samson is soooooooooooo funny when im trying to get him to come to me, or lets say to get him to come inside.hell stand at the door, wagging his tail, and ill be calling to him..."samson, come here boy. come here, baby" and he wont budge, and if i try to come up to him to try to bring him in by his collar, against his will, hell either twist away and start nip-playing, or hell just back or run away. its like he saying,..."ill come when IM ready, on MY time, and i have to WANT to come to you, mommy" HOWEVER, when i get down to eye level with him, and hold my arms out to him, rather than trying to get him to come to me by looming over him, and grabbing him, here comes my boy....waddling over to me just like any good little toddler, coming to my mommy. theres something about getting to eye level with arms held outin love that makes any child,or one at a childs level, WANT to come to you. but if you loom over them, or try to grab them, theyre going to run. i take care of alzheimers residents for a living, and they have to approach youEIR terms, in THIER time. reality orientation is past. if theyre in 1922 rather than 2010, thats where you have to meet them at. and they pick up on frustration like radar. ive seen residents, if they sense youre getting frustrated with them, they wont let you feed them. God came in the flesh as IMMANEUL GOD WITH US , bcause he understood, not only did He have to come in the form of flesh..He had to approach us on our levels, go into our individual worlds, beckon to us to come to Him, rather than chase us down.
we are to fear God, and reverence Him, but He also wants us to love Him
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Friday, December 25, 2009
JUST STOP!!!
it seems to be an instrinsic aspect of human nature to find the road to redemption. the desire to be redeemed is something that God instilled in each one of us. he did this in order for man to seek Him. this is why i dont believe there is really such a thing as a TRUE athiest. if THIS was the case, then why is it that even your most dieheard athiest will franctically try to purge or redeeem himself in whatever shape or form he deems fit of whatever evil or demons that beset him?
the WORLDS indea or concept of redemption seems to be extremely different than the one spelled out in His Word, first thru His simple plan of salvation, then by the daily transformation
and renewal of ones mind and soulish nature thru his Word. the world is basically all about self..finding ones OWN WAY to redemption, SELF-discovery, SELF-examination,....EGO-centric, as opposed to GOD-CENTERED. there is n doubt, that, indeed, behind, all sin, lies deep-rooted issues. the problem with how the world views sin, is that it substitutes the word SIN WITH the word ISSUES. it is something to be worked through, rather than something to be
REPENTED OF. the worlds attitude towards sin is that, first, you worked thru the issues behinds ones destrucitve/self-destructive behavior, THEN you can stop doing the destructive behavior. this seems to be at the root of a lot of miguided, liberal humanist theology...that, somehow what happened to you, way back when, somehow overlooks and excuses the path f devastated people, you leave in your wake NOW. there is absolutely nowhere in the Word of God, that even remotely collaberates this. what does REPENT mean? it doesnt mean, first, you figure out why you sin, then you can stop. repent means to TURN AWAY FROM!!!! first you confess, then you repent, then you can trust God to guide you thru the minefield of the root of your sin. FLEE FROM TEMPTATION means just that. RUN!!!! it doesnt mean figure out why you get tempted and yield. it means to get as far from it as you can, and trust God to reveal the source of it to you
its very simple. the more i trust in my own understanding to "work thru" whatever crap im in the middle of, the less im going to rely on the Doctor who can and will not only reveal, but cure it. to try to understand my own fallen nature without the guidance of God is like trying to navigate through a minefield.
God recently revealed to me a major work of flesh in my nature..that is using silent scorn as a form of manipulating and seeking revenge against people i am angry with. not speaking to them, not answering their calls. He also revealed just how destructive this can possibly be.
what if an emergency comes up, while im refusing to answer the phone? my lack of resonse could cost not only my life, but the life of a loved one. this is a dangerous destructive behavior to engage in. Gods Word is one where there is nowhere in it that justifies or excuses bnehavior that is unacceptable. repent does not mean to figure it out. it means to stop doing it, then God can heal you of the root of it. the root of worldly philosophy is all about mememememe. quite different from 1 corinthians 13:1-5 LOVE IS NEVER RUDE OR SEEKS ITS OWN WAY!! His
Word clearly says that the last thing ANYTHING is about IS me.
the WORLDS indea or concept of redemption seems to be extremely different than the one spelled out in His Word, first thru His simple plan of salvation, then by the daily transformation
and renewal of ones mind and soulish nature thru his Word. the world is basically all about self..finding ones OWN WAY to redemption, SELF-discovery, SELF-examination,....EGO-centric, as opposed to GOD-CENTERED. there is n doubt, that, indeed, behind, all sin, lies deep-rooted issues. the problem with how the world views sin, is that it substitutes the word SIN WITH the word ISSUES. it is something to be worked through, rather than something to be
REPENTED OF. the worlds attitude towards sin is that, first, you worked thru the issues behinds ones destrucitve/self-destructive behavior, THEN you can stop doing the destructive behavior. this seems to be at the root of a lot of miguided, liberal humanist theology...that, somehow what happened to you, way back when, somehow overlooks and excuses the path f devastated people, you leave in your wake NOW. there is absolutely nowhere in the Word of God, that even remotely collaberates this. what does REPENT mean? it doesnt mean, first, you figure out why you sin, then you can stop. repent means to TURN AWAY FROM!!!! first you confess, then you repent, then you can trust God to guide you thru the minefield of the root of your sin. FLEE FROM TEMPTATION means just that. RUN!!!! it doesnt mean figure out why you get tempted and yield. it means to get as far from it as you can, and trust God to reveal the source of it to you
its very simple. the more i trust in my own understanding to "work thru" whatever crap im in the middle of, the less im going to rely on the Doctor who can and will not only reveal, but cure it. to try to understand my own fallen nature without the guidance of God is like trying to navigate through a minefield.
God recently revealed to me a major work of flesh in my nature..that is using silent scorn as a form of manipulating and seeking revenge against people i am angry with. not speaking to them, not answering their calls. He also revealed just how destructive this can possibly be.
what if an emergency comes up, while im refusing to answer the phone? my lack of resonse could cost not only my life, but the life of a loved one. this is a dangerous destructive behavior to engage in. Gods Word is one where there is nowhere in it that justifies or excuses bnehavior that is unacceptable. repent does not mean to figure it out. it means to stop doing it, then God can heal you of the root of it. the root of worldly philosophy is all about mememememe. quite different from 1 corinthians 13:1-5 LOVE IS NEVER RUDE OR SEEKS ITS OWN WAY!! His
Word clearly says that the last thing ANYTHING is about IS me.
Monday, December 21, 2009
back to doggie tales:IMMANUEL-GOD WITH US
ONCE AGAIN, i still wonder just why on earth God would use my incorrigible, rowdy, english bull terrier as an illustration of the type of relationship He would LIKE to have with me, as well as pointing out to me how I often relate to HIM. while i was sitting in church sunday, i heard a very key phrase...IMMANUEL...GOD WITH US. many idealists have always loved the idea
of sacrificing themselves for humanity,but when you try to attach an individual face to and behind their noble ideals, then suddenly, youre going into territory theyre not quite comfortable with. IMMANUEL-GOD WITH US is just that. he didnt just send His Son to die for the whole world. He sent His Son to die for each one of us on a very personal, intimate level. the message of salvation and personal relationship doesnt ever change with each individual, but how He communicates and illustrates it to us is very intimate, unique, and personal. injtimate, daily study of His Word is something we all must do, BUT........He doesnt just want us to memorize, and vomit up verses at the drop of a hat. to relate GOD WITH US to a lost, hurting world, we have to first see for ourselves, how his words are indeed timeless, and relate to our lives on a daily basis that is revelant to our individual, personal worlds. THEN, we take this, and share it with others.
and lets face it.........everyone loves a good doggie story. you try to thump a Bible upside alot of peoples heads, and theyll shut down on you like a clam. but illustrate Him thru the antics of your fourlegged buddy, youre bound to get a chuckle or two even from the most cynical hard heart. and you just TRY to describe that precious bond between your little fourlegged boy, and his human daddy, and you wont have a dry eye in the room. its a perfect picture of the type of love that God has for us, and wants us to have for Him. none of us are ever two old to waddle-run to Him just like that fourlegged toddler, whom you can practically hear crying DADDY, DADDY!!!!!!! Our personal stories of what God does in our lives, the revelation of that personal relationship comes from His going into OUR worlds, meeting us where were at, working with our individual talents and personalities.
HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US!!!!!! He often drives that point home with me when i get too impatient with samson when he gets too whiny, too needy. like, there are times when ill have to stay up with him til midnight, holding and rocking him....that is, unless i want to hear him whining and yelping, and waking up the whgole neighborhood. and, the infuriating thing is, the little bugger knows this. he aint stupid..he KNOWS when he has his mommy over a barrel. or like, hell wait when mommy has to go potty..like any othet 18 month old brat..to get into everything. he knows the sound of mommys car, and, when he hears his mommy, then he decides to turn on the long drawn out wailing cry......mommy, MOMMY. im sure most of us remember GONE WITH THE WINDS memorable crying scenes where scarlett ohara is peaking thru her fingers at rhett butler to see if shes getting the desired reaction. well, thats samson..ill look outside, and hes sitting there as calm as you please..looking over at me to see if ive seen hes seen me. HE KNOWS HOW TO WORK HIS MOMMY. like most humans, there comes a time where i have to set boundaries, limits, and not give into him everytime he wants attention. i cant always give him the attention he needs.but whenever i think its a big deal to stay up with him til midnight, God will remind me how i can wake HIM up at THREE in the morning, and its no big deal to Him God has no boundaries with us, when it comes to us, wanting His time, his attention. just like there are times when our earthly children may need more attention, and love than at other times,i remember, when i first came to know HIM, i KNOW there were lots of times when i needed lots of love and reassurance. i will never be met with GO AWAY KID YOU BOTHER ME!!!!! he will NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US!!!!!
remembering this helps me not to get so mad at samson, when he gets so needy,even when i cant always give it to him. God never gets mad at us, does HE?
another time i see so much of my attitude towards God in samson is, like...for example, hey,, ill fess up, im alot of the reason samson IS so spoiled. ive got him trained to, whenever he comes in the bathroom, and he knows its his bath time, he sits right down and looks at me...OK, WHERES MY BEGGIN STRIP?????(he gets one before his bath, two after im done), and when i get him out of the tub, he sits down and its like OK..WHERES MY OTHER TWO????? and heaven forbid, if i makes him a peanut or soy butter sandwich, and i forget to cut it in half for him..hell look at it, them me, as if to say OH MOMMY....YOU FORGOT SOMETHING. or, if i forget to spray his bed with fabreze after i wash it, the list goes on and on. hes gotten used to certain things being done for him, and in a certain way. often, this is how I approach God. i develop an
attitude of expectation and entitlement.....of getting what i want, when i want it, and the same way everytime. and, i see now that whenever i do that, one i limit God to my own childish wishes. when i get mad and stamp my feet when i dont always get what i want, i dont stop and think that he may have something better in mind for me. or, if He does it one way one time, and im disappointed when He does it a different way the next time, thinking Hes holding out on me..when in truth, as i mature, he doesnt hold out, Hes upping the ante. i end up putting Him in a box, fixating on what i see as good, and missing out on whats excellent.
closing thought for the day, yesterday, when i was in praise and worship, i remember the passage talking like our praises going up like a sweet fragrance, His presence being like a sweet fragrance........a vision came to mind of samson...how often, when he puts his head on my shoulder, when im holding him, or he smells my perfume, he starts wagging his tail. he likes putting his head on mommy, smelling his mommy, because he can feel my heartbeat..its like me rubbing him. it was a pciture of the unnter contentment that comes from surrendering to God,trusting him, being surrounded with His presence.....nothing beats it.
of sacrificing themselves for humanity,but when you try to attach an individual face to and behind their noble ideals, then suddenly, youre going into territory theyre not quite comfortable with. IMMANUEL-GOD WITH US is just that. he didnt just send His Son to die for the whole world. He sent His Son to die for each one of us on a very personal, intimate level. the message of salvation and personal relationship doesnt ever change with each individual, but how He communicates and illustrates it to us is very intimate, unique, and personal. injtimate, daily study of His Word is something we all must do, BUT........He doesnt just want us to memorize, and vomit up verses at the drop of a hat. to relate GOD WITH US to a lost, hurting world, we have to first see for ourselves, how his words are indeed timeless, and relate to our lives on a daily basis that is revelant to our individual, personal worlds. THEN, we take this, and share it with others.
and lets face it.........everyone loves a good doggie story. you try to thump a Bible upside alot of peoples heads, and theyll shut down on you like a clam. but illustrate Him thru the antics of your fourlegged buddy, youre bound to get a chuckle or two even from the most cynical hard heart. and you just TRY to describe that precious bond between your little fourlegged boy, and his human daddy, and you wont have a dry eye in the room. its a perfect picture of the type of love that God has for us, and wants us to have for Him. none of us are ever two old to waddle-run to Him just like that fourlegged toddler, whom you can practically hear crying DADDY, DADDY!!!!!!! Our personal stories of what God does in our lives, the revelation of that personal relationship comes from His going into OUR worlds, meeting us where were at, working with our individual talents and personalities.
HE WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US!!!!!! He often drives that point home with me when i get too impatient with samson when he gets too whiny, too needy. like, there are times when ill have to stay up with him til midnight, holding and rocking him....that is, unless i want to hear him whining and yelping, and waking up the whgole neighborhood. and, the infuriating thing is, the little bugger knows this. he aint stupid..he KNOWS when he has his mommy over a barrel. or like, hell wait when mommy has to go potty..like any othet 18 month old brat..to get into everything. he knows the sound of mommys car, and, when he hears his mommy, then he decides to turn on the long drawn out wailing cry......mommy, MOMMY. im sure most of us remember GONE WITH THE WINDS memorable crying scenes where scarlett ohara is peaking thru her fingers at rhett butler to see if shes getting the desired reaction. well, thats samson..ill look outside, and hes sitting there as calm as you please..looking over at me to see if ive seen hes seen me. HE KNOWS HOW TO WORK HIS MOMMY. like most humans, there comes a time where i have to set boundaries, limits, and not give into him everytime he wants attention. i cant always give him the attention he needs.but whenever i think its a big deal to stay up with him til midnight, God will remind me how i can wake HIM up at THREE in the morning, and its no big deal to Him God has no boundaries with us, when it comes to us, wanting His time, his attention. just like there are times when our earthly children may need more attention, and love than at other times,i remember, when i first came to know HIM, i KNOW there were lots of times when i needed lots of love and reassurance. i will never be met with GO AWAY KID YOU BOTHER ME!!!!! he will NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US!!!!!
remembering this helps me not to get so mad at samson, when he gets so needy,even when i cant always give it to him. God never gets mad at us, does HE?
another time i see so much of my attitude towards God in samson is, like...for example, hey,, ill fess up, im alot of the reason samson IS so spoiled. ive got him trained to, whenever he comes in the bathroom, and he knows its his bath time, he sits right down and looks at me...OK, WHERES MY BEGGIN STRIP?????(he gets one before his bath, two after im done), and when i get him out of the tub, he sits down and its like OK..WHERES MY OTHER TWO????? and heaven forbid, if i makes him a peanut or soy butter sandwich, and i forget to cut it in half for him..hell look at it, them me, as if to say OH MOMMY....YOU FORGOT SOMETHING. or, if i forget to spray his bed with fabreze after i wash it, the list goes on and on. hes gotten used to certain things being done for him, and in a certain way. often, this is how I approach God. i develop an
attitude of expectation and entitlement.....of getting what i want, when i want it, and the same way everytime. and, i see now that whenever i do that, one i limit God to my own childish wishes. when i get mad and stamp my feet when i dont always get what i want, i dont stop and think that he may have something better in mind for me. or, if He does it one way one time, and im disappointed when He does it a different way the next time, thinking Hes holding out on me..when in truth, as i mature, he doesnt hold out, Hes upping the ante. i end up putting Him in a box, fixating on what i see as good, and missing out on whats excellent.
closing thought for the day, yesterday, when i was in praise and worship, i remember the passage talking like our praises going up like a sweet fragrance, His presence being like a sweet fragrance........a vision came to mind of samson...how often, when he puts his head on my shoulder, when im holding him, or he smells my perfume, he starts wagging his tail. he likes putting his head on mommy, smelling his mommy, because he can feel my heartbeat..its like me rubbing him. it was a pciture of the unnter contentment that comes from surrendering to God,trusting him, being surrounded with His presence.....nothing beats it.
Monday, December 14, 2009
BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU
ine thing i can honestly say about my fourlegged boy is that, being the typical english bull terrier that he is, he may not be the most well behaved dog on the planet ( ive come home on numerous occasions to a smilling dog, wagging his tail as if saying HIYA MOM, amidst a screnporch full of chewed up items to prove it. not to mention a busted fence out on the deck).
but i can honestly say, samson is probably one of the most loving dogs youll ever meet. he loves
EVABODY!!!!!!! everyone is samsons buddy..hes all about pet me love me. when he nips hes playing and hes so used to rough play that you could probably knock him in the head with a baseball bat and hed still be wagging his tail. HOWEVER, there is one exception!!!!!! there happens to be one person that he doesnt like, and he makes it known. when he lunges at this person, its not the usual tailwagging lets play thing samson usually has going. its ears back, tetth bared,snarling, and samson doesnt want this person even close to me, and WILL try to attack him, if he gets near me. samson do no likey him for soommmme reason. and as far as im concerned, the specifics are really a moot point. would i ever let samson hurt this person?
of course not. but am i about to punish samson? the answer is, why would i punish samson for alerting me to the fact, that theres clearly something about this person that isnt quite kosher?
an english bull terrier will die to protect you, and theyve been known to rip the throats out of pits and they got their famous name because they were used to bring down 1,500 bulls. why would i ever punish any pet for doing what it was supposed to..protecting me. if an animal who loves everyone he sees suddenly goes nuts and tries to attack someone who gets anywhere near me, theyre not misbehaving, theyre trying to tell me something. the tragic thing is that all too many animals wind up being punished, even put to sleep,simply for doing what it was supposed to..protecting loved ones. often by the very people they were protecting. im sure that all too many times, women who die at the hands of their violent husbands or boyfriends, would probably have still been alive, if they had paid attention to their beloved pooches who tried to let them know that danger lurked behind those charming smiles that masked the true nature of their future killers. often, who, of course, were the first to convince their beloved to get rid of faithful fido, standard M.O. for anyone wanting to eliminate anything or anyone out of the scenery they know is onto them.
WHY WOULD ANYONE BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS THEM SO TO SPEAK?
WHY, WHY, WHY WOULD ANYONE LASH OUT, OR EVEN TRY TO DESTROY
ANYTHING OR ANYONE WHO IS TRYING TO HELP THEM, MAYBE EVEN SAVE THEM?
the more i read the book of jeremiah, the more i see someone who was kind of the equvalent
to that faithful engglish bull terrier, whom all he was trying to do was to do what God assigned him to do........be a vessel to try to save a desperately wayward people. and it wasnt just the wayward kids of israel, (and at that point, thats what they were like...will,wayward, spoiled children who always wanted seconds on candy, but wouldnt lift a bruseel sprout to their mouths if their life depended on it.) that three fits, stamped their feet, when suddenly they began to realize, they werent going to get everything they wanted all the time, and get it YESTERDAY never mind TODAY. reading jeremiah 38:4"we beseech thee(talking to their king, whom it was obvious they were masters at manipulating) let this man be put to death......for this man seeketh
not the welfare of the people, but their hurt" which was baloney. these men didnt have either the king or the peoples welfare in mind. they wanted jeremiah out of the way, because he was onto them. the king and the people were simply pawns on the chessboard of a group of leaders who were all about the utilitarian usage of people for their own gain. and they gained their power in the same manner so many like them before and since them have........people choosing to believe a lie over the truth, as well as people who knew the truth, but were too spineless to do anything about it. a coward is even more dangerous than an evil man. they are moved by nothing but their own fear.
at the heart of embracing a lie over the truth, even, when you know in your heart that what youre embracing is not what you think it is is addiction. addiction always starts as a work of the flesh, but at the very heart of it is a spirit. it was the same spirit that was in delilah. it is what mdoern terminology would call a "frenemy" one that pretends to be your friend, while it robs, steals, likks, and destroys everything in its wake. and is so sdeceptive you even become willing to kill old faithful fido in order to preserve that illusion.
when you rejct the truth there is nothing to embrace but a lie
but i can honestly say, samson is probably one of the most loving dogs youll ever meet. he loves
EVABODY!!!!!!! everyone is samsons buddy..hes all about pet me love me. when he nips hes playing and hes so used to rough play that you could probably knock him in the head with a baseball bat and hed still be wagging his tail. HOWEVER, there is one exception!!!!!! there happens to be one person that he doesnt like, and he makes it known. when he lunges at this person, its not the usual tailwagging lets play thing samson usually has going. its ears back, tetth bared,snarling, and samson doesnt want this person even close to me, and WILL try to attack him, if he gets near me. samson do no likey him for soommmme reason. and as far as im concerned, the specifics are really a moot point. would i ever let samson hurt this person?
of course not. but am i about to punish samson? the answer is, why would i punish samson for alerting me to the fact, that theres clearly something about this person that isnt quite kosher?
an english bull terrier will die to protect you, and theyve been known to rip the throats out of pits and they got their famous name because they were used to bring down 1,500 bulls. why would i ever punish any pet for doing what it was supposed to..protecting me. if an animal who loves everyone he sees suddenly goes nuts and tries to attack someone who gets anywhere near me, theyre not misbehaving, theyre trying to tell me something. the tragic thing is that all too many animals wind up being punished, even put to sleep,simply for doing what it was supposed to..protecting loved ones. often by the very people they were protecting. im sure that all too many times, women who die at the hands of their violent husbands or boyfriends, would probably have still been alive, if they had paid attention to their beloved pooches who tried to let them know that danger lurked behind those charming smiles that masked the true nature of their future killers. often, who, of course, were the first to convince their beloved to get rid of faithful fido, standard M.O. for anyone wanting to eliminate anything or anyone out of the scenery they know is onto them.
WHY WOULD ANYONE BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS THEM SO TO SPEAK?
WHY, WHY, WHY WOULD ANYONE LASH OUT, OR EVEN TRY TO DESTROY
ANYTHING OR ANYONE WHO IS TRYING TO HELP THEM, MAYBE EVEN SAVE THEM?
the more i read the book of jeremiah, the more i see someone who was kind of the equvalent
to that faithful engglish bull terrier, whom all he was trying to do was to do what God assigned him to do........be a vessel to try to save a desperately wayward people. and it wasnt just the wayward kids of israel, (and at that point, thats what they were like...will,wayward, spoiled children who always wanted seconds on candy, but wouldnt lift a bruseel sprout to their mouths if their life depended on it.) that three fits, stamped their feet, when suddenly they began to realize, they werent going to get everything they wanted all the time, and get it YESTERDAY never mind TODAY. reading jeremiah 38:4"we beseech thee(talking to their king, whom it was obvious they were masters at manipulating) let this man be put to death......for this man seeketh
not the welfare of the people, but their hurt" which was baloney. these men didnt have either the king or the peoples welfare in mind. they wanted jeremiah out of the way, because he was onto them. the king and the people were simply pawns on the chessboard of a group of leaders who were all about the utilitarian usage of people for their own gain. and they gained their power in the same manner so many like them before and since them have........people choosing to believe a lie over the truth, as well as people who knew the truth, but were too spineless to do anything about it. a coward is even more dangerous than an evil man. they are moved by nothing but their own fear.
at the heart of embracing a lie over the truth, even, when you know in your heart that what youre embracing is not what you think it is is addiction. addiction always starts as a work of the flesh, but at the very heart of it is a spirit. it was the same spirit that was in delilah. it is what mdoern terminology would call a "frenemy" one that pretends to be your friend, while it robs, steals, likks, and destroys everything in its wake. and is so sdeceptive you even become willing to kill old faithful fido in order to preserve that illusion.
when you rejct the truth there is nothing to embrace but a lie
Friday, December 11, 2009
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT
i was reading jeremiah 36 at work last night while it was slow. it was talking about how jeremiah recieved instruction from God to tell baruch to WRITE DOWN all the words that hed been given by God to speak til that point. why/ for the same reason that God has ALWAYS
used His chosen vessels to give His messages to others write it down. once any word is WRITTEN, thats it. its a matter of tangible public record. after that, jeremiah, as shown in verse 5 said nothing else. it was written so there was no way that anyone could refute that these word were anyones elses, except Gods. anything else said would have either been ADDING TO IT or TAKING FROM IT in relation to the message that God used jeremiah for in delivering His message to Israel.
ive seen enough episodes on LAW AND ORDER as well as individual real life research to know, that once a statement is recorded, either by audio or written down, legally, there is no going back and changing it. its THERE for the world to hear and see. things by word of mouth, can always be refuted or changed, since word of mouth e
ven with the most credible witnesses can be less than reliable. and there is always a master copy kept of any critical piece of evidence. and also note where jeremiah had baruch document in INK. as a healthcare provider, i understand the legal ramifications of not documenting in either blue or black ink. pencil can always go back and be erased or changed. and other colors of ink dont pick up on photocopy. failure to comply with these regulations stringently imposed by state can result in loss of ones license or even legal sanctions on the grounds of falsifying records. God more than once says in His Word, IT IS WRITTEN!!!!!!!!!!! MEANING, 1 they are HIS WORDS, not MY WORDS. 2 i can not go back and either add to them or change them.
taking away from the Word of God is something that isnt just for today. it is part of the modus operandi of the fallen sin nature that wants to live in denial, when confronted with anything which brings to light any particular sin that it doesnt want to give up, to want to "TEAR OUT'
any references that may come against it. such as when king jehoiakim had jehudi to tear out several of the leaves and cast it into the fire. like that was really going to change the fact it wasnt true. that was just a COPY. jeremiah already had the master copy via the Spirit of God locked away in his brain and heart. thats like if i get issued for a warrant for my arrest on lets say the grounds of resident abuse and neglect. i take the warrant and tear it up. do i honestly believe that there arent other copies????? is that going to change the fact that ive been charged
with a crime and that im going to have to deal with the legal sanctions thereof. the only thing that happened when jehudi burned those pages, another copy was made. you can burn paper but the Word of God goes merrily on.
part of the price of denial that comes from a long standing reprobate mentality of being in denial to ones sins is that a very strange psychology begins to take hold of the individual. there is an expression HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT that is a very appropo term for this sort of bizarre mentality. ive done alot of reading on the renaissance period in england. a huge emphasis was placed on outward piety and morality, while at the same time it was quite common practice for
married couples to often be mutually unfaithful to each other, both being completely aware of the other persons fidelity. however, as long as they appeared in public with their faces covered so family and friends wouldnt recognize them, and put them in a position where they had to choice but to act on it, it was usually politic to look the other way. they could be sitting side by side with their spouses, each with their respective lovers, they knew who it was....it was really weird.
i went thru a very similar situation when i was still living in secret unrenounced sin. i wasnt fooling anyone but myself, i KNEW i wasnt fooling anyone but myself. but i was like, as long
as i dont read about it, no one tells me about it, it doesnt exist. i wasnt really wanting to know what was going on from the people who were shunning me..i KNEW they were onto me......
i was trying to play on their intelligence....if i played stupid the problem didnt exist. i was always the first in the prayer line, looking for a word...Jesus wasnt timid in dealing with that sort of deliberately self deluded mentality YE WICKED AND ADULTEROUS GENRATION, YE CAN READ THE SIGNS OF THE SKY BUT NOT THE SIGNS OF THE TIME...THE ONLY SIGN YOULL GET IS THE SIGN OF JONAH.........SEE YA. its like being an addict. if you have to ask whther or not youre one, chances are, you already have your answer.
keeping something hidden in plain sight never ever makes anything go away. GOD IS GOD HE CHANGES NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
used His chosen vessels to give His messages to others write it down. once any word is WRITTEN, thats it. its a matter of tangible public record. after that, jeremiah, as shown in verse 5 said nothing else. it was written so there was no way that anyone could refute that these word were anyones elses, except Gods. anything else said would have either been ADDING TO IT or TAKING FROM IT in relation to the message that God used jeremiah for in delivering His message to Israel.
ive seen enough episodes on LAW AND ORDER as well as individual real life research to know, that once a statement is recorded, either by audio or written down, legally, there is no going back and changing it. its THERE for the world to hear and see. things by word of mouth, can always be refuted or changed, since word of mouth e
ven with the most credible witnesses can be less than reliable. and there is always a master copy kept of any critical piece of evidence. and also note where jeremiah had baruch document in INK. as a healthcare provider, i understand the legal ramifications of not documenting in either blue or black ink. pencil can always go back and be erased or changed. and other colors of ink dont pick up on photocopy. failure to comply with these regulations stringently imposed by state can result in loss of ones license or even legal sanctions on the grounds of falsifying records. God more than once says in His Word, IT IS WRITTEN!!!!!!!!!!! MEANING, 1 they are HIS WORDS, not MY WORDS. 2 i can not go back and either add to them or change them.
taking away from the Word of God is something that isnt just for today. it is part of the modus operandi of the fallen sin nature that wants to live in denial, when confronted with anything which brings to light any particular sin that it doesnt want to give up, to want to "TEAR OUT'
any references that may come against it. such as when king jehoiakim had jehudi to tear out several of the leaves and cast it into the fire. like that was really going to change the fact it wasnt true. that was just a COPY. jeremiah already had the master copy via the Spirit of God locked away in his brain and heart. thats like if i get issued for a warrant for my arrest on lets say the grounds of resident abuse and neglect. i take the warrant and tear it up. do i honestly believe that there arent other copies????? is that going to change the fact that ive been charged
with a crime and that im going to have to deal with the legal sanctions thereof. the only thing that happened when jehudi burned those pages, another copy was made. you can burn paper but the Word of God goes merrily on.
part of the price of denial that comes from a long standing reprobate mentality of being in denial to ones sins is that a very strange psychology begins to take hold of the individual. there is an expression HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT that is a very appropo term for this sort of bizarre mentality. ive done alot of reading on the renaissance period in england. a huge emphasis was placed on outward piety and morality, while at the same time it was quite common practice for
married couples to often be mutually unfaithful to each other, both being completely aware of the other persons fidelity. however, as long as they appeared in public with their faces covered so family and friends wouldnt recognize them, and put them in a position where they had to choice but to act on it, it was usually politic to look the other way. they could be sitting side by side with their spouses, each with their respective lovers, they knew who it was....it was really weird.
i went thru a very similar situation when i was still living in secret unrenounced sin. i wasnt fooling anyone but myself, i KNEW i wasnt fooling anyone but myself. but i was like, as long
as i dont read about it, no one tells me about it, it doesnt exist. i wasnt really wanting to know what was going on from the people who were shunning me..i KNEW they were onto me......
i was trying to play on their intelligence....if i played stupid the problem didnt exist. i was always the first in the prayer line, looking for a word...Jesus wasnt timid in dealing with that sort of deliberately self deluded mentality YE WICKED AND ADULTEROUS GENRATION, YE CAN READ THE SIGNS OF THE SKY BUT NOT THE SIGNS OF THE TIME...THE ONLY SIGN YOULL GET IS THE SIGN OF JONAH.........SEE YA. its like being an addict. if you have to ask whther or not youre one, chances are, you already have your answer.
keeping something hidden in plain sight never ever makes anything go away. GOD IS GOD HE CHANGES NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
ok guys now back to boring you with my doggie
has anyone gotten the idea that i love my dog? i dont think it would take a rocket scientist to figure out that samson pretty much owns ME not ME owning HIM. maybe i need to start asking every day samson how may i serve you today? LOL. but i cant help but see thru samson how God has a phenomenal sense of humor and loves us, warts and all , just like i love my boy (stinking spoiled brat though he may be) God would have to use the most willful, rowdy, bullheaded dog on the planet-an english bull terrier, to show me my own willfull, obstinate, fallen flesh nature, that at times STILL wants its own way, and STILL wants to run the show. im like OK,OK,OK,OKKKKKKKKKKKAAYYYYYYYY ALREADY!!!!! GOD, I GET IT!!!!! YOUVE MADE YOUR POINT. THATS ME ALL OVER!!!!!!!
how many of us have ever tried to tell a loved one, that maybe the way theyre training their kids in the way they should go..well..errrr. this MIGHT NOT be the best way to go about it. well, theres this stupid stuffed dog that our boy loves to make a grab for whenever he sees it. alan got it into his head that the best way to break samson of it was not only to keep samson from grabbing it, but he takes it one step further and makes it a point of presenting it to samson, then taking it away from him, telling him NO!!!! everytime he makes a grab for it. i can see that samson is getting more and more worked up. does alan listen to me????NOPE!!! okay, so, later on, samson is throwing a fit wanting to come inside. what does he do once i let him in? he practically knocks me down, and , like a heat-seeking missile, heads straight to that computer room, and comes out with that ignorant little dog in his drooling grasp, and looks at me like YOU JUST TRY TO GET IT FROM ME!!!!!!!! the more that alan had made it a point that samson couldnt have it, the more samson was like you wanna bet???? the fact that i managed to get the dog back, both with its head and my fingers intact, is indeed proof that there is a God, and thu, that miracles didnt stop when Jesus fed the multitudes and turned water into wine.
GRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God isnt just all about telling us what we cant have and cant do. and when He does, He also makes it very plain. 1. ther boundaries He places around us thru His Word, is because He loves us and has our welfare at heart. boundaries are freedom, not restriction, becaue the boundaries God wants to place around us actually frees us from the control of our fallen natures. 2. He wants us to see the things He DOES want us to have, and allow Him to change our hearts where we WILL want the right things. 3. He doent taunt us with what we cant have, then take it away from us. if we lose what He gives us, its because we freely chose to walk away from it. growing up, i had this legalistic concept of a God that does nothing but rag on us and made it a point of telling us what we CANT have, i gagged on it. its part of the rebellious sin nature the more you try to rub in something i cant have, the more im bound and determined, by whatever means necessary, and if i have to run right over your feet to get it, OH WELLLLL, THATS THE BREAKS. this was the basic logistics of my old modus operandi 1.what can i get you to do for me? 2. youre in my way. to truly want to obey ones master, at the heart of it is GRACE!!!!!!! THE GRACE OF GOD HAS ACTUALLY MADE ME WANT TO HONOR,OBEY, AND RESPECT OTHERS. understanding what His Son did for me has made me actually WANT to p[lace the needs of others over my own.
the heart of any loving Father has to be LOVE. if all we get are nagatives, dont do this dont do that, that child is going to end up hating that father.GRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that was the lesson i got thru samson the other day
how many of us have ever tried to tell a loved one, that maybe the way theyre training their kids in the way they should go..well..errrr. this MIGHT NOT be the best way to go about it. well, theres this stupid stuffed dog that our boy loves to make a grab for whenever he sees it. alan got it into his head that the best way to break samson of it was not only to keep samson from grabbing it, but he takes it one step further and makes it a point of presenting it to samson, then taking it away from him, telling him NO!!!! everytime he makes a grab for it. i can see that samson is getting more and more worked up. does alan listen to me????NOPE!!! okay, so, later on, samson is throwing a fit wanting to come inside. what does he do once i let him in? he practically knocks me down, and , like a heat-seeking missile, heads straight to that computer room, and comes out with that ignorant little dog in his drooling grasp, and looks at me like YOU JUST TRY TO GET IT FROM ME!!!!!!!! the more that alan had made it a point that samson couldnt have it, the more samson was like you wanna bet???? the fact that i managed to get the dog back, both with its head and my fingers intact, is indeed proof that there is a God, and thu, that miracles didnt stop when Jesus fed the multitudes and turned water into wine.
GRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God isnt just all about telling us what we cant have and cant do. and when He does, He also makes it very plain. 1. ther boundaries He places around us thru His Word, is because He loves us and has our welfare at heart. boundaries are freedom, not restriction, becaue the boundaries God wants to place around us actually frees us from the control of our fallen natures. 2. He wants us to see the things He DOES want us to have, and allow Him to change our hearts where we WILL want the right things. 3. He doent taunt us with what we cant have, then take it away from us. if we lose what He gives us, its because we freely chose to walk away from it. growing up, i had this legalistic concept of a God that does nothing but rag on us and made it a point of telling us what we CANT have, i gagged on it. its part of the rebellious sin nature the more you try to rub in something i cant have, the more im bound and determined, by whatever means necessary, and if i have to run right over your feet to get it, OH WELLLLL, THATS THE BREAKS. this was the basic logistics of my old modus operandi 1.what can i get you to do for me? 2. youre in my way. to truly want to obey ones master, at the heart of it is GRACE!!!!!!! THE GRACE OF GOD HAS ACTUALLY MADE ME WANT TO HONOR,OBEY, AND RESPECT OTHERS. understanding what His Son did for me has made me actually WANT to p[lace the needs of others over my own.
the heart of any loving Father has to be LOVE. if all we get are nagatives, dont do this dont do that, that child is going to end up hating that father.GRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that was the lesson i got thru samson the other day
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
before i present yet another samson adventure
today, i thought id start out on a different note just because when i was reading jeremiah 33:12"thus saith the Lord of hosts'again in this place which is desolate without man, without beast, and in all the cities thereof,shall be a habitation of shepards causing their flocks to lie down." Jesus is the Great sheperd, we are his flock, and he ha appointed many great men to be our sheperds here in this earth. IN ALL CITIES THEREOF, SHALL B A HABITATION OF SHEPERDS CAUSING THEIR FLOCKS TO LIE DOWN. what is the key to being able to accept Jesus a the only way to th Father? the desire and willingness to submit. im just now beginning to understand the utter desolation and barrenness in my life by refusing to humble and debase myself to yeild to his authority. even more so, seeing others who have at best a form of godliness, but with absolutely no power for the pure and simple fact by insisting that they can approach God THEIR way. not undestanding as long as one tries to tailormake God to suit their wants or what they believe are their needs, theyre still operating under their own steam, because they refuse to allow God to be God. and then wonder why when the crunch hits, THEIR God has no power to help them.
i was watching on youtube this clip on the church of oprah windfrey. this one statement hit me like a bombshell..do not cling to the pathetic notion of the OLD RUGGED CROSS.what immediately came to mind was reading about david dancing before the Lord with utter wild abandon in nothing but his ephod, no barrier between him and a holy God. he was totally wrapped up in his love affair with God and his last concern was for what ANYONE might have thought. he didnt even care that his wife michal was watching him with the utter horror and fascination that i often have when i see a particularly nasty youtube video of some critter like the funnel web spider(i thank the Lord that im thousands of miles away from australia). SHE DESPISED HIM IN HER HEART? why??? what was it that david did that was the unpardonable sin in her eyes? HE HUMILIATED HER BY DARING TO ABASE HIMSELF TO WORSHIP GOD. PRIDE!!!!!!!!!! this is what is rampant in those who insist on seeking to find THEIR WAY to God, to earn THEIR WAY to their own salvation.
to come to the Cross requires submission. theirs no submission if youre still running the show.
praise Him???? im not going to praise Him. no god is going to ask me to humiliate myself. dont think so. CONTEMPT ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A FORM OF DEEP ROOTED ANGER AND HOSTILITY. this was rampant in the heart of michal and also in oprah as she beligerently challenged those who had the audacity to say you cant earn your own way to
God. i remember when it was rampant in my own heart. what is at the heart of the fallen human nature minus Jesus is the perpetual undisciplined child. im not gonna do it and you cant make me.
i think of what michal must have been thinking when he saw her fool husband dancing wearing nothing but a smile. LOL. probably her hand went to her heart in a flutter as she experienced the equivalent of your contemporary christmas party cocktail crisis as you have to fill in the gaps to embarrsing situations of the antics of your black sheep family members who "behave badly" worrying about whether or not she would be included on any more invites
from the upper crusts in her social circle. oh my lord, i DO HOPE nobody saw this. ive seen people like this and its really sad. THEYRE the ones that just dont get it. i think the saddest thing about what the end result of michals life was was that she wound up never being able to have children. i see the profound wisdom of the verse" he who has will gain more. he who has no WILL LOSE EVEN WHAT HE ALREADY HAS" in michals snobbery and snubbing her husband, the bitter irony was that SHE was more than likely the one who ended her life a social pariah, whereas david, in spite of his many flaws went on to not just be greatly used by god but loved my millions in his life and for centuries to come. not being able to bear children bore far greater social stigma than dancing in your skivvies dont you know. at the root of all fleshly pride is profound barrenness of spirit being bound by a pathetic lifeless IDEA of God, with no power.
michals physical barrenness was a reflection of her barrennes of spirit.
this verse in jeremiah is just one of many example of how god uses animals as analogies of the relationship He so desperately wants with us. God gave us free will ,so He cannot go against His word and go contrary to our own will. we have to be willing to SUBMIT to Him for His power to be effective in our lives. praise him, submit to him what have you got to lose but tons of spiritual chains
its interesting
i was watching on youtube this clip on the church of oprah windfrey. this one statement hit me like a bombshell..do not cling to the pathetic notion of the OLD RUGGED CROSS.what immediately came to mind was reading about david dancing before the Lord with utter wild abandon in nothing but his ephod, no barrier between him and a holy God. he was totally wrapped up in his love affair with God and his last concern was for what ANYONE might have thought. he didnt even care that his wife michal was watching him with the utter horror and fascination that i often have when i see a particularly nasty youtube video of some critter like the funnel web spider(i thank the Lord that im thousands of miles away from australia). SHE DESPISED HIM IN HER HEART? why??? what was it that david did that was the unpardonable sin in her eyes? HE HUMILIATED HER BY DARING TO ABASE HIMSELF TO WORSHIP GOD. PRIDE!!!!!!!!!! this is what is rampant in those who insist on seeking to find THEIR WAY to God, to earn THEIR WAY to their own salvation.
to come to the Cross requires submission. theirs no submission if youre still running the show.
praise Him???? im not going to praise Him. no god is going to ask me to humiliate myself. dont think so. CONTEMPT ALSO HAPPENS TO BE A FORM OF DEEP ROOTED ANGER AND HOSTILITY. this was rampant in the heart of michal and also in oprah as she beligerently challenged those who had the audacity to say you cant earn your own way to
God. i remember when it was rampant in my own heart. what is at the heart of the fallen human nature minus Jesus is the perpetual undisciplined child. im not gonna do it and you cant make me.
i think of what michal must have been thinking when he saw her fool husband dancing wearing nothing but a smile. LOL. probably her hand went to her heart in a flutter as she experienced the equivalent of your contemporary christmas party cocktail crisis as you have to fill in the gaps to embarrsing situations of the antics of your black sheep family members who "behave badly" worrying about whether or not she would be included on any more invites
from the upper crusts in her social circle. oh my lord, i DO HOPE nobody saw this. ive seen people like this and its really sad. THEYRE the ones that just dont get it. i think the saddest thing about what the end result of michals life was was that she wound up never being able to have children. i see the profound wisdom of the verse" he who has will gain more. he who has no WILL LOSE EVEN WHAT HE ALREADY HAS" in michals snobbery and snubbing her husband, the bitter irony was that SHE was more than likely the one who ended her life a social pariah, whereas david, in spite of his many flaws went on to not just be greatly used by god but loved my millions in his life and for centuries to come. not being able to bear children bore far greater social stigma than dancing in your skivvies dont you know. at the root of all fleshly pride is profound barrenness of spirit being bound by a pathetic lifeless IDEA of God, with no power.
michals physical barrenness was a reflection of her barrennes of spirit.
this verse in jeremiah is just one of many example of how god uses animals as analogies of the relationship He so desperately wants with us. God gave us free will ,so He cannot go against His word and go contrary to our own will. we have to be willing to SUBMIT to Him for His power to be effective in our lives. praise him, submit to him what have you got to lose but tons of spiritual chains
its interesting
Monday, December 7, 2009
MORE ABOUT BORING EVERYONE WITH MY DOG. LOLOLOL. lets talk about one of his most irksome habits( and trust me, they are many). my boy loves to crawl underneath the deck....my guess is to chase after lizards.no matter how dirty he gets, or how many times he gets stuck under there, next thing you know, hes right back under there. i discovered this utterly exasperating new pasttime he has, one day when i was frantically searching for him all over the yard, and he was nowhere to be found. then......i heard this little whiny yelp coming from..........
where???????? i trace it back to under the deck. looks like homeboy was stuck under there and couldnt get back out. nightmare visions of having to call 911 to come take apart the deck to get him out, and then having the dirty job of explaining it to his daddy why all his hard work had to be undone within a few minutes(he later told me to just call him and hes come take out the screws and get him out that way) fortunately......samson managed to crawl out, dirty, filthy, and after trying to bite my fingers off when i tried to help him out. youd think, well, he wont be back under there any time soon. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! next thing you know, hes right back under there, to get even dirtier(last time i bathed him, he turned my whole tub black)ANDDDD
TO GET STUCK AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!! im like, this bloody stupid dog....
WHY would be go back under there, oftentimes right after i gave him a bath and sprayed him with smellgoods, to get dirty and filthy all over again AND to get stuck again????
ok, lets ask ourselves this question...why did we always keep going back to the same disastrous situations in our lives over and over, and continue to wallow in the filth of them. more importantly, i need to ask myself this.....yes ,its true that the love and grace of God covers a mu
ltitude of sins, even when we mess up, but, once ive been delivered from a lifestyle of sin and degradation, why in the world would i ever want to go back to it. ive heard alot of people saying once saved always saved and thinking the grace of god thru Jesus Christ is sort of a license to play with sin. why would i ever want to get dirty, filthy, and just plain stuck in a life that was a dead end and would have rendered me a corpse, by thinking i could go back and play with it.
yo me,thats kind of like samson going back under that deck over and over again, getting dirty,
filthy, and stuck. personally, i LIKE being clean, i LIKE being free. but its still tempting at times to think maybe i can go back now to some old play ground to play there like i used to. i dont work that way. its like the parable of the unclean spirits...each time i welcome these things back, or go back to an area of destruction, its even more dangerous than before.
samson doesnt know better, hes just a dog. his memory bank is basically just a big black hole concerning things he likes to do but always get him in trouble everytime. but, without positves to replace the negatives removed from our lives, were in no better shape. it was like my sister and her client going right back into the same environment where she got raped, and im sure emma was just shaking her head and thinking doesnt this girl ever learn???? God hates the negatives that oppose His Word in our lives, but, even more so, He hates a vacuum. ive read alot about short term memory loss, called anterograde amnesia. the person is unable to form new memories..after a couple of minutes everything just fades. God wants us to remove the negatives and replace them with His promises. if we dont, all we have are memories of the old us, of who we WERE, no understanding of what weve become. this makes it easy for us to go back to what we used to be. we have nothing else to compare it to.
for those who dont think regular study of His word is a big enough priority to carve out time for, dont be surprised if you keep finding yourself in the same dirtpiles over and over. the Holy Spirit
works with His Word to help us record new memories of who we are today
where???????? i trace it back to under the deck. looks like homeboy was stuck under there and couldnt get back out. nightmare visions of having to call 911 to come take apart the deck to get him out, and then having the dirty job of explaining it to his daddy why all his hard work had to be undone within a few minutes(he later told me to just call him and hes come take out the screws and get him out that way) fortunately......samson managed to crawl out, dirty, filthy, and after trying to bite my fingers off when i tried to help him out. youd think, well, he wont be back under there any time soon. WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! next thing you know, hes right back under there, to get even dirtier(last time i bathed him, he turned my whole tub black)ANDDDD
TO GET STUCK AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!! im like, this bloody stupid dog....
WHY would be go back under there, oftentimes right after i gave him a bath and sprayed him with smellgoods, to get dirty and filthy all over again AND to get stuck again????
ok, lets ask ourselves this question...why did we always keep going back to the same disastrous situations in our lives over and over, and continue to wallow in the filth of them. more importantly, i need to ask myself this.....yes ,its true that the love and grace of God covers a mu
ltitude of sins, even when we mess up, but, once ive been delivered from a lifestyle of sin and degradation, why in the world would i ever want to go back to it. ive heard alot of people saying once saved always saved and thinking the grace of god thru Jesus Christ is sort of a license to play with sin. why would i ever want to get dirty, filthy, and just plain stuck in a life that was a dead end and would have rendered me a corpse, by thinking i could go back and play with it.
yo me,thats kind of like samson going back under that deck over and over again, getting dirty,
filthy, and stuck. personally, i LIKE being clean, i LIKE being free. but its still tempting at times to think maybe i can go back now to some old play ground to play there like i used to. i dont work that way. its like the parable of the unclean spirits...each time i welcome these things back, or go back to an area of destruction, its even more dangerous than before.
samson doesnt know better, hes just a dog. his memory bank is basically just a big black hole concerning things he likes to do but always get him in trouble everytime. but, without positves to replace the negatives removed from our lives, were in no better shape. it was like my sister and her client going right back into the same environment where she got raped, and im sure emma was just shaking her head and thinking doesnt this girl ever learn???? God hates the negatives that oppose His Word in our lives, but, even more so, He hates a vacuum. ive read alot about short term memory loss, called anterograde amnesia. the person is unable to form new memories..after a couple of minutes everything just fades. God wants us to remove the negatives and replace them with His promises. if we dont, all we have are memories of the old us, of who we WERE, no understanding of what weve become. this makes it easy for us to go back to what we used to be. we have nothing else to compare it to.
for those who dont think regular study of His word is a big enough priority to carve out time for, dont be surprised if you keep finding yourself in the same dirtpiles over and over. the Holy Spirit
works with His Word to help us record new memories of who we are today
Friday, December 4, 2009
for all you doggie lovers out there
hey, EVERYONE loves a good dog story. what better way of showing God has a sense of humor thru an adorable english bull terrier, tail wagging, even after leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. dogs are simple, just like god plan of salvation Hes got for us thru His Son. theyre one of the best ways i can think of to show us how God could care less about socially and politically correct. give Him your heart, hell give you His. dogs often offer us a comical way of viewing our mistakes and how we often buck His word. samson, my bull terrier, has got a mind of his own. and he has to see, when you tell him NO, that you mean it. well, God is often faced with the unpleAsant and popular task of having to tell us NO!!!! on things we may want his approval on, but he aint havin it.
i remember for a long time, rejecting the God of the Bible as a big meanie, who just wanted to be mean to me, and who rejected any form of correction, and any hindrance to me doing things MY way as a form of punishment. ive learned a great deal from samson about my own rebellion against God. for one, he understands what has taken me a long time to get. CORRECTION
is not the same as CRUELTY. he holds no grudges against his mum or daddy for being disciplined, but ive seen, for example in how he responded for a long time to even the sight of high heels..he basically would attack the shoe in my hand, that it was used in a cruel way against him by someone, possibily his former owner. i dont know if they hit him with it, or kicked him wearing them, because he got underfoot. thats not correction. thats just an act of cruelty. however, on the other hand, when hes throwing a temper tantrum at 3 am, and i had to take
the strap to him,he knows the score. he used to run in his cage from it, but now , just kneels down and looks at me like OK MUM I KNOW I GOT IT COMING, takes his two licks, goes back into his cage and is quiet for the night. next day, hes right as rain, tail wagging like HIYA MOM.
he understands. i wa correcting him, i wasnt doing it as an act of cruelty, and he knows i do it because i love him.
NO is a word that turns anyone off. no one likes hearing theyre not going to get their way. thats one major reason why we try to tailormake God into OUR image, forgetting we were made in HIS image. thats why for so long i rejected the real God of the Bible. i wanted to do what i wanted to do, even though they were often things that were very destructive to myself and others around me. it was all about me. i was a spoiled brat running from the rod Of Gods loving correction for whatever i was doing wrong, like samson used to run into his cage from the strap.
im learning to accept WHen in His Word he tells me NO I CANT HAVE THIS or NO I CANT DO THIS because, even though i often still sulk and pout over it, i do understand He does have my welfare at heart. when He corects me its because He loves me and truly wants what is best fot me, and is probably the only entity that i never have to put my guard up to BECAUSE i know everything He wants from me IS with my best interests in mind.and weve all been there, dealing with people, often those within our own blood family that we automatically have to be on our guard with because we know they dont have our welfare at heart.
more doggie tales to come
i remember for a long time, rejecting the God of the Bible as a big meanie, who just wanted to be mean to me, and who rejected any form of correction, and any hindrance to me doing things MY way as a form of punishment. ive learned a great deal from samson about my own rebellion against God. for one, he understands what has taken me a long time to get. CORRECTION
is not the same as CRUELTY. he holds no grudges against his mum or daddy for being disciplined, but ive seen, for example in how he responded for a long time to even the sight of high heels..he basically would attack the shoe in my hand, that it was used in a cruel way against him by someone, possibily his former owner. i dont know if they hit him with it, or kicked him wearing them, because he got underfoot. thats not correction. thats just an act of cruelty. however, on the other hand, when hes throwing a temper tantrum at 3 am, and i had to take
the strap to him,he knows the score. he used to run in his cage from it, but now , just kneels down and looks at me like OK MUM I KNOW I GOT IT COMING, takes his two licks, goes back into his cage and is quiet for the night. next day, hes right as rain, tail wagging like HIYA MOM.
he understands. i wa correcting him, i wasnt doing it as an act of cruelty, and he knows i do it because i love him.
NO is a word that turns anyone off. no one likes hearing theyre not going to get their way. thats one major reason why we try to tailormake God into OUR image, forgetting we were made in HIS image. thats why for so long i rejected the real God of the Bible. i wanted to do what i wanted to do, even though they were often things that were very destructive to myself and others around me. it was all about me. i was a spoiled brat running from the rod Of Gods loving correction for whatever i was doing wrong, like samson used to run into his cage from the strap.
im learning to accept WHen in His Word he tells me NO I CANT HAVE THIS or NO I CANT DO THIS because, even though i often still sulk and pout over it, i do understand He does have my welfare at heart. when He corects me its because He loves me and truly wants what is best fot me, and is probably the only entity that i never have to put my guard up to BECAUSE i know everything He wants from me IS with my best interests in mind.and weve all been there, dealing with people, often those within our own blood family that we automatically have to be on our guard with because we know they dont have our welfare at heart.
more doggie tales to come
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
more on life is about choices.
as i wrote on my last blog, the primary message i got from reading jermiah that is loud and clear is, life is all about choices. there is always a cause and effect to everything, and the will of God is no exception. there is very little that anything or anyone actually DOES to us. its mrely the outcome to our own decisions.
for a long time, i, as well as many otheres who rejected the message of the Gospel, which clearly states that Jesus is the only way to the Father, struggled with the question....what kind of a loving Father would send his child to hell, simply for refusing to accept this? for starters, if you HAVENT accepted Jesus as the means to the Father, you may be able to call Him GOD, but not FATHER. in essence youre not one of His kids. being created in His image doesnt make you one of His kids. but, anyway, as i was thinking as to how i myself may be able to answer this question if someone else asks me, this answer came to me. this answer made me realize that the true contradiction isnt in God, but our own perceptions of who Hes is, is supposed to be, and our own persistance in compatamentalizing our lives in relation to Him.
for a long time, i just couldnt get the concept that God could be a god of tough love, and brutal consequence, as well as a God of love and mercy. BUT, then i remembered my days of being in alcoholics anonymous, where i learned all about having to accept responsibility for ones life and actions, even more so, about how there often comes a time, where no matter how much you may love someone, you have to let that someone go and cut them loose, even if it means that someone may die drunk, high, and alone in some gutter. when someone absolutely refuses to face their addictions, and the cause and effect pattern in their lives, and utterly refuses to stop doing what theyre doing, your love for them may mean that you have to let that person fall face forward down a flight of steps, rather than catching them, because it reaches a point where you have to see that youre NOT helping them by constantly bailing them out of one situation after another, that your actually helping them to stay sick. here is where the irony comes in. your typical alcoholic in aa who is working the program has NO pro
blem about making their fellow man deal with the dire consequences of his action, even if he dies in his disease. however, he adamantly refuses the idea of a conception of a God who does the same. if we have th right to make people face the consequences of their actions, even if they die as a result, how can we tell our Heavenly Father, who is above all that, who is our CREATOR, that He doesnt have the right to do the same. just like it breaks our heart when we have to tell someone, who is racing headlong to their demise, KNOWING, that when we do, it may be the last time anyone sees them alive...do you not think when one of us die, rejecting the free gift of His son as the way to Him,simply because we were stubborn and rebellious, that it doesnt utterly break HIS heart, knowing He will never see us again?
i also hear and have wondered myself, how could a loving God be so rigid in His claim that Jesus is the only way to Him, and there can be no exceptions? God is a God of infinite love and mercy.but, He is also a God of judgement and righteousness. He cannot ever go back on His Word. to deny Him the rightto do that is to deny who He is. life is like this. we ALL have a set
standard of what e have to go by. i remember watching LAW AND ORDER one time about a grievng parent, who had already lost one daughter to his other daughter, who was clearly a monster beyond human redemption. the female prosecutor who was trying her case has to look into the face of this suffering father, and tell him that the law left her no other options, but to try
her on capital murder. SHE HAD TO UPHOLD THE LAW. God is no respector of persons, and if there ever would have been any possible exceptions to Jesus being the only way to ever see heaven, and escape hell, God never would have suffered Him to die the most horrific death by allowing He,who knew no sin, to BECOME sin. JOHN 14:6 "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE. NO MAN COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME" God cannot repent of His word.
the truth is, once again, life is about choices. in actuality, God sends NO ONE to hell. we have the choice to avoid it by accepting the free gift of life he has provided for us. if we reject it, and die in that choice, we CHOSE the alternative by CHOOSING to reject Him and to serve someone else. whom we chose to serve in this life is whom we choose to spend eternity with.
WE CHOOSE TO DO IT.
for a long time, i, as well as many otheres who rejected the message of the Gospel, which clearly states that Jesus is the only way to the Father, struggled with the question....what kind of a loving Father would send his child to hell, simply for refusing to accept this? for starters, if you HAVENT accepted Jesus as the means to the Father, you may be able to call Him GOD, but not FATHER. in essence youre not one of His kids. being created in His image doesnt make you one of His kids. but, anyway, as i was thinking as to how i myself may be able to answer this question if someone else asks me, this answer came to me. this answer made me realize that the true contradiction isnt in God, but our own perceptions of who Hes is, is supposed to be, and our own persistance in compatamentalizing our lives in relation to Him.
for a long time, i just couldnt get the concept that God could be a god of tough love, and brutal consequence, as well as a God of love and mercy. BUT, then i remembered my days of being in alcoholics anonymous, where i learned all about having to accept responsibility for ones life and actions, even more so, about how there often comes a time, where no matter how much you may love someone, you have to let that someone go and cut them loose, even if it means that someone may die drunk, high, and alone in some gutter. when someone absolutely refuses to face their addictions, and the cause and effect pattern in their lives, and utterly refuses to stop doing what theyre doing, your love for them may mean that you have to let that person fall face forward down a flight of steps, rather than catching them, because it reaches a point where you have to see that youre NOT helping them by constantly bailing them out of one situation after another, that your actually helping them to stay sick. here is where the irony comes in. your typical alcoholic in aa who is working the program has NO pro
blem about making their fellow man deal with the dire consequences of his action, even if he dies in his disease. however, he adamantly refuses the idea of a conception of a God who does the same. if we have th right to make people face the consequences of their actions, even if they die as a result, how can we tell our Heavenly Father, who is above all that, who is our CREATOR, that He doesnt have the right to do the same. just like it breaks our heart when we have to tell someone, who is racing headlong to their demise, KNOWING, that when we do, it may be the last time anyone sees them alive...do you not think when one of us die, rejecting the free gift of His son as the way to Him,simply because we were stubborn and rebellious, that it doesnt utterly break HIS heart, knowing He will never see us again?
i also hear and have wondered myself, how could a loving God be so rigid in His claim that Jesus is the only way to Him, and there can be no exceptions? God is a God of infinite love and mercy.but, He is also a God of judgement and righteousness. He cannot ever go back on His Word. to deny Him the rightto do that is to deny who He is. life is like this. we ALL have a set
standard of what e have to go by. i remember watching LAW AND ORDER one time about a grievng parent, who had already lost one daughter to his other daughter, who was clearly a monster beyond human redemption. the female prosecutor who was trying her case has to look into the face of this suffering father, and tell him that the law left her no other options, but to try
her on capital murder. SHE HAD TO UPHOLD THE LAW. God is no respector of persons, and if there ever would have been any possible exceptions to Jesus being the only way to ever see heaven, and escape hell, God never would have suffered Him to die the most horrific death by allowing He,who knew no sin, to BECOME sin. JOHN 14:6 "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE. NO MAN COMES TO THE FATHER BUT BY ME" God cannot repent of His word.
the truth is, once again, life is about choices. in actuality, God sends NO ONE to hell. we have the choice to avoid it by accepting the free gift of life he has provided for us. if we reject it, and die in that choice, we CHOSE the alternative by CHOOSING to reject Him and to serve someone else. whom we chose to serve in this life is whom we choose to spend eternity with.
WE CHOOSE TO DO IT.
Monday, November 30, 2009
life is about choices
i just got through studying jeremiah 28, reading about the lying prophet hananiah. a lying prophet always, like any other good con artist, will always tell you what you WANT to hear.
a true prophet sent by God will tell you what GOD has told them to tell you, which, even though
it may make you very angry, is what you NEED to hear. hananiah basically had tried to convince the nation of israel that they werent in as much trouble as jeremiah tried to make it sound like they were, and, basically, theyd be out of the woods in two years. a big difference from what jeremiah later reinforced to them about them fixing to go into babylonian captivity for SEVENTY years.
thisis what a con artist always does. they always promise a quick easy solution to ones problems. one see this all the time in cons who promise get rich quick scams, such as nonexistant lotteries. quick solutions period. this is the type who promises those desperate for love an attention, instant relationships, "love at first sight" cons of any type promise you things, that you dont have to work for, and a false prophet, especially a lying false prophet, are masters
at giving you an incomplete picture of what God is all about. they promise a God of grace, of prosperity, of mercy, but they leave out the part of God also being a God of judgement, and, more importantly, a God of consequences. is God a God who loves us regardless of what we do?
absolutely. of infinite mercy? without a doubt. but jeremiah was also giving the flip side of the coin of what happens to a nation who had been given more than ample time to repent, and refused to do so, who steadfastly continued in their rebellion. there was fixing to be consequences. 70 years worth of them. hananiah, being the good lying prophet that he was,
promised a shortcut to all that. instant solutions, the easier softer way. shortcuts. thats the standard M.O of the false prophet, or any other con. even Jesus, after His humanity got annointed in preparation for His earthly ministry, understood He ha to go thru the wilderness to become ready. those forty days and nights were NOT made any shorter.
reading jeremiah has given me a fresh revelation of how, contrary to what many teachers do
as a grave injustice at stating otherwise, that this is NOT an easy path to take. doing the right thing is rarely the popular thing to do. and it also drove home a very harsh truth. there are very few people, at any time, who get victimized by the lies and deceptions of others, or who become victims of anything, who have not ever had a part in their own victimization. for example, my
renewed walk with God thru my beloved Savior, has given me a whole new respect and admiration for the work my sister does in her work of counseling troubled individuals. one daunting task she faces, which may not make her popular with many of her clients is to make them examine their own choices and how their choices played a part in what happened to them. imagine telling a girl who recently got raped who wants to go right back out to party in the same setting that put her in that situation to start with, that maybe she needs to look at her life and think about how her choices caused what happened to her to take place, and knowing that her client became very angry. to cut to the chase here, what im trying to say here is...yes, it takes a very reprobate,amoral mentality to lie to others for ones own gain. HOWEVER, it also takes a ceertain type of person to BE conned, especially once theyve already heard the truth. once ive heard the truth, as God tells it, i can no longer plead ignorance. i remember, in order for me to break free of the grips of false teaching, and the deep inforgiveness i felt towards others who
had victimized me thru lies and deceptions, the first thing i had to do was to REPENT. that meant seeing life is all about choices. i had to see that if my life had been right with God, i never would have been decieved to begin with.
the book of jeremiah is all about being accountable before God, and the high price that can come
thru repeated, continued disobedience, and the deliberate persistant pursuit of a lie once youve heard the truth, and recognize it as the truth. it takes a certain person to con others, but it alsotakes a certain person to be conned. there is an easier softer way. the simple ABCS. I CANT. HE CAN. I THINK ILL LET HIM. and dont quit five minutes before the miracle happens doesnt mean the miracle is going to happen in five minutes. you cant cut 70 years back into 2. in Gods time, never ours
a true prophet sent by God will tell you what GOD has told them to tell you, which, even though
it may make you very angry, is what you NEED to hear. hananiah basically had tried to convince the nation of israel that they werent in as much trouble as jeremiah tried to make it sound like they were, and, basically, theyd be out of the woods in two years. a big difference from what jeremiah later reinforced to them about them fixing to go into babylonian captivity for SEVENTY years.
thisis what a con artist always does. they always promise a quick easy solution to ones problems. one see this all the time in cons who promise get rich quick scams, such as nonexistant lotteries. quick solutions period. this is the type who promises those desperate for love an attention, instant relationships, "love at first sight" cons of any type promise you things, that you dont have to work for, and a false prophet, especially a lying false prophet, are masters
at giving you an incomplete picture of what God is all about. they promise a God of grace, of prosperity, of mercy, but they leave out the part of God also being a God of judgement, and, more importantly, a God of consequences. is God a God who loves us regardless of what we do?
absolutely. of infinite mercy? without a doubt. but jeremiah was also giving the flip side of the coin of what happens to a nation who had been given more than ample time to repent, and refused to do so, who steadfastly continued in their rebellion. there was fixing to be consequences. 70 years worth of them. hananiah, being the good lying prophet that he was,
promised a shortcut to all that. instant solutions, the easier softer way. shortcuts. thats the standard M.O of the false prophet, or any other con. even Jesus, after His humanity got annointed in preparation for His earthly ministry, understood He ha to go thru the wilderness to become ready. those forty days and nights were NOT made any shorter.
reading jeremiah has given me a fresh revelation of how, contrary to what many teachers do
as a grave injustice at stating otherwise, that this is NOT an easy path to take. doing the right thing is rarely the popular thing to do. and it also drove home a very harsh truth. there are very few people, at any time, who get victimized by the lies and deceptions of others, or who become victims of anything, who have not ever had a part in their own victimization. for example, my
renewed walk with God thru my beloved Savior, has given me a whole new respect and admiration for the work my sister does in her work of counseling troubled individuals. one daunting task she faces, which may not make her popular with many of her clients is to make them examine their own choices and how their choices played a part in what happened to them. imagine telling a girl who recently got raped who wants to go right back out to party in the same setting that put her in that situation to start with, that maybe she needs to look at her life and think about how her choices caused what happened to her to take place, and knowing that her client became very angry. to cut to the chase here, what im trying to say here is...yes, it takes a very reprobate,amoral mentality to lie to others for ones own gain. HOWEVER, it also takes a ceertain type of person to BE conned, especially once theyve already heard the truth. once ive heard the truth, as God tells it, i can no longer plead ignorance. i remember, in order for me to break free of the grips of false teaching, and the deep inforgiveness i felt towards others who
had victimized me thru lies and deceptions, the first thing i had to do was to REPENT. that meant seeing life is all about choices. i had to see that if my life had been right with God, i never would have been decieved to begin with.
the book of jeremiah is all about being accountable before God, and the high price that can come
thru repeated, continued disobedience, and the deliberate persistant pursuit of a lie once youve heard the truth, and recognize it as the truth. it takes a certain person to con others, but it alsotakes a certain person to be conned. there is an easier softer way. the simple ABCS. I CANT. HE CAN. I THINK ILL LET HIM. and dont quit five minutes before the miracle happens doesnt mean the miracle is going to happen in five minutes. you cant cut 70 years back into 2. in Gods time, never ours
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