You be the Judge

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“Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all.”   - Psalm 65:3

He walked through the door, his mind was elsewhere.  The day had been a long one and the night did not look any different.  He had several projects due at work in the next two weeks and he was missing his family time.   He walked past the beer aisle and grabbed an ice tea from the cooler in the small gas station.  He walked down the aisle when he heard the bell, hanging on the door open.  Voices were raised, speaking a different language, one he wasn’t familiar with, but escalating to a yell quickly.  He walked toward the front of the store, still hidden from the cash register where the yelling was taking place.  He saw a reflection in the window of a man, wearing a mask, holding a gun at the forehead of the young man behind the counter. 

He bumped the shelving unit, startling the man with the gun and the man turned.  As he did the one behind the counter dropped down and hid to the side.  The man with the gun raised the gun and pointed it in the direction of our victim in the chip aisle.  The gunman yelled for him to get up, and then stated in plain English, “Why, why did you have to come in here tonight?  This is between him {pointing to the man hiding behind the counter} and me.  He raped my daughter, and the judge set him free.  Justice must be served.  You should not have been here.”  His hand shook as he waved the gun, with a quivering voice, he told the man to “Go – get out of here.”

So the man took the opportunity to leave and ran out the front door carrying the bag of chips and ice tea.  As he looked back over his shoulder he heard the gunshot.  He stopped in his tracks and turned to see the man with the gun falling backward against the shelves holding the bread and the young man behind the counter holding a pistol, with smoke coming from the barrel.  He immediately dialed 911 and stated the emergency.  Then he ran back toward the door, and upon opening the door saw the pool of blood under the man in the mask.  The young man behind the counter held the gun firmly pointed at the man lying on the ground and did nothing to help.  Kneeling down next to the body on the floor, he removed the mask and saw the trembling lips of a dying man whisper, “Pray for me, please.”
Just then the police pulled in and burst through the door.  They told the clerk to put the gun down, and told the customer, who was praying, to stand up away from the body.  The clerk behind the counter told the police that the customer had attempted to steal an iced tea and bag of chips, while the other man, lying dead on the floor, had held him up at gun point, so he shot him in self-defense.  Outside on the ground lay the bag of chips and the bottle of iced tea, shattered on the pavement, as proof that indeed the man had left the store without paying, despite the fact that he came back in.

You are the police overseeing this situation.  Who’s right?  Who’s wrong?
You don’t know all of the details behind the intruder’s motives.  You don’t realize that the customer ran from the store to protect his own life.  You don’t realize that the man behind the counter is a serial rapist that has been caught but never indicted.  Does any of this matter based on the facts of this case?
Which of the above committed sins are unforgivable?

- man with a gun enters the store, intent on killing the clerk to avenge the rape of his daughter

- customer runs out the door without paying for the merchandise

- clerk behind the counter shoots and kills the intruder

God knows all things at all times.  The motives, the circumstance, the history and the future.  In this case would it be justice that all of these individuals be given the same eternal resting state?  If you had God’s perspective on the situation, would you forgive the customer, most likely yes?  Would you forgive the man behind the counter for shooting the intruder?  Would you forgive the intruder for his intent on killing the clerk?  The answer to all of these is unequivocally, yes, with one caveat – have they accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Grace is given, not based on fairness and equity, but based on the love of the Father for all mankind, for those who seek Him through His Son Jesus Christ.  Now we can debate all day long who in this situation had truly accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and who had not, based on the lives that they are leading. 

Only God knows the heart of each man, and only God can judge the righteousness and sanctity of mankind against their faith and trust in His Son’s sacrifice.  Each of these men have the same value in God’s eyes and were all born into this world to serve Him with the one life He gave them.  Let us leave it to God to determine who does and who does not enter into His Kingdom.  We are charged to be right with God in our life and represent His glory and grace to those around us, such that they will see the love of God through us.  God’s grace is sufficient to cover all sins and unrighteousness for those who have accepted His Son.  Who are we to say that it isn’t?


© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com

Making Choices in Life

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“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”   - John 14:26

Wandering, aimlessly.
Confused and feeling lost.
Overwhelmed, unsure and tired all of the time.
Monotony and boredom fill the gaps.

These are the typical words I hear describing the life of those living in the 21^st century.  We have engineered and innovated more technology in the last 7 years, than in the last 2000 years combined.  Through the devices that we carry in our hand we can answer 90% of the questions that are posed to us each day, and we trust the information we receive as if it is fact.  More data is flying through the air at this very moment than what has been spoken in the halls of Congress in the last 30 days.  At any given moment, there are hundreds of millions of people all over the globe posting comments and updates via Twitter, Facebook, email or other social networking sites.  We have created the busyness that we so desperately despise.

Where does the social network with the Holy Spirit reside.  Is there a web-site, a URL, a Facebook page where I can go and hear the words that the Holy Spirit has for me today?  The words of Paul the Apostle, John the Baptist, Peter, John, Mark and the others were communicated face to face across the Mediterranean Basin over the course of 70 to 80 years.  They wrote them down on papyrus and hand carried them by foot or water to share the Word with others.  They were filled with the Holy Spirit and then took to the task of spreading the word as Jesus instructed them to do. 

Each of them had lives, and had to make choices to follow His teachings and pursue His purpose or to return back to their life in Nazareth, Jerusalem or the Israeli countryside.  How are you any different?  Jesus does not walk by your side in the physical sense of the word, as He did with these great men and the women of that day.  Yet in this scripture John 14:26, Jesus clearly states that He will send a Counselor to walk with each of us and continue teaching us and helping us carry on what He started.  This counselor, the Holy Spirit, resides within each of us.  We are choosing to ignore Him or to take time and listen each day, each moment.

The world will bombard you and occupy every moment of every day if you let them.  This is the strongest tool that Satan has and it is highly effective at distracting you from pursuing God’s love and grace with everything you have.  Let’s face it, you likely spend more time on Facebook, Twitter, texting, reading emails and socializing on the internet each day than you do pausing and communing with the Holy Spirit.  Ask yourself why?  Why do we as a society prioritize those areas of life over the most important area of life – our spiritual strength? 

Many of us wonder where God is in situations in our lives, without realizing or recognizing that He is right where He has always been – inside of your heart.  The Holy Spirit is God, manifested inside of each of you.  He is your Counselor and everything you hear from Him is pure, truth and righteous.  God cannot sin, lie or deceive; and the Holy Spirit likewise cannot.  There is no condemnation from the Holy Spirit, conviction – certainly; but not condemnation.  You will hear from the Holy Spirit what is working and what is not; and you will be convicted to do what is righteous and holy, rather than what is unrighteous and worldly.  The choice will still be yours on which you will pursue, but don’t put the blame on God for the decisions you are making in life.  Ok.  So at least now you know that the power of God is within you, what are you going to do about it?  Again – the choice is yours.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com

The Sands of Time

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“LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.  Remind me that my days are numbered--how fleeting my life is.”   - Psalm 39:4

Walking along the beach, where the ocean waves meet the sandy shores and leave behind the residue and clues as to the mysteries of the deep.  Children play and frolic in the waves, while parents sit under umbrellas, sipping on cool drinks and laughing behind the dark lenses of their lives.  I watch as one little girl and boy use shovels and pails to create their masterpiece and let their imagination take them to placed that only exist in fairy tales.  They run from their construction site to the waters edge, scooping the good wet sand, and hurry back to add it to their castle supporting walls.  The structure takes shape as the waves inch closer and closer.  Frantically, they attempt to build a moat around the castle to keep the water from overtaking their creation.  But, alas, the salt water and foamed edge of the ocean’s mighty power over takes the grains of sand that have been masterfully piled and carved in the medieval style.  The sand softens and begins to float away as the walls fall and the castle crumbles into a mound of wet sand once again.

As you walk along a beach it’s easy to get lost in the fact that there are billions and billions of small grains of sand underneath every single foot step.  How deep is the sand on the beach?  If you dig straight down at what point do you no longer shovel sand?  One could scoop a mound of sand into a small red bucket and spend days counting the actual grains of sand contained therein.  In some instances, you could stand in one spot on a beach and see for miles along the coastline, the seemingly endless contour and bending sands of a beach front.  If one bucket contains thousands or perhaps millions of grains of sand, how many must exist along a single stretch of beach?

The sands of the beach are ever shifting.  From the winds blowing the smooth grains in the hot dry weather to the waves rolling over and stirring them from it’s incredible source of power.  Just like the life you and I are living each day.  The forces of nature, of mankind and of your Creator are impacting your every step in this world.  Each day is a new blessing to carve out a path through this life as we roll and tumble through each onslaught of problems and waves crashing down around us.  As much as you think you are in control, you must come to realize that we are an ecosystem of billions and billions of people all moving through a 24 hour cycle called “day” and the small decisions that are made in the mind of one will have a ripple effect through all.  The fact that we get so overwhelmed with this life, and think little about the life beyond this one is still amazing to me.

As a grain of sand sets upon a beach, so is your life in comparison to eternity.  The grain of sand is microscopic and represents the entire span of your life on this earth, while the beach in it’s massive extent and glory represents the eternal time scale to be with the Creator of Heaven and Earth.  It’s so easy to get lost focusing on the single grain of sand to completely miss the beach and be washed away in the process.  Focus your thoughts and efforts on what lies beyond this life and be filled with His plan to maximize your stay in this temporary place.

             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com

Data Management at Home

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"The living, the living they praise you, as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness.”   - Isaiah 38:19

I look at today's fast paced world and marvel at the technology. We look at the iPAD as the latest example of technology, neatly wrapped up in a package smaller than a typical manila envelope. It’s become commonplace amongst our teens, youth and even preschoolers today.  This single device is capable of storing the entire works of William Shakespeare, the Holy Bible, the musical library of Mozart, Chopin and Beethoven combined and the latest version of Angry Birds or Subway Surfer. Not all advancements in technology are good though. In ancient days the legacy of a family and generation were passed down through stories while gathered around the dinner table or while walking to town and back. Now, our children can access more information on the internet with their iPAD during the Super Bowl commercials than we could teach them in an entire weekend of 1:1's.

  Face it, there is a plethora of data bombarding our children today.  Some good and some not so good.  Who is deciphering this data for truths?  Who is ensuring that our children aren't influenced to believing some of the ungodly lies that are so rampant and available to them? The fact of the matter is - to ensure that the data our children are absorbing is righteous and truthful - we need to step up our efforts as parents, mentors and leaders of the faith.  The stories of our faith are steep in God's wisdom and truth, and we can't take the risk that these become distorted through the lenses of someone with less than righteous intent.  The responsibility to teach our children about God, the Son and the Holy Spirit rest squarely on our shoulders.

  Often times today we find parents removing themselves from the teaching role on the topics of a spiritual nature. They seem to be okay with trusting that their children will pick it up by their own means through friends, church and other adult influences in their lives. This is a major risk we are taking. From the moment our children are old enough to recognize the almighty wonder of God and Jesus Christ, we owe it to them to ensure they are educated in truth from the bible and our life stories. This is their eternal life we are messing with and we cannot allow the risk of others planting an unrighteous seed, and confusing their pliable minds with lies.  Just as we learn from the ancient prophets and saints in our daily study of the word, we need to teach the children of God's love, grace, mercy and faithfulness daily as well. Won't you commit to taking an active role this coming weekend with your children? God forbid something should happen to you or them before you've had the chance to share the story of His love and saving grace with them. Be blessed my friends and press on, even though it is difficult at times, He will guide your steps.

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com