Health Digest - Timeline Photos

Health Digest - Timeline Photos

In God Eyes

you are the God who sees me."

Genesis 16:13 (KJV) 

   when I was a teenager, rushing out the house to meet my friends, I would invariably be stopped at the door by my father who'd say, "Joni, I want you to act as though someone were always watching. Don't forget that you're an Ereckson."
   That irked me. I didn't want someone pecking into my life observing everything I was doing. There were private, teenage things I wanted to keep hidden. What an embarrassment to have some friend of my father's encroach on my Saturday night turf to say, "Hi there, how's your dad doing?
   But now, many years later, I'm comforted by the idea that I ought to live as though someone were always looking. It's an incentive to live an

honest, responsible life. Besides, someone is watching. Your life and mine are an open book before the Lord.
   If you the love the works of darkness, that idea will embarrass you. If you love the light, the idea that God never takes His eyes off of  you will be a comfort. for those who are obedient, the watchful eye of God will seem
tender and protecting. For those who disobey, the open book of  your life incites  resentment and embarrassment.
  "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give
account" ( Hebrews 4:13 ). Fear must never be an incentive to obey, for it will only breed burdensome rule- keeping behavior. Please don't fear the watchful eye of God but draw comfort from His scrunity into your life. Let Him protect you, let Him guard you with His eye. See me, Lord, and know my every thought and action. I invite You to look into eveything today, everyhting I decide or say. Watch me please, and may Your steady  and loving gaze be my incentive to love You steadily in return.   

New back up Goals

                                                                

      I dont get any kind of thrill out catching you doing something 

Wrong. I'm not offering you a new life just to pull it back the minute

 you reach out for it.

      Where did this year fly to? Just when I get into groove of writing 

the correct year, I've got to learn a new one. It's hard to keep track 

anymore.

     That's why right now is a great time to take inventory. Go back 

over the year and ask yourself: Did I meet all of my goals, or at least 

some of them? Did I meet all of my goals, or at least those I remember? 

Have myrelationships strenghtened with family and friends? Did my life 

in the LordJesus deepen and grow? If I were to ask a close friend, 

would he say That I've changed for the better over the last year?

     I'm not asking you these things to make to you feel guilty. It's just

good to close out the old, to tie up all the loose ends, and to bring 

closure to one year before you begin a new one.

     Dig within and discover what you would like to have happen in your

Life this year. This helps you do your part it is an affirmation that you're

Interested in fully living life this year.

     So set aside a few minutes right now and take inventory.Consider

each question and turn it into a prayer as together we stand on the 

threshold of a new year. That gives us direction. They put a powerful

Force to play on a universal, conscious and subconscious level.

Goal gives our life direction.

What would you like to have happen in your life this year?

What would you like to do to accomplish? What good would  you like to 

attract into your life? What particular areas of  growth would you like to 

have happen to you? What block or character defect, would you like to 

have removed?

     What would you like to attain? Little things and big things? Where

Would you like to go? What would you like to have happen in friendship

and love? What would you like to have happen in your family life?

remember,Web aren't controlling  orthers with our goals we are trying 

to give direction To our life.

     What problem would you loke to see solved? What decision would 

 you like to maked? What would you like to happen in your career?

      What would you like to see happen inside and around you?

Write it down. Take  piece of paper, a few hours of your time, and write

all down as an affirmation of you, your life, a d your ability to choose. 

       Certainly things happen that are out of our control, sometimes these

 event are pleasant surprises; sometimes, they are of another nature. But. 

They are all part of the chapter that will  be this year in our life and will 

Leads us forward in the story. 

        The new year stands before us, like a chter kn a book. 

Waithing to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.

Today I will remember that there is. Powerful force motivated by 

Writng down goals. I will do that now, for the year  to come, and 

Regularly as needed. I will do it not to control but to do my part .

                  

The overcomer victory

          What shall we then say to these things?

          If God be for us, who can be against us?

                          Roman 8:31

     Did you ever remember  try to  reroute  a  stream by

Building a dam across the water with rocks and stones

when you were a child? Did you ever build a mud dam

to  collect  the flowing water and make a pool in which

to sail your toy boat?  Our  childlike  efforts  were never

Completely    successful.   Were.  They?  The   Stones

Eventually gave way to the rush of water and the mud

Dam finally washed downstream.

    For  5,000 years  dams  have  been  used  to control

Water---- to bprevent  floods, divert brivers,  store water

and irrigate land. But even todays mordern dams do not

Complete stop the flow of water back  into the streams

Or prevent its eventual return to the oceans.

   Every day we meet the challenge that can potentially 

divert  us and  even temporarily  defeat God's purpose

For our life. Our life may  have been derailed by failures,

Bad.  Decision,  or. mistakes,  but  if   we   give   those

Circumstances to the Lord, they will  never  defeat  His

Plan for us. In fact, we are usually  in  awe  as He takes

those circumstances and uses them to accomplish His

good and eternal purpose. (Romans 8:28.)

   God's   plan  can  never  be defeated---- and that   Is

Good  news  for  you  today.  God  is  in control,  which

Means   Nothing  Can   Happen  Which will defeat Him,

Even the willful disobedience of one person or a group

of people.

  If  that  is  true  for  the  Soverreign  of  the Universe, it 

Is  also  true  for  us---- if  our  purpose  are aligned with

His.  Even  though  God's  will  in  our life be temporarily

diverted  by our sin  or mistakes,  by  circumstances, or

Even  by  the  harm someone else inflicts on us, we can

Never  be   ultimately   Defeated   as  long   as  we   are 

Cooperating with Him.

Love Your Enemies

           How good and pleasant it is when brothers 

                            Live together in unity!

                                  Psalm 133:1

      With the Cold War over, American and Russian seem to

be looking bat  each other in a new way. Imagine  being an 

American soldier stationed in Bosnia-Herzegovina, working

alongside your  Russian  counterparts  How  do  you work 

together after decades of mistrust.

      American  and  Russia bofficers  who  were  asked  this 

question agreed that when it comes right down to it, people

are people, and soldier are soldiers. When there's a goal to

reach, one finds a way  to communicate. The mission is kept

in focus, ground rules are established, language barriers are

overcome, mutual interests are dicovered, and  before long,

friendship develop!

     The  early  Christian  believers  certainly  though  they had

 An enemy in Saul of Tarsus, and the feeling was mutual. Saul

was extremely active in persecuting Christian in Jerusalem and

was determined to deal the same harsh blows to believers in

Damascus. But then Jesus appeared to him and his life was

Dramatically changed.

      Believer in Damascus were suspicious of Saul when he

arrived and declared he was also a believer in Jesus Christ.

But as they witnessed his manner of living God dramatically 

changed their hearts. In the end, the apostle Paul became an 

ardent friend of believers everywhere.

     Have  you  secretly  been  at "war" with  a  co-worker or

Neighbor? Begining today make a  concerted  effort to  find 

common ground with that person. Smole when your instinct

tell you to grimace. Stay focused on your goals and stick to 

the ground rules when working or volunteering together. Talk

to them. Seek out hobbies, concerns, or family interests you

hold in common. Start  treating  the person as  you would a 

friend, not an enemy. That the fun begins!

    The Bibles says to love your enemies and pray for those

who despitefully use you, and in doing so you heap coals upon

Theirs  heads. ( see Roman 12:20.)  The  coals   are  blessing! 

When you sos blessing you reap blessing

 Now it Christmas time do it to a friends!!

Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!!!

                      

                               

The Pelagian Controversy

     For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners,

     So also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous

                                                                              (Roman 5: 19).

     Our study of human free will is, in a sense, a study of doctrine of 

original sin. "Original sin" does not refer to the first sin  Adam and Eve's 

eating of the Forbidden fruit, the event known in redemptive history 

as the fall of man but to the results of that sin. Virtually no one disputes 

 that the fall occured. But there has been and continues to be great 

controversy over the extent to which the human race was corrupted

by our first parents' sin.

   This controversy erupted in a major way early in the fifth century.

In his Confessions, Saint Augustine published a prayer: "Give me the 

grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will!"

He was asking for divine enabling to do whatever God might command

Him to do. But a British monk named Pelagius took exception to the

underlying theology in Augustine's prayer. A zealot for righteousness,

he agreed that God had the right to command his creatures.

    But Pelagius felt that a just God would not and could not command a

Creature to do something the creature lacked power to do. To him, the

Idea that man requires divine help to do his duty the idea expressed in

Augustine's prayer was repugnant. He believe that idea cast a shadow

on the righteousness of God. And so his dispute with Augustine became

A controversy over the Fall and its effects.

   Pelagius did not deny that Adam sinned. But he believe Adam 

had been created with the power to obey or disobey God. Futhermore, 

Adam's sin did not radically after his nature he retained a will that was

free to choose obedience. His sin make it harder for him to do so, but

not impossible. In Pelagius' view, all of Adam's decendants, far from

being plunged into a state of moral corruption by his sin, are born in the 

same moral condition in which adam was created with power to obey

or disobey. Thus, while affected by sin, mankind is good at the core.

And while grace assists obedience, it is not necessary. People can live 

perfect lives, and many have.

    As we will see, Augustine disputed Pelagius because his view made 

divine grace non-essential. That in turn made the whole concept of a 

redeemer superfluous. Thus, Pelagius' teaching was not just an eso-

teric theological point of view; it was an attack on the Gospel itself.

    Pelagius affirmed that man can live a life acceptable to God under

his own power. But the Bible proclaims that an essential step in our

salvation is the realization that we cannot save ourselves. Have You

reached this understanding? If not, continue to examine the scriptures

as we stady this issue. If so, praise God for redeeming you.

Take Up and Read

      A mixture of literary criticism, history of philosophy, religion, 

and scientific skepticism sound s like a sure cure for insomnia 

to most people. however, like most of the books we review, 

Roger Shattuck's forbidden knowledge is a profound work that

 is worthy of several reading.
      Of course, not everyone shares our view. for instance, one 

reviewer has said, "This work ...is the worst piece of scholarship

 that I have ever had the displeasure of reading. The lack of 

intellectual integrity is astounding, especially for someone so high 

up in the academic world... This book will appeal to those who 

secretly wish to resort back to the ol' days when life was simple 

and God was still an unassailable reality, but for those of a higher 

intellectual nature, this book is a travesty." still another enlightened 

soul titled his review," A thinly veiled attack on the first Amendment,"

 which summarizes the rest of the review.

     Oh horror of horrors Shattuck has committed the unpardonable 

sin of warning us of the damage done to individuals and society by 

pornograghy it is as if the rest of this book did not even exist for 

most of the negative reviewer--all they needed to do was to point to 

his argument for the existence of an objective morality that makes 

pornography wrong and their case was closed.
      Good review Outweighs the bad, though Many reviewers among 

them One ex-student of Shattuck, give insight into the development 

of the book. Insude information like this only reinforces my admiration 

for this author's work. 

      If you do read this book, don't read chaoter 7 on the Marguis 

de sade. Even reading the brief quotes from his wirk is too disturbing 

for most people. Also I encourage you to reaf Appendix 1 first. It gives

 six categories of forbidden knowledge. A powerful organizatioal tool to 

help the first-timer Reader know howto categories the examples in the 

text of the book, which Is published by Harcourt Brace and is already 

in its sevond printing. Give it Several thorough reading--- it deserves it.

 

The Day After

 "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and
perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set
before him, endured the cross scorning its
shame, and sat down at the right hand of the
 throne of God."                                     
                                                  Hebrew 12:2

    One of my favorite days of the holiday
season is the tweenty-sixth of December. The
 rushed conversation and frantic last -minute
purchasing are over. Between Christmas Day
and New Year's Eve I take as day or two off,
sleep in, get up to a relaxed breakfast, and
breathe a sigh of relief.
    Later in the morning, we collapse on the
couch in front of the fire. play board games,
or reopen gifts to take a longer, closer look.
we read books and flip through photos. We
nibble leftovers Christmas pudding and keep
a warm pot of coffee for anyone who may
happen to drop by. For supper that evening,
 the menu is more leftovers, perhaps
sandwiches of turkey and stuffing.It's casual,
 homey, and relaxed. But most important
it's simple.
    It's a deliberate kind of simplicity. Demands
and distractioins may sidetracked us before,
but December 26 is reserved for peace and
quiet.
Their'splenty of time to mediate on what the
Good News of our  Savior's birth really means.
There's time to ponder the future and pray.
There are more than enough quiet moments
to relax in the love of the Lord.
This week, aim for simplicity. The last few
weeks may have been filled with baking,
shopping concerts, gift wrapping and dinner
parties, but today, celebrate simplicity as you
fix your eyes on Jesus..
Lord Jesus, this week people around the world
heralded your birht and celebrate Your gift of
love. May the wonder of Your birth remain with
me all through thjis day as I fix my eyes on you.
 I quiet my heart, I relax my mind, I slow my
pace so that I may mediate on Your love, so
pure and simple.        

Cool quite heart

"Inrepentance and rest is Your salvation, in quitness and trust is your strenght."                      Isaiah 30:15

   It was a chilly night in Bethlehem People escaped the cold damp air and crowded into the little inn at the end of the street. They had left their donkey and camels in the back stable, had shut the door, and were now Laughing and chattering with distant relatives they had not seen in years.

  Family ties were renewed over bowls of hot soup and goblets of wine. People broke bread together, swapping stories sbout their long journey. A teenage boy strummed his lyre, and several fathers clapped their hands in time to the music.

  While balancing a tray of meats and breads, the innkeeper answer a knock at the door. A man calling himself Joseph stood outside with his cloak pulled tightly around his head. It was late , cold, and he and his young wife who was heavy with child needed a room. The innkeeper could barely hear Joseph speak with so much background noise, but he managed to explain 

that there was no room only an empty stall or two in the back stable.

  The innkeeper quickly apologized and slammed the door shut against Joseph stood and listened to the laughter behind the door. He sighted deeply, turned and quitely led Mary to the stable. While a celebration of music and feasting continued behind the warm walls of the inn, yards away, the Son of God quietly entered history.

  Sometimes the most special moment of Christmas happen not. During a crowed party but in cool, quiet heart. 

  What a contrast between the serene stable and the busy inn. If only someone had taken the time to peer out a back window, or leave the party to check on his donkey, just think what he would have discovered! Perhaps he would have seen the angels, the sheperds, and yes, even the Son of God.

What child Is This?

"You will be with child and givebirth to a son, and and you are to give him the name Jesus."    Luke 1:31(KJV) 

  If you ask the man on the street what he thinks of the babe Christmas, you'll be suprised at the answers. Just look at the folks who were there when it happened.

  The innkeeper was downright indifferent a census had come to town, and he was busy ringing up the cash register. Then there was Herod he Tried to destroy everything connected with the Christmas celebration.

Consider the shepherds in the field only after the angels bent over back-ward to explain the celestial fireworks were their fears finally put to rest.

  The wise men were curious, poking here and there with questions

until they found answer that satified. Still others, like Simeon in the temple,

Waited. Other people hoped, like Anna the prophetees. Then there were

those who, like Mary and Joseph, worshiped the new born King.

  People haven't changed much since Bible times, and the man on the street responds in much the sale way. Are you, like the innkeeper, indifferent?Too busy? Are you still searching, looking for answers? Or maybe you're 

frightened because the baby in the manger asks too much of you. Stop to think how you would have responded had you been the man on the Streets of Bethlehem that night.There are a thousand different ways to respond to the news That a Savior has been born to deliver man from his sins. But 

   The fact remains that until a child was born, this world was 

    cloak in utter darkness, abandoned, hopeless, and lost . But

       For unto us, a child is born, a Son is given! There is only one 

       Response. Worship and joyous praised!

    Lord Jesus, I only one response to Your birth Joy! No more

       Let sin and sorrow reign, nor thorns infest the ground! For You

       have come to make God's blessing know far as the curse is found!

What's at stake

        "Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened

         to me has really served to advance the gospel."

                                                                        ---Philippians 1: 12

Some  things  are  facts  of  life. Tires  blow  out  and  computers  crash.

Teeth decay and inflation skyrockets. Ants invade picnic and people get

Promoted ahead of us. Some things can't be avoided.

       Few of us have actual control over these facts of life. But before you

totally  absolve yourself from any nresponsibility, there's one more fact to 

consider:  You  are  responsible  for  the  way respond to these everyday,

Unavoidable inconvenience. You can either give up in dismay, or you can

look to your sovereign Lord, who has everything under control.

        The  apostle  Paul  assumed  responsibility  for  his  attitude  toward

trials. When he wrote  Philippians 1:12, he knew that his response played

a part in advancing the gospel -- that's why he took seriously his attitude

When he stumble upon  unavoidable problemas----- because  more  was

At stake. Other lives could be influenced. God was taking notice.

         You may not be in prison as was Paul. However, today you

          May find yourself in a set of circumstances over which you

         Have no control. The weather has ruined your ourdoor plans.

         The  traffic  forced  you  to  be late for an appointment. The

         Electricty went out thid morning in your home. You may  not

         be able to claim responsibility for the situation, buy you  not

          Be  able to claim respondiblity for the situation, but you can

         Be accountable for a godly response. Just remember what's

          at stakes.

         Dear Lord Jesus, I realize I that I have an opportunity today to

         Advance Your Gospel by my patient response to problems. I

         Prayed your Gospel by my patient response to problems I pray

         That as others look on ---whtether my family, neighbors or co-

         Theys will see that You give power and strenght to smile through

         Circumstances. I knew that and strenght to smile  through the

          Your day.

           

         

         

Hezekiah's Dread

         I said, "I shall not see YAH, the LORD in the land of the living"

                                             ( Isaiah38:11a)

Read: Isaiah 38:9-22

         Hezekiah's response to Isaiah's message that God would heal him

Gives us much insight into what he was thinking during his illness. Isaiah 

initially had come to him saying. "Thus says the LORD: 'Set your house in 

order, for you shall due and not live.'" When we read of Hezekiah's lament 

in the following verse, we might think that he was unduly attached to this 

world and wrongly grieved by Isaiah's sudden message. But was not an 

undue attachment this world that caused Hezekiah so much grief. When

We analyze the language og his lament and his subsequent thanksgiving

for the grace of God, we learn that he assumed that God was angry with 

him for something he had done wrong, and that He was punishing him by

Cutting him ohh without recnciliation. Hezekiah  was afraid  that he never 

see the face of God and that would be cast into darkness forever.

        So when he complained that he had been cut off  in the prime of his 

life and deprived of the remainder of his years, he was lamenting the loss

of life  in  service  to  the  Lord. He  never  once  said  he  didn't  deserve 

judgment, for he knew that he was a sinner. He did say that he had walked

before the Lord in truth with a loyal, just as David did, but he didn't accuse

God of acting unjustly. He simply wanted God to be merciful and to keep 

him his life-giving presence.

        Is it any wonder that Hezekiah wept bitterly and that his heart was

So heavy? And yet, despite his fears, he  still  went to the lord in prayer.

God  knew  his  heart. He  knew  Hezekiah's  main  concern  was being 

reconciled to Him. Hezekiah  didn't  want  to  live  for the  sake of  living.

He didn't to avoid death  because  it would  take  him  from  this  earthly 

existence. He simply didn't want to be separated from God, and that was

Happening He wanted to be alive in the presence of the Lord so he could

praise him with other believers: "For Sheol cannot thank You, death praise

You: as I do this day."

       Whether in life or in death, this should be our desire. Our greatest fear

should be separation from the Lord, not from this world. But thanks be to 

God that in Jesus Christ we have the assurance that nothing can separate 

us from the love of God. Amen

        I believe the writer see more insight how Hezekiah response God's 

message toward us, to know more of Him we need to encounter God 

one on one because He didn't leave as orphan  He send  His Spirit the 

comforter. That his Revelation is an invitation toward us. That i also write

 The Song.

         Are you more afraid of living without this world  or living wiyhout 

God's Hezekiah could face death if he knew he'd be with the Lord. But

Without that assurance, he was devastated. If you discovered you would

die soon, what would cause you to die confident that you would go to 

heaven? Consider how you want to spend your final days.

A Learning Experience

"The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant words Promote instruction."                  Proverbs 16:21

I'm a quadriplegic, but I can drive a van ( it doesn't have a steering wheel, But that's another story). Recently I cruised into a drive- thru lane of a fast Food restuarant to order hamburgers and Cokes. After I gave my order over the intercom, I explained that the boy at the window would have to help me  since I was disabled. No problem. I then drove up to the delivery window, struck out my arm splint. That was no problem, euther. As another srver was bagging my order, I asked him to place my change in it as well. Both boys looked at each other, a little confused, and so I smiled and slowly repeated my instructions. Both servers got the message, and they even wrapped the change in a napkin before they dropped it into the bag with the food. They handed me my order, but I had to ask, " Coukd you please lean out of your window a bit more and wedge the bag right here between me and the van doir? Both boys looked at each other again. "Remember? I can't use my hands? I smiled. Put "Oh yeah," they laughed and procceeded to reach over and fasten the package securely between my wheelchair and the door. They waved as I drove off. And smiled back knowing those two boys would now have a new appreciation for disabled people. What could have been an awkward, embarrassing situation turned out to be fun. Today, take a complicated situation and with time, patience, and a smile turn it into something positive for you and for Others. 

         

What We Know That Ain't So

It is the glory of kings, Solomon tells us, to search out a matter (Pro.25:2). Likewise, the psalmist tells us that the works of the Lord are great, and that everyone who has pleasure in them searches them out(Ps.111:2). Consequently, we are that science, rightly understood, is a glorious thing. This had been understood and acknowledge in history particulaly by those with a full-orbed biblical worldview.

       

        The problem arises with all the bad information that we think is science, such as junk pop science or politicized science. Scientists who do not acknowledge a God with final, ultimate knowledge of every created thing have problem'.Those men who think they are the first ones to know anything can, on principle, know nothing. By contrast, men who think God's thoughts after Him can come to know as Solomon knew ( 1Kings 4:29-34 ). A fact not know by God can never be discovered by anyone. And those things in the world that He knows can, in principle, be known by those men who search them out.

       But when scientists refuse to acknowledge an omniscient Creator God, their pretension to actual knowledge become funnier and funnier. This is because We all instinctively know that someone around here must be the Omniscient one. If we have denied that God can be that one, then someone else must take on the mantle. In our society, this priestcraft, this shamanism, is performed with a white lad coat. This is why the scientific establishment makes pronouncements, and this is why the people, hungry for a  word of knowledge from behind the veil, hang on every word. This is why we can actually sell medicines using an actor who confess that he is not a doctor but he plays one on TV. I hesistate to use particular examples because science changes so often. Nevetheless, take a very recent one the medical establishment left everyone flummoxed when it announced that a high-fiver diethas, ahem no value in preventing colon cancer. Devotees have been eating Shredded Lawn Clippings for 30 years or so, and then they read this in the morning paper. It makes a guy think or ought to. The difficult is not with the research, with trying to search out a matter. And there is no problem with correcting a mistake once it is discovered. The problem is with the hurbris in the meantime, the lack of humility. In godless universe, we might admit under pressure that we don't know everything, but we still think we  know the most. And so this means that every bit new information, or pseudo-information, requires us to act now. Anything less is irresponsible. There is no one greater or wiser in whom we might trust.

        This means that pur flailing anout is the best we have. Carcinogenic hamburger patties, oil spills, carbon monoxide, global warming, nuclear winter you name it. We notice that A might cause B. Immediately demand federal legislation banning A, forgetting that A might also cause, who knows, C, D, E, F, G, and M, three/quarters of which help make the sky blue and the grass green. If someone notices a hole in the ozone, we do not hear cries to study the hole for three hundred years to see if there might be a problem. Instead, we rush in, because we are without God and without hope in the world.

        We have gorgotten thay whod gave us His law. He had told us how to live. And nowhere in Deuteronomy does it say? "And whatever you do, don't mess with those fluorocarbons." In saying this I am not taking a stand, one way or the other, on fluorocarbons. But the point is to put them and their trouble-making potential, or lack of it, into perspective. We do not need to panic over the prospect of life as we know it coming to an end just because we still have those toilets with water tanks on the back.

        C.S. Lewis once commented on the debt that he owed a friend who taught him that the present is a mere period in history. And like every period in history, it had its very blind spots. One of ours is that we think our science can see what it cannot. But the limitation is not in our science; it is our thrology. We are amazed that doctors usef to bleed theirs patients. But we then assume, as a rigid  point of dogma, thatbwe zte doing nothing comparable. We believe, without reflection, thatbno one in the future will,be amazed and appalled at what we  are doing today.

        It would be a mistake, thought, to think thatbthose involved in all this are stupid . They know what they are about; they do what they do in order to gain power. In another insightful comment, Lewis rejected the idea that man is gaining mastery over nature. He is actually gaining mastery over men, using nature as his instrument. A people without faith in God are of necesssity a fearful, timid, enslaved people. And their science keeps them that way.

        

       

Edwards on the Will

      For the good that i will to do, I do not do; 

      but the evil I will not to do, that I practice

                        ( Rom. 7:19 ) 

      Read 7:14-25

    

       In 1754, the American pastor, theologian,

and philosopher Jonathan Edwards published 

The freedom of the will, a classic philosophical

treatise on the nature of the human will. But do 

not let the title deceive you; Edwards was not 

declaring that the will of fallen man is completely

free. Rather, he was exploring the sense in which

and the extent to which man can be said to have

free will.

      In the book, Edwards analyzed the operation 

of the will in light of the law of causality, which states

that every effect must have an antecedent cause. 

He saw human choices as effects that have causes.

That droves him to focus on the issue of inclination.

He said the choices people make for specific reason,

and the mind supplies those reasons. People's choices

are based on what they deem will be good, or pleasing,

for them. But, Edwards notes, people's inclinations 

are constantly varying. They are forced, therefore, to 

obey the desire that is strongest at moment of choice.

There may be multiple desires, one may win out at

one moment, another at the next. We see this sort 

of multi-facet inclination in Roman 7  where Paul 

speaks of his conflicting desires to obey Christ and

to sin. It was Edwards' contention that Paul would 

have made each choice according to the desire that 

was paramount at the moment of his decision. And

all people do the same. This is the essence of freedom,

the power to choose what the mind deems good at the 

moment. Edwards' key point is that without an inclination,

there would be no choice. An "indifferent choice" the

notion of free will espoused by some philosophers and 

theologians is an irrational concept, he says, for two 

reasons. First, choosing one thing over another for no

reason would have no moral significance. Intent is 

essential to a moral decision. Second, indifference

would make choice impossible. Any choice would be 

an effect without a cause, and that is nonsensical.

      Like Augustine centuries before him, Edwards 

affirmed that man has the natural ability to make 

choices. The human will is not coerced by outside

agents. But it lacks the moral ability to choose the 

things of God, because in the Fall man lost his desire

and inclination for God. As Augustine put it, we have

free will but lack of liberty. This is the orthodox 

understanding of the will of sinful man.

What are some of the inclination that affect your 

choices, particularly your sinful choices? Take some

time today to analyze why you decide to sin. What is 

It about particular sins that makes them appealing? 

as you think on these things, ask God to help you 

see your sins and their root causes, and to help 

You choose obedience.

Sniffing out the Truth

     Opinion are likes noses, they say everyone has one. and one very common nose is that this bit of received wisdom means that we never really can know the truth. That, of course, is a truth claim, and therefore contradicts itself. But perhaps one of the reason our postmodern culture has a tendency to embrace relativism is that it is coming out  of a modernist culture that was over-confident in its capacity for knowledge. Being tired of living in a culture of know-it-alls, we have instead become the know-nothing culture.                              

      The pseudo-science of psychology perhaps has been most given to epistemological hubris. One pop psychologist claim to be able to read people's postures, telling us in the best selling body language that crossed arms are a sign of hostility and folded fingers a sign of perceived superiority. Sigmund Freud claim to be able to tell us why some folks chew pencils and other are overly fastidious. The subconscious mind, we told, was out there in the open for all of us to read. The underground man is always coming up for air.

     "The truth is that we don't always know the truth". Such should not send us scurring into skepticism, just appropriate humility. We ought not to claim to know more than we do, especially about the motives of others. Instead it should gives pause before we trust our own assessments. It also means we should beware of base motives when others are speaking well of us.

      Consider Paul's before Felix, the Roman governor of Judea. The Sanhedrin had hired a mouthpiece a lawyer named Tertullus, to make the case against Paul. First Tertullus set the stage Felix: "" we have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your forsight has brought about reforms in this nation. Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly'" (Acts 24:2b-4,NIV ). Felix should have heard that he was about to hear from a manipulative lick-spittle with no interest in the truth. What he probably heard was a "wise man," one of the few to recognize his own beneficent rule. Both the speaker and the hearer were caught up in their own deceiful hearts.

       Gentile Tertullus then turned his attention to the accused: '"we have found this man to be troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him'" ( vv.5-7 ). Tertullus may well have believe that he was now speaking the truth. This may in fact have been his perception of the events surrounding Paul in Jerusalem. The distinction, however, between truth and falsehood is not grounded in the sincerity of the believer. Paul was equally sincere in his belief that he was guilty of none of these charges.

        The wise in our age would affirm that both are right and that neither is right. Because people sincerely disagree, it is all a matter of perception, and no real truth exists. But in our age are fools. Paul went and preached the Gospel. He did so with a clean conscience. His goal was that his brother in flesh would come to worship the Messiah for which they had been waithing. That preaching pricked the hearts of those who heard, and they turn caused trouble and rioted. But the truth is that neither Paul nor the truth caused the trouble. Instead it was the hatred toward the truth that caused the trouble.

       Had Paul not been sincere, however, he still would not have stood guilty. He had there been a battery of court-appointed psychologists at the trial to testify that Paul had a titanic case of megalomania, (see, look at the way he fold his fingers, and how he sign his name with such big letters ), he still would not have been the cause of this riots. The only issue for Felix to decide was whether or not the message of paul was true. If it was true, those who rejected it were to blame. If it was false, then paul was to blame.

        Sin are like the pores in our skin everybody has a lot of them. One of the reasons that we go out in search of knowledge that we cannot possibly find, one of the reading we seek to probe our darkest parts, is that we can use the knowledge we think we have to trump the knowledge that is as plain as the noses on our faces. If Felix could get at Paul's motives, he have no trouble over the truth claim  that was making. And if he could avoid that, Felix could avoid the claim of Jesus Christ on his life. "We seek what we cannot know so as to hide from what we do know." At the end of the day , Tertullus' message to Felix was one of praise and peace. And if Paul was right, Felix had to repent, admit his sins, and serve another King. And so Paul remained a prisoner.

       We would do well to judge better than Felix, to aspire to believe that which is true, because it is true, no matter what it says about us. We would do well to heed the wisdom of the true King, who told us that we would know the truth and that it would set us free. We must believe what we know, and leave the rest in the hands of the One who knows us.

                    

Returning to your Failures

      But simon answered and said to him "Master, 

      we have toiled all night and caught nothing, 

    nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net."

                                  Luke 5:5

     No one knows how to help you in your times of 

Failures as Jesus does! He will not overlook. Your 

Shotcoming or simply encourage you to do better

The next time. He will gives you victory in the midst

of your failure.

      Peter had fished all night without success. His 

Was not  just a meager catch; he had caught nothing,

even thought he was askilled fisherman. Jesus  could 

Have said , have said, " Peter. Dont. Worry about

Your empty Net. You'll soon be in a business anyway"

Instead. Jesus to, him to launch out into the deep 

And to cast out his nets for a catch. How humbling 

It must have been for Peter!

    Here  was a carpenter telling this outspoken 

fisherman how to fish!

     Jesus often gets your undivide attention when you

Fail. He something takes you back to your place of 

Defeat in order to build something good into Your.

you may assume he must not want you to continues 

Because you failed sonmiserably in your attempt. 

Perhap your problema was that you relied on own

strenght instead of the Master's. Maybe you failed

In a relationship. Jesus will not allow to abandon it;

He will help you learn from your failure and experience

The difference he can make when He make when guides

Your relationship. When you try in God's strenght you may 

Discover that success is indeed within your  grasp. 

If you have recently  experiences  failure, you  may on the

Brink of receiving a profound revelation from God.!

                   

Our Faithful God

"know therefore that the Lord your god is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generation of those who love him and keep his commands" Deuteronomy 7:9(KJV) 

   The sun is shining brightly with not a cloud in the sky. The birds are Chirping. No disagreements hanging over your head. No pressures. All bills paid. Nothing but clear 

sailing. Little wonder you find yourself Saying out loud, "Lord, this is great. You are wonderful!" True, we get excited about God when circumstances are delightful, 

When the weather invigorates us, bills are paid, the medical check-up goes find, and nobody is holding anything over our heads. When things are good, God is good. If things are bad, then God is off in tasmania, taking care of little devils, or in the Middle East setting the stage for Armageddon.

   We are so prone to let our circumstances whether good or bad dictate our view of God. But time and again the Bible tells us that God Is faithful. He is not just a faithful God but the faithful God. He is the same steadfast and good Father yesterday today, and forever. Scripture alone should be our frame of reference for you who the 

Lord Really is, for circumstances do not a good theology make.Remember this lesson the next times you are quick to tell God How wonderful He is on a golden morning or a peaceful fireside Evening. Whether the day is grand or gloomy, every day Is a great day to give praise to God. "why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith. for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God. You are God my stronghold... Send forth Your light and your truth, let them guide me to You, my joy and my delight.

She Is Not Gone

      "Precious in the sight of the Lord 

        is the death of his saints."

                   Psalm 116:15

Edna Halim was a saintly old woman. She 

sat humped over in a wheelchair the many

year she lived in a nursing home. Edna and

I were pen pals those years. Her letters not 

only overflowed with smile and joyful obser-

vations about nurses and friends, but her 

envelopeds would spill over with godpel

tracts, crocheted bookmarkers, and cpies 

of poems and hymns. Edna was my 

inspiration.

I just received word that Edna passed away, 

All at once I feel sadness and joy, perhaps

this poem explain why.

I am standing upon the seashore. A ship at

my side spreads, her white sails to the morning

breeze and starts fir the blue ocean. She is an 

objectt of beauty and strenght, and I stand and

watch her until at at lenght she hangs like a speck

of white cloud just where the sea and dky come 

down to mingle with each other. Then someone

at my side says: "There! She's gone."

Gone where? Gone from my sight that is all.

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar

as she was when she left my side, and just as 

able to bear her load of living freight to the place

of destination. Her diminished size is in me, 

not in her; and just at the moment when someone

at my side say's " there! She's gone," there are

other eyes watching her coming, and other 

voices ready to take up the glad shout, "There

:she comes!" And that is Dying!

                                                   Author Unknown

The lenght of our days is in Your hands, O Lord. 

What counts, thought, is not how long we live

but we spend those days. Gives us wisdom to 

Know how short, how fleeting life really is.

SCIENCE of INTERPRETATION

        "The grass withers, the flower fades, 

         But the word of our God stands forever"

                             Isaiah 40:7-8

         Waves of new abstract and chaotic styles have 

swept the art world in the twentieth century, making it

a challenge for critics to determine the meaning of a 

painting or the message intended by a sculptor. In fact,

modern artists sometimes go so far as to deny that their

work has any objective meaning at all. By saying this, 

they assert that they had nothing in mind to guide the 

creation of their works. Critics who seek to interpret the

art are thus left in the darkness of subjectivism.

         Thankfully, biblical interpretation does not function

in this way. The testimony of scripture is that God inspired

the Bible to communicate His revelation to mankind. He

clearly had an objective meaning in mind for each and 

every passage of scripture. As interpreters of Bible, 

Christian have the task of finding and understanding

that meaning. The process of doing this is not an art but

a science, a subdivision of theology called hermeneutics .

like every science, it has methods and rules that are 

designed to help it carry out its appointed task. There are 

many school of hermeneutics, but the classical protestant

approach is known as the gramatico-historical school.

Its method is to study the historical situation in which

Bible passages were written. It asks question such as:

"Who was the author?" "Whom was the author writing?"

and "How were the author's words, grammar, and syntax

used at the time?" The goal is to find the original meaning

of the text. Because the Bible asserts that the Word of God

stands forever, no part of it can be dismissed as too primitive

for us, as some interpreter do. Neither can we assume that

Scripture will speak to us mystically apart from its historical

 context, as others assert. All of the Bible's history and 

background contribute to our understanding of it, and we

must discover its original meaning if we are to have any

hope of applying its message to our vastly different 

modern culture.

       Of course, before we can begin to discover the Bible's

original meaning we must famiiarize ourselves with its

Multiplicity of literary forms and devices. It is crucial that

we recognize the form of the passage we are studying,

for different literary form require different interpretive

techniques. Similarly, we must be able to recognize the

devices used in all the literary form in scripture. Our next

few studies will concentrate on these forms and devices

employed by scripture.

Isaiah 4:-6

Galatians 3