Thursday, October 18, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
I'm Dreaming
Randy Newman has released a new song entitled "I'm Dreaming." My husband came across it one night as he listened to some of his favorite songs via the internet. He had me listen to it to see what I thought of it. His initial reaction was that it is a very racist song, though he did not tell me so until after I had listened. I had a different reaction. I assumed symbolism: white means honesty and integrity vs. black meaning doing as pleased regardless of the effect on the country or possibly even to gain more power to become tyrannical. Racism didn't enter the picture in my mind, but perhaps that is because I was reared not to think in those terms. A person is a person and there is no such thing as red, yellow, black and white, but simply different shades of brown. We are all equally created in the image of God and therefore should not esteem ourselves better than anyone else. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Philippians 2:3 So when I heard the ending of the song that says:
Whiter than this?
Yes
Whiter than this?
Yes
Whiter than this?
Yes
Whiter than this?
Oh yeah
I actually smiled. Yes, I want a president who is more honest and has more integrity than even Lincoln, or Washington, etc. I want Jesus as Lord over us all! The only way that can happen is for a man or woman, regardless of race, with deep convictions and trust in the Lord to enter the office.
However, I am sad to say that I have recently learned that was not his message of intent. He states in an article written about the song: “I think there are a lot of people who find it jarring to have a black man in the White House and they want him out. They just can’t believe that there’s not a more qualified white man. You won’t get anyone, and I do mean anyone, to admit it."
It saddened me, I admit. However, it cannot and will not change my opinion. We need a man or woman in the White House as president who will stand by the constitution as it was intended, listen to the people when they cry out, and offer answers that bring integrity and honor back to our nation.
Whiter than this?
Yes
Whiter than this?
Yes
Whiter than this?
Yes
Whiter than this?
Oh yeah
I actually smiled. Yes, I want a president who is more honest and has more integrity than even Lincoln, or Washington, etc. I want Jesus as Lord over us all! The only way that can happen is for a man or woman, regardless of race, with deep convictions and trust in the Lord to enter the office.
However, I am sad to say that I have recently learned that was not his message of intent. He states in an article written about the song: “I think there are a lot of people who find it jarring to have a black man in the White House and they want him out. They just can’t believe that there’s not a more qualified white man. You won’t get anyone, and I do mean anyone, to admit it."
It saddened me, I admit. However, it cannot and will not change my opinion. We need a man or woman in the White House as president who will stand by the constitution as it was intended, listen to the people when they cry out, and offer answers that bring integrity and honor back to our nation.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Our Sovereign God
God's Sovereignty and It's Reach ... I long ago had to deal with this topic when we experienced a church
splitting over differences of opinion regarding it. Some were saying
that because God is sovereign, everything we do is His hand forcing us
to do so. Others said that we have complete freedom in everything we
choose to do and that God simply takes what we do and uses it for good.
Both of these sides completely disregarded the others ideas and a split
took place. It was a very frustrating experience, because I believed
neither way was completely true. I saw truth on both sides, danger on
both sides and was powerless to stop what happened.
Being a person who takes Scripture as it is and accepts it even when it upsets my little world to do so, I have to agree with this statement: "We delude ourselves when we think we have ultimate control over our lives. We imagine that God should let us have our way. And when He doesn't, we resent Him."
However, I also do not believe God forces me to make every little decision. He couldn't possibly. Why? Because sometimes I make sinful decisions and God would not force me to sin.
"And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, 'God is tempting me.' God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. James 1:13
He might allow it, though not always, but He would never force my hand to do so. He does, however, know in advance that I am going to do so and therefore uses that negative choice to bring about good in my (undeserving though I am) or someone else's life.
When suffering we get it into our heads that no one is suffering as we are; no one has it as badly as we do; no one knows what we are going through and every bit of it is a lie from the evil one. If we would step back and simply look around us for a moment, we would find hundreds of thousands of people in worse shape than we are. Then, if we would refuse to give in to the temptation of self-pity, but rather turn to God for the comfort He so longs to give, not only would we receive said comfort, but it would be greater than we ever imagined possible, as we would begin to realize that He went through it all before us, agonizing over the fact that we were going to have to experience the problem in the first place. We are His children and He loves us as such. Therefore how He must grieve over the poor decisions He knows we will make, the hazards Satan will throw in our path that we will be wounded with - but ultimately grow from, the resentment we will fling at Him (God) even though everything He does and/or allows is for our ultimate good. Who is hurting more? If a parent has gone through a child involved in drugs and having to watch them suffer in prison or some other form of detention, they know that though their child is suffering physical agony and they grieve over the fact with tears, moaning, aching from the inside out, that that very physical suffering is the only thing that may save their child from permanent destruction, so they allow it.
We, as human beings, suffer from addiction to sin. It is a drug. It makes us temporarily feel good about ourselves or relieves some sort of stress for a very temporary time. God knows every addiction and what it needs in order for us to be set free. Should we condemn Him for wanting what is very best for us? So if I must suffer in some manner in order for good to take place, then so be it, whether it be for sin in my own life or to set someone else free.
I went through my worst suffering ever almost two years ago. I felt as if I were dying inside. I would rather have been literally beaten to death than what I was feeling at the time. I am not being facetious, or even exaggerating about my feelings. I even asked to be beaten to get it over with, but was told no. But I tell you now, that was one of the greatest blessings I could have ever experienced. God used it to bring about more good and freedom in my life than I ever thought possible. Would I have known it was coming would I have avoided it? Yes!! And guess what? I would have given up the great wonder in life that I am experiencing right now. Therefore, I am utterly grateful that it came as a complete surprise. Did I enjoy it? Not in the least, but I am enjoying the results of it immensely!!
God loves you and me. It may not feel like it at times, but love is not a feeling, it is a decision, otherwise we would all go to hell. God decided before He created us, knowing we would give in to sin and temptation, that He was going to love us regardless and lay down His own life that we might experience His life for ourselves. A grand life it is too. It is full of suffering, grief, turmoil, distress, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The best part is that at the end of our time here on this earth: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Corinthians 13:13
All the negative will be gone while faith, hope and love remain to guard our hearts for all eternity.
Being a person who takes Scripture as it is and accepts it even when it upsets my little world to do so, I have to agree with this statement: "We delude ourselves when we think we have ultimate control over our lives. We imagine that God should let us have our way. And when He doesn't, we resent Him."
However, I also do not believe God forces me to make every little decision. He couldn't possibly. Why? Because sometimes I make sinful decisions and God would not force me to sin.
"And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, 'God is tempting me.' God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. James 1:13
He might allow it, though not always, but He would never force my hand to do so. He does, however, know in advance that I am going to do so and therefore uses that negative choice to bring about good in my (undeserving though I am) or someone else's life.
When suffering we get it into our heads that no one is suffering as we are; no one has it as badly as we do; no one knows what we are going through and every bit of it is a lie from the evil one. If we would step back and simply look around us for a moment, we would find hundreds of thousands of people in worse shape than we are. Then, if we would refuse to give in to the temptation of self-pity, but rather turn to God for the comfort He so longs to give, not only would we receive said comfort, but it would be greater than we ever imagined possible, as we would begin to realize that He went through it all before us, agonizing over the fact that we were going to have to experience the problem in the first place. We are His children and He loves us as such. Therefore how He must grieve over the poor decisions He knows we will make, the hazards Satan will throw in our path that we will be wounded with - but ultimately grow from, the resentment we will fling at Him (God) even though everything He does and/or allows is for our ultimate good. Who is hurting more? If a parent has gone through a child involved in drugs and having to watch them suffer in prison or some other form of detention, they know that though their child is suffering physical agony and they grieve over the fact with tears, moaning, aching from the inside out, that that very physical suffering is the only thing that may save their child from permanent destruction, so they allow it.
We, as human beings, suffer from addiction to sin. It is a drug. It makes us temporarily feel good about ourselves or relieves some sort of stress for a very temporary time. God knows every addiction and what it needs in order for us to be set free. Should we condemn Him for wanting what is very best for us? So if I must suffer in some manner in order for good to take place, then so be it, whether it be for sin in my own life or to set someone else free.
I went through my worst suffering ever almost two years ago. I felt as if I were dying inside. I would rather have been literally beaten to death than what I was feeling at the time. I am not being facetious, or even exaggerating about my feelings. I even asked to be beaten to get it over with, but was told no. But I tell you now, that was one of the greatest blessings I could have ever experienced. God used it to bring about more good and freedom in my life than I ever thought possible. Would I have known it was coming would I have avoided it? Yes!! And guess what? I would have given up the great wonder in life that I am experiencing right now. Therefore, I am utterly grateful that it came as a complete surprise. Did I enjoy it? Not in the least, but I am enjoying the results of it immensely!!
God loves you and me. It may not feel like it at times, but love is not a feeling, it is a decision, otherwise we would all go to hell. God decided before He created us, knowing we would give in to sin and temptation, that He was going to love us regardless and lay down His own life that we might experience His life for ourselves. A grand life it is too. It is full of suffering, grief, turmoil, distress, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The best part is that at the end of our time here on this earth: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." I Corinthians 13:13
All the negative will be gone while faith, hope and love remain to guard our hearts for all eternity.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
On Being Blessed
There is a song that was written with great intentions and has been loved over the past several years. It is revived when there is a crisis in our land such as 9/11 and on Memorial Day quite often. We all, including me, know the lyrics to the chorus and sing along quite loudly, even when we cannot carry a tune:
And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
There is nothing wrong with loving our country. We should, by all means, as it was a gift to us from God almighty. Our forefathers wanted the right to worship God in freedom rather than being told how to do so, what denomination they had to attend and what they were to believe, even when it didn't match up with God's Word exactly. They left their homeland where they had been born and reared; the land they had grown to love, for a country of which they had heard vague reports. They left family, friends, home....How lonely they must have felt, but their hearts were determined to be allowed to serve God freely and fully, so they boarded a ship that would claim some of their lives. They knew the probability of lives lost, yet their love of and faith in God kept them going.
Things have changed, many believe for the better. However, the problem we as a nation have fallen into is pride in the land. We sometimes act as if this country is our god. We have declared pride a strength and humility a weakness and have begun to laugh at anyone who cries out for us to go back to our roots of faith and trust in almighty God. We tend to think that because we are Americans we are indestructible.
I am personally very thankful to the men and women who place their very lives on the line to protect this nation. My heart cries out in love and admiration for their dedication to the task. However, I realize that without God in their midst, they can do nothing and their lives may be forfeit. I do not want to hear about or see this take place, so I pray for them that God would move in their lives to bring them to the understanding that they need to call upon His name for strength and wisdom in each and every situation that arises. May they depend on Him for victory in their own personal lives even more so than in battle, though I desire victory for them there as well.
If we would all turn our hearts back to realizing that everything we have is a gift from God, quit demanding blessing upon our nation because it is so great, but instead humbly ask for grace, forgiveness, wisdom and understanding in love out of respect for the gift we have been given, repent of pride in country and become humble toward the God Who gave it to us, then we become automatically blessed.
"Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar." Psalm 138:6
Lord, make us a humble people. Keep us from pride and come close to us. We, Your people, desire to be close to You and have You with us at every turn. Thank You for giving us this country to dwell in in safety and freedom, but help us remember that these things are a gift from You and not from the land itself. Help us depend on You for deliverance rather than the strength of mankind and protect the men and women who place their lives in Your hands in order to maintain freedom for us. Grant them understanding and wisdom in every circumstance. Grant them personal victories in their walk with You as well as strength and determination to do all that must be done in order to maintain victory for freedom in this country. In Jesus' name.
And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
There is nothing wrong with loving our country. We should, by all means, as it was a gift to us from God almighty. Our forefathers wanted the right to worship God in freedom rather than being told how to do so, what denomination they had to attend and what they were to believe, even when it didn't match up with God's Word exactly. They left their homeland where they had been born and reared; the land they had grown to love, for a country of which they had heard vague reports. They left family, friends, home....How lonely they must have felt, but their hearts were determined to be allowed to serve God freely and fully, so they boarded a ship that would claim some of their lives. They knew the probability of lives lost, yet their love of and faith in God kept them going.
Things have changed, many believe for the better. However, the problem we as a nation have fallen into is pride in the land. We sometimes act as if this country is our god. We have declared pride a strength and humility a weakness and have begun to laugh at anyone who cries out for us to go back to our roots of faith and trust in almighty God. We tend to think that because we are Americans we are indestructible.
I am personally very thankful to the men and women who place their very lives on the line to protect this nation. My heart cries out in love and admiration for their dedication to the task. However, I realize that without God in their midst, they can do nothing and their lives may be forfeit. I do not want to hear about or see this take place, so I pray for them that God would move in their lives to bring them to the understanding that they need to call upon His name for strength and wisdom in each and every situation that arises. May they depend on Him for victory in their own personal lives even more so than in battle, though I desire victory for them there as well.
If we would all turn our hearts back to realizing that everything we have is a gift from God, quit demanding blessing upon our nation because it is so great, but instead humbly ask for grace, forgiveness, wisdom and understanding in love out of respect for the gift we have been given, repent of pride in country and become humble toward the God Who gave it to us, then we become automatically blessed.
"Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar." Psalm 138:6
Lord, make us a humble people. Keep us from pride and come close to us. We, Your people, desire to be close to You and have You with us at every turn. Thank You for giving us this country to dwell in in safety and freedom, but help us remember that these things are a gift from You and not from the land itself. Help us depend on You for deliverance rather than the strength of mankind and protect the men and women who place their lives in Your hands in order to maintain freedom for us. Grant them understanding and wisdom in every circumstance. Grant them personal victories in their walk with You as well as strength and determination to do all that must be done in order to maintain victory for freedom in this country. In Jesus' name.
Friday, August 31, 2012
The Only Answer Bigger Than The Questions
Jesus:
"Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and he will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" Matthew 26:53
The temptation to end it all, give up the plan of salvation, was very great for Jesus. He sweat great drops of blood due to the agony He was about to face. He could easily have just gone back home to the Father and Holy Spirit. Yet He went through with it for two reasons: He had said He was going to save the world in this manner and He never breaks a promise and He simply loves us that much for some strange reason. We aren't worth it. He created us and has every right to do with us as He well pleases, just as I have the right to rip apart a dress I just made or unravel a sweater I just crocheted. I made it, so it is mine to do with as I choose. He made us and it is His right to do with us as He pleases. He was pleased to suffer and die for us, even though it brought greater agony to Him than anything we ever have or ever will experience here on earth. He made sure of that. He didn't want it easily said that He doesn't know what we're going through.
There are three persons in the Godhead; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. First the Father agonized because we gave control of our existence to Satan at the fall. (No one can say it was Eve's fault, because at that time she wasn't Eve. She was woman and combined with man she was Adam. God considered them so much one creation that He called them Adam. In fact, they were so much one in thought that they were together all the time, even during the temptation. Woman took of the fruit and gave some to man and they both ate of it. After the fall, man named woman Eve. The separation and distinction between the two had begun.) He immediately had a plan, because He had seen what we would do and gave the solution. First, He sacrificed an animal to cover them and their sin. Next, He gave the prophecy of what the complete answer to the problem would be as is told in the title of this chapter: Jesus.
Next the Son had to suffer. His job was to be the ultimate sacrifice. He would give up His kingdom in heaven to take back the kingdom of earth. In order to do so He had to become human. So He was born of a virgin, Mary, spoken into human form by the Father and breathed into by the Holy Spirit. His life was His own, He was still God, yet He was human as well and felt everything we do. He was tempted, but refused to give in to it. He received physical pain, yet refused to end His journey because of it. He experienced the agony of hell by being totally separated from His Father on the cross when He said, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" His Father had to turn His back on Him when He became our sin. At that moment Jesus experienced hell, for what is hell but total separation from God. Unimaginable as it is, where God is not, there is nothing but horror, fear, anxiety, pain and suffering. Hope, love, joy or anything else that is good is not there. Thank God that one day this will be thrown into the Lake of Fire never to be released again. Praise God He did not have to remain there for long. He declared, "It is finished," gave His Spirit into the Father's hands and died. Three days later He rose again, proving that life after death is not just a glib promise made by God, but a reality. When He left, He gave us His Holy Spirit - the Third Person of the Triune God.
Now it is this person Who suffers. "And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30 New Living Translation
We grieve the Holy Spirit every time we sin, so we can be assured that we grieve Him daily at the very least, but more likely hourly. So to say that God cannot know what we are going through or He wouldn't allow it is simply nonsense in my book. He understands so thoroughly that He has come to live in us through His Holy Spirit in order to help us get through any and all that occurs in our lives, because He knows we cannot succeed without Him.
Tim Keller writes "If we again ask the question, "Why does God allow evil and suffering to continue?" and we look at the cross of Jesus, we still do not know what the answer is. However, we know what the answer isn't. It can't be that He doesn't love us. It can't be that He is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on Himself....So, if we embrace the Christian teaching that Jesus is God and that he went to the Cross, then we have deep consolation and strength to face the brutal realities of life on earth."
And then Randy Alcorn makes an observation that has been in my heart for the lost since I was saved, "If you hate suffering, does it make sense to choose eternal suffering when God has already suffered so much to deliver you from it?"
I do not know why He loves me so much, but I am ever grateful that He does. I pray that you are as well. It changed my heart attitude from one of "I wish I hadn't got caught," to one of "thank You for catching me in the act and rescuing me from it."
"Do you think I cannot call on My Father, and he will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" Matthew 26:53
The temptation to end it all, give up the plan of salvation, was very great for Jesus. He sweat great drops of blood due to the agony He was about to face. He could easily have just gone back home to the Father and Holy Spirit. Yet He went through with it for two reasons: He had said He was going to save the world in this manner and He never breaks a promise and He simply loves us that much for some strange reason. We aren't worth it. He created us and has every right to do with us as He well pleases, just as I have the right to rip apart a dress I just made or unravel a sweater I just crocheted. I made it, so it is mine to do with as I choose. He made us and it is His right to do with us as He pleases. He was pleased to suffer and die for us, even though it brought greater agony to Him than anything we ever have or ever will experience here on earth. He made sure of that. He didn't want it easily said that He doesn't know what we're going through.
There are three persons in the Godhead; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. First the Father agonized because we gave control of our existence to Satan at the fall. (No one can say it was Eve's fault, because at that time she wasn't Eve. She was woman and combined with man she was Adam. God considered them so much one creation that He called them Adam. In fact, they were so much one in thought that they were together all the time, even during the temptation. Woman took of the fruit and gave some to man and they both ate of it. After the fall, man named woman Eve. The separation and distinction between the two had begun.) He immediately had a plan, because He had seen what we would do and gave the solution. First, He sacrificed an animal to cover them and their sin. Next, He gave the prophecy of what the complete answer to the problem would be as is told in the title of this chapter: Jesus.
Next the Son had to suffer. His job was to be the ultimate sacrifice. He would give up His kingdom in heaven to take back the kingdom of earth. In order to do so He had to become human. So He was born of a virgin, Mary, spoken into human form by the Father and breathed into by the Holy Spirit. His life was His own, He was still God, yet He was human as well and felt everything we do. He was tempted, but refused to give in to it. He received physical pain, yet refused to end His journey because of it. He experienced the agony of hell by being totally separated from His Father on the cross when He said, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" His Father had to turn His back on Him when He became our sin. At that moment Jesus experienced hell, for what is hell but total separation from God. Unimaginable as it is, where God is not, there is nothing but horror, fear, anxiety, pain and suffering. Hope, love, joy or anything else that is good is not there. Thank God that one day this will be thrown into the Lake of Fire never to be released again. Praise God He did not have to remain there for long. He declared, "It is finished," gave His Spirit into the Father's hands and died. Three days later He rose again, proving that life after death is not just a glib promise made by God, but a reality. When He left, He gave us His Holy Spirit - the Third Person of the Triune God.
Now it is this person Who suffers. "And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, He has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30 New Living Translation
We grieve the Holy Spirit every time we sin, so we can be assured that we grieve Him daily at the very least, but more likely hourly. So to say that God cannot know what we are going through or He wouldn't allow it is simply nonsense in my book. He understands so thoroughly that He has come to live in us through His Holy Spirit in order to help us get through any and all that occurs in our lives, because He knows we cannot succeed without Him.
Tim Keller writes "If we again ask the question, "Why does God allow evil and suffering to continue?" and we look at the cross of Jesus, we still do not know what the answer is. However, we know what the answer isn't. It can't be that He doesn't love us. It can't be that He is indifferent or detached from our condition. God takes our misery and suffering so seriously that he was willing to take it on Himself....So, if we embrace the Christian teaching that Jesus is God and that he went to the Cross, then we have deep consolation and strength to face the brutal realities of life on earth."
And then Randy Alcorn makes an observation that has been in my heart for the lost since I was saved, "If you hate suffering, does it make sense to choose eternal suffering when God has already suffered so much to deliver you from it?"
I do not know why He loves me so much, but I am ever grateful that He does. I pray that you are as well. It changed my heart attitude from one of "I wish I hadn't got caught," to one of "thank You for catching me in the act and rescuing me from it."
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Oceans and Streams
Luke 6:47-48 "Whoever comes to me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock."
I am surprised at how blind I can be. I have heard this story from as long back as I can remember, which is quite far, since my mom tells me some of the stuff I remember was from before I turned two years old, yet I never noticed what it was really saying. Sure, I know that it is talking about setting our foundation or faith on Jesus Christ, but I always pictured the house being built by the ocean, so that when storms came, the ocean rose and tried to flood the house. This is what the pictures I colored as a child depicted regarding this as well, so I must not be the only one who saw this in their mind's eye. However, that is not what it says. It says, "the stream" rather than the ocean.
This morning as I read this, it hit me that the problems the evil one throws at us feel like a violent storm, with waves crashing in from all sides. It seems like an ocean of problems. The truth though is that they are but streams in comparison to the oceans of God's power and might. His power is the ocean; Satan's is but a stream. When we turn our hearts to Him in prayer, we have all the resources of that ocean waiting for us to access them through faith believing.
So when the storms of life come pressing in Father, help me remember Who is the ocean and who is the stream.
I am surprised at how blind I can be. I have heard this story from as long back as I can remember, which is quite far, since my mom tells me some of the stuff I remember was from before I turned two years old, yet I never noticed what it was really saying. Sure, I know that it is talking about setting our foundation or faith on Jesus Christ, but I always pictured the house being built by the ocean, so that when storms came, the ocean rose and tried to flood the house. This is what the pictures I colored as a child depicted regarding this as well, so I must not be the only one who saw this in their mind's eye. However, that is not what it says. It says, "the stream" rather than the ocean.
This morning as I read this, it hit me that the problems the evil one throws at us feel like a violent storm, with waves crashing in from all sides. It seems like an ocean of problems. The truth though is that they are but streams in comparison to the oceans of God's power and might. His power is the ocean; Satan's is but a stream. When we turn our hearts to Him in prayer, we have all the resources of that ocean waiting for us to access them through faith believing.
So when the storms of life come pressing in Father, help me remember Who is the ocean and who is the stream.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Straying Sheep
Chapter 20 of If God Is Good: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, by Randy Alcorn, brought this to mind:
"What if, in order for us to truly desire evil to be destroyed completely, wiped out and become totally non-existent, we have to experience it first?" Are we not like this in virtually every area?
We desire junk food. Junk food is devastating to our bodies, but we want it. My particular downfall is ice cream. I crave it even in winter. Michael finds it humorous that someone who is as cold-natured as I am would want ice cream of all things in the midst of winter. If I eat it in winter, I suffer more than normal consequences. I go into freeze out mode and cannot get warm. My husband places an electric blanket over me and sets it on high to get me warm again. Sometimes he has to add a quilt. It takes a while. Why do I put myself through it? Because I really want that taste in my mouth. I don't want the extra weight it can bring, or the blood sugar problems, or the tooth decay, etc., but I want that taste!!
We are all like this in one area or another (or if you are like me, many more than one), but then we tend to wonder where the problems come from. We are simply and stupidly amazing! No wonder God says we are like sheep going astray.
God is not just our God, He is our Father. He wants the very best for us. So, if we have to suffer in order to no longer desire to suffer....
When our daughter was a little over a year old, she kept going over to the oven wanting to touch the door. They didn't have the cool-touch doors they have now. If you had something in that oven, the door got HOT. I would tell her over and over not to touch it, but she kept going back to that door. I would say, "No, no! HOT!" And take her hand away just to have her return a minute later. Finally, I decided that if she had to learn the hard way, then I would be in control so that she didn't really get hurt. She went to the oven door, looked at me, smiled and started reaching for it. I ran to her, took her hand and quickly touched it to the door and removed it immediately. Her eyes became very wide as she cried out, "HOT!" I hugged her, hating that I had had to do that, but grateful that she wasn't hurt and with tears told her, "Yes, it is hot, just like Mommy told you." She never touched the oven door again. That was a very difficult thing for me to do, but I baked a loaf of bread every day at that time. What if I had to go to the bathroom, or answer the door or telephone and didn't see her go to the oven? She might have burned herself badly, so great was her desire to touch. What I did would probably be declared mean, cruel, even evil, but I did it out of love. Allowing her to feel the heat without getting injured kept her safe from the oven from that moment on.
Mr. Alcorn sums this up beautifully in the final paragraphs of the chapter, pg. 205 "God promises that the eternal ending will break forth in such glorious happiness that all present suffering will pale in comparison. All who know Jesus will have a happy ending. We just haven't seen it yet."
These bodies of ours may go through temporary torment, pain, heartbreak, etc., but if we know Jesus as Savior, we will be given them back - perfected for us when this one wears out or is taken from us. It will never suffer in any way ever again. We will experience adventure, excitement and all that is good, without ever again having to suffer the negative and we will appreciate the fact for have had to suffer here and now. Like our little daughter, we would have continued longing for the excitement of the heat otherwise.
Have a blessed day!
"What if, in order for us to truly desire evil to be destroyed completely, wiped out and become totally non-existent, we have to experience it first?" Are we not like this in virtually every area?
We desire junk food. Junk food is devastating to our bodies, but we want it. My particular downfall is ice cream. I crave it even in winter. Michael finds it humorous that someone who is as cold-natured as I am would want ice cream of all things in the midst of winter. If I eat it in winter, I suffer more than normal consequences. I go into freeze out mode and cannot get warm. My husband places an electric blanket over me and sets it on high to get me warm again. Sometimes he has to add a quilt. It takes a while. Why do I put myself through it? Because I really want that taste in my mouth. I don't want the extra weight it can bring, or the blood sugar problems, or the tooth decay, etc., but I want that taste!!
We are all like this in one area or another (or if you are like me, many more than one), but then we tend to wonder where the problems come from. We are simply and stupidly amazing! No wonder God says we are like sheep going astray.
God is not just our God, He is our Father. He wants the very best for us. So, if we have to suffer in order to no longer desire to suffer....
When our daughter was a little over a year old, she kept going over to the oven wanting to touch the door. They didn't have the cool-touch doors they have now. If you had something in that oven, the door got HOT. I would tell her over and over not to touch it, but she kept going back to that door. I would say, "No, no! HOT!" And take her hand away just to have her return a minute later. Finally, I decided that if she had to learn the hard way, then I would be in control so that she didn't really get hurt. She went to the oven door, looked at me, smiled and started reaching for it. I ran to her, took her hand and quickly touched it to the door and removed it immediately. Her eyes became very wide as she cried out, "HOT!" I hugged her, hating that I had had to do that, but grateful that she wasn't hurt and with tears told her, "Yes, it is hot, just like Mommy told you." She never touched the oven door again. That was a very difficult thing for me to do, but I baked a loaf of bread every day at that time. What if I had to go to the bathroom, or answer the door or telephone and didn't see her go to the oven? She might have burned herself badly, so great was her desire to touch. What I did would probably be declared mean, cruel, even evil, but I did it out of love. Allowing her to feel the heat without getting injured kept her safe from the oven from that moment on.
Mr. Alcorn sums this up beautifully in the final paragraphs of the chapter, pg. 205 "God promises that the eternal ending will break forth in such glorious happiness that all present suffering will pale in comparison. All who know Jesus will have a happy ending. We just haven't seen it yet."
These bodies of ours may go through temporary torment, pain, heartbreak, etc., but if we know Jesus as Savior, we will be given them back - perfected for us when this one wears out or is taken from us. It will never suffer in any way ever again. We will experience adventure, excitement and all that is good, without ever again having to suffer the negative and we will appreciate the fact for have had to suffer here and now. Like our little daughter, we would have continued longing for the excitement of the heat otherwise.
Have a blessed day!
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