This is the third such “INSP I RED” rolling text message video clips I have recently witnessed. All were very thought provoking for our circumstances today, one by a businessman, the other by a Jewish MD and intellectual. I present this clip as everything I offer: Strictly FYI, or For Your Reflection Today, Tomorrow, & Beyond….(FYRTT&B). This will likely never appear on CNN for obvious reasons. And you know from previous blogs that I tend to view Fact-Checkers as a marvelous idea simply gone awry in this era of censorship, perhaps even deteriorating to the level of becoming an idol for sloppy biblical truth seekers.
However, in the event you do have or know of a similar more neutral or even opposing viewpoint document, or clip as brief and as succinctly presented as Archbishop Vigano of the Catholic Church below, please do share it with me.
This clip features AB Vigano speaking encouragement to the Canadians, though now aging from his prior battles, yet yesterday was quite articulate, supposedly now in protective hiding and understandably so, who served as the Apostolic Nuncio to the United States from 19 October 2011 to 12 April 2016. He previously served as Secretary-General of the Governorate of Vatican City State from 16 July 2009 to 3 September 2011. He is best known for having publicized two major Vatican scandals. These were the Vatican leaks scandal of 2012, in which he revealed financial corruption in the Vatican, and a 2018 letter in which he accused Pope Francis and other church leaders of covering up sexual abuse allegations against former cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Viganò was ordained a priest in 1968 and spent most of his career working in a diplomatic capacity for the Holy See. As a priest, he served on a number of diplomatic missions before being consecrated a bishop by Pope John Paul II in 1992. (Wikipedia) Click on the link below.
Submitted by my coffee roaster friend Wendell S for our ever dwindling nostalgia crowd…
My grandmother always drank her coffee like this! I always thought it was because it was too hot. Do any of you remember the older generations drinking from their saucers? Then today I came across this poem that made me wonder perhaps there was symbolism to this coffee ritual…
Drinking from My Saucer ……
by John Paul Moore
I’ve never made a fortune and it’s probably too late now.
But I don’t worry about that much, I’m happy anyhow.
And as I go along life’s way, I’m reaping better than I sowed.
I’m drinking from my saucer, ‘Cause my cup has overflowed.
I don’t have a lot of riches, and sometimes the going’s tough.
But I’ve got loved ones around me, and that makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings, and the mercies He’s bestowed.
I’m drinking from my saucer, ’Cause my cup has overflowed.
I remember times when things went wrong, my faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke, and the sun peeped through again.
So God, help me not to gripe about the tough rows that I’ve hoed.
I’m drinking from my saucer, ‘Cause my cup has overflowed.
When God gives me strength and courage, when the way grows steep and rough.
I’ll not ask for other blessings, I’m already blessed enough.
And may I never be too busy, to help others bear their loads.
Then I’ll keep drinking from my saucer, ‘Cause my cup has overflowed.
FYI, or Your Reflection Today (YRT, and tomorrow, and the next day, etc
by Graham Shearer 02/16/22
Governments across the globe have taken extreme measures over the past two years to combat COVID-19. The rationale is always the same: This is an emergency. But do governments understand the implications of this claim? A perpetual state of crisis cannot be a stable basis for civil government. Politicians who continually appeal to this justification may soon find they have unleashed forces beyond their control.
It is hard to live in a state of emergency for two years or more, especially when it affects everything from the air in front of your face to your ability to travel. Throughout the pandemic, many have repeated Milton Friedman’s quip that “there is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program.” They were warning that the “exceptional circumstances” justifying emergency measures might prove enduring. Unfortunately, this warning has become our reality. Governments that were quick to impose restrictions have been reticent to rescind them, and many measures may not be rescinded at all. Leaders have learned that they can mandate masks, confine citizens to their homes, and limit public life to those who have had a certain medical procedure. Once leaders taste such powers, it is tempting to cling to them.
And even where some restrictions are loosening, governments are not relinquishing the right to impose such restrictions. This month, Scotland is set to renew the Coronavirus Act, which granted the Scottish government emergency powers earlier in the pandemic. If this happens, by the time the powers expire, the government will have had emergency powers for two and half years. Never mind that in 2020, the rate of age-adjusted all-cause mortality in Scotland was lower than in 2009. In Scotland, as in many other countries, vaccine passports, mask mandates, school closures, and lock downs appear to have become part of the magistrates’ governing repertoire—ready to be implemented again the moment the opportunity arises.
In an interview for Le Monde in March 2020, Italian political philosopher Giorgio Agamben said, “The epidemic has made clear that the state of exception to which our governments have actually accustomed us for quite some time, has become the normal condition. . . . A society that exists in a perennial state of emergency cannot be free.” Agamben had written previously about the concept of “the state of exception” in reference to the “war on terror” and the way that the threat of terrorism served to justify the suspension of civil liberties for a certain group of people. For Agamben, the novel coronavirus was simply a fresh occasion for a similar approach. Leaders used the threat of impending death and catastrophe to give the government extraordinary powers in order to defeat the enemy.
Nearly two years after Agamben spoke to Le Monde, we remain in this state of exception. It is easy to be pessimistic about the future. However, in the foreword to Where Are We Now?(2021), a collection of pandemic reflections, Agamben strikes a different note.
What accounts for the strength of the current transformation is also . . . its weakness. . . . For decades now, institutional powers have been suffering a gradual loss of legitimacy. These powers could mitigate this loss only through the constant evocation of states of emergency. . . . For how long . . . can the present state of exception be prolonged?
Agamben’s question is a good one. A state of emergency is unstable by definition.
The current protests against vaccine mandates in Canada reveal that government authority and legitimacy are more fragile than we ordinarily suppose. For in emergencies, it is not only governments who respond. The Canadians who are protesting vaccine restrictions also appeal to extraordinary circumstances to justify their actions. After Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau complained that the protesters “are trying to blockade our economy, our democracy, and our fellow citizens’ daily lives,” the Babylon Bee published an apt headline: “Trudeau Demands Protesters Stop Shutting Down City So That He Can Shut Down City.” Governments who claim that circumstances require extraordinary measures may find that their citizens also take extraordinary measures.
Governments cannot have it both ways: Ordinary times carry with them ordinary constitutional constraints on government action and ordinary obligations to obey and comply. If governments appeal to a permanent state of exception to elude the former, it will find that more and more people consider themselves free of the latter.
That is why, for the sake of constitutional order and legitimacy, government claims for extraordinary powers must cease. Now that the deadliest phase of the pandemic has passed, the real emergency, at this point, is the permanent appeal to emergency. The urgent need is for governments to abandon urgency and return to the slow, steady business of governance. Good jurisprudence and government depend on a return to precedented times. As it is, too many governments are paying the mortgage on their extraordinary powers with the capital of their legitimacy. If they persist for much longer, some may begin to find that both have been spent.
Graham Shearer is a doctoral student at Union Theological College in Belfast and a fellow of the Chalmers Institute.
Real Faith Stories #72 Jamie Winship – “I may never see my family again”
Following are my random notes minus the stories from this You Tube clip above introducing Jamie Winship with the minutes such as (5:32) inserted for quicker referencing. My spiritual mentor introduced me to him over two years ago and similarly to Carole Ward just recently, Jamie has opened for me spiritually new doors, perspectives, insights, opportunities, & responsibilities. Enjoy a life changing video. merlin
I desired to be a policeman since 8th grade, met a recovery nurse at 17 after surgery introduced me to Christ, wanted to be a policeman like she was a nurse. 1.) as a WDC policeman, was never to talk religion, NEVER, not even a review process for the infraction; 2.) no where to go to find out how to share your faith, areas we’re not even trained in,
Carried a notebook, Acts my model : in time I learned Lord, 1.) what do you want me to know; and 2.) what do you want me to do? When, in a dead end, situation without precedent I learned, 1.) God still speaks & 2.) his word still cuts.. we (church) don’t believe this anymore…The more we pursue the Lord, the further he’ll take us… he’ll keep (5:32)raising our level of observing his presence in our midst , plus then, he walks us through our fear out to the other side of it, actually we do not become braver, we become less fearful, we become fearless, not this macho, but very calm,
Then the Lord takes us to the next level, because we’re afraid of everything all the time, most of our decisions as humans are all self-protection and self-promotion, Christians as well, we make decisions based on fear, risk assessment, counting the cost, ….. What do you want me to know, what do you want me to do?
(6:50) Question: Give me example: We had an abduction of a 3rd grader in early 80’s when a kid vanished, 2 hrs late on the trail, I told the father “we’re going to find him” not an accepted protocol. Drive away from scene 3 blocks pulled over & stopped. Thinking “What do I need to know & what shall I do?” Can You locate a kid? You are a God of mercy. What’s your probable cause for pulling this car over? Nope- not gonna work! Where did you get the idea to stop that car? I felt the presence of evil! A training officer said “trust your gut, trust your gut,” that’s how cops talk about it. Why would I just sit there and feel bad after the moment of opportunity passed? Definition of obedience in OT is to hear (listen) and respond. Hear O Israel, the Lord is one Lord! “It is not here is a list of rules,” that’s crazy, rather “hear & respond.” Basically, I’d asked the question and God responded, other times I sat on it, not perfect, Too often we get stuck in the listening mode, always receiving & getting fed, so when it’s time to exercise our muscles of faith, we end up just sitting there paralyzed…too busy looking at other persons and how God spoke to 13:00 them, rather than to us.. God doesn’t want us to compare ourselves to others, he speaks to us uniquely, it is all about worship and abiding, I can’t tell you what to know, but I can tell you how to know, the goal is not what to know, but rather how to know….
14:00 Jesus was not about formulas, but how do we know what to do! How did Jesus know to talk to the Samaritan woman? Why did you even go to her? How did He know what to say? “I say what the Father is saying, I see what the Father is doing… It is not how to do evangelism, the Four Laws, how did you even know to go (14:30) to her? I say what the Father is saying, I do what the father is doing, otherwise you’re just imitating whoever.. For example, a person is motivated/prompted to say something by the Lord, but when you hear it, the Spirit of God awakened or prompted your mind so that you heard instead what you needed to hear for the task at hand, …. (15:06) Where does a formula play in there? Not to be locked in to a formula which is false, actually it is the mystery of relationship, based on truth-telling…..
15:50 Question: How did you transition from being a police officer to your foreign assignments in Islamic countries? A walk with Christ is always a progression, and an ascension, every human has a biology of transcension, of looking up and out, all creation is this way, never gets to remain stagnant, stationary, made to move and grow, changing, and be transformed by the “renewing of our minds, then you’ll know the more excellent way”.. as I was practicing this as a policemen, I was progressing into higher levels of interactions, relationships, and getting promoted by being creative with Him, if you’re not creative, something is not right…
(16.49) Phone call from a magistrate to meet a gov official who asked me “how do you do what you do? Had files of every case I’d worked… how are you closing these cases, like this one for example? I don’t think you’ll like my strategy, we don’t care, we do like your results! “It involves my capacity of tapping into hearing God speak, and doing what God says in these different cases” and the guy said “yeah, I don’t like that.” “By their fruit they will know you… we can spend all day explaining to the world why we believe what we believe, and all that, but just do it, we just need to do it, let the world see it, like my nurse when I was 17 in recovery, she never explained anything to me, she just did it, she was it, her “being” informed her “doing” and that connected with me, for years…
(18:40) Question: Can you do this in a Muslim country? 1979. Are Muslims different than other humans? What I’m doing works with humans. Just because you think Muslims are different than you, that is already your mistake.. already your strategies are failing…. Agent spins a real time scenario, JW listening as he always does, “I have the mind of Christ, I have the Spirit of the Living God inside of me, so I’m listening inside the Trinity to the situation, not just me, and I’m using all my past police experiences and what God has taught me, … and so I explained what we’d do… and he says “you’re hired.” Offered package on the spot, that’s how desperate the world is for new ways of thinking about things! Instead of conforming to patterns of the world over and over again. And so that was the beginning of me thinking of employment overseas….
20:22 This is God inviting me into the next level of who I am, identity on a higher scale, with greater risk and opportunity… I will not sign a contract with you because that contract alone with you will destroy anything that would work, it cannot be attached to foreign policy… so I will take the challenge but no contractual relationship. I cannot serve two masters…. It took me three years to prepare the strategy ( Moses of OT gets strategy credit) and the bad guys hired me and put me in their university…. and my wife and I did this work all over the globe for 26 years.. Mission explained. (23:00) Model was “Attack & Extract” during which time I lost my capacity to just listen to God and have Him tell me what to do… I had progressed into an academic framework in my mind, I left my “heart” and went into my “head.” (Amazing analysis and we all fight this battle… Question though is how often until we learn??) Conflict emerged. Got sloppy. Spur of the moment reaction I broke the law of the country. Notified I would be given a 10 yr prison sentence. Fear emerged and consumed me and the 6 member, Once our positive imaginations becomes fear projecting – Self-protection and self-promotion producing an all-consuming anxiety, all on me to figure it out, (30:00) trial account, why am I deconstructing all this stuff, Jesus didn’t do that.. God, I feel this is all my mistake, God’s presence confirmed my suspicions… I broke their laws, insulting their god, I on the spot in my trial asked for God’s forgiveness… He did! Returned to “What do you want me to know, What do you want me to do?” Welcome back Son from the religion of Christianity, into abiding in Christ?
33:10 Does anyone want to speak to speak on his behalf?
38:00 “Listen, I’m doing this for you. When you open your mouth to these pupils, you are insulting them, and their feelings. And I know what you’re trying to say, but you better find another way of saying it..… That is the word of the Lord right to me. Your job is not to go around the world and insult people, and use shame and guilt to convert persons from one religious system to another, you love those people, and you self-empty for them, and you sacrifice for them, and you love them unconditionally, that’s what Jesus does for people. I never forgot that lesson. And the Lord let me walk through all that just to wake me up. What is my goal here? To prove I’m right and they are wrong or is it to be other-focused, self -emptying, sacrificial, loving unconditionally?….. This transforms people, It’s what that recovery nurse did for me while suffering thru my ridicule 5 days. Not built on power and control, built on love..
That’s all for now.
Go forth now and live amazed, continually asking “God, what do you want me to know about this task at hand?” And that being answered, “just what do you want me to do about it?” >>>>>merlin
I find this article worthy of sharing as I specifically have not observed this issue reviewed in my usual sources nor do I imagine you have either. I may draw the ire of a few of you but that’s OK. We all need to be challenged continually, or what’s the point? “I believe by enduring the intricacies and challenges during the process of either learning or achievement, on the journey to our destination, is exactly what makes the destination ultimately rewarding and valuable to us, preparing us then, for yet, another summit.” (merlin 020222)
A good friend of mine, Isaiah, today brought the fact to my attention that our pastor never makes a reference to either political party – he just stays with the Scriptures… likely inferring I should do the same, just after I sent him a podcast that I requested he only listen to specific minutes, 36-50. I know Isaiah well enough to know that he may likely short circuit if he listened to the earlier minutes … which he did, and from the very beginning … and he did quit listening. No problem, I understand it perfectly. I once was there too and still struggle at times. Perhaps it was simply information overload. Isaiah said the podcast speaker mentioned “stolen elections, “blue cities,” and other such toxic statements that simply further polarize our country. He was also sadden that I would promote this type of rhetoric but that he still loves me as a brother. And I know, that he really, really does. He is one of my strongest supporters and I do send him my stuff at times to review it before I publish it. Actually, I try not to promote anything except to lift up Jesus (see John 12:32 from Feb 1 Utmost) so I do very cautiously share my ideas much as the Apostle Paul shared about eating meats or dietary practices to avoid offense.
So I know assuredly Isaiah and I are not always on the same page. So what? That’s life. Get over it. I believe as a faith facilitator I’ve been empowered by the Holy Spirit to usually rise above such relationship stress or glitches. First it is a choice, and secondly, and this is so much harder, is to so love the truth of the situation so much that you intimately realize it is not at all about you, but rather, all about them. That wasn’t cool in my generation, and regardless of the word for it today, it still isn’t. Actually, it’s impossible without divine help.
My off the cuff crude response to Isaiah went as follows: “Say, I listen to a wide variety of stuff. I ignore the rhetoric on both sides and go for the gold. From 36 minutes to the end, that podcast had a perspective of merit I find refreshing and needed today as together we strive for solutions. I knew the earlier minutes would short circuit you so I tried to expose you only to the meat. No offense taken. I have thick skin. Sometimes mining for Truth requires we throw a lot of scrap out the back door!”
Next, I addressed his comment about our pastor. “Doesn’t he have to promote or present only the idealized interpretation of scripture in his position as pastor? Otherwise the congregation in today’s climate may well be in near total chaos. I see no wiggle room for him currently.”
But then I go on to ask Isaiah, “But do you think I’m bound similarly as a member in the same congregation? What about the other members? Is there no other thinking allowed outside your “personally perceived truth box?”(PPTB). I say, for the church, and in this case, for me and my friend, this is where the rubber meets the road, in that we each may interpret and yet respect many of the “outside the box hot buttons” vastly differently from the stance of our brothers and sisters…. and just what do I usually do about it? Too often in my past I may have ostracized, polarized, ridiculed, etc., or if I were a more subdued Menno, I would just be silent; sit, soak, sulk, sour, and “seethe,” before I split to elsewhere.
Is it remotely even possible we claiming to be anabaptists do not practice what we preach? At times I actually believe we are some of the most paranoid easily threatened and divisive Christians out there. I should know for I was one of them for most of my life. But because my wife Loretta extended to me such unbelievable forgiveness, grace and mercy for 40 plus years, accompanied by some very unique life circumstances, world events, and a community of intimate believers that loved me when I was not really very lovable, all account for me even being here, and the fact that He is, still very much refining me.
I realized I was so very much missing the core and heart of Carole Ward’s message to the American church as she presented it in her interview in my 1/15/22 blog. At some future time we will delve much deeper into the cures for the challenges we all face daily.
All this is merely the introduction to possibly “drawing your ire” with the “manliness” article, which regardless of your position on that continuum, is a worthy read by John Daniel Davidson as presented in the Federalist.
I particularly found George Washington’s apparent plagiarism (perhaps mere editing) of these maxims originating in the late sixteenth century in France and were popularly circulated in America during Washington’s time. It is reported he began this document he titled “110 Rules For Civility” when he was only 14 years old. All 110 are listed and they are a hoot. Some compare their merits to the famous quote near the end of the 4th volume of Douglas Southall Freeman’s epic four volume biography of Robert E Lee, when he answered in response to an infant’s mother asking him to bless her child, he simply said, “Teach him he must deny himself.” Powerful words! A worthy identity garnered even if you never read the article!
Note Senator Josh Hawley and David Azerrad of Hillsdale College, both have links in this article. For some of you, that is well beyond your comfort zone and an easy out for you. I certainly understand. Blessings to all of you in your pursuit of worthy truths to guide your pathways into your unknowns>>>>>merlin
from his Lyceum Address on Jan 27, 1838, 184 years ago.
Against the backdrop of a controversial killing of a black man in St. Louis and seething rage across the United States, a young lawyer stood before a small group of men and delivered a speech that would make him famous.
“If destruction be our lot,” he proclaimed, “we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
The young man was Abraham Lincoln in the year 1838. The black man was Francis McIntosh, a freedman who had been chained to a tree and burned to death by a white mob. The Civil War wouldn’t officially begin for over two decades, but the twenty-eight-year-old Lincoln already recognized one of the warning signs of an unraveling society: disregard for the rule of law.
Lincoln continued,
I hope I am over wary; but if I’m not, there is, even now something of ill-omen amongst us. I mean the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country; the growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions, in lieu of the sober judgements of Courts, and the worse than savage mobs, for the executive ministers of justice. This disposition is awfully fearful in any community; and that it exists now in ours , though grating to our feelings to admit, it would be a violation of truth, and an insult to our intelligence, to deny. Accounts of outrages, committed by mobs, form the every-day news of the times.
Lincoln was not “over-wary.” His concerns would be played out repeatedly until the entire nation exploded into bloody war. Unfortunately, we are again witnessing “something of an ill-omen amongst us” as mobs periodically assemble in various communities across the country, emerging in acts of violence, theft, and swelling unrest.
We are experiencing the attempted destruction of life and liberty in our own heartland from coast to coast. It is all-out rebellion against the rule of law. For years we have seen blatant disregard of laws, from our borders to our very halls of governance. The root of it all is setting aside God’s Word, His Law, and disregarding His counsel. At this moment there are evil men who intend to set our nation on fire, burning up forever the greatest national expression of freedom’s beauty ever witnessed by mortal man. America, with all of its ills, failures, and need for correction from time to time, is still the greatest example of a nation established on the rule of law as revealed in sacred Scriptures.
Right now in our country, some foolishly zealous people are encouraging a revolt against the rule of law and accusing those who risk their lives seeking to protect our citizens as though they were targets to be attacked, discredited, and destroyed. Many are simply ignorant of the facts, but others are intentional provocateurs, manipulating the media and the crowd for their own selfish gain. Still others are agents of evil, stirring up passions to provoke violence, as exemplified by death chants against police officers. This is worse than nonsense. It is terrorism at home!
Again, Lincoln recognized this destructive spirit:
When men take it in their heads today, to hang gamblers, or burn murderers, they should recollect, that, in the confusion usually attending such transactions, they will be as likely to hang or burn someone who is neither a gambler nor a murderer as one who is; and that, acting upon the example they set, the mob of tomorrow, may, and probably will, hang or burn some of them by the very same mistake. And not only so; the innocent, those who have ever set their faces against violations of law in every shape, alike with the guilty, fall victims to the ravages of mob law; and thus it goes on, step by step, till all the walls erected for the defense of the persons and property of individuals, are trodden down, and disregarded. But all this even, is not the full extent of the evil. By such examples, by instances of the perpetrators of such acts going unpunished, the lawless in spirit, are encouraged to become lawless in practice; and having been used to no restraint, but dread of punishment, they thus become, absolutely unrestrained. Having ever regarded Government as their deadliest bane, they make a jubilee of the suspension of its operations, and pray for nothing so much, as its total annihilation.
After the tragedy in Ferguson, Missouri, President Obama seemed as if he were seeking to undermine the Supreme Court, Congress, and even our justice system. His remarks condemning police officers who were proven to have acted justly and his quick association with supposed victims who, when the facts came forth, were proven to be in the wrong, play a significant part in the lawless spirit pervading our land today. The president may have been playing to the populace, but he was undermining the very constitution he was entrusted to protect. Politicians toeing this line will win friends among the mobs but alienate an even greater number of honest citizens, as Lincoln noted:
Good men, men who love tranquility, who desire to abide by the laws, and enjoy their benefits, who would gladly spill their blood in the defense of their country; seeing their property destroyed; their families insulted, and their lives endangered; their persons injured; and seeing nothing in prospect that forebodes a change for the better; become tired of, and disgusted with, a Government that offers them no protection; and are not much averse to a change in which they imagine they have nothing to lose. Thus, then, by the operation of this mobocractic spirit, which all must admit, is now abroad in the land, the strongest bulwark of any Government, and particularly of those constituted like ours, may effectually be broken down and destroyed.
Lincoln took on, as we must, the enemy within. By our own disregard of the Word, wisdom, and counsel of God, we have allowed the enemy of life and freedom to set in motion a tsunami of moral and economic collapse destroying personal responsibility and true freedom. Good people – godly people – must stand up and speak the truth. Pure passion can be misguided and dangerous. We need, as Lincoln pointed out, “general intelligence, sound morality, and in particular, a reverence for the constitution and the laws.”
This practice of playing to the mobs must end. That means voters must repudiate any politician, regardless of party, who demonstrates this tendency. Instead, we must learn to come together in peace, calm, and unwavering strength to face the enemy for all who long for and love freedom, or we will watch it vanish from this once great nation and the entire world.
Our nation was founded on biblical principles. To these we must hold. These truths are our only hope, for as Lincoln concluded, “Upon these let the proud fabric of freedom rest, as the rock of its basis; and as truly as has been said of the only greater institution, ‘the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.’”
Taken from James Robison’s 2016 book “The Stream: Refreshing Hearts & Minds Renewing Freedom’s Blessings.” All of Lincoln’s quotes come from his Lyceum Address Jan 27, 1938. Available at www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm. See Lynching of Francis McIntosh Wikipedia for more details.
Today I am compelled to share Ferree’s writing’s with you. Now 48 years into our marriage, Loretta and I realize that although we’ve been richly blessed, we have no guarantees for tomorrow but are increasingly aware we’re being drawn into worship. We were planned for God’s pleasure and our doing that is worship. Anthropologists have noted that worship is a universal urge , hard-wired into the very fiber of our being – an inbuilt need to connect with God. Worship is far more than music, and not merely a synonym for music. Actually, every part of a church service and far beyond may be acts of worship!
Having just finished her book, I am reminded of Evelyn Husband’s telling in “High Calling” of the Columbia shuttle disaster of 2003, how at her husband Rick’s memorial service while watching video clips of her late husband both sing and speak at his own memorial service, that “in the middle of my immeasurable grief, something happened: I worshipped. I got lost in God’s holiness and provision. I was swept away by his faithfulness and presence. In the depths of my agonizing heartache, God was there comforting and holding me.” King Jesus wants to do the same with us in our daily living, not just during tragedies
PDL author Rick Warren is spot on stating worship is not part of your life, it is your life. Col. 3:23 Message Paraphrase says “Take your everyday life, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work-life, and walking around life—and place it before God as an offering.”
Real worship is all about falling in love with Jesus, wanting to know him, to please him anyway possible, and again, continually, regardless, and best of all, in the absence of fear. I’ve heard it said the safest place you can ever be in this world is in the center of God’s will. Sometimes since covid, because of all the posted no fear signs, it seems that the Christian’s identity with John 3:16 has possibly been replaced by I John 4:18 “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out all fear; because fear hath torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love.” Actually both verses are so spot-on!
Perhaps we do not usually associate fear and worship typically with widows, but my personal experience with such loss and healing proves otherwise. Therefore, relax and relish Ferree’s experiential wisdom of grieving sent out 1/27/22 via email to subscribers of Plain Values.
Click on the link below to view the email to get better acquainted with Ferree.
In the event, you are not yet familiar with this first class monthly publication, Plain Values out of Winesburg OH, consider this your opportunity to add value to your living room’s coffee table and far, far beyond by opening the link below. Blessings today as you go forth disseminating Christ’s truth, hope, and justice in this yet, desperately dark world.>>>>> merlin
This was originally written and presented frequently by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, I think sometime during the 1990’s. A copy was attached on my lab incubator door since then and I am deeply appreciative of the wisdom it has provided me. This afternoon after listening to Carole Ward again in SS this morning, (see prior post) I felt compelled to tackle Nancy’s original document and perform some major editorial license slicing & dicing to prayerfully and hopefully enhance the effectiveness of her original message to us today.
And especially so, during this uniquely historical moment both politically and spiritually, no matter where we each find ourselves on this continuum of being proud vs. broken. I envision this document’s underlying message as an absolute necessary precursor for many of us to literally inhale in preparation for the numerous spiritual battle engagements Carole so aptly identified for the North American church throughout her 50:31 min. clip sent out in yesterday’s blog. I thank God that such frail faithful humans though remarkably Spirit empowered broken clay vessels, such as Nancy and Carole are speaking truth in such great darkness today. May we too, be so empowered by His light. And sooner than later.
PROUD PEOPLE (PP)focus on the failures of others. BROKEN PEOPLE (BP) are overwhelmed with the sense of their own spiritual need.
PP have a critical, fault-finding spirit; they look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but conveniently ignore their own blemishes… BP are compassionate; they can forgive much because they know how much they’ve been forgiven.
PP are self-righteous, look down on others. BP esteem others better than themselves.
PP are independent & self sufficient. BP possess a dependent spirit seeking to join God’s work wherever needed.
PP maintain control at all costs; must be their way or else. BP surrender control aiding & assisting wherever God is at work.
PP have to prove they are right! BP are willing to yield the right to be right.
PP claim rights. BP yield their rights.
PP exude a demanding selfish attitude. BP are internally compelled by a giving sacrificial demeanor.
PP are self-protective of time, rights, and reputation. BP deny self so as to always elevate Christ.
PP desire to be served. BP are motivated to serve others.
PP desire to be a success. BP desire to help others become the best possible version of themselves.
PP desire to be recognized & appreciated. BP possess a healthy sense of their unworthiness and are thrilled to be used at all, always eager for others to get the credit.
PP on a good day, may think briefly what they could do for God. BP know they have nothing to offer God but their love and appreciation.
PP feel confident in how much they know. BP are humbled by how much they have yet to learn.
PP are always calculating their next selfish move. BP are not driven by selfish personal agendas.
PP keep people at arm’s length. BP risk being close to others by loving selflessly.
PP are quick to blame others and the ripples engulf us. BP accept responsibility; they can see their errors and are empowered to self-correct.
PP are unapproachable. BP are “easy to be entreated.”
PP are defensive when criticized. BP receive criticism with a humble open heart.
PP are concerned with being “socially respectable.” BP are only concerned with being a trusted ambassador for Christ.
PP are too often concerned with what others think. BP understand all that matters is what God knows and obedience to Him.
PP find it difficult to reveal or share their spiritual needs or desires with others. BP are quick to admit failure and seek forgiveness.
PP when confessing sin, deal only in generalities. BP can deal with the needed and relevant specifics of the sin.
PP are remorseful for sin when caught or discovered. BP are repentant for their sins and forsake them.
PP compare themselves with others and relish in the deserving of honor and recognition. BP only compare themselves to the holiness of God and their desperate need for His mercy and grace.
PP are blind to their true heart condition. BP celebrate walking in the Light of Scripture & Holy Spirit.
PP don’t think they have anything to repent of. BP possess a continual heart attitude of repentance.
PP are proud unbroken persons who don’t think they need revival but they are sure everyone else does. BP are humble broken persons who continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God and a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit.
Blessings as you GO FORTH LISTENING, DISCERNING, & PREPARING>>>>>mle
Carole Ward lives a life many would not believe is real. She dares to follow God and change nations one life at a time. Here is the story of one woman’s commitment to her God and to the love for His people.
Her journey and her story began by stepping out in faith when she prayed with a sincere heart, “send me where no one wants to go.” Although she was told repeatedly by US authorities and other organizations she would come back in a body bag, Carole through her faith in the power of God has been transforming lives in Northern Uganda and South Sudan for the Kingdom for the last fourteen years.
The Lord has since used her ministry to rescue countless children from the clutches of the rebel leader Joseph Kony, who had trained 30,000 of them to be used as soldiers, sent out on killing rampages against their own people. After being healed physically, spiritually and emotionally by the Lord, many of these, now grown, have become active members of Carole’s large ministry staff. She has been training godly men and women of Uganda and South Sudan to carry on as missionaries to their own people instead of relying on outsiders.
Carole was trained and led by the Holy Spirit to raise up national leaders instead of procuring more American missionaries. This is why Carole believes empowering the nation to heal itself is being done by portable Bible Schools, training centers and the establishment of hundreds of churches in even the remotest areas. Large revival meetings help spread the gospel across the regions, followed by dramatic miracles and healing everywhere.
Merlin now speaking, I first began listening to this 50 minute clip on the January 12, 2022, just prior to leaving for Shaker Square to celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary. We were planning to finish listening while driving up but in our haste we left our phone so it’s conclusion was postponed until we returned home…. and I have heard it at least 5 more times since. I spoke to Carole’s office in Bradenton FL yesterday seeking documents and just ordered a used copy of her book co-authored with Barbara H Martin titled appropriately “Send Me Where No One Else Wants to Go.”
This 50 min clip, (that you may need to rewind or back-up to start at the beginning) certainly changed my perspective of doing LIFE here forward in the time yet allotted me. Carole literally strips off many of our prejudicial quirky beliefs and convictions that we’ve accumulated to-date from our “experiences” offered as strategies proliferating even more published “cemetery” information (I credit Pastor Dr. Howard Hendricks) and their subsequent wide spectrum applications, with unfortunately, little if any, actual worthy NT Acts of transformation.
On Tuesday, I picked up my monthly allotment of books at Christian Aid Ministries in Berlin and just began Friday night reading one of my favorite authors, Gary Miller’s new book “Reaching America.” He does have a way with words making the point “On Sunday we talk as though we want seekers, but many times when they appear, we find their presence inconvenient.” Gary admittedly says the following three categories are too simplistic, but he very uniquely divides today’s seekers that may show up in church into three basic types: “Manny Ishues,” “Seekun Ttooth,” and “Indy Cided.” Sorry, these are sufficient fodder for their own blog so I suggest you get your own copy to capture his reflective definitions and perspectives.
I rather anticipate Carole’s perspective on this 50 min clip ( she has more… her 26 or 28 min clip is pregnant with teaching) will effect far more transformational spiritual changes than anything I’ve ever offered prior. As some are inclined to say, myself included, “I guess we’ll see” or more generic, “truth always prevails.”
Just consider the “Baptism in Love” possibilities though, to effect REAL change, not just here in Wayne-Holmes or KMC or even the Americas, but across the whole planet! Even gives this Tonga underground volcano tsunami greater perspective! Pay attention.
