Things I Think…
1. Jason Whitlock opined on Twitter that the Super Bowl commercials sucked because fear of offending internet mobs kills creativity…I mention his name because I thought the same thing but he wrote it first…internet mobs are killing free speech, journalism, and our souls…
2. Dredging up mistakes or sins that people committed decades ago is as evil as whatever sin we discover… because it denies any possibility that people grow, change, or repent. In other words, it denies the faith…
3. During my career as a watchblogger…one of the first…one of the questions I had to answer in front of God was “do I want to see repentance and spiritual restoration in this situation or do I want to destroy this person?” That question isn’t asked much anymore…the assumption is that God hates who we hate…as it has always been…
4. More and more we seem to seek out leaders and wisdom outside the faith…because the leadership inside it is so compromised…that may be the judgment of God…
5. Someone explain to me why we censor everything in case of offense except rap music…which is pumping pure evil into the ears of a whole generation of young people. Must be my white privilege not understanding why such filth is really fine artistic expression…
6. I’m a conservative or a liberal depending on which direction the insane fringes of both have pushed me on given day…
7. What sort of village idiot would run for office or seek a pastorate these days? The answer is in the question…
8. If you’ve never failed miserably and repented, I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you…
9. The day is coming (and may have arrived) when if you refuse to reject traditional, biblical, morality, you will be rejected in any field of endeavor…
10. Prophecy update…not here yet…you’re welcome…
Thinking things today that we all should ponder … IMNSHO. ?
Thanks, Em…
Michael……you’re the best, you too Em.!
Susie
Thank you, Susie…glad you’re here…
I’m glad you are here !!!!!
I have to agree with you. If you have any doubts about the decline of man, just read Twitter. I canāt believe what I see. There is no reasoned disagreement, just the foulest personal attacks.
It has not been that long ago that we had Christian pastors and professors who would stand up and speak the truth. Today’s spokesman are celebrity mega pastors, who are more concerned about their popularity and mega bucks necessary to run their empires.
Randy…yes…
Every one of these is spot on!
I had to chuckle at #10. š
“More and more we seem to seek out leaders and wisdom outside the faithā¦because the leadership inside it is so compromisedā¦that may be the judgment of Godā¦”
Could be. Most of the leadership and wisdom that I find today is outside of evangelicalism, or on the periphery of it. What I have found in evangelicalism is that they are either compromised, truncated, or both. Deep thinking in the realm of spirituality doesn’t seem to always associate itself with populist leadership personalities. Part of why this is so is that is those in the pew refuse to give the thought and study necessary to comprehend the deeper things of God, and what spirituality in Him looks like. They are looking to a different paradigm of success, goodness, and happiness to fill that spiritual longing that is inside us all.
“. Part of why this is so is that is those in the pew refuse to give the thought and study necessary to comprehend the deeper things of God, and what spirituality in Him looks like. They are looking to a different paradigm of success, goodness, and happiness to fill that spiritual longing that is inside us all.”
worth repeating.. success and happiness… how many times do we hear someone say that is what they want for their child… honesty, character, knowledge of the one true God? … well, they should “look” good … sigh
Couldn’t have said it better to all the above.
I do think that these “twitter mobs” aren’t really anything new. When I grew up in the 1970s and 1980s, I would hear stories of how some individuals would receive death threats only because their sole offense was having their name mentioned on TV or radio, either because they were interviewed on the news or won something. Usually the threats were via phone call or through the mail (anonymous letters, chain mail, etc). Nowadays venues like twitter and Facebook have given these unstable individuals a new outlet on their stupidity. Twitter and Facebook are not the cause, but the vehicle for our own sins.
Michael,
Thanks for the 9 prophecy updates.
Jerod,
I don’t think any of these have any connection to Bible prophecy.
Prophecy wonks would have freaked out in almost every era of mankind…
I missed the nine prophetic updates.
Fortunately, I’m fairly certain I know what they are.
1. https://www.thewhig.com/news/local-news/two-women-79-and-86-cause-bingo-brawl-opp-report
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-47144891
3. https://www.nbc-2.com/story/39919425/florida-man-found-asleep-at-the-wheel-dances-through-sobriety-test
4. https://www.thedailybeast.com/5g-conspiracy-theorists-say-faster-cell-phones-will-cook-them-alive
5. https://www.9news.com.au/2019/02/04/15/32/russia-news-new-weapon-induces-vomiting-and-hallucinations
6. https://www.journalnow.com/business/dogs-in-breweries-becoming-less-common-as-health-department-spreads/article_92a27e94-554c-5c29-8632-6aaa53826da6.html
7. https://www.wesh.com/article/new-orlando-dog-park-will-have-a-bar/26090453
8. https://www.foxnews.com/sports/new-orleans-newspapers-front-page-trolls-super-bowl
9. http://petslady.com/article/chill-kitty-walks-across-wintery-city-crosswalk
#10.
I took this to mean, “I prophesy that the end isn’t here yet – you’re welcome”.
The point being, there’s no point in trying to figure out the time.
Curious if that was your intent. If not, hey I excel at being wrong! ?
Michael
Just sayin, the more I read your “thinks” the more they seem to align with what the Bible said the world would look like before Jesus’s millenial reign (apologies to all the amillenialists).
Enjoy your posts, as almost always!
BrianD
The prevalence and ubiquity of the FloridaMan is especially telling… there’s a FloridaMan for every kind of Floridian from California to Maine, especially in China and he’s already, like 5G … or something…
Game over, man, GAME OVER
Owen,
St. Peter tells us that the end times began at Pentecost, so we’ve been in the that era since then.
I maintain that the “signs of the times” have been present since that time and there is nothing particularly compelling about current events that would lead me to believe that Jesus couldn’t come tomorrow or wait another thousand years or so.
The constant exegesis by newspaper to create some sense of urgency is whacked…
I fully agree with Michael’s 8:28 post. Couldn’t have said it better myself – I must be rubbing off on him. š
MLD,
To be honest, it was after you said this years ago and my reflecting on it since that I came to agree with you.
Watch out Michael – folks will think we are getting married.
When people tell me how much worse things are today I immediately think of flush toilets and antibiotics…
And small pox vaccinations.
And then there’s nuclear bombs and nuclear waste and an IRS that will follow you to your grave and the proliferation of street drugs and that city by the bay that seems to be potty challenged….
Some things ARE better, but some things are worse. ?
We don’t have orgies in the public square, the black death, or a host of other horrific things that existed in past times…this is the best time in history to be alive…because I wouldn’t have made it past about age 3 a hundred years ago…
No one mentioned the Klu Klux clan and lynchings … ? Or scalpings or …. Course today if you get caught in the wrong place by the wrong people, you may get your head cut off or a case of ebola…
No, while i thank God that i’ve lived in the time and place i have, i suspect that we’ll never live in a really good, safe world ’till Christ returns
But i am stating the obvious, i know. ?
Perhaps we might all agree that mankind has obtained more mastery over creation than ever before, so far as it depends on the scientific method, while his heart, unaided by the Spirit, remains in the same darkness (i.e, rebellion against God and His will) as it always has been since Adam’s fall. Progress in one sphere, and no progress in the other.
The dangerous thing is that our modern technology is more potent than ever before, for good or evil, but the innate morality of man has not progressed (or kept up) to wisely possess and use or refrain from using such technology in many cases.
I never said not to enjoy God’s blessings. This is a very prosperous time in ‘Murica – and yet noone seems to be able to stop tweeting stupid, trifling ad hominems, right?
But (you will all love this) while those things have happened in the past, and some of it may not be happening today (the orgies in the public square have shifted over to tinder and the like – or the public square has shifted)
all the crap I could mention that happens in the world is happening
Babies are “sacrificed” for the Gods of Self and Convenience by the tens or hundreds of millions … the PlanB pill counts…
Reason has degenerated almost completely
Divisions between ethnicities are whipped up for political football
Jews are hated, threatened
Christians are dying in greater numbers than at any time in history
All this and most telling is that Jews have been gathered to Israel once again and finally – and nothing is wrong, *really*. That seems to me, imnsho, to be ignorance of biblical proportions.
Before you go claiming I am wrapping my bible in an Israeli flag or some nonsense, have you considered that you might be completely wrong?
Nah, you’re not wrong… š
Jerod,
Any study of history makes comparisons between today and even a hundred years ago laughable in virtually any comparison of morality, politics, or social issues.
The only exception in my mind is nuclear weapons.
The “gathering of the Jews” into a secular state that hates Christianity is not much of a marker for me…
Michael
So I guess the old adages “History repeats itself” and “You won’t know where your going if you don’t know where you’ve been” are useless to you…
Does your study of history allow for the notion that history is cyclically progressive? In our case towards what I guess we might say is a divinely descriptive end?
“The ‘gathering of the Jews’ into a secular state that hates Christianity is not much of a marker for meā¦”
Except that the bible makes clear they would come back in unbelief to enter into judgement.
And then I suppose you haven’t considered it, after all…
“Except that the bible makes clear they would come back in unbelief to enter into judgement.”
Or, IMO this:
He did come back, not in unbelief, but to do the will of His Father in perfect belief and obedience. He did enter into judgment, even death on a cross. God laid on Him the iniquity of us all; by His stripes we are healed.
The Israel of God are the Christian Church, all those with circumcised hearts. The true Jerusalem is heavenly. Christ the Lord’s Anointed One, reigns over the land, which is the whole earth.
I think sometimes some observations are made on the PhxpP are reactions to some of the slightly, or more than slightly, nutty things that are posted elsewhere, not what is posted here…? ? ?
Don’t ya just hate it when Jesus gets replaced by ethnic Israel as the true sign and fulfillment of God?
Jean and MLD
Well, it kinda sucks that folks replace God’s fulfillment of promises to His chosen people with grafted in replacements called Luth – er – I mean, the church š Don’t forget the root.
If he breaks his promises to Jews, what hope do you have that he won’t choose another “church”? That doesn’t sound very faithful.
Ps 105
He remembers his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11saying, āTo you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.ā
He is faithful to the smallest detail
“Psalms 119:90 Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.”
Here’s a primer I googled for you. Wouldn’t want you to think He’s changed his mind on forgiveness.
https://gracelovelife.com/15-bible-verses-on-gods-faithfulness/
Who are the children of Abraham?
Well, if you say it’s only Christians, then I can show you a Muslim who will tell you you are not and a jew who will tell everyone its just them, or maybe jews and muslims. but not you.
To whom did he promise the land? To Abaraham or to Israel?
Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. āTherefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.āāā. Galatiansā¬ ā3:6-7ā¬ āNASBā¬
Jerod – the land promise has already been fulfilled. God owes nothing to a nation state / ethnic group called Israel.
Today, Israel is the true people of God – the believers in Jesus Christ the Lord.
Land promise fulfilled Joshua 21:43-45 – “43 Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. 44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.”
“I’m not arguing that with you”. The issue is to whom the land was promised, Israel (Jacob and descendants) or the Christians.
Randy
Exactly. Not all Israel are Israel. Shall we continue prooftexting?
One more point – we must use the NT to interpret the OT. Paul clears up the promise to Abraham – it is not limited to a geographic plot of land in the Middle East – not, the whole world.
Romans 4:13 = “13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.”
Jerod – the promise was to Abraham and his seed – singular – Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jerod,
“Shall we continue prooftexting?”
That’s not fair. You were the first one who quoted Scripture above.
The promise was made to Abraham and confirmed to Jacob. Your arguments, Jerod, are with the Apostle Paul.
What proof texting are you referring to?
āAnd coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.ā āā1 Peterā¬ ā2:4-5ā¬ āNASBā¬ā¬
God stopped dealing with nations and land and placed his claim on the church. The church is the present form of the People of God. If Israel is to be saved, it will be by the means of the cross and the new covenant, not the old one
I don’t think that one can be adamant that God is finished with ethnic Israel… “Father, forgive them… they know not what they do…” ” whom the Lord loves, He chastens… ”
So? So one must ask, had they known Jesus was more than a prophet, was the Son of God, would they, the Jews, have called for his crucifixion? It truly was necessary for Jesus, the Christ, to be put to death – sacrificing the one for, not the “many,” but for the human race. .. Making dogmatic declarations regarding the plan of God in this may skate too close to phariseeism?
Just pondering the issue here, not “teaching… ,” not saying who is wrong or who is right….
Not a prophetic update, but I found it interesting:
https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/2/6/18205355/church-chris-pratt-justin-bieber-zoe-hillsong
No one has said “God is finished with ethnic Israel.” Paul writes:
“And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.”
But there are some things which, in my reading of Scripture, God is finished with. Here are four key things that God is finished with:
1. God no longer blesses in the name of Yahweh. Jesus has given the people of God (Jews and Gentiles) a new name by which God shall relate to his people, namely, in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
2. God no longer sanctifies His people with the blood of animals. He sanctifies His people with the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who offered himself unto death for the sins of the world.
3. God no longer dwells in a temple made with human hands, but dwells in the body of Christ, which is the Church.
4. The Levitical priesthood has been abolished. It is now Jesus, our High Priest, who makes intercession for His people before your Father in heaven.
None of this is particularly Lutheran!
The old “who is the real Israel” argument. Have at it boys.
I like this:
“When people tell me how much worse things are today I immediately think of flush toilets and antibioticsā¦”
I might add this, “I’m blessed to be born into a time where my children (and now grandchildren) used throw-away diapers.” I always think of those things when ancient times are brought up.
When I was a child my dad took us to one of the oldest houses in our area. He wanted to show us how the electricity and plumbing were added after the fact; it was all attached to the outside of the home.
My father-in-law, may he rest in peace, used to tell me, “These are the good old days. I grew up with one corner of the farm house heated by a stove.” He loved having oil fired heat with a thermostat on the wall.
How’s that Israel argument going. I might ask the question, what does the name mean? If you know then maybe you have a better understanding of what it means to be Israel.
mud man, my first child was born before disposable diapers and, as i boiled them, i couldn’t help but think of my grandmother doing her laundry in wash tub with the help of a washboard when her children were small… she used to say, “my children were always clean and presentable.” When my first was born she gave me a little container of scorched flour “for diaper rash” – it really works, BTW. She and many like her were remarkable, persevering and strong women and they did spawn the “greatest generation.”
Many of the older two story homes have grates cut into the floors of the upstairs room to allow the heat to reach the second floor from those wood stoves, i presume…
Both generations are now mostly gone as is an understanding of them and most of the things you’ve mentioned as well.
Mud Man
I’m not in an argument with anyone. Just hoping to keep possibilities open for others to consider. I know that challenges a lot of preconceptions, But since mine are challenged (with all gladness š ) I was hoping to help others consider other viewpoints.
Jerod,
Most of us here started with a dispy view and changed over the years.
I could wake up out of a dead sleep and preach that stuff…just donāt believe it any more.
Jerod:
If you havenāt figured it out by now this blog is frequented by many who are very set in their beliefs, dogma, doctrines, theology, denomination, and whatever else may be spinning their wheel.
Things I have gotten from PP; the Lutheran MS point of view, I read a woman who is Eastern Orthodox, people with changed lives because of Calvary Chapel foolishness, some good stories about cats, and the mature knowledge of Duane.
Oh and I forgot a man who was on fire, preached his dogma here, argued for his version of faith then descended in the abyss of alcoholism and came out the other end with the same fire and passion for atheism and anti- Christian beliefs. I ām fascinated by it and actually wonder what it was that moved him in such a way.
Israel – Struggle with God or equally good, God struggles with. Both describe believers in Him.
Thanks for commenting.
Bless Him!
Mud man,
My friend who is now an “anti theist” was moved that way by the atrocities he saw in CC…I do not fault him at all for being unable to believe …
Thanks Michael, neither do I.
Mud Man – Oh I’ve figured it out, as have the Lutherans. If they can wield their dogma all over the blog, then I can say a jew is still in the land of Israel for a reason. I hope you don’t mean “Don’t bodda wid it kid, we’ve hoid it all before”. You and I haven’t had much to share over. Going well so far!
Israel- Much more than the Christian, the Jew struggles with the thought of Jesus as their Messiah and he struggles with them, all day long with outstretched arms. The scene in Genesis is simply a physical reality of a spiritual truth that has repeated itself over time.
Michael
I’m not really a dispy, so much, maybe dispy flavored … Dispensationalism is like bacon, it makes so many things better – its salty, it’s crispy, but too much can hurt you in the short run and the long. It becomes too deterministic and lends to the pastor celebrity ballyhoo that has left many here with wounds. Thanks for replying back.
So, will you be giving JD Hall this room to grow or is he going to be the Phoenix Internet Mob’s favorite punching bag, still?
J.D. Hall is only relevant to a few bullies and whoever his site is bullying that day.
He rarely comes across my radar.