Why Has God Killed People? God's Plan for Mankind. How Much Lead Is in Organic Chicken Soup (Bone Broth)?

.

Why Has God Killed People?

 Elke Karin Lugert/Unsplash

“If God loves human kind, why did He order the death of some people in the Old Testament?

God has revealed that His plan includes resurrecting humans. He will bring them back to life later to teach them the right way to live.

God is the one who created human life as part of His great plan to show love to us. As Creator, He retains control over His creation, including the right to decide when to end someone's life. In Deuteronomy 32:39 God says He is the only true God and has the right to kill or to make alive.

God has also revealed that His plan includes resurrecting humans—bringing them back to life (something we humans cannot do). So even when God decides to kill a whole nation because of their gross sins and the misery they were bringing on themselves (as He did to allow Israel to inherit the land He had promised to Abraham), that is not the end of those people. He will bring them back to life later to teach them the right way to live.

The Ten Commandments booklet addresses this issue in the chapter about the Sixth Commandment.

"Taking another person's life is not our right to decide. That judgment is reserved for God alone. That is the thrust of this commandment. God does not allow us to choose to willfully, deliberately take another person's life. The Sixth Commandment reminds us that God is the giver of life, and He alone has the authority to take it or grant humans permission to take it."

All of these points support God's right to take human life, including using the Lake of Fire to destroy those who refuse His offer of eternal life. Though it might seem strange at first, even when God kills someone, it can be a demonstration of His love.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-questions-and-answers/why-has-god-killed-people

_________

The Eighth Day, God's Plan for Mankind

Transcript of video at: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/the-eighth-day-gods-plan-for-mankind          (Eighth Day was yesterday.)

“God has a merciful and loving plan for ALL of mankind; the Eighth Day is a beautiful representation of this plan.  

[Steve Myers] “The final commanded festival of God is the Eighth Day. Leviticus 23 talks about this special festival with a unique name. Sometimes it's called the Last Great Day. And it shows some amazing things about how merciful our loving God is. There's a section in the Book of Revelation, in Revelation 20 that talks about God's love. And as you look at Revelation 20, this section beginning in verse 11, points to that very fact that it talks about a great white throne, and how all those who ever lived and died and never knew God will be resurrected. It says there, "The small and the great were standing before God," and it points to that time. And it says, "The books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life." And what this is pointing to is this deep spiritual understanding that God has a plan and a purpose for everyone.

Just because you never knew God, or never understood God, doesn't mean you will be condemned forever. God has a plan. God is love. And just because you may grown to know God, and those in some foreign remote area in the world didn't, it doesn't mean that they're lost forever. What this points to is the fact God is love, and everyone will have an opportunity. When it says, "The books were opened," the books are the Biblia is the word there. The Bible will be opened to all those who ever lived. They'll have an opportunity to understand the love of God. They'll be able to understand that there is a sacrifice for sin. They'll be able to understand that God is merciful, and then they can choose to follow God and live His way.

And so, that's the amazing thing about God and His plan and His purpose. It is there throughout Scripture, and this is a New Testament Christian observance, keeping the Last Great Day, the Eighth Day, recognizing the fact that God doesn't want any to perish, but He wants all to come to repentance. That's exactly what 2 Peter 3:9 says. And that is what God is all about. God has a plan, and it's shown throughout His Holy Day plan and His purpose. So read Leviticus 23, and recognize the great spiritual significance of God's Holy Days. You'll find it to be absolutely amazing.”  From: https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-daily/the-eighth-day-gods-plan-for-mankind

_________

How Much Lead Is in Organic Chicken Soup (Bone Broth)?

Let’s review lead from occupational exposures, shooting ranges, eggs, and bone broth.

Transcript of video at: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-how-much-lead-is-in-organic-chicken-soup-bone-broth/?

Below is an approximation of this video’s audio content. To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video.

“Lead poisoning still occurs the United States despite extensive prevention efforts and strict regulations.” Ayurvedic supplements, for example, specifically marketed to pregnant women, exceeded safety levels by up to 4 million percent, making “Ayurvedic medicine use and lead poisoning…a continued concern in the United States.” “[H]eavy metals are intentionally added” to the supplements. But, don’t worry, Ayurvedic practitioners claim, the lead has been detoxified with cow pee!

“Calcium supplements [can be] an additional source of lead contamination”—something we’ve known about for half a century now. Calcium supplements made from bone may have the highest lead levels. But just regular calcium supplements were found contaminated too, including a number of big national brands.

Diet-wise, the greatest contribution to the lead intake of children and their parents may be dairy, but the most concentrated source may be wild game shot with lead-containing ammunition. Concerns have been raised by hunters, though, that lead-free bullets wouldn’t have the same “wounding capacity.” But, CT scans of kills show just as much damage is inflicted—demonstrating that lead-free bullets have equivalent “killing effectiveness” even against “ballistic soap,” which evidently has a similar density to vital organs.

Workers in battery plants can be exposed to a lot of lead, but the #1 “non occupational lead exposure” is shooting firearms. Not eating lead-laden meat, just taking target practice in indoor firing ranges; 75% of target shooters have elevated lead levels in their blood. Even outside, airborne lead released by the friction of the bullet against the barrel, or lead-containing primers, can lead to substantial lead exposure both in people and in local wildlife—as well as the soil, with lead levels higher than those found next to an industrial lead factory. Most lead in urban soil, though, is from the decades of leaded paint and gasoline, raising concerns about urban gardens. Most of the lead doesn’t get taken up by the plants, though, but can stick to the leaves and roots. This is bad news in that even crops from raised beds using clean soil may get contaminated in an urban environment, but the good news is that the lead can presumably just be washed off. The health benefits of gardening and fresh produce would “likely…more than…compensate for the risk at most sites.”

Eggs from backyard chickens, however, should be tested for lead, since the lead gets inside the eggs; and so, it can’t be washed off. Most of the lead ends up in the birds’ skeletons, which raises the question: What happens when you try to make chicken soup? There may be an upswing in people boiling bones due to encouragement from paleo diet advocates. The problem is that lead is a neurotoxin, and, not just a neurotoxin. It also adversely affects the bone marrow, and digestive tract, and kidneys, and circulatory system, and hormones, and reproduction. Symptoms of too much lead exposure include impaired cognition, anemia, abdominal pain, kidney problems, high blood pressure, miscarriages, memory problems, constipation, impotence, depression,  poor concentration, etcetera.

And, we know from human studies that lead is sequestered in the bones. When there’s a lot of “bone turnover,” like at menopause or during pregnancy, lead levels in the blood can go up. This bump can be minimized during pregnancy by getting enough calcium and lowering sodium intake. When astronauts lose bone in space, the lead is released into their bloodstream. But, ironically, since they’re no longer exposed to all the lead on Earth, their overall lead levels may go down. Bones are so good at sucking up lead, they can be sprinkled on firing ranges to prevent lead from leeching further into the environment.

These researchers were concerned that the boiling of farm animals’ bones might release lead into the broth. So, they made three types of organic chicken broth—one with the bones, one with just the meat, and one with the skin and cartilage. All the soups exceeded the maximum allowable dose level for lead, even the boneless. Surprisingly, the skin and cartilage was the worst, exceeding the safety level per one cup serving by like 475%.”    From: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/friday-favorites-how-much-lead-is-in-organic-chicken-soup-bone-broth/

__________

Who Really Killed Christ? How Do You Count Three Days and Three Nights? Sign of Jonah. The Biblical Alternative to Easter. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

Who Really Killed Christ?

“Who should be put on trial for the murder of the greatest Man to walk this earth? The answer may not be what you think.

You know, the answers are actually found in the ancient prophecies of the Old Testament. The prophets told of a coming Messiah, or Christ who would establish God’s Kingdom here on this earth. But there are also other prophecies about a great Servant of God who would suffer for the nations.

One prophecy that tells of this “suffering Servant” is found in Isaiah chapter 52 and 53. In this prophecy, the Servant of God is beaten and “His visage marred more than any man.” He is “wounded for our transgressions,” “bruised for our iniquities,” and made an “offering for sin.” In His death, He “bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 52:13-15)

Pontius Pilate, the Jewish leaders, the Roman soldiers who drove the spikes into His hands and feet, you and I—we’re all guilty of the blood of the Son of God.”

YouTube:   https://youtu.be/KrBxoju2fv8    Transcript available.

https://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-television-program/who-really-killed-christ

________

How Do You Count Three Days and Three Nights?

“Jesus said He would be in the grave three days and three nights. But how can you get that out of the traditional Good Friday afternoon to Easter Sunday morning?

LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE

DOWNLOAD

You would think that most people could count to three without a problem. But that doesn’t seem to be true when it comes to the length of time that Jesus Christ said He would be in the tomb. Did He really mean “three days and three nights,” or is it possible He only meant parts of three days and parts of three nights?

Mainstream Christianity observes Christ’s death and subsequent resurrection on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and Christian churches around the world attract large crowds for their worship services on these two occasions.

But for those who take the Bible at its word, it is extremely hard (actually impossible) to get either three days and three nights—or even parts of three days and three nights—between Friday sunset and Sunday sunrise.

So what is the truth? What does the Bible actually tell us?

Matthew 12:39-40 is key, “But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’” (emphasis added).

An impossible count

Before examining these verses, let’s first establish if it is even possible to get three days and three nights between Friday afternoon and early Sunday morning (“while it was still dark,” John 20:1). Let’s count together: Friday night is the first night; Saturday is the first day; and Saturday night is the second night. But that’s it! We have a grand total of two nights and one day!

It is impossible to count three days and three nights between Friday sunset and Sunday sunrise!”

Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/holy-days-vs-holidays/sign-of-jonah/3-days-and-3-nights/

________

Sign of Jonah: Did Jesus Die Good Friday, Rise on Easter?

Most churches commemorate Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday. But how does this fit with the sign Christ gave? 

Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/life/plan-of-salvation/holy-days-vs-holidays/sign-of-jonah/

_______

Where did Easter and its customs come from? The Bible doesn’t mention rabbits or eggs or sunrise services. So what is the origin of Easter? See the article “Origin of Easter.”

_______

The Biblical Alternative to Easter

Discover the Biblical festival that was observed by the earliest Christians as chronicled in the New Testament.   YouTube: https://youtu.be/Cp1rms7NZ9U

_________

Update:

Well, Easter is all over with for another year, and the articles above are just a few thoughts about it.

Zack and I were going to install the new white sink that I had bought for the mini-house remodel, when we realized that the drain hadn’t even been put in yet.  We cut the 2+” hole in the floor and cabinet base where the sink drain will be. Then we took the cedar skirting off the front of the house where the kitchen is, and cut a section out of the 4” sewer line, ready for a “T”.   Now I just need to get into Conroe to one of the home improvement places and buy the parts.

One morning, we pressure washed the north side of both houses, they get green with algae. The next morning we were doing a bit of painting in the minihouse when someone who came to Zack’s house next door, upset him, so we quit for the day.

I spent Friday morning making Corned Beef and Cabbage with carrots and potatoes, more like a New England Boiled Dinner, for the church potluck.  Then I made a Tomato and Onion Salad as I had several pounds of tomatoes.  I skinned them in a hot water bath and then cold water plunge, but it still took a long time to peel them all.   There were lots left over, so they were put in the freezer.  As Friday is “Preparation Day”,  I was doing my hair, getting my clothes, shoes, and purse ready in the afternoon.

The Bible readings were Lev. 1:1-6:7, Isa. 43:21-44:23, and Heb. 10:1-18. and the Teaching was about Authority, Man’s, God’s, and The Messiah’s.

Being with friends at church made it an enjoyable day.

Thanksgiving, Christmas—and Greed. Thanks For The Bees! Prayer.. With Thanksgiving. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”, Just after Thanksgiving Day:

Thanksgiving, Christmas—and Greed

“So, I can’t help but wonder, Am I the only person struck by this? I’m talking about the paradox of this time of the year, the approximately one month from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I just find it amazing!

Here’s what I’m talking about: the fourth Thursday in November, the wonderful national holiday celebrated in the United States of America—Thanksgiving Day. What’s it all about? Gratitude, thankfulness, acknowledgement of divine blessing.

Here’s what President Abraham Lincoln, sometimes referred to as the father of the Thanksgiving holiday, proclaimed back in 1863:

“The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. … No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

He then went on to “set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a Day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.” He recommended “offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings.”

Isn’t that wonderful? Gratitude. Humility. Recognition of God’s merciful blessings and favor. Never mind that for far too many Americans in the 150 years since that proclamation, Thanksgiving Day has devolved into little more than “turkey day,” or a day to watch football. At least it started out right, as a day of thanksgiving.

But then the paradox. This year it didn’t even wait till “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving. For many retail establishments, it began on Thanksgiving Day itself: “Buy, buy, buy!” “Grab, grab, grab!” “Get, get, get!” Okay, so maybe it’s just because I’m a little older and bothered more by these things. Or maybe it actually is even more crass, even more aggressive this year. But this annual orgy of greed and grab seems to be more offensive and unpleasant this year even more than usual.

An example: At a Wal-Mart store in Elkin, North Carolina, fights broke out as one crazed shopper violently grabbed and shoved in a frantic consumerist push. For what? A TV set! And it didn’t even wait till the day after Thanksgiving. It was Thanksgiving night!  And this is about gratitude?

And so it goes on, just as it does every year, for one whole unpleasant month. Spend, spend and more spend. Stuff, stuff and more stuff. Grab and grab and grab—even with a little violence, if necessary. And for what? A day that supposedly commemorates the birth of the Savior of humanity, the One who gave His life for all humankind.

Leave aside for the moment the fact that Christmas isn’t even mentioned in the Bible. Leave aside the fact that it has pre-Christian origins. Leave aside the fact that it’s really a pagan festivity, baptized under the banner of Christ.

Leave all that aside, and you’re still left with that grotesque contradiction, a month ending in a holiday that supposedly epitomizes the Christian way of life, but that really seems to culminate four weeks of greed and coveting. How sad!

Am I the only one? No, I’m really glad that I’m not. Most of my friends are aware of the non-biblical roots of Christmas, and they do their best to avoid all the commercialism and ugliness of a celebration that has become little more than one giant retail binge.

We invite you to consider the true way of life—one of selflessness and outgoing concern, not of grab and greed—described in the pages of your Bible.   For Life, Hope & Truth, I’m Ralph Levy.”       From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/speaking-of/thanksgiving-christmas-and-greed/

_________

Thanks To The Bees, Food for All

         

An Amazing Fact: “Bees are very social insects, and mutual feeding seems to be the order of their existence. The workers feed the helpless queen, who cannot feed herself. They feed the drones and, of course, they feed the young. They seem to actually enjoy this social act. One bee always seems ready to feed another bee, even if that bee is from a different colony.

The bee has been aptly described as busy. To produce one tablespoon of honey for our toast, the little bee makes 4,200 trips to flowers. A worker bee will fly as far as eight miles in search of nectar. He makes about 10 trips a day to the fields, each trip lasting 20 minutes and covering 400 flowers. To produce just one pound of clover honey, the bee must visit 56,000 clover heads. Since each head has 60 flower tubes, a total of 3,360,000 visits are necessary. In the end, that worker bee will have flown the equivalent of three times around the world. And they never sleep!

The impact of the honeybee on your food goes beyond honey. This little wonder of God’s creation is responsible for 80 percent of all insect pollination; if it didn’t do its job it would significantly decrease the yield of fruits and vegetables.

Psalm 145 is a song of praise to the Creator. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3). As we look at the amazing honeybee, we can join David in saying, “I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works” (v. 5). When we consider the immense number of flowers it takes to make one pound of honey, it seems an impossibility, yet the Bible says, “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing” (v. 15, 16).     Thank God for the honeybee!”   
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
Give us day by day our daily bread. Luke 11:3

________

Continue Earnestly in Prayer … With Thanksgiving

Colossians 4:2

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. …

The apostle Paul strongly connects prayer with thanksgiving in several other memorable passages:

• “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
• “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
• “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).

For more about prayer and thankfulness, see “How to Pray” and “In Everything Give Thanks.”

_________

Update.

We never know when we will have a sudden freeze at night, (we have already had one short 29 deg. temperature that crept up on us) so Zack and I readied the aloe vera plants for winter.  We covered up the long, long trough of them that are planted next to the hedge where they share the same underground watering system.   Then we moved all the many pots of aloe into the green house.  This year I haven’t been advertising the aloe like I should because of spending so much time working on the mini-house, so I have more pots than usual.

The county, or whoever, finally replaced the yellow caution traffic light on my corner, that the posts had became uprooted during Hurricane Harvey,  or there was so much rain that the poles just fell over.  Now it is slung from the tall main electric line poles and for the first time we have a street light at this junction.  Now the mini-house back door is always illuminated, so I don’t have to leave that porch light on any more. 

My foster-cat “Puddin” never did warm up to the kittens who were here for Thanksgiving week.  She didn’t want anything to do with them. They were so sweet, purring when held, and I taught them some “Catiquette”, like not darting through doors, and not getting on tables or coutertops.  They were picked up this morning and taken back to the Cat Habitat at Petco, awaiting forever homes.  I have some of their “playthings” picked up, like torn up newspaper, little boxes that they batted around, and the cat toys, but they preferred to play with the things that they found.  Just like kids would rather play with the box than the item that came in it.  I miss them, but I am glad that they are gone, too.  Little “Tux” was a little harum-scarum, and a bundle of energy, a little too much for me, he will do well with some kids.  “Marble” was more sedate and loving, more my kind of cat.

Jay seems to be doing alright with his sobriety, so I let him work in the mini-house, but I still have to watch him like a hawk.  He nearly cut the hole for the kitchen sink right over the sidewall of the cabinet, I stopped him after about 6 inches were cut, the sink will cover it, but Zack will have to caulk the cut to make it waterproof.  Jay installed the light over the kitchen sink, then he cut and installed the frame for the little bathroom door between my bedroom and bathroom, and the rest of the wall’s trim.  He fixed a bad spot on the drop-down-door-ramp on the lawn mower shed and has been helping quite a bit.

Jay was still staying sober, and went to church with me on the Sabbath.  I told him that he is a “non-drinker”, and he needs to remember that.  At church they were so pleased to see him again, and Gary, one of the elders, complimented him right from the pulpit. 

The Bible readings were Gen. 25:19-28:9, Mal. 1:1-2:7, and Rom. 9:1-31, mostly about Esau and Jacob.  The Teaching was about Overshadowing Providence and the Almighty Guardian.

There was a great big turkey for our Thanksgiving Dinner at church.  It had been deep-fried for an hour, but when we cut into it, the dark meat was still red, so everyone had to eat around the edges.  I had made Quinoa Dressing, made with white quinoa, celery, onions, garlic, carrots, butternut squash and seasonings.  (There was another stuffing there, but it just seemed like soggy bread to me, and I don’t eat regular bread or cornbread.  Regular bread, because it isn’t made of flour anymore, just fillers, and “enriched” toxic chemicals.  Cornbread, because most corn is genetically modified with Round-Up,  unless you buy organic.)  I also made Roasted Cauliflower with black quinoa, feta and finely chopped nuts.  I also took a jar of my Homemade Cranberry Sauce, which I had strained all the skins out, (that took the most time), and I took a little crockpot of Chicken Gravy.   There was Potato Salad and Coleslaw, veggies, green salad, and several pies, homemade pumpkin and homemade apple, and some store-bought pies, too.  There was a big cake, and a pie that no-one touched, so they were frozen for another time.   

The turkey meat was divvied up and sent home with different people, but I was given the task of making the big turkey remains into bone broth.  They all know that I will bring them something good made with the broth.  It was so big that Zack had to help me break it in half this morning before I could cook it.  One half in the slow cooker, and the other half in a pressure cooker.

When I left the church my van did the same old ‘not starting thing’…no noise, just nothing.  The guys at church fiddled and fussed with it, cut and spliced wires to the Neutral Safety Switch but it still wouldn’t start, not even with jumper cables.  Finally, Gary happened to touch the steering wheel tilt handle, and it started, so there must be a problem in the steering column.

While Jay was visiting his Mom in the hospital this morning, Zack and I were sanding, caulking and Kilzing the new wall between the bedroom and living room in the mini-house, and it should be ready for paint the next working day.

The View From the Top. What Does the World Need Most Right Now? Go To The Ant. Update.

For “Scripture Sunday”:

The View From the Top

“The amazing panorama seen from the observation deck of the world’s tallest building gave me a perspective on a much bigger picture.

As our boat pulled into the Persian Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz, blistering winds blew off the Arabian Peninsula. My friend Benjamin, who lives in Dubai, was showing me around the emirate.

We took a ferry from Dubai Creek, with its motley collection of ancient dhows and tramp freighters, past huge artificial islands shaped like the world and the palm, finally disembarking at the ultramodern marina. Passing from ancient buildings and clunky watercraft to pristine skyscrapers felt like time travel.

The highest vantage point

Past the southern limits of this wealthy city lies only the desert leading to Oman and Saudi Arabia. Nowhere is this more apparent than from the At the Top observation deck of the Burj Khalifa, at 829.8 meters (2,722 feet), the tallest structure in the world. On a clear day one can see the coast of Iran to the north. And from that vantage point, the line between city and desert is sharp.

The view from above Dubai.

This change in viewpoint makes obvious things that are invisible from below. The World Islands, indistinguishable blobs when viewed from sea level, are impressive in their scale from higher up. Rooftop pools, gigantic fountains, highways and waterways running through the city are revealed in all their complexity.

Beware WYSIATI

From this unique perspective, I thought about how it must illustrate our blindness to many elements in our everyday lives. Our view is limited by our lowly vantage point.

Nobel Prize laureate Daniel Kahneman, in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, explains a phenomenon he calls WYSIATI, an acronym for “what you see is all there is.” This innate bias in our cognition leads us to assume that what we see of a given situation is all there is; there is nothing else to be considered or analyzed.

Theoretically we know this is not true, yet every day we reach conclusions as if it were.

Watching from on high

God, however, does see everything. He sees from above, both physically and spiritually, very real elements we simply cannot distinguish. “As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything” (Ecclesiastes 11:5).

God watches from on high, in part to see how much we try to think outside the human box, to concentrate on things we can only imagine. “God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God” (Psalm 53:2).

This is a constant challenge for us, but it is obviously important to our Creator. In our minds we seek to slip the surly bonds of earth; to have glimpses of what He sees.

And so “we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). One day, God promises we, too, will experience His view from the top: “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2).

From: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/discern/july-august-2017/by-the-way-the-view-from-the-top/

________

What Does the World Need Most Right Now?

    

“With troubles facing every sector of society, what solution should get top priority today? Hint: It’s the same solution the New Testament writers urgently longed for.

Unstable is an understatement for our world today. Powder keg is more like it.

The winds of change whistling through areas of the world might carry a whiff of freedom, but it’s easy to underestimate the force and shifting nature of the winds. In the maelstrom, will the forces of anarchy ignite a new passion for a powerful ruler?

The Middle East remains a troubled and dangerous region, continually boiling over into the rest of the world.

Elsewhere, precarious economies on the brink of financial ruin can ill afford additional stress, whether from war or even natural disasters.

Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and tsunamis highlight that even careful planning cannot truly handle the worst that nature can throw at us. Nuclear power plants and other strategic sites around the world are more vulnerable than most of us want to believe. Humans have only been keeping scientific records of natural disasters for a short time. How can we be sure that what we consider worst-case scenarios are truly the worst that this planet will see?

The underlying cause

The Bible predicts wars, financial crises, food shortages, disease epidemics and natural disasters crescendoing in the end times—the times when human annihilation is possible (Matthew 24:7-8, 21-22).

Why are these and other troubles predicted? Because humanity as a whole has rejected God and the good and beneficial laws He gave. Obeying God’s laws naturally brings blessings, while trampling on them brings automatic curse.

These facts are detailed in Leviticus 26. After outlining the wonderful blessings for following His commandments, God said, “But if you will not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments … I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it” (Leviticus 26:14, 16).

Owing the financial production of our labors to enemies is only the beginning of the curses outlined in this chapter. But God doesn’t allow these natural consequences of sin out of a desire to see us suffer. Nor does He intervene to correct us out of hatred, but out of love. He deeply desires that we, His human creation, will wake up and repent of the evil we have done.”

Continued at: https://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/kingdom-of-god/what-does-the-world-need-most/

________

Learning From a Pest?

“Solomon advised us to “go to the ant” (Proverbs 6:6).

Sometimes it's amazing what we can learn from a pest! While the weather is nice and food can be found in abundance, the ant doesn't just collect what it needs for that day and then go play. Instead, it collects and stores up in the plentiful summer months for the leaner winter times.

What a contrast this is from the way many in our society live today. We borrow from tomorrow what we may not be able to repay. We refinance our homes—going deeper in debt—to buy expensive toys we have little time to use. In today's society, debt is a way of life in contrast to that of our forefathers who lived more by the philosophy of the ant.”

________

Update:

For some reason the Through-The-Wall Heat/AC in the mini-house is a lot louder than the one in the main house even though they are exactly the same.  It is really bothersome, I don’t know what could have happened to it.  So we swapped out the insides of the heat/AC’s and now the noisy one is in the big house. I did this knowing that the man who made the offer on my house would put in Central Heat/Air as soon as he bought it.  They seem to think that everyone wants central heat and air, which I don’t because of the mold and dirt that collects in the ductwork.  Even when they clean it, it is still a harbor for mold, and I have enough trouble with my sinuses. At least I can clean a Heat/AC, and buy a new one every few years. If I were to have anything better it would be a duct-free mini-split, and as soon as I can afford it, I will have one installed in the mini-house.       

Then, Wednesday, the man said that he couldn’t get financing, so here I am stuck with the noisy AC until I can move over to the mini-house.  We even temporarily put a 6,500 BTU AC in the window as it would be more quiet, but it wasn’t really big enough, so I sold it while it was still installed and the buyer could tell that it worked. 

We are still getting the Mini-house ready for the paint.  Roy wants all the baseboards and door trim up first.  So we cut some beautiful trim out of an old maple headboard and foot board.  Roy and the table saw did a great job. Then he made rosettes and plinth blocks just the right size for the trim.  Hans was here so he sanded them, and then we wiped them with a light stain.  Some are already installed and they look great.  When it is all done they can be protected with some satin polyurathane.

Then I came across a great big slab of beautiful lumber which had a double OG edge, so I sanded it down as it had some green paint splashed on it.  We will stain it and put that thick transparent bar-like coating on it and it will be one of the counter tops in the kitchen.  This is the counter on the back wall that is just for things like the toaster, coffee maker and juicer, those are the appliances that would be in the way in the cooking area.

We had trimmed the subdivision’s hedge which is next to the mini-house because it had got so high that it made my place dark, and difficult to see out.  Some of the dead cut branches had turned orange and so we had to drag them out of the hedge and take them to the burn pile.  I don’t think we will have a mildrew problem now that the sun can get to the house. This 16’ tall hedge was hiding a pretty smaller privet and holly hedge.  So now it looks better on each side of the hedge.  The subdivision doesn’t even trim the crepe myrtles any more, just as well as they committed “Crepe Murder” by leaving ugly knuckles, which isn’t right.  Anything to save money.

Finally, I made the decision where to install the shelf for the microwave and toaster oven in the mini-house.  My toaster oven is special, it is a a really good little oven, a Breville, and I use it a lot,  but rarely for toast, as I have an excellent, fast, old Sunbeam toaster.  The shelf will be a bit higher than I have now, but I can manage.

Also, I figured out how to place the bedroom furniture for the best use of the space.  I had wanted the bed’s feet-end facing as you walk in the door from the living room, but after measuring, it won’t work.  The bed will have to go on the left side wall between those two windows, whether it is feng shui correct or not.  The wall at the end of the room also has two windows, and I have just the piece of furniture for that, a great big real wood shelf unit that will fit in between those windows and is 6’ tall.  It will hold the bedroom TV and lots of other things. I was going to sell it, but not now.

The ceiling fan/light that we had put up in my living room had something really wrong with it, and wouldn’t stop wobbling.  We tried all the usual remedies, but after a long time, we gave up and took the one out of my bedroom and put it in the living room. Then took a small one out of storage and put it into my bedroom.  Finally I have fans and light kits that work right and don’t look like they will throw a blade at you.

Hans usually monitors at the subdivision pool on Saturdays, but something went wrong with the pumps and so he had the day off and came to church with me.  We went to my usual church on FM 1097.  Though if I had known ahead of time, I would have taken him to the larger church on FM 830.   He enjoyed the service and the potluck, then spent a long time discussing different things with the elders while I helped clean up the kitchen.

The Bible readings were Num. 8:1-12:16. Zech. 2:14-2:24, (this is not in all translations of the Bible, but Chapter 3 gives the gist of it), and John 19:31 which tells about them wanting to take the body of Jesus down off the cross because it was a High Day, Passover, also a Sabbath, the following day. There were two Sabbaths that week.  The Teaching was about “Transition”.

I didn’t take much for the church’s potluck.  It took quite a while to peel and make some potatoes and rutabagas into crinkly slices with my salad shooter.  I had a big pot of them and gently boiled them in broth until tender. I put them in a crockpot and warmed them up at church. There was plenty left over to make Salmon patties the following day.