All posts filed under: z164

Corona Virus and Religion: Is It Safe To Go To Church?

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Call it Covid-19, or the Corona Virus, or by its old name The Wuhan Virus; we all know that the world has a dangerous viral infection, and it is spreading. Anything that I write about the infection will be out-of-date in a week, and I am not a medical expert with many things to say. The infection has been called a crisis, an epidemic, and maybe a pandemic. Words are important because the spreading infection is tied to politics and the economy. Governments are being criticized, and markets are losing money. It’s a perfect storm, caused by a virus that is too small to see, even with a microscope. Did you know, this viral infection is changing religion in a big way? All religions are changing and they might never change back. Life as we know it might be changing forever. I am not making this up. In South Korea, a Christian went to church. She specifically went to a congregation of the “Shincheonji Church of Jesus” in the city of Deagu, South Korea. This …

The Sword of Love

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“All is fair in love and war.” What a weird thing to say! Love and war ought to be the complete opposites, but it sounds like some dirty play is at foot in both of them. Both love and war are about challenges, conquest of sorts, and victory. When Stella agreed to marry me that was a great victory indeed! The Bible, which is full of love, is also full of war. And I think there is one great battle scene that we all know. Little David, the underdog child of God versus the king of beasts, the foul-mouthed cursing God, behemoth of the dark, Goliath! Goliath had all the armor and weapons that the Philistines version of Weapons R Us had. David went against Goliath with a sling. He picked up a stone and as Goliath bellowed at him, put it in the sling and spun it until it was just a blur, Then, at exactly the moment, He let the stone fly. BAM! Right in the forehead! Goliath fell and the earth shook. …

Men With Morals. Who Cares?

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Warning: This topic will offend some people. “Morals” here means sexual behavior. There was a time when people were offended when the conversation was too explicit, too “dirty.” Now people get offended for the opposite reason. I believe that sexual behavior should be controlled, and promiscuity with no limits is very wrong. The fire should stay in the fireplace. Some people will be offended. A few days ago I drove on a freeway in a bad snow storm. At one place I saw a car on the side of the road, facing the wrong way, in deep snow. As I passed, I saw that the driver was an attractive young woman, and she was crying. If you are wondering, I couldn’t stop without causing another accident, and help was on the way.  As I drove by, I knew there were two ways for a man to think. Someone could stop, and try to take advantage, when the woman was vulnerable; or we could see a daughter, niece, sister, neighbor who needed help. Any man reading …

What is your reflection?

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When I reflect upon the verse in the Bible that says God will draw all men to Himself, I ask how could people be drawn to God through me? What would draw them to Christ and His love and the gift of salvation and eternal life? The Pulpit Commentary says, when Jesus said God will draw men, (John 6:44), the Lord was talking about God’s work of grace that prepares the hearts of men to come to Christ, and people will see that work of grace on display in the believer’s life — you and me. People will be drawn to us by the power of the resurrection of Christ in us by the Holy Spirit. The word draw means to: Draw (def) -pull or drag to make it fall behind; to cause to move in a particular direction by or as if by a pulling force, to bring to tack to pull out of  Attract – like a magnet to iron, TO DRAW BY APPEAL. To pull or draw toward oneself In other words, …

Apocalyptic warning shots in 2020, is anyone listening?

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In ancient mariner tradition, warning shots were sent over the bow telling them to come to heel because the next shot would not purposefully miss. The Biblical apocalyptic tradition had the same idea, but used a different metaphor, birth pangs that warned of the coming main event when God would judge the earth. And from the words of Jesus and the Bible’s apocalyptic literature, we are seeing multiple birth pangs making an appearance n the early part of 2020, marking an ominous beginning for this next decade. 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. — Jesus Luke 21:11 NASV Famines Jesus warned of famines in the end times. There are many things that can cause a famine, but one of them is a plague of locusts. The UN is warning that a plague of locusts swarming in East Africa will cause massive devastation and famine. The UN is describing this plague as the ‘most devastating’ in recent memory. The …

Who would Solomon choose?

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When he was good, he was very good, but when he was bad, he was very bad. During his good days, King Solomon, the son of David through Bathsheba, was considered among the wisest men in the world (1 Kings 4:30). A political survey conducted in 2020 may have a startling connection to one of King Solomon’s decisions that revealed his wisdom. In early January, a group called The College Fix had the University of Massachusetts-Lowell Center for Public Opinion survey Democrats living in New Hampshire eligible to vote in the Democratic New Hampshire primary. They wanted to find out how Democrats felt about President Trump winning a second term as President in 2020. They were asked if they would prefer President Trump winning the 2020 presidential election over a meteor that would wipe out all life on the planet earth. According to the survey, 64% of the 400 Democrats surveyed would rather have a meteor “extinguishing all human life” over President Trump winning a second term as the US President. The numbers varied a …

The Handmaid’s Tale: Is This The End Of The World?

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You have probably noticed the Handmaid’s costumes in movies and television shows, and sometimes in political demonstrations. To me, these costumes, worn by women, look like a Catholic nun’s habit in a science fiction movie. The costumes were designed by a professional costume maker, for movies and television, and they are religious, so Nuns’ habits might be a design inspiration. Political demonstrations where these costumes appear are almost always about abortion. Women who dress like Handmaids demonstrate for liberal access to abortions, without restrictions, So, Handmaids’ costumes are worn by pro-abortion demonstrators. There is a group of protestors who call themselves “The Handmaids Coalition” and they protest in costume. If the name ‘Handmaid’ sounds strange for a modern group, it is a very old name, taken from the Bible. There is something Christians should know about The Handmaid’s Tale and all those protestors in those costumes. This all started with a Canadian author named Margaret Atwood, who has been writing novels and stories and poems for many years. She was well known in Canada, but …

Why would belief in God make us happier?

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In early December, there was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal written by a psychotherapist named Erica Komisar. In the article, Komisar basically told parents, even if they don’t believe, when their children ask them any questions about God, they should lie and tell them God is real. In fact, in her own practice she has given that very advice. Komisar then went on to explain why she does this. She says it is because faith in God helps children in real substantive ways, both emotionally and mentally. She cited a study conducted by Harvard and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology that showed children who have faith in God and attend church at least once a week scored better results in several key areas including: Better mental health; Higher community involvements; Less likely to use drugs; and Less likely to have early sex. She added that the study of 5,000 youth revealed that children who attended religious service also had a deeper sense of purpose for their life and were more …

Men Are Not stupid!

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Women’s magazines often have these quizzes to help women determine if their man is a good fit for them or what type of man would be good for them.  Men’s magazines have articles on getting chiseled abs or how to be more confident. And that explains some issues in relationships. Men are different from women and this is true with how we view relationships. Men tend to see relationships like we see our vehicles. As long as it’s running, everything is fine. Women tend to see relationships as constantly needing work. “Yup, we got ourselves a really powerful motor and no rust, what a beauty!” One man might say to another man. He could be talking about his car or his wife. In either case, he’s not going to start repairing something that already works. I think this has to do with expectations. I expect that when I drive my truck it will get me to where I want to go. If something breaks down, I fix it. My expectation is that as long as …

The Aztecs and the End of the World

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Did you know that terrible things were supposed to happen to the Earth on December 21, 2012? Some people believed that prophecies from the ancient Aztecs, in Mexico, predicted the end of our time in history, on that day. The Aztecs lived in central Mexico, around Mexico City. They are often confused with the Mayans, who lived south of them, in southern Mexico and Central America. The two groups, Aztecs and Mayans, spoke different languages and lived in different places, but references to ancient prophecies are mixed up and assigned to both groups. I will refer to the Aztecs here. Until that day, December 21, 2012, the idea that the Aztecs predicted the end of the world was popular with New-Age believers. It’s called “The 2012 Phenomenon” and it mostly disappeared after that day. RELATED: 2012 Phenomenon: Wikipedia I remember people talking about the end of the world, back in 2012. The ancestral Aztecs migrated into central Mexico, apparently from the north, and conquered the region. Their language is Nahuatl and they are sometimes called …