Posts filed under ‘christianity’
Full Control via Digital A.I.
I wish I could say that things will get better. They won’t. They are going to worsen. We can be assured of that so draw close to our Lord and hold on tight. He has your back. I’ll end with one of my favorite sections of Scripture that I’ve memorized and repeat often (along with Isaiah 41:10), Psalm 147:17-20 (ESV). Read it. Memorize it. Repeat it to yourself. Allow that truth to wash over you as you face each new storm in life. He has not forgotten or rejected you. Learn to fear offending Him through an increase in love for Him. Endeavor to be as truthful as you can be in your prayers to Him. Trust Him for His provision. Everything He does is righteous and gracious.
Lessons from a Pup
I personally believe God created animals that humans ultimately domesticated and became pets to enhance our lives. I know some folks are not animal lovers. To each their own, but I believe they’re missing some wonderful blessings. Since adopting Scooby, we’ve learned a lot about him as he’s acclimating himself to us and us to him. I’m not sure what he went through for the first five months of his life before we adopted him, but I’m thinking not much of it was good at all except for the boy in his life and possibly the grandmother.
Nuancers
Brothers and sisters, we were warned by Jesus a few thousand years ago that there would be many deceivers in the last days. Since we are in the last days, we have seen and continue to see this warning come true. One of the more sinister ways of trying to deceive people in churches these days is not by someone claiming from the pulpit that they are God, but by using nuancing to change meanings of words, or at least cause people listening to start thinking and then wondering and then questioning things they’ve always seen as one way, but now, maybe it means something else.
Normalcy is the Cure
So again, what should our response be to all of this? I can only think of one real substantive response that will allow us to retain our dignity and purposefully create for ourselves some semblance of well-being in the midst of the growing behemoth of corruption that seeks to swallow all dissenters up and conform us to the final global order.
Predictive Prophecy
We cannot possibly know all aspects of the End Times events and timing and I’m beginning to wonder if much of that pursuit is a fruitless use of energy. God’s primary purpose in telling us ahead of time is not to cause us to focus all of our energies into trying to figure out everything but to shout hallelujahs to Him when those things occur because their fulfillment proves once again that He and He alone is God!
It’s Not Final
Kashi was such an interesting cat. She was always smallish because of her immune issues. We thought she would die early on as at least one of her brothers had. She strengthened herself and carried on. Kashi was always very gentle (unless another cat was vying for her food bowl!), and was content to just sit in your lap and enjoy being petted. As she aged, she spent more time by herself under a bed or on a chair.
Thought Patterns
I’ve always been a glass half empty kind of person. Always. It’s simply my nature and I realize it largely has to do with impact my parents made on the way I saw the world and think in general. I’m not blaming them. I’m simply saying that whether or not they realized it, they tended to pass down to me (and my sister), the negativism that was rife in their own lives and between my mother and father. That negativism was alive and often fearful to me and so based on what I saw and experienced from a young age, my negative patterns of thinking developed. The adage, “you live what you learn” is very true.
God’s Perspective vs Ours
Sometimes, I wish I was more like Job who put his hand over his mouth to keep from saying something stupid. What he was saying was “I’ve already complained too much and to ensure that it stops, I will physically block my mouth!” Job realized he added nothing to the conversation as he sat in abject awe of God. Though Job started out perplexed, frustrated and almost indignant, he realized ultimately that God is God and His purposes are often way too high for us to comprehend.
Do you think Job ever questioned God again? Do you think he approached life differently from that point on? Do you think he had a greater (though still imperfect), understanding of God’s perspective after what Job went through? I’d prefer not to go through any of that to arrive to the same conclusion.
In the Lion’s Den
I’m sure it was scary for Daniel. He didn’t know the outcome ahead of time (as far as we know), until the outcome happened. A scary situation became victory because of God. In truth folks, Christians are in the lion’s den today. The pressure is increasing and in the final analysis, the only thing we can do is trust our Lord who overcomes the lions.While we might not actually be in the lion’s den physically, we know that Satan roams around seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter ). His hatred of us is akin to Nebuchadnezzar’s anger at Shadrach, Meshach and Abegnego and wanted nothing more than to see them burn!
Revelation 18 Part 3
Revelation 18 and 19 teach us because God is holy, righteous, perfect in judgment, the world will reap the consequences of their sin and denial of God. As Christians, we need to practice living lives that reflect our fear of offending God, the only wise God, the only God. We must design our lives so that our love for God and our growing fear of offending Him by sinning would take over our lives allowing us to live the way He wants us to live, so that He and He alone is glorified. We must decrease and He must increase. We cannot love or fear offending Him enough in this life. We can simply submit to Him and endeavor to live the way He would have us live.
StudyGrowKnow 