June 11, 2013
Jesus became the sacrifice—the perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 9:12–14 - "His sacrifice was his own blood, and by it he set us free... he offered himself through the eternal Spirit as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make our consciences pure from useless acts so we may serve the living God." Hebrews 9:26–28 - "But Christ came only once and for all time at just the right time to take away all sin by sacrificing himself. Just as everyone must die once and be judged, so Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to take away the sins of many people. And he will come a second time, not to offer himself for sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
God is an "on-time" God. A friend of mine and our church choir used to sing a Black gospel song about God being "on-time."
Six years.
We have made so many changes to our home and land during this time of waiting. As I was working outside today it just became clear all over again what this lawsuit is really about. More than the money they are seeking, my sister wants this house and our property for herself, or at the very least, she wants it away from me. That speaks volumes. Who could actually want to take something from someone else? I don't get that.
It's been six years, but I can still vividly recall what my sister said to me while I was standing in our kitchen. She walked up to me, put her thumb and first two fingers together, pointed them at my face, and then through clenched teeth said (while using her fingers to punctuate each word for emphasis), THIS.IS.MY.HOUSE! I remember saying, "excuse me"? My sister quickly back tracked and said what she meant to say was this is where she stayed when she visited. But her words revealed the truth and the hatred she was hiding spilled out. She wants what I (we) have.
This lawsuit is about more than just money. If money were the only motive it would have ended long ago. What they are doing just doesn't make logical or economical sense. They are spending far more than they could ever possibly recoup even if they "won." It can't be just about the money. Her Freudian slip, said at a moment of weakness through clenched teeth, revealed the truth.
Who could actually take something that belongs to someone else? They can. No one appears to be safe from their actions. Not friends, and not family. Nothing appears sacred or off-limits, and anything and everything appears acceptable if it benefits them.
What I know for sure is this: God cannot lie; and God is on-time. He will bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
Addendum: 11/30/16 ~ God not only brings salvation to those who are waiting on Him, He also brings accountability and justice to those who are living for themselves.
When this journal entry was first written, I thought I was only keeping a record of my personal thoughts for myself and my family members so no explanations were necessary. But when reading this entry today, I realize an explanation needs to be written so a wrong impression is not given. When I wrote that my sister wants what we have (our house and property) it could give you the impression that we have a large expensive home/estate. That is not the case.
We choose to live our lives simply. We built a small cabin type home on a secluded piece of property we bought twenty years ago. This piece of property (which includes a woods and large pond) had been abused and neglected for years. We don't view our home and property as "ours." We understand we are simply the caretakers of what God has given us. For the past twenty years we've enjoyed working hard to respect the land and show the beauty of God's creation by landscaping, building stone walls, and planting hundreds of pines and other trees. It is a quiet, serene and peaceful place (partly because of the surroundings), but mostly because we are at peace.
When my sister and brother-in-law filed the lawsuit against us they owned multiple high end homes and properties. Wanting to take what we have wasn't fueled by their lack of possessions. Their actions can only be described as actions that are fueled by anger, revenge, and jealousy—wanting what someone else has. There is no other way to explain it. It's a twisted way of thinking, but my sister and brother-in-law's attempt to force us to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars (and therefore lose what we have) isn't so much about achieving a monetary gain or the "value" of something. It's about trying to take away from us what they resent the most—our inner peace and happiness. It's irrational, but if they can "win" then they think they can project upon us in their position and they can take our position. What they don't understand is this: inner peace and happiness does not come from the things you "own" because money can't buy it. Inner peace only comes from knowing whose you are, surrendering your all, and putting your faith and trust in HIM.
Next Entry: Hebrews 10:1–39
Jesus became the sacrifice—the perfect sacrifice. Hebrews 9:12–14 - "His sacrifice was his own blood, and by it he set us free... he offered himself through the eternal Spirit as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make our consciences pure from useless acts so we may serve the living God." Hebrews 9:26–28 - "But Christ came only once and for all time at just the right time to take away all sin by sacrificing himself. Just as everyone must die once and be judged, so Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to take away the sins of many people. And he will come a second time, not to offer himself for sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."
God is an "on-time" God. A friend of mine and our church choir used to sing a Black gospel song about God being "on-time."
"He may not come when you want him, but he'll be there right on time. He's an on-time God... yes he is." (You can listen to Dottie Peoples singing it here.)We are soon approaching the six year anniversary of my sister and brother-in-law filing the lawsuit against us. Six years. I look at the pictures of the special group of Sunday School girls who walked this journey with us and I think—Wow! What a change from when they were 6th and 7th graders to graduating seniors. Six years is a long time but God is an on-time God, and when "the storm" is supposed to be over it will be over. I thought for sure it would be over before this special group of girls graduated. Even though it isn't over, I still had the awesome opportunity to meet with them one last time before they headed off to college and to share with them what God has done these last six years.
Six years.
We have made so many changes to our home and land during this time of waiting. As I was working outside today it just became clear all over again what this lawsuit is really about. More than the money they are seeking, my sister wants this house and our property for herself, or at the very least, she wants it away from me. That speaks volumes. Who could actually want to take something from someone else? I don't get that.
It's been six years, but I can still vividly recall what my sister said to me while I was standing in our kitchen. She walked up to me, put her thumb and first two fingers together, pointed them at my face, and then through clenched teeth said (while using her fingers to punctuate each word for emphasis), THIS.IS.MY.HOUSE! I remember saying, "excuse me"? My sister quickly back tracked and said what she meant to say was this is where she stayed when she visited. But her words revealed the truth and the hatred she was hiding spilled out. She wants what I (we) have.
This lawsuit is about more than just money. If money were the only motive it would have ended long ago. What they are doing just doesn't make logical or economical sense. They are spending far more than they could ever possibly recoup even if they "won." It can't be just about the money. Her Freudian slip, said at a moment of weakness through clenched teeth, revealed the truth.
Who could actually take something that belongs to someone else? They can. No one appears to be safe from their actions. Not friends, and not family. Nothing appears sacred or off-limits, and anything and everything appears acceptable if it benefits them.
What I know for sure is this: God cannot lie; and God is on-time. He will bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
Addendum: 11/30/16 ~ God not only brings salvation to those who are waiting on Him, He also brings accountability and justice to those who are living for themselves.
"True repentance is not just confession of sin, but a sincere willingness to not do that sin again. If your conscience is not clear toward God in even one area of your life, repent, and ask God to cleanse you because of his shed blood." ~ From Life Lesson ApplicationAddendum #2: 7/28/18 ~ Five more years have passed since I originally wrote this journal entry. It has now been eleven years since my sister and brother-in-law filed their ruinous lawsuit against us—and the lawsuit continues on. Our faith remains strong. God cannot lie and He is on-time. The lawsuit will be over when the time is right. Until that time, we rest on His promises and we wait on His timing.
When this journal entry was first written, I thought I was only keeping a record of my personal thoughts for myself and my family members so no explanations were necessary. But when reading this entry today, I realize an explanation needs to be written so a wrong impression is not given. When I wrote that my sister wants what we have (our house and property) it could give you the impression that we have a large expensive home/estate. That is not the case.
We choose to live our lives simply. We built a small cabin type home on a secluded piece of property we bought twenty years ago. This piece of property (which includes a woods and large pond) had been abused and neglected for years. We don't view our home and property as "ours." We understand we are simply the caretakers of what God has given us. For the past twenty years we've enjoyed working hard to respect the land and show the beauty of God's creation by landscaping, building stone walls, and planting hundreds of pines and other trees. It is a quiet, serene and peaceful place (partly because of the surroundings), but mostly because we are at peace.
When my sister and brother-in-law filed the lawsuit against us they owned multiple high end homes and properties. Wanting to take what we have wasn't fueled by their lack of possessions. Their actions can only be described as actions that are fueled by anger, revenge, and jealousy—wanting what someone else has. There is no other way to explain it. It's a twisted way of thinking, but my sister and brother-in-law's attempt to force us to pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars (and therefore lose what we have) isn't so much about achieving a monetary gain or the "value" of something. It's about trying to take away from us what they resent the most—our inner peace and happiness. It's irrational, but if they can "win" then they think they can project upon us in their position and they can take our position. What they don't understand is this: inner peace and happiness does not come from the things you "own" because money can't buy it. Inner peace only comes from knowing whose you are, surrendering your all, and putting your faith and trust in HIM.
Next Entry: Hebrews 10:1–39
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