Book Review

Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain “Uncover the Hidden Potential in Life's Most Common Struggles” by Paul Meier M.D. and David Livingstone Henderson M.D. is a fresh look at the age old question, “Why does God allow pain?” However, this Christian psychiatric team goes beyond the question “why” to answer a deeper question - What is the lesson that God wants me to learn through pain?

As a preacher and a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, I look for good resource material to recommend to hurting Christians as well as my clinical clientele. The first section on “Injustice” is an excellent introduction. It speaks to the, sometimes, “unfairness” of life, and addresses the potential benefit that can be gained from pain and difficult circumstances that appear to befall those who have done nothing to deserve it.
One can certainly benefit from reading the book as written. However, the reviews at the close of each section are very helpful, and each section could stand alone. One can go directly to each section to gain specific insight.

This book is a welcomed addition to my library. It is both professional and spiritually accurate and useful.

Keith

Will the World End in 2012?

I’m really not much of a movie goer, but I love watching the ads used to promote the movies. Such has been the case since they began showing ads for 2012. I read the reviews, this movie and the plot seems to revolve around the idea that, the ancient Mayans predicted that the world as we all know it would cease to exist in December 21, 2012. I have seen it described as, "The mother of all disaster films..."

CNN recently reported that NASA has weighed in on the issue. The NASA website http://www.nasa.gov has several post regarding the ending on the world on December 21, 2012. Their answer is that "Nothing bad will happen to the Earth in 2012..."
Over the years of my lifetime there have been numerous end time predictions. I list here just a few:

• Y2K (year 2000) may be the last doomsday many people remember. The computers did not all fail and we did not all die.
  
• Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916) founded the religious sect now known as the Jehovah's Witnesses in 1872. He and other witnesses have given three different end dates: 1874, 1914 and 1975.
  
• Jeane Dixon (1918-1997) an astrologer and alleged psychic, predicted in 1970 that a comet would strike the earth in the "mid-80's" at a place that she knew, but did not deign to tell.
  
• David Koresh was the leader of the Branch Davidianus in Waco, Texas. Koresh said that the Apocalypse would begin when the American army attacked Mount Carmel, their compound outside of Waco. The showdown between the government and the cult began on Sunday, 28 February, 1993, when agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempted to arrest Koresh on charges of illegal firearms and explosives charges.
  
• Randy Weaver, a former Iowa factory worker and Green Beret, moved his family to northern Idaho (Ruby Ridge) during the 1980s his wife Vicki saw as a corrupted world". Vicki, the religious leader of the family, believed that the apocalypse was imminent and had dreams of her family surviving the apocalypse in a remote mountainous area.
  The one thing all these dates have in common is that the world did not end on any of them.

We need to remember the Biblical instruction:

Matt 24:36-37 "But of that day and hour no one knows , not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. NKJV

Mark 13:32-37 "But of that day and hour no one knows , not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming -- in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning -- 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!" NKJV

Salvation does not come from figuring out the date. That according to scripture is reserved for the Father alone. Salvation will come from being ready when ever he comes. So as Jesus said, "Watch." Oh yes, you may be wondering if I’m going to see 2012.... I think I’ll rent it later, say around January 1, 2013!

Bless you all ,

Keith's Komments:

For years I wrote a column in church bulletins where I have preached with the above title. Since we no longer do bulk rate mailing of our bulletin, I had discontinued the weekly article. The College Avenue Church of Christ now has an updated website (thanks Joey). This seems to me to be a good time to renew my communication with friends old and new.

So, what will I share with this expanded audience, maybe a hodge podge of things. Certainly I will share some church and spiritual insights. Also, as a Marriage and Family Therapist I will write on a number of issues of interest to families. Topics could include mental health issues, parenting, topics about adolescences and couple issues...

Maybe a sermon or sermonette will show up from time to time.

Look for pictures of our grandchildren too. Lynn and I love being grandparents. We have been blessed by great kids who married well. Updates on the Ellis family will show up along the way.

So, this is a renewing of Keith's Komments, now on the web. I hope you will follow along with me as I try to reflect on life and beyond.

Special thanks to my sweet daughter-in-law Dana for her technical help with the lay out. You should check out her blog as well as Adam's and Jan's. There are links on the right to all their blogs. God bless.

Love ya,