What’s on my mind?

Facebook asks: what’s on your mind?
Answer: Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, the Salvation of the World.
…
God gave us Jesus so we could live with Him and He live with us, right where we are.
Jesus said we, those who have received the price of the Cross and now live in Christ, will be known for our love (agape love, loving without expectation of return, loving someone else just because they are) for one another; NOT for our ability to cower in expectation of martyrdom.

Love your neighbor. Turn the other cheek at their offense to you. Occupy until Jesus returns. In the same manner he left, he will return. Occupy, hold the faith, hold the ground, caretake what has been placed in your hands, live your life as one who must give an account.

The kingdom of God suffers violence. Resist it. Dominate it. Have rule over it.

Yes. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are mighty, to the pulling down of strongholds, to casting down vain thoughts and imaginations, and binding evil spirits … yep, he did just say that, too.

The Bible and Jesus did not tell you to love your brother so much you let him punch you in the face and take your stuff. No, the Bible and Jesus said to take up your weapons, because the kingdom of God suffers violence and violent men take it by force. How do you stop violent force against you? Meet force with force plus the God of Creation and overcome your enemies.

Save as many as you can, share the good news of Jesus Christ, but that does not mean you stop engaging in life and allow evil men and spirits to take your stuff. Occupy, caretake, tend what God has placed in your hand, pray for peace – God’s peace, and as much as it depends on you, live in peace with all mankind… however, don’t forget your weapons. Read your Bible.

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It’s been a year

Without realizing it, time can pass while you are busy doing “things”. It has been a year since I posted in this blog. I have been busy writing elsewhere.

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I get busy

While looking at other things, for other things, on my computer, I discovered that I have not posted anything here since October 2018. My last post then was me noting I have been with Word Press for ten years.

What this tells me is that I have been way too busy with other things to post here. Willickers.

In the interim, I have published three books. One on photography. Two that are fiction e-books available through Amazon Kindle. Oh, by the way, you can find my other books and e-books on Amazon by searching for “Dave Doc Rogers”. That is me. I have set up an author’s page and linked what I have published thus far there.

amazon.com/author/davedocrogers

Cheers! Stay warm and have a great day!

Doc.

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Ten Years of Opinions

Okay. Today, I went to show a friend who is interested in blogging my pages. I have this one for writing my opinions and others that are newsletters or creative writing. In showing the theme I use and walking him through how easy it is to use (nice run on sentence there), I noted I have been at this with WordPress for ten years this month. Wow!

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The Holy Spirit, God with us

Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans. I will ask of the Father and He will send a Comforter.”[1] The comfort in this life is God. Because of what Jesus did, and the price he paid, we can be one with the Father just as Jesus is.[2] What Jesus did changed an earthly dynamic Adam created.[3] Because of what Jesus did, Man no longer needs to be separate from God.

There are several theologies and dogma regarding the the Holy Spirit. The Bible has a simpler theology. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Living God. Since Jesus did what he did (preach the kingdom of God, the cross, the grave, resurrection, sit at God’s right hand), there is now an opportunity to return to the right relationship with God – the Creator of Heaven and Earth. At first God and Man were together. They worked together. The Father told Man to tend the Garden, but God was right there with Man the whole time. Man could directly and immediately rely on God for any immediate need. Everything Man needed was at hand. At Man’s sin – act of separation from God, Man was left to rely upon his own efforts.

Jesus changed that. After mellenia of being effectively separate in life from God, Jesus made a way for Man to reunite. Sin was a decsion to separate from God. The price of that is death; death of the spirit. The correction was a decision to choose God, even unto death, without waiver. And, Jesus did that. Now for us, it is a simple choice to walk with God. The judgment price has been paid by Jesus. Because of this, we now have right and access to the living, life-giving Spirit of God.

Who is God? God is the one who created us all, the one in whose image we are created. We were to be His children. Sin separated us. Jesus created the opportunity for us to be back together again, and that by the simple choice to accept and believe that what Jesus did at the cross was enough to repair the breech, to allow God and Man to be one again.

His Holy Spirit is key to that relationship. His Holy Spirit is not a third Christian deity. The Holy Spirit is the essence and life of God manifested to us. Life is impossible without the Holy Spirit, but being baptized or overwhelmed by His Holy Spirit is different. By His Holy Spirit His presence is fully with us, around us, and through us. We can go through, include, and participate in this life with Him in all things. 

The Holy Spirit is not a power to be used by us. The Holy Spirit is not a foreign power within us. The Holy Spirit is not sorcerous or magical or mystical power we control or that comes upon us. 

The Holy Spirit is God, with whom we need to cultivate a relationship. The Holy Spirit is God present with us. The Holy Spirit is the holy, pure presence of God manifested in the Earth to help us get through this life successfully. Success in this life is learning to walk with, rely upon Him, toward an everlasting relationship with Him; measured in now moments.

The Holy Spirit is my purest friend, my One upon whom I rely, my ever present Mighty One, Jehovah Elohim.

Learn to lean on, rely on, trust in Him. Believe on Jesus Christ. Receive the living God’s Holy Spirit. Discover not a power but One who has power, who is power, to change everything in your life. Begin  a new walk with Him. Ask Him, test Him with this. Walk with Him.

[1]John 14.16-18; [2]John 21.21; [3]Genesis 3.17; 

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Oatmeal and Buttermilk

My mother’s family came from central Georgia. She had six sisters and two brothers. As often as we could, my parents piled us into the family  car, a station wagon, to make the five hour trek from Charleston to Milledgeville. It was a pilgrimage of sorts; off to reconnect with family. There is nothing quite like a large family of siblings connecting with their cousins who also have a large family of siblings. Meals were usually had around long tables with benches for seats and foldout card tables for the overflow. Noise, laughter, and at least one argument was always part of our visits. I never cared for the road trip to Georgia or the even longer road trip back, but I always enjoyed my time with my cousins. These were special times, special adventures, special moments.

One special moment was a visit to Uncle Jake’s and Aunt Mildred’s farm. Even though raised in the south by two country born parents, we were pretty much city kids. The idea of having and raising pigs, having a working farm, was quite foreign to me. I recall one trip where the kids went down to see the livestock. The older kids were down there, near the wood-railed fence, looking at the pigs. I wanted to go down there with them. I don’t think I was allowed, so naturally, I tried sneaking down there to be with the big kids, anyway. I got about half way down there when a pig came out of the pen and chased me back up to the house. I tried three more time before giving up. The same pig would come out of the pen and chase me back to the house. I think I spent the rest of that visit on the porch or in the house. I was miserable.

Meals for a large family with a visiting large family were noisy and a flurry of motions in getting everything prepared and set to the table while still hot enough for everyone there. In one of those meals I recall the flurry of motion, emotions, and conversations around the table. It seemed that a torrent had descended on the kitchen and after a brief storm the kitchen was empty again. Empty except for my brother Rob and I. We sat at the table picking at our bowls of oatmeal and staring at the glasses of buttermilk. These were new experiences for us both. We sat there and were told we could not go outside unless we had eaten our food. We were having none of that. We sat and complained as little boys would do.

Our host, Uncle Jake, came into the kitchen. He smiled at us. It was like he wanted to laugh but didn’t. He seemed a very big man to me. He wore a short sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up just a bit, and he wore bib-overalls. He was a working man who understood hard work. I was a little boy who was at war with a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of buttermilk.

Uncle Jake sat across the table from my brother Rob and me. I wish I could remember the entire conversation. His words have been lost to years and time. He talked to us like he was one of us. Told us it was good for us. He had us try little bits, then a little more. My brother Rob may have been smarter than me. He ate his up and drank a good portion of his buttermilk then was excused to go outside and play. Uncle Jake was exceedingly patient with me. With his encouragement, I finally finished my oatmeal. He let me go without finishing the buttermilk. I complained rather sadly at how it tasted like it was bad. I remember I felt like I finally escaped when he said I could go. I do not think I even said thank you. I ran from the table as quickly as I could and joined the kids outside.

I do not remember the rest of that day or that weekend. It was so long ago and blended into other memories. What I do remember the most was my Uncle Jake taking a moment to spend time with me to ensure I got enough to eat. I remember his face and how he genuinely cared. To this day I still do not much care for buttermilk, but I do owe and credit my fondness for oatmeal to my Uncle Jake who took the time to be with his baby sister-in-law’s little boy and helped him eat his first bowl of oatmeal. There were other trips, other visits, but none that I remember more than this one. I wish I knew him better and had other memories I could pull up. But, this is a good one. I am glad he took the time with me, helping me get through a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of buttermilk.

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No kings need apply

An article was written stating christians demand a king in a political candidate. No we don’t.

Christans do not demand a king. Christians should demand someone who loves their country and its people more than power and theirself.

The problem is too many are willing to be led by marketing, news media, and personality rather than sound wisdom, self-education, and sound decision-making.

Abdication of self-governing responsibility leads to dictatorship by others. In the USA, our government is based on the premise that the adults are required govern or manage their own affairs. That responsibility is not given to others.

Everywhere else on Earth, the responsibility of governance is to the state – whether dictator, monarch, or elite assembly.

I count it an extreme privilege to have been born in the time I am and in the country I am where my dependence is not on the favor of a state system but on self determination and individual sovereignty.

I am not dependent on a political savior. I am not so much anti-Obama as anti-bad governmental management.

Our founding leaders understood the US government was based on managing the connectivity of all citizens and not determing how those not of the patron class were to live.

The USA does not need a king, despot, nor ruling assembly. The USA needs only those who are willing to serve their fellow countrymen and the benefit of their nation.

No kings needed here. No kings need apply.

Link to story.

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The Little Boy Inside

He always seemed strong to me. Larger than life. My earliest memories of him are of a fast-acting, quick to anger man with red skin. He was a hard man who appeared to feel no pain. He was my dad.

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Musings on the Lord’s Prayer

I recently came across two people who invited me to their bible study. We had a short discussion on who we are, what denomination, and what we believe. I came from the conversation praying for them. Theirs was a faith built on doctrine, being able to defend their faith. Their conversation implied defense as an attorney would argue their case points and with a preponderance of evidence to win their argument. I thought to myself, they know of Christianity but they have no relationship with God. How challenging it must be for them? The rigidity of religious law, the interpretation of religious text, and the constant fear of not being equal to the calling. Wow.

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A Blessing on You

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. May He put His name upon you and bless you. May the Lord make all grace abound toward you; that you, always have all sufficiency in all things and may abound to every good work.

Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all you could ask or think according to the power that is in Him, at work in us, supply all your need according to His riches in Glory by and through Christ Jesus.

Amen.

[Numbers 6.24-26; 2 Corinthians 9.8; Ephesians 3.20-21; Philippians 4.19]

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