If I Know What Love Is

I only know what love is
because it’s what you show
when my lips you kiss
and make my world glow

My darling, because of you
I know what it does mean
to travel this life through
unharmed by what I’ve seen

It is the love you give
that helps me face each day
for I know I’ll always live
in your comforting arms to stay 

If I know what love is
it is only because of you
who has given me a bliss
I never thought was true

With the love you’ve shown me
by doing the smallest of things
my heart’s been set free
as with joy it sings

I know the gift He gave
when God had sent me you
again my life to save
because He loves me too!

Teresa Marie  7/1/11

Covenants And Promises

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10
The New International Version

The other day I spoke of the covenant that God made with Israel, the Jewish people, the 12 tribes, and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This morning, the above verse from Isaiah 54 was on my Today’s Thought e-mail.  I immediately felt that God was affirming what I stated.

We Christians believe that you must receive Jesus as the Messiah to receive salvation.  The Jews don’t accept Him as such.  Therein lies a dilemma.  How do we reconcile the two things, God’s Old Testament covenant and the New Testament (Christian) requirement?  I was talking to my mother about this very thing last night.  She had to agree with me because, if God were to break His covenant of old, how could we believe in any covenant that followed?

We tend to look at everything in human terms since, naturally, that’s all we know.  We cannot and will never know the mind of God until we meet Him face to face.  The Bible states “His ways are not our ways…” therefore, I will not show disdain toward Judaism or the Jewish people ever.

Human beings make and break promises every day.  It’s shameful of us and I’m just as guilty of having done it (more so in the past) as anyone else.  Please don’t think that I have a “holier than thou” attitude about this.  I am just stating my own thoughts and observations for your consideration.

I know that the Christian Old Testament is not the same as the Jewish Tanakh.  It is a Christian version of it.  I did not live in the time before Christ or during His ministry.  I didn’t learn the Jewish faith in grade school.  I went to Catholic school all 12 years and graduated there.  I recently learned, again, that the Catholics have their own version of the Bible.  With all of the different denominations there are within the Christian faith, I wonder just how different each one’s Bible is.  I guess we all must decide as individuals what we will believe as the truth and try our best to follow it.  Human beings are not perfect, I know that I’m far from it, but we can at least attempt to live together in this world by the one concept that I think is in every version, both Christian and Jewish, and that is loving compassion for one another.  Just a thought…

Always remember that Jesus died for us because He loves us!

Humbly yours,
Teresa Marie

Related articles

• What is the covenant of the Hebrew people (wiki.answers.com)
• Genesis 17 (asorensen.wordpress.com)
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So Poor

Some people are so poor they only have money!

Ivor Powell

Some people are so poor
because of what they adore

And put that love into
everything they say and do

By desire of silver and gold
they grow calloused and cold

For they pursue after money
as their land of milk and honey

Blinded by greed for wealth
they only do fail themself

When it does last for eternity
to forfiet your soul to the enemy.

Teresa Marie   7/1/11

That Knows The World

 

The happy man is he that knows the world and cares not for it.

Joseph Hall

---

So happy is that man
who knows of God’s plan

Forsaking the world as is
and doesn’t accept as his

But rather does go along
seeing what’s right and wrong

And ignores where he lives
with the trappings it gives

While looking to God above
as the object of his love.

Teresa Marie   7/1/11

My Friday Thoughts – What is Blasphemy?

 

Have you ever thought much about what that word means?  Well, since receiving that unpublished comment where it was stated that my belief in Jesus Christ as God‘s Son was blasphemous, I have considered that word more closely.  I looked it up in my Webster’s New World Dictionary – Fourth Edition, copyrighted in 2003 and this is what it says:

blaspheme – 1) to speak profanely of or to (God or sacred things) 2) to curse

blasphemy -  profane speech, writing or action concerning God or sacred things

After I read what was said to me, I was quickly offended.  Then, in my response, I said that I could probably say the same thing about that person’s belief but that I would have refrained from doing so.  Later on, I began my consideration of the word.

I suppose that, should they care to, one religion could easily accuse another of being blasphemous.  Jews don’t believe in Jesus as the Messiah so the Christian religion could be considered blasphemy and, in the reverse, their denial of His Divinity could be called the same.  Muslims don’t believe either of us and would call us both blasphemous, etc.

The thing that bothers me most about the whole the whole situation is why would I want to do that?  It is such an inflammatory word, to begin with.  Although we each believe that we are right in our beliefs, I would not and have never pointed my finger at the Jewish faith and called it blasphemous.  Don’t we have enough animosity and hatred in the world as it is without jumping on any and every opportunity we may find to spread more?

Therefore, ATW if you’re reading this, that was highly uncalled for!  That is mostly the reason that your comment was not posted.  I don’t know what religion you are nor do I care, all I can say is shame on you!  You said that your God is a God of love, but was what you wrote loving in any way, shape or form?  You’ve accused me of ulterior motives and questioned my beliefs.  How dare you!  Go back to the start of this blog and read everything that I have been through, then you’ll have no doubt about what and why I believe.

I am not here to debate religious beliefs with anyone.  You have yours and I have mine.  I would never go onto a blog written by a Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. and denigrate them.  I do worship a loving God and do my best every day to act like it.

Always remember that Jesus died for us because He loves us!

With His love,
Teresa Marie

Related articles

• Have You Heard About The Blasphemy Challenge? (setwatchman.wordpress.com)