AVOID pagan games

 1 John 2:16

King James Version

16 For all that is in the world, 

the lust of the flesh, 

and the lust of the eyes, 

and the pride of life, 

is not of the Father, 

but is of the world.

I'm no lover of sports.

I'm no lover of competition.

That automatically disqualifies me from watching the Olympic games.

When I came across the blasphemous opening of this year's Paris Olympics, all the more I was turned off.

And when I reviewed the history of the Olympics, I knew I must write this article today.

For many are in danger of eternal fire.

The reasons?

It is idolatrous.

"The Ancient Olympic Games (Ancient Greek: τὰ Ὀλύμπια, ta Olympia[6]) were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, Greece."

-- Wikipedia

It is pagan.

"The date of the festival was determined according to a complicated formula whereby the midpoint of the festival would occur during the second full moon after the summer solstice—usually late August or early September."

-- Wikipedia

It is pure commerce.

The Olympic Games have been commercialised to various degrees since the inaugural 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens, when a number of companies paid for advertising

-- Wikipedia

It is political.

"In the following decades, the Olympics became one of the ideological fronts of the Cold War, and the International Olympic Committee wanted to take advantage of this heightened interest via the broadcast medium."

-- Wikipedia

It becomes an avenue for harm.

"The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian militant organization Black September. The militants infiltrated the Olympic Village, killed two members of the Israeli Olympic team, and took nine others hostage, who were later killed after a failed rescue attempt."

-- Wikipedia

It is pure vanity.

Galatians 5:26

King James Version

26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, 

provoking one another, 

envying one another.

It promotes personal ego.

Philippians 2:3

King James Version

3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; 

but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other 

better than themselves.

The objective of this exercise?

KNOW what you are watching.

KNOW what you are promoting.

KNOW what you are supporting.

KNOW what you are participating in.

In most cases, you may just find it idolatrous.

All because we honor self, and not GOD.

We honor others, and not GOD.

Only GOD deserves praise.

You'd probably say, "What do I care?"

And throw back at me, "You're born again; I'm not."

Well, all I can say is what SPIRIT and I wrote in the past.

As we delved deep into Scripture.

With SPIRIT making me aware of GOD's LAWS.

As workman and watchman, it is my duty to warn you:

The WICKED shall PERISH

KNOW the world

Sin AWARENESS

HOLINESS

As born again, it is my duty to EXPOSE evil.

There is something interesting, though.

As in the case of Los Angeles.

It will have had THREE participations:

1932

1984

2028

According to this informative video, former mayor Tom Bradley held the 1984 games using existing infrastructure in L.A.

That kept the city's cost to $1 billion.

But they earned over $200 million.

That's a rare cost-effective mayor, and politician.

Not so for past, and present hosts.

They spend too many billions.

And when organizations and sponsors do that, I can only look to people in the world who could have better use of that "vanity" money.

One interesting video shows abandoned venues.

Useful comments from that video (posted 10 February 2022):

@brodypearlman6034

2 years ago

Really sucks that so much money is spent on these Olympics just for the venues afterward to be wasted. Places should really submit a post-Olympic plan when submitting bids to confirm the viability of a location for continuing summer and winter sports after its usage. Rio is certainly an example of this, just put the country of Brazil into a further economic disaster leading up to the games

@TheTommyboy63

7 days ago

That is a wonderful idea.

@naoseinomequalquer

5 days ago

Best ideia ever

@MrGregorSF

3 days ago

 @Sargebri LA 84 built only 2 new venues., pool at USC that is still in use, and velodrome in Carson which will be used again in 28. Athlete housing became student dorms at UCLA. UCLA dorms will be used for LA28. Everything else was existing or temporary. LA28 is not building any new permanent venues.

Latter comment confirms Mayor Bradley's brilliance, and foresight.

What about you, in your part of the country?

After having hosted the games, are your facilities still in use?

Did your country "over-spent", or "showed off"?

Please wake up, world!

You have no idea your sins.

SPIRIT and I need to tell you about the LORD JESUS:

Colossians 3:1-2

King James Version

3 If ye then be risen with Christ, 

seek those things which are above, 

where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, 

not on things on the earth.

What the world offers is idolatry, greed, and vanity.

And I'll have no part in it.

Ecclesiastes 1:2-4

King James Version

2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, 

vanity of vanities; all is vanity.

3 What profit hath a man of all his labour 

which he taketh under the sun?

4 One generation passeth away, 

and another generation cometh: 

but the earth abideth for ever.

I cannot honor flesh.

I only honor GOD.

Related material:

Idolatry

On vanity

FEAR the LORD verses

BORN AGAIN classics

GOD's GLORY blogs

Related video:

Why The Munich Olympic Massacre Was Worse Than You Thought

REPROBATE mind

 

Romans 1:28

King James Version

28 And even as they did not like 

to retain God in their knowledge, 

God gave them over to a reprobate mind, 

to do those things which are not convenient;

What happens to people who don't acknowledge GOD?

He gives them over to a reprobate mind.

But what does "reprobate" mean?

What happens when one has such a mind?

SPIRIT and SCRIPTURE make things clear:

Romans 1:28

21st Century King James Version

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not fitting,

Romans 1:28

Amplified Bible

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or consider Him worth knowing [as their Creator], God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive,

Romans 1:28

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

28 And so, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God or approve of Him or consider Him worth the knowing, God gave them over to a base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome,

Romans 1:28

Christian Standard Bible

28 And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.

Romans 1:28

Common English Bible

28 Since they didn’t think it was worthwhile to acknowledge God, God abandoned them to a defective mind to do inappropriate things.

Romans 1:28

Complete Jewish Bible

28 In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things.

Romans 1:28

Contemporary English Version

28  Since these people refused even to think about God, he let their useless minds rule over them. That's why they do all sorts of indecent things.

Romans 1:28

Darby Translation

28 And according as they did not think good to have God in [their] knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind to practise unseemly things;

Romans 1:28

Disciples’ Literal New Testament

They Disapproved of Keeping God In Mind

28 And as they did not approve to have[a] God in their knowledge, God handed them over to a disapproved mind, to do the things not being proper—

Romans 1:28

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

28 And as they liked not to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them up to a reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient;

Romans 1:28

Easy-to-Read Version

28 People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do.

Romans 1:28

Evangelical Heritage Version

28 And since they did not consider it worthwhile to hold on to the true knowledge of God, God handed them over to a corrupted mind to do things that should never be done.

Romans 1:28

English Standard Version

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Romans 1:28

Expanded Bible

28 [L And since/just as] People did not ·think it was important [consider it worthwhile; see fit] to ·have a true knowledge of [or acknowledge] God. So God ·abandoned them to [allowed them to pursue; gave them over to] ·their own worthless thinking [a depraved/corrupted mind] to do things they should not do.

Romans 1:28

GOD’S WORD Translation

28 And because they thought it was worthless to acknowledge God, God allowed their own immoral minds to control them. So they do these indecent things.

Romans 1:28

Good News Translation

28 Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do.

Romans 1:28

Holman Christian Standard Bible

28 And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong.

Romans 1:28

International Children’s Bible

28 People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so those people do the things that they should not do.

Romans 1:28

International Standard Version

28 Furthermore, because they did not think it worthwhile to keep knowing God fully, God delivered them to degraded minds to perform acts that should not be done.

Romans 1:28

J.B. Phillips New Testament

Moreover, since they considered themselves too high and mighty to acknowledge God, he allowed them to become the slaves of their degenerate minds, and to perform unmentionable deeds.

Romans 1:28

Jubilee Bible 2000

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a perverse understanding, to do those things which are not convenient,

Romans 1:28

Lexham English Bible

28 And just as they did not see fit to recognize God[a], God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things that are not proper,

Romans 1:28

Living Bible

28 So it was that when they gave God up and would not even acknowledge him, God gave them up to doing everything their evil minds could think of.

Romans 1:28

The Message

Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose:

Romans 1:28

Names of God Bible

28 And because they thought it was worthless to acknowledge God, God allowed their own immoral minds to control them. So they do these indecent things.

Romans 1:28

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper.

Romans 1:28

New American Standard Bible

28 And just as they did not see fit [a]to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper,

Romans 1:28

New Catholic Bible

28 Furthermore, since these people did not see fit to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior.

Romans 1:28

New Century Version

28 People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking and to do things they should not do.

Romans 1:28

New International Reader's Version

28 They didn’t think it was important to know God. So God let them continue to have evil thoughts. They did things they shouldn’t do.

Romans 1:28

New King James Version

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;

Romans 1:28

New Life Version

28 Because they would not keep God in their thoughts anymore, He gave them up. Their minds were sinful and they wanted only to do things they should not do.

Romans 1:28

New Living Translation

28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.

Romans 1:28

New Matthew Bible

28 And as it did not seem good to them to acknowledge God, so God delivered them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which were not right,

Romans 1:28

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind and to do things that should not be done.

Romans 1:28

New Testament for Everyone

Darkened Mind, Darkened Behaviour

28 Moreover, just as they did not see fit to hold on to knowledge of God, God gave them up to an unfit mind, so that they would behave inappropriately.

Kehillah in Rome 1:28

Orthodox Jewish Bible

28 And as far as G-d’s worthiness to be recognized by them was concerned, vi-bahlt (since) they marked G-d down as failing the test, therefore G-d (in wrath) delivered them over to a failure of a brain, one that has a mind bent on doing what is perversely unworthy

Romans 1:28

Revised Standard Version

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct.

Romans 1:28

The Voice

28 Since they had no mind to recognize God, He turned them loose to follow the unseemly designs of their depraved minds and to do things that should not be done.

Romans 1:28

Worldwide English (New Testament)

28 They did not want to know God. So he left them to their wrong thoughts and to do things that are not right.

Romans 1:28

Wycliffe Bible

28 And as they proved that they had not God in knowing [And as they proved not to have God in knowing], God betook them into a reprovable wit, that they do those things that be not suitable;

Romans 1:28

Young's Literal Translation

28 And, according as they did not approve of having God in knowledge, God gave them up to a disapproved mind, to do the things not seemly;

In SUMMARY, a "reprobate" mind means these:

reprobate mind to do those things which are not fitting

depraved mind, to do things which are improper and repulsive

base and condemned mind to do things not proper or decent but loathsome

corrupt mind so that they do what is not right

defective mind to do inappropriate things

worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things

useless minds rule over them. That's why they do all sorts of indecent things

reprobate mind to practise unseemly things

disapproved mind, to do the things not being proper

reprobate sense, to do those things which are not convenient

worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do

corrupted mind to do things that should never be done

debased mind to do what ought not to be done

worthless thinking [a depraved/corrupted mind] to do things they should not do

immoral minds to control them. So they do these indecent things

corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do

worthless mind to do what is morally wrong

worthless thinking. And so those people do the things that they should not do

degraded minds to perform acts that should not be done

degenerate minds, and to perform unmentionable deeds

perverse understanding, to do those things which are not convenient

debased mind, to do the things that are not proper

everything their evil minds could think of

run loose. And then all hell broke loose

immoral minds to control them. So they do these indecent things

undiscerning mind to do what is improper

depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper

depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior

worthless thinking and to do things they should not do

evil thoughts. They did things they shouldn’t do

debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting

minds were sinful and they wanted only to do things they should not do

foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done

reprobate mind, to do those things which were not right

unfit mind and to do things that should not be done

unfit mind, so that they would behave inappropriately

failure of a brain, one that has a mind bent on doing what is perversely unworthy

base mind and to improper conduct

depraved minds and to do things that should not be done

wrong thoughts and to do things that are not right

reprovable wit, that they do those things that be not suitable

disapproved mind, to do the things not seemly

As a result of a reprobate mind, which GOD gives proud, ungrateful people, they resort to the following acts:

Romans 1:29-32

King James Version

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, 

fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; 

full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, 

inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, 

without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32 Who knowing the judgment of God, 

that they which commit such things are worthy of death, 

not only do the same, 

but have pleasure in them that do them.

Related material:

BASIS for BIBLE versions

WORD of GOD

Image: Clipart Library

Updated 30 October 2023

INCORRECT thinking

 

2 Corinthians 5:17

King James Version

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, 

he is a new creature: 

old things are passed away; 

behold, 

all things are become new.

The world's got such incorrect thinking.

Thank GOD, He sent His SON to straighten all of us out.

If you can accept such statements, then the humility of Christ is in you.

Bear note that pride has caused many of us to fall.

It was pride that caused Lucifer to fall.

He was a created angel, but he wanted the THRONE of GOD.

Isaiah 14:12-14

King James Version

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, 

O Lucifer, 

son of the morning! 

how art thou cut down to the ground, 

which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, 

I will ascend into heaven, 

 will exalt my throne above the stars of God: 

I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, 

in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; 

I will be like the most High.

Of course, JESUS witnessed Lucifer's fall.

Luke 10:18

King James Version

18 And he said unto them, 

I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Angels serve God.

They remind us to WORSHIP GOD alone.

They are messengers.

They do the bidding of GOD.

What about humans?

How have we fallen?

How has our thinking been twisted?

Scripture gives a VERY GOOD example.

In the person of Pontius Pilate.

His pride got in the way.

Listen to what he told JESUS, when our LORD was being tried.:

John 19:10

King James Version

10 Then saith Pilate unto him, 

Speakest thou not unto me? 

knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, 

and have power to release thee?

In turn, listen to how our LORD JESUS replied:

John 19:11

King James Version

11 Jesus answered, 

Thou couldest have no power at all against me, 

except it were given thee from above: 

therefore he that delivered me unto thee 

hath the greater sin.

Who delivered JESUS to Pilate, and thus, had the "greater sin"?

Matthew 26:14-16

King James Version

14 Then one of the twelve, 

called Judas Iscariot, 

went unto the chief priests,

15 And said unto them, 

What will ye give me, 

and I will deliver him unto you? 

And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Matthew 26:59

King James Version

59 Now the chief priests, 

and elders, 

and all the council, 

sought false witness against Jesus, 

to put him to death;

It's twisted thinking to think JESUS could not have stopped His crucifixion.

Which He could have, at ANY time.

But He reasoned:

Matthew 26:53-54

King James Version

53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, 

and he shall presently give me 

more than twelve legions of angels?

54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, 

that thus it must be?

Pride is our greatest enemy.

Satan is our greatest enemy.

Why, then, are we proud?

Why, then, do we follow Satan?

Are we this?

John 8:44-45

King James Version

44 Ye are of your father the devil, 

and the lusts of your father ye will do. 

He was a murderer from the beginning, 

and abode not in the truth, 

because there is no truth in him. 

When he speaketh a lie, 

he speaketh of his own: 

for he is a liar, 

and the father of it.

45 And because I tell you the truth, 

ye believe me not.

Why have I given my heart to JESUS?

JESUS conquers all untruth.

For He is TRUTH.

John 1:17

King James Version

17 For the law was given by Moses, 

but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Only JESUS can correct my thinking.

Related material:

JESUS and Satan

SPIRIT straightens us out

JESUS

SPIRIT of GOD

WORD of GOD

BORN AGAIN articles

Related video:

The Perpetuity Of The Law Of God (Matthew 5-18) - Charles Spurgeon Message

Image: Fly Clipart