Posts by Carlos Valenzuela
SOUND WORDS, JULY 21ST, 2O24
JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT He has told you, O man, what is good;and what does the Lord require of youbut to do justice, and to love kindness,and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8) Justice and judgment are closely related. In fact, in the New Testament, the word for judgment is often the same word for justice. The idea is also closely associated with righteousness. In the Old Testament, “justice and righteousness” are often seen together. True justice will always…
SOUND WORDS, JULY 14TH, 2024
CHANCE OR PROVIDENCE? There are some things we clearly know from Scriptures because God has chosen to reveal them to us. We know exactly what God would have us to do to be saved because He has clearly told us through His word. We know that God hates divorce, a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood and many other sins that we might commit against each other (Malachi 2:16; Proverbs 6:16-19). But when it comes to knowing…
SOUND WORDS, JULY 7, 2024
AIN’T ANYTHING MEANER THAN KILLIN’ BABIES In Marc Connelly’s wonderful 1930 play, The Green Pastures — wherein heaven is viewed through the eyes of African-Americans in the Deep South — there’s a telling scene involving Pharaoh and a court official identified as the head magician. Pharaoh’s order to drown the male Hebrew children has been carried out, but his hatred for the Hebrews hasn’t abated, and he’s still trying to come up with something to make the Israelites’ existence more…
SOUND WORDS, JUNE 30TH, 2024
NO BROWN M&M’S Pueblo, Colorado 1980. Van Halen was at the top of their game and the top of the world. They were at the start of their Women and Children First tour. Before their concert, Van Halen entered their dressing room to find a bowl of M&M’s. Upon further examination of the M&M’s, the band saw … brown ones. This threw them into an eruption of unchained rage. They trashed their dressing room, causing $3,500 worth of damages, but that was…
SOUND WORDS, JUNE 23, 2024
WHAT’S WRONG WITH ‘SITUATIONAL ETHICS’? Joseph Fletcher (1905-1991), an Episcopal priest, was the most famous proponent of “situation ethics.” In a book entitled “Situation Ethics: The New Morality” he formalized a view that is commonly accepted by many individuals. Here are some quotes from Fletcher’s book: “For the situationist there are no rules – none at all.” p. 55 “And therefore what is sometimes good may at other times be evil, and what is sometimes wrong may sometimes be right…
SOUND WORDS, JUNE 16TH, 2024
THE PRIVILEGE OF PRIVATE PRAYER Prayer is such a privilege, such an exalted advantage. It implies connection to the Almighty, an adjoining to our Creator. What joy to pray and know we will be heard. What unspeakable joy! “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if ye ask anything according to His will, He heareth us” (1 John 5:15). I doubt there could be a better or more blessed assurance than to know that God not…
SOUND WORDS, JUNE 9TH, 2024
UNTIL WE HAVE EARS Men seldom see things alike. It’s not that reality wears so many faces; it’s just that men choose to look at things differently. Some people in Jesus’ day were sure that He was the Son of God, but they were in the minority. Many very religious people thought He kept the wrong company—prostitutes, well-known extortioners, notorious people. And, after all, “a man is known by the company he keeps.” He said He spent His time with…
SOUND WORDS, JUNE 2, 2024
WHAT IF EVERYONE IN THE LOCAL CHURCH WAS LIKE YOU? People make up local churches. Thus, the stronger the individual Christians are who make up a particular local church, the stronger that church is. What if everyone in the local church was just like you? Would it be a church that is strong or weak? Would it be a church that is pleasing or displeasing to Christ? If everyone in the church was like you, what kind of attendance would…