Sunday, November 8
Where In The Bible Does It Say One Has To Attend Church?
Romans 12:5
... so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (NIV)
1 Corinthians 12:12
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. (NIV)
1 Corinthians 12:14-23
Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," (NIV)
1 Corinthians 12:27
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (NIV)
Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (NIV)
1 Peter 4:10
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. (NIV)
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (NIV)
James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. (NIV)
1 Peter 5:1-4
To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder ... Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. (NIV)
Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (NIV) SOURCE: LearnReligion.com
BUT... the one that I like the best is...
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (NIV)
Saturday, November 7
Earth to Earth and Other Places
When I was just a boy who was just a little rebellious, I chanced upon other lads who were in similar situations and we set about doing things that in our youth we should not do like borrowing cars to impress the older girls and breaking into homes just to see other places and before we finished having fun, we took a small boat out on the Potomac for a lark.
It was these fun times that landed me in jail but my parents broke me free when my father became a Diplomat and we moved overseas. Unlike other places we could have gone, my father decided on Cairo, Egypt because it is the least likely place to have more fun. So, instead of doing what I used to do, I learned quite quickly that Egypt had the best HASH in the land... and, with a steady stream of alcohol us teenagers now had a new kind of fun that interestingly evolved into sexual fun and without precautions, we had no idea of the risks that we were taking until a pregnancy occurred and then the females imposed a moratorium.
With 3 years of college and 2 years in the military, I returned to the hallowed halls of academia and pursued my parent's dream of my education. It was much easier then, since I was older, and hardly ever had to study just attend class and learn to listen. Grad school was just a few years down the road and soon I was armed for bear which is not such a clever metaphor.
I paid little attention to politics but in case anyone asked I was a Democrat... just because my parents were too I suppose but they were also more liberal than the stuffed-shirts Republicans who referred to themselves as just being conservative. I was no conservative and had never been and planned not to be one forever, if that was even possible since forever is such a long, long time.
I hated gun rights because I did not like the violence of the Vietnam War that used guns and other weapons instead of talking... and, while I did not give a rat's ass if a female had an abortion, I strongly agreed that it was her choice and not the government's. In fact, I was against the government trying to control my life at all and formed an on paper company just to shelter money to lower my taxes.
A funny thing happened to me on my way (not to the Forum) to old age and that was I lost my LIBERAL ATTITUDE along the way and started leaning in the other direction. My first sense of anything was my personal debt and the debt of our country. I eliminated my debt but could not understand why my country would not eliminate their debt. I saw the liberals as a bunch of individuals who just wanted the rich and wealthy via the government to pay for everything instead of earning it themselves... and if, they had to cheat and manipulate others to get what they wanted they did and did so without hesitation.
All of a sudden like a psychedelic mushroom flashback, I realized it was the WEATHLY, not the middle class or poor, that provided us with employment even though it made them more wealthy to do so. In my mind and quite logically I decided that to take money away from the wealthy and use it to give services to others was in actuality being counterproductive not to mention counter intuitive.
And, while the ridiculous battles raged on by our two political parties, behind the scenes were battle fought between the haves and the have nots and then as if a giant FART had exploded out of the government's ass, the black people decided they had not been treated fairly for over 400 years and that our Constitution written in 1776 did not apply to them since they were basically still black and that HATRED between the races was being perpetuated by the CAUCASIAN on a regular and daily basis.
MIND YOU, there were plenty of wealthy male and female black business people, wealthy male and female black musicians and singers, wealthy male and female black athletes, and wealthy male and female black actors... it's just that there was not enough of them the black community thought and wanted our government to do something about that... even though the black only represent 13% of America's overall population with Hispanics representing 18% of that same overall population... and, they had no concerns at all.
HOWEVER, there was an under current growing in the political landscape... a movement that would take our government from being a Democratic Republic to being a Socialist country where the society cared more about the people than about the wealthy.
- It does not matter to American Liberals
- It does not matter to America's Enemies
- It does not matter to America's Wealthy because they have sheltered their money
- It does not matter to America's Businesses since they will hire fewer people
So, America is in a State of Transition and she will move from being a Great Country to one of Mediocrity and we will have to ask other country to protect us as we can no longer defend ourselves. And if... you think that I am kidding... what do you think DEFUNDING POLICE DEPARTMENTS really means? I know that the liberals said they were going to REDISTRIBUTE monies which is not really defunding... but that is semantics.
Redistribute means take from one and give to another. We do it all the time ourselves when we take money out of the VACATION FUND and redistribute it to our MEDICAL FUND.
Redistribute means police departments will have less funds which means they will have less manpower and less other resources which means YOU will have less protection than before...
Funds from the military will be redistributed as well to pay for social programs and Medicare for ALL...
And, one thing that I have not talked about that comes with an economic slowdown is INFLATION... if you have not experience that one yet, it can be devastating and you really have to experience it to believe it...
I am finally glad that I am 73 years of age and constantly getting older.
Are You/We Alone?
But, we do not want to see ourselves as living meaningless lives so we give it no thought as to the conversation or how stupid or insignificant it might be as long as we have people with which to talk.
My experiences with COVID-19 is that I have been tested twice and on both occasions my results were negative but the fact of the matter is that I really don't go anywhere except to doctor appointments and sometimes out to dinner and recently to the gym but whenever I go out and inside, I always wear a face mask even though others who are in and out hardly ever do... and, what is sad about this who ordeal is that wearing a face mask does not protect you, it protects others from you...
Justificatio sola fide (or simply sola fide), meaning justification by faith alone, is a Christian theological doctrine commonly held to distinguish many Protestant denominations from the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. The doctrine asserts that it is on the basis of their faith that believers are forgiven their transgressions of the law of God rather than on the basis of good works which they have done. This forgiveness is known as "justification". In classical Lutheran and Reformed theologies, good works are seen to be evidence of faith, but the good works themselves do not determine salvation. SOURCE: Wikipedia
"Where is your God"? (Psalm 42:9 & 10)
Both Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 reveal: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
But, let us return to YOU... are you alone? Or, do you have faith and hope that one day you will know GOD and HIS TRUTH and that you will live for all eternity rather than just a paltry 80-100 years?
And, would you again question your faith if the HUMAN RACE on EARTH was not alone either in its quest for survival?
IS THERE LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS?
And, if there was would that knowledge change your faith in HE who created you?
PLANETS IN THE UNIVERSE: around 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 planets in our observable Universe, and that's only counting planets that are orbiting stars.
That is a lot of planets I would have to say and the odds are in favor of finding not just another EARTH LIKE planet but planets that have other forms of intelligent life that do not look like us earthlings.
So, the ODDS ARE IN OUR FAVOR TOO that we are not ALONE because we are WITH GOD and OTHER LIFE FORMS even though we may never actually meet either one...
Friday, November 6
A God Given RIGHT To Control
This day has begun just like any other day has begun and will begin just like all other days will begin for me up and until that point-in-time when there are no more days beginning for me... and if, you were to be quite honest with yourself, the same will happen to you, your children, and those you know... even those you don't know that well... it is simply a fact of life with which we all must contend at some time or other in our lives... even though we may not want to admit it now.
- Some of us will live wealthy...
- Some of us will live poor...
- Some of us will live in between the two extremes...
- Some of us will live off the government...
- Our Independence/Constitution
- First and Second Amendments
- Slavery and the KKK
- The Civil War
- World Wars I and II
- Genocide of a Race or two
- The Cold Wars
- The Korean and Vietnam Wars
- Civil Unrest
- BLM and ANTIFA
- White Supremacy
- Abortion & Equal Rights
- Censorship of Opposing Views
- A Biased Media
- Terrorism and Patriotism
- Economic/Militaristic Supremacy
- Cultural/Ethnic Differences
- A God Given RIGHT To Control
Thursday, November 5
RICH or POOR?
FROM THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER
On the fundamental question of why some people are rich and others are poor, more Americans point to the advantages they possess – or the obstacles they face – rather than their work ethic. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) say the main reason some people are rich is because they have had more advantages in life than most other people; far fewer say it is because they have worked harder than others (33%).An even larger majority (71%) says people are poor because they have faced more obstacles in life. Only about a quarter (26%) say they are poor because they have not worked as hard.
As in the past, these views are deeply divided along partisan lines, according to a new survey by Pew Research Center, conducted Jan. 6-19 among 12,638 U.S. adults who are members of the Center’s American Trends Panel. Large majorities of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents say advantages in life have more to do with why someone is rich (82%) and that having faced more obstacles has more to do with why someone is poor (86%). TO READ ENTIRE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE...
- What if you had the acting ability of TOM CRUISE?
- If you did, you would be worth over $500,000,000 and counting.
- What if you had the athletic ability of MICHAEL JORDAN?
- If you did, you would be worth over $1,500,000,000 and counting.
- wealth is not possible as an electrician
- WEATH is possible if you own an electrical company
- wealth is not possible as a carpenter
- WEALTH is possible if you owned a lumber company
- wealth is not possible as a waiter/waitress
- WEALTH is possible if you owned the restaurant
Wednesday, November 4
Possibly Our New Leaders
- My taxes will go up because Trump's tax cuts will be removed...
- Medicare For All will drain our medical resources...
- Funds for Law Enforcement will be redirected... resulting in less cops...
- Open Borders will result in a huge influx of immigrants...
- Senate investigations into Biden and Trump's Impeachment will continue...
- Biden will replace Bill Barr as Attorney General and all his investigations will STOP...
- Our Military will receive less money...
- Free College Education will DILUTE the importance of a college degree...
- OUR SOCIAL SECURITY might be increased...
- OUR MEDICARE PAYOUTS might be increased...
- Corporate and Business Taxes will increase...
- Biden will return all Government Regulations on business and industry...
Back In The Day
What Was Life Like During The Time of Jesus Christ?
The population of Palestine in Jesus' day was approximately 500,000 to 600,000 (about that of Vermont, Boston, or Jerusalem today). About 18,000 of these residents were clergy, priests and Levites. Jerusalem was a city of some 55,000, but during major feasts, could swell to 180,000.
Children in Jesus' day played games similar to hopscotch and jacks. Whistles, rattles, toy animals on wheels, hoops, and spinning tops have been found by archaeologists. Older children and adults found time to play, too, mainly with board games. A form of checkers was popular then.Tradesmen would be instantly recognizable by the symbols they wore. Carpenters stuck wood chips behind their ears, tailors stuck needles in their tunics, and dyers wore colored rags. On the Sabbath, these symbols were left at home.
The second commandment forbade "graven images," so there are few Jewish portraits showing dress at the time. Also because of this prohibition, the Jews produced little in the way of painting, sculpture, or carvings. The masonry and carpentry of the day appear utilitarian. One notable exception to the commandment seems to be the tolerance of dolls for children.
At the two meals each day, bread was the main food. The light breakfasts—often flat bread, olives, and cheese (from goats or sheep)—were carried to work and eaten at mid-morning. Dinners were more substantial, consisting of vegetable (lentil) stew, bread (barley for the poor, wheat for the rich), fruit, eggs, and/or cheese. Fish was a common staple, but red meat was reserved for special occasions. Locusts were a delicacy and reportedly taste like shrimp. (Jews wouldn't have known that, however, since shrimp and all other crustaceans were "unclean.") SOURCE: Christianitytoday.com
Tuesday, November 3
Recently Wondering
Not only will the Democrats win the Presidency but they could win control of the HOUSE as well as the SENATE and if that is the case, AMERICA will change... and, in my opinion will change for the WORSE not for the BETTER... but again, this is one's perception...
- A Civil War between Political Party Supporters will take place throughout the country
- Washington, DC and Puerto Rico could become States which will submit Democrats to the House and to the Senate
- Legislation towards severely limiting the Second Amendment will be passed
- Legislation towards opening our borders to unlimited immigration will be passed
- Legislation towards tearing down the border wall will be passed
- Legislation toward expanding the Supreme Court will be passed
- Legislation towards preventing Republicans from ever gaining a majority will be passed
- Legislation towards free college education will be passed
- Legislation towards a guaranteed income will be passed
- Legislation towards going GREEN will be passed
- Legislation towards redistributing law enforcement monies will be passed
- Legislations towards paying black reparations for slavery will be passed
- Legislation towards reducing the military will be passed
- Biden will fall ill and Kamala Harris will become President
- Russia will take advantage of a Liberal President and Congress
- China will take advantage of a Liberal President and Congress
- North Korea will take advantage of a Liberal President and Congress
- Trade deals will be negotiated that do not favor Americans
- NATO will no longer trust America's Military Support
- Terrorism will no longer fear America's retaliations
- A college education in America will be damn near worthless
- America's NATIONAL DEBT will increase beyond its ability to pay back
- The worth of the American Dollar will decrease
Monday, November 2
Tomorrow is the Day
Boy oh Boy...
- He did not win the popular vote
- He was elected by the Electoral College
- He is not a POLITICIAN
- He is a Billionaire
- He is not diplomatic
- He seems to have no manners
It really does not matter what he has accomplished, we THE PEOPLE want him out of there...
- Biden is for raising taxes and eliminating the Trump tax cut
- Biden is for OPEN BORDERS
- Biden is in favor of Medicare for all
- Biden is a career POLITICIAN
- Biden would be the oldest President
- Harris is not qualified to become President
Reasons For Piss Poor Communications at Work
EXAMPLE:
“If you have time, try to mow the lawn this afternoon,” said the father as he walked out the door to go to his office. His teenage son, head down, concentrating on breakfast, grunts in reply, “Uh-huh.” To the father’s dismay, the yard remained untouched when he returned home. The son, when confronted by his angry father, excused his lack of action with the explanation, “You said ‘if I had time,’ and I was at the mall all day.”
- Misaligned Vocabularies
- Messy Thinking
- Faulty Definitions
- False Civility
- Sloppy Language Habits
- Government Speak and Legalese
Sunday, November 1
The Butterfly Effect
Chaos theory is a branch of mathematics focusing on the study of chaos—states of dynamical systems whose apparently random states of disorder and irregularities are often governed by deterministic laws that are highly sensitive to initial conditions.In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.
Using these two concepts (chaos theory and the butterfly effect) let me propose an idea to you that from the OUTSET will be completely CONTROVERSIAL...
If we have ever attended a Church Service, we have heard quite often that JUDAS betrayed JESUS CHRIST and therefore by default must be considered an evil person and condemned to HELL or worse...
BUT, without JUDAS, there would be no arrest of JESUS, no trial of JESUS, and no crucifixion of JESUS... and, without the crucifixion of JESUS there would be no burial and resurrection of JESUS... and, without the resurrection of JESUS there would be NO CHRISTIANITY that survived decade after decade after HIS death.
This is a PERFECT EXAMPLE of the BUTTERFLY EFFECT... one thing happens because something earlier happened first.
JUDAS had no choice but to betray JESUS... that was GOD'S WILL... and, had to happened so that other events were then set into motion and GOD'S WILL could be accomplished.
JUDAS caused CHRISTIANITY to take place... so, why should JUDAS be seen as EVIL?