Sheila's Dribs 'n Drabs

Law is the pit in the ground where we lie. Love rises up from the grave. Law is the mirror that proves we must die. Love takes our place and love saves. Law gathered stones all together for throwing. Love drew a line in the sand. “Let one who has no sin take up the first stone.” Law stepped away and love sang. Law hung my God on a cross on a hill. Love paid the price for my sin. Love rose from the dead and love weeps for me still. Love’s gonna change me. Love wins. Hallelujah!

 It we make right laws and force all to obey, will we save our nation, Or will we learn like Pharisees we’ve spurned that great salvation? Cry crucify and find the one we’ve crucified   was Him For we have crucified our Lord.

 I was there when they crucified my Lord. I was there; it was for my sins he died. I was there when they nailed him to the tree. All the times I’d blamed my neighbor—those the nails. I was there when they laid him in the tomb. Let me lay down there my pride; Let me kneel at my neighbor’s side; Let me no more stand in judgment For I judged Him and he died For you, for me. Let us no more stand in judgment You and I.

 I’ll take a stand on Him, for sure, then at his feet I’ll kneel And learn to wash my neighbors’ feet, until his love I feel Flow unobstructed through me, only then might I deserve To stand with him and serve with him and join him in his work. Till then I’ll bow my head and kneel beside my neighbors’ feet — I’ll kneel before my king.

 He rode no valiant warhorse. He bore no mighty sword. His glorious crown was made of thorns. His robes trailed in the mud.   He led no revolution His politics were love He offered absolution, mercy, Hope; for these he stood,   The stones would shout to praise him If people didn’t cry. Then palms be thrown. No golden road For donkey and its rider.   So, will we shout Hosanna Or turns our backs instead — Facing the crowd, shout “Not allowed,” Though for our sins he bled?   They cannot see our savior Who rides the donkey’s back — See only us who block the path With laws, with crowns of thorns.   They cannot see him. How can we Not weep?

I was concerned enough by a recent posting about Christian "witness" outside an abortion clinic, that I found myself asking, in the comments, whether such actions by Christians draw people closer to Christ or push them away. A pastor responded by asking me: "Well what would Jesus do? Would He speak up for children being murdered by adults for money?" Which led me to wonder, inasmuch as anyone can, what would Jesus do? I suspect he would first show the women how much he loved them. Else how would anyone expect them to believe he loved what they carried in their wombs? Wouldn't Jesus first show us, sinners all, that he loves us? We're told "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Those witnesses weep, with genuine love and care, for the unborn who will never live in our world. But I weep, in my heart, for the born who may learn to stay as far away ...

  A Christian asked what it  would take for me to give up my belief in evolution and accept the Biblical Truth that the earth was created 6000 years ago. Should I argue their definition of Biblical Truth? Should I offer the evidence from science refuting their 6000 year conclusion? Should I get into an argument with them? Or should I simply tell them the truth about me... To "give up" my acceptance of science and the scientific method, I would first have to give up my belief in a faithful creator, at which point I would no longer care about the Bible. Not going to happen.

 So God created humankind, Male and female, said to them, “Be fruitful; multiply,”   “Care for the fish and birds,” he said, But can we swim, and can we fly? “Care for the animals as well,” Care for the land, the sea, the sky. Now we, failing at human-kind, How did we let things die?   But God will not reject us for Our failure and our brokenness. God created humankind And loves us while we cry.   And so God gave two arms and legs, One voice to speak, two ears to hear, For seeing, gave two eyes. But if I cannot speak or hear Or if I cannot see, still I Am part of humankind.   God gave us gifts of milk and wheat And wine. But some of us can’t eat Or drink these. Ask him why.   God made us so to multiply But some can not and some won’t try They too are humankind.   God made us male and female; some Don’t fit the mold, aren’t quite the same But all are humankind.   God made, and lo...

I went to a meeting with friends from church. They were so pleased to have heard someone say "thank God" on television, so thrilled that "they can't censor that." I refrained from asking what made them think anyone was out to censor it. And I refrained from looking too deeply into why their words made me feel so uncomfortable. After all, wouldn't I also thank God if I were spared from the ravages of a tornado? I went to another meeting with friends who aren't from church. They were so upset to have heard someone say "thank God" on television. What should others say, they asked, who had lost loved ones? Should they blame God? Or maybe "thank God" means "I'm good enough to get my prayer answered, and the rest of you aren't good enough." How cruel, how evil, to pile that accusation on top of pain. They said, "No offense intended, Sheila," and I took no offense. Their comments opened my eyes to why I'd felt...

  I believe black lives matter. No, that doesn't make me a baby-killer or anti-family (really?) as somebody claimed on Facebook. I believe LGBTQ lives matter. And I'm not an atheist as someone else insisted. I believe the Bible matters . That means I read it and pray it; I don't use it to beat up my neighbors or prop up my photograph. I believe immigrants matter . That doesn’t make me un-American. The judge who welcomed me to citizenship told me immigrants matter. I believe refugees matter. And I'm not a lawbreaker. I believe the homeless matter, and the hungry, and those evicted because they’re sick or they’ve lost their jobs and can’t pay the rent. I believe the physical health of the community and all its members matters, regardless of wealth and good fortune. I believe wearing masks can save lives.  I'm not drinking the kool-aid; I'm respecting the scientists who've spent their lives learning about epidemics. I believe the earth matter...

The best-selling Christian author knows God called her to write. He confirmed the call when her books became best-sellers. The up-and-coming Christian author trusts God called her to write. He confirms the call with each increasing success. The faith-filled Christian author believes God called her to write. She knows that if she acts on that gift of faith she'll receive even more than she's dreamed. And me? I think God called me to write, because He made me this way. He gives me words that I love to put on the page. But does He give me dreams, or are they mistakes?

I used to read my Bible and listen to God while feeding the baby. I asked, "Why do you give me so much when I haven't got the time to pass anything on?" "Perhaps My words are a gift just for you." The kids grew older. I read my Bible and wrote down the words I received. "Why do you give me so many words when nobody's going to read them?" "Perhaps they're a gift for one reader, and that's enough." Then the kids grew up. I found a publisher. "Why do you give me  books when they won't sell?" And God won't tell. But perhaps that just means I should have listened closer to Him before.

I depend on my spouse for my home; He depends on me to keep the hearth aglow. I depend on my kids for youth; they on me for growth. I depend on my government to keep it all afloat and more and most I depend on God. Maybe independence is the freedom to know True dependence is rights and responsibilities both. Find another Five-Minute Bible Story spotlighted at the Virtual EBook Fair again this weekend http://sheiladeethstudies.blogspot.com/2013/07/sampling-story-of-freedom-from-five.html https://www.facebook.com/events/211998585618730/  

The miles fly by and I Will surely make good time I sigh Contentment and my fingers mime Their music keeping time with my Anticipatory attendance I Will not be late. The miles fly by and fate Decrees this time will be okay for me Nobody sees nobody times How fast those miles fly by. But he is never far from me No miles can separate and he Has every mile foreseen. The miles fly by.

If seven were the sacred plan And seven sevens were the plan revealed and that Plus one were Jubilee Then walk with me Then walk this path with me. For seven seals were opened on the scroll Seven trumpets blown And seven histories recalled the past. Seven bowls of incense burned before the altar Teachings taught And wars we’d fought turned into victories bought To glory given To heaven All in sevens Seven and seven. Then seven sevens pass plus one The path From Easter to the Paraclete From Passover to Pentecost This fifty days to glorious Jubilee Then walk with me.

Are you ready for Easter? Not just passion and cross But a world of suffering and loss A world where forty nights of rain Couldn’t wash away the pain And forty years of walking on desert sand couldn’t make us understand. A world where a boy at the end of forty days Slung a stone at a man. And Ninevites didn’t end up dead after all. Are you ready to walk with a man In the desert where angels tread. Are you ready to fly? Are you ready to listen while he tells you why Are you ready to pray. But they’re putting a crown on his head And the law has condemned And his blood will be shed Are you ready to see him arise Are you ready this time?

This March we’ll march beside him To the cross and to the grave. This March he’ll march beside us And he’ll save. Then every gain is loss If set beside him And every Ides is tossed Among the brave. “Et tu Brute” said Caesar And to Peter And to me My savior dies beside me Yet again.

When rain was falling in torrents I prayed to you. When you gave me too much sunshine I prayed to you. When you froze me out with snow I prayed to you. When you warmed me with the melting frost I prayed. Facing strangers from a distant province I prayed to you Facing neighbors who called themselves friends of mine I prayed Knowing not where I should go I prayed to you. And choosing to go where I wasn’t led I prayed. When sense dissolved into nonsense I prayed to you. When dreams dissolved into nightmares still I prayed. When daytime came too slow I prayed to you And when it left again too fast I prayed. When tears are falling in torrents I’ll pray to you My comfort and sublimest hope I’ll pray. Wherever I turn or go I’ll pray to you From here until the last my Lord I’ll pray.