tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81880845902933300002024-03-21T14:27:21.524-07:00Citizen of HeavenFeet firmly on Earth, eyes fixed on Eternitygrannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-53049644518180102152013-03-07T14:43:00.000-08:002013-03-07T14:43:22.559-08:00"Please don't let me die."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDNboE2RekIOXWzXk3dmlcu4PKKGJKIJ0ukh7BErfv_ZZbEeIo1g_uLYTX0IiKiN8CuGnLzit0WJj6iihyphenhyphenS-bGdcWpl9OaRn5N5q9RcbJcBAydzSS9TStY0fccJGY867U0qVeNGa_rVo/s1600/chavez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEDNboE2RekIOXWzXk3dmlcu4PKKGJKIJ0ukh7BErfv_ZZbEeIo1g_uLYTX0IiKiN8CuGnLzit0WJj6iihyphenhyphenS-bGdcWpl9OaRn5N5q9RcbJcBAydzSS9TStY0fccJGY867U0qVeNGa_rVo/s400/chavez.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I don't want to die. Please don't let me die."</span> </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"> - Hugo Chavez </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><i>28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013</i></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The last words of a dying man are a bit self defining, I think. When the king lays dying, all the pomp and circumstance, all the false pride, all the honors of state, all the medals pinned to a uniform, and all the accolades of your 'supporters' come to an end. What you have left is the stark reality that you are leaving all this behind. The illusion of power fades and the uncertainty of eternity is real and imminent. I have no way of knowing where Mr. Chavez's heart was, but I can look at his life, study the fruit on the tree.</span></div>
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<i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">You will recognize them </span><sup class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-23333A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Matt 7:16</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am seeing more thistles than figs in the life of this man. In an attempt to put a spin on things, this was the response from his government.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: small;">"He couldn't speak but he said it with his lips ... `I don't want to die. Please don't let me die,' because he loved his country, he sacrificed himself for his country," <i>Gen. Jose Ornella </i></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Well General Ornella, I beg to differ. I do not think it was love of country that brought those words to his lips but rather a fear of falling into the hands of a just and righteous God. For the citizen of Heaven, death is when life truly begins. A grave is just a doorway cut into the sod, a turf portal to a place of </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">rest and the close presence of the God we love....where our faith shall be our eyes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">We have a promise regarding that and God is able to keep his promises.</span></span></div>
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<span class="text John-14-1" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="woj">“Let not your hearts be troubled. <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26658B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></sup>Believe in God; believe also in me.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span class="text John-14-2" id="en-ESV-26659" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;">2 </sup>In <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26659C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)"></sup>my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26659D" title="See cross-reference D">D</a>)"></sup>I go to prepare a place for you?</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span class="text John-14-3" id="en-ESV-26660" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="woj"><sup class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;">3 </sup>And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26660E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)"></sup>to myself, that <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26660F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)"></sup>where I am you may be also...." John 14:1 and FF</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But not for the unbeliever. For them, this life is as good as it ever will get.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope that Mr. Chavez, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in that final moment, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> reached out to God for mercy and forgiveness. God is willing that none should perish. Because when the last breath was breathed, he stood before God and all those medals and powers and puffed up importance were of no worth at all. Presidents or paupers, God looks at the heart, humbles the proud, lifts up the weak. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. How is it that the powerful ruler of a country, a man who held lives in his hands, will fear death while a poor and humble servant of God, someone of no </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">importance, of no great worth or standing in this life, can slip away with a smile on his face and peace in his heart?</span></span></div>
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<sup class="versenum" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: top;">27 </sup><sup class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26684E" title="See cross-reference E">E</a>)"></sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Peace I leave with you; </span><sup class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26684F" title="See cross-reference F">F</a>)"></sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. </span><sup class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26684G" title="See cross-reference G">G</a>)"></sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Let not your hearts be troubled, neither </span><sup class="crossreference" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; text-align: -webkit-auto; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-26684H" title="See cross-reference H">H</a>)"></sup><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">let them be afraid. - John 14-27</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And only things done for Christ will last. </span></div>
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<h3 style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.05em; text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span class="text Mic-6-6" id="en-ESV-22655">What Does the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> Require?</span></h3>
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<span class="text Mic-6-6" style="position: relative;"><sup class="versenum" style="display: block; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; position: absolute; vertical-align: top;">6 </sup><sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22655L" title="See cross-reference L">L</a>)"></sup>“With what shall I come before the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-6" style="position: relative;">and bow myself before <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22655M" title="See cross-reference M">M</a>)"></sup>God on high?</span></span><br /><span class="text Mic-6-6" style="position: relative;">Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-6" style="position: relative;">with calves a year old?</span></span><br /><span class="text Mic-6-7" id="en-ESV-22656" style="position: relative;"><sup class="versenum" style="display: block; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; position: absolute; vertical-align: top;">7 </sup><sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22656N" title="See cross-reference N">N</a>)"></sup>Will the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> be pleased with thousands of rams,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-7" style="position: relative;">with ten thousands of rivers of oil?</span></span><br /><span class="text Mic-6-7" style="position: relative;"><sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22656O" title="See cross-reference O">O</a>)"></sup>Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-7" style="position: relative;">the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”</span></span><br /><span class="text Mic-6-8" id="en-ESV-22657" style="position: relative;"><sup class="versenum" style="display: block; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; position: absolute; vertical-align: top;">8 </sup><u>He has told you, O man, what is good;</u></span><u><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-8" style="position: relative;">and <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22657P" title="See cross-reference P">P</a>)"></sup>what does the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> require of you</span></span><br /><span class="text Mic-6-8" style="position: relative;">but to do justice, and to love kindness,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-8" style="position: relative;">and to <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22657Q" title="See cross-reference Q">Q</a>)"></sup>walk humbly with your God?</span></span></u></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Mic-6-8" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Mic-6-8" style="position: relative;">But for the wicked....</span></span></div>
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<span class="indent-1"><span class="text Mic-6-8" style="position: relative;"><span class="text Mic-6-11" id="en-ESV-22660" style="position: relative;"><sup class="versenum" style="display: block; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; position: absolute; vertical-align: top;">11 </sup>Shall I acquit the man <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22660T" title="See cross-reference T">T</a>)"></sup>with wicked scales</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-11" style="position: relative;">and with a bag of deceitful weights?</span></span><br /><span class="text Mic-6-12" id="en-ESV-22661" style="position: relative;"><sup class="versenum" style="display: block; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; position: absolute; vertical-align: top;">12 </sup>Your rich men are <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22661U" title="See cross-reference U">U</a>)"></sup>full of violence;</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-12" style="position: relative;">your inhabitants <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22661V" title="See cross-reference V">V</a>)"></sup>speak lies,</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-12" style="position: relative;">and <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22661W" title="See cross-reference W">W</a>)"></sup>their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.</span></span><br /><span class="text Mic-6-13" id="en-ESV-22662" style="position: relative;"><sup class="versenum" style="display: block; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; position: absolute; vertical-align: top;">13 </sup>Therefore I strike you with a grievous blow,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-13" style="position: relative;"><sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22662X" title="See cross-reference X">X</a>)"></sup>making you desolate because of your sins.</span></span><br /><span class="text Mic-6-14" id="en-ESV-22663" style="position: relative;"><sup class="versenum" style="display: block; font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; left: -4.8em; position: absolute; vertical-align: top;">14 </sup><sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-ESV-22663Y" title="See cross-reference Y">Y</a>)"></sup>You shall eat, but not be satisfied,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-14" style="position: relative;">and there shall be hunger within you;</span></span><br /><span class="text Mic-6-14" style="position: relative;">you shall put away, but not preserve,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.42em; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Mic-6-14" style="position: relative;">and what you preserve I will give to the sword. - Micah 6</span></span></span></span></div>
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grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-9046311915070859342013-01-23T07:55:00.000-08:002013-01-23T07:55:24.818-08:00Reading from Ravi Z this morning...<a href="http://www.rzim.org/just-thinking/is-believing-in-god-a-psychological-crutch/" target="_blank">On whether God is just an invented crutch for weak persons:</a> "<span style="background-color: white; color: #424143; font-family: 'Gill Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">For the Christian it is a relationship with God that brings humans this genuine fulfillment. The French mathematician Blaise Pascal put it beautifully:There once was in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace. This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, because the infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words, by God himself. St. Augustine famously said of God, “Thou movest us to delight in praising You; for You have formed us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in You.”</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #424143; font-family: 'Gill Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-24567961720119329432012-12-14T09:08:00.000-08:002012-12-14T09:13:29.152-08:00Billboards and the hinge of history.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Much was made about the recent posting of a billboard in Times Square, New York, that was funded by an atheist group. It created quite an uproar among Christian groups and individuals as they decried the thing and the message behind it. It is yet another shot fired in the barrage-like attempt to expunge all traces of God in the public square. It got me thinking about just how much I, as a Christ follower, should care about this if at all. <br />
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Finally I came to this conclusion.<br />
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It is irrelevant.<br />
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Let's put this in perspective. <br />
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I heard the other day that the fastest growing Christian church per capita is in Iraq. Iraq, where choosing to follow Christ can and likely will mean censure, isolation, prison, torture, or death, often at the hands of your own family. There, knowing Christ has a real cost. Do you think that, even for a moment, that a believer in Iraq would care at all about a sign with a message such as this in his town square? Here today, gone tomorrow. In the midst of a spiritual battle with a firefight raging all around you, do you stop to read billboards?<br />
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But in America we apparently have so little to actually do for Christ that we can afford to focus a great deal of attention on this. I have heard it said that Christianity in America is a pool that is thousands of miles wide and a half an inch deep. In Iraq they are in the deep end. Committed is a word that just falls short.<br />
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So if a group of secular humanists with an agenda and a advertising budget wants to expose to the world the symptoms of their unyielding hearts and unbent knees towards God, then so be it. "If you toss a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps got hit". The emperor is displaying a robe of reason, clear thinking, and modern scientific fact. And he is naked except for the chains he wears.<br />
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And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. John 3:19</div>
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But this season is about the Bringer of Light and the Breaker of Chains. Chains that hold the world in bondage to sin and despair. Chains in Time Square, chains in Iraq. Chains in the hearts of those who bought and paid for a billboard that decries the Light of the World as a myth...chains that lay broken at the foot of a manger long ago, chains shattered by the small cries of a baby born to a virgin.<br />
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grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-19696221475220897382012-10-05T08:10:00.000-07:002012-10-05T08:10:31.138-07:00Why can't I pray my heart's cry?I was listening to a radio broadcast where a person was dying in the hospital bed. Surrounding him were church folks...the sick man was a Pastor...and they were praying the typical 'church words' prayers. They were lovely and elegant and spoke of God's will, His comfort, etc. Now all this is true. God's will is sovereign and He is the great comforter. But this man was dying and he had a family and a work of pastoring the church. He would be missed and he was slipping away.<br />
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And old elder from the church came into the room, helped by two canes. He took in the scene for a moment, dropped his canes and laid across the dying man's body. In a booming voice that bespoke of age and wisdom, he cried out to God, "Lord, We love this boy. Save him so he can live a life of service to you."<br />
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No quoted verses or flowery language. No if or buts. Just a prostrate man of God, calling on the Lord he knew so well with the urgent desire of his heart. Do not take this boy from us. Do not let him die. Let him go on with his work. Give him life. And as if to hold down the soul of that man, he laid across his body in a plain gesture. He was 'all in', both in word and actions.<br />
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I saw this again the other night when a spiritual mentor of mine prayed from his heart in such a simple and eloquent way, that it struck me. Plain words spoken plainly from the heart.<br />
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So why, despite all the things I know, all the spiritual truths I can explain, all the lessons I could teach...why do I equivocate in prayer when things on on the line? Fear? Doubt? In Vegas talk, was I 'hedging my bets'? The understanding of allowing for God's will in all things is a basic but not often understood part of Christianity, but had I allowed that to get in the way of plain and earnest petitions to God? Say what you mean. <br />
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I think somehow I blended it all...a desire to be cover all the bases..."Yes Lord, I want this to happen, but what do YOU want to happen?". "Let's do that one, OK?" And fear of asking for something <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">earnestly and plainly</span>..."Save that life!" " Heal that marriage." <br />
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God will work out what is best for those who love Him and are called according to HIS (not our) purpose. But I think I need to take a lesson here and give Him the best, most honest desires of my heart in unequivocal terms, then be patient and praise Him for whatever the outcome.<br />
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James 5:17</h3>
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<span class="text Jas-5-17" id="en-NASB-30372"><sup class="versenum" style="font-size: 0.75em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;">17 </sup>Elijah was <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NASB-30372A" title="See cross-reference A">A</a>)"></sup>a man with a nature like ours, and <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NASB-30372B" title="See cross-reference B">B</a>)"></sup>he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for <sup class="crossreference" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: top;" value="(<a href="#cen-NASB-30372C" title="See cross-reference C">C</a>)"></sup>three years and six months.</span><br />
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grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-34709404965017553882012-04-12T16:52:00.003-07:002012-04-12T16:53:13.646-07:00Owned.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was watching the original Toy Story movie off and on today during lunch. There was a scene where Buzz Lightyear is struggling with the realization that he is not a real super hero but is, in fact, a manufactured toy. He now sees himself as just one of a hundred thousand mass produced look-a-likes that are not unique or tasked with a special purpose but will end up on the trash heap of discarded, used up toys.<br />
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Then, Woody the cowboy toy tells him that he is indeed special, that he has special qualities and has a purpose as being one of Andy's toys (the boy who owns him). Right then, Buzz turns over his foot and written on the bottom of his boot is Andy's name. He realizes that he is loved by Andy and that he has a special value after all, even if he is not a super hero. He belongs. He has a destiny and a purpose.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMx6twDe9YOR5BEURi7qZC5U5g3rm8-eCuv83WJJD8zCbA2u1EhatLAtRrqVGSK2CfuuV3BhJJ61KmwvtF5AiwvlkLhHzSYh7CgrHyT8FYicI7zgyxAvXT9W5fk87dsbgUlz2XdIxdcyE/s1600/andy+boot" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMx6twDe9YOR5BEURi7qZC5U5g3rm8-eCuv83WJJD8zCbA2u1EhatLAtRrqVGSK2CfuuV3BhJJ61KmwvtF5AiwvlkLhHzSYh7CgrHyT8FYicI7zgyxAvXT9W5fk87dsbgUlz2XdIxdcyE/s1600/andy+boot" /></a>If we have, in truth, recognized our need for Christ due to our inability to deal with our sins, accepted Him as our only way to salvation, repented, turned from our sins and chosen to follow Him, then He writes His name on the bottom of our boots. In a world full of people with no sense of a ultimate meaning to life, where many see themselves as just another mass produced product of evolution with no unique soul or intrinsic worth, where 15 year old girls hang themselves from school signs because life seems to have no purpose...God sees our value, gives us a purpose, provides hope.<br />
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Jesus, the almighty God that created the universe with a spoken word has written His name on your boots and your souls. We belong to Him. Walk like you believe that...like it matters. Because it does. It is everything.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+10:14&version=NIV">John 10:14</a></b><br />
“I am the good <b>shepherd</b>; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-47463037198160102042012-04-12T16:05:00.002-07:002012-04-12T16:05:48.577-07:00This Old House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ever see those reality shows that highlight a run down house or failing restaurant and the contractor comes in and saves the day by cleaning out the clutter, the old worn out things, and renews the property so completely that is is hardly recognizable to everyone that knew it?<br /><br />When we are dead to sin we live in a house where clutter fills our time there. The foundation is set on shifting sand. The timbers are rotten, the plumbing leaks. No matter how hard we try, all our home improvement projects come out less than we dreamed they would be. It can be a dark and lonely house...a house we are trapped in with no hope of ever paying off the burdensome mortgage. In fact, that house will be condemned and we can do nothing to change that. The notice will be nailed on the door of our shack.<br /><br />Then, when we come to realize our need for Christ and we accept His sacrifice for our lives and trust Him, something amazing happens. The doorbell of our house rings. The reality show 'This is Your Salvation' shows up to renew your home and bring it up to God's standards, preparing it for useful service and preventing the notice of 'condemned' that would have been nailed to the door.<br /><br />But when the Holy Spirit comes in with His toolbag to begin work, we have concerns. He says that this will be hard and a bit painful. Sometimes the projects will hurt and will seem like they are taking forever to complete. We did not expect that. We begin to question the project a bit. So, we walk through the house and come to the basement. He shows us the new timbers set on a solid bedrock foundation. "When did you do that?", we ask? He says that it happened the minute you signed the contract with Christ to begin the work in your life and that this is just the beginning! You are amazed and for the first time you have reason to hope! You envision a new house, one that is warm, inviting, clean and is used for all the right things.<br /><br />Then you walk through the house a bit more and come to a room that is very messy. You have been hoarding bad habits and foolish things in there. You close the door, promising that you will neaten this up before He can work in there. The Spirit of God pleads to let Him help and together you can bag all the old stuff and toss it out but you want to do it yourself. He checks His list and suggests another improvement. "How about we tear this wall out and open up this room? It will be brighter and more useful". But you want to keep that wall. It has been built stud by stud by stubborness. It was plastered with a coating of pride and painted to look nice so it hides what it is made from. We feel safe behind that wall. It is the mask our house wears.<br /><br />Walls hide things and hide us. <br /><br />So God's contractor suggests we start small and organize that closet over there, pointing to a shut and looked door. Oh no....not that closet. There are things in there that I do not want God to see. Dark things. Selfish things. Dead things. That is where we keep our pornographic magazines or internet sites. It is where we keep our money. It is where we keep the sins that we love to have locked away where we can go all by ourselves and visit them. Unforgiveness. Hate.<br /><br />The Holy Spirit puts down his blueprints and tools and waits. <br /><br />We begin to rationalize that the house we live in is not so bad after all. We promise to clean-up that room tomorrow and then God can really get to work, but we get distracted by some shiny un-important thing in there and we are carried off again. <br /><br />That wall is what we are certain is supporting our house. How can we remove that? God must have made a mistake in the planning. Besides, you worked very hard building that wall and others just like it.<br /><br />Then there is the secret closet. Well that would be embarrassing. We cannot open that and show it the light of day. Oh no. I cannot let God in there. Other places, but not there. Other days, but not now. After all, I have that wonderful new foundation to count on, and isn't that really enough after all? I mean, I am better off than I used to be, right?<br /><br />And God waits with plans for an amazing house while we shut the door to our miserable shack.<br /><br /><i style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">1 Peter 2<br /><br /> 1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.<br /><br />The Living Stone and a Chosen People<br /><br /> 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house[a] to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:<br /> “See, I lay a stone in Zion, <br /> a chosen and precious cornerstone, <br />and the one who trusts in him <br /> will never be put to shame.”[b]</i><br /><br />grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-60902230601606388812012-03-09T14:27:00.002-08:002012-03-09T14:42:32.878-08:00The Face of SinThe older I get the less I like sin.<br />
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Now that is a good thing, but it pains me. At work the TV was on and the reality show COPS was playing. I used to watch the drama played out and shake my head, thinking how foolish folks are. The drugs, alcohol, poor life decisions...it can be amusing to see how stupid people can be. Then after a time I came to realize that they are lost, blind people in need of a Savior and but by the grace of God go I. So it was not so amusing anymore, but still entertaining at some level.<br />
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But now I think I have turned a corner. Today, watching a mother and daughter scream at each other, toss possessions into the yard, hearing that dad is an alcoholic and wants a divorce....well there is no entertainment in that. The pain, hurt, and wounding, some self inflicted, some not, is sad beyond words. I buried my head in my hands and nearly cried.<br />
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The girl was pretty and 16 years old. The house was nice, not a ghetto. She should have been planning for the next school social or dreaming about boys with her friends, asking questions to mom like, "how did you know dad was the guy you wanted to marry?" Mom and dad should be clinging to each other like life depended on it and protecting that girl while they prepared her for life on her own. The house should be a home. It should be, when all other places fall short, a safe place. Her parents should be, when all other people fail her, there to support her, guide her and help her through life's hardships. Jesus would be there amongst them, the spirit of God indwelling that family. There should be love.<br />
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But we lost so much in that garden moment. Sin is not safe, loving, caring, warm. It cares not for a young girl's dreams or her cries for mom and dad to just love each other like they should. <br />
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Sin destroys everything it touches and that day it was destroying a 16 year old girl's life. I think that it is a sign that I am growing in the Lord and likely growing old as well, that I am coming to hate sin and what it brought to this world. I cannot begin to comprehend how God feels about it.<br />
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No wonder Jesus wept at the death bed of Lazarus. It was not supposed to be this way. And it will not always be so. I so look forward to that moment in time when there are no more tears, no more pain or sorrow and we are in the presence of God for eternity.<br />
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Sin promises a lot of things it does not deliver. It puts on a face of fun and excitement. But the true face of sin was shown in that 16 year old girl on a TV show. How could I have not seen it before? Shame on me, but thanks to God for His patience and grace to allow me to see it now.<br />
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<br />grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-69703849680383937702011-12-02T08:06:00.001-08:002011-12-02T08:47:16.083-08:00Back to the Garden<div class="display-passages">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK...Not the real garden, but you get the idea.</td></tr>
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<i><b>Genesis 1:31</b> </i></div>
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<i><br /> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-31">31</sup> God saw all that he had made, and <u>it was very good</u>. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. </i><br />
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Creation in its original state must have been amazing to see. All created things...nature as we know it plus the atmosphere, space, etc, all in balance and functioning perfectly. No death. No want. No fear. Man was placed there to be a caretaker and to live there and enjoy it, all in the presence of God. The Garden was our home, made just for us and uniquely suited to our needs and desires.<br />
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<i><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-39">8</sup> Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-40">9</sup>
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were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden
were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. </i> <br />
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But it did not stay that way. When Mankind stepped out of God's will and went his/her own way, then sin entered the world and corrupted it all. And the result of that was the end of that perfect symbiosis and we were left with the fallen and suffering, groaning creation we have today. <br />
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<i><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-28139">22</sup> We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. </i></div>
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And we were banished from the Garden. <br />
<br /> <b><i>Genesis 3 </i></b><br />
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<i>New International Version (NIV)</i></div>
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<i><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-79">23</sup> So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-80">24</sup> After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-80e" title="See footnote e">e</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3&version=NIV#fen-NIV-80e" title="See footnote e">e</a>]</sup> of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.</i><br />
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I was watching a documentary about a man named <a href="http://www.wavygravy.net/">Wavy Gravy</a>. Not his given name, but his taken name that fits his life perfectly. Wavy was and is a hippie. His life is quite interesting and the film was pretty amazing in itself, but it struck me in a way I had never considered before.<br />
<i> </i><br />
The hippie<i> </i>movement of the 60s was an attempt to get back to the garden. Even the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young song speaks to that. The rejection of the commercial and possession centered life and the societal definition of success, the attempt at community (the commune life), the simple things and a care for creation and human needs. There was no need in the first Garden. Life was natural and simple and we were connected to all creation. There was no poverty or greed. Everything worked like it was supposed to.<br />
<br />
But there was a flaw in the hippie movement. A flaw that is in any attempt to accomplish anything by our own efforts alone. They forgot God. There were gods for sure. Hallucinogenic drugs. Sex. Meditation. Spiritualism. But not God. And without that part, they missed it all. No Garden. No way to get there. <br />
<br />
But the Garden is waiting till a future time. Christ's work on the cross was not just for our redemption, but was far reaching, extending to all creation. Creation is now groaning and awaiting the time when there is balance and perfection; man, God, creation in the proper place and relationship; when poverty and suffering and greed and all the things the hippies sought to change in a man-made utopia are finally removed through the shed blood of Christ and the work of His hands.<br />
<br />
We will get back to the Garden and maybe we will wear tie-dye there. Who knows.<br />
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<h4>
<i>Isaiah 65 - A new heaven and a new earth</i></h4>
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<i><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18915">17</sup> “See, I will create <br /> new heavens and a new earth. <br />The former things will not be remembered, <br /> nor will they come to mind. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18916">18</sup> But be glad and rejoice forever <br /> in what I will create, <br />for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight <br /> and its people a joy. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18917">19</sup> I will rejoice over Jerusalem <br /> and take delight in my people; <br />the sound of weeping and of crying <br /> will be heard in it no more. </i><br />
<i> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18918">20</sup> “Never again will there be in it <br /> an infant who lives but a few days, <br /> or an old man who does not live out his years; <br />the one who dies at a hundred <br /> will be thought a mere child; <br />the one who fails to reach<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-18918a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+65&version=NIV#fen-NIV-18918a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup> a hundred <br /> will be considered accursed. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18919">21</sup> They will build houses and dwell in them; <br /> they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18920">22</sup> No longer will they build houses and others live in them, <br /> or plant and others eat. <br />For as the days of a tree, <br /> so will be the days of my people; <br />my chosen ones will long enjoy <br /> the work of their hands. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18921">23</sup> They will not labor in vain, <br /> nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; <br />for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, <br /> they and their descendants with them. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18922">24</sup> Before they call I will answer; <br /> while they are still speaking I will hear. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-18923">25</sup> The wolf and the lamb will feed together, <br /> and the lion will eat straw like the ox, <br /> and dust will be the serpent’s food. <br />They will neither harm nor destroy <br /> on all my holy mountain,” <br /> says the LORD. </i></div>
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</div>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-51729368554550932592011-09-25T08:09:00.000-07:002011-09-25T08:09:19.442-07:00Psalm 19 experience<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<h5 class="passage-header">
<i>Psalm 19<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-14170a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]"> 1-6</sup></i></h5>
<i> <b>For the director of music. A psalm of David.</b></i><i> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14170">1</sup> The heavens declare the glory of God; <br /> the skies proclaim the work of his hands. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14171">2</sup> Day after day they pour forth speech; <br /> night after night they reveal knowledge. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14172">3</sup> They have no speech, they use no words; <br /> no sound is heard from them. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14173">4</sup> Yet their voice<sup class="footnote" value="[<a href="#fen-NIV-14173b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2019&version=NIV#fen-NIV-14173b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]</sup> goes out into all the earth, <br /> their words to the ends of the world. <br />In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. <br /> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14174">5</sup> It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, <br /> like a champion rejoicing to run his course. <br /><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14175">6</sup> It rises at one end of the heavens <br /> and makes its circuit to the other; <br /> nothing is deprived of its warmth. </i><br />
<br />
I was picking up my son to go to a <a href="http://www.threadconference.com/">church event for the college group </a>and<i> </i>this happened as I was waiting. Glorious, yes.<br />
<br />
I thought of Psalm 19 right away, quoted above in part. At the conference the first speaker I heard was teaching from this exact text and others that show creation attesting to God's glory. He noted that the rocks, trees, and sky do a better job of glorifying God consistently than he does in his life outwardly.<br />
<br />
I related to that. My life is still too much about me and my undeserved glory and too little about God and His deserved glory. I will never match that sunset, not in this life, but perhaps I can do as well as a rock at some point. If dirt can glorify God, so can I.grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-31998102312346227262011-07-06T18:36:00.000-07:002011-07-06T18:36:48.886-07:00Footprints in the ButterHas it really been almost a year since I blogged here? Shame on me.<br />
<br />
With that, here goes.<br />
<br />
"How can you tell if you have an elephant in the refrigerator? You can see the footprints in the butter."<br />
<br />
Yuck, yuck. The obvious thing here is, that if there is indeed a pachyderm in the old Frigidaire, then it should be so obvious as to not need to look for clues in the butter tub.<br />
<br />
How can you tell that you are a Christ follower? It should be obvious to all around you, including yourself. You should not need to look for footprints in the butter.<br />
<br />
How is your elephant-ness doing? If we are so like the world around us that the butter is the only clue, perhaps we should change that a bit.<br />
<br />
From Psalms:<br />
<br />
<i>BOOK I</i><br />
<h5 class="passage-header"><i> Psalms 1–41</i></h5><i> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-13941">1</sup> Blessed is the one <br />
who does not walk in step with the wicked <br />
or stand in the way that sinners take <br />
or sit in the company of mockers, <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-13942">2</sup> but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, <br />
and who meditates on his law day and night. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-13943">3</sup> That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, <br />
which yields its fruit in season <br />
and whose leaf does not wither— <br />
whatever they do prospers. </i><i> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-13944">4</sup> Not so the wicked! <br />
They are like chaff <br />
that the wind blows away. <br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-13945">5</sup> Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, <br />
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. </i><br />
<i> <sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-13946">6</sup> For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, <br />
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. </i>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-63059786028817009762010-08-11T10:55:00.000-07:002010-08-11T10:55:33.888-07:00The Tiger Hunts in Perfect PeaceThat saying is one of my favorites, wherever it came from. If there is nothing in your world that is bigger and stronger than you are, there is little to fear from any adversary.<br />
<br />
There is a scene in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, that reminds me of this. Little Lucy, upon returning to the scene of the battle at the bridge over the river, stands alone facing the departing army of the enemy. She draws her little dagger and smiles. <br />
<br />
The Captain of the opposing army does not see Aslan, who is just out of sight. He only sees a little girl with barely any defenses, standing firm. In time, Aslan appears behind Lucy and fights in her stead.<br />
<br />
Lucy would have been a fool to take that position were it not for Aslan at her back. How can we stand facing trials, persecution, and danger with only our meager defenses? The Lion Of Judah stands just out of sight at our backs, and then, when needed, fights for us. We may be wounded, we may suffer, we may die, we may win, but we can never lose. We are not alone in our own strength to do battle with life.<br />
<br />
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<h2 id="passage_heading" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Deuteronomy 31:6 (New International Version)</h2><div class="result-text-style-normal" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-5735" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: text-top;">6</sup> Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."<br />
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</div>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-5389957330502828462010-07-16T21:57:00.000-07:002010-07-16T21:57:27.487-07:00The shape of things.One of my favorite things to do is look down at the earth from an airplane window. The topography fascinates me. You can see the way mountains rise out of the plains; canyons carved into the land drain into rivers and valleys. God made an amazing world and I love His creation.<br />
<br />
But it is flawed. As incredible as creation is, it is fallen.<br />
<br />
From the book, 'Heaven', by Randy Alcorn:<br />
<br />
"We have never seen the Earth as God made it. Our planet as we know it is a shadowy, halftone image of the original. But it does whet our appetites for the New Earth, doesn't it? If the present Earth, so diminished by the Curse, is at times so beautiful and wonderful; if our bodies, so diminished by the Curse, are at times overcome with a sense of the Earth's beauty; then how magnificent will the New Earth be? And what will it be like to experience the New Earth in something else we have never known: perfect bodies?"<br />
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I love being in the world we have and it constantly reminds me of the Creator. <br />
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<h4 style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Psalm 19</h4><h5 style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">For the director of music. A psalm of David.</h5><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-14170" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: text-top;">1</sup></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The heavens declare the glory of God;</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> the skies proclaim the work of his hands.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
</span><br />
But I am also constantly aware that it is broken and not what it was intended to be. Just like me. In God's time, that will all be put right. The same sin that causes me to fall and fail; that curse that Adam brought down on me brought down creation along with it.<br />
<br />
Christ's resurrection has broken that curse, but it has yet to be realized. There will come a time when it will all be made right again, both the Earth and I. I can only imagine what it will be like, as I catch fleeting glimpses and shadows of the beauty to come.<br />
<br />
Until that time, I will make do with looking out of airplane windows.grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-10511703268871240662010-06-22T07:03:00.000-07:002010-06-22T07:03:36.365-07:00Not Home YetThis is from the daily devotional of <a href="http://www.harvest.org/?utm_campaign=2010_devo&utm_medium=email">Greg Laurie</a>.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #5b544a; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
<h1 style="margin-top: 2px;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not Our Home</span></h1>For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.<br />
<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=51&search=1+Thessalonians+2%3A4" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4b96bc;"><b>— 1 Thessalonians 2:4</b></span></a><br />
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The story is told of a missionary couple who was preparing to retire after many years of service in Africa. The ship they had boarded to return to the U.S. also happened to be carrying President Theodore Roosevelt, who was returning from a hunting expedition. When they reached their destination and the passengers were disembarking, a crowd of admirers waited to meet the president as a big band played in the background. But when the time came for the missionary couple to step ashore, not a single soul was there to meet them. Discouraged, the husband buried his head in his hands and groaned, "I didn't want a parade, but at least someone could have come to welcome us home!" His wife turned to him and replied, "Honey, we are not home yet."<br />
<br />
This world is not our home. And because of that, we should always be a bit disconnected from it, not quite in sync with everything this culture celebrates, because our citizenship is in heaven. As Christians, we have a different value system because we serve a different God and have different priorities than this world has.<br />
<br />
Yet some Christians only care about living for themselves, as long as they can get to heaven. What a waste. We should instead be asking ourselves, <i>How can I bring a little bit of heaven to earth? How can I make a difference in the lives of those I come into contact with? How can I make a difference for time and eternity? What has God called me to do? I want to do it in a way that will bring glory and honor to Him.</i><br />
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May we live our lives well and wisely, because they eventually will come to an end. Until then, let's be about our Father's business.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.harvest.org/r?id=2607" target="_blank"><img alt="Greg Laurie [Signature]" border="0" height="105" src="http://www.harvest.org/contact/email/campaigns/devotional/images/template/greg-sig.gif" width="149" /></a>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-17652188378901070012010-06-19T16:48:00.000-07:002010-06-19T16:51:19.183-07:00Old dogs and the Master's hand.Lately I have been watching my old dog as he deals with getting on in years. The pup that he used to be is long gone. He is pretty much deaf, moves slowly, and sometimes gets in the way. He prefers to sleep now rather than run and just getting to the door to greet me is a chore. <br />
<br />
Still, in his heart he remembers the dog he was. His spirit is willing but his flesh is failing him. He was and is a good dog. A 'good dog'. That says a lot. <br />
<br />
When he passes on I know we will say many things about him. We will remember the things he loved to do, the times he made us laugh and why we loved him for the dog he was. He was a pound rescue and I think he knows how fortunate a dog he was being chosen to be a part of this family. In return he was our dog. He was faithful, he was loyal, he was a hard worker and vigilant for all enemies, both foreign and domestic. He was not perfect and tended to stray from the path we chose for him if the temptation of a trailside lizard was greater than he could bear. He could not stand another dog to get near his front yard. Love thy neighbor was not always the case.<br />
<br />
But he knew his master's voice and he responded to the gentle urging of the master's hand. At the end of the day, when he was in his place on the bed in our living room, a pat on the head would suffice; perhaps a piece of cheese. And the words most often said were, "Moots, you are a good dog".<br />
<br />
A 'good dog'. For a family pet like him, that sums it all up. It is all he desires to be and the reward is enough...a calm and loving voice of the one he serves, the touch of a hand, reassuring and gentle; a place to rest in the living room of his family; his daily bread (and a pancake or two). His time is growing short on this earth and when he is no longer in his place next to the TV and he has passed into memory, the best thing I can think to say of him will be "good dog". Well done, Moots.<br />
<br />
In some ways, Moots is a mirror held to my face. I want to look away as it shows me a shadow of the time when I grow truly old, God willing. My body is failing too and my time is running out. And so I wonder - what is it that I want to be said of me by the Master? This pound rescue that I am is grateful to have been chosen and brought into His family. I did nothing to deserve it and I often stray from the path following the temptation of the errant lizard. I often bark at the neighbors. <br />
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So at the end of my day, when the last rabbit chase is but a memory and the heartbeat stills, I will follow my nose toward home and the smell of pancakes on the griddle and a promised place of my own in the living room of my Master. And hopefully I will hear the words that every old pooch wants to hear: Good dog.<br />
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<h2 id="passage_heading" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;">Matthew 25:23 (King James Version)</h2><div class="result-text-style-normal" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
<sup class="versenum" id="en-KJV-24032" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: text-top;">23</sup>His lord said unto him, Well done, 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.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Moots, the Dog, stage right.</i></div><br />
</div>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-91235844938703195422010-05-28T13:38:00.000-07:002010-05-28T13:38:38.609-07:00"...I shall not want..."I am the poster child for issues with contentment. I need to learn to walk through this world and not be fooled into thinking the 'next great thing' will bring joy and happiness. <br />
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The book I am reading now, Traveling Light, by Max Lucado, takes you through the 23rd Psalm..."The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." It brought to my heart something that the Spirit had pointed out before - being content with what God has blessed me with NOW, not what I can obtain in the future. Why is it that I find myself drifting into the deadly circle of dreaming of more money, a different car, house, etc, losing any joy I might have when those things do not happen, and then feeling discontent with what I have and where I am? God forgive me for being so ungrateful. Few things are as ugly as an ungrateful child. It robs the joy of the giver and the receiver. <br />
<br />
I am that ungrateful child.grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-87427749216948313312010-05-15T06:00:00.000-07:002010-05-15T06:00:03.608-07:00Becoming Joseph<blockquote>"...the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made to prosper." Genesis 39:23b</blockquote><br />
I wanna' be like Joseph. I want to prosper in what I do. Not always there yet, not quite. And this is not Creflo Dollar or whatever prosperity-drive-a-Caddie stuff. I want to be lined up in the tine furrows of God's plow, getting some weeding done and planting good seed. I will let God tend to the harvest.<br />
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Right now, I think I am tending too many weeds.grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-2615933809326490692010-05-14T08:17:00.000-07:002010-05-14T08:17:46.385-07:00Fear: calming the storm withinIf jealousy is a green eyed monster, then fear is its dark grey cousin. Not a legitimate fear, like one that keeps you from jumping from an airplane with no parachute, but the irrational fears that creep in and erode the foundations of our peace and joy.<br />
<br />
That is me all over. And over. If the peace of God passes all understanding, why can't I get on the bus? the book on my Reading List in the side column by Max Lucado speaks to this type of fear. It is easier to read about then it is to defend against. God help me, cuz my armor is tin foil trying to be steel.<br />
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Mark 4:35-41 tells about Christ calming the sea. The passengers on the boat were in fear of their lives in a tangible way...the boat, the storm, the danger was imminent. But Christ was there. What could they have feared? Nothing. <br />
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Christ is as present in this Christ follower as he was in that boat. He is not worried. Why am I?grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-89080380208855554942010-05-13T13:37:00.000-07:002010-05-13T13:37:19.384-07:00Not the end, but the road...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><a class="leftAlignedImage" href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/29874.Martin_Luther" style="color: #666600; float: left; padding-right: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" title="Martin Luther"><img alt="Martin Luther" src="http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1209357172p2/29874.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" /></a></span><br />
<div class="quoteText" style="font-family: georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px;">"This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified."<br />
— <a class="authorNameRegular" href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/29874.Martin_Luther" style="color: #663300; text-decoration: none;" title="view all quotes by Martin Luther">Martin Luther</a></div>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-1723556594974668202010-05-11T13:09:00.000-07:002010-05-11T13:09:37.929-07:00Excellence worth striving for.<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica; font-size: 13px;"><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td colspan="2"><span class="text3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;">"We are what we repeatedly do, Excellence is therefore not an act but a habit." <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Aristotle</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></span></blockquote><br />
If we are what we repeatedly do, then I strive to repeat being a man of prayer; a person seeking to reflect the Christ within by the way I walk through the world; a man after God's own heart. I seek to repeatably be useful and usable for the purposes I cannot always understand. <br />
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And, if in the end I am excellent by habit, let it be excellent before God and His glory, not of my own, lest I should boast.grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-13227082934085746022010-04-30T14:27:00.000-07:002010-04-30T20:48:04.201-07:00Honey Bee Polka<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, sans-serif;">"Ho</span>ney bee dancing, perhaps the most intriguing aspect of their biology, is also one of the most fascinating behaviors in animal life. Performed by a worker bee that has returned to the honey comb with pollen or nectar, the dances, in essence, constitute a language that “tells” other workers where the food is. By signaling both distance and direction with particular movements, the worker bee uses the dance language to recruit and direct other workers in gathering pollen and nectar. " <a href="http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/entomology/apiculture/PDF%20files/1.11.pdf"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">From the net</span></i></a></blockquote><br />
I like to watch the different science channels, Discovery, Smithsonian, etc. However that requires I wade through all the religious indoctrination of Mr. Darwin and his ilk. Time and time again we hear how this evolved and that evolved over zillions of years to be what it is today, and isn't that amazing? Expert scientists attest to the complex way that nature has ordered herself, all with no master at the helm...just monkeys at a keyboard with time on their hands.<br />
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More a matter of the heart than of intellect, denying God as the creator and master of creation allows one to operate detached from any compulsion to a God and His will. If you accept there is a God, then it stands to reason that one should find out what He wants from you....why you exist at all. If He has rules, you would then have to consider the fact that you are not living by them, therefore, you are, in the end, accountable to that God.<br />
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Can't have that. Darwin and the Science Channel make no such demands of moral accountability.<br />
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So all this occurred to me as I was looking at a honey bee on the ground outside of work. There are commercial hives near there and there are thousands of bees flying to and fro getting the honey-dos done. I thought of how that bee finds a flower and brings that message to the waiting colony back at 'Da' Hive'. And I wondered...if these bees took millions of years to figure this out, how did the first bees do it?<br />
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For example:<br />
<br />
Millions of years ago, bee number 12 comes back to the hive after striking it rich juuust over the next hill. He points to the hill, but no one can see anything, so they are less than excited about it. He thinks about doing the bee mime act. Marcel Marceau Bee gives it a shot and only conveys the impression that he is behind an invisible door, pulling on a rope no one can see. If only he had white bee gloves.<br />
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A few thousand years later, another bee comes to the same situation and, still having no white gloves or little French hat, comes up with the dance idea. Unfortunately he is a lousy dancer and lacking any sense of rhythm, he cannot for the life of him make anything coherent out of it. He feels embarrassed and vows never to go to the prom where this horror would be relived in front of his peers.<br />
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How about if the bee is like my wife and cannot remember the names of any streets or roads? She can get ya' there, but only if she drives. How does that fit in?<br />
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Or maybe the bee has a lousy sense of direction and while he can dance like Fred Astaire with a road map in his hand, he mistakenly wiggles his butt North, when he wanted to point South. An entire squadron of bees is never heard from again as they fly off to their doom. I have a friend like that...cannot hit his 'south' end with both hands. Sad.<br />
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Or how about this. God, the creator of the the bee, the flower, the earth, the universe...He gave the bee what it needed just like He gave the flower, the earth, and the universe what it needed, right from the beginning.<br />
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No dancing lessons required.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span><br />
<h2 id="passage_heading" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_453787075">Romans 1:20 (New International Version</a></span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+1:20&version=NIV">)</a></span></span></h2><div class="result-text-style-normal" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-27936" style="font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: text-top;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">20</span></span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.</span></div>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-60449478055038370492010-04-26T07:16:00.001-07:002010-04-26T07:58:22.259-07:00The eyes of ChristI have the selfish tendency of walking through life in an uncaring manner, being judgmental and fearful of others. Or even worse, indifferent. Indifference is more often the case. It is so easy to be all about my stuff and my cares and my agenda that my eyes glaze over and pass on by.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>But, the eyes of Christ. They missed nothing as he walked this earth. I was not there, of course, but it is obvious from what we can read and what we can know about the attributes of God, that His gaze was piercing and kind, looking past the masks we all wear and into the heart.</div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%204:1-26&version=NIV">The woman at the wel</a>l. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%208:1-11&version=NIV">The accused woman</a>. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2019:16-24&version=NIV">The rich young man</a>.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I cannot look at a man's heart. But I need to see my fellow man as Jesus saw them. I need to be compassionate and patient. I need to care enough to know that they need to hear the truth in a kind way. I need to care about their lost state more than I care about my fears of being transparent. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I need to care, period.</div>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-7282003964860336722010-04-24T10:22:00.000-07:002010-04-26T16:01:19.688-07:00Treading on serpents.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"></span><br />
<h2 id="passage_heading" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mark 16:18 (New International Version)</span></i></h2><div class="result-text-style-normal" style="font-family: 'Charis SIL', charis, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><sup class="versenum" id="en-NIV-24884" style="font-size: 0.65em; font-weight: bold; line-height: normal; vertical-align: text-top;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">18</span></i></sup><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."</span></i><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is a group of folks, mostly centered in rural areas of the US, that have taken this passage as a directive to handle deadly snakes as an example of faith or God's power, or something. They dance and sing and play around with rattlesnakes, almost in a trance state. That has more of paganism then Christ in it and in my mind does not really prove much in any case. I doubt they drink poison. Quaffing a tumbler of cyanide would be more impressive and substantive.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The other day I joined my wife as well as Sophie the Superdog and some others for a hike in a local woodlands park. It is full into snake season here and I have already seen three rattlers. Concern for the dogs drove some of the conversation that day as we walked...snake bit dogs are not a good thing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I turned back early to do some things at home and walked alone back to the car. Nearly there, in a wide section of road, a remarkable thing happened.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I kicked a rattlesnake.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am pretty well trained at looking where I walk and scanning the trail ahead, likely a habit of years and years of trail riding on mtn bikes. But I was off in some other place with my thoughts that moment and my eyes were high in the distance. Out of my peripheral vision, and straight down, I caught a shape on the ground that seemed out of place. As I stepped by, I felt a 'thump' on the bottom of my right foot (shoe) that caused me to pause and see what I had just found.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There, crawling across the road was a 6" to 8" rattler. He or she was not even upset, not rattling with the two buttons it had nicely in place, and not even looking miffed. Can a snake slither casually? This one was. I had just whacked it on the head with my shoe, or maybe it had actually struck out at me, but if so, it sure was not expecting another fight out of me.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I walked over and looked at the snake as it passed off the road into the grass and said, "thank you Lord". I was unusually calm. I mean, the snake was not at all bothered and it seemed reasonable that I, being a mature adult, should display at least as much poise as a young rattlesnake.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I turned and walked away and thought of how God watches over us and shows us grace. That could have been a very different outcome. But the God that is big enough to create the universe and calm a sea can keep a snake from harming me.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I mentioned it to a co-worker and he said the typical response to a story like that - "Boy, you sure were lucky". I think not. I have struggled with the question of how much God actually puts a hand in as far as details of everyday life. Is there really even any room for luck or chance? I do not know.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But I know this as much as I know anything at all...it was God's hand that spared me on that trail. I cannot prove it, but I know it. But life demonstrates this as well: It does not always work that way. God's people get cancer. They struggle. They lose jobs and lose loved ones. The difference is in the Christ follower's faith and certainty that we do not know the future but we serve the one that does.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">God is good and merciful and watches over foolish sheep like myself; the Good Shepherd is on guard. But if I had been bitten, and I had suffered...it would not have changed God's goodness or his grace or his love.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My circumstances do not dictate God's character or limitations, but offer an opportunity to glorify Him regardless of the outcome.</span></div>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8188084590293330000.post-43798434499326510792010-04-23T09:41:00.000-07:002010-04-23T09:42:35.916-07:00So dawns a new blog.Lately I have felt a need to express feelings and thoughts that do not really fit in my other blog(s), those being more cycling related or what have you. Citizen of Heaven blog is not a boast or a brag, rather a place to begin from and a direction of movement; a line in the sand; a compass point where North is relative to a hope of heaven, a citizenship not of this earth.<br />
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And with that, I move forward for the time I have in this place, much like <a href="http://wiki.narniaweb.com/index.php/Reepicheep">Reepicheep</a> as quoted above and here below, with my nose pointed to the horizon.<br />
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<blockquote>"While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise..."</blockquote>grannygearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06896238587895388993noreply@blogger.com0