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UNANSWERED QUESTIONS


“God does great things beyond our understanding,
way too many for us to even know about”
(Job 9:10)


Jesus told us that the people who walk in faith are the ones who unconditionally believe even though
they have not seen.  Whenever something big happens in our lives, most often there are no hints to
let us know what is about to happen; nothing perceivable on our part.  

The thing is, we don’t need to know.  We’d just screw it up.  If we really believe that God is omnipotent,
omniscient, omnipresent, and all the rest, the last thing we’d want is to know is what’s lying ahead.  
When we come to a place where unanswered questions are okay with us, then we’ve learned to trust.  
Simply put, if you think you have all the answers, you are not walking in faith and God can’t bless
something that He didn’t ordain.  

The Israelites endured forty years in the wilderness trying to find their way for what should have been
an eleven day trip.  Why?  Because they kept asking why, that’s why.  Including Moses -
why me Lord?  That’s not faith, and as you know no progress was made.  They never did reach
their desired destination - not one of them.  They never fulfilled the longing of their hearts.  
They didn’t conquer - they settled.  

Belief is in the heart, not the head.  We’re becoming so used to asking God “what are you doing?”
on so many levels that the trust part has disappeared from our vocabulary.  No way God’s going to
tell us what He’s doing or what His plans are, not to mention it’s none of our business.  The great faith
healer, Kathryn Kuhlman, said that before she stepped out on the stage, laying it all on the line by
totally trusting God to perform miracles, she died a thousand deaths.  But she did it anyway because
she had faith in God.  She knew God had a better plan than what she could come up with.  

Be content, be satisfied that you’re in God’s hands.  Because it’s a fact - you are.

If we don’t know how to do anything but trust God, we’re going to get the prize.  Maybe it’s time to
unlearn the habit of taking charge of everything and start over.  The Scripture verse above tells us
that God’s ways are above and beyond anything we can grasp.  Our minds are limited.  
It also tells us that we don’t need to have all the answers.    





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SAUL’S MOMENT

(Saul said to David) “You are more righteous than I”
I Samuel 24:17

If someone says to you “You’re a better man than me” or “You’re a better woman than me,” it’s rarely
spoken with sincerity, but rather in jest.  That’s because they really don’t believe it.  But Saul did.  
When he said this to David he had come to understand that David could have taken his life by
reciprocating with the kind of behavior Saul had shown to him.  But David determined that he would
choose to repay Saul’s hate with love.  Did David really want to spare Saul’s life when he had the
golden opportunity to be rid of him once and for all?  Of course not.    

We all have had times when we can justify revenge against someone who has wronged us.  In fact,
if we think back we’ll likely find that we already have.  A lot.  But have you ever stopped to think how
that must make God feel?  The word of God says “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge…..I am the
Lord!” (Leviticus 19:18).  “Do not take revenge, leave room for God’s wrath…..It is mine to avenge;
I will repay.” (Romans 12:19)   

In other words, by taking matters into our own hands, we are negating God’s authority.  Like we could
do a better job with our own plan of retaliation.  Instead of loving others as we love ourselves,
vengeance is the opposite.  It’s like saying that Jesus’ dying on the cross didn’t quite do the trick, that
God’s plan of salvation needs a little help from us.  Now that got your attention, didn’t it.  It boils down
to who to trust.  Do we trust in ourselves or trust in God?  

What would happen if we responded in love instead of retaliation or rebuttal and then see no results
for taking the high road?  Think of all those times when you’ve done something good and then
wondered why you bothered.  It went unappreciated, or worse, unnoticed.  We waited for God to do  
something miraculous, saw nothing happen, and the bad guys got away with what they did scot free.  
Or did they?  What could God have known that we didn’t?

The other thing is that we think our little plan of revenge will put out the fire.  The bad goes away and
the good steps up to the plate and hits a home run.  That would be like trying to put out a fire with oil.  
Now it just got worse.  We have a bonfire.

Back to David: it wasn’t easy for him to resist killing Saul while he was sleeping.  Surely he wanted to.  
Easiest target anyone could wish for.  But instead he forgave.  And David became a powerful leader
and plenty rich besides.  Not only that, but Saul admitted that David was a better man than he.  
Saul had a moment.  He saw the light.  That sure wouldn’t have happened if David hadn’t done the
godly thing.

You want power?  Then be the one to forgive.  All the power of Heaven and Earth is at your disposal.  
Forgiving isn’t for sissies.  It’s the tough choice.  And it’s for beginners as well as mature Christians.  
Some things remain the same and Jesus was clear about this one.  Love one another and forgive
those who wrong you.  Let God take care of it like you were instructed to do in the first place.          





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ONE ON ONE

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you.”
(Isaiah 43:2)

You’ve heard this before.  It’s always said jokingly: “The one thing we all have in common is death.”  
Truer words were never spoken (you’ve heard that before too).  The third thing you’ve heard,
exclusively from retired people, is that they never were as busy before they retired as they are now.  
“Not enough hours in the day” is the common denominator whether you’re retired or if you have a long
way to go before getting there.  The meetings and appointments are never ending: school committee
meeting, dentist appointment, membership committee at church, doctor’s appointment, dinner
engagement which cannot be missed, deadline for term paper, and so on.  We have our lists.

In regard to the death issue, it’s our commonality and we all are going have to face it alone.  No one
can do it for us.  We’d prefer a more comfortable conclusion, an escape clause such as “almost
everyone will have to die,” or “everyone else will have to die, but not me,” or “the people who make ill-
advised choices will surely die, or “if I’m living right I might be able to escape death.”  Nice try, but all
the rationales miss the mark.

The Apostle John recorded words spoken by Jesus which go something like “I am going to prepare a
place for you, and after that I will return and take you with Me so that we can always be together.”  
That’s a fairly loose translation of John 14:2-3, but you get the drift.  So, what was His point?  That’s
easy.  Sure, we human beings have to face death all by ourselves from an earthly perspective, but
Jesus Himself will walk us through it.  That’s the “I will be with you always” part.  

Are you one of those people who have a tradition of avoiding thinking about death?  That usually
indicates that you’re afraid of it, and if you’re afraid of it it’s because you haven’t sorted through the
scenario in your mind.  Plain and simple, Jesus is not in the habit of abandoning His own.  The job is
not going to be delegated to angels or arch angels.  Jesus is going to come back for you Himself.  In
person.   There are two parts to the equation: one is that we are all going to die without anyone pinch
hitting for us, and the second is that if we know Jesus personally as our Savior, we aren’t going to
have to face it alone.  That’s good news.

David said it in Psalm 23:4, “You are with me.”  See how simple it is?  David got it.  We all need to get
it too.  Jesus knows His own, protects His own, and will come for His own.  It’s not delegated or
outsourced.  Assuming that you’re going to spend eternity with Jesus, although it’s far more than an
assumption, this would be a good time to take up an intimate relationship with Him - you know, that
bond you had with Jesus when you were first saved?  It’s time to renew it.    




________________________________________________________________________________
Preparing to Fly

This web site has been up and
running for 4 years.  I've
reconnected with old friends, have
made new ones, and people have
been blessed.  That makes it all
worth it.

I am born-again and baptized in the
Holy Spirit.  Jesus is my best friend.
 Background - Word Of Life, Bob
Jones U, Moody Bible Institute,
Samaritan Bible Seminary, MCC,
Shekinah Fellowship.....not exactly
in that order.  Once I did some work
with Campus Crusade, briefly
pastored two churches, and my
writings have been featured in a
number of publications.

I have been a word of knowledge
minister, I continually seek God's
anointing, and I have the rare gift of
revelation knowledge.  That said, I
try to keep this web site simple.    

My first book has recently been
published.  It's a chronological
collection of short stories based on
Biblical people and their
predicaments.  It's colorful and
playful as well as inspirational, and
looks at the Bible through a gay
Christian's eyes.

I don't want to fly away without
making a difference.

___________________________
In Remembrance

My mother went to heaven in June
of 2007 at age 93,  joining my
father.  She was a saint.  I think of
her all the time and miss her
very much.  

I have a lot of her books, and the
one which I read and re-read
constantly is a daily devotional by
CH Spurgeon.  She underlined
things that meant a lot to her,
and with my adding my own
underscoring, there's a lot of
penciling going on.  Good for us!  

She was Baptist; I am charismatic.  
Mother and I had some meaningful
talks and a good mother-son bond.
 We had some conversations that I
will never share with anyone.  She
told me she loved her gay son.  
She approved of my writings; said
she loved them.  That's good
enough for me.  
I to P
DEER   FORCE
candid  narratives.....  from  richard  lydiard  white
.



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