Proof of God’s approval – – – martyrdom.
Jesus, in heaven, gave Stephen a standing ovation at his stoning.
Good reason to believe He does that for all martyrs.
Daddy was vindicated by the bullet holes in his head.
PROOF OF GOD’S APPROVAL
August 2, 2023 By Leave a Comment
HOW TO BE UNPOPULAR TODAY
July 8, 2023 By Leave a Comment
+Criticize important people.
+Get specific calling out sin.
+Preach the Bible—and practice what you preach.
+”Love the sinner, hate the sin”—tell the sinner what his sin is.
+Read about John the Baptist—and follow.
+Read about Joseph—and follow.
+Quote many things Jesus said—quote them over and over—without disclaimers, additions, or adaptations.
+Follow Daddy—he did the above, faithfully, consistently—paid the price.
So, what do we want to do—get along with everybody, or cause trouble ?
What are we supposed to do ?
Can I decide what I’m going to be like—can I decide if I’m going to be liked.
Can I decide if I’m going to confront trouble (get blamed for causing trouble)—can I decide if I’m going to avoid trouble ?
Answer is yes and no.
We cannot decide every situation we will face, or how it will turn out, or if we can steer clear of stuff we don’t want to deal with.
But we can decide what principles we will build our life on for facing everything—specifically, who we will build our life on.
The decision comes down to this—can I figure out my life myself, and count on me for all that comes—or do I need Jesus in charge of all of it ?
If I accept Jesus in charge of all my life, I can count on two things:
ONE—He will lead me where He wants me to go, and I don’t have to figure it all out.
TWO—He promised to be with me through it all.
Life is not always neat and clean and the way we want it, even for a Christian—not a buffet.
“There is something wrong with a person who gets along with everybody.”
—–Adrian Rogers
“We are not called to be nice; sometimes we are called to be confrontational.”
—–Sandy Rios
“I have not come to bring peace, but a sword, . . . and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.”—-Jesus
Lots of people in history, and lots of people in the world today, find that following Jesus is not easy—not simple like going to church in America where life is good.
Yes, it may be easy to accept what Jesus did for us and ask Him to take us to heaven.
But there’s a whole lot more that He has to say about the cost of living for Him then.
Followers of Jesus in other parts of the world are not shielded from the hard parts of the Christian life, and the hard words, the straight talk in the Bible—like we are in America.
In many places today, when a person decides to become a Christian, other believers immediately explain what it may cost—in family rejection, in economic hardship, in alienation from friends, in physical attacks and beatings and injuries and brutal murder.
It’s amazing that we never tell new believers in America about the price they may have to pay for following Jesus.
So, millions of Christians know absolutely nothing about ‘the rest of the story’, that there is more, and it’s tough.
We select Bible verses that fit with living in our comfortable culture, and we totally miss or avoid the unpleasant things Jesus promised and His followers experienced throughout the Bible and through history.
We are left to conclude by default that there is something wrong with verses like the one quoted above.
It’s too much trouble to study deeper and understand why those words are there—especially to avoid how they could come true in my life.
I could add my commentary on Jesus’ words about a sword and division, along with thousands of others who may or may not be smarter than me.
But that’s not where the answers, the real secrets, are found in the Christian life.
And that’s where theologians stay on their merry-go-rounds century after century, for millennia.
I’m going to stick to the foundational principle for Bible Study—for Bible Answers.
Get your own Bible out, and dig (alone or in a group, with a leader or without).
I will continue to campaign and repeat this basic guide:
+Do not start with a statement of doctrine or theology, and then give Bible verses to back it up.
+Do start with a Bible verse, and then “search the Scriptures” to find other Bible verses that may explain or clarify or confront or challenge, to a deeper relationship with the Author.
It’s not about knowing the words of the Word, but knowing more closely the Word of the words.
Jesus is most delighted when we spend time directly with Him in the words of His Word.
—TEMPLE CITY COUNCIL
July 6, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Comments before the Temple, Texas City Council, posted on this site.
Type each title in the search bar.
LGBT LIBRARY DISPLAY
DIVERSITY
POLITICIAN vs STATESMAN
PRAY and VOTE
MIDDLE GROUND—CONSEQUENCES
TRUTH ON THE SCAFFOLD
NO BETTER
“WE’RE COMING AFTER YOUR CHILDREN”
ALL GOD ! – – – OR NOTHING ?
July 1, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Saying, “It’s all God, or nothing” about stepping out in a venture of faith, could be compared to saying,
“Till death do us part, or else–or else what, divorce?”
The point here is this:
Either one is a venture of faith.
And faith does not state alternatives, if God does not come through.
IF YOU TOOK MY ADVICE . . .
July 1, 2023 By Leave a Comment
? Down and out ?
–You shouldn’t be there.
–Do this . . .
? Overloaded with problems ?
–They can be fixed.
–I can tell you . . .
? Struggles, challenges ?
–Just deal with them, solve them.
–Not talk about them . . .
? People with continuous troubles ?
–Should be, could be, more like me/us.
–If they would . . .
? Hurting, grieving, burdened ?
–Shouldn’t be there so often, so long.
–I/we get over it . . .
? Uncomfortable with inequity of
“some have it easier, some harder”
“some have more, some less”
“some more ‘success’, some less”
“some greater IQ, some less”
“some more money, some less”
“some more trouble, some less”
“some more worry, some less”
“some more happiness, some less”
“some spiritually stronger, some less”
“some need God more, some less”
“some see ‘life is no fair’, some not” ?
–Some do things right, some don’t.
–Glad I must be doing it right, got the better deal.
? Unsuccessful ?
–I can’t actually help.
–Just look at my example of success.
? So different ?
–I’m uncomfortable.
–If you don’t follow my example
and get it together, I can’t help you.
? On bottom side of life ?
–I really can’t relate,
so I can’t really get involved,
so I can’t really help.
–You’ll have to hit the bottom hard,
then you’ll change and get help.
– – –
And, after all the above, my response:
Most of it is stupid, nonsense, and reasons why so many people keep hurting that don’t need to, and why so many marriages fail and families wipe out, and why churches, Christians, talk themselves out of helping hurting people—instead, we should just “bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Hard questions—harder to give easy answers.
–TEMPLE CITY COUNCIL
July 1, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Comments before the Temple, Texas City Council, posted on this site. Type each title in the search bar.
LGBT LIBRARY DISPLAY
DIVERSITY
POLITICIAN vs STATESMAN
PRAY and VOTE
MIDDLE GROUND—CONSEQUENCES
TRUTH ON THE SCAFFOLD
NO BETTER
“WE’RE COMING AFTER YOUR CHILDREN”
INDISPUTABLE, UNDENIABLE, SETTLED ! ! !
June 8, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Questions—with Answers
Q-1 Who was in your mommy’s tummy before you were born?
Q-2 How long were you in your mommy’s tummy before you were born?
Q-3 Who do your chromosomes say you are?
Q-4 How long have your chromosomes told you who you are?
– – –
A-1 It was you in your mommy’s tummy before you were born !
A-2 You were in your mommy’s tummy nine months before you were born !
A-3 Your chromosomes say you are a male, or your chromosomes say you are a female !
A-4 Your chromosomes told you who you are from conception, for life !
IT’S NOT THE FIRST TIME . . .
May 27, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Or is it ?
General review of history, 6000 years :
+A man and a woman make a marriage and have children to make a family.
+Culture recognizes the importance of marriage and family.
+Government protects families, and so protects society.
+Everyone and every civilization knows there are Men and Women—Male and Female—obvious from birth.
+Any culture that messes with these basics hits the trash heap of history.
–bad in Noah’s day—flooded out
–bad in Sodom’s day—nuked to nothing
–bad in Rome’s day—rotted by ‘bread and circuses’—overrun by Vandals
–bad in Nazi Germany—killing for superior race—blown to bits
So, is the crazy world today, with evil exploding everywhere, anything unique ?
The evil is not unique, not the first time.
But the pace is unprecedented.
The push seems possessed, to force evil on every square inch of society, and the world, fast.
The Bible predicts, declares the fact, that “In the last days evil will get worse and worse.”
It will be “like the days of Noah . . . wickedness was very great.”
We have no idea what it was really like then, but it was bad enough for God to wipe it out.
So, since the same God is in charge, He will lower the boom again, just not with another flood.
– – –
Not the first time ?
No comfort in that ! ! !
– – –
This is our time.
Like it or not—we will live it.
– – –
“Therefore, since everything will be destroyed, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness.”
DEATH PENALTY + and –
May 10, 2023 By Leave a Comment
Death Penalty—implemented in the U.S., and still debated.
Pro
+”Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.”
+”If you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.”
+The punishment fits the crime of murder.
+The punishment deters crime, including the death penalty.
Con
–Some claim that all criminals should be rehabilitated.
–Some criminals could be sentenced by mistake.
–Some think another person should not be killed for any crime.
– – –
The other Death Penalty, widely implemented in the U.S., and still hotly debated.
Pro
+Letting this person live will ruin my life, my plans.
+It’s okay if the government says it’s legal, and if I pay someone else to do it.
+I’m for it because I’ll never expect to see the person.
+Do it right away, don’t think about it, and you can put it behind you.
Con
-The punishment does not fit the crime—NO CRIME, always innocent.
-Government is always wrong legalizing this death penalty.
-Murder for hire serves no justification, and generates a lot of money—evil incentive.
-The heart and soul never forget what the eyes don’t see, or don’t expect to see.
-God knows you—who you are—before you are born.
DIVORCED – – – WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MARRIAGE ?
April 29, 2023 By Leave a Comment
People at First Baptist Atlanta said they listened more to pastor Charles Stanley after his divorce, for the following reason:
PERFECT MARRIAGE—WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT PAIN AND SUFFERING ?