Luk 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. So we have read it, so we have sung it, so it must be, right? Then how do we explain to those not of the family of Christ, and they always want and need explained to, why there are wars, and why so few truly have peace with God? You can not be at peace with an unknown entity, not be at true peace with One you feel hostility toward. Since the Word is true, why did the Advent of the Christ not bring a new era of peace to the earth, and make the last two thousand years a paradise? Where is this peace of which the angels sang? Something is wrong here.
My journey through faith and reading of the Word has taught me that if there is a fault with the Word, it is on man’s side not God’s. Let us take a look at other translations.
New King James “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Footnote:
* NU-Text reads toward men of goodwill.
NLT “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.*”
Footnote:
- Or and peace on earth for all those pleasing God. Some manuscripts read and peace on earth, goodwill among people.
NIV “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
NASB and RSV “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”*
ESV “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”*
Footnote:
* Some manuscripts peace, good will among men
I see here a huge difference. God did not come at Advent to make nice with the world. God came to give an avenue by which we may please Him, the avenue of Faith in the Messiah. How did the King James translators deal with this verse later in the same book?
Luk 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Does that not propose a conflict? The fault is never God’s, it is ours. Would Christmas attitudes be different if the carols sung said, “Peace on earth to all who please Him by Faith?” The unbelievers might feel a bit more left out, and seek to get on board.
Do you have the peace He brought? Are you pleasing to the Lord, not by your inherent goodness or your works, but by your faith that brings the inevitability of good works? May we all praise God for the Gift this season!
Filed under: blessings, faith, Jesus | Tags: blessing, God, Grace, love, mercy
By the Grace of God, still with us!
Patti sends us an update on our miracle girl! This is Jessica, who was so ignored by her birth parents, that she needed to be Life flighted to Hershey Medical Neonatal Center, on the brink of death. They neglected to give her food or water. She is a survivor! Thank you Jesus
From Patti:
First of all I would like to thank all for your prayers to our awesome God for our sweet Jessica and Bob{[Patti’s husband, Jessica’s uncle]and myself. Don’t ever doubt that your prayers aren’t heard and answered, and so gratefully and humbly appreciated by Bob and I.
Jessica will be 18 months old on October 21st. She is now almost 20 lbs and a healthy, bright, energetic little girl. She is running, and talking. She loves reading and can recognize all of the alphabet and some numbers. She knows pretty much every animal and the sound they make.
We took Jessica to an animal park/zoo. She loved it so much. She just laughed and pointed at all the animals and called them to come to her. She fell in love with Twigga, the giraffe, who she got to feed carrots to. She had no fear as this huge animal bending down to her and wrapping his tongue around her little hand to take the carrot. She laughed and wanted to keep feeding him, which she did many times. Many people there took great joy at watching Jessica enjoying the animals. They followed us around, some took pictures of her, one man took a video. All had such smiles on their faces watching this little angel enjoying God’s creatures.
She is the biggest little helper. She loves to help me cook and bake. She is very stubborn and determined and just understands so much. She truly is a miracle and a wonderful blessing and an amazing little girl.
October proves to be an eventful month. Her birth father is awaiting a bench trial. He has pleaded not guilty although the DA thinks he may end up pleading guilty at the trial. This trial is to be within the next two weeks. Her birth mother has her plea hearing on October 27th and is expected to plead guilty. They both have been testing positive for drug and alcohol throughout the entire judicial process. They had a meeting with Children and Youth and the mother showed up drunk. Children and Youth have tried to get them to give up their parental rights, but the birth father said “it’s my kid” and they think the birth mother would have given up her rights, but she was drunk, and the birth father wouldn’t let her alone with them.
God has been proving to me over and over again who is in charge. In my most anxious moments He wraps His arms around me and says,” be calm, I am here”. We had the nightmare case worker, and then she went on maternity leave and we were assigned a new case worker who was a dream. In September the old case worker was back. She called me on the phone to set up a visit and not two minutes into the conversation she was already telling me not to get my hopes up about keeping Jessica. Well, needless to say, my asthma kicked in because of my anxiousness. I dropped to my knees and prayed God to let me just not listen to her. I prepared myself for this meeting by having people pray, and I spent all morning going from room to room just praying the blood of Christ and glorifying God for all He has done and will do. By the time the knock on the door came the Lord had me in a peaceful state, knowing he was in control. When Miss Nightmare came in and sat down, I took a deep breath and smiled. I asked her how she was, and told her how Jessica was doing. She then told me (brace yourself) Children and Youth were going to give total custody of Jessica to us and they would be out of the picture. What an awesome God!!! So on October 21st (Jessica’s 18 month birthday) we have a hearing to appoint Bob and I as Jessica’s sole legal guardians. Thank you Jesus again and again!
We will now pursue adopting her. We have no idea what it will involve. Our prayer is that both parents will give up their parental rights. Maybe once they are convicted and jailed they will realize what they have done and if they care anything at all about Jessica they will realize that she is happy and thriving and in the best place she could be.
Please keep us in continued prayer. We look forward to adopting our little Jessica. Pray that we have wisdom in what to do and who to go to.
I thank Pastor Will and Dawn for their constant prayers and help. I thank my family at Dayspring Bible and also all of you who I wish I could meet and just give you a big hug.
Thank you so much! God bless you all!
Patty
But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
I feel myself being put back on the potter’s wheel. My career, my health, my ministry. It is scary, exciting, and rejuvenating. I do not know where I will end up, I do not know what I will end up, but I know whose Hands will shape me. I pray I do not jump or slide from the wheel before He finishes me. Then there will be the fire to harden the new construction. Always the fire, to skim off the dross and to cure the vessel to a usable hardness. Seems to be the finishing stage to a new beginning.
The alternative to being clay on the wheel is to either mud on the ground, or a broken useless vessel. Lord, I would rather be a vase than an ashtray, but you are the Artist, the Divine Potter, I am just the clay. To be molded for Your use by Your hands is more than I could hope for or deserve.
Whee! I feel the spin starting!
Filed under: faith, Fire Fighters, Uncategorized | Tags: Alchoholics Anonymous, ATHEISM, Chief, depression, Fire Service, God, love, Nature
Tunnel through the rail road fill at 7 tubs.
I have been going through some tunnel times. I seem to be much better at getting a second interview than I am at getting a job. I am sick of being broke, church giving is down, it rains a lot, my aches have aches, and I am generally miserable. Worst of all i spent a lot of time this week with Johnny. Johnny was my assistant Fire Chief for about 5 years back when i was Chief. he saved my rear in a figurative way a couple times, and I think God used him to save my life once.
The reason spending time with Johnny put the icing on my depression cake is that he has become a practicing alcoholic. johnny is 7 years younger than I, but now he looks 10 years older. his hands shake, his face is lined deeply, his legs can hardly hold him up. His dad died of alcohol in 73, his pretty younger sister dies about six years ago, same thing. I love this man, and just know he is on the way out. I have tried praying, preaching, and invites to AA. Without a Damascus road experience he will go the way of his family. I don’t see John often, but every once in a while, in the dead of night he will stop by, drunk as a skunk and smelling worse, to reminisce and wake me up. It only happens two or three times a year.
I was with Johnny because he called me Wednesday, his mom had passed away. He needed his Chief. I was with him as much as I could be. We went to the funeral Mass at The Holy Redeemer. His mom was a strong Catholic, but it didn’t take for John. They have a new priest, and I enjoyed[90%] of his homily. Their beautiful building with its vaulted ceilings is a lot different from, Dayspring’s drop ceiling plainness. I hear they are going to sell it, and as much as I would love to preach there, i just don’t see that happening. Very Christ centered. I stayed with him for the burial and the little dinner after. We sent over a ham and some buns, it is about all I can do. I can’t reassure him, or promise reunion, he is not a believer. he told me that this existence is Hell. His theology is really wrong, but he is strong in his disbelief.
Anyway, the Godlessness of the situation brought me to a dark spot. I have to watch my self. I have been really depressed in the past, and if I let my Gospel armor loosen, and if I do not take care of me and walk closer to God i can get so down i can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I took a hike with son in law Mark, [Eutychus to us] , and took some pictures and walked the blues away. It lifted me, may you enjoy. These are from the Seven tubs Recreational area in my home County of Lucerne.
The tree tops of north East Pa. The colors are coming in.
Looking out to the Blue Ridge Mountains , across the Susquehanna valley
One of the Seven tubs
Markus Eutychus, excellent hiking partner!
So how can you stay depressed with such natural glory around? How can i be down when God has taken me through the tunnels of cancer, and pain, and paralysis? Do I think God retired? Am I silly or simple enough to think that He who started a good work in me will nor complete it? Being around people who have shut out God really runs me down, being around God and His works is my prescription. Hope you like the photos!
Filed under: Jesus, Uncategorized | Tags: addiction, Alcoholics Anonymos, church, Critical christians, love, pastor
Does this seem like an evil prayer to you?
There are times I would like to secede from the flock called Christian. Perhaps I could be known as a Jesusian, or a Yeshudist. It could be a genetic thing,
I do come from a long line of protestants, the people who have 1st Welsh Baptist, 2nd Welsh Baptist and Plain Old Baptist churches on corners of the same street, attended by relatives, some of whom still speak to each other. It could also be shame that motivates my desire for distance.
There is a segment of the church that shares all of my main theology. They and I could say the same creeds, read many of the same books, admire the same martyrs, sing the same hymns and serve the same Lord. You would think that these brothers and sisters and I would share the same ‘world view’ having very little variation in opinion or behavior. You would think. I do not mean the Phelps contingent, or snake dancers, or the Toronto blessing gang, they get written off as the crazy cousins with unfortunate tendencies that everybody hopes miss the reunion. I am talking about people who are just wrong, way wrong, and claim the rightness of God.
The spotlight falls today on that group of the righteous that hate Alcoholics Anonymous. They are not just critical, all groups and individuals could use some criticism, and AA is certainly not above criticism, these people are haters. I really never thought anyone could hate AA. Any group dedicated to getting people sober must have some redeeming qualities, but not to this group of Critictians, [my new word, they are a lot like Christians on the outside, but filled with a hollowness where the love is supposed to go] who go so far as to declare that a demon dictated the twelve steps.
There is a great way to reach out to a newly sober seeker! Tell her that the group that taught her a way to stay sober, and upon which she is leaning for support was started by the devil. I won’t put up a link to such nonsense, but a quick google will get you to all kind of sights like that. Do they have a picture, or a recording of said demon at work? No. They have inferred this because A A does not preach the Gospel in a way that they approve . It does not matter that A A does not preach the Gospel at all, the fact is that A A mentions God, and these people have the copy-write on all that is godly.
It would do my heart good to see these people apply the same standards in all of the different facets of their lives. If they were off the coast on a cruise in a storm, floundering, and the Coast Guard shows up to help they should say,”Away with you,you are not a Christian organization , God will save us!” It should not matter to them that the Coast Guard is not designed to preach the Gospel but to save lives, or even that some Coast Guard personnel are certainly good Christians, no, a blanket condemnation is in order.
If, God forbid, their home was to catch fire, do not send the fire department. Some of the firefighters are agnostic, [few], there may be an atheist with them, but almost certainly some will have a St. Florian medal, as they are good Catholics. “Away , go away let it burn, you pray to a saint, not to God through Jesus, leave you follower of the whore of Babylon!” It should not matter that the fire department exists to save lives and protect property, not spread the gospel, or that some of the members are fine Christians, they should be condemned!
Alcoholics Anonymous is not a Christian organization. It was not designed to spread the Gospel, it was designed to spread sobriety. It is in the same category as the Coast Guard or the Fire Department, a life saving service comprised of good, dedicated people of purpose. If I am in danger on the water or in a fire I will accept help from a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or Jane. I will them thank Jesus for their help and pray for their soul.
I wonder if the Critictians are willing to get up at 3 am. and go to a bar to get someone who has fallen, bring them home, watch them puke and love them the next day. It is easier to call the drunk a sinner and move away. It is no wonder why there are so few Baptists with overt drinking problems, we throw them out. A A provides a useful service, 24/7 world wide. Many in my church go to meetings. They know A A is not perfect, but then again neither is my church.
Thank God I am not an alcoholic! How horrible it must be to be compelled to drink, knowing full well the pain it will cause to self and loved ones! I am also not a T-totaler either, although I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a drink. I don’t drink because it just doesn’t fit into my life often, not because of moral conviction. I may have a beer this summer, but I thank God that many in my church will not, because one drink opens a floodgate for the alchoholic.
I am working on a guide to assist Pastors and Lay Leaders to work with people in recovery in AA. These people need a Savior! Telling them the life raft they cling to was made by Satan is not part of the program. Critictians make it impossible to bear witness to the Gospel of Christ by their very nature of condemnation. Please let me know your thoughts on AA, your concerns, your experiences.
John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Are we here to condemn? Or to spread the news of His Salvation!
Willohroots 