SUB - TRACTION

The wonderful thing about truth is this, there are an infinite number of ways to convey it.  I've often found myself in awe of the fact that not only can an inspired person effectively convey thought, but they can do it in a lot of appealing ways, like rhyming the words in a sentence.

     "From start to finish you can match truth within it. Yet my facial countenance is diminished to a 
       grimace like kids with plates full of spinach, because at any given instant...we tend to pause a  
       minute and balk on the God of preeminence."

The more vocabulary you know the easier it is to convey ideas, and the more variety of ways there are to communicate them.  This gives us the ability to share information customized to a specific person's mode of thought.  I was never big on learning vocabulary until recent years and I gained a new respect for those who participate in spelling bee's after watching "Akeelah and the Bee" simply because the true aspects of how they trained for such events were revealed.  Now I often find myself looking into the etymology of the words I use in my attempt to share truth.

So the word SUBTRACTION came to me in a thought of a concept from the Apostles teachings of LESS OF ME = MORE OF JESUS IN ME. Even to the point that Paul said "I will rather boast in about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ dwells in me."(2cor12:9) The word subtraction to most means to "take away" but I want to break the idea down farther.  At 1st thought taking away is not some thing we WANT. Even as children we aren't to accepting of having things taken from us. Yet in the above reference Paul found the desire to have some issue taken from his life. So subtraction can be a good thing, and a GOD thing. So the giver can bless us in the taking away of things...Hmmm.

SUB is a prefix occurring originally from Latin that is freely attached to elements of any origin and used with the meaning “under,” “below,” “beneath,” “slightly,” “imperfectly,” “nearly”, “secondary,” “subordinate.”  TRACTION meaning the act of drawing or pulling, the state of being drawn, attracting power or influence; attraction. If I may be given the liberty to restructure meaning as is historically given to those of literary and scholastic persuasion, I want to focus on the medical nuances of meaning for SUB and TRACTION. SUB prefix in medical terms has four distinct meanings, two being:

1. Below; under; beneath: 
2.  Subordinate; secondary:

 And TRACTION meaning the deliberate and prolonged pulling of a muscle, organ, or the like, as by weights, to correct dislocation, relieve pressure, etc.  Think neck braces, like this one from Meditrac.

 So what happens if I were to put the two together in Holy word matrimony?  SUBTRACTION meaning the act 0f being subordinate to a deliberate and prolonged pulling to correct and relieve that which is wrong with us. (meaning 1st used October 24th 2010) ...the young believer struggled with finding joy in the subtraction resulting from the misuse of power by his department manager.  
  
Job 5:16-18 (New American Standard Bible)
    ¹⁶"So the helpless has hope,
         And unrighteousness must shut its mouth.
    ¹⁷"Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,
         So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
    ¹⁸"For He inflicts pain, and gives relief;
         He wounds, and His hands also heal.

The is a reason why there is a saying "What doesn't kill you will only make you stronger."  More accurately, if you are not killed in your trials, there is a lot to learn. You can grown stronger, but also be consumed.  We need to look at the traction in our lives and see what God is doing in our lives because many times there are limitations placed on us for good reasons.  It depends on many speculative things, but you should know that if you are a believer, then you are always in a good place.  Because All things work together for the good of those who are called according to His purpose.  Knowing this, the believer should be joyous in SUBTRACTION.  Well, another way to look at subtraction.

 

PROMISARY NOTE (version 1.0)

This is a sort of "check you prayers" message. I don't know what it is about us, but we can't seem to go on without putting some stock in the movement of some other worldly power.  While you can easily look at some religious ideas with at least a hint of skepticism, even the most devout atheist has some religious undertones in their "faith."  They call it science fact, but if your sun the math for the probability of random causation of life, you will see it takes a lot of faith to ride that train of thought.

So much can be said in-between these two paragraphs, and perhaps there will be more time in the future Lord willing, but I just want to continue with this thought, that the God revealed in the bible is the only being of any power invisible to the naked eye we should spend any time thinking about, talking to, or trusting in.  With that being said, there is a segment of people in the world who turn to God for various reasons, in various situations and have various ideas of how it's all supposed to go down.

The idea I want to present to you is fairly simple, so I hope that my analogy sits well with your stomach.  Think of prayer like a check you would take to a bank.  When you present at check at a financial institution there are two very important bits of information that you must have to make it valid.  1) The name of the person or entity responsible for honoring the amount of the check, 2) A qualified signature that warrants the release of funds.  Whether personal checks or payroll checks, there is always the need of identifying the proper payee, and the signatures that give the green light for the paying of the amount.  To fully understand the seriousness, just see how a bank or check cashing establishment may easily tell you how you may have to wait additional days to receive "your" funds. (side note: how many people have "lost their religion" over such a statement.)

Prayer Promises

 ²³"In that day you will not question Me about anything Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.  ²⁴"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.

These words were given to the disciples of the greatest man who ever walked the face of the earth.  So imagine that the person that has completely transformed your thinking and way of life was telling you that despite all the progress you have made, you will soon find yourself weeping because soon he would no longer be around.  It was not a statement taken well and so we see these words of assurance. Ask THE GIVER in MY NAME, and the GIVER will give it to YOU.

When we send our chec...prayers up into the clouds, we need to remember two important things: 1)Who is honoring the request, and 2) The name of the qualified name in which the request will be honored.

We are called to pray always and never to stop doing it, but we need to understand the proper protocol in order to get our prayers answered, so go ahead and PRAY ON PRAYA! YOU KNOW THE SIGNATURE! (word to John Wells)

THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE #1 [1 john 5:20,21] PT1

I know you've seen them around.  The slightly overweight bald guy in Asian monk clothes. Sometimes he's sitting in front of the line at your dry cleaners with incense, or standing to greet you at that nice Vietnamese restaurant with a smile and a stack of cash in his hand.

Just the other day my mom commented that she no longer wanted to go to a local restaurant, the "Kountry kitchen" because now she gets assaulted with the graven images.  Now I know they are powerless statues, and there is no truth found in them that is not borrowed.  Yet I have often found myself looking at the fruit offerings and wondering if I will see a bite from their deity, or a slick mouse.

Some have the nerve to laugh at the sight, after all its just a statue correct.  However many of us have idols ourselves, they just aren't as clearly seen. As kids, We've had action figures and barbie dolls in our homes for a long time, I remember playing with G. I. Joes, He-man (the original), Centurions (remember them), and other various "engraved" images of heroes and villains. We imagined being the good guys, and defeating the bad guys in our own little worlds.  Were we guilty of idolatry then? While many flaws plagued us in our youth, perhaps we did in a way, but what about now?  Have we done away with childish figures who have supernatural powers? Some collect figures of heroes and heroines from comic books and video game these days, grown men I might add.  Is this like the statues once made in Asia during the Apostle Paul's travels (Acts 19:22-41)

For many, money, power, and respect are the most important ideals in their lives.  They live for them, and they will die in efforts to obtain them, or attain dominance by them.  Sort of like when people pray to various gods for favor in their endeavors.  Now I could easily widen the focus, as these days we can be sort of worshipful about things, like food for instance.  E-dub-a-licious treats, for example, are something like divine.

But on a serious note, just as we used to live out alternate realities with your toys, some are trying to live out dreams on the backs of idols.  To put it simply, an idol is something (anything) that you place supreme value on.  You live for it, you die for it, it is all you talk about, all you think about, and the very thing you passionately share with others.  Too often we put idols at the center of our lives and don't even realize it.  These words are to get you to look into your own soul and see what sits at the center of your affection.  Idolatry is so prevalent that people make light of it, even making entertainment of it.  Shows like AMERICAN IDOL are just examples of how we idolize people, but such worship of the unworthy is deeply rooted in our society.  More to come later....

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