A CHOICE

This picture popped up on my Facebook page:

Occasionally (Okay.  More than occasionally), God uses a 2 X 4 to get my attention and now Facebook.  Well, drat!  I want to make my own choices.   I do have free will – right?  

Exactly what is free will?  I pulled these out of an article at https://www.gotquestions.org/free-will.html :

If “free will” means that God gives humans the opportunity to make choices that genuinely affect their destiny, then yes, human beings do have free will.

However, free will does not mean that mankind can do anything he pleases.  Our choices are limited to what is in keeping with our nature.  (The article said we could make the choice to walk across a bridge, but we could not fly across it.)

Salvation is God’s work.  At the same time, our motives, desires, and actions are voluntary, and we are rightly held responsible for them.

Did you notice the ‘however’ in the second comment?  The ‘however’ seems to be consistent with the ‘but’ in this scripture:

The LORD took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but …

     Genesis 2:15-17

Back to the picture quote:  You are free to choose, but you are not free from the consequences of your choice.

So why do I have free will if ‘however’ is going to begin the next sentence and ‘but’ is inserted into the agenda?

“Mary, do you want free will?”

Yes.      I think so.      Do I really have free will?

“You are free to choose…”

I hear a however coming.

“A bit sarcastic are we?  However, you are looking at this from the wrong direction.”

Wrong direction? 

“You have a choice to make --- do you want love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control? …”  (Galatians 5:22)

Yes..

“I am not done yet.  You have a choice to make – do you want eternal life?  (Romans 6:23)  Do you want every tear wiped from your eyes and, my child, do you want to drink the crystal clear, flowing water of life?”  (Revelation 21:4; 22:1)

Well – Oh sorry.  I can tell you would like to say more.

“You are looking in the wrong direction.  You are looking at all the choices that might – might take away an earthly pleasure.  You should be looking at Free Will as the opportunity to choose my consequence.  And believe me, Mary; you do not want to miss any of them.  Did you read the part about the gates made of pearls?”

Yup and I have a question – exactly how big are the oysters?

“Let me tell you about that…No really.  They are big!”

Is this one of those fisherman stories?

____________________________________________

A CHOICE

We each have a choice.  We can choose God and be blessed by His consequences.  That is the choice I have made.

A PERSONAL STATEMENT OF FAITH

This was written, April 3, 2011, when a Sunday School lesson challenged us to write our own personal statement of faith.

I believe Jesus is the Son of God.

I believe Jesus walked on this earth and that he brought the love of God

to all who will accept it.

I believe Jesus can heal souls and bodies.

Although I may have times of doubt or times of disobedience,

I believe the love of Jesus is unending and never fails.

I believe Jesus is my salvation.

I believe Jesus died so my sins could be buried with him.

I believe he arose and is with his Father.

I believe Jesus lived so he could present me to his Father

as a forgiven, cleansed daughter.

Mary Earle

Discussion of Matthew 16:13-20

We each have a choice.  What is yours?

FORGIVING

The sun is shining and I can see the dust.  Now, I keep the house picked up, but all the rain and dreary weather sucked up my “spring house cleaning” energy.  Since this is the first day of summer, I no longer see the need to do a spring cleaning.  Trouble is the sunshine points out the places I have been dusting around. 

So…. up came the doilies.  Washed!  Miscellaneous blankets washed and put away.  Pillows fluffed.  Kitchen throw rugs washed, but it seems that was one more washing than the backs liked.  I see a shopping trip in my future.  Magazines sorted.  I was making headway.  Did you get the “was” part?  I was making headway until I opened a journal. 

The journal opened to April 24, 2017 ---

So much for making this a daily Journal.  Habits are easy to break but hard to establish.  I have been on an Andy Andrews reading binge.  Am reading The Heart Mender.  A story of second chances.  Very good!  (As you notice, I do not journal in complete sentences.  I cannot write as fast as my mind works – or doesn’t work.  But, come to think of it, I do not blog in complete sentences either, which sends spell check into a tail spin.  Thank heaven for the ignore all option.  Back to the journal entry.)  From The Heart Mender:

One of the characters, Danny, a downs syndrome boy, is talking to Helen, a widow with a lot of hate eating away at her.

Helen’s husband had been killed in the war and Danny asked, “But who are you mad at?  Are you mad at a soldier?” 

He continued, “If you are mad at a soldier, I think you have to forgive him.  You want to know why?”

Helen answered, “Yes.”

“I think you have to forgive him for you.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because whenever you get hurt by somebody, you can either think about them, all day long and let ‘em keep hurting you inside …. Or give them to God.”

“Give them to God?”

“Uh-huh.  If you forgive them, it doesn’t mean they get away with what they did … it just means that you don’t have to think about it all the time.  You can’t do anything anyway, except be mad.  See?  You just give ‘em to God.  Then you can be happy.”

After dropping Danny off, Helen thought about what he had said.  She smiled at a crazy thought:  So, what does God do with them when HE gets them?

The answer popped into her head:  What do I care?  They don’t belong to me anymore.

When I read that, I was amazed.  We hold onto un-forgiveness with a tight fist and a cold heart.  We think, “they” do not deserve forgiveness.  We think we want to make their lives harder not easier.  We want to hold onto it so we have a reason to stay mad or hurt.

But the main thing is I never thought about Giving them to God.  I never thought about that being part of the process:  Say a prayer, “I forgive __?__.”  Place them in the hands of God.  Go on. 

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.     Ephesians 4:31-32

Oh -- as in Christ God forgave you – as in Christ God forgave me. 

Come to think of it forgiving them, placing them in God’s hands, and going on is a much better option. 

So, what does God do with them when HE gets them?

The answer popped into her head:  What do I care?  They don’t belong to me anymore.

THE WINDOW

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.  So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Matthew 26:36, 39, 42, 43-44

How many times have I read and heard these verses?  If I started at age 7, that is a minimum of 65 times and, most likely, at least three times a year for 195 times.  What do I envision when I read or hear these verses?  I see this:

Most people know this image.  The color of the robe may change, but Jesus is praying, a ray of light shines from heaven, and the disciples sleep.  My heart hurts when I think of Jesus saying, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

I can relate to the disciples.  My bedtime prayers often end with sleep instead of Amen.  I can have good intentions but my body gets tired.  My breathing slows, my eyes close, and sleep comes without even realizing I fell asleep. 

Yes, this is the image I have had since childhood – until last week. 

The Old Cathedral, in Vincennes, Indiana, was built in 1826 and stands on the site of three previous churches.  The stained glass windows are breathtaking.  Then I saw it!  I wanted to turn away, but I could not.  Why had I never realized – the Cup!

JESUS TOOK THE CUP!  And the angel handing Jesus the cup is crying!  I cannot imagine handing Jesus the cup.  Knowing what the cup held – how could the angel not cry?

JESUS TOOK THE CUP!  He is looking up.  His hands are reaching for it.  Knowing what the cup held – Yet not as I will, but as you will.

JESUS TOOK THE CUP!  Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting?  Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners.  Rise!  Let us go!  Here comes my betrayer!”    Matthew 26:45-46

I now have as new image in my heart and, in my soul, I hear, “Mary, are you still sleeping and resting?  Rise!  Let us go!”

As I have often said, I have no idea where my path leads, but I know there is a cup with my name on it.  That cup contains God’s will for my life.  And I am not to sit on my hands.  I am not to turn away.  I am not to say, “Nope.  Ain’t gonna do it.”  I know what I am to do.

I am to reach out and take the cup.

I am to rise.

I am to go.

I am to obey.

DEPENDS ON HOW YOU READ IT

I should never have read the article, by Ron Charles on Dr. Seuss’ book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!.  I should have seen the tag, Washington Post, and stopped.  But no.  I read the article.  Cliff notes:

• 800,000 copies were sold in 2018
• It is a yuppie dream – or nightmare
• White boy with great promise
• Individual supremacy, solitude
• American myth
• “It celebrates young adults’ dreams of escaping from home in the warm embrace of a children’s book they associate with home.’
• “For people who understand the benefits of community, the importance of learning to live together and the emptiness of being as “famous as famous can be,/with the whole world watching, you win on TV,” … is nonsense – and not the good kind.”

I have this book and love it.  I read this book and come away with an entirely different feeling than Ron Charles. 

There is encouragement: 

• Congratulations!  Today is your day.  You’ll be on your way up!
• Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying
• There is fun to be done!  Points to be scored. 

We need to be encouraged.  How wonderful to be told you will escape.  Life can be fun.

There are truths

• And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.
• There is a waiting place – you will be waiting for a plane to go, a phone to ring, a Better Break, another Chance
• Some times you’ll play lonely games too.  Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.
• Alone … you’ll be quite a lot.

We need to be able to face the truths in our lives.  We are the ones that have to make decisions and there are times we have to wait.  There are times we will be alone and there are times we are our own worst enemy.

Life is not always easy:

• Because, sometimes, you won’t.  Bang-up and Hang-ups can happen to you.  And your gang will fly on.
• Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.
• Do you dare to go in?  How much can you lose?  You can get so confused.

Life is not a bed of roses.  We will make mistakes.  We will have friends turn their backs on us.  We will be confused.

There are unrealistic goals:

• You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV
• And will you succeed?  Yes!  You will, indeed!
• KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS

We need unrealistic goals.  We might never win $2+ million on Jeopardy, but maybe, just maybe, we could.  We must have the desire and determination to succeed and to move mountains or we will be stuck in one spot…forever.

The book ends with:  So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!  Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.  So…get on your way!

On your way?  I would hope so!  We are not supposed to stay in one spot forever.  We are to grow.  And learn.  And make decisions.  We are to get on our way!

How can two people read the same book and come away with such a different meaning?  How…

If you think there is controversy over this Dr. Seuss book, --- think about the controversy over the Bible --- oh my goodness. 

I believe Mr. Charles pointed out how wrong the Dr. Seuss book is because it does not agree with his agenda and today’s philosophy that individuality is wrong and everything should be for the benefit of the community.  Many people use the Bible in the same way.  They read it to find something they can be offended by and argue it is not relative in today’s world. 

But, how can I read the Bible and know it is true?  How can the Bible give me peace?  How can I be sure the Bible is the inspired Word of God?

How?  Faith!  Plain and simple.  I have faith!  And it is through my faith that I read the Bible.  Without that faith, it is easy to discount, discredit, and discard the Bible as just another book.

I read the Bible as a broken, sinner.  I read the Bible as a human who realizes, on my own, I am lost, but with belief in Jesus as God’s only Son who died on the Cross for ME, I will have eternal life.  I read the Bible to learn.  I read the Bible with an open mind and heart.  I read the Bible because the LORD gives me wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding and so I will understand what is right and just and fair – every good path.  For wisdom will enter my heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to my soul.  Discretion will protect me, and understanding will guard me.  (Proverbs 2:part of 6, 10-11 written to make it personal)

How do you read the Bible?