A blog by Tom Sheepandgoats (aka Tom Harley)
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Twelve Instances of Stupid—Back to Back
Twelve Instances of Stupid—Back to Back Huh! Twelve instances of ‘stupid’ in the Bible. As much as I have been through it, as many times as I have heard different ones cited, I never knew they were all in one place. The congregation has come around to Proverbs 26 for its weekly Bible reading. Proverbs 26–where all the ‘stupids’ are! One after another! Will I…
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A Ministry Approach to Recommend
Sometimes I call upon people in a door-to-door ministry to observe something to the effect that ‘The world is crazy. We are people who think the Bible helps; in that it uncovers a) why it is crazy, b) what hope lies in the future, and c) how best to live in the meantime.’ People are not always sure that ‘the Bible helps,’ but nobody disputes…
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Why Are Angels so Interested in Human Affairs?
It doesn’t make too much sense for angels to be so interested in the doings of humans. Don’t they have other things to do? Here Revelation 14:6: portrays them as all but overseeing the spread of Christianity: “And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe…
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The Black Sheep of the Family
Then there was Frank, very much the black sheep of his family. His brother was one of the major power brokers of our area, his surname often attached to large financial projects. Yet here was Frank, hustling his way through a series of work-a-day jobs. How he came to be the black sheep I’m not sure. Was he that way before he went off to…
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Hymenaeus and Alexander, and Escaping the Control of Paul.com
If “shipwreck of faith” is the modern synonym for those who go “woke” from the Witnesses, what can be expected from that crowd—at least from some of them? The “shipwreck” passage itself provides an answer, where Paul counsels Timothy [today spun as though trying to “control” him] to “go on waging the fine warfare, holding faith and a good conscience, which some have thrust aside,…
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Replace “Woke” with “Shipwreck of Faith”
Out of nowhere comes a brand new definition of a very old word: woke. When applied to faith by someone who has left there’s, cannot one wonder why? There already is a fine phrase that means exactly the same thing: shipwreck of faith. “Woke” is not found in the Bible. “Shipwreck of faith” is. The two terms are synonymous. Plus, there are dozens of closely…
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The Muslim Man I Spoke With in the Ministry
The Muslim man I spoke with in the ministry was a retired college professor. He responded to the query of what ill would he fix had he the power to do so. Peace, he said. It was humankind’s greatest need; however he was quite sure the world was “regressing” in that department. He remembered warfare well from surviving it in his native Bangladesh before fleeing…
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Putting Lipstick on a Pig: Paul to the Philippians
Nobody in Bible times was better than Paul at putting lipstick on a pig. Nowhere does he do it more than in his Letter to the Philippians. Here he is in the hoosegow, enough to discourage anyone, and those at ‘TheWaySucks*com’ and the liars at ‘WeLovetheWay*com’ are saying it’s his own fault. They’re hoohawing and making catcalls over his imprisonment, saying his brothers sold him…