How's that lentil dish tasting?
It still isn't worth the loss of your birthright, you know.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Saturday, February 25, 2017
Second Bean Dish Question
Ahem. All you Christians who voted for Donald Trump, I'm back with another question.
Happiness Is A Choice, You Know
"Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be."
--Abraham Lincoln
There is an acronym that is common with the use of computers. It is called "GIGO" and it means "garbage in, garbage out". The implication is that if you program nonsense figures - garbage - into a computer, that's all you're going to get out of it.
It also applies to life in general. If you go about the day expecting bad things to happen, they generally will. You've allowed the garbage of negative feelings to turn your day into garbage.
In this day, when it seems like there's bad news everywhere, what we put into ourselves emotionally can have either profound - or tragic - effects. Those of us who have the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior already have the greatest gift ever. But you have control over how your journey goes and what you take in - and focus on - can affect you, for better or worse.
To give you an example, let's use President Donald Trump. As you might already know, he wasn't my choice in the general election last fall, and I don't think that he's suitable to be president.
However, he is our president, and I have absolutely no control over that.
What I do have control over, though, is how happy I am. My happiness isn't dependent on who's president, or whether some sports team I like is winning. I've already got the greatest gift in the world from the Lord. I'm also married to a loving, wonderful wife, and we have two loving children.
There is so much blessing in my life, how can I let something I have no control over dictate to me how happy I can be? That's crazy talk.
You control how happy you are, and how you express yourself plays a big part in it.
Joel Osteen, senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, wrote in The Power Of I Am that our own words can have an effect on us and our lives. You can say "I am blessed and I am beautiful" or you can say, "I am cursed and I am ugly." Thus, you should choose your words and thoughts carefully.
When I go to work, my mindset and beliefs lead me to expect a good day. Admittedly, not every day is a good one. But my thoughts and expectations make the difference between looking forward to the workday and dreading the next bad thing that's going to happen.
The late Colonel William "Bull" Simons, when faced with a flight in very heavy turbulence, took a nap. He explained to one of the men flying with him that since there was nothing he could do about it, he might as well sleep.
That's the way to face difficulty. After all, there's a saying common to some Christians that goes like this: "Let go, and let God." In other words, let God handle the stuff that is beyond us.
A caution to those who believe that they need more money to be happy. If you're not happy before you get money, you probably won't be after you get more.
Money does not make a person happy, not matter what the wealth seekers claim. If I get wealthy, great. If I don't, then I'll still be happy.
Besides, loving money is dangerous. Remember that the Apostle Paul wrote that the love of money is the root of all evil.
Wealth is a lot more than just money, anyway. Many of us here in the United States are so blessed, especially when compared to people in the developing nations of the world.
What is really sad to me is seeing Christians who constantly talk negatively or are constantly unhappy. Happiness is a choice, and they choose to be unhappy - even with the knowledge of their salvation.
I'm never entirely certain why people choose to be unhappy. Do they feel let down by life, or left behind by others and their successes? Or is it a shielding mechanism designed to keep people away from them? I never really know, though I'm inclined to think that they don't know any other way to act.
Dealing with hateful Christians is bad enough, and I've written about them before, but constantly unhappy Christians are just plain sad.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
--Abraham Lincoln
There is an acronym that is common with the use of computers. It is called "GIGO" and it means "garbage in, garbage out". The implication is that if you program nonsense figures - garbage - into a computer, that's all you're going to get out of it.
It also applies to life in general. If you go about the day expecting bad things to happen, they generally will. You've allowed the garbage of negative feelings to turn your day into garbage.
In this day, when it seems like there's bad news everywhere, what we put into ourselves emotionally can have either profound - or tragic - effects. Those of us who have the Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior already have the greatest gift ever. But you have control over how your journey goes and what you take in - and focus on - can affect you, for better or worse.
To give you an example, let's use President Donald Trump. As you might already know, he wasn't my choice in the general election last fall, and I don't think that he's suitable to be president.
However, he is our president, and I have absolutely no control over that.
What I do have control over, though, is how happy I am. My happiness isn't dependent on who's president, or whether some sports team I like is winning. I've already got the greatest gift in the world from the Lord. I'm also married to a loving, wonderful wife, and we have two loving children.
There is so much blessing in my life, how can I let something I have no control over dictate to me how happy I can be? That's crazy talk.
You control how happy you are, and how you express yourself plays a big part in it.
Joel Osteen, senior pastor of Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, wrote in The Power Of I Am that our own words can have an effect on us and our lives. You can say "I am blessed and I am beautiful" or you can say, "I am cursed and I am ugly." Thus, you should choose your words and thoughts carefully.
When I go to work, my mindset and beliefs lead me to expect a good day. Admittedly, not every day is a good one. But my thoughts and expectations make the difference between looking forward to the workday and dreading the next bad thing that's going to happen.
The late Colonel William "Bull" Simons, when faced with a flight in very heavy turbulence, took a nap. He explained to one of the men flying with him that since there was nothing he could do about it, he might as well sleep.
That's the way to face difficulty. After all, there's a saying common to some Christians that goes like this: "Let go, and let God." In other words, let God handle the stuff that is beyond us.
A caution to those who believe that they need more money to be happy. If you're not happy before you get money, you probably won't be after you get more.
Money does not make a person happy, not matter what the wealth seekers claim. If I get wealthy, great. If I don't, then I'll still be happy.
Besides, loving money is dangerous. Remember that the Apostle Paul wrote that the love of money is the root of all evil.
Wealth is a lot more than just money, anyway. Many of us here in the United States are so blessed, especially when compared to people in the developing nations of the world.
What is really sad to me is seeing Christians who constantly talk negatively or are constantly unhappy. Happiness is a choice, and they choose to be unhappy - even with the knowledge of their salvation.
I'm never entirely certain why people choose to be unhappy. Do they feel let down by life, or left behind by others and their successes? Or is it a shielding mechanism designed to keep people away from them? I never really know, though I'm inclined to think that they don't know any other way to act.
Dealing with hateful Christians is bad enough, and I've written about them before, but constantly unhappy Christians are just plain sad.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
Sunday, February 19, 2017
No Hatred For Me, Please
"Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins."
Proverbs 10:12 (KJV)
If there's one thing I desire more and more lately, it's for all the hating to just stop. It seems like that there's hatred all over the place.
Hatred has many facets, and here are just a few:
--Racial hatred
--Regional hatred
--National hatred
--Religious hatred
--Gender hatred
--Political hatred
--Class hatred
--Sexual Orientation hatred
Allow me to repeat one of my mantras here: Hatred is a luxury you cannot afford. Not only do you murder another person's spirit, you can murder your own spirit. If you are a believer in Christ, hatred itself is enough to separate you from God.
It's just not worth it.
A lot of people are drawn into hatred by other people through unbelievably simple means. All the "hate leaders" (my words) have to know are your problems and difficulties. They then point at a target group and blame "them". Nazi Germany used the technique as a part of their their persecution of the Jews. As history shows, it was extremely effective.
The technique is still used to this day. Witness the recent attacks on Muslim immigrants, painting them all with the terrorist paintbrush, or the attacks on Mexicans coming to the United States, labeling them as drug dealers and rapists.
A "hate leader", by himself or herself, is not enough to start a hate build-up. You have to have people willing to submit to the hatred.
It's rather easy, it's sad to say. All you have to do is hate like the "hate leader" hates.
At one time, I listened to talk radio, though I didn't agree with a lot of what the hosts said. It was interesting to hear their points of view to find not only points of commonality, but also points of difference.
I had to stop listening, however. I not only found that I was being lied to, more often than not, but one host in particular spouted off so much hatred that it was starting to contaminate me.
I will not name that particular host, but I'm not surprised that Great Britain banned him from entering their country. The power of his hatred was apparent to others besides me, it seems.
There are few powerful tools that can help you better than research. Take whatever you are told by a speaker or a TV/radio host with a grain of salt. Critical examination of unquestioned beliefs, arguments, or philosophies is also vital.
That includes preachers, by the way.
Before you accuse me of liberal claptrap, allow me me to tell you something from my youth. As I have mentioned before, I grew up in a Fundamentalist Christian church. On occasion, our pastor would start his sermon by asking how many of us had brought our Bibles to church with us.
When too of us few did so, he would go into a rant on why we needed to have our Bibles with us, and why we needed to follow along as he preached and read from the Bible.
You see, the Jonestown massacre in Guyana had happened not too long before, and our pastor recognized the power and potential danger a charismatic preacher held.
In 1978, more than 900 people, most of them U.S. citizens, were killed in a mass murder/suicide at Jonestown. The leader, Jim Jones, preached a combination of Christianity and Marxism, along with a hefty dose of anti-U.S. Government paranoia.
Our pastor believed that if a charismatic preacher such as Jones could lead almost a thousand people (a third of them children) to their deaths, then so could others. He stated that it was the responsibility of church members/believers to make certain that the pastor preached from the word of God - no matter what church we were in.
Given the events of recent years, I've come to realize that my pastor's fears were well-founded.
Don't give in to hatred. Once you hit that particular pothole, it's so easy for you and your witness to fall apart. Hatred not only separates you from other people, it separates you from God.
"...and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF.
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
Romans 13:9 (last part) and 10
That's it for now.
Peace be unto you.
Proverbs 10:12 (KJV)
If there's one thing I desire more and more lately, it's for all the hating to just stop. It seems like that there's hatred all over the place.
Hatred has many facets, and here are just a few:
--Racial hatred
--Regional hatred
--National hatred
--Religious hatred
--Gender hatred
--Political hatred
--Class hatred
--Sexual Orientation hatred
Allow me to repeat one of my mantras here: Hatred is a luxury you cannot afford. Not only do you murder another person's spirit, you can murder your own spirit. If you are a believer in Christ, hatred itself is enough to separate you from God.
It's just not worth it.
A lot of people are drawn into hatred by other people through unbelievably simple means. All the "hate leaders" (my words) have to know are your problems and difficulties. They then point at a target group and blame "them". Nazi Germany used the technique as a part of their their persecution of the Jews. As history shows, it was extremely effective.
The technique is still used to this day. Witness the recent attacks on Muslim immigrants, painting them all with the terrorist paintbrush, or the attacks on Mexicans coming to the United States, labeling them as drug dealers and rapists.
A "hate leader", by himself or herself, is not enough to start a hate build-up. You have to have people willing to submit to the hatred.
It's rather easy, it's sad to say. All you have to do is hate like the "hate leader" hates.
At one time, I listened to talk radio, though I didn't agree with a lot of what the hosts said. It was interesting to hear their points of view to find not only points of commonality, but also points of difference.
I had to stop listening, however. I not only found that I was being lied to, more often than not, but one host in particular spouted off so much hatred that it was starting to contaminate me.
I will not name that particular host, but I'm not surprised that Great Britain banned him from entering their country. The power of his hatred was apparent to others besides me, it seems.
There are few powerful tools that can help you better than research. Take whatever you are told by a speaker or a TV/radio host with a grain of salt. Critical examination of unquestioned beliefs, arguments, or philosophies is also vital.
That includes preachers, by the way.
Before you accuse me of liberal claptrap, allow me me to tell you something from my youth. As I have mentioned before, I grew up in a Fundamentalist Christian church. On occasion, our pastor would start his sermon by asking how many of us had brought our Bibles to church with us.
When too of us few did so, he would go into a rant on why we needed to have our Bibles with us, and why we needed to follow along as he preached and read from the Bible.
You see, the Jonestown massacre in Guyana had happened not too long before, and our pastor recognized the power and potential danger a charismatic preacher held.
In 1978, more than 900 people, most of them U.S. citizens, were killed in a mass murder/suicide at Jonestown. The leader, Jim Jones, preached a combination of Christianity and Marxism, along with a hefty dose of anti-U.S. Government paranoia.
Our pastor believed that if a charismatic preacher such as Jones could lead almost a thousand people (a third of them children) to their deaths, then so could others. He stated that it was the responsibility of church members/believers to make certain that the pastor preached from the word of God - no matter what church we were in.
Given the events of recent years, I've come to realize that my pastor's fears were well-founded.
Don't give in to hatred. Once you hit that particular pothole, it's so easy for you and your witness to fall apart. Hatred not only separates you from other people, it separates you from God.
"...and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF.
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
Romans 13:9 (last part) and 10
That's it for now.
Peace be unto you.
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Response To A Question From A Friend
In my previous post, I wrote about Nazi Reichmarshal Herman Goering and his quote about how easy it was to get the populace behind a war. A friend asked me if I admired Goering since it was a somewhat extensive quote.
No.
Herman Goering was a sad excuse for a human being. He helped the Nazis rise to power, helped to rob and persecute the Jews of Europe, enriched himself at the expense of many people - Jewish or not - and used his Luftwaffe to bomb his neighboring countries.
He used his power to destroy political opponents and to frame generals who challenged his power. He lived like a king while the German people suffered the deprivations of wartime shortages.
His quote, however, was rather chilling, in just how accurate it really is. After learning the power of advertisers and how governments use their secrets to influence people, it's even more chilling.
Some of the quotes I'll write about are from people I admire. Some, however, I don't admire. That doesn't mean that what they said isn't important.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
No.
Herman Goering was a sad excuse for a human being. He helped the Nazis rise to power, helped to rob and persecute the Jews of Europe, enriched himself at the expense of many people - Jewish or not - and used his Luftwaffe to bomb his neighboring countries.
He used his power to destroy political opponents and to frame generals who challenged his power. He lived like a king while the German people suffered the deprivations of wartime shortages.
His quote, however, was rather chilling, in just how accurate it really is. After learning the power of advertisers and how governments use their secrets to influence people, it's even more chilling.
Some of the quotes I'll write about are from people I admire. Some, however, I don't admire. That doesn't mean that what they said isn't important.
That's all for now.
Peace be unto you.
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