Beginning of the End


Think hard about the following.

Right now I don’t care what the theologian says.  Right now I perceive far beyond my perception.  I write this for my sake (whatever the years may bring).  If it is at all useful to others may the Lord bless as his wisdom dictates.
__________________

It began as a joke; a singular break with eternal love.  A demeaning of another’s position; that which was given to every creature according to the wisdom of God for the fullness of life.  Laughter filled the air in a certain place.  Perhaps, even the one that was demeaned saw the humor for a moment.  But division was born.

A small distortion of truth began the dissension of unity.  A lie gave birth to death.  And didn’t death give birth to laughter?

Who did this?  Didn’t Jesus tell us?  “. . .He is the father of lies.”  Eventually 1/3 followed him.

Do you want to see his handiwork?  Take a good look at humanity.  See how prejudice rules with an iron fist.  See how ridicule is so dearly beloved.  Sarcasm is a breastplate of shining jewels, and how proud is the one who weilds it with a deft mind. [Don Rickles the king of demeaning]

Color, culture, history, ability, social position, economic status, political affiliation, nationality, and doesn’t the list seems endless.  Love does not do these things.

We laugh at one another’s faults because every man is full to overflowing with them.  But how quickly the laughter turns to murder.

BEGINNING OF ETERNITY

See how “the ones” go back to the things of a baby.

See how the colors of red and blue are new.

See how innocence begins to develop.

Because they heard the whisper from You.

Discord dissipates.

Acceptance is embraced.

And how the faithful hateful lie,

Is by Love replaced.

13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4)

By His grace;
By His grace,
By His grace!

The Sum of Love


The prowess of the inkwell is on vacation. Tis the Sabbath of expected diligence.

The following article will not be dressed for the egg head ball; that certain gathering of literary elegance. I will not even bother to knock on the door of the seamstress. Considering the content, let this article be ugly.
__________

In my youth, we constantly moved from place to place. I don’t remember spending a full year in any one school. I was always the new kid. I was always the threshold for the wannabe bullies. No one knew me, no one cared, I was a walking target for hatred. No more than an unknown animal in society, I was prime to be abused.

My first 17 years of life taught me that there is no such thing as love. There was only social acceptance. But social acceptance took time that I never had.

I quickly learned that this is what men call love. I endured their hatred, despising, outcasting, and beatings because I knew there was no end in sight. Needless to say, I became a despicable human being.

I found that the love of man is based on competition. If you perform well, according to their expectations, they embrace you readily. But let a fault show and they are heartless pursuers. And I was full to overflowing with faults.

I saw the accepted ones make mistakes. But there seemed to be an unwritten code of tolerance. A “one off” is accepted as if a simple mistake. Yes they paid a price for their mistakes, but it was not terminal.

If you want to beat the bully, believe in Christ the Son of God. If you want to strip your life of the competition that men call love, believe in the love of God.

God is not a man that he should pit us against one another.

God is not a man that he should honor the strength of body and social position.

As you are willing to believe, the power of God becomes greater than any persecution.

Blessed is the man who endures because he believes. The man who does not believe endures all things as punishment. And to whatever extent a man believes so his perception of punishment is lessened. His perception of life’s difficulties is reduced.

Where there is a solution to a problem a man may be willing to wait patiently for it and endure the problem. Such endurance confounds those who live to hate. When they find they cannot break something, eventually they become bored and walk away.

Looking over your shoulder is no way to live at peace; always in fear of punishment.

Do we believe our problems are temporary or do we believe they are the end of us?

Consider what Jesus has told us.

That Illogical Challenge


I remember the old challenge of the schoolyard bully, “Are you calling me a liar”  (That was said to me many times).  The only thing you could say and possibly avoid a beating, was nothing.

If your answer was no, you let him live without any repercussion.  He smelled weakness already.  You were going to get your butt beat.  If you said yes he found justification to do the same thing.

But the school yard is no detainment facility for bullies.  They graduate and move on into life.  I see them everywhere.  I even see reasonable people use their tactics.  It doesn’t matter: their social upbringing,  their age, or what possible justification they might imagine.  People will vent their hatred on anything they don’t understand.  And they absolutely abhor any other man telling them they’re wrong.

Let anyone challenge homosexuality and the challenger becomes a putrid stench.  Regardless what the godless say in response, they use the same challenge.  “Are you calling me a liar?”

This is their time.  Isn’t it?  They get to plot and rant and rave about everything wicked.  And there’s nothing any of the so-called weak can do about it.  Fine.  It’s your party.

Honestly I look so forward to leaving this place forever.  Jesus has put in me a desire for truth.  I wouldn’t have desired truth but the Lord had mercy to grant me that wisdom.  I yearn to leave behind these stupid idiotic challenges, in which neither side can win.

Yes the bully injures himself every single day he draws breath.  But he also spreads his venomous and innocuous “pride” to everyone he meets.

Look and see how he is praised for challenging truth.  “What a grand and brave soul to come out of the closet against the Most High God (and the people who love the Lord).  See how immensely he is praised.  I yearn to praise the Living God’s Holy Son.

Friends


If a man is a friend of God in Christ Jesus, he will receive from the world the same things God receives.

Count the cost.

The Missing


image

I see,
In great clarity,
The missing of “The Mark”.

Exactly why,
I just can’t tell,
The “missing” is so stark.

Can others see?
Why hide from me?
Come greet me in the Dark.

Is God Just?


I have heard people complain that God is not just.  They say, “He put us in this place.  He lets us do evil.  And then he condemns us to hell.”  Because of this, they have even grown strong to say there is no God.

Their answer comes back to them:  “You exist as an answer to he who first accused God of being unjust.  So this place was made to test the hearts of those who cannot see the Glory of God; that there will be many who love him despite the evil of this place.

Then to seal the answer, God has sent His Holy Son as a sacrifice for everyone who will believe that God is love, true, faithful, righteous, and merciful.

God asks the question of every man, woman and child: “Are you bold enough to believe Me?”