Grief and loss, love

Book 4 in The Apostle John series is progressing well. I stopped to start a quick ‘how-to’ guide for the computer beginners REAL beginners, in the class I teach two times a month. I think it will have to be a ‘full-blown’ manual, covering all the things they have asked.

It’s like faith. Those of us who know often forget how puzzling it was at the start.

Before I head back to my manuscript, I wanted to share with you something that appeared on my Facebook wall. Any of you who have lost someone precious in your life will recognize what this ‘old man’ has written. Oddly, it came at a time when, triggered by a sermon, I was again aware, and very grateful, to my God, Who is always ‘here’.

·I still feel the pain of the loss

I still remember how many times a day I had to take my tears and my pain to God

I still remember the love, of and for the special man who went before me…

·

Included in an article/content by Bobby Popovic (Link at the end) was something written by one who described himself as ‘old man’.

What he said seems to encapsulate grief.

I’m old. What that means is that I’ve survived (so far) and a lot of people I’ve known and loved did not.

I’ve lost friends, best friends, acquaintances, co-workers, grandparents, mom, relatives, teachers, mentors, students, neighbors, and a host of other folks. I have no children, and I can’t imagine the pain it must be to lose a child. But here’s my two cents…

I wish I could say you get used to people dying. But I never did. I don’t want to. It tears a hole through me whenever somebody I love dies, no matter the circumstances. But I don’t want it to “not matter”. I don’t want it to be something that just passes. My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person. And if the scar is deep, so was the love. So be it.

Scars are a testament to life. Scars are a testament that I can love deeply and live deeply and be cut, or even gouged, and that I can heal and continue to live and continue to love. And the scar tissue is stronger than the original flesh ever was. Scars are a testament to life. Scars are only ugly to people who can’t see.

As for grief, you’ll find it comes in waves. When the ship is first wrecked, you’re drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the ship that was, and is no more. And all you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it’s some physical thing. Maybe it’s a happy memory or a photograph. Maybe it’s a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Stay alive.

In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don’t even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months, you’ll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what’s going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything…and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves, there is life.

Somewhere down the line, and it’s different for everybody, you find that the waves are only 80 feet tall. Or 50 feet tall. And while they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming. An anniversary, a birthday, or Christmas, or landing at O’Hare. You can see it coming, for the most part, and prepare yourself. And when it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, sputtering, still hanging on to some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you’ll come out.

Take it from an old guy. The waves never stop coming, and somehow you don’t really want them to. But you learn that you’ll survive them. And other waves will come. And you’ll survive them too.

If you’re lucky, you’ll have lots of scars from lots of loves. And lots of shipwrecks.

You will find the full article here…

http://www.tickld.com/x/old-man-explains-death-and-life-to-grieving-young-man

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An encouraging thought…

No loss is like YOUR loss

No grief is like YOUR  grief

We all heal at our own pace.

I have come to realize the truth of the saying that ‘we only feel great loss where there is great love.’

Reflecting

Susan

 

 

Thank God for Unanswered Prayers

Re-blogged from susanprestonauthor.com/blog

Thank God for unanswered prayers

That is what my funeral consultant said to me when she visited to sort out my plans.
No, she wasn’t saying that she had prayed for me to die and I had not. She was sharing an incident in her life. I think it is something many of us could relate to, I know I can.
Her story was of attending a High School reunion and meeting the man who had been the object of her desire, in her youth. I know I could relate to fervent prayers for the ‘love’ of the young man.

(Actually, in Hold the Faith, Benjamin almost loses his faith when his desire for a young woman as his wife is thwarted by her father’s plans.)
Back to my funeral consultant… she laughed to think of how she agonized over this ‘love’… and saw the reality. An old, bald man.
Well, we all grow older, and some do become bald, or fat. Some become bitter, angry with what life has ‘dished’ out to them.
I had a few ‘crushes’ in my younger years. Who knows what would have developed. I have no complaints about my ‘lot’ – I do miss my very special husband, but have a store of good memories.

For I know the thoughts I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29: 11

Perhaps a bit difficult to accept amongst the hormones of adolescence, but God DOES have plans for us. Sometimes they are a long time in arriving. Sometimes that is part of the preparation process.

And it is not only being ‘rescued’ from a relationship that would have been disastrous… what about the job that would have been a catastrophe? Maybe the supervisor would have been picky and quarrelsome… or perhaps the company would have gone ‘bust’, leaving you older and with fewer job prospects.
There have been reports of someone missing a plane – or train… and being spared death.
So – thank You, Father for unanswered prayers. And please help me to remember I said that LOL.

To be ready for the future and the hope – we need to be in the ‘space’ where we can appreciate it… recognize it.

Musing again,
Susan

Jesus’ suffering on Passover

Greetings,

In my opinion this essay is a great starting point for thinking about the sacrifice made for us, and given the time of year, I asked permission to post it.

So… over to Ronny Graham’s well-thought out look at what Christ went through…

The leaders of the Jews—the chief priests, elders, scribes, and Pharisees—had begun early in Jesus’ ministry trying to undermine Him and find a way to get rid of Him. However, under Roman rule and with their jurisdiction limited to Judea, they had been stymied at every turn. When approached by Judas (Luke 22:1-6), they had their chance, and they pounced.

Yet, in all of their plotting and scheming, they never realized they were working by God’s timeline, not their own. The sequence of events that took place on Passover, from Jesus’ arrest through His death on the cross, was orchestrated for our learning so that we could “discern the Lord’s body” and to appreciate deeply what God did for us (I Corinthians 11:27-28).

A close look at the individual events that transpired in His last hours will help us understand what Jesus suffered and even what may have gone through His mind as He endured that day.

Betrayal:

One of the first things to occur that evening was Judas’ betrayal. How many of us have been betrayed by a friend with whom we had spent practically every day for three and a half years—and known all the while that he was going to do it? Would we have been able to wash his feet and serve him food? Betrayal by a friend and brother is difficult to endure after the fact, but how Jesus treated him even with His foreknowledge reveals the depth of His character. How many of us would have been emotionally devastated at this point?

Loneliness:

After finishing the Passover meal, Jesus and the disciples walked to the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-46). Jesus now had to endure the mental torment of waiting for the events that were just about to begin. After pleading three times with His friends to pray with Him for just one hour, He had to face the dread of what was about to happen alone. Even though He knew that He had to carry out His purpose alone, and that it would be horrifying and painful, He urged His friends to pray so they would not fall into temptation.

Arrest:

When a person is arrested, their liberty is taken away; they essentially become a slave of the state and at the mercy of their captors. But the Jews had no mercy for Jesus. They came for Him with a “great multitude” of soldiers with drawn swords and clubs, ready for a fight (Mark 14:43). Every time they had tried to take Him before, Jesus had slipped away, but this time they came with a mob ready for action.

Isaiah 50:6-7 is a prophecy of what happened to Jesus once He was under the power of His enemies: “I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.” With this in mind, we can continue with Jesus being hustled off to be brought before the Jewish leaders.

Beaten:

Wherever Jesus was taken that night, someone was waiting to take a shot at Him. It seems that they lined up to punch and slap Him, and one translation ventures to suggest that He was even beaten with a club! A slap with an open hand was considered a form of humiliation in that it showed disrespect for the victim. It was a sign of His weakness.

Hair Plucked:

Another shaming tactic used at the time was to cut off a man’s beard. Hanun, king of Ammon, did this to David’s servants, shaving off half their beards and cutting their garments up to their buttocks (II Samuel 10:4). With Jesus, they went a step further: They pulled His beard off His face! This is the same as if He were skinned alive. It had to be excruciating.

Spit On:

To spit in another’s face is among the most unambiguous gestures of shame, hatred, and contempt that a person can express. Few things are more disgusting or humiliating, yet Jesus endured it without a word. He “set His face like flint” (Isaiah 50:7)—so that the very people abusing Him would have a chance to be in His Family!

Stripped:

It was customary for a prisoner to be stripped of his clothes. Again, they seemed to be trying to go above and beyond in inflicting pain and humiliation on Jesus. It is quite likely that He remained unclothed throughout this ordeal.

Scourged:

Scourge comes from the Latin word excoriare, meaning “to flay.” A scourge was a three-corded whip tied to the end of a rod. The tips of the cords had knots embedded with pieces of glass or metal, clearly designed to inflict severe punishment. Jewish law limited punishment to forty lashes, but not Roman law. Many prisoners never lived through scourging. Jesus was beaten so badly He no longer looked human. Isaiah writes, “His visage was marred more than any man” (Isaiah 52:14). It is hard to imagine Him still being able to go on.

Scarlet Robe, Reed, and Crown of Thorns:

After Jesus was stripped, His tormentors clothed Him with a scarlet robe and placed a reed in His hand and a crown of thorns on His head. Scarlet is a color of royalty. The reed imitated a scepter, a symbol of authority, but instead, they beat Him with it. A crown symbolizes honor and rank, but He wore a crown, not of gold, but of piercing thorns, symbolizing a curse, vexation, and misfortune.

Mockery:

Not the least trying of His tortures was the mockery. Mockery is ridicule, contempt, derision. It can also be a counterfeit or absurdly inadequate representation. Christ’s accusers took everything He represented and twisted it to inflict pain, suffering, humiliation, and mental anguish.

Forsaken:

Perhaps the worst that Jesus had to endure was His Father’s turning from Him when all the sins of mankind fell on Him (Matthew 27:46). Throughout that night and day, Jesus knew that His Father was watching while He suffered and every drop of life was mercilessly drained out of Him. Knowing this gave Him strength to endure, just as it gave Stephen strength and comfort (Acts 7:55). Yet, as Jesus was hanging on the cross, He may have looked up as Stephen had, and He saw His Father turn away. He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

The Father had to turn away. Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2), and all of our sins separated Jesus from His Father in the same way. To be our High Priest, to be able to relate to us, Jesus had to know what it was like to be separated from God by sin—and maybe even to taste the terror of those who will be separated from Him forever.

The Father was also suffering. Despite it being part of His plan, He was sacrificing the only Being that He could have a godly relationship with. God has deep feeling and emotion, and as His Son bled out, the Father was hurting! Few human fathers can watch their children going through difficult situations without feeling their pain. How much more our heavenly Father?

Yet, God endured this for us. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The Father and the Son gave everything so that we can live eternally with them! What are we willing to endure to spend it with them?

Thank you Ronny

Susan

 

Sitting on a Cactus

 

I recently posted a picture on my Facebook author page

 

Since my page is not ‘advertised’, the number of people that picture ‘reached’ amazed me. It seems I am not the only one who has had to sit on a cactus.

·

Sometimes there is little, or perhaps no, alternative. But there comes a time when a decision must be made. Is whatever the cactus represents worth the discomfort of sitting on it?

Sometimes this requires an incredible leap of faith.

Sometimes it requires risking something we might be afraid we will lose. (But if the cactus is so uncomfortable, then do we really have it?)

As another ‘picture quote’ I have says – ‘There is a difference between giving up and knowing when you’ve had enough’

·

As we walk our way through this life there are many difficult times. Sometimes it might be difficult to believe that God is with us, or knows what is happening, or cares.

To all three.

 

I will never leave you nor forsake you…
Hebrews 13:5 and variations of this promise in ten other scriptures.

That being the case, what about ‘knows what is happening’ or ‘cares’

Well, I have several translations of the Bible. In none of them did the people written of, sail through their lives without problems.

Starting at the beginning Eve made a wrong choice, to believe a serpent. Adam made a wrong choice too. (Many a ‘cactus’ in my life has been the result of a wrong choice… not always immediate either. Sometimes, like fruit on a tree, it takes time to grow.)

God knows…

How else would He have known that Job would have withstood the tests that He allowed Satan to put on him?

What about the Apostle Paul? After he was blinded on the way to Damascus, God told Ananias to go to him. Ananias protested…

And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Acts 9: 14 – 16

So, my thinking is… Some of the cacti in my life, are things I have sown. Others might have been sown by an ‘enemy’, or even a loving Father.

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12: 7 – 11

Yes, God knows. Yes, God cares. Yes, He is with us.

So if a cactus is in your life – Pray. That is my first aid.

Taking the prickles out, well, that might take time, and more prayer. Ultimately there will be a good result, and it is not always what we think it will be.

But it is our choice to get off the cactus and walk.

Just thinking,

Susan

 

God’s Law – the considerate side

I am still working my way through the book of Deuteronomy in the Bible. And I cannot help but see how the laws that were given, were given by a merciful and loving God.

Take for example…

Take heed in an outbreak of leprosy, that you diligently observe and do according to all that the priests, the Levites, shall teach you…
Deuteronomy 24:8

I looked up leprosy, wondering why (as mentioned in the previous verse) Miriam was put out of the camp for a week. (The rules for ‘diagnosing’ leprosy are given in detail in Leviticus 13.)

Wikipedia.org

Many English translations of the Bible translate tzaraath as “leprosy,” a confusion that derives from the use of the koine cognate “Λέπρα” (which can mean any disease causing scaly skin) in the Septuagint. Ancient sources such as the Talmud (Sifra 63) make clear that tzaraath refers to various types of lesions or stains associated with ritual impurity and occurring on cloth, leather, or houses, as well as skin. It may sometimes be a symptom of the disease described in this article, but has many other causes, as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy (near the end, under the sub-heading Bible.)

So, all those restrictions listed in Leviticus 13 would determine whether it was leprosy, with all the stigma, and poor conditions associated with being cast out of society, not to mention the complications of the disease itself. (Anyone who saw the movie Ben-Hur might remember the fate of the mother and sister, living in caves outside the town.)

If it should turn out to be leprosy, then the spread of the disease was contained.

In our day, in Western cultures, leprosy is not such a common threat. However, with the many ‘plagues’ and rapidly spreading diseases, we would be wise to heed the instruction to quarantine ourselves.

Another, of many examples of the considerate side of the Law…

When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go into his house to get his pledge. You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you.
Deuteronomy 24: 10, 11

I looked up a commentary on this series of verses, via www.BibleTools.org, and Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown had this to say..

The course recommended was, in kind and considerate regard, to spare the borrower’s feelings. In the case of a poor man who had pledged his cloak, it was to be restored before night, as the poor in Eastern countries have commonly no other covering for wrapping themselves in when they go to sleep than the garment they have worn during the day.

And by the way… it was not Moses Law, it was God’s Law delivered by Moses.

 Sharing my thoughts

Susan

 

Bad things do happen

Grief Toolbox

Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself. – Walter Anderson

I saw that quote earlier today. First, I would say that my ‘most precious’ gift is my faith. As for the rest of the quote, I guess it depends on where you are in response to the ‘bad things’, and what the ‘bad things’ are, that determine the ability to choose.

When my husband died, some time later, a dear friend said to me…

“Geoff’s death was God’s gift to you.”

No, I wasn’t offended, hurt, nor angry. I thought about it. I did a bit of a stocktake.

Whether you have lost a spouse, a child, a parent, sibling or very close friend, you might know the horrible, tearing pain that accompanies the loss.

As the grief overwhelmed me, my closest comfort was God. I took the pain to Him, many times a day in those first weeks.

As my stocktake continued, I realised that without my dearest, earthly friend to talk about spiritual things about, I talked with God. My dependence on God increased. A closer walk with God has to be something to be prized.

Heard In a sermon…

“It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting,
Ecclesiastes 7:2a

That made sense to me. In the ‘house of mourning’ a great deal of reflection is done. Why did the person die before me? What do I have to change?  How do I grow from this?

I was blessed that I could mourn, and have family support. There were times in the Bible when God said not to mourn.

Aaron

Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become unkempt and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the Israelites, may mourn for those the LORD has destroyed by fire.
Lev 10. 6

Ezekiel

God’s prophets were called on to do many hard things, but Ezekiel was about to be given one of the hardest tasks of all. God was going to take away his beloved wife. He “spoke to the people in the morning” (verse 18)—evidently giving them the parable of the cooking pot to describe the siege of Jerusalem that commenced that day. And at the end of the same day, when “evening” or sundown came (same verse), his wife would die “with one stroke” (verse 16)—the Hebrew term used elsewhere of plague or disease (see Exodus 9:14). Yet in the face of this devastating personal blow, Ezekiel was not to mourn. We catch a very small glimpse here of Ezekiel’s private life when God calls his wife “the desire of your eyes” (verse 16). This was to be no easy task.
Ezek 24: 15 – 24
http://bible.ucg.org/bible-commentary/2-Kings/Nebuchadnezzar-besieges-Jerusalem;-Parable-of-the-cooking-pot;-Ezekiel’s-wife-dies/

David

The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you–O Absalom, my son, my son!”
2 Sam 18: 33

I have many regrets, but as one friend used to remind me regularly, “There is no such thing as ‘should have’… you did the best you could.”

No, an on-going sadness is that I truly did not understand the pain of becoming a widow, until it happened to me.

Then there is Psalm 56: 8

 

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
Psalm 56: 8 NLT

 

Treasuring my gift,

Susan

 

Thunderstorms

The thunder which had been rolling around all morning came closer, so off went the computer and out came pen and paper.

Rain started. It was so noisy it sounded like small-hail, but I didn’t see any. It made it so dark in the early afternoon that it was more like early evening.

When I was a young child in Scotland, a little nervous of thunder, my mother used to say, “It’s just God moving His furniture.”

 

Well it did not take many years before I found out that could not be possible. Jesus did say to the apostles, that in His Father’s house were many mansions”, but I do not think He needs to move furniture.

Thunder can be rationally explained…

Thunder is produced by the explosive expansion of heated air surrounding a lightning channel. Thunder can be heard from a maximum distance of about 10 miles (16 km) under good atmospheric conditions. When lightning strikes close, thunder has a loud clap or snapping sound. The rumbling we hear is the sound of thunder reaching us at different times from the sound produced along its length. People have experienced injury and property damage from the sound of thunder at close range.  http://www.lightningsafety.com/nlsi_info/thunder2.html

However, God controls the weather. Below is only one of forty-seven verses at the site mentioned. (Most are in the New Testament.)

“When He imparted weight to the wind And meted out the waters by measure, When He set a limit for the rain And a course for the thunderbolt, Then He saw it and declared it; He established it and also searched it out.
http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Weather,-God~s-Sovereignty-Over#sthash.yPaRp56W.dpuf

Look at the statistics of a storm… (CG = Cloud to Ground)

 CG lightning can occur with both positive and negative polarity. The polarity is that of the charge in the region that originated the lightning leaders. An average bolt of negative lightning carries an electric current of 30,000 amperes (30 kA), and transfers 15 coulombs of electric charge and 500 megajoules of energy. Large bolts of lightning can carry up to 120 kA and 350 coulombs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

Speaking for myself, I cannot comprehend what that much power is.

But God is more powerful than many storms, imagine Him thundering at us.

The Israelites had just a glimpse…

 On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.  Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.  Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently.  As the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him
Exodus 19: 16 – 19

Amazing what thoughts can be triggered by a thunderstorm.

Well, I started this yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon… and now here comes another string of storms, and they are coming closer. Will have to turn off again.

(It is now early Sunday morning here, and the storms have gone.)

Susan

Prospering…

A number of things happened today.

• Someone told me that she was glad to see that I was prospering.
• Someone else thanked me for recognising a scripture he tweeted.
• Had an interesting conversation with a client at my voluntary job.

Looking to the first one. Am I prospering?

Depends how I look at it I suppose. I could say that I am waiting until it is my turn to die. No, I am not depressed, just reviewing almost a year on my own.

After my husband died, I took a prayerful look at why he had died first. What I saw was his ‘servant-heart’ and my need to change.

One of the ways I am trying to do that is, progressively, is by trying to think like God thinks.

God is not critical, impatient, selfish, nor has He any of the negative traits we can see so easily in each other, but should be looking for in ourselves.

When someone is rude, offers poor service, or offends in any of the many ways that would have previously caused me to want to complain. I find myself thinking of the ‘ripple effects’.

What would it do to that person’s life?

So, in answer to my own question. I guess I am prospering in the only important way… spiritually.

As to the scripture I recognised… it was from the Old Testament. And that is a whole other subject for another time.

As for the conversation with the client where I do a few hours voluntary work each week. He was observing that he and his wife could both travel to the UK for the same amount of money someone he knows spends on the beer he drinks every week.

He went on to estimate how much it would cost a smoker each week if he or she smoked a pack per day. (Cigarettes are expensive here in Western Australia.) The price per brand varies, but taking a figure from last year, this man calculated it would cost the ‘pack- a-day-smoker’ $200 per week. Times that by fifty-two and the result would be$10,400 (ten thousand four hundred dollars). Not just an overseas trip, but a fair amount of money left over for accommodation or spending.

I know a pensioner couple who smoke three packs per day between them. Going by the man who was talking about it this morning… that would be $600.00 (six hundred dollars) per week. However, the total weekly pension they would receive is six hundred and forty four dollars per week, combined. (The pension rate is quoted per fortnight.) Doesn’t leave much for rent, bills, food, and petrol or bus fares.

Another area in which I prosper. Praise God, I do not smoke.

As I close, II would like to thank all who have prayed for me in the last year, or more.

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
3 John 1: 2

Susan

Loving neighbours

I have been re-listening to messages heard at the recent Feast of Tabernacles I attended. One of the speakers outlined what ‘love your neighbour’ meant.

Hearing it again was timely.

Here in Western Australia, although not officially summer yet, the weather is warming up. The washing that I put on the line an hour and a half ago, is probably dry.

The back door is open as the sun has not come around to that side of the house yet and I wanted some fresh air indoors. Therein lies the problem. One of my neighbours, two units down from me, is on the phone. Even though I have a hearing problem, I can hear him talking. If I put my hearing aids in, I could probably make out what he is saying… and I am a room at the far side of my unit, well away from the door.

Some people, it seems, shout down the phone instead of trusting the telephone wires to take the conversation to the other person.

It is annoying because he does this regularly.

 

Quoting from the message I heard, “Loving your neighbour is more than wishing him well. It is actively working for his benefit.”

This person is not someone I would feel comfortable enough to talk to about it, so how do I actively work for his benefit?

When stuck, take it to God. And since this man has done this all along, he is unlikely to change. So, I guess I need to pray for the patience and understanding to cope with it. After all, it is only the start of the warm season here, so I will want my door open.

 

I guess another way I can be actively working for his good, is not to discuss or complain to other neighbours. (And if they say something to me, then ask if they have approached him about it. That tends to nip gossip in the bud.)

Extend to him the grace that was extended to me…

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves, fulfilling the lusts of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Ephesians 2: 1 – 3 New King James version

Sometimes we need to remember that we are not ‘complete’, nor are we so important that others should fit our expectations.

Just my thinkings,

Susan

 

Image and Likeness…

An important step in working out what God’s plan is, would have to be knowing What, or Who, God is.

Over the years I have heard various descriptions… like a kindly grandfather with white hair and a long beard; that he was just energy; nuclear power, and even a ‘blob’.

·

Then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to our likeness…”
Genesis 1:26 a

So, was Adam a ‘blob’, was he energy, or was he like we are?

I guess the answer to that is apparent. We are descended from Adam and Eve, and we are not ‘blobs’, energy only, or nuclear power.

It is interesting that God said ‘image and likeness’. I looked up the Adam Clarke commentary on this, wanting to know if image and likeness were two ways of saying the same thing.

Here’s what the commentary had to say on this…

And God said, Let us make man – It is evident that God intends to impress the mind of man with a sense of something extraordinary in the formation of his body and soul, when he introduces the account of his creation thus; Let Us make man…

In our image, after our likeness – What is said above refers only to the body of man, what is here said refers to his soul…

The image and likeness must necessarily be intellectual; his mind, his soul, must have been formed after the nature and perfections of his God. The human mind is still endowed with most extraordinary capacities; it was more so when issuing out of the hands of its Creator. God was now producing a spirit, and a spirit, too, formed after the perfections of his own nature.

 

So first of all, mankind were created with bodies… but likeness?

Was that brought to a crashing halt in Genesis 3, when Eve listened to Satan, and Adam disobeyed and took the fruit she offered?

It begs a number of interesting questions, which is neither the purpose of the blog, nor do I have the qualifications to explore.

However, going by scripture…

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
1 Peter 1:18-20 (NIV) Bolding mine.

If this was planned before the creation of the world, that was before mankind was created… so there was a plan in place. It was not something ‘cobbled together’ as I might do when I find something has not worked out as I had expected. God, and the Word, knew what the outcome would be. Could it be they are still working on this? Jesus said…

But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
John 5: 17 NAS

If creation was finished in that first week, what are They working on?

Some thoughts to ponder on.

Susan