One thing that really brings a person's understanding into focus is the description of an issue through word pictures. I was reading Jude this morning and in verses 12 and 13, the following word pictures emerged:
SOME PEOPLE...
are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you...
are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves...
are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain...
are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots...
are like wild waves of the sea, churning up the foam of their shameful deeds...
are like wandering stars, doomed forever to blackest darkness...
I gave a Bible study once in Japan on forgiveness versus unforgiveness. I used these illustrations to define each position:
FORGIVENESS UNFORGIVENESS
Crescent roll Moldy bread
Cherry tomato Rotten tomato
Beautiful bouquet Dead flowers
Cold refreshing milk Curdled milk
Cotton Ball (light, fluffy) Boulder (cold, hard, heavy)
Gentle breeze Hurricane
Lush green lawn Field of weeds
Get the picture????
If one is trying to convey an accurate description of one's feelings, thoughts, or attitude, use a word picture. It gets the point across every time.
Friday, December 21, 2018
Monday, December 17, 2018
PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY
28 Principles of Freedom our Founding Fathers said must be understood and perpetuated by every person who desires peace, prosperity, and freedom. Adherence to these beliefs during the past 200 years has brought about more progress than was made in the previous 5,000 years. --National Center for Constitutional Studies (www.nccs.net)
1. The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.
2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.
3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.
4. Without religion, the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
5. All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.
6. All men are created equal.
7. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.
8. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
9. To protect man's rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine law.
10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.
11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.
12. The United States of America shall be a republic (a form of government in which a state is ruled by representatives of the citizen body).
13. A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers.
14. Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right of property is secure.
15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free market economy and a minimum of government regulations.
16. The government should be separated into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
17. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.
18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution (a set of basic laws or principles that describe the rights and duties in which citizens are to be governed).
19. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government; all others being retained in the people.
20. Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
22. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.
23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.
24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
25. "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations: entangling alliances with none."
26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.
27. The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.
28. The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.
1. The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.
2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.
3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.
4. Without religion, the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
5. All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.
6. All men are created equal.
7. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.
8. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
9. To protect man's rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine law.
10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.
11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.
12. The United States of America shall be a republic (a form of government in which a state is ruled by representatives of the citizen body).
13. A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers.
14. Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right of property is secure.
15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free market economy and a minimum of government regulations.
16. The government should be separated into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
17. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.
18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution (a set of basic laws or principles that describe the rights and duties in which citizens are to be governed).
19. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government; all others being retained in the people.
20. Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
22. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.
23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.
24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
25. "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations: entangling alliances with none."
26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.
27. The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.
28. The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.
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