Appearances. Did Paul Say We Can Eat Anything? Virtual Religion? Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

Appearances

“It does not take long for a person to realize the importance of appearance.

Fall Maple/Pexels

True beauty lies in the time and effort we spend the matters of our heart.

We want others to think well of us, and usually we take a lot of care in our appearance—the things we say and do. We want to leave an impression and be presentable. We also spend time and money on our personal appearance. Our face, hair, body and clothing all consume time every day. There are necessary parts that do need care.

But it is what is inside that really matters. True beauty lies in the time and effort we spend the matters of our heart. Jesus explained that to the leaders of Jerusalem that they were good at cleaning the outside of the cup and dish, but were full of self-indulgence and extortion on the inside (Matthew 23:25-27). First be sure the inside is clean, and then the outside will be clean as well. “  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/this-is-the-way/appearances

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Did Paul Say We Can Eat Anything?

“What did the apostle Paul mean in 1 Timothy 4:4? 

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/o3Wr4P3-e9M

[Steve Myers] “A question came in from one of our viewers about a program I did about God’s food laws, and they were pointing out a passage that they said I intentionally overlooked. So, as you begin to think about God’s food laws, the Bible has a lot to say about food. And the point that they brought up was what the Apostle Paul told Timothy in 1Timothy 4:4. They pointed out that that scripture says, “For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it’s received with thanksgiving.” Of course, I had gone through and talked about how God delineates certain foods are good to eat and others are not, according to Scripture.

Well, what they did is they pointed out this passage and said, “Well, wait a second, it says here nothing is to be refused. So, if I pray over my pulled pork sandwich or I pray over my crawfish, it should be just fine. That’s what the Apostle Paul was telling Timothy because, after all, we’re New Covenant Christians and we don’t have to keep that old law.” Well, they thought I intentionally skipped over that passage, but when you begin to put it in the context of what Paul is saying, in the very next verse he says something powerful. Notice what he says. This is in 1 Timothy 4:5. Once he says it’s to be received with thanksgiving, he says it’s sanctified by the Word of God and prayer.

So now we have a second aspect that’s added here. Not only should we pray over our food, give God the thanks for providing for us, but we see very clearly here what is it that sets apart food for us. What is it that makes something acceptable or unacceptable when it comes to us? Well, God does. God is the one who says this is what you should do, here’s how you should act, this is even the food that you should eat. So, here, we see this food is sanctified or set apart by the word of God and thanksgiving. So we should be thankful, but what does the word of God have to say about food?

And you see, that’s the critical part. We have to go to the Word of God to see what is set apart as good food. And that’s why we have to turn over to Leviticus 11 or we have to turn to Deuteronomy 14. And when we turn to those passages, it delineates very clearly what is good food to eat and what is not. So don’t be taken in by just taking one little passage and not seeing it in the entire context of Scripture. So you can check out these passages. We’ve got other literature that you can check out to find out what exactly is good food that is sanctified by the Word of God.”   From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/did-paul-say-we-can-eat-anything

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Virtual Religion?

“New technology in our modern world is now bleeding over into people’s religious lives. What does God expect of us?

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/w1CeuxHKUdg

[Darris McNeely] “I was once called to a hospital emergency room to pray for and to anoint someone who had had a heart attack at work. I’d known the man, he’d been a part of my congregation at one time but he had stopped attending and he began listening to a minister from way off on cassette tapes.

Now, this goes back a few years, I realize and dated here. But that man became his pastor. But the problem was his pastor, off the cassette tape, lived more than 1000 miles away. When he needed me, he called me to come and pray for him in the hospital to anoint him as scripture says. Now, you know, I kind of smiled when I did that. The man got better and he actually went on to get better and was healed. And I thought to myself, where was his pastor, his virtual pastor that he was listening to on cassette tape when he really needed him?

You know, we’ve gone a long way from cassette tapes. Now, I was reading an article recently about what they call virtual churches, how with all the technology of virtual reality and the internet and streaming services, all of this invading churches and religions today, now people can go to Jerusalem in virtual reality. They can go to church from their living room with a virtual reality headset on and engage with other people virtually. They can even be baptized virtually, I guess.

It’s hard to imagine fulfilling the scripture of teaching in a virtual way but that’s what we’ve come to. And of course, the article here that I was reading in a newspaper was talking about how this is appealing to a new generation, how it’s bringing people who are not interested in religion into church at least in a virtual way and getting them interested in talking about God, the Bible, debating various things. But could there be something lacking? Well, I think that there may be.

One of the quotes that came out of this article was quoting some pastor of a church for us speaking about how he adapted to this virtual technology. It was all about being relevant to the times. He went on to say, “We have to begin to reimagine how a church has done because we’re seeking to minister to a generation of digital natives and the only way to reach them is to be intentional about your digital engagement.”

Now, what does that mean? I don’t know. But I do know that we do need to be together. That if you’re going to follow the scriptural teaching on the subject of religion, God, fellowship, the Church and it’s full of meaning, we need to be together. We need to be looking at each other in the eyes. We need to be hugging one another in that sense of fellowship and doing exactly what the scripture tells us.

In fact, in Hebrews 10:25, the Apostle Paul writes about not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, “Don’t forsake coming together as the manner of some are, but exalt one another,” which means to basically come together and encourage, to love one another, to help one another. And so much the more as you see the day approaching.”

Virtual reality, interesting. Certainly, internet technology that can reach people with the Gospel does have this application. But there’s no substitute for getting to know people, problems and all, learning to grow, develop, worship God together as we are instructed within the scripture. That’s what we need. That’s what my friend really needed. And at some point in our life, we’re going to need that human touch of a friend who shares our faith with us.

So don’t get caught up in the technology and neglect basic scriptural teaching about the church, fellowship, and our need for one another.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/virtual-religion

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In Case You Missed it:

German Intel: Iran Wants to Expand to Weapons of Mass Destruction” reported The Jerusalem Post May 29.

For prophetic background on weapons of mass destruction, see “Weapons of Mass Destruction and Bible Prophecy.”

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Update.

On Sunday, even though my back was still hurting, I accompanied my friend to the flea market out 105 east of Conroe.  He gets two tables so that he can park his utility trailer and SUV side by side.  A lot of the items that had been left over from the estate sales where he works, had been piled into boxes and stored in my 10’ x 20’ storage tent.  So, as none of them were heavy, hundreds of small teddy bears, Beanie Babies and such, I got them out and placed the boxes poking out of the back of my van.  I don’t like to put things on the ground because then I would have to bend down to pick them up!  But when he arrived, his SUV was full, so we pushed the boxes into my van and I drove there, too. 

We unloaded my van onto one table, and the contents of his SUV on another, and he backed his trailer up so that all his big items could be seen. He had bicycles, e-bike, wide and regular wheelchairs, Rollators, several metal flower stands and a Retro Rolling Display Cart Planter, etc.  Even though we arrived later than usual, nearly everything sold. 

The next day was Memorial Day, and the following day I had another appointment with the chiropractor.  This time he did adjust my back and it felt so much better. As I was in Conroe, I donated all the toys and things that had not been sold to the Asisistance League and The Women’s Center.  I also gave some comforters which had little holes in them to the Conroe Shelter for the critters there.  Better than them sleeping on the concrete.  Any way it gives the dogs something to wrestle with and “kill”!

We had quite a lot of Christmas stuff, and the only place I know that sells those items year round is Angelic, and when I was at the back donating, I couldn’t believe how much stuff they had in their warehouse waiting to be sorted and priced.  No wonder they had to move to a larger facilty a few years ago, and then expand to the stores next door.  It is a large store and they sell everything. 

While I was there I bought a convection toaster oven for $15, to replace my $150 digital non-convection Breville which only lasted 5 years. This one is NOT digital, is a Cuisinart, and it has aleady baked potatoes and roasted zucchini perfectly.  Now I don’t have to crank up my big wall convection oven which is so high up that I have trouble getting hot items out of it safely.  Height challenged people, like me, have to think of these things!

But I still prefer to donate to the Assistance League, because all the ladies are volunteers so it is a really non-profit organization, and they do so much good.   https://www.assistanceleague.org/montgomery-county/

A nice lunch at a local Mexican restaurant with my granddaughter, Michelle, on Wednesday.  I had potato nachos, I didn’t know there was such a thing, and they were good.

Another trip to the chiropractor, and now I am beginning to think that there is some milking of the system.  I am just about better, so why should my insurance have to pay for lots of extra visits?   Just like the medicine they prescribed for my osteoporosis.  I asked for a little to try it out as I am so sensitive to chemicals, but they prescribed a three months supply!  The doctors are pushing up the cost of medical care.

For the church’s Sabbath potluck I took Roasted Zucchini and Onions, Mashed Organic Potatoes, and Mushroom and Onion Sauce. 

The Bible readings were Psa. 130-132, Exo. 19:1-2-:19, Isa. 61:7-9, Luke 4:16-30 and all of Matt. 19.  The Teaching was about “Moses Fellowship with God”.  He certainly had great fellowship with the Lord, more than any others before Christ.  Next weekend we will be celebrating Pentecost.

A family who had been absent for the last few weeks were back, so that made everyone’s day.