spiritual freedoms

Today US forces are claiming victory in the death of
Osama Bin Laden. His body, according to government forces,
has been buried at sea. The New York Daily News is marking
the event  with the headline  "ROT IN HELL".

Yet, for all of the celebratory  drinks that will be downed
today,and as good and needful as it is for dangerous people
to be stopped, this could be a sobering moment for followers
of Christ.
http://beenthinking.org/2011/05/02/bin-laden-tornadoes-and-tsunamis/

I've also been thinking about what to make of the fact that God

allowed Satan to use a windstorm to take the lives, that tested
Job's faith…before the LORD, himself, finally spoke out of
another violent storm… (Job 1:19 ; 38:1)

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He suffered at the hands of these rulers (Jesus the heavenly ruler)
He beareth not the sword in vain (the earthly govonors)

All over the United States and the world itself, millions are

rejoicing at this moment over the death of one of the most
evil men the world has ever known.

Our feelings of jubilation as Christians should also be
balanced with the fact that a human soul has been lost and
will spend forever in the torments of eternal fire. One wonders
if our response to the death of Bin Laden should be one of somber,
humble quietness and we consider the words of God who expressed
His feelings on even those such as
Bin laden who are such evil men.

Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them: "As I live," says the Lord GOD,
"I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked…"

Even in His perfect judgment, the Lord does not glory or
cheer when even a man as evil as Osama Bin Laden is killed.
The death of a human soul and the assignment of that soul
to eternal punishment is not something to glory over.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise,
as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,
not willing that any should perish but
that all should come to repentance.

Rob Robinson
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Have you ever felt overwhelmed by rules and expectations?
Think of how the Jewish people must have felt as they tried
to keep up with more than 600 rules from the Old Testament
and many more that had been imposed on them by the religious
leaders of their day. And imagine their surprise when Jesus
simplified the pursuit of righteousness by narrowing the
list down to just two—"love the Lord your God"
(Matt. 22:37) and "love your neighbor as yourself" (v.39).

http://odb.org/
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John Paul said the great work of God is man, and the great
redeemer of man is Christ. Therefore, "Christ cannot be kept
out of the history of man in any part of the globe, at any
longitude or latitude. . . . The exclusion of Christ from
the history of man is an act against man!"

"I speak . . . for St. Paul: Do not quench the Spirit. . . .
I speak again for St. Paul: Do not grieve the Spirit of God!"

"You must be strong, my brothers and sisters. You must be
strong with the strength that faith gives. . . . You need
this strength today more than any other period in our
history. . . . You must be strong with love, which is
stronger than death. . . .
Never lose your spiritual freedom."

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May 2nd.THE PASSION OF PATIENCE
 
"Though it tarry, wait for it." Habakkuk 2:3

Patience is not indifference; patience conveys the idea of an

immensely strong rock withstanding all onslaughts. The vision
of God is the source of patience, because it imparts a moral
inspiration. Moses endured, not because he had an ideal of right
and duty, but because he had a vision of God. He "endured,
as seeing Him Who is invisible." A man with the vision of God
is not devoted to a cause or to any particular issue; he is
devoted to God Himself. You always know when the vision is
of God because of the inspiration that comes with it; things
come with largeness and tonic to the life because everything
is energized by God. If God gives you a time spiritually,

as He gave His Son actually, of temptation in the wilderness,
with no word from Himself at all, endure, and the power to
endure is there because you see God.

"Though it tarry, wait for it." The proof that we have the
vision is that we are reaching out for more than we have grasped.
It is a bad thing to be satisfied spiritually. "What shall I
render unto the Lord?" said the Psalmist. "I will take the cup
of salvation." We are apt to look for satisfaction in ourselves
- "Now I have got the thing; now I am entirely sanctified;
now I can endure." Instantly we are on the road to ruin.
Our reach must exceed our grasp. "Not as though I had already
attained, either were already perfect." If we have only

what we have experienced, we have nothing; if we have the
inspiration of the vision of God, we have more than we can
experience. Beware of the danger of
relaxation spiritually. - Chambers
 
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Everyone looked at the propaganda of the state, at its lack of

truthfulness and its disrespect for reality, and they thought:
It's all lies. Everything the government says is a lie.
The government itself is a lie.

Twenty-three years later, in an interview, the Solidarity leader
Lech Walessa told me of how John Paul galvanized the movement
for freedom: "We knew . . . communism could not be reformed.
But we knew the minute he touched the foundations of communism,
it would collapse."

Some will speak of mistakes and sins in his papacy, and they are

right. But saints are first of all human, and their lives are
always flawed, full of contradictions, and marked by
stark failures. Yet they are individuals of heroic virtue.
As he was.Santo Subito. Make him a saint. - NOONAN

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Many on the right are critical of the fawning over the Royal
wedding ceremony for Prince William and his bride, Kate,
broadcast around the globe today. They point to the American
Revolution and our endeavors to shed the tyranny of the Crown,
and they mock the stodginess of the Royals while noting the
irony of several failed marriages among the recent crop from
the House of Windsor - most notably, William's parents.
But whatever one thinks of the Monarchy, in an increasingly
pathetic MTV world - the ceremony today was extraordinary,
and a good thing for the world to see. It was nothing short
of impressive - timely, carried out with precision, dripping
with military, christian and royal traditions. The music was
magnificent - there were actual hymns rather than gaudy
"praise music" rock bands, a church that looks like a

church, and the participants and guests were dressed not just

appropriately, but perfectly…

The event was broadcast to an estimated 2 billion people.
And in my view - that is a good thing. It can hardly be bad -
for whatever flaws of the people involved - to remind people
through the broadcast of a high religious ceremony that
Christ is Lord. It can hardly be bad to have 2 billion people
hear a Christian reminder of the importance of marriage in
furthering mankind. It can hardly be bad to remind people

that for all its flaws, the Anglo-influence has indeed made
the world a far better place. And it is hardly bad to remind
people that tradition matters - that carrying ourselves the
proper way matters. Today was a day for the British to be proud
of the civilization they have built - and a civilization that
shaped the world. A civilization that birthed America.
http://www.redstate.com/hogan/

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What does it mean to be blessed? It means that you are
supernaturally empowered to do whatever God has called you
to do; to be whoever God has called you to be; and to have
whatever God has called you to have. God's blessing is His
empowerment! The key is this: you have to believe it in order
to receive it. You can't walk around in guilt and condemnation
from the past thinking you can't do anything right and expect
to keep moving forward. You have to shake off those old mindsets
by declaring God's truth over your life. Truth sets you free.

When you speak God's truth that you are blessed, you will be
free to believe it and free to receive it! Today, take hold of
what belongs to you. Approach the day with an attitude of faith
and victory knowing that you are already blessed! - Osteen

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11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, lie,
and say all kinds of evil things about you because of me.
12Rejoice and be glad because you have a great reward in heaven!
The prophets who lived before you were persecuted in these ways.

13"You are salt for the earth. But if salt loses its taste,
how will it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.

14"You are light for the world. A city cannot be hidden
when it is located on a hill. 15No one lights a lamp and puts
it under a basket. Instead, everyone who lights a lamp puts it
on a lamp stand. Then its light shines on everyone in the house.
16In the same way let your light shine in front of people.
Then they will see the good that you

do and praise your Father in heaven.

http://gwt.scripturetext.com/matthew/5.htm

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