"Getting Down To The Nitty Gritty of the Scriptures"
?...Kathleen Kasper-Kat Armstrong
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"Getting Down To The Nitty Gritty of the Scriptures"
?...Kathleen Kasper-Kat Armstrong, (w)Holy Ghostwriter, ?7-1-24, updated 7-2-24
The following article is meant for those who believe the "Holy Bible" is the inspired word of God meant to draw people towards seeing the goodness of God, and responding to God and to others accordingly, and/or those who are considering this.
Some may or may not have noticed a couple of minor changes that were made in the "Welcoming" note at the beginning of the "Perfectly Paired Partners II" saga.
There was a small section regarding a force "outside" of myself some call God, that was pulled out of the "Welcoming" note for a specific purpose, and the force was changed to "inside."
This was changed, knowing the purpose of this specific story that I had planned to write some time ago. The context of this story (an F2 "even" numbered story) is meant to be formatted more like many "secular" songs, movies and books are written: with an underlying format that actually does reveal Biblical concepts many times but isn't clearly noted.
However, because my personal purpose is to encourage people to believe in a power greater than all mankind who is good, the "keys" for the story are created to encourage people to understand how these stories are put together (in many instances) to reveal the ancient scriptures.
After posting only a small hint at one of the inferences being made (related to the word "force") I had posted a couple of other inferences being made in Guidepost 9 of the "Perfectly Paired Partners II" saga within groups where I am aware other writers and people interested in writing post and review other writer's content. These notes; however, were more about the "art" of how the scriptures are written.
Having been brought up going to church, it was never brought to my attention that much of the secular writing that is done actually aligns (purposely) with the scriptures, or that one should read the scriptures like you read other forms of literature that has similes, metaphors, personification, and so forth. I believe this is important to understand, because it helps a believer to see HOW to make sense of the stories, so that they apply the true message to their own lives.
Yet, the "art" of writing, isn't the same as fleshing out, and noticing the small details of the text that one reads in a straightforward way and how all the scriptures are meant to convey an overall message.
It just so happens that I felt drawn to review the book of Job the other day, when spending time in prayer at church a few weeks ago. After noting a few things in one of my bibles (that I keep in the car), I set it down and didn't think much about this passage, knowing that when something is important, it will come up again. Prior to posting Guidepost 9, I knew I wanted to point out something I quite frankly wasn't thinking about when I originally penned an essay about "Lighthouse Keepers" back in the 1990s; and yet, it appeared that after all these years, the message came back to me once again. If you haven't read the post, I'd encourage you to do so, now. The post is here:
In the post I mentioned a "shell," and when I was in the midst of writing about "shells" all these years later, I knew I wanted to point to some specific scriptures in the New Testament of the "Holy Bible" known as "the armor of God."
Now, remembering that this specific saga follows a format similar to the way many secular songs, books and movies are written, the post needed to be done in a way that it wasn't obvious that the post was specifically pointing to this passage.
In the recent picture that was shown here:
You will see three hexagons with words contained within them. Above this you will see the same title "Truths to Be Seen In Pictures" for the information about sea anemone's that was provided before this new picture was posted. Again, if you go back to the writing, I believed to be inspired long ago (by God) about "Lighthouse Keepers", you will see that all these things indeed align, and reveal possibly why I've spent a large amount of my life near the coast; taking pictures, studying information about it and so forth.
You'll notice in the article itself (3 constitutions) were noted the first time in Guidepost 5 and the portion about "awareness" was later revealed to point to another type of shell later when the sea anemone post was created for Guidepost 7 showcasing a less known fact about this specific sea creature. In the book of Jeremiah it mentions this metaphor of people being like "jars" in the hands of God, who will mold them as he sees fit. The picture of this anemone provides a perfect illustration of "the soul" of mankind, within the "shell" that represents these parts of self.
So, knowing the three constitutions were previously noted, I was set with the task of choosing precisely three of the armor pieces to post the point of this section. How do you choose three?
There is one thing I know 1 Corinthians 13 points to 3 important virtues: faith, hope, and love, love being the greatest. The only one of these three terms is included in the armor of God in Ephesians 6: faith. I also know that God is specifically noted about God himself is that God is Love and God is a god of "grace" (or love/mercy) and "truth" John 1:14. The only one noted in the armor again is truth. I had mentioned faith, so why hadn't I chosen this term for the picture?
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Remember, first and foremost the picture is only a part of the armor (3 of the pieces) so clearly I needed to showcase this was a "peace" of a more complete picture painted in the "Holy Bible." So now we see why I chose, and you should choose (sounds like shoes) peace. Because the heart (that typically represents "love" and we see that "love" is mentioned as being most important in 1 Cor 13 and in the Old Testament commandments to "love God with all your heart and soul (in the book of Deu) (and mind) is noted in the New Testament in Matthew 22. This indicates that the important shield (aka: breast-plate--another form of pottery for everyday use) is important.
Knowing the passage in 1 Corinthians 13, and the reasoning I provided to indicate WHY the three pieces were chosen of all the pieces, my hope is that others who choose to read this, will gain an understanding of how to read scriptures and apply Godly truths to their life. Clearly (I hope) good reasoning assists believers to do what is good. If by chance you are wondering WHY wasn't love mentioned when (clearly) it's important, that's a good thing to notice. If you know that the "heart" is mentioned often in association with love, this indicates the importance of something we call motives. Motives affect why we choose to do what is good. If you choose to do good because it keeps you out of trouble, it isn't necessarily bad; and yet, if you don't see the importance of doing good because it is kind you've missed the higher virtue, and if the "good you do" does not truly come from a place of love for God and all that God has created, you've failed to see the truth about what goodness really is. See why knowing the truth is important? Keep in mind, the "helmet" of salvation isn't noted specifically in the picture that I posted this week for Guidepost 9, and yet knowing the truth of what saves you, is what protects your mind. So, in truth, this was also included in a not so obvious way. How about that "sword" of the spirit (or the word of God)? The picture was clearly put together based on the word of God, in its entirety. What else is missing? Faith (or belief); one cannot obtain truth without believing it exists, so faith is found within the truth, and if you go back and review why I chose truth to be included, you'll now see why it's listed as one of the main constituents of God.
The scriptures; however, are far more complex than that. For example, I write often using the term "God" rather than YHWH or Jehovah, LORD, Jesus Christ, etc, for a reason. I am aware. I'm aware that many people know God by the term God, but only select religions and sects of religions acknowledge God as YHWH, Jehovah, LORD, Jesus Christ, etc. This is an example of walking as humbly living "peaceably" with others by extending mercy (loving kindness), because you love God (who is good) and want to do good, because you understand what goodness looks like and want to extend goodness likewise, trusting that eventually it will be rewarded, because that is what goodness does.
That noted, when I use the term God, I don't use it the way some of the "Holy Bible" scriptures do. If you review the word "God" verses "YHWH" "Jehovah" "Jesus" "Christ," "LORD" and "lord," in the original writings, these terms are defined quite differently. God in these texts can mean the "Supreme God" or any person in authority. Because I use this term, as an act of kindness to represent the Supreme God over all living things, you could say, I see the terminology used in the scriptures as being what dictionaries call "archaic," meaning it was used this way for many years, but it is not commonly used this way today. It's important to know how the term was originally used, to understand much of what is written, whether we use the term the same way today or not.
The book of Job is a great example of this. I've heard many people's thoughts on the book of Job, and have been surprised by the number of people who think the young man "Elihu" was righteously pointing out Job's wrong-doing. It's easy to see why people might do this, because it's after Elihu rambles on about the greatness of God, and how he wouldn't attack Job if Job hadn't done something wrong, so clearly Job must have done something wrong. Matters seem to point to him being right when God himself makes a statement about someone making ignorant statements about God, and then goes on with phrasing that sounds much like what God then goes on to say. If you haven't read through Job lately, you will gain a good refresher by reviewing Job chapters 28 through 42.
When I reviewed these passages a few insights I noticed with regards to Elihu, Job and Job's friends, is that God only points to Job as being righteous (both in the beginning and in the end of this book.)
See Job 1:8 and Job 42:7. Why would God point out that "no-one" spoke the truth about God except Job, if Elihu also spoke the truth about God and Job, why didn't this get noted here? Knowing this, when you go back to where Elihu stopped speaking and God begins speaking (to Job), and God is angry at the ignorant statements that were made about God, Elihu was the last person who had spoken before God spoke up and said this, and God allows Job to make the choice to restore them at this point also (via prayer). What is also important to notice is there are many instances where the word "God" is used in this text. Remember, biblically speaking, this term could mean people rather than the Supreme God.
Wrapping it up:
The point of me writing about these smaller details is for the edification of others. I myself have been told many things by others that I believe were untrue. Sometimes this may be done with the best of intentions, and God clearly knows if that is true. Sometimes this is not done with good intensions, and God clearly knows when this is true also. Yet, I write because I genuinely believe it to be a calling to encourage others faith: in believing the truth that God is good, and that there is no wrong-doing that is done by God; therefore it is wise to trust God and that trusting God entirely involves following God's example (as best you are able) to also do what is good (and do no wrong), for this is love, and to help people to understand the scriptures for themself, so that they are continually growing in their knowledge of the truth about God (to the best of their ability) for this is part of what it means to love God with all of your being.
You will notice; however, this was included in an individual note for a purpose. This is much to take in. The "keys" of the story (are also) written in this "nitty gritty" format for the same purpose.
If someone isn't encouraged by writing that is much more inclusive (what you will read in the story itself), there is a good chance that they won't be open to learning the nitty gritty truths about God and the expectations that God has for believers. What's more, if someone isn't interested in the more inclusive notes I write (or the stories I've written) and is interested in these notes instead, they have chosen well. The more inclusive notes are meant to encourage those who are more unsure of what they ought to believe about God and about how their behavior should in some way reflect their beliefs about God (for the sake of their own eternal wellbeing), so that they might be encouraged to read more about the truths I write about God (for their eternal wellbeing's sake.)
There is one more matter I'd like to point out here. Atheists, Agnostics and people who are considered to be "false believers," aren't the only people who sometimes needs encouragement that isn't fraught with this type of detailed explanation of the scriptures. One must be ready to sit with such information with openness to listen for the truth to be revealed. Until they are prepared to do so, it won't likely help them. Say for example, you just finished a hard-core workout, there is a point at which you can actually do damage to your body by ignoring your body's need for rest/recouperation; this is true of spiritual workouts also. Some people are struggling so much with everyday life, that they haven't yet come to a place of rest where they can really be open to hearing these matters.
Faith in goodness, is believing that those who need to hear something, will hear what they need to hear and act accordingly before it is too late.