Safe Sin

Why, as humans, do we try to "get away" with sin? God is not blind to
any moment of our lives. Can we really get away with it? If there are
no consequences, what about tomorrow? Even guilty, nervous feelings are
bad enough, but the truth is, there are often more consequences.
Sometimes they're instant, sometimes they come a short time later,
sometimes they don't become revealed for years. Sometimes they don't
come until eternity. But there are consequences for sin. We learn
cause and effect before we can even speak. Edison loves dropping things
over the baby gate--they bounce down the wood stairs and make noise.
And he also has figured out that he can no longer reach the toy he just
dropped. He's already learning what gravity does. We all learned about
IF/THEN's in math. IF I drop my toy down the stairs THEN I can't play
with it anymore. IF I sin THEN I will have to bear the consequences.
(Although in this case, it should say When)

Safe Sin

you think you're so smart
got everything under control
such a bright young man,
it's too bad you forgot how to think
you know what you want,
know where it's at,
and how to get it
and you think you know the price
but the tags have been switched
has anyone seen truth?
it's just no fun regarding this
so they tell us half lies -
hope and pray, we won't call their bluff
we just nod and smile
we've been told what
we want to hear
you can live like you want
sleep around
please just keep it safe
and we blind mice have followed
while the piper played his song
believing we could make it safer
can't you see just what went wrong?
there's no thing as safe sin
no such thing as safe sin
you may beat the disaster for now, but there's no way to win
no thing as safe sin
no such thing as safe sin
there's no safe way to break God's laws
you always lose in the end
no thing as safe sin
God has made it clear
that love between husband and wife
is a precious thing to be shared,
but only within a marriage
today the world has made sex
nothing more than selfish gain
we ignore God's laws,
turn our backs - it's my body my choice
and now here we are living in fear of a disease
doing whatever we can to keep safe
with no thought of stopping
the saddest part is
that the stuff they're selling us won't work
a sad false advertising scheme that makes you dead
and we blind mice must realize that safe sex is just a lie
if we don't think for ourselves then either way we're bound to die
there's no thing as safe sin
no such thing as safe sin
you may beat the disaster for now, but there's no way to win
no thing as safe sin
no such thing as safe sin
there's no safe way to break God's laws
you always lose in the end
no thing as safe sin

--Everybodyduck

Oh how I miss them. They always told it like it was.

Wait

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him. . .Psalm 37:7

Holiness

instead of asking, "how far can I go?" ask "how close can I get?"
Holiness doesn't seek the most pleasure; it seeks the most perfection

Do you justify your actions? Do you base your limits on how far you can
go and still be called a Christian? Do you praise God and then shudder
at the thought of Him watching what you do with (or without your
friends). That's not a life lived for the pleasure of God. That's a
life lived for the pleasure of self.

I'm fighting a tough battle between the flesh and the spirit--pleasure
and perfection.

Holiness is seeking God's standards. All things are lawful but not all
things are profitable. I've had to say no to some movies I've wanted to
see recently, because when I'm honest with myself, my boredom is not an
excuse for exposing myself to something that not only doesn't profit,
but probably "de-profits" me. Haha. I had to make up that word.

Holiness asks, "is this pleasing to God. Will it draw me closer to
Him? Will it aid me in becoming more like Him?" And holiness will
choose that which will be a "yes" to those questions.

Now, I do believe it is a bit extreme to forsake anything un-christian.
We do live in this world, be we are not of this world. I read books
that tend to be scientific in nature. Reading about the pharmacy
technician certification exam isn't necessarily self-seeking. (Might I
add the other 5 books I'm reading are Christian books?)

Lately I've listened to very little secular music. Why not worship God
while I'm driving or cleaning my room?

I just thought of a song by Everybodyduck that I love:

Doug Eats Dirt

Doug is in the garden, it's his third time there today
With a napkin tucked under his chin, he bows his head to pray
"thank you's" said, he turns his full attention to the soft brown clay
and starts to scoop fistfuls of dirt into his mouth.

Well his family's quite perplexed
have done all they can think to do
No plate of decent food distracts Doug from the soil he's partial to
And he otherwise seems normal when his feeding times are through
still there's something not quite right with mud stained teeth

and while on one hand we're glad eating dirt's not something you die
from
when there's healthy food available it just seems sort of dumb

that

Doug eats dirt
lots of dirt
breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Doug only eats dirt
mud and clay and silt and sand
Doug just doesn't understand that it doesn't become good for you because
it doesn't hurt

sure if Doug was drinking poison there'd be much cause for alarm
but despite the brown ring round his mouth dirt can't do Doug much harm
so we tolerate his wallowing like pigs out on a farm
still it doesn't change the fact we wish he'd stop

'cause if he'd eat healthy food not only would it help him grow
it would help improve digestion which has become rather slow
it's a proven fact that dirt clods make it really hard to go
and that aside it'd really clean him up a lot

we've all got a choice between the neutral and the good
choosing death by drinking poison clearly no sane person would
still we don't choose that which grows us even though we know we should
we're satisfied with that which doesn't hurt or help

all things are permitted that don't contradict God's will
but not all things benefit us and we choose to do them still
and how can we ever hope to be like Jesus was until
we start refusing that which doesn't help us grow?

instead of asking, "how far can I go?" ask "how close can I get?"
Holiness doesn't seek the most pleasure; it seeks the most perfection

Do you justify your actions? Do you base your limits on how far you can
go and still be called a Christian? Do you praise God and then shudder
at the thought of Him watching what you do with (or without your
friends). That's not a life lived for the pleasure of God. That's a
life lived for the pleasure of self.

I'm fighting a tough battle between the flesh and the spirit--pleasure
and perfection.

Holiness is seeking God's standards. All things are lawful but not all
things are profitable. I've had to say no to some movies I've wanted to
see recently, because when I'm honest with myself, my boredom is not an
excuse for exposing myself to something that not only doesn't profit,
but probably "de-profits" me. Haha. I had to make up that word.

Holiness asks, "is this pleasing to God. Will it draw me closer to
Him? Will it aid me in becoming more like Him?" And holiness will
choose that which will be a "yes" to those questions.

Now, I do believe it is a bit extreme to forsake anything un-christian.
We do live in this world, be we are not of this world. I read books
that tend to be scientific in nature. Reading about the pharmacy
technician certification exam isn't necessarily self-seeking. (Might I
add the other 5 books I'm reading are Christian books?)

Lately I've listened to very little secular music. Why not worship God
while I'm driving or cleaning my room?

I just thought of a song by Everybodyduck that I love:

Doug Eats Dirt

Doug is in the garden, it's his third time there today
With a napkin tucked under his chin, he bows his head to pray
"thank you's" said, he turns his full attention to the soft brown clay
and starts to scoop fistfuls of dirt into his mouth.

Well his family's quite perplexed
have done all they can think to do
No plate of decent food distracts Doug from the soil he's partial to
And he otherwise seems normal when his feeding times are through
still there's something not quite right with mud stained teeth

and while on one hand we're glad eating dirt's not something you die
from
when there's healthy food available it just seems sort of dumb

that

Doug eats dirt
lots of dirt
breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Doug only eats dirt
mud and clay and silt and sand
Doug just doesn't understand that it doesn't become good for you because
it doesn't hurt

sure if Doug was drinking poison there'd be much cause for alarm
but despite the brown ring round his mouth dirt can't do Doug much harm
so we tolerate his wallowing like pigs out on a farm
still it doesn't change the fact we wish he'd stop

'cause if he'd eat healthy food not only would it help him grow
it would help improve digestion which has become rather slow
it's a proven fact that dirt clods make it really hard to go
and that aside it'd really clean him up a lot

we've all got a choice between the neutral and the good
choosing death by drinking poison clearly no sane person would
still we don't choose that which grows us even though we know we should
we're satisfied with that which doesn't hurt or help

all things are permitted that don't contradict God's will
but not all things benefit us and we choose to do them still
and how can we ever hope to be like Jesus was until
we start refusing that which doesn't help us grow?

all I want

There are two things I really want right now.

I want to follow God wherever He takes me, and I want to follow Him with
a man.

I want to get married. I'm so young, but I have no pressing earthly
aspirations. I don't want to get a degree. I don't want to travel and
experience the world and "find myself". I already know who I am. I am
a child of God and will be what He wants me to be as He reveals that to
me. I don't want to just enjoy my single life. I like being single,
but it's not what I'd prefer. I'm not seeking marriage. I'm seeking
God and waiting for marriage. I don't really have my eye on any
young men. I don't even have male friends out here. But I believe God
will put me in the right place at the right time. I don't know when or
wear that will be. I sense God will be moving me elsewhere soon--"soon"
meaning within 5 years. I also believe there are two skills I need to
work on to be prepared for marriage--organisation and financial
balance. I also think that God has given me the means to work on these
skills and I should really take advantage of them! I'm learning how to
maintain an organised schedule, but as for being 'neat' that's another
story. I REALLY need to clean my room. As for finances, I REALLY need
to call my credit card companies and get working on those debts. I want
to be completely debt free before I marry, or at least have everything
but my car paid off. Another pre-req I've had for myself is the ability
to hold a job. I've been at one job for 50 weeks now, and staying until
God tells me otherwise. And another huge one is being able to raise
kids. I'm ready. I know that I could do it. I've been working with
infants for 9 years now. I've worked with a variety of ages as well.
I've diapered, fed, educated, tutored, homeschooled, and nurtured a lot
of different kids now, and I know I can do this. I don't think I'll
ever be fully ready to love and serve another, but I'm ready to do it in
God's strength.

I'm ready for all this jazz and I don't have a single plan in place.
God's making my appointments, and He'll tell me when. Isaac and
Rebekah were busy doing the day's tasks, and God brought them to each
other. I'm sure He'll do the same for me.

I don't consider marriage to be the gift and singleness the burden.
Both are gifts from God and I will use the gifts He gives me to glorify
Him.

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will
eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the
birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than
they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the
field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you
that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and
tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O
you of little faith?
"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What
shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these
things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need
all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do
not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.
Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:25-34

Driving today got me thinking. I know this sounds strange but I believe
God used the weather to help me get the point of what He's calling me
to. I drove out to Peyton, which is about half an hour east of where I
live. Once I passed Powers, which is basically the eastside highway
(freeway is on the westside), it was SO foggy. I thought it was foggy on
the westside but going out there in Kansas (basically the podunk flat
area), it was much worse. I've never seen fog like that. I realised as
I was driving that it made a good illustration to clarify what I posted
before about what God has called me to. When I was driving out there,
at times I could only see the distance between two power line poles. I
couldn't see what was ahead. I had to keep my eyes open for signs
warning me what was ahead--even traffic lights were impossible to see
from more than a tenth of a mile! That's what my life is like now. I'm
on the road to heaven, but I can't see what's going to happen ahead. I
can only see what's happening right now. I'm keeping my eyes open,
looking for signs from God, and He gives them to me right when I need
them. As soon as I went west of Powers, I could suddenly see over half
a mile. For some people, their life is like that. They can see what's
ahead for them. I can't. I can just see what's here and now, and I
move ahead in faith, trusting God for those signs. I couldn't tell what
roads I was coming up on. I couldn't even tell what lights were coming
up, except for those signs. I moved ahead, carefully, but still, I
moved forward, trusting that those signs would be there.

Images:
In the first, you can see I'm at the limit line, and the light is barely
visible.

In the second, you can see I'm very close, and the green light is very,
very faint.

Ps. This is my 100th post

This is love

The faces that Moses had begged to see – was forbidden to see – was
slapped bloody (Exodus 33:19-20). The thorns that God had sent to curse
the earth's rebellion now twisted around his own brow...
"On your back with you!"
One raises a mallet to sink in the spike. But the soldier's heart
continue pumping as he readies the prisoner's wrist. Someone must
sustain the soldier's life minute by minute, for no man has this power
on his own. Who supplies breathe to is lungs? Who gives energy to his
cells? Who holds his molecules together? Only by the Son do "all
things hold together (Colossians 1:17) The victim wills that the soldier
live on – he grants the warriors continued existence. The man swings.
As the man swings, the Son recalls how he and the Father first designed
the medial nerve of the human forearm – the sensations it would be
capable of. The designs prove flawless – the nerves perform
exquisitely. "Up you go!" They lift the cross. God is on display in
his underwear and can scarcely breathe.
But these pains are a mere warm-up to his other and growing dread. He
begins to feel a foreign sensation. Somewhere during this day an earthly
foul odor began to waft, not around his nose, but his heart. He feels
dirty. Human wickedness starts to crawl upon his spotless being – the
living excrement from our souls. The apple of his Father's eye turns
brown with rot.
His Father! He must face his Father like this!
From heaven the Father now rouses himself like a lion disturbed, shakes
his mane, and roars against the shrivelling remnant of a man hanging on
the cross. Never has the Son seen the Father look at him so, never felt
even the least of his hot breath. But the roar shakes the unseen world
and darkens the visible sky. The Son does not recognise these eyes.
"Son of Man! Why have you behaved so? You have cheated, lusted,
stolen, gossiped – murdered, envied, hated, lied. You have cursed,
robbed, overspent, overeaten – fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled, and
blasphemed. Oh the duties you have shirked, the children you have
abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so
belittled my name? Have you ever held your razor tongue? What a
self-righteous, pitiful drunk- you, who molest young boys, peddle killer
drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents. Who gave you the
boldness to rig elections, foment revolutions, torture animals, and
worship demons? Does the list never end! Splitting families, raoing
virgins, acting smugly, playing the pimp – buying politicians,
practicing exhortation, filming pornography, accepting bribes. You have
burned down buildings, perfected terrorist tactics, founded false
religions, traded in slaves – relishing each morsel and bragging about
it all. I hate, loathe these things in you! Disgust for everything about
you consumes me! Can you not feel my wrath?"
Of course the Son is innocent. He is blameless itself. The Father knows
this. But the divine pair have an agreement, and the unthinkable must
now take place. Jesus will be treated as if personally responsible for
every sin ever committed.
The Father watches as his heart's treasure, the mirror image of
himself, sinks drowning into raw, liquid sin. Jehovah's stored rage
against humankind from every century explodes in a single direction.
"Father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?!"
But heaven stop its ears. The Son has stares up at the One who cannot,
who will not, reach down or reply.
The Trinity had planned it. The Son endured it. The Spirit enabled it.
The Father rejected the Son whom he loved. Jesus, the God-man from
Nazareth, perished. The Father accepted his sacrifice for sin and was
satisfied. The Rescue was accomplished.

By
Steven Estes & Joni Eareckson Tada from "When God Weeps"

Calling

Everyone seems to have calling from God. "God called me to move. . ."
or "God called me to be a. . ." Well here's mine: "God has called me to
serve Him today." He hasn't been specific with me. He just wants me to
trust Him for today and serve Him. He doesn't want me to worry about
what plans He has for me tomorrow. I'm not living a very exciting
itinerary. I'm not moving halfway across the world or taking some crazy
job. I'm just doing my thing and waiting for the next little task God
hands me. I must be faithful to Him and do what He asks of me today.
I'm sure tomorrow's blessings are well worth any sacrifice I make and
any patience I show. Sure, everything in me screams, "Tell me, what's
next," I will myself to remain content. He is my portion today, and
tomorrow He shall be again.
--
Annabelle M
Sent from my T-Mobile Sidekick®

For thought

What is the difference between judging who God is based on a situation
and judging a situation based on who God is?

Please post comments below. I will soon add my answer

My heart is staying off my sleeve

I've never worm my heart on my sleeve when it comes to my affections.
Very few of my friends (and only females) have known of my attractions
to young men. I must say I'm glad for this. I've never had to face
being rejected by a man. It's never created an awkward situation for
me. I can be friends with him still, with no fear. Nothing goes beyond
a simple friendship because there is no dance of infatuation. Most of
the time, my attraction fades, as does the guy. No harm done. Even if
he does remain, there is nothing more but a glimmer of 'what-ifs', and
I'm free to allow my fickle heart to seek out its next object, leaving
behind no broken hearts. It prevents me from using him and he from
using me. I am content to leave the pursuing to the man. I seek to
have a greater degree of friendship and fellowship with my male friends,
and I'm glad that my affections haven't gotten in the way. There's
something in me that drives me to push a man away if I develop a strong
attraction to him, which I must say, has proven beneficial in not
exposing my heart.