2bLikeJesus

We are celebrating me getting a new job at the VA Hospital so it is Elk Backstrap from our hunt this year!  Having it with delicata squash (some call it peanut squash) from our garden and Yukon Gold potatoes also from the garden.  

For those who may be interested,
I am aware that I have a number of "more intensive" forum discussions unto which I have contributed just "hanging" at present.  I am writing this "note" in order to inform those who may be looking for my next contribution in one of them - I am NOT done, but just very busy at present with ministry, family, and holiday responsibilities.  For me, contributing to these "more intensive" discussions requires more than just a few, quick lines.  Please be patient with me.
Thank you,
Pastor Scott Markle

The following is a true story about my long gone but beloved cat named "Fuzzface".  
It was Christmas time and as usual I had received a steady stream of boxes from family with gifts.  One box was large with several individually wrapped gifts inside all packed in white styrofoam peanuts.  I was sitting on the living room floor pulling out the individual boxes and of course styrofoam peanuts were getting all over the floor.  My cat was in the other room laying down in a laundry basket full of nice warm, fresh from the dryer, clothes (bad kitty).  When shooed from the laundry basket he came running into the living room and then...CATastrophe!  There was so much static electricity built up in his fur from laying on those dryer clothes that the styrofoam peanuts LEAPED off the floor and attacked him, sticking all over his fur.  Having a hundred small creatures leaping at him did NOT impress my cat and to make it worse, every time he would bat one off it would fly 6 inches and then come right back!  My cat totally lost it then and started running around the room in a full panic howling at the top of his lungs!  I knew I had to do something before he hurt himself or the neighbors called the SPCA to report I was torturing a cat in my apartment.  I knew I had to kill the static electricity on my cats fur and I spotted the spray water bottle on the ironing board.  I grabbed it and started chasing my cat around the room squirting him with water.  This did NOT impress my cat either, but thankfully it worked and the peanuts fell off.  Afterwards, my cat was forever terrified of styrofoam peanuts, being scarred for life.
This fear though actually turned out to have one huge advantage.  My cat was a nightmare every Christmas because he simply could not leave the Christmas tree bulbs alone.  All night he would bat them off the tree and chase them around the house.  Then I thought to put "snow" under the tree using white styrofoam peanuts!  Problem solved!  My cat not only wouldn't get near the tree, he wouldn't even come into the same room as the tree ever again!
Bro. Garry
 

The following is a true story about my long gone but beloved cat named "Fuzzface".  
It was Christmas time and as usual I had received a steady stream of boxes from family with gifts.  One box was large with several individually wrapped gifts inside all packed in white styrofoam peanuts.  I was sitting on the living room floor pulling out the individual boxes and of course styrofoam peanuts were getting all over the floor.  My cat was in the other room laying down in a laundry basket full of nice warm, fresh from the dryer, clothes (bad kitty).  When shooed from the laundry basket he came running into the living room and then...CATastrophe!  There was so much static electricity built up in his fur from laying on those dryer clothes that the styrofoam peanuts LEAPED off the floor and attacked him, sticking all over his fur.  Having a hundred small creatures leaping at him did NOT impress my cat and to make it worse, every time he would bat one off it would fly 6 inches and then come right back!  My cat totally lost it then and started running around the room in a full panic howling at the top of his lungs!  I knew I had to do something before he hurt himself or the neighbors called the SPCA to report I was torturing a cat in my apartment.  I knew I had to kill the static electricity on my cats fur and I spotted the spray water bottle on the ironing board.  I grabbed it and started chasing my cat around the room squirting him with water.  This did NOT impress my cat either, but thankfully it worked and the peanuts fell off.  Afterwards, my cat was forever terrified of styrofoam peanuts, being scarred for life.
This fear though actually turned out to have one huge advantage.  My cat was a nightmare every Christmas because he simply could not leave the Christmas tree bulbs alone.  All night he would bat them off the tree and chase them around the house.  Then I thought to put "snow" under the tree using white styrofoam peanuts!  Problem solved!  My cat not only wouldn't get near the tree, he wouldn't even come into the same room as the tree ever again!
Bro. Garry
 

Wellllll...another one bites the dust.
I was listening to one of the few preachers that I listen to when I listen to preachers that I like to listen to...AND...then he went and just had to say it...
The word "superstitious" is a poor translation in Acts 17:22. It actually means "religious".
I thought, "Great, there goes another one. My listening choices are getting thinner."
When are folks ever going to learn that you can't always apply a modern definition to a word that was penned in the 1600's?
Here's the verse...
Acts 17:22
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
Now, if you remember, these men of Athens...just to make sure they had all the god-bases covered...made an altar "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD". That's pretty extreme, isn't it? Just in case there's a god somewhere that we've missed...LET'S MAKE AN ALTAR FOR HIM TOO! Why...I'd almost call that religious extremism...religious zealotry...etc...
Okay...so today, we have our own idea of what "superstitious" means...right? Perhaps that definition could shortly be summarized as being akin to believing in something not based on reason or rational knowledge. Now, a lost atheist would definitely use today's definition in terms of belief in God...but this was Paul speaking...not a lost Atheist. 
So...what exactly did "superstitious" mean? In other words...what did "superstitious" mean in the 1600's? Let's have a look-see...from Robert Cawdrey's "A Table Alphabetical" of 1604...
superstitious, feareful in matters of religion without cause, one giuen to false and vaine religion 
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/ret/cawdrey/cawdrey0.html#s
Hmmm...looks like the KJB translators nailed it to me...
By the way...look at one of the modern-day definitions of "superstitious"...
adjective
1.  of the nature of, characterized by, or proceeding from superstition : superstitious fears.
2.  pertaining to or connected with superstition : superstitious legends.
3.  believing in, full of, or influenced by superstition.
Oh great...to find it, now we have to look up the meaning of superstition...
noun
1.  a belief or notion, not based on reason or knowledge, in or of the ominous significance of a particular thing, circumstance, occurrence,proceeding, or the like.
2.  a system or collection of such beliefs.
3.  a custom or act based on such a belief.
4.  irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious, especially in connection with religion.
5.  any blindly accepted belief or notion.
Yep...the KJB translators nailed it. : )

10...binary...LOL! 

Yes, all who are born again through faith in Christ are responsible for the ministry and word of the gospel toward the lost world.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 God's Word speaks concerning those who are born again in Christ, saying, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."  Then in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 God's Word reveals the responsibility that the Lord our God has entrusted unto all who are born again in Christ, saying, "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God."
ALL born again believers have been entrusted by God with "the ministry of reconciliation," the ministry of the gospel.  ALL born again believers have been entrusted by God with "the word of reconciliation," the word of the gospel.  ALL born again believers have been called by God as "ambassadors for Christ," as witnesses unto Him.  ALL born again believers have been called by God as the very mouthpieces of God, as though God Himself did beseech the lost world by and through us.  ALL born again believers have been called by God to plead (pray) for lost souls to be saved through faith in Christ, and to do so in the stead of Christ Himself.
______________________________________________
On the other hand, upon what grammatical or contextual grounds may we claim that the "great commission" is a "church commission"?  In not one of the "great commission" passages (that is -- Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Luke 24:44-53; Acts 1:4-8) is the "church" directly mentioned within the immediate context of those passages.
By the way, I myself do hold that the "church" began in embryonic form BEFORE the day of Pentecost.  Therefore, I am asking this question, not as a question against the existence of the "church," but as a question for precision in our Bible study.
 

You don't "create" darkness; darkness is simply the absence of light just as "cold" is nothing more than the absence of heat.  Evil is simply the absence of righteousness and good.  It is not created, but exists simply as a consequence of righteousness existing with God. 

You don't "create" darkness; darkness is simply the absence of light just as "cold" is nothing more than the absence of heat.  Evil is simply the absence of righteousness and good.  It is not created, but exists simply as a consequence of righteousness existing with God. 

Dominionism is the belief system behind the Reconstructionist and Reformed movements of theology.
Puritans, after whom the reformed theology movement is patterned, believed that they were literally creating a new Israel, complete with adherence to the OT law. They are actually considered the original proponents of Dominionism - in a nutshell the idea that Christians can get Christ to return sooner by setting up a theocracy and forcing people to follow "righteousness."
Reconstructionists deny that they are dominionists, and yet they actually are. Rushdoony was the founder of the movement. In point of fact, the Christian school movement was the brain child of Reconstructionists. They believed that the schools would raise a generation of righteous children who would take over society for God. Of course, that isn't how they put it, but that was the idea. 
But, just as we see in history, the Puritan movement did not create righteousness. It created self-righteousness. So, too, did the Christian school movement.  
Because of what Dominionism is, it is easy to accuse someone who is a Christian and in politics of being a dominionist. But that is not always an accurate appellation. 
Just because someone believes that it's a good thing to have Christians involved in different areas of society (like government) does not mean that particular someone believes that the OT law needs to be imposed on everything. Nor does it mean that particular someone believes that Christians are supposed to purify all aspects of society in order to usher in the millennium.
Yes, we are to be witnesses for Christ. But that does not mean that we aren't to be involved in things like government. How ridiculous is it to think that just because we are Christians, we are to sit back and let the ungodly create and enforce our laws, create and run all businesses, etc and so forth. That is actually the mentality many people have, and labeling an involved Christian - one who actually believes and follows the Constitution (and that alone should convince anyone who understands dominionism that he is not a dominionist) - as a dominionist is a good way to revile the person and cause folks who don't look beyond a few articles "proving" involvement to be convinced that person is evil.
edited to add: Interestingly enough, regarding Christian schools, Baptist history is absent from the education. Baptists were the ones responsible for our Bill of Rights. They understood persecution and knew what political oppression did. However, in Christian school education, the Puritans are the ones presented as being proponents of liberty. Look at textbooks used to teach history in Christian schools and you'll see that Baptist influence on this country - which was huge - is completely absent. Puritans are lifted up. It is no surprise that the Reformed movement has taken such hold in Christianity. It is the outgrowth of Reconstructionism.
Now, I want to clarify: I attended Christian schools as a child. I did receive an excellent education, and I am thankful for that. And I was not taught the Calvinistic worldview. But I also was not taught anything about the Baptists (even in the Baptist schools I was in). Religious history was all about the Puritans and Pilgrims. No mention was ever made of the persecution of other beliefs the Puritans practiced. 

Yes; however, Adam was without sin when God created him. How did Adam become a sinner? Did God force him? Did Eve nitpick him to death to eat the fruit? Did the serpent beguile him? No...Adam willingly and purposefully chose to sin. He knew life once without sin, because that's how he was created, and that's the world he was created into. However, now he would know life as a sinner. Alluding to Adam is vain.
So again; yes, God created Adam...without sin.
Yes he was; he was a sinner. Unlike his father Adam, Cain never knew life without sin. Did God create Cain as a special creation as he did Adam? No. Cain's murdering of his brother was Cain's doing...not God's. Alluding to Cain is vain.
Well, I guess it's not hard to believe, but I certainly don't believe it. Why is it hard for you to believe that Satan (like Adam) was created without sin, and like Adam, he chose to sin?
You do realize that if God created Satan and the devils as sinners, that would make God a sinner.
Yet, if we accept what you're implying, then that means that all of history...all of the love, grace, and effort given by God from the time of Adam's sin until now (and into the future) to redeem man...all of the opposition from Satan, devils, and sinners...all of it...was God's doing. He created sinners to oppose himself. That means that he unjustly sacrificed the Lord Jesus Christ for the sin that he created. He purposely set off a chain of events so evil, so diabolical...that only a sinful mastermind of supreme power could conceive it...to create beings that would oppose him and his work...yet...just to show who's boss, he will one day force every knee to bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Then, to top it off, he'll have every one of them...Satan, the devils, and sinners cast into the lake of fire...where they'll spend eternity in torment paying for being the sinners that God created them to be. That's a dirty sinful trick. After all, God created them as sinners; they had no choice but to oppose and hate him...
BUT HE'LL MAKE 'EM BOW AND CONFESS ANYWAY!!! MWUAH HA HA HAAAA! It doesn't matter that they never had the choice to do it before...of their own freewill. 
So, I ask the question again...since you really didn't answer it.
Do you believe that God created the devil as the evil, lying, murderer that we know him as? 

After looking further into Trump, there is no way as a Christian I could possibly vote for him and not be endorsing evil, and of course Hilary is even worse.  I just as firmly believe it would be un-scriptural to NOT vote at all.  Therefore, I am forced to either vote 3rd party if a viable option is available or if not, vote a write in candidate, but I believe as a Christian I MUST vote.  

I have never seen a transvestite who is trying to look like a woman, wear pants...wonder why?  If more women wore what men wear when they are trying to look like women, there would be no problem. What a twisted world we live in. 

Genesis 9:13-14 (KJV)
13  I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
14  And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 
 
By this it appears no one had ever seen a rainbow before the flood.  Another proof of no rain before the flood.

A scientist makes a clone of himself, the scientific world is in awe and can't wait to meet him and his clone.  The big day arrives with great pomp and ceremony and the scientist bursting with pride introduces his clone.  His clone begins swearing a cursing worse than any sailor ever dreamed.  The audience is stunned, and the scientist totally loses it because of the humiliation and grabs his clone and tries to throw him out of the top floor window!  They wrestle him to the ground before he succeeds and charge him with.....
Attempting to make an obscene clone fall.

A scientist makes a clone of himself, the scientific world is in awe and can't wait to meet him and his clone.  The big day arrives with great pomp and ceremony and the scientist bursting with pride introduces his clone.  His clone begins swearing a cursing worse than any sailor ever dreamed.  The audience is stunned, and the scientist totally loses it because of the humiliation and grabs his clone and tries to throw him out of the top floor window!  They wrestle him to the ground before he succeeds and charge him with.....
Attempting to make an obscene clone fall.

I suppose if I am going to show a Salmon picture if I am having fish, it's only fair....

Black Angus steaks tonight!  

We have great fun with our computer programming instructor when he talks about creating "flowcharts".  He has a deep Chinese accent and it is hilarious hearing him try to pronounce "parallelogram".

We have great fun with our computer programming instructor when he talks about creating "flowcharts".  He has a deep Chinese accent and it is hilarious hearing him try to pronounce "parallelogram".

All I know is not pronouncing something correctly can be downright deadly!  
Judges 12:6 (KJV)
6  Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand.
 

Well, that's what Miss Carpenter ended up doing.  Ordering online and having it shipped to me.  I had to laugh though on what she bought as I was struck by the irony of it.  She bought new shower curtains and liner, bathroom rug set, over-the-door towel rack, shower caddie, and other stuff to turn my bachelor bathroom into a single room for a man or woman...
Bro. Garry

I often do a shrimp stir fry, my own recipe. But stir fry is not really fried food in the sense that it is not breaded and fried like chicken. Mine consists of shrimp, various vegetables, and several seasonings. It's disgustingly healthy, not to mention great tasting. Even someone from Roseburg, Oregon might like it.    

BURN THE HERETIC!!!

I love you Pastor Markle!  This is EXACTLY what I was seeking!  You just topped all wedding gifts we might receive!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Bro. Garry Santos