WORD!
God, Life, Love and Art
Love The One You’re With, and Others Too!
Feb 19th
John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
In what way do we show one another love? What are some of the ways that you can improve your own way of showing love to a brother or sister? Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. Genesis 39:21
Isn’t it very sad that for the most part, Christians don’t have a general sense of the implications of what they read in the Bible? The Bible is a living witness of what the character of a true Christian (God-loving person) should act and speak like. It’s right there and we tend to read it, but not think of what it’s saying to us. So many of us choose to be like a barking dog and never realize we are like a ravaging wolf. I am not saying that we are all wolves in sheeps clothing, but certainly that is how we are perceived as others as being. Yet the truth is always there, and it speaks to us….but either we have a clear hearing problem, or we just don’t understand that signs.
Jesus stood in front of the council, not saying a word as his accusers were brought forth…yet we choose to stand there and defend out position when our position is questioned.
As Christians, have we either lost, or stepped outside the meaning of being humble? I read a quote the other day, and it struck so much truth, but how many of us can handle the truth? Here is the quote, may we all learn from it “The quickest way to defeat our enemy is to make him our friend.”
I am reminded of the original Star Wars trilogy with Luke Skywalker: Through the three movies Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were always fighting each other, until the very end when Luke saved the soul of his worst enemy, by pulling them out of the darkness. But Luke did it not with words, but with actions. How many of us can turn our words into actions into words? Clearly both words and actions are needed together.
But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2Timothy 2:23-26
As Brother in Christ Jerry Blase (Check out his awesome group on Facebook, it’s called “The Gospel of Christ Evangelistic Outreach”) posted the other day:
“Brothers and Sisters in Christ we are to teach patiently and not with a spirit of pride but with a humble spirit. I have had problems in the past with being humble but by the Grace of God through his word I have been growing in humbleness. The more I am in his word the more God shows me that I need to work on things and God has matured me in this area although I admit i still mess up. But let us talk and walk in the ways of The Lord so that Gods kindness leads man to repentance.”
Pride is a subtle thing, and it does tend to overtake and overcome the Christian more than anything else, especially at the beginning of their ministry. It’s caused by the same enemy who decieved and seduced first Eve, then Adam. Love leads to humbleness, which leads back to love. When we witness true love, then that is a pure and unadulterated display of the fruits of the spirit:
1.Love 2.Joy 3.Peace 4.Longsuffering 5.Kindness 6.Goodness 7.Faithfulness 8.Gentleness 9.Self-control
Of course, the fruits of the spirit aren’t always visible at first, but the deeper we walk with Christ, the more they manifest themselves in us and through us. Some people are fortunate, as they are much like the Apostle Paul was on the road to Damascus, but most of us are much like Pharoah in hardened hearts. Fortunately when we DO both confess and LIVE a life of and for Christ, that harderned heart becomes clay.
What are your thoughts?
The Body United!
Feb 14th
A witness experience late yesterday gave me the following:
I was in the nearby shopping center running some errands when I ran across a homeless man. He was, of course, asking for a handout so he could get to the local Catholic Homeless Shelter for the next three nights or so. He told me the cost is $30 for three nights. We spoke for about 45 minutes to an hour during which time he ministered to me through God’s Word more than I’ve been ministered to for a while away from the internet. He knew His Bible well, even though by his own admittance, he didn’t carry one with him.
Unfortunately I couldn’t give him the $30.00. What I did end up given him was enough to get him to find two other generous souls…oh, and I did buy him a cheap lunch also.
This man had both hope and faith, both in God, and the church.. Something I have not witnessed in such a long time. I can’t say how old he was, but he was probably around my age.
He spoke of the nearby churches…the Christian church where I normally would attend, and the Catholic church just a bus ride down the street. The Catholic Homeless Center…..He spoke of them in a way that was very loving, a way in which there was only a sign of hope. Not in a way that offended, nor detracted from 
the “organized” church.
Leaving him there it got me thinking of how God really views the churches. ALL of them. There is so much that we see as currently wrong within each church…their doctrines, their fellowship, the pastors, etc. But yet, each of these churches is doing what they can to reach out to the homeless. And apparently from what Jeff was telling me, it all starts with the Pastor within the church. No matter the outcry of the modern day anti-church Christian…the poor and the needy always seems to ru to the Pastor of the church, rather than the body of the church.
These days, with all the Pastors going wrong on the news, it’s definitely a respite to hear that in a locale whose nickname is Sin City, there are some individuals who are doing right. It’s really driven me to a new way of thinking for me in terms that I don’t believe God is going to destroy this earth, and that there is no…”Doomsday” coming. As long as there are few good men on this earth, preaching God’s forgiveness and mercy out in the world, God’s love will endure. And as long as His love endures, His creation (that’s us!) will endure.
Yes, God is going to change some things that need to be changed. Some stony hardened hearts still need to be broken both within and without the church. But that’s exactly how God calls each and everyone to Himself: by breaking up and then building up.
I don’t know if I did meet the man’s need like I was called to do. I could have helped him out all the way with his entire need. As a church, are we fully meeting the needs of the body of Christ? Are we going all out for it like God does? Looking at everything that God does with the eyes of a poor, homeless man so full of both love of God, and a hope for a better tomorrow?
Alone?
Jan 30th
There was a long period of my life earlier on, I can’t remember when it started, when I used to hate the fact that I was pretty much a loner. I didn’t understand why I was alone until a couple of years ago. I kept looking around me and it seemed that sometime into late puberty, early teenage years everybody had someone going for them , or with them.
I had always dreamed of having my own romance, but sadly, it never quite happened. I was fortunate enough to meet and befriend several girls and later women in my life, and for the most part, had a crush on almost every one of them (there were some exceptions). but nothing truly materialized. I kept wondering something was wrong with me in some way or another.
Of course there were a couple of things, most of which still exist today…I am overweight, I have a speech impediment, I don’t talk enough, etc. Later on, after a talk with my grandparents, it turned into a lack of finances. It seemed the old rule was that in order to have a girlfriend, you had to have money to take her out.
I am older and wiser now. I know more about what my grandparents were talking about. But I found out, even after some relatively short years of working, that money wasn’t the answer to everything. As a matter of fact, when you contribute that you catch the girl because of the size of your bank account, then you’re never going to catch anything in the first place.
Granted, different people look for different things. Some look for money , others look for social standing, others still look for physical appeal, and others look for soul appeal.
I think looking your best is as important as smelling your best (go with me on this). But looks aren’t everything. In fact, there are some very humble looking people who look better than models.
I’ve come to realize that there are reasons why some people, especially myself are alone. Some have been blessed for only a short time with someone very special, only to have them taken away from them. But during the time they had together, they experienced many wonderful things that changed their lives completely, and completed their lives totally. The one that is left behind has lost something precious that will never be replaced, however what remains is just as beautiful and is always left with expectations. There is hope for them, because they do move on to new experiences.
Some find peace in being alone. There is, of course, a blessed freedom in not having to answer to anyone about the things that you do, the choices you make. In other words, the responsibilities are few. When we do get into a relationship, we find we make that person a huge part of our world, and unfortunately this is where a problem arises, because most of the time we are not ready for that person. We still have to go through a learning and find out where we are in life.
But of course, I do believe, now, that love doesn’t wait around. Love is a force to be reckoned with, and if love chooses to slap you in the face to an actual state of “HEEEEELLLLLOOOOOOO!” Then that’s what love is going to do.
So being alone, when we are alone, is something that we often, but not always fight with. A dear friend once told me to cherish my time alone, because as I gain a girlfriend, wife, then a family, being alone pretty much goes out the window for the rest of your life. Oh sure, there is always the foreboding empty nest period of our lives, but that doesn’t come in until (I hope) our early senior years.
Not that I haven’t had my moments of being alone in the “upstairs” department, if you know what I mean.
I jest.
Being alone readies your heart in such a strong, positive way , that when you find love, it’s incomprehensible. You know you’ve found it, but you just can’t shake the feeling that it’s a beautiful dream. You always act in a reserved manner, but your insides are screaming out, trembling like a tree in the hard wind.
I’m not sure, but I don’t believe that love ever once “settles down”. I think that love itself is a raging fire and that it totally consumes you. I believe that being alone has its purpose and that’s to fuel the fire once that spark of love ignites it.
What do you say? Have you ever been alone for way too long? Have you ever dreamed of romance before you ever had one? Have I made any sense at all?
Yeah, love is complicated. .
Jan 26th
Since my last post on being a romantic (which you can read here) it seems like there has been a shift. I don’t know if someone has been praying for me in that specific area, but something has happened recently that has me literally shaken.
Now I used to dream about love at first sight, after all, isn’t that the way it goes? But the reality is, love at first sight doesn’t always happen. I asked the question in a face book conversation: “How do you know you’re in love” and out of the many answers I received there was the typical “You just know….”
For some odd reason I can’t accept that. The truth is I thought I was in love before, and it turned out to be nothing but a short lived infatuation, and then other times it bordered on lust more than anything else. That is I wanted the person more for a prized possession than anything else.
Now while it’s true that from a biblical sense the definition of love can be found in the following verses:
If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can
fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move
mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor
and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain
nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It
does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are
tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we
know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is
in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child,
I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind
me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
It doesn’t necessarily explain to me how to tell when, or if I am in love with a person.
The only thing I really gather from the love chapter is that I am suppose to give all that I am in order to love the person. But what is the “all” that I should give? Is it my time, my resources? How exactly do I lay down my life for the person that I am in love with? The only thing imaginable is to give my blood, my soul, my heart to that person. But doesn’t my Christianity tell me to do that for everyone anyways?
The things that fill my thoughts have my head spinning: there are the “what-ifs”, there is the “if only I..”
I don’t want to go there. I don’t want my heart filled with high expectations only to be confronted with disappointments. Of course, no one does anyways. Although I do understand that in order not to lose it all this time around, I have to “push the envelope” and break through my insecurities, and possibly at some point, overcome my cowardly inhibitions
So the more I walk into this great thing that is seemingly all around me and even closes in on me, the more I realize how very little I know.
Yeah, love is complicated. .
So my questions to you is: How do you know, or when did you know you were in love? What did it feel like, what the reaction you had? What made, or makes you think you were or are in love? Share away!
I Used To Be A Romantic.
Jan 19th
I used to dream about love all the time. Every time I fell in love I used to write romantic poems. I’m sure there have been many “romantic moments ” in my life. But I can really only truly remember two of them. I remember one woman really got my fancy. She didn’t know a word of English, so I started writing these poem to her in Latin . Actually I found I couldn’t really express myself to her in spoken words, so I did my best to her in the written language of Latin. The problem is I can’t remember any of what I wrote, but I remember enjoying it very much. It’s funny really, because I have to admit it…I don’t know how to love.
Don’t get me wrong. I know enough to look at Jesus, and know that He is love. But I have to admit, even with the description of love in the book of Corinthians I am stumped.
Accordingly: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” This all points back to Jesus!
But I don’t know what love truly is, because to be honest, I haven’t been patient, I haven’t always been kind, etc. As a matter of fact, I can truly say the only thing I’ve ever accomplished is hope and perseverance. And truthfully, I don’t think that cuts it.
Somewhere along the way, I’ve lost my way, and only the true love of two women in my life have made me see the light at the end of a dark tunnel. There have been times in my life where love has swept me off my feet. Perhaps too many to count. But those times it wasn’t the love inside of me that moved me, it was the love of others that moved me. It was the love of two very special people in my life that, when they were removed from my life, it was as if the world had ended. Thankfully, I have been blessed by the return of one.
Actually what an impact love has had on me. For the longest time in my life I had always been a dreamer. Then when I least expected it to, love came into my life and instead of a gentle whisper, it came like a Mike Tyson TKO. What I always imagined love to be was nothing compared to what it was, or is.
To this very day, love isn’t done with me. I am still reeling from all the body blows. But love insists on taking it’s time in taking me down. I am continually being transformed by love. And yes, love still hurts. But in my own opinion, that’s where love succeeds. Because by taking it’s time, I’ve found out that we can’t control love, we can’t master love. But love will always master us. Love owns us and it will transform us. However, it’s not going to be easy, and it’s not always going to be an overnight sensation.
Because as much as we desire love, love will make us play the waiting game, and love has it’s own rules. We are just simply pawns on the game board of love. Perhaps I am just beginning to understand what love is.
What has love taught you? Has love mastered you yet?
Thy way, thy path, thy footsteps
Jan 16th
(Psalms 77:19): Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
When we cry out to God He always hears
In the day of trouble we need to let Him comfort us
He will never leave us nor forsake us
He is always with us
Sometimes we complain and our spirits feel overwhelmed
Our eyes are wide open sometimes we cannot speak, eat or sleep
In what we are going through or in what we see
We must find our comfort within the Lord
We consider the ancient times the days of old
We see the same things happening today
We search for Him and commune with Him in our spirits
Praying without ceasing
Sometimes we may think He is not listening and that He does not care
We may think he has cast us off forever
Not being favorable in His sight any longer
Wondering if His mercy has left us or His promises have failed us
We may think He has forgotten how to be gracious to us
We may say in acceptance “This is our lot in this life”
That is only what the devil would have God’s people believe
This is not true….
God’s anger is shut up in His tender mercies
Through His son Jesus Christ there is only freedom
One must remember the years of the right hand of the Most High God in their lives daily
Remembering where they once were and where they are now today
Knowing it is God leading His people safely through the split sea
O yes indeed!
God will tend to the needs of His people
He cares for and loves them dearly
Come Hell or High waters
The Gates of Hell will NOT prevail against us
God is telling satan today, just like He told Pharaoh back then
“LET MY PEOPLE GO!”
So that they may worship Him
In spirit and in truth
Remember the works of the Lord
Remember the wonders of old
Meditate on all His work talk of His doings
Get on the rooftops and shout
“Prepare Ye the way of the LORD”
Tell the whole world about Him
The way of God is in the sanctuary
Oh He is MOST HOLY
He is in the secret chambers
He comes in and out as He pleases
The doors burst open daily
Who is so great as our God?
Who carries His power?
There is NONE!
He is the ONLY one!
He is the God who steps upon the clouds
He has declared His strength many times over
Through the people, earth, waters, and heavens
Like a GIANT he treads over the existence of life
Who DARE not fear Him?
Who DARE to arouse His anger?
He is a roaring lion over the Nations.
Oh God, even the waters see You coming!
The waters see You!
The Land sees the coming!
The land sees You!
O but the people are blind, deaf and sleeping
They cannot see nor hear thee coming!
Stomp your foot “BAM” and wake them up Oh Lord!
Do it oh Father, save their souls!
Many will be afraid, the depths of hearts will be frightened
Hearts sinking like a weight when faced with your coming judgments
Mouths and eyes wide open
A state of shock like a wave shall pour forth through the Nations
O the Land will marvel as He comes in like a whirlwind
What is not rooted and grounded in Him
Is upheaved, shattered, scattered, and broken to pieces
The clouds pour out flowing waters
The sky sends out voltage
The ground is separating
The lands are saturated
The sky rumbles
The earth trembles and moves
CRACK! BOOM! VIBRATE!
Your arrows also go abroad
Aiming at your enemies O Lord
Piercing to bring forth life or death
Will they die the eternal death?
Will they die to self and follow after you?
Only you know ih Lord
Your footsteps oh God, are not known
The direction You flow is in the wind
But your marks are left upon the lands
As you walk among men
Determining who stays and who goes
Your strong arm has shown your mercy and judgments
Your hand leaves a blessing, or a curse behind you
You are tearing down what the people have worshipped
You are taking their blessings away from them and giving them away to your people who are in need freely
Hearts choose their eternal dwelling places
As you gave everyone free will; not forcing yourself upon anyone
You only turn the people over to their own hearts desires
Where wickedness or righteousness dwells
Those in You Oh Lord shall stand and shall not be moved
Those not in You shall fall by the sword
For it is pointed at the lands
For those who preach and seek only prosperity are done in Your sight!
The word of God says to you today
Give BACK to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s
Quote: Take your riches in this world your coins and dollars and give to the poor and needy. If you follow Jesus Christ you do NOT take a money bag with you for your treasures are stored in heaven. The only thing you need to carry is your cross daily.
The Glory of the Lord
Jan 14th
The Glory of the Lord is sweeping the Land
Who can stand before His mighty hand?
Even though the times are hard, we have to be bold!
It’s time for us to take a stand
Soon, even eternity will vanish in the mist
So we gotta be the light now!
We have to reflect Jesus in a way
That He is magnified, and we are not!
Because though we may think we are prepared
When exactly the Lord comes is anybody’s guess,
The point is, we can’t be hiding under a basket.
No matter what the circumstances are:
Whether you fear the collapse of the economy
Whether you are waiting for Mr or Miss Opportunity to knock.
The only opportunity we should seek
Is to share the love and words of Jesus to each and every soul.
The King will be, and is, looking for the laborers
out in the fields, working with their hands, using their brains, and even their lives
To honour Him before all men
There is always a time for kneeling prayer
But prayer alone won’t fill the Father’s house!
We need to be standing out in the highways and byways
Because to some poor, unfortunate soul who has lost their way
We are the face and hands of Jesus.
Calling out to everyone who has an ear
To come in unto the banqueting table, and sup with Him!
Now the answer is:
Are we worshipping and seeking His face like this?
Let us stand up and take notice!
If only one, let’s do it now!
We have a whole world of hungry mouths to feed
This world is famishing, it needs and wants the Word of the Lord
Love and Repentance, repentance and love
One cannot live without the other
Let’s really listen, because this whole world is groaning
It’s seeking release from the pressure that’s boiling…
Let’s tune in with our minds, our hearts, our souls!
We gotta come out of the darkness which hinders us
This is the call of the Lord, and though it is for all time yet there is no more time
Tomorrow is not a promise!
Tonight may be the final curtain
We can’t be caught with our hands behind our backs
Doing nothing but wasting our time in things that aren’t pleasing to God!
When the Spirit moves us to do something, then we gotta move those mountains!
Corporately or individually!
It’s in us to do so, because He is in us!
Otherwise we are abusing the body, His holy temple!
Which He gave us to accomplish His will!
So let’s do this thing, let’s stop the nonsense!
I’m even going to say it, because He said it first:
“Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee!”
In other words: Do not wait to seek the Lord!
He’s already among us in the Spirit, and in the faces of others
Don’t you understand what He says?:
For as lightning flashes from the east to the west
So shall the coming of the son of man be
When you hear the rumbling of the thunder, you know he is near
When the lightning strikes…BAM!
It will surely hit it’s mark
Those left behind will not be wondering why
Behold, he comes with the clouds; and every eye shall see him,
Both the saint and the sinner
One will rejoice because of him
The other will wail
The saint shall be taken away
The sinner will be left behind
Oh what a great glorious day that shall be
For it is only then that the Christian’s duty shall be complete
When the Lord of hosts will change us from glory to glory
He will meet us at the point
Where there is nothing but Him and us!
He shall give his beloved bride her everlasting reward
He will surely say to his children
“Well done, thou good and faithful servant:
thou hast been faithful over a few things,
I will make thee ruler over many things:
enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
Glory Hallelujah! The Lord God, He is good!
Are You Listening?
Jan 10th
Are you hearing
What he’s saying?
Are you feeling
What you’re praying?
Are you hearing, praying, feeling what you say inside?
Tell me, Holy-rolling preacher man of God…
Are you standing like a soldier in the Lord’s Army? Are you standing for everything you talk about? Instead of what you’re really thinking about?
Deep inside, you know the people are perishing
Yet inside, what is it that you are thinking about?
Your ever increasing white-washed sepulcher buildings filled with dead men’s bones…
Or the need to run and hide after giving out Sunday’s sermons?
Not sticking around for an altar call!
What is an altar call?!!!!!
Only after you preach your yearly “repentance works”?,
if you preach repentance at all
Many are still not saved, after church
Isn’t that a shame?
Are you saying to the children of God….
“Jesus loves you”
“Jesus died for you”
“He forgives you”
“You’ll make it to heaven…
If you sow into the vineyard of my church!”
Preaching God’s word without care for lost souls?
Or are you preaching
hells fire and brimstone
“Jesus loves you”
“Jesus died for you”
“But you must still repent!”
“For repentance leads to heaven”
This doesn’t go for just the preachers with an audience
But for all of God’s children
Out there in the high-ways and by-ways of America
You’d better tell your story hard and fast,
Hit them with everything God gave you
Don’t flourish in the subject of God’s mercy and grace Without the need for repentance
Oh that will be a mistake!
Many of your parishioners and congregations
Are perishing, saying their “hail mary’s”, “God bless you, man of God”
Lifting up the creation, not the Creator
And you are perishing too, preacher man…
If you don’t live according to His Holy Word!
For who is greater?
For whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder!
Jesus…. Jesus died!
He died on the cross for your Mary.
Mary is just looking at you.
Yes Mother Mary feels no pain.
She’s just a loose brick on the wall
When God removes her…
Will the house built on sand stand?
It will fall!
Shall the Lord come to you in love, because you are preaching His righteous words
Or shall he come to you with a double-edge sword, because you preached a “sugar coated, artifically-sweetened good word?”
Oh, Glory be to the Lord of Hosts!
America, only One alone has the power to laugh at your calamity;
One alone will mock when your fear cometh;
If you do not according to His word, you will perish!
This is the final call for all America
to get down on their knees;
Are you Listening?
REPENT! and call out to God. Call out to the Lord by name.
You want revival?
Do you desire it?
Do you crave it?
Revival starts in the heart of every man, woman, and child of God
It does not start with those who know not the Living Word!
Revival starts in the heart of every man, woman, and child of God.
It does not start with those who know not the Living Word!
Revival starts in the heart of every man, woman, and child of God! It does not start with those who know not the Living Word!
Revival starts with YOU!
Your heart is like a burning flame unto the Lord
Either you on fire, or you are put out!
Lukewarm Christians cannot keep the flame alive They will be smothered and put out!
Are you listening?
Broken Egg Shells
Jan 7th
I was reading Michael Perkins blog this morning. He wrote about Ezekiel 37. Upon reflecting upon Michael’s words, and on Ezekiel 37 the following thought occurred to me:
” No one but God can take a broken egg shell and put it back together again.”
It seems like more often than not, we try to put ourselves in people’s lives where we act as the voice of God and try and be like “All the Kings Horses, and All the King’s men”. However, we so often fail to understand the end of the rhyme.
As much as we want to and as much as we strive, we can’t do it! We cannot put people’s lives back together again after a great fall. Most of the time we can’t even help them avoid the fall.
Yes, our family and friends get into trouble, yes they reach out to us for help, and in our kindness we try and reach down and pull us up. Sometimes we do it over and over again. But there is a point, and I fear that many of us have repeatedly reached that point, where we get tired of doing so. Especially if it’s the same old problem.
We tend to think “I’m tired of this!” I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with giving up, certainly it’s in our human nature to give up. But the fact is that it’s just one broken shell among a dozen.
So many people, especially a few Christians, have taken up the utmost position of giving up on the church because of a few choice broken shells in the crowd. Ok, so you actually see more than a few broken shells nuts. As a matter of fact, the only good, unbroken egg in the bunch didn’t make it to the carton today. So are you going to throw away the carton of eggs because there’s only one egg that didn’t break?
Let’s suppose that you picked up several cartons of eggs, and out of them all, you only found two that were intact. Are you still going to throw them away with the rest, thinking that it’s worthless?
We can’t give up folks! We aren’t called to give up at all! But to strive to walk the narrow path, strive to enter the gate. Unfortunately, the narrow path is not so easy. We will face opposition, we will face upsets, we will be dismayed. But to stop in the face of opposition?! No! Absolutely not! When you face a single soul who doesn’t want to hear the gospel, then you do as Jesus said: “You wipe your feet as a testimony to them” Luke 9:5. Yes, sadly this sometimes includes the members of our family. We have got to realize our limitations with some people, and simply hand them over to the Lord. Let the Lord deal with them, but you go and you continue to preach the gospel to willing ears. If that means that you are called to go into a mega-church and preach to a congregation of 2,000 large men, and only one of them repents, then you have done your job. But even then, there are simply no guarantees that he will approach you, because he may not be aware of it quite then. You simply move on to those who will hear, and if it takes several tries before you find them, then that’s what it takes!
We are called to go out and seek the lost. However, when the lost know they are lost, they outright ask for direction. There will always be a response to the preaching of the gospel, and it will either be favorable, or unfavorable. If it is the former, then you will have gained a soul for Christ. If it’s the latter, unfortunately it wasn’t in God’s timing for that soul. Don’t let the latter get in your way, simply move past them to the next soul. (Matthew 22:14)
Sadly, the man who is deep in his sins, and who either doesn’t see a way out or wants to stay in his sins, isn’t lost – they have found their calling for the time being. They may be blind…but it’s not always going to be up to us to make them see.
Once the decision was made for the Lord to drink of the cup that was offered to Him, He drank it! Of course, he had his moment of weakness, but that moment didn’t last. As a matter of fact, it didn’t make it through the dark night, and it never was repeated again! I’m not saying we won’t have our moments, but we can’t let that moment linger on…there is much to do, and so little time to do it! The more effort you put into concentrating all your efforts into one broken egg, the more the other eggs are neglected, and pretty soon, when you finally get the one egg back together again, you turn to realize that you have an uncooked omelet.
God takes care of each one of us! He is the only Author and Curator of the Lost and Found Department, while we are simply His messengers.
I hope I have given you something to think about today. I know it’s a long hard road sometimes, but it’s a journey we must finish.
The Day After Christmas: A Lament
Dec 27th
I decided today to take the title from Jeff Goin’s post which is here and actually write not just about the day after Christmas, but the night before Christmas day as well.
Allow me to give a Cuban style background here: to Cubans, the night before Christmas is known as Noche Buena, or Good Night. Basically it’s a night where family gets together and has a feast.
A couple of years ago, when the “elders” of the family were still with us, this usually meant picking straws out of a pot, and whoever got the short straw was the house everyone, and I do mean everyone, would cram into to enjoy a feast of a huge pork, yucca (kind of a potatoe), rice, black beans, sweet potatoe, and whatever desserts the host or someone else provides. This is meant to be a family affair, with everyone pitching in with the cooking, though it’s not uncommon for one person (Usually the head woman of the family) take care of everything.
But those were the old days. Granted, there are still some families, usually the big ones, who have a LOT of friends who come over. But since many of the elders are no longer with us, it seems that those good old days are fading fast.
Anyways, my family has, for the past two or three years, have kept it small, just the five of us really. One extraordinary old woman who has basically busted her ass in the kitchen for what seems two whole days to make sure her family gets the best of the best for Christmas dinner. I would sincerely help her with the cooking, but unfortunately my cooking talents equal a bowl of cereal with milk in the morning if you catch my drift
Usually everyone is very merry and excited, etc. But this year, both my mother and I noticed something wasn’t right. The girls either spent their time in front of the computer, or in front of the TV, while their father taking turns sleeping on the lazyboy or the kid’s bed.
Dinner was very good, but very dysfunctional. It actually felt to both of us as if someone had died.
So both of made the obvious decision (actually it was more her decision, but I agreed with her) that the family “Noche Buena” Christmas dinner, in our house at least, had made it’s last great hurrah. Next year, God willing, we will have our Christmas dinner at an earlier date. Perhaps at the local Cuban restaurant.
We did have some visitors however, but only two seemed to have the Christmas Spirit (“Love”, “Good cheer towards all men”, etc.). The rest could have been classified as “drive by gift-droppings.” Sadly, that really opened our eyes to how much people really care.
Honestly, if all a family member does on Christmas is simply “drop a gift and run” then I would rather they simply exclude the “drop a gift -” part.
Don’t get me wrong. I love all the people that make up my family. Both within my own house, and outside of it. But to tell you the truth, we don’t shake hands too many times of the year. We are limited to waving at each other during a drive by.
The meaning of Christmas is pretty simple. It’s a day in history when God gave the most precious gift to His creation. It should be a day of joy and family celebrations and relationships. It shouldn’t be a day of sleeping on the couch, or hit and runs. God knows that we are living on borrowed time here, and the people and traditions that we hold near this year may not be there next year. And this season, which is one where many families either come home for Christmas, or still have the blessings of the older generation still with us, should be one of love , caring, and reaching out to one another.
I hope everyone else had the blessing of a wonderful Christmas time. Besides my experience this year, to me Christmas still is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
Recent Comments