Maintaining my focus....

I am resolving to do a couple of things differently in regards to these two blogs of mine and keep with the original intent more consistently (I hope, lol) and make Susan's Flutterbys about day to day life and recipes, photos that I take (unless there is a scriptural connection) and keep this one strictly on the topic of anything scriptural such as things regarding the church and poetry and music and Christian books and authors, sermons etc, as well as any musings that I have on Bible passages.

Currently I'm reading a wonderful book by Henry M. Morris entitled  "The Biblical Basis for Modern Science". I had begun reading this many years ago, and somehow life intervened and got me sidetracked (imagine that!!) and I'm finally getting back to it. I have already had so many wonderful insights from it and will share a few in the next couple of blog posts.

Be blessed my brothers and sisters in Christ, and pray that you will be prepared for the day that you will meet Jesus face to face.

The Gifts of the Spirit Part 1

Whether you are a Cessationist or a Charismatic, you will (I hope) enjoy this dialogue on the subject. I myself do not go so far as to label myself a Charismatic nor a Cessationist. I agree that the Lord by His Spirit can do all things that are needful to truly and powerfully bring His chosen into the family of God. I find in the gospel of John that it is the Holy Spirit who brings all things Jesus said to our remembrance.

When I think of a scripture that is an answer to something that is arbitrarily believed contrary to what the scriptures actually say, I know it is the Spirit of God teaching me what to answer in due season, and that He gives me the discernment that is needed to know the difference between right and wrong teaching also corroborated with looking to what the Bible says on these things just as the Bereans made sure what was being taught lined up with scripture.

I think both sides of this debate have persons who we can agree tend to "go too far" in either direction of for or against. I think there are indeed charlatans on the side of the charismatic side, but that there are also deceivers on the cessationist side, and stifle the Spirit of God, and therefore to only disagree with a position because you have interacted with some of those deceivers and not because of having a direct and fully formed basis for that position by careful study in the matter is somewhat shortsighted.

Having given as a small introduction a few things as I understand them on this topic, I give you this debate to pray about and may you be blessed by the discussion and may they be for further study and prayer in your life and the Lord's developing His gifts to His current disciples in the faith, as He determined beforehand to do for His people, and for the truth He has revealed in His word to reach all those that are to be found in Him.

"God Doesn't Make Junk" Part One

This is a quote I've heard often...and it is true, yet and however, the Bible does tell us that the good that God created had a potential for becoming bad, and as we can see, it did.

The things of this world, including you and I, are decaying and dying. Yet God made a way to infuse us with His Spirit, but it is done under His conditions, and He causes the healthy changes, not our will...not our religion, not our goodness...His power, His will and done His way.

I've done quite a few posts on the topic of falling away on my other blog I wanted to have this blog to focus more on the Bible, mostly on refreshing and uplifting topics...

Does Correct Doctrine About the Rapture Matter?

I think it does. 2 hour video explains with the Bible why the pre-trib doctrine is not Biblical, and why it is a tool of the devil to blind the sheep:

For Petra: Count it all JOY!

Link to photo

James 1:2-8 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

There is so much packed into that passage. It is a wonderful passage full of promise. There is that fact that the latter portion has been abused by the word/faith (or “name it and claim it”) crowd. I know, I know...it isn't talking at all about increasing your worldly possessions, in fact, if you do increase in worldly possessions, it is more of a burden and cause for temptation and sorrow in the life of the true believer:

Proverbs 30:7-9

Two things have I required of Thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

There are so many evils in this world, temptations, and those who get caught in their snares, and make a mockery of the name of the Lord through the misapplication of things He has said to us. These are all here for our learning. Through all these things we learn to depend on Jesus more, to seek His face while there are many today who disappoint or bring dishonor to such terms as JUSTICE and TRUTH. There is so much corruption, so much that is vile or empty of value. God sees it all much better than any of us. We need to see it and beware, seeing the consequences that these evil practices are bringing. All the while, as we see the evil of this world, we can thank the Lord that we will only be here a short while. He has promised us a much better inheritance.

Hallelujah!

Joseph's Troubles

Last night was an especially dark night for me at work.... in fact, the whole weekend was horrible. There's an individual that I've had trouble with which the Lord has been working with me on (I mention it here ). And I know that she (and a couple of others) have turned the story around and have told the newbies at work false c**p about me. So yeah, I pray about it, but every day I dread going to work. This weekend brought this situation to a head for me. I felt trapped in a really bad situation, and it feels like the new people fresh out of xray school (one is slightly older than my oldest granddaughter) treat me like I don't know the first thing about my job, and are telling me what to do like they are the senior techs. ARE you K-I-D-D-I-N-G me? Really?

Last night on the way home from work, I was still a bit bothered by the situation. When I was getting ready for bed, I was muttering my frustration to the Lord by saying "I know how I'm SUPPOSED to be, but that isn't me. I can pretend to be above all of that, but honestly I'm being crushed under it. Please help me be the person I'm supposed to be. Please help me bear this burden in a way that honors You."

I awoke this morning to the thought of Joseph.... no details, just "Remember Joseph"... so I thought about Joseph. Joseph was treated terribly by his brothers, and sent into slavery. But God blessed him and he found a good job working for a wealthy Egyptian. He had everything going for him, but the wife of the wealthy Egyptian had it out for him. She lied about him to her husband to cover herself (boy can I relate to this situation) and he ended up getting sent to prison (dungeons in those days, which I'm sure make the prisons of today seem luxurious in comparison). Joseph suffered for years under that burden, but he made the best of it, and the Lord blessed him for it....but he endured many years of darkness in an Egyptian prison system before being elevated out of that situation.Every time things got bad for Joseph, it turned out for good, but then would become something even worse than before, which would then turn out for good, and again become EVEN WORSE....and then ultimately after MUCH SUFFERING, it turned out excellent....I think I'm in the EVEN WORSE phase so the MUCH SUFFERING part is still to come....sigh....

AND, yesterday, when I was reading the book of Amos during my lunch break, I came across this:

"the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it [is] an evil time" Amos 5:13

Up to this point in time, I haven't been prudent, and haven't suffered this very silently. I have been bitter about what has happened to me there, and am constantly trying to watch my back around "certain people", and that list keeps growing there.

So the thought to "Remember Joseph" was a perfect fit for what I need to do...and which also helps me  with Amos 5:13, but only if it is the Lord (Truth) doing it not through my flesh (the flesh has me faking it to try to appear righteous, with my "I'm doing this and look at how good I am while I am suffering for the sake of these idiots" routine). 

"Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This [is] the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts." Zechariah 4:6

The Truth does set me free.

Bible Timeline

In taking my ancient history class, I wanted to be able to put the civilizations I was reading and learning about into the perspective of what was happening as recorded in the Bible during the times we were studying about, and found this timeline:

Page one of timeline:
http://www.abiblestudy.com/part1.html

Here's a little background to how the creator of this timeline got started, and his statement of faith:

http://www.abiblestudy.com/index.html

Obedience and Submission

(..and then there is also groveling)

The two words seem to be the same, and often get confused for each other. Our human bosses and husbands want obedience and submission, mixing the two to mean the same thing.

Who gets that "top dog" position? and Is it really deserved?

Submission may seem to ourselves like groveling, true? Especially if we do it with a spirit of "I hate all that you stand for, but if I don't lick your boots I know I might lose my":

1. "job"
2. "standing in the community"
3. "life"

etc, etc, etc.....

If we submit to authority does that mean we have to obey in every way? I look to Daniel's three friends for the answer to try to gain a bit of clarity in that area. They were to obey the edict that was put into place and used by their enemies to trap them.(Daniel 3:12). Did they submit to the edict? Did they obey the order to pray to Nebuchadnezzar's image? No. They did not curse the king, nor did they obey him by bowing down to him in this unlawful law, and counted on God to see them through whether they lived or died as a result.

When I look for relevance in contemporary terms in my own work situation, I see that I can submit to authority by acknowledging the fact that a person has been placed in a position that is superior to my own and behave accordingly. If he or she abuses the authority in order to try to get me to grovel, I must submit it to God who will intervene in the way He sees fit. It may mean that I may lose my job and go through fiery trials as a result of that, and those trials may last several months or even years. It may be  like it was for Daniel's three friends "out of the frying pan and into the fire", and like them I may have to endure intense heat or perhaps even death and the end of my mortal existence. They were ready to die, if necessary, knowing God was with them. There is a difference between not bowing down (groveling) and actively railing against (cursing or demonstrating and openly protesting against) authority. That is the area that I sometimes (often?) cross the line, and there is a huge difference between these two, although sometimes it does seem like a fine line, really there is a big difference. Not bowing takes an inner strength and self control and a meekness that is conformed to the way Jesus stood before His accusers. He did not rail against them or curse them. He stood His ground with the truth being His only defense, the truth did not need to be screamed out in self justification. It (truth) just is. He did not grovel, He did not bow, but He did not demand, and He did not run from conflict, He faced it head on as they led Him to His death. Here was the God of the universe made flesh, and He let Himself be led to His execution.....He, the Creator of all, was led....He was led....He should have been leading, but He was led....and He followed, not grovelling, but He did follow their leading, knowing it would lead to His demise, knowing God's purpose was in it. (I had to keep repeating that because it completely defies all logic, and my brain continues to struggle with that one)

Dying to self has been something that I have been praying to understand better over the last several months, and as things have been heating up in certain areas of my life, I know it is in answer to my prayer to understand the phenomenon of the worm that dieth not (Mark chapter 9).

And by the way, I don't believe God wants us to grovel before Him either, but we are to submit AND obey Him, because what He desires from us is His perfect will for us. And if we can submit to human authority (without groveling) whom we do not necessarily hold to high regard, we can get a glimpse of true submission to God and that it likewise is done without groveling.

Saul and David

A situation at work has been giving me grief. It has been going on for a long time between a certain coworker and I. Recent events put her into a position of authority over me. I cannot even begin to tell you, there are so many things that are so wrong about this situation that I don't even know where to begin, except to say that I have been in misery. I've been in constant prayer about this and some other things, this being THE THING that most confronts me directly so it being uppermost in my thought and prayer life. Then, a couple of weeks ago the thought "which would you choose?" came to me. If there were two seats open and available, and God offered me a choice between:

A. The highest and most important position
                                 IN HELL

B. The lowest and most humbling position
                                 IN HEAVEN

which would I choose?
Well, that made me feel a bit better. :) Of course I would choose B, but it still seemed like my attitude and actions were still saying I wanted A.....sigh.

Yesterday morning, before work, the relationship between King Saul and the future King David came to mind. What was that relationship like? Was Saul a good king? Did Saul have alot of issues? Sure he did. What did David do? How did David handle the Saul situation? I saw alot of parallels to my own situation. I know Jesus brought that relationship to my mind to mull over. David knew that Saul had problems and was trying his best to discredit and kill David (might have even been worse for David than my situation because I don't believe the girl is trying to have me killed.....but then again...??? I may have been watching too many 48 Hours shows, lol)

One day Jesus will return, and all of this nonsense will indeed cease to be. BUT, what did we as His stewards do with the time? Were we ourselves wise or wicked stewards? I'm so grateful that I have a gentle Savior who keeps reminding me of what is truly important and what is truly "Dust in the Wind".

Seeking a photo to add to these thoughts, the Lord shared this (which dovetails with this situation perfectly! imagine that!)

http://mudpreacher.org/2009/01/19/authority-honor-and-rewards-in-the-age-of-snark/

Love that blog entry!...I'm going to have to look around that blog site some more! 

Water

Water is essential to our existence. When I lived in California we were constantly made aware of the crucial and dire problems they continually encounter because of their lack of sufficient amounts of water.We need it to drink, bathe, wash our clothes, clean our homes, water our gardens...and we need moisture (water) in the air to breathe. Often the topic of how necessary water (immersion) baptism is to being saved comes up. I found this on Dr. Robert Luginbill's website....excerpt (find the entire discussion at link):



http://www.ichthys.com/e-mails.htm

Question #1: 

Hello Robert,

I'm not sure if you have answered this somewhere, but if you could give your interpretation. This deals with baptism, i am a firm believer that salvation is a gift given by GOD and that a baptism does not save. I find most people dis-agree with that view and it's easy to see why with many references if scripture that make it appear so. One such reference below makes it seem like a water baptism is required. I've heard some say that their tears shed in their acceptance of Jesus as savior is what they feel is sufficient to satisfy that verse. Can you elaborate. Thanks for your time in advance.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5)

In Christ,

Response #1: 

Good to make your acquaintance. This is a very involved question and a topic which is somewhat "hot" at present. While there are some materials for this on the site (see the links below), not I everything I have written about the topic of water-baptism is yet posted. For example, it is only recently that it has come to my attention that there are some people out there who actually see water-baptism in Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John chapter three (your citation – I assume you are getting this from someone else). I don't believe any of the materials yet posted at Ichthys at present deal with this particular verse and chapter, though I have written some about it in the recent past. Simply put, neither the word, nor the action, nor the concept of water-baptism occurs anywhere in this conversation or context, and indeed the word "water" is to be found only in verse 5. It never occurred to me before (that is, before being confronted by some misguided water-baptism-necessary-for-salvation folks) that anyone would find water-baptism in this conversation. After all, Jesus never water-baptized to anyone (as John himself makes clear in the next chapter: Jn.4:2), never mentioned water-baptism elsewhere (including in Matthew 28:16-20 where He is referring to Spirit baptism), and never suggested anywhere that any such ritual was necessary to be saved. Indeed, this context, John chapter three, is one of the strongest expressions of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone to found anywhere in the entire Bible. Therefore to assume that the mention of the word "water" reverses all that is to put on a very heavy set of blinders purely for the purpose of advancing one's own (in this case false) doctrinal agenda.

Naturally, the word "water" in John 3:5 has to be explained, and that is very easy to do. Throughout scripture, "water" is an extremely common symbol for the Word of God (Is.55:1; Jn.3:5; 3:8 [Greek]; 4:10; 4:13-14; 7:37-39; 1Cor.10:4; Eph.5:26; Heb.10:22; 1Jn.5:8 [Trinity]; Rev.7:17; 21:6; 22:1; 22:17; cf. Ex 17:5-6; Num. 20:8; Ps.42:1-2; 63:1; 84:5-7; Is.41:17; 44:3).

And the Spirit and the bride say "Come!" And let the one who hears say, "Come!" And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.
Revelation 22:17

And this is precisely what we have here in John 3:5, with this use of the word "water" meaning the life-giving truth used by the Spirit to quicken those who believe (and often also for the Spirit who ministers the Word, making it understandable; cf. 1Cor.2:4-16). Moreover, this usage is certainly not unprecedented elsewhere in John's gospel:

(13) Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, (14) but whoever drinks the water I give him (i.e., who believes in the gospel of eternal life through faith in Me) will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4:13-14 NIV

He that believeth on me as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (i.e., the truth will live in him, as a believer). But this spake he of the Spirit, [who ministers the Word received] which they that believe on him should receive.
John 7:38-39a KJV

Just as literal water is essential for life, so the Word of God is essential for spiritual life (with an initial "drink" necessary for initial regeneration). Thus, in John 3:5 our Lord's use of the word "water" represents the truth of the gospel to which the person in question responds in faith; the Spirit is then the Agent of regeneration for all who drink this water of truth (i.e., for all who believe the gospel message about Him). That interpretation is certainly affirmed everywhere else in this chapter where faith (i.e., in Jesus) is later very clearly expressed as the one single thing needful for salvation (and "water" is not repeated: i.e., Jn.3:10-12; 3:15-16; 3:18; 3:36).

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water (i.e., the gospel which he believes) and the Spirit (i.e., the Agent of regeneration for all who believe and drink the "water of truth").
John 3:5 NIV

Just as in the communion ritual (the only authorized ritual for the Church Age) we drink the cup as a symbol of our faith in the work of Christ, so water in all these contexts represents our faith in what we drink, the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is true that there are instances of water-baptism in the gospels and in the book of Acts, but in my opinion the idea of any necessity to be baptized with water comes exclusively from tradition and not directly from any Bible verse – and how much more is that not the case for any false notion of water-baptism-necessary-for-salvation!?

It is well to start such considerations with three pertinent facts: 1) John said emphatically that while he himself was baptizing with water, that ministry was preparatory to the coming of the Messiah who would baptize with the Spirit (and fire) – as opposed to water (e.g., Mk.1:8); 2) Jesus never baptized anyone (Jn.4:2) and never even mentioned the ritual; 3) there is no water-baptism whatsoever in any of the New Testament epistles (including 1st Peter chapter three where the "baptism which saves" is Spirit baptism), only Spirit baptism – except in 1st Corinthians chapter one where Paul repents of ever having water-baptized anyone at all. From these critical points of emphasis throughout the New Testament, we can easily conclude that it is the baptism of the Spirit experienced by all true Christians at the point of salvation which is important, not the water ritual which looked forward to the coming of Christ.

Names of People in the Bible

The names that are given to people in the Bible have meanings. When Ma brought up Jonah, and DebbieLynne brought up Abraham and Eliezer, I did a search and found a wonderful link which shows the names and the very detailed meaning of the names. For instance:

ELIEZER:
The name Eliezer is a compound of two elements. The first part is the word (El), the common abbreviation of Elohim, meaning God (or gods). The second part comes from the verb (azar) meaning help, support. This verb is quite common and used in all expected ways. Most notable is its usage in describing the function of Eve to Adam, 'It is not good for the man to be alone, I will make him a helper suitable for him' (Genesis 2:18).

The meaning of the name Eliezer is God Of Help (Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names and NOBS Study Bible Name List) or God Is Help (BDB Theological Dictionary).

ESTHER:
The name Esther was probably given to Hadassah when she entered the court of the Persian king (compare Daniel and his friends) and as such she was known by the people. Or possibly the name was later attributed to her due to her 'stardom.' But to a Hebrew audience the name Esther, the way it was written, had far more meaning than simply the word 'star' in the language of their abductors.

The name Esther may have reminded of a compound of (ason), meaning evil, harm, from the assumed root ('sh), plus the word (tor) meaning a circle or plait or (tor) meaning dove; both from the verb (tur), to spy or search out. In that way the foreign name Esther would have looked to mean She Searches Out Evil to a Hebrew audience.

Then there is the word (asar), meaning to tie, bind, gird, with among its derivatives (esur) meaning bond, band, and (issar), binding obligation.

And finally we list the root (satar), hide or conceal, with among its derivatives (seter) and (sitra) both meaning hiding place, and (mistar) hiding place. That way the name Esther would have sounded like I Am A Hiding Place.

***************************

Those are only small excerpts of what is provided on those names, so I hope you will check out the entire commentary that is at the links provided. Someone put alot of research into it, and there are also Greek names and meanings as well.