Every Reason To Hate God

I just watched a sad movie, A Walk To Remember, about a jerk boy who ends up falling in love with a girl who has cancer.  She's a Christian girl, her Father is a minister, and he, he does a 180 with his life out of his love for her..not to try and win her over but in the midst of his and her love his and her life change drastically.

I'm sure many of you are already somewhat familiar with the movie so I will not focus on the show too much, but the one major part, when she says, "I have every reason to hate God!"  Believe it or not she does.  Many people will never admit it out of pride, but time and time again, more often than not for most of us, we hate God.  Caught you didn't I?

I hate God.  Why shouldn't I?  I have more seizures daily than you can count on your hand.  I'm scarred to death when I have most of them, that I'm going to die somehow, usually by suffocating.  Or I have many drop seizures, the back of my head says I should be dead, it looks that way anyway.
I have been in the ER so many times due to seizures that I know the nurses by first name.  That's not the reason you want to know people on a first name basis.

Now things just keep getting worse.  The seizures, the body fatigue that comes with them, etc.  Heck, now the doctor even ordered me a wheelchair because I've fallen one too many times and they don't want to take their chances.  Come to it, I'd like to live a little longer also.

I guess there just comes a time when you have to face your problem, whatever it might be, and accept it.  Personally I don't like the idea, but it is true that what we think is a problem could be part of G-d's plan for us.  His plan for us is much greater than what we think; so it's greater than cancer, than epilepsy, than MS, or whatever.  The only thing is that as human beings we can't comprehend that.

I might overuse it but I am going to reference Jeremiah 29:11.  G-d says "For I know the plans I have for you, plans of good and not evil, plans to prosper you in every way to give you a future and a hope."

So G-d has no pain for us, only good - good in every way, because without G-d we don't even have a future or anything to even hope for.  Sometimes we just need to embrace His plans and kick our own to the curb.

Listen to these songs tell you. They can probably tell you better than me.

"A HERO CAN BE ANYONE" 

- Dark Knight (Dark Knight Rises)

I was looking, thinking about, and looking again at the dialogue in the three separate movies in the Dark Knight trilogy.

There is nothing Christian about them at all, but they do show some really good analogies, some that could relate even to Christ-like ideology.

The Dark Knight Rises is my favorite of the three.  I think the best analogies, even quotations, come out of that one.  My favorite quote is at the very end, the last thing he says, "A hero can be anyone.."  That alone speaks millions I believe.

When confronted with the topic of heroes, many people immediately think of super-heroes from comic books, like Superman or Batman. These super-heroes are admired for their special abilities that normal people don't have. They help bring justice to the world. Yet in reality, a hero is a person who is admired for his or her achievements and qualities. Spiderman, Superman, and Batman are super-heroes, but it really doesn't matter whether or not a person has superpowers or not. Anyway, the superheroes are just made-up from the creator's imagination. Although it isn't known, everybody in the world has a capability to be a hero. However, not everybody becomes a hero because a person has to make one's own choices on whether or not to do good or evil. Today's true heroes should be historical heroes, personal heroes, or people just helping out in the community doing odd jobs here and there, whatever helps another person can make a hero. The historical heroes are the ones that helped make the world like it is today.

If we were to cross reference this to the Bible, there are many heroes, and as the Dark Knight "dies" and comes alive to save his people, so does Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ) die and resurrect to save us as sinners to make us right before the Father.

That might be bringing Yeshua down but it's an analogy, one made on purpose I think.

There are many people from the past who are important people in the world even today because they influenced the whole society. Almost everyone in the United States, especially African Americans, knows about Martin Luther King Jr. He was an extraordinary man because he made a huge impact on society. He helped African Americans peacefully fight for their rights and be integrated with the rest of the people instead of being segregated. Eventually, the African Americans received their rights thanks to the speeches and all Martin Luther King Junior had contributed in the efforts to be as equal as another person. There was also the women's civil rights act in which the women protested so they could be able to vote. The women also received their rights. That is one type of hero: one that helps make a historical impact on society.

Now this is not at all saying Christ is "just a super-hero," have to want to make that clear before I loose readers.  See, not by any means am I saying the Dark Knight and Yeshua are recalling the same measurement, I just want to point out analogies, and the Dark Knight trilogy has very good ones yet.

 

Chris Tomlin - How great is our God lyrics

Flock of Sheep
The Bible says in Isaiah 53:6, All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

There are times we forget the implications of the first verse in Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd."

The Lord is our  Shepherd, the Bible says so, that must mean we are like sheep. The prophet Isaiah certainly knew what he was saying. His description wasn’t selective, he knew what he was implicating. Not, some of us like sheep, but all of us “like sheep have gone astray; we have turned - every one - to his own way.”

Isaiah’s description brings up a great question, "How are we like sheep?" To be honest, the comparison is not a pretty picture. We can’t say a lot of flattering things about sheep. But the Lord calls Himself our Shepherd because we really are like sheep, that's the way he created us.
One very great aspect we must realize is that humanity is very prone to follow. Put a flock of sheep in the middle of a lush, green pasture, turn your back on them for five minutes, and they're poking their noses under the fence. Human beings have a herding instinct too, but we call them clubs or clicks. We wear what our friends are wearing, talk like everyone around us is talking, and go where everyone is going - try to fit in. And we are so trusting, particularly when it comes to bad advice. Sheep are like that - going astray while following others who are wandering.

The other thing is we’re like sheep because we’re really vulnerable. I remember going to Free Spirit Riders to volunteer when I was in my twenties and noticing how most of the horses got along pretty well without human supervision.

Sheep cannot. They get a shepherd - because they need one. Like sheep, we are unstable, weak, and require constant care and protection.


Of course, we are stubborn also. We want to do things our way or no way. If I have learned anything from sharing God’s Word, it’s that people are stubborn! You can tell them the same truth over and over, but they often require a harsh reality check before they realize how far they have wandered. We're stubborn. We are like sheep.

The Prophet Isaiah put together the common factors between us and sheep. “All we like sheep have gone astray.”

In the absence of a shepherd, we’re lost. We truly have gone astray, always thinking we're right or we have maybe a shortcut to the truth.

But that little phrase defines how many of us live much of our lives not being where we should be or doing what we were designed to do. G-d wants us living in ways that are best for us, but we wander off on tangents and end up far from the great life He prepared for us.. We miss the path and stray from His guidance.

Because we are like sheep, it’s such great news that we have a Shepherd, a holy shepherd. Yeshua gave His life for us, saving us from being eternally lost because of our sin.

As Isaiah put it, "The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Having taken our sins, Yeshua is willing to lead us every day. We must be his "sheep" and let all else follow instead of us following it.

His Amazing Grace

A famous song, written a long time ago we all know, Amazing Grace.  Well I was listening to Chris Tomlin sing it a while ago on youtube, the first verse, the second verse, and also the interlude which is probably my favorite part, where it says, "My chains are gone, I've been set free.."  That's the real grace Yeshua showed for us, and like it says, "Un-ending love, amazing grace."

Wikipedia defines grace as,  "the love and mercy given to us by G-d because G-d desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it."  Whoever entered that had it right on, we have done absolutely nothing whatsoever to earn ANY grace!

The most perfect expression of G-d's grace is demonstrated in the giving of His own Son, Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ) to die as our substitute.
 
Grace overlooks all our sin. It is bestowed freely to everybody not expecting any favor in return.
 
Grace is an act of pure love on the part of G-d and really focusses on the helpless spiritual poverty of man, and the freely given love of G-d. It is always unearned, undeserved, and opposed to works as a means of salvation. Grace is absolutely the freeness of the love of G-d to sinful men.
 
G-d's free grace is always set against the backdrop of the total depravity of sinful man. We were "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). We were under the dominion of "the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2). "Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest" (Eph. 2:3).

Only in the light of the Scriptures can we properly understand and experience the grace of G-d personally.

Dare You To Move

As listening to various songs on youtube I decided to listen to some Switchfoot.  I listened to a couple songs of theirs, but one particular stuck out to me, Dare You To Move.  It's actually a song the lead singer wrote about his new born son to get off the floor and start crawling, but the message about getting up out of a comfort zone, even taking "baby-steps," is the same for everybody no matter how old you are, and that got me thinking.

The majority of us like to live within our comfort zone, because we feel safe and secure.  However, if we are going to fulfill the purpose that G-d has for us, we are going to have to take that first step out of the boat like Peter did when Yeshua called him out onto the water.  

When we look at the circumstances around us it almost seems impossible but just like a baby, the first step is all it takes to motivate us.  Most of the time we sit inside our safe spot, we try to  think of all these reasons why we could not possibly step outside but really there is none.

It all starts when you take the first step or leap of faith out of your comfort zone.  The road will not be easy, but G-d has promised to walk with us, even when we fall, every step of the way.  Do not be satisfied with sitting and watching life just pass you by.  You need to get up, take that step out, and get going on your own walk.  G-d has plans for you, don't just sit there and let them go by.

 Shepherd Boy

I was just listening to a song by Ray Boltz, Shepherd Boy, and although I think I posted about it before, I felt I should post about it again, beside that, the message the song delivers is one you cannot get enough of.


Before I get stated remember that G-d's vision superceeds everything or anyone in this world.

Just exactly how does G-d see us, what does He see when He looks at us? G-d sees the real us, not the shepherd boy, the inside of us, what we think, etc,etc, what matters.

 

The Bible says, But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

In all that we do and think is not it a blessing to know G-d does not see us as "just" anything.  He sees our heart, what we are and can be, G-d sees "the king."

 

How about our hearts? Since G-d looks into our hearts, He sees our essence, what is completely true and real - not what others see.  G-d sees everything.  The Bible says,   O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.  (Psalm 139:1-3)  When we know Christ this is a very well thing to take hold of and not forget.

Regardless of the things we have done in the past, G-d sees us as righteous before Him. Because of the blood of Christ shed for us at Calvary, we have forgiveness of sin. So also through the obedience of Yeshua  we are made as kings to G-d. Our sins are gone, washed away by the blood of Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ), the lamb of G-d!

So we might feel like a shepherd boy, others might see us as a shepherd boy but G-d looks in us and sees a king.  Nobody in this world can change that.