Powerful

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

My uncle sends the most wonderful e-mails I have ever seen. He sent me just one such this morning. It had some really rare pictures. They take my breath away as I think about a couple of them. One showed Hitler standing in front of the pope. My first thoughts were, " If I had one such opportunity whether or not I knew who he would one day become what would I have said to him?" Then if I did know who he would become what would I say to him then? What would you say to such a man from a man in such a position?
The other has me reeling with what if's and I wonders. It was a picture of a Ku Klux Klan man in the emergency room in full regalia. It appears to be in the sixties. He was being attended to by three or four black people. How did it affect them at the time? I figure they didn't have time to react to who he was and what he stood for, but only to his gunshot wounds. But when things settled down and they did have time to think about it, how would it have affected them? Would they regret having treated him? Could they continue their job? They performed their job without predjudice as they were trained to do, unselfishly. That is grace displayed. I do not know their thoughts and feelings. You can see the urgency on the face of one of the women. Now take the wonded man. How would he react to knowing that three or four black men and women had saved his life. Would it change his opinion of them? The people who he now owed his very life. How would he think of his life after that point? Would it affect him enough to change his activities? Would he be treated differently by those he aligned himself with? Would his contempt for innocent men and women be changed? How deep was his hatred? How were these lives impacted by that one fatefull moment now frozen in time? Powerful.

  

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3CATSLEP 10/19/2011 9:20PM

Thank you, Cindy! Good one! Report Inappropriate Comment

Follow Me, Boys (and Girls!)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

One of my favorite quotes through the years that I believe was made by Spencer Hays, says, "The person we become is determined by the people we hang out with and the books we read." That's why it is important to take notice who our kid's friends are. Not that we should judge anyone, but that we should take the time to truly get to know them. In my opinion, there is no one more positive to hang out with than Jesus. Even amongst His people we need to be careful who we choose as our friends. The enemy masquerades as an angel of light, so the Bible makes it clear not all those who claim to love Him do. I was reading in Jeremiah chapter 2 before church on Sunday and was getting some pictures of the backslidden. God loves those who have fallen away. He loves them dearly. Just as is spoken and shown in Hosea, the church that is not faithful can break the heart of the faithful One. Anyway, back to Jeremiah. It says that they followed after worthless idols and became worthless. They became like the one they focused their love and attention on. They ended up going where no one wanted to be and lived where no one wanted to live. That is what sin does to us. It takes us into a life no one wants and takes us where no one wants to go. It also said that they exchanged the living water for cisterns that were cracked and unable to hold water. I always thought the first time living water was mentioned was at the well with the Samaritan woman when Jesus said if we came to Him and asked He would give us the water of life that would quench our thirst forever. Another part that I really liked was where it said we changed their Glory ( meaning God Himself) for worthless idols. I loved that in my translation that Glory was capitalized. Sometimes we pray that He will show us His glory. I just really liked that He Himself is the Glory we seek. Every woman, I think, loves the picture of the bride. A lot of thought and time goes in to making that one day the best it can be. So when He asks how a bride can forget to put on her jewelry, yet we forget Him, it really hits home to this woman. The Bible says He beautifies us with salvation. That is what I thought of when I read this. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did on Sunday. Though the backslider was talked about, it gave me such a beautiful picture of my Beloved. So let us follow after Him and place our affections on Him. We will look better to the world as we become more like Him. We will have something to offer that is worth offering and we will live a live that others envy.

  

Shadows

Monday, October 17, 2011

Shadows can manipulate the light to make us think something is there that is not. Sometimes small children are easily fooled this way. Shadows also are bigger when the object that is being obstructed is closest to what is obstructing it. Shadows make it more difficult to see than what is in the light. The Bible tells us that the wicked lay wait for the righteous in the shadows and shoot their arrows to wound the righteous. It also says that we are to hide under the shadow of the Almighty. We must be close to the Almighty for that shadow to cover us. So today let us draw near enough to God that His shadow will cover us and we will be protected in His presence. For it is there, by faith, that the firey darts of the wicked one are quenched.

  

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3CATSLEP 10/17/2011 10:31AM

OOooooooh - I like what you said - we must be close to the Almighty to be under that shadow of protection - like under His wing! Thanks, Cindy! Report Inappropriate Comment

What Do You Look Like?

Saturday, October 15, 2011

What does your spiritual walk say about you? What does it say about your relationship with Christ? When others think about who you are as a christian, what comes to their minds first? I think some of this is important to think about. We do not need to fear men more than we fear God by worrying about what they will say about us. To know how we come across though is a different matter. The Christian walk will forever have its opponents. Those who are perishing will always find fault with what we believe. Maybe we can, however, benefit from being a little more gentle in our approach to them. We must deal with judgment in our hearts to be able to truly love. An attitude that is "holier than thou" turns people off. To be effective we must be clothed in love and compassion as Jesus was. He still made people mad. It comes with the territory so to speak. As much as it lies with us, let us be gentle as doves and clothed in mercy. The best place to do that is in times of communion with the Father in prayer. Let our lives be so saturated in prayer that that communion continues when we step into our daily lives. The world is changed by men and women who pray.

  

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3CATSLEP 10/16/2011 2:51PM

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PARISTASAI 10/15/2011 12:30PM

Thanks for the encouragement to look on the inner me! Much success to you on your getting healthy journey! Report Inappropriate Comment

Circumstances

Friday, October 14, 2011

God uses whatever we give Him to teach us our needed lessons in life. There are consequences to everything, good or bad. It is our choices that bring about these consequences. That is called free will. I do not want my children to love me because they have to, I want them to love me because they choose to. The same is true with God.
Bad things happen every day. Some would say that God caused them to happen to teach us a lesson. That is rubbish. My daughter recently hurt her knee. For me to wish that that would happen to her is nothing short of abuse. Likewise,God is not a God of abuse, but of infinite love. It was because of His great love that He sent His son to die for us. We may make poor choices in life that cause us to get hurt whether it be emotionally or physically. God can take that situation that was caused by our choice and use it to teach us truths about Him. Where we are may not because of where He would have liked to have seen us. We may have taken a detour, sometimes lasting years. God will use the circumstances in our lives if we will let Him and draw us nearer to Him. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy. God brings abundant life worth living. If we will but draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.

  

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3CATSLEP 10/15/2011 11:26AM

This is so true! I can certainly attest to it! Report Inappropriate Comment