By: Rob Peralta
Perhaps the most broken of all the Commandments today is the worshipping of idols and images. The devil has made sure that many "things" take up our time and away from God. Sadly, what a GREAT SUCCESS this has been for him! My heart truly goes out to the Lord, as I know He sees the tremendous idol worshipping going on today. And His heart bleeds anew.
In our Christian life God measures our "time". What do we do with it? How many hours do we spend on this or that each week? We have SO MANY distractions today. Where do I start? Let's see, there is TV, DVDs, IPODS, COMPUTERS, PHONES, MUSIC, THEATRE, VIDEO GAMES,VEHICLES, SPORTS, ETC. You get the point. And each and every one of these can, and in many cases, DOES become an "idol" to us!
In my own personal life before I became a true Christian I also had some idols. I worshipped money, tobacco,music and chess. For these things encompassed "most" of my weekly waking hours. You see, God COUNTS our hours each week and if we spend most of our time on a specific idol or image (TV for example) we are indeed "worshipping" an idol. We BREAK His Commandment! If we continue to do this we place our salvation in serious jeopardy. That is why I was sent a direct sign from God ( Please visit our sister site http://www.godsloveandlaw.wordpress.com/ , the post called " The Lord turns on the light" under "prayers answered") I had been spending much of my evening hours watching TV or on the computer.
The Christian life MUST have it's primary focus on God! Our Lord should be our desire and concern. TIME must be spent reading His word, spreading His word and truth, fellowshipping, prayer, and learning from "in the spirit" teachers and preachers of God's truth. Our Lord spoke these words "I am the way, the truth and the life"(John 14:6) Our "new" life is a life in Jesus, the old is done away with! Meaning we must discard our old idols and have NO IDOLS except our Lord. If you say a prayer like this "Dear Lord,
help me to remember that YOU are first in my life and if I am doing something that comes in front of you, please let me know" He will be faithful and guide you, rest assured! You will start to feel "guilty" from the Holy Spirit when doing that something wrong. Also remember, the word says "His Commandments are NOT burdensome " (1 john 5:3) Our Lord knows you have a life to live and won't overly burden you.
Of course our weekly work is a necessity and those hours are not counted against us. And we can even "glorify" God by doing hard , honest, cheerful work! So please look at your life and the "time" spent each week. Is something "in front" of our Lord? If so, get rid of it or at least cut it back so that the time with our Lord exceeds the time for our worldly distractions.
Peace and understanding to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Resist the Devil!
By: Rob Peralta
We as Christians, must try each day to walk uprightly and to do God's will. But many times we will face Satan and his angels' attacks and it will seem unrelenting. After all, scripture tells us this is indeed "Satan's" world and as such we are in enemy territory. But scripture also says "...greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world" (1 john 4:4) We have the "power" if we will only "use" it.
As "Commandment Keepers", we get the brunt of Satan and the devil's attacks. For it is very clear Satan is at war with the people of God who choose to obey His Holy Laws. In (Rev.12:17) we read "The dragon (Satan) was enraged with the woman(Church), and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring (true believers AND obeyers), who keep the Commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus". Satan and his angels know scripture a lot better than any human, and therefore I believe they kind of "take it easy" on the Christians who continually "break" God's Commandments. They have them right where they want them! But the "Commandment keeper", they zero in on.
With all the above laying the groundwork, let's look to our Master and how "HE" dealt with Satan and His attacks. After being led into the wilderness Jesus was strongly tempted. In (Matt 4:3) it says "And when the devil came to Him, he said "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made of bread". And Jesus' response was to USE SCRIPTURE! He said "It is WRITTEN 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God' " Here, we can learn that Jesus directly quoted scripture when He was tempted. He also quoted "relevant" scripture. Notice the word of God He used had to do with what the temptation was! He didn't respond with some unrelated scripture such as "You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, mind and soul". We can take this great example to our "own" temptations.
For instance, you may be tempted to smoke cigarettes. The devils really use this one due to the POWERFUL effect on people. But we can quote scripture such as (Psalm 23:1) " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not WANT" each and every time we have temptation. The Lord's word is POWER and if we BELIEVE as we quote them against our adversary IT WILL WORK!! Our desire should leave and we no longer "want"a cigarette. The KEY is to BELIEVE it will work against the devil when we say it. If we say it with doubt, the Lord's word is very weak against the attacks and we may fail. Jesus said "....ONLY BELIEVE"(Mark 5:36)
Another BIG temptation today is the "lust" of the flesh. With the onslaught of nudity on TV, movies, Internet, etc. Satan has created a vibrant adulterous and fornicating empire! But when we look AGAIN to scripture when we are tempted we can prevail. We can use (Eph 5:5) "For this we (I) know for sure, that no fornicator ....has any inheritance in the kingdom of God" Be gone from me devil! And again we can experience the same victory that our Lord had and have the devil flee!
Whatever we do against temptation we should NOT rely on our own power. We shouldn't say "Oh, I am strong, I can resist this". We are NO match for the devil. Scripture describes him as a "roaring lion" and we all know how powerful a lion is. We need help and the Lord has shown us the way out of these attacks, let us follow His example. So if you are facing a "specific" temptation, then find some specific scripture to help arm you, you'll find it is VERY powerful against the devils, and they MUST flee, when you say it and BELIEVE it will prevail. Amen.
We as Christians, must try each day to walk uprightly and to do God's will. But many times we will face Satan and his angels' attacks and it will seem unrelenting. After all, scripture tells us this is indeed "Satan's" world and as such we are in enemy territory. But scripture also says "...greater is He who is in you than he that is in the world" (1 john 4:4) We have the "power" if we will only "use" it.
As "Commandment Keepers", we get the brunt of Satan and the devil's attacks. For it is very clear Satan is at war with the people of God who choose to obey His Holy Laws. In (Rev.12:17) we read "The dragon (Satan) was enraged with the woman(Church), and went off to make war with the rest of her offspring (true believers AND obeyers), who keep the Commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus". Satan and his angels know scripture a lot better than any human, and therefore I believe they kind of "take it easy" on the Christians who continually "break" God's Commandments. They have them right where they want them! But the "Commandment keeper", they zero in on.
With all the above laying the groundwork, let's look to our Master and how "HE" dealt with Satan and His attacks. After being led into the wilderness Jesus was strongly tempted. In (Matt 4:3) it says "And when the devil came to Him, he said "If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made of bread". And Jesus' response was to USE SCRIPTURE! He said "It is WRITTEN 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God' " Here, we can learn that Jesus directly quoted scripture when He was tempted. He also quoted "relevant" scripture. Notice the word of God He used had to do with what the temptation was! He didn't respond with some unrelated scripture such as "You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, mind and soul". We can take this great example to our "own" temptations.
For instance, you may be tempted to smoke cigarettes. The devils really use this one due to the POWERFUL effect on people. But we can quote scripture such as (Psalm 23:1) " The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not WANT" each and every time we have temptation. The Lord's word is POWER and if we BELIEVE as we quote them against our adversary IT WILL WORK!! Our desire should leave and we no longer "want"a cigarette. The KEY is to BELIEVE it will work against the devil when we say it. If we say it with doubt, the Lord's word is very weak against the attacks and we may fail. Jesus said "....ONLY BELIEVE"(Mark 5:36)
Another BIG temptation today is the "lust" of the flesh. With the onslaught of nudity on TV, movies, Internet, etc. Satan has created a vibrant adulterous and fornicating empire! But when we look AGAIN to scripture when we are tempted we can prevail. We can use (Eph 5:5) "For this we (I) know for sure, that no fornicator ....has any inheritance in the kingdom of God" Be gone from me devil! And again we can experience the same victory that our Lord had and have the devil flee!
Whatever we do against temptation we should NOT rely on our own power. We shouldn't say "Oh, I am strong, I can resist this". We are NO match for the devil. Scripture describes him as a "roaring lion" and we all know how powerful a lion is. We need help and the Lord has shown us the way out of these attacks, let us follow His example. So if you are facing a "specific" temptation, then find some specific scripture to help arm you, you'll find it is VERY powerful against the devils, and they MUST flee, when you say it and BELIEVE it will prevail. Amen.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Our Sword on YouTube!
Recently the Our Sword blog has posted some videos on YouTube to help spread the Gospel.
Currently there is a quick study of the "once saved always saved" doctrine done for a friend, as well as Bible readings in the Gospel of John, 2 John, 3 John and Jude. There is more to come. :-)
http://www.youtube.com/user/OurSword
Currently there is a quick study of the "once saved always saved" doctrine done for a friend, as well as Bible readings in the Gospel of John, 2 John, 3 John and Jude. There is more to come. :-)
http://www.youtube.com/user/OurSword
Friday, September 10, 2010
Hermeneutics of Bible Study
By: Rob Peralta
In today's Christian society there is so much false interpretation of the Bible I thought it would be helpful to show the correct method of interpretation.
Recently I was studying (1 Cor.14-34-35) and I came across this most helpful instruction of the correct way to interpret the Bible. It states as follows " Bible verses are quite controversial and when we look at them in detail we must know that correct hermeneutical method is the correct way to interpret the Bible. Many Bible students nowdays seem to have picked up the idea that 'context is king' or, to put it another way, that there are three rules of Bible interpretation, context, context, context. These people , I submit, have got the spoon by the wrong end.
"As anybody who writes blogs needs to be reminded, context is king. The same rule applies to Biblical interpretation: text comes before context. That is, the text in question is what we wish to understand. It's words are of more importance than some other words elsewhere in the Bible. Ofcourse, the immediate context is often an invaluable help in making sure that we understand the words of our text alright, and even, on some occasions, we need to consider a more remote context. But what the Bible interpreter must NEVER DO is foist upon a text some idea that is NOT found in the actual text itself. The role of the Bible interpreter is to let the words speak for themselves, not ignore, sidestep, silence, or twist the meaning of the text, nor read into the text a meaning to further a belief and to advance their own theological or sociological agenda. Nevertheless text is king and context is it's chief minister. The closer the chief minister (context) is to the king(text), the more significant is it's effect and influence."
After understanding the above, it truly is amazing how so many "false" doctrines are believed. For example 1) immediate entrance into heaven or hell upon death 2) Sunday as the Lord's day 3) eternal hell fire. The believers in these false doctrines must face the fact that their beliefs are strongly contradicted in their own book(Bible) , which they profess to follow. The Bible CANNOT contradict, only concur truth upon truth.
Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to open their eyes to see the truth and understand God's word (John 14:26) " And the comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your memory, whatsoever I have said unto you".
In today's Christian society there is so much false interpretation of the Bible I thought it would be helpful to show the correct method of interpretation.
Recently I was studying (1 Cor.14-34-35) and I came across this most helpful instruction of the correct way to interpret the Bible. It states as follows " Bible verses are quite controversial and when we look at them in detail we must know that correct hermeneutical method is the correct way to interpret the Bible. Many Bible students nowdays seem to have picked up the idea that 'context is king' or, to put it another way, that there are three rules of Bible interpretation, context, context, context. These people , I submit, have got the spoon by the wrong end.
"As anybody who writes blogs needs to be reminded, context is king. The same rule applies to Biblical interpretation: text comes before context. That is, the text in question is what we wish to understand. It's words are of more importance than some other words elsewhere in the Bible. Ofcourse, the immediate context is often an invaluable help in making sure that we understand the words of our text alright, and even, on some occasions, we need to consider a more remote context. But what the Bible interpreter must NEVER DO is foist upon a text some idea that is NOT found in the actual text itself. The role of the Bible interpreter is to let the words speak for themselves, not ignore, sidestep, silence, or twist the meaning of the text, nor read into the text a meaning to further a belief and to advance their own theological or sociological agenda. Nevertheless text is king and context is it's chief minister. The closer the chief minister (context) is to the king(text), the more significant is it's effect and influence."
After understanding the above, it truly is amazing how so many "false" doctrines are believed. For example 1) immediate entrance into heaven or hell upon death 2) Sunday as the Lord's day 3) eternal hell fire. The believers in these false doctrines must face the fact that their beliefs are strongly contradicted in their own book(Bible) , which they profess to follow. The Bible CANNOT contradict, only concur truth upon truth.
Let us pray for the Holy Spirit to open their eyes to see the truth and understand God's word (John 14:26) " And the comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your memory, whatsoever I have said unto you".
Friday, August 27, 2010
Take Courage in the Lord
By: Rob Peralta
Courage is a great and honorable trait to the Lord. Great men in the bible showed this courage and were blessed for it. Our Christian walk should like wise have courage. We will see just what God does to those who possess and USE this courage.
David, as a young lad, proved to be a man of great courage. When none of the other big and mature "men" would stop the great giant Goliath, he stepped forward. The taunts and cursing of God's people was just too much for him to take. He went out to meet this giant (supposedly 9 feet 9 inches). The giant started laughing. We can imagine God's eyes intently watching this courageous teenager. David remember's that God had promised to help His people overcome their enemies. David pulls out the slingshot, loads the stone and fires. Bam! It perfectly lands in the giant's forehead and he collapses. David grabs the giants sword and finishes the deed and beheads him.
In the above story we can see that David took the first step and showed COURAGE. Backed by faith in God he proceeded to "action". God took notice as He always does when someone acts courageously. And then God completed this act of courage by guiding the stone and helping it's force do the deed.
Then we have the great story of the three men, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. When Nebuchadnezzar erected a large golden idol, he ordered everyone to bow down to it. The three men knew that it would directly break a Commandment of God. So they refused and showed great courage and did not summit to the King's wishes. They knew very well that they were most likely going to be burned alive yet, just like David, they "acted" upon their COURAGE in the Lord and stood their ground. Then the horrible act came upon them, they were led to the furnace. But God's eyes were watching intently. And then God covered them with His protection and the flames were as a cool breeze.
The next story is not in the bible but must be brought up due to this man's awesome courage in doing the "right" thing and standing up for justice. His name was Wyatt Earp. Many of you probably have heard about Him. In the book called "Wyatt Earp, frontier Marshall" by Stuart Lake, the life story of this one man, is truly amazing in regards to courage. If you want to read about "courage" read this book!
In just one of the stories ( and there are many!) Wyatt was just a young man in his mid 20's when he happened to come into a town called Ellsworth, Kansas. Shortly after arriving he learned that the town had been "corralled" by the bad cowboys and they were shooting up and raising kane. He wasn't a marshall yet but noticed that a horrible thing had happened. The town marshall had just been shot by one of the 'Thompson" brothers (notorious cowboy leaders).
After watching the meyhem as a bystander, he noticed the assistant marshall wasn't doing anything about this crime. "Go get em" Wyatt instructed. "Not me" the assistant replied. "See all those cowboys over there, they'd go gunning for me if I did". Wyatt shook his head and watched the action. Then the mayor came on the scene and began to complain why anything wasn't being done. Wyatt overheard him and said "I know what I would do" then the mayor looked at the young man and said "WHO are you???" "Just a looker on. It's none of my business, but if it was I'd arrest Ben Thompson or kill him" Wyatt replied. The mayor was taken back by this young man's boldness, even as his own assistants had failed him. "Well" the mayor shot back. "I'm making it YOUR business. You're marshall of Ellsworth. Here's your badge."
Wyatt proceeded to go to the gun shop and got some "second hand" 45's and holster. Wyatt knew that peace must be restored or else even more killing would come. He stuck up for justice. he hooked up the guns and walked out ALONE and towards Ben Thompson ( the leader). Wyatt could have called upon other men to "help" him but he chose to go it alone (as he almost always did against the bad guys). The troublemakers were half drunk and scattered all over town, and their leader (Ben) was with many others backing him up, sitting on their horses, talking about what their next move would be. Then a lone man comes walking down the dirt street. Ben Thompson notices he's walking for him and yells "Hey, Wyatt what do you want?" Wyatt is at about 50 yards and says "I want you Ben" and slowly walks towards him. Then what happens next truly had God's hand guiding the situation.
God was keenly aware that this one man wanted justice and had the COURAGE to face as many as a hundred half drunken cowboys to get justice done. Ben , no doubt stunned by this man's courage yell's out "I rather talk than fight Wyatt" Wyatt, not giving up his edge responds "I'll get you either way Ben". Wyatt was very close now and Ben says "What do you want Wyatt?"
"Throw up your hands, and tell your friends to stay out of this" Wyatt responded. "Ok boys, do as Wyatt says" Ben responded. The battle was over and the outlaw and all his friends threw down their guns and Wyatt marched Ben into jail.
The preceding stories show that when we take a stand of courage to do the right thing, whether it's stopping someone from stealing, or taking the Lord's name in vain, God WILL BE WITH US. Courage is keenly noticed by him. So let us be full of courage in the Lord and we will prevail, for once we start our act of courage He will finish it, be assured!
Courage is a great and honorable trait to the Lord. Great men in the bible showed this courage and were blessed for it. Our Christian walk should like wise have courage. We will see just what God does to those who possess and USE this courage.
David, as a young lad, proved to be a man of great courage. When none of the other big and mature "men" would stop the great giant Goliath, he stepped forward. The taunts and cursing of God's people was just too much for him to take. He went out to meet this giant (supposedly 9 feet 9 inches). The giant started laughing. We can imagine God's eyes intently watching this courageous teenager. David remember's that God had promised to help His people overcome their enemies. David pulls out the slingshot, loads the stone and fires. Bam! It perfectly lands in the giant's forehead and he collapses. David grabs the giants sword and finishes the deed and beheads him.
In the above story we can see that David took the first step and showed COURAGE. Backed by faith in God he proceeded to "action". God took notice as He always does when someone acts courageously. And then God completed this act of courage by guiding the stone and helping it's force do the deed.
Then we have the great story of the three men, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. When Nebuchadnezzar erected a large golden idol, he ordered everyone to bow down to it. The three men knew that it would directly break a Commandment of God. So they refused and showed great courage and did not summit to the King's wishes. They knew very well that they were most likely going to be burned alive yet, just like David, they "acted" upon their COURAGE in the Lord and stood their ground. Then the horrible act came upon them, they were led to the furnace. But God's eyes were watching intently. And then God covered them with His protection and the flames were as a cool breeze.
The next story is not in the bible but must be brought up due to this man's awesome courage in doing the "right" thing and standing up for justice. His name was Wyatt Earp. Many of you probably have heard about Him. In the book called "Wyatt Earp, frontier Marshall" by Stuart Lake, the life story of this one man, is truly amazing in regards to courage. If you want to read about "courage" read this book!
In just one of the stories ( and there are many!) Wyatt was just a young man in his mid 20's when he happened to come into a town called Ellsworth, Kansas. Shortly after arriving he learned that the town had been "corralled" by the bad cowboys and they were shooting up and raising kane. He wasn't a marshall yet but noticed that a horrible thing had happened. The town marshall had just been shot by one of the 'Thompson" brothers (notorious cowboy leaders).
After watching the meyhem as a bystander, he noticed the assistant marshall wasn't doing anything about this crime. "Go get em" Wyatt instructed. "Not me" the assistant replied. "See all those cowboys over there, they'd go gunning for me if I did". Wyatt shook his head and watched the action. Then the mayor came on the scene and began to complain why anything wasn't being done. Wyatt overheard him and said "I know what I would do" then the mayor looked at the young man and said "WHO are you???" "Just a looker on. It's none of my business, but if it was I'd arrest Ben Thompson or kill him" Wyatt replied. The mayor was taken back by this young man's boldness, even as his own assistants had failed him. "Well" the mayor shot back. "I'm making it YOUR business. You're marshall of Ellsworth. Here's your badge."
Wyatt proceeded to go to the gun shop and got some "second hand" 45's and holster. Wyatt knew that peace must be restored or else even more killing would come. He stuck up for justice. he hooked up the guns and walked out ALONE and towards Ben Thompson ( the leader). Wyatt could have called upon other men to "help" him but he chose to go it alone (as he almost always did against the bad guys). The troublemakers were half drunk and scattered all over town, and their leader (Ben) was with many others backing him up, sitting on their horses, talking about what their next move would be. Then a lone man comes walking down the dirt street. Ben Thompson notices he's walking for him and yells "Hey, Wyatt what do you want?" Wyatt is at about 50 yards and says "I want you Ben" and slowly walks towards him. Then what happens next truly had God's hand guiding the situation.
God was keenly aware that this one man wanted justice and had the COURAGE to face as many as a hundred half drunken cowboys to get justice done. Ben , no doubt stunned by this man's courage yell's out "I rather talk than fight Wyatt" Wyatt, not giving up his edge responds "I'll get you either way Ben". Wyatt was very close now and Ben says "What do you want Wyatt?"
"Throw up your hands, and tell your friends to stay out of this" Wyatt responded. "Ok boys, do as Wyatt says" Ben responded. The battle was over and the outlaw and all his friends threw down their guns and Wyatt marched Ben into jail.
The preceding stories show that when we take a stand of courage to do the right thing, whether it's stopping someone from stealing, or taking the Lord's name in vain, God WILL BE WITH US. Courage is keenly noticed by him. So let us be full of courage in the Lord and we will prevail, for once we start our act of courage He will finish it, be assured!
Thursday, August 19, 2010
An Unbiased View of California's Liberal Adventism
The article below was posted as a comment on the uber-liberal Spectrum website by an anonymous person under the name "City Lights." It was so eloquent and true that I felt it should be shared.
While my post was tongue-in-cheek, I have no doubt that Ted Wilson's strategy will likely be to get the most conservative men into top positions in the whole of California eventually. The little pockets of conservatism they now have are not enough to stem the tide of liberalism there, so it behooves them, if they want to execute a calculated takeover of the whole state, to install men who will set the stage for an eventual purge of what many conservatives in the church consider the tarnishing black spot of the NAD.
I am not conservative by any stretch of the imagination and I abhor purges, but I also hold a lot of the constituency (of the SCC mostly) responsible for the mess we are in right now, for continually testing the boundaries and limits of Adventism. Do you think it is just coincidence that Dale Ratzlaff and Colleen Tinker's Former Adventist ministry is located in California? Of course not. It's the hub of disenfranchised Adventists and the pickings couldn't be better for them anywhere else. Larry Kirkpatrick apparently couldn't handle it anymore and promptly fled CA.
Pushing incessantly for years on the women's ordination issue, going ahead with WO in defiance of GC policy, Hyveth Williams peeving off the conservatives at every opportunity during her tenure as pastor with her controversial sermons, teaching theistic evolution in the colleges, being the epicenter of Moral Influence Theory and God-Does-Not-Kill theology, openly drinking wine and coffee, pushing for acceptance of gay marriage, openly attending and proudly endorsing movies, relegating EGW to devotional writer and nothing more, going out to eat on Sabbaths, featuring Desmond Ford as a speaker in many churches....
And you think this is going to do anything but infuriate and fuel the anger of fundamentalist SDA's? It's tantamount to thumbing the nose at the right wing of the church and it's needlessly antagonistic. Does one prance through a pride of lions with raw meat in hand and then feign surprise when the lions awake and attack?
Remember Union President Tom Mostert's editorial in the Pacific Union Recorder entitled 0+0+0+0=0 where he bemoaned the state of California Adventism just before his retirement?
That was just one of the rumbles heard in the past about lax California Adventism. It was a foreshadowing of things to come. It's almost as if Mostert was issuing a cry of help in 2007 which echoed down the tunnels of time into the future where Ted Wilson would hear and respond with aplomb in 2010.
Even notorious California SDA liberal Steve Daily finally wrote an open letter which was posted on on Educate Truth pleading with West Coast constituents to cease and desist inflaming and stirring up the witch hunt crowd, specifically calling out the La Sierra bio professors as the prime offenders at the moment.
Being immersed in the laid-back California style environment has apparently caused many West Coast Adventists to forget that while they are contentedly indulging in their own Liberal SDA Disneyworld, there is a massive segment of fire-breathing, EGW-venerating, hard-core conservative SDA's out there in the NAD they are miffing off who are losing their minds and just foaming at the mouth for the California cleanse that is sure to come eventually. California liberals poke and provoke the slumbering beast and rouse it to its full fury time and again, and such can only end very badly.
It's one thing to privately, in one's own personal life, live out the Adventism one chooses...but if you are out there for all the church to see, read and hear, stirring the pot - can you honestly act surprised when the backlash arrives in full-force?
I would again, with Pastor Daily, like to plead for California liberal Adventists to tone it down and scale it back, as I agree with you guys more often than not on a lot of issues - but I fear it may well be too late. The conservatives are making it increasingly clear that enough is enough and already we see the forces mounting as they push, pressure and lobby the GC to deal with the liberal West Coast situation once and for all.
Because, you see, Ted's in the house now and you can bet the farm he has his sights set on that segment of the NAD for a good 'ole fashioned purge. It's coming and I don't think even moderate and reasonable Dan Jackson will be able to stop it or hold it back for long. Liberal Adventists claim they just want to 'live and let live' and that they don't want to go to war with the right wing. But war is coming, whether they want it or not, and their brazen flaunting of liberal Adventism is primarily what is to blame for the marshaling of forces we are now seeing with the likes of Hold Them Accountable, GYC and Educate Truth.
The unfortunate thing is, liberal Adventism has shot itself in the foot. The writing was on the wall a long time ago, it was just a matter of getting the right man into power.
Posted by: City Lights (not verified) 12 August 2010 at 6:20
While my post was tongue-in-cheek, I have no doubt that Ted Wilson's strategy will likely be to get the most conservative men into top positions in the whole of California eventually. The little pockets of conservatism they now have are not enough to stem the tide of liberalism there, so it behooves them, if they want to execute a calculated takeover of the whole state, to install men who will set the stage for an eventual purge of what many conservatives in the church consider the tarnishing black spot of the NAD.
I am not conservative by any stretch of the imagination and I abhor purges, but I also hold a lot of the constituency (of the SCC mostly) responsible for the mess we are in right now, for continually testing the boundaries and limits of Adventism. Do you think it is just coincidence that Dale Ratzlaff and Colleen Tinker's Former Adventist ministry is located in California? Of course not. It's the hub of disenfranchised Adventists and the pickings couldn't be better for them anywhere else. Larry Kirkpatrick apparently couldn't handle it anymore and promptly fled CA.
Pushing incessantly for years on the women's ordination issue, going ahead with WO in defiance of GC policy, Hyveth Williams peeving off the conservatives at every opportunity during her tenure as pastor with her controversial sermons, teaching theistic evolution in the colleges, being the epicenter of Moral Influence Theory and God-Does-Not-Kill theology, openly drinking wine and coffee, pushing for acceptance of gay marriage, openly attending and proudly endorsing movies, relegating EGW to devotional writer and nothing more, going out to eat on Sabbaths, featuring Desmond Ford as a speaker in many churches....
And you think this is going to do anything but infuriate and fuel the anger of fundamentalist SDA's? It's tantamount to thumbing the nose at the right wing of the church and it's needlessly antagonistic. Does one prance through a pride of lions with raw meat in hand and then feign surprise when the lions awake and attack?
Remember Union President Tom Mostert's editorial in the Pacific Union Recorder entitled 0+0+0+0=0 where he bemoaned the state of California Adventism just before his retirement?
That was just one of the rumbles heard in the past about lax California Adventism. It was a foreshadowing of things to come. It's almost as if Mostert was issuing a cry of help in 2007 which echoed down the tunnels of time into the future where Ted Wilson would hear and respond with aplomb in 2010.
Even notorious California SDA liberal Steve Daily finally wrote an open letter which was posted on on Educate Truth pleading with West Coast constituents to cease and desist inflaming and stirring up the witch hunt crowd, specifically calling out the La Sierra bio professors as the prime offenders at the moment.
Being immersed in the laid-back California style environment has apparently caused many West Coast Adventists to forget that while they are contentedly indulging in their own Liberal SDA Disneyworld, there is a massive segment of fire-breathing, EGW-venerating, hard-core conservative SDA's out there in the NAD they are miffing off who are losing their minds and just foaming at the mouth for the California cleanse that is sure to come eventually. California liberals poke and provoke the slumbering beast and rouse it to its full fury time and again, and such can only end very badly.
It's one thing to privately, in one's own personal life, live out the Adventism one chooses...but if you are out there for all the church to see, read and hear, stirring the pot - can you honestly act surprised when the backlash arrives in full-force?
I would again, with Pastor Daily, like to plead for California liberal Adventists to tone it down and scale it back, as I agree with you guys more often than not on a lot of issues - but I fear it may well be too late. The conservatives are making it increasingly clear that enough is enough and already we see the forces mounting as they push, pressure and lobby the GC to deal with the liberal West Coast situation once and for all.
Because, you see, Ted's in the house now and you can bet the farm he has his sights set on that segment of the NAD for a good 'ole fashioned purge. It's coming and I don't think even moderate and reasonable Dan Jackson will be able to stop it or hold it back for long. Liberal Adventists claim they just want to 'live and let live' and that they don't want to go to war with the right wing. But war is coming, whether they want it or not, and their brazen flaunting of liberal Adventism is primarily what is to blame for the marshaling of forces we are now seeing with the likes of Hold Them Accountable, GYC and Educate Truth.
The unfortunate thing is, liberal Adventism has shot itself in the foot. The writing was on the wall a long time ago, it was just a matter of getting the right man into power.
Posted by: City Lights (not verified) 12 August 2010 at 6:20
Friday, August 13, 2010
"I AM THE TRUE VINE"
By: Rob Peralta
I recently blindly opened my bible, as I frequently do (to let the Lord lead), and came upon (John 15:1-2) it says " I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, He discards. And every branch that beareth fruit, He prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit"
It is amazing how the Lord says so much truth in so few words. Let me tell you the truth I received from these words. The first words " I am the true vine" is a fascinating analogy of "who" the Lord is. We can believe that the Father's being flowed through the Son, and by the Son all life and form came. In imaging the vine, as it is pulsating, breathing, it is giving life through out it's being. We can see our Lord pervading all life and matter(the true vine), and as such He is a part of the good and bad. Aware of His good parts and sadly aware of His bad parts.
His Father, the gardener (ultimate judge) cannot accept the rotten or useless branches, and as such must eliminate them, lest they spread and destroy even the good branches.(Reminds me why the devil was "pruned" out of heaven). Then the Father carefully cares for the "good branches" and helps us to bear fruit to make the Father and Son proud. Just as a gardener stands proud of his beautiful vine.
After reading this I was inspired to talk about this "fruit". How can we produce more of it? The first thing is to stand strong against "sin". Our Christian walk is a lifelong process of sanctification and our sins are not eliminated immediately. I recently was greatly tempted to engage in a previous lifelong sin, which to me, was a dire one. I was in need of some serious help and I prayed earnestly for strength from the Lord and I also rebuked the devil. IT WORKED! Right after I immediately felt relieved. The more victorious we are to each sin temptation, the STRONGER our armour of God becomes. Another bolt is added to our tank. The devils bombs (temptations) become less tempting and our steadfastness becomes easier.
As we continue in our walk, with more and more victories, our mind and heart naturally turns to producing fruit due to the confidence we have in overcoming "sin". God's spirit is pleased and helps us to produce two different types of fruit. One is the fruit produced by showing God we love HIM, and the other fruit is produced by showing our BROTHERS AND SISTERS we love them. By showing God we love Him, the fruit we produce is by keeping His Commandments AND teaching people to obey His Commandments. Also a VERY important fruit to produce is to FEAR Him(hold Him in reverence). Just as the wise man Solomon said ( Ecc. 12:13) " For this is the sum of all that matters, FEAR God and keep His Commandments, for this is the WHOLE DUTY of man".
In producing fruit concerning our brothers and sisters, we become to them, better givers, listeners, and helpers. The down and out, the poor, the sick, strike a cord in us and we reach out to be there for them. A most beautiful fruit is produced and the great "Gardener" stands back and admires this.
In summary, let us make our best effort daily, beginning each day with a thankful prayer. For when we STAY in the vine and produce fruit, we make our Lord and our God, most proud. Amen.
I recently blindly opened my bible, as I frequently do (to let the Lord lead), and came upon (John 15:1-2) it says " I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit, He discards. And every branch that beareth fruit, He prunes it, that it may bring forth more fruit"
It is amazing how the Lord says so much truth in so few words. Let me tell you the truth I received from these words. The first words " I am the true vine" is a fascinating analogy of "who" the Lord is. We can believe that the Father's being flowed through the Son, and by the Son all life and form came. In imaging the vine, as it is pulsating, breathing, it is giving life through out it's being. We can see our Lord pervading all life and matter(the true vine), and as such He is a part of the good and bad. Aware of His good parts and sadly aware of His bad parts.
His Father, the gardener (ultimate judge) cannot accept the rotten or useless branches, and as such must eliminate them, lest they spread and destroy even the good branches.(Reminds me why the devil was "pruned" out of heaven). Then the Father carefully cares for the "good branches" and helps us to bear fruit to make the Father and Son proud. Just as a gardener stands proud of his beautiful vine.
After reading this I was inspired to talk about this "fruit". How can we produce more of it? The first thing is to stand strong against "sin". Our Christian walk is a lifelong process of sanctification and our sins are not eliminated immediately. I recently was greatly tempted to engage in a previous lifelong sin, which to me, was a dire one. I was in need of some serious help and I prayed earnestly for strength from the Lord and I also rebuked the devil. IT WORKED! Right after I immediately felt relieved. The more victorious we are to each sin temptation, the STRONGER our armour of God becomes. Another bolt is added to our tank. The devils bombs (temptations) become less tempting and our steadfastness becomes easier.
As we continue in our walk, with more and more victories, our mind and heart naturally turns to producing fruit due to the confidence we have in overcoming "sin". God's spirit is pleased and helps us to produce two different types of fruit. One is the fruit produced by showing God we love HIM, and the other fruit is produced by showing our BROTHERS AND SISTERS we love them. By showing God we love Him, the fruit we produce is by keeping His Commandments AND teaching people to obey His Commandments. Also a VERY important fruit to produce is to FEAR Him(hold Him in reverence). Just as the wise man Solomon said ( Ecc. 12:13) " For this is the sum of all that matters, FEAR God and keep His Commandments, for this is the WHOLE DUTY of man".
In producing fruit concerning our brothers and sisters, we become to them, better givers, listeners, and helpers. The down and out, the poor, the sick, strike a cord in us and we reach out to be there for them. A most beautiful fruit is produced and the great "Gardener" stands back and admires this.
In summary, let us make our best effort daily, beginning each day with a thankful prayer. For when we STAY in the vine and produce fruit, we make our Lord and our God, most proud. Amen.
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