Unconditional Love

Through the train window, she watched the villages and vineyards of the Italian countryside go by. It was 1942 and Sussi Penzias, a young Jewish woman who'd fled Nazzi Germany, was traveling alone, hoping to remain unnoticed. Since she'd arrived in Italy three years earlier, she'd been moving from place to place, staying with friends and friends of friends, hiding from the authorities. Now she was on her way to yet another safe house in a new town.

Suddenly, the door at the end of the train car swung open and two police officers came in. Sussi's heart beat wildly. They were wearing the black uniform of the Fascisti, the government police. To Sussi's horror, the policemen began making their way down the aisle, stopping at every row to examine the papers of each passenger.

Sussi knew that as soon as the policemen discovered she had no papers, she would be arrested. She was terrified she'd end up in a concentration camp and would face unimaginable suffering and almost certain death.

The officers were getting closer, just a few rows away. There was no escape. It was only a matter of minutes before they would reach her seat. Sussi began to tremble uncontrollably, and tears slid down her cheeks.

The man sitting next to her noticed her distress and politely asked her why she was crying.

'I'm Jewish and I have no papers,' she whispered, hardly able to speak.

To her surprise, a few seconds later the man began shouting at her, 'You idiot! I can't believe how stupid you are! What an imbecile!'

The police officers, hearing the commotion, stopped what they were doing and came over. 'What's going on here?' one of them asked. Sussi began crying even harder.

The man turned a disgusted face to the policemen and said, 'Officers, take this woman away. I have my papers, but my wife has forgotten hers! She always forgets everything. I'm so sick of her. I don't ever want to see her again!'

The officers laughed, shaking their heads at the couple's marital spat, and moved on.

With a selfless act of caring, the stranger on the train had saved Sussi's life. Sussi never saw the man again. She never even knew his name.

It all starts Here (and with Jesus! Duh!)

I found this on the floor while cleaning up this evening, and it's still one of my favorite writings!

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes." ~Charles Swindoll

Worlds Apart - Jars of Clay

Afraid of the Sabbath - Or afraid of Trust?

Are we afraid to trust God by honoring His Sabbath?

Exodus 20:8-11 - “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."

I've realized that in choosing to not honor/keep/have a Sabbath, I'm not only breaking a commandment (and treating it as less "important/less practical" than other commands - I'm ultimately showing my own lack of true trust in God.

How?

Just like tithing when you don't have the money - keeping the a Sabbath day(the Bible doesn't demand that it has to be Saturday, or Sunday) when you DON'T have the "time" for it is even MORE important than ever.

Do you, like me, tithe when you can afford it? Do you, like me, honor a day of rest when you can? Or do you, like we've been commanded, trust God enough to actually give when it hurts...rest when you're afraid He won't honor your trust by making all of the "important stuff" come together in only 6 days instead of 7?

Trust Him. Don't put the "Important stuff" above the Important God.

I've been doing it. I'm going to repent and re-prioritize. And if you're in my boat...I love you, and I'm praying for you as I am myself. Praying that God becomes so Important and Big in our lives that we can't put him second to ANYTHING.

And all of God's people said :)

Amen. Now to actually follow it.

Sinning Saint

I'm realizing more each day how difficult it is to truly live life righteously. Not to say that I'm living my life in evil, but is choosing to live a day without true dependence and focus on God...well, righteous?

Let me explain further, I am very aware of some of my strengths and virtues - and also aware of some of my weaknesses and sins. I used to believe that someone that loved, trusted, and believed in honoring and glorifying God, could live a righteous life with Jesus' help.

But I was missing something.

I can't live a righteous life with or without Jesus' help...I am covered in a righteous life - holy and sinless in the eyes of God...but not because of the deeds I try or don't try. It was my Savior's death on the cross that gave me a righteousness that I can't maintain or earn. A righteousness based on "documentation" and heritage rather than work or skill.

In layman's terms. I am a sinner and live with this fact every day of my life. And since believing in Jesus the Christ I am a saint in the eyes of God - Holy, set apart - every day of my life. Contradiction? Not according to our God.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not depressed about my earthly state of sinfulness, though DEFINITELY not proud of it. And I'm NOT arguing that we shouldn't TRY to live righteously and fight the good fight. I'm realizing that as we realize our own faults, sins, and failures - loving others becomes easier. Judging others becomes harder with these thoughts. Realizing my absolute longing, need, and dependence on God - becomes much easier too....

In conclusion,

I'm a walking contradiction (in earthly standards).

I believe in absolute Good and Evil, God and satan. I live for Christ, and yet for myself (the latter far, far more often...I'm ashamed to say.) I'm a "good" guy according to earthly terms, a daily sinner and failure according to the laws and truths given by God in His word, a man deserving of hell according to my views on my own hypocrisy, sins, actions, and thoughts...AND a man fully cleansed and redeemed, sinless, holy, and righteous according to God - through the price paid by my Kinsman Redeemer, Savior, Lord, and God - Jesus Christ.

My life is nothing without Him.

"Thank God for Jesus."