tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91012542559552381992024-03-12T21:18:16.949-04:00David's ThoughtsOccasional thoughts which I hope will both challenge and encourage you in your walk of faith. First, pointing to the One 'who saves' and second, help strengthen the faith given to you by the One who saves by sharing my own thoughts and experiences of God's faithfulness.David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-67074461354896008132019-01-21T15:10:00.002-05:002019-01-21T17:20:29.644-05:00FACT CHECK NO 1. CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL WARMING - "97% OF SCIENTISTS AGREE"<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all of the time."</i> <a href="https://historynewsnetwork.org/article/161924" target="_blank">Attributed to Abraham Lincoln.</a> I decided I don't want to be in any of these three categories. I am only interested in one thing, truth.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Theories abound when it comes to the topics of climate change and global warming. Many are not knowledgeable enough to even distinguish between the two. So much of what we hear from the politicians, the media, what read online, much of the [supposed] scientific community, the 'tree-huggers' and the 'conspiracy theorists' (deniers), etc. are falsehoods and distortions of fact, that it is almost impossible to know which side is up and what information can be trusted for us to form knowledgeable opinions.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If hard, physical, scientific evidence is irrefutable, why is disagreement on the topic so polarizing? Are the disagreements valid? Which [side] is right, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_change_denial" target="_blank">Climate Change Deniers</a> or the Chicken Littles who run around shouting, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz1OzRM4L4Y" target="_blank">"The sky is falling!"</a>? Perhaps the truth is hidden somewhere in between?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I watched an interesting video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtHreJbr2WM&feature=share" target="_blank">Climate Science and the Myths of Renewable Energy</a> by Steve Goreham. Goreham made numerous statements concerning climate change, global warming and renewable energy in his video, so I decided to investigate each topic, one-by-one.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This blog/article endeavours to provide FACTS; not opinions, not theories, not speculation, just simple, verifiable facts; a <a href="https://www.snopes.com/about-snopes/" target="_blank">SNOPES</a> of climate change and global warming, if you will. Individuals who read this article and find verifiable errors are invited to submit suggestions so corrections can be made where warranted, so this article will constantly be a work in progress. Attribution links are embedded. So, here we go...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>FACT CHECK No. 1</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/mtHreJbr2WM?t=1690" target="_blank">"Ninety-seven percent of scientists agree: climate change is real, man-made and dangerous."</a> President Barack Obama.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/barackobama/status/335089477296988160?lang=en" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="1244" height="224" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-q2QK-WL-ego/XEYG0sl2FNI/AAAAAAAAE8Y/uaBF95FhcOE7tlzLNxTw7fnI99cA7H6ZQCLcBGAs/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-21%2Bat%2B12.49.47%2BPM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Is this an outrageous claim, or is there an ounce of truth?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The statistic to which Obama refers was obtained from an <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/sites/default/files/legacy/testfolder/aa-migration-to-be-deleted/assets-delete-me/documents-delete-me/ssi-delete-me/ssi/DoranEOS09.pdf" target="_blank">on-line survey conducted by Doran and Zimmerman in 2009</a>. <i>"</i></span><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">An invitation to participate in the survey was sent to 10,257 Earth scientists. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The database was built from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Directory-Geoscience-Departments-45th-2007/dp/0922152799" target="_blank">Keane and </a></span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Directory-Geoscience-Departments-45th-2007/dp/0922152799" target="_blank">Martinez</a> </i>[</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Directory of Geoscience Departments, 45th Edition, 2007]</span><i style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">"</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> Two questions were asked: </span><br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1. When compared with pre-1800s levels, do you think that mean global temperatures have generally risen, fallen, or </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">remained relatively constant? </span></span></i></blockquote>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2. Do you think human activity is a significant contributing factor in changing </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">mean global temperatures?"</span></span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The survey had a 30.7% response rate (90% of which were from the USA). Of the 3,146 respondents 79 were climatologists (2.5% of respondents). Of the climatologists, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> 96.2% </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(76 of 79) answered “risen” to question 1 </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and 97.4% (75 of 77) answered "yes" to question 2. No names are provided so the results are unverifiable. This is where the "ninety-seven percent" statistic comes from.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Compare this statistic to a 2007 <a href="http://www.oism.org/pproject/s33p41.htm" target="_blank">mail-in petition organized by Frederick Seitz,</a> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Past President, <a href="http://www.nasonline.org/" target="_blank">National Academy of Sciences,</a> U.S.A., </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">President Emeritus, <a href="https://www.rockefeller.edu/" target="_blank">Rockefeller University</a>, which </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">31,487 American scientists (all listed by name) responded and signed i</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ncluding 9,029 with PhDs.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GWdZlp6x2bI/XEYUCuJIpTI/AAAAAAAAE8k/0q8qmZRzJyUBuOVOEc0ISD2WL6jJMtbpgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-21%2Bat%2B1.48.21%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="665" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GWdZlp6x2bI/XEYUCuJIpTI/AAAAAAAAE8k/0q8qmZRzJyUBuOVOEc0ISD2WL6jJMtbpgCLcBGAs/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-01-21%2Bat%2B1.48.21%2BPM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A summary scientific paper <i><a href="http://www.petitionproject.org/gw_article/GWReview_OISM150.pdf" target="_blank">Environmental Effects of Increased Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide </a></i>was mailed out with the petition request.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">One of the biggest issues we face today is strategic manipulation of the facts. For example, for the illustration below I divided the number of scientists who signed the petition by the 76 climate scientists referenced by Barack Obama to arrive at this result. The reality it is a meaningless number, just like the 97%.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What do you think?</span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-35513875623261050912018-11-26T09:38:00.001-05:002018-11-26T15:15:39.447-05:00LEVITICUS 18:22 - A TOUCHY SUBJECT<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D8SZAJFnXAw/W_wFPgsKYkI/AAAAAAAAE6w/DNq5MaxpcT44ShhJJJy51iT5Y_vs-Q0bQCLcBGAs/s1600/Leviticus-ppt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="1600" height="228" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D8SZAJFnXAw/W_wFPgsKYkI/AAAAAAAAE6w/DNq5MaxpcT44ShhJJJy51iT5Y_vs-Q0bQCLcBGAs/s640/Leviticus-ppt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART 1<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">LEVITICUS:
GOD’S LOVE STORY<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">THE GOSPEL
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am a huge proponent of always reading and
understanding Scripture in context. Read each word in the context of the verse,
read each verse in the context of the whole chapter, read the chapter in the
context of the whole book and read each book in context of the entire
Bible. Failure to do so inevitably leads to a corrupt understanding
of who God is, His love, His holiness, His Law and the life-lessons He wants us
to learn and act upon, and our devotion towards Him. Heeding my own
advice, I started my study at Leviticus 1:1 and found myself reading a love
story. The very same love story I had found in the gospels.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am not a biblical scholar, nor have I attended a
theological seminary - but I can read. With my tax-funded high school
education I did learn a little <i>comprehension</i>. Regrettably,
some choose to dwell in blissful and/or wilful ignorance of what God is
actually trying to teach them in the Scriptures. Believe it or not,
the <i>Book of Leviticus</i> is all about God drawing people back
into a covenant relationship, a precursor to that which He would fulfill with
His incarnation in Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">King David wrote in Psalm 1:1-3 <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Blessed
is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that
sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law
of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a
tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose
leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How often have you personally regarded the <i>Book
of Leviticus</i> as a litany of ritual offerings and sacrifices? An
endless inventory of do’s and don’ts? Bloody and painful stonings or burnings
for those who fail to follow God’s laws? What do you mean, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+19%3A19&version=NIV">I
can’t wear a denim shirt with leather elbow patches</a></span></span>?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As I started reading, looking beyond the do’s and
don’ts, I found phrases like, <i>”…it will be accepted on your behalf to
make atonement for you”, “fellowship offering”, “he will be forgiven”, “they
will be forgiven”, “the priest will make atonement for them for any of these
sins they have committed, and they will be forgiven”, “an expression of
thankfulness”, “freewill offering”, “Season all your grain offerings with salt.
Do not leave the salt of the <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2015&version=NIV">covenant</a></span></span><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"> </span>of
your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings,” <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”<u>They shouted for joy…</u>”</span> ”Be
assured that I will send my blessing for you…” </i>And on and on it goes.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Throughout Leviticus, as in the Gospels and the
rest of Scripture, God is calling His people back into a right relationship
with Himself, calling them to be holy, reminding them that He is holy, and
their sin needs to be confessed and atoned for in order for an intimate
relationship to be possible. In His divine wisdom and perfect sense of
justice, God established that a blood sacrifice was the only way for sin to be
dealt with; ultimately shedding His own blood so that the sin of anyone who
acknowledges the lordship of Jesus Christ may be forgiven. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">God is not petty</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">. He doesn’t make rules just to keep you in
check, to ‘yank your chain’ whenever He feels you’ve strayed too far. We
must always remember God is love. This must be the foundation of our
understanding of how we expect Him to act. Equally imperative is the fact
that God is perfectly holy and perfectly just. We cannot isolate one
aspect of who we understand God to be from any of the others, as soon as we do
that our understanding of what God is teaching us in Leviticus will fall
apart. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">We cannot isolate God’s
love and mercy from His justice and holiness</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There are four realities that God would have us
understand in interpreting and understanding His ‘lessons’ or statutes:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">God is
love. This means that His motivation in establishing ‘rules’ for us to
live by is ultimately for our benefit and our mutual (God and us) subsequent
joy. As any loving parent will caution a child, “Don’t touch that, it’s
hot. If you do, you’ll get burned.” God’s love for us is the
ultimate form and expression of love. It is selfless love.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">God is
Holy. This means no sin can come into His presence. Every sin must
be atoned for (dealt with).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">God is
just. Every decision God makes is perfectly just - the punishment <i>must</i> fit
the crime and can only be fully understood in the context of God’s absolute
holiness.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">God, out of His
grace, chose Abraham’s descendants, the Jewish people, to be set apart.
In this setting apart, this <i>choseness</i>, God wanted the Jewish
peoples to be a living example to the rest of the world; being visibly distinct
in living lives that reflected God’s covenant relationship with them, to keep
themselves unpolluted by the world and free from sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Not a single one of these characteristics of God
can be detached or isolated from the other. God’s sense of justice is in
no way diluted by His love and his love is not diluted by His justice.
Ultimately, justice for mankind’s sin has [had] to be meted out and it cost God
the death of His Son.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As we read through Leviticus you will discover
different kinds of statutes:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">1.</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Instructions
for restoring our relationship with God; acknowledgement/confession of our sin
to Him and offering a blood sacrifice (in Christ, God provided the ultimate
blood sacrifice, negating the need for animal sacrifice).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Instructions on
how to bring gifts of thanksgiving to God for His love and benevolence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Instructions
for those who were set apart to lead and teach His people (the Levites).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Instructions
for daily living (how to best take care of ourselves).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Actions that
are sinful; detestable or abominable to God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">[Wilful] ignorance of God’s Word is nothing
new. Jesus told the Pharisees <i>”<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">You nullify the Word of God</span></u> for the sake of your
traditions </i>[opinions and ideas<span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">]”</span><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15%3A6&version=NIV" target="_blank">Matthew 15:6</a></span></span>.</span> In addressing a
number of Sadducees (who were posing a hypothetical question) Jesus replied, “You<i>
are in error because <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">you do not
know the Scriptures</span></u><b> </b>or the power of God.</i>” <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22:28-30&version=NIV">Matthew
22:29</a></span></span><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"> </span>How often do we put God in a box, assuming
our reading of what God has said is in error (or that the text or translation
is in error) because it does not match our paradigm; our preconceived notions
or beliefs? Heaven forbid! Who are we to instruct God on what is right or
wrong?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART 2<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">LEVITICUS
18:22<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“If God is not sovereign over the land and its
people, then the land and its people become cut off from the Creator. A
God-centred worldview is replaced by a man-centred and self-centred
worldview. So the people of Israel drove God out of their lives to become
their own gods, masters of the land, their world, and their destiny. They
could now rewrite the law and redefine what was right and wrong, moral and
immoral.”</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">From the <i>Mystery of the Shemitah</i> by
Jonathan Cahn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Following
the many conversations that have arisen since the US Supreme Court’s decision
concerning same-sex marriage in June 2015, I notice a consistency in the way
individuals, including what seems a very large number of professing Christians,
twist the words of God, of Christ, to somehow place God’s love above God’s
justice. This is pure heresy! In Psalm 89:13 we read, <i>”<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Righteousness and<span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2014/10/seeking-justice-for-gods-people.html">justice</a></span></span></span> are</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">the foundation of Your throne</span></u>;
mercy and truth go before Your face.”</i> As soon as we start messing
around with the nature and attributes of God, He ceases to be God.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It
is this light that <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+18%3A22+&version=NKJV">Leviticus
18:22</a></span></span> becomes an immovable object in any discussion
concerning same-sex relationships. <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Leviticus 18:22 is as unambiguous as it is possible to be</span></u>.
Unlike some other Scriptures Leviticus 18:22 is not susceptible to
misinterpretation; you don’t need to compare it to other Scriptures, you don’t
have to interpret it the context of other Scriptures or historic times, it’s
meaning is not diluted in differing translations. It is not contradictory
to any other Law or Scripture. There is no subtlety of ambiguity in what
God says. God simply says that sex between two men is an <i>abomination</i> [dictionary
definition: detestation, loathing, hatred, aversion, antipathy, revulsion,
repugnance, abhorrence, odium, execration, disgust, horror, hostility]. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“You shall not lie with a male
as with a woman. It <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">is</span> an
abomination.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Leviticus 18:22 NKJV<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">One
might ask, “Perhaps things are different in this regard now that we live in an ‘age
of grace’?” No. In Numbers 23:19 God speaks through Balek, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“God<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
is not human, that he should lie, <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">not
a human being,</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">that he
should change his mind</span></u>. Does he speak and then not act? Does he
promise and not fulfill?”</span></i> Jesus went on to say,” Do<i><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> not think that I have come to abolish the
Law</span></u> or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to
fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the
smallest letter, <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">not the least
stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law</span></u> until
everything is accomplished”</i> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A18&version=NIV">Matthew
5:18</a></span></span><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">. </span>In <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+16:17&version=NLT">Luke
16:17</a></span></span> He says, <i>”… that <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force</span></u>.
It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of
God’s law to be overturned</i>.” and Jesus went on to say,” If<i><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> you love me,</span> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">keep my commands</span>.</u>”</i> John
14:15. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Humans
distort God’s Word at their peril and offend God when they do so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some
have asked why do those who stand in opposition to same-sex marriage place such
a strong emphasis on Leviticus 18:22? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I
believe the answer is simple – because it is so clear and explicit. This
is the opposite tack those who support same-sex marriage take – quoting verses
and passages of Scripture out of context in efforts to make their case,
appealing exclusively to the love attribute of God. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">No,
no, no!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
Culture in and of itself is not necessarily bad, it is when we give culture
pre-eminence over Scripture that we have a problem. We are very good at
manipulating Scripture to fit our culture. This culture can pull us away from
the truth. According to <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+2%3A14&version=NIV">1
Corinthians 2:14</a></span></span> those that manipulate Scripture live in
cultural delusion, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“<i>The
person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit
of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they
are discerned only through the Spirit.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART 3<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHAT DID JESUS SAY ABOUT LEVITICUS 18:22?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In
an online exchange, a professor at a Christian college asked me,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “How<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">
much do we cherry pick when it’s convenient and on what basis do we make those
decisions?”</span></i> He then went on to argue <i>what Jesus</i> <i>did
not</i> say, that Jesus did not regurgitate all the commandments found in
Leviticus, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">as if Jesus had somehow
invalidated the Book of Leviticus</span> by not doing so. How often
have you heard people randomly quote other verses from Leviticus<i>, ‘Do not
wear clothing woven of two kinds of material’</i> 19:22 as being a
meaningless commandment we do not follow today, as if a random verse used out
of context somehow invalidates the command in 18:22. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
professor misses the point entirely. God introduces the section that includes
19:22, saying,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “Be<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”</span></i> Not
wearing clothing made from more than one fabric was just one of many examples
God provided to the children of Israel, to be a constant visual reminder that
they were to keep themselves unpolluted by not following the practices of the
nations around them, to keep themselves holy. Today, born-again-Christians
(there is no other kind according to Jesus), have the constant indwelling of
the Holy Spirit to be their reminder to live holy lives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Throughout
the gospels Jesus repeats again and again that the essence of God’s Law will
not be repealed until the end of time. Jesus becomes visibly angry at
those who disparage and discount God’s Law, especially those who would consider
themselves scholars of God’s Word – ‘Teachers of the Law’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15:19&version=NLT">Matthew
15:19</a></span></span><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"> </span>Jesus directly refers to sexual immorality,<i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“<u>For <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">from the heart</span></u> come evil
thoughts, murder, adultery, <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">all sexual
immorality</span></u>, theft, lying, and slander.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Seeing
as the pre-incarnate Jesus <span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">(<span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+1%3A1-5&version=NKJV">the
Word</a></span></span></span>) wrote and instituted Levitical Laws in the first
place, including what we now identify as <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus+18&version=NIV">Chapter
18</a></span></span>, is it not irrational to suppose He somehow forgot what He
wrote and is now invalidating these laws by not regurgitating each one
word-for-word? To the contrary, not only is He validating these laws,
Jesus identifies the source of our desire to break these laws. Our
corruption of God’s law originates in the heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Some
Pharisees and teachers of religious law… asked Jesus, “Why do your disciples
disobey our age-old tradition? ….” Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your
traditions </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">[your own concepts, ideas and beliefs]<i>,
violate the direct commandments of God? …you cancel the word of God for the
sake of your own tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied
about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">their hearts are far from me</span>.</u>
Their worship is a farce, for <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">they
teach man-made ideas as commands from God</span>.</u>’” Then Jesus called to
the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not
what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that
come out of your mouth.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Then
the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the
Pharisees </span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">[those who might be pro-gay
marriage?] <i>by what you just said?”</i><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15%3A1-20&version=NLT">Matthew
15:1:20</a></span></span><span style="color: #2f5496; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART 4<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JUDGING OTHERS <o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">OR SIMPLY POINTING THEM IN THE RIGHT
DIRECTION?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jesus
said, “For<i> you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in
judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”</i> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7:2&version=NLT">Matthew
7:2</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Jesus
also said, “<i>For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his
Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.”</i> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+16:27&version=NLT">Matthew
16:27</a></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How
often have people <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2010/04/i-am-not-bigot-and-i-am-not-homophobic.html" target="_blank">wagged a boney finger</a></span></span> in your direction
and chastised you for simply having an opinion, especially one that is
biblically contrary to their opinion? “Who are you to judge me for my
beliefs or actions? Who gave you the right?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thankfully,
I don’t have to judge anyone – that is Jesus’ exclusive prerogative. And I hope
that I treat others as I would want to be treated, with respect and in a Christ-like
way, by people who will point me in the right direction when I go off
course. I have been blessed by many godly individuals in my life who have
done just that. But please note, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jesus
was not prone to using mushy platitudes</span>. I hope nothing I have written
here is construed as judgmental. Factual, yes. Judgemental, no.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART
5<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">IT’S NOT THAT KIND OF LOVE<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">UNDERSTANDING agápe, éros, philía,
and storgē<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some
have inferred there was some kind of homosexual relationship between David and
Jonathan and used this as the basis for arguing God’s condoning of such
relationships. This, as with many other ‘proofs’, is pure manipulation of
the text. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
Hebrew word <i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ahab</span></i> is
used of the love of Isaac for his wife Rebekah (see <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+24%3A67&version=NIV">Genesis
24:67</a></span>), of parents for children, for example Abraham for his son
Isaac (see <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+22%3A2&version=NIV">Genesis
22:2</a></span>), and of Jonathon for David, his closest friend (see <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+18%3A1&version=NIV">1
Samuel 18:1</a></span>). Jonathon’s totally unselfish treatment of David is a
human example of the type of love God has for us, agápe<i> love</i> as
it is used in the gospels. Jonathon put David’s interests before his own.
The Hebrew word <i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">dôd</span></i> is
the erotic form of the word love as found in the <i>Song of Solomon</i> –
not the kind of love shared between David and Jonathon. As the text
describes, it was the highest form of love, “<i>…better than that of a love
between a man and a woman.”</i> Agápe love is a choice, not a feeling.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
Greek language distinguishes at least four different ways as to how the
word <i>love</i> is used. Ancient Greek has four distinct words for
love: agápe, éros, philía, and storgē. However, as with other languages, it has
been historically difficult to separate the meanings of these words when used
outside of their respective contexts. Nonetheless, the senses in which these
words were generally used are as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Agápe</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> (ἀγάπη
agápē) means “love: esp. brotherly love, charity; the love of God for man and
of man for God.” Agape is used in ancient texts to denote feelings for one’s
children and the feelings for a spouse, and it was also used to refer to a love
feast. Agape is used by Christians to express the unconditional love of God for
his children. This type of love was further explained by Thomas Aquinas as “to
will the good of another.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Agápe
does not have the primary meaning of affection nor of coming from one’s
feelings. Jesus displayed this Agápe kind of love by going to the
cross and dying even though He didn’t feel like dying. He prayed, “<i>O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I
will, but as thou wilt.”</i> Matthew 26:39. Jesus sought the betterment of
mankind, regardless of His feelings.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We,
too, can agape (love) our enemies, even though we don’t have any warm feelings
of affection for them. If they are hungry, we can feed them. If they thirst, we
can give them a drink. We can choose to seek the betterment and welfare of
others regardless of how we feel. The Apostle John said, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Let us not love in word, neither in tongue;
but in deed and in truth”</i> 1John 3:18. Jesus referred to His love for others
(John 13:34; 15:9, and 12), but He never directly told anyone, “I love you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Eros</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> (ἔρως
érōs) means “love, mostly of the sexual passion.” The Modern Greek word “erotas”
means “intimate love.” <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Philia</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> (φιλία
philía) means “affectionate regard, friendship,” usually “between equals.” It
is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle. In his
best-known work on ethics, <i>Nicomachean Ethics</i>, philia is expressed
variously as loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue,
equality, and familiarity. Furthermore, in the same text philos denotes a
general type of love, used for love between family, between friends, a desire
or enjoyment of an activity, as well as between lovers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Although
phileo-love is encouraged in Scripture, unlike agápe-love, it is never a direct
command. God never commands us to phileo (love) anyone, since this type of love
is based on feelings. Even God did not phileo the world, He operated in<i> agápe </i>love
toward us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Storge</span></b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> (στοργή
storgē) means “love, affection” and “especially of parents and children” It’s
the common or natural empathy, like that felt by parents for offspring. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Nowhere
in all of Scripture do the words <b><i>dôd </i></b>or <b><i>eros</i> </b>denote
erotic love between two people of the same sex. Nowhere!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I
would like to conclude this section by quoting a few excerpts from a
totally unrelated topic, <i>The Delight of Giving,</i> an
article by John G. Stackhouse Jr., printed in <i>Faith Today:<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many
of us have been told that agape love is the highest and best because it is <i>unselfish</i>.
Erotic or friendly love provide enjoyment, but agape is utterly self-forgetful
and entirely concerned with the welfare of the other. God loves this way
and so should we. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
problem is, God does <i>not</i> love this way. God does not love
without regard for His own pleasure or purpose. What sense would
that even make? <i>I want to help these people because</i> –
well why? Whether God loves us because He enjoys our delight, or
because He wants to bring glory to Himself, or because it’s just the right
thing to do, God is still getting something out of the bargain.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And
there is nothing wrong with that.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hebrews
12 directs us to consider, “Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith…
[who] <i>for the joy set before Him</i> endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Love
is not a zero-sum game, despite Darwinist or agapist reductionists. Love
is a circle of reinforcing delight, a spiral of ever-increasing joy in mutual concern
for everyone’s welfare. It’s a win-win-win situation.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I
would like to add that the only thing that can corrupt and collapse this ‘ever
increasing spiral of joy’ is our disobedience and rejection of God’s commands.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART
6<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">ORIGINS<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">There
is no convincing evidence</span><sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span></sup><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> on why some people consider themselves to
have same-sex attraction. I have scoured the internet and found nothing
conclusive. However, the following observations can be found:<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 40.5pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 40.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Homosexuality is exclusive to the human
race.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 40.5pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 40.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Homosexuality runs counter to evolutionary
theory and is an evolutionary <i>dead end</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 40.5pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; tab-stops: list 40.5pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 40.5pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 40.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">There has been nothing discovered in human
DNA thus far to indicate anything hereditary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 40.5pt; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 40.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Many people who identify themselves as gay
were <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535560/" target="_blank">sexually
abused as children</a></span></span> (some studies have shown that
self-professed homosexual men and women may be four-times more likely to have
been abused in childhood than the heterosexual population), or have endured significant
emotional trauma in their youth, and these are probable contributing
factors. <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_sexual_orientation#Canada" target="_blank">In Canada</a></span></span><span style="color: #2f5496; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"> </span>approximately 1 in 100
identify themselves as homosexual. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">God says that homosexual acts are an
abomination (His words).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If
we are to believe God’s opinion of two men lying together as denoted in
Leviticus 18:22, then it seems to be a reasonable assumption that its origins
were in The Fall, one of the many consequences of original sin.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Therefore,
the only ‘origin’ I can reasonably offer is what I discovered while composing
Section 3: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In <span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: #2f5496; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15:19&version=NLT">Matthew
15:19</a></span></span> Jesus directly refers to sexual immorality,<i> ”For <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">from the heart</span></u> come evil
thoughts, murder, adultery, <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">all sexual
immorality</span>, theft, lying, and slander.”</i> Seeing as the
pre-incarnate Jesus wrote and instituted Levitical Laws in the first place,
including what we now identify as <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus+18&version=NIV">Chapter
18</a></span>, it is irrational to suppose that He has now somehow forgotten
what He wrote and is now invalidating these laws by not regurgitating each one
word-for-word. To the contrary, not only is He validating these laws,
Jesus identifies the source of our desire to break these laws. Our corruption
of God’s law <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">originates in the heart</span></u>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Regardless
of origin, fundamentally, homosexual acts are a rebellion against God, see <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+1%3A26-32&version=NIV">Romans
1:26-32.</a></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><sup><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span></sup><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">All
of the online medical articles appear to be in agreement as to the causes of
homosexuality and gender identity – they simply <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/conditions/gender-dysphoria">don’t
know</a></span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They use terms such as
‘may’ to qualify their observations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is different from medically known and observed conditions such as <span class="MsoHyperlink"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congenital_adrenal_hyperplasia">congenital
adrenal hyperplasia</a></i></span>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART
7<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">CONSEQUENCES<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As
we move through the <i>Book of Leviticus</i>, towards its conclusion, we
find in Chapter 26 two sections of text described in my NLT Bible as <i><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Blessings for Obedience</span></u></i><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> and <i>Punishments for Disobedience</i></span>.<o:p></o:p></u></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Before
I get into the issues surrounding the blessings and punishments, I want to
again address those who would say that the texts I am going to refer to were
for another era, for another people. I believe this has proven to be a
perilous error. The Israelites, God’s chosen people, were to be a living
testimony of God’s goodness and faithfulness to the nations around them, to
draw others towards them. Foreigners who wished to follow Jehovah God
were welcomed into this family. In becoming part of His family, they
understood that all the <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">laws,
regulations and blessing</span>s</u> were now theirs. Today we
are invited to become part of God’s family by accepting the atoning death and
Lordship of Jesus Christ. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that we will
no longer receive God’s blessings for obedience and God’s discipline for
disobedience. My own life experiences have born this out.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Blessings for Obedience</span></u></i><i><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></u></i><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">
<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“If
you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you the
seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops… You will eat your
fill and live securely in your own land. I will give you peace in the
land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear… I will look
favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I
will fulfill my covenant with you. You will have such a surplus of crops
you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest!”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+26%3A1-3&version=NIV" target="_blank">Leviticus 26:1-13</a></span>. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And
on He goes naming one blessing after another…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If
you visit the Mennonite areas of Philadelphia, where they still farm the land
according to Levitical law, you will find the most fertile land in all of North
America! In the Book of Malachi God teaches about the principle of
tithing, giving back a portion to God as an expression of gratitude. My
own experience in this regard is that it is simply impossible to out-give God.
As <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/19" target="_blank">the Hymn</a></span> goes, <i>“Blessings all mine with
ten-thousand besides…”</i> Quite simply, the blessings for obedience to
God are unlimited. We <i>choose</i> to obey God <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">because</i> we love God.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And
then there is <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">the flip-side</span> which
we seem all too quick to ignore and all too quick to complain when it comes
about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Punishments for Disobedience</span></u></i><i><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">.</span></u></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“However,
if you do not listen to me or obey all these commands, and if you break my
covenant by rejecting my decrees, treating my regulations with contempt, and
refusing to obey my commands, I will punish you...”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And,
as we continue to read, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“<i>I
will bring sudden terrors upon you – wasting diseases and burning fevers that
will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away.” </i><span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+26%3A14-16&version=NIV" target="_blank">Leviticus 26:14-16</a></span>.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Is
it fair to draw a parallel between Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 26:14? I’ll
leave you to draw your own conclusions. As for me I can only look at the
evidence, with millions of people dead (<span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3234451/" target="_blank">more
than 25-million by 2008</a></span>) for failing to live their lives the way God
called them to. And yes, there are many <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contaminated_haemophilia_blood_products" target="_blank">innocent victims</a></span> (tens of thousands) as a
consequence of other’s [selfish] actions. We still live in a fallen
world.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many
will quote the oft used platitude, ‘Hate the sin and love the sinner.’ <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Jesus loved sinners by directing them away
from their sin.</span> Having dealt with the bigoted hypocrites who
accused her, Jesus ended His conversation with <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8%3A3-11&version=NIV" target="_blank">the woman caught in adultery</a></span> by saying, <i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”<u>Go and sin no more.</u>”</span></i>
It is impossible to <i>agape</i> love those who find themselves in
sin by not doing likewise.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />
Jesus also provides a stern warning to those who condone, or even promote
behaviour that is contrary to God’s teaching. Given that the context of
his warning is towards those within the church/family of God (that is those who
will be ‘in the Kingdom of Heaven’). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jesus is very explicit in his condemnation of
those who belittle God’s laws by insinuating that when it comes to sex outside
of a heterosexual marriage - anything goes - no harm done - show a little
tolerance, etc. At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
says, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">“<u>So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the
same, you will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven</u>.”</span></i> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A19-20&version=NLT">Matthew
5:19</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There
are consequences.<br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART
8<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">WHY THE FOCUS?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Why
do Christians expend so much energy and attention on the issue of homosexuality
and Leviticus 18:22? Why ignore all the other ‘sins’ listed in Leviticus
18? Why not jump on those?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I
would argue that it is the homosexual community that has made 18:22 an
issue. Many of these individuals who would try and persuade us that this
way of life is <i>normal </i>and <i>acceptable</i>. Not only do
they seek to have everyone accept/condone this lifestyle, they <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+1%3A32&version=NIV">promote
and celebrate it</a></span>, often belittling and attacking those who would
seek to honour God’s commands. Conversely, the other ‘sins’ listed are
for the most part still frowned upon – we do not promote and celebrate incest
or bestiality. But who knows, even adultery is being promoted on websites
and in the media as socially acceptable these days.<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once
again, seeking to examine the issue <i>in context</i>, we read God’s viewpoint: <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“Give
the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the LORD your
God. So, do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or
like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">You must not imitate their way of life…</span></u>.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+18%3A1-3&version=NIV" target="_blank">Leviticus 18:1-3</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And
then at the <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+18%3A24-30&version=NIV" target="_blank">end of the chapter</a></span> God says, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“So
obey my instructions, and <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">do
not defile yourselves by committing any of these detestable practises that were
committed by the people who lived in the land before you</span>.</u> I am
the LORD your God.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yes,
these commandments are given specifically to the Israelites (God’s people), but
God also notes that these acts are detestable even when practiced by
others. In God’s eyes His principles hold true for all of humanity right
up to this present day.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.worldmag.com/2015/07/a_biblical_view_of_homosexuality/page2" target="_blank">Kevin deYoung</a></span> noted, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“It
cannot be overstated how seriously the Bible treats the sin of sexual
immorality. Sexual sin is never considered <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">adiaphora</i>,
a matter of indifference, an agree-to-disagree issue like food laws or holy
days (Rom. 14:1–15:7). To the contrary, sexual immorality is precisely the sort
of sin that characterizes those who will not enter the kingdom of heaven. There
are at least eight vice lists in the New Testament (Mark 7:21–22; Rom. 1:24–31;
13:13; 1 Cor. 6:9–10; Gal. 5:19–21; Col. 3:5–9; 1 Tim. 1:9–10; Rev. 21:8), and
sexual immorality is included in every one of these. In fact, in seven of the
eight lists there are multiple references to sexual immorality (e.g., impurity,
sensuality, orgies, men who practice homosexuality), and in most of the passages
some kind of sexual immorality heads the lists. You would be hard-pressed to
find a sin more frequently, more uniformly, and more seriously condemned in the
New Testament than sexual sin.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span></b>
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART
9<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">JUSTIFICATION AND RESISTANCE<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We
read at the introduction to the parable of the Good Samaritan of the ‘teacher
of the Law’ questioning Jesus. After having acknowledged that he had at
least a head-knowledge of the Law we read, <i>”But he wanted to <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">justify himself</span></u>…”</i> <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10:29&version=NIV">Luke
10:29</a></span>. This is the attitude of those who know the Law but try
their hardest to wiggle their way around it, posing <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Did+God+really+say&qs_version=NIV" target="_blank">the same question</a></span> as Satan, <i>”Did God
really say…?”</i> Did God really say, <i>“You shall not lie with a
male as with a woman. It is an abomination.”</i>? Once again in the
parable of <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10%3A25-37&version=NIV" target="_blank">the Good Samaritan</a></span>, Jesus brings us back to the very
core of the situation, it is an issue [attitude] of the heart.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once
we’ve justified something to ourselves our hearts are hardened further, and our
attitudes become more entrenched. The next logical step is physical
rebellion and outright resistance to God’s laws. Society has reached the
point where, in many jurisdictions, it is even against the [man’s] law to
provide counselling to those who wish to abandon the gay lifestyle and seek
reparative and/or conversion therapy. In my research I have not been able to
find legal bans on <i>any</i> other kind of therapy for an
identifiable state of being or ailment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">German
theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">“For faith is only real when there is obedience,
never without it, and faith only becomes faith in the act of obedience.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The
late Eugene Peterson wrote a modern-day adaption of the Bible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is what we read in the apostle Paul’s
letter to the early church in Rome, <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+1&version=MSG">Romans
1:18-32</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“But
God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and
lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic
reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a
long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able
to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the
mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was
this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God,
refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and
confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives.
They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded
the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you
can buy at any roadside stand.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So
God said, in effect, “If that’s what you want, that’s what you get.” It wasn’t
long before they were living in a pigpen, smeared with filth, filthy inside and
out. And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and
worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless,
the God who blesses <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">us</span>.
Oh, yes!<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Worse
followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn’t know how to be human
either—women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to be men.
Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men
with men—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for
it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Since
they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run
loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping,
vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton
killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous,
fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep
inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in
the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know
better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t
care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These
are harsh words, but they are God’s words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">PART
10<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">GRACE<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I
first started writing this blog in July 2015.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is now more than three years later and finally I have the inspiration/conviction
to write Part 10.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Grace
is my favourite word in the Bible, quite simply because I have received so much
of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grace is the one thing that keeps
me running back to God. Grace overwhelms me, amazes me and delights me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is only one, single-word description
that comes anywhere close to describing God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omnipotence, omniscience,
eternal, etc. are words that are unfathomable to the human mind, but not
grace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grace is experiential.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Grace
reminds me not to judge others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it
were not for grace how could I stand before God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People who believe that ‘good works’ will get
them a ticket to Heaven understand little about grace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I
recently heard a very simple message at church.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A missionary doctor shared his testimony of a conversation he had with
his 85-year old grandfather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He read his
grandfather Colossians 1:20 and asked him, “Is there a fight in Heaven?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s going on that needs to be reconciled?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">“God reconciled everything to
himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of
Christ’s blood on the cross.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">His
grandfather responded, “You know, the fight was within God’s heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two important parts of God were in a fight;
justice and mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You cannot apply both
to a human being at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
you break God’s Law He needs to apply His justice at the same time He had the
great desire to apply His mercy. But He wasn’t allowed to (couldn’t) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">because</i> He is so just.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This appears to be an irreconcilable conflict
for God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His grandfather went on to say,
“Can you imagine the powerful miracle that Jesus did on the cross, shedding His
blood to save us? Because in that moment God was able to reconcile in Himself
justice and mercy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was because
Jesus was saying, ‘God apply all your justice (judgment and wrath) to me. I am
willing to take that on behalf of humankind.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And God poured all His justice and wrath on His Son, so now He is free
to give all His mercy to you and me.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Are
you still living under God’s perfect justice (judgement and wrath) for every
sin (wrongdoing) you ever committed, or have you been the recipient of His
mercy and grace?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have you acknowledged
all that Jesus has done for you and received His gift of mercy and salvation? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or have you rejected Him?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You
might ask, what does this have to do with Leviticus 18:22?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If
we have truly been the recipients of such amazing grace, how can we go on
wilfully, arrogantly and defiantly doing the very things that God calls an
abomination?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is the one ‘living in sin’
or having an adulterous relationship, or the one gossiping or perpetually lying
any less guilty? No! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At
this point, none of us are innocent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is not a Christian on the face of this earth who does not stumble
and fall at times, but the question we must all ask ourselves is, “Am I
constantly and deliberately trampling God’s grace in the muck and mire?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or, am I going to receive God’s mercy and ask
Him to help me have victory and overcome the sin and struggles in my life?”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My answer is...</span></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-76042167480331298232018-07-18T18:30:00.001-04:002018-07-18T18:43:54.074-04:00Disillusionment in the Ranks - The Church's Sin of Silence <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QTN5PQnpd78/W0-_VLmvVOI/AAAAAAAAEng/MHSxEub_ujEiVO5ZS8-A184tY_5EbEQzwCLcBGAs/s1600/See-Hear-Speak-No-Evil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QTN5PQnpd78/W0-_VLmvVOI/AAAAAAAAEng/MHSxEub_ujEiVO5ZS8-A184tY_5EbEQzwCLcBGAs/s1600/See-Hear-Speak-No-Evil.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">When was the last time you heard a message on the topic of morality? On the importance of keeping God's laws? On the importance of standing up against immoral, liberal theology? On the importance of being intolerant towards the cry for tolerance of immorality?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Liberal 2015 sex education program is a case in point. As one reads <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+1%3A18-32&version=NIV" target="_blank">the first chapter of Romans</a> you would think Paul was addressing the provincial (and federal) legislatures this very day, <i>"They exchanged the truth about God for a lie...", "Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error." and,</i> <i>"They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, <b>they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them</b>."</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Liberal sex-ed curriculum teaches that these 'unnatural', 'shameful' acts are the acceptable norm. With very few exceptions, Tanya Granic Allen and her group <a href="http://www.pafe.ca/" target="_blank">Parents As First Educators (PAFE)</a> being one of them, we don't hear a beep from the evangelical church. The Moslem community puts the evangelical community to shame when it comes to standing up against those who condone immorality, <i><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+5:20&version=NIV" target="_blank">'those who call evil good and good evil'</a></i> . It seems the evangelical community is scared poopless of taking a public stand against that which God clearly calls evil for fear of being seen as intolerant and judgemental.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If there is any comfort to be found in all of this, it is to know that <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+13&version=NIV" target="_blank">these things must happen</a> and Christ's return and <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+21%3A8&version=NIV" target="_blank">judgement of evil-doers </a>is imminent. It is not for us, as Christians, to judge, that is <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+5%3A22&version=NIV" target="_blank">Christ's sole prerogative</a>, but it is our job to call evil, evil.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To those who sell a soft-centered, lovey-dovey, tolerant Jesus, they would do well to read <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+14&version=NIV" target="_blank">Revelation 14</a> where God says they, <i>"...will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur <b>in the presence of</b> the holy angels and of <b>the Lamb</b>. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever."</i> </span></span>David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-1210673275602198262018-01-06T13:03:00.001-05:002018-01-10T17:57:07.132-05:00Educating Kathleen Wyne - Ontario's new minimum wage - a disaster in the making<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cCQUGpW1iDg/WlEOk61Dw0I/AAAAAAAAEjM/a1R9MBMroaIH946umS1WFxrAT3UOGXxVACLcBGAs/s1600/e82c3d15942978d84a99edbec89283d5_XL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="757" data-original-width="1170" height="412" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cCQUGpW1iDg/WlEOk61Dw0I/AAAAAAAAEjM/a1R9MBMroaIH946umS1WFxrAT3UOGXxVACLcBGAs/s640/e82c3d15942978d84a99edbec89283d5_XL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have been watching the latest commentaries concerning the new minimum wage in Ontario which is being increased from $11.60 to $14 immediately, and then to $15. An increase of $3.40/hour, or 29.31% ($3.40 divided by $11.60). For the sake of this commentary I will round it of at 30%.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I used to be a small business owner (+/-20 employees) so I know how difficult it is to stay profitable and taking home less than some of my employees (or nothing at all) when times are tough.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Franchisees have been accused of being wealthy and greedy. Wealth and greed are distinctly different. Wealth is the accumulation of money and possessions over the course of time. A smart, frugal, generous person of limited means can attain considerable wealth over time (and purchase a TH franchise). Nothing wrong with that! </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Greed is an attitude of the heart. A poor person can be as greedy as a rich person. We read in Luke 21:1-3 </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. </i>Desiring to remain profitable is a good, biblical principle, pursuit of great wealth is not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The media and the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/wynne-accuses-tim-hortons-founders-heirs-of-bullying-staff-after-minimum-wage-increase/article37496159/">Wynne government</a> have been taking <a href="http://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/corporate/franchise-ca-faq.php">Tim Horton's franchisees</a> to task for reducing employee benefits. Even the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/tim-hortons-calls-franchisees-cuts-to-breaks-and-benefits-reckless/article37513737/">parent company of Tim Hortons</a> has had a poke at the franchisees. Who is telling the truth? Why not let the numbers speak for themselves?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Let's examine a Tim Horton's store that is open 24-hours per day, <i>averages</i> 12 employees per shift (which can vary between 5 and 20 depending on the time of day and size of store) and is open 363 days per year. What is the actual cost to the franchisee in increased wages? $3.40 per hour X 24-hours per day X 363 days X 12 employees = $355,449.60 Then one must add to that the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/payroll-deductions-contributions/employment-insurance-ei/ei-premium-rate-maximum.html">employer's portion of EI </a>which is $355,449.60 X 2.324% = $8,260.66. And then <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/businesses/topics/payroll/payroll-deductions-contributions/canada-pension-plan-cpp.html">employer CPP contribution</a> of 4.95% which is an additional $17,594.75. And then there's vacation pay of 4%, an additional $14,217.98, and on top of that <a href="https://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/tax/eht/index.html">Employers' Health Tax</a> of of 1.95% = $6,931.26, and on top of that <a href="http://www.wsib.on.ca/WSIBPortal/faces/WSIBDetailPage?cGUID=WSIB061756&rDef=WSIB_RD_ARTICLE&_afrLoop=2654386427539000&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=kjsixl5iz_1#%40%3FcGUID%3DWSIB061756%26_afrWindowId%3Dkjsixl5iz_1%26_afrLoop%3D2654386427539000%26rDef%3DWSIB_RD_ARTICLE%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Dkjsixl5iz_29">Workmen's Compensation</a> of 1.72% = $6,113.73. Which brings the franchisee's total increase in labour costs to $408,567.98. In reality the employer is paying out a total of $17.24 per hour for each employee making $15 per hour.</span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T5taxHrNHOw/WlaaLGWjOeI/AAAAAAAAEjk/bKPQP-uvlOsen-gXPaJ5RtwIOILdnQHmACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-01-10%2Bat%2B5.56.07%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="662" data-original-width="1194" height="354" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T5taxHrNHOw/WlaaLGWjOeI/AAAAAAAAEjk/bKPQP-uvlOsen-gXPaJ5RtwIOILdnQHmACLcBGAs/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-01-10%2Bat%2B5.56.07%2BPM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">According to the GWNFA (franchisee association) it will cost </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">$6,968.26 extra per full-time employee, working 40-hours per week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Should an employer make a profit? Of course, if not why be in business? A reasonable return on investment is typically around 10% depending on risk factor. It costs $+/- $500,000 for a 20-year franchise agreement (plus 8.5% of gross sales), plus the cost of building the store - approximately $1.2-million with associated lease costs (or 8.5% of gross sales). So, a reasonable return on investment should be approximately $150,000 per year. This is the benefit of investing which is <i>completely different</i> from an owner's/manager's salary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tim Horton's franchisees must be 'hands-on'. One cannot buy a franchise and then run it from their condo in Florida! The typical salary for a General Manager in a business with one-hundred employees is $90k to $110k although this number is lower in the restaurant business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Based on court documents in 2011 it was revealed the average Tim Hortons franchise owner received $265,558 before taxes and interest (this number can vary dramatically based on province and location).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Labour constitutes 40% of overhead for a typical franchise. Without adjusting prices the percentage will increase to 52% with a $15 minimum wage.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">According to my math (please correct me if I'm wrong) there are limited options:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. Run the business at a loss ($408,567.98 minus current profit estimates of $265,558 = <span style="color: red;">negative $170,272.95</span>)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Increase retail prices by 12% to cover the increased cost. Talk about inflation!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Increase same store sales by $1,021,420 to cover the increased labour costs.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. Lay off 30% of the employees (decreasing customer service, increasing unemployment, etc., etc.)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. Tim Hortons head office absorbs the cost on behalf of the franchisees. Never going to happen.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. Roll back the minimum wage. The horse has already left the barn.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. A mixture of the above.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In light of the above, it is profoundly unfair to criticize Tim Hortons franchisees for taking necessary steps to stay in business and protect their investment.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And, obviously, the same difficulties confront all small business owners. It is my personal belief that Canadian unemployment will be back above 7% before the end of the year. We can but watch and see.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you find any errors in the above numbers please advise and I will amend accordingly.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>The background of buying a Tim Horton's </b></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Franchise</b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> <a href="https://www.timhortons.com/ca/en/pdf/Franchise-Information-Package-en.pdf">(copied directly from their website)</a>:</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"</span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Franchise Cost: $480,000 to $510,000* plus all applicable taxes (this includes a drive-thru). </span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Additional Working Capital: (start-up costs) $50,000 (unencumbered). </span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">At least $153,000 of the franchise cost must be unencumbered (cash or liquid assets) in addition to the $50,000 working capital that must also be unencumbered. The remaining </span><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">amount may be financed through various lending programs offered by the chartered banks, providing, of course, the candidate meets the normal borrowing requirements.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The specific cost of a Tim Hortons license will depend upon the Tim Hortons building size and </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the required furnishings and equipment to be installed. The cost of a Tim Hortons license may exceed $510,000 in certain locations due to higher development costs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Included in the cost of a franchise is the following:</b></span></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">All equipment, furniture, display equipment and signage.</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Seven (7) week training program in the Oakville, Ontario, at Tim Hortons University.</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A Restaurant opening crew/Manager of Operations Standards (MOS) to assist the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">opening of the Tim Hortons Restaurant (for a maximum period of two weeks).</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">The use of all Tim Hortons Manuals.</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Right to use trademarks and trade names</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Support from head office personnel who have vast knowledge in the food service</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">business</span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Not included in the cost of the franchise:</b></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">The building (responsibility of the TDL Group)</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">The property that the Restaurant is built (responsibility of the TDL Group)</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">For mutual success and satisfaction, we must ensure that every Franchisee possesses the necessary skills, commitment level, dedication, work ethic, character and strong people skills. There are a number of qualifications we look for in an applicant such as:</span></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">All partners meet the initial investment requirements and are willing to commit to the Business full time</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Willing to divest of businesses which are direct competition to the Tim Hortons business</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Prior management experience, preferably in food service and/or restaurant operations</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Strong communication skills and leadership qualities</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Keen understanding on how to recruit, train and manage staff</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Solid business acumen</span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Two Partners who will be hands-on operators, willing to commit to the demands of the restaurant full time</b></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">We consider any proposed partnership and evaluate accordingly. Our goal is to ensure we have the best franchisees in our restaurants, and recommend giving careful consideration to who your potential partner will be as Tim Hortons franchise agreements are typically 10 years in length with an option to renew for an additional 10 years. We evaluate criteria in any partnership such as: time you have known one another, previous business experience together, proven experience working in a non-business setting, and other factors.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">On-going payments include:</span></span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">A weekly royalty fee of 4.5% of gross sales for the term of the license</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: 12pt;">A monthly rental that is the greater of a fixed minimum rent or 8.5% of monthly </span><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: 12pt;">gross sales</span></span></li>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">A monthly advertising levy of 4% of gross sales for the term of the license </span></span></li>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-14913642278419900892017-05-31T11:33:00.003-04:002017-05-31T11:35:22.988-04:00Why does God keep punishing me?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VoanBnEvFCc/WS7iMIek8CI/AAAAAAAAEdc/6rjQ38V3kHs-21hirYohz6FjZ9-YjblNgCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-31%2Bat%2B11.30.45%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="847" data-original-width="1600" height="337" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VoanBnEvFCc/WS7iMIek8CI/AAAAAAAAEdc/6rjQ38V3kHs-21hirYohz6FjZ9-YjblNgCLcB/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-05-31%2Bat%2B11.30.45%2BAM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I recently finished a book, <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Encounters-Jesus-Unexpected-Answers-Questions/dp/052595435X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1496179039&sr=1-1&keywords=encounters+with+jesus"><span style="color: #0069d9;"><i>Encounters with Jesus</i></span></a>, by Timothy Keller. He wrote about things I knew [sort of] but he articulated them in such a way that it gave me much greater understanding and hope. One of the topics Keller touched on was God’s justice and our fear of continual punishment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Keller easily deflated our perception that God continues to punish us. He pointed out that all our sins, past present, future, great and small, were laid on Jesus on the cross. There is not a single sin, anywhere in all time and/or creation, that was not dealt with – punished on the cross. Not a single one! The big question is, have you acknowledged this and received God’s incredible <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+10:9&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">gift of salvation</span></a>? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Therefore, because of God’s perfect justice, it is impossible for God to continue to punish those of us who have acknowledged Christ’s sacrifice. It would be unjust for God to punish us for something (sin, mistake, error, etc., deliberate or otherwise) that God has already punished Jesus for (including all our sins from this moment forward). That would be to punish the same sin twice. If God were to continue to punish us for a previously atoned for sin <i>it would completely negate all of Christ’s sufferings.</i> This is not possible!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">We read the following in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+1%3A22-23+&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Colossians 1:22-23</span></a> NLT, <i>"Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you </i>[insert your name here] <i>are holy and blameless as you stand before him </i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>without a single fault</i></span><i>. But you must continue to </i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>believe this truth</i></span><i> and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">But this truth does not necessarily answer your question, “Why does it <i>feel</i> like God is punishing me?” Jesus himself answers this question, naming satan, the great accuser. In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+12%3A10+&version=NIV"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Revelation 12:10</span></a> NIV we read, <i>"Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For </i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>the accuser of our brothers and sisters</i></span><i>, who </i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><i>accuses them before our God day and night</i></span><i>, has been hurled down.”</i> In fact, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+50%3A8+&version=NIV"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Isaiah 50:8</span></a> NIV makes the following statement in this Messianic prophecy, <i>"He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!”</i> Not only does God <span style="text-decoration: underline;">not</span> repeatedly punish us for our sins over and over, our Saviour stands before God’s throne <a href="http://www.dictionary.com/browse/vindicate">vindicating</a> us! How awesome is that!?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The original <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew"><span style="color: #0b1480;">Hebrew</span></a> term <i>satan</i> is a noun from a verb meaning primarily "to obstruct or oppose", as it is found in <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+22%3A22&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Numbers 22:22</span></a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+29%3A4&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">1 Samuel 29:4</span></a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms+109%3A6&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Psalms 109:6</span></a>. <i>Ha-Satan</i> is traditionally translated as "the accuser" or "the adversary”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If the above is true, and the Accuser shows up, as he will from time-to-time, and when we are at our lowest points, perhaps in a valley (he likes to try and kick us while we’re down), we have the perfect example of how to respond: <i>“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’</i><span style="color: black;"><i> It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” </i>You can also simply say, “In Jesus name, go away!” <i>“Then the devil left him”</i> (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4%3A11&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Matthew 4:11</span></a>).</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If God is not punishing us, what about <a href="http://www.dictionary.com/browse/discipline"><span style="color: #0079cd;">discipline</span></a>? God does <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+8%3A5-6&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">discipline the ones He loves</span></a>. In thinking on this we should consider: a. It is pointless to ‘discipline’ someone if they don’t know why they’re being disciplined. b. Discipline is a ‘corrective action’, it is there to provide <i>a positive and beneficial outcome</i>. c. God disciplines those He loves. Whatever discipline God metes out - it will/must <i>always</i> be done in His divine and limitless love for us.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">All this potentially leads to another question, “Why do bad things happen to me?” This is a question for another time but meditate of this thought: What would life be like if ‘bad things’ never happened? How would it affect your relationship with God?</span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-55735499338211969592017-05-03T19:10:00.001-04:002017-05-03T19:10:22.027-04:00Meditating on Scripture - Doing the legwork<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6yqcyLaN0sI/WQphp5Ba3ZI/AAAAAAAAEck/QkJxHVOkxHQkSYLKI_L82DLRAXG-9jHoQCLcB/s1600/Be-Still-Know-I-Am-God-Psalm-46-10%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6yqcyLaN0sI/WQphp5Ba3ZI/AAAAAAAAEck/QkJxHVOkxHQkSYLKI_L82DLRAXG-9jHoQCLcB/s640/Be-Still-Know-I-Am-God-Psalm-46-10%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+46&version=NIV">Bible Gateway</a> provides 55 different iterations on the full English Bible. Some would say, <span style="line-height: normal;">“</span>See, the Bible has been changed, it can<span style="line-height: normal;">’</span>t be trusted!<span style="line-height: normal;">”</span> The big secret that these sceptics don<span style="line-height: normal;">’</span>t know is that God<span style="line-height: normal;">’</span>s Word is <i>alive</i> with meaning. Through the intervention of the Holy Spirit, God will use a specific passage of Scripture, to speak to the believer<span style="line-height: normal;">’</span>s heart, in many ways and for many different reasons. These individuals would not understand the passion the translators and interpreters have for conveying the true meaning of the words and the heart of God. They strive to listen to God<span style="line-height: normal;">’</span>s voice <span style="line-height: normal;">–</span> not their own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Having recently been challenged to continually trust God in trying times, I have been focusing on verses of Scripture such as Psalm 46:10, which 42 of the 55 translations reads, <span style="line-height: normal;"><i>“</i></span><i>Be still, and know that I am God.</i><span style="line-height: normal;"><i>”</i></span> Many versions italicize the word, <span style="line-height: normal;"><i>“</i></span><i>am</i><span style="line-height: normal;"><i>”</i></span> to give it emphasis. A friend from our Bible Study group challenged me to understand the Hebrew meaning of this verse, <span style="line-height: normal;">“</span>all Hebrew families knew this verse like the back of their hands, but what they knew was the meaning. In Hebrew, the text of <i>be still </i>means to <i>drop everything!</i> This lead me to the exercise of looking at this verse through all the different translations on Bible Gateway. The results are below. As always, it is good to read Scripture <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?sea"><span style="color: #0079cd;">in context</span></a><span style="line-height: normal;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>21st Century King James Version (KJ21)- Full verse.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"<b>Be still, and know that I am God</b>; I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted on the earth."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>Amplified Bible (AMP)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God</b>.<span style="line-height: normal;">”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>Christian Standard Bible (CSB)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>Stop your fighting, and know that I am God,</b><span style="line-height: normal;">”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>Common English Bible (CEB)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>That</b><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>’</b></span><b>s enough! Now know that I am God!</b><span style="line-height: normal;">”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:11 <i>Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">11 (10) <span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>Desist, and learn that I am God,</b><span style="line-height: normal;">”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>Contemporary English Version (CEV)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Our God says, <span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>Calm down, and learn that I am God!</b><span style="line-height: normal;">”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">God says, <span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>Stop fighting and know that I am God!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>GOD</i><span style="line-height: normal;"><i>’</i></span><i>S WORD Translation (GW)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>International Standard Version (ISV)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Be in awe and know that I am God.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>Living Bible (TLB)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>Stand silent! Know that I am God!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>The Message (MSG)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God</b>, above politics, above everything.<span style="line-height: normal;">”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>Names of God Bible (NOG)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am</b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/%22htt"><span style="color: #0079cd;"> </span><span style="color: #0079cd;"><b>Elohim</b></span></a><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>New English Translation (NET Bible)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>He says, </b><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>Stop your striving and recognize that I am God!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>New Life Version (NLV)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Be quiet and know that I am God.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tehillim 46:10 <i>Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">10 (11)<b> Be still, and know that I am Elohim:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>The Voice (VOICE)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: normal;"><b>“</b></span><b>Be still, be calm, see, and understand I am the True God.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>Wycliffe Bible (WYC)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Give ye attention, and see ye, that I am God;</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Psalm 46:10 <i>Young's Literal Translation (YLT)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Desist, and know that I [am] God,</b></span></div>
David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-50990158659750452682017-04-26T13:48:00.000-04:002017-05-02T14:14:24.408-04:00Can you forever change the way you read Scripture?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib4LAjhLyPU/WQDb4VwVAPI/AAAAAAAAEbo/nxV_iZK3sak0wIp0fFg1Avay_SzjM6qBQCLcB/s1600/Psalm%2B62-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ib4LAjhLyPU/WQDb4VwVAPI/AAAAAAAAEbo/nxV_iZK3sak0wIp0fFg1Avay_SzjM6qBQCLcB/s640/Psalm%2B62-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A SPIRITUAL EXERCISE</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was just lent <i><b>Encounters with Jesus</b></i> by Timothy Keller. In the introduction, he tells of a life transforming attitude to meditating on Scripture. His class was challenged to spend meditating on a single verse for 30-minutes and to <i>“Write down at least thirty things you see or learn from the verse.”</i> Ten minutes into the exercise Keller was finished (or so he thought) and bored. He dutifully pushed on and kept looking. To his surprise there was more. Virtually the whole class found their most penetrating and personally helpful insights came in the last 15-minutes of the exercise, none from the first 10-minutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last night I read the following from Psalm 64:5 and decided it would be good to apply the same effort: <i>“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him.” </i>Fifteen words. I asked God for encouragement and insight. For me, the exercise ended up taking 45-minutes and produced thirty-three thoughts, or revelations. They are listed in the exact order I wrote them down. Notice the progression.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him.” </b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Let</i> – I must allow myself to do these things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Let</i> – Do not put up obstacles that would hinder my intent and desire.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>All</i> – Hold nothing back. If I hold anything back I am making room for self rather than God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Let all that I am</i> – My complete being; body mind and soul.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All those things that are ‘fleshly’, i.e. worry, doubt, fear, etc. are an impediment to my ‘waiting patiently’.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Let all that I am wait…</i> - This should be my continual posture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If I am to have the correct posture I must not allow ‘noise’, the voice of the devil or worldly distractions to interrupt my quiet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">8.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Where am I to do this waiting? Before God! I need to wait in His presence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">9.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I must not do my waiting cowered in a corner or wrap myself in a ball, hoping that my troubles will simply disappear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">10.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Before God</i> – What a privileged position!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">11.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Before God</i> – I am making Him my refuge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">12.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Let all that I am wait quietly before God</i> – This reminds me of Psalm 46:10, <i>“Be still and know that I am God.”</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">13.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Waiting patiently before God means that I am looking to Him exclusively to bring about the desired outcome of whatever situation I find myself in – His will.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">14.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Waiting patiently infers that I am in no hurry. Reminder to self: God’s timing is always perfect.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">15.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Waiting patiently is a deliberate denial of setting my own agenda.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">16.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>For my hope is in Him</i> – The reason for my ability to wait patiently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">17.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My Hope</i> – The thing that I look forward to. Not a specific, self-dictated outcome, but a ‘God outcome’ – something greater and better than I could have hoped or imagined. See <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ephesians+3%3A20&version=NIV">Ephesians 3:20</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">18.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My hope is...</i> – A statement of fact and confidence – not a ‘maybe’.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">19.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>In Him</i> – The place, the very heart of my confidence. It is not to be found on the outside or anywhere else, only inside, “in Him”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">20.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Let all that I am</i> – This is a prayer/petition in and of itself. I am asking God to make this possible, to keep any distraction from this desired attitude at bay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">21.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>Quietly</i> – A place of peace and solitude.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">22.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This verse should be my perpetual, submissive attitude before God; for my minute-by-minute needs, my daily needs and my lifelong needs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">23.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is a life transforming verse. I am giving over my whole life to God, for His eternal purpose for my life – which is my hope.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">24.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My hope is in Him</i> – This reminds me of Psalm 30:5 <i>“but rejoicing comes in the morning.”</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">25.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>In Him</i> – My joy, my purpose for being, my future is to be found nowhere else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">26.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I need to be quiet in the presence of God. Even as I write these thoughts, my mind is racing. I need to learn to ‘Stop interrupting God.’</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">27.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Is the good that God brings out of the struggles of the past few weeks specifically so that I may take this verse to heart?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">28.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>My hope is in Him</i> – Why? Because He loves me. Because He is faithful. Because He is gracious.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">29.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Although this verse is a ‘conversation with self’, it can be read as a promise. God will give me patience, quietness, and hope. It’s what He wants for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">30.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><i>In Him</i> – Certainty!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">31.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I am to live in a posture of hope. It allows me to live in a world that seems to be falling apart, yet I am still stop and smell the roses, to take time to praise God for the beauty of His Creation – not letting worry steal my joy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">32.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes we put up barriers between our head and our heart. I can intellectually articulate all these ‘things’ [concepts and ideas], but am I willing to let them fully permeate my heart?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">33.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Psalm 62:5 does not give me permission to have a <i>laissez faire</i> attitude, ‘Don’t worry, God will take care of it.’ Rather, God is inviting us into a joint venture, a joint effort. <i>“My hope</i> [my part] <i>is in Him</i> [His part]<i>”</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">May I encourage you to try this exercise for yourself? Pick a verse...</span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-55192832321285426462016-12-20T16:29:00.000-05:002016-12-22T17:34:09.607-05:00On Tuesday Peter's body died. Roll the stone aside! Part 2.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">"Oh my, </span><span style="font-size: large;">Oh, my goodness! Oh, wow! </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Mom…? Dad…? Donna Jean!!! Uncle Harry, is that you?!</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Oh, my! Oh, my goodness!</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jesus!!! Oh, Sweet Lord! I’m really here!</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Thank you LORD! Thank you, thank you!”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Right now I’m trying to imagine what (my brother-in-law) Peter experienced sometime around 4:00am Tuesday morning.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As the Apostle Paul said, “That is what the Scriptures mean when they say</span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">”</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My focusing on Peter’s present and incomprehensible joy is a sweet distraction from my own present sadness.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Belief in God is a strange thing in many ways. For the believing Christian, there is a <i>certain</i> knowledge that comes from an intimate relationship with God. It is not a ‘hypothetical belief’ or experience, it is literal. The faith part of the relationship is simply the trust that God is all He says He is and will do all the things He says He will do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">About a year ago, after his diagnosis of brain cancer, I was walking along the road with Peter as we ventured to a local restaurant. He suddenly broke into tears as the love of God momentarily overwhelmed him. This was not a faith experience for Peter, this was God touching him at the very core of his being – a literal touch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Yet, sometimes we doubt. Is my experience unique? Are my thoughts and beliefs rational? What if I’m wrong? I know Peter experienced similar thoughts at different times in his life. It almost sounds like an illogical argument; sometimes we doubt, yet even in our darkest times when our doubts are greatest, we are still compelled to believe. And then God comes alongside to reassure us. I am His and He is mine and nothing in all Creation can separate us – He from me, or I from Him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This past Saturday evening a group of us had the joy of listening to the Toronto Mass Choir in the magnificent sanctuary at Tyndale University. It was a momentous expression of outrageous joy! Seventy singers shouting and singing praises with all their being to the One to whom Peter and I have entrusted our lives and who gave His life for us. No, my experience is not unique. Thank you, God, for once again reassuring me in a moment of outrageous celebration!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before God got ahold of me I thought belief in God was simply irrational. Who would want to believe in a being that was <i>supposedly</i> untouchable and unknowable? It simply did not make any sense. Now, I view things from the other side of the curtain. Now, I cannot comprehend why so many people choose to live ‘on the dark side’? To me, now, living on the dark side is that which is completely irrational, when the God, who is love, invites us to experience the superlative joy of knowing Him. Forever!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For a while I will miss Peter, my older brother [in-law], BUT I can thank God for his life, for the brotherly friendship we knew and </span><i style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">especially</span></i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> for the sure and certain knowledge that we will yet again embrace in the Throne Room of Heaven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.com/2016/01/roll-stone-aside-jesus-told-them.html">Roll the stone aside! Part 1.</a></span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-82969548909127261462016-06-27T10:51:00.000-04:002016-06-27T10:51:06.702-04:00Brexit - "What was that all about?"<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I was born in 1951, six years after the end of the Second World War. I can remember as a young child seeing the charred remains of buildings in London that had not yet been torn down or reconstructed. The significance of WWII has been lost on many; the blood, sweat and tears, the huge sacrifice to achieve victory forgotten. Perhaps we would do well to remember Sir Winston Churchill’s famous wartime speech, when all seemed lost, and this truly great man stirred up a nation: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. <b>We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender,</b> and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World (America), with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I followed the Brexit news coverage the day of the vote, there was a comment by a British MP that went to the very crux of why the exit side had a majority; the MP had been in a greengrocer the day before, talking with a shopper who asked the simple question, “What was that all about?” (referring to the WWII war and England’s ultimate victory). Through the war Britain had kept its freedom, its sovereignty and its democracy, but in since its joining the Common Market and subsequently the European Union, its freedom, sovereignty and democracy have slowly been eroding away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">To all the commentators who berate the British people for their seeming stupidity, giving up seemingly assured wealth and prosperity, have missed the point completely. To be rich but not truly free has zero appeal. According to <a href="http://time.com/4381878/brexit-generation-gap-older-younger-voters/"><span style="color: #0079cd;"><i>Time Magazine</i></span></a>, “Among those who came of age before the E.U. was created, a staggering 59% wanted the country to leave.” Though now living in Canada, I count myself among them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is the older generation who realize that wealth is not everything. I am absolutely positive that the vast majority of those who voted to leave the E.U. were voting with their hearts, with sound minds and a desire to live in a true democracy – not with their wallets and a desire to be spoon fed by the state, even if the ‘state’ is not their own.</span></div>
David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-59227663260802237192016-05-08T22:53:00.000-04:002016-05-10T20:28:45.492-04:00FIXING TORONTO AND THE GTA'S TRAFFIC PROBLEMS - QUICKLY, CHEAPLY AND EFFECTIVELY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Last week I was driving along the 407 toll highway across the top of the city, zooming along and trying to keep up with the slowpokes dawdling along at 130km an hour, when I decided to save a couple of bucks and jog down Young Street to the 401, a distance of just under 9km, and then continue my eastward journey. This journey should take 9 to 16 minutes according to Google Maps. It took me more than 30 minutes. Gridlock all the way. No accidents. Just frustrating gridlock.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">An out-of-town friend of ours frequently refers to the 401 highway as 'the bowels of satan' and worse they are frequently constipated for days on end. Getting up to 50km per hour across the top of the city on the 401 can be considered a good day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, why the big difference between the 407 cruising along 30 mph over the limit and the 401 just above a slow jog? The same question for most of the GTA's city streets. The answer is as simple as the solution. GTA streets and highways have simply exceeded capacity and the result is permanent gridlock. Basic laws of physics apply. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is no more space to build additional roads and toll systems only advantage the rich by driving the poorer folks off the road and padding government coffers, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">What most people don't understand is that it only takes a small incremental increase over intended capacity to produce the gridlock effect. Conversely, one only needs to introduce a relatively small decrease in the number of cars on the road at any given time to get traffic flowing again. This TTC page (section <a href="https://ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Operating_Statistics/2015/Section_Two.jsp">'Unlocking Gridlock'</a>) provides an excellent visualization.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The solution, whatever it is, needs to be fair, quick and easy to implement ideally at no or minimal cost and easy and inexpensive to enforce. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My proposal fulfills each of these criteria.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">All licence plates (apart from vanity plates) end with three numbers and the last number will be one of ten digits, 0 to 9, and each month (with the exception of February) have thirty or thirty-one days. So, if your licence plate ends in a 1 you will not be allowed to drive your car anywhere in the GTA, south of the 407, on the 1st, 11th, or 21st of the month. If your licence plate ends in a 2 the rule applies to you on the 2nd, 12th and 22nd of the month and so on. Owners of vanity plates would not be allowed on the roads the same as those ending with a 1.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This simple system would immediately take ten percent of all private cars off the GTA roads. Traffic would <i>instantly</i> start flowing again at reasonable speeds. Yes, there would be slight inconveniences to work around but the benefits far exceed this cost. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The map below shows the approximate extents of the program with the 407 highway as the north and west boundaries and Brock Road in Pickering to the east.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here are my thoughts:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. The current <a href="http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2014/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-72899.pdf">cost of traffic gridlock to Toronto commuters</a> has been estimated at between $7billion to $11billion annually. That frees up all that money to be used productively in the economy. Include the rest of the GTA and you can probably double that number.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. The <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/10/20/new_canadian_index_of_wellbeing_reveals_how_canadians_are_really_faring.html">mental health</a> of the city would improve appreciably (reduction in road rage). Torontonians might actually start being polite to each other again. The average commute time in Toronto in 2014 was <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/04/28/toronto_area_commutes_add_to_time_crunch_study_shows.html">63.6 minutes</a> - that equates to 426 hours per month. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Taking 10% of the vehicles off the road would reduce the pressure on emergency services by at least the same percentage and probably more. Another $billion or two? Lives saved due to faster response times of emergency vehicles - who knows?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Taking 10% of the vehicles off the road would reduce road wear and tear by an appreciable amount, probably in the order of 5%-7%.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. It would force more commuters to occasionally take public transit, thereby increasing its efficiency and tilting it towards profitability. Presently, each TTC fair is subsidized by different levels of government to the tune of 26% of actual cost (2014 numbers). Increasing ridership by 7% would reduce the subsidy cost to 21%.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">6. The rules would apply to non-traditional taxi services (those without commercial plates) thereby giving traditional taxi drivers a leg up.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Car sharing services such as Zip car and non-traditional taxi services such as Uber would be exempt <i>if</i> they purchased commercial plates.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">8. There would be a real impetus to promote car pooling, bike riding and alternate forms of commuting. After all, it's only two or three days per month (one of the three days will probably fall on a weekend).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">9. Those that currently car commute from locales such as Barrie or Burlington would not be allowed to drive any further south or west than the 407, thereby encouraging these individuals to use GO trains or buses, etc. This in turn would alleviate congestion on the 400 and QEW highways and other major north/south arteries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">10. Out-of-country and out-of-province drivers would be exempt as would commercial vehicles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">11. Because this plan affects both municipal and provincial roads it would require the support of both levels of government.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">12. The plan would be easy to implement and test for a month or two because there are no special infrastructure requirements.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">13. One of the significant side benefits of the plan is an immediate and significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, the only 'losers' in this plan are the oil companies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">14. There might be initial feelings of inconvenience but once the system is implemented people will get used to marking their calendars with the three no-drive-days each month; sort of like remembering to put the garbage out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">15. Companies can help by implementing work-from-home programs for employees three days per month where this is practical.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">16. To be effective there would need to be strict enforcement by police or traffic cameras with deterrent penalties. The best deterrence from rule breakers would be shaming by fellow drivers; anyone who can read a calendar will know if you're breaking the law.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">17. Other systems such as toll routes, rush hour tolls, etc. are expensive to implement and do not alleviate the congestion that goes from dawn to dusk in Toronto.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">18. The system would be in effect from 6:30am to 9:00pm. This window can be fine-tuned over time once the basic principle is proven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">19. Custom plates could be issued for handicap and special purpose vehicles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">20. The final and <i>key part</i> of my plan, without it there is no hope of longterm success, is that on those months with 31 days none of these rules apply and it will be an emphatic reminder of why a system like this had to be implemented in the first place! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I welcome your feedback and other beneficial ideas on how this solution can be promoted.</span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-91675902827142683052016-04-28T14:00:00.000-04:002016-04-28T22:34:08.798-04:00THE BIBLE AND THE DILEMMA OF INERRANCY<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gtSos0tzxfc/VyJOcOt7wOI/AAAAAAAAEOA/ebzARjwMLtww-K5Eh5P3h1E4uqtpMBeNACLcB/s1600/define-inerrancy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gtSos0tzxfc/VyJOcOt7wOI/AAAAAAAAEOA/ebzARjwMLtww-K5Eh5P3h1E4uqtpMBeNACLcB/s640/define-inerrancy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">It occurs to me that inerrancy is tragically misunderstood.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When we look at a beautiful object we will all see, analyze, criticize, objectify, and appreciate the beauty of that object from our own pre-existing paradigm. The truth that can never be changed are the inherent characteristics of that object.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For those who have experienced the intervention of the Holy Spirit, you will know that God speaks directly to you through the Sacred Scriptures and He will use that Scripture to address the particular situation at hand. Because it is God talking to you (which requires spiritual discernment that it is actually God doing the talking), and by virtue of His very Being, what God says must be inerrant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When people quote and use Scripture out of context, e.g. using selective passages of Scripture to condone slavery [which is contradictory to the message that God is actually conveying], it is obvious that it is not God doing the talking and that which is quoted is no longer inerrant. Inerrancy, like the Bible, must be considered 'in context'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When Eugene Peterson wrote The Message, one could argue that his interpretation is not inerrant. If, as I believe, God inspired Eugene to write The Message, then, when I am being guided by the Holy Spirit, what I read in The Message is inerrant. Even having written The Message, I believe Eugene Peterson would still confirm the inerrancy of the original Scriptures as God authored them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Although</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> same may say these are circular arguments, the Bible itself speaks to its inerrancy:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Samuel+22%3A31&version=NIV">2 Samuel 22:31</a></span><br />
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms+12%3A6&version=NIV" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Psalms 12:6</span></a><br />
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms+19%3A7&version=NIV" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Psalms 19:7</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms+119%3A160&version=NIV">Psalms 119:160</a></span><br />
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+40%3A8&version=NIV" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Isaiah 40:8</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+24%3A35&version=NIV">Matthew 24:35</a></span><br />
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10%3A35&version=NIV" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">John 10:35</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+17%3A17&version=NIV">John 17:17</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+4%3A12&version=NIV">Hebrews 4:12</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+3%3A16&version=NIV">2 Timothy 3:16</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Peter+1%3A20-21&version=NIV">2 Peter 1:20-21</a></span><br />
<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A22&version=NIV" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">James 1:22</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">...and so many more.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For those that are interested the following is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l40S5e90KY">a link</a> to an interview with Bono (U2) and Eugene Peterson. Worth every minute of your time!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://youtu.be/-l40S5e90KY">https://youtu.be/-l40S5e90KY</a></span><br />
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<img border="0" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BZbNvfOVRCI/VyLH6EbLd-I/AAAAAAAAEOU/xEWjbE2Gbu84jXtOVKXNy9T0fSdPJprqACLcB/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-04-28%2Bat%2B10.32.28%2BPM.png" width="640" /><a href="https://youtu.be/-l40S5e90KY">https://youtu.be/-l40S5e90KY</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-78122683397022405032016-01-15T17:45:00.002-05:002016-02-12T14:54:55.568-05:00Faith is climbing out on a limb, cutting it off, and watching the tree fall away<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RfeiTWfIgJA/Vpl1AsMSMvI/AAAAAAAAEIY/yjbQ7dGV4E4/s1600/Girl%2Bon%2BBranch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RfeiTWfIgJA/Vpl1AsMSMvI/AAAAAAAAEIY/yjbQ7dGV4E4/s640/Girl%2Bon%2BBranch.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">People who deny miracles are those that either haven’t seen them, or they’ve seen a miracle but refuse to believe what they’ve seen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. God was never one to ‘put on a show’ for the sake of simply impressing His audience. God always has an ulterior motive. The biggest miracle of all was Him [Jesus] rising from the dead. Unlike Lazarus walking out of the tomb there were no recorded firsthand witnesses, only those who saw Him after the fact. This miracle has an ultimate purpose which is to provide faith – while at the same time requiring faith.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When God displayed so much of His glory and might to the Israelites He had a purpose. When Jesus walked three and a half miles out across the Sea of Galilee to His disciples, in the middle of a storm (without losing His balance as far as we know), at the darkest time of the night, He had a purpose. When God raised Jesus from the dead on Easter morning He had a purpose. His ultimate purpose for every miracle is to instill or deepen the faith of the participant or observer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am in the middle of reading <i><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_0_16?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+grave+robber+mark+batterson&sprefix=the+grave+robber%2Celectronics%2C144">The Grave Robber</a></i> by Mark Batterson. In his book he quotes his favorite definition of faith: <i>faith is climbing out on a limb, cutting it off, and watching the tree fall away.</i> As I read this my initial reaction was this is crazy, but then the realization hit me that this was a truth I experienced in my own life – believing God and watching the impossible happen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">When I first had (was given?) the idea for <a href="http://www.busstopbiblestudies.com/imagine-promotional-video">Bus Stop Bible Studies</a> everyone told me, implicitly or directly, that I was crazy. This was an impossible idea. The transit companies would not allow it, there would be too much public resistance, Canadian laws made it impossible, etc. But this is where faith kicks in – do you choose to believe in a God who is able to keep a tree limb suspended in midair with you sitting on it, or do you believe that the tree trunk of opposition, impracticality and manmade laws make the mighty tree immovable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Like Peter, who got out of the boat at Christ’s invitation, I chose to walk out on the limb. I sawed through the branch which required both will and effort and watched as the tree slowly fell away. Ten years later I am still enjoying the view from my perch on this tree branch... floating in midair. The tree trunk is long gone. Even the roots of the tree have vanished thanks to the Supreme Court of Canada. And, as with all miracles, God had an ultimate purpose which was to share His love with the millions of commuters who ride public transit every day. And, like the miracle of the loaves and fishes, with resources provided by a miracle-believing young lad, from my lofty viewpoint I am able to observe all kinds of miracles happening in other people’s lives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Is God asking you to get off your sofa and climb a tree or to walk on water? Are you simply going to change channels or are you going to turn the TV off and ask God, "What's next?" Trust me, the view from my perch up here is incredible!</span></div>
David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-56188061316586686762016-01-01T17:03:00.002-05:002016-12-21T23:48:29.954-05:00“Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cyl4WvQn8WY/Vob2MkgYcdI/AAAAAAAAEH4/--ShvSV_mtk/s1600/DOH_0422%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cyl4WvQn8WY/Vob2MkgYcdI/AAAAAAAAEH4/--ShvSV_mtk/s320/DOH_0422%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="281" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect… 1Peter 3:15 NIV</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">My brother-in-law’s wife died suddenly this past week. She had suffered with debilitating depression most of her life – her depression ultimately winning the battle <i>but losing the war!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Donna Jean had a deep and abiding faith in her Savior, Jesus Christ. We enjoyed many theological debates but I can never recall a single moment when we disagreed on the grace and glory of God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Death is ugly however it comes. Death and decay was never God’s intent for this world – He created it in perfection. God also gave us freedom of choice – to choose intimate and abiding fellowship with Him, or rejection and sin. Amazingly, Adam and so many others have chosen the latter. And so we all suffer the consequences.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I thought about Donna Jean’s death I was reminded of Jesus’ friend, Lazarus. He died way too soon also. Jesus got angry – very angry. We pick up the story in the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+11&version=NLT">Gospel of John, Chapter 11</a>.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”</span> </span></i></blockquote>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a <u>deep anger</u> welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked them.</span> </span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They told him, “Lord, come and see.” Then Jesus wept. The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”</span></i> </span></blockquote>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus was <u>still angry</u> as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.</span></span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Most people know John 11:35, “Jesus wept.” as the shortest verse in the Bible. Like those in the story, most interpret his weeping over the loss of his dear friend. But this interpretation does not seem to make sense in the context of the whole narrative. Jesus had known four days earlier that Lazarus was dead. Why start weeping now?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would suggest that Jesus’ anger and tears were over the tyranny of death itself. I note elsewhere in Scripture that when Jesus got angry... He didn’t get mad – He got even! He wasn’t about to let death get the better of Lazarus, or later Himself and us. “Roll the stone aside!” Jesus commanded. Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The next time we see the stone being rolled away it was in front of Jesus tomb. Again, Jesus defeated His arch enemy – death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">For Donna Jean the stone was rolled away many, many years ago, the moment she acknowledged Jesus as her Savior. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in grave clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” John 11:43</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And now Donna Jean is enjoying the 'hope' of God's promises.</span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”</i> </span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:3-5 NIV</span></i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I am ceaselessly in the wonder of God's grace.</span> </span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-84261221107522994712015-11-23T23:16:00.000-05:002018-11-13T12:03:53.561-05:00POLITICAL POLARIZATION - WHY HAS IT BECOME SO EXTREME?<div style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 8px; text-align: justify;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SVijBFU3huk/VlSnuffMmdI/AAAAAAAAEGU/SOjdXTSH2WQ/s1600/6261818307_d8ff169bc4_vectorized1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SVijBFU3huk/VlSnuffMmdI/AAAAAAAAEGU/SOjdXTSH2WQ/s640/6261818307_d8ff169bc4_vectorized1.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A few years ago I was watching a television interview with a member of the new Trudeau government making the comment that they hoped there would be less partisanship and more cooperation in the next parliament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am a 'social conservative' and as such I foresee more partisanship, not less. "Why?" you ask. If I may be so bold, I suggest the answer lies with the left-leaning, liberal segments of society.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As a social conservative my viewpoint has for the most part been passed down from generation to generation. The basic principles of what I deem to be right and appropriate are no different from my father's or grandfather's generations. My sense of morality is based on absolutes rather than public or personal whim. My sense of a civilized society is based upon respect for public order and the inherent responsibility that each individual has to the common good. My sense of right and wrong are based on Judaeo-Christian principles that date back thousands of years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before someone throws in red-herring arguments, no, slavery is not acceptable to the social conservative.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A social conservative, who uses the Bible as his or her guide, has the privilege of being able to drive a stake in the ground to define a boundary beyond which he or she will strive not to venture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">A social liberal, on the other hand, has no such ideological point of reference; he or she will be swayed and motivated by personal</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> or public opinion without the benefit of any [moral] constant </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">1</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Issues that would have been deemed socially and morally unacceptable by the majority of the Canadians just forty years ago are now promoted as ideals of modern liberalism; the demeaning of traditional marriage and family values, contempt for the sacred, sexual promiscuity, adultery, mass abortion, euthanasia, legalization of recreational drugs, celebration of homosexuality and transgenderism, rampant pornography, legalization of prostitution, and on the list goes. The logical end for the social liberal's ideal is total hedonism</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">*</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> and/or anarchy</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">**</span><span style="font-size: large;"> - "The only person in the world that matters is me and you have no right to impose your values and opinions on me."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Meanwhile I doggedly try and point out how far society is straying from the stake in the ground which safely tethers me to a righteous morality - not a relative morality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">On this basis, I propose that it is the social liberals who are turning the polarizing filter. The further they turn the filter of liberalism the greater the degree of partisanship there will be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Partisanship occurs when two parties move farther and farther away from each other. If the social conservative is firmly tethered to a stake in the ground, it must be the social liberal who is increasing the distance from that stake and correspondingly increasing the level of partisanship. I don't see that it can be explained any other way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><sup><span style="font-size: small;">*</span></sup><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Hedonism</span>: the ethical theory that pleasure (in the sense of the satisfaction of desires) is the highest good and proper aim of human life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">**Anarchy</span>: a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1</span> In a recent public online survey, more than 7,500 Canadians responded to the following multiple choice statement: <i>"Morality is defined as the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are 'good' (or right) and those that are 'bad' (or wrong). I believe morality is dictated by (check one):"</i> A graph of their responses is shown below. </span><br />
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-67864918448451467092015-11-08T16:54:00.003-05:002018-06-22T14:58:13.142-04:00WHY DID THEY DIE? SO WE COULD LEGALIZE RECREATIONAL DRUGS?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvZNv2JuEE4/Vj_GjbqhWNI/AAAAAAAAEFw/EflSdceVeKI/s1600/british-trench-to-attack-wwi-somme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvZNv2JuEE4/Vj_GjbqhWNI/AAAAAAAAEFw/EflSdceVeKI/s640/british-trench-to-attack-wwi-somme.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">This morning our church held a Remembrance Service. There were some moving images of our Veterans in battle from the First and Second World Wars and haunting reminders of those who returned from Afghanistan in flag draped boxes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As the images came up on the screen I pondered what these heroic men and women, many of whom who paid the ultimate sacrifice, would think of the contempt with which we ‘honour’ the liberty they gave us? We make it possible to kill our unborn children by the millions, legalize euthanasia, the Government proposing legislation to legalize the sale of mood altering drugs and of the segments of Canadian society who try and banish God from every aspect of public life? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tell me, what would they have thought of the contempt many of today’s generation show for the values they once held so dear?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">After we stood for two-minutes of silence and reflection we sung <i>Oh Canada</i>, our National Anthem. We, thankfully, sung the third verse as well. The second and third stanzas, have too bee banished from the public square – the third honours God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Ruler supreme, who hearest humble prayer,</span></i> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Hold our Dominion in thy loving care;</span></i> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> Help us to find, O God, in thee</span></i> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> A lasting, rich reward,</span></i> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> As waiting for the better Day,</span></i> </span></blockquote>
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<i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"> We ever stand on guard.</span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We often sing, </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“God keep our land, glorious and free…”</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> with great gusto at sporting and other events. Yet, with the rampant immorality we see in our society today, I no longer consider Canada to be glorious and the zealotry we see to keep God out of all things Canadian is not my definition of freedom.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am glad most of these brave men and women are not hear to see the Canada we have become. I fear they may have ultimately died in vain.</span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-65362185900732273892015-10-18T15:59:00.000-04:002015-10-26T13:46:31.568-04:00EVOLUTION'S GRAND CHALLENGE<div style="border: 0px; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: justify;">
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Above: A cross section through a blade of <a href="http://beyondthehumaneye.blogspot.ca/2009/06/dune-builder.html">marram grass</a>. Who says God doesn't have a sense of humour?</div>
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I sometimes find myself struggling to explain my non-faith reasons for being a Creationist. Evolutionists and Creationists are both confronted with exactly the same material evidence, so why should I choose one argument over the other? I stumbled(?) across this article on <a href="http://www.evolutionnews.org/2015/07/evolutions_gran097591.html">EvolutionNews.org</a>, written by Steve Kaufmann, that articulates my arguments quite clearly. In the absence of any evidence to the contrary, I do not possess sufficient faith to believe that life 'just happened'. The article frequently uses the term 'intelligent design' which, as far as I am concerned, is a cop-out for giving the glory for the creation of life to Almighty God.</div>
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In a <a href="http://www.evolutionnews.org/2014/09/why_evolution_i_1089431.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6883db; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">recent <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">ENV</i> article</a>, mathematician Granville Sewell asked an intriguing question:</div>
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In the current debate between Darwinism and intelligent design, the strongest argument made by Darwinists is this: In every other field of science, naturalism has been spectacularly successful, so why should evolutionary biology be different? Even most scientists who doubt the Darwinist explanation for evolution are confident that science will eventually come up with a more plausible explanation. That's the way science works. If one theory fails, we look for another one; <b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">why should evolution be so different?</b> [Emphasis added.]</div>
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Dr. Sewell's post mainly explored entropy and theory-based reasoning. From my own perspective as an architect of large information systems, I would like to suggest a different (but complementary) answer.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Enter Information, Stage Right</b></div>
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Evolutionary biology was very much like other sciences up until the 1950s, when the information-bearing capabilities of DNA and RNA were discovered inside living cells.</div>
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These discoveries fundamentally changed biology. And as the information payload is increasingly unraveled, we're seeing ever more complex and interdependent assembly instructions, activation circuits, programming sequences, and message payloads. This information is decoded and operated on by molecular machines of similar complexity, and the whole (information + machines) is self-generating, self-sustaining, and self-replicating.</div>
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The information has some intriguing properties:</div>
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It must perform an astounding number of complex functions in order to create, sustain, and replicate life. Each function requires multiple distinct programs or sequences for the various phases of its lifecycle: assembly, operation, complex orchestration with other functions, error detection and correction, replication, and so on. These are functionally distinct types of activities, so it's almost certain that they are encoded separately, perhaps with completely different coding structures and mechanisms.</div>
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It has no value without a complex collection of molecular machines, yet it must also include the instructions for generating those same machines. The result is an immensely complex choreography of separate but interrelated information and molecular machines. Neither can function without the other -- a ginormous chicken-and-egg problem.</div>
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It exhibits the design properties of the best human-engineered software systems, yet its capabilities extend well beyond any current human-engineered systems. For example, no human-engineered system is capable of self-replicating both the software that operates on the machinery and the machinery that decodes the software.</div>
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Further, based on the observed functionality in living organisms, there are many undiscovered types of information that<i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;"> must be present</i> in a living cell, but which haven't been decoded or understood yet.</div>
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<a href="http://www.evolutionnews.org/2014/05/did_kinesins_ar085951.html" style="border: 0px; color: #6883db; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Kinesis</a> [be sure to watch the video link!] offers a fascinating example of undiscovered information in action. What programs and machinery are required to assemble the structure and function of kinesin? What information is needed for kinesin to achieve its "runtime" functions? How does kinesin know where to go to pick up a load, what load to pick up, what path to take, and where to drop its load? How does it know what to do next? All this functionality takes information, which must be encoded somewhere.</div>
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Indeed, the level of complexity is monotonically increasing, with no end in sight. </div>
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With no possibility that new discoveries will ever decrease the observed complexity, it may not be long before we see a seismic shift in the research paradigm -- from the study of <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">biological systems</i> that happen to contain information, to the study of <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">information systems</i> that happen to be encoded in biology.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Causal Requirements and Causal Forces</b></div>
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Aside from the obvious (and intriguing) challenge of understanding the enormous complexity of life's information payload, <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">evolution purports to explain its origins</i>.</div>
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The origin of life is perhaps the most obvious example of information's formidable hurdle to evolutionary explanations. First life requires all of the following:</div>
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Sufficient complex programs and sequencing to support first life's complete lifecycle (i.e., the directions have to be complete and correct).</div>
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Sufficient machinery to interpret the programs and to operate life (i.e., the directions must have proper effect).</div>
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Sufficient programs and machinery to replicate both the programs and the machinery (i.e., the directions must be passed to the next generation).</div>
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And all this must be present at the same time, in the same place, in at least one instant in history, at which point the whole must somehow be animated to create life. And all this must occur, by definition, <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">before</i> an organism can reproduce. Without reproduction, there is no possibility to accumulate function, from simple to complex, as required by evolution. Hence, the programs must have contained all the complexity required for first life <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">at inception</i>.</div>
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By definition, then, the minimal programs and machinery required for first life must have <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">predated</i> any creative capabilities (real or imagined) of Darwinian processes.</div>
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Further, since the information necessary for first life must have been assembled prior to the animation of first life, the minimal information payload must have predated first life. And it must therefore have derived from a source beyond biology as we know it.</div>
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This poses a causal quandary for evolutionary biology. For there are only two known classes of causal forces, and these have dramatically different qualities. </div>
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First, there are physical laws, which include mathematics, physics, and chemistry. These are repeatable (i.e., the same inputs always produce the same results) and purposeless (i.e., the same inputs produce the same results, <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">no matter who gets hurt</i>). Their repeatability makes science effective. But physical laws are not capable of acting with <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">intent</i>, which limits their creative capabilities.</div>
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Operating within the physical laws are random events that can change the information payload of life in various ways. But these are constrained by the same physical laws, so are similarly incapable of acting with intent. Random events cannot create complex information, except in two circumstances: (a) there is some predefined notion of a desirable outcome, and (b) any "positive gains" toward that outcome are protected from random degradation through some external mechanism. Both of these special circumstances require intention, which the physical laws cannot offer.</div>
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Second, there are intelligent causes, which are purposeful and therefore not generally repeatable. The creation of complex programming requires non-repeatability. While intelligent causes are capable of generating the right kind of information, it's difficult to pin down when and how their actions occurred, or what their intent might have been. All sciences that deal with intelligent causes (e.g., archaeology) are made more difficult by non-repeatability.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">An Impending Worldview Crisis</b></div>
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The search for a purposeful cause that predates biology as we know it inevitably drives the conversation to metaphysics. And this places evolution (and biology) at the center of a conflict between worldviews.</div>
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For materialists, the first class of causal force is insufficient and the second is unacceptable. Materialist biologists are thus pressed to find a third class of causal force -- one that works without purpose (required to adhere to materialist philosophy), yet produces purposeful outcomes (required to adhere to the observed world). As yet no reasonable candidate forces have been proposed.</div>
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So materialists face growing dissonance between their philosophical commitment and biology's complex programming. As the quality and quantity of the discovered interdependent programs and processing machinery increases, the plausibility of material causation gets weaker. So the materialist position is weak, and going in the wrong direction (from their perspective).</div>
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On the other hand, for anyone not fully committed to materialist philosophy the options are much more interesting. For those willing to consider the second class of causal force, things begin to fall into place and the dissonance dissipates.</div>
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For theists, the second class of causal force is not only acceptable, but expected. Further, theists are unsurprised to learn that the causal forces in class #1 are finely tuned to enable life, and they have no problem with the notion that random events are more likely to destroy information than create it (e.g., there are far more possible non-functioning programs than functioning programs).</div>
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Ongoing discoveries about the nature of the information at the core of life present a growing hurdle for the materialist worldview, but are increasingly friendly to any worldview that's open to a pre-biological intelligencewith some means to <i style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">assemble</i> the programs and machinery minimally required for first life.</div>
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And this sets up a worldview collision.</div>
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<b style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px;">Evolution's Grand Challenge</b></div>
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Molecular biology is characterized by growing questions and shrinking answers.</div>
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It's like the guy who, after untying his boat, finds himself with one foot on the dock and one foot in the boat. As the gap grows, it becomes increasingly hard to ignore. And uncomfortable. And temporary.</div>
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And this is evolution's grand challenge: The complex programs and amazing molecular machines at the heart of life simply cannot be explained by any current or proposed theory of evolution, nor by any other completely material cause. Apologists for materialism cannot hide this fact much longer. Neither the volume of their arguments nor any level of vitriol can change the fact that the data is skewing against them.</div>
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Rarely has any field of science had to deal with questions so difficult, or that cut so deeply into the worldviews, minds, and hearts, of thoughtful men and women. </div>
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Evolution sits at the center of a front-and-center debate -- with too much to explain, in too little time, with insufficient causal power, and with so many watching and so much at stake.</div>
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That, I would say, is what makes evolution different.</div>
David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-45311767417735174742015-09-26T23:08:00.005-04:002015-09-26T23:12:56.024-04:00ARE ATHEISTS INTENTIONALLY IGNORANT?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-903pAcC7iEI/VgddF8gMTmI/AAAAAAAAEDU/LmBAnvajDo4/s1600/Ariane_Sherine_and_Richard_Dawkins_at_the_Atheist_Bus_Campaign_launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-903pAcC7iEI/VgddF8gMTmI/AAAAAAAAEDU/LmBAnvajDo4/s640/Ariane_Sherine_and_Richard_Dawkins_at_the_Atheist_Bus_Campaign_launch.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">To ask ‘are [all] atheists intentionally ignorant’ is not intended as an insult, rather, is it not a realistic statement of fact? The reality is all atheists are ignorant of the existence of God. How could it be otherwise? They openly promote this ignorance but would rather convey their message to their audience as denial.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Atheists must live with the dilemma that they are always having to ‘prove a negative’ even if they would deny that they have to actually prove anything. The paradigm that divides non-believers and believers is that a non-believer must convince him or her self that God does not exist, while for those who seek God it is God who does the convincing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Evolution is atheism’s single crutch and simultaneously its most effective weapon. As with attacks on traditional marriage, euthanasia, pro-life proponents, religious conscience, etc. it is those who tend to 'shout the loudest’ would seem to prevail - regardless of any factual evidence to the contrary. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In Wm. Paul Young’s latest book <i>Eve</i>, Younge wrote, <i>"Lilly, words like 'God' and 'believe' are often meaningless. I don't believe God. I know God! Once you know someone, believing is no longer a concern.”</i> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Because I know God, it is a lot easier for me to place my faith in God’s description of Creation than in a manmade theory that requires one to stretch one’s faith to the infinite degree and still come up short on answers. Every atheist must continually ponder the question: who or what is the uncaused cause of the universe and everything in it? If there ever was a Big Bang who or what triggered it? Apart from God it is an unanswerable question.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Which requires the greater faith: believing a knowable, omnipotent, omniscient God who describes how He created all living things (plants and creatures) <i>after their own kind</i> AND reveals Himself to those who choose Him, or a process spontaneously coming into existence to create all matter and life which has unprovable theories as its very foundation?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">That which physically exists (all living things, fossils and geologic matter) is the physical evidence both Creationists and evolutionists are constrained to, upon which they must base and argue their apologetics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Creationists do not discount natural selection and accept physical ‘evidence’ as it presents itself without having to apply theories of an evolutionary process to bring it about. Conversely, evolutionists must prove two distinct processes: natural selection <i>and</i> evolution - the former in no way proving nor supporting the latter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">All scientific revelations only further persuade me of a Magnificent Creator, rather than the mind-bendingly complex processes theorised to argue how life <i>might</i> have come about. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have read arguments such as chimpanzees and humans having 90+% of their DNA in common - as if to prove that humans and chimpanzees have a common ancestry. Such ‘evidence’ proves nothing. It is equally reasonable to argue that the Magnificent Creator would share elements of His incredibly complex and intricate design throughout much of that which He created.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just as troubling are commentaries that use <i>lack of evidence</i> to support a thesis. It is common sense that a lack of evidence cannot possibly <i>prove</i> anything. Missing evidence can only mean one of three things: the evidence has been destroyed [erased], transformed or has yet to be uncovered. Science requires the evidence must be <i>in evidence</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Both the Creation paradigm and evolutionary theory use the same fossil record to demonstrate their beliefs. The Creationist can demonstrate that worldwide sedimentary deposits along with the fossil record exactly match the Biblical account of the flood, while the evolutionist will argue that the fossil record documents the sequence in which creatures ‘evolved’. Further, the evolutionary expositor depends on ‘dating methods’ that are mostly theoretical in nature. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The chasm an atheist must cross is as wide as his or her pride. Jesus implied that it easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a proud person to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; in short, impossible. A proud person will seek any excuse (including arguing the theory of evolution) to avoid coming face-to-face with God. Conversely, any person who recognizes his or her wretched condition is welcome to sit at the feet of God and receive unimaginable blessings as a consequence.</span></div>
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<br />David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-37015507674039042702015-09-08T23:52:00.001-04:002015-09-09T00:08:25.043-04:00SIX DAYS FROM TODAY THE 70TH YEAR OF JUBILEE WILL START! WATCH FOR AMAZING THINGS TO HAPPEN ON THE WORLD STAGE.<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Biblically, the <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+25&version=NIV" target="_blank"><b>Year of Jubilee</b></a> occurs once at the end of every 49-year cycle. Each ‘cycle’ is made up of 7 years, the last year of the seven being the Sabbath year, or <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2015&version=NIV" target="_blank"><b>Shemitah</b></a>. At the end of a seven-Shemitah cycle (49 years), the next year, the fiftieth year (which is also the first year of the next 7-year cycle), is the Year of Jubilee.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Joshua crossed the Jordan and led the Hebrew nation into what is now Israel, in 1406 BC. The first Year of Jubilee was celebrated in 1357 BC. I am presently writing this blog on 24th of Elul, 5775 on the Hebrew calendar, or September 8th on the Gregorian calendar, or 5,775 years since the Year of Creation. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why should I, or anyone else, be paying attention to these facts? Is something special going to happen soon? Let’s look back on recent history:</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqp6XWgRkxg/Ve-n2KIOAXI/AAAAAAAAECM/ejcWn3HSJmY/s1600/Allenby_enters_Jerusalem_1917.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zqp6XWgRkxg/Ve-n2KIOAXI/AAAAAAAAECM/ejcWn3HSJmY/s640/Allenby_enters_Jerusalem_1917.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">During what would have been the 68th Year of Jubilee, General Sir Edmund Allenby (above), commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, entered Jerusalem on foot, out of respect for the Holy City, on December 11, 1917, displacing the Turkish Ottoman invaders. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yfeqhMMISqw/Ve-n9CLiUJI/AAAAAAAAECU/Rk1e-r9Wi-E/s1600/Israeli%2Btroops%2Bentering%2BJerusalem%2B1967.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yfeqhMMISqw/Ve-n9CLiUJI/AAAAAAAAECU/Rk1e-r9Wi-E/s640/Israeli%2Btroops%2Bentering%2BJerusalem%2B1967.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Fifty years later Jerusalem, in the 69th Year of Jubilee, Jerusalem once again changed hands during the 1967 Six Day War (above) and the Israelites took control of the City of David for the first time since 586 BC (2,600 years). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Six days from now the 70th Year of Jubilee will start</b> on 1st of Tishrei, 5776, that is 6 days from now, Monday, September 14, 2015. How do we know this? Simple calculation: 1407 years + 2016 years divided by 49 = 70.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This coming Year of Jubilee will also be the 40th since Christ's death.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If such significant events happened in Jerusalem in 1917 and 1967 what does the 70th Year of Jubilee hold? What do you think? Leave your comments below.</span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-77327277706582973702015-07-21T23:07:00.000-04:002016-07-27T15:44:34.637-04:00Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 1: Leviticus, God’s love story. The Gospel in the Old Testament.<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tubacz_Kva4/Va76-AZSvvI/AAAAAAAAD-8/cwuU6Sm3Ux8/s1600/Leviticus-ppt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tubacz_Kva4/Va76-AZSvvI/AAAAAAAAD-8/cwuU6Sm3Ux8/s640/Leviticus-ppt.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am a huge proponent of always reading and understanding Scripture in context. Read each word in the context of the verse, read each verse in the context of the whole chapter, read the chapter in the context of the whole book and read each book in context of the entire Bible.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Failure to do so inevitably leads to a corrupt understanding of who God is, His love, His holiness, His Law and the life-lessons He wants us to learn and act upon, and our devotion towards Him.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Heeding my own advice I started my study at Leviticus 1:1 and found myself reading a love story.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The very same love story I had found in the gospels.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">I am not a biblical scholar and have not attended a theological seminary - but I can read. And with my tax-funded high school education I did learn a little <i>comprehension</i>. Regrettably, some choose to dwell in blissful and/or wilful ignorance of what God is actually trying to teach them in the Scriptures. Believe it or not, the <i>Book of Leviticus</i> is all about God drawing people back into a covenant relationship, a precursor to that which He would fulfill with His incarnation in Jesus Christ.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #783f04; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">King David wrote in Psalm 1:1-3 <i>“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How often have you personally regarded the <i>Book of Leviticus</i> as a litany of ritual offerings and sacrifices? An endless inventory of do’s and don’ts? Bloody and painful stonings or burnings for those who fail to follow God’s laws? What do you mean, I can’t wear a denim shirt </span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+19%3A19&version=NIV" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0079cd;">with leather elbow patches</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I started reading, looking beyond the do’s and don’ts, I found phrases like, <i>“…it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you”, “fellowship offering”, “he will be forgiven”, “they will be forgiven”, “the priest will make atonement for them for any of these sins they have committed, and they will be forgiven”, “an expression of thankfulness”, “freewill offering”, “Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the </i><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2015&version=NIV"><span style="color: #0079cd;"><i>covenant</i></span></a><i> of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings,” <b>“They shouted for joy…”</b> “Be assured that I will send my blessing for you…” </i>And on and on it goes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Throughout Leviticus, as in the Gospels and the rest of Scripture, God is calling His people back into a right relationship with Himself, calling them to be holy, reminding them that He is holy and their sin needs to be confessed and atoned for in order for an intimate relationship to be possible. In His divine wisdom and perfect sense of justice, God established that a blood sacrifice was the only way for sin to be dealt with; ultimately shedding His own blood so that the sin of anyone, who acknowledges the lordship of Jesus Christ, may be forgiven. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>God is not petty</b>. He doesn’t make rules just to keep you in check, to ‘yank your chain’ whenever He feels you’ve strayed too far. We must always remember God is love. This must be the foundation of our understanding of how we expect Him to act. Equally imperative is the fact that God is perfectly holy and perfectly just. We cannot isolate one aspect of who we understand God to be from any of the others, as soon as we do our understanding of what God is teaching us in Leviticus will fall apart. <b>We cannot isolate God’s love from His justice and holiness</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are four realities that God would have us understand in interpreting and understanding His ‘lessons’ or statutes:</span></div>
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<li>God is love. This means that His motivation in establishing ‘rules’ for us to live by is ultimately for our benefit and His subsequent joy. As any loving parent will caution a child, “Don’t touch that, it’s hot. If you do you’ll get burned.” God’s love for us is the ultimate form and expression of love. It is selfless love.</li>
<li>God is Holy. This means no sin can come into His presence. Every sin must be atoned for (dealt with).</li>
<li>God is just. Every decision God makes is perfectly just - the punishment <i>must</i> fit the crime. This can only be understood in the context of God’s absolute holiness.</li>
<li>God, out of His grace, chose Abraham’s descendants, the Jewish people, to be set apart. In this setting apart, this <i>choseness</i>, God wanted the Jewish peoples to be a living example to the rest of the world; being visibly distinct in living lives that reflected God’s covenant relationship with them, to keep themselves unpolluted by the world and free from sin.</li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not a single one of these characteristics of God can be detached or isolated from the other. God’s sense of justice is in no way diluted by His love and his love is not diluted by His justice. Ultimately, justice for mankind’s sin has [had] to be meted out and it cost God the death of His Son.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As we read through Leviticus you will discover different kinds of statutes:</span></div>
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<li>Instructions for restoring our relationship with God; acknowledgement/confession of our sin to Him and offering a blood sacrifice (in Christ, God provided the ultimate blood sacrifice, negating the need for animal sacrifices).</li>
<li>Instructions on how to bring gifts of thanksgiving to God for His love and benevolence.</li>
<li>Instructions for those who were set apart to lead and teach His people (the Levites).</li>
<li>Instructions for daily living (how to best take care of ourselves).</li>
<li>Actions that are sinful, detestable or abominable to God.</li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">[Wilful] ignorance of God’s Word is nothing new. Jesus told the Pharisees </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“</i><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>You nullify the Word of God</i></b><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> for the sake of your traditions </i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">[opinions and ideas]” <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15%3A6&version=NIV" target="_blank">Matthew 15:6</a>. In addressing a number of Sadducees (who were posing a hypothetical question) Jesus replied, </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“You are in error because </i><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>you do not know the Scriptures </i></b><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">or the power of God.</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">” </span><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22:28-30&version=NIV" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Matthew 22:29</span></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> How often do we put God in a box, assuming our reading of what God has said is in error (or that the text or translation is in error) because it does not match our paradigm, our preconceived notions or beliefs? Heaven forbid! Who are we to instruct God on what is right or wrong?</span></span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-1_21.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 1: Leviticus, God’s love story. The Gospel in the Old Testament.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-2.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 2: Leviticus 18:22</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-3-what.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 3: What did Jesus say about Leviticus 18:22?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-4.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 4: Judging others? Or simply pointing them in the right direction?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-5-its.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 5: It’s not that kind of love.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-6.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 6: Origins.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-7.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 7: Consequences.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-8-why.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 8: Why the focus?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-9.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 9: Justification and Resistance</span></a></span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-33272554675219979252015-07-21T23:06:00.007-04:002016-07-10T22:02:28.105-04:00Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 2: Leviticus 18:22<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>“If God is not sovereign over the land and its people, then the land and its people become cut off from the Creator. A God-centred worldview is replaced by a man-centred and self-centred worldview. So the people of Israel drove God out of their lives to become their own gods, masters of the land, their world, and their destiny. They could now rewrite the law and redefine what was right and wrong, moral and immoral.”</i> From the <i>Mystery of the Shemitah</i> by Jonathan Cahn.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Following the many conversations that have arisen since the US Supreme Court’s decision concerning same-sex marriage in June 2015, I notice a consistency in the way individuals, including what seems a very large number of professing Christians, twist the words of God, of Christ, to somehow place God’s love above God’s justice. This is heresy! In Psalm 89:13 we read, <i>“</i><b><i>Righteousness and </i></b><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2014/10/seeking-justice-for-gods-people.html"><span style="color: #0079cd;"><b><i>justice</i></b></span></a><b><i> are</i></b><i> </i><b><i>the foundation of Your throne</i></b><i>; mercy and truth go before Your face.”</i> As soon as we start messing around with the nature and attributes of God He ceases to be God.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">It is this light that <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+18%3A22+&version=NKJV"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Leviticus 18:22</span></a> becomes an immovable object in any discussion concerning same-sex relationships. <b>Leviticus 18:22 is as unambiguous as it is possible to be</b>. Unlike some other Scriptures Leviticus 18:22 is not susceptible to misinterpretation; you don’t need to compare it to other Scriptures, you don’t have to interpret it the context of other Scriptures or historic times, it’s meaning is not diluted in differing translations. It is not contradictory to any other Law or Scripture. There is no subtlety of ambiguity in what God says. God simply says that sex between two men is an <i>abomination</i> [dictionary definition: detestation, loathing, hatred, aversion, antipathy, revulsion, repugnance, abhorrence, odium, execration, disgust, horror, hostility]. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Perhaps things are different in this regard now that we live in an ‘age of grace’? No, not so. In Numbers 23:19 God speaks through Balek, <i>“God is not human, that he should lie, </i><b><i>not a human being,</i></b><i> </i><b><i>that he should change his mind</i></b><i>. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?”</i> Jesus went on to say, <i>“</i><b><i>Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law</i></b><i> or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, </i><b><i>not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law</i></b><i> until everything is accomplished”</i> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A18&version=NIV"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Matthew 5:18</span></a><span style="color: #0079cd; text-decoration: underline;">.</span> In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+16:17&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Luke 16:17</span></a> He says, <i>“… that </i><b><i>doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force</i></b><i>. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned</i>.” and Jesus went on to say, <i>“</i><b><i>If you love me,</i></b><i> </i><b><i>keep my commands</i></b><i>.”</i> John 14:15. Humans distort God’s Word at their peril and offend God when they do so.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some have asked why do those who stand in opposition to same-sex marriage place such a strong emphasis on Leviticus 18:22? I believe the answer is simple – because it is so clear and explicit. This is the opposite tack those who support same-sex marriage take – quoting verses and passages of Scripture out of context in efforts to make their case, appealing exclusively to the love attribute of God. No, no, no!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Culture in and of itself is not necessarily bad, it is when we give culture pre-eminence over Scripture that we have a problem. We are very good at manipulating Scripture to fit our culture. This culture can pull us away from the truth. According to <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+2%3A14&version=NIV">1 Corinthians 2:14</a> those that manipulate Scripture live in cultural delusion, <i>"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."</i></span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-1_21.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 1: Leviticus, God’s love story. The Gospel in the Old Testament.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-2.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 2: Leviticus 18:22</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-3-what.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 3: What did Jesus say about Leviticus 18:22?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-4.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 4: Judging others? Or simply pointing them in the right direction?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-5-its.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 5: It’s not that kind of love.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-6.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 6: Origins.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-7.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 7: Consequences.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-8-why.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 8: Why the focus?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-9.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 9: Justification and Resistance</span></a></span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-68395556839041365792015-07-21T23:06:00.006-04:002016-07-10T22:23:49.982-04:00Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 3: What did Jesus say about Leviticus 18:22?<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In an email exchange, a professor at a Christian college asked me, <i>“How much do we cherry pick when it’s convenient and on what basis do we make those decisions?”</i> He then went on to argue <i>what Jesus</i> <i>did not</i> say, that Jesus did not regurgitate all the commandments found in Leviticus, <b>as if Jesus had somehow invalidated the Book of Leviticus</b> by not doing so. How often have you heard people randomly quote other verses from Leviticus<i>, ‘Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material’</i> 19:22 as being a meaningless commandment we do not follow today, as if a random verse used out of context somehow invalidates the command in 18:22. The professor misses the point entirely, that God introduces the section that includes 19:22, saying, <i>“Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”</i> Not wearing clothing made from more than one fabric was just one of many examples God provided to the children of Israel, to be a constant visual reminder that they were to keep themselves unpolluted by not following the practices of the nations around them, to keep themselves holy. Today, born-again-Christians (there is no other kind according to Jesus), have the constant indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be their reminder to live holy lives.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Throughout the gospels Jesus repeats again and again that the essence of God’s Law will not be repealed until the end of time. Jesus becomes visibly angry at those who disparage and discount God’s Law, especially those who would consider themselves scholars of God’s Word – ‘Teachers of the Law’.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15:19&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Matthew 15:19</span></a> Jesus directly refers to sexual immorality,<i> “For </i><b><i>from the heart</i></b><i> come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, </i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>all</i></b></span><b><i> sexual immorality</i></b><i>, theft, lying, and slander.”</i> Seeing as the pre-incarnate Jesus wrote and instituted Levitical Laws in the first place, including what we now identify as <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus+18&version=NIV"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Chapter 18</span></a>, it is irrational to suppose He somehow forgot what He wrote and is now invalidating these laws by not regurgitating each one word-for-word. To the contrary, not only is He validating these laws, Jesus identifies the source of our desire to break these laws. Our corruption of God’s law originates in the heart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0079cd; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15%3A1-20&version=NLT">Matthew 15:1:20</a></span> <i>Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law… asked Jesus, “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? ….”</i></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions </i>[your own concepts, ideas and beliefs]<i>, violate the direct commandments of God? …….you cancel the word of God for the sake of your own tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but </i><b><i>their hearts are far from me</i></b><i>. Their worship is a farce, for </i><b><i>they teach man-made ideas as commands from God</i></b><i>.’”</i></span><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.”</span></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees </i>[those who are pro-gay marriage?] <i>by what you just said?”</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-1_21.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 1: Leviticus, God’s love story. The Gospel in the Old Testament.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-2.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 2: Leviticus 18:22</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-3-what.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 3: What did Jesus say about Leviticus 18:22?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-4.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 4: Judging others? Or simply pointing them in the right direction?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-5-its.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 5: It’s not that kind of love.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-6.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 6: Origins.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-7.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 7: Consequences.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-8-why.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 8: Why the focus?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-9.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 9: Justification and Resistance</span></a></span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-64191179504747475402015-07-21T23:06:00.005-04:002016-07-10T22:26:00.318-04:00Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 4: Judging others? Or simply pointing them in the right direction?<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jesus said, <i>“For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.”</i> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7:2&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Matthew 7:2</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jesus also said, <i>“For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.”</i> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+16:27&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Matthew 16:27</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">How often have people <a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2010/04/i-am-not-bigot-and-i-am-not-homophobic.html" target="_blank">wagged a boney finger</a> in your direction and chastised you for simply having an opinion, especially one that is biblically contrary to their opinion? “Who are you to judge me for by beliefs or actions? What gives you the right?”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Thankfully, I don’t have to judge anyone – that is Jesus’ exclusive prerogative. And I hope that I treat others as I would want to be treated, with respect and in a Christ-like way by people who will point me in the right direction when I go off course. I have been blessed by many godly individuals in my life who have done just that. But please note, </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Jesus was not prone to using mushy platitudes</b>.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I hope nothing I have written here is construed as judgmental. Factual, yes. Judgemental, no.</span></span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-1_21.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 1: Leviticus, God’s love story. The Gospel in the Old Testament.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-2.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 2: Leviticus 18:22</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-3-what.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 3: What did Jesus say about Leviticus 18:22?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-4.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 4: Judging others? Or simply pointing them in the right direction?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-5-its.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 5: It’s not that kind of love.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-6.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 6: Origins.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-7.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 7: Consequences.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-8-why.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 8: Why the focus?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-9.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 9: Justification and Resistance</span></a></span></div>
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© David Harrison 2015</div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-60747258536650845172015-07-21T23:06:00.004-04:002015-07-26T21:42:09.767-04:00Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 5: It’s not that kind of love.<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some have inferred there was some kind of homosexual relationship between David and Jonathan and used this as the basis for arguing God’s condoning of such relationships. This, as with many other ‘proof texts’, is pure manipulation of the text. The Hebrew word <b><i>ahab</i></b> is used of the love of Isaac for his wife Rebekah (see <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+24%3A67&version=NIV"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Genesis 24:67</span></a>), of parents for children, for example Abraham for his son Isaac (see <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+22%3A2&version=NIV"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Genesis 22:2</span></a>), and of Jonathon for David, his closest friend (see <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+18%3A1&version=NIV"><span style="color: #0079cd;">1 Samuel 18:1</span></a>). Jonathon’s totally unselfish treatment of David is a human example of the type of love God has for us, agápe<i> love</i> as it is used in the gospels. Jonathon put David’s interests before his own. The Hebrew word <b><i>dôd</i></b> is the erotic form of the word love as found in the <i>Song of Solomon</i> – not the kind of love shared between David and Jonathon. As the text describes, it was the highest form of love, <i>“…better than that of a love between a man and a woman.”</i> Agápe love is a choice, not a feeling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Greek language distinguishes at least four different ways as to how the word <i>love</i> is used. Ancient Greek has four distinct words for love: agápe, éros, philía, and storgē. However, as with other languages, it has been historically difficult to separate the meanings of these words when used outside of their respective contexts. Nonetheless, the senses in which these words were generally used are as follows:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Agápe</b> (ἀγάπη agápē) means “love: esp. brotherly love, charity; the love of God for man and of man for God.” Agape is used in ancient texts to denote feelings for one’s children and the feelings for a spouse, and it was also used to refer to a love feast. Agape is used by Christians to express the unconditional love of God for his children. This type of love was further explained by Thomas Aquinas as “to will the good of another.”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Agápe does not have the primary meaning of affection nor of coming from one’s feelings.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Jesus displayed this Agápe kind of love by going to the cross and dying even though He didn’t feel like dying. He prayed, </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Matthew 26:39. Jesus sought the betterment of mankind, regardless of His feelings.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">We, too, can agape (love) our enemies, even though we don’t have any warm feelings of affection for them. If they are hungry, we can feed them; if they thirst, we can give them a drink. We can choose to seek the betterment and welfare of others regardless of how we feel. The Apostle John said, “Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” 1John 3:18. Jesus referred to His love for others (John 13:34; 15:9, and 12), but He never directly told anyone, “I love you.”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Eros</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> (ἔ</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ρως érōs) means </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“love, mostly of the sexual passion.” The Modern Greek word “erotas” means “intimate love.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Philia</b> (φιλία philía) means “affectionate regard, friendship,” usually “between equals.” It is a dispassionate virtuous love, a concept developed by Aristotle. In his best-known work on ethics, <i>Nicomachean Ethics</i>, philia is expressed variously as loyalty to friends, family, and community, and requires virtue, equality, and familiarity. Furthermore, in the same text philos denotes a general type of love, used for love between family, between friends, a desire or enjoyment of an activity, as well as between lovers.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although phileo-love is encouraged in Scripture, unlike agápe-love, it is never a direct command. God never commands us to phileo (love) anyone, since this type of love is based on feelings. Even God did not phileo the world, He operated in</span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> agápe </i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">love toward us.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Storge</b> (στοργή storgē) means “love, affection” and “especially of parents and children” It’s the common or natural empathy, like that felt by parents for offspring. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nowhere in all of Scripture do the words <b><i>dôd </i></b>or <b><i>eros</i> </b>denote erotic love between two people of the same sex. Nowhere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would like to conclude this section by quoting a few excerpts from a totally unrelated topic, <i>The Delight of Giving,</i> an article by John G. Stackhouse Jr., printed in <i>Faith Today</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">“Many of us have been told that agape love is the highest and best because it is <i>unselfish</i>. Erotic or friendly love provide enjoyment, but agape is utterly self-forgetful and entirely concerned with the welfare of the other. God loves this way and so should we. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The problem is, God does </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">not</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> love this way. God does not love without regard for His own pleasure or purpose.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What sense would that even make?</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I want to help these people because</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> – well why?</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Whether God loves us because He enjoys our delight, or because He wants to bring glory to Himself, or because it’s just the right thing to do, God is still getting something out of the bargain.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">And there is nothing wrong with that.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hebrews 12 directs us to consider, “Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith… [who] </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">for the joy set before Him</i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.”</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Love is not a zero-sum game, despite Darwinist or agapist reductionists. Love is a circle of reinforcing delight, a spiral of ever-increasing joy in mutual concern for everyone’s welfare. It’s a win-win-win situation.”</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I would like to add that the only thing that can corrupt and collapse this ‘ever increasing spiral of joy’ is our disobedience and rejection of God’s commands.</span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-1_21.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 1: Leviticus, God’s love story. The Gospel in the Old Testament.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-2.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 2: Leviticus 18:22</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-3-what.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 3: What did Jesus say about Leviticus 18:22?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-4.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 4: Judging others? Or simply pointing them in the right direction?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-5-its.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 5: It’s not that kind of love.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-6.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 6: Origins.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-7.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 7: Consequences.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-8-why.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 8: Why the focus?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-9.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 9: Justification and Resistance</span></a></span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-56807283890904569082015-07-21T23:06:00.003-04:002018-07-31T12:20:39.283-04:00Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 6: Origins.<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">There is no convincing evidence on why some people consider themselves to have same-sex attraction. I have scoured the internet and found nothing conclusive. There are the following observations:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Homosexuality is exclusive to the human race.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Homosexuality runs counter to evolutionary theory and </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">is an evolutionary </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">dead end</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There has been nothing discovered in human DNA thus far to indicate anything hereditary.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">God says that homosexual acts are an abomination (His words).</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many people who identify themselves as gay were <a href="http://borngay.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000029" target="_blank">sexually abused as children</a> and is a probable contributing factor. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_sexual_orientation#Canada" target="_blank">In Canada</a> approximately 1 in 100 identify themselves as homosexual. </span></span> </li>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If we are to believe God’s opinion of two men lying together as denoted in Leviticus 18:22, then it seems to be a reasonable assumption that its origins were in The Fall, one of the many consequences of original sin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Therefore the only ‘origin’ I can reasonably offer is what I wrote in Section 3: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">In <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+15:19&version=NLT"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Matthew 15:19</span></a> Jesus directly refers to sexual immorality,<i> “For </i><b><i>from the heart</i></b><i> come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, </i><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><b><i>all</i></b></span><b><i> sexual immorality</i></b><i>, theft, lying, and slander.”</i> Seeing as the pre-incarnate Jesus wrote and instituted Levitical Laws in the first place, including what we now identify as <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=leviticus+18&version=NIV"><span style="color: #0079cd;">Chapter 18</span></a>, it is irrational to suppose that He has now somehow forgotten what He wrote and is now invalidating these laws by not regurgitating each one word-for-word. To the contrary, not only is He validating these laws, Jesus identifies the source of our desire to break these laws. Our corruption of God’s law <b>originates in the heart</b>. </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Regardless of origin, fundamentally, homosexual acts are a rebellion against God, see Romans 1:26-32.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 10px;">© David Harrison 2015</span><br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-1_21.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 1: Leviticus, God’s love story. The Gospel in the Old Testament.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-2.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 2: Leviticus 18:22</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-3-what.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 3: What did Jesus say about Leviticus 18:22?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-4.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 4: Judging others? Or simply pointing them in the right direction?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-5-its.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 5: It’s not that kind of love.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-6.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 6: Origins.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-7.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 7: Consequences.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-8-why.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 8: Why the focus?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-9.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 9: Justification and Resistance</span></a></span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9101254255955238199.post-38205745684526828272015-07-21T23:06:00.002-04:002016-07-06T10:28:14.621-04:00Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 7: Consequences.<div style="margin-bottom: 6px; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As we move through the <i>Book of Leviticus</i>, towards its conclusion, we find in Chapter 26 two sections of text described in my NLT Bible as <b><i>Blessings for Obedience</i> and <i>Punishments for Disobedience</i></b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Before I get into the issues surrounding the blessings and punishments I want to again address those who would say that the texts I am going to refer to were for another era, for another people. I believe this has proven to be a perilous error. The Israelites, God’s chosen people, were to be a living testimony of God’s goodness and faithfulness to the nations around them, to draw others towards them. Foreigners who wished to follow Jehovah God were welcomed into this family. In becoming part of His family they understood that all the <b>laws, regulations <u>and</u> blessing</b>s were now theirs. Today we are invited to become part of God’s family by accepting the atoning death and Lordship of Jesus Christ. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that we will no longer receive God’s blessings for obedience and God’s discipline for disobedience. My own life experiences bear this out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Blessings for Obedience</i></b><i>. “If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops… You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land. I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear… I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you. You will have such a surplus of crops you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest!”</i> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+26%3A1-3&version=NIV" target="_blank">Leviticus 26:1-13</a>. And on He goes naming one blessing after another. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">If you visit the Mennonite areas of Philadelphia, where they still farm the land according to Levitical law, you will find the most fertile land in all of North America! In the Book of Malachi God teaches about the principle of tithing, giving back a portion to God as an expression of gratitude. My own experience in this regard is that it is simply impossible to out-give God. As <a href="https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/19" target="_blank">the Hymn</a> goes, <i>“Blessings all mine with ten-thousand besides…”</i> Quite simply, the blessings for obedience to God are unlimited. We <i>choose</i> to obey God because we love God.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">And then there is <b>the flip-side</b> which we seem all too quick to ignore and all too quick to complain when it comes about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Punishments for Disobedience</i></b><i>.</i> <i>“However, if you do not listen to me or obey all these commands, and if you break my covenant by rejecting my decrees, treating my regulations with contempt, and refusing to obey my commands, I will punish you. I will bring sudden terrors upon you – wasting diseases and burning fevers that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away….”</i> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+26%3A14-16&version=NIV" target="_blank">Leviticus 26:14-16</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">As we read, “<i>I will bring sudden terrors upon you – wasting diseases and burning fevers that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away.” </i>Is it fair to draw a parallel between Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 26:14? I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions. As for me I can only look at the evidence, with millions of people dead (<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3234451/" target="_blank">more than 25-million by 2008</a>) for failing to live their lives the way God called them to. And yes, there are many <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contaminated_haemophilia_blood_products" target="_blank">innocent victims</a> as a consequence of other’s [selfish] actions. We still live in a fallen world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Many will quote the oft used platitude, ‘Hate the sin and love the sinner.’ <b>Jesus loved sinners by directing them away from their sin.</b> Having dealt with the bigoted hypocrites who accused her, Jesus ended His conversation with <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8%3A3-11&version=NIV" target="_blank">the woman caught in adultery</a> by saying, <i><b>“Go and sin no more.”</b></i> It is impossible to <i>agape</i> love those who find themselves in sin by not doing likewise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Jesus also provides a stern warning to those who condone, or even promote behaviour that is contrary to God's teaching. Given that the context of his warning is towards those within the church/family of God (that is those who will be "in the Kingdom of Heaven"), Jesus is very explicit in his condemnation of those who belittle God's laws by insinuating that when it comes to sex outside of a heterosexual marriage - anything goes - no harm done - show a little tolerance, etc. At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, <b>"So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven."</b> <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A19-20&version=NLT">Matthew 5:19</a></span><br />
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© David Harrison 2015<br />
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-1_21.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 1: Leviticus, God’s love story. The Gospel in the Old Testament.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-2.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 2: Leviticus 18:22</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-3-what.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 3: What did Jesus say about Leviticus 18:22?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-4.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 4: Judging others? Or simply pointing them in the right direction?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-5-its.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 5: It’s not that kind of love.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-6.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 6: Origins.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-7.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 7: Consequences.</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-8-why.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 8: Why the focus?</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://davidoharrison.blogspot.ca/2015/07/thoughts-on-leviticus-1822-part-9.html"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Thoughts on Leviticus 18:22, Part 9: Justification and Resistance</span></a></span></div>
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David Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15070744352254363997noreply@blogger.com0