How Can We Carry The Burden Of Reality As Christians

                                                 When The Door Slams

Where there is no [wise, intelligent] guidance, the people fall [and go off course like a ship without a helm], But in the abundance of [wise and godly] counselors there is victory. He who puts up security and guarantees a debt for an outsider will surely suffer[for his foolishness], But he who hates (declines) being a guarantor is secure [from its penalties]. A gracious and good woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches [but not respect]. The merciful and generous man benefits his soul [for his behavior returns to bless him], But the cruel and callous man does himself harm. The wicked man earns deceptive wages But he who sows righteousness and lives his life with integrity will have a true reward [that is both permanent and satisfying].                      Proverbs 11: 14-18 AMP

            How can we remain open to all human tragedies and aware of the vast ocean of human suffering without becoming mentally paralyzed and depressed? How can we live a healthy and creative life when we are constantly reminded of the fate of the millions who are poor, sick, hungry and persecuted? How can we even smile when we keep being confronted by pictures of tortures and executions?  

            Maybe, for the time being, we have to accept the many fluctuations between knowing and not knowing, seeing and not seeing, feeling and not feeling, between days in which the whole world seems like a rose garden and days in which our hearts seem tied to a signpost between moments of ecstatic joy and moments of gloom depression, between the humble confession that the world wide web holds more than our souls can bear and the realization that it is only through facing up to reality of our world that we can grow into our own responsibility.

            Maybe we have to be tolerant toward our own avoidances and denials in the conviction that we cannot force ourselves to face what we are not ready to respond to and in the hope that in one future day we will have the courage and strength to open our eyes fully and see without being destroyed. All this might be the case as long as we remember that there is no hope in denial or avoidance, neither for ourselves nor for anyone else, and that new life can only be born out of the seed planted in crushed soil.

            Think about this: Because of this I do not hesitate to say the person who has learned to live in an "attitude of gratitude" for all God's benefits has found one of the great secrets to successful spiritual living. Nothing pleases God more than our deep appreciation for all that he has done and all that he is. We soon discover that just as there is great tranquility in a human family where appreciation is frequently expressed, so the same is true in the family of God. Try it and you will find your days are full of delight in the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus name.

            Confession: "When my soul was fainting within me, I remembered the LORD, And my prayer came to You, Into Your holy temple. "Those who regard and follow worthless idols turn away from their [living source of] mercy and lovingkindness. "But [as for me], I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I shall pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is from the LORD  (Jonah 3:7-9 AMP).  

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness. 

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When The Storms come And They Will

                                                 When The Door Slams

So that whoever believes will on Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever]. "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [one and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.                John 3:15-16 AMP 

           When you recognize God as Creator, you will admire Him. When you recognize His wisdom, you will learn from Him. When you discover His strength, you will rely on Him. But only when He saves you will you worship Him.

            It is a "before and after" scenario. Before your rescue, you could easily keep God at a distance. Comfortably dismissed. Neatly shelved. Sure He was important, but so was your career. your status. Your salary. He was high on your priority list, but He shared the spot light with others. 

            Then came the storm...the rage ...the fight...the ripped mooring...the lies of politicians... the starless night. Despair fell like you had lost your only friend; your bearing were gone...what am I going to do now. In your heart, you knew there was no exit.

            Turn to your career to help? Only if you want to hide from the storm...not escape it. Lean on your status for strength? A storm is not impressed with your title. Rely on the government for rescue? Many try....many fail. 

            Suddenly you are left with one option: Lord God Jesus Christ. And when you ask...genuinely ask...He will come. And from that moment on He is not just a deity to admire, a teacher to serve, or a master to obey. He is the Savior. Our Lord and Savior to be worshiped    

            Think about this: The world of Jesus' day was filled with fear. The Romans feared rebellion, and their subjects feared Rome's power. The Sadducees feared the Pharisees, and both were suspicious of the publicans. The hearts of people everywhere were filled with fear and distrust. Life was uncertain, and above all, people feared death. 

            The world lives with fear even today. What is your fear? Do you fear the future? Do you fear life's burdens that sometimes seem almost overwhelming? Do you fear death? Most of us fear everything except God--yet it is God whom we should fear most of all!

            Affirmation: Jesus can put an end to fear for all who trust in Him. "Do not be afraid, Jesus is the answer to any fear you have. After all, God's power is greater than the powers of evil, and "neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future...nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).  

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him fore His forgiveness. 

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The Humanitarian Theory Of Punishment

                                                 When The Door Slams

He went on: "What come out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come--sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person."                                    (Mark 7:20-23 NIV)

            As a Christian, I most certainly believe in punishment. Biblical justice demands that individuals be held accountable. Throughout the history of ancient Israel, to break God's law was to invite swift, specific, and certain punishment. When a law was broken, the resulting imbalance could be righted only when the transgressor was punished and thus made to "pay" for his wrong. 

            Though modern sociologists take offense at this elemental concept of retribution, it is essential: If justice means getting one's due, then justice is denied when deserved punishment is not received. And ultimately this undermines one's role as a moral, responsible human being.

            During the 1980's we saw the incredible prison population boom, crime consistently rose. In 1990 alone, violent crime rose 10 percent, and over twenty thousand people were slaughtered in the mean streets of our nation. During the hundred hours in  which the air and ground warfare of Desert Storm bombarded Iraq, more Americans died on the city streets of their own country than in the sands of the Middle East...

            A few years ago two Harvard scholars, criminologist James Wilson and psychologist Richard Herrnstein, undertook a ten-year study to determine the causes of crime. A landmark book was published, Crime and Human Nature, In which they challenged fifty years of conventional wisdom that crime was the result of race, poverty, and social oppression...          Although they determined that intellect and genetics had some effect on behavior, the primary cause of crime was simply individual choice. Those choices...were determined by one's moral conscience which is shaped early in life and most crucially by family and friends . 

            Think about this: It is in the circle of the home where children first learn the importance of individual responsibility. Until we reclaim our families and our children, we will never deal with the moral crisis in our society. 

            This is why the distinction between prison and punishment is so crucial. Prisons, though necessary to confine violent offenders, can hardly be considered redemptive. And while punishment is clearly Biblical, American penal philosophy is not based on the Biblical principle of just deserts that it is founded on a humanistic view that crime is an illness to be cured.

            Affirmation: I will give their wealth as plunder to foreigners and as loot to the wicked of the earth, who will defile it. I will turn my face away from the people, and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure. They will enter it and will defile it. Prepare chains! For the land is full of bloodshed, and the city is full of violence (Ezekiel 7:21-23 NIV). 

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.                         

                                                 Never Rest Ministries