Suffering? That's not love, it can't be!

Life is HELL. (o my goodness, I cannot believe a follower of Christ just said that word!) I apologize for the harshness of this simple phrase. If you are offended by this or call it a sin, then please find a Christian (if you know me, you will notice the pun here, for I do not believe in Christianity or the title Christian, but only a disciple and reconciled man) who sugar-coats reality and read his blogs.

I have yet to meet a person on this planet who has seen no troubles and felt no pain. Suffering is everywhere in everyone. The world is full of death and destruction:



Terror Attacks of 9/11



The Holocaust and Hitler



Mao and the Chinese Communist Empire



The Genocides in Sudan



Fire's and Hurricanes wrecking our homes



Family members dying



Alcohol abuse, drug abuse, physical abuse,



Broken Hearts, Physical injuries...



The List is endless



Where is God?



Why is he causing me to suffer?



Back it up... Who is the prince of this world? Who owns everything material and may use it as he pleases?

We are living in enemy-occupied territory! Earth is not our dominion anymore. Its the Prince of Darkness's Kingdom correct? Genesis? Absolutely! So don't forget, The earth in controlled by pure evil. Who said life would be easy with Christ? (Joel Osteen? Stop twisting Scripture) Throw that garbage away and realize that its going to be a whole lot harder. God protect me, for I am walking in the heart of the enemy's base! Every day we are going to be batted down by him. The Psalmist in chapter 23 felt this reality. Walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, there is much evil to fear. The path is narrow. The Gate is narrow. But there is a staff and rod steering us if we recognize the shepherd behind it.

So now about this idealogy of a Prosperity Gospel... The concept that if you are going through hardships, if Life if HELL right now, you can just pray to God, and you will succeed. You will find financial relief, or emotional relief. (again Joel Osteen? what Bible do you read?)

I believe John Piper hits the nail on the head:

The Prosperity Gospel is CRAP. Where in the the Scriptures is this found!? Do you think that people around the world, in africa and asia and south america see God glorified because you own a big house or drive a BMW?


NO!

Do you know when God is most glorified? When you are driving down the highway at 65 mph. and a drunk drive comes across the medium and slams into your car and your little 12 year old girl goes flying out the the front window and lands on the street dead!

AND you say

Through the DEEPEST possible pain.

"God is enough. God is enough. He is Good and all satisfying. My life, my baby girl may fail me. But God is glorified and is enough for me."

(John Pipers message)


Thats the Gospel. Thats faith
Life will never be easy, because life belongs to him who sits on the throne of lies and deceit.
But remember God is good through it all. And each day is a battle for the King. The ending to the war has already been decided. Victory is with US!

Footsteps in the Sand

Footsteps In The Sand

One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.

For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand:

one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him

he looked back, at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life

there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of his life.
This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it:

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you,

you'd walk with me all the way.

But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life

there is only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:"My son, My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you,

During your times of trial and suffering,

when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
Author unknown

This poem is very well known. The first time I read it, it struck me. Its quite powerful! However, I was thinking about it for awhile and I believe there is something left out of this story. The man missed a crucial part of the dream that the LORD never revealed. I closed my eyes and put myself in this man's dream. Think about it, Look at those footsteps again. When I picture this whole scene, I notice that these footsteps are burried DEEP into the sand by the weight and burden my God has to carry. Deep holes that Jesus has to struggle to pull his feet out and on to the next step. I really thought about all the trouble I force on my God. The storms that I create for myself and the hardships and weight my God has to carry me through. Look at the day Jesus died! My King, I cannot imagine the weight you had to carry for me that day! And look at the man's response once the trials were over, He completely overlooked the work the LORD faced through that time. Instead, he was mad at God! How often am I blinded by my own ignorance to the trouble I cause on my God? I feel terrible for the saddness I give my King by ignoring his work. Its so easy to have faith when Christ is beside you and in sight. But how about when you take your eyes off of him and look at the storm? Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off your goal. Isn't that true? Believing in God is a cinch when you are looking straight at him. Believing in him when he is behind the scenes fighting for your life is a different story. This gives a whole new meaning to Jesus's words: "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29 b) I believe that Jesus is not only talking about our first moment realizing his Diety, but every moment we cannot see Jesus carrying us through our trials. Blessed are you who lighten the load for Jesus my believing in his presence and trusting his strength!

I Will Never Know How Much It Cost

To see my sin upon that cross. What a moment in eternity! Wow... what was it like in paradise that day? Was it dead silent? The death of a great king, the realization that the creation wanted their creator dead, true love crushed for the world to see. How could our God possibly love us when we hate him? My heart is torn every time I think about the pain I cause my God through my transgressions and hypocrisy. He put so much love and power into creating us. We were the masterpiece that he took the most pride in creating. We were his children. And like a parent whose heart is broken when their child goes astray, I cannot imagine the pain our King suffered when his children turned their backs on Him. I just cannot understand myself. How can I proclaim to be so in love with my King, and then deliberately fail him the next second. I hate this "mortal coil" that we are trapped in. This flesh has such a terrible grasp on us. It completely blows my mind when I think about all the things our King has been forced through and yet he still believes in us. I guess that is why I cannot get enough of his Word, it reminds me that God never gave up hope. He's been trying to restore us since the very moment we fell. Its such a great idea to ponder... God's Love for Us. He has not left us (I know that's a cliche). Think about it though, for some 6000 years, we have spent more time as a traitor to God than a disciple. I can almost bet that our transgressions outweigh our good deeds. Christ even says that our good deeds are like filthy rags. However, over all these years, God has not stopped fighting to win us back. Wow... how can anyone not fall in love with a God who cares so much about them??? Anyways, this whole concept is something that I think about everyday. I simply cannot comprehend how powerful that moment was when Christ lost his Life to his Creation. God has indubitable faith in us. Its too bad we have such a hard time to do the same for him.