Impress them on your children!

Posted on February 27, 2014 by Pete Rambo

Deu 6 four2nine

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The Parable of Jonah

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Pete Rambo

Another great video tying together significant portions of Scripture and showing the relevance of Jonah…

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Was God Deceitful?

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Pete Rambo

It has been a very busy last four or five days and I haven’t really written anything, but the wheels have been turning.

Last week, I posted a very rough cut ‘n’ paste picture dealing with some thoughts on the restored tent of David.  As I meditated on that further, some ramifications began to gel.  Here are a couple thoughts I want to throw on the table for discussion.

First a Scripture:

“In that day I will raise up the fallen [d]booth of David,
And wall up its breaches;
I will also raise up its ruins
And rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom
And all the [e]nations who are called by My name,”
Declares Yahweh who does this.  Amos 9:11-12

  • If Yahweh’s plan from the beginning was not a restored booth, or tent, of David, then He was deceitful in His planning/prophesying.
  • If the P’shat of the Tanakh is not fulfilled, then it is/was intentionally misleading.

The simple point is this:

is God a liarOf course, the same point holds true for any number of prophecies both fulfilled and unfulfilled.  If those are not fulfilled literally Continue reading →

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Condolences to the family of Dr. William J. Larkin

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Pete Rambo

I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family of Dr. William J. Larkin, a former seminary professor of mine.  I have recently completed a series of posts addressing the IVP New Testament Commentary on Acts by Dr. Larkin.

This morning I went to the dentist, and while seated in the waiting room I fished Saturday’s newspaper out of the waste basket.  As I thumbed through, Dr. Larkin’s picture surprised me.  Then I realized it was his obituary, having recently died as a result of pancreatic cancer.

My thoughts and prayers are with his wife and the CIU family in this time of loss.  I stand by the critiques I have written, but also recognize the tenderness of the hour.  My apologies with the imperfect timing.

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Symbolic of the current Great Awakening!!

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Pete Rambo

This very short video just makes me smile!!  It is symbolic of the current Great Awakening!  Feel your heart leap!

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A most painful day…

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Pete Rambo

Well.  It is over.  The most painful day of kidding season each year!  Honestly, this is the day I dread.  Disbudding/dehorning day.

For the goats own protection and safety, we disbud them when they are around nine days DSCN6372old.  The goal is to destroy/cauterize the tissue around the little horn buds so that no horns will ever grow.

Horns on goats can be pretty dangerous.  I know of goats that died after getting their heads caught in fences.  I know of a goat that almost died after getting its horn caught in the collar of another goat.  And, horns can be pretty dangerous weapons when they are excited or in rut…  So, for their well-being, we remove them, but it makes for a very hard day!

We have a metal disbudding iron that we heat to about 1000º and I hold each squirming goat as we apply about a 6-8 second burn on each horn.  They are not happy and it really hurts my heart,  but it is for their own good.

Kelly made me turn off the monitor in the barn so she couldn’t hear Continue reading →

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Assumptions, Biases and Misdirection. IVPNT: Acts Pt. 6

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Pete Rambo

If it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny.  Some of the assumptions and biases in Dr. William J. Larkin’s IVP New Testament Commentary on Acts are so obvious and contrary to Blind Leading the BlindScripture that it reveals the degree of ‘traditions of men’ we have in Churchianity.  Some of this bias we have seen in our previous posts, but today we’ll try to identify language geared toward steering the reader in a prejudicial manner.

        The Blind Leading the Blind

This first example is so wildly misleading that I am ashamed to reveal that Dr. Larkin is an emeritus professor of Biblical Greek.  Here is what he says, concerning Acts 20:6,

As Paul is about to set out on the last leg of his journey to Jerusalem…He divides his party, sending some—the Asians Tychichus and Trophimus—or possibly all his companions ahead to Troas by ship. After celebrating Christian Easter in Philippi (Passover A.D. 57 was April 7-14) and a five-day sea journey against contrary winds……

Are you kidding me??  The Greek, over which Larkin is supposed to have mastery, clearly says, Continue reading →

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More on the Blood Moon Tetrad…

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Pete Rambo

I continue to be fascinated by this imminent sign in the heavens…  No clue exactly what it means, yet.  But we should all be paying attention!

I found this video clip in an excellent playlist on the אֵת  by William Sanford.

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Justifying Syncretism. IVPNT: Acts Pt. 5

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Pete Rambo

Dr. William J. Larkin’s IVP New Testament Commentary on Acts is the ‘gift that keeps on Classic-Christmas-Tree-With-Star-On-Topgiving.’  I seriously thought that three, or at most four, posts would cover the main fallacies within Christendom evidenced in his treatment of Acts…  But, I just keep finding new stuff!

I have another post in the series well underway, but decided to push this fairly short thought forward in the schedule.

While writing part 4, I read a paragraph and did a major double-take!!  Here is the paragraph:

What guidelines does this incident yield for today? There is a large measure of freedom, but that freedom is to be used to promote (1) the advance of the gospel and (2) the unity of an ethnically diverse church. So long as our conscience is not bound by non-Christian traditions and practices and the Christian gospel is not syncretized with the thought behind non-Christian practice, our pre-Christian religious past, properly cleansed, may move into a transformed spiritual future.

Help me out here…. Did he just say that syncretism is okay, as long as we properly clean it up?  Continue reading →

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Sacrifice a ‘Jewish Custom?!’ IVPNT: Acts Pt 4.

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Pete Rambo

I have to begin by thanking Dr. William J. Larkin for showing me something I had not previously noticed in Acts.  I am very familiar with Paul’s Nazarite vow in Acts 21, but I had never noticed that Paul did this more than once!!  Larkin’s IVP New Testament Commentary on Acts, when addressing verse 18:18ff says,

At Corinth’s eastern port city, Cenchrea, seven miles southeast, the-lamb-illustration-1Paul cuts his hair, signaling the beginning of the end of a Nazirite vow (Num 6; m. Nazir). Evidently he had begun this vow after either the Macedonian or Corinthian vision, as a sign of earnest beseeching of the Lord for success in the mission to which Paul had been called (Acts 16:9-10; 18:9-10). Now in thanksgiving Paul ends the vow and thus recognizes that the Lord made good on his promises….

…Though Paul receives a positive response to his synagogue preaching (dialegomai, 17:2, 17; 18:4; see note at 17:2)—he is asked to stay longer—he makes a hasty departure. Though the time is short, perhaps he is still intent on getting to Jerusalem by Passover. The sea lanes opened on March 10, and in A.D. 52 Passover was in early April (Bruce 1988:356). Or he is hurrying there to complete his vow…

Here is a major challenge for Christendom.  More than once, Paul (Rabbi Shaul) is seen partaking in a Nazarite vow.  Continue reading →

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Kidding aside!! (Short video & pics)

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Pete Rambo

Here’s a quick update on the goat kidding this year….  We have truly been blessed beyond our hopes!!  Yah is good!

Our last momma kidded midday Tuesday and I got a pretty good night’s sleep thereafter!  Visiting the barn every couple hours through the night was getting old, but it is the nature DSCN6320of this time of year.  As I previously related, we crossed our four Nubian and one Alpine does to ‘Hotshot,’ a beautiful Saanen buck from an excellent milk lineage.  You can see in those pics that they are all about to POP!

Mature does normally have twins with the occasional set of triplets (though the rare quads is not out of the question..).  We’ve had some trips each year, but this year all four of my mature girls had trips and my yearling doe, Beth, had twins!!  Five does and 14 kids!!!  That is five new baby does and eight bucklings.  (Regretfully, we lost one doeling at birth.)

The last to give birth is the one that we just KNEW was going to go first…  Malke, the ever ornery Alpine!  She is one for the history books.  She thinks with her belly and will do everything in her own time, unless food is involved!

Honestly!  She was in full blown labor, so we let all the other girls out of the back of the barn to give her some privacy…  Smart, right?  No!  Continue reading →

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Culinary Visions? IVPNT: Acts Pt. 3

Posted on February 20, 2014 by Pete Rambo

Christendom’s rationale for unclean foods being made clean is usually Peter’s vision in Acts 10.  Dr. William J. Larkin’s IVPNT Commentary on Acts is no different.   pig headLet’s take a look at some of his commentary and compare with other Scripture.

First, Acts 10:9-17,

9 On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10 But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; 11 and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12 and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. 13 A voice came to him, Continue reading →

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Crate Trained Believers

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Pete Rambo

Wow!!  Now, here is a great post:  Crate Trained Believers.

It is a MUST READ…  For all believers!

 

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REstore, REpair, REbuild, not REdefine or REplace… (See Dictionary)

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Pete Rambo

theontentofdavid

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The Two-Thousand Year Old Christian Mistake

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Pete Rambo

I like following James as he wrestles with important matters of theology. This is a terrific post where he takes the difficult step of challenging Christendom with some hard truth. I think we agree on much in this post… Exactly what the final product looks like, remains to be seen, but, like James, we are on a journey in search of truth and we ask our Father to reveal Himself and truth at every turn!!

Enjoy wrestling with this post!!

James Pyles's avatarMorning Meditations

Ezekiel 36:26. You don’t need to turn to it, just listen. God says, now watch this promise. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.” verse 27. “And I will put my Spirit within you.” Now do you read any conditions there? What are the conditions for getting the Spirit? What are they? Is there an if there? Nope. God says I will do it. Now the credibility of God is at stake. If a Christian has to do something to get the Holy Spirit then in theory, there are some Christians who never do that something so they never get the Holy Spirit. Therefore the promise of God is invalidated in their behalf. No the credibility of God is at stake. And secondly the credibility of Jesus is at stake in John 14, verse 16.

-Pastor John MacArthur
“From Judaism…

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