Melancholic people wander everywhere. Have you ever noticed? They’re bummed out, depressed, annoyed, and negatively paralyzed. Heartsick, heart-sore, low-spirited little people, emanate with sorrow, sadness, gloom and dole. Why and how is it this way? Well, the economy generally reeks these days, the physical body shows signs of freshly-created pain impositions, and the barometer can’t get above “extreme crap-ful,” to start. Daily life itself can discourage but also the culture runs ahead of us, hell bent with deceitful hopes aimed directly at these lost souls. Some “mysterious” force seems to want to perpetuate the misery into eternity. Man, how can folks continue to eat this diet, and have a smile still? Cosmos Diabolicus, you are an ugly, hateful, false god-system. The spreading of your filthy host-born emanations manifests itself plainly. The fooling days are over, now we have blatant hate-mongering, truth-twisting, God-abhorring in all phases of society. Frankly, we live…
Healing at the Cross Posts
Lamentations 3:12-15 12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. 14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood. Ezekiel 24:16-18 16 Son of man, behold, I take away from thee the desire of thine eyes with a stroke: yet neither shalt thou mourn nor weep, neither shall thy tears run down. 17 Forbear to cry, make no mourning for the dead, bind the tire of thine head upon thee, and put on thy shoes upon thy feet, and cover not thy lips, and eat not the bread of men. 18 So I spake unto the people in the morning: and at even my wife died; and I did in the…
We don’t often think of participating in our own existence, because a life easily perpetuates itself. Yes, this concept called “being,” started and continues while we remain passive; we learned this in Biology 101. Later we were told, IQ-wise, how deeply or sharply we could think, but not how to get better at it. Thinking aptitude presupposes a done deal, a gift, a genetic bent, so we were taught. Yea, DNA, genetics, and the will of our parents really get the full brunt of responsibility here. Would you agree? With the risk of being labeled “existential,” we must then consider why a human becomes anxious. A quote goes this way: “anxiety comes from not being able to know the world you are in, not being able to orient yourself in your existence —the reaction to the threat to values one identifies with his existence as a self.” Wow, can this…
In thoughtful reflection, I set aside some time, and contemplated how a friend may have been feeling. I suddenly wondered, does God ever do what I am now doing? Do our thoughts and feelings matter to God? Growing up as a child and then a young man, I don’t remember many times anybody asking me, “Tom, what do you think about this?” “What are your feelings? I remember only a few occasions of someone sincerely saying to me, “how are you doing?” In the Bible, when Jesus met a rich young ruler, it says that He loved him. Yes, though the man did not grasp Jesus’ message, Jesus loved him. When Peter didn’t understand Jesus’ feet washing ministry, Jesus, nevertheless, took time to identify with Peter’s bafflement. Then The Lord explained things. Jesus took the side of and defended an adulterer one day, causing quite a stir. I mused about…
“The love of God does not find that which is worthy of His love, but rather creates it for Himself; but the love of man comes into being through the lovableness which it finds.” Luther Paul found a hard reality when he reported “the more I abundantly love you, the less I am loved,” in 2 Corinthians 12:15. Why no reward for his love? At deeper thought, why the opposite kind of reward did he receive than what was expected? “Natural human love expects something in return. But Paul is saying, “It doesn’t really matter to me whether you love me or not. I am willing to be completely destitute anyway; willing to be poverty-stricken, not just for your sakes, but also that I may be able to get you to God.”” This is a quote from Oswald Chambers. Jesus, one day girded Himself with a towel and began to…
Do we have to have rules? External government or self-discipline, is that the question? Throw off restraints, or buckle under, poses the paradox? Cannot I just trust my own conscience? If so, where do I get one that guides trust-worthily? Ah, guidance; how do I stay on the right road, how about my hunches, my intuition? What is true liberty? How do I discern the right way? In the last days we will have “lawlessness” and it will be sourced in a godless philosophy. The Bible calls the spirit of the age a “lukewarm” one, neither hot nor cold. Characteristic of this time will be moral decline but also an apostasy from true meaning and departure of generationally established values and traditions. Totalitarianism gains feet when folks leave “true upper guidance” and go with the flow of their intuitions, senses, emotions and pleasure seeking. This spiritual and cultural phenomena,…
Men epitomize peculiarity and exemplify complexity and have diverse shades, both dark and light and in between too. Who can know a man but God, and who can know the spirit in a man but God the Spirit? Man has tons more aptitude for creating than our “predecessors,” the fish and the ape. (Ha, ha, just kidding about our ancestry), of course; what can an animal really do? Animals can operate instinctually, which connects to their self-preserving nature. They sense danger, flee or attack, evoke camouflage. They procreate, feed their young. Some animals can learn conditioning-response to commands, but mostly when bribed ala food treats, or pleasures. I was watching the amazing dolphins swim, jump and more. I noticed they never refused the little fish prizes given after every feat of wonder. To their favor, dogs and pet grizzly bears will defend their human masters. After all, they know when…
Life has jagged edges, abrasive surfaces, serrated openings, and corrugated backs. These help us to grip something, but how hard? They dull a sharp knife and make it a saw, they wipe out a pattern, and make things hard to follow. These crinkled grooves wear away at a habit and move us toward change. O happy day, we might say, but not to dismay. If we are annoyed about the rough and tumble, could it be that we matriculate toward the smooth side? Whatta you mean? I mean; are you partial, comfort-bent toward the safe living zone ? We all admit this, because we all grossly underestimate how drastic a metamorphosis beckons its operation within us. We find ourselves thinking in tiny adjustments’ terms, while God determines shifting paradigms, and entire value-systems’ revamps. See, we must be born again, then our “born again” must emerge from its safe cocoon. We…
Have you ever counseled the strong willed man? Not a chance of turning him. Bent, deeply bent, its like trying to lasso a rhino. Regardless, everything in a man’s heart will be on the table one day. For this cause man would be better off, by exposure to God’s Word, to keep a not so naive, but rather a “what’s in there” inventory. However, not on purpose he might have repressed the stuff right out of his “aware” ability. It might be a blind spot. No problem for God. Circumstances designed specifically for this cause will unearth it all, O unwelcome thought! To our advantage, when God performs this “suppressed frame uncovering” we can ascertain the force of the barbaric inner man; especially one lacking restraints —powerful. Like a dam let loose, it smashes walls and trees and banks. Raucously causing ruckus behind and before, no jars can contain it.…
God may do a new thing and can we follow it? Maybe the lesson of the last 20 years ended and now we move on. Maybe, like Moses it has been 40 years. Can we flex? Let me tell you why we don’t really want to but nevertheless are able. I came to some conclusions while watching a video of a quadriplegic who loved God so much that every day just brought more desire for His presence. I sadly realized, watching, that what little suffering my life consisted of did the same, however, it didn’t really give me a desire for more of the suffering. I really don’t want to suffer anymore even though it did lead me closer to my Savior —this, a rude awakening. So, in suffering, two things may eventuate; one, we grow tired of the adversity; two, we accumulate great discipline for a life-style of pain,…