I love a scene from kind of a cheesy, but good movie, Joshua. It is a 90s take on what would happen if Jesus showed up in a small, New England town. In the scene, Joshua makes a beautiful glass figurine for a woman, but she has struggled with the real, shattering loss of her husband and can't seem to feel right. In a graphic, regrettable move she throws the figure down on the ground, breaking it into a shattered, perceptibly unfixable mess. She says something like, "See, that is me." She doesn't feel like it can make sense any more and that she isn't really fixable anymore. However, near the end of the movie, God helps her to heal emotionally and Joshua, (Jesus) made a beautiful masterpiece out of the broken shards and gave it back to her. Life is hard, broken, hurtful, and evil at times. I wish as Christians that we were always insulated by that fact, but it is not true and not even promised in the Scriptures, "in this life you will have troubles." Jesus is just as much there in our broken times responding to evil, fallen, hurting experiences, interweaving a masterpiece. One outcome is that we grow stronger and more compassionate to the hurt of others and fake faith becomes unraveled. I have had my fair share of heartaches and even facing something life altering now. The true Jesus is the only rock I have at those times and I can ring out how really feel inside on him. Paul, thank you for wrestling with truth and for not be afraid to reach people where they are.
Isn't it selfish, & aren't we simply vain to think bad things happen to me so, or. for the purpose of God can teach me a lesson? Lessons are in His word. I concur, pooh happens, life happens, but God happened before those occurrences, & He continues to 'happen.' Can't He teach me, maybe even better, in calm rather than calamity? I'm coming to believe He'd rather fling stars around than watch his children frantically dodge w/e may befall them, looking for Him to teach, while He's probably drumming his fingers on a cloud. He's probably asking, 'what would you like to learn today?' Even before we shake our stupor of slumber. Wake up ppl, praise Him-Always! He IS, more than we are...
I love a scene from kind of a cheesy, but good movie, Joshua. It is a 90s take on what would happen if Jesus showed up in a small, New England town. In the scene, Joshua makes a beautiful glass figurine for a woman, but she has struggled with the real, shattering loss of her husband and can't seem to feel right. In a graphic, regrettable move she throws the figure down on the ground, breaking it into a shattered, perceptibly unfixable mess. She says something like, "See, that is me." She doesn't feel like it can make sense any more and that she isn't really fixable anymore. However, near the end of the movie, God helps her to heal emotionally and Joshua, (Jesus) made a beautiful masterpiece out of the broken shards and gave it back to her. Life is hard, broken, hurtful, and evil at times. I wish as Christians that we were always insulated by that fact, but it is not true and not even promised in the Scriptures, "in this life you will have troubles." Jesus is just as much there in our broken times responding to evil, fallen, hurting experiences, interweaving a masterpiece. One outcome is that we grow stronger and more compassionate to the hurt of others and fake faith becomes unraveled. I have had my fair share of heartaches and even facing something life altering now. The true Jesus is the only rock I have at those times and I can ring out how really feel inside on him. Paul, thank you for wrestling with truth and for not be afraid to reach people where they are.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXCOogmKI0c
I love this
So good, Mark!
Isn't it selfish, & aren't we simply vain to think bad things happen to me so, or. for the purpose of God can teach me a lesson? Lessons are in His word. I concur, pooh happens, life happens, but God happened before those occurrences, & He continues to 'happen.' Can't He teach me, maybe even better, in calm rather than calamity? I'm coming to believe He'd rather fling stars around than watch his children frantically dodge w/e may befall them, looking for Him to teach, while He's probably drumming his fingers on a cloud. He's probably asking, 'what would you like to learn today?' Even before we shake our stupor of slumber. Wake up ppl, praise Him-Always! He IS, more than we are...
Thx Paul!
What a great message on such a tough subject! Always love the way you keep it real and understandable