Ramblings from the old scribe

[glen smith]

Deceived

For the record, everyone gets “dragged in” multiply times during a lifetime.
Sometimes, we are gullible and other times it is because of hope – hope that we have found something with ultimate meaning. Practical jokes are the starting line for gullibility and the finish line is a broken or betrayed heart. The finish line is always about relationships – with children – with spouses – with God. With the practical joke or swindle we are soon to realize we’ve been had. With the broken heart we may become cynical and defensive or reject forever what has disappointed us. This can be the system, the child or relative, the good friend, the spouse, and even God and His Church. Being “dragged in” can cause emotional and spiritual suffering.

13 February 2012 old scribe

[Lou Newton]

Deceived

For the record, everyone gets “dragged in” multiply times during a lifetime.
Sometimes, we are gullible and other times it is because of hope – hope that we have found something with ultimate meaning. Practical jokes are the starting line for gullibility and the finish line is a broken or betrayed heart. The finish line is always about relationships – with children – with spouses – with God. With the practical joke or swindle we are soon to realize we’ve been had. With the broken heart we may become cynical and defensive or reject forever what has disappointed us. This can be the system, the child or relative, the good friend, the spouse, and even God and His Church. Being “dragged in” can cause emotional and spiritual suffering.

13 February 2012 old scribe

Thanks for the thoughts Glen. Amen, we all have been deceived, and more than once. Deception is never pleasant. Sometimes it is a bitter pill to swallow; other times somewhat humorous.

While, by the grace of God, I have not rejected all people as a result, and have also not rejected the church as a result; I have learned to be thankful for any friendship, but The Lord Jesus is the Only One that I can truly depend on. Just as no one should truly depend on me.

We are all frail, blind, deaf and selfish; it is foolish to depend on men with those disabilities.

[glen smith]

Extremism

In all cases, in which the predominate input/experience/knowledge comes from those in ones own group/tribe/circle/job/politic/society/forum/religion there is a movement toward polarization and narrowing of focus. This may and often does lead to extremism. To experience a counter measure to ones own natural man, a regular and continued exposure to other perspectives is important. In the believer this role is constantly performed by the Holy Ghost of God representing the Divine perspective against our own and that of deception.

For believers, such extremism may lead to strong disagreements which end fellowship, or reducing the acceptance to a progressively smaller fellowship, or finally ending in representing a cult. Each of these is symptomatic of the believer hearing their natural man or the voice of the deceiver rather than hearing the Holy Ghost.

2 February 2013 the old scribe

[glen smith]

When the predominate input comes from those in ones own group there is a movement toward polarization and narrowing of focus. This may and often does lead to varying degrees and kinds of extremism. This process is seen in Islam, JW, LDS, KKK, white supremacist, racial activist, the Tea Party, liberal news media, science, Christianity, and many more. My earliest experience of such dynamics came as an elementary age boy. During the summer, our group of boys spent the days playing ball and practicing all sorts of outdoor skills. Inevitable, someone would come up with a hair brain idea and the group would excitedly talk it over until it sounded like a good idea. America Funniest Home Videos present the result of such hair brain scenarios. From these experiences some caution and skepticism develops. For the most part, we remain susceptible to the delusion from comrades. The younger and less experienced we are the more susceptible are we.

[glen smith]

God spoke to me!

Of those who pray and trust, many have experienced his voice. At some crisis moment when the course has been abandoned, when anyone who loves you would wish to console, and that confusion inside becomes an exploding darkness, there may – descend an unexpected voice, clear and strong, permeating your flesh and bones and heard in your ears. You know not the words, so you must listen. The message is not your ideas but is the message of the voice. There is never confusion about who is speaking and never the idea that what is being heard is ones own thoughts. Yet, everyone will doubt you if you talk about hearing the voice, and not only will they doubt you, not a single person will rejoice with you.

On the other hand, there are many who claim God spoke to them to provide the “true” interpretation of scripture – usually prophecy, or instructions from God involving a ministry – usually a T.V. or radio ministry, or some specific guidance. Many among the audience accept the claims and send in their tax deductible donations in exchange for merchandise. Sounds like a retail sale for financial gain to me – in spite of being a government approved nonprofit.

There is good reason for the discerning to be skeptical of those claiming they heard the voice of God. There is also the necessary trust that God continues to minister to his children in a variety of ways – including “God spoke to me!”

It is incumbent upon any in the remnant church to be very judicious in claiming a personal message from God – judicious about the message and with whom it is shared. Any erroneous claims will cast derision upon the Gospel of God and weaken ones testimony. Testimony which is truthful about hearing the voice of God could have the same effect of weakening ones testimony. In is primary to remember, it is not the voice of God you heard that brings sinners to repentance, but it is the work of the Holy Ghost.

5 January 2017 the old scribe

[glen smith]

We must never think of salvation as a transaction between YHWH and the believer in which YHWH contributes grace and the believer contributes faith.
Salvation is not about anything any man could do or say but is the sole plan and execution by YHWH.

Salvation is a transaction . . . . . . but
salvation is a transaction between YHWH and the Lord Jesus
where the just wrath of YHWH against the wicked is emptied fully
upon the perfect sacrifice of Christ upon a Roman cross.
Thereby, providing atonement in Christ as the only possible substitute for wicked men;
so that YHWH may, without violation to His holy and just nature,
pardon sinners from receiving the just judgment of His holy righteousness.

Salvation is found only in Christ for the very reason that the Lord Jesus traded places with the sinner.

The Lord Jesus died upon a Roman cross because it pleased, or was in the plan and purpose of, YHWH to bruise/smite Him. (Isaiah 53:10; Zechariah 13:7).

19 April 2017 the old scribe

[glen smith]

Divine Grace is Dependant upon Divine Action.

Much talk about divine grace is contrasted with human works as if the forgiveness of sin could be obtained by works rather than grace. Most often divine grace is matched with divine forgiveness of sin, and rightly so, but grace is not the direct means or channel of forgiveness. Grace is not the pardon from the LORD which could be directly distributed to the elect.

What should be recognized is that divine grace should always be understood as possible only in conjunction with the atonement in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Divine grace is not an attitude from the nature of the LORD as Judge, but divine grace is itself the result of the accomplished work of the atonement. Furthermore, divine grace does not stem directly from divine love but indirectly.

It is not divine grace that is the primary result of divine love. Divine grace flows directly from the atonement which was made to happen by His divine love. None of the elements or benefits of man’s salvation is because the LORD saves the sinner with divine grace. The LORD saves the sinners because of the atonement – with the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus – by the blood. Grace is not the means or vehicle of salvation but assigns the merit. In the atonement grace assigns all the merit to the LORD.

Salvation is possible only through the divine atonement accomplished in the Lord Jesus. Therefore, all the merit is the LORD’s. As the Bible reads, “Being saved through grace and not of your works” assigns the merit to the LORD. The divine work of atonement is the means or vehicle for salvation. Without the atonement there is no saving grace to be assigned to the LORD.

Grace is the merit assigned to the divine pardon from the judicial sentence given to the undeserving.

A salvation attributed to the goodness or works of men, reassigns the merit due to the LORD unto men.

Therefore, when reading the following verses it should be noted that “by grace” is about divine merit or the denying of works by man rather than what saved the believer.

Romans 11:6 (ESV)
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

Ephesians 2:8 (ESV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Grace is not nearly as amazing as is the atonement, justification, and redemption which made possible the divine grace.

22 April 2017 the old scribe

[Lou Newton]

Divine Grace is Dependant upon Divine Action.

Much talk about divine grace is contrasted with human works as if the forgiveness of sin could be obtained by works rather than grace. Most often divine grace is matched with divine forgiveness of sin, and rightly so, but grace is not the direct means or channel of forgiveness. Grace is not the pardon from the LORD which could be directly distributed to the elect.

What should be recognized is that divine grace should always be understood as possible only in conjunction with the atonement in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. Divine grace is not an attitude from the nature of the LORD as Judge, but divine grace is itself the result of the accomplished work of the atonement. Furthermore, divine grace does not stem directly from divine love but indirectly.

It is not divine grace that is the primary result of divine love. Divine grace flows directly from the atonement which was made to happen by His divine love. None of the elements or benefits of man’s salvation is because the LORD saves the sinner with divine grace. The LORD saves the sinners because of the atonement – with the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus – by the blood. Grace is not the means or vehicle of salvation but assigns the merit. In the atonement grace assigns all the merit to the LORD.

Salvation is possible only through the divine atonement accomplished in the Lord Jesus. Therefore, all the merit is the LORD’s. As the Bible reads, “Being saved through grace and not of your works” assigns the merit to the LORD. The divine work of atonement is the means or vehicle for salvation. Without the atonement there is no saving grace to be assigned to the LORD.

Grace is the merit assigned to the divine pardon from the judicial sentence given to the undeserving.

A salvation attributed to the goodness or works of men, reassigns the merit due to the LORD unto men.

Therefore, when reading the following verses it should be noted that “by grace” is about divine merit or the denying of works by man rather than what saved the believer.

Romans 11:6 (ESV)
But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.

Ephesians 2:8 (ESV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Grace is not nearly as amazing as is the atonement, justification, and redemption which made possible the divine grace.

22 April 2017 the old scribe

This is all totally true, but we need to also remember WHY The Lord Jesus shed His blood for us on the cross.

He died for us because He loves us.

Yes, we are only able to be forgiven because of His blood. Jesus paid the price.

But the reason God Almighty came down from heaven and was born of a woman to become man of flesh and shed His blood on the cross is because He loves us.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned,but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

[glen smith]

This is all totally true, but we need to also remember WHY The Lord Jesus shed His blood for us on the cross.

He died for us because He loves us.

Yes, we are only able to be forgiven because of His blood. Jesus paid the price.

But the reason God Almighty came down from heaven and was born of a woman to become man of flesh and shed His blood on the cross is because He loves us.

I guess I did not make it clear when I wrote, "Divine grace flows directly from the atonement which was made to happen by His divine love."

Love is a primary characteristic of the LORD. He created so that he could demonstrate His righteous love through the atonement as the pinnacle of His plan of redemption. If not for His love there would be no divine grace, divine forgiveness, divine atonement, divine Incarnation, or divine creation. If the God, one without divine righteous love, created, then the creation would be totally different. What kind of creation would it be? It could have been anything you can imagine, but there would have never been a plan of redemption - there is only a plan A with our LORD. This is how we ought to understand "God is love!"

[Lou Newton]

I guess I did not make it clear when I wrote, "Divine grace flows directly from the atonement which was made to happen by His divine love."

Love is a primary characteristic of the LORD. He created so that he could demonstrate His righteous love through the atonement as the pinnacle of His plan of redemption. If not for His love there would be no divine grace, divine forgiveness, divine atonement, divine Incarnation, or divine creation. If the God, one without divine righteous love, created, then the creation would be totally different. What kind of creation would it be? It could have been anything you can imagine, but there would have never been a plan of redemption - there is only a plan A with our LORD. This is how we ought to understand "God is love!"

Hi Glen,

If my post communicated a disagreement with your post, I apologize. I did not mean to disagree, but to complement your post by focusing on the divine love, of your post: "Divine grace flows directly from the atonement which was made to happen by His divine love." That is what came to mind while reading your post. Your post inspired these thoughts from me.

[glen smith]

Resurrection morn continues in the house of the old scribe.

Three and one half years, forty-two months, twelve hundred and sixty days . . . .
that is the age of one of my grandson.
His name is Jonah.

There is at his home a gigantic concrete bird bath full of potting soil in which the plant purple heart jew (Tradescantia Pallida Purpurea) usually grows.

Today . . . . . . he appropriated this bird bath for a project.
He gathered sticks and asked his father for help to make three crosses.
They bound them into three crosses with sisal cordage.
The three crosses were placed standing in the soil.
The largest cross is in-between the other two.
Attached to the two outside crosses were matching gray ball point pens.
The cross in the middle held a black ball point pen.

Behind the three crosses is a terracotta bowl buried so that it stands on its side with its opening behind and facing the three crosses.
A brown terracotta saucer just fits over the mouth of the bowl.

When I arrived the very excited Jonah demanded to show me something.
"This is the cross where Jesus died" he said pointing to the center cross.
He removed the black ball point pen and laid it in the soil.
“The bad people killed Jesus,” he said.
He then rolled the brown terracotta lid back from the opening of the bowl and put the black ballpoint pen in the terracotta bowl and rolled the lid to cover the bowl.
“"They put Jesus in a tomb.”"
Then, he rolled the lid away from the bowl and took out the black ball point pen.
Jonah said, “The tomb is empty. God rolled back the stone and raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus is alive, and He lives in my heart.”

Jonah is familiar with many stories. He pretends in the acting out these stories. However, he has never gone to such lengths to illustrate a story as he has with the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. It has consumed his dialog since the week before Easter.

Step back, imagine having the eyes of angels, and recognize the spiritual world. There is more than childhood here. The Lord Jesus said, “a little child shall lead them.”

24 April 2017 the old scribe

[glen smith]

Today, my grandson . . . the 1260 day or 42 moths or 3 ½ year old Jonah ate lunch with his father in a Kabob House Buffet restaurant.
The restaurant was full of Moslems.
While they were eating Jonah broke out in song.
. . . It is a children’s song he knows.
. . . . . . Jonah sings loud.
. . . . . . . . . . My nickname for Jonah is gusto bruiser.
He sang

One, two, three Jesus is alive!
One, two, three Jesus is alive!
One, two, three Jesus is alive!
One, two, three Jesus is alive!

Well, I am wondering what the Moslem clientele were thinking.
The Holy Ghost testimony to the lost is at every opportunity and by every means.
The rejection by the lost of the Lord Jesus will be without any defense on that day.

[glen smith]

Trouble, tragedy, and evil are not a mystery.
That there is any good is the mystery.

02 September 2011 the old scribe

[glen smith]

For those left behind:

If all we see is the rain falling
and not the growing plants,
the flowing streams,
or the filling lakes,
we might never understand what the purpose of the rain is. Similarly, seeing the world through natural eyes leaves us wondering at the purpose of it all. However, a glimpse with the eyes of angels will surely make us grateful for the divine mysteries of life because once we cross over to eternity we may see that the true mystery of our earthly condition is that we have healthy, bright, children, who love the Lord and live long, productive lives.

It might be that all the troubles of this world are the natural, the norm, and that is what should be expected on earth –or, in other words, all earthly troubles are void of the divine will, but not of His superintendence.

Is it,
all that is good is the true mystery of life
- rather than all that is trouble?
Part of this mystery of life is that we receive better than we deserve. Such gratitude was simply expressed by a Texas hill country rancher who lost everything in a flood, "“I’m gladder that I had it, than I’m madder that I lost it!”" So extremely true is this of our dearly departed. Furthermore, her suffering rung a bell - a warning for some, a restoration for others. Oh, how her faith in Christ blessed us!

From one left behind,
Brother-in-law
the old scribe
02 September 2011

The Apostle Paul wrote that the mystery of God is the Lord Jesus in whom the kind intention of God toward us is revealed: “. . . that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,” (Colossians 2:2 NASB); “. . . He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (Ephesians 1:9 NASB).

[Baruch]

Trouble, tragedy, and evil are not a mystery.
That there is any good is the mystery.

02 September 2011 the old scribe

For those left behind:

If all we see is the rain falling
and not the growing plants,
the flowing streams,
or the filling lakes,
we might never understand what the purpose of the rain is. Similarly, seeing the world through natural eyes leaves us wondering at the purpose of it all. However, a glimpse with the eyes of angels will surely make us grateful for the divine mysteries of life because once we cross over to eternity we may see that the true mystery of our earthly condition is that we have healthy, bright, children, who love the Lord and live long, productive lives.

It might be that all the troubles of this world are the natural, the norm, and that is what should be expected on earth –or, in other words, all earthly troubles are void of the divine will, but not of His superintendence.

Is it,
all that is good is the true mystery of life
- rather than all that is trouble?
Part of this mystery of life is that we receive better than we deserve. Such gratitude was simply expressed by a Texas hill country rancher who lost everything in a flood, "“I’m gladder that I had it, than I’m madder that I lost it!”" So extremely true is this of our dearly departed. Furthermore, her suffering rung a bell - a warning for some, a restoration for others. Oh, how her faith in Christ blessed us!

From one left behind,
Brother-in-law
the old scribe
02 September 2011

The Apostle Paul wrote that the mystery of God is the Lord Jesus in whom the kind intention of God toward us is revealed: “. . . that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself,” (Colossians 2:2 NASB); “. . . He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (Ephesians 1:9 NASB).

These blessed me, Glen. Thank you for sharing.