GOT A BETTER IDEA ?

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Anybody:
Got a better idea ?

–

“God created man in His own image; He created male and female.”
Anybody:
Got a better idea ?

–

“God said, ‘Do not eat from THAT tree’ “.
Anybody:
Got a better idea ?

–

“Because of this, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, so also death passed through to all men, because all sinned.”
Anybody:
Got a better idea ?

–

“Everyone has sinned and falls short of giving God glory.”
Anybody:
Got a better idea ?

–

“God did not send His Son, Jesus, into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Anybody:
Got a better idea ?

–

“It is destined for people to die once, and after this comes judgment.”
Anybody:
Got a better idea ?

–

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.”
Anybody:
Got a better idea ?


For six thousand years people have come up with many alternate ideas, but never a better idea than God’s idea.
And He wrote it down, on paper, and in the universe (the heavens and the earth), and in our hearts, and in our conscience.

God’s perspective:

“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.”

TEXAS – “LAST BASTION OF FREEDOM”

Texas should have abolished all leftist political immigration.

PRIDE – VS – GUILT

● PRIDE and GUILT—good, bad, ugly

Amazing, how pride and guilt can each be very bad, and each can be very good.

Very Bad
Pride can lead to idolatry—self-worship.
Guilt can lead to despair—self-hatred.

Very Good
Pride can motivate—doing good in what you are good at doing.
Guilt can evaluate—repenting, changing from doing wrong to doing right.


● PRIDE and GUILT—everyday examples

“I love my work.”

“I hate my job.”

“I’m the best at what I do.”

“I’m good, because I do good.”

“I look at what I have accomplished, and I say to myself, . . .”

“I deserve a good retirement (‘eat, drink, and be merry’—or some American version of that).”

“Trying to be spiritual, I wonder if my work could become an idol, if I feel too good about it or love it too much.”

“I feel guilty when I tell my family ‘I have to’ work late.”

“Should I feel guilty when ‘I want to’ work late ?”

“I have to ‘provide’ for my family.”

“I can’t afford, I can’t just decide to give up 14% of my week”. (Sunday—fourth commandment)

“When does hard work make me live longer ?”

“When does hard work make me live less (not as healthy, not as many years, not enjoying the years) ?”

“Hard work makes you live longer, if it doesn’t kill you first.”

“I wonder, ‘Who am I really working for ?’ “


● PRIDE and GUILT—advice, counsel, warning, commands, mandates, encouragement, blessings

Advice to pastors,
“Ministers, wear yourselves out for Christ.”

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as to the Lord and not to men . . . It is the Lord Christ you serve.”

“Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings.”

“In vain (also “It is vain”) you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved.”

“Six days you shall give all you’ve got and do all your work; the seventh is a day of rest, unto the Lord.”

“Don’t ‘spend all you’ve got’ * just trying to stay alive, and not live.”

  • “all you’ve got” (time, energy, money, thoughts, capital in your contacts)

Don’t prioritize preparing for retirement.
Don’t count on it.

“Do not store up treasures on earth (unsecured, insecure).”

“Store up treasures in heaven (secured by God).”

repeat: “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings.”

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.”


● PRIDE and GUILT—how it started

Lucifer was ‘the best in heaven’—and he knew it—or he thought so—good looks (beautiful), good gifts (music leader), ambitious ? ¿

THEN—PRIDE—REVOLUTION—KICKED OUT OF HEAVEN ! X ! X ! X
He was guilty, he knew he was guilty, he never admitted he was guilty, he has no road back, ever.

He kept his attitude of pride‐‐‐lying, deceiving and terrorizing God’s creation (man), to get back at God.


● PRIDE and GUILT—final, the end, the last word

The devil will get what he deserves, from God.
And that is the end of the story for the devil, forever.

Pride started all this, and that is a mess, in a messed up world.
But that is not the end of the story, for us, THANK GOD ☆ ☆ ☆

We can take the road back, a narrow road, with limited access, many dangers, with promised help along the way—and not get what we deserve from God.

Paradise can be regained, not for the devil, but for us (not by us), by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

That covers our pride in what we think we can do, and that covers our guilt for what we have done and for what we have not done.

POWER OF A BILLBOARD

[top half of billboard]
AMERICA’S
NOT SEE HOLOCAUST

[bottom half of billboard]
PICTURE OF
ABORTED BABY PARTS

(six) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ? – SPIRITUAL WARNING

Spiritual warning here, especially to Christians, as many are consulting AI.
Anything gaining influence as rapidly as AI, is likely to include ‘dangerous’, along with wonderful and amazing.

When anyone spends time with AI, it is very doubtful that the time will bring that person to believe in Jesus, or bring him closer to Jesus.

The exception would be when the content AI presents is from another source, from someone who “knows the Truth” from daily “continuing in My Word (Jesus)”, and AI does nothing to change, interpret, or add to that “Truth that will set you free”.

Unfortunately, there are few who “Search the Scriptures daily, to check out the Truth of what they have been taught”, or what they have instantly received from AI.

Today, discernment between Truth and modified truth is more critical and difficult than ever.
The answer to that ongoing dilemna is each person growing more familiar with their Bible, and not endorsing any teaching from any source, no matter how ‘reputable’ or charismatic or historical, or modern with new technology.

Test for spiritual information and teaching—
How much Bible is in their message ?
Can I readily check out in my Bible what they have to say (with references they gave) ?

(five) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ? CANNOT . . .

AI cannot interpret our trials with God’s plan and purpose to strengthen our faith and bring us closer to Him.

AI cannot supercede the Bible to explain God.

AI cannot show us what Jesus means when He says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to God the Father, except through Me.”

AI cannot bring us to sorrow and repentance for our sin, and lead us in a prayer to receive Jesus as Lord of our life.

AI cannot help us with a precious, closer walk with Jesus.

AI cannot explain and give comfort and strength in persecution for following Jesus.

AI cannot tell us how to have joy in our trials, when we don’t know or understand, and when we don’t need to know or understand.

AI cannot answer our ‘why’ questions when God doesn’t answer our ‘why’ questions.

AI cannot get us onto, or back on the narrow road to eternal life, when we choose the broad road to destruction.

AI cannot do what the Bible can do, to search our hearts and find anything displeasing to God (“any wicked way in me”).

(three) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ? – WHAT IS AI GOOD FOR ?—ANSWERS

First Question:
WHAT IS AI GOOD FOR ?
Answer:
It’s good for speed.
It’s good for ‘bigger’ and ‘better?’
It’s fascinating to interact with.
It’s working, gaining users by leaps and bounds.
It’s promising jobs—like aspiring politicians promising . . .

Second Question:
WHAT DOES AI DO THAT WE CAN’T DO ALREADY ?
Answer:
It seems obvious that AI is more than just bigger and faster computers, connected with power like never before (consumption of power and capabities of power).
And, there is something mysterious what AI can do—unknown—speculation

Third Question:
DO WE REALLY NEED AI ?
As soon as a person starts using AI, interesting things happen,
Fascination with the speed (instant anything), with the broadening horizons (in every direction), with the ‘entertainment’ (for fun ?), with the amazing thoughts (for the serious user), with the lure of getting used to AI (hooked, dependent, addicted).
What we need more than AI—we need discernment for where it’s coming from.

Fourth Question:
WHAT IS AI TELLING US ?
AI is telling us just about everything we want to hear, about anything we ask.
And AI is communicating harmless innocence. [?for now?]

Fifth Question:
WHAT IS AI NOT TELLING US ?
AI is not telling us what AI is going to do with it’s sudden rise and popularity.
A system created so cleverly can easily conceal just as much as it can reveal.

Sixth Question:
WHAT IS AI DOING TO US ?
AI is coming on so strong, so fast, that most people will not realize its widespread influence.
Each person should stop now and evaluate, “What is AI doing to me?”
“Do I resist AI’s influence?”

Seventh Question:
WHAT WILL AI DO TO US ?
Speculation about AI is everywhere.
That alone answers a big part of the question.
Small comfort in saying AI can be used for good or bad, just like all the other technology created in recent decades.
With the power that AI demonstrates, and consumes, such power will be be grasped and used for somebody’s goals.

Last question:
WHAT IS AI BAD FOR ?
AI is bad for humans, with our limits.
We cannot endure faster and faster.
We cannot endure more and more information and more new ideas.
What is AI bad for—not giving us a moral and spiritual compass, a foundation.
We are already pulled in dozens of directions, to destabilize our character and our culture and our country.


Without firm convictions and beliefs, a person cannot withstand what AI is bringing.
Keep reading, and not just about AI.
Ominous, yes (70 synonyms)—but the bottom line, the last word is encouragement, and for good reason.

(two) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ? – WHAT IS AI GOOD FOR—QUESTIONS


First Question:
WHAT IS AI GOOD FOR ?

Second Question:
WHAT DOES AI DO THAT WE CAN’T DO ALREADY ?

Third Question:
DO WE REALLY NEED AI ?

Fourth Question:
WHAT IS AI TELLING US ?

Fifth Question:
WHAT IS AI NOT TELLING US ?

Sixth Question:
WHAT IS AI DOING TO US ?

Seventh Question:
WHAT WILL AI DO TO US ?

Last question:
WHAT IS AI BAD FOR ?

In all of history, there has never been a weapon invented that did not get used !

AI is the ultimate perfect weapon to establish complete control—complete control of everything—complete control of everybody !

AI is the ultimate perfect weapon also because it does not have to cause widespread destruction and loss of life to gain complete control.

BUT, THEN, anything is possible—destruction of selected businesses, lifestyles, beliefs and values—choking infrastructures, to eliminate undesirables.

AI is just a weapon, but everything hinges on who is in charge of, controlling AI.

Whoever controls AI will control the world—we are ripe for this to happen.

There were several competitors racing to make the A-bomb – we were first, that settled WWII‐‐‐the good guys won.

Today there are several competitors racing to be in control of AI‐‐‐first place goes to __.

The winner will rule the world.

(one) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ?

It can be safely assumed:

— AI is created by someone.

— AI is accountable to someone.

— AI is very powerful, but not all-powerful.

— AI is big, very big, growing big and fast.

— AI appears to have come on the scene suddenly, by surprise.

— AI appears to have goals, uncomfortable goals.

— AI may appear to be (become) human, even superhuman.

— AI may appear to be on track to control our lives.

— AI is scarey, perhaps rightly so.

— AI is here, but AI is not a ‘being’, not alive like claims of encounters with assorted monstrous creatures and aliens on ufo’s.

— AI may be compared to (described as) an image with seemingly supernatural powers—an image representing a real, live being that created it.

— AI may be scarey, but not to be feared.

— AI is dangerous, but the creator and operator of AI is far more dangerous—
the ultimate dangerous.


I started with “It can be safely assumed:”
I have listed some of the assumptions that can be made about AI.

I stop here, just short of stating what AI could very well become.

Many readers will guess where I’m going with this, but my purpose once again is giving you something to make you think.




And, you can find my goal played out clearly in fourteen years of writing on this site.
“Making A Difference In Your Life In The Parts That Are For Keeps.”

? MORE ADVICE THAN EVER ?

In recent decades, why do we have so very much ‘new’ Information Counseling than ever, for living and parenting and being Christiams ?

A universal trademark of all the resources and interviews with ‘experts’ on life and family—they are all presented with a mandate that everyone must get this ‘new’ insight, because we never could know this information before.

The universal, obvious question—how in the world did we make it in the past
without all these helps and answers for questions we weren’t asking ?

It seems like (we think) we can avoid learning through God’s ‘old-fasioned’ methods of discipline, if we get ‘this new book’ that tells exactly what we didn’t know.

I just listened to another presentation on parenting (also offering a ‘how-to’ book)—don’t protect your children from failure or consequences or simple ‘no’.
Yet in our relationship with God and His parenting us, we expect to avoid such discomfort. •

This leaves us with a dilemna of guilt and doubt whenever things don’t go right.
What went wrong because I didn’t do it right, according to . . . ?

If we experience trouble, we turn to all these resources to see what we’re doing wrong—and we miss God’s hand directing every detail—our Heavenly Father using discipline to bring us closer to Himself, because He loves us so much !

“Don’t miss (avoid, reject, despise) God’s ‘adjustments’ (rebukes, corrections, detours, re-directions) in our lives; remember whoever the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son He receives.”
(Don’t let modern translations and teaching dilute or
diminish that Word of God.)

We American Christians believe we should not suffer so much, because we know so much.

  • There are times when the Parent’s job is to make the child regret what he did.

Final question :
Is the Bible not enough anymore ?