Love or Knowledge?

The world is a difficult place to be.  We can't be sure of anything.  Bad things happen and safety seems only an illusion.  If I dwell on life's uncertainties and entertain my fears I will lose heart.  If I focus on doing the right things, I will eventually bear resentment, and come to the end of  my strength.  There are so many unanswered questions about everything, that it can drive me crazy not knowing the answers. 
Religion attempts to answer some of our questions, and does simplify things by making lists and having rules.  But that too can become tiresome and ungratifying. 
Seeking God - making Him my first priority - simplifies everything, and is so satisfying.  Good behavior and right thoughts and actions automatically follow when I have a love relationship with Him.
Does relationship with Him make things any more predictable?  Can you be sure of certain outcomes?  Are things safer with Him? 
Answers are important to people with PD.  But will answers really give us the peace that we long for, and will I have any more control over things than I do now?  Can knowing more really lessen the stress of living?
I propose that the answer to those questions is no.  Then, what is the answer?  How can I simplify my life and calm my fears?  How can I get rid of anxiety?  It's all so damaging to our bodies.
I think we are looking for all the answers in the wrong places. 
Let me try to explain:  Do you remember your first love?  All you wanted to do was spend time with that person.  Then, problems just seemed to fade away.  As long as you could be with that person, you felt like you could face anything.  You felt like no problem was so big that it couldn't  be solved.  There was a peace and a confidence that pervaded your soul when with this person.  You didn't spend much time (if any) worrying about things.  You just knew that everything would be allright because you were not alone, and you were loved.
It's the same thing with God.  He is there with you - loving you, tending  to your problems, always having your best interest at heart....  Do you have any more answers than before?  Maybe not.  But that's not what is important.  It's not WHAT you know....  It's WHO you know.
I'm never going to have all of the answers, but I can totally belong to the One who does, and that's what's important.
I am loved therefore I love, and that is all I really want.  Then I can rest despite not having all the answers, because I know He does. 
Thank you, heavenly Father that you love me and I take comfort knowing that You know everything about me.  I trust You to know all of the answers to my troubling questions.  I love You.

The Battle Must be Fought

It's good to be informed.  But if knowing facts and having the latest information is not balanced with the knowledge of God, it is a dangerous thing.  We must be able to process and evaluate what is happening in our world in light of the God we serve.  When we hear a bad report our reaction could easily be to give up hope or slide into depression and give up trying to resist evil. 
Sometimes what we don't know can be the condition which makes possible a full blown defeat.  Adam and Eve had no experience with deception.  They had no knowledge of lies or of the author of lies - the devil who was their enemy.  And as it turned out they were no match for the lurking evil that sought their demise and plotted their destruction.  This is a case where their lack of knowledge left them wide open to defeat.  But if they had stepped back when the enemy approached, and remembered who their God is - that He is love, truth and life - and met  those bad reports with what is true, everything would be different.
When we were given the bad report that we have Parkinson's Disease - or whatever disease you may be suffering from - or whatever hopeless word you have been given, how did you react?  Did you immediately step into the Presence of the All Powerful, All Knowing, Loving Creator Who has only your best interest at heart? 
Did you consider that this might be an attack by the evil which is always in pursuit?  Could this situation have been planned by the enemy that the Bible warns us about?   If so, then ignorance of this evil one is like an open door to him.  If we don't know what the weapons of our warfare are, nor know how to use them, then we are doomed. 
Some people say to educate ourselves about our evil enemy is to give him undue respect.  Not so!  To ignore what God says and pretend that we have no spiritual enemies is DISRESPECT.  Adam and Eve's innocence were no match for the serpent. 
Be prepared for any attack that may come, for surely it will approach you, and it will be in a moment of vulnerability.  Be prepared for sudden unknown calamity.  Be prepared for repetitive disasters (one right after another), and be prepared for the inconceivable.  How? 

1.  Know God.  Know Who He is and what He has done.  Know His promises to you.  And know what He says is right and good and just.
2.  Know that you have an enemy.  Know what God says about him and know his tactics.  Be proficient in the use of the weapons He gives us.
3.  Make it your practice to RUN into God's arms whenever attack comes.

Consider the story in the book of Esther:  The enemy (Haman) of God's people (the Jews) (this included the King's queen who was a Jew) plotted destruction of the Jews and tried to force the king's hand to unknowingly seal their doom.  The plot was discovered, Haman and all of his family were executed, and in the ensuing battle, the King empowered the Jews and gave them the right to defend themselves against any who dared to attack them.

Notice that Haman was found out and executed before the battles ever took place.  Still, the battles had to be fought.  But the final outcome was assured.  The Jews only had to take up their legal arms and defend themselves.

Balance knowledge with knowing Who the God of the Bible is.  Knowledge alone is not enough.  Knowing that there is a God is not enough.  We must be aware of the reality we walk in and we must look at that reality in light of Who God is.  Follow the example of Queen Esther, who approached her King, told him her plight and sought His help.

Are Gifts Logical?

This morning I awoke with the idea that someone who will be reading this needs to hear what I'm about to write:  Here's the truth:  No matter what we say we believe, no matter how we were brought up, no matter what justifies the way we act, we all have this in common:  we have sinned.  We have sinned against God and against others. 
You say there isn't a God?  Well logic tells you there IS.  All of creation didn't just happen.  What are the odds that everything just fell together in such a way that all life came into being?  Impossible!  Ponder just one part of you and apply logic and see if you have the faith to believe in faceless, random, impersonal chance....  Let's take the human eye. 
The human eye allows vision.  It reacts to light, differentiates between colors and perceives depth.  It can distinguish about a million different colors!  Read up on it.  It is an exquisite organ.
That's JUST ONE part of the body we have.  ALL of our parts work TOGETHER.  That's more than I can say for the people of the world....
SOMEBODY had to have created the world and the people in it.  It matters not that I do or do not understand it all.  Logic can take me THAT far.
Which brings me to the topic of the season:  Easter.  This is a time when we celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who came to set us free from all of our sins.  He paid the penalty for the sins that you and I committed.  There is a punishment for every sin and I will be held liable for that debt, unless.........somebody steps in, takes my place, and takes the punishment that was mine.  This is a gift from God.  We don't deserve it, we didn't earn it, nor do we understand it.  It's a GIFT.  Love is at the center of a gift.  It cannot be explained as efficient or earned.  You  just hold your hand out and receive it with gratitude in humility.
Jesus, God's Son, became a man, lived a perfect life, then let all the blame for all our sin fall on Himself.  He paid.  We will never understand it.  It's a gift motivated by love. 
If you do not accept this beautiful gift, then you will live this life in senseless toil, senseless heartache and doubt, never having tasted real freedom. 
I accepted this gift at the age of 12.  I have not lived a perfect life since then, but I am on the right track.  My sins have been paid for and I am free.  Jesus, my Lord came into my heart and my life when I invited Him.  I was born again.  That means my spirit which was dead due to sin, received life and was resurrected from the dead.  Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  I have received this beautiful gift because He paid, He died, and He defeated death when He rose up.
You'll never understand it.  Just receive it.  Be grateful for it.  You will be changed. 
Don't refuse this gift.  It is the only way to a clean and beautiful life.  Let Him give you life while you still can.  The gift is no longer possible when we have already died.  Why would you refuse it?

From You to Me

I have  run out of words.  Several times I have started out writing, but it quickly tapers off and  then my well of words runs dry.  Maybe YOU can write and share it with me.  I want to ask your help.    As you are resting today, fix your mind on this Scripture: "The Rock!  His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a trustworthy God who does no wrong.  He is righteous and straight."   Deuteronomy 32:4

Write out all that you can discern from this verse about God.  Consider how this verse might be related to your health.  Tell me what your observations lead you to conclude about God and yourself.  Write as much as you can and ask God to open your eyes to a specific truth that means something to you. 

Then, would you share it with me?  Thank you.  I look forward to reading what you glean.

 

Emma's Life

Emma's story goes beyond her life and death.  She was a little girl born with a rare genetic disorder that shortened her life.  She was a candle not long lit - a heavenly baby....  Not meant  too long for this world.  But long enough to make a difference. 
What I learn from Emma's short life is this:  She is like our cherished dream - our treasure, our Isaac - given by God - but taken away. 
Don't tell me that earthly sorrows don't have purpose.  Don't think what makes us cry or breaks our hearts is only tragedy.  That would be to snip the bud before it blossums.  It's true there are tragedies, but allowed to go beyond that cheerless place of darkness there is victory.  Our struggle brings life for others.  A seed must die first - then be raised to life.  Life comes through death. 
O, Death, your reign nears the end, and then we will say, "Where is your sting?"
Beloved, don't get stuck on trajedy.  Go beyond the pain of loss - the idea of senseless poverty.  To stop there will rob you of victory - will take away purpose - will make it all senseless.
Is your health gone?  Is your hope gone?  Has there been a death?  Go beyond....  Ask God to help you see the life beyond the death....

My Dreams

Part of life is having dreams....  Dreams for myself, dreams for my children, dreams for the world.  All dreams seem good at the time they are conceived.  Not all dreams survive the daily grind that wears away at their heart.
My most precious and tightly held dreams would be those that I have concerning my children.  As a parent I only want what is best for them.  My own happiness is tightly bound to them.  Good or bad, that's the truth.
My fondest dreams for them fuel my prayers.  My prayers are fervent and constant.  In the waiting for those answers, my hope resides.  There is joy without bounds when answers arrive and become an established fact.  The answers do not come all at once.  For some the waiting times seem interminable.  For others results come sooner.  But at the core of all hopes and all desires is my belief in the Creator God.(the God of the Bible).  He is the giver of hope.  He is the Maker of dreams.  He is the One who has the power to feed a dream and then birth it.  He is a promise maker and a promise keeper.
I once had dreams of my own.  They were for good things.  I wanted to be a mother, a wife, and I wanted to be the best that I could be.  But I was young and my heart was unproven.  I wanted those things for ME.  It wasn't God that I wanted so much as it was what I wanted FROM God.  Dreams in and of themselves are fleeting and exist only so long as does the dreamer.  But the dreams God has for each one of us has substance, and are real possibilities.  On our own we can never dream the great things God wants for us, for our children and for the world.  Our vision is too limited and we are too self-centered.
But with our eyes on Jesus, and yielded to His perfect will, with trust in His love for us, there is a life indescribable.  A life that can be lived here on this earth.  A victory that is indisputable.  And there is joy in this. 
God's dreams are much grander than our greatest desire. 
You may be wondering what happened to MY dreams.  Well I will  tell you that in His tender mercy and great love for me that is above all else, He went to work on me.  He allowed me to cling to my small dreams until one by one they fell apart.  They had looked truly good and solid.  But outside of Him there is nothing permanent or real.  I knew in the aftermath that dreams by themselves are only as strong and reliable as the dreamer.  In place of my own dreams He offered Himself.  And now just as He once told His Father, "Not my will, but Thine." I can echo these powerful words.  I can embrace what He had planned for me and for my children before the foundation of the world.
What does this have to do with my health and Parkinson's Disease?  I will trust Him to leave me in the fire of PD only as long as He sees it necessary.  I can embrace His dream for me of a life that is whole - without the reality of disease.  I don't have to know when or how.  I just have to know HIM and trust in His perfect love.

What is Going On?

I have memories of good times – times when goodness seemed to be a given; when safety could be felt; when innocence was a part of growing up; and when Biblical values were not foreign.

Today we take into stride what in the recent past would not have been in even our worst nightmares.

To have Parkinson's Disease is to experience this same type of thing. We have memories of life without the disease; when we were not threatened with this dreadfull malady; when we didn't entertain the slightest fear that it would ever descend upon us; when we seemed to have control of where we went and how we got there; and when our ideas of who God really is were not challenged.

But with the reality of this disease in our bodies come questions for which we seem to have no answers. Life doesn't make sense to us in light of our old convictions. As our strength is drained from our bodies, our spirit and soul are forced to develop and grow stronger as we are faced with difficult questions like, “How can a good God allow the evils we now deal with in this world?” “Why do the innocent suffer unjustly?” “Who IS the God of the Bible and is He all powerful?” “Does He care that we suffer?” “Is there hope of restoration?”

The world faces these same questions with us (for different reasons). We are frightened and at a loss to explain the things going on around us and getting nearer. Last week a meteor entered earth's atmosphere and exploded over Russia, leaving 1,200 people injured and buildings damaged. The Northeast portion of the US was devastated by the hurricane of the century – Hurricane Sandy (even though hurricane season had ended and given the fact that hurricanes usually do not hit that far north). Then only months later, that same area was hit with blizzards leaving record snowfalls of 3-4 feet paralyzing transportation, contributing to more power outages, and making it impossible to get to work. Already soaring gas prices and rising food prices come into play.

We were horrified at senseless shootings like that of Gabrielle Giffords and the school children in Connecticut. People are still rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and the huge earthquake in Haiti. What is going On???

There is no denying that SOMETHING is at work here. Whatever answers you may be coming up with, that much is evident.

I do believe that God is all powerful and that He DOES care that we are suffering. Why is the world in such a state and getting worse then? Why does the disease of the world progress just as our Parkinson's Disease progresses?

Could it be that there is more at stake than what we can see? Could it be that we have lost our way and these are warning signs? Is this disease reversible or can we halt it's forward march?

I encourage you all to ask these questions and seek the answers. We still have time, but maybe not much.

I won't give you the answers I have found. You must ask and seek for yourself. But I will say this: I think we are running out of time so don't waste it on what is not important. Ask God, “What is going on?”, then read His Word and search for clues to the deeper meaning. Don't wait. Ask now.