Day 58
Lamentations
Well, I guess if there was ever any question of whether or not God keeps his heavenly word, this book answers it. Yes. When God warns what will happen, you best not do what he warned about not doing because the punishment he also warned about will happen! Ha!
More seriously, God's wrath is terrible. God does judge, and render judgment. The people wept because they felt God abandoned them, yet they were the ones who abandoned him.
Lamentations 2:17
The Lord has done what he planned; he has fulfilled his word, which he decreed long ago. He has overthrown you without pity, he has let the enemy gloat over you, he has exalted the horn of your foes.
Yet even in that, God is righteous and is good to those who hope in him...
Lamentations 3:19-26
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall....Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him, it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:31
For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.
Lamentations 3:40
Let us examine our was and test them, and let us return to the Lord.
I kinda expected this book to be a total downer. And it is because of the destruction. But still I find HOPEISM. More than I expected. Maybe I'm missing something... I guess in my own way, I've felt like I was living Lamentations for a few years now. The destruction of autism, seizures, my son's declining health -- just so much devastation in all of that. I remember all those afflictions. The choking of seizures, the sound of shattered teeth. I can taste the bitterness of them still.
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail...
I'm sure the author meant to say HOPEISM there. And NEVER QUIT. Two words I have clung to for so long now, and now I know where they came from! The Lamentations of my "Life with Autism!"
That comforts me so much! His compassions never quit. They are new every morning.
So many times I've fallen into the trap of thinking it was his challenges that have been new every morning. But no. His compassions through those challenges have been new every morning. His unfailing love for me and my son has been new each and every morning.
I have yet to be consumed by those challenges because indeed, great is his faithfulness!
Lamentations 3:31
For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.
Lamentations 3:40
Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.
That's always a hard one to swallow...when we're in a period of seeming silence from God, when we feel we are being punished by God as they were in this book -- it's hard to have to stop and look within to see if there is any cleansing of our own sins to deal with. We may think we're cast off forever, he may indeed bring grief for our disobedience, but he will show compassion, --so great is his unfailing love for us!
I just marvel at that.
I cannot count how many time I've been in Lamentations 3:55 --- I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit. You came near when I called you, and you said, "Do not fear."
No matter how deep the pit you feel you are in -- God will always, always, always, be deeper. In the depth of that darkness, you can cry out to him and he will answer, even if in but the faintest of whispers, "Do not fear."
This book ends with Lamentations 5:20-22
Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.
I think God asks us the same questions...
Why do you always forget me?
Why do you forsake me for so long?
Restore me to your country, your community, your church, your home, your heart, that I may return.
Revive your faith, unless you have utterly rejected me and are angry with me beyond measure.
Monday, August 26, 2013
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Retribution
Day 57
Jeremiah 35-52
Resuming the journey... I have fallen seriously behind in this "Bible in 90 Days" -- so much so that it's more like "The Bible in 390 Days!" But that's ok, the important thing is that I'm picking up right where I left off -- in Jeremiah. I know I should do a little back tracking first, but it's hard... I'm an impatient person and when I read this book, I just want to say, "Hurry and be done with it already!"
I guess finally God did get down to it...
Jeremiah 39 is about the fall of Jerusalem.... Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard and the word of the Lord came to him...
Jeremiah 39:16
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be handed over to those you fear. I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the Lord.
That comforts m me on many levels - so often when we try to live the right way and do as God commands, we find ourselves held captive to negativity or shunning. All Jeremiah was doing throughout this book is being obedient to God, giving messages from him, but unfortunately not many want to hear, or heed, the truth. It's comforting to be reminded that while God never promised obedience would be easy or without "confinement" - he did promise we wouldn't be alone and that he would deliver us. As a Navy Mom -- I also find comfort in that scripture!
Sometimes it's us who put the chains on ourselves... Like me with this journey.... I've let so many other things distract me, I've let the chains of thinking I'm too far behind, why bother now, stop me many a day. I've let the chains of misplaced priorities leave no time to do this. I was really encouraged to read Jeremiah 40 on this day that I freed myself from those chains and dove back in...
Jeremiah 40 is titled simply, "Jeremiah Freed."
I like that. Perhaps I should title this, "Michelle Freed," in this first entry in like forever...
Jeremiah 40:4
"But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists...."
I just love that.
Free me from my chains, Lord!
Free Brandon from the chains of seizures!
No matter how the chains got there, who put them there, others or you... God can free you from them.
God always promises that he will deliver us...
In Jeremiah 51:56 it says:
"For the Lord is a God of retribution; he will repay in full."
Jeremiah 35-52
Resuming the journey... I have fallen seriously behind in this "Bible in 90 Days" -- so much so that it's more like "The Bible in 390 Days!" But that's ok, the important thing is that I'm picking up right where I left off -- in Jeremiah. I know I should do a little back tracking first, but it's hard... I'm an impatient person and when I read this book, I just want to say, "Hurry and be done with it already!"
I guess finally God did get down to it...
Jeremiah 39 is about the fall of Jerusalem.... Jeremiah had been confined in the courtyard of the guard and the word of the Lord came to him...
Jeremiah 39:16
This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I am about to fulfill my words against this city through disaster, not prosperity. At that time they will be fulfilled before your eyes. But I will rescue you on that day, declares the Lord; you will not be handed over to those you fear. I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the Lord.
That comforts m me on many levels - so often when we try to live the right way and do as God commands, we find ourselves held captive to negativity or shunning. All Jeremiah was doing throughout this book is being obedient to God, giving messages from him, but unfortunately not many want to hear, or heed, the truth. It's comforting to be reminded that while God never promised obedience would be easy or without "confinement" - he did promise we wouldn't be alone and that he would deliver us. As a Navy Mom -- I also find comfort in that scripture!
Sometimes it's us who put the chains on ourselves... Like me with this journey.... I've let so many other things distract me, I've let the chains of thinking I'm too far behind, why bother now, stop me many a day. I've let the chains of misplaced priorities leave no time to do this. I was really encouraged to read Jeremiah 40 on this day that I freed myself from those chains and dove back in...
Jeremiah 40 is titled simply, "Jeremiah Freed."
I like that. Perhaps I should title this, "Michelle Freed," in this first entry in like forever...
Jeremiah 40:4
"But today I am freeing you from the chains on your wrists...."
I just love that.
Free me from my chains, Lord!
Free Brandon from the chains of seizures!
No matter how the chains got there, who put them there, others or you... God can free you from them.
God always promises that he will deliver us...
In Jeremiah 51:56 it says:
"For the Lord is a God of retribution; he will repay in full."
I think that's a good way to end this day's reading. And a pretty good summary of Jeremiah, to me. God will repay disobedience in full, and he
will repay obedience in full.
We simply have to decide which category we want to be in!
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Restoration
Day 56
Jeremiah 23-34
God knew the nation wouldn't repent and their destruction served as a lesson for future generations...
Jeremiah 25:3
" ----the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened."
Jeremiah 25:5
"Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve adn worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you."
"But you did not listen to me," declares the Lord...."
Jeremiah 25:32
"Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth."
This summary of certain parts of the theme of this book in the Bible gives me chills as it so closely resembles the autism epidemic of today and the vast majority of those affected by autism being damaged by vaccines.
I think the current 1 in 50 autism epidemic is evidence of that disaster spreading from state to state and to the ends of the earth!
My soul just screams, "Hello Mom's of Today!!!! Hello!!!!!!!! Heed our warnings!!!!! Repent of your brainwashing that your child needs or must have vaccinations before your child's health is forever destroyed!!!!!!!"
Ahhhh.... this has been a painful book of the Bible to read as each and every thought while reading it has turned to the present day autism epidemic and warning signs ignored.
But.... as God has been known to do a time or two (smile) - there is always HOPEISM.
One of my favorite HOPEISM verses comes from Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."
And this from Jeremiah 30:3 which says, "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefather to possess," says the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:17
"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds," declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 31:3
"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt..."
Jeremiah 31:13
I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
I know the Lord is referring to Israel, but I'm sure he means our vaccine/environment damaged children as well!
Parents I mentor ask me all the time how I can have the HOPEISM I do -- and it's from verses like that. Plain and simple.
How do I know that He will deliver?
Jeremiah 32:17
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.............
Jeremiah 32:19
O great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds."
Jeremiah 32:27
"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"
Can I have a HOOYAH and a HALLELUJAH to that?
The key phrases to me are his Sovereignty and the fact that he is Lord and there is nothing too hard for him.
His sovereignty allows him to know all things, the fact that he is God dictates that he can do all things. Nothing is out of his reach, knowledge, or ability.
Nothing.
That's where my HOPEISM comes from. That He can heal my son's autism. That with but a whisper of his voice he can command the seizures to stop and never return.
How can one not have hope in the knowledge of such power!
I just have to stop and marvel at that.
Whether God will or not, it's just the fact that he can! That's what inspires me to pray for those things for my son!
NOTHING is too hard for God.
Nothing! Nothing.Nothing.Nothing.
No better scriptures to end this day's reading than these:
Jeremiah 33:10
....there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness....
Jeremiah 33:26
For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.
Is there anything more than that needed for our 1 in 50 children and the fortunes we spent on healing them?
There.will.be.
I.will.
Nothing is too hard for God.
Savor that...........
Jeremiah 23-34
God knew the nation wouldn't repent and their destruction served as a lesson for future generations...
Jeremiah 25:3
" ----the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened."
Jeremiah 25:5
"Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your fathers for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve adn worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you."
"But you did not listen to me," declares the Lord...."
Jeremiah 25:32
"Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth."
This summary of certain parts of the theme of this book in the Bible gives me chills as it so closely resembles the autism epidemic of today and the vast majority of those affected by autism being damaged by vaccines.
I think the current 1 in 50 autism epidemic is evidence of that disaster spreading from state to state and to the ends of the earth!
My soul just screams, "Hello Mom's of Today!!!! Hello!!!!!!!! Heed our warnings!!!!! Repent of your brainwashing that your child needs or must have vaccinations before your child's health is forever destroyed!!!!!!!"
Ahhhh.... this has been a painful book of the Bible to read as each and every thought while reading it has turned to the present day autism epidemic and warning signs ignored.
But.... as God has been known to do a time or two (smile) - there is always HOPEISM.
One of my favorite HOPEISM verses comes from Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."
And this from Jeremiah 30:3 which says, "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefather to possess," says the Lord.
Jeremiah 30:17
"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds," declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 31:3
"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt..."
Jeremiah 31:13
I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
I know the Lord is referring to Israel, but I'm sure he means our vaccine/environment damaged children as well!
Parents I mentor ask me all the time how I can have the HOPEISM I do -- and it's from verses like that. Plain and simple.
How do I know that He will deliver?
Jeremiah 32:17
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.............
Jeremiah 32:19
O great and powerful God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds."
Jeremiah 32:27
"I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"
Can I have a HOOYAH and a HALLELUJAH to that?
The key phrases to me are his Sovereignty and the fact that he is Lord and there is nothing too hard for him.
His sovereignty allows him to know all things, the fact that he is God dictates that he can do all things. Nothing is out of his reach, knowledge, or ability.
Nothing.
That's where my HOPEISM comes from. That He can heal my son's autism. That with but a whisper of his voice he can command the seizures to stop and never return.
How can one not have hope in the knowledge of such power!
I just have to stop and marvel at that.
Whether God will or not, it's just the fact that he can! That's what inspires me to pray for those things for my son!
NOTHING is too hard for God.
Nothing! Nothing.Nothing.Nothing.
No better scriptures to end this day's reading than these:
Jeremiah 33:10
....there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness....
Jeremiah 33:26
For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.
Is there anything more than that needed for our 1 in 50 children and the fortunes we spent on healing them?
There.will.be.
I.will.
Nothing is too hard for God.
Savor that...........
Friday, March 22, 2013
The Covenant is Broken...
Day 55
Jeremiah 11-22
What an appropriate title to this day's reading: The Covenant is Broken.
Yes, it describes this day's reading. In fact, that's how this days reading started in the title in my Bible.
But more than that, it describes this modern-day "Autism Holocaust". Just this week the CDC released numbers that say there are now 1 in 50 schoolchildren who have autism.
Indeed, the "Covenant" has been broken. The vaccine covenant, the Pharma covenant, the environmental toxin covenant, the GMO covenant.
All that has been deemed safe and sacred by the government agencies that regulate those things, has been broken.
Those 1 in 50 don't lie.
Jeremiah 11:7 starts off with: From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, "Obey me." But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.
I know this book of Jeremiah is about the people of Judah and their evil, wicked ways. Their idols and their disobedience.
But it is also about our modern day autism epidemic, to me. In how we have refused to listen to common sense. In how we have set vaccines and drugs and imitation this and that as idols to replace food, the medicine God perfectly created.
In how the lies of greed and profit now drive decision making. Not truth.
In yesterday's writing from Jeremiah, we were warned. God warned the people of Judah if they didn't change their ways, a disaster of epic proportions would follow. A holocaust.
They didn't listen, now the covenant is broken and disaster will follow.
Much like with vaccines once you inject them: There's no turning back. Disaster will follow.
Just like when independent researchers warned what would happen way back at 1 in 500 if vaccine policy didn't change.
Now more children are paying the price of that sacred vaccine covenant that government refuses to break.
Jeremiah goes on to say: "They have followed other gods to serve them."
And -- "Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes.'"
That pretty much sums up the government's response to the 1 in 50 children who have autism.
Make no mistake, the autism disaster has struck and it's because people have put their faith in those driven by greed and profit, and greed and profit alone; instead of in the God who designed a baby to be protected by his mother's milk and good nutrition that the land provides.
I think in Chapter 12 "Jeremiah's Complaint" sums up my thoughts well:
"Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?"
I suppose no matter what the Bible says in answer to that, I'll just have to keep asking it until I get to have that conversation with God in person.
I suppose until then I must continue to move forward in faith and remember the karma of Jeremiah 17 that say:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
I cannot believe how over and over these people were warned. How over and over we Thinking Mom's have warned others - of impending doom. Yet no one listens.
Jeremiah 19:11 says, "I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter's jar is smashed and cannot be repaired."
And again in Jeremiah 19:15 with "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.'"
1 in 50 innocent children's health has been smashed!
When? When will the government listen?
So many of us feel like Jeremiah in verse 20 --- "....the chief officer in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks...."
That is essentially what is happening to doctors and parents who speak out. They are losing their license, they are losing custody of their children.
Jeremiah is referred to as the "Weeping Prophet" -- I think we weeping warriors can relate!
Jeremiah 20:7
"....I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. I hear many whispering, "Terror on every side! Report him! Let's report him!" All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him." But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause."
And so that is how I resolve the question of why.....
By simply saying as Jeremiah did, ".....for to you I have committed my cause."
I have committed to follow Christ and to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. In proclaiming the truth even when no one listens.
And parents of today ---
You best listen before your children's health is broken.
Jeremiah 11-22
What an appropriate title to this day's reading: The Covenant is Broken.
Yes, it describes this day's reading. In fact, that's how this days reading started in the title in my Bible.
But more than that, it describes this modern-day "Autism Holocaust". Just this week the CDC released numbers that say there are now 1 in 50 schoolchildren who have autism.
Indeed, the "Covenant" has been broken. The vaccine covenant, the Pharma covenant, the environmental toxin covenant, the GMO covenant.
All that has been deemed safe and sacred by the government agencies that regulate those things, has been broken.
Those 1 in 50 don't lie.
Jeremiah 11:7 starts off with: From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, "Obey me." But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.
I know this book of Jeremiah is about the people of Judah and their evil, wicked ways. Their idols and their disobedience.
But it is also about our modern day autism epidemic, to me. In how we have refused to listen to common sense. In how we have set vaccines and drugs and imitation this and that as idols to replace food, the medicine God perfectly created.
In how the lies of greed and profit now drive decision making. Not truth.
In yesterday's writing from Jeremiah, we were warned. God warned the people of Judah if they didn't change their ways, a disaster of epic proportions would follow. A holocaust.
They didn't listen, now the covenant is broken and disaster will follow.
Much like with vaccines once you inject them: There's no turning back. Disaster will follow.
Just like when independent researchers warned what would happen way back at 1 in 500 if vaccine policy didn't change.
Now more children are paying the price of that sacred vaccine covenant that government refuses to break.
Jeremiah goes on to say: "They have followed other gods to serve them."
And -- "Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes.'"
That pretty much sums up the government's response to the 1 in 50 children who have autism.
Make no mistake, the autism disaster has struck and it's because people have put their faith in those driven by greed and profit, and greed and profit alone; instead of in the God who designed a baby to be protected by his mother's milk and good nutrition that the land provides.
I think in Chapter 12 "Jeremiah's Complaint" sums up my thoughts well:
"Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?"
I suppose no matter what the Bible says in answer to that, I'll just have to keep asking it until I get to have that conversation with God in person.
I suppose until then I must continue to move forward in faith and remember the karma of Jeremiah 17 that say:
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
I cannot believe how over and over these people were warned. How over and over we Thinking Mom's have warned others - of impending doom. Yet no one listens.
Jeremiah 19:11 says, "I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter's jar is smashed and cannot be repaired."
And again in Jeremiah 19:15 with "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on this city and the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.'"
1 in 50 innocent children's health has been smashed!
When? When will the government listen?
So many of us feel like Jeremiah in verse 20 --- "....the chief officer in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks...."
That is essentially what is happening to doctors and parents who speak out. They are losing their license, they are losing custody of their children.
Jeremiah is referred to as the "Weeping Prophet" -- I think we weeping warriors can relate!
Jeremiah 20:7
"....I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name," his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. I hear many whispering, "Terror on every side! Report him! Let's report him!" All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, "Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him." But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. O Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause."
And so that is how I resolve the question of why.....
By simply saying as Jeremiah did, ".....for to you I have committed my cause."
I have committed to follow Christ and to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. In proclaiming the truth even when no one listens.
And parents of today ---
You best listen before your children's health is broken.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
You've been warned...
Day 54
Jeremiah 1-10
Some describe this book of the Bible as being the worst disaster in history. A holocoust-sized disaster. I think the people of Judah would agree.
It's hard for me to sort out the many references to life today these readings in this book bring about. Much like us Americans, we think that just by the fact that we live in the United States of America is protection enough. That God, our 'temple,' will protect us no matter how far we stray from the principles our forefathers founded our great country on. No matter how far we stray from God's commands.
I think even Christians fall into this trap in thinking that just because "they are Christian" they will be spared from judgement. Spared from judgement day when they are asked to give an account of what they did for God. How they served. Who they served.
I think our country is modern-day Judah. I think we are the modern day people of Judah.
And the further in this journey I get, the more questions I have. God's ways and God's plans are simply not always easy to understand. I've never experienced that more than I have this week.
But that's ok. God does understand.
Jeremiah 1
"The word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
"Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.
I cannot recall how many times I tried to use excuses to not be an advocate. To not put myself in a position to cause such harsh criticism at times. When God appoints you to do something, stirs in you to do something, or just calls you completely out-of-the-blue to do something, you simply do it and trust that God will indeed rescue you.
I have an internet friend who is an autism advocate. A pretty fearless one at that. She knows what it's like to be called to do something and have to at the same time endure such hardship and criticism in doing it. Her daughter, who is but a child still, wants to start talking about her brother with autism. Educate her friends. Her mom is rightly concerned. She knows what lies ahead for her daughter on that path. I hope that above verse comforts her in that if God called that "I am only a child" to want to speak up for her little brother, then God will indeed be with her and rescue her.
Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.
I have been so heartbroken for the huge step backward in autism awareness with the admission of a young man with autism to a psychiatric ward for drugs, drugs, and more drugs; and not a medical center for bio-medical testing and treatment. I have such hope in Jeremiah 1:10 that says, "See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
Oh how I pray Jeremiah 1:19 for all the Alex's and all their parents. It's worth repeating, again and again and again:
They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.
The autism community is Jeremiah in that sense. We have been appointed, like it or not, to uproot, tear down, destroy, and overthrow all that is wrong in the medical, pharmaceutical, and vaccine industry. The destruction of our children's health by their callous disregard was our calling.
In this book of the Bible it is about the worst disaster in history --- and it is exactly what our children are facing now in modern times. The vaccine program, Pharma, and closed-minded doctors - are all the worst health disaster.
My only hope is that so very often, disasters lead to hope rekindled, even in the midst of flames.
I'm sure prophets in the Bible times were hated much like autism advocates are in modern time. Poor Jeremiah had to warn everyone of impending doom and gloom. Impending judgement for their sinful ways.
Jeremiah 1:16
I will pronounce my judgements on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made.
All we autism advocates seem to do is share bad news as well. Discrimination, abuse, death. Vaccines maim, Pharma is corrupt, Medical doctors are ignorant.
Their judgement was because of abandoning God and putting their trust in something as useless as a cracked pot to carry water.
Jeremiah 2:13
My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
I know we have done the same. We have allowed our government to brainwash us into putting our trust in man-made medicine vs God's perfectly designed immune system.
Jeremiah warned the people of that day they would be wiped out, that a holocaust was coming.
I wonder if Autism is ours.
Our idolatry of drugs, profit, greed. Our too busy lives in putting more time, energy, and thought into our next car purchase than what we allow to be injected in our children and for what reason. Our insistence in trying to outsmart God's perfect design.
Jeremiah 2:21
I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?That verse brings such mommy guilt! I gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy. Why did I turn against that and put my faith in man telling me I had to inject this perfectly healthy baby with poison?
God had been trying to warn the people of Judah, but they refused to listen. Much like our government today, and much like our children's doctors today who are told what to think, what to believe, over thinking and researching for themselves.
Jeremiah 5:21
Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.....That is us! The 1 in 88 are screaming out yet our government does not hear!
In so very many ways I can just hear God saying these things in Jeremiah 7:
Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!" If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe" -- safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord."
OOOPSIES!
I think the vaccine industry, Pharma, and the medical establishment with regard to the cause and treatment of autism - is that den of robbers.
And parents have been watching. And they've started thinking. And acting.
Jeremiah 7:23
Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
Jeremiah 7:28
Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.
Jeremiah 7:30
The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it.
I can't separate the disobedience of the people of Judah then, from the greed, corruption, and callous disregard of the people behind Pharma, GMO's, CDC, Vaccine Industry of now.
God wasn't going to take Judah's disobedience any longer.
Jeremiah tried to warn them.
Nor will we take the destruction of our children's health any longer.
You've been warned.
And though I write many of these with regard to my autism journey, make no mistake, this book applies to all of us, in all ways.
We've been warned...
Jeremiah 1-10
Some describe this book of the Bible as being the worst disaster in history. A holocoust-sized disaster. I think the people of Judah would agree.
It's hard for me to sort out the many references to life today these readings in this book bring about. Much like us Americans, we think that just by the fact that we live in the United States of America is protection enough. That God, our 'temple,' will protect us no matter how far we stray from the principles our forefathers founded our great country on. No matter how far we stray from God's commands.
I think even Christians fall into this trap in thinking that just because "they are Christian" they will be spared from judgement. Spared from judgement day when they are asked to give an account of what they did for God. How they served. Who they served.
I think our country is modern-day Judah. I think we are the modern day people of Judah.
And the further in this journey I get, the more questions I have. God's ways and God's plans are simply not always easy to understand. I've never experienced that more than I have this week.
But that's ok. God does understand.
Jeremiah 1
"The word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
"Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."
But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.
I cannot recall how many times I tried to use excuses to not be an advocate. To not put myself in a position to cause such harsh criticism at times. When God appoints you to do something, stirs in you to do something, or just calls you completely out-of-the-blue to do something, you simply do it and trust that God will indeed rescue you.
I have an internet friend who is an autism advocate. A pretty fearless one at that. She knows what it's like to be called to do something and have to at the same time endure such hardship and criticism in doing it. Her daughter, who is but a child still, wants to start talking about her brother with autism. Educate her friends. Her mom is rightly concerned. She knows what lies ahead for her daughter on that path. I hope that above verse comforts her in that if God called that "I am only a child" to want to speak up for her little brother, then God will indeed be with her and rescue her.
Jeremiah 1:19
They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.
I have been so heartbroken for the huge step backward in autism awareness with the admission of a young man with autism to a psychiatric ward for drugs, drugs, and more drugs; and not a medical center for bio-medical testing and treatment. I have such hope in Jeremiah 1:10 that says, "See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."
Oh how I pray Jeremiah 1:19 for all the Alex's and all their parents. It's worth repeating, again and again and again:
They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.
The autism community is Jeremiah in that sense. We have been appointed, like it or not, to uproot, tear down, destroy, and overthrow all that is wrong in the medical, pharmaceutical, and vaccine industry. The destruction of our children's health by their callous disregard was our calling.
In this book of the Bible it is about the worst disaster in history --- and it is exactly what our children are facing now in modern times. The vaccine program, Pharma, and closed-minded doctors - are all the worst health disaster.
My only hope is that so very often, disasters lead to hope rekindled, even in the midst of flames.
I'm sure prophets in the Bible times were hated much like autism advocates are in modern time. Poor Jeremiah had to warn everyone of impending doom and gloom. Impending judgement for their sinful ways.
Jeremiah 1:16
I will pronounce my judgements on my people because of their wickedness in forsaking me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made.
All we autism advocates seem to do is share bad news as well. Discrimination, abuse, death. Vaccines maim, Pharma is corrupt, Medical doctors are ignorant.
Their judgement was because of abandoning God and putting their trust in something as useless as a cracked pot to carry water.
Jeremiah 2:13
My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."
I know we have done the same. We have allowed our government to brainwash us into putting our trust in man-made medicine vs God's perfectly designed immune system.
Jeremiah warned the people of that day they would be wiped out, that a holocaust was coming.
I wonder if Autism is ours.
Our idolatry of drugs, profit, greed. Our too busy lives in putting more time, energy, and thought into our next car purchase than what we allow to be injected in our children and for what reason. Our insistence in trying to outsmart God's perfect design.
Jeremiah 2:21
I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?That verse brings such mommy guilt! I gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy. Why did I turn against that and put my faith in man telling me I had to inject this perfectly healthy baby with poison?
God had been trying to warn the people of Judah, but they refused to listen. Much like our government today, and much like our children's doctors today who are told what to think, what to believe, over thinking and researching for themselves.
Jeremiah 5:21
Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.....That is us! The 1 in 88 are screaming out yet our government does not hear!
In so very many ways I can just hear God saying these things in Jeremiah 7:
Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!" If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe" -- safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord."
OOOPSIES!
I think the vaccine industry, Pharma, and the medical establishment with regard to the cause and treatment of autism - is that den of robbers.
And parents have been watching. And they've started thinking. And acting.
Jeremiah 7:23
Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
Jeremiah 7:28
Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.
Jeremiah 7:30
The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it.
I can't separate the disobedience of the people of Judah then, from the greed, corruption, and callous disregard of the people behind Pharma, GMO's, CDC, Vaccine Industry of now.
God wasn't going to take Judah's disobedience any longer.
Jeremiah tried to warn them.
Nor will we take the destruction of our children's health any longer.
You've been warned.
And though I write many of these with regard to my autism journey, make no mistake, this book applies to all of us, in all ways.
We've been warned...
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Honoring the Sabbath and House of Prayer
These verses were in Isaiah, but I felt they warranted their own little post because of their significance...
No explanations necessary, these scriptures say it all.
Isaiah 56:7
For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
Isaiah 58:13
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
No explanations necessary, these scriptures say it all.
Isaiah 56:7
For my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
Isaiah 58:13
"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord's holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Come just as you are...
Day 53
Isaiah 54-66
The common theme seems to me, how God is asking us to come to Him, or come back to Him. It reminds me of a song with these beautiful lyrics:
Come just as you are
Come just as you are
Hear the spirit call
Come just as you are
Come and see
Come receive
Come and live forever
Life everlasting
Strength for today
Taste the living water
And never thirst again
Come just has you are
Don't you hear the spirit call
Come just has you are
Come and see
Christ my king
Come and live forever more
I've done that once in my life, asked the Lord into my life so that I would have life everlasting.
But in so many other ways, I still hear that beckoning, Him asking me to, "Come just as you are..."
I think that's one of the most profound things that my son with autism has in common with God. That unconditional love that says, "Come, just as you are," I don't care if you are perfect, I don't care if you are black, yellow, red, or white. Rich or poor. Beautiful or ugly.
I don't have to pretend to be anything or anyone I'm not with God, nor do I have to with my son who has autism.
In Isaiah 54 I see that a lot, where for whatever reason, for whatever sin, God asks us to simply come to him....
Come, just as you are ---
"Do not be afraid, you will not suffer shame."
"Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated."
"...my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed."
Come, just as you are ---
Isaiah 54:17
"...no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me," declares the Lord.
Come, just as you are ---
Isaiah 55
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! "Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live."
So many times I've come to God in this "Life with Autism" and asked so many questions. So many "Why's?" and I suppose that Isaiah 55:8 is the answer I'm just going to have to accept until that life everlasting opportunity to have a good sit down with God!
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
Isaiah 61 is a beautiful picture of what God promises to those who simply come to him...
He binds up the brokenhearted.
Proclaims freedom for the captives.
Releases prisoners from darkness.
Comforts all who mourn.
Provides for those who grieve.
Bestows a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
Gladness instead of mourning,
Praise for despair.
Rebuilds ruins.
Restores places long devastated.
Give a double portion instead of shame.
Inheritance for disgrace.
Have any of you ever needed comfort for any of those things?
I sure have.
That's why I love this days reading. Because when you come to Him with any of those things, Isaiah 58:11 says that "The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
He asks you to simply come just as you are....
Thank you Lord.
Click here to listen to "Come Just As You Are" song.
Isaiah 54-66
The common theme seems to me, how God is asking us to come to Him, or come back to Him. It reminds me of a song with these beautiful lyrics:
Come just as you are
Come just as you are
Hear the spirit call
Come just as you are
Come and see
Come receive
Come and live forever
Life everlasting
Strength for today
Taste the living water
And never thirst again
Come just has you are
Don't you hear the spirit call
Come just has you are
Come and see
Christ my king
Come and live forever more
I've done that once in my life, asked the Lord into my life so that I would have life everlasting.
But in so many other ways, I still hear that beckoning, Him asking me to, "Come just as you are..."
I think that's one of the most profound things that my son with autism has in common with God. That unconditional love that says, "Come, just as you are," I don't care if you are perfect, I don't care if you are black, yellow, red, or white. Rich or poor. Beautiful or ugly.
I don't have to pretend to be anything or anyone I'm not with God, nor do I have to with my son who has autism.
In Isaiah 54 I see that a lot, where for whatever reason, for whatever sin, God asks us to simply come to him....
Come, just as you are ---
"Do not be afraid, you will not suffer shame."
"Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated."
"...my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed."
Come, just as you are ---
Isaiah 54:17
"...no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me," declares the Lord.
Come, just as you are ---
Isaiah 55
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! "Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live."
So many times I've come to God in this "Life with Autism" and asked so many questions. So many "Why's?" and I suppose that Isaiah 55:8 is the answer I'm just going to have to accept until that life everlasting opportunity to have a good sit down with God!
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
Isaiah 61 is a beautiful picture of what God promises to those who simply come to him...
He binds up the brokenhearted.
Proclaims freedom for the captives.
Releases prisoners from darkness.
Comforts all who mourn.
Provides for those who grieve.
Bestows a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
Gladness instead of mourning,
Praise for despair.
Rebuilds ruins.
Restores places long devastated.
Give a double portion instead of shame.
Inheritance for disgrace.
Have any of you ever needed comfort for any of those things?
I sure have.
That's why I love this days reading. Because when you come to Him with any of those things, Isaiah 58:11 says that "The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail."
He asks you to simply come just as you are....
Thank you Lord.
Click here to listen to "Come Just As You Are" song.
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