Forgiveness…yes…or no?

Here are some notes from Bill’s prayer meeting on Wednesday. I added a bit mainly because forgiveness is such a major part of my Healing classes. I have found over the years, for myself as well as those I teach it is of such importance in our relationship with the Lord, we need to be reminded of and ponder it from time to time. We all struggle with the concept and frequently believe we HAVE forgiven, when in reality we have not. Psalm 68 says “if I regard iniquity in my heart, He will not hear me.” So think about it, especially now that we are so close to a new year…

"Our willingness to forgive shows the world Christ. 1)It is not a normal action, forgiveness/lack of is of our flesh, it is not a once for all deed and we need a lot of grace to do it. 2)you haven't forgiven if the deed is a topic of conservation or comes to mind frequently. 3)are you pondering revenge or justice? 4) does it occupy your mind and thots too much and you can't get rid of it? 5)Do you get annoyed or irritated at the mention of them? 6) Do you avoid that person? 7) Are you secretly delighted at their misfortune? 8) Do you feel like a victim? 9) Are those around you tired of hearing about it?" To really forgive, starts in the heart/mind and then the will. Five ways you can know you are/have forgiven them...1) first thot about them isn't what they did to you. 2) you would gladly assist them if they needed it and you could do it. 3) can you think positive thots about that person now? 4) Does your heart want to hurt them? 5) have you stopped keeping a record of wrongs and looking for them to fail? Keeping your focus on positive things for and about this person will be a great help to you...and to them.

More on the Names of God

          I think we will look in more detail at God’s primary names, the names we first looked at two blogs back. We talked briefly about His name Jehovah, Yahweh and Adonai. We can now talk about them with a little more detail. JEHOVAH is God’s redemptive name…Isaiah 12:2 says this, “The Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He is also become my salvation. “ After sin entered the human experience, it was Jehovah who sought the sinner…as Redeemer, Jehovah revealed His holiness and His just demand for righteousness on the part of His creatures. Let’s look at Adam ad Eve, the parents of us all. Understand, their sin did not take God by surprise…I Peter 1:20 tells us God had the salvation plan already worked out…I Peter 1:20 tells us His plan was formed “before the foundation of the world.” He knew they would not obey Him even though He gave them instruction NOT to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” or they would die. They ate and they died, spiritually. I often wondered where Adam was when Satan was taunting Eve. Was He there? I ask that because  God held him responsible and made him the head of the human race, and God said Adam sinned knowing what he was doing. But, the plan  was prepared and God spoke it to them and us in Genesis 3 Jehovah was prepared to redeem His now fallen children and their descendants. You may wonder as I have, why did He create them knowing what they were going  to do. The rest of Scripture seems to indicate that He wanted a people of His own, to love and care for and to worship and fellowship with Him. He was willing to do whatever needed to be done to make that happen. BUT…He wanted them to love and obey Him of their own free choosing, because they wanted to. He is a wonderful Father.

          Up until the time of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God made Himself known to Israel as ELOHIM…THE STRONG, FAITHFUL ONE. But to Moses and the Jews in Goshen, He was JEHOVAH-ELOHIM, Maker, Redeemer, used to speak of His relationship with man. He has the RIGHT of being our creator, He has MORAL authority over us, He has the right to govern us, power over our human relationships. His rights over us are shown clearly in the book of Ruth…Boaz showing himself to be Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer, as God is our kinsman-redeemer. We have a responsibility to be obedient to Him and respond to Him in the way He has laid out for us in Scripture.

          JEHOVAH-YAHWEH, the holiest of God’s names. This is the great “I AM.” This is the self-existent One. Israel spent 400 years in Egyptian bondage. While there, most if not all of their knowledge of God was gone. When He led them out to the wilderness, He took them to Sinai where He had them encamp and He taught them who Jehovah was. He taught them that He was Holy. He gave them over 400 laws that would govern all their living conditions. He taught them they were to be a special, separate and peculiar people. He was a Holy God who hates sin, all through all the Old Testament, He could not compromise, He must judge, using His name to Israel, Jehovah. In His dealing with Pharaoh He was their Redeemer and Creator. He had to judge Pharaoh and He did!  He laid down he moral law to them, telling them the price of disobedience was judgment as laid out in the law. Ad they became more and more disobedient, God allowed them to be overrun by their enemies and taken into captivity, their cities destroyed and temple in ruins.

          ADONAI is a beautiful name, it means Lord, Master, Sovereign and primarily refers to Him and His relationship to us as our Master. We CAN become His bondservant…our choice. In bible times a servant who had served his term, had come to love his master and desired to stay with him and would stay voluntarily. In exchange for his loyalty, obedience and service, the Master would provide him with everything he needed. This is the relationship Moses had with God as did Joshua, calling Him Adonai. The Master had the right to expect absolute obedience  and in return made every provision for the bond-servant. Studying the Names, attributes and character of God is like examining a fine, exquisite diamond. The various hues and points are all  beautiful but when you put them all together, you see a jewel so fine it has tremendous value to the one to whom it belongs. So it is with our God!

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Names of God, con’t…His perfections and attributes.

          Last time we looked at the three primary names of God, Jehovah…Yahweh…Adonai. His character and perfections are recorded for us in Galatians 5:22-25. If you want to know what Christ was like…there it is; love, joy, peace, gentleness, patience, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control. They are referred to as the Fruit of the Spirit and we are to be working toward the same character qualities in our lives. You will notice it is “fruit” of the Spirit, not “fruits.” Not plural but singular…we are to attain to ALL of them!

          This time let’s look at His attributes…He is SOLITARY, He as a Triune or three-part God, never had a beginning. Let that sink in for a moment! He always was and always will be. The Triune God had no need of any one else, He was fine as He was. But, at some point in “time”…(eternity is timeless)…they decided to create. There were angels before there were humans, they existed in Heaven with God. They wanted beings that they could fellowship with, love, care for and provide with a relationship with Them.  But make no mistake, He did not need us, He wanted us for Himself, to decide for themselves to love Him back and have full and complete harmony with Him.

          He is INFINITE. Always was, is, will be, with no time constraints. Can you think ahead to ‘forever?” I have no problem thinking backward to eternity past, but for some reason, I can’t think forward without thinking of “an end.” There is none when it comes to God and guess what? We too are eternal…if we know Christ as our personal Savior we will live with Him in the Heavenlies forever, John 14. If we have no personal relationship with Christ, we will live without Him eternally. Think about that, forever apart from God with no hope of change. Pretty ugly thought isn’t it!

          H is OMNISCIENT. He knows all there is to know about everything. Wow! And the best part, He is willing to share that knowledge with us. Now we will never “know it all…”but there is much He can teach us by the power of the Holy Spirit in us, if we are willing to let Him. When the Scripture says we “can have the mind of Christ,” I Corinthians 2:16, it means exactly that. We can learn by reading, thinking, praying, absorbing and applying the Scripture to our lives what God has for us to know. Can you imagine anything more glorious than being made capable of thinking as God thinks. One of my favorite verses is Colossians 1:9, “Enable me to see things from Your point of view.”

          He is SOVEREIGN. Do you remember Harry Truman’s famous plaque on his desk, “the buck stops here.?” Well It REALLY stops with God!!!! We may not realize it in this life, but it is true and in His time, all things will be the way He wants them. No one argues with the Queen of England…neither will they argue with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They may do as they please now, but a day is coming when that will no longer be an option. He will exercise His Sovereignty in full and set up His Kingdom.

          He is OMNIPRESENT. He is everywhere at the same time. How? I have no idea, but the Scripture says it is so, and that’s it for me. This is one of my favorites…He is IMMUTABLE….He never changes. If you think about that, it can be very reassuring. As He was long ago, He is today…and will be tomorrow and all the tomorrows. If He “tells” you something, He does not change His mind. He says, “I am the Lord, I change not.” Malachi 3:6. It also makes His promises more precious…He will do what He says…no matter what! He is HOLY. What is Holy? The very presence of God sanctifies and makes us holy, as we submit our will to Him and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us…we take on His Holiness. Glory! He is GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL. I think we all know what these attributes are. Grace is an internal quality of kindness and gentleness,especially in the face of adversity. Mercy is a quality I dearly love…working with inmates for so many years, along with their wives and moms, mercy was called for many times and in large quantities. There are some criminal acts that are especially abhorrent to me…but not to God! He had to grant me the ability to tap into His mercy and show it in just the right proportions. There have been times when He has literally “blown me away” at His graciousness to me and enabling me to cope with difficult situations. He is JUST. This one fascinates me because I learned the difference between “fair” and “just.” God is not always fair…but He is always just. He cannot be any other way, it is pat of His character. At times I have asked Him about what I considered an unfair situation…through the Word, He showed me He is never wrong, He knows the hearts of people involved in the situation, and He knows the end from the beginning. I learned to rest in that knowledge. And I guess best of all, He is FAITHFUL…HE steadfast, an anchor…He is there…always and forever. He is an awesome God and I for one am glad He made us and loves us now and forever.

A look at the Names of God.

Did you look at that title and say to yourself, “self, god and names…isn’t He God.” Lots of believers don’t know that God has names that He gave Himself in order to reveal to us Who and What He is, His character qualities…names that would enable us to better grasp what He is like as well as what He wants us to ultimately be since we are made in His image.

His proper name and maybe the one we are most familiar with is Jehovah…when He wants to attest to His great power to accomplish His Word and work, He swears by His great name. He may use just Jehovah(self-existent One) or He may combine Jehovah with another “name” to elaborate on His character. We will look at that later. Lots of us would like to know why He created us in the first place. We are told in Scripture that the Triune God had no need of anything or anyone else, so why? He wanted to share…He had a desire, not a need, for fellowship, a people to bless and teach. He wanted to bring glory to His name and His creation of us gave that opportunity…we would be His hands, feet, mouth, ears, etc., His instruments so to speak and in return, He would bless us beyond measure and pleasure. What an awesome opportunity!

He has many names but three are primary.. Jehovah is one, Elohim is another. It means the strong, faithful One. It is a designation. The third is Adonai or Lord and it is a title. It means the sovereign Master or Lord and is a title. His name Elohim  occurs in the Old Testament more than 2000 times. It indicates He who swears and pledges by Himself and is ABLE to keep His Word. Further, this Strong, Faithful One is able to keep His promises…what His lips speak, His mighty arm performs! The very best example we have in the Word is in Genesis12:4, His UNCONDITIONAL Covenant to Abraham: He promised Abraham a land, a seed, and a blessing. Can you see here WHO has title to Canaan/Israel? No doubt about it, way back then God unconditionally gave it to Abraham and His descendants forever…and He used His Covenant keeping name  along with making I unconditional…the Jews did not have to “do” anything, God Himself did it all, promised, swore by his name and it is a closed subject…forever! 

Interesting isn’t it…all these thousands of years of fighting for a land that God says further on in the New Testament is His…yet in so many places in Scripture He reiterates it over and over, it is His and He gave it to the Jews. He gave other land and promises to Ishmael, His son by Hagar an Egyptian handmaid to Abrahams wife Sara. But it was not the same land He gave Abraham and his descendants. Of course most people do not want to believe the Bible as authoritative. but even parts of history say the same thing.

You may wonder what is our part in this????  Well as near as I can tell, what god wants from us is to VOLUNTARILY love Him, be obedient to Him, be a faithful testimony to His goodness and share the Gospel of Christ with others. That’s not a lot to expect do you think? Romans 12:1-2 tell it all, “ I beseech  you brethren by the mercy of God, to present your body’s a living sacrifice…holy, acceptable to Him…it is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, perfect, and acceptable will of God.

How’s Your Worry Level?

Jesus Himself told us not to worry about our lives, what to eat, our health, what we’ll wear…He said His Father takes care of the ravens and clothes the flowers so how much more will He do for us since we are of such value to Him. That’s very good advice straight from the teaching of our Lord. I love the portion in Luke 12:32-34, “Fear not little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have, give to the poor, provide yourself money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Of course that is excellent advice, but not at all easy to put into practice. I always considered myself the world’s greatest worrier, God took a lot of time working with me to get me to quit it…and I still fall back into the pattern, especially with funds. But, I can say without hesitation, in 35 years he has never let me down. There have been many, many rough spots but when they were over, I could look back and see the lesson learned. And when I really gave it some serious thought, I’d realize He could not have taught me that particular lesson any other way. I can be hardheaded at times!

 

I think we get the mistaken notion that things should go well all the time. If we are in good, solid fellowship with the Lord everything should go smoothly. Not! Probably, life would be boring if it was the same all the time, I don’t know since mine is always changing. That is one of the lessons I learned, change…it’s a good part of life. I know people that cannot handle change at all, desperately try to keep their entire lives the same…same vacation place, same restaurants, same routes to and from places…any kind or suggestion of change throws them for a loop. I have no idea why God wants us to be able to handle change, I suppose it is because change is the norm. But even at best, change is unsettling and we tend to worry and fret. We second guess ourselves about everything including where we are with the Lord. And usually it is not what we think at all. One of the things I have worried about is “am I doing enough” for Him…don’t ask me why, but there it is. Fruitfulness is important to me, but in my calling, hard to see. The Lord taught me long ago, that’s really not my business, it’s His. My part is to “tell” and His is to apply. Fruitfulness is really faithfulness in God’s! There is a verse in Romans that says this, ‘it is required in stewards (servants) that they be found to be faithful.” Not successful, especially by the world’s standard, but faithful. Do what God has asked you to do, the rest is His work. In taking that to heart, the worry syndrome should be greatly reduced shouldn’t it? Struggling and pondering our paths are all part of our learning process…the struggle helps us understand the outcome is not of us, but of Him. Our pride wants to take credit, we like to think our own abilities gain a good result. Not true…dependence on the Lord causes us to realize we are NOT sufficient in ourselves, and He makes it clear in His Word He will not share His glory with another!

 

Another thing to keep in mind about worry is this: be careful how and when you make decisions. Tired, too busy, changing circumstances or an emotional time. Good decisions are made slowly, with considerable thought. And sometimes God would have us wait with patience, with full trust in Him…very hard to do and takes a good bit of practice. But it does get easier as He gives you more opportunity to exercise your patient trust. I said it before, here I go again, He has never let me down. I think the verse that has sustained me the most, is a familiar one, Romans 8:28, “We know that God makes all things work together for good for them who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” I have seen some very bad events be worked out well for a child of God…very unexpected and out of  the ordinary, but for the good. Then you KNOW He is working for you, because He loves you very much. Look at Psalm 34…fret not thyself, fret not thyself, fret not thyself…good advice.

IS THERE “MAGIC” IN FOLLOWING JESUS?

The answer to that question is a direct NO!!! Following the Lord can’t happen without hard work…to quote Dr Dennis Kinlaw. I dearly love Dr Kinlaw’s writing. His devotional, This Day With The Master is truly a pleasure to read. He has written many wonderful, thought provoking books, not books you can breeze through but ones that takes quiet contemplation. And worth every minute, he has great insight and it is obvious He walked very close to the Lord. There will be other thoughts of his interspersed in this blog but you would do yourself a big favor if you acquired his books for your own reading pleasure.

The object of our Christian life is being conformed to the image of Christ, and that’s not at all easy. God expects us to use what He has given us in order to know Him better. It becomes an intellectual shaping of our minds, as He says in I Cor 2:16, “…we have the mind of Christ.” Or Phil 2:5, “let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”  The Father’s intention is for us to think like Jesus…Col 1:9 says “let me see things from Your point of view.” He wants our old, carnal minds gone! The second important transformation for us is to surrender our will to Him. That’s a difficult thing to do  and rarely a once-for-all thing, we all will experience those times when that “little voice”  inside of us corrects our thoughts and actions. And incidentally, yielding the will is connected to taking up your cross…we are to bow the knee, yield our right to ourselves and our own plans and intensions, to His desire for us. And His desire for us is always correct and in our best interest. Any desire God has for us is best and we CAN reach a point when we clearly understand that principle and automatically seek His guidance. Another aspect of this is Jesus telling the disciples the “way is narrow, and few their be that find it,” Matt 7:14, the way to life eternal and a quality, godly life here, is narrow and difficult. Knowing Jesus intimately is hard work, no shortcuts…He expects us to roll up our spiritual sleeves and get to it! Of course He is there to help but He will never do for us what we can do for ourselves. Working for Him is our calling and our responsibility…no magic here!

It’s interesting that in our day and age, what is pushed most is “self-help…” and self-fulfillment, self-satisfaction…self, self, self! We cannot find real fulfillment inside of ourselves, it comes from the external…God Himself.We need to remember that the Lord Himself looked to the Father for leading and direction. If HE needed guidance from His Father, surely we do also.

I’ve walked with the Lord for a long time. Most of that time I was learning trust and other character qualities that are important for workers to have. I don’t really know exactly when it was that I found myself looking to and talking to Him about everything. I am a widow, my kids and grandkids are adults, He is my all! I learned I could turn to him in full confidence that the steps I was about to take were the right ones and should they be incorrect, He would “nudge” me internally to halt. What a wonderfully freeing sense that is. There are so many places in Scripture that tell us our varying relationships to Him…Father, brother, friend, husband, many more, but you get the picture. The relationships are very personal ones and we are entitled to them…He will never let us down or desert us or give us bad advice…He is always available to us. I realized I couldn’t go wrong, as long as I was yielded, close and listening. We are all entitled to walk that close to the Lord, but it is not an easy path and certainly not to be taken lightly. But we need to think about it, and act. Are you willing?

HOW’S YOUR “FAITH ATTITUDE?”

Have you ever noticed that we only seem to look at problems and events in our lives from our small, human perspective? I tend to, and am trying to learn not to but to do what it says in Colossians 1:9, “ see things from God’s point of view.” Not an easy thing to “unlearn” worry and fretting and “re-learn” trust! There have been times when I have almost hated that word…it makes me feel guilty! But, it is fact. Learning to trust in the Lord is possibly one of our most difficult tasks in our Christian life. He does NOT see or do things as we do, and His view is the right one. We as adults are so use to our own way of thinking, seeing, and doing all our lives, we DO NOT include God in our thought patterns and decisions, we just go right ahead and do what we want to do. And that’s where our problems come in.

When God wants to enlarge our faith and us as a person, He allows trouble to enter in. It may be the result of a wrong decision, our own or someone else’s, a questionable action or many other things pertaining to our lives. Distress/stress will bring out the “real” us. How we re-act to trouble tells a lot about us…good or bad. God never has led us to believe that the Christian life is a bed of roses…it is not, He likens it to battle and in Ephesians Paul lists pieces of armor we are to use to enable us to defeat the enemy. And…make no mistake about it, the enemy will always be right there to make the most of any difficulty we encounter. And if he can spread doubt and anger in us, directed toward God, he is a happy camper. There are so many things in life that cannot be explained, and so our “human” re-action is anger, discouragement, doubt of God’s goodness and love for us. I have found it takes years of experiences with the Lord’s intentions and how He achieves increased faith and trust in us, years and years. And, each passing month and year should produce a strengthened faith in Him. It does not come upon us overnight, sad to say.  Paul tells us to “endure hardness as a good soldier,” 2 Tim 2:3, and Peter in 1 Pet 4:12 adds “do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial that has come upon you as though something strange has happened.” Both Peter and Paul are speaking to our ATTITUDE toward hardship! It is an attack by the evil one and they want us to think right and understand the appropriateness of the battle we are in. It helps me to remember that Satan’s battle is with God, whom he hates…we are the battlefield. How we handle our difficulties reflects back on what we know of God and His character and the trust we are willing to put in His faithfulness day by day. Not an easy thing, takes lots of practice with various difficulties and trials but we can master it and come out men and women of true faith in the Living God. Remember, each distressful event can strengthen our faith if we look to Him with confidence in His love, mercy and goodness.

ARE YOU FORGIVEN MUCH??? OR LITTLE?????

I am currently reading in Luke, one of my favorites. Luke records a lot of interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees. We have those among us now you know…those who think themselves “righteous” and above everyone else but their lives don’t show it to be true. It has always fascinated me that people think no one watches them! I saw this sooooo many times in prison…men would come to Bible study and/or services and act very “holy” but leave that setting and they were as blasphemous as ever. They may have thought they were kidding me, but after a number of years, I could tell who was real and who wasn’t. And of course they were not fooling any of the other men that lived with them! I’m convinced this goes on all the time, we just are not aware of it. We live behind closed doors, and believe no one knows what goes on behind those doors. But, that frequently isn’t so…even pastor’s homes are not immune. Again, in prison I cannot tell you how many men told me they came from a pastors home, but could not in their minds reconcile the difference between what Dad said and what Dad did. I truly believe many young people today are terribly confused by what they either read from God’s Word or hear in Church and the way they see their parents living. Very confusing for young minds and spirits to grapple with. Remember that Jesus said “it is better for you to be thrown in the middle of the sea with a millstone around your neck than for you to lead one of these little ones astray.” Your very life style can “lead a little one astray” and I don’t think He was speaking of only babies when He used the term, little ones. In Luke 7:36-50 we read this event: Jesus went to dinner at the home of a Pharisee. While there, a woman approached Him, knelt at His feet, washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. The Pharisee was offended by this, and criticized Jesus thinking He should have known “what kind of woman” she was! Jesus knew what was in the mans mind, told him a story about two debtors, one owed his creditor a large amount of money, the other a small sum. The creditor forgave them both. Jesus asked the Pharisee which one would love the creditor the most? Simon’s answer was that he supposed, the one that was forgiven most. Jesus told him he had judged rightly. Then Jesus said to him, “ I came into your house and you gave me no water to wash my feet, you gave me no kiss of greeting nor did you anoint my head with oil. But this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet, she washed them with her tears and dried them with her hair and anointed them with fragrant oil. So, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven her for she loved much. But, to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. He turned to the woman and said, your sins are forgiven, go in peace, your faith has saved you.”

How many times do we not speak up to or for someone because we “don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings” or don’t want to start something, or just are afraid to speak up. Thank God Jesus never was. There are times I wonder why when people, some, friends of mine, congratulate or thank someone that is a down right ungodly person, and puffing them up don’t they realize they are offending their God? Ungodly people act in ungodly ways, sometimes even act in nice ways. But, should we make something of it and allow them to believe we condone their overall behavior? Will this help in their coming to a realization of their sinful ways or attitudes? I wonder…I am sure the Pharisee that in his heart was criticizing Jesus, did not care about the woman, he was concerned about his reputation…he had a house full of guests! Many times we do things to keep peace when we should not, and that adds to our sin. After all, there are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. Either one can be forgiven but we must be careful of our words, our actions, our friendships, who we seem to align ourselves with. All this is inherent in this section of Scripture that speaks volumes to forgiveness and quality of loving Him and how they frequently are tied together. So I ask you, how do you love Him? This is a question I ask myself frequently…and it is not a matter of “how much?” It is a matter of quality and depth and I suspect we have to know Him a long time to love Him with the quality of love this woman did. Why do I say this? She risked a lot…in that day, women did not attend these dinners, just men. And…women NEVER took down their hair except in their own bedroom, and only in the presence of their husbands. Jesus did not rebuke her, in fact He commended her, commenting on her love for Him. So I guess, we need to evaluate our own quality of love and commitment to Him from time to time. And, remember to ask His forgiveness for not doing it more often.

ARE YOU FORGIVEN MUCH??? OR LITTLE?????

I am currently reading in Luke, one of my favorites. Luke records a lot of interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees. We have those among us now you know…those who think themselves “righteous” and above everyone else but their lives don’t show it to be true. It has always fascinated me that people think no one watches them! I saw this sooooo many times in prison…men would come to Bible study and/or services and act very “holy” but leave that setting and they were as blasphemous as ever. They may have thought they were kidding me, but after a number of years, I could tell who was real and who wasn’t. And of course they were not fooling any of the other men that lived with them! I’m convinced this goes on all the time, we just are not aware of it. We live behind closed doors, and believe no one knows what goes on behind those doors. But, that frequently isn’t so…even pastor’s homes are not immune. Again, in prison I cannot tell you how many men told me they came from a pastors home, but could not in their minds reconcile the difference between what Dad said and what Dad did. I truly believe many young people today are terribly confused by what they either read from God’s Word or hear in Church and the way they see their parents living. Very confusing for young minds and spirits to grapple with. Remember that Jesus said “it is better for you to be thrown in the middle of the sea with a millstone around your neck than for you to lead one of these little ones astray.” Your very life style can “lead a little one astray” and I don’t think He was speaking of only babies when He used the term, little ones. In Luke 7:36-50 we read this event: Jesus went to dinner at the home of a Pharisee. While there, a woman approached Him, knelt at His feet, washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. The Pharisee was offended by this, and criticized Jesus thinking He should have known “what kind of woman” she was! Jesus knew what was in the mans mind, told him a story about two debtors, one owed his creditor a large amount of money, the other a small sum. The creditor forgave them both. Jesus asked the Pharisee which one would love the creditor the most? Simon’s answer was that he supposed, the one that was forgiven most. Jesus told him he had judged rightly. Then Jesus said to him, “ I came into your house and you gave me no water to wash my feet, you gave me no kiss of greeting nor did you anoint my head with oil. But this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet, she washed them with her tears and dried them with her hair and anointed them with fragrant oil. So, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven her for she loved much. But, to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. He turned to the woman and said, your sins are forgiven, go in peace, your faith has saved you.”

How many times do we not speak up to or for someone because we “don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings” or don’t want to start something, or just are afraid to speak up. Thank God Jesus never was. There are times I wonder why when people, some, friends of mine, congratulate or thank someone that is a down right ungodly person, and puffing them up don’t they realize they are offending their God? Ungodly people act in ungodly ways, sometimes even act in nice ways. But, should we make something of it and allow them to believe we condone their overall behavior? Will this help in their coming to a realization of their sinful ways or attitudes? I wonder…I am sure the Pharisee that in his heart was criticizing Jesus, did not care about the woman, he was concerned about his reputation…he had a house full of guests! Many times we do things to keep peace when we should not, and that adds to our sin. After all, there are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. Either one can be forgiven but we must be careful of our words, our actions, our friendships, who we seem to align ourselves with. All this is inherent in this section of Scripture that speaks volumes to forgiveness and quality of loving Him and how they frequently are tied together. So I ask you, how do you love Him? This is a question I ask myself frequently…and it is not a matter of “how much?” It is a matter of quality and depth and I suspect we have to know Him a long time to love Him with the quality of love this woman did. Why do I say this? She risked a lot…in that day, women did not attend these dinners, just men. And…women NEVER took down their hair except in their own bedroom, and only in the presence of their husbands. Jesus did not rebuke her, in fact He commended her, commenting on her love for Him. So I guess, we need to evaluate our own quality of love and commitment to Him from time to time. And, remember to ask His forgiveness for not doing it more often.

GRATEFUL

This morning, I wrote on my status for FB that I was grateful for God allowing me life when He did. I’d like to elaborate a bit on that, primarily because there is so much more to say…I’ve lived nearly 3/4 of a century and it has been extremely eventful to say the least! If you read my blogs you know I love Israel and her history, have read and researched from a Biblical perspective how and why she is back in the land God gave her 4,000 years ago. So I will start with the events as I know them, that brought her home.

We have to go back to the late 19th century when what were referred to as Zionists began to write letters, get bills passed, make people aware of the plight of the Jews. They had been homeless now for nearly 2,000 years, A Roman General named Titus completely destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, just a Jesus predicted in Matt 24, and drove all the Jews out of the area. It is referred to as the Diaspora, and has lasted until 1948. These things are all recorded in the Scripture for us, and very detailed. But you have to read it for yourself…and you will find it fascinating, that God would give us so much information. And……we can believe it or not, our choice.

When God made the earth as we know it, He apparently had a time-frame for how long He would deal with humans…I say apparently because I do not know and have not read to my knowledge, any dates for the end but He has given us many, many events to watch for so that we know when it is near. Israel once again being back in the land He gave to her thousands of years ago. Another important happening is for the city of Jerusalem to be controlled by the Jews. This happened in 1967. He said the Israeli’s would make the land bloom, grow, be prosperous and important once again..

If you pay attention and think about what I am telling you, you will understand that life and history is all about God and His people, the Jews. The rest of us are part of the story but only a small part. Jesus made that clear in John 15 in the story of the vine, and the grafting in of “another” branch…that’s us, gentiles…He graciously offered us a place in His Kingdom if we would accept His gift of eternal life by admitting our unsaved and hopeless condition without Christ, yield to Him and be His “body” here to further His Kingdom . The primary reason that happened was because of the unbelief of the Jews ending in the crucifixion of the Lord, all part of the Triune God’s plan from before the foundation of the world.

God has been working out His plan for the end time for probably a couple of hundred years…some of the events that needed to happen did happen in the time period of
WWl. Papers were signed giving legal claim to the area now Israel. The League of Nations was formed and some of the members championed the cause of the Jews. Most important I think was the British Empire was given the land we now call Palestine, plus a little more, because they were part of the Allies that conquered the Ottoman Turks. The Turks held most of the Middle East, it was divided up among the allies, Great Britain, US, and France. This “victory” put the land into the hands God wanted it in, basically non-Arab hands. Then we move on to WWll…the horrible holocaust and the influx of Jews from all over the world…truly an act of God, drawing them back to their homeland. The League of Nations was no longer a power, but the United Nations had taken it’s place. They were asked to finish what the League had started, give the Jews back their homeland and the Arabs living in the area an equal amount of land for theirs. The Arabs refused, the Jews accepted. Israel became a recognized nation on May 14, 1948, and the two groups of people are fighting on until this day. I have other blogs about Israel that you can read to get more information if you like.

The last thing I want to put down for this blog is something from Daniel, he said learning would increase rapidly, people would “run to and fro” and Jesus said in Matthew that “as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the day of the Son of man.” If you will recall, in Noah’s day, the people of the world were so corrupt, God destroyed them all but Noah and his family, eight people in all. Pretty bleak huh? I’ve live nearly 74 years, seen most of these things happen, count myself blessed to have been born in this time-period. The car, the planes and military  weapons, the atom bomb and Hiroshima, the birth of the EU, computers, cell phones…TV!!!  My grandkids cannot believe I grew up without TV and a computer! But…….we have paid a terrible price, our marriages and family life, our Christian life has turned into religiosity, most of us do not “know” God as we should, we run around and around doing nothing…you get the picture don’t you. I am still thankful for the lifetime God has given me, the love and mercy He has shown me, I trust He has made me worthy of His love. 

BE THANKFUL…

I’ve known the Lord for 35+ years now, I frequently throughout the day tell the Lord I love Him or thank Him for bringing me and my family to Himself…I have tried for years to make it part of my thinking process to be grateful. Then, there are times when I am overwhelmed with the thought, actually a reality, that I don’t know Him nearly well enough, or love Him with the kind of quality and depth I should. When I think about the time some of the “old timers” gave to Him…I don’t know how to feel! I know I do not measure up. And I also know He is the only One I can compare myself to…I guess what I am saying is, I want more. But…I do not always know how to achieve that place. I have read about how much God desires our intimacy, and I know what He means, but I’m not there…I want to be but I’m not, at least not yet.

I am a single…divorced/widowed, and live by myself. I am semi-retired, spend most of my day either reading, praying, memorizing Scripture or doing the things I need to do for Wings of Eagles. Friends stop by and visit, Christian friends so we usually end up talking about the Lord, or people we know with problems and how we can help for give them encouragement. But I continue to “feel” it’s not enough. I want to know more about him. Most of His character qualities are evident, I see them and do my best to incorporate them into my life because I really do want to be like Him. I think frequently about Heaven, probably because of my age and due to a lot of my friends are going home. I’ve re-read everything I can find about Heaven and still can’t get a good idea of what it will be like. But I know that is my home, and earth is just a stop-over.

I wonder how people manage to get along with out Him to turn to…who do they ask for advice? Who do they turn to just to talk? Who do they look to for comfort in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep? I cannot not imagine. I have been His for so long, I cannot remember what it was like, and I don’t really want to. Most of the time I feel as though my life before Christ took me for His own, happened to someone else. And when I seriously think about the direction my life and the lives of my kids might , no would have taken…thankful is not anywhere near strong enough to explain Our lives were a mess, and they would only have gotten worse, but a loving, gracious God stepped in and brought us to Himself, all three within a year or so. Talk about the Love of God!

Well, I think that is enough ThinkingOutLoud for today…God bless you and keep you, talk to you tomorrow!

ARE YOU SHOWING GOD’S KIND OF LOVE?

Most of us have come to understand a few basics, #1 being that Christ is truth according to John 14:6…”I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me.” That’s pretty clear…without a relationship with Him, truth is not discernable, we cannot know real truth. Also the fact that He says He is the way…that never sets well with persons of other faiths but I didn’t say it, Jesus, God the Son did! Narrow? Darn right it’s narrow! Jesus Himself said His way is narrow but the way of the world is wide. So, I said all that to say this, you and I can only discern truth if we have a personal relationship with Him. #2 BEING a Christian is not a matter of doing, it is a matter of BEING…He is much more interested in what you are in your spirit man than in the things you do. He even spoke a parable about workers in the field, check it out. So if being is so important, then it stands to reason that God’s quality of love is meant to be a personal possession of each one of us. Most of us will most likely take our entire lifetime to achieve it but the important thing is that we understand and are working all the time to achieve it. When the Scripture speaks of “being holy as I am holy” in my opinion, that’s what it means…God’s holy love demonstrated in and flowing out of us!

God in His Essence is Holy and He is love. That is a hard concept to get ahold of…HE IS LOVE…it is impossible for Him to do anything unloving. Now that’s something to consider, nothing He does to us, for us, on our behalf can possible be anything but pure, unmixed love because He is! Trying to get a grip on unconditional love is difficult enough but grasping that God’s essence IS love, don’t you find that a mind-blower? We all long for “love.” This generation has taken perverse love to a new level, always relating it to sex which it isn’t, sex is the fulfillment of love, given us by God to be used within marriage to cement two beings into one, who will love and respect one another. I believe this longing for love is something God put inside of us to give us the desire to search for Him. His love is a pure and burning one, seeking the best for another, and moral purity leads us to be able to know that love with our partner, and move on together to find complete fulfillment in knowing and loving a holy, pure and loving Father.Remember, He did not make us different than Himself but LIKE Himself, in His own image and likeness, the very likeness of the Son.

ARE YOU LIKE THE RICH, YOUNG RULER?????

This is probably my absolute favorite portion of Scripture. I just read it again this morning from the book of Mark. As always, I get really tickled when I read these things I have read a kazillion times before, but still get a thrill on reading it again. Even before this man spoke, Jesus knew what was going to happen…and it did. The young man wanted “salvation” but he wanted it his way, preferably with no cost to him. Not a cost in dollars but in lifestyle. Jesus questions to him were pretty much normal for this kind of conversation. But, it went farther than a brief encounter. He pressed Jesus and Jesus laid it all out for him. What I truly love about the Mark account is the phrase, “He looked at him and loved him.” Even though Jesus knew exactly what was about to take place, he played it out, giving the young man every opportunity to respond correctly…but, the young man couldn’t bring himself to give it all up. Apparently he had quite a lot, and enjoyed a rich lifestyle. He like it, it pleased him to live high, have friends in high places, go to special places…all the things rich people do today. They live “large” as the young people say. He actually lived for himself alone, never thought of the future nor a life hereafter, or doing things for others. Charles Stanley believes this young man is the same man referred to in the story of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man in Luke 16…see if you agree with Dr Stanley.

To me, This young man is very typical of most people, especially now…you know, the Judges line, “every man does that which is right in his own eyes.” This young man surely did, to his eternal detriment. The tragedy then and now is that we tend not to allow ourselves to think ahead to what happens after death…live for today seems to be the way everyone lives today, even Christians sad to say. No laying up treasure for yourself in Heaven…most do not even know what that means. Most Christians don’t even know what a tithe is, so of course they don’t give it. Many would tell us they can’t afford it, reality is, you can’t afford not to, especially today!

When I read this account, I always think of my men. I can’t tell you how many, probably thousands by now, have said to me, “Mrs Farrow, when I get out, I am going to stay clean and serve the Lord. I will never forget you or Wings of Eagles and all you have done for me. You will see me outside this fence.” And…I know that at the time, they mean it. But like the rich young man, the allure of the world and for them, making up for lost time, is very strong. Many DO stay straight and get involved in their churches, for which I am very thankful and consider my mission accomplished. But they are the minority. Why? Because it is very difficult, all of us know that…but for addicts no matter the addiction, it is even more difficult and getting work is next to impossible. Some I hear from, most I don’t. And…I have to admit, it took many years and tears for me to get use to it to the point like the Lord, “I could look on them with love, and let them go.” And, many of them I did indeed become very fond of, basically good men, misguided but good intentions. And I believe that is how the Lord felt about the young man in this account. When I first read it, I didn’t see the parallel but later I did, and let me tell you, it became very precious to me. You do not pour you life into other people and casually “let them go.” There is a price, but a price that is worth it for sure.

So if you see yourself in what I have said, no matter which character you line up with, be blessed. You are loved by the Lord and most likely by some person who ministered to you at a time when you really needed them. Did you ever say thanks?

WHERE ARE WE IN HISTORY, PART 11

If you pay attention to the news at all, you will hear things like, “the Israeli’s are occupiers” or “we (Palestinians) want them out of our land” or “we will push them into the sea” or “the Holocaust is a fraud.” Reality is that 60+ years ago they were offered the same amount of land in the same area as Israel. It was called “partitioning.” It was all part of the ending of WW11 and what had belonged to the Ottoman Empire now belonged to Great Britain. When that war ended the allies, US, Great Britain, and Russia divided overseeing the lands that were conquered, including the Middle East area. The newly formed United Nations, (the League of Nations had disbanded) offered part of what had belonged to the Ottoman Empire, to Israel and the Arabs living in that area, not yet referred to as “Palestinians.” The surrounding Arab nations convinced them that they would invade Israel promptly and push them into the sea. Then the Arabs could have it all. Unfortunately for them, the surrounding nations did invade Israel the day after they were declared a nation, can you imagine a one day old group of people beating back people that had it all!!!!!!!  They lost, Israel remained in the land, and began to make it bloom, just as the Scripture said. God was at work and still is…they are His people, He called them back to their homeland and has been protecting them all the while they have been there. In 1967, another was broke out between the Israeli’s and the surrounding nations, Israel advanced, pushing them back and regained the Holy City, Jerusalem! Look at a map…see little Israel, the size of New Jersey, and then look at how much land the Arabs own all around Israel. The Arabs that refused the partitioning, have lived in the area on Israel’s borders, in settlements, and in the intervening years, untold millions have been given to them…they were now called the Palestinians and led by Yasser Arafat, starting in the late 60’s…to enable them to re-settle and improve their lot. However, no one ever accounted for what happened to the money and they still live in the same condition as they did in the late 40’s and early 50’s. Sad, but true. Over the years, what I have related here has gotten “lost.” The true story is no long the story being told all over the world but the real story is still real. I tell this story as often as I can because I feel compelled to keep God’s truth about His people out in front of we Christians so we are not deceived. These are God’s people, God’s land, God’s Jerusalem…we must remember that!

Now, where are we in history at the present time? One can only guess, especially since the Lord Himself said, “The day and the hour no man knows but My Father only.” Matt 24:36. My personal belief is that this present generation, including me, will go to be with the Lord in the Rapture and return with him after the Tribulation, in power and glory. All of the GOOD prophecy teachers agree, this generation…Matt 24:32-36, is the one based on that Scripture. The symbol for Israel all through the Old Testament into the New is a fig tree, that portion of Scripture talks about the fig tree blooming, and when it does know that the time is near. We have seen Israel become a nation, it has indeed “blossomed,” and we are 60+ years from the date of Israel’s re-birth. They retook Jerusalem in ‘67 which I important for the Tribulation period and it indicates the time of Gentile domination over the Holy City has ended. The European Union has become very powerful and controls most of Europe. The nations that the OT speaks of as being aligned in the end times, are all descendants of Ishmael and Esau, (Edom) and are today aligned. God said to Hagar (an Egyptian and an Arab) in the desert He would make of Ishmael a great nation but they would be wild men, full of anger and hate and subservient to Isaac’s descendants. Are they not as God said?????  Matt 24 are the Lord’s own words, He speaks of severe weather changes, earthquakes, the Arab nations aligning with Russia, (Revelation). Daniel tells us learning would increase greatly in the end time.  There will be one religion. Right now some protestant churches are opening their doors and worship services to Muslims in an attempt to integrate the two, twenty-six states are participating calling the merging, Chrislam! Soooooooo……. the stage is set, the players in place, we shall soon see what will happen.

WHERE ARE WE IN HISTORY?

I am not exactly a history expert but I have come to love Biblical history and of course into that scenario fits Bible prophecy. I DO know a lot about that…when I returned to the Lord 38 years ago it was because of Hal Lindsey’s book Late, Great Planet Earth. As a child I had been to church, Sunday school, Bible studies, Bible clubs, anything that had to do with the Lord, we as a family were involved in it. I was pretty well taught, and my main teacher Miss Margaret Carter really like prophecy so she talked and taught about it a lot. As a teen, I decided to go my own way, God let me but many years later reminded I was His (commitment made at a youth rally when I was 12) and it was time to make that a reality in my life. From that time on, I read, studied and read some more. Time lines fascinated me, especially trying to fit together Patriarchs, Priests, Prophets, Kings, Kingdoms, it was great fun to me and I did a lot of research. consequently I learned…especially history from God’s point of view! I remember made a time line of the entire Old Testament, took me about two months, and I loved every minute of it. You should try it, I did it by hand with few resources and learned a lot! And even now in my “old age” I still remember it all. Once I researched the book of Daniel, I was anxious to get through the Prophets so I could go to Revelation and study and compare what I had learned in the OT. In case you don’t know it, everything fit together…God is a very orderly God, and makes it easier to understand by the gift of His Holy Spirit.

The timeline from the book of Daniel especially fascinated me…it seemed God was telling us exactly when everything was to happen. He spoke of days, weeks, months, years…I was really intrigued. What was God saying and if He was saying it , He really wanted us to know what and when. Then Matthew 24 had to be taken into consideration. So…my gleanings gave me this:

God started His end-time plan about 100 years ago with a few Jewish Zionists that worked diligently for a Jewish homeland. We know the Jews were dispersed all over the world since 70AD, but God said a time would come when they would return to their homeland. There were some Jews living in the area, along with Arabs, living peacefully. The Ottoman Turks ruled from the 600’s AD until the British conquered them during WW1, then the territory became a British possession, one they really did not want. There were legal papers drawn up over the years giving the Jews legal claim to a portion of the area, the League of Nations sanctioned the claims, when they broke up and the newly formed United Nations came into existence, the paper work was transferred to into the control of the UN. But…nothing more happened, until WW11 ended and the Holocaust was seen by the world. Everyone cried out for the Jews to be given a land. Many people worked to make it happen and on May 14, 1948 it did. Israel became a nation and Harry Truman our President recognized Israel as a sovereign nation. Now the sad part of the tory is this, the same size portion of land the Jews accepted, the “Palestinians” refused to accept.

TO BE CONTINUED…

God’s Point of View

Did you ever give a thought to seeing “things” from God’s point of view? I never did until I read Colossians 1:9, “see things from God’s point of view…” it seemed like an impossible thing to me. How could I , with my finite little mind, see my life and others from His point of view? We are so use to looking at everything the way we always have, and don’t give it a thought after we come to Christ. But…I began to see that was not what God had in mind…He wanted us to learn from His Word, apply what we were learning and allow it to penetrate our minds and hearts. Scripture says “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks…” the mouth speaks what we are storing up internally. I found many times that what I was learning from the Lord was contrary to my natural way of thinking and especially different from many things I had been taught I had to pray hard and long to get input from Him. My mind/heart  did not want to give up it’s own way and I would tell myself, “yea but.” However, God always prevailed, and as I read and compared Scripture to Scripture, I slowly realized just how messed up our human reasoning was/is and how abundantly clear God’s Word was if we would persevere.

Everything we say and do begins in the mind. As a side issue, anything we put in our bodies, such as booze, drugs,etc., will cloud it and keep us from thinking God’s thoughts. In the same way, being unwilling to obey something God is telling us to do will hamper growth…when we won’t…we stay where we are until we obey. Just a principle I learned over my years of reading. God wants His best for us but it comes at a price…yielding. And we do not do that easily. You might say the mind is the watchtower of your life, what you put into it shows in your life, your speech, your mannerisms, certainly your character. Here is something to think about…what did Christ mean when He said if we would follow Him, we must “take up your cross” and follow Him? That really perplexed me for along time. Finally, years ago, I attended a seminar for Christian workers at Sandy Cove with my son Bill and his wife. The speaker was John MacArthur, our favorite writer. During his teaching he said this, “ take up your cross…what does that mean? Well, it means to give up your right to yourself, your life, your plans and desires and give your life to Him to use as He sees fit…willingly.” That last part is the key to “our cross.” He wants us to serve willingly, with our whole heart, soul, mind, strength. He did not want to take up His cross and be separated from the Father for the first and only time in His life anymore than we want to give our total selves up to Him for whatever He has in mind. And frankly, many times we do not know initially what it is He has for us to do in service to Him. I know I didn’t! One of the areas of our lives we have the most trouble conquering is our right to ourselves, personal rights it is referred to in counseling courses. When we come to Christ, we give up our rights, especially our right to our own lives…no more “old nature” ideas and actions, but a putting on of the “new nature” made in the likeness of Christ. Really, it’s a no-brainer…

All in all, seeing things from God’s point of view is not difficult. It is mostly a matter of wanting His best and being willing to let Him have His way in your life.

An Authentic Christian Life

How many people have you met over the length of your Christian life that when asked, “are you a Christian” answered yes…then as time went by, you really, really wondered? And…as you wondered, felt guilty because you were “judging.” Well, I have a lot of experience with that kind of question and answer. Very perplexing to say the least. Not the part about judging but people saying they are believers and yet live like heathens. What are we to do? How are we to know? Some of what I am going to write is my opinion, some from Dr Kinlaw’s writing. I trust you will have something to ponder.

Our belief must be authenticated by how we live and how we live on a consistent, day-to-day basis. We are NOT to be like the world, the Scripture says to be “in the world but not of it…” Have you ever thought about what exactly that means???? I have given that a lot of thought, mainly because of hearing people say things about judging when you ask about or discuss certain behaviors. There are the obvious things like drinking, smoking, sleeping around…but today, those are socially acceptable ways of behaving, God forgive us….you get answers like, “the Bible doesn’t say anything about not drinking or not smoking…” but the Bible does say not to be drunk. In my opinion, and I say that on purpose, it is a better thing not to drink at all if only for testimony sake. But, there are other reasons. Alcoholism pretty much runs in family lines. If there are drunks in your family line, why would you want to risk the behavior just to be sociable???  Believe me when I tell you, it’s not worth it, my husband was an alcoholic, from a long line of alcoholics. It not only eventually killed him, but it ruined our life together, destroyed our business, had a profound influence on our two kids, (God took a hand in that, He brought them both to Himself and gave them partners and careers that led them to a life lived for Him) and forever influenced our way of looking at “social drinking.” As far as promiscuous sex, the bible does directly address that as a no-no. Some have said silly things like “God doesn’t want us to have any fun,” or “no one will know,” or “I’ll be careful not to get pregnant.” There are other results and implications that hardly ever get talked about. STD’s for one, physical damage for another. I think the worst is the emotional damage, because it is never talked about or recognized. God made us to be monogamous, that is what He indicated when He said, “the two shall become one flesh.” Two people joined in sexual union are for all intents and purposes, one. That oneness was designed for one man, one woman for life. When we break out of God’s order, not only are we in sin, but we are damaging ourselves emotionally. It may not show up immediately, but in the mind, it does it’s work because the way God made us is broken. And, that can make for serious damage. All three of those things usually cause one to “sneak around,” to hide the behavior. We would not want everyone to know what we are doing! And in the end, it is the emotional damage worldly living causes that does the damage. inappropriate dress goes with worldly living, and……….it could lead to rape……..or worse. Going to movies or viewing video/tv that is inappropriate can damage the mind/emotions. Watching too much brutality twists the conscience. There are probably many, many more. If you let your mind wander you can probably think of quite a few yourself. Ponder these things, they may be in your life or you may be thinking of putting them in your life…my advice…DON’T!

TRUST

Do you believe God is the Creator, Sustainer and Lord of all? Do you believe that strongly enough to obey what He directs you to do? Psychologically, you will not obey one you do not trust and you cannot trust one you do not know. You can only learn Biblical faith and trust from an armchair in a limited way. Until you risk, and frequently risked greatly and God has worked for you, you trust will not be in operation. That biblical faith emerges when you have risked a lot and know that if God does not work for you, you’re sunk! We are all acquainted with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego…they told the King whether God saved them or not, they would not bow the knee to him. Now that is real faith!!! And, God did save them, in a dramatic manner. David the King urges all to put their full trust in Him…he says this over and over in the Psalms.  Biblically, the word trust indicates a relationship of two friends that know each other VERY well, and know the depth of the other’s character. That is how we can “know” God will undertake for us..we know His Word and we know His character. It takes a pretty long and intense relationship with God to be able to trust Him completely but it is attainable…because He wants us to know we can trust Him. And,…glory of glories, He will trust us with His work, His people, His message. Is there anything better thn that. 

WHEN DO WE HAVE ENOUGH?

I have found over the years that this is a very interesting question…with many interesting answers. Some say they can never have enough, some say enough to cover expenses and a little for pleasure. Both good answers. But what comes to my mind is, what does God think is enough? I don’t know if He is really definitive but He certainly makes suggestions, usually by illustrations. I personally like Matthew 6:19 to the end of the chapter…God first tells us not to “lay up” treasure here on earth” (don’t accumulate much wealth) but “lay up” in Heaven, send it on ahead so to speak by using your money for the good of the Kingdom. The problem seems to be how and when we determine we have enough and decide to do for the Kingdom with what’s left! In general, it is just not part of our thinking processes to give what we have away. It does not come easily, takes a commitment to God and a lot of practice. I know, because my last 35 years have been lived that way. It has been an adventure let me tell you. Prior to turning my life over to the Lord I had many years of living well, VERY well. My husband and I did everything there was to do. But, everything changed when I became a committed Christian, I was never the same again and I am very glad. God took me in hand and began to teach me “how much is enough”…I willingly gave Him all I had, it wasn’t easy and I had a lot of questions. The last part of chapter 6 began to impact my soul and thinking processes. Over the next 10-15 years I was amazed at how God took what I had given Him and used it for His glory. He taught me what was valuable and what wasn’t. He taught me to wait…very hard for me. But, I never lacked anything I needed, did lack some of what I wanted and usually had to wait for what He had for me. I am not unusual, He will do the same for you. Enough? He will gladly show you what enough is for you, and He will expect you to give Him what is leftover. Many missionaries go with out necessities that could be met with very little, but someone has to be willing to give that little, how about you? Do you know an area of need you can meet and still have enough for yourself? Probably…try it and be amazed at how wonderful God is when you give yourself over to Him.

“Letting God Be God…”

I love Dr Dennis Kinlaw’s devotional, This Day With the Master. I frequently put some quotes from it up on Face Book. He has a way of saying things that strike a note in my heart, and I trust in yours also. This blog is mostly from the last few days of reading from his book. I trust you will enjoy!

The Ten Commandments…if you give them some thoughts, they are all encompassing. Take the FIRST…” Thou shalt have no other gods before me” literally means to let God be God! He is telling us nothing else really matters, just Him and our relationship to/with Him. The others all seem to have a sort of commentary on the first. If any of us would honestly contemplate what God has done for us and continues to do on a day to day basis, allowing Him to be our all is not too much for Him to ask or expect. However, how many people do you know that think and act, “God first and foremost?” I dare say not many since when you do, people tend to think you strange and keep their distance. They really think you go overboard, but would never tell you that. I read on another page, “I live and breathe God.” same idea…the SECOND is very similar, “thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,” and is talking about our relationship to anything that is NOT God. So, the first concerns our relationship to Him, the second our relationship to    everything/everyone else. The THIRD has to do with language…how is yours? Do you exhibit Christ when you speak? The FOURTH has to do with time…do you use yours wisely or do you fritter it away? The thing closest to us, our speech, and the thing farthest away, our time, both come under God’s law. The FIFTH, SIXTH AND SEVENTH are connected, sanctity of the home, life and sex, since we all come from a home, have life and a gender, God wants to ensure that all of us order our lives correctly so as to be a blessing and not a curse. The last THREE also tell us God wants to ensure that we measure all of our lives to be a blessing and to bless him…possessions, truth and desires are all compelling character traits and need to be under His control. So how do you sum up? Are you compliant to the will and Word of God? Or…are you more about yourself? Remember, He ALWAYS knows and does what is best for us, whether we acknowledge it or not.

Thinking of THAT day, 9/11/01

On Monday, I had an invasive breast biopsy and wasn’t feeling particularly good on Tuesday. I got a call from my pastor asking if he could come by for a visit, bring coffee and donuts from Dunkin. I said sure. We were sitting in my living room with the TV on, tuned to Fox when they announced and then showed the first tower being hit. Pastor John and I looked at each other incredulous…what in the world was going on???? Pastor came for a short visit, stayed most of the day, glued to what was going on. It was almost too much to grasp. How could anyone plan and carry out such a terrible plan? How can anyone contemplate the murder of thousands of people? How can anyone hate that much?

Pastor and I both knew the Scripture, all the areas that speak to the conflict between the Arabs and the Jews, where and when it began. They started talking on the TV about Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and who else may be behind it. They certainly seemed the most likely candidates.

As you think about the horror of the incidents and the days that followed, do you like me TRY to grasp the depth of hatred and rage it takes to commit a deed like that, especially in “God’s” name??? I really cannot, but it tells me in the Scripture that it’s so and that they, would always be at odds with their brothers. Now, the question becomes, who are they and who are their brothers. For lots of background and details as well as Scripture verses to back these statements up in previous blogs. If you scroll up you can read the details in the blogs about Israel.

The story goes like this: God wanted a people of His own, to love, care for and fellowship with. He called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldea's, took him to another place to settle, Canaan. There was a famine and Abram took his family to Egypt for food. When they returned to Canaan they brought with them a maid for Sarai, Abram’s wife. Her name was Hagar. God promised Abram a land, and a posterity but he and Sarai were childless and getting quite old. So they decided to “help God out.” Culturally, it was ok if a servant had a child by the master, it was considered his and his wife’s. Hagar conceived, bore a son, named him Ishmael. Later, Sarai, now renamed Sara, conceived at the age of 90 and Abram, now renamed Abraham was 100. She bore a son, the son of promise and gift of God, and named him Isaac. Years later as conflict between the women and the boys grew, Abraham had to send Hagar and Ishmael  away, back toward Egypt, Hagar’s place of birth. Genesis tells us that God told Hagar that He would bless Ishmael because he was Abraham’s son, make 12 tribes from him and bless him. But…he would always be at odds with his brethren, the descendants of Isaac. He would be a wild man, live in tents. Ishmael lived this out along with Esau who was born later but also was not inclined toward Abraham’s God. Basically, if you read carefully through the Old Testament, you find they always worshipped pagan gods, always. This goes on even today, almost all Arabs and Muslim’s worship Allah, who is not the same god as Jehovah God. So you can see, over the years, the hatred grew and grew and today, the world is calling the Israeli’s  “occupier’s”. Not so, not only does the Bible give the area outline of what God gave the Jews, but history records the declarations of legal ownership granted Israel by the League of Nations and later the United Nations in 1948. Incidentally, the “Palestinians were offered equal territory in ‘48 but refused it. This is what we have today, in 2011, but it will soon end, God’s way.

ISRAEL, con’t part five

You may wonder why I am so intent on writing about Israel…mainly because God loves them and tells us to, then because since 1948 they have been in the right about their land. Yes, God gave it to them, it’s boundaries are laid out in many places in the Scripture, also Jews have lived in that area for 6,000 years along with Arabs. Their main dispersal was in 70 AD, but remnants have always been there. In 1948 the newly formed UN (previously was called the League of Nations) “partitioned” the land and offered the Arabs a section as well as the Jews. The Jews accepted, the Arabs said no! Now you tell me who are the “occupiers?” All of this recent history has gotten lost someplace…NO ONE in the general public seems to know the true story. God will not hold those guiltless who believe the lie!

Today I would like to talk about what is written in Ezekiel 37-39. God tells the prophet to write about Gog and Magog. He starts off with an oratory on bones…He asks the prophet is these dry bones can live? As Ezekiel watched the bones began to come together. God told the prophet He would put meat on their dry bones, cause them to stand up, a mighty army, and breathe life into them again. They stood up but were disheartened, hopeless. His answer is wonderful…” I will dig up your graves and bring you out alive O My people. Then I’ll take you straight to the land of Israel, and you will come to realize I am your God. I have said it, and I’ll do it!” ™

He told Ezekiel to cut two sticks and write on them, one for Joseph’s people and one for Judah’s. Then tie them together and make one stick. Tell the people I am making them one people and am calling them out of the nations to which I have exiled them.They shall be one people living in the land of Israel, their home, and they will live and thrive in the land and mountains of Israel and all the world will know that they are mine. Their land will bloom and be prosperous, and they will be free and they will be Mine!

Then God told Ezekiel to prophecy a time when a country from the far north will desire what they have and will invade them…the land of Gog and Magog…present day Russia. Joining with her will be Iran, Ethiopia, Jordan, and Syria. But…God will deal with them Himself and they will be defeated in the mountains of Israel. He will send an earthquake that will split the area, torrential rains, hail, lava flowing from the eruptions,..” I God will call for all out war against you O Gog, and you will know how great and holy I am …I will make myself known all over the world and never again will I let my  holy name be dragged in the mud!”

More next time…

Israel, con’t part five…reading Revelation

I don’t wish to comment on the early chapters of Revelation dealing with John’s letters to the various churches, at least not a this time. But I have been intrigued this time reading through, about the things God will bring about during the Tribulation. It’s only been a year since I read the entire book through but my goodness, how things have changed in a year and the happenings of the rest of the book are that much more probable. so here goes…

Chapter Five  gives us a beautiful picture of the Throne Room of God, we can only imagine! One is seated on the Throne and holding a scroll, thought to be the title deed to the earth. All around are Angels, various and unusual animals, 24 thrones circling the main Throne, with 24 white-robed Elders wearing golden crowns. There were thunders and lightening's, all sorts of gorgeous colors, the colors of precious jewels. The angels were of many differing sorts and would cry out,”Glory, Glory, Glory” and “Holy. Holy, Holy.” The Elders would respond by throwing their crowns before the Throne crying, “Worthy, Worthy, Worthy…”  The scroll in the hand of the One on the Throne was written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. But no one was present,worthy  to open the scroll, and John wept. Suddenly there appeared a Lamb, slaughtered but standing tall. The Lamb took the scroll from the One on the Throne and all those in the throne room fell down and worshipped and sang a new song to the Lamb and the One on the Throne. There were thousands times ten thousands all praising and glorifying the Lamb and the One. Then John says, “everyone” in Heaven, on Earth, in the Sea and under the Sea sang, “Worthy, Worthy, Worthy.” We can only imagine!!!!!

The Lamb took the scroll and tore open the first seal. One of the animals called out, “come out…” and out came a rider on a white horse carrying a bow, (no arrows) was given a victory garland and rode off conquering! A second animal cried, “come out…” out came a red horse to make war with the people of the earth, taking peace, and he was given a huge sword. A third animal cried, “come out…” out came a black horse carrying scales, to weigh the food, little for the poor and more than enough for the rich. A fourth animal cried, “come out…” and a colorless, sickly, pale horse came out, it’s rider was Death and Hades close behind. They were given the power to take 1/4th of the population by war, famine, and disease. A fifth animal cried, “come out…” I saw the souls of those killed for holding fast to their witness to the Word of God. They were under the altar and cried out to God, “How long O Lord until we are avenged???” They were each given a white robe and asked to be patient until their number was complete. The sixth seal brought forth a terrible earthquake, sun turning black as ink, moon all bloody, stars falling out of the sky, everyone running for cover, EVERYONE! All sought cover crying, “save us from the One who sits on the Throne and the Lamb for the day of their wrath has come!

What does all this mean???? It means all is in readiness for the playing out of this scenario. Think about the individual seals…peace…a treaty between Israel and the Palestinians would create a sense of peace would it not? But it wouldn’t last and there would be war, thus the red horse. The famine is here already, but it would get worse if there was a widespread war. Enough of a famine and deaths could reach extremely high levels.  In present third world countries there are people dying all the time, these tragedies would exaserbate the situation. More next time…

Israel, can't part 4

What will it mean if this anti-Semitism continues and/or gets worse? To me, it indicates one more time that we are definitely in the last days and moving rapidly toward Christ’s return for His bride!  In my opinion, when Israel became a nation in 1948, the scenario was “kicked off.” Old Testament prophecies began to come alive as Israel bloomed, prospered and began to make her mark in the world. US Presidents,Congressman,Senators and other important persons saw her as a force to be reckoned with and were very supportive of her democratic government, the ONLY nation in the Middle East that was democratic. That attitude continued for decades, President after President, just about all were supportive of this tiny nation thriving in the midst of her Arab neighbors…all were antagonistic and threatening. The world quickly began to forget that the “so-called” Palestinians had refused their own state, were NOT the original occupiers of the area, thousands of years ago both Arabs and Jews shared the land, and the more antagonistic toward God…pagans…were conquered by the Israelites at God’s instruction so as not to pollute the holiness God instilled in them as a pattern for living. Even God’s instruction to the Jews was at times harsh but it was always to keep down sin among His people. You may ask why God desired a group of people He called “His”…what purpose did He have in mind in calling Abraham out from his homeland and people, not even telling him where He was taking them????  Well, He wanted 1) a people, a group of people actually, that would love Him and obey Him, and be His very own people that He would love and care for eternally, 2) a people that would keep account of His instructions and preserve the writings, 3) a line of people that would remain pure that He could use to bring His Son into the world as Savior of all. In return He gave them a land, starting with Abraham, that would always be His/theirs. The key word here is “OBEY…” Of course they did not, He was constantly dealing with them in their sin, the whole of the Old Testament is full of the account, and much of the New. But, the Covenant He made with Abraham was unconditional since He knew they would not keep it, and unconditional is unconditional…then and now! He said “I will bless them that bless you and curse them that curse you,” then and now. He never breaks a promise…

 

If we go back to the book of Daniel, we’ll get a timeline of God’s dealing with Israel. All is accomplished with the exception of seven years. get out your study Bible and check it out, all but seven years. We Christians refer to that time period, as does the Apostle John in Revelation, as the Tribulation. Jesus Himself referred to it in Matthew 24-25, calling it a time when there would be such horrible events He would have to intervene at the end or none would survive, so terrible nothing in past history would compare and as you know, some pretty awful things have happened so it must be going to be too horrible to even contemplate. But it will come because God said so and He never changes His mind or breaks a promise.

Israel, con’t

A PRISONER SET FREE TO SING… A wonderful lady from the past, Madame Guyon, wrote lots of encouraging poems and other pieces of literature from her prison cell where she spent most of her life for her witness. Those were days when prison cells were usually holes in a wall, cold, dark, and yet she had incredible faith in her God to always be there with her…and He was! “ A little bird am I, shut out from the fields of air, And in my cage I sit and sing to Him who placed me there; Well pleased a prisoner to be, because, my God, it pleases Thee. Nought have I else to do; I sing the whole day long; And He whom most I love to please, Doth listen to my song; He caught and bound my wondering wing, But still He bends to hear me sing. My cage confines me round; Abroad I cannot fly; But though my wing is closely bound, my heart’s at liberty. My prison walls cannot control the flight, the freedom of my soul.” The presence of God hallows every place it touches…

ARE YOU PURE IN HEART?????

I read a devotional, “This Day With the Master” by Dr Dennis Kinlaw. He is a wonderful, Godly man who most days stirs my heart. Today I read this and his comments on I Thess 5:23-24…”We realize it is one thing to have our sins forgiven, and quite another matter to have our inner heart cleansed.” It has been my experience in 30 years of prison ministry, teaching and counseling inmates and interacting with the staff, that verse is entirely so and completely practical. Most of the time we believers concentrate on getting a person “saved.” Of course that is paramount, but it is also step one. MOST of the men I met in prison that had religious experience in the past, could remember a time when they had an experience with the Lord…but…here they were, addicted, friendless, family gone,no decent future ahead, sitting in prison. A question I get asked many,many times: what happened to me? Valid question. Most of us in the free world could ask the same thing. Years ago my friend and mentor, Chaplain David Wilson had me get acquainted with material by Dr David Seamanns, Healing For Damaged Emotions. He could not have given me a greater gift because I learned the answer to that question. It took much study and prayer. I developed what I call “think time.” I would hit a place in the material that really struck my heart. I needed to spend time meditating, pondering, thinking it through. It is a remarkable work, I once had the pleasure and privilege of meeting Dr Seamanns at his home, shortly before he moved on to Glory. He radiated love. His work radiated that same quality of love, and caring. You can tell he knew experientially what he was writing was true, needed, healing. Personally, I don’t think you can teach it until you have read and applied all that is in that work of love. Heart cleansing is a continuing process…theologically it is called sanctification. Scripture tells us to be ‘renewed in the ttitude of your mind…” and that sums it up. However, it is a life-long process and we individually must make a commitment to do it. Most are not willing to devote the time required, and most are never taught the need to cleanse our minds…our sin-riddled, ugly minds.Some even believe and/or are taught sanctification happens at salvation, we are saved and healed all at the same time. It is as if the Lord was the tooth fairy who tapped us on the head with a magic wand and whalah! Whole…it just doesn’t happen that way. We must read the Word, study it, memorize it, meditate on it and most important of all…apply it! A cleansed mind is not possible apart from applying the truths of God’s Word to our every day lives and all of our interaction with others. It is actually a life-long process. We need good, faithful, godly teachers, we need mentors that will walk along the path with us, We need someone we trust that we can and will be accountable to. When you get to the point where these things are part of your life each and every day…you will grow in grace and find yourself well long the road to a godly life. I wish you well!

Osama bin Laden

Been thinking a lot about what has gone on these last couple of days. I am satisfied that an enemy of our country is gone and out of any position of influence. However, I don’t think we have heard last of the incident, I don’t think the Arabs will leave it alone, and we may have some very ugly days ahead. We’ll see. I re-thought the matter of burying him at sea, probably the best  thing so as not to make it possible for him to be “worshipped.” I do believe he is dead..

I’ve heard the question raised as to whether or not it is proper to “rejoice” especially for Christian people…God loves everybody, they say.  True, that is why He makes the Gospel available to all sinners, either by words or by nature…and Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient for even UBL! I am pretty sure God is grieved when an unredeemed person dies, He knows their end and that it is permanent simple because of Who He is and what it cost Him to redeem. the “choice” is ours. He gave, we must receive.I have not had a sense of “happiness” over this, more like concern…what will this do within the Muslim/Arab community in retaliation, THAT concerns me a lot.

I have read and studied Scripture for almost 40 years, have especially spent time with prophecy and the history of Israel. Even made my own timeline so as to really “get” how things happened to God’s people, and when. We westerners wonder how the Arabs can be so vicious and ruthless…beheadings in brutal, painful ways, torture and so-called honor killings and many other atrocities. How can they do that and how can they treat women the way they do????  Even in Jesus day women were treated badly. He spoke up and to women, included them and raised them to a higher level than they had been allowed. If we go all the way back to Genesis and look at Jacob and Esau...there was great conflict between those brothers, and that conflict continues to this day.There are verses in Genesis that tell us those who eventually formed the Arab nations were “’wild men, “ always at odds with their brethren, brutal. In other words God says it is part of their nature, the majority unregenerate, sinful. That is why the on-going battle with the Jews is as fierce as it is, a family war so to speak. Not to say salvation is not available to them…it is. Each of us can believe and receive God’s gift or not…even Osama bin Laden.

PRAYING WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO SAY…

I GUESS WE HAVE ALL BEEN TO THAT PLACE MANY, MANY TIMES. You have  situation you don’t have a clue as to how to help, solve or even talk to God about it. I can’t say I have any definitive answers, even enough of an answer to satisfy myself. I do know this…the solution lies with us, not HIM. For instance, there is a situation in our family, (bet you have at least one too,lol) that there appears to be no answer to, on a human level. To just blithely say, “oh, just give it to God” is silly, our minds won’t let us. One morning as I was praying for my family with my Bible open on my lap, I saw this verse, “Reflect on what I am saying, for I the Lord will give you insight into all these things.” 2 Timothy 2:7. God can’t lie…that is a statement with no conditions except to reflect…think…meditate…consider…ponder. And, then there is the BIG part, WAIT. God will bring to your mind the insight you need. In my experience, that could be an hour, day, month, or years, since He isn’t only working on you and your view of the problem but you don’t know how many other people are involved in some way,that He is dealing with. We don’t think of that. And, of course that’s why God is so interested in our learning to fully trust him! I found years ago that the Lord taught me many basic character qualities as He walked me through lessons that could only be learned in times of stress and difficulty. It sounds trite but patience learned (or learning) leads endurance and longsuffering. Worry was a big flaw in my character. Learning to trust when I was so prone to worry and fretting  was a big issue that took Him years to break me of, but He did, I’ve become convinced most professing believers do not allow the Spirit of God to make the changes in us that are imperative if we are to show a fallen world Christ. And that is a great pity!

Another aspect of what I call the “how to pray syndrome.” The Scripture tells us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Here we are in the last days, Israel stands almost completely alone, America is about to turn it’s back on her, the Arabs/Palestinians/Muslims refuse to view history as it is recorded in truth but have their own version which is almost entirely erroneous. And of course no one wants to believe the Biblical version except a remnant of us…Israel and the Israeli’s are His! And…He goes into great detail about what He will do to those who come against His people as almost all are doing now. I know enough about prophecy to look at our world and its leadership and put it together…and it ain’t good! Back to praying for Jerusalem, how do I/we pray for this situation when we know the horrors that are about to befall the world, and especially Israel and the Middle East? The only solution I have come up with is to pray back to God a part of the prayer the Lord taught His disciples…”Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.”

I’m sure you have situations in your life and family that you wonder how to pray. I think the best “rule of thumb” is a word from the verse in Psalms I quoted above…reflect…God speaks to us in a small voice, usually but not always from His Word and gently will lead us where to go or what to do. Wait…Trust..and pray.

THINKING, LOVING AND CARING ABOUT ISRAEL

I am a Bible believing Christian, every jot and tittle, I follow and read about prophecy, I also follow and read about current events. I’ve been a Christian, a very committed one, for 37 years, got right with the Lord through reading Hal Lindsey’s Late, Great, Plant Earth in 1974. I had been properly instructed in the Scripture as a child so I knew what he was talking about was true, and probably coming about soon. I remember either watching or hearing the UN voting on Israel’s partition. I remember Abba Eben  speaking before the UN as they debated what to do. At the time, I didn’t know what was going on but for some reason, I had a sense of “history.” I remember President Harry Truman making a speech stating our nation’s recognition of Israel as a nation. I wasn’t very old so I don’t remember too many details but after my experience with the Lord in ‘74, I remembered, and gave it a great deal of thought. I’ve been “thinking out loud” about Israel and her place in God’s world and ours. I consider it a great privilege to be alive now, in this time period, when I believe God’s final dealing with Israel as well as His wrath with mankind will be happening. There is a saying, “I’m not expecting the undertaker, I’m expecting the uppertaker!”

These last couple of years have been incredible in light of Bible prophecy. People say they can’t understand Revelation or Daniel or any other of the Prophets…hogwash…they don’t want to. The speed with swift…the Bible uses the term, “suddenly.” Who, 40 years ago would have thought the Arabs/Muslims would be taking over as they have these last years. Who would have thought the nations would be aligned as they are, with everything moving in the direction of one, great big world, governed by a few liberal radicals or that Christianity a we have known it would be almost totally wiped out! It is happening so fast it almost takes your breath away. Jesus told us, warned us, begged us, and still we don’t listen…then or now. The show is about over and we are soon to see the finale.

If President Obama turns us away from supporting Israel and being her greatest ally…it’s all over. There are more verses of Scripture that speak to the issue of “those who love Israel/those who hate Israel” than I can record on this blog but take my word for it, these are A LOT! God loves Israel and her people with an undying, unconditional, unexplainable love. And we as a nation had better think about that. But I doubt the powers that be will give it any thought and eventually we, Israel’s last important friend, will turn on her and she will be all alone. The big BUT here is this: they are never alone, Israel’s God will never leave her or forsake her, no matter how stiff-necked she is. Watch!!! We are about to see the greatest event in human history, the curtain falling on the drama of God and His creation of and love for humanity.

ENCOURAGERS VS DISCOURAGERS

Have you ever come away from a conversation and wondered to yourself, “what did he/she mean by that? Then you mull it over in your mind, and after awhile of doing that it seems larger than life…you find yourself either angry or hurt. I’m sure I am not the only person in the world who has and will do this very thing many times. It is not a very good practice, wouldn’t you agree? The question is, what do we do with our minds when we have created a “loop” of anxiety…

There are tons of verses that speak to this issue, which indicates to me that God very well knows all about our minds and its loops. I have always particularly liked Psa 34, where we are told three times, “fret not thyself…” and that is only the beginning of Scripture that addresses this issue, some of them I will put at the bottom of this blog. God knew when He graciously brought me to Himself, that I was a champion worrier. If I didn’t have something to worry about I could find something. He also knew the type of ministry He had planned for me to take part in…counseling inmates…so the worry thing had to go. When I was first born again I had plenty to worry about, a husband that was a drunk, a business he had started and was in the process of finishing with his drinking. We were almost bankrupt and he had a heart attack! It’s a long story I won’t tell here but rest assured I had plenty to worry about and no real resources.  I had recently read a book entitled Late, Great, Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey, a prophecy book. It reminded me of all I had learned as a child and young adult…and walked away from in my late teens. I did a 180* turnaround, repented and was never the same. Let me tell you, when God wants to teach you something, He really pours it on. Trouble upon trouble upon trouble. Of course I worried, my usual habit. However, now I had a new habit, reading bulk amounts of Scripture and good, solid commentaries to go with it. So much of what I read spoke to the goodness, the mercy, the loving kindness of God. In so many places it said don’t fret, don’t be anxious, He cares for you, bring your burden to Him. I knew He was serious, and I knew I had a problem that would get me nowhere, and probably keep me from hearing Him, and making wise decisions about the problems I was facing. So…I got myself a small notebook and began to write down what I believed He was speaking to me from His Word, and meditating then memorizing the verses. As I did this, I noticed the concentration on memorizing “broke” the loop of worry…interesting…I realized what my mind was focused on dominated my thinking! PTL…God could control my mind and my tendency to fret. I have never stopped memorizing Scripture…not in 35 years. I still have bouts of fretting and I still get anxious especially over change as I have gotten older but now I know what to do about it. I cannot thank Him enough for this wonderful gift. One last thing…I had read George Mueller’s life story, how he trusted God completely for everything and spent his entire life taking care of orphans in 16th century England. He trusted God so completely that He never asked a living soul for anything and in decades, God never let him down or the orphans do without. I read that and said to God that if He ever entrusted me with a ministry, I wanted to trust Him like George Mueller did. A few years later, He led me to begin Wings of Eagles, a ministry to prisoners and their family members, not exactly the most popular kind of ministry. He reminded me of what I asked Him about trusting Him as George Mueller did Wow! That was awesome! But, I promised I would. That was in 1981, He has never let me down, supplied my every need, never early and never late. He is indeed a good God, I love Him very much and thank Him with all my heart for teaching me to lean on Him, to trust Him and obey Him. Next time I’ll tell you how He “cemented” in my heart the fact that money would never be a problem for me. I wouldn’t have a lot but I would always have what I needed. And…I would always have Him!

Having the Mind of Christ, con't

I am old enough to remember listening with my father, the goings on at the UN, asd Israel was voted into becoming a nation. My father was an uneducated man but widely read and was fascinated by the history of the Jews. He was also a new Christian, I think that had something to do with it. His excitement and interest was contagious, and I've never lost my interest all things Israeli. The Bible makes it very clear, at least to me and soome others, just how much God loves Israel and does not at all enjoy chastening her. But He has, for her own good. After Israel was declared a nation in early May 1948, she was invaded by her immediate neighbors the very next day...can you imagine????? Remember, the arabs declined the offer of the UN for a place of their own...no one seems to remember that these days...and those same nations that invaded Israel and were pushed back by them, refused to allow the arabs in that area to come into THEIR countries!!! Imagine that! Remember also, Israel's land was a desert, nothing grew, thee people there lived like nomads. Now, the arabs erected places to live in and turned it into a ghetto. The US, the day Israel was born, acknowledged her existence thanks to then Preident Harry Truman. We began sending them lots and lots of money (the arabs) to assist them to make something of themselves. European countries also gave money...we are talking millions and millions here. And guess where the money went? Into the pockets of the leadership at the encouragement of the other arabs to keep them fom prospering and bacoming content. Israel built "kabutzes"...small settlements where people lived, and worked. They worked the ground and in due course, the land began to bloom! And...they offered to teach the arabs how to farm and give them the supplies they needed to move forward. Of course they were told "no thank you." All of these statements are provable by reading the many, many books written by those involved in this process plus observers. It is not a myth, it is fact, just as the Bibe said...in Ezekiel. The Us has been Israels main ally and friend all these years...until the present administration took over and began to cut of the relationship with Israel we had always had. Of course this will be our undoing since God promised to "bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. To Be Con't......