3 posts tagged “jesus christ”

I had been chatting to my cousin Clara in NJ about Satanic influences in our lives today. She had written the below poem, and begins with a bit of scripture from the Gospel of John. I thought I’d share it with readers today.

The Light shines
In the darkness,
And the darkness
Has not overcome it.
—John 1:5 (RSV)

Good vs. Evil

Evil, where is your sting?
I am not afraid
for the Lord is staying very close.
You may change your form;
I can recognize you.

Attack me,
Scare me,
Tempt me,
Deceive me,
Surround me,
Overwhelm me,
I have no fear
My Lord is shielding me.

In the pit,
In the fire,
In the lion’s den,
In the wilderness,
He is there with me.

You are cunning,
You are ugly,
You are fierce,
You are ready to devour me,
but my Protector will not let you.
He is far stronger;
He is far more superior.

Fooling the people,
Deceiving my friends,
A wolf in sheep’s skin
cannot conceal its identity forever.
Your real self will emerge sooner or later.
Your true intention will be uncovered.
I have all the patience in the world
for the Lord promised me that
justice will be served.

You can attack my weaknesses.
You can aim at my reputation.
You can destroy my personal relationships.
You can hurt me but I will not yield to you.

My friends will wake up someday from your deception.
 They will return to me if I mean anything to them.
Broken relationships can be mended.
If it cannot, it was not meant to be.
We all have to make our choices
and learn from our mistakes.

It was tough to engage in a long
spiritual battle with the devil,
I was exhausted.
I felt lonely but I was not alone.
My Lord held me tight.
He whispered to me
that everything was going to be fine.

It was all dark.
Rain was pouring.
Fierce winds were blowing.
Thunder and lightening pierced
through the sky’s darkness.
Then, everything died down.
The air was suffocating.
I could not breathe.
I choked, waiting.

Finally, your evilness arrived in the form of
sand storms and hurricanes gushing toward me.
You swept through the path
destroying everything along the way.
In that final moment of confrontation,
I was as secure as ever.
In His strong arms,
I trusted Him like a child.
Nothing could harm me,
not sickness, not death,
not anything and not anyone.

He saw to it that
Satan’s power would not reach me.
Darkness came upon me,
but it could not overtake me.

I will be His light in the darkness,
and His beacon in the wilderness,
testifying and showing the whole world
His greatness and His glory.
His love will stay with His children forever;
No one can take that away.

—Clara Lee, October 10, 2003

Former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential nominee hopeful Mike Huckabee released a 30 sec ad in the US talking about Jesus Christ, which appears to have got some Americans upset.
   The Murdoch Press quotes from the commercial: ‘Are you about worn out by all the television commercials you’ve been seeing, mostly about politics? Well, I don’t blame you. At this time of year sometimes it’s nice to pull aside from all of that and just remember that what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ and being with our family and friends.’
   Sounds good to me.
   I like a planet where we saw Hanukkah a few weeks back. I enjoyed seeing Muslims make pilgrimages for Eid ul-Adha on al-Jazeera. And, by all means, Gov Huckabee, a Christian, should proudly invoke his faith and talk about Jesus Christ.
   I thought the true meaning of political correctness was accepting everyone’s beliefs, not undermining those of the majority in their nations. In fact, I didn’t imagine political correctness equated to godless communism. Or maybe it does?
   Gov Huckabee told a congregation in San Antonio, ‘Sometimes in the middle of Christmas, Jesus is the one person who’s tough to find. You notice that? I can find Santa at every mall, you can find discounts in every store but if you mention the name of Jesus, as I found out recently, it upsets the whole world. Forgive me but I thought that was the point of the whole day.’
   I agree.
   With so many people sending holiday greetings this December from the western world, have folks noticed that many have missed Hanukkah? The ‘Happy holidays’ greetings I received are largely timed for Christmas and were sent after the Jewish festival this year. A number of Muslim friends have sent Eid greetings.
   When I know the sender does not follow Islam or observes Kwanzaa, then saying ‘Happy holidays’ doesn’t diminish the fact that the greeting is for Christmas, a day during which I can bet they are not working.
   My point is that there are a lot of people celebrating specifically Christmas, whether they proclaim a belief in Jesus Christ or not. In Mike Huckabee’s case, he’s celebrating it his way by going back to basics.
   I think he has a right to do that—and if he is a Christian, I am glad he is proud to proclaim his faith, rather than hide it because he’s so scared about offending parts of the electorate.
   I’d write a similar post if another candidate proclaimed another faith: if this is what one believes, then why hide it?

He is risen indeed!
   Happy Easter, everyone.