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in that same line Jessie, i met a gentlemen who believed that God was real after he witnessed inmates coming from their cells that were so insane they were not allowed to be touched, and had to shackle themselves before they could leave their cell for any reason, both arms and legs. he identified this horrible insanity as evil and his response was to turn to God. i think this has to do with why evil is permitted to touch our lives... often to stimulate us to turn to God.. it is about being led to we feel our need... i think one of the conditions of receiving anything from God is that we must have a sense of the reality of our need.... and then we experience the reality of our need being met by a God... in a very real way. really real... lol

God was real to me since my early childhood, because the supernatural was real to me. I witnessed strange things occurring and came to the realization very early in life that we are not alone in this world. These strange events in my childhood were almost (if not) all from the dark side, and not God's doing, but seeing them convinced me that other similar stories were true, and hearing those stories along with witnessing what I did lead me to conclude, when the idea of God was presented to me, that He must be real. That, and my very first memory (that I can remember being my first, though I wonder sometimes if it really was), also convince me that the Bible is true about death, and if about death, than about other things. Said memory and believing that the Bible is correct about death, also lead me to conclude that these supernatural things I was seeing were not spirits of the dead, but some other life form that was with us. Since then, God has showed me His love and miracles and mercies in many ways. I believe even more than I have been able to see myself, including miracles and other stories about God in the Bible and similar stories and testimonies of miracles from other people who have lived since the last book of the Bible was written, though God has answered my prayers and prayers of my friends as well, and I have seen people's hearts change. I find it difficult not to believe in God, and in creation, because I love art and am a bit of an artist/writer/designer myself. These things around us are too beautiful, and our minds are too complex, and so is science, for us to simply have exploded into existence without reason nor purpose, or to have developed from some small, unreasoning blob. There are more reasons, too, including the work that He has done in my life, on my own character, giving me victory over so many problems, and giving me a peace that is beyond understanding. How can I fully and adequately express my reasons for believing in God, or the evidence I have? These are some of the most obvious things, but there are more. I suppose we could simplify it by saying, "I simply do. It's easier for me to believe that He exists, and that He created all us and nature, than it is to believe that He doesn't exist, and that we ended up here some other way."

Dang, I need to swing by more often: I would have said 'Sydney, underoos and martinis' <-- not a common phrase.

I have a former college roommate (and Academy friend) who has become a world expert in primate psychobiology. In his professional life, he has worked directly with the gorilla who was recently killed to save the life of the child who fell into the area with the gorilla. He also knows the people involved in making the decision to end the life of the gorilla. I spoke with my friend this morning about this case. As he said, this situation was both sad and tragic. He does not want to second guess from the sidelines. He is very clear that to have darted the gorilla would have endangered the life of the child. If that had been done, it is likely that the gorilla would have immediately ended the child’s life. He mentioned a situation that he was involved with in the Chicago Brookfield Zoo. They had trained a female gorilla to retrieve a doll that would be thrown into the cage and immediately take it to the keeper. Well one day it happened and that female gorilla immediately picked the child up and delivered it to a zoo keeper. He was involved in the re-design of that cage to further prevent human entry. He went on to say that the typical design of such cages is focused more on preventing the escape of the animals and less on preventing entry by humans. NOTE: While I have not posted his name, he has given me permission to report my conversation with him this morning.

I for one don't eat and drink meat & milk at the same meal!

To be more specific: My friend stated that in his very limited review of the TV video tape the gorilla appeared to him to be somewhat protective of the child, but, very confused and attempting to make sense of what was happening around him. No one could have predicted what the gorilla would have done next.

“The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, man does not.” - Oswald Chambers

HEY ALL HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY-----if you have the day off i hope you enjoy the time off but let us all remember the men and women that died so we could have freedoms dgrimm60

God is Love. Those three words are packed with the whole story. The Bible and Mrs. White go on to explain this thesis. Although God is all powerful, God can't do anything else because he is love. We start out with God being both infinite, outside of time and space, and impersonal the God of everything, and at the same time being finite (inside of time and space) and personal. To communicate with finite creatures God needed 3 manifestations showing 3 aspects about God's self for finite beings to be able to relate to him. If God did not also step into time and space creatures would have been atheists because they could not comprehend the infinite God. But they can comprehend these finite manifestations/self revelation. First finite beings needed to know that God was indeed God, a being on the throne showing God as awesome and power and that God was much bigger than we are even able to imagine, a bridge between the infinite and finite, a great unapproachable light who angels veiled their face before/a deep darkness that cannot be comprehended. But if this was all there was of God he would be too awesome and scary for us to have a relationship with. Since he is the only source of life and life only comes from our relationship with him, eventually all created beings would have been scared to death. God as power is necessary but insufficient. Creatures needed a relationship, needed to understand God as friend. One of them. So to the angels he appeared as an angel. Unless it was better to show up in another form, we find to Adam and other humans as another human. To the beings on the other planets probably as one of them, (until he became the person Jesus Christ). If this was the only manifestation, he would be a nice enough buddy, but what makes what he has to say any different from my thoughts. So this revelation was necessary but also insufficient. Finite beings needed to remember that this great being on the throne is our good friend and that our good friend is also this being upon the throne. But these 2 manifestations are both objective revelations. Created beings are both objective and subjective. Thus God also needs to work with our subjective so we have the Holy Spirit. If we only had the Holy Spirit, just God working with our subjective all of life would be like living with a bunch of conference presidents who believe that all their ideas are the Spirit's leading. My understanding says that you deserve a punch in the nose, yours says that you don't and things end up being chaos. So the Holy Spirit is necessary but insufficient. But the 3 are both necessary and sufficient. (Notice I did not say the word "Complete"). These 3 beings exist in a righteousness by faith relationship with each other based on the law of self sacrificing love. Self Sacrificing love is the law of God. No more and no less. But we may ask what "Self Sacrificing love" means, so we get the 2 great principles; to love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves. How do we do this? the law is further broken down into 10 commandments. The Exodus 20 version breaks down into 3 thirds: the first third consists of 3 commandments that teach us how to love God supremely. It also describes the work of God the Father. The last third consists of 6 commandments that teach us how to love our neighbor as ourselves, They show the work of the Holy Spirit in making us into loving and loveable creatures. The middle third consists of one commandment and this one commandment is the very heart of the 10 commandments It ties the 2 sides together and says that the only way we can love God supremely and our neighbor as ourselves is through resting in a relationship with our God. The Sabbath is a symbol of righteousness by faith and a description of the ministry of Jesus. Only in God is life, creatures only have our life through this connection with God. The plan of salvation if for created beings to choose to have this life giving relationship. God did not create us as robots who had to obey, but free to choose to obey. The plan of Salvation is everything God does to have this relationship so firmly established that as many as possible will have that relationship eternally, by the unfallen staying true and to restore those of the fallen who are willing to repent. It is a oneness of opposites of Justice and Mercy. The plan of redemption is everything God does to reach this point with his creatures, and we are not only talking about fallen mankind but also what makes the faithful angels and unfallen to stay in this condition. It is everything God does to deal with the issue of sin, from it's potentiality to it's actuality. It is the same plan of salvation. The sin issue was no surprise from God. Everything God has done to build a life giving relationship is the plan of salvation, implemented with the very first creature met his creator. I was going to write more but I think this is sufficient for now (and I'm tired). I hope you find this useful.

There are not two different plans of salvation, but only one. A big part of Seventh-day Adventism is what is called the Great Controversy, which is looking at the universal issues of salvation. And although Mrs. White's writings put more emphases on it, as we learn more about Archaeology and the world of the Bible we learn that the universal issues of the Great Controversy was a big part of the ancient world. The Bible corrected the misunderstandings. Mrs. White fills in the missing context without us having to become scholars of archaeology and history. Seventh-day Adventists also have a belief that we call the "Investigative Judgment" and a big part of that is that the angels and beings from the unfallen worlds are reviewing the records of those who claim to have accepted Christ into their lives and how they either let Christ change their lives, or just give lip service without allowing him to change them. Through studying this they understand their own salvation better. As we study both sides it answers questions such as why is there so much evil in the world, and how does God destroy the sinners. A couple of decades ago we had some friction with one of our scholars, Dr. Desmond Ford. The basic issues come from him not looking at the more universal issues but approached the topic just from the fact that humans sinned and seeing the important thing being our legal standing with God. You asked if the plan of Salvation started the day that Adam sinned. You seem to not really want to study the question and understand different perspectives. You seem (and I apologize if this is a misrepresentation) to either be looking for us to think that it started later, or to agree with you and if we agree with you that you want to unfold a case for some things you are thinking about and desire to share. I am interested in what you have to say, but you don't have to convince me that the plan of salvation was in effect the day Adam sinned because I believe it was implemented much earlier and thus was well into the process when Adam sinned, with God fully in control. And I hope to hear more from your perspective. In my next post I will once again review the eternal Gospel.

Me too, LHC...you have 34 years on me, but I seriously doubt I'll ever make it as far as Thailand. Too many people demanding my time here "at home". I *may* get to "retire" from all this caregiving sometime before I pass away...but who knows? Maybe not! At any rate, always carry sanitizer with you and a spare baby wipe or two!

(Speaking here as both an Australian and an academic who edits a research journal and writes books about research methods) There were mass shootings in Australia before the gun buyback and there have been none since. The citizens are the same (largely - obviously there are generational differences), and the only variable changed is removing the guns. Statistically, the difference between before and after the buyback is too great to be explained by chance. The experiment has been done and the results are in.

Will be staying home. With company coming over! And here's a nice video of Steven Curtis Chapman singing "We Remember" for Veterans http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=1BM0C1NU

Being 80 years of age, a family 24/7 caregiver and retired with pension, I think I can swing that without a problem. God is Love!~Jesus saves!

The above is a very moving story! For those who wish to know more about the few who have been awarded The Medal of Honor, I refer you to: Peter Collier & NIck Del Calzo, MEDAL OF HONOR: PORTRAITS OF VALOR BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY, The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, Artisan Press, 2003, 296 pages. The above book contains the stories of the 139 people awarded the Medal of Honor and were alive at time it was published, to include Doss. It should be noted that there is another story that is unfolding today in the integration of females into the U.S. military. For more on this, I recommend: Evelyn M. Monahan & Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee, A FEW GOOD WOMEN--AMERICA'S MILITARY WOMEN FROM WORLD WAR I TO THE WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. Koff/Random House, 2010, 476 pages. It should be noted that it does not deal with women in the U.S. military prior to WWI. It is interest that at a time when the U.S. military need the contribution that women made, it denied them the right to be considered a regular part of the military. They served in what was called The Army/Navy Nurse Corps and the Women's Army Corps. In even earlier times they were denied even that small recognition. As I think of those who decry the entry of women into the U.S. military that is currently going on, to include those who post here in CA I am reminded that they typically lack knowledge of the contribution that women have made throughout the many years of the life of the United States military. As I read of their concerns that the women will not be able to carry out their responsibilities and will place males in danger due to their inability to protect them I am reminded of their actual lack of knowledge of the facts. E.G. June 23, 2005, Falluja, Iraq; Marine Cpl Sally J Saalman and 19 other Marine females had finished a day of working in 120 degree heat when their convoy was hit by an explosion caused by a car that carried an explosive device. Their conduct and heroism was clearly equal to that of the males. Few know that when the U.S. entered WWI (April 6, 1917) there were some 2,000 enlisted females serving in the U.S. Navy. By 1918, that number had increased to 11,000. Well, I will get off my soap box, for a bit. But, the story of the many women who actually served in the U.S. military is little known.

Having grown up through three major wars, spending three years with this particular group, this article struck a chord. http://tinyurl.com/hoedwd4

Embracing God: Why I’m a Seventh-day Adventist Study 2: Covenant – Order from Chaos Introduction: Life without God is Chaotic. By entering into covenant with God, life is given order, purpose and relationship. By living to fulfill the covenants you have agreed to – in God – you are given identity, community and eternity. Creation – A Covenant of Image Bearing Genesis 1:1 – 2:3 What patterns do you see in the creation story? (Evening/morning, good/very good, Day 1-3 environment, Day 4-6 filling environs) How is this a journey from chaos to order? How is the ‘creation of man’ different in pacing and content? Why? What does it mean to be ‘the image of something’? (Gen 1:27: Idol, Engraved coin) What is the covenant (agreement) God gave mankind? (Gen 1:28) Why is this important? How is Day 7 different? Is the 7th day ‘good’, ‘very good’ or what? (A unit of time ‘blessed’) So, in this environment (day 1-3) of all the objects made (day 4-6) one is created in God’s image (humanity) and given a holy sanctuary in time (Sabbath) in which to worship the Creator. How does our ‘image bearing’ quality make us uniquely able to worship? Matthew 22:15-22 What reason did Jesus give for the coins belonging to Caesar? (picture and title stamped on it) If Caesar’s image means the coins are his, what does “Give to God what belongs to God” imply? Whose image was stamped onto humanity at Creation? In the Roman times, every coin was loaded with idolatrous images of Roman rulers whom they worshipped and pagan gods. Before coins, every pagan God had a shrine – an Eikon (Image) entombed in stone – to worship. But our God has living breathing Eikons who stop time each week. Rather than a God set in stone, we worship a living God during a time set in stone – the 7th day of each week, for eternity! When we do this – stop time to worship – we declare our God is the Creator. We are created in His Image and we, like Him, are very much alive. As His image bearers, how do we “Give to God what belongs to God?” How does the Genesis 1 Creation Week story declare our Covenant of Image Bearing? What does it remind us to do? What is our Covenant – our agreement with God? (To care for Earth and Celebrate the Creator on Sabbath). Marriage – A Covenant of Companionship The Second Creation Story ( Genesis 2:4-24) It would be one thing if there were two creation stories in two separate books of the Bible, or even a few chapters away from each other. But, writing them right next to each other tells you one thing – these are meant to be compared and contrasted. So, let’s do it. We saw what the first Creation Story taught us – Image Bearing Humanity and Sabbath Celebrations of the Creator. But, what about this second story? Is it different? If so, why? What are we to learn from the similarities? What are we to learn from the differences? There’s only one way to find out … Let’s get into it! Read Genesis 2:4-6 What would the world have looked like? Why would there be two stories that seem so different? (Different teaching purpose) Read Genesis 2:7-9 What does God make the man from? What makes the come to life? What does he become? (Living person ‘soul’) Where did God ‘place’ the man? What was in the middle of the Garden? JUMP! Read Genesis 2:15-17 – Skipping four verses, we find to the logical next point in the story. Why has God put the man in the Garden? What warning does God give the man? BACK! Read Genesis 2:10-14 – Now let’s look at the interjected verses What was there LOTS of in the Garden? (Water) What does lots of water create? (Fertility, beauty) The author is really slowing the story down – between the tree and the command – to show the reader something. Why put these four verses here? What is the purpose of the Garden of Eden? Read Genesis 2:18-20 What problem does God decide to solve? (Adam is alone) What does God do to solve the problem? (creates animals) Does this seem strange? Why doesn’t it work? What do you think God is creating within Adam before creating Eve? (desire) How has the author been creating the same frustration/desire within us? (by stretching this second creation story out - almost painfully – between the creation of Adam and Eve) Read Genesis 2:21-22 Why does God use one of Adam’s ribs? Isn’t it just dirt anyway? Why not just make a woman? How do you think Adam felt when he finally saw Eve? Read Genesis 2:23-24 “At Last!” – did you feel the same? Why? How do you like Adam’s Song? What’s your favourite part? What emotions could you feel in the song? What is the punchline in Genesis 2:24? What does this second creation story teach us about humanity? (marriage is worth the wait!) What does it teach us about finding a spouse? (it is a time consuming and worthy pursuit) What does it tell us about God’s involvement? (He takes pride [and time] in growing relationships) What does this second creation story teach Covenant of Companionship? Conclusion and Call: Chaos to Order Think back to the first Creation Story: How does the Covenant of Image Bearing show chaos becoming order? How does Sabbath celebrate this Covenant? In the second Creation Story: How does the Covenant of Companionship show chaos becoming order? How does Marriage celebrate this Covenant? God created you in His image. Would you like to Covenant with Him by promising to bear His image in a world of Chaos – showing care for Creation and celebrating Him as Creator each Sabbath? God created you with Companionship in mind. Would you like to Covenant with Him to – like Adam in the Second Creation Story - struggle through the Chaos of waiting – waiting for the person that completes you as a perfect Companion in marriage? Prayer View the full article