but to give right, give God stuff!

Be like Jesus!

Oh, not famous, "I'm the great one who can control everything, heal everything, bow down and worship me" type you can imagine if one of us was really able to do what Jesus did!!!

No, really have that control over self, over the hatred of the devil, the hurt, harm that poor people suffer at that one's hands...

Not that suffering can't do some good -

can make us grow sometimes, but... I think I'd have to know what God was thinking, yes? But... well, it isn't us can heal anyway, I guess I can just ask, and leave the results to Him! Hey, that's easy!!!

 
But then I'd want to help people grow through that suffering - tell them how to take it, to let it do its work... But there's bad suffering that's a result of bad choices - mental tricks from Satan, rather than direct attack... Man, that's a huge job - there's the church that needs to be well enough to do all that!!!!

 
Oh God, why isn't the church well enough to do what you designed it to do?

I mean God, we have everything these days!

Why, we have all the Bible - the Old and New Testaments! (Plus there's so-o-o much teaching stuff on it - maybe not so helpful some of it!!! For various reasons!!!)

We have all that spiritual truth released - so hard won - baptism in water (full immersion, and in the Holy Spirit - with speaking in tongues! How miraculous is that! !)

We - in the West = English speaking - have churches galore, equipment and songs to make beautiful worship music together, communicate all the business of church, preach to untold numbers via internet sites....

Really, we have all that we need physically and intellectually!
Just like the world!

 
But it's not enough is it? Where is the love?

Where is that love that satisfies our need?

Then reaches out to love our brothers and sisters in the church? (So many lonely people - who don't often share lives, have close friends)

And that love which reaches out to those we can't expect to love us -
ones who don't know or care about You!!!

We would expect some of them to reject us, to mock us, to be embarrassed maybe - whatever,
why - once we were fed to the lions...
why - there are more matrys today than ever - but not many who die for the cause of Christ in the West, I think

 
Oh God, I'm so much better than I was - more whole and sane and less dependent. And at my work, so much of your goodness pours out to the dying people, who I see as living, going on to live in a different way!!! I can serve them in Your strength as much as I can, and they say -"by God, I don't know how you do it!" and of course I can say - "It is by God!!!" of course!!!! Yay!!

But so much is still flesh - that is, human nature - there's little of spirituality in my life, actually living it!!! My reality is western materialism, capitalism, humanism. If I saw a recognisable angel, I'd probably die of shock! Don't we still struggle to pray regularly, and read the Bible, let alone telling others about God!?! This God that created the universe, that loves us to death, that is closer than our nearest relative - how often do I remember that he is so near, and so dear? And so powerful! And so caringly, intensely interested in me!?!

And I gotta be straight - that which I call "church organisation" I don't feel is expression of God, rather than man...