Margo's Moments--Spirit-filled Suspense that touches the heart.
Click here to see the most adorable videos of babies in the womb.
And of course, everyone remembers this little hand gripping the surgeon's finger.
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world!
Red and yellow, black and white,
Whether in or out of sight!
Jesus loves the little children of the world!
Diann Hunt's little dog is failing and she blogged about knowing it was time to put him down. I told her I hurt with her. I've been there several times.
The good news is, I believe we'll see our pets in heaven. The Bible says "creation waits" for glory.
Romans 8:18-20 (NIV)
Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
I take that literally--all of God's creation.
My belief is that pets are like a class of angels. Why not? Look at the strange and wonderful critters in the Bible! Our pets don't sin, they just serve us and God by giving us love and give us pleasure, and then go to heaven. I'm convinced.
However, I was in Tokyo and saw only cars crossing that Rainbow Bridge, LOL
(Vets often send sympathy cards with a very touching poem about a rainbow bridge.)
I hated to give them up, but didn't want to keeping them suffering in their misery.
I figure that finally, *love lets go.*
Our little Shih Tsu was going blind and hard of hearing and when he cried out and his little back leg went stiff, we knew we had to let him go. So we took him to the vet and stayed with him while he left this world.
The assistant brought me scissors and I clipped the plume of his tail and brought it home. I don't even know where it is at the moment. I can't look at it.
He would walk around a corner of the hall and bump into one of those springy little doorstops and we would hear boiiiiing. Now, any time one of us does the same, I remember him.
Now, a few months later, we just got a new puppy. When Jocko died, we asked our other dog, "Do you miss Jocko?" The ears went up and it hurt my heart to know he did. I never asked him that again.
So we got another.
It's hard to think about it when we are losing one, but there are many other wonderful dogs out there waiting to bless us.
Barry Dean 4 Christ writes: Step back, take a deep breath, and weigh it against the Scriptures....
Dr. Albert Mohler dedicated his entire radio program to reviewing the book.... The book is being compared to “Pilgrim’s Progress” for it’s allegorical use. [but] the character Papa who is God (seen by Mac, the main character, as an African American woman) says
When we three spoke ourselves into existence as the son of God we became fully human.
This is a complete destruction of the biblical understanding of the Trinity.
The Godhead did not become human. On page 110 the character of Jesus does not say that I am the only way to Papa (God) but he does in fact say that I am the “best way” that any human can relate to Papa (God). ... [this] flies in the face of John 14:6.
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me It is impossible to get past this verse in scripture. No one has access to the Father except those who follow Jesus Christ. Tim Challies states it in his review of “The Shack”, “the book has a quietly subversive quality to it”.
Throughout the book there is this kind of subversive strain teaching that new and fresh revelation is much more relevant and important than the kind of knowledge we gain in sermons or seminaries or Scripture.
Click here for the full article.
There are those who believe in what Reinhold Neibuhr described as:
“A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.”
In other words, another Gospel, another Jesus, one watered-down and easy to swallow.
Does the popular book, The Shack, go against Paul's warning in 1 Corinthians 4:6 Do not go beyond what is written?
Jan Markell, whose
On page 110 Jesus says that He is perhaps not the way, truth, and life, but the BEST way to relate to the Father and Holy Spirit. Papa God, the African-American female, says she has many followers of many religions in different lands. This is not Orthodox Christianity, yet millions of Christian readers claim it is! Discernment has taken a summer vacation or perhaps a permanent vacation.
Mack asks "Papa" God, the female, about God's wrath. The answer is that she doesn't punish people for sin; rather she wants to cure sin. No mention of repentance, the shed blood, and all the things the new "seeker" environment wants to leave out in the church parking lot.
Yes, clearly, the “Jesus” of The Shack is not Jesus Christ of the Bible.
And God in a muu-muu and turban and cooking turnip greens and saying "sho 'nuff" to show that He has a wonderfully sweet side?
Nothing wrong with a warm, nuturing ethnic character like that. Nothing wrong with allegory in itself, as long as it doesn't misrepresent Scripture or go beyond what is written.
And, yes, I know God has a feminine side to His nature. Isaiah talks about Him comforting like a mother.
The book tries to make God more approachable to those who don't know Him or His love very well.
I can understand and cheer that motive with loud applause and kudos to the authors.
But that Papa is not God the Father, to me.
I think about Jesus at the funeral at Nain, where a widow had lost her only son and now had no man to help her. Jesus brought the son back to life. Our tender-hearted Lord was so moved by the woman's sorrow, He had to pause long enough to tell her, Don't cry.
This is the sweetness of our God in the flesh, Jesus Christ. I would urge people to share that passage instead of that book.
If anyone meets Him in a muu-muu first, well, I just hope The Shack isn't the only book they read!
And, our wonderful Holy Spirit, God who lives inside of us, is also a female and her name is Sarayu? Where does that name come from? Sarayu is a river in India. Please go here and click on this this one about Hindu spirits.
Why associate even obliquely, the blessed Holy Spirit with Hindu gods??? It just raises a red flag with me. It implies Universal Reconciliation, God brings everyone home, with or without the cross. What a waste!
Chuck Colson's column includes many links at the bottom. If his points aren't strong enough for you, he obviously just gets a check in his spirit.
It can seem overwhelming to know how to guard our hearts or to share the Truth.
From The Kingdom of the Cults tapes by the late Walter Martin, I learned a few quick, mind-boggling Bible passages that could apply to The Shack, and definitely to other things out there:
There are other gospels, other jesuses, other spirits. Paul is dismayed that Christians have received them:
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
Galatians 1:9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Whoa!
And to answer the error of the groups that tell us that works will qualify us for Heaven, that the goodness of our puny works is greater than God's hatred of sin and the complete work of the cross:
Galatians 3:1 You foolish Galatians! [Wow!] Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?"
Regarding being entertained by and taking lightly the things that God hates, such as wizardry and talking to the dead--spiritism:
Deuteronomy 18:9 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in [a] the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.
Hmm, God doesn't seem to be aware that enticing books on this subject also entice children to read~
Let's also consider the fact that God made us in His image and He adores us. He's not looking to condemn us, but help us into knowing and loving Him. Blameless in His eyes by coming to Him by Way of the cross.
And for those that have a new revelation for a new time, a new place, a new society, I fell in love with Jude verse 3: Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend (defend vigorously) for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.
I love that one so much because I once explored a cult that came knocking on my door, and I could have been led astray, myself. I am yes, eternally grateful that I found the Truth of the Word of God. Not that I have it all down perfectly, not that I am perfect, by any means. But having been pulled to safety, I just want to reach out to others in danger.
Most of us probably understand that we as writers have a huge responsibility.
Like it or not, we are sort of taking on the role as teachers.
Like it or not, Christian author just sounds a little authoritative.
Like it or not, this warning's attached:
James 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Ack! If we get it right, that's one thing. But, as always, and perhaps, moreso, today:
2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
Unsaved people who do not understand sin and salvation and the power of the blood of Christ (foreshadowed by thousands of years of sacrifices of doves, lambs and goats) look to us and our writing to at least represent the Truth that sets us free.
Saved people will look to us for confirmation, or at least, no contradiction. Safe to enjoy and share.
Not talking here about whether to use hymns or praise songs, sprinkling or immersion, or to drink or not, but the John 3:16-18 Gospel, itself, and the definitions of the Persons involved.
Walter Martin said again and again, Ask for definitions. Ask for definitions. Ask for definitions.
With God's help, and His definitions, we and our books won't lead readers astray, at which point, we recall, it would be better to have a millstone tied around our necks, as Jesus said, and be cast into the sea.
We live in the Post-Christian era, some say. Roger Ebert, liberal movie critic, even says we are spinning out of control. We certainly live in troubled times.
People don't know where to turn.
Some will turn to us and our books.
What an awesome responsibility!
Obviously, we want to comfort and strengthen and maybe lead them to the Lord.
But with the wrong definitions, we could lead some astray with another gospel, another jesus, another spirit.
I have to agree with that quote at the top:
This false teaching about a “God” who “dwells in, around, and through all things” is the kind of New Age leaven that, left unchallenged, could leaven the church into the New Age/New Spirituality of the proposed New World Religion. And while many people have expressed a great deal of emotional attachment to The Shack and its characters — this leaven alone contaminates the whole book.
Clearly, the “Jesus” of The Shack is not Jesus Christ of the Bible.
Others may disagree and enjoy the book. I love and respect my friends and they have that freedom. : )
But if this book really does present another Gospel--no sin--and another jesus--the best way instead of the only way--then my friend, Patty Carroll is not exaggerating when she calls the Shack "Shacking up with the Enemy."
I doubt that I'll ever read the book. I've read too many questionable reviews about images I just don't especially want in my mind and spirit. I try to heed the warning, "Guard your heart."
There will always be controversial books that skirt the truth. I don't need to read them all, even though conventional wisdom says I should, not to let others do my thinking for me, to be able to share the Truth with others, etc.
But I don't have to read every counterfeit in every bookstore along the pike to recognize the traits of a counterfeit trinity. I just need to know and share the priceless original Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Kristy's husband, Milton, wrote on Kristy's blog about how beautiful Kristy is, and he offered to put on her makeup. Her respons: "No way!" LOL http://christianlovestories.blogspot.com/
I wrote a comment:
*******
Margo Carmichael said...
"No way"? LOL
Maybe the thought of you putting Kristy's makeup on her reminds her of a certain youth camp skit:
The Beauty Demo.
A boy pretending to be a girl stands behind a table full of cosmetics--cold cream, face powder, lipstick, etc.--and someone behind him, partly behind a curtain, only arms exposed, applies the cosmetics to the "girl's" face as she earnestly describes the beauty process. Neither is able to see what the applyer is doing to the applyee and the whole thing is hilarious.
Thanks for the giggle
Yes, Kristy is beautiful. I was sitting at a table beside the restaurant doo in Nashville, I believe, at ACFW, when she popped in, and that was the first time I saw her and thought, "She is darling."
Prayers and blessings for you all today. : )
5:55 PM
************
I re-read that after it was published. Ack! I wrote another comment:
**********
Margo Carmichael said...
"Restaurant doo"???
Oh, wait, restaurant "door," of course. Silly me, too gentle on the r. Pardon my Southern accent.
I am still praying for complete healing for Kristy Dykes--and now, Ted Kennedy--in this world, in this life, and that God would receive all the glory.
Unless and until the Holy Spirit tells me to do otherwise, I will look at the Word and not at the situation:
"With His stripes, we are/were healed," Isaiah 53:5, and Peter something.
I know that seems to hold out false hope to those that love her. Sometimes, I tell a family I stand in agreement with whatever they pray. I'm not sure what the Lord thinks about that, to tell you the truth.
I also adore this one:
Habakkuk 3:2
"LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy."
And not just for the sake of just an experience, but so we may know Him better!!!
Why don't we see more healings? Especially those that really believe for them? I don't know. I have really believed for some in this life and seen their "graduation" instead.
I think it's the times we live in. Jesus in Matthew 13:58 did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
I just think we live in the powerless Laodicean Church age of Revelation 3, just before the Rapture in chapter four, when John hears a voice that says, Come up here.
Yes, those church ages can represent different aspects of the church in any age. But we cannot rule out literal ages through history.
And a lot of us believe we are seeing political alliances and all kinds of signs of the times leading to Ezekiel 37 and 38.... And that's another subject, I realize.
But it does apply to this subject of why aren't we seeing more healings, because if we are in the Laodicean church age, then much of church is "poor, wretched, miserable, blind and naked."
And if it's true, I am blind to some things, too. Don't know what, though, if I'm blind to them! Catch-22! Lord, please give me more revelation knowledge.
So, I acknowledge that I am no expert, no judge, just a fellow struggler. Straggler? Both, maybe.
Here's just a thought: In the Great Commission, Jesus told the apostles to "teach everyone all things whatsoever I have taught you." "until the end of the age." And in Matthew 10, He taught them, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out devils...."
Are we seeing that in most of the church? Would those things be welcome? I think not.
I just know that it is the time that Jesus says what we usually use as a salvation verse: Revelation 3:20--"Look, I'm standing here, knocking at the door! If you'll just open the door, I'd love to come in and hang out with you." My paraphrase.
Jesus is not present in much of the Laodicean church! JESUS is not WELCOME in much of the Laodicean church!
I'd quote the Great Commission in Mark, but that would really scare the horses.
In I Corinthians 1:7 we're told not to lack any of the gifts while waiting for Jesus to return.
So, maybe if we all agree in prayer, the Holy Spirit will give a gift of healing for Kristy. ( I believe there's a difference between a gift and a ministry. I'm asking for a gift, a healing for Kristy. And for Ted Kennedy. )
Yes, please, Lord, in the mighty name of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, our Savior, our Healer, our Friend, our Jesus!
Will Mayla Strong’s life ever resemble normal? Just as she settles into a great place with God, everything else falls apart. In the course of a single week she loses her job, wrecks any chance at a relationship with Pastor Paul, gets the cold shoulder from her friend Stuart, and learns that Lindsey—the teenage sister of her late friend Alex—needs a place to stay. What good is being a control freak if nobody will do what you tell them?
Taking advantage of her newfound “vacation time,” Mayla flees to her grandmother’s house in Florida. But one by one, her problems follow . . . literally. In this touching sequel to Just As I Am, quirky Mayla Strong comes face-to-face with the responsibilities and joys of friends and family. As she tries to help her loved ones, Mayla begins to realize that God has all the answers—the trick is letting go long enough for Him prove it. *********
Hi, Virginia, I received your beautiful new book, Sincerely, Mayla, two weeks ago, can't wait to get into it. Now that I'm back from vacation exploring Santa Fe and Albuquerque--and my feet are now as brown as Mayla's on that gorgeous cover, by the way--I'll have time to read her story. I'm delighted to post an interview with you.
Margo, thanks so much for allowing me to be a Guest Blogger here today. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about my newest book.
So, you have ten books under contract? Wow, good for you and God! I don't believe you were published at all, were you, when we all drove through Nashville two years ago, during conference, for the booksigning for Terry Burns and Kathryn Mackel, Randy Ingermanson and all?
When we met 2 years ago (it'll be 3 in September, actually!), I had a book contract but it hadn't be released. And at that conference in Nashville I signed with my agent and pitched what would become my second book to Steeple Hill. Things have snowballed since then. Kind of amazing, isn't it? When God is ready to move, He really moves!
He does! We serve an awesome God! So, tell us about Sincerely, Mayla.
Sincerely, Mayla is my fifth novel, but I actually wrote it several years ago, right after I finished Just As I Am. The main character, Mayla Strong, is so vivid and alive in my mind she just wouldn’t step quietly back into anonymity. The idea for Mayla’s external struggle – convincing Pastor Paul that he has feelings for her – came about during the editing process of Just As I Am.
Wait until I tell my daughter. Her husband's sister is about to be engaged to a Pastor Paul~
Well, in the first draft of that book, Mayla ran to the office of Salliesburg Christian Church for a private counseling session with Pastor Paul. One of my editors said that was inappropriate, so she advised me to place a secretary in the outer office and leave the door cracked open. Which I did.
LOL, wise move.
But I started thinking about the scrutiny a single pastor is subjected to in a conservative church. How can they ever form a lasting relationship with a woman if they’re not allowed to be alone with them? In other words, how can a single pastor ever become a married pastor? And then I thought, “What would Mayla say to that?” That made me laugh – she would be furious to be subjected to such “propriety”! I decided that would make for some funny scenes, and I was right.
But I didn’t want Sincerely, Mayla to be only about a Mayla-style romance. Just As I Am touched on some pretty hot contemporary topics, and I wanted to do the same in Mayla’s second book. I have a heart for crisis pregnancy centers, and in the months before I was ready to start working on Sincerely, Mayla, Focus on the Family began a campaign to purchase an ultrasound machine for every Pregnancy Resource Center in the country.
Wow. That is wonderful.
Yes. Some of the broadcasts really touched me, and I paid a visit to the Salt Lake City PRC. The tour I received during that visit gave me the information I needed to write one of my favorite chapters in Sincerely, Mayla.
Sounds intriguing!
Another thing I wanted to accomplish in Sincerely, Mayla was very personal. I wanted Mayla to face up to an issue I’ve seen crop up in multiple generations in my family: the tendency to manipulate others through martyr-type behavior and guilt dispensing. I’ve been on both the receiving and giving ends of that battle my whole life.
Me, too, from time to time.
But the Lord had been pointing out to me that I could put a stop to manipulating behavior in my own life. I often write from my own experiences – I emphasize the lessons the Lord teaches me by watching them play out in my characters. So that’s what I decided to do with Mayla.
Great. It would be hard not to.
All that sounds like this book is full of “lessons” and themes and messages. Honestly, I didn’t set out to write a book that would teach anybody anything. I never do. I strongly believe that fiction should entertain, not preach, so I hope all of my books are primarily entertaining. But because I am a Christian, and because Mayla is a Christian, elements of God’s grace show up naturally in the story. So if someone wants to learn a thing or two, they can. But mostly, I just hope they like the story!
I’d like to invite everyone to pop over to my website.
To celebrate this week’s blog tour of Sincerely, Mayla, I am giving away a set of Mayla books – Just As I Am and Sincerely, Mayla – to two lucky people on May 19th. I hope you’ll enter the drawing!
Again, Margo, thank you so much for inviting me to be your guest today!
Thank you for coming. Sounds like your books are full of double blessings, entertaining and addressing today's issues~ I can't wait to read them.
God bless.
God can use you anyway! A friend just sent me this from The Daily Encourager . (It says "Author unknown." If you know the author, please let me know.)
So, be encouraged:
No Excuses
There are many reasons why God shouldn't have called you.
But don't worry. You're in good company . . .
Moses stuttered.
David's armor didn't fit.
John Mark was rejected by Paul.
Timothy had ulcers.
Hosea's wife was a prostitute.
Amos' only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.
Jacob was a liar.
David had an affair.
Solomon was too rich.
Abraham was too old.
David was too young.
Peter was afraid of death.
Lazarus was dead.
John was self-righteous.
Naomi was a widow.
Paul was a murderer.
So was Moses.
Jonah ran from God.
Miriam was a gossip.
Gideon and Thomas both doubted.
Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal.
Elijah was burnt out.
John the Baptist was a loudmouth.
Martha was a worry-wart.
Mary was lazy.
Samson had long hair.
Noah got drunk.
Did I mention that Moses had a short fuse?
So did Peter, Paul -- well, lots of folks did.
But God doesn't require a job interview.
He doesn't look at financial gain or loss.
He's not prejudiced or partial,
not judging or grudging,
not sassy or brassy,
not deaf to our cry, not blind to our need.
As much as we try, God's gifts are free.
Satan says, "You're not worthy."
Jesus says, "So what?... I AM."
Satan looks back and sees our mistakes.
God looks back and sees the cross.
He doesn't calculate what you did last month or last year.
It's not even on the record.
Sure. There are lots of reasons why God shouldn't have called us.
But if we are in love with Him,
If we hunger for Him more than our next breath,
He'll use us - in spite of
who we are,
where we've been, or
what we look like.
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13
We need a mark for when we don't want to shout, but we want emphasis or humor. I think we need something to replace "LOL" or "< grin >."
I submit we need one more simple little diacritical mark, a pretty one, already available: The tilde~
It has uses in math, in editing, and in Spanish and 17th century French, and maybe others I'm not aware of.
But I haven't seen any case where it appears at the end of a sentence, so it would cause no confusion.
I would also submit a new name for the tilde when used for emphasis and humor, one that suggests a frisson of emotion: Strangely enough, I would submit "the frisson."
It's easy to reach at the upper left end of the keyboard.
And isn't it a pretty little flourish at the end of the sentence~
I mentioned it about a year ago, and I have been lax in my campaign. So, here's my slogan:
We need a new punctuation mark--
The "frisson" for when one is having a lark?
Or maybe not.
Anyway, a cheer and a plea for the frisson~
Add this to your site |
|
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
