DOES THE BIBLE SUPPORT EUGENICS?

DOES THE BIBLE SUPPORT EUGENICS?

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

  In the Amazon Prime thought provoking series The Man in the High Castle the term eugenics is never used but more than once is brought up in various ways; most bluntly stated as for the good of all the elimination of “useless eaters”. In kindness family members could implement. If not, then those authorized took the life.

  In my lifetime eugenics was legally practiced in some USA states in the form of forced sterilization and abortions. Eugenics is still practiced in some parts of the world. This includes a number of those considered civilized nations. Our USA history past and currently includes believers in eugenics, with the past Apollyons outspoken and active, but the latter destroyers restrained and careful in word and deed. Then commonly before the curtain, now most often behind the curtain and as with all such suppressed extreme ideologists they are patiently hopefully waiting.

  Some of you know of eugenics but I must not assume that all do. For those that don’t I begin with essay from GotQuestions.org.

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Question: "Does the Bible support eugenics?"

  Eugenics is a social movement that supports the supposed improvement of the human population via selective breeding and other means. It was originally developed by Francis Galton, a cousin of Charles Darwin, and based upon Darwin’s theory of evolution. Eugenics was practiced openly in the early decades of the 20th century in many countries, including the United States. After WWII, eugenics by that name fell into disfavor when the extent of Nazi atrocities became known. Eugenicists advocate genetic screening, birth control, segregation, transhumanism, euthanasia, compulsory sterilization, forced pregnancies, and abortion.
  Margaret Sanger was the founder of Planned Parenthood, America’s largest abortion provider. Sanger was also a proponent of eugenics who railed against the “reckless breeding” of the “unfit.” In her book Woman and the New Race, she wrote, “The most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it” (Chapter V, “The Wickedness of Creating Large Families,” 1920). She desired “to breed a race of human thoroughbreds” and would rather a society “produce a thousand thoroughbreds than a million runts” (Radio WFAB Syracuse, February 29, 1924, transcripted in “The Meaning of Radio Birth Control,” April 1924, p. 111).
  From its founding, Planned Parenthood has been involved with eugenics. In 1932 the organization received the endorsement of the American Eugenics Society. To this day, Planned Parenthood is targeting those whom Sanger and other eugenicists would call “unfit.” Their 1997 publication Plan of Action stated their “core clients” are “young women, low-income women, and women of color.”
  The Bible does not specifically mention eugenics, but the idea behind eugenics—that man can better himself by ridding the world of “undesirable” people—is definitely not biblical. God told mankind to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28; 9:1, 7). No exception to that command is given in Scripture. In fact, King Solomon wrote in Psalm 127:3–5 that children are a heritage from the Lord and that the fruit of the womb is a reward from Him.
  God gives us life and numbers our days (Job 33:4; 14:5). The sovereign Lord determines whether we live or die. For social engineers to usurp God’s authority in order to create a self-defined “master race” is evil. We are to obey God, not men (Acts 5:29).
  English theologian G. K. Chesterton wrote in his 1922 book Eugenics and Other Evils, “There is no reason in Eugenics, but there is plenty of motive. Its supporters are highly vague about its theory, but they will be painfully practical about its practice” (from Chapter VIII, “A Summary of a False Theory”).
  Eugenics is a meritless and immoral social engineering experiment with dubious chances for “success,” as defined by its supporters. It is a slippery slope in which Chesterton’s scientific madmen abrogate the authority of God and seek to create their own utopia on Earth. Through abortion and euthanasia, eugenics is simply murder. Job 24:14 says, “When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up, kills the poor and needy, and in the night steals forth like a thief.” This is the role of eugenicist: killing the poor and needy and those he deems “unworthy”; preventing a “poor quality of life” (in his estimation) by taking life; denying men’s liberty; and playing God.
  “As he went along, [Jesus] saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him’” (John 9:1–3). Who are we to decide who does or does not display the works of God? The Bible tells us to defend the weak (Matthew 25:35–36; Acts 20:35), not to kill them.

Recommended Resource: The War Against Population: The Economics & Ideology of Population Control by Julian Simon

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Now I share some historical record.

·         Charles Darwin wrote “With savages, the weak in body or mind are soon eliminated. … We civilized men, on the other hand, do our utmost to check the process of elimination; we build asylums for the imbecile, the maimed, and the sick; we institute poor-laws, and our medical men exert their utmost skill to save every one until the last moment. There is reason to believe that vaccination has preserved thousands who from a weak constitution would formerly have succumbed to small-pox. Thus the weak members of civilized societies propagate their kind. No one who has attended the breeding of domestic animals will doubt that this must be highly injurious to the race of man.”

·         In 1885 the early (USA) founders of the American Economic Association (AEA) argued that the needs of the state exceeds individual liberty.

·         Frank Taussig, Harvard economics professor, past president of AEA (1904), at the time one of president Woodrow Wilson’s advisors, believed the minimum wage would cull out “the feeble-minded … those saturated with alcohol or tainted with hereditary disease … [and} he irretrievable CRIMINALS AND TRAMPS. … We have not reached the stage where we can proceed to chloroform them once and for all; but at least they can be segregated, shut up in refuges and asylums, and prevented from propagating their kind.”

·         William Ripley. Elected AEA president in 1913, was one of eugenicists with hope of restricting immigration, especially those from the “great Polish swamp of miserable human beings”.

·         Later AEA presidents held to and propagated eugenic economic beliefs.

(Source: WORLD magazine 3/18/17, History and Ideology, Marvin Olasky , page 34.)

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  Our USA culture is not beyond eugenics. One of the inherent risks of believing in Darwinist evolution is that at some level, violent or tacit, supporting eugenics.

  Understanding, believing, and supporting the truth that God created us in His image and that we are not to shed innocent blood may not be pleasing to man, but is always pleasing to God. (Gen.1:27; 9:6; Rom.12:1-3)

EBB4

DIVISIVENESS IN VALUATION

DIVISIVENESS IN VALUATION

Monday, March 13, 2017

Dear fellow travelers,

  As a learning experience I continue to occasionally review my past written thoughts. Below is the first one I tagged this day. I pray the thought will stir you as it stirred me then and now.

To serve Him all my days,

Ed Bullock

1Corinthians GW 10:1-5 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that all our ancestors who left Egypt were under the cloud, and they all went through the sea. They were all united with Moses by baptism in the cloud and in the sea. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them, and that rock was Christ.  Yet, God was not pleased with most of them, so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert.

James 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Aren't they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you?

  Christian congregations are gathering for worship. Pertaining to our personal involvement, is it as place of comparative valuation or as a body in Christ-like Bible-centered concord?

  Are we ensnared as associate in a crowd of self-centered comparative valuators being divisively counterproductive?

  Or Biblically, as a body in commonality as God’s family, loving and respectful, effective in and by godly affection; pleasing to our Father?

  If need be, let us hear and heed God’s Word:

  “Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God's compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you. Don't become like the people of this world. Instead, change the way you think. Then you will always be able to determine what God really wants-what is good, pleasing, and perfect. Because of the kindness that God has shown me, I ask you not to think of yourselves more highly than you should. Instead, your thoughts should lead you to use good judgment based on what God has given each of you as believers. Our bodies have many parts, but these parts don't all do the same thing. In the same way, even though we are many individuals, Christ makes us one body and individuals who are connected to each other.” (GW Rom.12:1-5)

  “There are different spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, and yet the same Lord is served. There are different types of work to do, but the same God produces every gift in every person. The evidence of the Spirit's presence is given to each person for the common good of everyone.” (GW 1Cor.12:4-7) 

  Walking far from pride, let us in all humility submit to the will of God; Distancing ourselves from worldly quest for elevation, loving and respecting every brother and sister without egocentric assessment, thereby honoring God and one another, realizing joy unspeakable.   

EBB4 (Sunday 1/10/10)

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

Friday, March 10, 2017

  Grandmother McGee often told little Sunny she believed that at birth he was vaccinated with a phonograph needle . . . and, that with all his expressed cravings he should be careful what he wished for. Eventually I realized how true her wisdom.

  In spite of repeatedly experiencing God’s deliverance the Israelites wished for the wrong thing . . . and got it! Recorded in Numbers 14:1-2 we see their emotionally hysterical wishing: After the Israelites heard negative reporting from 10 of the 12 male spies that had explored Canaan, the people wailed and moaned all night, and complained to Moses and Aaron, "We wish we had died in Egypt or somewhere out here in the desert!” 

  Not bad enough of itself, they included blame-shifting along with discussing democracy as the better path. Note verses 1:4, 10a.

  Reading a little further we see Jehovah’s giving them their wish: “As I live [Ex.3:14], says Jehovah, as you have spoken in My ears, so I will do to you. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness …” (MKJV 14:28-29)

  What is it we are yearning for? Healing that brings with it a longer life, or possibly some other personal delight hankered for? Be very very careful. We may get exactly what we wish for! (Isaiah 38:1-6; 39:1-6)  EBB4

CLAPTRAP, DRIVEL, TWADDLE, HOGWASH, AND BALONEY

CLAPTRAP, DRIVEL, TWADDLE, HOGWASH AND BALONEY

Reviewed and redacted Thursday, March 09, 2017

John [MKJV] 1:14; 17:10-21 [John establishing the fact] And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth. …  [Jesus prayed] And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I am glorified in them. And now I am in the world no longer, but these are in the world, and I come to You, Holy Father. Keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those that You have given Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. And now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world that they might have My joy fulfilled in them. I have given them Your Word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray for You to take them out of the world, but for You to keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Your truth. Your Word is truth. As You have sent Me into the world, even so I have sent them into the world. And I sanctify Myself for their sakes, so that they also might be sanctified in truth. And I do not pray for these alone, but for those also who shall believe on Me through their word, that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

1Corinthians 2:9-16; 10:12 [the apostle Paul wrote] But as it is written, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard," nor has it entered into the heart of man, "the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of man within him? So also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. But we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit from God, so that we might know the things that are freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. … For we do not dare to rank or compare ourselves with some of the ones commending themselves. But they, measuring themselves among themselves, and comparing themselves to themselves, are not perceptive.

2Timothy 3:7, 16-17 [Paul writing to young Timothy] Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. … All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly [completely] furnished unto all good works.

  Since first ability to, reading has been a big part of my life. I subscribe to magazines, have near-hoarder shelves and stacks of books throughout home, and people give me materials to read and review. And then there’s internet sendings and questions posed to be researched. I occasionally get behind on home infrastructure maintenance, but I’m always behind on reading.

  Much reading however does not assure embracing truth that leads to sound godly knowledge and wisdom for living sensibly.  (2Tim.3:1-17)

  An example is yesterday I read article in magazine given to me for review, CONNECTIONS for evangelical Lutheran Christians. The article is titled BIBLICAL AUTHORITY TODAY, by Dennis Bielfeldt (March/April/Easter 2011), President and professor of Theology at the Institute of Lutheran Theology, holding Ph.D. in Philosophical Theology.

  Bielfeldt writes of how he as child once believed the Bible as absolutely true before exposure to “higher criticism” that includes scientific evidence against, intellectual problems with, questions about what the Bible really means, human subjectivity interfering with astute objectivity (blind faith versus intelligent belief).

  He then reminds that instead of letting all questions of whether Scripture is absolute Truth or not, we should “… try instead to derive Biblical authority out of the effect of the text on the reader.” He goes on to explain we shouldn’t be too objective or too subjective when it comes to the Bible, ultimately failing to provide solid authoritative ground. Bielfeldt then offers yet another option; that the Bible’s authority may be grounded in the Word if and as it confronts its readers.

  Moving on, he compares reading Tibetan Book of the Dead as a de facto (in reality) authority in the lives of people, which Christians convinced the Bible is Truth would say is example of misplaced authority. This I am saying!

  Then he begins to wind down with “Yet through the self-communication of God, these finite, historically-conditioned [Bible] texts bear to us the infinite gifts of divine law and grace, of divine presence and salvation – no matter what interpretive problems exist.”

  Must stop here and as 5 year old grandson explains something, periodically asks “Got it?!” In phone conversation last evening this same precocious little boy explained that the flamingos in his yard get their energy from the rain that was falling on them.  

EBB4 (Wednesday, October 30, 2013)

    

DID GOD CREATE EVIL?

DID GOD CREATE EVIL?

Wednesday, March 08, 2017

  "Did God create evil?"
  At first it might seem that if God created all things, then evil must have been created by God. However, evil is not a “thing” like a rock or electricity. You cannot have a jar of evil. Evil has no existence of its own; it is really the absence of good. For example, holes are real but they only exist in something else. We call the absence of dirt a hole, but it cannot be separated from the dirt. So when God created, it is true that all He created was good. One of the good things God made was creatures who had the freedom to choose good. In order to have a real choice, God had to allow there to be something besides good to choose. So, God allowed these free angels and humans to choose good or reject good (evil). When a bad relationship exists between two good things we call that evil, but it does not become a “thing” that required God to create it.
  Perhaps a further illustration will help. If a person is asked, “Does cold exist?” the answer would likely be “yes.” However, this is incorrect. Cold does not exist. Cold is the absence of heat. Similarly, darkness does not exist; it is the absence of light. Evil is the absence of good, or better, evil is the absence of God. God did not have to create evil, but rather only allow for the absence of good.
  God did not create evil, but He does allow evil. If God had not allowed for the possibility of evil, both mankind and angels would be serving God out of obligation, not choice. He did not want “robots” that simply did what He wanted them to do because of their “programming.” God allowed for the possibility of evil so that we could genuinely have a free will and choose whether or not we wanted to serve Him.
  As finite human beings, we can never fully understand an infinite God (Romans 11:33-34). Sometimes we think we understand why God is doing something, only to find out later that it was for a different purpose than we originally thought. God looks at things from a holy, eternal perspective. We look at things from a sinful, earthly, and temporal perspective. Why did God put man on earth knowing that Adam and Eve would sin and therefore bring evil, death, and suffering on all mankind? Why didn’t He just create us all and leave us in heaven where we would be perfect and without suffering? These questions cannot be adequately answered this side of eternity. What we can know is whatever God does is holy and perfect and ultimately will glorify Him. God allowed for the possibility of evil in order to give us a true choice in regards to whether we worship Him. God did not create evil, but He allowed it. If He had not allowed evil, we would be worshipping Him out of obligation, not by a choice of our own will.

© Copyright 2002-2013 Got Questions Ministries.

Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/Printer/did-God-create-evil-PF.html#ixzz2kWu2eaqq

I AM NOT A BAPTIST

I AM NOT A BAPTIST

Tuesday, March 07, 2017

  The question pertaining to has come up again. This time I decided to address the query from a different angle.

  Though I have been member of 5 different Baptist congregations of various name in Maryland and Nebraska, attended and participated in, I have never been, am, or will be a Baptist. After trusting Christ as personal redeemer I was an active member of the Evangelical Methodist Church in Dublin, Maryland. I never have been, was, or will be an Evangelical Methodist. For a short interim period I participated in a fine active Missouri Synod Lutheran congregation. I have never been a Lutheran of any stripe nor will I ever be. As a Boy Scout I went with our troop to mass at Saint Rita’s Roman Catholic Church in Dundalk, Maryland. ....

  The following list determines and describes who I am:

WHO I AM IN CHRIST

·          I am God’s child. Jn.1:12-13 “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

·         I am Jesus’ chosen friend. Jn.15:15 [Jesus explained] “No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

·         I have been justified. Rom.5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

·         I am one spirit with the Lord. 1Cor.6:17 “… he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.”

·         I belong to God. 1Cor.6:19-20 “… do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

·         I am His family, a member of the Body of Christ. 1Cor.12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”

·         I am a holy saint. Phil.4:21 “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.” (Act.9:13; Rom.16:2; 1Cor.1:2; Eph.4:12; 5:3)

·         I am adopted as God’s child. Gal.4:4-5 “ … when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

·         I, as a saint, have direct access to God. Eph.2:18-19 “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” (Heb.4:16)

·         I am redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. Col.1:12-14 “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

·         I am complete in Christ. Col.2:8-10 “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.”

·         I am forever free from condemnation. Rom.8:1-4 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Rom.4:18-25; Jam.2:23)

·         I am, as a lover of God, assured that all things work together for good. Rom.8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

·         I am without condemning charges. Rom.8:31-34 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

·         I cannot be separated from the love of God. Rom.8:35-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written [Ps.44:22], "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

·         I am established, anointed and sealed by God. 2Cor.1:21-22 “And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

·         I am confident His good work in me is assured. Phil.1:6 “… I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”

·         I am a citizen of heaven sojourning on earth. Phil.3:20-21 “… our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”

·         I am hidden with Christ in God. Col.3:1-4 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died [Rom.6:2; Eph.2:1], and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

·         I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. 2Tim.1:7 “… God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

·         I am able to find merciful grace when needed. Heb.4:15-16 “… we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

·         I am born eternally of God and Satan cannot rob me of my soul. 1Jn.5:18-19 “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch [Gr. “attach oneself to”] him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

·         I have utmost purpose in life. Mt.5:13-14 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.“ 2Cor.5:17-20 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.”

·         I am a branch of the true vine, Jesus. Jn.15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

·         I am chosen and appointed by God to bear fruit. Jn.15:16-17 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”

·         I am Christ’s personal Spirit-empowered witness. Act.1:8 “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

·         I am Christ’ ambassador of reconciliation. 2Cor.5:15-21 “[Jesus] died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

·         I am God’s coworker. 2Cor.6:1-2 “Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.’

·         I am truly now alive and seated with Christ in the heavenly realm. Eph.2:1-7 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

·         I am God’s workmanship, created for good works. Eph.2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of [our] works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

·         I may approach Most Holy Sovereign God in freedom with confidence. Phil.3:11-12 “This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.”

·         I am loved by God. Rom.5:6-8 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (1Jn.4:8)

·         I am a joint-heir with Christ. Rom.8:16-17 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.”

·         I have been given wonderful promises. 2Pet.1:3-4 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

·         I am never left alone. Heb.13:5b-6 “… [God] has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" (Deut.3:16; Jos.1:5; 1Chr.28:20)

·         I have access to God’s wisdom. Jam.1:2-5 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

·         I am a serving priest. 1Pet.2:9-10 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

·         I am temporarily this side of physically being in heaven. 1Pet.2:11-12 “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (2Cor.5:6-8)

·         I am able to see what the unregenerate cannot. Jn.3:3  “Jesus answered him [Nicodemus], "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Sincerely,

Edwin Bennett Bullock 4th

  

PRESERVATION

PRESERVATION

Monday, March 06, 2017

Luke 16:19-31 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; …

Luke 17:33 [Jesus explained] Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

2Timothy 4:14-18 [Paul recounted] Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

  Man is paradox. He destroys life. He does everything he can to preserve life. He invests in destruction. He spends wealth on living as long as he can. Ultimate absurdity, man is sometimes commemorated by deadly weaponry named after him. Knowing he will eventually die anyway, man often seeks to preserve his name in the memories of others.

  Along with Jesus’ message of trust self or trust Him as Redeemer, He makes a point of personal (personnel?) recognition then and thereby memorializing a beggar’s name forever; Lazarus. But who was the “certain rich man”?

  I’m certain this detail wasn’t missed by the keen-minded analysis of those in His audience.

  Has it been missed by we that claim intimate knowledge of and relationship with Him? 

EBB4