A while back I felt overwhelmed and completely saturated with all the bad news and terrible events going on in our world, and some situations taking place in place in my own life. Frankly, I was dealing with a lot of fear and uncertainty; a lot of unknowns were hitting me and taking over my thoughts, my sleep, my dreams, my life... I knew fear is not from the LORD GOD, so I wanted it gone!! How difficult it was to turn on the news and see the death and chaos! How depressing it was to turn on the radio in the car and hear about the devastation halfway around the globe! How scary it was to send my kids out into this mad, mad, mad world, full of wolves and jackals -- people who would just as soon harm, hurt or kill them as give them a drink of water! How incredibly hard it was to be positive in a world filled with hatred and pain and ugliness and murder! I remember crying out to my Father, begging for some kind of respite, some calm, some peace - shalom! It is certainly true that there will always be wars and rumors of wars. And yes, there will always be devastating weather and natural disasters -- hurricanes and droughts, el nino floods and tsunamis, fires and landslides, to name a few. There will always be sin in THIS world (thankfully not the one to come!), but that doesn't mean I am able to handle it in my own strength and power. In fact, I fully admit that I CAN'T handle it. In fact, it overwhelms me and takes me for a scary ride sometimes. Often I have to avoid the news or I find myself sleeping less and thinking more. I know that it is one of my biggest weaknesses. Only my Father can cover me and protect me in that regard, but it is still within my power and duty to resist the things that cause me harm! YHWH is my strength and my protection. I'm too weak and scared and wimpy to do anything without Him One morning in my Bible study and reading, I was drawn to the Psalms as I looked for some peace about all that was overwhelming me. I was tired, dreadfully tired. I knew I was led to Psalms the moment I began reading when the peace of YAH flooded over me. When I got there, Psalm 46 stuck out like a breath of fresh air. Psalms 46 was timely. It was the one that got me smiling, got me to wipe the tears off my face and had me STANDING UP, READING OUT LOUD! It was in the GOD of Psalm 46 that I found His shalom! That morning I typed it out on my computer, printed up multiple copies and plastered them everywhere in my world -- in my kitchen, on my bathroom mirror, on my bedside lamp, on my phone case, on my desk, in my car, on my iPad, on the front of my Bible, and I memorized those verses. What a sweet, sweet blessing!!! Psalm 46 (RSV) 1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present[a] help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early. 6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah 8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has wrought desolations in the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, he burns the chariots with fire! 10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth!” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah A friend recently wrote a couple of weekend pieces about faith in which she quoted and discussed General William Booth's list of dangers that confronted 20th Century Christians. Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. He and other leaders of his time were asked "What, in your opinion, is the chief danger, social or political, that confronts the coming century?"
Booth laid out 6 areas that concerned him most: 1. Religion without the Holy Spirit 4. Salvation without regeneration (being Born Again) 2. Christianity without Christ 5. Politics without God 3. Forgiveness without repentance 6. Heaven without Hell There are times when my friend sends articles or posts on which I really stop and think hard. I know that she and I share some very important beliefs and thoughts, and that we are neither of us very mainstream. Iron sharpens iron! I love our deep conversations. There are other times when I am able to reply without having to work to hard at all -- it's just one of those answers that is a given. This particular article about Booth's points of concern was neither an easy reply nor a sit and think long and hard.... but it was a deep one. In her analysis of Booth's list, she made some valid points and brought up some probing questions. Ouch, I thought! This was good stuff. :-) I decided to put my own thoughts about each of these six points down and share them with her. She asked her audience these questions to generally consider in response to Booth's concerns (as well as the points she quoted from Booth and her own analyses):: Do I take part in or believe in ...Religion without the Holy Spirit?: I pray not. I know I need Him. I know I am lost without His intercession and without His guiding me and living within me, acting through me to accomplish that which my Father has for me to do. Do I really know what the Holy Spirit is capable of in my life? I don't think so. I think I have been taught lies, I have personally stymied his work within me and my life in my ignorance and I've just simply been ignorant and unknowing. Some of that is sin in true ignorance and some of it is in rebellion now that I know.... I'm working toward a better understanding and allowing Him to control and live through me. ...Christianity without Christ?: Absolutely not! Without the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus, the Christ, Savior, God made flesh, the Living Water, the Bread of Life, the King of kings, Lord of hosts, and Protector and Defender of the weak, what else is there? Nothing! I thank YHWH above that His son died for my sins and rose again and is with the Father in heaven and will be coming soon to right the wrongs, and make good on the faithful, eternal promises we find in the Written Word about the Word made flesh Who is the Great I Am! ...Forgiveness without repentance?: T'shuva - to repent, to return [to YHWH], to turn from that which is not in YHWH God's direction, and to agree with God that to face anything but Him is sin and wrong. LORD GOD, my Abba, I am not worthy of all that you have given me, but I repent and return to You relying on your promises to cleanse me and forgive me as your child. Father, bring those things to mind that I have not forgiven, so that I may begin to process through that, even though it may not be easy, pleasant or received well by them. Thank you for forgiving me for my sins! ...Salvation without regeneration?: Salvation without regeneration is like trying to breathe without air, or sustain life without blood. It is useless, worthless, impossible, dead. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus, Yeshua Messiah, because of Yeshua my Messiah. This body is a living sacrifice, the temple of the living God, a pleasing and holy sacrifice presented in proper worship and praise to Him. May I please Him with my all and may I recognize the regenerative, formative power of His life in me daily. ...Politics without God?: Galatians 1:10 - For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn't be a servant of Christ. ...Heaven without Hell?: The Bible says that when we die, we are dead, unconscious, not knowing day from night, light from dark, when time passes, we return to dust, until the Messiah comes back and we live again, some unto eternity, some unto the second death. Nowhere does the Bible say that our loved ones are up in the heaven looking down on us, watching us, knowing what we are doing, etc. The Bible says even David is in the grace. Even Solomon and Abraham are in the grace. No one has ascended into heaven except the Son of Man -- Yeshua/Jesus. John 3;13 Revelation 21 says that the Kingdom on God will be here, on a new earth, with a new heaven. We will live here, in a perfect place, as it was before the fall, and the Lord will dwell in our midst. That is the heaven I am looking forward to, not the one we have learned about in churchianity, the one filled with harps and clouds and cream cheese bagels and St Who and St Which One at the pearly gates. The new heaven and new earth will be beyond our comprehension except that we will see them and live in them along with our Father! The LORD says repeatedly in His Word that those whom He does not know will DIE, they will cease, they will be destroyed, annihilated, gone, they will no longer exist. They, along with the beast and the dragon, will be thrown into the lake of fire and burn up at the second death. The Bible never talks of eternal, never ending torture in an actual place called hell. Mercifully there is always an end to the pain and tears and suffering and sin -- the end is total and utter destruction and annihilation. That is a merciful God. God didn't want us to live in pain and suffering and sin here on earth. From the very beginning He knew Jesus had to come, so why would he want people to suffer eternally afterward? The Bible never talks of flames burning and people knowing they are burning eternally, or them knowing that their loved ones are in heaven, as we have been taught in church. The Bible also never talks about those people who are supposedly in heaven knowing their loved ones are suffering in eternal misery and torture in hell, as we have been taught in church. What kind of mercy and what kind of heavenly place would that be if we knew our unsaved loved ones were suffering in an eternal place called hell, with no hope of ever getting free of it? (The story of Lazarus that many point to in this regard is a parable, not to be taken literally). The hell I believe in, the one that keeps me from walking on the wide, open, lust- and sin-filled path, is knowing that I would be forever dead, gone, destroyed and not live eternally with my Father in His Kingdom. The reality of that is far scarier to me than anything ever taught in churchianity. Because I truly love the Father, I want to {strive to} please and obey and honor Him, just as my kids love and want to please, honor and obey me - out of love. |
my prayer as I walk this path set before me...YHWH make me lie down by the still waters, by Your stream of Living Water, Yeshua. Help me to to drink deeply of your saving grace and majesty. Make me, Father, grow deep, deep, strong roots in You, in Your Word and in Your Truth. Block from my mind and heart the deceptions and lies of this world. Remove from me the iniquity, traditions and half-truths I have learned from birth and renew me in Your steadfast Truth and love forever. Forgive me for my stubborn tendency to try to cling to that which is temporal instead of that which is eternal. Teach me to let go, Abba, and if I am stiff-necked, cause me let go and turn to You! In Yeshua's precious, saving name, I pray. Amen. Categories
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