was in chat with Rob tonight and he wrote a poem on Exhaustion:
Exhaustion
Laying back in the arms of my chair
I feel exhaustion wondering if I can bear
Bear the painstaking tasks that come
I want to hide I want to run.
Exhaustion came at the end of the day
I need to keep the debtors at bay
They want my blood, they want my soul
I am too weary to hold my bowl.
I am so tired, I can't sleep right now
I can't raise a smile, I wish I knew how
To be in exhaustion all of my days
I work and work come what may.
For what purpose do I sow these seeds?
Is it for self, is it for greed?
I ponder this question that arises
How many days will be full of surprises?
Finally rest does come to my weary bones
Each muscle aches and I can't condone
Condone the thoughts of giving in
To the lazy side of me that wants to sin.
I don't want to curse God for making it so
Difficult to comprehend the sorrow and woe
The day is long, my back is wrenched
How can I entertain what is meant?
Meant to teach me endurance, holding on to faith
That the day passes quickly, and it's not a race
Each person hits their peak and falls into valleys
A tired worn out soul, exhausted wants to tarry.
When sleep finally comes to this exhausted soul
Resting in the arms of God, I reach my goal
To receive some peace and comfort there
All my days I'll forever be aware.
That God is with me every which way
He turned me loose and denied the grave
Thank you Lord, I am resting in you
I feel your love and I know others do too.
Rob Hough 30/09/2007 12:04
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
TEN REASONS WHY I REJECT ETERNAL TORMENT!
Many ministers believe that when the wicked die they pass into hellfire, there to suffer endless torture by a vengeful God. Here are ten reasons why Christians who study the Scriptures should reject such a doctrine.
1. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it claims that the lost will continue living forever, which is contrary to Scripture's plainest testimony: "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12). "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20). "No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15).
2. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it robs us of our God of love and substitutes a being whose wrath is never appeased. God is "not willing that any should perishm but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:19).
3. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it cannot be reconciled with the picture the bible gives of Christ. Jesus said, "Suffer (Allow) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:14). Could this Jesus, who gathered little children in His arms and blessed them while here on earth, take little children and torture them throughout eternity?
4. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because the redeemed, who will have a part in the final judgement, could never condemn their fellow creatures - their relatives, grandparents, parents, husbands, wives, and children - to unending torture. Their sense of justice could never permit such an atrocity. "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" (1 Corinthians 6:2).
5. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it imposes a punishment all out of proportion to the crimes committed and thus violates the infinite justice of God. "But we are sure that the judgement of God is according to truth against them which commit such things" (Romans 2:2). "I judge and my judgement is just" (John 5:30), Christ tells us.
6. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it would forever cast a shadow over the happiness of the redeemed to know that somewhere in the universe their own relatives - their flesh and blood - were being tortured, tormented, and toasted over undying flames. But "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Revelation 7:17).
7. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it demands that an eternal plague of sin taint God's universe and makes it impossible for God to eradicate sin completely from His domain: "Through death he (Christ) might destroy him that had the power of death,that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
8. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it perpetuates and immortalizws sin, suffering, sorrow, and pain, and thus it contradicts and nullifies God's promises that these things will no more exist: "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
9. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it vilifies God's character and turns Him into a monstrous agent of satan - a miracle worker who keeps the wicked alive moment by moment in a fire that burns but cannot consume, that hurts but cannot destroy. God would have to miraculously sustain the lives of the lost in an aimless and endless punishment. Hence God would in reality become worse than satan himself. Instead, "good and upright is the Lord" (Psalm 25:8; "O taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8).
10. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because of the fruit it has brought forth here on earth. It has caused untold thousands, like Robert Ingersoll, to turn their backs on God and become His bitterest opponents.
Moreover, it has caused thousands of others to do unspeakable things to their fellow humans in the name of God. Many who led out in the infamous inquisition of Europe and the witch-hunts of early America were religious men who believed they were carrying out the will of God. These devout persecutors tortured heretics in order to save their souls from the eternal damnation in the flames of hell.
1. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it claims that the lost will continue living forever, which is contrary to Scripture's plainest testimony: "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12). "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20). "No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (1 John 3:15).
2. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it robs us of our God of love and substitutes a being whose wrath is never appeased. God is "not willing that any should perishm but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:19).
3. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it cannot be reconciled with the picture the bible gives of Christ. Jesus said, "Suffer (Allow) little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:14). Could this Jesus, who gathered little children in His arms and blessed them while here on earth, take little children and torture them throughout eternity?
4. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because the redeemed, who will have a part in the final judgement, could never condemn their fellow creatures - their relatives, grandparents, parents, husbands, wives, and children - to unending torture. Their sense of justice could never permit such an atrocity. "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?" (1 Corinthians 6:2).
5. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it imposes a punishment all out of proportion to the crimes committed and thus violates the infinite justice of God. "But we are sure that the judgement of God is according to truth against them which commit such things" (Romans 2:2). "I judge and my judgement is just" (John 5:30), Christ tells us.
6. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it would forever cast a shadow over the happiness of the redeemed to know that somewhere in the universe their own relatives - their flesh and blood - were being tortured, tormented, and toasted over undying flames. But "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Revelation 7:17).
7. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it demands that an eternal plague of sin taint God's universe and makes it impossible for God to eradicate sin completely from His domain: "Through death he (Christ) might destroy him that had the power of death,that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
8. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it perpetuates and immortalizws sin, suffering, sorrow, and pain, and thus it contradicts and nullifies God's promises that these things will no more exist: "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
9. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because it vilifies God's character and turns Him into a monstrous agent of satan - a miracle worker who keeps the wicked alive moment by moment in a fire that burns but cannot consume, that hurts but cannot destroy. God would have to miraculously sustain the lives of the lost in an aimless and endless punishment. Hence God would in reality become worse than satan himself. Instead, "good and upright is the Lord" (Psalm 25:8; "O taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8).
10. I reject the teaching of eternal torment because of the fruit it has brought forth here on earth. It has caused untold thousands, like Robert Ingersoll, to turn their backs on God and become His bitterest opponents.
Moreover, it has caused thousands of others to do unspeakable things to their fellow humans in the name of God. Many who led out in the infamous inquisition of Europe and the witch-hunts of early America were religious men who believed they were carrying out the will of God. These devout persecutors tortured heretics in order to save their souls from the eternal damnation in the flames of hell.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
I cried..
I cried again today...
As I watched you slip away
Out of my life
Because of the strife...
And I cried again today.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Sometimes the right song...
Comes on at the right time...In this case, we were in the car on the way home from work last night, tense, not speaking to one another, when this song came on...how appropriate, I thought...
"Numb"
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
"Numb"
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
Don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
Become so tired so much more aware
I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
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