11/21/09

God will be there!



I watched an old movie tonight, the one "You've got mail" was based on. It was called "An affair to remember" and it was wonderful! Yet, after the movie I felt somewhat melancholy; The lovers in the movie finally found one another and yet one of them was still paralyzed at the movie's end. When I saw this picture, it made me feel the same way; a sort of bitter-sweet happiness that bordered on remorse. The dark shadows and the dying sun of the picture are sorrowful in a way, but the shooting stars spoke of hope in the future. And then I remembered this passage from Genesis and I thought of God. Take a moment and read it; you will be glad you did.


Genesis 8:15-22 WEB (R)
(15) God spoke to Noah, saying,
(16) "Go out of the ship, you, and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you.
(17) Bring forth with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh, including birds, livestock, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply on the earth."
(18) Noah went forth, with his sons, his wife, and his sons' wives with him.
(19) Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, whatever moves on the earth, after their families, went out of the ship.
(20) Noah built an altar to Yahweh, and took of every clean animal, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
(21) Yahweh smelled the pleasant aroma. Yahweh said in his heart, "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, because the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I ever again strike everything living, as I have done.
(22) While the earth remains, seed time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."


Somehow it must have been terrible for God to have had to do what HE did with the flood; I can only imagine the pain HE must have endured! Yet, out of it came the promise of continuance; the hope of tomorrow. As this picture is sad in a way, yet I know that it is also joyful, for tomorrow there will be another day! Why? Because God has said so and that is good enough for me! Yahweh smelled the aroma from Noah's burnt offering and blessed the world; will he not bless me when I seek him with all my heart. So, bring on the night, God will be there!!

Snag!



Snag! Caught with the spoon right in his mouth! By the look in his eyes, you can tell he took something he shouldn't have. The next thought is: What will he do next? Own up to it and promise not to do it again or try to wriggle out of what is coming to him? We all do things wrong from time to time and the measure of a person is what we do about it! If you have read the book of 1 Corinthians you know that one of the "Christians" there had been sleeping with his father's wife; whew, talk about Peyton place (to name just one TV show). The following passage shows what the one who committed this act and the congregation did about it.


2 Corinthians 7:8-11 WEB (R)
(8) For though I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I see that my letter made you sorry, though just for a while.
(9) I now rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that you were made sorry to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing.
(10) For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world works death.
(11) For behold, this same thing, that you were made sorry in a godly way, what earnest care it worked in you. Yes, what defense, indignation, fear, longing, zeal, and vengeance! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be pure in the matter.


Both the congregation and the one in error did the right thing; made the right choice. Paul did the right thing as well; he firmly, yet gently confronted the problem. There is a lesson here: Even the worst of situations can work out if handled properly and all those involved have the right attitude! And attitude lead to actions and they lead to eternal consequences. I hope whoever caught this youngster wasn't to hard on him... you just got to love those eyes!