With all of the tragedy in the world today, I thought this post would be useful to people.  The link is more readable, but the text is included below.

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/sufferings-of-this-present-time-are

Sufferings of This Present Time Are Not Worthy to be Compared with God's Glory
APR 15, 2024
Today I happened to be reading Romans 8. The second half really spoke to me in a way it never had before. It spoke of having faith in God’s goodness even in the worst of times.
Right now I have a friend who just found that her cancer was back after 10 years. I have another friend who is having his big toe amputated due to an infection caused by diabetes. The son of another friend recently lost his entire left leg, including part of his left hip, and other parts in a motorcycle accident. He is lucky to be alive, but will never have a normal life. Some good friends have a teenage daughter who has been sick for 4+ years and seems to be getting worse and worse. She has had to drop out of school, can barely eat, and basically can’t leave the house. Everything they have tried has either had no effect or seems to make her condition worse. Around the globe there are numerous wars where people are being slaughtered and even risk of a new world war. The US and the rest of the world seem to be entering a time of economic turmoil. There are mass shootings and other terrorists attacks. There are riots leading to destruction of property and lives. There are earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados, and other natural disasters. Evil seems to be pushed everywhere. It is easy to get discouraged and wonder where God is in all of this evil and heartache.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:18-39)
When I read Romans 8, I was reminded of God’s goodness. “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) The evil and pain we see and experience is not because God doesn’t care, but because He is patient.I was especially touched by verse 18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” God reminds us that the suffering we suffer today will not compare to the joy we will experience in eternity as we glory in God’s presence. As bad as things may be now, our good future, that is guaranteed to us, is better by orders of magnitude compared to the pain we now suffer. It is always easier to endure suffering when we can see its end and know better times will come. A woman in childbirth doesn’t bemoan her labor, but looks forward to the reward of her newborn child. In the same way we need to look past the suffering of this world to the eternity we are guaranteed with God if we have accepted Him as savior.Romans 8:24-25 says “For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.” As we deal with the sin, pain, and suffering during our mortal lives, we need to always have our eyes focused on Jesus, the cross, and eternity with God. Our hope is in Him and He will never let us down. No matter how bad things get, up to and including death, He is with us and has our best taken into account in His perfect plan. When we are suffering, it is hard to see His good plan, but it is always there. I always liked the analogy from Corrie Ten Boom of weaving a tapestry. On the back side, you see all of the knots and rough stitches, but on the other side, is a beautiful picture. We don’t see the picture until we reach heaven, but we can sometimes get an idea of the design this side of heaven.Corrie Ten Boom’s poemMy life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.Not ’til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unroll the canvas
And reveal the reason why.The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has plannedHe knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those
Who leave the choice to Him.
We may not know why God allows/makes us go through the hardships he does, but we can know that He has a glorious plan that will make it all worth while. I have seen in my own life that the hardest times had the biggest payoff. I learned the most. I grew the most. It prepared me for ministry that I otherwise couldn’t have done. I grew in faith. I was able to empathize with others who were suffering so I could be a blessing to them. Instead of thinking, “why did God allow this to happen?” or “why me?”, we should think “what plan does God have for my life?” or “what is God teaching me?” or “what is God preparing me for?”Now let’s return to Romans 8.Romans 8:26-27 states, “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” God’s Holy Spirit is with us to provide for us in these hard times. In particular He helps us pray even when we don’t know how to pray or even what to pray for. We just know that things aren’t as they should be.So often we try to pray our solution which is rarely the best solution. Instead we should pray our problem and leave the solution to God. As Jesus said right before dying on the cross “not my will, but thine be done.” We need to cast our cares on Him and believe that He is in control and will do what is best for us. We do, however, need to keep in mind that what is ultimately for our best is not necessarily (probably rarely) what we want, what is most pleasant, or what is easiest. When we seek to be more like Jesus, he calls us to “take up our cross and follow Him.” He doesn’t say follow Him and life will be easy and pleasant or that He will make us rich and successful. Although He never says life following Him will be easy, it will be better than what it would otherwise be, but not necessarily by the world’s standards.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-29a)
In hard times, this is the verse that I regularly turn to. He always “causes ALL things to work together for good.” When we are really suffering, it is hard to see how these horrible situations could “work together for good,” but our omniscient, omnipotent God is able to turn evil to good and hardship to glorious joy. He knows things we don’t know and He works for our ultimate good, but not necessarily for our immediate comfort. When we trust Him fully, even the worst situation is bearable and it is even possible for it to be joyful.I understand that although it really is this simple, it isn’t easy. I will say, though, that the more hardship we go through, the more we learn to lean on Him, and the easier it gets to be joyful in the hard times. If you are suffering right now, I hope you will take this to heart and not discard it as easy words from someone who doesn’t understand what you are going through. Although I probably have not been through the hardships you have been through, I am not unacquainted with hardship. I have dealt with a sickly child who was hospitalized around 20 times over 3+ years. I’ve had multiple miscarriages. I lost my house in a fire and lost all of my physical possessions. I’ve had my mother-in-law get diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, have a stroke 2 days later, and died a week after that. (As shocking and sad as it was, her Christian funeral was actually joyful as we celebrated her life and what Jesus had done through her.) I’m not being flippant. I am sharing the hope I relied on to get through these hardships.Now back to Romans 8:31b-32 “If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” We should expect God’s blessing. He has done so much for us in the past, so we should expect much more in the future. Like Jesus’s death on the cross, God’s methods don’t necessarily seem “right” to us, but He knows what is best and will work things for our good. Just as Jesus submitted to death on the cross, we need to submit to the will of God.Romans 8:35 says, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” Don’t allow “tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword” to make you feel separated from God. His love never ends. Don’t let this hardship harden your heart and hurt your relationship with God. Lean on Him. Rely on Him. Love Him. Trust Him. Hope in Him. He will never abandon you or forsake you.Romans 8:37 says “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” If God is with us, we can conquer any hardship, even death. As Christians, the worst thing that can happen to us, death, is also the greatest thing that can happen to us. We don’t need to be afraid of death. We need to look forward to it because it means we will be with God forever in paradise where there is no more death, crying, or pain.
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. (Philippians 1:21-24)
This longing to be with Christ does not mean we should act to hasten death. We are here on Earth both to grow in Christ and to minister to others. We are not to leave until our work is done even if that means accepting suffering as we serve God. We should, however, long for our future with Christ.Trust Jesus.

P.S. After finishing this post I came across another great verse. I am including it without comment.Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)
 #jesus  #christianity  #christian  #bible  #grownostr  #faith  #Jesus  #God  #suffering  #war  #apologetics  #trustgod  #trustjesus


If you read the whole text and how it is actually written, it is obvious.


freeborn | ελεύθερος


Absolutely true.

I have been digging deep into the scriptures because i am feeling that our time here is short.  Exactly what that means time wise, I don't know, but I am trying to share the gospel more than I ever have.


I would love that.


A month or two ago I was really wanting to buy a significant chunk of bitcoin (not near a bitcoin, but still real money) before the halving.  I commented on it to my husband.  Without hesitation, he replied, "if you really think it will increase that much, why aren't you buying it now?", so I did.  I thought he would not want me to spend that much, but he was very supportive.  He doesn't buy bitcoin himself and doesn't prep himself, but he is very supportive of me doing these things.


If it requires taking something from someone else or making someone else do something, it isn't a right.

So much that is called rights today is actually theft or slavery.


My ears are burning.


I love that idea.


I love the idea of having both, but I want the clients to make it easy.

This also goes back to needing a good way to find relays and knowing what you are getting.  Is it free or is it paid?  Is it general or is it for a specific subject?  Does it only allow short posts or long posts, or pictures, or video?


Exactly so, but if you can make an existing expense a tax expense, so as to reduce the taxes you pay, go for it.  (Like using a room in your house for business and getting to reduce your income by part of your mortgage/home value.)


I would agree with everything you say except I would disagree with the statement that baptism causes salvation.  It is done immediately after salvation in obedience to his command as a sign of the internal change. One can be saved without baptism, just like the thief on the cross to whom Jesus said, "today you will be with me in paradise."   I also agree that the flood is a foreshadowing of salvation and baptism.  Very well said.


Do they eat dust to stay alive?  No.  Do they crawl on their bellies, sticking out their tongue to "smell" things and bring dust into their mouths?  Yes, so in this respect they do eat dust.

If you look at the Bible, the prophecy is written in a poetic way, even if the rest of the narrative is written as historic narrative.  It seems pretty clear what it really means.


They do.  Trying to start a whole new nation is likely to get a major attack.  Trying to grow much of your own food and to build mutual aid communities and things like that can help us be less dependent on the existing system while being less likely to get in the tyrants' crosshairs.  The more self sufficient we are, the more able to stand up to them we will be.  Almost everyone will submit if that is what is necessary so their kid won't starve to death.  Even Bitcoin is a form of making something better.  Now that it has been approved in ETFs, it will be very difficult for them to eliminate it.


Build something better?

Yes it is a conundrum.  I no longer believe that we can fix things from the inside, but a split would guarantee violence that I don't want, so I wait.

I think there is a decent chance, that sometime in the relatively near future, the US gets knocked from its pedestal militarily and economically.  If they don't have the money to buy armies and arms, it may be possible to just walk away at that time, but that too will be very hard and unpleasant.  We seem to have a bunch of bad choices and have to find the least bad.


Absolutely.  Bring the power back closer to the people.


Well said.


We can't trust the federal government to make sure the federal government doesn't break the rules.  Although I would prefer the people to be in charge, it isn't practical.  We need the states to be able to overrule anything the Federal government does and punish any federal politicians who break their oaths.  Although it isn't explicit, I believe that was the understanding when the constitution was written.  We need to get back to the states being a check on the federal government instead of purely subservient to the federal government.  Going back to states appointing senators would also help.


I think they have intentionally driven out most of the independent thinkers.  They want blind obedience from those who will go into foreign countries and be cannon fodder or will obey and shoot at fellow citizens.  All of the good soldiers I know are ex-soldiers.


Exactly.


I don't want it, but it seems where things are heading.  I'm just being the weatherman.

Also, small societies tend to be very considerate of the other members.  They are more forgiving and understanding.  The leaders know more of the individuals and therefore care about their wellbeing.  The larger a country/government gets, the less consideration of individuals and the less freedom.  Many smaller nations would prevent the global meddling that the US is currently guilty of committing.  It would put people together with those that had at least complementary beliefs.  It would reduce the stealing from one group to give to another.  All of that is good and peaceful and would be better than what we have.

On the other hand, we have reality.  There are too many people who would not allow a peaceful transition, so I am not currently advocating for a split.  There is no reason a peaceful split can't be done other than tyrants don't want to let anyone leave their sphere of control.


Definitely not always, but frequently the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes.  Only by hearing the different arguments can the truth be found.

I've even seen two people arguing over a subject.  Both are arguing against one or the other extreme position instead of each other's real position. Their actual positions were very close together.  I think this happens more often than any of us would like to admit.


I would like to think that we still have some common goals and common culture, but this is becoming less and less true.  It is seeming like both sides are digging in so deep that we are reaching the point of irreconcilable differences.  If the statist would allow it, the best solution seems to be to split the nation into several different countries that have similar interests/culture/morals/principles.  Of course there are people in control now that care about nothing but power and I doubt there is a peaceful way to do the split.  Any state that tried to leave the union would be instantly attacked militarily.


If by rich you mean moderately rich, a net worth of millions to tens of millions, I don't think you can make any assumptions about shady dealing or evil.  If you mean mega rich, like those who are worth 100s of millions and billions, it is a reasonable assumption even if there is an exception somewhere.  If nothing else, they have probably taken advantage of government handouts and/or regulations in an unfair way.  Most have done much worse.

It is always nice to define your terms.  Some people consider a person who makes $100,000 a year and has lots of debt as rich.  I would not.  There are some people who are rich and others that are uber-rich.  Their lives, their methodologies, and their morals have very little in common.


Sorry, but there are certain natural laws that no law of government can change.


The belief that the US is so powerful that its "leaders" can do whatever they want with zero consequences will be the destruction of the US.  I fear they are soon to learn that the US military isn't what it once was.  Giving away all of our weapons to buy support and forcing wokism on the troops instead of actual training is going to lead to an impotent military when another nation finally gets fed up and decides to challenge us, especially if that nation is Russia and/or China.


Not harsh at all.  I appreciate all feedback.

Since you don't like the scientific arguments, you might prefer part 5, which explains why I believe it is literal based solely on the words in the Bible and part 6 which explains why and how the starting assumptions can change your theology.

Having done massive study, I do believe the science supports a literal interpretation, a young Earth, and a global flood best, but if that isn't the arguments that reach you best, you can skip them and move on to the other arguments


I do understand that people aren't ready to comment just any time.  I have some days that I have a lot to say.  I have other days that I am quiet and just taking in the information, but I'm not inspired to put much into it.  Some days I just have more or less mental energy to put into things.


I agree.


The name is Puddintaine. Ask me again, I’ll tell you the same.


I don't think the low level people think about it that way.  I think it is the higher level people, silently pulling the strings in the background, that think "transgender care" is a good way to reduce the population.  Most of the population blindly follows the lead of "authority" and the media and the crowd.


Although it is a little less true on Nostr than other platforms, I've still noticed that when I post a short pithy meme, I get lots of likes, shares, and comments.  When I share a long, well researched article that I spent hours composing, I'm likely to get at most 1 or 2 likes and nothing else.  I wish people today had longer attention spans and wanted to go deeper.  We can't grow without spending the time to dig deep and analyze things more fully.

I also really appreciate a good, friendly, well-reasoned debate.  I occasionally get them here on Nostr, but not as often as I'd like

https://trustjesus.substack.com/
#grownostr  #apologetics  #bible


I haven't used ecash, but a lot of young people seem to use it.  We were trying to sell an old couch cheaply and had trouble finding someone to pay cash.  Everyone wanted to pay with ecash or venmo.


I've come to that conclusion as well.

I also didn't understand the full court press for LGBTQ+ nonsense and pushing surgery and hormone blockers on young kids that don't know what they want.  If you look at all of the people in positions of power that want to reduce the world population, it suddenly makes sense.  If you kill or sterilize people, they revolt.  If you convince impressionable kids to sterilize themselves, they blame themselves and maybe their parents.


There are still a few good, single women, but I understand that they are few and far between like (to use your analogy above) a narrow, overgrown hiking trail they are hard to find.


I have mixed feelings.  It would be nice to have some fresh blood and new inputs, but I agree part of the problems with the big tech platforms is the people that frequent them.  Most don't know how to think and their only response to a reasoned argument is name calling.  I definitely don't miss that.

Nostr has been nice because even those who disagree seem to do it agreeably and most seem to be open to hearing ideas they disagree with.


fun


When I  got an egg with a double yolk, it always felt like I had won a prize.  :)


This is my final post (until it isn't) on why we should take Genesis literally.  The best way to view it is at the link on substack, but I've pasted the text below.
https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/why-is-a-literal-interpretation-of-e36

I'd also really like to hear some feedback.  Did I get something wrong?  Do I need to explain a point better?  Do I need to answer some more questions?  I am also looking at potentially starting reading the text so people can listen to the posts instead of reading them.  Is this helpful or not?  I don't want to waste my limited time if it isn't helpful.  Thanks.

In Part 1, Part 2 , Part 3, Part 4, & Part 5, I have tried to explain through both internal and external evidence that a literal interpretation of Genesis, especially the more contested first 11 chapters, is the more accurate interpretation of Genesis. In this part, I hope to explain why a correct interpretation is critical if we are to have right doctrine regarding all of the Bible.First I want to look at generally where the different interpretations lead. Then I will look at several specific principles in the Bible and see how they are affected by these starting assumptions.Assumption of an Old Earth:
If the Earth is old, then the deep layers of sediment were caused by deep time and slow accumulation of sediment, mostly dust, and therefore can’t be caused by a global flood bringing a global flood into question.If the Earth is old, then there are billions of years, instead of 5 days, before the creation of Adam and Eve. This brings into question the existence of Adam and Eve.If Adam and Eve were not created on day 6, were they real people? Did God really mold Adam from the mud and breathe life into him? Did God really make Eve out of Adam’s rib?If Adam and Eve were not created on day 6, then how were they created? Were they created through 100s of millions of years of death and error through the process of Darwinian Evolution?If Adam and Eve were created through Darwinian Evolution, then death did not come into existence due to the sin of Adam and Eve as Genesis 3 states. If death existed before sin, then is it really true that “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”(Romans 6:23)?If the “wages of sin is death” is not true, then do we really need a savior? If so, what are we being saved from?If Genesis is not supposed to be interpreted literally even though it is written in the form of historical narrative, then how do we know what other parts of the Bible can’t be interpreted literally? How can we know what to believe? How can we believe the Bible at all?If the Bible’s description of beginnings is untrue, how can we say the rest of the Bible is true? How can we know what to believe and what to not believe?Assumption of a Young Earth :
If the Earth is young, then everything was created in 6 days just as Genesis clearly states.If the Earth is young, then all of the deep sediments have to be created by catastrophic action like the global flood of Genesis 7-8.If the Earth and everything on it was created in 6, then there was a real Adam and Eve who were the first humans and all humankind descended from these two individuals and are therefore one race.If there were a real Adam and Even, then it makes sense that the Bible’s narrative of the first sin being Eve believing the false lies of the serpent and Adam also sinning by disobeying God’s single rule is true and death entered the world through this sin. (FYI, Sin entered the world through Adam rather than Eve because God put all of creation under Adam’s authority. It was Adam’s responsibility to teach God’s laws and ensure that all of God’s laws were obeyed.)If death entered the world through Adam’s sin, then the original creation was “very good” just as the Bible claimed. It implies that we have a very good, loving creator who created a paradise for us. He did not create sin, suffering, or death. They are a consequence of Adam’s free choice and the existence of sin, suffering, and death today are evidence of God’s mercy and slow judgement and not sadistic creation of suffering.If we believe that the Bible is best interpreted by reading the clear meaning of the words and not trying to force other “implied” principles into it, then we can believe the clear words of the Bible and know what God has said. We can trust every word of the Bible.Biblical Principles based in Genesis:
Marriage:
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:23-25)
These verses tell of how God saw that Adam needed a helper to be complete and how He formed this helper, Eve, to become His wife. Due to the way God created her, He intended them to become one and to never be separated. He defined marriage as one man and one woman joined together for life to be helpers to each other. Marriage is not a social construct, but the original design of the creator God.Gender/Sex
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)
The original design of humanity was that all people were either male or female. There was (and is) no other gender. Males and females were part of God’s “very good” creation. Any time we try to change God’s very good design, we are guilty of grievous sin.Death
God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. (Genesis 1:29-30)Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)
God’s very good design did not include death. Every creature was designed to eat only plants. There was no predation. There was no parasitism. A good and loving God would not create life through a billion years of death and suffering. An omnipotent God would not need a billion years of experimentation and error to get His creation right. A good and omnipotent God would speak His perfect creation into existence.Instead of asking how God created everything so quickly, we should be asking, like the early church, why did it take our awesome God six whole days to create the world? (Answer: He did it to set an example for us knowing we would need six days of work and a seventh day of rest to be at our best).Adam was personally told the punishment for disobeying His one law, “but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) Death never had to enter the world, but God gave Adam and Eve a free choice and they chose unwisely. We have all been paying the price since that day. Death and all of the evil in the world come from these very real choices. God is not the one who created death and suffering. The choices Adam and Eve made led to these consequences.Salvation
And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel. (Genesis 3:15)
From the very beginning God had a plan for the salvation of mankind. He knew we would chose disobedience and mistrust instead of obedience and trust, but He was loving enough to plan a solution to the problem of sin. Jesus is the seed that will bruise the head of Satan (eternal damnation in Hell after the end of the age) as Satan bruised Jesus’s heel (crucifixion on the cross for our sins). A bruised head is deadly, but a bruised heel is not and Jesus rose from the dead and conquered the grave.If we deny a literal Genesis, we lose the reason for salvation and we lose the fact that God had a solution to sin from the very beginning. If we deny a literal Genesis, then God made the world evil with all of creation groaning in agony. Only in a literal interpretation of Genesis can we see God’s very good plan for mankind.Murder
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26-28)Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. (Genesis 4:6b:11)
Murder is wrong because man is created in the “image of God.” Murder is wrong because God personally formed Adam and breathed life into him. Murder is wrong because God told mankind to “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” Anytime we kill a person, we are destroying the image of God. God clearly shows what He thinks of murder in the historical story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 when He says “Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.”All of these principles are clearly explained in Genesis. Even much smaller principles, like why we wear clothes and animals do not, are explained in Genesis. Now we need to look at the most important principle of all.The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:12-21)
The Gospel is all about forgiveness of sin, but it doesn’t make sense until we understand what sin is and what the punishment of sin is: death and separation from God. Both are defined in Genesis.“For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.” The grace of Jesus only makes sense for a real Jesus if there was a real Adam “So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men”. We need Genesis to make sense of the Gospel. We need Genesis to know that we are guilty of sin and that we are dead men walking who are eternally separated from the loving creator God who died to take away our sins. We need Genesis to know that Jesus, in His bodily form, descends from Adam so He can be our kinsmen redeemer.The foundation of the Gospel is Genesis, just as its fulfillment is the Gospels.I hope these posts have grown your understanding of the Bible, its clarity, its inerrancy, and its internal consistency, and that this will help you grow in your faith in Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. To God be the Glory!

#bible  #biblestr  #christian  #christ  #jesus  #genesis  #apologetics  #jesusisking  #faith  #questions  #grownostr


They are three.  They are one.  We may not understand it, but it has been so since the beginning.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  (Genesis 1:26).

God refers to Himself as "Us" and "Our" showing the trinitarian nature of God.  Just because we don't understand how one God can be three persons doesn't make it so.  I serve an awesome, incomprehensible God.  I wouldn't want to serve a God that I could easily understand.  There aren't 3 different Gods.  There is one God that encompasses three persons.  There is a difference.


So many people ask for the solution they think they want, but can't actually define the problem they need solved.  Because they also don't understand the technology, the solution they ask for is rarely the solution they need.

This is true with tech and true spiritually with our prayers.


Happy Birthday!


Primarily it is people being evil, but there is also more violence where the public is disarmed because those who have the desire to steal or destroy know there is less likely to be consequences in those areas from either someone fighting back or authorities going after them hard.


We can pay for a product or we can be the product that is bought and sold.  I'd rather pay for the product I want and keep my privacy and autonomy.

nostr:nprofile1qy2hwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytn00p68ytnyv4mz7qg4waehxw309aex2mrp0yhxummnw3ezucn89uqsuamnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dshsqgqx3804s3ag6vmk3yk6993z6lq0ms00r9v0f0zyw8vsje42rm9f7g6r5ury  makes a great point.  We need to find the best way to pay developers to make great product and to pay for the relays that host our data.  None of it is free and although some great people have sacrificed their time and money to make Nostr a reality, if it is to grow, these people can't carry it on their backs alone.  We all need to contribute.

In the meanwhile, while we are all figuring the way forward, consider zapping your  app developer and/or your relay owners.

nostr:nevent1qywhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnzd96xxmmfdejhytnnda3kjctv9uq3qamnwvaz7tmwdaehgu3wd4hk6tcpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsqgxqsz4vf7k0sqf7yxvkz8edvn23r0f33qhswpqvcplntq4g2ka995flqkls


We can pay for a product or we can be the product that is bought and sold.  I'd rather pay for the product I want and keep my privacy and autonomy.


I've been studying for years.  Recently I've felt the need to share.  It has been overwhelming.  I've felt an urgency, so I obeyed.


I'm OK with either.  More people would see the NOSTR comment and be able to add their comments, but I'd be guaranteed to see the Substack comment.


Thanks.  I really appreciate that.


I've created a 6 part series (more may come), the 6th of which comes out tomorrow 4/12/24, on why I believe a literal interpretation of Genesis is the correct interpretation.

I'd really like some feedback.  Does somebody think I'm totally wrong? I'd like some arguments against what I've posted.  Is there some area about which you still have questions?  Ask your question.  Is there something I didn't address at all that you would like addressed?  Please let me know.

I like back and forth.  It strengthens my understanding of the truth and strengthens my arguments to that end.  I also love a friendly debate based on facts and logic (not name calling and appeals to authority).  Thanks.

#christian  #jesus  #genesis  #apologetics  #Bible  #bible  #biblestr  #faith  #question  #grownostr

https://trustjesus.substack.com/


I so appreciate when people seek excellence.  So many do the minimum to get by.


Get well soon.

Vitamin D3 (with K2 if taking long-term), vitamin-C (Best taken 3-4x/day. Take till you get loose stools then back off 500 mg), Zinc (with copper if taken long term), Quercetin (to get zinc into cell where it prevents replication of the virus).  A neti pot with saline, 1-3 drops of iodine, and some silver 2-3 x/day.  All will help.  Some homemade bone broth (plain or in soup) is also great.  NAC also helps.

I got the early version that caused smell to go away that made everything taste awful.  I went back to early biology and remembered that taste is sweet, salty, sour, & bitter.  I lived on lemonade (sweet & sour) and bacon (salty) for several days.  Make sure you drink enough and don't get dehydrated.

I'm not sure the current variants are as bad about clotting, but nattokinase (taken 2x/day away from protein containing meals), curcumin, & bromelain (also taken away from protein containing meals) helps your body clear the spike protein and can prevent clotting.

I found ivermectin really helpful if you can get it.

I'll pray you have quick and full recovery.


100% agreed.

I have a 6 part series on this subject at https://trustjesus.substack.com/ that goes through many scientific, historic/anthropological, and internal reasons to interpret Genesis 1-11 literally.  The 6th part, coming out tomorrow explains to Christians how getting this wrong affects their theology.


Good job!


Same.  I think it is worth having a little, but because it is more a store of value than something that will increase in value, it is only a small part.  Overall, BTC is better, but there are scenarios where gold/silver are better.  I like to diversify for all situations.


What it buys, which seems to remain fairly stable over long periods of time.  Silver does too, but is more manipulated.  There is no perfect measure of stability of money since there are too many variables, but gold seems to be the closest to stable value.


freeborn | ελεύθερος


Can't disagree, but I'd argue those calling for his death have greater guilt.


I've been making body butter out of primarily wagyu beef tallow for approaching a year.  I was using lard, but I transitioned from 99% lard, to 50/50, to 99% tallow.  I add a little jojoba and/or sea buckthorn oil and some essential oils.  I even use it on my face with no problems (FYI I have rosacea so my face is sensitive).


Silver and gold should not be used to get rich and make money.  Silver and gold are a store of value and are useful if everything falls apart.  Nobody gets rich holding Gold or silver.  I still think it is worth holding some for a worst case scenario, but not for making money.


I think it matters whether you think the guilty party are the ones calling for the death of Jesus or the ones who carried out the sentence.


My post on this subject with an analogy to help people understand.

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/what-righteousness-have-we


I hate to say it, but that sounds like the direction things are going for the US.  Can anyone question God for punishing the US for its total depravity?  We may have more freedom than some countries (although not nearly as much as most Americans think), but I don't think there is another nation that globally pushes depravity like the US.


I now have part 5 in my series on a literal interpretation of Genesis.  This post is about using the Bible to interpret the Bible and making it internally consistent.  You can check out the link for a well formatted  article and I will post the text below in a less readable format for those that want to stay here.

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/why-is-a-literal-interpretation-of-f10

Although there are definitely non-Christians who deny that the Bible is the word of God or that it is true, there is also a disagreement between Bible believing Christians on how to interpret Genesis. There are those, who like the culture at large, believe in an old Earth and that life was created through the process of evolution (even if directed by God). There are those who believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis, especially the contested first eleven chapters. I am hoping to use the Bible to clearly interpret the Bible and convince my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ to believe in the historical accuracy and specificity of Genesis including the more contested first eleven chapters.Evidence That Genesis is Historical Narrative:
Among Christians there is a debate on how Genesis, especially the first eleven chapters that describe creation, the flood, and the Tower of Babel, should be interpreted. Should they be interpreted as a historical narrative of the actual events of history or is it more of a spiritual parable or myth? Should we take the words of Genesis literally or figuratively? To do this I am going to look at an example of a parable of Jesus and a description of Jesus’s life from Matthew to find what traits better match the text in Genesis.
Matthew 18:12-14
“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
In this parable of Jesus, the character is not named, nor is he described in detail. The only details given are the number of sheep and those are nice round numbers. The parable is short and without extraneous details. The passage also ends with a clear explanation of what the parable means, so it can be clearly interpreted.
Matthew 1:1-16
The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king.David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
When Matthew begins describing the beginnings of Jesus’s life, he starts with a very detailed genealogy. These details do not add anything directly to the story, but do give you extra information if you research each of these names and their history. In the rest of the chapter Matthew then continues describing Jesus’s mother and father in detail and detailing the prophecy of his birth.
Matthew 2:1
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
In this verse, he then goes into specifics of when and where Jesus was born and what was going on at that time. Many other details, that are historically verifiable, are then added to the description. There is no moral principle given to summarize the point of the text.Now let’s look at Genesis to see whether it more accurately matches a parable or a historic narrative.
Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
As the Bible describes creation, he specifically numbers the days and even defines day in Genesis 1:3 (“God called the light day” and “there was evening and there was morning, one day”), so it cannot be misinterpreted. (God knew how future people would twist his words)In Genesis 2:7, he describes his exact method of making man.
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
Genesis then goes through a description of how God made Eve, how sin entered the world, the punishment for that sin, and how God would cure sin in the future. It then goes into details of the birth of their first two sons, what each son was like, and how Cain sinned and killed Abel.In Genesis 5, the genealogy section begins.
Genesis 5:3-5
When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.
If you notice, not only does the genealogy list the names of the people, but it lists the exact age when the son was born and the exact age when the father died. This is true for each of the following people listed up to Noah. There is no purpose of listing all of these names and ages unless they are actual people who lived in the past and these were the actual ages of the people when the next generation was born.Because these genealogies are used to figure the age of the Earth, there are many people who try to say that there are missing people between the Fathers and sons listed. Even if this was true, it wouldn’t change the age of the Earth because it lists the age of the Father (Adam in this case) when the son (Seth) was born. Whether Seth was his actual son (which I believe is the case) or was his grandson or great grandson doesn’t matter because Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born. This is very specific. God wanted us to be able to add up these genealogies and discover the age of the Earth (with minor errors since you don’t know if each son was born at the beginning or the end of the year listed).As you can see, the Genesis text is much better defined as a historical narrative than a parable. This specificity continues through the description of the flood (including the exact dimensions that are accurate scientifically as mentioned in part 4) and through the description of the Tower of Babel and the dispersion of the people due to the confusion of the languages. In Genesis 10 & 11, the Bible goes through more genealogies of the people, their ages, and even where they moved. This text does not follow any of the conventions used in parables or poetic texts. It is clearly historical narrativeI am sticking to Chapters 1-11, because most Bible believing Christians agree that the rest of Genesis is historical narrative. It is only the first 11 chapters that are not interpreted this way because they are trying to mold the Bible to fit the theories of fallible man.Jesus’s References to Genesis as Real History:
If we want to know what God meant when He inspired Moses’s writing of Genesis, a good place to look is to the words of Jesus, the Son of God. Nobody knows better what was meant in Genesis than Jesus.When Jesus was questioned about divorce, Jesus responded by referring to Genesis 21
“Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4-5)
and
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Mark 10:6-9)
Clearly Jesus believed the events in Genesis 2 were real history, otherwise His references to creation and the formation of Adam and Even would make no sense. Notice that He didn’t say “from the beginning of mankind,” but says “from the beginning of creation.” If there were billions of years of creation and evolution and death before Adam and Eve, then this statement makes no sense. If He indeed created Adam and Even on the 6th day of creation, then He can accurately say “from the beginning of creation.”It is estimated today, by naturalistic scientists, that the universe is around 13.8 billion years old. This means that if you try to argue for theistic evolution or an old earth creation position, then man was created after 99.99997 percent of those billions of years had passed. The evolutionary timeline makes no sense considering what Jesus says about creating man at the beginning of creation or with what the Bible teaches about God forming the earth to be inhabited (cf. Isaiah 45:18).In another statement by Jesus:
“Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. (Matthew 23: 34-35)
This is another verse that is meaningless unless Genesis is taken literally. Would a righteous God punish men with the blood of a man that was only figurative, but never actually existed? This statement only makes sense if Abel was a real person in history who was wrongly murdered just as Genesis 4 proclaims. It also would make no sense to mention a mythological Abel, but a true Zechariah (nobody who believes the Bible questions the existence of Zechariah).
“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39)
When Jesus prophecies His future return, He compares it to the global flood and the time of Noah. How are we to interpret his prediction if we believe that Noah and the flood are only a parable or a myth. Does that mean that Jesus’s return is just a parable or myth or poetry and not a reality?
For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. (Mark 13:19-20)
Once again Jesus mentions His creation as a real definitive even and not a billions of years process of mistakes, death, and pain.
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:45-47)
In this verse Jesus specifically states that not believing Moses leads to not believing Him. Who wrote Genesis? Moses wrote Genesis. If we don’t believe the clear words of Genesis, we can’t fully understand the words and life of Jesus. The miracles of creation and the flood go hand in hand with the miracles Jesus did while on Earth and the miracles He will do in the end times.Other New Testament References to Genesis as Real History:
When Luke begins his detailed history of Jesus, he begins with a genealogy of Jesus. Unlike Matthew, Luke (a gentile) goes all the way to the first man. This genealogy makes no sense if these men are not real individuals. Nobody questions the later men listed in Jesus’s genealogy, but so many question the first ten or more names mentioned. A genealogy mixing a bunch of real ancestors with a bunch of mythological ancestors is nonsensical.
the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Luke 3:38)
This (Luke 3:23-38) is basically a genealogical timeline of the world from the beginning of creation to Jesus. Luke clearly sees all these names as real men who conceived sons with their wives.Luke clearly views Genesis as real history.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (Romans 5:12-14)
In Romans Paul clearly takes Genesis as real history and Adam as a real man who sinned and brought sin and death into the world. If Adam is not a real person and death did not enter the world through his sin, then the gospel makes no sense.
For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,
“As I swore in My wrath,
They shall not enter My rest,”
although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.” (Hebrews 4:3-5)
Here the writer of Hebrews refers to a literal 6 days of creation with a 7th day of rest. The whole analogy fails if creation was billions of years of time as God tweaked His creation.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (Romans 5:12-14)
In this verse, Paul compares Adam to Jesus. Adam brought sin and death into the world while Jesus is the cure to both. If sin didn’t enter the world through a real Adam, then the analogy loses power. If death isn’t the consequence of sin and death occurred before Adam sinned, then death isn’t the consequence of sin and the Bible lied or was mistaken. If death isn’t the consequence of sin, what do we need saving from?
For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21–22 NKJV).
If we all die in Adam and Adam is a myth, then what do we think of Jesus? Is He real? Is He really the answer to sin? Can He really make us alive in Him?
But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)
and
For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (1 Timothy 2:13-14)
and
who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. (1 Peter 3:20)
and
Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; (Jude 1:11-12)
These are yet more examples of a reference to Genesis where it is treated as real history.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. (Romans 8:19–22)
These verses use the true history in Genesis to explain why there is pain and suffering on Earth. If Genesis 1-11 isn’t real history then we do not serve a loving God. He created a world through pain and suffering in which pain in suffering continues. If Genesis 1-11 is true history, then God created a perfect universe with no suffering nor death and it was only through the free choices of Adam and Even that sin entered the world and through that sin, death. We see how God reacted to sin to prevent Adam and Eve from having eternal life and further corrupting the world. We see God punishing the world through the global flood for being “always evil continually”. We see God dividing the world by confusing their languages so the evil of some didn’t spread to all. We see a holy God punishing sin while being patient with mankind and allowing them to turn back to Him through what He has done for us through Jesus Christ.
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us . . . (Acts 17:24–27)
A proper view of the historicity of Genesis also helps us to have a more accurate view of God as creator of all and as the one who is always in control.
They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. (2 Peter 3:4–6)
God knew that mankind would twist his word and would use uniformitarianism to try to disprove His existence. He warned us of this error ~2,000 years in advance. We need to take Him at His word.And although I was trying to focus on New Testament references to Genesis, I couldn’t pass up this Old Testament reference from the Ten Commandments:
“For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11)
Could the Bible be more clear on the meaning of God’s description of creation, sin, the fall, the first murder, the flood, and the dispersion at Babel?


My feed is full of Dan posts that I don't understand, so I'm going to make a random Dan post that has nothing to do with whatever everyone else is talking about.

One of my son's name is Daniel.  Sometimes I refer to him as "Dan Man".  I've gotten a lot of funny looks from people who thought I was saying "damn man" to my son.


In my youth, I really like sports, especially college football, but as I grew up, got married, started a business, and had kids, it got moved so low down the priority list that I have zero interest anymore.  It is more interesting if you know the players and teams and stuff, but it isn't worth my time to even watch a few minutes here and there.


I always assumed at least some was coming home.

I also think the US has a lot of politicians who have been grifting in Ukraine.  It seemed really strange how Zelensky would boss around our president and our Congressmen.  He should've have been humbly coming begging for crumbs but instead would make comments like "don't show up here without bringing this and this and this".  This suddenly makes sense  if Zelensky is blackmailing a bunch of people in the US government.  He knows what crimes they and their families have committed in Ukraine.  He knows what crimes the US has committed in Ukraine, ie. biolabs doing illegal experimentation.  He gets money or he exposes their crimes.

Of course most likely he is blackmailing and allowing kickbacks.  The best way to control people is with both the carrot and the  stick.


Ultimately even the good things we do, usually have some misplaced motives.

For example 1 Corinthians 13 starts with:
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.  And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."

In other words we have to have right motivation as well as actions, but yes I do think there can be small good, but it is so insignificant as to not matter when compared to God's standard.

freeborn | ελεύθερος


Total depravity doesn't necessarily mean that nothing good is ever done.  It means that we fall so far from God's ideal, that we seem worthless and evil.

As humans, we compare one person to another person.  Some people seem so much better than others.  Some seem pretty good, but if we use the correct measure, the perfect life of Jesus, then everyone comes up so short that we seem as if we do nothing right.  A star in a dark (moon-free) night sky seems bright until the sun appears.  Once the sun appears every star disappears into the sky as if it produces no light.  Our righteousness is the same.  On the other hand, when a full moon comes, reflecting the sun's light, it outshines all of the stars.  As Christians, we should aim to reflect the righteousness of Christ.

See my post for more on this analogy.  https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/what-righteousness-have-we

freeborn | ελεύθερος


Goodnight.

I must say I'm an Audrey Hepburn movie fan.


All good recommendations.

My son also liked the "Heroes Guide to ..." series.  It is a series of stories about the "Prince Charmings" from Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel.  It makes fun of their "real" imperfections since none of the stories actually tell you anything about Prince Charming.  They are pretty entertaining.


The premise of socialism/communism is to build a whole system based on the sin of envy.  Ironically those who follow it think they are being moral even though they are stealing from others, who worked for their property, to give to those who didn't work for it, especially themselves.


The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it.  God is truth.  His word is truth.  That is the truth.

nostr:nevent1qyvhwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnndehhyapwwdhkx6tpdshszythwden5te0dehhxarj9emkjmn99uq3wamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwwpexjmtpdshxuet59uqzq7qyhm8c707glfyjx3twnt356m9nexmaq0csxck5dl6saj7uhqypte7j44


The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it and the truth is that Jesus is Lord of all.


How do you setup a list?


I would love the ability to pick some favorite npubs that always show up at the top of my feed.  I follow lots of people, but have a few friends that I don't want to miss their posts.


Any kind of property tax is the most despicable.  If you can be forced to pay property taxes, you do not own your property.  You rent your property.  This is especially true if they can kick you off your property for failure to pay.

I'd argue that the only pseudo acceptable form of taxation is a sales tax.  It is better because you see the tax with every purchase, so people are more likely to vote against it.  In theory you can avoid paying by not buying anything.  Of course nobody can 100% avoid paying a sales tax because nobody can be 100% self sufficient, but people can work hard to become more self sufficient and therefore cut their taxes.

All taxes are theft, but some are more egregious.  I would put property taxes (especially real estate taxes) as the most egregious, followed by income taxes, and then Value Added Taxes.


Thanks.


I used asked it to find 50 arguments/data supporting an idea using a list of websites and giving me a link to the data.  It was very good for finding the data I wanted.

I've heard of someone asking AI to summarize some scientific studies into 1 page written at the 5th grade level.

It seems to be good at finding and organizing data.


To the benefit of those who want to run a one world government.


I'm the one in my household having those thoughts.  My husband goes along with pretty much all of my ideas, but he wouldn't do much on his own (other than making sure our gun vault is well stocked.)


For most of my posts I have pasted the text into this app, but this post has so many references to other articles that I don't believe that works well.

Here is a link to my well researched article listing historical and scientific evidences for a literal interpretation of Genesis.  It isn't exhaustive because the article got longer than I wanted it to be.
#grow nostr #jesus  #bible  #jesusisking  #genesis  #inerrancyofscripture  #science  #proof  #christian  #faith  #apologetics

 https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/why-is-a-literal-interpretation-of-873


Love the plan.  The only thing I don't like about eclipses are the crowds.  Camping sounds great.


I believe there is some immune response from an antigen only vaccine, but not necessarily the kind or level they want, ie. every corona virus vaccine attempt before Covid-19, resulted in antibody dependent enhancement.  Producing the antigen is very expensive.  Dumping toxic adjuvants is cheap when they have liability protection.


I've never been a fan of recreational cannabis use, but I agree 100% that it is none of the government's business.  Even if it is as dangerous as they say (it's not), if we allow the government to keep us from making mistakes, then we will never have freedom.  Many of the most successful people are successful only because they were allowed to fail and pay the consequences of that failure.  It is none of the government's business what we put in our bodies.  They should never be allowed to ban something or force something on us.

It is sickening how many people's lives have been ruined because the person was found to have possession of a plant.  It is also sickening how many people have been prevented from a cheap, low side-effect treatment for health problems, like epilepsy and cancer, because the government made a plant illegal.


Both mercury and aluminum are neurotoxins that are used as adjuvants to allow manufacturers to make vaccines cheaper.  Their profits motivate them to not look closely at the long term side effects.


There is no ancient text with anywhere close to the number of copies as the Bible.  The closest is Homer's "Iliad", but the Bible has orders of magnitude more copies and is therefore shown to be accurate to the original.


Because a total solar eclipse is truly amazing and like nothing you've ever seen before.  I used to think eclipses were not that exciting because I had only seen partial eclipses.   A partial and total eclipse are night and day different.  I saw the 2017 total eclipse because my house was in the path of totality.  I now am interested in seeing more.  Everyone should see a total eclipse at least once in their life.

The only negative of a total eclipse is that so many people want to see them that you have to deal with traffic and crowds if you aren't lucky enough to live in the path of totality.


https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/what-righteousness-have-we?r=1r70jj&triedRedirect=true

Most people want to think of themselves as good people. They even may seem very good compared to certain other people or even most people, but the Bible states:

Romans 3:10
as it is written, “There is none righteous , not even one ;

Obviously, we do not have a proper view of ourselves when we think we are good or righteous in ourselves. Any goodness or righteousness in us comes from the holiness and perfection of Christ.

In Phillipians, Paul says

Philippians 3:8
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ

We get our value and our goodness from Jesus. We only think we are good when we use the wrong measure.

I was reading John Calvin’s “Institutes of the Christian Religion” and he used an analogy of a righteous man being like a star in heaven:

“For if the stars, which seem so very bright at night, lose their brilliance in the sight of the sun, what do we think will happen even to the rarest innocence of man when it is compared with God’s purity?”1

He also said,

“all human works, if judged according to their own worth, are nothing but filth and defilement. And what is commonly reckoned righteousness is before God sheer iniquity; what is adjudged uprightness, pollution; what is accounted glory, ignominy.”2

These two quotes got me thinking and expanding Calvin’s analogy.

A man, who is righteous in himself is like a star in the night sky. Compared to the darkness, he seems bright, but when the sun comes out, his brightness is so overwhelmed he is so like that same darkness that he can no longer be seen. In the same way we, even when we live what seems to be a godly life, only look good when compared to the evil in this world. When we are compared to the rightful measure of righteous, the perfect life lived by Jesus and the holiness of God, our righteousness looks like evil.

There is however another light in the night sky, the moon. The moon produces no light of its own, but is the 2nd brightest object in the sky and the brightest at night. The moon is not bright in itself, but gets it light from the sun. The moon’s light is a reflection of the light of the sun. In the same way, we Christians get our righteous from Jesus. We are covered by His righteousness. We should reflect His righteousness. We will never be as bright or righteous as He is, but we get our brightness/righteousness from what He has done. Our job as Christians is to reflect His light on the world during the dark days before His return.

Be the moon. Don’t be a star. Shine the light of the Lord Jesus Christ on the world. Don’t try to be your own light.

#bible  #christian  #Bible  #jesus  #Jesus  #righteousness  #God  #god  #godliness  #jesusisking  #grownostr


I can respect anyone who honestly seeks the truth, even if their interpretation is different than my own.  I find a benefit in discussing issues with others who view the world differently, but so many react with personal attacks rather than logical arguments, which definitely reduces the benefit.  I appreciate that you at least consider my point of view.

 I share, not because I think I am smarter than others, but because I believe a right view of the world, and especially of the Bible and Jesus, is required for everyone's good.  Jesus is the ultimate cure for what ails the world.  With what I believe, I would be hateful, if I didn't share.


I have never heard of Podverse.  I had liked Fountain until recently.  I'll have to try it.


I love it!


Easier to view version:  https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/why-is-a-literal-interpretation-of-7a7
|
Why is a literal interpretation of Genesis Important? Part 3
Defending What We Believe

This is Part 3 of a 3 part series. To get the most out of this article, I recommend reading Part 1 and Part 2 first.

As Christians we are told to be “a light to the world” and to “be separate” and to “tell the truth” and “to be able to give a reason for the hope within us.” So often when we get involved in the culture wars, we make statements that may be true and right, but we do a lousy job of defending them. To outsiders, it seems as if we are pushing our personal opinion rather than standing for the truth set out by the creator God. Although defense of our beliefs can come from any part of the Bible, frequently the strongest basis for our beliefs is from Genesis. It makes me think of the song from “The Sound of Music”:

Let's start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with
A-B-C
When you sing you begin with Do-Re-Mi
Do-Re-Mi.

When we have a spiritual principle we want to defend, we should start at the beginning: Genesis, which means beginnings.

Marriage
One area in our culture that most Christians rightly feel strongly about is Marriage. Too often, when we are asked why we are being so judgmental or harsh in our definition of marriage, we answer something like “because it’s right” or “because same sex marriage is wrong.” We don’t give a reason. The fact that we believe it or that it is our opinion is not enough. Most of us realize it is more than a personal opinion, but we aren’t very good at articulating why marriage is defined the way it is. When an individual believes marriage should be defined a particular way, that doesn’t have much weight. When the creator God, who created man and woman and created the first marriage, says what marriage is, it has a lot more influence.

The Bible defines marriage as one man and one woman. There are examples of marriages of one man to more than one woman, but you will notice that all of those lead to heartache and hardship. If we go to where God defined marriage, and start at the beginning, we will see it was meant to be one man married to one woman. Genesis 2:18-25 says:

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

The man said,
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

When Jesus is asked about divorce, he refers to Genesis in his answer. Matthew 19:3-8

Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

If quoting Genesis was good enough for Jesus, I’d say it is good enough for us and we should imitate Him in this.

Gender
Today gender fluidity and so-called gender affirming care has become rampant and is pushed with religious fervor. As Christians we know this is wrong, but it is not sufficient to just say “it is wrong” and have people agree with us. Why is changing one’s gender or becoming one of the numerous alternative genders wrong?

Genesis 1:27
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

God clearly said He created us “male and female”. There are no other genders (or sexes). When God makes something a certain way, we are not to change it. Not only are we created male or female, we are created in the image of God. It is a total affront to God to change his creation in general, but especially His crowning glory, man and woman.

One thing I would add is that those who would change God’s design try to use nice sounding language like “gender affirming care” to make their sin sound loving. Telling someone, especially a kid, that they have to take hormone blocking drugs, cross sex hormones, and have body parts chopped off and/or remolded in order to feel good or have value is not gender affirming. It is abuse. Real gender affirming care is telling someone they have been created in the image of God and that they have value just the way God created them.

Abortion
Once again, we are good at being against the evil of abortion, but to many we come across as judgmental and hateful. We need to better explain why we are against abortion. It starts with Genesis 1:27

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

No one is supposed to kill or damage a human because they are all made in the image of God. Killing is damaging the image of the all-powerful, creator God. He punishes murder harshly as is shown with the first murder. Genesis 4:11-12

He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

You may say that this doesn’t prove that an unborn life is the same, but there are many other verses, mostly in the Old Testament, that support the understanding that God considers human life as beginning from the moment of conception. The most explicit and generalized is Psalm 139:13-16

For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You,

for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

From these verses we can see how tenderly God cares for every person before they are even conceived. He knows us from the moment of fertilization. He personally forms each one of us to be the person He desires us to be. The last thing anyone should do is harm one of these little ones.

Although this verse is not from Genesis or the Old Testament, I’d like to add one more verse here. Luke 17:1-2

He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.

If this is God’s response for someone making a little one stumble, how harsh will His judgment be towards those who kill His precious little ones?

There are so many more principles that Christians rightly defend, but we need to do a better job defending them with God’s word. We need to make sure we are communicating the will of God and not our own will. We need to make sure we communicate God’s truth, not our opinion, and to make that clear to any with whom we chose to share.

#jesus  #grownostr  #bible  #genesis  #marriage  #abortion  #gender  #christian  #debate


I definitely approve of that.


Well said.


There are people who can't afford housing.  If government zoning rules don't get in the way, they should convert the offices into mini-apartments to house those who can't afford a house or a larger apartment.


Yet another reason to homeschool


We seem to have most people following  two extremes, neither of which is right.  We have the people who look to the next President (like Trump) as the person who will save us all from destruction.  There is only one savior, Jesus Christ.  We also have the people who because the system has major flaws, refuse to have anything to do with the elections.  When all of the good people refuse to vote, we get the worst, most corrupt and tyrannical candidate as President.  I think the optimal is somewhere in the middle.  I think good people should try to have a positive influence on elections, knowing that we will not see a perfect world until Jesus returns.  On the other time, we shouldn't put all of our time and effort into politics and have nothing left for other, more productive pursuits.


This is part 2 of my series on a literal Genesis  It is more readable in this link, but I've pasted the text in case people want to stay on NOSTR.

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/why-is-a-literal-interpretation-of-f18

This is Part 2 of a 3 part series. To best understand this post, I recommend you read Part 1 first.Besides the fact that the Bible is not contradicted by either science or archaeology, it is also the foundation of the Gospel.What is the Gospel (the good news)?Romans 5:12-14
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.If we share this verse with someone who has zero knowledge of the Bible, it won’t make much sense. If we know Genesis, but assume it is just analogy, then who is the one man through whom sin entered the world? If there is no real Adam, then is there a real person when the Bible says “in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”? Does this make Jesus just an analogy? Of course He is not, but if Adam is an analogy and the miracle of creation didn’t happen, then why should unbelievers believe in a real Jesus and in His miracles? A literal Genesis is the firm foundation for all that follows, especially the Gospel.Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,What is sin and why should we care about the glory of God? Genesis 1 tells of the omnipotent, creator God speaking all of time and space, matter and energy, things seen and unseen into existence. Genesis 2 tells of His personal, caring creation and molding of man and woman. This act of creation gives Him the authority to say what is right and what is wrong and to define what sin is. The fall, described in Genesis 3 tells of God’s one rule (at that time) and how Adam and Even chose to disobey that one rule and put themselves above God, the same underlying sin of which man has been guilty since creation. If the God of the Bible is not the creator, then He just has another opinion and there isn’t a good reason that His opinion matters more than yours or mine.Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.Genesis 3 describes God’s first command, the pre-warned, personal consequence of breaking His command (death), and the general worldwide consequences of that sin. It even introduces Jesus, not by name, but with the words from Genesis 3:15,“And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”Satan bruised Jesus’s heel when Jesus was crucified and killed on the cross, but it was only a bruise, since Jesus was able to rise from the dead three days later. On the other hand, Jesus shall bruise Satan’s head, a death blow, by conquering sin and death on the cross and Revelation predicts the ultimate punishment of Satan.Romans 10:9
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;When we tell an unbeliever that they need to be saved, they need to know what they are being saved from. Ultimately we need saving from the punishment (death) for committing sins (disobedience, idolatry, and self-aggrandizement) against our creator God. The foundation for understanding sin and death is Genesis. In addition to being saved from death, Genesis shows God’s wrath through the flood in Genesis 7-8 and His ability to enforce His will through the confusion of the languages in Genesis 11. We do not want to be under His judgement. We want to be at peace with God.Romans 5:1
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,Genesis 2-3 gives us a picture of the perfect creation and a perfect relationship with our creator God. It gives us hope and a reason to desire peace with our loving God and the Lord Jesus Christ.It is hard to explain the Gospel and even harder to defend the Gospel if we don’t have the firm foundation found in GenesisContinue reading in Part 3, to learn more about using Genesis to defend our beliefs about marriage, gender, abortion, and more.
#bible  #jesus  #genesis  #marriage  #abortion  #gender  #faith  #inerrant  #jesusisking


We are also one of the most crypto friendly, but I don't think the state holds any bitcoin either.


We should pity those argumentative, name calling, hateful individuals.  It must be absolutely miserable being them.

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/love-those-who-hate-you


I just listened to an interview with a lady who was turned into a quadriplegic by the covid jab.  She couldn't get the neurological treatment she needed for 18-24 months, but they were happy to help her die to the point of actively encouraging her.  It was truly sickening.


That's why I haven't logged into facebook in several years and never installed it on my phone.


I never understood the push for the gender nonsense until I realized the same people pushing kids to chemically or surgically change their gender are the same people who think the world is overpopulated.  If they kill off people, there will be a revolution.  If they convince impressionable kids to castrate themselves, then those in charge don't get the blame, but do get a reduction in the population because all of these people can't reproduce anymore.


Until you experience a total eclipse, you can't imagine how different a partial is to a complete eclipse.


I would love to see the eclipse.  We were able to see the one in 2016/7/8 (forget the date) from our house and had 14 people stay at our house.  A total eclipse is so worth the effort.  I really want to see another, but dealing with the travel, traffic, and crowds is not something I want to deal with.

I would like to go to Texas and see it with the experts at ICR.  It just isn't going to work for me this summer.

Have fun.  It is amazing..  Having seen multiple partials, I wasn't ready for what a total eclipse was like.  It was something I will never forget.


Most people prefer a comfortable lie to an uncomfortable truth, even while claiming to always want the truth.


That is a good catch.  I never saw that before.

Both J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis were Christians and friends and they put a lot of analogies from the Bible into their fiction.  Tolkein was also the premier expert on Beowulf, which you see a lot of in "The Hobbit".


I love that at the beginning of time, God already predicted what he would do for us.


I made that point on my substack post last week, although from a slightly different point of view.

https://trustjesus.substack.com/p/some-random-thoughts-for-good-friday


All states should do this.  My state is very gold and silver friendly, but I don't think they actually hold reserves in gold and silver.  They should.


I love it.


LibertyGal

Servant of Christ, Blogger, Aspiring Christian Author, Business owner, homeschool Mom, science geek, newbie gardener & rabbit breeder.


I was trying to find the link to my husband's Road to Emmaus sermon.  It was really good, but I can't find it on our church website.  I'm wondering if they had recording issues when he gave it.  We had a period, when the old guy who knew technical stuff left before the new guy came and started handling things right.  I'm guessing his sermon was during that period.  Too bad.  It was really good.


It is sad that so many Christians think politics is going to fix things.  God has already told us His plan and things are going to get worse before they get better.  Also their is no savior, but Jesus.


Exactly.

I should be able to mute what I don't want to hear.  A relay should be able to mute what they don't want to host on their personal relay.  No central authority should be able to decide what I can, cannot, or must hear.

I've been torn for quite some time with regard to centralized, but private companies like Google and Facebook.  It is horrible that a centralized company can so influence and silence speech, but I believe in private property rights.  I've finally come to the conclusion that these companies can chose to be private companies that can silence speech, but they have to clearly denote their policies ahead of time and not decide to silence something after the fact.  They like to claim they are a public service so they can't be sued for what is on their systems, but then claim to be a private company so they can silence anything they want.  They can't have it both ways.  I'd also argue that they work closely enough with the government that they are no longer truly private.  They need to chose to be either private or public and live by the relative rules.