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"Lollipop and Pearls" - Jared Kraft

Saturday, October 31, 2009

"We are the World"....Part 4.....GOOD NEWS!

I love autumn! I stand amazed that trees can bear green leaves in the Spring; remain green all summer long; gradually turn from green to vivid hues of yellow, orange, red, brown, or some combination thereof; fall from the trees just before winter, leaving branches devoid of their natural décor; only to have those same branches birth new leaves again in the Spring!

The cycle of life as designed by the Master Artist Creator of the Universe…God Himself!

God looked upon each part of His Creation and said, “It is good!” He determined the necessary conditions for life to burst forth, to thrive, and ultimately to pass away. Before the fall of man, a perfect world existed…and it was good!

Because of “man’s” insatiable appetite for things forbidden, sin entered the perfect world, incessantly leaving its revolting stain on humanity! The consequences of sin include (but are not limited to) pain, suffering, guilt, anger…and above all else, spiritual and physical death! Those consequences are

inconceivable.
inevitable.
unavoidable.
unpredictable.
… incomprehensible.

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful natureand following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Eph. 2: 1-5 (NIV)

(There is so much more to share from this book, but I don’t want to belabor the topic for too long! PLEASE purchase the book, read it, then pass it on for others to read. Knowledge is POWER! Together Everyone Accomplishes More—that spells TEAM!)

THERE IS GOOD NEWS!!!

“Sometimes I would like to ask God why he allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it.”
“Well, why don’t you ask Him?”
“Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.” ~Anonymous

This race we are running is a marathon, not a sprint.

From p.163 in the book A Hole in our Gospel, Stearns records these stats:
~Life expectancy in developing nations increased from 6 years in 1960 to 66.1 in 2005.
~The under-five child mortality rate has been cut in half since 1070.
~Preventable child deaths have fallen 50%since 1960 from more than 20 million per year to fewer than 10 million
~The percentage of the world’s people classified as hungry has been reduced from 33 to 18% over the past 40 years.
~The percentage of people with access to clean water in developing countries went from 35% in 1975 to 80% in 2007.
~Polio has been almost eradicated from the globe.
~Adult literacy has risen from 43 to 77% since 1970.”

Another very encouraging cause was developed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 2000 known as the “Millennium Development Goals”, with the following ambitious goals:

~~Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
~~Achieve universal primary education
~~Promote gender equality and empower women
~~Reduce child mortality
~~Improve maternal health
~~Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
~~Ensure environmental sustainability
~~Develop a global partnership for development

It does my heart good to see efforts being by various groups at the local, state, country and international level to eradicate world hunger and it’s devastating results. Still far from where we need to be, we are making progress. The one thing we ALL can do, no matter our location, age, ethnicity, or status, is PRAY!!!! As the old African proverb says: “Pray, but when you pray, move to your feet!” To the degree that you are able, move from prayer only to prayer with action. In the words of Paul Harvey: “We’ve drifted away from being fishers of men to being keepers of the aquarium”. Not everyone can physically hook the fish ~ some need to care for them in the aquarium. Yet, there are many unaware of their calling to be “fishers of men”, with a “I can’t do it!” YES. YOU. CAN.

“I CAN DO all things through Christ who gives me strength” ~ Phil. 4:13
“I can do ALL THINGs through Christ who gives me strength” ~ Phil. 4:13
“I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who gives me strength” ~ Phil. 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH” ~ Phil. 4:13

4 comments:

Linda said...

Lisa,you are such an encourager. I love the verse Philippians 4:13.
I am suffering with my migraine and nausea today and you helped me to remember that I am not alone in my suffering.

Love, Linda @ Truthful Tidbits

Lolli (aka Lisa) said...

Precious Linda,

I so sympathize with those headaches, as I am plagued with them, as well. I am praying for supernatural healing from our Great Physician. Thank-you for being my faithful supporter on my blog. I love you and your whole family so very much,

Lolli

Mindy said...

Wow! What an awesome post! Thanks for much for visiting my blog and it's really nice to meet you.
I will be back to visit again soon!
in HIM -
Mindy

Lolli (aka Lisa) said...

Than-you, Mindy, for visiting and for your encouraging words. please so come back and visit.

Be blessed!