Permissiveness. How to Avoid Temptation. Do You Know The Difference Between Flattery And A Compliment? Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

Permissiveness

We were taught to ask for permission to go places and do things when we were children.

Timothy Eberly/Unsplash

“God is merciful and kind as parents ought to be, but His goal is for our good always.

Responsible adults knew that there was a proper balance in giving permission and permissiveness. Permissiveness opens the door to doing what we please—we set the rules, guidelines and standards. Good parents make sure that we understand what consequences may come from our decisions. They shun permissiveness and know that their control will be a safeguard all of our lives.

God is the best parent. If He wanted to be permissive—allowing humans to determine right and wrong, holy and profane—He would have given us Ten Suggestions rather than Ten Commandments. Commandments do not include any permissiveness. Jesus came to magnify those Ten (Isaiah 42:21). God is merciful and kind as parents ought to be, but His goal is for our good always. His laws allow us to build character and define boundaries that are good for us.

We do not ask Him for permission to sin—He does not allow that. So don’t ask!”  From:  https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/this-is-the-way/permissiveness

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How to Avoid Temptation

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

[Steve Myers] “We all face it. Temptation seems to be everywhere in our world, and sometimes it just seems absolutely overwhelming. But you know there’s a key that we’re given in Hebrews 2:18 that I think is so powerful, because it points to our Savior, Jesus Christ. And here’s what it says. It says, “For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He’s able to aid those who are tempted.”

A couple of things that are very interesting about this passage. Christ personally has suffered through and experienced temptation, the way that we do and He’s uniquely qualified to help us. I love this word for aid that’s used in this particular passage, “He’s able to aid those who are tempted.”

That’s the very same word that’s used all the way back in Acts 27:17. If you’re not familiar with Acts 27, that’s where the Apostle Paul is about to be shipwrecked and he’s going through an amazing hurricane, it seems, and this ship is falling apart. And you know what they do? They take cables, and they run these supporting cables under the ship to help hold it together. And that word in that section of Acts 27 of those supporting cables, is the same word that’s used here as Christ aids us.

So imagine that, when we turn to Christ and we look to him, we pray to God the Father and ask for His help and His guidance, He wraps us around with His aid like those supporting cables that were holding that ship together in the most difficult storm. That’s what we can count on. We can count on our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can count on God the Father to wrap us up in His supporting arms and come to our aid even before sin. Even as we’re being tempted, God is always there to help us.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/how-to-avoid-temptation

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Watch Out!

Do you know the difference between flattery and a compliment?

Transcript of YouTube: https://youtu.be/XP8NdZUtXPE

[Gary Petty] “All of us like compliments. We appreciate it when someone comes up and tells us, “Boy, that was a good job” or “You look nice today.” But there’s a real difference between a compliment and flattery. They may seem to be the same but actually, they’re not. You know, it’s interesting that in the book of Proverbs, Solomon writes this, “Ointment and perfume delight the heart and the sweetness of a man’s friend gives delight by hearty counsel.”

You know, it’s very rewarding. It can be very encouraging when someone we know who’s very sincere comes up and tells us what a good job we did or like I said, how good we look that day or just give us a compliment. Flattery is something else. Flattery is given by a person who is not sincere. Their compliments have a purpose. They’re actually trying to get something out of us. They’re trying to manipulate us.

Here’s what Solomon wrote about flattery. He says, “A man who flatters his neighbor, spreads a net for his feet.” You see, when someone is flattering you, what they’re trying to do is use the compliments to endear you to them so that eventually, they can manipulate you, get something out of you. But it’s not for your benefit. A good compliment is out of appreciation for your benefit. Flattery is something different. It’s very hard to tell the difference. And this is something that children need to learn. The difference between a compliment and flattery.

One of the greatest stories that teaches, especially children, about flattery is one of Aesop’s Fables. In this fable, there is a crow sitting up on a limb that has a huge piece of food in her beak. A fox comes along and says, “Wow, you are the most beautiful crow. The most beautiful bird. You’re beautiful. You have a great complexion. You have a wonderful shape. In fact, you would be the queen of all the birds if you could just sing.” Well, the crow is so taken aback by all the flattery, that she says she’s going to prove that she should be the queen of the birds by singing. Opens her mouth, the food drops out and the fox grabs it and runs away. And basically says, “I complimented her over her beauty, not her brains.” Important lesson.

So remember, when people keep giving you compliments, be sure and think about is that a genuine compliment? If it is, accept it in the spirit that it’s given. But if someone keeps flattering you in an insincere way, be aware, because they may be trying to take advantage of you.”    From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/watch-out

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Update.

Another week with two trips to the chiropractor in Conroe, but these will be last for now.  I am better than I was, thank goodness, because it looks like a move is in the near future.  That means moving everything out of my house, the mini-house, (furnished ex-guest house), both attics, all the tools out of the garage and shed, 2 motor homes, one station wagon, my van, plus all my resale stuff from my business.

We took my foster cat inside the air-conditioned title company in Conroe while I signed some papers after Chris and I had taken her to the vet for her check-up to go into the SPCA Cat Habitat at Petco, Conroe.  She checked out free from FIV and FeLuk, two deadly diseases that cats often acquire if they go outside.  That is why it s so important to keep them indoors. The techs said that “Silver” was really good when she had the blood drawn, her rabies vax and was micro chipped. 

These papers that I had to sign were just odd stuff that has to be done before the closing papers are drawn up, so I guess this Buyer means business.  I have had offers to help me pack, but I tell them that is jumping the gun.  It’s not over until the fat lady sings…… all the way to the bank !

To be somewhat prepared, Zack and I got down the many boxes of drapes and RV parts out of my attic.  All those years of working on RV’s, we had to have all colors of fabric for me to be able to make drapes for the different RV’s.  Most of them were sorted and boxed up to go to different thrift shops.  On one of my trips to the chiropractor I donated 6 big bags of drapes to the Assistance League.

Some of the dishes, cookware, sheets and towels that were stored up in my attic that came out of my 1968 vintage motor home, we call “Pugsy”,  will be used in my Holiday Rambler travel trailer that is now stored in Chris’ horse pasture about a mile way.  Pugsy is now on eBay, with no reserve, and there is already one bid.  (P.S. Which was later canceled). That will be one big thing that I don’t use, out of the yard. 

The electrician replaced some of the mobile home type outlets in the HR trailer, so now the outlets will be able to handle larger things better.

“Silver” got her other booster shots two days after her rabies shot.  We just don’t like to do them all on the same day.  Then the next day, Saturday, before I went to church, Chris picked her up and she went into the Habitat for all the world to see. She is a pretty, outgoing little baby and she should be adopted soon. I can’t have an animal in the senior apartment where I am going in Navasota, TX, if/when the house deal goes through. 

As I had bought some taco shells that were non-GMO, ( I won’t eat any corn unless it is non-GMO) I made some taco meat with ground turkey for the church potluck, and also took a lot of roasted yellow squash, but not enough, it went fast. We also had the usual lasagna, salads, other meats and veggies.

The Bible readings were Psa. 2, 100, Exo. 23:6-24:18 (that is about keeping the Sabbath and the Feasts Days), Isa. 60:17,18, Matt 26:27,28 and all of Matt. 22.  The Teaching was about how “We Are The Branches” in Rom. 11:17, plus many other verses, and how the Gentiles are grafted in.  Then after the potluck we stayed and had a Bible Study, so it was a well rounded day.

70th Anniversary of NATO: Are Its Days Numbered? Great Commandment. The Big Discount. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday:

70th Anniversary of NATO: Are Its Days Numbered?

“With President Trump’s push for European nations to pay for their own defense and America’s growing isolation from Europe, are NATO’s last days drawing near as we approach its 70th anniversary?

President Harry Truman signs the North Atlantic Treaty Proclamation in the Oval Office on Aug. 24, 1949.

Just over six months before the end of World War II, the Allied powers met at Yalta to discuss the future of Europe after the war. Hitler’s Germany was almost totally defeated, and Europe lay largely in ruins, economically and militarily decimated.

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin divided post-war Europe between the Western powers and the Soviet Union. At the conference they made some key decisions about Europe’s future, including that:

• Nazi Germany must unconditionally surrender.
• Germany would be divided into four zones controlled by the victors: the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union.
• Germans would pay reparations for losses caused to the Allied nations.
• Poland would be left under the control of a pro-Communist provisional government dominated by the Soviet Union, with a vague plan to hold free elections later.
• A conference to form the United Nations would be held April 25, 1945, with five nations, including the Soviet Union, receiving a permanent seat on the Security Council.

The post-war strategic importance of NATO

After the war, it became clear that Joseph Stalin could not be trusted. He did hold elections in Poland but used Soviet troops to eliminate the non-Communist opposition. Poland provided the U.S.S.R. with a protective buffer from Western Europe and an area of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.

In 1947 and 1948 the Soviet Union organized and supported a Communist coup in Czechoslovakia and implemented the Berlin Blockade, limiting access to West Berlin (which was located within Soviet-controlled East Germany).

This map shows the current member states of NATO. 

Because of the fear that Western European nations might turn to the Soviets for their security, U.S. leadership stayed engaged with Europe to prevent the spread of Soviet influence and to prevent a third world war. To protect Western Europe from the Soviet Union, in 1949 the United States, Canada and other Western nations formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

With Europe laid waste after the war, NATO provided the security necessary for the rebuilding of European industries and food production funded by the Marshall Plan. The Soviets refused to participate in the rebuilding of Europe or allow any Eastern European states to receive aid, heightening the distrust between the East and West.

NATO was successful at accomplishing its strategic goals. It kept Western Europe safe and secure from Soviet aggression in its delicate post-war rebuilding years; it helped West Germany to rebuild itself, peacefully integrated into Europe; and it helped ensure that Western Europe would be rebuilt along the Western economic and political model.

Fast-forward 70 years to today, and the role and future of NATO is uncertain. As America under President Donald Trump retreats from the world stage, are NATO’s days numbered?

A broken relationship

The United States was instrumental in the rebuilding of West Germany. When the Berlin Wall began to fall in 1989, the U.S. was ready to assist with the reunification of East and West Germany.

But since then a lot has happened between the United States and Germany. A number of factors have caused a significant rift between the two powers. Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/blog/70th-anniversary-of-nato-are-its-days-numbered/?

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Which Is the Great Commandment?

Matthew 22:35-38

Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment.”

The lawyer seemingly intended this as a trick question with many possible answers that would be considered wrong by those experts who had ranked the laws differently. But Jesus Christ cut to the core of all the laws to identify what is truly most important. Loving God with all our being means we will seek to please Him and do everything else He asks us to do.

This first, great commandment summarizes the first four of the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-11) where God explains how to love Him the way He wants to be loved. Human ideas of how to worship God may be well-intentioned, but to be assured we are pleasing God, we must worship and obey Him the way He wants us to. The first four Commandments, and the entire Bible, show us that way.

Study more about how God wants us to love Him in our article “The Great Commandment.”

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The Big Discount

An Amazing Fact: “Shoplifting is a rampant problem in the United States, but can you imagine someone stealing from a charity event? Timothy Clark did just that. What’s more, it was an event at a Walmart store in Maryland, attended by 50 police officers! He allegedly tried to steal over $500 in video game products while the law enforcement officers were holding a “Shop with a Cop” program for the community.

The store’s security unit caught Clark cutting open and shoving video games and accessories into his shirt. They immediately contacted police who were … right there! The suspect had no chance to run out the door since officers were all over the place. Authorities found 26 PlayStation and Xbox games, two controllers, and various other video game accessories. Strangely enough, the purpose of the charity event was to “build good relations between law enforcement and local youth.”

Shoplifting, also called “boosting” and “five-finger discount,” is one of the most common property crimes in the United States. Most shoplifters are amateurs, but there are those who make a living at it. Retailers say that on average they lose about 0.6 percent of their inventory to shoplifters. One figure says shoplifting costs businesses about $25 million a day. Some businesses use closed-circuit television to catch thieves. Others pay personnel to watch people, some using uniformed guards to discourage shoplifting activity.

The devil, in one sense, has shoplifted planet Earth. He has stolen the innocence, the purity, and the safety of our world when he successfully tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, telling her, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). Shoplifters believe that they will not get caught and that there are no consequences to their actions. But the Bible teaches that God sees all. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). The Lord’s surveillance system is without fault.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:14”

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Update.

Two more trips to the chiropractor, ad the x-rays showed that my tailbone is permanently damaged and won’t get any better.  I am OK as long as I don’t get in certain positions, and then it catches, makes me go “ouch”, and takes my breath away.  The chiropractor doesn’t want me to to go walking like I used to, anyway, not yet.

Because it looks like the sale of my house and mini-house (guest house) will be going through and I will be moving to a senior apartment in another town, I had to do something about a feral cat who takes up residence here every time she has kittens because she knows that I will feed her.  I hated to do it, but I set a trap and caught her, and her kitten.  She only had one survive this time. She was poorly and had one of those deadly cat diseases that they get from being outside, either FIV or FeLu.  I felt like a traitor because even though she hissed at me and I couldn’t get near her, she trusted me. She would meow from under my van to tell me she was hungry because she knew that I would bring her something to eat and drink.  Chris took us to the shelter south of Conroe, where she would be put to sleep.  I knew that I wouldn’t be safe to drive through my tears.  This way she won’t die a painful lingering death alone, but just go to sleep peacefully. 

The fuel pump for my little Mercury Tracer was available but expensive at the local parts house, and then I found out how much less they are online.  I am not in that much of a hurry to get it fixed, so I will wait for it to get here for $120 difference!

I made organic chicken breasts and spaghetti for the church potluck, and there were two great dishes made by different ladies that were ground beef. One with rice and one with a cornbread topping.  Lots of salads, veggies and desserts.  We all get plenty to eat.

The Bible readings were Exo. 22:4-23:5, Isa. 49:1-7, James 1:1-2:4, and the Teaching was more about Pentecost.  The pastor’s voice was giving out so he didn’t read any of Matthew this Sabbath.

It was hot trying to get stuff out of my attic, it had to be done anyway, then  it was a lot cooler after the rain, so we should have waited until the next day.

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.

When and How Did the Change in Worship From Saturday to Sunday Occur? The Duke of Windsor once wrote, “The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children.”. Update.

For “”Scripture Sunday”:

Thank you to all who served and those who waited for them, too.

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When and How Did the Change in Worship From Saturday to Sunday Occur?

“The vast majority of mainstream Christians go to church on Sunday. Yet the Bible speaks of observing the seventh-day Sabbath. Who changed the Sabbath?

The vast majority of mainstream Christians rush off to church on Sunday and are shocked to hear about some Christians actually going to church on Saturday. However, the Bible teaches the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. So, how did this come to be? History provides some shocking details.

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus Christ observed the Saturday Sabbath, and His apostles also observed the Sabbath after His death.

Many defenders of mainstream Christianity try to attribute the origin of keeping Sunday to the apostles. Even so, many Sunday-keeping churches have to admit that there is no scriptural basis for switching to Sunday, nor is there any command by the apostles to not keep the Saturday Sabbath.

So what made the mainstream Christian church change the day of rest and worship from Saturday to Sunday so long ago? The major causes seem to be a combination of church authority overriding scriptural principles and the influences of sun worship and anti-Semitism.

Church claiming authority to change scriptural principles

Around A.D. 400, Augustine, a respected Catholic theologian, proclaimed that “the holy doctors of the Church have decreed, that all glory of the Jewish Sabbath is transferred to it [Sunday]. Let us therefore keep the Lord’s Day as the ancients were commanded to do the Sabbath” (quoted by Robert Cox in Sabbath Laws and Sabbath Duties, 1853, p. 284).

The Catholic Encyclopedia section on “Sunday” mentions St. Caesarius of Arles reinforcing this teaching in the sixth century as well. These men put the changing of the Sabbath in the hands of the doctors of the church (post-apostolic church officials).

In its section on the “Ten Commandments,” the Catholic Encyclopedia says: “The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment [we count it as the Fourth] refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord’s Day.” Here is another instance in which Sunday worship was put into practice based on the Catholic Church’s claim of authority to change a scriptural principle. Again, mainstream church authorities will assume it is what the apostles wanted.

Other Catholic writers made it clear that Sunday services and worship are not endorsed by biblical teachings, but only by their church’s authority:

The Catholic Universe Bulletin said in 1942: “The Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her Founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant, claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh Day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.”

The Catholic Virginian said in 1947: “All of us believe many things in regard to religion that we do not find in the Bible. For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the Church outside the Bible.”

Thomas Aquinas, a very influential theologian, wrote: “In the New Law the observance of the Lord’s day took the place of the observance of the Sabbath, not by virtue of the precept but by the institution of the Church and the custom of Christian people.”

These examples make it clear that the Sabbath was not changed to Sunday by Jesus Christ or the apostles, but rather by those who believed they had the authority to change biblical principles. Since Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” it is hard to understand why a change Christ never authorized was made.

Mithraism (sun worship)

Constantine was the first so-called “Christian” Roman emperor. Though he did stop much of the persecution of Christians as a whole, it seems he did more to introduce sun worship into Christianity than any before him.

Historian Paul Johnson details some of this influence: “Constantine was almost certainly a Mithraic, and his triumphal arch, built after his ‘conversion’, testifies to the Sun-god, or ‘unconquered sun’. … Constantine never abandoned sun-worship and kept the sun on his coins. He made Sunday into a day of rest, closing the lawcourts and forbidding all work except agricultural labour” (A History of Christianity, 1976, pp. 67-68).

So, a royal decree to rest and worship on Sunday instead of Saturday was made by the Roman emperor, a sun worshipper. Now, thanks to Constantine, Christians were celebrating on the same day the Mithraics worshipped the sun. This is a blatant example of pagan influence in Christian practices.

Christians, now holding services on the venerable day of the sun, became so confused in their worship that, during the reign of Emperor Julian, Johnson notes: “The Bishop of Troy told Julian he had always prayed secretly to the sun” (p. 67). Thus Christianity took on a major facet of pagan sun worship that lives on today due to Constantine’s influence: worshipping on Sunday.”  More at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/10-commandments/sabbath/saturday-sunday/

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Yes, Sir.

“The Duke of Windsor once wrote, “The thing that impresses me the most about America is the way parents obey their children.”

Emma Bauso/Pexels

Loving your children is keeping control. It is in rearing children who do obey their parents.

He had observed how little respect there was towards the elderly and one’s parents. It is not a new phenomenon that children are unruly. Isaiah 3:4 notes that “babes shall rule over them.” Adults can control children, but the fear of losing the love of our children makes it difficult for us to discipline and control them. The Bible has much to say about that matter. It is the children who are commanded to honor their parents (Exodus 20:12). Paul wrote that one quality of a leader was to rule his house well, with his children in submission to him (1 Timothy 3:4).

The fear of losing a child or the love of our children is very great. All our love is placed on the children we have. We adorn them with our affection and love without realizing that we are robbing them of the qualities that make their life full and complete. Funny as it sounds, children sense that parents who sometimes correct them and say “no” really do love them (Proverbs 13:24). Loving your children is keeping control. It is in rearing children who do obey their parents. That takes effort and time, but it prevents the use of a lot more effort and time trying to appease a child. Parents must rule well.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/blogs/this-is-the-way/yes-sir

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Update.

My week doesn’t have much to show for itself.  Chris took me to the chiropractor twice, but my back still isn’t adjusted.  Now that the bone scan showed that I do have osteoporosis, all he will do is that prickly thing, Tens?, and massage my back.  So I still have hip pain and have to be very careful not to bend my right hip when bending down or going up or down steps.

I did finally get my van back, he said that there was one bolt that was really stubborn and that is why it took so long to get the new water pump on it.  He used my Dremel with the flex-shaft attachment and a cutting wheel to cut the stubborn bolt out of that tight space.  I took it on a trial run into our town, 5 miles each way, and also for me a trial run, I mean walk, around some of the store without using an electric cart. I did OK, but I didn’t go as far as I used to.

The next day the van went on another trial run, but to the emergency room in Conroe.  Zack, my neighbor, had walked out of his back door and a loose dog bit his hand.  He was given a tetanus shot and antibiotics.  I had been cleaning it with an iodine-type cleaner so it was in good shape, and should heal well.  The police and animal control are tending to the folks who hadn’t securely tied up the dog because now it has to go into quarantine at their expense.  Hopefully they will pay Zack’s expenses, too.

For the church potluck I made a Bison Impossible Pie, and while I had the oven on, I made a Cranberry-Apple Pie, too.  I had too many cans of Cranberry Jelly, and couldn’t think of what to do with them before they expired, so I cut up some apples mixed them with the jelly and made it into another Impossible pie with Bisquik. The Bible readings were Psa. 95, Exo. 18:1-27, Isa. 61:1-6, Luke 4:14-30 and all of Matt. 18.  The subject of the teaching was “Obeying the Truth Can Be Life Changing”, based on 1 Pet. 1:22, 23.

Fellowship with the others in the congregation always makes for a great day. 

To Kill a People, Abortion and the Soul of America. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

To Kill a People, Abortion and the Soul of America

“All kinds of legal protections are in place for birds, mice, turtles and the like, complete with stiff fines and significant prison time for harming their eggs or young.” 

“Recent actions by state legislators to allow the murder of full-term children forces every one of us to consider how far we have come in the culture war and where it is taking the nation.

Zffoto/iStock/Getty Images Plus

“For men will be lovers of themselves . . . unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal . . .”

Lately I’ve begun to think America has crossed a line, a point of no return, and awaits the judgment of God for the horrendous national sin of legalized abortion. More than 60 million legal abortions have been performed in America since the Supreme Court legalized abortion with its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Since this ruling, which in effect legalized the procedure in all 50 states, it has become the most divisive social issue of this generation.

Politicians seeking high office stand a precarious chance of being elected if they advocate an anti-abortion stand. Every nominee to the United States Supreme Court must avow sup-port of a woman’s right to abortion, assuring all that he or she would not seek to overturn Roe v. Wade, or face outrageous and horrendous opposition. In the meantime, clinics perform thousands of abortions each day, and a generation of children are unborn, their lives and tiny bodies ripped from their mother’s womb.

What makes me think it’s too late?

In the pages of Beyond Today we’ve covered abortion a number of times, citing scriptures showing that a life in the womb of a mother is considered by God to be human and that to take that life is murder. We’ve also done Beyond Today television programs on this subject. We have raised our voice when the annual March for Life rally takes place in Washington, D.C., on the anniversary of this horrible Supreme Court ruling. (Search for “abortion” on our website at ucg.org to learn much more.)

The Supreme Court decision on abortion is an affront to God’s sovereignty over human life.  He is the Creator and Giver of life. He tells mankind, “You shall not murder.” The Bible shows that the unborn within their mother’s wombs are individual, living human beings (Exodus 21:22-23; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:39-45). God views the killing of innocent children as evil and an abomination (2 Kings 16:3; 2 Kings 21:2-6; Jeremiah 32:35)—depraved actions that are utterly reprehensible and deserving of death (Leviticus 20:2-3). The invasion of the mother’s womb to remove a developing human life violates a space created by God to nurture life until it is fully brought forth in birth. Make no mistake: The Supreme Court’s ruling has transgressed the eternal spiritual law of God.

It’s bad enough that more than 60 million legal abortions have been performed since 1973. It’s made worse by the fact that it has gone on so long in plain sight of all Americans that it has become an accepted part of our culture—a culture rightly called by others a culture of death and a “silent holocaust.” We go about our lives giving in to the “established law” thinking, as we are told, that it is a “woman’s right” and that nothing can be done to reverse the carnage.

Perhaps nothing can be done through the nation’s legal system to turn back this great evil. Marches, protests and lobbying have changed nothing. A few months ago a news report mentioned that in one recent year, abortions did go down slightly in America. For that I am glad. I pray abortion will suddenly end through our selfish, hedonistic culture turning around to acknowledge God in a true change of heart. But, hope as I might, I do not see that happening.

New York law crosses a deadly new line

In January, the New York State legislature passed what is called the “Reproductive Health Act,” which legalizes the unthinkable. To a cheering crowd of politicians, Governor Mario Cuomo signed this macabre law that allows medical personnel (no doctor required) to kill a fully formed child up to the moment of birth if needed to protect the “mother’s health”—a loophole that, when construed as including mental and emotional health, is large enough to allow abortion for practically any reason at any time.

The bill also removed all criminal penalties—meaning if a child escapes the forceps, the vacuum, and the potassium cyanide often administered for abortion and is born live, even at full term, its life can be terminated without any criminal charge. To celebrate this law, the governor ordered the Freedom Tower in Manhattan to be lit pink—signifying a “victory” for women’s rights. It should have been illuminated in blood red for the unspeakably horrible law that it is.

Not to be outdone, the Virginia statehouse a few days later saw similar legislation introduced. As it was being debated, the supposedly moderate Governor Ralph Northam, an obstetrician, went on radio to describe what the law meant:

“When we talk about third-trimester abortions, these are done with the consent of obviously the mother, with the consent of the physicians, more than one physician, by the way,” Northam said. “And it’s done in cases where there may be severe deformities, there may be a fetus that’s non-viable. So, in this particular example, if a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.  So, I think this was really blown out of proportion.”

Did you catch what he really said? A baby could be born alive, then “kept comfortable” while the mother and physicians decided whether it would live or die. And the newborn could then be executed with no legal consequences for its murder.

The Virginia bill would have allowed such procedures to be done in unlicensed clinics with the consent of only one physician—and as late as the end of the third trimester of pregnancy. This bill was killed in committee, but damage was already done. The brazen raw desire of abortion rights activists has been laid bare. The brutal evil will of governors, state legislators and activists who, in the name of “women’s reproductive health” and “women’s rights,” are willing to kill fully formed, live-born children is an unspeakable horror.

More to come

Vermont passed a law very similar to the proposed Virginia law. Other states will enact similar legislation. It’s said that Rhode Island Democrats will go even further with a law proposing to allow abortions up to the end of pregnancy for any “health” reason, including “age, economic, social and emotional factors,” these advocates describing all protections for unborn babies as “insidiously restrictive, harmful and patriarchal reproductive laws.”

Some conservative states like Mississippi and Kentucky have passed their own laws prohibiting the procedures allowed now by New York law. These laws have been challenged in courts and blocked for the short term. Again, as happened with Roe v. Wade, the issue will likely be determined by judges rather than legislators.

The revulsion many citizens feel at the passage of these laws seems to have created something of a backlash against these extreme acts. But it will probably be for only a short time. It’s highly unlikely that we will see legal abortions eliminated in the nation.

We have reached a point in America where it seems all restraint has been cast off regarding this issue. Gone is the restraint cautioned not that long ago by former President Bill Clinton, who said abortion should be “rare, legal and safe.”

While that statement in no way agrees with what God says about killing the unborn, in the current climate it sounds moderate— and that is the problem. The nation has become drunk on this discussion to the point that it has lost all moral and spiritual mooring. Those who want to protect life at any stage of development are not heard or not strong enough to make a difference. No leader in politics, education or religion is strong enough to lead a repentance to God and an embrace of the sanctity of life as defined by God in His Word, the Bible.

All kinds of legal protections are in place for birds, mice, turtles and the like, complete with stiff fines and significant prison time for harming their eggs or young.  But protections for innocent unborn human beings are rapidly disappearing. Thousands upon thousands of unborn infants are killed by lethal injections every year, but they draw nowhere near the protests or media coverage given to one murderer executed by lethal injection for his despicable crimes. In any sane world this would rightly be viewed as in sanity!

America and much of the world has reached a moral collapse at a level from which they seem unlikely and unwilling to return. It’s painful to write these words. But this issue of abortion has become the defining issue of our age, and God will call the nation to account for what it has done.

Hideous evil

The raw brutality of these recently passed laws, and the ever-escalating toll of young lives literally poisoned and ripped apart, should stun all who value human life and decency. That a people would put forward legislation allowing the ending of a life just minutes after leaving its mother’s womb reveals a stark level of brutality and inhumanity that’s now entered our culture—courtesy of those we’ve chosen as our leaders!

The Bible contains a graphic description of what our world today has become: “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, with-out self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Notice the word brutal used here . I think that expresses the attitude behind the current wave of abortion legislation.”   Continued at: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-magazine/to-kill-a-people-abortion-and-the-soul-of-america

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Update.

Because there was no church last Saturday, 11th, I went to the Neighborhood Watch meeting, and was given the name of a mechanic who lives in this subdivision.   He came by and found out what was wrong with my little station wagon, (The Puddle Jumper).  I should have had him look at my van, because it was making strange noises.

On Sunday, 12th, because I might have a new contract on the houses, Zack and I moved all my tools out of the mini-house closet where we had kept them for easy access, and brought them back over here to put away in their places in the workshop. 

That afternoon, there was water dripping on my kitchen counter.  Zack only works in the mornings, so I went up into the attic to see what was going on.  The drain on the water heater was leaking, and something had stopped up the water heater pan’s drain to the outside, so it was dripping in my kitchen.  I put a little bucket on the counter, and hoped it would be OK till morning.  Zack and I fixed it the next day by tightening the drain, and blowing compressed air with my compressor into the pan’s drain hose that goes to the back of the house.    Must have been a dirt dobber.

Wednesday and Thursday Zack didn’t show up, so Chris came over and we went up into the attic of the mini-house where the storm damage is, and we managed to put a better patch on the roof through an access hole above it.

On Thursday, when I was on my way to get a fasting blood test in Conroe, my van broke down on the freeway.  I managed to get it to safety with no power for the steering or brakes.  I could see that the belt had come off.  So I called a wrecker, Chris, Hans and the mechanic.  Hans was at a doctor in Conroe, so I asked him to call me before he went back to our town.  Chris said she would come at get me if needed.  The mechanic said he would to come to Conroe and fix the belt.  So I canceled the wrecker. 

But when the mechanic arrived he said that the water pump had gone out, that is what had made the belt come off, and so I had to call a wrecker again, and have it towed home.  The mechanic has had it since last Thursday, and I still haven’t got it back, (it is now Monday).  Then on Friday, poor Chris had to take me to the chiropractor, (yes, I finally got a referral), and then to the doctor for my annual, with two trips to Social Security in between.   Leon took me to get the water pump, so thankfully, I’ve had a lot of help.

Hans took me to church, and stayed for the service which he enjoyed.  The Bible readings were Exo. 16:11-17:16, Isa. 45:20-25, John 6:30-51 and all of Matt. 17, and the Teaching or Message was about The Glory of God in Heaven and Earth.  The Pastor’s wife and I had frozen what we had made for the previous week when the weather was too bad to have the service.  She had made a roast, and I had made a chicken and lentils dish, so we had them that day.

The 10 Commandments: A Matter of the Heart. Storm Damage.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

The 10 Commandments: A Matter of the Heart

From Learning Center \ Video Series

“Which of the 10 Commandments is the most important? Did Jesus replace them all with the command to love? What are the 10 Commandments really and truly about?

Intro video:  https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-10-commandments-a-matter-of-the-heart/

Ten short videos about The 10 Commandments:

The First Commandment: Gods Before God

The First Commandment lays an essential foundation that all the other commandments build upon. How can we put God first in a world as busy as ours?

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-1st-commandment/

The Second Commandment: Putting God in a Box

Why does the Second Commandment still matter in societies where carved idols are a thing of the past? This commandment keeps us focused not only on what we’re worshipping, but how we think about what we’re worshipping.

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-2nd-commandment-putting-god-in-a-box/

The Third Commandment: Carrying the Name of God

The Third Commandment isn’t just a commandment about how we should talk—it’s a commandment about how we should walk, too. Not taking God’s name in vain requires more from us than just the right words.

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-3rd-commandment-carrying-the-name-of-god/

The Fourth Commandment: What God Calls Holy

Largely forgotten today, the Fourth Commandment is one of God’s greatest blessings to mankind. What does it mean to keep the Sabbath holy?

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-4th-commandment-what-god-calls-holy/

The Fifth Commandment: How to Destroy a Civilization

Without the Fifth Commandment, society can (and will) collapse on itself. What makes honoring your father and mother such an integral part of human civilization?

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-5th-commandment-how-to-destroy-a-civilization/

The Sixth Commandment: Murder Starts Somewhere

Can you break the Sixth Commandment without ever killing someone? The command to not murder focuses as much on our hearts as it does on our hands.

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-6th-commandment-murder-starts-somewhere/

The Seventh Commandment: A Quick Way to Ruin Everything

Like the Sixth Commandment, the Seventh Commandment requires us to guard our hearts. Adultery can begin in the heart long before any action ever takes place. How can we take the offensive against it?

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-7th-commandment-a-quick-way-to-ruin-everything/

The Eighth Commandment: What’s Yours is Mine

The Eighth Commandment helps us focus on how we view our neighbors, and digging deeper into Scripture helps us see that not stealing requires more than just not taking what doesn’t belong to us.

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-8th-commandment-whats-yours-is-mine/

The Ninth Commandment: Take it Easy, Pinocchio

The Ninth Commandment has its roots in integrity and honesty. Truly obeying the command to not lie requires changing how we think.

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-9th-commandment-take-it-easy-pinocchio/

The 10th Commandment: Where Your Treasure Is

The 10th Commandment is the first commandment to focus explicitly on what happens within the heart. It also turns our attention back to the importance of the very first commandment.

https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-10th-commandment-where-your-treasure-is/”

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/learning-center/video-series/10-commandments/the-10-commandments-a-matter-of-the-heart/

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Update.

Somehow, I missed posting last week. Things got a bit hectic around here with getting ready for the storms and then the damage. 

After the first big storm and when Zack went over to the mini-house to get something, he came back and said that some of the ceiling sheetrock was on the floor.  The main roof had sprung a leak, water had gone through the attic floor into the bedroom. So we had to clean up dripping ceiling insulation, and soggy sheetrock.  Chris came to help because she didn’t want me to injure my back any more than it already is. They moved everything out of the mini-house bedroom, and ripped up the carpet and padding.  We draped that expensive carpet over stuff in the carport to dry, as it can be saved.  The padding had to go in the trash. We all went into the attic where I had two sheets of 1/2” plywood stored up there which we put lengthways on an angle, braced on two big totes, covered that with a tarp and covered everything with plastic. It was all slanted so that any more water would go through a place to the outside.

On Monday the 29th, I finally had the bone scan in Huntsville TX, three weeks after the original order.  Here we are, nearly two weeks later, and my doctor still doesn’t have the results, or has lost them, and my chirpractor still doesn’t have the referral, so my tailbone and hip are still bothering me.  I feel very helpless, and I am not used to that.  It really hurts to bend my right hip.  I wanted to go up the ladder to look at trailer roof, but that would incur more anger from Chris than I would care to get. I can get up in the mini-house attic by keeping my right leg straight and it is a short attic ladder.

On a nice day, over in Chris’ horse pasture where I have my trailer stored, Zack got up on the roof of the Holiday Rambler and removed the roof vent that was leaking.  He scraped everything clean, best he could, and re-installed it with new butyl putty tape and smoothed a bead of Dicor sealant over the screws and the edges.  We removed the broken antenna completely, and riveted a patch of butyl putty taped aluminum over the hole, and another bead of Dicor.  The soaked ceiling was still dripping from the rain into a bucket when we left.

More storms. This is May, what happened to April showers?  On Tuesday 7th., I went for my cataract check-up.  I didn’t know they were going to dilate my eyes, and it was blinding sunshine when I came out of there.  I donned my dark glasses and managed to drive to the Kroger across the street.  There, I got on an electric cart and rode around shopping until my eyes got better.  But in the meantime the weather changed to stormy, and on the way home everyone was driving at a careful 40 mph on the freeway.  I got home here on the hill before the road below flooded.

Zack didn’t show up on Wednesday or Thursday, and more storms were forecast, so Chris came over. We went up into the mini-house attic and made some more storm preparations up there, then we went over to the trailer and she got up on the roof and did some more scraping and Dicor-ing because there had been more drips in the bucket.  After the next storm she reported that the bucket was dry. Hooray!

Because of a severe weather advisory we had to cancel the church service.  Many of the congregation live in nearby towns where if it floods they can’t get home.  At least I have a back way to get up here on this hill if the road below floods, but they don’t.  We called everyone we could, but there new people all the time, so I printed up a notice on the computer, laminated it with some clear Contact paper, and drove over to the church and taped it on the door.  Then I went by Lauri’s place down my road, to see if she would like to have a little worship service of our own, but she had another of her migraines.

Then the rains came and it was another dreary, soggy day.

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Where Does Racism Come From? Racist Thoughts and Feelings? Bruce Lee. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

Where Does Racism Come From?

Racism does not come from a system of economics that supports slavery, or from societal structures that support class distinctions. Like all evil, it originates with Satan and embeds itself within the heart of mankind.

Timon Studler/Unsplash

Racism has been and will continue to be a scourge on mankind. To eradicate it, this ingrained and evil way of thinking needs to be cleansed from man’s heart.

Perhaps at no time in modern memory did the evil of racism manifest itself worse than in Nazi Germany’s “Final Solution.” After Hitler and the Nazis came to power in 1933, Aryan racial superiority became German government ideology. Such racist thought culminated in the deaths of some six million Jews.

More recently, “ethnic cleansing” became the term used to describe the racially motivated slaughter of population segments considered inferior. This was the case in Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s and in other human tragedies since. Today in America, racism explodes in violent street clashes in cities like Ferguson, Missouri, and Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Bible is clear: The evil of racism comes out of the heart of man.

Racist thought and racially motivated hatred is deeply rooted in mankind’s psyche. As defined by Merriam Webster, racism is “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.”

Where does racism come from? Like all evil that men do, it comes from the heart of man. Christ said, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matthew15:19).

Racism does not come from a system of economics that supports slavery, such as in the days of the Roman Empire or in early American history. It does not originate from societal structures that support class distinctions. These things have perpetuated racism, but they are not where racism comes from. The Bible is clear: The evil of racism comes out of the heart of man.

An attitude like racism was even addressed in the New Testament Church. Here, the apostle James warns the believers not to “hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality” (James 2:1). The word “partiality” seems less serious than racism, but it means nearly the same thing. Partiality means showing favoritism, or “respect of persons”—that is, thinking one person is better than another due social class, wealth or race.

If the believers were doing this, James asks them, “Have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:4). God will have no part of such thinking, for Scripture says, “There is no partiality with God” (Romans 2:11).

The Bible says, “God created man in His own image” (Genesis 1:27), which includes men and women of all races. Further, it says, God “made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 1:26).

If we treat a person with contempt for their race, religion, social status or any other reason, we have “become judges with evil thoughts.” Harboring such thoughts in the heart is to hate another person made in the image of God. Scripture says, “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).

Such evil in man’s heart—evil like racism—influences all his attempts to justify his supposed superiority on his brother. According to God’s Word, this is a spirit of murder.

Racism has been and will continue to be a scourge on mankind. To eradicate it, this ingrained and evil way of thinking needs to be cleansed from man’s heart. Thanks to God and His mercies, there is such a plan in the works. To anyone who draws near to God in true repentance and cleanses himself from such evil, God will draw near to him and purify his heart (James 4:8).

When God brings His Kingdom to earth, racism and all evil in man’s heart will be eradicated. God will show mankind a better way: “I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them” (Hebrews10:16). The heart of man will be cleansed of the evil that comes from it, thus ending the scourge of racism forever.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/where-does-racism-come-from

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How Do I Overcome Racist Thoughts and Feelings?

“Overcoming racist thoughts and feelings requires a change of mind and seeing all people as God sees them—as made in His image, with the same glorious future potential of eternal life.

Yatharth Roy Vibhakar/Unsplash

Overcoming racist thoughts and feelings requires a change of mind and seeing all people as God sees them—as made in His image, with the same glorious future potential to be in His eternal family.

Racism is one of the most hotly debated and discussed topics of the past several years, with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, consistent news coverage and analysis, college classes focused entirely on the topic and large-scale societal discussions of repatriation, restitution and equity.

While there have been a lot of discussion revolving around this topic, a definition of what constitutes racism has proven difficult to nail down. In its simplest form, when a person looks at individuals of another race or culture as inferior to themselves in some way based purely on the color of their skin and not the content of their character, then by definition that person has exhibited racist thoughts and feelings.

Overcoming racist thoughts and feelings requires a change of mind and seeing all people as God sees them—as made in His image, with the same glorious future potential to be in His eternal family.

The apostle Paul makes the point that when it comes to spiritual inheritance, gender, social class and race make no difference. God sees all of his creation as potential children in His family. If a person is baptized in Christ and receives God’s Holy Spirit through the process we see outlined in scripture, and if that individual yields themselves to God’s Holy Spirit, allowing it to lead them, then they are heirs of the promise, the very children of God (Galatians 3:28, Romans 8:14).

It doesn’t matter if they are black or white. It doesn’t matter if they are poor or well-off, it doesn’t matter if they are male or female. The presence of God’s Holy Spirit within them unifies them as one body in Christ Jesus (Romans 12).

As a result of this—when we pass judgment on someone else because of the color of their skin, we exhibit partiality, which is sin (James 2:9). We must repent of that sin and bring ourselves in line with God’s own viewpoint on the topic of race outlined in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Repentance comes from the Greek word, metanoeó,  meaning “to change one’s mind.” As Christians we are all striving to change our minds and put on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16). We must pray to God and ask for repentance from a great number of things, but if we are specifically struggling with racist thoughts and feelings, praying to God earnestly to change our mind and help us to see the potential in all of mankind is essential.

Our great God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34-35). He shows no partiality, calling people of every race and land (Acts 17:26-27). We must repent and believe in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15) and work to bring every thought into captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5) as we mature to the full measure of the stature of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:13).”  From: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/how-do-i-overcome-racist-thoughts-and-feelings

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Never Growing Faint

An Amazing Fact: “Bruce Lee, a martial artist and film star who lived from 1940 to 1973, was said to be one of the strongest and fastest men alive at the time. Among his amazing feats was his ability to strike an object from three feet away in only .05 of a second. He could reportedly do push-ups using only his thumbs.

Bruce Lee was not a very big man, but he was very powerful. Not only were his physical achievements unparalleled, but his charisma made him very attractive as well. He was a very influential actor too, popularizing the martial arts movie genre for the Western audience. He was thoroughly dedicated to his physical and artistic work.

On July 20, 1973, however, Lee died. He was reportedly not feeling well earlier in the day, and the official cause of death was labeled a cerebral edema caused by a reaction to a medication he had taken for a headache. In the end, his strength and power could not stop excess fluid from building up in his brain.

God, on the other hand, has limitless power and strength. The Bible says that He never grows faint or weary. His strength never subsides, and He never gets tired or needs to rest. He holds the same power today as He did when He created the Earth and all that is in it. He will never die or decay. He will reign throughout eternity with unfathomable power.

Though God is the only one with inherent immortality, He imparts that immortality to us as a free gift. From our position of sin and mortality, we can only imagine bodies that do not grow weary and strength that never fades. But the Bible promises that, when we trust in the Lord and wait on Him, we will “run and not be weary” and will “walk and not faint.” Because of Christ’s sacrifice for us, we can look forward to life without end with strength and power that rivals and exceeds even the most amazing feats demonstrated by Bruce Lee during his life. 

KEY BIBLE TEXTS
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23”

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Update.

Another week where not much has been going on, mostly because of the really cold weather and my back still isn’t any better.  Zack, Jay and I did work in the mini-house one morning when it wasn’t too cold, but we still had to run the heat in there.  We took the fancy light out of my bathroom and re-installed one of the original ones in there, then Zack painted the metal part of the fancy one bright gold to match the fixtures in the mini-house.  The glass is the same color as the vanity top, a shell-color, so that is why I wanted it in there.  When it was dry Jay installed it. 

One night it went down to 20, and fortunately I didn’t have any broken pipes.  The icy snow stayed on the roofs for two days, and the melting ice made lots of pine needles fall to decorate the pathways, so we raked them up, as they can be slippery.  We had several hours of the power going out for a few seconds every 10 minutes.  Just as I was going to hit send, off it went again!  I am grateful that it came back on, though, because for so many homes, it didn’t.

My lovely lilac-point Siamese foster cat hasn’t had any more seizures, so I am hoping that she can go to a loving home after all.  It is still a mystery if she was allergic to her vaccinations or something like a fall.  She is so loving, sweet and plays so gently. 

Another week of no meat, and I don’t miss it at all. “The fat you eat, is the fat that you wear”, and I have got to disrobe some more fat, even though I am gradually losing it!  I have several crockpots, different sizes, and each day I usually put one on.  You can just chuck sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, quinoa, beans, oatmeal, buckwheat, or most food in there and it will be cooked by the time you are ready to eat, or save for another meal.  Just wash the veggies, don’t dry, and plop them in there.  I have done tomatoes and apples in the same pot and they turned out great, just add whatever seasonings you desire.  So there is always plenty of cooked food, cereal and fruit in my fridge, and I can eat as many starches as I want, (with in reason), but NO FAT, and especially no animal fat.

My doctor ordered an xray of my back.  The following day I want to the chiropractor again, and he told me that my spine would never get better, it is worn out.  All those years of having to move stuff and do stuff on my own has made the edges of my vertebrae rough, stress fractures and “Acquired Spondylolisthesis”.

What Is Spondylolisthesis?  The word spondylolisthesis derives from two parts - spondylo which means spine, and listhesis which means slippage. So, a spondylolisthesis is a forward slip of one vertebra (i.e., one of the 33 bones of the spinal column) relative to another. Spondylolisthesis usually occurs towards the base of your spine in the lumbar area.

So that is why the chiropractors were having trouble getting my back put back in.  Well, I knew it was out and I could feel that it was more of a front to back, than a side to side, misalignment.  My doctor prescribed two meds, one was steroids which would only give temporary relief, so I didn’t even pick it up, and the other was a muscle relaxer, not Motrin. I took half a dose of that, but I woke up in the night hardly able to get my breath my mouth was so dry, I was itching, and I felt terrible all the next day, so no more of that chemical for me!  Why do doctors prescribe stuff that has so many side effects?

As I wasn’t feeling so well after that medicine, I didn’t cook anything for the church potluck.  I had two containers of Ground Beef Stew and Veggies in my freezer, so I defrosted them and put them in my “carrying-crockpot” (the one with the locking lid) and that was about all I could carry to the car, my back felt so bad. 

The bad freeze broke a water pipe at the church, so the pastor’s wife called to ask me to bring any jugs of water that I might have, as they had to turn the water off.  I have lots of water in one, two and five gallon jugs, but I just couldn’t go unlock the greenhouse and carry them all the way to the car.  I felt so bad not being able to do my part, but they had pulled up some water in big pots for kitchen use, and turned it on once in a while to flush the toilets, so we managed.  

The Bible readings were Exo. 6:2-9:35 (Let my people go),  Eze. 28:25-29:21 and Eph. 2:1-10 and the Teaching was about ‘You Can’t Do Anything Your Way”!  We think we can, but if you don’t stick to the rules, you become unstuck.  Just think how great it would be if people only obeyed a couple of the commandments, like “Do not lie”, and “Do not steal”?

What a change in the weather, it was a 70 degree day.