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Archive for the ‘A Nation Divided’ Category

THE INVITATION

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , , , , on December 10, 2012| 5 Comments »

 

Ever throw a party and no one showed up? I have. It’s humiliating. But have you ever heard of not having a party and everyone came? It happened at our house one Christmas Eve many years ago.

My earliest memories of Christmas Eve were Mama and Daddy’s annual Christmas Open House. Invitations went out the first of December, addressed, with times staggered, so folks would arrive in small groups because of the size of our modest home. But every year they came, fifty, sixty, seventy-five of them, all arriving early and staying ‘til…

Laughter, singing, and joyful conversation filled all the rooms of our house and Christmas Eve became a Rockefeller-Center-event for my brother, Andy and me.

Mama’s food would have made Paula Deen proud. The house sparkled, the tree shimmered, and the table—always a picture out of Southern Living. My brother and I were as excited about the party as we were the gifts under the tree. And we were allowed to stay up late while other kids had to go to bed. Daddy said Santa made an exception for us and placed our house on his last-stop-list before returning to the North Pole.

But one Christmas Eve in the mid ‘50’s, my parents decided not to have their annual Christmas Eve party. No polishing silver, no party preparations, no delicious smells from Mama’s kitchen. It didn’t even seem like Christmas to my brother and me.

Andy and I moped over Christmas Eve dinner and prepared for a gloomy evening with the folks and the sentence of an early bedtime.

Until headlights shined in the driveway, followed by a second set of headlights, and then another and another. The doorbell rang and a crowd of expectant-party-goers shouted “Merry Christmas”.

Daddy opened the door and after an awkward moment of silence between the guests and would-be-hosts, Mama and Daddy’s smiles lit up as bright as our Christmas lights and they ushered the confused guests into our living room.

There would be a party after all.

Mama’s Christmas cookies were rushed to the table, and the fresh coconut cake ready for tomorrow’s dinner would soon be gobbled. She was the poster model for magic chef. Within minutes the table miraculously filled with delicious tidbits from Mama’s fridge and pantry.

I heard ladies tell her over and over, “I thought my invitation was lost in the mail.” And, “it wouldn’t be Christmas Eve without gathering at your house.”

Next day we ate left-over’s for Christmas dinner and laughed and agreed it had been the best party ever. Mama and Daddy pledged never to cancel their party again. They couldn’t—the people would come even without an invitation.

How times and relationships have changed. I marvel at these precious memories. A night so many years ago filled with good news. The good news of friendships—love and delight in just being together. The good news of  Mama and Daddy who gave us a home where grace and love and friendships trumped all else. The good news of confidence that all who came to our table would be blessed and welcomed by my folks.

How appropriate is this loving memory of my parents tonight, at the beginning of the 2012 Christmas celebration.

Yet, over two thousand years ago, another invitation was issued by an angelic choir in the skies over Bethlehem. An invitation first given to shepherds who received the Good News of Jesus.

God’s invitation, brought by His Son, who guarantees a place at God’s table. A table in an eternal home, with a forever family where mercy and grace and a loving relationship wait to be lavished on any and all who will come to Jesus.

Have you accepted your invitation? It’s not lost in the mail, it’s in the Word and in your heart. He promised, there’s a seat at His table—just for you. Your name is engraved on the place card and the smiling face and loving arms of Jesus are stretched open to welcome you.

The date’s been set. The preparations are in order. Will you be there?

Award winning article in North Texas Christian Writers 2012 “Write Before Christmas” contest.

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ALMOST DONE FOR 2012 – ONE MORE TO GO

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , , on November 30, 2012| 9 Comments »

 

If you’ve lost a loved one in the past three years, chances are on November 15th you’d like to have taken a sleeping bill that would last until January 5th of 2013.

Truth is, all of us live life from one holiday ‘til the next. February brings Valentines, then Easter is next in line, followed by Mother’s Day/Father’s Day, then the 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Of course, birthdays and anniversaries are sandwiched in between these festivities—and they are all difficult days.

Then we begin again. Next year.

But if you’re agonizing over the death of a loved one, holiday celebrations are brutal reminders of who’s not there to celebrate with you. You’re sad and lonely. Very lonely.

This year was the fifteenth Thanksgiving without Mama, the thirteenth without Daddy, and the twelfth without our daughter, Michelle. And Monday, the one before Thanksgiving, I had a complete meltdown.

You’d think after all this time I’d be able to get through a holiday event with only a twinge of an emotional setback. But when I opened Mama’s silver chest to polish those family treasures that would grace our dinner table, memories of Thanksgivings past rushed down the corridors of my mind, ripped through my heart, and tumbled out in a river of debilitating tears.

I collapsed in the middle of the floor and gave myself permission to shed tears of love and loss that honor the lives of those who’ve gone home before me.

Tears of grief are liquid healing. Tears that, scripture tells us, God saves in a bottle. Tears necessary to move us through the grief process and into our new normal.

But what happens to those who refuse the opportunity to cry and grieve? Are they stronger? Are those of us who weep and grieve weak?

Absolutely not.

Family members grieve in different manners—each person’s grief is unique. And most every family who has lost a loved one has at least one member who refuses to do their grief work. They choose instead to bury their grief alive because they believe their sorrow is much worse than anyone else and much too difficult for them to bear. Problem is when grief is buried alive there will be a resurrection one day. Or perhaps on many days, year, after year, after year—most often during holidays.

Graves of buried grief incubate anger. Anger blossoms into bitterness. Bitterness transforms itself into rage. And that rage dresses and terrorizes, in many colors and forms—sullenness, rudeness, unexplained irritability, unreasonableness, inability to demonstrate love within the family unit, stubborn refusal to participate in and accept the joy and thankfulness of the season. These reactions can damage or ultimately bring death to living relationships with family members who are dealing with their grief.

These desperate souls have stumbled unknowingly into the quagmire of grief and will not or cannot escape the devastating consequences of their wrong choices.

They are stuck in grief.

Can we do anything to help these scalded, scarred folks?

 Love and prayer. Prayer, prayer and then more love and prayer. As long as there is breath, there is hope.

But we  can’t heal them, only God can—if they seek Him. However, we must not allow ourselves to become entangled or sucked into their web of chaos. And that’s where the line in the sand must be drawn and the remedy may result in the need to create distance or space between ourselves and the one stuck in grief.

Like any other behavior, becoming stuck in grief is habitual. And habits are hard to break. However, catering to bad behavior ensnares all involved in co-dependent relationships.

There are no time limitations on grief or healing. People have come to GriefShare after forty years of being stuck in grief. And when they do the grief work, God promised to heal them and to restore the years the locust have eaten.

As we enter the Christmas Season where does Christmas 2012 find you? Like me, pausing to remember and shed those treasured tears of grief? Or are you the one stuck in grief? Or perhaps you find yourself dreading the family gathering around the tree or table this Christmas, fearing the eruption that is sure to come.

Surviving the Holidays is a wonderful place to begin the necessary healing. Go to the GriefShare website www.GriefShare.org and click on the link to find a Surviving the Holidays event near you. Ask family members to attend with you. Work to keep lines of communication open within the family. Ask God to break down strongholds of anger that have caused family discord.

Every holiday becomes bitter-sweet a few years after loss. And it’s okay to cry,  to feel sad, and to remember.

But hold onto the truth that the day is coming when there will be no more tears, no more separation, and no more death. ‘Til then, I’ve wondered what sized bottle God used for my tears these fifteen years? My guess is a giant washtub. What size bottle will He need to hold your tears?

“Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into Thy bottle; are they not in Thy book?” (Psalm 56:8 NKJ)

Ancient “tear bottles” were actually excavated by archaeologist in Israel. The vessels were used to catch and preserve the owner’s tears during their grief or difficult times.

If you need help dealing with your grief this Christmas Season, please feel free to respond to this blog. I have been  a GriefShare facilitator for the past nine years. There is help and hope available to you today.

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TO COMMA OR NOT TO COMMA, THAT IS THE QUESTION?

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , , on November 23, 2012| 2 Comments »

Trust each one of you had a blessed and thankful Thanksgiving and that family and loved ones filled your heart with abundant joy. Maintaining the tone of this wonderful celebration, thought I share a moment from three years ago when I became serious about writing and found things had changed since my school days. One afternoon in absolute despair I pounded off this dirge to my gypsy-lifestyle (as my mother called my art career) to embrace the title of author. Hope you enjoy my attempt at humor.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Gates family

It’s absolutely thrilling, a feast for my eyes, to see a page filled with dialogue, dressed for the dance in a plethora of punctuation.

I love punctuation! The curls, dots, and squiggles bring symmetry and texture to an otherwise boring page of  border to border black and white.

Perhaps, had I been a writer first and then an artist, life would be easier for me. Artists are rarely minimalists, you see.  We tend to have an outrageous view of all elements of life. Some may consider us extreme; but, I prefer to be identified as a butterfly—flitting here and there, from color to more color, fragrance to more fragrance, and texture to more texture!

When I contemplate the current trend in writing toward minimalism in punctuation, I must confess—I struggle! A little comma here, an exclamation point there,  breaks the monotony. Throw in a dash or a semi-colon and I ‘m in heaven.

Alas, the rules have changed since the ancient decades of my schooling; but, now there springs  a word that zaps spasms of fear and dread into my artist heart—CONFORMITY. Yes, if an artist wishes to write in this market, it is imperative, I’m told, to conform to the current rules of (sigh) punctuation.

I believe my swan song must be a painting of punctuation of every nature and description—stamped, embossed, and engraved on canvas. A montage, with two spaces after each period. Ahhh, the joy that would bring in the depths of my soul—commas, exclamation points, dashes, question marks, italics, parenthesis, et cetera, et cetera—dancing and twirling across the  canvas for all posterity to remember.

Think I’ll take orders for the signed and numbered prints. Anyone interested? Then, I will go peacefully into the marketplace of the writer, still struggling a mite; but, albeit—conforming!

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BASEBOARDS, DOORS AND FRAMES AND ME

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , , on November 17, 2012| 11 Comments »

I’m on record, here and now—I despise painting baseboards, doors, and frames—especially with oil base paint. Whoever invented the open concept home is a genius. Problem is, my home is not.

After fifteen years, the time arrived that I had to paint the woodwork in my home. The wooden moldings looked okay; but, if you gave careful attention, they displayed a variety of wall-paint-splatters that speckled and chronicled the history of the family’s color palette.

I thought I’d take it slow. One room at a time, stretched over the winter and spring. I could do that.

The newly painted woodwork in the grand-girls’ room looked fabulous when I finished the task. The doors looked fresh and the window sills looked new.

I painted the frame of the bedroom door around and into the hallway and patted myself on the back for a job well done.  I cleaned the brush and would have put the paint in storage; but, a quick glance from the entry hall into the bedroom horrified me.

The blisters, bumps and bruises on the unpainted trim and doors screamed, “Look at me. I’m grimy and grungy.” One small job of remodeling a bedroom exploded into a major project that needed to be done—before our Christmas party.

I groaned at the thought of painting all the woodwork in the house—before  the middle of December. But there would be no escape. The wood trim and moldings I had grown accustomed to, now that I had eyes to see were disgustingly filthy. Alongside the freshly painted ones they cried for new party attire also.

So I pulled the ladder into the entry hall, gathered the brushes and paint to begin the arduous task of scrubbing, sanding, and steps necessary to prep the doors, frames, and baseboards for a new coat of paint.

The Spirit used that moment to convict my heart,  “You’re just like those baseboards.”

“What?” I attempted to pushed the still, small voice aside.

“You hang out with friends who are just like you. They share your beliefs, like what you like, dress like you dress, and talk like you talk. Next to them you look pretty good too. But when placed next to the only true plumb line—Jesus righteousness and His glory, how do you look? On the inside where it matters for eternity? Your life is grimy and grungy with blisters of sin, bumps of anger, and bruises that need to be healed before they fester and contract the sin of unforgiveness—just like those old baseboards.”

I put the painting aside and bowed before God. Overwhelmed by my neglect of looking to the desperate need my heart and soul required. I confessed my sin of being more concerned with external appearances rather than guarding my heart. I thanked my Father for His persistence to maintain this temple with the redeeming blood of His Perfect Lamb. Thankful for His diligence to watch over me. Thankful for the patience He extended to teach me the principles and precepts I must learn to complete the journey through this foreign land. A land where sin’s particles stick and cling like dirt and grime on baseboards.

Are there areas of your life in great need of scrubbing, sanding, and refinishing? The Father stands ready to remodel and transform your heart and soul into the image of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And He will maintain that construction site ‘til Jesus comes.

“He whose ear listens to the life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise. He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility” (Proverbs 15:31-33 NAS).

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SO WHAT’S NEXT?

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , on November 9, 2012| 11 Comments »

 

It felt like I’d run a marathon—and lost. About ten o’clock election night my heart threatened to slip into the dark chasm of fear where all is lost.

And the night ended with my crying out to God for His direction, His wisdom and His understanding.

But that was election night.

Next morning I grabbed my notebook and Bible and headed out the door to Precept Bible Study.

Are you always amazed when God answers your cries to Him? I am.

God’s Words given to Ezekiel over 2,500 years ago, and Kay Arthur’s DVD recorded two years ago, answered my election night cries for help and understanding of the election outcomes.

Pundits will analyze and reanalyze, like a cow chewing cud, for countless days. But the question for believers—So what’s next?

Do we fall back into the same routine? A glance at the Word of God, an ear glued to the tube, listening to the drum beat, while America disintegrates. Or do we recognize and acknowledge the fact that our allegiance belongs to God alone?

Wednesday’s study focused on Ezekiel 25-28. Throughout the Book, God had instructed Ezekiel to tell and show the people what was going to happen in Jerusalem. He explained who would be judged—from Judah to all the nations surrounding her—and  why would they be judged.

Israel had become more abominable, more rebellious, and more profane than the nations around them. God was angry. They were to have been witnesses to the countries surrounding them of the might and power of God. Now He must judge them, “So that Israel and the nations will know that I am God.”

Nothing has changed in 2,500 years. America was founded on the principle of one nation under God. For almost two hundred years the majority clung to “In God We Trust.” But Tuesday night election returns reveal that fifty percent of our nation thumbs their nose at The Lord God Almighty and His inerrant Word, and many of that fifty percent claim to be Christians.

In the past fifty years we have spurned God’s authority. We have allowed abominations to fill this land. We have profaned and despised His Word. And God’s message to us is the same—He will judge His people “so that Israel and the nations will know that I am God.”.

So what’s the message for those whose allegiance is to God?

We must know: “The Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4 NAS). The party’s over, folks. God shares His Throne with no one. The abyss that splits America is real. A wide and deep cavern that will probably expand. It took this administration less than twenty-four hours to revive the small arms treaty with the UN. I expect the momentum to accelerate in the days to come.

The people of God must continue to humble themselves. Again and again and again. Perhaps God will see fit to show us mercy. But the Word tells us that a nation divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:24-25 NAS).

If God had answered the cries of His people election night, next morning we’d have said “We prayed and God answered.” The problem is with the “We”. We would have taken credit for what God did. Remember Moses and the rock? Remember 9/11? And we would have resumed business as usual, putting God on the back-burner and plugging right back into old deceptive routines.

God knows our fickle hearts and His desire is that we know that He is the Lord God—we are not—He will do whatever it takes to bring us to that knowledge. The proof? Israel’s history. And they haven’t learned yet. Tuesday seventy percent of American Jews supported the current administration. The Word tells us that the moment America turns its back on Israel, this nation will  join the list of those who are cursed by God.

We must know: There is an ongoing battle between God and Satan and we live in the middle of this battle. The first chapter of the Book of Daniel gives insight into the choice Daniel made—beforehand. “Daniel made up his mind. . .” And we must make up our minds too, before we become engaged in the battle. Because the Word of God tells us the war is going to ramp up ‘til Jesus comes. The people hated Jesus. They will hate us too.

We must know: Who the enemy is and what his tactics are.  Satan is identified as a murderer, a liar, a deceiver. John 8:44 describes him as “the father of lies”.

Polls tell us that at least fifty percent of Americans think they can disagree and rebel against the Word of the God and there will be no consequences. They are deceived. The 13th Chapter of Mark lists the time sequence of the last days of this age and gives us a heads-up on what we can expect.

God always tells His people what’s coming. We’ve been warned. If we choose to ignore the warnings, our ignorance does not negate His ability to act. All indications seem to say we are living in those days the Book of Jude warns will come.

We must know: How to guard our hearts from pride, lust and the fear of man. This is a time for humility not judgmental pride. We have all sinned and deserve to receive the penalty of sin—death. That’s why Jesus died. He took my sin, your sin, the world’s sin and paid the price God’s righteousness requires, the blood of His Perfect Lamb. His only way to redemption. The narrow way. The only way to the Father, through His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Will we fear God or man? Will we ask God to reveal any areas of pride in our life? Will we confess and forsake them?

We must know: Jesus Christ is our wisdom. His power lifts us beyond the chaos of world events. Those who believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, through the power of the Spirit, have already been delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. We are part of Christ’s body.

Things around us are going to crumble, but we can trust God to take care of His own people. The question is: Do we trust Him? With everything? Even when the landscape around us gets ugly? Could God be stretching our spiritual muscles to build in us the strength that we will need in days to come? I believe He is. Does that mean a believer will never experience difficult, even tragic times, here on earth? No. But it does mean that Jesus is with us, each and every step of the way, just like He walked in the fire with those Hebrew lads in Babylon.

We must know: Wickedness will be judged and righteousness will prevail. Throughout the Book of Ezekiel God warned Judah “judgment is coming.” Yet their leaders, even the false priests exclaimed “peace, peace, not judgment”. God said He “would bring their ways on their heads, so that Israel and the nations would know that He is God” (Ezekiel NAS).

We can hold fast to the knowledge that one day “every knee shall bow to Me and every tongue shall give praise to God” (Romans 14:11 NAS).

Is the party over for America? I believe it is. Are tough times ahead? I believe they are. Those who listen can hear the roll of thunder on the horizon. Is God still in control? I know He is in control and that He rewards those who diligently seek Him. “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:5b-7 NAS).

So what do we do next? Humble ourselves and pray. About everything. Continually diligent. I must confess during the last months I’ve spent more time caught up in the events than on my face before God.

We must be about the Father’s business. Business that the members of the body have neglected far too long—living our lives, every day, in such a way, that will paint a true and balanced picture of the righteous love and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Righteous love and mercy that is available to all who choose to believe and obey Him.

We are to stand firm, ready to uphold the principles and precepts of the Word of God to all who will hear. But we can know, this battle belongs to the Lord.

And He will be the victor. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Every knee will bow before Him—some to acknowledge Him as Lord, others as they are sentenced for their rebellion.

Credit to Kay Arthur and Precept Ministries for the six bold “We must know” statements.       

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THE OLD COPPER KETTLE

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , on November 1, 2012| 17 Comments »

The seawall contorted and ripped apart. Twisted rebarb gaped out of caverns in the cement like arthritic fingers grasping for a place to latch onto. A boiling sea swirled around and over the piers and floor joists of The Old Copper Kettle. A sharp crack. A groan. And the building shuddered, then succumbed to the pounding waves.

I stood on an unbroken portion of the wall and watched in silent horror while memories of family dinners full of laughter and love broke apart, swallowed by an angry ocean. The old landmark restaurant swept away forever.

A breach in the seawall allowed raging waters to rush beyond the protective barrier. Rogue currents attacked everything in their path and brought ultimate destruction to The Old Kettle and to a nearby hotel as well.

We call the culprits hurricanes, but God is sovereign over all things. In the Book of Ezekiel He tells us over and over what He did because of Israel’s rebellion, “so that they may know He is God and beside Him, there is no other.” Yet, like Israel, we have refused to hear and heed His warnings to us. We refer to Mother Nature’s caprice and have refused to believe these events are in fact warnings from the God of all creation, so that we will know He is God, and repent.

On that late September afternoon, standing at the edge of this turbulent scene, God chiseled a life lesson in my mind and on my heart. When the walls of His protection are torn down, the consequence for those inside is death.

God built a wall of laws to shelter His people—His principles and statutes that give life and blessing. However, He warned, when they violated His Word, they would surely die.

There are abysmal breaches in America’s walls of protection. Enemies of the cross of Jesus Christ have invaded our land with the relentless power of pounding waves. Destructive waves that suck up and swallow down this throat of eternal death, all who believe the lie and deception that disobedience to God is okay.

God said, “the shedding of innocent blood pollutes the land; and for that reason the land will spew you out” (Leviticus 18:22-30 NAS).

He also said, “when a man lies with another man the way he would lie with a woman, it is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22 NAS, Romans 1:26-27 NAS).

Will the piers and pilings of God’s principles stand firm in our land? Will the floor joists of His precepts support our nation on the solid footing of His Word, or will we accept the world’s thinking, which will propel us toward a catastrophic end?

The Lord God Jehovah will not hear our cries for rescue when His own people defy, deny, and despise the truth of His Word.

A non-vote or a vote against the Laws of God will unleash the power of a raging sea of destruction, sweeping America from its moral foundations into the abyss of lies and deceptions, just like The Old Copper Kettle washed away in the waves. God warned, “He that is not for Me, is against Me” (Matthew 12:30 NAS).

Will you vote for or against His Word?

Please join me in repairing the breaches or will you choose to lay them waste?

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ARE YOU WILLING?

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , , on October 26, 2012| 3 Comments »

Ever been on top of the pile? King of the mountain? Doing a good job, recognized by those in authority over you for your hard work and accomplishments? Then your entire team falls apart?

That’s exactly where Moses found himself in Exodus 32:11-14.

God called an unwilling, adopted, fugitive from Egypt to lead His rescue plan. Day by day, God’s power flowed through him, and he fell in stride alongside the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, leading this enormous multitude of Israelites across the desert to Mt. Sinai, and God protected them by the strength of His hand.

At the foot of Mt. Sinai God called Moses to the top floor of  His executive suite for a meeting with the Creator and CEO of the Universe.

The meeting? Long and eventful for Moses. Not so much for the multitude beneath the cloud line. Moses’ team fell apart in his absence and God was angry. So angry He determined to wipe out the entire nation and begin again with Moses.

But Moses chose to stand in the breach for his people before Almighty God without giving one moment’s consideration to the promotion offered.

What would you have done?

God could have changed His mind and zapped Moses too.

This man, so fearful at the beginning of the journey, had seen the power of God and knew he might suffer the consequences of His wrath, but chose to plead for the lives of his insolent, rebellious people. Moses had come to know the Lord God Almighty and the power and witness of His great name.

Are you willing to take up the mantle Christ has given you and plead for those who have turned their back on God? Do you know God well enough to stand in the breach before Him for the people and nation of America? Are you willing to consider all Americans worth saving? Worth the emotional and physical deluge it will take to intercede and shield them from the anger and judgment of a righteous God—despite the possible consequences?

That’s what Jesus did for you and me. Can we do less?

When God looked over Jerusalem in 591 B.C., to find a man who would build up the wall and stand in the gap for His land and His people so that He would not destroy them—He found no man (Ezekiel 22:30).

So what do you think God sees when He searches the hearts and minds of His people in the United States of America today?

Are you on praying ground?  Will you stand in lock step with the principles and precepts of the Word of God? Jesus says if we believe in Him we can ask in His name, according to His will, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son, and know that He will do it (John 14:12-15). Or are you ready to throw rebellious Americans who don’t know Jesus, or who mock Him, under the bus by asking God to judge them. Are you ready to endure the fire with them?

How is your own refining/transformation process coming? Ezekiel 23 tells usJerusalem was burned because of lewdness. Know what that means? Indecent, vile, vulgar, unprincipled, base, obscene. God will not tolerate lewdness. Does America have a reason to cringe? You bet. How are you allowing your teens to dress? Especially your girls? Like harlots?

How do your business dealings line up with the Word of God? And  relationships with your neighbors, do they know you love Jesus by the way you love them?

Does anything have a grip on your life? Anything that hides in the dark corners of your heart, that no one sees but God? Are you willing to let these idols go? God is willing to cleanse every sin and give each one of us the strength to become repairers of the wall of His principles and precepts. A wall that is being ripped apart and trampled underfoot.

Is it too late for America? God says the shedding of innocent blood pollutes our land. Our only hope is for God to raise up men and women to repair the gaping holes in this wall. Holes that have eroded the foundations of  our faith and trust in the Lord God Almighty and His Son Jesus Christ. Holes that have made it legal to kill millions of innocent babies and call it good. And holes that have perverted God’s word about marriage. God said marriage is the union between one man and one woman. And He blessed that union.

Dear believer, let your voice be heard. Don’t be deceived into thinking you can abstain from taking a stand in this battle. God said if you’re not for Him, you’re against Him. Please don’t bury your head in the sand.

Ezekiel 24 describes the boiling pot of God’s judgment and how Jerusalem suffered in that rusty pot of boiling water that melted them in order to cleanse the land. Will that pot be our choice or will we choose the Refiner’s fire?

Are you willing to stand for the complete Truth of God in front of those you work with, your friends, and all those God brings into your sphere of influence so that when they hear you—they hear God’s words. When they see you—they see a true image of the love of Jesus Christ.

Are you willing to build the wall and stand in the gap to plead with God to spare this nation—one more time?

 

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THE NEXT THREE-HUNDRED-SIXTY-SEVEN HOURS

Posted in A Nation Divided, tagged , , on October 22, 2012| 2 Comments »

“God bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her . . .”

Really?

Does anyone remember when our Federal, State or City leaders indicated their need or desire to seek God’s guidance to steer this nation through the troubled landscape threatening to destroy us?

What will you do in the next three-hundred-sixty-seven hours?

On 9/11, millions fled into churches in the midst of fear, flames, and the fusillade of blood, crying to God for help and healing. But as soon as the fires were extinguished and the blood washed away they said, “Okay, God. We survived. See ya.” And they ran the other way. Again.

Enemies of our Constitution have encouraged and twisted a dichotomy that runs along ethnic, economic, and educational lines in this country. Pitting Americans against each other. America was founded on Judeo/Christian values, one nation, under God.  God warns, “a nation divided against itself cannot stand.” We are a nation deeply divided.

“Wait a minute, DiAne. Lose the drama,” some might say. “We’ve always had our differences, but America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. You’re watching too many of those hotheaded, loud-mouthed newscasters. We’ll get this figured out and everything’s going to be okay.”

Am I seeing boogers-in-the-baseboards? I don’t think so.

I heard a joke the other day that’s too close to truth to be funny. A TV reporter went into a bar and asked a long-tall Texan to state what he thought were two major problems in America. The cowboy replied, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” The reporter slapped him on the back and said, “That’s right, sir.” Too many Americans find themselves standing with the cowboy. Not knowing nor caring enough to educate themselves about the principles of each candidate running for public office, so they can vote responsibly.

The Book of Ezekiel amplifies the similarities between the nation of  Judah in 592 B.C. and the United States of America in 2012. And they are frightening.

For hundreds of years God warned His people to obey His Statutes and Ordinances, but they wouldn’t listen. They were stubborn and rebellious, just like us. Rather than heeding the prophets who warned of disaster if the people continued to rebel, these folks said, “We’re His people and Jerusalem is His city. His temple is here. God wouldn’t destroy us.”

In effect they said, I’m okay, you’re okay. If it feels good do it.  But God says, “Woe, to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20 NAS).

In 605 B.C. God sent the nation of His own choosing to capture and carry 10,000 of Judah’s finest into captivity. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon would launch three attacks against Judah which would end with killings, razing and burning the temple and the City of Jerusalem in 585 B.C.

In 591 B.C., God gave Ezekiel a list of the choices the Jewish people made that brought His judgment.

Idol worship

Baby killing

Profaning the Sabbath

Sexual sin and perversion

Priests doing violence to His law

No difference between holy and profane

Did not teach difference between unclean and the clean

God was profaned among the priests

False prophets said things God did not say

Treating father and mother lightly

The alien, fatherless and widow oppressed, wronged

Taking bribes to shed blood

Taking interests and profits

Injured neighbors for gain

Forgot and profaned God

Do any of these listed abominations and offenses against God occur in America today?

God asked those Jews a question. “Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will act…their way I have brought upon their heads, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 22 NAS).

Scripture tells us, “God is the same, yesterday and today, yes and forever”  (Hebrews 13:8) Are we better than those folks in Jerusalem over two thousand years ago? Will a righteous God judge them and wink at us?

God gave a command to the early church “to occupy until Jesus comes.” This command still applies today. What does occupy mean? What does it look like?

Instead of occupying, we have clustered ourselves within the walls of the church and shut the doors, hoping to keep the pervasive evil from slithering into our midst. But it has. Why? Because we haven’t occupied the land. We haven’t stood firm, upholding the Statutes and Ordinances of the Word of God. We have compromised, unwilling to come apart and be separate—a holy people of God’s own choosing.

There are three-hundred-sixty-seven hours left before Tuesday, November 6th. What will you do with those hours? Pray? Educate yourself according to the Word of God and take a stand? Or will you remain hidden behind the doors of the local church, hoping to survive, just singing louder?

“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30 NAS).

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TRAPPED IN THE TIDE POOLS OF LIFE

Posted in A Nation Divided on October 12, 2012| 4 Comments »

As we approach the 2019 Christmas Season, many of us are still struggling, caught up in the tide pools the past year has shoved us into. If you’re struggling take a moment and refresh your heart and mind…God is still in control…you don’t have to be. The trial you’re going through didn’t catch our Lord by surprise and He loves you! And He still has a marvelous plan for your life. Stop struggling and let Him show you!

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The morning was bright, the tide low, and a gentle breeze stirred along the shoreline. Gulls strutted the water’s edge and my heart soared as patterns of foam danced up the sand while pelicans glided just above the sunlit waves.

I splashed through the pools of salt-water left along the beach from the receding tide. Some were slim and shallow. Others wide and deep. Various shapes and sizes. Each one cut off from the ocean, left to evaporate as the sun rose and the tide shrunk back to the sea.

A glance ahead revealed two shapes lying just inside the ridges of the next tidal pool—starfish—trapped from their retreat along the ocean’s floor. Their source of existence ebbed with each taunting ripple of the next swell. They would bake in the heat of the rising sun and drying sand.

Up the beach I found yet another starfish. This one moving, struggling to make its way out of this death trap, but headed in the wrong direction. I reached down, picked it up, and placed it in another inlet that had access to the sea.

Confused and disoriented, the starfish repeatedly moved the wrong direction. Away from the sea. Away from escape. Away from salvation.

What a vivid picture of our painful human condition. We float along in the sea of God’s blessings, showered with good health, financial prosperity, happy marriage, successful children. Then in a moment, we lose our footing in the retreating tide and find ourselves trapped in a pool of ruts and ridges, with inclines so steep we can’t climb out or find our way back into the changing currents of life’s flow.

A heart rending diagnosis from the doctor. The loss of a job. A divorce. Children caught up in a rip-tide of drugs, pregnancy, abuse, perhaps even death.

What do we do? Where do we turn? Sometimes our solutions lead to greater havoc. Are we doomed to suffer and die in the blistering sun and sand of this journey?

Two weeks ago God taught me a valuable lesson about thankfulness. I rode that joy-filled wave until Thursday morning when the phone rang before I got out of bed. There had been a tragic head-on collision in our community. The initial report, two people killed. No word on their identities.

I sprang from bed, pulled on my clothes, and called another friend for more information. The need to know, to control, grabbed the instrument panel of my mind. Fear clutched the steering wheel and I careened into the rippled sand and stagnant water of a tide pool.

Now when the Lord teaches a lesson, you can expect a test to see if you’ve passed. It’s easy to be thankful in good times, and I should have remembered that Thursday morning.

But I succumbed to worry and complaint instead of seeking God’s calming comfort for me and for the families in our community. I failed the test. I rehearsed with friends the terrible statistics of tragedies in our surrounding towns. I recognized it could be a neighbor or a friend. After a number of phone calls, like the tide, the morning ebbed and I was entrenched in this place of unsettled anxiety. Headed the wrong way, but continuing to run.

I thrashed my way through the day—talking to friends not to God.          

Problems multiplied, but still I chose the urgent over the important. Failing to take this burden to my Father in Heaven for His direction, His wisdom, and His peace. Like those starfishes, I dragged into the evening hours looking for my way out of this place of discontentment. But found no peace. No comfort.

That evening, unprepared and in my own strength, I attempted to lead a grief support group. One of our group members has suffered multiple losses. She reported that night the tragedy of another loss. Two of her good friends were killed in a car wreck earlier in the week and a third friend hospitalized with brain damage. She was devastated, thrown back into a murky puddle of loss.

Another group member travels the road where the accident happened every day. She calls when she will be unable to attend GriefShare. She didn’t make the meeting Thursday evening and I couldn’t reach her. Still there was no word on the identity of those lost. Fear painted scary pictures in my mind.

The tally for our community this week—two tragedies. Five people. Three dead and two hanging in the balances. Five families hurled headlong into tide pools of death and sorrow.

At the end of myself my crushed heart was forced to run to Jesus. Finally. I fell before His throne of grace and gave Him my fear, my frustrations and my failures.

I humbled myself before our Sovereign God and repented of turning aside to my own way that morning. And because of His faithfulness, the cleansing flood of His forgiving love swept over me and I was restored. His peace and His comfort reigned in my heart. This time I remembered to thank Him.

How about you? Do you find yourself lodged in one of these devastating quagmires of  ruin? None of us are immune. But God stands ready to deliver you from or carry you through each trial, each test and each tribulation. Remember, He is faithful. Your job? To repent from attempting self-rescue and then cry to Him for help.

It’s up to you. God gives you the freedom to choose. You can live in the powerful currents of His love or die trapped in the dried-up tide pools of life.

 

“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hands,” Psalm 31:14-15

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THANKFULNESS

Posted in A Nation Divided on October 4, 2012| 19 Comments »

This past week a friend and fellow GriefShare leader recommended a book by author Ann Voskamp, “one thousand gifts.” I bought the book and took it with me to read on vacation. What a life-changer.

Ms. Voskamp issued a challenge to make a list of a thousand gifts for which I am thankful. Gifts God gives me each day. Gifts I brush aside or fail to notice. Gifts for which I never say thank you to my loving Father for giving, just because He loves me.

I took Ann’s challenge and this week’s blog will be a compilation of my musings and photos taken while on vacation to Hilton Head Island and Charleston, South Carolina, where I stopped, took notice, and thanked God for these gifts, precious things to me.

I pray you too will be compelled to pick up your pen and paper to begin your list. And while you’re out and about, pick up her book at your local bookstore. It’s so worth the read. It will change your life.  Let me hear how your list is changing you.

The pungent odor of  salt-water marshes that tickle my memories of collecting fiddler-crabs with my Dad. Thank you Father for these brackish swamps filled with life.

Gray wisps of Spanish moss dangle and swirl from ancient live-oaks like ghosts from ages past. Father, how I’ve missed these giant trees.

 

 

 

 

 

Waves that ripple and race along the shore line then retreat with a whisper to the sea. How often I chased them as I grew up along the Florida coast. Thank You for the ocean waves, Father.

Waves that swell and crest then crash in bursts to weave lacy patterns on the wet beach sand. The power of these currents place an awe in my heart and mind for you, O God.

Little girls in pony-tails and ruffled brims. Squeal and splash through ocean pools left in the sand. What precious gifts these children are, Lord. Thank  You.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Small boys racing, nets in hand, chasing gulls from their place in the sand. The wonder of a freckled-faced boy, Father. Your creation.

 

 

A toddler stomps to see splashes form. Then wiggles his toes in the water so warm.

Sea grass and sea oats, green and gold,

kissed by summer days, gently waving

in the sun.

Historic oaks with branches sprawling,

dapples of  sunlight dancing on the

ground.

 

My pallet colors streak across the morning sky, melting

to a puddle where sea and sky collide.

Thank You Father!

God’s silent promise. Dawn. A new day.

“The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken and summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth,”   (Psalm 50:1 NAS).

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