Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Having Chosen
Not Forgotten
Everlasting
By Ramone - February 11, 2010
Awhile ago some friends began discussing the subject of "hell" and of course it went on as usual discussions of the subject go. I couldn't just discuss it, though. Something was aching inside me. I felt the Spirit moving inside. I had only an inkling of what He wanted to say, though, because the subject of "hell" is not something I have given much attention in my life.
It's something I wrote about on the story to these pictures: I grew up being taught something called "annihilationism", meaning that "everlasting" doesn't mean "lasting forever" but rather extinguished forever (burnt until there is no more). Tied to that was the belief in "soul sleep" that I had been raised to believe. When God showed me the truth about "soul sleep" (see "A Spirit of Life"), of course I knew that "annihilationism" was not God's truth either. But I didn't focus on it because... well, because it was something I couldn't grasp and eternal fire didn't seem merciful and loving. But I chose to trust God and I left it on the shelf, trusting His justice to Him.
When my friends began discussing or arguing about Hell, however, I decided it was time (at least in part) to take the subject down off the shelf and ask God to help me understand. What He did was to emphasize & re-inforce a few things for me:
1) He is loveHe gave me a series of three pictures to help me understand how He feels about Hell. This picture above is the first of the three. And, I think it is pretty self-explanatory.
2) He loves all of us even more than we can imagine
3) His words means what they say
4) We can trust Him that His justice is just
5) If we can't understand, trust that He is good
However, (it is now May 23, 2011 as I write) today He brought me back to this and gave me a word about it:
"Everlasting is Everlasting" (at Heart For Adventists)
Already Paid
By Ramone - February 11, 2010
All of our debts have been paid by Christ's blood at the cross. No more offerings or tithes must be made to secure His presence, His blessings, or removal of curses from us. When Jesus said, "It is finished", the "it" included tithing. Our debt is paid in full and we are no longer "robbing God". Our flesh need not be given because His flesh has fulfilled the requirements of the Law once and for all! Our only ongoing debt is to love one another as He has loved us. And now with His arm securely around us, He longs for us to walk with Him, secure in His love and favor. His Spirit (who lives in us because our bodies are His temple) will show us who needs His love today, and in what way.
For more on the subject of tithing, please read this blog: Transformed by Truth
Grill Cattleya
Not Included!
It Was Not You!
Hear My Prayer
By Ramone - February 7, 2010
"Hear my voice when I call, O Lord;He has heard, and He is already here with you. You may not be able to see or feel Him, but He is here. Pour out your soul and your heart to Him. He has not rejected you or hidden His face from you. Jesus was forsaken for you! Trust Him and pour out your soul to Him. In His timing, you will know that He is with you. It may be longer than you think you can bear, but trust that He is holding you even if you can't see or feel Him. He will bring you through.
be merciful to me and answer me.
My heart says of You, “Seek His face!”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
Do not hide Your face from me,
do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior."
- Psalm 27:7-9
*****
See also: "Birth Pains" (at Weeping Jeremiahs)
I Am With You
By Ramone - February 5, 2010
This is a picture God gave me for a friend. It's a picture of a young girl in a hospital gown, and she's very sad. She feels very alone. I don't know if you've ever had to stay in the hospital, but I had to when I was 9 years old. In the hospital I couldn't do anything at all. I was helpless. I didn't have control. I just had to wait for the doctors. I had to wait for my surgery, and I had to wait for my body to heal. It's the same for the girl in this picture. She is sad and she is hurting. And she can't do anything about it. She has to wait and trust the doctor.
Maybe right now you're hurting and sad, and there is not anything you can do about it. It is like you're in the hospital. But God wants to tell you that you are not alone. He is with you. He is Jesus, and He is the doctor who can heal your heart. And in time, He can heal your life and your situation, too. I don't know how. You don't know how. But if you trust Him, He will help you get through this painful time.
"O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise,
your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones."
- Isaiah 54:11-12
Tradition
By Ramone - January 28, 2010
See this link: http://weeping-jeremiahs.blogspot.com/2011/05/tradition.html
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Touching His Heart
Hug!
Receive My Loving Fire
By Ramone - January 23, 2010
One day while Timo was 2 years old, I was singing a worship song in the kitchen while here was there with me. I was joyful in Jesus and thought I could tell Timo that he could ask Jesus to come into his heart.
"Did you know you can ask Jesus to come into your heart?" I said.
After a short pause Timo replied, "But it'll be fire!"
I marveled because I hadn't told him about that at all. I told him not to worry because it's a good kind of fire. Later on I wondered how in the heck Jesus had told him that... did He say it? How would my two-year-old son get the idea quickly? I asked God about it and He told me that this is how He did it. He *showed* him. (^_^)
God is good, sooooo good!
Freely Joined
By Ramone - January 22, 2010
"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."I can't describe what a shock it was for me when I realized that when Paul said, "the Law of Christ", he was directly referring to Christ's command, "Love one another as I have loved you". And the shock revelation that Paul was describing the "how" of Christ's command -- love one another, and this is *how* to do it: carry each other's burdens. And then realizing how it ties into Christ's own promise that "All you who are weary and heavy burdened... I will give you rest", how He has given His body to the world to walk out that fulfillment day by day.
(Galatians 6:2)
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another."
(John 13:34-35)
"(My prayer is that) they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent Me and have loved them even as You have loved Me."
(John 17:23)
There is so much I wish I could say about this, how important it is, how absolutely central and how incredibly overlooked it is... in the hope that people would catch on and see nothing else. But it's a calling from His heart to ours, and it desires free response, otherwise it's not "love". The old law was essentially "obey or die", but the new law is an appeal from His heart to ours; a desire from His heart to find our hearts willing to listen and obey, not from under compulsion, but freely given because "love" can't come out of us any other way. And yet if we miss this call to love, we have missed Him entirely.
Your Word
By Ramone - January 21, 2010
"Christ loved the church
and gave himself up for her
to make her holy,
having cleansed her
by the washing with water
through the word."
(Ephesians 5:25-26)
