"My weapons are..."

It's funny what occurs to a person in a half-doze.

I was laying on the couch, trying to encourage our little one to go to sleep, watching Disney's Pocahontas (historically inaccurate, but more on that another time). I was succeeding in dozing off myself, while little one was still a bit restive.

While dozing (and I'm sure this phrase is not in the movie) these words came to me: "My weapons are light and love."

Odd weapons, don't you think?

But not so odd, when you realize our mission in life is to bring people together.

"A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love, one for another." - John 13:34,35, (Madman's paraphrase).

Strictly speaking, these weapons wage war on our true enemy, the powers of darkness. They negate the powers of darkness, and allow those who have been bound by them to see the light and feel the love. However, it can take a lot of loving to break through the walls of darkness and let the light shine in on a person's heart and soul. And we risk much hurt along the way.

But isn't it worth it? When you were reclaimed, wasn't it worth it? I thought so.

So use the weapons of light and love to defeat the true enemy, and win a soul to freedom.

With Christ's Help,
Yes, You Can!

Promised Land

This is Easter weekend.

How many of you fully appreciate what that means?

In true Shakespearian fashion there’s a story within a story here. The redemption of the Children of Jacob (Israel). And the redemption of Mankind.

In both stories redemption comes from the Hand of God, working through the hands of a man.

Let me tell you what I mean.

Moses, a man who means well, kills an overseer who was abusing a slave. Knowing what he has done is wrong, albeit done for the right reasons, he takes off to go into hiding, spending forty years in the land of Midian, and building a new life.

God gets his attention and sends him back to rescue the nation of Israel from bondage to Egypt and Pharaoh.

Pharaoh isn’t having any, considering the impact of the loss of labor on the Egyptian lifestyle.

God visits a number of demonstrations on Egypt, leading up to the killing of all the first-born in the land, except for those who have chosen to follow Moses’ instructions in a ritual that has come to be known as the Passover, because the Angel of Death passed over the houses marked with the blood of a lamb.

Pharaoh sends them away, but has second thoughts, and tries to capture and/or kill the Children of Israel by main force. Moses, directed by God to stretch out his staff, parts the Red Sea, the Children cross over and Pharaoh’s army drowns in the sea when it rushes back into place.

(A little side note: there’s a story about a man who asked a Jew, “Do you really think that God parted the Red Sea to let you cross over?” To which the Jew replied, “Well, here we are...”)

Now, fast forward a millennium or so. Jesus, a man who has made something of a name for himself by generally doing good deeds, has also managed to raise the hackles of the religious leaders of the day. They scheme for a way to eliminate him and return to a comfortable (for them) status quo. That’s their view of things.

From Jesus’ standpoint of being a man, but also the Son of God, he sees it as the reason He came to earth: to become the Passover lamb for the world, allowing anyone who would to take His blood upon themselves, and thus escape the eternal death.

He proved it, not by dying, but by returning from the dead.

Thus Easter is a second Passover, writ large on the canvas of the entire world, and for all of time.

Satan, like Pharaoh, is not content to let his captives go, even after the battle is over. He continues to strive against us, lying to us, turn us one against another, causing us to try to harm each other.

That’s the only way Satan can get his licks in.

Like Pharaoh, Satan will meet his end when the portion of the human race that chooses to passes through the Red Sea of death into the Promised Land of eternal life at the end of time.

Do I really believe this?

Well, He rose. Eleven men, plus Paul (formerly known as Saul the Persecutor), staked their very lives on it. If Jesus had not risen, the scattered followers would have remained scattered, and this would have been a curious blip in history.

Can you believe it?

Yes, you can!

(Will you believe it? Only you, and God, know.)

HOW WELL THEY KNOW ME!

The same email came from two different directions and into my inbox on the same day:


Today Is National Mental Health day!

You can do your bit by remembering to send an email to an unstable friend.

(Well...my job's done!)

Some days, it's not even worth chewing through the restraints

How well they know me!

And, as I like to say, a little insanity can be a healthy thing. IF it can make you smile somewhere along the way.

And a good suggestion from my wife, a very wise woman, is to sing songs of praise, even when you don't feel like singing anything. It's easy to sing praises when we feel on top of everything. But the time we need to sing praises and be in our Father's arms is when everything is on top of us.

And I may have just offended some of you.

Those of you who don't have some sort of relationship with Creator God just now felt slapped in the face. I'm sorry, as it was NOT my intention to offend. But, part of this blog is to tell you what works for me. If you don't have such a relationship it may not work for you. The odd thing is, though, God meets us where we are, He comes more than half-way: He comes all the way. If you start to sing praises (or, if you feel like you can't sing, merely speaking will do), even if you don't feel like it, He will come to you. You may find that it is an experience you want to repeat.

Despite what you may have heard, God is not willing that any be apart from Him, but He is also respectful enough of our feelings that He will not force His presence on us if we do not want him around. And even Christians push Him away. Or put Him in a box they take out on Sunday.

Hence, my depression cycle: I did that very thing.

My wife is wise. She told me that even if I only sang that simple children's song we are teaching our little one, it would be enough to start the process:

Jesus loves me, this I know

For the Bible tells me so

Little ones to Him belong;

We are weak, but He is strong!

Yes, Jesus loves me,

Yes, Jesus loves me,

Yes, Jesus loves me,

The Bible tells me so!

It's not so much a 'Belief' as it is a 'trust'. If you need verses to back up the song, here are two:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." - John's Gospel 3:16-17 New International Version (NIV)

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" - Paul's letter to the Romans 8:1 (NIV)

Christianity is not so much a system of rules (though many think it is) as it a relationship with someone who has an interest with you. It is true that if you live by the 'rules' of Christianity you will generally be considered a 'good person'. Remember, though, that's what the Pharisees thought they were doing, and along the way they lost the love for God, and missed experiencing the love of God.

Anyway, I've wandered a bit. The idea is to find that smile that belongs to you. Even more, to find that joy that belongs to you.

God Bless, and,

Yes, You Can!