Time to Change Seasons

 

Wow! We are heading into fall!

As I have repeatedly said, I LOVE FALL! 

Still...

I am not quite ready for the transition from summer to fall yet. I want to hold onto the long summer nights where I am outside tending to my flowers, walking the dogs, hanging with friends, or the days last a little bit longer. 

Already the sun is dropping earlier, and the night is getting darker. Despite the love of fall, winter will soon be looming on the horizon.

On the bright side the fall flowers are starting to bloom. Fun fall activities are starting and on the calendar. 

Simple things.

If only the SIMPLE things could take precedence in my mind, but right now my thoughts aren't so simple. 

Fall does turn into long cold winter nights. 

Other transitions have been happening in my life (as I'm sure you may have experienced in your own life) that are not as simple as a beautiful flower blooming, or fun activities on the calendar, or the days getting shorter. 

Changes happen. Such as relationship changes happen. Relationships can go from bringing beauty into a life, to pain, and then dying. Relationships can heal from a dying position, sometimes, if the effort is there. 

I have had a startling relationship change these last few weeks. One I don't really want to process. 

I discovered people I care about, having conversations, about whether or not a  person who was assassinated, should be given their sympathy, or not. Due to them liking or not liking what he has to say.

Even now in writing this blog, the shock of that conversation stops me. I don't want to grasp that people I love would not value another's life, all because they do not like what the person is saying. 

What?! 

My heart had broke knowing he got assassinated, but my heart shattered in the discovery, those I hold dear would be in such a dark space to have a conversation like that, especially about a man speaking truths of our Lord Jesus. 

I have watched some of the short clips passed around and then checked the context of a couple of the clips only to discover if they stopped and listened, the clips were pulled out of context to fit the rhetoric. 

This shouldn't be surprising; there had to be a reason why the saying, "Don't shoot the messenger" is a popular saying. 

But they did. 

As many, many people have stated; this is a very heart wrenching situation.

It truly shows the power of WORDS. 

And I am not surprised at the power of WORDS. 

For in John 1:1 The Bible says, "In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with God, and the Word was God, HE was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (CAPS mine)

 If you were to read further in the passage, you will discover Jesus is the WORD. 

This last week has shown me how much darkness surrounds people I love and care about. It shows me a lot of pain. 

It also shows me that God's word holds so very true...

What the enemy meant to harm, God made for good. Genesis 50:20.

And as you can see the increase of worship and the increase of people going back to church and praying - just as Paul wrote in the book of Philippians 1:12 -

"But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel...."

And in Romans, it tells us;

That in ALL things God will work it out for good. Romans 8:28.

ALL - even the pain and horror of watching someone get shot in broad daylight while he is talking. Even then!

Amazing that we are seeing people talking about and praising the LORD. The very person of Jesus that this man spoke about! 

The VP of the United States spoke the gospel on a stadium before thousands upon thousands of people. 

God's word doesn't come back void. 

It reminds me of what I read in ACTS.  The disciples were speaking and there were certain people in the crowd that didn't like what they said. So, they would beat the messenger, and for Stephen, they took him out and stoned him to death.

And GUESS what? Two fabulous things happened connected to Stephen being stoned to death -1 Stephen saw Jesus standing. Jesus was right there waiting to bring Him into his heavenly kingdom. 

And 2 - the guy who went to kill people with the message of Jesus and had Stephens coat at his feet - that guy wrote a huge portion of the NEW Testament! That guy was Paul. 

Jesus stopped him on the road to Damascus. When He stopped Paul, he didn't take his breath away and cause him to die. He didn't beat him. He didn't yell at him. He stopped him. He blinded him from doing what he was doing. 

And then he sent a believer to pray for him. And when that guy prayed, Paul could see. And Paul became a believer, a part of the family. 

THAT IS JESUS! 

JESUS forgives. Jesus died FOR US! JESUS loves us! 

A messenger might have taken his last breath here on earth, but I know he is walking with Jesus and the other messengers of God. 

I cannot tell you how much I hope you hear that Jesus truly loves you. That is a message God has sent through many, many people. I hope you hear him. 

All the pain, all the confusion of who a person is, all the arguments about rights, and not having rights, all of the horrors, all of it, can bring a person into a place of despair. It is the darkness of the world. 

We all have to walk through it, but we won't all end up in the same place at the end. 

Wrestling with God about sin, about anger, about this and that, doesn't solve your problems. 

Coming to Him and letting Him love, comfort, and wash away YOUR own personal stuff does. 

When you are walking through this sinful world, He covers you. He comforts you. He gives you direction to make right choices. AND for those who are so confused about who they are inside, He lets you know how precious YOU are to Him and how he created you to be a very unique person that He loves. 

Why?

Cause He is God. He is your creator. He loves you. 

The enemy of God wants you to believe He doesn't. That God caused all of this stuff.

Come to Him and bring your weary, or angry, or abused, or lost, or confused, or whatever angst, and know that HE is GOD and HE loves YOU!!!!!