I was all curled up with the only Spider robinson book I had never read, when the phone rang.I came back to this..

And Tigger attempting to build a fort…

Giving up and taking a nap.. a short nap mind you..

Compassion is the heartfelt understanding of the affliction of the person you are focused on and the genuine desire to comfort them.

Like many others I have been following the Jill Carroll story for months praying for her safety, and for her family.

I cannot comprehend my child in a hostile land being held, with me helpless to do anything.. except pray and make some noise.

I am also very sure that if I had a gun pointed at my head I would cooperate fully, with the terrorists.

I would also hope that I would be given a chance to regroup and recover before my character had been assassinated .

Stockholm Syndrome:
Perceived threat to your life and the belief that your captor is willing to act on that threat.
The captive’s perception of small kindnesses from the captor within a context of terror
Isolation from perspectives other than those of the captor Perceived inability to escape.
Stockholm Syndrome is a survival mechanism.
They are fighting for their lives. They deserve compassion, not ridicule.

Last weekend there was much discussion about the bible, my fluffy friend The Random Yak
addressed it here. And Gena a Christian homeschooler made a wonderful post about it here.

I have been mulling this all week..here are some of my thoughts…

God has given us in the Bible, His thoughts, requirements and expectations. He has given us all the tools necessary to live in accordance with His Will.
We have the mind of God in the Word of God.

Yet there is such confusion about the basic things of Christianity, Salvation for instance. Salvation is a gift, once received, you can NEVER EVER lose. Never!
And I don’t care what this or that preacher says.
The Word of God says believers are sealed, (Eph. 1:11; 1 Pet. 1:3-5), sealed for the day of redemption by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), predestined conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29), predestined to adoption as a son (Eph. 1:5).

I don’t know about you, but I am not powerful enough to break the seal of God.

When we become believers in Jesus Christ, a number of things happen.
Did you know when you became a believer that: You were baptized into Christ; this means you are immersed into Him. You become a part of Christ.
You were given a spirit; regenerated, a spirit is created in you. You become alive spiritually. You become a child of God.
You were sealed by The Holy Spirit, there is a spiritual seal stamped on you, you are sealed into the body of Christ.
You were given a spiritual gift. This is the tool you are to use in your Christian life.

So what about the teaching that sin will cause us to lose salvation?
This is taught in different ways: either certain sins, or a certain amount of sin, or a certain amount of time in sin. No one seems to be able to agree on the definition of what type/length sin causes the loss of salvation. Because it is a lie.

God knew all about our future sin when He saved us! God was not and is not surprised by believers sinning! Romans 5:10, “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” It does not say-no “unless you sin too much or lose your faith.”

Why would He reject a person for sin when they had been saved as a sinner in the first place? In fact, 1 John 2:2 says that Christ paid the complete debt for our sin before we were saved: “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” All the requirements of God have been met by Christ’s sacrifice in our place.

God can forgive our sins, not by being indulgent, but by accepting Christ’s atonement of blood. If we had to keep from sinning after salvation in order to keep our salvation, then Christ’s death on the cross would have been for nothing.

And God as a loving Father, who Knew we would sin, made provision for that as well. I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

When we sin, not If! So what is confession? It is bolding looking God In the eye and saying, Father I have done this, this and this, and I hate it, and wish for Cleansing of these sins, and to be restored.
Period.
No Groveling.
No begging.
No pleading.

In Heb 4:14 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession”
Heb 4:15” For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. “
Heb 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
That seems pretty clear.. Come, Be Bold!

Growth and sanctification are..

More on that later…

OTB: Samantha Burns
Point five
7 Deadly Sins
Church and State
Cigar Intelligence Agency