Profound and Sometimes Preposterous Ponderings of Pete

Exodus 22: 18 “You shall not permit a sorceress to live. 2 Timothy 1:6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Deuteronomy 18: 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. Galatians 5:9 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will n

Exodus 3:13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”  14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” I am - present tense perfect.  This is a very simple but huge concept.  God is telling us several things in that simple phrase.  I will discuss a few here. 1.  He created time and exists outside of time.  He is Not constrained to it and controls it. For Him, present perfect is where He exits, always. Genesis 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. Psalm 90: 4 A thousand years in your sight  are like a day that has just gone by,  or like a watch in th

How many times have you or I been corrected about our behavior or perceived or even more often miss-perceived behavior by both well-meaning and judgmental (more so these) brothers and sisters with the statement, "I am just speaking the truth in love."  If I had a dollar for every time I heard this phrase I would by a boat.  The miss-application of this and several other scriptures is worn out.  Oh that I could teach a lesson on misused, misapplied and not even in the Bible, scriptures.  The only scripture that quotes this phrase is Ephesians 4:15  Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.  But like many misapplied scripture, this one is taken out of context.  Lets look at the whole passage. Ephesians 4: So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built u

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (note the gender in the following verses) Proverbs 1:20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; on top of the wall she cries out,  at the city gate she makes her speech:  22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways?  How long will mockers delight in mockery  and fools hate knowledge?  23 Repent at my rebuke!  Then I will pour out my thoughts to you,  I will make known to you my teachings. Proverbs 4:6 Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Proverbs 7:4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and to insight, “You are my relative.” Proverbs 8:1 Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? Proverbs 8:11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 9:1 Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pi

10 years ago today, I lost a special arrow, 2 weeks to leave, a slowly melting tallow. My heart yearns to hear her laugh again My tears still fall like unwelcome rain. She left my bow to early it seemed, but God Himself her flight had deemed. Was the shot a useless spend? For so many hearts a cruel rend? The answers have seemed to escape my lore, So many lives fell to the floor. Why Oh God did her death bring storms? Did not her leaving break the norms? The grief and loss surgically removed, the need for justice and politics proved. I am no longer the man she knew, my heart has changed this is true. God in His wisdom took her to His throne, but I in my wisdom did nothing but groan. So now I still grieve but with bittersweet sting, 10 years ago on butterfly wing, My sweet little Rachael whom I will soon see, Flew to paradise long before me.

Sunday morning during the church announcements, Brenda Emerson (my cousin-in-law) spoke about Timpanogos caves in American Fork, Utah and how they shut off the lights there when you take a tour and it becomes truly pitch black darkness.  She mentioned that this occurs deep in the ocean as well as outer space too.  She talked about how beautiful and awe inspiring to come out of the cave into the light and see God's creation all around. I only mention this because it started me thinking about something that has nothing to do with caves, ocean depths, or outer space. I apologize for the thought meandering, mostly to my love ones who often exclaim,"Where did that come from!" LOL! Most of us have heard, at one point or another, the song This Little Light of Mine.  I am not going to go through the whole song but it basically talks about how every person has an internal light and it is up to each individual how much he or she lets the world see but the singer is telling you

A few weeks ago on Sunday, during the singing part of our worship, I came under some spiritual attack.  The devil tickled my mind with worry and fear.  So I rebuked him in the name of Jesus Christ.  It worked.  The power of the Holy Spirit prevailed and the devil was rebuked and left me alone.  In the process,  told the devil to get out of my Father's house.  When finished, a voice in my mind, I truly believe it was God's voice said with love (and maybe some amusement?), "You know, it's your house too." Bam! I was whisked away into a whirlwind of revelation.  I believe that I was called to not just further the Kingdom of God but to help secure the ground gained by teaching and discipling and preaching the Word of God.  I forgot for a moment, that while Christ is the only begotten and first born son of God, through Him, I too was a son of God by adoption. Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received

In Feb 2009 I became infected with viral meningitis. I had a fever of over 106 degrees for 3-4 days while they pumped very powerful anti-viral meds into me. They kept a crash cart inside and outside my room. The virus attacked my brain,, heart, and lungs. I went into congestive heart failure. I had pluracy and pneumonia. My pericardium was damaged and I lost a lot of my short term memory abilities.  I essentially became permanently disabled at that point. For 10 days I was knocking on Death’s door. It was not my time. God kept me here. Fast forward to last Monday June 11. I was taken to the hospital with 102 fever. Normally, that wouldn’t be a hospital worthy event but I just had surgery 2 weeks prior and infection could cause serious problems. At the hospital, my body went into septic shock. My blood pressure dropped to 70/50, my heart started to produce enzymes associated only with heart attacks, my kidneys were in renal failure and my liver function became erratic. In essence,

I have been reading so many things lately that just break my heart.  So many things are being done in the name of justice or because society and government believe they know what is best.  The little boy in England. Abortion. Trumps family.  The atrocities that celebrities commit against each other and their spouses or partners or significant others. etc. Christians pointing fingers at each other instead being on their knees.  Racial discrimination both committed and fabricated.  Law enforcement officers being targeted for death by criminals and the criminals are exulted.  School shootings being used for political agenda with little or no care for the victims, their families, and  the families of the perpetrators.  Laws being passed in direct opposition to the country's constitution. Religious persecution where only one religion is being targeted.  Private business owners being forced by the government to comply against their beliefs or shut down when they refuse.  Pornography and

In my life, I have fired 0.22 cal rifles, 0.32 revolver, 0.40 cal automatic pistol, 1911 0.45 cal automatic pistol, Makarov 9 mm x 18 mm, various 0.380 cal and 9mm automatic pistols, AR-15, and AK-47.  All at targets.  None of them alive.  Was it fun?  You betcha! Were the people I went shooting with knowledgeable about handling firearms and safety?  Absolutely!  Did I learn anything from them?  Yes I did!  Thank you Jake Kligmann, Mitchell Lee, and Coulton (sorry I don't know your last name)!  Was it frightening?  No way, especially with the aforementioned guys who were with me. I have cut down several trees with ax, saw, and chainsaw.   Did I know how to do this?  Yes I did. Was that scary?  Yes it was at first, even with training and praactice. I have worked with high powered lasers and high energy unstable explosive materials.  Did I know how to do this?  I have a MS in Chemistry that says that I did.  Was it scary?  A little.  Was it fun?  When it worked. I worked with

My beautiful wife whom I adore, you know her as Corinne, has told me that I need to lighten things up a little.  She said my posts, while good, are too often very weighty and cerebral. So, I used to write limericks.  No not the ones that potty brains enjoy but cornball ones.  So, here I go. I wed a woman who looks quite hot, she got in return one who is not. even though quite pretty, she bestowed great pity, and acquiesced to conjoin the knot. My quiver has twelve pointed arrows, more precious than a flock of sparrows. While I sit at the gate, with others and debate, They all will contend with the pharoahs. My kids are all great culinarians, While I descend from barbarians. My wife is a great catch, Any plan she can hatch, they keep me safe from librarians. My moniker used to be Peter, My disposition was quite sweeter, Twelve teenagers I raised, My wife should be praised, When they're gone our house will be neater.

This post is going to make me very unpopular with many people. I will not apologize for what I state but I want my readers to know that this is not coming from hate or judgement.  It is out of love for the body of Christ.  If you are not a follower and believer of Jesus Christ, who is God who took human form to pay the price for the sins of human beings so that those who accept this gift of redemption will not spend eternity in hell, it does not pertain to you so you do not need to take any umbrage by it.  All that being said, I read today that a Lutheran Church ordained a trans-gender pastor and celebrated this past Sunday his/her renaming of their self. I guess that this church has not read the book of Revelation or if it has, has rejected the Holy Bible.  If the former is true there is still hope.  If the latter is true, then I fear for that church and for those within it who have been mislead. To the Church in Pergamum 12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:  These

Take a knee, don't take a knee.  Honor the flag or burn it.  It is your First Amendment right and a multitude of men and women have died to protect that right.  That being said, the national anthem is an emblem of citizenship in a country that has provided more freedoms than any other country present and past.  The country has made some grievous mistakes in its older and recent pasts; however, it is still a privilege to be born here or achieve citizenship here.  If you are dissatisfied with current situations it is your right to say so and to protest, peacefully and civilly those wrongs that have been done. Protesting the symbols of this country (flag, anthem, et.al.) is essentially stating that you are not happy with being a citizen of this country. As such, you also have the right to go live somewhere else and you should.  If that is not what you wish to project, if what you want to project is your dissatisfaction with the laws and attitudes of the current society, then be a goo

Helpless! Helpless!  Helpless! Why oh Lord have you rendered me so? You have taken my youth. You have taken my strength. You have left me a fool. You have told me that the pot has no claim on the potter. You have have told me that wisdom is for those who ask. Then why dear God am I adrift at sea? Why Holy Father do I feel so alone? Why do I feel like my faith is lost? Why is my honor questioned at every turn? Why is your voice silent to me? Why do I feel like I have no protection? I know of and ashamed of all of my sin. I know that you forgive me when I repent. I know you are strong when I am weak. I know that what I call good, to you is small. You and you alone are God. For me there are no others. You died so that I would live. You showed me your glory. You have adopted me as a son. Forgive me Dad, my friend, my teacher, for I see so dimly and my faith is little. You my God are the only one Holy! Your glory is evident in all that I see! I will praise you

There are many, many, many, many (have I said many enough?) different definitions of church. Place of worship House of prayer Religious gathering place These are just a few very general definitions that can be applied to almost any religion. So let's be a little more specific to Christianity. cathedral temple sanctuary tabernacle Lord's house mission + aforementioned Again just a few of the very many.  Now let's see how God defines church. Where do we do that?  (I know it's a leading obvious question) In His Word. The first mention of church in the New Testament is in the book of Matthew chapter 16.  Where Jesus asks: 13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” 14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,

God sees everything black and white! He has no shades of gray! God cannot abide with sin! Etc.  Etc. Too many times I have heard these exclamations.  To my detriment, I have even said some of them myself.  I was mistaken in my application and so is anyone who has made the same proclamations. Let's take the easiest one first.  God cannot abide with sin! This statement makes no sense.  I will show you why or rather His Word will. Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not