Do I Have to?

 

We human beings don’t like being told what to do. From the age of 2 to the time of a one’s death, we want to make our own decisions, make our own way in the world. I remember when I was in my early 40s, my husband and I recycled cardboard and bottles. Then the city passed a law to force all of us to recycle. To my shame I thought, “Well, since they are forcing me to do it, now I don’t want to.”

All through our childhood, we were forced to do many things we didn’t want to do. I did not want to go to school. I was afraid of everyone there. I did not want to go to bed so early. I didn’t want to miss some shows on TV. I did not want to go to church. It was excruciatingly boring and there was no air conditioning. We lived in Southern California. We had fans with Jesus’ picture on them, but it didn’t help much.

When I was a teen, I couldn’t go to dances. The church said it was dangerous because you hold each other. I couldn’t date until I was 16. I wanted to date at 15. I STILL had to go to school after years of agony, so I took some sleeping pills. Not enough. I got my wish for one year. I had a government teacher in my home and got straight A’s. But the next year, they sent me back to school again. After acting in crazy ways, my parents sent me to live with relatives in Canada. No more school, thank you God.

Those relatives had rules though, and I wanted no rules. I wanted to be with my boyfriend, drink and have sex. So yeah, I got pregnant and the two families berated me until I married him. But to tell the truth, I ended up being glad because I loved my baby daughter and my husband too. We had a second daughter, but our marriage ended in divorce, which was horribly painful.

So to summarize, I would say from my experience with my daughters and other people in my family no one wants to be told what to do. In general, the controversy over masks, vaccines, guns, and sexual identity, no one in the world wants to be ordered around by anyone, even if it is good for you.

I’ve been wondering if that is why many people balk at the idea of God telling them what to do. Perhaps it is the main reason they don’t want to accept him, walk with him or pray to him. It’s our pride in ourselves and our independence we don’t want to lose.

I have found, through trial and error, that God’s way is always best for me. I was dating a man, the first since my divorce, he wanted to marry me and I wanted to marry him. I had been so achingly lonely before I met him. He seemed very nice and he liked my girls. One night, I asked God if it was okay if I married him. I heard God speak to me, which was a surprise, he said, “What agreement has God with Satan?” That verse is in the Bible. Did I listen to God? No, I didn’t. I kept dating him until something awful happened.

One night I was sleeping at his place, and when we were having sex, he started to hurt me. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn’t. The next day when we were with my girls, he looked at my oldest daughter and said, “She’s going to be a real looker.” I saw how he looked at her and knew that he was a pervert. I was horrified and broke off with him. I told God I was never going to look for a boyfriend or husband again. If he wanted me to be with someone, he would have to send him to me.

That’s how it worked out that two weeks later, I met my second husband, who was a believer in God and he still is. He had way more faith in God than I ever did and still does. We went through hard times, but I’m very glad I married him.

I said to someone once, “God isn’t asking a lot from us. The Ten Commandments are not that hard! The first four are about worshipping God as creator of the universe. The last six are: “Be respectful to your parents, don’t murder, don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t sleep around on your partner, don’t be envious of what others have.

Are those things you want to do? Do you want to murder etc.? Of course, we are all tempted to do some or all of these things. That’s where the first four commandments come in. If we worship God and tell him we want to do good things, then he will put that in our hearts and his goodness covers us. The temptations won’t be so overwhelming. Still, some of us have sins that come into our minds a lot, some of us give in to sins a lot. But God says, “Though a righteous man falls down seven times, he will rise up. The wicked man falls down once.” God lifts us up time and again as we stumble through this life on this sinful, dark planet. He knows what we face for he has lived here himself. He was also tempted to do wrong – he just never did.

I have a temptation that comes to me a few times a month, but I say to God, “Lord, I don’t want to think about that.” And then I don’t. He has shown me to just think about something else the moment the temptation comes. Not that I am perfect, far from it, but as Paul says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 3:12-14

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:

“For Your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:35-39

Jesus said, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Mark 8:36-38

 

 

Is God A Narcissist?

 I was watching an old Bill Maher show the other night and he started ranting about God and Christianity. I know how he feels about religion, so it was no surprise. I like watching his show, "Real Time with Bill Maher, because I think he is on the right side of many issues and I like the guests. Also, I like him because he seems totally honest about what he thinks. He is like a breath of fresh air in the middle of a dark smog of lies.

So, this time he said something I hadn't heard before, he said something like, "God is narcissistic." He said the first three commandments out of the ten was all about God and how we had to worship only him.

That is true. God did say that, along with the fact that he is the only God and there are no others. But the things God says and does always have a deep and loving reason. If you study the Bible, you can understand why he says, "You shall have no other Gods besides me." It is death to do anything else.

We are involved in a war of the universe, a war between good and evil. God says to worship him because that is how we declare we are in allegiance with him and against evil. Evil started in heaven where there was a great war. Satan and his angels against the angels who sided with God. Satan lost the battle and was thrown out. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey an easy command of God's, they chose the side against God, and we have all paid for that choice. That part wasn't really fair for the rest of humanity, so God made a way of escape and salvation which is available to everyone on earth.

I'm not like the majority of Christians who think that people have to know the story of Jesus' sacrifice before they can be saved to live in heaven. I believe God gave us all a conscience to teach us in the right way to go. He put a light in us so that we can choose to follow him or not. The Book of John says, "The true light, who gives light to every man, was coming into the world." 

I am 72 years old, and if there is one thing I know about God, he will gladly run to any person who turns towards him and asks for help to understand all the things we don't understand about life and death. He will patiently, over many years, teach and strengthen anyone who asks. And that's the thing. You have to ask. Although his Spirit calls us and is in our minds, He will not force himself on anyone.

A lot of people think God is a tyrant because he did cause the death of many nations in the Old Testament. I used to wonder why God did that, so I studied what those people were like. They were pretty horrible; the worst of their practices was burning their children alive to their gods. They did much more than this, they were violent, greedy, slave traders, rapists, and thieves who would go to towns and steal their produce from their farms. Not the kind of people you would want in your neighborhood. They also committed genocide, which is what people accuse God of doing. But God is not a man. He knows who to kill and who to keep alive. I believe he killed those people to protect the world from them.

I will tell you a true story of what happened to a friend of our family. Her daughter had a boyfriend who was an abuser and beat her, but she kept going back to him. A familiar story. She became pregnant and he was put in jail for something violent, I don't remember what. He hated our friend and her husband because they tried to talk their daughter into leaving him, but she wouldn't. He used to threaten to harm them.  

The day came for him to leave jail, and he was living with her daughter and acting horrible, as usual. Our friend was beside herself with worry and grief. My family all began praying for her and her daughter. A week later, the violent boyfriend died in a car crash. The police said they believed it was a suicide. When my granddaughter told me this I said, "Well, he can't harm anyone ever again." I was relieved when he died and so was everyone else. I'm sorry, but evil people scare me, and I want no part of them. Just think of the movies and how much you want the evil bad-guy to get caught or die. I trust God's decisions. He made the universe; he knows what he is doing. I want to live under his government because it is founded on love, righteousness and mercy. He cannot bring anyone to heaven who doesn't agree with that, and I'm glad.

My sister always says, "It is hard to be lost." She knows how almost everyone she meets has thought about God in one way or the other. I found that to be true in the jobs I did when I was young. Eventually, on a lunch break or after work, a conversation would come up about belief in God or religion. Everyone there had an experience with this. Most had made a decision one way or the other. 

God wants to talk with you. In the Bible he pleads and begs people to come to him. He wants you to come live with him forever. He wants you to know how much he loves you and your family. 

One thing about the Bible. It is not an easy book with easy answers. There are verses in there that seem to say something, but when you read the Bible as a whole, you will see you may have interpreted them wrongly. Some verses seem to say God will not allow you to be harmed, but we know from reading about his prophets that some of them were harmed and some were killed. I think the verses that promise prosperity and safety refer to heaven. God does save and protect his people many, many times, but not always. Some of us die a terrible death, some get cancer, some suffer with a chronic illness. This is our cross in this world. Jesus carried his cross of suffering and he said, "Take up your cross and follow me." He will give us strength to do that, to endure anything in this world, if you ask him.

What I Learned from My Post About My Mother's Illness.

A few weeks ago, I posted “My Mother’s Illness and Death: The Unkindness of the Medical Establishment.” I learned something about myself today. I hadn’t forgiven those nurses who hurt me.

I’m a believer in Jesus, and of course forgiveness was one of the main things he talked about. Through the years, he has helped me forgive many, many people who have hurt my feelings. But for some reason it never crossed my mind to forgive these people.

But God showed me that the reason I keep thinking about what the nurses said to me and what they thought of me was because I lacked forgiveness and love for them. Yes, my eyes were opened by God.

I am not a person who talks freely with strangers. Sometimes I get angry at myself for not explaining myself better. Like when nurses would call from the hospital for information on my mother, I realized later I had left out a lot of details. I know this happens because my brain freezes when people talk with me. Especially people with authority.

After talking with me about Mom’s heart and back, one nurse asked me what I gave her for pain. I said, two Tylenol. When I hung up, I thought, “Was she asking about the heart pain or the back pain. Two Tylenol wasn’t enough for the back pain. I used to give her Codeine for that.

One nurse called and asked if my mom was sleeping much. I said, “No, the last week she was only sleeping 2-3 hrs. at a time.” Later in the conversation he said, “Well, shall I write down 4-6 hours?” I knew that was wrong but said, “Okay.” I have no idea why I said that. Maybe just to please him.

So, about forgiveness. I talked with God about it and said, “Okay. I forgive them. I pray you will put that in my mind and heart. I pray I will love them as you do.”

I think it was pride that kept me from forgiving at the outset. I felt shamed by these nurses, even though I knew I was doing a good job looking after my mom. And I still I feel shame for that and the fact they didn’t like me and thought I was awful for not taking Mom home.

Whether the shame will go away or not, I don’t care. I’ve lived with shame since I was a little child. I just want to do what Jesus told everyone to do. Love and forgive.

Why Does God Judge the Earth?

What do you think of people who lie to send innocent people to jail? What do you think about people who kidnap children and sell them for sex? What do you think of someone who would steal medical masks from a clinic, which happened at my daughter’s work place? What do you think of a man who would cheat a widow out of her inheritance, which happened to my grandmother? What do you think of someone who sexually abuses his daughter, which happened to me? What do you think of the rich who steal from the poor? What do you think of people who murder for money or revenge?

Would you want one of these people to be your best friend? Would you want to live next door to them? Do you think any of them would be happy in heaven, where everyone is in agreement with God’s laws and content with a peaceful, happy life with those they love?

Some people say, “Everyone will be saved.” This does not agree with the Bible. We have one life here on earth. One life to decide if we will love the good and hate the evil. One life to turn towards the light and turn away from evil. As the apostle John writes about Jesus, “…in him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” God’s light shines into every person’s heart, no matter where they were born or what they believe, and their eternal life depends on what they do with that light.

The Bible is full of warnings about the Day of Judgement, when God will show humanity why they are not allowed in heaven. I do not believe God will torture bad people in a place called Hell. I’ve written about that before. It says in the Bible hell will be destroyed in a lake of fire. I believe the imagery of fire means total destruction. It is clear in the Scriptures the wicked will be ashes under the soles of our feet. They will simply be no more. (Malachi 4:3)

God wants everyone to come live with him in heaven, but he knows, and we should know, that everyone who is dangerous to peace and love have no place there. He doesn’t magically make all people good, since that would mean we would all be robots with no choice at all except to worship him. He doesn’t want wind-up dolls who say, “I love you.” He wants those who come to him to get to know who he is and what he stands for.

 Over 50 years, I have studied the Bible. I have come to see the reasons God condemns the guilty, those who have never been sorry for what they have done to people. The pain and sorrow wicked people have brought to the world is incalculable. I decided to write a list of some of the reasons God finds them guilty.

They sacrificed children and adults to their gods, usually in the most horrific ways. The Canaanites put living children and babies in the red-hot arms of Baal. And we know how the Aztecs sacrificed people.

Nations fought against other nations to take their land and to have their people as slaves.  When the Midianites put Israel in subjection, they would come and raid their fields so the people of Israel went hungry.

They took bribes and robbed widows and orphans of their land and money.

They murdered people for money and land.

They lied about the innocent so they were found guilty and put to death.

They lied about the guilty so they could go free.

They committed sexual sins along with their worship of other gods.

They changed God’s laws and made up their own.

They persecuted believers of different churches. They killed them and tortured them. They had no tolerance or love for those who believe differently.

All these sins happened in ancient days and they happen now. But if a person comes to feel sorry for what he has done, he can come running to God and he will run to him. He loves all people, no matter what they have done. He knows we live in a world where we naturally drift towards evil, but he can overcome that in us. He can change our minds and hearts so we love what is good and hate what is evil. 

How do I know this? Because it has happened to me, my family members and friends. I have seen it with my own eyes. Also, the Bible says it is true. If you are a person who doesn’t understand God and his ways, then please give him a chance. 

When you begin to pray and read the Bible, he will show himself to you. This is a gradual thing. Jesus talked about a person’s growth in understanding God. He said it is like growth of wheat. First the blade, then the head and then the mature grain in the head. (Mark 4:28) This is why people say, “Come as you are.” God doesn’t expect us to be good to come to him, because only he can make us truly good, little by little, day by day.

Although God does this, it isn’t how we are saved. We are not saved by our good deeds. We are saved by Jesus’ death. He took our place since someone must die because evil came into the universe. God chose himself to die. He is ultimately responsible for this universe. He brought it into being, and if the only way the universe can be cleaned up is for him to die, then so be it. He did it so those who agree with his government can come and live in it. After Judgement Day, every living being will be in one accord, every heart beating the same song, “God is good.”

Don't be Like a Mule.

Wall of Forgiveness: Aftermath of the Vancouver Stanley Cup Riot.

Photo by : Guilhem Vallut

https://www.flickr.com/photos/o_0/5850662652/

Psalm 32 (In my own words.)


How blessed we are to know God has forgiven, and will always forgive, our sins and mistakes! They are covered by the blood of Jesus. He puts truth in our minds.


When I didn’t confess my sin, your hand was heavy upon my mind. I felt weak and sorrowful. But when I told you my sin, you forgave me and my guilty feelings were gone!


Because of this, may all pray to you while there is still time! You will become their hiding place. You will protect them and surround them with songs of freedom!


The Lord God says, “I will teach you the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eyes on you. Don’t be like a mule or a horse, which have no understanding. They must be controlled by bit and bridle, or they will not come to you."


The evil man has a lot of trouble in his life. But God’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. So, rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you children of the Great I Am. Sing, all you who have God in their hearts!

We're Caught in A Trap.

Photo by:  https://www.flickr.com/people/22170893@N06

“My eyes are ever on the Lord,

for only he will release my feet from the snare.”

Psalm 25:15


When I read this today, I thought of a wolf or fox caught in a trap. It is such a sad image. But of course, David was writing about sin and the death it causes.

We all get trapped by sin; we are born having sinful and selfish desires that will get us into trouble. We need the Lord to free us from that. We cannot do it by ourselves.


I remembered when Jesus said to his friends, “Without me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5 Until we reach that conclusion, we are tilting at windmills. Only God has the strength needed to free us from our sinful nature. That is why David said, so many times, “The Lord is my strength.”


This doesn’t mean we will be perfectly good here in this world. As James says, “Indeed, we all make many mistakes.” James 3:2 And John says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8,9


Psalm 25 is so beautiful. I wrote it out in my own words this morning. I’ll share it here with you.

I want to put my trust in you, Lord. May Satan not triumph over me. I know that the one who hopes in you will not be ashamed. But utter shame will be the lot of the wicked.


Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth, for you are my God and Savior. I hope in you all day long.


Don’t forget your love and mercy, but do forget the sins of my youth and all my rebellious ways. Remember me according to your great love, for you are good.


Yes, you are good and wise; that is why you can teach us the right way to go. All your ways are loving and faithful. Forgive my sin, though it is great.


Who are those who fear the Lord? God will teach them; they will inherit their own land in heaven. God confides in those who fear him. He makes a contract with them. My eyes are always on the Lord, for only he can release my feet from a trap.


Come to me, dear Lord, for I am lonely and afflicted. Please relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from mental pain. Guard my life and rescue me, for I take refuge in you. My hope, Lord, is in you alone.

Don't Be A Mule.

Juancito, which the author calls the best mule of Argentina, on an excursion on the Mitre Peninsula, in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. In the background is the remains of the SV Duchess of Albany, shipwrecked in 1893. Photograph taken in February 2006.

How wonderful it is that God forgives our sins! If I keep silent about my sins, your hand of conviction will be heavy on me and each day I become weaker. But when I confess my sins, you forgive me the moment I ask. 


All of us need to pray while we still can, while there is still time. God is our hiding place; when trouble comes, he will deliver us.


God says to us, “I will teach and counsel you. My eyes, which are filled with love, are on you. Don’t be like a horse or mule that must be controlled with bit and bridle! Come willingly!


Those who don’t know God also suffer hard times and trouble. But they miss out on God’s unfailing love and comfort, which surrounds those who believe in him.


Rejoice that you know the Lord! Sing to him!


Psalm 32 (In my own words.)

Mercy.

The Mercy of King Louis XII

Painted by, Jean Bourdechon

I must confess, I don’t post as often as I used to because I feel inadequate, in so many ways, to write about God. I have accidentally upset some people I’ve communicated with online. I feel so bad about that, that I have let those feelings hinder me. It’s all about me, me, me. 

One time, a woman posted a picture of the construction of her new driveway. I noticed it was going to be circular with greenery in the center and wrote, “Oh, how elegant!” Well, in the picture there was mud and a bulldozer. I guess she thought I was being snide. I just meant the driveway would be elegant. 

There were a few incidents like this, because I don’t think things through. One of the horrible thoughts of my mind is me hurting someone’s feelings; and here I was doing it.

Well, I know Satan wants to discourage me from writing online. I must pray more about this. I must not let him make me look at myself and feel no good. I want to praise God. I want to lift him up and show people how truly wonderful he is. I’m so grateful to him for all the good he does in the world and in my family. I know we mostly read news about the evil that goes on in the world; but there is also so much good done every day by people who love people. I like what Joyce Meyer says about that, “Trust the Lord and do good.” Don’t be discouraged by evil – dwell on what’s good.

Psalm 103:11-14

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west,

so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

For He knows our frame;

He is mindful that we are dust.

Matthew 5:7

Blessed are the merciful.  They shall obtain mercy.

Today, I read this meditation about God’s mercy. I thought it was beautiful. It was written by, Lloyd John Ogilvie, in God’s Best for My Life.

“This beatitude (Matt. 5:7) gives us another quality of family likeness we can have with God. He is merciful and wants to reproduce that crucial aspect of his nature in us. We are truly happy – blessed – when we are receiving his mercy and are communicating it to others. When we have felt God’s mercy in our failures and needs, we become merciful to others in their inadequacies and mistakes. Christ is God’s mercy incarnate. As he lives his life in us, our minds are captured by his amazing grace, our emotions are infused by tender love, and our wills are liberated to do whatever people need to feel loved again.

Mercy is profound identification. The Hebrew word implies living in another person’s skin, to feel, know, and experience what he or she is going through: empathy, sensitivity. The outer manifestation of our inner experience of God’s mercy is a graciousness which offers understanding, gives others another chance, and freely forgives. The qualification for receiving the continuous flow of God’s mercy is to give out what he has put in.

Psalm 103 has been a charge and charter for me in attempts to live this beatitude. The steadfast love of the Lord endures forever. Nothing can change it. Note all the things that quality of mercy overcomes. That gives us assurance and courage, strength and endurance. Reread the psalm as a prayer from your own heart as your expression of gratitude for mercy and as a commitment to be merciful. Now turn to Lamentations 3:19-26 and read again the good news that the mercy of the Lord never comes to an end; it never ceases; it is fresh every morning and all through the day, all because of the faithfulness of God. Blessedness is receiving and reproducing mercy.”

It isn't always easy to show mercy and forgiveness. I remember when all the audio equipment was stolen from a church I attended. The pastor was very angry when he went up front to preach and promised to repay the ones who did the stealing.

In the 1940's, my mother and father took a homeless man into their home and got him a job. They came home from church one day and he was gone, along with my father's best coat and a camera his brother had gotten him in Japan.

These are the kind of things God want us to forgive and be merciful about. It isn't easy. The only way to do it is to pray until our feelings match our knowledge of what God wants. Be determined; know that it is not only for their good, but for ours.

Vision of a Well.

 Vista del interior de un pozo árabe, junto al Castillo de la Aldehuela, Torredelcampo, provincia de Jaén, España.  Photo by: Veinticuatro de Jahén

One of my sisters was praying about her sins. She said she asks God to forgive her sins every day. She was talking with God about sins and how we sometimes commit the same sins over and over.

Suddenly, she saw a well. As she looked down the well, the Lord spoke to her, “You can see through the first inches of water in a well when the sun shines on it. Below those inches is total blackness. Sins are like that. They are underneath the surface, and the Holy Spirit keeps them down and covered. But they can break through sometimes. On earth, you will always have this blackness deep inside you. In heaven, it will be gone.”

Years ago, every time I sinned I felt so guilty and evil that I couldn’t face God in prayer for days. I was ashamed I was capable of sinning after I gave my life to him. But I have learned we do sin after asking him into our hearts and minds. The Bible teaches that, but I had been raised in a church where sin was considered so horrible no real Christian would ever sin.

Actually, God uses our sins to humble us, to keep us from becoming proud. I think we would be insufferable if we were perfect. God did say to be perfect, but it means to reach completion. It is a walk, a life-long journey. I think we all need to learn we are extremely sinful people. Without God, we would do horrible, awful things. We would keep them a secret, if possible, but we really are capable of doing the worst.

Thank God for his forgiving grace and enormous love. Thank God he loves us just as we are and will hold us back from many sins. Thank God he will forgive us seventy times seven in one day if needed. And thank God he is everlastingly patient.

Faith to Forgive.

Sycamore Tree in Israel.

One of my problems in reading the Bible is that I take many things Jesus said as being literal. The disciples had this problem too. When Jesus said to sell your cloak and buy a sword, it sounded like advice to have a sword in case people persecuted you. But this flies in the face of the other things Jesus said about turning the cheek and loving your enemies.

Most commentators of the Bible say Jesus was not being literal. And I believe they are right since when Peter cut off the ear of one of the men who came to arrest Jesus, Jesus healed the man and told Peter not to use the sword.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary:

 “At the time the apostles understood Christ to mean real weapons, but he spoke only of the weapons of the spiritual warfare. The sword of the Spirit is the sword with which the disciples of Christ must furnish themselves.” 

 Whenever I would read what Jesus said about moving a mountain into the sea if we had enough faith, I would wonder what he really meant. Then I read someone say the mountain represented difficulties in our lives. They said in the Old Testament, mountains represented difficulties, and that made sense.

Today, I was reading Luke 17 and Jesus spoke about the Sycamore or Mulberry tree. He said, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea and it would obey you.’”

He said this in answer to his disciples who had asked him, “Increase our faith.” And they asked him to do this after he had spoken about forgiveness, the kind of forgiveness they thought impossible for them.

“Take heed to yourselves; if your brother sins against you, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn to you, you shall forgive him.”

So, uprooting a sycamore tree is impossible for anyone to do; therefore, if you think it is impossible for you to forgive over and over, you are wrong. Faith in God will make it possible for you.

This is what I read in some commentaries this morning:

Pulpit Commentary

“The Lord signifies that a very slight real faith, which he compares to the mustard seed, that smallest of grains, would be of power sufficient to accomplish what seemed to them impossible. In other words, he says, “If you have any real faith at all, you will be able to win the victory over yourselves necessary for a perpetual loving judgement of others.”

Barne’s Notes on the Bible

“This sycamore is a remarkable tree. It not only bears several crops of figs during the year but these figs grow on short stems along the trunk and large branches, and not at the end of twigs, as in other fruit-bearing trees. The figs are small and of a greenish-yellow color.

It is easily propagated, merely by planting a stout branch in the ground and watering it until it has struck its roots into the soil. This it does with great rapidity and to a vast depth. It was with reference to this latter fact that our Lord selected it to illustrate the power of faith.”

Thinking of all this reminds me of the fires of hell preachers talk about. I believe the fire is symbolic of something else. What would be the point of God burning people who are lost? Punishement? Punishment is supposed to be restorative. Actual, physical burning? I don’t think so. Being burned is very painful, and I think when the wicked realize they are lost, it is like a burning in their soul. A terrible pain in their heart at seeing what they have given up because they loved darkness rather than light.

Craft Night.

My oldest daughter came over Wednesday night to work on some crafts. There was no discomfort between us because of what happened in my previous post. 

One thing about my family is that we forgive and don’t usually hold grudges. My two daughters have a close relationship that has weathered quit a few arguments. They always forgive each other, no matter what they fought about. I’m so happy for this.

Anyway, this is what my daughter finished making on Wednesday:

I love it.

Someone asked my granddaughter, Hope, who her best friend was. “Faith,” she said.  Faith is her sister. I was so moved by that.

I feel very close to my own sister, Liz.  I can tell her anything and she understands. When you are a crazy, negative person it means a lot to be understood.  She is also crazy and negative so we get each other.  

Both my sister and I are becoming more positive. We are slowly learning to let go of the past and see  the positive in the here and now. We both used to look at life as being the mole in a Wack-A-Mole game. Something awful was always beating us down.

I actually used to picture God hitting me with a baseball bat every time I tried to get up. Well, of course I was wrong. God isn’t like that. I've learned he is here waiting to lift us up when we get knocked down. And if we go to him right away, we don’t even get knocked down for long; we are just hurt for a moment and after we talk with him about what happened we feel better and are stronger.

"Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings..."  Psalm 17:8

How precious is Your loving kindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.   Psalm 36:7

You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.   Psalm 16:11

You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound.  Psalm 4:7