“Christians, I would love to know your rationale for doing things you know you shouldn't on a continual basis?”
I think the reason I do things I know I shouldn't, and believe me there sadly are plenty of things (less things lately perhaps, but more than I would like), is because I don't stop to pray. I follow my flesh a lot of the time, I put confidence in myself and don't turn to God and His word to get me through some things.
And I know from experience that when I do turn to Him when I'm tempted I'm FAR LESS likely to follow my flesh. He gives me the strength to get through it. So, I suppose it's pride. I want to be able to do things on my own, and that's just another thing of the flesh I'm dealing with.
The point is not that we don't need Christ, I think perhaps that it is simply that if you say you need Jesus & accept who He says He was then act on it. Christ said to be holy as our Father in heaven is holy. Does that mean we stop sinning? I don't know, I think it just means if we continually submit ourselves to Him, especially during our temptations we'll be sinning less.(This doesn’t mean we are perfect, because without Christ were is the strength to resist temptation going to come from?) Therefore, we as Christians really have no excuse.
Just because something feels good to our flesh or doesn't hurt anyone else doesn't make it right. Just because something "good" comes out of our act of sin doesn't make it any less of a sin. It is during those temptations that if we turn to Christ & willingly deny our humanly desires that we are doing as Christ commanded, and if we do not turn to Him & knowingly go against His will we're not demonstrating Christlike behavior.
For example, I like arguing. I do, it’s silly but I enjoy it. Perhaps that’s because it’s harder to lie in a heated moment, therefore people are generally more honest when they argue. At least that has been my experience, which is why I like fights. Does it make it right? No. I’m not supposed to go around arguing with people just because I know they’re lying to me. But my flesh loves it, I love the adrenaline rush. So, because I accept Christ for who He says He is I can’t keep doing that. And I know that.
But when I don’t get up in the morning and start my day off in His word I’m more likely to give into the temptations of that day. And depending on the day I may need to stop around lunch time for another refill of God’s will. If I have to stop every 5 minutes during a stressful situation and pray to keep from doing things that are outside of God’s will, well, I guess I’ll just be in prayer a lot. And that’s the thing, it’s pride. I don’t want to have to do that. I don’t want to stop mid sentence and take a breather, and I certainly don’t want to go back to the person I’m arguing with an apologize for arguing with them. That takes effort, it takes strength. And I am weak. But again and again, if I come to Him in those moments He gets me through them. So, why do I do what I do? Because I'm sinful, and pridful in nature. But those things are dead, the old Kristina is dead because I'm alive in Christ. The old tendancies may pop up now and again, but if I turn to Him I can move past them and they shall die again.
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Monday, July 18, 2005
Consumer Christianity?
Rick Warren puts a positive spin on new paradigm philosophy in his very popular book The Purpose Driven Church ... Many of Warren's suggestions are excellent. Churches should pay attention to cleanliness and attractiveness, where people are going to park ... We should strive for excellence and do the best to communicate God's truth. And we should want to grow - in the right ways. Warren states, "Every church needs to grow warmer through fellowship, deeper through discipleship, stronger through worship, broader through ministry, and larger through evangelism." (The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, p. 48)
...
By repackaging ministry ... Barna has made it attractive. If we can convince people that Christ died to meet their need, they will line up at our doors to buy our product. But is this the Gospel message? Has Barna merely repackaged ... the Gospel product, or has he gutted it of its purpose and value? An important question upon which so much hinges...
The Gospel is not bringing people to Christ in order to meet their felt-needs. According to Scripture the gospel is the good news that lost sinners can be forgiven of their sins and receive the righteousness of Christ in exchange. This is the real need of humanity, the need for which Christ died...
"The Church's problem today is simply that it does not believe that without tinkering, the Gospel will be all that interesting to modern people" (Losing Our Virtue, by David Wells, p. 207). And tinker it must... The new paradigm church is offering a purely Americanized, yuppie brand of Christianity found nowhere in the NT...
"Is Willow Creek correct in their teaching that a relationship with Christ will provide a life of fulfillment? In a word, no. ... Personal fulfillment is the dominant goal of the vast majority of Americans. In this context it is a great temptation for American evangelicals to argue that Christianity is a means of a more fulfilling life... the Church becomes another place that promises to satisfy emotional desires...To argue for Christianity primarily by pointing to its usefulness in satisfying felt needs is to ultimately undercut it...If someone is able to satisfy their felt needs without Christ, the message of Christianity can be discarded. ... The bottom line why individuals should repent and worship God is because God deserves it. Fulfillment theology does not reflect the teaching of the Bible. We find in Scripture vast evidence that Christianity is often not 'fulfilling, " Jesus promises his disciples that "in this world you will have trouble....... The Lord did not promise fulfillment, or even relief, in this world but only in the next... (Pritchart, p. 254-256)...
They have redefined salvation. Salvation is not simply, under the new gospel, the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of righteousness. It is not a deliverance from the wrath of God upon a deserving and rebellious people. The new gospel is liberation from low self-esteem, a freedom from emptiness and loneliness, a means of fulfillment and excitement, a way to receive your heart's desire, a means to meeting your needs. The old gospel was about God; the new gospel is about us...We are forced to ask, with Peter Jennings in the thought-provoking video, In the Name of God, "As these churches try to attract sell-out crowds, are they in danger of selling out the gospel?"
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/orrel12.html
“The product or service must be tailored to the wants and perceived needs of the customer, or there is no sustainable profit. The consumer rules, because where there is no customer, there is no profit and, therefore, no business.” http://www.thebereancall.org/Newsletters/2005+Newsletters/35589.aspx
It seems to me that a lot of churches today will do anything, have anything to get people in the building. Coffee shops, video arcades, skate parks, post cards promoting everything but Christ. Come have [enter desire] with us at [name of church]. Whatever you want, we have and if we don't you can help us set up the program/small group we are missing!
We all have different interests, we all have something to share, we can all bennifit from each other if only we would reach out and get to know each other. It doesn't matter what your beliefs may be, if we can find some common ground we can get along peaceably so long as we don't judge each other or proclaim any kind of truth.
Lonely? Come meet people at our coffee shop. Like to swim? Help us organize a trip to the beach. Like books? We can do a new book a month, anything you want. Like movies? We can and will show movies for your entertainment, and even our services have movie clips! Want to play the latest video games? Come see our arcade. Need a place to skateboard? We’ve got it, just bring your board and stop by. Get to know us, we want to know you. We want you to know we are here for you, get connected.
“Innovative programs are then formulated to sustain the interest of would-be converts and motivate the rarely active church members, with particular emphasis on entertaining activities to attract the youth and keep them coming.”
“Consumer Christianity’s most deadly effect is what it does to the presentation of the gospel of salvation, the only hope a person has to be reconciled to God. It is nearly always a subtle sales pitch featuring all the wonderful things God has for mankind: He loves them so much and desires to have them spend eternity with Him, and they are significant and of infinite worth. This then becomes the reason for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That mixture of truths and self-indulging distortions is followed by a brief “sinner’s prayer” being repeated by those who were persuaded by the enticing offer. This method has become so commonplace that it’s difficult for some Christians to recognize any problem, let alone realize how misleading it is with regard to a person truly being saved.”
The churches seem to say, "Anything but the truth, we will give you everything you need to keep busy. We will give you plans for what to do in all of life’s situations, just so long as you don’t mind occasionally hearing about God. That’s a problem? Don’t worry, we don’t judge anyone here. We won’t try and tell you about sin or the reason Jesus was on the cross (if we bother to mention the cross at all that is), but you’ll walk away knowing that you and Jesus are friends. He’s your best friend and wants you to feel good.
There’s no need for anything that makes you feel badly. So, you never have to worry about hearing about sin, or hell, and the only mention of evil you'll hear is that Satan temps you. But that is it, you don't have to take responsibility for following the temptation."
...
By repackaging ministry ... Barna has made it attractive. If we can convince people that Christ died to meet their need, they will line up at our doors to buy our product. But is this the Gospel message? Has Barna merely repackaged ... the Gospel product, or has he gutted it of its purpose and value? An important question upon which so much hinges...
The Gospel is not bringing people to Christ in order to meet their felt-needs. According to Scripture the gospel is the good news that lost sinners can be forgiven of their sins and receive the righteousness of Christ in exchange. This is the real need of humanity, the need for which Christ died...
"The Church's problem today is simply that it does not believe that without tinkering, the Gospel will be all that interesting to modern people" (Losing Our Virtue, by David Wells, p. 207). And tinker it must... The new paradigm church is offering a purely Americanized, yuppie brand of Christianity found nowhere in the NT...
"Is Willow Creek correct in their teaching that a relationship with Christ will provide a life of fulfillment? In a word, no. ... Personal fulfillment is the dominant goal of the vast majority of Americans. In this context it is a great temptation for American evangelicals to argue that Christianity is a means of a more fulfilling life... the Church becomes another place that promises to satisfy emotional desires...To argue for Christianity primarily by pointing to its usefulness in satisfying felt needs is to ultimately undercut it...If someone is able to satisfy their felt needs without Christ, the message of Christianity can be discarded. ... The bottom line why individuals should repent and worship God is because God deserves it. Fulfillment theology does not reflect the teaching of the Bible. We find in Scripture vast evidence that Christianity is often not 'fulfilling, " Jesus promises his disciples that "in this world you will have trouble....... The Lord did not promise fulfillment, or even relief, in this world but only in the next... (Pritchart, p. 254-256)...
They have redefined salvation. Salvation is not simply, under the new gospel, the forgiveness of sins and the imputation of righteousness. It is not a deliverance from the wrath of God upon a deserving and rebellious people. The new gospel is liberation from low self-esteem, a freedom from emptiness and loneliness, a means of fulfillment and excitement, a way to receive your heart's desire, a means to meeting your needs. The old gospel was about God; the new gospel is about us...We are forced to ask, with Peter Jennings in the thought-provoking video, In the Name of God, "As these churches try to attract sell-out crowds, are they in danger of selling out the gospel?"
http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/orrel12.html
“The product or service must be tailored to the wants and perceived needs of the customer, or there is no sustainable profit. The consumer rules, because where there is no customer, there is no profit and, therefore, no business.” http://www.thebereancall.org/Newsletters/2005+Newsletters/35589.aspx
It seems to me that a lot of churches today will do anything, have anything to get people in the building. Coffee shops, video arcades, skate parks, post cards promoting everything but Christ. Come have [enter desire] with us at [name of church]. Whatever you want, we have and if we don't you can help us set up the program/small group we are missing!
We all have different interests, we all have something to share, we can all bennifit from each other if only we would reach out and get to know each other. It doesn't matter what your beliefs may be, if we can find some common ground we can get along peaceably so long as we don't judge each other or proclaim any kind of truth.
Lonely? Come meet people at our coffee shop. Like to swim? Help us organize a trip to the beach. Like books? We can do a new book a month, anything you want. Like movies? We can and will show movies for your entertainment, and even our services have movie clips! Want to play the latest video games? Come see our arcade. Need a place to skateboard? We’ve got it, just bring your board and stop by. Get to know us, we want to know you. We want you to know we are here for you, get connected.
“Innovative programs are then formulated to sustain the interest of would-be converts and motivate the rarely active church members, with particular emphasis on entertaining activities to attract the youth and keep them coming.”
“Consumer Christianity’s most deadly effect is what it does to the presentation of the gospel of salvation, the only hope a person has to be reconciled to God. It is nearly always a subtle sales pitch featuring all the wonderful things God has for mankind: He loves them so much and desires to have them spend eternity with Him, and they are significant and of infinite worth. This then becomes the reason for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That mixture of truths and self-indulging distortions is followed by a brief “sinner’s prayer” being repeated by those who were persuaded by the enticing offer. This method has become so commonplace that it’s difficult for some Christians to recognize any problem, let alone realize how misleading it is with regard to a person truly being saved.”
The churches seem to say, "Anything but the truth, we will give you everything you need to keep busy. We will give you plans for what to do in all of life’s situations, just so long as you don’t mind occasionally hearing about God. That’s a problem? Don’t worry, we don’t judge anyone here. We won’t try and tell you about sin or the reason Jesus was on the cross (if we bother to mention the cross at all that is), but you’ll walk away knowing that you and Jesus are friends. He’s your best friend and wants you to feel good.
There’s no need for anything that makes you feel badly. So, you never have to worry about hearing about sin, or hell, and the only mention of evil you'll hear is that Satan temps you. But that is it, you don't have to take responsibility for following the temptation."
Prayer at Daybreak
I found a link to this over at Slice of Laodicea, a blog I frequent & would suggest you start frequenting it as well if you're interested in Apologetics or just a lively discussion on Biblical topics. Here's the link to the actual thing, Prayer at Daybreak. I'll post my thoughts at the end of it. I'm going to post the entire prayer, and make bold the things that spoke to me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
O Lord Eternal and Creator of all things,
Who of Thy inscrutable goodness called me to this life;
Who bestowed on me the grace of Baptism
and the Seal of the Holy Spirit;
Who imbued me with the desire to seek Thee,
the one true God: hear my prayer.
I have no life, no light, no joy or wisdom;
no strength except in Thee, O God.Because of my unrighteousness I dare not raise my eyes to Thee.
But Thou said to Thy disciples,
'Whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive.'
and 'Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do.'
Wherefore I dare to invoke Thee.
Purify me from all taint of flesh and spirit.
Teach me to pray aright.
Bless this day which Thee give unto me, Thy unworthy servant.
By the power of Thy blessing enable me at all times to speak
and act to Thy glory with a pure spirit, with humility, patience,
love, gentleness, peace, courage and wisdom:
aware always of Thy presence.
Of Thy immense goodness, O Lord God, show me the path of Thy will,
and grant me to walk in Thy sight without sin.O Lord, unto Whom all hearts be open,
Thee know what things I have need of.
Thee are acquainted with my blindness and my ignorance,
Thee know my infirmity and my soul's corruption;
but neither are my pain and anguish hid from Thee.
Wherefore I beseech Thee, hear my prayer and by Thy Holy Spirit
teach me the way wherein I should walk;
and when my perverted will would lead me down other paths
spare me not O Lord, but force me back to Thee.
By the power of Thy love, grant me to hold fast to that which is good.
Preserve me from every word or deed that corrupts the soul;
from every impulse unpleasing in Thy sight and hurtful to my brother-man.
Teach me what I should say and how I should speak.
If it be Thy will that I make no answer,
inspire me to keep silent in a spirit of peace
that causes neither sorrow nor hurt to my fellow man.
Establish me in the path of Thy commandments
and to my last breath let me not stray from the light of Thy ordinances,
that Thy commandments may become the sole law
of my being on this earth and all eternity.
Yea, Lord, I pray to Thee, have pity on me.
Spare me in my affliction and my misery
and hide not the way of salvation from me.
In my foolishness, O God, I plead with Thee for many and great things.
Yet am I ever mindful of my wickedness, my baseness, my vileness.
Have mercy upon me.
Cast me not away from your presence because of my presumption.
Do Thee rather increase in me this presumption,
and grant unto me, the worst of men,
to love Thee as Thee have commanded, with all my heart, and with all my soul,
and with all my mind, and with all my strength:
with my whole being.Yea, O Lord, by Thy Holy Spirit, teach me good judgment and knowledge.
Grant me to know Thy truth before I go down into the grave.
Maintain my life in this world until I may offer unto Thee worthy repentance.
Take me not away in the midst of my days, nor while my mind is still blind.
When Thee shall be pleased to bring my life to an end,
forewarn me that I may prepare my soul to come before Thee.
Be with me, O Lord, at that dread hour and grant me the joy of salvation.
Cleanse me from secret faults, from all iniquity that is hidden in me;
and give me a right answer before Thy judgment-seat.
Yea, Lord, of Thy great mercy and immeasurable love for mankind.
---------------------------------------------------------
I really don't know what to tell you. Basically, this prayer is a much more elequent version of what I pray for my life. It is my sincear hope & prayer that God contines to guide me in His will. I hate it when I stray from His path, as it does nothing but harm for me and my loved ones.
Even momentary slip ups, those moments when I let loose & resurrect the evil that died when I came to Christ, I hate them. I wish not much more than for my quick - sharp tounge, my temper, my lustfullness, to be finally cast down & burned. But when I don't stop and pray in those moments that these things tend to come to life, I'm ignoring God & asking for trouble.
I long for His guidance, to know when & how to speak, and when not to. And Christ gives me that guidance through the Holy Spirit, yet I ignore it more often that I'd like. It is so frustrating. The more I seek His will the more Satan puts people in my life that I will just go off the handle with if I don't stop and pray. And if that means being in prayer 23.5 hours a day, that's what I need to do.
Slowly, I am coming to that. It's just these set backs are so painful. I get discouraged easily with myself, and indeed with others, and Satan temps me to act on that rather than acting on love.
Even the sarcasm, boy that's going to be a hard one, has got to go. I mean the things I say in good spirit, I never intentionally hurt anyone yet I know I have to lay that down. If I want a better relationship with my Father, I have to willingly and joyfully give up the things that seperate me from Him. And when I slip up I have to drop to my knees in repentance and then correct the issue with whoever might be in my path at the time.
I cannot fight with someone (there are many of them), I cannot continue to get in screaming matches with someone just because "they deserve it" for whatever they do to me. Let people think of me what they will, Christ will defend me, has defened me in a way I'll never match. Let them accuse me, let them think wrongly and speak lies. Let them believe their lies. I care not (I strive not to care at any rate).
Christ said nothing when He was accused. He said nothing in His defense as He was nailed to that cross for my sin. That's what I long to model. I long to do as Christ does. I want to follow Him, even unto death for I know He is with me and that in the end I shall spend eternity with my dear Savior.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
O Lord Eternal and Creator of all things,
Who of Thy inscrutable goodness called me to this life;
Who bestowed on me the grace of Baptism
and the Seal of the Holy Spirit;
Who imbued me with the desire to seek Thee,
the one true God: hear my prayer.
I have no life, no light, no joy or wisdom;
no strength except in Thee, O God.Because of my unrighteousness I dare not raise my eyes to Thee.
But Thou said to Thy disciples,
'Whatsoever you shall ask in prayer believing, you shall receive.'
and 'Whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do.'
Wherefore I dare to invoke Thee.
Purify me from all taint of flesh and spirit.
Teach me to pray aright.
Bless this day which Thee give unto me, Thy unworthy servant.
By the power of Thy blessing enable me at all times to speak
and act to Thy glory with a pure spirit, with humility, patience,
love, gentleness, peace, courage and wisdom:
aware always of Thy presence.
Of Thy immense goodness, O Lord God, show me the path of Thy will,
and grant me to walk in Thy sight without sin.O Lord, unto Whom all hearts be open,
Thee know what things I have need of.
Thee are acquainted with my blindness and my ignorance,
Thee know my infirmity and my soul's corruption;
but neither are my pain and anguish hid from Thee.
Wherefore I beseech Thee, hear my prayer and by Thy Holy Spirit
teach me the way wherein I should walk;
and when my perverted will would lead me down other paths
spare me not O Lord, but force me back to Thee.
By the power of Thy love, grant me to hold fast to that which is good.
Preserve me from every word or deed that corrupts the soul;
from every impulse unpleasing in Thy sight and hurtful to my brother-man.
Teach me what I should say and how I should speak.
If it be Thy will that I make no answer,
inspire me to keep silent in a spirit of peace
that causes neither sorrow nor hurt to my fellow man.
Establish me in the path of Thy commandments
and to my last breath let me not stray from the light of Thy ordinances,
that Thy commandments may become the sole law
of my being on this earth and all eternity.
Yea, Lord, I pray to Thee, have pity on me.
Spare me in my affliction and my misery
and hide not the way of salvation from me.
In my foolishness, O God, I plead with Thee for many and great things.
Yet am I ever mindful of my wickedness, my baseness, my vileness.
Have mercy upon me.
Cast me not away from your presence because of my presumption.
Do Thee rather increase in me this presumption,
and grant unto me, the worst of men,
to love Thee as Thee have commanded, with all my heart, and with all my soul,
and with all my mind, and with all my strength:
with my whole being.Yea, O Lord, by Thy Holy Spirit, teach me good judgment and knowledge.
Grant me to know Thy truth before I go down into the grave.
Maintain my life in this world until I may offer unto Thee worthy repentance.
Take me not away in the midst of my days, nor while my mind is still blind.
When Thee shall be pleased to bring my life to an end,
forewarn me that I may prepare my soul to come before Thee.
Be with me, O Lord, at that dread hour and grant me the joy of salvation.
Cleanse me from secret faults, from all iniquity that is hidden in me;
and give me a right answer before Thy judgment-seat.
Yea, Lord, of Thy great mercy and immeasurable love for mankind.
---------------------------------------------------------
I really don't know what to tell you. Basically, this prayer is a much more elequent version of what I pray for my life. It is my sincear hope & prayer that God contines to guide me in His will. I hate it when I stray from His path, as it does nothing but harm for me and my loved ones.
Even momentary slip ups, those moments when I let loose & resurrect the evil that died when I came to Christ, I hate them. I wish not much more than for my quick - sharp tounge, my temper, my lustfullness, to be finally cast down & burned. But when I don't stop and pray in those moments that these things tend to come to life, I'm ignoring God & asking for trouble.
I long for His guidance, to know when & how to speak, and when not to. And Christ gives me that guidance through the Holy Spirit, yet I ignore it more often that I'd like. It is so frustrating. The more I seek His will the more Satan puts people in my life that I will just go off the handle with if I don't stop and pray. And if that means being in prayer 23.5 hours a day, that's what I need to do.
Slowly, I am coming to that. It's just these set backs are so painful. I get discouraged easily with myself, and indeed with others, and Satan temps me to act on that rather than acting on love.
Even the sarcasm, boy that's going to be a hard one, has got to go. I mean the things I say in good spirit, I never intentionally hurt anyone yet I know I have to lay that down. If I want a better relationship with my Father, I have to willingly and joyfully give up the things that seperate me from Him. And when I slip up I have to drop to my knees in repentance and then correct the issue with whoever might be in my path at the time.
I cannot fight with someone (there are many of them), I cannot continue to get in screaming matches with someone just because "they deserve it" for whatever they do to me. Let people think of me what they will, Christ will defend me, has defened me in a way I'll never match. Let them accuse me, let them think wrongly and speak lies. Let them believe their lies. I care not (I strive not to care at any rate).
Christ said nothing when He was accused. He said nothing in His defense as He was nailed to that cross for my sin. That's what I long to model. I long to do as Christ does. I want to follow Him, even unto death for I know He is with me and that in the end I shall spend eternity with my dear Savior.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Mom Jailed After Giving Birth to Drunk Baby
Foxnews.com
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — A woman who police say had been drinking heavily before she gave birth was charged with child neglect after the baby was born intoxicated and diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome.
Melissa Irene Tanner, 37, had a blood alcohol content of 0.29 percent when she gave birth June 30, and her daughter's was 0.21 percent, according to an affidavit by police. The legal limit for drivers in Oklahoma is 0.08 percent.
Hospital staff had to use an oxygen bag to help the baby start breathing and gave her medication to counteract any narcotics, according to the affidavit.
Tanner allegedly told police she and another person had consumed a case of beer and that she regularly drank during her pregnancy.
She was jailed on $30,000 bail. At a court appearance this week, Tanner was advised of her rights and ordered to return to court Aug. 5. She has not yet filed an application for an attorney or entered a plea, the court clerk's office said.
Sheriff's investigator James Wynn said the baby has fetal alcohol syndrome (search). The baby was placed in a foster home with a caretaker experienced in dealing with addicted infants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (search) lists the syndrome as the leading preventable cause of mental retardation and physical deformity. The severity of her disability won't be known until she is older.
Ok, all I can say is, Praise God that the child is at least alive and that her mother is being held accountable. Sadly, you hear of "mothers" doing things like this all the time. Beautiful, innocent children are born addicted to crack, heroin, and a vastness of other drugs and sadly it seems you never hear of these women being proscituted. If you're smoking & drinking and are pregnant, you're abusing an infant that can't do anything to protect itself.
And I feel like if a child dies as a result of a woman's irrisponsibility I feel they should be hauled into court & charged with murder. I can't imagen, especially in today's society, any woman being unaware of what she does to her body when she ingages in these activities. And I cannot fathom how women that knowingly do these things while they are pregnant and aren't charged with neglect or anything. Stories like this encourage me because at least something is being done for the child, and yet I am broken hearted. A poor child is going through withdrawl right now soley because it's mother cared more about having fun than doing her job and caring for her.
Innocent children around the world are suffering the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome, and sadly may never fully recover from the idiocy of these so called mothers. It is not uncommon for children born with this syndrome to suffer from mental retardation, learning disablities, hyperactivity, and abnormal social issues. I cannot understand why women, who God has blessed with a wonderful and vitally important role as mothers, would choose to "live it up" and "just have a good time." Are their own selfish desires more important than the life God is knitting together in their wombs?
"These children don’t spend their childhood in sandboxes and attending story times at the library. They end up on an endless course of therapies and treatment to try and deal with the multitudinous developmental problems their mothers caused. Yes, a mother that does this to her child deserves arrest and prosecution for child abuse of the first order." (Slice of Laodicea)
Sadly, today there seems to be more concern for finding our "purpose in life," and realizing our deepest dreams and desires, and embracing our destiny than there is for the life of our children. We go from self help group to self help group looking for a deeper relationship with Christ. Yet, we never stop to really dig into His word. And there lies the problem; without a knowledge of the Word we cannot come to realize the importance of our children, nor can we come to understand that Christ calls us to bear our cross and follow Him (Luke 14:27). We are to lay down our desires (Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23) and die in flesh & be crucified (Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:24, Matthew 10:38-39) so that we can be truely alive in Him and His righteousness (Romans 8:4).
BARTLESVILLE, Okla. — A woman who police say had been drinking heavily before she gave birth was charged with child neglect after the baby was born intoxicated and diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome.
Melissa Irene Tanner, 37, had a blood alcohol content of 0.29 percent when she gave birth June 30, and her daughter's was 0.21 percent, according to an affidavit by police. The legal limit for drivers in Oklahoma is 0.08 percent.
Hospital staff had to use an oxygen bag to help the baby start breathing and gave her medication to counteract any narcotics, according to the affidavit.
Tanner allegedly told police she and another person had consumed a case of beer and that she regularly drank during her pregnancy.
She was jailed on $30,000 bail. At a court appearance this week, Tanner was advised of her rights and ordered to return to court Aug. 5. She has not yet filed an application for an attorney or entered a plea, the court clerk's office said.
Sheriff's investigator James Wynn said the baby has fetal alcohol syndrome (search). The baby was placed in a foster home with a caretaker experienced in dealing with addicted infants.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (search) lists the syndrome as the leading preventable cause of mental retardation and physical deformity. The severity of her disability won't be known until she is older.
Ok, all I can say is, Praise God that the child is at least alive and that her mother is being held accountable. Sadly, you hear of "mothers" doing things like this all the time. Beautiful, innocent children are born addicted to crack, heroin, and a vastness of other drugs and sadly it seems you never hear of these women being proscituted. If you're smoking & drinking and are pregnant, you're abusing an infant that can't do anything to protect itself.
And I feel like if a child dies as a result of a woman's irrisponsibility I feel they should be hauled into court & charged with murder. I can't imagen, especially in today's society, any woman being unaware of what she does to her body when she ingages in these activities. And I cannot fathom how women that knowingly do these things while they are pregnant and aren't charged with neglect or anything. Stories like this encourage me because at least something is being done for the child, and yet I am broken hearted. A poor child is going through withdrawl right now soley because it's mother cared more about having fun than doing her job and caring for her.
Innocent children around the world are suffering the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome, and sadly may never fully recover from the idiocy of these so called mothers. It is not uncommon for children born with this syndrome to suffer from mental retardation, learning disablities, hyperactivity, and abnormal social issues. I cannot understand why women, who God has blessed with a wonderful and vitally important role as mothers, would choose to "live it up" and "just have a good time." Are their own selfish desires more important than the life God is knitting together in their wombs?
"These children don’t spend their childhood in sandboxes and attending story times at the library. They end up on an endless course of therapies and treatment to try and deal with the multitudinous developmental problems their mothers caused. Yes, a mother that does this to her child deserves arrest and prosecution for child abuse of the first order." (Slice of Laodicea)
Sadly, today there seems to be more concern for finding our "purpose in life," and realizing our deepest dreams and desires, and embracing our destiny than there is for the life of our children. We go from self help group to self help group looking for a deeper relationship with Christ. Yet, we never stop to really dig into His word. And there lies the problem; without a knowledge of the Word we cannot come to realize the importance of our children, nor can we come to understand that Christ calls us to bear our cross and follow Him (Luke 14:27). We are to lay down our desires (Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23) and die in flesh & be crucified (Galatians 2:20, Galatians 5:24, Matthew 10:38-39) so that we can be truely alive in Him and His righteousness (Romans 8:4).
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Why men should head the church
Source. My critics argue that St Paul’s words, along with much of the Bible, should be reinterpreted according to our culture — women in his day were not as educated as they are today, for example — but I am as unconvinced by their argument as they are by mine. St Paul’s teachings are not based on the prevailing culture of his time but on the pattern of human relationships established at the Creation. Adam was formed first and then Eve.
Just as the pattern of the Creation produced mother, father and child, so it should be echoed in the family of the Church. The father figure stands for leadership, the mother figure for nurture.
In the Church, there is a variety of different roles that a woman can take on within the nurturing realm — as deacons, pastoral workers, youth or child workers — but by ordaining them to the role of the man, we are denying God’s children of the clear roles that the two sexes play in the developing process.
I've been saying this same basic statement for months. You'd be amazed how many people don't agree.
I suppose it's hard to imagen, that a young woman could be happy not "being allowed" to do certain things. That I'm content with the idea of a man being the headship of the house, and of the church, but that's it. I am.
Now, I suppose that might seem pretty contradictory considering I'm going through a divorce, but it's not really. I long to fill the roles God has given me. I want to do as He says, but at the same time I'm not called to follow my church or even my husband into sin. Yes, Chris is figuring himself out, but I know that right now I cannot submit to him. And I do wish him the best and hope he truly lets God transform him.
But that doesn't change what I know to be right. So for now at least, God will have to be my direct head. We all have different funtions to serve, different jobs to do, and we cannot ignore what God calls us to do. I am an equal heir with my brothers in Christ, but we serve very different and vitally important roles. And it's only in understanding that and being willing to submit to it that we truly allow God to move freely in our lives.
Just as the pattern of the Creation produced mother, father and child, so it should be echoed in the family of the Church. The father figure stands for leadership, the mother figure for nurture.
In the Church, there is a variety of different roles that a woman can take on within the nurturing realm — as deacons, pastoral workers, youth or child workers — but by ordaining them to the role of the man, we are denying God’s children of the clear roles that the two sexes play in the developing process.
I've been saying this same basic statement for months. You'd be amazed how many people don't agree.
I suppose it's hard to imagen, that a young woman could be happy not "being allowed" to do certain things. That I'm content with the idea of a man being the headship of the house, and of the church, but that's it. I am.
Now, I suppose that might seem pretty contradictory considering I'm going through a divorce, but it's not really. I long to fill the roles God has given me. I want to do as He says, but at the same time I'm not called to follow my church or even my husband into sin. Yes, Chris is figuring himself out, but I know that right now I cannot submit to him. And I do wish him the best and hope he truly lets God transform him.
But that doesn't change what I know to be right. So for now at least, God will have to be my direct head. We all have different funtions to serve, different jobs to do, and we cannot ignore what God calls us to do. I am an equal heir with my brothers in Christ, but we serve very different and vitally important roles. And it's only in understanding that and being willing to submit to it that we truly allow God to move freely in our lives.
Monday, July 11, 2005
Jung vs. Christ
“We all must do just what Christ did. We must make our experiment. We must make mistakes. We must live out our own vision of life. And there will be error. If you avoid error you do not live; in a sense even it may be said that every life is a mistake, for no one has found the truth. When we live like this we know Christ as a brother, and God indeed becomes man. This sounds like a terrible blasphemy, but not so. For then only can we understand Christ as he would want to be understood, as a fellow man; then only does God become man in ourselves.” (Jung, New York Lecture, edited by Lane A. Pratt, 1972.)Source.
What?! "We all must do just what Christ did...We must make mistakes." Now, out of the many many times I have read the Bible I never once noticed Christ make a mistake. Have you? He knew from the begining what it would all lead to, He knew He would be unjustly accused & murdered, but He knew it was for the good of the one's He loved that He must endure the cross, and He knew He would rise three days later.
So, where is the mistake He made that we must model? Is Jung trying to imply that the cross was a failure, that the cross was Christ's mistake? Because it sure seems like that's what he is saying, no in fact that IS what he is saying here:
“The utter failure came at the Crucifixion in the tragic words, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" If you want to understand the full tragedy of those words you must realize what they meant: Christ saw that his whole life, devoted to the truth according to his best conviction, had been a terrible illusion…
Ever noticed that Jesus calls God "God" here and not "Father"? Wonder why? It's not because He realized He's hanging from the cross for no reason, that He has failed, He cries out in this manner because He has accomplished His work. He has taken on our sin and bore the full wrath of His Father for our own sake. He cried out in this manner simply because for the first time in His life He was disconnected from the Father, this was the only moment in His life where He bore sin. And sin disconnects you from God, and sin leads to death. And it wasn't even His own sin He bore!
"Christ saw that his whole life, devoted to the truth according to his best conviction, had been a terrible illusion…" Oh, this man was so off base and he's led many others astray simply because he has no Biblical concept of Christ or His work on that cross. Jesus didn't see that his life had been a "terrible illusion," and He didn't devote His life "to the truth according to his best conviction," He devoted His life to THE TRUTH. There is no other truth than what Christ spoke and lived. What's right for you may not be right for me is not truth. Truth is truth, and Christ was that truth.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
True Worship or Spiritual Cavities?
There is a topic at frenzyboard concerning the song "Friend of God" Basically, here's what it says:
POST: I don't like that song.
POST: Me neither.
POST: You guys are crazy, I like that song.
Ok, I'm just going to copy and paste my replies now, along with anything that you might need to read to understand my point.
as of late I'm becoming distressed that most of the songs we hear on the radio, and sadly in the church, speak nothing of the cross. Most of the stuff is all "feel good" tunes, nothing with any real meat to it. Nobody seems to want to sing about the cross & why He hung from it, ect.
POST: Quote:Nobody seems to want to sing about the cross & why He hung from it, ect.
We do a lot of self-degrading songs, er, you know what I mean. Heart of Worship, Give us Clean Hands, that sort of thing.
POST: I don't think there's anything wrong with celebrating you're relationship with God. Yes, there is sorrow and pain in being a Christian but there's so much more good then bad. All of the suffering and trials are nothing compaired to the good that is to come. You can't dwell on sorrow, that's not what it's all about.
MY REPLY: Yes, but sugar coating everything doesnt do any good either. You have to look at the bad to see just how great the good is. If God saved me from good how powerful and mighty would that salvation be? But He saved me from the trenches, He picked me up when I was absolutely at my lowest point covered in filth and sin on the verge of death and eternal seperation and He called me. He cleaned me in His Son's Blood.
If all I ever thought about was that I'm a friend of God and that He is one "rad" dude what good would that do me? If I only look at Him as my friend, I can lose perspective of the work He has done and is continuing to do as my Savior. Like Vanilla Sky said, the sweet just ain't as sweet without the sour.
"(Chorus)
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
He calls me friend
God Almighty, Lord of Glory
You have called me friend"
There is no meat to this, this doesn't speak anything of what Christ has done for us. It's fluff, it's sugar & if that's all one listens to I would tend to think you'd end up with spiritual cavities from eating all this sugar. A balanced diet is important. Yes, I may be a friend of God. But He is my Lord, He is my Savior, He is my redeemer, He is my protection, He is my peace, He is my guideance, He is my Creator, He DIED for me, and He ROSE for me. He bore my sins, He bore my shame, He bore the WRATH of the Father for me. He's more than my friend, He is more than anyone could ever express, He is "my all in all"
...
My point is not that you can't worship Him for calling us friend, my point is simply that as of late it's the soft songs, the feel good songs, the ones that don't speak anything of what He has done for us to be able to call Him friend that are always being played. Ok, not always, but they get played WAY more than anything that's going to make you think about why He was on that cross. At least that has been my experience as of late.
Nobody wants to feel bad, and it seems like the Pastors & music directors are catoring to the "nobody wants to feel bad" idea that's floating around. And I'm not trying to make it sound like we should walk around in sackcloth weeping, but there's got to be something in between.
It's not even just about the music, the sermons in a lot of churches are like this. They are self help books with pulpits. There's no talk about sin, or hell (at least not in a Biblical context), there's "are you disconnected from God? Do you feel sad? Well, there's no need for that! God doesn't want you to feel bad about what you've done, get over it and join us in happy land. Oh and make sure you join a small group b/c anyone who is anyone is in a small group"
Sadness and grief and things of that nature are good, they lead to repentance...If you feel badly b/c you've sinned you'll be wanting to get right with God. If it is condoned within the "church" why repent? Nobody cares what you're doing.
POST: I don't like that song.
POST: Me neither.
POST: You guys are crazy, I like that song.
Ok, I'm just going to copy and paste my replies now, along with anything that you might need to read to understand my point.
as of late I'm becoming distressed that most of the songs we hear on the radio, and sadly in the church, speak nothing of the cross. Most of the stuff is all "feel good" tunes, nothing with any real meat to it. Nobody seems to want to sing about the cross & why He hung from it, ect.
POST: Quote:Nobody seems to want to sing about the cross & why He hung from it, ect.
We do a lot of self-degrading songs, er, you know what I mean. Heart of Worship, Give us Clean Hands, that sort of thing.
POST: I don't think there's anything wrong with celebrating you're relationship with God. Yes, there is sorrow and pain in being a Christian but there's so much more good then bad. All of the suffering and trials are nothing compaired to the good that is to come. You can't dwell on sorrow, that's not what it's all about.
MY REPLY: Yes, but sugar coating everything doesnt do any good either. You have to look at the bad to see just how great the good is. If God saved me from good how powerful and mighty would that salvation be? But He saved me from the trenches, He picked me up when I was absolutely at my lowest point covered in filth and sin on the verge of death and eternal seperation and He called me. He cleaned me in His Son's Blood.
If all I ever thought about was that I'm a friend of God and that He is one "rad" dude what good would that do me? If I only look at Him as my friend, I can lose perspective of the work He has done and is continuing to do as my Savior. Like Vanilla Sky said, the sweet just ain't as sweet without the sour.
"(Chorus)
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
I am a friend of God
He calls me friend
God Almighty, Lord of Glory
You have called me friend"
There is no meat to this, this doesn't speak anything of what Christ has done for us. It's fluff, it's sugar & if that's all one listens to I would tend to think you'd end up with spiritual cavities from eating all this sugar. A balanced diet is important. Yes, I may be a friend of God. But He is my Lord, He is my Savior, He is my redeemer, He is my protection, He is my peace, He is my guideance, He is my Creator, He DIED for me, and He ROSE for me. He bore my sins, He bore my shame, He bore the WRATH of the Father for me. He's more than my friend, He is more than anyone could ever express, He is "my all in all"
...
My point is not that you can't worship Him for calling us friend, my point is simply that as of late it's the soft songs, the feel good songs, the ones that don't speak anything of what He has done for us to be able to call Him friend that are always being played. Ok, not always, but they get played WAY more than anything that's going to make you think about why He was on that cross. At least that has been my experience as of late.
Nobody wants to feel bad, and it seems like the Pastors & music directors are catoring to the "nobody wants to feel bad" idea that's floating around. And I'm not trying to make it sound like we should walk around in sackcloth weeping, but there's got to be something in between.
It's not even just about the music, the sermons in a lot of churches are like this. They are self help books with pulpits. There's no talk about sin, or hell (at least not in a Biblical context), there's "are you disconnected from God? Do you feel sad? Well, there's no need for that! God doesn't want you to feel bad about what you've done, get over it and join us in happy land. Oh and make sure you join a small group b/c anyone who is anyone is in a small group"
Sadness and grief and things of that nature are good, they lead to repentance...If you feel badly b/c you've sinned you'll be wanting to get right with God. If it is condoned within the "church" why repent? Nobody cares what you're doing.
Saturday, July 09, 2005
In the belly of the whale
Sometimes Christ gives us direction that seems so off course with our perceptions of what is best for our lives; when He does this it is quite often because He is trying to use us to reach someone, but more often it is because He is trying to show us something about ourselves and our relationship with Him, trying to help us grow in Him.
But so often we are comfortable with where we are in life, and want to stay put. I picture us as Veggie Tales portrayed Jonah, plugging our ears and running for Tarshish saying, “I can’t hear you, Lord!” You can see how silly this is, especially because we’re basically leaving God with no option other than to send the storm.
We become overwhelmed by the crashing waves, our friends will often turn and throw us from that ship, and are finally swallowed up by that great whale, when we run from God. Because when we don’t follow Him we are opening ourselves up to attack since we are outside of His will. And when we knowingly run from His will, we are just begging for Him to get us completely alone and desperate for change, just so we can grow in Him.
It is when we are in that whale’s belly and realize we are about to be digested that we have no other options. We can either submit to our Father and ask for forgiveness for our stubborn pride and unwillingness to do His will, or we can rot in the trenches. We can let the whale eat us and spend eternity whishing we had just unplugged our ears and opened our hearts to God’s loving guidance.
For three and a half years I’ve been going my own way, plugging my ears to God’s leading. I did what felt good, what I wanted to do, and ignored Him and His will for me. And needless to say the storms came, and I became whale bait. But I’m thankful for it. Because I fear that if I hadn’t been swallowed up I never would have reached out to God. I never would have turned and chosen to do it His way. Is doing it His way easier? No. But it is better. I know after I get through this my reward will be great.
And though it is overwhelming, though I wish I could turn back or even just lie down and find rest, that’s not His will. I have to hold onto my Father’s finger, as a little child holds on to her daddy, and keep walking. I may stumble, but that’s why He is here holding my hand. He will pick me up when I fall, so long as I continue to go His way.
The valley may be muddy, and dark, and frightening, but walking through all of this is strengthening the muscles that matter, my spiritual muscles. And someday I’ll be on that mountaintop looking back, and I will see all that He has done for me. I will see that I never could have made it out of that valley, out of that whale if not for His loving mercy.
So what shall it be? Nineveh, or the belly of a whale? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather smell like whale vomit and go to my Nineveh than to be consumed. I’d rather just do what He knows is best. And though it may be difficult, though I may at times wish I could plug my ears and run away, I know if I do I’ll just end up right back in that whale, and I’m tired of being swallowed and then vomited back up.
But so often we are comfortable with where we are in life, and want to stay put. I picture us as Veggie Tales portrayed Jonah, plugging our ears and running for Tarshish saying, “I can’t hear you, Lord!” You can see how silly this is, especially because we’re basically leaving God with no option other than to send the storm.
We become overwhelmed by the crashing waves, our friends will often turn and throw us from that ship, and are finally swallowed up by that great whale, when we run from God. Because when we don’t follow Him we are opening ourselves up to attack since we are outside of His will. And when we knowingly run from His will, we are just begging for Him to get us completely alone and desperate for change, just so we can grow in Him.
It is when we are in that whale’s belly and realize we are about to be digested that we have no other options. We can either submit to our Father and ask for forgiveness for our stubborn pride and unwillingness to do His will, or we can rot in the trenches. We can let the whale eat us and spend eternity whishing we had just unplugged our ears and opened our hearts to God’s loving guidance.
For three and a half years I’ve been going my own way, plugging my ears to God’s leading. I did what felt good, what I wanted to do, and ignored Him and His will for me. And needless to say the storms came, and I became whale bait. But I’m thankful for it. Because I fear that if I hadn’t been swallowed up I never would have reached out to God. I never would have turned and chosen to do it His way. Is doing it His way easier? No. But it is better. I know after I get through this my reward will be great.
And though it is overwhelming, though I wish I could turn back or even just lie down and find rest, that’s not His will. I have to hold onto my Father’s finger, as a little child holds on to her daddy, and keep walking. I may stumble, but that’s why He is here holding my hand. He will pick me up when I fall, so long as I continue to go His way.
The valley may be muddy, and dark, and frightening, but walking through all of this is strengthening the muscles that matter, my spiritual muscles. And someday I’ll be on that mountaintop looking back, and I will see all that He has done for me. I will see that I never could have made it out of that valley, out of that whale if not for His loving mercy.
So what shall it be? Nineveh, or the belly of a whale? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather smell like whale vomit and go to my Nineveh than to be consumed. I’d rather just do what He knows is best. And though it may be difficult, though I may at times wish I could plug my ears and run away, I know if I do I’ll just end up right back in that whale, and I’m tired of being swallowed and then vomited back up.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Allstate Insurance
Recently I have become aware of a news story concerning controversy surrounding Allstate Insurance and their firing of Matt Barber. Matt is a Christian who was employed as a manager in Allstate's Corporate Security Division. While he was employed for Allstate, he wrote an internet article on his own time that was critical of homosexuality. His article was deemed a violation of Allstate's corporate philosophy and resulted in Matt being suspended and eventually fired.
The state of Illinois did an investigation into the matter, and "The State's investigation further concluded that Allstate intentionally chose to terminate Barber's employment for writing the article despite the fact that he engaged in no misconduct whatsoever: "The term misconduct means the deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable rule or policy of the employer…In this case, the claimant's action which resulted in his discharge was not deliberate and willful." This determination, issued March 8, 2005, was not appealed by Allstate." Source.
I suppose Mr. Barber isn't "in good hands with Allstate," which raises the concern of how good those hands are that they would turn on a valued member of their staff so sharply based on an undisclosed "outside agency". And be so unwilling to disclose why he was fired, if in fact they did not fire him for his faith. But they will not disclose it, nor will Allstate disclose who the "outside agency" is, if indeed there actually is an outside agency. I cannot help but wonder if they can't disclose that information because there is in actuality no outside agency.
If you would like to hear a recent radio program concerning Allstate's promotion of homosexual agendas visit VCY America and look for the show from 7.6.05.
The state of Illinois did an investigation into the matter, and "The State's investigation further concluded that Allstate intentionally chose to terminate Barber's employment for writing the article despite the fact that he engaged in no misconduct whatsoever: "The term misconduct means the deliberate and willful violation of a reasonable rule or policy of the employer…In this case, the claimant's action which resulted in his discharge was not deliberate and willful." This determination, issued March 8, 2005, was not appealed by Allstate." Source.
I suppose Mr. Barber isn't "in good hands with Allstate," which raises the concern of how good those hands are that they would turn on a valued member of their staff so sharply based on an undisclosed "outside agency". And be so unwilling to disclose why he was fired, if in fact they did not fire him for his faith. But they will not disclose it, nor will Allstate disclose who the "outside agency" is, if indeed there actually is an outside agency. I cannot help but wonder if they can't disclose that information because there is in actuality no outside agency.
If you would like to hear a recent radio program concerning Allstate's promotion of homosexual agendas visit VCY America and look for the show from 7.6.05.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
The purpose of your life
What trash, I cannot begin to wonder how many people are being led astray by this junk. And sadly, it mirrors so much of what you hear in a lot of churches these days. It's all about finding "your purpose" in life. Nobody seems to want to stop and ask "what is God's will for my life?"
It's whatever is going to make you happy, or that's what a lot of people seem to want us to believe. That God supports whatever will make us feel good. Pastors push self help books, and ignore the cross & Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake...
"There's a lot of pain out there. There'’s a lot of darkness. The world needs your Light right now.
It really does.
So …glad you could show up. Now the fun starts. Now the challenge gets underway in earnest. Now the Healing begins.
With you as the Healer.
That'’s why you came to Earth, in this body, in this time and in this place."
"You cannot know what that is unless and until you decide on a Purpose. That is, you cannot decide how to get where you are going until you decide where you are going."
And these people sit there and talk about "God" but it has nothing to do with God, it's all about me. Or you. Or whoever wants to read and believe this. Through Christ we are healed, it is only when we submit our lives, & everything in them, to God's will that we can be healed. We cannot fix ourselves, if we could don't you think we would have by now?
Yet there is no Point to it all. Life has no point. If Life had a Point, who would assign it one? And if you say God, why would God create the Point, then make us all search for it for 50 years! (And, as a society, for 50 thousand years) And if you say God does not make us search, but has given us the answer, why did God not give us the answer in a way in which we could easily understand it, and with a formula upon which we could all agree? And if you say that God has done that, then you have not looked at the world lately.
Now, the Bible tells us that many things will happen, there are plagues & trials coming, these are all in God's plan and when these things are fulfilled Christ will restore His followers and we will have paradise b/c God will be with us again. But we have to walk through the bad. But Christ is coming (Revelation 22:12), and as more prophecies are fulfilled the closer we are. We have a ways to go yet, just read the book of Revelation. We are still waiting for the temple in Isarel to be restored, and the organizationtion of a one world govenrment and it's "peace".
All of these things are coming, and quickly. The appearance of the Euro, has brought us a step closer to having a world wide currency & technology has made chips that can be inserted under the skin which could be used as a means of identitification, and there are plans underway to rebuild the Jewish Holy Temple.
All of these things were told to us in the Bible. God has a plan, and it is rapidly playing out before our very eyes. Christ did not come to bring peace, rather He came "'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and "a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'" (Matthew 10:35-36)
"You do not believe this, and so you have spent years trying to figure out the Purpose of Life. And all the while, Life (God) has been waiting for you to decide Its purpose."
"Right Livelihood is seldom attained through a doingness decision although it may involve a doingness function somewhere along the way."
Now, they just got done telling me that there is no right answer, whatever I feel is right for me and whatever you feel is right for you. Yet now they are saying there is a "right livelihood". Which is it?
A person in “right livelihood,” by the way, is a Bringer of the Light. That is because all people in right livelihood are being who they really are...and Who You Really Are is the very Light you are seeking to bring!
Did you get that? Did you hear that? There is no brighter Light in the Universe than the Light of your Beingness. Therefore, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Where do I begin? There is so much wrong with this it confounds me. They keep telling you that you are who you search for, that there is nobody that is going to come & that we have all we need within us. So, if that were true, why would there be a Father in heaven that would need to be glorified? If we are our own gods & the reason for living is within us, doesn't that nullifiy the need for a god?
But there is a God, and only His Son can save us. We cannot save ourselves, nor can we get to heaven on good works alone. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)
The entire website is like someone picked out the pretty promises of the Bible and smooshed them together with a bunch of New Age ideas. They tell you to meditate on "being peace" and that when you do that you become peace and the chaos around you may change because you have brought peace into it. But you have to choose to be peace. And if things are chaotic around you it is because you chose them to be that way.
Society is so stuck on themselves, that even within our very own churches the idea of purpose is seeping in. Christians are turning and doing everything they can to discover the purpose for their lives, and letting that "purpose" drive their lives that they are not allowing what God gave us to lead them. The Holy Spirit is what was given, we are to follow It's leading. Not pick a purpose and drive it home. How do we know the "purpose" we've chosen is God's will for us? We have to submit to God and allow His Spirit to show us what we need to do. Only then can we truly be living for God & in His will.
Are we really so prideful as to think we could possibly know what is best for our lives? So many of us walk around trusting that we know what we are doing and never stop to consult God, our Creator & Father, what He wants us to be doing. Yet, He has even told us already. We are to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. And we are to love each other, including our enemies, as ourselves. Yet we lose sight of that and go on our own marry little way seeking out purpose and wondering why we feel so utterly alone.
It is my sincere prayer that we may all turn to God and seek His will for our lives. Philippians 3:3 tells us, For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,. We must daily come to Christ & His Word to seek His will out for us. We must allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God, and not driven by a desire for purpose.
It's whatever is going to make you happy, or that's what a lot of people seem to want us to believe. That God supports whatever will make us feel good. Pastors push self help books, and ignore the cross & Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake...
"There's a lot of pain out there. There'’s a lot of darkness. The world needs your Light right now.
It really does.
So …glad you could show up. Now the fun starts. Now the challenge gets underway in earnest. Now the Healing begins.
With you as the Healer.
That'’s why you came to Earth, in this body, in this time and in this place."
"You cannot know what that is unless and until you decide on a Purpose. That is, you cannot decide how to get where you are going until you decide where you are going."
And these people sit there and talk about "God" but it has nothing to do with God, it's all about me. Or you. Or whoever wants to read and believe this. Through Christ we are healed, it is only when we submit our lives, & everything in them, to God's will that we can be healed. We cannot fix ourselves, if we could don't you think we would have by now?
Yet there is no Point to it all. Life has no point. If Life had a Point, who would assign it one? And if you say God, why would God create the Point, then make us all search for it for 50 years! (And, as a society, for 50 thousand years) And if you say God does not make us search, but has given us the answer, why did God not give us the answer in a way in which we could easily understand it, and with a formula upon which we could all agree? And if you say that God has done that, then you have not looked at the world lately.
Now, the Bible tells us that many things will happen, there are plagues & trials coming, these are all in God's plan and when these things are fulfilled Christ will restore His followers and we will have paradise b/c God will be with us again. But we have to walk through the bad. But Christ is coming (Revelation 22:12), and as more prophecies are fulfilled the closer we are. We have a ways to go yet, just read the book of Revelation. We are still waiting for the temple in Isarel to be restored, and the organizationtion of a one world govenrment and it's "peace".
All of these things are coming, and quickly. The appearance of the Euro, has brought us a step closer to having a world wide currency & technology has made chips that can be inserted under the skin which could be used as a means of identitification, and there are plans underway to rebuild the Jewish Holy Temple.
All of these things were told to us in the Bible. God has a plan, and it is rapidly playing out before our very eyes. Christ did not come to bring peace, rather He came "'set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'; and "a man's enemies will be those of his own household.'" (Matthew 10:35-36)
"You do not believe this, and so you have spent years trying to figure out the Purpose of Life. And all the while, Life (God) has been waiting for you to decide Its purpose."
"Right Livelihood is seldom attained through a doingness decision although it may involve a doingness function somewhere along the way."
Now, they just got done telling me that there is no right answer, whatever I feel is right for me and whatever you feel is right for you. Yet now they are saying there is a "right livelihood". Which is it?
A person in “right livelihood,” by the way, is a Bringer of the Light. That is because all people in right livelihood are being who they really are...and Who You Really Are is the very Light you are seeking to bring!
Did you get that? Did you hear that? There is no brighter Light in the Universe than the Light of your Beingness. Therefore, let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Where do I begin? There is so much wrong with this it confounds me. They keep telling you that you are who you search for, that there is nobody that is going to come & that we have all we need within us. So, if that were true, why would there be a Father in heaven that would need to be glorified? If we are our own gods & the reason for living is within us, doesn't that nullifiy the need for a god?
But there is a God, and only His Son can save us. We cannot save ourselves, nor can we get to heaven on good works alone. Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)
The entire website is like someone picked out the pretty promises of the Bible and smooshed them together with a bunch of New Age ideas. They tell you to meditate on "being peace" and that when you do that you become peace and the chaos around you may change because you have brought peace into it. But you have to choose to be peace. And if things are chaotic around you it is because you chose them to be that way.
Society is so stuck on themselves, that even within our very own churches the idea of purpose is seeping in. Christians are turning and doing everything they can to discover the purpose for their lives, and letting that "purpose" drive their lives that they are not allowing what God gave us to lead them. The Holy Spirit is what was given, we are to follow It's leading. Not pick a purpose and drive it home. How do we know the "purpose" we've chosen is God's will for us? We have to submit to God and allow His Spirit to show us what we need to do. Only then can we truly be living for God & in His will.
Are we really so prideful as to think we could possibly know what is best for our lives? So many of us walk around trusting that we know what we are doing and never stop to consult God, our Creator & Father, what He wants us to be doing. Yet, He has even told us already. We are to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. And we are to love each other, including our enemies, as ourselves. Yet we lose sight of that and go on our own marry little way seeking out purpose and wondering why we feel so utterly alone.
It is my sincere prayer that we may all turn to God and seek His will for our lives. Philippians 3:3 tells us, For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh,. We must daily come to Christ & His Word to seek His will out for us. We must allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God, and not driven by a desire for purpose.
Saturday, July 02, 2005
It is well with my soul
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul
Chorus:
It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul
My sin o the joy of this glorious thought
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and
I bear it no more paraise the lord, praise the lord,
O my soul
And lord haste the day
When my faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound and
The lord shall descend
Even so it is well with my soul
Tonight is a rough night. William has been a monster, it took 2 hours to get him to sleep. Then after I got him down and I tried to go to bed I had 6 messages from Chris. It's like ripping open a wound that has just barely began to close. I'm hurting so badly right now. And yet I sing "How Great is our God" and "It is well with my soul". God's provisions. I got a few free iTunes downloads today and downloaded a bunch of praise music.
This is so difficult, so painful. I feel so broken and weak. And I sit here crying and He reaches out and covers me in His love. I feel Him here, and He reminds me that He can do anything that He is great and it is ok for me to be weak, because in Him I am strong. I can do nothing without Him.
Sing with me, how great is our God?
And all will see how great is our God...
This is so insane. "Love song for a Savior" just came on. "She will come running and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray 'I want to fall in love with You'"
Do you know why I love Jars of Clay so much? It's because their self titled cd was the first album I purchased after coming to Christ. I remember so vividly putting it on and cranking it up and when this song came on I just sat on my floor and cried for the longest time. It still breaks my heart because when I hear it I am reminded of how broken I was and how loving Christ truely is. "It seems to easy to call you Savior, and not close enough to call you God"
You would not believe how much God speaks to me through music. When I came to Christ it was through song, not preaching, just a song & His peace. Praise God, for that peace. It has come again. He's picked me up and touched my soul yet again. Although I suppose He is always here, I'm just more aware of Him when I'm in the valley.
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul
Chorus:
It is well (it is well)
With my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul
My sin o the joy of this glorious thought
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to the cross and
I bear it no more paraise the lord, praise the lord,
O my soul
And lord haste the day
When my faith shall be sight
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll
The trump shall resound and
The lord shall descend
Even so it is well with my soul
Tonight is a rough night. William has been a monster, it took 2 hours to get him to sleep. Then after I got him down and I tried to go to bed I had 6 messages from Chris. It's like ripping open a wound that has just barely began to close. I'm hurting so badly right now. And yet I sing "How Great is our God" and "It is well with my soul". God's provisions. I got a few free iTunes downloads today and downloaded a bunch of praise music.
This is so difficult, so painful. I feel so broken and weak. And I sit here crying and He reaches out and covers me in His love. I feel Him here, and He reminds me that He can do anything that He is great and it is ok for me to be weak, because in Him I am strong. I can do nothing without Him.
Sing with me, how great is our God?
And all will see how great is our God...
This is so insane. "Love song for a Savior" just came on. "She will come running and fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and she'll pray 'I want to fall in love with You'"
Do you know why I love Jars of Clay so much? It's because their self titled cd was the first album I purchased after coming to Christ. I remember so vividly putting it on and cranking it up and when this song came on I just sat on my floor and cried for the longest time. It still breaks my heart because when I hear it I am reminded of how broken I was and how loving Christ truely is. "It seems to easy to call you Savior, and not close enough to call you God"
You would not believe how much God speaks to me through music. When I came to Christ it was through song, not preaching, just a song & His peace. Praise God, for that peace. It has come again. He's picked me up and touched my soul yet again. Although I suppose He is always here, I'm just more aware of Him when I'm in the valley.
I feel like an 80 year old woman
I have a lot of problems with my knees and hips, it's all from a foot problem and how I walk.
Yesterday my mother and I went to Walmart and my left hip started bothering me, but I didn't say anything b/c it is normal. Well, by time we were done shopping it was about ready to give out, it was right at that point where if I kept walking it would have gone out of place, but instead we left. As if that weren't fun enough (it actually hurts quite a bit when this happens) as I put William into the van I somehow managed to slam my knee into the side of the van. Yes, I am a clutz. So there I am with my left hip threatning to give out and now I've got my right knee feeling like it's going to explode.
It's the morning after and my knee feels the same, though my hip finally feels better.
Moral of the story? You can't buy replacement body parts at Walmart.
Yesterday my mother and I went to Walmart and my left hip started bothering me, but I didn't say anything b/c it is normal. Well, by time we were done shopping it was about ready to give out, it was right at that point where if I kept walking it would have gone out of place, but instead we left. As if that weren't fun enough (it actually hurts quite a bit when this happens) as I put William into the van I somehow managed to slam my knee into the side of the van. Yes, I am a clutz. So there I am with my left hip threatning to give out and now I've got my right knee feeling like it's going to explode.
It's the morning after and my knee feels the same, though my hip finally feels better.
Moral of the story? You can't buy replacement body parts at Walmart.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Explorations into Love, Marriage & God - Part 3
God
The American Heritage Dictionary defines God as “A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.”
Isn’t that nice and vague? So if the dictionary is of little help to us to understand who God is, where do we turn? Some people believe you can’t use the Bible as a reliable source to prove the existence of God. I don’t see why not. Find me something in the Bible and prove it didn’t happen. Prove to me that God isn’t who He says He is.
So, who is God? The New Testament tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8), and man that just about does it for me! How do we know we can trust God, can we believe His promises? Well, let us examine Him. How can we trust someone we don’t know? Well, I’d say it is time to get to know the G-man.
How do you get to trust a person in your life? By looking at their track record, if they say they are going to do something, or that they believe something and act to the contrary then it becomes increasingly difficult to trust them. But if they do what they say, then each time it becomes easier to believe them. So, you could use the same principle and apply it to God. Look at His word, examine it. Find some promises and follow up. Did God keep His word?
In Genesis we find Abraham and Sarah, married and childless. Sarah was well past the age of having children, yet God made a covenant with Abraham and promised that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars. Fairly unbelievable, yet at the tender age of 100 Abraham became a father to the child Sarah had carried. And sure enough, a few generations down the line his decedents became the heads of the tribes of Israel.
Also, God told Abraham that his decedents would be “strangers in a foreign land, and they will be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.” (Genesis 15:-13-14) So what do you think? Are Abraham’s decedents slaves for 400 years? You can bet your last dollar that God was telling the truth, just remember the story of Moses (Exodus 12) and the plagues.
In Mark 9:31 Jesus tells his disciples that, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” His disciples didn’t understand at the time, but God is a promise keeper. We needed a sacrifice to atone our sins and He sent Jesus to be that sacrifice. Even through out the book of Isaiah there are promises of Israel’s redemption, that He would be “led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth....For His life is taken from the earth.” (Isaiah 53:7,8 NKJV)
Later in Mark 14:43-49 Judas betrays Jesus, Jesus is taken away tried in an unjust court and sentenced to death. He is unjustly sentenced to death yet refrains from defending Himself (Luke 23:9 NKJV); He was beaten, mocked, crucified, died, and three days later He rose again. Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus after the resurrection (Mark 16:9 NLT), but she was soon followed by two people walking (Mark 16:12-13) and then to the disciples (John 20:19, John 20:24-29, John 21)
For those of you who really don’t want to trust the Bible, I can prove from my own life that God is a promise keeper. When I was a baby, less than a year old, I was severely burned. I had 2nd and 3rd degree burns all over my body, as well as severe brain damage. The doctors didn’t expect me to pull through, they performed at least two surgeries and informed my mother that on the off chance that I did make it I would be brain damaged for the rest of my life and would continue to need surgeries annually to repair the damage from the burns. After such a bleak diagnosis I was taken to a prayer meeting where I was prayed over. I had a tent full of people interceding for a miracle, for healing.
I can stand here today and tell you God is a God of healing, He is true to His word, and He says in numerous places through out the Bible that if you believe & ask then it shall be (Matthew 9:18-31 alone has two cases of people being healed because they believed and one girl being brought back from the dead because her father believed it could happen). Since that time I have only had one surgery my entire life to repair the damage from the burns, and with the exception of my right leg you would never even know anything had ever happened to me, and there has been no brain damage since that intercession!
So, by following God's promises and reading on we see He follows through on those promises. And ultimately He will prove Himself above all for the final time. I long for the return of Christ. I trust Him because He's proven Himself time and time again and soon He will put every doubt of His character to rest.
-------------------------------Sources-----------------------------------
The King James Bible
The New King James Bible
The American Heritage Dictionary
Veggie Tales: Love Your Neighbor
MOVIES
Shall we Dance?
Playing by Heart
The American Heritage Dictionary defines God as “A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in monotheistic religions.”
Isn’t that nice and vague? So if the dictionary is of little help to us to understand who God is, where do we turn? Some people believe you can’t use the Bible as a reliable source to prove the existence of God. I don’t see why not. Find me something in the Bible and prove it didn’t happen. Prove to me that God isn’t who He says He is.
So, who is God? The New Testament tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8), and man that just about does it for me! How do we know we can trust God, can we believe His promises? Well, let us examine Him. How can we trust someone we don’t know? Well, I’d say it is time to get to know the G-man.
How do you get to trust a person in your life? By looking at their track record, if they say they are going to do something, or that they believe something and act to the contrary then it becomes increasingly difficult to trust them. But if they do what they say, then each time it becomes easier to believe them. So, you could use the same principle and apply it to God. Look at His word, examine it. Find some promises and follow up. Did God keep His word?
In Genesis we find Abraham and Sarah, married and childless. Sarah was well past the age of having children, yet God made a covenant with Abraham and promised that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars. Fairly unbelievable, yet at the tender age of 100 Abraham became a father to the child Sarah had carried. And sure enough, a few generations down the line his decedents became the heads of the tribes of Israel.
Also, God told Abraham that his decedents would be “strangers in a foreign land, and they will be oppressed as slaves for four hundred years. But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth.” (Genesis 15:-13-14) So what do you think? Are Abraham’s decedents slaves for 400 years? You can bet your last dollar that God was telling the truth, just remember the story of Moses (Exodus 12) and the plagues.
In Mark 9:31 Jesus tells his disciples that, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” His disciples didn’t understand at the time, but God is a promise keeper. We needed a sacrifice to atone our sins and He sent Jesus to be that sacrifice. Even through out the book of Isaiah there are promises of Israel’s redemption, that He would be “led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth....For His life is taken from the earth.” (Isaiah 53:7,8 NKJV)
Later in Mark 14:43-49 Judas betrays Jesus, Jesus is taken away tried in an unjust court and sentenced to death. He is unjustly sentenced to death yet refrains from defending Himself (Luke 23:9 NKJV); He was beaten, mocked, crucified, died, and three days later He rose again. Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus after the resurrection (Mark 16:9 NLT), but she was soon followed by two people walking (Mark 16:12-13) and then to the disciples (John 20:19, John 20:24-29, John 21)
For those of you who really don’t want to trust the Bible, I can prove from my own life that God is a promise keeper. When I was a baby, less than a year old, I was severely burned. I had 2nd and 3rd degree burns all over my body, as well as severe brain damage. The doctors didn’t expect me to pull through, they performed at least two surgeries and informed my mother that on the off chance that I did make it I would be brain damaged for the rest of my life and would continue to need surgeries annually to repair the damage from the burns. After such a bleak diagnosis I was taken to a prayer meeting where I was prayed over. I had a tent full of people interceding for a miracle, for healing.
I can stand here today and tell you God is a God of healing, He is true to His word, and He says in numerous places through out the Bible that if you believe & ask then it shall be (Matthew 9:18-31 alone has two cases of people being healed because they believed and one girl being brought back from the dead because her father believed it could happen). Since that time I have only had one surgery my entire life to repair the damage from the burns, and with the exception of my right leg you would never even know anything had ever happened to me, and there has been no brain damage since that intercession!
So, by following God's promises and reading on we see He follows through on those promises. And ultimately He will prove Himself above all for the final time. I long for the return of Christ. I trust Him because He's proven Himself time and time again and soon He will put every doubt of His character to rest.
-------------------------------Sources-----------------------------------
The King James Bible
The New King James Bible
The American Heritage Dictionary
Veggie Tales: Love Your Neighbor
MOVIES
Shall we Dance?
Playing by Heart
Explorations into Love, Marriage & God - Part 2
Marriage
**Ok, so I've been working on this series for months now, and sadly my own marriage isn't working out, but I feel like what I have to say is still valid. And perhaps even more so now b/c I've seen something that could be beautiful utterly fail.**
Why do people get married? Why would you want to swear to spend the rest of your life with another person?
“Because we need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet, I mean what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things, all of it, all the time, everyday. You’re saying, ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed, because I will be your witness.’”
This raises an interesting concern, at some point in every person’s life they feel tiny, unnoticed, insignificant (at least in every person I’ve met anyway). We spend our time wandering around feeling alone. It can be a rather depressing situation if you don’t know God. Which is why God is so fantastic. When we chose to sin, we broke our relationship with God, we used to talk to God, to walk with Him, and then we got cut off. But He gave us a way to fix that, Jesus Christ can reconnect us, but to also help with the loneliness God gave man a companion.
Out of Adam’s side He created Eve. What is the significance of woman coming from man’s side? Where is the rib cage? It is under the arm, along the side of the body. Why did God in His ultimate wisdom create woman from that part of the body? Why not from the foot, or the head, or even from the dust as He had created man?
Eve was to be Adam’s partner, his help mate. She was there to support him. She was created out of his side so that he might lean on her when needed, and so that she could lean on him. Together they would walk arm in arm. Why not out of dust? Because together, they are whole. Even with all that God blessed him with Adam still was missing something, he still was not whole. Creating her from him shows us that without our partner we are always missing a part of us.
-----------------------------------Sources-----------------------------------
The King James Bible
The New King James Bible
The American Heritage Dictionary
Veggie Tales: Love Your Neighbor
MOVIES
Shall we Dance?
Playing by Heart
**Ok, so I've been working on this series for months now, and sadly my own marriage isn't working out, but I feel like what I have to say is still valid. And perhaps even more so now b/c I've seen something that could be beautiful utterly fail.**
Why do people get married? Why would you want to swear to spend the rest of your life with another person?
“Because we need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet, I mean what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage you’re promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things, all of it, all the time, everyday. You’re saying, ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed, because I will be your witness.’”
This raises an interesting concern, at some point in every person’s life they feel tiny, unnoticed, insignificant (at least in every person I’ve met anyway). We spend our time wandering around feeling alone. It can be a rather depressing situation if you don’t know God. Which is why God is so fantastic. When we chose to sin, we broke our relationship with God, we used to talk to God, to walk with Him, and then we got cut off. But He gave us a way to fix that, Jesus Christ can reconnect us, but to also help with the loneliness God gave man a companion.
Out of Adam’s side He created Eve. What is the significance of woman coming from man’s side? Where is the rib cage? It is under the arm, along the side of the body. Why did God in His ultimate wisdom create woman from that part of the body? Why not from the foot, or the head, or even from the dust as He had created man?
Eve was to be Adam’s partner, his help mate. She was there to support him. She was created out of his side so that he might lean on her when needed, and so that she could lean on him. Together they would walk arm in arm. Why not out of dust? Because together, they are whole. Even with all that God blessed him with Adam still was missing something, he still was not whole. Creating her from him shows us that without our partner we are always missing a part of us.
-----------------------------------Sources-----------------------------------
The King James Bible
The New King James Bible
The American Heritage Dictionary
Veggie Tales: Love Your Neighbor
MOVIES
Shall we Dance?
Playing by Heart
Explorations into Love, Marriage & God - Part 1
Love
“Do you remember what you told the kids about falling in love? The wonderful thing about falling in love is that you learn everything about that person . . . And if it is true love then you start to see yourself through their eyes. It brings out the best in you. Its almost as if you’re falling in love with yourself.”
This is such an interesting idea; that loving someone can cause you to love yourself, to see yourself in a new way. The concept can really extend far beyond any kind of human love. Yes, this can happen between friends (A good friend makes you feel better about yourself, don’t they? Just being around that friend makes you feel better, why? Because you are loved and accepted. But it is more than just feeling good; a true friend will give it to you straight. If you want to know if you are off base about something ask a friend, they should be more than willing to tell you if you are wrong in a loving way. A true love often inspires us to be a better person, we want to be who they think we are, we don’t want to let the ones we love down). Yes, this happens between husbands and wives, or it should at any rate. But the ultimate demonstration of this is the love God has for us.
God loves us as we are, but that is only the beginning. He wants us to grow into what we were meant to be. Loving, caring citizens of His Church. He takes us as we are, broken and lost and feeling unloved, rejected, and utterly dead inside, but. He does not leave us there. How could He?
You want the best for the people you love, you can often see that they are not as they should be, are doing something they shouldn’t be doing, or simply can see beyond the current situation they are facing. Would you leave your child in the middle of the street with a car racing around the corner? No, you love them and care for them, and would do everything in your power to get them to safety. You often can see your child as they were meant to be, not necessarily as they are at this moment and you guide them hoping to help them to what they were created for.
God is like that. And when you come to know Christ, really know Him and begin to grow in Him you’ll begin to see yourself through His eyes. You’ll see yourself as loved and adored by the only perfect thing to ever exist. You’ll begin to understand that we were never meant to just exist, to live and die; rather, we were created out of love to love. To love God, to love others (even the unlovely people), and to love ourselves.
I’m not talking about unhealthy love for oneself, full of pride and arrogance, I’m talking about loving ourselves the way we were made to. We are to love ourselves with the understanding that though we are sinners, though we may mess up, we are still worthy of love, still capable of love, we are each worth dying for. But more than that, we are worth living for, we are called to love others more than ourselves and be servants to each other. We all have needs, and God calls us to help each other meet those needs in love.
As Veggie Tales puts it, “Loving means lending a hand.”
Biblical Example: Ruth
Ruth knew how to love, she cared for the people in her life. Even after the death of her husband she cared for his mother. His mother was a widow, and then both her sons died. For all intents and purposes she was alone in the world. She dismissed her two daughter in laws, “And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.” (Ruth 1:8 KJV)
Yet Ruth stayed with her, she left her native country behind, left her family behind, and traveled on with Naomi saying, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God”(Ruth 1:16)
And so they traveled on, and Ruth lived with Naomi, and worked to feed her mother in law, and eventually when she did remarry she gave her first born son to Naomi to raise (Ruth 4:13-16) so that the name of Naomi’s lost ones would live on.
--------------------------------Sources-----------------------------------
The King James Bible
The New King James Bible
The American Heritage Dictionary
Veggie Tales: Love Your Neighbor
MOVIES
Shall we Dance?
Playing By Heart, 1998
“Do you remember what you told the kids about falling in love? The wonderful thing about falling in love is that you learn everything about that person . . . And if it is true love then you start to see yourself through their eyes. It brings out the best in you. Its almost as if you’re falling in love with yourself.”
This is such an interesting idea; that loving someone can cause you to love yourself, to see yourself in a new way. The concept can really extend far beyond any kind of human love. Yes, this can happen between friends (A good friend makes you feel better about yourself, don’t they? Just being around that friend makes you feel better, why? Because you are loved and accepted. But it is more than just feeling good; a true friend will give it to you straight. If you want to know if you are off base about something ask a friend, they should be more than willing to tell you if you are wrong in a loving way. A true love often inspires us to be a better person, we want to be who they think we are, we don’t want to let the ones we love down). Yes, this happens between husbands and wives, or it should at any rate. But the ultimate demonstration of this is the love God has for us.
God loves us as we are, but that is only the beginning. He wants us to grow into what we were meant to be. Loving, caring citizens of His Church. He takes us as we are, broken and lost and feeling unloved, rejected, and utterly dead inside, but. He does not leave us there. How could He?
You want the best for the people you love, you can often see that they are not as they should be, are doing something they shouldn’t be doing, or simply can see beyond the current situation they are facing. Would you leave your child in the middle of the street with a car racing around the corner? No, you love them and care for them, and would do everything in your power to get them to safety. You often can see your child as they were meant to be, not necessarily as they are at this moment and you guide them hoping to help them to what they were created for.
God is like that. And when you come to know Christ, really know Him and begin to grow in Him you’ll begin to see yourself through His eyes. You’ll see yourself as loved and adored by the only perfect thing to ever exist. You’ll begin to understand that we were never meant to just exist, to live and die; rather, we were created out of love to love. To love God, to love others (even the unlovely people), and to love ourselves.
I’m not talking about unhealthy love for oneself, full of pride and arrogance, I’m talking about loving ourselves the way we were made to. We are to love ourselves with the understanding that though we are sinners, though we may mess up, we are still worthy of love, still capable of love, we are each worth dying for. But more than that, we are worth living for, we are called to love others more than ourselves and be servants to each other. We all have needs, and God calls us to help each other meet those needs in love.
As Veggie Tales puts it, “Loving means lending a hand.”
Biblical Example: Ruth
Ruth knew how to love, she cared for the people in her life. Even after the death of her husband she cared for his mother. His mother was a widow, and then both her sons died. For all intents and purposes she was alone in the world. She dismissed her two daughter in laws, “And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother's house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.” (Ruth 1:8 KJV)
Yet Ruth stayed with her, she left her native country behind, left her family behind, and traveled on with Naomi saying, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God”(Ruth 1:16)
And so they traveled on, and Ruth lived with Naomi, and worked to feed her mother in law, and eventually when she did remarry she gave her first born son to Naomi to raise (Ruth 4:13-16) so that the name of Naomi’s lost ones would live on.
--------------------------------Sources-----------------------------------
The King James Bible
The New King James Bible
The American Heritage Dictionary
Veggie Tales: Love Your Neighbor
MOVIES
Shall we Dance?
Playing By Heart, 1998
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
I'm such a girl
Ok, I've never been one for shopping. And those of you who really know me just screamed "DUH" at your computers, I know you did I heard it.
Anyway, Julianne has messed me up, since I had her in December I've spent more time in stores than I care to admit. But only shopping for the kids or Chris. Yesterday the kids and I went out with my friend Kristin and her two kids. We spent 5 hours shopping, hit only 3 stores, and then I went out again today. It's crazy. Oh, but I finally own an ironing board, before this I just ironed on my kitchen table. And with the exception of maybe 3 outfits and the ironing board all the stuff bought was for me.
And I hate shopping (another DUH), well anyway I did. It's growing on me. I didn't run though the stores yesterday grabbing what I needed and leaving as quickly as possible. It was a new experience for me. I browsed. Can you believe it? Oh, and I've got a major thing about trying clothes on, I never do it because I get nervous. Well, I tried on LOTS of clothes yesterday. And I quit having panic attacks about half way through the shopping spree. So yay! I can function in stores now. I think.
Anyway, Julianne has messed me up, since I had her in December I've spent more time in stores than I care to admit. But only shopping for the kids or Chris. Yesterday the kids and I went out with my friend Kristin and her two kids. We spent 5 hours shopping, hit only 3 stores, and then I went out again today. It's crazy. Oh, but I finally own an ironing board, before this I just ironed on my kitchen table. And with the exception of maybe 3 outfits and the ironing board all the stuff bought was for me.
And I hate shopping (another DUH), well anyway I did. It's growing on me. I didn't run though the stores yesterday grabbing what I needed and leaving as quickly as possible. It was a new experience for me. I browsed. Can you believe it? Oh, and I've got a major thing about trying clothes on, I never do it because I get nervous. Well, I tried on LOTS of clothes yesterday. And I quit having panic attacks about half way through the shopping spree. So yay! I can function in stores now. I think.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Why does He love me?
Seriously, why does Jesus love me? You wouldn't believe how much He is blessing me. I cannot begin to explain what a wonderful and loving God Christ is. It's funny, today actually was stressful for me in certain ways (a friend unknowingly is forcing me out of my shell about certain things) and I wanted to, and did, cry a lot today. And yet after I got the kids down I just felt so good about myself.
Like heavy load has been unburdened. I wish I could make you all understand, but it would take forever to do so. So all I can hope, and pray for, is that each of you would be equally aware of His blessings. Even the hard times are blessings looking back on them. They are an oppertunity to grow and mature in His love. The trials of this life are a great way of seeing His hand at work. Yes the good things are to, but what is it that Vanilla Sky said? Something like, the sweet just ain't as sweet without the sour. And it's the truth.
Like heavy load has been unburdened. I wish I could make you all understand, but it would take forever to do so. So all I can hope, and pray for, is that each of you would be equally aware of His blessings. Even the hard times are blessings looking back on them. They are an oppertunity to grow and mature in His love. The trials of this life are a great way of seeing His hand at work. Yes the good things are to, but what is it that Vanilla Sky said? Something like, the sweet just ain't as sweet without the sour. And it's the truth.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Esther, a Veggie Tales Movie
Ok, so William loves V.T. because Larry is silly. And that's ok, because as he gets older he'll start getting something more out of it. So I buy him a video once a week, it's his treat. But it is a treat for me as well. It seems like, though they are definitely geared for kids, I'm getting a lot out of them spiritually right now.
So, we got Esther tonight. I'd never seen it before. HOLY COW. Man, they did a great job with this one. The animation, the script, THE MUSIC...Seriously if you haven't seen this one you need to. Anyway, like I said, I'm getting a lot out of the movies.
Here's what I got this time:
Tell me why, I don't understand.
Tell me why, or show me your hand.
Tell me why because I can't see my way through
What now...should I...do
The battle is not ours
We look to God above~
For he will guide us safely through
and guard us with his love
I will not be afraid
I will not run and hide~
For there is noting I can't face
when God is at my side
No, there is nothing I can't face
when God is at my side
The battle is not ours
We look to God above
For he will guide us safely through
and guard us with his love
This is absolutely beautiful. The lyrics are fantastic, it has this haunting melody, and then the score just tops it off. I think this is one of the best songs I've ever heard for a movie. And the fact that it is for a kid's movie makes it even more special!
So, we got Esther tonight. I'd never seen it before. HOLY COW. Man, they did a great job with this one. The animation, the script, THE MUSIC...Seriously if you haven't seen this one you need to. Anyway, like I said, I'm getting a lot out of the movies.
Here's what I got this time:
Tell me why, I don't understand.
Tell me why, or show me your hand.
Tell me why because I can't see my way through
What now...should I...do
The battle is not ours
We look to God above~
For he will guide us safely through
and guard us with his love
I will not be afraid
I will not run and hide~
For there is noting I can't face
when God is at my side
No, there is nothing I can't face
when God is at my side
The battle is not ours
We look to God above
For he will guide us safely through
and guard us with his love
This is absolutely beautiful. The lyrics are fantastic, it has this haunting melody, and then the score just tops it off. I think this is one of the best songs I've ever heard for a movie. And the fact that it is for a kid's movie makes it even more special!
Friday, June 24, 2005
Concerning my beauty post
Please note, the point of the beauty post is not that we should completely withdraw from the world, nor is it that Christ died on the cross only to make me feel pretty. The point is that this world's perception of beauty is skewed and unattainable, and that God loves us for who we are and that our spirits are beautiful. Physical beauty fades, it's all about the spirit here.
Christ died on the cross so that we might have life, and life to the fullest, so why shouldn't that fact touch us and help us to realize that we're beautiful? Yes, beauty is less important than realizing Christ died for our salvation, but what are we to do? Just say "Thanks Jesus for saving my soul, now I'm going to buy a copy of Cosmo to see how to make myself beautiful!" He wants to transform us, inside and out. He wants to transform us, but if we don't surrender ourselves to His power He's not going to force us to change...Which means we could continue on chasing the airbrushed beauty and continue to feel broken, dejected, and empty inside.
Anyway, I just thought I'd clarify that a bit.
Christ died on the cross so that we might have life, and life to the fullest, so why shouldn't that fact touch us and help us to realize that we're beautiful? Yes, beauty is less important than realizing Christ died for our salvation, but what are we to do? Just say "Thanks Jesus for saving my soul, now I'm going to buy a copy of Cosmo to see how to make myself beautiful!" He wants to transform us, inside and out. He wants to transform us, but if we don't surrender ourselves to His power He's not going to force us to change...Which means we could continue on chasing the airbrushed beauty and continue to feel broken, dejected, and empty inside.
Anyway, I just thought I'd clarify that a bit.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Psalm 62
I got home from a friend's & put the kids to bed and just sat on the floor and cried because I'm having a bit of a problem with Chris not being home and missing him today. I felt so lost right then, I was doubting everything about the situation and I just asked Him "what do I do?" And then the first thing I opened my Bible to was Psalm 62.
I tell you God just blows my mind on a daily basis. I thought whoever reads this might get a kick out of it. He just keeps showing me things about waiting on Him and trusting in Him at all times. That seems to be the theme as of late. It's really neat.
Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8
1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
...
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.
I tell you God just blows my mind on a daily basis. I thought whoever reads this might get a kick out of it. He just keeps showing me things about waiting on Him and trusting in Him at all times. That seems to be the theme as of late. It's really neat.
Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8
1 Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.
2 He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.
...
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.
7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Biblical Beauty
I was listening to a message on VCY America about godly beauty earlier and found it to be very interesting. It deals with how we as women deal with worldly beauty vs biblical beauty. It discusses how we, as believers, have let the world's view of beauty effect us in a negative way. Regina Franklin delivers a powerful message on a journey of seeing what the world sees or believing what the Word says about us and beauty.
Roughly she says at one point, My identity is in Christ, and if I'm chasing the world I cannot find my identity in Him...He died so you can know how uniquely He created you...Our beauty was paid for with the blood of Christ.
She discusses how the things we see in advertising campaigns are driven by one thing, the dollar. When we see women on t.v and we feel like in order to be "sexy" and beautiful we have to look or dress certain ways. And we feed ourselves lies, and we chase the impossible airbrushed images of society and wonder why we feel so empty and ugly. Why should we stand in front of the mirror and say to ourselves "I'm fat, I've got big hips, my hair won't do what I want it to"?
I feel like we, as Christian women, should be able to stand in front of that mirror and say to ourselves, "God loves this, God loves me, I am His temple." And as we stand in front of the mirror or in front of other women, or even our daughters, and say derogatory things about ourselves and then wonder why our daughters at such a young age become fixated and influenced by the world's standards. Our youth are our future and our future needs to be protected. Their innocence is important, and precious, and we must fight and guide our children so that they know that they are unconditionally loved. That it doesn't matter what is on the cover of People Magazine, what matters lies between the words of the Bible, what matters lies in Christ and His love for them.
Romans 12:1-2 (emphasis mine)
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
When the thought comes into our minds we have to take hold of the thought, and if it does not line up with what God thinks of us we have to choose to realign ourselves with His word and transform our minds through Him.
"Skin sells and skin is selling well." We can either buy into the message of the world or we can separate ourselves and the Bible makes it clear that we are not of this world.
John 17:16 (King James Version)
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
It is often difficult as we are constantly bombarded with the perpetuated image of what beauty is. We can't turn the TV on or go to the grocery store without being confronted by worldly beauty. As a Christian woman we are called to aspire to godly beauty, but if we don't daily come to God for strength to resist these images we can & will succumb. We say to ourselves, "I can separate myself, I just won't watch certain shows or read those magazines," but we are told not to put confidence in our flesh (Philippians 3:3).
1 John 2:16 (NKJV)
For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world.
Edited 11:53pm on Wednesday
When we become consumed by what is in the mirror we cannot begin to understand who we are in Christ. We have to lay down the idolatry and turn to God for our identity. We are suffering as a society from an identity crisis, we seem to forget so easily who we are. Who brought us back from emptiness & death; we so desperately long for affirmation that it costs us the understanding that comes when we become the women God created us to be.
He did not create 16 million "Sally"s or 50,000 "Sarah"s. He created me, Kristina Marie Hansen, and He created you. You are an individual, as am I, and God doesn't want you to be Jennifer Aniston, Katie Holmes, Angelina Jolie, or even the pastor's wife at your church. He wants YOU! He wants ME!
I am beautiful, I may not always feel that way but I know in Christ I am. And in Christ you are. You may feel awkward or geeky or even a bit plump, but here and now understand you are beautiful. You have a choice. You can believe the world who is never satisfied, and you can continue to strive for the airbrushed beauty. Or you can believe God's Word, and know you are worthy of love. You are beautiful, you are worth dying for, and someone loves you so much that He died & rose so that you can know that you are loved!
We so often will search for love and affection and acceptance in relationships with people, even husbands, and get disappointed. In Genesis 29 we meet Leah and her sister Rachel. The Bible tells us that Rachel was rather stunning, while Leah had "pale eyes" and through a twist of events Leah and Rachel both marry the same man, "but because Leah was unloved, the Lord let her have a child, while Rachel was childless." God reached out to this poor woman who was feeling unloved and gave her a son. This was a great act of love on His part, but she didn't seem to realize it and was more concerned with making her husband love her. "The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me," but he didn't love her. Not the way she wanted him to, and so she had another son, and another, and finally when she gave birth to her fourth son, Judah, she seems to have finally realized that God loves her and she said, "Now I will praise the Lord!"
Can you imagine how loved she must have felt on that day? To have finally realized what God had done in her life, to be able to fall at His feet in the knowledge that she had been loved all along? The tears of joy she must have shed on that day...To understand that God loved her and it didn't matter what other people, including her own husband thought about her - what a great day!
In 1st Samuel we meet Hannah, who though she is loved by her husband still feels unloved and probably very inadequate. Because by society's standards she wasn't up to par, she was barren. Her husband's other wife would often tease Hannah, because she could have children, to the point of tears. Hannah was so consumed by the need for a child that finally after years of trying and years of being disappointed she fell to her knees before God.
"And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head." (1 Samuel 1:11)
And God gave her that son, and I can only imagine the joy she must have felt. Finally, her husband's wife could say nothing more to her. She was no longer a sub-standard citizen in society. God used her desire to show her that she was loved, and because He was faithful to her, she was faithful to Him. She weaned that precious child and brought him to the temple and left him with the priests to be raised and to be a servant to the Lord.
All through out the Bible God chooses to show love and mercy to the unloved, the people society doesn't deem as beautiful or worthy He stretches His loving arms out to receive them. He calls and gives strength to the meek, He blesses the poor, He comforts the hurting, and the people society calls unlovely He loves. And it is only in allowing oneself to realize that beautiful fact that we can really begin to understand who we are, and who God is. It is in knowing God, and rejecting what the world thinks (after all, society doesn't know what it wants. One year it's the in thing to be blonde, the next it is cool to be a brunette), that we can see even the lepers are beautiful.
------------SOURCES------------------------------------------
VCY America"
Roughly she says at one point, My identity is in Christ, and if I'm chasing the world I cannot find my identity in Him...He died so you can know how uniquely He created you...Our beauty was paid for with the blood of Christ.
She discusses how the things we see in advertising campaigns are driven by one thing, the dollar. When we see women on t.v and we feel like in order to be "sexy" and beautiful we have to look or dress certain ways. And we feed ourselves lies, and we chase the impossible airbrushed images of society and wonder why we feel so empty and ugly. Why should we stand in front of the mirror and say to ourselves "I'm fat, I've got big hips, my hair won't do what I want it to"?
I feel like we, as Christian women, should be able to stand in front of that mirror and say to ourselves, "God loves this, God loves me, I am His temple." And as we stand in front of the mirror or in front of other women, or even our daughters, and say derogatory things about ourselves and then wonder why our daughters at such a young age become fixated and influenced by the world's standards. Our youth are our future and our future needs to be protected. Their innocence is important, and precious, and we must fight and guide our children so that they know that they are unconditionally loved. That it doesn't matter what is on the cover of People Magazine, what matters lies between the words of the Bible, what matters lies in Christ and His love for them.
Romans 12:1-2 (emphasis mine)
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
When the thought comes into our minds we have to take hold of the thought, and if it does not line up with what God thinks of us we have to choose to realign ourselves with His word and transform our minds through Him.
"Skin sells and skin is selling well." We can either buy into the message of the world or we can separate ourselves and the Bible makes it clear that we are not of this world.
John 17:16 (King James Version)
16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
It is often difficult as we are constantly bombarded with the perpetuated image of what beauty is. We can't turn the TV on or go to the grocery store without being confronted by worldly beauty. As a Christian woman we are called to aspire to godly beauty, but if we don't daily come to God for strength to resist these images we can & will succumb. We say to ourselves, "I can separate myself, I just won't watch certain shows or read those magazines," but we are told not to put confidence in our flesh (Philippians 3:3).
1 John 2:16 (NKJV)
For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world.
Edited 11:53pm on Wednesday
When we become consumed by what is in the mirror we cannot begin to understand who we are in Christ. We have to lay down the idolatry and turn to God for our identity. We are suffering as a society from an identity crisis, we seem to forget so easily who we are. Who brought us back from emptiness & death; we so desperately long for affirmation that it costs us the understanding that comes when we become the women God created us to be.
He did not create 16 million "Sally"s or 50,000 "Sarah"s. He created me, Kristina Marie Hansen, and He created you. You are an individual, as am I, and God doesn't want you to be Jennifer Aniston, Katie Holmes, Angelina Jolie, or even the pastor's wife at your church. He wants YOU! He wants ME!
I am beautiful, I may not always feel that way but I know in Christ I am. And in Christ you are. You may feel awkward or geeky or even a bit plump, but here and now understand you are beautiful. You have a choice. You can believe the world who is never satisfied, and you can continue to strive for the airbrushed beauty. Or you can believe God's Word, and know you are worthy of love. You are beautiful, you are worth dying for, and someone loves you so much that He died & rose so that you can know that you are loved!
We so often will search for love and affection and acceptance in relationships with people, even husbands, and get disappointed. In Genesis 29 we meet Leah and her sister Rachel. The Bible tells us that Rachel was rather stunning, while Leah had "pale eyes" and through a twist of events Leah and Rachel both marry the same man, "but because Leah was unloved, the Lord let her have a child, while Rachel was childless." God reached out to this poor woman who was feeling unloved and gave her a son. This was a great act of love on His part, but she didn't seem to realize it and was more concerned with making her husband love her. "The Lord has noticed my misery, and now my husband will love me," but he didn't love her. Not the way she wanted him to, and so she had another son, and another, and finally when she gave birth to her fourth son, Judah, she seems to have finally realized that God loves her and she said, "Now I will praise the Lord!"
Can you imagine how loved she must have felt on that day? To have finally realized what God had done in her life, to be able to fall at His feet in the knowledge that she had been loved all along? The tears of joy she must have shed on that day...To understand that God loved her and it didn't matter what other people, including her own husband thought about her - what a great day!
In 1st Samuel we meet Hannah, who though she is loved by her husband still feels unloved and probably very inadequate. Because by society's standards she wasn't up to par, she was barren. Her husband's other wife would often tease Hannah, because she could have children, to the point of tears. Hannah was so consumed by the need for a child that finally after years of trying and years of being disappointed she fell to her knees before God.
"And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head." (1 Samuel 1:11)
And God gave her that son, and I can only imagine the joy she must have felt. Finally, her husband's wife could say nothing more to her. She was no longer a sub-standard citizen in society. God used her desire to show her that she was loved, and because He was faithful to her, she was faithful to Him. She weaned that precious child and brought him to the temple and left him with the priests to be raised and to be a servant to the Lord.
All through out the Bible God chooses to show love and mercy to the unloved, the people society doesn't deem as beautiful or worthy He stretches His loving arms out to receive them. He calls and gives strength to the meek, He blesses the poor, He comforts the hurting, and the people society calls unlovely He loves. And it is only in allowing oneself to realize that beautiful fact that we can really begin to understand who we are, and who God is. It is in knowing God, and rejecting what the world thinks (after all, society doesn't know what it wants. One year it's the in thing to be blonde, the next it is cool to be a brunette), that we can see even the lepers are beautiful.
------------SOURCES------------------------------------------
VCY America"
Monday, June 20, 2005
Trust in Me
Erm, so there is a new song entitled "Trust in Me" on the website. I did the guitar and really junky demo vocals (to get the melody out of my head) earlier, the guitar is pretty good, I may redo it, I may not. Actually I'm pretty happy with it. And I just redid the vocals, it's a bit rough but in a good way. Anyway, yes. God is good. :)
Want the lyrics? Good, here's them as they stand now. I may rewrite them a bit.
There is nothing I could say
To express the gratitude of my soul
You stooped down and redeemed me,
The emptiness hasn't got a grip on me.
You say, "see? I showed you
And we'll do it again.
Pay attention little one.
I've given you all you need
Just trust in me
Trust in me little one
I love you
Trust in me
And you'll see
If you trust in me"
There. Short, sweet. Pretty. :)
Want the lyrics? Good, here's them as they stand now. I may rewrite them a bit.
There is nothing I could say
To express the gratitude of my soul
You stooped down and redeemed me,
The emptiness hasn't got a grip on me.
You say, "see? I showed you
And we'll do it again.
Pay attention little one.
I've given you all you need
Just trust in me
Trust in me little one
I love you
Trust in me
And you'll see
If you trust in me"
There. Short, sweet. Pretty. :)
Saturday, June 18, 2005
My thoughts and concerns about new translations - part 2
Have you ever read The Message? It is a paraphrase of the Bible by Eugene Peterson.
"It is a bridging of the gap between the original languages and English, and between centuries of time and language change, to bring to us the Bible as it originally sounded."
Here is my problem with The Message, it distorts what God intended. It takes what was originally said and turns it around and makes things, shall we say, less black and white? Sexual immorality doesn't seem so bad in The Message (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), and occult dangers don't seem so scary (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
Rather disturbingly the Lord's Prayer now includes New Age terms. Let us compair Matthew 6:9-13 in The Message to KJV.
Matthew 6:9-13 (The Message, emphasis mine)
9With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
10Set the world right;
Do what's best--
as above, so below.
11Keep us alive with three square meals.
12Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
13Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Matthew 6:9-13 (King James Version)
9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Not only does The Message add New Age terms to scripture, but it also removes verses entirely (sadly, this happens in other translations as well), for example if you'll read below, we'll be looking at Acts 8:36-39, there is no verse 37 even in there, and why? Well, because verse 37 tells us that Philip says that if you believe with all your heart you can be baptized and the eunuch answered that he believes Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. Obviously Mr. Peterson didn't feel that verse was worth putting in.
Acts 8:36-39 (The Message)
36As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, "Here's water. Why can't I be baptized?" 38He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn't mind. He had what he'd come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.
Acts 8:36-39 (King James Version)
36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
The Message sugar coats God's word, it diminshes the peril of being a true believer in Christ and inflates God's promises. It does not accurately put forth what Jesus intended, as demonstrated by John 3:36. God does not tell us that we will have it easy, rather He tells us "Now brother will deliver up brother to death...And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:21, 22 NKJV)
The following verse in The Message, doesn't warn readers of what can happen if you don't believe Christ. It leaves it to one's imagenation. It implies that if you don't believe and trust in Jesus you'll just be left out. That's not what the KJV implies. You don't just get left out of fun stuff, you get the wrath of God.
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:36 KJV
"Whoever accepts and trust the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever!" [John 3:36a] THE MESSAGE
My concern is that those who only read The Message will be unprepared for the spiritual attacks that await them as believers. Satan does not want you to believe, he is the author of lies and will do anything to keep you from knowing the truth. Including put forth a "Bible" that makes life seem like it is all sunshine and roses. The Message does not convict the heart as it should, nor does it prepare the believer of things to come. Instead it softens God's word to fit into the world, yet the Bible tells us that we are not of this world (John 15:19-21).
The following verse also shows a distortion in Scripture. The Message says nothing about the Father being greater than anybody, it just says that He is the goal and purpose.
"my Father is greater than I." John 14:28 KJV
"The Father is the goal and purpose of my life." John 14:28 THE MESSAGE
Below is just another example of how The Message makes the bad seem less bad. The KJV tells us that to be carnally minded is DEATH, but The Message does not even come close to putting that idea on paper.
"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Romans 8:6
"Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life." [Romans 8:6] THE MESSAGE
Yet, another example.
Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD. Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall rise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him. (Jeremiah 50:30-32 KJV)
Jeremiah 50:30-32 (The Message)
30And now she pays: her young strewn dead in the streets,
her soldiers dead, silent forever." GOD's Decree.
31"Do you get it, Mister Pride? I'm your enemy!"
Decree of the Master, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies.
"Time's run out on you:
That's right: It's Doomsday.
32Mister Pride will fall flat on his face.
No one will offer him a hand.
I'll set his towns on fire.
The fire will spread wild through the country."
The above verse sure puts things into perspective, God is not just about love and peace, ulitmately that is what will come, but God is a righteous God and humbles the proud! His fire devours evil. Please note that in the above selections the KJV says "for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee" while the Message says "That's right: It's Doomsday ".
The Message says nothing about God coming. Doomsday could mean different things to a different set of people (Doomsday could be bombs dropping, massive flooding, any number of things. But God coming? You know exactly what that means.), each person's perspective could render a different way of looking at this verse, while the KJV leaves nothing to question.
God is coming!
---------------------------CREDITS----------------------------------------------------
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
The Message at Navpress NavPress
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain
A Public Domain Bible KJV at Zondervan Zondervan
"It is a bridging of the gap between the original languages and English, and between centuries of time and language change, to bring to us the Bible as it originally sounded."
Here is my problem with The Message, it distorts what God intended. It takes what was originally said and turns it around and makes things, shall we say, less black and white? Sexual immorality doesn't seem so bad in The Message (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), and occult dangers don't seem so scary (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
Rather disturbingly the Lord's Prayer now includes New Age terms. Let us compair Matthew 6:9-13 in The Message to KJV.
Matthew 6:9-13 (The Message, emphasis mine)
9With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
10Set the world right;
Do what's best--
as above, so below.
11Keep us alive with three square meals.
12Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
13Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Matthew 6:9-13 (King James Version)
9After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Not only does The Message add New Age terms to scripture, but it also removes verses entirely (sadly, this happens in other translations as well), for example if you'll read below, we'll be looking at Acts 8:36-39, there is no verse 37 even in there, and why? Well, because verse 37 tells us that Philip says that if you believe with all your heart you can be baptized and the eunuch answered that he believes Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. Obviously Mr. Peterson didn't feel that verse was worth putting in.
Acts 8:36-39 (The Message)
36As they continued down the road, they came to a stream of water. The eunuch said, "Here's water. Why can't I be baptized?" 38He ordered the chariot to stop. They both went down to the water, and Philip baptized him on the spot. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of God suddenly took Philip off, and that was the last the eunuch saw of him. But he didn't mind. He had what he'd come for and went on down the road as happy as he could be.
Acts 8:36-39 (King James Version)
36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?
37And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
38And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
The Message sugar coats God's word, it diminshes the peril of being a true believer in Christ and inflates God's promises. It does not accurately put forth what Jesus intended, as demonstrated by John 3:36. God does not tell us that we will have it easy, rather He tells us "Now brother will deliver up brother to death...And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." (Matthew 10:21, 22 NKJV)
The following verse in The Message, doesn't warn readers of what can happen if you don't believe Christ. It leaves it to one's imagenation. It implies that if you don't believe and trust in Jesus you'll just be left out. That's not what the KJV implies. You don't just get left out of fun stuff, you get the wrath of God.
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:36 KJV
"Whoever accepts and trust the Son gets in on everything, life complete and forever!" [John 3:36a] THE MESSAGE
My concern is that those who only read The Message will be unprepared for the spiritual attacks that await them as believers. Satan does not want you to believe, he is the author of lies and will do anything to keep you from knowing the truth. Including put forth a "Bible" that makes life seem like it is all sunshine and roses. The Message does not convict the heart as it should, nor does it prepare the believer of things to come. Instead it softens God's word to fit into the world, yet the Bible tells us that we are not of this world (John 15:19-21).
The following verse also shows a distortion in Scripture. The Message says nothing about the Father being greater than anybody, it just says that He is the goal and purpose.
"my Father is greater than I." John 14:28 KJV
"The Father is the goal and purpose of my life." John 14:28 THE MESSAGE
Below is just another example of how The Message makes the bad seem less bad. The KJV tells us that to be carnally minded is DEATH, but The Message does not even come close to putting that idea on paper.
"For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Romans 8:6
"Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life." [Romans 8:6] THE MESSAGE
Yet, another example.
Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith the LORD. Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the Lord God of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall rise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him. (Jeremiah 50:30-32 KJV)
Jeremiah 50:30-32 (The Message)
30And now she pays: her young strewn dead in the streets,
her soldiers dead, silent forever." GOD's Decree.
31"Do you get it, Mister Pride? I'm your enemy!"
Decree of the Master, GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies.
"Time's run out on you:
That's right: It's Doomsday.
32Mister Pride will fall flat on his face.
No one will offer him a hand.
I'll set his towns on fire.
The fire will spread wild through the country."
The above verse sure puts things into perspective, God is not just about love and peace, ulitmately that is what will come, but God is a righteous God and humbles the proud! His fire devours evil. Please note that in the above selections the KJV says "for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee" while the Message says "That's right: It's Doomsday ".
The Message says nothing about God coming. Doomsday could mean different things to a different set of people (Doomsday could be bombs dropping, massive flooding, any number of things. But God coming? You know exactly what that means.), each person's perspective could render a different way of looking at this verse, while the KJV leaves nothing to question.
God is coming!
---------------------------CREDITS----------------------------------------------------
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson
The Message at Navpress NavPress
King James Version (KJV)
Public Domain
A Public Domain Bible KJV at Zondervan Zondervan
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Santification
Frenzyboard topic on santification
I'm stealing my post from the topic, then I'll expand if I have anything else to say. It pretty much says where I'm at in my life though.
Just my thoughts. Also, I was reading 1 Cor. today and came upon this (chapter 7 verse 34) and I thought it was interesting.
"There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world - how she may please her husband."
This verse speaks to me a lot lately. I feel like I've been living that for quite some time. Putting the needs and desires of a man before God. And while it pains me to not have that man in my life anymore, at least in the way he had been, I'm glad for it. I'm getting back to where I should be. Once this is all behind me I'm going to be such a better person. I'm going to be so much more interesting, because I'm going to be focused on the Lord in such a new way. I already am getting there, and I know this is a life long journey. I'm learning so much, about myself and my interaction with people, and about Christ. I don't know that I would have reached this point without going through what I am right now.
I'm choosing to put aside worldy things. Yes, I'm going to miss certain things b/c they have been dear to me but I know in the end of it all I'm much better off. I want to partake of the Lord, and I can not fully do that until I've purged myself of the world.
I'm stealing my post from the topic, then I'll expand if I have anything else to say. It pretty much says where I'm at in my life though.
Well, santification can be a tough thing. You have to be willing to go through...it's hard to let some things go in order to be santified. Our flesh clings to things, a book, a cd, even a person. But once we know the truth and understand we are free in it, we have something to look forward to. Yes cleansing yourself of certain things/ people can be difficult, but ultimately what more do you need than Christ? ::shrug:: I don't know, I just figure a lot of times we are called and recieve Him, and sadly a lot of times we stay at that point. We say to ourselves, "Well, Christ loves me and it doesn't matter what I'm into because I've accepted Him"
And that is fine, for a time. But if you really want to know God, you have to give up the world. And that can be frightening. But the Bible says "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons." So what is that to us? Quite obviously you can not be with God and with demons. Does light not cast out darkness? Does water not wash away dirt? So, if we are to truely be of and with God, we can not be with immorality, we can not be evil, ect.
Just my thoughts. Also, I was reading 1 Cor. today and came upon this (chapter 7 verse 34) and I thought it was interesting.
"There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world - how she may please her husband."
This verse speaks to me a lot lately. I feel like I've been living that for quite some time. Putting the needs and desires of a man before God. And while it pains me to not have that man in my life anymore, at least in the way he had been, I'm glad for it. I'm getting back to where I should be. Once this is all behind me I'm going to be such a better person. I'm going to be so much more interesting, because I'm going to be focused on the Lord in such a new way. I already am getting there, and I know this is a life long journey. I'm learning so much, about myself and my interaction with people, and about Christ. I don't know that I would have reached this point without going through what I am right now.
I'm choosing to put aside worldy things. Yes, I'm going to miss certain things b/c they have been dear to me but I know in the end of it all I'm much better off. I want to partake of the Lord, and I can not fully do that until I've purged myself of the world.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
1 Chronicles 5:20 (King James Version)
20And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in him.
Can you say wow? It blows my mind at the things God does for us just b/c we trust Him.
Can you say wow? It blows my mind at the things God does for us just b/c we trust Him.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
My thoughts and concerns about new translations - part 1
There is a brand new translation of the Bible available, it is a second generation NIV and there is a lot of controversy surrounding it. Some say it is great because it's target is to reach the teens of today, it's been formed to be user friendly and politically correct. So what's the big deal? The Bible isn't supposed to be politically correct, it is supposed to be spiritually correct.
A Bible who wants everyone who reads it to understand and feel included & unjudged? Traditionally the Bible has been something you can turn to to see exactly where God stands on an issue, there is no grey area with God. Wrong is wrong and right is right. Sexual immorality is wrong (1 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians 6:9), the Bible tells us that so many times I've lost count. Murder is wrong, stealing is wrong, homosexuality is wrong (Romans 1:26-27), lust is wrong (Matthew 5:28).
So, if a Bible is making things more accessable to todays youth, what's the problem? One problem lies with the "inclusive language".
"LAWTON: In the TNIV, Mary is now "pregnant," not "with child." Jesus walks on water not during the "fourth watch of the night," but rather "shortly before dawn." In the crucifixion accounts, references to "the Jews" are changed to "Jewish leaders." The most comprehensive changes surround gender. The TNIV uses more inclusive language, beginning in Genesis 1, where instead of saying God created "man" in his own image, the TNIV says God created "human beings" in his own image."
Now, I could swear that man WAS created first and woman was created later out of Adam's side, therefore God created MAN in his image. I've got Genesis 1:27 (NKJV) backing me up, what do they have? A bunch of people who are not being held accountable for what they do. Just because someone has a PhD doesn't mean we take everything they say as gold. You have to do research, just because someone says God doesn't make them a Christian (Matthew 7:21). At best they are a theist who has been decieved, at worst a liar decieving millions. And the worst part is that it can be very difficult in knowing what catagory they would fall into.
As believers in Christ we have the responsibility to test the spirits to see if they are of God (1 John 4:1-3) and to test all teachings against the Word of God, (Acts 17:11). Sadly, a multitude of teachers today tend to allow anything and everything to come through the doors without any attempt to discern the truth. We are called to guard, to watch and to warn those within the church, of the dangers of false teaching, seducing spirits, doctrines of demons, destructive heresies and the philosophies of the world.
"The TNIV was translated by the same independent committee of evangelical scholars who translated the NIV 30 years ago. Professor John Stek, who has worked on Bible translation for 40 years, chairs the committee."
By the same independent committee to me says that they aren't accountable to anyone. If you have no one to answer to you can do what you want. And sadly this happens. People twist the meaning of scripture to fit into their own sinful lives, or ignore it all together. John said "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." (1 John 3:15), yet how many of us hold grudges for months, even years on end? Jesus said to "Agree with your adversary quickly," (Matthew 5:25.)
"More than 100 evangelical leaders and scholars have signed a statement of concern about the TNIV. Much of the opposition has been spearheaded by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, which criticizes the TNIV's widespread elimination of masculine words such as "he," "his," "brother," "father," and "son."
RANDY STINSON (Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood): If you do that throughout the entire text of the scripture, what you do is you undermine significant things about fathers, about manhood, about brothers, about relationships between men and women, and the way that the Bible fundamentally teaches from cover to cover about the role of men leading in the home, about the role of men leading in the church."
Now, Randy Stinson has hit it dead on. There are things they shouldn't be messed with. I wonder what the TNIV says about the man being the head of the household and that wives are supposed to submit to them and that men are the authority over women? How are they going to get around that one? Obviously women being submissive doesn't sound very P.C., so what shall they do?
7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. (1 Corinthians 11:7-9 TNIV)
I guess there was no getting around saying that women came from man there. If you follow the link above you will see that it goes on to confirm that men are supposed to have authority over women (verse 10) because women are the glory of man.
Ephesians 5:22-24 (NKJV) tells "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."
Now, don't get me wrong. I love the idea of making the Bible more accessable to new believers. I'll admit the KJV can be a bit intimidating when you aren't used to reading it (Though if you get used to it reading Shakespear will be a whole lot easier!) I just have issues with altering God's intent. There has to be a way to clearly express what the original texts said in a language that is accessable to today's youth.
I think that the translators should be held accountable, the people doing the translation should not be an independant committie serving their own agenda, rather they should be serving the people they say they are trying to reach. They should have to put out a Bible that accurately puts forth what God intended, the Bible was never ment to be twisted to fit our needs, we were ment to bend and conform to God's will. And ultimately anyone who distorts God's word will answer to Him (Revelation 22:18).
You'll ultimately have to judge for yourself though, just read the Bible with a heart that is open to God's direction. He'll always give it to you straight so long as you ask (Matthew 7:7-8) so I suggest you just ask for His guidence & discernment as you read.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The source for my quotes.
A Bible who wants everyone who reads it to understand and feel included & unjudged? Traditionally the Bible has been something you can turn to to see exactly where God stands on an issue, there is no grey area with God. Wrong is wrong and right is right. Sexual immorality is wrong (1 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians 6:9), the Bible tells us that so many times I've lost count. Murder is wrong, stealing is wrong, homosexuality is wrong (Romans 1:26-27), lust is wrong (Matthew 5:28).
So, if a Bible is making things more accessable to todays youth, what's the problem? One problem lies with the "inclusive language".
"LAWTON: In the TNIV, Mary is now "pregnant," not "with child." Jesus walks on water not during the "fourth watch of the night," but rather "shortly before dawn." In the crucifixion accounts, references to "the Jews" are changed to "Jewish leaders." The most comprehensive changes surround gender. The TNIV uses more inclusive language, beginning in Genesis 1, where instead of saying God created "man" in his own image, the TNIV says God created "human beings" in his own image."
Now, I could swear that man WAS created first and woman was created later out of Adam's side, therefore God created MAN in his image. I've got Genesis 1:27 (NKJV) backing me up, what do they have? A bunch of people who are not being held accountable for what they do. Just because someone has a PhD doesn't mean we take everything they say as gold. You have to do research, just because someone says God doesn't make them a Christian (Matthew 7:21). At best they are a theist who has been decieved, at worst a liar decieving millions. And the worst part is that it can be very difficult in knowing what catagory they would fall into.
As believers in Christ we have the responsibility to test the spirits to see if they are of God (1 John 4:1-3) and to test all teachings against the Word of God, (Acts 17:11). Sadly, a multitude of teachers today tend to allow anything and everything to come through the doors without any attempt to discern the truth. We are called to guard, to watch and to warn those within the church, of the dangers of false teaching, seducing spirits, doctrines of demons, destructive heresies and the philosophies of the world.
"The TNIV was translated by the same independent committee of evangelical scholars who translated the NIV 30 years ago. Professor John Stek, who has worked on Bible translation for 40 years, chairs the committee."
By the same independent committee to me says that they aren't accountable to anyone. If you have no one to answer to you can do what you want. And sadly this happens. People twist the meaning of scripture to fit into their own sinful lives, or ignore it all together. John said "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." (1 John 3:15), yet how many of us hold grudges for months, even years on end? Jesus said to "Agree with your adversary quickly," (Matthew 5:25.)
"More than 100 evangelical leaders and scholars have signed a statement of concern about the TNIV. Much of the opposition has been spearheaded by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, which criticizes the TNIV's widespread elimination of masculine words such as "he," "his," "brother," "father," and "son."
RANDY STINSON (Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood): If you do that throughout the entire text of the scripture, what you do is you undermine significant things about fathers, about manhood, about brothers, about relationships between men and women, and the way that the Bible fundamentally teaches from cover to cover about the role of men leading in the home, about the role of men leading in the church."
Now, Randy Stinson has hit it dead on. There are things they shouldn't be messed with. I wonder what the TNIV says about the man being the head of the household and that wives are supposed to submit to them and that men are the authority over women? How are they going to get around that one? Obviously women being submissive doesn't sound very P.C., so what shall they do?
7 A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; 9 neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. (1 Corinthians 11:7-9 TNIV)
I guess there was no getting around saying that women came from man there. If you follow the link above you will see that it goes on to confirm that men are supposed to have authority over women (verse 10) because women are the glory of man.
Ephesians 5:22-24 (NKJV) tells "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."
Now, don't get me wrong. I love the idea of making the Bible more accessable to new believers. I'll admit the KJV can be a bit intimidating when you aren't used to reading it (Though if you get used to it reading Shakespear will be a whole lot easier!) I just have issues with altering God's intent. There has to be a way to clearly express what the original texts said in a language that is accessable to today's youth.
I think that the translators should be held accountable, the people doing the translation should not be an independant committie serving their own agenda, rather they should be serving the people they say they are trying to reach. They should have to put out a Bible that accurately puts forth what God intended, the Bible was never ment to be twisted to fit our needs, we were ment to bend and conform to God's will. And ultimately anyone who distorts God's word will answer to Him (Revelation 22:18).
You'll ultimately have to judge for yourself though, just read the Bible with a heart that is open to God's direction. He'll always give it to you straight so long as you ask (Matthew 7:7-8) so I suggest you just ask for His guidence & discernment as you read.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The source for my quotes.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
Baked Pigeons with Bacon & some food for thought
Servings: 3-4
6 Pigeons, cleaned
6 Bacon slices
Water
Salt & pepper to taste
Wrap a bacon slice around each de-boned dove breast. Place in shallow baking dish and add s&p. Add 1 C water. Cover and cook at 350 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours.
Thanks to Dave again. I've got two more of these babies. Whoever reads this could start a restraunt...and save money on the pest control for that restraunt. And if you start cooking up bugs you'd save all kinds of money. Dip those spiders in chocolate. You know I've always wanted to try chocolate covered crickets, everyone thinks I'm nuts. They do it all over the world. Heck, in Asia they eat LIVE squid as a test for bravery.
I remember way back in the day when I used to watch MTV (I think it was about 6-7 years ago when I stopped) I remember seeing Road Rules, only God knows what season it was, and they had a cook off between girls and boys & the girls made something really normal and good, and the boys made chocolate & cricket cookies. And they didn't tell the girls till after they had all eaten a cookie and one girl went and threw up. And I just remember thinking that I'd like to try those cookies b/c those girls were wusses.
6 Pigeons, cleaned
6 Bacon slices
Water
Salt & pepper to taste
Wrap a bacon slice around each de-boned dove breast. Place in shallow baking dish and add s&p. Add 1 C water. Cover and cook at 350 degrees for 1-1 1/2 hours.
Thanks to Dave again. I've got two more of these babies. Whoever reads this could start a restraunt...and save money on the pest control for that restraunt. And if you start cooking up bugs you'd save all kinds of money. Dip those spiders in chocolate. You know I've always wanted to try chocolate covered crickets, everyone thinks I'm nuts. They do it all over the world. Heck, in Asia they eat LIVE squid as a test for bravery.
I remember way back in the day when I used to watch MTV (I think it was about 6-7 years ago when I stopped) I remember seeing Road Rules, only God knows what season it was, and they had a cook off between girls and boys & the girls made something really normal and good, and the boys made chocolate & cricket cookies. And they didn't tell the girls till after they had all eaten a cookie and one girl went and threw up. And I just remember thinking that I'd like to try those cookies b/c those girls were wusses.
Tired of pigeon poop?
Well grab your BB Gun and get shooting...and then make dinner. Here is a recipe for cooking pigeon! There will be more posted at a later time and date.
Pan-Roasted Rock Doves
Servings: 3
4 Tbsp All purpose flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Black pepper
6 Rock Doves, cleaned
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Bacon drippings
1 C Dry white wine
1 1/2 C Veal or chicken broth
1 Tbsp Red currant jelly
Combine 2 Tbsp flour, salt & 1 tsp black pepper; dredge doves in mixture. Brown doves on both sides in butter and bacon drippings in a large skillet. Gradually add 1/2 C wine, 3/4 C broth & jelly. Cover and cook over low heat 40 minutes. Remove doves and keep warm.
Combine 2 Tbsp flour, 1/2 C wine & 3/4 C broth, stirring until flour dissolves. Gradually add flour mixture to the pan drippings. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Serve the gravy with doves.
Thanks to David L. Shangle, BCE (Dalsh Consulting, Burr Ridge, IL) for the recipe!
Pan-Roasted Rock Doves
Servings: 3
4 Tbsp All purpose flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Black pepper
6 Rock Doves, cleaned
2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Bacon drippings
1 C Dry white wine
1 1/2 C Veal or chicken broth
1 Tbsp Red currant jelly
Combine 2 Tbsp flour, salt & 1 tsp black pepper; dredge doves in mixture. Brown doves on both sides in butter and bacon drippings in a large skillet. Gradually add 1/2 C wine, 3/4 C broth & jelly. Cover and cook over low heat 40 minutes. Remove doves and keep warm.
Combine 2 Tbsp flour, 1/2 C wine & 3/4 C broth, stirring until flour dissolves. Gradually add flour mixture to the pan drippings. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Serve the gravy with doves.
Thanks to David L. Shangle, BCE (Dalsh Consulting, Burr Ridge, IL) for the recipe!
Sunday, June 05, 2005
Acts 8:36-38, what's up with the NIV?
Acts 8:36-38
NIV: As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
NKJV: Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" 37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
Why doesn't the NIV have verse 37? They even number it like they are missing something, it jumps from 36 to 38! This distresses me deeply. Why would the NIV cut out the most important part? Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God, that's the whole point of the Bible; we are to know God through His Son.
How are we supposed to understand who Jesus is if the truth gets edited out? If someone were only to be allowed to read this one passage, and they were handed a NIV they would walk away never knowing that Jesus is the Son of God!
I can't help but wonder what else has been edited out of God's Word.
NIV: As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
NKJV: Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" 37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water,
and he baptized him.
Why doesn't the NIV have verse 37? They even number it like they are missing something, it jumps from 36 to 38! This distresses me deeply. Why would the NIV cut out the most important part? Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God, that's the whole point of the Bible; we are to know God through His Son.
How are we supposed to understand who Jesus is if the truth gets edited out? If someone were only to be allowed to read this one passage, and they were handed a NIV they would walk away never knowing that Jesus is the Son of God!
I can't help but wonder what else has been edited out of God's Word.
Friday, June 03, 2005
Today is 7 years
Today is the 7th anniversary of our arrival to Illinois. Today, 7 years ago, I was filled with grief; deeply mourning the loss of my beloved friends & home. I was uprooted and dragged across the country to a place where we had nothing and no one. No place to live, no jobs lined up; just a boyfriend calling us, telling my mom he wanted her, but he couldn't be in Florida anymore.
Yet somehow she pulled us through, she got an apartment and a job within 48 hours of our arrival. Admist the chaos of setting up a new home, a teenager deeply angry and resentful, and probably quite a bit of heart ache (Dan chose to get us up here then hid from us saying we were stalking him) she was a pillar of strength.
I don't remember seeing her doubt our purpose, she never cried in front of us though I'm sure she did cry. And today I look back, fondly and see God's mighty Hand in it all. He guided us here, not to reunite mom & Dan, rather He brought us here so I might be saved. If not for the heart ached then I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't have my husband and two children, and I most certainly couldn't say that I was going to heaven. But I can say it now. And I thank God for that pain 7 years ago.
Yet somehow she pulled us through, she got an apartment and a job within 48 hours of our arrival. Admist the chaos of setting up a new home, a teenager deeply angry and resentful, and probably quite a bit of heart ache (Dan chose to get us up here then hid from us saying we were stalking him) she was a pillar of strength.
I don't remember seeing her doubt our purpose, she never cried in front of us though I'm sure she did cry. And today I look back, fondly and see God's mighty Hand in it all. He guided us here, not to reunite mom & Dan, rather He brought us here so I might be saved. If not for the heart ached then I wouldn't be where I am today. I wouldn't have my husband and two children, and I most certainly couldn't say that I was going to heaven. But I can say it now. And I thank God for that pain 7 years ago.
Thursday, June 02, 2005
A brief update
Let me think...I'll start with William I guess. He's doing wonderfully, God is really doing a great work in this little boy. He is talking so much more now, it is remarkable. Just a few of his new favorite things to say include: Baby (meaning birdy), Where did he go? (this is his first sentance!), More juice (his first two word combination), drink, milk, Sasha, cheese, go, Jesus, Amen, and Andy (Andy is his uncle and the only person on Chris' side of the family that William wasn't saying.) So, yes we are very excited. On the downside, he's going through another "I don't eat anything but cereal, noodles, or toast with cream cheese" phase. It's cute but frustrating.
Julianne is doing well, getting big. She is in love with her toes, looking at them, biting them, it's all about the toes. She continues to be enamored with her big brother, and is currently in love with my friend and her two daughters. Not that I blame her, Kristin is one heck of a person and her kids are so cute you could just eat them!
Sasha, our dog, drives me crazy. She still goes potty in the house occasionally, and barks all the time. But she's good with the kids, and she watches the house so...yea.
Our veggie garden is starting to take. I'm going to have to put these plants in the ground soon, the pots are getting crowded. My lavender is taking its sweet time, but I'm not sure how fast it is supposed to grow so whatever. And the flowers Kristin gave me are reviving nicely.
........
On a more personal note, God has been amazingly faithful to me. I've been having a lot of stress the last couple of weeks, yet without fail when I turn to Him and ask for help He gives me a deep sense of peace. Randomly I feel like I can't go on, that I'm not strong enough for this and when I cry out to Jesus it's like His hand is on my shoulder and He is whispering that everything is going to be alright. I can't begin to tell you how great that is.
I love that even when I'm alone on my floor in tears I'm not ever actually alone. I've got a support that never fails. And as if that weren't enough, God has blessed me with a new friend who always seems to manage to say exactly what I need to hear. What God puts on my heart she manages to confirm even without me saying anything. I don't know why He loves me this much, but I sure am glad He does!
Julianne is doing well, getting big. She is in love with her toes, looking at them, biting them, it's all about the toes. She continues to be enamored with her big brother, and is currently in love with my friend and her two daughters. Not that I blame her, Kristin is one heck of a person and her kids are so cute you could just eat them!
Sasha, our dog, drives me crazy. She still goes potty in the house occasionally, and barks all the time. But she's good with the kids, and she watches the house so...yea.
Our veggie garden is starting to take. I'm going to have to put these plants in the ground soon, the pots are getting crowded. My lavender is taking its sweet time, but I'm not sure how fast it is supposed to grow so whatever. And the flowers Kristin gave me are reviving nicely.
........
On a more personal note, God has been amazingly faithful to me. I've been having a lot of stress the last couple of weeks, yet without fail when I turn to Him and ask for help He gives me a deep sense of peace. Randomly I feel like I can't go on, that I'm not strong enough for this and when I cry out to Jesus it's like His hand is on my shoulder and He is whispering that everything is going to be alright. I can't begin to tell you how great that is.
I love that even when I'm alone on my floor in tears I'm not ever actually alone. I've got a support that never fails. And as if that weren't enough, God has blessed me with a new friend who always seems to manage to say exactly what I need to hear. What God puts on my heart she manages to confirm even without me saying anything. I don't know why He loves me this much, but I sure am glad He does!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
