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~JESUS CRYING~
~A LETTER FROM GOD~
~Dear Parents, Friends and Loved Ones,
Of these precious youth you've lost,
I see your broken spirits, I know the terrible cost. Although I'm not allowed, In schools across our land, They can't keep me from loving kids,
And offering them my hand.~
~Though evil reigned at Columbine,
And horror filled the air,
I wanted all of you to know,
I left Heaven and came there.
I summoned Heaven's Angels,
Long before the call came in,
To share the dreadful warning,
Of what would soon begin.~
~The angels' wings were folded,
They knew what was to come, When I said, "I'll lead this mission." They followed one by one. "I will go and get these babies, And bring them home with me,
Where they'll live in Heaven's Schoolhouse, Where it's safe and terror free."
Yes, I've prepared a Special Schoolhouse, It stands out from all the rest,
The Welcome Mat reads, "Columbine,"
It's reserved for Heaven's best.~
~I was hovering all around them,
In the Library and the Hall,
When the evil forces entered,
Your children heard me call.
I wrapped my arms around them,
Pulled them close unto my breast,
"I've come to take you with me,
We must go and leave the rest."
"Your friends will long remember,
All the cool times that we shared,
And the Angels will remind them,
How very much you cared."~
~Yes, I took those precious children,
In the twinkling of an eye,
We were on our way to Heaven,
To their Schoolhouse in the sky.
I know your hearts are broken,
I know the pain you bear,
My heart is also broken, By the evil everywhere.~
~Please help me fight this battle,
To keep our children safe,
Through prayers and love and sharing,
And holding to the Faith,
That Peace will surely reign one day,
In schools throughout the lands,
For all our future hopes and dreams,
Rest in our students' hands.~
~I'll give you peace to fill your heart,
Send sun to break the night,
Provide the strength to move beyond,
The wrongs and do what's right.
You ask how I can know your pain,
From the loss of your dear one,
It's because it seems like yesterday,
When I, too gave up a Son.~
~I love you,
God.~
~TEN REASONS TO BELIEVE IN A GOD WHO ALLOWS SUFFERING~
~1. Suffering Comes With The Freedom To Choose.
Loving parents long to protect their children
from unnecessary pain. But wise parents know
the danger in over-protection. They know that the freedom to chose is at the heart of what it means
to be human, and that a world without choice
would be worse than a world without pain.~
~Worse yet would be a world populated by people
who could make wrong choices without
feeling any pain.No one is more dangerous
than the liar, thief, or killer who doesn't feel the harm he is doing to himself and to others.
~Gen. 2:15-17~
~2. Pain Can Warn Us Of Danger. We hate pain,
especially in those we love. Yet without discomfort,
the sick wouldn't go to the Doctor. Worn-out bodies
would get no rest. Criminals wouldn't fear the law.
Children would laugh at correction. Without pangs
of conscience, the daily dissatisfaction of boredom,
or the empty longing for signifigance, People who are made to find satisfaction in an Eternal Father would settle for far less.~
~The example of Solomon lured by pleasure and taught by his pain, shows us that even the wisest among us
tend to drift from good and from God until arrested by
the resulting pain of their own shortsighted choices.
~Eccl. 1-12; Ps. 78:34-35; Rom. 3:10-18~
~3.Suffering Reveals What Is In Our Hearts. Suffering
often occurs at the hand of others. But it has a way
of revealing what is in our own hearts Capacities for love, mercy, anger, envy, and pride can lie dormant
until awakened. Strength and weaknesses of heart
is found not when everything is going our way but when flames of suffering and temptation test the mettle
of our character.~
~As gold and silver are refined by fire, and as coal needs time and pressure to become a diamond, The human heart is revealed and developed by enduring the pressure and heat of time and circumstance. Strength of character is shown not when all is well with our world
but in the presence of human pain and suffering.
~Job 42:1-17; Rom 5:3-5; James 1:2-5; 1 Peter1:6-8~
~4.Suffering Takes Us To The Edge Of Eternity.If death is the end of everything, then a life filled with suffering isn't fair. But if the end of this life
brings us to the threshold of eternity, then the most
fortunate people in the universe are those who
discover,through suffering, that this life is not all we have to live for.~
~Those who find themselves and their eternal God
through suffering have not wasted their pain. They have let their poverty, grief, and hunger drive them to
the Lord of Eternity. They are the ones who will discover to their own unending joy why Jesus said,
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" ~Matt. 5:1-12; Rom. 8:18-19~
~5.Pain Loosens Our Grip On This Life. In time, our work and our opinions are sought less and less.
Our bodies become increasingly worse for the wear.
Gradually they succumb to inevitable obsolescence. Joints stiffen and ache. Eyes grow dim. Digestion slows. Sleep becomes difficult.~
~Problems loom larger and larger while options narrow.
Yet, if death is not the end but the threshold of a new day, then the curse of old age is also a blessing.
Each new pain makes this world less inviting and the next more appealing. In its own way, pain, paves the way for a graceful departure.~Eccl. 12:1-4~
~6.Suffering Gives Opportunity To Trust God The most famous sufferer of all time was a man named Job.
According to the Bible, Job lost his family to war,
his wealth to wind and fire, and his health to painful boils. Through it all, God never told Job why it was happening. As Job endured the accusations of his friends, heaven seemed silent.~
~When God finally did speak, He did not reveal that His archenemy Satan had challenged Job's motives for serving God. Neither did the Lord apologize for allowing Satan to test Job's devotion to God.
Instead, God talked about mountain goats giving birth,
young lions on the hunt, and ravens in the nest.
He sited the behavior of the ostrich the strength of the ox, and the stride of the horse.~
~He cited the wonders of the heavens, The marvels of the sea, and the cycle of the seasons. Job was left to conclude that if God had the power and wisdom to create
this physical universe; There was reason to trust the same God in times of suffering.~Job 1-42~
~7.God Suffers With Us In Our Suffering. No one
has suffered more than our Father in heaven. No one has paid more dearly for the allowance of sin into the world. No one has so continuously grieved over the pain
of a race gone bad. No one has suffered like the One who paid for our sins in the crucified body of His own Son.~
~No one has suffered more than the One who, when He stretched out His arms and died, showed us how much
He loved us. It is this God who, is drawing us to Himself, asks us to trust Him when we are suffering
and when our own loved ones cry out in our presence.
~ 1 Peter 2:21; 3:18; 4:1~
~8.God's Comfort Is Greater Than Our Suffering. The apostle Paul pleaded with the Lord to take away
an unidentified source of suffering.But the Lord declined saying, "My grace is sufficient for you,
My strength is made perfect in your weakness."~
~"Therefore," said Paul,"most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,that the power of Christ
may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions,
in distress, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak,
then I am strong"(2 Cor. 12:9-10). Paul learned
that he would rather be with Christ in suffering than
without Christ in good health and pleasant circumstances.~
~9.In Times Of Crisis, We Find One Another. No one would chose pain and suffering. But when there is no choice, there remains some consolation. Natural disasters and times of crisis have a way of
bringing us together. Hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, riots, illnesses, and accidents all have a way
of bringing us to our senses.~
Suddenly we remember our own mortality and that people are more important than things. We remember that we do
need one another and that, above all, WE NEED GOD.
Each time we discover God's comfort in our own suffering, our capacity to help others is increased.
This is what the apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, "Blessed be to God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation,
that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves
are comforted by God" ~2 Cor. 1:3-4~
~10. God Can Turn Suffering Around For Our Good.
This truth is best seen in the many examples
of the Bible. Through Job's suffering we see a man,
who not only came to a deeper understanding of God
but who also became a source of encouragement for people in every generation to follow.
Through rejection, betrayal, enslavement,and wrong imprisonment of a man named Joseph, we see someone
who eventually was able to say to those who had hurt him, "You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good" ~Gen. 50:20~
"For allowing suffering, we have reason to look
at the eternal outcome and joy of Jesus who in His own suffering on an executioner's cross cried, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"~Matt. 27:46~
~You're Not Alone If the unfairness and suffering of life leaves you unconvinced that a God in heaven cares for you, But consider again suffering of the One
called by the prophet Isaiah, "a Man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief" ~Isaiah 53:3~
~Think about His slashed back, His bloodied forehead,
His nail ripped hands and feet, His pierced side,
His agony in the Garden, and His pathetic cry of abandonment. Consider Christ's claim that He was suffering not for His sins, but OURS. To give us the
freedom to choose, He lets us suffer. But He Himself bore the ultimate penalty and pain for all our sins.
~ 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24~
~When you do see the reason for His suffering, keep in mind that the Bible says Christ died to pay the price
for our sins, and that those who believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead will be saved.
~ Romans 10:9-10~
~The forgiveness and eternal life Christ offers is not a reward for effort but a gift to all who, in light
of the evidence, put their trust in Him.~
~This was taken from a RBC Ministries pamplet called "10 Reasons To Believe In A God Who Allows Suffering"
Their address is http://www.gospelcom.net/rbc/~
~A PRAYER FOR THE WORLD~
~Dear God, We pray this for our world. We ask that You remove the walls that separate us and the chains that hold us down. Use us to create a new world on earth, One that reflects Your will, Your vision, Your peace.~
~In this moment, we recognize the power You have given us to create anew the world we want. Today's world, dear Lord, but reflects our past confusion. Now, in this moment, we ask for new light. Illumine our minds. Use us, dear Lord, as never before, as part of a great and mighty plan for the healing of this world.~
~May we no longer be at war with each other. May we no longer be at war with ourselves. Let us forgive this century and every other, the evils of history, the pain of our common fears. Remove from our hearts the illusion that we are separate. May every nation and every people and every color and every religion find at last the one heartbeat we share.~
~Through you, our common Father/Mother and the redeemer of our broken dreams. May we not hold on to yesterday. May we not obscure Your vision of tomorrow but rather may You flood our hearts. Flow through us, work through us, that in our lives we might see the illumined world.~
~Create, sustain that world on earth, dear God, for us and for our children. Hallelujah, at the thought, Praise God, the possibility that such a thing could come to be, through You, through Your light that shines within us. So may it be. So may it be.~
~We thank You, Lord. Amen~
~Author: Marianne Williamson~
~A PRAYER TO OUR CHILDREN~
~We pray for the children who sneak popsicles before supper, who erase holes in math workbooks, who can never find their shoes.~
~And we pray for those who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire, who can't bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers, who never "counted potatoes", who are born in places where we wouldn't be caught dead, who never go to the circus, who live in an x-rated world.~
~We pray for the children who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions, who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.~
~And we pray for those who never get dessert, who have no safe blanket to drag behind them, who watch their parents watch them die, who can't find any bread to steal, who don't have any rooms to clean up, whose pictures aren't on anybody's dresser, whose monsters are real.~
~We pray for the children who spend all their allowance before Tuesday, who like ghost stories, who shove dirty clothes under the bed, who never rinse out the tub, who get visits from the tooth fairy, who don't like to be kissed in front of the carpool, who squirm in church or temple and scream in the phone, whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.~
~And we pray for those whose nightmares come in the daytime, those who will eat anything, who have never seen a dentist, who aren't spoiled by anybody, who go to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep, who live and move, but have no being.~
~We pray for the children who want to be carried and for those who must be, for those we never give up on and for those who don't get a second chance, for those we smother and, for those who will grab the hand of anybody kind enough to offer it.~
~Author Unknown~
~THE EMPTY EGG~
~Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At other times,he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spool of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.~
~One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them,"Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students." Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here."~
~Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction.
Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any more time trying?~
~As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought. Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy. From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him. "I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris' face turned red. She stammered, "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy. N-now, please take your seat."~
~Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?" "Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded ethusiastically-all except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.~
~That evening, Doris' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.~
~The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arm. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out.
The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine." Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed. Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty. Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another.~
~Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty." He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too." Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up." The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the schoolyard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.~
~Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty.~
~If this blesses you, pass it on.~
~Author Unknown~
~BECAUSE HE LIVES~
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