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Slow down, you crazy child…

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I’m talking to you.

You, Superman or Superwoman, carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, convinced if you don’t do the things you do, they won’t ever get done. I have a question for you.

Of all these important things you do (that only you can do), how many of these things, if left undone (even just for a day or two) would cause the world to stop turning?

What if you said no because you didn’t want to do something instead of yes because you’re afraid of disappointing someone?

What if you stopped long enough to breathe? I know you’ve got responsibilities and people depending on you. I know you have goals and dreams, and no one’s going to hand them to you on a silver platter–you’ve got to put in the work.

But just for today, give yourself permission to step back and simply enjoy being in the moment. To be still and know that He is God, and we are not. He’ll keep the world spinning until you get back. Promise.

Vienna (by Billy Joel)
Slow down you crazy child
You’re so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you’re so smart tell me why
Are you still so afraid?
Where’s the fire, what’s the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out
You got so much to do and only
So many hours in a day

But you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old
You’re gonna kick off before you even get halfway through
When will you realize…Vienna waits for you

Slow down you’re doing fine
You can’t be everything you want to be
Before your time
Although it’s so romantic on the borderline tonight (tonight)
Too bad but it’s the life you lead
You’re so ahead of yourself
That you forgot what you need
Though you can see when you’re wrong
You know you can’t always see when you’re right(you’re right)

You got your passion you got your pride
But don’t you know that only fools are satisfied?
Dream on but don’t imagine they’ll all come true
When will you realize
Vienna waits for you

Slow down you crazy child
Take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while
It’s alright you can afford to lose a day or two
When will you realize…
Vienna waits for you.

And you know that when the truth is told
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old
You’re gonna kick off before you even get halfway through

Why don’t you realize…Vienna waits for you
When will you realize…Vienna waits for you

“Pick the day. Enjoy it – to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come… The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present, and I don’t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.”
~ Audrey Hepburn

Hit the redneck (by Billy Coffey)

photo of Radivoje Lajic from telegraph.co.uk

photo of Radivoje Lajic from telegraph.co.uk

You could say Radivoje Lajic and I have a few things in common, at least on the surface.

We’re both country boys for one, though what I call country happens to be the mountains of Virginia and what Radivoje calls country happens to be Gornji Lajici, a small village in northern Bosnia. We’re both content to live our own lives and mind our own business. And then there’s the fact that deep down, we both just want to be left alone. We want our lives free of drama and spectacle. We want to quietly go on our way and just keep doing what we’re doing.

Problem is, that doesn’t seem to happen very often with Radivoje. And sometimes it doesn’t happen very often with me, either. Things get in the way. Specific things.

In Radivoje’s case, it’s the aliens who won’t leave him alone.

Since 2007, Radivoje’s small house has been hit six times by meteorites. He has the space rocks to prove it, too. Experts at Belgrade University have confirmed them all as genuine. He even sold one of them to a university in the Netherlands so he could put a new steel girder reinforced roof on his house. He was tired of patching all the holes.

For their part, scientists are still trying to figure out how and why poor Radivoje has been forced to endure this. The odds of anyone getting hit by a single meteorite are about 0.000000136%. The odds of getting hit by six of them? Incalculable.

There is some speculation that either his house or his town sits on some supercharged magnetic field, but nothing has been proven. And even if it was, that wouldn’t explain the fact that all of this seems to happen only during a heavy rain. Never in the sunshine.

A mystery, the scientists say. But not to Radivoje. He knows what’s going on. To him, it’s pretty obvious:

“I have no doubt I am being targeted by aliens. They are playing games with me. I don’t know why they are doing this. When it rains I can’t sleep for worrying about another strike.”

Funny, yes. Funny to me, anyway. I don’t know why this is happening, but to think aliens are floating up in space playing a game of Hit the Serbian seems a bit of a stretch.

But then I thought it over and decided that maybe if Radivoje has his facts wrong, then so do I. Because if you substitute “aliens” for “God” in his quote above, you might just have me.

There are times in my life when I feel like God is targeting me. Lots of times. Many more than six. I suppose in that regard, Radivoje’s gotten off pretty easy.

I’ve been known to believe that God plays games with me. He’ll dangle some blessing right in front of my eyes and then snatch it away the second I reach out for it. He’ll answer little prayers like getting me a good parking spot at the mall but not big ones like not letting my kids get sick. And there are always those infernal lessons He’s intent on teaching me, things like patience and humility and trust, things I’m sure will build me up later but always seem to make me feel torn apart now.

To make matters worse, those lessons always seem to come at the worst possible time. Not when my life is sunny, but when it’s raining on my insides. And the rain always seems to pour harder then, because I’m left worrying what He’s going to do next.

“I have no doubt I am being targeted by aliens. They are playing games with me. I don’t know why they are doing this. When it rains I can’t sleep for worrying about another strike.”

I get that. I get it because there are times when I have no doubt I am being targeted by God. He is playing games with me. I didn’t know why He is doing that. When it rains I can’t sleep for worrying about another strike.

I can’t say there isn’t a little bit of Radivoje Lajic’s thinking in me. I have my moments when I think God’s in heaven playing Hit the Redneck. And chances are good that you’ve felt the same more than once about your own life. As for me, I’m going to work on that.

To read more from Billy Coffey, visit him at his blog What I Learned Today and follow him on twitter at @BillyCoffey

Words, Part 2

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Last week I wrote a post entitled Words, where I suggested that what we write must serve a purpose. I received a comment that I didn’t really understand at first because I was reading it within the context of what I had written. The author was kind enough to explain where he was coming from in a later comment, and I couldn’t agree more with his point:

@kelybreez said:

At the risk of being a hypocrite, because I’m usually guilty of anything that gives me pause…

It troubles me when I read something done in the name of “doubt,” questions about God, or the motives of the church or ministers, etc… And the overall feeling is that the person is actually just trying to fit into the trendy, cute genre of “being a questioner.”

It’s great form these days. People read it. People love it. And so it’s cute, and it’s fashionable…

And the writer doesn’t even have to ask intellectually honest questions of themselves anymore, such as, “Do I really have the doubt myself, or am I writing this to sell my blog more?” (and as a result, their novel, or their persona, or whatever it is they’re trying to drive traffic to.)

Or they don’t ask, “Does this question truly help someone work through their doubts and grow into a place of seeking God, or am I just tossing out controversy for my own benefit?”

Again, I’m honestly not trying to be a stick-in-the-mud. I just want us, myself included, to be honest. When we write our words in such a way that they CAUSE more doubt, rather than with the hope of probing doubt (with a growth of faith as the hopeful result)… Well, then I think we’ve missed it.

If our desire is just to rattle people’s cages so we’ll be more popular, then I’m asking myself, Am I being like Jesus?

He rattled cages, yes, but with a loving purpose in mind. Always. (I think.)

Being the sarcastic and sometimes snarky person that I am, I often find myself laughing at things that perhaps wouldn’t be so funny if I took the time to consider if doing so would be at the expense of others. Yes, I post some fairly outlandish things, but I make a serious effort not to be hurtful. To Kely’s point, I have found some blog posts published by Christians to be mean-spirited and sometimes downright cruel. And I have to ask myself the same question Kely posed: “Does this truly help someone work through their doubts and grow into a place of seeking God, or am I just tossing out controversy for my own benefit?”

A couple of months ago, I watched a video on a very popular Christian blog. There was no story to go along with the video, and as best I could tell, its sole purpose was to laugh at the woman on said video because she was praying and speaking in tongues (and causing those around her a considerable amount of discomfort). Based on the comments associated with the post, the blogger’s apparent intent hit its target. The comments were incredibly cruel and insensitive, and I couldn’t help but wonder how the subject of the video might react to reading that post. I’m not going to mention the name of this blogger, and if you mention it in the comments section, I will not approve your comment. That’s not my point. My point is, if you feel it’s necessary to make fun of an alternative viewpoint in order to bring weight to your own, might I suggest you spend your time making a better argument? As Christians, we can laugh at ourselves and we can laugh with (and sometimes at) each other. Jon Acuff and Matt Appling accomplish this consistently and effectively without being cruel or overly offensive.

Warning: Some may find the following video offensive, but if you’ll hang in there, I do have a point:

I am a Christian who writes a blog, but I don’t consider katdish.net to be a Christian blog. The words God, Jesus, Christ, church or Christian do not appear anywhere in the title or description of this site. Does this mean I think I have a lesser responsibility to represent Christ through what I write on this blog? Yes, actually. I do think that. Because I’ve never represented this blog to be anything more than my own ramblings. Yes, I write about my faith, but that’s not what this blog is primarily about. I don’t think I’m ever un-Christian, but that’s not my only focus here.

As Bob Kelso says, “There is a time and a place for the truth.” If you’re a Christian, you have the added responsibility of speaking the Truth in love. It may not always be sexy or hip, but consider Who you’re representing and to Whom you belong.

Prone to Wander

Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount I’m fixed upon it
Mount of thy redeeming love

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by thy help I’m come
And I hope by thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wondering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

O to grace how how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above

(The following post is taken directly from a sermon by my friend and pastor Jeff Hogan.)

Many old hymns have stories attached to them. Some are well documented, while others may be modern parables. The story attached to “Come Thy Fount” involves an encounter that took place on a British stagecoach: A woman who had been reading a song book while they travelled began to notice how troubled the other passenger was. Seeking to encourage him, she recited the words to a hymn that was particularly meaningful to her. The man looked up with tears in his eyes and said, “Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then.”

That man was Robert Robinson. And the latter part of his life was indeed very different than it had been when he originally penned those words in the early 1750’s as a poem to conclude a sermon that he preached.

As a songwriter, I can tell you that you can often observe patterns, struggles and themes in a person’s life through the content of their writing. And if I were to examine Robinson’s life through the lense of this song, I would point to one word – used three times – that really stands out: WANDER.

“Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God”
“Let Thy goodnes, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.”
‘Prone to wander, Lord I feel it – Prone to leave the God I love.”

It’s precisely that gut-level honesty that makes this song stand out. Wandering is a theme everyone can understand, because it can happen at any stage in our connection to God and to Christ:

Before we find Him
While we are looking for Him
After we find Him

Do you think you are moving toward God, or away from Him? Are you willing to believe that God wants you to be close to Him?

I’m not saying that He will tolerate you. I’m saying He welcomes you.

He is delighted to have you come into His presence.

Come as you are. Don’t worry – you don’t have to stay that way. He will change you from the inside out.

No matter how you would “categorize” yourself. If you are wandering, just turn around.

Prodigal

DISCLAIMER: The following thoughts are from my not seminary trained mind and heart. If there is something within the content of this post that is downright unscriptural, I am counting on my friends who know better to set me straight.

Main Entry: 1prod·i·gal
Pronunciation: \ˈprä-di-gəl\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin prodigus, from prodigere to drive away, squander, from pro-, prod- forth + agere to drive — more at pro-, agent
Date: 15th century

1 : characterized by profuse or wasteful expenditure : lavish 2 : recklessly spendthrift 3 : yielding abundantly : luxuriant.

Luke 15:11-32
11Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13″Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

17″When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21″The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.[b]’

22″But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

25″Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27’Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28″The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31″ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ “

To my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ:
How many sermons, bible studies and personal studies have been devoted to this parable? Personally, I’ve lost count. And while I love the idea of Father God welcoming home his son who “was dead and is alive again”, it always left me with this feeling of an incomplete story. So often we devote so much discussion to the wayward son and the forgiving father. But it has been my experience that the older brother is mentioned merely as an afterthought. Even when the oldest is discussed at length, it is with the caveat that “at least he’s not THAT guy!” (referring to the younger brother).

This never sat well with me because at the end of the story, I always said to myself, “What about the older brother? That guy was a TOOL!” Perhaps it is because I naturally identify so much with the younger brother, but I think it is more than that. Check out how Luke Chapter 15 begins:

1Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Is it too far of a stretch for me to suggest that the main intended audience for this parable (and the rest of them for that matter) is the Pharisees and the teachers of the law? Notice that the father (God) is reconciled with the younger son (sinners). What Jesus does not tell us is whether or not the older brother ever got over himself and realized his sin. So bitter was his hatred towards his younger sibling that he would not even recognize him as his brother. I don’t know about you, but I find this more than just a little unsettling.

As I mentioned before, I identify with the younger son, but there have been times in my life that I have identified with the older brother. When I begin to feel righteous about my faith, I try to do a gut check to make sure that it is not self-righteousness, especially when I find myself making excuses for my lack of compassion and apathy. While we are saved by grace and not works, we will give an accounting to God as to how we lived our lives; how we loved one another.

My inspiration for the post was a book by Tim Keller called The Prodigal God. While I would highly recommend the book, what I really want to recommend is this:

If it’s been awhile since you’ve read the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, put aside everything else you are reading for a bit. Read this amazing and life changing story of the Savior of the world with the wonder of a child. It is the most compelling love story ever written.

“In this story [of the lost sons] the father represents the Heavenly Father Jesus knew so well. St. Paul writes: ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses’ (2 Cor 5:19-American Standard Version). Jesus is showing us the God of Great Expenditure, who is nothing if not prodigal toward us, his children. God’s reckless grace is our greatest hope, a life-changing experience…” (Tim Keller, The Prodigal God)

May you feel renewed by the love of a Prodigal God, whose love for you is beyond measure.

P.S. – Nick the Geek wrote a great post along these same lines. Check it out here

Henri the Cat

God’s timing is pretty amazing. I was feeling a wee bit self-righteous yesterday. Then I got this link via an email from my friend Helen. Yes. I was convicted by a cat video. I’m grateful that I have friends and family that love me enough to tell me when I’m being a jerk, and a God who knows what a jerk I am but still loves me enough to sacrifice His Son so that I might live. So this is for them. And a very big thanks to Helen, who is awesome.

Incidentally, there is a disturbingly high number of cat videos on youtube…

What does God look like?

When (if) you get an image of God in your mind, how do you imagine Him?

Like this?

or this?

or even this?

While I’m a bit uncomfortable admitting it, my mind’s eye has pictured God in all of the above ways. (Not when I’m praying — when I pray I tend to see the face of Jesus, which is a subject best left to another blog post.) But until today, I have never pictured God looking like this:
That is, until I checked my email today and read a prayer request that was posted on a prayer chain. In the original, unedited version of this post, I simply cut and pasted the prayer request. But because I am feeling terribly convicted about sharing a prayer request that was not meant to become fodder for some cynical blog post, I’ll just give you the basics. The author of this prayer request began by stating, “There are things I want.” His wish list included: a great career, a great marriage to a wonderful woman, awesome martial art skills so that he could protect the woman God may give him, a great income and a great family. He asked that those reading his request would pray that these blessings be given to him so that he could experience said blessings.
My initial reaction was, “Are you kidding me?!” I even forwarded the request to a friend saying as much. But, as I mentioned, I felt convicted and incredibly uneasy about simply raking this guy over the coals without stopping to consider what the circumstances of his life might be. Who am I to judge what blessings God may choose to bestow on him or anyone else for that matter? I actually stopped typing, turned off my computer and prayed for forgiveness. While God may determine that this man’s heart needs to be changed, I realized that it is the condition of my own wretched heart that requires further examination. (*Smile* — I love that word “wretched”. Jake – if I ever write a book entitled “My Wretched Heart”, I intend to give you a portion of the proceeds. But I digress.) Why did I feel compelled to share this man’s prayer? Was it because it made me feel superior to him; miles ahead of him on the road of my Christian walk? Yes. I think that’s it. And if that’s the case, am I not missing Paul’s point when he writes in Philippians 2:
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Um…Ouch! So, with an attitude adjustment that only face time with God can achieve, I am grateful that God’s grace is extended to all of us, and I am reminded of Jesus’ instructions on how to pray:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in
heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for
ever. Amen.

I am going to end this post and pray that the author of this prayer request finds comfort and peace in the arms of the Savior whose grace is sufficient; whose power is made perfect in our weakness. Also, I need to pray for God to remove this giant plank from my eye…

Prosperity Gospel: Let the ranting continue…

Thanks for all the comments on the previous post. It is an issue that seems to raise the blood pressure a few points — at least it does for me. A very special thank you to Caron for the link to Justin Peters’ organization. I couldn’t watch the entire presentation on his site, but was able to view it at the following link:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=71208151703

This presentation is only a 30 minute overview of the seminar he offers to churches, but I found it to be an extremely powerful and compelling argument against these “health and wealth” pushers. And while I wholeheartedly agree with everything that Mr. Peters presents, I also understand that it is my responsibility to seek God’s word and make sure Mr. Peters’ arguments hold up. I urge you to do the same. My approach to bible study is a bit unorthodox, and I don’t recommend it, but here’s what I did:

Towards the end of his presentation, Justin Peters quoted my all-time favorite verse:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9a)

The rest of the verse is as follows: Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

So, I started from this verse and worked my way backwards until I came to 2 Corinthians 11 and 12 where Paul writes about false apostles, boasts about his own sufferings and talks about the thorn in his flesh. What struck me about these particular passages is that not only do they support the argument against the prosperity gospel, but in places Paul is dripping in sarcasm — something I can definitely relate to.

“I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that.” (2 Cor 11:1)

*My translation: Since you are obviously open to all kinds of audacious b.s., hear me out as well, because I’m actually going to tell you the truth.

“For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. (2 Cor. 11:4)

*My translation: How can you be down with the Truth, the Holy Trinity, the Gospel of Christ, then turn around and readily accept something that is in direct conflict with what you profess to believe? I wonder if I could interest you in a time-share opportunity.

“But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.” (2 Cor 11:5-6)

*My translation: “I’m no Benny Hinn, and I don’t have a fancy suit or million dollar smile like Joel Osteen, but I think I have the educational and ancestry credentials (a Jew among Jews) and experience to be considered somewhat of an expert in this particular area. And did I mention the time when I met Jesus on the road to Damascus?”

“In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or pushes himself forward or slaps you in the face. To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! (2 Cor. 11:17-21)

I’m not even going to comment on this particular passage. It pretty much speaks for itself.

**Paul provides several more zingers, but I’ll stop there. I encourage you to read 2 Corinthians (again) in its entirety. I found it to be just loaded with insight and wisdom concerning this topic and others. Trust your pastor and others whom you consider to be wise counsel, but be like Ronald Reagan: TRUST, BUT VERIFY! And if someone tells you something and it doesn’t sit well with you, there’s probably a very good reason for that. If you are a believer, The Holy Spirit resides in you.

For any who remain unconvinced that this so called “gospel” is a heresy. I want to address a quote from Benny Hinn:

“Physical healing is as easy as being forgiven of your sins.”

(Implying that if you are not healthy and whole, you and/or your family does not have enough faith, and that you are not saved.)

If you believe that, then I invite you to visit me in Houston. I want you to explain to me face to face how my friend Dee (with her husband, children and grandchildren present) didn’t have enough faith to cure her cancer. That cancer and ten years of chemotherapy was God’s punishment because she didn’t have enough faith. Please explain to me that despite the fact that she lived a life of devotion to Christ , rarely complained, came to church and to our small group when she was in tremendous physical pain due to the sores and other ailments she suffered by the poisons being pumped into her body week after week, that it was her fault. Tell me about how her selfless, Christ-like attitude of humility and her servant’s heart was wasted on the countless friends, neighbors, family members, doctors, nurses and strangers that she witnessed to by words and by actions. That in the end, it was a waste of time. Please help me understand how it is possible that in her final days, when she was pumped full of morphine, she was able to speak to me in a moment of absolute clarity in order to encourage me to continue to the work that God has set before me. Convince me that her cancer served only as a curse, and not as a blessing. Please come and explain all of this to me in person. I double-dog dare you.

And while you’re here, you can pop over to see my friend Kris and her mom and sort some things out for them as well. Actually, I have quite a few friends down here that need to be enlightened. Stacey, for example, needs to know why she can’t seem to conceive a child while newborns are being left in dumpsters. From here, you can jet up to Chicago and visit my friend Helen and her mom, then to Findley, Ohio where friends of Jeff and Tamara will tell you that while the massive floods destroyed their homes, the Hogans were spared because they are WAY more righteous than any of them. From there, back down to Georgia. Perhaps you can tag along with my friend Jamie and her husband Ken when they go to the hospital. While they are setting up for their photo session in the neonatal ICU unit, you can explain to the grieving parents that the stillborn child they hold in their arms is a direct result of their lack of faith.
If this post has deeply offended anyone, I pray that it is for the right reasons. I also pray that before you dismiss this post outright as lies and character assassination, you do some research of your own.

*I believe that all scripture is the inerrant word of God, and I mean no disrespect to His Word or to you.

**What strikes me most about Paul’s sarcasm here is that it’s really not his style at all. He goes out of his way to make a point. And while sarcasm comes quite naturally for me, it’s not typically so caustic and mean spirited — I’m also attempting to make a point.
PLEASE NOTE: While I am of the opinion that most of the “healings” that occur on TBN, Daystar, et. al., are mostly a complete sham, I do not dismiss the idea of faith healing outright. God is God. He can do anything. This includes the healing of the sick IN SPITE of these so called faith healers, not because of them. Furthermore, I have had a group of believers lay hands on me in prayer and I have done the same with and for others. But it is God’s power and God’s will that brings about healing, not our own.
Update: I love me some Oswald Chambers! Here’s the devotion for October 31:
DISCERNMENT OF FAITH
“Faith as a grain of mustard seed. . .” Matthew 17:20
We have the idea that God rewards us for our faith, it may be so in the initial stages; but we do not earn anything by faith, faith brings us into right relationship with God and gives God His opportunity. God has frequently to knock the bottom board out of your experience if you are a saint in order to get you into contact with Himself. God wants you to understand that it is a life of faith, not a life of sentimental enjoyment of His blessings. Your earlier life of faith was narrow and intense, settled around a little sun-spot of experience that had as much of sense as of faith in it, full of light and sweetness; then God withdrew His conscious blessings in order to teach you to walk by faith. You are worth far more to Him now than you were in your days of conscious delight and thrilling testimony.
Faith by its very nature must be tried, and the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character has to be cleared in our own minds. Faith in its actual working out has to go through spells of unsyllabled isolation. Never confound the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, much that we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith in the Bible is faith in God against everything that contradicts Him – I will remain true to God’s character whatever He may do. “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” – this is the most sublime utterance of faith in the whole of the Bible.

Seeking justice in an unjust world

I just started reading Oswald Chambers’ “My Utmost for His Highest” daily devotional yesterday. It was originally published in 1935, but a good read stands the test of time.

“I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 1:8) This was the scripture verse for today. It was extremely timely for me. (Isn’t God’s word almost always like that?) I want to share this particular devotion:

God promised Jeremiah that He would deliver him personally…Wherever He sends us, He will guard our lives. Our personal property and possessions are a matter of indifference, we have to sit loosely to all those things; if we do not, there will be heartbreak and panic and distress. That is the overshadowing of personal deliverance.

The Sermon on the Mount indicates that when we are on Jesus Christ’s errands, there is no time to stand up for ourselves. Jesus says, in effect, Do not be bothered with whether you are being justly dealt with or not. To look for justice is a sign of deflection from devotion to Him. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we begin to grouse and to indulge in the self-indulgence of self-pity — Why should I be treated like this? If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we meet, whether it is just or unjust. Jesus says — Go steadily on with what I have told you to do and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance. The most devout among us become atheistic in this connection; we do not believe God, we enthrone common sense and tack the name of God on to it. We do lean on our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts.

I’ve been dealing with feelings of being treated unjustly. No matter how open and forthcoming I’ve attempted to be in this particular circumstance, there are those who want to twist words and misinterpret intentions. After a close friend of mine confided in me about a phone conversation she had with one person in particular, I lost my cool. I began to want to seek my own justice — knowing that it was for God to handle and suspecting that I was being tested. Did I pray about it? — yes. Did I seek wise counsel? — yes. Did I attempt to seek my own justice anyway? –yes!

After reading this passage this morning, I realize that I was out of line. If I am to do His will, I’m going to have to learn to just shut up sometimes and let Him take care of the justice part. It’s a huge pill to swallow, especially the shutting up part! May you seek Him with all of your heart today and every day, and let God take care of things in His own perfect time.

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