I received an encouraging email today and checked with Snopes.com to make sure that it was correctly attributed and a valid column which it is. The column was written by Regina Brett a long time columnist for Ohio newspapers and a Pulitzer Prize finalist for 2009. She wrote it in 2006 when she turned 50, not 90 as the internet version states. To read more about what Snopes has to say, you can go to this link: http://www.snopes.com/glurge/lifelessons.asp
I thought it had enough merit to share here today:
" I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.It is the most-requested column I've ever written."My odometer rolled over to 50 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.5. Pay off your credit cards every month.6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.11.. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.24. The most important sex organ is the brain.25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'27. Always choose life.28. Forgive everyone everything.29. What other people think of you is none of your business.30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.33. Believe in miracles.34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.37. Your children get only one childhood.38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.42. The best is yet to come.43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.44. Yield.45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
I hope this gives you some encouragement in today's challenging times.
Blessings,
Jan
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
This morning as we were eating breakfast, we had a visitor. He sat on the window ledge right outside the window above our stairwell, pecking the window incessantly. The sunlight must have been hitting the window just right so that he could see his own reflection and thought it was another male cardinal threatening his territory.
For quite some time now I've heard both male and female cardinals pecking at our window. I sneak up the stairs and watch to see which ones are there. No other birds do this; just the cardinals.
As I was thinking about this, I was struck by the futility of this beautiful little bird's efforts. He must have sat there for over an hour pecking valiantly away. It reminded me of what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes about the vanities of life.
It also made me consider what things in my own life have been futile attempts to protect a 'territory'. We all have them, don't we? These are the things that are we often hold onto that we shouldn't; those things that we think we own when we don't. I've struggled in this area of my life, but, God has used many circumstances to teach me that all I have belongs to Him and if I can just remember to see my life as purposed by Him rather than in my own control, I won't keep pecking away at things I can't change.
I've had a lot of time to learn this principle in the past 5 years; and the learning was tough. God uprooted us from a church we helped to plant. It was a very painful process because those roots ran deep. But through it all I can look back and see that God was teaching me much-needed lessons about ownership.
What things do we sometimes try to hold onto? I love the way Paul puts it in Philippians:
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, 4 although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Phil 3:2-11 (NASB)
In other words, what we learn from Paul is that there is nothing of any value outside of Jesus Christ! Anything else falls into Solomon's 'vanity' category.
So, dear one...where is your confidence? What are you pecking away at today? Whatever it is, do you think you can let go of it for "the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ"? I know it sometimes seems like there's so much to lose, but, from an eternal perspective, there's so much more to gain!
Loving you in Jesus,
Jan
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Does God ordain war?
Recently, in an email exchange with my son, Jon, a statement was made which raised the question : Does God ordain war? While not directly asked, it was raised nonetheless, and it intrigued me enough to spend some time considering this especially in light of what is happening in Afghanistan and other places throughout the world. And, of course, as with any question pertaining to God, rather than consult with man's opinion, I start with what the Bible itself says.
First, how does the Bible in its original language define war? Here's a basic word study from Strongs Concordance and Vines' Expository Dictionary on the word WAR:
Cross Reference: TWOT - 1104c
Part of Speech: n f
Vine's Words: Fight (To), War
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
war 158 battle 151 fight 5 warriors +
from
—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
WAR Usage Number: 1
Part Of Speech: Noun
Strong's Number:
Original Word: מִלְחָמָה, milḥāmâ
Usage Notes: "war; battle; skirmish; combat." This word has a cognate only in Ugaritic. Biblical Hebrew attests it 315 times and in all periods.
This word means "war," the over-all confrontation of two forces (Gen. 14:2). It can refer to the engagement in hostilities considered as a whole, the "battle": "…And they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim" (Gen. 14:8). This word is used not only of what is intended but of the hand-to-hand fighting which takes place: "And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp" (Exod. 32:17). Milḥāmâ sometimes represents the art of soldiering, or "combat": "The Lord is a man of war…" (Exod. 15:3).
There are several principles which were supposed to govern "war" in the Old Testament. Unjust violence was prohibited, but "war" as a part of ancient life was led (Judg. 4:13) and used by God (Num. 21:14). If it was preceded by sacrifices recognizing His leadership and sovereignty (1 Sam. 7:9) and if He was consulted and obeyed (Judg. 20:23), Israel was promised divine protection (Deut. 20:1-4). Not one life would be lost (Josh. 10:11). God's presence in "battle" was symbolized by the ark of the covenant (1 Sam. 4:3-11). His presence necessitated spiritual and ritualistic cleanliness (Deut. 23:9-14). Before and during "battle," trumpets were blown placing the cause before God in anticipation of the victory and gratitude for it (Num. 10:9-10), as well as to relay the orders of the commanders. A war cry accompanied the initiation of "battle" (Josh. 6:5). At the beginning Israel's army consisted of every man over twenty and under fifty (Num. 1:2-3). Sometimes only certain segments of this potential citizens' army were summoned (Num. 31:3-6).
There were several circumstances which could exempt one from "war" (Num. 1:48-49; Deut. 20:5-8). Under David and Solomon there grew a professional army. It was especially prominent under Solomon, whose army was renowned for its chariotry. Cities outside Palestine were to be offered terms of surrender before being attacked. Compliance meant subjugation to slavery (Deut. 20:10-11). Cities and peoples within the Promised Land were to be utterly wiped out. They were under the ban (Deut. 2:34; Deut. 3:6; Deut. 20:16-18). This made these battles uniquely holy battles (a holy war) where everything was especially devoted and sacrificed to God. Israel's kings were admonished to trust in God as their strength rather than in a great many horses and chariots (Deut. 17:16). Her armies were forbidden to cut down fruit trees in order to build siege equipment (Deut. 20:19-20). Soldiers were paid by keeping booty won in "battle" (Num. 31:21-31). The entire army divided the spoil, even those in the rear guard (Num. 31:26-47; Judg. 5:30). God, too, was appointed a share (Num. 31:28-30).
—Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
So, as we see, God did not allow unjust violence, but He did lead and use war. That begs the question, what is 'unjust violence'? War as it occurred in the Bible seems so violent to us in our civilized view of life today. However, I supposed that 'unjust' might include things like the rape of women or children, which has occurred in war in more modern times, and may have occurred then as well. God did indeed instruct Israel to destroy entire nations and all they contained. This seems so cruel to us today. But, in Biblical times it was necessary to accomplish God's plan. And, when the battle followed the guidelines laid out by God, it was He who blessed the effort and rewarded Israel's faithfulness. But is war the same today as it was then? War has been used over time to expand empires, establish rulers, and governments. A healthy view of war, which seems like an oxymoron, was necessary, sometimes even for the survival of a people. But, over time as technology increased and the ravages of war broadened and the techniques of war began to be defined as an 'art', somehow, the view of war changed.
I wonder if some of that began with my generation? During the 60's and early 70's, we wanted to see our government revolutionized. With drugs came the euphoric sense that achieiving world peace was possible by a movement of idealistic, innocent young people who believed that love was the antidote for war and that love the entire world over at one time would establish the Utopian society we dreamt of. We were the 'hip' generation, consequently the label 'hippies'. We lived in communes with like-minded, ideological people, travelled to Woodstock; staged Viet Nam war protests and 'sit-ins' under banners of Love not War, and burned our bras. The Viet Nam 'conflict' maimed and killed our friends, sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally. It wasn't a declared war, so, why were we there? We couldn't make sense of it all and it caused us to mistrust our goverment.
Sometime, somehow during this period, sex and love became the same thing, and changed our views of tradional marriage and made the legalization of abortion possible. We became the 'me' generation and the generation that 'let it all hang out'. We didn't know; we didn't understand the basic sin nature of man. Our views were skewed by liberalism and psychedelic experiences, the embracing of other world religions and teachings of gurus like Timothy Leary that went on to spawn the New Age movement. They were fueled by the heartwrenching songs of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary and others, much of which had their roots in popularization of contemporary American folk music and people like Pete Seeger and Woodie Guthrie and others who were blacklisted during the paranoia of the McCarthy era. We thought that love would make us free, and put an end to all war. War became synonomous with evil. We viewed it as no longer necessary or able to protect our freedoms. People like Jane Fonda inspired us to be ashamed of our country instead of proud of it. The generations before us didn't know how to handle us. We were sure we had the answers, just like every generation before and after us, and we were certain that only if what we called 'The Establishment ' or 'the norm' was destroyed and replaced with our concept of the Utopian society would we as individuals and our country as a whole finally be able to live in absolute peace resulting in the end of all war. But, we were wrong. And, we didn't see that we were involved in a war of our own with invisible enemies in the form of traditions and the very principles this country was founded on. And, for most of us, God was just simply not part of that equation or our view of Him part the 'smorgasboard religion' we had adopted.
Somehow, through all of that, there was a noticeable change in our country's worldview on a number of issues. However, through the extremes of that movement, there were some positive changes. But, our country's view of war was changed. Rather than war being perceived as something necessary to protect our freedoms, it began to be perceived as evil, and the perception that our government couldn't be trusted grew along with it. And the feeling that world peace could be achieved by inner peace remained intertwined.
It is absolutely true that there is nothing fair about war. Death and destruction are the terrible and inevitable consequences of war. Man's inhumanity to man cannot be justified or reconciled by the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the bombing of Hiroshima. It can't be justified or reconciled by the death of Jews in gas chambers and the resulting physical and emotional destruction of Germany under Hitler. It can't be solved by Socialism or Marxism or Communism and I'm not thoroughly convinced it can be solved by Democracy. It isn't Democrat or Republican, Libertarian or Independent; liberal or conservative. God's Scriptural guidelines of government are successful only when a nation of people is obedient to God and we haven't seen that for a very long time.
War has changed. What could once be clearly defined is now cloudy and confusing. War isn't war any more. It's become a dirty word. We'd rather use terms like 'conflict' in an effort to make more palatable. And, Jon did have one good point: we sometimes become so excited about the victories of our troops that we forget to mourn for all those whose lives were lost, especially those who died outside of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior, no matter if they were 'one of ours' or 'one of theirs'. Hopefully, we can remember this when we pray for our troops.
So, does God ordain war? I believe He does WHEN it falls within the appropriate guidelines. History records the terrible atrocities committed when governments decided they could make that decision for God. So, when is that when? When our leaders pray for His direction and go forward feeling that they have received it. When they commit it to Him and to His leadership. When it seems evident that it is God's will to accomplish His higher purpose. But, the question remains...how often does this really happen? And the bigger question: have we gone so far from God in our nation that it is no longer possible that our leaders would truly seek and hear from Him? However, as we see by the Word Study definition, ordained by God or not, He can still use it. It's hard to imagine that God can be revealed to mankind through the seeming senselessness of war. However, I have to trust in God's total sovereignty and in the knowledge that His ways are not my own, even when I don't understand them.
The Bible does make it clear in Ezekiel and in Revelation that two very terrible wars are coming. There is no question that these wars will be ordained by God. It does not appear that they will happen on US soil. Will there be a war that will before those two? Only God knows. 911 exposed the fact that we are vulnerable. With the perceptions of so many about war, and the slant of our current government, I shudder to think what might happen if it did and pray for our leaders and especially for my grandchildren who may yet be faced with the darkest of times.
That's my take on it. What do you think?
First, how does the Bible in its original language define war? Here's a basic word study from Strongs Concordance and Vines' Expository Dictionary on the word WAR:
Cross Reference: TWOT - 1104c
Part of Speech: n f
Vine's Words: Fight (To), War
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
war 158 battle 151 fight 5 warriors +
from
—Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary
WAR Usage Number: 1
Part Of Speech: Noun
Strong's Number:
Original Word: מִלְחָמָה, milḥāmâ
Usage Notes: "war; battle; skirmish; combat." This word has a cognate only in Ugaritic. Biblical Hebrew attests it 315 times and in all periods.
This word means "war," the over-all confrontation of two forces (Gen. 14:2). It can refer to the engagement in hostilities considered as a whole, the "battle": "…And they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim" (Gen. 14:8). This word is used not only of what is intended but of the hand-to-hand fighting which takes place: "And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp" (Exod. 32:17). Milḥāmâ sometimes represents the art of soldiering, or "combat": "The Lord is a man of war…" (Exod. 15:3).
There are several principles which were supposed to govern "war" in the Old Testament. Unjust violence was prohibited, but "war" as a part of ancient life was led (Judg. 4:13) and used by God (Num. 21:14). If it was preceded by sacrifices recognizing His leadership and sovereignty (1 Sam. 7:9) and if He was consulted and obeyed (Judg. 20:23), Israel was promised divine protection (Deut. 20:1-4). Not one life would be lost (Josh. 10:11). God's presence in "battle" was symbolized by the ark of the covenant (1 Sam. 4:3-11). His presence necessitated spiritual and ritualistic cleanliness (Deut. 23:9-14). Before and during "battle," trumpets were blown placing the cause before God in anticipation of the victory and gratitude for it (Num. 10:9-10), as well as to relay the orders of the commanders. A war cry accompanied the initiation of "battle" (Josh. 6:5). At the beginning Israel's army consisted of every man over twenty and under fifty (Num. 1:2-3). Sometimes only certain segments of this potential citizens' army were summoned (Num. 31:3-6).
There were several circumstances which could exempt one from "war" (Num. 1:48-49; Deut. 20:5-8). Under David and Solomon there grew a professional army. It was especially prominent under Solomon, whose army was renowned for its chariotry. Cities outside Palestine were to be offered terms of surrender before being attacked. Compliance meant subjugation to slavery (Deut. 20:10-11). Cities and peoples within the Promised Land were to be utterly wiped out. They were under the ban (Deut. 2:34; Deut. 3:6; Deut. 20:16-18). This made these battles uniquely holy battles (a holy war) where everything was especially devoted and sacrificed to God. Israel's kings were admonished to trust in God as their strength rather than in a great many horses and chariots (Deut. 17:16). Her armies were forbidden to cut down fruit trees in order to build siege equipment (Deut. 20:19-20). Soldiers were paid by keeping booty won in "battle" (Num. 31:21-31). The entire army divided the spoil, even those in the rear guard (Num. 31:26-47; Judg. 5:30). God, too, was appointed a share (Num. 31:28-30).
—Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
So, as we see, God did not allow unjust violence, but He did lead and use war. That begs the question, what is 'unjust violence'? War as it occurred in the Bible seems so violent to us in our civilized view of life today. However, I supposed that 'unjust' might include things like the rape of women or children, which has occurred in war in more modern times, and may have occurred then as well. God did indeed instruct Israel to destroy entire nations and all they contained. This seems so cruel to us today. But, in Biblical times it was necessary to accomplish God's plan. And, when the battle followed the guidelines laid out by God, it was He who blessed the effort and rewarded Israel's faithfulness. But is war the same today as it was then? War has been used over time to expand empires, establish rulers, and governments. A healthy view of war, which seems like an oxymoron, was necessary, sometimes even for the survival of a people. But, over time as technology increased and the ravages of war broadened and the techniques of war began to be defined as an 'art', somehow, the view of war changed.
I wonder if some of that began with my generation? During the 60's and early 70's, we wanted to see our government revolutionized. With drugs came the euphoric sense that achieiving world peace was possible by a movement of idealistic, innocent young people who believed that love was the antidote for war and that love the entire world over at one time would establish the Utopian society we dreamt of. We were the 'hip' generation, consequently the label 'hippies'. We lived in communes with like-minded, ideological people, travelled to Woodstock; staged Viet Nam war protests and 'sit-ins' under banners of Love not War, and burned our bras. The Viet Nam 'conflict' maimed and killed our friends, sometimes physically, sometimes emotionally. It wasn't a declared war, so, why were we there? We couldn't make sense of it all and it caused us to mistrust our goverment.
Sometime, somehow during this period, sex and love became the same thing, and changed our views of tradional marriage and made the legalization of abortion possible. We became the 'me' generation and the generation that 'let it all hang out'. We didn't know; we didn't understand the basic sin nature of man. Our views were skewed by liberalism and psychedelic experiences, the embracing of other world religions and teachings of gurus like Timothy Leary that went on to spawn the New Age movement. They were fueled by the heartwrenching songs of Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary and others, much of which had their roots in popularization of contemporary American folk music and people like Pete Seeger and Woodie Guthrie and others who were blacklisted during the paranoia of the McCarthy era. We thought that love would make us free, and put an end to all war. War became synonomous with evil. We viewed it as no longer necessary or able to protect our freedoms. People like Jane Fonda inspired us to be ashamed of our country instead of proud of it. The generations before us didn't know how to handle us. We were sure we had the answers, just like every generation before and after us, and we were certain that only if what we called 'The Establishment ' or 'the norm' was destroyed and replaced with our concept of the Utopian society would we as individuals and our country as a whole finally be able to live in absolute peace resulting in the end of all war. But, we were wrong. And, we didn't see that we were involved in a war of our own with invisible enemies in the form of traditions and the very principles this country was founded on. And, for most of us, God was just simply not part of that equation or our view of Him part the 'smorgasboard religion' we had adopted.
Somehow, through all of that, there was a noticeable change in our country's worldview on a number of issues. However, through the extremes of that movement, there were some positive changes. But, our country's view of war was changed. Rather than war being perceived as something necessary to protect our freedoms, it began to be perceived as evil, and the perception that our government couldn't be trusted grew along with it. And the feeling that world peace could be achieved by inner peace remained intertwined.
It is absolutely true that there is nothing fair about war. Death and destruction are the terrible and inevitable consequences of war. Man's inhumanity to man cannot be justified or reconciled by the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the bombing of Hiroshima. It can't be justified or reconciled by the death of Jews in gas chambers and the resulting physical and emotional destruction of Germany under Hitler. It can't be solved by Socialism or Marxism or Communism and I'm not thoroughly convinced it can be solved by Democracy. It isn't Democrat or Republican, Libertarian or Independent; liberal or conservative. God's Scriptural guidelines of government are successful only when a nation of people is obedient to God and we haven't seen that for a very long time.
War has changed. What could once be clearly defined is now cloudy and confusing. War isn't war any more. It's become a dirty word. We'd rather use terms like 'conflict' in an effort to make more palatable. And, Jon did have one good point: we sometimes become so excited about the victories of our troops that we forget to mourn for all those whose lives were lost, especially those who died outside of knowing Jesus Christ as Savior, no matter if they were 'one of ours' or 'one of theirs'. Hopefully, we can remember this when we pray for our troops.
So, does God ordain war? I believe He does WHEN it falls within the appropriate guidelines. History records the terrible atrocities committed when governments decided they could make that decision for God. So, when is that when? When our leaders pray for His direction and go forward feeling that they have received it. When they commit it to Him and to His leadership. When it seems evident that it is God's will to accomplish His higher purpose. But, the question remains...how often does this really happen? And the bigger question: have we gone so far from God in our nation that it is no longer possible that our leaders would truly seek and hear from Him? However, as we see by the Word Study definition, ordained by God or not, He can still use it. It's hard to imagine that God can be revealed to mankind through the seeming senselessness of war. However, I have to trust in God's total sovereignty and in the knowledge that His ways are not my own, even when I don't understand them.
The Bible does make it clear in Ezekiel and in Revelation that two very terrible wars are coming. There is no question that these wars will be ordained by God. It does not appear that they will happen on US soil. Will there be a war that will before those two? Only God knows. 911 exposed the fact that we are vulnerable. With the perceptions of so many about war, and the slant of our current government, I shudder to think what might happen if it did and pray for our leaders and especially for my grandchildren who may yet be faced with the darkest of times.
That's my take on it. What do you think?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAMSE HIS COUNSELOR? OR WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen." Romans 11:33-36
How magnificent are those words of Paul! As Charles Spurgeon says in Morning and Evening about the last sentence in this passage: "this should be the single desire of the Christian." Is it?
As I look at the beautiful clouds blowing over my mountains this morning the colors are more the clearer because of the overcast sky. Even in November, our grass is as green as during the Spring because of the abundance of rain we've had. How can anyone doubt the existence of God? I would challenge them to stand on my back porch at just about any time of the year with the magnificence of the mountains against the clear NE Tennessee sky and the rolling hills and tell me that this 'evolved'. Is it not daily evidence for me that to God be the glory forever?
But, what about those things which are not so evident? Yes, Paul tells us in Romans 1 that in the face of overwhelming evidence about God man is without excuse for not believing. But, what about those 'other things'? Can I give God the glory when I hear the tragic story of a 5 year old girl who was recently sold into sexual slavery by her mother and found dead, her body abandoned by a roadside? Can I give God the glory when I see the moral decay eating away at the fibers of what once made this country great? Can I give God the glory when I see things close to home; even in my own family which grieve my heart? Can I give God the glory when I feel overwhelmed with the busyness of my life?
The answer to all these things must be yes. Yes, because I am not in control, but, because I know the One who is. Yes, because I know He grieves and I can never understand the depth of a grief that is based on seeing and knowing so much more than I could ever fathom. Yes, because I know that God is unchangeable and immutable; absolutely sovereign and just. Yes, because He remains on the throne; my Savior, Jesus, sits at His right hand, and I, according to Ephesians 1 and 2, even though once dead in my sins, have been raised up to sit at the right hand of God in Christ and through Christ. Because of all that, I can indeed give God the glory and join with Paul and say Amen and Amen!
Today...as you pause and reflect...can you? If not, please tell me. We can pray together that God will reach out and touch your heart; for salvation if you have never taken that step, or for healing and peace if you have.
May your day be blessed in the Lord.
Jan
How magnificent are those words of Paul! As Charles Spurgeon says in Morning and Evening about the last sentence in this passage: "this should be the single desire of the Christian." Is it?
As I look at the beautiful clouds blowing over my mountains this morning the colors are more the clearer because of the overcast sky. Even in November, our grass is as green as during the Spring because of the abundance of rain we've had. How can anyone doubt the existence of God? I would challenge them to stand on my back porch at just about any time of the year with the magnificence of the mountains against the clear NE Tennessee sky and the rolling hills and tell me that this 'evolved'. Is it not daily evidence for me that to God be the glory forever?
But, what about those things which are not so evident? Yes, Paul tells us in Romans 1 that in the face of overwhelming evidence about God man is without excuse for not believing. But, what about those 'other things'? Can I give God the glory when I hear the tragic story of a 5 year old girl who was recently sold into sexual slavery by her mother and found dead, her body abandoned by a roadside? Can I give God the glory when I see the moral decay eating away at the fibers of what once made this country great? Can I give God the glory when I see things close to home; even in my own family which grieve my heart? Can I give God the glory when I feel overwhelmed with the busyness of my life?
The answer to all these things must be yes. Yes, because I am not in control, but, because I know the One who is. Yes, because I know He grieves and I can never understand the depth of a grief that is based on seeing and knowing so much more than I could ever fathom. Yes, because I know that God is unchangeable and immutable; absolutely sovereign and just. Yes, because He remains on the throne; my Savior, Jesus, sits at His right hand, and I, according to Ephesians 1 and 2, even though once dead in my sins, have been raised up to sit at the right hand of God in Christ and through Christ. Because of all that, I can indeed give God the glory and join with Paul and say Amen and Amen!
Today...as you pause and reflect...can you? If not, please tell me. We can pray together that God will reach out and touch your heart; for salvation if you have never taken that step, or for healing and peace if you have.
May your day be blessed in the Lord.
Jan
Monday, November 16, 2009
Some of our dearest friends, Layne and Kristy were here visiting us a couple of weeks ago . We took them to the top of Viking Mountain and walked down to and then for a brief stint on the Appalachian Trail with Grandson, Asher and younger son, Tim. They snapped a photo of us two old fogies with Tim, Asher and our dog Polly, at the top of Viking Mountain. In the distance behind us is the town of Greeneville. It was a beautiful day and we had a nice walk. The A.T. goes right through the mountains behind us. Notice Asher is the youngest one in the group and the ONLY ONE with a trekking pole! Polly loves to go walking with us in the mountains...especially if there's any water. Being mostly Chocolate Lab and part Boykin Spaniel, she loves water. She's a strong swimmer and will hunt and chase sticks until she could drop! She's a fun dog.
Getting started
Well, I guess I need to start somewhere! Kara got me interested in doing a blog as a (hopefully) easier site to maintain than a webpage. I have to admit that I'm not very faithful at keeping up with these things, but, this may be easier. I wanted to have somewhere to post our Christmas newsletter and other fun updates about what's going on with us as well as hear from friends. So, I'm giving this a reply. If you read this, please take the time to comment so I know it's actually being visited!
Blessings,
Jan
Blessings,
Jan
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