epistoli

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

God is Fully In Control of the World's Confusion

-->

Promise of Conquest . . . Even Today

Exodus 23:27: “I will send My terror ahead of you, and throw into confusion all the people among whom you come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.”

Here is a verse that many say is clearly Old Testament and at first glance, it certainly appears to be so. I mean what exactly is “God’s terror”? And what ‘enemies’ are actually fleeing from us?

Well, for starters, commentator David Guzik translates the ‘terror of God’ as the “fear” that God instills in us, probably of Himself. But for the most part, commentators are silent on the topic. What we do know is that God “throws people into confusion”.

I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that our world is more confused now than ever before. More confused about whom they can trust and who they cannot. The Iran Nuclear deal just signed yesterday is just one example. The value of a life lost when killed by a police officer is a crime, but aborting babies and selling their various parts for profit by the thousands daily by an organization called Planned Parenthood is not talked about or investigated. Illegal immigration is wrong but we need the illegal immigrants to fill our menial jobs. The disagreements between members of a similar political party or coalition are rampant globally (see the U.S. Republican party; or the coalition of the Prime Minister of Israel; or the Greek government coalitions). Parents are confused about how much discipline they should give their children. They also do not know when to say ‘no’ and when to say ‘yes’. The United States appears to be making sweet deals and coming to peace with all its enemies (even those that continue to pursue communism [Russia, Cuba, etc.], or disregard human rights [Syria], or want America abolished [Iran]) and seems to doing all it can to undermine its allies [Israel] and its own Christian citizens. We’ve stopped going to the moon and our long-term NASA projects, but we’re pursuing trips to Mars and Pluto. We spend billions in research to keep people alive on the one hand and we are trying to pass laws to end the lives of the elderly on the other. Greece, by all historical standards, should have been kicked out of the European Union and the Euro currency long ago, and especially now. And yet, the creditors are afraid to kick her out and are handing over yet a third bailout – one they know cannot be paid back no matter what is promised. Individuals do not know if they are male or female and some want to be both or the opposite of what they were. Confusion for sure. And I could go on. I’m sure you could as well. Some of us have witnessed that confusion in our own communities, perhaps in our churches, or even in our families.

But here’s the thing, God says “He throws people into confusion” and He does it for the purpose of working out His Plan for His people. All this that is going on around us today is being allowed or sometimes caused by God so that His Plan for us can be worked out. Yes, sometimes that is a very hard pill to swallow, no doubt – especially when it is your family or you that are suffering – economically, socially, physically, etc. But if we can just catch a glimpse of the bigger picture through a fuller knowledge of Scripture and somehow “believe on Him” we will indeed feel the conquest He has afforded to us in Him and through Him.

God says that people that come across our paths and are not His (and I dare say sometimes those that think they are His but for one reason or another do not have in them the ‘grace’ that He alone gives and the ‘hearts’ that He alone changes), these people who choose to oppose us not only in spiritual matters, but in practical ways, will be thrown into confusion by God. Have you seen that or experienced it in your life? If not, may I humbly suggest that you, like many of us at times, are not fully relying on Him and trusting Him to do that, or you are not obeying His instructions to you, or you just aren’t involved in serving Him to the extent that such service is actively opposed by the Enemy and such protection is required by God.

And then God says, He will make these people “turn their backs to you”. Other later portions of the story of Israel demonstrate to us exactly what this means – confusion, defeat by the Israelites, fleeing. God says He will do that to our spiritual enemies and to our physical enemies. I believe that as tough as things get (and they will get tougher), the true Christ-follower who depends fully on God, obeys Him totally, and serves Him unreservedly will be so protected – his/her enemies will be cast into confusion, they will be defeated by God with us (we will have a role to play) and on our behalf, and they will flee from us if not eliminated in battle.

Are you and I ready for the next stage of the working out of His Plan for mankind, for you, and for me? My hunch is that if we are not and we’re waiting for the last minute to make that preparation or decision to be on God’s side, we will, in the midst of the confusion or in the heat of the battle’s pressures, make the wrong decision; the challenge to those who are unaware of what is going on and unprepared when that climatic time hits (be it global or just our individual ‘time’s up’) will be too much to handle wisely.

-->

Thanks for dropping by. Sign up to receive free updates. We bring you relevant information from all sorts of sources. Subscribe for free to this blog or follow us by clicking on the appropriate link in the right side bar. And please share this blog with your friends. Ken Godevenos, Church and Management Consultant, Accord Consulting. And while you’re here, why not check out some more of our recent blogs shown in the right hand column. Ken.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Monday, July 13, 2015

God's Special Formula for Blessing Works

The Richness of God’s Promises

Exodus 23:25-26: “But you shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall bless your bread and your water; and I will remove sickness from your midst. There shall be no one miscarrying or barren in your land; I will fulfill the number of your days.”

God basically told the Israelites that He would protect them from their enemies and they would be part of the battle by their “utterly overthrowing” them and breaking their “sacred pillars”. And in the process or rather while doing so, they were also to serve the Lord.

What was God saying to them? What is He saying to us, in essence, in these verses? It appears like a complex formula for success – but it can really be boiled down to three simple things: dependence on God; doing our part; and serving Him. If we’re struggling in life, it’s not always because we have sinned or made bad decisions. It’s not always about Him teaching us more things and making us stronger, although that happens in the process almost always. It just may be that we really, I mean really, have not come face-to-face with what it means to fully depend on Him, fully obey Him through our actions, and fully serve Him.

Full dependence on Him sometimes requires more patience than we have; sometimes more faith and trust; and sometimes it means giving up what we are pursuing because He does not considerate it to be good for us, at least at this time. Are we ready to do that?

Fully obeying by doing our part may sometimes mean taking actions that cost something – our job, our friends, our assets, our comfort, our reputation, you name it. I am in the process of reading that classic book by A. B. Bruce, written in 1877, entitled The Training of the Twelve. In it, he writes, “They (the disciples) were animated by a devotion to Jesus and to the divine kingdom which made them capable of any sacrifice.” (brackets and emphasis mine) I often wonder how many of us living in the western world possess that drive today.

And fully serving Him would require a conscious effort to begin each day having dedicated each moment, each conversation, each action, to Him, ensuring that it is pleasing to Him and a help to those He has brought into our lives – our spouse, parents, children, friends, associates, and even strangers.

I don’t know about you, but I have a long way to go to be able to fully ‘expect’ the kind of blessings God promised the Israelites in this passage. For in it, He talks about things that really would make any life much more desired.

God says He will bless our bread. He will see to it that we do not die of starvation. And we will have enough water and not die from thirst or poisoned water. Matthew Henry points out that God did not promise a “feast of fat things and wines on the lees”. But our simple bread and water will be “more refreshing and nourishing” with His blessing than such a fatty feast without. The availability of food was important to the Israelites for their survival and this has not changed for us.

While we need food to stay alive and healthy, we also need health to be able to eat and to enjoy our food. God promised the Israelites would have that as well. In fact, He would “remove sickness” from them. Imagine no sickness to continue and no new sickness to come. No diseases in the land that would kill off many or desolate the land. It is interesting that this same promise is made to us in the book of Revelation where the Apostle John is describing heaven where there will be no sickness or death. That which God promised His children in the wilderness, we ourselves, may not see until we get to heaven.

But wait, it does not end there. God promises the Israelites that He will increase their wealth, assumedly through the multiplication of their cattle (Henry says the animals would not “cast their young”.) And the number of Israelites shall also grow as “no one will have a miscarriage or be barren” in the land. People shall live to their full life expectancy. We know, by that phrase, that this is not just about “heaven” as people do not die in heaven – it was for the Israelites, for them, right there and then, if they claimed it and obeyed God. The question we would ask is whether or not any of it applies to us today, and if so, how?

Simple observation of our own lives, those of our relatives and friends, and the world around us, would tell us that this part of the promise was strictly for the Israelites at that time and only a symbolic glimpse, of what is in store for us in eternity. Clearly man’s sin and his own greed for authority and control of his life, have made such a promise of God’s to be difficult to fulfill as we often do not keep our side of the bargain – we do not fully depend on Him, we do not obey Him totally, and we do not serve Him thoroughly.

But it need not be like that. (I do not mean to imply by my next statement that I am anywhere near where I should be in any of these regards [I stated that above], but simply to share that I am inching my way closer.) What I have discovered is that as I draw closer to God, as I rely more on Him, as I obey Him more, and as I serve Him more willingly, my life is indeed better. No, neither I nor my family members and friends stop having challenges in life, our material wealth is not multiplied, and I know there is no guarantee any of us will live to our full life expectancy; some have not. But yet life is less stressful and more enjoyable, and I am more content than before.

So can this precise promise that applied to the Israelites apply to us? Certainly, its key principle and lesson can, and I believe you will find that it does.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Thursday, July 09, 2015

Stop Being a Half-Participant in God's Promises

Our Role in God’s Overthrow of Our Enemies and Adversaries.

Exodus 23:24: “You shall not worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do according to their deeds; but you shall utterly overthrow them, and break their sacred pillars in pieces.”

Wait, we are not off the hook. God has a part for each of us to play in His destruction of our enemies and adversaries. Part of it is, admittedly, passive (things we are not to do), but part of it is very active (things we are to do). He says to the Israelites, “Do not worship their gods; do not serve their gods; and do not do the things they do which relate to their gods.” That’s the general intent of God’s warning to them. But He goes on and tells them what to do with respect to these idolaters.

God is very clear here. He tells the Israelites in the wilderness, that when they have to go across the lands of these people, whom you will remember God promised to destroy for them (vs. 23 in this chapter), in order to get to the promised land, they were to “utterly overthrow them and to break their sacred pillars into pieces.” Matthew Henry suggests:

They must not only not worship their gods, but they must utterly overthrow them, in token of their great abhorrence of idolatry, their resolution never to worship idols themselves, and their care to prevent any other from worshipping them.

I understand that this was said to the Israelites in the wilderness thousands of years ago. And many will argue it does not apply to us. Often the Enemy would have us believe that and disregard entire Old Testament theology. But yet, we are indeed crossing a wilderness right now and we are coming up against such enemy giants – not the least of which is the Islamic State with its goals to destroy the West in general and Israel in particular. (There are other idolatrous practices like abortion and euthanasia where people take on the role of God.) So, is there nothing for us to take, in a general sense, from this passage? I believe there is and I disagree with those who say all we can do is pray. I believe we have a responsibility to uphold the worship and authority of God and to promote it; to protect the innocent; and to fight the intruders and idolaters. I believe we need to understand that while God can do this single-handedly, He wants us to be active partners. We, on the other hand, must realize that we cannot take the law into our own hands and thus are left to influence those who represent the law in our land – our various levels of government. To sit back and do nothing is not an option any more than burying our loaned talent in the sand so as not to lose it was in the famous New Testament parable, even though we know our Master expects us, as a minimum, to earn interest with it.

It saddens me to see Christian young people or adults waste their lives away, just waiting on God to do it all for them – from having the right future spouse just miraculously appear at their door while they stay home every night praying for that to happen; or for a promotion to come when they do nothing different to earn it but pray diligently for it.

Are you only a half-recipient of God’s promises for you? Do you accept the passive instructions but not agree to the active requirements? You need to do both.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Whether You Know It Or Not, You Have Two Hearts

-->

It’s Always The Heart (book review)

I agreed to review this book for several reasons not the least of which were that my wife had recently suffered a heart attack; I may be a likely candidate for one; the author, besides having a heritage similar to mine (Greek) had a solid reputation in his field; and I always wondered if there was any connection between our physical hearts that beat away on average over 36 million times a year and our spiritual hearts that are referenced over 700 times in the Bible.

Dr. Arthur E. Constantine, MD, a practicing cardiologist at the Heart Group/St. Thomas Heart at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, in his book, It’s Always The Heart, published by Westbow Press, 2014, describes that connection well with examples based on his personal experience with thousands of patients. He gives us life-changing spiritual and physical insights into the most important organ in our bodies by sharing accounts of circumstances that can easily represent almost all of us and/or those we love.

Constantine relates the story of Mr. Important who thinks that without him the world would not rotate on its axis and how that lifestyle or attitude impacts both our physical condition and our relationship with God. Through the ever-exercising Mrs. Tallent’s story, the author relates how fear and doubt are used by the Devil to challenge our very faith during times of surprise heart attacks. Through the story of underweight and undernourished chain-smoking Jacob, Dr. C. tells us how addictions impact us physically and spiritually, robbing us of our potential in both arenas. Through the experience of Joanne, who tried everything to be happy, Constantine shows us how the elusion of real joy and meaning in one’s life can cause trouble in both the spiritual and physical realm.

Jim Oliver had to change his spiritual heart with respect to a balanced life and only then could he help his physical heart to function well. And the life of Leroy Harris, the 347 pound truck driver who only ate at truck stops and drove all night except for six hours when his wife spelled him off, seven days a week chasing more income all the time, is a warning to all of us who take better care of our vehicles than our bodies. The author also has a special chapter dedicated to pastors who just don’t get it when it comes to their own health – both physical and spiritual. Through Jean he warns about being in denial about our lifestyle and its impact on our ‘two’ hearts. A second Jim shows us how to live with the fear of dying and the author shows us how to get out of that trap. And finally, through Mrs. Whitt (or Nana as she was so lovingly known to her family), Constantine talks about dying and how to deal with it.

No matter the circumstance, Constantine shows what many of his patients have discovered – somehow, it’s always about the heart. Being in my senior years, I found myself thinking of so many loved ones I had lost who well could have been one or more of the people Constantine writes about. What was worse, I found that I could well be one or more of them myself. And that has its way of shaking you a bit, causing you to sit up and take notice to what the good Doctor is suggesting, not forcing on you. And hopefully taking action right away.

In fact, he goes one step further and makes some strong recommendations about diets (no, not off-the-shelf ones; he really dislikes those) and exercise (no, not the Jane Fonda dvd’s type) – just solid suggestions on how you can start to bring your physical heart into sync with the spiritual heart that God wants you to have. But make no mistake about, Constantine pulls no punches – if your spiritual heart and life and relationship with God is not in order, do not expect your physical heart to stay fit for long. Kudos to a professional person who takes his faith to the office and by so doing has helped thousands. Thank God our politicians haven’t found a way to stop people like him.

I strongly recommend the book for all who have been there in the cardiologist’s office or worse still under his or her watchful eye during an operation on their heart. Also highly recommended for all counselors, especially in Christian counseling ministry. It would be a bonus for pastors, too.

As for me, I have to run off and do my speedwalking, drink some more water, and strengthen my core muscles.

-- Ken B. Godevenos, http://www.accordconsulting.com, Myrtle Beach, S.C. 15/07/08

-->

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Tuesday, July 07, 2015

You Can't Barter With God and You Can't Challenge Him or His Ways

-->

An Enemy to Your Enemies

Exodus 23:22-23: “But if you will truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites; and I will completely destroy them.”

Isn’t it amazing how whenever God asks us to do something for Him or about Him or with Him, He always promises to do more in return for us? You can check this out throughout Scripture and this is just one such case here in this chapter of Exodus. Here He says, “Obey the angel I send before you and I will do much for you, even more than “guard you on your travels; bring you to the place I have prepared for you; and pardon your transgressions” (all from vs. 20-21).

[Just as an aside, please note: God can do that with us for He has the right as Creator, but we can’t do that with Him. We can’t barter with Him like He can with us. Live with it; that’s the way it is. Just as you can do that with your children, but heaven help them if they try to do it with you.]

But here’s the part I love if we do what God says, He will be “an enemy to our enemies”. Boy, are there ever days (like the one I had yesterday) when I need to know that. My God will fight my enemies for me. Again, notice that we are to “love our enemies” but that does not apply to God – He has the right to do whatever He wants to them when He wants to. That is so challenging and unacceptable to the liberal mind. Liberals want God to behave they way they think He should behave or at least the way He wants them (us) to behave. I say again, “Live with it.” This is a most difficult fact for a lot of Christians to grasp, let alone liberals. We keep asking, “Why? Why? Why?” and we apply that question to every aspect of life that we do not like or want to have happened. It could be my looks, my poverty, my disease, death in my family, loss of job, divorce, election outcomes, even rain when I wanted to have a picnic in the park or to have my child’s birthday party outside. Yet if we truly know God and Who He is, we would know that while as human beings we may have the right to ask that question (as we all do), we really have no right to expect an answer. And here’s the deal . . . Happy is the man or woman who learns that early in their life. And happier is the man or woman who accepts it.

Notice also that first God talks about being an “enemy to our enemies” and then He talks about being an “adversary to our adversaries”. I wondered what the difference was, so I looked the two words up. Here’s what I generally discovered:

· Enemy – a person (or nation) who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something or another nation (especially in time of war).

· Adversary – one’s opponent in a contest, conflict, or dispute.

As I reflected on these two definitions, I thought how wonderful it is that God’s promises are so thorough. First of all, the dictionary tells us that one can be one’s own worst enemy. Now that’s as if God is saying He will be an enemy to our own natural self (the one that wants to do wrong and to sin) if we let Him. Secondly, I realized that the word ‘enemy’ is more applicable to major antagonists in our lives or that of our family, town, country or world (enemies of war, disease, family breakdown, imprisonment, torture, etc.) whereas adversary applies more to the everyday type of challengers that we face (temperature, slow drivers in front of us, ridicule, etc.). Each one of us can draw the enemy vs. adversary line wherever we want on the continuum. That’s not the point. The point is that God will fight them all for us – big enemies and smaller adversarial opponents. It is also interesting that Satan (the Devil) is commonly referred to sometimes as the Enemy and sometimes as the Adversary. Which one are you fighting today?

This short passage (vs. 22 and 23) ends with God first listing every single one of the enemies or adversaries that the Israelites will face in their journey. The lesson for us is simply this: this is not a one-time thing that He is promising the children of Israel. It is therefore also meant for us to know that God can and will, if we want Him to, and if we let Him – defeat all our enemies and adversaries in our own personal journey through the desert of this life.

And secondly, God says He will “completely destroy them.” And you thought only your children could do that on their video games. God alone can only do it for real. And that’s a promise I can claim if I’m prepared to turn each and every one of my enemies and adversaries over to Him. How about you?

Author's Note: A few hours after posting this blog, as I was reading another book, the thought came to me that there are several people out there that feel they can and have made deals with God. The best example is the type of person that says, "If you save me from this calamity God, I will serve you forever" or something to that effect. I perfectly understand how you feel, but I am not sure that is exactly what I was talking about above. In the circumstances I was referring to -- God is giving us a choice. In the circumstance of "save me and I'll serve you" -- you and I really have no choice. There is nothing for us to walk away from. We are desperate. God still may or may not save us. We only hear about the ones that were saved and made that promise; not the ones that weren't. We don't say to God as He says to us or as we say to our children, "It's up to you; take it or leave it." That was my point.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Monday, July 06, 2015

A Process by which to Determine if a Specific Promise of God's is Meant for You

Who is the Angel God Sends To Guard the Israelites On Their Way?

Exodus 23:20-21: “Behold, I am going to send an angel before you to guard you along the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Be on your guard before him and obey his voice; do not be rebellious toward him, for he will not pardon your transgression, since My name is in him.”

I do not know about you, but whenever I read a promise of God’s like this one, the Enemy starts working on me: “This is not for you; it’s only meant for the people of Israel at that time. So don’t count on it.” There are several courses of action one could take with that kind of taunting.

1. You can disregard the taunting, claim the promise, while merrily singing the old chorus you learned as a child, “Every promise in the book is mine!”

2. You can believe the taunting, never thinking any more about the promise, and go on doing life as you normally do – wondering whether or not you are forced to fend for yourself.

3. You can agree with some Bible scholars that believe certain promises were made to certain individuals or groups and are not to be taken as being for us, but this will require an investigation as to whether or not this is one of them.

You can weigh the likelihood of any of the three choices being correct or incorrect against your:

a. Understanding of God based on the rest of Scripture,

b. Ability to reason it out,

c. Knowledge of what believers have traditionally believed, and

d. Personal experience.

Using these four criteria, you can then examine each of the three options:

1. Disregarding the taunting and claiming the promise may satisfy criteria a., c., and possibly d. above, but b. may present some problems especially as you may tend to agree with the rationale that certainly God makes promises to specific people at specific times and since He was talking to the Israelites in this passage, that may not include me.

2. Believing the taunting and not claiming the promise, for the Christian, will likely not satisfy criteria a., c., and perhaps d.

3. Investigating the promise has the potential of satisfying all four criteria – a., b., c., and d.

To take that course of action, i.e. investigating the promise before we can claim it for ourselves, we need to first examine the context of the promise. Was it made to someone or a group as a particular promise for a specific one-time response to an explicit circumstance? Or is there enough generality in it that could apply to many of us in most aspects of, and during our entire, life? Secondly, we would ask ourselves as to whether or not this promise is in keeping with other parts of Scripture that repeat similar concepts to other believers? Thirdly, does it make sense that God, assuming Him to be what we believe He is, would make this kind of promise to all His children? Fourth, what do other true believers, for the most part, believe? And finally, what is my personal experience with regard to the content of this assurance?

In this particular case, my personal investigation of this promise, leads me to believe that it is one that I can claim. Keep in mind that the Israelites were going to spend forty years in the desert and God knew that. This is clearly not a promise in return for a one-time action required on their part – it is to become a way of life for them. There is enough generality in it so as to be applicable to many. For example, it speaks of “guarding us along our way” until He brings us to a place He has “prepared for us” and it speaks to “obedience”, our “rebellion”, and our “pardon from sin”. All of which are spoken of elsewhere in Scripture.

In addition, the promise is in keeping with our understanding of God as we know and believe Him to be. It is a promise that has been widely accepted by many believers. And finally, for me at least, it is a promise I have seen fulfilled time and time again in my own life, my own experience.

Having hopefully established that, we can look more closely at the promise God is making here. To begin with, He is “sending” an “angel”. God is the mastermind here. He has delegated this most important task to someone else in which He has great confidence. But this is no ordinary angel but rather one that has God’s name in Him. It is an angel that must be obeyed. It is an angle capable of freeing us from our bondage (Egypt for the Israelites) and delivering us to the Promised Land (Canaan for the Israelites and Heaven for us). And this angel has the power to pardon our sins and those of the Israelites. It is no wonder that the majority of biblical commentators agree that this is the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

Jesus was given this task by God His Father and as the Son, God’s name was in Him. This was a real task, not just a make-work project but at the same time, it was a proto-type of what Jesus would do for all mankind.

Our job is to be on our guard before Him and to obey His voice throughout our journey in the wilderness of life. The entire New Testament tells us how. But the bottom line is this: we are not to rebel against Him, for He will not pardon our transgression.

I hope you can claim this promise with me. But I also pray you understand its consequences should we fail to claim it and choose to obey.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Saturday, July 04, 2015

How Long Will "Independence Day" Survive? Author suggests these days are numbered.

-->

Biohistory: Decline and Fall of the West (book review)

I agreed to review this book because for sometime now I have sensed the demise of Western civilization but had no hard arguments as to how or why or when. I have now found them (or what I think may be them) in Jim Penman’s book, Biohistory: Decline and Fall of the West, published by Cambridge Scholars, Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K., 2015.

Penman, a Ph.D. [in History from Australia’s La Trobe University in 1983 and an Honorary Fellow and Guest Lecturer at RMIT University in Melbourne], is an Australian historian and social theorist. And in this book, he takes on the explanation of rises and falls observed in “civilization history” as well as predicting (with very little difficulty or hesitation) the collapse of modern Western civilization as we know it. Penman is a very accomplished man but not necessarily in the academic circles where you would expect him to pop up now and again. This is a self-made man (he’s also CEO of Jim’s Group, Australia’s largest home services franchiser with over 3,400 franchisees in four countries, and growing at the rate of 200 per year) who has been using his spare moments (let alone his income) for the last 40 years to do research on his theory of Biohistory – the biological explanation for most of history, especially the causes of rises and falls of societies.

Penman’s theory is founded on the premise that a civilization fundamentally rises and falls based on the overall temperament of its populace. And temperament of a people is driven by many factors, not the least of which is the scarcity (or overabundance) of food. Other factors are the amount of testosterone people have, the presence (or absence) of stress hormones, anxiety of mothers in one’s infancy, approaches to control and punishment at various pre-adulthood stages, and of course, the average age of puberty as well as the sexual activities or freedom of people.

His arguments as to how each one of these (and even more) factors impacts civilizations all make sense. What is somewhat disconcerting (at least to a non-scientist) is the way he then explains anomalies by combining the various factors (high in one, low in another; early in one, later in another; etc.). No laity reader (at least not this one) can keep everything he says straight in order to be able to use the information provided as predictors in a different environment.

To his credit, Penman digs deep into both history and recent times for examples (both animal and human) from around the globe to give us solid proof that supports his theory. He claims that what we need to consider is not genetics but rather epigenetics – the study of changes in organisms caused by modifications in gene expression rather than the alteration of the gene code itself.

Of particular interest also is his account of how religion impacts civilization positively to increase what he calls the C (civilization) factor – the epigenetics needed for a culture to rise. But high C is not enough, he says. Rising cultures need high V (aggression) to defeat their enemies and survive. Considerable space is spent on how C and V rise and fall in a people, especially when combined with other factors such as timing, Lemming Cycles (you can discover these for yourself), war, recession and tyranny. His parting theoretical shot at his formula is to stir in one more ingredient – the S (or stability) factor which has a lot to do with wanting to reproduce children to maintain the society, i.e. a civilization birth rate. It makes for fascinating reading.

With all the details out of the way, Penman reaches his three last chapters in the book. In one he deals first with “fundamentalists” (and no I don’t mean the Moral Majority type) and how they, all else being equal, have the greatest chance of survival. He cites the original Israelite culture as found in the Old Testament and also fundamentalist (vs. liberal) Islam today as two excellent examples. Then in the second last chapter he explains why the West is declining, and will continue to decline, with no easy way to stop it. He even gives you a timeframe. And you cannot argue with his arguments, especially if you buy any part of his theory.

It is his last chapter that threw me for a loop. Penman, very cautiously mind you, admitting that the only solution he has to offer as a means of stopping the current downward suicidal course of the West has its own downsides and will likely never easily be adopted, presents us with a picture of the future that makes Orwell’s 1984 seem more like a story about Cinderella. His solution – chemical supplements that bring about the desired epigenetics to help the rise and sustaining of a civilization.

Readers like me who object to that type of solution, and all that it conjures in ones mind, can well skip the book’s last chapter and still gain much to explain human behavior. I recommend it.

-- Ken B. Godevenos, http://www.accordconsulting.com, Murrells Inlet, S.C. 15/07/04

-->

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Friday, July 03, 2015

Some Things You Are Not To Mix Says God -- Exodus 23:18-19

“You shall not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; nor is the fat of My feast to remain overnight until morning. You shall bring the choice first fruits of your soil into the house of the LORD your God. You are not to boil a kid in the milk of its mother.”

Only those who wear earplugs and blindfolds would disagree with the idea that the world is continuing to speed downhill towards a very calamitous self-destruction. If Rome and Athens fell, why not us? Even the small-l liberals are not happy with many things such as global warming (assuming it is true), famines, human rights, inequality, etc. At the same time, armed with political correctness, they push for more freedom with respect to abortion, alternative lifestyles, drug use, euthanasia, and so much more that drives them further and further from the kind of world intended by its Creator, not to mention the Creator Himself. Many of our western politicians do not see the Islamic State as a serious threat to their own freedom and way of life. Just how did we get to this point?

I believe four Factors are at play here:

1. The fall of Adam and Eve, the originators of sin, continues to impact all of us in the human race.

2. The Church of Jesus Christ, for the most part, has had and continues to have, great difficulty in walking in His steps, often crossing over into paths that He would not lead us to, regardless of the issue or circumstance.

3. The Enemy of God or Satan is having a hay day now causing as much confusion among believers resulting in both total and partial apostasy.

4. The plan and time schedule established by God for the return of Jesus Christ to earth is right on target and everything that is going on is all part of it.

All four of these factors are interwoven and known to God. Factors 1 and 2 were clearly in the domain of man to avoid – Adam did not do so back then; and we do not now. In the absence of a strong desire not to fall into the traps of these two factors, Factor 3 is given free reign – Satan is indeed very busy and feels most successful. When all the first three factors are in play, Factor 4 is only a matter of time – but time known only to God.

In fact, God warned His people about Factor 2 in our passage above from Exodus 23. He wanted His people to learn certain lessons, certain ways of doing things. And it was to start with some very simple things. They were not to mix the “blood of His sacrifice” (the blood of the animal sacrificed to Him) with the leavened bread. That was a no-no. The two were not to be mixed. And the fat from the animal being sacrificed to Him was not to remain overnight. It had to be dealt with right away. It had to be burned up. Finally, God’s people were not to boil a young goat in the milk of its mother. Boil it in something else.

And at the same time, they were to bring the best first fruits of the ground to God as well.

Once again, I am convinced that I have to leave the world’s current situation to its Creator. I can only worry about getting myself right before Him, and even that, I can only do with His help and power.

So, where do WE (you and I) stand?
Do we agree the world is in a mess?
Do we accept that we as humans are a race fallen to sin?
Do we admit that oftentimes, and sometimes by preference, we, as Christians, are naturally inclined to stray from the path that God would have us walk?
Do we realize that Satan is doing all he can to destroy our relationship with God, not realizing he is just pushing us closer and closer to the time when God will say, “Enough!”?
Do we eagerly await the return of Jesus Christ?

I hope you can join me in answering “yes” to all these questions. If so, live your life as an individual who knows what is happening, knows what we can expect to happen, realizes he/she has to remain faithful to Christ, actively fights the Enemy, and rejoices in the very certain hope of His return.

If you cannot join those of us who can say ‘yes’ to these questions, I invite you to write to me and tell me which one you have difficulty with and why. I do not have all the answers, but I may have some that could change your mind if you’re open to it.

Next time we’ll look at what God will do to help us for His part. In the meantime, we all need to be aware of the fact that “certain things do not mix in God’s life-laboratory”. So, watch out for personal explosions.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.