Making a Difference in your Life, in the Parts that are for Keeps!
Donald Trump, Mr. President,
“Consider Him, Jesus, who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and faint in your way.”
You’re on America’s mission, with Americans behind you.
If you’re also on God’s mission, nothing will stop His power behind you.
Millions of us prayed and voted you into the White House.
Our prayers continue, and “We are confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
When is the last time you were desperate for Jesus ?
Should we be desperate for Jesus ?
Is it good to be desperate more than once, the one time when we understood our need for salvation ?
Is it an admission of weakness, to say we are desperate ?
Are we better off when we are desperate for Jesus ?
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You’ll never know Jesus is all you need until you know Jesus is all you have.
You’ll never know Jesus is all you have until you are desperate to have Him close.
We all have as much of Jesus as we want.
How much of Jesus we want is determined by how desperate we are for Him.
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What does Jesus say in His Word about us, desperate for Him ?
“When I am weak, then I am strong.”
“You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity.”
“Call upon Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.”
“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.”
“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, ‘I have no pleasure in them.'”
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Not so desperate for Jesus ? Not so good !
“I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.
Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”
(This article repeats some thoughts and principles of the previous article, intentionally.)
If trinity is biblical, why did it take the ‘church fathers’ centuries to come up with it ?
Then, why is trinity a given by all theologians ever since ?
And, is not this the very precedent that gave the church license to add teachings and doctrines and edicts and volumes and volumes delineating beliefs and professions and rejecting every detail to the contrary.
Isn’t it interesting that ‘everybody agrees’ on the trinity without ever thinking about it, and yet today—
All the varied teachings/interpretations of the end-time time-line(s) fluctuate between “it’s obviously this way” and “different teachers have these different views” and “my thinking goes this way.”
So, we have a universal, default devotion to trinity—extra-biblical at best—with no consensus to explain trinity or prove its benefits.
At the same time, we need someone, some authority, somebody to sweep everybody off their feet to believe one ‘truth’ about the end-time time-line (so we can be a better witness?).
It’s sort of like a church version of the international desperate need for somebody to rally the world under one leader, to save us from ourselves.
I observe a theological mess.
Quoting others is about as frequent as quoting the Bible.
Every time I hear ‘consensus among theologians’ (again today), I cringe for the lessons learned from dangerous, deadly corona ‘consensus among (so-called) scientists’.
If you follow me, my teaching, this is what I think you should believe.
On what basis should I follow someone who says, “I think, I believe, and so I teach.” ?
Honestly, I’m growing weary of ‘respected’ theologian teachers going over and over the different viewpoints on a subject (historically and currently), and then expounding on the one they subscribe to.
It reduces Bible Study and doctrine to—choosing a person to follow—and letting them tell you what to think and believe.
Isn’t there a better way than repeatedly pointing out the complexity of varied interpretations.
The most loaded topic nowadays is the bandwagon of end-time time-lines.
Everybody has one, and everybody else has another one.
Repetition seldom makes presentation of any case any stronger—only increases dedication to it.
This is not how to do Bible Study—and current day consensus is elusive and un-Biblical.
Should we not stick to what the Bible says to start with, instead of adding Bible passages to back up our teaching ?
That is an age-old problem—and that is an age-old solution, timeless.
Does Jesus have authority in your life to direct everything in your life ?
Or
Does your life also include thinking and practice from other ideas than the Bible ?
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Do you find yourself defending your beliefs, to say they can fit in the Bible ?
Do you need disclaimers to get around Jesus’ claims and teaching, to defend and maintain your life and lifestyle ?
Are you inclined to say, “God, Jesus, didn’t really mean for us to apply His words literally, today, to my life.”?
In other words, “Did God really say ?”
You may be comforted to know that is a quote from the Bible.
Hmmm.
Yes, in the third chapter of Genesis—should set the record straight about taking God’s words too literally.
You can get a lot of mileage, getting around a lot of uncomfortable Bible stuff, by adding new, logical, loving interpretations to make ‘christianity’ compatible with current enlightenment.
The timing is just right for this perfect theological storm to take over like a tsunami.
B U T . . .
Questioning what God said is necessary to developing your own belief, your own theology, your own God.
Now, that helpful line about not taking God’s words too seriously, “Did God really say?”, is followed with the most comfortable, most modern thinking of today [just 6000 years old], “You will be like God.”—translation, “You can be your own god.”—“You can make your own god.”—just like the real estate sign, “Will Build To Suit.”
The devil stealthily puts a sign over your life, your heart, “Will Build To Suit.”
And it worked immediately, beautifully the very first time, and ever since, especially in today’s advanced, enlightened, intellectual climate (in reality, the darkest, deceived, demonic, ‘angel of light’, masterpiece deception).
“But evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
Shall we say, “Nothing new under the sun.” ? (also in the Bible)
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Now, in context:
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, uncontrolled, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
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Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
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Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
But evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
This article triggered by Frank Turek’s program on afr.net today, 1-11-25, with Melissa Dauerty and her book, HAPPY LIES (strongly recommended).
Also on this topic, Natasha Crane’s book, FAITHFULLY DIFFERENT !
“Minimum wage should match/keep up with the cost of living.” ?
Actually, the minimum wage is always tied to the cost of living.
They are joined at the hip, so to speak.
But it’s a matter of mandated minimum wage vs market-driven minimum wage, that determines the consequences (intended or unintended).
Mandated minimum wage (government mandated) guarantees disruption in the free market, just as surely as mandated price controls.
Raising mandated minimum wage gains popular support—while it seems ‘fair’ and ‘compassionate’, it creates a snowball of forcing higher prices and reducing labor market openings.
Before long, inflation repeats unaffordability and more unemployment , resulting in demands for repeating raising mandated minimum wage.
When free market determines wages and prices, both are driven by reality.
Change is slower, better (wages and prices).
Inflation is controlled (wages and prices).
Responding to popular demands with emotion-based government control of wages (and thereby prices) spins the merry-go-round, more and more and faster and faster.
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Daddy was a farmer and rancher and pecan grower.
He often referred to the debacle when the government tried to dictate farm policies.
Summary—“IT MAKES CLEAR THAT GOVERNMENTS DON’T KNOW HOW TO FARM.”
AND, governments don’t know how to run business.
Government should stick to guaranteeing our freedom to engage in business as we see fit with market decisions that work.
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– – –
So true, and more—
+ Governments don’t know how to farm.
+ Governments don’t know how to run business.
+ Governments don’t know how to run churches (can’t improve on the first amendment).
+ Governments don’t know how to improve on the second amendment (not allowed to “abridge” the right to bear arms)—in fact, all gun-control laws are unconstitutional.
+ “God honors what pleases Him.”
+ God overrides and takes us to the woodshed to our repentance and forgiveness, for what displeases Him.
– – –
Because the Christian life, the spiritual warfare, is not a one-time battle—
And because “bearing each other’s burdenS” is not singular, we can practice ‘sharing’, so we can be ‘bearing’ anytime.
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And this pleases Him.
The Bible says, “Guard your heart, . . .”
The Bible does not say, “Follow your heart.”
The Bible says, “Guard your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.”
The Bible says, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”
The Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?”
The Bible says, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.”
The Bible says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
The Bible says, “Purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.”
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The Bible says, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
PURPOSE
If you have a sense of purpose for your life, it gives you energy and momentum to pursue and fulfill your goals.
CALLED
If you have a calling that only you can answer and accomplish something that will make a difference, it will keep you going with clear focus.
LOVE
If you love what you do, you will stick with it and get it done with passion.
GOOD
If you know you are doing something good, especially if it does others good, you will do it well, and you will feel good about yourself.
ALL WORKS OUT
If you believe and say that everything always works out and it always will, you will always maintain optimism and momentum in your work and in yourself.
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– – –
Hmmm ?
Can this power of positive thinking indeed carry us through ALL of life ?
Can this power of positive thinking indeed carry us through the END of life—with guarantees in that unknown ?
All these wonderful things that people say, that anybody can say—all this is wishful thinking without eternal, divine, personal, promised, words from the Almighty, All-Loving God.
What a difference He makes with
PURPOSE
His purpose is far better, far greater than what I can dream up.
CALLED
If He called me to His mission for my life, I will respond to that call, and know that I am in the center of His will NO MATTER WHAT.
LOVE
God loves me, and I love Him—He gave His Son Jesus to die for me, and I accept His offer—He has everything else covered too.
GOOD
God is good—He’s so good to me—He promised, even when I have no feeling, no sight, no indicators to show it happening right now—I know He is with me !
ALL WORKS OUT
All—the good, and the bad, and the ugly—work TOGETHER because God does it, for my good.
How do I know that ?
I Know—Because He Promised ! ! !
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to HIS purpose.
P. S. – God and His promises are not an addendum to my life and my plans.
He is Lord and center of everything—without Him I can do nothing.
“I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.”
God’s Best—Gift-Wrapped—In A Manger
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