Proverbs 29:18 Without a Vision is a people made naked, And whoso is keeping the law, O his happiness! YLT Chesterton talks about “nature.”” He says, “it won’t work to form our ideas from some principle found in nature, for the simple reason that (except for some human or divine theory about nature) there is no principle in nature.” “He goes on to say, “there is no equality in nature, neither is there any inequality. “Both need, says Chesterton, some “standard of value.” He illustrates: Some try to project “aristocracy” onto the anarchy of the animal world. But, both aristocracy and democracy are human ideas, and both say something about “value.” “Nature doesn’t say that cats are more valuable than mice.” “Nature has no comment on the subject.” “You can’t say there is victory or superiority in nature unless you have some doctrine about what things are superior.” “You can’t say…
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They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Jonah 2:8 I wondered how much God protects my life through mercy and decided to explore contrasting words and concepts. Somehow I hope to gain insight and be drawn closer to the Savior. In Jonah “lying vanities” stand in juxtaposition to The Lord’s humble bowing in kindness toward undeserved ones made worthy. Only a lie — conceited, unsuccessful, useless, idle, worthless, foolish, silly — could negate or exclude the very nature of God Supreme. So mercy is opposite of my empty concepts. Next, “Mercy rejoices against judgment” so teaches James 2:13. Sundering separation stands aloof from our mercy from God. A quote from Paul goes, “who can separate us from the love of Christ?” Romans 8:35 “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” The list is just starting. “Death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor…
My foot stands in an even place: in the congregations will I bless the Lord. Psalm 26:12 Psalm 27:11 is a prayer, “Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies.” ‘Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,…
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. “Matthew 11:28-30 Rankin Wilbourne wrote a book called, “Union with Christ.” In a certain chapter in the book, Wilbourne talks about the modern secular Western mindset. Quoting others, he sites a few descriptions. , “the Big me,” “the I world, ” the age of the selfie.” ” This mindset assumes we each have a true, authentic self, hidden within us and the path to human flourishing involves discovering and expressing that true self. ” This is, “the official dogma of all Western societies,” so says a Professor, Barry Schwartz. Our culture complies with this mindset also: Even our Supreme Court says,…
Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.1Corinthians 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.Ephesians 5:14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. As a man or woman awaken, it could seem to be a move from one life into a new. A make-believe scenario must be replaced with a real-life picture, and this takes place in the minds of men. For the believer in Christ, we wake up to real life salvation and to righteousness. These are facts of our new-born standing which never change. However, our dream states often do not include these unbreakable truths, and make-believe images cling to our memory centers…
“For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5:29-32 “The idea here is, that there is a close and intimate union between the Christian and the Savior – a union so intimate that they may be spoken of as “one.’” Barnes 1Corinthians 6:17 adds,” But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. “ Rankin Wilbourne defines union with Christ as follows: “. . . union with Christ means that you are in Christ and Christ is in you” .In four verses, Colossians 3:1-4, Paul hints…
Mystery surrounds everything we call life, the Christian life is no exception. With the simple Bible concept, “peace that passes understanding — shall keep your heart and mind,” we get the idea of mystery. “Love passing knowledge” eclipses the world of concrete imagination. In our Bible we have “knowledge of mystery,” “fellowship of the mystery.” Are we exchanging the precise for the abstract? We read, “mystery of God, mystery of Christ, mystery of marital union, of the church, and of the “Rapture” of the church. The Apostle Paul had a revelation of “The Mystery,” and tells us of the mystery of the gospel. “A mystery does not lie in the obscurity of a thing, but in its secrecy. It is not in the thing, but envelops it.” Vincent Consider these: the mystery of “faith in a pure conscience.” and, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” The “Mystery of godliness,”…
‘It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter. ” Proverbs 25:2 Louis Sperry Chafer, founder of Dallas Theological Seminary defines for us a difficult but “searched out” matter: contrasting Law with Grace. “When the human obligation is presented first, and the divine blessing is made to depend on the faithful discharge of that obligation, it is of and in conformity with pure law.” “When the Divine blessing is presented first, and the human obligation follows, it is of and in conformity with pure grace.” “The varying orders under law and grace may be stated in the words, ‘do and live,’ or ‘live and do.’” “In the case of law, it is, ‘do something with a view to being something:’ In the case of grace it is ‘be made something with a view to doing something.’” “The law said,…
He picked up the heavy bowling ball, intent on following the pattern of the others. A half grin revealed his sincerity but his every move resembled nothing of a bowler. Turning right to left, he positioned himself catty-corner to the pins. With a series of gyrations and twists he placed the ball on the lane, somehow propelling it toward its goal. Slowly the rock found its way to the destination, and, low and behold, knocked over some large ten-pins. Over the next hour, again and again, he did something identical, showing not a randomness but a marked repetition. In his mind he was bowling. He was autistic. After several years, some adventures at bowling alleys returned to my memory as a dawning came — all of us interpret life uniquely. We all do life with our individual faculties and skill, and much like our autistic friend, varied results may happen,…
Virtue is the supernatural, unfathomable, perfect love of God. Pastor Carl H. Stevens “It is perfect because it is not our love, but love that is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit ” (Romans 5:5).God’s grace is inexhaustible; it depends upon the Giver and never the receiver. His forgiveness is incomprehensible; His mercy is eternal; and His love is unconditional. It is this quality of love—‘virtue love’—that sets captives free, because this love never demands a response from its object. Dr. Carl H. Stevens Unfortunately, the best love that man can produce falls way short of what Peter tells us to add to our faith in 2 Peter 1:5. Our love often reeks with subjective overtones, self-centeredness, and often is defensive. Way back in the garden, the human race in Adam and Eve, twisted love toward their own self interest because of fear. Privately interpreting how God…