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Please let me try this again. Hello everyone my name is Brent, This is my second post. I am new to blogging, don't know if this will ever be a good fit for me because I have a tendency to go deep - I will try. I have been a Christian for 36 years. I have been an assistant pastor at a large church, the CEO of three 501(c)(3) outreach ministries, and a chaplain at three hospitals. I am also a licensed and certified counselor specializing in substance abuse (LCDC), and in corrections (CCJP). I also currently work on staff at a large hospital as a chaplain handling code blue calls, as well as other emotional trauma situations and deaths, in which I have attended over 500 in almost 5 years. I currently also have other ministry activities not associated with the hospital, mostly teaching in-depth (Greek) Biblical studies. I am married to a great lady that I am falling more in love with each day. She works in Insurance and volunteer work in “Habitat for Humanity.” She swings a hammer at work sites, and is the president of the local board. We have a fun life together, and are best friends. I have a grown who just returned after doing his 3rd hitch in Iraq. He is a great blessing to me; he just got married this summer to great girl, and getting close to thirty. He is cursed with my blood, yet still sane. I am very pleased with the person that he is; and proud of him as he grows in maturity as a man. I love photography, though I desire to be much better at it. Ok, that is me, being myself and transparent. Sorry, I started out so strongly – “full of myself,” maybe I can do blogging, time will tell. Nice to meet you guys. bb  "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller) |
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And I will try this one more time.  Welcome  Live like there's no tomorrow Laugh when you feel like crying Love like you've never been hurt
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12/20/2010 10:19 am |
Thanks Bob, First let me say thank you for your service in the Navy. And I am terribly sorry for your loss of your father and brother in active-duty. They have paid a great price for the freedoms that we now enjoy, especially seen in communicating with such freedom over the Internet. And I appreciate the invitation and will visit your blog as time permits. Again think you very much for your kind reply. I wasn't going to make much of a comment but I thought I would chime in concerning your statement regarding tax exemption, which I believe they were probably very close in holding the same views, yet I thought I would explain further why an organization may do we did. I think you are right about the 501(c)(3) thing. We did so mainly in attempting to establish creditability in this sick world where people hide in corners concerning who they are, then come out making outrageous claims concerning Christianity, His Word, who they are in Christ by using outrageous titles, are other deceitful things that they do in dark corners. There were other reasons for us seeking recognition by the fed, which is what it is recognition. It is not seeking permission; It is not seeking the acceptance of the federal government; it is being recognized as a religious organization which is exempt from the requirements that normal organizations fall under according to the federal laws of United States. It's not seeking to get something special from the government, it is seeking to keep the government from attempting to control it the way it does all other organizations and entities. And even in the recognition aspect, it is not that they agree with or even accept what we have to say; there are some awful weird religious organizations that are recognized by the federal government. In fact the word “recognized,” is not used in its normal abstraction. It is used concerning the aspect of defining something that is beyond the federal government supposed to control. Yet, the devil always gets into the details, to the extent that the government does exercise control over political speech coming from the pulpit or these organizations. Though many people misunderstand this aspect, because there are many 501 (3)(c) organizations which are very political in their makeup, it is simply that the federal government in its attempt to be godlike sets up rules where they feel like they're separating religious thought from political thought, when in reality you can't separate Christianity from any aspect of our lives - it is not a separate compartment, if we are a believer we are a complete believer wherein every part of our being is under the rule of God. And whereas the federal government attempts to separate political organizations from religious ones - this shows the fallen state of man in attempting to be godlike according to what may be sincere desires of some, yet evil in the desire to repress religious thoughts by others. Other reasons for seeking this recognition are seen in the following questions: “What right does the federal government have to tax the income of a ministry that is slated for God's work - none. What right does the federal government have in taxing the donations that any individual gives to the ministry of the Lord - none. What right does the government have to take away what is given or used for the service of God - none.” You see Bob, despite the negative side of this issue in which this evil federal government seeks to curtail what a minister says concerning a politician (which I believe is evil and wrong to tell me or a Minister what to say behind the pulpit); despite this and other wrong considerations concerning federal recognition, there are some good reasons for doing so, because to reiterate: what right does the government have to become involved in the finances of the church or the believer by assessing a tax or penalty on either one when doing the Lords work, none. Paul tells us that all governments are ordained of God, when he states: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour." (Rom 13:1-7) Yet, we must also remember that when Paul was writing this passages, the Caesar that was in power was Nero (2 Tim. 4:22), who was the most unrighteous Emperor who brought the greatest persecution of Christians in the history of the Roman Empire. So Paul was not speaking about a righteous leader, or even a tolerant one; these words came at great expense as Paul was even executed by the same Emperor. As you know Paul even instructs us to pray for those in authority over us (my feeling is we ought to be praying for the downfall of them, but this reflects my own sinfulness), yet Paul says: "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." (1Ti 2:1-2) And for the record, let me state that none of the ministries I've ever run, or even been a part of have an open policy which states: "we don not receive, nor solicit donations," we survive on the donations made by our board members, who are very few. And everyone who was ever worked under any of these ministries are all volunteers, none, including myself receiving salaries or gratuities. We believe that there are too many ministries that exists that God if really had His way would not, yet people keep sending them money, and heresies abound. And whereas normally in 98 percent of our history, we have not accepted any donations other than from board members, there have been a few exceptions where we felt convicted that to do otherwise would rob somebody of an opportunity of becoming blessed of the Lord because they have blessed us financially, while at the same time upholding this principle simply for the sake of our egos. I do admit to this, my pride wallows in the fact that it is God alone that has supported anything I've ever done, and that I do it as a volunteer holding an outside job; following Paul's better example to do so. My point is Bob, as we are agreed I don't believe that Jesus would not utilize federal recognition from the IRS, yet I think we would also agree that perhaps the subject is a little bit more complicated than most people understand (I had a whole page I deleted in further explaining this issue which most people are quite unaware of, yet I deleted for the sake of brevity). Our main purpose in seeking this recognition was so that people would know that we were not a bunch of nuts claim to be something were not; hiding in the corner refusing to identify ourselves (which is a big part of this recognition aspect - being listed so somebody could find out who we are); understanding that though they may not know if we were a ministry anointed of God, at least we put ourselves out there for examination. I hope this brief (ha ha - at least for me it is) explanation sheds a small amount of light on the subject. Thank you for your welcome, I appreciate it. bb "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/20/2010 10:22 am |
And I will try this one more time. Welcome Thank you again for the welcome. Sorry for having you do it twice, it's just that my first post was probably just way over board (not that my reply to Bob isn't - ha ha). I am happy to meet you. bb "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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Hey Brent.. I pastor a small congregation..which is one cat at this time. I push a mean broom. I don't sell drugs. Glad to meet you !
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12/20/2010 6:19 pm |
Hello Brent. Welcome to the blogs. I have a question: Have you ever abused drugs and other controlled substances? Thank you for answering and allowing me to comment. "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/20/2010 6:21 pm |
Thank you very much, nice to meet you as well. bb "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/20/2010 6:29 pm |
Hey Brent.. I pastor a small congregation..which is one cat at this time. I push a mean broom. I don't sell drugs. Glad to meet you ! "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/21/2010 4:38 pm |
Here, in the safety of your friend's blog... Will you ban "Christ in me?" Still? That's hypocrisy. And in your heart of hearts you know I am right which is why you tried to save face, posted a blog about trying to "reason" with me so you can say you made sincere attempt at reconciliation. But you were not even serious were you. I interpret your actions toward me in this issue as sin. You fell short of the glory of God. You have some serious defects in your armor, and I have pointed some out to you. I am a member of the Body of Christ as I believe also that you are, but as a member there are certain things I got coming to me from you that I am not receiving. Your banning Christ in me is an offense against Christ and it opposes the work of God (1 Cor. 12:21-25). Repent on that ground alone. "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/21/2010 8:37 pm |
The comment was not directed at you. If you take a closer look at my quotation I am addressing AgapeRocker. Thank you, bb. "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/21/2010 9:35 pm |
Welcome to blog BB, and as another said, "Any friend of Rocky's, is a friend of mine." And more important, any friend of Jesus' is a friend of mine. Blessings to you Pastor   "Love is Patient..."
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12/22/2010 8:28 am |
Bob, Someday we may deal with the mantle that you give yourself, but not today. Concerning your answer; either you are reading one of the corrupted new translations based upon the Greek Alexandrian Codices (please look it up what I'm talking about), or you are plainly distorting God's Word, I would prefer to think the former, rather than the latter. Your statements concerning Romans chapter 13 verse 1 are completely in error. The text states: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake." (Rom 13:1-5) This English text is according to the King James, based upon the Greek Textus Receptus. Paul very plainly states, which is even openly recognizable and undisputable in the English translation, that we are to submit ourselves to the higher powers, referring to the secular government that we find ourselves in. The word "let" is not a conditional clause, where it would seem passive, where it might seem to be asking something of the reader, rather than what it is actually doing, which is in the masculine form - an order or command. This occurs many times in the English translation because many English words do not have an exact equivalent to the original Greek. This is why I am a student of Greek, as opposed to only the translation into the English, which sometimes falls short. You see what this text is really talking about is faith, faith that God has placed you under the ordinance of some secular authority for a reason. Again we know that Paul was referring to Nero concerning his current day, the same person that would less than a decade later order him to be beheaded. He was not talking about a Christian leader. What Paul is talking about is understanding that ultimate faith in God is that God even uses wicked people. Now I know that some of you, your God is too small, and take great offense at this comment. Yet, this is a display of your immaturity concerning who God is, and how Ow functions within a sinful world. You see the reason why we have a just God that allows for the existence of evil in this world is love. Love, because to take the sin out of the world, would mandate that he destroy mankind, including us and not just the ones that we think deserve hell and damnation. Because our sin is not any more acceptable than the sin of those that offend us. It was for the sake of love that God found a way to not destroy man by creating a bridge back to Himself through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ becoming our covering, our atonement; wherein He pays the penalty for our sin. The righteousness of God demands that where there is violation, there is punishment. Therefore, we must understand that God allows sin in this world yet He is still in total control, in spite of this fact. This is mature faith, this is why Jesus submitted unto death to the authorities that were evil as they pass judgment over Him. I know you don't realize this, but everything that was done concerning the night that Jesus was betrayed was illegal according to their own rules. He went through 6 different trials, in the middle of the night, not afforded the rights of a Hebrew citizen; all in violation of the Torah. Yet, He submitted to that power because despite the fact that evil was being inflicted upon Him, who does the Bible say really crucified Him - God the Father. God the Father was using that evil leaders of this world to fulfill His Own Will in providing the lamb of God would take away the sins of the world, this is true faith. And when you read Romans 13:1, it states that we are to be in subjection to the higher powers, who He defines in this argument. He doesn't say that they are to be ambassadors of righteousness, and therefore are allowed to be our rulers. They are rulers according to Gods decree, which is very plainly stated when it says: "for there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." There are many examples of what I'm saying in the Bible, such as Cyrus, who was a minister of God though he was a heathen that was never saved. Yet, God used him to overthrow the Babylonians, which were also ministers of God, who had taken into captivity God's people. This is all according to God's will. Joseph said it best when he said to his brothers after the death of his father, when his brothers were fearful that they would finally be punished for their treatment of Joseph over 30 years prior, "you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." You see this is ultimately understanding that God will use what evil men do to bring out His Out goodness, such as using evil men to crucify His Own Son so that the world would be saved. Unfortunately, I am short on time, hence I did not note scriptural references. Also, when I set up this first post I mistakenly made it so that I had to authenticate any posting, which I will not do ever again. I am new to blogging and was unaware of this mistake. My point is, I am going out of town for a few days and will not be able to hit the except button for any retorts. I'm very sorry about this, but please respond if you feel the need to, and on Christmas Day I will approve all responses. Of the responses that I've received to date I have posted all of them, except in the case where an individual which for me to delete it after reading, which I did. One last statement. After my original post, my desire was not to be so heavy, yet when I read your response I understood the gravity of what you were implying - which is a lack of trusting that God is truly in control, which is not Biblical faith. You see that's what this is really all about, that God is in control of every situation, that He does put the sword in their hands to do His will, directly. That God is always – always in control, which is why He can demand faith from us, He has it ALL UNDER CONTROL, and therefore trusting Him is right because He deserves our trust, as His children, if in deed we are His children I must go. bb "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/27/2010 3:42 pm |
The comment was not directed at you. If you take a closer look at my quotation I am addressing AgapeRocker. Thank you, bb. I spent the last few days thinking about this particular post, wishing to avoid controversy when not necessary, yet I think I need to say something. I'm not involved in any conflict you have with AgapeRocker, yet he is a dear friend of mine, and is because of that that help my tongue till now. Yet I must say that if offenses given to a friend of ours, and we do not speak against what is wrong when committed against them, is this right simply because others would say he only did it because it was his friend. Given time, anyone that knows me knows that this doesn't fit, and that I will that than what is right no matter who's involved. Now in this situation, I am not involved nor even concerned, it is between you and him. But what has troubled me and I need to speak about is a lack of integrity that you have displayed in coming to my posting to attack someone else. Do you not see the lack of integrity of this. If I threw a party and open the door for everyone to come in, and someone came in with the agenda of attacking another guest, as opposed to enjoin the party; should I keep my silence. You see it doesn't matter who it was you came to confront within my posting. What you had to say didn't have anything to do with me. In fact you even questioned in your post concerning my friend feeling safe within my posting. This lack of integrity displays cowardice, he said that you were no longer banned on his post and you could confront him there, yet you came to a place where he felt safe (my blog), and under the guise of attending my posting attacked him. Jeremiah, don't use me like that -I'm not here to serve your good pleasure or to be abused when I've shown you nothing but kindness. And please do not play me for the fool and attempt to excuse your offense. Just say I'm sorry, and all is well. If you only knew the times that I have displayed a lack of integrity in my own life (and still do at times, unfortunately), and allow my emotions to take me to places that God was not proud; then you would understand that I am not attempting to play judge over you. My mistakes are far worse than than I would care to get into. So please, understand I'm not trying to judge you; I'm just trying to do with you what has been done to me thousands of times, to have my open sin pointed out, so that I have an opportunity to repent. bb "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/28/2010 9:28 am |
Bob, Let me take this point by point, in order to properly address your comments. First of all, I believe that we would agree that any conversation concerning a subject needs to identify a common source of authority; which in our case would be the Bible - therefore it is the Bible, and not our opinions that matters in this and every situation that we join together. Concerning your first statement: “Some of us older believers, have by reason of use, learned to discern ‘good’ and ‘evil’.” I believe I understand what you're trying to imply, that you are an older believer, that has exercised discretion concerning good and evil, yet you take this verse out of context as it is connected with everything that preceded it, which concerned not the exercising of judgment, but the lack of discernment that these individual believers had due to not aligning themselves with God's Word which teaches us what is right and wrong. The point is, that just as being old doesn't mean you're wise, and that just because a person claims to be spiritually mature, they are not. One of the problems I find in this blog comes in two forms, one is with those that refuse to exercise biblical discernment; and is with those that exercised judgment that is not biblical. The way to tell the difference concerning either one of these types of behaviors is how much they align what they say with God's Word concerning the subject at hand. Let me go on, and perhaps this will become more clear. Your second comment was: “All of the powers that be ordained of God for my "good" does not refer to the secular government here or in Rome.” I see that you are exercising your own judgment here, but it is not according to Gods Word, as you are not staying within the text with which we are referring to, namely Romans chapter 15, as seen in the following verses: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” (Rom 13:1-7) You see, I say this because of verse 7, which states: “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” Understanding that the chapter and verse divisions occurred in the twelfth and fifteenth century, there is no way to separate verse 7 from the previous verses, nor afterwards, you can't take verse 7 out of context, and what you need to realize is that verse 7 can only be applied to governmental agencies, which in this case was Rome. This is a fact, not subject to interpretation according to your English understanding of the words, it is important to go back to the language which God chose to communicate His Word and see what the original says, which in this case is the Greek (yet is very apparent in the English as well). The word here “tribute” (Greek: phoros) has a very specific meaning, and can only refer to a tax or toll or duty, all of which are paid to secular authorities (Luke 2:1,2,3,5; Acts 5:34). If this were in the Hebrew, the vagueness of the language could refer to any authority, yet in the Greek it cannot it must be secular, because that is the only context of what this word implies (see my Endnote #1 at the bottom which displays all of the usage of this word in the New Testament, and the word “custom” (Greek: telos), states along the same lines, the same thing; in fact we get our English word for paying the “customs” tax from this very same word. There is more variance in this word custom depending on the context, yet I don't think you can find one single Greek scholar that would disagree with this usage referring to governmental taxing doing with commerce - which again is exactly what it means in the English from where we got the word. The use of these two words combined together can not mean anything other than reference to a secular government, whereas even the English carries over very plainly the idea in the use of the words tribute and customs. Don't bother fighting with me over this; it's what the Bible says. Now let me stop here for minute Bob and go back to my first point. It is not enough to use judgment, as I said at first; it must be the proper use of discernment (or judgment) according to Gods Word, and what God's Word says, and not what men say. You see you already display a lack of proper judgment according to not correctly applying God's Word to what the context is according to what you're comfortable with. You are bending God's Word, because it disturbs you of the idea that God could place man in power which are evil. You see the point again is you put God into a box and making to small, God can use anything and everything because He is God - He is the boss. This is why we can put our faith in Him, because He is in total control, no matter who is running secular governments at the time. What you are doing is undermining peoples faith in God's total authority over his creation. It's not that God uses evil, it's that he uses man in spite of the fact that they are evil. Again, as I said before; this is why Joseph stated: “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”(Gen. 50:20). This is also why he called Cyrus his servant, as well as, Nebuchadnezzar, and many other pagan kings. He is a great puppetmaster using them against their will to navigate time to come out the way he has designed, even though they are evil and what they're attempting to do was for evil reasons. God is way too big for the boxer trying to put him into concerning what you think a good God looks like. If the good God that you have described was in existence, he would have to wipe out and destroy the earth because of the evil, and there is no such thing as a little evil it's all bad. This is why you need to be a student before you ever start to be a teacher, to learn what God's word really says not what you try to twist it to become. The Greek word for “sin,” are hamarthia, was originally used as an archery term; which literally means, “to miss the mark,” and does not matter if you miss the mark by an inch or a mile. The bull's-eye mark was the same size as the arrow, so anything less than perfection is sin. This is where the church fathers came up with the teaching that all sin is the same to God, yet we know when God's righteousness that there is variance in punishment according to the heinousness of sin. This is why becomes important to become a real student of God's Word before we attempt to teach others. In concerning age, there is no fool like an old fool. Your exegesis concerning the word minister is amateurish, as the word minister is “servant” (which is any kind a servant rather secular, or religious), and can apply to good or bad servants. Romans 15 is not displaying what a good Christian minister looks like, or better stated a good Christian servant looks like. You're mixing Romans 15 and the Timothy passage which deal with different subjects, though they both use the words “good” and “minister,” within the same sentence. Your distorting the phrasing of the grammar (if I were dealing with a student of the Word, I would've spent the time to explain the Greek grammar of the above words and the current as well, which lead to no other conclusion than what I am stating God's Word plainly teaches) and the way the words are laid out. Romans 15:4, states: “For he is the minister of God to thee for good,” whereas, 1 Timothy 4:6, states: “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” Bob, do you not see the difference in these two statements, or have you distorted God's Word for so many years, you're exercising of evil has blinded you to what is laid out in front of you. Next time we blog I will address the mantle you calm and I will speak very frankly. bb "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/28/2010 9:50 am |
Bob, Let me take this point by point, in order to properly address your comments. First of all, I believe that we would agree that any conversation concerning a subject needs to identify a common source of authority; which in our case would be the Bible - therefore it is the Bible, and not our opinions that matters in this and every situation that we join together. Concerning your first statement: “Some of us older believers, have by reason of use, learned to discern ‘good’ and ‘evil’.” I believe I understand what you're trying to imply, that you are an older believer, that has exercised discretion concerning good and evil, yet you take this verse out of context as it is connected with everything that preceded it, which concerned not the exercising of judgment, but the lack of discernment that these individual believers had due to not aligning themselves with God's Word which teaches us what is right and wrong. The point is, that just as being old doesn't mean you're wise, and that just because a person claims to be spiritually mature, they are not. One of the problems I find in this blog comes in two forms, one is with those that refuse to exercise biblical discernment; and is with those that exercised judgment that is not biblical. The way to tell the difference concerning either one of these types of behaviors is how much they align what they say with God's Word concerning the subject at hand. Let me go on, and perhaps this will become more clear. Your second comment was: “All of the powers that be ordained of God for my "good" does not refer to the secular government here or in Rome.” I see that you are exercising your own judgment here, but it is not according to Gods Word, as you are not staying within the text with which we are referring to, namely Romans chapter 15, as seen in the following verses: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” (Rom 13:1-7) You see, I say this because of verse 7, which states: “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” Understanding that the chapter and verse divisions occurred in the twelfth and fifteenth century, there is no way to separate verse 7 from the previous verses, nor afterwards, you can't take verse 7 out of context, and what you need to realize is that verse 7 can only be applied to governmental agencies, which in this case was Rome. This is a fact, not subject to interpretation according to your English understanding of the words, it is important to go back to the language which God chose to communicate His Word and see what the original says, which in this case is the Greek (yet is very apparent in the English as well). The word here “tribute” (Greek: phoros) has a very specific meaning, and can only refer to a tax or toll or duty, all of which are paid to secular authorities (Luke 2:1,2,3,5; Acts 5:34). If this were in the Hebrew, the vagueness of the language could refer to any authority, yet in the Greek it cannot it must be secular, because that is the only context of what this word implies (see my Endnote #1 at the bottom which displays all of the usage of this word in the New Testament, and the word “custom” (Greek: telos), states along the same lines, the same thing; in fact we get our English word for paying the “customs” tax from this very same word. There is more variance in this word custom depending on the context, yet I don't think you can find one single Greek scholar that would disagree with this usage referring to governmental taxing doing with commerce - which again is exactly what it means in the English from where we got the word. The use of these two words combined together can not mean anything other than reference to a secular government, whereas even the English carries over very plainly the idea in the use of the words tribute and customs. Don't bother fighting with me over this; it's what the Bible says. Now let me stop here for minute Bob and go back to my first point. It is not enough to use judgment, as I said at first; it must be the proper use of discernment (or judgment) according to Gods Word, and what God's Word says, and not what men say. You see you already display a lack of proper judgment according to not correctly applying God's Word to what the context is according to what you're comfortable with. You are bending God's Word, because it disturbs you of the idea that God could place man in power which are evil. You see the point again is you put God into a box and making to small, God can use anything and everything because He is God - He is the boss. This is why we can put our faith in Him, because He is in total control, no matter who is running secular governments at the time. What you are doing is undermining peoples faith in God's total authority over his creation. It's not that God uses evil, it's that he uses man in spite of the fact that they are evil. Again, as I said before; this is why Joseph stated: “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”(Gen. 50:20). This is also why he called Cyrus his servant, as well as, Nebuchadnezzar, and many other pagan kings. He is a great puppetmaster using them against their will to navigate time to come out the way he has designed, even though they are evil and what they're attempting to do was for evil reasons. God is way too big for the boxer trying to put him into concerning what you think a good God looks like. If the good God that you have described was in existence, he would have to wipe out and destroy the earth because of the evil, and there is no such thing as a little evil it's all bad. This is why you need to be a student before you ever start to be a teacher, to learn what God's word really says not what you try to twist it to become. The Greek word for “sin,” are hamarthia, was originally used as an archery term; which literally means, “to miss the mark,” and does not matter if you miss the mark by an inch or a mile. The bull's-eye mark was the same size as the arrow, so anything less than perfection is sin. This is where the church fathers came up with the teaching that all sin is the same to God, yet we know when God's righteousness that there is variance in punishment according to the heinousness of sin. This is why becomes important to become a real student of God's Word before we attempt to teach others. In concerning age, there is no fool like an old fool. Your exegesis concerning the word minister is amateurish, as the word minister is “servant” (which is any kind a servant rather secular, or religious), and can apply to good or bad servants. Romans 15 is not displaying what a good Christian minister looks like, or better stated a good Christian servant looks like. You're mixing Romans 15 and the Timothy passage which deal with different subjects, though they both use the words “good” and “minister,” within the same sentence. Your distorting the phrasing of the grammar (if I were dealing with a student of the Word, I would've spent the time to explain the Greek grammar of the above words and the current as well, which lead to no other conclusion than what I am stating God's Word plainly teaches) and the way the words are laid out. Romans 15:4, states: “For he is the minister of God to thee for good,” whereas, 1 Timothy 4:6, states: “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” Bob, do you not see the difference in these two statements, or have you distorted God's Word for so many years, you're exercising of evil has blinded you to what is laid out in front of you. Next time we blog I will address the mantle you calm and I will speak very frankly. bb Endnotes 1. (Mat 17:24) And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? (Mat 17:25) He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? (Mat 22:17) Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? (Mat 22:19) Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. (Mar 12:14) And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? (Luk 20:22) Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no? (Luk 23:2) And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. (Rom 13:6) For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. (Rom 13  ) Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour."Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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12/29/2010 7:17 am |
Bob This will be my last response to you. I now understand why the Holy Spirit had me hold these last comments until now, as you have repeatedly displayed the very issues I will address, and now I must follow the Bible’s directions concerning your conduct – I will explain. Let me try to explain this one more time, not for yourself but for those that may be looking on, for their edification as they will understand what I'm saying whereas you cannot. Do you remember back in school in English class the teaching concerning sentence structure in reference to the use of subjects – verbs – objects (simply put: the subject of a sentence is the doer - the main verb [also called the rhetorical action] is basically the action of the sentence - the object of the sentences receives the action from the subject). You need to pay real close attention to this because grammar is grammar, and while there are differences between English grammar and Greek grammar there are those rules which are the same. Therefore the following is not my biblical interpretation of the English used in the KJV, it is the grammar – a rhetorical fact. The point is this, let me repeat - this the point is this; there is a vast difference between the 1 Timothy 4:6 reference to “a good minister of Jesus Christ,” (see endnote #1) AND Romans 13:4 reference to “For he is the minister of God to thee for good.” In the Timothy verse that hearer or reader of the verse is the subject, where in the Romans verse the minister is the subject. Yet more importantly is the use of the adjective “good” in the Timothy verse, which qualifies who were speaking about which is definitely different than “of God to thee for good.” The obvious point is that in Timothy is speaking about who the minister is which is a Christian Minister of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This can only refer to a Christian religious leader not a secular one. Wherein the Romans passage is not dealing with who the minister is but the good is in reference to the one that receives it, is for your good which is totally different than a good Minister who is appointed by God to bring good things to you. There is no reference whatsoever to this individual being God’s servant the same as a religious leader, or as we call it the common vernacular a Minister. The point that is so easy to see that you cannot see is that these are 2 different individuals, where one is a good Minister of God (religious leader appointed by him to lead you in spiritual matters); and the other is a leader that will bring you good (is not a spiritual leader but a leader who brings you good). Bob do I need to say this one more time, once talking about a leader who is good, the other one is talking about the hearer who receives the good from the leader. This is such simple stuff that it amazes me that I have yet for 3 times attempted to explain what is so obvious that anyone with eyes could understand. Yet now I can discuss why I believe the Holy Spirit has restrained me from speaking the following. You see Bob you are spiritually blind and cannot see what is obvious that even the unbeliever that understands grammar can see. This is because you are faults prophet. Member how I said that I would discuss the mantle that you have given yourself, in fact I won't even call you by the mantle or title that you have taken, because it is blasphemous. Bob you're not a prophet - I'm not saying this based upon my own subjective criteria or opinion, I'm saying this based upon your attributes, which are your behaviors as defined by God's Word. According to Scripture the word prophecy means to “speak for another,” rather it is concerning making clear occurrences that happen in the future, or simply stating what God desires for a man to say. This is why John the Baptist was referred to the greatest profit born to women, yet never spoke a word of future prophecy; but he did prophesy for God because he spoke for God, and said what God wanted him to say. It is an abuse of the word to state that it only concerns future utterances, which I am sure that you understand. Yet, we are also told that a prophet was known in that everything they said was true (see endnote #3), and to this point I've not seen you make any points that are truthful in any way shape or form. Sir at this point I can come to no other conclusion than you are a false prophet because of how you have misused and maligned God's Word, and speak those things that attempt to undermine the faith of others concerning God's sovereignty in the affairs of man. You are a wolf that is attempting to feed off the flock of God to feed your own ego in misusing and abusing God's Word. Now for the reason that the Holy Spirit held me off from bringing out these clear points concerning your false would, is because of what the Scripture says concerning a “contentious man,” (see endnote #4) Yet one last point I need to point out is that you never ever use any biblical or source material references for what you say, you do not do fine the authority from which your accusations flow, you see all authority in your own interpretation which even the grammar disputes, and you don't even use Scriptures except on a few occasions when you miss use them. Bob do you notice that I have listed at least 6 Scriptures below for the things I say, how I don't seek authority according to what I say but according to what God says - yet I do define what those terms are. I do so based upon thousands of hours of studying God's Word in the Greek, as he handed it down. I have sought the knowledge of hundreds of anointed teachers and preachers before I come to my conclusions. Yet, all I see you doing is rendering forth your own opinion and then attempting to find pictures to validate it. It is unfortunate that you and others on this blacks blog site have never taken a any classes on correctly handling God's word, yet are self deceived him blind, attempting to miss lead those who are either too young in the Lord, misguided according to the flesh, or are of the same master that you are, the devil himself. I am not pronouncing condemnation upon you, I would never assume to take God's place in this; however, we are told to make evaluation's concerning those that would work to be teachers so as to protect the flock of God. You have brought this condemnation upon yourself as you have attempted to bastardize and make illegitimate Gods Word, at attempting to make shipwreck the faith of others by questioning God's total control of the universe even to use those men which are ungodly to do His Will. Who are you are I, mirror broken pots to send railing accusations against the God of this universe concerning his power with in his own creation, how he chooses to use his creatures, rather they are saved are not. He is God because he is the boss, not because he fits into Bob's little definition of how God should function. Use are our own blasphemer and a heretic, who seeks to usurp the power of the God of this universe in within his creation at the expense of destroying other peoples faith. You are a wolf and according to every instance I have seen you use Scripture, you have misused it and abused it, this is heretical - this is Bob. You are not a preacher or teacher, because no one is foolish enough to follow you. So you blog using words that you don't understand, blasphemy God according to your own interpretation and opinions. And if it seems like I'm casting judgment, you have already done so and I am simply following what Jesus himself said in Matthew 7:20-21, which states: ”Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” We are never to pronounce that a man is a fool, because it is a condemnation as fools never go to heaven, but to hell. Yet, we are to recognize those that are fools according to the above statement, and refuse to engage them, refusing to give them credibility as believers that hold separate opinions. (I'm not even going to waste the time to talk about the difference between pronouncing judgment in recognizing those that are judged already according to their fruit) I sincerely pray that you repent of your perdition and humbly seek the Lord God Almighty, Him that you have blasphemed. For this reason I will follow these last Scripture reference and never deal with you again (see endnote #5 &6). 1. “If thou [subject] put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt [verb] be a good [adjective] minister [object] of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” (1Ti 4:6) 2. For he [subject] is [verb] the minister [object] of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. (Rom 13:4) 3. “But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.” (Deu 18:20-22) 4. “To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile” (Rom 2: 7-9) 5. “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.“ (Tit 3:8-11) 6. “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit.” (Pro 26:4-5) "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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1/2/2011 11:56 am |
MR.BOLIN,HI,AS...A..BROTHER....IN...CHRIST,I...DISAGREE...WITH...U...,WHY...???ADAM...SIN...2..ADONAI...WAS...COMPLETE...REBELION...NO...PER...SAY!!!!...MOST....PASTOR...FEED...THEMSELVES!!!..EZEKIELC.32..{{{ALL}}}...PASTORS....LOVE...2..TALK....ABOUT....THEMSELVES,...WHAT....THEY....HAVE....DONE...INDA....WORLD,GIVING....{{{GLORY}}}....2...THEMSELVES....!!!...I ....TALK....ABOUT....ADONAI,VERY....LITTLE...OF......MYSELF!!!...Y.....BECUZ....ADONAI....GUIDES...ME....,GET....IT???...I AM....1...WITH....ELOHIM....THRU....THE...{{{PASSOVER}}}.....I AM...A....JEW.....THAT....WORSHIPS....ELOHIM....TODAY...SATURDAY,NOT....SUN-DAY....2....WORSHIP...TAMMUZ,BAAL,..EASTER,CHRISTMAS{NO-WHERE IN SCRIPTURE},ETC..,THE.....{{{SUN---GOD}}}....ALL.....PAGAN...{{{HOLI-----DAYS}}}!!!!....NOT.....GOD*S.....{{{HOLY---DAYS}}};....SEVEN....TIMES.....GET IT???...SALVATION....COMES...FROM....DEE....JEWS!!!...GLORY...2...U...ELOHIM,IN.THE.NAME.OF.THE.WORD.OF.GOD{{{JOHN C.1 VS.1,REV.C.19.VS.13,GEN.C.1 VS.1---3}}},....,B---LESS...U,...MORE...LIKE...FATHER!!!!!!! AMEN POST 170402 First off, let me say that the Bible is the true Word of God, I would hope we will both agree with this statement. Matthew 12:34 states, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” What this alludes to is the fact that if you listen to somebody long enough - guaranteed, they are going to display who they are as we understand that the Greek word for “heart” is a reference to the total inward being of the man, which includes the mental capacity, the emotional response, and the seat of the will where discretion is made. So often we misuse the word “heart” because of our English understanding that it has to do with the pump which is in the center of our chests, and an association between this and the emotions. Yet, in both the Hebrew and the Greek, the idea that the heart is the total inward being of a man - this is undeniable. The point I'm getting to is that a man's words display who he is, in your words he uses - this displays that you are a rogue arrogant individual who seats all authority in himself, and while speaking of God doesn't use Scripture, only his opinion to attempt to win converts. How I come to this conclusion, it is by your behavior as seen in your words; the lack of integrity and civility that oozes from you as you attempt to hide your insecurity. You see, the mantle - the name that you take upon yourself (messenger of light) speaks volumes, as the inference is that others do not hold light - but you do. Yet, this is not what I'm speaking about, what I'm speaking about is a lack of integrity that you displayed to me. You came to my blog page, my home; and started off by insulting me in showing little if any character - and nothing that resembled Jesus Christ. First, you refer to me speaking about myself. Yet, you seem to bypass the idea that I was introducing myself and therefore telling people who I was according to what I've done, and where I come from - and if it sounds like bragging I'm not going to say that on some level it wasn't - yet everything I said was the complete truth, and in attempting to gain some credibility people needed to know my background. Yet you didn't introduce yourself for tell me anything about you, this is a common habit of false prophets, and deceivers - those workers of iniquity never tell you who they are because of the deceitfulness wherein they cloak their true being. Yet God's Word is true in that all you have to do is listen to them, rather they have the courage to tell you who they really are. Sir, you didn't tell me who you were, you didn't introduce yourself; you just acted like a rogue because of your insecurity as displayed by those that think of themselves as greater than others. You are a coward that hides behind a keyboard. Next, you display a complete inability to understand Scripture. As I have reiterated to those that do not listen, my comments were not point was not that Adam was not in rebellion, he was; yet the essence of why he did what he did, makes all the difference in the world, because he didn't have faith. You see if you don't know why people do the sins that they do, you don't know how to use Scripture to bring clarity to their offense, yet more importantly clarity to their repentance. This is the point I was making – Adam did not have faith in God, hence his sin. You use terminology that tries to display that you have a Hebrew bent, which probably indicates that you go to a messianic church, yet again you display that you don't understand the Bible. We are not under the Sabbath (Col 2:16 “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:”), which starts at sundown on Friday and ends on sundown on Saturday. The first century church met on Sundays, because it was the day that Christ was risen (Acts 20-7). You see what I did there, I uses Scripture concerning a claim that I made, something that you haven't done because again you seat authority in yourself, and you display a presumption of superiority. This alone displays the pride and arrogance that you convey, and looking at the blogs the way that you treat people you only reinforce the insecurity that motivates this type of childish behavior. Your machismo is showing, I should say the negative side of it. "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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1/13/2011 11:31 am |
 brother brent , THE WORD OF GOD {MY NEW NAME} = {REV. C.2 VS.17 ; REV. C.19 VS 13 } HERE , MY OLD FLESH NAME : * ED * , PLEASE READ MY BLOG !!! FATHER*S HOLY SPIRIT IS GUIDEING ME ON WHAT TO SAY ,I NEVER WENT TO SEMINARY , THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL , WHERE AM I GETTING KNOWLEDGE ??? THE SAME WAY CHRIST DID {PRAYER} , CRYING TO OUR GREAT LORD ALLMIGHTY !!!!!!! THE TRUE CHURCH *S { 7 } NAME IS CALLED *** CHURCH OF GOD *** ,ALL OTHERS WILL BE DESTROYED , IN THE NAME OF THE WORD OF GOD , WANA COME TO MY *** WEDDING *** ??? THE SPIRIT AND BRIDE SAY "COME" , SHABBAT SHALOM , AMEN"Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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1/23/2011 1:27 pm |
 beloved brother brent : hi it*s special ed , please look at your faith blog replys , you will bee very pleased , father is love , and i am is glad that your responces came from your heart , glad your mind is open to the spirit of god , your friend 4 life signed special ed p. s. god bless ewe brent amen with god all things are possible !!! amen 170402 "Action is the proper fruit of knowledge." (M.D. Thomas Fuller)
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