We seem to need tangible proof (evidence) regarding matters in life. With faith, the evidence is in things not seen? How can that even be possible... check this story and learn more. Previous Evidently We seem to need tangible proof (evidence) regarding matters in life. With faith, the evidence is in things not seen? How can that even be possible... check this story and learn more. Evidently Next Evidently by G.W. Bill Elliott, Jr. Evidently: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen . Hebrews 11:1 I don’t usually start these writings with a scripture… not so directly and right at the beginning anyway… but, evidently … I am going to do it, now. This passage can be such a ‘buzz word’ type passage that folks toss around… almost like it is queued and ready as a response when they don’t really know what else to say. Essentially, this passage means; your faith consists of the things you hope you have, and you have that proof from things you can not see . Yea… I nailed it…. right? NOT! This passage is so confusing to me… I mean, if it were to say, “ An expert bowler is evidenced by the score they keep. “, then I’d have something tangible to grab onto… something coherent… something much less abstract than ‘…evidence of things not seen“. But, then the Lord reminds me that but by the Holy Spirit in our lives are we ever going to have a hope of understanding His word… after-all, we are told many times, “ He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit sayeth ”. ( Rev 2:29 , and more) Regularly, I have to break this passage back down and review my life to check that my faith is intact… my faith is growing… my faith is still true and on-track. Faith: confidence or trust in a person or thing, as in; faith in another’s ability. Evidence: something that makes plain or clear; an indication or sign, as in; His flushed look was visible evidence of his fever. Examples Faith is a tricky characteristic to describe… tough to identify… awkward to explain to others, many times. Our lives are filled with traits of faith in our lives. All too often, we limit this word to the spiritual side of our lives (if any), but I think faith can also be identified by that double-yellow line on many two way highways (not divided by a median). See… we WHIZZ along these roadways at some outlandish speeds… and though the vehicles these days are much safer, there is nothing more than that thin double-yellow strip separating us from the vehicles coming toward us in the opposite direction… only that thin strip.Let’s do some quick math… let’s say we are traveling at 60 mph, and the oncoming traffic is also traveling at 60 mph. At those speeds, there is nothing but that thin double-yellow line guiding us… leading us… asking us to trust the other driver… from having a 120 mph ‘sudden stop’ impact! Now THAT is faith! I have faith that the oncoming driver is alert, attentive, and just as concerned about life as I am. If you have done it enough, you no longer even give it a second thought. Maybe not as dramatic an example is trusting the ATM machine to give me my credit or debit card back each time I slip it into the slot. As it disappears from the face of the machine, I trust that it will be returned once the transaction is completed. Sure… that is not much faith, but it is still faith nonetheless. If you have done it enough, you no longer even give it a second thought. The schedule at an airline or airport can be just as tricky. Sure, they have a business to run, but you are trusting they are going to maintain their schedule. Your faith in their reputation may even help influence which airline you use… so much so that you even go so far as to plan and schedule for someone to pick you up at the destination airport. You may have even traveled enough that you have a system down… a ‘trusted’ pattern to ensure you journey runs as smoothly as it can… you have done it enough, you no longer even give it a second thought. These three are tangible ways you apply faith in your life. Emotional and Spiritual faith is much, much tougher. As the scripture stated, it is the substance of things hoped for. You may be hoping for an upcoming event… you may be hoping for a good and relaxing vacation… you may even be hoping for a fulfilling and ‘playful’ retirement. Many are trusting and hopeful of Heaven, too. Evidence is somewhat of a gotcha component of our faith. I mean… the word itself indicates we have tangible proof… absolute and concrete information to support something… the stuff that ‘makes it all clear’ and believable. Evidence doesn’t always have to be tangible though…. see… many music or movie stars have fame, and that bolsters their stardom. Wealth is identifiable by our homes… the amenities in life… the luxuries or at least abundance of things (homes, property, toys, etc). Blending Faith and Evidence together seems so much tougher…. so much more clumsy to identify in your life. That scripture claims that our faith is evident in our lives by things that are not seen. So… that’s odd… I mean… evidence almost directly implies proof… almost perfectly indicates irrefutable facts or at least an obvious conclusion can be reached. But, ‘things not seen’ seems to indicate vagueness, or some kind of condition, or even some mystical aura or power. See… our world today is filled with proof, tangible evidence and a yearn for instant gratification. These are making it harder and harder to trust… to wait… to have faith in the unseen. Again though, this passage in Hebrews 11:1 does say that our faith is evident by things that are not seen… this could be patience… it could be selflessness… it could even be something as simple as forbearance and enduring love. I know… it is so much tougher to even want these things, because all too often, we are secretly looking for things in our lives that will bring attention… focus… accolades of a life well-lived… plaques, banners, buildings or streets named after us… Like we accomplished something worthy, and those around us will eventually recognize us for them. Well… that is not faith… that is fruit (results). Faith, as you may recall from my opening, is confidence or trust in a person or a thing (trusting that highway divider line). The evidence that you are trusting will demonstrate itself when you apply yourself to that trust… as with the highway divider line, you are not trusting that line until you are actually driving on the highway. It is one thing to learning about driving on the highway… remaining on your side… honoring the trust the oncoming drivers also have in you… putting your very life ‘on the line’ as it were. Well… safely to the right of it, please! Further along in that Hebrews passage, it tells us; “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Hebrews 11:3), which is a reminder that God’s very word… His very promise is what is making up the balance of the world. It is faith that is used to demonstrate our hope in His leading… trust in His word and promise to us… and the evidence of His love for us, too. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" . Hebrews 11:6 It is this application of our faith in God where we obtain His mercy… how we receive His grace over our lives… where we fix our hope. And the reason all this even matters is best clarified in that very famous passage of John 3:16, which states; “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“ Not perishing is one of those key ‘ things unseen ‘ evidences of our faith… and the everlasting life is the result. Now… faith all on it’s own is not enough! WHAT? Right… faith (trust) alone is not nearly all that God has planned for His leading of your life. To trust Him also means to follow… to wait-n-listen… even to put yourself into action. See… James 2:17 reminds us, “ Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. ” That is to say, your faith has to be where ‘ the rubber meets the road’ , as it were… like in that ‘ divided highway stripe ’ example I’d provided earlier. Until you actually put your faith into action, it is just information in your head… noise in your heart… a desire, sure… but, it must be motivated and put into action, too. Evidence of things can go two ways; 1) tangible, or non-tangible. The passage states that our faith is evident of things… again, we ever-so-quickly gravitate to the physical… the obvious… the able-to-see/touch items in our lives, and use those as evidence of achievement… of accomplishment… of growth (or even weight-loss)… of reaching a goal. But, this passage claims our faith is evident by things unseen. Take this sentence, and fill in your own blank; ________ is the evidence of things. Below are some examples; Wealth is the evidence of things Fame is the evidence of things A large home is evidence of things Career stature is evidence of things How we can apply this quagmire of information to our lives may seem daunting… may seem too overwhelming… may even seem hopeless, depending on your own predicament in life. But, that IS actually where we can start. I mean, to rephrase that initial scripture, “The things you hope for identifies where your faith is. Your hope is evident by the things we cannot actually see (i.e. patience, trustworthy, honor, etc). Like those ‘things’ I’d mentioned above, your faith is demonstrated by the things you hope for, which become more and more obvious in your life as characteristics, traits, even skills or talents. We cannot actually ‘see’ these types of things, only the fruit of their presence in our lives. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23 These are the ‘things unseen’ that become the evidence of the things you hope for, which is… Faith! Let me ‘show’ it to you this way. Your faith is made up of things in the Substance column, In other words, Your faith is made up of your; hope for joy, which is evident because you are not easily discouraged. hope for temperance, which is apparent because you refrain from using foul language. hope for meekness because you demonstrate gentleness. Now… that was just a spattering-sample of ways that the opening passage can be applied in your life. It is an OnGrowing process! Having a ‘spirit filled’ life merely means you are applying more and more of the fruits of the spirit, as referenced above in Galatians. Just how ‘big’ is your faith… just how ‘strong’ is your faith… just how ‘old’ and mature is your faith… almost wholly depends on you. Like an athlete, getting exercise and keeping active is the only way. No… you can NOT just absorb God’s word… you can NOT just attend church services or spiritual meetings… you can NOT just pray and ‘want’ to be faithful. You are as good as ‘dead’ to God (and He WILL ‘reject’ you) and no real use to anyone! See… James 2:26 states; “ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. “, so it is very important that we learn to add Substance to our Faith, and Evidence of that Substance… it is WORK… no two ways about it. Faith is a tricky characteristic to describe… tough to identify… awkward to explain to others, many times. Our lives are filled with traits of faith in our lives. All too often, we limit this word to the spiritual side of our lives (if any), but I think faith can also be identified by that double-yellow line on many two way highways (not divided by a median). See… we WHIZZ along these roadways at some outlandish speeds… and though the vehicles these days are much safer, there is nothing more than that thin double-yellow strip separating us from the vehicles coming toward us in the opposite direction… only that thin strip.Let’s do some quick math… let’s say we are traveling at 60 mph, and the oncoming traffic is also traveling at 60 mph. At those speeds, there is nothing but that thin double-yellow line guiding us… leading us… asking us to trust the other driver… from having a 120 mph ‘sudden stop’ impact! Now THAT is faith! I have faith that the oncoming driver is alert, attentive, and just as concerned about life as I am. If you have done it enough, you no longer even give it a second thought.

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Behind any and all ‘darkness’ in your life is that ‘ray of hope’. You may not see if or acknowledge it, but it is higher, greater, and certainly brighter than any ‘doom’ that the Shadow of Death may overshadow His grace, mercy, and peace! Previous Shadow of Death Behind any and all ‘darkness’ in your life is that ‘ray of hope’. You may not see if or acknowledge it, but it is higher, greater, and certainly brighter than any ‘doom’ that the Shadow of Death may overshadow His grace, mercy, and peace! Shadow of Death Next Shadow of Death by G.W. Bill Elliott, Jr. Fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined. Often it is the feeling or condition of being afraid. Combine that with Darkness and there-in is a gripping and many times overwhelming sense of pending doom.. of certain calamity… and certainly the whole presence of oppression that just consumes and paralyzes us. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me Psalms 23:4 KJV Many of us read this passage as a soothing promise, or a “ I got’cher back ” message from the Lord, but I am not wholly convinced we really grasp just how informative, encouraging, and actually rather instructing this declaration was actually intended. To me, there are two things to consider in this passage, 1) the darkness, and 2) the author indicates that he is walking or moving along.Now , there are two variations or ways of viewing that darkness; 1) it is the absence or deficiency of light (a tangible observation, sure), and 2) the lack of knowledge or enlightenment (a spiritual/emotional component of our lives. So far, that all helps set the stage of the bigger picture the Lord is yearning for us to consider… the reason Jesus Himself said, “Fear not, for I am with you always”… the encouragement and quite empowering message the Lord is wanting us to bury in our hearts. Shadow Source I started thinking about the ‘picture’ of walking through ‘the valley of the shadow of death’ and it is so very easy to fixate on the fact that the author is pointing out that death is always near… always taunting us… always in our path, it seems. But, I realized one key thing about that shadow… that ominous darkness… that ‘light blocking’ space. And it hit me… there is a LIGHT behind that ‘death’, which is what is actually causing the shadow! See that? I mean… wherever there is a shadow, there IS a light behind it! And, in the case of life and death, we know that Jesus is the light. Wait… what? Right… Jesus is the light behind that ‘shadow of death’ fear you are facing. We are encouraged and instructed to walk in the light, but there are times (as this passage reminds us) that the overshadowing reality of life and sin on this earth means that we are going to be ‘walking through the shadow of death’, too. Beyond the Shadow We just need to remind ourselves to look beyond the shadow… to look to the light… to the hope of Jesus’ nurturing hand watching over us. See, Luke 1:79 tells us that Jesus is come “ To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. ” See… “ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death …” indicates there is a massive, and overwhelmingly bright light of hope behind any ‘darkness’ that haunts you. Behind any/all ‘darkness’ in your life there is that ‘ray of hope’! It is higher, greater, and certainly brighter than any ‘doom’ the Shadow of Death that may loom. His grace, mercy, and peace! Facing Fear The things of this world can render us unconscious, spiritually. In many ways useless physically, too. They are tangible objects and our sin-based souls are so quick to react protectively of ourselves and those around us. So much so, that we never give it a second thought… giving in to the ‘things that are seen’ rather than hoping for the things to come. Jesus gives us that hope to face fear… to face the pending and inevitable doom… to even step out and challenge the things of this world and walk by faith toward His light. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder . Psalms 107:14 KJV There was a time when Peter faced his fear. He was in a boat out on the sea, and the waters were churning from a nearby storm. Out in the distance, he saw a figure coming across the surface of the water. In and of itself, that would be a fearful thing, let alone highly unusual. Peter thought he recognized the figure as Jesus, and Matthew 14:28-30tells us, “ And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me .” Peter was well on his way to overcoming the obvious. He set aside his fear of the water and was actually out there walking on the top of it with Jesus…. well… while he had his eyes on Jesus, that is! See… when Peter ‘s aw the boisterous wind, he was afraid, and began to sink ‘. Again, another perfect reminder of that ‘shadow of death’ problem… there is no need to fear when you keep your eyes, your attention, your hope on the light BEHIND that shadow. Remember, please remember… that shadow would never exist where it not for the presence of that light! All would just be darkness, were it not for that light! Eyes on the Light Peter only needed to keep his eyes on the Lord. Once he was distracted… was taunted by the tangible fears of life… was reminded of his very mortality… he began to sink. He began to be overcome. To me, there are three things we can do… three ‘rules’ we can apply… three principles/goals to help us through these fears; Keeping our attention focused on His leading Recognize the distractions around you, but keep Rule #1 You asked Jesus for proof, He did not taunt you into this I know… “easier said, than done”, right? But again, as you are ‘walking through the very shadow of death’ of things in your life, the light is where you can focus your attention. His leading you… His guiding you… His protection of you, such that you will adamantly state “yea, though I walk through the very shadow of death, I shall fear no evil” with confidence, not just hope! Empowered by His Presence Our hope, faith and trust is empowered by His presence. See… if we were facing that ‘shadow of death’ scenario alone, it would be frightening… it would cause us to freeze in our tracks… to hunker down, skulk, and move in stealth-like ways. We might even RUN through that valley of death so-as to decrease our exposer. Proverbs 28:1 tells us, “ The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion. Now… please understand… please recognize… please, please know that just because Jesus is present, just because Jesus exists, just because Jesus is watching… “His presence” means ‘in your heart’… in your life… in your mind… in your every being. Jesus made Himself present to Peter, but it was Peter crying out to Him… asking him to ‘save’ him… this was Peter’s application of his faith, of his trust, and of his hope in the Lord. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. Psalms 138:3 (KJV) We now have a means for being bold about His presence in our lives. We now have an assurance about His presence in our lives… I am no longer a slave to fear… for I am a child of God! In Hebrews 4:16, we are told, “ Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. “ But, go back a few verses in Hebrews, because that verse 16 starts with, “Let us therefore”… it is that “therefore” reference in Heb 4:12-15 wherein Jesus “ …is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ” And He was tempted JUST like we are and did not falter (v 15). Going back to the opening verse of this writing, we can now see that this was not written as some “hang in there, baby” encouragement… it was not some statement from the life of someone who simply endures the struggles of life… it was not even a lofty statement of ‘claim your faith’ cheer from the choir-loft of God. Rather, this is a bold, and quite emphatic statement…. even a warning to Satan himself… “even though I walk through your scary valley, I will NOT be afraid, for God Himself is right there behind you (glancing over Satan’s shadow) and is my protector, my hope, and certainly my very salvation.”

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What happens when God uses words we never heard, before. This story is about having faith without understanding. It will 'make your boat float', as it were! Previous It’s Gonna Zorple! What happens when God uses words we never heard, before. This story is about having faith without understanding. It will 'make your boat float', as it were! It’s Gonna Zorple! Next It’s Gonna Zorple! by G.W. Bill Elliott, Jr. It’s Gonna Zorple! I was recently thinking about Noah… I mean… in those “last days” when they were all gathered inside that boat… sitting there, staring out of that door opening… hearing the jesting and jeering from the folks on the outside… Finding it VERY curious how they could be so insensitive to the pending doom… This all got me to thinking about THAT Ark ‘from’ the outside… I mean… ME actually being there… seeing all this transpire… hearing all the noise… having lived with this ‘god awful’ “thing” being built in my neighborhood was bad enough, but then… all those animals… all the dog-gone pounding… hammering… sawing… the bleating of the sheep… the roaring of the Lions… and then, the smell… Ugh!! I really MUST check into the city ordinance, and see if this sort of thing is even allowed within the walls of the city… Why, oh WHY would ANYONE want to build this boat-thing SO far from ANY body of water? These people have completely lost their minds… at first, I thought they were going to just use ‘skids’ to scoot it to the water. But, they all kept saying that God was going to make it “Zorple”… and it would “Zorple” so much, that this entire land will FILL with it… it will ‘flood’ the entire area… Right!!? Do you see just how large an area this is… there isn’t any Zorple anywhere NEAR here… where is all this Zorple going to come from?? And even if there was a flooding of Zorple… it would HAVE to be SO much… that boat is MASSIVE! Those people have truly snapped…. What fools…. you can see them sitting in there… with all those animals… just waiting… what idiots… and then, there is this HUGE hole… the doorway… they haven’t even closed the door… morons!! What a spectacle they are making… they look SO ridiculous… And then, all that thinking… that ‘revisiting’ the “what must have been” stuff that was happening in those last days… really got me to thinking… You see… the Bible ‘does’ say “…as it was in the ‘days of Noah’, so it shall be in the days of the ‘coming of man‘”… and I really got to thinking about the entire ‘scene’ of the “days of Noah”… but, more-so… I seemed to focus my attention on that door… it WAS just standing there… open. Who builds a huge boat like that… gets SO prepared to ‘go’… gets everyone and everything in there… and does NOT close the door? Something peculiar about that… And in the midst of all that… do you remember HOW that door was closed… and who closed it?? See… Gen 7:16 – says “ … and the LORD shut them in. ” I guess that has really been bugging me lately… not in a bad way at all… just… putting myself in that boat… having a compassionate heart…. wanting THEM to be in here with us… those folks on the outside… jeering at us… knowing how much I trust the Lord… how much I believe he’ll do JUST as He said… and taking the jesting… and the ridicule… and knowing that soon, the rain will fall… and soon (ooohhhh, I am trusting I am NOT an utter idiot!), the Lord WILL complete this promise to cleanse the land. And yet… NO ONE on that boat took any precaution to close that door… and all of a sudden… that huge door DID rock shut… with SUCH an awesome noise… It was a noise to be heard THROUGH eternity!! No turning back… up to THAT very moment, Noah and his family were walking by FAITH!! They were trusting the unseen… They were believing the unbelievable… They were living the unlivable… They had conceived the inconceivable… in the face of the jesting… the ridicule… the discomfort… the utter ‘ugliness’ of what they were even doing… in that ark… crammed all together with all those animals… the smell. That must have been some sight, to say the very least… but, that very moment when the huge door closed… was SUCH a defining moment in all our lives… no longer was this commitment by faith ONLY… no longer was their faith “INTANGIBLE”… all of a sudden… in the twinkling of an eye… their faith was made SURE… the evidence of their commitment to their faith was SEALED!! See that?? And here is the part I just break down over… I mean… I ‘can’ get SO excited that the ‘journey is finally beginning”… but I am quickly brought back to THIS reality… remember… that huge door closed… and they ‘likely’ sat there for days and days… and DAYS!! I mean… sure… the door closed… and it SO felt like the ‘ride was about to begin’… but, now they have the folks on the outside STILL jesting… STILL throwing rocks at the ark… STILL ridiculing you… mocking… completely oblivious to the pending doom… and while your faith JUST had this burst of ‘evidence’ with the door closing on it’s own… you certainly have to be (again) wondering about the bigger picture… and just what it is God is doing… Why He takes SO long to do stuff. And now… this ark FILLED with “two-by-two” is also starting to smell… and feel SO musty… and the voices of the people outside are getting louder… makes me wonder just HOW faithful I would have been there… How trusting I would have really been…… and then…… and then…… and I do mean… AND THEN…… you begin to hear the pattering of something on the surface of that huge boat… you see… those folks had NEVER seen rain (Zorple)!! This was SUCH a foreign word to them… it did NOT mean anything to them… this Zorple warning was falling of deaf ears… and even in those days, God was ‘clearly’ saying to the people of the land “…he that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the spirit is saying...”!! See… they did NOT know what it meant to have water ‘falling from the sky’… up to that moment in time… the earth was just “watered with the dew of the night“… and they had not ever REALLY been able to experience the ‘rain from the heavens’ (Zorple – it is a word “I” invented to emphasize how ‘they’ must have felt when ‘they’ heard it too)!! And when the water began to fall… it had to have had such an impact on everyone… to be experiencing something SO new like that… and then to have it raining SO hard… that the ground can finally no longer absorb it all… it has no other place to run off… Again… God was using a mechanism to cleanse the earth… cleanse our lives of the sin… He was telling them that it was going to RAIN 40 days and 40 nights… right?? Well… they had NEVER seen rain, or experienced it’s passion, it’s fury… it’s ability to ‘flood’!! Therefore, this ‘threat’ was SO foreign to them… It SO didn’t mean anything… in so many ways (faith in the unseen)… getting us SO close to just how consistent the Lord is throughout the ages, in that, even in those days He was saying “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying“!! And still… the Bible says, “As it was in the days of Noah…. so it shall be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man“!! The people are SO unrighteous… He was going to cleanse it of EVERYTHING… but he found Noah to be a righteous man… and spared his family… if they obeyed. See… God ‘chose’ Noah… God had mercy on Noah… And God will also use you, in these last days… just before that huge door closes… those fleeting moments passing…. God calling on your heart… Please answer! Just when WILL you believe? Do you really need to see the ark being built? Do you really need to see the people and animals all getting in? Do you really need to see that huge door close on it’s own? Do you really need to feel that pitter-patter of Zorple on your face? Do you really need to feel the exhaustion from treading the zorple that has risen… higher than you could EVER comprehend? Do you really need to be brought SO close to death, to accept such a rich life? To accept such a wonderful gift of grace, mercy, and forgiveness? For we ‘all’ have come short of God’s glory. So… now, I am sitting on the inside. Finally feeling more relief that this journey has actually begun, yet very trepidatious for the future. I too have never been in a flood. I too have never known rain… have never seen so much water cover the land. And, I notice that the jeering and the rock throwing and the ridicule has changed… in fact, there seems to be a lull in the crowd that has been gathering around that ark. Still, I can hear them chatting amongst themselves, and still ‘some’ jeering… a few rocks… a few shouts of ‘save yourselves’… but, generally, it’s much quieter. And it is raining now… raining like I have never seen or heard. And some of the people are beginning to pound and scratch on the side of that ark… no longer throwing rocks, or jeering… in fact, there’s a sound of desperation in their voices… a sound of begging… a sound of pleading…. For us to open the door, and let them into the ark… I certainly would, if I could… but, I didn’t close it… that door is way too big for anyone but God to open or close. Still, I do give consideration to how to ‘save’ these people…. How to get them into this ark of safety… Nothing? It appears as though their only salvation was to have believed, as we did… when chosen to have answered the calling. It appears that NOW it is too late… faith is something that occurs BEFORE seeing…. Not after. And the noise of these people’s begging… their clawing and screaming at the side of that boat… it has begun to shift off it’s footings… the props we’d used to hold it upright, while we were building it… and the water is splashing around all on the outside…. And the noise of their screaming…. Crying…. Pleading for us to let them in… to save them…. NOW they believe…. They are claiming they didn’t understand then… they were too busy to REALLY listen… to really notice…. Yet… they are still on the outside of that great ark of salvation…. Such a painful thing to hear, to live through… for these screaming, drowning people, were my best friends… my next door neighbors… my club-members… parents to my children’s friends…. Yet, they choose to NOT listen… to NOT follow the Lord…. and remain righteous in His eyes. See… that’s actually what started this whole cleansing process. God had finally gotten tired of the reprobate minds… tired of the unrighteousness of it all… tired of YOU, not following Him. Sure, other’s are not following… but YOU are responsible for YOU! No other. Not even your children, your parents, or your dear loved one(s). YOU!! Behold, NOW is the day of salvation. Please… Please… get into the ark with us…. Quickly… before that great door closes. Please… look around you… it will soon begin to Zorple… and then, it will be too late. I want you there, with me… with us. Please…. Please, come in!!

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Too often we end up repeating what we heard or read without really giving it all much thought. This story is about taking the time and energy to have an original thought, for a change. Previous Regurgitationalistics Too often we end up repeating what we heard or read without really giving it all much thought. This story is about taking the time and energy to have an original thought, for a change. Regurgitationalistics Next Regurgitationalistics by G.W. Bill Elliott, Jr. Regurgitationalistics Practice Original Thought Man has never invented a single thing (as of this writing)… ever never… nothing new… never… not one new element has been introduced into life. All we’ve done is ‘assemble’ things to be something else, and we call it ‘inventing’. Semantics, I know… but our thoughts and the many things we voice (communicate) have the same tendency… regurgitating things in a different way, but they are the same droning message (repeating news, citing scripture, gossip, etc)… over and again. Like we found a dirty, old, encrusted nickel… polished it up and claimed it as our own… holding it up for the world to see and in turn exclaiming our excitement for this new nickel of ours. Sure… the word “ Regurgitationalistics ” doesn’t even exist… well… it might now… since I am using it. Essentially I morphed the word Regurgitation, which fundamentally means; to give back or repeat, especially something not fully understood or assimilated . Now… I am not writing this to teach you some fancy form or regurgitation… rather… I have noticed that we tend to get all caught up communicating and sharing thoughts, ideas, “news and information” and that we easily fall into the trap of just being talking-heads… mostly. Giving almost NO thought to what we are sharing… just too busy repeating something we heard… something we saw… something someone else shared with us. Almost monkey-like in our zeal to ‘pass along’ some nugget of information… as though we are getting a finders-fee, or accolades for being the one to discover such a nugget… all gleeful and pleased with ourselves. This rapid-fire means of passing information along is leaving us brainless… training us to think-less about the message(s) we are passing along… giving us that instant gratification that we did society a favor by ensuring this message doesn’t die on my doorstep… at my feet… on my watch…. that it carries on into the future… that somewhere, somehow, someone is touched by it. So many of our social-websites provide the coolest tools to help us pass-along things that we either find, or their website (feed) has found for us… see… as you are finally realizing (hopefully), these sites ‘watch’ you and track your trends… follow your links… ‘listen’ to your words, and that in turn allows them show you stuff… and you get impressed and ‘touched’ by some moving statement… some touching sunset with the most romantic or spiritual-ish-sounding-probably-true statement… you can just NOT resist posting it to your ‘friends’…. without EVER adding your own commentary… without EVER telling us what ‘that’ means to you… how ‘that’ touched your heart (or mind) and motivated you to share it with us. Many years ago now, I was sharing some of my photography with an artist Uncle of mine… he spotted this photo I’d snapped in the Golden Gate Park (circa 1984) and asked if he could have it enlarged and mounted for me… uh…. sure, Uncle Leon, knock yourself out. I didn’t see what he saw. He gave this mounted and framed photo back to me some weeks later. He’d signed and dated it (he’s an artist, remember)… but… what he titled it to THIS day has changed not only how I look at ‘things’, but why I even bother trying to share them with you (and others). “Mary Had a Little Lamb” Initially… I thought…. “OoooKKkkkayy… uh… what?”, but then I realized he’d named it “Mary Had a Little Lamb” because to him… it represented Mary (the larger rose) who’d had the Lamb of God (the littler rose). Wow…Yea… tears still well up in my eyes… two reasons… I was that blind before and didn’t get it… and I now see. Too many people would just name something like this photo, “Roses”, or “Garden Roses”… nothing all too creative or ‘communicative’ about a deeper reason this photo was captured in the first place. You know… the whole ‘what inspires you to snap a photo?’ or, ‘what caught your eye about that photo?’ Give us SOME original thought about the things that inspire you in your life. Recognizing beauty, quality, even spotting acceptable character traits in others is no place to stop… I mean… passing some lovely photo along to others… even more-so when it has some ‘perfect’ quote in it… is just SO tempting. When you see something like that, you may consider, “oh… I need to show others this ‘nugget of truth’ and pass it along to those around me!” NOT! Take some time to consider ‘why’ that moves you… ‘why’ it caught your attention… and ‘why’ you are bothering to share it with us. Tell us how that makes ‘you’ feel… what you are experiencing and why that seems to impact you. OK… maybe you’re not thinking all that deeply about these snippets of information. But, that IS the point… we are learning to NOT have an original thought… we are losing touch with taking the time to consider something before passing it along… to even add ‘our flavor’ to it. No… not change the story and make it your own… just that we need to take a little more time to learn to express something uniquely ours… not passing along someone else’s wittiness, skill, or keen observation. Many years ago now, I was getting regular texts from a dear friend… a Christian brother who has been saved ’bout as long as me… we both were baptized at the same time in the same place. Cass would send me scriptures via texts on my phone. Two things that were bad about this; This was back in the day when text messages cost 10 cents per message (depending on your ‘plan’), and some of the passages he would send would spread across 4 or 6 text messages…. costing me some 60 cents each time! He never, EVER had any comment about the passage… never EVER prefaced it or followed up with some “and I think” commentary. One day, I finally texted him back and asked him to either start telling me WHY this scripture inspires him to send it, or stop sending them. Uh… he stopped sending them! And, that is the core of my point… we get our warm-fuzzies passing things along, but we rarely add anything about the ‘thing’ or what it means to us at that moment… why we are forwarding, why we are tagging, why we are ‘liking’, why we are even making any fuss over it. Technology devices today make it so easy to ‘pass it along’… to quickly let others know and see this ‘magical’ snippet that has moved us. Without us meaning to let it happen, this is teaching us to mimic godliness… to repeat what we see, or hear… to ‘be like’ we are spiritual. Over time and with repetition, we are going to convince even ourselves how ‘close to God’ we are, or how ‘not like those sinners’ we are, and worse… how much closer we are to good than evil. And… that gets us closer to ‘the rub’… the flaw… the core problem with regurgitating information… to retweeting… to liking… to simply ‘tagging’ things for which you approve. You invested NO time or energy into it all… you merely ‘raised your hand in approval’. We are becoming life-like, but not full of life… rather robotic and calculated. They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: Psalms 115:6 Going through the motions is getting easier and easier to do. With SO many ways to learn to do things, from DIY channels, to websites, to the well stocked YouTube site… almost anything you want to learn can be found. But, it is these subtle mechanisms in our lives these days that is making it tougher for us to even notice it is happening. So much so, that we are warned that our ‘acting like God’ mannerisms are going to blind-side us… going to catch us right at the very worst time in our lives when it is too late. Notice this warning Jesus gave us; Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23 Seems odd to me… I mean, the people recognize they were doing things “in thy name”, yet they come up short of the Lord’s hope for our lives… the ministry He wants us to portray. But, to have the Lord say, “…depart from me, I never knew you” seems harsh. Remember… it is NOT how well we know the Lord… it is how well the Lord knows us! Practice original thought… learn to express your thoughts… learn to personalize that ‘like’… learn to embellish that ‘retweet’… learn to make a topic your own. Any monkey can ‘pass it along’, like you are in some Chinese Fire Drill line, or something. How? Two key elements; 1) Study & Rightly divide His word, and 2) Grow Some Fruit. Me?? There have always been two scriptures or ‘phrases’ I have kept close in my heart and mind… “Study to show thyself approved” and “Rightly dividing the word”. Then, learn to ‘attach’ some scripture or some godly principle… even just to share something from your life or heart that inspires you to ‘tag’ this photo, this phrase, or this special link (on the social media sites). Almost all of us recognize beauty… almost all of us recognize quality… almost all of us recognize something inspiring, or motivating, or even just simply something that ‘matters in life’, like a quote, a phrase, or a nugget of truth. Take an extra little moment… take a little extra thought-time… take a little extra energy and just include how/why this ‘thing’ matters to you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. Matthew 24:5 THAT right there is one of the core reasons we need to do two things; 1) add some additional dialog or feedback about the ‘share’ you are passing along, and 2) just pass-over any ‘share’ someone else has passed on without really giving it much more attention. See… the subtly of heresy… the quiet agreeableness of half-truth… the believability of most of the ‘good things in life’ can actually ease you into a compromising acceptance of the wisdom of the world. Before you are even aware, it becomes a second-nature response in your life… becomes a go-to- statement you might use when someone asks “how is your day”, or “how is your faith”, or even deeper and more critical… “how is your walk with God”. Splitting hairs? No… separating the sheep from the goats, though! See… being aware of God’s word… being “learned” in the details… being exposed to His teaching enough to thwart the wayward and slippery-slope twists that can be tossed about… it is very important. Now… not everyone is going to be a writer… not everyone is going to be a preacher… not everyone is going to be a singer… and so on. You are you… you are His child, called to be who He wants you to be… be that! Just… resist doing the quick-n-dirty ‘like’… the simple scan ‘retweet’… the rushed five word reply to someone’s ‘share’. But, learn to apply YOUR ‘fruit’ from the Lord… the special skill… the special ‘insight’ the Lord has bestowed in your life… or is trying to bestow. See… 1 Corinthians 12:8-12 reminds us we all have different ‘fruits’ from a life lived in the Lord… and, fruit is the PROOF that there is life… fruit is the result of a mature and well established plant… fruit is the benefit the plant has gleaned from a hearty root system, great exposure to sun, and deep and rich consumption of the nutrients in the ground. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:8-12 Now… do NOT get out there and pounce on any and every ‘violator’ of this regurgitationalistic problem… do not seek them out… do not hunt them down and terrorize them until they repent or cease to be so flippant as to just ‘like’ things on the social sites. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 3:15 , “ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: “. That is to say that we are to prepare our hearts… prepare our minds… prepare our life… ‘they’ will notice… ‘they’ will take heed…. ‘they’ will ultimately ask you, and you can then ‘give account of the hope that is within you’. But, if you continue to use the social sites to ‘like’ or ‘retweet’ or even to ‘post a link’ without even including your commentary on the matter… you are missing an opportunity to personalize why that ‘like’ even matters. You may be one of those kind of people who just prefer to keep your opinion to yourself… to keep silent… to avoid a conflict… even to just resolve to keep the peace, as it were. All those are possibly just how the Lord has developed you to be. More times than not, though… these are escape routes for us… they are tactics we have quietly surrendered to in our lives just to chug through this tough life without making matters worse, more complicated and just working toward being less conflicting. Chicken! Too many times, it is also being unsure of what to even say… where to ‘challenge’ others… or to question the half-truth of some “accept all people” poem or quote. That is why I’d mentioned studying the Word of the Lord… learning the ins-n-outs… exposing yourself to the deeper details. Point of reference… ready? There were more than “two of each animal” ushered onto the Ark! Think I am joking? Go check it out! They went IN “two-by-two” (male and female), but there were MANY more than just two of each! MANY! Genesis 7:1-5 There… that is a little more of what I am saying… what I am hoping to help you ‘see’. Too many of the ‘things of this world’ have influenced the songs we sing, the poems we adore, even the phrases we pass along to our young ones. But, they are half-truths many times, and we just quietly ‘like’ them… or ‘retweet’ them, and even just let them pass on by without raising a hand in disapproval, usually for two reasons; 1) ignorant and don’t know any better, and 2) too afraid (and lacking knowledge) to ‘buck the system’, as it were. In both cases, do something about it! Sure, the first one takes time (need to read, learn, adsorb, and discuss with others), but that second one is the one that usually stops us… just afraid… ill equipped… cautious. The Bible tells us to ‘prepare’, but not to be worried ‘what to say’, because the Holy Spirit will give you the words when it is time. I mean… it ‘was’ the Holy Spirit in your life that riled your attention… why wouldn’t it also be the Holy Spirit that would provide the words… provide that support. And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say: Luke 12:11 The core point is… do more than just agree with things passing through your life. Do more than just ‘keep the peace’… do more than just ‘like’, ‘retweet’ and ‘post a link’. These things make it ‘seem’ like you are in the know… seem like you are connected… seem like you are on top of things. But, add some ‘why this matters to me’ commentary… add some “and the Lord showed me this” dialog… add some of His Spirit to the things you say and do. Change your regurgitationalistic ways to original thoughts! How? I like to do three things when I see something I feel I need to ‘pass along’; Why – why this caught my attention (link, photo, phrase, article, etc) What – what it means to me, how I ‘feel’ about it How – how you can be impacted by it too (not simply stating, “this will change your life”) Now… go on… Practice Original Thought! …also, ‘like’ this page! Kidding… just kidding!

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