Friday, February 28, 2014

RICHARD DAWKINS: NOTHING CAN PROVE THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

Your Brother Daniel
For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com
 
Richard Dawkins: Nothing can Prove the Existence of God

The renowned atheist and mathematician, Bertrand Russell, had once been asked:

·       Bertrand, what would you say to God if you encounter him after you die and he asks, “Bertrand, why didn’t you believe?”

Russell confidently responded, “There just wasn’t enough evidence,” as if to say:

·       I am a rational person and rational people require evidence. The fault, therefore, wasn’t with me but with you!

Richard Dawkins, perhaps the most famous atheist today, has taken it one step further, claiming that no evidence is possible to support belief in God! In an interview with hosted by Peter Boghossian, Dawkins was asked:

·       What would it take for you to believe in God? (youtube)


Dawkins dismissed the possibility that any evidence is possible – that even if Christ returned, Dawkins would have no way of knowing whether this was an hallucination or not.

However, if Dawkins were to use this logic consistently, he also would deprive himself of any evidence for the existence of the universe. It might only be a dream or hallucination.

Nevertheless, Dawkins seems haunted by the idea that his dismissal of all possible evidence doesn’t line up with the logic of science. After all, if a theory can be falsified by the evidence, it should also be amenable to evidential proof. Perhaps he senses that he is playing fast-and-loose with the concept of evidence and of science.

Perhaps he has stacked-this-deck with only the cards that will prove his point – that the natural explanation is the only possible one. But where did the natural come from? Doesn’t this question require a super-natural explanation? And is there any proof that causation is natural? While we all believe in the laws of science, perhaps these laws are best explained transcendentally, emanating from the mind of God?


HOW HAS GOD REVEALED HIMSELF IN YOU?

Today's promise: We are created in His image

How Has God Revealed Himself in You?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 NLT

The Master Creator
Genesis 1:1 and the entire creation story reveals God's creativity. He is the Master Creator who delights in diversity and variety.

Creativity is a gift God gives to people by the power of his Holy Spirit. Exodus 31:1-4 described a person who used his artistic skills and craftsmanship to make beautiful things for God's glory.

The Lord also said to Moses, "Look, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, intelligence, and skill in all kinds of crafts. He is able to create beautiful objects from gold, silver, and bronze.

Hebrews 11:3 proclaims God as the ultimate source of all creativity.

By faith we understood that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

from Living Water for Those Who Thirst Tyndale House Publishers (2000), pp 37-8

The "great raveled knot," as the famous English psychologist Sir Charles Sherrington called the brain, is about the size of a grapefruit and weighs approximately three pounds. It is composed of some twelve to fourteen billion cells.…
It is the almost limitless number of cells-plus-interconnections that makes the human brain an intellectual instrument of unparalleled supremacy.
JOHN P McNEEL, The Brain of Man

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


ISN'T IT INCREDIBLE THAT GOD CREATED US WITH THE ABILITY TO PRAISE HIM?

Today's promise: We are created in His image

Isn't it incredible that God created us with the ability to praise Him?

But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.
Psalm 146:5 NLT

I'll praise my maker
I'll praise my Maker while I've breath;
And when my voice is lost in death.
Praise shall employ my nobler pow'rs;
My days of praise shall ne'er be past,
While life, and thought, and being last,
Or immortality endures.

Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel's God! He made the sky,
And earth, and sea, with all their train;
His truth for ever stands secure;
He saves the oppressed, He feeds the poor,
And none shall find His promise vain.
I'll Praise My Maker While I've Breath (v1,2), ISAAC WATTS (1674-1748)
In Westminster Abbey stands a statue of Isaac Watts with a pen in his hand. Not far from Watts, John Wesley is also honored. This hymn has connections to both men.

As John Wesley lay dying, he surprised his friends gathered around his bedside by singing in a clear voice this hymn of Isaac Watts: "I'll praise my Maker while I've breath, and when my voice is lost in death, praise shall employ my nobler powers."

The next day he tried to sing the hymn again, but he could not. Two or three times he began, but could only say the words "I'll praise." That was all he could get out of his mouth. Then, with those words on his lips, he was ushered into glory.

adapted from The One Year® Book of Hymns by Mark Norton and Robert Brown, Tyndale House Publishers (1995), entry for February 27

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House



BIG SPRING

BIG SPRING

READ:
John 4:7-14

The water that I shall give
him will become in him a
fountain of water springing
up into everlasting life.
-John 4:14

In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a remarkable natural wonder-a pool about 40 feet deep and 300 feet across that Native Americans called “Kitch-iti-kipi,”  or “the big cold water.”  Today it is known as The Big Spring.  It is fed by underground springs that push more than 10,000 gallons of water a minute through the rocks below and up to the surface.  Additionally, the water keeps a constant temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning that even in the brutally cold winters of the Upper Peninsula the pool never freezes.  Tourists can enjoy viewing the waters of Big Spring during any season of the year.

When Jesus encountered a woman at Jacob’s well, He talked to her about another source of water that would always satisfy.  But He did not speak of a fountain, spring, river, or lake.  He said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.  But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).

Far greater than any natural spring is the refreshment we have been offered in Christ Himself.  We can be satisfied, for Jesus alone, the Water of Life, can quench our thirst.  Praise God, for Jesus is the source that never runs dry. –Bill Crowder

Father, it seems that I drink far too often from the
waters of the world that cannot satisfy.  Forgive me, and
teach me to find in Christ the water that can  quench
the thirst of my heart and draw me ever closer to You.
**********************************************
The only real thirst-quencher is Jesus-
the living water.

INSIGHT
Having conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, the Assyrians adopted a policy of racial assimilation.  They brought in other peoples, who intermarried with the Israelites.  The new race, the Samaritans, followed Judaism, although not fully (2 Kings 17:22-33).  Because of this corruption (vv.20,22), the Jews despised them (Luke 9:52-54; John 4:9).  A Jew traveling from Judea (in the south) to Galilee (in the north) typically avoided Samaria, which was sandwiched between the two regions.  Jesus chose to go through Samaria to seek out a woman who needed Him (John 4:3-5, 10-15).

Have a blessed day and weekend.
God Our Creator’s Love Always

Unity & Peace

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: COERCED TO PARTICIPATE IN SIN


Your Brother Daniel
For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com

Same-Sex Marriage: Coerced to Participate in Sin

Christians have been placed on collision-course with anti-discrimination legislation, requiring them to participant in practices that they regard as sinful. Theologian Albert Mohler has written that in order to protect the constitution right of freedom of religion:

·       Several states are now considering legislation that would provide explicit protections to citizens whose consciences will not allow an endorsement of same-sex marriage… Millions of American citizens are facing a direct collision between their moral convictions and the demands of their government.

For example, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association was fined and required to rent their boardwalk pavilion to a lesbian couple who had brought a lawsuit against this Christian association for refusing to rent them the pavilion for their marriage. However, Kirsten Powers and Jonathan Merritt deny that forcing Christian participation in a same-sex ceremony is a violation of conscience:

·       “Many on the left and right can agree that nobody should be unnecessarily forced to violate their conscience. But in order to violate a Christian’s conscience, the government would have to force them to affirm something in which they don’t believe. This is why the first line of analysis here has to be whether society really believes that baking a wedding cake or arranging flowers or taking pictures (or providing any other service) is an affirmation. This case simply has not been made, nor can it be, because it defies logic.  If you lined up 100 married couples and asked them if their florist “affirmed” their wedding, they would be baffled by the question.”

Powers and Merritt want to limit the violation simply to instances where the State coerces Christians to verbally “affirm something in which they don’t believe.”  However, coercion is not simply a matter of being forced to say something. It is also a matter of being forced to do something.

Mohler astutely observed another problem with their reasoning. Whether “violating conscience” has occurred should not be determined by the public. Instead, religious freedom has always been recognized as an issue between us and God:


·       Well, the issue is really not what “society really believes” about baking a wedding cake, but what the baker believes. Reference to what “society really believes” is a way of dismissing religious liberty altogether. If the defining legal or moral principle is what “society really believes,” all liberties are eventually at stake. http://www.albertmohler.com/2014/02/24/caesar-coercion-and-the-christian-conscience-a-dangerous-confusion/

Mohler is correct! Who is to decide whether or not a Christian violates his conscience – whether hiring a practicing gay as the pastor is a violation of conscience; whether being coerced to bake a cake reading, “We are glad you stood up for gay rights” is a violation? If it is the state, then all rights depend on their whim, making our constitutional guarantees irrelevant.

There are certain things in which we cannot participate, even if this participation looks benign to the State. The Apostle Paul had warned that our participation in various rituals can powerfully impact upon our relationship with our Lord:


·       Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? …Do not those [Hebrews] who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.  Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? (1 Cor. 10:16-21)

Likewise, we cannot be participants in the Lord and sin at the same time. Paul reasoned that even though the sacrifices are nothing in themselves, our participation in them is not morally neutral. Instead, it carries weighty relational implications. Consequently, we are not free to participate in activities that are offensive to our Lord. They arouse His protective and loving jealousy over our well-being. Although we can and should assist sinners, we cannot assist them in their sinful activity or promote their cause.

Paul warned that even when we simply ordain people, we are morally responsible and participate in fruits of their ministry:

·       Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. (1 Tim. 5:22)

This certainly doesn’t mean that we can’t love people who don’t believe as we do. However, we cannot do anything that will directly endorse sin. I would suspect that Ocean Grove understood that hosting a lesbian marriage represented an endorsement, at least in the eyes of God. Elsewhere, Paul warned:


·       Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (Eph. 5:7-11)

However, the secular State is now demanding that we participate in the “deeds of darkness.” Powers and Merritt insist that our reasoning “defies logic” and that participation in a gay marriage does not violate conscience. However, this kind of participation violates the Word of God.

The Apostle John warned a certain unnamed woman that by merely extending hospitality to false teachers she would be participating “in their evil work” (2 John 11).

Is this reasoning really so illogical? Would Powers and Merritt have sold petrol to fuel Hitler’s tanks or provisions to build his death camps? Wouldn’t they have been complicit in his deeds? Aren’t we also complicit in gay marriage if we agree to support it by baking for it or by photographing it?

They might argue, “What harm does this form of involvement bring?” On a pragmatic level, this participation promotes a lifestyle that not only violates Scripture but also destroys people. Just look at the stats!


DO YOU HAVE A JOY THAT RUBS OFF ON OTHER PEOPLE?

Today's promise: We are created in His image

Do you have a joy that rubs off on other people?

I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me, freeing me from all my fears. Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. I cried out to the Lord in my suffering, and he heard me. He set me free from all my fears. For the angel of the Lord guards all who fear him, and he rescues them.
Psalm 34:4-7 NLT

Contagious joy
Do you enjoy watching the televised Olympic games? If you do, you know the joy the winners of an Olympic event experience is contagious. That's one reason millions of people watch the Olympics so religiously. It's not simply to see the drama of the event and the excellence and for m of the athletes. It's also to share in the contagious joy of the winners.

In Psalm 34 David describes the same type of joy radiating from believers. All those who look to God for help will experience a joy so intense that other people can see it in their faces. David says the reason for that joy is that God has heard and answered our prayers. Our shame has been taken away. We have been set free from all our fears because the angel of the Lord encamps around us. He guards his people. Pray today that the angel of the Lord will set up camp around you and your relationships. Commit your fears and worries to God, and ask him to guard you. He can set you free from your fears and grant you radiant joy as you look to him for help.

Adapted from Praying God's Promises for My Marriage by John Farrar (Tyndale House), pp 92-93

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


WHEN DID YOU LAST PRAISE GOD FOR THE MARVELOUS WAY HE MADE YOU?

Today's promise: We are created in His image

When did you last praise God for the marvelous way he made you?

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous — and how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
Psalm 139:13-16 NLT

Praise for God's Workmanship
Any biology text can illustrate how wonderfully complex the human body is. From brain cells to blood cells — each intricate component of our bodies is carefully designed. You don't have to take a biology course to marvel at how our eyes can take in the bright blue color of the sky, how our ears can detect a pin drop, how our nose can enjoy the aroma of ground coffee or the scent of a beautiful flower. How exciting it is to enjoy the body God has made for us!

David expressed this same wonder as he prayed this prayer. Set aside a few minutes today to praise God for his sovereign care.

Prayer for today:
Dear Lord, thank you for making me with such marvelous workmanship …
from The One Year® Book of Bible Prayers edited by Bruce Barton, Tyndale House Publishers (2000), entry for January 13

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House



THE POWER OF LOVE

THE POWER OF LOVE

READ:
1 John 4:7-10

In this is love, not that we
loved God, but that He loved
us and sent His Son to be the
[atoning sacrifice] for our sins.
-1 John 4:10

Books on leadership often appear on best-seller lists.  Most of them tell how to become a powerful and effective leader.  But Henri Nouwen’s book In the Name of Jesus:  Reflections on Christian Leadership is written from a different perspective.  The former university professor who spent many years serving in a community of developmentally disabled adults says:  “The question is not:  How many people take you seriously?  How much are you going to accomplish?  Can you show some results?  But:  Are you in love with Jesus?..In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know the heart of God, and heart that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and wants to heal.”

John wrote, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the [atoning sacrifice] for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

“The Christian leader of the future,” writes Nouwen, “is the one who truly knows the heart of God as it has become flesh…in Jesus.”  In Him, we discover and experience God’s unconditional, unlimited love. –David McCasland

Father, please show the wonder of Your great love
through me to others today so that they might know
they need not walk through life alone.  Let my heart
personally experience and display Your care.
*******************************************
God’s love in our heart gives us a heart for others.

INSIGHT
John, who referred to himself as “the disciple [Jesus] loved” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7), wrote his gospel to show how God is his great love, how God gave us His Son to die for our sins, and how Jesus came to give us abundant life (3:16-18; 10:10; 17:3).  This   new life is to be characterized by love (13:34-35).  John wrote 1 John to show believers how to put love into action.  In today’s passage, he reiterated the primacy and priority of the Christian to love.  The person who lacks love shows that he does not really know God not is in close fellowship with Him, “for God is love” (vv.7-8).  In this letter, John reminds us once again of how much God loves us (vv.9-10).

Have a blessed evening.
God Our Creator’s Love Always
Unity & Peace


Monday, February 24, 2014

FACED WITH GAY COERCION: FIGHT OR FLIGHT

Your Brother Daniel
For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com

Faced with Gay Coercion: Fight or Flight


What should we Christians do when a homosexual demands services? This has become a career-threatening choice, as the National Review writes:

·       Christian-adoption and foster-care agencies have been forced to stop providing those services because they object to placing children in same-sex households. Other cases include a photographer, a baker, a florist, a bed-and-breakfast, a t-shirt company, a student counselor, the Salvation Army, and more. In each of these instances, there were plenty of other businesses available that were willing to provide similar services.

Newsperson, Kirsten Powers, a new convert to the Christian faith, does not see a problem here for Christians:

·       It’s not clear why some Christian vendors are so confused about their role here. … Christianity doesn’t prohibit serving a gay couple getting married. … Christians serve unrepentant murderers through prison ministry. So why can’t they provide a service for a same-sex marriage?

This is a much debated issue today among Christians as we seek to faithfully navigate the new paths etched out by our culture. It raises the question, “WWJD” – “What would please our Savior?”

For one thing, we are not free to violate our conscience even if we are mistaken about the normative will of God:


·       So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Romans 4:22-23).

Scripture argues that we have to be true to our conscience. Anything less is sin! Even if we violate what we mistakenly think is wrong, we have violated our relationship with God.

This is all fine, but what if we see a gay person bleeding to death. Are we not supposed to do anything about it if we think that aiding him is wrong? Admittedly, there are principles of truth and objective morality that must take precedence. Jesus’ Good Samaritan aided his enemy, the Jew.

However, this type of case is not at issue here. Instead, it’s usually a matter of baking a cake or photographing a gay wedding. Should the State compel the Christian to comply, or should our Constitutional right to freedom-of-religion preside?

Powers draws a false analogy between Christians ministering to murderers in prison and baking a cake to celebrate a gay marriage. These two are not equivalent. Ministering to a murderer is not the same thing as partaking in the murder or even celebrating it. It’s a matter of ministering to the person and not his actions. However, baking the cake for the gay wedding is supporting something Scripture finds unsupportable.

Similarly, many Christians readily bring meals to gay HIV patients. However, there is a difference here. Bringing meals does not contribute to an act that Christians regard as wrong. In contrast, helping a gay connect with other gays for sexual reasons would. In such a case, this activity would cause the Christian to share in the sin, something we cannot do (1 Tim. 5:22; 2 John 1:11), and it is something we cannot allow the government to force us to do. Many will choose prison over compliance.

Powers should not be surprised by this reasoning. Would she sell gasoline to Hitler to fuel his tanks? Would she sell guns to a drug dealer knowing that they will be used to kill the innocent? To do such would be to share in their sins.

Would she rent out a room at her B&B to a pedophile and his prey? Wouldn’t this represent complicity in his sin? Of course!

Where do we draw the line? Some cases are difficult; some aren’t. Should the Christian T-shirt maker be required to print a T-shirt reading, “Christ Kills” or even “Go Gay Pride?”  I think not! Such coercion would undermine the integrity of our nation and reject the very principles that had once made it great. It would also violate our sacred relationship with our Savior.

Meanwhile, in other Western nations, churches are being compelled to open their doors to gay marriage. This cannot be allowed! Not only would this represent of violation of the One we adore and His love for His church, it would also divide the church! I pray that we might see what is at stake!



HOW MUCH DO YOU SEE GOD IN HIS CREATION?

Today's promise: We are created in His image

How much do you see God in his creation?

Have I looked at the sun shining in the skies, or the moon walking down its silver pathway, and been secretly enticed to worship them? If so, I should be punished by the judges, for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven.
Job 31:26-28 NLT
We understand the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
Hebrews 11:3

Sunsets and chromosomes
A student stood on the crest of a hill silently admiring the sunset. As the colors came to a brilliant crescendo, he suddenly shouted, "Way to go, God. Fantastic!" Then he raised his hand in praise to the Creator.

Dr. Carl Sagan marveled that a single human chromosome contains 20 billion bits of information. This corresponds to four thousand 500-page books — and that's only one chromosome! Yet Dr. Sagan never professed any belief in God.

When it comes to praising God for his incredible work in creation, some of us are more like Dr. Sagan than the student. We are quick to condemn those who deny that God created the universe, yet we, too, often forget to praise him for all that he has made.

We praise God for salvation but forget to praise him for creation. Whether we look at the grandeur of the heavens or the intricacies of a chromosome, we should stand in awe of our Creator. Praise him today for his masterful work.

The unwearied sun, from day to day
Does His Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty hand.

JOSEPH ADDISON

adapted from The One Year® Book of Psalms by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers (1999), entry for February 5

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE?

Today's promise: We are created in His image

What does it mean to be created in God's image?

My heart overflows with a beautiful thought! I will recite a lovely poem to the king, for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet.
Psalm 45:1 NLT

About this week's promise
Why does an artist paint, a musician play, or an author write? Because they are overflowing with ideas and must express them. Creativity is the overflow of a full heart and mind. But sometimes we're empty — or full of the wrong material. How can we be full of the beauty that will spill out in wonderful visions, sounds, words and movements? Take time to know God — the author of all creativity. Take time to soak up all that is beautiful. Take time to think. As your inner wells fill up, you can be sure that the creativity will soon be flowing out of your life in productive ways.

adapted from TouchPoint Bible with devotional commentary by Ron Beers and Gilbert Beers, Tyndale House Publishers (1996), p 492

Digging Deeper
For more on this week's promise, see Delight in Your Child's Design by Laurie Winslow Sargent, Tyndale House Publishers (2005)


Laurie Winslow Sargent will help you identify and appreciate your child’s unique, God-given temperament and abilities. Her tips on relating to your child — no matter how much alike or different from you he or she is — will increase your confidence. And Laurie offers many practical suggestions that will inspire you to show affection and appreciation in ways most meaningful to you and your child.

No philosophical theory which I have yet come across is a radical improvement on the words of Genesis, that "in the beginning God made Heaven and Earth."
C S LEWIS (Miracles)

Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


HOW CAN YOU HELP OTHERS AVOID TEMPTATION?

Today's promise: No temptation is too great

How can you help others avoid temptation?

Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules.
Psalm 119:9 NLT

Power over temptation
Because of some long-term unwise spending habits, the Walkers are now facing serious financial troubles. Their economic woes have been the source of constant tension and stress at home. They have no idea how they got into this mess, much less how to get out. The thought of admitting their situation fills them with embarrassment. Interestingly, in the midst of this major money crunch:
Denise has gained some thirty pounds, is thinking about reneging on a financial commitment to her church's building campaign, and has also begun playing the lottery (something she used to call a stupid waste of money).

Donald has been escaping regularly into the world of internet pornography while he considers partnering with an old college buddy in a "can't lose" (i.e., highly questionable) business deal.

The Walker's situation reminds us that when we feel weakened and worried by the pressures and problems of life, certain temptations can seem irresistible. How would you counsel the Walkers using the above promise of God?

adapted from Praying God's Promises in Tough Times by Len Woods,, Tyndale House Publishers (2002), pp 176-7

Temptation rarely comes in working hours. It is in their leisure time that men are made or marred.
W M TAYLOR
Content is derived from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation and other publications of Tyndale Publishing House


EMPTY FORT STRATEGY

EMPTY FORT STRATEGY

READ:
Judges 7:2-8

Behold, I am the LORD, the
God of all flesh.  Is there
anything too hard for Me!
-Jeremiah 32:27

In the Chinese historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, author Luo Guanzhong describes the “Empty Fort Strategy,” a use of reverse psychology to deceive the enemy.  When 150,000 troops from the Wei Kingdom reached Xicheng, which had less than 2,500 soldiers, they found the city gate wide open and the famous military tactician Zhuge Liang calmly playing the zither with two children beside him.  The Wei general, baffled by the scene and believing it was an ambush, ordered a full retreat.

The Bible offers another example of a bewildering battle strategy.  In Judges 7, God had Gideon use 300 men, horns, jars, and blazing torches against armies that were “as numerous as locusts; and their camels wee without number” (v.12).

Could Israel defeat such a formidable foe?  It was humanly impossible!  They had neither the manpower nor the military hardware.  But they had one thing that worked for them and that was all they needed.  They had God’s promise:  “With these 300 men I will rescue you and give you victory” (v.7NLT).  The result?  Victory!

Are you facing a formidable challenge?  The Lord has said, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh.  Is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).Poh Fang Chia

Be strong in the Lord and be of good courage;
Your mighty Defender is always the same.
Mount up with wings, as the eagle ascending;
Victory is sure when you call on His name. –Johnson
******************************************
With God, all things are possible.
Have a blessed day and week ahead.
God Our Creator’s Love Always
Unity & Peace


Friday, February 21, 2014

POLYAMORY: CURSE OR CURE

  
Your Brother Daniel
For more great blogs as this one go to Daniel’s blog site at: www.Mannsword.blogspot.com
Polyamory: Curse or Cure

Diana Adams runs a Brooklyn-based legal firm oriented toward providing traditional marriage rights to non-traditional families. She is presently in a sexual relationship with “several men and women.” In an interview in The Atlantic, she tried to justify her lifestyle:

·       We put so much emphasis on a partner being everything—that this person completes you—and when that doesn’t happen it creates a lot of pressure. I don't think that open relationships are for everyone but it's something that you should no longer feel ashamed to talk about at a time when so many marriages are failing. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/up-for-polyamory-creating-alternatives-to-marriage/283920/

Evidently, Adams feels that she has what it takes to make polyamory work. Nevertheless, Adams is right! So many marriages are failing, but this failure seems to be a modern phenomenon. Perhaps it’s the result of having inflated expectations/desires similar to those of polyamorists. While Adams correctly reflects that one person can’t fulfill all of our needs and desires, she then assumes that many can:

·       Well, for example, with my female partners, I feel a different kind of power dynamic. I feel a protective impulse toward women I’m involved with. It's a different kind of love feeling. My partner Ed is a wonderful feminist man, though sometimes I’d really like to be out on a date with the kind of man who wants to open car doors for me and treat me like a princess. I don't want that all the time, but I might want that once a month.

“I feel…I feel…I want…I want!” I’m left wondering – How long with this infatuation last, even with many partners? When does it begin to feel old, superficial and even oppressive? Does polyamory represent progress or a descent into a juvenile, “I want this now” mentality? This raises the question, “What are mature relationships about – commitment or maximizing the ‘I want’?” It would seem that a commitment to a troupe of men and women would translate into a commitment to none.

Polyamorists seem to have a hidden assumption – that monogamous couples become sexually bored because of a problem inherent to monogamy. However, that problem might be inherent in us instead. After all, why would we pursue other partners? The body-parts are basically the same. What then produces the excitement in a new relationship and boredom with the old humdrum? Perhaps we have a pathological need to be adored. If this is so, perhaps we should learn how to find excitement in the one to whom we have committed ourselves!

Polyamory seems to provide a green light to jump ship and find a few new partners when things get a bit sticky and the “I want” is no longer being satisfied. Isn’t marriage supposed to be a workshop where we discover one another and work through the issues that are caused by this encounter?

And what about those hard-feeling-buttons that polyamory is certain to push? Adams explains:

·       We talk a lot. We check in with each other, “Is this okay with you?” and the answer can be, “I don't know.” For instance maybe Ed and I are going to a party together and this guy that I've been dating is at the party too. “Will it feel okay with you if I go over and kiss him?” Polyamory will find your buttons and it will push them. If you don't want to have that kind of challenge, it's not the right lifestyle for you. But, if you're up for it, polyamory can be the catalyst for powerful personal growth.

“Powerful personal growth?” What would this growth look like? Coping with jealous, murderous lovers? Knowing when to say “goodbye” or just flee? If polyamory is really a viable lifestyle, why doesn’t Adams simply “date” all of her lovers at one time – one big happy family, or is it?

One therapy group leader had confessed that he used his group to line-up new sexual partners. However, he and his wife had to keep their conquests secret. He had once seen his wife escorting her latest into their home, and he flew into a mad rage that sent him to the psych ward for two weeks. For them, the ““powerful personal growth” was a matter of learning to practice total avoidance.

Of course, Adams expresses a high concern for the (un-aborted) children resulting from such unions. After all, it takes a village to raise a child, doesn’t it? While I think that there is truth in this adage, these polyamorous relationships seem to more closely approximate a roving series of predator babysitters than a village. If a steady stream of men and women are fair game for our sexual appetites, why not also the children?

Ultimately, it is time that will tell, but time has already passed its verdict. If these forms of sexual groupings had been viable, we would find long-standing polyamorous communities throughout the world. However, we don’t. Evidently, they have either been decimated by STDs or consumed by jealous, angry impulses from within.



WHY THEY HATE US

  
Your Brother Daniel
For more great blogs go to Daniel’s blog site at:  www.Mannsword.blogspot.com


Why they Hate us

The nicest people ive ever
met are covered in
tattoos and piercings.
While the most judmental
people ive met go to
church every Sunday

A Facebook Friend posted this, and I couldn’t resist responding: “Well, it seems that you too are quite judgmental.” This response created a storm. One person responded in his defense:

·       He is not judgmental; he is just making an observation!

This is the way that the media usually responds when accused of conducting a war-against-Christians. At first, my friend refused to admit that he too was judgmental. However, I knew him to be a bold straight-shooter, and so I responded that I was disappointed in him, because he wouldn’t answer my question. Then he admitted:

·       Daniel...I really don't give a shit whether you are disappointed in me or not. I hope that is clear. Was it my intention to demean church-goers? No...not in this post. This post was pretty clear...an observation… The most judgmental people I have met have been regular church goers. Now...I can certainly demean church goers, in a number of ways. But in this post, I was simply demeaning judgmental people who go to church.

My “friend” is a sharp and intelligent man, and so I was surprised at his incoherent response – denying but yet affirming that he had been judgmental. He later declared himself “a sworn enemy of the organized/patriarchal/religious system.” 

A “sworn enemy” generally has both closed mind and heart. The attacks against me became increasingly vicious, not only from my friend but also from others. This made me reassess what I had written and why the dialogue became what it did. “Why are we hated,” I asked myself. My “friend” thinks that we are judgmental. I have no doubt that he sincerely feels this way. But what makes him think us more judgmental (and condemning) than others? True Christians are forgiving and compassionate, aren’t we?

Jesus explained that since we belong to Him, we will be hated as He is hated:

·       “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me.” (Mat. 10:21-22)

·       “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

As with Jesus, they will even put us to death, convinced that they are doing the right thing:


·       “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.” (John 16:1-2)

Progressives – the communists – exterminated Christians with the justification that we are regressive elements that need to be destroyed in order to create a better world. Did they really believe that? Perhaps! But what is at the core of such a distorted belief?
Jesus explained that He was hated because He revealed the truth about others (John 7:7).

The more I pointed out my friend’s inconsistencies, the more incensed he became. Why? Jesus explained:


·       This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (John 3:19-21)

Jesus is the light, and He is hated for this. We too are the light (2 Cor. 5:19-21), and so we are hated. I know that this sounds arrogant, but we must arm ourselves with this awareness so that we do not suffer self-castigation when confronted with hatred. It goes with the turf, as Paul had warned:

·       In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Tim 3:12-13)

If we refuse to embrace this uncomfortable truth, the deception of this world will embrace us. It will then become even more difficult to live the Christian life. We will retreat and blame ourselves and the church that we had been overly judgmental.

Also, if we shy away from the Bible’s teachings about the depth of sin and spiritual darkness, we will fail to understand what we are confronting and blame ourselves instead. Meanwhile, Paul warned:

·       For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. (2 Cor. 2:14-15)

We are a stench to those who have rejected the light, but our experience gives us a different message. It insists that our colleagues are really good people, even truth-seekers. We, therefore, are prone to see things from their point of view and accept their disdain for the church.

Meanwhile, Jewish writers inform us that the Pharisees had been the most respected class of people in Israel, and it seems that they were, but this was only show. It was a show that Jesus exposed:

·       “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full… And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.” (Mat. 6:1-2, 5)

What looks good to us is hypocrisy to our Lord. Instead, the best of us are just like you – self-seeking at our core. We therefore need to be born-again and don’t forget that so do they!

My Facebook Friend – he’s kind-of a guru - hates me. I too have become his sworn enemy. However, knowing the root of his hatred, I don’t take it personally and therefore just want the best for him.
A Facebook Friend posted this, and I couldn’t resist responding: “Well, it seems that you too are quite judgmental.” This response created a storm. One person responded in his defense:

·       He is not judgmental; he is just making an observation!

This is the way that the media usually responds when accused of conducting a war-against-Christians. At first, my friend refused to admit that he too was judgmental. However, I knew him to be a bold straight-shooter, and so I responded that I was disappointed in him, because he wouldn’t answer my question. Then he admitted:

·       Daniel...I really don't give a shit whether you are disappointed in me or not. I hope that is clear. Was it my intention to demean church-goers? No...not in this post. This post was pretty clear...an observation… The most judgmental people I have met have been regular church goers. Now...I can certainly demean church goers, in a number of ways. But in this post, I was simply demeaning judgmental people who go to church.

My “friend” is a sharp and intelligent man, and so I was surprised at his incoherent response – denying but yet affirming that he had been judgmental. He later declared himself “a sworn enemy of the organized/patriarchal/religious system.” 

A “sworn enemy” generally has both closed mind and heart. The attacks against me became increasingly vicious, not only from my friend but also from others. This made me reassess what I had written and why the dialogue became what it did. “Why are we hated,” I asked myself. My “friend” thinks that we are judgmental. I have no doubt that he sincerely feels this way. But what makes him think us more judgmental (and condemning) than others? True Christians are forgiving and compassionate, aren’t we?

Jesus explained that since we belong to Him, we will be hated as He is hated:

·       “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me.” (Mat. 10:21-22)

·       “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19)

As with Jesus, they will even put us to death, convinced that they are doing the right thing:


·       “All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.” (John 16:1-2)

Progressives – the communists – exterminated Christians with the justification that we are regressive elements that need to be destroyed in order to create a better world. Did they really believe that? Perhaps! But what is at the core of such a distorted belief?
Jesus explained that He was hated because He revealed the truth about others (John 7:7).

The more I pointed out my friend’s inconsistencies, the more incensed he became. Why? Jesus explained:


·       This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (John 3:19-21)

Jesus is the light, and He is hated for this. We too are the light (2 Cor. 5:19-21), and so we are hated. I know that this sounds arrogant, but we must arm ourselves with this awareness so that we do not suffer self-castigation when confronted with hatred. It goes with the turf, as Paul had warned:

·       In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Tim 3:12-13)

If we refuse to embrace this uncomfortable truth, the deception of this world will embrace us. It will then become even more difficult to live the Christian life. We will retreat and blame ourselves and the church that we had been overly judgmental.

Also, if we shy away from the Bible’s teachings about the depth of sin and spiritual darkness, we will fail to understand what we are confronting and blame ourselves instead. Meanwhile, Paul warned:

·       For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. (2 Cor. 2:14-15)

We are a stench to those who have rejected the light, but our experience gives us a different message. It insists that our colleagues are really good people, even truth-seekers. We, therefore, are prone to see things from their point of view and accept their disdain for the church.

Meanwhile, Jewish writers inform us that the Pharisees had been the most respected class of people in Israel, and it seems that they were, but this was only show. It was a show that Jesus exposed:

·       “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full… And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.” (Mat. 6:1-2, 5)

What looks good to us is hypocrisy to our Lord. Instead, the best of us are just like you – self-seeking at our core. We therefore need to be born-again and don’t forget that so do they!

My Facebook Friend – he’s kind-of a guru - hates me. I too have become his sworn enemy. However, knowing the root of his hatred, I don’t take it personally and therefore just want the best for him.