This short 4-minute video will be a help to you (or others) if you ever experience someone attacking you on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The world has changed in the last 20 years, and applying grace in tough situations is an important part of who we are as followers of Jesus Christ in a world filled with hate. Don't take it personally.
8 comments:
Thanks for this post, WADE
“The peace of God,” says the Apostle, “which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” There are many things in the Gospel to alarm us, many to agitate us, many to transport us, but the end and issue of all these is peace. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.”
. . . . consider this. Did you ever look at an expanse of water, and observe the ripples on the surface? Do you think that disturbance penetrates below it? Nay; you have seen or heard of fearful tempests on the sea; scenes of horror and distress, which are in no respect a fit type of an Apostle’s tears or sighings about his flock. Yet even these violent commotions do not reach into the depths.
The foundations of the ocean, the vast realms of water which girdle the earth, are as tranquil and as silent in the storm as in a calm. So is it with the souls of holy men. They have a well of peace springing up within them unfathomable; and though the accidents of the hour may make them seem agitated, yet in their hearts they are not so. . . .
. . . . the Christian has a deep, silent, hidden peace, which the world sees not – like some well in a retired and shady place, difficult of access. He is the greater part of his time by himself, and when he is in solitude, that is his real state. What he is when left to himself and to his God, that is his true life. He can bear himself; he can (as it were) joy in himself, for it is the grace of God within him, it is the presence of the Eternal Comforter, in which he joys."
(John Henry Newman)
Thanks for this post, WADE
“The peace of God,” says the Apostle, “which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” There are many things in the Gospel to alarm us, many to agitate us, many to transport us, but the end and issue of all these is peace. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.”
. . . . consider this. Did you ever look at an expanse of water, and observe the ripples on the surface? Do you think that disturbance penetrates below it? Nay; you have seen or heard of fearful tempests on the sea; scenes of horror and distress, which are in no respect a fit type of an Apostle’s tears or sighings about his flock. Yet even these violent commotions do not reach into the depths.
The foundations of the ocean, the vast realms of water which girdle the earth, are as tranquil and as silent in the storm as in a calm. So is it with the souls of holy men. They have a well of peace springing up within them unfathomable; and though the accidents of the hour may make them seem agitated, yet in their hearts they are not so. . . .
. . . . the Christian has a deep, silent, hidden peace, which the world sees not – like some well in a retired and shady place, difficult of access. He is the greater part of his time by himself, and when he is in solitude, that is his real state. What he is when left to himself and to his God, that is his true life. He can bear himself; he can (as it were) joy in himself, for it is the grace of God within him, it is the presence of the Eternal Comforter, in which he joys."
(John Henry Newman)
CHRISTIANE,
Good reply!
Wade,
This is not a comment. Wanted you to know and example of “a land filled with hate.”
Hez Dwaine Ray is my nephew. He received an Honorable Discharge after four years in the Navy. His wife, Elizabeth grew up poor in the Philippines. She ate fish heads and chicken feet. She never wanted food waisted.
David Baker was Alaska's Commissary and Exchange Department Head Supervisor for Alaska. He was the boss of Fred Meyers West where Elizabeth worked. The store put outdated food in the garbage.
As Elizabeth was leaving work, a senior employee asked if she’d like to have some outdated food in a plastic bag. It was a doughnut, a pastry, and three hot dogs. After checking the date, she took it.
Hez was waiting in his car for her to get off work. When she arrived, David ran up yelling, “You’re a thief”, grabbed the bag, and had the military police arrest her.
After two years, six court appearances, and with the help of a lawyer, Elizabeth was found not guilty in a civilian court.
The military had her handcuffed in a jail cell for six hours. Told her she’d be released if she agreed to pay for the food that was valued at $17. She signed a paper she would pay for the food. That made her a thief in their court and prevents her from receiving any help from the Veterans Administration.
So that we 'do not pass by on the other side':
The difference between 'freedom' and 'responsibility' as presented in the Holy Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 10
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
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