"Stinkin' Thinkin'"

 "Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he sinketh: for he hath been dead four days." (John 11:39 KJV) 

  ""Don't call me Naomi," she responded. "Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the LORD has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?"" (Ruth 1:20-21 NLT)

 I have been waiting for three days to get to this Scripture; I hope it was worth it! This portion of Scripture from the Book of Ruth, as you should know, is when Naomi returns from Moab to Bethlehem, and is complaining that people greeted her by her name, Naomi, which means pleasant. She really didn't feel very pleasant, having left home with a husband and two sons, and returned home empty! 

 As you might know, if you have been following this blog long enough, I shared on this Book one Mother's Day at my friend's church. At this point of the message, I needed to point out that Naomi was not alone, as she had stated; she had Ruth standing right beside her! Ruth, the one who would happen to be the grandmother of king David. 

 Anywho; this point is about the ones that try to say, "You can't," when you know that you should! Why do you listen to them, as if they know anything about what you're going to do, because they haven't done it themselves? Seriously, if you want to get someone's opinion, then talk to someone that has experience in doing what you feel God is telling you to do! 

 Even then, you might get a person that had a bummer time, was left unfunded, or had a door shut in their face; but at least you will have some proper insight into what could go wrong. This is really something we must understand: God does not make mistakes! We, on the other hand, make mistakes all the time! But, the God we serve, turns those mistakes into opportunities for His will to be done! 

 It was no mistake that Jesus waited until four days to ask for that stone to be taken away, He knew full well what condition Lazarus was in; but He was going to change all of that, regardless! Think about His first miracle, turning water into wine. That was more than just making wine, that was about changing time! 

 I have had some very testy talks with brothers and sisters about this topic, 'Seven Days of Creation', and no matter how hard I tried, they would not even try to see past the time aspect of creation. As if God couldn't just make something old and mature! God can do whatever He wants! 

 Which reminds me of a message I listened to yesterday, from Pastor Robert, who was sharing on one of my favorite verses, from Malachi 3:8-12, as God is speaking about His people cheating Him. As Robert pointed out, God does not need money; but He does want to bless His people! Yes, that's right! They were robbing God from blessing them! 

 Go figure! And all this time you assumed He just wanted your money...

"Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on."" (Mark 12:41-44 NLT)