Technically no, since its well after midnight here. But to be less technical and annoying I'll go with yes...

Ditto! =)

Wonderful post sister.

*giggles* Thank you Michael for your words. They are the absolute truth, and I agree wholeheartedly with you!
Although, I must admit, I was simply not expecting this analysis... it is the truth and all would to do well to consider his words as well.

But in truth this was just a light-hearted message I'd recieved from a friend today and felt compelled to share here! I think it's sentiment is beautiful as well as the metaphore that lies within its message. And although we do not have to physically "look up" to God, I felt it was uplifting and could bring a smile to some.

Oh and no worries lovethelord! Speaking out the truth is expected of us, so I don't mind a little analysis at all!

May God Bless you and keep you all!

THE BUZZARD:

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

THE BAT:

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

THE BUMBLEBEE:

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

PEOPLE:

In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up!

Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, but faith looks up! Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly and trust in our Creator who loves us.

Have Blessed Day!

Because of anger, forgiveness is often one of the hardest things for a Child of Christ to do. Yet to forgive and even love your enemies is what Jesus wants for us to do. We have to be mindful that we are forgiven AS we have forgiven others on earth. Just one example is seen in the commonly said, "Lord's Prayer". As seen in Matthew 6:9 we are told to pray this prayer. This is just one rendition of the Lords Prayer (NLT):
Our Father who is in Heaven,
Holy is your name! (may your name be honored)
Thy Kingdom come, (May your kingdom come soon)
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. (May your will be done here on earth just as it is in Heaven)
Give us this day our daily bread (Give us our food for today)
"AND FORGIVE US OUR SINS, JUST AS WE HAVE FORGIVEN THOSE WHO HAVE SINNED AGAINST US"(or tresspassors)
Lead us not into temptation (and don't let us yield to temptation)
But deliver us from the evil one.

Keep in mind these are not just words you are speaking. They can become habit forming when said over and over, but each word still holds meaning to God!!

Matthew 6:14-15 continues: "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Seems like it should be so easy doesn't it? Just forgive other's wrong-doings against you? But it is anger ( A snare and trick of the devil) that gets in the way so often.
We all need to pray and lift our burdens, including the traps of anger, to the Lord. Once released from anger you are free to forgive anyone for anything!
--------------------------------------------------
I stumbled accross an article a couple years ago and have saved it, read it many times and forwarded it to a great many people. I believe it is a wonderful article, and is something that anyone should read who is dealing with any anger issues, trouble in forgiveness, and ultimate healing!! Here is the URL where you can find it online:

http://www.elijahlist.com/words/html/textonly-111207-Frangipane.html

And the article is as follows. I hope it has the same impact on those of you who read it, as it had on me! God Bless!!!


"November 12, 2007

FRANCIS FRANGIPANE:

"When Trust is Established, Healing Begins"

"Trust is not an accident; it is the result of love that pays a price."

The Problem With Anger

Unresolved anger can consume a soul; it can become a literal hell not only for the embittered person, but for those who live with them as well. Thus, Jesus strongly warned of anger's terrible impact. He said,

"The ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell" Matthew 5:21-22.

Anger is a systemic poison: it affects every area of our existence. Not only can it destroy one's life on earth, it can make us "guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." Who among us has not known the wrestling in our minds over an offense? Who has never felt the unrelenting churning of wounded emotions or the self-destructive tension generated by anger?

For some, anger abides brooding, yet hidden, beneath a polite veneer. Like a vicious dog waiting behind the door of a nice home, so inner rage attacks without warning when anyone gets too close. Yet, as awful as anger is, the embittered person often feels anger is warranted in light of the threat of an offense. The worse evil, however, is the spirit of deception that justifies the angry soul, that presumes the anger of man is actually attaining the righteousness of God, thus imprisoning the embittered soul, isolating it from true repentance.

Jesus warns that unresolved anger is very grave. It threatens to drive the soul into hell; it is physically depleting, and the person carrying anger feels justified. According to Jesus, the angry person has, within his heart, committed a sin equal to murder. Anger is a very serious offense indeed.

Reconciliation is More Important than Ritual

If you know someone who is carrying unresolved anger toward you or someone else, Jesus tells us we are not to simply ignore their condition. In fact, He plainly tells us He expects us to do something about it. Remarkably, just after warning about anger's hellish consequences, in the very next two verses He says,

"If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering" Mathew 5:23-24.

Jesus requires us to actually leave our offering, exit the "church service," and do what we can to reconcile with our offended brother. To the Son of God, reconciliation is more important than fulfilling our religious service.

The Lord knows that if we do not engage in some process toward healing, our offended brother will transfer his anger to others. Hebrews 12:14-15 says, "Pursue peace with all men...See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." One angry person not only jeopardizes their own soul, but their root of bitterness can spread and "many be defiled."

Thus, when the Church becomes a place of anger instead of redemption, it is not a little thing to the Lord. Indeed, Scripture says the final result is "many (are) defiled." Unresolved anger is actually a primary tool which satan uses to break down marriages, destroy families, splinter churches and divide cultures within a community.

The Lord calls His Church to reverse the curse of injustice and anger upon our society. We are Heaven's agents of transformation and reconciliation. In fact, the Lord calls us not only to go to the one who, for whatever reason, may be offended by us, but He desires we actually become ministers of reconciliation who inspire others to bring healing to every strata of human relationships.

Wounded In Pursuit Of Oneness

When I speak of healing the riff between people, I realize there are some people who are habitually offended. No matter what we do, they are irreconcilable. Perhaps, in time, they will be more open. Still, the Lord commands us, "So far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men" Romans 12:18. Hebrews calls us to "pursue peace with all men" Hebrews 12:14. According to Jesus Christ, if we remember someone has something against us, we are to actually leave our offering at the altar and go be reconciled with our brother (Matthew 5:24).

Our interpersonal relationships are a primary concern to the Lord. Remember, the issue is not limited to whether you have something against someone, but whether they have something against you. You may be completely innocent. The offended person may actually be the guilty party. But the Lord calls us to care about relationships. Indeed, it is amazing how often a simple phone call, an act of love or a gentle answer can soften the heart of an offended person.

The Bible says, "pursue peace with all men." Pursue means we aggressively take the initiative to make things right. It means we act on behalf of Heaven rather than allow another's anger to serve the purpose of hell.

However, we must be realistic. When we reach out to a deeply offended person, they will likely be repulsed by our first efforts. Scripture tells us, "A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle" Proverbs 18:19. If a person has been hurt, they will need trust to be restored and this process of initiating trust can actually be painful to both parties. A wounded person may lash out. You may feel like the process of restoring the offended person is simply too great a price to pay.

Let me share an insight I recently received from the Lord about the basic nature of relationships and reconciliation. My wife and I were bird-sitting our oldest daughter's pet conure. A conure is about half the size of a parrot with similar coloring. However, this creature was hostile. Each time I'd touch the cage, it would squawk and try to bite me. After several initiatives at being nice, I concluded, "Who needs this? If I'm going to be attacked, I can be attacked at church." I made a silent evaluation that we had been given a "killer conure." Obviously, I concluded, this bird came from the wrong side of the tracks.

My wife, however, decided she was going to love this bird. Even though it was just as aggressive toward her as it was with me, my wife relentlessly kept loving the bird. Each time she fed it by hand, the bird attacked, taking chunks of skin with each bite. Denise would yell in pain, then instantly return to talking softly, reaching into the cage with food. After a week, the bird finally began to relax. Her survival instincts, based on my wife's gentle response to being attacked, convinced the bird that Denise was not a predator, but a friend. Soon, it permitted Denise to reach into its cage without attacking her. A couple days later, I discovered this aggressive little finger-eater perched lovingly upon my wife's shoulder, its little round head snuggled warmly against her neck, cooing in her ear.

Denise won the heart of this little bird: it loved, because she first loved it. You see, the problem with the bird was not aggression, but fear. My wife allowed herself to be wounded so that trust could be established; when wounded, she did not retaliate, and she won its trust. As I watched this little drama unfold, I saw something basic, yet profound, concerning God's relationship with us. Trust is not an accident; it is the result of love that pays a price.

Isn't this the way of the Lord with our own hearts? He came to us, yet we wounded Him. We crucified God's Son. Yet instead of retaliating, Jesus forgave us. He proved over and over again that His love was safe, that He is not our enemy. We expect judgment but receive mercy; we sin, yet He works to restore us to Himself. "It is His kindness," the Scriptures say, "that lead us to repentance" Romans 2:4. He repeatedly shows Himself trustworthy, merciful and loving, knowing that, in time, we will come to rest in His goodness. And as we do, we let Him reach into our cage; we climb upon His hand, and He carries us on His shoulder.

I recognized that this attitude, which I saw in my wife, was actually the Lord's heart. As He has been to us, so He wants us to be toward others, even those who are hostile and alienated from us. Trust must be established before love can heal. We must be willing to let ourselves be wounded, even repeatedly if necessary, in pursuit of healing relationships. We must prove, not just in word, but in deed, that we are trustworthy. Whether we face divisions in families, churches or between races, only when trust is established, can healing begin.

Francis Frangipane
Ministries of Francis Frangipane
Email: francis1@frangipane.org


Permission is granted (and you are also encouraged) to reprint these articles in hard copy form, as well as sending them to your own email lists and posting them on your own websites. We ask only that you keep ElijahList website, email contact info, and author contact information intact.

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I really like this yellowrose....thanks so much for sharing!

Absolutely not. One man and one woman should be married and the marriage should be sanctioned by God.

Deuteronomy 17:17
And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away from the Lord, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.

1 Corinthians 7:2
But because of the temptation of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

Matthew 19:8-9
Jesus replied, "Moses permitted divorce as a concession to your hard-hearted wickedness, but it was not what God had originally intended. And I tell you this, a man who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery-unless his wife has been unfaithful."

Mark 10:12
And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

1 Timothy 3:2
Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach

Ephesians 5:31
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”...Ephesians 5:33 "So agian I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

1 John 2:1-6 (see 1 John 2:1-29 for expansion)
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And how can we be sure that we belng to Him? It is if we keep and obey his commandments. If someone says,"I belong to God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and does not live in the truth. But those who obey God's word really do love Him. That is the way to know whether or not we live in Him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Christ did.

A beautiful sentiment that I agree wholeheartedly with--and absolutely 101% true!

"19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." Matthew 6: 19-21

Real eyes realize real lies.

"See past your eyes,
Hear past your ears,
Live beyond your life--the TRUTH is the way."

Wonderful post.

The WILL of God will never lead you upon a path
where the GRACE of God can not protect you!

Thanks. I'll forward it on to him, though whether he recieves it's message 'today' is another story. However, the Lord has impressed upon me that my friend, of whom I speak, WILL in his own time come to Christ. So I faithfully stand by and encourage him, just biding my time until the enemy's stongholds on him are released even a fraction. That's all it will take for the Word of God to envelope his heart and unveil his eyes. How glorious that day will be for him then! --And thanks for the help offer, as well. I'll message you on this if a need arises.

Continue reading on through Gen 2: 21-23. Adam finds his true help meet (aka "helper") in verse 23.

Nice post Michael. I know of *just* the person who could really stand to read this today, too.

lol Thanks Roy. Yes, music is good for the heart & soul. It's admirable that you have been seeking help. Along with your meetings and the various churches you are trying out, might I suggest listening to some Christian oriented music as well? Many people have a particular genre that they like and like to stick to it, but now days you can find Christian music to practically every music genre there is. Start supplementing some Christian tunes in alongside the reguar music you listen to. It helps.
And nice to see a fellow writer here as well. I write professionally, but I've tried my hand at poetry quite a bit as well for enjoyment or personal emotional release. Nice to meet you!

Michael, I am fairly new to 'this' site. But from what I have seen thus far it appears to be a CSS/Javascript based site rather than HTML; that of which I am infinately more fluent in! But I have a functionable knowledge of CSS coding as well, and if you would like to message me, I would be happy to share what I know to help you along.

Additionally, this is a wonderful post. The past is often forgotten and swept under the rug, as you said. Although it is my past sins that I remember, and learn from, which have allowed me to be a better Christian in the present and, God willing, the future. I do know that my past is forgiven, and that I have been delivered from sin. But by remembering how I once was, I am able to avoid the same mistakes I made and live better through God and for HIS Almighty Will alone. It is in Ezekiel 36 where God says,"29 I will cleanse you of your filthy behavior. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land..... 31 Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. 32 But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am not doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!"

So we should remember our past sins and hate all that is wrong and unholy. But still do not "dwell" on the past, for you have been made clean by the blood of Christ. And to dwell on such things would keep you from fulfilling God's plan for you.

There are so few sites and/or forums that really allow you to just "be nice". I love the Christian forum here, and I thought it would be nice to compliment each other and to learn a bit about each other.

So please look at the profile of the person above you and find something that you "genuinely" admire or like about that person, their way of life or their personality etc..And then post a complment about that person here! You may just find you have things in common with other Christians here and will be able to break the ice and mingle more easily after readng their profiles.

So to start...there is no person above me, so I'll go with God.

We have an Awesome God and there is no other who can truly LOVE so very unconditionally.

Thankfully, no that has not happened to me. That might be a bit awkward if it happened too. lol

Honestly? My faith rests in God. "People" in general are not always truthful. I've seen dishonesty even in those who try to model their life by the Son of God.

As long as they are trying to do the right thing, and/or repent for thier unholy ways, then no you should not give up on them.

Those who intentionally harm others, and do not care about the affect they have on them, well there is not much YOU can do but to lift them to God .

Never give up "HOPE" in people. Keep your Faith in God, where it should be.
Hope for the best, let God do the rest. =)

I saw a story about that on tv a while back, and it's true and in the book of guiness world records as well. I *think* they said the tallest woman in the world lived in some part of Indiana, if I am not mistaken. Did anyone see that story? Or know what the exact height and location of the tallest woman is? Just curious...

And height is not a consideration to me, though guys are usually taller or at least around the same height as me (5'5")that I have dated at least. :)

Hmmm I know personality goes a long way. Wondering how to be poltically correct here so as not to offend...would anyone thats overly tall date anyone who was very,very short.(like dwarf height, a midget?? if that is an acceptable term.)