Mother's Day

A blogger friend wrote a beautiful letter in memory of her mother. I hope you can take a moment to read it, a blessing from above :)

http://lauraelizabeths.blogspot.ca/2016/05/a-letter.html

Spotting a Counterfeit Part 2

While going about reading some blogs and all-the-while still thinking on what I posted Saturday, I realize that there is a bit more I want to clarify regarding the previous posting, hence the part 2....and it may go on to part 3 and part 4 because there is so much that is jumbling about in my head that I hope I can convey  it in such a way where I can take it point by point rather than jumping all around it and making it more confusing for everyone, including myself, as I often tend to do.

I'll begin with what happened recently on my Facebook page with an ardent ANTI-Calvinist who was set on converting me to seeing how evil John Calvin was, and how all Calvinists today do not follow Jesus but have John Calvin and their leader and pope. We went round and round, I brought up the scriptures that "prove my point" and as he got uglier and uglier in his accusations against me, someone he doesn't know except for what he sees on Facebook, and against my husband when I would bring up something he has said to me, our conversation never came to our agreeing on anything. I hoped the best for him as I "unfriended" him because I just didn't want to continue such a dialogue, and even to myself my words of "I hope someday you get it, that the Lord will open your eyes" sounded mean and condescending.

Is this Anti-Calvinist misled on the topic of Calvinism? Truly he is, I saw it from everything that he said that he didn't do his own research and has only gathered information from those who are rabidly set against it so much so they have exaggerated and distorted pretty much everything they say about it. Was John Calvin perfect? No. He was a human being and therefore just as prone to error as any of us are. There are things that I have learned about John Calvin that I disagree with him on 100% such as his position that he had on the death penalty. 

John Calvin was a product of his time. In his day it was legal to be sentenced to death for heresy. John Calvin supported that legislation, and had Servetus (a Semi-Pelagian -- he held to several unBiblical heresies that would even today raise the eyebrows of anyone who knows their Bible) captured and it led to Servetus being executed by being burned on the stake. It would be the equivalent of today's Christians who support the death penalty for unrepentant murderers, because in John Calvin's day they viewed the murdering of souls more terrible than the murder of a mortal body. I don't support the death penalty, the Lord will end each life at the time appointed to him or her, so I don't agree with John Calvin on this point and neither do I agree with Christians today who want to see anyone executed for their crimes against humanity.

This futile conversation was just another example to me of the futility of arguing over these things. Neither of us was convincing the other of the truth and superiority of our position, and in fact, only brought a sense of further mistrust and dislike of the opposing position. My husband rightly pointed out that I only wanted to prove I was right, and then proved nothing to those who might have been following that conversation and who knew nothing of "Calvinism" or "Arminianism" or "Semi-Pelagianism", and if anything, might have thought less of Christianity if they were indeed unsaved and looking at us Christians fighting over.....who knows what. He pointed out that we have Catholic and unsaved family members who would give up on listening to anything about Jesus from my husband and I, who would simply look at us with an eye of suspicion, if not confusion. 

My husband's final nail in my coffin was this fact: 

There are probably MANY Arminians that are saved but just are a little confused or misled on the sovereignty of God issues, and my arguing with them won't convince them, only the Lord opening their eyes will convince them....exactly my words to my Arminian antagonist on Facebook that was said by me in condescension, yes of course it is true we know nothing unless the Lord reveals it, but my saying so was wrong. At this time we still see through a glass darkly. None of us have a perfect understanding of how all of this fits together, and the Calvinist issue of who chose whom"chicken or the egg" argument we know that God created both the chicken and the egg, and that is the point the Calvinist will make, yet the argument still is one that the answer can only come from God Himself showing us the answer, so why do I have to "Lord it over" others who do not quite understand it? If the Lord revealed it to me, can He not reveal it to them IN HIS TIME? If He revealed it, why do I act as though it was something I in my wisdom was able to gain and now have to try to pound it into other people who don't "get it"?

So, like I said in part 1, my husband reminded me: "Just point people to Jesus, Susan, He will bring them into all true understanding".

Amen, so true. 

In Part 3 I want to touch on the topic of the Charismatic movement...and that might be divided into a Part 4 as well, we'll see how it goes....

God's Timing, and God's Will Vs. Man's Will

 photo link

A recent discussion in the comments section of a blog post from a few months ago ....
 http://susanflutterbys.blogspot.ca/2015/03/another-post-on-hell.html
 had me marinating over the topic of God's will and man's will...again...I mean it is a topic that I often think about, and it had me go to that place once more.

The Bible likens the believer's relationship to a child and a Father. A child can demand all kinds of things at every whim or fancy, but does that obligate the father to give in to the child at that moment of the request? I think of the people that Jesus healed...some had been waiting for a healing for many years, begging that God would relieve their misery. Why didn't He? When Lazarus, beloved by Jesus, died, Lazarus's sister Mary complained that if Jesus had been a little bit sooner her brother would not have to have died. Why was He late? Or was He?

We have a timetable of when we think things should happen. There are many charlatans who will promise you that God will give you everything you want IMMEDIATELY and if He doesn't, it is because your faith is lacking, so show your faith by sending in all your money to the ministry....blahblahblahblahblah....

When looking for an image for this post, I found the one above, and interestingly, the story of the Doomsday Clock dovetails nicely with my thoughts about God's timing, God's will, and man's (and woman's...that is, mine included) impetuous nature. God answers when He does and the way He chooses to show us that it is His will, not ours, that causes what He does in our lives at the appropriate times, which often is not when we wanted it (immediately, whether it was yesterday, a week ago, or 20 years ago). Joseph had to wait in prison in Egypt MANY YEARS, having been falsely imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. When he explained a dream to two fellow inmates the one who lived promised to tell Pharaoh about Joseph's plight, but then it wasn't until another 2 years passed before he remembered Joseph when Pharaoh had a dream. How mean of God to keep Joseph in jail all that time for a crime he did not commit!!! How dare He! What an evil God! No, actually, it ended up all being for good (if you know the rest of the story, I know you would agree with me). But God could have done things differently. Why did people have to suffer in order for God's good to have to come so late? Ahh, is it to teach us patience? Perseverance perhaps? Maybe...but it is for God to do what He does for the reasons He knows are the correct ones. We would only be guessing, but a good God who has the welfare of His chosen ever in mind, does what He does for those who love Him.

This is a quote I ran across yesterday, it sort of tells part of this equation:

" Now God sometimes allows people to treat us unjustly. Sometimes He even allows their actions to seriously affect our careers or our futures viewed on a human plane. But God never allows people to make decisions about us that undermine His plan for us. God is for us, we are His children, He delights in us (see Zephaniah 3:17). And the Scripture says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). We can put this down as a bedrock truth: God will never allow any action against you that is not in accord with His will for you. And His will is always directed to our good. "
Jerry Bridges, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts

The Bible says the fiery trials purge us and refine us like gold in fire. The book of Job explains it beautifully.  God has made available all these things: warnings, rebukes, admonishings, wisdom, explanations, comforting passages, praises, love, and much more, and we can foolishly find ways to discredit what He says to us, or we can take it to heart and pray for His timing in the performance of His will in our lives. His will is to save the lost. Are you lost?

 Oh, and regarding the Doomsday Clock article...it's an old article...the time has been moved up to 3 minutes to midnite. The closest it has ever been to midnite was when they put the time at 2 minutes to midnite, and then after the cold war it was reset to 17 minutes to midnite....but God knows what time it is by His timetable. The disciples in Jesus day thought that the end of the world would be in their lifetime, and look at the patient endurance of God who is waiting for more people to save. He is patient...but are you patient, to the saving of your soul, with Him?

Another Post on Hell

I've touched on the topic of hell from time to time, I have a video on Bible Treasures here that explains from scripture what it is and why it is.

From most pastors descriptions of it we get this mental picture:

That isn't what I see in scripture. What I see is even more terrifying. This is what I see from the Bible what hell will be like:

The depictions of burning and agony are descriptions of "likeness"....like me trying to describe the color red to someone who is blind. From the descriptions of "outer darkness" and "weeping and gnashing of teeth" I see a consciousness that still has understanding and forever feels the horror of being outside of the presence of God (all that is good, merciful and true understanding of all things that are godly) to be left only with their own dark thoughts of selfishness seething and writhing in their conscious thoughts, in eternal, dark, solitary confinement to themselves, because it is themselves whom they worshiped instead of God.

A couple of posts ago Alice asked me to read a link (if you wish to search it out you can find it, but I won't put it here, I find it to be a huge waste of time and effort, so I hope to spare you that trouble). I did read this man's thoughts on the topic of hell and why he doesn't believe there is one...the same tired reason I keep hearing about: "A loving  God would not send anyone to hell", then gives only those verses that seem to support his notions that a "true god" (of his imaginings) could never send anyone to hell because it is God who is responsible for making us fallible, therefore, He will simply and graciously forgive everyone because it was all His fault to begin with...because God created us to be like Him and the only way we could become like Him is if we ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil....wait....isn't that what the serpent told Eve? And, isn't the serpent in the garden of Eden....satan, the devil?....so, was satan then actually telling Eve the.....truth? Sigh. Anyway, yeah, gave me a huge headache to read his ramblings....and, sadly, it is no wonder that poor Alice went further and further away from the truth by believing and trusting this kind of foolishness....if you can drop one fact given in the Bible, why not continue on and find more "evidence" that the Bible contradicts itself and that it's all just a bunch of stories or fairytales or what have you.

However, like it or not, there is a God, who sent His Son to die for our sins in our place, who will keep those who are born of His Spirit from getting their just desserts, hell. Whether we believe the truth or not, whether we want to believe whatever it is we would rather believe, it won't change the truth. Even if I could convince EVERYONE, that what is true really isn't, and that what I want to put in its place is so much better than what the Bible says is true, that my ideas are so much more profound, so logical, so appeasing and pleasant, so loving (I would be elevating myself in place of God here...do you see where I'm going with this?)...rejecting the truth of God, and wanting to replace my ideas with what God has made, and done, and what He promised He will do.....I have then made myself the emperor of the kingdom of myself....and He will give me the desires of my heart as a reward, or rather, as a punishment, because if I continue in that way, I will be in hell, with myself as my "god" forever, and my loyal subject is only myself, forever...and forever I will seethe in the reality of where that self love brought me.

God's love, however, is the kind that would die to self to save another. God's love is exemplified in Jesus, who died for sinners who did not deserve His love. His love doesn't save everyone. Those who love themselves so much that there is no room for God, will get what they worship, they will get what they love, they will end up with what they deserved. Those who repented, and humbled themselves before a holy God, who are born of His Spirit, and who then receive the gift of faith which brings them into true communion with Him (not as a religion, but as a reality) who would and do lay their lives down for their faith in Him, will get what they worship, eternity with a holy and loving God and all the good things that come with that eternal reward.

Seek Him while He yet may be found, and beg His forgiveness...and if you feel that He has not granted you the request of being renewed by Him, continue to be that beggar that begs His mercy, that seeks His forgiveness, and that seeks to forgive others and love others in the manner that He loves us.

God is a loving God, but He is also a just God. He will give everyone according to what we deserve. To those who seek forgiveness, He will forgive (not earned or deserved, it is grace). To those who seek self-gratification and self-righteousness and self-justification, He will give the reward of having themselves, forever, without Him, in hell, because hell is being eternally separated from God, eternally separated from the light of Truth, only  having yourself and your own lies and self-delusions to keep you company forever. Do not seek justice, because truly we all deserve that awful fate of being eternally separated from God. Instead of justice (eye for an eye) seek mercy and forgiveness, and if you continue in seeking He promised that He would lead you to Himself. That is my hope for all my unsaved family and friends, and for you dear reader that is reading this right now.

Harbouring Unforgiveness in My Heart

 Taking a little break from the Calvinist study to share something from my daily life...

 

"Cell Division" by Seliora

link to photo 

 

This Morning's Dream:

Interacting with many people in the hustle bustle of daily life, but I was noticing a change. People were becoming "more of what they are", like their inner lives were coming out into the open more and more, many seemed to be losing their minds. A few, like me, seemed to be outside of this transforming development. We were the truly thankful ones who had forgiven those who had hurt us in the past. The others that were changing ....became, or rather allowed themselves the freedom to exhibit their hatefilled self-centeredness, anger and their coldness. They still had a huge amount of anger, rage, and unforgiveness in them. Some didn't seem as bad, they still seemed to have a form of "goodness" but were quietly seething on the inside while appearing very haughty and still putting up an appearance of what looked like love, but it was only love for themselves and those they approved of. I tried to reach out to a man who seemed to be struggling in the middle. I told him to let go of all unforgiveness in his heart, to be truly thankful to God for the good things, for life. He looked at me and understood.

When I awoke from this dream this morning, I felt as though this world is like a cell in the process of cell division with the Lord's people on one side and the rest on the other, getting separated out, like the tares from the wheat, I didn't feel anxious or panicked about it, just very thoughtful, thinking over Jesus words about the unforgiveness and hatred I was seeing displayed in those who were not His:

 Matthew 18:23-35  "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 

 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.'  

And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.  But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, 'Pay what you owe.'  So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.'  

He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.  

When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.  

Then his master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.  And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?' And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.  So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."(ESV)

 Matthew 6:15  but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (ESV)

There are a couple of people that come to mind that I have never fully resolved an irritating issue between us, still harboring anger towards them, but keep  "it" in a hidden part of my being, so others won't notice it, and once in a while, that monster pops it's ugly head out and I shove him back into the dark corner where no one will notice him. He is a part of my flesh, and am thankful for this (above) parable.  I have given this problem to the Lord and He will do the delicate surgery required to heal everything in His time....but that doesn't let me completely off the hook. Sanctification is something that often gets confused with justification. Sanctification is a process that the Lord does in the life of a true follower of Jesus who is filled with His Spirit. All the ones perfecting themselves through their own "goodness" and own "abilities" will find themselves eventually on the wrong side of the spiritual war that is going on even now. 

Like faithful Lot we can pray with the Lord about these lost ones, but in the end, like with Lot, the decision rests with God. Does He transform them into the likeness of His being?..... or will they go on "perfecting themselves", still unrepentant, haughty, self-satisfied, hellbound....

  

Questions that Don't Require Answers....

And yet, I'll answer them anyway...on my own turf :) That way I won't keep going in circles with it.

!. the "why did you call me a hater?" question.

I was simply showing that you yourself "hate" Christians by using your definition of hate (not agreeing with them) that if you were honest you would see how you give yourself more leeway as to what you see in others as hatred directed towards you. That you wish to make it more than that is up to you....

2. More about God's love (and what atheists see as the lack of God's love...or God's apathy perhaps?) and about man's love for wife, children, etc. 

I'm surprised that I get asked this question by someone who has had training to hold a job as a pastor. I have to bring up the fact that this shows lack of proper education or perhaps a lack of comprehension on your part because this is Bible 101 for pastors. C.S. Lewis has a great little book entitled "The Four Loves" which breaks this down very nicely.

If you really want to know the answer to this and many other questions God ultimately is the one who knows them all best (but I know you don't like that answer). The alternative is to keep thinking only you are right and "if there is a God He is wrong"...good luck with that one. You will have eternity all by yourself thinking you are the most correct and it still won't do you any good.

Bruce you have one chance at a final question/rebuttal and then I'll shut the comments down because I see how these things deteriorate, and I'm not having that here. We are not going to play the endless circle of meaningless questions to show "I am right and Christians are stupid" here. Sorry if that upsets you.

Love and Marriage

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and it was also my last day at the hospital where I've been working for the past 7 1/2 years. I've so been looking forward to leaving that job, it was a tough job that put a lot of strain on my joints and back. It was getting more difficult each day to drag my tired aching body out of bed to get ready for another day of back-breaking activity. And yet, saying goodbye to everyone was bittersweet, and my husband laughed at me when after just an hour of having left that job for the last time, I was lamenting that I was going to miss everyone, after months of hearing me complain of how much I desired to leave. Oh the irony.

While cleaning my locker out yesterday, I carefully removed a piece of paper that was taped to the inside of the locker when I first "moved in". I decided I would make a copy of it and leave the copy so I could take this wonderful page (looks to be a copy out of a devotional booklet) which contained so much wisdom; that way I could have it always. The next occupant of that locker might decide to throw it away if he or she desires and yet I can have this one as a keepsake.

This is what it says:

THE MIRACLE OF MARRIAGE

Read: Matthew 19:1-8

Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." Genesis 2:23

   When Pastor Howard Sugden performed the wedding ceremony for my husband and me, he emphasized that we were participating in a miracle. We believed him, but we didn't comprehend the size of the miracle needed to hold two people together; much less become one.

   After 20 years, I realize that the marriage, not the wedding, was the real miracle. Anyone can have a wedding, but only God can create a marriage.

   One definition of wed is "to cause to adhere devotedly or stubbornly." For some couples, "stubborn" is a more accurate description of their relationship than "devoted." 

   God has in mind something much better for us than a stubborn refusal to divorce. The union of marriage is so strong that we become "one flesh." God wants marriage to be the way it was when He first created Eve from Adam (Genesis 2:21-24). That's what Jesus was explaining to the Pharisees when they asked Him, "is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?" (Matthew 19:3). Jesus replied, "A man shall...be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" (v.5). 

   To pledge your life to another is indeed an act of faith that requires belief in miracles. Thankfully, God is in the business of creating marriages. -- Julie Ackerman Link

The marriage bond that Joins two hearts
   No power on earth can break
If they commit their lives to Christ
   And of His love partake.  -- D. De Haan

A happy marriage is a union of two good forgivers.

image link

Hope you had a wonderful Valentines Day as well. 

Fear, Faith, and Love

Proverbs 9:10  The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.(KJV)

There are many misconceptions about our God. We want to make Him into our image, our ideas about what is loving and true, instead of coming to Him truly we still hold that little portion back that says "I know this better than He does".

What is "the FEAR of the Lord"? Why should we fear Him? He is SUPPOSED to be loving, so how can this be true at all?

The wisdom of the proverbs gives us that this fear is a beginning point.

When to Keep Silent

link to picture

Let me just say right off the bat that I have a problem with keeping my mouth shut when it is probably best that I do. Is my saying something every time I feel the urge to do so really that important to God? Speaking the truth in love, even when it seems unloving to the world is certainly important and necessary, is it not? Yes, AND, however, the Lord also wants us to do so with wisdom and compassion and love with the eternal consequences ever before us.

A long while back, a friend in the Lord gave me this illustration to help me understand what I was doing wrong. He said:

Say you have a cat. This cat loves fresh salmon. One day you put down a dish of fresh, yummy salmon for your cat, and your cat decided, for whatever reason, that he wasn't hungry yet. You, on the other hand, decide that it is time for the cat to eat the salmon you have placed before him, and you want him to eat it NOW. So you take the cat by the scruff of the neck and start jamming this yummy salmon down the cat's throat. This cat might never want to eat salmon again, especially if it is coming from you. 

Sigh. Wise words.

James 1:26  If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

Now having said that, I don't want to confuse the saying or not saying with something that is similar but ever so different. I also see this being done today, and it is just as wrong as saying things that need to be left to the Holy Spirit to convict the person of in His own time. What I mean is, it is also wrong to not say something because one wants to feign being "loving" but it comes out of a fear of losing the other person's affection. We are to speak the truth in love. That doesn't mean going on and on about something when the person stopped listening hours ago. It also doesn't mean not saying anything at all. It is somewhere in the middle. We need to have the wisdom to speak the truth in love, once, maybe twice AT MOST, and then leave it with the Lord to do His work in the life of that person, and just show that person how much you love him in the Lord.

Have I perfected this? No. It is still something the Lord is working with me on, to develop that wisdom of when to speak, and when to STOP IT and let Him do His work...this is difficult for me, extremely so. I go from one extreme (to go on and on about something) to the other (to not say anything at all, and do a "loving act" phoney as can be).

Thankfully, the Lord knows what to do with a few measly loaves and fishes (my feeble and much less than  perfect offerings), and make them abound with His good nourishment for the soul. :)

Answered Prayers

Lucy and family's blogsite

In Ma's comments yesterday I wrote:

I don't go for the "name it and claim it" stuff, but the Lord does want us to be persistent in asking, [however] sometimes He has something else in mind than what we are asking for...only He knows the full picture, we only see it in part, and then we ask amiss because we narrowly desire something that misses that bigger picture.

It is truly a trust issue, where even if our prayers seem to fail, God never fails in doing the right thing.

Lucy has been improving, Praise the Lord! She looks much different from that picture (above) taken about a year and a half ago. Her latest test came up clear of cancer, and the fact that she still lives is of course truly a miracle. 

However, if we don't get what we ask for, if Lucy had passed away, could it be because we didn't ask enough? Or didn't say the "right words"? Or because God forgot about showing us His mercy in her situation? 

There are many times He answers "no" to our requests for healing. Why is that?

A young woman I work with recently had a surgery to try to solve her sleep apnea problems. She is a beautiful person, inside and out. She always had kind things to say about others. She had a beautiful laugh and a gorgeous smile. She's an architect who just prior to her surgery, did some work for FEMA. She loves helping people. The day after her surgery a few months ago, she lapsed into a coma. She came out of the coma a couple of weeks later, barely functioning, barely and only sometimes able to follow simple commands. We who know her beg the Lord for a healing touch to restore the beautiful friend and family member to us. So far the answer has been "no"... or maybe it is "wait". 

I think about the lessons Jesus taught with His life while He was here amongst us. Why did He wait until Lazarus was completely dead before restoring him? Weren't his sister's faithful enough in their prayers and their grief? And what about those who do not ever have their loved ones restored to them in this life? Does it mean that they (or the Lord? we know this would be impossible, but there are those of course who blame to Lord for not giving them a "yes" to their requests for healing) were not faithful? Does the Lord always allow sickness for the reason of displaying His awesome power of healing through answered prayer? If He doesn't heal is it because we are doing something wrong?... because He is angry with us over some other thing that He is punishing us for? Is it to teach us patience and trust in Him, even in losing such precious loved ones?

I really don't know the answer to these questions. I don't know why He sometimes answers "yes" and other times in seemingly identical situations the answer is "no". Certainly we need to continue to be persistent in our asking.

Luk 11:5  And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
Luk 11:6  For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
Luk 11:7  And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
Luk 11:8  I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
Luk 11:9  And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
Luk 11:10  For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Luk 11:11  If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Luk 11:12  Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
Luk 11:13  If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Is this promising a complete healing in this life, of body, mind and soul? Or is this talking about something else?

But, like I stated in Ma's comments section, we might not know why the Lord does (or doesn't do) what He does, but He does know what He is doing, and He does it perfectly even when it isn't the way we think it would best showcase His love and perfection. He is perfect. Our understanding of that is not perfect, not even close. Everything, the good, the bad, and everything in between, will end up for good in those who are His and called according to His purpose. I cling to that promise. (Romans 8:28)

Added thought:

 ...thinking more about this....what disturbs me about this is that it seems like we look to God as a genie that we have to "rub the right way" to get what we want.... like we are his experimental creatures along the lines of "Pavlov's dogs". I know this isn't what our relationship with Him should be, however it often strikes me that often what I see is that kind of conditioning in how we are to ask and receive, and I don't think that is what the Lord desires of us at all.
 

Looking back on 2011 and Forward to 2012

 image source 

(also has great chemtrail info)

This has been an interesting year...

The world population (according to U.N. calculations) reached 7 billion on October 31, 2011. Read National Geographic News for their comments about this.

Look Up Fellowship does a good job in mentioning some of the highlights of 2011, as well as some speculative projections for 2012... and it is an election year, many believe we are in for four more years of Obamamania.

I know that whatever has happened and whatever will happen is in the Creator of the universe's hands, and He promised us Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.

Happy New Year, may it be a blessing for you and your family and those closest to you as you draw near to the Lord in 2012.

1Peter 4:7  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

image link

this link is another great source of info about chemtrails

Economic Crisis

Interesting article stating the

Top 100 Statistics About The Collapse Of The Economy That Every American Voter Should Know 

Each is linked to an article that substantiates the item listed.

Here's a good article about truly beneficial ways (and it doesn't include handing them money) we can help those (if we are in a position to help) who are unstable or homeless:

http://www.ehow.com/how_8205460_homeless-person-seems-given-up.html

Good-O-Meter

Something in our assignments for this week reminded me of this video I had seen on Ma's blog...and after about an hour of searching for it on Ma's blog, I finally realized it might be quicker to find it through a search on Youtube... I typed in "scale, Jesus, heaven" into the search box and found it in about 2 minutes.

So after all that, I figured I'd share this one again, it makes me smile big each time I watch it. 

I also shared it with the class 

A Love, Such as the Lord Loves us with...

link for picture

Often I hear people in the world talk about that little four letter word...LOVE. It's easy to TALK about love, but how often do we see the same people who want to bludgeon others over their heads for not being "loving" actually walking the walk of which they speak? Oh sure, they get along great with those who worship the ground they walk on and hang on their every word. But what about the people they do not agree with? How do they treat those people? How did Jesus say we are to treat those who mistreat us, or those people that we just simply just do not like? I'm not saying I have that one down either, lol. What is it that they say about people who point their fingers at others and have four pointing back at themselves. Yeah, that shoe pinches alright...thank you Jesus for your mercy, and the fact that you still love us even though we can be, ahem, unlovable (at best)



Matthew 5:44-48

John 15:19

Mathematical depiction for the implicit heart curve link