There is a Reason

I had a conversation with a man the other day.
He would not acknowledge that there was a God.
He would say... "What kind of God
would create a world like this!
All the pain and misery?"

He had a point.
We do wonder about evil.
It surfaces every day.
In my heart, in your heart,
on the street, in the workplace, on the homefront.
Behind closed doors, and right there on the screen.

But how quickly some,
from the well of their own
confused hearts,
ascribe evil to God.

We forget what He did
that should quell any such notions.

Leaving the halls of heaven,
and taking a giant step for mankind,
He stepped right into our world...

He preached against,
confronted,
and exposed evil.

He preached how to avoid it and
the how to be delivered from it.

He touched and healed
and loved all who
came to him in order
to drive home His message.












And He forgave.
Over and over again.

Then He walked in deeper,
over His head,
allowing evil
to take Him and beat Him...
grab Him by the arms
and hang Him on a cross,
naked,
and finally... allowed evil
to swallow Him up.

All-Good allowed Evil to crucify It.

And because God does not want automatons
(read automorons...)
He would not be satisfied with...
"you will love me because I say so..."

(Love must be willfully chosen to mean anything.)

So... He gives us a scenario
within which we can decide...

Will I or
Won't I?

I imagine Him teaching us,
right here, right now,
the consequences of evil
and how it spoils everything.














Somehow, for some reason,
we all need to learn this,
all the way down to the pain
in our hearts
and the tears in our eyes.

I will not judge the Almighty,
and how He chooses to teach.
Fathers do many wonderful and
unbelievable things that
children do not have the capability
to understand, until later...

And that's where I am.

Standing on His wisdom and His Word.
Standing on His Life and on His Death.
And on the almighty resurrection
of a God no man or devil can kill.

He Knows What He's Doing.
I can trust a God that loves me to death.

I Believe...

Upon joining a writer's group
on this wonderful blog-world,
I was asked to describe my faith.
It was great fun.
Here is what I wrote.
















How Do You Describe Your Faith?


Growing, but firm.
My faith is in God the Father,
God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
I believe God is able to perform miracles,
if it fits in His plan.

I believe the Word of God as it was written,
when read in light of what the authors'
intended meanings were, and that it's infallible.
I believe God's Word is not so mysterious
that it can't be understood, but I believe
The Holy Spirit is the One who reveals it
and I must read it depending on Him
to do so. Without the Holy Spirit's help,
the Word of God cannot be understood.

I believe in the great "Catching Up" (Rapture),
but even though I see Him coming sooner
than any of us realize, I don't date the event.
I long for His coming almost too much.

I believe I have only one life, t'will soon be past,
and that only what's done for Christ will last.
I believe every soul I recruit into God's Army,
as empowered by God,
is the most crucial business I need to attend to.

I believe the Body of Christ is indispensible.
I can go anywhere and feel at home
when brothers and sisters are there.

Now for the faith to walk in all I believe in...

Even Little Things

Even little things can become crazy big.

One little bite once led to a smorgasborg of sin...
(See Genesis 3)

One little photograph copy-and-paste is,

truthfully,

theft.

I am guilty.

I am going to make it right.

I will delete pictures belonging
to professional photographers,
and in time, replace them with
my own, home-grown version.

Deepest apologies to all concerned,
truthbyter bites the truth...
and comes cleaner.

20-20 - Not Good Enough

"To be what we are, and
to become what we are
capable of becoming,
is the only end of life."
-Robert Louis Stevenson

Oh, How dreadfully sad if this were true!


"Eat, drink and be merry"
I say... for tomorrow we die!"

Oh, no no no no no! So glad that
quote is NOT true!

There is an eternity ahead of us.
We need to look up to eternity...
...to see this little life in light of it.















(Photo taken by Joseph Sade, in Brown City, MI.)

There is more to life than being somebody
who inhabits the earth, and who does his
best at being who he is or is yet to be.

It does sound lofty, though.

That I can be all I can be.... and just
think... the possibilities are endless!

And it is true that being all you are capable
of being brings satisfaction, however, a man
with no God knows too little.

But the man who knows God will view
and live life as one who sees with eternity
in mind. For him, 20-20 vision is insufficient.

And who do I pity the most on this old
planet of ours? The one whom Jesus
resurrected from the dead... Lazarus.

He had it so good.

But God will even bring back the dead,
if it will prove a point and point us to Him.

We can be way too near-sighted.


"In Him (Christ) was life, and the life
was the light of men. And the light
shines in the darkness..." John 1:4,5a

"...Most assuredly, I say to you, unless
one is born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God." John 3:3

Digging the Word

Can I say that I get into the Word
With a Pharisee kind of intensity...

Can I say I know the Word
as well as Saul did,
before he became Paul?

Can I say I have Searched the Scriptures...









As the Bereans did?

Can I say I can give a reason for the hope
of the calling of God within me?

I'd like to think so.
I'd like to make sure I can.
But may it all lead to Christ-likeness...
and not some glorified seat of knowledge.
Because knowledge can puff up.

The last thing
the world needs is
another puffed up fish.

.

It's not About Happiness

C.S. Lewis said this...

“If you think of this world as a place
intended simply for our happiness,
you find it quite intolerable: think of it
as a place of training and correction
and it’s not so bad.” - God in the Dock











Boot camp. That's what I would call it.
Well, more accurately, full out war.

There's no mistaking it - we exist
in a world of conflicting powers.

The power of evil,
anxious to control;
and the power of good;
each wanting my soul.

Some don't think there's a war
going on. I understand that.
And this is where we split ways...
But I believe there is a war going on.

Ever heard of landing
on enemy territory
and doing nothing?
Guess who's dog meat?

There is no off-duty.

I can choose to be defensive...
or get on the offensive...
but I better not be a sitting duck.

It is definetly my move.

Though happiness does not
fit in this picture of war,
Joy does...

Why?

1. Because I am not alone.

(One Who is closer than a brother,
and loves me beyond understanding,
abides within me and strengthens me.)

2. And because this is not my
final destination.

(On this earth, there simply
is no place like Home...
and just the thought of Home
delights my Heart.)

And to the degree that
I believe these two things,
to that degree,
I will experience joy.

This year, I'm in pursuit of the joy
that is to be found only in Him.



The thief cometh not, but for to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy: I am come
that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

Many Many Troubles

"I am an old man and

I've had many troubles-

most of which

never happened."

-Mark Twain

Thanks, Mr. Twain,

I needed to hear that.

TAKE FIVE

This couple:
















is magnificently blessed

Not counting their beautiful
canine... together,
with these charming young men...they



















...make Five.

My greatest desire,
from the deepest
recesses of my heart...
is that when that great
Uplifting Rapture comes...

It will Take Five.

The five of us,

along with all the others...

Oh, God, so be it.
May I, this year,
show myself
faithful in prayer,
faithful in word,
faithful in deed,
and faithful in
devotion...

that such a desire
would come true,
not because of me,
but because YOU are faithful.

Thank you for my men.
Thank you for our lives.
Thank you for giving
Your life... for ours.

Amen!