God continues to amaze us. His love transcends all time and space to reach us and to draw us toward His perfect will for our lives. He leads us towards healing. He urges us toward reconciliation. He warms us toward peace and understanding. He reveals truth and shoulders our sin. He seeks our best and knows exactly what's right for us.
He's totally dependable. He will never let you down. He is love. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. Bring it all to God. he is amazing.
Isaiah 61:3 (MSG)
3 To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes, Messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit. Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness" planted by God to display his glory.
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16 comments:
God will never let you down, you say. There's some fine print to consider, though, isn't there? You might have to wait until the next life before seeing those promises fulfilled. Doesn't apply, of course, to dead babies, the intellectually deficient, and the criminally insane who go to Hell because they didn't or couldn't "accept Christ".
Dead babies tortured in Hell forever - but God will still love them; He's totally dependable that way.
Amazing.
I love the love of God, I often say to Anna, "every morning is like walking down the walkway of a flying saucer on Mars for the first time".Is that the same problem God has with us...? With all the good will in the world,I really cannot understand what the locals are saying or thinking but I know,that they share the same needs and potentials. We really do see through a glass darkly, we are like tiny tots trying to make sense of Alphabet blocks whilst we believe our own propaganda that we are Tolstoy. I recall many years ago a dear Christian "Salvo" saying about rising above Subjective opinions of me, I asked my lecturer at Uni what on earth "subjective opinion meant in this context" the answer alerted me to the fact that I must be like "Christian' in Pilgrims Progress,objective and not subjective,I cannot enter the mind of the creator but like King David ,I know the creator knows my heart.
With respect I have very little trust or faith in the words of Christian leaders or Christians in general, ambition and subjective opinions of the faith turn the cross into a novelty act,that"s why its great that the Lord loves us, because generally the Church only loves...if....
How do you define "totally dependable" and how do you determine that "He will never let you down"? People go through all manner of circumstances in life - some great, some horrific, many somewhere in between. Are you happy to just accept that no matter what happens, God is in control and is doing what is best for us? To the child being regularly molested, who cries out to God for it to stop, yet it goes on - is God letting them down or not? Is God teaching that child a lesson? Can God act on this but chooses not to? If not, why not? Is He an interventionist or not?
Lots of questions, but ones that Christians don't want to think about. For me, having people proclaim cliche' comments about the dependability and love of God really don't cut it.
Hi Jack and David
I was molested as a child, I don't blame God or anyone else. Yes people in the church should have seen it happening as it was a bandmaster. I have now forgiven the person, and hold no grduges or bitterness towards anyone. It was something that happened that God helped me through. Christians are willing to talk about these questions, so please don't make generalisations. It's like saying going to maccas makes you a hamburger. I know that God loves, cares and protects me as he has all the way through my life. It comes down to are you prepared to trust him with weven your deepest darkest thoughts and hard questions?
Anonymous.
Anon, I am truly sorry that you went through that as a child. I am just trying to make sense of things like "God loves you" and "God answers prayer", which roll off the tongue of nearly every Christian without any thought given as to whether those things have any real truth to them. What proof is there that God loves anyone? Because the bible says so? Is that it? The circumstances of billions of people's lives would seem to indicate at best an indifference to them by God.
If God can and does answer prayer, why would he say no to a child being abused, or to the family of a child dying of cancer, yet say yes to others for comparably trivial things? A God who says no to these things and yes to the trivial is evil. I can see 4 main options regarding God and prayer - 1. He hears them and chooses what to answer negatively or positively - this is the evil God. 2. He hears, but for whatever reason he does not act upon those prayers at any time - He has chosen to remove Himself from the world and leave it to us to effectively be His 'hands and feet'. 3. He doesn't hear - He is a remote creator who has no connection with us. 4. He doesn't exist.
David - Your honesty before God is good. Your mockery is not appreciated by me. Trusting God is hard for you. This doesn't change His love for you.
Beijing - Thank you for your thoughtful comment.
Jack - Your logic leaves out the reality that God knows best. Try trusting Him and find out. By the way, don't presume to know everything about all christians based upon your experience. Listen again to Anon. who sees life very differently from you.
Thank you Anon. for sharing such depth of insight.
Like it or not, friends, God has never let me down. He loves me and I am grateful.
You might want to examine your representation of God, before accusing me of mockery, Jim.
"God knows best" - so for the molested child crying out to God for help and not getting it, for the parents crying out for their child to be healed yet the child dies, that is the answer you give to their "why"? Do you really believe that is what is best? You would look that parent in the eye and tell them that?
You say God has never let you down - either you have led a very fortunate life, or your belief system dictates that no matter what circumstances come upon your life, it will never be God that lets you down. This then renders the idea of being 'let down' as meaningless.
Jim, I attend one of your Corps, as I have done for many years, but over the past couple of years I have really been examining what I am 'supposed' to believe, what I do believe, and whether Christianity is in fact true. The more I examine, the further I move away from traditional, mainstream Christianity (which Salvationism largely follows). The rise of fundamentalism in this territory is one of the main things driving me from the church - if those that represent fundamentalism within the Army are what Christians should be, then I want nothing to do with Christianity. I am trying to work out how to remain a part of my Christian community, despite my doubts and questions. I don't want to hear people glossing over or ignoring the tough questions, blindly repeating mantras that have no real meaning.
I think Jim is trying to adopt the people skills of the liberals whilst retaining the theology of the fundamentalists.
Having been acquainted with Jim for many years, I can testify that he has been through some horrific experiences personally. Through it all, he has retained his faith. I respect that, even though I no longer share his beliefs.
What I like about what I read is that everyone here is looking for God to be real and to be understood in real terms. I don't doubt that christians can be distracting. There are plenty who are just right. Please, friends, look to Jesus. Read His word. A wise philosopher once commented that you'll come to one of three conclusions about Jesus. He's a liar, a lunatic or He's the Lord of all. You know I conclude that He is the Lord. He's everything the Scriptures say. That's where you'll meet the Jesus I know. I wish you well.
The way I look at blogs, is that they are the views of the blogger, and although you don't need to agree with them, you should respect the viewpoint of the blogger, and any replies should not be made in such a way to offend the blogger. And if you can't do this then don't post.
Yes anon above, i agree with you.
I consider it a privledge to visit TCspeak everyday and read about goings on & such in the territory & also interesting thoughtful insights into faith, beleifs etc.
Would many of the commenters here find the openness displayed here from any other denomination? From my long experience with many other denominations, i can firmly say "no". Better to say something out in the open where it can be discussed than behind closed doors,where no one can discuss anything.
If people want respect shown to their comments on a blog (any blog) respect needs to be paid to the blogger.
Thanks for reaching out of the box you live in James, and being as open as you are able & being a great model in many ways for many people. Makes a difference in my part of the world anyway!
reader in tas
I'm grateful.
The way I look at blogs, is that they are the views of the blogger, and although you don't need to agree with them, you should respect the viewpoint of the blogger, and any replies should not be made in such a way to offend the blogger. And if you can't do this then don't post. ---
That seems to be true of this blog, as it is for many other Christian blogs. There are, however, some bloggers who welcome challenge and debate. I understand why a territorial commander would want to limit such interaction at his blog. Jim allows some challenges, but he moderates when he believes it is appropriate. It appears that his mission on this blog is to bolster the faith of the faithful rather than to challenge them to think deeply about the foundations of their faith.
BTW, anon, many non-Christian bloggers wish that your fellow-believers would heed your words and refrain from proselytizing at their (our) blogs. Have you ever seen the insulting trash that Christians write at atheist blogs? I suspect you'd be surprised, disappointed and embarrassed at the way those believers represent Jesus.
I can understand that there is a need to remove any posts that Jim finds offensive, its his blog and he determines what is acceptable.
I personally am fairly broad minded, can put up with a certain amount of offense, but when it gets to the point of people making offensive statements about God or Jesus then I don't put up with that. They can say what they like about myself though !
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