Connie Shoemaker – Page 5 – Kissed by the Creator

Remembering 9-11

When tragedy struck on 9-11, I was a homeschool mom of 3. Since then I have met survivors, victims families, and taught about 9-11 as history. That day I turned on the computer and recorded in real time my feelings and thoughts. My kids were ages 7, 5 and 10 mos. Below is that journal entry simply cut and pasted here. We read it each year to REMEMBER. (photos are not mine, I tried to find credits where I could~see below)

My dear sweet ones, Sept. 11, 2001

Today was the worst day in the history of America since I have been born. We watched with grave disbelief as terrorists forever changed my country. They brazenly hijacked 4 planes filled with fuel and set out to destroy. Their first target was the World Trade Center Towers in which nearly 50,000 innocent people worked daily. They struck at around 9 am, just as their workdays were starting. Then they struck our center of nations defenses, the Pentagon, and one attempt was thwarted to attack the command center and retreat of the president, Camp David. That plane was downed about 60 or so miles from here in a clearing in the mountains. Close to 300 people were killed on the hijacked planes and a total body count can’t even be speculated.

The thought these terrorists were so close to us, even though it was our airspace is quite sobering. I have a feeling that this is not the end, but a beginning of testing for America, which used to be known as a super power. Now, our vulnerability has been shown to the world.

Praise God that so far, all those we know and love are safe and sound.

The prevailing feeling of dread and sadness is quite oppressive this evening as we await a State of the Union address from President Bush. The state of the union is pretty bleak at this point.

You kids watched the disaster today on CNN but I am not sure how much of the magnitude of this disaster you are processing. It is history in the making and the worst day in the history of our United States. I pray that it will be only a memory for you and that in your lives you will not experience human casualties such as we are facing.

We are a nation in mourning. Well over 200 Firefighters are dead and 78 Police are missing and presumed killed. The confidence in our nation has been shaken. TV reports are calling this a second Pearl Harbor.

President Bush just spoke and quoted Psalm 23. He is a Godly man and I pray his wisdom will prevail and he will be sensitive to the leading of God as the details of this tragedy are sorted out.

I put you both to bed tonight and read to you Psalm 94. It speaks of God’s revenge upon the wicked and of how HE will be our refuge in times of trials and fear. He is the rock upon which we stand and our mighty fortress. At times like these I am so thankful for the legacy my family has instilled in me – The legacy of a powerful and just God who is our defender and friend, comforter and convictor, our rock, our fortress our haven and our healer. I pray that you will also carry that legacy forward and hold fast to it at times when faith is so easily and brutally shaken.

This day, September 11 will be one I will never forget. It is a day I never thought would come. I picked up our precious baby Rachel and I feared what was in store for her sweet life down the road. As I tucked each of you and touched your soft skin and hair I ached for your safety and assurance horrific things such as happened today would never touch your lives.

I shut out the light and walked away with a renewed determination to work at instilling the scriptures and the values that are found in the bible. God forbid that one day you live in a world that prohibits bible ownership, you will have the truths in your heart and the hymns of praise will be on your lips.

I love you my little lambs, my gifts from God. I go to bed tonight with a heavy heart for all those kids who will be waiting up for parents that will never come home. For all the promises made by parents who will never return to fulfill them. I go to bed feeling thankful though somewhat guilty for our safety and our life. May God continue to protect us all and keep us together as a family until His return.

Love,

Mom

9-10-2011: I hope we remember how we felt the next day also. The soar of patriotism. Pride in our country, unabashed praying in public, compassion for neighbors and strangers who were grieving. We can’t go back to 9-10-01 and undo the tragedy. But we can go back to 9-12-01 and revisit and renew our hope in a country of people who were united and prayerful through loss.

Point to Ponder: Were you more patriotic in 2001 than you are in 2011? Do you trust God more or less now than in 2001?

PHOTO: Ariel (Det. Greg Semendinger/NYC Police Aviation Unit)

Prayer at crosss http://saintmychaljudge.blogspot.com/ 911 Praying photo

Skyline New York Mag . com

Earthquake: Did you feel it?

Within minutes my twitter and facebook feeds were full of tremor talk about the Earthquake that hit the East Coast today, August 23, 2011.

Questions like “Did you feel it?” “Any Damage to report” “Where were you during the quake?” were cluttering my screen.

As my rocking chair gently shook, I had no idea that the sensation was an earthquake. We live near an airport and often the vibrations of infrequent turbo jets cause a slight tremor. An email from my husband and subsequent seismic sleuthing yielded the answers to “What was that?” A 5.9 Earthquake located in Virginia was felt by my friends as far south as South Carolina, and as far north as New York. One friend in Columbus reported the eerie sensation as well.

It caused me to ponder power, friction and vibrations.

According to the US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY site: An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.

I immediately cued up my Netflix to watch a documentary on Earthquakes. It was awesome. Did you know that seismic waves can travel more than 15,000 miles per hour? That is way faster than a bullet. Did you know that in 2010 more than one quarter of a million people perished in Earthquake disasters?

Watching the footage of the devastation wrought by Earthquakes last year in Haiti and Chile was quite disturbing. The power unleashed actually lifted the coastline of Chile. The magnitude of the quake essentially altered the length of our day albeit by hundredth of a second, but it was THAT powerful.

While scientists have studied for 50 years the how and why’s of earthquakes, they are very clear about the fact that predicting when one will occur with any accuracy at all is still impossible.

So what does the Bible say about Earthquakes and when they were recorded? There are about 17 mentions of earth shaking and rock shattering events. One of my favorites was recorded in Exodus 19:18 when Mt. Sinai shook prior to Moses receiving the 10 Commandments. Perhaps God was ensuring he had Moses’ full attention. That event is mentioned again in Hebrews 12:18-21.

When God was speaking to Elijah at Mt. Sinai in 1 Kings 19:11 he used an Earthquake to show Elijah who had been hiding in a cave that God didn’t have to use a mighty voice, but simply could reveal himself in the still small voice that followed.

And my all time favorite was right after the death of Christ. In Matthew 27:51-54 it said as Jesus died on the cross, the curtain of the temple was torn and rocks were broken. That quake and the circumstances surrounding it made the soldiers realize the man they crucified was truly the son of God.

While there were several compelling verses, the two below spoke to me.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows. ~ Mark 13:8

Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. ~ Isaiah 29:6

Now in my limited research it is obvious that God used earthquakes to get the attention of people he was trying to communicate with. Many big Biblical events are punctuated with earthquakes. (At least 17 times)

So it made me wonder about the latest earthquake. It hit the East Coast which is not a real hotbed for seismic activity and on its heels ironically (or perhaps not) comes Hurricane Irene. If God is truly the same unchanging God of yesterday, today and tomorrow, what is he trying to communicate and to whom?

Point to Ponder: Is there someone left on your “to do” list for sharing the gospel? Has God been impressing upon you a mission or a direction he’d like you to go? Heed his punctuation. Go! and Do!

Messenger of the King (Frodo of Fact and Fiction)

Why is it so easy to be a “writer” at a Writers Conference? Oy. I spent another super week in the company of gifted and obedient writers, speakers, teachers, publishers, agents and others. Truly a remarkable gathering of talent in one place.
Writers Conferences are not only places for connections but for inspiration as well. The Montrose Christian Writers Conference delivers both immeasurably. One of my favorite times is morning meditation where I journal and pray with a focus toward using my gifts and my ministry. The ministry of writing and yes –according to several of the speakers – it is a ministry.

While in prayer during the week, the phrase “Messenger of the King” , kept popping up in my thoughts and in my journal. Ironically or perhaps not, my family and I recently watched the third Lord of the Rings Movie ‘Return of the King’. JR Tolkien crafted a story about a hobbit named Frodo who came to possess a ring bringing the bearer a great burden. I thought about being a writer as I mulled ”Messenger of the King”.

Most of what I write is truly about at Kissed by the Creator reflects the King of Kings. I weave his message and power into everyday life lessons. So consequently I am a ‘Messenger of the King’. But how often does the message get from idea to concept to being published? Sometimes we fall short in getting the message out there.

Like Frodo, you come into something brilliant and shiny. Your treasure is a new idea. A gift you believe from God. And like the hobbit with the ring you treat it tenderly you turn it over and examine it and ponder the precious possibilities of this glistening treasure.

Time passes, words are jotted and like the bearer of the ring, this idea begins to wear you down and become an obsession. Its put away and taken out and mulled over and over until you see the words in your sleep. Its power, potential and meaning become elusive.

In “Return of the King” the burden of the ring became so heavy it almost cost Frodo his special relationship with his best friend Samwise Gamgee and his life. At one point Frodo, believing a lie, lashes out at his companion Sam and sends him home.

We dare not cut off relationships with those that encourage us the most. As writers we all need a Samwise Gamgee, someone who comes along side of us when no one else will. A person who speaks life into us and our projects and doesn’t let us down. True to his calling Sam follows Frodo from a distance and is there to literally pick him up when he was completely spent. Sam says, “ I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.” And with that he takes Frodo to the edge of the abyss where he must complete that which he was called to do.

Are you standing on the edge of the abyss? Is your once glistening project becoming a tarnished burden that you feel unable to carry? If so, connecting with other writers could be the answer for seeing you to the finish. If you feel burdened and stuck by something God has given you to do. Pray for an encourager to come and hold you accountable to finishing that which you are called to do.

As Christian writers our mission is to deliver either the gospel itself or the hope of the King. Even if our prose is not dotted with scripture, the content should point readers to the light. Being a messenger can be burdensome but it is an honorable charge. Executing well is crucial to being obedient to the King. I pray for those struggling. I pray God would bring encouragement to you as you use your gifts to HIS glory!

(Partial content of this commentary is used in “Empowering Tools for Writers” a workshop topic for conference beginners)

Point to Ponder: What was the most encouraging thing anyone has done for you with regard to your writing?

Brains, Woodpeckers and El Roi

The “Brain” that’s what she’s called at school. She started public school in 7^th grade and maintained a perfect streak of 4.0’s. The one everyone says looks like me. But oh’ she’s so much smarter than I ever was. The brain.

The brain contains roughly 15–33 billion neurons, perhaps more, depending on gender and age, linked with up to 10,000 synaptic connections each. The blood vessels in the brain would reach a distance of 100,000 miles, or four rotations around the earth, if they were stretched flat! God created it to be the command center of our bodies. When it’s healthy our potential is amazing.

So when my 4.0 student saw her less than stellar final grades, she began forgetting things, her moods changed and even the simplest tasks became frustrating we knew something was wrong. She was plagued by constant headaches and began to sleep 17 hours a day.

Diagnosis: Concussion.

Our state-ranked swimmer, equestrian enthusiast, and avid reader was sidelined. No activity at all, no books, music, TV, or computer. Her photography pursuits were even thwarted because her brain couldn’t send the signals to the finger fast enough to get the shot.

This invisible culprit – concussion, was due to a fall from a chair in school 10 days prior. Her brain, all 2.87 lbs of it had violently shifted in her skull causing her cells to weaken. Undiagnosed for 10 days, she rode horses, roller coasters, trained and competed in swimming events shocking her brain even further. We began to wonder about Woodpeckers. Seriously.

The Pileated Woodpecker whacks a tree or our deck with such velocity that it can wake up a sleeping human. I found that woodpeckers have an enlarged brain case, so the brain sits above the level of direct hammering impact. The skull’s frontal bones – together with a set of muscles at the bill’s base – act as a shock absorber. Again, God’s perfect plan, human heads however, were not made to bounce off the school floor.

To look at her, you can’t tell anything is wrong. But living with her is another story. Simple tasks frustrated her, she couldn’t color for 5 minutes without getting a headache. She would rely on her family as her memory. “Did I know that?” she would say over and over. She would walk into a room with a blank stare forgetting why she was there. We’d joke she was learning sympathy for her 40something mom.

Sound, lights, riding in a car all caused pain. My active child became a slave to her invisible injury and her family held hostage as spectators. I thanked God it was temporary. He was the only one who could truly see. I took comfort in El Roi (EL raw – EE) ‘the God who sees me’.

In Genesis the story of Hagar is told. She was an Egyptian slave who connected with her creator in the desert and called him El Roi ‘the God who sees me’. That is the only mention of that name. She had been stranded in the desert with no water. She laid her son under a bush and moved away so she wouldn’t have to watch him die. God not only heard the baby cry but provided them with water and their lives were spared.

Hannah looked normal. At swim meets people would question why she wasn’t swimming. Only El Roi could see her bruised brain. Only El Roi? The One who created it. Master physician and healer.

When you are dealing with a secret struggle that others can’t see – take comfort in El Roi – “the God who sees me”. When you are accused or attacked know that El Roi, the only one who matters, sees and knows your struggle. Just because a struggle or wound is on the inside the impact can still be devastating. And like there is pain in the unseen, there is power in the unseen, El Roi.

Point to Ponder: Is there a secret struggle in your life? What do you need to bring to El Roi? What can you turn over to El Roi and find peace in knowing that He is “The God who sees me”.

PS: Hannah is getting better every day. She is still not swimming, riding or running, but her headaches are fewer, her smile more abundant and her memories are coming back. Continued prayers are welcome.

Gone Fishing – Tribute to my dad

“Gone Fishing” is what the note said on the table. It was nothing new for my father as he enjoyed heading to the lake after a hard day’s work. When my brother came home and saw the note, little did he know it would be the last thing dad would ever write.

Two weeks earlier dad hopped down the steps of my freshman dorm saying, “Two more weeks kiddo and you are all done!,” then he wrapped me in his big daddy arms and kissed my cheek, for the last time. It was the night before finals when my sister showed up in my dorm fishing through her purse for tissues and took me home.

Unbeknownst to us the week before his death, dad had taken his Honda 750 all over town visiting folks he hadn’t seen in months, even years. We found this out as the droves of people who came to the funeral home in waves for hours on end would say, “I can’t believe it, he was just at our house last week.”

For dad it was a matter of genetics. His father’s first heart attack was at 42, my father’s at 46. He was only 54 when he went fishing for the last time. With the only friend he had who was not a believer or proficient in CPR, not that it would have helped.

It was a May evening and dad and Ron were bringing the boat back across the lake when my dad got a big hit on his line and reeled in a lovely specimen, just a tad under regulations. His friend said, “Neil there’s no one around, just keep it, them’s good eatin’.” Dad who had a knack for doing the right thing replied, “No we’ll put him back he’ll make a good keeper next season.”

As they rounded the corner of the lake, the limestone bridge where Route 422 traversed was awash in a golden hue of sunset. Dad said, “That is exactly how I picture heaven; all bright and glittering like that.” Little did Dad know that within moments, he would get to cross over a similar looking bridge into eternity.

Dad had been a rebel in the army and raised his share of heck as a young lad. But his life and my legacy changed when he came across a man who told him about a certain fisherman, a “fisher of men”. The man was Billy Graham in 1968. Billy Graham had gone fishing in Pittsburgh and reeled in a keeper, my father.

From then on my dad changed his life and set out to learn as much as he could about Jesus Christ. He studied, he read and eventually he taught and counseled. This tool and die operator found himself a child of a King and a fisher of men. Many of those he led to the Lord had their own stories during the funeral and some share still years later.

Dad, an avid fisherman and hunter, loved being outdoors in the Lord’s creation but the quietness of a lake, fishing with a friend was truly his favorite place to be. As much as he loved to reel in a bass or a salmon he loved reeling in people to the kingdom.

Ron said that Dad put his rod and tackle against the car and turned around. Ron walking toward dad, saw dad’s face break into a smile. “It looked like he was seeing someone he knew and was happy to see,” Ron later explained. “I thought your brother or someone he knew was behind me. When I turned to look I saw no one. When I turned back around your dad was slumped down with a smile on his face and a peaceful happy look.” Forty-five minutes later, dad was being whisked into an ER but he was already home.

His friend went through a serious health crisis as his blood pressure sky rocketed and depression of losing one of his best friends set in. Through my dad’s witness in his life and in his death, Ron came to know the reason for the smile and gave his life to Christ. That day, the Master fisherman had gone fishing and took home a real keeper. Even to the end, dad was a fisher of men and he did his best to stock heaven.

Neil E. Pilston Sr. January 1932 – May 1985

: Daddy as a teen!

Talking Dirt – Soil Actually!

My class this week was on MAN one of God’s most epic creations. My “Connecting with the Creator through his Creations” class has explored, weather, animals, rocks and I decided it was time to explore how intricately connected we are with our Creator.

“Let US create man in OUR image”

Genesis 1:26

So I launched into the three parts of the human: Body Soul and Spirit and in probing the depths of each one, beginning with the body, I was struck by this verse.

God formed the body of man from the dust of the earth.

Genesis 2:7

Recently I was reading about the elements of the human body. While we are primarily composed of water – Hydrogen/Carbon/Oxygen, we have other elements as well such as nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Why is this so astounding? Because these are the same elements as in common soil, which lends credence to the above verse. It also magnifies the Creator, because really what can YOU make out of dirt?

It gets better, because as I explored dirt I learned about Parent Rock. Apparently all soil depending on where it is located was derived from the rock in the area and shares characteristics belonging to that type of rock. Parent rock provides a great deal of the chemical backbone for the soil. For instance, a soil that contains sediment from limestone will be high in calcium and will also have a basic pH. This will be much different than soil derived from granite, which will have a higher sodium or aluminum content and a pH that tends more toward neutral or acidic.

So with Christ as our Rock, what does that say about the characteristics of our soil? Remember we were formed from dirt by the hands of the Creator God on his turf.

When science tries to make an individual by cloning or by using tissue, they are using matter already created. Our God made us from dirt and science doesn’t have our recipe.

If GOD is our parent rock that would mean… we come from some pretty special stuff!

What does that mean for you? You are a miracle apply that to your current circumstance.

If He can take dirt and make something as special as you. He can take your dirt and make it something special to!

Point to Ponder What can this knowledge of Parent Rock mean for you? Could it mean that you are tougher than you think you are? Or maybe stronger? Could it mean that you can achieve something you thought formerly impossible? Give your dirty mess back to the one who created you and allow him to mold something useful from it all.

Mirage – Tasting sand or tears?

Still working on my class about Connecting with our Creator through his creations and I am exploring how the Bible mentions weather as teacher and consequence. While looking at an old homeschooling resource about weather, I stumbled on a section on mirages.

“A mirage is defined as: a naturally occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays are bent to produce a displaced (distorted) image of distant objects or the sky.

It is a real optical phenomenon which can be captured on camera, since light rays actually are refracted to form the false image at the observer’s location. What the image appears to represent, however, is determined by the interpretive faculties of the human mind.” (yeah its wiki but its right and in plain English)

“Peary could clearly see the mountain tops of “Crocker Land” across the polar ice pack, but it was only an Arctic Mirage.” (Copyright Lee Krystek, 1998)

Looking at images of mirages and reading stories about people fooled by them, either in the deserts, on mountain tops or even on deserted highways, something sparked in my mind.

www.lindajackmanphotography.com

To have a mirage you must have heat and pressure. Satan dwells in hell which is a hot place. How often does he use a “mirage” of sorts to make something sinful or wrong seem acceptable? The father of lies turns up the heat and distorts our view pressuring us to stumble.

Mirage 2 — www.lindajackmanphotography.com

This happens when we take our eyes off where God wants us to be like when we don’t seek him before we leap into a new direction, relationship or ministry.

A mirage may fool us into believing that person seems way more kind and Godly than our spouse, that promotion way more lucrative, that opportunity way more inviting. Perhaps the mirage makes us think that movie or TV show or that music is way less offensive and vile.

We are tricked into a distorted image of reality. But we are ripe for it, if we’ve let our vision stray from the truth and the source of light – God. Even NOBLE deeds can be mirages if they are NOT in accordance with God’s plan for our lives. Pursuing them, leads to disobedience.

mirage 3 — www.lindajackmanphotography.com

And like a thirsty soul in the desert uses his last bit of strength to fall hard over the hill to the oasis below, we fall hard into sin and the lies of Satan. And for us, just like that thirsty soul, the reality is ugly when we hit the bottom and see the miragefor what it really is – a lie. Heartbroken the desert dweller gasps sand and we who’ve broken God’s heart and possibly the hearts of others taste the salt of our own tears.

Point to Ponder: Are you sucking in sand or tasting salty tears due to chasing a mirage? What steps do you need to take to for a reality check. How can you fix your eyes on the true source of light?

Lessons from the Wilderness

(thanks for your continued patience during our do-over of the Kissed by the Creator site)

I am in the middle of teaching a 12 week series on Connecting with the Creator through his creations. This week as I was preparing my discussion on The Wilderness Speaks, I became keenly aware of the words that describe physical wilderness. Words like: desolate, barren, lonely, deserted, dangerous, wasteland and void. Words that at certain times in my life, described my journey through a spiritual wilderness.

In preparing and reading about the impact of Wilderness(physical) in the lives of people throughout Biblical history, it struck a chord that the physical wilderness journey taught similar lessons that would be valuable during sojourns of spiritual wilderness.

The story of Moses in the Old Testament, leading the Israelites through the desert is fraught with tales of their give and take relationship with God. The consequences of their disobedience, repentance and reconnecting with God read like a travel log. Their time in the wilderness was a time of trial and testing. God met their every need in the wilderness from raining down manna to rocks springing forth with water. It was also during the time in the wilderness that God issued his Commandments, guiding their moral lives. Basically the only way to have needs met is to be in a position of need. The Israelites would not have been able to fully appreciate the promise land without first experiencing the desert.

I pondered a recent descent into a spiritual wilderness or valley, where I wasn’t seeing a burning bush or getting messages carved in stone, let alone hearing His still small voice. During that wilderness experience I was both disobedient and repentant and though it didn’t seem like it at the time, my needs were met. There is no way I could fully appreciate the blessings that came from that valley if I hadn’t walked the barren ground.

Another poignant trip to the wilderness recorded in the Bible is that of Jesus where he fasted for 40 days then successfully endured and withstood the temptations of Satan. Matthew 4:2-3 says “And after He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights He then became hungry. And the tempter came to him and said, “IF you are the Son of God, command these stones become bread.”

Temptations happen in the wilderness. They seem to come when we are at our weakest. Satan waited until Christ was hungry to tempt him and he tempted him with what HE was thinking about – food. How often do our temptations come about what is filling our thoughts?

The danger of this temptation wasn’t asking Jesus to miraculously make bread because Jesus did go on to create bread for the multitudes. The danger of this temptation was that Satan’ proposed this to question Christ’s authority and identity.

Spiritual wilderness can often challenge our identity in Christ because after all we are not “feeling” it right? Satan will use our time in the Wilderness to test “whose” we are and what we are made of.

If our call is to be “Christlike” then it goes without saying that we will not only find ourselves in the wilderness, but we will find ourselves tested and tempted during those times.

Jesus faced off Satan by quoting scripture. He used a passage from Deuteronomy 8 to refute the first temptation.

“It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word

that proceeds from the mouth of God.”(Matthew 4:4)

Jesus’ response to Satan was an indicator of what he really relied on. He relied on God, his Father not a temporary fix – food or bread. We can’t ever underestimate the value of relying on God even when we aren’t “feeling” it.

Satan continued to tempt Jesus during his stay in the wilderness but what happened at the end is the good part. “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him (Matthew 4:11)

In both accounts, the wilderness was a place of transformation. Change happened. The Israelites were free and received their promised land and Jesus was launched into his ministry.

So while in the midst of the Wilderness it doesn’t seem like God is moving, the results are often seen when we emerge – changed, transformed and ready for…

Point to Ponder:

Have you been sojourning in the wilderness or perhaps just returned, what did you learn?

Earth Day – This is my Father’s World

This is my Father’s World. Short and Sweet.

Many people will be worshipping his Creations today and totally miss HIS hand in it all. Take a moment to enjoy the age old hymn. Read all the lyrics, they are not often sung.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry211yUrHRw

Lyrics by: Maltbie D. Babcock,

This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears

All nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres.

This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;

His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,

The morning light, the lily white, declare their Maker’s praise.

This is my Father’s world: He shines in all that’s fair;

In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;

He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world: the battle is not done:

Jesus Who died shall be satisfied,

And earth and Heav’n be one.

This is my Father’s world, dreaming, I see His face.

I open my eyes, and in glad surprise cry, “The Lord is in this place.”

This is my Father’s world, from the shining courts above,

The Beloved One, His Only Son,

Came—a pledge of deathless love.

This is my Father’s world, should my heart be ever sad?

The lord is King—let the heavens ring. God reigns—let the earth be glad.

Happy Earth Day on this our Good Friday as well.

Blessings!

Do you have a “fooljita” scale?

Our Creator has given us many things that we classify like plants and animals which are divided by genus and species.

Our weather is classified by severity. Warnings and watches are issued based on the ferocity of the storm. The Fujita Scale is the official classification system for tornado damage ranking storms by classifying the devastation created. The more powerful the tornado, the higher the assigned number.

Hurricanes are measured in strength by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale which determines how ferocious a storm can be by how intense the winds are within.

Quantifying and classifying weather is productive and the systems in place are often helpful when giving advanced notice of incoming natural disasters.

How many of us have our own scale for measuring the intensity of sin? Perhaps it’s the Fooljita?

Yes, we have the list of the 10 Commandments. But they are not listed in their 1-10 order by their intensity or the punishment they merit. If so, saying OMG is worse than Murder. Murder is less offensive than say, stealing or coveting.

There is no gauge for sin listed in the Bible, except for the 6 the Lord detests and the one he finds an abomination see below:

Proverbs 6:16-19

16 There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:

17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19 a false witness who pours out lies. And a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. (um..Gossip-just sayin’)

This does not mean that the ones listed in the Ten Commandments not mentioned here don’t matter, because Creator God himself wrote them on the tablets.

We often withhold forgiveness based on the “level” of offense committed against us. Jesus died for all sinners and their sins, not just certain sins. Often Christians ascribe their own fujita scale to offenses. We think that taking the Post It notes from the office isn’t as serious as Bernie Madoff’s $50 Billion Ponzi scheme. Both offenses are stealing. Both are sin. God is not determining which is worse, why should we?

In the parable of the talents, the master forgave the servant an unpayable debt. That servant turned around and demanded repayment of a debt owed him. When the master found out he sent the unforgiving servant to prison.

Matthew 6:14-15 is talking to believers it says:

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Is there an unforgivable sin? The Bible doesn’t mention one that I can find. John Bevere in “The Bait of Satan “ study series talked about how the love in our hearts when we become saved is what equips us to be able to forgive. We have a choice we are equipped through the love that is deposited in us at the moment of our salvation. “A person who refuses to forgive is a person who has forgotten what he’s been forgiven of.” – JB.

The key to being forgiven by our Creator, is to forgive those that have committed offenses against us. Forgiveness means we release that individual to God to discipline. The “Bait of Satan” study makes it clear that a person who refuses to forgive will not inherit the kingdom of Heaven because they are living with unforgiveness which is a sin according the scripture.

Forgiving isn’t all about forgetting it is about releasing. Often people will say, “I can’t forgive them, because I can’t ever forget what they’ve done to me.” Forgiveness is not conditional of forgetting. Forgiveness is a choice, the forgetting is a detail God can work out, but only after a choice to forgive and release the offender.

Are you wrestling with unforgiveness and an unproductive prayer life? Hint: They are connected.

Point to Ponder: Is there someone in your life you need to release and forgive? Is there someone you need to seek forgiveness of?

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