Love

Love is a gift, one that brings happiness. What are aspects of love that will enhance happiness?

Coming to know and love you Maker is the most important love. (Matt 22:37)

Caring love should extend even to a stranger. 

(Luke 10:30-35)

True love is selfless. (1 Cor 10:24)

Real love isn't about receiving, it's about giving. (Acts 20:35)

Genuine love is felt inside and shown by actions. (Mark 1:40-42)

Hopeful love motivates us to be kind to those who dislike or even hate us (Matt 5:44)

Proverbs

The bible book of Proverbs has so many wise sayings, ancient wisdom that is as practical today as ever. Here are a few I like:

11:14: Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety. ESV. 

Humans need clear direction and guidance. They look to governments but so often are left disappointed. When there are those who give fine advise on how to do things, people are benefited.

13:20 The one walking with the wise will become wise, But the one who has dealings with the stupid will fare badly. NWT 

Associations need to be chosen wisely, especially for youths. Get in with the wrong crowd and it all turn to custard. However, good friends and good advice will be of great benefit to us.

18:17 The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. ESV. 

Have we ever heard something about a person and said "How terrible they did (or said) that"? Then later we heard the other side of the story and realised that the situation is very different to what we first thought. There are two sides to a story.

22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. KJV. 

Good training and clear boundaries allow a child thrive. They may resist their implementation at the time, but will thank you later when they realise that it was for their good. In fact when they become adults themselves, these will become their standards for life too.

The Other You

Without researching the subject but thinking about human consciousness, I have concluded we have two of us. One is the conscious awareness and the other a sub-conscious running in the background. The former runs for about 16 hours a day, the other 24. They don't seem to communicate with each other either. One  makes decisions based on our reasoning, the other on maintaining and protecting us.

A classic example is found in yo-yo dieting. When a person makes a decision to diet, then stops, and starts again, the conscious side knows what's happening. You are trying to lose weight. The sub-conscious side doesn't get that message and thinks that survival could be at stake with such an unreliable food supply. It goes into action and stores supplies in the form of fat to preserve us. It doesn't ask what's going on, it simply takes what it feels is the safest course.

That is frustrating, but without the sub-conscious side, we couldn't live. For 24 hours a day it operates quietly in the background, making sure the body is functioning well, organising our immune system, supplying nutrients and removing wastes, repairing and restoring all without a conscious thought needed. At night it beavers away doing essential chores. It also seems to organise dreaming.

Have you ever had a dream where what happens isn't to your liking, but you cannot stop it? If it's your dream, why can't you write the script? Your conscious side would, but remember the sub-conscious side doesn't work that way. It does what you need, not what you want.

Without those two sides to our consciousness, we could not survive. Our Creator has thought of everything to enable us to function and enjoy it. Imagine having to do everything through our conscious side. We wouldn't be able to cope, having to control every function with our thoughts. The 'other you' t frees us up to get on with the world around us, while it keeps us healthy and strong. We are certainly wonderfully made!

The Other Realm

Our ancestors were tribal originally and in that time were aware of another realm. It became part of their worship and culture. They were helped by that connection, but also had to pay a price in return. This usually involved rites that appeased their contacts through inhuman cruelty. They often were led to believe they were dealing with dead ancestors, who went from nice people to demanding and wicked. That doesn't make anysense.

Today we are surrounded by a modern world of things that instead means we rely on a technological system to survive. Watch Bear Grylls to see how much we need mollycoddling. The spirit realm is largely ignored except for a few. My step-grandmother could predict the future with unerring accuracy. My mother asked to be trained to also do it, but was told do not try. The power that she tapped into frightened her, she was scared of it.

Why would such a force be like that when all it gave her was foreknowledge? Is it possible it was the same spiritual realm that our ancestors found to be on the one hand helpful but on the other so sadistic and cruel? The answer doesn't come from me but from a book that was written at the time ancient people had to deal with such matter more openly.

Deuteronomy 18:10-12 reads (NIV): 9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God.

The reason is because such behaviour brings us into contact with evil, sadistic spirits, even if they try to appear helpful and benevolent. So how should we contact the other realm? There are numerous references in the Bible that show it is through humble, sincere prayer. That way we speak to our Creator, our Heavenly Father, not the wicked rebels that also inhabit that unseen world. In that way we please our father for taking the right side of the divide.

What a wonderful world we were given by our loving heavenly Father

The Super Cynic

It has been said that a cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. I think of a cynic or the act of being cynical as doubting something and being cautious about believing. I see three divisions of people in this.

The non-cynic: Those who are quick to accept and trust. Ideal candidates for Paradise, a place we could be trusting everyone. In this world such people are taken advantage of because it is anything but a Paradise morally.

The balanced cynic: They don't just believe - but can be convinced - and will change when something is reasonably proven. They do not need total proof to show some faith.

The super cynic: This is one who has turned a necessary quality into a weakness by being excessively cynical. To give an example, when my mother was young, a relative told my grandfather that at a certain place and time an apparition would appear. He said that was rubbish and that he would prove it. He went and stationed himself at the location and time described.

The next morning my young mum ran to her dad to find out what happened. He said the apparition appeared and he tried to investigate what it was, but couldn't explain it. My mum asked what he thought, and as the super cynic he was, said that were things we could not explain.

This is why the super cynic fails. My granddad found out something that blew his cynicism out of the water, then dismissed it with a glib response. Did he investigate any further? Did he change his beliefs in anyway? No, he remained with the same beliefs all his life. The super cynic has turned doubt into a state where they are in a mental rut. I recall explaining to a man why I believed in God and he couldn't argue with the reasoning, but finished off with a "We'll find out when we die".

Super cynics are forever doubting and are comfortable there. It's easy and requires nothing of them. They are either too proud or too lazy to accept a new idea and run with it. I have a necessary dose of cynicism to protect me. However, I don't want so much of it so that I refuse to act when clearly there is good reason to do so. Surely none of us wants to be a super cynic. It could stop us finding truth.

Finding The Origin Of Life

When I look into the sky at night I feel small. When I watch a bird in action, the instinctive wisdom that enables it to survive leaves me in awe. Then I reflect on the incredible human journey from conception to birth and it is beyond comprehension. I Think of how the cells divide into different functioning tissue and I gasp. No one on earth can really explain how it happens.


I then wonder where all the water came from. Those who deny creation have theories, but as to why all other planets missed out on such random distribution doesn't add up. That plus the sheer volume of water can lead to only one rational conclusion.

If you are looking for you car keys and decide they have to be in the garage, that is where you look. If they on the coffee table in the lounge, you will never find them. If someone suggests look in the house but you insist they aren't there, you will never find the truth of where they are. You will be going nowhere until you decide to open your mind to the possibility they are in the house.

When one decides to find the answer to our existence by refusing to accept creation, that is like a detective ruling out lines of enquiry based on prejudice. As the American Standard Version says "they have rejected the word of Jehovah; and what manner of wisdom is in them?" When I hear some of the explanations of evolution, I shake my head. I watched someone on TV discussing the origin of the whale. I was embarrassed for him, it was such nonsense.

Finding the truth starts with examining all possibilities. When young I read books on evolution and went to religious meetings. I prayed that if creation is true, that God would help me appreciate that. I wanted an answer but but not by closing off any option. Then one day, I read an article about creation and I got it. I have since discussed the subject with many, which has strengthen my faith as nothing else has that ring of truth. I know the earth and life on it was introduced by an awesome intelligence. It's amazing when you find Him.

Be As A Young Child

Children see things simply, in black and white. They are honest, without thought of rank, nor prejudiced. It is when we get older, our complicated world makes us change. There become grey areas of honesty, we are constantly ranked and then start doing that to others, we find reasons to prejudge on some basis. Out of all that we can become cynical, distrusting, proud and self-centred.

When a wise man of many years ago was asked by his position seeking followers who was the greatest, he replied "Unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!" What an interesting angle, to be like children and therefore seeing things simply, openly. Then our ego becomes irrelevant.

Modern society makes this simple view of life a real challenge. It clouds our thinking, motives and desires. Material success is held out as something to be striven for, usually at the expense of time spent with family, at worship or opportunity to just to stop and meditate. That is because it demands so much from us to get there, yet there is no 'there'. It is a mirage that keeps moving away, so we have to keep chasing this illusion.

The most important thing we have is life, for without it nothing else matters. Then should come thanks or worship of the One who gave us life. After that those around us from family to good friends. Good health is a real asset too. Then comes work, possessions and the like. We need to live and money to do that, but we don't need that much.

As for any manager who expects you to neglect more important things to slave for his benefit, he needs a wake up call. Give 100% at whatever you do secularly, but unless you can nurture the much more important things, find another job if you can. I was a manager but as long as the staff gave their best at work, I knew they then had the right to enough time for what really matters. In that way they start feeling as young children do, seeing things simply and clearly.

Mother Nature

I was watching a TV show about animals and to kick it off the narrator had to put in about evolution. It wasn't necessary but it is as if they have to. 'Mother nature' was also mentioned which got me wondering. Why is evolution spoken of as a fact when it is still a theory? Also, what is this amazing maternal force that guides the natural world?

Firstly, evolution. It has never been proven and cannot be proven. How can it, when the basis for it is an explosion that caused it to happen? Have you ever heard of a creative explosion? House cleaning would be a breeze if rolling a stick of explosive into each room did the trick. It is impossible for an explosion to do anything that is remotely constructive. Would an explosion have caused all this water that envelops this planet for example?

Secondly, this 'mother nature' thing. Apparently ancient pagan peoples believed in a maternal goddess of nature and fertility. It was the force behind the natural world. Amazingly, evolutionists talk of this pagan deity as if they believe in it too. Does that sound like a reasoned scientific deduction or hocus pocus? The pagan tribes that worshiped gods and goddesses have more in common with modern, 'reasoned' evolutionists than you would think.


In summary, denying the existence of a powerful God leads one to illogical conclusions. As the NWT Translation says: "Look! They have rejected the word of Jehovah, and what wisdom do they have?"

PS. The above narrator  pronounced evolution "evil-ution". To refuse to give to the wonderful Maker of this universe any credit for His handiwork is truly an evil thing to do.

You Have To Make Time To Pray

I got up early one morning
and rushed right into the day
I had so much to accomplish
that I didn't have time to pray

Problems just tumbled about me
and heavier came each task
'Why doesn't God help me?' I wondered
He answered, 'You didn't ask'

I wanted to see joy and beauty
but the day toiled on gray and bleak
I wondered why God didn't show me
He said, 'But you didn't seek'

I tried to come into God's presence
I used all my keys at the lock
God gently and lovingly chided
'My servant, you didn't knock'

I woke up early this morning
and paused before entering the day
I had so much to accomplish
that I had to take time to pray

Humans And Power

They say power corrupts. It does so whether it is in politics, business, religion and in any other setting where people are given authority over others. It is manifest in many ways but is fundamentally shown by attitude. The few having power looking down on the many without it. They feel superior and aloof. It has gone on for thousands of years.

The religious leaders in Israel around the first century felt superior to the common people who worked the land. A prominent religious sect of Judaism was the Pharisees, who had power and influence within the nation. Jesus once visited the house of a Pharisee for dinner. He upset them by allowing a woman of ill repute to touch him. They said to each other “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is — that she is a sinner.” NIV.

You can feel the contempt they had for her. Their power had led them to look down on those struggling with life and they would not even try to help them. Jesus showed that she needed help, not scorn nor rejection. Jesus saw the good and the desire for repentance by what she was doing for him. The Pharisees would never try to help her, no matter what she did to change.


So if we have authority over others, how do we view them? Do we show respect for such ones or do we find ourselves feeling superior? In other words, are we like Jesus or are we a Pharisee? What would those under us say?

The Senility Prayer

Please grant me:


The senility to forget the people I never liked anyway.


The good fortune to run into the ones I do.


The eyesight to tell the difference.

The King James Version

The King James Version of the bible is four hundred years old this year. It is still used by millions of people around the world and for many viewed as the only Bible for the English speaker. I personally do not agree that it is the only Bible to use and to illustrate that, please read on.

The Model T Ford is a part of automotive history. At the time, it was a good automobile that brought transport to the masses. However, surely no one would want to buy one now. Cars have moved on and are better transport than before.
Likewise, the King James Bible is part of Bible translation history. At the time, it was a good translation that brought God's Word to the masses in the the English language. However, there are better English translations around now.
Today, ancient languages are better understood than they were in 1611. Also, more and older manuscripts of the Bible have been found since. What has been gleaned has been put into the new translations of today. So just as car making has improved, so has Bible translation.

Some feel that the KJ Version is inspired, so therefore irreplaceable. The original writings certainly were inspired but for a translation to be so, it would have to be without flaw. All God's works are indeed perfect. The KJ isn't flawless, as is the case with every translation. None of them are inspired of God in the way the original writings were. Even copies were not inspired, as mistakes have been found there also. The copyists did a marvelous job, as do Bible translators today, but only the writers were inspired.

The KJ Version deserves to be acknowledged for it's contribution in spreading the Word Of God. Still, there are so many better translations around today, so why not move on and use one of these? After all, who of us today drive a Model T?

What's In A Name?

I have noticed this year that there has been some publicity to the fact that Christmas is not Christian, but in reality a pagan festival with a Christian name. Many people defend this, saying as long as it celebrates Christ's birth, it's doesn't matter.

Well imagine you got rich suddenly and you decided to treat yourself to a Bentley car. You go to the showroom and there is a car with Bentley nameplates, but it looks suspiciously like your neighbour's Kia car. You ask the salesman why a Korean car has a Bentley logo on it and is sitting in his dealership. He admits the car originated from a Kia factory in Korea, but he assures you that now it has a Bentley name, it is a true Bentley. Would you swallow that?

Then why do people think that putting a Christian name on a festival from pagan times in Europe suddenly make it a true Christian festival? You wouldn't buy the Kia with a Bentley label, so why follow a pagan festival with Christ's name associated with it?

The bottom line: A label simply doesn't change what is underneath it.

Cast Your Bread Upon The Waters...

In this world of shortsighted greed and selfishness, it would be easy to get down. However, if our lives have purpose, meaning and direction, then we will be happier. If our purpose, meaning and direction is more on doing for others than ourselves, then the happiness is enduring. Sometimes you see that some are just using your kindness, in which case you need to back off from such individuals. Find those that appreciate you and what you do for them. Giving is a two way street and when they can, appreciative receivers give back too. That is it says in the Bible: "Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again".

When we find happiness, then we need to appreciate what we have and enjoy the fruitage of selfless acts. Sharing laughter with one who cares is priceless...

Our Existence

Humans think they are clever. We have technology that can do so much to make life more comfortable and extend our life expectancy - for those lucky enough to live in a country with such advances available anyway. It gives people the feeling that anything is attainable to man.

However, imagine if the best scientific brains were brought together in the finest state of the art laboratory. They were given an unlimited budget and told they had an assignment. That was not to invent something new, but just copy from scratch something that is relatively simple and abundant. That thing is a living grass seed. Do you think they could do it? They wouldn't have a chance. These scientists can dissect a seed, examine it and know how it functions but replicate it they could not, nor ever will be able to. It's beyond humans.

When I think of such things, it leaves me humbled and in awe. Awe about how the grass seed and how all things got to be as they are. If the best brains of this world, in a magnificent laboratory, with money no object cannot even start to copy simple things around us, then random chance certainly didn't do it. No, the intelligence behind life on this planet leaves me overwhelmed. When one reaches that state of mind, then one is truly receptive to look upward and worship the One responsible for our existence and the wonders of our earth.