Posted on 12/11/2002 11:18:38 AM PST by Liz
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
Luke 2:2-20
KJV
He was there to comfort all the affected believers who were grieved at their own loss, but who knew of the Glory their departed loved ones were now experiencing.
He was waiting for you, and many others, to sincerely ask where He is... out of a true desire to know, and not as a snide comment about a man-inflicted tragedy in this fallen world of sinners.
Where is Jesus, then and now? He is seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.
If you know not the Truth, then you know nothing. You are a lost soul with only hopeless despair as your lot. I pray for you.
How wonderfully convenient, then, to have people to blame your faithlessness on.
I used to blame others for my own weaknesses and failures. It wasn't until I was crushed by them that I opened up and accepted Jesus. The Bible teaches us that it is the broken vessel which is more likely to be filled with God's Holy Spirit, for often the strong vessel doesn't think it needs God.
You might not accept Jesus until you're on rock bottom, looking up. You might never accept Him.
But one thing is certain... for as long as you blame others for your plight, you're sunk.
Interesting perspective. It's probably better to cling to the hope that "death" is the end of one's awareness, than to know that "death" for those who do not accept Christ is the beginning of all eternity spent in agony in Hell, huh?
Hey, it's your choice. I'm not going to try to stop you. You've probably got it all figured out. At the very least, it's a reasonable gamble, right? Sure. Rest easy.
There are plenty of non-believers on this site, *most* of whom have the good manners and sense not to stomp on a thread like this one.
Beautiful post, Liz, thank you.
You can take that to the bank. Now stop your silly whining.
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
What a bad joke. We're all sinners, and we deserve whatever we get. Blaming God is sickening, and shameful. For shame.
But, God has promised us in His Holy and perfect Word (The Bible) that those who accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, who read His word in The Bible, and who confess their sins in Jesus name, those shall be granted the right to be called the Children of God, and shall appear blameless in His Sight.
We do not receive Salvation as a reward for what we are, because we are all vile sinners. Rather we are promised salvation because of our Faith in Jesus, and our obedience to God's Word.
I don't think it works that way. In my opinion, God doesn't have the 'power' to stop planes from crashing, buildings from exploding, children dying from disease.
We, as humans, are continually facing extreme situations and the only thing I think that He would like from us is not to lose faith, whether good or bad things happen to us.
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