"Grief can take care if itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with."--Mark Twain
Genesis 1:4 says, [4] And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
"Isn't that interesting? You go four verses in the Bible and you're told God starts dividing things. There's a verse in II Timothy that tells us to 'rightly divide.'"I'm only four verses in and I can learn some things that theology and modern Christianity doesn't have any idea about!" says Richard Jordan.
"Number 1, God speaks, and He works in words, and No. 2, when He speaks, you better be careful to divide it the way He divides it. To me that's just fascinating.
(new article tomorrow)
"Take the case of Adam. God creates man, puts him in the Garden, gives him a wife and says, 'You've got two jobs. One, tend to the garden and two, you go out there and subdue the earth.' So Adam has his mandate. He knows what the will of God for his life is.
"The last thing God's finger did when He created was make Eve and she was a complete total person. It was Adam who was no longer whole.
Genesis 2 reports, [21] And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
[22] And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
[23] And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
"People ask, 'Am I a complete person?' and the answer is a woman is, but a man isn't. People say, 'We're all created equal.' No, no, no. In creation, God fixed it so we're not equal.
"By the way, ladies, you know why the man is the initiator, the pursuer? The woman stands there and she don't care if you come or not, but you can't stand it; you've got to go. Man's the pursuer because there's an incompleteness in him without her.
"Now, we have a total equality in Christ. There's not anyone up here and down there. We're all blessed with all spiritual blessings. The only difference in us is some of us have spent more time pursuing it, studying it, having a passion about it than others."
*****
"There's this view of what's called Toxic Femininity, which gives the approach to truth from the masculine and feminine perspective. The speaker started, 'We're not just talking about male and female biology. We're distinguishing between these two because quite frequently they come into conflict when a situation presents itself.
Genesis 2 reports, [21] And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
[22] And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
[23] And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
"People ask, 'Am I a complete person?' and the answer is a woman is, but a man isn't. People say, 'We're all created equal.' No, no, no. In creation, God fixed it so we're not equal.
"By the way, ladies, you know why the man is the initiator, the pursuer? The woman stands there and she don't care if you come or not, but you can't stand it; you've got to go. Man's the pursuer because there's an incompleteness in him without her.
"Now, we have a total equality in Christ. There's not anyone up here and down there. We're all blessed with all spiritual blessings. The only difference in us is some of us have spent more time pursuing it, studying it, having a passion about it than others."
*****
"There's this view of what's called Toxic Femininity, which gives the approach to truth from the masculine and feminine perspective. The speaker started, 'We're not just talking about male and female biology. We're distinguishing between these two because quite frequently they come into conflict when a situation presents itself.
"When you approach a situation, the male mind wants to immediately grasp the reality; the truth of it. The female mind looks at something and says, 'Ooh, when we respond to this how is that going to make people feel?'
"Now, that's not bad. A follower of Christ takes truth and compassion and marries them together, but always ultimately in the service of truth.
"Toxic femininity is this extreme view that truth simply does not matter: 'We're just simply going to deny it. We'll lie about it, disregard it, ridicule it, whatever we have to do to advance the mindset that the only thing that matters is feelings, sentimentality, nostalgia . . .'
"When there's a flat tire, you know in your mind the objective standard of truth for this 'thing' that needs adjusting, correcting, fixing. Because I'm a guy and I'm oriented toward the truth I'm going to say, 'That's the truth and this needs to conform to it, so let's move this toward that.' That's how the male mind works.
"The female mind, not exclusive of that, takes in the emphasis, 'Well, how will this truth be received?' . . . She can be like, 'No, no, no, I don't need you to fix it; I just need you to understand.' He's like, 'But honey . . . ' She says, 'You guys just always want to fix things. I just want you to share in this with me.'
"Now, that's not bad. A follower of Christ takes truth and compassion and marries them together, but always ultimately in the service of truth.
"Toxic femininity is this extreme view that truth simply does not matter: 'We're just simply going to deny it. We'll lie about it, disregard it, ridicule it, whatever we have to do to advance the mindset that the only thing that matters is feelings, sentimentality, nostalgia . . .'
"When there's a flat tire, you know in your mind the objective standard of truth for this 'thing' that needs adjusting, correcting, fixing. Because I'm a guy and I'm oriented toward the truth I'm going to say, 'That's the truth and this needs to conform to it, so let's move this toward that.' That's how the male mind works.
"The female mind, not exclusive of that, takes in the emphasis, 'Well, how will this truth be received?' . . . She can be like, 'No, no, no, I don't need you to fix it; I just need you to understand.' He's like, 'But honey . . . ' She says, 'You guys just always want to fix things. I just want you to share in this with me.'
"
*****
"In II Corinthians 6, Paul says, 'As God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
[17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
[18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'
[17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
[18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.'
"You see how He says, 'I will be'? He didn't say, 'I'm going to be LIKE a Father,' or that you're going to be LIKE a son or daughter. He said, 'I'm going to BE.'
"This is the reality of the relationship and the way the Father relates to you and me today. We literally have this personal, intimate, real, genuine, authentic relationship with God the Father that allows us to relate to Him on exactly the same basis that Jesus Christ does. Now, that's a fascinating thing. You literally can know your heavenly Father.
"He doesn't relate to you in His godheadness; omniscient, omnipotent, the Holy Other, the Transcendent One. He comes and relates to you, not in all the essences He has, but in His person. He isn't just all those other things; He's also life and love; He's personal, relational.
"Every member of the godhead, the way they live together is each one of them lives for the benefit of the other. Nobody in the godhead lives for themselves. They spontaneously and forever live for the good and the benefit of the other members. They're always looking out for the others in the godhead. That's God's life and it's that kind of relationship that you and I in Christ now have and that's what the Holy Spirit's job is . . .
"One of my favorite verses in Ephesians is Ephesians 2:18: [18] For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
"It's the function and the work of the Holy Spirit to take you, and by that WORK of the Holy Spirit, lead you into that intimate, personal, authentic, genuine relationship with the Father that Jesus Christ has provided for you. That's a wonderful, fantastic kind of relationship."
"This is the reality of the relationship and the way the Father relates to you and me today. We literally have this personal, intimate, real, genuine, authentic relationship with God the Father that allows us to relate to Him on exactly the same basis that Jesus Christ does. Now, that's a fascinating thing. You literally can know your heavenly Father.
"He doesn't relate to you in His godheadness; omniscient, omnipotent, the Holy Other, the Transcendent One. He comes and relates to you, not in all the essences He has, but in His person. He isn't just all those other things; He's also life and love; He's personal, relational.
"Every member of the godhead, the way they live together is each one of them lives for the benefit of the other. Nobody in the godhead lives for themselves. They spontaneously and forever live for the good and the benefit of the other members. They're always looking out for the others in the godhead. That's God's life and it's that kind of relationship that you and I in Christ now have and that's what the Holy Spirit's job is . . .
"One of my favorite verses in Ephesians is Ephesians 2:18: [18] For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
"It's the function and the work of the Holy Spirit to take you, and by that WORK of the Holy Spirit, lead you into that intimate, personal, authentic, genuine relationship with the Father that Jesus Christ has provided for you. That's a wonderful, fantastic kind of relationship."
(new article tomorrow)
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