- Not The Only One!
- 03 Feb 25
- Post # 178
- ” Rebel Heart”
- Howdy!
- Thanks once more for checking in. I have been on the record several times about my love of history. I think that it’s important to know where we come from and to learn from our mistakes and hopefully not to repeat them. As human beings we have relatively short memories and attention spans☺️☺️. Sometimes something will look slightly different from something that we have encountered before and we will fail to recognize that it’s a trap door that we have fallen through before. So! , learn and remember and be better. 😀 I’m not going to bore you with history today but hopefully point to how things repeat themselves and that we can use that to build on and hopefully become the better in the present and the future.
- Most people are familiar with our history here in the U.S. but as a country and a nation we are relatively babies compared to the world as a whole. We have less than three hundred years under our belt and that’s pretty measly compared to other cultures and countries that number in the thousands of years. If there is one thing that connects us all and through out all history is revolution. We can point to wars and the over throw of the powers at be, not just here, but around the globe, and no century has been free of some human element fighting for freedom or some kind of change to the status quo. Looking at conflicts, both armed and otherwise, is a Hallmark of humanity and is as old as Cain and Abel. We can always find something to be discontent about, and often rightfully so. The mere suggestion of conflict means that there is opposition and more than one perspective to be taken in account. These things will often revolve around some kind of rights as to basic human rights, and or other social issues that point to something of an uneven playing field or disadvantage.
- We love throwing around the term grass roots as in its something that basic ordinary people should be able to get behind, but we are all so different and we often have to make compromises to sweeten the pot for other who may not be fully on board with our agenda. We are hoping for the grass roots to become a ground swell, that will eventually become a loud cry for change. In this country we have the ability, privilege and right to peaceful demonstration, but that is not the case in much of the world, and cries for change can be met with brutal crack downs , often by military might. So !, yes we are talking about oppression and it’s a real thing. We mostly think of oppression as a bad thing and for the most part it absolutely is, but there is an exception to the rule and let’s just stick a pin in that for now, we will double back….promise!
- I have heard the moans and groans, and they are not of a sexual nature 😊😊. They aren’t even of a quiet whisper, but grumblings that would drown out any hungry belly or the strongest hunger pains, and they are absolutely political in nature. Maybe it’s my social media feed and it’s just bad, but it’s just loaded with people unhappy with all of the recent changes in our government. It has caused some to pack up and fly away to other countries or places, and the boarder of Canada seems to be a popular destination for many . ☺️☺️I don’t know how we got here, or where it all started, but it’s a report card of sorts and it’s about how much business does an incoming administration gets done in it’s first hundred days. I believe that Mr. Trump hit the ground running and had much time to plan out different strategies. Still the belief of some is that it’s just to much, to fast, and to soon, and of course some just say it’s just down right wrong. ☺️This is one of those opportunities to pull others in and show them what’s in it for them to join your ranks of dissension . A huge part of making changes is to sometimes working with people that we may not like or have very much in common with.
- Change is inevitable, it’s kind of like the weather. If you don’t like the weather , just wait and it will change.☺️ All change is neither good nor bad, but the process to either extremes can often be painful. I don’t know if you have ever known someone who had a broken bone and it healed improperly and they had to go back in and reset the bone, but it’s a painful process and very necessary. There are similarities between that and what is currently going on in our government. There are things that have been in an improper way and some changes needed to take place. I’m not saying that Mr. Trump is some kind of surgeon, but certain things need to be set back to some kind of standard. It’s mostly and usually about money and this is no exception, but it’s falls across the board , and if not all, most will feel some pain from the decisions being made now. Hopefully there will be some healing on the other side. I said early on that history has a way of repeating itself and this is not the first time that we have been here, and not so long ago. If you go back and retrace the early days of the Reagan administration, you will see very similar patterns, the difference this time is that the pacifiers have been taken away and replaced with megaphones, no social media in the eighties ☺️☺️
- As human beings we can always find something to be dissatisfied about and to war against, and it can be from our coffee being too hot, bad service in some establishment , complaints about being unappreciated at home or work and maybe both☺️☺️. There is always the weather or something in the news , to be miffed about. I still think and believe that many of the things that we complain about are actually blessings in disguise, be it our kids, job, or maybe a spouse. Let’s just face it, we aren’t happy unless we have something to be unhappy about ☺️☺️. It sounds sad , and it is, but it’s absolutely true. I think what we need is some kind of universal scape goat that we can just pin all of our miseries on. I don’t know who or what that would be, but a real popular choice for an end game seems to be God. I mean, He can control the weather, right?☺️☺️. Unfortunately this is just another opportunity for us to show our rebellious streak . When it comes to God and some hearts it’s a straight up war. It’s the worse kind of war, because they don’t understand their defeated before the clash begins . Still they gear up with intellectual arguments, unreasonable expectations and logic that is a few fries short of a happy meal ☺️☺️. I mean who hasn’t wrestled with the whole concept of God being both justice , fair, and loving all at the same time and not having favorites. It’s just sounds like an impossible task, and I believe that it is, only we are talking about God who doesn’t have the same limits that we do, so all things are possible with God.
- I sometimes will like to flip the script , and just a little bit today. ….another promise, I haven’t forgotten the first one☺️☺️. This one is going to cause me to whip out a scripture verse and watch what takes place with it. I’m not going to quote it , but make reference to it , so that you can read it for yourself, but it’s 2nd Corinthians, chapter four, verse four. It basically makes reference to how certain things are hidden from certain people. It actually says that they have been blinded . Just for a moment imagine having twenty-twenty vision and not being able to see something plainly in front of you. ☺️This is the exact picture of people who can’t see or receive the goodness of God. These are often some of the most intelligent people that we will ever run across. They have absolute brilliant minds and if it’s something in geometry, no problem. Something history, boom, the brain recalls it, no problem. Chemistry, physics , the most complex equations of the universe, and boom! No problem. God’s love and sovereignty… pump the breaks!!!, say what?? I can’t follow or see that one! Sometimes in the dark we may feel around for a light switch, so we are seeing with our fingers. Sometimes we may be in a store or at a friend’s house and we smell the most amazing chocolate chip cookies and we follow that smell to the kitchen or wherever, so we are seeing figuratively with our nose. There are certain things that we can only see with a soften heart, and without that we miss things that are plainly in front of us. Maybe that checks the corny box for you, but the same is true every time we walk past someone who has an obvious need in their life and you just walk on by. What is worse is even knowing that there is a need and still just not take the time or making the effort. Stop holding on to your wallet or purse, sometimes a person’s biggest need is just a hug
- . What kind of blinders or tunnel vision are we talking about here? Well!, it’s still about that rebel heart. These are the people who have constant push back about anything or anyone that has any infringement against their own self rule. I will take one for the team here , and I mean squarely on the chin . I’m almost certain that there have been times when I have given people the wrong impression about my commitment to Jesus Christ. I’m human and there are certain things that God has just stripped away from me such as course language and a whole host of other activities, but a bad attitude at times and impatience , some days just a struggle. I’ve always had a low tolerance for certain behaviors and I may occasionally let someone know that, and probably not in the nicest way☺️. As I have said before, I can fix stupid , but its going to hurt☺️☺️ See there I go ☺️☺️Yeah! , I’ve probably laughed at a joke or two , that I probably shouldn’t have laughed at. What I’m trying to express is that my humanity wrestles with the spirit that God has deposited inside of me. So if I’ve ever given anyone the wrong impression that I’m not all in on the Jesus bus, that would be a gross misrepresentation. If it has ever looked like I was just going along with the crowd and that was OK, again my bad, and sorry about that one as well. When I mess up , I have someone to go to and repent or turn away from those actions, ….what about you? I hate to think about it, but there is always some percentage of people out there, who worry and wonder what others will think about them for turning to God. The loss of possible friendships is a real possibility, but God has a new family waiting for You that will make the lost one’s look like a great choice ☺️.
- I’m not going to sugar coat it, some people will never be able to surrender their lives to God, and that’s just super sad. They are people who have ears, but don’t hear, and eyes but don’t see. They hear the message, but because of the hardness of heart the message can’t be internalized, take root and bear good fruit. We all bear some kind of fruit in our lives, but it’s not all good☺️☺️. I think that the none classy move here is to look around at others , instead of looking internally at our own heart and to see if it has grown cold, dark and hard. This may be a good place to get back to that pin that we stuck In earlier, when we were talking about oppression. People can and may make fun of you. They may have jokes for the biggest decision of your life and by the way, true friends seek to understand, not pick at you. It’s probably fair to say that they aren’t going to encourage you in something that they don’t understand or will not allow themselves to see, hear, or believe ….actual death ears , and blind eyes ☺️☺️. So, while this is only a mild, very mild form of oppression, even if it doesn’t feel like it, trust me, it’s not anything close to what many believers have to contend with for their faith. It reads like one of those disclaimer ads for big Pharma☺️☺️, you may loose loved ones and be disowned by your family, community and those closest to you including life long relationships. You may loose your livelihood and ability to support yourself . You may endure and encounter torturous behavior to get you to recant your testimony for Christ and last but not least, may lead to death🥲🥲.
- Here is a very strange and bizarre results of that telling , and it reads like growth and the gospel message spreading like a wildlife. God says that His word will not return to Him void and that it will accomplish His purposes. This is all done from beginning to end by faith. Faith is a gift from God. None of us earned it or worked for it, it’s just a gift, and God did this so that No one can boast about it. Boasting is prideful, and we just love to boast. It’s usually about something that we are good at, could be our jobs, sports, knowledge, anything at all because we like it when other people look up to us, so that we can look down on them….just human nature and if I somehow know something that you don’t know, then I’m somehow superior, but not at the foot of the cross. All level ground and plenty of room for all. We can’t be people of God , being proud and arrogant, it’s just not a representation of who we say that we represent. Christ is humble and meek. Don’t be fooled by the word meek, it doesn’t mean shy….look it up. Tame and tenderize that rebel heart and keep it as fertile ground, ready to receive whatever it is that God has for you.
- Till Next Time ✌️Peace!
- Sandy The Southerner
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