Are You One Who Has Aroused God’s Anger Lately?
One of the commandments given in the Old Testament is that we should have no other gods before us. Back then gods were carved or formed and placed in prominent places and worshiped. Things are a little more subtle today because gods today are anything that we put before God in our lives. Click below to check out today's post.
https://ramckinley.com/how-have-people-aroused-gods-anger/\
Most of us are brought up to prepare for our life. We go to school, college or trade school to prepare for getting a job that provides us with a living. When we’re married, we prepare to have a family. We raise our kids to prepare them to make a living. We prepare for vacations. We spend a great deal of time, energy, effort and money preparing for things in our lifetime of, maybe 80 years. We hope to leave a legacy for our children and grandchildren.
We prepare for so many things throughout our lives. But the one thing we don’t prepare for is our death. Oh sure, we may prepare for our funeral or memorial. And we may prepare for giving our assets away. But many of us don’t prepare for life after death. It’s the one thing that every human being will experience but it’s the most ill-prepared for.
Atheists believe that death is the cessation of our physical life. When your body dies, you cease to exist. Atheists should be very at ease with death and dying. Why then do some prominent atheists struggle with death and dying. Some even fear it.
One of the more famous atheists was a 3rd century B.C. philosopher named Epicurus. Publicly, he didn’t believe in an afterlife at all. But privately, he struggled with the possibility that he might be wrong. He wrote that he couldn’t be sure that there wasn’t life after death.
–Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was an atheist who didn’t publicly believe in an afterlife. But privately, he struggled with it all of his life. He feared dying because he was afraid that there was an afterlife. He once said he thought about this everyday of his life.
-The French atheist philosopher, Voltaire, publicly did not believe in an afterlife. But on his deathbed, he was terrified as he called out, “I must die, abandoned by God and man. I shall go to hell. O Christ, O Jesus Christ”
-The famous atheist philosopher, Bertrand Russell, on his deathbed, asked his friend, a Christian layman, to pray with him.
-The famous atheist philosopher, Jean-Paul Sartre, died in 1980. His good friend, Pierre Victor, said that in the last month of his life, Sartre said that “I do not feel that I am a product of chance, a speck of dust in the universe, but someone who was expected, prepared, prefigured. In short, a being whom only a Creator could put here.”
The fearful thing about death is that we just don’t know what, if anything, exists beyond death. Even people who has experienced near-death-experiences have a 25% fearful, negative experience. This makes sense because we humans seem to have a built-in fearful sense of death.
–Albert Camus, the famous atheist French philosopher, author and journalist publicly did not believe in an afterlife. He considered life to be absurd because it was void of meaning because there was no God to give it meaning. But he could never shake the fact that life had no meaning. One day he went to a church and struck up a friendship with a guest pastor. Camus now seemed to realize that meaning and purpose in life had to be bestowed by God.Thru this minister, Camus accepted Christ as his Savior. Four months later, he would die in a car crash. He was one of the most famous Frenchman alive but most of his followers would never know that he turned from the meaningless of atheism to a life of purpose found in Jesus Christ. Camus could not live with his belief that life was empty, meaningless and absurd. He recognized that he had a deep longing for meaning and that led him to Christ.
According to atheism, life has no ultimate meaning. You live, you die and that’s it. You’re usually not remembered for more than a couple of generations. All your hard work seems for naught. If you’re famous, you might get a paragraph in a history book. Camus called this the “absurdity of life”. You’re just an insignificant person on one of a trillion planets circling trillions of stars in one of a trillion galaxies. You may add meaning to your life but in the end, you’ll die and be forgotten. Such is the atheistic view of life.
But this doesn’t match up with reality. People have an innate desire to make life better. We want to make a difference in this world. We want our life to account for something. We want to be significant. We want to love and to be loved. This is where Christianity matches up with reality. We do all of these good, godly things because it is in our nature. It’s in our nature because we’re made in God’s image and God is all of these good things.
– our life does have meaning and purpose (1st Corinthians 10:31 & 2nd Thessalonians 1:12)
– we are to testify to others about God (2nd Corinthians 9:9 & Hebrews 6:10)
– eternity in heaven is promised to the faithful ( 1st John 5:11-13 & 2nd Timothy 4:8)
Christians don’t need to fear death because we know that there’s a new perfect life after death. Hebrews 2:15 says that Jesus will “…free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Dr. David Nelson, a 19th century physician, sat at the bedside of many of his patients as they lay dying. Those without Christian faith would try to keep a brave face but he could see the terror in their eyes. And it was quite chilling. He saw many people die cowardly deaths.
Dr. Nelson, who was not a Christian at this time, saw the tranquility in the faces of Christians as they lay dying. He wrote, ”I beheld more celestial triumph than I had ever witnessed anywhere else. In their voice, there was a sweetness, and in their eye was a glory that I never would have believed if I had not been there to see it.” Dr. Nelson eventually came to believe in Jesus Christ because he saw the reality of Jesus in the lives of these dying Christians.
This is why Jesus gave us these words, ”I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in Me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in Me will never die…” (John 11:25-26). The Christian doesn’t have to fear death. It’s just a passageway to a wonderful life that will never end. Do you fear death? If you do, why not let Jesus take that fear away? Invite Him into your heart. Let heaven, not the fear of death, become your new focus of life.
Looking forward to eternity,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com
What Will You See After Your Death?
When Jesus went to the cross, He died and came back to life. Thus, He conquered death and the grave. Because of this accomplishment, even though our physical bodies die, we don’t. Did you ever wonder what entering into eternity will be like? To read today's post, click on the link below and then let me hear your comments.
https://ramckinley.com/death-is-not-fatal/
Congratulations! You just invited Jesus into your heart. You’ve become “saved”, “born again”. You have come thru the door into the room of God’s Kingdom and are standing just inside it. But how do you fully walk into the room? How do you get to know Jesus better? How do you let God, the Holy Spirit transform your life? Fortunately, the answers are very simple. When you fall in love with someone, you want to spend time with them. It’s the same with Jesus. The following steps, in no particular order, will help you get to know Jesus better.
1) The bible tells us of God, who He is and what’s He like. To get to know God, we need to get to know the bible. Reading the bible everyday is very important. Pick the best time for you to read it. It may be in the morning or the evening. Whatever works better for you and your schedule. Taking the classes “How to Read the Bible”, How to Read the Bible – Part 2” and “How We Got the Bible” are very helpful in getting to know God better. The following scripture verses tell us to do this:
2nd Timothy 3:16-17…All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Psalm 119:105…Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
John 8:32…And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Matthew 7:24…Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Where should I start reading the bible at? See our suggestions at https://bsssb-llc.com/bible-reading-order-suggested/
2) Prayer! What is prayer? Read our link at https://bsssb-llc.com/prayer/. Prayer is just talking and listening to God. You can do it anywhere and anytime. You can pray a one sentence prayer or a longer one. You can pray sitting down, standing up, walking or lying down. You can pray at work, at home or on a vacation. You can pray in the morning, daytime or evening.
Prayer can consist of up to 5 things: praise to God, worshipping Him, being thankful to Him, confessing sin in our life and asking things of Him. These bible verses talk about prayer:
Matthew 6:9-13…Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Philippians 4:6-7…Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Proverbs 15:29…The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
3) Get to be around and know other believers.This is called fellowship. Just like a plant must be surrounded by good soil to grow, you need to be around other believers to encourage your growth in Jesus. Proverbs 13:20 says to become wise, you need to walk with the wise. Ephesians 2:19-22 says the same thing. There are some old friends that you’ll want to keep. But if an old friend is not a good influence on you, you’ll want to keep your distance from them.
1st Corinthians 15:33 says that “bad company corrupts good morals”.
Matthew 5:30 says “And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
Proverbs 12:26 says “The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
4) The Church…The church is all of the believers in Jesus Christ. The word “church” is the Greek word ‘ecclesia’, which means “the called out ones”. We are called out from an unbelieving worldly system to one which serves Jesus whole-heartily. Going into a church building doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than going into a bagel shop makes you a bagel. The church is a living organism, not necessarily an organization, though it may be. The church is not the building. The church goes to a building.
Acts 2:42 says “They (the new believers) devoted themselves to the teachings of the apostles ( in our time, this is to the teachings of the bible), to intimate fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” A good bible believing church should be a place to spiritually grow & fellowship. By getting in a bible study or a small group, you can get to intimately know other believers, grow, pray and share life with them. Church is so vital that Hebrews 10:25 warns against not being part of one.
Each church has a different “style”. Find one that fits your style and regularly attend it. Remember a few important things about church:
– a church is the people, not the building.
– a church is not a place for perfect people. It’s a hospital for sinners.
– no church is perfect as it’s made up of imperfect people serving a perfect God.
5) Witnessing…Having the Holy Spirit in your heart will naturally make you want to share Jesus with other people as you will want them to share in this happiness also. While not every believer has the gift of evangelism (like the late Billy Graham), we are all called to evangelize, to tell people how they can have this new life in Christ also. We have a plaque in our house that says, “Live in such a way that those who don’t know God will come to know Him because they know you.” Read 1st Peter 2:12.
6) Spiritual Gift(s)…Determine what your spiritual gift(s) are. There are many online spiritual gift tests that can point you in the right direction in determining what your gift(s) are.
For a good description of what spiritual gifts are, go to https://bsssb-llc.com/blog2-spiritual-gifts/ or ldolphin.org/rrrgifts.html.
For one spiritual gifts test, go to spiritualgiftstest.com.
7) Spiritual Warfare…There are 3 entities that don’t want you to be successful in your Christian life:
– your flesh. These are your old desires. Anything that draws you away from or stunts your spiritual growth. It could be the desire for more money, or more success in your work, your sexual desires or your hobby addictions. Read Romans 7:15-25 & Galatians 5:19-21 & 1st Peter 2:11 & James 1:14.
– the world, this can range from common routine things, like spending an inordinate amount of time on your house & yard work to becoming so involved with activities, (like your kids sports) that your spiritual life gets side-tracked, to people telling you to keep your religion to yourself or don’t force it on them by voting a certain way. Read James 4:4.
– the devil…Yes, there really is a devil. Satan doesn’t wear red tights and carry a pitchfork but he is real. Read https://bsssb-llc.com/is-there-really-a-devil/.
He can be very beautiful. He can even disguise himself as an angel. Read 1st Corinthians 11:14. While he can only tempt you, he cannot make you do anything (1st Peter 5:8-9). Satan is much more powerful than you & I but thru the Holy Spirit, you are more powerful than he is (1st John 4:4).
Thru the Holy Spirit, you can overcome all of these things. Sometimes it will be very easy. Other times, it will be very hard. Sometimes you will fail and sin but God can and will forgive you. Ask for His forgiveness, get up and try again. Eventually you will be victorious. Read Galatians 6:1 & James 5:16 & Matthew 26:41 & Genesis 4:7.
When any of these things tempts you, do what Jesus did. He quoted the bible (Matthew 4:4, 7-8). In some cases, you should just flee from evil. Read 1st Corinthians 6:18-20 & 10:13, 1st Timothy 6:11-12 & 2nd Timothy 2:22. In other cases, fill your mind with godly thoughts (Philippians 4:8). Ask Jesus to deliver you (Matthew 6:13 & Psalm 143:9). By making these steps part of your everyday life, you will grow closer to God (James 4:8 & Isaiah 55:1-3, 6-7 & Psalms 145:18-19).
By following these 7 steps consistently, you will grow closer to the Lord. Over time, it will be amazing to see what God does with your life as you follow the path He has laid out before you. Have a wonderful journey!
Speaking as one who has been there…and is still keeping on going,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com
First, let’s define what suicide is. It is a person’s intentional ending of their own life either by themselves, someone else or with another’s assistance. A suicide is when a person acts out their desire to die.
Let’s look at a few examples of what suicide is not.
– a soldier charging the enemy, knowing that he will most likely die, is not acting out of a desire to die but rather is accepting a foreseen yet unwelcome consequence of a heroic act. He is not undertaking his mission for the express purpose of ending his life.
– a diabetic who, otherwise in good health, stops taking his insulin because he is depressed about something is committing suicide.
– a person, who is sick and dying and refuses medication to prolong his life, is not committing suicide. The medication will only prolong his death, not his life. He is simply acquiescing to an inevitable outcome not of his own making.
– a doctor who denies his patient food, water and air is culpable in the patient’s death whether or not the patient requested this. If you deny anybody food, water and air, they will die.
When people who have made serious suicide attempts but failed to take their life, are interviewed afterwards, the vast majority say they wouldn’t have attempted suicide if they had waited 24 more hours. Most suicides seem to be a surrendering to an overwhelming but momentary attack of acute depression.
In fact;
– there are 4 male suicides for every female one, but twice as many females attempt suicide.
– 500,000 Americans survive suicide attempts each year.
– of those who commit suicide, only 25% are mentally ill.
– of those who commit suicide, 80% warned someone that they were thin king of doing it.
– the highest suicide rates are for people 35-49 years old and 65 years and older.
– the suicide rate on American Indian reservations is 5 times the national rate.
While the bible doesn’t specifically address suicide, there are 5 incidences of it in the bible;
– Abimelech in Judges 9:50-57
– Saul and his armor-bearer in 1st Samuel 1:1-6 & 1st Chronicles 10:1-13
– Ahithophel in 2nd Samuel 17:23
– Zimri in 1st Kings 16:18,19
– Judas Iscariot in Matthew 27:5
in none of these is there an explicit judgement about suicide but it is interesting to note that in each of these cases, suicide is the end result to a life of moral and spiritual rebellion against God.
The bible does condemn murder (Exodus 20:13) and suicide is a form of murder. But is suicide the unpardonable sin? What is the unpardonable sin? What sin can we not be forgiven of?
John 15:26 & 16:8-15 say that the Holy Spirit will come and convict people of their sin and their need for Jesus as their Savior. So, the unpardonable sin is rejecting Jesus as your Savior. This is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit that Mark 3:28,29 talks about. This is the only sin that cannot be forgiven. So, NO, suicide is NOT the unpardonable sin. Yes, if a Christian commits suicide, the blood of Jesus washes away this sin. While it is a tragedy that a believer commit suicide, what a wonderful forgiving God we have.
References:
“Tough Topics 2” by Sam Storms
“Matters of Life and Death” by Beckwith and Geisler
For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
http://BSSSB-LLC.com
How To Enter Into The Presence Of The Almighty
Psalm 15 in only 5 verses he laid out for us how to enter into the presence of the Almighty. The outline of this chapter is very simple. Verse 1contains a couple of questions. And the last 4 verses offer us the answers. Click below to read today's post.
https://www.ramckinley.com/how-to-enter-into-the-presence-of-the-almighty/
Like most dedicated Christians, I’m sure you want to be used by God. How can we know God’s will for our lives? Taking that statement a bit further, how can we know God’s perfect will for our lives?
There are usually 2 major reasons people give for not being used by God. The first is their mindset is, why would God want to use me? The second reason is they feel they don't have any worthy skills or talents.
Let me just share some of my testimony. My wife and I were children's evangelists early in our marriage. We didn't know a thing about puppets, storytelling, scheduling, you get the idea. For 8 years full time on the road, we saw 100s of children, teens, and adults come to the Lord. For the past 28 years I have pastored the church where we are now.
I don't know how many times through the years I have asked the Lord, "Who am I that You would use me?" His answer has always come back something like this; "You are a child of God called to work for His kingdom." You also are a child of God called to work for His kingdom! I'm sure you will enjoy this post.
God Bless
https://www.ramckinley.com/staying-tuned-in-to-gods-perfect-will-for-your-life/
WE DID IT!!! BESTSELLING BOOK!!! ACHIEVEMENT RECEIVED!!! Oh I'm so grateful and it's wonderful to shout VICTORY! I wanted to take the time to thank all who assisted "Finding Joy In The Journey Vol 2" to BESTSELLER status. You are appreciated. 🤩 Should anyone want a signed copy. It's $20 plus $5 shipping. I love you all. Again, thanks for making me a Bestselling Author the gold star feels great. 🌟
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God made Adam & Eve to fellowship with Him forever. Because He didn’t make them robots, He gave them free will. After some time, they chose to turn away from Him and follow the Devil. Since they chose the Devil’s way, they lost their eternal life and direct contact with God.
God made a long term plan to win them back.
The children Adam & Eve birthed got worse and worse so God destroyed them with a flood and He started over with one man, Noah. He spoke to all humanity thru Noah and then Shem.
That didn’t work out well either, so God broke them up by confusing their language.
He then spoke thru another man, Abraham and his descendants, the nation Israel.
That didn’t work out well either, so He spoke to the nation Israel thru another man, Moses. He also FREED THEM FROM SLAVEY, for crying out loud.
That didn’t work out well either, so He spoke to them thru a group of Judges.
That didn’t work out well either. The people wanted a King, so He spoke to them thru a King.
That didn’t work out well either. Israel was so rebellious, so He allowed a foreign nation to rule over them, to get their attention.
That didn’t work out well either, so He finally gave them His long term plan. That worked out GREAT, even though it didn’t seem that way right away. The Church was established but the world around it kept getting worse.
Finally, He sent Jesus back a 2nd time. Jesus set up His kingdom and ruled forevermore. All the people then realized that the problem was not with God but with them. That’s why things never worked out. They needed a new nature, they needed their old sin nature removed.
The people who didn’t love God or Jesus got to be without Him forever. Hell is separation from God forever. God didn’t send them to hell. It was their own choice to go to hell.
The people who loved God & Jesus got to be with Him forever in heaven and, man, was it GREAT!
The end…except that it never ends. Life goes on for an eternity. It’s just where you chose to spend it. Genesis is paradise lost. Revelation is paradise regained. In-between these 2 books is the story of us, our relationship with God and what He did to repair it.
Psalm 37 is peppered with contrasts between the good and the evil. Even though it seems that evil people come out ahead most of the time, when it's all said and done, they won't.
Click below to read today's post.
https://www.ramckinley.com/enjoying-the-benefits-of-living-a-godly-life/
I penned some tools that help you find joy during difficult times. This devotional is filled with 90 different perspectives and ways to find JOY! I am so excited about the project.
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Isn’t it amazing how things change with time? Things that used to be wrong are now right. Activities that were frowned upon are now accepted. We, however, must stand firm on godly principles. Click the link below to read today's post.
https://ramckinley.com/are-you-willing-to-stand-firm-on-godly-principles/
Have you thought about death? Or what comes after it? Psychiatrists report that 75% of their patients are disturbed at the prospect of their death. The amazing thing is:
-few people ever investigate death
-few make an attempt to understand death
-few ever talk about death
Being that death is certain, wouldn’t you want to learn all you could about it? If there is an afterlife, wouldn’t you want to know about it also? Virtually all religions talk about death and most speak about an afterlife. You make extensive plans about where you’ll spend your vacation for 2 weeks. Doesn’t it make sense to make plans for where you’ll spend eternity?
To understand death, we need to understand life. The problem is that death, life and the afterlife cannot be measured. Nor can we create life, although we can somewhat perpetuate it. Life involves doing things we can observe ( other people, our immediate surroundings, etc.) and things we cannot observe ( thoughts, emotions, love, etc.). Death is the absence of our physical life.
Materialists believe that when you physically die, your soul/spirit dies also. So when you die, your body goes into the ground (in a coffin) while your spirit just ceases to exist. Every cell in our body is replaced every 7 years or so. But if life were just matter and energy, our body would be replaced every 7 years. Memory would be lost and our personality would change, We wouldn’t be the same people. Yet, we know this isn’t what happens. We retain our memories and personality. So, our life must be more than just matter, energy and chemical reactions in our brains and bodies.
Almost all religions believe in an afterlife. Many of the archaeological finds from every culture tell us this. Even when someone’s physical body is damaged beyond recognition, that person is still the same person mentally. About all we can say is that the brain is a conduit that the soul/spirit operates through. So our body is different from our soul/spirit. At death, our body dies (no brain waves, no heartbeat, etc.) and goes to the grave. But where does our spirit go?
Some people have had what we call Near Death Experiences (NDE’s), where they and their doctors claim that they have died but came back to life. Some scientists have tried to explain NDE’s in terms of our physical reactions of our senses, our nerves or physical reactions in our brains. But these have never been proven and are largely ignored now. While some of these NDE people have described events that they couldn’t have known about, almost all of the NDE stories taken together are very consistent. The experience of an NDE is almost universal, but how people interpret that experience is where the difference comes in. Some go to heaven, a few go to hell, some see Jesus, some just see a Being of Light. NDE’s all speak of an afterlife. Because we can’t observe, measure and repeat these experiences, it doesn’t seem possible that we’ll ever be able to scientifically prove anything about the afterlife or an NDE. But that doesn’t mean that we cannot know anything about an afterlife.
There are enough things that almost all NDE’s have in common to make it not just a coincidence. John Burke’s book, “Imagine Heaven” is a great book on this subject.
The most compelling evidence for an afterlife comes from the bible. Given that the bible is so accurate in many other fields (see “Prove to Me that God Exists” at http://BSSSB-LLC.com/video-courses-overview/prove-to-me-that-god-exists/ and “How We Got the Bible” at http://BSSSB-LLC.com/video-courses-overview/how-we-got-the-bible/), we have every reason to believe it over any other religious books.
The bible distinguishes the body from the spirit in many places.
– Stephen gave up his spirit when he died (Acts 7:29)
– Jesus did the same in Matthew 27:50
– Paul said to be away from the body was to be at home with the Lord (2nd Corinthians 5:8)
The Sequence of Events after Death:
1…our body dies and is buried or cremated
2…our spirit immediately goes to…
A…be with Jesus in the intermediate heaven if we know Him
B…be in Hades, the place of the dead, if we don’t know Jesus
3…Jesus returns to Earth and judgement begins (Revelation 20:11-15). There are many other events that occur before this happens but we won’t go into those here.
4…people’s spirits are reunited with their bodies.
5…some will spend eternity in the future heaven with God.
6…some will spend eternity separated from God forever in hell.
For 5& 6, read Daniel 12:2 and Matthew 25:41-46.
For a more detailed view of heaven and hell, watch or read “Heaven and Hell” at http://BSSSB-LLC.com/video-courses-overview/heaven-and-hell/.
The one person who did die and came back to life is Jesus. He even said that His resurrection would prove that everything He told us while on Earth is true (John 2:19-22 & Luke 24:44-46). What He told is recorded in the bible. So He not only predicted His own death, He predicted His own resurrection. How many people do you know that have successfully done that? This is a man to be listened to!
Maybe it’s time for you to talk or think about death and the afterlife…about where you’ll spend it…and what is required to spend it with God in eternal happiness.
Jesus said “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
God has a wonderful plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11)
But you are sinful, you’re not perfect (Romans 6:23)
Jesus died for your imperfections, for your sins (Romans 5:8)
Accept Him as your Savior…Invite Him into your life (John 1:14)
If you have any questions, please write to me.
Book reference:
“Heaven” by Randy Alcorn
“Imagine Heaven” by John Burke
For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
http://BSSSB-LLC.com
When you think of ancient mankind, how do you picture him/her? Is it like cavemen dressed in animal skins with an unshaven, dumb look? Do you think that most people have this picture of ancient man?
Upon spending some time reading on this issue, I respectfully 100% disagree. There are many archaeological discoveries that are evidence of an intelligent ancient man that don’t fit the evolutionary caveman paradigm. What if man didn’t evolve slowly out of Darwin’s “warm little pond” but was created in God’s image with an intellect right from the very beginning? If mankind descended from the Tower of Babel, there should be similar building styles and cultural practices all over the world. If man was made in God’s image, like Genesis 1:26 says, then he was created with intelligence. If man was scattered at the Tower of Babel, then cultural commonalities will be found all over the world. And this is exactly what we find.
According to the bible, ancient man was very smart. In a very short period of time, they built a city (Genesis 4:17), raised livestock (Genesis 4:20), played music with stringed instruments and pipes (Genesis 4:21) and started making iron & steel (Genesis 4:22). I have always wondered how brutish, ignorant cavemen could have taken a certain type of dirt from the ground and turned it into iron and steel. The process is not a simple one. Ancient man must have had some intelligence to discover these and other practices.
Creation Legends:
As nations spread out from Babel, they took the creation story with them. Over time, this story was corrupted and distorted. Steven Langdon, of Oxford University, said in 1931 that the oldest civilizations were monotheistic. Over the years, they declined into polytheism.But all the major ancient cultures held a belief that a Supreme Being created the universe.
Flood Legends:
There are more than 270 flood legends around the globe. In all of them, one man or one family go into a boat while the global flood kills every person except him/them. Of all the flood accounts, the bible is the most realistic.
Babel Legends:
People all over the world have similar stories about building a structure to reach the heavens. This angered God/gods who came down and confused their languages. Those who spoke the same language left together. They then went and built their own towers. And these towers look very similar to each other. But again, over time, the structures changed a little.
Ice Age Legends:
Many people groups like the Toba Indians of South America, the Mayans, the Incas, the Tarahumara of New Mexico, the Araucarans of Chili, the Mataco of Argentina, etc., have legends of “The Great Cold” or “The Evil Winters”. They also associate the flood with a subsequent period of cold, volcanism, mountain shaping, periods of darkness and cloud coverings (so the Sun was unable to warm the Earth). The Mayans said that sunlight did not return until the 26th year after the flood. They associate the flood with much hail, black rain, mist and indescribable cold.
Music and Art:
Genesis 4:21 records the first musical instruments being made. The production of these instruments proves a sophisticated culture existed that was advanced enough to spend time in the arts rather than just farming and hunting. Similar instruments were used in cultures around the world. For example, the aulos pipe has been found in Greece, Bolivia and Peru. The bagpipes of Scotland & Ireland are forms of the aulos. The bullroarer instrument has been found in Australia, Egypt, the British Isles, New Guinea, the Inuit of Northern Canada, the Dogon in Africa, the Maori and most of the North American Indian tribes. The same can be said about ancient art, from the Stone Lion sculpture in southeastern Turkey 3,000 years ago to Mayan art to the Clauvet caves in France.
Giants:
There are several scriptures that refer to giants or Rephaim…1st Chronicles 11:3 5 cubits = 7.5 feet tall, 1st Samuel 17:4 Goliath 6 cubits and a span = about 9.5 feet tall, Deuteronomy 3:11 Og, King of Bashan bed size is 9 cubits long x 4 cubits wide = 13.5 feet long x 6 feet wide. In the Golan Heights there is a giants tomb, rumored to be that of Og.
Dragons:
There are legends around the globe describing large, terrifying creatures unlike any we see today. Their pictures are displayed on flags, shields, armor and buildings from Europe to East Asia. The bible speaks of large creatures in Job 40:15-18 & 41:18-20. Job’s time is thought to be around the time of Genesis, around 2000-1800 B.C. It’s possible Job could have been describing dinosaurs before they died out. But dinosaurs died out millions of years ago you say. North Carolina State University paleontologist Mary Schweitzer has rocked her professional world by finding blood vessels and whole cells inside a supposedly 68 million year old T-Rex from Montana. When an animal dies, soft tissue (blood vessels, muscle, etc.) decays and disappears over a short period of time. Hard tissue (bone) turns into fossils. Several paleontologists have come out in support of her findings. Schweitzer and a colleague have since found blood vessels in another T-Rex from Argentina and a 300,000 year old woolley mammoth fossil. We’ll have to wait for further developments to confirm her findings but it is very interesting. A good introductory article on dragons and dinosaurs is at https://creation.com/dinosaurs-and-dragons-stamping-on-the-legends.
Here are some pictures of towers, mounds, etc. from all over the world. Notice how similar they are.
I realize that all of the above things are not proof that ancient man was intelligent but these facts lean strongly in that direction. They should not so easily be dismissed. They should give us pause to reconsider our theory of the brutish, dumb caveman scenario. We need much more evidence and artifacts of ancient man before pronouncing what is “fact”.
For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
http://BSSSB-LLC.com
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Notice of Funding Opportunity Announcements
The Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services administers grant programs to support projects that implement innovative models to improve minority health and reduce health disparities.
OMH has released the following funding opportunity announcements for which applications are now being accepted.
Announcement Number: MP-CPI-21-003
Opportunity Title: Framework to Address Health Disparities through Collaborative Policy Efforts: Coordinating Center
Award Amount: Up to $500,000
Estimated Total: $500,000
Application Due Date: August 23, 2021, 6:00 PM ET
The Coordinating Center (MP-CPI-21-003), combined with the Office of Minority Health demonstration projects (MP-CPI-21-004), constitute the “Framework to Address Health Disparities through Collaborative Policy Efforts” initiative. The goal of the initiative is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a methodological framework, structured process, and tool in supporting the assessment and identification of policies that may create or perpetuate health disparities by contributing to structural racism, as well as the modification, development, and implementation of policies to improve health outcomes.
The Coordinating Center will oversee and coordinate complementary and collaborative efforts among the participating sites (OMH-funded and self-funded) through leadership and management toward the goals and objectives of the initiative.
This notice solicits applications to establish and operate a Coordinating Center that will:
(1) Lead the development of a methodological framework, process, and tool for the assessment of policies that may create or perpetuate health disparities by contributing to structural racism, in collaboration with MP-CPI-21-004 “Framework to Address Health Disparities through Collaborative Policy Efforts: Demonstration Projects” recipients.
(2) Provide technical assistance to MP-CPI-21-004 recipients and self-funded participant organizations on utilizing the framework, process, and tool.
(3) Lead the evaluation of the implementation of the methodological framework, process, and tool.
Click on the following link to access the notice of funding opportunity.
A technical assistance webinar for potential applicants will be held July 20, 2021 at 1:00 PM Eastern. Click here to register for the technical assistance webinar.
Announcement Number: MP-CPI-21-004
Opportunity Title: Framework to Address Health Disparities through Collaborative Policy Efforts: Demonstration Projects
Award Amount: Up to $375,000
Estimated Total: $1,500,000
Application Due Date: August 23, 2021, 6:00 PM ET
The demonstration projects, combined with the Coordinating Center (MP-CPI-21-003), constitute the “Framework to Address Health Disparities through Collaborative Policy Efforts” initiative. The goal of the initiative is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a methodological framework, structured process, and tool in supporting the assessment and identification of policies that may create or perpetuate health disparities by contributing to structural racism. The initiative also focuses on the modification, development, and implementation of policies to improve health outcomes.
This notice solicits applications for demonstration projects that will:
(1) Participate in the development of the methodological framework, process, and tool.
(2) Utilize the methodological framework, process, and tool to assess and identify policies that may create or perpetuate health disparities by contributing to structural racism.
(3) Modify existing or develop new policies.
(4) Implement those policies to improve health outcomes.
(5) Participate in evaluation activities through the Coordinating Center.
Click the following link to access the notice of funding opportunity.
A technical assistance webinar for potential applicants will be held July 21, 2021 at 1:00 PM Eastern. Click here to register for the technical assistance webinar.
Have you ever had times that you fought with depression? In Psalm 13, David was experiencing a bout with it. Fortunately, he turned his depression into delight. Click below to read today's post.
https://www.ramckinley.com/how-to-turn-depression-into-delight/
In the Bible, when someone was banished, they were exiled from their country. In our verse for today, it says that God decided to banish Judah from His presence. How can a person or a country be banished from God’s presence?
Check out today's post by clicking on the link below.
https://ramckinley.com/now-that-is-bad/
What is your greatest fear? Many people say that its getting to the end of their life without having made a significant difference. For most of us, the regular duties of life get in our way and before you know it, you’re 50 years old wondering where the time went.
But Christians have an advantage. God has given us certain “spiritual gifts” to help us accomplish the mission He has for us. That’s right…God has a plan for each of us. Jeremiah 29:11 says “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.
We need to find out what God has gifted us to do and do it with all our heart (Colossians 3:23-24…”Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters”). To do this daunting adventure, we need to divide it up into smaller units that we can measure.
First off would be to determine what your spiritual gift(s) is/are. There are some online surveys you can take that give you some idea of what your gift(s) is/are. They are at…
1) https://gifts.churchgrowth.org/spiritual-gifts-survey/
2) https://spiritualgiftstest.com/spiritual-gifts-test-adult-version/
When I came down with throat cancer, God told me that He was going to heal me. I thought it was just me wanting to believe that I’d be healed. It took some convincing on God’s part but I finally believed Him. I was almost 65 years old. If God’s going to heal me at this age, He must still have things for me to do. After earnestly seeking Him, He spoke to me in these areas:
1) my personal life – what do I do when I’m not working? What do I spend my time on? Am I seeing friends on a regular basis? Am I spending quality time with my spouse? Maybe take her/him out on a date night.
2) my spiritual life – do I read/study the bible? Do I pray? Am I involved in a local bible-believing church? A consistent reading of the bible should only take maybe 15 minutes a day. Prayer could be done thru-out the day or in the evening with your spouse. Joining your church’s small home group takes one evening a week or one evening every two weeks. Reading good Christian non-fiction books is also good to do. It’s a way to gain a lot of information and guidance from other bible teachers.
3) my hobbies – most psych’s will tell you that having a hobby is good for your mental state of mind as long as it isn’t obsessive. What is your hobby? Is it traveling or reading or sewing or working around the house? Is it watching certain TV programs (be careful because TV watching can become obsessive).
4) my house life – God has provided you with a house. What a blessing! Are we using it for God’s glory? Do you have small group meetings in it? Do we have people over for an evening? My wife and I are empty-nesters, so we have bedrooms available for visiting missionaries, etc. Maybe you could have a youth group activity at your house.
5) my spiritual gifts – do you know what your spiritual gift(s) is/are? Are you using them? If not, why not? The church is a great place but not the only place to use your spiritual gifts. One guy who loved working on cars, had the church sponsor a Saturday when single moms would bring their cars to the church parking lot and he and a few other men would change their oil for free. They had the gift of service (Romans 12:7…”If your gift is serving others, serve them well…”). My spiritual gift is teaching, so I teach adult bible classes at our church. I’ve also put my teachings on the internet at https://bsssb-llc.com.
6) my parent/grandparent life – how are you parenting or grandparenting your family members for the Lord. What are you doing with the people that God has put in your sphere of influence? Parenting is a full time job but why not take one evening every week or every two weeks and have a family night. Play a board game, go to a park or play frisbee with your kids. If you’re a grandparent, give your adult kids a break and take the grandchildren for a day or evening every week or every other week. Take them on a picnic or to a museum or play a board game with them. Anything that engenders a conversation and builds memories.
Learn to pray with them on a consistent basis. Feel free to talk to them about God, Jesus, or whatever is happening in the culture. Just be sure to not harshly judge their opinions. If they’re younger, read bible stories to them. If they’re older and you can afford it, take them
to the Creation Museum and/or the Ark Encounter for a few days.
7) – for people who are still working (I’m retired), your work life – are you honoring God by being a good worker? Does your boss know why you’re a good worker? See Colossians 3:23-24 above.
8) – my financial life. Yes, this involves budgeting. Like it or not, you’ve got to budget if you’re going to plan things like vacations, travel, college for the children, retirement, etc. Any book by Dave Ramsey would be very helpful. Or just comparing your expenses to your income. For one month, track your spending. Don’t forget to include in there things like house insurance, car insurance, property taxes, Christmas gifts, etc. If you pay them once a year, just divide the total you pay by 12 and you’ll have a monthly amount. Being faithful in your finances is one of the hardest things to bring under control but its absolutely necessary if you’re going to be faithful in what the Lord has given you.
How do you put all this into action?
Start by writing down things that God wants you to work on. Then, don’t do anything different for 1-2 weeks but write down everything you do with your time. You might be amazed how much of your time is spent on things that don’t contribute to your stated goals.
I would suggest starting with establishing a consistent bible reading & prayer time. Start out with 10-15 minutes day. Once you’ve established that consistently, then you can go longer if you wish. The other areas require planning but still don’t take a lot of time.
All of these things are measurable quantities. You should be able to look back over the past month and see what you did accomplish. Don’t be surprise if it all doesn’t work out perfectly. If half of it works, you’re doing good. Also, don’t be surprised if God tweaks your plans. Stay flexible enough for that to happen.
So, at the end of every month you can look back and see what you’ve done. Then you can make any adjustments in the coming month. If you do this long enough, you’ll be amazed at the results. Eventually, you’ll be able to make longer term plans. Instead of just one year out, you may be planning several years out, realizing what Proverbs 16:9 says “In their hearts humans plan their course but the Lord establishes their steps”. But at the same time, remember the old saying that says if you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it.
Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
Here are some scriptures to meditate on regarding planning:
Ephesians 5:15-17 “Be very careful then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Hebrews 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”
Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”
Proverbs 27:23 “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds…”
Psalms 90:12 “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
Psalm 20:4 “May He grant you your hearts desire and fulfill all of your plans.”
Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.”
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not be weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Luke 14:28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”
James 4:13-15 “Now listen, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow….Instead, you ought to say, If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” This does NOT say that you shouldn’t plan anything. It does say to be flexible so God can work. There’s an old saying that says, “God can’t steer a parked car.” Well, yes He can but I hope you get the point of the saying. An old Christian comedian said that he wants to be doing something when Jesus returns, even if its making mistakes.
Then at the end of your life, God will be able to say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness.” (Matthew 25:21).
An excellent resource for making a life statement is the book, “Made to Count” by Bob Reccord and Randy Singer. It also comes with a workbook, “Made to Count Life Planner”.
For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com
