Margaret Mead, the famous cultural anthropologist, not necessarily known as an apologist for God, is said to have made the observation to a student that she considered the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture to be a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. In the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. No animal survives long enough for the bone to heal without the assistance of someone to bind the wound, provide safety, and promote recovery. “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32 KJV).
Author: Ken
Voice of God: Not in the Thoughts of the Wicked
“The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4 KJV). Surely the Psalmist speaks only metaphorically, or is he? If God must be in all our thoughts, then everyone must be ungodly. No. We must be underestimating how God inhabits the thoughts of the godly. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2Corinthians 10:5 KJV). Let us treat every thought as if we were listening to God, then we would not be as the wicked. Amen?
Voice of God: In Our Thoughts
We need to quit treating our thoughts as if they were our own creation and comprehend they come from God. “The thoughts of the righteous are right” (Proverbs 12:5 KJV). It may startle us to think this since often in the past we have stifled good thoughts and replaced them with idle thoughts, which serve only as the springboard for temptation then sin. But, the “thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness [Hebrew, môthâr, profit, abundance]” (21:5), because they flow from the mind of God. “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end [Hebrew, literally, ‘a future and a hope,’ the future you hoped for, ‘future filled with hope’ (NET)]” (Jeremiah 29:11 KJV). If we want to keep the conversation going with God, we must acknowledge and honor God in all our thoughts. Amen?
How God Talks to Ordinary People
In 2006, Bruce Van Natta was saved by two angels (23:21) from being cut in half by a logging truck, which fell off its temporary supporting jack. Surviving surgery and the loss of the majority of his intestines — only to be restored by prayer — Bruce believes in miracles (Kindle book). More significantly, Bruce believes God talks to ordinary people like you and me, but we don’t realize it because we are not listening. His book particularly discusses how God talks to us — and, not just through Scripture. “God, who at sundry times and in divers [many] manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds” (Hebrews 1:1-2 KJV).
Hamas Kidnapped A Gaza Imam For Refusing To Support The Resistance
Mohammed Mushtaha, imam at Dhu ‘l-Nurayn mosque in Shuja’iyah in Gaza, was kidnapped by Hamas last week, according to his son, Ala Mohammed Mushtaha, in a January 4, 2024 article in The Free Press. “He wouldn’t preach what Hamas told him to. He refused to tell Gazans that violent resistance and obedience to Hamas, is the best way out of our current hell.” Using mosques to store weapons, money, and equipment were not enough for Hamas. They required this refusing imam to support their resistance movement in his sermons. He refused for conscience sake. Pray for his safety, for men of conscience, God can reach and use. “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men” (Acts 24:16 KJV).
Embarrassment of Riches
Christians have been given an embarrassment of riches of “all things are yours” (1Corinthians 3:21 KJV) through Christ. For the one who has understood, absolutely believed, and resolutely confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, an Unlimited God gave that universal promise to us. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9 KJV).
Rebuking the Devil
“Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing [prideful, boastful] accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee” (Jude 1:9 KJV). Christians must contend or fight the enemy not in our own strength, but the “Lord rebuke thee” (1:9). Victory is humbly ours with the LORD’s safety and protection, when we contend with the Serpent Michael’s way. In the name of Jesus, we rebuke thee [the Devil]. Amen.
Anxious for Nothing
“Be careful [Greek, merimnaō, anxious] for nothing” (Philippians 4:6 KJV) means we shouldn’t worry about anything. It’s practically impossible not to worry, unless we’re really persuaded God is listening to our prayers. “But in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6 KJV). We ask and petition God with gratitude concerning whatever is on our mind. Not only does He supply our needs, but it fortifies our faith, when we are doing whatever we can cooperating with God. What a wonderful exchange! “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7 KJV). And, God is always giving more than we know to ask (Ephesians 3:20)!
Health of My Countenance
The wonders of a vibrant auto immune system, medical science understands its underlying importance. Good clean living, others attribute to their longevity. Who or what holds us together? Our God. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 42:11; 43:5 KJV).
An Economist’s Lament
“In the long run we are all dead,” said John Maynard Keynes of ‘buy now pay later’ fame. If death is the end of it all, then humanity’s long term outlook is dismal. But, hope can only spring from an unlimited, everlasting, all caring God. “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13 KJV).
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