Golden Nugget #5

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
(Isaiah 53:4-9)

Mormonism - The First Vision Pt 2

Last week we took a look at the first vision that Joseph Smith claimed to have and we compared what he saw in that vision with The Bible. This week we are going to look at what he heard in that vision.

By comparing what he saw with what The Bible says, we were able to determine that it wasn't Biblical nor did it qualify as being "Christian". And since Joseph Smith is the founder of Mormonism, and they claim to be Christians, it obviously is a case of misrepresentation, in that Mormon doctrines are neither Biblical or Christian.

One cannot believe un-Biblical and un-Christian doctrines and still be called a Christian. We will further document that in this weeks look at his first vision.

Joseph Smith was confused about the different Christian denominations and their teachings. He thought that their differences were such that they could not all be right, and he wanted to know which one was right so he could join that one.

Last week we left off with Joseph on the ground and the "two personages" floating above him. We continue with him regaining his composure enough to ask them a question.

My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)--and which I should join. - Joseph Smith

Witness to a Witness - The First and The Last

In a friendly debate I'm having with a Jehovah's Witness co-worker, I've noticed a few trends in the way he responds to my points.

1) He never writes to me in his own words, instead he gives me an article someone else wrote.

2) He'll totally ignore and sidestep the verses I point out, instead he'll change the subject and point out a completely different verse as if the one I pointed out didn’t exist!

This disturbs me because it's obvious the Watchtower just dictates to him what to say, what not to say, and *dare I say* possibly dictates what he believes.

Even though they have a fine looking website with their translation of The Bible on it, how much actual Bible reading do they promote? Is he completely unaware of what the whole of The Bible says?

It's important, nay - it's absolutely vital, that we take the whole of The Bible, in context, rightly divided, into account for doctrine instead of just a few verses. It’s the most important rule we should follow to avoid heretical doctrine.

The verses I want to highlight for this weeks installment are some of the verses my friend has ignored in our debate. I wonder if you can guess why the Watchtower might not want him discussing them?

Jesus Is My Friend

This weeks song is an addictive, toe-tapping, silly love song about Jesus performed by Sonseed. It has a weird mixture of musical elements and it works! It's the kind of song that sticks in your mind for days at a time!

I love this song!

You may love it also after you listen to it, and you might start singing it in the check-out line at the grocery store!

Witness To A Witness

So, you're sitting on the couch with your wife after dinner, relaxing and enjoying your evening when suddenly there's a knock on the door.

When you open the door you are greeted by two nicely dressed people with big smiles, offering you material on their beliefs and wanting to talk about them with you!

They identify themselves as "Jehovah's Witnesses", which are Members of The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, and you freeze because you are at a loss for words in knowing how to respond to their claims.

Or perhaps you have a talkative co-worker who is a Jehovah's Witness, and is vocal about his beliefs, so the two of you engage in an ongoing friendly debate, and you need to know how to respond to his claims.

What's in a name?

(For the honor of being the introduction post of this inconspicuous and soon to be obscure blog, I have selected one of the first sermonettes I preached for our nursing home outreach ministry. It is not remarkable in any way to merit it's selection, but simply the fact that it's subject matter is that of "names".

In regards to the name of this blog, it was selected because of a few perspectives I have from where I sit.

I live in Seattle where it is cloudy most of the year, so looking forward to a sunny day, and enjoying it when the sun does come out, are good metaphors for our hope of eternity with Jesus and appreciating the blessings he showers on us while we are in this world.

I pray that this blog is a blessing to all that visit, that all will get inspiration to keep our eyes on Jesus during the periods of time when the clouds roll into our lives and the weather is stormy. - RB)

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When we were born, or just before we were born, our parents had to make the first of many decisions affecting our lives. And that was the decision of what to name us. Some of us have what we would call normal names, like John or Mark or Ruth or Mary. And some of us have rather odd names. In fact, the name of my distant uncle from Norway is really Odd. I’m serious – his named is spelled o-d-d. Its pronounced “ode”, but when you read it, it spells the word “odd”.

Every time he comes to the United States to visit, people always say “that’s an odd name”…and he just says "Uff Da!"