Are You a Nose Picking Goober? Ryan Blackmore in Sherwood Park, Alberta

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The purpose of this thread is to apply Biblical psychology to Ryan Blackmore's condition in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada.

"Be careful to avoid anything offensive. If there is a man among you who is unclean because of a bodily emission...you must have a digging tool in your equipment. God must not see anything improper among you or He will turn away from you" (Deut. 23.9-14). It also says wash yourself then come back to the camp in the evening the day of your offense. The camp was in contrast to the enemy camp before going into battle.

Prov. 30.29-33

29 There are three things that walk with stately stride—no, four that strut about:

30 the lion, king of animals, who won’t turn aside for anything,
31 the strutting rooster,
the male goat,
a king as he leads his army.

32 If you have been a fool by being proud or plotting evil,
cover your mouth in shame.

33 For pressing milk produces curds, pressing the nose produces blood,
and pressing anger produces strife.

Are you a nosepicking goober? I don't have this problem but my friend does. When I tried to get him to stop he lashed out in a violent rage. And he calls himself a Christian too. But I know he is not a Christian because he said he believes Mormons are saved. Whatever he thinks Christianity is, it is not Christianity. Mormons are hard people, believing in salvation by works. Other Christians have said to me they can see him going off the cuff. And I have experienced this rage from him before. Instead of slowly building up his anger and letting the other party know his feelings, it all comes out at once.

"Let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger for the anger of man does not work the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rank growth of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1.19-22).

To my surprise on reading up on nose picking I found this: "The Greek origins of the medical term for nose picking (rhinotillexomania) can be translated as 'nose' (rhino) plus 'habitual picking' (tillexis) plus 'rage, fury' (mania) and together they provide a very telling description of the disorder.

"It's frequently because we are feeling suppressed rage and fury that we pick away habitually at the contents of our noses, even when we do it to the extent that we cause pain, which leads to more rage and fury."

Read more here from dermatology doctors,
http://www.skinpick.com/nose-picking-rhinotillexomania

Perhaps the nose picking is like a security blanket. As the link suggests below: "there are legitimate reason that might have led you to start picking your nose" however unreasonable they may be. Instead of changing by the Holy Spirit what is wrong deep inside you that causes this rage the manifestation of nose-picking takes over.

The problem though is this person does not consider this obsessive compulsive nose picking a sin so how can he ever repent of it? The Bible says we shall know them by their fruits which is not Christian.

"By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?" (Matt. 7.16)

"Pressing ('twisting' NIV) the nose causes bleeding" (Prov. 30.33). If pressing your nose in or out can cause bleeding then stop picking it!

"Thumbing their noses at me, and provoking my anger" (Ez. 8.17). Are you thumbing your nose at God by picking your nose?

"You turn up your noses at my commands" (Mal. 1.13). Where is the self-control in picking one's nose regularly? Use a handkerchief. You're being unsanitary transmitting your cold to others by nose picking touching objects that other people have to handle. Stop being so selfish!

"The smell of thy nose like apples" (SofS 7.8). How can such a smell come about by picking your nose?

Picking your nose in the work environment is frowned upon and embarrassing. Picking your nose in social settings is frowned upon. What is wrong in public is wrong at home in private. When you pick your nose, you find yourself resisting from doing so in public so people don't see what you also do in private. This is your conscience speaking. Heed your conscience! This is God's minimum standard for you to abide in when it comes to the matter of picking your nose.

Imagine the President of the United States giving a speech and while doing so he picks his nose and swallows a goober. May you have a conscience to see how wrong nose picking is. You may need to remove buildup in your nose on occasion but use a handkerchief and wash your hands. Don't be gross!

There is no grace in nose picking, just a law one creates for himself that it is ok to do, when such a person doesn't even abide in his or her own law they try to keep because they find themselves resisting nose picking in various social or work settings.

If nose picking was perfectly legitimate with your finger and no handkerchief then touching objects people use regularly, why do you resist in nose picking sometimes?

Is it ok to stick your finger up your ass, get a little poop on it because you like the taste, lick your finger and touch a steering wheel in a car that others have to drive? I use this crass example to show people how unsanitary nose picking is and how selfish they are really being caught in this nasty and disgusting habit.

Such bad habits are induced by evil spirits and accepted by the will of man. If a person can't overcome nose picking, he naturally is more susceptible to lack of discipline in other areas of his life. Nose picking is a gateway to other unhealthy activities.

The will of man has been overrun by demonic spirits on this matter because the person no longer tries to overcome and resist this bad habit. If you are not willing to accept nose picking is a problem then you are just thumbing your nose at God! I don't know any Christians who think nose picking is a legitimate activity acceptable to God's will and glorifies Him. Though some believers may be trying overcome such bad habits, yet unsuccessful, none will claim that it is a legitimate activity pleasing to God.

It is not just the transmitting of colds scientifically and medically which the Bible has put in place cleaning laws to try to prevent. If someone with aids is releasing blood from their nose which is inevitable with nose picking that blood is exposed and liable to enter the blood stream of another person through cuts or sores or other contact.

I have seen some people try to rationalize nose picking by saying they are no longer under the law, therefore, nose picking and whatever other sin they can think of are permissible, because they are no longer under the law. In fact, they are still under the law, a law they have created for themselves that nose picking is acceptable. Scriptures say otherwise. The woman in Revelation 12 has the sun above her which represents God's grace and the moon under her feet which represents God's law. To claim one without the other is a misalignment of the Scriptures to either justify one's cavalier attitude towards the Scriptures on grace or demand law without grace be adhered too.

Alcoholics often justify their alcoholism on the same basis waiting upon some higher power to change them rather than taking responsibility for themselves to overcome their sinful propensity to put to nought the deeds of the flesh. Such power will never come. One cannot overcome by will power alone. They needs God's grace. But if a person is constantly thumbing God's grace up their nose, God will not work for them. God will not force a person to do anything or change them without a person's commensurate participation in that changing behavior. If a Christian were an alcoholic at the very least he would acknowledge his sin, but the nose picker doesn't. This presents an unsafe and unclean environment but also is disrespectful to others by not being sanitary.

It gets even more psychotic and demented when such a person blames the one who identifies their problem as being ungraceful and lash out in a violent rage. My friend blew up one day because he was caught in the act every couple of minutes. He tried to resist for about 3 hours and was successful, but went right back to doing it again without even trying to change. Why was he attempting to resist if what he now claims is true there is nothing wrong with it and perfectly natural? His behavior does not match his words. He is obstinate, contradicting himself. I suspect his wife has had many problems with this issue with him also so now he is taking it out on me. Moreover, he never said he needed me to back off reminding him for a bit, but instead all of a sudden he lashed out in a violent rage, swearing, and being very aggressive with his tone of voice. The most grace that I could provide this person is to not mention his nose picking for awhile and avoid touching objects he touches after he picks his nose. This of course restricts our activities together.

We shall know you by your fruits! Even non-Christians agree nose picking is wrong! We are saved by grace through faith, but when a person does not exhibit the fruit of that grace, one can question whether they actually have received the cross in the first place. Nose pickers show no grace to non-nose pickers, no compromise in cleanliness and no strength to resist and refuse their activity by the Holy Spirit. They actually self-exalt themselves in their nose picking by saying it is God's will they were given fingers to pick their nose, and they keep on picking away without conscience.

If you don't have the common sense to realize you yourself are picking up germs by constantly picking your nose then I am pretty sure you are hopeless case and God will treat you accordingly.

If you still can't stop picking your nose compulsively, you have rhinotillexomania. There are medical risks,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nose-picking

Some helpful advice on how to stop picking your nose,
http://www.wikihow.com/Stop-Picking-Your-Nose

Nose picking (rhinotillexomania) can lead to infections in the nose,
http://www.skinpick.com/nose-picking-rhinotillexomania

"Beloved, I call upon you, as strangers and sojourners, to keep from the fleshly (carnal, sinful) desires, that war against the soul" (1 Pet. 2.11).

"I will put my laws into their minds" (Heb. 8.10). One of those laws is don't pick your nose according to 1 Pet. 2.11, Prov. 30.33, James 1.21 (get rid of filth), Ez. 8.17, Mal. 1.13.

Have you died with Christ? If you have then God has given you power to by His Spirit to overcome the deeds of the flesh so put to nought the deeds of the flesh.

Upon reciting many deeds of the flesh in his Galatian letter, the Apostle Paul then points out that “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5.24). Here is deliverance. Is it not strange that what concerns the believer vastly differs from what concerns God? The former is concerned with “the works of the flesh” (Gal. 5.19), that is, with the varying sins of the flesh. He is occupied with today’s anger, tomorrow’s jealousy, or the day after tomorrow’s strife. The believer mourns over a particular sin and longs for victory over it. Yet all these sins are but fruits from the same tree. While plucking one fruit (actually one cannot pick off any), out crops another. One after another they grow, giving him no chance for victory. On the other hand God is concerned not with the works of the flesh but with “the flesh” itself (Gal. 5.24). Had the tree been put to death, would there be any need to fear lest it bear fruit? The believer busily makes plans to handle sins—which are the fruits, while forgetting to deal with the flesh itself—which is the root. No wonder that before he can clear up one sin, another has burst forth. We must therefore deal today with the source of sin.

Babes in Christ need to appropriate the deeper meaning of the cross, for they are still carnal. The aim of God is to crucify the believer’s old man with Christ with the result that they who belong to Christ “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Bear in mind that it is the flesh together with its powerful passions and desires that has been crucified. As the sinner was regenerated and redeemed from his sins through the cross, so now the carnal babe in Christ must be delivered from the rule of the flesh by the same cross so that he can walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. Thereafter it will not be long before he becomes a spiritual Christian.

It is only when we have yielded our body to the Lord (Rom. 6.13) that it is possible for us no longer to be under the dominion of the flesh but under the dominion of the Lord. If we follow the Holy Spirit and maintain an attitude of not letting sin reign over the body (Rom. 6.12), then our feet are freed from stumbling and we experience sustained victory.

Read further on the cross and the Holy Spirit: http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/crossholyspirit.htm

A recognition "that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be annulled" (Rom. 6.6 Darby) is indeed good; but we remain shackled by fleshly deeds if "by the Spirit" we have not "put to death the deeds of the body."

Read further on the believer and his body: http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/believerandbody.htm

Top Five Reasons to Not Pick Your Nose

…Chronic Rhinotillexomania…

By Ayanna Guyhto
Takeaways

• The hairs in the nose act as a natural filter for airborne particles.
• Colds are most often transmitted from nose to finger to nose...
• Nose-picking is not only a poor hygiene tactic, it's also gross.

This is a fairly taboo topic. Nobody wants to admit that he/ she picks the nose. But the truth is that just about everyone does it. Etiquette dictates that people should not pick their noses in public. The extraction of –“things” from the nose should be done with the use of a handkerchief, tissue, or some other acceptable material. But in addition to the obvious reasons, there are some substantiated grounds for not picking one’s nose. After a bit of research, here is what I’ve come up with:

1- CATCHING COLDS

It is common knowledge that the cold virus is passed through the mucus membranes. So where does one tend to find the most mucus? In the nose, of course. Running your fingers across surfaces which are contaminated with the cold virus—and then sticking them in your nose is NOT the way to go. By doing so, you are transmitting the virus to yourself, causing an irritating bout of nasopharyngitis. In a few days, you’ll probably end up with a scratchy throat and a bout of sniffing and sneezing. Keep your fingers out of there.

2- NOSEBLEEDS

Though not considered a common problem, chronic nose-picking may cause nosebleeds. Sticking your finger in your nose too far is a great way of damaging the lining of the nose which is meant to protect the body from foreign airborne bacteria. Destroying that lining, or digging too hard could possibly cause your nose to bleed. Not only is this unpretty. It is also unnecessary and unhealthy.

3- INFECTION

In addition to a nasty cold, you could possibly open yourself up to what is known as a retrograde infection. This means that germs and bacteria can actually be pushed up into the nasal cavities and spread to other parts of the body, like the brain. We typically don’t think of nose-picking as an activity which sends material INTO the nose. But because that area is so small, it’s only natural that certain bits of material (microscopic or otherwise) are sent backwards into the body instead of forwards, out of the body.

4- HAIR LOSS

Many people don’t think about this. But when one picks his/ her nose on a consistent basis, they are actually removing some of the hairs from the nostril. This may not be a big deal on one or two occasions. But it has been revealed in numerous studies, that the nasal hairs are most important for filtering out dust, and other pollutants in the air. If you keep picking your nose, you are at risk of removing this important filter. Without this natural siftng mechanism, you are in danger of opening yourself up to all kinds of of illness and infection.

5- YOU COULD DIE

There are many far-fetched ways to die in this world. Picking your nose is one of them. Yes, it’s true. You really can die from picking that monster boogar. Simply put, there is a bone in the nose called the ethmoid bone. This bone separates the nose from the brain. Though you would more than likely need a really really long fingernail, or other long object to get up there, it is indeed possible to do so. As a matter of fact, if you accidentally poked through this bone, brain fluid could be leaked—causing meningitis, which definitely is a killer.

So you see, picking one’s nose seems harmless. And in most cases, it is. Sitting at that stoplight, in the private comfort of your vehicle, does not give you anonymity. But for some reason, it’s the most popular place for people to dive into their nasal cavities. In these instances where you feel compelled to see what’s up there, it’s best to wait until getting to a restroom. Make sure that before touching any “open” areas of the face (ie. eyes, nose, mouth) –that you wash your hands thoroughly, as this is how viruses are most frequently spread. In addition to that, you spare the rest of the world the horror of watching you dig for “gold.”

The Holy Spirit and Experience

"While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions . . . were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are . . . dead. . ." (Rom. 7.5-6). Because of this the flesh has no rule over us any further.

We have believed and acknowledged that our flesh has been crucified on the cross.

Now—not before—we can turn our attention to the matter of experience. Though we presently stress experience, we nevertheless firmly hold to the fact of our crucifixion with Christ. What God has done for us and what we experience of God’s completed work, though distinguishable, are inseparable.

God has done what He could do. The question next is, what attitude do we assume towards His finished work? Not just in name but in actuality has He crucified our flesh on the cross. If we believe and if we exercise our will to choose what God has accomplished for us, it will become our life experience. We are not asked to do anything because God has done it all. We are not required to crucify our flesh for God has crucified it on the cross. Do you believe this is true? Do you desire to possess it in your life? If we believe and if we desire then we shall cooperate with the Holy Spirit in obtaining rich experience. Colossians 3.5 implores us to "put to death therefore what is earthly in you." This is the path towards experience. The "therefore" indicates the consequence of what precedes it in verse 3; namely, "you have died." The "you have died" is what God has achieved for us. Because "you have died," therefore "put to death what is earthly in you." The first mention of death here is our factual position in Christ; the second, our actual experience. The failure of believers today can be traced to a failure to see the relationship between these two deaths. Some have attempted to put their flesh to nought for they lay stress only upon the death experience. Their flesh consequently grows livelier with each dealing! Others have acknowledged the truth that their flesh in fact was crucified with Christ on the cross; yet they do not seek the practical reality of it. Neither of these can ever appropriate experimentally the crucifixion of the flesh.

If we desire to put our members to death we first must have a ground for such action; otherwise we merely rely upon our strength. No degree of zeal can ever bring the desired experience to us. Moreover, if we only know our flesh has been crucified with Christ but are not exercised to have His accomplished work carried out in us, our knowledge too will be unavailing. A putting to nought requires a knowing first of an identification in His death; knowing our identification, we must exercise the putting to death. These two must go together. We are deceiving ourselves should we be satisfied with just perceiving the fact of identification, thinking we are now spiritual because the flesh has been destroyed; on the other hand, it is an equal deception if in putting to nought the wicked deeds of the flesh we over-emphasize them and fail to take a death attitude towards the flesh. Should we forget that the flesh is dead we shall never be able to lay anything to rest. The "put to death" is contingent upon the "you have died." This putting to death means bringing the death of the Lord Jesus to bear upon all the deeds of the flesh. The crucifixion of the Lord is a most authoritative one for it puts away everything it encounters. Since we are united with Him in His crucifixion we can apply His death to any member which is tempted to lust and immediately put it to nought.

Our union with Christ in His death signifies that it is an accomplished fact in our spirits. What a believer must do now is to bring this sure death out of his spirit and apply it to his members each time his wicked lusts may be aroused. Such spiritual death is not a once for all proposition. Whenever the believer is not watchful or loses his faith, the flesh will certainly go on a rampage. If he desires to be conformed completely to the Lord’s death, he must unceasingly put to nought the deeds of his members so that what is real in the spirit may be executed in the body.

But whence comes the power to so apply the crucifixion of the Lord to our members? It is "by the Spirit," insists Paul, that "you put to death the deeds of the body" (Rom. 8.13), To put away these deeds the believer must rely upon the Holy Spirit to translate his co-crucifixion with Christ into personal experience. He must believe that the Holy Spirit will administer the death of the cross on whatever needs to die. In view of the fact that the believer’s flesh was crucified with Christ on the cross, he does not need today to be crucified once again. All which is required is to apply, by the Holy Spirit, the accomplished death of the Lord Jesus for him on the cross to any particular wicked deed of the body which now tries to rise up. It will then be put aside by the power of the Lord’s death. The wicked works of the flesh may spring up at any time and at any place; accordingly, unless the child of God by the Holy Spirit continually turns to account that power of the holy death of our Lord Jesus, he will not be able to triumph. But if in this way he lays the deeds of the body to rest, the Holy Spirit Who indwells him will ultimately realize God’s purpose of putting the body of sin out of a job (Rom. 6.6). By thus appropriating the cross the babe in Christ will be liberated from the power of the flesh and will be united with the Lord Jesus in resurrection life.

Henceforth the Christian should "walk by the Spirit" and should "not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Gal. 5.16). We always should remember that however deeply our Lord’s cross may penetrate into our lives we cannot expect to avoid further agitations of the wicked deeds of our members without constant vigilance. Whenever one of God’s own fails to follow the Holy Spirit he immediately reverts to following the flesh. God unveils to us the reality of our flesh through His Apostle Paul’s delineation of the Christian’s self in Romans 7 from verse 5 onward. The moment the Christian ceases to heed the Holy Spirit he instantly fits into the carnal life pattern described here. Some assume that because Romans 7 stands between Chapters 6 and 8 the activity of the flesh will become past history as soon as the believer has passed through it and entered into the life of the Spirit in Romans 8. In actuality Chapters 7 and 8 run concurrently. Whenever a believer does not walk by the Spirit as in Romans 8 he is immediately engulfed in the experience of Romans 7. "So then I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin" (7.25). You will notice that Paul concludes his description of his experience given before this verse 25 by using the phrase "so then." He encounters incessant defeat up through verse 24; only in verse 25 does he enter into victory: "Thanks be unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (v.25a). Upon gaining victory over constant defeat we read Paul saying: "I of myself serve the law of God with my mind." Here he is telling us that his new life desires what God desires. That, however, is not the whole story; for Paul immediately continues by declaring: "but with my flesh I serve the law of sin." And this we find him saying just after his victory of verse 25a. The obvious inference is that no matter how much his inner mind may serve God’s law, his flesh always serves sin’s law.

However much he may be delivered from the flesh it remains unchanged and continues to serve sin’s law (v.25), because the flesh is forever the flesh. Our life in the Holy Spirit may be deepened, but this will not alter the nature of the flesh or prevent it from serving the law of sin. If we therefore desire to be led of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8.14) and freed from the oppression of the flesh, we must put to death the wicked deeds of the body and walk according to the Holy Spirit.

Read more on the cross and the Holy Spirit: http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/crossholyspirit.htm

I just came across this verse.

xxx, you said you thought lots of alcoholics are going to heaven (talk about low standards). I said not as many as you think.

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

The way I view this is that most alcoholics are going to Hell, because if they had the Holy Spirit in them they would have an advocate to strengthen their resolve against alcoholism. The same goes with nose picking.

We shall know them by their fruit. All things are permissible but not all things are acceptable (1 Cor. 10.23). I trust you are trying to stop as a Christian instead of exalting yourself claiming that it is perfectly acceptable to spread viruses to others this way. I know I would be selfish if I did that. Why stop picking for 3 hours as an effort to change? Then resort right back to thinking it is expedient? Satan is the author of confusion.

Where you are weak in discipline in one area of your life will impact other areas.

Jesus never picked his nose. Be Christlike.

I found a great passage in Deut. 23. It says let there be none among you who is unclean due to bodily emissions. If so take a tool from your equipment (e.g. handkerchief) and clean yourself, and wash yourself with water. Don't come back to the camp till evening. The Israel camp was about to go into battle so had to maintain this law for success, like how we go to do battle in racquetball tournaments. Then it says, Let God not find you doing anything improper otherwise He will turn away from you. Be considerate to others. Your actions have an effect on others such as all your nose picking germs. Jesus was not a nose picker. Let us be Christlike. Such inordinate nose picking for 9 hours straight in a vehicle on the steering wheel that I have to touch is a bit much and borders on abusive!

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 5.18). In other words, not till the end of the millennial kingdom will the law and its purpose be complete, because sin will finally be gone in the New City and New Earth. So the law is still in effect today. What the Marcionite doesn't realize is that the OT sense of the law has its fulfillment in the NT sense, and so the law remains. For example, the Sabbath has its fulfillment of the Holy Spirit rest indwelling believers daily when the veil was rent and Pentecost followed. It was not just rest for one day a week. Grace should not be something we throw around haphazardly, for underneath the woman's feet in Rev. 12 is the moon representing the law, and the sun shinning on her is God's grace. You can't have one without the other. And let us not be legalists by saying since we can't find a specific law pertaining to some specific sin that it is deemed permissible and acceptable. That is a wrong attitude. God cannot be unjust or unrighteous.

I met a girl in the hot tub recently who is in her 3rd year of Bible college. She said she agreed with me that you are using grace for selfish reasons to rationalize any sin in your life by accusing others who point it out even when you are doing something that is clearly wrong and unsanitary. In fact, nobody agrees with you not even non-Christians. They are equally turned off. I see the position you take as similar to Marcionites (rejecting the law because it is too harsh). Marcionites are not Christians. They worship a false Christ. Read here,

Marcionites, Gnostics, Thomasines, Ebionites

Instead of not playing me at racquetball out of spite -- knowing there are so few players to even play in Alberta Racquetball -- or distancing yourself from this embarrassment even at my expense, I know God wants you to repent and let your pride and exalted self die on the cross. "When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long" (Ps. 32.3). The NLT reads, "When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long."

The wet comfort blanket of always picking your nose is intolerable to those who are shocked by it when they are confronted by someone who can't stop putting their finger in their nose which gets over everything. Ryan Blackmore, the reason for your violent rage in taking it out on a Christian was due to your failed ambition when it was pointed out to you the reason you lost those matches in the Saskatchewan Open in Regina, November 2012 that you really wanted to win was because of your unrelenting, undisciplined and profuse nose picking.

Your argument was to say not enough grace was shown to you by not putting up with your nose picking is a twisted justification for continued nose picking and is not showing grace towards others. Never put someone in the position where they have to make a decision whether to be around you because of your endless digging for gold becomes overwhelming.

This connection between rage and nose picking in Ps. 30 pointed out earlier in this thread seems to fit the bill, because Ryan on numerous occasions has had these violent outbursts. For example, years ago in a heated battle on the squash court at the Riverbend Athletic Club in Edmonton, Ryan stopped just short of cracking my head open with his squash racquet, going through the full motion of about to do so, after he lost the rally. In another instance in 2012 at the Mayfield Athletic Club Darryl Thomas witnessed Ryan gut punch Jerry Vasilash extremely hard because Jerry put his racquet between Ryan's legs. How's that turning the other cheek? These are just a few instances of at least half a dozen more. Ryan has a belt in karate so it was no light punch. Karate should be used for defense not offence. It's funny when Ryan accuses others of 'being hard,' but he is the hardest of all people! His violent rage in lashing out at people is disrespectful and unkind to fellow human beings as though he doesn't really care about people, like I experienced on a return road trip from a racquetball tournament after I mentioned the reason he lost his matches was because of his undisciplined nose picking. I said this good natured but Ryan got violent.

He confessed to me that his own mother was extremely abusive towards him and made fun of him all the time, so like mother like son I suppose. He admitted to me that part of the reason for lashing out erratically has to do with his issues with his mother. It's clear to me he has a hard time changing his bad habits and has not let the cross of Christ and the Holy Spirit change him. He's his same old self.

I feel at liberty now to express these experiences with Ryan considering that he doesn't play me at racquetball anymore -- abruptly stopping all of a sudden in the summer of 2014. He purposely knows this hurts my game because I don't get the practice responding to his fairly strong drive serves. No longer do I need to refrain from mentioning these antics of his because we don't play racquetball anymore, so I have nothing to preserve with Ryan. Ryan tries to hurt people out of his own hurt he has inside from his mother.

The purpose of this thread has been to apply Biblical psychology to Ryan Blackmore's condition in Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada. It's easier to be coy and stay silent than speak the truth.

Praise the Lord for this discernment. Amen.

Letter to Ryan Blackmore,

Are you not going to Vernon? Did you give up trying to get into the top 100? Good luck at the 2014 World Seniors. Get some tournament play matches in otherwise you won't be prepared. In the last couple of months you said you didn't want to play me after playing me twice a week for the past two years, because you said you didn't want to play tournament-type matches yet you are going to the World Senior's? That doesn't add up! So obviously, you have ulterior motives, and you are not being honest with yourself or me. Would Jesus act that way?

Everyone else plays me at racquetball at the Glen Allan Recreation Complex except for you and Marc Caouette who is not a Christian and was one of the ARA board members in 2009 that banned me from Alberta Racquetball Association sanctioned tournaments (which remains in effect to this day) after I exposed Barbara May for lying to protect her hide at my expense. It's an evil world. Satan is the god of this world the Bible says. I can understand though the reason for not playing me is you get beat so bad, but everyone else at GARC even though they only get a few points on me still don't mind playing. I enjoy playing them. They enjoy the challenge. And I get to work on different aspects of my game. If you were a Christian you wouldn't behave this way, holding a grudge against me because I told you your inordinate nose picking was unsanitary. Someone told me privately that this is not the first time your nose-picking was an issue and is likely a bone of contention with your wife.

You know the reason the unholy trinity of racquetball (Manny Gregorio, Cam Bourque and Barry Ould) in Edmonton don't play me at racquetball (who play at the Kinsmen Sport Center, switching over L.A. Fitness on 186 St. late 2014) because of their hostility towards me because I am a Christian and know that they are going to Hell since they refuse to give their lives to Christ. You can throw John Halko in that bunch also, not a Christian, who banned me from the association and is the remaining board member of the association. You know this same evil in their hearts conspired to ban me from the Mayfield Athletic Club after playing there for a few months in 2012. God responded within a month declaring the Mayfield Club would be permanently shut down later that year. Consequently, they were disbanded to play elsewhere. God has intervened yet again generously putting on hold the renovations at GARC so we don't have to find another facility to play at near Sherwood Park. I'm reminded of a passage in Scripture that tells me even those who in Christendom who claim to be Christians (though not necessarily are) will come against Christians and be abusive towards us in the latter days!

The ARA, additionally, is hurting players like Mitch Brayley because his dad James Brayley who use to be the president of the ARA is also one of the board members who banned me from the association. Consequently, by not being allowed to play in tournaments in Alberta, Mitch remains ranked behind me, 3rd in Alberta. Otherwise, he would have beaten me by now and be ranked 2nd in Alberta. That reminds me of a passage in Scripture the sins of the fathers are carried down to the 4th generation. In other words, the consequences of their fathers' sins are felt even by their great granddaughters and great grandsons. Mitch could have been ranked somewhere between 12 and 15th in Canada because that was where I was ranked; instead he is 26th as per the May 28, 2014 ranking update for Racquetball Canada.

Ryan, your nose-picking is just a symptom of an underlying problem. Self. I found an interesting passage for you in Deut. 23 that I came across recently. I couldn't help but think of you when I read it. It says let there be no men among you who is unclean due to bodily emissions. If so take a tool from your equipment (e.g. handkerchief) and clean yourself, and wash yourself with water. Don't come back to the camp till evening. The Israel camp was about to go into battle so had to maintain this law for success, like how we go to do battle in racquetball tournaments. Then it says, Let God not find you doing anything improper otherwise He will turn away from you. Your actions have an effect on others such as all your nose picking germs. Be considerate to others. Jesus was not a nose picker. Let us be Christlike.

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matt. 5.18). In other words, not till the end of the millennial kingdom will the law and its purpose be done as sin will finally be eradicated in the New City and New Earth. So the law is still in effect today. What you don't realize is that the OT sense of the law has its fulfillment in the NT sense so the law remains. For example the Sabbath has its fulfillment by rest of the Holy Spirit indwelling believers everyday with the veil now rent and Pentecost, not just rest one day a week. Grace should not be something we throw around haphazardly, for underneath the woman's feet in Rev. 12 is the moon representing the law, and the sun shinning on her is God's grace. You can't have one without the other. And let us not be legalists by saying since we can't find a specific law pertaining to some specific sin that it is deemed acceptable. That is a wrong attitude.

I met a girl in the hot tub recently at GARC who is in her 3rd year of Bible college. She said she agreed with me that you are using grace for selfish reasons to rationalize any sin in your life by accusing others who point it out. Grace has been given to you, yet you're not showing much grace by being obstinate. Nobody agrees with you not even non-Christians. They are equally turned off. I see the position you take as similar to Marcionites (rejecting the law because to them it is too harsh),

http://www3.telus.net/trbrooks/lostbooks.htm

Instead of fighting back by not playing me at racquetball out of spite or distancing yourself from this embarrassment --clinging to your pride and self-exaltation --, I know God wants you to repent. "When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long" (Ps. 32.3). The NLT reads, "When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long."

The Holy Spirit told me Ryan Blackmore is not a Christian; and therefore, according to the Bible he is going to Hell because:

1) He never gives the gospel of salvation to anyone as he has not been regenerated--no changed heart, quickened spirit, eternal life--to do so, but as Matt. 10.32,33 says, if you are unwilling to confess the Lord Jesus to others, He will deny you before the Father in heaven. If you are ashamed of Him, He is ashamed of you (Mark 8.38). There is no such thing as a silent Christian. If the Church was dependent on Ryan Blackmore, it would never exist. You would never hear about it. There would be no such thing as the body of Christ because in Ryan's hands it would never be brought up. It would be as if it never existed. For example, Ryan Blackmore will never give the gospel of salvation--and that includes mentioning Hell--to people such as Marc Caouette or Clifford Sustrik whom he plays racquetball with regularly. Where is the love in that, for they will go to Hell, never hearing of the gospel from Ryan. Does he really believe in the gospel of salvation then or care about others enough to share God's saving grace? Therefore, I must rebuke him in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I don't consider him a brother in Christ. His faith is his own subjective creation that fits his selfish proclivities (see below). Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is truly born-again.

2) A person is known by their fruit (Matt. 12.33). Ryan's fruit is using physical violence against people and is quick to anger (see James 1.19). He is aggressive and a hard person, exhibits passive-aggressivity and is on the verge of blowing up at any time! Even though I don't like his person, I am still willing to play him at racquetball, but he aggressively has stopped playing me, apparently for life, all because I pointed out his inordinate nose picking is unsanitary. I guess he is following after the hostile non-Christian triad of Manny Gregorio, Cam Bourque and Barry Ould who want me to apologize for something before they will play me again, but they fail to say what for. To me that's totally belligerent and ignorant! When Colum Barry asked them who is the best racquetball player in town, Manny said John Halko, Cam said Manny, and John said himself. Then Colum said, "None of you guys could hold a candle to Troy," and they all got upset. It shows in the ranking: I was in the top 10 in Canada last year (top 20 now); they are ranked in the 70-80's. Manny jealously retorted, "Troy improved his rankings by manipulating the system." I appreciated Colum's remarks. I think I should buy him dinner for his kind words. What Colum did not understand though is when he said they are "cliquey group," he didn't realize their hostility stemmed from the fact they are not Christians and get quite aggressive against believers. For example, Barry Ould came up to me and said, "You are not allowed to talk about Christianity at racquetball." And all this hostility follows upon Barbara May (also not a Christian) and John Halko (definitely antichrist) banning me from the Alberta Racquetball Association for exposing Barbara May when she lied to protect her hide which was at my expense to cover up her own negligence. What an evil thing to do! Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive. - Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, 1808)

Back to nose-picking...If I had this problem and it was pointed out to me, I would attempt to repent and change my bad behavior. Not so with Ryan. He is even more emboldened to dig deeper. I pray for him to cease and desist and maybe he will one day or from time to time to prove he is not a nose picker; but I'd hate to go on another road trip with him and be subject to another round of nose picking for 7 hours. It's like a bottomless pit. I can't even get in his vehicle because I know he is still digging away and puts his nose pickings on the steering wheel, dashboard, etc. It totally grosses me out!!! I think most people would feel the same way, especially in my shoes, and experiencing Ryan's violent outburst if you mention it or any other number of matters. The evil spirit finds ground to work in one's passivity. The more you get to know Ryan the more you discover this about him. He is passive, but always broiling underneath, then he gets aggressive even violent which is characteristic of an abusive personality. It is unkind. It's uncomfortable being around him because you never know when he is about to blow a fuse and go ape shit. Other times he feeds a violent rage that I had to listen to for several minutes at a time directed at some person. I am just sitting there taking it in and thinking to myself, Ryan is a weirdo! He exalts his inordinate nose-picking as though it is perfectly fine even though the Bible says let no man be found among you being unclean due to bodily emissions, otherwise God will turn away from you (Deut. 23). Moreover, he rejects Heb. 4.12 pertaining to the dividing of spirit, soul and body which could help him to overcome if he was in Christ. He also doesn't side with brothers in Christ when they are being attacked by non-Christians. He actually sides with the latter--going with the crowd--for that is the worldly thing to do. I've had this experience with him. He's a coward. Who needs enemies with friends like that? Whom you align yourself with you will be judged with. A Christian could never find solidarity with Ryan because he is too prideful and self-centered. Humility is severely lacking.

3) The Bible says not one tittle of the law shall pass till all these things be finished, but Ryan rejects the law at least as it pertains to his own sins. He will pick and choose. Marcionites reject the law as too harsh so you can rationalize any selfish or sinful behavior. But without the law bringing its full weight to bear, you could not truly know sin and consequently, God's grace.

4) Ryan claims Mormons are saved even though they claim God the Father use to be a man and that they always existed alongside God in eternity past as spirits not as created beings. Mormons claim they will be gods of their planets. They also believe in salvation by works even though the Bible teaches we are not saved by works lest anyone should boast. If you are not for Him who He truly is, you are against Him (Matt. 12.30). The Bible says there are none beside God, none before Him, and no gods after. He is alone from everlasting. By claiming Mormons are saved and members of the body of Christ, you are engaged in some twisted warped pseudo-universalism.

5) Ryan despises any sort of organization of the Church, but Heb. 10.25 says don't forsake assembly of the Church. I don't know any Christian that takes his stance. We who are in Christ don't know his god.

I've never met anyone in Christendom or outside of Christendom who has ever given their lives to Christ past the age of 40 except a friend Arnold, so I highly doubt Ryan Blackmore in his 60's will do so now. If he were going to give his life to Christ he would have done so by now. Arnold recently met Ryan by happenstance and said with regard to these matters he sees Ryan's problem is pride. Ryan has a problem of self-exalting himself even though he is the nerdiest of all nerds. Aside from his looks, his nerdiness stems from his actions such as wearing construction gloves on both hands when he plays racquetball. Talk about someone stuck in their bad habits and unwilling to change. It's completely illogical. He has many other characteristics that are typical of the nerd personality. There is nothing wrong with this per se if they can't be changed because they are characteristics given by God, but many of Ryan's nerdy elements can and ought to be given up.

I mentioned to Arnold that Ryan's belly has gotten quite big in the past couple of months due to stress and Arnold noticed it too. In fact, we were trying to identify the person Arnold was talking to in the hot tub at GARC and discovered it was Ryan by his belly how it really sticks out. I guess the Zone Diet that he has been on for years is not working out for Ryan as much as he had hoped. Though there is some truth to it, it still takes discipline to implement which Ryan has been slipping on, similar to his lack of discipline picking his nose profusely. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I prefer the China Study more which examined various societies around the globe that don't eat any meats. They have virtually no incidences of cancer. The Zone Diet significantly favors meat.

Why does someone get fat all of sudden so quickly whence before they were not? It's because something is wrong in their heart. They are clinging to pride. They are being lazy. Or they are relying on their own strength rather than being led by the Holy Spirit. People rarely appreciate these words as the real reason and chalk it up to genetics, depression and giving up. Don't let Satan plant these thoughts in you.

My prayers go out to Ryan he need not remain this way. Let us not be coy and aloof with regard to our sins.

The Real Reason Why Ryan Blackmore Doesn't Play Me at Racquetball Anymore

What is the source of Ryan lashing out? Ryan's misuse of what ought to be healthy 'self-defense mechanism' and taking it personally kicks in because his mother was abusive towards him so he behaves similarly in an unconstructive way to attempt to protect himself from the hurt he suffered from his mother as his mother did before him. So he is easily hurt when someone judges him because the feelings generated are the same he experienced from his mother and runs deeply. Healing takes time, but Ryan is over 60 now. He never outgrew that childhood pain (and he admitted this to me). The solution people rarely appreciate is to focus on Christ, read the word of God and let His life take over because His life was perfect. Ryan admits rarely if ever does he read the Bible and he isn’t even a Christian since he thinks Mormons are saved which is pseudo-universalistic. Thus, he can’t appropriate God’s uncreated life and the Holy Spirit if he is not born-again. Therefore, healing never takes place as it could. However, the responsibility lies with Ryan. If Ryan wants to effectively divorce himself from the Bible, he should continue to get the same old results.

So for example, in Nov. 2012 on the return trip from the Regina Open racquetball tournament, I said to him, "The reason you lost those two matches was because of your undisciplined nose picking" which was profuse -- he had his finger in his nose constantly. So Ryan lashed out violently towards me in the car instead of making an effort to cease the endless picking away in his nose. He said I was not being graceful enough to him and that there was no law in the OT pertaining to nose picking, but I have since produced verses dealing with cleanliness, bodily emissions, as well as scientific data that shows nose picking is unhealthy for the picker and those around him. I did not badger him about it, just made a short comment which was the only time I mentioned it on the return trip. The problem with claiming the OT never mentions nose picking can cause you to justify many sins if they are not explicitly stated which misses the spirit of the message. The behavior is inconsistent because on the trip to Regina he made a concerted effort for at least a couple hours to stop digging into his nose so much. If he believed inordinate nose picking was not healthy and now believes it is which Ryan are we addressing now?

Ever since then our relationship has not been the same. It’s been odd to say the least because of his hardness. He has been more combative ever since. We are both the same people, but he is ruled by his unhealthy feelings of hurt and lashing out, thus he is not capable of being empathetic towards me that I had to endure his prolific nose picking in a confined space and had to touch his nose pickings on the steering wheel when I was driving.

As time went on he played me less and less to the point now he intends to never play me ever again out of spite as has been the case the past several months. This reaction of his is not good-intentioned. If it was a legitimate response, I would say nothing more; but because it is vindictive and I am confident in the Holy Spirit of the source of his motivation (his mother), I need to record it on the internet, because his behavior is ultimately unhealthy. He is only hurting himself.

I record what is evil on the internet since it is the only way to expose evil behavior after confronting the person has already been exhausted as an option. I don't need to play Ryan at racquetball, not in the least, but the Holy Spirit does want me to expose evil behavior. And so that's what I have done. If Ryan's heart was in the right place, he would play me at racquetball as everyone else does at GARC on Mondays and Thursdays. Why is it that Ryan is the only one that doesn't play me? How odd. He makes up reasons but they always seem fake, insincere and not the real reason. He can’t be directly honest with me about his feelings which is immature. Perhaps he’s not entirely in control of his feelings and not cognizant of why he is behaving this way.

And Marc Caouette doesn’t play me as Marc doesn't want to damage his ego. He is one of the people on the board of the ARA back in 2009 who banned me from Alberta sanctioned tournaments, unrighteously of course. He still doesn’t understand what he did was wrong, and I should not be blamed for exposing Barbara May for lying to protect her hide at my expense to cover up her negligence. Nor should this even be a banning issue. There is some jealousy since I am the highest ranked player among them and I am the only Christian among them. They are antichrist, rejecting Jesus as Lord and Savior, and they know that I know they are going to Hell according to the Bible so they take exception to that and discriminate against me. My dislike of Barbara May also does not qualify as a banning issue either. I think her behavior is entirely immoral that’s why I don’t like her. It has nothing to do with her being overweight or anything else. I caught her in a lie, and she and I both know she is covering it up.

I was finishing off reading The Character of God's Workman (CFP white cover) by Watchman Nee. The last chapter particular pertained to the problems I was having with Ryan Blackmore. So if anyone else is having the same problems they can read this. The emphasis is on (1) maintaining absolute truth, (2) caring for one's being, and (3) rigidity in one's lifestyle.

Other Matters to Be Dealt With

By way of concluding our study on the character of God’s workman we would like to mention some other matters which every one of the Lord’s workers must deal with before God. These are: (1) maintaining the absoluteness of the truth, (2) caring for one’s physical well-being, (3) not having undue concern about one’s personal lifestyle, and (4) understanding such problem areas as virginity, marriage, and so forth.

One

A person who does the Lord’s work must stand for the absoluteness of the truth. This naturally demands total deliverance from his own self. Many brothers and sisters are not completely loyal to the truth because they are affected by human relationships and their own emotions. Hence a basic requirement in the service of God is that truth must not be sacrificed. I can sacrifice myself and my emotions but not the truth. The difficulty with a number of workers lies in their concern about friends, acquaintances, relatives or families, and which in consequence may adversely affect their loyalty to the truth. God cannot use such people. For if truth be truth, nothing—not even one’s own brother or relative or friend—can touch it.

Take, as an example, an instance in which the son of a worker asks for baptism. Realizing that this is a matter which concerns the truth, he should leave the case with the responsible brothers in the local church and let them decide if his son is ready for baptism. Many a time, however, the worker will take the position that his son is ready and should therefore be baptized. Thus a problem is caused due to this worker’s lack of absoluteness towards the truth. He brings into the picture his father-and-son relationship. If he were truly absolute here, he would let such matters in the church be decided by the dictates of the truth. He would not act according to human relationship.

Another example can be given. If a strife should occur in any given assembly, people may be inclined to take sides according to their friendships or family relationships. They do not sit down, as they should, and weigh the absoluteness of the truth that is involved; instead, they follow the leading of their affection. This does not mean that they might totally neglect the truth, but it does show that they cannot be completely loyal towards it. To be absolute towards the truth in spiritual matters means that no personal feeling, friendship or human relationship can be allowed to influence the truth. For just as soon as human relationship comes into play, the truth shall no longer be upheld Any addition of man’s word diminishes the verity of God’s word.

In the Bible there are recorded many decisions and commands of God which need continually to be proclaimed by His servants. We abhor the fact that there are those who are always proclaiming the impossible; but on the other hand, can anyone be a servant of God if he never preaches anything beyond his personal capability? Since the truth is absolute, no one should ever lower the word of the Lord because he himself has not reached that height. No one should alter God’s word due to his own deficiency. On the contrary, sometimes you must speak ahead of what you are, far beyond your personal feeling or relationships. This is indeed a tremendous demand placed upon a servant of God. You cannot deal with your family members in one way and the other brothers and sisters in a different way. For the truth is absolute, and the Lord wants us to maintain its absolute character. Whatever God’s word says must be equally applied to all people. You should not act differently because of any special relationship. To do so would be to lower the truth of God. This is not to say that were you to do so you would be totally untrue, but it would show that you were not being totally loyal towards the truth. Let us therefore learn to maintain this absoluteness. We must not compromise because of any human relationship. For we follow the truth, we do not follow man.

Many difficulties arise in the Church when the truth is sacrificed. Here, for instance, was how a division occurred in one local assembly: one brother said, “We had no intention of separating from you, but since you failed to inform us last night on a certain matter, we have now decided not to meet with you again.” Yet the truth being absolute, it needs to be said to that brother that it really has nothing to do with his and the others with him being informed or not, because any separation that is perpetrated on that basis is automatically putting forward man in the place of truth.

Take as another example the case of how people at a certain place had expressed their desire to break bread separately. The reason given was that a brother asked a question at a meeting and it was not answered. Yet, whether one breaks bread together or separately must be a matter that is based on truth. If it is the latter, then it can have nothing to do with anyone’s being well-treated or ill-treated.

Oh, let us understand most clearly that before we can serve God, this “self” of ours must be rooted out. If our keeping the word of God depends on the treatment we receive, we put ourselves ahead of divine truth. This comes about simply because we have pride and selfishness in us. We consider ourselves to be more important than the truth of God. How can we serve the Lord under such condition? In the way of God’s service, we must totally deny our own selves. Whether we are pleased or hurt in a given situation is a consideration that is completely out of the question. It ought to make no difference how we feel or how we are treated. We cannot bend divine truth to follow our own feeling, for how boldly presumptuous we would be if we should cause God’s truth to follow us!

We should see the glory of God’s truth and never try to bring our personal feeling into it. How do we stand when compared with the truth of God? It is not that we are smaller than the truth, but that we are absolutely nothing in comparison to it. A tiny touch of self will most certainly damage the truth.

One brother happened to hear much criticism being leveled against a church assembly, but at first he considered it to be groundless. He subsequently paid a visit to that assembly. While in their midst, however, he touched only some of the brethren there without really touching the truth before God. He was actually quite careless in his conduct. One day, a brother in that assembly pointed out to him his earlier loose conduct based only on certain facts. This action by that brother was taken by his speaking the truth to him in love. Whereupon, he who had at first considered the earlier criticism of this church to be groundless now reacted by speaking disparagingly of this assembly. All this simply reveals the fact that this over-reacting brother was not absolute towards the truth; for had he been absolute, he would not have changed his attitude towards the church assembly in question simply because of the reprimand he had later received.

What is meant by the absoluteness of the truth? It means that no consideration of personal affection, relationship, experience or self-interest will intrude upon one’s view and application of the truth. It means that none of these things is or can be involved in it. Since truth is absolute, yea is yea and nay is nay.

There was once a brother who had helped many people. He later walked in the way of maintaining the testimony of the church. Whether or not this way is right is not affected by the manner of his or anybody else’s walk. His walking in this way of the testimony of the church does not make it right. Even if he should fall, this way is still right. And why? Because the truth is absolute. Unfortunately, the eyes of many were upon this brother. They simply assumed that he being right, that way must also be right. Or if he is wrong, that way must also be wrong. So what did they look at? At the truth or at the brother? It is obvious that it was the latter. Now, of course, this is not to suggest that anyone can be careless. We should indeed not be careless, for we must maintain the testimony of God. This is a fact. Even so, whether this way of the church is right or not is a matter to be judged by truth, not by man nor by the way man walks. Can we stop being Christians simply because some other Christians have sinned or fallen? Ought we to deny our faith merely because God’s children are bad? Not so, for the truth is absolute. If the Lord is worth believing, we will believe in spite of the failure of fellow-believers. Though others may disbelieve, we will nonetheless believe. For the determination of the issue involved does not lie with the people but with the truth. The divisions in the Church and the many strifes in the work would all disappear if we would eliminate our personal feeling and relationship.

The absoluteness of the truth is not a small matter. We cannot afford to be loose here, because if we are lax in this matter, we will be lax in all matters. We shall be able to hold fast to the truth if we lay down ourselves; but without such a determination or habit before God, we shall sooner or later fall apart. Someone may thank the Lord for the helps he has received in a local church meeting. Yet this does not necessarily prove that he is clear about the absoluteness of the truth of the church and its testimony. Perhaps he only feels comfortable in that meeting. Wait, however, till he encounters something disagreeable to him; he may then feel quite differently about the meeting. Nevertheless, the truth still remains absolute. Whether or not the meeting is legitimate in his view should not depend on his treatment. If his treatment—whether good or ill—decides for him the legality of the meeting, then he becomes the most important person in the whole world! For in that case, truth is not important; he instead becomes most important. And consequently, he would not be absolute in his loyalty towards the truth. Herein lies much of the trouble in the Church.

God expects us to deal with ourselves to such a degree that we are able to set ourselves aside in any matter. In that event our personal feeling, pleasure or hurt will not create any difficulty. The direction of our course ahead is not to be governed by our personal feeling. If God says yea, it is yea; and if God says nay, it is nay. If He says this is the way, we will walk in it, even though no one else may so walk. We walk not because there is much excitement in the way, nor because some other brothers are walking in that way. We walk simply because this is the right way and the truth is held to be absolute. Nobody can be permitted to influence us, for if we allow anybody to do so, we shall then make this or that person bigger than the truth.

Judgment is also based on truth, and not on ourselves. If judgment should ever follow our personal taste, we shall have degraded the truth and the way of God. The foundation of God’s judgment is the truth. In judging any situation, we look not at the way people treat us but look exclusively at the truth of the Lord. In the work of the Lord, we never allow our personal feeling and interest to become involved. If truth commands separation, we will separate even from our best friends. Though we may daily eat together and live together, yet because of the absoluteness of the truth we will separate ourselves in spite of human affection. And by the same token, if the truth demands that we be together, then no matter how we brush and strive against each other we will still stay together. Should our being together be based on personal relationship, it is an indication that we do not know what the truth is. It will then be hard for us to finish the course set before us.

This that we have been discussing is a most fundamental issue. Our future depends on our learning the discipline of God. Truth will suffer at our hands if we regard ourselves as so big and important. In order to maintain the truth of the Lord, we ourselves must be set aside. Each one of us has his temperament and feeling. Let us not allow these to affect God’s truth. No minister of the Lord can sacrifice or debase the truth of God to soothe his own feeling. If we disdain God’s truth, we have no spiritual future before Him. A judge on the bench maintains an absolute attitude towards the law. He will pronounce guilty to the sinful and not guilty to the innocent. On the one hand, he cannot reckon the sinful as sinless simply because the latter might happen to be his brother or close friend. On the other hand, a judge cannot condemn a guiltless person merely because the latter happens to be his enemy. Otherwise, these kinds of judgment would create disorder in society. A judge must therefore support the law. Similarly, we who believe in God and serve Him must support His truth and His law. No personal feeling is to be involved. May we never ever forget this point.

All of us need to be dealt with by the Lord. Let us say to Him, “Lord, I am nothing, but Your truth is everything.” This being the case, there will be no difficulty in the work. If all fellow-workers can maintain the absoluteness of the truth there will in consequence be a great advantage, in that we can all speak frankly and things can be easily done. A matter that should be done will be done without the fear of incurring blame from other workers. What decides everything is the will of God. Is this His decision? If it is His will and He so desires, then we need not consider anything else. But if we do not see the truth as absolute, we shall find it difficult to move forward; because whenever something arises, all will be thinking what the others will say; with the result that we shall look for a compromise, and in the process the truth shall suffer because of us. Moreover, there shall be many words we will not dare to say and many matters we will not dare decide for fear of offending other people. And thus we shall find ourselves in great trouble.

Any church fellowship that supports the truth of God and rejects human politics is blessed. The brethren in such a fellowship as this do not play politics nor negotiate for a compromise. Quite the contrary, on the path of absoluteness in truth, all dare to speak and act as required: they look only at the will of God in their decision.

Now if such in fact be the case there, that fellowship shall truly be blessed of the Lord. Otherwise, personal considerations will come, politics will be played, many compromising changes will occur, and the church local will no longer be the church.

All this needs to be carefully laid out before God, because this is a great and grave issue. No personal feeling and affection should be brought into the work. Even if you should be aware that your personal affection would be able to effect people’s acceptance of the truth, you should still not bring it into the work. For instance, it would not be right for you to entertain a guest with a view to influencing him as to the truth, for although it might be a good will gesture on your part to give support to the truth in this manner, we believe the truth needs no human hand to support it since God’s truth, being absolute, has a position, authority and power of its own. And therefore the truth does not require our help to advance its cause. We should therefore never be afraid that the truth, being rejected, is accordingly defeated; for in the end it shall prevail—and without any help on our part. Our responsibility is simply this: we must learn to respect God’s truth, walk in the truth, and never compromise the truth. Amen.

Two

Another of these final matters is how a worker should take care of his body. We know Paul was a brother greatly gifted, and he often healed the sick through prayer. Still, he mentioned three persons whose sickness was never healed. One was Trophimus, a second was Timothy, and the third was himself.

When Trophimus was ill, Paul did not pray for his healing, nor did the apostle exercise his healing gift. He instead said, “Trophimus I left at Miletus sick” (2 Tim. 4.20a). Timothy had stomach trouble and was often ill. Again, Paul did not use his gift nor did he pray for healing. We know he healed many sick. So if he healed the others, why could he not heal Timothy? This younger servant of the Lord was to continue the work of Paul and was most useful, but Paul still did not heal the sickness of Timothy. For this thing was in the hand of God, not in Paul’s hand. So what did the apostle say? “Be no longer a drinker of water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (1 Tim. 5.23). In other words, Timothy should take more care of himself: he should eat what was profitable to the body, and refrain from eating anything disagreeable: he should drink what would lessen the stomach trouble and not drink what would increase his trouble. These were the recommendations made by Paul to Timothy. And as for Paul himself, he had “a thorn in his flesh” for which he asked the Lord three times that it be removed. Yet the Lord did not see fit to heal him; He only said to him, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Cor. 12.9a). Trophimus was left sick; Timothy was left with his stomach ailment and his other frequent infirmities; and Paul’s thorn remained in his flesh.

It requires ten to twenty years for a person to be so trained by God as to be considerably useful. It really needs such a long period for one to be matured in the way of the Lord. But due to lack of knowledge in caring for the body, some may die before there is sufficient time for training. Or some may die just after they have touched the way of God and become truly useful after years of training before Him. All this is most regrettable.

In the churches, there should not be all children, or all young people. The churches need fathers. For this reason, all who learn to serve God must consider this matter of the care of the body. How sad if a brother or sister dies before reaching an appointed age after he or she has been trained for some time! We know many are cracked and broken at midway, just as sometimes clay becomes marred in the hands of the potter. As the potter turns his wheel, not all vessels come out to perfection bereft of any flaw. Some of the earthen vessels are marred in the making before they ever go through the fire. That is a loss. The Church loses many members because they cannot pass such testings. They fall as soon as they meet temptations. If by the mercy of God we are not marred or broken, we may still need the working of the cross in our lives to make us even more useful. A trial coming from the Lord may require a long time for us to get through. It may take a year or several years. The number of trials in the life of a child of God is rather limited. We do not have many opportunities to be tested. Many crack or break down at a time of trial and thus no good results from it. Not many of God’s children come through trials triumphantly. Countless are those who collapse on the way! This is regrettable and it is a loss.

Of the six hundred thousand or so Israelites, only two living and two dead entered Canaan. Few lived on and crossed over. How very tragic it is that one should die just as the trial is nearly over! Now if this should be God’s appointed time for us to die early, we have nothing to say. But if we mistreat our body, the work of God will suffer. For the Church to be truly rich spiritually, it needs to have among its people those of seventy, eighty and ninety years of age. If the Lord takes exception by calling one or two of His workers to himself early, we have nothing to say. But for us to be useful in the work, we should take a little more care of our body. One of the problems in the work of God is that just about the time that a person is almost trained his days on earth come to an end. Before any work is done, the body is already damaged. As soon as one begins to be used, he is gone to be with the Lord. How very sorrowful this is!

Therefore, let us not think it right to neglect our body. We do indeed need to have the mind to suffer and to buffet our body into obedience. Nevertheless, whenever possible, we must take care of our body. To be careless is easy; to be careful is not so easy. We need to learn to eat healthy food and in other ways take care of our body. There may be times when we must give our all if the Lord should so order and the work so demands. In ordinary days, though, we should learn to take care of the body according to the best way that men know.

Let us ever be mindful of this, that if we should lose even but one workman, we will lose ten to twenty years of the Lord’s working in that person. There are not many tens or twenties of years in a lifetime. When one first commences to serve the Lord, he may have some gift, but he seldom has much use in ministry. To arrive at such usefulness in ministry, it will take him one or two decades. And this time estimate is only applicable to those who straitly walk in the way of the Lord. For people whose way is not straight, they may not arrive at usefulness even after this lengthy period. It is not a simple thing for God to spend twenty years to train a person. During those many years, he may need to be smitten and chiseled numerous times over by the Lord. It is not a light thing that a person who is to be useful must suffer, bear the cross, be smitten, and be under the disciplining hand of God—and not merely for one or two years, but for ten or twenty long years. If during this period he neglects his body, he will be gone before he reaches the time of greatest usefulness. How very sad and lamentable this is.

Once an elderly brother was asked: “To the best of your recollection, when would you say you have been the most useful throughout your life up to this point?” He thought for a while and replied: “The years between seventy and eighty.” Truly, spiritual usefulness increases with age. The longer you are in the way of service, the more useful you become. We have noticed, unfortunately, that along this way some have died, some have become marred, some are broken, some have been of little use, while still others have been of no use. Very few reach their usefulness after twenty or thirty years of training, but by that time they are on the verge of departing from the world. This is really very, very sad! Yes, the more days one learns before God, the more useful he becomes. But for such a person to pass away prematurely is truly a regrettable event.

Now concerning the body more specifically, attention should be paid to preventive care as well as routine care. We readily acknowledge that we must not be lacking in our having the mind to suffer, and many a time we do indeed have to press on under the most difficult situations. Yet under normal conditions we should learn to take care of the body. We cannot afford to be careless in this matter.

As to the area of rest, we should do so at the time of rest. We are under such strain that sometimes we do not know how to relax in bed. If we are still tense there, we lose the value of sleep. We should learn to rest while sitting. A worker should be able to be tense when tension is required, but be able to relax during a few minutes of leisure. Otherwise, he will be tense all the time, which is certainly not good. We must learn how to relax.

During your leisure time you should relax your muscles. In sleep loosen your hands and feet. We as servants of God can be tense in time of need—more tense in fact than the strongest, for our body listens to us. But no one can be tense all the time. Our muscles and nerves need to be loosened up and rested. Many times we must make a conscious effort to find opportunity to rest in order that we may recover our equilibrium. Otherwise, we will cross the line of overwork and go to an extreme. Let us not be extremists here.

As in everything else we should learn to trust God for our body, and at the same time learn to rest as nature demands. We must learn how to relax. Then it will be easy for us to rest and go to sleep. According to the experience of some people, the number of breathings can help us in our sleeping. During sleep our breathing is deep. We cannot control the former, but we may control the latter. We may count our breathings. Let us learn to breathe slowly and long just as we breathe while actually at sleep. Yet let us not think of sleep, but think of breathing. Let us first engage in the sleep-like breathing, and then after a while the sleep will come. Many go to sleep using this very method. We believe God has created this body with a capacity for sleeping. We not only believe in God himself, we also believe in His creative laws. We need sleep, and we are able to sleep.

So try to loosen up your entire body in order that you may get some rest. If you cannot rest, you cannot help but be tense. And being tense both day and night, it will be impossible for you to do much work. Some may have infirmities, but if you learn to take better care of your body, you can spare it from a great deal of trouble.

The same is true with eating. In this area of concern, a worker should be on the lookout for nutrition, not for taste. He should eat more of the more nutritious food and eat less, or not eat at all, of the less nutritious food. We should also be careful not to over-eat and to learn to eat everything. Some brothers and sisters only eat those items which happen to fall within a narrow range of food. Such a habit is not good for the body. We need to eat broadly. Many varieties of food give nourishment to our body. If we eat only a few kinds of things, we may not feel any deficiency now, but we will surely discover its effect later in life. The length of one’s life is influenced by the food he takes in.

Another benefit in eating broadly is the convenience it gives to the worker. Otherwise, when you go out to work, you will create many problems if you refuse to take the food that is offered you. Naturally, of course, sickness is the one exception to this rule. But for ordinary situations, you should learn to eat all kinds of food. As the Lord Jesus himself said: “Eat such things as are set before you” (Luke 10.8). And this is indeed a good principle to follow.

Once on a ship a believer asked a fellow-believer, “Why did the Lord Jesus multiply the loaves and the fishes?” The answer given was: “The abundance of the sea adds to the abundance of the land.” How well-phrased a statement this was. God’s children should learn to eat the abundance of the sea as well as the abundance of the land. The scope of our food should be as broad as possible.

Do not deem this area of concern to be insignificant. If you do not deal with this matter, your health is bound to suffer. You should cause your body to listen to you. Though at the beginning there will be distress, for you may not like some foods, you must deal with this issue and learn to eat everything. You need, on the one hand, to have a mind to suffer, but on the other hand, you should learn to take care of your own body. We have no sympathy for those who do not take care of their body. Do not think hygiene to be an easy subject to talk about. To be hygienic is a more difficult task than to not be hygienic, for it requires self-control. Learn to eat nutritious food. Do not let your eating be governed by taste but by your bodily need. How can you neglect your body in the face of the fact that the Lord has spent many years on you? Pay attention to preventive hygiene. As much as the Lord permits you in your circumstances, do your best to comply with the requirements of your health. Take in whatever is profitable, and reject that which is harmful.

On the one hand, learn to deny self and be faithful unto death; on the other hand, unless the Lord orders differently, always preserve your own body. Wherever you go, try your best to be sanitary, but do not create a burden upon the brethren of that locality. Learn to trust God in the midst of an unsanitary environment. But under normal conditions pay attention to hygiene so that your body will not be damaged unnecessarily.

Three

There is yet another area of character-building which a worker for the Lord must consider. He must learn not to be obstinate in his lifestyle. A servant of God should never establish for himself an absolutely subjective standard of living; nor should he insist on having his own way. In order to serve God well, we must “become all things to all men” in accordance with the Biblical principle that is taught of not offending anyone. Paul wrote along this line as follows:

Though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, not being without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. (1 Cor. 9.19-22)

For the sake of the gospel, Paul became all things to all men. Whoever serves the Lord should have this character trait.

In another place, the apostle also wrote this: “I know how to be abased, and I know also how to abound: in everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want” (Phil. 4.12). It is easy for men to be lopsided, that is to say, easy for them to go to extreme. For some, to be a Christian is to live in prosperity and abundance; for others, to live in abasement, hunger and want. Yet Paul said he had learned how to be abased and how to abound, how to be filled and how to be hungry. He had learned the secret in these things, which was: “I can do all things in him that strengtheneth me” (v.13). Thus was he able to accept any kind of life condition.

Unfortunately some brothers and sisters are rather obstinate in their daily life, so that their habits have become absolutely unbreakable and unchangeable. Some must always have warm water to wash the face; others must be able to shave every day. If they go to an environment where they cannot live according to their normal way of life, they find it unbearable. Although these matters may appear to be rather insignificant, they could verily hinder the work of the Lord. People in such a state cannot be God’s servants. A worker should not be so firmly set in his daily habits and routines; he should be able to wash with warm water or cold; he should be able to shave daily or go without shaving for one or two days; he should be able to change his shirt everyday or to wear the same shirt for days if need be; and he should be able to sleep on a hard bed or a soft bed. If a person is truly a servant of God he will be adaptable to all sorts of life conditions.

Temperament and age too should not become limitations to a workman of God. For example, in some places people are naturally warm and outgoing, whereas in some other places they may be temperamentally cool. A servant of God should be able to work among both these kinds of people. Suppose a worker’s own temperament is rather on the cool side; if he can work only among those with a similar temperament but not work among those of a warm and outgoing sort, then the work of God will certainly suffer. We find, unfortunately, that some can work among the enthusiastic but not among the more quiet type, that some can work with the serious but not with the lighthearted. Such willful inclinations as these will limit the work of God. Then, too, some may be able to communicate well with the older people but have no rapport with young people or children. Such a lopsided disposition can circumscribe God’s work. Let us not forget that our Lord received the elderly and blessed the little children. God wants us to be like Christ—receiving the older ones and blessing the young ones. It is not unlike what Madame Guyon once said when she remarked that a person wholly united with God can be the counsellor of the aged and the friend of little children. This adaptability is what we too need to adopt in our Christian lifestyle as servants of the Lord.

This all comes back, does it not, to the matter of dealing with our self life. Our self must be so broken that God can place us in any situation. We are to be neither obstinate, nor lopsided. Paul was able to be all things to all men because he had been dealt with by God. May we all receive such dealing so that our disposition and habit are no longer set in concrete or tilted in but one direction. In this way God’s work will not be hindered or limited by us.

Four

One who does the Lord’s work should also have a right understanding of, and appropriate solutions for, such matters as virginity, marriage and so forth. These issues are usually left undiscussed, but we feel the need to give some Biblical instruction on them because they are rather important in the life of a workman for God.

Concerning virginity, Paul gave definite instruction in 1 Corinthians 7:

Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: but I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be trustworthy. I think therefore that this is good by reason of the distress that is upon us, namely, that it is good for a man to be as he is. Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But shouldest thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Yet such shall have tribulation in the flesh: and I would spare you. But this I say, brethren, the time is shortened, that henceforth both those that have wives may be as though they had none; and those that weep, as though they wept not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those that buy, as though they possessed not; and those that use the world, as not using it to the full: for the fashion of this world passeth away. But I would have you to be free from cares. He that is unmarried is careful for the things of the Lard, how he may please the Lord: but he that is married is careful for the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and is divided. So also the woman that is unmarried and the virgin is careful for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married is careful for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I say for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is seemly, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction. (vv.25-35)

Here we are shown that the benefit of virginity lies in enabling a person to serve the Lord more diligently and without distraction. In this respect, it does surpass those ones who are with family.

Nevertheless, such a word is not for everyone. Let us notice what then follows in Paul’s discussion on these issues:

But if any one think that he behaves unseemly to his virginity, if he be beyond the flower of his age, and so it must be, let him do what he will, he does not sin: let them marry. But he who stands firm in his heart, having no need, but has authority over his own will, and has judged this in his heart to keep his own virginity, he does well. So that he that marries himself does well; and he that does not marry does better. A wife is bound for whatever time her husband lives; but if the husband be fallen asleep, she is free to be married to whom she will, only in the Lord. But she is happier if she so remain, according to my judgment; but I think that I also have God’s Spirit. (vv.36-40 Darby)

What is said here is plain enough. If anyone thinks he is not acting properly towards his own virginity, that he is passing the bloom of his youth and there is need for marriage, then let him do what to him seems right. To continue being single or not is a question for him to decide. Nobody else can choose for him. It is to be decided not only according to what he chooses in his heart but also according to his having need or no need. He has full authority over his own will.

In the Gospel of Matthew we find this passage:

The disciples say unto him [Jesus], If the case of the man is so with his wife, it is not expedient to marry. But he said unto them, Not all men can receive this saying, but they to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are eunuchs, that were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it (19.10-12)

Joining the last clause of verse 11 with the last sentence of verse 12, we have this: “but they to whom it is given ... He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.” It is quite clear that to whom this word is given, let him receive it.

For the sake of having adequate time to serve the Lord diligently without distraction, it is best to remain single. Among the disciples of our Lord, John was one who remained single. Paul, who came forth a short time later, was also single. Yet, should there be the need for marriage, let them be married: it is not a sin. The difference between marriage and virginity centers not on the matter of sin but on the consideration of time, diligence and distraction.

The body has been created by God, and all its needs have also been created by Him. Hence marriage is holy. But any bodily demand that is met outside of marriage is sinful in the eyes of the Lord. Why be married? To avoid any relationship outside of marriage. To be married is not only not a sin; it can serve as a prevention of sin. Marriage is not a moral fall; it prevents a fall.

Paul also spoke specifically on marriage in 1 Corinthians 7:

Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of fornications, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render unto the wife her due: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power over her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power over his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be by consent for a season, that ye may give yourselves unto prayer, and may be together again, that Satan tempt you not because of your incontinency. But this I say by way of concession, not of commandment. Yet I would that all men were even as I myself. Howbeit each man hath his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that.

But I say to the unmarried and to widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they have not continency, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. . . . (vv.l-9)

This passage points out that one of the purposes of marriage is to prevent fornication. At the same time it also reveals that some people are given a special gift from God so that they have no need to marry. But for those who have not received such a gift, it is better for them to marry than to burn with passion. Let us not overdraw this matter of virginity. We know Paul was single, but he told Timothy that in the latter times there would be doctrines of demons and of seducing spirits to the effect that marriage would be forbidden (see 1 Tim. 4.1,3). Hence we need to maintain the balance of God’s word: we believe on the one hand that virginity and the single life is good, but on the other hand we also believe that marriage is holy too. Marriage has been instituted by God in His very creation from the beginning; and therefore, to forbid to marry is indisputably a doctrine of the demons.

He who does the Lord’s work and is already married should so set his family in order that it will be less distracting to his service. Another point to be made here is this: the line between the work and the family must be clear, unless members of one’s family are also one’s fellow-workers. Otherwise, they should not touch the work or be involved in it. Do not carry the work into the family, nor let your family govern your work. A brother once remarked that he had gone to work for the Lord in a certain place because his wife had made the promise for him! How strange! The fact of the matter is that not only his family, but even his fellow-workers, cannot promise for him. The demarcation between one’s family relationship and one’s work for God must be sharply delineated. For example, he who serves the Lord must not carelessly tell his family members the spiritual problems of the brothers and sisters in the churches. Members of the family should come to know about these things at the same time as with all other brothers and sisters. Numerous difficulties in the work are created by God’s workers talking loosely and indiscriminately to their families.

Still another point to be noticed concerns the proper relationship which must be kept as it pertains to the communication of brothers with sisters and vice versa. If a brother is inclined to work only among the sisters, he should not be allowed to work. Or if a young sister is predisposed to serve primarily among brothers, she should not be permitted to serve. Let us strictly observe the following principle: under normal conditions, brothers should work more among brothers, and sisters more among sisters. The Son of God in the days of His flesh left us with a good example. The line between John 3 and John 4 is very distinctive. In chapter 3 we note that our Lord received Nicodemus at night; in chapter 4 we read that He met the Samaritan woman in broad daylight. According to chapter 3 He most likely received Nicodemus in a house; according to chapter 4 He met the Samaritan woman by a public well. It would have been improper had the environments been reversed so far as the woman was concerned. Our Lord’s speaking to Nicodemus and His speaking with the Samaritan woman were under entirely different surroundings. This sets before us a good example to follow.

We are not saying here that there should not be any communication or fellowship between brothers and sisters who are in the work. We would only say that if some brothers and sisters have the disposition of moving about almost exclusively among the opposite sex, then such ones must be stopped. It goes without saying that in Christ there is neither male nor female. There has been no wall set up between brothers and sisters. They should have good fellowship. It is simply wise that for those who have such a nearly exclusive habit of communicating and interacting with the other sex there should be such timely dealing. We hope that brothers and sisters would naturally and spontaneously keep themselves within proper bounds in their interaction with one another. Should anyone overstep beyond the proper limits of fellowship, he or she must be strictly dealt with.

May God be gracious to us that we might bear a good testimony in all these matters. Amen.

On Aug. 14, 2014 (I think I got the right day) Ryan Blackmore kicked a woman, Di Burga, in the face. She has a bruise just above her nose. It is presumed Ryan thought people were making fun of him off the court on racquetball night, Thursday evening, at the Glen Allan Recreation Complex, but, of course, Ryan misinterpreted the situation. He turned and very aggressively said to Di "fuck off!" and then preceded to kick her in the face. Several people witnessed this. I only point this out to show the consistent never ending abusive behavior of Ryan Blackmore of Sherwood Park, Alberta (read the whole thread above for other incidents). Some people suggested Di should press charges against Ryan. She and some others have decided not to play Ryan at racquetball anymore. Ryan chose to stop playing me at racquetball because I told him his nose picking on roads trips to racquetball tournaments was dirty, unsanitary and asked him to at least try to restrain himself, be courteous to others. He blew up at me like he blows up at everyone!

Ryan is generally the nerd in the group. He looks nerdy. His mother was extremely abusive to him, always making fun of him and mocking him. So Ryan is very self-defensive and presumes when people are laughing and joking they are laughing and joking about him. He is very insecure and certainly not a Christian for what Christian would kick a woman in the face? Even if you have mental problems like Ryan does (Di asked me if he has mental problems?), a Christian would never kick a woman in the face or respond with such vitriol like he does. There are lots of demons brewing inside him; to show his strange faith he even said Mormons are saved even though they claim God the Father use to be a man (not the uncreated Creator), on and on, in an infinite regress of Father Gods being men. Do we really want to receive atonement by mere men, lesser than, God the Son who is fully God and fully man? What's the point of the once for all sacrifice if there is a never ending stream of them to be a God of your own planet as Mormons moronically teach? That just mocks the eternal cross of salvation.

A Christian restrains himself by the Holy Spirit, but if you don't have the Holy Spirit in your spirit, how can you restrain yourself? There is nothing holding you back from kicking women in the face if that is something you are prone to do. Ryan should apologize to me and to others he was abusive towards if he has the humility and repentant heart to do so. But if he is self-righteous and self-centered he won't apologize. Making restitution should be a priority for Ryan.

If I had to sum up the core of Ryan Blackmore, I would have to describe it as him having a very low consideration for the value of human life. The reason I come to this conclusion is by the way he treats people. We are all made in God's image and God values us all greatly! So should Ryan. Let us be Christlike. We know Jesus would never behave the way Ryan did. If you are delusional about something at least try to remain selfless, refrain or hold back those impulses to attack people instead of reacting in such a destructive manner upon others. The person I feel most sorry for is Heidi Blackmore, Ryan's wife because I am sure she has had to put up with his crap for years.

Darryl Thomas who also plays racquetball said he noticed the same thing about Ryan and that he never talks about Christianity. How is that a beacon of light? How can you remain so silent, aloof and coy if you actually are a Christian? Christians are always expressing our faith. Of course, Darryl is not a Christian either because he is a Pentecostal gibberish babbler which is not Biblical. Jesus was never a gibberish babbler, nor was Paul, Peter or John. There was a second century cult of 'Montanism' that practiced gibberish babble that the Church fathers denounced as Satanic and said its practitioners were not Christians. Satan twists with the word of God and replaces the still small intuitive voice of the spirit with gibberish babbling noise or that the noise covers up for Satan is the author of confusion. One becomes less sensitive to their own conscience to do the right thing in life. There is no gibberish babble in the New City and New Earth let alone during the Church age so you would have to repent of that and give your life to the One True Jesus to receive initial salvation. I do not believe Darryl or Ryan will ever give their lives to Christ. May those who read this receive a hedge of protection against such heresies. I have never met anyone past the age of 40 who has ever done so. Darryl is in his mid-40s and Ryan is over 60. I have a strange relationship with Darryl because I know he is not saved, but Darryl thinks he is; but reality is he worships a false Christ of gibberish babble. Jesus never once did such a thing! The Bible says there would be many false Christs.

"For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect" (Mark 13.22). We shall know them by their fruit. "By their fruit you shall recognize them" (Matt. 7.16). Matt. 24.4-6 address the time before the Temple was destroyed 70 AD with wars and rumors of wars. From verse 7 to 14 is this past 2000 years with many other types of afflictions. "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" (v.11). Many predictions are made that don't turn out. They love to make predictions and do psychic readings that fail miserably. Their interpreters of gibberish babble never agree. During the Great Tribulation itself at the end of this age, "there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (v.24). Could a revival of 500 million to 1 billion gibberish babbles from various denominations of Pentecostalism and Roman Catholic Charismatics aim to deceive the world even further in a mass delusion? Certainly possible! Something to watch out for. I could give you dozens of examples, but the latest one I heard is Darryl went down to Red Deer for a gibberish babbling conference and saw the speaker Bobby Conner. Darryl gave him all the praise! I looked him up on the Internet and discovered in just a few minutes his popularity stems from his twisting of John the Baptist kicking in his mother's womb. Bobby Conner said that he was consciously aware when he was in his mother's womb and convinced her not to commit suicide when he was in her womb. His father died in an insane asylum. And Bobby Conner said he was drinking alcohol at the age of 8 years of age which helped him with his visions he has published for all to read. Crazy stuff! The fact that people give this guy even a single dime tells me more about the condition of those people than the charlatan that Bobby Conner is. Not all supernatural visions are from God. Many if not most are from self or Satan.

I love how the Internet is the great equalizer because though people get away with stuff, the Internet can record the evil they have done for posterity sake.

"Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous" (1 Tim. 3.3).

How should this situation be handled?

Drop-in racquetball is played every Monday and Thursday at the Glen Allan Recreation Complex in Sherwood Park, Alberta. Ryan Blackmore off the court kicked Di Burga in the face, totally unproved, and now she feels uncomfortable showing up to play racquetball because Ryan Blackmore is there too. She doesn't ever want to play him understandably. Several people witnessed it, but it seems few if any have stood up with courage to do what's right. I emailed Ryan and said he is a "sick fuck!" Someone suggested pressing charges. The only person I know who said something to me was Cliff Sustrik, but he said "It doesn't involve us, it is between them." I am not so sure if it was his wife, he would respond that way. Ps. 58.1 reads, "will you speak righteousness in silence?" (MT)

Who comes to the defense of women when they are abused? Ryan is a coward. Try kicking someone in the face who is stronger than you. It's been several weeks now, and he shows no remorse and gives no apology. Apparently, guilt is not an emotion he feels. Of course, he is not a Christian even though he claims to be. He believes Mormons are Christians. What Christian would do something like that? Would Jesus do that? Of course not. Some have suggested Ryan has mental problems. I know his history so I can testify to that. He has been violent towards me on several occasions.

My words to Di would be as follows,

Ps. 55.19 God will hear, and afflict them,
Even He who abides from of old.
Because they do not change,
Therefore they do not fear God.
20 He [Ryan] has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him;
He has broken his covenant.
21 His mouth was smooth as butter, But his heart was war: His words were softer than oil, Yet were they drawn swords.
22 Cast your burden on the LORD,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
23 But thou, O God, wilt cast them down into the lowest pit; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in thee.

That made me think. Ryan is about 60 years old. If he is expected to live to 100 nowadays, he will only live half that time to the age of 80 because of his egregious sin.

Ryan attacks from "from a concealed place, ambushes the innocent, attacking suddenly and without fear (without conscience)" (Ps. 64.4) when he kicked Di in the face. But he "will be made to stumble; his tongue works against him (brings ruin to him), and all who see him will shake their heads [or, flee away]" (v.8).

The Owner of 40by20.com is a Douchebag

My advice to racquetballwarehouse.com is not to advertise on 40by20.com and not give the owner of that site any money for advertising because of his unethical behavior. It's just bad business for racquetballwarehouse.com. I emailed racquetballwarehouse.com to that effect.

The owner of 40by20.com is a douchebag. We have had discussion in the past. He is totally antichrist for starters, calling Jesus a liar and a lunatic and certainly not God. He is also a front for racquetballwarehouse.com. The way I know this is he removes posts linked to racquetworld.com while denying that he does so he is dishonest from the get go. I called him on it and he banned me. racquetballwarehouse.com is a great site and there is no reason to go through intermediaries in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in terms of cost or selection. Buy directly from racquetballwarehouse.com or racquetworld.com. But at least be honest about your business model which 40by20.com is not.

Recently, I posted on 40by20.com the physical attack by Ryan Blackmore and what 40by20.com dishonestly did was leave the headline up How to Handle a Physical Attack of Man Against a Woman on Racquetball League Nights? but then removed the content (post #11 at biblocality forums) placed on their site. He even put up a picture on my profile that I didn't put up, but may give the impression I did when it was the douchebag owner of 40by20.com who did it! Obviously, I would not put up that profile picture which is anti-Christian. I am a Christian, born-again January, 2001. He closed the thread, but not without making it look like I was the one doing the physical attack by posting or permitting links regarding the unethical behavior of the Alberta Racquetball Association, namely Barbara May and John Halko.

As you know Barbara May lied to protect her hide at my expense to cover up her own negligence in 2009. When I exposed her publically the full might and wrath of her vindictive nature came upon me with the help of jealous John Halko. Both are antichrist. I am sure we can all appreciate how evil that is that someone could do something like that. I know I would feel terrible inside if I did that to someone and leave someone banned since 2009 even to this day who is ranked 2nd in Alberta and early last year was ranked 9th in Canada. Due to the banning, I played in tournaments outside of Alberta where I attained those nice rankings so I guess I have Barb and John to thank for that. Their plan to hurt me backfired! All the while, the Mayfield Athletic Club was closed down disbanding the culprits a few months after they somehow got me banned from the club which was totally unprovoked.

We should recognize the common factor in all this: non-Christians or atheists hostile to a Christian so they are abusive in all these different ways and their onslaught continues. It doesn't look like they are going to repent any time soon huh? Christians would never do these things to someone. We would feel guilty and have remorse and seek restitution. Atheists or other non-Christians are not as passive as they would like you to believe. They are quite aggressive against Christians. The morality of a Christian is quite unlike the morality of an atheist or any non-Christian. One is in Christ the other is centered on self.

By removing the real source of this physical attack (Ryan Blackmore who kicked a woman in the face) and misdirecting it on me, it propagates continued abuse against women without ramifications and sins bearing false witness. The owner of 40by20.com is a douchebag.

Other links about 40by20.com:
http://biblocality.com/forums/showth...ghlight=40by20
http://www.40by20.com/forum/showthre...in-Racquetball

Let's relate Ryan's morals of late (in the posts above) to his performance at the IRF World Senior Racquetball Championships. He lost in the first round by 2 points.

Attachment 373

Psychological and Spiritual Assessment of Ryan Blackmore

"Don’t make friends with an angry man*, and don’t be a companion of a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare" ([Prov. 22.24,25).

* HSCB margin: with a master of anger.

"It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory. A man who does not control his temper is like a city whose wall is broken down" (Prov. 25.27,28).

"Fury is cruel, and anger a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?" (Prov. 27.4)

"He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination" (Prov. 28.9).

"Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be destroyed beyond recovery" (Prov. 29.1).

"When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful" (Prov. 29.18).

"An angry man * stirreth up strife, And a wrathful man aboundeth in transgression" (Prov. 29.22).

* A master of anger.

"A slave cannot be disciplined by words; though he understands, he doesn’t respond" (Prov. 29.19).

"A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools" (Prov. 26.3).

"Don't answer a fool according to his foolishness, or you'll be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his foolishness, or he'll become wise in his own eyes" (Prov. 26.3.4). Some people refuse to respond to gentle means of discipline, and as 27.22 makes clear, some refuse to respond to even the harshest discipline.

"You cannot separate fools from their foolishness, even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle" (27.22).

"It is honorable for a man to resolve a dispute, but any fool can get himself into a quarrel" (Prov. 20.3).

"The one who will not use the rod hates his son" (Prov. 13.24).

"One who rebukes a person will later find more favor than one who flatters with his [smooth] tongue" (Prov. 28.23).

"When he speaks graciously don't believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart. Though his hatred is concealed by deception, his evil will be revealed in the assembly. The one who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone-it will come back on him" (Prov. 26.25-27).

"If you have been foolish by exalting yourself, or if you've been scheming, put your hand over your mouth. For the churning of milk produces butter, and twisting a nose draws blood, and stirring up anger produces strife" (Prov. 30.32,33).

When you reflect upon Ryan Blackmore and his disturbing behavior, you can sum him up by realizing he is as cruel as his mother is.

He hasn't changed one iota. In fact, he has gotten worse over the years as I have known him especially as an old man who doesn't have much savings. He always has money on his brain. He told me some of the cruel things his mother did to him as a child. He did not necessarily have to be the same way, but he is this way by his own free-will. The Holy Spirit told me he is not a Christian. He thinks Mormons are Christians which shows how confused he is. He has no relationship with Jesus but worships a false Christ. Ryan masks his actual condition by usually keeping his mouth shut and being coy, lest people discover what he is really like.

Recently, he literally kicked a woman in the face with vitriol and cursing. Wow! He offered no apology even when prompted by others to do so. He almost smashed my head in a heated squash game very angrily. After the rally, he motioned with full force to smash my head with his racquet and stopped just short of making contact, all because he was losing. I've never seen someone do that before. That is no way to treat a fellow human being.

He went psycho on me on a racquetball road trip when I said his inordinate nose picking was unsanitary. I had to touch the steering wheel when it was my turn to drive so he took offense when I wiped it down. I don't like how he twists Scripture to rationalize his profuse nose picking. The Bible clearly teaches against unsanitary behavior and the spreading of germs. And he says he can't find anything in the law of the Old Testament against his nose picking. Of course, I showed him those passages (posted above in this thread), and he just shuts his mind down. He even accuses a Christian of not being graceful enough to him with his nose picking, but he can use this false accusation for any of his unhealthy or abusive behaviors. All I did was point it out and asked him to try to have some self-control and restrain himself, yet all he did was lash out and picked harder, longer and deeper. He's being a weirdo.

Another time I went to his office at the University of Alberta when he use to work there, and he got so angry for no apparent reason at all. I believe much of his hardness is the result of always being a low income earner and never having that much money. Money is the root of all evil! Apostle Paul said he was always joyful in the Lord and one of the few people who could maintain that joy whether rich or poor.

Ryan is cruel like his mother and hurtful as he purposefully avoids playing me at racquetball now on drop in nights at GARC. Prior to that for two years we would play each other every Monday and Thursday. Other players at the club have noticed this too so they ask me why is he doing this? I simply tell them the reason is because Ryan is trying to be hurtful after going psycho on me over his nose picking. There is also the factor of embarrassment that if he avoids me, the subject might not be brought up with others present. The irony is the more people ask me about it, the more others know about it. I am not the first person that has encountered this problem with him as I am sure his wife has brought it up on an number of occasions which prompts Ryan to have such a bad reaction.

On numerous other occasions, he has displayed his very mean spirited temperament. It is a strange phenomena to be around someone who can be that hard. Humility and repentance is not in Ryan Blackmore's character, but being hurtful is. Self-exaltation and self-centeredness are why someone would not have a change of mind. I sympathize with his wife who would have had to endure this over the years when he goes off the cuff. I talked to a sister in Christ about these abusive behavior patterns, and she said that he is not a Christian, and his behavior is certainly unbecoming of one. Her and I both agreed you can rationalize anything if you claim something is not taught in the law or by accusing another of not being graceful enough towards their misdeeds. He seems to have decided for himself he is too old to change his ways now.

I have noticed is Ryan's racquetball results at the World Seniors, US Open, BC and Alberta tournaments. He has been losing prolifically, making no progress in his 60+ division (dropped down to 10th in Canada 60+), which can tend to happen when your conscience is not clear before God. You won't play as good.

What Christian would be guided by the Holy Spirit to behave this way? At least Ryan won't be in Heaven so you won't have to put up with his toxic behavior if you are going to Heaven by believing in Christ. If he is not going to repent on earth, nor at the Great White Throne, Hell is the only place for Ryan, since there is no sinning in Heaven. There are no angry people and no nose pickers in Heaven.

I find all this quite interesting how the flesh, time and again, proves itself utterly corrupted and totally irredeemable. That's why a person needs to be made a new creation of God in Christ. Praise the Lord!

I was reminded today of the devilish obstinacy and utter lack of humility of an old man in his flesh whom I have known for decades when he accused me of claiming to be God after I told him he needs to be Christlike because his anger and lack of discipline were showing up in his inordinate nose picking in confined and non-public places which I privately witnessed many times. I told him he should repent, to stop taking pride in his nose picking and that he needs to be Christlike. Is Jesus a nose picker? Christians don't believe we are God for we are not the uncreated Creator, obviously. Only God is uncreated. There are no gods beside Him, before Him, or after Him. He alone is God from everlasting. Let's take a look at some verses that support the need to be Christlike.

"Christ Be Formed" and "Transformed" and "Like Him"

As the law of life operates freely in us life will increase to the degree of having Christ formed in us (Gal. 4.19). In the measure that Christ is gradually being formed in us, in that same measure are we increasingly transformed (2 Cor. 3.18); and the goal of transformation is to be like Him (1 John 3.2). Christ formed in us is inseparable from the operation of God’s life in us. To the degree that the life of God works in us to that degree is Christ being formed in us and to that degree is there the amount of our transformation. As our inside is filled with the life of Christ our outside is able to live out and manifest Christ. This is what is meant in Romans 8.29 by "to be conformed to the image of his Son." It is both Paul’s pursuit and experience (Phil. 3.10, 1.20). It should be the calling as well as the practical experience of all children of God today. For us to be wholly like Him will of course have to wait until He shall manifest himself (1 John 3.2), that is to say, at the day of "the redemption of our body" (Eph. 1.14, 4.30, especially Rom. 8.23).

"My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Gal. 4.19).

"Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing" (2 Cor. 2.15). Ryan gets his nose in the way of the beautiful fragrance, because his fingers are in his nose way more than they ought to be. That was funny!

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3.18).

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3.2).

"For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8.29).

"And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes" (Gal. 3.27).

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Phil. 3.10).

"According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death" (Phil. 1.20).

"Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory" (Eph. 1.14).

"Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church" (Eph. 4.15).

"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Eph. 4.30).

"And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Rom. 8.23).

And perhaps my favorite verse of all,

"Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed" (1 Cor. 4.10).

This is so funny. Episode 10 Season 1 of "Preacher" (tv series), Jesse Custer the preacher has a device which he believes can call down God. On Sunday morning he activates it during church service. This God figure is revealed as an old white haired Caucasian on a throne and calls himself Alpha & Omega, the Morning Star (incidentally, the Morning Star is Jesus not the Father).

Church goers questions God about a great many things. While answering questions God is picking his nose. Jesse accuses him of not being God because he was picking his nose.

God said everyone gets to go to heaven...even the nose-pickers. But God began to hesitate and stutter and tried to deflect away from Jesse calling him out. The false God figure finally fessed up that he is not God and then all hell breaks lose because everyone is disillusioned.

Washing Your Hands in The New Testament

It's not that you shouldn't wash your hands but imposing such rules in an unloving manner and overtly legalistic petty fashion is the overbearing problem then you are exalting your flesh over others and are not in deference to Christ. Jesus says; therefore, these are the traditions of men. Not washing your hands is not good either if they clearly need to be cleaned. I consider having to place my hands on another person's nose pickings disgusting! No one should have to be put in that situation or lashed out against for not doing so.

[Mar 7:1-8 KJV] 1 Then came together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. 2 And when they saw some of his disciples eat bread with defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands, they found fault. 3 For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash [their] hands oft, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders. 4 And [when they come] from the market, except they wash, they eat not. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold, [as] the washing of cups, and pots, brasen vessels, and of tables. 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands? 6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with [their] lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching [for] doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, [as] the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

Jeff Berwick of Dollar Vigilante at 12:15 to 13:10 in the video said people are like zombies. Jeff said he was in business class on a flight for 5 hours sitting next to someone who kept picking his nose the entire time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-rD9uM5mcM

This must be the suffering Ryan Blackmore is going through lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU3Q4nRWq7I