False Hopes -- False Fears

Which is worse?

False hopes.....or false fears?

The end result of false fears is a nice surprise since they didn't come to pass.

The end result of false hopes is bitter disappointment.

Weighted Down?

Bear not
a single care
thyself

One is too much
for thee

The work is Mine
and Mine alone

Thy work -
to rest in Me.

author unknown

Rock Gardens and WYSIWYG

Living in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona has been quite an experience these past 14 years. It is so very different from Asia and Northern Europe where we spent most of our adult lives. We've learned to love Arizona.

If you want to have a "Rock Garden" in your yard, it's easy - just do nothing. When we landscaped our front yard the designer wanted to haul in some boulders. I thought he was crazy. Why would I pay a hundred bucks for a boulder when a large part of the state is a rock pile?

Anyway, a friend of ours has a "Rock Garden". They have collected unusual rocks from all over the country, some as large as a bushel basket, and placed them on a mound in the corner of the back yard. Small plants and cacti are interspersed to create a very unique and beautiful focal point. Some of the stones are undoubtedly semi-precious, petrified wood, quartz, garnet, amethyst and various crystals.

I was admiring some of these stones and reached down to pick one up to examine it more closely. When I lifted the stone I jerked back at the sight of several scorpions and some black bugs scurrying from the bright sunlight. But when I lifted a crystal I found no bugs at all.

I asked my friend, "What is it about crystals that seems to repel the bugs?" He gave me a lesson on human nature. The crystals transmit light and bugs like the darkness. These stones can be likened to people. Some folks are transparent. If you poke around in their lives there are no surprises. WYSIWYG - what you see is what you get. Others are opaque. It seem like every time you poke around, a big black bug shows up. You never quite know what you might find.

The Greatest Book on Earth (Poem)

This is the greatest book on earth,
Unparalleled it stands;
Its author God, its truth Divine,
Inspired in every word and line,
Tho' writ by human hands.

This is the living rock of truth
Which all assaults defies
O'er every stormy blast of time
It towers with majesty sublime;
It lives, and never dies.

This is the volume of the Cross;
Its doctrine pure, its history true,
Its Gospel old, yet ever new,
Shall evermore endure.

by J. Sidlow Baxter

Cave Mentality-"The Reality of Shadows"

First impressions are extremely powerful and, more often than we might admit, are perceived as reality. In fact they are merely a shadow of the truth. A shadow on the wall may give you a pretty good outline of a person's face, but it is certainly not an accurate description. A shadow can be very misleading. What we might perceive as a dog, could in reality be a child's fingers twisted in front of light.

You know the story of "Plato's Cave". Prisoners from birth are chained in front of a cave wall and see nothing but shadows cast on the wall as their guards walk between them and the fire. The shadows are all they know. Someone telling them what exists outside the cave is considered dangerous because he threatens their concept of reality. It reads, "---And if they were somehow able to get their hands on and kill the man who attempts to release and lead up, wouldn't they kill him?"

Reminds me of the verse in Scripture, "Men loved darkness better than light-."

There is a spiritual "reality". God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, heaven, hell, angels and devils. Don't be surprised if those living in darkness have a tough time listening to you.

In the film "Fatal Attraction" Dan's first impressions of Alex were tantalizing. He got more than he bargained for. A huge difference between the "shadow" of an attractive colleague and the psychopath who kidnapped his child and tried to murder his wife. See my blog, "Fatal Attraction, Garlic Girls, Delilah and HIV" July 5 at http://2knowthetruth.blogspot.com

Our first impressions need to be taken for what they are, a mere shadow. Don't fight the truth, get out of the cave and into the sunlight and experience a real dose of reality.

Black Light

Went on a vacation last year - stayed in good motel/hotels, not the Hilton, but not the bottom of the heap either. I've always asked to see the room before we pay. Turn on the lights, pull back the covers and sheets (always all the way to the the foot of the bed after having wiggled my bare toes on some body's dirty sock in the middle of the night a few years ago). Also poke around a bit in the bathroom. Seldom find anything worth mentioning but do it as a precaution.

A few months ago I related my routine to a friend who told me I really wasn't seeing things in the proper light. If I would get a "black light", an ultra violet flashlight, I would see things a lot differently and might be surprised. He told me that I was "seeing" but really not "seeing". I reluctantly bought a UV flashlight before my last trip - I could always use it to check around the house for scorpions.

It was late when we arrived at the hotel. As usual, I asked to look before paying and was given the door code. We turned on the lights and poked around as we always do. Looked OK to me. Then I pulled out the UV Flashlight, turned out the lights and just about puked. Everywhere you could imagine were splashes and splotches of florescent green - everywhere! On the bedspread, walls, floor, all around the toilet and sink. It was enough to gag a maggot. This was a "nice" 3-4 star place. We slept in the car that night - couldn't even think about looking at another room.

I'm reminded of the words of Jesus,"Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?" Mk. 8:18

Are you seeing but not really seeing? Try looking at things in a little different light - you may be surprised! It may even be a life changing experience - I'll never sleep in a motel again!!

Wilderness Communion

C. H. Spurgeon

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July 18
Wilderness Communion

I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. (Hosea 2:14)
The goodness of God sees us allured by sin, and it resolves to try upon us the more powerful allurements of love. Do we not remember when the Lover of our souls first cast a spell upon us and charmed us away from the fascinations of the world! He will do this again and again whenever He sees us likely to be ensnared by evil.

He promises to draw us apart, for there He can best deal with us, and this separated place is not to be a paradise, but a wilderness, since in such a place there will be nothing to take of our attention from our God. In the deserts of affliction the presence of the Lord becomes everything to us, and we prize His company beyond any value which we set upon it when we sat under our own vine and fig tree in the society of our fellows. Solitude and affliction bring more to themselves and to their heavenly Father than any other means.

When thus allured and secluded the Lord has choice things to say to us for our comfort. He "speaks to our heart," as the original has it. Oh, that at this we may have this promise explained in our experience! Allured by love, separated by trial, and comforted by the Spirit of truth, may we know the Lord and sing for joy!

From "Faith's Checkbook - C.H. Spurgeon