The Boston Marathon & The BATTLE for your SOUL!

On most days, I am a fairly cheerful person.  My glass is, the majority of times, at least half full. But I AM human, and I DO feel emotion.  I get angry.  I feel sad.  I get disgusted and impatient and annoyed.  Just like everyone else.

In only the past few days, I have exchanged texts with a group of people praying for a young 17-year-old man getting a 2nd liver transplant in an attempt to save his life.  In between those texts, I ran up and down the stairs at work, to check on a friend, who was bedside as her mother was passing away.  I have gotten mugged and had money stolen from my bank account.  I have received news that another friend’s mother has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, and learned that someone else I love will have surgery tomorrow to diagnose and stage their colon cancer.

This has NOT FELT like a “glass half full” kind of a day!!  I’m angry.  I’m sad.  I’m annoyed.  And as I sat here this afternoon watching this terrorist attack in Boston unfold, I remembered watching 9/11 unfold with my friend Michele, who died just over a year ago.  And I miss her sooo much.  Oww.

I’m sad.  I’m angry.  I’m frustrated.

I need. to. hit. my. knees.

Just sitting here watching a re-cap of the events at the marathon, they show a very short still photo of a woman, just stopped in the midst of the chaos, hitting her knees, hands folded in prayer.  And then, it’s gone.  And we go right back to the horrible scenes, and they play them over and over and over and over and over again.  Why?  Why don’t they put that still photo of the woman praying back up?  and show THAT over and over and over and over and over and over and over again?  Why???  Why???

I need to write something.

Doesn’t anyone feel a sense of urgency any more??  There are a TON OF PEOPLE I LOVE in my life who I seriously worry about!  I am sooo tired of tip-toeing around so as not to “offend” people who may not believe MY God is the ONLY way.

Warning!  Warning!  I’m about to “Bible thump”………

Here is the deal.  We can turn up the music, go about our lives, buy more “stuff,” run marathons, travel, and on and on and on, but we need to WAKE UP!  People think all of the “wars” are in “other” countries, certainly not ours.  Wrong!  Wake-up call!

Hello!  There has been a WAR going on, a BATTLE FOR YOUR SOUL since the very SECOND you were born!  It’s good versus evil.  It’s God versus satan.  satan wants you.  And he will do ANYTHING to deceive you and to distract you. he wants YOUR SOUL ETERNALLY.

But so does God.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

You see, this is NOT about MY God being “better” than your god.  This is NOT about “whatever makes you happy.”  This is NOT about who is right and who is wrong.  This is NOT about “whatever you believe, is right for you!”  And this is NOT about “being judgmental!”  I get soooo tired of people using that as an excuse!  This is about a fight for your SOUL – and its ETERNAL DESTINATION! (YES, ETERNAL!)   And when someone loves you enough to tell you that?  It’s NOT being judgmental.  It’s someone loving you enough to tell you about the greatest love you can ever know, a love that will not result in you perishing, but living eternally with God.  How on God’s green earth can you not want that???  How, how, how, can people settle for the alternative?

If someone was going to accidentally walk in front of a train, would I be judgmental if I pushed them out of the way?????

NOOO!  Don’t you get it??  I heard MANY people today…… MANY PEOPLE say, “Oh my GOD!”  I heard NO ONE say, “Oh, my buddah!”  I heard no one say, “Oh, my allah!”

He is OUR God.  Jesus is!  He DOES love you!  And He IS THE ONE AND ONLY WAY!

We are ETERNAL BEINGS.  And in the end, there are only 2 destinations.  This is not a competition.

THIS IS A WAR!!!!  An all-out WAR OVER ETERNAL SOULS……..  YOURS & MINE!

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Ephesians 6:12

I want that photo back up on the TV screen of the woman praying.  The disappearance of that picture is such a great comparison of the disappearance of God from this country.  We’ve turned our backs on Him.  We’ve spat in His face.  And now, we cry out, “Oh, My God!”

Please wake up, America.

Okay, I’m done.  Now, I’m hitting.  My.  Knees.

If you are reading this, that means you are my friend, it doesn’t mean I’m judging you, it means I LOVE you.