I'm sorting through all of this. ("This" being the recent events in my life per the last post entitled "Broken"). It's only fair to give God glory, for today He has revealed His presence and allowed me to know that He's with me. I'm coming through.
A good representation of that would be the one line post I was able to write which is now growing into this new post.
I had company today...guess who? Guess again! Yep...Jehovah's Witnesses. Ben, himself. Prior posts revealed Ben's first and second visit to me. Today was his third and through this visit I found myself able to smile and serve as hostess to my guests. I felt no dread at having company, despite their having showed up before my beauty regimen :-)
I intend this post to reveal that God has strengthened me to go on. Two tragic hits at once are a lot for the common man. I do not consider my Christian heritage as making me common, however.
As we sat and discussed the few issues brought up, I had no thoughts haunting me. Thoughts of my Ron or my little Ronnie. Only thoughts of my Jesus were floating around my head. I wanted to talk about Isaiah chapter 52 & 53 which reveals that Christ was not a good-looking man. And why would He be? It's too easy to crowd around the beautiful people. Why do people swoon over Brangelia (Brad Pitt and Angelia Jolie)? It's not because they repulse us. Ben and his friend didn't seem to believe what the scriptures say.
"...his visage was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men." Is. 52:14."...he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him (note the word "shall") there's no beauty that we should desire him." Is. 53:2.
I could go into greater detail on this subject but why? You can see the words for yourself. There's no other way to interpret this. We could attribute all of this particular scripture to the coming events and that He was marred and afflicted after being beaten so badly, however, there's one more verse that I feel sets the tone for this Biblical fact, "He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of the dry ground:" Is. 53:1. Then is verse 2 which states, "He has no form nor comeliness...that we should desire Him." He grew up this way. It was by design. Otherwise it might have been said that people were drawn to Christ because of His outward beauty.
It's important to know the truth. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32. How is this statement applicable to our lives? Above all else is the knowledge of who Jesus was, and is, and how we DON'T compare to Him in our knowledge. The truth that makes me free is that we are vain creatures and if God was like us, He would have given our Jesus form of comeliness that we should desire Him. Think about that. "...no form nor comeliness that we should desire Him." Look at the truth revealed in that one scripture. That we, mankind, desire that which is beautiful to look upon, and that which isn't, does not hold our attention nor draw us to it. Therefore, Christ must have been endued with the things of the Spirit, because that's what is important in drawing men unto Himself.
How were those of us 2,000 years later supposed to be drawn to a beautiful man? A man we can't see? God already made the way by equipping Christ with the things of the Spirit so we could be drawn to His deity and not some beautiful face, which would have faded with age and time. The age of 33 is old enough to begin showing age and weathering.
One more thing, I would like someone to tell me what they know about the Jehovah's Witnesses. I want to know why they keep coming to the house of someone who obviously isn't lost and is able to demonstrate a knowledge of her Lord and Savior, as well as demonstrating love...the primary thing among us. I have welcomed them always but with so little time to do God's work, why spend precious little of it at the house of the saved and not in the world with the lost? This is confusing to me.
Something else that I found odd. If only one of them had done this, I might not have thought anything of it, but they both did it. I had a letter sitting on my coffee table bound for the box in the morning. Ben looks at it and says, "that's a thick letter." I said, "That's because it's a printed document and not a handwritten letter on notebook paper." His friend reaches over and picks up my mail and begins turning it over in her hands and bouncing it as if to test the weight. She then passes it to Ben who makes his remarkable comments and then sets it down and they begin discussing postage with me. Then, he starts shifting the books around on my coffee table and digging through them. They aren't magazines, but my personal journals. I found this behavior to be quite odd. Now, I'm not mad or judging but where I come from we don't handle other people's belongings in their homes. Very odd.
I asked Ben what brings him and he said, "we just want to share what we've learned about the Bible with you." That's cool. I can appreciate that. I can appreciate God sending other believers to me at a time in my life when I'm not feeling like myself 100%. It all matters.
I'll end here and say, 'My Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, to thee be the glory for all thou hast done for me, your humble and devoted servant, for truly there is but one set of footprints in the sands of my life.'
A good representation of that would be the one line post I was able to write which is now growing into this new post.
I had company today...guess who? Guess again! Yep...Jehovah's Witnesses. Ben, himself. Prior posts revealed Ben's first and second visit to me. Today was his third and through this visit I found myself able to smile and serve as hostess to my guests. I felt no dread at having company, despite their having showed up before my beauty regimen :-)
I intend this post to reveal that God has strengthened me to go on. Two tragic hits at once are a lot for the common man. I do not consider my Christian heritage as making me common, however.
As we sat and discussed the few issues brought up, I had no thoughts haunting me. Thoughts of my Ron or my little Ronnie. Only thoughts of my Jesus were floating around my head. I wanted to talk about Isaiah chapter 52 & 53 which reveals that Christ was not a good-looking man. And why would He be? It's too easy to crowd around the beautiful people. Why do people swoon over Brangelia (Brad Pitt and Angelia Jolie)? It's not because they repulse us. Ben and his friend didn't seem to believe what the scriptures say.
"...his visage was marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men." Is. 52:14."...he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him (note the word "shall") there's no beauty that we should desire him." Is. 53:2.
I could go into greater detail on this subject but why? You can see the words for yourself. There's no other way to interpret this. We could attribute all of this particular scripture to the coming events and that He was marred and afflicted after being beaten so badly, however, there's one more verse that I feel sets the tone for this Biblical fact, "He shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of the dry ground:" Is. 53:1. Then is verse 2 which states, "He has no form nor comeliness...that we should desire Him." He grew up this way. It was by design. Otherwise it might have been said that people were drawn to Christ because of His outward beauty.
It's important to know the truth. "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32. How is this statement applicable to our lives? Above all else is the knowledge of who Jesus was, and is, and how we DON'T compare to Him in our knowledge. The truth that makes me free is that we are vain creatures and if God was like us, He would have given our Jesus form of comeliness that we should desire Him. Think about that. "...no form nor comeliness that we should desire Him." Look at the truth revealed in that one scripture. That we, mankind, desire that which is beautiful to look upon, and that which isn't, does not hold our attention nor draw us to it. Therefore, Christ must have been endued with the things of the Spirit, because that's what is important in drawing men unto Himself.
How were those of us 2,000 years later supposed to be drawn to a beautiful man? A man we can't see? God already made the way by equipping Christ with the things of the Spirit so we could be drawn to His deity and not some beautiful face, which would have faded with age and time. The age of 33 is old enough to begin showing age and weathering.
One more thing, I would like someone to tell me what they know about the Jehovah's Witnesses. I want to know why they keep coming to the house of someone who obviously isn't lost and is able to demonstrate a knowledge of her Lord and Savior, as well as demonstrating love...the primary thing among us. I have welcomed them always but with so little time to do God's work, why spend precious little of it at the house of the saved and not in the world with the lost? This is confusing to me.
Something else that I found odd. If only one of them had done this, I might not have thought anything of it, but they both did it. I had a letter sitting on my coffee table bound for the box in the morning. Ben looks at it and says, "that's a thick letter." I said, "That's because it's a printed document and not a handwritten letter on notebook paper." His friend reaches over and picks up my mail and begins turning it over in her hands and bouncing it as if to test the weight. She then passes it to Ben who makes his remarkable comments and then sets it down and they begin discussing postage with me. Then, he starts shifting the books around on my coffee table and digging through them. They aren't magazines, but my personal journals. I found this behavior to be quite odd. Now, I'm not mad or judging but where I come from we don't handle other people's belongings in their homes. Very odd.
I asked Ben what brings him and he said, "we just want to share what we've learned about the Bible with you." That's cool. I can appreciate that. I can appreciate God sending other believers to me at a time in my life when I'm not feeling like myself 100%. It all matters.
I'll end here and say, 'My Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, to thee be the glory for all thou hast done for me, your humble and devoted servant, for truly there is but one set of footprints in the sands of my life.'
