Texas Eagle
Since Aug 27, 1998

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Why Texas Eagle when I live in Commiefornia?

It's a poke in Weird Owl Gore's eye. Back when he was VP, an elderly Texas couple wrote to him to see if he could stop the planned elimination of an Amtrak route called the Texas Eagle that ran from Dallas to Chicago because that is SUPPOSEDLY the only way they were able to travel to see their children and grandchildren.

Weird Owl wrote them back ensuring them of his commitment to protecting any and all endangered species and promised he would do everything in his power to protect the Texas Eagle from extinction.

That was right around the time I came across FR and took it as my nick.

Seeing yourself as God sees you

My motto:
(Philippians 4:4) Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice!

The REALLY Good News:
You don't have to "invite" Jesus into your life. You just have to recognize that He is already in you.
(John 14:20 New Living Translation) "When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you."
(Acts 17:28 NIV) For in Him we live and move and have our being.

God's will for your life
1 Thessalonians 5:18 Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God in Yeshua The Messiah among you.

John 6:29 New Living Translation (NLT):
Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one He has sent.”

God thinks about you
Phillipians 1:6 Good News Translation
And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.

Psalm 56:8 New Living Translation (NLT):
You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.

How to combat the negative voices in your head

1 John 3:18-20 The Message (MSG) My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. 21-24 And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God! We’re able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we’re doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God’s command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

Isaiah 55:9 New Living Translation (NLT):
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

1 Corinthians 2:16 New Living Translation (NLT):
For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
Who knows enough to teach him?”[a]
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and a sound mind.

Romans 5 New Living Translation (NLT):
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace[a] with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

What God Does With Our Sin (our mistakes, our failures, when we have chosen.....poorly)

BEING FORGIVEN
JAG 5000 Posted on 6/24/2020
Rosalind Goforth was a well-known missionary to China who, along with her husband Jonathan, enjoyed an illustrious career and ministry. ` But for many years even having labored for the Lord in China, Rosalind often felt oppressed by a burden of sin. She felt guilty and dirty, nursing an inward sense of spiritual failure. Finally one evening when all was quiet, she settled at her desk with Bible and concordance, determined to find out God's attitude toward the failures, the faults, the sins of his children. She put these words at the top of the page: What God Does With Our Sins. Then as she searched through the scriptures, she compiled this list of seventeen truths." __

Robert J. Morgan, The Donaldson Fellowship, Nashville, TN What God Does With Our Sins

(1) Isaiah 53:6 (He lays them on His Son, the Lord Jesus) We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

____________

(2) John 1:29 (Christ takes them away) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! ____________

(3) Psalm 103: 11-12 (They are removed an infinite distance from us) For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. __________

(4) Jeremiah 50:20 (When sought that are not found) In those days, at that time, declares the Lord, ;search will be made for Israel;s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare. ______________ >P>(5) Eph. 1:7-8 (The Lord forgives them) In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God;s grace that he lavished on us." _____________

(6) 1 John 1:7 (He cleanses them all by the blood of His Son) "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son, cleanses us from all sin." ______________

(7) Isaiah 1:18 (He cleanses them as white as wool and snow) Come now, let us settle the matter,; says the Lord. ;Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. ____________

(8) Isaiah 55:6-7 (He freely pardons our sins) Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. ____________

(9) Micah 7: 18-19 (He tramples our sins underfoot) Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot ____________

(10) Hebrews 10:17-18 (He remembers them no more) Then he adds: ;Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary. ____________

(11) Isaiah 38:16-17 (He casts them behind His back) You restored me to health and let me live. Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back. ____________

(12) Micah 7:18-19 (He hurls all our sins into the depths of the sea) Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. ___________

(13) Romans 4:7-8 (He will never count our sins against us) Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them. _____________

(14) Romans 4:7 (He covers our sins) Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ___________

(15) Isaiah 43:25 (He blots them out) even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. ____________

(16) Isaiah 44:22 (He swept them away as a thick cloud) I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. ____________

17) Col. 2:13-15 (He cancels out even the proof against us, nailing it to His cross) "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." _____________

Add 1 John 1:8-10 The Message (MSG) 8-10 If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.

Favorite Psalm

Psalm 37

1 A psalm of David. Don't worry about the wicked. Don't envy those who do wrong. 2 For like grass, they soon fade away. Like springtime flowers, they soon wither.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. 4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart's desires.

5 Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you. 6 He will make your innocence as clear as the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

7 Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

8 Stop your anger! Turn from your rage! Do not envy others-- it only leads to harm. 9 For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the LORD will possess the land. 10 In a little while, the wicked will disappear. Though you look for them, they will be gone.

11 Those who are gentle and lowly will possess the land; they will live in prosperous security.

12 The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance. 13 But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming.

14 The wicked draw their swords and string their bows to kill the poor and the oppressed, to slaughter those who do right. 15 But they will be stabbed through the heart with their own swords, and their bows will be broken.

16 It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and possess much. 17 For the strength of the wicked will be shattered, but the LORD takes care of the godly.

18 Day by day the LORD takes care of the innocent, and they will receive a reward that lasts forever. 19 They will survive through hard times; even in famine they will have more than enough.

20 But the wicked will perish. The LORD's enemies are like flowers in a field-- they will disappear like smoke. 21 The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.

22 Those blessed by the LORD will inherit the land, but those cursed by him will die. 23 The steps of the godly are directed by the LORD. He delights in every detail of their lives. 24 Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.

25 Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly forsaken, nor seen their children begging for bread. 26 The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing.

27 Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever. 28 For the LORD loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will perish.

29 The godly will inherit the land and will live there forever. 30 The godly offer good counsel; they know what is right from wrong. 31 They fill their hearts with God's law, so they will never slip from his path.

32 Those who are evil spy on the godly, waiting for an excuse to kill them. 33 But the LORD will not let the wicked succeed or let the godly be condemned when they are brought before the judge.

34 Don't be impatient for the LORD to act! Travel steadily along his path. He will honor you, giving you the land. You will see the wicked destroyed. 35 I myself have seen it happen-- proud and evil people thriving like mighty trees. 36 But when I looked again, they were gone! Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

37 Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future lies before those who love peace. 38 But the wicked will be destroyed; they have no future.

39 The LORD saves the godly; he is their fortress in times of trouble. 40 The LORD helps them, rescuing them from the wicked. He saves them, and they find shelter in him.

Now for the best reply to a post I've ever received:

I am no scientist. I am a Christian. I acknowledge that evolutionary theory may have some merit. I have my questions about evolution, but given my lack of scientific background, I am probably not competent to even formulate those questions properly for those who would give them serious consideration.

I also recognize that what I believe, I believe by faith, not fact. That's what makes it faith. My religious belief is not science, not likely provable by science, but perhaps disprovable by science (but my faith says that it won't be disproven-- that's why I believe what I believe).

I believe in the Bible as the inspired word of God, but I cannot say that every word was intended to be interpreted literally. I believe there is room for symbolism in much of scripture.

I believe God is all powerful, and created the universe for His own reasons, most of which are beyond my (and because I am a fairly intelligent guy, relative to others) and most others' understanding. I believe God is all knowing and all good and loving, although I confess I cannot understand everything about Him.

If God is all powerful, and if among God's purposes was for us to discover and love Him by faith, rather than by His demand or by making Himself obvious to us, then He may have made the world just as it is-- ambiguous and problematic as to its origins, purposes and destiny.

God may have (but need not have, and in fact may not have) created the world in 6 days, or less if He were so inclined. I believe that however God created the world, the day after He finished, it looked older than it was-- perhaps millions or billions of years older, by human reckoning. Alternatively, He may have started the universe by a Big Bang and "cultivated" it to its current state, but my faith suggests not.

I acknowledge the shortcomings that many may see if my belief system, but I suggest that every belief system, even those purportedly based in science, contain shortcomings large enough to allow a total destruction of their validity.

Where does this statement of belief get me (us)? Perhaps nowhere, but hopefully a little further toward a mutual tolerance of others' beliefs (and by tolerance I mean true tolerance, not like that of the left, but an attitude that allows others to have their beliefs without ridicule, while not requiring anyone to adhere one's own beliefs).

Have a great week...

205 posted on 08/29/2005 6:16:45 AM PDT by NCLaw441