Wednesday, November 30, 2011

The Story of Ol' Deek & Why...It is the Way it Is!

GodThoughtsWired!            Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Evangelizing the Church in the Age of Delusion

the story of Ol' Deek

&

Why...It is the way it is!

part 1

A long, long time ago in the summer of 1978 (I was a 15 year old teen-ager), I worked with an "old-timer" by the name of Deek, who answered almost all of my questions with the statement:

"It is the way it is!"


Now, Ol' Deek would never explain to me why, "It is the way it is," he would simply re-assure me that:


"It is the way it is cause...
that's the way it is."


I'm curious, have you ever thought about this?  Why things are the way they are?  How about some specific questions:

-Why do millions of people still smoke cigarettes, even though it has long since been proven that CIGARETTE SMOKING IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH.  And,

-Why do millions of people still die from AIDS and other STD'S (sexually transmitted diseases) when we know exactly how to prevent it from happening?

-Why do millions of people still believe in Darwinian Evolution(and why is Darwinian Evolution still taught in public high schools) even though DARWINIAN EVOLUTION HAS LONG SINCE BEEN DISPROVEN.

Any thoughts?


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Friday, November 18, 2011

The Secret of Contentment...REVEALED!!!

GodThoughtsWired!                   Friday, November 18, 2011
An Inspiration for Today...A Resource for a Lifetime!

THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT...
REVEALED!!!
"I have learned to be content
in whatever circumstances I am."

Philippians 4:11
Awhile back I talked about "The Secret of Contentment" and how some of the greatest Bible characters had learned how to be "content" regardless of circumstance.
SO WHAT'S THE SECRET!

I said,
"The answer is perfectly described
in a single verse somewhere

in the book of Proverbs.

I'll give a FREE COPY

OF MY LATEST BOOK,

The Bible Says, Volume 1,

to the first 10 people to email

me the correct answer."
And the answer I was looking for is...PROVERBS 3:5!
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding."
The ability to trust in God no matter what's happening in life, is the key to contentment. The apostle Paul had "learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am," because he had learned to put his trust in God and not rely on his own understanding.
BUT WAIT! Several GTW! subscribers alerted me to an (NIV) verse that provides a great answer to the key to contentment as well:  Proverbs 19:23 says,
"The fear of the Lord leads to life;
then one rests content,

untouched by trouble."
(bold mine)
CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners (I will contact individually).
"And Job died an old man,
and full of days,

well satisfied with life."

-Job 42:17, bold mine
How 'bout you?

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Friday, November 4, 2011

Can Mercy and Judgment Coexist? 3

GodThoughtsWired!              Friday, November 4, 2011*
Evangelizing the Church in the Age of Delusion
Can mercy and judgment coexist?

3

"For judgment will be merciless
to one who has shown no mercy;
mercy triumphs over judgment."
James 2:13

Yesterday I said,

May I suggest to you that judgment is an
extension of God's love! (see Hebrews 12:5-11).
And may I also suggest to you that, 
in this illustration (see yesterday's GT),
righteously judging the criminal
would have extended mercy to both
the victim's parents...AND the criminal.


And then I asked the question, "How could it be possible that judging the criminal righteously would be "merciful?"

Well, let me give you my answer in the form of a true story from my old "youth pastor days:"


"When our youth ministry grew to several
hundred students, I needed to hire a
security officer to be on campus.  One
night, I caught one of our own students
attempting to sell drugs.  I severely
reprimanded him and then assured him
that if I ever caught him again, I would
call the police, right there on the spot.
Sure enough, a few weeks later I caught
him again!  And can you guess what I did?
That's right!  I did what I told him I would
do...I CALLED THE POLICE!  It was a
terrible scene right there on our church
grounds.  The police arrived and
handcuffed the student and halled
him off to Juvenile Hall."

Initially, the experience was AWEFUL!  I felt TERRIBLE!  Everyone in the church felt bad.  The boy's mom approached the Elder Board demanding that I be fired immediately!  As you might expect, the boy, along with his family, never returned to our church.

However, one day, about a year later, I received a phone call from the young man that I had "called the cops on" a year earlier.  He was calling to thank me!  He said, "You were the first person in my life to ever do what you said you were going to do."  He further told me that "That experience changed me.  I was headed down a bad road, and God used you to change my direction."

How could it be possible that judging the criminal righteously would be "merciful?"

I believe I just answered that question.


"For those whom the Lord
loves, He disciplines..."
Hebrews 12:6

*Originally published in December, 2010

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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Can Mercy and Judgment Coexist? 2

GodThoughtsWired!            Thursday, November 3, 2011*
Evangelizing the Church in the Age of Delusion

Can mercy and judgment coexist?

2

"LIFE IS NOT FAIR,
BUT GOD IS JUST...
AND HE HAS AN ETERNITY TO PROVE IT!"

-Pastor Brad
Illustration:  A child is brutally raped, beaten, tortured and murdered.  The guilty man is caught and brought before a judge with whom the child's grieving mother and father await the verdict.  The judge says, "Because I am a loving and forgiving judge, I am letting the offender go free without any punishment."

Now let's say you are the mother or father in this illustration.  How do you feel about the judge's verdict?  Mercy has been extended but justice has not been served!

May I suggest to you that judgment is an extension of God's love! (see Hebrews 12:5-11).  And may I also suggest to you that, in this illustration, righteously judging the criminal would have extended mercy to both the victims parents...AND the criminal.*

"WE CANNOT UNDERSTAND THE LOVE
OF GOD UNTIL WE GRASP THE HORROR
OF OUR SIN AND THE SACRIFICIAL
TORMENT THAT JESUS CHOSE TO
PAY ON OUR BEHALF."

-Pastor Brad

In God's kingdom, mercy and justice coexist.
*I'm interested to hear from you - How could it be possible that  judging the criminal righteously would be "merciful?"
**Originally published in December 2010
For more information about the GodThoughts Ministry, click here.

For more information about the author of GodThoughts, click
here.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Can Mercy and Judgment Coexist? 1

GodThoughtsWired!         Tuesday,November 1, 2011*
Evangelizing the Church in the Age of Delusion

Can mercy and judgment coexist?

1

"The Lord loves justice...
It is I
(God) who judges with equity...
For the Lord is a God of justice."
Psalm 37:28; 75:2; Isaiah 30:18
When I first came into my current pastorate roughly eight years ago, an otherwise kind and loving family left the church because of my unwavering commitment to the Bible as "inspired by God, inerrant and infallible as originally given" (see Psalm 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). 

They readily accepted the "love and forgiveness" part of God's character, but they did not believe in His "justice."  "Our God is NOT PUNITIVE!," the woman assured me, as she left the church parking lot for the final time.

To the contrary Oswald Chambers declares,

"In the teachings of Jesus Christ the element
of judgment is always brought out -
it is the sign of the loving God.
-Oswald Chambers,
My Utmost for His Highest, May 5
So, what do you think?  Can mercy and judgment coexist?

More tomorrow.


*Originally published December, 2010

For more information about the GodThoughts Ministry, click here.

For more information about the author of GodThoughts, click
here.