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Atonement

  • Posted on January 3, 2010

God did not forgive sin without requiring it to be atoned for. Atone is a contraction of at and one. Its archaic meaning is to agree. Without atonement, there is division. Anything disagreeable will not allow harmony. God being pure holiness cannot ignore anything that goes against His perfect order for creation. It may appear as if He is forgiving and forgetting mankind’s imperfections, especially during these times when injustice abounds. But that’s only because the time of God’s judgment has not arrived yet. Today is still when we can come before the throne of God Almighty and beg for His mercy and grace before His wrath is let loose upon this world.

Begging for forgiveness is an act of humility involving a person persistently entreating another whom he or she did wrong¹ in order to make amends. Christians are not to hold malice against those who trespass against them, but to forgive them requires a condition to be met. If this was not so, Luke 17:3 would omit, “rebuke him; and if he repent” and instead say, “If thy brother trespass against thee, forgive him.” God requires a contrite spirit and a broken heart before He will forgive someone.

God describes in Matthew 18:15-17 His will for His children in handling a trespass done by a Christian brother or sister,

“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.²“

Today, if a church excommunicates a member because of his or her refusal to repent, it can result in a lawsuit. That’s to be expected when churches surrender to the kingdom of human government by becoming a legally recognized corporation instead of trusting and obeying God by refusing to yoke itself to the world’s ways.

Two or three ‘church’ witnesses also include God, Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

Even though Matthew 6:12 (“forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”) omits the condition of repentance stemming from a contrite spirit, God still brings it to our attention in Luke 17:3. 2 Timothy 2:15 instructs us to rightly divide the word of truth (i.e., rightly view the verses in the bible) and 1 Corinthians 2:13 requests that we are to compare spiritual things with spiritual (i.e., compare scripture verses with other scripture verses). When all of scripture is studied, then Matthew 6:12 can be seen as saying, “We (i.e., Christians) forgive our debtors because we know we have Christ as our redeemer.”³

The Latin past participle of contrite is conterere; to bruise, grind. Rebuke will grind (rub) someone the wrong way (be offensive), because it bruises pride. Pride lusts after being on the throne of self, so anything that strikes against it will either callous an already hard heart or it will break one’s pride resulting in repentance. Remorse brings regret, but regret that comes from a selfish motive does not lead to genuine repentance. On the surface, it can appear as if it does. However, true repentance will always result in atonement (at-one-ment).

The kind of repentance needed for the salvation Christ brings can only be acquired as a gift of God. It is not in mankind’s natural disposition (i.e., heart) to desire holiness. Man may want to appear holy to himself and/or others, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he wants to be holy. Christ became sin so that those who will be broken in their heart and contrite in their spirit can exchange their identity of sin for an identity of Christ. Christians are still human beings just like everyone else, but the difference is we can be Christ beings manifested in our human body, soul, and heart.

Christ beings are the most properly motivated individuals to be corrected by rebuke, because self-consciousness no longer thrives to rule in a saved individual. When Christ abides within an individual, self no longer lusts after constant emotional gratification. Godly self-denial is a process of bringing self constantly to the cross of Christ. No one is willing to die to self unless a greater love exists than one for self. No one can abide by the second commandment, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” unless the first commandment, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength,” is adhered to. Loving others is a symptom of loving God. No one can love God unless he first knows God loves him, as said in 1 John 4:19, “We love him, because he first loved us.”

Those who don’t love us (especially those who are used to being in control of a relationship) will be resentful, angry, and feel revulsion (i.e., intense aversion) towards rebuke coming from someone who challenges their perception of reality. That’s why God tells us to shake off the dust under our feet when people refuse to hear about God’s message of salvation through Christ. In situations where truth is denied recognition, there is no relationship because there is no harmony (i.e., agreement).

What clues are there to know who to shun when it comes to personal relationships? One good indicator is when someone rebels from seeking the forgiveness of another by subtly twisting who the humility should come from. Instead of the wrongdoer admitting to any wrong done by him (or her), he (or she) will say things like, “At least I’m willing to forgive.” or he (or she) may say something even more blatant like, “I’m willing to forgive you.” or “I forgive you.” What one most likely should not hold his (or her) breath waiting for a proud person to say is, “I’m sorry for ______________________(the wrong I did to you that I would not want you to do to me). I hope you will forgive me.”

While we are not to hold our breath helplessly waiting and hoping for a loved one to repent, we are to be involved in vicarious intercession. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God’s interests in others for our natural sympathy with them. We know not what to pray, but God does and that alone should be enough for us to know.

It’s no wonder that the modern version of how to become saved is as popular is it is. To say salvation immediately comes merely by accepting Jesus Christ as your savior implies that God is the one who must submit by waiting for people to decide whether or not Jesus is worthy of acceptance into one’s life. That’s the ultimate distortion of truth!

¹Do not mistake speaking the truth as having done something wrong merely because it might have hurt someone’s feelings (i.e., offended him or her).

²A heathen or publican was not allowed to be a member of the Christian church if he or she did not repent. Christians shunned those who claimed to share the same faith while clinging to sin. The Amish still shun those (from being a member of their community) who refuse to submit to God’s will. Horses will also shun a misbehaving herd member. The banished horse is only allowed back into the herd once he or she has shown signs of respect and submission.

³This is not to say that unsaved people will not forgive others. Satan is too clever at counterfeiting Christian behavior in unbelievers. The key (as with most things) is motive. In the case of Christians forgiving, it is a symptom of salvation. With the non-elect, it is a symptom of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is required in order for self-deception to increase, especially when a ‘higher level’ of self-realization (i.e., an imaginary perception of reality about one’s self rather than what God tells us about ourself) is pridefully sought after.

The Spirit of Christ Time

  • Posted on December 12, 2009

Due to the insane amount of people interested in Harold Camping, I felt led to remove all of what I originally wrote in each post attracting traffic from search engines. I don’t want to encourage this kind of obsession.

People should be devoting their time and attention to the bible instead of a man who is constantly telling people to go to the bible. Christians should not need to be told twice by two different individuals to study the bible for themselves.

Real Love

  • Posted on November 22, 2009

Love is proven not by how we treat our friends, but how we treat those who oppose us. — Matthew 5:46-47

God loves those who deserve to be judged, so if we’re loved by God (i.e., we know God’s love), we prove it by whether or not we judge others (i.e., find fault with them rather than being merciful). We’re not even to judge our own self. We are to evaluate ourself and leave all final judgments to be made by God.

You cannot love both.

  • Posted on September 3, 2009

It’s impossible to love God and to love the things that are in this world. It is possible (maybe even probable) to misunderstand what God is saying in 1 John 2:15.  Enjoying nature, people, music, art, clothes, entertainment, etc. is not what is meant by loving the things that are in this world — even though it’s common to hear statements like, “I love that song or I love that outfit.” That’s not the kind of love being talked about here. What then helps to clarify the difference between the two opposite kinds of love?

The following verses in 1 John 2 (16-17) state:

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

The key words are lust and pride. The definition of lust is much broader than what most people realize.

The more that lust affects one’s life, the greater becomes the desire for possession and control of some object, person, or circumstance. On the flip side, the less that lust controls an individual, the more that person will be content no matter what challenges this world throws his way. How can that be? Because when we identify our life solely upon God, we are satisfied with what He gives us — even when being persecuted for our faith.

To be able to trust that God is always giving us what we need requires knowing that God is sovereign. That’s how we can know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

If we don’t love God, we will be slaves to our lusts and to the pride of life. We’ll also be unable to love our neighbour as we love our self. Without God’s love in us, if someone doesn’t satisfy our desires, we’re not going to earnestly pray that God saves and teaches them the real way to have a fulfilled life. Instead, we’ll nurture a secret (or not so secret) hatred towards those who irritate us, while those who might soothe our souls can become an addiction.¹

We won’t be vulnerable to the thoughts and/or actions of others when our life is completely resting in God’s hands, because we’ll know that God is not at the mercy of anyone or anything mankind can make. It’s easy to say, “Let go and let God,” but the truth will prevail when it comes time to ‘let go’. That’s why the death of a life we harbor too much of an affection for in our heart can have a profound affect upon us² and why confusion can creep in when panic³ takes over. God is not the author of confusion [1 Cor 14:33]. God does not give us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind [2 Tim 1:7]. Because he gives us the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind, we can be set free from whatever our flesh and eyes lust after, along with being freed from our pride.

Demonic spirits of fear, weakness, and hatred keep a person duped into serving deceptive gods that can never bring enough satisfaction. Irrational behavior will be the final result of indulging oneself with the things that are in this world when lust and/or pride are the motive. Only a self-controlled person can overcome temptations in this world, but that’s only possible if he’s controlled by the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance ['egkrateia' — 1) self-control (the virtue of one who masters his desires and passions, esp. his sensual appetites) — from 'egkrates'; self-control (especially continence):-temperance.]: against such there is no law.

If we know that our Heavenly Father cares enough to number the very hairs of our head and that we’re of more value than many sparrows, there is no reason to fear anything. It stands to reason then that if we don’t have this peace which comes from abiding in Christ, there will always be something making us believe, “If only I had a little more of this or some of that, I’d be content.”

The dilemma to caring enough to know where our love is is that we need God’s love in order to recognize the counterfeit Satan can masterfully trick us into believing we have. It makes the difference between knowing ourself versus merely thinking that we know ourself. God tells us in 2 Corinthians 13:5,

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”

…because we need to know whether or not we’re in the faith of Christ. Reprobates cannot know their own self. God gave those (who do not like to retain Him in all their thoughts) over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient [i.e., not right]. — Romans 1:28

While we’re still here in this world, we’ll never know what true fulfillment is in our life if we don’t overcome peer pressure, codependency, and the fear of man.

There can be no peer pressure if we are not concerned with how we appear to others. Wikipedia says peer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer ‘group’ in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to ‘group’ norms. Even in a one-on-one relationship consisting of two opposing peers, if one does not change his or her ways to conform to the other, the relationship has to tear apart at some point.

There can be no codependency if we are not able to be controlled or manipulated by an addict (not just to illegal or legal drugs and alcohol, but also to things like pride).

There can be no fear of man where the fear of God is greater. This fear towards God however is a healthy one, because it is based upon knowing that His commandments are for our good. It’s insane to fear any man more than God, because there is no man that can love us as perfectly as God does (not even any human father).

This world will pass away and the lust thereof, along with all who are not saved. But those who delight to do the will of God shall abide forever.

¹The ORIGIN of the term addicted comes from the mid 16th cent.: from the obsolete adjective addict [bound or devoted (to someone),] from Latin addict- ‘assigned,’ from the verb addicere, from ad- ‘to’ + dicere ’say.’

²This is why the first commandment is to love God and the second commandment is to love our neighbour. To the unsaved world, a Christian might appear to be hating his father, mother, wife, children, brethren, sisters, and his own life also. That’s because those who don’t know the agape kind of love God provides through personal experience do not have anything to compare the love for those in this world with. That’s also why, to them, those who love God will be an enigma.

³The word panic stems from the Greek word ‘panikon’, lit. “pertaining to Pan,” in sense of “panic, fright” short for panikon deima, from neut. of Panikos “of Pan,” the god of woods and fields who was the source of mysterious sounds that caused contagious, groundless fear in herds and crowds, or in people in lonely spots. Pan is one of the most evil symbols for Satan. Pan was so lustful that he was constantly chasing women in order to forcibly rape them.

Where does loneliness come from?

  • Posted on March 30, 2009

There are two kinds of freedom from loneliness. One type is dependent and the other is independent.

Loneliness comes from being alone, but this does not necessarily mean physically alone. A feeling of aloneness can exist in any environment.

There is a genuine freedom from loneliness and there is an artificial type. The difference is not noticeable so long as the counterfeit freedom can retain its dependent factors. Once the dependent factors are removed, loneliness takes over. This is why genuine freedom from loneliness can last irregardless of circumstances. It might not feel like its there 100% of the time, but for the most part, it is.

Deceptive freedom from aloneness gets its power to capture you into loneliness when you fill your life up with people who are bits of familiar reflections that you pre-consciously recognize as elements of yourself. If those people you feel connected with (because they contain likenesses of you) disappear (or your imagined ideas of them vanish), you will undergo a grieving process involving loneliness.

People overcome this loneliness at different rates of time and some never recover. Often times, new people replace this void and then the process can repeat itself. Clearly, that’s the dependent type of freedom from loneliness.

What’s dangerous about this dependent type of loneliness freedom comes from how a person reacts to having their heart’s affections removed. Depression is the common result. However, since depression is anger turned inward because self is not getting satisfied anymore, anger can fester. That anger can either become self-destructive, make self want to destroy another (or others), or both.

Statistics show that if a first marriage breaks up which doesn’t result in a self-destructive person committing suicide without killing other family members, then the risk for a second marriage ending increases the likelihood of that self-destructive person killing other family members before he kills himself.

Stalkers also are driven by loneliness, even though on the surface it may seem its due to lusting the power of being in control. Insane people are out of control because they’ve allowed themselves to be a victim of their own self-deception. There is no treatment program or mediation which can truly remedy this, because the cause is not ultimately psychological or physical. Such behavior is a spiritual symptom of anyone not saved by the grace of God.

Once someone has become saved from their own worse enemy (i.e., self), he is then enabled to experience the genuine freedom from loneliness that’s independent of anyone in this world. Without this gracious act of God, Satan plots to have a person occupy his life by being filled up with people that are mirrors of self. This way he can control the unsaved soul by having him cling to those people, so that if and/or when they disappear (depending on whether or not they help to keep the lost soul away from God), destruction can subtly follow its course.

Too often the category of “needy” people is defined in an overly narrow range. Need is not just based on how intensely a person craves someone else; its also based on the level of fear a person has for being viewed as ‘weird’, ‘unpopular’, or ’socially incorrect’.

When you distortedly occupy yourself with people who mirror bits of yourself, there is no vacancy for God. What’s more is that when you have your own perception of reality rule, you can use your imagination to fit these significant others into a self-satisfying mold.

This explains why those who are single (or married to someone that no longer gratifies self) can get lonely. This puts them at risk for twisting someone they’re attracted to into a perception which will fill the gaps of their soul that need to be accommodated. Their imagination polishes up the illusion which enables them to “fall” in love. It’s true they’re falling. They’ve dived off a cliff of solid ground because their water below can hide whatever is beneath its surface. If you’re not expecting rocks, you’re bound to be wounded.

Loneliness is not the right motive to build a relationship upon, because you’re coming into it bankrupt without anything of yourself to give to the other person. Two lonely people uniting can only put each other deeper into an emotional debt that only God can satisfy. People pray for a ‘Mr. Right’ or ‘Mrs. Right’ to come into their life. When do you ever hear of someone desiring to know how to be the ‘Mr. Right’ or ‘Mrs. Right’ for someone else?

Most who have abandoned a personal relationship know the experience of being forced into seeing the other person the way he or she really is. That’s when the kind of mistake you may have made becomes a painful reality. Its doubtful that you’re going to realize why you’re feeling miserable after you’ve been together for a long time (any length of time is long when you’re not happy). When its easy to blame the other person for not being who you want him or her to be, there is little motivation to take an honest look at yourself to see how imperfect your own self is.

Someone who has been abandoned in a personal relationship might not ever know why he was left, especially if he doesn’t want to know. On the flip side, he could also just as easily believe he is guilty for things which, in reality, he shouldn’t be feeling guilty at all for.

There are several ways to end up feeling lonely, but there is only one way to protect yourself from this demonic self-pity. God has promised He will never leave us if Christ abides in us. Every human being is made in the image of God, but not every human being will live in that image. With man, that is impossible. With God, all things are possible.

How Divorce Works

  • Posted on December 12, 2008

Divorce ‘works’ when love never existed in the first place. It might seem like love existed because lust can counterfeit love amazingly well. I’ve heard it said, “LUST is love under selfish terms.” 

In cases where love exists, divorce ‘breaks’ couples like a glass vase gets shattered when falling on a hard floor. It has to because love is wholesome. Wholeness is complete; it’s one; it’s unbroken and undamaged. Even in the case where one person loves the other, while the other connected via lust, divorce shatters hope for the relationship. Only in situations where both parties are together because of lust does divorce not shatter. There was never anything to shatter in the first place (except maybe pride and/or children begotten from the union), because there is no real ’till death do us part’ marriage commitment there to begin with.

When a non-loving person leaves, he isn’t really destroying the one who loves him (contrary to popular opinion, you can’t fall out of love). The luster leaving is being self-destructive, but most likely isn’t even aware of it. It’s logical given what love means.

Lust feels like love, but it never was wholesome to begin with. Lust is individuality at its utmost. Divide even abides within the word individual. That’s why relationships based on lust can’t last when conflict hits. Each (if neither is loving) wants to please self more than the other. In the case of the luster, he may have reached his limit with being able to manipulate a person who loves him. If that’s not bad enough, add humiliation to pride and watch what happens!

Love, on the other hand, wants to please the other half more than self WITHOUT desiring something in return. That may be what started the saying, “If you love something set it free. If it comes back, it’s yours. If it doesn’t, it never was.” Even though that quote isn’t from the bible, it does hold true. It is part of the reason God says what He does in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16. People who get crushed, do so because they’re expecting something for themselves that they can’t have.

Love can be defined quite simply: When you love someone (or something like a pet), you’re happy when the object of your affection is happy and you’re sad when he or she is sad. Love is like conception, once it has happened, you can’t reverse the process. That’s also how salvation from sin works; it’s irreversible (God does not abort His children or abandon them). You can’t permanently ‘fall’ from the grace of God, because that’s not what God’s grace is and it’s also what a gift is (undeserved and without conditions attached). When you love, you NEVER feel happy when the object of your affection is sad; nor can you feel sad when he or she is happy (unless maybe you’re just deceiving yourself at that moment because of a passing emotion due to some other undetected reason).

Lust has the ability to create feelings either way, but the motive is always self-centered. You can be happy when your ‘bride’ is happy and still only have lust for her; just like you can feel sad along with her and still only relate by lust. That can happen when the motive to feel that way comes from desiring the other person’s love in return. That would be like a financial investment → you are fine with giving your money for another to use, if there is a chance you’ll gain back interest for doing the sacrifice later on. If that’s the case, then most likely you’ll be disappointed due to human nature taking what it can, when it can, for only self’s own best interest. A relationship based on mutual lust and trust can last a lifetime IF conditions always remain favorable for each to benefit (kind of like a business partnership). The grief that comes from the loss of a lusted one whom you’ve invested a life-time with isn’t the same kind of loss as one whom you’ve genuinely loved all your life.

Now that the world is entering into more difficult times than usual, it would not be surprising to watch divorce rates rise in correlation. Tough times test relationships. Because love is not self-centered, it can handle what comes its way and cause a deeper bond afterwards. Lust, because of it’s selfish terms, will not tolerate tribulation. When the going gets tough, the luster gets busy creating distance from the other half; usually by creating reasons to hate the other person so as to justify his actions. Hollywood filmed a good example of a relationship based on counterfeit love (i.e., lust) gone askew to the extreme edition when it produced The War of the Roses.

Given what God says in the Bible, it seems impossible for anyone to love in the pure sense of the word without personally knowing God’s supernatural love. That kind of love is the only type that can truly return good for evil. It’s easy for millions to claim being a Christian, but don’t judge by words. Matthew 7:20, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” It takes time for a tree to show its fruit, so don’t judge people too quickly. Getting to know a person takes time.

What Would Cesar Millan Say?

  • Posted on September 18, 2008

Cesar Millan always emphasizes exercise, discipline, and affection to achieve balance in a dog’s life. He also stresses that dogs need rules, boundaries, and limitations.

I get the idea behind teaching a dog that its owner must be the pack leader. Dogs are not to train their owner just like children should not be allowed to train their parents.

When I first got my Chi-Poo dog Rascal, she quickly began to establish dominance over me. She came from a breeder who kept her in a home environment with children, so she was socialized. When she moved in with me, she was 8 weeks old.

For the first year I had her, I became increasingly torn between keeping her versus returning her. Maybe because of knowing I had this option, I procrastinated over the idea of returning her. For me to return a dog like her, things have to get quite bad, and they did!

I’ve always had pets throughout my life, but I never encountered such a confusing situation as I did with Rascal. She would bite (puncturing skin) for no apparent reason at unpredictable times.

I got all kinds of advice on how to handle her. That doesn’t lead to a whole lot of consistency for someone who already struggles with indecision. It didn’t take me long to give up on trying to follow what others tried to tell me, especially since such an addiction used to be a lifetime nightmare of mine.

Rascal’s biting did not have any apparent pattern. I got bit while carrying her, even though nothing seemed to trigger it. She bit me while I was sleeping in bed.¹ I had to be careful when playing with her, since my hands were close to her mouth.² I was heartbroken and concerned over keeping such a dog because of grandchildren possibly getting bit too.

The woman I got her from said she could not understand why this was happening. She thought Rascal and I were a good match for each other. Her suggestion was to keep Rascal’s food dish empty until Rascal was hungry, and then feed her only what she would eat at that time. That was another tip I abandoned.

Besides the biting challenge, I never had a puppy that needed to relieve itself as many times in the day as Rascal did! We went outdoors about 30 times per day. To me, it was unbelievable behavior for a healthy dog. I later learned that little dogs do their business many more times per day than bigger ones. After Rascal matured beyond her first birthday, her need to go outdoors decreased to around 7-8 times per day. That’s interesting, considering how well she’s able to sleep for 9-10 hours straight through the night without needing to go outside. It didn’t take her long to learn to ring her doorbell to let me know when she wants to go out. I didn’t teach my cat, Puzzles, to use the bell. However, she watched Rascal and now if she sees I’m not paying attention to her, she smacks that bell when she wants to go outside to relieve herself (she also rattles the outer door when she is done and wants to come in).³

Now I’ll describe how off balance things were during this biting stage. Rascal did not receive the kind of exercise seen on National Geographic’s program Dog Whisperer. I thought she got plenty of exercise with the amount of playing that went on. As for discipline, I’m sure Cesar Millan would have a few words to say to me in that area. In regard to affection, I’ve never learned how to turn that valve off.

Even though Rascal bit me periodically during our first year together, I could not stop loving her more each day. Then one day her urge to bite simply stopped. I have only one guess as to why, because NOTHING other than my indecisive attitude changed.

It didn’t seem right that God would leave me in a state of confusion over deciding what would be best for Rascal—for me to keep her or not keep her. Confusion is the devil’s work. Peace is evidence of God’s will being done. I knew did not have peace, so I prayed to know what God would have me do. His answer was quick and clear→ keep Rascal, trust Him [God], and stop trying to get answers from anyone and/or anywhere else. At first, I didn’t like that answer because I was tired of not knowing how many more times I might get bit. I wanted to believe she’d be better off with someone else, but somehow I knew that would be a decision I’d regret if I acted upon it. However, I did notice an immediate peace that came with the decision to forget about the option of parting with her. I was ready to accept and do whatever it took (e.g., if need be, keep her crated while grandchildren are visiting, etc.). I vowed, ”I, Sheila, take you, Rascal, for my lawful pet, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for fun, for work, in pain from bites and in joy from laughs, until death do us part.” (I wouldn’t exactly call posting up a 350 foot long fence in poison ivy and hot weather without any assistance, along with 30 puppy potty trips/day, fun.)

Since that day of the unrevocable commitment, it’s amazing how wonderful Rascal has become! She’s also learned to speak (not sounding like a bark, but rather like a long ‘please’ except with a dog’s voice) when she wants help with something (like getting her ball out from under the couch). Rascal is very gentle with my eight month old granddaughter and my two year old grandson. She knows babies need dogs that know how to be around them. I see Rascal is confident with her own behavior and enjoys loving children. As soon as she hears their arrival, she gets so happy that she does a comical five minute dance—running around as fast as her little legs can carry her!

I now take Rascal for lengthy daily walks. However, I’m not so sure the discipline part of the equation equals the exercise and affection. It almost seems as if she never needs to be disciplined because she obeys so beautifully. She knows what pleases me and what doesn’t. When I’m pleased, she is. When she’s pleased, I am. She finally trusts me completely as a leader and loves it that way!

I guess the moral to this story is, “Whatever (or whoever) might be testing your patience, never give up. Loving persistence will be rewarded with many blessings.”

¹I did try keeping her in a crate during the night. That ended up with me not being able to sleep because of her crying.

²I was advised to use toys which would keep my hands not close to her mouth. Since the explanation wasn’t logical to me, I quickly discarded that tip too.

³My other cat, Oliver, is never permitted to go outdoors. That was one of the agreements Oliver’s breeder insisted upon. I gave my word I would keep to it. It wasn’t easy to watch Oliver learn to accept this, but now he is quite content with that arrangement. If I’m too wrapped up in what I’m doing and Puzzles happens to be outdoors when it’s starting to get dark, Oliver will remind me to tell her it’s time for her to come in for the night.

Too Much Money

  • Posted on August 5, 2008

What happens to some people when they have too much money? For starters they either forget or don’t care about others who have less. To judge this by what ‘wealthy’ people donate isn’t reliable, especially since donations can be tax write-offs. A more accurate indicator of knowing when money has corrupted character is seen by how people behave when they don’t want some of their possessions anymore.

Those who have a ‘wealthy’ mentality often times are the ones to cry about how poor they are financially, but yet they’re the same people who throw away items that aren’t even broken without giving thought to who they may know that might appreciate what it is they no longer want.

Maybe there is the attitude ‘needy’ people rummage through the dump, so their discarded items will end up helping others? People less fortunate can’t do such things anymore when dumps no longer allow scavengers. Then there are scavengers who are far from needing anything and are simply greedy to find more ways to make money for themselves.

Maybe there is the attitude, “Why should I give what I have to someone else who can work for it like I did?” That’s true, but isn’t it nice to help make another person’s life easier who you know would do the same when possible?

Maybe those who would benefit from ‘hand-me-downs’ are too proud to let others know they’d really like having what’s about to become trash?

I hope and pray that the reason people don’t ask others if they’d like to have what they’re throwing away isn’t because of being afraid of what might be thought about them for no longer wanting something that still works or that their generosity would be seen as an insult.

Before anyone jumps to any wrong conclusions about why I’m writing this, I’ll try to express why I’m concerned.

Americans (generally speaking) have become accustomed to having too much of just about anything and/or everything. Those who aren’t starting to become financially destroyed by the recent downturn of financial events might not know that many are. It doesn’t help matters when the media televises information inaccurately. It is better to not make assumptions about how other people are doing based on what you see outwardly. If you ask a person, “Would you like to have this?” and his response is “No,” whether he could have been helped by your offer is no longer something you have control over.

Being thoughtful helps everyone, unless the thoughts only remain thoughts. People aren’t mind readers, but they can see actions. Actions speak louder than words and it’s true my words I’m writing now are only thoughts. Only God knows when my actions have been selfless. However, when it comes to acts of charity, that’s the way it should be.

Are you looking for trouble?

  • Posted on February 20, 2008

You should be . . . if you live for God’s will being done because of Him sending His son to get you, you should expect the world to hate you. If it was not so, God would not have it written in His word.

John 17:9-14,

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

John 15:18-27,

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
He that hateth me hateth my Father also.
If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.
But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.
But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

So if the world doesn’t appreciate the truth God gives and hates those who boldly speak it, then what’s a Christian to do?
Well, for starters s/he doesn’t act natural — s/he lives with a new nature that the world cannot understand so it persecutes the Godly with a vengeance.

Luke 6:26-36,

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.
But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Anything else for a Jacob to know?

Romans 12:17-21,

Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 9:11-22,

(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)
It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.

So, what’s the bottom line?

Don’t expect mercy from those who haven’t experienced the ultimate forgiveness, but rather be merciful to everyone. Let God be God. Only He knows who are His. Even though no one else is Almighty God, the world is full of people who will try to act like God. God is the only one worthy to be served and glorified. Don’t seek to be popular (a man-pleaser). Enjoy being able to give to others what God gives to you! If you’re ultimately calling attention to any human being¹ instead of Jesus, then you can’t be magnifying the LORD.

¹Hopefully people realize that each of us have our own name that’s for the purpose of others to respectfully use when they want our attention. To call attention to a person by using his or her name (especially without that person’s approval) for the sake of degrading him or her is gossip. It’s usually done out of the motive of pride. You can’t look good in the eyes of God by trying to make others look bad in the eyes of the world.

How Did I Know?

  • Posted on February 19, 2008

I knew that my refusal to permit someone, who disagreed with my expression of faith on my Calvinism Analogy post and believed I should permit him to publish his negative comment on my weblog, would seek revenge because of my exercising my right to protect the honor of what I believe on my site, but to do so on a blog he names Love Acceptance Forgiveness?!?! Oh well . . . I guess that says it all — actions speak louder than words. I won’t even mention names. I don’t want to be a hypocrite by not honoring what I said in my post on the Golden Rule found in Matthew 7:12. He knows who he is and so does God, so please don’t google his blog. Such a thing could not bring glory to God.

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