Response @ MindSay

A Response to Threat

"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor the arrow that flieth by day." (Psalm 91:4-5)

On this day we remember the unprovoked attack on America by Muslim terrorists. Despite attempts to make the country more secure, the threat remains scarcely abated today. What should the Christian's response be? In our text above, we see that we have no cause for fear. The physical danger may be real, but our Lord promises protection in tender words likened to a mother bird's care for her young. Our ultimate deliverance is guaranteed by His sure promises. Trust in His power and truth sustains us as surely as would a shield and buckler.

Our hope cannot ultimately rest in mere military might. God does not promise temporal safety to all, for there have been millions who have succumbed to undeserved violence. Our last hope is of a different order, firmly grounded in "the LORD, which is my refuge" (v. 9). He responds to our trust and worship with the promise "With long |better translated as 'eternal'| life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation" (v. 16). Much more interested in our response to troubles than in our deliverance, He desires us to believe and serve Him, all the while trusting Him, even in perilous times.

A New Testament application of this principal can be found in 1 Peter 3:14: "if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled." The remedy? "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15).

The Lord Jesus Christ is Himself our example and inspiration. "For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds" (Hebrews 12:3). Fixing our eyes upon Him, we have no cause for fear. JDM

INSTITUTE FOR CREATION RESEARCH

www.icr.org

September 11, 2008  

I am a librarian. You all know that, but basically, I am in the customer service industry. It isn't all that different from the days when I was a server and bartender. Here's the thing that I noticed has happened at both jobs.

When I am busy, it becomes an automatic reaction to respond to people. For instance, when you have a transaction with a customer and you assist them, people usually always say thank you. When I get that busy, I find that I start automatically saying "your welcome" at the end of the conversation. No big deal, right? Well, it can be when I say "your welcome" and the other person doesn't actually say "thank you". OOPS.

It just happened a few minutes ago, and the woman turned around, gave me a dirty look, and said, "thanks" in a pretty snide tone.

Thinking about it, I realize that it probably sounded like I was reprimanding her for not expressing gratitude. I truly wasn't, it just becomes a knee-jerk reaction. I feel a responsibility to be polite, so I have programmed myself to say "please", "thank you", and "your welcome" in every conversation. Which is a good thing--I think we can all agree to that.

I guess, though, that it only works if the other person is participating in politeness as well. Otherwise, I just sound sarcastic. Oh well, sometimes I am being sarcastic...might as well keep 'em guessing.

For those of you who read and actually responded to one of my blogs asking: What Turns a Woman On..............I really appreciate you responding and now would like to point out to all of us that said having our partner's do the household chores got us all hot and bothered!..............I think someone on Mindsay must be a journalist (tongue in check) cause I found this article on MSN Health!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23015839/

Titled:  Gals make passes at guys who wash glasses

It proves our point that if men do more household chores they might get more then a thank you from us women!

Nenner Nenner Nenner! 

Yes ... I'm home again!  The car is still down and I was unable to find a ride to work, but I'm also breaking down and going to the doctor so it's a personal day.  The radiator guy was totally surprised when I called this morning to tell him that the car overheated yet again on our way home on Friday.  He obviously had not test-driven it.  Yes, I'm anxious to get it back, but getting it back FIXED is the goal!  So ... Dr appt then drop off the car ... again!

Ya know ... every one of us has "seasons" like this when it seems everything is against us.  I've been talking with my son about this ... There are two ways to respond to unpleasant circumstances:

1. The first way can manifest itself in a number of ways, but the root of it is bitterness.  "Why me?  Nothing ever goes right for us!"  This is frequently surrounded with anger, frustration, dispair, discouragement, and self-pity.  This is a natural course of our thoughts when things in our lives displease us or don't go according to our plans.  We get angry and begin to look about us for someone or something else to blame because it certainly cannot be our own fault.  The problem with this route is that may start out innocent enough, just frustrated because the check bounced or the car fender now has a crease.  But, if we linger there long enough, the frustration grows and contorts into other uglier creatures like resentment that can become lifelong attitudes.
   
   I've done some thinking on this matter over the years, and at some point, came to a remarkable discovery.  We make an amazing assumption early on in this life that somehow we're entitled to a "good" life.  Where does that come from and who defines "good?"  Why do we ask, "Why me?" as though for some unknown reason we, among all the people of the earth, should be marked for exclusion to discomfort or suffering.  A curious line of thinking ...
   
   
2. The second way to respond is much less natural.  It begins with an awareness of how, even at our best, we are not always "good" people, and that because we are not always "good" people, sometimes the consequences of our behaviors and thoughts catch up to us in unpleasent circumstances.  Not all the "bad" stuff comes at us for this reason, but if we start in this position, it is much easier to be thankful for the "good" that does come our way. 

It's a matter of perspective.  In attitude #1, we have a tendency to look down on our circumstances and judge them according to our plan.  From this perspective, for example, the glass will always look less than half full.

On the other hand, if we can assume attitude #2, at least sometimes, we will be amazed at the smallest pleasures as we look up in wonder.  The car may still be down & my body may be quite uncomfortable, but the sun is shining & the cardinals are singing ... and it's warmer today than yesterday.  The glass is most certainly at least half full!  There are many things I do not understand ... but, for now, this is enough.

~ B