Greetings, dear ones.
I didn’t intend to be this long getting this off. It’s now totally dark outside. Too much congestion in the day. Among other things, I did a run to Portland to get some sign supplies, also calling in at a DMV to secure a trip permit for my old boom truck. I intend to use it tomorrow in Clackamas to take the top out of a big Blue Spruce tree.
Have a good night.
Blessings. Ray
We have here another case to demonstrate the dismal fruit of RELIGION—which I take to be well defined in 2 Timothy 3:5—“having a form of godliness but denying its power.” On one hand, it’s full of a bunch of pious ceremony, rules, and liturgy, but empty of any life-changing HEART AFTER GOD. Be assured that this typical unregenerate mindset is quite incompatible with the heart of God, with or without any RELIGIOUS form. In this scene, notice that the RELIGION professionals are all mad (“indignant”) over what Jesus clearly loved. It’s really quite ironic—Jesus’ terrible crime, in their eyes, was the fact that He went and ate at the home of Matthew after calling him to be His follower/disciple. In so doing, Jesus was actually engaging in the very thing He came to do—to seek and save sinners—He loved sinners. After all, “For God so loved the world”…you know the rest.
At times I am absolutely overwhelmed with how obvious and simple the recipe for a successful life really is. As I see it, it all boils down to these fundamental:
Why so much confusion? Why so complicated? Why so much debate? It’s not like we have no access to knowing these things. If the Bible accomplishes anything, it clearly communicates and promotes these general parameters. And yet I also know that the solution for man’s desperate condition does not rest simply upon revelation and information, but on spiritual activation that leads to transformation. In other words, the solution can only flow from being born of the Spirit—BORN AGAIN. What a brilliant idea!!—given by the One Who knows everything about everything.