October 7, 2014; Linton, ND
The Butler boys are on their bikes again. Yes, here we are again on the third leg of our Lewis and Clark adventure. Grace (Mom Butler) is our sag driver and savior. We left Fort Thompson, SD last Friday. We have stopped in Pierre, Gettysburg and Mobridge. We attempted riding to Linton, ND today. But, the wind stopped us short in Pollock, SD. We will start from there tomorrow. Hopefully the winds will be more favorably. Our target this week is Dickinson, ND. We will be happy to achieve Bismarck or just beyond.
The trip is just fantastic. The scenery is beautiful. Lewis and Clark had to have been amazed. Lake Oahe just north of Pierre is gigantic. Linton is 180 miles north of Pierre and we have not seen the end of the lake at this point. Lots of fishing and hunting up here. Come check it out.
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Ebola-A plague of Catastrophic Dimensions
Mosy people are afraid to mention the most likely cause of sickness. There is only one who can heal us. And that same one can make sure we aren't healed. I believe it was Dr. Peck who said, "I am not surprised people get sick, what does surprise me is that some our well. ". Have you heard any news lately about the source of Ebola being our own disobedience to the one true living God? Check out the Web for such news. Yes, there is even an article in the New York Time. Ask CNN or Fox. I suspect they are reluctant to discuss the issue. Perhaps some prayer is a good idea.
Monday, September 22, 2014
PURPOSE IN LIFE????
If you don't need religion why do you have one?Don't kid yourself, we all have a religion. It might even be the religion of "I don't have a religion". Do you have goals, passions, hopes or any picture of your own future? Then you are religious. Is your religion based on truth? Can you prove or verify any of it on your own? Or, do you have to rely on opinions?
Consider if you please my belief. There is a God. He created everything. Nothing exists except for the work of his hand. I was created by this God and he planned my entire life. He even planned the uncertainties. Does that make them certain or not? How can I say? I didn't do the creating. Now with this thesis I can function. Everything around me and about me now have purpose and reason. I am unable able to understand it all. But, I do know that whatever someone tells me, my God caused it or allowed it. I learned this from my God.
My God even wants me to know him. I like that. He caused a book to be written so I would have a better chance to get acquainted. He even forgives me for disobedience. Ask me how I know and I will tell you. But, he tells me " Itwould be better for you and I to spend time just being friends".
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Biblical or World
There are basically two views of life or creation. Commonly called by people in both camps, The World View and The Biblical View. I have known about these two views for a long time now. But, unfortunately for me, I have not spent much time analyzing the differences. And, there are some significant implications.
First, let’s think about the origin of the each view. How were these view formulated? What are the foundational principles of each view? Were they formulated objectively? That is formed by people who had no preconceived bias to either view. Do you think that is likely? Would any of us be able to approach this task in an unbiased manner? I wonder if Maslow consider the two views when he formulated his hierarchy.
Do people who hold to the Biblical View, or say they do, really understand they cannot accept Maslow’s hierarchy because of the goal of achieving self-actualization?
People who hold to the World View either knowingly or unknowingly have to believe there is no controlling force in the universe. They have to believe the universe just happened accidentally or was created by a force that didn’t care or know about what it was doing.
How hard is it to formulate a purpose for your life using either of these two views? Have you tried it? Can you do it? Or maybe you don't need a purpose to live and keep on living?
Think about the definition of good and evil…right and wrong. How are these opposing factors handled under the umbrella of the views? Who decides what is right?
I can see how we might have accidentally gotten to hydrogen if all the subatomic particles were already present. But I can’t for the life of me figure out how subatomic particles appeared out of nothing.
Some of my teachers tried to teach me things they could not logically support. Did they really believe them to be true? Why would we not at least raise the question or cast some level of doubt on theoretical principles like Maslow’s hierarchy?
Which view do you like better?
First, let’s think about the origin of the each view. How were these view formulated? What are the foundational principles of each view? Were they formulated objectively? That is formed by people who had no preconceived bias to either view. Do you think that is likely? Would any of us be able to approach this task in an unbiased manner? I wonder if Maslow consider the two views when he formulated his hierarchy.
Do people who hold to the Biblical View, or say they do, really understand they cannot accept Maslow’s hierarchy because of the goal of achieving self-actualization?
People who hold to the World View either knowingly or unknowingly have to believe there is no controlling force in the universe. They have to believe the universe just happened accidentally or was created by a force that didn’t care or know about what it was doing.
How hard is it to formulate a purpose for your life using either of these two views? Have you tried it? Can you do it? Or maybe you don't need a purpose to live and keep on living?
Think about the definition of good and evil…right and wrong. How are these opposing factors handled under the umbrella of the views? Who decides what is right?
I can see how we might have accidentally gotten to hydrogen if all the subatomic particles were already present. But I can’t for the life of me figure out how subatomic particles appeared out of nothing.
Some of my teachers tried to teach me things they could not logically support. Did they really believe them to be true? Why would we not at least raise the question or cast some level of doubt on theoretical principles like Maslow’s hierarchy?
Which view do you like better?
Monday, July 7, 2014
IF YOU BELIEVE.....
If you believe in the one true living God? You know that it His intention and your fate, the world will be redeemed. Can you imagine how this might happen? No one can know except by the learning the truth. Where do we find the Truth? Read through the gospel of Matthew. Matthew explains why God sent Jesus to live on the earth.
So, if God is busy redeeming the world, then what would be behind the battles and wars of the third world…especially in the middle east? Wars and battles fought by people who don’t believe in the one true living God does have a purpose and an expected outcome. I expect the evil one to lose because all the ones in bondage to the evil one will end up either converting or killing each other. There are no other options. If you have another option, I would like to hear it.
Which option should we pursue? People suffer the fate of the nation where they live. Do they have a practical choice? Perhaps, there are thousand of missionaries all over the world loving and witnessing for God. Consider the fate of people and how it might be different depending on the option of choice. Do non-believers believe in free choice? Does what they believe really make a difference? Is freedom of choice a truth? I like to think about how our circumstances affect our beliefs. Believing a lie is our biggest problem. Passing along a lie as a truth may be the greatest hurt we can inflict on a friend. If we don’t know the truth or believe the truth, we should probably keep our thoughts to ourselves. It would not be fair to our friends to ask them to consider as truth anything we think might not be true. Sounds like gossip. No one can change you. But, they may be able to influence you to take the wrong road. I believe we should be responsible for ourselves. We should make our own decisions. I also believe I need a higher power to help me in that endeavor.
You might guess that I don’t believe the universe started out using evolution to create its self. The first atom was most likely hydrogen. Where did the first sub-atomic particle come from?
So, if God is busy redeeming the world, then what would be behind the battles and wars of the third world…especially in the middle east? Wars and battles fought by people who don’t believe in the one true living God does have a purpose and an expected outcome. I expect the evil one to lose because all the ones in bondage to the evil one will end up either converting or killing each other. There are no other options. If you have another option, I would like to hear it.
Which option should we pursue? People suffer the fate of the nation where they live. Do they have a practical choice? Perhaps, there are thousand of missionaries all over the world loving and witnessing for God. Consider the fate of people and how it might be different depending on the option of choice. Do non-believers believe in free choice? Does what they believe really make a difference? Is freedom of choice a truth? I like to think about how our circumstances affect our beliefs. Believing a lie is our biggest problem. Passing along a lie as a truth may be the greatest hurt we can inflict on a friend. If we don’t know the truth or believe the truth, we should probably keep our thoughts to ourselves. It would not be fair to our friends to ask them to consider as truth anything we think might not be true. Sounds like gossip. No one can change you. But, they may be able to influence you to take the wrong road. I believe we should be responsible for ourselves. We should make our own decisions. I also believe I need a higher power to help me in that endeavor.
You might guess that I don’t believe the universe started out using evolution to create its self. The first atom was most likely hydrogen. Where did the first sub-atomic particle come from?
Monday, June 23, 2014
Why Believe? Or, Find a Purpose for Life!
Things on my mind today.
Jim Howard’s surgery to correct the problem of having no valve in the top of his stomach. This missing part causes lots of problems. Is this a birth defect? What are the chances? How can we reconcile this with evolutions and/or creation? Is it my choice to believe which ever? Can I change my mind? Is it my choice to believe in God? If it is my choice, then does it follow that I can cause my own salvation?
I should explain. Jim Howard is our senior pastor at Dillion Community Church. I was on the team that spent about nine months searching and finding Jim. We ended up after a huge internal struggle selecting him with an unanimous decision. Was this effort directed and finalized by God?Or, did we the members of the team make an independent decision? Anyway, he had this surgery for the fourth time this morning. Sounds like the procedure went well and he is recovering. Praise the Lord and thank you doctors.
The Bible says we are all born as sinners because of the fall of Adam and Eve. Otherwise, we might have been created, born into a very blessed and sin free state or condition. If Adam and Even had not eaten the forbidden fruit (sought the knowledge of good and evil) would we still have been subject to free will and able to choose. Am I able choose eternal damnation or eternal salvation?
What is the purpose of life? How is it that I and many others are motivated to live out our lives in a vigorous and purposeful manner while not really knowing the purpose of life?
If you are one who chooses not to believe in God, how do you come to that conclusion? I am truly curious. Is my decision to believe a free will choice? Or, is there a sovereign creator who sets my heart on the believing setting? Did He set your heart on the “Don’t Believe” setting? This would be the same creator I believe exists and you don’t believe exists. There is another option. I know some who claim to believe but choose not to follow. I am greatly puzzled by people who choose this option. Why not choose eternal life???
So, I can think of a couple of other options, However, they might be variations of the two primary options. Believing and not believing in the One True Living God. Do you think there might be some who simply pretend to believe?
Consider the presence of a being in the spiritual realm who works to make people not believe. Believing in the One True Living God would make one aware of the optional controlling spirits. One is the Holy Spirit. The other is the Sinful Nature. Control by the Sinful Nature can manifest itself in several ways. Perhaps the individual might pretend to be a believer. Or, the person might join a cultic or mythical belief. The person might work to redefine God to be the god he desires to serve. Or, the person might claim to not believe in any god. (Does this person need a god in order to have something not to believe?)
I would enjoy hearing your take on this discussion. I believe we are people who were born to share our experiences with those we meet and share our lives. Our experiences turn out to be the only part of our lives we can share and be absolutely certain they are true. If the One True and Living God controls all our lives, then these experiences are true representations of Him and His creation. If not, then I don’t know why sharing is so important.
Any one out there interested in my stories? Read my blogs. These are thoughts from my life experiences.
Jim Howard’s surgery to correct the problem of having no valve in the top of his stomach. This missing part causes lots of problems. Is this a birth defect? What are the chances? How can we reconcile this with evolutions and/or creation? Is it my choice to believe which ever? Can I change my mind? Is it my choice to believe in God? If it is my choice, then does it follow that I can cause my own salvation?
I should explain. Jim Howard is our senior pastor at Dillion Community Church. I was on the team that spent about nine months searching and finding Jim. We ended up after a huge internal struggle selecting him with an unanimous decision. Was this effort directed and finalized by God?Or, did we the members of the team make an independent decision? Anyway, he had this surgery for the fourth time this morning. Sounds like the procedure went well and he is recovering. Praise the Lord and thank you doctors.
The Bible says we are all born as sinners because of the fall of Adam and Eve. Otherwise, we might have been created, born into a very blessed and sin free state or condition. If Adam and Even had not eaten the forbidden fruit (sought the knowledge of good and evil) would we still have been subject to free will and able to choose. Am I able choose eternal damnation or eternal salvation?
What is the purpose of life? How is it that I and many others are motivated to live out our lives in a vigorous and purposeful manner while not really knowing the purpose of life?
If you are one who chooses not to believe in God, how do you come to that conclusion? I am truly curious. Is my decision to believe a free will choice? Or, is there a sovereign creator who sets my heart on the believing setting? Did He set your heart on the “Don’t Believe” setting? This would be the same creator I believe exists and you don’t believe exists. There is another option. I know some who claim to believe but choose not to follow. I am greatly puzzled by people who choose this option. Why not choose eternal life???
So, I can think of a couple of other options, However, they might be variations of the two primary options. Believing and not believing in the One True Living God. Do you think there might be some who simply pretend to believe?
Consider the presence of a being in the spiritual realm who works to make people not believe. Believing in the One True Living God would make one aware of the optional controlling spirits. One is the Holy Spirit. The other is the Sinful Nature. Control by the Sinful Nature can manifest itself in several ways. Perhaps the individual might pretend to be a believer. Or, the person might join a cultic or mythical belief. The person might work to redefine God to be the god he desires to serve. Or, the person might claim to not believe in any god. (Does this person need a god in order to have something not to believe?)
I would enjoy hearing your take on this discussion. I believe we are people who were born to share our experiences with those we meet and share our lives. Our experiences turn out to be the only part of our lives we can share and be absolutely certain they are true. If the One True and Living God controls all our lives, then these experiences are true representations of Him and His creation. If not, then I don’t know why sharing is so important.
Any one out there interested in my stories? Read my blogs. These are thoughts from my life experiences.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Doing Whatever You Want..Is it always that easy?
Am I my own person. The American Way. Self-actualization. Do you search your heart every time you have a pressing decision? Are we able to know our own hearts? Or, are we driven by other forces? Government? Friends? Culture? Political Correctness? Right and Wrong? Good and Evil? If we leave the decision to our own thinking can we avoid all evil? Then, why go to school? Why send our children to school? Why read the newspaper? Or, books? Why read at all?
Who controls your life? Is control even a possibility? When you read something controversial, do you pick a side? Why? What is your favorite food, color, shape, book, movie, TV show, car, sports team, sport? Why do we have favorites? What is your pet peeve? We do have likes and dislikes. We have opinions. We know some things "For a Fact". Do you have beliefs? Do you believe things you can't prove? Have you ever believed a lie? Have you had friends who are no longer friends? Do have friends who used to be enemies? Do your have friends you do not like?
Today I re-read John 21:1-25 from the Bible. This story is told after the time Jesus rose from the grave. He has appeared to seven of his disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. The disciples had been fishing all night and had nothing to show for their efforts. Jesus told them to cast their net or the other side of the boat and they caught a boat load. Why did they cast their net on the other side? Did they do what they wanted? Were they influenced by and outside force? An amazing but highly reliable historic event.
Later Jesus was talking to John and ask him about love. This is another remarkable story. Jesus asked him three times if he love Jesus. John said, You know I do. Jesus said, Feed my sheep. Do you get it? Who are Jesus' sheep? Are you one? Can we avoid being one of his sheep?
Oh by the way, one of things I believe my heart wants me to do is ride on the back of a tandem with my son Bill this next Saturday. We are attempting to ride 100 miles in one day and raise $2,000 for Arkansas Valley Young Life. I am asking you to help. Not ride the bike, raise the money. Send money and ask others to support Bill and I in our endeavor. We have ridden 100 miles in one day before. In fact, we have done it several times. Bill has ridden this same ride two times before by himself. But, it is still an accomplishment. Bill has been training for 70 miles and I have been training for 30 miles. Of course, he is much younger. Thirty three years younger. I just read about a 91 year old lady who "ran" a marathon. WOW! That's remarkable. She wasn't raising money for a worthy cause. Just competing. We are promoting a worthy cause. It is a cause that attempts to get young people to focus on a valuable goal for their lives. Considerable success has been achieved by the efforts. I believe in and am passionate about Young Life. Please help us support it. You can give by going to www.ministrysync.com/event/website/?m=1885220 . Take a look. Give some support and pass it on.
Thanks
Who controls your life? Is control even a possibility? When you read something controversial, do you pick a side? Why? What is your favorite food, color, shape, book, movie, TV show, car, sports team, sport? Why do we have favorites? What is your pet peeve? We do have likes and dislikes. We have opinions. We know some things "For a Fact". Do you have beliefs? Do you believe things you can't prove? Have you ever believed a lie? Have you had friends who are no longer friends? Do have friends who used to be enemies? Do your have friends you do not like?
Today I re-read John 21:1-25 from the Bible. This story is told after the time Jesus rose from the grave. He has appeared to seven of his disciples beside the Sea of Galilee. The disciples had been fishing all night and had nothing to show for their efforts. Jesus told them to cast their net or the other side of the boat and they caught a boat load. Why did they cast their net on the other side? Did they do what they wanted? Were they influenced by and outside force? An amazing but highly reliable historic event.
Later Jesus was talking to John and ask him about love. This is another remarkable story. Jesus asked him three times if he love Jesus. John said, You know I do. Jesus said, Feed my sheep. Do you get it? Who are Jesus' sheep? Are you one? Can we avoid being one of his sheep?
Oh by the way, one of things I believe my heart wants me to do is ride on the back of a tandem with my son Bill this next Saturday. We are attempting to ride 100 miles in one day and raise $2,000 for Arkansas Valley Young Life. I am asking you to help. Not ride the bike, raise the money. Send money and ask others to support Bill and I in our endeavor. We have ridden 100 miles in one day before. In fact, we have done it several times. Bill has ridden this same ride two times before by himself. But, it is still an accomplishment. Bill has been training for 70 miles and I have been training for 30 miles. Of course, he is much younger. Thirty three years younger. I just read about a 91 year old lady who "ran" a marathon. WOW! That's remarkable. She wasn't raising money for a worthy cause. Just competing. We are promoting a worthy cause. It is a cause that attempts to get young people to focus on a valuable goal for their lives. Considerable success has been achieved by the efforts. I believe in and am passionate about Young Life. Please help us support it. You can give by going to www.ministrysync.com/event/website/?m=1885220 . Take a look. Give some support and pass it on.
Thanks
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