Date Archives → July 2016

Question – Thought & ANDs for August 1st, 2016!

Question – Thought & ANDs for August 1st, 2016!
Good Monday Morning and Hello August!
1. Question – How do you get refueled?
2. Thought – AND:

Getting Refueled 
TGIF Today God Is First
July 16, 2016

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed”(Mark 1:35-36).

 
How do you get refueled? When our cars run low on fuel, we simply drop by the local filling station to get more fuel. When our bodies are hungry, we feed them. How do we refuel our spiritual lives? We can learn from the example Jesus modeled in His life.
 
In the New Testament we see that Jesus had a very demanding schedule. He traveled from town to town, often walking many miles between the towns. He spent a lot of time with people. As a speaker and teacher I can tell you that it is very draining to minister for extended periods. Your body and your spirit becomes fatigued.
 
The day before the above scripture was recorded, Jesus had a full day of ministry healing the sick, delivering people from demons and walking to different cities (Mark 1:29-37). The following day it says Jesus got up before the sun rose and went to pray. The disciples were wondering where He was.
 
When Jesus was on earth, He was fully man. Everything He did was based upon receiving specific directions and power from His father to do them. He was not operating as God, but as a human being with the same limitations you and I have. So, Jesus knew one of the key ways to refuel His mind, body and spirit was by spending time in prayer to His Heavenly Father.
 
This is a critical discipline for every follower of Jesus if you expect to have power and victory in your Christian walk. We each need to find a solitary place to focus upon the Lord, His Word and His input for our lives.
 
If this is not a part of your daily experience, why not start tomorrow with a few minutes of focused time of reading and prayer. You will be encouraged with the new spiritual focus you will have by making this a priority.
“The past is prologue.” (Shakespeare) (Prologue – the introduction to literary work)
 
AND: What purpose does it serve to “look for bits of truth” in other faiths if you have the whole truth in the Bible?  

It wouldn’t be surprising to me to find truth mixed in with lies-for that is the best means to spread the untruth…imbed it in messages that comprise both.  The ignorant (of truth) would be unable to discern…
AND: Mark, Forgive my flippant remark.I should have given more thought to this.

I do believe that my faith has much more truth.  That is why over 70,000 young missionaries pay their way to serve LDS missions.  They share the restored gospel in its fulness with truths that other religions don’t teach.  The missionaries teach basic gospel principles and their  truthful messages resonate with those who are humble truth seekers, or in my case, truth seeker who was lost.  I was so excited to find the truth so that I could latch onto it tenaciously and stop so much questioning and searching.

Don’t get me wrong.  I appreciate your thought provoking questions.  They serve a very good purpose by stimulating the thought processes.  That’s good.  I believe man cannot be saved in ignorance.

AND: Interesting question.  My dad was a staunch democrat.  Mom was too.  Yours truly is a republicanish kinda guy.  They were Catholic.  I’m Presbyterian.  Oh well.
AND: Mark,I’ll google tertium quid because I’m unfamiliar with the term.  I think it refers to the heart…love,    and Plato was no authority on that subject.


rem – I had no knowledge that I had no knowledge.
Question & Thought & ANDs.

Question & Thought for July 31st, 2016!

Question & Thought for July 31st, 2016!
Good Sunday Morning!!! And, see ya August!!!
1. Question – What is the tertium quid?
2. Thought – Proper education, for Lewis, includes an education in virtue (training children to take pleasure in beauty and virtue and feel disgust for vice), an education that presupposes the reality of the Tao and the reality of the sentiments attached to it. If we fail to pass on these sentiments to our children or, worse, foster them in a cynical attitude toward Tao-based virtue, we are courting disaster.
In a powerful Platonic metaphor, Lewis says that although our reason (head) lifts us to the angels and our appetites (belly) drags us to the beasts, it is that tertium quid, virtuous sentiment (chest) that mediates between the two and, thus, most clearly defines our status as volitional human beings (neither angels or beasts). Unfortunately, modern education, with its rejection of the Tao, has left our chests to atrophy; this is an ironic situation, because, as our chest continues to shrink, our leaders call more loudly for those very virtues that the chest can produce.
“Unlike some apologists, Lewis is willing to find aspects of truth in all religions and cultures: Christianity, that is, is not the only truth in the world, but it is the only complete truth.” (The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis, by Professor Louis Markos)
rem – I had no knowledge that I had no knowledge.
Question & Thought & ANDs.

Question & Thought for July 30th, 2016!!!

Question & Thought for July 30th, 2016!!!
Good Saturday Morning!!
1. Question – Is your way superior?
2. Thought – I have called each of My children to a different path, distinctly designed for that one. Do not let anyone convince you that his path is the only right way. And be careful not to extol your path as superior to another’s way. What I require of you is to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Me – wherever I lead. (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, Devotion for June 16th, references Ephesians 2:10; Micah 6:8)
“While the people are virtuous they cannot be subdued, but when once they lose their Virtue, they will be ready to surrender their Liberties.” (Samuel Adams)
“The political structure of a commonwealth may consist of a monarchy, an aristocracy, or a democracy. These three kinds of commonwealth may provide security and protection for their subjects, or may degenerate into tyranny, oligarchy, or anarchy.” (John Hobbes)
 The world needs to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Me – wherever I lead.
rem – I had no knowledge that I had no knowledge.
Question & Thought & ANDs.

Question & Thought for July 28th, 2016!

Question & Thought for July 28th, 2016!
Good Thursday Morning! (Continued from Tuesday & Wednesday and wrapped up today)
1. Question – If you say God talks to you – do people think you’re crazy?
2. Thought – Those who have closely considered the secret life – people like Freud and Jung – use metaphors to speak about the way we keep the secret life from causing chaos in personal and public life. They speak of “the gatekeeper,” “superego,” “monitor,” and “inner parent.”
My own metaphor is the Committee.
And my ventriloquist’s dummy seems to be the chairman.
I think of my committee as odds makers who say things like, “If you rob a bank, it’s ten to one that he FBI will get you, and you will end up in jail for a long time.” Or, “If you tell people you talk to God, they’ll think you’re religious, but if you say God talks to you, it’s ten to one they’ll think you’re crazy.” (Maybe [Maybe not] by Robert Fulghum)
“Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; The political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual.). (Ann Rand)
rem – I had no knowledge that I had no knowledge.
Question & Thought & ANDs.