Our Father
When I woke up this morning a song was playing in my mind. It is simply called Our Father and it reminds me of this verse.
Matt 6:9-10
"This, then, is how you should pray:
"'Our Father in heaven ,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
NIV
It played over and over in my mind and I thought There are certainly worse things that could be on my mind and so after a time I thought maybe it’s here for a reason and so I decided to think about it and write to you.
So I copied & pasted the verse for you and did some analysis on it:
Matt 6:9-10
"This, then, is how you should pray:
This came from Jesus, The Father’s son.
"'Our Father in heaven ,
Notice that He said “Our”. So He is “our” Father,
hallowed be your name,
He is to be respected and praised,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done
Everything is about Him,
on earth as it is in heaven.
On Earth AND in Heaven
NIV
We live for Him.
His actual son said: OUR Father.
Now, for me this makes me feel very good! Nothing that happens on this Earth or has happened in the past takes precedence over this! Life can be confusing (and it is!) but nothing can or will change this.
No matter who is on the phone or in your workspace or who is expecting anything from you or who they are, nothing takes precedence over the fact that He’s our father.
This was not taught to Christians alone, no these were normal human beings just like you and I. He is our father. And He is to be respected and praised, and He WILL BE whether or not we believe in Him.
In short: It’s not up to us, it’s up to Him. That is 100% different from what this World teaches us!
His will WILL be done AND His kingdom WILL come and notice where it say’s that it will happen…ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
Looking at that now and analyzing that now makes me feel much better and so should you too!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
What happened to me?
This question probably sounds silly to you but it seems very real to me. It’s almost been 9 years since my brutal attack that I don’t remember, and I honestly don’t know a thing about what has happened to me.
I know that I have some handicaps now but I’m still striving to help people and I want to build a future but I don’t know where to go.
Just the fact that I have a future at all is a miracle, but what to do with it is what I don’t know.
I have prayed about this. I would like to be a support to and an audience for others who have had a brain stem injury, but I don’t know who to do it.
I don’t know of any groups that are like this. There’s no one to say: Ok, this is where you are and this is what you will experience and this is what you can expect. It seems simple enough, but it’s not there.
I have been to many therapies, but therapy is just a way to make people be a certain way, and if you cannot be “that way” then you are not wanted anymore. But you are still you and you cannot do this on your own. You need some help but where can you get it?\
There must be others like me and I cannot even imagine how they must be feeling but I want to help them.
Your suggestions would be most helpful.
This question probably sounds silly to you but it seems very real to me. It’s almost been 9 years since my brutal attack that I don’t remember, and I honestly don’t know a thing about what has happened to me.
I know that I have some handicaps now but I’m still striving to help people and I want to build a future but I don’t know where to go.
Just the fact that I have a future at all is a miracle, but what to do with it is what I don’t know.
I have prayed about this. I would like to be a support to and an audience for others who have had a brain stem injury, but I don’t know who to do it.
I don’t know of any groups that are like this. There’s no one to say: Ok, this is where you are and this is what you will experience and this is what you can expect. It seems simple enough, but it’s not there.
I have been to many therapies, but therapy is just a way to make people be a certain way, and if you cannot be “that way” then you are not wanted anymore. But you are still you and you cannot do this on your own. You need some help but where can you get it?\
There must be others like me and I cannot even imagine how they must be feeling but I want to help them.
Your suggestions would be most helpful.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Society
I have been given the opportunity to see many things quite differently than I used to and than most people do. Case in point: I am alive and although I do have some disabilities, I am extremely close to being normal and that’s because God is God.
Now that is easy for me to accept but the thing that is really difficult for me to accept is that Society has made God into something that suits them. Society has redefined God and most people just think that’s OK.
So they are followers of their own definitions and the real God is left out in the cold. These beliefs, and yes there are many, are called Religions and everything about them is protective.
Now excuse me but God made us and controls us. He doesn’t need to be redefined or even defined and He does not need to be protected. He is God regardless of anything that we do and that makes me very happy and satisfied!
But because that is not a religion, Society does not like that. They are much happier and more fulfilled if THEY have defined things and THEIR NEEDS are being met.
And that’s what the Old Testament is filled with! Then Jesus came and lived and died FOR US, and we have been GIVEN grace. Eph 2 says that it is NOT by anything that we could do, it was a gift.
So why if that’s true and the old law has been done away with at such a huge cost does Society feel the need to recreate the old law with new laws (religions)? Jesus already did that because the law didn’t work! So laws (religions) won’t work today!
I think that people just need to relax and let God be God and be thankful for what they have been GIVEN.
Things would be a lot easier.
I have been given the opportunity to see many things quite differently than I used to and than most people do. Case in point: I am alive and although I do have some disabilities, I am extremely close to being normal and that’s because God is God.
Now that is easy for me to accept but the thing that is really difficult for me to accept is that Society has made God into something that suits them. Society has redefined God and most people just think that’s OK.
So they are followers of their own definitions and the real God is left out in the cold. These beliefs, and yes there are many, are called Religions and everything about them is protective.
Now excuse me but God made us and controls us. He doesn’t need to be redefined or even defined and He does not need to be protected. He is God regardless of anything that we do and that makes me very happy and satisfied!
But because that is not a religion, Society does not like that. They are much happier and more fulfilled if THEY have defined things and THEIR NEEDS are being met.
And that’s what the Old Testament is filled with! Then Jesus came and lived and died FOR US, and we have been GIVEN grace. Eph 2 says that it is NOT by anything that we could do, it was a gift.
So why if that’s true and the old law has been done away with at such a huge cost does Society feel the need to recreate the old law with new laws (religions)? Jesus already did that because the law didn’t work! So laws (religions) won’t work today!
I think that people just need to relax and let God be God and be thankful for what they have been GIVEN.
Things would be a lot easier.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
As humans, we constantly do a very bad thing and we think that it’s ok and expected of us because of where we worship God but it’s not. What could that be? Evaluation. Evaluation of events could be helpful, but the evaluation of people and what they do is not.
Why not? Good question! Very simply put: it’s not our job, it’s Gods and God’s alone.
We wont ever be in charge now or in judgment, but God is.
Unfortunately there are many religions and people who have a habit of basing what they do on what people do and that is called being judgmental.
The Bible is extremely clear on this:
Matt 7:1-2
7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
NIV
So, don’t judge others! Their lives are between them and God, NOT YOU! Not man made rules!
Your job is to love them. When Jesus came to this earth we were all sinners and lost. But now we are forgiven, not sinless but forgiven. We now have the gift of God’s grace. We haven’t changed one bit but we have been forgiven and accepted by God as we are. That is what makes it so wonderful and amazing.
Having gone through the transition of being a genius and very successful to a TBI and handicapped and poor myself, one thing has not changed for me at all: God is God and I am not.
People are people and God made them, so regardless of what they do, I don’t have to evaluate them or choose to do what they do because that’s between us and God alone, no I can only love them. So that’s my job, yours too.
Why not? Good question! Very simply put: it’s not our job, it’s Gods and God’s alone.
We wont ever be in charge now or in judgment, but God is.
Unfortunately there are many religions and people who have a habit of basing what they do on what people do and that is called being judgmental.
The Bible is extremely clear on this:
Matt 7:1-2
7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
NIV
So, don’t judge others! Their lives are between them and God, NOT YOU! Not man made rules!
Your job is to love them. When Jesus came to this earth we were all sinners and lost. But now we are forgiven, not sinless but forgiven. We now have the gift of God’s grace. We haven’t changed one bit but we have been forgiven and accepted by God as we are. That is what makes it so wonderful and amazing.
Having gone through the transition of being a genius and very successful to a TBI and handicapped and poor myself, one thing has not changed for me at all: God is God and I am not.
People are people and God made them, so regardless of what they do, I don’t have to evaluate them or choose to do what they do because that’s between us and God alone, no I can only love them. So that’s my job, yours too.
Who Cares?
I have been reading through Job and I have learned many things about God that I thought were important so I wanted to pass on to you.
Horrible things happen to Job over and over again. But God finally stepped in and talked to Job in chapter 38. And the things that He said really got me to thinking, so read them and think about them!
He was very clear and talked about some of the things that He had done. When He talked about things it made all of them make good sense and it made me think too. They should make you think too.
God created everything and He makes everything behave properly so that we can depend on it and gain something positive out of it.
But in John 16:33 He tells us clearly that in this world we will have trouble! But then He says to take heart because He has overcome the world.
So what does that mean? Will there be no trouble? No. Job had a great deal of trouble too but he believed in God. His faith needed some adjustment, but he had faith.
So our faith may need some adjustment. Mine did.
No matter what you may be reading now, read the book of Job! I did and my faith has grown and changed! I read The Message and I think that it is easy to understand. It’s a part of God’s word for a very good reason.
There is a commercial on television for Travelers Insurance and it says that at one time there were people who were concerned with all kinds of things like shopping carts and dust but now with Travelers Insurance they just say: Who cares?
Well, certainly Travelers Insurance can’t make bad things not happen, so there isn’t really any Who Cares? It is just a commercial to increase business, and increasing business means increasing dollars in this world.
But we have God. And while God didn’t make all of Job’s troubles go away or not happen, He won’t make ours go away or not happen either. He is capable and He does watch us, but faith doesn’t mean a perfectly simple and wonderful life on this earth. In Heaven yes, but on earth no.
Even though God created this earth and does create each person in it, one angel that He also created, Satan, also rules this earth, but not Heaven. God will rule there, and if you have real faith then you will go there.
So when bad things happen on this earth, and they will, if we have real faith, then we can really say Who Cares? Because we will know where we are going and who will be in charge.
Yes, this life will be hard, but the next life in Heaven won’t. There’s your hope!
I have been reading through Job and I have learned many things about God that I thought were important so I wanted to pass on to you.
Horrible things happen to Job over and over again. But God finally stepped in and talked to Job in chapter 38. And the things that He said really got me to thinking, so read them and think about them!
He was very clear and talked about some of the things that He had done. When He talked about things it made all of them make good sense and it made me think too. They should make you think too.
God created everything and He makes everything behave properly so that we can depend on it and gain something positive out of it.
But in John 16:33 He tells us clearly that in this world we will have trouble! But then He says to take heart because He has overcome the world.
So what does that mean? Will there be no trouble? No. Job had a great deal of trouble too but he believed in God. His faith needed some adjustment, but he had faith.
So our faith may need some adjustment. Mine did.
No matter what you may be reading now, read the book of Job! I did and my faith has grown and changed! I read The Message and I think that it is easy to understand. It’s a part of God’s word for a very good reason.
There is a commercial on television for Travelers Insurance and it says that at one time there were people who were concerned with all kinds of things like shopping carts and dust but now with Travelers Insurance they just say: Who cares?
Well, certainly Travelers Insurance can’t make bad things not happen, so there isn’t really any Who Cares? It is just a commercial to increase business, and increasing business means increasing dollars in this world.
But we have God. And while God didn’t make all of Job’s troubles go away or not happen, He won’t make ours go away or not happen either. He is capable and He does watch us, but faith doesn’t mean a perfectly simple and wonderful life on this earth. In Heaven yes, but on earth no.
Even though God created this earth and does create each person in it, one angel that He also created, Satan, also rules this earth, but not Heaven. God will rule there, and if you have real faith then you will go there.
So when bad things happen on this earth, and they will, if we have real faith, then we can really say Who Cares? Because we will know where we are going and who will be in charge.
Yes, this life will be hard, but the next life in Heaven won’t. There’s your hope!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Grace and God
Everyone knows what Grace is and how awesome it is and that it was a gift to us from God.
Everyone also knows and believes that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
But few know the perceived correlation between these two things, but this morning I feel that I have been shown the relationship between the two and I’m sharing it with you.
Now if God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, then Grace wasn’t something brand new to God. I refer you Adam and Eve-the FIRST human beings.
Did they support God’s will? No. And after they made their choice to do so God removed them from the Garden to become like you and I. And we are the same as them, and God has given us Grace.
Unmerited love and favor. That’s God.
So we can see that Grace was nothing new God. Yes, they had to leave and begin a totally new life and yes, they suffered many consequences and yes they began to die, in time, but not right away.
Couldn’t they simply have been extinguished by the God who had made them? Yes, but something else came into play there.
Could it have been God’s Gracc? Maybe, because God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and He gave us Grace, so He always has known Grace.
I could be wrong but this appears to me to be the first demonstration of God’s Grace and it has always been there.
Everyone knows what Grace is and how awesome it is and that it was a gift to us from God.
Everyone also knows and believes that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
But few know the perceived correlation between these two things, but this morning I feel that I have been shown the relationship between the two and I’m sharing it with you.
Now if God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, then Grace wasn’t something brand new to God. I refer you Adam and Eve-the FIRST human beings.
Did they support God’s will? No. And after they made their choice to do so God removed them from the Garden to become like you and I. And we are the same as them, and God has given us Grace.
Unmerited love and favor. That’s God.
So we can see that Grace was nothing new God. Yes, they had to leave and begin a totally new life and yes, they suffered many consequences and yes they began to die, in time, but not right away.
Couldn’t they simply have been extinguished by the God who had made them? Yes, but something else came into play there.
Could it have been God’s Gracc? Maybe, because God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and He gave us Grace, so He always has known Grace.
I could be wrong but this appears to me to be the first demonstration of God’s Grace and it has always been there.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
CompassionArt
Compassion is who I am.
A good friend gave me a CD that was called CompassionArt and inside the case was a CD and a DVD. I listened to the CD (it was very good!) and there was also a DVD that I then watched and it was good.
So here were these people, all extremely successful as Christian musicians coming together to write songs and work together and study and worship together and drop all boundaries to make music that would earn money for the poor in the World.
I was totally enthralled by all of this. Here were people who, some of whom, I actually remembered, coming together and doing this! It was huge! And I initially thought that this would teach me something that I didn’t realize about compassion.
But after a while I realized that I am compassion, not where they see the need, but I am compassion.
I have learned some simple things though. For example, I will stop using hair color because there were men, at least at my age, who let their grey hair show. Popular men who could have afforded anything, but they let their grey hair show!
So I did learn things like that, but I also learned that compassion is compassion wherever you show it. They saw the need across the ocean and formed a way to meet it. It took a great deal of commitment and work but they did it and I’m proud of them.
However, I also learned that it’s ok to show compassion here too! I see the need for compassion everywhere and I strive to meet it wherever I can.
No, it’s not across the Ocean and No, I don’t have thousands of dollars & nothing spare, but it is CompassionArt nonetheless!
Compassion is who I am.
A good friend gave me a CD that was called CompassionArt and inside the case was a CD and a DVD. I listened to the CD (it was very good!) and there was also a DVD that I then watched and it was good.
So here were these people, all extremely successful as Christian musicians coming together to write songs and work together and study and worship together and drop all boundaries to make music that would earn money for the poor in the World.
I was totally enthralled by all of this. Here were people who, some of whom, I actually remembered, coming together and doing this! It was huge! And I initially thought that this would teach me something that I didn’t realize about compassion.
But after a while I realized that I am compassion, not where they see the need, but I am compassion.
I have learned some simple things though. For example, I will stop using hair color because there were men, at least at my age, who let their grey hair show. Popular men who could have afforded anything, but they let their grey hair show!
So I did learn things like that, but I also learned that compassion is compassion wherever you show it. They saw the need across the ocean and formed a way to meet it. It took a great deal of commitment and work but they did it and I’m proud of them.
However, I also learned that it’s ok to show compassion here too! I see the need for compassion everywhere and I strive to meet it wherever I can.
No, it’s not across the Ocean and No, I don’t have thousands of dollars & nothing spare, but it is CompassionArt nonetheless!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
