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Getting somewhere requires effort, it takes
faith to push on, it's easy to screw up,
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Friday, April 10, 2015
When others hurt me, how do I react?“I have
learned now that while those who speak about one's miseries usually hurt, those who keep silence hurt more.” ~ C.S.
Lewis
Ever
had people take sneaky manipulative attacks to hurt you and make themselves out to be better or more competent than they really
are?
I have,
and it is not nice.
I guess most of us have had this experience haven’t we?
What is extraordinary is the level some people
take to do this, how they can feign appreciation while sliding the knife into ones back slowly.
How are Christians to deal with this?
We are God’s children and need to understand
that God means the saying, “17 Don’t pay back evil with evil.
Be careful to do what everyone thinks is right. 18 If possible, live in peace with everyone. Do that as much
as you can. 19 My dear friends, don’t try to get even. Leave room for God to show his anger. It is written,
“I am the God who judges people. I will pay them back,” (Deuteronomy 32:35) says the Lord.” Found in Romans 12.
Forgiveness is difficult under these circumstances
isn’t it?
Yet to be true children of God it has to
not only be in word, but heartfelt and in our actions as well.
“Crazy!” is a criticism I hear. “Why in the world would I open
myself to more abuse?”
True!
Yet
if my physical and psychological health is not at risk, then it is not something I have to change is it.
Maybe I would like to, but I don’t HAVE
to.
Evil is destroyed
in some of the most amazing ways.
Jesus didn’t organize retribution against the Romans and fight back the
Jews who were trying to kill him. He accepted his lot and let the Father take the action.
We have to allow God to have his
way instead of building “anger” castles.
It’s difficult to forgive
and yet live within range of unfair attacks, but how we weather that storm often does far more in showing God’s love
to others than retribution could ever do!
At the end of the day what would we rather have? Purity of life in Jesus and another brother or sister
ready to walk more deeply with God, or a few seconds of self-love at having hurt another?
That’s question we all need to answer isn’t it?
Fri, April 10, 2015 | link
Thursday, April 9, 2015
To live in pure luxury and happiness is not a promise God makes to us “Abundance isn't God's
provision for me to live in luxury. It's his provision for me to help others live. God entrusts me with his money not to build
my kingdom on earth, but to build his kingdom in heaven.” ~ Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions and Eternity
17 As
Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him. He fell on his knees before Jesus. “Good teacher,” he said, “what
must I do to receive eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good except God. 19 You
know what the commandments say. ‘Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not be a false witness. Do
not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’ ” (Exodus 20:12–16; Deuteronomy 5:16–20)
20 “Teacher,” he said,
“I have obeyed all those commandments since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “You are missing one thing,”
he said. “Go and sell everything you have. Give the money to those who are poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Then
come and follow me.”
22 The man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he was very rich.
23 Jesus looked around. He said to his disciples, “How
hard it is for rich people to enter God’s kingdom!” Mark 14 NIRV
This seems to suggest we should not have riches, but is that true?
Maybe it is only that God wants us to
use riches to help those in need rather than allow ourselves luxuries. In which case, what are we doing with big screen TV’s
etc.?
Yet if we dig
a bit deeper we find that there is another story…
37 There was a woman in that town who had lived a sinful life. She learned that Jesus was
eating at the Pharisee’s house. So she came there with a special jar of perfume. 38 She stood behind
Jesus and cried at his feet. And she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair. She kissed them
and poured perfume on them. Luke
7
Jesus goes on to explain
to those present that appreciation for great debt relief is something we can all understand then says.
“Do
you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water to wash my feet. But she wet my feet with her tears
and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss. But this woman has not stopped kissing my feet
since I came in. 46 You did not put any olive oil on my head. But she has poured this perfume on my feet.
47 So I tell you this. Her many sins have been forgiven. She has shown that she understands this by her great
acts of love. But whoever has been forgiven only a little loves only a little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to talk
about this among themselves. They said, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved
you. Go in peace.”
There
is no criticism for wasting a huge amount of money on perfume that was poured out. Just a comment that she had appreciated
Jesus and was therefore doing right.
So perhaps when we do use luxury items, we need to be careful that we appreciate their provider and enable them to be
used by others as well.
We
are not here to please ourselves in this world. We are here to please God and live for Him. In doing so we live life
fully and in so doing we also need to have around us things that can help us help others.
Jesus did say… “Children, how hard it is to enter God’s kingdom! 25 Is
it hard for a camel to go through the eye of a needle? It is even harder for someone who is rich to enter God’s kingdom!”
26 The
disciples were even more amazed. They said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With people,
this is impossible. But not with God. All things are possible with God.” Mark 14
Our focus is not on what we have, but what we can do with it for God.That’s my plan today, to focus on what I can use of mine to help
God’s purpose.
What’s your plan for today?
Thu, April 9, 2015 | link
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
God vs. God, where do we end up?God vs. God, where
do we end up?
When the solution is simple, God is answering.~ Albert Einstein
Really?
This is an example of how when we use the word God we can be internally
understanding quite different things. Einstein never knew the Christian God! In fact one has to question if he knew the Jewish
God either. He believed in a God who is and who constitutes the natural laws of the universe.
So…If I say nature is God, it is that different than saying
Jesus is God?
We all have different lives that course through the valleys of time picking up debris and flotsam along the way.
Our lives take different twists and turns and churn out different compositions and
flows through time, (or space time if you are Einstein). Time itself can even appear different to each of us as some have
a life that languidly slides past without a rush, and others seem so busy cavorting and making splashes that they simply foam
and hiss through life at a frenetic pace.
Life moulds us and churns up experiences as it goes. The problem is that we always interpret life from
our specific experiences and so many of us fail to see outside our own valleys.
How can we see differently?
To do that we have to listen to someone who has seen the country in totality and is not constrained to our specific
path through time.
God!
Only God can convey this information to us.
Yet in many of these instances we all refer
to "God" and mean totally different gods. The Jew, the Muslin, the Buddhist, the Taoist all have a god ,or god’s
as their lead.
Yet
are these the same?
Christians
have a very specific view on this which is controversial to many others. The only true God is clearly described by John when
Jesus prays…
“Father, the time has come. Bring glory to your Son. Then your Son will bring glory to you. 2 You
gave him authority over all people. He gives eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 And what is eternal
life? It is knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory
on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do. 5 So now, Father, give glory to me in heaven where your
throne is. Give me the glory I had with you before the world began. John 17
There is one God. He is not aligned with other God’s, and not accepting Jesus
as God is not acceptable.
That’s the simplicity of it!
Does that mean I am a hard case, a nut, uncompromisingly prejudiced?
No!
It means that I understand that no matter how much a person argues that they
have no father, they are simply ignoring a fact.
Truth is sometimes not what we want to accept, but it is still truth.
Yesterday I got
pulled over by a police woman in a cruiser. When she came to my window she asked me if I knew I was driving without a licence.
I indignantly indicated she must be mistaken. Then she asked me to look at my license and to my horror I found out it had
lapsed.Was my ignorance and denial
a factor excusing me in this case?
No!
I was guilty
and a little foolish.
How many people who deny Jesus is God are in a similar situation?
Are you?
Wed, April 8, 2015 | link
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If you want to see a short blog describing a perspective on what I believe click here
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Rift in Evil
By Ken
X Briggs - Published: September, 2010
- Format: Perfect Bound Softcover(B/W)
- Pages: 208
Size:
6x9 - ISBN: 9781450250894
Available from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iUniverse. |
Credit cards are acceptable on sites having Ken's books: 
:)
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Click
on XML Click here =>  to be told of new blogs
| Ken's book covers are displayed below. . . | |  This
suspense thriller centers on Kiara, a beautiful young woman pursued by a murderous group of people, who relentlessly and ruthlessly
hunt her and her sisters. Kiara has no idea why she is being targeted! When Kiara and her family turn to the law for help,
this fails. Her pursuers’ powers reach deeply into the political and law enforcement world. Family support for her dwindles
when they too have to flee her pursuers. Can Kiara escape the clutches of both the law and dishonest big business? With the
media broadcasting that Kiara and friends are dangerous and subversive, can Kiara clear her name and bring her pursuers to
justice?
| | | | | To purchase Kiara's Pursuer ebook
@ $1.99 kindle version click here, To contact the author contact Author@KenXBriggs.com | | | | | | | | The town of Zinaville is dropped into a spiral of evil causing a young man and a beautiful but abused woman
to launch into an investigation that unveils an evil conspiracy. A horrific mining accident results in Joshua
Robyn's father being killed. Joshua struggles both with himself and his townsfolk as he tries to make sense of an incomprehensible
situation. Is it an accident or a murder? Why is there a seeming link to evil? Why is his work environment suddenly threatening?
What is the conspiracy about and what are they trying to do? As action moves dramatically from exotic African grasslands to
the heart of North America's cities, the plot unfolds and the pace quickens. Will there be time? Why is a beautiful abused
young woman in the center of this plot? Evil tendrils tighten on their lives and the interplay between the visible
and invisible world shows opposing forces at work. Will there be a rift in evil? Will they be able to stop the
evil in time? | | - Published: September, 2010
- Format: Perfect
Bound Softcover(B/W)
- Pages: 208
Size: 6x9 - ISBN: 9781450250894
Available
from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iUniverse. Chapters | | | | |
| Frugal Eating Advice |
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| Good advice for students living on limited $'s. Click on the image! |
May you be blessed today!
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