Tag Archives: Ignorance

Damaging Judgments of Memory

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There was a fountain in the town square that used to be connected to an underground stream laced with sulfur.  When the fountain had been built the water was clean.  But over time a pocket of sulfur was released by the flow.

The people in the village knew to avoid the water in the fountain, and it’s no surprise they considered it a filthy thing.  It was obvious this was not a place of nourishment.

But for some unexplained reason, one day the water in the fountain ran clean.  For years the people in the village avoided the fountain, not caring that the water was pure.  They couldn’t forget what the fountain used to contain.

Instead of enjoying their newfound convenience, they would walk nearly a quarter mile to the fresh flowing spring outside the village to get their water.  By habit and a memory of insult, they refused to drink the water of the fountain.

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Do we judge the value of a man by what he used to be?  Or are we diligent enough to take a look at what he has become?

By His Grace

Unworthy

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A car with a bad engine is unworthy of your money, unless you have the means to fix it.  And if your car behaves poorly, you begin to search for ways to repair it or to get another one.

If a road is closed because there is no bridge, only the true idiot continues undeterred.  The tiniest  modicum of wisdom forces people to find another route.

You can read the signs your car gives you, you can read the signs on the road.  How is it that so many do not read the signs of warning in their dilapidated soul?

The philosopher Plato said, “The unexamined life is not worth living”.  Isn’t it true, the one who ignores signs of warning encourages a bad day.

Your life is broken.  If you don’t know that, you haven’t examined it very closely.  Even according to the man Plato, your life then is not worth living.  What’s your response to all this?

If a mechanic pulls up to a stop sign next to you and tells you he is willing to fix your falling car for free, wouldn’t he get your interest?  Well I’ve pulled up next to you in the body of this message.  I know the one who can fix your broken life.  His name is Jesus.

By His Grace

Sayings Worthy of Acceptance

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Sayings that are worthy of retention, contemplation, and sharing:

1.  Receiving the Gospel from a man makes the receiver twice blessed.  For you have kissed your sweet brother with an eternal joy, and you have the assurance of sharing that joy together for eternity.

2.  Christ Jesus is first in absolutely everything.  He is not some passing fanciful and ecstatic joy during a worship session.  He is first and comfort even in the most extreme and horrific circumstances.

3.  Rejection of the Gospel does nothing to eternity.  You were dead before you heard it, and you remain dead as you reject it.  The dead are no loss to the Living God.  Pride makes you think you’re something.  Frankly, you’re just not that important.

4.  A Gospel of extortion is no gospel at all.  God does not desire a people who are under duress to serve Him.  The Gospel is free of manipulation.  It does not demand acceptance.  It is a declarative call for free will.  As we love Jesus we will obey.

5.  God is not isolated from anything.  Only the perception of man can isolate one thing from another.  The concept of “Object Permanence” is taught in pediatrics.  Hide a baby’s fingers and watch his face turn to anxiety. 

God owns eternity, for eternity is of God.  Equally, God owns this wicked place of testing.  For every sin is a distortion of eternity.  Just because the hand of God is unseen, doesn’t mean it’s gone

6.  Every man knows he lives a lie.  Ignoring the truth of Christ Jesus does nothing to fix a lie.  Receiving the fullness of the Gospel of Christ, this is the fix. 

7.  Nostalgia brings no permanent joy.  Soon enough, you will be nostalgia for others.

8.  Everything in this world points to Christ Jesus.  For nothing is created here that was not created by him.  And our misuse of his creation does not nullify his signature.

9.  Fear is no excuse for remaining ungodly.  For Christ did not fear to do the will of His Holy Father in heaven.  Fear has to do with unbelief.  As if the one who fears, calls the Holy Son a liar.  What kind of reception should the fearful receive on that Great Day of Judgement?

10.  There is a difference between weakness of flesh and rebellion of soul.  God is able to distinguish between the two.  The one he will comfort and encourage toward boldness.  The other he will dismiss without regret.  The wisdom of God among men gives discernment.

11.  Death brings an eternal seal to every man; what we had become in life, to that we are sealed forever.  It is of the father of lies to speak anything differently.

12.  Let the acceptable threshold of Christianity remain elevated.  The expectation is godliness.  How then shall we set the bar at 0?  Not one man but Christ can reach 100%.  Yet surely there is a number in between, which we can grasp with an iron grip.

There are hundreds more worthwhile sayings.  But these are enough to keep us busy for the remainder of our life.

By His Grace

The Coming War

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Restrained in its place, the enemy of Christ is restrained in its place.  All the while they are allowed to thrive and grow.  Violence covers them as if brilliant red robes of blood.  For now is their day of training.

There will be a war of all wars.  For now they grow as if mighty oaks of men.  For they will face the Mighty Oak of God.

All men will play a part in this war of wars.  No one will stay at home in peace.  And even now the dividing lines are being drawn.

Blood will flow like a torrent.  Horror like a mighty wind.  They will conquer as He allows, when the time is right.  Then the Christ of God will rise to put an end to all violence and rebellion.

Did you think that things would continue as they are?  Did you think you would live in peace forever in this wicked and adulterous place?  Such thoughts have filled you with ignorance.

You thought because your ears could not hear the Living God’s commands, that he did not perceive your wickedness: that judgment was not being readied.  You thought because your eyes did not perceive his Blazing Glory, that he was not ruler of all.  Such blindness has kept you in a false sense of secure peace.  See how the players of this coming war are restrained in their proper place.

Best to rise up now my friend.  Best to humble yourself before the Christ of the Living God.  For the lines of demarcation are being drawn even as you read these words.  Beyond your hearing, beyond your sight, the preparation of war is in full swing.

Those who belong to Christ have already been redeemed, as if peacemakers on the bloody battlefield.  Splattered with the blood of Christ they stand ready to be caught up.  Splattered with the blood of men they fear nothing.  Join them or die a useless death.

By His Grace

Elton John and His Peers

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How easy it would be so slam Elton John for his hatred for truth.   He uses his money and “power” (Sir.  Really?) to push others around.  And now he stands in his pomp to decry a truth, spoken against the sin he loves so very much.   It would be so much more peaceful, in this world, if those who say they love freedom would give that same desire of freedom to the One who made them.

How easy to speak of God’s perspective of “unnatural desire for those of the same gender”.  But to what end?  All I would accomplish is to set myself against the times in which we live (a purposeful pun against Johnny’s own statement).  And I have already done that for many years now.  And look at how many lives have been changed by my testimony for the Christ of the Living God; only me.

But shall I let the blind and ignorant talk, of the “powerful and rich”, go without response?  Why should I?  Their power to influence others into sin demands a response.

I do not respect a man because he has money.  I do not respect a man because he is poverty stricken.  I respect a man who proves he loves the God who made him.  I do not respect a man who has the approval of heads of state.  I respect a man who proves he has the approval of the Head of All Creation.

No sir, “sir” Johnny, I don’t respect your decry of truth.  And you are no lover of freedom.  For you purchase the silence of those who stand against you.  I believe the proper term for your brand of freedom is called Fascism (authoritarian, or intolerant views or practice).  How you love the idea of tolerant behavior, while you crush anyone who does not agree with your sinful life.  Not only that, but you would purchase the power, if it existed, to silence the Living God.

I really wanted this to become some kind of encouraging statement.  But I find nothing encouraging in today’s acceptance of ungodly behavior.

I guess if there is anything to be called “encouragement” in this article, it is that one man has the guts to stand up and say “NO”.

Related link
http://m.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/31896339

Today in the Sandbox

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Flatter a man, and nothing ever happens.  In effect, you’ve lied to him.  You only gave him the strength to stay where he is. 

Speak to him about how his pride is condemned, and the chances are pretty good, he will hate you for life.  Again you’ve accomplished nothing, but at least you told him the truth.  And the “nothing” produced, belongs to him.

Or you could choose the road that most people take.  You could simply stick your head in the sand and refuse to help one another see.

There are three approaches to our plight as human beings: flattery, bold truth, or ignorance.  If there is another one, somebody has to show it to me.

Most of the time people play in the sandbox together, and refrain from war, by busying themselves with the toys at hand.  Until a squabble develops over a certain toy.  Then the three approaches come to bear with immediacy.

One of the protagonist will obviously be in the wrong.  I’m not saying the other was right.  But one of them abandoned his own toy with greed for what lay in the other man’s hand.  That’s pretty much the sum of what causes wars in the world.

Now let’s look at the options.  Maybe we will flatter the man and say something like, “Wow you’re a good looking and strong fellow.  Perhaps you would play with this toy better than me”. 

Success!  The man gives you I look of filthy distain, grabs your toy, sticks his nose up in the sky, and walks away. 

Well maybe you weren’t very successful.  Because now you’re sitting there trying to make a sand castle out of dry sand.  But at least you live to play another day.

Yeah, you live to play another day.  He gets what he wants because your flattery worked.  But you have not helped the next poor bloke.  In fact you made it worse on the next guy.  Now Mr Pompous, the thief, believes he deserves to win.  How cool is that?  I feel horribly sorry for the subsequent victims. 

Now since this is my story, I’m going to inject a lover of ignorance as his next victim.  I was going to put a truth teller here.  But that doesn’t follow suit with Hollywood’s playbook.  And I was afraid you would think it was the end of the story.

Mister pompous looks over and sees the toy in the hand of the one who loves ignorance.  (The guy really should have been born an Ostrich.  But God decided to withhold the feathers.) 

The second Mr Pompous’ shadow darkens the toy,  the lover of ignorance finds something immediately more pressing to do.  Leaving the toy unattended, as if by mindless action, Pompous gets what he wants.

Bolstered again.  “I really do deserve everything!”  Just peachy.

But you know who comes next.  I only have four people in this story.  Two of them have already given up, and one of them is still quite active.

There’s Mr Truth Teller. playing with his toy.  He saw what happened to the other two.  In his nature, he determined to stand his ground. 

Most people would call him an idiot.  Because there’s a very good chance he’s going to get buried in the sandbox.  But it simply isn’t his nature to care.

He’s not a hero.  That’s how people are going to paint him though.  He just leans hard on the truth.  That’s his home.  And he’ll stay in it, even if it burns to the ground.  “Bring it on Mr Pompous.”

The shadow arrives, and it’s as if the owner of the toy is blind and deaf.  And when the filthy hand reaches to grab, it receives a sharp slap on the wrist.  The statement of war is pronounced.  And the sandbox gets really quiet.

Mr Truth Teller stands up.  If you look real close, you can see his knees shake a little bit.  But he sticks his face right into near proximity with Mr Pompous.  And then he says something that saves his life.

“You see all these people around us?  They lied to you.  They told you you deserve to have everything you want.  Well I’m going to tell you the truth.  This toy belongs to me.

Now you stand in front of me, faced with a dilemma.  You can slap me to the ground and take what you want.  But those who lied to you are watching. 

When you slap me, you just might wake them up.  And there’s a whole lot more of them then there is of you.  You might want to give that some thought before you raise that greedy hand.”

Then Mr Truth Teller gives Mr Pompous a stern sharp nod, and goes back down to play with his toy.  I’m not going to finish the story here by telling you what happened next. 

Chaos does what chaos does.  You know the odds as well as I.  And you fully understand the risk Mr Truth Teller is taking.  But you also perceive it is for your good. 

There’s a good chance Mr Pompous will back off.  There’s also a good chance, that if he strikes Mr Truth Teller, all of you will stand up and pummel him into the sand.

But there are greater odds that he will strike Mr Truth Teller.  And you will do nothing in response.  One of you might dial 911.  But you won’t stand up and get in his face.  There’s a reason why those kinds of headlines are sensational.  It’s really rare when people do the right thing.

By His Grace