The Conceptual Possibility of the Trinity

Like the blog writer, I too am reading the book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi…fascinating at the very least. But I had to steal this blog writer’s concept of what was written in the book concerning the Trinity which he grasped the perfect concept in nature of the Trinity from his Organic Chemistry class…here it is:

 

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Monday, January 5, 2015

Is the Trinity conceptually possible?

The Trinity is one of the most confusing concepts in Christian theology.
How can God be three persons [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] yet one?
Non-Christians sometimes say it is illogical and nonsense.
This is particularly true of Muslims who consider it offends the unity of Allah.
[Aside: It also seems that most Muslims think Christians believe the Trinity is God, Mary, and Jesus.]I am currently reading the fascinating book Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity by Nabeel Qureshi.
I will write more about it later. Here I just want to highlight one small part of the story I found fascinating because of my interest in the relationship between science and theology.

Like most Muslims, Qureshi thought the Trinity made no sense.
But he became open to it in a completely unexpected circumstance. In an organic chemistry class (!) he learnt about the resonance structures of the nitrate ion [shown above]. This molecule does not have a single structure. Rather, it simultaneously has the three structures above. It is not one or the other, but all three of them. This is a result of [the bizarre properties of] quantum physics, it is the same as Schrodingers cat, being both dead and alive at the same time.

Learning about resonance structures did not lead Qureshi to believe the Trinity was true. It just made him open to the idea that it was conceptually possible that it could be true. He could no longer dismiss it out of hand.

Posted by Ross H. McKenzie at 9:21 PM

Labels: islam, quantum physics, Trinity

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The Trinitarian belief is difficult to believe, let alone understand; but in time it will make sense. Numerous people have argued with me over this particular subject and have pushed their belief that it was nothing more than a polytheistic argument. While I appreciate their position on the matter, and at the time was in a position of ignorance on the matter but yet continued to believe it. Some remained friends and others did not.

I have said this numerous times within & throughout my blog postings that we each are obligated to understand WHY we believe what we believe and be able to explain such things to others. This, in and of itself, does not guarantee that you or I will be able to woo unbelievers over to our position on God…we each just simply plant the seed of faith and the Holy Spirit does the rest! We are just tools; sometimes we are used as hammers, other times as nails, and other times we are simply either a tack or a water balloon. Not much pow or wow, but just enough to get their attention.

Also consider reading this document: The Trinity

While everything here cannot possibly explain for each and every person, these are simple beginnings for research on the subject of the Trinity and it’s understanding. But know this: God leaves us bread crumbs in order to explain all things spiritual within the natural world He has given us!

This was a short one tonight, but a ton to ponder on…so, just think on this for a little while!

May God Richly Bless You, My Beloved!

MK Murphy, PhD, DD

God’s Ten Commandments versus Jesus’ Two Commandments

What are the differences? How can the “supposed” Son of God change the commands of God? Or, did He change them??? Let us look into this, it has always been on my mind and have not researched or even sought an answer…

So, it is agreed, for the sake of this discussion that God did give to Moses, His servant, the Ten Commandments for Israel to adhere to and follow all the days of their lives and they were first given in Exodus 20:1-17 NKJV.

And Jesus came along and gave us the Greatest Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40 NKJV, which is derived from Deuteronomy 6:1-3 NKJV.

Consider, for a moment or two, that there was a reason that Jesus simplified that which was already simple. How so, you might ask? Well, let’s take a good look:  The Jews were reminded that the Lord God lead them out of Egypt and the land of bondage.And the Sabbath was/is on a Saturday.

It is my contention that the Ten Commandments were, specifically geared toward the Jewish people, the very chosen people of God, Himself! Whereas, the modified Greatest Commandment was aimed toward the Jews but moreso in preparation for the Gentiles to adopted into the family of God.

As Christians, or sons and daughters who are adopted into the family of God (adoptive Jews, so to say) we were not lead from Egypt, we celebrate the Lord’s day on Sunday as it was the day upon which Jesus rose from the dead. Also, under the laws work was very specifically defined, such as walking beyond straight from one’s home to the synagogue was considered labor and other things as such. Jesus called out the Sanhedrin and Pharisees on such hypocrisies.

The Lord gave the Jews the land of milk and honey, i.e. Israel. While all of this world is the Lord’s, and everything therein…the land we live on was not given to us as the land (nation of Israel) was given to the Jews. While we can debate upon this matter, to a certain extent, we have not had to battle to maintain our land in our possessions as the Jewish people continue to do.

As I do think it a moot point that Jesus made the Lord simplified the Commandments which we are to live by, in that you either love God or you do not. Can we agree on that point, at least?

Let’s look at the Greatest Commandment which Jesus simplified for us:

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”~Matthew 22:36-40 NKJV

• First of all, Jesus stated that “You shall love the Lord“, which makes these two commands individualistic and personal. Meaning they are demanded of each and every one of us who follow the Christ. No if’s, and’s, or but’s. We are to do so by choice, not by force
  • We are to love Him “with all our heart“, which means we are to be sincere in our love toward God. After all, God can see our hearts and therefore love is the first and great thing that we should devote to him.
  • We are to love Him “with all our soul“, which means the soul must be engaged for him, and all things carried out toward and for Him and for His glory.
  • We are to love Him “with all our mind“, which means God gave us a mind with which to think things out and to reason with. That said, we must glorify God with our power of thought and reason. We must use our minds to learn all we can of God and to pass that on towards others; thereby, to mentor and disciple others.
  • To love God as the One True and Only God and Creator of all, is the greatest test of all. After all, do you truly believe such a thing? And do you truly show your love toward God? Only you can answer such a question and you know that God can see your heart.
  • You love the Lord God when you honor Him, when you hold Him in the highest esteem because you know & believe that He created you and placed the breath of life in your nostrils. You honor God when you place nothing else before yourself in order to worship or love as your creator.
  • If you honor God daily, is there a necessity to have a special day? Good question, and each of us will have an opinion on such a subject. However, it cannot hurt to honor God on Sundays, despite your honoring Him everyday. Every day which you wake and rise with the breath of life in you…is, after all, a day of the Lord…is it not??

Some people make each concept (heart, soul, & mind) to denote one and the same thing, to love him with all our powers; others differentiate each term; the heart, soul, and mind, are the will, affections, and understanding. Our love of God must be a sincere love, and not in word and tongue only, as theirs is who say they love him, but their hearts are not with him. In my opinion, the Lord Jesus inferred that each term should be understood on their own merit(s) and as the sum of their merit(s), together. It is always wise to look at them from every angle possible, as God did grant us a mind to reason with.

• Secondly, Jesus commanded us to “…love your neighbor as yourself.” Sound familiar? It ought to, that pesky Golden Rule that we were taught as children. To love one’s neighbor as one’s self we need to follow last five of the ten commandments:
  • Honoring our parents, while not our neighbors but they are those over us who are commanded to rear us up in the word of God and teach us all His ways. We are instructed to hold those in high regard who are our elders.
  • Murder, adultery, stealing, false witnessing, and coveting – these each affect those around us, our neighbors, friends, etc. We would not appreciate any of these things happening to us; therefore, we are not to treat others so heinously! Our civil society is based upon these things; in fact, our laws are based upon these things. You honor and glorify God when you love your neighbor as yourself.

Is one set of commandments any better than the other? No, I don’t think so. But the commandments from Jesus were the true cumulative effect of all the Old Testament Laws and words of the prophets brought together in one paragraph.

I hope you found this interesting and helpful. My prayer is that we all can affect change in society through our changes toward how we treat our neighbors. Godspeed to you all!

May God Richly Bless You, My Beloved!

MK Murphy, PhD, DD

 

Why We Must Remember the Lord Our God

And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.~Deuteronomy 8:2 NKJV

Deuteronomy 8 is rather profound in it’s teaching. It was from this chapter of the Old Testament that Jesus replied to the first of the three temptations of the evil one during His time in the desert. Do you remember?

…man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. ~Deuteronomy 8:3 NKJV

Remember what Jesus told the tempting spirit? Read Matthew 4:3-4!

We must know the accomplishments of God and all that He has done in order for us to honor and revere Him. We should be teaching our children these things. But as people move along in life and work harder, more overtime, more children, the spouse gets a job, etc. Man tends to forget the God that Created him. Why? Because man becomes too busy to live, survive, pay bills, pay his taxes, etc. We as the species of man are trained through commercials to spend more than we take in, get loans for those important purchases, such as cars & houses. Why is this? I suspect and believe that in order to kick God out of our lives the government needs to take God’s place. This is done by increasing your burden. How can a government do such a thing? They do so through the increase in taxes, through mandating healthcare, backing corporations which will push their products or the government can push their products through the Commerce Department, and other methods as such.

We have been brought up to have what we want NOW! Cost be damned! Have now, pay later, mentality for all. By promoting such a thing throughout our society, money, jobs, positions, etc. become our gods and idols of worship. Children are being taught to desire things NOW. Just recently, I was speaking with someone about an 8 or 9 year old child with a smartphone…call me old fashioned, but kids don’t need them! Children are getting away with murder, comparatively speaking to when I was growing up. Throw a tantrum, your butt was beat red. Not in an abusive way, but a corrective way. Unfortunately, children advocates, teachers and the courts have been taking people to task on this subject. Again, unfortunately, it has gotten to such a point where if you look at your child cross-eyed you could be on the receiving end of litigation.

Teacher Allegedly Banned Students From Wearing Crosses in a Tampa Florida school. Why? Because she noted that they were “gang symbols” and of course it went against her LGBT agenda which she promoted. Sadly, our teachers should only be teaching our children, not indoctrinating them! It is not their place to instill such ideologies in their minds, but rather challenge them to think, critically.

 Another problem in the parenting issue, is the fact that families don’t break bread anymore…you know dine together. “How was your day, today?” And other conversation events. Kids hardly have time for food anymore, because they are so into their computer reality games with 3D visual effects. We as parents have dropped the ball!

We should be praying together, talking together, being more open, teaching our children in the matters of importance. Lets face it…school is not the end all be all of life. They are not preparing our children for the life to come. We have a part in this. We must teach them of the greatness of our God and Creator. We must show them and teach them the morals taught to us through the Bible. Aid them to apply these new found notions. As they grow older, grant them a little leeway with decision making skills.

We as parents are our children’s first sight of how God deals with us. YEAH, read that again! As parents, we have a very heavy burden placed squarely upon our shoulders. Our children learn their morals from us, they develop many tasks, which they will carry on into their parenting lives. By how we teach and act toward our kids, we are possessed with the potential of teaching even our children’s children’s children. (Yes, you figured it out…our great-grand-children!) Our children must learn to take a stance against much of this newly founded “trans-” lifestyle choices. You know, such as: Transgender…Transracial…Transabled… Guess what comes next?

We as parents are charged with developing the moral fiber of our children, teachers are to and can help…but they are not to hinder. God passed on to us the mandates that we are to teach our children in all aspects of the Laws of God, the Word of God, the Greatness of God, the Morals that God desires us to follow and stand up for. We have permitted the government to take so many obligations from our shoulders and place these mandates on to the school officials. That is wrong.

We as parents should take back the schools and the local and federal government. NOW HEAR ME & DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND ME! We must do so through the ballot box. We MUST vote each and every voting cycle…like it or not, apathy is what cause a low number of registered voters from showing up at the polls. By following the laws, by forcing a change in the bad laws, and if needs be fire some people. One of my greatest pet peeves is the fact that bad teachers remain on a payroll, just like many bad politicians remain in office. This country was founded upon our rights and liberties…which, through apathy of the American people, have been widdled away at and are dwindling away daily!

There is a US Supreme Court case which states:

“…the first official act of this nation declared the foundation of government in these words:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident***.”  While such declaration of principles may not have the force of organic law, or be made the basis of judicial decision as to the limits of right and duty, and while in all cases reference must be had to the organic law of the nation for such limits, yet the latter is but the body and the letter of which the former is the thought and the spirit, and it is always safe to read the letter of the constitution in the spirit of the Declaration of Independence.”  – US Supreme Court, majority opinion; Gulf, Colorado & Sante Fe Railroad Co. v Ellis, 165 U.S. 150, 159-160 (1897)

Think about that for a moment! Our US Supreme Court Justices have been taking away our rights and liberties through a mis-reading and mis-construing the US Constitution and thereby eroding our country and its meaning through opinion and law, not by use of the amending process provided for by the US Constitution itself. But by God’s grace and by realigning ourselves with God and by voting for those who are Godly (which is a tough one, because they all act as godly people until they take office…) We, as a nation…ONE TRUE NATION, need to turn toward God and need to do more praying. But even Israel had failed God time and again, and God forgave them and brought them through some great trials and tribulations.

I hope you enjoyed this little rant on just a few of the reasons we need to remember the Lord our God…if it makes you feel any better…I enjoyed the rant!

May God Richly Bless You, My Beloved!

MK Murphy, PhD, DD

 

 

Did Jesus Predict Judas’ Actions??

“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”~Matthew 12:43-45 NKJV

When He was teaching and speaking with the great multitude, did Jesus predict Judas’ actions and betrayal of himself while speaking of the unclean spirit’s return? Does this teaching not speak directly to Judas and his actions? Was he not cleaned and renewed when called to follow the Christ and then tempted and fallen from grace, so-to-say? While the answer to the betrayal of Jesus is a big YES, but was this teaching in and of itself another prophetic insight to Judas’ betrayal of the Son of God? Quite frankly, after so many years of reading the bible and studying of the scriptures, I am very surprised that I did not see this before now.

Not quite certain where and when it hit me, but it was the week prior to Easter Sunday. Now, of course, I am speculating and I also believe I am one of but a handful of people that may see it this way, but I honestly believe that Jesus was showing what happens to many of us. We become saved and are enamored by the newness of our salvation. (But Judas was seeking a different kind of king, wasn’t he? He sought one to rid his country and fellow countrymen of the bane of the Roman Armies and occupational force.) And then as time wears on, we become disillusioned and have a completely different kind of experience, or expected a much different kind of Messiah. Then temptation arises and we seek a way, usually the easy way, to make things turn out the way we want…but it all plays out so much differently than we ever expected.

While we seek the Lord’s will in our lives, we tend to hear what we want to hear and sadly tend toward deceiving ourselves to believing that it is or must be the Lord’s will. Yet, it never plays out in such a way…and lo and behold…we find out we deluded ourselves and tricked ourselves into this false sense of belief. We all seem to be pro’s at this sort of thing. After all, it has been going on since the beginning of time on earth…well, almost…at least since the 6th day. By deceiving ourselves, we will blind ourselves to wisdom that God provides us through the temptation of ease and comfort. We fall into this trap all of the time, which expounds and expands upon our humanity and our human nature of sinfulness. Perhaps, one day we will all learn!

It is my opinion that the evil one left Judas for a short time after he was called to follow Jesus. As Judas spent more time with Jesus learning as none of the Apostles had ever learned before. Greater knowledge as was explained far more in-depth than ever before. Judas was claimed once again by the very Son of God who was sent to claim us all. But as time wore on, I believe Judas had a different vision of his present Messiah, one which was more militant, perhaps. Then he became more easily tempted, as we all do as we allow our minds and hearts to wander.

“…and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.” ~Matthew 12:45 NKJV

And Jesus gave each of us a warning, and not just one but several times throughout the New Testament! In other words, if we do not watch out, we can and will suffer a similar fate as Judas himself. The generation of Jesus’ time and all the generations thereafter were destined to suffer similar or worse fates. If we are not careful to follow His word and dictates, we will be destined to our own disasters by our own choices!

Time and again I have mentioned in this blog that we are a product of our choices. Also, that we have been given a great blessing and a great curse at the same time…THAT OF CHOICE. It is a blessing, in that, through the culmination of our choices WE each determine our our destinies. So far as we choose our direction and our path, one of wisdom and knowledge or that of foolhardiness and ignorance. WE CHOOSE, no one else makes our choices for us…which in turn would be a choice of deferring our fate to another. But keep in mind, our greatest curse is the choice itself…one of morality and ethics. Is our choice moral and ethical?

Do you remember in my blog post Woe To You…?

“If there is no God…then everything is permitted…” ~Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

“Без бога-то и без будущей жизни? Ведь это, стало быть, теперь всё позволено, всё можно делать?’ ‘А ты и не знал?’” (The original Russian)

While the sentiment is true from certain perspectives, IF you believe in God and a moral lawgiver of such greatness (such as the One True God & Creator) then you must believe there is a final judgement after you die. In so far as saying, your very soul which lives on for eternity will either be seen as being worthy to go to Heaven for eternal blessing or adjudicated as being unworthy and sentenced to eternal damnation in Hell. You see, God does not send you to Hell. YOU, throughout your entire life have made the choice through desire, want, lust, greed, envy, and murderous behaviors, etc. and made the demand to God to send you to such a place. BUT at the same time you also can make the choices to follow the Word of the Living God, by doing so YOU CHOOSE LIFE ETERNAL. We each hold eternal life in our hands, but we are forever choosing to spend our time arguing with others on Facebook or holding Tweet Wars against another. Wasting our lives on watching the 24/7 News channels. Building up our angst toward each other by holding to our agenda, which really isn’t our own…but we tend to own it without thinking about it.

God gives us each the choice to repent and turn toward His way of thinking, up until the very last breath we draw. God desires each and every one of His creatures to enter into His Glorious Kingdom for eternal life! Choose God! Claim Jesus! Repent of your past sins! As God will take you as you are and if you place your soul into His hands and care…He will guide you into a whole new life eternal.

Remember: DEATH comes to us all…

May God Richly Bless You, My Beloved!

MK Murphy, PhD, DD

Understanding Balaam’s Error

Now this is a tough one, to say the least; as there are differing opinions as to what Balaam’s error actually was. It is quite the dilemma in my mind as well, but let us delve into this to see if we cannot come to an understanding of his problem and what he had done wrong in God’s eyes.

Now, I will not insert the full biblical reference, but rather will start off with Numbers 22 and you can refer back to it in the bible. Let’s see if we cannot weave in and out of this menagerie of problems.

Let us face it, we as the species of man have a tendency, perhaps even the habit, of using God’s gifts blessed in our care for our own, meaningless, and even selfish reasons and purposes. We tend to misuse the numerous gifts (the breath of life, our life in general, our work, our abilities to sing, organize, wisely & thriftily spend the resource of money in our care, and many many other known and unknown gifts – but we use them for selfish and meaningless reasons and purposes. That being said, let us move along with Balaam and his dilemma…

As we start out in Numbers 22 we see that Balak son of Zippor saw what Israel had done to his neighbors, the Amorites. Fear set in his mind, and as always in every society when the unknown occurs fear is promoted and preached among the people. This is the only way politicians can get anything done in their own societies.

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country. ~Hermann Goring

This seems to be the way that not just the politicians, but also numerous small groups who desire to play the victim while all the time creating the havoc around them. People, mankind , in general, does not do any homework and believes the majority of what he hears in the news or from others. Instead of what they should be doing and that is the use of the brain and God given wisdom which he had received at birth and throughout his maturing years. But we no longer teach our children HOW to think, but rather what to think and to jump on the bandwagon. There was a book published back in 1928: PROPAGANDA By EDWARD L. BERNAYS who was the German Propaganda Minister for Adolf Hitler. Moving on…

Now, Balaam had a great reputation of knowing who was blessed and who was cursed. If he blessed them, they indeed were blessed; if he cursed them, they were indeed cursed. And the bible indeed indicates, in Numbers 22:12 where it states: “…you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” And God warned him not to go with the leaders sent by Balak to bring Balaam to curse the Israelites. You just cannot get any clearer than that where God stated to him: “You shall not go with them…” ~Numbers 22:12. One of the first errors of Balaam was he told the leaders: “Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” ~Numbers 22:13. Which is interpreted to mean in today’s vernacular: “Well, I really, really, really want to go with you, but my Father won’t let me.” Which is an enticement for the other party to help entice you even further into sin. Instead, Balaam should have stated precisely what God stated to him. (1)

Another error accomplished by Balaam was that of falling into a form of greed. Balak sent other leaders, more numerous and more distinguished than the first group. But they offered riches and wealth. And by going was giving into such weakness of man…greed. It indicated to others, or could be inferred by others, that maybe God will change His mind if I go with them and see what Balak sees. (1)

“…I will reward you handsomely…” ~Numbers 22:17 NKJV

Balak sent an offer to Balaam. And by Balaam’s answer, as mentioned, it could be inferred other ways. Meaning, perhaps, that God might just change His mind concerning this invading people and Balaam could obtain some extra money on the side.

Now, I do not know about you but I always had problems discerning the error(s) with respect to the avenging Angel, the donkey, and Balaam. On the cursory view of the matter, everything appeared to be on the up and up, with respect to the mandate of God which is spelled out in verse 20.  And as you read the passage, it still is not spelled out for us. However, we must go by inference with respect to the problem(s) at hand. He is associating and even working with those who are against God’s chosen people. For example, there are those of us (knowingly or unknowingly) who associate with or work with those companies or charities that are blatantly anti-Israel. (3) If we are truly men and women of God we will/would always align with God’s people. We do such things in order to garner support, favor, and acceptability with the secular society. In so doing we are cursing Israel and going against God. We are reminded in the Book of Genesis:

“I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” ~Genesis 12:3 NKJV

Matthew Henry’s Commentary spells out quite a bit, in which, the Israelite people’s presence is so that they (Moabites) might come to know the righteousness of the Lord (MHC reference, Micah 6:5 KJV). Balak sent a diplomatic dispatch, of sorts, to Balaam in order to get the Israelites cursed, but you cannot curse that which God has blessed…can you?

God fulfilled His  promise to Israel by showing His displeasure with Balaam by having His angel stand in the way of Balaam, who was protected by his donkey shich he beat three times. It was at that point the Angel was revealed to him. (Numbers 22:21-34 NKJV, (4), MHC ref) We are intended to, and obligated to, follow God’s word, demands of us, requirements, etc. because if we do not we are in sin against God Himself and we will thus separate ourselves from Him!

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” ~ Isaiah 59:2 NKJV

We have a tendency to be blinded by our thoughts or our desires that we are unable to see the dangers ahead of us. God will give us some warning signs and some of us will notice and change our direction. Unfortunately, if you are like me you tend to be a bit thick in the head, stubborn, or just oblivious to what is happening and blame it all on Murphy’s Law, until such time as you notice it was God all along trying to get your attention.

Eventually, we all show our true colors in any given situation, that is a fact! For example, when you claim a friendship with someone and say you are there for them, excepting only those times when they truly need you…you know, stuff like that! But getting back to Balaam, when he told the second set of ambassadors to remain the night. The reason this was wrong, as with many of us, is that we tend to think God will change His mind for our benefit, because it is something we desire to do. There is no need to check with God a second time for anything, as His word is final and is the Law. We need to face something…God’s word is final. (2)

I am truly hoping that I ave not confused any of you, and that I was able to aid in your understanding of Balaam. It is quite difficult, at best. I needed to do some extra biblical reading on the subject, myself.

May God Richly Bless You, My Beloved!

MK Murphy, PhD, DD

 

References:

(1) The Error of Balaam

(2) Balaam the prophet of error

(3) Balaam’s Error

(4) Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Balaam

 

 

…a new birth of freedom…

— that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. ~The Gettysburg Address

With our present election, for 2016, all but a joke…in my humble opinion…it would seem that the dreams of our founding fathers and that of Abraham Lincoln are all but trampled into the ground with our rights and liberties being buried deep within the earth, right along side of the dreams of the founders of this once great nation. There is an old adage that tells us that God gives us bad leadership because of a judgement against us. This could not be any truer today! Even during the time of Moses when the people chose to be lead by a king like all other nations, were enticed by their fellow man and coveted what they had. The Israelites were not content or happy with what they had. They rejected God. Consider the following:

“But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.” ~1 Samuel 8:6-8

We the species of man are always looking for the greener pastures, the easiest way out of doing something, the wealth without any of the work — so-to-say! We want the brass ring. You have to wonder, will we ever learn? Our youth strive toward socio-communistic ideologies. Generally people grow wiser as they get older, but it doesn’t seem to be a rite of passage for everyone these days. I believe this speaks volumes from Winston Churchill:

 

While this particular blog, along with others are inspired by the election, it’s process, and other political banter, it/they are not invalid in their contextual belief. Is America a great nation? Well, the answer to that question is for the most part relative to each person and their definition of “what makes America truly great” in the first place. If you truly desire America to be great, as well as any other nation in the world…they must align with God and His word! (…and all of the tenets and doctrines therein! None of this mix-n-matching to suit your own personal needs or desires.)

At one point in time in the history of this once great nation, we believed in God as the basis of our rights and liberties, now those have all but been transferred over to the government. So if the government says you don’t have a particular right…you have lost it. hmmmmmmmm! Sad, but a truism for certain. God, our Creator, is the basis and the author of our lives and all of our rights and liberties while we are alive with the breath of life that He has blessed us with. That includes the right to life, liberty, and happiness; although, we must chase after each with a passion and hold on to them with a defensive fury, if you will, and must do so eachone for ourselves and for our neighbors.

There are many a time where we do not agree with those we keep company with, but we must be willing to see and understand their point. Does that mean you must change your belief, no; but it does mean that you need to see and understand their point with the possibility and potential that you could be wrong…but they may be wrong as well. This is why we share our faith with others so they can understand where we come from and we can also see the potentiality of we  being wrong or even having a weak argument for our position. We have an obligation to God and our faith to be strong in our faith and rethink our arguments. If there are holes in our arguments, by sharing our faith we will expose them either to ourselves or through those we are discussing them with.

The new birth of freedom is that which lies within us, to include but not limited to:

• Our Faith
• Our Beliefs
• Our Integrity
• Our Character
• Our Rights
• Our Liberty
• Our Sovereignty
• Our Understanding of Our God, His Son, and His Spirit…

By paying attention to our beliefs, our faith and our arguments with which we share our faith to others we will grow stronger. While in the beginning of our walk with the Christian faith we may get some things wrong, we may get some arguments wrong…in fact, we may get a lot wrong and sense we have failed God, as well as our faith. But you have not, you simply had another learning lesson within your long life of what you may consider failings in life…but instead they are only lessons we have learned from. Something you may not understand right now, but in time you will grasp hold of it: Our heroes, all of them, spent at very least 70% of their time failing at something…YES! You read that right…70% of their time at being great they failed!

Here is a speech you may, or may not have heard before from the movie “ROCKY BALBOA”, it truly gives you the crux of a new found freedom within each and everyone of us. It is not necessarily a Christian message, but my understanding is that Stallone is a Christian. However, this is a great and motivating speech…listen up, my friends…

When life gets tough for each of us we, those of us who are not so great, tend to blame someone or some thing as to why we didn’t make it, didn’t win. Guess what, that is rationalism…those are excuses. If you want to win in life, in Christ, in business…you must remember life was never promised to be easy. It was just promised to you, YOU must fight to live as a good man or woman. You have to fight to be honorable. You have to fight to be the best you can possibly be, because life was a gift (including everything in it) but to make it the best life you can you must fight to be the best that you can be and that includes staying on the straight and narrow path that God has set before you.

May God Richly Bless You, My Beloved!

MK Murphy, PhD, DD

Upon the Rise of the Zombie Apocalypse, How Will You Act & Rule?

These are the things you shall do:
Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace;
Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor;
And do not love a false oath.
For all these are things that I hate,’
Says the Lord.”  ~Ezekiel 8:16-17

I believe it to be a very fair question, even though, there is NO likelihood, nor any probability, of such a thing happening. From an imaginative and horror aspect it is intriguing to expand your imagination to let it run wild, at times, as to not lose that childlike quality. IF you are a Walking Dead fan, then the question posited to all is: How will you act? And if the leader of a group of survivors, how will you lead and rule?

Will you be a cruel relentless leader such as the Governor or Negan? Or will you be a live at peace with all, if possible, as King Ezekiel? Or more of the middle of the road as in the likes of Rick Grimes? Only you can truly decide this matter for yourself! But, in my opinion, this is an excellent exercise in our moral philosophies on life. Will we be willing to truly test ourselves? Or, and I am not a fan of the series, but are you “morally flexible” as in the character Saul in “Better Call Saul”? Think about it…

We each have what we perceive of ourselves as our morally superior self, we all have ourselves depicted as the warrior that is possessed within each of us as well; but are we able to make such “judgments” with respect to our own clan, group or society as it’s leader? “Judgments” which are for “truth, justice, and peace” of the group as a whole ? Of course, we each say yes to this question without any forethought to the actual implication of the question, at large…

…BUT…

could you sentence someone to their death? Could you excommunicate someone from your society or clan for the remainder of their natural lives? Could you make such decisions with such harsh ramifications, both for the people of your clan, society, or community as a whole, for the person of whom is the target of the decision, and for the moral mind set of even yourself? Could you?? I have found, even with my own children and grandchildren, while the decision may be necessary…it can be heart wrenching. And consider the life of another which is held in the balance based upon YOUR decision…could you take or order the taking of another’s life because of what they have done? It is one thing to make judgment on someone who has taken the life of another, or had defiled the life of another (rape & molestation) but what of theft in the zombie apocalypse…could you sentence another to die? Would you excommunicate them, only giving them the chance to join another group and yielding them an opportunity to render a revenging attack on you for the “wrong” you committed against him?

Would YOU be committed to a moral society, community, or clan? And what would, or could, you do to ensure such a “utopia” or paradise of sorts?

And to just make matters worse, if that is possible, by seeking to create your utopian society – which everyone seems to like accomplishing without any knowledge of how to do so – we tend to fail miserably at the actual journey of creating said paradise for mankind, in general.

Without a doubt, we will fight every up-hill battle, regardless of it’s actual value for the society at large, or for our own growth & knowledge. Most of the battles we take on, good or bad, have no value for us, nor any value for our clan or people! This is why it is important to prioritize your needs and resources. Even Jesus spoke of the necessity for determining if you had the resources to go to war or not. (reference: Luke 14:31-33 NIV)

“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

While determining the benefits and welfare of those whom you both serve and care for, you must, at certain points in time, be willing to compromise. Because some of those times when our leaders in the heat of argument and anger, or frustration, tend to get their people into wars that the people had nothing to do with…BUT are forced to send their children into battle for their country’s honor. Remember prior to the time when Saul was made king of Israel? The warning that Samuel gave the Israelites after they desired to have a king:

“This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ~ 1Samuel 8:10-18 NIV

Our children, and we, will always tend to be food & fodder for wars at the behest of those in charge of the countries at hand…whichever one we happen to be a citizen of at the time!

But how can you as a leader, as a people, as a society or community or as a clan actually remain as a moral body? You MUST teach, learn, and act from the word of God as an emissary or as an ambassador of Christ and God the Father. It is only through the bible itself that we can learn this and understand this through much prayer! We are but children of God, and brothers to Christ, and vessels for the Holy spirit to accomplish it’s works through, but if we bide our time, learn the word, and apply it diligently in our lives…faith will grow. It was noted that Father Zossima stated, “Love your neighbor, really love him…” and it will really open in your heart the faith that you truly seek. (The original quote escapes me but this was a mish-mash synopsis of it.)

If you are to be a person of God, you will remember this one thing:

Overview

In his inspiring new book, You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader, Mark Sanborn, the author of the national bestseller The Fred Factor, shows how each of us can be a leader in our daily lives and make a positive difference, whatever our title or position.

Through the stories of a number of unsung heroes, Sanborn reveals the keys each one of us can use to improve our organizations and enhance our careers.

Genuine leadership – leadership with a “little l”, as he puts it, is not conferred by a title, or limited to the executive suite. Rather, it is shown through our everyday actions and the way we influence the lives of those around us. Among the qualities that genuine leaders share:

• Acting with purpose rather than getting bogged down by mindless activity

• Caring about and listening to others

• Looking for ways to encourage the contributions and development of others rather than focusing solely on personal achievements

• Creating a legacy of accomplishment and contribution in everything they do

As readers across the country discovered in The Fred Factor, Mark Sanborn has an unparalleled ability to explain fundamental business and leadership truths through simple stories and anecdotes. You Don’t Need a Title to Be a Leader offers an inspiring message to anyone who wants to take control of their life and make a positive difference.

…Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace…

Within your clan, society, or community YOU must lead & YOU must judge rightly!

May God Richly Bless You My Beloved!

MK Murphy, PhD, DD