and the One who walks with me on it.

Thursday, August 06, 2015

Branded Insensitive to Sin

     I am not your typical female. I have no desire to: cook, clean, decorate, own more than six pair of footwear including boots, own more clothes than I can wear in two weeks, have expensive jewelry, get a mani-pedi, or shop for anything other than tools (especially power), electronics or school supplies. So it was with trepidation that I agreed to shop with two girlfriends at (gasp, choke… come on- breathe) Victoria Secret. (shiver)

     We entered the mall food court to find that store located on the left when I noticed a DQ (Dairy Queen) straight ahead. I pointed and gave puppy dog eyes hoping to be relieved of the torment within ‘those’ wretched walls when my companions had mercy on me and agreed. I sat, enjoying my large chocolate dipped cone while they did that ‘girlie thing’ I hate.

     As I ate my cone, I did one of the things I love to do- people watch. There were many parents with young children that day. The kids appeared to be an average age of 8. Then I looked over at the store wondering how long I would have to wait when I noticed the advertisements outside the store facing into the food court. On each side of the doorway there was a gigantic photo poster of a girl in nothing but a fancy bra and panties.

Where people were eating.

In full view of young children.

     For the first time I realized how badly our consciences are seared (1Tm. 4:2) in North America that mostly naked females are displayed without shame. In fact, upon hearing the story my son said… Mom, this is normal. He is right: it is normal for the times, but that does not make it right. We now accept indecency without even expressing concern. Oh how far we have fallen.

     Let’s consider tv for a moment. We watch ‘tv couples’ who have affairs and we are glad because one of them deserved to be happy. Little do we consider all the couples we watch are committing adultery (or fornication) for they are all the real life spouse of someone else. Thus all the couples we watch kissing or pretending to have sexual relations are doing so with someone else’s spouse. Oh, but they aren’t really doing it! Sometimes. Sometimes not. Does the appearance of really make it better?

     Watching tv is looking, observing… adultery, nudity- partial or not, gross sin, perversity, murder… it is making me sick thinking about how far down we have sunk in our morality that we no longer see or care about the sin. We are so burned by it that we are insensitive to it. Jesus said even looking can be wrong:

But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Mt. 5:28
     Father, help us remember that right and wrong are determined by You, our Creator. We cannot judge right or wrong by morals of today or of the majority view, but only by You and Your Word. Help us to be bold and strong in this dark world, to do right whether others see us or not and make a stand for right AT ALL TIMES.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
-Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
-For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
-And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Rm. 1:20-32 ESV






Wednesday, August 05, 2015

In His Presence

     Remember this song we used to sing? In Your presence, in Your presence, there is peace. In Your presence, in Your presence, there is joy. I will linger, I will stay, In Your presence day by day, till Your likeness may be seen in me. Where are the other verses that say in Your presence there is conviction, discipline, or shame of sin? I wish I wouldn't sin anymore, but as my son said yesterday, "I am only human."

     He's right. As long as I am human I will sin. As long as I am human I may choose to jump into the filth of my past again which will lead to shame and regret, which leads to needing God's forgiveness, to my releasing it all to Him and Him washing me clean... again. Wish I could be completely holy, but it won't happen in this flesh. I look forward to God's pure and holy new life in our new bodies in a world where no corruption or wickedness can enter in.

And where I can be in His presence forever.
                                                      FOREVER!

...For Jehovah your God is with you in all places where you go. Js. 1:9
And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, so that He may be with you forever, Jh. 14:16
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,... And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen. Mt. 28:18,20


                                               In His Presence...

                                               Broken
                                               Desperate
                                               Needing You, wanting You
                                               Filthy
                                               Rotting
                                               Grieving me, my sin
                                               Washing
                                               Cleansing
                                               All my filth, all my sin
                                               Your grace
                                               Your mercy
                                               I don’t deserve, I do receive
                                               Desperate
                                               Longing
                                               For more of You, more with Me
                                               Needing
                                               Wanting
                                               To be with You, to see Your face
                                               Come be
                                               With me
                                               My Greatest Love
                                               Together
                                               Alone
                                               In Your Garden

Tuesday, August 04, 2015

Are We Connected?

     It’s another day…  again. Let’s see if this time I can maintain the blog without any more delays. It is most difficult to upload documents without internet access. (Yes, there are still places like that.) Apparently, not all hospitals have free wifi, or people with cable as I always assumed they had. I have remedied that situation for my friend now that I’m home and it no longer matters to me! (insert eye rolling) It is good to be back to writing again.

     So I’ve been thinking about connection. Just how connected are we with the Lord? Do we only connect by hardwire to church with Him on Sunday, or are we content with a couple minutes on our home wifi with Him in the morning. Are we ‘addicted’ enough to Him to have a mobile wireless connection so we can have 24/7 access everywhere that we go? That is my choice- even though I don’t utilize that very connection as often as I should.

     Then we must question: do I only connect to get things, or do I connect to learn more about the Lord, get feedback (listen), and just to hang out with Him? If I’m honest, sometimes I’m just too tired or lazy to put much effort into our connection. And then I wonder why I am struggling with life…  (more eye rolling)

I’m grateful He’s never been as tired or lazy in His relationship with me.
Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. Ps.121:4
     It’s funny how people these days share everything online. Cool sayings, cute puppies, provoking thoughts, jokes, funny videos, news, politics, even gross stuff no one really wants to see. ‘Hey, look at this,’ ‘like this,’ ‘check this out’ ‘come see/ listen.’ We share even the crazy things that we saw, did, or that happened to us, but we don’t share our Lord the same way or with the same excitement.

Ouch!

     In the old days of Israel, only the high priest had direct access to the presence of the holy God, once a year in the Holy of Holies. It must have been scary because if they were not cleansed properly, they could die and would have to be dragged out (since no one else could go in). The Holy of Holies was behind a special (heavy) curtain in the Tabernacle and/or Temple. How sad that the rest of the people didn’t have that same access to the King of Glory.

And after the second veil was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies,But once in the year into the second the high priest goes alone, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the errors of the people) Hb. 9:3,7
     The cross changed everything. When Jesus died, the Temple veil was torn- from the top down- as only God could do- to show that through Jesus we have access directly to God’s presence once again as had existed in the Garden of Eden before the fall of man. And it is 24/7 IF we want it; but God will not force Himself in our lives. We must enter willingly. If we only want that hardwire connection on Sunday, or maybe even include the 5 minutes a day, there is little relationship being built with Him and our lives will not be full of the blessings He wishes in our lives.

And crying again with a loud voice, Jesus released His spiritAnd, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared, Mt. 27:51
(about Jesus Christ) but by His own blood He entered once for all into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Hb. 9:12

     As for me and all those willing to join me: let’s push our limits to the 24/7 unlimited bandwidth, mobile wifi relationship He wants to have with us. Care to join us too?


Therefore, brothers, having boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,… Hb. 10:19-22