Wow, wow, wow….just wow!

 

I so love how Scripture can just talk to you.  It is uncanny some times! 

 

I was feeling a bit unsettled this morning.  A subtle disruption of the spirit so to speak.  Nothing serious, just one of those mornings where you just feel a bit pensive and off.

 

As you know, I read a chapter from the OT and a chapter from the NT and then try to discern what God is saying to me that day through His word.  I opened to where I had left off in John.

I started in chapter 13 and thought I read this last time so I turned to chapter 14.  Here are the first words I saw!

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me (Jesus)."

 

Wow!!!!  Talk about God speaking directly to me!  The cool things is that I felt an immediate calming of the spirit.  Didn't mean that my concerns were immediately taken care of or anything.  Just meant that I could chill out about it because I know God has my back.  I could stop feeling unsettled and just start working though the issues at hand in a clam and logical manor. 

That may seem simplistic to some but I've got to tell you it sure works for me!  It is that "peace that surpasses all understanding" that you hear about.
 

Would you like to experience that peace for your self?  All you have to do is ask Jesus to come into your life.  Just have a conversation with Jesus.  "Dear Jesus…."

What a glorious start to the day. Thank you Lord!!!

 

Wow!  What a glorious start to the day! 

Most of you don't know but I have become a serious morning person.  I get up most days around 3:00 AM.  I love the solitude of the early morning.  I love to enjoy my coffee as I read the news and then I hit the floor to stretch and exercise.  I have arthritis in my left hip and the physical therapists developed this routine that has done wonders for me.

 

Anyway I went outside this morning about 5:00 AM.  It was still dark out with the horizon just starting to show a small strip of blue as dawn started to break.  It was about 65 degrees out and still as could be. 

I grabbed a couple of beach towels and spread them out in the yard towards the top of the hillside facing east.  I then hit the ground and did my whole stretching and workout routine as I watched dawn break.  It was so cool! 

I could see most of the stars in the sky to begin with, but as the sky brightened the stars began to fade.  (yes Jed, I know the stars themselves didn't get any dimmer :).  I could hear the birds slowly waking up and starting to chirp at each other.   I just had on sweat pants and no shirt.  I could feel the slight breeze ripple across my body and I could see the leaves ripple in that breeze.

 

It was so cool to lay there doing my workout as I just glorified God and thanked Him for giving me this awesome blessing!

As I have said so may times.  God is sooo coool!!!

I just don't get this!

 

Honestly, I am at a loss for words.  How to explain this?  We are told that God is a God of justice.  Yet this seems so unjust.  Try as I might, I just don't see how God's actions here are just in any way.  Hmm.

 

Here is where this gets interesting.  You know of my belief in looking for confirmation of Biblical principals in both the Old and New Testament.  We have that situation here. I will cover what that similar situation is after you read the verses.

 

Numbers 22:18-35(NKJV)

Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. 

Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.”

And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 

So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 

Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 

Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 

And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 

Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 

And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”

So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.”

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 

And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 

The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”

Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
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Balaam has been exceptionally loyal to God from the very beginning.  Always inquiring of God before answering so that he knew he was doing what God wanted.  God tells him "if the men call in the morning go with them".  They call in the morning so Balaam goes with them just as God told him to do!  And then God gets pissed at Balaam for doing exactly what God told Him to do!  What the hell?

To top it off, God gives Balaam a bunch of shit about it and then when all is said and done God tells Balaam to "go with the men but only the words I give you shall you speak".  Again, what the hell?  That is all Balaam has done from the very beginning!!!!!

Does that seem just to you???????

Ok, so here is a similar situation from the New Testament.  There is the story of Jesus walking up to a fig tree and condemning that tree to die because it had no fruit on it……even though it wasn't the season for figs.  So an innocent fig tree was unjustly killed by God (Jesus in the flesh).

 

So this brings us to some interesting questions.  Is it a mere coincidence that we have similar stories in both the old and new T or is this God's way of calling attention to a subtle point that He wants us to understand?  Is God a God of justice or not?  Were God's actions in these two cases unjust?

 

We seem to have some contradictions. 

As Ayn Rand said "Contradictions do not exist.  If you think you have found one, check your premise.".  (yes I get the irony of quoting an atheiest. :)

Hmm.  As I said above, I have no explanation at this time.  One of the great things decades of Bible study has taught me is to trust God always!  He will provide the answer to this puzzle when I need to know it.  I can't wait to hear the answer!    

 

Can it be said any plainer?

 

Here it is in a nutshell, said by Jesus Himself!  What does it take to be saved?

 

John 11:25-26(NKJV)

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 

And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

 

Any questions?

Proofs of God in our own lives!

In today's readings I was struck by these passages.

 

John 10:22-30(NKJV)

Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 

And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 

Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 

But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 

And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 

My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 

I and My Father are one.”

 

People often look to Scripture for proof of their beliefs.  While I think Scripture is important, what Jesus seems to be saying here is that there are other ways that are just as valid as Scripture to furnish "proof". 

 

Jesus specifically references His "works" which most of the rest of us would call miracles.  Jesus says to look at His works as proof of who He is.  Makes sense to me!

By looking at the miracles in our own lives as proof it takes our proofs from the historical knowledge (Scripture) to eye witness knowledge (personal experience) which I think is much more powerful.   

So if you ever have doubts or are seeking additional proofs, don't forget to look at and ponder the miracles you have personally experienced in your own lives. 

And then thank God again for those miracles and for the new miracles He has planned for your future!

Can I get an AMEN?    :)