Beauty:

Beauty is the envelope,not the letter.

 

  by Digital Anvil.

Be Optimistic.

Be Optimistic (1)

“God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Genesis 1:31 NKJV

Before the age of two, Helen Keller lost her vision and her hearing. In an instant, her world went dark and silent. Then a godsend named Anne Sullivan broke through Helen’s solitary confinement and touched her soul. As a result, Helen became the first deaf/blind person to earn a bachelor’s degree. She also authored a dozen books, including a manifesto on her philosophy of life, Optimism.

“No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars,” she wrote, “or sailed to an uncharted land.” The last page of her book echoes the first page of Scripture: “Optimism is the harmony of man’s spirit and the spirit of God pronouncing His works good.”

 If God’s Spirit is within you, optimism is the order of the day. Optimism isn’t at odds with the reality all around us. It simply means we’re anchored to another reality—the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ—that is deeper and stronger and longer than the reality we can perceive with our five senses. 

Helen Keller proved that with an optimistic spirit, even the most difficult of circumstances cannot define you. And even if you cannot change them, you can overcome them. She proved that as amazing as the human eye is, there’s something more amazing—the mind’s eye that enables us to imagine the unthinkable and believe the impossible. It’s why she said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” Or as Paul put it: “Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8 NCV). In other words, be optimistic.

SoulFood: Num 30:1–32:24 Luke 8:40–56 Ps 125 Pro 4:3–4

Digital Anvil thanks Vision.org.au For the above daily- reading.

Modernism and Post: .A Troubled Essay.

 Where did it come from and what did it mean?

 

Modernism: a term fast achieving a posture of decline while some enthusiastically add the prefix: 'post'

The term of Modernism

 represents an age of gross optimism, revolutionary theories and paradigm shifts in society, culture and politics. 

 An Age of Man or Humankind that represented the rise of human reason over nature, the world and its explanation. With the certainty of Francis Bacon's scientific method, the crucial ideas or the fundamentals that ruled the mechanisms,physics and processes were soon evident with vast loads of data potentially collected and interpreted.

 Many Historians stipulate this age began as Copernicus published: On the Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres. 

The time: year 1543. 

But wholesale transformative time had arrived with social and religious reformation of the medieval Church and the 'plain citizen.' Feudalism was being captured and wrestled to the ground. Progress, at first was slow, but proceeded, accelerating in the decades and centuries that followed.

 

The Scientific Revolution had set the course of humanity for some centuries to come. Man, not God, became the ultimate measure. God began to take a backseat, he was not the driver any longer. Seeds were planted, however all was not as it seemed. While God and his followers were gradually pushed to the margins, man continued his spectacular, amazonian march into the future, technologically driven and scientifically sound. 

Everything, no problem, was unsolvable, nothing thwarted or is unyieldingly unavailable. Man, science and its sister, technology advances our agenda for the concievable centuries.

 

Women, often " invisible' , overlooked and unacknowledged were thrust into the mainstream with excellant results. More and more women being educated contributed, advancing Humankind, then in my opinion, momentum stalled with some strange over- the- top conceptions.  In this current cultural moment ,women began to consolidate their overlooked intellects. But then strange beliefs were generated.

One idea floated was that Men, in particular, white, older males were said to blame for ALL and every social ill according to vocal female critics. In time,a new generation  of girls began to question and disrupt every known Western tradition. Reversing ancient customs, norms and values with a few disastrous results.

 Suddenly biological sex became a fiction,a mere assigination at birth. Centuries,scores of obvious research and studies were overthrown,cancelled and even the medical professional could not say what a woman is ? or that " transwomen" were still men!

 Absurdities became " common knowledge" and  even genuine comedy was forbidden for the TV crowd. Laughter had been re-shaped and outlawed. Polite applause was 'learned' instead of racous laughter. Satire was "out." Banned from "reasonable" society.

To demonstrate these current clownish reversals: a popular and famous comedian was arrested by  5 armed Police at Heathrow Airport and escorted to awaiting armoured van for the crime of posting a somewhat critical opinion on a current issue in poltics on social media.

Something any 16 year old could joke about  at school with impunity,though with more crudity. Absurd?

War was declared on reason and critical thinking. Suddenly language had some of its assumed meaning, altered. If you didn't follow the demanded grammer changes, you were annulled or cancelled. At best,you were severely embarresed,at worst HR could have a word. And re-education was the ordered course. But the western nations somehow were ravaged by the ideology that promised not a progress of clarity but a confused population too cowered to protest. But all had been silenced and the flower of youth seemed wilted.

AU seemed to avoid the more repugant and troublesome states of play.

Even girl and boyhood had its state of play re-conformed to multiple expressions of sexuality. Children became  genuinely confused and had unscientific  organ surgeries and  had reversed biological/ pharmacological sex treatments. (some tomboys became permanently "blended" fe/males all in the name of scientific progress ?) The genitalia of males and females occuring together in a single person. Not from birth but after sex affirming surgery.

Toddlers, as young as three, were being taught about gender sexuality. SEX education for walking but not really talking babies.

Gender theory was being taught to little children and recommended to adults as gospel truth?. With the apparent common consent of the western youth marshalling their forces, even the older adults began living in fear of ridicule,job loss and social  banishment.

Okay, i'll stop writing about the excesses and absurdities of what is known as 'post -modernist thought'. Uberreach or overreached nonsense.

i'll deal with it in another essay.

thus to return to the word...

Modernism can be summed as the title of Thomas Paine's book; The Age of Reason.

( by Digital Anvil )

But as defined by some urgent and persistent voices,"feelings"became more important than logic and reasoning. But that's for another day.

Among the many stronger voices in the form of published authors we have: Dougles Murray.

The War on the West and the Madness of the Crowd are two spell- binding books ( most cited) by the above author.

NB: The above essay does Not constitute a book review.

You do You:

You do you

Have you heard the phrase—“you do you”?

At its best, it affirms that people ought to be themselves and not just fit the current stereotypes. There is, however, a downside: what if “doing you” is toxic to yourself or to others?

The Bible has a response to “you do you.” First, it says we are all created unique and special—doing you is how you were created. But the Bible also reminds us that we have a propensity to sin, to fall short of God’s standards.

Jesus gives us a way to know God, get ourselves right, and be our unique selves. “You do you”—but do this with one eye on your unique gifts and the other on the standards God calls us to live by.

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From Digital Anvil with thanks to Karl Faase for this daily- reading.

Don’t compare yourself with others

“Each one should test their own actions ... without comparing themselves to someone else.” Galatians 6:4 NIV

 

Paul wrote: “Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else”. 

 

Jesus was insistent on this. After the resurrection, He appeared to some of His followers. He gave Peter, an Apostle, a specific assignment that included great sacrifice. Peter responded by pointing at John and asking, “‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to live until I come back, that is not your business. You follow me’” ( from the book of John 21:21-22 NCV).

In other words, stay focused on your own assignment. A little boy named Adam wanted to be like his friend Bobby. Adam loved the way Bobby walked and talked. Bobby, however, wanted to be like Charlie. Something about Charlie’s stride and accent intrigued him. Charlie, on the other hand, was impressed with Danny. Charlie wanted to look and sound like him. Danny, of all things, had a hero as well: Adam. He wanted to be just like Adam. So, Adam was imitating Bobby, who was imitating Charlie, who was imitating Danny, who was imitating Adam. It turns out that all Adam needed to do was to be himself! You can learn from others, but you can only find joy and fulfillment in being who God created you to be. So stay in your own lane. Run your own race. Nothing good happens when you compare and compete.

 Furthermore, God will not evaluate and reward you according to the talents of others, but according to how faithful you were with the gifts He gave you. You are not responsible for the nature of your gifts, but for how you use them.

From Digital Anvil with many thanks to Vision.org.au for this daily- reading.

To Know is to Believe ?

 

 

Belief is essential to life. 

Most of what we “know” about the world is really what we “believe” on the basis of someone else’s word. We trust the testimony of historians because we cannot personally verify world history. We trust the accuracy of maps because we cannot visit every corner of the globe. 

In almost every area of life, we rely on belief.

 

This is important to recognise. Because what we believe shapes how we live. Our beliefs aren’t neutral. They steer our decisions, hopes, fears, and habits. They form the framework by which we interpret the world and relate to those around us. Whether we realize it or not, we all run on a web of beliefs.

 

We should deeply consider, then, WHAT we believe, and WHY. Especially as Christians.

 Right belief, we learn, is central to our faith, identity, confidence and entire Christian existence.

So what do we believe, exactly?

 

To help distill this, we turn  to one of the most powerful statements of belief in Church history: the Apostles’ Creed. Rooted in baptismal confessions of the second century, and reaching its near-final form by the fourth, the Apostles’ Creed gathers the essential doctrines of Scripture into twelve articles that have been articulated, defended, prayed, and memorised for nearly 2,000 years. Together, they offer a concise narrative of God’s redemptive story.

Every stanza begins with two small but significant words: “I believe.”

 These words can change our life.

 

Biblically speaking, belief is more than just intellectual agreement. When we say “credo” (I believe) with the Apostles' Creed, we are pledging allegiance, locating ourselves in God’s story and confessing not only what we think but what we love, trust, and are prepared to live and die for.

In a world where truth and fiction are often blurred, the Creed gives us solid ground. It’s the DNA of our faith: informative and performative, educational and sacramental, a summary of our doctrine and an invitation into God’s story all at once.

So, to begin this life- journey, pause and ask: What do you believe?

 

(From Digital Anvil with gratitude to the folk at the wondrous Glorify App.)

New for Old Replacement:

Insurance option - New for Old Replacement

There is a particular option you can choose in your insurance policies: it’s called new for old. If your tired, old, and broken insured possession is irreparably damaged, you can replace it with a brand-new version of the same item.

What a great insurance policy that is—new for old!

God’s Word tells us that this same option is available in your heavenly policy agreement. God promises to replace our old and broken life with a new version. We get new for old through God’s grace.

In fact, we are told: “The old has gone, the new has come.” This is the chance for a fresh beginning—a new start.

Thank God today for your new for old heavenly spiritual policy.

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I thank Karl Faase for this startling daily- reading.

( from Digital Anvil)