Serf Life
Been here much more than a while
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Cedar trees come in all sizes. Maybe meant a baby cedar covered in hipposhit?
Tree Devotionals (Contain Bible Verses, so enter at your own risk)
- Thread starter CaPowell
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Not the one of the dino...unless you're doing some wordsmithing. In that case you're rewriting the bible passage. Wait...who wrote the bible?
Add the whole description of the two critters and they are a hippo and rhino.
No tap dancing allowed.
I hadn't remembered that story. What a petulant Drama Queen JC was in that scene
CaPowell
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- Stillwater, OK
Tom, I'm really confused how you see a rhino in chapter 41. It is clearly describing a sea creature. The first verse of 41 says, "Can you draw out Leviathan with a fish hook?" Verse 7 mentions fishing spears and harpoons. It seems to be reptilian and have scales. Oh yeah, and it seems to indicate that it blew fire and left a wake of water behind it.
I'm sorry, but that in no way describes a rhino.
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- Retired in Minneapolis
This gives me pause.
www.theguardian.com
Rare ‘Wicked’ bible that encourages adultery discovered in New Zealand
First copy of the 1631 bible, which mistakenly reads ‘thou shalt commit adultery’, to be found in the southern hemisphere
www.theguardian.com
- Location
- Retired in Minneapolis
I was raised Catholic so I didn't get much of an education of the Old Testament.
From what I read here it looks like there are some stories that I should understand.
Can someone help me out with how to integrate the historical stories into modern times? How do the words of these stories make sense? Until I read them it sure seems like there are some really awful accounts of god.
From what I read here it looks like there are some stories that I should understand.
Can someone help me out with how to integrate the historical stories into modern times? How do the words of these stories make sense? Until I read them it sure seems like there are some really awful accounts of god.
CaPowell
Participating member
- Location
- Stillwater, OK
#15
Not to beat a dead horse with the Law of Sowing and Reaping, but I dug up some material I shared in Sunday School a few years ago. Some of it is repeat (I apologize), but it digs a little deeper.
Proverbs 22:8 “He who sows iniquity will reap vanity.”
There are many such verses throughout Scripture. Let’s read Galatians 6:7-9 to see what Paul has to say on the matter.
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."
I want to unpack this verse and look at some principles of sowing and reaping. This is one of those verses that is so familiar, it is easy to skip right over it without letting it really sink in. It is a sobering truth; we have to reap what we sow. Who was Paul speaking to here? Not to non-believers; he was writing to Christians. Christians have to reap what they sow too. Someone might say, “There’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” They are right. But, you still have to reap what you sow in this life right?
Principle 1: When a man sows, he expects to reap.
“If a farmer went on sowing, spring after spring, and never reaping in the autumn, you would say he was a fit subject for the lunatic asylum. No; he is always looking forward to the time when he will reap the reward of his toil. He never expects that the seed he has sown will be lost.”
Principle 2: He expects to reap the same kind of seed that he sows.
“Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” Matt. 7:16
If you sow to the flesh, you reap from the flesh. If you sow to the Spirit, you reap from the Spirit.
We have some really cool literal examples of this from the Bible. Let’s look at Jacob. Do you all remember Jacob’s deception in Genesis 27? When Isaac was in his old age, he wanted some venison and he sent Esau out to get it. "Go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die." What did Jacob do? Jacob slipped out and took a kid from his father’s flock, and Rebekah, his mother, cooked it. He brought it to his old blind father and said he was Esau. The old man recognized his voice, but he had very cunningly put the skin of the kid on his hands and neck. Isaac felt him and said, “the voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” By this lie, Jacob got his brother’s birthright blessing.
If you follow Jacob to Padanaram, you see that he worked twenty years and his wages were changed ten times. He worked seven years for the lovely Rachel, and then was tricked on his wedding night and ended up having her older sister, Leah, put upon him. Jacob had by deception obtained the blessing of the first-born son, but Laban sarcastically reminded him in Genesis 29:26, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the first-born.”
Look a little further, Jacob had twelve sons. He loved Joseph and Benjamin more than the others. He was partial to Joseph and had a coat of many colors made for him. Joseph told of a dream he had where his father and all of his brothers bowed down to him. The brothers got angry and decided to get rid of him. They sold him and took his coat and dipped it in the blood of a kid, and taking it to their father, they said: “Look what we found, is this your son’s coat?” And Jacob knew that it was and thought a wild animal had devoured him.
Jacob deceived his father with the skin of a kid and his sons deceived him with the blood of a kid. Jacob lied to his father and his sons lied to him. Isaac and Rebekah played favorites with their kids; in a like manner, so did Jacob. Jacob reaped what he sowed.
Look to David as another example. David was walking on the roof of the king’s house and he saw Bathsheba. He lusted after her and committed the awful sin of adultery. Then, to cover up the sin, he came up with a scheme to feed Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, and get him drunk so he would sleep with her. When that didn’t work, he committed murder by having Uriah placed on the front lines and the troops drawn back. Later, Amnon, David’s son, committed adultery with David’s own daughter. Absalom, another of David’s sons, made a feast for Amnon and had him murdered. Not long after that, Absalom came with an army and drove David, his father, from the throne, and then he publicly committed adultery with David’s concubines on the roof of the king’s house; if God had not been overruling, he would have killed his father.
David sowed adultery and reaped it in his own family. He sowed murder and reaped it in his own family.
If you tell your kid to open the door and lie and say you aren’t home, you shouldn’t be surprised when they lie to you a couple weeks later. You reap what you sow.
Take a look at history:
-Alexander VI was poisoned by wine he prepared for another.
-Henry III of France was stabbed in the same chamber where he helped contrive the cruel massacre of French Protestants.
-Maxentine built a false bridge to drown Constantine, but was drowned himself.
Are these just big coincidences? Or, do you think this is the law of sowing and reaping in action?
Galatians 6:7 begins with, “Do not be deceived.” What is the deception that Paul is speaking of?
2. How far reaching is the Law of Sowing and Reaping? How does it apply to the individual? How does it apply to the family? Society? Nations?
Someone has said that as nations have no future existence, the present world is the only place to punish them as nations. Agree or disagree? What examples come to mind? How has God dealt with nations in the past?
How do you feel when you look at what our nation is sowing? What should it drive us, as Christians, to do?
3. Paul teaches that the harvest comes as a necessary consequence of sowing. We are sowing seed with every step. If we sow thistles, should we be surprised when thistles spring up? Is this God’s punishment or simply the natural consequence of sin?
Is God some sort of moral despot, sitting on a throne, attaching penalties to particular actions as they come up for judgment? What may be a better view of how God governs?
4. “Everything reaps its own harvest; every act has its own reward. And before you covet the enjoyment which another possesses, you must first calculate the cost at which it was procured.”
Is the law of sowing and reaping a guarantee for monetary success in the present world? For instance, should the Christian businesswoman expect God to reward her honesty and integrity with high profits, or should she expect to be rewarded in other ways? Why?
With Principle 2 in mind, can you sow to the flesh and reap the harvest of the Spirit? On the other hand, are you disappointed when you sow to the Spirit and don’t reap a temporal harvest? Look again at the list of the fruit of the Spirit. Are they temporal or spiritual?
Fill in the blank:
1. Sow lust, reap ________.
a. Satisfaction
b. Contentment
c. Love
d. More lust and dissatisfaction
2. Sow anger, reap _________.
a. Peace
b. Joy
c. Forgiveness
d. More anger, rage, murder….
Not to beat a dead horse with the Law of Sowing and Reaping, but I dug up some material I shared in Sunday School a few years ago. Some of it is repeat (I apologize), but it digs a little deeper.
Proverbs 22:8 “He who sows iniquity will reap vanity.”
There are many such verses throughout Scripture. Let’s read Galatians 6:7-9 to see what Paul has to say on the matter.
"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."
I want to unpack this verse and look at some principles of sowing and reaping. This is one of those verses that is so familiar, it is easy to skip right over it without letting it really sink in. It is a sobering truth; we have to reap what we sow. Who was Paul speaking to here? Not to non-believers; he was writing to Christians. Christians have to reap what they sow too. Someone might say, “There’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” They are right. But, you still have to reap what you sow in this life right?
Principle 1: When a man sows, he expects to reap.
“If a farmer went on sowing, spring after spring, and never reaping in the autumn, you would say he was a fit subject for the lunatic asylum. No; he is always looking forward to the time when he will reap the reward of his toil. He never expects that the seed he has sown will be lost.”
Principle 2: He expects to reap the same kind of seed that he sows.
“Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” Matt. 7:16
If you sow to the flesh, you reap from the flesh. If you sow to the Spirit, you reap from the Spirit.
We have some really cool literal examples of this from the Bible. Let’s look at Jacob. Do you all remember Jacob’s deception in Genesis 27? When Isaac was in his old age, he wanted some venison and he sent Esau out to get it. "Go out to the field and hunt game for me; and prepare a savory dish for me such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, so that my soul may bless you before I die." What did Jacob do? Jacob slipped out and took a kid from his father’s flock, and Rebekah, his mother, cooked it. He brought it to his old blind father and said he was Esau. The old man recognized his voice, but he had very cunningly put the skin of the kid on his hands and neck. Isaac felt him and said, “the voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” By this lie, Jacob got his brother’s birthright blessing.
If you follow Jacob to Padanaram, you see that he worked twenty years and his wages were changed ten times. He worked seven years for the lovely Rachel, and then was tricked on his wedding night and ended up having her older sister, Leah, put upon him. Jacob had by deception obtained the blessing of the first-born son, but Laban sarcastically reminded him in Genesis 29:26, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the first-born.”
Look a little further, Jacob had twelve sons. He loved Joseph and Benjamin more than the others. He was partial to Joseph and had a coat of many colors made for him. Joseph told of a dream he had where his father and all of his brothers bowed down to him. The brothers got angry and decided to get rid of him. They sold him and took his coat and dipped it in the blood of a kid, and taking it to their father, they said: “Look what we found, is this your son’s coat?” And Jacob knew that it was and thought a wild animal had devoured him.
Jacob deceived his father with the skin of a kid and his sons deceived him with the blood of a kid. Jacob lied to his father and his sons lied to him. Isaac and Rebekah played favorites with their kids; in a like manner, so did Jacob. Jacob reaped what he sowed.
Look to David as another example. David was walking on the roof of the king’s house and he saw Bathsheba. He lusted after her and committed the awful sin of adultery. Then, to cover up the sin, he came up with a scheme to feed Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, and get him drunk so he would sleep with her. When that didn’t work, he committed murder by having Uriah placed on the front lines and the troops drawn back. Later, Amnon, David’s son, committed adultery with David’s own daughter. Absalom, another of David’s sons, made a feast for Amnon and had him murdered. Not long after that, Absalom came with an army and drove David, his father, from the throne, and then he publicly committed adultery with David’s concubines on the roof of the king’s house; if God had not been overruling, he would have killed his father.
David sowed adultery and reaped it in his own family. He sowed murder and reaped it in his own family.
If you tell your kid to open the door and lie and say you aren’t home, you shouldn’t be surprised when they lie to you a couple weeks later. You reap what you sow.
Take a look at history:
-Alexander VI was poisoned by wine he prepared for another.
-Henry III of France was stabbed in the same chamber where he helped contrive the cruel massacre of French Protestants.
-Maxentine built a false bridge to drown Constantine, but was drowned himself.
Are these just big coincidences? Or, do you think this is the law of sowing and reaping in action?
Group Discussion Questions
1. Paul says that the harvest can only be one of two kinds. What are they?
Galatians 6:7 begins with, “Do not be deceived.” What is the deception that Paul is speaking of?
2. How far reaching is the Law of Sowing and Reaping? How does it apply to the individual? How does it apply to the family? Society? Nations?
Someone has said that as nations have no future existence, the present world is the only place to punish them as nations. Agree or disagree? What examples come to mind? How has God dealt with nations in the past?
How do you feel when you look at what our nation is sowing? What should it drive us, as Christians, to do?
3. Paul teaches that the harvest comes as a necessary consequence of sowing. We are sowing seed with every step. If we sow thistles, should we be surprised when thistles spring up? Is this God’s punishment or simply the natural consequence of sin?
Is God some sort of moral despot, sitting on a throne, attaching penalties to particular actions as they come up for judgment? What may be a better view of how God governs?
4. “Everything reaps its own harvest; every act has its own reward. And before you covet the enjoyment which another possesses, you must first calculate the cost at which it was procured.”
Is the law of sowing and reaping a guarantee for monetary success in the present world? For instance, should the Christian businesswoman expect God to reward her honesty and integrity with high profits, or should she expect to be rewarded in other ways? Why?
With Principle 2 in mind, can you sow to the flesh and reap the harvest of the Spirit? On the other hand, are you disappointed when you sow to the Spirit and don’t reap a temporal harvest? Look again at the list of the fruit of the Spirit. Are they temporal or spiritual?
Fill in the blank:
1. Sow lust, reap ________.
a. Satisfaction
b. Contentment
c. Love
d. More lust and dissatisfaction
2. Sow anger, reap _________.
a. Peace
b. Joy
c. Forgiveness
d. More anger, rage, murder….
CaPowell
Participating member
- Location
- Stillwater, OK
Check out GotQuestions, they've probably satisfactorily explained each one of those. https://www.gotquestions.org/I was raised Catholic so I didn't get much of an education of the Old Testament.
From what I read here it looks like there are some stories that I should understand.
Can someone help me out with how to integrate the historical stories into modern times? How do the words of these stories make sense? Until I read them it sure seems like there are some really awful accounts of god.
My first thoughts are:
Whoever wrote that knows just enough to be dangerous. Cherry-picking single verses/events, without having a knowledge of context/background/history is usually pretty dangerous and leads to wrong conclusions.
When God ends a life on earth, it is not murder. Murder is between humans. We know that God is good, kind, caring, compassionate, and just.
Reach
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Atglen, PA
I am still working, and probably will be for a few hours yet, but I will try to put together a good answer to this one later this evening when I get done.I was raised Catholic so I didn't get much of an education of the Old Testament.
From what I read here it looks like there are some stories that I should understand.
Can someone help me out with how to integrate the historical stories into modern times? How do the words of these stories make sense? Until I read them it sure seems like there are some really awful accounts of god.
Reach
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Atglen, PA
I was raised Catholic so I didn't get much of an education of the Old Testament.
From what I read here it looks like there are some stories that I should understand.
Can someone help me out with how to integrate the historical stories into modern times? How do the words of these stories make sense? Until I read them it sure seems like there are some really awful accounts of god.
In answer to your questions, I will try to give a brief explanation of the stories cited in the photo you posted, and will link to an article for further reading on each one.
Abortion is wrong, always, whether the law says so or not. It is the killing of a human baby, who has not yet been born. We as humans should all be terribly upset by the concept of abortion, Christians or not, the child is still a living child. Murder is always wrong, even more so when it the victim is completely innocent. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-life/the-bible-say-about-abortion.html
Bathsheba's child, whom God took, was conceived in adultery when King David saw Bathsheba, had her brought to him, and then lay with her and impregnated her. He tried to cover it up my bringing her husband back from war where he was fighting, but he did not sleep with her, out of a sense of duty towards his men still in the field. So, to try to cover that up, David had him killed. The child died as punishment for David's sin. However, after he repented, God gave him another son, who would become known as the wisest and wealthiest man in history, the man who we know as King Solomon. A bit more explanation can be found here: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/people/who-was-bathsheba-in-the-bible.html
The firstborn sons of Egypt were killed by God as the last of a series of plagues God sent against Egypt because they had enslaved the whole Jewish people. God sent Moses to the Egyptian pharaoh to ask for the Jews to be released, but he refused, repeatedly, through ten separate plagues sent as punishment. When Pharaoh refused to release the Jews, God killed the firstborn male in each family. Finally, Pharaoh relented and let them go. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-does-passover-celebrate.html
The "little children" who were killed by bears were in fact teenagers, a large mob of teenagers who were threatening the life of God' prophet Elisha. God sent out the bears to solve the problem and protect His prophet. https://christianindex.org/stories/why-would-god-send-a-bear-to-maul-children,1778
Joshua killing the children of Jericho: This one is not even written correctly. In fact, Joshua did not invade Jericho, he and his army marched around the city according to God's command, and God caused the walls of the city to fall and destroyed the city, less one house of a prostitute who had hidden the spies Joshua had sent into the city. Note also that the city of Jericho is more of a fort or a military outpost than a normal city. This one may actually be referring to the conquest of Canaan. More information about that can be found in this article: https://bibleproject.com/blog/why-did-god-command-the-invasion-of-canaan-in-the-book-of-joshua/
Hopefully this will help you understand more what actually happened, rather than just a little collection of out-of-context phrases.
Last edited:
- Location
- Retired in Minneapolis
Wha...???
Are you appointing yourself as the apologist for the Catholic church? Don't put on those airs for my sake. Where did I ever say that I was wronged by the Catholic church? You have no clue so keep your nose out of this.
Your 'attack' on the Catholic church in this way is a perfect example of the reason I have so little time with churchy things of any stripe. There is plenty of harm done by religion of any sort to go around.
The only story I've read up on was the bears. So...you're telling me that a group of teenagers being shitheads and teasing some bald guy is reason enough to call in the bears to smite them? If that's OK, and from your paragraph as well as the several articles that I read that went along with the story the churchies think it was OK. It rings of umpteen mass shootings that we've had and explains a lot of how the churchies are so quiet. Where does the 'Thou shall not kill' commandment apply to some punkass teenagers? From what I read the bald guy's life wasn't threatened...only his baldness. Get a grip. George Carlin said what needs to be said about hair:
Don't despair
It's only hair
Reach
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Atglen, PA
I am sorry for having offended you, that was not my intention. I certainly do not consider myself the apologist for the Catholic Church. I will edit my comment and remove that part of my response. Nothing I said was meant to be an attack on the Catholic Church.
- Location
- Retired in Minneapolis
EDIT-My mistake, I mis-spoke. I can't understand the view that killing is OK but abortion is bad.
Reach
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Atglen, PA
The very essence of the photo you posted is abortion. Specifically, the leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion on abortion and God’s care for unborn babies. I addressed it because the photo you posted referenced it. I mentioned the Catholic Church because you stated that you had grown up catholic. I am sorry for my statement, I truly did not mean to offend you.
CaPowell
Participating member
- Location
- Stillwater, OK
???
That was the heart of the meme/attachment you posted in #268.
Why was it okay for Rico to go the abortion route from your post (and you liked it), but not for Reach?
CaPowell
Participating member
- Location
- Stillwater, OK
Where'd you get your stats?
This is from the first pick off Google:
'Pro-Choice' or 'Pro-Life' Demographic Table
Americans' identification as "pro-choice" or "pro-life" on abortion is provided here in tabular form, with breakouts by key population subgroups.
news.gallup.com
CaPowell
Participating member
- Location
- Stillwater, OK
Killing is okay some of the time*. Murder is wrong all of the time.
*War, self-defense...
God is the law-giver. God is the creator. As such, He has the right to do whatever He wants with His creation. As far as God killing goes, I'm still not sure that is the right word.
Back to my fish tank illustration from a few weeks ago: I put a fish tank in my boy's bedroom a couple years ago. I set it up, I decided how to arrange it, and I choose the fish with which to stock it. One of the fish I chose, a pleco, is now much too big for the tank. I really like him, but he is straining the bioload of the tank. A few other fish have died because of this. I need to get him out of there. I might be able to drop him off at Petco or find another home for him on Craigslist, or, I could just toss him in my backyard and let my cats eat him. It doesn't really matter, I just want him out. My sons are going to be really upset with me. For the sake of the illustration, the other fish in the tank might be really upset with me too. They might say something like, "The Mighty Hand is evil. Did you see how he plucked poor Bob from the water?!" My boys and the fish are ignorant of my good intentions and greater purposes.
"You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered as equal with the clay, that what is made would say to its maker, 'He did not make me'; or what is formed say to him who formed it, 'He has no understanding?'" (Isaiah 29:16)
Reach
Been here much more than a while
- Location
- Atglen, PA
Thank you for this posting, I always enjoy your writing and appreciate all the work you put in to writing these! If they have not been, they should be published somewhere. Keep the faith and keep posting!
CaPowell
Participating member
- Location
- Stillwater, OK
You guys can pray for me- I've been off the last week and a half with a pulled groin. That's the only reason I'm on the Buzz during a work day. Doctor says six to eight weeks for a full recovery, but hopefully I can start back next week and just take things easier. Also, my access seems to be restored for the time being (except for my like button), so that is cool.
Rico, a woman might have a right to do what she wants to her own body, but not the right to harm someone else's body. Right?
A baby has it's own body and it's own heartbeat.
You can bring up cases of rape or incest all you want, but the fact is, most abortions are not for those situations, so let's set that argument aside for now, it is a distraction. Most abortions are for the sake of convenience.
Once again, our starting points are radically different, so we wind up with radically different conclusions. I'm assuming you probably regard the unborn as fetuses, or blobs, or potential life's or something. I, however, have held my miscarried 17-week old son in the palm of my hand. He was swaddled and perfect. I can assure you, he looked just like a perfect little baby, only smaller. Everything was there. Fingers. Toes. He was beautiful.
The abortion industry is not pro-woman. They are flippant and do irreparable harm. They lie to these poor women and tell them it is a simple procedure, don't sweat it, it's no big deal. What they don't tell them is that it will possibly mess up their bodies, and they will have to live with the guilt and shame of it for the rest of their lives. My wife once had a 70 year old woman, who she didn't know, break down and tell her about how she aborted her child fifty years before and how she was haunted by what she had done and still regretted it fifty years later. This was completely unprompted by the way, I think she just saw our new baby.
The abortion industry can tout "choice" all they want, but they do not care about women or women's rights. They have dark ulterior motives. Selling fetal body parts.... Population control for certain demographics (see the first president of Planned Parenthood)...
That's just my two cents though that nobody asked for.
Rico, a woman might have a right to do what she wants to her own body, but not the right to harm someone else's body. Right?
A baby has it's own body and it's own heartbeat.
You can bring up cases of rape or incest all you want, but the fact is, most abortions are not for those situations, so let's set that argument aside for now, it is a distraction. Most abortions are for the sake of convenience.
Once again, our starting points are radically different, so we wind up with radically different conclusions. I'm assuming you probably regard the unborn as fetuses, or blobs, or potential life's or something. I, however, have held my miscarried 17-week old son in the palm of my hand. He was swaddled and perfect. I can assure you, he looked just like a perfect little baby, only smaller. Everything was there. Fingers. Toes. He was beautiful.
The abortion industry is not pro-woman. They are flippant and do irreparable harm. They lie to these poor women and tell them it is a simple procedure, don't sweat it, it's no big deal. What they don't tell them is that it will possibly mess up their bodies, and they will have to live with the guilt and shame of it for the rest of their lives. My wife once had a 70 year old woman, who she didn't know, break down and tell her about how she aborted her child fifty years before and how she was haunted by what she had done and still regretted it fifty years later. This was completely unprompted by the way, I think she just saw our new baby.
The abortion industry can tout "choice" all they want, but they do not care about women or women's rights. They have dark ulterior motives. Selling fetal body parts.... Population control for certain demographics (see the first president of Planned Parenthood)...
That's just my two cents though that nobody asked for.
CaPowell
Participating member
- Location
- Stillwater, OK
Thank you, Reach. I appreciate the encouragement.
