immortal soul/spirit that will live for ever in heaven or hell. (Those who teach the Lie must twist the plain language of truth.)
The Great News is that the penalty we owe because of our sin has been paid by The Sacrificial Lamb and we gods are Born Of The Spirit and hold these truths in presently faulty clay pots, yet born into that Royal Family of YHWH Elohim. And in all things He has preeminence. [note added 10/5/10: I recognize that our present condition is more akin to being fetuses in the womb awaiting the birth of the resurrection. Not yet "born", but "conceived," in that the Seed of the Father is the indwelling Holy Spirit Love.]
What, then, is the result of this reasoning?
The Reality is that as I remain in Him (and not look ‘round at the tossing sea) so I may stand and do as the Spirit of Love bids, and have the presence of mind of a Commander of the Army of the Living God.
Indeed. We are called kings and priests.
LeRoy
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Dear Companions,
As a Christian (of the book and no denomination) I've formed an opinion from hints I've read here and there in the Bible about why some can see and understand while others seem completely blind, spiritually.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans:
"I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"? And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace."
Paul also wrote about what God said regarding Pharaoh:
"What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses,
"I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden."
The upshot is that God has his remnant, tithe, or ten per cent, in each generation. Today, in our generation, we need to understand that He still has one in ten who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
Rev. 20:4 - 6:
"...They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
I may be alone in this but does not this passage hold the hope that "the rest of the dead" includes the innocent dead and that there is hope they will then have their first opportunity to come to a saving knowledge of Christ, and that those whose hearts have been hardened by God will then have their first opportunity to know him?
Perhaps I am stretching here, and getting "too deep" but add to the forgoing the fact that Jesus is quoted by Matthew (18:12 - 14)"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.
Personally, I believe that if He is not willing that any be lost, then who can stand against Him? And apparently each will enter in his own order.
It is, therefore, left to us to function according to His will and grace and be conduits for His Word of Truth, sowing seeds of light in the prayerful hope that He would grant to those around us the ability to see. Let us enter into His rest, (Relax) knowing that His word does not return void.
Please forgive my long windedness.
LeRoy
_________________
Love is all Give ... lust is all get.
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The Nicolaitane Doctrine
identified by Jesus Christ in Revelation 2:6, 15.
This evil doctrine teaches that there are two classes of Christians: the "exalted leaders" and the common people. The "exalted leaders" do all the ministry, while the commoners sit in the pews and received the gems of wisdom the "exalted leaders" hand out. The Nicolaitane system places the "exalted leaders" on the proverbial pedestal while the commoners are obliged to finance the entire operation. The "exalted leaders" live deliciously while the commoners are expected to give sacrificially to "support their ministries." The goal of the "exalted leader" is to replace Jesus Christ in the lives of the commoners. When the commoner has problems, they are to call upon the "exalted leader" and ask him what they should do. Before long, the church creates a dependency relationship between the commoner and the "exalted leader."
It is also associated with teaching sexual immorality.
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Egypt and the flood of democracy
Mark LeVine is a professor of history at UC Irvine and senior visiting researcher at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University in Sweden. The following is an excerpt from an article he wrote and published by Al Jazeera:
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Standing amidst hundreds of thousands of Egyptians in Tahrir Square seizing control of their destiny it suddenly seemed that our own leaders have become, if not quite pharaohs, then mamluks, more concerned with satisfying their greed for wealth and power than with bringing their countries together to achieve a measure of progress and modernity in the new century. Nor does China, which has offered its model of state-led authoritarian capitalist development coupled with social liberalisation as an alternative to the developing world, seem like a desirable option to the people risking death for democracy in the streets of capitals across the Arab world and Iran.
Instead, Egyptians, Tunisians and other peoples of the region fighting for revolutionary political and economic change have, without warning, leapfrogged over the US and China and grabbed history's reins. Suddenly, it is the young activists of Tahrir who are the example for the world, while the great powers seem mired in old thinking and outdated systems. From the perspective of "independence" squares across the region, the US looks ideologically stagnant and even backwards, filled with irrational people and political and economic elites incapable of conceiving of changes that are so obvious to the rest of the world.
Foundations sinking into the sands?
Although she likely did not intend it, when Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, warned Arab leaders in early January that they must "reform" lest their systems "sink in the sand" her words were as relevant in Washington as they were in Tunis, Tripoli, Cairo or Sanaa. But Americans - the people as much as their leaders - are so busy dismantling the social, political and economic foundations of their former greatness that they are unable to see how much they have become like the stereotype of the traditional Middle Eastern society that for so long was used to justify, alternately (and sometimes simultaneously) supporting authoritarian leaders or imposing foreign rule.
A well known Egyptian labour organiser, Kamal Abbas, made a video telling Americans from Tahrir that "we and all the people of the world stand on your side and give you our full support". It is a good thing, because it is clear Americans need all the support they can get. "I want you to know," he continued, "that no power can challenge the will of the people when they believe in their rights. When they raise their voices loud and clear and struggle against exploitation."
Aren't such lines supposed to be uttered by American presidents instead of Egyptian union activists?
. . . . . . .
It now seems clear that hoping for the Obama administration to support real democracy in the Middle East is probably too much to ask, since it cannot even support full democracy and economic and social rights for the majority of people at home. More and more, the US feels not just increasingly "irrelevant" on the world stage, as many commentators have described its waning position in the Middle East, but like a giant ship heading for an iceberg while the passengers and crew argue about how to arrange the deck chairs.
Luckily, inspiration has arrived, albeit from what to a 'Western' eye seems like the unlikeliest of sources. The question is: Can the US have a Tahrir moment, or as the great Arab historian Ibn Khaldun would have predicted, has it entered the irreversible downward spiral that is the fate of all great civilizations once they lose the social purpose and solidarity that helped make them great in the first place?
It is still too early to say for sure, but as of today it seems that the reins of history have surely passed out of America's hands.
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18 PRINCIPLES
And No More Excuses
1. No more hiding behind the past.
We can’t use someone else’s irresponsibility in the past as an excuse for our irresponsibility in the present. If you are blaming what your parents or your wife or the government did for what you are not doing now, you need a wake up call, my brother. You need to live up to your responsibilities.
2. No more feeling worthless.
It’s one thing to fall down. I fall down, you fall down, all the king’s men fall down. The question is, are you going to stay down, or are you going to get back up?
3. No more allowing for immorality.
One of the most devastating sins I know of is that of sexual immorality. Of all the things that can crush a man spiritually, emotionally, and physically none can do it faster or more completely than a plunge into sexual sin.
4. No more going through the motions.
Who are you? Why do you exist? What is your purpose? When you have no purpose for what you are doing, all you have left is the routine of what you are doing.
5. No more dabbling in defiance.
Are you rebelling against God? Are you using your masculinity or your personality bent or any other reason as an excuse to say no to God? If so, the bad news is, it will never work. You can’t run from the presence of God.
The good news is that if you will get off the boat going to Tarshish and get on the boat going to Nineveh (Like Jonah), God will give you a second chance like he did with Jonah.
6. No more compromising your integrity.
When we talk about integrity, we are talking about a person’s trustworthiness. The word integrity means to be “complete” or “whole.” It means that what you say and what you mean are the same thing. It means that when you make a promise, you intend to keep it. It means that when you say you will do something, that is exactly what you plan to do.
7. No more sifting through the rubble.
The beauty of God’s grace is that He can put Humpty Dumpty back together again. Even if your life has imploded and is lying in a heap, God has something better for you to do than just sifting through the rubble. Failure at one point or in one area of your life is not an excuse to give up the whole ballgame.
8. No more giving in to temptation.
When I think about temptation, I am reminded of The Blob. Like the blob, temptation is pervasive. It didn’t matter whether the people in the movie wanted to deal with the blob. It was there, and it was coming for them. Their only choice was to run or be consumed by it.
9. No more second rate marriages.
Christ’s resurrection power operating in your life is the only power that can save your life, your marriage, and your home. When Christ rose from the dead He gave you access to the power of His resurrection. That power can enable you and your wife to love one another, trust each other, and share life together until death parts you. God alone can give you the ability to do that.
10. No more passive fathering.
What Christian fathers like you and I need to do is step forward in our homes and claim them for Jesus Christ. We need to write over our houses not “The glory has departed,” but “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15”
11. No more sissified males.
What is a real man? One who has a spiritual legacy to leave behind. One who earns respect and teaches respect to others. One who balances mercy and justice and who is rock-solid in his stability. One who has Godly wisdom to share.
Are you frustrated because it seems that the world has robbed you of your biblical manhood? Don’t use that as an excuse for not being a real man. Take your role back -- not by acting tough or strutting around proclaiming “I’m the man around here,” but by being the man God wants you to be. Do that, and your wife and children will follow your leadership gladly.
12. No more playing the lone ranger.
The best way to make a friend is to be a friend. Work hard at affirming others. Don’t look for time to build relationships. Make time for it.
13. No more ownership.
Go to God and say, “ You’re going to be number one with me. I’m going to arrange my life by Your priority scale. I’m going to stop owning stuff and start being a manager. I’m going to stop giving you what’s left over. And I’m going to trust You to fulfill Your Word and take responsibility for my needs.
Once you understand that you can’t shortchange God and expect to come out right, once you see that you can’t outgive God when you put all you have in His hands, then making God number one will be no problem.
14. No more clock punching.
Two men were working on a building construction project. Both were asked, “What are you doing?” One answered “I’m laying bricks.” The second answered “I’m building a cathedral.”
15. No more business as usual.
If we are going to put away the excuses that stand between us as we are and the men God wants us to be, we must be men of vision. We must see beyond the ordinary, the everyday, the expected. We must not settle for what’s routine or safe.
16. No more half-stepping.
A chicken and a pig walking by the store saw a sign in the window: “Bacon and eggs needed.” The chicken said to the pig “Let’s help out the grocer.” The pig responded: “You must be crazy! For you that’s just a contribution, but for me that’s a total commitment.”
17. No more standing on the sidelines.
I think it’s an excuse to ask, “What can one man do?” because history is full of examples of individual men who did incredible things. These were men who rose above the crowd and made a lasting difference.
18. No more loser’s limp.
Don’t let the aimless wanderers around you distract you. Don’t let their lack of discipline be an excuse for you to quit. Run the race with a clear aim in mind. Have a clear goal and know where you are going. And when you’ve chased the ball carrier to the goal line and he’s a couple of steps ahead of you, don’t start limping to give yourself that lame excuse: it’s called the loser’s limp.
No More Excuses is a book by Tony Evans
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Why do men insist on trying to interpret the Bible? In reality, the Bible interprets itself.
The Scriptures are profitable for the purpose of reproving and correcting us. But we resent being reproved and corrected. How many people do you know who are even willing to be corrected where they are in error -- to be reproved for the wrong things they do?
People do not like to be reproved and corrected. They love praise and flattery. But reproof and correction they surely hate.
That’s why it is so hard for so many people to understand the Bible and to agree on just what it says. The Bible is God’s great spiritual mirror. It shows up every flaw in our thinking and reveals every spot on our characters. It pictures us as we really are -- as God sees us, not as we like to think we are or to have other men to look upon us.
That’s the plain and simple truth.
Hebrews 4:12 reads, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Bible is a powerful weapon that cuts both ways, opening up and laying bare the inner man!
That is not a comfortable process -- and thus, too often, men simply won’t subject themselves to it. Too often men have applied some different meaning to the scriptures that reproved them. They have passed right over some scriptures that corrected and rebuked them. Instead they studied diligently to find some other scripture into which they could read a meaning that would justify their course of action.
That is how men began, centuries ago, to interpret the Bible. And so God’s Word has become perverted, twisted, wrested, distorted. And almost every false and counterfeit meaning imaginable is read into it instead of seeing the natural meaning -- the plain, simple meaning God intended.
Today we have hundreds of interpretations of the Bible. But you never hear of hundreds of interpretations of a biology textbook. Why? Because biology textbooks do not rebuke and correct men.
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Why do men insist on trying to interpret the Bible? In reality, the Bible interprets itself.
The Scriptures are profitable for the purpose of reproving and correcting us. But we resent being reproved and corrected. How many people do you know who are even willing to be corrected where they are in error -- to be reproved for the wrong things they do?
People do not like to be reproved and corrected. They love praise and flattery. But reproof and correction they surely hate.
That’s why it is so hard for so many people to understand the Bible and to agree on just what it says. The Bible is God’s great spiritual mirror. It shows up every flaw in our thinking and reveals every spot on our characters. It pictures us as we really are -- as God sees us, not as we like to think we are or to have other men to look upon us.
That’s the plain and simple truth.
Hebrews 4:12 reads, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Bible is a powerful weapon that cuts both ways, opening up and laying bare the inner man!
That is not a comfortable process -- and thus, too often, men simply won’t subject themselves to it. Too often men have applied some different meaning to the scriptures that reproved them. They have passed right over some scriptures that corrected and rebuked them. Instead they studied diligently to find some other scripture into which they could read a meaning that would justify their course of action.
That is how men began, centuries ago, to interpret the Bible. And so God’s Word has become perverted, twisted, wrested, distorted. And almost every false and counterfeit meaning imaginable is read into it instead of seeing the natural meaning -- the plain, simple meaning God intended.
Today we have hundreds of interpretations of the Bible. But you never hear of hundreds of interpretations of a biology textbook. Why? Because biology textbooks do not rebuke and correct men.
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Love must be sincere.
Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Be devoted to one another in 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 the Lord’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 everyone.
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Do not take revenge, my dear 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
.
So let us put aside the deeds of darkness
and put on the armor of light.
Let us behave decently,
as in the daytime,
not in carousing and drunkenness,
not in sexual immorality and debauchery,
not in dissension and jealousy.
Rather,
clothe yourselves
with the Lord Jesus Christ,
and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
7 Wonderful Promises
To Those Who Overcome
(Rev. 2 & 3)
Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamum
Thyatira
Sardis
Philadelphia
Laodicea
***************
Ephesus
the right to eat from the tree of life
Smyrna
not be hurt at all by the second death
Pergamum
Receive some of the hidden manna.
white stone with a new name known only to him who receives it
Thyatira
authority over the nations
just as I have received authority from my Father
also the morning star
Sardis
be dressed in white
name acknowledged before Father angels
Philadelphia
a pillar in the temple
the name of my God
name of the city
my new name (Christ’s)
Laodicea
the right to sit with me on my throne
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Therefore this word of Faith:
1 I eat from the Tree of Life.
2 I have been given immortality and since I died and was buried with him the second death won’t hurt a bit.
3 I eat of the hidden manna and I have a new name (CAPS [character, attitude, personality, spirit]).
4 I have authority over the nations and I hold the morning star.
5 I am clothed in the white robes of righteousness and my name is known to The Father and His angels.
6 I stand firm (a pillar) among the children and on me is written the name of God, the name of the Bride, and the new name of the anointed one.
7 I sit with Christ on His Father’s throne.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. By faith we bring the things promised for the future into the here and now by acting as if we already have the down payment of the promises.
