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Pastimes : Ask God -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: O'Hara who wrote (37900)	7/8/2004 1:29:57 AM
From: Berry Picker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 39621

Shalom - while I may have seriously rebuked you for your past attitude etc. I would like to say that I appreciate your honesty. Something I find rare even among those who profess to be Christians I am not going to pretend I have never shaken my fist at God I have - it has for me however been a long time since I have fought against the sovereignty of Our Lord. I will also not pretend that I "love" you - as will many. I hardly know you - I love my wife - I love my children - a few close friends and that is it - I "act in love" as much as I can even toward my enemies as it is written: Romans 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. and again... Luke 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, I do not however maintain the plastic love that many "christians" attempt to convey - I've seen the skin deep love expressed in these "worship" services where they hug each other one day and back stab the next - very becoming to the Lord..... I will say this however - that I find it in some ways a shame that you honestly tried to "serve" Christ and then at your time of need felt so alone. I also "feel" for you that you have been so misguided (I do not say this in a condescending manner at all) concerning just who God is and how He operates. I am not writing to you to try and act "holier than thou" or to speak down to you to feed my own ego. Did I know my brother well - as well as one can know another I found myself however the last year at a point of retreat from his presence as it was hopeless in my books to attempt communication - we had NOTHING in common but the carnal blood within us. He did nothing right - he had a pathetic life - but he would do nothing to help himself and rejected my council without end - he would not work - drank beer and smoked pot - watched TV and refused to go to church or even practice normal personal hygiene. In short - he believed himself to be a loser and did nothing to change that. Now - it is a fact that the bible teaches that God ordains whatsoever comes to pass - including my brother’s suicide. I was speaking to you about this just before you quit posting a while back. Perhaps, if you have not yet deleted my message to you, I should tell you that the last time I shook my fist at God was not about what God had ordained for my life personally but the fact that I figured out that God could put an end to starvation and suffering at a Word. The fact that God has ordained all the sin that occurs and all the death and the very moment of it - even the death of a practically worthless sparrow. Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. It angered me that children were being born and their mothers were watching them starve to death when God could rain manna from heaven if He so chose. I am no Job - but if any man need to see what a righteous response to God doing whatsoever He wills it is to be found best in Job and then in Christ: Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Now you thanked me for not pointing these things out - my question is if you desire to post here - and are thankful I do not point these things out - where exactly is your head at - or do you even know at this point? My sister had a 2 year old little girl die on her - it took days to occur - I found that mournful and sad - we shed many tears but I did come to a better understanding of what Job must have gone through and a better grip on God’s providence and sovereignty - I shed no tears for my brother. I look through scripture and find no righteous example of men killing themselves - Judas - King Saul - etc. And yet among the righteous men I see men being tortured - stoned - burned at the stake etc - and those men blessing God and rejoicing in Him and His plan for their live no matter how grim it may seem concerning this life. Do I want to suffer for Christ - NOT AT ALL :-) Pick someone else - there are many better men. Can I guarantee I will never shake my fist at God ever again as one who has matured and risen above the vain affections of the flesh - no I do not know what tomorrow will bring nor do I trust myself - I do not need learn the bitter lesson that Peter learned before the cock crowed. It warm my heart to here you confess "Blessings and sorrows he bestows upon who and when he wants. I'm getting it now.....I'm finally getting it." This is the kind of confession that causes me to believe that God is working on you - even through the death of others. Job grew in God through the death of his own children - that was God's big plan for Job - this proves a great love for Job and God - although he chose death physical for his children - also loved and saved Job's children. I still see however a deep need for you to love God and truly trust Him in what ever he decides to do among the inhabitant of this temporal earth: Daniel 4:35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? It still dismays me to hear you say however such as this: I have resolved to just go about my life and let God go about his. Ecclesiastes 8:3 Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not in an evil thing; for he doeth whatsoever pleaseth him. To live apart from God is to live without God to a large degree. Perhaps your purposes are not in your best interest - what if - God is willing to show you much greater things than your heart could ever imagine and this period of your life is only to get your true and serious attention? I do not say it as such - but I can say it may be as such - I do not know Shalom - I will not tell you God loves you - I can not know but I do know that those whom He loves he will conform to serve Him and trust Him no matter what happens in this life. I want also to say this to you - my brother gave up and deemed himself a victim - you however said this: I hear my heart (what is left of it) whisper, "You've got to do this yourself" That is far larger than what my brother just pulled off - but I think it still lacks. In that while all of us are accountable to God and our lives are not our own but bought with a price - and that none can find a place to repent of killing themselves - it is not really UP TO US to save ourselves. Adolph Hitler is said to have been the first to quote "God helps those who help themselves" and yet the opposite is true. None of us can "help themselves" - even godless men turn to a "higher power" to get off the booze. The truth is God helps those who cannot help themselves if they will but cry out to Him for that help. Killing yourself - even if it is only "spiritual suicide" is the opposite of crying out to God.. if is shaking ones fist in His face - even if you are despondent beyond your own strength: 2 Corinthians 1:8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: Even Job wanted out of life: Job 3:3 Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 4 Let that day be darkness; let not God regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. In any case - welcome back - don't post to me - I will tell you what you do not what to hear :-) Brian