Baltimore Riots?

Mark 13:8 "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows."

I grew up in the city of Baltimore. A very house-to-house packed on the row-home filled streets. We lived in a white community surrounded to the west and east of South Baltimore by the black communities.

We didn’t venture there because we were taught that it was just a bad community. Granted I had a couple of black friends who ventured into our area, they said the same thing, they moved because the areas in the outer limits were pretty bad.

I lived about five blocks from the Inner Harbor that later became a Mecca of diversity with shops of different cultures lining the water’s edge. Fort McHenry, Federal Hill, and the Inner Harbor were just a couple of my hangouts while growing up. I was in the center of the city and all that city living entailed.

Believe it or not I didn’t turn out to be prejudice, ie: unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding an ethnic, racial, social, or religious group, or a racist ie: the doctrine that one's own racial group is superior or that a particular racial group is inferior to the others, even though both were in full sight all around me.

When I moved to Texas quite a few years ago, we lived in a predominantly black apartment complex. I’d say it was a 70/30 ratio, us being the minority. I didn’t feel out of place because it was basically the same community I had grown up in, diverse. I welcomed and was welcomed into the community.

My son learned racism quite quickly in Texas as he was called names he had never heard before such as nigger, cracker and white trash. Yes, he learned the ‘N’ word from a black kid who had called him a nigger and he came home asking me what it meant. I explained that it meant an ignorant person which is exactly what the child who called him that was being raised to be. The kids even teased him when he told them we were moving to Nebraska!

“That’s white man’s country.”

We soon understood what they meant when we got here and were hard pressed to see a black person anywhere. Maybe 1 in a 100? Yeah, this is white man’s country here in Nebraska. It is also an extremely conservative state meaning don’t declare yourself an independent because that is seen immediately as a liberal, or libtard as so many conservatives in their hate spew. Anyone who doesn’t agree with their hate is a liberal and they themselves become the ignorant, hateful, violators.

With all the rioting going on in different states it is pretty hard not to become prejudice. Not against a color per se, but against criminal thugs, period! To destroy, burn and loot your own neighborhoods you are destroying humanity and thugs see only themselves as the ‘misunderstood’ people of society. They are the fatherless, druggy criminals raised by the same. Nothing more, nothing less.

Human beings are human beings and as such we should ACT as such, not the vile animals that these rioters seem to be. Maybe I don’t understand and maybe I do. I’m trying hard not to spew hateful words as to offend anyone but the state of our country saddens me and all I know to do is pray. Pray for the lost souls who may have never been prayed for before. It is what Jesus calls me to do and I will honor Him.

So while people are filled with vile anger, souls churn inside with hatred, blind eyes are everywhere to every atrocity surrounding them and they cling only to the negative portion of understanding. They, to me, are no different than the criminal thugs wanting justice.

A friend told me, “This is not our world.” I know this and understand it more than you know.

When 4,000 people are killed in an earthquake and all that people can talk about are politics and agenda’s, or the soup of the day, it isn’t just the criminal minds that are at fault here, it is the human race living as if they are cancer-stricken with no cure!

Baltimore will rise from the ashes; Nepal will rise from the rubble, maybe just not on this side of cosmos, but one day. I pray.

May God be with you all.

Luke 21:11 “And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.”

 

 

Poetry Sunday ~ Would have been ~ Eleven Years

Matt. 18:10 “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”

Eleven Years

Eleven years without you

An eternity in my heart

Eleven years of hurt

Too many years apart.

Eleven years I’ve cried

Each one without you here

Eleven years I’ve missed

But never missed a tear

Eleven years of a piece

That’s missing from my soul.

A baby girl I longed to see

Leaving me an empty hole.

Eleven years I’ve known your place

Is not here by my side

Eleven years you’ve walked along

In an angelic heavenly stride.

Eleven years that you’ve been gone

But one day we’ll be together

Never again to walk alone

We’ll fly like birds of a feather.

To you my beloved daughter

I cherish your time in me.

I await to be reunited

Where we’ll spend our eternity!

God Bless You, Astri Celia Brandt

Still Born: 4-26-04

 

 

Quotation Saturday ~ Let It Go

Eph. 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

THE PAST… LET IT GO

They say the atrocity is what happened in the past. I say the atrocity is dwelling on what happened in the past.”

~ Joni Zipp

“If you want to forget something or someone, never hate it, or never hate him/her. Everything and everyone that you hate is engraved upon your heart; if you want to let go of something, if you want to forget, you cannot hate.”

~ C. Joybell C.

“Renew, release, let go. Yesterday’s gone. There’s nothing you can do to bring it back. You can’t “should’ve” done something. You can only DO something. Renew yourself. Release that attachment. Today is a new day!”

~ Steve Maraboli

“Know that everything is in perfect order whether you understand it or not.”

~ Valery Satterwhite

“Let go. Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?”

~ Leo Buscaglia

RHETORIC

“We spend so much time bantering about the words when the real open conversations might very well be our actions. I worry about our rhetoric.”
~ Anna Deavere Smith

“From this point of view, science - the real game in town - is rhetoric, a series of efforts to persuade relevant social actors that one's manufactured knowledge is a route to a desired form of very objective power.”
~ Donna J. Haraway

“However tiresome to others, the most indefatigable orator is never tedious to himself. The sound of his own voice never loses its harmony to his own ear; and among the delusions, which self-love is ever assiduous in attempting to pass upon virtue, he fancies himself to be sounding the sweetest tones”
~ John Quincy Adams

“When you depart from standard usage, it should be deliberate and not an accidental lapse. Like a poet who breaks the rules of poetry for creative effect, this only works when you know and respect the rule you are breaking. If you have never heard of the rules you are breaking, you have no right to do so, and you are likely to come off like a buffoon or a barbarian. Breaking rules, using slang and archaic language can be effective, but it is just as likely to give you an audience busy with wincing.”
~ N.D. Wilson

“Again, it is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs, but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason, when the use of rational speech is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs. And if it be objected that one who uses such power of speech unjustly might do great harm, that is a charge which may be made in common against all good things except virtue, and above all against the things that are most useful, as strength, health, wealth, generalship. A man can confer the greatest of benefits by a right use of these, and inflict the greatest of injuries by using them wrongly.”
~ Aristotle

NEGATIVITY…LET IT GO!

“People tend to be generous when sharing their nonsense, fear, and ignorance. And while they seem quite eager to feed you their negativity, please remember that sometimes the diet we need to be on is a spiritual and emotional one. Be cautious with what you feed your mind and soul. Fuel yourself with positivity and let that fuel propel you into positive action.”
~ Steve Maraboli

“Your perspective on life comes from the cage you were held captive in.”
~ Shannon L. Alder

“Buy a gift for a dog, and you'll be amazed at the way it will dance and swerve its tail, but if you don't have anything to offer to it, it won't even recognize your arrival; such are the attributes of fake friends.”
~ Michael Bassey Johnson

“Constantly exposing yourself to popular culture and the mass media will ultimately shape your reality tunnel in ways that are not necessarily conducive to achieving your Soul Purpose and Life Calling. Modern society has generally ‘lost the plot’. Slavishly following its false gods and idols makes no sense in a spiritually aware life.”
~ Anthon St. Maarten

POSITIVITY…LIVE

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
~ Marcus Aurelius

“Life is a bowl of cherries. Some cherries are rotten while others are good; its your job to throw out the rotten ones and forget about them while you enjoy eating the ones that are good! There are two kinds of people: those who choose to throw out the good cherries and wallow in all the rotten ones, and those who choose to throw out all the rotten ones and savor all the good ones.”
~ C. JoyBell C.

“When you connect to the silence within you, that is when you can make sense of the disturbance going on around you.”
~ Stephen Richards

“What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: “Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.”
~ Gordon B. Hinckley

Amen Mr. Hinckley ~ “Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve.”

Poetry Sunday ~ The Path I Walk

Job 24:13 “They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.”

The Path I Walk

The path I walk I walk alone

My Lord my God His light has shone

Round about me to light my way

The path is not so lonesome today.

The path I walk the road is long

My Lord my God His love is strong

Round about me to see me through

This path for me and not for you.

The path I walk filled with debris

My Lord my God has set me free.

Round about I’m free to roam

The path I walk ‘til I’m called home.

Pss. 16:11 “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

The LOVE of Life

The LOVE of Life

I see so many people distracted by hate that they are losing sight of the love of life. Entangled in bashing whether gay or religious, these people thrive on the negative aspects of everything to do with life.

I find myself wanting to distance myself from these people but I do have hope that one day they’ll see the err of their ways and give it all up to God like they proclaim. If you sincerely have given it all up to God, should you be dwelling in the judgment seat of all men?

In a matter of minutes people are seen praising the Lord one minute, then bashing gays or Muslims or political figures or what can I say, the list goes on and on. It’s ironic I know but when God said you can’t serve two masters, for some reason I’ve never had the impression that He meant money and Himself.

I seriously think God meant that in a metaphorical sense because so much of His word is built on metaphor. No He did not mean for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, He did not want us to take an eye for an eye, or pluck out our eyes, the list is endless here too, so why would we think God meant, serving two masters meant God and money?

I PERSONALLY don’t feel we can serve love and hate. I do not feel with one iota of my being we can serve good and evil. Love, hate, good and evil are masters of our soul. They reign over us and we need to know which one to serve in an every day, every second situation. *I* choose love and good, over hate and evil but man cannot serve both on their platter of climbing the social ladder.

The definition of serve:

To render assistance; be of use; help

How is dishing out your hatred of someone or something of any assistance to anyone?

The definition of masters:

A person whose teachings others accept or follow: ie: a Zen master.

Matt. 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

The definition of mammon:

Riches or material wealth.

(often initial capital letter) a personification of riches as an evil spirit or deity.

Do you see clearly how in Matthew 6 it is stated you cannot SERVE (assist) two MASTERS? You will HATE the one or LOVE the other. I don’t find it odd that the Words used are HATE AND LOVE. You my friend, cannot serve (dish out) HATE and LOVE (praise the Lord) at the same time, you are serving TWO masters.

I’m not going to run to Pinterest, Twitter or Facebook and shout out how much I love and praise the Lord then in the next post shout out how much I hate, despise, dislike or disagree with something (color it any way you’d like) it is still a love hate relationship with whomever it is you show allegiance to.

Again *I* personally choose love. I choose to love my enemy, love my neighbor as much as myself, love the Lord my God and serve only ONE master of my soul and that is the Lord of LOVE!

While you can dislike or disagree with my opinion, I will love you and pray for you.

Ezek. 34:11 “For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.”

One definition of sheep: a meek, unimaginative, or easily led person.

Idiom: Separate the sheep from the goats, to separate good people from bad or those intended for a specific end from unqualified people.

While some will call me a sheep because of my optimism, hope, strength and LOVE for humans and humankind, I have to say thank you, why?

Pss. 37:11 “But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.”

I am whom God created me to be and for that very reason is the reason I am!

Praise be to God from whom all blessings flow.

The Way We Were

Deut. 29:4 “Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.”

The Way We Were

Do you remember the days where playgrounds were full of rambunctious kids playing? When new colorful equipment was being put into the park because the old stuff had gone the way of rust, wear and tear?

Nowadays the new heavy-duty plastic equipment sits there looking untouched and the parks are no longer filled with noisy children laughing and playing. The silence stills the beautiful surroundings of trees and benches.

The days of communicating with humans via mouth is now gone, we are now a world of cyber addicted beings. I see mothers in the park with strollers and only the toddlers know the excitement of the world spinning around them. Placing sand in their mouth or worse cat feces goes unnoticed because the mom’s are sitting on facebook with their I-phones texting, playing games or sharing pictures.

No the child doesn’t die, just like us, because he’s playing in dirt and mud, but he is being blatantly ignored and this is the generation we’re raising and facing. We no longer pass people on the street, exchange eye contact and smile. We no longer look up at the sky and drink in our beautiful surroundings.

Communication has gone cyber and with it we lose something along the way. When I eat in a restaurant, my first thought isn’t to take a picture and share it with the world; I’m there to eat. When I go swimming, my instinct tells me to swim, not take a selfie for all the world to see. When I’m driving and enjoying the scenery, my first thought isn’t oh let me share this with the cyber world, I more on the lines think, this is my private moment with God.

I’m waiting for the day that not even the church services are private. Click, hey look at me, I’m here praising God. Wait, how did you think of the cyber world while you were praising God? Were you really into the moment of God’s presence so much that you stop and connect virtually? Before and after church we feel the need to connect virtually so as to inform friends, family or total strangers of our whereabouts and goings on.

Even the marriage institution is taking a hit. The kids today don’t understand what a sacred vow is but they jump into marriage in a technological burst expecting the relationship to thrive via text messages, Pinterest, YouTube, and any other form of social connection. We have disconnected from verbal communication.

People have now invited the social world to breakfast, dinner, vacation, and the movies and even to their church. Nothing is sacred anymore. We crave attention, popularity, and being in the know and one day without the connection causes the world to come to a stop, or so it seems. Are we that gullible of a species? Are we so into other people’s business that ours falters and sheds like flaky skin? You do know that once we shed our skin, we can never get it back, right?

Marriages crumble; friendships are shattered, lives are peeled away in layers and we have turned into an era of the cyborg generation. I myself am guilty of only peeking into the social world to see what everyone else is sharing. I sit quietly scanning the pages of how everyone has a really drama-filled exciting life and compare it to my boring mundane life. I have never texted while driving, shoot I’m hard pressed to even learn how to text. I don’t drive and click pictures and surely I don’t click pictures of moments that should be private to share with the world that is more than likely peeking in on me.

Then again, I’m so uninteresting and not part of the cyborg family that they pass me over like a pebble in the road. A pebble is not very interesting when you have mountains surrounding you, now is it?

Me, I like to go outside and dig in the soil. I like to tend my garden, pull weeds and nurture the flowers to full bloom. I’m different from the people in the cyber world. I’m a naked mannequin standing in the window of the fancy dressed ones, people pass and giggle at the exposure of my bold nudity while they hurry up and snap a picture of the more fancy dressed (or undressed) and dolled up mannequins and share it with their cyborg family.

I remember running barefoot down the city streets, playing in the playground and getting dirty, holding a book in my hand and enjoying the simple things in life that propelled me to where I am now, amid the cyborg’s of society blind to the more natural things in life.

I love to feel the wet grass between my toes, I love to smell a sweet scented rose, I love to love human beings but I have to remember, the way we were is the way we are no more.

Ezek. 12:2 “Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.”

Poetry Sunday ~ In The Day

Pss. 37:30 “The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.”

In the Day

Praise the Father, Praise the Son,

Praise the Great and Holy one.

In the day when no love shines

The haughty man will rise

Holding there within his hand

The truth behind his lies.

In the day when people think

That wisdom comes from shores

It sails along the currents feed

Right into open doors.

In the day when man is fooled

By fancy ways of talking

Finding face with a false god

A feeble form of walking.

In the day when man can serve

Two masters in his pride

Humanity will surely fall

And nowhere can man hide.

In the day when man can love

Relinquish earthly hate

Walk along the path with Christ

And enter Heavens gate.

Praise the Father, Praise the Son,

Praise the Great and Holy One.

Pss. 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”

 

 

Quotation Saturday ~ Communication

Rom. 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

CYBER

“The problem with making a virtual world of oneself is akin to the problem with projecting ourselves onto a cyberworld: there’s no end of virtual spaces in which to seek stimulation, but their very endlessness, the perpetual stimulation without satisfaction, becomes imprisoning.”
~ Jonathan Franzen

“The separation between the cyber and the physical worlds was disappearing. Cyberbullying was just bullying, and cyberwar was just war - the true age of cyber began when we started removing it as a descriptor.”
~ Matthew Mather

“In this world where I sit at my desk writing these words, people die, they pass on, people are mortal. In the cyber world we inhabit they do not.”
~ Aysha Taryam

“I have to remember, the way we were is the way we are no more.”

~ Joni Zipp

COMMUNICATION

“You can talk with someone for years, everyday, and still, it won't mean as much as what you can have when you sit in front of someone, not saying a word, yet you feel that person with your heart, you feel like you have known the person for forever.... connections are made with the heart, not the tongue.”
~ C. JoyBell C.

“Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else ... Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One can find it, live it, do wonders through it, but one cannot communicate and teach it.”
~ Hermann Hesse

“Anything that’s human is mentionable, and anything that is mentionable can be more manageable. When we can talk about our feelings, they become less overwhelming, less upsetting, and less scary. The people we trust with that important talk can help us know that we are not alone.”
~ Fred Rogers

“What’s not so great is that all this technology is destroying our social skills. Not only have we given up on writing letters to each other, we barely even talk to each other. People have become so accustomed to texting that they’re actually startled when the phone rings. It’s like we suddenly all have Batphones. If it rings, there must be danger.
Now we answer, “What happened? Is someone tied up in the old sawmill?”
“No, it’s Becky. I just called to say hi.”
“Well you scared me half to death. You can’t just pick up the phone and try to talk to me like that. Don’t the tips of your fingers work?”
~ Ellen DeGeneres, Seriously... I'm Kidding

SOCIALIZE

“Few people are capable of expressing with equanimity opinions which differ from the prejudices of their social enviroment. Most people are incapable of forming such opinions."
(Essay to Leo Baeck, 1953)”
~ Albert Einstein

“Why play, lounge or labour in a social wasteland? It's toxicity is contagious, and no respecter of persons. Fall back!”
~ T.F. Hodge

“I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
~ J.R.R. Tolkien

“A rumor is a social cancer: it is difficult to contain and it rots the brains of the masses. However, the real danger is that so many people find rumors enjoyable. That part causes the infection. And in such cases when a rumor is only partially made of truth, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where the information may have gone wrong. It is passed on and on until some brave soul questions its validity; that brave soul refuses to bite the apple and let the apple eat him. Forced to start from scratch for the sake of purity and truth, that brave soul, figuratively speaking, fully amputates the information in order to protect his personal judgment. In other words, his ignorance is to be valued more than the lie believed to be true.”
~ Criss Jami

DISCONNECT

“I was already at one remove before the Internet came along. I need another remove? Now I have to spend the time that I'm not doing the thing they're doing reading about them doing it? Streaming the clips of them doing it, commenting on how lucky they are to be doing all those things, liking and digging and bookmarking and posting and tweeting all those things, and feeling more disconnected than ever? Where does this idea of greater connection come from? I've never in my life felt more disconnected. It's like how the rich get richer. The connected get more connected while the disconnected get more disconnected. No thanks man, I can't do it. The world was a sufficient trial, Betsy, before Facebook.”
~ Joshua Ferris

“Disconnect yourself from people who cannot add five to your ten words, because, sooner or later, you won't be able to say even a word.”
~ Michael Bassey Johnson

“It seems perverse that we can be more social than anyone would have thought possible when we are at our most anti-social, locked away from the world and silently staring at a computer screen, but that, as psychologists will tell you is the way we operate. When we are at the maximum of our disconnect we also are ready to connect and feel the need for interaction.”
~ David Amerland

“The worlds within and without the Veil of Color are changing, and changing rapidly, but not at the same rate, not in the same way; and this must produce a peculiar wrenching of the soul, a peculiar sense of doubt and bewilderment. Such a double life, with double thoughts, double duties, and double social classes, must give rise to double words and double ideals, and tempt the mind to pretence or revolt, to hypocrisy or radicalism.”
~ W.E.B. Du Bois

Sin is Sin

Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Sin is Sin

I read something interesting this morning, note that it is not mine:

*** I went to church tonight with my family and the pastor said something I think every Christian should hear.

Pastor: Now according to a few passages in the Bible, homosexuality is a sin.

Couple of older males in the audience: Amen!

Pastor: Now wait, I’m not finished.

Pastor: You know what else the bible defines as sin? Divorce!

~ uncomfortable silence ~

Pastor: There are countless passages that talk about how divorce is wrong, and there are consequences to getting a divorce such as a woman should be stoned.

He went on:

Pastor: We choose to overlook the consequences of divorce because time has proven that they are inhumane and cruel.

The bible doesn’t say anything about the consequences of the homosexual lifestyle. Yet we seem to be spearheading a campaign to ruin the lives of people we don’t even know.

Pastor: The bible says we are to love thy neighbor. That’s it. There are no other rules or restrictions to that passage.

So WE as a church family have to support equality with a smile on our face. THAT is the true Christian way. ***

Here lately I see so much hate coming from so-called Christians. I say so-called because while they call themselves Christians they certainly don’t act like a Christian. Posting a scripture here and there does not make you a Christian, attending a church does not make you a Christian. The way you ACT and partake in living Christ-like makes you a Christian.

I saw another post:

***Love Thy Neighbor

Thy homeless neighbor

Thy Muslim neighbor

Thy black neighbor

The gay neighbor

Thy White neighbor

Thy Asian neighbor

Thy Jewish neighbor

The Christian neighbor

Thy Atheist neighbor

Thy disabled neighbor

Thy addicted neighbor ***

I’d like to add to the list, Thy Sinning neighbor. So as much as you despise the homosexual and hate the Muslim, the divorced woman must also repulse you?

Luke 17:25 “But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation.”

I am a sinner. I have been cohabiting with a man for many of years. My Church just about did away with me because I didn’t bow to their rules. *I* am no different than a homosexual being turned away from a church, or for church goers to deny them/us entry because of their/our lifestyle.

I almost forgot, I’m also divorced! Stone me now! I don’t feel I committed adultery but by marrying this man I have spent thirteen years with, it is considered adultery. My ex husband abandoned his son and me and I found a man/friend who respected and honored me in ways the ex never did, nor would or could. He broke the vows by treating me as an obsession/possession that when he lost me, he never tried to file for a divorce as he said he would. He kept me hanging, wondering and dangling feeling like the most repulsive sinner in the world.

I remain committed to God. The blood of Christ washes away my sin, right? So why would Jesus’ blood not be forgiving to the homosexual? Does he only forgive certain sins, like the man who hates, despises, steals and tells white lies? A lie is a lie and a sin is a sin. You cannot paint your sin a pretty color and say that it is not sin.

My beau and I have decided to get married at a Historical courthouse. Why a courthouse? The church that is built for sinners to come to has turned us away. We are just sinners, so please, stone us now.

I think I will give up on religion for the time being. RELIGION! Not my faith in God and certainly not Jesus Christ. I am empowered by the Word and by the Word I will live, and as a sinner I will die. But Jesus will forgive me, right? "...the kingdom of God is WITHIN you."

Jas. 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.

[27] Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Think about this:

 
Luke 17: [33] Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
[34] I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
[35] Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
[36] Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
[37] And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

Sin and Sin No More

Gal. 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

While man deemed the day Easter, my New Year and Resurrection Sunday was a blessed one. It was nice to peek into facebook and see how others celebrated the day. While some sat the entire day just posting pics and enjoyed sharing and liking, others celebrated with family, some boasted of a church service, and some respectfully didn’t post at all. Beautiful.

As my Holy season has come to a close, I realized something along the journey. I realized I don’t belong anywhere. I realize I am waiting the day I get married and become a united couple in the eyes of the Lord, while the world spins and goes on in the mundane manner that they deem okay.

I’m curious to know, did anyone look up at the sky early on Saturday morning? Were they so consumed with a social outlet that they missed out on something phenomenal taking place in the sky? Yes, I’m talking about the total lunar eclipse. I stood in the cold of the morning just gazing skyward and thanking the Lord for the blessings in my life as I watched the brightly lit full moon disappear darkening the sky.

It has been an awesome month and looks to be an inspiring wonderful year. I can’t say that for the rest of the world or the people in it. This is the time of the year that I am away from the computer more than I am behind it. This is the time I relish spending my days outdoors drinking in the sunshine instead of indoors sipping from the silliness of a society gone astray.

I’m saddened to think that the Resurrection Sunday celebration, which is really the Ishtar/Easter holyday, is relinquished to a reason to drink, a time to get together with family and get drunk. Drink and be merry the Bible says, but man takes that as a reason and a green light to sin; just as the death on the cross is nothing more than the go ahead to sin. Maybe the fall of man is because as you wish people a Happy Easter, you are in turn releasing the very presence of Ishtar into the lives of many. Christmas too has the same sin-filled overtones. It is no longer a celebration of the birth of Christ just as Easter is no longer the rejoicing in the resurrection after His death on the cross.

I know you’re thinking that drinking is not a sin, and I’d have to say I don’t make the judgment call of what sin is and is not, but there is many scriptures pointing to the fact that the Lord is well aware of man and his drunkenness and punishment is what He’ll unleash in His way, not my way. Many will spin their own take on truth, that’s what man does to justify his sin.

Titus 2: 2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

[4] That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

[6] Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

[12] Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Luke 21:34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.

Jesus’ death was not an occasion to sin but I feel many see it that way. ‘He died for my sins so I can sin and sin and sin and He’ll forgive me.’ Jesus’ death was not an occasion to sin. His death did not mean, ‘go and sin some more and you’ll find me waiting to forgive.’ I think His death meant a time of transformation! The time of your sin was over, to go and sin no more.

I see all to often people knowingly sinning but relying on the Lord’s death on the cross as a means of forgiveness. “I know I’m sinning, but Jesus will forgive me.” And they go on and sin over and over again losing sight of the entire crucifixion and resurrection.

We live in a world where people hate and hate some more because they are justified in their hate. Jesus declared that we are to love our brother, love our neighbor. He didn’t mean just our family members or next-door neighbors; He meant the entire human race. We are to love and turn the other cheek; even our neighbor’s in a foreign country. Should we jump on the hate bandwagon because everyone else seems to be enjoying the ride? NO!

We are a world built on conformity. We human beings follow along like lost little puppies yearning for their mother’s milk. When she stops we all stop to drink what she has to offer. She leads and we follow. No longer does man seek the depths of his being because he is too consumed with being a falsified follower.

I do not sin so I can be forgiven. When I accepted Christ, I try each and every waking day to keep myself from falling victim to sin. I am changed, transformed by my Lord, not using His death as a means to continue sinning. Am I a sinner? Yes! What I thank Him for every day is dying for me and allowing me the chance to change and be more like Him. And this is why…“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:”

Alleuia Amen! May the Resurrection of Christ transform you all! Not just with your lips but with your very heart and soul!

Isaiah 29:13-14 (NIV)

The Lord says: "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish."

Poetry Sunday ~ Hosanna!Hosanna!

Matt. 28: 19 - 20 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Hosanna! Hosanna!

***

He gave life to the dead, cleansed the impure

healed the sick, became all lepers cure.

Fed the hungry, gave sight to the blind,

revealed the innocence of a child’s mind.

If you were thirsty, He gave you to drink,

Washed away sins with nary a blink;

Of His eyes we shined while light was dim

righteousness filled our cup to the brim.

Turn your cheek from the one that maims

seventy times if you burn with flames

Forgive, forget, move on I say

I’m reaching out to show you the way.

Disciples slept, while Jesus pleaded

to let him live unless he was needed.

Crying out He returned to die

while all looked on, not batting an eye.

They rejoiced and sang; praised his name

Hosanna! Hosanna! Into town he came.

Fronds of palms were laid at his feet.

All glory to Jesus our Savior we greet.

But lo and behold this man betrayed,

was scourged and beat but never swayed!

“My Father, My Father why have you forgot,

I gave them all that you said they’d have not.”

With one last breath he gave up the ghost,

shedding blood where man needed it most.

Our sins forgiven our God came as man

In a wondrous fete generations will span.

Will we remember the sacrifice made?

Can we ever honor the price that was paid?

Do we respect all things that He taught

our souls are free for sins his death bought.

My Glorious redeemer, Savior and King,

I bow with honor my soul shall sing.

 

 Blessed Resurrection Sunday to all!

Quotation Saturday ~ Resurrection Sunday is Coming...

Lent comes to an end…

As we embrace a new beginning.

Matt. 28:5-6 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

"As Lent is the time for greater love, listen to Jesus' thirst...'Repent and believe' Jesus tells us. What are we to repent? Our indifference, our hardness of heart. What are we to believe? Jesus thirsts even now, in your heart and in the poor -- He knows your weakness. He wants only your love, wants only the chance to love you."

~ Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

"Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in my steps."

~ Luke 9:23

"Prayer does not change the purpose of God. But prayer does change the action of God." ~ Chuck Smith 

"Men may spurn our appeals, reject our message, oppose our arguments, despise our persons, but they are helpless against our prayers."

 ~ Sidlow Baxter

"It is not just about giving up our favorite food but its about going further and giving up things like hatred and unforgiveness. You need to clean your heart and prepare yourself for purity."

~ Amanda Jobs

“The Lord measures out perfection neither by the multitude nor the magnitude of our deeds, but by the manner in which we perform them.”

~ St. John of the Cross

"You cannot be proud and expect to be transformed away from your sins. You need to humble yourself and have a spirit of repentance within you. Then you will see real change."

~ Mable Vine

“If man had his way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by Jesus' fist, but by His nail-pierced hands; not by muscle but by love; not by vengeance but by forgiveness; not by force but by sacrifice. Jesus Christ our Lord surrendered in order that He might win; He destroyed His enemies by dying for them and conquered death by allowing death to conquer Him.”
~ A.W. Tozer

“The gifts of the Master are these: freedom, life, hope, new direction, transformation, and intimacy with God. If the cross was the end of the story, we would have no hope. But the cross isn't the end. Jesus didn't escape from death; he conquered it and opened the way to heaven for all who will dare to believe. The truth of this moment, if we let it sweep over us, is stunning. It means Jesus really is who he claimed to be, we are really as lost as he said we are, and he really is the only way for us to intimately and spiritually connect with God again.”
~ Steven James

“And now brothers, I will ask you a terrible question, and God knows I ask it also of myself. Is the truth beyond all truths, beyond the stars, just this: that to live without him is the real death, that to die with him the only life?”
~ Frederick Buechner

“May the resurrection power of Christ, awake in us a greater spiritual force and strength, so that we can passionately pursue our God-given dreams.”
~ Lailah Gifty Akita

“It saddens my heart when on this Holy Weekend so-called ‘Christians’ lose the war with satan and give in. Their eyes are not on Christ and satan loves that. Focus on the Life and the Resurrection, your soul will feel much better."

Job 27:8 “For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

Saved by the Good book 

Good Friday ~ Passion for Christ

Isa. 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

It comes as no surprise that as I wake and rejoice in the day, the day that the Lord and Savior died for me, the world goes on in its ignorant, hate-filled manner.

I remember when I was eight years old and my grandmother passed away. I thought the world stopped when someone died. “How can the cars be going down the street? How can people not know my grandmother died? Why does everyone ignore her death?”

It was pretty easy to figure out. They didn’t know her. They knew of her but didn’t know her or the sacrifices she made to her grand-kids even as she suffered with cancer. I see now why people act the same way they normally act even though they know this is the day that Jesus died for us. They know OF Him but don’t allow their lives to stop or change BECAUSE OF Him.

This is seen in the morning’s traffic, the morning twitterfeed, the daily facebook posts; nothing has changed and everyone is still the same person they were when they went to sleep the night before. The only thing that changed was the day. It’s a new day, it’s a Friday, same old same old.

Just as I had a passionate love for my grandmother, I also have a passion for Christ. Sometimes this scares people, intimidates them or has them so filled with guilt they steer clear of this ‘crazy lady who is TOO passionate for Christ’. Too passionate? Imagine that.

I am not different than you; I love, I hurt, I cry, I laugh but to me there is so much more to living and breathing that I can’t and won’t allow any ounce of hate to exude from my body. What kind of Christian would I be if I looked at today just as any other day; a person who knows OF Him but doesn’t allow a portion OF Him to seep from my veins?

I won’t apologize for my passion for Christ, just as you shouldn’t be concerned with NOT being passionate for Christ. We’re all allowed free will and what we do is different in all ways shapes and forms.

I’m not popular because of my love for Christ, as a matter of fact I think I’m UNpopular because of my love for Christ. Again, I won’t apologize for my ways because my ways are not your ways.

I look at today as a small sacrifice of not doing what I’d normally do and throw off all mundane chores or actions and focus, focus on Christ who did more than ‘just’ sacrifice His very life for me. Yes me!

He suffered, He bled, He cried in pain, He writhed and squirmed as he was beaten and finally He was hammered with long nails to a cross, for me! If I’m passionate about Christ it is because I understand that while the world goes on after someone dies, the world goes on after His death also, but I feel as if I’m there crying at His feet awaiting for Him to rise up in three days. My grandmother never had the chance to rise up and forgive my sinful nature, only Christ could do that and He DID! What’s not to be passionate about?

I think of a time when Jesus was making his way to the hillside to be hung. I think of all the people cheering and screaming out, “Crucify him!” I would be the woman who makes her way through the crowd and approaches this Messiah and offer Him a towel to dry his brow and wipe his face offering him water to drink.

While Jesus had believers standing in the crowd, some never claimed to know him. Some stood in the background and looked on, while others were weeping. I never was and never will be one who walks with the crowd, I will always be the one who goes against the grain and does something unexpected. This is who I am.

While the earth shakes and trembles at His words, ‘It is finished’, I am unmoving and waiting at His feet. I’m not surprised that others are not as passionate about Him, it has been going on for centuries and nothing has changed. The world still goes on and we live for the next highlight of a posting day, all because they know OF Him but won’t be changed BY Him.

Matt. 26:40-41 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.