I Corinthians 4:5

"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God."

This verse stirred much imagination in me this morning. It is so easy to keep pushing back those feelings of bitterness and being motivated by less than love. BUT someday we will stand before God with every motive revealed. Then will our works be judged.

I want to be right before God. How to do that? I think we must constantly be dying to ourselves and checking our motives and actions against what God wants. If God says not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought and yet we treat others with a difference, then I think we need to bring that to God and ask His forgiveness.

I had a religious TV channel on the other day and there was a black preacher speaking about how his son, when he was young, wanted to be a basketball star. He was very excited to show his dad that he could slam dunk. The only problem was that he had gotten the janitor to lower the goal to six feet. The preacher commented that many christians are the same. They bring God's standard down to theirs and then it seems that they can "slam dunk" the christian life, but when we stand before Him, it will be HIS standard and not ours that we are judged by.

Jackson Verdict

I am stunned to think that this man has gotten away with it one more time. I truly do not understand why people can allow a person to go free simply because of status. I will guarantee that if one of my sons had been tried with the evidence that Michael Jackson was tried with, they would have been thrown UNDER the jail!

I am not an unforgiving person. I try hard to see the good in everyone, many times to my own detriment but, really now, there is so much evidence to the fact that this man is not the kind of person you would want around your children. He holds himself up to be a protector of children and yet he plys them with alcohol and feeds their minds with pornography.

You may differ with me in this situation but I believe that as prevalent as the pornography was at Neverland, there would have been no possible way a child could have been there without being exposed. To me that is detrimental to them.

My views concerning pornography are strong! I believe that exposure to it scars the emotional well-being of the person viewing it. It puts women AND men in a light that is degrading. It produces a view of the act of sex and the opposite gender as a very selfish and meaningless thing. I do not believe that our Creator intended it to be so.

I remember when I was a child(back in the 50's), that children were protected from understanding anything about their sexuality until they were reaching the age when they needed to understand it. I think that was essential to their well-being. It allowed them to be children. It kept them from carrying a burden of the thoughts of curiosity and deeper thinking that would be necessary to understand that act. It allowed them to be pure in their thoughts.

I honestly believe that it has been the pressure on children to try to make sense of the sexual part of their beings, in a world of lust and self-satisfaction, coupled with alcohol and drugs that has produced this generation of sexual deviants. On every hand we are bombarded with sensual movies, advertisements, TV sitcoms and the work place that is filled with inuendo and a desire for power. What do we expect?

We live in a day when a man can molest children and get by with it because he is famous. We have more compassion on animals than we do for our children. This man is a predator! Why didn't someone care about the children that will be exposed to his influence in the future!

Before I quit this let me add, I do feel a crushing sense of hurt for his family. But, I might add that I am sure that long ago they knew that all was not well with Michael. I'm sure it hasn't been easy to have that feeling of anguish, knowing that your child may be guilty of harming others but to let it continue is nothing short of selfishness!

Accountability

I just watched the guilty verdict being read to the two America West pilots. My heart was broken for the hurt they must feel and the hurt they have caused their families.

I just thought how important it is for we, as parents, to teach our children what is sin and make them accountable for their actions. I am afraid that I was not so good at consistent discipline.

I always wanted to believe the best about my children and even though I knew better, tried to justify their actions. I never thought I would have been that way but after being childless for 12 years it was hard to keep from feeling that these children were very special.

If I could go back, I think I would identify the weaknesses in my children, make sure that I made an issue of the sin, showing them when they were in the wrong, administering punishment suitable to the crime and assuring them of forgiveness and love. In so doing, I think it would have made a big difference in their learning to overcome their weaknesses.

I am afraid that when a parent looks the other way, which is something I did a lot for the youngest, you allow that child to get by with wrongdoing and he does not realize the consequences. The truth is that we never get by with anything. " ...whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."

I wish I had been more discerning and not quite so emotional with my love. It is easy to fall into the habit of doing everything for the child and wanting them to "love" you. That is really very selfish.

I erroneously thought that "love" would automatically bring "respect". That is not necessarily so. Respect MUST be taught. We all deal with a sin nature that fights against giving control to anyone else. Recognizing this would have helped me in parenting.

Graven In His Hands

I suppose, initially, I should explain the title "Graven In His hands". This phrase is taken from a new song I am learning that really touches my heart. It is named "Before The Throne Of God Above", written by Charitie Lees Bancroft. This song has so much doctrine in it and I love the use of the phrase that I chose as my title. Here is the chorus that contains this phrase:

"My name is graven on His hands,
my name is written on His heart;
I know that while in heav'n He stands,
no tongue can bid me thence depart."

Right away you will see that I made a mistake. I thought the words were "in" His hands because it speaks of the scars in Jesus hands after His crucifixion. So please allow me that mistake. Those scars are IN His hands, never to be removed. It is through these scars that my redemption was purchased.

Here are the rest of the words:

Before the throne of God above,
I have a strong and perfect plea,
A great High Priest whose name is "Love",
Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart,
I know that while in heav'n He stands,
No tongue can bid me thence depart,
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God, the Just is satisfied,
To look on Him and pardon me.
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there, the Risen Lamb,
My perfect, spotless Righteousness,
The great unchangeable "I Am",
The King of glory and of grace.

One with Himself I cannot die,
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

What a beautiful song with such depth of meaning. My hope and my peace comes from the doctrine taught in this song, taken directly from scripture.

My salvation and my heavenly destination is sealed by the acceptance of that precious gift of God! I can only stand before God righteous, as He sees me through His Son.

This is the foundation of who I am and all that truly matters to me.