Splinters of Silver Scripture declares that the Words of God are pure, as silver tried in a furnace [Psalm 12:6], that God proves us as silver is tried [Psalm 66:10], and refines us as silver is [Zechariah 13:8-9]. I pray through this blog, not my words but, through the reading of the scriptures, through the presentation of thoughts and of comments, splinters of silver may prick and stay with us throughout our lives. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 9 1147 145 7464

Articles from Splinters of Silver

Why Me? 2007-03-18 21:06:00 Who has never asked the question, ?Why me?, when it comes to something that has taken place in our lives that we find depressing, catastrophic, unfair, or anything that we believe should not have come our way? The alternative, when sometime good happens to us, which may also be unfair (meaning we didn?t deserve it) we usually don?t hear, ?Why me?, but ?Thank you? or ?I deserved it?. I would like to pose three things to think about next time either yourself or one of your friends have something happen in their lives to cause one to ask, ?Why me?.[1] I believe that some things happen to the unbeliever to bring them to Christ. It is ashamed to say, but some people seem to need drastic measures in their life to bring them to the place where they see their need for Christ as Savior. It is easy for the unbeliever to further reject God, but a healthy fear of God can draw them to Him in repentance. The fear is not to cause one to run from God, but to run to God for forgiveness and protection f ...

Mixed Breed: Angels & Mankind (Gen. 6 alt view) 2007-03-18 20:06:00 This was sent in from a good pastor friend of mine and although we disagree about angels here, I believe it is a very good read and he supports it with scripture. Most will most likely find themselves following this view varried over what I have written in my last post. I have added a few notes of my own in blue. Please enjoy.A reoccurring theme throughout the Old and New Testament is that believers are not to marry unbelievers. To do so would lead, in most cases, to corruption of godly morals and principles and there are examples of this in the Scriptures. King Solomon and his wives who lead him into idolatry. King Ahab and his marrying of Jezebel, In Malachi chapter 2; 10-16 the issue is addressed, In Ezra the daughters of the land were taken and were put away in repentance when the children of Israel returned to the Lord. Even some of the priest were considered corrupt because their blood lines were not pure (read Ezra Chapters 9-10) and of course, there is the passage you have chos ...

Mixed Breed: Angels & Mankind 2007-03-16 22:08:00 The topic for today will most likely bring forth entertainment, interest, and criticism. There will be those which accept it, those which reject it, and those which may never have heard of it, but rest assured this is not an original thought. The idea of how far one may take the supernatural realm is above and beyond for some, yet easily discarded by others, but scripture is indeed filled with miracles and the unexplainable. One only needs to read it.We have set before us in Genesis 6:1-4:And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare ch ...

From Sin, To Marriage 2007-03-16 09:49:00 Scripture clearly teaches to flee youthful lust [2 Timothy 2:22] and flee fornication [1 Corinthians 6:18], which is to remain pure till the wedding bed. Although in this modern age of feel good, do it mentality it isn?t very popular, it still remains a clear biblical teaching from the Word of God.My question today lies more with the moments following such an act of fornication takes place, than actually with the act itself. With this, I would like to consider three different situations, if you will, and finish by asking the question why do we treat each differently.[1] We have a husband and wife in which one goes outside the marriage and commits fornication (also adultery). Once discovered, there of those of us which would tell them to forgive and reconcile, and those of us which would tell them to just leave the dirty party. Yet, if by chance, the fornication brings forth a child, do we ever tell one to leave their spouse to marry the father or mother of the child from fornication? I ...

Hypocritical Hymn Singing 2007-03-14 20:55:00 Although this also holds true of the praise & worship singing, I am partial to the old hymns so I chose to use them.How often do we attend church tired, grumpy, depressed, angry, and any other emotion that over takes us for countless reasons by things we face in our lives? Instead of being spiritually, prayerfully prepared to worship a Holy God, we show up for personal prestige and duties sake.We sing, When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, while thinking of the SuperBowl; Amazing Grace, while gritting our teeth over what the neighbor said; It Is Well With My Soul, while we weep that the world is not treating us fair; Blessed Assurance Jesus Is Mine, while we dream of that person we want to be with; All To Jesus, while we fidget waiting for that final prayer to release us from the service.We want to know why our churches are dying and not growing; why members leave and visitors don?t stay; why the preacher gets weary and the congregation gets tired.We don?t need to build larger gyms; bring ...

?New? Millennium, Where Are You 2007-03-14 13:11:00 To my knowledge, there are three formal views, yet there are those which take bits and pieces from some or each, which do not fall completely into one category. If you would, I ask that you post which view you subscribe and maybe a small why description, that we may all see the ?other? side. Thanks!Below each, I have noted why I accept or reject each view.postmillennial viewpoint?Christ?s Kingdom is spreading throughout the world, and God?s justice will prevail across the earth prior to Christ?s return. After his reign is established through his people for a long duration (not necessarily a literal thousand years), Christ will physically return to an already utopian world.Simply knowing human history through the pages of scripture, I find it difficult to believe that mankind would have the spirituality and/or power to bind the workings of Satan to allow Christ to return to a ?utopian world?.premillennial viewpoint?which would include much of dispensational theology and the teaching of ...

Visiting Side Shows, Missing the Main Event 2007-03-13 09:14:00 I am borrowing this topic from a comment our pastor used last Sunday in his message, although I am mostly likely taking a different route.That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; - Ephesians 4:14I fear that modern Christianity (or a better term, ?modern religionist?) is ?aiding and abetting? in the lost world being ?tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine?. I fear many are missing the Main Event, a personal relationship with Christ, by spending too much time and energy at Side Shows.People seem to flock to healings, tongues, baptisms, casting out devils, concerts, and how to get rich, yet where are they for preaching on sin and repentance, a life of obedience, and the teaching of doctrines and theology.A thirst for an outward display of holiness, signs, and wonders appeal to the flesh, yet often yield no fruit in t ...

Hokey Pokey Christianity 2007-03-11 16:02:00 Let me for a moment ask you to consider your Christian lifestyle. You know it better than anyone else. Only God knows us better than we know ourselves. We can sometimes lie to ourselves, but God is never the least bit fooled.Have you fully given over your life to Christianity, to being Christ like, or do you have a Hokey Pokey Christianity?You ask ?What is Hokey Pokey Christianity? ? Well, I?ll tell you.You put part of yourself in,You take part of yourself out,You put part of yourself in,And shake it all about,You do the Hokey Pokey Christian,And you turn yourself around,That?s what is all about.If we claim to have had a salvation experience, a spiritual awakening, our sins forgiven, and are now a child of God? we need to act like it!We don?t need to be in the church today and out of church tomorrow. Acting spiritual today and mimicking the devil tomorrow. How can we expect to be a witness, a light in darkness, if we are flakey in our Christian walk?Showing up on Sunday morning so the ...

Browbeating Christianity 2007-03-10 01:01:00 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. - Ephesians 4:11-16God, in His infinite wisdom, has given the Church those in leadership positions within the loc ...

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe : Bible Choices 2007-03-09 12:35:00 If you walk into any Christian bookstore today, you will come across a wide variety of selections labeled ?Holy Bible?. There is the KJV, NKJV, NIV, ESV, NASV, and the list seems almost limitless if one took the time to list them all. Then there are the topical, reference, parallel, and study editions of each. The market is flooded with bibles, yet ignorance of what is contained within seems on the rise.Without getting too technical, I would like to get your opinion as to what version you choose and why. I may return to this topic with a small discussion of texts, but for the present, please give input to what you personally like most about your choice of version, style (reference, etc.) and why.Oh, me personally: I enjoy reading the King James Bible. I purchased one from http://www.lewisbibles.com/ a good while back. It was the wide margin, cow hide leather, edition which they don?t sell anymore. It contained no study notes or references, except for a concordance in the back. I also h ...

WARNING: SPYWARE FOUND 2007-03-07 21:03:00 Most everyone has most likely heard the word spyware, if not have also enjoyed trying to remove it from their computer system. Here are some snippets of information concerning spyware: it is often used interchangeably with adware and malware (software designed to infiltrate and damage a computer respectively); they watch and observe for advertising purposes; occurs in the background and the data is used for "targeted" advertisement impressions; gets on a system through deception of the user or through exploitation of software vulnerabilities.Surely one has heard of the brain being the most powerful super computer [Man Vs Machine]. One of the first things one may learn as a programmer is, ?Garbage in, garbage out.? The computer does what it is programmed and/or told to do. We are always adding things to our minds by things we see and hear. Although we may not always be able to quickly recall all the information, it is still in there somewhere.For this cause, we need to limit the ?garbag ...

Faith is Risen Anew (Letting Go, Part 2) 2007-03-06 21:06:00 Fearful and shaking, awaiting death?s callAlone and cold, curled in a ballMemories of family, thoughts of friendsTears in the eyes, awaiting the endHope all but lost, faith fading from sightDefeat is admitted ? Yet ? out from the lightA man stands looking, with his arms held outThe child hears their name, as the man cries outStartled with unbelief, a dream it must beA familiar face, comes before the child to seeMy child I have found you, after seeking so longCome unto me, so I may take you homeA groaning in the flesh, appeals it?s not trueBut from the spirit comes belief, Faith is Risen AnewThe heart begins to patter, as a new born babeArms reach out to embrace, the one who?s come to saveCold and hungry, thirsty and weakThe man lifts up the child, and kisses the cheek?Take this bread, and water I giveIt will nourish your soul, and let you liveAlso this set, of new clean clothesTo replace your garment, that is full of holes?Tears fill the child?s eyes, as the man just smiles?Come with m ...

Letting Go (Part 1) 2007-03-05 22:32:00 Lost and so afraid, a child sits all aloneIn the pouring rain, far away from homeNo dad ? No mom ? Only clinging to one?s selfBarely holding on to life, so very close to deathThe body tired and so worn out, unhappy and distressedNot even strength enough to move, a struggle for each breathEyes closed shut from pure exhaustion, head so full of painArms marked up with tracks of needles, clothes are torn and stainedIt really wasn?t long ago, that things were not this wayA warm and loving family and home cooked meals each dayRebellion came within the child, to make a dare decisionMore was waiting out there for them; to leave home was their missionDad and mom didn?t understand, and neither did the preacherThe world would gladly welcome them, so who needed schools and teachersPlenty of others had gone before, and gladly showed the wayFor through the words of longtime friends, a soul was led astraySo now it?s come to this ? hungry, cold, and afraidFor where have all the friends gone to ? some ...

Missed Opportunities 2007-03-04 21:42:00 What you are about to read is actual events, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent. (I think this came from a television program.)I know a girl we shall call Sally. Sally knows a guy we shall call John. Apparently they have known each other for a while (just friends, mind you), but I have only recently met John when we were over at Sally?s house working on some things she needed done.We needed some material from Lowe?s, so John asked me if I would like to ride. I said sure, and we head off. On the way there I asked him if he went to church around here anywhere (which is not anywhere close to where I live). He said the last time that he went to church was when he was back home at his grandmother?s church. He said, ?I keep hoping Sally will invite me.?Instantly, this stunned me.Not because he hadn?t been to church, for I could easily condemn him and ask why he hasn?t just invited himself or found another church to go to. If he really wanted to go to church wouldn?t he j ...

Am I One of the Elect 2007-03-01 17:48:00 The simple answer:If you have accepted by faith the gospel of Jesus Christ, that He was delivered for our offences, was buried, and was raised again for our justification, then indeed yes you are of the Elect.There is no special formula or hidden message in the scriptures to identify the Elect of God. ?Elect? is not a dirty word and should never be treated as one. ?Elect? means ?chosen or selected?, so it should carry a sweet smell that indeed we are chosen, selected, and most importantly loved by God.Being of the Elect does have great benefits: He shall gather them up by His angles when the time is right [Matthew 24:31]; He has shortened the tribulation period [Matthew 24:24]; He shall not allow them to be deceived in the end [Mark 13:22]; He shall avenge them [Luke 18:7]; He will have no one lay charge upon them [Romans 8:33]; He knew us by foreknowledge, sanctified us by the Spirit, cleansed us by the blood of Christ [1 Peter 1:2]; and these are just a few. Read the Manual and you w ...