A Few More Thoughts On Suffering

I have gathered several quotes on the subject of suffering. I think it is a good way to see a broad worldview of how others feel about the subject. It is interesting that some of the quotes I have have chosen were written by people directly attacking Christianity and God regarding why we suffer. Basically saying that people are crazy to adhere to a religion that has such an angry God. Why would anyone want to believe or trust in a God that is the cause for all our suffering? Well you know what I think they are right. I am happy to say that I do not believe in a God like that. I believe in a good, loving, just God who would never use His power to abuse me. So where does suffering come from? I break it down like this...suffering(in general) comes from these 4 things...

1) A direct result of exercising our free will to sin. In the Old Testament when this sin multiplied to a national scale it was usually the cause for exile. But not exile by God, exile because they made the choice to step out of the protection of God and His law. In turn enemies had the chance to move in. God always gave several warnings to come back into relationship with Him to be protected. This was the cry of the prophets to the people...as we know they usually didn't listen until it was too late. Today we still incur our own suffering due to sin and choosing to break relationship with God.

2) An attack from the enemy, meaning the devil. As in the book of Job. Click here to read that blog. The devils mission is always to destroy us and defame God. He was doing it 5000 years ago and he is still doing it today.

3) An attack from someone else exercising their free will to do evil. This was in the old testament and the new. In the new testament this is the suffering most often discussed. The suffering they were enduring was the actual persecution of anyone trying to spread the gospel. They were literally being hunted, tortured and killed if caught! We are not talking about having back pain for Jesus. These people were being fed to the lions in arenas, made into human torches by Nero, and being physically crucified on the crosses of the Romans. All for their faith.
Today this is the suffering of abuse, neglect, oppression, war or any other human caused suffering.

4) Natural disaster. In the garden of Eden we were given dominion over all creation, then we choose with our free will to sin. This in turn effected all creation and is why I believe we have natural disasters. In Romans 8:20-21 it says "...for creation was subjected to futility; not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay..." This won't happen until Jesus returns.

So notice none of the suffering is from God. Yes, God corrects us, but He is never abusive. Remember "there is no fear in love" 1 John 4:18. Also remember He will never compromise our freedom to exercise our free will. Whether the choice be good or bad. He will not control us. That is not love and God is always loving. He will however work all suffering for good and restore what was stolen from us. That is a good God! That is my God!

So keep all that in mind while reading these quotes...

"Love never claims, it ever gives, love never suffers, never resents, never revenges itself. Where there is love there is life; hatred leads to destruction" Gandhi

"Vice has more martyrs than virtue; and it often happens that men suffer more to be lost than to be saved." Charles Caleb Colton

"Although the world is full of suffering it is also full of overcoming it." Helen Keller

"Faith is not simply a patience that passively suffers until the storm is past. Rather it is a spirit that bears all things-with resignations; yes, but above all, with blazing, serene hope."
Corazon Aquino

"Suffering is not a punishment, it is a result." Robert Green Ingersol

"You must believe that God is separate from the world and that some of the things we see in it are contrary to His will." C.S. Lewis

"To be or not to be that is the question. Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings ans arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of trouble, and by opposing them, end them." Hamlet...William Shakespeare

"A wise man will make haste to forgive, because he knows the true value of time, and will not suffer it to pass away in unnecessary pain." Samuel Johnson

"Love does not cause suffering: what causes it is a sense of ownership, which is loves opposite."
Antoine de Saint Exupery

"The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live."
Ayn Rand

"Fear is the path to the dark side, fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." Yoda...Star Wars

"Now it seems to me that love of some kind is the only possible explanation of the extraordinary amount of suffering that there is in this world." Oscar Wilde

"Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked." Machiavelli

"I am bigger than anything that can happen to me. All these things sorrow, misfortune, and suffering are outside my door. I am in the house and I have the key." Charles Fletcher Cummis

A Mystery Of Suffering

Everyone loves a good murder mystery. Trying to gather clues to solve the crime. I used to love to play the board game "Clue" when I was younger. The game centered around solving a murder mystery. You had to come up with WHO did it, WHERE they did it and with WHAT weapon. So an accusation would sound something like..."I think it was Professor Plum in the conservatory with the candlestick." The answer was hidden in a little mini manila envelope that wasn't opened till the end of the game. So exciting to see if you were the one that figured the whole thing out.

Now what does this have to do with our friend Job? Well I think the book of Job is written like a murder mystery. We "the audience" know from the beginning who the guilty party is for causing Job's suffering. But the characters(Job, his family and friends) in the play don't. So the whole "play" is these characters trying to figure out who has caused the suffering. All the while we "the audience" know the answer to the mystery. We go through the whole book of Job with God being falsely accused for Job's suffering. This is much to the delight of the guilty party, the Devil, whose name actually means accuser or slanderer. But God states His case towards the end of the "play" and redeems His name. Job and his friends retract all the false accusations against God, and repent for their slander. The Devil is found out, justice is served and Job and his family are restored. Easy huh? Well let's take a closer look at how this all plays out.

Job is an awesome book in the way that it gives us a peak behind the scenes and into the spirit realm. It starts out with Job who is a righteous man that loves the Lord. So the Devil comes along one day to challenge God. Big surprise! God says "where have you come from?" "Oh roaming the earth to and fro" the Devil responds. See when you are out of relationship with God there is no rest and you wander through life. Remember Cain after he kills his brother. Cain says to God "Do not cast me from Your presence...I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer of the earth..." Interesting huh? OK back to Job. So the Devil is in the presence of God via his own freewill and proposes a test for Job and for God. The Devil says that the only reason Job is righteous is because God has put "a hedge of protection around him" Which this is good to know...that when we are in the will of God there is a super natural protection around us...to a certain extent. We are protected more than we would be if we were not in relationship with God, but even with the hedge of protection the freewill of others(in this case Satan) can override that protection. Meaning that even if you are in close relationship with God; you can't walk out in front of a bus and not expect to get hit. Get it?

So back to this little chit chat between God and the Devil. God gives the Devil permission to attack Job. Now keep in mind...the Devil is doing the attacking NOT God. What is also interesting is how the Devil carries out part of his plan. He uses the freewill of man to attack Job. It says in 1:17 that the Chaldean's formed raiding parties and that the Subeans attacked Job. It also looks as though the Devil has some control over nature to cause natural disasters against Job. Remember now that we(man) were given dominion over the earth and we choose to sin. So creation is fallen as well.

Now when it gets to 1:16 it says "The fire of God fell from heaven" Ah Ha...see told you God did it! No not so fast. Remember the players don't know WHO is doing it, they are falsely assuming it is God. The players are unaware of the little chit chat in heaven at this point. Just as in verse 1:21 Job says "the Lord has given and the Lord has taken away." First of all this is present tense meaning Job is saying this in regards to his present situation. He is NOT saying "well this is the way God has always been...He gives and takes away." Job was only talking about his current situation. It goes on to say that Job did NOT sin in making this False accusation. Why? Because Job doesn't know about the chit chat. Also Job is still trusting God in His goodness and not slandering Him therefore he has not sinned. So in the book of Job when anyone of the "players" are accusing God it is a false judgement. We know that because we were in on the chit chat at the beginning of the book! As the book goes on Job begins to doubt God. He begins to doubt His compassion and goodness. At the same time He can not believe that God would be doing this to him. Job is right God isn't doing this to him, the Devil is. But Job continues down the slippery slope and begins to talk himself into thinking that it must be God doing these things to him.

You see God is all-powerful, but the Devil has freewill. So the only way that God can counteract our bad freewill choices is to renew and restore us beyond what the choice took away. He CAN prevent freewill but WON"T because then we wouldn't be free. See the book of Job is the Devil trying to see how much dominion he had in the earth via our freewill and his. The Devil also takes any opportunity to defame God. This is Job's struggle throughout the book. Why is God ALLOWING this to happen to me? or Why is God DOING this to his righteous servant? Job's friends are certainly not helping matters, but Job presses on to solve the mystery.

Then finally at the end of the book God can no longer take the slander. God can see that Job is beginning to question his relationship with God. Job is also questioning the goodness of God. The last 4 chapters of Job is a beautifully written speech of the power of God and his sovereignty. It is God saying to Job that He is all-powerful and He is just. Now God is asking Job the same question "Why would I bring on injustice to a righteous man ?" Job then finally sees the big picture, or more like God says "you've got the wrong guy!" Job responds by repenting for the false accusations he has made against God. God words to the friends are "you have not spoken of me what is right" 42:7 and the friends are made to give a offering of repentance for their part in the slander. God restores to Job what the Devil has stolen and then some. The Devil looses because in the end Job did not allow his suffering to be attached to God and in turn defame Him.

See in the end it is only God who can bring life out of death. That IS the power of God. That IS how He does have power over the enemy. Restoration and reconciliation. But He will not compromise freewill. I believe that whoever wrote the book of Job was trying to show people that there is another power at work in the earth...The Devil. That is why we get to read the little chit chat at the beginning. So people would no longer assume that the "bad" stuff was from God. You see the battle is on and has been since Eden. In the end God will have the victory. But until that time we have to fight for our lives and struggle through the attacks of the enemy.

In our own trials of suffering if we believe that it is from our loving God we play right into the Devil's hand! You begin to resent God for your suffering which in turns breaks intimacy with Him. Our God is a good, loving, restoring God. He seeks wholeness and security for you. He would never do anything to take that away. The Devil is the one that seeks destruction for you. And freewill is his vehicle to do so. That is how the Devil was testing God in the book of Job. The Devil wanted to see if God would compromise freewill and take control over the situation. Now if Job right from the beginning would have recognized that the attack was from the enemy and NOT from God he would have saved himself from all the suffering. Not the suffering from the enemy but the suffering in thinking that God was the cause. He could have counter attacked with help from the almighty God by aligning his will with the will of God. He would have immediately had victory over the scheme of the Devil. Not to say the attack would have ended, but he would have been better equipped to deal with his loss.  But we have to make the choice to align with God. Because even when we are making the wrong choice God can not compromise our choice. That is how the Devil gets away with so much in this world! He is doing all the dirty work and we are busy blaming God!

So when you find yourself asking "Why is God allowing this to happen?" The answer is going to always be "God is allowing EVERYTHING to happen." Not because everything is His will but because of our freewill and freedom to choose. If God only allowed all the GOOD things to happen that would be control. Likewise if He only allowed the BAD things to happen that would also be control. In order for there to be true freedom He must allow both. That is not a lack of power on God's part, but we get confused in thinking that because God is all powerful. But that doesn't mean that all good and all bad is from Him. That is Greek philosophical fatalism. Fatalism being the doctrine that all life's events are fixed in advance by God and man is powerless to change them. "What will be, will be" NO, NO, NO! This doctrine is practiced by several eastern religions and has also unfortunately leaked into Christianity. I say "NO, that is not my good, loving God!" Freewill was set into motion by US...WE decided with our dominion that WE wanted to be in control and God let us make that choice.

But God is so awesome in all of this that He has found a loophole. A trump card over the Devil if you will. God can not control that we make the right choices. But when we do make the wrong choices or someone does wrong against us...He can work it for GOOD. He loves to restore and renew because He is a good God who loves you and would NEVER do anything to hurt you.

A Higher Calling

So...What's With All the Rules? PART THREE

Click for PART ONE, click for PART TWO.

A few things to keep in mind in regard to the rules or law of God. First the fruits of the Spirit (that we discussed in the last section) should always be in accordance with God's truth and principles. In order for you to remain separate from sin this must be checked often. In other words we don't decide for ourselves what thew rules are based on our own morality. For example "For me it is the most loving thing to have 5 wives" or "I find my peace sitting in front of a statue of Buddha while burning incense and sitting in the lotus position". Do you see what I am getting at? This isn't to say the the fruits of the Spirit and their attributes are only found in the confines of Christianity. Many religions have aspects of God's truth. But as we know being a righteous, moral person is only half of the equation. We have to have Jesus to pay for our sin, and lead us to eternal life. Other religions don't have that. So while we have a lot of good righteous people and leaders out there, and this is a good thing, it is not an end to the means which is Jesus alone. Nothing added or taken away. Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life" period.

Now on the other end of the spectrum is the same idea that the devil had in the first place. "God is just trying to control me by all these rules...I'm my own person...I answer to no one...I am the only one that knows what is best for me". This is humanistic thinking. The thought that we all can be our own moral compass. We think that any formed authority is dictatorship. You have to come to the understanding that God is NEVER trying to control you. He has only ever tried to protect you out of His love for you. The trap that we fall into when trying to form our own moral compass is the same trap that caught us in the garden of Eden. Sooner or later we will fall into sin. Now whether we acknowledge that it is in fact sin is a different matter.

You see humanism says we can each make our set of rules. So if I decide that it is alright for me to have sex with a child, that is fine because I am only answerable to myself. This sounds extreme I know, but this is the same attitude that has gotten us to abort babies and engage in other sexual deviations. Humanistic consensus seems to rule the laws. So if enough people think that a sin is OK, I guess it is OK. WRONG! Rebellion against God will always result in sin. Sin will always brings death either emotionally, spiritually or sometimes even physically.

Now none of these sins are anything new. Any sin or deviation that we have going on now was also going on in ancient times. That is part of the reason that God made the rules in the first place. He needed to counter act the "I know better than God" or "no one can tell me what to do" attitude. So the argument that God's truth and principles are too old school and don't apply to this post modern generation is crap! Every sin has been tried and tested for the last 5000 years or so. So we don't know better than God! He has seen all the sin and he has seen all the results of sin since the beginning of time. So he know what rules need to be in place to protect us.

This isn't to say that everyone who is living in sin is miserable. If that was the outward appearance of sin no one would do it in the first place. Remember the "trauma blog", the devil bleeds you out slowly. Many people become so deceived that they have talked themselves into thinking that their particular sin is OK. Some people do this while leading some what happy, productive lives. The problem is the party doesn't last forever. Sooner or later sin will take it's toll. Also keep in mind that Jesus is the only way to the Father and they only way to root out the sin in our lives. Jesus is also the only way to do both those things in a loving Spirit of grace no matter what sin you have committed. This is your only hope for true wholeness in your life.

Now I know that the thought of conformity goes against every grain of your rebellious spirit. At least that is how it was with me. You want to be different and unique. You will never find your uniqueness in sin. Remember how we just said that every sin has been tried, rehashed, and reinvented for the last 5000 years? On the other hand there has never been one of you for the last 5000 years. No one that has looked like you or talked like you. No one with your personality. No one with your combination of talents and gifts. So if you trust that God lovingly created you, you must trust that He would never do anything to stifle your uniqueness. Life in the Spirit of God will ALWAYS enhance your uniqueness that God especially created in you. Don't be tricked into joining a group of played out sin. Sin will only give you a shell of false identity with no spirit in life.

So we have to have the rules. We need to follow God's truth and principles as our moral compass. We must humble ourselves and yield to the boundaries God has set out for us. This is the only way we will be protected from the plots of the enemy. This is the only way we will gain life in the Spirit which in turn brings greater intimacy with God and grace to live righteously.

So...What's With All the Rules? PART TWO

Click for "PART ONE". Now if we fast forward to the new testament we have Jesus. He is the atonement and sacrifice for all sin. But in regards to the law it seems we find opposing things. 1) that Jesus has fulfilled the law and 2) that Jesus has abolished the law. First lets take a look at what was going on with the law before the death of Jesus.

The first thing to note is that there were about 400 years between the old testament and the new testament. By the time we get to the new testament the keepers of the law, the Pharisees and Sadducees had become very legalistic. That is to say the law and regulations had become a way of judging others commitment to God. They would also add to the law their own made-made rules as a way of exclusion. Their way of pushing away the people they thought were not worthy of God. The Pharisees and Sadducees had begun to worship the law instead of God. They had turned the loving, protecting rules of God into control and exclusion of the people. That was never what God had intended the law to be.

So in this respect Jesus did most certainly abolish the law! He became the sin offering once and for all. He did this that we might have life in the Spirit and eternal life here after. Remember on the cross he says "it is finished". I believe He was in some part talking about the law. How the law had been up until that point was now done. Moreover Jesus was now for all people both individually and globally; not just to those who had been set apart as a nation to receive the law and bring the seed of Jesus to past.

Now Jesus also just as importantly fulfilled the law. See through Jesus there is now grace for our sins. But we must be careful not to use grace as a freedom from the law per say. Grace is the freedom from the consequence of breaking the law which was ultimately death either spiritually or physically. But for the most part the actual rules of the old testament still apply. It is the application that is different. There is now a higher calling through the Spirit in Christ Jesus. We no longer follow the law for law sake; we are new creatures that follow the law via the Spirit. You see everything we now do is as worship and expressing intimacy with God through Jesus. In doing this we automatically fulfill the law that was given in the old testament.

We must be careful to acknowledge both the abolishing and fulfilling of the law by Jesus. Jesus' death for us is not a free ticket to ride. We don't get to live in sin because by grace we now get to go heaven. Paul addressed this many times in the letters he wrote to the first Christians. He was very clear about not being legalistic. For example not to get caught up with clean and unclean foods, to drink or not to drink. See some of the rules of the old testament were only to carry out a short term purpose. Remember protecting the seed of Jesus. Think of it like you not having to wear diapers anymore because now you know how to use the potty. (sorry we are potty training my 3 year old right now...that the first example that came to mind ;D) There were things that the law had commanded that now were left to us to use our better judgement. Always checking with the Spirit and the principles of God as a guide.

Now Paul was also VERY clear that that some rules were not to be negotiated. Grace does not mean that we can participate in sexual immorality or idolatry or any of the other BIG no-no sins as I call them. There is a huge difference between now being able to eat pork and being apart of an orgy at the local temple. Agree? So Jesus did both abolish and fulfill the law, not one or the other but both. Paul sums it up like this to know then how we should live. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with it's passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." Gal. 5:22-25 Not convinced it's that easy? Pick any law from the old testament and it should fall under one of the fruits of the Spirit. Whether pertaining to you personally, to others relationally or to God's intimacy. Also keep in mind that temple that was only available to a few was now opened up by Jesus so that ALL peoples could be included.

A few final things to keep in mind....click to continue in PART THREE.

Destiny Awaits You

CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE

So...What's With All the Rules? PART ONE

The rules or law in the bible were given to help us better understand what sin was and what it did to our relationship with God. As we know sin is a stepping out of the will of God and stepping into the will of the enemy, Satan. The biggest consequence of this is loss of intimacy with God. Remember in the garden when God asks "Where are you?" after Adam and Eve had sinned. The relationship with God had become compromised.

Now from the time of Adam to the time the actual law was given was about 2000 years. Prior to that God just had covenants with individual people. God and Adam, God and Noah, God and Abraham etc. So if we fast forward to the exodus out of Egypt a tribe of 70 people had "greatly multiplied" to several hundred thousand, maybe even millions of people. We don't know the exact number...but we do know it was WAY more than 70. This tribe was now a nation.

This new nation had no land, no government, no health care, no justice system, no religious system etc. So in order for this nation to survive and thrive there had to be some rules and regulations laid out. Now you must keep in mind a few things. God's desire for intimacy and relationship with us. Therefore the need to deter us from sin which damages intimacy. Also the battle going on in the spirit realm. The battle to disrupt the seed of Jesus coming to past. So you have to trust that any rule or regulation that our loving God laid before us was either to protect our relationship with Him and /or to protect the seed of Jesus so that all nations could be reconciled by His sacrifice. Finally to protect us physically and spiritually.

They are no arbitrary rules in the bible. They are for our protection one way or another. Now the whole book of Deuteronomy is rules. Seems like a ton! But they can all be broken down into 8 categories. Government, economics, science, arts, education, religion, and communication. Sounds the groundwork for a nation huh. A nation that would protect the seed and the line of Jesus and a nation that was to be an example and a witness for other nations.

So all the rules are a written understanding of how God wanted the people to interact in the 8 different aspects of life. Remember by this time there were several other nations doing things their way. Usually meaning in enmity with God. So God had to be sure that this baby nation knew where He stood on all things. He didn't want them following the other poor examples. Remember to first and foremost protect us , not control us.

The rules and regulations regarding the tabernacle and offerings were about relationship. As were the celebration of different holidays like Passover. God teaching His people how to relate to Him and each other. Rules about justice and how to treat each other fairly. Rules about economics and principles of finance. Rules about personal heath and hygiene. Rules about marriage, family and sexual conduct. See everything had to be laid out because up until this point nothing had been. Most of the cultures that this group of people had been exposed to were rooted in pagan and immoral practices. Remember what sin gets us....DEATH either spiritually or physically. That is why so many of the rules seem so exclusive and selective. God had to separate for Himself a nation that was righteous among all of the other garbage that was out there. Remember spiritual warfare in on full force at this point. God had to form a righteous people to protect the seed of Jesus so that ALL nations, even the pagan ones, could have the opportunity to be reconciled.

OK so you can handle that. You sorta understand why some of the rules had to be there. But what about all the crazy cruel punishments? And what about the weird almost vulgar rules? Well again lets get into the mind set that a loving God would not make arbitrary rules. So if there is a rule that says not to have sex with animals, it is not that God is trying to be gross. It is because some idiot went out and had sex with an animal. The rule is simply God saying " You know what that is NOT a good idea!" As far as the hefty punishments go I believe they were meant more as a deterrent than anything else. God's way of say "This is really, really, really not a good idea!" I wonder how many times these harsh punishments were actually carried out. How many times would you do something that you knew you would get stoned to death for doing? Most likely never! ( In part two we will discuss the legalism of the Pharisees in the new testament and how they looked for every chance to carry out these punishments much to Jesus' chagrin.)

So I think that some rules were made in accordance with things that the people were already having trouble with. I don't think God was plunking down a great big rule book and saying "Do this or DIE!" God wasn't even trying to control us. He WAS addressing the hurtful and damaging things we were already doing to ourselves and others. Remember this is all in hopes that we will have closer intimacy with God resulting in purpose and life. Towards the end of Deuteronomy God puts it like this. "See I set before you today life and prosperity; death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase and the Lord your God will bless you..." Deut 30:15-16

Now if we fast forward to the New Testament....continued in click PART TWO...

Shine Your Light

Choices, Choices, Choices...

So I'm at Target combing the toothbrush isle looking for a new toothbrush. I don't know whether I should try something new or get what I always have. But I'm not sure that my "soft" bristle brush is doing the same work that a "medium" or "hard" bristle brush would do. Ahhhh...decisions, decisions. There are a million different toothbrush brands, colors, manual, battery powered...you name it. I even found one that plays music while you brush. The question is, do all the bells and whistles do the job any better than the old standby.

Now when I'm looking at all these choices am I to assume that they are all equally as good for my teeth and gums. That my choice really just boils down to personal preference an aesthetics. Well I wanted to get to the bottom of this burning question, so I held off on my toothbrush purchase. I went home and started clicking away at dentist websites to find some answers.

After combing though several sites(even the VERY impressive American Dental Association) I keep getting the same "strongly recommended" answer. A good old fashioned SOFT bristle toothbrush is the best for your teeth and gums. As a matter of fact some of the other harder bristle brushes could actually be harmful and damage my teeth and gums. So why all the different choices in the stores? Why not just sell the one the experts (in this case being the dentists) agree is the best for your oral health?

Ah the joys of freewill! The reason there are so many choices is because we like there to be a lot of choices. We as a society would almost be offended if we walked into a store with only ONE type of toothbrush. We deserve to have our choice...right? If I want to brush my teeth with a hard bristle, neon pink, battery powered, music playing toothbrush I can! It's my choice! I don't care what the experts say, they are my teeth not yours! They can't control what I do with MY teeth!

Is any of this sounding familiar? See we have grown into a society that has choice just for choice sake. Most of the choices aren't even good for us sometimes even harmful. But we feel cheated and controlled if we don't get to make the choice ourselves. Now I am all for freedom and the right to make my own choice. However with that freedom I want to learn to make the best choices I can for myself. I want to know what the experts say. I mean we do trust the experts right? Wait! How do I know my expert is an expert?

I bought a magazine the other day that's main title was "Editor's Picks--Best of The Web". Oooo had to buy that one. I wanted to know what all the fancy, cool, urban, east coast people thought was cool. We love this though right? If something has a "Seal of Approval" on it you feel more apt to buy it. Approved by whom is a different story. Your happy with the fact it is approved! Anyways, the magazine was filled with "best hotels", "best travel website", "best shopping", "best restaurants" etc. So the question is out of millions of different possibilities on the web how did they come up with the best? See this is a little more dicey than the toothbrush. How can you be sure these were really the best. The bottom line is we fall for it hook, line and sinker. I bet all the sites she had listed in her magazine got tons more hits this month from readers looking for the BEST!

This is a strange dichotomy in our society. We want to have the right to make our own choice, but for the most part we want to know what the best choice is. That is the beauty of an all loving, creator God. He has given us the ability and the freedom to choose. He also happens to be the EXPERT on all things human. This is an expert that you can trust. Why? Because He created you. Simple as that. Look if you can trust some lady in a corner office in a high rise in New York that the best hotel in Fiji is "Ocean Palace"...you can trust God. Moreover it's quite possible this lady has never even been to this hotel and you have never seen or met her...you can trust God. Still having a hard time? Well then trust Him the same way you do your dentist. At least you have met your dentist right? I mean he at least went to school and everything, has a big diploma framed on the wall. You would never think your dentist was trying to control your life by "strongly recommending" a certain toothbrush. Would you? He's your dentist! He is looking out for your health and well being! Right?

Really what it boils down to is... do you want to make the experts choice? OR For sake of choice go against the expert. I advise that someone who created you is a pretty trustworthy expert. In the end the choice is always yours alone; that is your God given freewill. But be warned going against the expert advise may result in your teeth falling out by age 40. Although you will still have your HARD bristle, neon pink, battery powered, music playing toothbrush as a souvenir.

Calling For YOU!

FM Static "Take Me As I Am"...LOVE THIS

Freewill Is A...Well You Know...

Suffering Is NOT Your Destiny

This is a bit of a follow up on my post..."Trauma, Life In The ER" read here. All of us have endured some trauma in our lives. What I want to tell you is that it was NEVER God's plan that you would endure trauma. He can and does teach us good things out of traumas that we have endured. That is His grace to us "to work all things for good". But God never initiates those traumas just so He can teach us something. That is NOT our loving God.

Man has freewill to do what he wants on this earth. We all know the craziness that has got us into. Not only crazy things, but horrible, hurtful things. Horrible and hurtful are never from God! God will not go back on his promise of free will just to snap us all into submission. That wouldn't be free will, that would be control. So why doesn't God step in to prevent someone from hurting someone else? Greg Boyd puts it this way "A freedom which was prevented from being exercised whenever it was going to be misused simply wouldn't be freedom". Yes, God is all powerful and sovereign but just because you have power doesn't mean you always use it. I have the power to murder someone, but that is not the most loving choice for me to make in regards to my neighbor. So it is with God...using His power to control us isn't the most loving choice for us.

So along with our freedom comes the choice to use it for evil. This was the same freedom that the angels were created with. That is why Satan was able to make the choice to leave heaven. This is also the same reason why Satan was allowed to make the choices that he has made. God loves his creations so much and he is so just, that he will not go back on His promise of freedom.

So why doesn't God just put us all out of our misery and kill us all? Because he loves us and it is not in the nature of a Creator to destroy. But that is also why Jesus and the Holy Spirit were made available to us. The Spirit to minister grace to us on this earth. Jesus to show us the way to the Father...so that we my live out eternity with no fear, pain or sorrow. Hard to swallow for some, but it is the truth.

The bottom line is that God is never in favor of trauma in our lives. It was and is never his plan for you. His plan for you is to prosper and be whole. Why would a loving God break us down just so He could restore us? That is totally twisted! Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted and set the captives free. He didn't come to plunge you into a life of despair and misery.

So this doesn't make God less powerful or sovereign. Really it is a display of his power and love for us. That He keeps His word in regards to us. That word is always LOVE. Anything other than LOVE is NOT from GOD!

How Deep Are You?

"GENESIS" Adult Supervision Recommended

To be released later this month is the book of Genesis "as you have never seen it before! Adult supervision recommended." The new "book" has been illustrated by legendary comic artist R. Crumb, who is a self professed Gnostic. His site is here. I am just a tad too young to remember any of his works from the 60s and 70s. But from the very limited research I have done on Mr. Crumb he has always had a bit of controversy around him.

For this particular "book" I have read most of the hub-bub and really don't see what the big deal is. You know the usual complaints of too much sex and violence. In this case however it "is" the bible we are talking about. What is most interesting to me is that Mr. Crumb set out to turn the book of Genesis into satire but later decided it was already too wild in it's own right. So the book he ended up with claims to be word for word, unabridged "Genesis"; just with Mr. Crumbs comic book style illustrations. And anyone that has read Genesis knows that does mean lots of sex and violence.

So I say...Hmmmm, very interesting...might have to check this one out myself. What do you think? You can see more pics from this book here. I couldn't get them to post on this blog for some reason. Be warned...Adam and Eve were in fact naked in the garden!