Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world
. the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life
. is not of the the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the Will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
...........
Have you ever had a really good business deal just "go bad" for seemingly unknown reasons? How about a child of yours who has "gone bad" ?? You surely know what I mean. You put all your time and effort in some thing or someone and then it all falls apart right before your very eyes. Bummer, huh. REAL bummer, at times. But that's life, right? Win some - lose some.
Right ?? Welllllllllll, maybe, maybe not.
..........
I've been re-reading the Book of Jonah. You know the guy inside the whale. Well, it WAS actually a fish, I think. Anyway, the REST of the story goes much, MUCH deeper into the human drama, than just a fish swallowing a guy a couple of thousand years ago. What REALLY went on in Jonah's life had to do with his encounter with God and what lesson God had to teach him ............. AND teach us, IF we care to listen.
You see, Jonah was having this head problem about a city's people who wouldn't listen to him about glorifying the Lord. If they didn't, then God would destroy them. So, Jonah camped outside of the city and waited. WHILE he was waiting, the sun really started to get hot and Jonah was really suffering under it. So God, being the loving God that He is, caused a vine to grow near Jonah so that Jonah could have some relief from the hot sun. And just as Jonah was getting into enjoying all the shade, he took a nap only to wake up and discover God had sent a worm down to eat on the vine, thusly killing it. So now Jonah doesn't have his shade AND God sent a terribly hot east wind to even dry up Jonah more. Bummer, huh? Plus I haven't EVEN mentioned that God, after He used Jonah to successfully minister to other cities, sent Jonah to minister to probably THE WORST city ANY one could possibly minister to. They were THAT bad. Jonah, in other words, was REALLY having his up's and down's in life, just like you and I at times.
.........
Dear Lord, please help me get this crucial point across through my words, OK? We ALL need to learn of the much deeper meanings behind and inside of your wonderful Word. Thank You, God. Tommy
.........
Anyway, at the beginning of this post I was asking some really personal questions about us humans and how often our lives can suddenly go down the toilet, JUST when we really begin to think that things were going our way, right? Well, in Jonah's life, he was having a really good time obeying God's commands, and because he thought God was favoring him, he fell asleep at the switch and suddenly had about everything in his life turn to suffering.
So, I now I'll get to the point of this post, OK?
What are YOUR worms? What are YOUR hot winds in YOUR life? Don't get me wrong here, OK? I'm NOT trying to drudge up old wounds for you. Nope, no bad memories. I'm just asking you the question, "Which of your problems actually came from God?" Yes, just WHEN are our problems, even our really BIG problems, actually blessings? Well, if you look in the Book of Jonah, chapter 4:6, 7 & 8, you'll see that God's Hand was in both Jonah's problems AND his blessings. In both his successes AND his failures.
Yes, my point here is, "Why would God's Holy Purpose include ALL things possible in a person's life, anyway? Well, let's remember now that God FIRST saved Jonah from drowning when Jonah jumped out of a ship to avoid God's Commands. That was Jonah's FIRST MISTAKE, thinking he could run and hide from God. You ever do that???? Anyway, THAT'S where the whale, or maybe it WAS a fish, came into the picture. Jonah realized that his not-following God's commands only made things TERRIBLY worse for him, AND the people with him in the ship he was fleeing from God in. Yep, MANY of our personal acts affect SO MANY others around us, even if we haven't the faintest clue that they do. But, you see, God THROUGH His Son Jesus Christ, saved us by cleansing us from our sins on the Jesus' Cross. THEN God teaches us, through the process of sanctification, to lay down our attachments to Earthly desires. THIS is how we become like Jesus. THIS is God our Fathers' Plan for Salvation; THROUGH Jesus acts, and not ours.
Don't you think, just maybe, that God is trying (like He did with Jonah) to save us from our "vine-centered" lives? Yep, the vine that shaded Jonah represents our love for the "stuff" we've accumulated in our lives, and have grown so fond of ............ actually MUCH more fond of, than our love for God.
..........
On a personal note, let me confess something to you, OK? My wife and I moved back to Virginia, USA about 4 months ago. We'd lived in Iowa for 13 years to care for my ageing parents while they were still alive. After they passed, we moved back here to care for my wife Angel's family. During the six months that it took to remodel our Iowa home, sell it and then pack for our move, PLUS the relocation to our NEW home, two of my ministries came to an almost complete standstill. There just wasn't time for all in life that I thought I needed to accomplish.
During all this work and relocation I found myself getting quite irritable towards the 2nd love of my life, my wife. Jesus being my first love, of course. I became SO irritated with so many VERY TRIVIAL items, that I finally had to take several days to fast and pray. And THEN I realized just how much I had been taking for granted the Lord's many blessings in my life. They are just FAR too many to go into at this time, OK?
Anyway, old Tommy here had languished in God's Grace and Love for SO long, that he just forgot about it, I guess. I DIDN'T have my home, office and work shop of 13 years. I DIDN'T have my home church-family. I was living out of boxes and bags for months. In our new location in N.W. Virginia, I knew practically NO ONE . And I got to feeling sorry myself, I am sure. I forgot where all my blessings came from and bathed myself in self-pity for months, without even STARTING to realize it.
.........
So, I ask again, "What are your worms of disappointment? Or are you still laying back under your protective vine?"
..........
Heavenly Lord, thank You for taking certain things away from me in my life, if even on a temporary basis. Thank You for allowing me to stress out so childishly. And thank You for revealing to me a truer part of my spiritual self, that I REALLY needed to take another good look at. I really needed, God, to take another REALLY hard look at my life's priorities and what they SHOULD be focused upon ..................... yes, You, Father. Tommy
.........
My friends, PLEASE don't miss out on the REAL fun in life. GOD'S Love is un-ending and total. Don't be so full of yourselves all the time and PLEASE stop taking yourselves so seriously, OK? Get full of Jesus. Take HIS Work on The Cross DEAD seriously ........... while there is still time in your life.
May God speed you to these discoveries.
tommy2
...........
Have you ever had a really good business deal just "go bad" for seemingly unknown reasons? How about a child of yours who has "gone bad" ?? You surely know what I mean. You put all your time and effort in some thing or someone and then it all falls apart right before your very eyes. Bummer, huh. REAL bummer, at times. But that's life, right? Win some - lose some.
Right ?? Welllllllllll, maybe, maybe not.
..........
I've been re-reading the Book of Jonah. You know the guy inside the whale. Well, it WAS actually a fish, I think. Anyway, the REST of the story goes much, MUCH deeper into the human drama, than just a fish swallowing a guy a couple of thousand years ago. What REALLY went on in Jonah's life had to do with his encounter with God and what lesson God had to teach him ............. AND teach us, IF we care to listen.
You see, Jonah was having this head problem about a city's people who wouldn't listen to him about glorifying the Lord. If they didn't, then God would destroy them. So, Jonah camped outside of the city and waited. WHILE he was waiting, the sun really started to get hot and Jonah was really suffering under it. So God, being the loving God that He is, caused a vine to grow near Jonah so that Jonah could have some relief from the hot sun. And just as Jonah was getting into enjoying all the shade, he took a nap only to wake up and discover God had sent a worm down to eat on the vine, thusly killing it. So now Jonah doesn't have his shade AND God sent a terribly hot east wind to even dry up Jonah more. Bummer, huh? Plus I haven't EVEN mentioned that God, after He used Jonah to successfully minister to other cities, sent Jonah to minister to probably THE WORST city ANY one could possibly minister to. They were THAT bad. Jonah, in other words, was REALLY having his up's and down's in life, just like you and I at times.
.........
Dear Lord, please help me get this crucial point across through my words, OK? We ALL need to learn of the much deeper meanings behind and inside of your wonderful Word. Thank You, God. Tommy
.........
Anyway, at the beginning of this post I was asking some really personal questions about us humans and how often our lives can suddenly go down the toilet, JUST when we really begin to think that things were going our way, right? Well, in Jonah's life, he was having a really good time obeying God's commands, and because he thought God was favoring him, he fell asleep at the switch and suddenly had about everything in his life turn to suffering.
So, I now I'll get to the point of this post, OK?
What are YOUR worms? What are YOUR hot winds in YOUR life? Don't get me wrong here, OK? I'm NOT trying to drudge up old wounds for you. Nope, no bad memories. I'm just asking you the question, "Which of your problems actually came from God?" Yes, just WHEN are our problems, even our really BIG problems, actually blessings? Well, if you look in the Book of Jonah, chapter 4:6, 7 & 8, you'll see that God's Hand was in both Jonah's problems AND his blessings. In both his successes AND his failures.
Yes, my point here is, "Why would God's Holy Purpose include ALL things possible in a person's life, anyway? Well, let's remember now that God FIRST saved Jonah from drowning when Jonah jumped out of a ship to avoid God's Commands. That was Jonah's FIRST MISTAKE, thinking he could run and hide from God. You ever do that???? Anyway, THAT'S where the whale, or maybe it WAS a fish, came into the picture. Jonah realized that his not-following God's commands only made things TERRIBLY worse for him, AND the people with him in the ship he was fleeing from God in. Yep, MANY of our personal acts affect SO MANY others around us, even if we haven't the faintest clue that they do. But, you see, God THROUGH His Son Jesus Christ, saved us by cleansing us from our sins on the Jesus' Cross. THEN God teaches us, through the process of sanctification, to lay down our attachments to Earthly desires. THIS is how we become like Jesus. THIS is God our Fathers' Plan for Salvation; THROUGH Jesus acts, and not ours.
Don't you think, just maybe, that God is trying (like He did with Jonah) to save us from our "vine-centered" lives? Yep, the vine that shaded Jonah represents our love for the "stuff" we've accumulated in our lives, and have grown so fond of ............ actually MUCH more fond of, than our love for God.
..........
On a personal note, let me confess something to you, OK? My wife and I moved back to Virginia, USA about 4 months ago. We'd lived in Iowa for 13 years to care for my ageing parents while they were still alive. After they passed, we moved back here to care for my wife Angel's family. During the six months that it took to remodel our Iowa home, sell it and then pack for our move, PLUS the relocation to our NEW home, two of my ministries came to an almost complete standstill. There just wasn't time for all in life that I thought I needed to accomplish.
During all this work and relocation I found myself getting quite irritable towards the 2nd love of my life, my wife. Jesus being my first love, of course. I became SO irritated with so many VERY TRIVIAL items, that I finally had to take several days to fast and pray. And THEN I realized just how much I had been taking for granted the Lord's many blessings in my life. They are just FAR too many to go into at this time, OK?
Anyway, old Tommy here had languished in God's Grace and Love for SO long, that he just forgot about it, I guess. I DIDN'T have my home, office and work shop of 13 years. I DIDN'T have my home church-family. I was living out of boxes and bags for months. In our new location in N.W. Virginia, I knew practically NO ONE . And I got to feeling sorry myself, I am sure. I forgot where all my blessings came from and bathed myself in self-pity for months, without even STARTING to realize it.
.........
So, I ask again, "What are your worms of disappointment? Or are you still laying back under your protective vine?"
..........
Heavenly Lord, thank You for taking certain things away from me in my life, if even on a temporary basis. Thank You for allowing me to stress out so childishly. And thank You for revealing to me a truer part of my spiritual self, that I REALLY needed to take another good look at. I really needed, God, to take another REALLY hard look at my life's priorities and what they SHOULD be focused upon ..................... yes, You, Father. Tommy
.........
My friends, PLEASE don't miss out on the REAL fun in life. GOD'S Love is un-ending and total. Don't be so full of yourselves all the time and PLEASE stop taking yourselves so seriously, OK? Get full of Jesus. Take HIS Work on The Cross DEAD seriously ........... while there is still time in your life.
May God speed you to these discoveries.
tommy2
