"Yeah, But!"

 "For neither did his brethren believe in him." (John 7:5 KJV)

  "Don't trust anyone - not your best friend or even your wife! For the son despises his father. The daughter defies her mother. The daughter-in-law defies her mother-in-law. Your enemies are right in your own household!" (Micah 7:5-6 NLT)

 Probably words I should have written down somewhere where I could always see them! You seriously cannot tell anyone anything that you are meant to keep to yourself, absolutely nobody, not even your wife! Except maybe in my case, as my wife will keep anything I say to herself! But there are things I still don't tell her, only because I don't want to upset her or make her concerned. 

 If you don't know this, the only one from Jesus' family at the cross during His crucifixion was His mother. Besides that, the only one of His twelve apostles present was John; all the rest were too ashamed or scared to show up! From what I have heard, there was only 14 there to mourn for Him and watch as He was killed; all of which really cared nothing about being safe but wanted nothing more than to be close to Him! 

 If you really stop to think about it, there are similar situations going on in many different ways, and on several various levels, that reflect the same attitude of Jesus' brothers, whether it be statis, position, wealth, health; the way we feel about our church, employer, family, spouse; or even what we feel about ourselves. It is all about the same basic mentality, "What is in it for me!" 

 Who cares about what might happen to this person or that place, as long as I am okay or get some sort of benefit, that's really all that really matters! As soon as it starts to look bad, or things start to push against my feelings, then it's time to back away or throw in the towel. If that's not all, there's always those how choose to do nothing at all, but wait till it's all over, then see if there are any pieces to be picked up after everything crumbles. 

 I'm sorry if that seemed a little harsh, but I see myself in a lot of that mess also. I really must check myself, sometimes over and over, because I can tend to question my motivation for giving, or for hoping my wife is still here, or for even my own will to stay alive. If I had to pick the one that hurts my heart the most, it is the one dealing with my wife. I ask God quite often, "Why?", but He never says anything but, "Wait!"

 Anywho! There is something that God put upon my heart this morning, and it brought me to tears: I envisioned James with his Camel Knees from always praying: Love hurts, when it doesn't get used, while it could have... 

"This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the "twelve tribes" - Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings!

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:1-2 NLT)