markdohle Posted December 28, 2016 Group: Senior Member Followers: 11 Topic Count: 77 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 641 Content Per Day: 0.22 Reputation: 328 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/16/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted December 28, 2016 Do what is just, to show constant love No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God. (Micah 6:8) Last night I had to spend some time at Grady Hospital here in Atlanta. I had to sit with a friend in the trauma unit there. I had to get to the trauma unit through the emergency room entrance. Before anyone can enter the ER at Grady, there is a metal detector that has to be gone through. So I went through it, and then found my way into the waiting area. It was very crowded with people from all nationalities waiting to be seen. The staff there was very professional as well as caring. To say it was busy is an understatement. It was very hot even with the air conditioning going full blast. So warm that I felt I had some trouble breathing. However, I knew that it was a false signal and ignored it. When it was my turn at the nursing station, I told them the person I was with and that he was taken to ‘Trauma”. The man touched me by his response, not only to those who came to him for help but with me as well. He walked me over to trauma and then left me there. He also apologized for the constant interference from others. Every night this man deals with great pain and suffering, yet he does not close himself off from those around him. He looked each in the eye and listened with care and did not dismiss anyone at all. He not only treated others justly but with constant love as well. The reason I say he did this over a long period of time is the simple way that he helped each person. He simply accepted them and understood their rude demands and frustration. He did not take it personally but sought to be just with each one. He got out of his own way. There are many good reasons not help others. Some valid, but some are excuses not to become emotionally involved. People are messy (well I am), they can be bothersome (so am I at times), demanding (guess what? Yep so can I), yet they need help (I need help from time to time). The unloving response, or the unjust one, can be so entwined with cultures that it can be invisible. Just look at the state of the United States before Civil Rights. Many good God fearing people were blind to the horrors of what many people had to go through during that time….perhaps because it was lawful. I tend to think the whole abortion issue as a legal right is another example. To give a woman the ‘right’ to terminate a ‘life’ within her womb as accepted and obvious and normal, means that the ‘life’ within the womb has no rights whatsoever. People brag on how they got an abortion on the internet so that they could make more money or push their career forward….fine….but what about the life destroyed. I am not saying this to change anyone’s mind, that is impossible, and consciences are lulled to sleep over many moral dilemmas, not just abortion. Is abortion the just thing to do, is it the loving action that we are called upon to perform….I think not. Abortion is a cancer I believe, that only shows something deeper and off center in how we look at life today. I am not pointing fingers, the pain and suffering of our lives can lead us to make choices that many regret for the rest of their lives. I have no idea how I would react if faced with this dilemma in my life, yet no matter how I would react, to get an abortion is to take a life, or to stop the process of life that starts at conception and ends in natural death. There is a woman that I have helped out over the years. She can be frustrating, stubborn and manipulative. It is how she survives. Does that mean that I don’t help her? We can’t help everyone, but I do think that most people have people outside of family that they feel called to help over the long haul. They stick, they stay, and we help them. So I try to do the just and loving thing with this woman, who I have come to care for and at the same time to keep a certain boundary with her. In her own way she does try, but because of certain emotional and mental problems, it is difficult for her to be ‘normal’, to respond the same as most people within a certain latitude. She does have others help her as well. Though some of those who help, because they can’t keep proper boundaries, have to back off after awhile, they become too drained to help her anymore. There are no easy answers to life problems, yet I try not to look at others and just try to do what I can, though it is very little. Yet I do believe we are commanded to do the just and loving thing. I believe this is commanded for our own good, for to turn off our hearts to others will create a great darkness in the heart….a cold unfeeling one, or a very cold and angry one. Not sure which is worse? It is easy to complain, harder to do the simple just and loving thing. I still struggle with it and will to the day I die. So I pray to the Lord to give me a heart like His, one that is fully human and loving, kind and compassionate. God grace is like the rain that comes down on the parched ground allowing life to flow, it can bring the hardest, coldest, heart, to new life that truly does do the just and loving thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne222 Posted December 29, 2016 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 32 Topic Count: 476 Topics Per Day: 0.17 Content Count: 6,559 Content Per Day: 2.28 Reputation: 7,638 Days Won: 9 Joined: 06/12/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted December 29, 2016 I really like your post Brother Mark. We have to be just. To walk just everyday. To be fair and honest. And to be loving. We have to practice it. We should become experts at it. And thanks for helping the women who can be trying. There are people like that who have a ton of needs. The bible says do not give up in well doing. People tend to get tired of helping after awhile. But God never gets tired of helping us. So we want to be like him. I am glad you were alright with your breathing . That can bring on stress to your body. Next time stop and drink a glass of water. It will help. God Blessings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdohle Posted December 29, 2016 Group: Senior Member Followers: 11 Topic Count: 77 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 641 Content Per Day: 0.22 Reputation: 328 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/16/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted December 29, 2016 22 hours ago, Wayne222 said: I really like your post Brother Mark. We have to be just. To walk just everyday. To be fair and honest. And to be loving. We have to practice it. We should become experts at it. And thanks for helping the women who can be trying. There are people like that who have a ton of needs. The bible says do not give up in well doing. People tend to get tired of helping after awhile. But God never gets tired of helping us. So we want to be like him. I am glad you were alright with your breathing . That can bring on stress to your body. Next time stop and drink a glass of water. It will help. God Blessings. Thank you, Wayne. For me, there is always a bit of struggle and there are times when I have to say no.....yet there are those who I truly feel I am called on to help. Compulsion and charity can get mixed up I believe; in any case it is is something I will work on all the days of my life, calling on the Lord for grace, help, and insight. Peace Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_Beth Posted December 29, 2016 Group: Royal Member Followers: 41 Topic Count: 31 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 5,324 Content Per Day: 1.64 Reputation: 3,617 Days Won: 2 Joined: 06/08/2015 Status: Offline Share Posted December 29, 2016 "...to turn off our hearts to others will create a great darkness in the heart….a cold unfeeling one, or a very cold and angry one." Beautifully said, Mark!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wayne222 Posted December 30, 2016 Group: Worthy Ministers Followers: 32 Topic Count: 476 Topics Per Day: 0.17 Content Count: 6,559 Content Per Day: 2.28 Reputation: 7,638 Days Won: 9 Joined: 06/12/2016 Status: Offline Share Posted December 30, 2016 1 hour ago, markdohle said: Thank you, Wayne. For me, there is always a bit of struggle and there are times when I have to say no.....yet there are those who I truly feel I am called on to help. Compulsion and charity can get mixed up I believe; in any case it is is something I will work on all the days of my life, calling on the Lord for grace, help, and insight. Peace Mark Yes so true and right on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BacKaran Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I disagree with this on some circumstances... Like my Roman Catholic siblings.. "...to turn off our hearts to others will create a great darkness in the heart….a cold unfeeling one, or a very cold and angry one." It's not that I'm turning off my heart to those who won't hear His Truth, it's them turning their cold dark heart into a cold unfeeling angry heart after rejecting Gods Truth from a sinner they think they are better than in this fallen world. Tragic, yes but again, it's them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplejeff Posted December 30, 2016 Group: Mars Hill Followers: 12 Topic Count: 12 Topics Per Day: 0.00 Content Count: 7,689 Content Per Day: 2.38 Reputation: 2 Days Won: 20 Joined: 06/30/2015 Status: Offline Share Posted December 30, 2016 2 hours ago, BacKaran said: I disagree with this on some circumstances... Like my Roman Catholic siblings.. "...to turn off our hearts to others will create a great darkness in the heart….a cold unfeeling one, or a very cold and angry one." It's not that I'm turning off my heart to those who won't hear His Truth, it's them turning their cold dark heart into a cold unfeeling angry heart after rejecting Gods Truth from a sinner they think they are better than in this fallen world. Tragic, yes but again, it's them. Amein, though this may be very difficult to understand ...... Simply, Y'SHUA always did what is perfectly just - and many still rejected HIM (as HE says will happen to everyone who chooses to follow HIM) .... i.e. we can do what is perfectly just, and will be rejected by others the same as Y'SHUA was rejected. Y'SHUA is the best example of perfect love also. (right?) ... AND STILL HE was rejected. (and is rejected by most people on earth). Doing what is "just" according to YHWH'S WORD, PLAN, PURPOSE and SALVATION in Y'SHUA is so very different from doing what is "just" by any other measure (perhaps opposite in fact?) .... it can take years , even decades , to "learn".... (since we are all (practically) taught wrongly from birth until being born again) .... On 12/28/2016 at 4:39 PM, markdohle said: God grace is like the rain that comes down on the parched ground allowing life to flow, it can bring the hardest, coldest, heart, to new life that truly does do the just and loving thing. Amein ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdohle Posted December 31, 2016 Group: Senior Member Followers: 11 Topic Count: 77 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 641 Content Per Day: 0.22 Reputation: 328 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/16/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 On 12/29/2016 at 6:33 PM, C_Beth said: "...to turn off our hearts to others will create a great darkness in the heart….a cold unfeeling one, or a very cold and angry one." Beautifully said, Mark!! Thank you C Beth, happy New Year. Peace mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdohle Posted December 31, 2016 Group: Senior Member Followers: 11 Topic Count: 77 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 641 Content Per Day: 0.22 Reputation: 328 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/16/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 On 12/29/2016 at 7:49 PM, BacKaran said: I disagree with this on some circumstances... Like my Roman Catholic siblings.. "...to turn off our hearts to others will create a great darkness in the heart….a cold unfeeling one, or a very cold and angry one." It's not that I'm turning off my heart to those who won't hear His Truth, it's them turning their cold dark heart into a cold unfeeling angry heart after rejecting Gods Truth from a sinner they think they are better than in this fallen world. Tragic, yes but again, it's them. I am sorry about your relationship with your children BacKaran. Not sure they are that way because of their faith, but because they will not allow the love of God into their hearts. I know it must be painful for you, but being a God fearing woman who loves God, have faith that a seed has been planted and will sprout.....though God's timing can be frustrating. peace mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdohle Posted December 31, 2016 Group: Senior Member Followers: 11 Topic Count: 77 Topics Per Day: 0.03 Content Count: 641 Content Per Day: 0.22 Reputation: 328 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/16/2016 Status: Offline Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 On 12/29/2016 at 10:37 PM, simplejeff said: Amein, though this may be very difficult to understand ...... Simply, Y'SHUA always did what is perfectly just - and many still rejected HIM (as HE says will happen to everyone who chooses to follow HIM) .... i.e. we can do what is perfectly just, and will be rejected by others the same as Y'SHUA was rejected. Y'SHUA is the best example of perfect love also. (right?) ... AND STILL HE was rejected. (and is rejected by most people on earth). Doing what is "just" according to YHWH'S WORD, PLAN, PURPOSE and SALVATION in Y'SHUA is so very different from doing what is "just" by any other measure (perhaps opposite in fact?) .... it can take years , even decades , to "learn".... (since we are all (practically) taught wrongly from birth until being born again) .... Amein ! Love what you had to say, thank you for sharing so deeply. Peace Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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