What Is Ignorance And Who is ignorant?

 Facebook post by a dear friend...

“Those people who are against same sex marriage were probably against mixed race marriage back in 50s and 60s. Ignorance can be so harmful....I mean look how great I turned out ;).”

Ignorance can be very harmful, I agree.  The notion that people who are against same sex marriage are the same people that are or were against interracial marriage is the antithesis of the truth. Being “against” same sex marriage, is the same as being “for” marriage”…the preservation of what marriage has always been defined as. The foundation for this fact is found in the Bible just like the foundation of the concept of night and day, our 7 day week and our year we are living in to mention a few simple things. In contrast there is nothing in the Bible condemning “interracial” marriage. 

Ignorance is a lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc. If one believes in the preservation of Marriage, it is not logical to deduce they hate gay people. If one believes in life beginning at conception it is not logical to deduce they don’t believe in rights of women. If one opposes inter-racial marriage it is not logical to make an analogy of beliefs concerning inter-racial marriage and same-sex marriage. 


Opinions are different to beliefs and values. I will show my friend's comment was unfounded in truth, assuming the comment she was making referenced common beliefs of people of faith. 

Check this out, I googled interracial marriage and this is one opinion I found…

OPINION of writer:

“What The HOLY BIBLE Says About Race Mixing

  Liberal ministers have had a very difficult time reconciling the Holy Bible with their crusade to promote inter-racial marriage. Quite frankly, the Bible demands Segregation of the different races. 

(He gives 3 scriptural reasons)

REASON: 1

The Apostle Paul: Acts 17:24-28 says that God made man "and hath determined the bounds of their habitation

***Scripture:        Acts 17:24-28

God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;  Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

***QUESTION:

Did the author of this text just forget to reference the parts surrounding “bounds of their habitation?

FACT: 1

All life; all things; one blood; all nations; every one of us; for WE are also His offspring…

Bounds of Habitation obviously means Bounds of Sin not Bounds of Race!

_____________________________________________________________

REASON: 2

" Genesis 28:1, says that the Canaanites (blacks) were the "servants of servants" and Isaac called Jacob and said unto him, "Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan." 

***DEFINITION:  What is a Canaanite?

Ca·naan·ite   

–noun

1. a member of a Semitic people that inhabited parts of ancient Palestine and were conquered by the Israelites and largely absorbed by them.

2. a group of Semitic languages, including Hebrew and Phoenician, spoken chiefly in ancient Palestine and Syria

***QUESTION:

How does this writer deduce that Canaanites were Black people or any other race of people other than white? When you read the whole thought  (Genesis 28:1-22) God is distinctly referring to SIN not RACE.

FACT: 2

Canaanites are not (blacks). The Canaanites became so accustomed to doing evil that they had lost the ability to change.

REASON: 3

Jeremiah 13:23 stresses the fact that we cannot make white people out of the Negroes in these words: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots." This could be interpreted as a warning that Negroes could breed Whites down into mongrels but that we can never breed them up into Whites. 

***Scripture:        Jeremiah 13:23-24 

“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good,  that are accustomed to do evil.

***QUESTION:            Back when scripture was written, who were the Ethiopians? Are they the fast black people that we see in the Olympics winning marathons?

***DEFINITION:            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia)

“Ethiopia has close historical ties to all three of the world's major Abrahamic religions. It was one of the first Christian countries in the world, having officially adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century. It has a Christian majority and a third of the population is Muslim.” 

FACT: 3

The key phrase in the reason NO. 3 is “This could be interpreted…” Yes if you leave out the next sentence that speaks of "good" and "evil" Again, God is speaking of SIN not RACE!

As Americans we have the right to voice our opinions without being persecuted. But, with that said, it is our obligation that when we voice our opinions or make a stand that we can back up that statement with a foundation of truth through the study of history and personal belief. It is quite ironic and funny because the only people I have ever known to oppose inter-racial marriage are black people themselves. The reason for this was their desire to preserve their heritage and culture. I can understand that, I don’t call it racist towards me as a white person.  This writer I referenced was actually a conservative "religious" person; however much like Harold Camping, the pastor that predicted the end of the world last month, the argument set forth, the Bible demands Segregation of the different races, has no scriptural truth or foundation.


In closing before believing what we hear and what others tell us is true, we need to read and cross reference for ourrselves and make our own decisions of what is truth. 

Blessings,

Sian

On this Father’s Day

A very close friend of mine called me a few days ago thanking me for my blog; it was delivered at time that she needed to hear that God was with her.  My friend has endured a difficult relationship with her father all of her life. Even though her father is Catholic and attends church she says his ways are not of the Lord when it comes to how he loves her. She asked me if I could write something that might penetrate her father’s heart on this Father’s Day. This was the message at church today …“High Jacking The American Dream…Greed”  (Ezekiel 33:31
My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain)

I hope that my blog today has meaning for my dear friend, her father and anyone else reading my blog.

2 Peter 1:3

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

We all have an earthly father and we all have a Father in heaven. Our heavenly father is our Father of Forgiveness. Knowledge in His promises through studying the Word will limit us from  identifying  ourselves to our gene pool of “imperfectness” (we are ALL sinners). An understanding of scripture increases our ability to forgive, understand and LOVE one another.  Even though many of us are blessed to have amazing Dad’s, and today is a wonderful day to celebrate that, our father in heaven loves us perfectly and eternally, something that no earthly father can ever do. 

2 Peter 1:4

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Divine Nature is our heavenly father’s DNA.

Faith, Virtue (perfect unity) and Knowledge come from the rightful relationship with God through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit.

Faith, Virtue and Knowledge are fruits of the Spirit and they last forever and lead us to TRUE JOY.

“Living with JOY is not an emotion it is a CHOICE.”

(Bob Botsford)

What causes “stunt” in spiritual growth? How can someone sit in church for 20 years and still not know The Holy Spirit that teaches us of DEVOTION, DIRECTION and DISCIPLINE for our lives?

This is my prayer for this Father’s Day…

Colossians 3:15-17

New International Version (NIV)

 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Blessings,

Sian

Integrity, Character & Perseverance... What does it look like?

Can we be “HIGH JACKED?”

“While we can't stop a thought from knocking on the door of our imagination, we don't have to invite it in and make it our houseguest.”

(Greg Laurie)

God shows us exactly what integrity, character and perseverance looks like in the Book of JOB. Job feared the Lord. He was upright and blameless and turned away from anything evil.  Job was blessed beyond belief in his life and one day God asked Satan if he had ever considered His servant Job. Meaning that Satan could not “High Jack” him away from the Lord. Satan replied by pointing out, “the only reason you say this is because you have given Job all the good things in life and built a hedge around his life.” Satan was sure he could “High Jack” Job into rebuking and cursing God.

Job 1: 12 The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”

We see throughout the Book of Job  (25th book of Old Testament) the unimaginable suffering that Satan puts upon Job and never once does Job rebuke or curse the Lord.

Job, fell to his knees and worshiped the Lord and said:

Job 1:20  “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; 
 may the name of the LORD be praised.”

Worship is the Lord’s anesthetic; it numbed the pain of life for Job. Satan is NOT omni-present, all knowing or all powerful like the Lord is. Satan learns by watching and observing our movements and our desires in our lives. Satan has to receive permission to exercise his power over us.

Satan’s strategies failed because Job has his eyes fixed upon the “blesser” not the “blessings,” the “giver” not the “gifts”.

Job reminds us to ask God “WHAT” instead of “WHY”  when we are in the midst of trials.

“Lord, what are you preparing me for?”

• ·      Growth
• ·      Faith
• ·      Preparation
• ·      Dependency
• ·      Empathy and Insight
• 
  
• When we are going through extreme pain in our lives it is not the power OF us, it is the power IN us that muzzles Satan’s lies on our behalf.

Job 23:12 - Job allows God to be God and Sovereign over EVERYTHING. Nobody knows how long Job’s suffering lasted. It could have been 10 days or 10 years; but, Job lived 140 years and as a result of Job’s faithfulness he received even great blessings than he had before.

 Those who persist in trusting God will be rewarded

 Blessings,

Sian

Have you seen “Eat, Pray, Love?”

I can’t sleep because it’s really only 8:30 Hawaii time so I thought I would get up and write what was on my mind.

I got the book for Christmas about 2 years ago but half way through the book I tossed it because I lost interest and to be honest I thought it was pretty self-indulgent. Anyway, Greg had the movie downloaded on his computer so I decided to watch, curious of what the woman finally found in the end. (the book might have been a little different than the movie)

This is definitely not a review of what I thought of the movie or book but rather an observation and explanation of how God can be misinterpreted in our movies and books and sometimes misleading us in finding truth in our real lives.

God never answers prayers with solutions that contradict His Word.  Answers to prayer must always be cross-referenced with scripture. At the beginning of the movie Julia Roberts, the main character, is unhappy in her marriage and she is seen praying, desperate for God’s guidance and answers to what she should do.

The next day she wakes up and decides that she is supposed to leave her marriage in search of God. Even though her husband refuses to grant her a divorce, hoping to change her mind, she is convinced she will find herself, and God, by traveling around the world eating, praying and loving.

Romans 8:5

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

Julia’s character was responding to her flesh.

First stop, France, full of blissful eating and drinking. Second stop, India. Interesting that she set out on her journey to find God but we see her actually finding a religion of diverse thought with beliefs spanning monotheism, polytheism, pantheism, monism, agnosticism, Gnosticism and ATHEISM, among others. Hinduism’s concept of God is complex and depends upon a particular tradition and/or philosophy.

Here we meet Richard, he has been in India for the past 10 years practicing what Julia comes to India to learn. He sort of tells Julia to get with the program, clear her mind and thoughts and all her troubles will go away; into the universe. We see Richard shortly after this confessing his transgressions and his brokenness of living with his sins all these years; he decides to pack up and leave India to seek forgiveness and hopefully peace from his anguish of 10 years. (Buddha claimed the existence of Self/soul and said God was unnecessary.)

Another part in the movie that I found compelling was the little Indian girl and seeing how the destiny of this child was going to be as her mother’s was, bleak. Morality based on the notion of Karma and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs was this child’s destiny and it broke Julia’s heart. She wrote to friends in the states, telling the story. She raised $18,000 to buy a home for the little girl and her mother so they would not be separated as a family. This was a nice thing to do but as we know a house can burn down, if Julia also told the little girl and her mother about the love of Jesus and the saving grace and eternal life of salvation the $18,000 would have been the icing on the cake!!!

The next and final stop was Bali. This is where Julia finds “Love.”  hummmmmm

I’m not sure how the book ends but the movie ends as the “happily ever after” story. The Hindu religion uses the notion of “Karma” to describe the "moral law of cause and effect.” If I would predict, Eat, Pray, Love 2, might start out 10 years later, after Julia and her new love sailed out into the sunset, meeting the same fate as Richard, and maybe her former husband; Julia being guilty and broken from her sin years ago.

Here is a link to the authors website.  She talks about creativity and where it comes from.  I listened to it while I started this blog. Very interesting.

http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/

Thanks for reading.

Blessings

Sian

I feel so incredibly blessed. I am sitting in bed in my room at the Fairmont Orchid in Kona. I arrived yesterday and waiting for Greg to arrive in an hour. There are so many times I look out to God’s amazing creation and all I can do is be amazed. Hardly a moment goes by in my life that my mind does not drift back to the amazing glory of our God and my gratefulness to Him for all that this day is.

Anyway, I am reading this great book, ”Unlocking the last Days,” by Jeff Lasseigne.  We just finished our Wednesday night study on Revelation at Horizon so I couldn’t wait to learn more.  I had never read Revelation before so I found it fascinating and I tried not to miss Wednesday nights at Horizon. I wanted to read this book because it travels verse by verse through the entire book of Revelation. Wow what a journey and I am only halfway through!

  ** Hey, here are some fun questions that are revealed in the language of Revelation…

·      Why is 7 commonly thought of as “lucky?”

·      Why is it that our night and shining dream guy (ladies) always rides in on a white horse to sweep us off our feet?

·      Why do we raise our right hand when we are sworn to oath?

            The number 7 is of great significance

7 golden lampshades – the 7 churches

7 stars - God’s messengers or angels

7 spirits before His throne

7 horns (omnipotent-all powerful) and 7 eyes (omniscient-all knowing) - Jesus as the lamb in Revelation

7 Trumpets and 7 judgments - The Great Tribulation

7 years - The Tribulation Period

“7” - the number of perfection

 The White Horse Rider

Our earthly night and shining armored dream guy shows up on a white horse in our dreams. In chapter 6 (After the "rapture" of God’s people and the beginning of God’s divine wrath on earth) we read about a rider on a white horse that was given a bow and a crown and comes to conquer. This rider is actually the Antichrist. Rev 19 tells us, when the heavens open up at the end of the Great Tribulation Jesus will come again and He will be riding atop a white horse and he will be called

Faithful and True.

The Bible is so fascinating because it is filled with parallels of how we interpret things today like this Happily ever after story with the white horse and the Prince that comes to save. John’s vision of the false messiah in Chapter 6 is a warning to all God’s people that Jesus is the only one that can ride into our lives on a white horse and truly save us. 

“I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth,

so help me God.”

Rev 10:5-7 “The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it…”

When we read the Bible it confirms over and over again that God’s Holy Word divinely formed our nation and its foundation.

The book of Revelation is pretty intense so I thought these few interpretations within the language was fun to point out.  That’s all for now.

Blessings,

Sian