The Simple Life

"Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" Luke 17:7-10 (ESV)   "We used to be roused and stirred by the clarion call of duty, as well as soothed and comforted by the tender breathings of love. And here the call comes to us loud and clear, waxing even louder as we listen and reflect. ‘Do your duty; and when you have done it, however laborious and painful it may be, remember that you have only done your duty. Do not give yourselves airs of complacency, as though you had achieved some great thing. Do not gi...

"Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'" Luke 17:7-10 (ESV)   "People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view and with such a tho...

"Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at once and recline at table'? Will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? 10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.'"  Luke 17:7-10 (ESV)    "A second point at which the fact answers to the parable, is the matter of wages; that is to say, the slave and the servant of Christ have neither of them any right to thanks or compensation. What God may do for His servants out of His own free grace and love, what privileges He may grant His friends, is another question; but, on the hard business basis of value received, the servant of God has no case. What he does in God's service it ...

There is reality and there is a perception of reality. The more our perception aligns with what actually is, the more stable the individual, community, and nation. Perception, to many, is their reality, yet, perception is really nothing more than how I view what I consider reality. This may sound like a lot of philosophical mumble jumble, however, it is critically important that a civilized society be guided by the absolutes, and not by various perceptions of what is. The Bible starts by telling us that in the beginning, God. All good education should start with the same. It is obvious, even to the casual observer, that the universe in which we live was created, and that we were created, with purpose. For many, to ignore this means the undoing of the civilized world. Today there is a war, yet this war is not between countries, races, or color. It is a war between truth and error. It is a warfare, like all warfare, that will yield many casualties, leave many disillusioned, and pro...

And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news."  Luke  1:18-19  (ESV) “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you….” I am Dave. I, too, can stand in the presence of God. I, too, can be sent to speak to someone. The key to success in life is our proximity to God. Once we choose to be near Him, we choose to listen to Him, and we choose to obey Him, we will be successful. It is interesting how Gabriel stated his authority and from where his authority came. When Jesus was preparing to leave this planet, He told His disciples that is was best that He leave, in that when He did, the Holy Spirit would come and inhabit God’s children. This was the best news they could receive, for then, Peter could be in a position to say, “I am Peter, God ...

And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God…."  Luke  1:12-16  (ESV) “Do not be afraid” is a common exclamation by the angelic host when they make themselves visible to a human. It is so common that we must conclude that seeing an angel can be a terrifying experience. I wonder if it is the brightness, the voice, the strangeness of the sudden appearance, or the helpless feeling of being invaded by someone or something we cannot understand. The truth is this: angels are all around us now. ...

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught. Luke 1:1-4 (ESV) Luke, the physician, does not claim to be an eyewitness account of what happened with Jesus, but he is one who personally evaluated the claims of those who had been with Jesus. As a doctor, he felt compelled to get the facts about Jesus’ miraculous birth recorded for Theophilus so he could have all his doubts erased. There is no reason to doubt Luke’s scholarship, methods, and conclusions. There is no reason to doubt unless your belief system has become the basis of your understanding, and you have slipped into thinking that whatever you belie...