Meaning

I'm currently a fan of Facebook, as many are. It's a great way to keep connected with so many with very little effort. It's also a great way to post prayer requests. Just the other day the daughter of a friend asked those who know him to continue to pray for her father, Kurt. We all used to go to church together and have since blown about like seeds in the wind to be planted in other fields. I remember Kurt's tender and gracious heart. He drew people to God through loving them and teaching about God's marvelous grace.

Kurt has struggled for some time with Crohn's and was just recently in the hospital in critical condition. He is now recovering at home and is struggling with an issue that many do who have chronic life-impacting conditions. What is the purpose of my life now? Why am I here? What am I do do now?

Anyone who has struggled with chronic illness or another life-restricting condition knows just what I I'm talking about. There are no easy answers for any of us. In the world, and yes, even the church, productivity is always the answer, so finding your way is not easy.

I have another friend stuck in a wheelchair with MS, with extremely limited use of her body. We talk about these things fairly regularly.

Finding the purpose of our lives is very personal and must be embraced by all alike, healthy or not, limited or not. I've done much soul-searching, and more God-searching, over the last few years. Sometimes I despair of a satisfying answer. Other times, I remember that my life belongs to a loving and merciful God Who has a purpose for all things, even suffering. Even lack of "productivity."

So, here it is: I've come to believe that all things, good or evil, enjoyable or not, fulfill God's plan in some way I may not understand. I don't always understand what God is doing, but I can always trust His purpose and intent toward me and toward us all. His thoughts toward us are always good and He promises that our end is good. If I look at life's circumstances for my life's meaning, I will always be standing on shifting sand. I choose, and encourage you to choose, to stand on the Rock Who will never let us falter or fail. One day all things will be restored. In the meantime, we can trust Him to lead us and guide us and to make sense of our lives. Amen!!

On Being a Writer

Just recently it came to my attention, through several dear friends, that I am a writer. I feel a certain hesitation and reticence in saying that out loud. In my thinking, a writer was someone who used their writing to make a living. One also had to be pretty darn good at it to be successful. I have let go of those images because they certainly don't fit me. While, for some, writing is a means of financial gain, for me it is simply an expression of living. I wonder if there isn't a writer hidden within every one of us, whether or not we ever lay down a word.

This blog started as a means of sharing the good news that God isn't mad at mankind and has provided for the universal reconciliation of all mankind. That message is still my passion. The Good News really is good news!!

Now I am open to the possibility that there are other messages that bear telling as well. We will see where God will take me in this process. In the meantime, I will be learning not to cringe when I call myself a writer!

My Mother's World

I'm watching a movie I've seen before - maybe you've seen it too - "One True Thing," with Meryl Streep and Renee Zellweger. Renee plays a daughter who comes home to stay with her folks when Meryl comes down with cancer. William Hurt plays Meryl's husband, who seems uninvolved and emotionally immature. In the past, I've been caught up in Hurt's character and his deficiencies, which actually turn out to be different than you're led to expect. It's a very good in-depth character and relational study worth the watch.

This time through I've been more aware of the relationship between the two female leads. Renee plays a character who wants very much to lead a different life than her home-making mother, whom she perceives as having a very small life. However, as the movie develops, you realize that her world is anything but small, especially in the way she loves and cares for her family, and the world around her.

Renee's character says (through narration) at one point, as she interacts with some of her mother's friends at a luncheon, that she didn't want to be a part of her mother's world. Instantly, I heard myself say that I would have LOVED to be a part of my mother's world, and to be included in such a life. Then, just as quickly, I realized that my mother didn't have a world, at least, not one that anyone else could have been a part of. She wasn't part of any world, really. Her mental illness consumed every thought, every moment, every memory, every relationship. Her person and her world were stolen away by a mind that could not interact with anyone in any healthy or life-building way.

I began to also realize, yet again, that some of my hermiting and reclusive ways are a consequence of being on the periphery of her non-world. Her non-world certainly helped to form the person I've become, for better and worse. I could not enter her world, nor really be part of it, thankfully. But, it would have been fun to have a mom who had a world to be a part of and a life worth desiring.

This post is not a lament, but rather an observation. God has made up to me for the deficiencies of my childhood and I am truly blessed with a number of caring and loving women in my life.

As the movie progresses, Renee's character develops a new appreciation for her mom, and new insights into her dad. All in all, I highly recommend the movie.

Acceptance

I've been thinking about acceptance lately. I remember years ago it was popular to say, "God loves you the way you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way." On the surface, it sounded right and good. God loves you - that's good, right? He's going to help you to change - that's good, right? Years later, I'm finding that it's a mixed message, much like a lot of messages we hear in some circles. Here's another: "whatever you're afraid of will happen to you, so don't be afraid." Now that is just nuts! Do you know anyone who has stopped being afraid because someone told them that?? Oh well, I'm getting off topic!! Back to acceptance.

God is into setting people free and making them whole. That's Who He is. Acceptance is genuine love - a love that won't walk away if the loved one doesn't change. It's not so easy for we humans. Our love is limited and our acceptance is oft tested. I don't do so well in that category myself. I want to think that I'm an accepting person, but I think a "disapproving tolerance" is probably closer to the truth with some I encounter. I have a long way to go in accepting people the way God does.

I think we have to begin by accepting God for Who He is. Let Him be God. Then we need to accept ourselves with all of our hangups and quirks. Not tolerate, not deny, but really accept that our differences and unlovely places are things God uses in our lives to help us depend upon Him. Then we can pass that on to others.

Just recently a dear friend said to me, "I love you just the way you are - I wouldn't change a thing." What a gift! I felt a deep acceptance and a release of a burden. There is much healing in those words. I heard God's voice in those words. Interestingly enough, I also felt the freedom to change at the same time! What a paradox! The pressure to change was lifted and was turned into an opportunity. God's ways certainly aren't ours, are they? I am truly blessed!

Contentment

I have a friend who is given to profound one-liners on occasion. About once a month we catch up by phone, updating one another and sharing our challenges. Somewhere in the conversation he will inevitably say, "What will it matter in a hundred years?" We both wind up laughing and I say, "Not even a hundred!" It puts things into perspective for both of us, and we realize the the concerns that occupy us today won't even be a memory in the not-to-distant future.

He has another one-liner that always brings peace to me. If you're like me at all, I frequently bemoan that I'm not "further along" than I am. I "should" myself to distraction. Then my friend gently reminds me, "At any given moment, you are right where you're supposed to be." I let that sink in and I feel the "shoulds" fall away and contentment seeps in. This simple statement acknowledges that God really is in control, and there is nothing outside of His oversight. It recognizes that my life is safely in His hands and that He truly does work the ALL things together for good, especially the "all things" that make me squirm. It lifts the responsibility to perfectly navigate my life on my own.

I've thought about contentment quite a bit, but what is it really? The Apostle Paul said that he had learned to be content in whatever condition he was in. I know that he faced some pretty difficult circumstances with beatings and imprisonments and persecutions. My circumstances aren't nearly as dramatic, but I need to find contentment in my "whatevers." Contentment doesn't mean that you enjoy your circumstances, or that you don't try to change them if you can. Contentment, in my view, is trusting God with your life, clinging to Him no matter what comes, knowing that He will work all things out for your good and His glory. Simple to say, not so simple to do. Some days I do better than others. I remind myself that progress requires the passage of time, and usually far more than I think it should! The bottom line is that all of my "whatevers" make complete sense in the light of His governance. Thank You Papa!!

So, for today, I will be content, trusting Him, depending upon Him and surrendering to the "whatever" that happens today.

Knowledge Puffs Up

I love to learn. There is so much to discover, so much to ponder. What I enjoy most is learning to know my Heavenly Father. There is no end to the wealth I find in progressively getting to know Him and His ways better and better.

I've come to understand that He always builds us up, and never tears us down. He never embarrasses us or chides us for not knowing or remembering. He is the essence of patience and is a gentle teacher. There is no "pass/fail" with God - He just keeps working with us until we "get it." He never tells us to study harder because "knowing" isn't about struggling to memorize, as in a list of spelling words. His "knowing" is really a "becoming." He changes the way we think, not just what we think. He teaches by changing us so that we no longer think the way we used to. His yoke truly is easy and His burden light. He yokes together with each one of us - where we go, He goes and where He goes, we go. That gives me comfort.

In contrast, I just recently experienced being on the receiving end of what I would call a "knowledge puffs up" moment. You know that moment, don't you? Someone more well-educated or well-informed than you are demonstrates their intellectual superiority over you. It's even more fun when they do it in front of an audience! Just kidding - it's no fun at all! Before you feel sorry for me, let me say that I have done the very same thing to others. It's true that strength isn't in conquering, it's in serving. I understand a little better what the Apostle Paul meant when he said, "I choose to know nothing among you except Christ crucified." Knowledge puffs up, love builds up. In I Corinthians 13, the scripture says that knowledge will someday cease. So will hope and faith. The only thing left will be love. Amen! Let it be!

Preparing To Let Go

I mentioned in an earlier post that one of my friends is moving to North Carolina. While it's not immediate, it is soon. We talk on the phone about the complex process of detangling yourself from your existing life in order to plant your roots in a new life. On some level, it's just a matter of details, the logistics of packing up and transporting your home goods, calling utilities, notifying friends and family, etc.

On a far deeper level, however, it's a leaving home, leaving familiarity, leaving family and friends. While I'm listening to and trying to support my friend, I hear the beginnings of detachment in her voice, the rationalization that everyone is just a phone call away. "It's no big deal," I hear, "people can come and visit," and "I'll be back to visit on a regular basis." My friend has never lived anywhere else and doesn't really understand that the ones she leaves behind are becoming a part of her past, and not a part of her future day-to-day life. She doesn't realize yet, that the relationships left behind will begin to change. Some may disappear all together, and the ones that remain will be purged of ongoing shared experiences.

I have also begun to realize what her move means to me. She is leaving me behind. I have to accept that, in some real way, I will be a part of her past. Yes, we will talk on the phone, and she will probably visit at least once a year or so. It won't be the same. I won't be able to see her when I want or make plans to be together. She will make new friends, as she should. She will have a new life and become a part of her new community of support. In a sense, I am detangling too. I'm preparing to let go. In my mind, she will become a long-distance friend. It will just happen naturally, subtly, finally.

Ultimately, I'm happy for my friend. She is so thrilled to be moving to a new place, somewhere with warmer winters and a job for her husband. And, I do know that she will be fine, and so will I. Changes really are just a part of life and God can be trusted with them. Over time we will both adjust and the new normal will feel just like the current normal. I think I'll have to get a webcam!

Is God Better Than I Think He Is?

Is it possible to believe God to be better than He actually is? Someone once posed this question. Immediately I said, "No!" That is the right answer, isn't it? But, what does that mean, really? I guess the answer would also have to entail a description of what is meant by "better." If I want a new car and God doesn't provide it, does it mean that I'm believing God to be better than He actually is? We can imagine all sorts of things we want God to do for us, the ones we love and the world at large. So, on that level, I would have to answer "Yes!" I feel guilty just thinking that, but if I filter God's goodness according to my desires, I can find many examples where my expectations fall very short of reality.

God's goodness supersedes our human understanding and is not limited to or defined by our circumstances. We define good and evil by how we feel about a particular event. We define suffering as evil. Does God? People suffer and travail in this life. Tragedies happen. Everyone dies eventually, whether they live long or short lives. We can't have a clear understanding of God if we only look at our circumstances. God's goodness takes the long view. Suffering, in some way we don't understand, is part of the process God uses to develop our character and to enable us to trust His character. It separates us from the unimportant distractions and pushes us to seek God for relief and understanding. We are never more close to God than when we are suffering, I believe. Paul talked about our sufferings filling up the sufferings of Christ - yet another mystery. Perhaps he meant that God suffers with us in whatever our suffering is.

We can be confident that our suffering is never wasted, no more than was Christ's. The good news is that He will ultimately heal, redeem and reresurect. LIFE is eternal, not suffering.

I Want To Be Raptured Now!

I don't know that I believe in a Rapture anymore, but I sure hope there is one - and preferably today!! I think you know what I mean! There are some days that escape sounds fantastic, aren't there?

I think I'm living in ecclesiastical days. I've done all and seen all, etc. The simple joys and pleasures of being with friends and laughing and sharing occupy me now. Seeking God and knowing Him - that's my passion. I don't need to climb any more mountains or conquer any more worlds. I think about various interests I used to have, and they are firmly in the past. My desires have dwindled down to just a few.

I'm tempted to think that there's something wrong with me because of the hustle and bustle of others around me and the constant challenge from the church and world to "be more and do more" and to "fulfill my destiny." Where did all this craziness come from you may wonder! I read a few years ago that the advent of marketing/advertising had created this unrest and feeling that one never has enough or does enough. Where did contentment go? To the store to buy the next new "must have."

So . . . my challenge today? To be content in the life God has given me, and to be at rest in Him, trusting that He has this crazy world, and my life, in His capable, competent hands. I still wouldn't mind being raptured!

Who Is God?

The last couple of days I've been interchanging on Facebook with someone regarding Christian Universalism. The other person is a confirmed Fundamentalist. I am a Universalist. Naively, I thought that presenting some scripture and asking a few questions would cause my friend to "see the light." As our dialog has unfolded, I have begun to understand in a new way that the differences between our theology are far more complex than whether or not there is a hell to which God will send most of humanity.

The bottom line in the discussion is, Who is God? A further question is, what is the Bible, and what does it really say? The answers to these questions frame our God-view and our world-view.

If we see God as the Father of mankind who loves and corrects and provides for his children, Universalism makes perfect sense. If we see God predominantly as the Judge and Punisher of mankind, hell makes sense.

The Bible is a complex collection of writings from many authors over possibly thousands (?) of years. Understood in context, these writings provide a picture of how others interacted with God over time. Without really knowing what the Bible says and how it evolved over time, we can get lost in literalism and come up with some wacky ideas. It is important to search out truth, no matter where it takes us. God is faithful, He will direct and instruct us as we follow Him. We need to take the Bible seriously and ask serious questions. I have to admit, sometimes it is scary and unsettling to ask difficult questions. I've been shaken a number of times as my settled notions have been unsettled. We also have to be careful not to worship the Bible. Some do, even to the point of imprisoning God within its pages. I've even come to understand that scripture is found in many places. God has not stopped speaking.

When I discovered this wonderful God of Grace and Love, I found the true God. His heart is always reconciliation. He will not rest until all of His children are safely home. Who is God to you?

A Very Present Help In Trouble

I have been having car problems and I've been feeling discouraged about that. I seem to have a long track record in that area. When I am overwhelmed by problems or issues, my first response is to think that it's all up to me to find a solution, and my resources are all I have to rely upon. Basically, I forget that God is my Father, and a very good one at that! He is everything to me, and I forget to take all of my needs and worries and concerns to Him. How crazy is that! Instead I worry, I fret, I work myself into a little self-pity party and crawl into a corner. And not to suffer quietly, I whine to everyone who will listen. How pathetic that is!

Then my wonderful heavenly Father comes along and meets my need. He doesn't lecture me about my not coming to Him, or about my whining. He just takes care of everything and blesses my socks off! He truly is my "very present help in trouble," as the psalmist says.

Really, now, how much sense does it make to depend upon me when I can depend upon Someone Who is loving and powerful and more than enough for me?

Amazing Grace!

Yesterday morning I was up with the birds, as usual. I flipped on Joseph Prince. While I don't watch every morning, he usually has a one-liner that captures my attention when I do. I don't even remember the bulk of his message, but this is what stuck with me: "put your faith in grace, not in sin." He referenced the Romans passage, Rom 5:20 "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Wow! It was as though I had never heard that before. You know what it's like - did someone pencil that in while I wasn't looking or what? How many times I've read that passage and never heard it as I did yesterday!

I realized that I've been putting my faith in sin, not grace. So has most of the church, frankly. We are so sin-conscious, it's pathetic! It's not God's amazing grace that keeps me awake at night, but all the ways I sin or have messed up. Grace is God's idea and His standard. He doesn't want me to be sin-conscious, but grace-conscious. How liberating is that!? I can live in perfect confidence that grace always excedes my sins and shortcomings! I can never exhaust it or outrun it. It will always be the frontrunner, and will be so at the finish line. Hallelujah! How great is our God!!

Saying Goodbye

I had dinner tonight with a dear friend. We met in church about 12 years ago, and although, church-wise, we have taken separate paths, our relationship has both grown and endured. She is the one I talk with the most. It's not uncommon for us to be on the phone for 2 to 3 hours at a time, talking about everything we can think of. She is one of my treasures - we will be friends forever, period.

Recently she let me know that she will be moving from Michigan to North Carolina where her husband has found a job. Probably she will be leaving in a few short months, if their plans come to fruition. Times like these cause me to reflect upon the times we've shared, the roads we've traveled together, even the tough times we've battled through. What I'm going to lose.

I'm really going to miss her. I was so comfortable with her easy availability. I know I can call her or email her whenever I want, but it's not the same as that face-to-face contact. We can't get together whenever we want. We will increasingly have fewer and fewer shared experiences. She will make new friends and have increasingly more shared experiences with them. I will hear names of new friends that I don't know. I will be part of the past. Long distance relationships can and do work, I know. I'm really going to miss her, and I think she's going to miss me too.

Thankfully, we are both dependent upon God for our lives, and we know that His plans for us are good. I will always treasure the times we have shared over the last 12 years and trust that God will continue to shape our relationship into what He wants it to be. I remember a Twila Paris song that she wrote when Keith Green died. Some of the words were, ". . . do I trust you Lord when I have to cry?" I'm sure that there will be tears, but I do trust Him with our lives.

Power

Sunday morning, muggy, temps heading for mid 80's, looking forward to pizza with a friend later today, etc. Just read a piece by Frank Schaeffer in Huffpo dissing Christians and justifying his leftist godless theology. The only acceptable targets these days are Christians and conservatives. What a state our country is in! It would be good if Jesus came back soon! This life is wearying at times, and this is one of them. Oh well, enough of that! On to more encouraging themes!

I was meditating this week on the scripture verse, 2Ti 1:7, "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." kjv
I was also reminded of this verse, 1Co 4:20, "For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." kjv In the first verse, power is coupled with love and a sound mind and contrasted to fear. In the second, power is contrasted to words. So, I began to ask what is this power that is, frankly, so powerful that it can dispel fear and bond with love and a sound mind.

My peeps are pretty much charismatics, desiring and seeking after supernatural displays of God's power through healing, et al. So am I. I've been wondering, A LOT, why it is there is so little power in the church? The organized church is all about words, it seems. Every Sunday a sermon to inspire you to do more, be more, 'fess up, etc. For all the words, nothing changes. The people we pray for don't get well or out-and-out die. We latch on to faith and try to get more or to refine it somehow to receive our desired results. We look for formulas, we read the latest book, listen to the latest expert, and keep asking God what we are missing in our quest. For all of our faith, we don't seem to be getting anywhere.

It all has to do with power, God's power in us. Jesus had it. He didn't have to work up enough faith or use any formulas. My question is, how do WE access His power in us that results in the transformation we are seeking? The Spirit has given us the power, so what is missing?

The Seduction of Faith

Recently, well really, for some time now, I've been confronted with the inadequacy of faith to produce the results we expect. The teaching floating around leads us to believe that if our faith is strong enough and we are following the right procedures enough and we don't have any "known sin" in our lives, then God will grant us whatever we desire.

Reality doesn't support the teaching. So . . . what IS the problem?? Is it about having enough faith? Jesus said all we needed was faith the size of a mustard seed. I have at least that much, don't you? Jesus' sacrifice paid for all of my sins, or is that just past sins and not current? Hmmm . . . interesting thought. I'll have to puzzle on that one.

Is it possible that the sovereignty of God trumps even the strongest faith? Is it possible that even the unwanted events, including tragedy and suffering and death are tools in His hands to accomplish His purposes? What if God really is in control and everything that happens in life is part of the process?

We scramble for explanations when things don't happen the way we want. The disease isn't cured, the miracle doesn't come, the daughter dies an untimely death. That's when the "enemy" comes in handy - someone to blame, to hold accountable, some evil entity that isn't God. That enemy "got something over" on God, or so the thinking goes.

Do we dare to believe that the loving God we know can be behind the tough places in life? Is it enough to know that our sufferings fill up the sufferings of Christ, as the Apostle Paul says?

I believe that God really is in control and everything and everyone serves Him, knowingly or unknowingly. I can put my trust in His plans and purposes because of who He is. We can never discern accurately who He is by looking at circumstances. Human thinking is "good God equals good circumstances." Obviously God has a plan and purpose far beyond our temporal comfort. God is not formulaic. He is dynamic and real and alive. He has no buttons to push and cannot be pushed beyond His limits. His interaction with us is alive and present and He loves us with a consuming passion. You can't do better than that!

Urban Legends

I fell victim to an urban legend today. Oh boy! You know what it's like. One minute I was elated and encouraged, the next, I felt foolish and returned to earth.

You've probably heard the one about the vanishing prophetic hitchhiker. You can find out all about it on www.snopes.com. Apparently it's been around since 40 AD or so, with varying details. In this version, which according to snopes, has resurged with an uptick in volume, a woman is driving down the road and encounters a hitchhiker. She feels led to pick him up. The hitchhiker says, "the trumpet is at my lip" and then instantly disappears. Shaken, the woman pulls her car to the side of the road. A policeman pulls up behind her and asks if she is okay. She then relays her story to him. He tells her, "you're the fifth person who has told me that today."

There I am, getting chills and thrilling that Jesus is coming to collect us, relieved that the struggles of this life are soon to be over, feeling as though I can fly. I was so excited to tell everyone. Thankfully, I only told one person - I'll be calling her in a couple of hours to retract what I told her.

What do I feel now? Let down for sure. It's tempting to get angry with the person who started the tale, but what good would that do? I could imagine someone laughing at my and others' expense at their little joke. But this is different somehow. I was made vulnerable by my desire and familiarity with the messenger. This presentation came through someone I know and trust, and she heard it from the brother of the woman who claimed that it happened to her. It's hard to know what to think or to do, if anything. Was she deceived? Did it really happen to her as she related to her brother? Who knows? It seems so impossible that it could be true when all of the details of her story fit the urban legend.

Then, after feeling deflated and humbled and embarrassed, I began to remember that God is still God and nothing has changed. I am His and He is mine. He loves me without limit and is always at work for my good. His character is the same, as are His promises. And . . . one day . . . in the not-too-distant future, I will be with Him. And, no urban legend can take that away! Hallelujah!!

Christian Universalism

I am so thrilled that several friends are starting to know the truth of the reconciliation of all mankind! What a blessing to watch others experience the release of fear and guilt and a troubled relationship with our Father. I can almost feel them relax and rest in Him, knowing that their place in Him is secure and final. Thank You Papa for not losing even one!

Law and Grace

I've been thinking quite a bit lately about Law and Grace. Whenever we try to "balance" the two, Grace comes out the loser. However, we seem to consistently wind up back at Law. How many messages or sermons have you heard that focused far more on what you need to do for God or how you need to do more, be more, clean up your act? I thought that the redemption of mankind was God's idea and His work - when did it become ours?

A couple of years ago I remember reading about the early history of the church and about the changes it went through and its effect on scripture. Up until Augustine and Constantine, the early church predominantly believed that redemption was accomplished at the cross. When Christianity became politicized through Constantine, the message began to change. The church and political leaders found that if they threatened punishment for non-compliance, they could maintain control of the people. Augustine was also instrumental in inserting the message of "hell" into the common man's thinking.

The church lost its authority in the message and power of Grace. When it superimposed the Law over Grace, the Law won out and Grace died. The only purpose of the Law is to kill, and kill it does, and that's all it does. Grace brings life and hope and knowledge of God's infinite love and mercy. It does far more than that - it lifts us from the mundane human experience into the realm of the supernatural. Natural limitations no longer exist and we flow easily in the Spirit. I believe that the insertion of the Law into the message of Reconciliation has resulted in the current powerless condition of the church. When the church abandoned the true message of the gracious Good News, it forfeited its power.

The good news is that the power of Grace is still available to all who will abandon the Law and seek God for the truth of Grace and Reconciliation. God help us in our search! The Good News really is good news!

Every Life Has Value

In the last couple of days I've been thinking about God's perspective on the value of a "single solitary life." When we've heard or read those words, they were always used in reference to the life of Christ, or some heroic individual who gave their lives, their fortunes, and their passion to change the world around them. History abounds with such figures. We, in turn, are all enjoined and prodded to "make our lives count" for God. We talk about "service" and being "good servants of God." Our lives are to be about service, first and foremost.

As right sounding as this mindset is, it's still based upon the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and will still kill us all dead as a doornail. Instead of performance-based value, what if the value of a life depended upon the One Who valued it? What if the value of any life, irrespective of any form of productivity, had value just because it existed and was created by the One Who gave it value? What if this life was all about Him, and not us? What if God really meant it when He said that He sent Jesus to be the Saviour of the world, and not just the success stories? What if, God really loved us all?

More on the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

Gratis to Joseph Prince for this insight: The fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil wasn't just evil - it was both good and evil. Here it is - good will kill you just as quick as evil! There is no Life in knowing good or in knowing evil. We want Life. We need Life.

You can find Jospeh Prince at http://josephprince.org. He is an excellent teacher. You can also find him on Daystar, TBN, USA and Family Channel. He teaches radical grace - something we all need to hear a lot more than we do.

The Problem of Suffering

I keep coming back to this topic, far more than I would like. My back and hips are aching like crazy. Only prayer, time and the chiropractor can help right now. One question that always comes up when I'm in pain - how much is this is my fault, and how much is just the human condition? Why does that matter, really? Will it mitigate the pain by knowing? Will it help in anyway? If I determine that somehow my suffering is my fault, will that cause me to be at peace about it? Am I just trying to be in control, when God is the only One in control?

I think of other friends who are suffering, far worse than me - or maybe, just differently than me. Only God knows. Only He can heal us and restore us. I cry out to Him for all of us, whatever our source of pain, for relief and restoration. If you are suffering right now, just know that somehow this fits into His plan for you, and one day, He will heal you. God bless you, my friend!

Longing for Home

Here I am again, 3 a.m. and wide awake. A good time for clarity of thought. Last night I was on the phone with a friend, talking about the struggle of life. She said, "There's really nothing wrong - everything is okay, but . . . nothing is okay." I understand those feelings - a general discontentment without being able to pinpoint anything specific. We all have those times, don't we? Times of restlessness, times of wanting more, or wanting less.

In a moment of insight, I think, I said that the real problem is that we were never intended to be content with this life. We were made for another place, we were made for the perfection of God's presence. God has put eternity in our hearts. Hebrews 11 tells us about people who had their sights on another city, a far better place. They never found it in this life. We will never find our home here either. Our hearts, our spirits, our longings, all belong to another place. We are just traveling through. Maybe it helps to know that we are not alone in that struggle to live in the here and now. One day, though, our faith will become sight.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

I was thinking this morning about how much we all are controlled by that first fateful bite. As you may recall, there were two trees in the garden of Eden - the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. As you also know, the latter tree was the subject of God's prohibition. They could eat all they wanted of the Tree of Life, but avoid the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil at all costs, or die. Wow! I would have cut a wide birth, wouldn't you? At least, I think I would have. Who knows for sure?

Anyway, biblical teachers tend to focus on the death sentence of the fall to the exclusion of other foci. What about this - what about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would bring death to mankind? Think about it . . . I'll wait . . . .

The knowledge of good and evil seems like a good thing, doesn't it? Shouldn't we focus on being good and not evil, and knowing the difference? How else will we know how to live? And yet, God said that that knowledge would bring death to us, each and every one. Knowing life brings life - knowing good and evil brings death. What does it mean to know Life? Jesus said that He was the Life, the Way and the Truth.

I find myself too easily grading life, grading others, grading myself according to that good and evil tree. Every single time it brings forth death, and only death. When I extend life, love and grace, it always brings forth the good fruit of Life.

New Beginnings

Here we go . . . . My first adventure in blogging. It's funny, isn't it - how words skip away when you think you have so much to say! (Smile!)



We're all on a journey - a journey to Home - that place for which we all have an irrepressible longing. There are many different paths and each of us has our own story. Through this venue, I hope to share, and have you share, our respective journeys to Home and to Him. God is my Home. He is my journey as well. There have been many revelations and bumps in the road, and times of searching and draught. However, no matter what comes in my path, with each step, I am closer to Home.