Tag Archives: Scriptures

Feast of Tabernacles Afterglow

“The Bestest Feast Ever!”

…That’s the way it was described by me and everyone there. What a wonderful time we had.  As you know, I try to have a teaching theme for the Feast and this year it was, Time-lyin’. This was to be a look at false prophecies of the end-times that have affected our day and also recent history. The study for the series was so depressing that I decided to combine them one by one into an uncomfortably long sermon and then attach the over-arching message.

I decided to reiterate the ending message in this email. Not only to remind those who were there, but to reach those who could not come, with this important conclusion.

Time-Lyin’

We live in a time when prophecies about the end of the world, the coming of Christ, the coming of the antichrist, the destruction of the planet… Oh my goodness, I just realized this list will be nearly endless if I don’t just quit now. The fact is that since the Internet, every idiot with a concordance and an over-active imagination can say and publish anything they want to excite and incite what would normally be very intelligent people to believe the most ridiculous things. As a matter fact, I have been fascinated with the fact that it seems to be the intelligentsia that were so taken in by the tomfoolery of blood moons, planet X, solar eclipses, comets … oh my goodness, I just realized I am involved in another very long list.

I suppose everyone knows that the world did not end when it was expected on September 23, 2017 and every other prophesied time as well.  For those of you who do not watch the news, the world did not end – it didn’t even hiccup.

It is really not my intention to point out all the stupidity of the purveyors of these ridiculous applications of so-called scientific facts, nor is it my intention to lampoon those who believed it. In reality, I feel sorry for both.

Our Lord Jesus went to a lot of trouble to tell us how to handle end-time events. None of which, by the way, involves the following:

  • scouring your Bible
  • matching Scriptures with historical events / dates / times
  • playing with equidistant letter sequences or
  • interpreting rare, scientifically predictable events into “signs of the heavens”

In reality, our preparation for the end of the age, the end of our lives, and the end of our society as we know it, all culminate in one solid piece of advice.

Horrible events happen to all persons but there is no need for us to perish by them. Even the writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that good and bad things happen to good and bad people. We should not be surprised by this. But as Jesus tried to tell us when he spoke of the Galileans who were slain at the altar, and the persons upon which the tower at Siloam fell, He offered His advice, “Except you change, you will all likewise perish.”

Oh, yeah? Change what?

Well, it’s simple. Change the way you process information. Change the way you trust those who are intent on scaring you, motivating you, merchandising you, and perhaps even using your fear as their entertainment.

Harold Camping was not the last of his kind. The solar eclipse experienced recently was not the last one we will see. The Planet X scare was not the last hoax. So, what do we need to change?

I think a little piece of advice, perhaps some new information, perhaps even old information may be able to settle you if you are one who believes that God uses rare (but not scientifically inexplicable) portents and signs to try to tell us what Jesus spent his entire ministry stating and restating,

“The end is near.”

My friend the end is near. Your end is near. The chances are very good, even if the end of the age is 15-20 years away, you will never see it. Wouldn’t it be a shame to find yourself 20 years from now in the same condition you are today having only added fear and dread and cowardice to your list of characteristics?

So, here’s the kicker.

If you need to change – do it now! 

There is not one bit of difference between the way we should be – the way we should act – where we should spend our money – how we should provide for our family – how we should worship our God – or any any other characteristic of Christianity whatsoever – and the way we should live in the severest tribulation.

There is no difference at all in the way we should live if the end of the world is tonight, tomorrow, 20 years from now or 200 years from now – IF you are Christian!

IF you are not a Christian – become one!  “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” (Eph. 4:15)

  • Keep the commandments.
  • Never, ever violate your conscience.
  • Take time every day to hear the voice of God (guidance).

We cannot prepare for those days without guidance.  Concerning preparation for tribulation the Prophet Amos said, “Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.”

In reality, there is no effective preparation, other than the preparation of ourselves. We should pray, we should live, we should minister to our neighbor, and we should worship our God, now as in the day of our end (with a pure heart intent upon being the people He wants us to be). If that is the case, it makes no odds pertaining to tribulation distractions, wicked politicians, planets crashing into the earth, plagues, wars and rumors of wars.

Our mission is still the same, “To simply be God’s people full of His spirit and wisdom and knowledge.”

Don’t get sidetracked.

Friendly,

Don C Harris

 

Goodreads Review

Think Red Ink: Until Christ be formed in you...[Think Red Ink] ...A thinking man's journey to discover the Scriptural identity of Messiah... and himself.Think Red Ink: Until Christ be formed in you…[Think Red Ink] …A thinking man’s journey to discover the Scriptural identity of Messiah… and himself. by Don C Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review Description:
Information about the author, Don C Harris – Author, Radio and Television Host, Speaker
Background information about the book – Think Red Ink is a reference to the words of Jesus which are printed in red in many Bibles.
Author’s purpose – The author’s purpose is to provoke Christians to love truth over tradition; to give people permission to doubt and to investigate their faith in the light of the Scriptures, not denominational creeds; to persuade people to leave fantasy and honestly consider what Jesus said.
Author’s thesis – The authority of the words of Jesus (the substance of the admonition to “think red ink”) provide the Scriptural foundation for Christianity.
Summary – Think Red Ink relays the life of Don C Harris as he struggles from childhood to believe the Bible and the inconsistent doctrines of the churches he attended; later even as he excelled in the business of church – he became disappointed with God and walked away. However, instead of becoming atheist, Don decided to give the Bible another read with the commitment to believe what he found, rather than to search for what he believed. Don traveled the United States living in a converted city-bus motor home for 20+ years. This “exile journey” separated Don from alliances and obligations to orthodoxy. Using the literary device of personal stories interwoven with an introduction to the Traveler (Don’s revelation of history), the reader is invited to walk along with the Apostle Paul and Don, as the story of the Scriptures comes to life.
“Think Red Ink” in its declarative form is a cry for men and women to take another listen to the instructions of Jesus, the Son of the God.
• In 2003, Harris wrote his first book, The Questions of Jesus. Don’s second book, The Red Letter Questions, was published by Bridge Logos in 2007.
Review Evaluation:
Scholarship – Autobiography, solid Biblical foundation, not scientific literature
Strengths and weaknesses: There are times the theological doctrines piqué a curiosity for more details than this work delivers. Some supporting information is available in the Appendix. The stories of Don’s life are not given in a chronological order, rather, Don utilizes life anecdotes to facilitate the reader in a gestalt process or discovery of theological truths he found. Harris allows, nay, rather demands the reader participate in the revelation and discovery of their own path. He is not a writer who mandates certain processes or ascription of certain beliefs that are applicable to every man…with one exception; he steadfastly draws the reader, the Christian to the authority of Jesus Christ.
The tone and style of the writing: Informal and conversational
The effectiveness of the author’s argument: Christian denominational promises offered to Don did not give him the strength or ability to be changed. Exchanging a “bad habit” (smoking) for an “accepted habit” (gossip or overeating) is not the thing that led to the regeneration and strength of the Apostle Paul – Paul learned from the Great Teacher, Jesus. Don maintains this same Teacher is available to all. For a Christian, there can be no greater authority than the words of Christ. Don makes a solid argument for a Christianity which is measured by changed lives.
The soundness of the author’s conclusions: There is a questioning and an honesty which haunts the reader who is comfortable with accepted traditions and methods of worship. The retooled doctrines, “We’ve decided…” religious practices of today are removed from the simple instructions of Jesus. Think Red Ink is not aligned to a particular set of doctrinal rules. The foundation of the book is the author’s experience with solid Scriptural support.
The practicality of the author’s recommendations: The idea of obeying Jesus, looking to His words for doctrine is simple, however, the distance between the brilliant advice of a Galilean preacher and the modern Christian practice is expansive in some cases. The basic requirement is simply honesty. A man’s journey to seek truth, not fantasy, to doubt that which could not be supported in church rhetoric. The reader may only see one man’s journey through the trials of life; others will be encouraged by the ensample of a modern witness of the faith of Jesus Christ. Those who love truth will rejoice!
• Don is an iconoclastic man of rare courage. History will compare the revelation of “think red ink” to the revelation of Martin Luther.

Answers

[Insert your question here…]  I wish I had a wonderful answer for you… however, in my life I have learned to stop struggling over what has not been revealed to me.  Jesus said, “Why ask ye among yourselves of that which I said?” Here’s an excerpt from “The Questions of Jesus” book, Q.118, page 377.

We Should Go To Him

We should have no fear of making Him our teacher and ask Him for clarification or explanation. Why do we go to the professors or other so-called experts? If we but ask, He can make it plain to us. It is His desire to do so. When Jesus explained His comments the disciples exclaimed, “Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things…”

Revelation from the Most High is probably one of the greatest experiences of the Christian’s life. It forms a bond, a communicative bond, between God and us.  After all, the main difference between our God and the gods of stone is that our God speaks!

The Scriptures are replete with examples:

Jeremiah 33:2-3, “Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name; Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

John 5:39-41, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. I receive not honour from men.”

Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

Mark 4:22, “For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad.”

1 Corinthians 2:10, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”

When you do not understand, when the sayings are obscure, when you are not clear on a point, a doctrine, a concept, you are to go to Christ and not one another. He can make it clear, expand upon it, or dispense with it altogether. He is the teacher, He is the revealer, and He is puzzled by your lack of confidence in Him when you go to man and his narrow understanding for answers.

When you are perplexed about something  that He is trying to teach and you forsake Him for the wisdom of man, or when He finds your nose in books on Greek and Latin, or discovers that the concept, idea or mystery that He has been trying to reveal to you being bandied about in discussion groups, He asks, “Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said?”

Think Red Ink…

Think Red Ink BannerReferences to the red ink, red letters or red words is to distinctly identify the words spoken by Jesus Christ as recorded in the Scriptures.  The origin of the Red Letter Edition Bible is attributed to the 1899 idea of Louis Klopsch who perceived that the words of Jesus should stand out from the rest of the script.

The answer all mankind should know, “What did Jesus say?”

In Remembrance – Of Me

It’s Passover.  The time of year where everyone ignores what Jesus said.  What did Jesus say? This do in remembrance of me..”; paraphrased, He said, “Things are changing.”

Challah

RLE-W!

“Why is there leavened bread on your Passover table?”

LISTEN NOW – 2014/03/16

 

Jehovah God is the King of Simplicity.  There is nothing superfluous in His life.  We, on the other hand, fill the calendar with holidays and pagan names.  To God, it is First month, Second month, etc.  “… It’s a matter of authority…”  

Connect the Dots

Can you see the Kingdom of God?

Proverbs 25:2  “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”

RLE-W! Children and the Kingdom of God – LISTEN NOW 2014/03/14

Join Don (M-F) 6:00 am MST for Red Letter Edition – Weekdays!

How?  www.thinkredink.tv

Call:   323-443-7210 (Only during live show.)