Ignorance Is Bliss? :: By Jim Towers

An old friend of mine used to say, “Ignorance is bliss.” The saying goes back to the hippie era, as far as I know. I hadn’t heard it much until he used it, thinking it was cool. Rick was a Christian by Catholic standards, and I often caught him smoking pot. Aside from that indiscretion, my friend was well-spoken and knew a few Bible verses. We would stay up late at night and go over those verses and others. He liked to play the devil’s advocate but was well-liked by his unassuming demeanor and laid-back lifestyle.

Rick sided up to me because he admired me for my faith, and I did my best to convert him, but it just wasn’t in the cards. I would even take him to church as often as I could, but he never seemed to get much out of the experience.

As time went by, he withdrew from society and into himself, although I felt he had great potential at one time. He was friendly and amiable but a bit wishy-washy, timid and shy.

He ended up being a recluse after we parted ways over fifteen years ago, and I still call or drop by and visit when I’m in his neighborhood – a hundred miles away. In doing so, I couldn’t help but notice how he’s let himself go and spends his days puttering around the house taking care of his parents and little more.

Today, he is an empty shell of the young man I once knew and loved like a brother.

I’m afraid the same can be said of many lukewarm Christian men today. Seldom do I ever encounter a Christian who has backbone and means what he says while speaking with authority. In fact, not many are able to dialogue concerning the things of God. Most Christian men also back away from telling others of their faith. But we shouldn’t have to be wimpy about our faith; we can study scripture and become more and more confident as time goes by. Study of the Holy Scriptures is the main ingredient in becoming a strong evangelical warrior for Christ, one that commands attention.

Along with that, to be truly effective Christians, we need to be loving, open-minded, and well-informed about world events. Insofar as the word of God is concerned, remember, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” And without it, you can hardly convince anyone to receive Christ.

Ignorance of the Word is detrimental to your spiritual and emotional health and effectual witness.

Another thing to keep in mind is the parable of the talents that Jesus spoke of. In speaking about the “talents,” which could mean just that or the gift of wealth. He said if a person of faith fails to use this talent rightfully, “Even what he has will be taken away.” Obviously, George Soros and all other wealthy Democrats don’t have to worry about that – yet.

No, ignorance is NOT bliss. It leads to hopelessness, decay, and death.

Another such saying or word is “serendipity” that came about around the same time. It can be likened to chance. It is a silly word that essentially means nothing – except to a pothead.

In trying to validate the existence of God, I was telling another person recently about how God intervened in my life even as I recklessly and without thought attempted to ride my ailing motorcycle over the Mackinaw bridge in Michigan (This was written about in a recent article for Rapture Ready and DZD.) After telling the story, she said it was “serendipity” (a word coined by Disney of Micky Mouse fame), nonchalantly, as though my testimony was the work of pixies and wizards, not giving my miraculous tale much credence.

People who live in this alternative universe are in for a rude awakening. When (and it’s certain to happen since the Bible says so) the final wrap-up of humanity in the form of the Tribulation period takes place, these foolish statements will have lost their cuteness.

People use such witty epitaphs to try to appear to be clever and dismissive of the truths of God exposed in scripture. “Thinking themselves to be wise, they became utter fools.”

I don’t know about you, but once a person utters a word or phrase like that, I can’t help but believe they are ignorant and not very well-read. If they do read, they probably only read fiction or comic books.

I, for one, am tired of people using me for their own amusement and shortcomings. And although I am forgiving, I’m just going to have to let certain people go on with their own devices to their own destruction. Time is short, and there are others who are sincere seekers.

Book Report.

My latest book report is Mysteries of the Messiah – unveiling divine connections from Genesis to Today by Rabbi Jason Sobel. Rabbi Sobel is the founder of Fusion Global. This book is not unlike Jonathon Cahn (his mentor’s) books, steeped in ancient and sometimes archaic Jewish words, and it’s not like the Jewish language is easy to understand with double meanings and gematria included.

I took away what I could from it and left the rest for another rainy day when I have nothing better to do.

It’s not that I didn’t like it. Rather, it’s that I found it hard to understand. How Kathy Lee Gifford, who wrote the glowing forward, understood it and was able to give it a good critique is incredible since she was only a narcissistic pretty face on television – in days gone by.

Still, though, I like to read such things to better understand the times and thoughts of the prophets and to prepare for the times ahead and the hereafter.

NOTE: You should probably start at the back since there are tables and expressions that would be helpful to know when reading this book.

YBIC

Jim Towers

You can write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com and visit at www.dropzonedelta.com and www.propheticsignsandwonders.com

Reprobate Minds :: By Jim Towers

When right is wrong and wrong is right, when good is bad and bad is good, there is something wrong with society and anyone who espouses such things. Nevertheless, that is what the Godless progressive left is all about.

I awakened today with the desire to interact with the fishing pier crowd, so I decided to have lunch there. Before heading out, I asked God to send some interesting people my way. Knowing I was feeling down, He honored my request, sending four women to my otherwise empty table. The two picnic tables are big enough for eight adults at each one.

The women were speaking a language I had never heard before, and if it wasn’t for the tongue they spoke, I wouldn’t have known they weren’t from Cleveland, Ohio. Not being sure if they could speak English, I let them go without saying much of anything, but not without asking the last one to leave the area, “What language was it that you and your friends were speaking? The woman turned to me and said, “Syrian.” I was taken aback.

“You and your friends must be Iranians.”

“Yes, we are.”

There was so much I would have asked them, but I didn’t want to be intrusive since they were obviously having a good time and taking snapshots with their iPhones, so I just let them enjoy the good old U.S.A. without intrusion.

I didn’t have to wait too long for the next encounter. An older white man from South Carolina sat across from me at the now empty table, asking first, “May I sit?

“Sure; Are you a visitor?”

“I’m vacationing with my daughter and her son from South Carolina. She’s lying on the sand at the beach.”

Just then, the ten-year-old grandson came to the table carrying a hamburger he had purchased at the little high-priced food stand.

The man and I continued talking and feeling each other out (men do that). Already I presumed he was an educated man by the way he carried himself. In any case, I couldn’t help but notice that his blue eyes were slightly crossed in an oblique way. I’ve noticed that many, if not most, homosexuals have this abnormality.

“I’m a former pastor,” he said nonchalantly.

“Really?!” I replied. Wow, I thought, here is someone I can relate to!

The man answered, “Yes, and what do you do in real life?”

“Forty years in the movie business…. Today I write for a hobby and hope to make a Christian film I’ve written, but the money I need to make a professional movie with professional people is not forthcoming.”

“Most Christian films are cheesy, to say the least.”

“That’s because they can’t afford to hire or don’t use professional people,” I replied.

There was a pregnant pause, and then I asked what he thought about the state of the nation, to which he replied, “Well, Trump was the worst moral character we ever had in office, and he left us in a bad state of affairs.”

“Hey, wait a minute; I beg to differ. Although he had his faults, he did a lot of good for the country.” (I thought to myself, what do you hate him for, for saving the country from communism?)

“He was so morally evil.”

“Most politicians are corrupt, and all men are sinful,” I countered.

“I believe in Jesus and loving your neighbor,” he said self-righteously.

Sure, I thought; this guy is a self-righteous leftist. And with that, I let him have it with both barrels. “Democrats have brought our country to the brink of destruction; they are Godless criminals, sexual perverts, and abortionists ready to kill the innocent unborn at the slightest opportunity, and I suspect you, sir, are one of them.”

The deflated phony pastor got up and left with mouth agape, dragging his grandson behind him.

I hate to say it, but it must be said; God has given the progressive left (pastors included) over to a reprobate mind. So says the Bible. Although the Bible doesn’t spell out progressivism, it does say that those who are atheists are given over to a reprobate mind because all they think or do is geared toward evil.

BOOK REPORT:

David Marcus is the author of this well-written book, and even though he is a Catholic, he writes a compelling tome about the pandemic. The title is CHARADE: The Covid Lies That Crushed a Nation.

On page 261, this is what the writer had to say about T.V. personality Tucker Carlson:

When I talked to Tucker Carlson about this, he had this to say: “I really think that the hysteria and the truly unreasonable behavior, the inability to make rational decisions – you know, all these very ugly things you’re seeing on display right now – they are way deeper than politics. All of them grow out of society’s collective unwillingness to address the most basic question, which is what happens when we die…. It causes people to believe that the highest good, like really the only job of society, of government, is to extend life or preserve life indefinitely. And that’s unrealistic; it’s insane and allows for lots of other things like this.” (They were talking about the effects of Covid 19.)

YBIC

Jim Towers

Write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com and visit me at www.dropzonedelta.com or my own website www.propheticsignsandwonders.com.