The Job Experience

     God never promised that the road will be easy, after all the road is narrow. Plus, in the gospel Jesus says that "...it will rain on the just and the unjust alike." Sorrow, pain, trials, doubt, and death are all a part of this life and occur on the just and unjust. We ask, "Why?" I have come more to believe that these things occur to both the just and the unjust in order for the unjust to see the difference in how we as a community of faith respond to these situations. When we respond to these situations with faith in God, then that is a witness to others. They see the light of God in our lives. An example of this is Job. His wife told him to curse God and die, but instead he responded with faith and trusted God. That should be our response to tragedy in our lives, trust in God. God is not the cause of the bad situation, He will help you through. When you trust God in the face of the adversary, in every difficult situation, and in the good times then others will see God as he carries us to the other side. Others will wonder why we do not curse God and die, but when they see us on the other side, they will draw closer to him. 

So, when a loved one dies, then do not place blame on God, even if you prayed and struggled with them for a long time. The principalities and powers and rulers of the air caused this, not God. Our only true enemy is Satan and his demons, and they are defeated foes because we have the eternal hope in glory. Life is to short to be angry at God or any one else for that matter. Go forth in peace and love and pray for those that offend you. Love God, love your neighbor (all of humanity is your neighbor), and love yourself.

(+) Peace.

Christianity and Homosexuality

There has been a lot said about this subject and I cannot put my thoughts in better order than what has already been said. Here are my links that will give you my views on the subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpP3CaN_LsY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUmxDbSXvPU

http://TheBedKeeperBook.blogspot.com/

• http://www.TheSanctuarySTL.org
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• http://www.AffirmingTheology.com
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• http://www.GayChristianFellowship.com
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• http://www.Homosexianity.com
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• http://www.TheRebuttal.ws
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Do We Show Love?

     Why do people call themselves Christian, but they do not operate in love? A friend of mine that is a Free Will Baptist minister recently visited a larger city and commented on the wretchedness he saw their and the "oppressive spirit" he felt. Yet, he did not once try to reach out to a single one of the people he saw in the street. He did not try to talk to them or give them a hug. He just kept on walking and judged them for their behavior and their state in life. He calls himself a Christian, a minister even, yet does not show love or compassion. What a foul odor his actions must have been to the nostrils of God. No matter how righteous we act, if we do not have love, then are righteous actions are lost.

Prayer

     Many people blame God for things he does not do. The church is the Body of Christ on the earth. We are the ones that are supposed to be ensuring that children in Africa do not die of hunger. We are the ones that are to heal and forgive. We are the Body of Christ on the earth. He has given us prayer as a tool, but ultimately the situation is in our hands. What are you going to do about you neighbor on drugs? Sit and watch him ruin his life, or get on you hands and knees and pray to find out what God would have you to do? And, make sure you pray for that neighbor, that God would give him the strength to put the drugs down. Pray for your neighbor that  is hurting next to you, go to them and ask what they need. Prayers is our tool to help us help them. Why sit and be idle. Start by helping the person next to you.

Musings

(W.W.Y.D)

     My dearly beloved, I bet you wonder why I have gathered you hear today? Jesus loves us, that is why. I believe in Jesus because He is a great God. Although, I do realize that many people have done horrid things in His name. We cannot judge Jesus Christ by the actions of others. What would you do if people that followed you on Facebook or Twitter started doing things in your name and people blamed you? How would that make you feel? Hence my subtitle: What Would You Do?

Jesus Ate With Sinners

     Jesus ate with publicans and sinners. He did not preach at them or get angry with them. He enjoyed dinner with them. Why do Christians think we can gripe and complain and argue with atheist and other sinners and get anywhere? We will only get to them through love. Griping and complaining and arguments is not love. I Corinthians chapter 13 tells us what love is and love is none of those things. We need to learn that we all see things through different lenses and the best thing is to agree to disagree and live in peace and harmony with each other. I have atheist friends that  I speak with and we have our disagreements, but we are still friends and respect each other. Love you neighbor as yourself. Treat people the way you want to be treated.

 Randomness! ( a few good things)

Good Advice From a Friend!

You can't please everyone, so don't try. Be who you are. If others can't accept you for that, move on. They aren't worth your time or effort. If it harm none, do as Ye will. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Live your life as you see fit and let the small stuff slide. Life is far to short to spend it trying to be perfect in others eyes. Be the best person you can be and don't worry about what others think of you.

- from Macbeth

 

"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

 Signifying nothing" ~Shakespeare(from Macbeth)

A great image I found thanks to the Unvirtuous Abby!

 

Love and Reconciliation

            We have all been offended. Someone has done something to make us mad. Someone has said something hurtful to us, or not said anything at all. The word says that it is “impossible for offense not to come.” That means we all have been offended at some point. We cannot be in this world and not experience offense in some manner. The scriptures tell us that.

            What do we do when the offense comes? What do we do when we feel that root of bitterness start to swell within us? We must forgive them. The bible says that if we go to the alter and have bad feelings toward someone then we must go to them and ask for their forgiveness. Until this sermon came to me I had wondered why the Bible said that there would be those who came and said I did all this things in your name, but Jesus said go away I never knew you. They were offended. They held grudges and let the evil of bitterness take root in their life. Without the love of God we cannot enter heaven. Even Jesus while being hung on the Cross by the Romans and the Jews said “Father forgive them for what they do.”

            Someone that listens to this may say, “You do not know what they did?” We must stop being victims and giving these people that hurt us by their offense control over our lives. We must pray to God that He would give us forgiveness so that we may pray that these people be blessed and happy and prosperous in their lives, that their journeys be full of goodness and mercy. The bible says to pray for your enemies. That even the lost take care of those close to them, so how are we different by doing the same. We must forgive them and pray for them. While I was in high school there were other students that bullied me, but every night I would go to the Lord in prayer and ask their forgiveness. As far as I know those students are now believers that follow God with their whole heart.

            I have lived through pain, I have had every chance to be offended, but I always have come to my senses and remembered what the Word of the Lord has said, “Pray for your enemies.” This road is not always the easy road, but if when we are able to look back we will see how taking the harder road has made a difference. Like the great poet Robert Frost said, “There were two roads in the yellow wood and I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.”

            We need love and reconciliation in our lives. We need to realize that as we come closer to the day of the Lord’s appearing that we need to minister peace and love even to those that do not share peace and love with us. This does not mean that we let ourselves get ran over, God never intended for us to be door mats. We cannot empower the bullies and let them control us. This means that once we have taken our stand then we get into our prayer closet. We ask for the strength for forgiveness, we pray as Jesus did, “Lord forgive them for they know not what they do.” We tell God that we forgive them and we pray that the Lord will bless them and protect them. We pray that He will bless them with wisdom and knowledge of His word. We pray that the goodness and mercy of the Lord will follow them all the days of their lives. We do this because the goodness of the Lord is what draws man unto repentance.

            This principle goes for every offense that we might face. No matter if the offense is as small as disagreeing with me about what color the church carpet should be or if the offense is murder of a loved one we still let love and reconciliation rule in our lives. This does not mean we have to be their friends and walk with them hand in hand. This means that we pray to the Lord and tell Him that we forgive them, and we love them, even if we have to love them from afar. We forgive them in person when possible. I go back to my situation in high school; I could not have told those students that I forgive them for what they did. They would have laughed in my face. I have gotten a chance to forgive one of them since they have come to the Lord. But, I would pray every night and forgive them in my heart as I prayed to the Father. If I had let the root of bitterness and unforgiveness grow in me then the bullies would have controlled my life while they would have forgotten all about the situation and went on their merry way. If we let feelings of bitterness and unforgiveness in then we are letting the one offending us control us. We must have a spirit of love and reconciliation within our hearts.