"Life Complete"

"They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts." (Psalms 119:87)

  Okay, so the thing that I feel God speaking into my heart this morning, is about the respect for life; not just the chance to live, but the aspect of life and all of the difficulties and tragedies that come with it. As I was thinking about this, I could not help but think of the new legislation the is being celebrated in New York, and on the way to be celebrated here in California; that an unborn child can now be terminated right up to the time of birth, for any reason! How is this not murder! As many of you are aware, I do not think life can be taken from another without it being viewed as taking a life; no matter what state or condition a persons life is in, if they are alive, they are in God's hand, and only God has the authority to take their life. This is not just my opinion, it is my passion. For over 15 years, I have been caring for and continuing to love and cherish my wife. There are more people than I care to think about that do not understand, nor do they appreciate the fact that there is still a life there; she might not be able to do much of anything, but she is still alive and she still has a soul. Don't think that I am weird for saying this, but our souls do still communicate together. I can't explain it, but there is still a connection between us that is deeper than just flesh and blood. Do I have issues with the state that she is in? You bet I do! But it is not up to me how long this goes on, it is up to God! My only concern is to continue to care for her as long as she still lives; I promised her I would, so this is how that promise is fulfilled. All that said, there is something else that God has spoken into my heart this morning, it involves real living and the journey of living life at its fullest. That word you see up there, "consumed," speaks far more than just about being used up; it speaks more about being complete! Yes, that's right. Amazingly, our lives cannot be complete without having lived in the face of adversity or having suffered through some sort of calamity. As I thought about this, I could not think of any single person in the Bible that did not live without suffering through something, whether it was put upon them or self-imposed, everyone had to deal with some kind of trial or calamity in their life. We are all familiar with the term, "Refiner's Fire": and for all it's worth, the part of us that survives the fire is our soul...

""Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called even worse names! "But don't be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear! "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell."" (Matthew 10:24-28) NLT