It Just Isn't Going to Happen- and That's Great!

Over a month ago I wrote a blog called "How Can I Miss You..." regarding the Spirit of Christ being in you, even when things are not so good. I want to revisit that in a way, adding something recent based on some scripture I've been reading.
Our pastor this past Sunday encouraged the church to read Romans ch.8 every day for three weeks. Aloud. And, to get the best benefit from it, make it the first thing you do each day. No denying, it is difficult, when the first thing you hear is your children either crying or in the potty to make it the first thing in the morning. I did well the first four days, and day five (tonight) came at 9:45p.m. My wife and I have been writing down what God has shown us each day. This was not mine for today, yet it is something that I want to show you. It is one of the most famous parts of the chapter, and the beginning of the climax to one of the fabulous chapters of the Bible:
"35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" I was reading it in my NLT Study Bible, and it said it so beautifully: "Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?" I love that! "Does it mean he no longer loves us?" Your situation that you are facing is difficult, yes. No words can minimize the trouble that you may face.
But if you are in Christ, the intended reader of chapter 8, then you may have passed the part that says that we will suffer with Christ. Yet these sufferings are not in comparison with the joy that awaits us (v.17-18). We will suffer many things: joblessness, children with diseases, loss of friendships, loss of a dear one, hunger, despair of great proportions. But the Spirit of God, which raised Christ from the dead, lives in you, Christian (v. 11)! He is not going anywhere! Nothing will separate us from Him or His love! Nothing!
Your despair that you face, He hasn't left you to face it alone. He intends it for your good (v. 28). He is for you (31), not against you. You can stand with confidence. Call on Him in this time. He is not far, and He wants to talk to you. He will comfort you, shelter you, and ultimately, deliver you. But rest assured, He is there, and nothing will tear the two of you apart.

Attack of the Grammar Police

My head is about to explode. I have been reading postings, status updates on Facebook, blogs, just words all over the place, and I can not take it anymore. I place blame on the public school system, of which I am a product.
Too many people depend on these social networks to keep all their friends informed of their lives, yet they do not have a clue of proper punctuation, grammar, or even how to spell. Why I blame public education is this: English classes of my day, and probably present day, spend too little time on grammar and more on reading and symbolism and less on teaching people how to function daily.
I have seen countless examples lately of the southern staple "y'all." Yes, it's Y'all! Y'all is short for "You all." It could not be "ya'll" because the apostrophe would separate a word. If you wonder why your spell check just flashed red, it isn't northern bias, you're wrong!
Too many people do not know the difference between there, their, and they're. "There" is telling where something is happening. "Their" is possessive, and refers to something that belongs to someone. "They're" is "they are." So there!
Really aggravating to me is that people do not know the difference between "to", "too," and "two." "To" is a word that is so multifunctional that is is its own category in the English language. "Too" means also, as well. "Two" is a number. To say "I'm going to" and to say "I'm going too" means two different things. Watch how you type it!
One more, and my rant for tonight will stop. "Your" is possessive. "You're" means "You are." This appears to be the worst offense. It really drives me nuts when I read Facebook posts and I have to read it three times to understand it!
There are more rants, but I will save them for another time. Just to give you a hint: "It's" going to be fun!

Let me give you a good love story

This is actually based upon a status update I placed on Facebook this morning:
I’ve come to realize something about this whole Twilight phenomenon, and why it is so popular. It catches a place in everyone that is looking for true love, which unfortunately there has been an absence of in this world. What Stephanie Meyer does is create a story where a character, Bella, meets and falls for Edward, who promises her true, eternal love.
This is where the story runs awry for me. Edward is a vampire. He has an existence based upon a curse. He loves Bella also, and knows that in order for the two of them to live and love forever, he must also curse her, which is something that he does not want to do. To readers and watchers, that provides a sense of heartbreak, and is carried on until the fourth novel.
This is where my problem with the story lies. The basis of this story rests in an ideology of “this is all there is.” It lives in a world where people live eternally, and are cursed, and those that die are not, yet are. The chance for true forever love is there, yet to have it; one must succumb to a curse. That is almost as saddening to me as the numbers of good people that have been taken in by the evil world of vampires, werewolves, and the like, which act like a “gateway drug” to the truly demonic.
For I know, and believe in my heart, of a true love story. There is One that wants to love you truly, deeply, and forever. His story cannot be found in a Stephanie Meyer novel. Like Edward, there is blood involved, yet we do not have to lose it: He already has. We do not have to die to have a life forever with Him: yet if we do, we never have to part. If we but ask Him, he will live with us, talk with us, and guide us. In this case, the thing holding us back from this perfect love is not His curse: it is ours. Opening our heart and life to Him is what frees us from that curse, and makes us free to love.

Perhaps Not the Best Advice to Give

I was listening to one of those Christian radio stations that is griped about last year this week. The general manager of the station had recorded a quick bit to remind people to donate to the station by asking this:
"Have you ever inserted your name into a scripture?"
He then goes on to use Isaiah 61, inserting the station into the verse, making an impassioned plea for support.
The thought occurs to me: I have never inserted my name into a verse. I've heard many preachers do that to John 3:16. "For God so loved Jonathan, that he gave his only begotten son..." Yeah, I see how that would work for that verse.
But what about other verses? What about Genesis 4:8? "and it came to pass, that when they were in the field, that Jonathan rose up and slew his brother Abel..." -No, that doesn't work.
What about Genesis 39:12? "And she caught Jonathan by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and Jonathan left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out." That doesn't work either. Actually, it puts me in some compromising positions that doesn't really fit me.
So, you can "personalize" the scriptures you use to make the Bible a little more personal. Just be careful which ones you use. Have fun!