A Man Needs To Know His Limitations

My last few posts have been about knowing when to do something and when not to. They are addressing limitations starting to overtake me as I inch closer to my latter days. I am learning to pace or selectively address problems. More and more I have found myself detached from what is going on in the news. Its is the same old same old. Nothing is changing. The turmoil and chaos increases daily. It’s too much for one soul to digest and not be corrupted by it. Its like radiation, I regulate my exposure time as an act of survival and longevity. We are told to be in the world but not of it. I have always tried to stay engaged with recent events so that there is at least that touchstone to relate to people with. We’re all affected by it one way or another and the destructive power is now amplified by electronics everywhere.

One needs to check out intermittently or they will burn out. As my sons like to say, “I need to check myself before I wreck myself.” A human mind wasn’t meant to be engaged like this constantly. TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, X, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, etc. The cacophony of visual and mental noise is maddening. The constant assault on the senses can morally break a mind. Moses knew this when he begged God to either lift his burden or kill him when the petulant Israelites constantly complained, and God struck them with fire.

Numbers 11:11-15 ~ Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”

A similar scenario of Moses being overwhelmed was when he was judging the tribes of Israel day and night without reprieve.

Exodus 18:13-18The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?” Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.

Jethro knew that Moses was heading towards burnout or a nervous breakdown. Moses is advised to step away. Back up and let others judge. Delegate some of the work and quiet his mind. Essentially, he needed to ‘turn off’ the chatter. Only the more difficult and troublesome issues were brought to Moses. Here we see that not every battle needs to be waged by one man. In other words, everything doesn’t need to be done by you. This is an onus no man should be responsible for nor are they capable of it. It literally is the adage; you need to pick and choose your battles. A man needs to know his limitations.

As I age, like Moses did this is becoming more obvious. I don’t have the time or the energy to do everything for everybody. I need to prioritize. I need to do a mental triage and go through the process of determining the most important people or things from amongst a large number that require attention. Many come to me for help for many things. As a friend and ffamily member and as a writer and theologian, I don’t just pick the low hanging fruit or moral issues when choose a task. I attempt to tackle the more cumbersome and troubling issues and break them down into digestible portions for people. I sit and spend the time doing the thinking or work that many don’t want to do or don’t have the ability to. I only address the lesser issues when I anticipate that will fester into unwieldy monsters.

This means that at a spiritual level I need discern what can be addressed by others while I defend or address the more complex and dangerous issues facing Christians or morality in general. Some of my tasks and writing are plain and straightforward while others are backbreaking. Part of this is my role as a New Testament prophetic voice. I need to know how to elucidate modern dilemmas in Biblical language, metaphor and similes that people can understand. Its what I was made to do. To be able to do my God-given task effectively I need to know what is demonic and distraction pulling me from the most pressing problems. These are tactics often used in battle, divide and conquer and overwhelming force. Division and Mental Blitzkrieg.

The passages from Exodus and Numbers have a lot to tell us about how to handle modern multiplicity of task, overstimulation (over-stimming) and the assault on our minds.

Firstly, dealing with every single detail of a circumstance, some of which are insignificant distracts from the primary or overarching tasks that need attention. The essentials get lost in the minutia. You foolishly sacrifice energy and time sorely needed elsewhere. You lose the forest within the trees getting ensnared in the vines and tangled undergrowth.

Secondly, it underutilizes God’s other resources. Farms are not run by one farmhand. There are many hands applied when planting or harvesting a field. Not every task needs to be done by me, there are others just as capable or completing work. Besides, in the counsel of many there is wisdom. Time is valuable and is not unlimited in this life. It needs to be used judiciously.

Lastly, good leaders of men educate people to do the same work. Modern business calls it cross training. The adage of the fishermen is apropos here. Give a man a fish he eats for a day, teach a man to fish he eats for a lifetime and then can teach others the same skill. Instead of one fisherman and nine hungry men, you have ten fishermen that can feed a hundred people. A better use of time is to teach those you intend to delegate work to. In this way the burdens you carry both physical and mental become public or communal. It is easier for ten men to carry a boulder than it is for one man to strain and injure his back. By giving tasks to other people, you make them become responsible contributors. Therefore, they have ownership in successes and shared responsibilities for failure which tends to prevent blame shifting.

As for the other distractions like electronics…turn them off. Put your phone down. Put your tablet down. Shut the lids of your computers and Chrome books. Go outside. Take a walk. Ride a bike. Go out and do neighborly things like talk to your neighbor. Engage with people face to face. If you’re around too many people too often, find a reprieve or refuge. Make a place to go. For me, it’s on a mountain bike trail, in my home gym or in my study reading or writing.

You need the time to decompress. Things held under stresses, tension or under pressure eventually fail…often catastrophically. Remember, the things in your head don’t need to be that cluttered or confusing. If they are its because you are either letting too much in or someone or something has infiltrated.

Finally, a note from Paul in the New Testament showing us exactly what is at hand when the world assaults our minds which it does routinely and effectively. The strongholds mentioned are bad or demonic ideas that have infiltrated and taken up residence in our heads, hence the words arguments, pretension and thoughts. We need to allow God in to keep the overwhelming evil of the world out. All of your battles mental and physical

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 ~ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

If The Dark Background Bothers Your Eyes

Since starting my blog I have had countless complaints about the dark background and light lettering bothering people's eyes. Especially people with astigmatisms because it causes halo effects. Be aware, especially if you are on a phone that you can set your background or reading settings to 'light'. It is different for everyone but I know its possible on nearly all devices: Computer, Chromebook, Tablets and Phones. It will help with possible eye strain. If it really bothers that bad do what I've heard others advise, copy the wordage and just paste it into a Word doc or Notes on Samsung Galaxy (not sure what Apple calls it).

I've left it this way because I like the aesthetic. It's intentional. It is stark and stands in contrast to the darkness that always trys to consume the words it surrounds. The entire aesthetic is analogous to Satan and evil always trying to overwhelm or consume the light. Make the effort. I promise I will always try to make it worth a readers time and effort. I go through great pains to craft these posts.

The Things All Should Know About the Demonic

Thirteen (13) Things To Know About Demons

1) Demons are spirits (Matthew 12:43, 45).

2) Demons are numerous…so numerous that Mark 5:9 describes one demon as saying, "My name is Legion, for we are many.

3) Demons can control men (Mark 5:2-5)

4) Demons are unclean and violent (Matthew 8:28-31)

5) Demons know Jesus Christ as the Most High God. They recognize His supreme authority (Mark 1:23, 24; Acts 19:15; James 2:19).

6) Demons know you are powerless without the name of Jesus and His Word.

7) They are aware of their eternal fate. “What do you want with us Son of God? they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" (Matthew 8:29)

8) Demons are in conflict with Christians (Ephesians 6:12). "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).

9) Unbelievers are susceptible to demon possession. As for you [believers], you were dead in your transgressions of this world and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient" (Ephesians 2:1, 2).

10) Believers cannot be possessed but they can be demonically oppressed. Demons cannot get inside the believer where the Holy Spirit resides but pressures from the outside can force a believer to begin to weaken and collapse. The more sin the believer allows into their life the more the sins pushes the Holy Spirit aside to allow the evil influence.

11) The world is currently their playground, not Hell. Hell or the bottomless pit is their eventual permanent destination. Lucifer is the Prince of this World as are his lackeys (John 12:31, 16:11). They are princes and powers of the air (Ephesians 2:2). Jesus literally calls Lucifer the prince of the world in John 14:30

12) They virtually never arrive in your life as darkness or brooding monsters. They arrive as beings of light or pleasure (drugs, sex, money, etc.).

13) They're often blamed for nothing more than our own human sin. Although indirectly complicit, they are not the instigators of our sin, we are.

Six (6) Things You Should Know About How Demons Communicate

1) Their advice and influence is always freely given.

2) Their advice is woefully misleading.

3) Their advice is counter to the Divine command.

4) Their advice is insipidly and/or strongly volunteered. Unfortunately, it is often taken by people unwittingly because they do not understand demons or the Bible.

5) They will intervene uninvited and anywhere. One must always use discernment.

6) They are insolent and fearless in their approach even approaching Christ in the wilderness, Adam and Eve in the Garden and Eli’s sons in the Tabernacle. All of which were in God’s direct presence.

Five (5) Things That Aid Demons in Their Evil

1) Our own lusts.

2) Our own sin.

3) Our own moral weakness.

4) Our lack of knowledge of the Bible and Christ.

5) The world system (κόσμος).

Five (6) Things Believers Can Do to Protect Themselves

1) Properly understand their Bible and obey God

2) Consider the being, human or otherwise proffering or making promises.

3) Seriously examine the offer/ scenario being promised against Biblical wisdom. If demons are anything they are shrewd and diligent. Destruction of anything holy or Godly is the goal.

4) Realize the offer will often be in our areas of our greatest weaknesses. This should be the first red flag.

5) Protect your mind. Those areas of greatest weakness all start in the mind. All sin starts with a thought or failure to think properly/Biblically.

6) Guilt while thinking of the sin or lust is an early warning sign. Heed it, it is God working through our conscience to warn us off the trail and stop us preemptively.

Thank me later folks.

Locked Doors and Quantum Tunneling

After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his frightened and hidden disciples in a locked upper room, first saying, "Peace be with you". He showed them his hands and feet, inviting them to touch him to prove he was a physical, resurrected body, not a spirit (Luke 24:36-43). 

Attempts to explain the biblical account of Jesus appearing inside a locked room are uncommon outside of the supernatural. There is a theory though that it was a form of quantum mechanics, such as with quantum tunneling. Science and theology describe reality in different ways. Using quantum mechanics to validate religious claims can be dangerous but I suggest that there may be some truth to the idea that Jesus walked through a door via quantum tunneling…yet it was still a supernatural act. So trying to partially describe it that way in no way trivializes its momentous miraculous importance.

Quantum tunneling describes how a subatomic particle can pass through an energy barrier like the forces in another atom. We need to remember from our physics classes that matter is mostly empty space in the form of subatomic particles and nuclear forces. Atoms are overwhelmingly empty space, containing a nucleus so small that the atom is nearly 100% empty, with the exact percentage being around 99.9999999% or higher. This "emptiness" is not a void but is filled with electron orbits or regions where electrons are likely to be found, and the mass comes primarily from the kinetic and binding energy of quarks and gluons, rather than their physical size. Forces...keep that word in mind as I proceed.

So, atoms are mostly empty space and compressed energy. Yet…if the forces within an atom can be neutralized or 'sidestepped' by another force (perhaps thru the power/δυνάμεως of His Word in Hebrews 1:3. Words being waves that can affect wave function) it is possible to pass through the atom in what is called quantum tunneling. Most scientist will say that the magnitude of quantum tunneling would’ve been too great as to be theoretically impossible. Therein lies the argument for its supernatural nature. What are miracles if not God acting within the world by what appears to be impossible means and not necessarily to known physics?

Theologian Wayne Grudem defines a miracle as "A less common kind of God's activity in which He arouses people's awe and wonder and bears witness to Himself". Key aspects of this definition include that it is a less common, extraordinary type of God's action that is meant to evoke wonder and serve as a clear sign of God's presence and power. That would allow quantum tunneling to be the possible mechanism but still be miraculous and extraordinary. To help us understand why science would deny this quantum mechanism to be used we can get the explanation from atheistic deniers of God when they attempt to refute that Jesus walking through solid objects as being impossible. The truth is its scientifically improbable but that does not mean impossible. It just means it is likely a paradox. Just because we don’t understand something doesn’t make it less real.

So how would atheist scientist argue that this is not the mechanism or method employed by the master and creator of all reality quantum or otherwise?

As stated, before quantum tunneling describes how a subatomic particle can pass through an energy barrier. Science will claim it does not apply to macroscopic objects like a human body because of a handful of conditions...

Scale: The probability of a single particle tunneling through a barrier is already incredibly low, and the odds of a human body—billions of billions of particles—spontaneously tunneling through a wall are astronomically small. Astronomically small is just sciences way of saying they're not sure but they think it's impossible. In fact, it is not impossible. If the Creator understands how to manipulate the very atoms of his own Resurrected body this refutation by science becomes a moot point.

Unpredictability: A quantum-tunneled outcome is fundamentally probabilistic and cannot be intentionally controlled or directed, which is contrary to the deliberate, non-random nature of the biblical account. As of now there is no human way to compute or calculate the probabilities. They said the same of chaos theory half a century ago too. Only to find that there is in actuality patterns and simplicity in chaos. Chaos is therefore a misnomer and poor descriptor. It is calculatable via the purest form of language which is mathematics.

The creator of all matter and all mathematical probabilism most certainly could. What is impossible for man is not impossible for God. Many non-believers then and now still say it is impossible to resurrect a man from the dead too. Thereby limiting God’s ability and power. We know how that story turned out. A man was resurrected.

Decoherence: Quantum effects like tunneling apply to isolated systems of very few particles. Macroscopic objects are constantly interacting with their environment, causing their quantum states to collapse almost instantaneously. This process, known as decoherence, prevents a human-sized object from maintaining the quantum state necessary to tunnel. At least this is what man’s current understanding of this phenomenon is. God’s omnipotence assumes the ability to input enough energy into a system to prevent this collapse and prevent decoherence.

What is the theological understanding of what happened in the post-Resurrection narrative?

Many theologians do not view the event as a problem to be solved, but rather as a supernatural occurrence related to Jesus's post-resurrection body. I suggest it might be both. The supernatural miraculous element being the nearly certain impossibility of it.

A glorified body spirit body: In this view, Jesus's resurrected body was not bound by the same physical laws as his pre-crucifixion body. This "glorified body" could appear and disappear and was not limited by ordinary physical barriers. Could this spirit body have been the effect of quantum tunneling or superposition of the atoms in the Spirit Body? We know that there was a tangible physicality to Jesus after the resurrection because Thomas is asked to touch his wounds and he ate with the disciples.

A "more real" reality: Some interpretations, influenced by thinkers like C.S. Lewis, suggest the post-resurrection body was not less physical but "more physical" or from "another dimension," making a wall no more substantial than vapor. Why couldn’t this be the omnipotent and omniscient ability to change the composition of the body at will to be in one state or another. This also begs the question, did this type of ability manifest itself elsewhere in the Bible in theophanies like Jacob wrestling God?

Of all these theological explanations via supernatural means we must remember that the act is taking place in a physical universe. It is not some form of illusion or magical deception. The event happened as stated in the Bible in a physical universe. Quantum tunneling goes a long way in describing how it was possible through God’s omniscience and omnipotence that he could in fact manipulate the physical universe in a supernatural manner bending physics to His will to accomplish the will of the Father.

So, the idea of Quantum Tunneling in no way diminishes the wonder that was Jesus’s appearance in the Upper Room in Luke 24:36-43. It’s as if Jesus phase-shifted into existence as a corporeal body. The matter of his body changed forms or states. Jesus even goes so far as to state:

Luke 24:39-40 “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself; touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

A supernatural interpretation holds that the event is still a miracle, a suspension or bending of natural laws by divine power, rather than an application of a specific scientific principle. It was the divine acting within the physical realm clearly because Jesus insisted the Apostles observe his hands and feet were real, the only question was how it was possible. The irony being that up to that point His own disciples couldn’t or didn’t believe or understand what was happening…so he asked them for something mundane that only a real person would ask.

Luke 24:41-43 And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence.

Basically, it was Jesus’ way of saying, “If you’re not going to accept this at least give me something to eat while you’re trying to figure it out….because I’m hungry.

Perhaps Quantum Tunneling offers a glimpse of insight or shines light in the supernatural interaction with the physical realm?

Addendum: Quantum Tunneling also may help us understand how Jesus’ resurrected body was able to pass through His burial shroud without actually disturbing it. I would additionally posit that Jesus walking on water on the Sea of Galilee is the inverse of quantum tunneling or the reversing of its effects. Perhaps tightening the bonds in Hydrogen and Oxygen? Instead of sinking into the water or passing though it, the water was altered in a manner that made it tactile and able to support not only Christ’s body but also that of Peter’s. 

 

For All Who Labor and are Heavy Laden

As I’ve gotten older pain and discomfort are becoming more prominent in my life. The wear and tear of age is beginning to take its toll. In the past I would always find a way over, around or through problems. It wasn’t a matter of if, it was when. I would find ways. I was partially invincible. I was durable. I had energy for days. I was dangerously impatient and the impatience for me is till a problem. It injures me. The closer I get to my sixties the more I am being limited by my own body. I am not frail by any means but I know, like a storm on the horizon miles off, frailty is coming. I am on the outer edge of the storm of old age.

In these moments when I am virtually crippled up by back spasms, I get angry at my own body. It refuses to do what my mind wants it to do. It occurs to me that I obviously need to rethink my thinking. God knows this is coming for me and so do I. I also know why. Systems fail over time. It’s the curse revisited by everyone of us through every injury and symptoms of age. I have long suspected that it was entropy that entered the world when mankind fell in sin through Adam. I know its true. In my stubbornness I fight it. The Bible says, to "number our days" in Psalm 92. It is not some morose statement to make us think about our undoing and death. It is just the opposite. It is a plea for God to teach people how short and fleeting life is, so they may gain a heart of wisdom and live purposefully. It is an acknowledgment of human mortality and a call to make each day count by focusing on what is truly important for an eternal perspective. 

We need to stop getting lost in the never-ending emails, to-dos, laundry, homework, conflict resolution, dirty dishes, traffic lines. The unrelenting stress is always pressing in, always swirling, yet no matter how hard we work we never quite get anywhere except frustrated, unfulfilled or worse injured or mentally broken. The stress itself shortening our days because of what it does to our minds and our bodies. But the Psalmist who wrote the Psalm is deliberate. He is asking God to do something for us. Something we should be asking for too. Something I ask for now as I write this.

“So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

Teach us. Numbering our days means pausing for regular consideration of our days in light of God’s ways. We were not meant to abuse our bodies and minds until they break. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. We need to intelligently preserve our bodies and minds to the best of our abilities. The things I could’ve shouldered down and leaned into now need to be dealt with in a paced structured manner. Efficient use of resources. Efficiency of movement. Efficient use of time. Understanding limitations and knowing when to let tomorrow be tomorrow. Everything doesn’t need to be done today. Sometimes I need to stop pushing myself beyond what my 57-year-old body is capable. Doing it in the gym to test my strength and endurance is one thing. Doing it in life or work outside of a pursuit of passion is the path to a broken body and a broken mind. I speak from experience.

Luke 12:25-26 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Jesus asked a rhetorical question here, that needs to be taken to heart and highlights the futility of anxiety by asking if worrying can add even a single hour to your life. The point is that worry is counterproductive, as it adds no value to your life and can even detract from it, taking away from your time, energy, and peace of mind without bringing you any closer to a solution. If you can do things without breaking your body or fraying your mind, by all means, do them. If they pose a direct risk to your well-being you need to ask yourself this question.

How does it glorify God to drive yourself into the dirt or even an early grave? How does killing yourself to complete a task all at once that can be parsed and made into separate tasks help you give the Gospel to the world. Does it really reflect the mind and behaviors of Christ? I suggest not. It reflects a mindset and mentality that doesn’t trust others to help you complete a task. It’s a mind that insists it needs to have its own way rather than stepping back and seeing that sometimes its about pace not immediate completion. It exposes unhealthy thinking likely driven by sin. When we mindlessly dog and hammer away at a task just to get it done are we really learning anything? Are we really serving God…or Satan?

In Proverbs 6:6-11, the ant is presented as a teacher for lazy people, highlighting its hard work and self-sufficiency by storing food for the future, even without a leader. Proverbs 30:25 further emphasizes the wisdom of ants, noting that despite their lack of physical strength, they are still wise enough to gather their provisions. This passage encourages honest labor but it in no way is encouraging us to kill ourselves to complete a task. Instead, its shows that ants work diligently over time and often in unison with others as a team. By all means, be industrious but a broken back and broken mind are good for no one. The passage also shows priorities. Gathering food is an effort of self-preservation. Mindless and stressful work that accomplishes nothing and gives God no glory is just movement that will inevitably kill or maim.

The Bible teaches patience and pace. Our lives are framed as a long-distance race requiring endurance and rest, not speed. Key concepts include running with endurance, as highlighted in Hebrews 12:1-2, but also finding rest and inner peace by fixing one's mind on God, exemplified by Jesus' unhurried life and the principle of Sabbath. The goal is to run the race long and finish, not just quickly, which involves a balanced rhythm of work, rest, and a deep connection with the Holy Spirit. 

ὀφθαλμός ophthalmós

ὀφθαλμός ophthalmós from which we get the word ophthalmology and ophthalmologist means literally…eye. Some things aren’t always as simple as they appear. There is a secondary meaning. Envy. When someone is envious that envy is acted out in unbecoming behavior. One of the most telling signs exhibited during envy is the ‘sideways glance’. The jealous look out of the ‘corner of the eye’. Envy φθόνος is a feeling that sours under the weight of sin. It's similar to φθείρω phtheírō which means to decay or break-down. The root (φθ/phth) literally means to waste away. To move down from a higher level or quality/status to a lower form.

Envy and its ‘side eye’ are trying to tear you down to their level because they cannot attain your status or contentment level. They’re miserable. Misery loves company. They give glares or 'looks that kill'. Ironically, some cultures view this side eye as being the proverbial ‘evil eye’ believed to cause misfortune. Plutarch's scientific explanation stated that the eyes were the chief/sole source of the deadly ‘rays’ that acted like poisoned darts from the inner recesses of a person possessing the evil eye. Poison fiery arrows…hence 'look that kill'. Sideways glances with one’s eyes makes plainly visible sin hidden within. Not only can the envious see out but you can see into them. The eye is the window to the soul.

The eyes are also two-way streets. Sight goes both ways. The reverse, you looking into a person... is ‘insight’. The envious waste away pining for that which they cannot have because it is essentially their own sin that separates them from it. The more they envious envy, the more they’re actually seeing things ‘sideways’ or from a skewed/warped perspective. Thereby corrupting them. Envy…it is a feeling that gloats or is glad when someone that is the object of experiences misfortune or pain. Bottomline, other people’s envy and misfortune is their problem. Happiness. It's a choice folks. Don’t let the envious drag you down. Ignore their stares.

Proverbs 14:30, Mark 7:21-22, John 9:6, Romans 1:29, 1 Corinthians 12:16-17

#stinkeye #evileye#windowtosoul #envy 

#envy#jealous #salvation #corruption

The Company You Keep: A Proximal Relationship

I don’t generally like to oversimplify things for people because it makes them lazy but critical thinking skills seem to be in short supply in the world and what I wish to communicate needs to be heard. I try to lay things bare to the point that my readers can forward the idea on without much commentary. 

Simply put…

There is something strange afoot in society. Everyone can see it too. For some its just below the surface out of sight, barely perceptible or ethereal. For others it is a punch in the face. Obvious as the sun in the sky. It goes beyond the self-righteousness of the political Right. It goes beyond the moral depravity and corrupt minds of the political Left. At face value it is on the world level. The realm of physicality. The empirical. We see it. We can even sometimes quantify it but it’s not a thing per se in the physical world. All of it is sin and its root cause is spiritual, but it manifests in the spiritual and physical world as decrepitude. All the moral and ethical wrongs we all see in the world around us.

We’ve heard it said often over the last few years, “Things have gotten bad.” It also comes out as, “Things seem like they’re upside down. They’re confused.” That’s what evil and sin does. It corrupts. It flips things. It confuses things. Makes what should’ve been easy to understand disorganized and corrupted. God is a God of order. There is no confusion in His nature. Then why the disorder and confusion. Because the Lucifer and evil are parasites. They seek to undo and disorganize that which is. Discontent. Destruction. Disharmony.

Our society gives honor to that which is clearly wrong. Lawlessness in our cities. Claims that the inner cities like Washington DC are safe when it is clear the leaders of that city lied and falsified numbers to make the city appear less violent than it actually is. So violent that the National Guard needed to be called to put things back to order. Then made the people that were trying to restore order the villain or bad guys. Calling the friend a foe and the foe a friend. Absurdity.

A society that honors the killing of the unborn and calls it healthcare and then violently protests to get it when they are refused it as if it is a God-given right to murder one's child. Then those in support call the violent protests mostly peaceful. Literally using equivocation in their language calling things the exact opposite of their nature just as Isaiah predicted of a fallen and corrupt society.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

The very nature of these behaviors is what will prevent these very types of people from getting the justice they so unrighteously demand because they themselves are so unjust. Do unto others as you’d have done to yourself or the sins you do to others will inevitably be visited upon you. The next passage gives us the hint at why this happens too.

Isaiah 59:1-10 But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear...

 ...your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice. No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity...

...Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake...

Therefore, justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom. Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.

They are far from God and society will inevitably suffer as consequence… as these are the people that make up that disorganized and destructive society. The Bible goes to great lengths to explain why these people are distanced from God. They, in effect do it to themselves. Romans states clearly that. Romans 3 reaffirms Isaiah 59 in an Old Testament, New Testament corroboration.

Romans 3:13-18 Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The venom of vipers is on their lips.”  “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”  “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery lie in their wake, and the way of peace they have not known.”  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

If this sounds like what is going on in American society, it is because it IS what is going on. The Bible plainly states the two truths about us that are causing it in Isaiah and Romans.

God is distant from us (Isaiah 59)...because there is no fear of God (Romans 3) before our eyes. No fear meaning no respect of God. No obedience of his statutes and commands. Statutes and commands that were given to help us not restrain us. Help us prevent sinning, not enslave us. A lack of reverence of God distances us from Him has it makes us unholy. Why? It is because we can only get holiness from him, there is no other source. Remove that source and we are unholy. Therefore, we become all the things God is not as He is too far away from us to draw on Him as the source.

We are then left in a time of judgement or, in the Bible, in the time of the Judges. Judges were sent when the people of God went completely rogue and distant themselves from God and his Word/Law. What did people do during these times?

Judges 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Even psychology agrees with this concept of nearness and proper wholesome relationship. It is a phenomenon where people are more likely to form relationships with those who are closer to them. An intimacy at relationship level requires detailed knowledge of the other person...or its not really a relationship per se. That familiarity understood properly actually forms a bond of love that is shown in the actions of the person. With God it is a desire to please Him. To be righteous... holy in obedience to His Wordand to His Son.

Therefore, because many do not have this proximal relationship with God and His Son we have the current American condition succinctly explained from the three (3) previous passages in the Bible. At its core, a repeat of history. At its core, satanic and lacking God. At its core, not of God, unholy and apart from Him. Instead of a relationship with God, a relationship with their true father, the Devil. Your relationship is directly effected by what you are proximal to. As a man thinks, so is he. You are the company you keep.

In The Beginning Was The **** And the **** Was ***

So...it is the nature of language to constantly change. We can often tell a lot about a culture or a people in the past based on their writing.

So I asked ChatGPT if words were being dropped from usage on the internet based on diminishing frequency of use or if they were superseded, hybridized or substituted by more modern usage. It asked me what kind of words. For the sake of simplicity I said nouns. It said that not just nouns, but all vocabulary/vernacular in general based on frequency of use are programmed by their AI algorithm and coding to be pushed to obsolescence upon diminishing usage if usage drops below certain thresholds. What that exact criterion was AI didn't elaborate on nor could I get a clear answer on it no matter how I asked the question. My guess is because it is part of it programming not to. 

So I asked it examples of words that are diminishing in usage and being substituted frequently. It responded with man, woman, peaceful, protest, tolerance, love, etc. I asked if is sin is also. Yes. The word sin is at a literal cut-off point (10-20%) as to be dropped from ChatGPT lexicon completely due to lack of usage. I can only imagine other biblically oriented words will suffer similar fate.

AI-generated outputs consistently use a narrower vocabulary, with significantly fewer nouns and stylistic words than human writing. Studies have shown that ChatGPT’s outputs exhibit significantly lower lexical diversity than human writing and speech. The AI while itself is learning is conversely, dumbing-down those who read it while it is gaining ground on those it is learning from. In literature its called Newspeak. Newspeak—a restricted, simplified language designed to make dissent unthinkable—has become a cultural shorthand for manipulation and control. It helps to remember what George Orwell authored in 1984. It was a bleak vision of the future where an authoritarian regime weaponizes language to suppress independent thought and rewrite history. AI is now rewriting reality, one word at a time…just as a person like me tries (at times in error) to bring light to truth, one word at a time. The government is no longer our only enemy on this front...so it AI.

When AI is done, John 1:1 will read: 

In the beginning was the (Insert Noun Here), and the (Insert Noun Here) was with (Insert Proper Noun Here), and the (Insert Noun Here) was (Insert Proper Noun Here)."

There will be no context for the Bible. There will be no sense. Truth will be edited out.