Friday, June 29, 2018
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Monday, June 25, 2018
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Monday, June 18, 2018
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Three-Point Calvinism
Three-point Calvinists are a cross between Calvinists and Arminians. They hold to three points of Calvinism although not always the same three points. Like the waves in the ocean moving every way. This is only a form of Christianity. Their Belief system is wishy-washy at best.
Friday, June 15, 2018
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Moses' wife
Moses, a Jew, apparently married a black African and was approved by God.
We learn in Numbers that “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman” (Num. 12:1). A Cushite is from Cush, a region south of Ethiopia, where the people are known for their black skin. We know this because of Jeremiah 13:23: “Can the Ethiopian [the same Hebrew word translated “Cushite” in Numbers 12:1] change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” Attention is drawn to the difference of the skin of the Cushite people.
In his book From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race, Daniel Hays writes that Cush “is used regularly to refer to the area south of Egypt, and above the cataracts on the Nile, where a Black African civilization flourished for over two thousand years. Thus it is quite clear that Moses marries a Black African woman” (71).
In response to Miriam’s criticism, God does not get angry at Moses; he gets angry at Miriam. The criticism has to do with Moses’ marriage and Moses’ authority. The most explicit statement relates to the marriage: “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman.” Then God strikes Miriam with leprosy. Why? Consider this possibility. In God’s anger at Miriam, Moses’ sister, God says in effect, “You like being light-skinned Miriam? I’ll make you light-skinned.” So we read, “When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow” (Num. 12:10)
God says not a critical word against Moses for marrying a black Cushite woman. But when Miriam criticizes God’s chosen leader for this marriage God strikes her skin with white leprosy. If you ever thought black was a biblical symbol for uncleanness, be careful; a worse white uncleanness could come upon you.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Was Gideon a coward
Men have got the impression that God got a cowardly man to deliver His people. Is God going to use the most unfit person to deliver Israel from the Midianites, Amalekites and the children of the East? God doesn’t operate like that. God raises up men to do His work and He raises them up with the ability to do as He commands them. A lot of people assume because Gideon was threshing wheat by the winepress at night (Judges 6:11) he was afraid. The Midianites greatly oppressed Israel and had taken all they had (6:4-6). If anyone had any food they would have to use much caution and wisdom.
Judges 6:11 "And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide [it] from the Midianites."
Gideon is living in a time of strong oppression. The Midianites are taking everything the Israelites have. Gideon got wheat by threshing it at night so he could hide it from them. So, Gideon was cautious and wise.
In Judges 6:12 an angel of the Lord appeared to him calling him a mighty man of valor. That doesn’t sound like he is a coward.
Judges 6:13-13-16 “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
15 “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!”
16 The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
It’s difficult to assume that Gideon was a coward from these verses. At first he didn’t question the angel regarding his courage but only about the Lord being with him. He reasoned that if the Lord was with him, he would not be oppressed. Next he said that he was the least in his house and that his family was poor. This doesn’t mean he was a coward, this shows that he was humble. Gideon didn’t see himself fit for such a big task.
People also bring up his reaction when he saw the angel. Who wasn’t afraid when they saw an Angel of the Lord. Balaam fell flat on his face (Numbers 22:31) so did David and the elders of Israel (1 Chronicles 21:16) and so did Sampson’s parent’s (Judges 13:20).
25 That night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. 26 Then build an altar to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down.”
A lot of people come down hard on Gideon because of how he obeyed this command.
27 So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had commanded. But he did it at night because he was afraid of the other members of his father’s household and the people of the town.
Being brave doesn’t mean your stupid. Gideon had to go in and bring down his father’s altar of Baal, as well as cut the grove beside it then make an altar to God and make a burnt offering for Him. The men in that city, as well as his father were idol worshippers. He wasn’t going in there in broad daylight and do all that. He wasn’t afraid of what the men would do to him, rather he feared they would try to hinder him from doing what God wanted. I believe he done it at night so he wouldn’t have to deal with the men of the city.
Judges 7:2-3
2 The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. 3 Therefore, tell the people, ‘Whoever is timid or afraid may leave this mountain[a] and go home.’” So 22,000 of them went home, leaving only 10,000 who were willing to fight. Gideon did not go home with the others.
4 But the Lord told Gideon, “There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will test them to determine who will go with you and who will not.”5 When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the Lord told him, “Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream.” 6 Only 300 of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream. It’s clear by now that Gideon was a mighty man of valor.,
USS Constitution.
Construction of "Old Ironsides" began in 1794 and was completed in 1797. USS Constitution was launched on October 21st of 1797. USS Constitution earned her nickname "Old Ironsides" August 1812 when she sailed north from Boston to launch a raid on British bases in the Canadian Maritimes. Off the coast of Nova Scotia. She then engaged the British warship Guerriere with an estimated 50 yards of space between the two ships when both ships opened fire with a full broadside attack. The British warship sustained serious damage while USS Constitution sustained little damage as cannonballs from the British warship bounced off her hard oak slides and one of her crew members shouted out “Huzza, her sides are made of iron!" She has since then been called "Old Ironsides" the British lost the battle as the crew attempted to board USS Constitution. As the two ships separated the main mast of the British warship broke free leaving the British defenseless and were forced to surrender about an hour after the battle began. Constitution sustained 14 casualties while the British sustained 79. The British warship Guerriere was so badly damaged that as surviving crew members were brought aboard Constitution it sank.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Monday, June 11, 2018
Sunday, June 10, 2018
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Thursday, June 7, 2018
Does Jesus love me?
Does Jesus love me?: Does Jesus love me? Does Jesus really love me, no matter what? How can I experience Jesus' love?
Monday, June 4, 2018
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Saturday, June 2, 2018
What are you looking for
If you are thinking about buying a green car, you will suddenly notice that there are many green cars on the road; if you are thinking about buying a new green Toyota, you’ll start to see them everywhere. If you go out on a Saturday night looking for trouble, you’ll be calling a friend to bail you out of jail on Sunday morning.
We always find what we are looking for.
I see a lot of posts that have the word “sin” in their titles, I hear a lot of people talking about sin in others, sometimes I hear people talking about the sin in their lives. Why are so many focused on sin?
We always find what we are looking for.
Do we look for the sin in TV shows or movies or books? It isn’t hard to find. Are we looking for sin in culture; that isn’t hard to find. Are we looking for sin in other people; that’s pretty easy to spot as well, and to be sure, they can see our sin just as easily.
We always find what we are looking for.
If we always find what we are looking for, wouldn’t it be a better idea to be looking for the things that are from above? If we always find what we are looking for, wouldn’t it be a great idea to be looking for His presence?
Friday, June 1, 2018
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