Making Friends
by Samuel Lee Frank on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 12:44pm.
Our relationships, both good and bad, are like a garden. Some things have to be tended to to be their best. Tended carefully and consistantly, they will flourish and produce fruit and seed into future generations. Ignored, and unattended, they will die or go to seed and their usefullness and beauty is lost, although the plant is still there. True frienships are GROWN, NURTURED, and VALUED. They take time.
All relationships are not good, and this is normal to the human experience. I have relationships with various types of weeds. They range from encroaching grass, to the noxious, rash-inducing variety. The typical treatment for them is to give them as much attention as the good plants by constantly pulling, digging, and spraying to get rid of them. Since weeds all start with seeds, the best treatment is to go to Home Depot and get a bottle of "pre-emergent" granules and blend it into the soil so that the seeds of weeds cannot sprout in the first place. They rot and die. Healthy plants are not affected.
Bad relationships are inevitable. How much influence they have over us is up to us. These can range from simply annoying, to toxic and abusive. Some bad relationships need to be severed completely. Some need to be destroyed at the roots, and others can be ignored and they will go to seed and die. Our good relationships, beginning with God, will act as a "pre-emergent" and keep these bad ones at bay or at a minimum.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Eggplants In Heaven!
Eggplant In Heaven
by Samuel Lee Frank on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 3:25pm.
I loved the squash. The tomatoes were excellent. The field peas were incredible! The eggplant however made me gag! Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, a potentially good relationship goes bad. We have to forgive and move on. Holding a grudge is like going out to the garden every day and smacking the eggplant plant with a stick, stomping it into the ground and calling into question it's maternal genetics! We are all just human. We will all spend eternity with God or without God. Would it delight you to know your worst enemy might spend an eternity in torment without God? So saints hold grudges against pastors. Ministers against congregations. Spouses against spouses. Victims against abusers. Children against parents and vice versa. Pride convinces us that our small, forgivable sins are nothing compared to what has been done to us by others and we worship God and thank Him for His gift while holding a grudge and unforgiveness! But, what IF those who sin against us end up forgiven and saved (hopefully along with you)!? WHAT??? Am I saying there WILL be eggplant in Heaven?!
.
by Samuel Lee Frank on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 3:25pm.
I loved the squash. The tomatoes were excellent. The field peas were incredible! The eggplant however made me gag! Sometimes, in spite of our best efforts, a potentially good relationship goes bad. We have to forgive and move on. Holding a grudge is like going out to the garden every day and smacking the eggplant plant with a stick, stomping it into the ground and calling into question it's maternal genetics! We are all just human. We will all spend eternity with God or without God. Would it delight you to know your worst enemy might spend an eternity in torment without God? So saints hold grudges against pastors. Ministers against congregations. Spouses against spouses. Victims against abusers. Children against parents and vice versa. Pride convinces us that our small, forgivable sins are nothing compared to what has been done to us by others and we worship God and thank Him for His gift while holding a grudge and unforgiveness! But, what IF those who sin against us end up forgiven and saved (hopefully along with you)!? WHAT??? Am I saying there WILL be eggplant in Heaven?!
.
We Are Never More Like God, Than When We Forgive
Can I Be Saved With Unforgiveness In My Life?
by Samuel Lee Frank on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 5:00pm.
Unforgiveness is a sin. It has pretty dire consequences (unless the Lord was just being dramatic in Matthew 6). It is an offense against God chiefly because it is born out of our PRIDE (i.e. "reserving the right to have the final say").Put another way, "like Satan, we intend to come out on top with our argument". Unforgiveness is the will saying "I would rather be right than free". Author Paula Sanford in her book, Healing Victims Of Sexual Abuse, quotes her son as saying it this way:
"He says that if a person has not known or chosen to put on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:13-17), he will wear some other kind of armor. Either we wear God's armor consciously, through prayer and relationship with Him, or we wear our own fleshly armor. It is not possible to wear no armor at all. Since nature abhors a vacuum, to the degree that trust in human authority and God's power and faithfulness have been shattered, a person who is hurt or threatened will build his own defense mechanisms, which are self-made armor. A demon may then be attracted and will mold itself in the shape of those defense mechanisms to "help" the person practice them. A person, for instance, has said, "I'll never forgive, so that I will never be vulnerable enough to be hurt again."
That determination becomes armor instead of the breastplate of righteousness"
Unforgiveness is also and attempt to justify ourselves, or "place ourselves in a position to not need forgiveness". This is the analogy of the parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matthew 18:23-35.
I don't know about you but I could never dip so much as a finger into the pool of God's forgiveness if I had unforgiveness in my heart. How could I walk free by God's mercy, while I imprison someone else with my lack of it?
I don't have to like eggplant. I do not have to tolerate weeds. I may not have a "good relationship" with someone, but I do have to let them go free while I cultivate the good ones. There are those that I chose not to have a relationship with in this world, but they are free and I can live in Heaven with them. ( Hold on... this gets HEAVY!)
.
by Samuel Lee Frank on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 5:00pm.
Unforgiveness is a sin. It has pretty dire consequences (unless the Lord was just being dramatic in Matthew 6). It is an offense against God chiefly because it is born out of our PRIDE (i.e. "reserving the right to have the final say").Put another way, "like Satan, we intend to come out on top with our argument". Unforgiveness is the will saying "I would rather be right than free". Author Paula Sanford in her book, Healing Victims Of Sexual Abuse, quotes her son as saying it this way:
"He says that if a person has not known or chosen to put on the full armor of God (Eph. 6:13-17), he will wear some other kind of armor. Either we wear God's armor consciously, through prayer and relationship with Him, or we wear our own fleshly armor. It is not possible to wear no armor at all. Since nature abhors a vacuum, to the degree that trust in human authority and God's power and faithfulness have been shattered, a person who is hurt or threatened will build his own defense mechanisms, which are self-made armor. A demon may then be attracted and will mold itself in the shape of those defense mechanisms to "help" the person practice them. A person, for instance, has said, "I'll never forgive, so that I will never be vulnerable enough to be hurt again."
That determination becomes armor instead of the breastplate of righteousness"
Unforgiveness is also and attempt to justify ourselves, or "place ourselves in a position to not need forgiveness". This is the analogy of the parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matthew 18:23-35.
I don't know about you but I could never dip so much as a finger into the pool of God's forgiveness if I had unforgiveness in my heart. How could I walk free by God's mercy, while I imprison someone else with my lack of it?
I don't have to like eggplant. I do not have to tolerate weeds. I may not have a "good relationship" with someone, but I do have to let them go free while I cultivate the good ones. There are those that I chose not to have a relationship with in this world, but they are free and I can live in Heaven with them. ( Hold on... this gets HEAVY!)
.
Real Friends
In Spite of How Many Friends You Claim On Your Face book Page!
by Samuel Lee Frank on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 6:06pm.
Bad human relationships as well as the good ones are equally based on the actions and interactions of our human perception and nature. In this they are limited at best. We can only be so much and do so much for each other. Proverbs 18:24 says that if we want friends we must be a friend. Also a true friend is closer that a member of your own family.
There are 3 patterns of a true friend.
1.A friend is present to me physically. He makes a great effort to stay in touch. Even long distance. Social networking and cell phones make that easy.
2.A friend is present to me emotionally. Proverbs 18:24 Your friends will love you at all times (unconditionally) It is a mistake, however to say or think that a friend will ACCEPT you as you are. One mark of a true friend is that, while he is present to my weakness and failures, he holds me to a higher standard. A friend knows the best I could be and INSISTS that I get there and ASSISTS me in doing so.
3. Our friends are present to us spiritually. They are aware that there will be an eternal relationship as well as an earthly one. They pray for me. They hold me before God when I cannot stand on my own.
This is a wonder in the Kingdom. Jesus said that in Heaven, earthly relationships would be dissolved and consumed into a greater and holier relationship with each other and God. "We will "be as the angels." Matt. 24:38 This is the only way I could live in eternity with a bad relationship from this world. There are those in this world that get on my very last nerve. There are even those I do not need to see at all in this life and I know for a fact that there are those who feel the same way about me. But I cannot think of ONE human soul that I wish to be in Hell!
I wondered about this mystery and I believe God showed me this in a "vision" or dream or something.
Bear with me in my folly....
.
by Samuel Lee Frank on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 6:06pm.
Bad human relationships as well as the good ones are equally based on the actions and interactions of our human perception and nature. In this they are limited at best. We can only be so much and do so much for each other. Proverbs 18:24 says that if we want friends we must be a friend. Also a true friend is closer that a member of your own family.
There are 3 patterns of a true friend.
1.A friend is present to me physically. He makes a great effort to stay in touch. Even long distance. Social networking and cell phones make that easy.
2.A friend is present to me emotionally. Proverbs 18:24 Your friends will love you at all times (unconditionally) It is a mistake, however to say or think that a friend will ACCEPT you as you are. One mark of a true friend is that, while he is present to my weakness and failures, he holds me to a higher standard. A friend knows the best I could be and INSISTS that I get there and ASSISTS me in doing so.
3. Our friends are present to us spiritually. They are aware that there will be an eternal relationship as well as an earthly one. They pray for me. They hold me before God when I cannot stand on my own.
This is a wonder in the Kingdom. Jesus said that in Heaven, earthly relationships would be dissolved and consumed into a greater and holier relationship with each other and God. "We will "be as the angels." Matt. 24:38 This is the only way I could live in eternity with a bad relationship from this world. There are those in this world that get on my very last nerve. There are even those I do not need to see at all in this life and I know for a fact that there are those who feel the same way about me. But I cannot think of ONE human soul that I wish to be in Hell!
I wondered about this mystery and I believe God showed me this in a "vision" or dream or something.
Bear with me in my folly....
.
On Friendship and Forgivness
SAVE THE DATE! The Marriage of The Lamb
by Samuel Lee Frank on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 8:58pm.
One morning, some time ago, in that moment between sleeping and waking, I found myself standing among a vast crowd of people as far as I could see, from every part of the globe. They were of every age, race, culture, and language. We were all standing outside in a vast open paved place with no trees. The day was beautiful under blue skies and light clouds. Everyone was standing and talking excitedly with friends and family in small groups or couples. It was a joyous reunion and except for the individual groups, we were all strangers and there was no community among the vast crowd as a whole. It was much like a large conference or community event would be. We were all together as a group, but separate in our awareness and interactions. The laughter and talk was light and guarded with furtive glances around to see if we might recognize someone in the crowd. Eye contact was politely avoided.
Suddenly the sunlight was blocked by shadow and every single face turned upward to see a dark object falling from the sky. It plunged downward toward the crowd not far from where I stood. The crowd somehow parted, moving back to leave a large circle of space and the object slammed downward to the brick paving among us. As we all looked at the object we instantly recognized it. It was a lamb. It was matted in blood, dirty, limp and dead. As the creature laid there on the hot pavement, in death, that entire multitude grew suddenly silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Then as one voice, a great keening wail swelled up from every single individual. The noise became a moan of sorrow and broke out into the heart rending cries of mourning in every tongue and culture. Every thought and every eye was directed toward that lamb. Not a single person was distracted from focusing on that small pitiful creature. We sorrowed as one.
Suddenly as the cries reached a fevered pitch, the lamb stirred to life and like a flame rose up from the pavement and grew large as it was transformed into the form of a man. Standing taller than any there, the figure stretched out his arms to show clearly visible, red, jagged scars across his palms. the sight of those scars silenced the crowd instantly as every eye looked on him and every heart recognized him! Then suddenly again, a deafening roar, as praising, shouting, singing broke forth toward Him!
And in that moment of recognition, we all became one. Every ego vanished. Every reference of the past fled away. There was nothing but HIM, and me and YOU! And Oh how we loved HIM! We were one! All memory of past was gone. There was only now, and here, and us, and HIM! It was not an end but a beginning. There was no sense of relief, for there was no knowledge of past. There was only incredible excitement and thrill at the "NOW" that surrounded us as he moved among us and KNEW us and one by one, welcomed us home!
Then I woke up.
by Samuel Lee Frank on Friday, July 15, 2011 at 8:58pm.
One morning, some time ago, in that moment between sleeping and waking, I found myself standing among a vast crowd of people as far as I could see, from every part of the globe. They were of every age, race, culture, and language. We were all standing outside in a vast open paved place with no trees. The day was beautiful under blue skies and light clouds. Everyone was standing and talking excitedly with friends and family in small groups or couples. It was a joyous reunion and except for the individual groups, we were all strangers and there was no community among the vast crowd as a whole. It was much like a large conference or community event would be. We were all together as a group, but separate in our awareness and interactions. The laughter and talk was light and guarded with furtive glances around to see if we might recognize someone in the crowd. Eye contact was politely avoided.
Suddenly the sunlight was blocked by shadow and every single face turned upward to see a dark object falling from the sky. It plunged downward toward the crowd not far from where I stood. The crowd somehow parted, moving back to leave a large circle of space and the object slammed downward to the brick paving among us. As we all looked at the object we instantly recognized it. It was a lamb. It was matted in blood, dirty, limp and dead. As the creature laid there on the hot pavement, in death, that entire multitude grew suddenly silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Then as one voice, a great keening wail swelled up from every single individual. The noise became a moan of sorrow and broke out into the heart rending cries of mourning in every tongue and culture. Every thought and every eye was directed toward that lamb. Not a single person was distracted from focusing on that small pitiful creature. We sorrowed as one.
Suddenly as the cries reached a fevered pitch, the lamb stirred to life and like a flame rose up from the pavement and grew large as it was transformed into the form of a man. Standing taller than any there, the figure stretched out his arms to show clearly visible, red, jagged scars across his palms. the sight of those scars silenced the crowd instantly as every eye looked on him and every heart recognized him! Then suddenly again, a deafening roar, as praising, shouting, singing broke forth toward Him!
And in that moment of recognition, we all became one. Every ego vanished. Every reference of the past fled away. There was nothing but HIM, and me and YOU! And Oh how we loved HIM! We were one! All memory of past was gone. There was only now, and here, and us, and HIM! It was not an end but a beginning. There was no sense of relief, for there was no knowledge of past. There was only incredible excitement and thrill at the "NOW" that surrounded us as he moved among us and KNEW us and one by one, welcomed us home!
Then I woke up.
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