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[ latest site update 11-09-06 ]

The Pain and the Process

It’s an awful wrenching experience when we see the faults and mistakes and wrongs of another person. It is meant to be. It’s supposed to be. Likewise, it feels the same way and should even feel worse most of the time, when we se our own. Again, it is meant to be. It’s supposed to be. We should really try to stop running from the “pain and the process”.

Sometimes we can never fully embrace the truth about ourselves until we allow ourselves to feel the full effect of the pain we have caused ourselves, our God, and the fabric of our collective togetherness to all humankind and our society and culture. And we will never do this if all we can think of is running to someone and screaming “hurry up and get this thing out of me”. [ Or, as we’ve heard it said before, we will be “forced to repeat the same offense”]. And until we have our cup full of these things we can never taste the full benefit and wonder of the realization of the truth that sets us free and makes us whole and new.

Far too many of us, while we’re being shown the damaging evidence, are so horrified and grieved and lamenting that we spend too much of our hearts ways and emotions complaining about and trying to avoid the awful way it feels, instead of allowing the fullness of the process, and even being grateful for the immense pain and suffering we’re experiencing while being confronted in our soul. Yes it’s real hard to do because of the immense “pain and shame”, but not as hard as our inborn carnal nature has us convinced of. We wrongly assume that to “hurry and get this thing out of me” we will also just as quickly rid ourselves of the pain of the shame and guilt that is supposed to accompany it all. And if we find our selves re-visiting that same place that got us into such pain then it’s usually because of our failure to properly and fully “handle” the whole experience the first time or even any previous time. 

It’s much like the person who has a huge wedge of old rotting wood deep in their skin like a huge raw sliver and it hurts bad, it’s bleeding but not profusely, and you know it must be removed. Yet, maybe we are no where’s near a hospital at the time or the correct supplies and all we have is some alcohol some olive oil and some salt. We suddenly seem to know what we must do. We must allow our traveling companion [ hey, where’d they come from ] to use the oil and the alcohol and the salt to pull out this massive sliver and begin to heal. So then there is and/or should be at some point a gladness and even an eagerness to get the job done, even a joy that’s somehow waiting in line to come up and out of your heart and soul as soon as the job is done. And then there’s no sleeping gas allowed only a topical anesthetic, the promises of the healing and the assurances of your skilled companion. [ who is this companion anyway – no, it’s not your husband or your wife or any other human on the same road, and you won’t find it down inside of yourself – it is our Divine Fatherly assigned and imparted guide who knows His stuff ]  To scream about the process and the pain certainly will not deter the “doctor”, so to speak, but it won’t help us endure and get the full benefit from the pain and process.

Yes, there is meant to be not only help but benefit from the pain and the process and not just something to “deal with” while we wait for it all to be over. We are never told just to simply endure, like the poster of a little wet kitty kat hanging on by it’s claws ‘hang in there baby”, we are told to overcome and be even more than that, more than a conqueror. If not, we may not be able to avoid that “place” where we got impaled  by that stick in the first place and it will happen again, and “ouch”, in almost the same spot. Waiting this all out and being “distracted” from our everyday lives by the whole experience forces us to be reflective and think about how we got in this mess in the first place. It is meant to do that. But if we’re too busy clanging about  the process and the pain, before, during, and after, we could entirely miss the better benefit. Also read [ Matthew ch. 7] We all too often forget about the same pain others are experiencing with their “log” [ at the time the splinter is stuck in there it feels like and may as well be a log or a beam] that we have felt with ours. There are no “policemen in the Kingdom of Grace” - Whjr

So sad, so tragic, and we’ve all done it. We so need each other for support and the prayers we are to be lifting up to the Father, for one another. Yet, too often we see another person suffering at their own fault and we want to “help” them like Job’s well meaning friends who unwittingly had no salve to soothe only acid to eat away.” I’m going to shoot you if you don’t stop doing things that remind me of the stupidity of my own self”. This is not the way of Jesus we are to be with each other. And when we witness a divine exception to the rule, where the Lord appoints a high ranking Levitical official [such as a prophet or pastor, etc] to do the “pointing out” and illuminating of our foolishness, it is always supposed to be done with gentleness, patience, meekness, etc. [See 2 Tim. 2: 22-25.] The “confronting” that may be meant to have happen, by the Lord in these cases, will be executed by Him alone, as a result of our meek and gentle speaking of the truth to illuminate each other. This is because only the Lord and His Spirit are authorized to adopt an apparent “hostile” posture with us concerning our wrongs, because He is innocent and above the law. Not any of us because we “all have sinned and none of us are righteous” enough to judge.

All of this experience and it’s unique characteristics is truly meant by the Lord Jesus to cause us, even compel us, to hurt for and care deeply for one another, instead of what we too often do and that is to scold each other and try to “rip out” that wedge in our fellowman. I most certainly do understand how hard it is to have this more Godly and appropriate response when we are trying to help our fellowman to avoid what we went thru. We say it’s because we truly care. But according to the truth of God’s views and values, if we truly cared as He defines it, then we’ll endure and fully benefit from our own similar afflictions in such a way so as to provide appropriate compassion and real live help to our “neighbors” when they are in the same spot, not the cold-heartedness of a judgmental spirit.

But again, in order to do that we cannot just merely “go through” the pain and the process, waiting for it to hurry up and be over with, eager to see the pain end and us resuming our lame walk to the next crisis. Without the proper heart attitude and reaction in our own trials we will not be able to have the kind of response that will not only truly help us but also make us able to correctly “be there” for our brother when it happens to them. [ by the way, where does everyone seem to be getting “stuck by that stick” we keep having to get pulled out? It’s from that old nasty crippled wretchedy tree that’s in the Garden of our God, the tree of the knowledge and awareness of the good and evil that exists and that not one of us can handle ]  Let us not only seek to have all of our own “logs” removed by the Spirit of God, our traveling Divine Fatherly companion, but truly help each other while they are being removed, instead of scolding as to “why did you let that happen to yourself, shame on you”………. well, how did I let mine happen to me? We need compassion and true extricating help to proceed along the journey, not fire.

Last Days - Last Minute

Dear Friends
The Bible says that in the "last days" there will be great signs and wonders seen in the heavens and on the earth and also those being done by the devil through his agents. It will be things in nature, as well as technology and other things. It also talks about an increase in the amount of wars and military conflicts between nations and peoples. We have certainly been seeing an increase in those areas and it will continue to increase worldwide until the return of the Lord Jesus the Christ the King. Plus an increase in the number of diseases and plagues that will overwhelm all societies. There will be an increase in crime and terror that will help to greatly increase the demand on societies worldwide for a world leader and drastic measures to give everyone a reasonable amount of peace and safety. The coming one world religion and one world money system and one world government will be partly due to the outcry of the people of the whole earth for things to be done to relieve it's citizens and re-energize a sense of hope for the future. They will have their time and their season, albeit very short, and the end of their world system as it is and has been and the beginning of the one we're waiting for.

The coming "mark of the beast" personal identification system for all citizens will not just be a devious idea of the anti-Christ simply to control peoples lives. The human race on this planet would never stand for that, not even for someone with some great ideas and plans and a lot of un-holy favor from the enemy. It will be because of [and has actually already begun in baby steps] the outcry of people everywhere for peace, safety, and economic stability. The anti-christ will simply take that over and make use of it to restore "order"..............I believe it is clear that we are IN the eleventh hour and for some it will seem as though the final hour is just dragging on and for others it will seem to go by too fast.  I firmly believe that in the not too distant future we will begin to see
an apparent explosion of technological advances and devices, etc. that will absolutely stun everyone around the world with such a display of capabilities in all areas of life that will take everyone now addicted to all forms of entertainment to a much higher level of input and a much deeper level of bondage. There will be the kinds of "signs and wonders" that most people either didn't think was possible for us to see in our life time or at all.

The Bible talks about an explosion of knowledge in the last days. But unfortunately most of it will be more entertaining than substantive and beneficial to mankind as a whole, except in the short run. A lot of fluff and stuff. The obsession we see in the lives of so many people on the earth [incl. Christians] with what wee see and hear through TV, DVD's, Computers, Movies, etc. and so on is meant in part to show us and reflect for us  where the heart and soul of man is, on the superficial, instant, gratification of our senses and the ones who get our attention [worship] are the ones who can successfully compete for our cravings for more and better. But it's pure "junkfood" for the soul. Unfortunately, all of the signs and wonders we'll be wowed with almost daily, just like the happy or hoped for endings in so many movies, will do nothing to save anyone from the horror that is to come, the horrors that have been [that cry out to us daily] and the horrors in our lives today. No real peace, no real safety, no real reasons to live, no where to go to find what we really want or need.

Except for the true "Believer and Follower “ of the Lord Jesus and His Father, [and any of the whosoever wills who come to him in the meantime] there will be no remedy, no escape, no relief, no way out. In Luke 21:31-36 Jesus mentions about all of this and also tells His Followers to pray that they'll be found worthy to escape all of the "stuff" he had just been telling them about, that will come upon the earth. If you usually wait until the last minute to do things, to "take care of business", or to "get your house in order", your just in time - we're just about in the Last Minute.

Chin Up Star Gazer

I’m writing to all the whosoever will’s and the whosoever haven’t yet. That is,  all who have the New Life from God our Heavenly  Father, our Creator, by way of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, The Son of God and The Son of Man, and those who haven’t accepted the offer yet. And yes, this is to those who do believe that we are created beings and not random chance. To those who never will accept the offer of being forgiven and starting over in the School of Righteousness in Jesus, I can only pray that someday you will. God Loves you too.

Do you find yourself at different times in your life yearning for the ugliness of this mortal life and this dysfunctional world to end and be done with finally and forever? Have you been the kind of person who is deeply sorrowed and grieved in your heart and soul when you see or even hear about what humankind is doing to itself or to each other? Maybe even in your own life. Even what most of us would consider small things? Do you find it difficult to enjoy yourself, at times, when you know what is happening to others, even your loved ones or friends? Somebody please “stop the madness”.

Have you ever been so hungry and so thirsty that you felt as though you were not going to make it if you didn’t get what you needed real soon. And at that point all other things in your life that you normally would view and value extremely high are not very important at the moment. Staying alive and reasonably well is. In America that’s a difficult thing to experience for most. I once got sick and had to be hospitalized partly because I was so dehydrated from being sick that I lost so much bodily fluids that it was a factor in me going into a semi-comatose state. Thank God for IV fluids in our modern day hospitals or I would have been a goner. I still remember the words of this Jesus of Nazareth, as historians refer to him as, in His sermon on the Mount saying “whosoever hungers and thirsts for righteousness shall be one day rewarded with it”.

I have known so very many people who say that they certainly wouldn’t mind a world without any ugliness and sin and hate, etc. but they don’t hunger and thirst for it, craving it as a dying man would. Yeah I’d like to go to Heaven, who wouldn’t.[ Even the devil would like to return there and set up his own kingdom.] They seem content to settle not only for something even close to it but actually talk as though they only care whether or not it’s the way they personally like it, and who cares about anyone else. Any and all forms of selfishness and self-indulgence will not be a part of Heaven and this New World of God’s. Kindness, gentleness, sacrificial giving of oneself, enduring Godlike Love to all, will be there and not even one smidgen of anything of evil, no matter how small. Jesus was introducing a word picture in all of His messages of a world, a way of life and living and existence that was not only what God had in mind originally but one so completely different than what we “could ever imagine or think”. [ 1 Cor. 2:9 ].   

Or are you one of the many in our world that for a long time have seen the absolutely horrible sufferings of people and just cannot bring yourself to believe that there could possibly be a God/Creator, [certainly not the one declared by Christians and Jews] and then not intervene to stop the ugliness and horror. Here’s a couple of things to keep in mind when you are wrestling with those emotions and facts. First, each and every one of us have done our part [no matter how small] in adding to the bad in this world and adding to the reasons why Jesus had to suffer and die in our place. Secondly, we have collectively insisted on setting up our societies and cultures where “freedom and independent choices” are worshipped and defended to the death, thereby causing those who insist on doing wrong and evil to do so almost with impunity or no recompense. That’s not us being merciful, that’s just being irresponsible. We have actually told God to His Face to “leave us alone and let us do as we please, much like a thirteen year old does to their parents. [ A Line has to be drawn somewhere.] Lastly, the Bible, in describing God’s acts throughout History clearly states in a number of places that His Mercy is the reason that he hasn’t “stopped the madness” yet. He’s actually in the process all the time, of mercifully giving those who do the evils around us a “chance” to repent and turn to Him to be changed. [ Romans 9:22,23 and Exodus 34: 6,7 ]

Believe me though, he most certainly does intervene in many many situations. If he hadn’t intervened in my personal life I would still today [if still alive] have been contributing to the problems around me instead of the solutions. And there are millions like me whom God has intervened and rescued us from ourselves and from certain death and judgment. That’s what all the constant preaching of the Gospel is all about. God trying to intervene in peoples lives to get them to [ among other things] stop the madness while giving people space to repent. There most certainly is my friends a judgment coming to all whosoever “won’t”. The Bible says that one day soon all of the “pile” of bad deeds they’ve been piling up is going to get so huge that God will send recompense and judgment to the whole earth, causing people who have done evil to answer for them and those who have not prevented and/or stopped them, to answer for that failure. I believe very very soon, maybe even in my lifetime. [ I’m 54 now ]

The life we live on this earth in these mortal bodies can be extremely grievous and wearisome. It clearly seems as though sorrow and pain and all manner of horribleness is the rule, and random acts of goodness the exception. So many people not only never seem to get a break, but all around us and all over the world it is obvious that the bad is getting worse and the good is being swallowed up. Jesus Himself said that “In this world you shall have tribulation”.

No, I’m not in a melancholy mood here, this is real live on the spot reporting. This is not cynicism unveiled or fatalism exaggerated. But some people in this world really do demonstrate that not only they do not care about what’s happening to anyone else but themselves but they also almost seem to defend and justify so much of the foolishness and tragedy in their lives and everyone else’s. Another sign of the times. Similar to the laws of “thermodynamics”. Look it up.   

Yes I know that since the dawn of humankind on the earth everyone’s life has been a combination and a mix of good and bad, right and wrong. Some have more of the one than the other, or vice versa, but there has only ever been one individual born on this earth who, in the eyes of the Creator, His Heavenly Father and ours, has been without the mixture of good and bad that we all are born with. He was and had only good all the time. And thank God that there are people alive and have been here and there for thousands of years that seem to have a lot more good than bad, or we would have all fainted down dead from despair long ago.

But if this Jesus Christ that has been preached for a very long time now, had it all together, all the time, then why do we want to even try to compare our meager attempts at the good that we are able to do when He already set the standard where the Creator wanted it to be? Why would any of us even hope to be able to even come close to the righteousness in His life, let alone maybe even match it. At all our collective best, the very best we can do still is to offer a mixture of good and bad. And who is going to answer for the few or many wrongs that we each have individually committed? I know I’m painting a picture that says there is no hope for mankind, as is, and you’re right, I believe this to be the truth. But that’s not a problem unless you proudly want your Creator to accept your attempts at righteousness simply because they belong to you. Maybe He would have if Jesus Christ hadn’t already beat us all in that game. And now that He is the standard and the pattern for what God the Creator had in mind in the first place when He made mankind, we had better not be found at the end of our life trying to pawn off our good/bad mixture alongside of His. The Bible says that one bad deed can destroy thousands of good ones. Imagine if you were to be arrested for sexually molesting a child yet you never did it. It would not only follow you all the days of your life but any good reputation you may have had up until that point will be in serious jeopardy. You can’t win this one my friends.

But my hope rests not on the goodness of man, to whatever degree it is, my hope rests on the one who had it all and still has it all. I’ve accepted the offer to borrow His righteousness as though it were mine, and trust in Him alone to “be there” for me when I leave this world, instead of trying to trust in my own “good deeds” to get me there. And besides, one of the other reasons, and a huge one at that, that I was attracted to the offer presented to whosoever will, was the hope of the promise of a New Life and a New World to come, wherein righteousness rules the day and the night. In the end we will all be keenly aware that Heaven and the Kingdom of God on the earth [soon I pray ] will not just simply be for those who suffered terribly down here. Nor even those who seemed to have more of their own goodness than most. Nor will it be just for those who would rather live in heaven than……….any other place. It will be in part for those who have accepted the “offer” and “hunger and thirst” as a matter of life and death, for only righteousness, holiness, purity, and no longer any mixture of good and evil that we were infected with from that one “tree” in the garden.

I find myself so many times, when I am weary of the grief and sadness and pain and suffering and selfishness of my fellow man, [and me] and the never ending  attempt of humankind to redeem himself, I look at the sky during the day or at night and I remember that one day, there is coming, a New World not only where righteousness and holiness, etc. will rule and all of what we see now will be gone for ever, but the one who gave up His place in Heaven to come down here and provide whosoever will with an opportunity to join Him, is going to come again to this earth, in bodily form, and make sure that only God’s will will prevail. Jesus said that when you see all these horrible things happening of a nature and frequency never before seen to “look up, for the day of your redemption is drawing very near”.