“The the woman He said, ‘I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you shall bring forth children; yet your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.’ Then to Adam He said, -- ‘Cursed is the ground because of you. In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground because from it you were taken.’” Genesis 5:16-19a
“The ‘plot’ of Genesis is: God learns how to be a parent. The disruption in Eden changed the world forever, destroying the intimacy Adam and Eve had known. God and human beings had to get used to each other. The humans set the pace by breaking all the rules, and God responded with individualised punishments. All creation would have to adjust to the choice Adam had made.” *
Yet God knew and risked freedom for us, while He desired our love be freely given to Him. How painful it must be to be God!
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Fred, my life mentor, hospital tests. Casey with hugh life changes. Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); Adrian with significant life changes. God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Divine Abdication
“And immediately He made the disciples get into the boat, and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And after He had sent the multitudes away, He went up to the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone. But the boat was already many stadia away from the land, bettered by the waves; for the wind was contrary.
“And in the fourth watch of night He came to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’
“And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
“But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” Matthew 14:22-31
“Perhaps we do not realise the problem, so to call it, of enabling finite free wills to co-exist with Omnipotence. It seems to involve at every moment almost a sort of ‘divine abdication’.” – C. S. Lewis *
Jesus friend had been killed and He delayed His grieving to feed 5,000 who clamoured for His attention and teaching. Then He needed space. Yet His disciples were in trouble. When He came to them, they doubted. Peter doubted and asked for proof. Proof was not enough as Peter took His eyes off Jesus to focus on the circumstances. Yet Jesus saved Peter and the other disciples despite their doubt. I wonder how Jesus felt.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Fred, my life mentor, hospital tests. Casey with hugs life changes. Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); Adrian with significant life changes. God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“And in the fourth watch of night He came to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.’
“And Peter answered Him and said, ‘Lord if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ And He said, ‘Come!’ And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
“But seeing the wind, he became afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, ‘Lord, save me!’ And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” Matthew 14:22-31
“Perhaps we do not realise the problem, so to call it, of enabling finite free wills to co-exist with Omnipotence. It seems to involve at every moment almost a sort of ‘divine abdication’.” – C. S. Lewis *
Jesus friend had been killed and He delayed His grieving to feed 5,000 who clamoured for His attention and teaching. Then He needed space. Yet His disciples were in trouble. When He came to them, they doubted. Peter doubted and asked for proof. Proof was not enough as Peter took His eyes off Jesus to focus on the circumstances. Yet Jesus saved Peter and the other disciples despite their doubt. I wonder how Jesus felt.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Fred, my life mentor, hospital tests. Casey with hugs life changes. Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); Adrian with significant life changes. God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Monday, June 28, 2010
Rebellious Freedom
“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from whence shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
“The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.” Psalm 121
“Why would Adam and Eve want to rebel? – Creation, which seems like pure freedom, involves limitations. And as Adam and Eve soon learned, rebellion, which also seems like freedom, involves limitation as well. – And every quiver of disappointment in our own relationship with God is an aftershock from their initial act of rebellion.” *
A traffic light gives us freedom and is there to allow us to be safe, yet with this promised safety comes the limitation of choice – to acknowledge and act accordingly in harmony or to rebel against the hope of harmony. As with most things, risk does not equate with reward only discord and sometimes danger and pain.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Fred, my life mentor, hospital tests. Casey with hugs life changes. Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); Adrian with significant life changes. God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Chance for Real Love
“’For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (full, perfect and complete payment) for our sins. – We love because He first loved us.” I John 4:10, 19
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“Can I be loved by creatures whom I have not programmed to adore Me forever? Can love arise out of freedom? What if I create being in My own image as a Creator, beings who are free? But if I introduce freedom into this universe, I take the risk of introducing Evil into it as well, for if they are free, then they are free to deviate from My will.
“What if out of every occasion of evil, I respond with an unimaginable good, a good that overwhelms Evil by springing out of the very attempts of evil to deny the Good. What if I join with them in the world of limitation and form, the world of suffering and Evil? (by Loren Eisley in The Star Thrower) *
God knew the struggle that would result with freedom, but He risked it because He would rather do that than live without YOU...that is how great His love is for YOU and He longs for your love in return.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Casey, for support through some very difficult life changes; Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); Adrian with significant life changes. God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (full, perfect and complete payment) for our sins. – We love because He first loved us.” I John 4:10, 19
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
“Can I be loved by creatures whom I have not programmed to adore Me forever? Can love arise out of freedom? What if I create being in My own image as a Creator, beings who are free? But if I introduce freedom into this universe, I take the risk of introducing Evil into it as well, for if they are free, then they are free to deviate from My will.
“What if out of every occasion of evil, I respond with an unimaginable good, a good that overwhelms Evil by springing out of the very attempts of evil to deny the Good. What if I join with them in the world of limitation and form, the world of suffering and Evil? (by Loren Eisley in The Star Thrower) *
God knew the struggle that would result with freedom, but He risked it because He would rather do that than live without YOU...that is how great His love is for YOU and He longs for your love in return.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Casey, for support through some very difficult life changes; Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); Adrian with significant life changes. God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Risk for Reward?
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ And God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over te fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
"-- the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.’” Genesis 1:26-28, 2:15-17
“God designed them in His own image, desiring to recognise something of Himself in them. They were like a mirror, reflecting back His own likeness. But Adam and Eve had another distinction as well: alone of all God’s creatures, they have a moral capacity to rebel against their Creator. They were, in a word, free. ‘Man is God’s risk,’ said one theologian. Another, Soren Kierkegaard, put it this way: ‘God has, so to speak, imprisoned Himself in His resolve.’ How can a sovereign God take risks or imprison Himself? Yet God’s creation of man and woman approached that kind of astonishing self-limitation.” *
God could have sent His angels to keep everything around Adam and Eve in order or just have created everything to be self-maintaining or done it Himself. Instead He handed His trust over to His creation, hoping in the potential power of His love to motivate them. What a risk He took for the potential reward of being loved by His creation.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); Adrian with significant life changes. God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
"-- the Lord God took the man and put him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.’” Genesis 1:26-28, 2:15-17
“God designed them in His own image, desiring to recognise something of Himself in them. They were like a mirror, reflecting back His own likeness. But Adam and Eve had another distinction as well: alone of all God’s creatures, they have a moral capacity to rebel against their Creator. They were, in a word, free. ‘Man is God’s risk,’ said one theologian. Another, Soren Kierkegaard, put it this way: ‘God has, so to speak, imprisoned Himself in His resolve.’ How can a sovereign God take risks or imprison Himself? Yet God’s creation of man and woman approached that kind of astonishing self-limitation.” *
God could have sent His angels to keep everything around Adam and Eve in order or just have created everything to be self-maintaining or done it Himself. Instead He handed His trust over to His creation, hoping in the potential power of His love to motivate them. What a risk He took for the potential reward of being loved by His creation.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); Adrian with significant life changes. God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Zimsum
“’Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? Or who enclosed the sea with doors, when, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; when I made a cloud its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band, and I placed boundaries on it, and I set a bold and doors, and I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; and here shall your proud waves stop’? Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know its place; that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?’” Job 38:4-13
“When God created, He invented the media as He went, calling into being what had existed only in His imagination and along with every free choice came a limitation. He chose a world of time and space, a “medium” with peculiar restrictions: sequential time. God’s choice imposed limits we have lived with ever since. This is God’s self-limitation, or as Hasidic scholars say, zimsum.” *
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“When God created, He invented the media as He went, calling into being what had existed only in His imagination and along with every free choice came a limitation. He chose a world of time and space, a “medium” with peculiar restrictions: sequential time. God’s choice imposed limits we have lived with ever since. This is God’s self-limitation, or as Hasidic scholars say, zimsum.” *
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Pride & Joy
“And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31a
“’Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth; while He had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world. When He established the heavens, I was there. When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed. When He set for the sea its boundary, so that the water should not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundation of the earth; then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him. Rejoicing in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men.’” Proverbs 8:30
“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me! Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sand together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?’ Job 38:1-7Job 38:7
“Creation as it felt to God – every artist has felt an echo, a sympathetic vibration: a craftsman who squints at his finished product and reckons, ‘Very good’, a performer who cannot suppress a grin when the audience stands and cheers; even a child with her glued-together Popsicle sticks.
“It has been said repeatedly that one can never, try as he will, get around to the front of the universe. Man is destined to see only its far side, to realise nature only in retreat -- at the heart of the universe is a smile, a pulse of joy passed down from the moment of creation. – In the beginning, the very beginning, there was no disappointment. Only joy.”*
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS:To help those who say the devotions with the prayer requests is growing too long, I have moved the prayer requests to a section to the left, under urgent prayer requests. This may not prove satisfactory, and I may change it back, but look for current prayer requests and praise there for now.
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“’Before the mountains were settled, before the hills I was brought forth; while He had not yet made the earth and the fields, nor the first dust of the world. When He established the heavens, I was there. When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep, when He made firm the skies above, when the springs of the deep became fixed. When He set for the sea its boundary, so that the water should not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundation of the earth; then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him. Rejoicing in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men.’” Proverbs 8:30
“Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, ‘Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me! Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sand together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?’ Job 38:1-7Job 38:7
“Creation as it felt to God – every artist has felt an echo, a sympathetic vibration: a craftsman who squints at his finished product and reckons, ‘Very good’, a performer who cannot suppress a grin when the audience stands and cheers; even a child with her glued-together Popsicle sticks.
“It has been said repeatedly that one can never, try as he will, get around to the front of the universe. Man is destined to see only its far side, to realise nature only in retreat -- at the heart of the universe is a smile, a pulse of joy passed down from the moment of creation. – In the beginning, the very beginning, there was no disappointment. Only joy.”*
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS:To help those who say the devotions with the prayer requests is growing too long, I have moved the prayer requests to a section to the left, under urgent prayer requests. This may not prove satisfactory, and I may change it back, but look for current prayer requests and praise there for now.
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Like a Watch?
“Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him. – He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.” Isaiah 30:18-19
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and turn away from evil; it will be healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:5-8
“The reason the mass of men fear God, and at the bottom dislike Him, is because they rather distrust His heart, and fancy Him all brain like a watch.” -- Herman Melville *
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer,
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Analyse This !
“And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them; for they did not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots dividing up His garments amongst themselves. And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.’ –
"And one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, ‘Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!’ But the other answered, and rebuking him said, ‘Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds, but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!’ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’” Luke 23:33-43
Yet three more questions: “Why does He seek contact with human beings in the first place? What is He pursuing in us, and what interferes with that pursuit? I turned to the Bible again, trying to HEAR God’s Words as if for the first time. He speaks for Himself there, and I realised that I had not often paid attention. I had been too preoccupied with MY feelings to listen attentively to HIS feelings. – God doesn’t care so much about being analysed. Mainly, He wants to be loved!” *
And one more from me: How could God love you and me so much He would rather die than live without us!?
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Monday, June 14, 2010
Too Much Knowledge
“All things are wearisome; man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing. -- And I set my mind to know wisdom and to know madness and folly; I realised that this was striving after wind. Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain. ” Ecclesiastes 1:18
“The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. The words of the wise man are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.” Ecclesiastic 12:10-12”
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behaviour his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealously and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the Truth. – For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” James 3:13-14, 16
“I have shelves full of books presenting the dilemma of being human. Some are funny, some anguished, some sarcastic, some densely philosophical, but all express the same basic viewpoint: ‘Here’s what it feels like to be a human being.’ People disappointed with God likewise focus on the human point of view. – We’re really asking why is God unfair to ME? Why does He seem silent with ME, and hidden from ME?’”* Alexander Pope said that “too much knowledge is a dangerous thing”. It becomes dangerous when it focuses on ME.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. The words of the wise man are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.” Ecclesiastic 12:10-12”
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behaviour his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealously and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the Truth. – For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” James 3:13-14, 16
“I have shelves full of books presenting the dilemma of being human. Some are funny, some anguished, some sarcastic, some densely philosophical, but all express the same basic viewpoint: ‘Here’s what it feels like to be a human being.’ People disappointed with God likewise focus on the human point of view. – We’re really asking why is God unfair to ME? Why does He seem silent with ME, and hidden from ME?’”* Alexander Pope said that “too much knowledge is a dangerous thing”. It becomes dangerous when it focuses on ME.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Thursday, June 10, 2010
3 Questions of Perspective
“’For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did NOT send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.’” John 3:16-17
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (full and perfect, appropriate payment) for our sins.” I John 4:10
“For Thou does not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it. Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. O God Thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17
The Three Questions (Is God unfair? Is God silent? Is God hidden?) “are not puzzles awaiting solutions, such as you would encounter in the field of mathematics or computer programming or even philosophy. Rather, they are problems of relationship between human being and a God who WANTS desperately to love and be loved by us.” *
Three more questions of perspective: Have you ever loved someone? Have you ever loved someone who didn’t seem to even know you existed? Have you ever worked hard at a relationship only to find the other person walks away from you?
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer.
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (full and perfect, appropriate payment) for our sins.” I John 4:10
“For Thou does not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it. Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart. O God Thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51:16-17
The Three Questions (Is God unfair? Is God silent? Is God hidden?) “are not puzzles awaiting solutions, such as you would encounter in the field of mathematics or computer programming or even philosophy. Rather, they are problems of relationship between human being and a God who WANTS desperately to love and be loved by us.” *
Three more questions of perspective: Have you ever loved someone? Have you ever loved someone who didn’t seem to even know you existed? Have you ever worked hard at a relationship only to find the other person walks away from you?
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer.
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Sandals
“Like a shepherd He will tend His flock. In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.” Isaiah 40:11
“And He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch. And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. And He was saying, ‘Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee, remove this cup from Me, yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.’ And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour:’” Mark 14:34-37
“I marvelled at how much God lets human beings affect Him. I was unprepared for the joy and anguish – in short, the passion of the God of the Universe. By studying “about: God, by taming Him and reducing Him in words and concepts that could be filed away in alphabetical order, I had lost the force of the passionate relationship God seeks above all else.” *
When I teach Bible studies, I have a regular exercise called, “Putting on the Sandals”. We read a passage together and discuss it, then I ask everyone to close their eyes and stop for a moment in prayer and challenge them to use their imagination to “enter” the scene we’ve just read and consider what it looks and feels like. It helps us draw closer to our Father and the Bible He has so generously left for us as His love letter.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer.
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“And He said to them, ‘My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch. And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass Him by. And He was saying, ‘Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee, remove this cup from Me, yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.’ And He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour:’” Mark 14:34-37
“I marvelled at how much God lets human beings affect Him. I was unprepared for the joy and anguish – in short, the passion of the God of the Universe. By studying “about: God, by taming Him and reducing Him in words and concepts that could be filed away in alphabetical order, I had lost the force of the passionate relationship God seeks above all else.” *
When I teach Bible studies, I have a regular exercise called, “Putting on the Sandals”. We read a passage together and discuss it, then I ask everyone to close their eyes and stop for a moment in prayer and challenge them to use their imagination to “enter” the scene we’ve just read and consider what it looks and feels like. It helps us draw closer to our Father and the Bible He has so generously left for us as His love letter.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy (with head trauma) has passed 6 month mark and doing well. The other Nancy continues her battle with Ovarian Cancer.
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Introduction?
“And God saw all that He had made, & behold, it was very good.” Genesis 1:31a
“Then the Lord God called to the man & said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, & I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ – So He drove the man out; & at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cheribum & the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.” Genesis 3:9-11, 24
“Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Able your brother?’ And he said, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’ And He said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” Genesis 4:9-11
"Now then, let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them, & that I may destroy them;” Exodus 32:10 a
“Jesus wept.” John 11:35
“’Now My soul has become troubled & what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.;” John 12:27-28
“...our common impression of God may be very different from the God the Bible actually portrays. What's He really like?” We learn He's “an unchanging, invisible spirit who possesses such qualities as omnipotence, omniscience, & impassibility (incapable of emotions)...Simply reading the Bible, I encountered not a misty vapour but an actual Person. A Person as unique, distinctive & colourful as any person I know. God has deep emotions: He feels delight & frustration and anger. He weeps & moans with pain, even comparing Himself with a woman giving birth.’ He explains the need to punish by asking plaintively, ‘What else can I do?’” We do not ever want to anthropomorphise (make God human) , “but surely the images God ‘borrows’ from human experience points to an even stronger reality.” *
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Friend who's dealing with divorce. Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy with head trauma has passed 6 month mark & doing well. No word on Nancy with cancer.
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety; his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“Then the Lord God called to the man & said to him, ‘Where are you?’ And he said, ‘I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, & I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.’ And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?’ – So He drove the man out; & at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cheribum & the flaming sword which turned every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life.” Genesis 3:9-11, 24
“Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Able your brother?’ And he said, ‘I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?’ And He said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” Genesis 4:9-11
"Now then, let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them, & that I may destroy them;” Exodus 32:10 a
“Jesus wept.” John 11:35
“’Now My soul has become troubled & what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.;” John 12:27-28
“...our common impression of God may be very different from the God the Bible actually portrays. What's He really like?” We learn He's “an unchanging, invisible spirit who possesses such qualities as omnipotence, omniscience, & impassibility (incapable of emotions)...Simply reading the Bible, I encountered not a misty vapour but an actual Person. A Person as unique, distinctive & colourful as any person I know. God has deep emotions: He feels delight & frustration and anger. He weeps & moans with pain, even comparing Himself with a woman giving birth.’ He explains the need to punish by asking plaintively, ‘What else can I do?’” We do not ever want to anthropomorphise (make God human) , “but surely the images God ‘borrows’ from human experience points to an even stronger reality.” *
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Friend who's dealing with divorce. Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Nancy with head trauma has passed 6 month mark & doing well. No word on Nancy with cancer.
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety; his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Monday, June 7, 2010
Prove It!
“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do YOU say that I am?’ And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 16:13-17
“’Without somehow destroying me in the process, how could God reveal Himself in a way that would leave no room for doubt? If there were no room for doubt, there would be no room for me. – Frederick Buechner” * God knows each of us intimately and despite what it may seem, He is dealing with each of us PERSONALLY and that is just one more characteristic about our Father that is amazing!
“Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:31-32
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Both Nancys (growing stronger & more patient (one with chemo - the other recovering from serious head trauma)).
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“’Without somehow destroying me in the process, how could God reveal Himself in a way that would leave no room for doubt? If there were no room for doubt, there would be no room for me. – Frederick Buechner” * God knows each of us intimately and despite what it may seem, He is dealing with each of us PERSONALLY and that is just one more characteristic about our Father that is amazing!
“Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you abide in My Word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’” John 8:31-32
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: Sue, recovered from cancer, now battling with a rare & related condition (paraneoplastic syndrome). Earl, with cancer, needs bone marrow & for Lyle who may be a match. Adrian for loss of a special friend.
Praise: Leslie has completed her chemo and no signs of cancer remain. Thanks to all who prayed faithfully. Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Both Nancys (growing stronger & more patient (one with chemo - the other recovering from serious head trauma)).
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Continue to pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Deb, special friend with multiple Myeloma, Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary. Rape victim, hit & run victim; Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Thursday, June 3, 2010
3 More Questions
“’And I [God] will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you, I will curse, and in you ALL the families of the earth shall be blessed.’” Genesis 12:3
"Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret. From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me and His Spirit. -- I am the Lord your God, who TEACHES you to profit, Who LEADS you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, and your offspring like its grains; their name would never be cut off from My presence.’” Isaiah 38:17-19
“’O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Matthew 23:37-39
“Richard looked up suddenly and said in a fierce voice, ‘God doesn’t know what the HELL He’s doing with this world!’ What IS the human experiment all about? What does He want from us, after all, and what CAN we expect from Him?’” * This weekend, take some time to imagine how God must feel about this world today.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: A lady who was brutally raped and is in hospital. An unknown man in a hit and run in front of my home; Deb, a very special friend in the States (diagnosed with multiple Myeloma); Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life); Helen (Wendy & her mom, Helen’s husband had a heart attack). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
Praise: Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Leslie (growing stronger from chemo); Both Nancys (growing stronger & more patient (one with chemo - the other recovering from serious head trauma)).
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Adrian (many life changes); Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary.
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
"Come near to Me, listen to this: From the first I have not spoken in secret. From the time it took place, I was there. And now the Lord God has sent Me and His Spirit. -- I am the Lord your God, who TEACHES you to profit, Who LEADS you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, and your offspring like its grains; their name would never be cut off from My presence.’” Isaiah 38:17-19
“’O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Matthew 23:37-39
“Richard looked up suddenly and said in a fierce voice, ‘God doesn’t know what the HELL He’s doing with this world!’ What IS the human experiment all about? What does He want from us, after all, and what CAN we expect from Him?’” * This weekend, take some time to imagine how God must feel about this world today.
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: A lady who was brutally raped and is in hospital. An unknown man in a hit and run in front of my home; Deb, a very special friend in the States (diagnosed with multiple Myeloma); Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life); Helen (Wendy & her mom, Helen’s husband had a heart attack). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
Praise: Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Leslie (growing stronger from chemo); Both Nancys (growing stronger & more patient (one with chemo - the other recovering from serious head trauma)).
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Adrian (many life changes); Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary.
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Addicted to Signs?
“And Elijah came near to all the people and said, ‘How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ But the people did not answer him a word.” I Kings 18:21
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign’ and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.’” Matthew 12:38-41
“And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.’ And He said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” Luke 24:24-25
“But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.” Matthew 29:16
God knows that “quick solutions to those three questions may not solve the underlying problems of disappointment with God. The Israelites, though exposed to the bright, unshaded light of God’s presence, were as fickle a people as have ever lived. Ten different times on the melancholy pathless plains of the Sinai they rose up against God. These dismal results may provide insight into why God does not intervene more directly today. Some Christians long for a world well-stocked with miracles and spectacular signs of God’s presence. But the follow-the-dots journey of the Israelites give ample proof that signs may only addict us to signs, not God.” *
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: A lady who was brutally raped and is in hospital. An unknown man in a hit and run in front of my home; Deb, a very special friend in the States (diagnosed with multiple Myeloma); Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life); Helen (Wendy & her mom, Helen’s husband had a heart attack). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
Praise: Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Leslie (growing stronger from chemo); Both Nancys (growing stronger & more patient (one with chemo - the other recovering from serious head trauma)).
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Adrian (many life changes); Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary.
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign’ and yet no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall stand up with this generation at the judgment, and shall condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.’” Matthew 12:38-41
“And some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women also had said; but Him they did not see.’ And He said to them, ‘O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” Luke 24:24-25
“But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful.” Matthew 29:16
God knows that “quick solutions to those three questions may not solve the underlying problems of disappointment with God. The Israelites, though exposed to the bright, unshaded light of God’s presence, were as fickle a people as have ever lived. Ten different times on the melancholy pathless plains of the Sinai they rose up against God. These dismal results may provide insight into why God does not intervene more directly today. Some Christians long for a world well-stocked with miracles and spectacular signs of God’s presence. But the follow-the-dots journey of the Israelites give ample proof that signs may only addict us to signs, not God.” *
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: A lady who was brutally raped and is in hospital. An unknown man in a hit and run in front of my home; Deb, a very special friend in the States (diagnosed with multiple Myeloma); Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life); Helen (Wendy & her mom, Helen’s husband had a heart attack). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
Praise: Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Leslie (growing stronger from chemo); Both Nancys (growing stronger & more patient (one with chemo - the other recovering from serious head trauma)).
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Adrian (many life changes); Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary.
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Anyone see.....
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:8
“’And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives. Now then why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go near and hear all that the Lord our God says, then speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will do it.’” Deuteronomy 5:24-27
“Is God hidden? – We want proof, evidence, a personal appearance, so that the God we have heard about becomes the God we see. When Moses climbed the sacred mountain, those people who had lived through the ten plagues of Egypt, who had crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, who had drunk water from a rock, who were digesting the miracle of manna in their stomach – those same people got bored or impatient or rebellious or jealous and apparently forgot all about their God. The Israelites responded not with worship and love, but with fear and open rebellion. God’s visible presence did nothing to improve lasting faith.” *
Sometimes we can be like a child stomping our little foot at God, demanding He come right here and fix something! It’s saving grace that He loves us so much He always listens to us because He loves us so much He chose to send His Son to die FOR us, rather than to live forever without us!
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: A lady who was brutally raped and is in hospital. An unknown man in a hit and run in front of my home; Deb, a very special friend in the States (diagnosed with multiple Myeloma); Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life); Helen (Wendy & her mom, Helen’s husband had a heart attack). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
Praise: Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Leslie (growing stronger from chemo); Both Nancys (growing stronger & more patient (one with chemo - the other recovering from serious head trauma)).
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Adrian (many life changes); Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary.
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
“’And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives. Now then why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go near and hear all that the Lord our God says, then speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will do it.’” Deuteronomy 5:24-27
“Is God hidden? – We want proof, evidence, a personal appearance, so that the God we have heard about becomes the God we see. When Moses climbed the sacred mountain, those people who had lived through the ten plagues of Egypt, who had crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, who had drunk water from a rock, who were digesting the miracle of manna in their stomach – those same people got bored or impatient or rebellious or jealous and apparently forgot all about their God. The Israelites responded not with worship and love, but with fear and open rebellion. God’s visible presence did nothing to improve lasting faith.” *
Sometimes we can be like a child stomping our little foot at God, demanding He come right here and fix something! It’s saving grace that He loves us so much He always listens to us because He loves us so much He chose to send His Son to die FOR us, rather than to live forever without us!
Take care to understand His Word. Your servant and friend in Christ, Darlene
PS: New Request: A lady who was brutally raped and is in hospital. An unknown man in a hit and run in front of my home; Deb, a very special friend in the States (diagnosed with multiple Myeloma); Michael (his mum grows more frail); Randy (unexpected changes in his life); Helen (Wendy & her mom, Helen’s husband had a heart attack). For Kevin (wisdom with his son).
Praise: Freddy came home to see his mom! David (great health now!); Leslie (growing stronger from chemo); Both Nancys (growing stronger & more patient (one with chemo - the other recovering from serious head trauma)).
Thanksgiving for: Reg, Carla and Paul.
Pray for: Tim & Barb (need work & encouragement as they wait); Adrian (many life changes); Isaias (family safety & his mission work in Philippines); God’s grace on USA. Wisdom for doctors caring for Doris, David, Poetry and Gary.
*Disappointment With God, by Philip Yancey
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