Wednesday, April 26, 2023

What's It All About, Alfie? Good question?


What's It All About, Alfie? <---<<< Link to the song sung for the movie by Cilla Black. Made more popular by Dionne Warwick (https://youtu.be/_GahH4j48HM) this song is beautiful and somewhat unusual in it's "message" and musical composition, perhaps being written for the motion picture of the same name. But the 1960's were an unusual decade. Society was less tolerant of today's banality. Perhaps it was a reaction to the truly banally inspired second world war. Here are the Lyrics by Hal David and my comments in brackets: [...] (The lyrics are posted uninterrupted below this post).
"What's it all about Alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?"
["the moment..." Implying the vanity of life and it's shortness. Is it just for the moment(?), the question mark is present and slightly unnerving. If not just for the moment, for what?]
"What's it all about
When you sort it out, Alfie
Are we meant to take more than we give
Or are we meant to be kind?"
[Really profound! Right to the bottom line. Life has to be sorted. Take more than give? Implied: We could give more than take, couldn't we? Who asks these kind of questions? Fools, yes? No?]
"And if, if only fools are kind, Alfie
Then I guess it is wise to be cruel
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie
What will you lend on an old golden rule?"
[Again a profound analysis of the controversy. If it is so, who will risk being good? Nice guys finish last, yes? You wouldn't even put it out at interest. "Do unto others. FULL STOP."]
"As sure as I believe there's a heaven above
Alfie, I know there's something much more
Something even non-believers can believe in..."
[... but now WAIT, we have, this has been wrong. We have missed the meaningful, including faith, heaven and SOMETHING...]
"I believe in love, Alfie
Without true love we just exist, Alfie
Until you find the love you've missed
You're nothing, Alfie..."
[Even the Doobie Bro.'s sing "Without Love where would you be now." It must be at the least HALF the world is seeking something real and true and good. Love is here extolled, exalted, even worshipped for without it ... you're NOTHING? A bit of a slap.]
"When you walk let your heart lead the way..."
[Hmmm... Good advice for a good heart, dangerous advice for a fool.]
"And you'll find love any day Alfie... Alfie..."
[Wistful hope for Alfie? Love? Any day? Any day now? Soon? Everyday? Do I remember the movie ending in an anti-climax? Are we "Dust in the Wind?" Or are we in God's hands?]
I remember being moved without really hearing the lyrics beyond the first two lines when the song came out.
"What's it all about Alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?"
I wasn't 20 years old then. Now after 40 years believing Jesus I am still moved by the song and more now having read the lyrics. The Church was very much stronger as an influence in England and America in 1966, 57 years ago. And should we note Hal David was Jewish? So was, so is Jesus who gave us the "old golden rule" and inspired Solomon to write: "The oppressor of the poor insults his maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.." Proverbs 14:31
God IS love. And love is of God. What's It All About, Alfie? Lyrics by Hal David

What's it all about Alfie

Is it just for the moment we live?

What's it all about

When you sort it out, Alfie

Are we meant to take more than we give

Or are we meant to be kind?

And if, if only fools are kind, Alfie

Then I guess it is wise to be cruel

And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie

What will you lend on an old golden rule?

As sure as I believe there's a heaven above

Alfie, I know there's something much more

Something even non-believers can believe in...

I believe in love, Alfie

Without true love we just exist, Alfie

Until you find the love you've missed

You're nothing, Alfie...

When you walk let your heart lead the way...

And you'll find love any day Alfie..

Alfie...

Devising Devices

Devising Devices

Job 5:12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

[Perhaps we should begin every Bible study asking:

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE?" Most of the church in the 1st might could profit from a little spiritual introspection]


Exodus 20:1-6

1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.


Are the ten commandments to be observed? Obeyed? 


One (expanded) definition of an idol is "anything that replaces God: an object; a THING that when loved, valued, honored, venerated, worshiped and adored displaces God as the supreme and only One  (in Three) worthy of worship, our Creator (of all the THINGS men so blithely worship).


The Native Americans who inhabited the island we now call Manhattan in NYCity sold that island to the Dutch colonizers for $28 dollars of beads. "Surprising" you think? Eve and Adam sold the earth for one piece of fruit. 


NO DOUBT the devil, the first salesman, propagandist and LIAR understands the usefulness of THINGS to get and hold the attention of men. Propaganda ARTS and CRAFTS have been an ever present tool in his evil kit for the distraction and destruction of human souls. They were seen in the last century as a key to the slaughter of millions including the six million Jews of Europe. The Nazi Third Reich was fueled as much by propaganda as by gold and gasoline.


Since the 1940's we have moved from an industrial distraction to a technical distraction, then to that of the information age and now onto perhaps the last distraction: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. Has any of this produced an increase in spiritual knowledge? Yes it has, but I dare say the increase is about a 98 percent increase in the spirits of satan himself! 


Are images idols? Are they propaganda? Do they deceive as satan did deceive? Are photographs, motion pictures used for good or for evil? What is the motive of those who produce them? What do they produce in our hearts as we look on them? I personally find my heart stirred by them in ways that are offensive to better angels... and to God... and to my redeemed spirit. The habits of the (my) flesh are too easily awakened. 


2Corinthians 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Ecclesiastes 7:29

King James Version

Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

New American Standard Bible

Behold, I have found only this, that God made people upright, but they have sought out many schemes.”

NASB 1995

“Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”


"To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity." Isaiah 40:18-23


Job 5:12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.


The devices of men have evolved from bad to worse.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h4284/kjv/wlc/0-1/ 


If you want some conviction about photographic IMAGES, study the mechanical and chemical processes in the first cameras, particularly the need for silver, gold and mercury to produce photographs. Are we any better off than they were who cast brass and silver and gold?


Here is a smattering of quotes on the subject:


In 1816 Joseph Nicephore Niepce took the first image. Nicephore's photograph was not lasting. It was shot on silver chloride-coated paper with a camera he built himself.


Daguerreotypes were made by silver-plating a sheet of copper, then treating it with an iodine compound to produce a coating of light-sensitive silver iodide. After exposure the plate was subjected to mercury vapor, which condensed onto the latent image, most thickly where the light had been brightest.


Did old cameras have silver in them? All those components had circuit boards that contained small quantities of gold and silver. So the bottom line is that some old film cameras contain gold and silver that can be recycled by a qualified precious metals refinery.


Around 2000, all of the major manufacturers stopped making optical color silver halide print paper of both type-C and type-R and began making only color silver halide print paper designed for digital laser printers. At this point, all color prints became digital by definition.


I guess the question should be asked, of what spiritual value are modern images, whether paint, or sculpture, photographic or 3-D printed "sculptures?" 


Certainly modern medical imaging has prolonged some number of human lives. But are the paintings, or sculptures, photographs or 3-D printed "sculptures" of any spiritual value? The answer for this writer is only so far as they are used to communicate the TRUTH. Jesus is TRUTH; He is THE truth. We marvel at the creation and some of us credit and thank God for it. But it is a creation scheduled to be consumed by fire and replaced. Even lives saved by X-rays and cat scans will need Jesus. The most noble purpose of medicine might be, ought to be to preserve the lost soul with prayer he or she become born again! 


2Corinthians 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.


2Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.


Isaiah 55:1-3

1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.


Deuteronomy 29:17  And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:)


Isaiah 31:7

7 For in that day every man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your own hands have made unto you for a sin.

Thoughts???


Isa 40:18-31

18 To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? 19 The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. 20 He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved. 21 Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23 That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. 24 Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble. 25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 27 Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Sunday, March 19, 2023

BAPTISM

BAPTISM

Do we understand what being baptized means? Why are we baptized? John baptized with water for repentance. Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire. Jesus sent the apostles baptizing those they made disciples in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 


1. in water

2. In the Holy Spirit and  fire

3, n the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit


Are we to be baptized in all three? 


There are 5 words greek words we should know: G907, G908 , G909 , G910 , G911 .

1. G907

βαπτίζω ~ baptizō ~ bap-tid’-zo :: From a derivative of G911; to make whelmed (that is, fully wet); used only (in the New Testament) of ceremonial ablution, especially (technically) of the ordinance of Christian baptism: - baptist, baptize, wash.
Total KJV occurrences: 80
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g907/kjv/tr/0-1/

2. G908
βάπτισμα ~ baptisma ~ bap’-tis-mah :: From G907; baptism (technically or figuratively): - baptism.
Total KJV occurrences: 22
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g908/kjv/tr/0-1/

3. G909
βαπτισμός ~ baptismos ~ bap-tis-mos’ :: From G907; ablution (ceremonially or Christian): - baptism, washing.
Total KJV occurrences: 4
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g909/kjv/tr/0-1/

4. G910
Βαπτιστής ~ Baptistēs ~ bap-tis-tace’ :: From G907; a baptizer, as an epithet of Christ’s forerunner: - Baptist.
Total KJV occurrences: 14
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g910/kjv/tr/0-1/

5. G911
βάπτω ~ baptō ~ bap’-to :: A primary verb; to whelm, that is, cover wholly with a fluid; in the New Testament only in a qualified or specific sense, that is, (literally) to moisten (a part of one’s person), or (by implication) to stain (as with dye): - dip.
Total KJV occurrences: 3
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g911/kjv/tr/0-1/

********************************


1. G907 baptizō baptize

[Mat 3:11, 14 KJV] 11 I indeed baptize[G907] you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize[G907] you with the Holy Ghost, and [with] fire: ... 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized[G907] of thee, and comest thou to me?

[Mar 1:8 KJV] 8 I indeed have baptized[G907] you with water: but he shall baptize[G907] you with the Holy Ghost.

[Luk 7:29 KJV] 29 And all the people that heard [him], and the publicans, justified God, being baptized[G907] with the baptism of John.

[Act 10:47 KJV] 47 Can any man forbid water, that these should[G907][G0] not be baptized,[G907] which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

Outline of Biblical Usage 

1.to dip repeatedly, to immerse, to submerge (of vessels sunk)

2.to cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make clean with water, to wash one's self, bathe

3. to overwhelm



2. G908    baptisma  baptism


[Mat 3:7 KJV] 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism,[G908] he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

[Mat 20:22 KJV] 22 But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism[G908] that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

[Mar 11:30 KJV] 30 The baptism[G908] of John, was [it] from heaven, or of men? answer me.

[Luk 3:3 KJV] 3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism[G908] of repentance for the remission of sins;

[Act 19:4 KJV] 4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism[G908] of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

[Rom 6:4 KJV] 4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism[G908] into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

[Eph 4:5 KJV] 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,[G908]


Outline of Biblical Usage 

1.immersion, submersion

  1. of calamities and afflictions with which one is quite overwhelmed
  2. of John's baptism, that purification rite by which men on confessing their sins were bound to spiritual reformation, obtained the pardon of their past sins and became qualified for the benefits of the Messiah's kingdom soon to be set up. This was valid Christian baptism, as this was the only baptism the apostles received and it is not recorded anywhere that they were ever rebaptised after Pentecost.
  3. of Christian baptism; a rite of immersion in water as commanded by Christ, by which one after confessing his sins and professing his faith in Christ, having been born again by the Holy Spirit unto a new life, identifies publicly with the fellowship of Christ and the church.



3. G909   baptismos  washing(s)


[Mar 7:4, 8 KJV] 4 And [when they come] from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, [as] the washing[G909] of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. ... 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, [as] the washing[G909] of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

[Heb 9:10 KJV] 10 [Which stood] only in meats and drinks, and divers washings,[G909] and carnal ordinances, imposed [on them] until the time of reformation.


Outline of Biblical Usage 

1. a washing, purification effected by means of water

  1. of washing prescribed by the Mosaic law (Heb 9:10) which seems to mean an exposition of the difference between the washings prescribed by the Mosaic law and Christian baptism




4. G910  Baptistēs  Baptist


[Mat 3:1 KJV] 1  In those days came John the Baptist,[G910] preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

[Mar 8:28 KJV] 28 And they answered, John the Baptist:[G910] but some [say], Elias; and others, One of the prophets.

[Luk 7:28 KJV] 28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist:[G910] but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.


Outline of Biblical Usage 

1. a baptiser

2. one who administers the rite of baptism

3. the surname of John, the forerunner of Christ




5. G911  bapto  dip

[Luke 16:24 KJV] 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip[G911] the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

[John 13:26 KJV] 26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped[G911] [it]. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave [it] to Judas Iscariot, [the son] of Simon.

[Revelation 19:13 KJV] 13 And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped[G911] in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 



Outline of Biblical Usage 

1. to dip, dip in, immerse

2 to dip into dye, to dye, colour



From the Blue Letter Bible RE; G911 and G907

 

“Not to be confused with 907, baptizo. The clearest example that shows the meaning of baptizo is a text from the Greek poet and physician Nicander, who lived about 200 B.C. It is a recipe for making pickles and is helpful because it uses both words. Nicander says that in order to make a pickle, the vegetable should first be 'dipped' (bapto) into boiling water and then 'baptised' (baptizo) in the vinegar solution. Both verbs concern the immersing of vegetables in a solution. But the first is temporary. The second, the act of baptising the vegetable, produces a permanent change.

My observations:

This note is most interesting as boiling water requires fire. The water of christian baptism is not boiling but repentance is and/or ought to be a permanent change. Would Jesus baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire not bring change? Recipes for pickles a different than they were in 200BC. Now the cucumbers are placed In jars and sealed.

From an article on the phrase “dyed in the wool.”

“When wool is dyed before being spun into thread (as opposed to after it is spun or woven into fabric), the color is profound and likely to last a very long time. From this we can infer the metaphorical meaning of the idiom dyed in the wool, which means profoundly, deeply ingrained, or to an extreme degree. It’s usually used in describing a person’s political, cultural, or religious beliefs or to emphasize their commitment to something."


My observations:


Death burial and resurrection! We need to leave the flesh at the bottom of the sea. We have died with Christ, in Christ! But we are raised , from the flood, from the Red Sea, and from the watery tomb of Jesus to life! Eternal life! The flesh is forever immersed in the watery grave. But we are raised and remain immersed in the blood and sacrifice of Jesus, immersed in the presence of the power of the Holy Spirit, a never ending immersion into and in the Kingdom of God!