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Thoughts about a clean life, fear and a low-stress lifestyle:
Last Friday Grandma fell and cracked the ball socket of her hip. Now we have a woman coming over five days a week to be kind of an elder-sitter.
I started thinking about how different kinds of people would react to a stranger staying in their home for hours every day. I realized I wouldn't care at all if this stranger poked around while she was here. I mean... I'd have some serious questions about her ethics, but... I wouldn't be worried about what she might find. I don't have to put a lockout on my computers. I don't have to worry about what Grandma might tell her about me. I don't have to worry if she goes upstairs or looks through the shed or anything.
I don't have to care because I don't have anything I need to hide.
I started thinking about all the people who live in fear about somebody finding out a secret they are hiding. It seems like such a stressful lifestyle. Any time anything happens - an accident that ends up with them in a hospital and they need a friend to get something from their house for them, a water pipe bursting, just any little thing that requires somebody else coming into their home - and their secrets may be discovered.
Seems like secrets would conflict strongly with my preferred low-stress lifestyle. I guess I'll keep living my life as if there are no secrets. That way I don't have to care if somebody discovers them.
Last Friday Grandma fell and cracked the ball socket of her hip. Now we have a woman coming over five days a week to be kind of an elder-sitter.
I started thinking about how different kinds of people would react to a stranger staying in their home for hours every day. I realized I wouldn't care at all if this stranger poked around while she was here. I mean... I'd have some serious questions about her ethics, but... I wouldn't be worried about what she might find. I don't have to put a lockout on my computers. I don't have to worry about what Grandma might tell her about me. I don't have to worry if she goes upstairs or looks through the shed or anything.
I don't have to care because I don't have anything I need to hide.
I started thinking about all the people who live in fear about somebody finding out a secret they are hiding. It seems like such a stressful lifestyle. Any time anything happens - an accident that ends up with them in a hospital and they need a friend to get something from their house for them, a water pipe bursting, just any little thing that requires somebody else coming into their home - and their secrets may be discovered.
Seems like secrets would conflict strongly with my preferred low-stress lifestyle. I guess I'll keep living my life as if there are no secrets. That way I don't have to care if somebody discovers them.
I marvel that so many obvious ( to me) truths in the Bible are missed by so many Bible readers. For example, in the great commission Jesus in Mark 16:15 tells His apostles to " Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. In Matthew 28: 19 Jesus tells His apostles to " Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. From both scriptures Jesus is telling His apostles to go out into the world and preach and teach the Gospel. It is through this preaching and teaching that people get baptized in the name of the Father when He chooses someone to salvation and repents, in the name of the Son when the person trusts in Jesus death for the remission of sins, and in the name of the Holy Spirit of God when the person is filled with the Holy Spirit who fills his heart with the same love that is shared by the Father and Son. It is the Holy Spirit that perfects us, makes us part of Jesus' spiritual body, seals us as adopted children, and makes us one with the Father and Son. It is not one baptism in three names, it is three Baptisms in the name of the three persons of God. Each has a part in a person's salvation. That is the true Gospel that was to be taught.
Ephesians 4:
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Right. There is one baptism and that is in the name of the Father because once you are baptized in His name, you are going to get baptized in the name of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Remember the two disciples of John who had not received the Holy Spirit but got baptized with water. When Jesus was explained to them, they believed and were immediately baptized in the name of Jesus. They then received the Holy Spirit. They were baptized in the name of the Father when they repented of their sins, baptized in the name of the Son when they trusted in Jesus, and then were baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit when they received the Holy Spirit.
Two quotes immediately come to mind:
"if you preach something brand new that nobody has ever heard before, you're probably preaching heresy."
"If your revelation of truth is so specialized that only you can understand it, you are in a very dangerous place."
Mind you, this is not to say one should not make theories. I have a theory that before the great flood, the world had 100% cloud cover all the time - less radiation from direct sunlight meant people lived longer back then (and let's face it, we seem to not be designed to endure direct sunlight for very long,) higher humidity provided dew that watered everything, etc.
But I'm not preaching my theory as fact.
Two quotes immediately come to mind:
"if you preach something brand new that nobody has ever heard before, you're probably preaching heresy."
"If your revelation of truth is so specialized that only you can understand it, you are in a very dangerous place."
Mind you, this is not to say one should not make theories. I have a theory that before the great flood, the world had 100% cloud cover all the time - less radiation from direct sunlight meant people lived longer back then (and let's face it, we seem to not be designed to endure direct sunlight for very long,) higher humidity provided dew that watered everything, etc.
But I'm not preaching my theory as fact.
My theory on that is something along the lines of there were two events in the Bible so earth changing that God actually changed what he told people he was giving them for food: the fall and the flood. If these two events changed things so much that God had to designate an additional food supply, then we probably shouldn't assume the world before these events looked the same as the world after them. Just a thought.
Two quotes immediately come to mind:
"if you preach something brand new that nobody has ever heard before, you're probably preaching heresy."
"If your revelation of truth is so specialized that only you can understand it, you are in a very dangerous place."
Mind you, this is not to say one should not make theories. I have a theory that before the great flood, the world had 100% cloud cover all the time - less radiation from direct sunlight meant people lived longer back then (and let's face it, we seem to not be designed to endure direct sunlight for very long,) higher humidity provided dew that watered everything, etc.
But I'm not preaching my theory as fact.
I like what GaryA wrote: " Truth is available only to those who have the courage to question whatever they have been taught." (author unknown.)
Your point / quote and Lynx's aren't mutually exclusive. Yes we need to investigate primary sources as much as we can to form our own conclusions; but if we're looking at the same source than thousands of other people have looked at and coming up with a totally new conclusion that no one ever taught before.... there's probably a good reason it hasn't been taught.
Questioning, when done well, can lead us to truth, but questioning doesn't change truth. And when it comes to the Bible, the blatantly obvious commands are hard enough to live out and obey.
The fact that the Father chooses who will be saved by granting them repentance, that trust in Jesus' death for the remission of sins, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit which fills our hearts with love, perfects us, makes us part of Jesus' spiritual body, makes us adopted children of God, seals us and makes us one with the Father can easily be verified with scripture. The hangup is with using the term baptism for these events. John said that he baptized with water but someone greater than him is going to baptize a different way.
When Jesus told His apostles that there was a baptism that He had to go through, He obviously didn't mean water baptism. From this we can surmise that baptism means an event that a person has to go through. In the case of water baptism, the person has to repent which is what John was preaching and what Jesus started preaching first during his time on earth. John's water baptism was symbolic of repenting so sins can be forgiven just like Pontius Pilot washing his hands in front of his audience was symbolic of his innocence in the condemnation of Jesus. Yes, the early Jewish Christians continued with the water baptism to show their repentance, but they also wanted Gentiles to get circumcised until told otherwise by Peter and Paul.
1 Cor. 1: 21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
1 Cor 1: 29-31 That no flesh should glory in His presence.
That means no one is going to heaven because he was good enough.
But of (by) Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of (by) God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Yet many seem to think that heaven is a reward for being good instead of a gift of God to repentant sinners.
Baby baptism started around the year 300 A.D. when Constantine wanted to unite all of Italy under his rule. He declared the Roman Catholic Church as the official church and started baby water baptism with the idea that newborns will grow up Catholics and be under his rule. Babies are still getting baptized today. Should we still water baptize babies because it has always been done?
Five minute google search says We find explicit mention of infant baptism as early as Tertullian around A.D. 220. Tertullian mentions the practice in conjunction with sponsors who would aid in the child’s spiritual training.
So it predates Constantine. Probably more along the lines of baptism was seen as the entrance to the community of faith, so in the first few centuries most of those entering the faith were adult converts, but they started having kids (or had kids who they raised int he church who grew up to have kids) and those children were considered to enter the community of faith at birth which was demonstrated through infant baptism.
Infant baptism is one of those things scripture is rather ambiguous about since it never specifically mentions children or infants being baptized but does mention whole households being saved and baptized (did that include the children, were the household slaves baptized whether they had faith or not, did they ask each person for their profession of faith or let the head of household speak for them all? Plenty of questions we can ask about those simple statements in the Bible as we seek to walk it out).
Mostly the pro argument argues that baptism actually does something and can do that for babies too and the anti argument is you have to be able to make a profession of faith before being baptized, which is just an outward symbol (which seems to be itself more western idea than a biblical one).
So I'm done with my job for the day, got home and now I'm relaxing with the sweet little bimbos I picked up yesterday and took home...
WAIT! WAIT! Don't throw me out of the church! I swear, it's totally innocent!
I found these mexican snack cakes at the local salvage grocery. They're better than anything Little Debbie ever sold me. I tried one on the spot when I bought them, and they were so good I went back and got eight packs.
Soooo... last night I took a carload of bimbos home. And we had a party.
What's even better is, yesterday my grandmother went to the hospital for a hip replacement. She'll be out for two or three weeks in rehab. So the VERY DAY that she leaves for a couple or three weeks, I go out and pick up a lot of bimbos and take them home!
These little bimbos sure are sweet to me though... maybe TOO sweet, almost like they want something. But there's no way I can be a sugar daddy for them. Diabetes runs in my family so I have to limit what I do with a bimbo, no matter how sweet they are to me.
Okay I'll stop with the bimbo jokes now.
WAIT! WAIT! Don't throw me out of the church! I swear, it's totally innocent!
I found these mexican snack cakes at the local salvage grocery. They're better than anything Little Debbie ever sold me. I tried one on the spot when I bought them, and they were so good I went back and got eight packs.
Soooo... last night I took a carload of bimbos home. And we had a party.
What's even better is, yesterday my grandmother went to the hospital for a hip replacement. She'll be out for two or three weeks in rehab. So the VERY DAY that she leaves for a couple or three weeks, I go out and pick up a lot of bimbos and take them home!
These little bimbos sure are sweet to me though... maybe TOO sweet, almost like they want something. But there's no way I can be a sugar daddy for them. Diabetes runs in my family so I have to limit what I do with a bimbo, no matter how sweet they are to me.
Okay I'll stop with the bimbo jokes now.
So I'm done with my job for the day, got home and now I'm relaxing with the sweet little bimbos I picked up yesterday and took home...
WAIT! WAIT! Don't throw me out of the church! I swear, it's totally innocent!
View attachment 226753
View attachment 226754
I found these mexican snack cakes at the local salvage grocery. They're better than anything Little Debbie ever sold me. I tried one on the spot when I bought them, and they were so good I went back and got eight packs.
Soooo... last night I took a carload of bimbos home. And we had a party.
What's even better is, yesterday my grandmother went to the hospital for a hip replacement. She'll be out for two or three weeks in rehab. So the VERY DAY that she leaves for a couple or three weeks, I go out and pick up a lot of bimbos and take them home!
These little bimbos sure are sweet to me though... maybe TOO sweet, almost like they want something. But there's no way I can be a sugar daddy for them. Diabetes runs in my family so I have to limit what I do with a bimbo, no matter how sweet they are to me.
Okay I'll stop with the bimbo jokes now.
You keep at it and by the 6th pack you're not going to be able to climb the tree to eat em'.
arrgh why
sorry my sister who is staying over can be so irritating sometimes...being bigger she still expects everything to be her way and me to jump at whatever she requests, then throws a massive fit when I dont do it right that second. I think she still hasnt learned that I need to actually think about things first before I do them?!
otherwise, life is rolling along.
sorry my sister who is staying over can be so irritating sometimes...being bigger she still expects everything to be her way and me to jump at whatever she requests, then throws a massive fit when I dont do it right that second. I think she still hasnt learned that I need to actually think about things first before I do them?!
otherwise, life is rolling along.
Two quotes immediately come to mind:
"if you preach something brand new that nobody has ever heard before, you're probably preaching heresy."
"If your revelation of truth is so specialized that only you can understand it, you are in a very dangerous place."
Mind you, this is not to say one should not make theories. I have a theory that before the great flood, the world had 100% cloud cover all the time - less radiation from direct sunlight meant people lived longer back then (and let's face it, we seem to not be designed to endure direct sunlight for very long,) higher humidity provided dew that watered everything, etc.
But I'm not preaching my theory as fact.
There is a big difference between your theory ( and mine also) on cloud cover and and mine on three baptisms in one. Given the parameters that God is a Supreme spirit being, all powerful, all knowing, ubiguitous, and transcends time and space, is multi-
demensional, and rules all His kingdom in perfect justice, He has a heart and is loving , merciful, and full of goodness. The Father works through His Holy Spirit and His Son in our universe and all three have a part in our salvation. Scripture clearly states that the Father chooses and grants repentance which leads to the remission of sins through belief in Jesus' death for us, and the Holy Spirit perfects us by filling our defective hearts with love , understanding , motivation and desire to do the Father's will. The problem with many is that they want some credit for their salvation. They are the ones that chose to repent, they went through water baptism, they are the ones that trusted in Jesus, they walked the aisle, and they are the ones that work towards being good enough. Scripture clearly states that God chooses, is the one that grants repentance, provides delivery of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the preaching of believers, and fills our hearts with His Holy Spirit. No flesh will boast in His presence means that God does it all. Give God the Glory and take nothing for yourself. So the difference between your theory and mine is that yours can never be proven whereas with mine Scripture substantiates itself and confirms.
Speaking of THEORIES... and DC Traffic...
Hypothesis: SLUGS are the cause for DC Traffic on Rainy Days...
Background: On normal (none-rainy) days SLUGS (term of endearment for people who use the Car Pool Lots & System to commute into DC for work) will stand in designated lines and wait for a person with an EZ-PASS for the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes to pick them up and trasport them into the DC Area to and from work.
ISSUE: DC Traffic while seemingly random for the most part is KNOWN to be PREDICTIVELY WORSE than normal on RAINY DAYS...
THEORY: On Rainy Days - Slugs don't want to stand in line OUT in the RAIN - so they opt to DRIVE to work on RAINY DAYS which results in 1) MORE CONGESTION than usual on the ROAD WAYS; and 2) more vehicle MIS-HAPS largely due to the SLUGS who are INEXPERIENCED DRIVERS...
Hypothesis: SLUGS are the cause for DC Traffic on Rainy Days...
Background: On normal (none-rainy) days SLUGS (term of endearment for people who use the Car Pool Lots & System to commute into DC for work) will stand in designated lines and wait for a person with an EZ-PASS for the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes to pick them up and trasport them into the DC Area to and from work.
ISSUE: DC Traffic while seemingly random for the most part is KNOWN to be PREDICTIVELY WORSE than normal on RAINY DAYS...
THEORY: On Rainy Days - Slugs don't want to stand in line OUT in the RAIN - so they opt to DRIVE to work on RAINY DAYS which results in 1) MORE CONGESTION than usual on the ROAD WAYS; and 2) more vehicle MIS-HAPS largely due to the SLUGS who are INEXPERIENCED DRIVERS...
So this is state encouraged hitchhiking? Like... they try to GET people to hitchhike?!
All this time I thought it was against the law...
Not that this is a BAD thing, mind you. Carpooling totally rocks. I just never knew the government not only allowed impromptu carpooling, a.k.a. hitchhiking, but made designated places for it.
All this time I thought it was against the law...
Not that this is a BAD thing, mind you. Carpooling totally rocks. I just never knew the government not only allowed impromptu carpooling, a.k.a. hitchhiking, but made designated places for it.