Many years ago the brilliant scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, made a working model of the solar system. At the center of his model was a large golden ball representing the sun. Revolving around it were the planets, represented by smaller spheres attached to the ends of rods of varying lengths.
One day a friend who did not accept the biblical account of creation stopped by to visit Newton. When he came into Newton’s study and saw the working model of the solar system, he exclaimed, “What an exquisite thing! Who made it?”
“No one.” replied Newton.
“No one?” the man responded with a look of unbelief and skepticism.
“That’s right,” continued Newton, “these various sized spheres and rods and gears just happened to come together and form this intricate working model.”
Newton’s friend got the message: if this little table model bore silent testimony to its creator, how much more do the heavens declare the glory of God their Creator!
Sinful man seeks to reject the fact that the Lord our God is the Creator of the world and all things in it. Romans 1:18 tells us, “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”
The first sentence of the first chapter of the first book of the Bible sets before us the truth about God as the Creator of the world and all that it contains in contradistinction to the false views held by sinful man.
CREATION The First Message Of The Bible (Genesis 1:1-2) This Bible study course considers the text of Genesis 1:1-2 where God reveals Himself to be the majestic Creator and describes the initial condition of the earth at the time of its creation.
God’s Work Of Creation (Genesis 1:3-25) This Bible study course discusses the creation events that occurred during the six days of the creation week.
The Pinnacle Of God’s Creation (Genesis 1:26-2:3) This Bible study course focuses on man as the pinnacle of God’s creation, as well as the ultimate destiny God has determined for the creation.
What Is Man? (Genesis 2:4-25) This Bible study course discusses man’s relationship to God his Creator and the purpose for which he has been created.
Hebrews 12:16 – See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.
A friend of mine noted that Esau does not seem like a bad guy. He tries to please his father and forgives Jacob for stealing from him. What’s the big deal?
Esau did two things that were huge – he despised his birthright and he married Canaanite women.
What is significant about these two things is that they both show a complete disregard for the God of Abraham and Isaac. Marrying a Canaanite was equivalent to inviting foreign gods into his household and despising his birthright was a denial of the promise of God through Abraham (and ultimate through Adam of the promised seed).
Esau appears to have suffered from two chief sins:
Being worldly minded (carnal) Having no room for God in his mind (which explains why he never properly understood the significance of his inheritance or his marriages) Romans 1:28 – just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God
In some ways, is this not the modern dilemma? Our culture has no room for God in its thoughts and is focused on fulfilling fleshly / worldly desires.
ADAM: (1 Corinthians 15:45) And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
ADVOCATE: (1 John 2:1) My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
ALMIGHTY: (Revelation 1:8) I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
ALPHA AND OMEGA: (Revelation 1:8) I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
AMEN: (Revelation 3:14) And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
APOSTLE OF OUR PROFESSION: (Hebrews 3:1) Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
ARM OF THE LORD: (Isaiah 51:9) Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
(Isaiah 53:1) Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH: (Hebrews 12:2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
AUTHOR OF ETERNAL SALVATION: (Hebrews 5:9) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
BEGINNING OF CREATION OF GOD: (Revelation 3:14) And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
BELOVED SON: (Matthew 12:18) Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.
BLESSED AND ONLY POTENTATE: (1 Timothy 6:15) Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
BRANCH: (Isaiah 4:2) In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.
BREAD OF LIFE: (John 6:32) Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
CAPTAIN OF SALVATION: (Hebrews 2:10) For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
CHIEF SHEPHERD: (1 Peter 5:4) And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
CHRIST OF GOD: (Luke 9:20) He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
CONSOLATION OF ISRAEL: (Luke 2:25) And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
CORNERSTONE: (Psalm 118:22) The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
COUNSELLOR: (Isaiah 9:6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
CREATOR: (John 1:3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
DAYSPRING: (Luke 1:78) Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
DELIVERER: (Romans 11:26) And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
DESIRE OF THE NATIONS: (Haggai 2:7) And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
DOOR: (John 10:7) Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
ELECT OF GOD: (Isaiah 42:1) Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
EVERLASTING FATHER: (Isaiah 9:6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
FAITHFUL WITNESS: (Revelation 1:5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
FIRST AND LAST: (Revelation 1:17) And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
FIRST BEGOTTEN: (Revelation 1:5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
FORERUNNER: (Hebrews 6:20) Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
GLORY OF THE LORD: (Isaiah 40:5) And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
GOD: (Isaiah 40:3) The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
GOD BLESSED: (Romans 9:5) Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
GOOD SHEPHERD: (John 10:11) I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
GOVERNOR: (Matthew 2:6) And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
GREAT HIGH PRIEST: (Hebrews 4:14) Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
HEAD OF THE CHURCH: (Ephesians 1:22) And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
HEIR OF ALL THINGS: (Hebrews 1:2) Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
HOLY CHILD: (Acts 4:27) For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
HOLY ONE: (Acts 3:14) But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
HOLY ONE OF GOD: (Mark 1:24) Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.
HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL: (Isaiah 41:14) Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
HORN OF SALVATION: (Luke 1:69) And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
I AM: (John 8:58) Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
IMAGE OF GOD: (2 Corinthians 4:4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
IMMANUEL: (Isaiah 7:14) Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
JEHOVAH: (Isaiah 26:4) Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
JESUS: (Matthew 1:21) And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
JESUS OF NAZARETH: (Matthew 21:11) And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
JUDGE OF ISRAEL: (Micah 5:1) Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
THE JUST ONE: (Acts 7:52) Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:
KING: (Zechariah 9:9) Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
KING OF THE AGES: (1 Timothy 1:17) Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
KING OF THE JEWS: (Matthew 2:2) Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
KING OF KINGS: (1 Timothy 6:15) Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
KING OF SAINTS: (Revelation 15:3) And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
LAWGIVER: (Isaiah 33:22) For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.
LAMB: (Revelation 13:8) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
LAMB OF GOD: (John 1:29) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
LEADER AND COMMANDER: (Isaiah 55:4) Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
THE LIFE: (John 14:6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
LIGHT OF THE WORLD: (John 8:12) Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH: (Revelation 5:5) And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
LORD OF ALL: (Acts 10:36) The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)
LORD OF GLORY: (1 Corinthians 2:8) Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
LORD OF LORDS: (1 Timothy 6:15) Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
LORD OF OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS: (Jeremiah 23:6) In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
MAN OF SORROWS: (Isaiah 53:3) He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
MEDIATOR: (1 Timothy 2:5) For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT: (Malachi 3:1) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
MESSIAH: (Daniel 9:25) Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
(John 1:41) He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
MIGHTY GOD: (Isaiah 9:6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
MIGHTY ONE: (Isaiah 60:16) Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.
MORNING STAR: (Revelation 22:16) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
NAZARENE: (Matthew 2:23) And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.
ONLY BEGOTTEN SON: (John 1:18) No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
OUR PASSOVER: (1 Corinthians 5:7) Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
PRINCE OF LIFE: (Acts 3:15) And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
PRINCE OF KINGS: (Revelation 1:5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
PRINCE OF PEACE: (Isaiah 9:6) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
PROPHET: (Luke 24:19) And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
(Acts 3:22) For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.
REDEEMER: (Job 19:25) For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
RESURRECTION AND LIFE: (John 11:25) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
ROCK: (1 Corinthians 10:4) And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
ROOT OF DAVID: (Revelation 22:16) I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
ROSE OF SHARON: (Song of Songs 2:1) I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
SAVIOR: (Luke 2:11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
SEED OF WOMAN: (Genesis 3:15) And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
SHEPHERD AND BISHOP OF SOULS: (1 Peter 2:25) For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.
SHILOH: (Genesis 49:10) The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
SON OF THE BLESSED: (Mark 14:61) But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?
SON OF DAVID: (Matthew 1:1) The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
SON OF GOD: (Matthew 2:15) And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
SON OF THE HIGHEST: (Luke 1:32) He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: (Malachi 4:2) But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
TRUE LIGHT: (John 1:9) That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
TRUE VINE: (John 15:1) I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
TRUTH: (John 1:14) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
WITNESS: (Isaiah 55:4) Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
WORD: (John 1:1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
WORD OF GOD: (Revelation 19:13) And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Isaiah 9:6, For unto us a child is born (His humanity), unto us a son is given (talks about His deity, which is coequal and coeternal with the Father); and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Child is born (from Isaiah 9:6) – ‘Born’ is speaking of His humanity. He had to be born. His humanity could not just appear. He had to be born to make Him coequal with man.
A. Humanity went to the cross. Names for humanity (of Jesus)
Jesus
Son of Man
Jesus of Nazareth
Son of David
5.Matthew 1:16, And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of who was born Jesus (humanity), who is called Christ (deity).
a. You will never find where “Christ” was born. Christ always was. Jesus (humanity) was born. Humanity went to the cross.
Mary was the mother of His humanity. Mary was the mother of Jesus (humanity), not the mother of God (deity).
Jesus grew up – human
. Humanity does all the work-Jesus (humanity) died on the cross.
a.Matt. 17:9, And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. Humanity
b.Matthew 17: 12, But I say unto you, That Elias (John the Baptist as a type of Elijah) is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Humanity suffered
1. Humanity was crucified – Humanity suffered
On earth-He was- a prophet of God.
In heaven right now (in the present moment)-He is our high priest.
In the future-He will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Right now, He is our King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When He comes back, He will reign and rule on earth in that capacity.
Creation is Distinct from God Yet Always Dependent on God
God Created the Universe to Show His Glory
The Universe God Created Was “Very Good”
The Relationship Between Scripture and the Findings of Modern Science
God Created the Entire Universe Out of Nothing • Biblical Evidence for Creation of the Entire Universe Out of Nothing The Bible clearly requires us to believe that God created the universe out of nothing. (Sometimes the Latin phrase ex nihilo “out of nothing” is used; it is then said that the Bible teaches creation ex nihilo.) This means that before God began to create the universe, nothing else existed except God himself. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen 1:1 ESV) “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” (Heb 11:3 ESV) Biblical references: Ps 33:6,9, 90:2, Jn 1:3, Acts 4:24, 14:15, 17:24-25, Rom 4:17, Col 1:16, Rev 4:11, 10:6
Because God created the entire universe out of nothing there is no matter in the universe that is eternal.
The Creation of the Spiritual Universe
This creation of the entire universe includes the creation of an unseen, spiritual realm of existence: God created the angels and other kinds of heavenly beings as well as animals and man. (rev 10:6, Acts 4:24, Ps 103:21, 148:2-5)
“You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.” (Neh 9:6 ESV)
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Col 1:16 ESV)
The Direct Creation of Man: Adam and Eve
The Bible also teaches that God created Adam and Eve in a special, personal way.
“Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” (Gen 2:7 ESV)
“So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.” (Gen 2:21-22 ESV)
It would be difficult to accept the complete truthfulness of Scripture and still hold that human beings were the result of a long evolutionary process.
God “formed man out of the dust from the ground….not over a period of millions of years – at the random development into some complex organism. And the woman was not some product of evolution from some other human being–but directly formed out of man.
We are created “in God’s image,” the pinnacle of God’s creation, more like God than any other creature, appointed to rule over the rest of creation.
1. Develop The Control of Your Self-Property: But the fruit of the Spirit is love,joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:23-23 Being a pleaser is usually someone who is compliant on the outside and resentful on the inside and does not practice the spirit of self-control. Just like God doesn’t force anyone to change, you can’t force anyone to change either. However, you are in control of the property of you. As a protector of your heart and its’ treasures, you absolutely have the right to accept or not accept certain behavior on your emotional property. You can’t change anyone or force them to change, but you can maintain the boundaries of your self-property and let them know that their behavior is not acceptable with you.
2. Guard Your Heart. Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flows the wellspring of life. –Proverbs 4:23 Although Jesus said that we should operate as a unified community, there are always separate properties in a community. When properties have fences, they are there to let the good in and keep the bad out. It is important to guard our well-being from intruders or clingers, but equally important to receive goodness, help and love by letting it in through opening the gate. Jesus also says, “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” -Matthew 7:6. This means if you’re wisdom, advice and time are not appreciated and valued by someone, by all means stop wasting it because you will eventually be hurt and left broken.
3. Know the Difference Between A Boulder and a Load: This is my favorite one. Carry each other’s burdens,” says Galatians 6:2, “and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” This verse shows our responsibility to one another. Verse 5 goes on to say, that “each one should carry his own load.” The greek words for “burden” and “load” gives us insight into how to apply this to setting Godly boundaries.The greek word for burden means, “excess burden” or burdens so heavy they weigh us down. This is when we are responsible to helping someone carry weight they can not carry on their own. The greek word for “load” is “cargo” or burden of daily toil. These are the daily responsibilities that need to be carried out in order to function in life.In this scripture, Jesus is calling us to help people do what they can not do for themselves, because that is what he did for us. However, we are each responsible for doing what we are capable of doing. A good deciphering rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you are being asked to do something they are not able to do or to do something they don’t want to doThere is danger in confusing helping someone with an excess burden and enabling a daily toil. Stepping in and not allowing someone to take responsibility for their self-property (self-control) takes away the natural opportunity to be empowered or sharpened in crisis.
4. Check Your MotivesIf you are driven to do something out of any motive other than pure love and to bring glory to God… don’t do it at all. Many of us know that we are being taken advantage of, even by the sweetest, most well-meaning people. Yet, we continue to drive ourselves crazy, dropping everything in order to come to their aid. Why do we do this? Some of us fear that if we stop helping, we will no longer be needed or will cause conflict and therefore will be discarded. Here is a remedy for a fear of rejection or disrupted peace:“Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” Matt 10:11-14.Jesus told his followers if a town rejects you, leave the town and shake the dust off your feet. He doesn’t tell them to stay and take abuse.Setting boundaries is not being mean, it’s having self-respect. You cannot effectively love if you do not sustain your mental, emotional and spiritual health. Be prepared that some people will not adapt to your new boundaries well, which is fine. If someone leaves you because of your boundaries, then that was not a healthy relationship in the first place and you need to let the “bad” out of your fence to make room for the good to come in.
women in spiritual leadership some notes the Bible teaches that women are gifted and called to spiritual leadership roles, just like men are. Genesis: Woman is created as ‘helper’ for man. That is not a subordination word, because it is most frequently used of God toward his people, he is my ‘help’ in time of trouble, etc. That man is created before woman does not imply superiority – worms were created a day or two before man, yet they are not man’s authority. The first time subordination comes into play is not as a creation ordinance, but only as a curse/consequence as a result of sin, in Genesis 3:16 the man will now ‘rule over’ his wife. Yet the Good News of Jesus Christ is release from the guilt, power and curse of sin – restoring humans to right relationship with God and one another in this life, not just in the future, including sinful power-over relationship between man and woman. History is littered with the unholy wreckage of that consequence of the Fall. Judges: Deborah is one of the mighty ‘judges’ who ‘led’ Israel while being a ‘prophetess,’ before they had a king, recorded in Judges 4 and 5. Her leadership was spiritual and political and legal. There is no clarifying statement such as ‘since no worthy men were around to fill the role.’ In such a strongly patriarchal society, this is remarkable as part of the normative Biblical witness to leadership among God’s people. Gospels: Jesus’ interactions with and treatment of women is legendary in the face of the opposite in the culture of his time. Much has been written about this. Acts: At Pentecost the church is born, to become the community which lives out the Gospel of Jesus as a redeemed people living redemption values, while inviting others into this redemption from sin and its cursing and power. Acts 2:17-18 records Peter’s sermon that day, quoting that the coming of the Holy Spirit to form the church is the fulfillment of the Jewish prophecy in Joel 2:28-32. This quotation declares that in the church, both ‘sons and daughters will prophesy. ‘ This word’s primary meaning is to preach/proclaim what God has already said and done, the secondary meaning is to predict future events in God’s plan. Again it reiterates: ‘Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.’ Here at the birth of the church, the Spirit is promised to not only equally fill men and women, but to also equally ‘prophesy/preach/proclaim.’ Paul: In the 1st letter to the Corinthian church, Paul gives evidence that in fact women did equally share in the prayer and preaching/prophesying duties in that church! In chapter 11, in a section where he is instructing the Corinthian believers to have appropriate order in their gathered worship services, he writes in v. 4 “…every woman who prays or prophesies…” The context is in the worship service. He acknowledges that women equally participate in public leading of worship and teaching! Then goes on to instruct them to do so in culturally appropriate ways! Any treatment of his statement later in the SAME letter in 14:34 that ‘women should remain silent in the churches’ must be reconciled with his statement in chapter 11. Clearly 14:34 is not a prohibition for all times and all churches, because it wasn’t even an absolute prohibition for the Corinthian church. In Romans 16:7 Paul writes a greeting to “…Junia…” (a female Roman name) who is “…prominent among the apostles…” A female is clearly esteemed as an apostle by the apostle Paul. FOR MANY YEARS those in charge of interpreting the Bible from its original languages into Latin and English CHOSE to insert a masculine form of this name, Junias, instead of allowing the most ancient records of a woman’s name, Junia, to stand. Thus a patriarchal view of gender and culture and church leadership was imposed on the Bible, rather than letting the Bible witness on its own, in this instance.
The U.S. Justice Department this past week charged former Democratic congressman Michael Myers with stuffing ballot boxes, bribing an elected official, falsifying records, obstructing justice and voting multiple times in federal elections in Philadelphia.
Myers was the second official charged in the scheme.
Domenick DeMuro, a Democratic ward chairman in that city, admitted in a plea deal that he had “fraudulently stuffed the ballot box by literally standing in a voting booth and voting over and over, as fast as he could, while he thought the coast was clear,” ptoecutors said. DeMuro allegedly had a network of clients who paid him significant sums of money to rig elections over several years.
New Jersey mail-in ballot scheme exposed
Four New Jersey residents, including one city council member and one city councilmen-elect in Patterson, N.J., were charged last month in what state officials was a mail-in ballot fraud scheme. The four were charged with multiple crimes including voting fraud, tampering with public records and unauthorized possession of multiple vote-by-mail ballots.
West Virginia mail carrier nabbed in mail-in ballot scheme
A mail carrier in Pendleton County, W.V., recently admitted to investigators that he altered mail-in voting ballot documents. The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of West Virginia said in a press release in June that it was charging Thomas Cooper, a worker with the U.S. Postal Service, with “attempted election fraud.”
An affidavit supplied by that office to Just the News states the Pendleton County Clerk received several absentee mail-in ballot requests “in which the voter’s party-ballot request appeared to have been altered by use of a black-ink pen.” On five of the requests, “it appeared that the voters ballot choice was changed from Democrat to Republican.
California voter fraud conviction exposes Skid Row scheme
Illinois let non-citizens register to vote in blunder
In January, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White disclosed in a letter to the Legislature that a “programming error” in a signature pad at driver services facilities led to 574 non-U.S. citizens accidentally being registered as voters. At least one, and perhaps as many as 15, non-citizens may have voted in the 2018 election. White’s office says the problem has been fixed.
“We view it as a significant problem,” Matt Dietrich of the Illinois State Board Of Elections said at the time.
Alabama Absentee Fraud
In 2019, former Gordon, Ala., Mayor Elbert Melton was convicted of absentee ballot fraud in a mayoral race he won by just 16 votes.
Melton was sentenced recently to one year in prison and two years of probation after his conviction on charges of absentee ballot fraud and second-degree theft of property.
Pay-to-Vote Scheme exposed in New Jersey
New Jersey real estate developer Frank Raia, 67, a Democrat, was convicted in 2019 of overseeing a scheme to pay low-income residents in Hoboken’s subsidized housing $50 for their votes in the 2013 election.
Wisconsin county supervisor admits to ballot fraud
Former Milwaukee County Supervisor Peggy West, 47, pleaded guilty in 2018 to election fraud for falsifying signatures on petitions to qualify for the spring election.
Prosecutors said several people whose names appear on West’s nomination petition told a detective they never signed. Two even said the printed name next to their bogus signatures were not spelled correctly.
Absentee Ballot Theft in Florida
In 2018, authorities arrested Florida man Bret Warren after they determined he had stolen five absentee ballots and fraudulently voted with them. Warren eventually pled no contest to two charges of false swearing in connection with voting.
Wife of mayoral candidate nabbed in New Mexico
In 2018, New Mexico authorities indicted Laura Seeds on 13 counts of voter fraud related to her husband’s 2016 mayoral race. Seeds was eventually convicted in part for illegally possessing two absentee voter ballots; her husband Robert won the race by two votes.
Indiana cop convicted of voter fraud to help father win race
In 2016, Indiana police officer Lowell Colen was convicted of absentee ballot fraud in an attempt to help his father win a city council election. Colen eventually pled guilty to four felony counts of voter fraud, with prosecutors claiming he filled out false registrations and forged numerous signatures.
Double voting in Arizona
Last month, Randy Allen Jumper pleaded guilty in Arizona to attempting to vote in two states during the 2016 general election: Arizona and Nevada. He was also charged with falsely signing a statement vowing not to vote in the general election anywhere but Arizona.
Arizona officials said at the time of his plea they have brough about 20 cases of voter fraud in the last decade against people who tried to vote in two states in the same election.
Only Congress has the constitutional authority to change the date of the federal general election.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, experience shows that we can vote safely in-person as long as election officials implement the safety protocols.
Voters should not be forced to deal with the problems that massive voting by mail would create.
Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to set the “Times, Places and Manner” of congressional elections. Similarly, Article II, Section 1 gives Congress the authority to set the date on which we vote for the slates of presidential electors through the Electoral College.
The date for both congressional and presidential elections has been set by law as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November since 1845.
Congress has never delayed a federal election, even during the Civil War and World War II. Doing so would be a mistake, and it’s clear that isn’t going to happen.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, experience shows that we can vote safely in-person as long as election officials implement the safety protocols recommended by health experts in polling places—the same protocols we are all using when we go to the grocery store or pharmacy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released such guidelines June 22. I voted safely in-person in my town council election recently in Virginia with those types of health precautions in place.
Even during the coronavirus pandemic that has so disrupted our lives, it would be a mistake to go to an all-mail election. Concerns that Trump has raised about mail-in voting are based on documented problems we have seen with such voting.
Mail-in ballots are the ballots most vulnerable to being altered, stolen, or forged. Just look at the current investigation going on in Paterson, New Jersey, over a recent municipal election conducted entirely by mail.
Four Paterson residents have already been charged with criminal election fraud, including a councilman and councilman-elect. Evidence is surfacing of everything from voters reporting that they never received their absentee ballots (even though they are recorded as having voted) to accusations that one of the campaigns may have submitted fraudulent ballots.
Mail-in ballots also have a higher rejection rate than votes cast in person. In the Paterson case, election officials apparently rejected 1 in 5 ballots for everything from signatures on the ballots not matching the signatures of voters on file, to ballots not complying with the technical rules that apply to absentee ballots.
New York, which has taken more than a month to count the ballots from its June 23 primary election, is also reporting a similar rejection rate. This should be considered unacceptable by anyone believing in fair and accurate elections.
Then there is the problem of mail-in ballots being miscarried or not delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. States with recent primaries, including Wisconsin and Maryland, have reported voters not receiving their ballots or not getting them in time to be voted and returned.
In addition, there have been problems with the Postal Service not postmarking ballots, making it impossible for election officials to determine whether the ballots were mailed in time to be counted. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission says that in the last four federal elections, 2.7 million mail-in ballots were misdelivered and 1.3 million were rejected by election officials.
In the 2016 election, almost 130 million Americans voted. Does anyone really think the Postal Service will be able to suddenly handle 260 million pieces of additional mail—that is, the ballots being mailed out by election officials, and then mailed back by voters?
Just from a practical standpoint, that is asking for chaos and mass disenfranchisement.
Inevitably, it will take longer to tabulate the results of the election if there is a massive amount of mail-in voting, particularly in close races for the presidency and down-ballot offices.
The New York Times correctly said back in 2012, “votes cast by mail are less likely to be counted, more likely to be compromised and more likely to be contested than those cast in a voting booth.”
John Hargrove Seeking Truth and Reality 