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Clothes Laid Out and Waiting

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Go down the short hallway, past the bathroom, through the open door of the bedroom. Look behind the door. You see several things such as mostly unused crutches from my knee surgery, a clothes drying rack, two 3-drawer plastic storage units, and more. On top of a storage unit are a pair of pants, a shirt, and shoes. Unpretentious clothes. Charlene had efficiently laid them out so she could use them when she returned from her surgery. She is not coming back for them. Ever. This is being posted four weeks from the day she passed away. My beloved wife's clothes are waiting in vain for her return Most everyone has heard it said that we are not guaranteed tomorrow. In her case, she did not finish "today," the day of her surgery, when she was stricken. In the midst of my bitter tears, I know that she was a child of the living God. When the angel came to escort her to Jesus, Charlene must have been thrilled to be free of a life that had so much physical an
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Evil Reduced by the Creation Worldview

The way someone views the world includes ethics and morality, origins, expectations for the future, and more are contained in their worldviews. Christians who have a biblical worldview believe that it is true from the first verse and are supposed to live accordingly. A materialistic worldview (all that matters is matter, no God exists) does not have a consistent standard of morality . Fish-to-fool evolution is actually a religion to people with these beliefs, so if they cheat and steal, they are being consistent with their worldview. Man thinking by a lake at sunset, Pixabay /  StockSnap Materialists cannot be consistent in their beliefs, because they use logic (which is not material), and use logic in science — but science would be impossible without God ! An evolutionary worldview is prominent in leftist ideologies, past and present. Adherence to a biblical worldview (beginning in Genesis) reduces the evil that is brought by materialism. To read the article that inspired this post an

Rewriting the Creation Message Affects the Gospel

People may think that evolution is a subject for biologists to discuss and creation is for science-denying theologians and religious fanatics, but those are false characterizations. Origins permeates many areas of our lives. Worldviews determine how we process information. Evolution is materialistic. That is, it is based on the belief that all that exists is matter and there is no God or spirits. It uses gradual, trial-and-error processes over long periods of time. Death is the hero because creatures die so "better" ones can live. The Bible describes the creation of everything in six days — without evolution. Bear Ghat Kill erodes drive, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen When professing Christians try to combine creation and evolution through things like Theistic Evolution, they do violence to the gospel message. In addition, they are saying that they do not believe the Bible, that it does not mean what it says! Why should an unbeliever trust the Bible about salvation through fa

Backward Blessings?

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  If someone says that becoming a Christian means life will be a happy road all the time, they are out of touch with reality. We have struggles like everybody else. (Christians who stand for the truth of God's Word often have additional problems.) There are times when inconveniences may actually be God at work on our behalf. There is a story circulating about a conversation between someone and God. Why did God allow such an annoying day to happen? Those annoyances were caused by him , but the person did not know it. Tires, Pixnio / Bicanski After suffering through the annoyance of a slow tire leak, I took the car to my wife's favorite service center. It took a while and cost over fifty  simoleons . Well, I am set up to go to an oral surgeon at Westchester Medical Center. It will be quick outpatient surgery, but under general anesthetic. That causes serious problems with transportation, but at least the leak problem is solved. It came back a few days later.

Hidden Dangers in Perfectionism

Someone may claim to be a perfectionist, and another might assume that the other simply wants to do things as correctly as possible. Sure, many people strive for excellence. However, perfectionism is quite often a trap. Perfectionists may obsess over their appearance, constantly adjust something unnecessarily that was fine already, and more. It can also stop people from even beginning something because they doubt that it will be perfect.* Consider the fact that "perfect" is often subjective. More than the physical and psychological aspects, perfectionism can be a spiritual hindrance. Imperfect blurred woods, photo by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Yes, the Bible tells us to "be perfect," but that is an inadequate translation. It is better rendered complete  or mature  in many instances — especially when the passages are used regarding our spiritual goals. A perfectionist may walk away from the Word of God and attempt to be spiritually or morally perfect by his own standard . T

Blocked from Reality

People who are involved in Christian apologetics ministries (especially biblical creationists) are often ridiculed by atheists as "reality deniers" or with similar epithets. Critics claim the intellectual high ground because they believe reality and Christians do not, but that is posturing — and unwarranted. Everyone has the same facts, but their worldviews dictate how facts are interpreted. When atheists claim that that material things are all that exist and that  is reality, those are just arbitrary assertions. They have no facts. People who believe the Bible can see that atheists are blocked from reality. Gate - You shall not pass, Unsplash / Cowboy Bob Sorensen Unfortunately, it is not just misotheists who are blocked. Many Christians are being harmed by the denial of the truth and authority of God's written Word. Evolution is a stumbling block for both believers and unbelievers, as people are told that particles-to-pastor evolution is a proven fact. (Indeed, evolutio

Near-Death Experiences, Materialists, and Christians

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  It seems that people began speaking freely about near-death experiences (NDEs) after the book Life After Life  by Raymond Moody was published in 1975. There are numerous books, documentaries, personal anecdotes and more about NDEs. The subject is also very controversial — especially among scientists. Many experiences are dismissed as the brain having hallucinations at the time of death, but certain experiences are not so easy to reject because of details reported. Most of the accounts of the great beyond are pleasant, but there are some about going to Hell. Climbing stairs to Heaven, Pixabay / Tumisu A large number of natural scientists are materialists — essentially, they are atheists because nothing exists to them except material things such as molecules and atoms. Some tried to find a place in the brain where consciousness or the soul resides (those that admit that such things exist, that is) or try to find other explanations that don't conflict with thei

Christians are Ambassadors

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Yes, it is a part of our job description, as found in 2 Corinthians 5:20. We are ambassadors for Christ, imploring others to be reconciled to God. As we can see, ambassador is an ancient title. Those people would represent the interests of their countries to rulers in other countries. Back in the old days, ambassadors were important dignitaries and accorded great respect. Although comedic, the Marx brothers Duck Soup  shows Rufus T. Firefly insulting the ambassador of Sylvania, which was considered an act of war. Ambassadors nowadays are less imposing, and numerous; there are many from and to the formerly United States. Cincinnatus Receiving the Ambassadors From Rome / Alexandre Cabanel, 1843 An ambassador can also be considered a representative. People are representatives of their employers, especially when in uniform. Two unfortunate examples come to mind. First, when I was hired into a job, the manager told me that someone committed a crime (possibly a liqu

David and Jonathan: Not Beyond Friendship

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  There are people who are so determined to force enthusiastic acceptance of LGTBQ+ lifestyles on everyone, they see references for it in the Bible that do not exist. The relationship between David and Jonathan is a favorite target of these people. Like making long ages for compromisers with secular science views, massive eisegesis is necessary to twist Scripture so that it indicates an erotic relationship between Jonathan and David. Interpreting the text and culture of their time with contemporary views exacerbates the problem. David and Jonathan / Rembrandt (1642) In my school days, boys would put their arms around each other's shoulders because we were "buddies." That faded from my experience and I did not see it again after we moved to another city. In the nineteenth century, men would hold hands or put their arms around each other. This showed affection and friendship , and was not tainted by suspicions of homosexuality. Indeed, I have affecti

Worldviews, Reason, and Assassins

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  Whatever your opinion of Donald J. Trump, put it in the corral over yonder and you can pick it up in a few minutes. Something I keep emphasizing is the importance of worldviews . Everyone has a worldview , which is a collection of things assumed to be true, experience, values, convictions and so on that people use as a framework to understand life. Obviously, they also influence our thoughts, and those affect our conduct. Political parties are secular in nature. Some actively oppose the things of God and embrace things he hates (such as materialism, evolution, disdain for human life, abortion, and other sex-related beliefs), other parties have members who hold Christian worldviews.  Colorful crosshairs, Pixabay / Gerd Altmann (geralt) Leftists in the Democrat party have been using violent talk for quite some time, demonizing Trump and saying he is a "threat" to our democracy. (No, it is a constitutional republic with democratic processes. Big differen

The Hebrew for BOTH Day and Eon?

For some reason, many professing Christians are determined to get long ages out of the first two chapters of Genesis. The word under fire is  yôm , which means literal day (or part of a day) when qualifiers are used, otherwise it can mean an indefinite  period of time. Why those people want to take the only word that can mean literal day and confuse the issue so they can have millions of years in Genesis is baffling. They take the rest of Genesis and the Old Testament at face value, relying on context, when  yôm is used. Bible and pathway, Unsplash /  Aaron Burden If God wanted to indicate long ages, there are other words available. Several popular efforts have been made to compromise with the enemies of God and make creation seem to be older than God's Word tells us. (Do they really  believe the Bible, or is it just for show?) These compromises include the " Gap Theory ," the " Framework Hypothesis ," theistic evolution, and others. One of the others is the po