I know what I believe...

I know that I believe that marriage is sacred. This is because God created it back in the Garden of Eden when He made Eve out of Adam’s rib. Yes, I do believe this account and take it literally. But I digress. My response to marriage in my own life was not in keeping with this precept: “And they two shall become one. What, therefore, God has joined, may man not separate.” May God forgive me; I failed to do all that I could when I had ample opportunity.

Hm...

Now, I know what I believe, and why I believe it. But how does it apply to me personally? What would you do if your beliefs on a certain issue came into conflict with your behavior toward it?

The Word from God

How do you view the Bible? Is it above every other book, or is it just another of many books written by fallible man and therefore not entirely trustworthy? Is it divine revelation? If so, does God speak in riddle and metaphor, or does He speak plainly? Can we trust what we read about the creation of the universe, the fall of man into sin, the global flood, the life of Abraham, etc., or do we need to delve for some hidden meaning? All of this is part and parcel of your worldview. Cheers!

The Truth

Your worldview is important because your view of the world around you affects your view of realty. This in turn affects your opinions of what is true and what is false. If you have a worldview that says everything is relative to the individual, for example, then what's real to you may not seem real to me, and therefore, what's true for you may not be true for me—in other words, a relative concept of truth. On the other hand, if you believe that truth descends from God, and God is not relative to any individual, then you must conclude that truth is absolute, whether it is believed by the majority or not. So how you view the world is important, vitally important.

Worldview: What is it, and why do I need one?

Your worldview is your set of basic assumptions about the world around you, which in turn affects your basic philosophy of life. How you view the world around you is important because it influences your understanding in every area. It colors your interpretations of everything from science to history to ethics to your choice of religion—you name it. There is nothing your worldview does not touch. I will discuss this topic at greater length in later posts. Have a nice day, and God bless you.

Looking within myself

Whenever I say something that annoys a person, even if it’s something as simple as “Happy birthday” or “Having a good evening?”, I always tend to hand them the blame for not responding as I had hoped. But I find more and more that the answer lies with myself.

This is my new approach: when I hurt someone’s feelings, I must look first for where I went wrong: not necessarily that what I said or did had no reason behind it, or that I meant it to come out that way, but who was I thinking about when I said or did it—myself, or the other person? If I’d had a genuine interest in the one with whom I was dealing, it would have showed. On the other hand, if I was self-absorbed and trying simply to get by with as little effort as I could, that definitely would show. If we judge ourselves, we will not be judged (read 1 Corinthians 11:31).

Expecting perfection?

It’s really easy, isn’t it, to sit in God’s place and judge another person. But that is what bitterness is. Bitterness waits till the person admits their weakness, fault, sin, or mistake, and then pounces. But bitterness overlooks the same imperfections in its own host. I never expected such a violent reaction, but that’s what bitterness does. If you don’t nip it in the bud, it grows. And for the record, I really did like that necklace. Why do you think it was that I wore it everywhere that I went??? And the real offense, I believe, has been my trying to use this blog to settle misunderstandings and disagreements. If I have hurt you by airing dirty laundry here, I deeply apologize; and if you persist in unforgiveness, yet I will always forgive you. I know you’re not perfect; I also know I’m not, either. That is what friends are for. That is what mates are for. And that is what forgiveness is for. In Jesus’ Name, I forgive you, and I pray that He may forgive you as well.

Just For Clarity’s Sake

There was an old friend that I contacted shortly after my divorce. I knew it was wrong, because I had also gotten in touch briefly before the divorce, only making an already bad sitiuation worse; so I make no excuses for this behavior. “Missed her” won’t cut it. “Divorced now, so it doesn’t matter” doesn’t work, either. But with that said, I’d like to set the record straight.

V., you appear to have the impression that I’m still in communication with J.; this is not the case. I haven’t heard from her, seen her, or spoken to, written, or otherwise communicated with her, since late 2001. Furthermore, I have not heard a word about her in those 4 years. Anything I told you recently (because you asked) is old information. I have no desire to reintiate contact with her either.

So set your mind at ease.

When I Dream...

When I dream, all of my senses get involved. I have the sensation of color, 3-D, binaural sound, touch, temperature, pain, taste, and smell; in short, I have a virtual body. But there’s a few things I can do in my dreams that I can’t do in real life. I can fly, change the scenery, or even teleport from place to place. In my dreams I can call a person’s name, or just mention it in conversation with someone else, and they’ll show up. Are your dreams this vivid? This lucid? This fluid? Or am I one of only a handful?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to one and all, and I do mean all! God loves you, and so do I!

OK, OK! I say uncle!

I just give up, like the egg that knows when it’s beat, or the stamp that knows when it’s licked. I don’t care anymore. I am resigned from fighting for a marriage that was dead a long time ago, and I am resigned to the will of God, whatever that includes or requires. I’m giving up trying to impress someone who no longer cares. I just give up.

Something on my Mind

To the one who I care most about: Do you remember that bead necklace you made for me when we were dating? This might sound funny to you, but the Lord has been speaking to me about the attitude I had towards it. Oh, dear! What am I trying to say? Remember how I said it was nice and all, but “there are seven colors in the rainbow, not six”? Then I gave it back, as though it were a purchased item that needed to be reworked. I ought to have accepted the necklace just as you had made it, six colors and all, and said nothing, because of who it was from. God has been convicting me of how wrong I was to have such an attitude of superiority towards you and your gift. So I’m writing this post to ask, “Will you forgive me?”

Give us this day Our Daily Bread...

Thank you to whoever it was that signed me up to receive Our Daily Bread a couple of months or so ago. It’s been a real spiritual boost to me. I don’t know who you are, but whoever you are, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

On Our Society’s Basis

From what I can determine of the extensive list of quotes in the previous post’s comment, it appears that every last one of them has been taken out of context. I’d be more than happy to quote a counterexample of things that all of those men said in defense of the Biblical and Christian basis for society and the institution of government. I guarantee there’s at least two quotes that I can find to match every one quote of yours!

You’re welcome to get your own blog if you want to rant about religious relativism.

Return to Values

We need to return to the values on which our society has been based. Truth is eternal. Society and what behavior is tolerated may change, but God’s Word never changes. Laws may be repealed, go unenforced, or be struck down by courts, but God’s Law never changes. God doesn’t change with the times. We need to get back to some of the cold, hard, factual truths of Scripture, like “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Let’s stop trying to make each other feel better, straight into Hell. Instead, let’s rescue the perishing, and turn them from their wicked ways. We were all born sinners, and there’s no getting around that. But Jesus, the only Son of God, came into this world with no human father, lived a life of a human without sinning, died in our place on a literal cross, was actually buried, and did in fact resurrect from a state of physical death to a state of physical life. Belief of the Truth concerning the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life is vitally essential to salvation. “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” (Acts 16:31)

Katrina: God’s Judgment?

I recently got an email asking if I thought the hurricane known as Katrina was the judgment of God or not. Let me put this into perspective. Those who think every natural event or accident is somehow God’s judgment should be asking themseleves why something hasn’t yet happened to them. Rather than seeing each disaster as God’s wrath, let’s view it as a sign of his mercy when people are able to escape it, despite the few who didn’t. But there’s another perspective, as well. Read Luke 13:1-5.

That’s better!

Re: Wisdom Toothache, my mouth is no longer giving me much trouble! If you’ve been praying for me, thank you.

Wisdom Toothache

Wow! I didn’t know a little thing could cause so much trouble! My left upper wisdom tooth is falling apart, and I have pain in the entire left side of my mouth, including the upper and lower jaw, my cheek, and my tounge! It hurts to bite, and it hurts to chew. if you ever get a chance to let a wisdom tooth fall apart on you, you’ll know what this feels like. Ouch!

And why do they call them wisdom teeth, anyway?

Life is always changing.

I find that the better I do on my job, the more is expected of me. Now it is up to me to step up to the plate and hit better than my best, or lose the game. Filippo is counting on me; and I’ll either perform well or collapse trying. No more “X.Q. says.” ;-}

The Definition of a Know-It-All

I thought of this definition and thought I’d share it with you. It may not be original with me, but it bears repeating.

know-it-all

(n.) Someone who thinks he knows everything, but actually knows next to nothing.

Think about it.