God hates the sin, but loves the sinner

God hates the sin, but loves the sinner. Human beings, it seems, hate the sin and the sinner. Christian or not, we do not follow the principles laid down by Jesus. I've seen it, and horrible as it is, I am sure I have been guilty of this. If we say we are not guilty, that we are sinless, then we are definitely not being honest or sincere. We're lying ... to ourselves and to God.

Psalm 140: 4-5 says: "Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from violent men, Who have purposed to make my steps stumble. The proud have hidden a snare for me, and cords; They have spread a net by the wayside; They have set traps for me."

Sometimes the wicked, the violent, the stumbler-makers, the net holders, the trappers are within the church. God sees all. We should not become so legalistic and proud that we miss what God is saying to us.

A vapor

James 4:14 - "whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."

A friend died suddenly this morning. I know, I know. All death is sudden. Perhaps a better word would be unexpectedly. I don't know. She was bleeding internally. The doctors couldn't help her. It caught me off-guard as it did a few others. My husband, as he was going off to work, said "we are but a vapor."

We are here and we are sad and remorseful. But Judy is in heaven with Jesus. She had accepted the Lord as her saviour and she is now with Him. Even amidst the sadness there is joy! For we know where she is and we know we will see her again and many of our loved ones who have gone on before her.

Every day, every hour, every minute could be too late for you. Don't shrug it off. Don't say another time. Do it now. Seek out the Lord, accept His promises for yourself. Believe in Jesus and be His child. Be saved now!

Saving links: http://windowtochristianministriesiniowa.com/ReflectionsOnJesus.html
http://www.thekristo.com/

Games

I like to play online games, particularly Hardwood spades. Occasionally I meet really interesting people. Today I met Jordan. She goes by the name BohemianJ and lives in North Carolina. I go by the name JOYously. She commented she liked my Web site and when I perused hers, decided likewise. Many of the people who I meet online are obnoxious and out to get whatever they can with little care for others. Thank goodness for those others who make a difference.

God knows me

Psalm 139: 1-3 says: "O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are aquainted with all my ways."

God knows me. All of me. My every thought, my dreams, my desires, my hangups, my failings. He is there beside me all along the way I travel. If I fall away from Him, He is still there. It is only me or you who has moved. God remains. God is ever faithful. We often are not. Doing our own thing in our own time. Not always smart. Not always wise.

It is only through God, through His son Jesus Christ, that we gain wisdom and knowledge.

Blessings

It is interesting ... we are studying Job in Sunday School and Thursday is Thanksgiving. They sort of go hand in hand. Its about blessings ... its about honoring God in the midst of suffering and pain and loss ... its about doing the Lord's will for you.

Here's something more to think about ...

If God would grant you one blessing on earth that you desired, what would it be and why?

The thought that came to me had nothing to do with me.

Searching

We're always searching ... for food ... for drink ... for friends ... for a career ... a job ... for love ... happiness ... for knowledge ... for wisdom ... for GOD.
Psalm 136 was what I read today: "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever." The Lord is forever. Always present. We however are not always present with Him. We may be off searching for some unknown that we think will bring us fulfillment.
Fulfillment ... just what is that?! I'm not sure I have found it. But I think as long as I remain in God's word, and listen to His still small voice, fulfillment will be found. Not just listen though. Obey. Listen and obey. Hear, take it to heart. Be all the Lord has for you. Not less.

On the bandwagon

Results of a student survey by the Iowa Pride Network show "violence and harassment continues to be the rule, not the exception."

While I believe that statement bears a lot of truth, it is not true just for one targeted group -- gays/lesbians.

Christians in India, in Africa, in Russia, in Indonesia, and yes, in the United States, all across the world, are being bullied, harrassed, i.e., persecuted for their beliefs, for their witness of Jesus Christ.

A safe learning environment ... yes that would be ideal. For just one group? No! For all? You bet! In the United States, in Iowa, you would think it would be possible.

If there is going to be an anti-bullying law in the schools, then it needs to be for all students. No one group should be more protected than another.

We should learn to show respect for all peoples ... respect, love the person ... but not the action, not the lifestyle. Walk as Jesus walked.

Music, film, and ...

I love music. Thursday night my husband and I went to a jazz band concert to hear my nephew Jonathan perform. He plays the alto saxophone and the piano. He is almost 14 years old; has been playing piano since age 5 and this is his second year on the sax. He loves music and particularly jazz.
I like theater (movies/film inclusive) too and sometimes on televison I'll watch the International Film Festival. There are film festivals in Iowa (Tipton and Iowa City), but somehow I don't seem to get to them. Friday night our church (Immanuel Baptist) was hosting its first movie night ... and it was the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. We saw 6 films, varying in length from 8 minutes to 55 minutes. They were excellent, some silly or ridiculous, but mostly great and a lesson to be learned in each. One of them, Bluestate - Tolerance for All, was a semi-finalist and featured music by church member and pianist Matt W., who is a homeschooled senior. If you haven't yet seen Bluestate, I urge you to check out the Web site, buy the DVD and show it in your home churches. We hear much lately about Christian prosecution everywhere. This movie shows how it could be here in the United States.

Persecution

Psalm 129, verse 2 says "Many a time they have afflicted (persecuted) me from my youth; Yet they have not prevailed against me."

We all have periods when we think we are being persecuted, Christian and non-Christian alike. But as Christians, IF we continue to abide in and with the Lord, praising and worshipping Him, those who strike against us will not prevail. It will wash off like rain drops, because the Lord is with thee. This reminds me of Job (who I am currently studying in Sunday School) and his "friends." It also brings to mind all those missionaries in foreign lands who are boldly reaching out to the lost in Jesus' name; those who are persecuted because of their beliefs, who face death daily. We Christians who live in America think we have it tough, but I think those many others have it far tougher. There is much we could learn from them.

Comfort

In our Sunday School lesson on Job, the question is asked, "How would you want people to respond to you when you experience suffering?" -- (a) explain it to me (b) pray for me (c) comfort me (d) try to understand my circumstances (e) other

Job's friends came to give him comfort in the midst of his misery ... but NOT! They scrutinized him instead, they determined Job had sinned against God, why else would all these bad things have befallen him. Friend No. 1 Eliphaz says in Job 5:27 "Behold, this we have searched out; It is true. Hear it, and know for yourself."

But Job was righteous. God said so. God doesn't lie. He is all about Truth.

We have no right to sit in judgement of another. To come to another to give aid, comfort in times of distress is all fine and good, but to contemplate and determine why this other is in misery and then proceed to inform them how they got that way and how to get out of it, is just plain Wrong!

Bad things happen to good people. Often it is God's way of testing us, to help us grow in Him.
But even when it is not a test, we are still growing. We either learn to lean on God for our strength, or we lean on ourselves and other people. I prefer to lean on God ... I have tried leaning on myself and others ... but its overly stressful. God helps me rid myself of stress, He gives me rest.

Slow to speak

James 1:19-27: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man (person) observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

Do you ever speak or act first without thinking? I do, I have and I bet you have too. Afterall, we're human. That we are, but that doesn't mean we're to use that as an excuse all the time. If we profess to be Christians ... i.e., followers of Jesus Christ, then we should act and speak like Christians. And that means all the time, not just when it appeals to us. It's not easy. I have said things and done things that I have regretted. But, fortunately, if (when) the Lord convicts me, I follow through and apologize. Saying you're sorry is another very hard thing to do.

Sometimes when I see another acting contrary to God's laws, it reminds me of where I should be if I want my walk with Jesus to be without blemish.

Trust

Trust = have faith in = Believe
God does not waiver. If you believe in God, believe also in His son, Jesus, who came to be among us. Jesus is not just another prophet, like some religions prefer to believe. He is the son of God and of the virgin Mary. It is not Mary to whom one should worship. Mary did the bidding of her Holy Father, something all of us should do. But she is not the one who came to save us from our sins. God did not send Mary. God sent Jesus. Jesus is the one who was persecuted (and continues to be) and condemned to die for us, for our sins (He had no sin of his own) so that we would live and have eternal life. Without Jesus, we have no REAL Life, no purpose, no reason for being. We search for what is truth, for what will give us meaning. We think we've found it, only to discover we haven't. Not until we find Jesus ... then we must repent, admit that we are indeed sinners, ask God for forgiveness and accept Jesus's ultimate gift of sacrifice for us. Only then will our search for true purpose and meaning begin.

Why so many gods? ... so many denominations ... so many religions.
There is only one God - "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) There is none other.

Walk With Jesus

The pastor of First Baptist Church in LaGrange, Mo., writes a weekly column titled Walk With Jesus. I have been receiving it for as long as he's been writing it. Jim Reynolds has interesting insights. If you're interested in seeing what he writes about and possibly subscribing to it, please use this link: http://associate.com/groups/walkwithjesus/

Safety For ALL

I find it interesting that school boards across the country (including Iowa) are being forced to address the issue of safety for students of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persuasion, when the issue should concern safety for all, not just a select few.

Bullying / harassment is not a lifestyle happening. It goes on everywhere to all people: whether you are overweight, very thin, spend your days in a wheelchair, wear glasses, are lonely and/or depressed, have one parent or are adopted, are born-again Christian, or Muslim, or Hindu, by how you dress, the color of your skin, or whatever ... someone somewhere will give you a hard time and harass you by what they perceive as "not right."

If we're going to be concerned about the safety of our students, which I believe we should be, it should be a global concern. For all. Why should one type of people be given preferential treatment?

God loves you. But there are things He hates (Proverbs 6:17-19):

• A proud look
• A lying tongue
• Hands that kill innocent people
• A heart that plans bad/wicked things to do
• Feet that run to do evil things
• A person who tells lies in court and says things that are not true
• One who starts arguments and causes fights between other people

God's Time Table

EVERYTHING is according to God's time table, not our own. I read Psalm 124 this morning and it starts out with: "'If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,' ..." That's the key I believe. Fellow Christians, IF the Lord had/has not been with you, where would you be or where are you now? He is with us in the midst of all our struggles and triumphs, that is, IF we allow Him to be. He is with us in pain and sorrow, disappointments; and He is with us in exciting, joyous times.

This brought to mind Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 --

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven:

A time to be born, And a time to die;

A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted;

A time to kill, And a time to heal;

A time to break down, And a time to build up;

A time to weep, And a time to laugh;

A time to mourn, And a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones;

A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to gain, And a time to lose;

A time to keep, And a time to throw away;

A time to tear, And a time to sew;

A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;

A time to love, And a time to hate;

A time of war, And a time of peace."