I have decided to give up blogging, face book, and unnecessary "Googling" for Lent. I believe that my time could be better spent elsewhere. Although I enjoy both activities - how does it really benefit me? I am going to use the time normally spent on the computer - to better myself spiritually, physically, and mentally. :-)
I will return after my 40 day fast from my computer - Monday April 13th.
P.S. For my family - I will continue to check my e-mail.
Monday, February 23, 2009
What is REALLY going on??
These are jumbled thoughts... overflowing on paper. They are not organized or clearly thought through... Many thoughts taken from John Eldredge Waking the Dead.
Life. It can be like standing in a boxing ring... facing a heavy weight champion... totally unprepared. You try to think positively... and muster up your courage. But... A right hook and WHAM! A young boy is diagnosed with cancer. A left jab... BAM! A single Christian girl is pregnant. A right uppercut sends you reeling into the ropes. A beautiful family with four children. The dirty ugly word... Divorce. A fast furious left-right and you are down screaming for mercy from the pain. Suicide. Babies die. People in pain. You can no longer see straight. Your vision is blurred. You stumble and fall. You scream on the inside, "MAKE IT ALL GO AWAY! Is this all there is? What is going on?" People question God. Begin to doubt. Why do bad things happen to good people? The answer is not an easy one. Certainly isn't a comforting one.
We are at war. We are caught in the middle of two warring entities. God graciously offers mankind hope, life, and freedom. Do we experience this? Or is our life more like, "The alarm goes off, and they hit the snooze button, catch a few extra winks, gulp down a cup of coffee on their way to work, wonder why there are so many hassles, grab some lunch,work some more, come home under a cloud, look at the mail, have dinner, watch a little TV, feed the cat, and fall into bed - without once even wondering how the Enemy might be attacking them. All they know is they sure aren't enjoying the abundant life Christ talked about." Waking the Dead - John Eldredge
We need eyes to see what is really going on. Satan has tried to thwart God's plan for our life from the beginning. Satan doesn't want Christians to live with hope, life, passion, and freedom. He wants us discouraged. Unhappy. Joyless. Passionless. Paralyzed with fear. He hurls his darts at us daily. Where does he start? Our thoughts. He attack us with an onslaught of vicious bullets. "You are ugly. You don't have friends. You are and always will be alone. Look at that face in the mirror. What a pathetic loser. Are you sure you can trust your husband? Was he really working late? You are no good. You aren't a real man. Look at Mr. Jones' job and house. He has it all. What is wrong with you? Go ahead... Drink... it will make it all better. You worked hard all day... you deserve this... go to that website again and take a look... you aren't doing anything wrong. Don't exercise... who cares? Just eat more chocolate... what does it matter?" Daily, the enemy of our soul attacks us. But, are we aware of what is going on?
"The world in which we live is a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle unto the death." - John Eldredge, Waking the Dead
Besides our thoughts and minds... at times Satan causes great heartache to cross our paths. It hits like a sucker punch. And we are left dazed and confused. The story of Job illustrates clearly what is going on when this happens. God did not cause the hard things to come. Satan did. Testing Job. Trying to persuade him to give up. To deter him from the path of life. Hard difficult times happen because we are at war.
If we aren't careful we will begin to think that God wanted bad things to happen to us. "Worse, we will begin to accept some really awful things about God. That four-year old girl being molested by her daddy - that is "God's will?" That ugly divorce that tore your family apart - God wanted that to happen too? And that plane crash that took the lives of so many - that was desired by God?" - John Eldredge
Daily we must watch for suggestions that he makes. Because if the enemy of our soul can convince us to agree with these suggestions... he has us. A.W. Tozer said, "So, it becomes the devil's business to keep the Christian's spirit imprisoned.... to keep us bound and gagged, actually imprisoned in our own grave clothes. He knows that if we continue in this kind of bondage... we are not much better off than when we were spiritually dead."
We must also live in community. Where we have a small group of friends who walk with us on our journey. A place of openness. Of watching each others' backs in this war that we are fighting.
Are you fighting for and with each other? John Eldredge says, "Most churches survive because everyone keeps a polite distance from the others. We keep our meetings short, our conversation superficial...No one is really being set free, but no one is really at odds with each other, either. We have settled for safety in numbers - a comfortable, anonymous distance."
Hmmmm.......... Maybe we should link arms with fellow believers and have a united front in this war we are fighting. Perhaps... we should stop thinking "each other" are the enemy (because of differences in standards & preferences). Maybe we are too busy checking each other out "externally" and haven't even thought of this war we are fighting. God help us.
Life. It can be like standing in a boxing ring... facing a heavy weight champion... totally unprepared. You try to think positively... and muster up your courage. But... A right hook and WHAM! A young boy is diagnosed with cancer. A left jab... BAM! A single Christian girl is pregnant. A right uppercut sends you reeling into the ropes. A beautiful family with four children. The dirty ugly word... Divorce. A fast furious left-right and you are down screaming for mercy from the pain. Suicide. Babies die. People in pain. You can no longer see straight. Your vision is blurred. You stumble and fall. You scream on the inside, "MAKE IT ALL GO AWAY! Is this all there is? What is going on?" People question God. Begin to doubt. Why do bad things happen to good people? The answer is not an easy one. Certainly isn't a comforting one.
We are at war. We are caught in the middle of two warring entities. God graciously offers mankind hope, life, and freedom. Do we experience this? Or is our life more like, "The alarm goes off, and they hit the snooze button, catch a few extra winks, gulp down a cup of coffee on their way to work, wonder why there are so many hassles, grab some lunch,work some more, come home under a cloud, look at the mail, have dinner, watch a little TV, feed the cat, and fall into bed - without once even wondering how the Enemy might be attacking them. All they know is they sure aren't enjoying the abundant life Christ talked about." Waking the Dead - John Eldredge
We need eyes to see what is really going on. Satan has tried to thwart God's plan for our life from the beginning. Satan doesn't want Christians to live with hope, life, passion, and freedom. He wants us discouraged. Unhappy. Joyless. Passionless. Paralyzed with fear. He hurls his darts at us daily. Where does he start? Our thoughts. He attack us with an onslaught of vicious bullets. "You are ugly. You don't have friends. You are and always will be alone. Look at that face in the mirror. What a pathetic loser. Are you sure you can trust your husband? Was he really working late? You are no good. You aren't a real man. Look at Mr. Jones' job and house. He has it all. What is wrong with you? Go ahead... Drink... it will make it all better. You worked hard all day... you deserve this... go to that website again and take a look... you aren't doing anything wrong. Don't exercise... who cares? Just eat more chocolate... what does it matter?" Daily, the enemy of our soul attacks us. But, are we aware of what is going on?
"The world in which we live is a combat zone, a violent clash of kingdoms, a bitter struggle unto the death." - John Eldredge, Waking the Dead
Besides our thoughts and minds... at times Satan causes great heartache to cross our paths. It hits like a sucker punch. And we are left dazed and confused. The story of Job illustrates clearly what is going on when this happens. God did not cause the hard things to come. Satan did. Testing Job. Trying to persuade him to give up. To deter him from the path of life. Hard difficult times happen because we are at war.
If we aren't careful we will begin to think that God wanted bad things to happen to us. "Worse, we will begin to accept some really awful things about God. That four-year old girl being molested by her daddy - that is "God's will?" That ugly divorce that tore your family apart - God wanted that to happen too? And that plane crash that took the lives of so many - that was desired by God?" - John Eldredge
Daily we must watch for suggestions that he makes. Because if the enemy of our soul can convince us to agree with these suggestions... he has us. A.W. Tozer said, "So, it becomes the devil's business to keep the Christian's spirit imprisoned.... to keep us bound and gagged, actually imprisoned in our own grave clothes. He knows that if we continue in this kind of bondage... we are not much better off than when we were spiritually dead."
We must also live in community. Where we have a small group of friends who walk with us on our journey. A place of openness. Of watching each others' backs in this war that we are fighting.
Are you fighting for and with each other? John Eldredge says, "Most churches survive because everyone keeps a polite distance from the others. We keep our meetings short, our conversation superficial...No one is really being set free, but no one is really at odds with each other, either. We have settled for safety in numbers - a comfortable, anonymous distance."
Hmmmm.......... Maybe we should link arms with fellow believers and have a united front in this war we are fighting. Perhaps... we should stop thinking "each other" are the enemy (because of differences in standards & preferences). Maybe we are too busy checking each other out "externally" and haven't even thought of this war we are fighting. God help us.
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