It doesn't happen terribly often anymore that my mind is so drawn to a thought that I crawl out of my warm bed, take to this blog and attempt to share it. Tonight is such a night when I have done so, and finding a chill in the air of a farmhouse with dwindling coals in the wood stove, have donned a pink corduroy jacket to sit and try to stir someone else's thoughts with words from my own simple heart.
In one minute, as I sit at this keyboard and screen, Thanksgiving 2015 will be behind us. By the time this actual posting, with all its meanderings, is seen on this page, Thanksgiving 2015 will be over, moving farther and farther into the collective past of our Nation, and soon will be referred to as last Thanksgiving.
This Thanksgiving was pitted with concerns of terrorist threats in our country and abroad. On the heels of terrorist attacks in Beirut, France, and a shut down in Brussels, many of us wondered if we would make it through Thanksgiving Day without incident. At this writing I can say, so far, so good.
In the morning, the television news reporters will, no doubt, share stories of Black Friday shenanigans that have occurred while many or most of us slept (or sat at key boards in corduroy jackets typing). I can only pray, in moments of quiet solitude as I type, that our malls and stores will not be targets of those who are full of hatred for anyone who does not believe the same way these terrorists believe. And that thought, the thought that these terrorists do hate - that they hate with a violent hatred - is a part of the thought that drew me from my bed into this chill November farmhouse air.
I know terrorists won't want to hear this but terrorism inspires love and gratitude in the hearts of men.
In the same way "absence makes the heart grow fonder," terrorism inspires love and gratitude in the hearts of men. When we no longer have the same sense of security we had before, we miss that sense of security. When we are unsure of our safety as we congregate in malls or shopping centers, we miss that sense of safety. When we do not know that our loved ones are any more secure than Paris, France was two weeks ago today we cherish all the more every single moment we get to spend with that family, with those friends, with those neighbors. And, even though our heads will tell us we should never take any of those things for granted, that we should always treat each moment as if it will be the last, none of us do, we just don't, let's admit that we don't do as we should for once. We take for granted the things we have and we savor the things we suspect we are about to lose, or that are under threat of loss and we all acutely feel, whether we admit it or not, whether we allow our minds to go there or not, that we may lose our beyond-words-special way of life in America.
So this year, Thanksgiving 2015: The dinner tasted a little more delicious, the desserts a little more delectable. The company I shared was a little sweeter and more dear than I remembered it being before. Our freedoms and liberties, our very way of American life seems more valuable, our military service men and women seemed more precious as they served without benefit of spending the day with their families.
I don't know, maybe I'm just turning into a soft-hearted old woman but I don't think so, I think terrorism inspires love and gratitude in the hearts of men, and I think that is the exact opposite of what terrorists would like...they want us in fear, not grateful for the love we share and the lives we enjoy, not continuing to set aside days of gratitude for what God has given us, our "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)
"...He said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?" (Matthew 8:26,27)We do not marvel enough at the power of our Lord. We need to remember and pray to Him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" (Matthew 8:25) He can deliver "great calm," we must ask.
Terrorists suck but.. http://www.al-islam.org/greater-sins-volume-1-ayatullah-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi/dedication
ReplyDeleteI don't mean to be contentious, it's just that as a Christian nation our supreme court (Mullahs) have legitimized homosexuality and the west as a whole seems to trivialize sin as being merely human nature while it seems to me that Islamic nations try harder to follow the laws of God. I would venture a guess that 100% of Christians in the west simply ignore the biblical teachings with which they disagree due to our "modernity". Most have become so arrogant as to believe we know better than God. No one will agree with everything in Islam just as no one will agree with everything in the bible. Yet there is too much commonality in the teachings of both to be ignored.
ReplyDelete2 cents ;)
I don't mean to be contentious either but I have found working on my own relationship with God, learning to fully desire God and to find my satisfaction in Him is where I want to be, I want to love Him with great abandon! :)
ReplyDeleteI care about other Christians deeply and always want to encourage other Christians to desire God and find their satisfaction in Him as well. If I and they do that, we will glorify God. We naturally glorify God when we are satisfied in Him (see John Piper, desiringgod.org on the subject of Christian hedonism). When we are satisfied in Him, we want to please Him, we want to do good and to not sin, we feel convicted by sin when we do it and we want to avoid it because it grieves our spirit to grieve God's Spirit.
I cannot spend my time worrying about those who "simply ignore the Biblical teaching with which they disagree due to... "modernity,"" I hope I am not one who does this, I question whether one who does this is truly a Christian because if they are truly a Christian we will "know them by their fruit" (Matt. 7:16). A *true* Christian would be seeking what pleases God, not seeking what pleases himself or herself, not seeking to justify the very things which grieve God's Spirit - if that is all this person choosing to ignore Biblical teachings cares about doing then it is likely they are not Christian at all in any true sense of the word.
I would take exception to only one of your points. You stated, "no one will agree with everything in the bible." I do, I agree with God. I may not always want to agree with God, sometimes it may be quite painful to agree with God, sometimes I may have to figure out HOW I can agree with God on every point but certainly, since the Bible tells me that the Word is eternal, that, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1) I must and will agree with it because to disagree with the Word would be to disagree with God Himself. That I do not want to do and, in fact, believe would be a grave sin. So, no, not to be contentious, just to share my thoughts and beliefs with you about that. I love you, brother and I appreciate you taking the time to read my post and comment.
The bible stresses throughout that we are to seek knowledge, wisdom & understanding.. These admonitions are what seem to have thrown me a curveball..
ReplyDeleteWhen I talk about ignoring the law I speak of Leviticus (old law, Mosaic law) which I understand has been superseded by the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament.
Yet if God is perfect why was there ever a need to change the law? Meaning it should not have been due to unexpected circumstances. In many ways the New Testament clearly disagrees with the teachings of the old testament (amputations & stoning weren't invented in the Quran). How is this different than saying the old testament was wrong or is outdated (due to modernity)?
On top of that the bible warns us to beware of "false prophets".
Matt 24:11, Luke 6:26, First John 4:1, Jeremiah 23:16, Matthew 7:15, Ezekiel 13:9
Yet the Christian religion itself has split into at least 35 different sects / denominations.. Catholic, Baptist, Methodist / Wesleyan, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Protestant, Pentecostal/Charismatic, Episcopalian/Anglican, Mormon / Latter-Day Saints, Churches of Christ to name but a few..
There are even 4 different sects of Judaism Essenes, Pharisees, Sadducees & Zealots
And of course there are Sunni, Shi`ite, Sufis, Baha’is & Ahmadiyyas Islam.
And we can get to some pretty interesting reading with: Comparing two creation stories: one from Genesis
and the other from Babylonian pagan sources: http://www.religioustolerance.org/com_geba.htm
Everyone can't be "right", belief can't be whatever one wishes to believe (or what Constantine says it is). There can only be one truth. I feel maybe the quote below is it..
Luke 17:20-21 King James Version (KJV)
20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
And this principle (to strive to be Christlike), at least for me, seems to be most clearly expressed by The Essenes http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/portrait/essenes.html and, to a lesser degree, the Gnostics.
And of course this is to say nothing of the Sumerians, Babylonians or the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Daniel 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased
In my opinion the seeking after knowledge, wisdom & understanding should not be overly simplified or trivialized. For me it's an ongoing search with much complexity.
Ok.. I better quit before I do write a book, lol
"Yet if God is perfect why was there ever a need to change the law? Meaning it should not have been due to unexpected circumstances."
ReplyDeleteReply: It isn't a question of God's perfection, it has to do with God giving man free will. Man must choose God. God didn't want man to be disobedient and unfaithful to Him but once man was disobedient and unfaithful God made a way through Christ for us to have right relationship with Him again, first, old testament blood sacrifice covered over man's sin, then the blood of Christ.
I'll take your word that, "...the Christian religion itself has split into at least 35 different sects," I've never looked into that myself as it isn't something that really matters to me. I chose Christ, not religion, however, the Bible directs us that we should fellowship and worship God with one another. In my view, and due to the church I was raised in, as you know, I have stayed with the Southern Baptist Church and have chosen to be a member of such, but if tomorrow I left there and joined some other protestant church it wouldn't really change my Christian status - now, that said, it wouldn't make much sense for me to join a church which didn't believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world. I believe in the Bible - there are some differences in interpretations of certain Scriptures of the Bible among the different denominations. Each believer has their own responsibility to settle any questions they have in their minds through whatever means as led by the Holy Spirit. I am, for the most part, VERY satisfied with the Southern Baptist interpretations of Scripture however, it isn't necessarily mandatory that I agree 100% with every single one of their interpretations to be able to worship with and fellowship with members of the church to which I belong. It is my relationship with Christ which determines my Christianity, not the particular building or denomination of Protestant church to which I attend or belong.
"Everyone can't be "right"" Oh, I agree. I believe the Bible...I can't and don't want to force anyone else to believe the Bible - even God Himself gave man free will and gives man choice, I have no desire to force my beliefs on anyone else and unless some other faith is trying to kill me because I won't convert to THEIR religion I feel entirely tolerant of other religions. I have told you before that, for me, I have CHOSEN to believe the Bible, and I believe it is inerrant and if fully understood does NOT disagree with itself. The Bible tells me that there is only one way to the Father and that one way is through the Son. That is what I believe, I believe also, by the way that I am right and that people who do not believe as I are wrong. I do not believe there are many pathways to heaven. I believe there is one pathway to heaven, through Jesus Christ. It is why Christians share the Gospel (good news) of Christ, because God wants everyone to be saved through Christ and He has asked us to share and appeal to others to be saved through Christ also because He doesn't want any one to be lost without Him but He gave man free will and choice. He wants us to accept the free gift He has offered us - it is the reason we celebrate Christmas every year, to commemorate the birth of Christ, Immanuel (God with us), the Messiah, the Savior of the world but, He will only be our Savior if we allow Him to be.
John 14:6 says, "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Love you.
I'll quit bugging you now! Love you sis
ReplyDelete;)
Well, I need to add one more comment that has been nagging me, you wrote: "...if God is perfect why was there ever a need to change the law?" God did not change the law. Christ addressed that notion in Matthew 5 when He said, beginning with verse 17, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfulled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven...." Matthew 5:17-20
ReplyDeleteThe law is unchanging - God's plan is afoot and progresses second by second, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day...generation by generation...century by century...you get the drift. ;)
There, now perhaps we'll have MUCH to talk about at Christmas. Hehe.