God's Will

another response to a comment (see Queen for A Day)
the question - wouldn't God reveal His will for us...what He would have us do...
of course He would...of course He did
my three favorites:
1 Thessalonians 5: 15 - 18
James 1:27
Micah 6:8
There are others, and room for much discussion. However, at this point, as I indicated below. My tired old computer is not cooperating with me...

Technical Problems

Our tired old computer is acting out...and at school I can not read or respond to comments because it is considered a "chat room"- off limits for the school for several obvious reasons.
I just got around to reading the responses, but am able to leave the somewhat sarcastic reply I was thinking of. Technical Glitch
I am very busy at work, and very distracted at home. Time and energy glitch.
The main thing I was dealing with when I wrote the second to last piece, was that not all Christians would agree that the murder of those children was part of God's perfect plan since the beginning of time. Perhaps, the Amish would disagree with me, since one was quoted as saying - It was God's will. I do believe that all things work for the good for those who love God. And I believe that the example of the Amish was an important, but largely ignored message from God.
As was the discovery of that ancient Book of Psalms open to Psalm 83. Was that ever debunked as a scam?
Upon reading the responses to this piece, one particular comment stood out. One about the goddess. Sorry my friend, I just can't come to capitalize that g. Is she invented? I think not.
I think she is a created being, a fallen angel, who presents herself as something quite beautiful, who denies the cross of Jesus for what it is, who can not herself be redeemed and therefore belittles the concept of redemtion, who allows her children to play in the darkness until they are unable to accept the light. At least, that is the goddess I met on my journey to enlightment. And if it were not for the prayers of a faithful few, I might be playing with her still.
I am reluctant to say this here, but inspite, or perhaps because of what I just wrote, I value my blog relationship with Wanderer, and welcome all his comments. As for the other guy - he is what he is. He is successful in what he does. He is secure in what he believes. That is more than I can say for myself these days. Blog on.

Forgiveness

What an incredible lesson presented to this dark and trembling world. Forgiveness.
And such simple non-intrusive teachers. The Amish.

Tuesday Mourning

5:29 AM according to my ol’ computer. Doesn’t even sound like the roosters are up yet. In my yard is a gloriously golden tree and on my porch, Shi’ma’s gray cat Smoky. It is a peaceful morning in my corner of the world. LORD, have mercy on those millions of people on this wobbling globe that are not having a peaceful morning. Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted. Which leads me to pray through 2 Corinthians 1:1 to 2:11 - all about comfort and forgiveness. I’ll write on that in my prayer journal. Perhaps I’ll share it with you later.
But here is the gist of what I was thinking, while enjoying the peace on my porch. There are many Christians in this world, many people who love our LORD, Jesus Christ and honor, trust, believe in His Word, The Holy, Living Bible who do not believe that every thing that happens in this dark and perverse world is aligned to God’s perfect will.
Sin, Darkness, and the Murder of Innocent Children are not parts of His Perfect Plan
There is no comfort in telling a grieving mother that the meaningless murder of her little girl is part of the Sovereign God’s perfect plan unfolding. Not all of us Christians believe such a thing is true. God is Love. God is Light, and in Him there is no shade of darkness.
Time to watch the sun rise over Shiprock.

Forgiveness and Queen for the Day

I was thinking of forgiveness the other day. In particular, how forgiving children can be, while adults tend to harbor hard feelings and hold grudges. Jesus seemed to think that forgiveness was pretty important didn’t He? He taught that if we want to be forgiven by our heavenly Father, we should be forgiving toward each other. The Word teaches that we shouldn’t offer an offering, or expect our prayers to be answered if we were harboring feelings of unforgiveness in our hearts. One of our Lord’s most dramatic teachings was at the cross, when He asked God to forgive the soldiers who nailed Him to the cross.
I was just thinking of this during the week. About how if a particular “daddy” I know would be forgiven by his children for just disappearing out of their young lives, if he would only forgive himself, get over himself, and knock on their door.
And as far as royalty goes…
Yesterday was the renowned Shiprock Parade. Quite an exciting event! Last year 180,000 people watched the parade. Impressive when you realize the population of the Shiprock is about 18,000. Pastor Art and I were on one of the last floats. He was playing drums with a praise band and I went along for the ride. When I mentioned it in class Friday one of my students asked if she could be in the parade with me. She knew her mom would let her, because it was a Christian Ministry float. I said sure. I wasn’t sure she’d show up, but she did. She was dressed beautifully. Sort of an eclectic outfit, part African princess, part Native American. Her hair was braided native style. She is not exactly the homecoming, prom queen sort of girl. She is sweet and friendly, but would never be judged most popular. Part of the time she just sat in the back of the float, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. A lot of the time she was throwing candy (that sort of thing is still allowed and highly expected in this parade…every float does it.) But a few times I noticed her standing and waving royally. Like Miss America, or even Queen Elizabeth. And her young face was glowing. Every young girl should experience that “royal” feeling, at least once. Not many do. I’m glad this one did.
These two topics are not exactly related, but it’s what is on my mind this morning as I get ready to get ready for church. Pastor Art is one of the Liturgical Readers today at the Church we worship at, and after Church we are taking our Grandkids to the fair. My biggest personal prayer (after the global ones for protection of the innocent, and that the spirits of darkness and violence will be subdued by the heavenly host and that my son find a job) is that we can find a parking space near the fair so Grandpa Art won’t be all stressed out.