John 20: 27-29

This Scripture is what I like to call my favorite:


Then saith He to Thomas,  Reach hither thy finger, and
behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust
it into my side:  and be not faithless, but believing.

And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord
and my God.

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen
me, thou hast believed:  blessed are they that have not
seen,  and yet have believed.


Blessed Are They That Have Not Seen And Yet Have Believed


I say - blessed are they that truly believe - even though others may
say that they don't believe.

Blessed are those whose belief is so strong that they can keep it to
themselves and don't go around tebowing or trying to save others.



it's all about believing - and not about just talking about it





Blessed Are Those Who Say They Don't Believe But I
Know They Really Do

I mean I heard Ricky Gervais say that he was an Athiest -
and if anyone really believes that then I'm not a traditional
idiot housewife.

: ]

Isaiah 40: 5

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealedk and all fleash shall see it together:

for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

Isaiah 41: 10

Fear thou not;

for I am with thee:

be not dismayed;

for I am thy God:

I will strengthen thee;

yea, I wil help thee:

yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness.
~~~

I usually like to write on my Religion Blog about Scripture
from the Gospels - but tonight this was the best I could find.

I like Isaiah because many of the lyrics in Handel's Messiah are
taken from Isaiah:

~Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your Godl.

Speadk Ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that
the warfare is accomplished, that the iniquity is Pardoned...

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.


and this





Isaiah 40: 4

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made
low, the crooked straight and the rough places plain.


and this from


Isaiah  7: 14

Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son,
and shall call his name EMMANUEL.

God with us.


and Matthew 1: 23  also says

BEHOLD, A VIRGIN SAHLL BE WITH CHILD AND
SHALL BRING FORTHA SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL
HIS NAME EMMANUEL, which bing interpreted is, God with
us.

Matthew 2: 23

And He came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might
be fulled which was spoken by the  prophets, He sahll be called a
Nazarene.

Matthew 3: 16

And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the
water:  and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him:

And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 4: 23

And Jesus wnet about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness
and all manner of disease among the people.

Matthew 5: 2

And He opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,


Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn:  for they sahll be comforted.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful:  for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart:  for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake for
theirs is the Kingdom of  God.

Blessed are ye when men shall revile yo u, and persecuted you, and shall
say all manner of evil agaoinst you falsely, for my sake.


Matthew 5: 15

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlstick;
and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father which is in heaven.


Ok.

I feel better now.


Any prayers would be appreciated.

Mark 1: 16-18

Now as He walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and
Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after Me,  and I will make you to
become fishers of men.

And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed Him.
~~~

Simon and Andrew dropped what they were doing and followed
Jesus - as He told them to do.

Did they follow Him becasue He cast a spell over them?

I don't think so - but I wasn't there.  Maybe He did.

I believe that Simon and Andrew followed Jesus because they
just knew - that it was the Right Thing To Do.
~~~

In my Faith Journey - which I consciously Believe started about 25
years ago - I have done the same thing over and over.  Although
in retrospect - I see now that my Faith Journey began when I was
born.  And furthermore - I Believe that my Faith Journey began
even before that - although I cannot remember where or when.

Which is to say - that I 'forsook my net' and followed the same
compelling 'force' these Fishermen did.

But along the Way I have stumbled and doubted - and I have tried to
ignore this Compelling Force - to no avail.

Now more recently - I have made a Conscious Choice - to follow this
Compelling Force - for the rest of my Life.

That Choice  - to Follow the Force - is based on my Faith in Him - and
my Faith is based on my experiences of Doubt and Stumbling - and having
been - as I like to put it - dangled over the edge time and time again - and
then having been pulled - to my great relief - back to safety.

I'm in This for the long haul - and nothing can change my mind.

Matthew 8:5-10

And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came
unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him.

And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy,
grievously tormented.

And Jesus saith unto Him, I will come and heal him.

The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that
Thou shouldest come under my roof:  but speak the Word only,
and my servant shall be healed.

For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me:  and
I say to this man, Go, and he goeth;  and to another, Come, and
he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to them that followed,


Verily I say unto  you, I have not found so great Faith, no, not in
Israel.



And here we have it folks.



Faith.




If even a centurion can know what Faith is - then anyone can.

on believing in Jesus' miracles

I chose this topic last night to write about on my Religion Blog.

But in the last hour or so as I was getting ready to write it - I
realized that it was going take a little bit of a different slant
than I planned.

Oh it's still about Jesus' Miracles alright - but more than that
it is about Believing.

The first thing I want to say is that I believe in Jesus' Miracles
because I believe in Jesus - not because the Bible tells me to
believe them.

It's true that I first heard about Jesus' Miracles because of the
Bible and for all these years - and they are Legion : ] I believed
Jesus' Miracles but not quite.

If someone would ask me if I believed in Jesus' Miracles I would
say Yes - I do.  But now thinking back on it - it's kind of like I had
my fingers crossed behind my back.


But now folks it's different.

It's different because now I know Jesus.

And because Jesus loves me  - a really unworthy nothing of a person -
enough to make me believe in Him - then I believe in His Miracles.

I believe it if Jesus says He walked on water.

I believe it if Jesus says He turned water into wine.

And I believe it if Jesus says He fed all those people that day with
just a few fish and a couple loaves of bread.


Why would I believe stuff like that - you might ask?


Because Jesus loves me.

And because He loves me then I love Him back.







And if a 66 year old whitehaired traditional idiot housewife can get
Jesus at this point in her Life - then anyone can.







some people call it Amazing Grace













it's never to late folks and you can take that to the bank









: ]

religulous

A documentary about Religion.


Directed by Larry Charles

Written by Bill Maher

Starring Bill Maher

The title of the film is a combination of the words Religion/Ridiculous


The review of this film is by stidh - and I reserve the right to do this
since I have seen it many times - and have sincerely tried to use good
judgement and discernment in forming my opinions about it.
~~~

What you need to know if you have not already seen Religulous:

~check out Bill Maher's website and see that he clearly states that
he is a Comedian.

~Religulous is a comic based documentary

~be warned that Religulous contains what I like to call 'off-color' stuff -
and if that offends you to the point where you cannot get the value of
this documentary than you need not watch it

~as you watch Religulous you need to - as I did - look past Bill's use of off-color
words and illustrations (see his profile where he clearly states that two
persons that influenced his Comedy are Lenny Bruce and George Carlin)


The Comedy in this video is extremely brilliant so if you like to laugh
then allow yourself to do so without the fear that you are necessarily
agreeing with or approving of what point Bill is making.

Two of my favorite funny moments are:

~the Trucker's Chapel after the men pray over Bill - at which time
he jokingly says his wallet is missing

~in the Christian bookstore he observes that a Madonna and Child
Statue is pricey - and then asks what the Madonna would run without
the Child


It is imperative that you take note of how the people respond to Bill
during the interviews:

~in the Truckers' Chapel - with only one exception - these men show
a sincere interest in cooperating with Bill about his quest for the
Truth about Religion - and more importantly they appear to like him
and most importantly he leaves them laughing

~in the Interview with 'the guy who used to be Gay but is now married'
although this man is skeptical at first it is not long until he seems willingly
caught up in the discussion - and again - as in the Truckers' Chapel -
there is no doubt that a respectful and friendly connection has been
made - and again Bill leaves with them both laughing


Bill's use of Dress in Religulous:

~basically casual throughout

~in the beginning and in the end Bill is dressed in a black jacket
and black pants - and sporting a deep red shirt:  devil colors

~when visiting the Christian Theme park in Florida Bill wears one
of his famous t-shirts and jeans - appropriately casual for a theme
park in Florida

~when he visits the Jewish men who are trying to outsmart God
with clever and elaborate inventions - Bill is impeccably dressed
in a stylish suit and tie combination

~if you notice there are other scenes where Bill has subtly but
cleverly chosen dress to help him make his point



What is the Value of this Documentary?

What you get out of Religulous is what you bring to it.

When I saw this movie I had already begun believing in Bill
Maher.  Still - I tried my hardest to be objective - and even
prepared myself for disappointment  - something I have never
experienced when it comes to Bill Maher.

If you go into this knowing in your Heart that he is a bad person
who is disrespectul of God - and Jesus - then that is what you will
see.

But folks - if you are a person who seeks Truth - and you watch
this with the mindset that you are going to Grow and Learn from Bill's
Documentary - then that is what will happen.


And I dare you to not smile.


why you might even laugh
~~~

Religulous is the 7th highest grossing Documentary ever.






but in my opinion....





it is the most important one






Period.





:o)

now i lay me down to sleep

Although the title of this post is a line from a child's prayer
that even athiets surely know - here I will draw upon my
own ideas about the subject of Prayer.

Prayer is a good thing - and I always appreciate it when someone
offers to Pray for me. 

But I like it if they first ask me if I mind if they pray for me.

And I always say - what exactly are you going to pray for.
 
Because I want to make sure that they pray for what I want too.


The Logistics of Prayer

1.   When to Pray

~ to start the day

~mealtime

~bedtime

~during a serious discussion - before or after or both

~in prison - especially prisons of our own making

~in a foxhole - real or symbolically speaking

~in church

~in a tight spot

~in a crowded room

~in isolation

~in loneliness - whether for real or among others

~driving in a car

~almost any activity can be a good time to pray : ]

~on a basketball court right before a crucial layup

~on the sideline of a football field : [

~before a White House staff meeting

~during surgery

~while telling a joke before a packed audience

~before a nationally televised debate

~before making a major decision about anything

I could go on and on.


2.  Perferred Prayer Positions

~head slightly bowed to show deference to the Creator

~eyes can be closed to shut out distractions - although I rarely do

~my favorite prayer position is on my knees by my bed - I know
God likes us to humble ourselves and if we don't He will do it
for us folks

~folded hands  - optional

~always with a respectful attitude

Here the most important thing is:   just do it


3.    What to Pray

The most basic thing you can say about Prayer is
that it is 'talking to God.'

And the great thing about God is that because He
is Smart (see my post on that) He has the capability
of being able to understand and hear every prayer -
kind of like how Santa Claus can deliver toys to
every child around the World in one night.

About exactly Who to Pray to:

I always just Pray to God - but for some
reason I say at the end of my Prayer in
Jesus' name - that way No One feels left
out.

Since this is my Blog I will just tell my own
thoughts on the Content of Prayer:


~most days I pray when I go to bed and
if I am very tired I just say this:

Thank you (to God) for everything He has done
for me that day and everything He has given me
that day - what you call a bare bones prayer

~lately I have been asking God to keep safe a certain
person that is important to me : ]

I'm almost always very tired these days what with
the Move and right after the Holidays -but when I
used to pray more at night it would include:

~telling God I'm sorry that I have offended Him in
any way - and for me this is Legion

~also I tell him I am sorry about offending Others -
also Legion

~this is a good time to ask for Guidance if I have a
special problem I am trying to work out - I find that
God is always willing to Direct my Life

~prayers for Others

~and really anything else that I have on my mind

about complaining to God - I  do that during the day
as it occurs - again Legion - but not during this nightly
session as I try to keep this Positive


An Important Thing About Prayer That Has
Worked For Me:

but first one thing I left out and that is if someone
asks me to pray for them I do it right then so I don't
forget or have to write it down - and if I want to
pray for a Very Special Reason like a family member
I make a point to do that on my knees

Now earlier in my Life I did a lot more specific
Praying - like at set times.

In the Bible the Apostle Paul says something that I
used to wonder and obsess about:

and that is -   Pray  Without   Ceasing

I always thought - How do you do that unless you
are a monk?


Then one day it came to me - Paul was talking about
the Relationship with God.  If you have a Personal
Relationship with God - and that has to be developed
and nurtured over a period of time - then you can learn
to have a constant connection with God which becomes
a form of Prayer. 

And when you have developed this type of Relationship
with Him - then everything you do - you do it with Him.
Until it becomes sometimes a conscious - or sometimes
an unconscious thing - sort of working together with God
to make your Life better but always recognizing and
realizing that ultimately and thankfully:

 God Is In Charge.

Forming this type of Personal Relationship with God is
a Good thing - but never be under the illusion that it
will necessarily make your life Easier - but let me tell
you folks - there is no doubt that it will make your
Life Better.


And that is my take on Prayer.
~~~

I don't usually introduce topics - but coming up on
stidh - this afternoon - I am going to present a review
of the documentary Religulous.


ya won't want to miss that one folks 





: ]

God in three persons

I was a Sunday School teacher for a number of years (see my post
about that on my very first blog- born to talk)

I absolutely loved being a Sunday School teacher.

Gave it up though - because I couldn't compete with three junior
high girls who insisted on talking at the same time I was
trying to teach.

One of my very favorite Sunday School lessons that I
loved to teach was about the Holy Trinity.

Drew diagrams and everything.

Of coure I can't do that here.

But I'll explain it to you like you were a three year old (see the movie
Philadelphia)


let's call it the holy trinity for dummies  : ]
~~~

Father/Son/Holy Spirit (i'm afraid of ghosts)


God is the Father/Creator

Jesus is the Son/Savior

God is the Holy Spriit


Now I think everyone knows who God is - even athiests.  And God is
considered our Father because we came from Him - He created us.

Jesus is God's Son - who was born to Save us.

The Holy Spirit is God within us.


But here is where it gets tricky folks.  You see God/Jesus/Holy Spirit
are all the same Person:   God

Symbolically speaking God sent Jesus (God) to save us from ourselves.
To make it easrier for us to understand God called himself Jesus.
And to make it even easier God calls it when He dwells within us
The Holy Spirit.

Myself - I never confuse Jesus with The Holy Spirit rather I always
think of God as The Holy Spirit - but that's just me.


Now here's the bottom line:

(see my post about how God is smart)


God could have said I am It.  I am the Father God, I am Jesus the Son
and Savior and I am the Holy Spirit. 

But that's three thoughts.

So He made it easy for us and made up that stuff about the Holy Trinity.






Besides - it gives us just one more thing to Obsess about.

john 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God -
and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing
made that was made.

In Him was life; and the life was the Light of men.


And the Light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
~~~

John 1:1-5 is the Heart of Theology.

Here God gives us the Truth of who Jesus was - and is:

In John 1:1-5 God says in no uncertain terms that God and
Jesus are One. 

In the beginning (when God created the Earth)
the Word (Jesus) was there - with God.

Then he repeats himself - if we didn't get it the first time:

The same (the Word or Jesus) was in the beginning (Creation) with God.

All things (Creation) were made by Him (the Word/Jesus);
and without Him (the Word/Jesus) was not any thing made
that was made (Creation).

In Him (the Word/Jesus) was Life (Light);
And the Life (the Light/the Word/Jesus) was the Light (Hope/Love/His
Teachings etc.) of men (mankind.)

And the Light shineth in darkness; and the darkness
comprehended it not.

For me this last part says that when Jesus (the Word) came to
us we didn't understand who He was.

Now I am choosing to think that 'comprehended it not' means
that we don't always 'get it' or we are not capable of 'getting it'
unless we look to Jesus - the Word and the Light - for guidance.

For me John 1:1-5 is not the most beautiful and poetic Scripture
in the Bible - but merely the most meaningful.

For me John 1:1-5 holds the key to the Kingdom of Heaven.
~~~

It has been a long day for stidh - putting away Christmas decorations and
at the same time organizing the garage - so if I seem even a little confused
on this then please someone step up and say something.

Or if anyone has a slightly different take on it then I would welcome any
comment about it.

Thanks.

three parables of Jesus

~The Unforgiving Servant - Matthew 18:23-35


God will not Forgive us if we do not for Forgive others


~The Lost Sheep - Matthew 18:12-14


God cares about all of us - even those who go astray.
And He is especially happy when the one who goes
astray comes to his senses.

(see the Parable of the Lost Coin)


~The Rich Man and Lazarus


the rich man


the beggar whose name was Lazarus


Father Abraham



It is in this Parable where Jesus gets tough folks.

Because Jesus says that the rich man had plenty of time
to do good and he didn't.

So the rich man says to Abraham:

ok if it's too late for me at least will ya warn my brothers
to do good before it is too late


but Abraham says - sorry but they can find all they need to
know in the Bible - and they get no special warning


Now I like the ending of The Man in the Iron Mask where the
mean king gets to live in the Estate and have his mother visit
him (see my post on stidh about that.)

I like for everyone to come out ok in the end.

But Jesus says you have a chance and after that goodbye.


Is Jesus just trying to scare us?

Isn't there always a chance for Forgiveness and Redemption?


I say it's best to hope for that.

We do our best and try to make up for our mistakes.

Sincerely - because there's one thing about Jesus folks - you
can't fool Him.

If you watched Bill Maher's great documetntary when he visits
the Jewish men and sees the inventions that they have - Bill takes
one look around and says - You people trying to outsmart God?

They say - Oh no Bill .

But Bill just smiles - cause he's smart and he knows that they are
trying to pull one over on God.


I say this:

 
You can fool some of the people all the time and all of the people
some of the time - but you cannot fool God.

Jesus is smart too

In a previous post I talk about how I think God is Smart (see
my post on that.)

But if you read the Bible you will easily see that Jesus is Smart too.


How was He Smart?


Because instead of just saying - This is how it is coming down folks - He
always told a story - and the people probably were always thinking Ok there
he goes again he's gonna tell a story.


These stories are called Parables.

Parables are little stories that are told in a way that you have to use your mind
some to get the meaning of them.


Jesus sometimes told Parables about Lawyers - even then people knew about
lawyers : ] .

In Luke 10:25-37 a Lawyer asked Jesus how a person can have Eternal Life.
And for his answer Jesus told the Parable that would eventually go down in
History as undisputably His Greatest Parable.

Jesus told Parables so that the people would have to think about it.  So that
later when they were thinking back - maybe later that day or the next one -
they might still be trying to figure out what Jesus meant and they might
even call up one of their friends and say - hey what do you think He meant
by that?




Pretty good huh?



Later I'd like to discuss a couple of my favorite Parables and I hope others will
talk about their favorite Parable too.

another reason i heart God

I like God because He is Good.


Now I don't go to chuch at present - actually I have not attended
church on a regular basis for going on maybe six years.

But I have nothing against Church - in fact I believe in
going to Church.

I don't go to Church because I get bored.  I don't like Sermons.
I think they Pray too much in Church.  One at the beginning to
invoke God's Spirit - one after taking up the collection - and one
at the end to ask God to be with us all week would be good - and
please not such long ones.  But I was at a Church once where before
it all got started people would stand up and say - This person needs
Prayers and Your Help.  And I know these People would Pray for
those who needed it - and help them.  I believe that this is a Good
Thing.

I don't like the Social part of Church because I am not a Social Person.

Acutally the only part of Church I really used to like are the Old Hymns.
In fact during the Sermon I used to discreetly get out the Hymnal and
read the words of the Old Hymns - because they were like a nice
Sermon to me.
~~~

But when I did go to Church  they would often say this thing:

The Pastor would say:

God is Good

Then the Congregation would respond:

All the Time
~~~

Now for a long time I took exception to that.

Because I never thought God was good ALL the time.

But now I do think that God is good ALL The time.


And here is how I resolved that.


One day I was thnking - a dangerous thing I know -
and I thought:


I believe in God.


Would I believe in a God that was only good part of the time?




And the answer to myself was:


No.





It is as simple as that folks.





Simpleminded logic from a Simpleminded person.






works for me

why i heart God

What I like best about God is that he's Smart.

How do I know He is Smart?

I know because I've read His Book.

I've read other books - but God's Book is one that
is hard to put down.

Sure - I've put it down for long periods of time - but
God is so Smart that He knows how to make me pick it
back up.

And then there's the thing about The Holy Trinity.

Confusing - isn't it?

Makes ya think - doesn't it ?

Even makes you kinda want to say  - hey what's this
all about anyway - God?


But you see folks - that is how God is so Smart.
Because if God had just laid it all out in some kind
of simple way - like Scripture for Dummies - we  
would read it and say - gotcha God.

But we don't do that do we?

Instead He is Smart enough to make us obsess over it - it
never stops - does it - this obsesssion about what it All
means.  Been going on for centuries really - hasn't it?


And you know what the bottom line is don't you?





God is Smart.




of course he is other things too - like Good





and as soon as I do some more housewife stuff I'll tell ya
why I know that God is Good.

the sermon on the mount

The Sermon on the Mount.


It just doesn't get any better than that - does it folks.


I'm really not one that likes to listen to sermons  - but this
one is what you might say - one of the good ones.

Because I generally turn to the end of a book first - I did just that
while reviewing TSOTM.

And therein lies the best words of the whole thing:


For He taught them as One having authority - and not as the scribes.
~~~

Highlights of TSOTM:


~Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

~Blessed are those who have been Bullied - it gets better when you are an adult.

~Blessed are the Pure in Heart - for they shall see God.

~Ye are the Light of the World - so be all that you can be

~Let us all just be Kind to Each Other.

~Don't try to impress Others - but rather do One Random Act at a Time -
and keep it to yourself folks.

~Pray every night on your Knees - for your Father in Heaven likes this - and
anyway - what can it hurt.

~Seek ye first the Kingdom of God - and His Rightousness - and all these things
shall be added unto you.

~Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged - this one is very important.

~Ye shall know them by their Fruits - and they hate us for our Freedom.

~Everyone that saith Lord Lord (as long as this is not in a swearing mode) will
be allowed into the Kingdom of Heaven - God is Magnanimous folks.


and much much more



And I would like to add a few words of my own - straight from the demented
bipolar mind of stidh:


Nobody knows what is in another person's Heart except God - see - so no one go
around saying who is Saved and who isn't.

Everyone has a chance to be Saved - it's just a matter of God's perfect timing.

next up on my religion blog: the sermon on the mount

I am not going to go into more detail on the Ten Commandments at this
time - but I will later.

Right now I'm going to refresh my memory on The Sermon on the Mount - and
probably tonight I will post on that.


Thanks.

can we replace the ten commandments with the Jesus's two great commandments?

Yes.

I think we could.

But do we really want to?

I don't.

I like the Ten Commandments.  After all, Moses worked very hard
climbing up the mountain to get them from God and when he came
back down he lost it when he saw how the people were acting (see
the movie The Ten Commandments) and he smashed them - then
he had to start over.

If you read the Ten Commandments you can organizing them into
two groups as Jesus did:

~stuff that relates to God

1.  no  other gods

2.  don't worship statues of other gods

3.  don't take the name of the Lord in vain

4.  keep the Sabbath holy


not sure where this on goes:

 5.  honor thy mother and father


~about loving your neighbor

6.      do not kill anyone

7.      do not commit adultery

8.      do not steal

9.      do not lie


this one also seems to need a category of its own:

10.     be careful about wanting things that others have or it could get you in trouble
~~~

So I think what we have here is a set of rules for us to live by.

Sure - it doesn't cover everything - like some of the issues that are pertinent to
life today - but it's a start.

I like to have things laid out before me so I know where I stand.

And that's why I like the Ten Commandments.

I say let's keep 'em.
~~~~

But because I am a Christian - that's the way I was brought up  - and I like being a
Christian - I like Jesus' Two Great Commandments.

He makes it easier for people like me to understand.

He says - you only have to remember two things:

~love God

~love your neighbor


and - well - if you think about it - Jesus was right on.

So all we have to do is decide if we are willing do those two things.
~~~

I have housewife stuff to do and then I'm coming back to discuss all of the
above in detail.

Why - you might ask?

Well the Truth is  - folks - I like to write and I like to discuss religion.

And I welcome any and all comments so if someone is reading this and
wants to comment they are welcome to do so.

I'll be back.

the ten commandments and/or Jesus' Two Great Commandments

I think we all know what the Ten Commandments are since they are
usually found on display outside of Courthouses.

And Jesus' Two Great Commandments:

Love God

Love Your Neighbor - as yourself.
~~~

The discussion I propose here is:


Can we replace the Ten Commandments with Jesus' Two Great Commandments?


I will start the discussion off tomorrow first thing.

Anyone reading this and wanting to start the discussion tonight may do so -
and I will check back later - and if there is any discussion I will respond.

However it's been a long day for stidh - so I will refrain from original
dicussion until tomorrow.

: ]

Ok.

Then if no one has anything to say about it  - I'm on my own.


I will proced as planned.



:o)

Romans 7:15

For me there is only one translation of the Bible.

And that is the King James Version.

Anyone commenting here - of course - is free to use
any other translation.
~~~

Before I even attempt to discuss Romans 7:15

For that which I do I allow not: 

for what I would, that do I not;

but what I hate, that do I.

I would like to say a few words.
~~~

I am basically a New Testament person.  I love certain
parts of the Old Testament - such as Genesis, Exodus
Ruth, Samuel, *Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Others.

For several years in a row every morning I read the Gospel
- a little at a time - over and over. 

The Gospel is the Heart of the Bible.

For me the Main Characters of the Bible are:

God/Jesus


moses

paul

Moses and Paul are - to me - servants of God.

But because I am basically a NT person - Paul
is more important to me.

Paul.

Not a very nice person really - was he?

Until one day on The Road To Damascus he was struck
down by a Blinding Light - and that Light was Jesus
Himself.

He was literally blinded by that Light and was left alone
in a room for three days to think about what happened.

And well - you know the rest.

Paul was so grateful that Jesus loved him enough to save him
from himself - that he spent the rest of his life showing his love
for Jesus - and showing others the Way.

Now I have never studied Romans as hard as some people -
because it is complex - and maybe because I really don't
want to understand it.

For you see Romans 7:15 holds the key to our relationship with
God. 

And once you get it - then you know what you can and cannot do.
(let me put it this way - if God calls me on it - I can plead ignorance : ] )
~~~

So  you see - I believe that in Romans 7:15 - Paul is saying that we
know what we should do  - what God wants us to do - but we won't
do it.  And what we do - well we do it because of our sinful self - and
it is hard to resist sin - isn't it folks.

The devil that I don't believe in is causing me to stir up trouble
for someone who is just trying to live his life in the best way he
knows how.

And here I am - my sinful self - trying to ruin that person's life.

So what should I do folks?  I refuse to go to a nunnery.
I'm gonna go after what I want  - but don't want to ruin
someone else's life.

I mean - when you've got nothin' you've got nothin' to lose.

But do I have to ruin someone else's life to get what my sinful
self wants?
~~~

I'm open to suggestions (besides going to a nunnery) so please
someone help me out here.