The Age All Battle of Good vs. Bad

March 17th, 2006

The Age All Battle of Good vs. Bad

Plug: If anyone wants to join a yahoo sports fantasy baseball league with me and some other Christians, go to http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/. The league name is Rangers Rule, the league ID is 54016, and the password is rangersrock. There is a maximum of 20 teams in this league, the draft is Saturday afternoon (and you can preorder your picks prior to the draft if you can’t be there), and there are now 5 teams signed up thus far (and I only signed up once, for those who might be wondering). There are still 15 more sports left and the draft in on Saturday around noon-time. Please join… I promise to tone my smack ever so slightly…

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!

Job 2:10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

I’ve heard people rephrase this to say, “Should I not accept the good things from God and not bad?” I sometimes wonder what is bad. I mean, I have been diagnosed with a heart attack… at first, I was like “WHY?!” But as time went on, my mind seemed to change a bit. Bad is considered evil, sinful, vulgar and obscene. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like God to me. And if God allowed the heart attack to happen, in my mind that can be interpreted as a blessing… (Work with me on this – I am going somewhere with it all). As one domino falls onto another, so is how God works. And with this heart attack, maybe my life is cut a little shorter, but it is just one domino falling onto another… God is going somewhere with it all. Whether he simply wants me to follow a better diet, or whether it is to help encourage someone else, or to help Elvis turn in his grave, I don’t know. But I trust in God, and that is really all I need.

Psalm 109:25-28
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads. 26 Help me, O LORD my God; save me in accordance with your love. 27 Let them know that it is your hand, that you, O LORD, have done it. 28 They may curse, but you will bless; when they attack they will be put to shame, but your servant will rejoice.

God blesses. That’s what he does… and when he blesses, I should probably rejoice. A twisted view this may be, but with the knowledge of the heart attack, I now rejoice at the greater days to come, if not for me, for someone else. One thing I have realized is that I am born to die. Not a pleasant thought… but the thought is a real one. The reality of it all is that I was born on March 25th of 1974 and someday, sooner or later (and I hope later), I will more on to another life. What I can control is how I live my life now. I can make good decisions, trust in God, and help others. I can also make bad decisions, curse God, and help myself in foolish desires.

Deuteronomy 30:6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

Deuteronomy 30:16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

Simple enough… love God and live. Curse God and die… for me, it is love God and live. Have a great Shamrock day! Johnny Out.