Stinking to High Heaven

I wanted to write a disgusting article today--so disgusting that you would see life in a different light.  Therefore, brace yourself and come with me on a journey that can take you to where only a few brave and unwavering people choose to go.

I keep my dogs on a leash.  They are well fed and shampooed. But the slightest chance they get to run away from home they head down to the bay side and scavenge for the smelliest fish guts washed up between the rocks.  The next round is to roll in the neighbour’s fowl manure.  With the taste of freedom, they roam the neighbourhood searching for their street pals, picking up a few ticks and fleas in the process.

I love my dogs but they cannot come home and lick me with their tongues that only moments ago were lapping up the remainder of rotting fish guts on the bayside.  Nor will I open my arms wide and swoop them up in a loving embrace, with all that greenish foul-smelling stuff on their backs.  No Poochi-poochi or Puppy-puppy! 

Imagine--soft, smelly dog poop, heavily soiled feminine napkins, rotten maggot-filled rubbish, a bloated dead dog swarming with blue flies, cat vomit…

To us humans, these are nauseating and repulsive.  Naturally, you would not want them inside your house.  How about going to visit someone else’s house and dragging this filth along with you to your host’s home?  You wouldn’t.  But it is possible for human beings to get so accustomed to living or working among filth or obnoxious smells, that it doesn’t even bother them anymore. 

 

Sin, spiritually, is like that.  Detestable! God cannot and will not get accustomed to sin.  As in the natural, there are some things that are more disgusting than others (for which you can simply look away or walk away, while others might bring your stomach to your mouth), in the spiritual I believe that some things are equally abominable to confront than others.

God is holy.  His house is immaculately clean, and if we want to visit his house or want him to visit ours we must allow him to clean us up.  That is the purpose of Jesus’ blood.  It is the bleach or the cleaning agent that takes away our sins.  How dare we think that we can go traipsing into heaven covered in filth, stinking to high heaven and demanding that God let us in?

Imagine your house rule is, 

“Everyone Please Check In At the Fountain.  Leave all shoes, clothes and other belongings with the door attendant. Bathe and change into the fresh new garments provided.  Then come in”. 

What would you do to anyone caught illegally trying to enter your white-carpeted house, dripping with sweat mingled with mud and bits of leaves? On their feet smeared with black sticky tar are shoes that are already yawning their tired goodbyes to the good old days, while the smell of “cat piss” and decaying onions give warning of an accident on the way to a comfort station. Would you give him a great big hug and offer him a seat on your spotless sofa?

Our sin, however small, is detestable, and God does not want a trace of it whether he travels to earth or lives in the heavens.  His provision for cleaning up is His Son.  You’ve got to pass through his Son.  I repeat:  you’ve got to pass through His Son.  That’s the entry requirement.  It doesn’t matter who else tells you, “You are not too dirty.  Come enter through my door.  You don’t have to go through all that hassle to clean up.” 

Everyone has to check in at the fountain, and that includes you.

Go through any other door that promises safe passage, and I am certain you would not be happy with where you end up.  Many would take the easier way in but which really is the way leading out, far away from where they thought they were heading.  What a laugh the misleading door keepers are having as they try to keep a straight face, diverting the seemingly intelligent and sophisticated through what God’s Son calls the “wide gate and broad way”.   Wow! Lovely street names—Widegate and Broadway.  But it leads to destruction and many go through it.  Matthew 7: 13-14

The ignorant, gullible, unsophisticated, by worldly standards, choose to enter on “Straightgate and Narrow-way.  God’s very own son, when he was down here in human form, left the instructions for getting on the way to Life.  He gave clear directions on how to get to the grand reconciliation with God after our severed relationship with him.  Once we get there we are welcome to live in a harmonious relationship with the Creator and creation, forever.

Now if that isn’t the way to go, I put a reader's discretion warning here:  GTH.  You figure it out.

When God Puts His Foot Down In China

You are more likely to hear Made In China than God In China.

On the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church I had the pleasure of reading this bit of good news from China.  I think you will find it encouraging and you will be spurred on to pray as never before:

http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=NDM2&featuredstory_ID=Mjkx&clickfrom=ZmVhdHVyZWRzdG9yaWVz


A great hallelujah to our God.

When "Bless Me And My Family" Are Not Enough

Today, November 13, 2011, International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, I am moved to tears.

How much we take for granted our freedom!  How many of us who are proud to say that we are Christians wake up on mornings without even saying, "Good morning God"?  It is more important to wash our faces or comb our hair or listen to the radio than to seek out, first thing in the morning, the God who gives us the breath of life that enables us to step out of bed and reach for the articles we think we cannot do without.  How insulting to God.

I asked my community kids this morning how many of them would ever leave home for school without brushing their teeth, and all of them vehemently denied that they would ever do such a thing.   I asked for a show of hands of those who had thanked God for the new day this morning and I couldn't find one.

Again, I say we take things for granted until we realize what it means for fellow believers in "closed" countries to identify with the name, Jesus Christ.

Please watch these short videos and get it in your head that prayer is much more than "God bless me and my family".  There are others counting on your prayers and my prayers for making it through each day and night. May their stories change the way you pray for ever.


http://www.onewiththem.com/


God bless the persecuted church.

Beyond the Sounds of Music

There is no running away from music.  I just closed my eyes and tried to imagine what it would be like without music in this world.  But I discovered that music exists all around. 

One of my dogs was barking at one pitch, then another across the village joined in.  Another of my dogs joined the chorus and soon all the others in the neighbourhood yapped in. At the same time a truck passed by and tooted his horn.  And another responded.  The two engines hummed at different levels and another zoomed past with the roar of a motorbike on its trail.  Someone was using an electric plane making an "Ooo-wah-ooo-wah" sound. A curtain flapping in the breeze that fingered its way through the swaying leaves of the coconut trees, could have easily been the sound of a sheep-skin drum.  In these parts roosters crow at will. I could not decipher whether that one was singing "I'm Not Sleeping" or "Are You Sleeping Brother John". The noisy refrigerator kept up a fast Rap in an unknown tongue.

When put together what I heard was a composition for an album that could be called "The Music of the Village".

Music affects the body, mind and spirit--for better or worse.  Notice how soothing or irritating it can be.  Your fingers, you feet, your head, your hips respond to it.  And when the right song is played, observe how it puts you in an atmosphere of adoration and worship for your Creator.

As a music lover I have bookmarked pages to my favourite music, and wanted to share with you, like I would my sugar-coned ice cream, the different flavours to be found online.  So please enjoy.

Note: [Nicer if you play in full screen]

This one is for young people:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM6PdBgyog4&NR=1


This next song sings about the extent of God's love for us and how much he is jealous for  our affection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_449103&feature=iv&v=OCBpSINhu6Q&src_vid=geHF1zbA25U


I love the next one because it is the true picture of the love between a father and child, and love how it brings out the tender and playful side of the Creator.  It's called "Peek A Boo Daddy".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMw-ntHYpG4



Francesca Battistelli makes you want to get up and dance.

Jewish worship music is absolutely wonderful always seems to be combined with dancing. See Barry and Batya Segal's "In The Latter Days".  So beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXZHNKq5wPE&feature=BFa&list=PL4F66B739D4982F7A&lf=results_main


 This is another of their well-choreographed dances to In the Latter Days.

And after this, here is a power-packed Jamaican song, good to exercise to and lose some physical and spiritual fat.  This is DJ Nicholas.

Wouldn't it be a good idea to purchase some of these as end-of-year presents for your friends and family?  Sometimes it is so difficult to decide on what to give. So maybe you can play them some samples from the above artists if you liked them, then start purchasing while it's still early.


And now forgive me if I throw in the last song: "Forgiven" by TrueVibe:

Because It Changes

Our last blog entry was on August 11, 2011.  It was a link to the Word For Today--short daily bite-sized messages that help to feed your mind, which then enable you to live sensibly.

That specific message was appropriate for the moment, since before I had read it there were some high profile scandals that shook the body of Christ. Because the embedded link was not static, readers clicking on it after that date would see the current date's message and not the intended one.  That's okay, because every Word for Today message has relevance.

However, since these message may be shared freely, I have taken the liberty to paste the direct text of the article of August 11, 2011.

The Stink or the Storm

 11 Aug 2011

 'Let my prayer be... as incense...' Psalm 141:2 Noah's ark is a picture of your church. It wasn't a luxury liner; can you imagine spending a year in that ark with all those animals, and just one window? But Noah had only two options - the stink or the storm. So what's the relevance here? That there are no perfect churches! Furthermore, if you found one and joined it, you'd ruin it! We all love to talk about the power of the New Testament church, but what about its problems? They had hypocrites. Remember Ananias and Sapphira? They had financial scandals (Acts 5). They had doctrinal differences that almost split the church down the middle (Acts 15). And they had moral problems. They actually had a man belonging to the Corinthian church who was sleeping with his stepmother (1 Corinthians 5). So what should you do when there's a big stink in your church? First, don't spread it. 'And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins' (1 Peter 4:8 NKJV). Second, work for reconciliation. '...If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself...' (Galatians 6:1 TM). Third, burn incense. When the lamps in the tabernacle were snuffed out each evening they left a bad smell, so God commanded Moses to burn incense. Don't be discouraged when 'flesh acts like flesh'. And don't be part of the problem by being immature; instead, be part of the solution. The Psalmist said, 'Let my prayer be set before You as incense.' When problems arise in your church, you should pray, walk according to God's Word, and believe Him to bring good out of the situation.

The Word For Today is written by Bob and Debby Gass, with Ruth Gass Halliday and can be found on the UCB website.

Please visit:   http://ucb.co.uk/

There you will find the best in free online TV and radio broadcasting.  A truly satisfying experience.

http://www.ucb.co.uk/word_for_today

http://www.ucb.co.uk/word_for_today

Extra Mile

I can understand why some people turned away from following Jesus, even though they were frequently in his company and witnessed or even experienced his miracles.

Some of the things he said simply did not make sense; for example, a man hits you on one side of your face, turn and offer the other side too.  Huh?  Sounds ridiculous.  But many of us have unconsiously practised this principle in our childhood days. Take, for instance, you and your siblings or friends had been given a treat to share among yourselves.  After you had been given the smallest share someone from the group decided to pinch some of yours.  Of course you were hurt.  You immediately lost the taste for whatever it was and said, "Here, take all.  I don't want it!"  And, surprise, surprise, instead of refusing it, the greedy person gladly grabbed the rest.

I was discussing the topic of ingratitude with a dear friend of mine.  He said that he would help people who were constantly ungrateful no matter how many times he helped them, but he would not go out of his way to help.  When you listened to the kinds of examples that helped to shape his reasoning it is easy to agree with him.  But if you are alert to the teaching of the Christian Spirit Guide, the Holy Spirit, you would remember Jesus' instruction to go the extra mile.

Jesus compares a person who hears his sayings and does them to a wise man who builds on a rock (solid foundation), while one who hears and does not follow them to a foolish man who builds on sand (loose and unstable footing).  The test comes when the storms batter the structure.  Matthew 7:24-27.

I gave the matter a lot of thought.  I have seen ingratitude in its extreme.  And humanly speaking it seems like the better option to refuse these persons when they show up with their troubles and petitions, as they inevitably will.  But I have examined the wisdom of Jesus and in an "aha!" moment I realized why he gave these instructions in Matthew 5: 38-39.

Some people are naturally ungrateful.  That's how they were raised.  It's a family trait.  But there are others who take ingratitude to an extreme level because they want to take advantage of a person's Christianity and laugh about it.

Verses 45-48 are the keys to the wisdom of the matter (Matthew 5:45-48)--children like their father.  The Heavenly Father is gracious even when we don't deserve it.  Even when we take him for granted he bestows on us his mercies.  He not only gave us forgiveness of our sins, but he went the extra mile of providing healing for our sicknesses, emotions, guilt and oppression.  He could have simply provided forgiveness only in Christ's sacrifice but he went the extra mile, throwing in healing, otherwise we could have been walking around like itchy street dogs, forgiven of our sins but weighed down by the consequences of those sins.

So although it is difficult, and makes you look like a moron, ask the Holy Spirit to help you (which, by the way, is an extra benefit of Christ's sacrifice) to extend grace to the person who doesn't deserve it.  That way, you will be like your Father, who is in heaven.  Luke 6: 27-31.

Lookup a word or passage in the Bible
Include this form on your page