Disappointments

     If life stands or if it falls, Christ is Lord of all.

     Disappointments seem to be part of life. Haunting us like an diabolic shadow, disappointments often tear down our carefully constructed walls of confidence and comfort. Exposed and vulnerable, we are tempted to lay down and hide, but we should instead rally together and fight. Whenever the battle turns against us, fleeing will only result in failure and death.  However, instead of vainly ignoring the reality, it is at our weakest that we rely on the genious of the greatest general who has ever lived. Satan is scheming, scheming against our lives and souls, but alas! Our God is a step ahead of him, warning and preparing us to meet our foes. Paul instructs us in Ephesians 6 to "Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. ¹² For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. ¹³ This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand."
      Rely on God, and the Light will drive back the dark. Hold onto Christ, and nothing will shred your soul. You may be torn apart, confused, and helpless, but God will come out on top. It will be no other way. Have faith in the Spirit, and the truth will guide you; in it you will be made free. Life is hard to combat sometimes. But faith will hold us through the fray.

A Quick Thought...

      "And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross."
     Why do I find myself so often dwelling in my sins? Of course I can't get past them. It's humanly impossible. But God has made a way by nailing our debt to the cross- right through the very hands of Christ. We are covered by His blood, set free by His perfect sacrifice. Give up, and find that life with Christ is truly worth the living.

A Laugh and a Sigh

     Sometimes even the littlest things can tickle the funny bone. Yesterday,-strange though it may seem- it was a bible passage. Here it goes:

     "In Lystra, a man without strength in his feet, lame from birth, and who had never walked, sat and heard Paul speaking. After observing him closely and seeing that he had faith to be healed, Paul said in a loud voice, 'Stand up straight on your feet!' And he jumped up and started to walk around When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they raised their voiced, saying in the Lycaonian language, 'The gods have come down to us in the form of men!' And they started to call Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the main speaker. Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was outside the town, brought oxen and garlands to the gates. He, with the crowds, intended to offer sacrifice." Acts 14:8-13

    'What's so funny?' you may ask. Well, here were Paul and Barnabas, having just got kicked out of both Antioch and Iconium. They were relying boldly on the Lord, and He was working through them to spread the good news of Jesus Christ in places it had never been before. The Holy Spirit was filling their lives, and signs and wonders were being done because God 'testified to the message of His grace" through the apostles... and then this happens.
     It's just so typical. To put what we want in place of what really Is. Paul and Barnabas were just trying to do the work of the Lord, and the people are just messing it all up! Instead of listening to what the apostles were trying to tell them, the crowd started a pagan-party. A lame man was just healed, so should we listen to the men who called for it to happen? ...Naaahhh. Because that would mean giving up what we're comfortable with. That would mean actually having to acknowledge that we may just be in the wrong. That would mean changing.
     Seeing that the Lystrians were obviously sadly confused, Paul and Barnabas become distraught, passionately arguing the truth of God against worthless idolatry. But to no avail. "Even though they said these things, they barely stopped the crowds from sacrificing to them." And then what happened? Paul and Barnabas were kicked out of the city. Again.
     As I read this passage, the image of Paul and Barnabas actually having to explain that they were not gods just cracked me up. The silliness of it all! But then my laughter faded, and I slowly began to realize that, really, the Lystrians are no different than we often are today.
     How often do we ignore God's will and replace it in our conscience with our own? I don't mean just the big things. What job to apply for, or whether or not to become a full-time minister. I mean things like 'Hey, that kid looks lonely. Should I talk to him? ...Naaahhh. Give up some time to help someone fold the clothes? ...Naaahhh.' The mistake of the crowds of Lystria may seem foolish to us, but the small acts of rebellion are more dangerous than the big ones. If a ship is missing its sail, something obviously needs to be fixed. But a subtle leak? Oh, that'll be fine. Until it sinks the ship.
     All who have been washed by the blood of Christ have the Spirit in them. But oh, how easy it is to ignore the gentle proddings. The quiet whispers of the soul. Oh God, speak to us always. Never let us forget. You are God of all. Our whole lives; the big and the little. The good and the bad. Draw us to your side. Never let us go. Hold us, change us, love us.
     Let's not be the fools. We may not mistake His work for Zeus or Hermes, but we do tend to see things our way. And that is a dangerous mistake to make.  
    

      

"All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."

A person is only a person. But a person is a person indeed. We have been endowed by our Creator with the ability to cause change. We have only to use it.

And They Call Themselves Reporters...

 

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/73258.html

      Definitely the most biased "news" article I have ever read. Yes, reporters from all ends of the spectrum are occasionally guilty of allowing their political beliefs to influence their reporting, but this is just ridiculous.

      And I'm not even a huge Romney fan...

 

A majority  of the "flubs" highlighted by the article are not really flubs. Most of them are statements of fact, simply portrayed by the liberal media as mess-ups. Such thinly veiled attacks against Republican character sicken my stomach.

 

    Take, for instance, the Cadillac comment. Why in the world is Romney being scorned for owning American-made cars? As successful as he is, Romney could very well own any foreign-luxury car he desired. Also, the Cadillacs quoted are not super high-end cars. Many "working-class" men and women do not hesitate to purchase nice things they cannot afford, and often those items are just as expensive than a $35,000-$45,000 car. Ever seen anyone driving an RV? What about a sailboat? Or the average small-engine aircraft owner? Right or wrong, lack of funds rarely stops most working-class citizens from getting what they want. They just get into debt up to their eyeballs. So why should a man be villainized for actually affording what he owns?

 

It was mentioned in the article about corporate profits. If corporations don't make money, how in the world do people expect to get jobs? Are people just going to hand everybody money just for the fun of it? Somebody, somewhere, risked everything in order to start the businesses that drive our economy. If you are jealous, then start your own business. Problem solved.

 

I am appalled by the main-stream media's demonization of conservative values. We are the ones who believe that everyday citizens have the responsibility and integrity needed to save America. We are the ones who believe in equal opportunity for all. We are the ones who believe that hard work deserves to be rewarded with success. And we are the ones who believe in the true freedom of America, and we will fight against those who would enslave America to hand-outs and strip away the harvest of our hard-earned endeavors.

 

We are the true heart of America.

A Quick Word...

"Therefore, since we have a Great High Priest who has gone through the heavens- Jesus, the Son of God- let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we don't have a high priest who can't sympathize with our weakness, but we have One who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive grace and find mercy to help us at the proper time" Hebrews 4:14-16

     Jesus Christ can and does understand what we go through. God isn't a far-away, pitiless being who mundanely directs the going-ons of the universe. He directs it with care and compassion, and loves each of His children intimately. Through the perfect blood of Christ, we can have a freeing, everlasting relationship with Him who knows all of us fully. He cared enough to come. And He cares enough to save!

I suppose it's time for another post.

My Christmas break was gently relaxing, lazy, and a time of rest and peace. However, I did have one very unexpected adventure. It went a little something like this:

     At 400 feet and dropping, the flying tin can was handling nicely. It was like a skater on the ice; calm, soothing, with only the slightest atmospheric feather-ruffles to remind us that, yes, we were still functioning in reality, and no, we couldn't stay in the heavens forever. No wonder the beasts of the air are intoxicated with life, dancing lazily above the world of those ever-burdened men.

"71 fox turning final, runway 3-6"

     Dad's call rang through my headset with that distant, metallic tone that I only hear while traveling as the birds. As we neared ground-level, the plane jerked and shifted, like a grumpy sleeper tossing in the rays of the morning sun. But for fuel, I would've been content to hit the snooze and drift as the clouds a little longer yet.

"Aaron, you know we're missing our right brake."

     My mind processed Dad's comment. He wasn't worried. He was in control. During pre-flight, I wasn't anxious either. Who needs a brake in the air? But traveling at 100 miles per hour in a mass of aluminum skin, steel cables and electrical avionics, I was slammed with the reality that at some point, I would like to get off the ride, please. I prayed we wouldn't make the next day's headlines.

     As the plane glided over the runway, a river of gray asphalt rushed violently below my feet. The plane seemed to hover, like a diver hung in the suspense of an ocean. Then, suddenly and smoothly, touchdown. Rolling to a stop, i breathed a sigh of relief. Dad was right. Nothing to worry about. There would be a tomorrow, after all.

But it wasn't over yet.

Skillfully guiding the Cessna-172 down the taxi-way, dad made an interesting discovery. Our trusty eagle stubbornly refused to turn to the right. We were stuck.

"You'll have to get out and swing the tail to the left. Just push down and walk. It's not heavy, son."

Okay, I thought. Nothing to it. Just push down and walk.

     As I clambered out of the cramped quarters of the plane, the wind from the prop blasted me in the face. Strangely, I felt a moment of elated idealism; this, I thought, is what it feels like to be free. My hair was blowing about wildly, my breath taken away. The first pioneer aviators were heroes, I thought, heroes whose hearts were contented not with the complacency of land-dwelling but with the lonesome freedom of the air. The same wind that was blowing my spirit into wonder blew theirs into passion. Oh, the joy of the adventurous unknown.

I walked around to the tail, and -one, two, three- pushed with all my might!
It didn't budge.

    Now what? I thought. So -one, two, three- PUSH!!!
Nothing doing. That plane wasn't moving.

   Panicky, I scampered around to the pilot-side window. Dad's face was concerned but not desperate, like a lion watching his young miss his first kill. Sheepishly embarrassed, I just pointed gave a half-hearted shrug. There was nothing else I could do.

    With a sputter and a cough, our grounded eagle lost the spark of life. Dad clambered out of the pilot's seat, jogged around to the rear, and in one deft motion spun the whole plane around. It took him 20 seconds what I had tried to accomplish in twice that time. Now I was just plain humiliated.

Climbing back into our seats, I gave dad a sideways glance of clumsy shame. I had no idea what he would say.

But I had no need to worry. He just looked me in the eye, grinned, and said, "That is what happens when you only way 130 pounds. Get some meat on ya, boy."


And that is the end of my Christmas-break moment of excitement. We parked the plane without further incident, and learned that perhaps a missing break is a show-stopper, after all.

The air is still my soul-calming palace of endless dreams.