Looking back...

January 26, 2006
I'm free to be myself again.  My God, My Deliverer...

Days of Noah

Genesis 6:5-8

 ⁵ The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. ⁶ The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. ⁷ So the LORD said, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

Genesis 6:11-12

 ¹¹ Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. ¹² God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways.

Genesis 8:21-22

²¹ The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though^[a] every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
 ²² “As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.”

eschatology

es·cha·tol·o·gy  noun Theology .

1. any system of doctrines concerning last, or final, matters, as death, the Judgment, the future state, etc.

2. the branch of theology dealing with such matters.

 

Be ready for the end is near!!!  What else can I say?  Read the headlines.  The world around us has gone crazy. 

 

As in the days of Noah, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be. 

 

I was thinking yesterday about the Sonny and Cher show.  Cher's teeth were very crooked back in the late 60's.  She was so skinny and had that long, black shiny hair.  Sonny was a beatnik.  "I got you, babe."  Chastity's birth was headline news.    Many an hour was spent in the basement at my Mom's house with my face inches from the screen of our black and white TV with its rabbit ear antenna. 

 

Times certainly have changed since I was 8.  Today Chastity is now Chaz and bears no resemblance to the pretty little girl in ribbons and bows.  Remember Pat on SNL?  I don't feel sorry for Chaz but I do feel a great compassion.  Chaz is a major example of the Days of Noah in which we now live. 

You should be ashamed of yourself!!!

Believe me, I am.  Guilt and shame stand guard around me. 

a·shamed adjective

1. feeling shame; distressed or embarrassed by feelings of guilt, foolishness, or disgrace: He felt ashamed for having spoken so cruelly.

2. unwilling or restrained because of fear of shame, ridicule, or disapproval: They were ashamed to show their work.

 

Romans 6:21

²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!

 

 

3 weeks later...

You can say what you think, but you live what you believe.  Can I live what I believe?  Can I practice what I preach?  Do I?

I'm so tired of the never-ending chore of cleaning things.

Ten years have passed since I went crazy.  I kinda miss being a little crazy.  Rarely do I let my guard down anymore.  Feelings hurt so I try not to have any.  Any kind of excess of emotion makes me extremely uncomfortable.  I don't feel safe enough to allow myself to venture forth from this fortress.  Besides, I've spent my life learning to keep my mouth shut and not write anything down.  Unless directly asked, I seldom share my opinion.  Often I have no opinion at all.  Sometimes I'm simply dumbfounded by the things that I have observed and been a witness to. 

A decade ago, I was scared to death and running on fear, frightened by what I had opened myself up to.  I wasn't up to the task set before me although I had earnestly prayed for it.  I had my own vision of how I thought things would be.  Reality never lives up to fantasy.

I really must go scrub in the bathroom for a while.

reason

1. Isaiah 1:18
   “Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
   Isaiah 1:17-19 (in Context) Isaiah 1 (Whole Chapter)

rea·son

noun

1.   a basis or cause, as for some belief, action, fact, event, etc.: the reason for declaring war.

2.   a statement presented in justification or explanation of a belief or action.

3.   the mental powers concerned with forming conclusions, judgments, or inferences.

4.   sound judgment; good sense.

5.   normal or sound powers of mind; sanity.