Scripture
“The world cannot hate you, but it does hate me because I testify about it — that its works are evil.”
~John 7:7 (CSB)
Quote
We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy in men who are afraid of the light.
~Plato
There is a popular myth that goes something like this, “The better person you are, the more you will be loved.” Actually, the opposite is true. Jesus was perfect and he was hated and despised. This world had never seen a perfect person until Jesus showed up and showed out like a light. In John seven Jesus is talking to his earthly brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, who are not yet believers. They are giving Jesus a hard time about going public with His ministry. They are teasing Him about going to Jerusalem. This is why Jesus tells them, “You go to Jerusalem. There is no danger for you because the world does not hate you but it does hate Me because I testify about it–that its works are evil.” The world does not hate those who they can conform to their image but the world hates a true follower of Christ for the same reason they hated Jesus. They did not hate Jesus for being bad but for being perfect. His perfection spotlighted their imperfection and they did not like it. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you will be hated and despised by the world. Are you prepared for this kind of treatment?
People are not stupid: deep down they know what I said above is the truth. This is why we compromise and instead of following Christ closely, we do like Peter and follow from a distance. Peter did not want to suffer the contempt that Jesus was suffering so he disassociated himself with Jesus. He conformed to the world. The left seems to be riding point on the world system and they hate those of us who refuse to conform to their way of thinking. I don’t mind standing out. I take delight in being different. I am not after the world’s approval. I would feel really bad if the world was happy with me. I am not a friend of the world, nor do I have a desire to be. I’m probably hated but not like Jesus is hated because I am not perfect as He is. He was a light that exposed our depravity and they hated Him. So I am telling you, the better you are, the more you will be hated. I bet you are now glad that you are not perfect. You can argue with me but you would be wrong; Jesus is proof of the pudding.
Seagulls are the most jealous creatures on the planet. You can catch a Seagull, tie a red ribbon around it’s leg and release the bird but he will be attacked and killed by the other Seagulls because the red ribbon makes it different from the other birds. They cannot stand for one bird to be different from themselves. The world doesn’t want you and I to be different.
- I learned something about Seagulls that I did not know: these birds can drink saltwater. Seagulls have a special pair of glands right above their eyes which help to flush out the salt from their system. This explains how they can stay at sea for days.
- The Danville Middle School football team lost to Brewer last night and we play the varsity tonight and they have two division one players. I think they need to let me make out their schedule. We don’t need to play 5-A schools. Of course no one cares what I think and I’m OK with that!
- Praise the LORD for clouds, amen. It would have been 100* yesterday if not for the
clouds. Ss I was admiring and thanking God for clouds yesterday, a question came to my mind: How do clouds hold water? Water is heavy, right and clouds are fluff. Well, I read up on and still don’t understand. The clouds are in a gas form and when condensation happens, the gas turns to liquid. I guess a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Here is a plastic bottle with water droplets on the outside caused by condensation. It has something to do with atmospheric change. I guess you might say, the cloud is the gaseous state of rain. Anyway you look at it: it is a MIRACLE. Thank You Jesus for Rain!