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De-Creation

5/17/2016

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I'm not going to lie.  The whole 'bathroom' thing has occupied far too much brain space since Obama sent the 'decree' to public schools last Friday, the 13th.  Disgust and outrage are only the tip of the iceberg.  A question burns persistently:  WHY??? What could possibly be the motivation for such idiocy?

The answer eluded me until this afternoon when I was in the shower.  A frantic weekend called for the counterpoint of a 'lazy' Monday...some time to 'be still' before the Lord. I found myself in the book of Numbers, reading the account of Balaam.  What an unexpected source of inspiration in this age, in which cursing God and His people is publicly applauded!

King Balak was thoroughly intimidated by the presence and power of God's people.  He summoned Balaam and offered  him a hefty bribe to 'curse' God's people.  Balaam refused.  Numbers 24 records that Balaam was a man whose eyes were open, who heard the Word of God, who saw the vision of the Almighty and who knew 'the knowledge of the Most High.'  He was oblivious at times, as we all are.  In fact, it took a talking donkey to get his full attention...even so, he is an inspiration for us.  He was committed to speaking ONLY the Word of the Lord!
This was the backdrop for the following conversation with the Lord in the shower: 

     "Lord, I don't know what You want from me today.  I am at a loss...I want to hear Your voice.  Open my eyes!  I want to know Your heart..."

     "De-creation..."

     "Excuse me?  De-creation?"

     "It's the answer to the question you have been asking, the 'why?' "

     "Of course!"
I responded.

I knew EXACTLY what He meant.  In an instant everything made sense...total, diabolical sense.  I recalled the account of Creation in Genesis:
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness covered the face of the deep..." (Genesis 1:1)
  Now this was no ordinary darkness...not merely physical darkness...the Hebrew word for 'darkness' here is choshek.  It is described in the Hebrew dictionary as:

       
'darkness, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness, obscurity.'

This comes as a bit of a shock.  I had always imagined the pre-created earth as a blank slate, ready for the handiwork of the Almighty.  Not so!  You see, earth was already inhabited when the Spirit of God hovered over her and spoke: 
"LET THERE BE LIGHT!"

"Discontented with his high position as 'Guardian Cherub,' and wanting to be like God, Lucifer and his rebel-angels had found themselves hurled out of heaven, relegated to the dark recesses of our pre-creation planet:
"How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!" (Isaiah 14:12)

"Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor:  I cast you to the ground..." (Ezekiel 28:17)

"And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." 
(Revelation 12:9)

When God spoke Light into the darkness, it was the first step in His plan to reclaim planet Earth for His glory.  The devil was put on notice.  Every single Word spoken by God in the moments of Creation brought 'beauty from ashes and the oil of gladness instead of mourning.'  Hideous misery was displaced by the wonder of that first Sunrise, bringing both warmth and Light.  Unsullied seas teamed with life, and sweet birdsong filled fragrant gardens.  God SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD!  Then, at last, the crowning glory of Creation, miraculously fashioned from the dust of the earth: 

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.  AND LET THEM HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth...So God created man in His own image...MALE AND FEMALE He created them."

"And God blessed them.  And God said to them, BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY and fill the earth and SUBDUE IT..."  (Genesis 1:26-28)

So  The Battle  began.  The enemy would not relinquish control without a fight!  Before long a pure, faultless Creation would suffer corruption through the subtle lies of a serpent called Satan.  The enemy injected strains of his perversion into the blood of the human race, bringing his own misery to bear on all of God's Creation.


Not to be outdone, Jehovah Elohim (Strong Creator), Elyon (Lord Most High), Elgibbor (Mighty God) responded immediately, sealing Satan's fate. He made a proclamation which set in motion His perfect, eternal plan for RE-CREATION, through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus:

     "Because you have done this, cursed are you...I will put enmity between you and
                           the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring;
                 he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel."
(Genesis 3:14-15)
Satan knows he faces a future of eternal torment.  His only recourse in the meantime is to use his misguided children, victims of deception, to STEAL, KILL and DESTROY as much of God's creation as he can...DE-CREATION!  His goal is to disrupt and destroy the order and beauty of what God has made.  He has set his ruinous targets on anything and everything which points to God's glory:

      MUSIC
           ART
                SCIENCE
                     HISTORY
                          WISDOM AND REASON
                                THE ENVIRONMENT
                                     DNA
                                          TRUTH 
                                               GENDER IDENTITY

                                        
                               LIFE ITSELF.


       "Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath,
                                 because he knows his time is short!"
  (Revelation 12:1
He and his children are responsible for metastatic confusion and for the dissolution of all that is just and right and good.  One unnamed writer speaks of the 'growth in militant godlessness in the world today, until the world is swarming with human beings no longer human, but just beings.'  What is our recourse?  In one word, PRAYER...prayer uttered in the matchless power of Jesus' Name:
"It has been said that prayer is the greatest force in the universe. 
This is no exaggeration.  it will bear constant repetition. 
In this atomic age, when forces are being released
that stagger the thought and imagination of man,
it is well to remember that prayer transcends all other forces!" 

(F.J. Huegel)

May God grant us the grace to pray without ceasing.
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The Beauty and Danger of Distraction

5/10/2016

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What glory!  The mercury hit 16 degrees in Deerness this afternoon...nearly as warm as it was last week in Sorrento.  Drawn by the irresistible elixir of sunshine and surf, I took Magnolia and Teddy for a walk at Newark Beach.  A curious 'selkie' (Orcadian for seal) joined us, following about fifteen yards out, bobbing up and down with the undulating waves. He made the most of the crests, comically craning his neck to get a clearer view of his human and canine companions.  I smiled, perhaps for the first time today. 
PicturePhoto: Andrew Balerud
You might have noticed, it has been awhile since I posted my last blog.  For weeks succeeded in distracting myself from the absurdly disturbing realities of life in 2016.  Beachcombing, cooking, crocheting...even cleaning have proved effective diversions!  It is much more comfortable living in willful ignorance!  The idyllic illusion of normalcy inevitably evaporates though.   Always a 'watchman', I cannot slumber for long...

Last week Henry and I had the somber privilege of visiting Pompeii.  I am still processing.
Picture
Pompeii was first settled in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius, late in the 7th century BC.  It was inhabited by Etruscans, Greeks, and the indigenous people of Campania ('fertile plain'),  now Italy.  As we spent the day explored the ruins, it was easy to envision a bustling city, full of life!

PicturePizza anyone?
This is one of 89 'thermopolium', (small cook shops) which remain.  Yes, that is a pizza oven!  Evidently most of the citizens of Pompeii preferred to dine out, rather than prepare their own meals at home.  Sound familiar? These were a prosperous people!  They enjoyed a number of elegant public baths (we would call them spas), embellished with elaborate mosaics and relief sculpture.  An overtly sensuous society as well, Naples houses a museum devoted entirely to the display of erotic (pornographic) images which have been removed from the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

Picture
Interior of the Forum Baths
Sport and entertainment played a huge role in the life of Pompeii.  There were two amphitheaters which are among the oldest known in the Roman world.  Built around 70 BC, the larger one held an audience of 20,000! 
Picture
Picture
These were not primitive, uneducated people.  They were as bright and sophisticated as anyone we meet on the street today (perhaps more so).  Despite a massive earthquake several years earlier and signs that Mount Vesuvius was awakening from slumber, many of the citizens of Pompeii ignored the warning signs.  On August 24, 79 AD they lost their lives in a matter of minutes, overcome by a torrential flow of superheated gasses and subsequently buried beneath eighteen feet of volcanic ash.  














So complete was the decimation, that the city vanished, forgotten, until its rediscovery at the end of the 16th century.

PictureA Painful Reminder
Grandmothers and grandfathers, moms and dads, children and their pets perished, memorialized only by stony semblances buried in the cinders.  Why did they remain???  How could they have ignored  the ominous warning signs?

I can only speculate!  Life was good...peaceful and prosperous.  The scenery was stunning, the  climate  mild, and the soil fertile.   Day to day life kept them busy and distracted.  They assumed life would continue as it always had.  Ignoring the sense of foreboding rising from within, they disciplined themselves to disregard the alarming signals that could have saved their lives.  They adjusted to 'the new normal.'  A few heeded the warnings, escaping just in time.  Most however, managed to remain oblivious until unimaginable disaster literally rained down upon them.

Are we succumbing to the danger of distraction?  Have we learned to ignore the warning signs, which are increasing in number and frequency, shutting off our God-given alarm system?  Are we guilty of adjusting to 'the new normal', assuming life will continue as it always has?
Spend a few minutes reflecting, reminiscing.  Recall life in America ten years ago...We have been cooked like the proverbial frog, my friends. It is time to awaken from slumber:

                      "Be on guard, keep awake...stay awake...stay awake...

                          And what I say to you I say to all:  STAY AWAKE!" 
                                                         (Mark 13:33-36)


                          DO NOT BE A VICTIM OF DISTRACTION, 
         But seek Lord with your whole heart. Discern His specific direction for your life. 
              It is time to face the truth of our times head-on, not in fear, but in FAITH. 
                                  It is time to step foot in the waters of the Jordan,
                             trusting the Lord to make a way where there is no way. 

"For He is the living God, enduring forever;
His Kingdom shall never be destroyed,
And His dominion shall be to the end.
He delivers and rescues;
He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth.
He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions."

(Daniel 6:26-27)

Soli Deo Gloria

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    Anne Reitzug

    Sojourner.  Servant.  Recipient of undeserved  Grace.  Worshiper.

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