Monthly Archives: January 2016

The Road Through Romans: Wickedness

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

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We are still in Romans 1:18 with our discussion through the letter. If you have missed any of the chatter you can find the conversations at THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” Rom. 1:18

Today we will be discussing the nature of wickedness.

The word wickedness is translated from the Greek word, adikia, it is  “a deed violating law and justice, act of unrighteousness” (definition from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance).

Where godlessness speaks to the attitude of the heart that causes bad behavior, wickedness is the behavior itself.

So what does God consider wicked or evil behavior:

Let’s run a few lists:

 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Ephesians 5: 1- 5

 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices Colossians 3: 5-9

Wickedness is…

  1. anything even hinting at sex outside of marriage
  2. Greed
  3. obscenity
  4. talking out of turn
  5. dirty jokes
  6. lust
  7. anger
  8. rage
  9. Being malicious
  10. ruining someone’s reputation
  11. filthy language

We could get more lists but let’s just stop here shall we? Who hasn’t done at least one thing on this list? Well according to Romans 1:18 this causes God’s wrath to be set against us.

If the Bible left us here we would all be in a world of hurt. No one could be saved. Everyone would be apportioned God’s wrath. But the Bible doesn’t leave us here and neither does Paul as you are going to see. We just have to stop thinking that we can make it into God’s good graces and avoid His wrath on our own merits.  No one is ever going to be good enough earn their way into Heaven. We need a savior!

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10,11

 

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Lights

Posted on by under Photography, Uncategorized

Cee has asked us to bring BLACK & WHITE TO LIGHT FOR THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE

Click the underlined link to go to Cee’s black & white home page and you can access any of her B&W Challenges from there.

Here is my light:

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“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”
― Plato

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“There is a crack in everything.That’s how the light gets in.” ― Leonard Cohen, Selected Poems, 1956-1968

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“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

The Road Through Romans: Godlessness

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

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We are continuing our discussion on Romans 1:18 today. Yesterday we discussed the wrath of God and today we will be discussing Godlessness.

If you have missed any of our discussions they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” Rom. 1:18″

So what exactly is “godlessness” or as it is translated in other versions “ungodliness”?

The word used in the Greek is, asebeia. It is defined as a want of reverence towards God or impiety.

Once again that’s a great definition until I ask you to define reverence and impiety. Let’s look at some other verses for help.

Other verses where the word  asebeia is used are:

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness G763from Jacob: Romans 11:26

 Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.  2 Tim. 2:14-16

 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, Titus 2:11-13

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly G763 deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. 

You see, ungodliness is a state of mind that manifests in action. Ungodliness is not action itself. Ungodliness is a root that puts forth sin. It manifests in  wicked words and deeds because it is a heart that does not care about God. It is a heart from which God is absent. 

THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!

To be ungodly a person does not have to hate God or be malicious towards God. The mindset of an ungodly person is simply irreverent toward God, which means an ungodly person considers God unimportant and unworthy of playing a significant role in life. Such a mindset does not bring God into the equation of living at all.

Ungodliness is not a specific behavior or activity.It goes deeper than behavior. Ungodliness is an attitude of the heart that shuts God out of the decision making process. Therefore, godlessness is manifested in any activity from which God is excluded.

Now let me ask the $25,000.00 question. In light of that definition how much of our culture is ungodly and therefore subject to wrath?

The Secret Keeper’s Prompt #19: Give Reason

Posted on by under The Stories

It’s time once again to respond to the SECRET KEEPER’S LATEST WRITING PROMPT.

Click on the underlined link to see what others have added to the prompt.

Our prompt words this week are:

5) Words: | REASON | BREAK | STAY | GIVE | RAIN |

Shadorma (3 – 5 – 3 – 3 – 7 – 5)
six lines – no rhymes – multiple stanzas [your choice] – just follow meter

Give Reason

by JE Lillie

Give Reason

To the rain. Season

Of breaking

Stay silent

No more. Speak now your purpose

And return my joy.

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Cee’s Fun Challenge Of Orange & Yellow Flowers

Posted on by under Photography

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This week Cee has asked us to show her our ORANGE & YELLOW FLOWERS.

Click the underlined link to see orange and yellow across the world.

Here are mine:

In my own backyard
Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse , The Netherlands
Yellow at Keukenhof
Spring Begins Soon
Longwood
My yard in the fall.
Sort of orangy red in the yellow

 

I cannot wait for flower season!

The Road Through Romans: Wrath

Posted on by under Pastor Wrinkles

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Today we are moving on to Romans 1:18 in our journey through the Paul’s letter to Rome. I am planning four sessions in this verse in which we will discuss: wrath, ungodliness, unrighteousness and holding the truth in unrighteousness.

If you have missed any of our previous discussions they can be found on THE ROAD THROUGH ROMANS PAGE

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,” Rom. 1:18

Let’s talk about wrath for a bit. What exactly is the wrath of God? Is it like our wrath? Is it shouting and screaming and punching holes in the wall wrath? Is it that out of control seeing red wrath that some of us know so well, the wrath that shoots first and asks questions later?

Maybe a definition of the actual word would be helpful.

Wrath- from the Greek orgē ,

I. anger, the natural disposition, temper, character

II. movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger

III. anger, wrath, indignation

IV.anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself of punishments inflicted by magistrates (definition taken from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

Well, so far the wrath of God doesn’t seem all that different from the wrath of people. Let’s look at some of the other Scriptures where the word, orgē,  is translated as wrath.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath G3709 to come? MA. 3:7 John the Baptist

But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, andwrath G3709 upon this people. Luke 21:23 Jesus

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath G3709 of God abideth on him. John 3:36 Jesus

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Rev. 6:13-17

From these verses I glean that: the wrath of God is something we definitely want to escape; It is something that causes great distress; That God has made a way for us to escape this wrath which involves judgment; AND while God doesn’t exactly punch holes in the walls, the very heavens themselves are damaged when God reacts in wrath.

What strikes you about the wrath of God from these or other verses in Scripture?

Color Your World: Black

Posted on by under Photography

This is one of the posts I missed over the weekend. My writing days are really Tuesday through Friday. Most of my weekends are consumed with ministry and then I try like the Dickens to take Mondays completely off (or at least a 24 hour period between my last service on Sunday and my first Monday meeting). So if it doesn’t get done by Friday chances are it ain’t gettin’ done until Tuesday.

You can find other posts dedicated to the color black by clicking on the black square at the top of the post.

Here is my gallery:

Sing a song of blackbirds
Fire and darkness
Derry Nights
Midnight snow.

Share Your World 2016 Week #2

Posted on by under For Family & Fun

It’s time for SHARE YOUR WORLD again. Click the underlined link to visit Cee’s site and open yourself to a wider world.

ET

Here are our sharing questions for the week:

Do you believe in extraterrestrials or life on other planets? 

I suppose saying I believe in other dimensions (like Heaven and Hell) where other life exists (like angels and demons), and then saying I don’t believe there could be life on other planets would be a bit preposterous. Do I believe in the possibility? Absolutely. But I am with Larry Norman on this one.

How many places have you lived? You can share the number of physical residences and/or the number of cities.

I was born in Gardner MA and have lived most of my life in Winchendon MA. My parents moved briefly to upstate New York when I was a toddler and we lived there for about a year  and then we moved back to Winchendon. In college I lived for about a year and a half in Phoenixville Pennsylvania. That is where my son Joe was born. Then we moved back to Gardner. Now I live back in Winchendon in the house I grew up in.

If you given $22 million tax free dollars (any currency), what is the first thing you would do?

The first thing I would do is tithe to my home church. Then I would pay off my kids college loans. After that I would do all the repairs to the house that it needs inside and out ( I might actually just tear it down and rebuild on the same spot). I would set aside what I need for retirement,  put a million in a travel account. The rest I would probably give to missionary endeavors. What do I need all that money sitting around for?

The Never List: What are things you’ve never done? Or things you know you never will do?

I have never ridden a horse. I have never successfully waterskiied. I have never been sky-diving nor hot air ballooning. I have never been hang-gliding nor bungi-jumping nor zip-lining. Will I do any of these things? Most likely not.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I am grateful that after prayer on Sunday my thumb injury was healed. Hallelujah! I am looking forward to two successful moves for two more ladies in our church this week (hence the gratefulness for the the healed thumb).