Archive for the 'Truth' Category

Evidence of repentance, or: Real Change – I’m not who I used to be.

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

Perhaps the most important question we as humans ever encounter is “Who am I?” By this I mean “What do I represent to others and to God?” Are we trustworthy? Liars? Wise? Foolish? Loyal? Selfish? The list goes on… but the point is: we decide who we are by what we believe and who we follow. Our actions provide evidence as to what those beliefs really are and who we really follow. As the old saying goes; the proof is in the pudding, or, as the Bible puts it, the fruit reveals what kind of tree is present:

Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Notice I said this question is perhaps the most important, but not necessarily what concerns an individual the most. Self-centeredness often makes us overlook this question because we either don’t want to examine ourselves or don’t care about the question as long as we get what we want. For Christians, however, the question is paramount, for our very salvation hinges on it. If we do not examine ourselves daily we will end up denying Christ by our actions:

2 Cor 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

1 Cor 11:27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Titus 2:13 This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;
14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
15 Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
1 ¶ But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

(more…)

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And God said: “Let there be dirt!”

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

The scientific community was having their 10-year International Conference in Versailles, France. Many speakers had spoken of the great scientific wonders that mankind had achieved over the previous ten years. A final speaker addressed the huge audience with great pride. The man was a biologist who worked in the area of genetics. As he proudly surveyed the crowd of distinguished men he felt compelled to state “We have come a long way in all the sciences, so far in fact that I can now say to God Himself “Hey You! We can now do anything You can! We have, through our technology and intellect, gotten to the point where we ARE god!” The thunderous applause and standing ovation was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of a blinding light near the top of the grand hall. A loud, deep voice said “Oh, really? You think that’s so?” After a few moments of stunned silence the speaker regained his confidence and arrogantly asserted, “Yes, we do!”
“Could you make a man?” God asked them.
“Ha!” the biologist replied, “Easily!”
“Well,” said God, “I made one from dirt.”
“We can do that!” was the reply from the scientists.
“Okay”, says God, “Let’s see you do it.”
One of the scientists jumped up and said “I’ll go outside and dig up the dirt!”
There was a loud thunder-crack and silence fell again. God’s voice thundered “Get your OWN dirt!”

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I guess the joke is on us…

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

…spread the word…

Joke's on us!


from another blog, with permission

Hello All,

By now you have probably heard that President Obama came to Montana last Friday. However, there are many things that the major news has not covered. I feel that since Bill and I live here and we were at the airport on Friday I should share some facts with you. Whatever you decide to do with the information is up to you. If you chose to share this email with others I do ask that you DELETE my email address before you forward this on.

On Wednesday, August 5th it was announced locally that the President would be coming here. There are many groups here that are against his healthcare and huge spending so those groups began talking and deciding on what they were going to do. The White House would not release ANY details other than the date.

On about Tuesday Bill found out that they would be holding the “Town Hall” at the airport. (This is only because Bill knows EVERYONE at the airport) Our airport is actually located outside of Belgrade (tiny town) in a very remote location. Nothing is around there. They chose to use a hangar that is the most remotely located hangar. You could not pick a more remote location, and you can not get to it easily. It is totally secluded from the public.
FYI: We have many areas in Belgrade and Bozeman which could have held a large amount of folks with sufficient parking. (gymnasiums/auditoriums). All of which have chairs and tables, and would not have to be SHIPPED IN!! $$$$$
During the week, cargo by the TONS was being shipped in constantly. Airport employees could not believe how it just kept coming. Though it was our President coming several expressed how excessive it was, especially during a recession. $$$$$

Late Tuesday/early Wednesday the 12th, they said that tickets would be handed out on Thursday 9am at two locations and the president would be arriving around 12:30 Friday.

Thursday morning about 600 tickets were passed out. However, 1500 were printed at a Local printing shop per White House request. Hmmmm……900 tickets just DISAPPEARED. (more…)

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Dostoyevsky’s take on Sarcasm

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Sarcasm is the last refuge of those with no real argument.
Sarcasm is the last refuge of the fool
Sarcasm is the Last Refuge of the Powerless.
Sarcasm is the last refuge of poor debaters.
Sarcasm is the last refuge of the incompetent
sarcasm is the last refuge of scoundrels
Sarcasm is the last refuge of the weak mind.
sarcasm is the last refuge of a defeated wit
Sarcasm is the last refuge of a microbial mind
Sarcasm is the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded. (Dostoyevsky)

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The Purpose of Tools

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

My daughter Erin found this going around on the ‘net long ago, and I thought it should make another round, because it is so true!

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate expensive parts not far from the object we are trying to hit.

LEFT HAND: Opposable thumb, especially. Used to dampen sound of impact from hammer.

MECHANIC’S KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on boxes containing leather goods.

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel Pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Used to round off bolt heads and transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand. Also used to (more…)

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The Potter, Part Two - Trust

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

Most pots think they are smart. They are mistaken. There are pots that think they are smarter than most other pots. This may be true, but in the end it can be to their disadvantage. Most pots believe they are special. This is also true, but it, too, can be a disadvantage. The pots who think they are smarter than others who also think they are more special than other pots are in real trouble. The problem is that these pots tend to think deeply about certain subjects, and are impressed with themselves about this ability. This might be humorous, seeing, after all that they are in fact just pots, if the consequences were not so tragic. When a pot is given some measure of awareness of the Truth by the Potter the pot may think it sees much more of the Truth than it does, in fact, see. This leads to a bit of self-importance: “Listen to ME! I have Truth!” The self-importance in turn leads to a focus on ones self. This is a bad thing for pots. When a pot focuses on itself it may forget its purpose, not to mention the fact that the pot has now become more concerned with itself than the world of Truth it has only begun to explore.
In the case of the pot of the previous story the combination of some Truth with self-absorption led to the pot seeing that (more…)

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The Potter, Part One - Hopelessness

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

The Potter lovingly and carefully formed the pot. The pot was perfect. It was not made for great things, but was just right for what the Potter intended. He cultivated good and beautiful things in the pot. But the pot was not happy with what he was, and, seeking happiness, brought vile and corrupt things into the pot, often killing the beautiful things the Potter put there. The pot knew it was wrong to bring the vile and corrupt things in, but he did not trust the Potter to make him happy, so he continued to bring in the vile things. He got to trust in the vile and corrupt things to make him happy, even though he knew the Potter loved him. He was torn - wanting both the Potter and the vile things. Eventually the stress on the pot became too much for him, for he was not a strong pot, and the pot shattered. In his broken shards the pot tried to hold a little of the vile and corrupt things. He could not hold much in the shallow shards, but he persisted.

Now the Potter had a beautiful Bride he was preparing to wed. She lived in a dark land and occasionally would get an infection - a boil - that the Potter knew was ruining her perfection. So the Potter would reach down and take one of the broken shards, and after shaking off the vile and corrupt things it was holding the Potter would use its sharp edges to scrape the boil so as to open the infection to the air and the light. In this way he healed his Bride. The broken pot sees how much the Potter loves his Bride. It is a dirty and dishonorable job, and often the Bride resists when she sees the sharp edges of the shard coming. The pot shard causes pain. The Bride hates the broken pot, and rarely thanks the Potter for using it. (more…)

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Suicide! - Duck and Run, by 3 Doors Down

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

3 Doors Down has a song called “Duck and Run” that I really like. Here’s a part of the lyrics and the reason I like it:

All my work and endless measures
Never seem to get me very far
Walk a mile just to move an inch now
Even though I’m trying so damn hard
I’m trying so hard…

The Freshman sat in his dorm room at the University of Texas at Arlington. Everything was ready for leaving. The instructions concerning his stuff were written. The charter fishing boat in Galveston, Texas had been located. The charter rate was fairly cheap, as this was mid-week instead of on a weekend. All of The Freshman’s belongings in the room were neatly packed, except for the weight belt, of course. He had cast his own weights for SCUBA diving out of lead. The belt was fully loaded (it would take him down deep and down fast), but could be hidden under the long, loose shirt he wore. By the time the charter fishing boat operator could react to The Freshman being overboard it would be too late - The Freshman would be too far down, out of reach. Safe. Finally safe.
The Freshman took one last look around. He was calm, having planned his exit for weeks. He loved the water, and this way there would be no body to bury, no expensive casket and burial plot to cost his parents money. The Freshman had cost them enough. It all made sense: Why stay here? This life was futile. Pain. More pain. Uselessness. Time to check out, lift the burden. He had explained it all in the letter that would be found here in the dorm room. (more…)

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Taxing Carbon & ‘Greenhouse emissions’ – the new global tax scheme

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

More and more draconian laws are being proposed and passed to address the “problem of global warming”, in spite of the fact that increasing numbers of scientists, and I mean a lot of scientists, are denouncing the lack of true science and data behind the global warming/ greenhouse emissions warnings we are hearing about daily from politicians (yeah, the experts!) and, particularly, the UN. See this article from World Net Daily about The Petition Project(link), a movement to expose the lie of global warming from a scientist’s point of view.
So why do we hear all these politicians and political bodies preaching this doomsday message? The answer is in their proposed solutions. See this on a proposed carbon tax by a Canadian politician. Also, look at all the carbon tax initiatives to discourage people from creating carbon. Notice that companies can buy carbon ‘credits’. It is all about money for governments, and that means money and control for politicians and political entities such as the UN. Right now there are those who are proposing a carbon tax on having children, as the children will make more carbon. (more…)

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Should we make up rituals to please God?

Monday, June 16th, 2008

Reuters reports that, after a couple had been caught having sex in a church confessional in Rome, “the bishop celebrated a “Mass of reparation” in the cathedral where the confessional box incident took place to make up for the sacrilege”. OK, so repentance before Christ isn’t good enough. And renouncing the act as sin isn’t enough. Instead the Catholic Church has to have a religious ceremony to repay God for the sin and, I suppose, re-sanctify the cathedral. Again we find the Catholic Church engaged in denying what the Bible teaches and resorting to pagan ritual to try to appease God. Jesus was pretty clear about what it takes to please Him, and it certainly isn’t some ritual that was designed by man and is in truth for man.

Mt 15:7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.’

(more…)

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