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Christian Soapbox

FROM MY CORE – ESSAY 1

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I take issue with the ‘Catholic’ and ‘Protestant’ Churches of modern day Christianity, but I don’t think it begins in the 21st century. I think and feel suspense about my allegiance to specific label/s that divides what Christ unified (Eph 2:13-22).

Yes… I’m currently a member of what would be deemed Protestantism. While a member of a church under that umbrella, am not a Protestant; so then am I catholic!? Thereby is my dilemma! But where is the origin to this dilemma? Is the root justified? Am I wrong to be a member of my current church, or worse… any church of today’s Christianity given this knowledge about our present division we face as a Church—at least until such division is reconciled to unity as aforementioned? What is the appropriate correction if the correction need be made at the head of the Snake—meaning priests, pastors, and teachers of today’s Christianity?

Granted there is a psychological element to this, an element that describes why I’m so concerned about the collective gathering we call Church, but it’s not the Church, rather, those with authority in the Church…

DISCLAIMER:
Nathan Psychology: The study of oneself for righteous behavior, and my written perspective on the experiential process of edification to sanctification. What does it mean to be born of God, overcome the world, and be made new through faith in believing Jesus Christ is the way of my salvation? I’m discovering the path through spiritual discipline—

I die devotionals, Nathan Dooley

Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it

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Proverbs chapter 17; I die daily devotional.

1 Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it
Than a house full of feasting with strife.

A “dry morsel”, what?! … Okay, after uh-little digging was able to make sense of it.

I think back before I was married, a bachelor in the small city of Wichita Falls Tx, sitting in my living room on the couch with a dry morsel of popcorn watching the movie 2012; …turns out the Mayans were off about 8 years, they must’ve meant 2020, not 2012! And they didn’t even warn us to wear masks; murderers (being facetious)! But there I was… all alone… beside myself. The point is I was at peace in the quietness of my life at that time, living the American dream. And then I got married…

2 A servant who acts wisely will rule
over a son who acts shamefully, And will share
in the inheritance among brothers.
3 The refining pot is for silver and the furnace
for gold, But the LORD tests hearts.
4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
5 He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker;
He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

UNEXPECTED

While that was supposed to be funny, there’s truth to the negative connotation because… well… the proverb says—a house full of feasting with strife.

You know, a manual doesn’t come with your spouse at marriage. I mean, look! I tried finding an SOP once I was committed, and not even the Bible was helping me figure out how to work this thing. It was crazy, I’m telling yuh, don’t do it! “Run! Run away!” That’s actually what the SOP said! The apostle Paul does give a fair warning, but what the heck… How was I supposed to know that sex wasn’t all there was to it, that there’s actually a WHOLE LOT MORE to marriage than the sex part? “I wanna redo, that’s not fair!” No, not really, of course, but the sad reality did hit us hard at the first few years of our marriage. I enjoyed alcohol; Laura did not. I wanted to eat whenever and wherever as a family; Laura wanted to eat as a family at the kitchen table at a specific time. I wanted sex everyday; Laura wanted quality time everyday.

The challenges of marriage go on into eternity and the information is a mountain to explore, but once the mystery of marriage is learned, prepared, and decided… There are no words to describe the value and ecstasy of such a gift as marriage!

6 Grandchildren are the crown of old men,
And the glory of sons is their fathers.
7 Excellent speech is not fitting for a fool,
Much less are lying lips to a prince.
8 A bribe is a charm in the sight of its owner;
Wherever he turns, he prospers.
9 He who conceals a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter
separates intimate friends.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into one who
has understanding Than a hundred
blows into a fool.

As I dug into the scriptures, I also found an excellent commentary, (I thought) by Matthew Henry:

1. Those that live in unity and quietness, not only free from jealousies and animosities, but vying in mutual endearments, and obliging to one another, live very comfortably, though they are low in the world, work hard and fare hard, though they have but each of them a morsel, and that a dry morsel. There may be peace and quietness where there are not three meals a day, provided there by a joint satisfaction in God’s providence and a mutual satisfaction in each other’s prudence. Holy love may be found in a cottage.

2. Those that live in contention, that are always jarring and brawling, and reflecting upon one another, though they have plenty of dainties, a house full of sacrifices, live uncomfortably; they cannot expect the blessing of God upon them and what they have, nor can they have any true relish of their enjoyments, much less any peace in their own consciences. Love will sweeten a dry morsel, but strife will sour and embitter a house full of sacrifices. A little of the leaven of malice will leaven all the enjoyments.

And I couldn’t help but feel bias, and connected to it because of what the meaning of the word providence means for me personally, but in the commentary I found—”There may be peace and quietness where there are not three meals a day, provided there by a joint satisfaction in God’s providence and a mutual satisfaction in each other’s prudence. Holy love may be found in a cottage.“

11 A rebellious man seeks only evil,
So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs,
Rather than a fool in his folly.
13 He who returns evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.
14 The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he
who condemns the righteous, Both of them
alike are an abomination to the LORD.

ABANDON THE QUARREL

Learning how to abandon the quarrel in marriage and or all-in-encompassing relationships is quite the reward—not that we abandon people or discussions—because information is invaluable to the relationships we mean to build.

Although… Don’t get me wrong; there are people of ‘family and friends’ that you don’t need to be in a relationship with; for instance, the devil. Laura and I watched this movie, “22 July”—based on a true story—where a right-wing extremist in Norway murders 77 people in 2011; planted a bomb that killed 8 just outside the office of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Regjeringskvartalet in central Oslo; then shooting 69 people (mostly teens) at a youth camp on the island of Utoya, 25 miles northwest of Oslo.

(A link is provided at the end of this blog under Resources [not that you’re stupid or anything] to read up on the story in more detail. Hmmm… Hey! That actually gives me some ideas and ways to develop my posts! Anyway—*sorry*)

The question is why, why did Anders Behring Breivik murder 77 people?

According to the resource provided in this blog, a section of it tells us that Ander believed himself to be a “savior of Christianity”:

“Hours before the attacks, Breivik e-mailed a 1,500-page manifesto to 5,700 people, titled 2083 – A European Declaration of Independence. In the document, Breivik attacks multiculturalism and the “threat” of Muslim immigration to Norway, as well as Marxism and the Norwegian Labor Party. Breivik copied large sections of the Unabomber manifesto. Breivik writes that he is a “savior of Christianity,” and claims to be part of an order called the “Knight’s Templar.” Breivik was active on anti-Muslim websites.”

16 Why is there a price in the hand of a fool
to buy wisdom, When he has no sense?
17 A friend loves at all times,
And a brother is born for adversity.
18 A man lacking in sense pledges
And becomes guarantor in the
presence of his neighbor.
19 He who loves transgression loves strife;
He who raises his door seeks destruction.
20 He who has a crooked mind finds no good,
And he who is perverted in his
language falls into evil.

crooked mind

Now if that information is accurate about Ander—considering his belief—might be thought of as brother in the faith (a family member of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior). But is he?! And is he someone to build a relationship with? Well of course “…No!”, and “…No”—would be my answer—for reasons that the apostle Paul teaches the (1st) Corinthians in chapters 5 and 6, “…5:12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES. …” .

The severity of Anders’ punishment is yet to be experienced; being convicted for “life” (21 years) in a jail cell is not punishment for the devil, it’s his home. However, there is a punishment that God describes as His vengeance (Romans 12:18, Hebrews 10:30) that Ander will experience. Ander made himself out to be a god in opposition against God by giving himself over to do the devil’s work—filled with the heart of Cain, who killed his innocent brother Able (Gen 4)—possessed by an eternal outcome of punishment according to Jude and Matthew 25:

Jude 1:7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

Matthew 25:46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

21 He who sires a fool does so to his sorrow,
And the father of a fool has no joy.
22 A joyful heart is good medicine,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.
23 A wicked man receives a bribe from
the bosom To pervert the ways of justice.
24 Wisdom is in the presence of the one
who has understanding, But the eyes of a
fool are on the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father
And bitterness to her who bore him.

ways of justice

If we are a people of Christianity that behave as these proverbs contrasts’ the wicked from the good, are we then not testing God at His Word by our wicked behavior? As I write these final words… I think and examine my life …how is my faith discerned and judged by my fellow believers in Christ Jesus? What darkness might be about me that need be exposed—that hasn’t been exposed already? I ask myself the most deepest question I can fathom…

26 It is also not good to fine the righteous,
Nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
27 He who restrains his words has knowledge,
And he who has a cool spirit
is a man of understanding.
28 Even a fool, when he keeps silent,
is considered wise; When he closes his lips,
he is considered prudent.

“Is jail my home?“

Resources

Anders Behring Breivik (the devil at work)
https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/anders-behring-breivik

I die devotionals, Nathan Dooley

A scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

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Proverbs chapter 13; I die daily devotional!

1 A wise son accepts his father’s discipline,
But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
2 From the fruit of a man’s mouth he enjoys good,
But the desire of the treacherous is violence.
3 The one who guards his mouth preserves his life;
The one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
But the soul of the diligent is made fat.
5 A righteous man hates falsehood,
But a wicked man acts disgustingly and shamefully.
6 Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless,
But wickedness subverts the sinner.

Wisdom speaks in a language that is always directed at the heart and soul of a person. When wisdom encourages a wise son to accept his father’s discipline (v.1), how does that language inspire you? As for me; I don’t only think of how my dad disciplined me as a boy, but how I’m being disciplined as an adult with a spiritual nature of a child. Because even though I’m an adult, I’m not entitled. Jesus—who is the Child of God—is still teaching me what that means in Luke 18:17 (“Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”). And I don’t want to see anyone miss out on receiving the kingdom of God because of a (wicked) entitlement issue.

A scoffer…

Does not listen to rebuke. Now this is a hard lesson for me! Because sometimes it’s difficult to discern the nature of that condition. The spiritual condition of a scoffer; I myself have been guilty of this because it’s easy to put my ego before my ears. I mean, it doesn’t exactly feel nice when being told how jacked-up I am. Not that that gave me an excuse. It was natural for me to scoff at someone (like my wife) when my flaws were exposed. So there is a choice on how to respond:

  • Ignore, (react internally) get angry (use abusive language or worse) and suppress it (magnify the issue narcissistic-ally) as though it never happened.
  • Or shut-up, listen, and reason the issue for an appropriate adjustment/correction.

The former is noticed by people arguing politics on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Etc), and especially now during this election debacle (voter ballot malpractice, undermining voter confidence) whatever; without guarding your heart to be blameless will result in being overthrown to a wicked cause or as the proverb says, subverted (v.6).

“How do we guard against that?”

Wisdom

7 There is one who pretends to be rich, but has nothing;
Another pretends to be poor, but has great wealth.
8 The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,
But the poor hears no rebuke.
9 The light of the righteous rejoices,
But the lamp of the wicked goes out.
10 Through insolence comes nothing but strife,
But wisdom is with those who receive counsel.
11 Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles,
But the one who gathers by labor increases it.
12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
But desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
13 The one who despises the word will be in debt to it,
But the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
To turn aside from the snares of death.

The one who pretends to be rich has nothing to do with money, but whether you have a spirit of wisdom. You might be someone who is literally rich—I’m talking millionaire status—and thinks “I must be wise”. But in-fact, is poor! Because the wealth of our proverb means to buy and sell (or exchange) wisdom; not ecommerce.

Numbers…

Will give definitive answers about the condition of our lives and predictions depending on the trajectory that our spiritual condition reveals. Don’t get confused by what numbers mean from a worldly perspective because the ruler of this world devises deception. When the proverb (8 The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, But the poor hears no rebuke.) talks about ransom of life; the ransom is symbolic to your soul. Your soul is your wealth, not money.

But get this,

Your soul is condemned to die because of sin; which means that every human soul is needing a remedy or vaccine to be saved from their debt of sin that we each owe, but can not pay. That is why we are cursed to die. We were never meant to experience the consequence of this knowledge through disobedience; as the saying goes, “knowledge is power”. Since we ate the fruit of knowledge (Gen 3), we now experience the ramifications of that disobedience and are responsible for not trusting a HOLY GOD at His Word!

God said,

“…you will surely die…”

And I’m very confident that our God is a Person of His Word considering the emphasis on…

“…you shall not eat…”

All in that same verse of Genesis chapter 2 verse 17! It says it all! It’s not like we’re experiencing life and death for the hell of it… literally… the hell of it!

15 Good understanding produces favor,
But the way of the treacherous is hard.
16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool displays folly.
17 A wicked messenger falls into adversity,
But a faithful envoy brings healing.
18 Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline,
But he who regards reproof will be honored.
19 Desire realized is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.
20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
21 Adversity pursues sinners,
But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

“…for in the day that you eat from it…”

Yah, I better shut-up or this will be the longest post yet!

Okay

Verse (20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.) is awesome because that is what I hope for the future of everyone, wisdom that prevents harm. Don’t be a stupid idiot and built-up your environment with foolish people! Or you’ll suffer through the way of escape. Whenever we dig in the dirt using our hands, our fingernails will feel the harm from the dirt compressed between the finger and the nail. That is what it feels like when you surround yourself with unbelief being a believer; believers with the Helper [Holy Spirit] in them are the shovel for your hands!

Now we all experience the fruit of the Helper in different ways and at different times; for example—you might be experiencing a flavor of clarity to a person who is experiencing confusion. The fruit of the Spirit is the same for all believers, but the flavors are different for specific purposes. If I’m confused about my finances, someone who is skilled in that area of expertise might perk up because of that Helper inspired to be of service for me.

You know what…

…let’s get a little…

…Personal!

My wife has a discipline of self-control in an area where I am desperate for that help; that’s what makes us interwoven. But she’s weird, you know! She does not experience a lust for the flesh; that makes no sense to me! That is my weakness. A wickedness that will subvert the sinner, me! So the counsel from her Helper (the Holy Spirit of her soul) is what I crave and desire more fervently than my desire for sexual sin. We have the same “fruit” (Spirit). But see without counsel, I’d be addicted to Pornography to relieve my appetite, or some other form of distraction; rather than accepting the truth of my condition and reason through it for the sake of…

My Wife!

Because she is…

…My…

…Wisdom!

23 Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor,
But it is swept away by injustice.
24 He who withholds his rod hates his son,
But he who loves him disciplines him diligently.
25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,
But the stomach of the wicked is in need.

Do you have abundant food? You might check your heart to see if you need some counsel, because if you don’t find it you’ll be swept away by the injustice incurred by wicked influences.

Go to church!

Or bring church home to you, but don’t neglect the life-giving spirit that the apostle Paul tells the Corinthians (So also it is written, “The first MAN, Adam, BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.).

LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT…

That is in you!

in Chapter 15 verse 46… Don’t neglect the last Adam [Jesus Christ] by denying the truth of the Helper that saves you, blesses you with your spouse [Wisdom], and gives you life [God], by the promise of the Holy Spirit [Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation]!

If you’re hungry, don’t worry; the righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite in Jesus Christ! Bread is not sufficient to satisfy an appetite for wisdom, but the Word of God is!

Believing in Jesus Christ by way of the gospel is what it means to be wise and to not ever worry about surviving death! Rather; accept the logical conclusion about death and survive the lie of the devil, “The serpent said to the woman,

“You surely will not die!”

Yes

You

WILL

YOU WILL DIE!

The glory of holiness does not mix with the sin of wickedness, so accept the discipline of a heavenly Father throughout your life even until death! Because our heavenly Father loves us too much to behave wickedly!

“God is Love”