SOUL AND SPIRIT

SOUL AND SPIRIT

How can we be alive when we are just a collection of dead atoms? Plainly we are NOT just atoms. The Bible says we ARE LIVING SOULS made by God – we are alive because we ARE souls. We ARE conscious because we ARE souls. The moment your soul departs, you die – that’s what death IS. Death IS the departure of your soul and spirit. Stop and think what a wondrous and marvelous thing consciousness IS. The properties of matter cannot possibly explain our life of consciousness.  

Consider this also. You are just getting into your car when that "something" – that “entity” inside you reminds you; you left your briefcase on the kitchen table. Notice, that this "entity” knew you were getting into your car, it knew your day would go poorly without that briefcase, and so this "entity" decided to intervene in your conscious thoughts to suggest you go back and get the briefcase. Plainly, this "something" inside you knows you and your every move, and does actual reasoning concerning your life. Notice to, it communicated TO you.  Your mind was on other things, when this entity interrupted you.

 This is your human SPIRIT that God provided to assist and guide your soul. Your SPIRIT scans your mind and talks TO your SOUL.  We are body, soul and spirit.  We ARE marvelously created moral beings.

Ken Clark 

FLESH VS SPIRIT

Every person at one time in life must make the decision that the disciple Matthew made when Jesus came to talk to him. That decision is, "Will I continue to walk after the flesh, or will I determine to walk up to the spirit?"
For those who meet Jesus that decision is relatively easy. The difficult part comes when we try to decide how to walk after the spirit. Paul faces the problem in Romans 8:4, where Paul says, "do not walk after the flesh but after the Spirit." Every person wants to walk after the Spirit rather then after the flesh, but we do not know how. The main purpose for Jesus coming to earth is to teach us how to walk after the Spirit.
When Matthew met Jesus he learned how to walk after God's Spirit. I will pick some important ideas from Matthew's insight to help you to understand better how to walk after God's Spirit. I hope you will take part by adding your comments. Go to:

http://sites.google.com/site/protege/

Take this opportunity to learn what Matthew learned from Jesus.

YOUNG EARTH
The following clocks point to a young earth, solar system, and universe. Taken together, they suggest that the earth is quite young -- probably less than 10,000 years old.
Clock

Clock--------------- Age Estimate
1. Receding Moon 750 m.y.a. max
2. Oil Pressure 5,000 - 10,000 years
3. The Sun 1,000,000 years max
4. The Oldest Living Thing 4,900 years max
5. Helium in the Atmosphere 1,750,000 years max
6. Short Period Comets 5,000 - 10,000 years
7. The Earth's Magnetic Field 10,000 years max
8. C-14 Dating of Dino Bones 10,000 - 50,000 years
9A. Dinosaur Blood and Ancient DNA 5,000 - 50,000 years
9B. Unfossilized Dinosaur Bones 5,000 - 50,000 years
9C. 165 Million Year Old Ligaments 5,000 - 50,000 years
10. Axel Heiberg Island 5,000 - 10,000 years
11. Carbon-14 in Atmosphere 10,000 years max
12. The Dead Sea 13,000 years max
13. Niagara Falls 5,000 - 8,800 years max
14. Historical Records 5,000 years max
15. The San Andreas Fault 5,000 - 10,000 years
16. Mitochondrial Eve 6,500 years
17. Population Growth 10,000 years max
18. Minerals in the Oceans Various (mostly young) Ages
19. Rapid Mountain Uplift Less than 10 million years
20. Carbon 14 from "Old" Sources 10,000 to 50,000 years
21. Dark Matter and Spiral Galaxies 100 - 500 million years (max)
22. Helium and lead in Zircons 6,000 years


Read More:
http://www.earthage.org/youngearthev/evidence_for_a_young_earth.htm

IAN JUBY VIDOES

Ian Juby videos

http://www.godtube.com/uvideos.php?UID=18954&type=public

There is a group of 23 videos, number 23 is the first one produced it is mainly audio.
I would suggest you start by seeing 22 then 21 etc. They are made by Ian Juby. He is at a very smart fellow from chalk River Ontario. He is part of creation Museum in Big Valley Alberta he has is his own mobile creation Museum. He calls his talk complete creation and he has really good understanding of geology and fossils.

His videos are designed to help you to understand that the earth, the solar system and the universe is only 6000 years old. Jesus spoke the word and the earth came into existence. If Jesus rose from the dead, speaking the earth into existence in an instant is no problem.

The world we live in is convinced, wrongly, that the universe is billions of years old. You need to be convinced otherwise. Ian Juby has the information to do it. His videos are very convincing. It is from a Canadian standpoint.

Everybody should see these videos over and over until they have the facts memorized.

EVOLUTION TO CREATION

Dr. Gary Parker
Former atheist and evolutionist, now a great Bible-defending communicator!
Dr Parker began his teaching career as an atheist and evolutionist! En route to his degrees in biology/chemistry, biology/physiology and then an Ed.D. in Biology/Geology (Ball State), Dr Parker earned several academic awards, including admission to Phi Beta Kappa (the prestigious national scholastic society), election to the American Society of Zoologists (for his research on tadpoles) and a fifteen-month fellowship award from the National Science Foundation. He has published five programmed textbooks in biology and six books on origins science (the latter have been translated into eight languages), has appeared in numerous films/TV programs and has debated and lectured worldwide on creation.

Hear and see Gary tell you the facts at:

http://www.answersingenesis.org/media/video/ondemand/evolution-to-creation/evolution-to-creation

WORLDVIEW

WORLDVIEW

Worldview is defined as a perspective derived from a collection of knowledge, information, facts and ideas gained about life and the universe that are held by an individual or a group.

How is a worldview acquired?

Good knowledge, information, facts and ideas come from God.
Evil knowledge, information, facts and ideas come from Satan.

God has set up two pipelines from heaven to earth for the purpose of moving information from God to man.

1. One of the pipelines he has called the tree of life.
2. The other pipeline he refers to as the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

These were actual trees in the Garden of Eden but they also represent a means by which God can transfer information from himself to the mind of man.

The Tree of Life pipeline is under close scrutiny and control by God. It is closed to the general public. It is open only to the family of God. God's family are not free to pick fruit from the tree of life, the fruit can only be received by them as a gift from God.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil is a pipeline that all people can use. God supplies the information to it at his discretion, and people are free to pick knowledge to his hearts content. God is in control of the supply, people have the control of receiving the information and using it for their own benefit. The weakness of this pipeline is in the fact that Satan has the option of contaminating the information with evil. Satan keeps himself busy doing just that.

Using the tree of knowledge of good and evil we all have built a wide variety of worldviews. The three main worldviews that have determined the thinking in the Western civilization might be referred to as the worldview from—Rome, Athens, or Jerusalem.


The Worldview of Rome
The worldview of Rome is characterized by MIGHT. Rome conquered the known world with might. They motivated their own people with celebration of their might. As we study activities of the Romans we see that they constantly were displaying their might with celebration and jubilee. Many people today follow their example by being “party people.” Everybody likes a good party. The Romans set the stage for the rest of the world.

The Worldview of Athens
Athens can be characterized by its intellect. Athens enjoyed “POWER.” Athens worshiped the power of their intellect, the power of mathematics, of science, of philosophy, of their feeble democracy and of sports. They were famous workaholics. They dedicated the power of their brain to developing the power of their mind. Athens has passed its worldview along to many members of western culture today.

The Worldview of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the only worldview source, whose information originates within Monotheism. God alone is the source of all information and he therefore gets it right. God is the God of absolute truth, and he alone provides real truth.

God’s truth about worldview is "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the LORD Almighty. Zechariah 4:6

In one simple statement of fact God makes it clear that Rome does not have the answer in using might. Athens does not have the answer by using power of the intellect. God then provides the answer, which is, fashion your worldview by connecting your spirit to my Holy Spirit.

What God is really saying here is. You cannot build a worthy worldview by eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. To build a worldview like Jesus did you must eat from the tree of life. Jesus had created this worldview for himself when he was only 12 years old.

MENTORING

JESUS, THE MODEL FOR MENTORING

How to mentor as Jesus did.
Make every effort to get to know the things that Jesus knew.
Start with the scripture Luke 2:46-52.
Pick a small section of it for a in depth study.
Read it over many times.
Keep saying it in your mind and meditate on what it means.
Let God speak to you about a deeper understanding of its meaning.
Jesus later taught Matthew how to be effective in understanding truth. Practice now so you can be efficient later.
As an example use Luke 2:46 "they found him in the temple courts."

COMPOSE AS MANY TRUTHS AS YOU CAN CONCERNING THIS SCRIPTURE.
· Jesus was both “Son of Man,” and “Son of God.”
· He confined himself here to learning as a human like you.
· He knew that truth will be found in the temple.
· He took God's Word as truth.
· Determined now to take God's Word for yourself as truth.

An important truth that Jesus will need later, when he confronts Matthew is written by
Rev. W. Peter Gadsby B.Sc., B.D.

The Tree of Life stood in the centre of the Garden of Eden which elsewhere is called ‘The Garden of the LORD’ (Genesis 2:16–17). It was a real tree, to be sure, but let me suggest that it was also symbolic of the fact that God was, and is, the source of eternal life and blessing. Adam and Eve were to have their life centred in Him, even as the Tree was in the centre of His Garden.

Other parts of the Bible also mention The Tree of Life.
In Ezekiel 47:12 we read of trees whose ‘fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing’.
This image is taken up also in Revelation 22:2.

It is clear particularly in Proverbs where a number of things are referred to as ‘a tree of life’ (wisdom (3:15), the fruit of the righteous (11:30), desire fulfilled (13:12), and a soothing tongue (15:4)) that the Tree of Life in these references symbolises that which brings joy and healing to people.

http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?keyword=W.%20Peter%20Gadsby&entiresite=true

RICK WARREN

Rick Warren

"Purpose Driven Life " author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California
In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick answered these questions:

WHY ARE WE HERE?
People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

WHERE ARE WE GOING?
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.


HOW SHOULD WE LIVE?
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.

God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

HOW SHOULD WE HANDLE DIFFICULTIES?
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.

And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.

You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.

If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness,"which is my problem, my issues, my pain." But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her.

It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

HOW SHOULD WE HANDLE MONEY?
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.

It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don't think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease.

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72

First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?

Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

HOW SHOULD WE HANDLE TIME?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD.

Rick Warren

"THE FIGHT AGAINST "NORMAL"

CONVICTED TO GLORY?
Whether or not the e-mail I received was about me or not (I know it is), it has definitely made a profound impact on me. I feel convicted "as my title suggests" to do something great, like I am going to be a part of something that has a very profound impact on the world. Yet my struggle is not against the idea, my struggle is against the world of "normal" For the last few decades, many of us have grown up believing that we are going to be the next great athlete, politician, or whatever and be rich and famous. Of course one's life should be based on God's will and whatever he says should guide you.

Many people aren't Christians and while they feel convicted to do something about their dreams, they often lose focus, compromise, and never realize their dream. So it is obvious, then, that human nature (or Satan, whichever one it is), actually opposes the idea of doing something incredible, especially in God's name or Christ's name. This also is my struggle. There is a part of me that wants to be normal, like everyone else, have the same dreams and such, but I know I am different.

I always have been and I know that. Hearing the voice of God is my biggest fear, because a) what He says is often difficult to do and b) because it always puts me out of my comfort zone.

The other thing I always want is confirmation that it really is God talking. In a world that demands proof and evidence it is difficult, especially as one in the faculty of science, to take anything right away as truth and fact because it becomes natural as a scientist to question everything and believe nothing is certain.

Probably my most pressing question is, "What exactly do you want me to do God?" I have no clue as to what God truly wants to do. This undoubtedly has to do with me not wanting to hear from God on account that what He says will be difficult. I know what I want to do, and that is finish my time at the Medical School and join the military for 4 years so I can pay off School, then become a missionary doctor in Eastern Africa, and return back to Canada after an unknown number of years and go into federal politics. It all sounds good, but is it really from God? because as all of us know making plans without God will get us nowhere.

The other problem is it sounds so good that I think it is from God, but it may not be. One last problem is that I don't know what God wants me to do right now. I am in Waterloo University, going to classes, writing tests, and the most pressing question is will I be able to relax? I know leisure is from God (What is a Feast?), but is there something I should be doing for God when I am not doing school work? And what exactly is it that I should do?

I know for one thing that I want to be able to be in the company of fellow Christians, but I find it difficult at this late of a date (I'm going back to Calgary in about two months) and without transportation to really want to seek out other Christians because I know I am going to be separated from them again.

That about sums it up as to where I am at. I thank you both for your time and for the knowledge and wisdom you have imparted to me. I pray that I will put it to good use.

Adam

WHAT TO BELIEVE

The following is a statement of belief by one of the professor's at Waterloo University that he sent to me after getting to know one of the young man formerly of Desert Stream, who is now attending Waterloo University.

Hello Glenn,

Jesus Christ is the creator and sustainer of the universe and each creature in it, that he is infinitely large and infinitely small, hence the most intimate.... of beings, to which each of us his creatures has access. He was before, has always been within, and will be after time.

He is my life.

He is the only way to God, for as he said, "No man comes unto the Father but by me."

I am quite orthodox in my Christian faith, I accept responsibility for my sins, and the consequences thereof, and I acknowledge that my only hope is confession, repentance and forgiveness by Jesus Christ, on the basis of his incarnation, life, crucifixion and resurrection. His life and death for my sake is the basis of my forgiveness.

My life is an ongoing daily challenge in spiritual growth, which means in compassion for my fellow creatures, in meditation and prayer, and in the use of the gifts and talents and training which Jesus Christ has given me. I completely trust that God in Christ is the judge of all the earth, that he is both entirely just and entirely merciful, that he knows the inmost thoughts of each of us his creatures, that his Holy Spirit dwells within those who are his disciples, warning, encouraging, comforting, leading, protecting.

I believe in the fellowship of believers, which I have experienced in my travels across the world, a fellowship independent of race or culture or age or language or education or intelligence or worldly rank.

Christ is my life.

John North

EXPLORING THE INVISIBLE REALM

Take a good look at yourself in the mirror.
Take a good look at your friend.
Take a good look at the girl you love.

See the visible world express in yourself and in others.

Now let your reason see the evidence of the invisible realm in you. Implanted in the material from which you are made is something called life from the invisible realm. It is a gift off inexpressible value. It can come and it came go. It provides evidence of its presence. It is a gift of unimaginable value from the source at the center of the invisible realm. You can not see life it is hidden in your blood.

Be thankful and give back what you can of the visible to honour your invisible gift and the giver.

This is the path to perfection, truth and excellence.

CALVIN LOVES THE INVISIBLE WORLD

IS THERE AN INVISIBLE WORLD?

Some people say, the invisible world is much bigger and more profound than the visible world.

Test yourself to see if you have any connection to the invisible world.

Know that your body is part of the visible world.
Your senses try to explain the visible world to your mind.
Your soul is the part of you that connects your mind to the visible world through your senses.

Your spirit is the part of you that connects your mind to the invisible world without benefit of senses. We have seen that the senses are somewhat unreliable. Your connection to the invisible world is more reliable.

TESTING SPIRIT IN THE INVISIBLE WORLD.
Ask yourself what gives you a thrill.
1. There is team spirit, school spirit, hero worship, beauty, accomplishment or anything we hold in awe. Have you been thrilled by a movie, a sight, and adventure or just looking at big mountains. It thrilled me to stand on top of a mountain.
If you have enjoyed any of these you have had your first tour into the invisible world. The more you do it the more you will enjoy it. Go ahead enjoy the invisible world.

2. The Big Bang theory explains the way in the universe began. It Is evidence of an invisible world. If this theory is true, and there is strong evidence that it is, it proves an invisible world.

If the universe was formed by evolution it would take billions and billions of years.

Because the universe began instantly an invisible something started it. That something is part of the invisible world.

One of the best decisions you will ever make is to accept and explore the invisible world.

CALVIN GOT IT RIGHT

CALVIN GOT IT RIGHT

By Glenn Shaver

THE ISSUE:
Every one has problems accepting that which we cannot see. We have been taught that only the visible world is real. We distance ourselves from an invisible or spiritual world. I want to show here that even the visible world can be different from what it seems to be.

WHAT WE SEE MAY BE UNREAL
Look at these optical illusions:

http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/illusion/illusions.htm#index

Conclusion:

What we see is not always reality.

EVEN OUR SENSE OF FEELING IS NOT ACCURATE.

Try this:

SENSE OF TOUCH

Issue:
Our evidence of truth is derived from what our senses tell us about our surrounding. We easily jump to the conclusion that what we see, hear, feel, smell or taste is reality and truth. This is not necessarily so.

Our sense of touch can be mistaken.

Try the following experiment preferably on someone else.

1. Use two marbles.
2. Show them to your friend.
3. Help your friend to cross his or her middle finger over top the pointer finger.
4. Adjust these fingers so the two ends are even.
5. Ask your friend to close their eyes.
6. Use only one of the marbles.
7. Place the marble at the center of the palm of your hand.
8. Place the ends of their crossed fingers so that each touch the top of the marble at the same time.
9. Rub their fingers back and forth on the marble.
10. Ask them how many marbles they feel.
11. They will feel two when there is only one.

Conclusion:
The sense of feeling does not always provide true evidence.

Calvin and Hobbes on Pascal's wager

Blaise Pascal

Faith in Science.

Blaise Pascal, the famous scientist, who invented the first workable barometer and gave his name to barometric units, kilopascals was also a truth-seeker. He in later years became a philosopher and as such he formulated his famous wager.

Pascal argued that on matters where we don't have certain proof, we have to make an educated guess taking into account the consequences of being wrong.

If we believe in God and it turns out He doesn't exist, the downside risk is very small: metaphysical error. If we reject God and it turns out He does exist, the danger is very great: eternal separation from God.

BLAISE PASCAL'S FAMOUS WAGER

Possibilities:
A. God is or B. God is not.

Choices:
C. I believe or D. I do not believe.

The four possible choices are:

(BD) God is not. - I do not believe in God. Nothing gained, nothing lost. Get on with life don't waste time arguing about nothing.

(BC) God is not. - I believe in God. I have had a good life and build good relationships. Love life while thinking good thoughts.

(AD) God is - I do not believe in God. I fight constant doubt and wish I had proof. I challenge everybody I meet. Infinite separation from God nags me.

(AC) God is - I believe in God. Infinite reward, happiness here on earth and happiness eternally.

On this basis Pascal argued that it is irrational to reject God. "Let us weigh up the gain and loss involved in calling heads that God exists. If you win, you win everything. If you lose, you lose nothing.

Do not hesitate, then: wager that He does exist."

Glenn Shaver

PASCAL'S WAGER

PASCAL'S FAMOUS WAGER

Pascal’s wager is a good way to interest your friends in decision-making.

Make for yourself a table—three spaces wide and three spaces deep.

Put a title above it PASCAL'S FAMOUS WAGER.

In the upper left hand space of the chart write--
YOUR CHOICES. In the two spaces to the right put—

(a) GOD EXISTS—(b) GOD DOES NOT EXIST.

In the two spaces below and to the left put—
(c) I BELIEVE IN GOD—
(d) I DO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD

Find the proper place for

(ac) Infinite reward.
(ad) Infinite separation from God.
(bc) More happiness on earth.
(bd) Less happiness on earth.

Make sure you have these right, they are easy to mix up.
Ask your friends where they fit in this chart.