The Eye of the Storm

"We pray a lot. We talk much of the problems in our nation, and even in our churches. We blame everyone from the president to the preacher...but what are WE doing to affect the change?"      ~Pastor Alvin Radford~ (My Dad) As Daddy points out in this message, (link posted below) it seems that everyone everywhere is posting, saying, and claiming 2Chronicles 7:14. " If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." We claim this verse as a victory shout, boasting with pride that God is going to save this country because we are HIS people. But we have been through years of chaos, and the land isn't healing. In fact, it is getting worse every day. Why hasn't God healed our nation? What's holding America hostage? We are quick to blame the sinful ones. We point fingers and say that it is everyone el...

  I've mentioned before that I've been reading Jeremiah. Have you ever really dug into it? Something has really jumped out at me this morning. All of the prophets who were claiming that God would not punish or destroy the nation were reprimanded, punished, or even killed by God. He rebuked them because their message of "peace" was false. Jeremiah was trying to warn the people that the nation WOULD BE ruled by dictators. They would be scattered. Punishment WAS coming. It was inevitable. Some didn't want to scare the people, so they spoke in God's name falsely, and assured them that their nation would be saved. They were wrong, and their false message was causing people not to repent because they believed that God would never really punish their whole nation. The nation that turns against God, worships idols, committed all sorts of sexual sins, murdered babies, was not going to be rescued from the evil dictators who ruled over them. They would see their nation ...

 I am beginning to understand why God led me to Jeremiah. I asked Him for years to let me understand Him, help me know Him, because growing up, most of what I knew from Him was fear and anger. We often see the Old Testament God as a God of wrath. Growing up on stories of floods, fire and brimstone, plagues, etc., I had a hard time understanding that He was a God of love.  It seemed to me that He was just a God of control... and I have heard many who felt the same. After going through an abusive relationship, it was especially hard for me to grasp. I had literally been stalked by a man whose mantra was, "Love me or I will punish and kill you."  So while I felt close to Jesus, and prayed to Him often, I always had a fear of God. As a child, I saw God as an angry, controlling Father, and Jesus was the big brother who would talk to God and convince Him not to punish me, His little sister.  In some ways, that was correct; Jesus is indeed our intercessor. What I didn't und...

  In reading Jeremiah this morning, I came across a verse that I had never really focused on before, nor heard anyone else expand on. In Jeremiah 2, God is expressing His anger with Israel for her idolatry, and compares her to an adulteress wife who has basically been with every man in town, but runs back to her husband when she needs something. This chapter is full of examples of the sins that Israel had committed, which are running rampant today, but this one verse jumped out at me because of the commentary section, and I had to research to see if that commentary was accurate. Turns out, it is. In Jeremiah 2: 25, God tells Israel that they had been, "saying to a tree, 'you are my father,' and to a stone, 'you gave birth to me,' for they have turned their back to Me and not their face." At first glance, it seemed as though God were speaking of some pagan nature worship type of issue, although it wasn't quite clear to me just what He meant. Like many verse...

  I stepped away from this Jeremiah journey for a bit, honestly, because it was becoming too personal. I have shared things here that I kept silent about for decades, but I think God has a reason for that. I have felt led to write a book for years, and I have worked on it a little, but always end up stopping. Pouring myself out on paper can be both therapeutic and damaging. Memories come up that have long been buried, and truths come forth that are bound to hurt people that I care about. Shocking realizations about myself, both what I have done and what I have allowed to be done to me, have been hard to see. It has taken me almost 30 years and a dream from God to see truths about things that I have taken the blame for since my kids were very small. I have kept silent, both in order to keep the peace, and out of fear.  I have spent a lifetime buried beneath lies and secrets, stuck in the mire. John 8:32 says, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." I...

  Well, so far I have written 2 posts on Jeremiah, and I am only on the first chapter. This could end up being a very long journey! I am still not really even sure why I am on it, but what I've discovered so far has been enlightening. If you have missed those first 2 posts, feel free to go back and read them now here Part One , and Part Two .  In yesterday's post, Part 2, I wrote an entire page on verse 6 alone. My thoughts on how it felt for Jeremiah to be called as a young child, and my memories of my own experiences with being a Christian at a young age spilled more out onto the screen than I intended. I've honestly questioned myself about that for almost 24 hours, worrying what people may have thought about it, since no one reacted at all. Should I have posted all of that publicly? Did I go to far? Were people offended at my truth? I have, however, decided to let the process continue. I don't have a huge following here, and that's okay. Gaining followers isn...

  Okay, after finally sitting down and blogging the journey that just the first few verses of chapter one in Jeremiah has taken me on, it is time to move on to the rest of the chapter. I had no idea why God took me to Jeremiah, but the very first 5 verses were very enlightening for me, and had very little to do with the prophet himself. If you haven't read it, you should go back and do so. It is a prime example of why we are to study the word of God for ourselves and not depend on what people have taught us.  For those who want to continue on this study with me, I have decided to continue blogging it instead of filling handwritten notebooks as I usually do. Be aware, these posts are just as my private notebooks would be during my Bible studies, and so what is pouring out of me is quite personal...way too personal, but maybe there will be things in them that touch others as well? So I am posting them for "whosever will." I have been feeling that it was time for some truth...