Imagine for a moment…

We’re standing on the precipice of our lives and looking out over the landscape of our past and present pain.  Over to the left is our hidden shame (we can still feel its presence) and peeking out to our right is our fear.  Right in the middle is our pain – bold and confident in our defeat.  Sprinkling the entire terrain are our tears (our regrets for what might have been yet failed to become).  Dark clouds that make up our doubts cover everything and block out all light, all hope.  And everywhere we look, darkness threatening to consume us and yet there is so much to see. The story of our lives is played out below us over and over and we wish we could just change the scene that is before us.  How did we get to this point? If there were only some source to light to dispel the shadows and the darkness but there is none.

But there is a rumbling in the heavens as if the very clouds are being shaken and dissolved.  And there it is in the distance – a single solitary shaft of light pierces the clouds and the causes the darkness to flee.  And as that beam of light increases in size and intensity, the darkness is consumed and the clouds make way for the light.  And then the miraculous happens – the shame, the pain, the fears and the tears – all gone!  By a single touch of the Master’s hand.

All we need is a touch from God.  No matter where we are in life or what we’re going through or what we have gone through, the frustration we feel or the desperation we live out, all we need is a touch from Him.  No matter whether you’ve stumbled and fallen, whether you’ve fallen short of your potential, no matter how great your sin has been that you think God could never forgive you, ALL YOU NEED is a touch from Him. Like that single ray of light from Heaven that can brighten our lives and turn our lives around, all from a touch of the Master’s hand.  Reach out to Him and He will reach out to you.  All you’ll ever need is Him.  Have faith!

There was someone in the Bible that just needed a touch from the Master.  You can read their story here:

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her.  She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.” Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” - Luke 8:43-49 (NIV)

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Ernest M.

There is a song that sums up this devotional. It is: “All I Need” – Brian Courtney Wilson

(link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_SKO_pCn1A)

Don’t you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, and swindlers–none of these will have a share in the Kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 NLT)

But Paul continues in the very next verse

some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away… (1 Corinthians 6:11 NLT)

God loves people. God is Love… He hates the fact that we sin, but anybody who thinks that they are sinless has some self-examination to do. He loved you before you believed, why not homosexuals?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying you can continue to practice such things with impunity. God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7). But he will help the homosexuals overcome their sins just the same as He will any other sinner.

Case closed.

By the way, there is help if you are looking to be free from homosexuality.

http://www.exodusinternational.org/

God is Love (1 John 4:8)

Some people tend to believe that their sins will be overlooked because “They’re not that bad”; “There are a lot worse people than me”; Or, “I’m basically a good person”; “Hey, I never killed anybody”; or “I didn’t hurt anybody but myself”…

Imagine this scenario: You have been arrested for a relatively minor offense – say shoplifting. The judge gives you jail time. As you are handcuffed and hauled away to jail, would any of those arguments work? You would not even dream of it, would you?

Sin breaks God’s Heart

Now, imagine the saddest situation you can think of. How about a mother clutching her dying baby to her chest with no way to help. Remember, God is Love – not that he has Love – Love is His very nature. God has been watching things like this happen for thousands of years. If we, being mere humans are grief stricken, imagine how a scene like that breaks His poor old heart.

God’s Wrath

How can God feel anger if He is love? Imagine another scenario. You are walking down the street and you see a poor old lady being robbed… Would it not make you furious? You are furious because even though you may not know the lady, you have a certain measure of love in your heart. God’s wrath is clearly justified.

Victimless crimes (or “I never hurt anybody but myself”)

All sin has consequences. How about alcohol and drug abuse? According to the book, Alcoholics Anonymous, the alcoholic is like a tornado roaring through the lives of others. Even people who drink alone affect people other than themselves: Their employer, family and so on… Pornography, for another example. Looking at porn has consequences for you, and the person who posed for it. And whether or not you believe it him, it twists your mind and opens the door for Satan. Here is an excerpt of a study on pornography’s effect on the mind.

Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny, pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction, according to clinicians and researchers testifying before a Senate committee Thursday.

Witnesses before the Senate Commerce Committee’s Science, Technology and Space Subcommittee spared no superlative in their description of the negative effects of pornography.
Mary Anne Layden, co-director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Cognitive Therapy, called porn the “most concerning thing to psychological health that I know of existing today.”…

Pornography addicts have a more difficult time recovering from their addiction than cocaine addicts, since coke users can get the drug out of their system, but pornographic images stay in the brain forever, Layden said…

http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2004/11/65772

What about Grace?

God’s grace is not a license to sin. God wants to help release you from sin through grace. If you have given your life over to God, your whole perception on sin will change over time. I used to enjoy and actively pursue sinful pleasures. And at some point, if you are honest with yourself, you will find that you did, too. Or if you have not been baptized, you still do. But if you turn your life over to God, his Holy Spirit will “quicken” your spirit to life. Your whole perception will change. Now you will regret your sins and try to get rid of them. You may never completely get rid of them, but you will want to. You are not suddenly better than anybody else, and with cooperation from God, you will not become hypocritical and look down upon people who are still lost in sin – you will feel sorry for them and try to help.

Don’t you know that someday we Christians are going to judge the world?… Don’t you realize that we Christians will judge angels?… (1 Corinthians 6:2a,3a NLT)

On Judgement day, which side of the bench do you want to be on?

Did you ever notice that Easter varies so much as to what time of year it is celebrated? Easter is actually determined by Good Friday – not the other way around as you might suppose. Easter is the first Sunday after the first Friday after the first full moon after the Spring (Vernal) equinox. Good Friday came within one day of being as early as is possible in the year 2008 because the full moon and the spring equinox fell on the 21st. This will not happen again until 2106. The earliest possible Easter is March 22. The next occurrence of the earliest possible Easter will be March 22, 2285. The last time it fell on the 22nd was in the year 1818. The latest possible Easter is May 10. Easter has not fallen on the 9th or the 10th ever in history. The first time in history that it will fall on the 9th will be the year 2173. We will not see a May 10th Easter until the year 2268. The dates listed above may be verified at timeanddate.com

A lot happened on Good Friday. It is also known as Holy Friday and several other names.

On the original Good Friday, Jesus was convicted of blasphemy in front of a kangaroo court. He admitted to being God Incarnate (God in a human body so to speak) and that was the last straw! They did not throw Jesus in an insane asylum like they might, today — the religious leaders demanded his death! Jewish leaders did not have the authority to execute people under Roman Law so they took Him to Pontius Pilate. Pilate wanted to release Jesus badly — especially since Pilate’s wife had had a disturbing dream about Jesus. But the Jewish people would not hear of it. Instead of letting Jesus off the hook, they let a rebel named Barabbas walk.

Pilate had Jesus scourged. This is the most heinous thing you can imagine. The whip was tipped with bone and iron shards so it cut through both skin and muscle. Many people did not survive a scourge. This did not satisfy the people. They want Jesus dead.

On the third day (early Sunday morning — Approx. 36 hours after He died — if the Good Friday model is correct. Jesus was actually dead only one full day: Saturday. He died Friday evening and was raised sometime before sunup on Sunday morning.) some people went to Jesus’ grave but he was gone. He had been resurrected! And He still lives! This is now known as Easter.

Jesus was taken up to heaven approximately 40 days after He was resurrected, and now rules at God the Father’s right hand.

The angels that attended Jesus’ ascension told us that Jesus will be coming back in the same way He was taken to Heaven.

And He’s coming back soon!

Maranatha!

Yesterday, I was reminded of something that I’d noticed a few months ago. There was a wasp in my car trying to fly through the glass. I rolled down a window so he could fly out, but the only way he could see was through the window that would not roll down. I even tried to coax him over to the open window but he became even more determined to fly through the glass.

Also, yesterday, our dog had her cable jammed under the tire of a car. Had she pulled left instead of right she would have been free. But she pulled so hard in the wrong direction that it became terribly jammed under the tire. And she was immobilized.

God told me that we are the same way. We see only one way to a solution, but that solution will never work. And when it fails we try even harder… accomplishing nothing at best — or at worst, getting ourselves really jammed up.

But if we let go, and do what God leads us to do, no matter how ridiculous it may appear to us, we can fly right out of that glass prison.

It was that way with me and the 12-steps. There is no way the human mind can go from reading the 12-steps off the wall to understanding how doing these things can make it possible to stay sober. But once you do the steps, it just works. As simply as flying out the open window.

Stop beating yourself against the glass and let God guide you out.

• Frank Marshall Davis
• Saul Alinsky
• Gregory Galluzo
• He received the endorsement of the Chicago branch of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) http://www.dsausa.org/dl/Summer_2008.pdf also, the Socialist International, and the Workers International League, and the Communist Party of the USA.

His voting record during his brief tenure in the senate was left of even the late Ted Kennedy!

Obama is not stupid. He knows full well that our economy cannot handle another burden. He should also just be able to look around him and see that the government cannot even handle the job they have taken on in the past such as Social Security and Medicare. How can anyone dream that they will handle an exponentially larger task?

Face it, he has no intentions of helping anybody. He wants government to control every aspect of our lives. An economic collapse is the best way for a dictator to take power. Remember how Adolph Hitler gained power? This is just the first step. Ronald Reagan saw this in the 1960s. You can hear his speech on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRdLpem-AAs 

But the “Public Option” has been removed from the bill!

Government control is written in.

But we want to help people who can’t afford health care.

Since passing tort reform in 2004, Mississippi has seen the number of medical malpractice claims plummet by 91 percent from its peak. The state’s largest medical liability insurer dropped its premiums by 42 percent, and has offered an additional 20 percent rebate each year since tort reform went into effect.

Bob Parks http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/14958

This one act of tort reform by itself would make health care a non-issue… If it were even about health care in the first place.

In the end times, there is prophesied that a one-world government and one-world economy will be in place. We see it happening before our very eyes. Make no mistake. If one part of this passes, our freedoms and the American way of life are history.

Unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of his recovery (Dr. William Silkworth, M.D. “The Doctor’s Opinion” – Alcoholics Anonymous page xxvii)

The Problem

Your mind can only handle so much negative emotion. At some point your mind snaps unless you do something about it. Some people pass the breaking point and have a nervous breakdown. Some abuse food sex, money, gambling, alcohol, drugs, etc. as a way to relieve their problems. Some become “workaholics”. To keep the reading smooth, I am using the words “alcoholic” or “addict”, but these principles apply to any problem that the 12-steps address such as Overeaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, SLAA, etc.
Though sometimes addictive activities may appear to relieve the suffering, they are always incomplete and temporary. The problems are still there. In fact, the abuse of their “crutch” usually adds to the problems instead of relieving them.
Inside the mind of every person are varying degrees of negative emotions. Fear, guilt, shame, remorse, anger, resentment, low self-esteem, and so on. In an alcoholic and drug addict’s mind these are usually aggravated more than in most people’s because alcohol reduces inhibitions and the drinking alcoholic will do things they would never do sober. Also, in order to fund their habit the addict/ alcoholic will do things they would not ordinarily do. Also lost jobs and productivity usually lead to financial despair if the addiction is left untreated.

Why can’t they “just” quit?

No room for any more bad stuff, crises, etc.

One problem with trying to “quit” without the aid of a 12-step program is that whether you are aware of it or not, the negative emotions are still there in the back of your mind — if not in the forefront — every waking moment (And sometimes in your sleep, too – especially in late stages). Life’s problems are like a water faucet that drips new problems and aggravations into the sufferer’s mind. There is already very little room in your brain for more bad things because of years of accumulation (remember your “crutch” has never relieved the problem, it just took your attention away from it temporarily — if you were lucky.) These new problems add to the already accumulated feelings of fear, guilt, self-pity, remorse, etc. until finally the breaking point is reached… and the addict reaches for the only solution they know of. Their “fix” – whatever it may be.

The Solution

The 12 steps help a person deal with the day-to-day stresses of life without your mind ever getting to the snapping point. (“Living life on life’s terms”) The addict/ alcoholic through the 12 steps, with the help of some activity (“working the steps”) the help of other people, and their higher power (usually God), the guilt fear, shame, anger, and remorse gradually begin to be replaced by serenity and positive emotions and thoughts such as love and real happiness — things the alcoholic has not found important for much too long.
As an added bonus, any new stresses that the faucet of life drips in do not immediately add to the remaining problems, they now “filter” through the renewed mind – and often are dissipated before ever being added to the current problems. The same event that use to be very stressful and emotional no longer seems like such a big deal.

Bad Emotions being replaced by Serenity

The guilt, fear, shame and remorse never go away completely. But as the good things keep coming in, there is no longer room for the bad things. They go away. Unlike when actively abusing the crutch, which only seems to temporarily distract the sufferer’s mind from the problem.

The 12 Steps Overview

In Steps 1-3 The sufferer realizes that they have a problem and that there is a solution, and choose to pursue the solution.
Steps 4-9 begin to remove the “bad” emotions by listing, discussing and analyzing their “defects of character” with the help of another person. By step 9, the alcoholic begins to make amends (restitution) to anyone whom they have harmed. These steps are very effective. Many people get the feeling that the drink problem has disappeared by step five. (Alcoholics Anonymous page 75)
By step 9, if they work thoroughly, the alcoholic has usually already started to get a whole new outlook on life. The guilt, shame, remorse, resentments, etc. are starting to vanish and be replaced with positive thinking — emotions and actions that most of us have never had to any significant degree. After step 9, some really amazing things begin to happen. Anyone who has not had an amazing experience of mind renewal (“Spiritual experience”) after step 5 will usually have it at step 9.
Steps 10-12 are the growing steps. They keep us on the right path day to day – these are essential to maintain sobriety. These last three must be worked continuously because left untreated, our minds will eventually slip back to the state they were in… and we may drink. And for many of us, to drink is to die. (Alcoholics Anonymous page 66)