WHY

 

WHY

 

  The following question is posted by a long-time professing Christian: ”If God’s glory is to fill the whole earth then why is there the folly of poor conservation of creation too much of the time guided by money?” And your answer is?

EBB4

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Al Heger

God gave man dominion over the fowls of the air, the beast of the field and everything that moves in to sea and He also gave man a free will to make his own decisions. Many people think of themselves before they choose to honor God.

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Edwin Bennett Bullock

Because God gave Mankind free will … Adams original sin loaded the system with the knowledge of good and evil. And without born-again regeneration evil prevails

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Fred G.

1Timothy_6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

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James 4:1-3 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. 

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Sharon F.

Greed of sinful fallen mankind.

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C.L.

Satan is the present lord of this world. Jesus is Lord of the minority of individuals that trust Him. Ephesians 2:2

WHY?

 

WHY?

 

  The following question is posted by a long-time professing Christian: ”If God’s glory is to fill the whole earth then why is there the folly of poor conservation of creation too much of the time guided by money?” And your answer is?

  I ‘ll post your answers in a few days.

EBB4

AUDIENCE

 

HERMENEUTICS: THOSE ADDRESSED

 

Luke [MKJV] chapter 8 … a great crowd coming together, and those in each city coming to Him [Jesus], He spoke by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, the one fell by the roadside and was trampled; and the birds of the air devoured it. And other fell on a rock, and sprouting, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And other fell amidst thorns, and springing up with the thorns, they choked it. And other fell on good ground and sprang up, and bore fruit a hundredfold. And when He had said these things, He cried, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And His disciples asked Him, saying, What might this parable be? And He said, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. But to others I speak in parables, so that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not understand. …

 

  In comprehending and personally applying God’s Word it is essential to note to whom the Word is addressed. A case in point is Luke 6:45; Ephesians 4:29; 1Peter 3:10; James 3:9-12 having to do with conversation vocabulary. Exactly what people groups are being addressed by these words, followers of Christ or those having never experienced 2Corinthians 5:17?

  In responding to the question, one reader wrote “They all tell us to clean up our words.  Who were they addressing?  Luke was written for the Christians who gathered regularly to participate in the Lord's Supper.  Ephesians was written for the Church at Ephesus.  Peter and James where written to Jewish Christians.  Today, they are for all Christians and some pagan's may have heard these words.“

  Penny wrote “Actually, it is the followers of Christ who are addressed in these passages.  James was right in one regard, not many of us should become teachers because teachers are held to a higher responsibility by God and will be judged more severely.  Yet, we, as Christians, are to be teachers by example and are thus held to a higher standard.  No one should ever be able to say that their experience with a non-Christian was noted with more integrity than with a Christian.  That shame is on us.”

  Indeed the aforementioned verses are written to Christians. Though compliance would benefit all people, they are not addressed to those not of God’s John 1:12 family.

  The further point being this: To apply in practice, including Facebook, to non-Christians is as with the old proverb “Putting the cart before horse.” Or as in present day religious efforts to convert homosexuals to heterosexuals, when the essential present and eternal need is hope for and guidance directed toward trusting Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans chapter1: God did not give homosexuals over to a reprobate mind because of their chosen lifestyle. God rejected them as He does others listed because of refusing to believe in His redemptive grace; rejecting Him first, last, and always, choosing rather to continue in darkness. Jn.1:1-12; 8:12; Act.26:14-18)

  This said, please know that Jesus did exhort and warn about speech as He spoke to general audience of followers and unbelievers.

EBB4

THE BIBLE'S AMAZING COMPOSITION

 THE BIBLE’S AMAZING COMPOSITION:

·         Other than One Editor, the human penmen of the Scriptures had almost nothing in common. Literary wise Moses may have been educated schooled in Egyptian universities. Amos was a herdsman. Joshua a general. Paul was a learned man. But what of the others? Peter was a fisherman with no record of being educated.

·         God spoke through them, using them to write the Scriptures of His divine plan.

·         To see the weight of the above truth, suppose you were to endeavor to assemble a comparable topical book from various bits of literature written thru the ages by various human “authorities”. What would you have? A hodge-podge of contradictions and diverse opinions.

·         The Bible as a compilation is a whole different result as there was one instructive Author. This even though its composition as a book argues against its unity. Read it. See it!

·         Summarizing:

66 books; 39 OT, 27 NT

                Dozens of various penmen, educated and not, never knowing or reading one another

                1500 years

                Various languages

           + 3 continents

                The harmonious one book Word of God by the Eternal Author. 2Tim.3:16-17

(Excerpted from Dr. Orr’s booklet)

 

 

 

GUARDIAN ANGELS?

 

Question: "Do we have guardian angels?"

Answer: Matthew 18:10 states, "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." In the context, "these little ones" could either apply to those who believe in Him (v. 6) or it could refer to the little children (vs. 3-5). This is the key passage regarding guardian angels. There is no doubt that good angels help protect (Daniel 6:20-23; 2 Kings 6:13-17), reveal information (Acts 7:52-53; Luke 1:11-20), guide (Matthew 1:20-21; Acts 8:26), provide for (Genesis 21:17-20; 1 Kings 19:5-7), and minister to believers in general (Hebrews 1:14).

The question is whether each person—or each believer—has an angel assigned to him/her. In the Old Testament, the nation of Israel had the archangel (Michael) assigned to it (Daniel 10:21; 12:1), but Scripture nowhere states that an angel is "assigned" to an individual (angels were sometimes sent to individuals, but there is no mention of permanent assignment). The Jews fully developed the belief in guardian angels during the time between the Old and New Testament periods. Some early church fathers believed that each person had not only a good angel assigned to him/her, but a demon as well. The belief in guardian angels has been around for a long time, but there is no explicit scriptural basis for it.

To return to Matthew 18:10, the word "their" is a collective pronoun in the Greek and refers to the fact that believers are served by angels in general. These angels are pictured as "always" watching the face of God so as to hear His command to them to help a believer when it is needed. The angels in this passage do not seem to be guarding a person so much as being attentive to the Father in heaven. The active duty or oversight seems, then, to come more from God than from the angels, which makes perfect sense because God alone is omniscient. He sees every believer at every moment, and He alone knows when one of us needs the intervention of an angel. Because they are continually seeing His face, the angels are at His disposal to help one of His "little ones."

It cannot be emphatically answered from Scripture whether or not each believer has a guardian angel assigned to him/her. But, as stated earlier, God does use angels in ministering to us. It is scriptural to say that He uses them as He uses us; that is, He in no way needs us or them to accomplish His purposes, but chooses to use us and them nevertheless (Hebrews 1:7). In the end, whether or not we have an angel assigned to protect us, we have an even greater assurance from God: if we are His children through faith in Christ, He works all things together for good (Romans 8:28-30), and Jesus Christ will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6). If we have an omniscient, omnipotent, all-loving God with us, does it really matter whether or not there is a finite guardian angel protecting us?

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A REMINDER OF NEW LIFE

 

A REMINDER OF NEW LIFE

Ephesians [ESV] 4:17-32 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles [unsaved] do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (verse 30) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. 

 

Dear fellow travelers,

Let is take note that though on trusting Jesus Christ and thereby assured of present and eternal redemption, the option remains to live contrariwise. Ephesians 4:30.

EBB4

FREE INDEED

 FREE INDEED

Jesus explained “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. . . . These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (Jn.14:27; 16:33)

  One of this world’s myths is the attainability of men providing true individual, national, or world freedom. History beginning with the first believers of the prince’s promise shows this, but mankind keeps pressing on believing Satan’s lie.

  In history and current events we see fighting in the name of freedom when actually the battle is for control, or begins with high motive but once battle is over . . . due to man’s sin nature, whether leader or follower, control eroding freedoms cycles yet again after battle is thought to finalize the quest.

  This dynamic is whether “Christian nation” or atheist, Christian real or pseudo, atheist evangelistically active or reserved.

  Adam and Eve lived in freedom until they believed and acted upon Satan’s promise of self-determination beyond God’s Way.

A few examples:

  Christian real and pseudo, atheists also, immigrated to western hemisphere in stated interest of freedom and/or in the hope of bringing freedom religious/political/philosophical to natives and in new setup society (Note “New” is chosen designation then.) . . . and very soon out of desire or need, often mix of the two, did quite the opposite. And the USA battle for and against liberty continues.

  Atheists, with help from Christian pseudo and real, revolted against the oppression of tsars and tsarinas, princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses et al  . . .  and during and ever since harshly did control.

  Consider the history of Mohammedism, now commonly called Islam. While alive the founder promised and fought for freedom but granted anything but, rigidly controlling believers and oppressing non-believers. Now in name of freedom they fight for self-determination among themselves with common core of hoping to eventually eliminate Jewish and Christian influence and person.

  God is Omniscient (All-seeing). The Word (Jn.1:1-3) walked among men with complete prior sight and dusty experience of this world’s freedom under Roman, quisling governance, priest and scribe.

  A prime example of quest for freedom is in WWII “Christian nation” USA making effective splendid use of atheist Communist nation USSR to help destroy the Nazis. (With I believe the goal of effectively leaving the USSR weak from its bloody investment. Some Allied leaders here and abroad hoped Nazism and Communism would destroy each other during WWII. USSR was our ally but our enemy you see.)

  Freedom is actually a comparative more or less; the USA, though not as free as once was, being comparatively freer than numerous other nations.

  I see one of the remarkable things about God’s agape love as being that He didn’t restrict Adam and Eve’s freedom. Undeniably, He advised, explained, and warned . . . as He has immutably done since.

  Then is there any hope of or possible true freedom? Yes! But not of or by this world, but indeed provided by the Word: “Then Jesus said to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you shall know that I AM, and that I do nothing of Myself, but as My Father has taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things which please Him. As He spoke these words, many believed upon Him. Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed on Him, If you continue in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered Him, We are Abraham's seed and were never in bondage to anyone. How do you say, You will be made free? Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever practices sin is the slave of sin. And the slave does not abide in the house forever, but the Son abides forever. Therefore if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill Me because My Word has no place in you.” (MKJV Jn.8:28-37. Also note James 1:25; 2:12)

EBB4