Happy Reformation Day! :)

October 31, 1517 Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on Wittenburg's door. It marked the beginning of The Reformation. A much nicer greeting is available to us on this day than the world gives on this day.

Check out this link:

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/martin-luther-posts-95-theses

...and Happy Reformation Day!

A Little Bird Told Me....

Today as I approached the entrance to the hospital where I work, I noticed a tiny bird crouched near the doorway; on the ground. I thought that surely it would fly away as I approached, however it remained there, even letting me touch it's wings and stroke the top of it's tiny head, and touch it's tiny beak. She looked up at me as if to say, "Isn't it a lovely day? ...and  how are you today?" I thought perhaps it was injured or ill, and that someone might do something mean to it if I left it there, so I gently tried to scoop her up, and as I started to lift her off the ground she decided that our visit was over, and flew away.

 link

She looked quite a lot like this except she had some burnt-orange color on her breast.

This little encounter set the mood for my day, and my first patient, a tiny old woman who seemed so fragile and gentle and trusting, reminded me of my little bird friend. I treated her very gently, and then let her go on her way after we were done with her exam and might never see her again, just as I may never again see that tiny bird. Such tiny encounters that we can easily overlook for their humble insignificance, and yet, if we would stop, and look, and touch, and feel, and receive the blessing, it didn't cost us anything but a few moments of our time, and all the money in the world could not purchase the sweetness of those moments. How often do I overlook them? Everyday....several hundred times a day. Thank you Lord for helping me to see this one, this time.

Thinking it Over...and Over...and...

The last few weeks have been somewhat of a crisis period for me, in that I really had to stop, and think, and pray...

And the new perspective that I came out with is not really new, but it is more refined, having thrown out much of the superfluous junk that was bogging me down. What I mean is, even though I know that this world is full of horrible stuff, lying, conspiracies, evil people at the top, etc, etc, etc, it has always been that way from the beginning of this fallen creation, and it really doesn't do much good to keep dwelling on what is wrong with this world. I've known that all along, of course, and yet I still keep picking through the garbage. I still believe that it is good to be aware of my (our) surroundings, and to stay current with "the spirit of the age"...and yet, the greater focus always needs to be that Jesus has already overcome this world, and so have we if we are found in Christ.

If I do post on this (one of my two) blogs again (and I probably will, but maybe not as often as I was at it's inception) my goal is to have the main focus not be on the terrible things that we see all around us, but to stay on the finished work that we are in Christ, knowing that this world is passing away the evidence is too apparent to miss, and to report this fact with the happy news that this suffering will only last but a little while, and then the appearance of our true Savior will come and will shake the heavens and earth with the brightness of His appearing. We who are in Christ will rejoice, and those who reject Him will cry for the rocks to fall on them to hide them from His glory. The antichrist will first appear with his implantable 666 or what-have-you, and we who remain strong in the Lord won't fear death for rejecting his evil counterfeit plan to what God has done in marking His own with His seal on our foreheads and hands which only He sees. This seal secures us to be His through every trial and tribulation which won't touch our soul though it may kill our mortal flesh.

That has always been (since the Lord saved me) what I have known to be true, but my vision was a bit obscured by the wind and the waves which I allowed to take up too much of my perceptions. I pray that the Lord will keep our eyes wide open as we see all these things unfolding, and feel the strength of His hand upon us as we continue through this treacherous  world which is fraught with much evil and danger, knowing that He who is with us is greater than those who are against us.

True Conversion?

 While blog surfing a few days ago, I ran across a blogger who linked to the following article:

http://ipost.christianpost.com/news/former-victorias-secret-model-explains-why-she-suddenly-quit-industry-11306/

I couldn't tell you who that blogger was, and I've surfed quite a bit since that time, so trying to find that article back would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. That blogger voiced concerns about the validity of this woman's conversion, and I would have to admit that I agree with many of the things he (she?) mentioned as reasons to doubt this young woman. Be sure to watch the video clip. I think the interviewer asks some good questions, and the comments that she makes about being called a "fat cow" etc, are denied by those she said made the comments. I suppose it is possible the others are the ones that are less than truthful.

I'm not going to list why I don't believe her story, I just give the link so that you can judge it for yourself. If I am wrong about her, to God be the glory. If I am correct, I pray that the Lord does bring her to a point of true conversion in her life.

I will say, however, that the Bible warns about the love of mammon, and that people cannot love God and money, and that there will be many in the last days that will make merchandise of the gospel, but that we are to freely give what has been freely given to us.

I pray for our God-given discernment in these matters.