A Little Truth about Going Our Own Way

“Speaking the Truth in Love”

A Little Truth about Going Our Own Way

In the past couple of decades, we have been bullied into keeping our opinions, thoughts, and even beliefs to ourselves, because of “political correctness”. We are to believe that there is no right or wrong, except what is right for me, and wrong for you to think about me!

We have lost our moral compass and so anything goes, and no one can tell me what to do! But look where it has gotten us. “Causes” and “rights” have created a world where there is more selfishness, division and destruction than we have seen in decades, if not centuries.

Proverbs 14:12 tells us “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” This is repeated in Prov 16:25. I think the Lord was trying to tell us something! When we leave His will and ways behind, thinking we are being “free”, we often are just deceived into following a pathway that leads us away from God and into destruction.

Jesus came to show us the Way. In fact, He said He was the way, and He leads us to the Throne of Grace where a loving Heavenly Father waits for us to “come home.” He leads us out of darkness and into His eternal light. He invited us to, “Repent and sin no more.”

Sin is rebellion against God. Knowing “better that Him” or declaring, “It’s my life, I can do what I want with it. It isn’t hurting anyone else.” It’s true, you can do what you want, but remember, the way is broad that leads to destruction, and narrow is the path that leads to life eternal. (Matt 7:13) And actually, we are interrelated, so what you do does affect others in your life. When we do what is right in our own eyes and ignore what the Creator declared was the way of life, we are sinning.

God wants us to be holy, as He is holy. Not perfect, but consecrated, set apart for a life that honours Him and His Son. A life that allows the Holy Spirit to move in and through us to make us who the Creator fashioned us to be.

The Truth is, there IS a right and wrong way to live our lives. If we want the most out of life, we should find out what the Father intended for us. “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for Me, you will find it.” (Matt 10:39 NLT) Jesus invites us to the most exciting journey you could ever imagine. Forget about “political correctness”, and discover God’s correct way for your life. There’s no life like it - not even the Marine Corps :)

If you haven’t asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be the Lord and Saviour of your life, why not ask Him today? Discover the Truth about who you are in Him, and just how much He loves you.

Peace & Love,
Holly M. <><
 

Speaking the Truth in Love - Why I’m writing this blog    Mar 15, 2017

I, Holly, started this blog because I am utterly amazed at the viciousness of people’s reactions - on both sides of the border, since November’s election!! I thought, “What would Jesus think about all this?” He certainly did not shy away from controversy, but He taught that when we speak, we should speak the truth in LOVE.
Paul brought it home to us in 1 Cor 13:1 (NIV) “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Because Jesus is the Truth, we are called to speak in such a way that it sets people free.

Words are often used as weapons and to prove our point, or make us better than someone else. Or, we allow ourselves to be shut down because of political correctness.

I have always been one to speak my mind, but just because I might think I’m right, doesn’t mean other people will think that! BUT if I share my opinions with love and curtesy, and listen to their  thoughts, we can actually have a DIALOGUE! and who knows, we might both learn something!! :)

I am a firm believer in “the Truth will set you free,” and if there is Truth being spoken, and I want  Truth, then there will be a witness, and I would be smart to listen!

Christians can play an important part in real communication happening at this crazy time.

Jim Denison, speaks and writes on cultural and contemporary issues. In his column “Texas Congressmen Driving to DC Go Viral” https://www.denisonforum.org/?utm_source=Cultural+Commentary&utm_campaign=ead6f2781b-Texas+congressmen+driving+to+DC+go+viral&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_51f776a552-ead6f2781b-273466309&mc_cid=ead6f2781b&mc_eid=5b258397ae , he wrote: “We are commanded to defend our beliefs ‘with gentleness and respect’ (1 Peter 3:15) by ‘speaking the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15). The greater our opposition, the greater our opportunity.”
Light shines in the darkness!

Shane Claiborne is a social activist, advocating for nonviolence and service to the poor. He put it well when he said, “…There are lots of people speaking the truth with no love, and there are a lot of people talking about love without much truth.”

The Church has the Truth. We HAVE to speak out. But it is not going to do anyone any good if we are just as angry as the people we are talking to. Can we show the difference that Jesus makes when He comes to live inside? Can we love our enemies and pray for those who despitefully use us (see my blog “Love Your Enemies Pt 1 http://hollymroddam.blogspot.com/)? Can we show the way forward by speaking the truth with respect, giving dignity to others, and rising above to love our enemies?

I for one will be trying.

Are You a Son of Issachar?

Are you a Son of Issachar?
1 Chronicles 12:32a "...the sons of Issachar had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do..."

Many years ago, the Lord told me to "pay attention" to what is going on in the world. I wasn’t to do anything about it necessarily, but to be aware. Then I heard about the Sons of Issachar who knew the signs of the times and understood what needed to be done. I prayed to be like them.

 
As Christians, we are to be aware of things that most people ignore. Jesus said we are to "Watch and Pray". Look for what God might be doing in a situation instead of buying hook, line and sinker what the media wants you to believe.

We have gone a long way from the morality and values that have blessed our lives. Yet we are surprised that there is so much evil in the world. We have closed God out of our lives and substituted Him with "political correctness" and being “loving", because we are afraid to stand for truth. The church has become silent, and taken up the causes of the world instead of the Gospel of Peace.

Jesus said that in the last days men would call good evil, and evil good. When Michael Jackson's song "Bad" came out, I was stunned that this was a literal fulfillment of this scripture! Now, when someone said you were “bad”, that was a good thing! "You're bad man!" meant you were really cool! Not that we can’t have slang and use expressions for things, but it was exactly what scripture said.

Is 5:20-23 (KJV)
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;        
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;…
21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!…
23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away justice from the righteous man!

The Sons of Issachar knew what was going on. They also knew how to correct things and bring them back to centre. They knew the Word and the commandments of God, and called things for what they were.

I am very saddened by how 2 Tim 3 is such a reflection of our way of life today:

2 Timothy 3 (KJV)
1 … in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away… 7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth…
So many people today have been brought up without any knowledge of scripture and the love of the Father. Let us walk in the ways of God, showing the way, and teaching our children scripture, which is able to make them wise unto salvation through faith in Jesus.

It’s time to pay attention to the signs of the times, and realign our lives with Jesus.

Run the Race

Run the Race                                                 
They said Secretariat was a horse “built by God”.  Physically, Secretariat was built perfectly to run. His heart was twice as big as any other horse but he also had endurance, a rare combination. He seemed to take pleasure in starting out in last place, just to pass everyone on his way to a new track or race record. But when Secretariat ran the 3rd race in the Triple Crown in 1973, he started out first and kept on going! By the time he finished, he was a full 31 lengths ahead of Sham who ran the race of his life, only to come in a distant second.

In the 2010 movie “Secretariat”, the groom played Gospel music when he was grooming Secretariat and it was like the horse knew he had been created to run for God's pleasure, and to win. When he didn't win, he would go to the back of his stall and "think" about it. The next race, he would win with a new record! 

As I watched this movie, I understood life in a new way. God takes pleasure in hiding treasure so that man has the pleasure of discovering it. God doesn't withhold things from us, He invites, challenges, and cajoles us into really pursuing something! He invites us to allow the Holy Spirit to put wings on our feet and the wind at our back and do what we were built to do!

There have been many things in my heart over the years: writing books, doing concerts, seeing whole communities live for God, seeing nations come to the Lord in a day… I have seen partial fulfillment of some of these things, but I want to be more like Jesus and Paul, who seeing the prize set before them, ran their races and did not falter or give up when things got tough.

The Race of Faith  Hebrews 12:1b-2  (NKJV)

12 1…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Please, Jesus, help me to push past the things that would distract or hinder me. Let me become stronger in the process, and if I don't get it the first time, give me the strength to get up and go at it again until I get it right!

Thank You, Jesus, for the example of Secretariat. Thank You that You have built me to run the race that is set before me. Let me leave the devil in the dust, a full 31 lengths behind me.  Thanks!

- HMR <><

Love Your Enemies Pt 1

We are called as the Church to bring GOOD NEWS to the world that is lost and hopeless and hurting. Many are willing to speak the truth, but it is often used as a weapon, “Well, I was just being honest!” But if we speak the truth in LOVE we dispel the darkness and lies of the enemy.

Jesus said, "Love your enemies and pray for those who despitefully use you." What do you pray for someone who despitefully uses you? That they will come to know the truth and be set free from the lies that make them think they are doing good.

How did Germany get to a place where a Holocaust of millions of Jews could happen? People were lulled into it and didn't pay attention to the signs of the times. The Church was silent and then it was too late.

It seems impossible for us to think that could take place today, and yet, the same scenario is lining up, and again, we are asleep at the wheel. The Church needs to rise up, not in fear or compromise, but in LOVE and speak Jesus' TRUTH.

If we are only speaking the truth of "civil rights", we fool ourselves if we think that is how "We shall overcome." We will not overcome without Jesus. The Church, has the key - The Good News of the Prince of Peace. We need to tell people how much God LOVES them and has sent Jesus to die that we might not live under the tyranny of religion and rules that put individuals and whole people groups in bondage. He died that we might have life and have it ABUNDANTLY. People need to know this truth! God is FOR them, not against them. But if we are asleep or fearful of sharing, we are going to end up in a world that was like Nazi Germany all over again.

This is not a time to complain and gripe and bad-mouth people for things we disagree about. This is a time to pray for peace on earth and become part of the solution.

WE have the GOOD NEWS. Jesus left us with one commandment - “Go and preach the Gospel to every nation. Teach them to observe everything I have taught you.” He taught Truth in Love - not condemnation, not judgement, not compromising the truth to make people feel better about their sin, but speaking the truth that can set people free.  ONLY the truth will set you free, and Jesus is the Truth.

Through The Door

THROUGH THE DOOR -  2017.01
                                      

Most of my life I have struggled to understand my purpose and place in this world. I have been in a hurry to “get to reach my destiny” and understand all that the Lord has been doing in my life.

Brought up a Baptist, I was taken to a Roman Catholic church with my grandmother. I was “adopted” into a Plymouth Brethren family which is as opposite as you can get from both, and ended up married to an Anglican priest!

Born on  Canada's east coast, I ended up living on the west coast where I thought Vancouver was Heaven on Earth, only to be called to Seattle, WA (really Lord??!!!). That became home like no other place I’d been.

Called to ministry as a teen, I ended up being in the shadows of my husband who was the “real” minister (paid and everything!!) and found that I was an artist - in three genres! (Music, writing and painting).

I have never really felt like I belonged anywhere, but rather “homeless” 5 times in my life, and at present, we are not settled anywhere. I have been “through with doors” for a long time!

But finally, I am coming to grips with what my spirit seems to have known in 2004 when I wrote this poem. I didn’t want to go through doors, I just wanted to be finished with them! But Jesus is patient (Thank You Jesus!).

Jesus has been teaching me that it is not the destination He’s interested in because He’s able to keep me from falling, and to present me faultless before the presence of His glory (Jude 24). And I am confident that He who has begun this good work in me will carry it on to completion. (Phil 1:6) He can do that!

No, Jesus is more interested in what I do with what’s through the door than in getting to the door. Will I embrace what He sets before me and realize that He is helping me develop character and fruit that will last? Will I recognize that what I encounter through the door are opportunities to behave and respond like Jesus, and thereby become more like Him? I have to embrace my life. It doesn’t do me any good to wish it would just go away or be what it isn’t.

I have to embrace the door; see it, touch it, feel it, listen to what it has to tell me, and taste and see that the Lord is good. After 6 years of ignoring the door before me, I think I am FINALLY ready to experience the adventure that awaits me Through the Door.

Peace & Love to you as you journey through your doors.

- Holly M. <><

Sabbatical Season Blog 2: Gold Pots

Around 1998, after we had been in Vancouver for a couple of years, the Lord began to call people out of ministry or their jobs and put them on hold. We thought first that it was a transition period that would last for a while and then He would put them back into active service. But some of our friends were “on the shelf” for 10 years!! Some were judged as being irresponsible. People didn’t understand!

At the same time, I was struggling with the renewal meetings that were happening our area. John and I led regular meetings at St David’s on Thursday nights that were a blessing to many. We attended meetings at friends’ churches as they had guest speakers, healing services and renewal meetings. I knew the Lord was doing something. It might not all have been the Lord, but a lot of it was, and I didn’t doubt that He was in it.

But I was getting beaten up in these meetings. I was watching as others were touched and getting “drunk” in the Spirit or “surfing in the river” or whatever else was going down at the time, but I was being untouched and I felt something must be wrong with me.

I took these two things to the Lord, and asked Him what was going on. Why wasn’t I being affected? What was wrong with me?? What was wrong with these others who were “doing nothing”?

He told me that there was nothing wrong with me or them, but that this was a “silver pot time”. We were “gold pot” people who were still in the back of the furnace being fired and purified for the “gold pot time”. He said gold pots were not better than silver pots, they just had a different function. Each pot, whether it be for taking out garbage or serving the finest of food, was important and necessary in its own way. We need them all! But what the Lord was doing right then was a “silver pot” work.

This was a time when people needed to be reminded of the Father’s love. We had forgotten that He was a joyful, loving Heavenly Father. Many people had lost their first love and the joy of their salvation. The Lord was restoring this through the playful fun of “jumping in the river” and getting “slain in the Spirit”. This would prepare them to go the next steps in their preparations as His Bride.

It wasn’t that I didn’t need some of that too! I sorely did! But the Lord told me that the “gold pot” people and I were for a different purpose, and the preparation was different.

Arthur Burk (www.theslg.com) says we have come out of the Ruler Season into the Mercy Season. As he described this season, I recognized my whole life! I have been a Mercy Season person living in a Ruler Season. No wonder my life made so little sense and I felt out of step with what was happening!

I have not talked about this with very many people in the past, nor am I writing this to talk about me. But I believe there are more “gold pots” out there!! Now that we have entered the Mercy Season, it is time for us to be brought out of the kiln and used.

I believe part of what the Lord is going to use gold pots for is to touch the hearts of the wealthy business world to show the Father’s love for them. Sometimes the church looks to the world’s wealthy and covets their money, “for the Kingdom” of course!! I know I have been guilty of that sometimes! I KNOW I could use their money more wisely than they do!!! But we have to have pure hearts and clean hands if we are to touch their hearts. We have to leave their pocketbooks and bank accounts as matters to be settled between them and the God who loves them and has an amazing plan for their lives!

I was sharing with a friend a couple weeks ago who I believe is a gold pot too. He told me that God was teaching him not to covet what others have. The Lord showed him what an amazing witness it would be when he did not look to them to meet his needs, but watched as God provided for him while he shared God’s love for them, no strings or coveting attached!

So often people who have a lot of material things can’t trust the people around them. They never know if people are there because of being a friend, or for what they can get from them.

Just this week I heard about a very wealthy man who would throw huge parties on his boat, spend millions of dollars, invite hundreds of people and then go off and sit by himself while everyone at the party had a good time at his expense. No one even seemed to notice that he was not there! He was extremely lost and lonely despite his millions!

I needed these conversations. The Lord wants me to stop looking to people to meet my needs too. This is hard when there is no income coming in. The temptation is to look at each envelope in the mail or each speaking engagement as a potential source of income, instead of looking to the Lord as your provider. Since these conversations, and traveling across the continent, God has been faithful. I have seen HIs provision, and have finally been able to let go and fully believe that God, in HIS time, not mine, will bring to pass everything He has promised.

And God is good! He confirms His word! We were praying for a friend’s business when suddenly, his intercessors began to pray for me and John. She had only met us that day, and knew very little of our current situation. She began to pray for a house for us. She used words that were significant to me and John that she could not have known. She prayed my heart’s desire. The more she prayed, the more I heard the voice of God in her words. He confirmed that He knew my needs and has a plan to work it all out for my good as I follow and obey His commands.

The Mercy season is a characterized by relationships. Everything we do will come out of relationship with God and those He calls us to work with or serve. Gold pots are made for such a time as this. We need each other because our destiny is bigger than we are.

If you are a gold pot person, take heart. You are not alone! God has hidden many of us away for this day, and He will begin to reveal us to each other. Keep your eyes on Him and your hearts soft towards Him. He will provide everything we need to accomplish all that He has prepared in advance for us to do, and HE will get all the glory!!

Our part is to shine like stars in the universe, as we hold out the Word of Life!! (Phil 2:15b-16)

A Sabbatical Season Part 1: Homeless in Seattle

I am not comfortable with homeless people on the side of the road begging. I don't know where to look or how to think when I encounter them. I feel overwhelmed by the prospect of life on the street and not being able to "fix it" for them, bring them home and make them comfortable.

I used to be a missionary in the inner city of Saint John, NB and we had homeless kids that we took into our own home at the time, and in 10 of the 12 places John and I have lived, we have had people live with us who had no where else to go. So it is not like I don't care. I do.

So to BE a homeless person, has been hard to come to grips with and understand. I have worked hard and have played by the rules. I have been married to the same man for 32 years and we have raised 4 children. How is it that at this stage in my life, I have nowhere to call "home" and nowhere to unpack my belongings? And this is not the first time.

The first time I was homeless in Seattle, I lived in Tsawwassen, BC and "commuted" to Seattle to go to church where John was called to be the Rector of St. Luke's Episcopal. God had told me to look for an 8 bedroom house in which we could host people. It took me 2.5 months, but I finally found it, and we moved to Seattle.

We couldn't buy the house, so we rented for 2.5 years, and then the house sold very unexpectedly. With the help of friends, we managed to get all packed up. But there was nowhere to go. I thought perhaps the Lord would give us a house we could buy and call our own at that point, but instead, we "house sat" as one parishioner after another went on vacation. This lasted for 2.5 months as well.

The first place we were "homeless" in was a beautiful Cape Cod mansion on Highland Ave overlooking the whole of the downtown waterfront!! Even when I am homeless, I get to live like a King! So what is my problem?

I wonder if it is because I am a First Nations Canadian, Mi'kmaq (formerly known as Micmac Indians). As we know, every treaty made to the First Nations people in North America was broken. So I have real justice issues rolling around inside of me about land and home. Then I am only 3 generations away from being a slave! My grandfather was the first free-born member of my family. I have inherited from him a very strong sense of needing to be "free" that goes very deep in me. But there is also just as strong a need and desire to have a place of my own where I "belong". I have very little sense of belonging.

And if that isn't enough, I am a woman! That brings with it a whole set of needs to nest and nurture and have roots. I am getting old. Old people need a home! At least this old person does!! So maybe I can forgive myself if I am not thrilled to have no place to call my own.

So I am finding that the first lesson the Lord is teaching me during this Sabbatical Season is that I do have a home. Jesus is my home. It is a huge struggle to lay my homelessness at Jesus' feet, but the periods of time between when I set it down and pick it up again are getting longer as I stop looking at all that I don't have, and look at what I do have.

So many homeless people go to bed every night literally "on the street". Every night I have a roof over my head. These same people often don't have 1 let alone 3 meals a day. I have fat rolls to prove I don't miss many meals. I have 2 rooms full of "stuff" in storage. They might have a shopping cart full of belongings. I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, knows me by name, has a plan and a purpose for my life, and will bring it to completion. So do they, but they don't always know that. Maybe that is what God has been trying to help me understand. When you don't have the stability of a home, a base from which to operate, it is hard to do the normal things that we take for granted like keeping a job or staying healthy.

Jesus, I pray to see people as You see them. Give me compassion and love for the situations they are in. Show me how I can bless them and love them, even when I can't change or fix their situation. But above all, let me be thankful that I am not really homeless because You are my home. Amen.

I Will Bring You Home by Michael Card

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXt-qSD6JSw

Though you are homeless, though you're alone, I will be your home, Whatever's the matter, whatever's been done I will be your home

I will be your home,I will be your home, In this fearful, fallen place I will be your home

When time reaches fullness, when I move My hand, I will bring you home Home to your own place in a beautiful land, I will bring you home

I will bring you home, I will bring you home From this fearful, fallen place I will bring you home, I will bring you home

Day 13

Thursday November 18, 2010 

I am American!

Only because God conceived of this in His mind and planned it for His purposes do I find that TODAY I AM A CITIZEN OF THE USA!  I can hardly write it it is so amazing to me!  Returning, as it were to my roots, I am a citizen of both Canada and the US - a true North American :)

Grandpa William Andrew White made the trek to Nova Scotia from Virginia in 1899 to attend school. Only the 2nd black student at Acadia University, he was treated so well by his peers that he stayed and became a citizen of Canada. 

During WWI he became the 1st black officer in the British Empire as chaplain of the  No. 2 Construction Battalion, an all black segregated unit serving in World War I. He continued after the war to fight for the civil rights of Blacks in Nova Scotia, and was the 1st preacher to have a national radio broadcast. (You can read more about him here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._White, and there is a short clip of a documentary that was made about him here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SWlbITXSEU).

I love Canada, my home and native land, true north strong and free, but today, I felt the Lord calling me back to Captain White's native land to stand for truth and righteousness here, as a citizen, just as Rev White did in Canada, to help us become once again, "One Nation under God". 

I can feel the Lord begining to do a work in my heart, helping me to understand why I had to become a citizen.

I always felt my Grandpa White was part of me.  His fierce Freedman heart, and his jovial smile and racus laugh.  He just seems so real to me and I have been aware of him for most of my life, which is interesting since he died when my Dad was 7, so I obvivously never met him! But I could feel him inside me. It seems somehow that I have been brought back to the US to take up for him what he couldn't do because he was "on assignment" in Canada. 

The Lord told me before we came to the US in 2000 that He was adding the US to Canada in me.  So in a way, I knew this day would come.  I just had no idea how hard it would be to do what it would take to become a citizen.  The renouncing of Canada was heart-wrenching to me.  Not the actual saying the words during the swearing in, but the process to get to the place where I could say the words!

I am deeply Canadian, and my identity is Canadian. But I am willing, as Paul was, to be all things to all men that I might win some.  The Apostle Paul was a Roman citizen when he needed to be, and a Jew when it suited the Lord's purposes better. He was legitimately both, and used that to further the Kingdom of God. That is what I am, a dual citizen, who really is just an Ambassador from the Kingdom of God. I can be a Canadian when I need to be, and an American when I need to be. 

God is funny! He really has set me up because I am already not just "one thing"!  I am Black and White and Red; I am Canadian, Italian, German, Russian, Micmac, British, American, African and who knows what else! I am a citizen of the earth and a citizen of Heaven.  My only real allegiance is to God most High, and no earthly power that stands against Him can have my allegiance, no matter what I said today! THAT is my 1st place of loyalty.

So Lord, I am here at Your service. An ambassador for Christ.  I want to serve you well and with a pure heart of love for those You send me to.  Please let me be like Jesus. He loved who He was with and it didn't matter the country that He "belonged to" because He didn't belong to any country.  He was, and still is, the Captain of the Hosts, and Ruler of All. 

Please show me the path You have for me to walk in. I want to be faithful to this calling.  Don't let the emeny find me an easy target but a Dread Champion in Your army of Lovers. Let me win souls for You both young and old by loving them into Your Kingdom.

And God, please bless America - we need You! 

xoxoxo

Your Canadian-American :)

Day 11 – Get Ready, Get Set, GO!

January 16, 2010

I have been thinking, as I am sure much of the world has been, about the people of Haiti and the suffering they are enduring. 

The situation was brought to my attention during our Wednesday morning senior’s Bible Study. Someone asked if I had heard from our daughter, Lori, since the earthquake. This was all news to me! Lori was with her YWAM mission in the Dominican Republic, the other side of the mountains from Haiti, and so they wondered if there had been any news from her. There hadn’t – and still hasn’t, but I am sure they are fine.

Then we heard that a friend from Vancouver was in a building that collapsed in the earthquake. She was there checking out some things for a future mission's trip with Impact World.  Thankfully she is home safe and sound now but she said things were pretty grim there! 

We were studying Daniel 9 in Bible Study that day, and the whole context of the news and study got me thinking about how so often people blame God for these disasters. We even call them “acts of God”. 

There are increasingly more and more of these disasters around the globe, but there is a little talked about common factor in these events.  Many of them happen in the places that have been most closed to the gospel of Jesus. 

Even here in the US, Katrina hit the city that is known for its voodoo and “sinful fun”.  In Indonesia where there, it was in the Muslim region that was totally closed to the gospel and any other outside influence that was so devastated by an earthquake, and now Haiti, which has twice been dedicated to satan by its people. Fifty percent of Haitians practice voodoo.

If we could but remember that it is satan’s agenda to kill, steal and destroy and God’s to take upon Himself the sin of the whole world to SAVE and REDEEM us, maybe we could see and hear His urgent plea to come to Him and receive the gifts of love and forgiveness that He so readily offers. 

There were many Christians who lost their lives as well in the Haiti earthquake. People who were in there trying to make a difference for these poorest of people and bring the love and freedom of God to their lives.  So I am not saying that being a Christian will protect you from disaster, but I am saying that as you look at the places where disaster has hit, those places where people acknowledge and call on the name of the Lord have much less loss of life (apx 1,836 people in New Orleans) compared to those who do not (as many as 200,000 people in Haiti).

When people turn from God they leave themselves open to the evil one to come in. This is how satan treats his followers!  his only agenda is to kill, steal and destroy! Maybe now the world will begin to see him for who he is and turn their hearts to the true Living God, Jesus, and choose Him to be their God.

One of the interesting things that happens in disasters like these, is that Christians are some of the first to respond. They come in with the Love of God and relief aid. This is what happened in Indonesia, the largerst Muslim nation in the world.  After the earthquake there, the Christians came in with relief aid and the gospel, and many thousands have turned to Jesus as their Saviour. there is a revival going on in Jakarta.

It is too bad that we wait until things finally get "bad enough" to go to God. He is able to save and protect and wants to do that for us. He is NOT out to get us! He died to SAVE us! One of the ministries in Haiti, World Concern, which is based in Shoreline, WA where we live, was the only building standing in the area! All the other buildings were rubble, but it was unharmed!  God is ALIVE and POWERFUL to save those who call on His name!

When we put our trust in God, and are in right relationship with Him, we don't have to fear. His perfect love gets rid of the fear, because we know that even if we die, we will live forever with Him. That is the hope of the Christian faith, and what Jesus came to earth to buy for us.

I have spent my whole life believing that I would see the second coming of the Lord. I believe the end is near – I don't know about 2012 because scripture tells us NO ONE BUT GOD knows when, but scripture gives us signs to look for, and we have seen almost all of them fulfilled!

Now is the time to be looking at our relationship with God; making sure that we are not trusting our own righteousness, but God's love and grace through Jesus, to keep us safe. We want to be sure that all of our family members know and believe what Jesus did for them so that they will put their trust in HIM and HIS righteousness to cover their sins, as well.

Our hope is in the finished work of Jesus on the cross that triumphed over the enemy and won back for Himself fallen mankind.  One day satan will be forced to bow down to Jesus.

24 Then the end will come, when he (satan) hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He (Jesus) has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. …

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  

24 Then the end will come, when he (satan) hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He (Jesus) has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. …

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true:

"Death has been swallowed up in victory."

55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.   (1 Cor 15: 24-26, 51-58 - NIV)

God is alive and wants to have a relationship with us. The enemy only offers suffering and death, even when it looks like power and influence. There is a way that seems right to man but ends in death – here and in eternity.

I pray that you know Jesus and have a living relationship with Him.  If you don’t and would like to know how you can, please leave me a message and I would be happy to walk you into that place of intimacy with God.

For those of us who do know Jesus already, I would like to share a verse that the Lord gave me one day.  It goes for us all.

Peace & Love,

Holly M. <><

Day 10 “Y” Work Out   

Jan 15, 2010

 

Today I went for my first session at the YMCA with my trainer, Matt.  He showed me the machines I should use and helped me do my first work out.  I was surprised how well I did :) I am also proud of myself for already going 4 days in a row to do some type of exercise.  I won't be going every day, but I want to go at least 3 if not 4 times a week because I really want to get in shape and be the person I was promised I would be after I had my children. It is going to be hard, but I am just happy that I have been able to show up each day! THAT has been a BIG accomplishment for me!

 

I don't know what the fear in me is, but there is something there. I have read about people who were sexually abused as children wanting to hide in their bodies and put a protective shield around themselves in layers of fat.  I wonder how much of that is what is happening with me. Whatever the reason that I am 100 pounds overweight  is only partly important at this point.  I have to deal with it no matter where it came from!

 

So I met Matt at the Y and he was very encouraging J, but then, I was not as bad as I thought I would be! I was actually able to breathe throughout the workout, which was surprising since I usually can't breathe and walk at the same time! And I was stronger than I thought I would be.  Then after Matt and I were finished going around the machines and setting up a schedule of sorts for me, I spent another 15 minutes on the bike by myself and actually walked out of the Y on my own steam :D  That was a BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT :) !

 

This was actually Day 4 of my new life.  I want to be around to see my grandchildren grow up for sure, but even more, I want to be able to stand beside my 2 skinny sisters and not take up the same amount of space they do together!  Good thing I live on the other side of the country from them for now :) Look out you two, I am coming “down” to your size! LoL :)

Delicious desire pulled everything 

to my fingertips

I consumed with my eyes. 

Perfection lost nothing.

(C) Oct 12, 2003

Repost of Day 7: Down to work!            January 12, 2010 - Tuesday  

A new YMCA opened up down the street last year, and today JR, RSJ & I signed up. We start tomorrow at 7 on the bikes and then a quick water walk before going to the office.  

This is going to mean a complete change in schedule too! No more staying up until 5 or 6 a.m. I am going to have to finish writing earlier and get to bed!

After being in Asia and seeing pictures of myself that looked like I felt, all fat rolls and floppiness (somehow I had been able to keep that vision out of my eyes), I knew it was time to take action.

Interestingly, I happened to listen to a Focus On The Family broadcast with Chantel Hobbs, author of "Never Say Diet". She talks about the five decisions she made which helped her lose more than 200 pounds and achieve a healthy lifestyle. The thing that stood out most to me was she said she hadn't been ready to do the work of losing the weight until she was motivated one Super Bowl Sunday.

That is what I have been waiting for.  I have lost weight before, and watched hundreds of other people do it too - just to put it back with interest! I did not want to fail and end up bigger than I started out!  So I have been preparing for about 4 years now by getting other parts of my life in order.

I have been trying to understand the fear in me that makes me want to hide myself from "the outside world" and cocoon myself away. I don't know that I am really that much closer to understanding where this fear came from, but I am ready to face those fears and tackle them.

What has been so frustrating is that I always saw myself as big and fat in my head - like a big black mama with white skin - because the genes were there and I could see myself in other family members.  But I used to be a very skinny person then - smaller than my daughters who are like models!  The irony of it! I actually got to almost twice my size before I could see it when it finally did happen, and now there is a lot of work to do to reclaim myself.

So wish me luck, but better still, please pray for me to fall more in love with Jesus and KNOW HIS LOVE for me.  Perfect love casts out fear, and I am counting on the fat going with the fear!

Good Night                 

By Holly M. Roddam

The Sun winks goodnight

Behind the edge of the world

See you at daybreak

© Nov 11, 2003