ONLY GOD CAN MAKE NOTHING

I heard a cute joke the other day. A scientist was arguing with God that he, too, could create a man such as God did. God took the challenge. The scientist reached down and scooped up some dirt. Then God said, "Oh no. Get your own dirt."

Remember Lucifer when he thought he was smarter than God? Down he went. And along went a bunch of his buddies, too. Now all around us, he lurks. Oh, he thinks he is cunning and clever. And yes, he is able to twist our words, and misinterpret our sentences to others in the world so we are all caught in a gnat's frenzy. But, he's not got much of a future. Not one I want anyway.

And remember those folks trying to build a tower to heaven? God whops them on the head and causes them to lose their ability to communicate with each other. Scatters them like I use to do ants building ant-hills around their holes because a storm was brewing in the air. (Now how do you suppose ants know it's gonna rain? Even weathermen can't figure that out.)

I tune into the news and listen to those folks discuss how to solve this problem and that. I see them pointing fingers and slinging mud. I watch them dig for dirt where there is stains leftover from spring-cleaning a closet in 1962. And they think they have a market on ideas. On what this politician or that politician ought to do. They even--in this country of separation of church and state--try to tell Christians how they ought to behave. Like a heathen should advise a child of God of anything. My mind floats in bubbles bred from swamp water. It's too much to comprehend.

Why do people suppose they are smarter than God? With all the debates and dialog regarding God's Sovereignty and ability to save whomever, whenever and however, some bloggers are actually suggesting God is powerless. I actually read that question on a site recently. Paraphrased they asked, 'if so and so believes that, and so and so believes this, then doesn't that make God powerless?' That must have been a rhethorical question, don't ya think? The kind the preacher asks in the pulpit, but to which he really doesn't expect a response?

Surely NO ONE thinks God is powerless to do ANYTHING, do they? I mean, other than atheists who don't even acknowledge there is a God, yet keep arguing about Something (matter, theory, or idea) that doesn't exist. If something (Christian's God) is non-existent, then that something is nothing. And if nothing consists of nothing, then why do Atheist's fear ignorant people who call themselves Christians praying to Nothing--which in my belief is truly Something. The Almighty Something that created all there is from Nothing. Now that is Something, don't ya think? [copyrighted 2006 SelahV]

DO YOU ALWAYS SAY WHAT YOU MEAN?

I try to. I want to be understood. But then again, I don't always understand me, so how can I expect others to?

Sometimes I find myself speaking or writing in all kinds of colors. Shading white with grey when I want it to be black. It wasn't till I started blogging that I found out that red was the color that seemed to attract people. (OR inflame according to folks that analyze colors.) With bloggers, red is the color of a fish that leads readers away from the actual intent of another's point. Me? Well, for the most part I try to write in black and white. But ever so often, I write in grey because I get to fretting I'll offend someone's sensibilities. Or to write it like I see it...will have them hating not my words but me. (that blasted inferiority complex I battle)

It's like every word one says or writes anymore is up for a constitutional debate on political correctness. I want to play in the game, like my friend, Dani Lee, but I really don't like the way folks play the game. The rules keep changing. In the middle of the game. Mid-sentence, so to speak.

I don't know why a person can say one thing and mean it exactly the way they say it. Then, for some reason, the folks that hear it or read it, get a totally different meaning from the speaker's intentions. But it happens...every day. In press conferences and recliners. In kitchens and bedrooms. In Congress and Senate. In the White House and the outhouse. In Red states and Blue states. In Bagdad and Jerusalem. In Pulpits and Pews. In books and in blog sites.

But one thing is certain. It's as clear, to me, as an Oklahoma sky on a cloudless day. The Bible means one thing. The Speaker makes clear His intentions. And if anyone gets confused or thinking black isn't black or white isn't white, then they are absolutely on the wrong Website. God understands exactly who He is and that is what truly matters.

DIRTY DISHES AND OTHER NASTY THINGS

So I'm washing last nite's dishes and this thought comes to me. Why don't you wash these things right after ya'll eat? My dear fastidious mother-in-law's voice echoes in my ear. Gotta love that impeccable lady! She never put off doing (til the evening news was over) one blessed thing--including the pan that shoulda been soaked overnite instead of scrubbing her fingers to the bone and using up all her elbow grease).

Not my mother-in-law. I love her. She produced the finest man this earth could possibly offer since the year 2000 a.d.

Don't have a clue how she did it. Can't pass on any advice on childrearing. I truly blew it when it comes to that. God have mercy on my children, (well, child now). :.--..(.

Back to the dishes. That overnite scum is harder to remove when it is left longer than the evening news before it's cleaned off. Before I could even begin to load rinsed dishes in my dishwasher, I had to get the potato peelings out of my (food-disposal-less) sink. Nasty. What began as a perfectly good potato, is peeled away and left discarded in a sink with no disposal unit. (other than my hands or my husband's)

And why should he sully his calloused worked-all-day fingers, anyway? He didn't leave them peelings in the sink. And he didn't even ask for the clam chowder without red-herring in it. If he'd had a choice in the matter, (which he always submits to me in kitchen matters) he woulda had beef stew. He loves beef stew. Meat is chewier...more manly...kinda like a manwich if you will).

Anyway, I got ta chasing rabbits down holes again. Sorry. (not really). But, backto the dishes.

I feel led by God to clean up them dishes. Even though I have no problem letting my husband help me, should he want to. But, personally speaking...he's got better things to do. He's working on some pretty important projects right now. His hands are needed to build some homes for some incoming soldiers. So while he would help, if I asked him to, it is totally unnecessary. I am perfectly capable of grabbing them nasty water-soaked peelings and getting them out to the compost heap where they belong.

It may take a few months for them peelings to decay and morphe into the richness of soil God intended them to be in the first place. But that's okay, I'm patient. And so are the productive earthworms that feed on that stuff come Spring. Me and them worms are gonna fix this Oklahoma hardened red-clay.

My garden is gonna produce so much more fruit than this past year. Next year it will surpass any crop anyone in my circle of friends have ever seen. It's gonna be a bumper crop.

There will be no drought. There will be no fear of hailstorms. There will be no satanic grubworms to eat away at those tender sprouts that come forth from the sower's seeds.

There will be Sunshine aplenty. And the Dew will cover my garden's earth at nite. And the baskets will overflow in an Abundance. And God will get the glory. GOD.

Emanuel. God with us, not against us. The LORD, our refuge and strength. Where the cleft of His hand hideth my soul and forsakes me not. GOD. The Lily that need not worry or toil. The Alfa and Omega who always has the last Word--no matter how many we say or print.

GOD. The everlasting everflowing Fountain where none shall ever thirst again. And the Lamb will nibble at the fruit He produced as a result of branches abiding in the Vine.

And when the Almighty Hand of God fuses His Spirit within his true Bride, there will be a wedding day like my granddaughter and her groom's list of invited guests have never seen. (check out SelahVtoday.blogspot.com--The Bridegroom Cometh) And the potato peelings will be regenerated. The dishes will be washed clean. And the scum, dregs, hay and stubble will join their place in a sewer made long before I ever moved to this house.

As to me...I could care less about who attacks me...or my friends. Cause Christ is gonna beat them keyboard-tapping swords made of human fingers into plowshares, spades and shovels. And He will be the deciding vote on any dysfunctional blog, or opinion that dares place itself in the eternal pages of God's history book.

Finally. The dishes are done. Now I can feed my face some oatmeal (for fiber, mind you), swig down some cheap no-name-brand coffee and read some Psalms to refresh my heart and soul. And that is all that matters anyway.

BLUEFISH, TINMAN AND OTHER DIVERSIONS


It’s really getting hard to talk these days. Or write. Whichever the case may be.

Every time I turn around and get to following somebody’s point. Somebody says they are talking about scarecrows, bluefish or some other thing. I think to myself, is it me? I thought that writer was talking about a black hole and low and behold, it ain’t a black hole, it’s a red herring. Now I have enough trouble staying on point and not chasing rabbits (that means going down another trail from which you were on before getting back on the trail of where you were in the first place.) Uh….where was I?

Oh, yeah, diversions and rabbits. Staying on point without having to worry about every hole I go crawling into being turned into Alice and Wonderland’s opportunity of a Tea Party set for five. (Was that author really doing LSD when he wrote that?)

And I dare say that most "pastors" (note I say most, not all) haven’t got time to be bantering about strawmen when they are talking about tinmen, cause they need to be out fishing for those bluefish, not baiting folks with fake worms trying to catch eastcoast crabs with red herrings.

(Did you know that catfish feed on the scum from the bottom of the river in the Potomac? I grew up alongside of that river and it is a folktale that George Washington threw a silver dollar across that river. My brothers tried to do that once and they got to fighting over that tale and mama set them straight with a pumpknot on their heads. {case ya’ll don’t know what a pumpknot is, it is a knuckle planted squarely on top of the tender part of your head with a quick pump action like on a rifle that The Rifleman used (I’m telling my age now) and it raises up a huge knot on your noggin. [which is simply your scalp]). Where was I? Oh yeah.

Anyway, I have some really good pastor friends (more than one) who just wanta dialog about theology cause we pewgals are so bloody ignorant that they can’t possibly dialog with us. And they wanta do it in a civilized [without bickering, name-calling and turning their noses up at folks] fashion. [manner, way]

They wanna do it [dialog] without word-twisting, [turning everyone's words around to mean something they don't mean] in good humor, without judgement,[thinking they are better than somebody else] mudslinging, name-calling and fear of someone dumping every word they ever wrote into a huge cauldron and serving it up as their character, viewpoint and integrity.

Ever looked at one of them pictures that when ya look at it, you see two different pictures, depending on whether you focus most on the black print or the white surface? Sometimes ya see a young woman in a fancy feather hat, sometimes ya see an old hag? (kinda sounds like me before I get dressed on Sunday morning, now that I think about it)

Anyway, in case ya haven’t gotten the point of this blog, I’ll give you my point. Bluefish are better than red herrings. And tinmen have bigger hearts than strawmen. And strawmen, though filled with "scholarly" OZ-induced mentality, are still simply scarecrows with big black birds perched on their shoulders cawing and crowing the same old songs while leaving white trails of stuff all over that poor straw-stuffed man’s patched Tennessee jeans.

And just in case you stop by to read my lowly little post, let me conclude with this. I’m just a diversion. Like the title of my blog says. I’m writing this in honor of all the tinmen, bluefish and diversified folks who need a bit of humor or stupidity for a moment. I don’t know about you, but I’ve laughed my head off. Cause, for the life of me I have no idea what I just said. And I guess that’s all that matters with a diversion, anyway.

WHAT MATTERS IS NOT WORDS, BUT INTENT.

Ever had to eat your words? It’s kinda like squeezing out too much toothpaste. What do ya do with it after it’s out?

Mama use to say, “if ya can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” Enduring wisdom in that old adage. Growing up I often ignored mama’s instructions. I wanted to tell people off who I knew intentionally meant to hurt me. But mama would smile and say, “you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Forty years ago that sounded simple; today I give pause to it.

I mean, I don’t much like flies. I rather abhor the pesky little things. Just think what they breed! Given that fact, I learned not to take all words literally. I learned to understand the intent of mama’s words.

I think whatever we say brings its own reward. Kind words breed kind reactions and often, positive responses. Soft answers turn away wrath. A word fitly spoken at the proper time uplifts, encourages and inspires. It doesn’t take a lot of words to accomplish this. Please. Thank you. Great job. Hello. Excuse me. I’m sorry. Will you forgive me? I love you.

Definitely a bunch of power in words, doncha think? You’ve probably said those things at times. Maybe some have been said to you. How’d you feel? I think I feel just as good, if not better, when I use those words than when I hear those words.

Mama also said, “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Now, I think that’s plain wrong. I know people filling up counselors’ offices, filing divorce papers, dividing churches, and killing people over words.
Words can be damaging. They can echo in the minds of people till they die. Once spoken (or written), they can impact, edify or destroy.

WHAT MATTERS is that we choose our words wisely. And perhaps instead of being so quick to spit them out, we oughta try swallowing a few.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH should matter!

In America we have this little thing our founding fathers thought important that government protect for its citizens. The Bill of Rights. One such right is the freedom of speech. Far from its original intent, I think, our citizens have enjoyed marching down Main Streets USA to promote all kinds of causes, viewpoints and agendas. The ACLU defends such groups as Nazis to flaunt their hatred for Jews in Skokie, Illinois and Gay Pride in suburban Florida.

Unlike in Iraq before the fall of Saddam, and North Korea, Americans don’t lose their heads nor are imprisoned for defaming their President or throwing pies at Ann Coulter. It seems few rules exist. Anything goes.

HOWEVER,…For Christians (followers of Jesus, believers in God’s Holy Word), the “freedom of speech” comes with a few rules.

1) “ …let every man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry. For a man’s anger does not promote the righteousness God [wishes and requires].” James 1:19-20 AV--Amplified version.
2) “So speak and so act [as people should] who are to be judged under the law of liberty.” James 2:12 AV.
3) “Out of the same mouth come forth blessing and curse. These things, my brethren, ought not to be so.” James 3:10 AV

A multitude of scripture speaks to the taming of the tongue, actions and attitudes which are revealed from words one speaks. Unfortunately the passage that brings the greatest discouragement to me is in James 3:8-9. “…the human tongue can be tamed by no man. It is (undisciplined, irreconcilable) restless evil, full of death-bringing poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men who were made in God’s likeness!”

SO WHERE IS THE HOPE?
HOW CAN WE PERFECT THAT WHICH IS IMPERFECT?

We can’t. Only God can. Only Christ can fix the unfixable. Only Jesus can bring forth fruit from branches all but withered by neglecting to abide in the Vine. It’s our responsibility to “renew our minds”, “put on the full armor of God” and “be kind one to another”.

Oh, Jesus, only begotten Son of the Living Creator God, bring forth the fruit of Your Spirit from the tongues, fingers, minds and hearts of man. You, Jesus, who overcame tortuous death to attone for man’s sin and rose again to go and prepare our undeserved mansions, please bring your rushing wind into the hearts of all your followers. Call forth, oh Sovereign, your Bride to bathe herself in your Word and examine Herself in light of Your Words. Be glorified, dear Jesus.
For that is what matters eternally, isn't it? (copyrighted 10,19, 2006)

DO YOU KNOW WHO WROTE THIS? "Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."
I do. Many years ago I read this, wrote it on an index card and posted it on my refrigerator. Later on I even made a beautiful embroidery of the words in gold metallic threads with tiny little pearls accenting the word God.
Experiences and people have come and gone since then. I've found a profound truth lies hidden in that quote. So much of who I am today is a result of God-given experiences and folks encountered through the waters, fires, valleys and mountains. I've written and published many of those experiences. And oddly, or not, the greatest blessings have come forth from the times I've been broken by circumstance or been told the cold hard truth about myself.
By the way, the embroidery? I gave it to a mentor of mine. His wife says it still hangs in their bedroom. I learned alot from him. He had no vested interest in me. I was nobody really. But he took time to advise and encourage.
I wonder. Do you have someone who's made a life-changing impact upon your life? What's their significance to you now? Please email me your thoughts on this question in under 300 words. email at SelahVexchange@aol.com. I'd love to hear from you. For today, that's what matters to me. selahV

Is it me? Or do you see the Christian being rejected in the world? Not just their faith--but them? Not just their opinions--but them personally? Not just their doctrines--but the size of their brains. The media slams Baptists for not speaking out against one church that pickets funerals. On blogsites (especially Christian ones I've been reading) I see a bunch of finger-pointing, stone-throwing, irritated tones. The results? Offended spirits. Wounded pride. Defensive rebuttals.

Glory to God? The cyberworld is alive and well..."seeking whom he may devour...,". Christians don't have to worry about the world's rejection. We are doing it to ourselves. Where are the psalms and holy kisses of greeting? Where is the dwelling on that which is good?

The billboard reads: "DON'T MAKE ME COME DOWN THERE," God. Pardon my ignorance, but didn't He already do that?
Blessed are those who are persecuted for my name's sake," the Savior said. Historically, persecution of the church increased its size and ultimately its influence. But a "house divided against itself cannot stand." Can we apply the "Bride" herself here? I don't know, you theological scholars let me know.

We have no control over what others think or feel about us. We can only control what we think about ourselves and how we react to them.

We may consider reasons for another's rejection of our personality, opinions, beliefs or purpose--but to dwell on those reasons serves no purpose. By no means does one individual's dislike or opinion of us determine our self-worth or value. To give more than a few moments introspective analysis to the why of rejection is malignant thinking. It will eat away at one's self esteem like a cancer. When we wade into that stream of thought we soon squirm in imaginary quicksand of another's shallow words or insensitive actions. We literally give control of ourselves to another. We must decide whether we will rise above the onslaughts of criticisms, cold shoulders, snubbed noses and closed doors.

Our significance is in existence. God created us. US. We are His ambassadors.

We must lay hold of that fact and walk on. Reject rejection--give it no license to thought. In doing so, its power is weakened and its stranglehold severed. Never wallow in the residue of negativity; its stench will cling and follow wherever you go. Selfpity will invade your pores and breed hopelessness. Like a parasite, it will suck the lifeblood of progress.

WHAT MATTERS is that we accept rejection for what it is worth and treat it as it would treat us--without a second thought.[copyrighted]