What’s New?

by Michael Crouch on October 14th, 2010

THIS BLOG comprises the organized thoughts of its authors and their notes taken during study.  As such, posts are subject to changes, revisions, and corrections. Just because it’s posted doesn’t mean it won’t change, even drastically. For those who have interest in what gets changed and why, and for those who have alerted us to errors and arguments…

Here’s what’s new:


  • Current Project:   Marriage & Divorce — by Mike

Recently, the subject of divorce has come up in the circles I frequent.  The doctrines being espoused have stirred me greatly.  But not in a good way.  What I’m hearing stands opposed to what God has been teaching me.  You see, several years ago, God commissioned me to study the subject of divorce after a friends request for answers.  The journey I have taken during the course of that study has changed the way I approach God, and the way I listen for His answers.  It’s also revealed His heart in marriage and divorce in such a way that has changed my life.

So I cried out to God it.

Gods response to me was in the form of a question:  “Have you finished your study?”  Well, no, I haven’t.  The impression that followed was that we’d talk about what others teach when I had finished learning what He wanted to teach.  The implication was clear: no more side projects till this work is done.  That means no more posts to the blog for a while.

Having studied the subject of divorce for several years now, my position paper is now, for all intents and purposes, a book.  So I’ve divided it into chapters, currently 12 in number.  Some of those chapters are in flux, and are being reworked as I receive revelation and direction in my study.  How long before I’m finished?  I want to say I’ll be done by the end of the year.  I want to say that, but depending upon where God takes me in my study, it could be a bit longer than that.  If interested, you can follow my progression on twitter.  A  link is now provided on the side bar.  Clicking on @StewardsPortion will take you directly to my public Twitter page.

9-07-2011, Thursday


Is God self-centered and self-serving?  Your answer to this question matters.  God is demeaned and mocked by the myopic wisdom of man when we ascribe our own fallen natures to the mind of God. God is not like us, but is calling us to be like Him.  We have seen what self-centeredness does to the human heart.  And we know that “power corrupts,” and that “absolute power corrupts absolutely” when placed in the hands of a self-centered being.  So what do we find in the heart of God?  When God calls us to partake of His nature, to what are we being called?

5-30-2011, Monday


Submission is an obedience issue.  Whatever authority God has placed in your life, He has done so with the careful knowledge that it will be hard to submit to it!  In this article, Dawn looks at an unlikely source for a rolemodel — Haggar.

5-24-2011, Tuesday


Is it ok to pray about getting married?  What if you have someone in mind already?  What if you haven’t met anyone you think would be a good match?  In this article Dawn explains how praying for your future husband is God’s invitation to co-author your own love story.

5-14-2011, Saturday


 

Dawn’s perspective on patience is a contrast between merely waiting, and the heart condition in which patience is found.  How many things have believer’s forfeited because they pursue their hearts desire and reject the divine call to patience?

In her study on Jewish wedding traditions, Dawn identifies Jesus’ fulfillment of many traditions that pointed to His arrival as the Messiah.  Those obscure and strange customs were, it would seem, valid pictures of Christ’s relationship with His own bride, the church.

In similar fashion, Dawn looks at the Last Supper, and contrasts it with the Jewish Passover, showing them to be connected.  If only God’s precious people understood the importance and value of symbols in the eyes of God, I think we would be far more careful to honor those symbols that we are commanded to walk in even today.

4-26-2011, Tuesday


I updated this post with a verse by verse analysis of the Behemoth.  I’ve found that people are so intent on dismissing the Behemoth as a hippo or an elephant, that they ignore the text itself.  So I spent more time pointing out what the text actually says.  I also better addressed the controversy surrounding how best to interpret the Behemoth’s “tail” and its comparison to a ceder tree.  And lastly I removed my recounting of theories that the “fiery flying serpent” of scripture was a Pterosaur.  I had previously made it clear that I didn’t think the theory was supportable, but then came to realize that if that’s what I thought, I shouldn’t offer it as an option.  Almost every other creationist website that speaks of dinosaurs includes this theory, so its out there if people want to study it.  Unfortunately, I am inclined to agree with that theories critics.

2-02-2011, Wednesday


It’s finally begun!  Our internship at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City started today.  And in keeping with that, I’ve started my journal so that family and friends can follow along vicariously.  At 50 hours a week, it will consume me in every way.  So there won’t be many, if any, posts outside this journal for a while.  But considering what this church / missions base has to offer, I’m looking to radically transform my walk with God during my time here.  How long will that be?  Well, the internship will last for 3 months.  After that, we’ll see what God has for us.

1-14-2011, Friday


When the fight is brought to marriage, there is a way to fight back without wounding your spouse in the process.  In this writing, Dawn provides an example of how the enemy can wedge division between a husband and wife and what we can do to recognize them at the beginning, or resolve them at any point in the process of division.

12-29-2010, Wednesday


In this devotional, Dawn highlights submission in light of the Godhead.  Submission is a choice, and that choice was first made by God within the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

12-24-2010, Friday


In this writing, Daw discusses one facet of submission and it’s changing effects upon both of us.  I can personally attest to how much God loves a wife’s submission by how quickly He moved to change my heart in response to the cries of my submitted wife.  Here she focuses upon how much you can change through a submitted love.  This is the first in a series of posts on the power of submission.

12-17-2010, Friday


Dawn’s Journal of our journey to, and subsequent instruction at, the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.  This is a God ordained move and we both intend to keep online journals of our lessons here.

11-12-2010, Friday


This is one of my favorite subjects to teach on.  Why did God create man on earth instead of in heaven with Him?  Why are angels beautiful spirits who serve in the presence of God, but men were put in “meat suits” and kept outside of heaven?  Why did Jesus have to become a man?  Can Jesus save angels, aliens, pets, or any other creature in addition to saving us?  All of these questions and more are answered by this study.

11-04-2010, Thursday


I had someone ask me about the doctrine of pre-mortal life a few days ago.  I was first introduced to the idea when I was a kid.  It was a story element in a Shirley Temple movie called Blue Bird.  In that movie Shirley’s character is taken to heaven where she meets her future little sister who is waiting to be born.  The Mormons hold this as one of their core doctrines.  It’s a doctrine that shapes the meaning of life for them, and thus, is held very dear to their hearts.  But this idea is then attributed to the Holy Bible.  Does the Bible really teach, or at the very least support, the idea of pre-existence?

10-27-2010, Wednesday


  • You’ve Been Erased!

Trying to log in?  Not being recognized?  Again, due to the server change, member information has been wiped.  YOU WILL NEED TO RECREATE YOUR ACCOUNTS.  I didn’t transfer the database, which is something I will do if I ever switch servers again.  Sorry about that.  Thankfully, signing up is pretty easy.  Hope to see you back soon.

10-16-2010, Saturday


  • Server Change

Due to a web hosting change, I’m in the process of transferring files from one server to another. Hopefully this will be done shortly, and I’ll have everything restored back to how it was, with a few changes thrown in to boot.

10-14-2010, Thursday


This is something the Lord has been pressing upon my study time. I tried to move past it, because as a subject, it’s not that exciting, nor does it appear to be a significant revelation. The verses that teach it are those we’ve read a hundred times. But I just couldn’t walk away from it. It’s a subtle problem, and hard to see because it has to do with sight for the spiritually blind. When you’re blind, it’s hard to see anything, so that makes this topic hard to explain in a way that really grips one’s heart. Therefore I urge you to pray that the Father give you eyes to see what words struggle to convey. Only when you see how this applies to your own life will this subject become a revelation. Until then, I fear it will do little more than turn you into a Bobble-Head.

10-07-2010, Thursday


I changed the Intro, and added the sub-heading THE LORD REBUKES YOU which covers the fact that Michael “did not dare” to rebuke Satan in his own name, but instead appealed to the Lord’s authority.

Surprisingly, this post gets the most traffic on this site. I think the reason has to do with the fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists both teach that Jesus and Michael are the same person. As a result, this idea generates a lot of question seekers hoping to find a clear answer on the matter. I hope I’ve provided one, but if you feel differently, I’d like to hear why. Honestly.

9-22-2010, Wednesday

 

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