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~ Rejecting the gods of our culture since 1998.

cultural atheist

Monthly Archives: March 2014

PTSD

27 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration, Observations, Spirituality

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Eden restored, healing, homeless, New Earth, promise, PTSD, Revelation, trauma

Recently, I had a chance to chat with a person who is very involved with the homeless in our community. She pointed out that it’s not an exaggeration to say that every homeless person in our city is coming from a place of trauma.

Overwhelmingly, they are born with some brain damage from their mother’s drug and alcohol use. Almost every one has physical or sexual abuse as their earliest memory. Most, if not all, can tell of standing between their mother and someone who is beating her; followed by cleaning the wounds and washing blood off the walls. As they age, that trauma leads to numbing out through drugs and alcohol, which only increases their brain damage. As we look on in judgment, we tsk, tsk, and wonder why they make such poor choices.

Why do we do that? Brene Brown states that everyone has a story that will break your heart; many have a story that will bring you to your knees. This world leaves its mark on each of us – we all have PTSD. It’s just that some of us are a little more higher functioning than others; we can hide the damage a little better. But given the right conditions our trauma will rear it’s ugly head.

This makes me thankful for the promise in Revelation 22:
“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

Lord, please hurry, we are so desperate.

Eager Desire

24 Monday Mar 2014

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration, Observations, Spirituality

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Bible, Cross, Desire, Jesus, Joy, Lamb, Passion, Passover

Today, I am mediating on these words:

(Jesus) said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” Luke 22:15

I am catching a glimpse of God’s heart. It overwhelms me.

The Three – Who is the Beast?

13 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by braddahr in Inspiration, Spirituality

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Angels, Beast, God, Jesus, mark of the beast, Revelation, Satan

In the last letter of the Bible, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, God sends a last message of warning to a dying planet – Revelation 14:6-12. This message is given by three angels to “those who dwell on the earth;” people who hate God and hate those who love God. It’s a serious message – the consequences are life and death – but it’s a message given in great love because God is willing to go to the uttermost to reach even his most aggressive enemies.  I apologize in advance for this being a longer than normal post.

Revelation 14:9-10a proclaims: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God… The last part of this warning message reveals the terrible consequences that come from worshipping the beast so it makes sense to consider who or what this beast is.

The clearest picture we have of the beast is in Revelation 13:1-10. I encourage you to read it but for now, here’s a summary. Remember this is saturated with symbolic imagery.

The beast is called up by the dragon who gives the beast power, a throne, and great authority. (The dragon is symbolic for Satan – see Revelation 12:9.)
Comes up from the sea.
Has seven heads and ten horns.
On his horns are ten crowns and on his heads a blasphemous name.
Looks like a leopard with bear feet and a lion mouth.
It receives a mortal wound but that wound is healed.
When someone worships the beast they are actually worshipping the dragon.
Speaks great things and blasphemies – against God, God’s name (character), his tabernacle, those who dwell in heaven.
Dominates the world as they understood it for forty-two months (3.5 years or 1260 days – a symbolic time period).
Makes war with the saints (saints is the Bible’s way of talking about those who love God).
Those who are not in an intimate relationship with Jesus the lamb will worship the beast – it’s an unavoidable consequence.
Even though the beast seems unstoppable, the proverb at the end in verse 10 tells us to have hope – this power will come to an end.

A few key things you need to know. Revelation 12-13 reveal a anti*-trinity – dragon, sea beast aka the beast, land beast aka false prophet.  Each symbolic creature seeks to counterfeit the work of one of the Godhead family. The dragon takes on the role of the Father, the false prophet takes the role of the Holy Spirit and the beast… the Son.  When you put all the pieces together, the shocking surprise, is that the beast a power that looks, talks, and acts  Christ-like or Christian but is really a creation of and leads people back to the dragon.

*anti means “instead of.”

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