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Saturday, 31 January 2009
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Currently
Downhere
By Downhere
The Problem
see related"Everybody's wondering how the world could get this way
If God is good and how it could be filled with so much pain
It's not the age-old mystery we made it out to be
Yeah, there's a problem with the world
And the problem with the world is me"
- Downhere "The Problem"
"Mum kills daughter to keep boyfriend""Dad killed in shocking knife-attack visiting baby""Mother 'urged on' basher teen daughter"
All these headlines in one morning...while two days ago -"4 year-old thrown over bridge"
A mother would strangle her 12 yr old to be with a man who gave her a "daughter or me" ultimatum, a father, on his way to the hospital to see his newborn second child, is stabbed to death after an argument at the bus stop, right in front of his 3 yr old. Another mother, sat on a park bench egging her daughter on to bash a classmate who had learning difficulties, after luring the classmate to their house.
Last but not least, the depressed, distraught father of 3, fighting for custody of his children, decides to throw them all off the bridge, some 50+meters above the river. He succeeds to throw only his 4 yr old daughter down before he is chased by witnesses. The paramedics and then emergency medical staff worked on her for most of the day before she died of internal injuries.They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice...insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil;...they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
[Romans1:29-32]
The perpetrators in the above stories were envious, malicious, insolent, arrogant, senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless! In one word - depraved. The sad thing is, they can't help themselves. They've lived a life continuously looking out for themselves only, and indulge their own desires without thinking of the permanent consequences, and are no longer able to stop committing such horrible acts, to think such evil thoughts. If you don't believe me, explain to me why the mother egged on her daughter to bash up a classmate who did nothing wrong to them, who only had a learning disability, out of entertainment and malice? Explain to me why a man could force a mother to choose between himself and her own flesh and blood, and why the mother herself not only chose this heartless man, but to KILL her own flesh and blood as she whimpered "No, mommy, no..."? Why, if the father was fighting to have his children with him, supposedly out of love for them, did he smash his daughter's body? Perhaps you want to explain away the last incident with "he was deranged". Well...are you saying that the others were not in some way disturbed in the mind? That's what it is...a depraved mind.
That is the state of the world...bound BY sin, bound TO sin. I am no different. I used to be an extremely jealous, envious person, who hated those who hurt me, would murder them in my mind, gossiped and encouraged gossip, would think up new, supposedly cool phrases of insults (it's always about words, spoken, sung, written when it comes to me...sigh) etc. I couldn't help myself, it was as if I couldn't find myself if I did not feel these awful feelings of envy, as I didn't know who I was if I wasn't gossiping and being cynical and cocky.
There IS a way out however. I found a new life, redemption through Jesus Christ, my Lord God and Savior. I am still not a good person, I still have the urge to give in to my insecurities, judge, gossip etc. but I am no longer bound by and bound to do so. I now have a choice! In Christ, I found an eternal-eye view of my life, and was released from the indulge-the-impulse bondage that is of this world. Please do not be mistaken, I do not presume to think I am better than everyone else and therefore feels this way, no way! It is precisely because I realise what a wretched, wicked, depraved person I was, and naturally am inclined to be, that I now rely not on my own solutions and efforts but in Christ Jesus, who is my creator, my Savior. Jesus has conquered sin and eternal death, and through Him, God deems me righteous (not because I am, but because Jesus is). Such freedom!What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!
[Romans7:24-25]
I may not be able to change the world, to eliminate these tragic stories, but I do invite you, dear reader, to consider what I have just said. I make no apologies for any harshness in this entry, because it is vital that we examine what is really happening around us and especially within us.Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
[Romans12:3]
This means, that we must sit back and soberly consider where we are, who we are, what drives our actions etc. not as a harsh judge against yourself, but just to recognise the situation as it is, be sorry for it, wanting to turn from this old life and seek rescue from Christ Jesus by following Him, recognising His redemption of our lives (releasing us from being enslaved in depravity) through His death on the cross and be "more than conquerors" in Jesus because in His resurrection, He has defeated sin and eternal death! WOOHOO!
If you have any questions about what I have written, disagree with anything, please feel free to message me. I don't claim to have all the answers, but a question is so much better than just silently hating me for what I said, or silently feel confused because of my bad writing/literature skills.
Thursday, 03 July 2008
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My problems can never be too big for my Lord to handle- He is bigger than all of life's problems combined.
My problems can never be too small for my Lord to care- His love is bigger than all of the world's love combined.
I believe this, I do...but do I live out this belief?
Do you believe this, and would you live out this belief?
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
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Currently Listening
Painting the Invisible
By Vicky Beeching
Great Is The Glory Of The Lord
see relatedNear-end of the 10-month terror
This week I experienced God's deliverance upon me and my family and many others, and I do thank God for that. I know that the battle for me is not over, and new struggles and challenges have risen due to this deliverance, but I pray for God's continued strength upon me as I try to deal with this in a Godly way, and to maintain my integrity.
I would SO love to write here about what has been going on, but part of the reason I have been silent since last September was because of this terror, and I am not allowed to speak of it even though it has hurt me and others so, so deeply.
I do want to share a bible verse with you though:For this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep...
I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD.
I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy.
I will shepherd the flock with justice.
[Ezekiel 34:11-23, 15, 16b]
God HIMSELF will be my Shepherd, even in His greatness He will personally guide little ol' me and bind my injuries, and wipe my tears. In my long search for a mentor (I've been looking for a mentor for 4 years now), it has really hit home that God is the one Shepherd that I need.
He is also your Shepherd, He will rescue you, pasture you, tend to your needs, give you rest, search for you when you're lost, bind your hurts and fight for you. He loves YOU.
Monday, 07 April 2008
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Currently Listening
God Speaking
By Ronnie Freeman
God Speaking
see relatedSomeone pressed the pause button on my life....
Someone then pressed the fast-forward button for everything around me...
On Wednesday, my darling husband was diagnosed with a pituitary adenoma (a benign tumor in the pituitary gland - in the brain). I've listened to the doctors, I've listened to Dave explain to me about his condition, I've googled it, even tried to read up on it in Dave's medical books, but can someone please pause the tape for a bit so I can catch up with what is truly happening right now, because I can't keep up.
When you go to the shopping market just so you can say to the cashier, "I'm good thanks." when they ask you how your day has been, you know something is terribly wrong with you. That was exactly what I did on Thursday. I guess I just want some normalcy in my life, despite the fact that I completely, utterly understand that nothing is normal. The knowledge of the fact that all is not "normal" is branded on my heart right now...perhaps it is the pain of the burn from this branding, that drives me to a spurt of emotion every hour or so, bringing tears to my eyes.
However, I wanted to share with you, dear reader, something I wrote three weeks ago, when life was stressful but "normal":
I’m often told that the experiences I’ve had – funny, depressing, joyful, scary, etc. – are dramatic enough to be written into a novel. That would certainly be great for those reading the novel since they can enjoy the adventures yet also turn to the end of the book and know that by God’s grace, I survived each experience. However, just like the patriarchs and other people whose lives were recorded in the bible, all the horrible or painful experiences were unexpected and I had no way of knowing how I would get through it each time.
I was just thinking about this recently, when a friend shared with me about a devastating experience her friend was going through. She told me that her friend’s response to what was happening to him was one simple truth:
“Oh well…God is never caught off-guard.”
When I’m hit with painful circumstances, I tend to react as if I were shell-shocked, as if the ground was ripped from under my feet. I’d thrash about and wonder how I’d ever be able to survive or be happy again. Yet while I’m asking “Why me? Why, why, why!?” (well I can’t be a thesaurus when I’m upset!), I’ve really just forgotten that nothing happens to me unless God allows it, and therefore, He knows what He’s doing.All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.
[Psalm139:16b]
He who knows each strand of hair on my head (Matt10:30 or Luke12:7), knows exactly what I will go through. Who better to trust than my Creator, who made all and knows all? All I need to do is let God sit in the driver’s seat and guide me through the process. The going will probably still be tough, but in choosing to be stretched and led by God, my heart will be filled with hope and peace through it all.
Never has my own writing affected me as much as this has. Thank you Father.
Maybe some of you out there are right now feeling the exact same feelings as myself. Maybe you know only too well the pain and fears my husband is experiencing. Would you allow yourself to be wrapped in the warm blanket of my beautiful Father's love and protection?
Thursday, 20 March 2008
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About Me
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A woman after God's own heart. My first passion is People. I was working in the disability field but currently back in studies to complete a Counselling degree while I teach singing on the side. I just want to learn to love and support others in their pain and anguish and share in their joy. It may involve making many mistakes, but with His providence, I can only grow upwards...2Cor12:9 Other passions include my husband (God-send), singing and leading others in singing to the Lord. Reading and Handicrafts (knitting and food-modelling) as well!
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