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Monday, February 08 2010 @ 05:39 PM PST
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Is God a Tyrant?

Is God a cruel tyrant? The scriptural record might seem to confirm this indictment. The Bible records that God kicked a third of his angels out of heaven for questioning his leadership. The biblical record is widely believed to teach that God demands perfect obedience of his subjects on pain of death. And there is the not so vague indication that God arranged to have his only son murdered on trumped up charges.

In the book of Isaiah Jesus is referred to in these words, “We esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted… it pleased God to bruise him, he has put him to grief, to make him an offering for sin.”1 What sort of a parent would consent to such a cruel arrangement? God would seem to make the worst despot look tame. Religious teaching would have you believe that He is a benign potentate, merely interested in upholding the righteous standrds of his government. The theory taught is that God destroys only grudgingly and that the death of his son was a legal maneuver to avoid the necessity of condemning all of mankind to the horrors of hell fire...

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Frames of Reference

“Sunrise, sunset. Sunrise, sunset, Swiftly fly the years, One season following another. Laden with happiness and tears.” So go the lyrics of a song from the Broadway Musical Fiddler on the Roof. And in spite of our modern-day understanding of planetary motions, the words still seem to fit. That’s because from where we are, from our vantage point, the Sun does  appear to rise in the eastern sky and set in the west.

Claudius Ptolemy lived shortly after the time of the New Testament apostles. Building on the centuries-old work of Aristotle, Plato and Pythagoras, Ptolemy devised a detailed, Earth-centered model of the Solar system to fit the observational evidence of planetary motion. This model had the planets looping in sub-orbits called epicycles as they traveled in their circular, primary orbits around the Earth. And as far as models go, it did a reasonably good job of predicting where the planets would be at any time — a reasonably good job...

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Three Angel's Children's Relief

In light of Haiti's plight, many people long to help out by giving monetarily however, there are countless scams that make giving difficult. Who can you trust?  If you want to give but don't know where to begin aside from the Red Cross, check out  Three Angel's Children's Relief.  Three Angel's Children's Relief operates a children's orphanage that happens to be  located 11 miles from the recent earthquake. The good news is the children are safe!  The bad news is they are in dire need of supplies.

As Christians, we take the words of Isaiah seriously - chapter 61 reads,"the Lord has anointed me to...proclaim the year of the Lord's favor... and provide for those who grieve in Zion—They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities." We take God at his word when he says that we are his hands and his feet that will rebuild when chaos hits.  Right now, Haiti is a far cry from resembling Zion; the land is broken and the people are dying by the thousands. Let us pray that those who are experienced in disaster relief be strengthened for the work ahead. Let us pray that the medical personell be fortified with wisdom and courage it takes to restore the wounded back to good health.  May God's presence  refresh and "bind up the brokenhearted" and may we continue this prayer without ceasing.

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Get Real

My mother-in-law sent us an email this morning that blew my socks off. Well, actually, I'm wearing flip-flops but you get my point.  She said, "The fruit of the Spirit is not to make us look good, but to make the Father look good." You mean its not about us?  But wait a minute, I go to church and prayer meeting and eat tofu... Doesn't that count?

So often we get wrapped up in our human-DOing instead of  human-BEing, that we forget the essentials to abundant living.  After Elijah got busy on Mt. Carmel, God visited his zealous friend in a cave. God did not come in the wind, earthquake or fire but in a still small voice. This gentle approach astonished the prophet for after all, he had just hacked 450 heathens to death for idolatry. No wonder he was depressed.  Fighting fire with fire has never worked but sharing the fruit at God's table certainly does. When do you think this truth hit Elijah like a ton of bricks and  wouldn't you  have loved to have been there to share in his joy?

When we demonstrate  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, we cannot but help make an impact on those around us.  We can get pretty puffed up, even to the point of thinking its our hand that ultimately made the difference. Newsflash! The fruits  of the Spirit are not about dolling us up or creating super-fly-sugarcoated personalities - no way. God wants us to be real - like Him.  Jesus addressed this authenticity in Matthew 5:48, "Therefore you shall be perfect as my father in heaven is perfect."  God himself invented this natural principle we call the fruits of the Spirit  and he knows that we must first be true  (perfect) to ourselves in order to be true to Him and others. We are loving,kind and compassionate because he was loving, kind and compassionate with us first (1 John 4:19).

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The Way Goes On

 

2010 is here and  while we make and break resolutions, our God is constant.  The good news is that now more than ever, no matter what obstacles we meet, we - as Christians - are determined to share the Good Word about God's character. Eden's Bridge encapsulates how this Good Word travels in spite of ill health, personal betrayals, natural catastrophe or economic and political mayhem.  In their song, "The Way Goes On" we can be inspired in our walk here and now and be reminded of our privilege to serve - not judge or condemn -  humanity.  As you listen in, follow the lyrics and think of how your life has impact on planet earth as a citizen of heaven and child of God. 

"The wanderers and the pilgrims sought to share Your precious Word and to travel in Your footsteps was their purpose and their goal.  But the journey lies beyond the heart in a deeper faith.  And the road goes on into the light as we seek Your face.  And the way goes on across the oceans through the deep woods and the desert and the way goes on in the seeking of my spirit into tomorrow.  Alone inside my empty cell I search for You in the silence a road to life art thou O Lord and at journey's end lies my dwelling."

 

And The Way goes on...

Become part of our family!

Never before in the history of the world has there been a time such as this. As Christians, we've been assigned to a mission field called Planet Earth. What went wrong? There's been an assassination attempt on the character of God. God has been portrayed as distant, severe, and even cruel – demanding our love upon threat of torture and execution. The result? True love and trust for God does not flourish, for people have learned to serve him from fear. God’s remedy? To clear up these lies and misconceptions, God himself came to earth, in the man of Christ to show by His life, death, and resurrection, that He is more loving and forgiving than we ever imagined.

HeavenlySanctuary.com is more than a website; it is an epicenter dedicated to proclaiming the truth about God's character – the truth that He isn't enshrined in a far-away throne demanding admiration and respect. No, He comes kneeling, the humble King as a servant to wash our feet, heal our wounds, and restore our damaged hearts with His incredible life imparting love. We invite you to join us in vindicating God's character before all men, women and children, for it won't be long before we see him face to face – our God, our loving Father, our best Friend.


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