If you live in Texas you understand the term foundation problems. If you live in Houston you really understand it. We are at sea level so we don’t have basements, but a big slab of concrete. It shifts all the time. We have to water our foundations in times of extreme drought, or it cracks. We can see them all over homes. When you look to buy a home or sell your home that is one of the biggest selling points; no foundation problems, or if the foundation has been repaired.
When we remodeled this past year we repaired some older cracks that needed to be fixed. Those cracks are back and now we have new ones that we will have to be fixed. Cracks in our foundations are a sign that something could be wrong. We actually have individuals that can search for them, find them and fix them. God sees the cracks in our hearts and souls. He sees what needs be fixed, but when we ignore them over time they just become bigger cracks. Just patching them doesn’t always work, because they will just show back up. The small cracks can always become a bigger problem when they are ignored.
One of the things that I love about this country is the hope we have to always achieve something better. We are always determined to find a solution to the problem; hopefully. All of these issues are just cracks in our foundation that just got out of hand. We gave too much without understanding the consequence. We sought the Garden of Eden while forgetting that men are just men and women are just women.
I think about when Christians start to lose sight of what is in their hearts, and what they are capable of. They forget that their relationship has to constantly be repaired and fed to make it grow. Self-righteousness is one hell of crack. I have been accused on more than one occasion of being a pessimist. I will analyze the good and the bad. I would be trying to change the past, or just not taking a leap of faith.
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4
Over time we can only see the sin in our hearts and lose the ability to love our own beauty. We feel attacked at every turn, or we question what another sees of our life without accepting our hearts. We worry that people will think we are selfish if we don’t give. We get angry when someone tells us no. Our hearts break when someone isn’t paying attention to what we need. Here is the thing about God, and I know that most followers of Christ don’t understand this; heal your heart before you push yourself to do more than you can. When we don’t heal our own hearts our only motive becomes what the church tells us to do, society, our families or even our friends.
I wrote a blog posting sometime back called my apologies. I regret that posting in some ways now. The reason why I say this is because I wrote it out of the persecution from others for my passion of God and politics. I wrote it because of a couple of women accused me of having too much “drama.” God made me to be a passionate woman and a loving woman. He put my heart on my sleeve. He made my heart a heart that aches when people hurt. He also gave me a heart to fight, and to stand when I see something wrong. I do get a little too passionate sometimes.
"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:3-5
For years I have beat myself for being sick and that my husband married me. For some reason with my diagnosis I forgot that I was worthy enough for him. God put us together for a reason. We balance each other. He calms me down, and I remind him that life isn’t always so fair. A rose colored glass sometimes gets us in trouble. I remind him that he is strong enough to conquer the world if he wants to. The other reason is there aren’t too many men strong enough to take care of a wife that has a chronic illness. My husband on more than one occasion has proven that he is that man.
At the beginning of this year I had to remember that I was worthy enough for him to be married to me. I also had to remember that I was allowing my own insecurities with myself to be taken advantage of. While things weren’t done intentionally to hurt me I had allowed it to happen because I was afraid of saying anything. My husband has a beautiful heart, but he is not me. We have had to learn what is acceptable and what could be hurtful to the other.
For the first time since I was diagnosed I don’t feel guilty about telling someone no, and that I can’t do something physically; including my husband. That crack has been healed. It took ten years to heal. Guilt is our own issue; not His. If we are pushing ourselves to do something or be something we are not, all it means is that we need to fix the cracks in our own heart first. God loves us so much that he wants to heal us. He wants us to see both sides of every story, to pray for it, and heal it. We are a pretty harsh society. We have to have it one way or another. One view has to be for the masses. Too many laws and regulations stifle that.
We have a lot of cracks to fix in our lives. I don’t believe we can fix them without him. I don’t believe that we have a moral and ethical society do it. We pick and choose how we live with him in our lives. We have turned too many wrongs into rights. We fight everything with vengeance and anger. We don’t have the capability to hold ourselves accountable in this society, because we have become self-righteous, prideful, greedy, and an envious society. You may say to yourself while reading this that this isn’t me well can we really say that? I know I can’t. Take a step back, work on the cracks that we have in our hearts. Give ourselves the time to discern the bigger picture.
I have friends that say “well I want to give” and “I know I don’t need all of this.” They are struggling with what society is telling them to do. Don’t give anything right now except to your families. Don’t feel guilty for what God has blessed you with. Take a break and breathe. It takes a lot of courage and strength to face what is in our hearts. It takes such courage to be willing to say we have to fix this first before we can move forward. For some us our only goal right now is to keep our families on track and that is all he wants from us. There is nothing wrong with that, so please stop beating yourself up for it. Take care of your heart, protect it, heal it and most of all remember He does love you. If we begin to trust him a little more each day he will start working miracles.
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."2 Corinthians 12:9
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
We have to work for it. Not just money.
I get up in the middle night every day. At first I thought it had to do with my meds for my MS, but there at times where I have felt an urgency from him to pay attention. It does get old, but this is my time with Him. I have accepted this about my relationship with him. This is when I focus on him the most, and he knows that. The last couple of weeks I have been praying about some things that have become my idols. I should say distractions that are really interfering in my life.
I spend hours in solitude with him. I have made this sacrifice to him that I will do it, and he is holding me accountable to it. At the beginning I had no idea that this is what he was doing. I must say that God is very good at nagging you about stuff. He gives me sleep when I need it. He gives me the strength to make it through the day. He is not done with me on so many levels and when I ignore him out of fear I get myself in trouble. It is hard facing the issues we have in our hearts, or reality. It is beautiful thing when we finally see what he has been trying to show us.
My question is why are we aren’t we happy with our lives? Why are we looking at others to fulfill that void? What is in us that we think life should be easy and we don’t have to work for it. I’m not talking about money. Every fulfillment we have in our lives is because we worked for it. I have peace about certain things because I worked for it not because someone did it for me. Sometimes I wish we would just say no, or I can’t do that right now. I really do, because then we would be telling the truth. We can’t accept no from anyone, or we make them feel guilty for not doing it. I think we do that because we have our own guilt for the stuff we ignore, or for what we don’t do. Our bible study teacher said something Sunday that really struck a chord with me. “Compassion sometimes is doing something that we don’t want to do.” Sometimes telling someone no is the best thing we can do for someone, or actually being there to listen when someone needs us. I see the word “no” as forcing someone to do it on their own.
It would be refreshing if our government finally said we aren’t going to do it anymore. We can’t afford it. We have to fix it. We have to get rid of the stuff that citizens should be paying for on their own. We will protect you from the evils of the world. Help our seniors if they need it, and most of all our children. We will give individuals 6 or 7 months to get their lives back on track, but that is it. What we are seeing though is we want our debts erased. We don’t want to be really responsible for ourselves and our financial responsibilities. We may say it, but are actions go against our words. I understand that we are scared. I have to question individuals though on how this is fair to another that did the right thing, and is still doing it. This should have nothing to do with how wealthy someone is if we have God in our hearts.
Monday I went to the doctor, and when I got out I had to get some prescriptions filled. I picked up my re-fills as well. My co-pays have gone up again. I’ve accepted the fact that with the health care bill they are going up. I can afford my insurance. My husband’s portion is paid for by his company as a benefit to him; part of his salary but this probably won't happen much longer. We have to cover our family though.. A gentleman was there also. A senior in his 80’s. His co-pays have gone up also. One of his meds was deemed too expensive by Medicare. I could see the fear and concern in his eyes.
We talked about it. He said I have worked all my life. I have good private insurance and I can afford to pay for my medicine right now out of my pocket that the insurance will no longer cover. He said “I don’t know about my friends that can’t and are relying on Medicare to cover it.” The bill is affecting us, will affect us and we have to brace our selves for that. So many wanted affordable healthcare, but the problem is it doesn’t affect just a few it affects all of us and it costs a lot of money to do that. I can pay for my insurance and my extra co-pays. That is not always going to be the case because my family has to cover socialized medicine now. This is the truth, and all you have to do is look at European countries that have been doing this for years.
Did anyone think about how this would affect those that are ill, have chronic illenesses, or our seniors? No they didn’t. I was angry in the beginning about all of this, because I understood what it meant. My care will be deemed too expensive in a lot of cases because we have to cover the masses. I don’t blame my insurance company, or my drug company. I blame the United States government and all those citizens that supported this. We are one hell of a selfish country.
I am not wealthy, and to be honest I do not feel bad for our government workers that have to pay more now. This is the private sector, and government jobs are paid by individuals like my husband. I really don’t feel bad that union workers are losing their collective bargaining rights. The more that the employees ask for that work for the government we have to pay for in the private sector. Please stop, and tell them to fix the problems. They are killing us financially. Yes, government employees pay taxes but if corporations and businesses get taxed more, get slammed with higher healthcare costs or regulations you are biting the very hand that feeds you.
I pray that our president does not win again. I pray that a man gets in there and runs the country like a business. I pray that he has enough courage to tell the American people that it is time for us take accountability for our lives. I pray that people understand that the more we ask of them we will fall economically and they have control over our lives. Where will we be then? Military will be weak. Police and fire departments will be cut more. Education will be worse than it is now. Most of all our children will suffer more in the future. I don’t know if I could live with that guilt and regret in my heart.
"Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him? (Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 ESV)"
I spend hours in solitude with him. I have made this sacrifice to him that I will do it, and he is holding me accountable to it. At the beginning I had no idea that this is what he was doing. I must say that God is very good at nagging you about stuff. He gives me sleep when I need it. He gives me the strength to make it through the day. He is not done with me on so many levels and when I ignore him out of fear I get myself in trouble. It is hard facing the issues we have in our hearts, or reality. It is beautiful thing when we finally see what he has been trying to show us.
My question is why are we aren’t we happy with our lives? Why are we looking at others to fulfill that void? What is in us that we think life should be easy and we don’t have to work for it. I’m not talking about money. Every fulfillment we have in our lives is because we worked for it. I have peace about certain things because I worked for it not because someone did it for me. Sometimes I wish we would just say no, or I can’t do that right now. I really do, because then we would be telling the truth. We can’t accept no from anyone, or we make them feel guilty for not doing it. I think we do that because we have our own guilt for the stuff we ignore, or for what we don’t do. Our bible study teacher said something Sunday that really struck a chord with me. “Compassion sometimes is doing something that we don’t want to do.” Sometimes telling someone no is the best thing we can do for someone, or actually being there to listen when someone needs us. I see the word “no” as forcing someone to do it on their own.
It would be refreshing if our government finally said we aren’t going to do it anymore. We can’t afford it. We have to fix it. We have to get rid of the stuff that citizens should be paying for on their own. We will protect you from the evils of the world. Help our seniors if they need it, and most of all our children. We will give individuals 6 or 7 months to get their lives back on track, but that is it. What we are seeing though is we want our debts erased. We don’t want to be really responsible for ourselves and our financial responsibilities. We may say it, but are actions go against our words. I understand that we are scared. I have to question individuals though on how this is fair to another that did the right thing, and is still doing it. This should have nothing to do with how wealthy someone is if we have God in our hearts.
Monday I went to the doctor, and when I got out I had to get some prescriptions filled. I picked up my re-fills as well. My co-pays have gone up again. I’ve accepted the fact that with the health care bill they are going up. I can afford my insurance. My husband’s portion is paid for by his company as a benefit to him; part of his salary but this probably won't happen much longer. We have to cover our family though.. A gentleman was there also. A senior in his 80’s. His co-pays have gone up also. One of his meds was deemed too expensive by Medicare. I could see the fear and concern in his eyes.
We talked about it. He said I have worked all my life. I have good private insurance and I can afford to pay for my medicine right now out of my pocket that the insurance will no longer cover. He said “I don’t know about my friends that can’t and are relying on Medicare to cover it.” The bill is affecting us, will affect us and we have to brace our selves for that. So many wanted affordable healthcare, but the problem is it doesn’t affect just a few it affects all of us and it costs a lot of money to do that. I can pay for my insurance and my extra co-pays. That is not always going to be the case because my family has to cover socialized medicine now. This is the truth, and all you have to do is look at European countries that have been doing this for years.
Did anyone think about how this would affect those that are ill, have chronic illenesses, or our seniors? No they didn’t. I was angry in the beginning about all of this, because I understood what it meant. My care will be deemed too expensive in a lot of cases because we have to cover the masses. I don’t blame my insurance company, or my drug company. I blame the United States government and all those citizens that supported this. We are one hell of a selfish country.
I am not wealthy, and to be honest I do not feel bad for our government workers that have to pay more now. This is the private sector, and government jobs are paid by individuals like my husband. I really don’t feel bad that union workers are losing their collective bargaining rights. The more that the employees ask for that work for the government we have to pay for in the private sector. Please stop, and tell them to fix the problems. They are killing us financially. Yes, government employees pay taxes but if corporations and businesses get taxed more, get slammed with higher healthcare costs or regulations you are biting the very hand that feeds you.
I pray that our president does not win again. I pray that a man gets in there and runs the country like a business. I pray that he has enough courage to tell the American people that it is time for us take accountability for our lives. I pray that people understand that the more we ask of them we will fall economically and they have control over our lives. Where will we be then? Military will be weak. Police and fire departments will be cut more. Education will be worse than it is now. Most of all our children will suffer more in the future. I don’t know if I could live with that guilt and regret in my heart.
"Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him? (Ecclesiastes 3:16-22 ESV)"
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
I hope this offends you
I just scanned two articles regarding the Occupy Wall Street protests. One was that a 6 year old girl was living in a tent with heroin addicts/dealers. The other was about a 14 year old girl that possibly could have been raped, and the police are now investigating. Can we explain how this is the same as the tea party movement in this country? Is it because practicing their right of free speech? I don’t think I have one article about a child being raped and another living with heroin addicts in a tent at tea party movement.
Disgusting and vile are the only words that I can describe the abuse of a child. The protestors want Wall Street to be held accountable for its practices. I get it. I get that individuals believe that this is the reason why they don’t have jobs or money. The government and financial institutions work together. The government regulates and Wall Street has to make up the revenue loss. Do you see Wall Street executives out on the streets raping girls? Do you see them living in a tent with a 6 year old girl handing out heroin? How the hell is this accountability? Where is the accountability of our President that supports this movement as well as so many in his party?
A couple of weeks they opened the memorial for Martin Luther King Jr. on the Washington Mall. President Obama said that he would have supported the protests. Reverend King did support violence Mr. President and never would have supported violence or neglect of a child. Nancy Pelosi and her crew think that it is wonderful that these Americans are standing up for their rights. I really hope that I never meet her.
I have to admit that I have reached a whole new level of shame and anger regarding this country this morning. I have started to question even more why anyone would support our president and really be a democrat. If you can explain the ideology about the unfairness of not having money, but yet be abused continually by your own government please explain. If you can explain why you have a right to anything other than food, shelter, and clothing please tell me? We are to protect innocent life in this country, but would rather spread the wealth around. Why is that so important to so many when children are being hurt? Where is the justice in that?
We are fighting about higher taxes, affordable healthcare, welfare, job bills, defense cuts, immigration, gay marriage, college tuition, etc but yet our children are being hurt the most. We give more protection to evil in this country because of circumstance now and it is quite frankly unacceptable. We are supposed to have compassion for the drug addict that neglects a child. We are supposed to have compassion for a rapist because of his or her childhood. We have to be supportive of Muslims, but yet they marry 8 year old girls, rape their wives because they think are entitled to, or my favorite on is stone a woman in an arena because she looked at another man.
Most recently I read article that pedophiles would like the same rights as homosexuals, because theirs’ is a lifestyle. The intellectual elite are saying that we have to understand this is acceptable behavior, and they should receive the same rights as consenting adults in their sexual relationships. This is natural for them, and we should understand this is the same as our own sexual desires. My mother was a social worker for sexually abused children, and we should give pedophiles the death penalty in this country. There is no justice strong enough for someone that hurts an innocent life. I can’t write anymore about this.
We can fight all we want about these other issues, but aren’t we supposed to protect children. I will ask my friends that are on the left is this ok with you, and does it really matter if you have affordable healthcare? Does it really matter to us so much that we don’t make a million dollars, and we think that is unfair?
I hope this posting offended some of us, because if we support the left side in this country then this is what we are allowing all because of money. We wanted defense cuts in this country all because of “social services.” We wanted to show compassion for evil. I hope that I lose friends in my life over this posting today, because you know what it is going to show me that this is exactly what is in your heart, and what you are willing to give up because your money. Don’t give the excuse of a few bad eggs, because guess what you are supporting a president that believes in collective salvation and all the masses are his to save.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people”( 2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV)
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10 ESV)
Disgusting and vile are the only words that I can describe the abuse of a child. The protestors want Wall Street to be held accountable for its practices. I get it. I get that individuals believe that this is the reason why they don’t have jobs or money. The government and financial institutions work together. The government regulates and Wall Street has to make up the revenue loss. Do you see Wall Street executives out on the streets raping girls? Do you see them living in a tent with a 6 year old girl handing out heroin? How the hell is this accountability? Where is the accountability of our President that supports this movement as well as so many in his party?
A couple of weeks they opened the memorial for Martin Luther King Jr. on the Washington Mall. President Obama said that he would have supported the protests. Reverend King did support violence Mr. President and never would have supported violence or neglect of a child. Nancy Pelosi and her crew think that it is wonderful that these Americans are standing up for their rights. I really hope that I never meet her.
I have to admit that I have reached a whole new level of shame and anger regarding this country this morning. I have started to question even more why anyone would support our president and really be a democrat. If you can explain the ideology about the unfairness of not having money, but yet be abused continually by your own government please explain. If you can explain why you have a right to anything other than food, shelter, and clothing please tell me? We are to protect innocent life in this country, but would rather spread the wealth around. Why is that so important to so many when children are being hurt? Where is the justice in that?
We are fighting about higher taxes, affordable healthcare, welfare, job bills, defense cuts, immigration, gay marriage, college tuition, etc but yet our children are being hurt the most. We give more protection to evil in this country because of circumstance now and it is quite frankly unacceptable. We are supposed to have compassion for the drug addict that neglects a child. We are supposed to have compassion for a rapist because of his or her childhood. We have to be supportive of Muslims, but yet they marry 8 year old girls, rape their wives because they think are entitled to, or my favorite on is stone a woman in an arena because she looked at another man.
Most recently I read article that pedophiles would like the same rights as homosexuals, because theirs’ is a lifestyle. The intellectual elite are saying that we have to understand this is acceptable behavior, and they should receive the same rights as consenting adults in their sexual relationships. This is natural for them, and we should understand this is the same as our own sexual desires. My mother was a social worker for sexually abused children, and we should give pedophiles the death penalty in this country. There is no justice strong enough for someone that hurts an innocent life. I can’t write anymore about this.
We can fight all we want about these other issues, but aren’t we supposed to protect children. I will ask my friends that are on the left is this ok with you, and does it really matter if you have affordable healthcare? Does it really matter to us so much that we don’t make a million dollars, and we think that is unfair?
I hope this posting offended some of us, because if we support the left side in this country then this is what we are allowing all because of money. We wanted defense cuts in this country all because of “social services.” We wanted to show compassion for evil. I hope that I lose friends in my life over this posting today, because you know what it is going to show me that this is exactly what is in your heart, and what you are willing to give up because your money. Don’t give the excuse of a few bad eggs, because guess what you are supporting a president that believes in collective salvation and all the masses are his to save.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people”( 2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV)
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10 ESV)
Monday, October 24, 2011
Do we think we are wise?
“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:13-18 ESV)
The book of James is one of my favorite books. Yesterday our bible study teacher said “how do you know if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart?” The answer; can you rejoice in another’s accomplishments and life? Can you be happy for another? Can you look at their lives and feel grace towards them, or do you look at their life and wish you had all they had? Pretty simple definition.
This isn’t just about material things though. This is also about relationships, or feelings of dissatisfaction with our lives. It is feelings of anger, vanity, anxiety, worry, selfishness, greed, envy or guilt. We can not take material wealth with us. It makes life easier, and we are very accustomed to having things easy is this country. Are we able to rejoice at our blessings, or do we search for more? For most us the answer would be we search for more. We are not wise enough yet in life to see what is good, because we only see what we don’t have.
We love to complain in this country; including me. It has been stressful in this house lately, because of a project my husband has been working on. He’s gone a lot and it is bothering the boys and me. I thought about this yesterday. I should be rejoicing that he has a job to go to and that he comes home every night. I’ve got to keep it in check. I am being selfish when I get upset about it. This is marriage. We are always thinking about what our spouse isn’t doing instead of what they are doing. Constant work in progress.
Seeking wisdom and discernment from Christ is a prayer I think we all need right now. I think people have forgotten that they should seek wisdom from others if they can’t figure something out. Being afraid to ask someone is pride. Why do we that? I think we fear judgment more than anything. We are afraid that someone will look down on us. Why can’t we ask someone the tough questions we need to in this country? Why can’t we ask our friends, or family on how to handle a situation?
I had a discussion about abortion on Friday. I don’t believe in it, but I do know that we have to work within our laws if we are going to educate women about why this is a child and not a mass of cells. The disturbing part about abortion in this country is that the women that choose to have one are highly educated, white women. I have noticed that women that don’t believe in God, or have a strong relationship with Christ consider this alright because of circumstance. I was that way in the beginning of this journey. This is not meant to be offensive to some, but life is created at conception and there is a purpose for all life.
Women don’t want to be judged, or attacked because they make this decision. Most pro-life individuals don’t understand that this judgment is not ours to make. They will be held accountable by God. We get a little too radical in our thinking that we no longer have empathy, or compassion for another. We know that it is life. We made it a wrong into a right in this country. My question is have we ever looked a woman in the eye when she is terrified about having a child? Have we ever actually told her that there are people out their that will help them get through this.
Our self-righteousness and pride blinds us. We are so angry about everything that we can’t even reason with each other without love and respect any longer. I don’t care how far along we are in our journey God is going to question whether or not we have enough love and compassion in our hearts to see that an individual is hurting. I am so sick of seeing arguing and nothing getting resolved in this country. I am at a loss as to why so many of us have lost common sense and reason. I almost think we are too educated.
When we seek wisdom from friends I am going to put a little warning out. Seek it from friends that you know are strong in their relationship with Christ. I had to learn this a few months ago and the end result was extremely hurtful. The women that I seek advice and wisdom from are going to tell me the truth, because they love me. I have learned not to seek advice regarding my heart from women that are not Christians. The reason why I say this is because we are a very self-centered society and people feed our egos without giving us the bigger picture, or just flat out the truth. An example would be our marriages. Women talk about their husbands and husbands talk about their wives. If they don’t have Christ in their life they are going to tell us exactly what we want to hear, and not that we were wrong.
The below story is still my favorite in the bible. Whoever can cast the first stone go right on ahead and do it. Good luck with that. We have no right to judge another, only God has that right. We are going to have to accept what is going on in this country because God is allowing it to happen. I am not saying that we have to be silent, but sooner or later we have to accept the consequence of our actions and find a way to solve the problems we have.
“but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:1-11 ESV)
The book of James is one of my favorite books. Yesterday our bible study teacher said “how do you know if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart?” The answer; can you rejoice in another’s accomplishments and life? Can you be happy for another? Can you look at their lives and feel grace towards them, or do you look at their life and wish you had all they had? Pretty simple definition.
This isn’t just about material things though. This is also about relationships, or feelings of dissatisfaction with our lives. It is feelings of anger, vanity, anxiety, worry, selfishness, greed, envy or guilt. We can not take material wealth with us. It makes life easier, and we are very accustomed to having things easy is this country. Are we able to rejoice at our blessings, or do we search for more? For most us the answer would be we search for more. We are not wise enough yet in life to see what is good, because we only see what we don’t have.
We love to complain in this country; including me. It has been stressful in this house lately, because of a project my husband has been working on. He’s gone a lot and it is bothering the boys and me. I thought about this yesterday. I should be rejoicing that he has a job to go to and that he comes home every night. I’ve got to keep it in check. I am being selfish when I get upset about it. This is marriage. We are always thinking about what our spouse isn’t doing instead of what they are doing. Constant work in progress.
Seeking wisdom and discernment from Christ is a prayer I think we all need right now. I think people have forgotten that they should seek wisdom from others if they can’t figure something out. Being afraid to ask someone is pride. Why do we that? I think we fear judgment more than anything. We are afraid that someone will look down on us. Why can’t we ask someone the tough questions we need to in this country? Why can’t we ask our friends, or family on how to handle a situation?
I had a discussion about abortion on Friday. I don’t believe in it, but I do know that we have to work within our laws if we are going to educate women about why this is a child and not a mass of cells. The disturbing part about abortion in this country is that the women that choose to have one are highly educated, white women. I have noticed that women that don’t believe in God, or have a strong relationship with Christ consider this alright because of circumstance. I was that way in the beginning of this journey. This is not meant to be offensive to some, but life is created at conception and there is a purpose for all life.
Women don’t want to be judged, or attacked because they make this decision. Most pro-life individuals don’t understand that this judgment is not ours to make. They will be held accountable by God. We get a little too radical in our thinking that we no longer have empathy, or compassion for another. We know that it is life. We made it a wrong into a right in this country. My question is have we ever looked a woman in the eye when she is terrified about having a child? Have we ever actually told her that there are people out their that will help them get through this.
Our self-righteousness and pride blinds us. We are so angry about everything that we can’t even reason with each other without love and respect any longer. I don’t care how far along we are in our journey God is going to question whether or not we have enough love and compassion in our hearts to see that an individual is hurting. I am so sick of seeing arguing and nothing getting resolved in this country. I am at a loss as to why so many of us have lost common sense and reason. I almost think we are too educated.
When we seek wisdom from friends I am going to put a little warning out. Seek it from friends that you know are strong in their relationship with Christ. I had to learn this a few months ago and the end result was extremely hurtful. The women that I seek advice and wisdom from are going to tell me the truth, because they love me. I have learned not to seek advice regarding my heart from women that are not Christians. The reason why I say this is because we are a very self-centered society and people feed our egos without giving us the bigger picture, or just flat out the truth. An example would be our marriages. Women talk about their husbands and husbands talk about their wives. If they don’t have Christ in their life they are going to tell us exactly what we want to hear, and not that we were wrong.
The below story is still my favorite in the bible. Whoever can cast the first stone go right on ahead and do it. Good luck with that. We have no right to judge another, only God has that right. We are going to have to accept what is going on in this country because God is allowing it to happen. I am not saying that we have to be silent, but sooner or later we have to accept the consequence of our actions and find a way to solve the problems we have.
“but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:1-11 ESV)
Friday, October 21, 2011
are we in denial?
How do you heal past hurts? I have been thinking about this for a while now. I think that we have to place ourselves in another’s position. We have to reverse the hurt, and see what the other is trying to tell us. I have often wondered about how it is possible for us to forgive and move forward. How do we move out of whatever denial we are in about the hurt? We are thinking about what we are going to lose instead of accepting it and moving forward.
Yom Kippur is the Jewish custom of forgiving and discussing grievances with another. That day we can discuss a past hurt, or wrong and work it out. What an incredible idea. The bad part is most people are too scared, or too prideful to accept they must have done something wrong. A week ago I was put to that test regarding past hurts with individuals that hurt my family a great deal regarding my uncle. First of all I am friends with these individuals and mistakes were made during his illness. I don’t like what happened but if I hold on to it, it will only hurt me in the long run. Bitterness, anger, disappointments, and pride would have plagued my heart. My uncle would not have done that. He remembered things, but always gave another chance to someone.
Last year was a not a good year, but it was huge a learning lesson for me and my relationship with Christ. I try not to bear grudges, and to be honest I’m not always so great about that. I remember things, and analyze them sometimes to the point where it consumes me. Some hurts are never going to go away and I think we have to accept that. The pain in our heart is a reminder to us to always try to become a better person, and learn from our mistakes or try to break the cycle. I don’t believe God will always remove the pain that we feel. I think sometimes he wants us to remember it so we are less likely to judge another in their time of pain.
Our country is in a great deal of pain right now. Financially we are drowning and I wonder if we are in some sort of denial about that. I wonder if we really do believe that we can spend our way of debt, because that is what we have been taught. These protests around the world, and right now in our country are all about the money that we no longer have. This is reality of it. We do not have any more money. It does matter how much more we tax wealthy it is not going to solve that problem, because we are only going to want more from them because we don‘t think it is fair. Too bad - get over it. They will be held accountable by God on how they use their money.
The below scripture is the story of the Good Samaritan. I question which one I would be in all circumstances and I am starting to think that most of us need to do that. We reap what we sow.
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” Luke 10:30-37
I read an article in a British paper regarding the United States. A retired government official stated that Americans are in denial of their current state of affairs. Americans understand there are economic problems, but they are living in some sort of denial about it. They can’t seem to accept that they will have to adjust to a new way of life. Britain and most of Europe is facing the same economic problems that we are, but they seem to get that they either are going to have to raise taxes on everyone, or cut everything.
A friend asked me how do you know what to give and what to do? Over the last few months I have been paying attention to that little voice in my head about giving and what to do. If it becomes persistent in my mind and heart over a period of time then I know I need to do it. Then it just becomes my choice. Not all the choices have been good but most have been ok. The other thing is I do not like the idea of having to defend what I do for another. It makes me furious, because that is no one’s business about what we do for another.
One of the biggest problems in this country is we are constantly asking what is being given. We are constantly forcing our opinion of what giving is on another. We have to know what the other is doing whether they are wealthy, middle class, or poor. When people do that to another I always want to ask what they are doing. I always want to say to them; you can quote scripture and throw it in their face, but what are you doing? I’m not supposed to do that as a Christian, because I am accountable to him only. When we persecute another in Christ the person that is doing that has already failed him. He will hold the person that is quoting the scripture not the one you are trying to abuse with it.
I am going to ask the question are we willing to sacrifice all that we are for our governing authorities. Are we willing to question them regarding what they are asking us to give? The definition of giving is giving without any benefit to us. We are forcing individuals in this country to give to what they don’t believe in. Why are we doing that?
I have a hard time with the liberal mind in this country just for that very reason. They are trying to tell me what I should be doing in my life and how to live. They don’t think I am compassionate to another, because I would rather hold myself accountable to my actions. I would rather accept that if I am financially irresponsible that it is my fault. I would rather take care of my parents and their health later in life than have the government tell me how to do it. I would rather look at a person in the eye that is hurting financially and give them what they need without them telling me that I have to do it.
Would Christ really tell us that the authorities must force us to give as whole group or would he ask the individual what they did and why they didn’t do it? Would we turn a blind eye to another no matter what our economic standing is? If we say we are Christians than I am convicting our hearts to ask if it is right to force another to do something against their will.
Yom Kippur is the Jewish custom of forgiving and discussing grievances with another. That day we can discuss a past hurt, or wrong and work it out. What an incredible idea. The bad part is most people are too scared, or too prideful to accept they must have done something wrong. A week ago I was put to that test regarding past hurts with individuals that hurt my family a great deal regarding my uncle. First of all I am friends with these individuals and mistakes were made during his illness. I don’t like what happened but if I hold on to it, it will only hurt me in the long run. Bitterness, anger, disappointments, and pride would have plagued my heart. My uncle would not have done that. He remembered things, but always gave another chance to someone.
Last year was a not a good year, but it was huge a learning lesson for me and my relationship with Christ. I try not to bear grudges, and to be honest I’m not always so great about that. I remember things, and analyze them sometimes to the point where it consumes me. Some hurts are never going to go away and I think we have to accept that. The pain in our heart is a reminder to us to always try to become a better person, and learn from our mistakes or try to break the cycle. I don’t believe God will always remove the pain that we feel. I think sometimes he wants us to remember it so we are less likely to judge another in their time of pain.
Our country is in a great deal of pain right now. Financially we are drowning and I wonder if we are in some sort of denial about that. I wonder if we really do believe that we can spend our way of debt, because that is what we have been taught. These protests around the world, and right now in our country are all about the money that we no longer have. This is reality of it. We do not have any more money. It does matter how much more we tax wealthy it is not going to solve that problem, because we are only going to want more from them because we don‘t think it is fair. Too bad - get over it. They will be held accountable by God on how they use their money.
The below scripture is the story of the Good Samaritan. I question which one I would be in all circumstances and I am starting to think that most of us need to do that. We reap what we sow.
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” Luke 10:30-37
I read an article in a British paper regarding the United States. A retired government official stated that Americans are in denial of their current state of affairs. Americans understand there are economic problems, but they are living in some sort of denial about it. They can’t seem to accept that they will have to adjust to a new way of life. Britain and most of Europe is facing the same economic problems that we are, but they seem to get that they either are going to have to raise taxes on everyone, or cut everything.
A friend asked me how do you know what to give and what to do? Over the last few months I have been paying attention to that little voice in my head about giving and what to do. If it becomes persistent in my mind and heart over a period of time then I know I need to do it. Then it just becomes my choice. Not all the choices have been good but most have been ok. The other thing is I do not like the idea of having to defend what I do for another. It makes me furious, because that is no one’s business about what we do for another.
One of the biggest problems in this country is we are constantly asking what is being given. We are constantly forcing our opinion of what giving is on another. We have to know what the other is doing whether they are wealthy, middle class, or poor. When people do that to another I always want to ask what they are doing. I always want to say to them; you can quote scripture and throw it in their face, but what are you doing? I’m not supposed to do that as a Christian, because I am accountable to him only. When we persecute another in Christ the person that is doing that has already failed him. He will hold the person that is quoting the scripture not the one you are trying to abuse with it.
I am going to ask the question are we willing to sacrifice all that we are for our governing authorities. Are we willing to question them regarding what they are asking us to give? The definition of giving is giving without any benefit to us. We are forcing individuals in this country to give to what they don’t believe in. Why are we doing that?
I have a hard time with the liberal mind in this country just for that very reason. They are trying to tell me what I should be doing in my life and how to live. They don’t think I am compassionate to another, because I would rather hold myself accountable to my actions. I would rather accept that if I am financially irresponsible that it is my fault. I would rather take care of my parents and their health later in life than have the government tell me how to do it. I would rather look at a person in the eye that is hurting financially and give them what they need without them telling me that I have to do it.
Would Christ really tell us that the authorities must force us to give as whole group or would he ask the individual what they did and why they didn’t do it? Would we turn a blind eye to another no matter what our economic standing is? If we say we are Christians than I am convicting our hearts to ask if it is right to force another to do something against their will.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Is It a Cult or Not? Mormonism
For the last couple of weeks I have been thinking about the belief system of Mormons. I have never met a Mormon that was not a kind person. They have incredible discipline in their beliefs much like Muslims. Very strict rules and guidelines. I had never had an interest to find out more about the Mormon religion, but now Mitt Romney may be the GOP presidential nominee. I want to know the background of what shapes a man and his beliefs.
Here are the list core beliefs
1. Undergarments
2. 10% full tithe must given to the church
3. No alcohol
4. No caffeine
5. No tobacco
6. Baptizing of the dead (The Mormon church has one of the largest genealogy libraries in the world. My understanding of this is so they can research families to go back and save them through baptism after they have passed)
7. Men can become a God
8. Joseph Smith was equal in every way to Christ. The finding of the tablets was equal to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
It has not been an easy task finding out exactly their belief system, because they are an extremely private religion. The book of Mormon changes a great deal. When a new president/prophet comes in he is viewed as having direct contact with God as much as Abraham did in the Old Testament. They believe there are three books to the testament of Jesus; old, new, and the book of Mormon. From what I can understand they have key scriptures that support their beliefs from the New Testament, but they are to live according to the book of Mormon. It appears to be a book of control over another from a man.
It can be deceiving when you ask a Mormon if they believe in Jesus. They always say yes, and they do believe in Jesus they just don’t believe he is their savior. They believe they can become a God through their deeds on earth. No one is God and no one can become God. Paul warned of this in the book of Galatians of false teachers and false churches of Christ. We cannot change scripture as much as we would like to. It is the living word of God.
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-10 ESV)”
They do not believe in the Immaculate Conception. They believe God physically had sex with Mary, and therefore Christ was a half-God. They do not believe in the trinity. They believe Mary was married to God, as well as Joseph so she had multiple husbands. In one video I saw they actually believed that Christ and Satan were brothers and Elohim liked Jesus’ ideas better for the world. Elohim is the plural name for Gods; El would be one of the names for God.
Below is a question that a Mormon asked John MacArthur regarding if we could be a Christian and not believe in the trinity.
"I would answer, "No." If you don’t believe in the Trinity, then you don’t understand who God is. You may say the word “God” but you don’t understand His nature. Second, you couldn’t possibly understand who Christ is--that He is God in human flesh. The Incarnation of Christis an essential component of the biblical gospel, as John 1:1-14 and many other biblical passages make clear. To deny the Trinity is to deny the Incarnation. And to deny the Incarnation is to wrongly understand the true gospel."
http://www.gty.org/resources/Questions/QA519/Can-You-Be-a-Christian-and-Deny-the-Trinity
Joseph Smith quote regarding the conception of Christ.
Elohim: Name of God the father - A resurrected being from another planet who through eternal progression became a god, our god. He is married for eternity. "We are told in the scriptures that Jesus Christ is the only begotten son ofGod in the flesh....how are children begotten? I answer, just as Jesus was begotten of his Father. The Christian denominations believe that Christ was
begotten not of God, but of the spirit that overshadowed his mother. THIS IS
NONSENSE. Why will they not believe the Father when He says that Jesus Christ
is His Only Begotten Son? Why will they try to EXPLAIN THIS TRUTH AWAY and make mystery of it?" (as quoted from Joseph F. Smith, 'Box Elder Times,' Sep.
They base their belief man can become a god on the following scripture…
"For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many "lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” 1 Corinthians 8:5-6
The following is about Joseph Smith
Early one morning in the spring of 1820, Joseph went to a secluded wood to ask God which church he should follow. As he was praying, as he recounted later, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to him. This experience is called the First Vision in Mormonism and considered a pivotal event in the history of humankind, second only to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The importance of the event hinges on its definition as the beginning of the restoration of Christ's true gospel on earth, which was lost upon the death of the original apostles.
Later, in 1823, Joseph Smith said he was also visited by an angel named Moroni, who told him of an ancient record containing God's dealings with the former inhabitants of the American continent. Joseph was shown the forest location of the record's hiding place by the angel. However, he was also told that he should wait another four years before being able to obtain the record, and that until then he should return each year to the same place to receive further instructions. In 1827, Joseph was finally able to retrieve the record, which was inscribed on golden plates. Shortly after obtaining these golden plates, Joseph Smith began translating its words by the "gift of God."
The result of his translating efforts became known as the Book of Mormon—Another Testament of Jesus Christ, which was published in March of 1830. Following the publication of the Book of Mormon, on April 6, 1830, the prophet finally organized the Church and became its first president.
It is very hard to leave the Mormon church. There is a great deal of fear for ex-members. I have attached some links for you to read if you want to.
http://www.realmormonhistory.com/
http://www.lds-mormon.com/adam_ond.shtml
http://www.lds-mormon.com/changod.shtml
http://www.lds-mormon.com/lkl_00.shtml
http://www.mormoncurtain.com/start_here.html
Here are the list core beliefs
1. Undergarments
2. 10% full tithe must given to the church
3. No alcohol
4. No caffeine
5. No tobacco
6. Baptizing of the dead (The Mormon church has one of the largest genealogy libraries in the world. My understanding of this is so they can research families to go back and save them through baptism after they have passed)
7. Men can become a God
8. Joseph Smith was equal in every way to Christ. The finding of the tablets was equal to the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
It has not been an easy task finding out exactly their belief system, because they are an extremely private religion. The book of Mormon changes a great deal. When a new president/prophet comes in he is viewed as having direct contact with God as much as Abraham did in the Old Testament. They believe there are three books to the testament of Jesus; old, new, and the book of Mormon. From what I can understand they have key scriptures that support their beliefs from the New Testament, but they are to live according to the book of Mormon. It appears to be a book of control over another from a man.
It can be deceiving when you ask a Mormon if they believe in Jesus. They always say yes, and they do believe in Jesus they just don’t believe he is their savior. They believe they can become a God through their deeds on earth. No one is God and no one can become God. Paul warned of this in the book of Galatians of false teachers and false churches of Christ. We cannot change scripture as much as we would like to. It is the living word of God.
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-10 ESV)”
They do not believe in the Immaculate Conception. They believe God physically had sex with Mary, and therefore Christ was a half-God. They do not believe in the trinity. They believe Mary was married to God, as well as Joseph so she had multiple husbands. In one video I saw they actually believed that Christ and Satan were brothers and Elohim liked Jesus’ ideas better for the world. Elohim is the plural name for Gods; El would be one of the names for God.
Below is a question that a Mormon asked John MacArthur regarding if we could be a Christian and not believe in the trinity.
"I would answer, "No." If you don’t believe in the Trinity, then you don’t understand who God is. You may say the word “God” but you don’t understand His nature. Second, you couldn’t possibly understand who Christ is--that He is God in human flesh. The Incarnation of Christis an essential component of the biblical gospel, as John 1:1-14 and many other biblical passages make clear. To deny the Trinity is to deny the Incarnation. And to deny the Incarnation is to wrongly understand the true gospel."
http://www.gty.org/resources/Questions/QA519/Can-You-Be-a-Christian-and-Deny-the-Trinity
Joseph Smith quote regarding the conception of Christ.
Elohim: Name of God the father - A resurrected being from another planet who through eternal progression became a god, our god. He is married for eternity. "We are told in the scriptures that Jesus Christ is the only begotten son ofGod in the flesh....how are children begotten? I answer, just as Jesus was begotten of his Father. The Christian denominations believe that Christ was
begotten not of God, but of the spirit that overshadowed his mother. THIS IS
NONSENSE. Why will they not believe the Father when He says that Jesus Christ
is His Only Begotten Son? Why will they try to EXPLAIN THIS TRUTH AWAY and make mystery of it?" (as quoted from Joseph F. Smith, 'Box Elder Times,' Sep.
They base their belief man can become a god on the following scripture…
"For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many "lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” 1 Corinthians 8:5-6
The following is about Joseph Smith
Early one morning in the spring of 1820, Joseph went to a secluded wood to ask God which church he should follow. As he was praying, as he recounted later, God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to him. This experience is called the First Vision in Mormonism and considered a pivotal event in the history of humankind, second only to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The importance of the event hinges on its definition as the beginning of the restoration of Christ's true gospel on earth, which was lost upon the death of the original apostles.
Later, in 1823, Joseph Smith said he was also visited by an angel named Moroni, who told him of an ancient record containing God's dealings with the former inhabitants of the American continent. Joseph was shown the forest location of the record's hiding place by the angel. However, he was also told that he should wait another four years before being able to obtain the record, and that until then he should return each year to the same place to receive further instructions. In 1827, Joseph was finally able to retrieve the record, which was inscribed on golden plates. Shortly after obtaining these golden plates, Joseph Smith began translating its words by the "gift of God."
The result of his translating efforts became known as the Book of Mormon—Another Testament of Jesus Christ, which was published in March of 1830. Following the publication of the Book of Mormon, on April 6, 1830, the prophet finally organized the Church and became its first president.
It is very hard to leave the Mormon church. There is a great deal of fear for ex-members. I have attached some links for you to read if you want to.
http://www.realmormonhistory.com/
http://www.lds-mormon.com/adam_ond.shtml
http://www.lds-mormon.com/changod.shtml
http://www.lds-mormon.com/lkl_00.shtml
http://www.mormoncurtain.com/start_here.html
Monday, October 17, 2011
it is what it is
We all stumble. We all make mistakes that we know are not worthy of God. We know that our relationship is a constant work in progress. The idea that a Christian is perfect amazes me. As with any relationship we have to nurture what we are willing to give and not to give when we love someone, or care about them. If he wanted us to be perfect he would not have allowed eve to be deceived by the serpent. Free will was already in our DNA. The manipulation of hearts and minds is a hard thing to fight if we aren’t able to discern right from wrong.
I just read an article about how society has turned “wrongs” into “rights”. The thing about this is that it is an excuse not to do the right thing, because for most we don‘t know what the right thing is anymore. it much easier to do the stuff that is wrong that is offensive to him, because it makes us feel good. My question is do we ever feel any guilt about the action? Does it continue to pop up in our minds over and over again? That is God’s way of telling us that it is wrong and we have to work on it. I have those things about myself just like anyone else that make me feel good, but he doesn't like it. I know and understand what they are. I acknowledge the good and bad of myself, but I must try to overcome those obstacles. Sometimes it is what is, and all we can do is keep trying to overcome it.
For years I have buried my guilt or hatred of myself instead of embracing what is good about myself. For the first time in my life I love my heart. I love my passion. I love my beauty. I understand my heart and mind, plus what I am capable of doing and not doing. We do things and then judge another for doing the same thing. It just seems we aren't capabale of seeing two sides of every story. We aren't able to compromise or work on anything anymore. Why?
This past Friday I spoke about my uncle. I adored my uncle but that was not always the case. He was not a perfect man and he made many mistakes. His good heart outweighed those mistakes. He made choices that he thought were right for his life, and what he felt was the right thing to do. I know some think that he gave too much and he shouldn’t have done that. I thought that on many occasions, but it wasn’t my life or my choices. I learned that from him. I learned that regardless of the mistakes we make we have to move forward, forgive ourselves, and the other person. We have to remember that people are human and they will make mistakes.
The abuse of power in this country is amazing to me. We as a nation have allowed those that are in power to abuse our kindness and love of country. It breaks my heart to see individuals suffering financially. In one sense I can understand why we give so much, because we are a country that does that. We were built on the foundation of Christ so why wouldn’t we be that way? We have turned those beliefs though into the manipulation and control of another. If I do something wrong I have to own up to it. It is not someone else’s fault.
In my opinion we have given too much to those in power and their greed for more is not ever going to be enough. We have to see it for what it is. Both political parties have done this for years, and none of us really told them to stop. Both sides are to blame because we have given too much control through policy, regulation and laws. We can argue about it just as much we want, but arguing never solves the problem it just creates more.
Sooner or later we and the governing authorities are going to have accept accountability for their actions and what it has done to this nation. We had to have so much more and most of us are in huge amounts of debt because of it. Our fear of the unknown is showing. I see both sides of what is happening in this country. There are individuals fighting to keep the very programs that sustain them financially and there are those that are saying we can’t give you anymore. I haven’t seen too many individuals accept the fact that we are going to have to sacrifice. Where did this idea come from that all things in life just fall into our laps without work? I’m not just talking about money. We expect too much from people that are willing to give.
A confession. Friday night I drank way too much. I was nervous about what I was going to say about my uncle, because I wanted to make him and my family proud. I wanted it to be seen how much I miss him, love him and how proud I am of the man that he was. I was also nervous about seeing people that I have not seen in a long time. No one held a gun to my head. I made the choice to do that, and the next day I paid for it. Too bad, so sad there was a consequence to my choice. The speech went fine, so I did accomplish that.
What sounded great or felt great at the time doesn’t always work out the way we thought it would, or should. We just have to keep living and try to overcome our obstacles. That is all he is his asking of us. Don’t make it so hard. When we read scripture it is not to hold the masses accountable it is to hold ourselves accountable for what we do and don‘t do. We have to accept our faults, our mistakes, learn from our mistakes, and move forward. We have to embrace the beauty that is in inside us. He wants us to feel and cherish his love.
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 corinthians 12:9
I just read an article about how society has turned “wrongs” into “rights”. The thing about this is that it is an excuse not to do the right thing, because for most we don‘t know what the right thing is anymore. it much easier to do the stuff that is wrong that is offensive to him, because it makes us feel good. My question is do we ever feel any guilt about the action? Does it continue to pop up in our minds over and over again? That is God’s way of telling us that it is wrong and we have to work on it. I have those things about myself just like anyone else that make me feel good, but he doesn't like it. I know and understand what they are. I acknowledge the good and bad of myself, but I must try to overcome those obstacles. Sometimes it is what is, and all we can do is keep trying to overcome it.
For years I have buried my guilt or hatred of myself instead of embracing what is good about myself. For the first time in my life I love my heart. I love my passion. I love my beauty. I understand my heart and mind, plus what I am capable of doing and not doing. We do things and then judge another for doing the same thing. It just seems we aren't capabale of seeing two sides of every story. We aren't able to compromise or work on anything anymore. Why?
This past Friday I spoke about my uncle. I adored my uncle but that was not always the case. He was not a perfect man and he made many mistakes. His good heart outweighed those mistakes. He made choices that he thought were right for his life, and what he felt was the right thing to do. I know some think that he gave too much and he shouldn’t have done that. I thought that on many occasions, but it wasn’t my life or my choices. I learned that from him. I learned that regardless of the mistakes we make we have to move forward, forgive ourselves, and the other person. We have to remember that people are human and they will make mistakes.
The abuse of power in this country is amazing to me. We as a nation have allowed those that are in power to abuse our kindness and love of country. It breaks my heart to see individuals suffering financially. In one sense I can understand why we give so much, because we are a country that does that. We were built on the foundation of Christ so why wouldn’t we be that way? We have turned those beliefs though into the manipulation and control of another. If I do something wrong I have to own up to it. It is not someone else’s fault.
In my opinion we have given too much to those in power and their greed for more is not ever going to be enough. We have to see it for what it is. Both political parties have done this for years, and none of us really told them to stop. Both sides are to blame because we have given too much control through policy, regulation and laws. We can argue about it just as much we want, but arguing never solves the problem it just creates more.
Sooner or later we and the governing authorities are going to have accept accountability for their actions and what it has done to this nation. We had to have so much more and most of us are in huge amounts of debt because of it. Our fear of the unknown is showing. I see both sides of what is happening in this country. There are individuals fighting to keep the very programs that sustain them financially and there are those that are saying we can’t give you anymore. I haven’t seen too many individuals accept the fact that we are going to have to sacrifice. Where did this idea come from that all things in life just fall into our laps without work? I’m not just talking about money. We expect too much from people that are willing to give.
A confession. Friday night I drank way too much. I was nervous about what I was going to say about my uncle, because I wanted to make him and my family proud. I wanted it to be seen how much I miss him, love him and how proud I am of the man that he was. I was also nervous about seeing people that I have not seen in a long time. No one held a gun to my head. I made the choice to do that, and the next day I paid for it. Too bad, so sad there was a consequence to my choice. The speech went fine, so I did accomplish that.
What sounded great or felt great at the time doesn’t always work out the way we thought it would, or should. We just have to keep living and try to overcome our obstacles. That is all he is his asking of us. Don’t make it so hard. When we read scripture it is not to hold the masses accountable it is to hold ourselves accountable for what we do and don‘t do. We have to accept our faults, our mistakes, learn from our mistakes, and move forward. We have to embrace the beauty that is in inside us. He wants us to feel and cherish his love.
"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 corinthians 12:9
Friday, October 14, 2011
He is for you
I fulfilled a dream of seeing one of my heroes. I love Dolly Parton. I love everything about her. When you see her on TV, or in person you can feel the woman’s heart. She has humility and such love of life that you wish it would just rub off on you. Talk about a woman that achieved her dreams. She doesn’t feel guilty or ashamed about her money. She’s worked hard for it, and it has been given to her. The below lyrics to her song “Sacrifice” pretty much sums up how I have been feeling about this country.
“But empty or full, I’ve carried my pail / You don’t drink the water if you don’t dig the well / Through blood sweat and tears I have built a good life / But it didn’t come without sacrifice,” Dolly Parton
She is a storyteller through her songs, but she has had obstacles that we don’t even think about in our country anymore. She thanked God and praised Christ throughout the show. She talked about the sacrifice that he made, so she knew she would have to make sacrifices to get where she is today. One of the most beautiful things she said was about being poor, but they were rich in life. They always had food, shelter and clothing but most of all they had love. A humble beginning usually creates great humility when we have worked hard for it.
What we watch, listen to and read influences our hearts. If we constantly surround ourselves with individuals that aren’t grateful and humble for what they don’t have, how could they ever know what they do have? If we have a roof over heads, food in our bellies, and clothing what more do we need. If we have more thank God that we do because those things are just the extra in his eyes.
Joe Scarborough talked about how Christians for years have missed the message of Christ. Jesus was asked by his disciples, who is getting to heaven? How do we sit on the right hand of the father? This is what Jesus Christ said. Then, the King will say to those on the right, come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me (book of Matthew). This scripture is based on what the individual has done for Christ not the masses. If it was the masses then it would say “we.” Christ convicts your heart, and your heart alone. If we don’t understand the message of Christ and missed his words we probably need look in our heart and not someone else’s.
I can hear the argument that because disciples that it means the masses. Peter denied Christ 3 times, and Judas handed him for money. They were both disciples. Paul was a murderer of Christians, but was given grace and forgiveness by God on road to Damascus. Every act he committed after accepting him was all in his name. Nero killed him for it.
Governments are slave owners. We are now owned by the United States government because of everything we wanted them to take care of, because we didn’t want to do it ourselves. When I see individuals march and protest for the wealthy to give them that wealth I wonder what is missing in that individual’s heart. I see envy, jealousy and greed. I am not saying that there wasn’t corruption because we all have that in us, but we can’t force someone change. We can only try to live by the examples Christ gave us in scripture.
I like Herman Cain because he is actually telling people the truth. When I first saw him he said something that resonated with me and really had never thought about politicians this way before; “I‘m getting off the democratic plantation.” The history of the Democratic Party is filled with racism and hatred towards the black man in this country. Southern democrats were the reason for the civil war, as well as the horrors during the civil rights movement. To me Washington is just trying to control and own what is not theirs; our lives. So many are saying raise taxes, but in reality when is that greed of more money ever going to be filled?
MS changed me. He gave me a very heavy burden. He gave me something that could either make me or break me. Then he gave me a doctor that treats and studies this disease. Then he gave me medicine to help manage the disease from the work of individuals so I could manage it. He gave me husband that works hard everyday to provide for his family to care for my disease and our children. He gave me the money to make sure that I could have all of the above through work. None of this was for free and there is a great deal of sacrifice.
He sacrificed his son so that I would give back to him and others. What a slap in the face to him if I had not of done that. I could have played the circumstance and self-pity card everyday for the rest of my life if I had chosen that. Instead I chose to be grateful for my MS, and achieve what he wanted from me. It is my cross to bear not someone else’s.
Please just take the time to question your heart. Question if you want to be owned by a man that tells you, you aren’t capable of achieving something because of circumstance. Wouldn’t you rather be owned by God that believes in you? Whatever is in your heart is what is affecting your life. I feel great sadness for our country and it just breaks my heart.
"and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:15 ESV)"
“But empty or full, I’ve carried my pail / You don’t drink the water if you don’t dig the well / Through blood sweat and tears I have built a good life / But it didn’t come without sacrifice,” Dolly Parton
She is a storyteller through her songs, but she has had obstacles that we don’t even think about in our country anymore. She thanked God and praised Christ throughout the show. She talked about the sacrifice that he made, so she knew she would have to make sacrifices to get where she is today. One of the most beautiful things she said was about being poor, but they were rich in life. They always had food, shelter and clothing but most of all they had love. A humble beginning usually creates great humility when we have worked hard for it.
What we watch, listen to and read influences our hearts. If we constantly surround ourselves with individuals that aren’t grateful and humble for what they don’t have, how could they ever know what they do have? If we have a roof over heads, food in our bellies, and clothing what more do we need. If we have more thank God that we do because those things are just the extra in his eyes.
Joe Scarborough talked about how Christians for years have missed the message of Christ. Jesus was asked by his disciples, who is getting to heaven? How do we sit on the right hand of the father? This is what Jesus Christ said. Then, the King will say to those on the right, come you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me (book of Matthew). This scripture is based on what the individual has done for Christ not the masses. If it was the masses then it would say “we.” Christ convicts your heart, and your heart alone. If we don’t understand the message of Christ and missed his words we probably need look in our heart and not someone else’s.
I can hear the argument that because disciples that it means the masses. Peter denied Christ 3 times, and Judas handed him for money. They were both disciples. Paul was a murderer of Christians, but was given grace and forgiveness by God on road to Damascus. Every act he committed after accepting him was all in his name. Nero killed him for it.
Governments are slave owners. We are now owned by the United States government because of everything we wanted them to take care of, because we didn’t want to do it ourselves. When I see individuals march and protest for the wealthy to give them that wealth I wonder what is missing in that individual’s heart. I see envy, jealousy and greed. I am not saying that there wasn’t corruption because we all have that in us, but we can’t force someone change. We can only try to live by the examples Christ gave us in scripture.
I like Herman Cain because he is actually telling people the truth. When I first saw him he said something that resonated with me and really had never thought about politicians this way before; “I‘m getting off the democratic plantation.” The history of the Democratic Party is filled with racism and hatred towards the black man in this country. Southern democrats were the reason for the civil war, as well as the horrors during the civil rights movement. To me Washington is just trying to control and own what is not theirs; our lives. So many are saying raise taxes, but in reality when is that greed of more money ever going to be filled?
MS changed me. He gave me a very heavy burden. He gave me something that could either make me or break me. Then he gave me a doctor that treats and studies this disease. Then he gave me medicine to help manage the disease from the work of individuals so I could manage it. He gave me husband that works hard everyday to provide for his family to care for my disease and our children. He gave me the money to make sure that I could have all of the above through work. None of this was for free and there is a great deal of sacrifice.
He sacrificed his son so that I would give back to him and others. What a slap in the face to him if I had not of done that. I could have played the circumstance and self-pity card everyday for the rest of my life if I had chosen that. Instead I chose to be grateful for my MS, and achieve what he wanted from me. It is my cross to bear not someone else’s.
Please just take the time to question your heart. Question if you want to be owned by a man that tells you, you aren’t capable of achieving something because of circumstance. Wouldn’t you rather be owned by God that believes in you? Whatever is in your heart is what is affecting your life. I feel great sadness for our country and it just breaks my heart.
"and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:15 ESV)"
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Hope and Change
Envy
A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another. The object of such feeling: Their new pool made them the envy of their neighbors
Greed
An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth: "Many . . . attach to competition the stigma of selfish
Redistribution of wealth
The act or process of redistributing. An economic theory or policy that advocates reducing inequalities in the distribution of wealth
Equality
The state or quality of being equal. Mathematics A statement, usually an equation, that one thing equals another.
Hope and change. Great campaign slogan. It worked didn’t it? We are in the midst of change. What is changing, and what do we see happening around we. We have watched protests in the Middle East and the fall of Egypt and Libya. We have watched the economic systems of Europe fall right before our eyes. Who’s to blame? Government or the people. What if I said it was the people? What if I said the elected officials did exactly what people wanted and created the policies that have brought the world economies down?
The Wall Street protests are interesting. They are asking the government to regulate and control the very institutions that hold our money and investments; correct? Top democrats are supporting it. Do you want the government controlling your money? Let’s put it this way. You save your money and make wise investments, but the government comes in says you have too much so we are going to take half of it, and give to someone else.
Yesterday I had online discussion regarding unions. It is interesting what is happening now with unions. There was a comment made that human rights were being violated because of collective bargaining. With the termination of unions employers are only required to maintain safety regulations for the employee. Someone made that comment that a teacher that had been there 10 years could be fired and replaced with a teacher that just graduated and would make less. What if that teacher of 10 years has a poor record regarding her students’ education, and if she is fired the union comes in and threatens to sue? They hire her back and she still has a poor teaching record?
Manufacturing in this country has been leaving for years. Why? It costs a lot in overhead to run a company. There was comment that India and China have higher regulation so why would they move overseas. The individuals that work in these countries in these fields don’t get paid anything. India and China have extreme poverty rates. Corporations can make the same product without the high overhead of paying their employees. The bottom line. The goal of business is to make money.
We glorify Hollywood and athletes in this country. We look at them and think they are heroes. We are in awe of these individuals. We look at investment bankers, CEO’s, and our politicians as greedy people because they profit off of you. Healthcare is demonized because it is making money off of you being sick. That is morally wrong; correct. Why? It costs millions and millions to cure disease, diagnose the disease, and treat the disease. We want cures, and treatments right?
Did we not understand interest rates when purchasing a home, a car or applying for a credit card? Did we not understand the fees associated with banks when they manage our checking accounts and savings? Did we not understand that when we hire an investment broker to manage our money for us that we would have to pay him?
When we turn our lights on do we think that just comes from no where, and the individuals that have to produce that electricity for us? When we pump gasoline into our cars do we not understand the production of that product? If there are millions of individuals purchasing food do we not understand the farming costs of raising the food. Do we not understand the production costs to actually put that food on our table?
Steve Jobs is a great example of our desire for a want and not need. He made billions off of us all because of a great product and marketing. A cup of coffee at star bucks costs on average over $3.00, and they make millions off of us. Michael Moore and Hollywood elite are protesting right a long with these individuals. They are demonizing the very system that made them wealthy. They made their wealth off of us.
Teachers, fireman, police, and military make nothing. I have a question to those that in their fields did you not know that you would not become wealthy off of this? It is known fact in this country that we do not make any money doing this, so why did we go into those fields? These are government jobs. Correct? We as taxpayers pay these jobs, so the more we add to the government’s responsibility to pay for we will make less. Government jobs need the private sector to pay for their salaries. If we go after corporations, individuals and businesses that are wealthy they will stop producing, and then where will money come from? Of course that is not fair and that shows greed, right? Government employees want more so how is that fair to the private sector? No one held a gun to your head and told you to take those jobs when you knew you wouldn’t make anything.
Here is what we are asking for; equality in pay. Ok let’s make it a law that everyone will receive the same salary. You work 8 hours and give 110 percent of yourself, and your co-worker only works 1 hour and gives nothing. How is that equal? Want to know how we are equal in God’s eyes. We are equal in the above definitions only. He will hold us accountable to that and why we thought life was going to be fair without working for it I don't understand.
Our very livelihoods are being taken from us right before our eyes. We wanted more, we envied it, we craved it, but who is going to pay for it. It looks like all of us are going to pay for it now, because that is what we are asking our government to do for us. Be careful for what we wish for, because we might just get it.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
(2 Timothy 3:1-9 ESV)
A feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by and in conjunction with desire for the possessions or qualities of another. The object of such feeling: Their new pool made them the envy of their neighbors
Greed
An excessive desire to acquire or possess more than what one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth: "Many . . . attach to competition the stigma of selfish
Redistribution of wealth
The act or process of redistributing. An economic theory or policy that advocates reducing inequalities in the distribution of wealth
Equality
The state or quality of being equal. Mathematics A statement, usually an equation, that one thing equals another.
Hope and change. Great campaign slogan. It worked didn’t it? We are in the midst of change. What is changing, and what do we see happening around we. We have watched protests in the Middle East and the fall of Egypt and Libya. We have watched the economic systems of Europe fall right before our eyes. Who’s to blame? Government or the people. What if I said it was the people? What if I said the elected officials did exactly what people wanted and created the policies that have brought the world economies down?
The Wall Street protests are interesting. They are asking the government to regulate and control the very institutions that hold our money and investments; correct? Top democrats are supporting it. Do you want the government controlling your money? Let’s put it this way. You save your money and make wise investments, but the government comes in says you have too much so we are going to take half of it, and give to someone else.
Yesterday I had online discussion regarding unions. It is interesting what is happening now with unions. There was a comment made that human rights were being violated because of collective bargaining. With the termination of unions employers are only required to maintain safety regulations for the employee. Someone made that comment that a teacher that had been there 10 years could be fired and replaced with a teacher that just graduated and would make less. What if that teacher of 10 years has a poor record regarding her students’ education, and if she is fired the union comes in and threatens to sue? They hire her back and she still has a poor teaching record?
Manufacturing in this country has been leaving for years. Why? It costs a lot in overhead to run a company. There was comment that India and China have higher regulation so why would they move overseas. The individuals that work in these countries in these fields don’t get paid anything. India and China have extreme poverty rates. Corporations can make the same product without the high overhead of paying their employees. The bottom line. The goal of business is to make money.
We glorify Hollywood and athletes in this country. We look at them and think they are heroes. We are in awe of these individuals. We look at investment bankers, CEO’s, and our politicians as greedy people because they profit off of you. Healthcare is demonized because it is making money off of you being sick. That is morally wrong; correct. Why? It costs millions and millions to cure disease, diagnose the disease, and treat the disease. We want cures, and treatments right?
Did we not understand interest rates when purchasing a home, a car or applying for a credit card? Did we not understand the fees associated with banks when they manage our checking accounts and savings? Did we not understand that when we hire an investment broker to manage our money for us that we would have to pay him?
When we turn our lights on do we think that just comes from no where, and the individuals that have to produce that electricity for us? When we pump gasoline into our cars do we not understand the production of that product? If there are millions of individuals purchasing food do we not understand the farming costs of raising the food. Do we not understand the production costs to actually put that food on our table?
Steve Jobs is a great example of our desire for a want and not need. He made billions off of us all because of a great product and marketing. A cup of coffee at star bucks costs on average over $3.00, and they make millions off of us. Michael Moore and Hollywood elite are protesting right a long with these individuals. They are demonizing the very system that made them wealthy. They made their wealth off of us.
Teachers, fireman, police, and military make nothing. I have a question to those that in their fields did you not know that you would not become wealthy off of this? It is known fact in this country that we do not make any money doing this, so why did we go into those fields? These are government jobs. Correct? We as taxpayers pay these jobs, so the more we add to the government’s responsibility to pay for we will make less. Government jobs need the private sector to pay for their salaries. If we go after corporations, individuals and businesses that are wealthy they will stop producing, and then where will money come from? Of course that is not fair and that shows greed, right? Government employees want more so how is that fair to the private sector? No one held a gun to your head and told you to take those jobs when you knew you wouldn’t make anything.
Here is what we are asking for; equality in pay. Ok let’s make it a law that everyone will receive the same salary. You work 8 hours and give 110 percent of yourself, and your co-worker only works 1 hour and gives nothing. How is that equal? Want to know how we are equal in God’s eyes. We are equal in the above definitions only. He will hold us accountable to that and why we thought life was going to be fair without working for it I don't understand.
Our very livelihoods are being taken from us right before our eyes. We wanted more, we envied it, we craved it, but who is going to pay for it. It looks like all of us are going to pay for it now, because that is what we are asking our government to do for us. Be careful for what we wish for, because we might just get it.
But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.
(2 Timothy 3:1-9 ESV)
Thursday, October 6, 2011
The Manipulations of Vulnerable Hearts
I have been attending a bible study class called deceived. It has been an eye opening class to so many of the deceptions that are played out in society. Quite a disturbing manipulation of doctrine and God. If our hearts and minds our vulnerable we gravitate towards something that will fill it. If we aren’t secure in ourselves we are looking for something to make us feel better and fulfill that need.
I’ve attended 3 of the discussions so far; The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, and The Mormon Church. The first two philosophies are just stupidity, but people really believe it. The Mormon Church is another story all together. I have never been interested in the Mormon philosophy just because the idea of polygamy was just crazy to me. Why would any man or women want to be married to multiple individuals is crazy. Marriage is hard enough with two people. They have denounced this practice, but the book of Mormon suggests otherwise when they die. They like to change the teaching of Joseph Smith. This religion is actually quite disturbing when you start researching the history. They believe Christ and Lucifer were brothers - that should be a sign right there. There are links below.
The two books I mentioned above we have probably seen Oprah push very hard. I stopped watching her a long time, because she gets on my nerves. I don’t care about how much money she has, and how much she gives to the world. I also think she has a God complex. I think she has done wonderful things, but somewhere a long the way she just got a little too involved with herself. I have tried a few times to watch again, and just can’t do it.
Scripture is what it is. It is the living word of God, and we love to change it in our minds. I do this a lot. I try to manipulate it into something it is not, and I am not always as accepting as I should be. I have my own issues that I need to work on without the interference of the world. Trying to understand and discern scripture is hard enough without all of this other crap. The problem with the philosophies above is that they try to use scripture to back up their beliefs.
I love to research things. I love to find out the facts and the motive behind why someone is saying something, or why they do something. I do have an issue with over analyzing the situation. Also, I get distracted too easily. If I am incorrect in it I need know why and see it. At some point all of us have tried to rationalize a circumstance or situation of why we did something, or didn’t. I know very few people that have the courage to live constantly backing up there decisions with scripture, or just to admit why they are doing it. If we do that we are considered bigots, racists, politically incorrect, selfish, or we don’t have compassion. We are all a work in progress.
I have been going through something that has had me questioning who I am. Good and bad things came out it. It pushed me to reevaluate some things. The bad part was that I allowed the perception of others to interfere with the great attributes of myself. The bad parts I can fix with work. No big deal and it was a blessing in the end. When it comes to politics I am willing to change if they can prove that it is really good for our country. God I can’t waiver on. I can educate myself more on scripture and seek wisdom from others that have been in this journey longer, but I will not allow an individual to persecute me or another because of their belief in Him.
The theory that Christians have to be perfect is ignorance in society. If he is not changing the way we perceive things, or how we relate to another then makes me wonder why someone would even do it. If we do not have love in our hearts, or compassion for another we have totally missed it. If we slander someone else for their beliefs or their mistakes without first seeing what is in our hearts it is the definition of hate, jealousy and envy. People just want to be accepted for who they are. We may not agree with it, but that doesn’t give us the right to be hateful towards another. Forcing someone to be something they are not is wrong. Forcing individuals to do more than what they can give is wrong.
It used to be acceptable in society to become older. Now if you physically look older that is bad. Women really get hit hard with this. First of all that is crazy. If you have a child sorry a woman’s body will change. I am back to size I was before I got married or had children, but stuff does not fit or look like it did when I was 25. I have wrinkles around my eyes and smile lines around my mouth. I remind myself when I look at those now that they are not wrinkles of age, they are wrinkles from smiling. I have to accept these things about myself. All this means is that I am maturing.
Seek wisdom and maturity. Seek facts and not myths. If something does not feel right check it out. If you know it is wrong just own it for what it is, and try to stop doing it. We put so much on ourselves to be perfect, look perfect and win the popularity contest with another. Here is the question is it worth it when you still feel so lost and needy? If we are trying to do the “popular” thing with a group, or someone else ask yourselves if those individuals will be with you through the good times and the bad?
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
(Galatians 1:6-10 ESV)
http://thesecret.tv/synopsis.html
http://eckharttolle.com/about/eckhart-teachings/
http://www.truthnet.org/Christianity/Cults/Mormon7/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q6brMrFw0E - this is about the mormon religious beliefs
I’ve attended 3 of the discussions so far; The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, and The Mormon Church. The first two philosophies are just stupidity, but people really believe it. The Mormon Church is another story all together. I have never been interested in the Mormon philosophy just because the idea of polygamy was just crazy to me. Why would any man or women want to be married to multiple individuals is crazy. Marriage is hard enough with two people. They have denounced this practice, but the book of Mormon suggests otherwise when they die. They like to change the teaching of Joseph Smith. This religion is actually quite disturbing when you start researching the history. They believe Christ and Lucifer were brothers - that should be a sign right there. There are links below.
The two books I mentioned above we have probably seen Oprah push very hard. I stopped watching her a long time, because she gets on my nerves. I don’t care about how much money she has, and how much she gives to the world. I also think she has a God complex. I think she has done wonderful things, but somewhere a long the way she just got a little too involved with herself. I have tried a few times to watch again, and just can’t do it.
Scripture is what it is. It is the living word of God, and we love to change it in our minds. I do this a lot. I try to manipulate it into something it is not, and I am not always as accepting as I should be. I have my own issues that I need to work on without the interference of the world. Trying to understand and discern scripture is hard enough without all of this other crap. The problem with the philosophies above is that they try to use scripture to back up their beliefs.
I love to research things. I love to find out the facts and the motive behind why someone is saying something, or why they do something. I do have an issue with over analyzing the situation. Also, I get distracted too easily. If I am incorrect in it I need know why and see it. At some point all of us have tried to rationalize a circumstance or situation of why we did something, or didn’t. I know very few people that have the courage to live constantly backing up there decisions with scripture, or just to admit why they are doing it. If we do that we are considered bigots, racists, politically incorrect, selfish, or we don’t have compassion. We are all a work in progress.
I have been going through something that has had me questioning who I am. Good and bad things came out it. It pushed me to reevaluate some things. The bad part was that I allowed the perception of others to interfere with the great attributes of myself. The bad parts I can fix with work. No big deal and it was a blessing in the end. When it comes to politics I am willing to change if they can prove that it is really good for our country. God I can’t waiver on. I can educate myself more on scripture and seek wisdom from others that have been in this journey longer, but I will not allow an individual to persecute me or another because of their belief in Him.
The theory that Christians have to be perfect is ignorance in society. If he is not changing the way we perceive things, or how we relate to another then makes me wonder why someone would even do it. If we do not have love in our hearts, or compassion for another we have totally missed it. If we slander someone else for their beliefs or their mistakes without first seeing what is in our hearts it is the definition of hate, jealousy and envy. People just want to be accepted for who they are. We may not agree with it, but that doesn’t give us the right to be hateful towards another. Forcing someone to be something they are not is wrong. Forcing individuals to do more than what they can give is wrong.
It used to be acceptable in society to become older. Now if you physically look older that is bad. Women really get hit hard with this. First of all that is crazy. If you have a child sorry a woman’s body will change. I am back to size I was before I got married or had children, but stuff does not fit or look like it did when I was 25. I have wrinkles around my eyes and smile lines around my mouth. I remind myself when I look at those now that they are not wrinkles of age, they are wrinkles from smiling. I have to accept these things about myself. All this means is that I am maturing.
Seek wisdom and maturity. Seek facts and not myths. If something does not feel right check it out. If you know it is wrong just own it for what it is, and try to stop doing it. We put so much on ourselves to be perfect, look perfect and win the popularity contest with another. Here is the question is it worth it when you still feel so lost and needy? If we are trying to do the “popular” thing with a group, or someone else ask yourselves if those individuals will be with you through the good times and the bad?
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
(Galatians 1:6-10 ESV)
http://thesecret.tv/synopsis.html
http://eckharttolle.com/about/eckhart-teachings/
http://www.truthnet.org/Christianity/Cults/Mormon7/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7q6brMrFw0E - this is about the mormon religious beliefs
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
maturity, the church and friendships
I have been reading about Paul and his friendships during his journey. We know that he had great love for Timothy who Paul entrusted to carry on his mission. We also know that some along the way fled out of fear, and became lovers of the world. I don’t begrudge them for that because it is very hard to put God and his laws above society. Especially in the world we live in today.
Two misconceptions in society about being a “Christian” that says if we don’t constantly give, or if we are choosing to live a Christian life we are judgmental. Society’s definition is not god’s definition. The church is not the definition of being a follower of Christ. They are all different in how they worship him, and they feel that is how God intended for them to worship. The Catholic Church believes it is the only true church of God, and protestant churches feel the same way. We have become so blinded by the traditions and rules of the church that we replace God.
What are our motives in how we view society? Is it from scripture, or from the church? Are we lumping together a group of individuals instead of looking at the individual? Are we judging the individual on appearance, or by the actions? Are we looking at their deeds more than their faith, or faith without deeds? I know “Christians” that do really stupid things, and I know “non-Christians” that do great things. Just because they don’t attend does not mean they are not followers of Christ. We have to be careful when we make that assumption.
When I was diagnosed with MS my old life no longer existed. I had to give it up. The road ahead was not something that I had chosen for myself. It was a burden that I did not want. I did not want to give up “the good time” of being in my twenties. I like to forget that I have MS. I like to think that it is not there. When I told people that I was sick I wanted sympathy for being sick, and I wanted to be taken care of by my family and friends. This was stupid and immature. I decided to go the opposite route and pretend it wasn’t there. I didn’t want people to see the physical and emotional side of it. That is being too vulnerable, and I have a lot of pride. I would end being disappointed when I expected too much from someone else. This was my issue not someone else’s.
There are 6 women that have seen me when I am extremely sick. My husband, my parents, and my in-laws have seen me this way. My children do not yet understand. These women are the ones that I go to for advice, for laughs, for crying, etc. I am very guarded with who sees me during this time. I am too vulnerable at that time, and I’m not comfortable showing that side of myself.
One of these women I met through my husband. When I was first diagnosed we had kind of a falling out, but it was more of a misunderstanding. We wasted a lot of time when all we should have done was talk it out. It was nothing that she did it was me expecting something that she didn’t know I needed.
The last couple of months have been very weird for us. We left our church, but we finally have peace about it. It is the first time in years that I have not felt guilty about missing a Sunday, or saying no. I made some really bad choices awhile ago and I have had to own up to it. He forced me to see it for what it was. We heard sermon on Sunday about not letting religion become the authority in our lives. We had done that. In the process we relied on our church to fill the void that God should be filling. We forget that the church is run by men. That is why it is not perfect.
My choices were pushing me away from these women. This was wrong. The beautiful part about this is these women let me go through this knowing what I was doing was not right. They didn’t judge me, they didn’t push me to stop, and they didn’t stop being my friend. They love me unconditionally without fear or judgment - that is love. They understand that we go through trials that each of has to deal with. If you have individuals like this in your life cherish them. This is God’s definition of friendship. Friends can handle the good and bad times. We are willing to work it out no matter how hard it is to confront.
This is growing with Him. This is maturity. This is being able to constantly discern and seek wisdom.We either fail at it, or succeed. That is our choice. We can either stay calm and push through it, or ignore it. I don’t know what the answers are. Below is my favorite parable in the bible, or story. The reason why is because this is how I believe we should see individuals; no one is perfect The sin committed can be replaced with every sin that Christ tells us about. Not one person in our lives can say they are without sin. Even our thoughts can be sin. Recognize it for what is.
“but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:1-11 ESV)
Two misconceptions in society about being a “Christian” that says if we don’t constantly give, or if we are choosing to live a Christian life we are judgmental. Society’s definition is not god’s definition. The church is not the definition of being a follower of Christ. They are all different in how they worship him, and they feel that is how God intended for them to worship. The Catholic Church believes it is the only true church of God, and protestant churches feel the same way. We have become so blinded by the traditions and rules of the church that we replace God.
What are our motives in how we view society? Is it from scripture, or from the church? Are we lumping together a group of individuals instead of looking at the individual? Are we judging the individual on appearance, or by the actions? Are we looking at their deeds more than their faith, or faith without deeds? I know “Christians” that do really stupid things, and I know “non-Christians” that do great things. Just because they don’t attend does not mean they are not followers of Christ. We have to be careful when we make that assumption.
When I was diagnosed with MS my old life no longer existed. I had to give it up. The road ahead was not something that I had chosen for myself. It was a burden that I did not want. I did not want to give up “the good time” of being in my twenties. I like to forget that I have MS. I like to think that it is not there. When I told people that I was sick I wanted sympathy for being sick, and I wanted to be taken care of by my family and friends. This was stupid and immature. I decided to go the opposite route and pretend it wasn’t there. I didn’t want people to see the physical and emotional side of it. That is being too vulnerable, and I have a lot of pride. I would end being disappointed when I expected too much from someone else. This was my issue not someone else’s.
There are 6 women that have seen me when I am extremely sick. My husband, my parents, and my in-laws have seen me this way. My children do not yet understand. These women are the ones that I go to for advice, for laughs, for crying, etc. I am very guarded with who sees me during this time. I am too vulnerable at that time, and I’m not comfortable showing that side of myself.
One of these women I met through my husband. When I was first diagnosed we had kind of a falling out, but it was more of a misunderstanding. We wasted a lot of time when all we should have done was talk it out. It was nothing that she did it was me expecting something that she didn’t know I needed.
The last couple of months have been very weird for us. We left our church, but we finally have peace about it. It is the first time in years that I have not felt guilty about missing a Sunday, or saying no. I made some really bad choices awhile ago and I have had to own up to it. He forced me to see it for what it was. We heard sermon on Sunday about not letting religion become the authority in our lives. We had done that. In the process we relied on our church to fill the void that God should be filling. We forget that the church is run by men. That is why it is not perfect.
My choices were pushing me away from these women. This was wrong. The beautiful part about this is these women let me go through this knowing what I was doing was not right. They didn’t judge me, they didn’t push me to stop, and they didn’t stop being my friend. They love me unconditionally without fear or judgment - that is love. They understand that we go through trials that each of has to deal with. If you have individuals like this in your life cherish them. This is God’s definition of friendship. Friends can handle the good and bad times. We are willing to work it out no matter how hard it is to confront.
This is growing with Him. This is maturity. This is being able to constantly discern and seek wisdom.We either fail at it, or succeed. That is our choice. We can either stay calm and push through it, or ignore it. I don’t know what the answers are. Below is my favorite parable in the bible, or story. The reason why is because this is how I believe we should see individuals; no one is perfect The sin committed can be replaced with every sin that Christ tells us about. Not one person in our lives can say they are without sin. Even our thoughts can be sin. Recognize it for what is.
“but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:1-11 ESV)
Monday, October 3, 2011
The Sermon on The Mount. The Model of a Follower
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
(Matthew 5 ESV)
And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
(Matthew 5 ESV)
Sunday, October 2, 2011
my apologies
We have been attending a new church. What we have been praying for so long has finally been found, and it is a huge blessing for both us. We don’t feel blinded by religion any longer. We had begun to worship the church and not him. These rules that we had begun to set up weren’t correct in our love of Christ. He pushed us to leave our comfort zone, and it has not been an easy journey for us lately. The ending result has made us stronger in him.
There are two pieces of scripture that I have really thought god made a mistake when he put it there. Well, that has not worked out well for me. I never asked anybody the correct interpretation of those scriptures until today. I wasted a great deal of time struggling with this when I should have done it years ago. I got the answer today and I finally get what he has been trying to show me. I had ignored advice from individuals about this for years. I was beginning to believe that God was wrong when he put it in scripture.
For years I was scared to write, and this has been a desire that I had suppressed for a very a long time, because I did not believe I could. Well I can. I am terrible at proofreading. I am not an editor. The thing is, is I really don’t care. When I write I am releasing the burdens or struggles that I am facing in this journey. I have become too self-righteous in my journey with him. Be careful for what we pray for, or wish because he will usually show us that we are doing exactly that. I wasn’t living it, just preaching it. I have not practiced the taming of the tongue like I should.
I am not good with balance. I never have been and I struggle with this everyday. I allow too many things to interfere in my life that just does not need be there. I am making it to hard to live. Instead of just doing it or being led by the spirit I question his authority. When I read ‘slave, by John MacArthur” it changed everything and every view I had. From that moment on I began looking in the mirror and I was not impressed with my understanding of scripture. I wasn’t living it. I was so scared of defending him that I ended up him denying him. I was giving more than what I wanted because I thought that was the definition of being a Christian.
I apologize to you. I have had to check the motive behind the beliefs. I had to wake up. Religion was becoming my idol. I wanted to change people’s hearts, but I was doing it for the wrong reason. I wanted them to conform to what I thought was right, and not God. Guess what that is what this country has become. We are fighting for our individuality, and not to be told how to live. We are fighting the belief system of what we think god would want us to do, and not really doing it. We are blind, and not seeing things for what they are.
My goals are to be a good wife, and mother. My goal is to be a good friend to another. My goal is to put him above everyone and everything. I prayed to be more like Paul a couple of months ago, and really there I days why I wish I had not done that. I want to take it back. He is rough, and was also a true follower of Christ. He did exactly what God told him to do without any regard to what he was losing by doing it. What he gained was Christ. When stand up for his laws we will lose people in our lives. Guess what he wants it that way. He wants us to defend him and he wants us to remove the guilt, or shame for it.
If we truly sit back, be silent, and watch it will hit you like a ton of bricks. I wasn’t being true to myself, because others couldn‘t handle that. I had lost my way. I was seeking the world and not him. I wanted it to be my way. I lost a huge lesson that I learned years ago. I was becoming the label of a Christian without being a Christian.
Guard your hearts from the world and what others think we should be. It is not worth losing him over.
“Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me” psalm 41:9
“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” proverbs 13:20
There are two pieces of scripture that I have really thought god made a mistake when he put it there. Well, that has not worked out well for me. I never asked anybody the correct interpretation of those scriptures until today. I wasted a great deal of time struggling with this when I should have done it years ago. I got the answer today and I finally get what he has been trying to show me. I had ignored advice from individuals about this for years. I was beginning to believe that God was wrong when he put it in scripture.
For years I was scared to write, and this has been a desire that I had suppressed for a very a long time, because I did not believe I could. Well I can. I am terrible at proofreading. I am not an editor. The thing is, is I really don’t care. When I write I am releasing the burdens or struggles that I am facing in this journey. I have become too self-righteous in my journey with him. Be careful for what we pray for, or wish because he will usually show us that we are doing exactly that. I wasn’t living it, just preaching it. I have not practiced the taming of the tongue like I should.
I am not good with balance. I never have been and I struggle with this everyday. I allow too many things to interfere in my life that just does not need be there. I am making it to hard to live. Instead of just doing it or being led by the spirit I question his authority. When I read ‘slave, by John MacArthur” it changed everything and every view I had. From that moment on I began looking in the mirror and I was not impressed with my understanding of scripture. I wasn’t living it. I was so scared of defending him that I ended up him denying him. I was giving more than what I wanted because I thought that was the definition of being a Christian.
I apologize to you. I have had to check the motive behind the beliefs. I had to wake up. Religion was becoming my idol. I wanted to change people’s hearts, but I was doing it for the wrong reason. I wanted them to conform to what I thought was right, and not God. Guess what that is what this country has become. We are fighting for our individuality, and not to be told how to live. We are fighting the belief system of what we think god would want us to do, and not really doing it. We are blind, and not seeing things for what they are.
My goals are to be a good wife, and mother. My goal is to be a good friend to another. My goal is to put him above everyone and everything. I prayed to be more like Paul a couple of months ago, and really there I days why I wish I had not done that. I want to take it back. He is rough, and was also a true follower of Christ. He did exactly what God told him to do without any regard to what he was losing by doing it. What he gained was Christ. When stand up for his laws we will lose people in our lives. Guess what he wants it that way. He wants us to defend him and he wants us to remove the guilt, or shame for it.
If we truly sit back, be silent, and watch it will hit you like a ton of bricks. I wasn’t being true to myself, because others couldn‘t handle that. I had lost my way. I was seeking the world and not him. I wanted it to be my way. I lost a huge lesson that I learned years ago. I was becoming the label of a Christian without being a Christian.
Guard your hearts from the world and what others think we should be. It is not worth losing him over.
“Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me” psalm 41:9
“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” proverbs 13:20
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Who says that we can't change?
Who says that we can’t change? We have a serious communication problem in our country. We are told that we can’t change one day, and the next day we are told we can. The biggest one that really bothers me is that I shouldn’t have to change, and you should accept me for the way I am. We tell ourselves this over and over again. It is very easy to say we can’t change. We can change it we just don’t want to. I have been reading numerous postings and articles about one of the key reasons there is a breakdown in our society as whole; marriage.
Marriage is a tough one. Our need to intrude on individuals lives is really disgusting in my opinion. We have taken it upon ourselves to change another individual without accepting that only the individual can change their circumstance. As we get older we begin to understand that people just want to be able to live without others dictating how they should live. If we allow individuals to come into our marriages that shouldn’t be there it will probably end.
A month before we got married I had nightmares about failing in my marriage. Then I got sick, my husband lost his job and we were forced to change. We had advice from everyone on how we were to handle it. What we should do, how we should do it and whether or not we even loved each other. We only had 2 people say we could do it, because they knew we loved each other and it was not family or friends. We both had individuals in our life that interfered in our marriage to an extreme where it caused great turmoil between us.
What is interesting about this is I never believed that I was good enough for my husband until really almost a year ago. I just knew that anything that happened was my fault, or was going to be fault. I felt such guilt that this man had married me knowing that I was sick, and he should be considered a saint. I rebelled on quite a few occasions, and then I felt tremendous guilt so I would give in. Now we know when we have reached our limit. We know when we are going to have change whether we want to or not.
Interference is the biggest issue I see with our country. We aren’t allowed any longer to have our own opinions and live a certain way because then we aren't being compassionate, or loving. Now we are enablers, because was too scared that we are going to hurt someone's feelings. We have made it so hard that I don’t think we have the ability any longer to compromise. This doesn’t really surprise me any longer. We are so worried about another’s opinion of us, and are made to feel guilty for saying no. How in the world are we going to solve these things without telling each the truth. It takes two to create a problem. In this country it is two parties that are creating the problem.
It seems that we only have the ability to see one side of a story, or circumstance. We are no longer capable of putting ourselves in another’s shoes. We just aren’t going to do it. Why can’t we do it? Why can’t we see both of sides of the problem? If we can’t even keep our marriages together how in the world can we run a country? That is one reason why it was so odd for my parents to watch me go down that path in my marriage. That was not the daughter they raised. They finally after years of watching me do it, said you are good enough to be his wife.
If we are taught, told, or made to believe that we can’t do something then we start to believe it. If we think this about ourselves we to believe it. Think about minorities in this country. For years individuals have been telling minorities that they are disadvantaged. Why would we could continue somewhat when the facts go against it? Why would we allow someone to imply that to another? Why would someone accept that about themselves? I did and I get it. It is easy to fall into that trap. They are too many individuals that overcome those obstacles to use it as an excuse any longer. If anything scripture teaches us there is no problem to big to solve.
I have heard stories about marriages that biblically could have ended, but they didn’t. This includes my marriage. We condemn individuals if they stand by their spouse when they have committed a great sin against each other. I rarely hear individuals commend them for working it out. We never know what we can do in our marriage until we are put in a position that could destroy our marriage.
The main reason I am even bringing marriage up is because we having on going argument about my husband being late every night. Right now he has a huge project that he is working on, so is working long hours. Well, when he doesn’t have those he is still late. I have been on him about being home for dinner every night with our boys, and the importance of it for years. He actually made it home for dinner, and the boys did not want to do that. They are used to him not being here for dinner. Well, he got mad at me and said you made me feel guilty for nothing. Two days later my oldest made the comment to him why do we have to do that? You are never home for dinner and are always late. It bothered my husband a great deal. He knows that by not changing this part of him it is setting example that he does not want for them to have.
We are both extremely stubborn and have a lot of pride. It is hard for both us to admit when we are wrong. When we finally do it things fall into place. When we return to how God sees marriage it works out. We are one in his eyes. Whatever we do in our marriages or what we are allowing to happen in our marriages will affect it. We are to treat each other with great love and respect just as we would Christ. If anything or anyone causes tension in our marriage that is a sin against God. There is no way around it. We have no business involving ourselves in another’s marriage. God sees them as one. This includes our families and friends.
The question we should be asking ourselves about our country is why would we want a bigger government? We have these beliefs about all of the issues, but when it really comes down to it would we let it interfere in our marriage, or our life? If you are single would you really allow the government to interfere in how you live your life? We are only seeing it as a whole, and not how it would individually affect our lives. Once these laws are set it is going to be very hard to reverse them, or change them.
http://www.esvbible.org/search/Ephesians%2B5/
Marriage is a tough one. Our need to intrude on individuals lives is really disgusting in my opinion. We have taken it upon ourselves to change another individual without accepting that only the individual can change their circumstance. As we get older we begin to understand that people just want to be able to live without others dictating how they should live. If we allow individuals to come into our marriages that shouldn’t be there it will probably end.
A month before we got married I had nightmares about failing in my marriage. Then I got sick, my husband lost his job and we were forced to change. We had advice from everyone on how we were to handle it. What we should do, how we should do it and whether or not we even loved each other. We only had 2 people say we could do it, because they knew we loved each other and it was not family or friends. We both had individuals in our life that interfered in our marriage to an extreme where it caused great turmoil between us.
What is interesting about this is I never believed that I was good enough for my husband until really almost a year ago. I just knew that anything that happened was my fault, or was going to be fault. I felt such guilt that this man had married me knowing that I was sick, and he should be considered a saint. I rebelled on quite a few occasions, and then I felt tremendous guilt so I would give in. Now we know when we have reached our limit. We know when we are going to have change whether we want to or not.
Interference is the biggest issue I see with our country. We aren’t allowed any longer to have our own opinions and live a certain way because then we aren't being compassionate, or loving. Now we are enablers, because was too scared that we are going to hurt someone's feelings. We have made it so hard that I don’t think we have the ability any longer to compromise. This doesn’t really surprise me any longer. We are so worried about another’s opinion of us, and are made to feel guilty for saying no. How in the world are we going to solve these things without telling each the truth. It takes two to create a problem. In this country it is two parties that are creating the problem.
It seems that we only have the ability to see one side of a story, or circumstance. We are no longer capable of putting ourselves in another’s shoes. We just aren’t going to do it. Why can’t we do it? Why can’t we see both of sides of the problem? If we can’t even keep our marriages together how in the world can we run a country? That is one reason why it was so odd for my parents to watch me go down that path in my marriage. That was not the daughter they raised. They finally after years of watching me do it, said you are good enough to be his wife.
If we are taught, told, or made to believe that we can’t do something then we start to believe it. If we think this about ourselves we to believe it. Think about minorities in this country. For years individuals have been telling minorities that they are disadvantaged. Why would we could continue somewhat when the facts go against it? Why would we allow someone to imply that to another? Why would someone accept that about themselves? I did and I get it. It is easy to fall into that trap. They are too many individuals that overcome those obstacles to use it as an excuse any longer. If anything scripture teaches us there is no problem to big to solve.
I have heard stories about marriages that biblically could have ended, but they didn’t. This includes my marriage. We condemn individuals if they stand by their spouse when they have committed a great sin against each other. I rarely hear individuals commend them for working it out. We never know what we can do in our marriage until we are put in a position that could destroy our marriage.
The main reason I am even bringing marriage up is because we having on going argument about my husband being late every night. Right now he has a huge project that he is working on, so is working long hours. Well, when he doesn’t have those he is still late. I have been on him about being home for dinner every night with our boys, and the importance of it for years. He actually made it home for dinner, and the boys did not want to do that. They are used to him not being here for dinner. Well, he got mad at me and said you made me feel guilty for nothing. Two days later my oldest made the comment to him why do we have to do that? You are never home for dinner and are always late. It bothered my husband a great deal. He knows that by not changing this part of him it is setting example that he does not want for them to have.
We are both extremely stubborn and have a lot of pride. It is hard for both us to admit when we are wrong. When we finally do it things fall into place. When we return to how God sees marriage it works out. We are one in his eyes. Whatever we do in our marriages or what we are allowing to happen in our marriages will affect it. We are to treat each other with great love and respect just as we would Christ. If anything or anyone causes tension in our marriage that is a sin against God. There is no way around it. We have no business involving ourselves in another’s marriage. God sees them as one. This includes our families and friends.
The question we should be asking ourselves about our country is why would we want a bigger government? We have these beliefs about all of the issues, but when it really comes down to it would we let it interfere in our marriage, or our life? If you are single would you really allow the government to interfere in how you live your life? We are only seeing it as a whole, and not how it would individually affect our lives. Once these laws are set it is going to be very hard to reverse them, or change them.
http://www.esvbible.org/search/Ephesians%2B5/
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