"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

.... and let them have dominion .... over all the earth...

.... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over .... every living thing that moveth upon the earth."  Gen.1:26-28.

One of the first things a young Seminary student learns is the three "Omni" characteristics of God, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent, He is All-Powerful, All-Knowing, and All Present. He did not create the first two members of the human race, in His own image and likeness, without a plan.  This Hebrew word for "image" is "tselem" and is also translated as "form" and "show", and probably refers to God's "appearance".  But "Demuth", translated as "likeness" here, is also translated as "manner" and seems to refer to His internal characteristics.  In other words, we look a bit like the Father and also have micro, finite potential to His Macro Infinite attributes of knowledge, power, and presence.  Ours is,,,, a small potential to know, do and be, likenesses to the Father.  These things are infinite in our Creator but, though finite in us, they are still sometimes marvelous to behold in the vast accomplishments of a so endowed person occupying only 5 or 6 cubic feet of presence, with a  cantaloupe-sized brain for knowledge and a few flimsy muscles of power.  That is because this seed-sized chip of stone off of the universal-sized boulder, is in fact, like the seed, embedded with an eternity of potential for life, and like the chip, is as a precious stone of great value, to God. He has created us in His image and likeness to carry out His original charge to go forth and replenish the race and take dominion over the world.  This dominion is in the likeness of our Creator who has dominion over the universe.  This human, dominion, likeness to God, justifies and demands limited, just, and protective Civil Law and Order among all people.  And since this dominion was not given to the few, but to all, Godly, Biblical, legitimate Law and Order requires a system of equal, unbiased, fairness, agreed upon by those affected, and locked into place, as is our US  Constitution.

If God's "dominion" is another of His Omni qualities,, of which he gave humans abbreviated likenesses, to Himself, its effect would tend to justify our free will, but rein in its abusers.

 

So, should we see our Creator's unrestricted, universal, free will, volition and His universal dominion as a fourth and fifth of His "Omni" attributes, of which He has given minute "likenesses" to us?

What about God's love and grace; are they not also omni qualities of God?  Not if His grace and love ceased for Lucifer when He took away his light and cast him out into darkness, and not unless He still loves those evil sinners whom Jesus condemed, "Depart from me, I never knew you." Matt.7:23.  In eternity, when every soul is either in heaven or hell, God's love and grace is omnigrace and omnilove for His born again saints, the bride of Christ.  In fact, since He is Omniscient, that is already true....now.  RB

Purpose: Choose You This Day Whom You Will Serve" Josh.24:15

There are only two ways to go in life, the Jesus way and all other ways.  This choice of the way of life a person chooses, is the primary reason for human life, the Bible, and the birth and death of Jesus  Christ.  The way of Christ is singular and narrow, including width only wide enough for pure truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  But wide enough for you and Jesus to walk together.  All the other ways of life a person may choose are equal in disqualification and lead down the "broad way" to the same eternal destination.  No matter how highly religious or deeply wicked, without Christ, all other ways, though they are many and broad,  lead to the same destruction. 

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matt.7:13-14.

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."  Prov.14:12.

  

But, then, if Jesus walks with you, you are never alone though He may not be visible to human eyes... He is always there.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."  John 10:1

"Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep."  John 10:9

Common Sense And Wisdom Are Sibling Twins

Who often reside with farmers and truckers

He who has no ear for true common sense,

I fear, my dear, from here to hence,

His epitaph will be "too dead to convince".

Prideful self-will is a barbed-wire fence,

Dust &Snakes pass through but no horse-sense.

So let us climb off of our throne of pretense,

Remove our royal crown of superior nonsense,

And join these heroes in freedom's defense. (RB)

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be  given him." James 1:5

You too can help make history read .....

 "Common Americans with Common Sense preserved freedom and saved their nation from regressive idiots who called themselves Progressive who slept through truth but called themselves Woke."

There will never be another opportunity to save our nation and our freedom.  Right now is the time for action. Don't wait until November or 2024.  

a prideful will, 

What To Do Now? Kneel To God, Stand Up To Evil, Sit With The Righteous

And Endure Till Jesus Comes And Catches Us Up...

The hardest part of that is enduring faithfully through the long testing of pre-tribulation upheaval.  The devil can and will develop ungodly conditions within the souls of men, and the majority of populations.  Even as history records in past, national, environments; Germany under Hitler, Italy under Mussolini, and dozens of other vile dictatorships.  Situations where the majority of misguided citizens install and support every diabolical wish of their devilish master even before he ascended to the pinnacle of political power.  But the Antichrist will gain global power over nations, their politics, finances, industry, institutions, and even religions.

Christians will be here during the terrible months or years leading up to the tribulation period reign of the Antichrist. The rapture itself will remove the Antichrist's Christian opposition and open the way for his unopposed ascendancy to world domination.  When the Christians, in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, are raptured into heaven, He goes with them and is "taken out of the way"  leaving a void of spiritual presence which had not "let" Antichrist succeed previously.

"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way."   2 Thess.2;7

So as long as Christians are present, and enduring, resisting the devil, influencing others, and praying ... in the Spirit, the Antichrist is outgunned.  After the rapture of believers, he will be quickly accepted as the savior of the world. Until then we must grow in grace and glory, yes glory, in this pre-tribulation turbulence that builds endurance in us to do the work of God amid massive ungodliness.    

"And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience.' Rom.5:3.      The word  

"patience" here is the Greek hupomone and means endurance.  That is, the kind of patience that derives from enduring hardship.  We are approaching the biblical last days of ultimate tribulation.  And though we Christians, like Noah, will be lifted out, above the flood of  Antichrist's seven-year reign of terror, we will be required to endure the preliminary dissimulation leading up to the rapture and Satan's seven-year rule over the world. The pre-tribulation months or years will not equal the horror of the seven years under his absolute dictatorship. But they will be bad enough, for all of us, even as we now see developing like a bank of heavy black clouds full of lightning and thunder, preceded by high winds, and hail already upon us.

So what can we do, as Christians, during these times of pre-tribulation evil as we await the soon return of Christ to catch us up above the flood of evil destruction?

"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt..24:37.     

"For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." Isa.54:9.     

The flood of Noah's day was not for the few righteous of that day but for the almost unanimous wicked. Even so, the seven-year tribulation period is not for Christians but primarily for the Jews who will turn to their Messiah, Jesus, because of the tribulation,  and be saved.

"And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.  For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace... Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it."  Jer.30:4-7        The tribulation is Jacob's trouble .... to bring them to Christ, not Christian's trouble.  The flood was not for Noah. The ark was for Noah.      

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."  Zech.12:10        

When, since the Jews had Jesus crucified, has "the house of David ever looked upon him and mourned over Him as their own?" Never!  This verse will be fulfilled in the last half of the tribulation when Antichrist breaks his compact with religions.

So, until the rapture, what must we do during these last days?  Be Faithful and ENDURE.  God will accomplish His purpose. Let us accomplish ours.

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Cometh The Horsemen: Pandemic, Famine, War

Common Sense Commentary from Michael Yon & Dr. Jordan B. Peterson, neither of whom is a Fundamentalist, fanatical, Christian ... like me, but both of whom are highly intelligent, invested in pure logic, truth, and unbridled courage. Thank God for our own answer to the elitist, left-wing educators, news moguls, billionaire Democrats, their crooked politicians, and spiritually dead voters.

The present world situation, of global evil running rampant, is so obvious, in the extreme, that it's not just the most biblically informed Christians who see it clearly, as Satanic powers, but everyone else who is not sold out to the Devil.  

Jesus said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you  free."  John 8:32

Here is a strong dose of truth from two honest, if not deeply spiritual men. If you can't see the devil's hand in what's now happening to the world, you need Jesus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7gAEkzIgvw

On The Last Leg Of Your Life's Journey ...

Is never easy but don't look for a shortcut.

Having never yet died, I can't speak on how to die, but I can speak on the last leg of the journey getting to that final stop of the trip.  As I see it, life, on this earth is rather like the wagon train adventure the  Donner Party took crossing the western U.S.  On April 15, 1846, the families of James Reed and George and Jacob Donner left Springfield, Illinois to start a new life in California.  They joined a large wagon train crossing the Missouri river and headed west with the sun and their dreams of California livin ... like heaven on earth.  Their journey started easy, happy, and fun, but slowly grew more difficult.  There were breakdowns, lack of water, getting off course, and finally in the high Sierras, on the last leg, winter of their journey, and on a dead-end trail.  Their shortcut had become hardship, hunger, and suffering long before death or "heaven on earth" in California.

You see, it's the trip to heaven, the direction we take, and the trail we choose to get there that we must choose most carefully... and then deal with, as our travel into old age becomes more and more and more challenging, and then impossible.  Heaven is, indeed, out there, but all trails do not lead to California ... or to heaven.  The Donner Party got sidetracked, deceived, misled, and lost because all trails do not lead to life in California ... or to heaven.  Even the right trail is hard ... but not as hard as the hundreds of wrong trails.  All but one lead to greater suffering and end in hell.

Old age, even for the Christian, though blessed with long life, brings with it some unique hardships, if lived long enough.  Things like your legs dying before you do.  That's why they call it the last leg of life's passage ... I guess.  Just be sure you are on the right trail though it be narrow and difficult, it leads to Jesus and perfect life.

So when you lose your legs, your sleep, your health, your mate, or almost your mind ... learn to rest in your hope in Jesus.  And, as a teenage girl, who survived the Donner Party's dead-end death trap later wrote, to a friend back in Illinois, "Don't never take no short-cuts".