Pastor Eric spoke on Jesus building His church on the rubble and rocks of the gates of Hades. 

This was a unique moment in the training of the disciples of Jesus when He took them to Caesarea Philippi where the pagans had a “gate to the underworld” where they worshiped the god Pan. 

The temple of Pan, at the base of a sheer stone cliff, was located right in front of a huge cave called "The gates of hades", next to it was the temple of Zeus; this was a location of wicked idolatry, dark and dirty bestiality and sexual immorality, as well as a temple area soaked with blood from innumerable human sacrifices. 

This was the backdrop where Jesus proclaimed He would build His church, "upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hades shall not prevail against it."

  One can't help but wonder if the rock that all these pagan temples were built on was not what Jesus meant by declaring, "on this rock" meaning in the places of the greatest sin, deception and evil, He will build His church using broken men and women to do it?

 It grieves me that there are so many posts about controversial doctrinal issues. And what makes it worse is they are often presented as though the person sees themselves as an authority.

It reminds me of a quote by William Law, "You very well know, that I have an utter aversion to waste my time and thoughts in matters of Theological debate, as in any contentions merely of a worldly nature, knowing that most doctrinal debates are generally as much, if not more hurtful to the heart of man than the latter."

Of course William Law was known for reserving all his energy for expressing "The Spirit of Love" in a lost and hurting world. The fields are ripe and ready for harvest and yet we seem content to debate Theological issues that often bring division and strife when we live in a world that desperately needs Christians filled with love and action. Countless numbers suffer from homelessness and poverty, addiction and grievous evil, and yet we content ourselves arguing doctrine like a zealous Pharisee. And usually only one side of each doctrine is presented; how can that be? If Christ reigns in the heart, we will walk as He did, and not entangle ourselves in 2,000-year-old debates that bear little, if any, fruit. Gaining a theological education from Christian online sites flies in the face of all the great scholars that answered these questions a thousand years ago.

 

  

  Sometimes even Angles are not enough and God sends His animals to fill the gap when we need someone that loves and asks nothing in return. Even Jesus in the wilderness was accompanied, not only by Angels, but also animals to comfort Him.  

 

Goals for my children

 "To be raised in a family with a committed marriage, with planning, purpose, love and welcome. 

Where the pregnancy is in an environment of rest, safety and attentiveness. 

Where the children are born in the house of parents and among a family postured to surround, support and serve. 

Born in the country, with its sounds, smells and sights. 

Children fed from mother's milk, and fruits and vegetables from the families garden and fields. 

Hand made toys, playing among the diversity of nature's multi-layered world of wonder. 

Teaching them to form their own thoughts through timeless truths and traditions passed on through a web of multi-generational relationships that teach them not only what to think, but more importantly, how to think? 

Teaching children to be confident to explore, wonder-driven, peering into natural mysteries, excited about the world, strong in faith, values and direction. 

May we give the best for our children and be led by a grand vision for our families and homes and create spaces of love, truth and tradition that honors the past, is helpful in the present and prepares our children for whatever the future has in store. 

Be purposeful, be peacefully driven and delightfully determined to carve out the best life you can that is the most beautiful, good and true for those you love. 

God has called us to walk in trust, faith and courage and to instill His values in our children." Pastor Eric. 

Abortion

   One of the sisters shared this moving piece; she walks the walk, and speaks what I think is the closest thing to the mind of Christ about unwanted pregnancies I've ever read. 

  "With all the posts on abortion & pro-life, someone asked me my thoughts....I have been pro-life since the age of 10 when I watched a film on the abortion industry. I spent 20+ yrs working in a pro-life pregnancy center counseling with women. Here are my thoughts..... I was that 17 yr old who found herself pregnant & terrified, not knowing what to do. I prayed for forgiveness & guidance. The decision was taken from me when at 3 1/2 months my body rejected the pregnancy & I sat on my bed holding my perfectly formed baby asking God "why?"... I have counseled a young mother of 2 trying figure out how she will support yet another mouth to feed.... I have been on the other end of the phone when a woman is screaming "Oh God! Oh God! what have I done" when she had taken the abortion pill & was told that she would just have a heavy period, only to see the product of her abortion in the toilet....I have been in the delivery room with a young mother all alone & deserted by her family because she chose life & seen the tears of pure joy as her baby is placed on her chest for the first time...I have spoken with a young woman intent on having an abortion & have her walk out , only to feel extreme happiness when years later she introduces me to her son...I have sat with a 60 yr old woman who with the birth of her grandchild begins to grieve the baby she aborted in college...I have stood in the hospital with two precious young women as they hand me their child with tears in their eyes and a breaking heart & tell me "you are my child's Mother"...I know the pain of never holding my first grandchild... I have gone to the hospital & brought home a small 3 lb baby, the nurses telling me she wont live,  watching her body twist & convulse as she is going through drug withdrawals. Having people say"why didn't they just let her die, it would have been merciful!" to seeing her play basketball &  be on the Homecoming court! 

I have taken a beautiful baby into my home and cared for him 24/7 only to bury him months later, everyone saying it would have been better if his mother had aborted him! His life as well as all lives have meaning & a purpose. He taught me and my children compassion & unconditional love. I Hear people saying "there"s a special place in Hell for these women who choose abortion". Oh, how I pray not!!! No matter how a woman talks about abortion or praises the fact that she has a choice, when she is alone and quiet, she grieves....Yes, I hate all abortion, but I cannot hate the women who have made this choice. I cannot judge them, My Father forgives them.... I pray that God will bless them & give them peace in their hearts with the knowledge that even though they made a decision to end a pregnancy, they are forgiven & their children are in Heaven with our beloved Father! If you must hate & protest..Change the laws that allow this, vote out the people who support it!   Scream at the top of your lungs "This is wrong & we will no longer accept it"! And then, STEP UP!  Help a struggling family  with many mouths to feed, Give a young mother a hug & thank her for choosing life, Adopt, offer to help co-parent with a single mom ,JUST REACH OUT!!!! But don't hate the women who suffer, show them love & compassion, keep them covered  in prayer!"

 Helen Keller wrote the following letter to the New York Symphony Orchestra in March 1924.  Here's how she describes listening to Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony" over the radio:

“Dear Friends:

 I have the joy of being able to tell you that, though deaf and blind, I spent a glorious hour last night listening over the radio to Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony.” I do not mean to say that I “heard” the music in the sense that other people heard it; and I do not know whether I can make you understand how it was possible for me to derive pleasure from the symphony. It was a great surprise to myself. I had been reading in my magazine for the blind of the happiness that the radio was bringing to the sightless everywhere. I was delighted to know that the blind had gained a new source of enjoyment; but I did not dream that I could have any part in their joy. Last night, when the family was listening to your wonderful rendering of the immortal symphony someone suggested that I put my hand on the receiver and see if I could get any of the vibrations. He unscrewed the cap, and I lightly touched the sensitive diaphragm. What was my amazement to discover that I could feel, not only the vibration, but also the impassioned rhythm, the throb and the urge of the music! The intertwined and intermingling vibrations from different instruments enchanted me. I could actually distinguish the cornets, the roll of the drums, deep-toned violas and violins singing in exquisite unison. How the lovely speech of the violins flowed and plowed over the deepest tones of the other instruments!  When the human voices leaped up thrilling from the surge of harmony, I recognized them instantly as voices more ecstatic, upcurving swift and flame-like, until my heart almost stood still. The women’s voices seemed an embodiment of all the angelic voices rushing in a harmonious flood of beautiful and inspiring sound. The great chorus throbbed against my fingers with poignant pause and flow. Then all the instruments and voices together burst forth – an ocean of heavenly vibration – and died away like winds when the atom is spent, ending in a delicate shower of sweet notes.

 Of course this was not “hearing,” but I do know that the tones and harmonies conveyed to me moods of great beauty and majesty. I also sense, or thought I did, the tender sounds of nature that sing into my hand-swaying reeds and winds and the murmur of streams. I have never been so enraptured before by a multitude of tone-vibrations.

 As I listened, with darkness and melody, shadow and sound filling all the room, I could not help remembering that the great composer who poured forth such a flood of sweetness into the world was deaf like myself. I marveled at the power of his quenchless spirit by which out of his pain he wrought such joy for others – and there I sat, feeling with my hand the magnificent symphony which broke like a sea upon the silent shores of his soul and mine.” The Auricle, Vol. II, No. 6, March 1924. Copyright of the American Foundation for the Blind, Helen Keller Archives www.afb.org

  "Listen to me young lady sitting next to me on the bus; listen to me fellow co-workers on the job; listen to me strangers that I meet during the daily business of living; listen to me friends, when I talk with you there will be no crooked or perverted ambitions, no innuendos or secret agendas. When I speak it will be of noble things, I will speak the truth and it will be straightforward and you can trust it will be right." Proverbs 8:6-9   

 

I join some sites that are non-Christian or a mix of beliefs to try and add a Christian influence. I definitely notice a growing interest in Polyamorous relationships. I saw these two memes this week. As a Christian I don't think for a minute that adding another to your marriage will do anything but cause great harm, unlike the suggestion in the one meme. Now I can rage at the darkness and voice disgust and repulsion, but when it comes down to it, the question is, what am I doing to stem the tide of evil? The photo of the hand with a black ring on it is a subtle way of letting others they are open to "swinging." That was new for me. I had to Google it when I heard about it. If Light was ever needed, it's needed now!

  "He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap." Ecc. 11:4

  I chat with many today that have a passive defeatism because the winds in our culture are blowing strongly towards evil, and the clouds of sin seem darker with each morn. I hear them lament, "It's the sign of the times! The End is near and the times are perilous! No one has ears to hear anymore!"

 But Solomon exhorts us to keep sowing in tears and love! He rebukes that passive spirit with these words -- 

  "Sow your seed in the morning, and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good." Ecc. 11:6

 

  "Through indolence the rafters sag, and through slackness the house leaks." Ecc. 10:18

  I read that verse this morning and was so convicted. I remember a time, when entering the church, I went early to get a full pew so there would be enough room for the people I invited and had been mentoring. One would hope every church would slowly outgrow the building, or sister churches would spin off because the members were missionally minded. 

 

  When I saw this picture it brought a number of things to mind. I think my first thought was how young love is so all consuming the whole world could be on fire and you wouldn't even notice. It reminds me of what an 18 year old said about her first infatuation --

"This guy. This romance. These feelings..... Oh my word! They can be good, sad at times, overwhelming, challenging, time consuming, miserable, can make one insecure, make me feel older than I am at times, make me feel stupid, happy, exciting, exhilarating, peaceful, paining, questioning and sooooooooo much more! This is my first ever real relationship and it at times can be so much and other times feeling so aaaaaaaaaaaaah - small." 

 

  "In everything I did I showed you that by hard work we must help the weak...." Acts 20:35

 When I read this today what first struck me was the word "MUST." I'm not sure, but I can't think of that many times when we are told we MUST do something. So I looked up the two key words, "Help" and "Weak", so I had a perfectly clear understanding. 

"Help" - Aid, protect, relieve, interest oneself in.

"Weak" - Sick, distressed by want, oppression, calamity; weak in faith and opinion; those whose minds are easily disturbed.

 Just like Christ and Paul, we are to be personally involved with those in need; by this, they are relieved and we grow our sympathies and love. What a wonderful design within the kingdom of God! 

 "You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:34-35