In the Begining….God…did what?

“And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good.”Genesis 1

Do​es​ God want us to suffer and take prescribed opioids, or harm our selves with alcohol for pain and cancer issues? No, God loves His children. Does He want us to take our life when pain, PTSD, and dementia take our life before we die on His timeline? No!  He gave us God’s own healing herbs. As Paul told Timothy “Take a little wine for your stomach’s sake” Wait! does that mean I should take an insecticide, roll it up and smoke it? Tobacco makes a useful insecticide. What does it do to your body?  Do we please God when we pig out on fast food and sugar?  Does my freedom and yours in Christ give us permission to drink poison until we harm our body? No, alcohol is not forbidden, but drunks and overindulgence in anything is wrong. Food, exercise, work, sloth are all abused. We are free of the old agreements, the rules and rituals that could not please us, we humans rebelled under the Law in the agreement Moses was involved with. Have you ever been in a contract? When you get a new contract can you add the old contract to the new? Duh! Why would you do that? Adding something that did not work to the perfect plan is stupid.  Jesus was God’s plan to save us from our selves. (read Acts 2: especially the part about the Church and what they did)   Today I am blessed every minute with His presence and comfort from knowing, like a little child that God loves me so much, the great giver gave the greatest gift of Jesus, the Christ, His Grace will cover me, cleanse me, so that I may stand in His presence (Sin cannot stand in His presence).  We, with life-impairing disease and injuries, should find comfort in the Grace God gives freely and ignore the rules and rituals based on man-made religion. Take the yoke of Jesus and no other master.  Why are we divided? Who has divided us? Tradition? A latter-day revelation from some cult? The latest cult that says Jesus is less than God or is Jesus Isaiah’s “Mighty God”?  Jesus is my savior, not religion!   “I have other sheep who are not of this fold. I must also lead those, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one Shepherd.”  John 10:16   Why are we divided?

When God created the universe*, earth, and humans the record was written to be read by the Hebrews, Sons of Abraham. The knowledge they had then of physics, biology, technology, was limited. When we read the Torah, the Greek translation, with Hebrew understanding we can see the great Love God has for His creation. We are gifted everything. Then here comes sin, missing the mark, goofing up, rebellion, arrogance, anger, rage, murder, gossips, and liers, thieves, sexually immoral, worshipers of idols, unbelief/rejection of Truth, are not meeting God’s standard. The world screams “That is not fair!” As they find some Phd, talk show host, or Reverend to tell them it is OK to marry your dog or your neighbor’s wife. Any “Church” reverend, pope tells you something is OK you best check with the boss, God may require our obedience, but the rules and rituals laid down by men are not founded on the Rock. Jesus is the Rock of God. Any religion (denomination or division is not of God) or cult is of the accuser Satan. This is the lamb that speaks with a dragon’s tongue Rev 13:11. A false Church that looks correct like a lamb but speaks with Satan’s mouth.

We don’t have to live on the wrong side of God. We can enjoy the Holy Spirit ( Wonderful Counselor” Isa 9:6 For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity], Prince of Peace.), God’s Word, a light for our feet, not a searchlight for what the world offers.  We have the right as followers of Jesus Christ to instant communication with God ( The Mighty God of Isaiah,  prayer, ) We rely on friends to support us. We have always worked and practiced giving to those in need. We see there is no need for a tithe (payment of the Hebrew nation to God of the old agreement, an average of 3 years was around 28%), our giving should be to those in need, not to build more buildings to house fans on game day or feed overfed lackeys in the temple.

20180813_131130
Lemongrass and Aloe two of God’s healing herbs. I use Lemongrass tea for bladder cancer after a Vietnamese friend told me about the plant’s use in VN medicine.  God healed me after three tumors were removed. We asked the elders of the congregation we met with to follow James’ advice for the sick. James 5:14-15, The next check up revealed no scar tissue, clean smooth skin, and today I am in remission and said to be cancer free for today.
We have access no limit, no dropped calls on God’s terms. The only person that places us outside of God’s Grace is our rejection of His Gift, “The Way, The Truth, The Life” of the Gospels. No one comes to the Father without Jesus, we are too sinful without Grace!
Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.   Hebrews 4:16

Our communication is direct and immediate. We need no star, papa, saint, crystal, statue or idol between us for best communication. The powerful praying of a follower of Jesus can penetrate any structure, cross any divide, lift any burden, endure any punishment and make the one being transformed  blessed (Happy)

For God is one, and there is one Mediator of God and of men, the Man Christ Jesus, 1 Tim 2:5

Do​es​ God want us to suffer and take prescribed opioids for pain and cancer issues? No, God loves His children. He gave us God’s own healing herb. As Paul told Timothy “Take a little wine for your stomach’s sake” We with life-impairing disease and injuries should find comfort in the Grace God gives freely and ignore the rules and rituals based on man-made religion. Jesus is my savior, not religion! Semper Fi!

* Rev 4:11 Our Lord and our God, you deserve to receive the glory and the honor and the power for you created everything, and they exist because you wanted them to, so they were created.”

Work in progress###########Please comment if you have a question or want to talk about Jesus################

Questions we ask?

Phil Drysdale a British follower of Jesus I read online asked these questions and I have tried to answer them as positively as I can.  Phil has a unique perspective and many times reading his blog or listening to his Grace Course I say”Why did not I think of that?” I have little to disagree with him on and those points won’t matter off this planet very much because we are covered in a deluge of grace.

https://www.facebook.com/PhilDrysdaleMinistries/

TheGraceCourse – PhilDrysdale.com – Facebook – Instagram

  • What are the questions that bounce around in your head when you hear the words, Sex, Sexuality and Gender?                                                                                                  God was clear on how we were made. even in a story that has been twisted by some. God’s plan right down to our details in our physical bodies was male and female. Matt 19:4, Sin has corrupted us, just like the drunk that drives and kills. Sin has messed up our DNA. Culture has poisoned our brain into thinking some naked drag queen or bizarre sex act is normal because it is on the one-eyed god in our living room, laptop or handheld in our face.
  • What do you think are the important things I should cover?                                      Jesus said all the things that can cause us to sin and rebel comes from inside, our heart. Mark 7:21. Lust was just one of the number, Sexual immorality is sin against God’s plan. Does not matter who does it. I am so glad we can be forgiven when we repent and accept Grace.  Rev 2 tells the Churches of Christ to Repent!
  • What do you want more information on?  How to love my neighbor when I see sin in their life? Rev 9:21, James 5:20
  • What do you think are the key passages I should look at? Jesus teaching on the heart, Matt 15:19,  The things in Old Testament and in the new God finds abhorrent, hates or particularly speaks on like your talk on burning children and God said I have never thought of that! Luke 16:15, Romans 1:30
  • What do you see as the key issues of the day in this area?                                         Many are told that this (fill in the blank) is a normal sex act, normal marriage, normal lifestyle and we will marry you and any sex you have will be blessed by God. or this quote from a man that loves to have sex with a man, “It is ok with God if I love the person before we have sex! My reverend/priest told me that.” The clear issue is rebellion towards God. Perhaps the person is so bitter towards God, because of a bad experience with church, parents, priest/pastor that they are mad at God and just like an unruly child play in the mud for spite! Hebrews 12:15 
  • What do you think God is saying about this topic?     If David had not followed up after seeing Bathsheba on the roof bathing, maybe he would not have messed up? The “Ifs” get us on this. If I had not kissed her or him, If I had not asked her/him to lunch? The heart knows what you wanted and the devil may be happy with your sin but he did not make you do it. Satan does speak to you through all the voices of the world. He is the deceiver.    John 8:44                                                God hates sin. Grace covers all sin except that that is unrepented of. James said much about sin. James said a person is enticed or tempted and if they allow that lust to have its way leads to sin. The temptation is not sinning, the action on the lust of the heart/mind and a follow-through of the body is the sin. 
  • That the sin of Lust is right up there with gossips, liars, thieves, haters, bigots, those that harm children and idol worship.  Can we be forgiven? Yes, Romans 8:1

 

What is 2 Timothy 3 talking about “All Scripture”

20180702_0953362 Timothy 3:16-17 King James Version (KJV)

 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” When Paul wrote these words in his letter to Timothy about being a pastor, evangelist and follower of Christ the New Testament had yet to be written. Paul had his parchments and scrolls he speaks of 2 Tim 4:13. He may have had a copy of the Greek language Septuagint of the Old Testament  When Paul wrote he may have used this copy to quote from. Most of the writers appear to have access to the book also. Some of the Jews only spoke and read Greek at that time. 

The Mediterranean basin spoke several languages at that time, the common Koine Greek

the most popular among the common people. This was what was used to write the New Testament Gospels and letters with a few exceptions of Aramaic.  Now I am no theologian or doctor of letters. I did not pass Greek in college, My Dyslexia mind was not discovered until later.  Anyone can use the Greek concordance and find out what every word in the NT was in the original language  

I use Strong’s Concordance on this to check the meaning and discover where the same word is used.  site https://www.biblestudytools.com/concordances/strongs-exhaustive-concordance/

By using several translations I can get closer to an actual understanding of what God said via His inspired writers. I won’t bore you but if one says the Bible is corrupted they are ignorant of the history and how the texts were put together. Let’s say as some do the different translations are full of errors. Or mistranslated, or as in the case of a few texts used by fringe groups, cults are downright biased toward their views. I will measure these sometime later. For now, focus on this; The basic truth of Jesus Christ is evident in the theme of the New Testament, the God of Abraham is revealed in the Gospels and these facts are predicted in the Old Testament and demonstrated in the NT.  The simple Gospel truths are the same in the most mangled copy of the NT available today in the English tongue. God Loves you beyond measure. If we concentrate our entire being on the command of Jesus to love one another and to love God, we will follow the rest of the easy stuff. We can squabble about some of the rules and points of Paul till doomsday and all we do is divide more. We can be like Martin Luther when he read James writing about faith and works. Martin is said to have written in the margin of his German translation of the bible , “James , you are wrong!”   Martin came out so strong on the RC stance of penance, works and rituals that his cry of “Faith Alone” was powerful and to get by James he placed the letter in the appendix of his translation.  Of Course, James did not mean the works of the Law, The Torah, or adding to our salvation or replacing our salvation with anything. Our deeds and good works are because of our love, we have Grace beyond measure.        See James 2, Hebrews 11, Galatian 3  

For example, I like to read the King James Version, but I know the idiosyncrasies and word changes of the 1611 English vs the common English some of us use today. Example; the Lords Prayer in the KJV has a different ending from later translations. Many people scorned the NIV for dropping the verse portion in Matt 6:13 “ For thine is the kingdom,and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. ” KJV

The NIV added it as a note! Why? Because they found a recent copy older and more accurate that did not contain those words. The amazing thing is that archaeological discoveries tend to support the Bible as we have it. We may divide over tradition, rituals and rules but we are going to have to get along in the presence of God one day. Our race, language and egos won’t matter when we see Him as He is.

Like Charity for Love or “Bowels of mercies” All are words Shakespeare used but we no longer do in everyday conversation.  See this for more on words, we don’t use anymore that you need to understand in the KJV. 

Cross

The sight of this cross saved my life one dark and stormy night…………

What is your tradition you won’t give up for Jesus? If everyone did “Church” like you what would it look like to an unbeliever? Can you point to the scripture in the New Testament (New Covenant, the new agreement, The new Kingdom) that supports every ritual, rules and doctrine of your basis for your faith in Christ?  Isaiah 1:16 and James 1:27 are in support of each other on what we should be doing.  Every scripture and verse we use should be like those two. We should divide the covenants and timeline correctly. We should study each verse and command to ensure it is for us. You don’t sacrifice animals because—- You don’t need a temple to have an altar—— You don’t send your money to some silver-tongued devil to buy his 4 th aeroplane and neglect your neighbour or the homeless down the street do you?

I like what Dr King said:

You’ve seen these people who have a high blood pressure of creeds and an anemia of deeds.

– Martin Luther King, Jr.

Comments are welcome

Semper fi!

 

Salt, Light, Wash Feet Ministry

My former blog from my active teaching years is here https://autoteachersonny.wordpress.com/    my journal of things we do is http://ontheofficewautoteacher.blogspot.com

Now that I am looking at my next career I must plan on a strategy, not that I had always planned and laid out well-laid plans. I depended on the false god, Luck for far too long. It was years later when my mom had begun to think I was her older brother Jack who had been in the Navy during WW2. Uncle Jack was a man’s man and my role model. I never knew of anyone around him that did not speak highly of his integrity and friendliness.  She talked to Uncle Jack when we visited her in the nursing home as she entered her 80s, only it was me she told the sister -brother things, like about

Best pic2

how she would pray for me several times a day, every day I was gone overseas and in fields of fire.  Do you trust God or luck? God has been more reliable for me. Luck is a scary trickster!  Every time I made/make poor decisions, bad judgement calls and do/did stupid stuff God has taken my futile failing efforts and made the path clear when I return to trust Him.  “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. ” Psalm 119:115

To be the salt that makes life tasty for others. Being a good neighbour and loving those around us, forgiving our enemies, especially ourselves. Many times I am my own worst enemy as Pogo said: We has met the enemy and he is us!”

Is the person that drove this forklift unlucky or fortunate? Oops

We will trust God in our life, no chance, luck or charm, magic or mystical incantation. We will get back to the simple word of God. We will cast off the man-made rules and rituals of religion and forgive. Learn to love the ones around us. We will depend totally on God’s Grace and mercy.  Our worship will be to be the church where we are. Was not that what Jesus told them to do?

In Acts of the Apostles, Luke wrote that “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:42-47 Does your Church look like this model in Acts? I think it is a good place to start if the heart of your worship is missing Grace. 

To dwell in this presence of God among our neighbours is our goal. What are your goals in the time you have left?