It gets so cloudy down here Lord, thick dark clouds of pain and suffering, pending death, fear for those we love, grief and loss and the general decent of the world into chaos can and does cloud our eyes making it difficult to see the light of Your majesty.

  Shine through these clouds O Lord! Burn them away with the heat of Your love and the power and majesty of Your glory!

  I have dear friends suffering today, suffering in terrible pain. They are lights in this world of darkness, they pour themselves out bringing joy and beauty to others, but the clouds are thick of late. Pierce through these clouds of pain O Lord, bring relief to my suffering friends.

  One of my friends is dying Lord. I don't like saying that, I don't like confessing it, as if the act of saying it will make it a firm fact and the act of denying it will somehow chase death away from her door. She is a beautiful light Lord, roll back all the clouds Lord, and shine upon her like the light of the rising Son as He ascended into heaven! Make her light so bright that it pierces through the clouds with such beauty and grace that it takes folks breath away and they are left with naught but awe of You.

   A great many of my friends are grieving Lord, a deep grief that they carry with them always, and the clouds of grief are sometimes so difficult to see through. You lose sight of the light and all you can see is the darkness of grief. Pierce through these clouds and shine upon them that they might more easily grasp the joy in each day, that they might see You, hold onto You and behold the light of Your mercy and grace.

  Another of my dear friends suffers Lord, she worries and frets for a son who is incarcerated. It's a long thick cloud that hovers over her, one that we know is going to be there for some time. Lord pierce through and shine Your light of grace and mercy upon her, grant her a window through to heaven, a great and mighty light to guide her through these coming years. No matter how dark the clouds become or what storms fall upon her, may her eyes be fixed on the window of light.

   This world of late has been covered with thick dark storm clouds. Evil runs amok in various places about this tiny round globe, murdering, raping, enslaving and forcing people to live in a constant state of danger. The people's of this world and our own country are divided by a multitude of things, and of late it seems the things that divide us become more frivolous. As a people we argue and fight over everything. Hate runs strong and apathy runs close behind it. Crime and cruelty seem to win the day more often than not. Lately it has been a test of my resolve to even look upon what it is going on, for all I seem to see are stories of pain and suffering, whether it be human or beast, suffering is all around me, and often it is difficult to see through the clouds.

  And then there are those that I care deeply for, who have never beheld Your light, never felt the touch of Your mercy, never understood or acknowledged Your great grace. The clouds of unbelief, past hurts, and preconceived notions of who You are have blocked out the sight of You. They are struggling with a multitude of problems, life always has it's storm clouds, but I fret for them, for walking through the storms of life without the light of Your grace is a dark and terrible thing. I remember what it was like before You pierced through the clouds and touched me. Don't forget them Lord, though they walk apart from You, remember them in Your great mercy and shine down upon them.

   My heart was heavy this morning as I walked out on the back porch with the dogs. I looked up to the East, as is my custom each morning and saw the thick cloud cover, the sun rising, and a hole in the clouds with the light of the sun flooding through. You spoke to me in that moment, assuring me that Your light will always pierce through the clouds, reminding me of Your faithfulness, reminding me of past storms and how You carried me through them, reminding me that You are the God who sees me, who sees them, the ones I pray for. As You saw Hagar in the desert, when all was lost and hope was gone, when death hovered over her, and the child that she loved so, You saw her, You pierced through the darkness and despair and restored life to her and the child.

    El Roi, the God who sees us, shine Your grace and mercy upon all those who are suffering this morning. Shine upon the ones in pain, pour out grace upon them, bring comfort and relief, whether it be by Your miraculous touch, or through the ministering grace of doctors and medicine. Strengthen them that they might see Your grace even through the pain.

    El Roi, the God who sees my friend with cancer. May Your grace be poured out upon her, like a mighty river, may it be unending, may it be constant, may You grant her all that she needs and more as she walks through this valley. May the Light of You be so overfilling that it spills out of her for all to see. May the valley she walks through end in victory and life, life here is what we all want Lord, we don't want to lose her, we don't want her to leave, but the life she walks into when she exits the valley is in Your hands alone. Whatever comes Lord, strengthen her, shine upon her, give her peace and joy and a sure hope.

  I give thanks today for the sun that pierced through the clouds this morning, and for the still small voice in my heart that said "look child, look how the light pierces through the clouds, behold how even though the clouds cover the sky, day still breaks through, I will always break through your darkness, I will always shine upon you, I am the God who sees you."

  I can relate too many of the atheistic views discussed in this book, and Dan asks some very valid questions of those whose faith is in nothing. Why do we often choose to reject God, to discard the concept of God? One phrase leapt out at me as the author discusses a man named Zach, who has chosen to believe in nothing.

“But I do think Zach should honestly consider whether his trajectory away from Christianity is based on the central claims of the gospel or on the all-too-often ridiculous nature of many who profess faith. These are two very different claims.”

 I personally once called myself an atheist, although in retrospect I believe I was just an angry agnostic, a disillusioned believer. I grew up in Christianity. I grew up the daughter of a pastor. I grew up watching my dad constantly suffer, and be so often mistreated by “pillars” of the church. I experienced very judgmental people, and a lot of “thou shall not’s”. These things, and my life experiences, drove me to reject the church and to develop a disdain for most Christians.

 Fortunately for me, I saw true faith in my father; sadly there are folks out there that did not have that experience. For them, most everything they have experienced has been negative. Consider the words of Paul in the book of Colossians 4:6, where he states “Let your speech always be seasoned with grace, as though seasoned with salt so that your will know how you should respond to each person.” And in 1 Peter 3:15 we have  “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”.  You see, we, the people of the cross, the ones who say that we follow Jesus Christ; we are a type of gospel, to those who do not know Him. We may be the only gospel that some people ever see. If my words, my life, my actions are such a contradiction to the message of the gospel written in scripture, people will reject my message, and may never even make an attempt to understand the true gospel that God has given in the pages of scripture.

 In the book, the author quotes a minister who said these words; “The single greatest cause for atheism in the world today, is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyles. This is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

  I can only tremble at the thought of how many folks, across my 26 years of walking with Christ I may have turned away from the gospel, where my actions, my words, my blindness preached something else to them and therefore helped them along the path of rejecting God. It’s a heavy thing to reflect on.

  Going back to the quote that I shared, from the book, I can say for certain that my path away from faith, away from Christianity was based on the all too often ridiculous nature of those who professed faith. It was the judgments, it was watching a deacon in church stand up and pray, and talk about grace, while knowing that it was his voice on the phone that I answered, his voice telling me that “they would run my dad out of town on a rail for hanging out with #$^% (not even gonna share the word used.) Here was a “pillar” of the church, and he was a racist. Also included in my choice to walk away, was the church lady, whose favorite song was “How Great Thou Art” and who informed me that she did not believe black people had souls.

  Now one thing I must point out, before I lose the thought, is not everyone was like these two I have mentioned. There were a lot of decent persons in my youth, who did display Christ to me, my dad being one among them, but the truth of the matter is, and it’s especially true for young folks, is one negative can outweigh a hundred positives. In the mind and heart of a zealous young person, one negative can send a powerful message. For me, the message was clear, decent, kind, uneducated folks, mean well, but they are ignorant of truth, there is no God, because look at how people who say they believe act, look at the pillars of the church. It’s all a farce, a crutch created, because the world is harsh and dark and we need something to believe in. That was pretty much my view of Christianity.

  Fortunately, the God of the universe, the One who spoke all things into being, is gracious and kind, and continued to pursue me across the wastelands, and brought me to an understanding and knowledge of the gospel, and I realized that it is Him that I must consider, it is Him who sets the mark, and that every last one of us, from Mother Theresa on down, miss that mark. As to why we have so many harsh, mean and judgmental people within the walls of the physical church, I cannot say for certain, only that perhaps they are not yet in the place that God wants them to be, in their walk with Him, for it is a process of growth and understanding, or perhaps they are the ones that He speaks of in Matthew 7: 21-23, but for me, it matters not for I know Him now. My faith is firm, it is unshakable. I may falter in walking it out, I may not speak when I should, or as I should on any given moment, but my belief in Him cannot be shaken. As Job cried out, “though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

  I understand what it is to have no faith in a personal God. I have been there. I have been atheist, I have been agnostic. I pray that all those who struggle, all those who have rejected, will be moved to deeply examine their reasons for so believing.  Do not let life experiences or broken people be the cause of your faith in nothing. Examine the scriptures; examine the historical reasons for believing, examine the scientific reasons for believing in a Creator. Examine and I will trust God to do the rest.

 For “if the resurrection is true, then racist deacons and anti-intellectual Christian teachers don’t negate its authority and power. They do however illustrate that we are unworthy and that we all have a long way to go. At the same time, no faith is more multi-cultural and has motivated more intellectual inquiry than the worldview whose story of creation, fall, and redemption through resurrection wrestles honestly with our failures—and the process of overcoming them.”

  It is my prayer that; You will know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death. Philippians 3:10; and I pray that Christ may live in your hearts by faith. I pray that you will be filled with love. I pray that you will be able to understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep His love is. I pray that you will know the love of Christ. His love goes beyond anything we can understand. I pray that you will be filled with God Himself. Ephesians 3:17-19

Jesus or Nothing, a great little book and well worth your time in reading it, regardless of whether you are a believer firm in your faith, or a skeptic, or a seeker.

	Jesus or Nothing Product by Brand: Crossway ~ Dan DeWitt (author) More about this product List Price: $10.99 Price: $9.34 You Save: $1.65 (15%)

 Here is an older post of my personal testimony, for any who may be interested.

http://allisgrace.posthaven.com/confession-is-good-for-the-soul

 This dog is one of the special ones. All that know me know I love all dogs, and that I love the three that reside at my house and are part of my family. But every now and again there comes along one that is special. This one is one of the special ones.

 She is not much to look at, and any enthusiast of her breed would be quick to point out all her many faults. She looks like a Great Dane, with the head of a Boxer, her backend is higher than her front end, her legs and toes are all gangly and crooked, and she has the worst under bite I have ever seen in a dog. No she’s not much to look at…….but neither am I. She and I have a bond, and she is dear to my heart.

 She has known sorrow in her life, she has suffered, she has known days where there was no love, no breakfast and no dinner.  She first came to us, skinny, browbeaten, with rotten toe nails that fell off her feet if she knocked them against something…….but despite it all, she had a huge heart and all it needed was a little love for it to blossom. She loves big, one must be careful speaking to her as if there is any excitement in your voice she will burst into dance, her entire body wagging, and she will leap with joy, and furniture and plants and drinks on tables will go flying. She loves big.

 As I sit here praying, and as my gaze shifts from the bright blue sky, to the hazel eyes of the big white dog at my feet, I think of my Lord, and how much this big white dog is teaching me about worship. I want to be like her, I want to be content to sit at His feet and gaze upon Him, I want to listen attentively for the sound of His voice, I want to please Him, I want to walk with Him, commune with Him, to live every moment of my existence fully aware of His presence with me. When He speaks I want to be so full of joy at the sound of His voice that I cannot contain myself, bursting into dance, with no thought or worry as to whether I have the rhythm required for such antics.

 I call her to me, as I get ready to leave the house for work, her head in my lap I gently rub her ears and tell her she is good and that I love her. I tell her everything is going to be okay, and she trusts me, she stands sure upon my every word, she looks at me with eyes that say, “Just say the word, and I will lie right down and die for you, if that is what makes you happy”. I truly believe she would, were she able to understand such a request. I want to hold and keep that kind of faith in Jesus, a faith so certain that if he simply says “lay right down and die”, I would do it willingly, gladly and with a song on my lips.

 The older I get, the more I realize that this world is full of instruction, if we only pause and look. Creation really does cry out “there is a God, come and know Him!”   The heavens declare Him, the mountains declare Him, the trees declare Him, and the creatures declare Him!  I look upon this big white dog, and her ungainly body, her bulldog face, her trusting eyes….and I see the hand of our Creator God.

““Lord, we thank you for our dogs — your simple gift to us. Open us to what they teach. We thank you for the grateful exuberance of our dogs.

“We thank you for the way they bound across the hills, splash in the waters, chew on sticks, and roll in the dewy grass. Teach us, every day, to say our own ‘thank you’ with every fiber of our being, for the wondrous works of your creation.

“We thank you, Lord, for the honest, direct loyalty of our dogs. We thank you for the wag of their tails and the offer of a cuddle for friend and stranger alike, the way they make people . . . into our neighbors, the way they regard not body type, color of hair, or color of skin. We thank you for the easy way they forgive faults — the way they love us, not because we can love back, but because of our need for love. . . .” (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2013/04/a-prayer-for-dogs/)

“I look up and I see God, I look down and see my dog.
Simple spelling G O D, same word backwards, D O G.
They would stay with me all day. I'm the one who walks away.
But both of them just wait for me, and dance at my return with glee.
Both love me no matter what - divine God and canine mutt.
I take it hard each time I fail, but God forgives, dog wags his tail.
God thought up and made the dog, dog reflects a part of God.
I've seen love from both sides now, it's everywhere, amen, bow wow.
I look up and I see God, I look down and see my dog.
And in my human frailty...I can't match their love for me. “ (God and Dog, by Wendy Francisco)

  The above are lyrics to the song “God and Dog”, but few are aware of the story behind that video and song.  The below link tells the story and also has links to the video. Enjoy.

http://www.guideposts.org/pets/story-behind-god-and-dog-youtube-video

   In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. On the 5^th day God created the creatures of the water and the birds of the air. On the 6^th day he created the animals……and man.

He was pleased with His creation, and He called it all good.

He created man in His own image and gave them dominion over all the earth, over the creatures of the sea, the birds of the air and over every animal that lived upon the earth.

Dominion. That word we so often believe is to dominate something, to stand over it as it cowers beneath us. We do that well, but that is not what the Lord intended. He gave us authority, ruler-ship, stewardship, over the earth and all His creation. We created in His image should therefore exercise this authority as He would. We as a species fail utterly in so doing. Instead we crush the earth, we crush the creatures, we abuse our authority and wreak havoc and suffering upon our fellow man and upon God’s creation.

  We read in God’s word the story of Balaam and of the donkey he rode upon. God was opposed to the thing that Balaam was about to do. The Angel of the Lord, a pre-incarnate representation of Christ, stood in the path to block Balaam’s way. But he was blind to this and when the little donkey he was riding upon stopped, Balaam became angry and beat her. Three times she refused to pass the path blocked by God, and three times he beat her without mercy. God in His compassion opened the mouth of the donkey and she spoke to Balaam saying “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” And then God opened Balaam’s eyes and he beheld that which the donkey had seen all along, the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with sword in hand, and Balaam bowed face down upon the ground and the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, ““Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”

God defends the little donkey.

Later on, in the New Testament, we read of the account of our Lord as he rides into Jerusalem upon the back of a donkey. We are told that this donkey was young and had never been ridden. Those of us who have had dealings with equines can tell you one thing true. One does not go and take hold of a young equine that has never had a person sit upon him, and take him and ride him in a parade. It just does not work out well for you, or for the equine, or for the folks standing along the parade route waving and shouting. But that is exactly what our Lord does. He sits down on this young donkey, who has never before carried a person and he ride’s into Jerusalem with throngs of people waving palm branches and casting them down upon the ground in front of the donkey and screaming Hosanna at the top of their lungs. And the donkey carries our Lord with grace and dignity……..the word does not speak on this, but it is obvious that the donkey knows exactly whom he carries.

The Bible does not say a lot about animals, but it does not need to. God stated that creation was good, it pleased Him, He stated that we were created in His image, to be like Him and that we were to care for creation. Really nothing more needs to be said. But there are a couple of things in the scriptures that shed more light on this subject.

Proverbs says “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”  And “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.”

Yet cruelty towards God’s creatures abounds. Both willful cruelty and ignorant cruelty exist in abundance.

We read in Romans of how the creation groans for deliverance, groans and cries out to God for deliverance.

In Genesis we read of how the blood of Abel, cried out to God from the ground. The first murder and the blood cried out, can you even imagine the cry that rises up to heaven each day now? We murder each other, and we crush the creation. These things ought not to be.

Each of us, who are called by Him, should look upon others, and upon the creatures of this world, as important to God. We should interact with the creatures of this world with love and with mercy. We should endeavor to care for the creation as people who are made in His image. Animals raised and slaughtered for food should be well cared for, and slaughtered as humanely as possible, giving thanks to the Lord for His provision. Animals slain for food in the hunt should be done so under the laws that protect their numbers and as quickly and humanely as possible, again with thanks for the provision provided.

 Greed fuels cruelty. The desire to process more and more to fill the consumer who in most cases thinks nothing at all about where the food he or she is consuming comes from. As you fry up your hamburger tonight, thank God for the cow that died to provide it.

 Christians should be about alleviating suffering, both in our fellow man and our fellow creatures. Just this past couple of months have brought to light some of the most grievous cruelty against helpless animals that I have ever witnessed in all my years. Dogs brutally sexually assaulted, dogs dragged behind vehicles until their toes and flesh were ripped off, suffering grievous wounds, dogs with their heads caved in by a shovel, walking about with terrible wounds, these but a handful of the thousands of stories out there untold. If you have no compassion for a helpless animal, how can you have compassion for your fellow man? Do not think for one moment that God looks down upon the wanton cruelty displayed across this world and thinks nothing.

No matter what we do, the creation will continue to cry out, continue to groan and wait for deliverance, but as children of God, we should be about lessening the suffering, of our fellow man and our fellow creatures until such time as the Lord makes all things right again.

Creation groans for deliverance.............

I would begin this post by thanking my Facebook friend Chipster, as it was several posts that he did today that led to this posting.

 A few months ago I was sitting outside, praying, my heart was discouraged and I felt a call to be still and listen. I closed my eyes and opened my ears, and I could hear the wind as it gently stirred the branches of the Sycamore tree I was sitting under, and all of a sudden, it was as if the trees were singing. Each one had a slightly different sound to it, the Sycamore the loudest, the pines more stoic and reserved, and the Japenese Maple very gentle.........and my heart was lifted and I was filled with a sense of wonder, at how all of creation really does praise Him!

 My friend posted two Psalms. Psalm 19 and Psalm 148. Read through them, let the words of the Psalms resonate with your soul. And then listen to some of the wonderful sounds of nature lifting its voice in song to the King!

Psalm 19

 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky aboveproclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech,and night to night reveals knowledge.There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens,and its circuit to the end of them,and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

 The law of the Lord is perfect,reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;  the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
the rulesof the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned;in keeping them there is great reward.

 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 148

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever;
he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!  Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together,
old men and children! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.
He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints,for the people of Israel who are near to him! Praise the Lord!

Crickets and female opera singer (slowed) Thank you Chipster!

Trees and Wind

Earth sounds

Sun sounds

Moon sounds

And the best saved for last, Louie Giglio combined the radio waves from pulsating stars, with the sound of whales and human voice in praise. The video is 14 minutes long, but it is 14 minutes well spent. (Thanks Chipster for sharing this one! It is awesome!)