Rules of Engagement.

Who is God?

"Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon--the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world--was thrown down to the earth with all his angels."  Revelation 12:7-9

Who is God?

Someone who always hears us.

"Then he (the angel Gabriel) said, "Don't be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer."  Daniel 10:12

 "But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come."

verses 13, 14

Who was this prince of Persia? Probably Satan, who is called, "...the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience."  Ephesians 2:2

God plays by the rules. Adam and Eve chose Satan over God, therefore God allowed Satan to be the ruler of this world. But the rules also say we all have a chance to make our own choice in this war of the universe. Satan has power; how much, we do not know.

"Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out."  John 12:31

"...and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world already stands condemned."  

John 16:11

"I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me."  John 14:30

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."   Ephesians 6:12

Who am I?

Someone who rarely thinks about Satan and what he can do. In a way, that is good. In another way, not so good. I've noticed in Jesus' prayers he twice told us to ask God to keep us from the evil one. So, I include that with my prayers. And when I am overwhelmed with negative thoughts, I pray God will cast Satan away from me. I've noticed he does. Somehow, Satan does have the power to affect our thinking and actions. We don't need to dwell on satan, but we can pray against his power over us.

God Needs Relationships.

Three of my granddaughters.

Who am I?

Someone who needs relationships.

I remember the first year our children had grown up and left home. My husband had always wanted us to take a vacation alone - just the two of us - so we did.

We took off for California and it was nice at first. At one point, when we were driving down the highway, I said,
"Listen, do you hear that?"
"What?" He said.
Silence.
"That's the sound of no fighting or whining from the back seat." I answered.

After a few days I really missed the kids and felt sad; but I was determined not to say anything to my husband. He had wanted this for so long.

One day, as we were enjoying the sights he said, "I wish the girls were here." I was surprised, and also happy I could share my thoughts with him. I told him how much I missed them too.

Now, I am 65. I rarely see my daughters and grandchildren. They have moved and are living their own lives and that is good. We lived with one of my daughters and her family for 10 years so she could work and I looked after her youngest daughter. My husband and I have lived alone now for a few years.

I was very lonely when we first moved out. My husband has his own interests and all my life was wrapped up in the family. I got very depressed. Well, after some therapy and pills I am doing better, but I did have a real break-through recently. I said to God, "I guess it's just you and me." And I made the effort to go through the day praying more; talking with him more; and all I can say is, "God alone is enough."



Who is God?

A being who needs realtionships to be happy and complete. (I'm guessing?)

Today I heard a sermon on how God created us for relationships. Life feels incomplete when we are alone. It is so wonderful to share life with people you love. Everything is better when you share it, whether good or bad.

We are made in the image of God. I suppose he is also incomplete  without relationships. God is three in one. He is never alone, and I guess he has never been alone. He said it wasn't good for Adam to be alone, even though God came to the garden to visit every day.

One time, I was reading a passage in the Bible about how there will be so many people in heaven you couldn't count them. I actually got anxious imagining these crowds of people milling around. It made me laugh because I know that won't bother me then.

I've always felt anxious around people and I'm looking forward to the day that anxiety is gone. I'm looking forward to being completely  relaxed about relationships and life in general.

Comments.

Hi Everyone. I've turned off the comment part of this blog because I have an illness and have to rest a lot. I just don't have much time to follow and comment on other blogs. I used to do that with my old blog and I loved it. I wish I could do it again, but I can't. God bless all of you.

God Will Sing to Us.

Who is God?

God is a musician. He has given us the gift of songs. When we finally go to live with him, he will sing over us in great joy.

"For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."
Zephaniah 3:17

"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD! Let the sea roar and all it contains, The world and those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy before the LORD. For the LORD is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness."
Psalm 98:4-9

Who am I?

Well, someone who loves music too. Here is a concert by Don Moen. These songs lift my heart like no other songs I have ever heard.

What is True Love?

Two of my granddaughters.

Who is God?

"God is love."  1John 4:16

It doesn't say, "God loves," but God IS love.  He is the source of all love.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

1 Corinthians 13

Who am I?

Someone who needs love. We are created for love. That is the empty spot in our soul that needs God. No one on earth will fill that need for perfect love. People may love us, but it is usually conditional. God's love is unconditional. He loved you when you were born; he will love you when you die. 

Some people say they can't understand a love like that, but I think I can. I love my daughters and grandchildren unconditionally. Nothing they say or do can quench my love for them. When you finally believe God loves you like that, you will find that peace Christians are always talking about. 

Hmm, It Took Me 45 Years to Learn That!

Well, after my previous post, I've been thinking and praying. I've decided I have to leave the hard questions with God and not worry about anything. We aren't supposed to worry and fret so I won't.

I did think about how long God took to teach people in the Old Testament. Moses was 40 years working as a shepherd before he was ready for God to use him. David was on the run from King Saul for 20 years. Joseph was a slave and in prison for 13 years before God rescued and used him.

Human beings are not known for their patience. We like things done fast and tied up with a pretty bow. At least, I do. But God is very patient and I'm thankful for that. It can take years for a person to learn life lessons. And a lot of our learning comes from failing; just like scientists learn from experiments that don't work. Churches don't like it when we fail and they don't like to wait for us to learn something.

Maybe we shouldn't hate our failings so much. Failing at being kind or generous can bring some guilt, and not all feelings of guilt are bad. We can say we are sorry and begin again and ask God to make us into kind and generous people. He will. That's the great part. He will change our hearts into good hearts; into hearts that honor him.

If there was a church that worshipped on Saturday and had no rules and accepted everyone, and had a lot of singing of happy songs, sharing of our lives with God, and praising God, and praying together, I would go there. I feel pretty safe saying that because there will never be a church like that.

God, Gays, and Alcoholics.

Photo by: Farragutful

I wish I understood more about living with God and learning his ways. More about how things work. I left my local church for a lot of reasons, the main one being how mean people were. Most people there would find fault with other members, and they would confront people right in the foyer in the church! They would accuse people of breaking the Sabbath, singing songs that weren't the right "kind" of songs, etc. I got sick of it and thought, "I'll never bring anyone to this church again."  Then I thought, "Well, why am I here then?" And after 24 years, I left.

Later on, I had a breakdown when I remembered all the abuse my father had piled on me. I was a wreck; I could barely function. I started therapy but also started drinking so I wouldn't feel so sad. I drank off and on for 10 years drinking more and more. I started praying about it and finally quit because one day God just took the desire away from me. I was thankful.

During that time, I also started smoking. I'm still smoking. I've prayed and tried to quit but I haven't yet. So, I wonder about all this. I believe God was with me all the time, helping me to heal, but now I think, "It was good I left the church when I did because they wouldn't have waited 10 years for me to stop drinking. They would have given me a hard time about it." Then I wondered if I had felt I could be open with Christians, maybe they could have encouraged me and prayed with me all those years; or would they have just said I wasn't truely converted?

Then there is a sister of mine. She is gay and in a comitted relationship with one woman. She is an amazing woman; she gives out Bibles and studies with people she meets. She was homeless and met a lot of hurting and mentally ill people she helped. God is working with and through her all the time. Yet, religious people tell me she is not saved; it doesn't matter what she does, she is living in sin.

Well, maybe she is in a way. It depends how you interpret the Bible. Sure it says not to sleep with the same sex, but it also has always said not to commit adultery. The men in the Old Testament had lots of wives; they comitted adultery all their lives and God said nothing. Scholars say, "Well, that was in their culture at the time." Okay, fine, in our time there are lots of gay people. So, if you can excuse heterosexual men for having multiple wives, why can't you excuse gay people for loving and having one partner? I can't see it.

So, I am confused about a lot of things. Jesus was so inclusive. He never turned anyone away. He was patient with people, not expecting perfection. Then you read Paul's letters and it's like we should be perfect - these paragons of virtue. When a person is converted everyone acts like they should never sin again. Really? Is that possible?

Oh well, that's where I am at now. Dazed and confused about living the Christian life, but still loving God and knowing he loves me. Hopefully, that's all that matters.