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ReactorSTUDIES FROM BRETHREN IN CHRIST
SERMON MENU SELECTIONS??/??/2021 ~ Suicide |
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🗡 Darkness has the winds of breathless silence When one loses the ability to care for others a loss of heart devours the soul. ... Saul took a sword and fell on it. And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. ~ 1st Samuel 31:4-5 Double suicides have been occurring since long before any of us were born. As they say, misery loves company, and many find solace in ending it together. Hate for life draws on their last breath. ... he put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died; ... ~ 2nd Samuel 17:23 Relationships and whether they are genuine or conniving influence peace of heart or not. Schemers rarely relax from the anxieties they endure through secretive plotting. ... burned the king's house down upon himself with fire, and died, ... ~ 1st Kings 16:18 Suicide is like a smoking gun, something shot long before, smoldering upon the heart. ... "Draw your sword and kill me, lest men say of me, 'A woman killed him.'" So his young man thrust him through, and he died. ~ Judges 9:52-54 Killing and murder has been with us as long as humans have walked the earth. Hate has no boundaries and rises from those closest to farthest away. Then Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!"... ~ Judges 16:30 Lust and jealousies, compounded with envy, often sends a soul into a counter-productive spiral of self disintegration. ... Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, ... ~ Hebrews 11:32-34 It is God who fairly judges all actions, and pray His mercy is more than sufficient; greater than we would have for each other. Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. ~ Matthew 27:5 Some possess such regret and intolerable suffering, that all they see is death to solve what they perceive as unbearable. Sadness lingers as an ocean with no end, forever sinking in what is broken past retrieval. Death, oh death, where is thy sting! "You shall not murder." ~ Exodus 20:13 The marks of the unjust have been made through the centuries, where contempt will never vanish from the ever increasing wars we all battle, be they on the road or in our homes. More often, neighbor despises neighbor and what is lowest is the misery that must be endured through this self-inflicted isolation. Love does not murder but hopes for all that could be better. "'Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death.'" ~ Leviticus 24:17 Justice will prevail for all those who have hindered the innocent and tortured the young. All hate will feel the gavel of death. The key is to have Christ as an advocate of mercy under His grace. Eternal death is an permanent verdict that extinguishes life itself. For love to save us, we must accept His love for time to become endless. "... 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'" ~ Matthew 5:21 Murder is a heavy weight to bear. The scales will judge truth as it unambiguously is. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. ~ 1st John 3:15 It is written that murderers will find no mercy without repentance, and a turn of heart. Hate will not inherit what has been established for His creatures to eternally enjoy. "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." ~ Revelation 21:8 Sinners who compulsively practice plainly listed offensives, without any regrets, are the residents of the cold hot ice hell offers. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. ~ Revelation 9:6 The tunnel to life and or death is in attitudes of either thankfulness or wishes for an end. Purpose renders a quest for more in all that is new. Without purpose, as they say, idleness is the devils domain. Self pity is an empty hole with lack of face. The courageous have all overcome the cowardice from within. "... O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!" Then the LORD said, "Is it right for you to be angry?" ~ Jonah 4:3-4 At the root of despising life is anger, that it has not gone the way of our choosing. To loose the spark of contentment’s joy, a lasting heatless pit of a dying heart remains. So that my soul chooses strangling And death rather than my body. I loathe my life; ... ~ Job 7:15-16 Each soul is tested to see if lessons presented lead to that upward call or disintegration to the lower despairs of helplessness. Both rich and poor face similar issue of misery and happiness on the path to understanding. None are without challenge, except for maybe those blissful children who have not yet seen the wickedness that prevails all around us. If I wait for the grave as my house, If I make my bed in the darkness, ... ~ Job 17:13 ... There are those who rebel against the light; They do not know its ways Nor abide in its paths. The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; ... ~ Job 24:12-14 Death is a door none should choose to want. Life was made to live. To seek an end of day, is to wish for a dreamless hope, where not even blue is near, but far away. For as long as we live, even sadness is to be chosen, over non-existent darkness. Emotions of regret expose all that is genuine in the weights we all carry. Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken. ~ Psalms 37:15 None of age has not had piercings of heart. Each bears his own load, and through the experiences, those valleys left behind are never as dark as the hills ahead. Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. ~ Psalms 42:5 When one reaches out to know God, burdens are lessened. The wings of love lift a soul above the sky to heavens gate where He waits. Hold tight to His unrelenting love fires the heart for more. Dwelling upon His qualities of essence fades the shadows of despair. The merciful man does good for his own soul, But he who is cruel troubles his own flesh. ~ Proverbs 11:17 Essentially, there is in each one of us those saintly and monstrous beast qualities. To discover the fullness of a soul, and life itself, one must find love of others over self. ... supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. But Paul called with a loud voice, ..." ~ Acts 16:27-28 ... Deliver those who are drawn toward death, ... ~ Proverbs 24:10-11 We are encouraged to encourage others, as it more than pays it forward. Hills lift the mountains. Complements and praise boost the spring of becoming. The lava of the moment cannot stop the push to create where wisdom is life. How often criticisms color the darkness for all that is blind below. ... LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, ... ~ Psalms 34:18-19 Stubborn hearts often are unable to release pain
God sees the sorrow we all face with death’s door as the entrance. ... God ... will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, ... ~ 1st Corinthians 10:13 It is a test of standing in faithfulness through the shadows of heartache. It is where the reasons for living outweigh the ones given for dying. Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, ... ~ Luke 18:1 Eternity opens one to see doing is part of believing. As each time has had strange new oddities, the flavor of endless creation reveals worth is measured by the instruments pressing on the temples of peace. Weakness overwhelms those unable to believe
To miss life alone is to not claim your own among others ... I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind. ~ Ecclesiastes 2:17 When we lack strength and confidence, what we follow or pursue declares our character. Compassion in our loneliness, lifting others, sustains what we need to continue. The earth is a temporary wind to nowhere. How each of deals with the distresses we must face, either assists or curtails the furtherment of humanity itself, from the smallest child to the oldest adult. ... tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter - On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter. ... ~ Ec. 4:1-3 There is no avoidance to the sorrows most must endure as life presents her realities. As the world turns, both oppressed and oppressors find no rest from the challenges life presents. To be happy or sad is how it is. Endurance is a lesson all must learn. Do not be overly righteous, Nor be overly wise: Why should you destroy yourself? Do not be overly wicked, Nor be foolish: Why should you die before your time? ... ~ Ecclesiastes 7:16-18 Increasing lawlessness and or pride will destroy a soul. We are told not to forget these principles of truth. ... who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness- indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, ... ~ Romans 2:8-9 Clearly, if godliness is absent only chaos and despair will ensue. Suicide is a self-seeking event. It wells up from feelings of been done wrong, or helplessness, and the wrath that goes with it. This produces anguish, suffering through the tribulation, of life. There is unceasing resentment. Presence in knowing His truth is absent for those that only see self. As a coin has two sides, His wrath will come upon all those who refuse to obey and repent. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. ~ James 3:16 Envious self-seeking imprisons unsatisfied hearts
With only a focus on the self, compassion for others remains weak at best. This includes those who choose rudeness over politeness, and all the extremes of rage in between, where weariness comes to all who surround such souls. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, ... ~ Proverbs 3:5-6 Many truths have been given in His word, but none more important than trusting He will deliver you. "... set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; ..." ~ Deuteronomy 30:19 Choices under life and death confront us all
It is not such a simple thing to admit the truth to one self. Complications surround us all: we want to live, anxiety causes distresses to escape, anger violates peace, love bless our efforts. To see clearly we all must come to know what God has instructed so that we may wholly be. Lost or found, these are conditions we all endure as we rise to know. "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it." ~ Mark 8:35 "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." ~ Luke 14:26 Only a humble heart coming openly to God may endure the fiery trials that blaze around us. "For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD; But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death." ~ Proverbs 8:35-36 To find God takes more than just prayer. One must seek out His knowledge to know truth over deceptions. Each of us has been given our souls to become in His creation. Will we find our creator or die without Him? To some this is an outrage or foolishness, while dismissing God as a sacrifice for life. A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. ~ Proverbs 17:22 A stick bores into every heart tortured by death’s wish. Laughter is the gift of light loosing trouble for that very moment. For a heart to be lifted one must hope. Hope seeks out ahead leaving all that is behind. Jesus is found within where the soul churns. A heart can drop into despair as easy as water drops into caverns below. ... If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. ~ 1st Corinthians 3:16-17 Holiest of all is what He’s gives as vessels of life
Inside of each of us is the gift of life given by God. ... you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. ~ 1st Corinthians 6:19-20 To fly on the wings of truth, one needs to accept God has given all. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, ... ~ Ephesians 2:10 The good intent of His creation has always been
The good works we are called out to do involve an open canvas ahead, built from behind. These qualities of goodness are intrinsic to God, and in His creation, meant for autonomous life, certain in knowing Him. To climb the staircase of life each must find his or her own God, and it is the Son of God who claims preeminence over all false gods, as the one and only living God. God hopes we rise back to Him from the departure toward death, which is in the absence of His giving light of life. His truths rendered are sufficient for all who truly believe His word is His will for life in Him. ... who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. ... ~ John 5:24-25 Each of us carries God within us. Without recognizing this we become isolated in a cynical chasm of self-delusions. To survive, each of us must carry our own loads, whatever they may be, for the sake of all, and as a blessing to our children’s children. On earth, the avalanche of hate and despair cascades ahead. Each success over these evil slides increases the reservoir of wealth for all. ... Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. ~ Psalms 55:22 What a relief it is when God holds your bottom. His promise pales all the darkness that surrounds us. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." ~ Matthew 6:34 The humble shall see this and be glad; And you who seek God, your hearts shall live. ~ Psalms 69:32 Worry is the cancer that causes one to fall away from joy in His promise. When one humbles oneself under God’s grace, magnificent things begin to occur, in that the burdens of worry are lessened. This miraculously occurs through the thankfulness of just living itself. ... Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. ~ 1st Peter 5:6-8 Making the light of God one’s shield drives the darkness of Satan’s craftiness to a minimum. Remaining watchful even in our prayers, as darkness is deceptive, what we ask for could actually go against God’s will. "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." ~ John 10:10 A choice of character must, or will, be made by each; to grasp life through the adventure ahead, or kill the spirit in hopeless angst. ... I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, ... ~ John 10:17-18 Jesus fulfilled the promise of God Himself, sacrificing His life for the sake of truth for all. God stands with an irrevocable truth no one can escape from. The resurrection of Christ put to rest any argument the Sadducees had of no resurrection. Faith is life, not death. "... "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. ..." ~ John 11:25-26 To be alive one must stand on the shoulders of God
To live forever, God has made clear how we are to respond, with His given word. We must come with humble hearts to the faith Jesus instituted and made plain. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; ... ~ Philippians 1:21-24 Home is a matter of heart. When one’s purpose lifts to the heavens, all one encounters becomes an amazement. The destination is more important than the temporary shadows. "... Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life." ~ Revelation 2:10 It is a test of heart whether one can endure the suffering to win the reward. Not only patience is involved, but dedication and devotion to one’s cause or purpose, fruits of the spirit, which gives life that brings success. Loneliness sinks in darkness absent of His light
Ripples of discontent is overcome by faith in God. Darkness brings excitement to an end. |
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