Hi, Zane.
I actually attempted to send a devo to you last eve…along with a photo. Something didn’t go right, since there’s no evidence that it transmitted. I’m having all kinds of fits with this old computer.
I’m waiting for someone to show up with a big truck so I can cut and apply some graphics. They want to get it on the road asap.
Speaking of big trucks, maybe I’ll try again to stick on a photo of the truck your dad picked up in Northern Washington on Saturday to deliver back to Dallas. I went along to follow behind in his pickup.
Love and prayers—Tua/Ray.
Refusing to believe. Now there’s a problem—especially when the core issue is essential truth. It requires tampering with facts, rejecting evidence, and maligning those who do believe. It is irrational, unreasonable, and controlled by bias, prejudice, and spiritual evil. Its outcome is destructive, ugly, and deadly.
Take note of the consequential affect of refusing to believe as demonstrated by the riot that ensued at Ephesus under the influence of Demetrius. He was a real gladiator for truth! NOT! Quite the opposite! While he was a heathen Gentile whose belief system and livelihood were heathenism, he was actually equivalent with the Jewish religious elite who also refused to believe.
Many times I have been taken back by how little it takes to set some people off on a crusade of fury and rioting. It only helps to confirm for me that the fuel for this kind of fire is not the God-given quality of intelligence toward wisdom by means of objective reasoning. Rather it is the devil-designed material of foolishness, emotional manipulation, deception, and refusing to believe what is TRUE.
In the course of therapy rendered to Thano (our last-born, nick-name for Nathaniel) at Craig Hospital (Denver, Colorado) following his motorcycle accident that inflicted brain injury, I particularly liked an acrostic that was presented. It was STAR: Stop. Think. Analyze. Respond. I think that’s pretty good practical advice for us all. Think about it. At least it can go a long way toward preventing the consequences of refusing to believe essential truth.