MANUFACTURER'S HANDBOOK: EXPECT EFFECTS

Showing posts with label EXPECT EFFECTS. Show all posts

Domino Effect

A Domino Effect is defined as a cumulative effect that is produced when one event starts or initiates a sequence or succession of similar events. Dominos is a game that is believed to have originated in China as early as the 13th century. It consists of 28 pieces of oblong ivory that are plain on the back side, and have a face on the front side. The front side is divided by a black line in the middle, and is indented with dots. In modern times, it has become a popular game, and some people have used dominoes in the competitive play of standing them on end and beginning a toppling sequence that is very interesting to watch. Videos featuring the Domino Effect have replaced dominoes with objects and sequences that range from technical to outrageous.

Although the game might have its origin in China, the essence of a Domino Effect is rooted in the laws of God. It occurs in the chain reactions that God has woven in the way the universe responds to us. One of the most profound instances is in the Law of Reciprocity. This law dictates that giving equals receiving. Jesus Christ spoke of it in Luke 6:38 (NLT), where he said, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

The bible is full of examples of the effects of this law. One such case is in the Book of Ruth, where we can learn a lot about what it means to have a high caliber of manhood and womanhood. In this record, we have a mother-in-law, Naomi, who was widowed, and had also lost her two sons. This was an incredibly harsh situation for a woman to be in, because in those times a woman would be cared for and supported by her husband or her sons. She wasn’t allowed to be independent and call her own shots. If she found herself in the unenviable position of being without a husband or sons, she would most likely have a life of poverty and be dependent on the charity of others.

Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law, was well aware of the dire straits that Naomi faced, but still pledged her allegiance and promised to stick by her mother-in-law no matter what. In Ruth 1:16-17, she said, “16Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” This is a measure of loyalty that we rarely see in anyone. To know the difficult time that laid ahead, and to willingly submit yourself to it demonstrated the quality of commitment that was in Ruth.

Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think. He is willing to go far above what we can imagine, but there’s a condition. He will do it according to the power that works in us. You and I are responsible for giving God something to work with. We have to create the space in which He can come in, expand, and bless. He’s in the business of multiplying and increasing us, and you and I determine the extent to which we will allow Him to move.

If we are the kind of people that skimp and only give a little bit, then a little bit is what we can expect to receive. In Ruth’s case, she pledged her devotion to Naomi to the point of incredible self-denial. Ruth was a young woman, still able to marry again. She had not birthed any children when she was married to Naomi’s son, and could still hope to do so in her next marriage. She put all of that aside, and instead put Naomi’s welfare above her own. This is the kind of sacrifice and character that gets God’s attention.

Throughout the Book of Ruth, we can see the Domino Effect of Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi. When she and Naomi left Moab and returned to Naomi’s hometown of Bethlehem, The Book of Ruth, Chapter 2, verse 3(NLT) says, “So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters. And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law,” This was not a coincidence. This was God’s Domino Effect at work. He strategically positioned these individuals because Ruth demonstrated a quality that aligned her with a destiny far greater than she could have imagined.

Her level of commitment was matched by the quality of Boaz’s manhood. He had many opportunities where he might have taken advantage of a woman in Ruth’s position, but he dared not. He behaved honorably at all times, and ultimately made Ruth his wife.

Naomi and Ruth referred to Boaz as their family’s redeemer. This is what Jesus Christ is to us. He’s our Family Redeemer. Romans 8:29 (NLT) tells us, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” When we give our lives to God through Jesus Christ, a Domino Effect of spiritual transformation begins. One right after the other, blessings chase us down as we experience the reality of Jesus and see the fingerprints of God’s love throughout our lives.

Ruth was a virtuous woman, the kind we should seek as a marital partner and mother of our children. Her commitment to honor God and her allegiance to Naomi created a Domino Effect of blessings that paved the way for the Messiah to enter the earth. Boaz was a great blessing to Ruth and Naomi, and before he made Ruth his wife, he made sure they had plenty of food. In other words, fellas, he demonstrated the caliber of his manhood by making sure Ruth was better off for having met him. Ruth’s loyalty and Boaz’s generosity are a few of the stellar qualities that we should strive to have, because they please Heavenly Father and will cause of Domino Effect of blessings to come our way.■

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Disclosure: Much of what is in my posts are things I have compiled through the years and I do not know if they have copyrights. What I do know about origin or website I give credit and have tried to always post a link to the origin. I do not market anything in any way on this blog -- I merely hope it will encourage and inspire others.

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DON'T TURN BACK -- HEART OF STONE - PILLAR OF SALT

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

The New Birth
John 3:1 Now there was a certain man among the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler (member of the Sanhedrin) among the Jews, 2 who came to Jesus at night and said to Him, “Rabbi (Teacher), we know [without any doubt] that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs [these wonders, these attesting miracles] that You do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless a person is born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified], he cannot [ever] see and experience the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” 5 Jesus answered, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be surprised that I have told you, ‘You must be born again [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be possible?” 10 Jesus replied, “You are the [great and well-known] teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things [from Scripture]? 11 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, we speak only of what we [absolutely] know and testify about what we have [actually] seen [as eyewitnesses]; and [still] you [reject our evidence and] do not accept our testimony. 12 If I told you earthly things [that is, things that happen right here on earth] and you do not believe, how will you believe and trust Me if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has gone up into heaven, but there is One who came down from heaven, the Son of Man [Himself—whose home is in heaven]. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the [bronze] serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must the Son of Man be lifted up [on the cross], 15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].
16 “For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him]. 19 This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For every wrongdoer hates the Light, and does not come to the Light [but shrinks from it] for fear that his [sinful, worthless] activities will be exposed and condemned. 21 But whoever practices truth [and does what is right—morally, ethically, spiritually] comes to the Light, so that his works may be plainly shown to be what they are—accomplished in God [divinely prompted, done with God’s help, in dependence on Him].”

1 John 2:15 Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Genesis 19:26 But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she became a pillar of salt.

Luke 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back [to the things left behind] is fit for the kingdom of... God.”

Hebrews 10:37
For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay.

Marisa - I Have Decided To Follow Jesus (w/Caleb Rexius)

About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales, England. As a result of this, many missionaries came from England to northeast India to spread the Gospel. The region was known as Assam and comprised hundreds of tribes. The tribal communities were quite primitive and aggressive. The tribesmen were also called head-hunters because of a social custom which required the male members of the community to collect as many heads as possible. A man’s strength and ability ...to protect his wife was assessed by the number of heads he had collected. Therefore, a youth of marriageable age would try and collect as many heads as possible and hang them on the walls of his house. The more heads a man had, the more eligible he was considered. Into this hostile and aggressive community, came a group of Welsh missionaries spreading the message of love, peace, and hope of Jesus Christ. Naturally, they were not welcomed. One Welsh missionary finally succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children. This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity. Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers. He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man sung his reply, “I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back.”

Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children. As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too.”
But the man replied, again singing, “Though none go with me, still I will follow. No turning back.”
The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down. In a moment she joined her two children in death. Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.”
In the face of death the man sung, “The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back. No turning back.”
He was shot dead like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a miracle took place. The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man. He wondered, “Why should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on another continent some 2,000 years ago? There must be some supernatural power behind the family, and I too want that supernatural power.”
In a spontaneous confession of faith, he declared, “I too belong to Jesus Christ!” When the crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.

^{Luke 17: 28}It was the same as it was in the days of Lot. People were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building [carrying on business as usual, without regard for their sins]; ²⁹but on the [very] day that Lot left Sodom it rained fire and brimstone (burning sulfur) from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. ³¹On that day, whoever is on the housetop, with his belongings in the house, must not come down [and go inside] to take them out; and likewise whoever is in the field must not turn back. ³²Remember [what happened to] Lot’s wife [when she looked back]! ³³Whoever seeks to save his life will [eventually] lose it [through death], and whoever loses his life [in this world] will keep it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God]. ³⁴I tell you, on that night [when Messiah comes again] there will be two [sleeping] in one bed; the ^[one (the non-believer) will be taken [away in judgment] and the other (the believer) will be left. ³⁵There will be two women grinding [at the mill] together; the one (the non-believer) will be taken [away in judgment] and the other (the believer) will be left. ³⁶[“Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”] ³⁷And they asked Him, “Where, Lord?” He answered, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will be gathered.”

Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality—faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses]. For by this [kind of] faith the men of old gained [divine] approval. Hebrews 11: 1-2

The Doom of Sodom

Genesis 19: 1 It was evening when the two angels came to Sodom. Lot was sitting at Sodom’s [city] gate. Seeing them, Lot got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. ²And he said, “See here, my lords, please turn aside and come into your servant’s house, and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may get up early and go on your way.” But they said, “No, we shall spend the night in the open plaza [of the city].” ³However, Lot strongly urged them, so they turned aside and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them [with wine], and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴But before they lay down [to sleep], the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, surrounded the house, all the men from every quarter; ⁵and they called out to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them [intimately].” ⁶But Lot went out of the doorway to the men, and shut the door after him, ⁷and said, “Please, my brothers, do not do something so wicked. ⁸See here, I have two daughters who have not known a man [intimately]; please let me bring them out to you [instead], and you can do as you please with them; only do nothing to these men, because they have in fact come under the shelter of my roof [for protection].” ⁹But they said, “Get out of the way!” And they said, “This man (Lot) came [as an outsider] to live here temporarily, and now he is acting like a judge. Now we will treat you worse than your visitors!” So they rushed forward and pressed violently against Lot and came close to breaking down the door [of his house]. ¹⁰But the men (angels) reached out with their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door [after him]. ¹¹They struck (punished) the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, from the young men to the old men, so that they exhausted themselves trying to find the doorway.

¹²And the [two] men (angels) asked Lot, “Have you any others here [in Sodom]—a son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters? Whomever you have in the city, take them out of here; ¹³for we are destroying this place, because the outcry [for judgment] against them has grown so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy and ruin it.” ¹⁴So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were [betrothed, and legally promised] to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up, get out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy this city!” But to his sons-in-law he appeared to be joking.
¹⁵When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot [to hurry], saying, “Get up! Take your wife and two daughters who are here [and go], or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶But Lot hesitated and lingered. The men took hold of his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, because the Lord was merciful to him [for Abraham’s sake]; and they brought him out, and left him outside the city [with his family]. ¹⁷When they had brought them outside, one [of the angels] said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, or stop anywhere in the entire valley; escape to the mountains [of Moab], or you will be consumed and swept away.” ¹⁸But Lot said to them, “Oh no, [not that place] my lords! ¹⁹Please listen, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your loving-kindness (mercy) to me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, because the disaster will overtake me and I will be killed. ²⁰Now look, this town [in the distance] is near enough for us to flee to, and it is small [with only a few people]. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) so that my life will be saved.” ²¹And the angel said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also; I will not destroy this town of which you have spoken. ²²Hurry and take refuge there, for I cannot do anything [to punish Sodom] until you arrive there.” For this reason the town was named Zoar (few, small).
²³The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴Then the Lord rained down brimstone (flaming sulfur) and fire on Sodom and on Gomorrah from the Lord out of heaven, ²⁵and He overthrew (demolished, ended) those cities, and the entire valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. ²⁶But Lot’s wife, from behind him, [foolishly, longingly] looked [back toward Sodom in an act of disobedience], and she became a pillar of salt.
²⁷Abraham started out early the next morning to the place where he [only the day before] had stood before the Lord; ²⁸and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the valley [of the Dead Sea]; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a kiln (pottery furnace).
²⁹Now when God ravaged and destroyed the cities of the plain [of Siddim], He remembered Abraham [and for that reason], and He sent [Abraham’s nephew] Lot out of the midst of the destruction, when He destroyed the cities in which Lot had lived.