In a Nutshell
I received the following lecture from an acquaintance. A mutual friend introduced us, and when I tried to share my beliefs with them, they shared theirs with me. I am not sure why they shared it because I have not communicated with them for some time but apparently I have been on their mind, and they believe I need saving.
The following bold text is their instant message to me with an occasional comment from me.
Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show, and Jane Clayson asked her “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman, He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.
The subject of the reply in the paragraph above is the real issue.
How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?” In light of recent events…terrorists attack school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.
Someone said the division of church and state.
Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school
Just a minor point, do you have a state agency in mind?
…. the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.
The Bible seems to be addressing people who commit these offenses. Have we abbreviated just a tad here?
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide).
Time warp detected and did I sense a slighting remark?
We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said OK.
Ah, I get it, we, is referring to Christians and not all possible readers.
Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
That is not my experience.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I believe that it has a great deal to do with “WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.” Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they WILL think, of you for sending it.
Funny how this rambling nonsense came to me!
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Knowing the mind of GOD, better try knowing thyself first.
Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it… No one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
Let’s not forget a heaping of guilt.
God bless you as you share it with friends. No Nation or people can ever survive or succeed without Jesus Christ.
UFB!
My measured reply — I couldn’t help it.
Humankind is responsible for their acts of mercy and terror. Referencing acts of violence as evidence of an absence of a particular persona or religious orientation is convenient and intellectually lazy. Other countries have suffered far greater tragedies, and it wouldn’t surprise me if another religious group had similar thinking. Have we considered our concepts to be narrow-minded and short shortsighted? It seems there are many ways toward peace of mind and peace within the world, as there are many manifestations of evil, demons, and devils. Thinking one answer will right the listing ship of humanity will fuel this decline, rather than, bring into balance. What is the core message and how can that intent be cultured jointly? How many injustices has the world suffered in the name of all the main religions? There will never be consensus on which path to follow in life; how many politicians claim to be Christian on Sunday and shake the devil’s hand Monday? If I can effect change for the better in this screwed up the world, whatever agency is keeping track, if there be one, give that blessing to someone who desperately needs it.
And, they replied:
All people have sinned and fallen short. yes, politicians and people alike do fall short every day and are not perfect.No one can claim to be but Christ He paid our way on the cross.
Here’s a big what if, what if he just died?
He took all our sins on the cross when He died and rose again!
This is juicy stuff.
Jesus wants us to accept Him as our savior.
IDK, something about knowing another person’s mind, their intentions, interpreting what was said over 2000 years ago and trusting the church didn’t leave anything out.
Yes, injustice is everywhere and being part of the religion doesn’t excuse you from that.
Some might say gives license.
The only way to have total peace of mind is through having God in your life.Humankind can’t obtain it on your strength.Only by Jesus Christ can you have that peace of mind! Just saying…..
Yes, I am laughing.
