Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 13

Proverbs / Chapter 24

10 If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is smal

Thank you. Blessings.

This is what I hear on the subject we discussed before.

We need to show grace.

There is no perfect church.

So and so was in that (aforementioned) situation and they did so much for the church.

I'm being unloving.

I'm being a gossip.

I just say look to the Word and Scriptures; let God be true and every man a liar ( Romans 3:4).

I would argue that in communion; for instance what others do affects the whole church but I appreciate your listening ear on the subject in that you take the Word seriously.

In regard to the other subject of politics; it does seem they are hinting at least by "turkey day" this stuff may be resolved. Maybe you're right.

My friend did spend several hours today witnessing to someone working on his car. I need to hear these things as it shows he does know the Lord so my time and expense aren't totally wasted; albeit the immaturity is apparent. Ironically he sent me an article today talking about smoking and how you basically can't clean it out without totally gutting a home. Shows he wouldn't want to live here I guess; although my Dad spent all his time upstairs doing that as my mom wouldn't allow it in the house for many years anyway in the downstairs.

I'm thinking of going back to guitar lessons; but have no venue as it were in that regard. I guess you can pray about that and having continued wisdom with coin collecting which has not been as profitable of late. I could seek a second job but am not in need of the money at present. This new church seems to be working well but in the winter is too far away and I don't have a great vehicle in that situation. I can't find anything closer; although the Lord could do that as He did with the one (at first) that I had been attending here; and previously in Pittsburgh even when I couldn't find one on an online search regarding my view of the remarriage issue. (the ones that do which are Mennonite are also into LGB stuff; go figure).

Glad you're my friend even if far away/incognito.

1. Romans 2:16

"In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel."

Paul declares that God will judge all men by Jesus Christ according to the revelation he preached, showing the authority and finality of his message.

2. Romans 16:25

"Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began."

Here Paul links his gospel with the revelation of the mystery, truth previously hidden but now made known through him ( Ephesians 3:1-9).

3. 2 Timothy 2:8

"Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel."

This emphasizes Christ's resurrection as the central truth of Paul's gospel - salvation apart from the law, received by grace through faith ( 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Summary:

These three verses - Romans 2:16, Romans 16:25, and 2 Timothy 2:8 - are the only explicit references where Paul calls it "my gospel" in the Bible.

They collectively highlight:

Judgment by Christ through Paul's message ( Rom 2:16).

The revelation of the hidden mystery ( Rom 16:25).

The risen Christ as its foundation ( 2 Tim 2:8).

Can a Deacon be a man that had been previously married. This is a man who wife had left him to be with another man which brought about divorce. This man is now remarried.

Hello T-rex

I was thinking on your post last evening. You are right in that we all should be serious about purging idols from our lives.

This is what believers all over the world are to do, not just in the U.S.A.

Personally, I do not know of anyone who makes an idol of politics, or political leaders, a political party or the other ways you mentioned. But I and others are involved in our government as the Lord leads us to be. As a citizen of this country (U.S.A.), I believe that believers have a responsibility from God to engage in governmental affairs as far as our constitutional rights allow.

We have the means to know far more about what is happening in our local, state, and national governments than any generation before us, so our responsibility is greater because of this. We have access to our representatives via e-mail, texting, phone calls, and physical meeting with them. We should use these means to make known our desires on specific matters at hand. We have the opportunity to advise and influence how they vote and can inform them how certain actions by the government affect our lives directly or our communities as a whole.

Some people have more of a calling to be involved this way than others because the Holy Spirit leads them to gain knowledge of what is happening in government and to speak up, support candidates, or join in with groups who rally for specific causes.

All these things are not making an idol out of politics, government, or leaders. Rather, it is exercising the rights of being citizen of this country knowing that it was God who chose for us to be born here as citizens or to legally immigrate here and become a citizen. Acts 17:25-27 tells us that it is God who determines such things.

As for the matters discussed in the rest of your post, these concern me greatly and I pray for God to help those who are being abused, oppressed, and mistreated in many ways. We should be diligent in praying for our nation, leaders, communities.

Dear Richard,

I am sorry to hear that your friend has pneumonia.

It seems that debt consolidation will be a good avenue for him.

No need to feel envious. We all have our own style in writing and if we pray for God to guide us as we write, He will.

I am a better writer than a speaker, as per the way God gifted me. Others are far better at speaking. Communication between people is what we do as creatures made in God's image and it involves much more than speaking or writing. How we act communicates volumes, as well. We just need to heed the guidance of the Holy Spirit and trust that He will work through us in every situation.

I will pray for your friend and for you as you wish to do what is best for him and yourself.

I am glad that this new fellowship aligns with your convictions concerning divorce and remarriage. It is rare to find that in fellowships today. The laxness about this important teaching of Jesus in most congregations is concerning to me as well.

The damaging effects of the common occurrence of those who have remarried after divorce within the church fellowships brings many problems to these families involved as well as on the congregations especially when divorced and remarried couples are given places of leadership involving preaching, leading worship, and serving on councils as elders and deacons.

For me, I have come to the conclusion that finding a fellowship that best aligns with what I believe the Scriptures teach about who God is, what Jesus has done for us, how one comes to be saved, the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the elect, and major doctrines of our faith is where I fit in even though this topic of divorce and remarriage is only partially aligned with the teachings of Jesus and Paul.

For you, this is a big matter since you are one who has gone through divorce and wish to remain single in order to follow what Jesus teaches, and so, how a fellowship deals with this affects you more than it does others.

Annotated Gen.20.10-11 "Abimelech"

The Holy Spirit sets Abimelech as a foil to Abraham who was still not perfect. As soon as God spoke to him in a dream he takes remedial action and also confronts him. " And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake."

The patriarch was presumptuous to use Sarah as the means to wriggle out of a difficult situation. He used it once too often. Sarah's soul was complete as was of Abraham. This is established in the manner she put her foot down in the matter of Ishmael. We read how the patriarch took it,"And the thing was very grievous in Abraham's sight because of his son." God however sides with her. "in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice." (21.10-12)

Let us look at the spiritual principle behind it. Eve was created out of Adam but God deals with the mother of all living and of Adam how does God respond? "Cursed is the ground for 'thy sake' ".(3.15) The Covenant set by the Law of the Spirit created man 'in our image and after our likeness." The Word was with God so it cannot go wrong because of Adam's disobedience. On the other hand God stipulated 'thy seed' meaning Seth who is the Branch. He is with Jesus Christ are designated as the Word was with God. God a Spirit holds the last Adam as the Word which was with God. When God sends his only begotten Son to the world Jesus Christ represents the Son in his flesh. The same was in the beginning with God refers to him and not Adam. In the specific case of Sarah she was with the Word which was God. Her faith was such "Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised"(Heb.11.11). The Word of God established her role in the house as independent of her Lord and master.

Abimelech make amends to her equally.

"

Your wisdom and insight are as usual appreciated (although I'm a bit envious as you have a much better way of writing and organizing thoughts that are more complex than mine).

That being said, I have a couple matters I'm dealing with right now. First there is a friend of mine who I have been helping increasingly in a financial way who has had his bathroom in a state of disarray after a couple repairs to stop a leak. Financially he would be better off if he lived in my house where I could charge a manageable rate; although for now he has pneumonia and the house isn't clean enough for him to be here and stay healthy and I certainly don't want to get sick either. He; as you probably are aware has amassed debt; he gets some military benefits but it is a bottomless pit essentially between his credit card issues and other things well over 50k indebt. I told him that some sort of credit consolidation was in order to continue to assist him at the rate I have at least say 6 months from now. As for now; with my Dad technically owning the house I am NOT legally permitted to have anyone live here as more than a guest beyond 30 days. if it IS God's will then I need to get beyond this point of feeling like I am being swallowed up in the issue and out of control and am asking for His peace and strength to do it; letting him in at all at this point with any stipulation could likely mean he wouldn't be able to leave. For now; I have had to say no. For now it is a constant concern; and the immediate thing is that if his meds don't work he will be hospitalized; so prayer is appreciated. When I feel overwhelmed it is very hard to pray on my end.

I have also finally broken membership ties with my local church but still involved in peripheral events in evenings. I went the over hour drive to a church that I researched who believes as I do on the whole hotbed of the divorce remarriage issue.

It was even better than I could have expected but too far to go every week.

Part II Annotated Gen.20.1-6 "The house"

Every house is built by some man." For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God." We shall consider how God has done it. "He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works." (Ps.33.15) Heart of Abraham and of Abimelech, consequently has same quality with which they may work with. How shall they do the works of God? They only need believe in the one He sent.( Jn 6.28-29). So Good is just a call away and it is non-verbal speech and it is called faith.The same speech and same language holding the two worlds .(Heb.11.3) It is of this house the writer to the Hebrews write about, "But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end."(Heb.3.5).

The Spirit is repeating the same event occured before and after his name was changed. What happened to him in the house of Pharaoh on account of Sarai is given another run. So we are looking at two worthies from inside out. Abimelch justifies his royal authority but God does not reckon such arbitrary laws or traditions man may impose. In order to instruct us correctly God visits the king of Gerar and warns of dire consequences if he did violate Sarah's chastity. " Behold, thou art but a dead man".

The king pleads integrity of his heart, " Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this" God's answer, " for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her." God searches the hearts, Does not his answer..contradict the heresy of 'total deparavity'?

The witches trial at Salem in 1692 was one way these misbegotten heretics made their new Canaan a charnel house.' Like Cain these vagabonds whereever they went sowed their heresies and only one need look at their tree of liberty to know the truth.

Annotated Gen.19.30-38

Whernce did the daughters of Lot bring the wine to drug their father? "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:" (Deut.32.32)

Noah began to be a husbandman and it was an earth purged of the filth of the old world.The Spirit is tracing the corruption following man since he disobeyed God and fell short of the glory of God. Sin creates enemity between 'thy seed and her seed. Here onwards we shall see a house divided. "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand"( Mk 3.25) The birth of Moab and Amman is set forth in the narrative for our instruction in righteousness.

God blessed man so his seed within itself and after his kinfh .shall be righteous. This is the spiritual truth incorporated in day Three of the Covenant.(Gen.1.11-13)

The Spirit specifies Noah's vineyard in order to specify a righteous nation yielding goodly fruits from the branches of the true Vine.(Gen.9.20-21) Later God blesses Abraham 'and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."(12.3) Not nations but families as was in heaven. The Spirit is fleshing out the fellowship of God with Man and chooses 'another seed' from Seth onwards. Here it is Isaac who shall be the heir of promise. All their heirs are to be as a double for his Son who is called the Branch. Spiritually the last Adam in heaven and Jesus Christ, the word become flesh are of a single measurement.(Rev.21.17)

In roder to remind us the Spirit uses this phrase,'unto this day'. Our fellowship with God is in his son. He who has the Son has the Father as well.

From chapter 20 onwards the watchword if the house, "Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac"(21.11) The same house cannot hold both Isaac and Ishmael..

.

Modification:

In the first para,

"for the consequence of wickedness God makes the city as the house nothingness,"

please read as

"For the wickedness of Sodom God makes the city as the house of nothingness,"

Thanks,

Annotated Gen.19. 24-26 "Pillar of Salt"

"Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven." Here we have God's counsel for the surviving members of the family of Lot. Cursed is the man who makes flesh is his arm. for the consequence of wickedness God makes the city as the house nothingness, Beth Aven presented here is how the Holy Spirit is leading us to a similar flight and it is Jacob and not Lot and under different circumstances. "And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it./nd he called the name of that place Bethel." The pillar of Jacob is a covenant, a foundation stone to establish who is the maker and builder of the house.(28.18-19) Bethel, El Bethel or Luz carry as with Zoar, three differing POV for the heir of promise. Thus the Lot episode serves as a foil to the Church of the first begotten. It is promised by Jesus Christ, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name."(Rev.3.12)

The new name is yet in future but in the case of Jacob the name Israel is to indicate his testimony. " And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob./ And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."(32.28-29)

On the otherhand what is the testimony of Lot's wife? Nothing. Pillar of the house, of Beth Aven is just salt that ha s lost its savour.

vv.25-26 "And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground./But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt".

Thank you

Hello Richard,

Good food for thought.

When it comes to government, it is inevitable that government will be involved with its citizens for better or for worse. Some forms of government are better than others overall. I do think that the constitutional republic of the U.S. is the best in the world, although it has many areas that intrude too much on the citizenry and the greed and lust for power by many politicians and entities within government are aspects that are not easy to restrain even in this governmental system. However, I would rather live under a constitutional republic that any other government because it allows the most freedom for its citizens to pursue what God leads one to do with their daily life and work and faith. So, this republic I desire to keep, as one early leader spoke about.

As to the government shutdown, it is all about political partisanship. The shutdown could have ended weeks ago, but it seems as though the Dems wanted it to continue until it affected some of those who they wish to woo to vote for their side in the recent election. Now that the election is over, I think that we will see the Dems begin to work with the Repubs to re-open the Government by resolving budget issues and making necessary changes to Obamacare.

To me, it is all "smoke and mirrors" to get votes and support for policies. It is definitely not about reducing the budget, national debt, or cutting wasteful spending to reduce the tax burden on the citizenry, especially from the Dems. But the Repubs have culpability in this, too. having the majority in both houses, there is much more they can do to help taxpayers. In the situation of the shutdown and CR it does involve a supermajority to get it passed and return to the norm.

Even so, we do not have a theocracy, and so as citizens, we are to be salt and light among those who do not follow our Lord Jesus. Our witness will used by the Holy Spirit to either attract unbelievers to Jesus or convict others.

Hi Keith Morrisette.

Welcome to the site!

"What "heaven" is being referred to" should be considered

For thus saith the LORD that created the "HEAVENS"; (Plural) God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. Isaiah 45:18.

The Heavenly realm represent the celestial abode of God and angels, the ultimate reward for the righteous, a spiritual realm separate from our physical universe.

I'm not sure if that's what's being made new in Revelation 21:1. I would need convincing scriptures.

Job 1:6 reads "Now there was a day when the sons of God CAME TO PRESENT THEMSELVES before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Where did the sons of God come from to present themselves to God?

Perhaps "to and fro in the earth?

We know that's true of Satan considering verse seven.

We know very little about the Heavenly realm of God.

Blessings.

Satan's two sided approach: Offering the riches and favor of the world vs persecution

The dichotomy of a church and state union and a transformed society and persecution is much like the political realm in terms of two sides of the same coin. This is why such as in Hitler's Germany the church was infiltrated by those using it as an example symbolizing the truth of the movement and sadly by quoting some of Martin Luther's anti-semitic quotes. This unholy alliance showed its true colors; of course when the officially recognized agenda reflected and promoted Nazi doctrines and eventually resulted in arrest and assassination of Catholic then Protestant pastors who held onto scripture and didn't support this agenda.This process can be seen in the current Ukraine and Russia conflict with the officially recognized Easter Orthordox variant of Russian or Ukranian origin depending which side of the boundary one finds themselves. Therefore patriotism is at best a flawed concept; it can be seen as loyalty to the motherland; as it were for virtuous reasons such as families but culture and traditions of this world are always involving those of ungodly people.

Looking at the world's financial situation merely shows the affect of sin. Those proponents of making a better society (such as the "square deal" of Roosevelt) never dreamed of a 36 Trillion dollar debt only a couple of generations later. The concept of course of a cashless society involved an attempt to confiscate gold; and continued a debtor concept with a dollar not backed by silver; then currency not made of silver and finally pennies not even made primarily of copper. Thus we have had a history of periodic shutdowns of government which at the present time with a record length show no sign of ending anytime soon.

So; inevitably once things break down someone has to be blamed and thus we see the general anarchy of society. Alas the magical solution of one world government; cashless money and the mark.

Proverbs 16:11 A just weight and balance are the LORD'S: all the weights of the bag are his work.

The focus of this and much of Proverbs 16 goes beyond a mere economic standard of fairness and one's overall character.

To favor a certain agenda should allow the promotion of truth; not a blanket statement of bias for or against a certain party.

We also see these admonitions in verses 3-6

3Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

4 The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

We are told here repeated themes in this Proverb; namely how to trust God and how not to act with our affiliations and how to make for a better society as it were (v. 6).

Therefore; the strength of those in unity is the sum of its parts; and the weakest link can affect its strength. God must be front and center and not at the periphery with scriptures used as a means to justify another end that is man centered. Exaltation of any man easily becomes idolatry. Think about it; a family member known to love the Lord dies; are we going to run a national memorial service at our own expense? Meanwhile; of course there are endless martyrs today who won't be recognized until they receive their martyr's crown in heaven.

For Satan's schemes to work; of course there has to be a deceiver and those ready to be deceived. We need to take care that our churches are kept separate from the world; those few who haven't already succumbed to certain agendas. The world system often tries to curry favor among leadership tempting them with influence through associations leading to compromise.

Rather than looking for what we want to hear we should focus as sheep on hearing HIS voice and the counsel of His Word.

Agape.

Blessing Gigi:

We are agreeing with you in your prayer to God for your daughter-law, Elfe, that her delivery goes well. And that both she and the baby are safe.

In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Matthew 18:19

"Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."

In Jesus name we Pray, Amen

Annotated Gen. 19.22 "Zoar"

"Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do anything till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar."

The Spirit cites this city from three points of view. While Lot followed Abraham their combined wealth was too much for the land to bear. So they come to the parting of ways. The Spirit gives a hint as the significance of Zoar. It was the farthest and of the least consequential city of habitation. So 'before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah' sets Sodom as the most sought after city where life put him at an advantage over others. 'And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where,"(13.20) It is was foolish dream and the angels sets Zoar as a place of refuge. Later we have God setting three place of refuge on this side of Jordan and three on the other side of the river. The spiritual significance of crossing the river Jordan helps us place the significance of Zoar. "So that my soul may live" is how Lot views it.

The angels warned," Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed." Lot would not take the mountain but as a city-dweller all his life in his POV now shifts: Zoar hitherto the second best, now is shown to his advantage. What he failed to understand was this spiritual truth. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"(Heb.9.27) Zoar is on the other side is the outer darkness. In the case of Abraham who by faith endured living in tents since the city of habitation was holy Jerusalem in heaven. The same was in the beginning with God. In that case what is this great city where our Lord was crucified? It is same as Sodom or Egypt, is it not? Zoar is the outer darkness reserved "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie."(Rev.22.15)

Annotated Gen.19.17 "Forward"

"And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee."

God sent two angels which is how the word of God works. "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."(Ps.107.20). Israelies would bring down the walls of Jericho by obeying the command to the letter. They are to move forward and not by fits and starts. Naaman has to follow the full course in order to be healed of his leprosy.

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:"(Exod.14.15) The Spirit instructs us with the disobedient prophet who was slain by a lion. ""And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:/For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest."( 1 Kgs 13.8-9) This full circle or the Word circular as seen in the instance was one full circle, (chs 12-13) It follows the sign set about the tabernacle for the sun."His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."(Ps.19.6) Abraham by faith was entering into the covenant as was in heaven where the Word was God. He called him and he followed believing, "dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:/For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. "(Heb.11.9-10) So the city in question was fulfilling this part of the Word circular, where 'the same was in the beginning with God. In short Abraham fulfilled for what he was apprehended of and as the double for his Son. This is redemption of his soul would signify." but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus

Final final thoughts

As to the idea of the renewed mind; we need to constantly REMIND ourselves; James 1:23 states: For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: then next verse: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

Obsession of self leads many to look at themselves in the mirror. I for one am glad the mirror is still intact after days of growing facial hair like a barbarian. I digress...

We need to repetitively examine our hearts. Those in addiction recovery (at least the one I'm in) use the term "fearless moral inventory" and I'm sure there are other versions of that concept. We learned patterns of behavior all our lives to promote our sin nature and please the flesh; now we have to replace that with growth and routine maintenance so that we aren't led astray or distracted from the mission at hand. Satan's "toolbox" as it were is designed to turn the screws on us; pushing the right buttons (perhaps appearing to us as the "easy" button which is disguised as one leading to destruction). The enemy is often boringly predictable using our weaknesses along with certain pesky folk to gradually unnerve us. He also is a master at causing us to THINK remaining on a given path is going smoothly but presenting a new challenge to blindside us.

These concepts; therefore are related to being as it were proactive over our soul and minds. Renewing our minds helps the stability of our soul; and we cannot effectively do this when our souls are being captivated by distracting or evil thoughts.

We cannot short circuit the project through impatience in order to speed up the process; and we need to trust that God has uniquely gifted us for our calling and that He will at the right time send us forth into the works He has predestined for us.

It is good to have investments and time in believers who disciple us and we can in turn disciple.

Some final thoughts.

The grumpy prophet: Jonah

On the opposite extreme of today's megachurch agendas of bringing in the masses with appeal; we have the example of grumpy Jonah. I mean the dude could have had at least some sense of the unique time and place to reach Gentiles; and not a few.

I mean over 100,000 people repenting at once after one message? Well; one thing we can't fault him on was pride due to such an enormous event of mass repentance as a direct result of his preaching. I'm a bit envious of such a feat to be perfectly honest.

WHY God used him likely is best explained by the fact that He uses who He will and we are only along for the ride. Ok also I should add that he never complained about the money involved for the mission; I'm not sure how much it cost him to ride the opposite direction toward the ends of the known world at that time.

I should once again mention that he was aware of the horrendous brutal treatment that this nation had caused His people in the past. To be aghast at such things at least gave him an awareness of evil; which sadly tends to be whitewashed today in regard to the society as a whole when we are trying to reach individuals. Obviously his heart wasn't right; the near death or actual death eperienced didn't help change his attitude; he was obedient enough but through compulsion no doubt. He did speak the truth; it WAS his fault the storm caused the ship to be all but destroyed; and once they gave him the boot and it calmed down was enough for THEM to repent (another thing he didn't appreciate). Nonetheless the very unsatisfying end of the book with Jonah childishly mourning the death of a vine that gave shade but disregard for all God had done was; well just stupid. I don't think I'm being irreverent here.

His comment to God was basically "I told you so". It doesn't seem he had a trust issue here; and he knew God's ways but didn't care. What Jonah DID have was all the proper tools but a sick heart

The human mind (part 3)

Many have argued about whether God has a sense of humor; I would venture to say that it is very helpful in terms of ourselves when we can laugh at our own foolishness. Pride is a major barrier to growth; and learning our own weaknesses is never enjoyable.

Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

I have commented before on the prayer I am afraid to say; namely asking God to do His job to chastise and correct. It is pretty foolproof; you can count on Him answering it and probably means people will be involved in correction; some of which are in church; others in the world and no doubt the enemy will be allowed to target a few choice arrows your way. Having a bullseye on your back ain't fun but we have to get over having special status; our Lord and Master suffered and surely His servants likewise.

Not this concept certainly isn't going to win any converts who are just interested in lip service; unless they have a self destructive bent. The world can't be expected to get it; no doubt they default to wanting to be left alone to do their thing.

Knowing Christ rather than about Him is key. Our transformation in the mind and soul is revolutionary. To truly be saved IS to be dead to sin; yet we still have that capacity as we can't say we are without sin. The regenerate heart is truly born again and a new creature. The scripture is opened up as our soul testifies to the truth ( Romans 8:16); and of course we are "all taught by God" ( John 6:45). This love is transformative; or Agape. One HUGE fallacy today is that we somehow are taught to believe that being loving enough somehow aids to such a transformation. That is a partial truth; IF the Spirit is working on someone that is the case; and we certainly have no business not being loving; but even grumpy people He can use.

The human mind (part 2)

Along with the endless propaganda of this evil world system; and alongside we of course have the education system. It is certainly understandable that many Christian parents have decided to home school; or find a private school education whenever possible. I have mixed feelings in regard to this; and part of it relates to my friend who is a Deacon with his kids in public school; 2 of which are now believers; and at least one of them wrote an essay espousing Christian concepts. The "safety" of Christian schools has to be carefully addressed; particularly in certain Megachurch affiliations where basically occult methodology is taught to children. The same; of course can be said for many formerly solid Christian colleges; we all need to be "wise as serpents; innocent as doves."

Anyhoo; moving along here we may have critical theories on certain subjects (I'll leave the word out) but critical thinking seems to be lacking. When we look more broadly at our lives we can do a psychoanalysis of developmental stages and state that we are a product of our genetics; education; culture; family; etc. Again; another example of someone I know who has a believing daughter that sends HER kids to public school is very interesting; she got to do a forum on a particular book and was able more than once apparently to give a Christian analysis in front of many school staff. I have stated before that if enough kids in public school want to pray after hours it can happen; and in fact it seems to me that may be the best way for any true revival to break out. They have to have a vision for their generation.

So back to the subject at hand. We can look today to spiritual concepts and understand that only God can reveal it to someone whose eyes have been supernaturally opened. Any impartial assessment would show the veracity of the Bible and reality of Satan but only God can reveal Himself and man's fallen state. THEN he repents seeing his evil heart

Objective truth: The human mind

One of the reasons (as if we need such justification) for reading Holy Scripture is that our objectivity ain't what it seems.

When we are young; it is common for children to sense evil in say heavy metal music that praises the Devil; or otherwise is frighteningly loud or have a natural aversion to violence. Today sadly many kids grow up much too quickly thanks to the world agenda and oftentimes aided by parents who wittingly or unwittingly allow its influence in their homes; often due to children being given way too much time on social media and before they should.

My experience working with kids is from since late last year working with the Awana program in my local church in terms of regular exposure in ministry; my first. I was an only child and no one else at all had kids in my limited extended family.

That allowed me to spend much time growing up experiencing God's creation and pondering on concepts such as Romans 1 in sensing there is a God. As children; there is usually an openness to the Lord but of course it is a naive perception oftentimes and certainly as with my case when there is hypocrisy kids see it. It stands to reason; true or not there is no less perception of demons with kids and perhaps God's presence as well so that we can say broadly that human intelligence doesn't make us any smarter; 1 Corinthians 3:19 states For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. These days; admittedly even worldly wisdom and common sense has largely been bypassed for a quick fix; often with sensory overload that in turn causes overall compromise to the learning; development and mental health of kids.

I often ponder the methodology adults use with kids; however good the intentions may be. There has to be careful consideration to some of the graphic scriptures as to their sensibilities; but also is no reason to hold back on being spiritual warriors

That's a great question. I searched the internet and found this answer, which opened my eyes to this matter (taken from that source).

First, a clarifying question: What "heaven" is being referred to? When we hear the word, we often think of the dwelling place of God and believers in the "new heaven and new earth" described in Revelation 21. In Scripture, though, the word "heaven" means different things in different contexts. It can mean the sky above, as in Genesis 1:1. Heaven can mean the spiritual realm where angels dwell, as in Luke 2:15. Heaven can also mean the throne room of God, as in Psalm 11:4.

Satan rebelled in what we might call the heavenly realm, the spiritual dimension where angelic beings operate.

It's important not to confuse the future "new heaven and new earth" with the angelic realm that existed before the fall of Satan. To understand how sin could have entered that realm, we need to look closer at the nature of angels themselves-who they are, how they were created, and what kind of freedom they were given.

The Bible teaches that Satan was once a glorious angelic being. One key passage often cited is Ezekiel 28:12-15, which, while addressed to the king of Tyre, is understood by many scholars to also contain a reference to Satan himself. The figure described is "blameless in [his] ways from the day [he was] created until unrighteousness was found in [him]." This suggests that even in the heavenly realm, angels could choose between right and wrong, just as we can.

Angelic freedom should not be given more weight than Scripture allows. God's purpose is not beholden to creaturely choices. He doesn't take risks. In the end, Satan's fall served God's greater purposes. The devil's rebellion was not outside of God's sovereign plan, but part of it. Without the fall, no cross, no redemption, no ultimate display of God's justice, mercy, and grace.

A Look At My Books:

Life of Jesus Christ.

Bible Basics,

Maltese Traditional Recipes.

God's Witness.

Carol,

gladly will pray for Maria. How hard to lose a child, especially to fentyno.

T-Rex,

Yes, something fishy about the way the ballot listed Zorhan twice under two different parties. The measures taken to get this man in office is so concerning. So, I will keep NYC in prayer and that this communist well-off entitled person will be driven out of office. But perhaps NYC needs to get a realistic taste of what communist Muslims have in mind for the communities they infiltrate will bring about better awareness of this threat to our country's well-being such ideologies bring to communities. Pretty incredible that so many voters did not show up to vote as well as the majority of those who did have such a left bent that they cannot get that they are voting for their demise rather than for there benefit.

Annotated Gen.ch.19

v.1 "And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;"

Firstly the two angels arrived at even.. Lot immediately recognizes them but as we see the events determined to resolve the divine Will outpace the ability of man to control them in his favour. "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."(Pro.29.1_ Lot saw God's holiness through the eyes of Abraham. So his second-hand knowledge fails here. The Spirit admonishes us, "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:"(Isa.55.6-7)

v.9 "This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them"

Here we have culture war. Pursuit of happiness in such a climate as the denizens of Sodom breathed and pursued at break-neck speed did indeed blind them.This one fellow vs us is not the trope we coined.The devil sins from the beginning so God let the men of Sodom wallow in their own filth so Epstein files, would have all the movers and shakers except Lot therein. Before they could do violence they were struck blind literally. There would be no remedy for them. The fallacy of moral equivalence as put forth in social context is a devil's tool and Sodom had no way escaping the damnation. If one sees the light and would make amends for it, an epithet 'woke culture' is devil's bandaid to treat a terminal cancer patient. We are seeing it, very Sodom coming to life as a dormant volcano.

inv.8 Lot calls his daughters 'virgins' in restricted sense as with the 144,000 on mount Sion.

Household of Lot counted less than ten heads. "And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law."