“Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” Luke 5:4 “Finally he measured a thousand, and it was a river I couldn’t cross on foot, because the water was so deep one would have to swim across; it was a river that could not be waded through.” Ezekiel 47:5 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Psalm 42:7 Deep waters must be floated on or swam — They go over our head — but in these we find God. What does it mean? Waters to the ankles slow us down, waters to the knees make life challenging, waters to the waist make life serious, but waters over our head carry us away. The purpose? Proving our faith. All conventional cures; get-tough…
Category: <span>Walk, for Christians</span>
In July 2002, a Russian airliner’s computer-guidance system instructed its pilot to ascend as another jet approached in the sky over Switzerland. At the same time, a Swiss air-traffic controller—whose computerized system was down—offered a human judgment: descend. Faced with conflicting advice, the pilot’s intuitive response was to trust another human’s intuition. Tragically, the two planes collided midair, killing everyone on board. “Nobody can dictate my behavior,” said Diana, Princess of Wales, in her last interview before her fatal accident. “I work through instinct, and instinct is my best counselor.” Vibes, instincts, karma, intuition, and such, guide many a person. Where do they come from, where are they going, what happens when their guidance fails, to what degree are their methods reliable? Some quotes to start: “The first principle,” said Einstein’s fellow physicist, Richard Feynman, “is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool.” “I…
Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly), does not act unbecomingly. does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it, [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. 1 Corinthians…
It lurks in the recesses of a man’s heart and will surely appear when provoked by circumstance, and Job’s stuffing came out a display of abject transparency. We can say that Job’s transparency painted him badly; three acquaintances felt this, but his plight had baffled his sense of justice. “Transparency, as used in science, engineering, business, the humanities and in other social contexts, implies openness, communication, accountability. Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. It has been defined simply as “the perceived quality of intentionally shared information from a sender”.[1] “The thing about transparency is that it shows. Period. When you’re open and direct, it shows; when you’re obtuse or avoidant, it also shows.”Beth Levine writes at http://www.smartmouthcommunications.com/the-thing-about-transparency/ I say, when our junk makes it’s appearance we can’t just display it, but we must be honest about it, but……
Courage, The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery. Strength in the face of pain or grief. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/ “Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty” Merriam-Webster “Any fool can be fearless. Courage, true courage, derives from that sense of who we are…” Barak Obama “Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. ” Maya Angelou, as quoted in USA Today (5 March 1988) “Be strong and of a good courage.” Joshua 1:6 Courage deflects fear, gives consistency, withstands danger, endures pain. Nevertheless, Courage, God’s way… fills the gap (tiny passageway) where truth oversees and refuses the broad-way compromise. A teen courageously defies his parents; it took courage to smoke my first cigarette, then my first joint. It takes guts to steal a car, drink a shot of tequila, stay out past curfew, shoot something in my vein. Intestinal fortitude does jail time…
Courage, The ability to do something that frightens one; bravery. Strength in the face of pain or grief. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/ “Mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty” Merriam-Webster “Any fool can be fearless. Courage, true courage, derives from that sense of who we are…” Barak Obama “Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. ” Maya Angelou, as quoted in USA Today (5 March 1988) “Be strong and of a good courage.” Joshua 1:6 Courage deflects fear, gives consistency, withstands danger, endures pain. Nevertheless, Courage, God’s way… fills the gap (tiny passageway) where truth oversees and refuses the broad-way compromise. A teen courageously defies his parents; it took courage to smoke my first cigarette, then my first joint. It takes guts to steal a car, drink a shot of tequila, stay out past curfew, shoot something in my vein. Intestinal fortitude does jail time…
A football player rode the bench. He never played, never planned to play, he was third string. In this game the first stringer went down, broken leg. Bad for the team but no worries for our guy, second string went in. Before long this halfback twisted something. Oh no, the bench rider was up. “George, put on a helmet,” the coach shouted. “But coach, I can’t do it, I have never played.” “Just get in there, you’ll be fine.” “Can’t, sorry coach, I’m afraid.” Coach had to call for a time out, and then he spoke these words: “George, relax, you’re gonna be my secret weapon.” “Whatta ya mean coach?” “I’m gonna put the spirit of a great running back in you.” “How?” “Trust me.” “Who?” “Franco Harris” “Now get in the game.” The story makes us laugh. It’s a fairy story to a lot of us. Some vital points…
“Let your yea be yea and your nay be nay.” “But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:9 “When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay? 2 Corinthians 1:17 What is lightness? (Hebrews. to stagger.) Websters defines “fickle” with “Wavering; inconstant; unstable; of a changeable mind; irresolute; not firm in opinion or purpose; capricious.” “Not fixed or firm; liable to change …” Matthew 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. Paul had conceded that he would die in verse 9 above. Indeed, there had been a self-verdict which conformed him to Christ’s death already.…
Does time heal all wounds? Well, I tire easily reading psychology books that teach: “the interplay between suppressing and exposing a hurt will eventually bring healing.” “grieving losses will eventuate a return to “normalcy.” “re-integrate a victim into society, and again they will be adjusted. “ Sincere ideas which may contribute. Friends, my problem is this; “normal” for these guys, encompasses the old sin nature. They assume wrongly that a man is born free. They suppose that the whole head and the whole heart ain’t sick and faint. In stark contrast to their evaluation, “normal” equals “wounds, bruises and putrefying sores.” “My wound is incurable,” said Jeremiah. Way before time’s wounding event, man exists a ball of woundedness. God plans to exterminate all of it — every speck. Only a bloody cross, only a dying Savior can fix a man. Because man miscalculates, God’s solutions seem radical. Paul admitted, however, “in my…
Subjectivity is the lack of objectivity. Objectivity is the assertion that a thing IS that thing regardless of how it is perceived. Subjectivity is the assertion that what the thing IS is dependent on how it is perceived. The Objective view is that this is an elephant regardless how it is seen. The Subjective view is that each person is right. Melissa-Faith Webster, BA from CSUSB. Focused on Philosophy of Science and Epistemology. First the bad news: Subjectivity establishes: a mindset that is a direct result of Adam’s Fall. a preoccupation with self, evaluation of people, and situations evaluation of the Word of God according to relative righteousness The Subjective are: arrogant, which masks a poor self-image, often suspicious of people’s motives and even paranoid. Subjective people: are occupied with themselves, hide themselves from church, often become sarcastic in relationships with others, eventually, they want counseling, Subjective folks: are offended…