Christianity Oasis Forum

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There I was , spending half the energy on the finding "a Proper Title" . As if to say , "if we pretty up the cover , the story gets better reviews"

My grandfather told me once , as the talk was hinged on different "kinds" of people , there are only three "kinds" of people , Those who Do , those who wish they could do , and the ones that they will always do ... Later !! . The ones that fit in the latter category are forever stuck in the rut of "I know But ... I know But .." and when one finally gets fed up and screams "BUT WHAT ??" its like they somehow , out of nowhere , as if by some magic , their faces gets elongated , and you hear this " You don't understand , I'm a victim , can't you see ? I can't do anything about my situation unless first , I wallow in it for a while !! "

How about we start how "unfair" life is . Ok , I'll start with my own view ... Life IS VERY UNFAIR , but , when experiencing unfairness , Daniel and his three buddies come to mind (By a learnt choice) .
Even though he obeyed God all his life , Daniel was not protected from God's judgment on Judah , (the offender). We do not have automatic protection from the unfairness of life . We will face it at one time or another . But .. We Do have God's assurance that He IS concerned about what we are doing and WILL honor our faithfulness and obedience .

Daniel WAS a victim , He was controlled by a powerful group of people and had no say about his future . The dynamics are similar in cases of sexual or other forms of victimization . Daniel did not remain a victim . He knew that when he turned to God and sought to do his will , he was no longer at the mercy of selfish and unstable foreign rulers . He was in God's powerful and protecting hands . As Daniel was faithful to God and His program , God delivered him from terrible situations , in the midst of his slavery - ( bondage of "I am a victim so ..) Daniel was a VICTIM NO MORE .

"Ok ok , so I'm not Daniel " .. right ? Surprise supriiiise , .. Shadrach , Meshach , and the other guy , what was his name ? Oh , Abednego . Aren't I glad to look in the Word for answers ?



In Christ , our Lord

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In continuum ...

Not too long ago , I think it was in COOL CHURCH , not sure , then again , fellowship is fellowship no matter where it is right ? Anyways , the topic revolved around Judas , and the discussion varied (naturally) , from any where , whether he saw what he did was wrong , acted knowingly on his own or listening to glamour (pieces of silver) and so on , but the discussion heated up a bit when it came to whether he repented or not . Then again , out of the varying points of view , my mind drifted off to somewhere I wasn't expecting , (Which is exactly why I think fellowship is important ... It takes you places) , my mind went beyond whether he repented or not , I mean , even if he DID repent , it was what he did AFTERWARDS was more shocking than the so-called betrayal , he took it upon himself to play judge , prosecutor and executioner and took his own life ... my mind went ... HAD HE WAITED FOR THREE DAYS ...

Why didn't he ? Answer : The Pain was too overwhelming and he succumbed to his own woe .. "Tunnel vision" , or rather , "One track mind" ... "Woe is me !"

Daniel's buds could've decided that God could not protect them from the furnace , Daniel could've done the same as well , but they did NOT , They knew it would be painful , so did our Lord , He knew it would be painful .
Ok , I got to interject something here , did you know that even though our Lord was beaten , His flesh ripped off His back , spikes driven all over Him , seen ALL His friends desert Him (The most painful) , but yet , our Lord REFUSED TO SUFFER , He did NOT SUFFER .
Brothers and sisters , Pain is inevitable ... suffering is optional .

Jumping into the furnace , the fire ONLY burnt the ropes of the oppressors that were binding them , it was by dying that our Lord conquered death , and came back , the third day , and gave us a whole new meaning to "Git'er done"


In Christ , our Lord