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Jordan Peterson’s Dangerous Misunderstanding...
ShipInDistress
 January 23 2025 at 08:09 am
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In a lecture delivered in Sydney, Dr. Jordan Peterson tries to answer the frequently asked question about his faith. At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be a wrong answer to this question — you will probably know, what you believe in… Nevertheless, as a believer, I disagree with his answer. To understand this criticism, we must first gain clarity about the concept of the Christian faith.Faith — an Attempt at a Personal Explanation Do I believe or do I just imagine? The question of my faith often brought me to the point of despair. Testing my faith for vitality in the way of a pulse measurement never led to good results. Faith cannot be measured nor derived. You cannot force faith. I realized only recently that the difficulties I had in answering the question, have their root cause in my lack of understanding of what faith constitutes. What do I mean when I speak of faith? A look at the lexicon reveals that the Middle High German origin of the word believe is the word gelouben. Among other things, the word pledge is a direct derivation of this old verb. So the meaning seems to be associated with a bond that one enters actively and deliberately. But what do we bind ourselves to and, above all, why?The Two Sides of Faith John 20, 29 — Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. Unfortunately, my life does not consist of a series of experiences of God. But experiences have to be experienced. They exist only for the moment. The memory of an experience is not the same as the experience itself. For the faith, this means that even the most intense experience of God’s closeness fades in memory and the doubt whether it is nothing but wishful thinking, can gain the upper hand. The experience of God is central to my faith. However, it cannot fully describe it. I want to hold on to this experience, but I’m no more able to do this than Mary Magdalene could hold on to Jesus: John 20, 17 — Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father A little side note: Is it enough for you to know that a loved person (in and of itself) exists or would you like to see him or her more often? One of my best friends asked me more than once the question of what distinguishes the Bible from any other exciting, good book. He did not doubt that the Bible has to tell us a lot and is the source of countless valuable ethical rules. But there are some good books of this kind out there. In the pursuit of understanding my faith, an answer has emerged. The ethical guidelines of the Bible give us orientation in the seemingly God-forsaken world when we lack the experience of God. However, the center of the biblical texts is God. Without God, the rules are no longer valuable, but worthless in the deepest sense. Without God, the Bible is indeed replaceable by any other ethical book. The Bible is not a founding work of an ideology. Their texts are not universally valid but must be reconsidered for each situation individually. Deriving a direct guide to action for all possible situations from the rules of the Bible in a kind of mental exercise is not feasible for the believer. Rather, the believer hopes that in the concrete situation, a sentence of the Bible will have a concrete meaning and thus contributes to decision- making. So the believer hopes for God’s (holy) spirit and not that his life will be regulated by the words of a book. The Bible is not God’s Word, but it can become God’s Word. When we read the Bible, we open the door for God. That’s why the bible demands to be studied. From us Christians, it demands that we take it more seriously than any other book — also and especially if we do not experience God’s nearness. That’s our part of the faith. The meaning of the word faith is thus divided into two parts. On the one hand, it is justified trust, which comes from the experience of the nearness of God. On the other hand, faith also means the naivety that small children bring to their parents — whom they absolutize, as we should do only with God: If Dad says so, then it is true! We have God’s promise that this childlike trust will not be in vain.You Will Seek Me and Find Me Jeremiah 29, 13 — when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you True faith does not come out of us but into us. A Believer is called the one who experienced this and has made a conscious decision for God. Seeking God, if we do not see him, trusting in God, if he does not seem to be there, reading the Bible, even though we doubt that it has to tell us more then certain psychological findings — that is the active part of the faith. But without the experience of the nearness of God, this so important part will soon degenerate into pure superstition and preoccupation with ourselves. The experience of God — the passive part of faith — is the foundation and goal of the active part. This answers the initial question of the why of the faith. I believe because I have experienced God’s closeness. But faith itself includes my response to God: Lord, I vow to you loyalty! This includes the realization that the times of absence of experiences are not times of unbelief. I have learned that neither side of faith is viable alone in the long term. Only in this duality does faith become truly sustainable. Markus 9, 24 — I believe; help my unbelief! The final answer which I gave my friend on his question about the Bible, is the following: Imagine that we Christians were right.The Freedom of Faith For centuries, the Church has misunderstood and abused faith. The notion of achievement that exists in every society, has been extended to the faith. "I can earn God’s love" was the fundamental precept. In the Middle Ages, you could even be freed from all your sins by paying money. God was the almighty judge, who then let himself be appeased if one did what the church leaders wanted. The relationship between God and man was that of a judge to a defendant. Does a mother love one of her children more if he follows her well-intentioned advice more than the other? Or does she just suffer more because the naughty child will have a harder time in life? Martin Luther has recognized that the relationship between God and man is a love affair. I recognize two things. For one thing, I faintly realize that I can’t come to God. I cannot earn his recognition. Secondly, I recognize thankfully that God loves me. He comes to me. Opening the door for him and letting him enter is the only requirement to be fulfilled. Luke 15, 20 — But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. The unmodern word sin is a relational word. Sin is everything that separates two who live in a relationship. The Easter message is God’s promise that, no matter how much we hurt him, how much he suffers from us, he will always be there for us. The forgiveness of all sins through the crucified Jesus is nothing less than the greatest declaration of love in the world. The lover cannot come any closer to the loved one without pushing him. This promise of God is the foundation for the liberation of the believer. It frees him from the idea of achievement. The believer does not have to earn God's love through good deeds. And he does not pose as a saint above others. Completely freed from the fear: What will the great judge say at the end? the believer can devote himself entirely to life in the world. In the struggle for truth, he is therefore not blocked by thoughts of the consequences, this or that decision will have for him eventually. With the knowledge that wrong decisions, sins, are already forgiven, he can use his full potential to make as many right ones as possible. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letter to Eberhard Bethge, 21.7.1944 One must abandon every attempt to make something of oneself, whether it be a saint, a converted sinner, a churchman (the priestly type, so-called!) a righteous man or an unrighteous one, a sick man or a healthy one. This is what I mean by worldliness — taking life in one’s stride, with all its duties and problems, its successes and failures, its experiences and helplessness. It is in such a life that we throw ourselves utterly in the arms of God and participate in his sufferings in the world…Experiences of God It is intentional that I have not written anything about my experiences of God at any point in the text. Experiences are very subjective. I can not even say if, that which my brain makes out of the nerve signal from my eyes when they see the color red, is the same thing that any other human brain makes out of it. How much more difficult is it to convey a God experience? My experiences of God are not a template for others. I can not claim: This is what experiencing God looks like and nothing else. Nevertheless, I don’t want to remain completely silent on the matter. There is a basic trust in God, which is not of the same nature, as the active faith described above. It should be clear from the context that basic trust does not mean, that it is permanently there in the same intensity. And then there are situations in which I have a sort of perspective that conveys a clarity which is neither rational nor otherwise justifiable. I then know what is right and wrong. It is important to note that the distinction between right and wrong is different from the distinction between good and bad in that it is contextual in the narrowest sense. To prevent greater suffering, it may be right to kill a human being. Yet no one would speak here of a good deed! The struggle of the Hitler assassins around Dietrich Bonhoeffer with the fifth commandment is cited here as an example.Peterson’s Statements Let us go back to Peterson’s lecture in Sydney. In the beginning, he pointed out the problems involved in asking the question about one’s personal belief. What is the intention behind asking: Do you believe in God? Moreover, what are the implications of the statement: I do believe! Some people, Peterson criticized, would state I do believe and actually mean I am good. Then he arrives at a point, where he states, that it is almost impossible for a man to say the words: I do believe. By citing Nietzsche: …there was only one Christ, and he died at the cross. he eventually follows the wrong route of the philosopher and the medieval church. They believed that you have to earn God's approval by doing good. As a Christian, I disagree! I say I do believe and I know very well, that this does not mean I am thoroughly good (in the sense that everything I do is good). In fact, both statements cannot be said simultaneously. To say it with Martin Luther: Martin Luther, The Freedom of the Christian Good righteous works never make a good righteous person, but a good righteous person does good righteous works. Bad works never make a bad person, but a bad person does bad works. Close to the end of the lecture, Peterson explains the benefits of confessing to faith. From a psychologist’s perspective there seem to be some good arguments for the lifestyle of a believer. But again, I have to disagree! We can not convince ourselves to believe. We don’t come to God —God comes to us. This does not mean that we are completely left out of the process. It is our task to actively decide in favor of the coming God. However, we do not make that decision based on weighing alternatives. The only reason for the faith — and that distinguishes the believer from one who follows ethical guidelines — is God.The Wrong Direction — Again I grew up in the GDR and was brought up as an atheist. The teachers in my school tried to explain faith and how we will overcome it: “In the past, people could not explain the physical world and have assigned gods to the inexplicable phenomena. So, e. g. the god Thor was the reason for lightning and thunder. But mankind grew up. These days we have science. Some people — the Christians — still struggle with the world and need to imagine their god. But science and socialism will make heaven on earth possible so that no one has to imagine a God any longer.” Here we see the same wrong direction (man imagines God) as in the essence of Peterson’s explanations. Surely, he does not make a statement about the pure existence of God. But, at the end of the day, to him, it doesn’t seem to make any difference whether God exists or not. You just have to live your life as if he did exist.The Most Dangerous God — Me Peterson’s statements are in opposition to the Christian faith. I do not become a Christian by performing good deeds and thus approaching a Christian ideal (however it is defined - and whoever it defines!). Rather, I acknowledge God, allow him into my life and can then hope that he will guide me and tell me how I should act. And I am well aware of my mistakes. The highest wisdom at which a Christian can arrive is to know that he is (and will be) a sinner. There is a wonderful German poem by Wolfgang Borchert. This is the best translation into English I have found: I’d be a light in stormy night for boats and cods and smelties – but I’m a skiff against the odds myself in difficulties! The efforts to become better than we are, to burn the dead wood, are admirable. But, in the long run, this endeavor far exceeds our power. To say it with Paul: 2. Corinthians 12, 9 — But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. In other words, it is not our power, our conviction or dedication that will bring god to our life. On the contrary, we should realize that the divine word comes into us and not out of us. This can only happen if we do not see our own convictions and actions as the decisive factor, but instead seek God again and again. Ask Him and trust in Him. We must become weak so that He can work strongly in us. Peterson says that the statement of the believer must have strong implications in his life. As a Christian, I say that the statement “I believe” will have strong implications if it is said honestly and with the whole soul. Peterson rightly points out that we have to take responsibility. Not society or anyone in particular is to blame for our misery — at least not in the first place. And trying to get better should be the goal for all of us. Still, this won’t bring us any closer to God. There is no way, in which we can come to the lord. Establishing the connection is his part. On the other hand, turning ourselves into gods (which for this part means that you are sure you know what is good and bad) is one of the most dangerous things for ourselves and society. It is as destructive as absolutizing an ideology. No one is to absolutize but God alone! This is a fundamental part of the first commandment. It is highly probable that the reason for most of the suffering in history is that people tried to be God. In fact, from a biblical perspective, it is the reason we do not live in paradise. The original sin of Adam and Eve will be the topic of a whole article. It is possible, that Peterson’s thoughts are much closer to mine than it appears. Human communication is a complicated and more than ambiguous issue. In the pursuit of truth, however, I have to assume the worst interpretation of his words. Nevertheless, I do not doubt the good intentions in his statement: I try to live as if God exists. And those who agree with it may argue, that this is all we can do. Otherwise, we are fully helpless. But involving God in the sentence includes a dangerous solution to our helplessness. Reformulated, the statement reads as: I know what is right or wrong! I do not need God for this. (And I am a little afraid he really exists.) And here it is again — the original sin. And it is even worse. Adam and Eve still believed in God. They still listened to God. But, the statement "as if God exists" does not even care about God. The question of the faith is thus reduced to a purely philosophical question about the existence of a transcendent being (and the possible consequences). Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Akt und Sein, postdoctoral thesis 1929 God does not exist — in and for itself! God is a personal counterpart for every single person. As a Christian, I believe in the living Jesus. I believe that a word of the bible — a book thousands of years old — can come to life in a concrete situation. So, the question Do you believe? is not a question about the personal opinion on an undecidable issue. In the first place, it means Did you experience the personal God?Peterson’s Daemon I do not know if Socrates’ famous Daimonion is the same as the inner voice of which Peterson speaks. However, I know the latter very well. As an almost objective observer, my inner voice looks underneath the surface of my words. It confronts me with the real reasons for my actions. It is a part, if not the center of myself. On the other hand, the Holy Ghost is the way God communicates with us. Thus it is no part of us and should strongly be distinguished from the inner voice. And it is far from being permanently present. Not for nothing, is the Holy Ghost compared to the wind. I felt the need to make an explicit distinction between these two terms in order to clarify once again the difference between Peterson's idea of faith (which essentially comes out of us) and the Christian belief in the living God.My Answer My answer to the question of faith is momentous. I feel like someone walking through a forest in the twilight during a thunderstorm. Now and then there is a flash and I recognize my surroundings in a clear light. Most of the time, however, I have to choose between two different interpretations of my impressions of the world around me. Is this an attacker who is standing right in front of me or someone who, like me, is largely helpless in this storm? These two views represent two sides of myself. One driven by fear and anger and one that recognizes the other person as a child of God — just as I am. In this way, Shoulder Angel and Shoulder Devil (in the Bible: Diabolus — the Slanderer) are playing their game with me and I have to decide whom I believe, over and over again. I have experienced how much my life gets mixed up when I let myself be guided by fear and anger. And I have experienced the peace that settles in me when I look at others with a loving eye. I want to recognize my fellow humans as often as possible in the latter way. Due to my inner resistances, this is extremely exhausting. In the long term, it only seems possible when I experience the nearness of God. That’s why I pray: I believe; help my unbelief!
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The Judges of our time: why every election...
Right Away
 February 03 2025 at 06:54 pm
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Every time there is an election, I get to watch the worst behavior in America. I get to see a repeat of all things Old Testament when it comes to seeing the response of those who didn’t get what they wanted. As King Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun. Seeing the anti-Trump (or anti-Biden) response from segments of society is old stuff. Here is our history, as well as what I think is a better and certainly a healthier response. In the book of Judges, we watch a series of disasters as the people of Israel choose not to go to God for guidance on right and wrong. Instead, they select men and elevate them above everyone else. In all the stories, we read how these men were not better than everyone else but were all trainwrecks in their own way. Some did evil. Some did well. Some came from a shady background and had shady life experiences. In the end, they were always replaced. Sounds familiar? Jephthah is one such character. He was the son of a whore. He was attacked and people tried to drive him out of his home. People hated him. He was nearly as bad as UNC’s basketball team in the eyes of many. OK, that was an exaggeration. He wasn’t that bad. However, the people could see that there were evil forces in the world, and the people wanted a leader who had the testicles to combat the evil and not give a crap about what others thought of him. Jephthah dealt with land ownership and borders on day 1 of office. He killed the real enemy of God’s people, but he had a horrible end to his story, as he had to kill his daughter to keep an oath he made. He fads out of the story, and no one since really talks about him. Yes, I voted for Trump unapologetically, but I can respect the people of this land who treat him as Jephthat or a son of a whore. I would have done this same activity if Harris had won. But I suggest this as an encouragement for you to see the good that has already come to pass. You need to be proud of the good as the new leader discarded public opinion and addressed the core of the evil upon our land. 1) He defunded Planned Parenthood. If Biden’s administration was correct in concluding that life begins at conception, and the geneticists who study DNA are correct in demonstrating that the baby is different than the mother and not a part of the mother’s body, then we just saw a major step into ending the 21st century’s equivalent of Auschwitz. History will not look well upon government-funded euthanizing of the innocent. We got to witness that stand against evil, even though the media won’t acknowledge it. Own that “good” as part of your life experience. 2) He recognized boys as boys and girls as girls. The evil associated with those who have challenged this cannot be overstated. We saw a win, and we need to own it, with pride. 3) He restored a segment of Genesis 2 order. Fish are no longer more important than humans. 4) He used common sense to address our perimeter. Biologists, since before any of us were born, have taught us to understand the great mystery of sustained life in a dangerous world. The skin of a mammal (macroscopically) and the cell membrane (microscopically) demonstrate a trait in nature unique to successful life forms. Borders must be semi-permeable for the organism to survive. As everyone has acknowledged, our previous lack of border security was killing the organism. As an offspring of immigrants, I love the original design of a semi-permeable membrane that discriminates what comes through. My ancestors came through Ellis Island legally. Yet, there is another part about the discoveries of biology- the outside invader doesn’t get to decide if it can enter the organism! Those that do are called viruses, and many countries around the world are experiencing viral outbreaks. I was in Norway, and I got to see for myself how horrible uncontrolled immigration has been for that culture. They have it worse than the USA does. 5) He replaced DEI with healthy meritocracy. For those jobs where competence is important, he got rid of the biggest barrier that prevented competence from rising to the top. I believe that many jobs in a services-driven economy do not, in fact, require competent employees. A body sitting in front of a keyboard who knows how to use a search engine and can cut and paste is good enough for far too many American jobs. However, some jobs do require competence. We want those who are most competent to get those jobs. Meritocracy is again considered progressive. We got to see this social restoration that made Western Civilization into the force that it is today. I am not blind. Oh, don’t get me started on the “evils” that this judge and the ones who have come before him have done. I feel like if we had discovered life on Mars, Biden would have sent them money as a welcoming gift—as he sent money to everyone else. Bush had his evils, as did Obama. My challenge to you is to take off your blinders of ingratitude and see the good. In Hebrew, the word for “Gratitude” isn’t a word, actually. It is a combination of two words. It literally translates as “the cutting to the good.” Cut through the evil that the media is showing you, as well as social media, and look at the multi-generational good happening in front of you. And do this every time we have an election! Gratitude is a better contagion than the bitterness that seems to live the loudest these days.
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To all atheists: A guide to doubting
ShipInDistress
 January 25 2025 at 09:25 am
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Christians are missionaries. They do not follow a divine command, but rather their heart, which cannot help but tell their neighbor about what has happened to them. The person addressed by the Christian is an individual. Accordingly the way in which missionary work is carried out is individual. There is no right — but perhaps a wrong. From the Christian author’s point of view, this text takes the wrong approach, at least if it is understood as a missionary text. This is because no one can be convinced to believe by rational arguments. Faith comes into us and not out of us. The purpose of this text is merely to appeal to rational atheists and take them out of their comfort zone. For the sake of simplicity, we distinguish between two world views — one that includes a Creator and one that does not and sees material reality as the only one that exists. If we follow the latter world view, it immediately becomes clear that no values, no guidelines for action can follow from it. According to it, we humans are no different from the rest of matter. We are just things. We call those who hold this world view nihilists. These people are now faced with a problem: without a hierarchy of values, they cannot make any decisions. However, most people are not aware of this problem. It doesn’t seem to play a role in their everyday lives. To a certain extent, they live unconsciously. A real awakening from this — let’s call it everyday twilight state — only takes place when you realize the consequences of your own world view and reach the point where — in the case of the nihilist — your own instincts, feelings and moods become the only decisive factor. This is because the nihilist has nothing else left to build up a value system according to which he can align his actions. I often find myself wishing that as few nihilists as possible would realize that ultimately they don’t care about anything and that they only need to strive to maximize their own dopamine release. No matter how good-sounding a value system (we think of the categorical imperative) that wants to take the place of a theological one, it floats in empty space and cannot counter the fundamental realization of the ultimate meaninglessness of existence in the nihilistic world view. Why, to stay with the example of the categorical imperative, should I treat another the way I want to be treated if I derive a greater advantage from not doing so? Because of higher values? These do not exist in the materialistic world view. Because of the realization that certain social moral concepts can be derived from biological circumstances? No, because they are merely an explanation as to why people (and animals) behave in a “civil” way even without an externally imposed value system. The individual does not derive a necessity to act in the same way. The entire discussion about values lies on a meta-level that does not even exist for the nihilist. After all, only material things exist. The nihilist can therefore only understand values as that which motivates him to act in some way. Since, from his point of view, he is only a thing, these values are not universal truths, but only interactions between the neurons in his head. Let us now turn to the second world view: we assume that there is a Creator. The religions that are based on this worldview all assume, at least implicitly, that the Creator wants to reveal himself. If this were not the case, the religion in question would not exist (unless it has an extremely clumsy God as its creator, who created the world but cannot hide from it). In this case, it seems almost obvious that the creator is trying to reach as many people as possible. After all, they are all his conscious creatures. The atheistic question (which is more of an argument) as to which of the many religions is the real one can be confidently answered by saying that it is certainly enough to deal with the major religions. A small note at this point: Judaism is not only the first of the three Abrahamic religions. Rather, Jews and Christians believe in the same God. Judaism is therefore one of the great religions. Let us now turn to the problem of values in the case of believers: they do not have this problem. Because their values, their good and evil come from outside. And it is deeply rooted in the experience they have had with the living God. In my case, with the deep certainty that there is such a thing as good and evil. I know that there are actions that are wrong, evil in the deepest sense, and I know what it feels like to have done something that is good. I am talking less about a simple feeling and more about a deep certainty that gives rise to satisfaction. The atheists world view does not possess good and evil. To consciously notice its existence is therefore a good starting point for atheists to question the own convictions. A side note: It is not the case that Christians always know what is right and wrong. Rather, they hope that God will show them what is right and wrong in a specific situation. Being a Christian means seeking God again and again, asking him what is right and what is wrong. This is another reason why the Christian faith is in conflict with the zeitgeist (at any time), which provides a fixed compass and whose followers pursue the goal of being good (in the sense of the current zeitgeist). In Germany, we aptly call these people "Gutmenschen" which translates perhaps to “do-gooders”. On the contrary: Christians are not concerned with the question of whether they are good (or even better than others). They know that the final judgment on a person's life - including their own - is made by God alone. And they trust in his grace - which also enables them to admit that they are sinners. At this point I am breaking off the text because, as I mentioned at the beginning, I did not want to write a theological text that deals with those deep truths that I sometimes find when the word of the Bible becomes the word of God in a specific situation. Neither this text nor any other is capable of arguing for God, so to speak. Christians do not believe in a God who is a logical consequence and therefore cannot be denied. Instead, they believe in a God who makes an offer. I have tried to describe what faith is all about in this article. Perhaps the arguments presented will cause some movement among one or two atheists. Because I think that they too find too much meaning in their lives to simply ignore it (which is the ultimate consequence of their current worldview).
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hushed injustice
Omar Zaid, M.D.
 January 26 2025 at 05:07 pm
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🗝️ Every man is born corporeal, becomes sensual, then natural, and successively rational, and if he does not stop there, he becomes spiritual.
 ~ E. Swedenborg 
I cannot sufficiently express my admiration for Mr Swedenborg. Please take the time to consult his library. Like Goethe, he had no peer.
 -- https://forum.alginkgo.com/go/RVosARFE4R -- Conjugal fidelity invites, builds, and preserves institutional unity because it is The Great Mystery’s divinely approved unicity consort. There is no substitute or comparative analogue that so effectively incarnates divine guidance with such protean protection. Indeed, balanced masculine-to-feminine harmony optimizes the path to conscious maturity. If you do not see such couples in position of authority it is because democracy serves the majority interest in compounded ignorance, which is readily marshaled by DP-elitists who specialize in neuro-politics. As a tangential correlate, women should dress modestly because immodest dress invites and promotes prurience. Women should never ever share their charms with strangers, lest they become accomplices to unrighteous dissolution. This discernment separates us from the animal kingdom. It makes us human, but only when sapiently held as precious. Thus, modesty rules the Kingdom of G-d so that immodesty cannot be tolerated in the least, because it is a slippery slope to the oubliette of no return.
The subversion of such a high cultural goal occurs when charismatics dress pseudo-science as fact and speculative doctrines as truth.* Because there was no censor to warn Negroes against charlatans like Fard & Poole Ltd., both DP-opportunists partnered and flourished. Thus, NOI ascendency flew into brass heavens only to refract absurd fancies and flat earth lizard people who hold Andromeda's Superman in high esteem: a page taken out of the Sabbatean Pleiades Myth for Dogon Wakanda lovers. Such fanciful noise enjoys generous apologetics (Matt.12:43-45) that cover gross errors. For example, calling cosmology’s dark matter ‘black matter or melanin’. I heard this proudly broadcast as scientific fact in 2024 by a preeminent student of Warith Mohammad. 
 But I’m guessing the universe cares nothing for what we think. We all receive its sunshine, water, and ants. Clean pressed suits in neat ghettoes with swept streets and gutters do not define divine guidance or the dispensation of Rahim grace. Surely they help, but even Wall Street’s evil mongers dress well and keep clean streets. So think again because long after hushed injustice hits our history books as a success story, those who maintain well-heeled traps for its poseurs will fail the test on Judgement Day. Good lord! Even communist communitarians know they cannot maintain peaceful domains when swag and booty are openly on the table. NOI's god-men were no different. To wit: 
🔍 As with other sectors of the NOI body, the financial empire was tied tightly to the Messenger personally. Wallace Muhammad wrote:🔍 🔎 No one knew the condition of the business because no accounting systems were in effect to monitor national income and expenditures ... the economic health of the Nation of Islam is not what it was projected to be. Long-term debt commitments had financed large-scale projects, putting strains on obligatory donations and draining other financial enterprises of their profit. M Gardell, Countdown to Armageddon, p.14. https://forum.alginkgo.com/go/fp7sNznRz7 Also: T Dalrymple (2003). Life at The Bottom https://forum.alginkgo.com/go/YtyTGLqvOo The root of this shame rests in denying the loss of divine approval and self-esteem over the entire affair. To cover this nakedness, apologists either replace or modify the chaotic rumination of Life At The Bottom, with or towards a lesser evil.* Chastity is an especial conduit that receives the purist of grace treasures. Caste adrift on planet earth, it is our lifeline. When grateful for gifts of life we please G-d as faithful lovers who practice the complementary balance that earns and perfects fidelity's grace-filled grail of unicity. Your spouse ideally delights eye, heart, and groin, and when taken together the yin/yang total amounts to more than your individual sums. This exchange of chaste fidelity between spouses holds the collective more worthy than the individual, it creates a trust that turns respectively gendered spheres of influence towards heaven as a valued collective, so that together they accomplish iterations of intimate face-to-face encounters on a continuum, ideally within the context of a supportive community. If you cannot house such thoughts with reverence, you are likely reprobate or with the wrong mate, or know not how or who to love. So be warned and know that all couplings that entertain immodesty alter the compass and turn subsequent events towards mischief, disharmony, suffering, and loss—noting that degrees of fornication begin with imagination and inevitably lead to degrees of spiritual adultery, and to what St Martin called ruin.
 I suspect NOI testosterone storms took their boardrooms with the same goatish tempestuousness that forever prevents Negro or Arab unity. Its bells of chauvinist ruination ring hellish consequences in vast empty stretches of vainly imagined, inter-galactic melanin. Consider why Cain killed Abel and you begin to discern urbane versus rural mindsets as ‘materialist tyrant’ versus ‘obedient servant’. You will see the organized barbarity of Rome versus those who navigate Sea, Steppe, or Mountain in relative peace. There you will discover the pretense of a superior-minded gentility that masks evil intent with finesse, crosses all boundaries, and quickly murders whistleblowers like the honorable Malcolm-X. It is the Mystery of Iniquity that rules over Sin (Gen.4.7). https://forum.alginkgo.com/go/yPWVkBwKXF have a look-see
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Living Like Jesus: Matthew 20:20-28
Cam
 January 24 2025 at 12:03 pm
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After sharing with the disciples about how they should be more focused on serving others rather than competing with each other for the best place and/or position, Jesus shifts the focus onto how He came to model the life He is describing. Matthew finishes this event off by telling us Jesus said: “Whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant. Whoever wants to be most important among you will be your slave. It’s the same way with the Son of Man. He didn’t come so that others could serve him. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many people.” (Matthew 20:26b-28 GW) While it is one thing to simply tell the disciples how they should live, Jesus doesn’t stop there. Instead, Jesus finishes off by pointing the spotlight on Himself as an example – and He shares one more time that He would be facing death in the future. Jesus being a servant to everyone is a significant detail that we should pay attention to. Jesus does not call us to do anything that He didn’t do Himself. The Pharisees and religious leaders were the ones in that culture who told others they needed to do a whole list of things that they were not willing to do themselves. In contrast, Jesus lived the life He wants us to live. This might not be all that comforting for us when we think about it a little closer. Jesus faced voluntary death because He was that dedicated to serving humanity, and while we should be incredibly thankful to Him for this, Jesus’ sacrifice and voluntary death may be something that He calls us to as well. Remember, Jesus does not ask us to do anything that He wasn’t willing to do Himself. He gave up His life, and He might call us to give up ours as well. We should be extraordinarily thankful towards Jesus for serving us in the way He did, and while it isn’t ideal to think about from this perspective, if Jesus calls us to give our lives up for Him, we can trust that He has something better in store for us when we arrive with Him in heaven. While Jesus doesn’t call us to do or give up anything He wasn’t willing to give up, everything that we give to Him will be returned in an exponentially better way when we arrive in heaven. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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Today’s Invitation: Matthew 22:1-14
Cam
 January 22 2025 at 11:59 am
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When reading this entry’s passage, I often wonder about the people who were originally invited. In each case, those who received an original invitation – which almost sound like an exclusive invitation, give an excuse and ask to be excused from attending the celebration. These original invitees were offered everything almost exclusively, but chose to reject the invitation, which was really also rejecting the king, in favor of doing their own thing. Verses 5 and 6 tell us their response when receiving the king’s invitation: “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.” (Matthew 22:5-6 NIV) The two possible responses from the king’s invitation are indifference and hostility. Many of the original invitees were too interested in what they were currently doing to pay attention when the king called. When the call came in, they were not finished building their business, taking care of a client, saving enough to weather retirement, or with their goals-checklist – and they placed these things as more important than the king’s wedding banquet for his son. These original invitees lived like they were their own boss and like their personal priorities were their highest priorities. Other original invitees hated the king, and so when the call came to them, they refused it simply because of who the king was. The passage also says that these haters mistreated the king’s servants, and some even went so far as to kill the servants who were sent to them. These original invitees picked themselves to be kings of their own life because they didn’t want to submit to the actual king. In every case an invitation is given in this passage, there does not appear to be a cost involved. No one has paid to purchase a seat/plate at the king’s table, and this truth reveals something else that is interesting about human nature: We discount the value of free gifts we have received, regardless of their true, often priceless, value. If the king in this parable represents God, then some of the elements in this parable become clear. The first thing to become clear is that if God exists, then regardless of what we think, say, feel, or do, He is in control. There is nothing we can say/do that will remove Him from His position of authority. If God exists, then no amount of thinking He doesn’t exist will change this reality. Our belief is not stronger than God’s reality. The next thing is that we can really have one of three responses to God’s invitation: We can reject the invitation like those who were hostile towards the king; we can ignore the invitation like those who had chosen other things to be higher priorities; or we can accept the invitation, leaving what we were doing for the higher priority of being with God. Lastly, there are two ways we could understand the context of this parable: as a future invitation into heaven, or as an immediate invitation into a relationship with God today. When Jesus returns, He will take us to heaven to be with Him, and I imagine there will be a huge welcome celebration and feast. It will be like the wedding between Jesus and “His bride” (a metaphor for His people). When Christ returns and calls His people to Him, there should be nothing that takes precedence over this call. When we first learn about Jesus and about the sacrifice He made on our behalf, we also are given an invitation: We can choose to distrust God’s motives and hate Him because of something else that happened; we can choose to ignore or delay accepting the invitation because something else is more important to us; or we can accept the invitation and enter into a new life with Him. Other parts of the gospels tell us there is a celebration in heaven every time someone accepts Jesus’ invitation. In either case, we have God’s invitation now, and what matters most is choosing to accept this invitation into our lives today. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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SPECIAL WEEKEND THOUGHT: 👉 Unintentional...
Cam
 January 25 2025 at 12:08 pm
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“My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.” (Psalm 119:148 NIV) “I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” (Psalm 143:5 NIV) Typically when thinking about meditation, my mind pictures individuals sitting quietly in a dark, perhaps candle-lit rooms, with some new age music playing in the background, trying to clear their minds. However, this is not the type of meditation I want to focus us on. That meditation is intentional. Instead, for this weekend's thought, let's think of meditation as a specific type of focus - a type of focus that pushes other thoughts away. As I look out at the culture today, or even at my own life, there are various categories of things that attract focus. In past years, this focus may have included celebrities, movies, television shows, and/or sports. In recent years, politics has entered the spotlight as a topic that infects almost all other topics. Also present are various ideologies that have attached themselves to the topic of politics to attract attention. In our world today, if we drift with the flow of culture, we will end up unintentionally meditating on the ideology of today - whether we choose to or not. This is because the ideological fad of the day is being put forward in as many different angles as can be imagined. If we regularly consume any type of media (this site included), we risk being sucked into the for-or-against camp of whatever the issue of the day is. The social topics of the day try to wedge themselves in our minds, pushing other topics out. When the Bible talks of meditation (focused, mindful attention given to one specific topic), God's promises, God's character, and God's law are the topics it mentions. Several years ago while listening to a seminar, the presenter turned to the topic of meditation. At one poing, he referenced a study testing whether the subject one focused on while meditating mattered. This study concluded that meditating on "love" was the only category that restored life, on a cellular level. While I cannot say whether this study was valid, repeatable, or even peer reviewed, it is logical that not all things are worth focusing on. It does not surprise me that focusing on the topic of love would restore life, since God is defined in the Bible using the word "Love". Not all meditation is equal. Not all things vying for our focus are valuable. If you choose to meditate, intentionally focus on the God of Love, on His Law, and on His promises. These things are eternally valuable. And even though it is challenging to do in our culture today, accept Paul's challenge: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8 NIV) 📖 🙏 ✝️ 👍
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Approaching God Like a Pharisee: Luke 18:9-14
Cam
 January 21 2025 at 12:08 pm
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Part way through Jesus’ ministry, He tells His disciples and those who were present a short illustration about how God accepts (or in this case does not accept) our prayers based on how we approach Him in prayer. In this illustration, the gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus directed it towards those in the crowd who “were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else.” (Luke 18:9 NIV) To this group of people, Jesus begins His parable by sharing someone who they can relate with: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’” (Luke 18:10-12 NIV) While nothing is mentioned in this parable that this self-righteous group of people prayed this type of prayer, chances are high in my mind that this sample prayer from the Pharisee in Jesus’ illustration was similar to what this group prayed. While nothing is technically wrong with anything described in the prayer itself, the tone of what the Pharisee shares is what God does not approve of. Giving thanks to God, fasting regularly, tithing, and living obediently are all noble things, but this Pharisee seems to think God doesn’t recognize these accomplishments – so he intentionally decides to share them with God in His prayer. The Pharisee’s prayer is two relatively short sentences, and it includes four uses of pronoun “I”. Each of these four uses in this prayer asks God to look at how good, noble, and righteous he is. But God doesn’t need help seeing the good in our lives or the bad. God knows our triumphs and trials better than we know them ourselves, and nothing is a surprise to Him. While a prayer of thanks is not bad in itself. However, in order for it to be productive, we must thank God for something He has blessed us with, and not simply thank Him for something we’ve done ourselves. A prayer of thanks should be a reminder of how God has helped us, and remind us of our place in God’s bigger plan; Our prayers are worthless if we simply thank God for something we are claiming responsibility for. Praying like a Pharisee is trying to get God to acknowledge how good of a person we are – especially in comparison with someone else, and this type of prayer is never answered. Instead, when we give thanks to God, we should thank Him for the things He has blessed us with in a way that helps us remember our small part in His big plans related to saving people for eternity and in a way that genuinely is thankful for His help. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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SPECIAL WEEKEND THOUGHT: 👉 First Things First 📖
Cam
 January 18 2025 at 12:07 pm
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“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35 NIV) “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:31-34 NIV) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:24 NIV) “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12 NIV) As I sit down to write and schedule this weekend's thought, I have a long to-do list. The temptation is high to skip this writing task in order to accomplish other tasks that need to be done. However, instead of starting down the other items I have to accomplish in the next several hours, I have chosen to prioritize writing this. Why? While not a replacement for my personal devotions, writing these weekend thoughts helps to reorient my life and my mind. Writing these posts challenges me to share what I am being challenged with. Hopefully, these thoughts bless more than just me, but even if I'm the only one with a blessing, they are still worthwhile. Early on during Jesus' ministry, Mark's gospel describes how Jesus gets up early, and goes to a quiet, secluded place to pray. Jesus' early followers wake up later, and then scramble to find Jesus who had disappeared. (Those Jesus asked to follow Him had lost Him after not much time had passed.) Taking Jesus' example, sometimes the most important things for us to focus on are not the most urgent. Sometimes the important tasks appear to be easy to delay. Sometimes this is because an important task is difficult in some way; other times, an important task may be pushed aside for an "urgent" task that might not be important. Psalm 90, verse 12 is powerful because it challenges us to keep the end of our life in focus. While some might think this is a morbid thought, the challenge is to understand that we are living on borrowed time. Many things that vie for our time are simply not valuable. Instead, let's together resolve to put the important things first in our lives, so that when our time on this earth is up, we will have the foundation laid for eternity in heaven - and plenty of treasure stored up there. When we have focused on storing our treasure in heaven, our hearts will be drawn to heaven, and we look forward to the day Jesus returns to bring us home! 📖 🙏 ✝️
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Faith-Worthy: John 11:1-44
Cam
 January 29 2025 at 12:10 pm
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While reading about the events that happen in the gospels, and specifically about the lives that were affected by Jesus, I often take a moment or two and ask myself the following question: “Where is faith present (or not present) in this event/passage?” In our passage for this journal entry, John 11:1-44, faith is a big theme that is woven through a number of different interactions. The first hint at faith comes immediately after Jesus tells the disciples plainly that Lazarus was dead. He continues in verse 15 by saying, “I am glad that I wasn’t there, because now you will have a chance to put your faith in me.” Apparently there must have been a lack of faith in the disciples for Jesus to have challenged them with these words. After all the teaching, healing, and miracles, some of the disciples must have still been second guessing if Jesus was worthy of their faith or not. This seems most evident a few verses prior to this when Jesus announces that they will go back to Judea to wake Lazarus up and the disciples hesitate fearing for their lives. Jesus hits the disciples with the statement that He is glad they were not there for Lazarus’ sickness/death, and it must be because He wants to mentally prepare them for an even bigger truth: Jesus is “faith-worthy”. This section of the passage concludes on a very pessimistic note. Thomas says in verse 16, “Come on. Let’s go, so we can die with him.” But behind Thomas’ pessimistic statement is the action of following Jesus to the end – and that in itself displays a pretty significant level of faith. When the disciples arrive at Bethany, Jesus meets with both Martha and with Mary separately, but each sister gets a different response in proportion to the level of faith. While both Mary and Martha begin by saying to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,” in verses 21 and 32, Martha doesn’t stop there. Mary seems to have about the same level of faith as the disciples, which is about enough to frustrate Jesus, but Martha demonstrates a greater faith. We often fault Martha for being the busy, distracted sister during one of Jesus’ earlier visits, but in this event, Martha definitely redeems herself by displaying a great level of faith, leading her to say in verse 27, “I believe that you are Christ, the Son of God. You are the one we hoped would come into the world.” Even though her practicality would return a few verses later by commenting that rolling away the stone would release a bad odor, Martha saw Jesus as being “faith-worthy”, and she trusted that Lazarus would be resurrected when God’s timing was right. While Mary can be our example for setting good priorities and putting Jesus first, Martha is our example for putting our faith in Jesus when all hope seems lost. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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Knowing Our Past: Mark 8:22-26
Cam
 January 31 2025 at 12:06 pm
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In a unique miracle that only Mark’s gospel includes, Jesus visits a town and meets a crowd bringing a blind man to Him. What makes this parable unique in my mind is that Jesus brings the man out of town, and that the healing isn’t entirely successful the first attempt. However, one phrase at the conclusion of this miracle stands out as I read it. This passage ends by saying, “Jesus then sent him home with the order, ‘Don’t go back into the village.’” (Mark 8:26 GNT) On the surface, this command makes sense, because Jesus doesn’t want the man to meet back up with the crowd who simply wanted to experience a miracle and praise Jesus for it. However, what happens if we ask the question: “What if this man lived in the village?” If the man lived in the village, then Jesus’ request to this man doesn’t make sense, but if the man lived in a different nearby village, then a couple of subtle insights appear that we can learn from. First, if the man was from a nearby village, then this means that the crowd formed by either someone bringing the formerly blind man into the village before collecting a crowd, or, more likely, someone started bringing the formerly blind man to Jesus and on their journey to find Him, people who wanted to see a miracle joined the crowd. Either way, this detail gives support to the idea that the crowd was simply there to see a miracle rather than to praise God. Secondly, and more importantly, this detail emphasizes the truth that Jesus knows where we live. While it may have been obvious by the man’s style of clothing or something else about his appearance, nothing in the passage aside from Jesus’ command implies this man lived elsewhere. This means that Jesus knew where the man came from even if most of those in the crowd that brought Him didn’t. This second truth is significant for us to remember too. Jesus knows where you and I live, He knows our past, and He chose to come to earth to give us the opportunity to have a new life with God. While we might have deep, dark, hidden secrets in our past, Jesus knows what they are – and regardless of what happened, Jesus invites us into a new life with Him. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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SPECIAL WEEKEND THOUGHT: 👉 Being A Conduit...
Cam
 February 01 2025 at 12:16 pm
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“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV) “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Colossians 4:5-6 NIV) When sharing Jesus with other people, it is easy to become discouraged. Whenever one stands up to share their faith, there will be those who simply don't pay attention, others who get upset at something you chose to say, and even some people who you think would be supportive who turn out to be hostile. When faced with discouragement, we face the temptation to simply give up. When sharing Jesus with other people, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Looking out at the state of the world, the task looks impossible, each one of us (at least as far as I can tell) are wholly unqualified for the task, and it can be confusing or challenging to know even where to start. When we look out at the Great Commission Jesus gave to His followers, it is easy to conclude that it is impossible and to simply give up. When sharing Jesus with other people, it is easy to become defensive. When doing anything for anyone, there are people who appear to take the self-appointed role of critic. Some will challenge you regarding your beliefs, others will criticize you because you didn't say something the way they thought it should be shared. The critics have it easy, because there is always another angle to any point we choose to make - and when facing criticism, giving up appears like a welcoming option. 👉 However, the interesting thing about all of these challenges is that Jesus faced them in His life and ministry. Jesus faced more than His fair share of people hostile to His message. Jesus faced people who simply did not care about His message. Jesus also was challenged for the people He chose to associate with - and who He invited to be disciples. Looking at the task Jesus had ahead of Him, and the disciples He chose, one could easily understand anyone feeling overwhelmed. But the thing about us verses Jesus is that we are not the goal. We are not the standard we point others to. We stumble, fall, make mistakes, speak or write less-than-ideally, and God still is able to use us for His glory. If you are facing discouragement today, pause and make sure your connection with God is strong. We are not the goal. Instead, we are called to point people to Jesus. One could say we are to be small lights leading people towards the True Light, Jesus, the Son of God. Intentionally stay connected with Jesus, continually remind yourself what He is like through the pages of the gospels, and reflect His love and grace in the world around you. We are God's ambassadors, seeking to represent and point others to Jesus! While we are imperfect, we point people to the one who perfectly redeems those who accept His invitation! 🙏 📖 ✝️
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Obeying His Messengers: Matthew 21:28-32
Cam
 February 04 2025 at 11:59 am
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In a brief conversation Jesus has with a group of Pharisees, the gospel of Matthew describes Jesus sharing a parable about a father who asks His two sons to help in the family’s vineyard. One son said he would help but then chose not to go, while the other son said he wouldn’t help, but then chose to go and help. The key question Jesus asks these Pharisees is which of these sons actually obeyed their father: The one who said they’d help or the one who showed up to help? At the close of this discussion, Jesus shares a statement that is surprisingly relevant for us today. Matthew tells us that Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God before you do. John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. Even after seeing this, you still refused to change your ways and believe him.” (Matthew 21:31-32 NCV) One amazing thing I see in this set of verses is that God sends messengers to help people turn their lives around, and while the religious leaders did not openly oppose John the Baptist, they also didn’t give John’s message any thought. Jesus directly says that “John came to show you the right way to live. You did not believe him, but the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him.” (Matthew 21:32a NCV) Because tax collectors and prostitutes believed in John’s message and changed their lives and their focus, Jesus tells the religious leaders that those who were the worst sinners but who have changed their ways will gain entrance into heaven – ahead of those who supposedly lived close to God. This should be a challenging message for people who call themselves followers of Jesus. When God sends us messengers to help us live better and grow closer to God, we would be wise to obey the instructions God’s messenger gives. Otherwise, we might end up in the same position these religious leaders ended up in when they rejected John’s message for themselves and ultimately missed out on seeing Jesus as God’s Messiah. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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Answering a Different Question: Mark 12:28-34
Cam
 February 05 2025 at 11:59 am
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If you have ever wondered if God has a priority list for how we should live our lives, you are not alone. All throughout history, and especially during the first century, there have been groups of people who have created prioritized lists to answer the question about what we should and should not do. Jesus steps into this discussion when asked for His thoughts regarding what God’s priority list for us is. A Pharisee (teacher of the law) asks Him, “Which is the most important of all the commandments?” (End of Mark 12:28 NIRV) Instead of sidestepping the question, or asking a question in response, Jesus decides this is a good opportunity to teach about God’s priorities. Perhaps this is because the Pharisee was genuinely asking because he wanted to learn, or maybe Jesus simply used this as an opening/opportunity to teach another piece of God’s truth to those present. Jesus first begins by pointing out that we must place God first in our lives. This is the first and greatest commandment, but Jesus knows that His audience, or at least this Pharisee, already has a pretty good handle on this one. Jesus must say it because it is the truthful answer to the question, but the problem with the answer is that the question is bad. By asking what the “most important” thing is – in any situation – one opens the door to allowing every other responsibility to be neglected in favor of focusing on the one “most important” thing. The danger here is that the most important command is not where Jesus’ audience had their greatest challenges. The greatest challenge for His audience was with the second most important command. So after Jesus answers the direct question, He then answers the question that should have been asked in the first place, “What are the most important commandments?” While the Pharisee was only interested in one commandment, Jesus gives him two: The top commandment, and the one he needed to hear: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (Middle of Mark 12:31 NIRV) While the command to love God is clearly defined by four areas, loving our neighbor is really only defined by one area: how we love ourselves. This does not say we are to love our neighbor more or less than we love ourselves, but “as” we love ourselves. It is a statement of almost universal individual equality. Some groups or governments have wanted to universally promote the idea of equality, but this is the opposite of what is present here. Externally imposed equality means there must be someone in power making the decision, and then the rest of the people. Individual equality means that each person views themselves as being no more valuable than anyone else, and no less valuable. But we are sin-tainted, selfish people – which mean that some of us really love ourselves, while others really hate ourselves. This second commandment is second because we need a dedication and commitment to God first to give us a right perspective on how valuable we are. After all, Jesus came to give His life for each of us. Loving your neighbor as you love yourself pushes us to think about others as we think about us. If we want something, someone else probably does as well, and what would happen if we helped them achieve it as we achieve it. This doesn’t pull wisdom out of help, but it allows and encourages wisdom to be a part of our help – because as a helper, we are responsible for giving help in appropriate ways. Loving our neighbor sets a pretty high standard for a selfish heart, but it is a step towards being more like Jesus. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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Conditional Forgiveness: Matthew 18:15-35
Cam
 February 07 2025 at 12:03 pm
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When teaching the disciples the importance of forgiving each other, Peter asks Jesus how many times we should forgive, and the answer Jesus gives surprises the whole group. Jesus then follows up this response with a parable about a servant who was forgiven an impossible-to-repay debt. However, while it isn’t stated in the terms of this servant’s forgiveness, Jesus’ parable continues by showing how this servant chooses to not extend forgiveness towards a fellow servant who owed a very payable debt. The other servants see what happened and report the details back to the master/king. The parable ends with the original servant’s debt being reinstated and him being locked up until he repay the impossible-to-repay debt – or in other words, this servant would be locked up for the rest of his life. Jesus finishes the parable with a one-sentence explanation: “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:35 NCV) This parable is probably one of Jesus’ most challenging parables because the implication is clear: If we don’t forgive each other after learning how God has forgiven us, God will cancel the forgiveness He extended towards us and we will be left with an impossible-to-repay debt. Because of this, we can conclude that while God offers forgiveness freely through Jesus, the forgiveness we are given comes with a condition: we must extend this forgiveness towards each other. Nothing we can do will ever come close to repaying God for His generosity, but we can show God we are grateful for what He has given to us by extending forgiveness towards each other. This will look different for each person and each situation, but at its heart, we are called to forgive like God forgave – which means that we forgive those who may even still be actively hurting us and there is no indication that will ever change. Jesus entered a world that was hostile to God and His message and He was killed by humanity. When we forgive like God forgave, we must acknowledge that many times we will be called to forgive people who don’t deserve to be forgiven – and we can trust that God will sort out those who truly deserve forgiveness from those whose forgiven status will be cancelled because they lived an unforgiving life. Forgiveness means we don’t hold a grudge and we don’t seek or expect the other person to pay back the debt we feel they owe. Forgiveness does not mean we blindly stay in a place where are being abused or hurt. Reconciliation is where we bridge and heal broken relationships, and while this concept is closely related to forgiveness, nothing in Jesus’ parable or teaching says that we must always reconcile a broken relationship when we forgive the person who hurt us. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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SPECIAL WEEKEND THOUGHT: 👉 Foreshadowing...
Cam
 February 08 2025 at 12:19 pm
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“By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: ‘He could not be found, because God had taken him away.’ For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5 NIV - References Genesis 5:4) “As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” (2 Kings 2:11 NIV) “And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.” (Deuteronomy 34:5-6 NIV) But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” (Jude 1:9 NIV) “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16 NIV) From near the very beginning, the Bible has shared a promise about God's people being rewarded with eternity. Three people in the Old Testament are worth mentioning: Enoch, Elijah, and Moses. Each representing a different major sections of earth history: pre-flood, the rise of the ancient Israel nation, the time of the prophets. However, Moses presents an interesting case. Unlike Enoch and Elijah, Moses clearly broke God's law. While Enoch and Elijah had sinned (because everyone has sinned and fallen short of God's glory), Moses murdering two Egyptians is a serious offense. For this reason, I suspect Satan wanted to bring a case against resurrecting Moses - as Jude describes. In this strange verse, Jude gives us an interesting frame. Michael is described as the archangel. Nowhere else in the Bible is Michael given this role, even though Revelation would be the perfect place. The only other time the archangel is mentioned is when describing the resurrection. For this reason, I suspect that the archangel showed up to resurrect Moses, well in advance of the end-of-the-age resurrection. Each of these men received their reward for following God prior to Jesus facing the crucifixion. Each of these men foreshadow our reward when Jesus returns. Many of God's people are awaiting resurrection, and a few select people who endure to the end will, like Enoch, not experience death. From the very beginning, not only is Jesus' sacrifice foreshadowed through the first sacrifice when sin entered the world, but within the natural lives of all in the pre-flood world, we find the first example where a life with God is rewarded prior to Jesus' return. Jesus' resurrection conquered death, and like Moses' resurrection, if death knocks on our door prior to Jesus returning, when we believe in Jesus, the archangel's voice will resurrect us into eternity. 📖 ✝️ 🙏
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Missing Out on Blessings: Luke 19:1-10
Cam
 February 11 2025 at 12:16 pm
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Part way through Jesus’ ministry, He passes through the city of Jericho and invites Himself to the home of one of the most disliked people in the entire city. When I read about what happened when Jesus met Zacchaeus, I wonder who was the most surprised in this entire event. • Is Zacchaeus the most surprised because Jesus spotted Him in the tree and invited Himself over? • Is the crowd the most surprised that Zacchaeus accepted Jesus’ invitation to Himself? • Is the crowd the most surprised that Jesus would associate with someone as hated and distrusted as Zacchaeus? Luke’s gospel summarizes both the crowd’s and Zacchaeus’ responses by saying: “Zacchaeus came down quickly and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to complain, ‘Jesus is staying with a sinner!’” (Luke 19:6-7 NCV) While Zacchaeus was grateful for the opportunity to meet Jesus even better, the crowd gets caught up over a situation they simply feel is not right. In the minds of those in the crowd, someone (Jesus) they knew was sent from God should only associate with people who clearly are associated with God. When Jesus chose to associate with someone they believed had no care for religious or spiritual matters, it breaks their stereotype and their view of Jesus. However, in this event, while the crowd was complaining over who Jesus chose to stay with, Zacchaeus was getting ready to have a heart transformation. The crowd could not see this, but Jesus did. The crowd blinded themselves by believing Jesus would only associate with Godly people. The crowd missed out on what may have been the most high-profile life transformation of Jesus’ ministry. Everyone in that region knew who Zacchaeus was, and it would not be a surprise in my mind if the news about Jesus’ time with Zacchaeus and the life-change that happened spread like wildfire throughout the entire city and surrounding area. Reading about the crowd challenges me to ask the question: Am I missing out on something God is doing because it happens to be in a place I don’t think it should be and/or because it doesn’t fit into the mold of what I think it should look like? Am I more like the skeptical crowd when I hear about something God has done, or am I open to being transformed through what I see God doing in the world around me? This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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Satisfied as a Single: Matthew 19:1-12
Cam
 February 12 2025 at 12:11 pm
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Some of Jesus’ teaching is compassionate and uplifting; some of His teaching is challenging; and there are a few places were Jesus’ teaching seem to rub up against culture and our experience in ways that make us uncomfortable. It is in this last category that our passage in today’s journal entry falls, but while divorce is a real challenge in today’s culture, and it has affected almost every person alive today in one way or another, too often we take Jesus’ words here as a condemnation of those who have been divorced – which actually is taking the verses out of context. This conversation would not have happened except for one thing that happened: the Pharisees open up the discussion. Verse 3 begins by saying, “Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him.” In order to best understand the context of this teaching, we must first understand that Jesus probably would not have brought up the subject had He not been challenged with it. Other people came to Him with the question about the idea, so Jesus will answer with God’s ideal scenario. Verse 4 points to the original plan at creation, verse 5 recalls God’s words about how marriage would proceed, and verse 6 concludes with the challenge that we should not undo what God has done. This is the ideal scenario. We could call it Plan A. But then, thinking they have Jesus firmly in the trap, the Pharisees respond with their follow-up question in verse 7: “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?” The Pharisees have successfully contrasted Jesus’ teaching with Moses’ teaching, but instead of placing Moses’ revelation as being the one closest to God, Jesus draws out the contrast between God’s ideal and Moses’ exception. The original question in verse 3 included the phrase “for any reason he chooses”, and this is more what Jesus pushes back on. Jesus gives one acceptable reason, but if we look closer at His one valid reason, we see something interesting. Verse 9, the one that makes people feel uncomfortable, says basically that adultery will be present at the end of a marriage. Either it will cause the marriage to end, or the marriage ending will result in it. Jesus’ statement on divorce is not a condemnation; it is a challenging truth. Jesus says it to push His audience towards the conclusion He wants them to reach. Verse 10 shares this conclusion, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife, it is better not to marry.” Jesus wants His audience to be more intentional about following God’s ideal. Jesus follows up in verse 11 and 12 by saying it is perfectly okay for someone to choose to remain single. Reaching the place where a single person is okay with not marrying is the first step to becoming ready for marriage. My own life experience has taught me that sometimes it is better to reach the place where I am satisfied being single before God will bring that special someone into my life. (Incidentally, this is exactly what happened to me in 2007 right before meeting Suzie, my wife-to-be.) This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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Knowing Our Thoughts: Luke 9:46-48
Cam
 February 14 2025 at 12:13 pm
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Throughout Jesus’ ministry, three of the four gospel’s writers record at least one time where the disciples began an argument about who would be the greatest among them. During one of these arguments, Luke’s gospel shares an interesting phrase that is incredibly profound when we stop to think about it. Luke describes this event by saying: “An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him.” (Luke 9:46-47 NIV) While I don’t know how Luke knew to include a phrase that he included, but he tells all of us that Jesus framed His response to the disciples because He knew their thoughts. This is significant in my mind because not only could Jesus specifically see into the minds of those closest to Him, He also chose to interact with those who He knew their deepest, darkest secrets. Nothing about the disciples’ lives was hidden from Jesus. I’m not sure if Luke includes this detail because this was a onetime occurrence in Jesus’ ministry, or if this was Luke’s subtle way of suggesting that Jesus continually had this divine revelation into people’s minds, but when we look at other events in the gospels, I don’t think Jesus was ever truly surprised by something that happened. Even Judas Iscariot’s betrayal was not a surprise to Jesus. Jesus knew the disciples better than they knew themselves, and Jesus chose to interact and associate with them. In a similar way, Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves – and He chooses to love us, forgive us, and give us the gift of salvation. Jesus knows our deepest, darkest secrets and He still chooses to love us. Nothing in our past or future is a surprise to Him, and because He still chooses to love us when He knows our worst, we can trust that He has the best future imaginable waiting for us when we accept Him into our hearts. This post first appeared on ReflectiveBibleStudy.com What do you think? Do you agree/disagree? Leave your thoughts below.
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SPECIAL WEEKEND THOUGHT: 👉 Us vs. Them 📖
Cam
 Yesterday at 12:15 pm
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“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29 NIV) “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?… Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15, 17 NIV) In a world where every sliver of culture baits people to focus on their differences, it is very easy to get sucked into the cultural frame (regardless of the topic) of seeing life from an "us vs. them" perspective. However, is this the best way to see the world or is it a trap? A similar debate can be made among Christians: Should I look past differences of belief or focus on the similarities we share? Is it simply a matter of agreeing on the big things, or are any subtle differences a trap we must avoid? When looking at Jesus' life and ministry to help guide our path forward, everyone He associated with was a sinner; everyone He touched needed a Savior. When looking at the disciples Jesus called, one could not imagine a more different group of people. Jesus came to call a wildly different group of people together to unite under the belief that Jesus was the Messiah -- a bigger Messiah than those in the first century were looking for. Jesus didn't step into History with the goal of uniting with Judaism. However, Jesus didn't shun Jewish leaders who came to Him either. Instead, while Jesus' harshest words appeared to be reserved for the first-century religious leaders, Jesus did not actively avoid them. Many times Jesus traveled to help Jewish leaders asking for help, and on more than one occasion, Jesus accepted an invitation to eat a Sabbath meal with many of these leaders. It is easy to be sucked into looking through an "us vs. them" lens, but Jesus modeled life differently. Jesus challenges His people to align with Him before everything/everyone else. The goal isn't picking the right side; the goal is reflecting God's love: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous...” (Matthew 5:43-45 NIV) If reflecting Jesus is a challenge, open your Bible and prayerfully spend time reading about who Jesus is. The Bible is the best source we have to discover who Jesus is! 🙏 📖 ✝️

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