Quote:
It hasn't been the same without you Tammy.
It HAS seemed "different," hasn't it? I'll also be glad when our dear Sher'f is up and around... and able to be with us, too! In that light, I'm also missing a few others (holla!). Not sure if this is the right place... but I feel I must say this:
I realize that the... ummmmmmm... "discussions" we sometimes have are hard to bear for some... but I hope folks don't let sensitivities dissuade them. Christ said a LOT of things to folks that assaulted their sensitivities, but they were always TRUE... and those who could ACCEPT truth continued with him. We may find some things difficult to hear, as well, yes, if we are not yet able to handle truth. If we LOVE truth, though... we can push through. Remember, the WTBTS (and many, many others)
disguise their FALSEHOODS... in "love" and "kindness" and "niceness," etc. Their TRUE works, however, are manifest!
In that light:
"Better is open rebuke than hidden love." Proverbs 27:5
The meaning of "hidden" here isn't love that just isn't put to the front, but perhaps held back although real. Like someone who does love another but is perhaps to shy... or afraid... to say so. To understand what the word "hidden" here means, one might consider
Job 3:23:
"Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?"We can ACT "nice" and "kind" and TELL folks all day long that we are such. But that's not necessarily the TRUTH. In fact, usually it isn't. USUALLY... we act so... because we want people to THINK we are... and/or because we want something FROM them: to accept us, listen to us, do something for us, give us something. How many of us have known people who appear "nice"... in front of strangers or at work... or on internet forums, etc.... yet, in REALITY... are not nice... or kind... at ALL!
The Adversary NEVER used "unkind" words - his words were ALWAYS "nice" and "kind." Yet, we would NEVER consider him someone to listen to. On the other hand, the men Moses, Abraham, Jacob, David, Paul, Peter, even Christ himself... often spoke forthrightly, such that their words would, by today's standard, be considered "unkind" and not "nice."
Dear ones... our own sensitivities may very well be the thing that hinders our FAITH: we can't HEAR Christ because his words aren't always "nice" and "kind"... as we consider "niceness" and "kindness" today. It's going to be even worse, though... when he returns. Because what we will all SEE... will assault our sensitivities in a way NONE have been told to expect:
"... he will startle (NOT "sprinkle"!) many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about." Isaiah 52:15We are supposed to "gird UP our loins"... not "shrink back." If we need words that "tickle" our ears... we will get more than we ever thought... but not from Christ. From those who "come in place" of him. HE... comes in truth. Always.
I hope this helps, truly!
Again, peace to you, ALL!
Your servant and a slave of Christ,
Shellamar-Shellama-Mama-Llama
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
