Deed, Josh, Smokey and Lokey and five chicks arrived to say hi this morning.  Blaze went into his kennel as usual; when the box of chicks was put down in front of him he sniffed long and hard, watching them – showing interest, but confused as to what they were.

So, this has been a good week for lots of relatives visiting; Teresa and Ian, Wendy and Rose, Steven, Celinda and CeeCee, Velma and today, Deed, Josh and their dogs.  It is always nice to see them.

Had a bit of rain last night, not enough to wet anything down, sunny right now with some wind.  Hopefully the wind doesn’t dry things out too much before we can burn – so we can burn.

2 Peter 3:2-5  That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

³ Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

⁴ And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

⁵ For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

Too many American Christians are becoming too complacent – and in some ways to lazy.

They get their information on the Bible through Hollywood, not reading the Bible for themselves.

Rather than read and contemplate what the Word of God says, they need to have visual teaching that is filtered through the world’s view of God.

They have so much on their plate, between family, work and play, that they don’t have time to study God’s Word and digest it for themselves, so they let others do it for them.

King James Version of the Bible’s language too archaic?  Let’s make it more modern – and if the publisher wants to change the interpretation a bit, that’s okay because chances are few Christians will notice the difference and will follow the new guidelines – thus watering down or changing the message.

The Old Testament is a valuable part of God’s Word, it laid the foundation for Christ’s coming.  Jesus used it often in both His teaching and His response to those that challenged Him.  The Apostles did the same thing.

Yet, too many Christians are willing to cast the Old Testament aside and concentrate on the New Testament only.  While the New Testament indeed addresses the importance of living a life for Christ, giving both examples and guidelines, focusing on that portion of the Bible, only, can give a near sighted view of who God is and what He wants of His followers.

Many feel the New Testament focuses on the Love God has for us, instead of the authority of God to demand holiness from His people – and if they don’t obey He will chastise them.  Because these preachers and teachers focus on the Love of God and do not acknowledge the nature of God, the world says that God is caring and He would never punish anyone as He did in the Old Testament.

The world view of God is one of never offending and always forgiving – not taking into account that a person must ask for forgiveness through His Son Jesus.  They gloss over that requirement.

God is love.  But God is also a strict disciplinarian.  The God of the Old Testament is the SAME God in the New Testament.

And God says:  Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, I change not;  

If you haven’t noticed I tend to be a talker – and in so doing I may not be as selective on words I use as I should be – that can lead to misunderstandings.  I can become careless with my wording and thus not as productive as I should be – I can remember getting into a classroom ‘discussion’ with a teacher in high school. 

We had both made our points and the teacher was trying to move on, but I responded to each remark he made – he looked at me and said something like, you always have to have the last word, don’t you?  I said yes.  So, I haven’t changed, much.

When I must choose my words with care, I can do it, but in most situations I don’t worry about it, but as I have said before, that can lead to misunderstandings.  I know that is a weakness of mine and I really am trying to be more aware of it.

Most Hollywood and television interpretations of the Word of God have ‘artistic’ license claims by the Director, writers and producers.  They say that while the Bible says this, they believe it really meant to say something else.

Or for the sake of drama they add things and change things up.  In order to fill up the time frame they add characters and lines that often throw a twist on the theme that is not according to the actual meaning God wanted.

Then we have preachers and teachers that appear to be preaching the Word of God, but, knowing most Christians will not study and research what they have been told, will deliberately manipulate the message for their, not God’s, benefit.

We do not have to rely on our own interpretation of God’s Word; we can contact dedicated Christians, or use commentaries that are written by solid Christians whose only purpose is to help others understand God, not to bolster their own agenda.

The key is that what is said, must match up with God’s Word, not by a line or two, but the context of those lines and the Word of God as a whole.  That is why, when we hear/read/see something that doesn’t seem right we do our own research.  When we hear/read/see something that seems correct, we do our own research.

Even while Christ was alive and teaching there were those that chose to use His Words incorrectly to try and discredit Him or for their own benefit.

After Christ died the Apostles made it clear that there were people within the church that were leading others astray and the Christians must judge what they are saying with God’s Word.

Jesus taught and preached; the other writers of the Scriptures wrote and preached the importance of studying all of God’s Word which included the Old Testament.

In this day and age there are many outlets that vie for our attention.  There are many clever people that know how lazy we have become and know that they can use their skills to both manipulate people and lead them astray.

We must be suspicious of everything being written or said, we must challenge those that say and write them for proof because we cannot find support from the Scriptures.

We must use the whole Word of God, understanding that what God said in the Old Testament is extremely important for our understanding of who He is, and what He requires – and the danger of disobedience; That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again