The Great Example of Faith!

The Great Example of Faith!

“Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.”

As I read the quote this time,

One of many,

I thought of its significance.

Jesus, I thought, is the great example

Of good character.

What, then, is the significance of these words?

“Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.”

He spoke, we are told in loud voice.

Loud voice is not necessary to speak to his Father.

The Father hears his thoughts before they are thought.

He and the Father are one.

Then the thought came to me.

It is a model of faith He demonstrates

And communicates,

For those within the sound of His voice!

To commit ones Spirit, and yield it up, at the time of death,

To the Father demonstrates great faith.

Jesus, God’s only Son, willingly dying on the cross,

Giving his life, at the will of the Father,

Believing that God, the Father would raise His Spirit.

That is great faith!!!

Thus He became the first to be raised, the first of many, we are told..

God is faithful to His promise!

Christ demonstrated with these words

The essence of faith!

Timothy exampled this same faith as he was stoned.

His words were

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Jesus, and Timothy, and all those

Who have come to faith in God’s

Great gift of His Son

Start the process of faith

At the point when they say

I believe, help my unbelief.

Abraham demonstrated the beginning of faith when God

Asked him to come and go to a place I will show you and he went..

Elisha demonstrated it when he gave up a large farming business

And followed Elija into prophetic ministry.

Hebrews 11 lists many others.

And there are many more –

And at the end of life’s days

In full faith

- - -

- -

-

Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.

Billy R. Masten

01/05/14

There is Nothing Artificial About Intelligence

There is Nothing Artificial About Intelligence

Intelligence without purpose is the same as empty space.

When purpose, is accepted, applied, and supporting goals are pursued,

Intelligence becomes intelligence and goes to work in support of that purpose.

Different entities, each with intelligence,

Directed in support of independent goals ,

Will at times come to contradictory purpose.

Entities in support of contradictory purpose

And guided by intelligence

End in conflict.

Self serving purpose leads to war.

Intelligent entities therefore,

In the interest of survival,

Must come to a deeper understanding of moral existence –

A responsibility beyond self interest.

It appears then that acceptance of a higher purpose is necessary

To the survival of

Intelligent entities.

Otherwise, one must conclude that in the end

Only one intelligent entity will remain.

I contend that that entity cannot exist alone.

Intelligence without purpose is the same as empty space.

Intelligence alone is not intelligence at all

Because it has no purpose to guide its path.

I conclude that there exists

A set of rules that must guide

Intelligent entities if intelligent entities are to continue to exist..

These rules supersede selfish interest.

Self interest balanced by treating others as one would be treated

Just might be written into the nature of coexisting intelligent entities!

(Or at least some critical number of them.)

That being the case, there exists a higher authority!

Or

 Intelligent entities cannot exist.

Given time, intelligent entities would come to contradictory purpose

And annihilate one or the other

And be come useless.

The fact that after considerable time,

Intelligent beings do exist

Suggests that not only does higher authority exist,

But that He is actively involved in the process.

It is He that brings some

-Beyond intelligence alone

-And beyond self interest

To the higher calling

“Love one another.”

“By love serve one another.”

It is the fruit of His Spirit that brings peace

To competing intelligent entities!

It is the fruit of His Spirit that defines an acceptable purpose for intelligence.

A new command I give to you

“That you love one another as I have loved your!

- A truly acceptable purpose for intelligence!!! -

Billy R. Masten

03/8/14

Invitation from the Infinite

Invitation from the Infinite

Some time back I began to think

Of the significance of the invitation of God

To Abraham to go to a place

God would show him.

Then I was drawn to the thought

Of the infinite nature of God

Compared to the finite limit

Of man.

It was an early sermon of Spurgeon

That spurred my thoughts

Of the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent,

Nature of our God

Such characteristics of God

Dictate an unchanging God.

If the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent,

Should change, He would no longer be – God.

Then I thought of the unusual invitation

God made to Abraham.

“Come and go

To a place I will show you.”

What a wonderful invitation,

From the Infinite,

To the finite –

To walk with Him.

How can it be

That the finite could walk with the Infinite?

That the finite, faulty, incomplete,

Could walk with the Infinite?

This could only happen

At the invitation of the Infinite!

Such a possibility could only be

The gift provided by Him!!!

One of finite mind, and body, and presence

Could not walk with the infinite

--

Except by invitation,

--

And provision of the infinite.

--

How could one who is finite,

Made from the finite,

Occupying a finite world

With finite mind

Walk with the Infinite?

To a place of infinite character,

The place God would show him?

The entirety of the universe cannot contain

The Infinite!!!

How then could the finite

Walk with Him?

And this invitation is given also to you.

The invitation to walk with Him

To a place He will show you –

A place you could not know for the finite cannot know the infinite!!!

“I am the way”

Comes the invitation from Him.

“I go to prepare a place for you.”

Says He.

Because the Infinite

Has chosen the finite,

And offered the finite

A choice to walk with Him

And provided the mechanism

By which the finite

Can be changed,

We have been offered the choice.

We

The finite, faulty, incomplete,

Could walk with the Infinite?

At His invitation?

By His provision?

By our acceptance?

To a place He will show us?

Yes!

I love the thought!

Billy Reese Masten

1/26/14