From Gary... Written on the sky

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

Rainbow Airglow over the Azores 
Image Credit & Copyright: Miguel Claro (TWAN); Rollover Annotation: Judy Schmidt

Explanation: Why would the sky glow like a giant repeating rainbow? Airglow. Now air glows all of the time, but it is usually hard to see. A disturbance however -- like an approaching storm -- may cause noticeable rippling in the Earth's atmosphere. These gravity waves are oscillations in air analogous to those created when a rock is thrown in calm water. The long-duration exposure nearly along the vertical walls of airglow likely made the undulating structure particularly visible. OK, but where do the colors originate? The deep red glow likely originates from OH molecules about 87-kilometers high, excited by ultraviolet light from the Sun. The orange and green airglow is likely caused by sodium and oxygenatoms slightly higher up. The featured image was captured during a climb up Mount Pico in the Azores of Portugal. Ground lights originate from the island of Faial in the Atlantic Ocean. A spectacular sky is visible through this banded airglow, with the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy running up the image center, and M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, visible near the top left.

I feel quite sure that I have published at least 20 rainbows over the years and frankly, I was a bit surprised to see something I had never seen before. Yet, today on the NASA site- there it was!!! Imagine a rainbow that covers the entire sky??? Immediately, I thought of the last verse of the hymn: The love of God is greater far!!!

1	The love of God is greater far   Than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star   And reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care,   God gave His Son to win; His erring child He reconciled   And pardoned from his sin.
	O love of God, how rich and pure!   How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure—     The saints’ and angels’ song.
2	When hoary time shall pass away,   And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall; When men who here refuse to pray,   On rocks and hills and mountains call; God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,   All measureless and strong; Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—   The saints’ and angels’ song.
3	Could we with ink the ocean fill,   And were the skies of parchment made; Were every stalk on earth a quill,   And every man a scribe by trade; To write the love of God above   Would drain the ocean dry; Nor could the scroll contain the whole,   Though stretched from sky to sky.

Perhaps, you might enjoy just listening to it...

The Love of God is Greater Far

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeBSv4dQ6BU&feature=youtu.be

John, Chapter 3 (WEB)

 16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

There really is nothing more to be said, other than enjoy the picture and the song.

PS. I hope this makes your day- it certainly gave mine a boost!!!

From Gary... Bible Reading March 22

Bible Reading  

March 22

The World English Bible

Mar. 22

Exodus 38 – 40

Exo 38:1 He made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood. It was square. Its length was five cubits, its breadth was five cubits, and its height was three cubits.

Exo 38:2 He made its horns on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with brass.

Exo 38:3 He made all the vessels of the altar, the pots, the shovels, the basins, the forks, and the fire pans. He made all its vessels of brass.

Exo 38:4 He made for the altar a grating of a network of brass, under the ledge around it beneath, reaching halfway up.

Exo 38:5 He cast four rings for the four ends of brass grating, to be places for the poles.

Exo 38:6 He made the poles of acacia wood, and overlaid them with brass.

Exo 38:7 He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the altar, with which to carry it. He made it hollow with planks.

Exo 38:8 He made the basin of brass, and its base of brass, out of the mirrors of the ministering women who ministered at the door of the Tent of Meeting.

Exo 38:9 He made the court: for the south side southward the hangings of the court were of fine twined linen, one hundred cubits;

Exo 38:10 their pillars were twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver.

Exo 38:11 For the north side one hundred cubits, their pillars twenty, and their sockets twenty, of brass; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.

Exo 38:12 For the west side were hangings of fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets ten; the hooks of the pillars, and their fillets, of silver.

Exo 38:13 For the east side eastward fifty cubits.

Exo 38:14 The hangings for the one side were fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three;

Exo 38:15 and so for the other side: on this hand and that hand by the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits; their pillars three, and their sockets three.

Exo 38:16 All the hangings around the court were of fine twined linen.

Exo 38:17 The sockets for the pillars were of brass. The hooks of the pillars and their fillets were of silver; and the overlaying of their capitals, of silver; and all the pillars of the court were filleted with silver.

Exo 38:18 The screen for the gate of the court was the work of the embroiderer, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen. Twenty cubits was the length, and the height in the breadth was five cubits, like to the hangings of the court.

Exo 38:19 Their pillars were four, and their sockets four, of brass; their hooks of silver, and the overlaying of their capitals, and their fillets, of silver.

Exo 38:20 All the pins of the tabernacle, and around the court, were of brass.

Exo 38:21 This is the amount of material used for the tabernacle, even the Tabernacle of the Testimony, as they were counted, according to the commandment of Moses, for the service of the Levites, by the hand of Ithamar, the son of Aaron the priest.

Exo 38:22 Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, made all that Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 38:23 With him was Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, an engraver, and a skillful workman, and an embroiderer in blue, in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen.

Exo 38:24 All the gold that was used for the work in all the work of the sanctuary, even the gold of the offering, was twenty-nine talents, and seven hundred thirty shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

Exo 38:25 The silver of those who were numbered of the congregation was one hundred talents, and one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary:

Exo 38:26 a beka a head, that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for everyone who passed over to those who were numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty men.

Exo 38:27 The one hundred talents of silver were for casting the sockets of the sanctuary, and the sockets of the veil; one hundred sockets for the one hundred talents, a talent for a socket.

Exo 38:28 Of the one thousand seven hundred seventy-five shekels he made hooks for the pillars, overlaid their capitals, and made fillets for them.

Exo 38:29 The brass of the offering was seventy talents, and two thousand four hundred shekels.

Exo 38:30 With this he made the sockets to the door of the Tent of Meeting, the bronze altar, the bronze grating for it, all the vessels of the altar,

Exo 38:31 the sockets around the court, the sockets of the gate of the court, all the pins of the tabernacle, and all the pins around the court.

Exo 39:1 Of the blue, purple, and scarlet, they made finely worked garments, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 39:2 He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.

Exo 39:3 They beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, in the purple, in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, the work of the skillful workman.

Exo 39:4 They made shoulder straps for it, joined together. At the two ends it was joined together.

Exo 39:5 The skillfully woven band that was on it, with which to fasten it on, was of the same piece, like its work; of gold, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen; as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 39:6 They worked the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold, engraved with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Israel.

Exo 39:7 He put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 39:8 He made the breastplate, the work of a skillful workman, like the work of the ephod; of gold, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.

Exo 39:9 It was square. They made the breastplate double. Its length was a span, and its breadth a span, being double.

Exo 39:10 They set in it four rows of stones. A row of ruby, topaz, and beryl was the first row;

Exo 39:11 and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;

Exo 39:12 and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;

Exo 39:13 and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold settings.

Exo 39:14 The stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, for the twelve tribes.

Exo 39:15 They made on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.

Exo 39:16 They made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

Exo 39:17 They put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.

Exo 39:18 The other two ends of the two braided chains they put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, in its front.

Exo 39:19 They made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which was toward the side of the ephod inward.

Exo 39:20 They made two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its front, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.

Exo 39:21 They bound the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not come loose from the ephod, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 39:22 He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.

Exo 39:23 The opening of the robe in its midst was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around its opening, that it should not be torn.

Exo 39:24 They made on the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, scarlet, and twined linen.

Exo 39:25 They made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates around the skirts of the robe, between the pomegranates;

Exo 39:26 a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the skirts of the robe, to minister in, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 39:27 They made the coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,

Exo 39:28 and the turban of fine linen, and the linen headbands of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen,

Exo 39:29 and the sash of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 39:30 They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it a writing, like the engravings of a signet: "HOLY TO YAHWEH."

Exo 39:31 They tied to it a lace of blue, to fasten it on the turban above, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 39:32 Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting was finished. The children of Israel did according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses; so they did.

Exo 39:33 They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent, with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,

Exo 39:34 the covering of rams' skins dyed red, the covering of sea cow hides, the veil of the screen,

Exo 39:35 the ark of the testimony with its poles, the mercy seat,

Exo 39:36 the table, all its vessels, the show bread,

Exo 39:37 the pure lampstand, its lamps, even the lamps to be set in order, all its vessels, the oil for the light,

Exo 39:38 the golden altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door of the Tent,

Exo 39:39 the bronze altar, its grating of brass, its poles, all of its vessels, the basin and its base,

Exo 39:40 the hangings of the court, its pillars, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, its pins, all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the Tent of Meeting,

Exo 39:41 the finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.

Exo 39:42 According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.

Exo 39:43 Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Yahweh had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.

Exo 40:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,

Exo 40:2 "On the first day of the first month you shall raise up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.

Exo 40:3 You shall put the ark of the testimony in it, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.

Exo 40:4 You shall bring in the table, and set in order the things that are on it. You shall bring in the lampstand, and light its lamps.

Exo 40:5 You shall set the golden altar for incense before the ark of the testimony, and put the screen of the door to the tabernacle.

Exo 40:6 You shall set the altar of burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.

Exo 40:7 You shall set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and shall put water therein.

Exo 40:8 You shall set up the court around it, and hang up the screen of the gate of the court.

Exo 40:9 You shall take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is in it, and shall make it holy, and all its furniture: and it will be holy.

Exo 40:10 You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering, with all its vessels, and sanctify the altar: and the altar will be most holy.

Exo 40:11 You shall anoint the basin and its base, and sanctify it.

Exo 40:12 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall wash them with water.

Exo 40:13 You shall put on Aaron the holy garments; and you shall anoint him, and sanctify him, that he may minister to me in the priest's office.

Exo 40:14 You shall bring his sons, and put coats on them.

Exo 40:15 You shall anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may minister to me in the priest's office. Their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations."

Exo 40:16 Moses did so. According to all that Yahweh commanded him, so he did.

Exo 40:17 It happened in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was raised up.

Exo 40:18 Moses raised up the tabernacle, and laid its sockets, and set up its boards, and put in its bars, and raised up its pillars.

Exo 40:19 He spread the covering over the tent, and put the roof of the tabernacle above on it, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 40:20 He took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the poles on the ark, and put the mercy seat above on the ark.

Exo 40:21 He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the veil of the screen, and screened the ark of the testimony, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 40:22 He put the table in the Tent of Meeting, on the side of the tabernacle northward, outside of the veil.

Exo 40:23 He set the bread in order on it before Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 40:24 He put the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting, opposite the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.

Exo 40:25 He lit the lamps before Yahweh, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 40:26 He put the golden altar in the Tent of Meeting before the veil;

Exo 40:27 and he burnt incense of sweet spices on it, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 40:28 He put up the screen of the door to the tabernacle.

Exo 40:29 He set the altar of burnt offering at the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 40:30 He set the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and put water therein, with which to wash.

Exo 40:31 Moses, Aaron, and his sons washed their hands and their feet there.

Exo 40:32 When they went into the Tent of Meeting, and when they came near to the altar, they washed, as Yahweh commanded Moses.

Exo 40:33 He raised up the court around the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work.

Exo 40:34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of Yahweh filled the tabernacle.

Exo 40:35 Moses wasn't able to enter into the Tent of Meeting, because the cloud stayed on it, and Yahweh's glory filled the tabernacle.

Exo 40:36 When the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward, throughout all their journeys;

Exo 40:37 but if the cloud wasn't taken up, then they didn't travel until the day that it was taken up.

Exo 40:38 For the cloud of Yahweh was on the tabernacle by day, and there was fire in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Mar. 21, 22

Mark 13

Mar 13:1 As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, see what kind of stones and what kind of buildings!"

Mar 13:2 Jesus said to him, "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down."

Mar 13:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately,

Mar 13:4 "Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are all about to be fulfilled?"

Mar 13:5 Jesus, answering, began to tell them, "Be careful that no one leads you astray.

Mar 13:6 For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and will lead many astray.

Mar 13:7 "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don't be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet.

Mar 13:8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and troubles. These things are the beginning of birth pains.

Mar 13:9 But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them.

Mar 13:10 The Good News must first be preached to all the nations.

Mar 13:11 When they lead you away and deliver you up, don't be anxious beforehand, or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

Mar 13:12 "Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.

Mar 13:13 You will be hated by all men for my name's sake, but he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.

Mar 13:14 But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains,

Mar 13:15 and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house.

Mar 13:16 Let him who is in the field not return back to take his cloak.

Mar 13:17 But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days!

Mar 13:18 Pray that your flight won't be in the winter.

Mar 13:19 For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be.

Mar 13:20 Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days.

Mar 13:21 Then if anyone tells you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there!' don't believe it.

Mar 13:22 For there will arise false christs and false prophets, and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

Mar 13:23 But you watch. "Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.

Mar 13:24 But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light,

Mar 13:25 the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

Mar 13:26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.

Mar 13:27 Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.

Mar 13:28 "Now from the fig tree, learn this parable. When the branch has now become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near;

Mar 13:29 even so you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at the doors.

Mar 13:30 Most certainly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen.

Mar 13:31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Mar 13:32 But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Mar 13:33 Watch, keep alert, and pray; for you don't know when the time is.

Mar 13:34 "It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch.

Mar 13:35 Watch therefore, for you don't know when the lord of the house is coming, whether at evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning;

Mar 13:36 lest coming suddenly he might find you sleeping.

Mar 13:37 What I tell you, I tell all: Watch." 

From Roy Davison... What is the real cause of the AIDS pandemic?

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Davison/Roy/Allen/1940/aids.html

What is the real cause of the AIDS pandemic?

"Professing to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22).

When a scholar in Haiti who had been studying the social consequences of AIDS was interviewed by the BBC, he said: "The highest co-factor with AIDS is poverty."

This is false, of course. The highest co-factor with AIDS is immorality. A Ph.D. is not required to figure that out. But the world prefers to ignore this simple truth.

The moral principles taught in Scripture are for man's own good.

Two young people who remain chaste until marriage and who remain faithful to one another after marriage, do not have to worry about contracting AIDS or any other venereal (sexually transmitted) disease.

"Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Hebrews 13:4).

The Greek word for 'fornication' (PORNEIA) refers to all kinds of sexual immorality, both premarital and extramarital, both heterosexual and homosexual. Adulterers are fornicators who violate a marriage, their own or someone else's.

The AIDS epidemic is caused by fornicators and adulterers. This does not mean that all people who have AIDS are immoral. A moral husband or wife can be given AIDS by an immoral marriage partner. Children can contract aids before birth from a mother who is either immoral, or was given the virus by someone who was immoral. A moral person can contract AIDS by means of injection or transfusion, but in that case also, the disease ultimately comes from someone who is immoral.

In the media, moral people and advocates of morality are often portrayed as prudish fanatics who want to deprive others of enjoyment.

In reality, they are sensible people who want to enjoy the good life and avoid the physical and spiritual harm caused by immorality.

"Drink water from your own cistern,
And running water from your own well.
Should your fountains be dispersed abroad,
Streams of water in the streets?
Let them be only your own,
And not for strangers with you.
Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice with the wife of your youth.
As a loving deer and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
And always be enraptured with her love.
For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman,
And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?"
(Proverbs 5:15-20).

"Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion of life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 9:9).

One Christian young lady was being ridiculed by her classmates because she refused to go to dances and engage in immoral practices. They sneered: "Well, what do you do for fun?" She replied calmly: "For 'fun' I get up each morning with a clear conscience about what I did the night before."

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:16,17).

Even if people ridicule you, never be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is God's power for salvation. It is the only hope for mankind. If we believe the gospel, God's righteousness will be revealed to us in it, and if we live according to that faith, we will share His righteousness.

They who reject God, they who reject the gospel, they who prefer darkness to light, will suffer the consequences.

In Romans, chapter one, Paul explains the causes and consequences of immorality.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18).

The truth is suppressed, not only about the real cause of AIDS, but also concerning many other things. The truth is suppressed in the media, the truth is suppressed in the schools, the truth is suppressed by governments, and the truth is suppressed in churches. Which truth? The truth about God. The truth about the value of morality. The truth about the terrible consequences of immorality.

There is no excuse for this suppression of truth.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:18-21).

The truth about God's eternal power and Godhead can be clearly seen in His creation. When people reject such an obvious and vital truth, it corrupts their lives and society.

"Professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man -- and birds and four-footed beasts and creeping things" (Romans 1:22,23).

Man was created to worship God. When he rejects his Creator, he worships something in the materialistic realm. If you suppose that the age of idols is past, you are greatly mistaken. The Catholic church promotes image-worship in the whole world. Many bow before pot-bellied images of Buddha. And Western Man worships the old heathen gods such as Mammon (the god of money), Bacchus (the god of intoxicating drink) and Mars (the god of war). Millions are devoted to a modern, moving, talking image in the corner of their living rooms. Humanists worship themselves.

This rejection of God results in moral corruption.

"Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due" (Romans 1:24-27).

Notice that homosexuals and lesbians "receive in themselves the penalty of their error which was due." These perversions are shameful and are harmful to those who engage in them.

"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them" (Romans 1:28-32).

Yes, the real cause of the AIDS epidemic is rejection of God, sin and immorality. Fornicators and adulterers are the cause of the AIDS epidemic. They are angels of death, servants of the devil, and murderers.

After painting this bleak picture of the consequences of rejecting God, Paul goes on to show that even the most religious people are sinners, and because of their sin cannot appear before God on their own merits. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).

AIDS is a terrible disease. There is no cure. They who have AIDS die. One of the greatest social problems during the next thirty years will be the millions of orphans left behind by those who have died of AIDS.

But there is an epidemic worse than AIDS. That is the SIN epidemic. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God. We all die because of sin.

Fortunately, there is a cure for sin. The blood of Christ can wash us clean and make us white as snow.

"In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:9,10).

"For He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Because of our sin, we deserve to die. Christ, who was without sin, did not have to die. But He allowed Himself to be crucified to pay the penalty for our sins, so we might go free.

After His resurrection, Jesus told His followers: "Thus is it written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:46,47).

To repent means to be sorry for one's sins and to solemnly determine to turn away from sin and serve God.

Peter tells us what to do: "'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.' And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, 'Be saved from this perverse generation.' Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them" (Acts 2:38-41).

"Be saved from this perverse generation." Our only hope is salvation through Christ by the grace of God. Just like the people on the Day of Pentecost, you can be added to those who are being saved today. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, if you believe that He died for your sins and rose from the dead the third day, if you are willing to turn away from sin and dedicate your life to God, if you are willing to confess your faith before men, if you are willing to be baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of your sins, you can be saved by the grace of God.

Do not put it off. This may be your last chance. "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Roy Davison

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982,
Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers unless indicated otherwise.
Permission for reference use has been granted.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

From Jim McGuiggan... The Divine Surgeon

The Divine Surgeon

God can't love sin but he can't cease loving sinners, they're his children, wayward and sinful though they are. See the Prodigal Son story in Luke 15 and compare Acts 17:28-29.

Fullness of life with God isn't possible if we are estranged from him by our sin. Life is a two-way experience so it isn't enough that God ceaselessly wants us to have life we must want it also. You can't have “friendship” when one of the two wants and enjoys wanting to be the other one's enemy. In loving our sin we don't want life with God so he moves in Christ to deal with what stands between him and us.

The sin that keeps us apart from him is not an abstraction; it is sin that is an actual part of the sinners and their history with God, so that when God moves against that sin it involves moving against sinners. Sort of, like a surgeon who moves against a tumor or infection. It isn't the patient he's mad at; it's the cancer or infection. But the infection doesn't exist outside the body of the patient so instead of doing surgery on the operating table on which the patient is lying the surgeon puts the knife to the sick patient. While the surgeon would be against “disease” in principle there's more to him and his work than that.

God's "invasive surgery" is no act of spite or foaming rage against sinners, on the contrary, he is ruthlessly dealing with the sin that keeps sinners from him. The Holy Father must do that or there is no life for us. He isn't afraid of sin any more than the surgeon is afraid of the cancer. It isn't that God can't look at sin (we sometimes say silly things like, God can't even look on sin, as if that's what Habakkuk 1:13 meant). It's precisely because he and he alone does look at it and see it for what it is that he is unchangeably opposed to it and works to destroy it.

Only when we're one with God in holy love can we enjoy life to the full (John 10:10) and experience the health that “sound” (health-full) teaching brings. He gives us food, gladness, life and “everything else” (Acts 14:17 and 17:25) but fullness of life is much more than that. Life with God means more than being on the receiving end of his gifts--it means being related to him in oneness of heart. A relationship like that results in blessings beyond imagination but the relationship is not to be reduced to the blessings that flow from it. To reject the Christ is to live before God as a recipient of blessings until we meet him, having said our final no to him. To receive God in Jesus Christ is to experience eternal life, life that will never end and life that is of such a quality that it cannot end. Life like that is found only in a dynamic and ongoing relationship with God in Jesus Christ by the Spirit.

 ©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.

The Census of David by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx?article=542&b=2%20Samuel

The Census of David

by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

Many alleged discrepancies in the Bible deal with numerical values being different from one book to the next. Several plausible ways exist to show that these differing numbers are not really discrepancies at all. It could be the case that the different authors were counting different groups of people or rounding off their numbers to different places.

One such alleged discrepancy that involves differing numerical values is found between 1 Chronicles 21:5 and 2 Samuel 24:9.

1 Chronicles 21:5 (ASV): “Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword.”

2 Samuel 24:9 (ASV): “Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.”

Obviously, the numbers given for the men of Israel differ by 300,000, while the numbers for the men of Judah differ by 30,000. Are there any possible solutions to this alleged discrepancy? The truth of the matter is that there are several possible solutions. Let us deal first with the differing number of the men of Israel.

The first possible solution is based upon a closer reading of the text. When the two verses are compared, 1 Chronicles 21:5 says that “All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword” (emp. added). But 2 Samuel says, “And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword” (emp. added). It could be that the author of 2 Samuel was indicating the number of “seasoned veterans” or “valiant” men, while the author of 1 Chronicles was numbering any man who drew the sword, not just the valiant ones. Gleason Archer concluded:

A possible solution may be found along these lines. So far as Israel (i.e., the tribes north of Judah) is concerned, the 1 Chronicles figure includes all the available men of fighting age, whether battle seasoned or not. But from 2 Samuel 24 we learn that Joab’s report gave a subtotal of “mighty men” (‘ish hayil), i.e., battle-seasoned troops, consisting of 800,000 veterans. But in addition there may have been 300,000 more men of military age who served in the reserves but had not yet been involved in field combat. These two contingents would make up a total of 1,100,000 men—as 1 Chronicles reports them, with employing the term ‘ish hayil (1982, pp. 188-189).

Remember that the only thing required to prove that a discrepancy does not exist is to provide a single possible solution (see Lyons, 2004). Archer’s explanation reveals quite clearly one possible solution. However, it is by no means the only one. Eric Vestrum lists another quite reasonable solution to the problem.

There is another possibility that will be reasonable after examination. The reader should re-read 1 Chr 27. Notice here that there are 12 divisions of 24,000 men each, giving a total of 288,000 men. It is possible that the Chronicler counts these men whereas the author of 2 Sam does not. Notice that the 800,000 men in 2 Sam were included in a census, as David wanted to know how many men there were for fighting. Yet, as the numbers of divisions were apparently fixed at 24,000 per division, one would presumably not need to take a census of groups whose sizes are intrinsically defined by a priori fixed numbers. It is not requiring too much to state that it is reasonably possible that the author of 2 Sam did not include these 288,000 while the (different) author of 1 Chr did. With two different authors writing apart from each other at non-identical times, it is not at all specious to assert a reasonable plausibility to a different mode of reckoning in reporting the census (Vestrum).

These two explanations suffice to prove that the numbers of men in Israel are not irreconcilable.

Moving further into the explanation of these two verses, we must look at the alleged discrepancy between the number of men who drew the sword in Judah. The author of 2 Samuel gives 470,000, while the author of 1 Chronicles gives 500,000—a difference of 30,000 men. (Please note that this is a difference of only 6%.)

A simple, prima facie explanation would be that the authors were rounding to a different place—the chronicler rounding to the nearest hundred thousand, and the author of 2 Samuel rounding to the nearest ten thousand. Some have objected, however, and claimed that a “ rounding error” of 30,000 men is just not reasonable. This objection, which is based on a western reading of the text that demands stiff, mathematically accurate numbers, does not allow for the more flexible use of numbers that often is exhibited in ancient eastern texts.

However, the “rounding” solution is not the only one available, as Archer pointed out.

So far as Judah was concerned, 2 Samuel 24 gives the round figure of 500,000, which was 30,000 more than the corresponding item in 1 Chronicles 21. Now it should be observed that 1 Chronicles 21:6 makes it clear that Joab did not complete the numbering, for he did not get around to a census of the tribe of Benjamin (nor that of Levi, either) before David came under conviction about completing the census at all. Joab was glad to desist when he saw the king’s change of heart. The procedure for conducting the census had been to start with the Transjordanian tribes (2 Samuel 24:5) and then shift to the northernmost tribe of Dan and work southward back toward Jerusalem (v. 7). This meant that the numbering of Benjamin would have come last. Hence Benjamin was not included with the total for Israel or that for Judah, either. But in the case of 2 Samuel 24, the figure for Judah included the already known figure of 30,000 troops mustered by Benjamin (which lay immediately adjacent to Jerusalem itself). Hence the total of 500,000 included the Benjamite contingent.

Observe that after the division of the united kingdom into North and South following the death of Solomon in 930 B.C., most of the Benjamites remained loyal to the dynasty of David and constituted (along with Simeon to the south) the kingdom of Judah. Hence it was reasonable to include Benjamin with Judah and Simeon in the subtotal figure of 500,000—even though Joab may not have itemized it in the first report he gave to David (1982, p. 189, parenthetical items in orig.).

We can see, after looking closely at the two passages alleged to contain numeric contradictions, that several possible solutions exist for the reconciling of the verses. Once again, God’s inspired Word shines forth as the beacon of truth, resisting every accusation of contradiction or discrepancy.

REFERENCES

Archer, Gleason L. (1982), An Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids: Zondervan).

Lyons, Eric (2004), “Answering the Allegations,” [On-Line], URL: www.apologeticspress.org/articles/506.

Vestrum, Eric, Contradictions: Numerous, Theological, Chronological, Factual, Philosophical, Ethical, [On-line],URL: http://www.tektonics.org/EV_MCK04.html.