LOOKING OUT FOR NUMBER ONE

See, there were these two guys, one named Veil, and the other Exalted father.

They were very wealthy, owning large herds.

They traveled together with their herdsmen (and presumably women).

But their travel was not all hunky dory.

Their herdspersons began to argue and contest with one another.

They argued about things like whose herd was bigger, which goat belonged with which herd, who had the more perfect sacrificial beasties and who would sleep where tonight.

Exalted Father was troubled by the strife.

So, he said to Veil, "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left."

Veil looked around and saw that one side of the land looked lush and green, was well watered...a lot like the garden of Eden.

"Looks good to me," said Veil. "I'll take that land."

"Hokey, dokey, lil' brother," said Exalted Father. "It's all yours."

So Exalted Father took the land of Canaan.

One day, Exalted Father heard the voice of his Heavenly Lord say to him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and South, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted."

How was it that Exalted Father was able to say to Veil, "You pick first, and I'll take whatever you don't pick?"

Perhaps he learned a lesson reiterated in Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

Consider others better than yourself?

What a peculiar notion.

Everybody knows you have to look out for number one...numero uno.

But God says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

Well, what He means is, don't go overboard. He does not mean to really consider others better than yourself.

Only He says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

He did not say, "Most of the time you should consider others' feelings when talking or doing."

He did not say, "Be sure your wants and desires are met as long as you don't trample over others to get there."

He did not say, "All men are created equal and you need to treat all men as your equal."

What He said was, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

Imagine how often we would come to blows if I considered you better than myself and if you considered me better than yourself.

Maybe that's what He meant when He inspired Paul to write in Philippians 2:5 "In your lives you must think and act like Christ."

You think?

Ladies and gentlemen, I know the Messiah.

The Messiah is my friend.

And Barack Obama is no messiah.

At his coronation last night he was un-positive, even mean spirited. He gave us a supremely clear picture of his lack of experience, his lack of presidentialness and his lack of knowledge about the world, whose most powerful leader he thinks he should become.

Today, Presumptive Presidential Nominee, John McCain showed leadership, courage, and political prowess by selecting Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin as his choice as running mate.

For all of their talk about equality, fairness and the so-called glass ceiling, the Democrats do not have a woman on their ticket.

The Republicans do.

A WOMAN!!!

How proud Hillary supporters must be of Republicans!

Now they have someone with whom they can identify!

Someone who understands!

What?

What's that you say?

You say, "Just as Clarence Thomas is not a real black man, Sarah Palin is not a real woman?"

Prove it!

OK, we will.

First of all, she is married to a MAN.

No real woman would do that.

Next, she has been married to him for 20 years!

What a waste!

Why she could have spread herself around and given many men the pleasure of her being.

Not only that, she has five (5) children!!

Five well-adjusted, patriotic, family oriented children. No real woman could do that.

To be fair, one of those children is not so patriotic, he was born with Downs Syndrome.

A real woman would have aborted that child.

And as for being a family person, remember, our guy's brother lives in a hut. Talk about family!!

Palin is a lifetime member of the NRA and enjoys hunting and fishing! Not what real women do.

She served as a city council-woman, a mayor, served on several state commissions, and the governor of one of the United States.

(Remember, our guy has served as...as...as...well he's been a senator for almost one full term - 143 days).

Governor Palin has successfully fought corruption at every level of her state, and WON, not something you expect from a real woman.

Why she has no more foreign policy experience to bring to the office of Vice-President than our guy has to be PRESIDENT!

You know what? I think I'm voting for McCain.

John McCain's choice of Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate was a move of political genius.

HOW MUCH FUN CAN IT GET TO BE?

This is not the post I was writing when I read my post and decided I did not like it.

This is the post I decided to write today, putting the prior post on the back burner until I can get my thoughts in better order.

Have you been paying attention to this election cycle?

It is getting more and more Mome wrath.

(A reference to a song in "Alice in Wonderland." If you have not seen the movie, watch it...only watch it as political instead of entertainmental. Even if you don't get all of the references, it will take on new meaning. Just in case, here are the lyrics:
JABBERWOCKY
Lewis Carroll [from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872]

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought --

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'

He chortled in his joy.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.)

Here's the thing.

You are about to elect a man to be president of The United States of America who:

Thinks there are 58 states ("I've been to 57 of the states. One more to go.")

Believes the cold war is something we should reinstate.

Wants to increase the "death tax," so that well over 50% of the money you've earned in your life time goes to the government instead of to your heirs.

Wants to lower gas prices by reducing the profits of "big oil" through taxation(which will cost them more to produce a gallon of gas, RAISING the cost of gas at the pump).

Has a wife who has not been proud of our country until last night (at the Democrat convention, when she suddenly became proud - with reservations).

Has snubbed the person in their party who got almost as many votes as he did, then expects her to praise him in her keynote address tonight.

Has earned the ire of the former president (Bill Clinton), who is running around saying that BO is not as good a choice as his wife would have been.

And on and on it goes.

'Twas brillig..."

You will get exactly what you deserve.

WHAT NEXT?

I began working on a post, wrote quite a bit, read it over and really didn't like it at all.

So it's back to the drawing board.

Or the writing board.

Or whatever.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE...THAT IS THE QUESTION

NOTE: Because the person about whom I write in this post has not given me permission to reference his/her work, I shall make every effort not to identify him/her and will use this rather awkward way of writing in the third person.

One of my favorite activities is what I call, "blog-surfing." I go to one of the blogs I regularly read and then visit each one of their blog-roll and/or commenters.

The other day I stumbled across a blog by a self-described atheist.

What made this blog different was that this person was working through the Bible, chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse.

I've never seen the perspective of a non-believer so well put together.

His/her posts are very compelling because they express the perspective of a very intelligent, yet not snobbish, atheistic world-view.

The questions raised on this blog are questions many people have who do not approach the Bible from the position of faith in its composer.

Furthermore, the questions raised and the conclusions drawn, make very good sense if seen from a non-faith point of view.

While I agree with almost none of his/her conclusions, I sense an honest search for truth from the writer (although I believe that truth is impossible to find using this approach).

As I read each post, I am almost compelled to respond to each and every point raised. I have, so far, resisted the urge to do so, as I don't think it would be fruitful for either of us.

In addition to that, I have never known of anyone who was argued into faith in Christ.

Each of us holds an opinion about this or that, and each of us thinks our opinions are correct, or else we would change them.

My innermost being is troubled, however, when I read his/her works because I want to yell out, "Wait! You're working from the wrong presuppositions! If you could just look at these passages from the point of view of a believer, you would see them differently!"

Firstly, of course, that won't happen unless and until this person becomes a believer. Secondly, the Word tells us that the understanding of a person outside of the faith is bound to be exactly what this person's understanding IS: tainted by his/her world-view.

Nevertheless, he/she writes with grace and humor, as well as a scholarly tone, and his/her writing is very readable.

If this person discovers that I do not offer condemnation, but friendship and understanding, perhaps he/she and I will be able to dialog in the future.

Who knows where this could lead?

I am glad I found this blog.

If I am given permission to do so, I will share the URL with you in the future. If not, I will give you updates on his/her perspectives.

There are so many of us, who claim the name of Christ, who, when faced with someone who does not, either run away or become obnoxious.

I think Jesus HATES the obnoxious attempt to FORCE one's faith on another.

Let's not do that.

Thank you, Lord, for leading me to this blog. I ask that you will grow a trust of each other's honest desire to help, without either of us becoming contentious or arrogant.

ME AS WORSHIP LEADER

As one of the worship leaders in my church, I feel a very heavy responsibility to provide our congregation with a service that points them toward the Lord Jesus and helps them to have a personal encounter with our Creator, primarily through the music experience.

Since my responsibilities lie with the "traditional" worship service, I make great use of the great hymns of the church.

I don't allow "funeral dirges" in our worship.

The music we sing is sung with energy and gusto, without becoming a race to the finish.

For instance, whereas it takes many congregations 3 minutes to sing 4 stanzas of "Amazing Grace," when I am leading we do it in about 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

Don't tell my congregation, but I also slip in a more contemporary chorus in nearly every service just because I think they need to express their praise that way.

When I do a contemporary praise song, I try to find a way to do it that does not grab the attention of the people through some instrumental artifact.

We seldom use drums, but when we do, I make very sure that the drummer knows that he/she does not carry the melody.

I justify my selections of music based on Ephesians 5:19-20 "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ."

I take psalms to mean songs made up of or obviously based on Scripture passages.

Examples include: "Rejoice in the Lord Always;" "God of Our Fathers;" or "Immortal, Invisible."

Hymns are the songs that teach a great spiritual truth, doctrine or that are focused on poetic praise.

Examples of hymns would be: "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God;" "Softly and Tenderly;" "In the Garden;" "Praise Him! Praise Him!" and the like. They usually have three or more stanzas with or without a chorus or refrain.

Into the category of spiritual songs I would lump most contemporary praise-and-worship songs, as well as many of the older chorus-type songs.

"Come, Now Is the Time to Worship;" "Thank You Lord;" and "There's Something About that Name" would be spiritual songs.

In my humble, but correct, opinion, all three types should be freely used in worship.

One of the complaints often lodged at contemporary praise-and-worship choruses is that they are very repetitious. Sometimes they are called "7-11" songs: seven words (or lines) repeated over and over eleven times.

Well, if repetition is evil, someone is going to have to explain that to G.F. Handel, who wrote the great masterpiece we know as "Messiah," in which he included the chorus, "Hallelujah!", one of the most repetitious pieces ever written.

Coordinating the songs with the message is a good thing, but the song service should never be seen as preparation for worship, when that means nothing more than getting ready for the really important part of the service, the message.

The song service should be considered, in an of itself, worship and praise. It becomes the vehicle whereby the people express themselves to God from their hearts.

Congregationally speaking, it does not matter whether or not you can carry a tune in the proverbial bucket. Nobody in a right related congregation either knows or cares whether you can sing on pitch.

The Bible is replete with admonitions to lift up our voices to God. Indeed, the entire book of Psalms is made up of songs meant to be sung.

If we don't do what God says to do, we sin. Therefore, since God says to sing, if we aren't singing, we must conclude that we are sinning.

I so dearly love leading people to God through music that if I had to do it for nothing, I would.

Come to think of it, I do.

FAY

Fay came our way.

She lasted a day and caused a fray.

(I have no idea what that means, but since I started with a rhyme, I thought I'd end with one.)

I was right...I did.

We Southwest Floridians awoke this morning to wind and rain.

Not too much, but enough to let us know something was happening.

She came ashore at Cape Romano, in a cheesey sort of way.

There were some flooded streets and a few trees knocked askew.

The greatest effect Fay had on my life was that she knocked the Christian radio station at which I work (http://www.kingdom.fm/) off the air.

That happened at 8:00 AMish. I was listening and heard it happen (or rather didn't hear it happen, since what it did was to go silent).

I called the power company who informed me that the entire area had lost electricity and that it would be back ASAP.

So, I waited.....and waited....and waited.

Finally I heard the carrier come back on.

For the uninitiated, the carrier is the band that carries the signal from the transmitter.

Now you are among the initiated, for which I am certain you are grateful.

When the carrier came back on, I waited to hear the automation kick in and programming to resume.

Alas! (Who in the world came up with that word?) It did not.

Using my quick wit, I concluded that something else had gone wrong.

There was nothing left to do but to drive the 18 miles to the station and see what I could do.

Through wind and rain I drove, my little Saturn refusing to give in to the whim of the tropical breeze.

When I got to the station I discovered that the server had lost its database.

Now if your server has never lost its database, you just don't know the gigafright that can cause.

So then began a search for the database. I looked in the modem, I looked in the router, I looked in the software and I looked in the splitter.

No data base.

I would be forced to take a deep breath and do something that strikes fear into the heart of every operator in the universe, even on planet Diphthong (that's in a toy galaxy far, far away).

(See, a diphthong is a gliding monosyllabic speech sound that starts at or near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves to or toward the position of another. Example: toy).

I had to call SUPPORT.

Calling SUPPORT is like getting a double root canal job without pain killers.

True to form, SUPPORT started out by asking me if I had remembered to turn the server on.

Sigh.

Remembering that I am a Christian, "Yes, its on. The light is lit and the screen is, too."

SUPPORT supposedly has the capability to "get into" our system to troubleshoot issues.

Of course, this SUPPORT guy wasn't sure how to do this.

I guided him through it, wondering what else he did not know.

With control of my computer, SUPPORT began moving the mouse hither and yon, clicking on this icon and that, and saying, "Can I put you on hold for a minute?"

Several "Can I put you on hold for a minutes" later, SUPPORT lost contact with my computer.

Back through the paces we trod to get SUPPORT re-contacted with my computer.

I looked over at the server screen and noticed the little "db" icon in the lower right corner thereof.

I had never seen it in that position, so I hovered my mouse pointer over it.

Nothing.

There should have been something.

I went to the Start button and clicked.

Up danced a small menu (sort of a menuette) on which was an icon marked "database."

While SUPPORT was toiling away on the desktop, I surreptitiously clicked on the "database" icon.

Low and behold! My computer began a series of dots and flashes along with a message, "Connecting to database."

In seconds we were up and running!

"Can I put you on hold for a minute, Mr. Scoggins?" It was the voice of SUPPORT.

"No need, I think," said I, "I think its working."

"Great!" said SUPPORT. "I was sure I could do it."

Sigh.

"Well, thank you for your help, SUPPORT." I tried hard to disguise my contempt.

"Is there anything else you need today, Mr. Scoggins?"

"Not that I can think of," I answered.

"Thank you for calling PSI. Have a good day."

Click.

Thank you, Lord, for Fay and using her to help me exercise Christian patience.

I can hardly wait 'till He wants to start work on my attitude.

THE PROOF-TEXT GAME

OK.


Now I understand.


If you have a particular point of view with regard to your doctrine, all you have to do is to quote a few scriptures that back up your ideas.


What I have noticed, though, is that a lot of weird doctrines have resulted from that type of thinking.


So, what is the solution?


After much thought, I have determined how to tell which one is correct.


All you need to do is count the number of Scripture verses quoted to back a particular view-point.


The one with the most Scripture verses is the winner!


So if I can quote 21 passages supporting my position as regarding, say, trinitarianism vs unitarianism, while another person can only quote 20 supporting his (her) position, then I win.

On the other hand, if a theolog can quote more verses supporting his (her) position, I lose.


Simple, yes?


Only it is the most stupid way to form and/or support a doctrine imaginable and is Biblical heresy.


That is why I always advocate understanding Scripture in its totality and not on a proof-text basis.


It is also why most so-called "topical" sermons are nothing more than religious philosophy lectures and are a little lower on the Scoggins Spiritual Significance scale than spiritual pablum.


In most cases the messenger says to him/herself, "I think I will talk about 'courage' today. Then he/she goes and finds 48 Scriptures that talk about courage and bravery and tack them on to their thoughts to prove his/her ideas about courage.


Poor, poor, poor.

Lazy, lazy, lazy.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Interestingly, many seminaries teach this approach to preparing sermons.

Poor, poor, poor.


Lazy, lazy, lazy.


Dumb, dumb, dumb.


How much better it is to thoroughly understand the Bible as a whole, be led to a passage of Scripture and present the appropriate application of that passage as it relates to its immediate AND total context in the Bible.

That avoids the MISAPPLICATION of Scripture.


A noted preacher once said to me, "There is one meaning to a passage but many applications."


He believed that a good preacher could use a verse like Job 36: 3ff to illustrate the greatness and justice of God.


3. "I get my knowledge from afar; I will ascribe justice to my Maker.
4. Be assured that my words are not false; one perfect in knowledge is with you.
5. "God is mighty, but does not despise men; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose.
6. He does not keep the wicked alive but gives the afflicted their rights.
7. He does not take his eyes off the righteous; he enthrones them with kings and exalts them forever.
8. But if men are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction,
9. he tells them what they have done-- that they have sinned arrogantly."


Boy, does that ever sound good and true! I mean, "God is mighty...", yes, He is!


Uh...what about, 8. "But if men are bound in chains, held fast by cords of affliction, 9. he tells them what they have done-- that they have sinned arrogantly."


Let's remember that in this case, Job had done nothing wrong! Nothing!


Yet Elihu speaks truths about God to Job as though they apply to his current condition.


THEY DO NOT!


And when Elihu has finished his friendly attack on Job, God says, in Job 38: 2 "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?"


So to try to apply Elihu's lesson as some kind of truth for us is absolute heresy!


God did not give us His Word in order for us to bend it and twist it to fit our agenda.

We seem to think that the Bible is about us.


It is not.


It is about God, His character, His love for His creation and His plan for its redemption.


Since everything you need to know about God is found in the Word of God, nothing you need to know about God is NOT in the Word of God and anything you THINK you know about God that's not in the Word of God you just made up, God does not reveal to anyone a further "revelation" about Himself in any way, shape or form.


Nothing in those so-called "further revelations" from God reveal anything new about Him that is consistant with the revelation He gave us in the Bible, and they are therefore at the least redundant and in fact are false and useless.


I am totally unimpressed with proof-texting as a way to prove one point or another. You should be, too.


To form a doctrine of God by the use of proof-texts is foolish.


Stop doing it.


Many of you were taught certain things in some school or another, a Bible college or a seminary, that do not square with the whole of Scripture, but you believe them because they are what you were taught.


If seminaries and Bible colleges were the final word on the interpretation of Scripture, they would all agree with one another, being the wise institutions that they are. But they do not agree and therefore all all suspect, at best.

In the end, none of us has a priori knowledge about God, His Son, His Holy Spirit and how they relate to one another. If we did, one of us would BE God.

I'm not.

Somehow I doubt that you are either.

Why Bother to Read My Posts?

My blog is my place of self expression.

I am somewhat of a self-described nut.

As noted in my "header" (or whatever you call that thing at the top of my page):

"A place where I tell you what I think and you can tell me what you think about what I think (but not what you think about what my other readers think)...I think."

Here are the rules:

1. I think what I think. Don't tell me that I don't think what I think.
2. You may tell me what you think about what I think; agree or disagree.
3. If I don't respect what you write or don't like it, I'll simply delete it and nobody will ever know.
4. There is no "First Amendment" right here. I am not congress, and I can allow or disallow whatever I want to allow here.
5. I choose not to allow foul language.
6. Don't criticize other commenters on my blog. They are allowed to express themselves, even when they are wrong.
7. You may criticize me as much as you like. If I get tired of it, I'll just delete you. Rather, I will delete your comment.
8. It would really take something dire for me to delete you.
9. But who knows?
10. Treat the Lord and the Lord's people, even those with whom you disagree, with dignity and respect.
11. I can't think of any other rules right now, but if I do, I'll just implement them.
12. Sooner or later you'll catch on.

I hope this makes everything perfectly clear.

Even if it doesn't answer the title question.

Come to think of it, far more people don't read my blog than do.

Pity.

You Cannot Seriously Consider Him Serious!!!

Barack Obama has spoken on the subject!

Stand by, because I am about to tell you what he said.

I cannot believe there is one single person in the United States of America who would vote for this idiotic, self-agrandised, mush-head.

Certainly you would not vote for someone who had no more intelligence than this.

Here we go.

Here is what he said.

He said, "Every time you fill your tank, big oil fills its coffers."

SAY WHAT!!!

He could just as well have said, "Every time you fill your tummy, big food fills its coffers."

Or, "Every time you fill your player, big CD fills its coffers."

Maybe, "Every time you fill your iPod, big iPod fills its coffers."

You half-witted, infectious, full-gorged, haggard! You mammering hedge-born, hugger-mugger!

EVERY business fills its coffers when someone avails himself of their product!


That's what businesses do!

This man does not rise to the intelligence level of George W. Bush.


And there are actually people in America who will vote for this sophomoric, mindless quibbler.


You wouldn't vote for a person with the mind of a second grader.


Would you?

OUTRAGEOUS!!

That is my favorite form of humor.

It takes the best of irony, the best of sarcasm, and the best of outlandishness and puts it together to result in the OUTRAGEOUS!

Some (but not all) of my favorite phrases that are intrinsically OUTRAGEOUS include:

Christians are so weird. If it wasn't for Jesus, I wouldn't even be one.

Surely a person as intelligent as you can see that I'm right.

A person with more than a fifth grade brain can understand that. Can YOU understand that?

I wouldn't be as sure of what I am saying if I was just a little less certain that I am right.

I wouldn't be as old as I am if I had just waited a little while to get started.

We are all getting older...and at exactly the same rate. It's just that some got a head start on others.

When asked if I had always been this big, I answer, "No. When I was born, I only weighed 8 pounds."

I'm the founder and only charter member of S.W.I.N.E.: Seniors Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything.

Why, I don't think you're as ugly as everybody has been telling me.

When the waitress (female server) introduces herself to me at a restaurant, saying, "Hi! I'm Rosie and I'll be your server today," I introduce myself, "Hi, Rosie. I'm Joe. I'll be your customer today."

When Rosie asks me, "How was everything?" I answer, "Well, I didn't have EVERYTHING, but what I did have was very good."

The restaurant cashier asks, "How was your meal?" I say, "It ruined my appetite." She often says, "Oh no! What was wrong with it?" I say, "Nothing. That's what I came here to do."

Well, it goes on and on.

Feel free to steal any of these and other sayings you may read on the blog. But be warned. Often people look at you with furrowed brow and rolling eyes when you use them.

But look on the bright side.

You'll have the opportunity to have others think of you as OUTRAGEOUS, too.

One and Three

In John 17, Jesus prayed that his disciples might be united.

One could interpret that as applying only to the disciples who walked and talked with Him during that time.

One could interpret it to apply to all disciples, past and present...especially in light of the fact that Jesus actually made that clear as He prayed, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you..." (The italics are mine)

Sometimes it is difficult to interpret Scripture, as we tend to bring to it our own perspectives and understandings of what can and cannot be.

In Genesis we read, "In the beginning God created..."

Unless you know that the word "God" there is a translation of the Hebrew word "Elohim," you might well conclude that God acted alone.

But the Hebrew word "Elohim" is a plural word.

"El" means "God," and "ohim" indicates plurality of the word to which it is attached.

It very much like our letter "s," which when added to a word indicates its plurality.

Then does the Scripture say, "In the beginning Gods created..."?

To get the answer to that, we need to read on.

And on, and on and on.

In fact, we cannot really find the answer until we have read the whole Word of God.

For simplicity's sake, I will focus on just a couple of places in Scripture that lend explanation to the "Elohim" thing.

The Gospel of John tell us, "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God."

The Greek word for "word" in this passage is "logos."

John goes on to write, "He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

The use of the personal pronoun, combined with the context of both John and the Bible in toto, leads to the conclusion that in this passage the "logos" is a reference to Jesus.

We could read, "In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and Jesus was God."

That would be a correct interpretation, based on both the local and global context.

Not everyone sees it that way.

To some, that seems like a form of blasphemy, since it seems to speak of more than one God.

In my humble, but correct, opinion, it fits perfectly with the plural "Elohim" of Genesis.

On one occasion, Jesus appeared to the disciples in a room where they were gathered.

The account goes as follows:

27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." 28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Some would read this and think that Thomas called Jesus "Lord."

Others would read this and think that Thomas was expleting, "My Lord!" Oh my God! It is you!"

As I see it (and after all, that is what is important to me), if Jesus allowed Thomas to call him, "Lord," and He was not Lord, then He Himself committed blasphemy.

One of the most egregious mistakes of interpretation of Scripture is to take a slew of verses and artificially tie them together to form a dogma or doctrine.

Scripture must be interpreted in light of the whole Word of God, not just sections here-or-there.

Of course, that is the way I always interpret the Bible.

It is only you who sometimes have trouble with that.

(Don't stand too close to me right now...the lightning may strike at any moment.)

Have you ever had to solve an algebraic equation?

In algebra, the point is to find the unknown quantity or quantities.

There are certain procedures you must follow to get the correct answer(s). If you place the correct values in the unknown spots (often indicated by an x or a y), you end up with a balanced equation...that is: the whole thing fits.

The same is true of Scripture.

If you place the right meaning in any given place, the whole thing fits with both the immediate context and the context of the whole, as though it was a single thought of God.

And it is.

So, any interpretation of a given Scripture must conform with the entirety of Scripture in order to be correct.

See, the Bible is not a rule book for living, although it contains the best rules for living ever written.

The Bible is not a psychology book, although it contain the best psychology ever written.

Neither is the Bible a history book, although it contains the best history ever written.

Science is not the point of the Bible, although wherever the Bible and science seem to be in conflict, the Bible is always right.

The Bible certainly is not a philosophy book (how tired I become of "preachers" who can only espouse some lame "Christian philosophy"), but it is the best philosophy to hold on to.

The Bible is God's revelation of His character, His love for His creation and His plan for its redemption.

As long as we read it with that in mind, even when we don't all get some of the specific details right, we will understand its message to us: God has created us for His purposes, loves us in spite of our foibles (which He calls "sin"), and wishes for us not to have to suffer the consequences of sin that His law requires. Therefore He came to earth, lived among us, was crucified and while on the cross, paid those consequences for us. He then demonstrated His ultimate power by raising Christ from the grave, thus "putting the seal" on His finished work.

If I confess (agree with God) with my mouth (out loud) the Lord Jesus (also interpreted: Jesus is Lord) and believe in my heart (from the depth of my being) that God has raised Him from the dead, I am given His gift (I don't deserve it and can't earn it) of eternal life (a timeless eternity in the presence of God).

Hallelujah!!!

More About Mr. Slick

OK. Here I go being political (not to mention economical) again.

I know you prefer me to illuminate your spiritual minds, but I just can't help myself.

On Barack Obama's website he "hopes to give that (tax) credit to families but plans to pay for it with a windfall tax on the oil companies." (He's talking about adding taxes to oil companies' so-called "windfall" profits.)

Mr. Obama, Sir, you are not only more dangerous than most Americans realize, you are also missing some crucial cells in your cranium.

Anybody with bit of sense knows that if you increase the expense of a company, they raise the price of their goods to cover the increase.

The idea here is to lower the oil companies' expenses so that they can lower the price of gas at the pump.

That is not at all difficult for a person with more than a fifth grade intellect to figure out.

Can you figure it out, Mr. Obama?

How Bright Are You and I?

I am so brilliant, my father used to call me, "son." (A play on the word "sun" which would indicate brilliance..."

Actually, the longer I live, the more I realize that there is a thousand times more to learn than I have already learned.

I don't know all there is to know about God.

If I did, I would be Him, and, trust me, you don't want me to be Him.

Why, I would not have saved me, and I sure-'nuff wouldn't have saved you.

Here is what I do know:

1. Christ, according to John 1, created all that was created.

2. God, according to Genesis 1, created all that was created.

3. This is not possible unless they are one-and-the-same.

4. Therefore I conclude that they are one-and-the-same.

5. As Christ, Himself, said, "...I and the Father are one."

6. I was, am now and always will be a sinner on this earth.

7. I know that because I sin (not to mention that the Bible says so).

8. I, by my sin, earned death, both physical and spiritual, and there is absolutely no way I can escape it by my own power.

9. If I get what I deserve, I will spend eternity in a place designed, not for me, but for the devil and his angels.

10. I am, therefore, doomed to an eternity in Hell.

11. Except for one thing: Christ, being God incarnate, died the death I was condemned to at the cross of Calvary.

12. He died that I might have eternal life with God in Heaven.

13. When I trust Him, and His finished work at the Cross and realize His resurrection, I receive that eternal life as a gift from God.

14. To the degree that I turn my life over to Him, I have the joy of my salvation in my daily life and need not fear the sting or victory of death and the grave.

15. The instant I truly trusted in Christ as my savior, God chose me to be His forever.

Those are things that I know.

I don't think that I know them.

I know them.

There are more than a few things that I don't know.

Does that surprise you?

I don't know how God does what He does.

I don't know why God does what He does.

I don't know why God does or does not do what He does or does not do when He does or does not do them.

I only know that once I was lost and now I'm found.

If you want to argue with me about some theological position or another, you are out of luck.

I am happy to express what I believe theologically.

I am not happy to debate it.

In other words, I have made up my mind about what I believe, and you are very unlikely to argue me out of it (although there may be some evidence that I am already out of my mind).

It just isn't important to me whether God sat in some throne room with a list of all of the people who would ever be born and said, "I'll save this one, and that one, and, oh yes, let's not forget that one," or just gave me complete discretion on the matter.

What is important is that Christ paid the sin-debt for me, personally...and for you as well.

I wake up every single morning excited about the new day I've been given and looking for ways to express my appreciation to Him by willingly being His slave.

Maybe that doesn't bring you joy, love, peace, and abundant living.

Maybe you prefer anger, hatred, anxiety, lust, suspicion and other assorted evils.

How bright does that make you?

Manipulation Proof

God cannot be manipulated by man.

Period.

He is not our magic genie.

He is not obligated to us in any way.

What He has done in providing us an undeserved salvation is so great, that if He never did anything else for us, that would be enough.

Most people don't feel that way, though.

Many "Christians" think that if God does not do this or that for them, He is somehow not worthy of their faith.

What a small concept of God!

The thing is, though He does not have to do anything for us, He never stops doing things for us.

He does those things, not because we are worthy, but because Christ is worthy and ever since we placed our trust in, and only in, His finished work at the cross of Calvary, He sees us through Christ's eyes.

If God could be manipulated into doing what we want Him to do, our christian walk would then become a contest to see who had the most faith, and therefore could get God to do the most for them.

The God who by His very Word spoke into being all that is, is not small enough for the likes of you and me to manipulate.

I'm so glad He is bigger than that, aren't you?

Bet You Never Looked At It This Way Before

Tens of thousands of people who claim the name of Christ somehow have the belief that "good little Christian men and women" don't get involved in the political scene.

That's because they have never really read the Bible.

The Bible is replete with references to, illustrations of and admonitions to be a part of the political scene.

We are not only to be involved in politics, we should be proud to be used of God to make our government better.

Failure to do so is to fail to do God's will, and failing to do God's will is sin.

On of the major issues facing our God-given country today is the availability of oil for conversion to products that we use in our daily lives.

"Now," I hear you asking, "What in the world does oil have to do with my Christian life."

A lot.

Look at it this way: You are admonished to take the gospel into all the world.

Until this day and age, that was only an idealistic pipe dream, because travel and communications restricted the propagation of the gospel to a few missionaries plodding along with "the best we can do."

Now, whenever I am asked, "What about those who have never heard the gospel?" I come back with the question, "Why on earth have they not heard the gospel. Haven't you been doing your job?"

Because today it is possible to spread the gospel with radio (think www.kingdom.fm), television, satellites, jet travel, etc., etc., etc.

Interestingly, every one of those is dependent on oil.

Your radio is probably made of some form of plastic. So is your TV, your computer, your car, the airplanes you ride on, and the satellites we put in space. Plastics are made from oil.

God has given us the intelligence to use oil to make products that make spreading the gospel more and more viable.

Tubing for the transport of lubricants, water, and even the waterproofing of cables and wiring are made of PVC, which is made of oil.

PVC is a major thermoplastic material with a very wide variety of applications. The essential materials for polyvinyl chloride are derived from oil and salt. The vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) is formed by combining ethylene (obtained from oil) with Chlorine (produced from the electrolysis of salt water). VCM molecules are polymerized to form PVC resin, to which appropriate additives are incorporated to make a customized PVC compound.

(I love that PVC is made from salt, one of the oldest commodities of value in the Bible; and oil, one of the most modern commodities of value.)

The point is that there is more to this issue of the price of a barrel of oil than just the conflict between two very childish, political parties who each want to best the other more than they want anything else.

The very propagation of the gospel is at stake (not to mention the survival of the western world).

That is why I devote some of my posts to politics and to our need to have ready access to oil.

I think it is the Christian thing to do.

How Slick Can He Get

Some of you are going to vote for Barack Obama.

For you I am...

I am...

Well...

I am sorry.

That's the best I can come up with.

I'm sorry for you.

I'm sorry because you think you will be getting something you won't be getting.

Barack is for change.

What kind of change doesn't really matter as long as it is change.

He says he is willing to consider off shore drilling for oil.

That's a change from his original position, and I think a good one.

But he now says he wants us to get off of oil entirely.

That will certainly change things.

I can see it now...

It is a few years from now.

I go to the Goodyear place.

"I need a new set of tires. These no longer cover Lincoln's head." I said, holding up a Penny.

"Sorry," Mr. Goodyear Manager said. "We can no longer get tires...They contained oil products. And the parts that didn't came from rubber trees, which we can no longer cut down."

So I got back in my car and drove to the CVS pharmacy where I was to get some antihistamines for my wife's allergies.

"Antihistamines are made with oil products," explained the manager. "We can't get them any more."

"Well while I am here," I said, "I might as well pick up some tooth paste. I'm almost out."

"Oops. No can do. Toothpaste is made with oil products. Sorry."

"OK, look. Here's a list of things I need today. Please check off the ones I can get here."

Here's the list I handed him: Ammonia, Anesthetics, Antihistamines, Artificial limbs, Artificial Turf, Antiseptics, Aspirin, Auto Parts, Awnings, Balloons, Ballpoint pens, Bandages, Beach Umbrellas, Boats, Cameras, Candles, Car Battery Cases, Carpets, Caulking, Combs, Cortisones, Cosmetics, Crayons, Credit Cards, Curtains, Deodorants, Detergents, Dice, Disposable Diapers, Dolls, Dyes, Eye Glasses, Electrical Wiring Insulation, Faucet Washers, Fishing Rods, Fishing Line, Fishing Lures, Food Preservatives, Food Packaging, Garden Hose, Glue, Hair Coloring, Hair Curlers, Hand Lotion, Hearing Aids, Heart Valves, Ink, Insect Repellent, Insecticides, Linoleum, Lip Stick, Milk Jugs, Nail Polish, Oil Filters, Pantie Hose, Perfume, Petroleum Jelly, Rubber Cement, Rubbing Alcohol, Shampoo, Shaving Cream, Shoes, Toothpaste, Trash Bags, Upholstery, Vitamin Capsules, Water Pipes, Yarn.

"None of those are available, I'm sorry to say."

He really did look sorry.

He went on, "Ever since our government decided to get us away from our dependence on oil and oil products, we have not been able to make any of those things.

"Try the scrap yard. They may still have a few of those items left. They have been in great demand.

"Watch yourself when you drive to the scrap yard. There are some really big pot holes in the roads. The asphalt to fill them contains oil products, you know, and can't be bought any more."

"Next you're going to tell me that I can't fly up to visit Aunt Suzie while she's in the hospital in New Jersey."

"Well, she'll probably die anyway." He said it rather sadly. "The materials they used to administer her medicines contained oil products and can't be made any more, either.

"Besides, we've not yet figured out how to install solar cells on a 747 to power its engines with renewable energy from the sun.

"Since the solar panels we have developed were made from products that were made from oil, we can't even use them!!"

I was getting a bit anxious. "I'm running up to McDonalds for something to eat. If I can't fill my tank, at least I can fill my stomach. I'll be satisfied."

"You'll be starving, you mean." He seemed agitated. "We can't plant and harvest in sufficient quantities to feed ourselves any more because the machinery we used was made of products made from oil, and ran on fuel from oil."

"Makes you wonder why it took us so long to realize how much we needed change."

"Yeah," he answered. "I sure am glad we elected B.O. to the presidency. We needed change."

In Whose Image?

In our county in Southwest Florida, a 14 year old has been arrested for leading a gang of vandals in distroying several homes and stealing a truck from one to trade for marijuana.

What in the world was she thinking?

Well, I can tell you one thing for certain. Whether deliberately or through ignorance, she has been taught that the entire universe revolves around her.

She is a "victim" of the "I want what I want, when I want, where I want by whatever means I want" mentality.

That's what is called "'I' Trouble."

It's the same thing satan suffered from when he was a member of the angelic corps.

It is the essence of sin.

Don't be so smug. The Bible says "...All have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

That includes you and me.

We have inherited the "sin gene," spiritually speaking.

There is a price to pay for our sins.

The price is eternal spiritual death.

Our sin, though, has already been paid for at the cross of Calvary by our Lord, Jesus, Christ.

When we turn to Christ, trusting in, and only in, His finished work on the cross, confessing that He is Lord and believing that God has raised Him from the dead, we receive that very special gift of eternal life.

Our whole perspective changes.

We discover that life is not about us. It is all about Him.

That young teenager could get that same new perspective.

God, please send somebody into her life who will share Jesus with her that that she might have a new life and a new perspective. In Jesus' precious Name that we pray.

Can You Only Imagine?

The other day a Christian acquaintance of mine suggested that the reason I was having issues with my heart was because of my "lack of faith," and because I had not "rebuked satanic influences" in my life.

Balder-everlovin', blue eyed-dash!

My faith is in God, who is so very powerful that were all of the atoms in the universe to release their power at the same time, His power would be infinitely more powerful.

I believe that everything one needs to know about God is found in the Word of God; nothing one needs to know about God is NOT found in the Word of God; and that anything one thinks he knows about God that is not in the Word of God, he just made up.

God records that He has healed many people.

But He does NOT record that He heals everybody of any and every disease.

Why?

That's His business, not mine.

When Paul asked that his "thorn in the flesh" be removed, God simply told him that His grace was sufficient to see him through.

God did not heal Paul.

Now you can read into that phrase, "thorn in the flesh," anything you want to. You'll get no argument from me.

Trust me...I have heard all of the various interpretations. You won't impress me with yours.

If you don't mind, I'll just take it at face value, interpret in light of the WHOLE of Scripture and leave it at that.

God was with me when I had my heart attacks. God was with me when I had my atrial fibrillation. God is with me now.

He is with me in tribulation. He is with me in times of turmoil. He is with me in times of calm and peace.

I trust Him to do with me as He will.

As He will, not as I will.

See, I will Him to give me a yacht, an earthly mansion, power and influence over people (including you), a 737 airplane, a Rolls Royce automobile, a winning lottery ticket, the health of a 22 year old and much, much more.

In fact, I have prayed with others in "agreement" over several of those things. But He has chosen not to give them to me.

And that's OK.

You see, my will always has been, is now and always will be flawed.

That being said, when I get my will lined up with His will and pray, as Jesus prayed, "...not my will but Thine be done," suddenly I discover that He gives me what I ask for.

The key is the very nature of prayer, which is NOT to get God to give me what I want, but to find out what He wants for me and ask for that.

For when what I want lines up with what He wants, I get what I want because it is what He wants for me.

It has NOTHING to do with me and EVERYTHING to do with Him.

None of the "stand-alone" Bible verses you can quote to me about God's healing prove anything, because they cannot stand alone. They MUST be taken in the context of the WHOLE, or they are worthless.

If you read the entire Word of God, you discover that it is against the very nature of God to speak on a subject, interject an unrelated subject and then return to the original subject.

Those who read the Word of God that way ALWAYS miss the point and travel off into their own imaginations.

God does not follow this pattern: physical, physical, physical, physical, physical, physical, spiritual, physical, physical, physical. He just doesn't write that way.

So, if the Word of God is addressing a physical subject, by declaration or by example, it must be applied to the physical, unless He specifically states that He is "detouring" to a spiritual application.

My afore-mentioned acquaintance went to a "healing" service for an ailment and came back proclaiming himself "healed."

When I pointed out that the problem seemed to still be there, he said, "Those are just the symptoms of the condition. The condition itself has been healed."

There is no arguing with that position, not because it is true, but because it is so outlandishly inconsistent with Truth that it cannot be argued with.

Now he has been told that he must have extensive surgery because he ignored the symptoms, having imagined himself healed, and further damaged himself.

He also told me that the reason he had to have the surgery is because I exuded some negative spiritual influences on him.

All I can say to that is that his god must be very small to be able to be manipulated my me.

My God cannot be manipulated. Period.

God gets to do what He wants, when He wants, how He wants, to whomever He wants, and He does not have to check with me to see whether it is alright.

There is an infinite difference between FAITH and IMAGINATION.

Many times we imagine that God has done something or told us something when, in fact, He has not.

Then we get all mully-grubby (ever gotten that way?) and get mad at God or lose our faith in Him.

Or we say something like, "Oh, God will do what I told Him to...it's just a matter of time."

Hackinspack! (My spell-checker did not like this word...do you?)

How much more peaceful you would be if you just yield to God's will and way, trusting that His way is the best way.

So I ask you, do you exercise real faith in God?

Or can you only imagine?