One of my favorite things to do is to sit on the couch, pull out my Bible, open it randomly to a page and begin reading. Often I will turn to a verse or a chapter that specifically addresses what I might be going through at that time. Before I open my Bible, I pray to the LORD that He might open my eyes and my heart to His words, and that they might guide me and teach me what it is He would want me to know.

A few months ago, I did this and it opened up to the Book of Obadiah. I frowned for a minute, scratched my head and thought, "What is this?" I started reading it, and it didn't mean much to me -- I couldn't figure it out.

What's strange about the fact that my Bible opened up to this particular book is the fact that Obadiah is the shortest "book" in the Old Testament. It consists of only 21 verses in one single chapter. It's actually kind of hard to find unless you know where you're looking.

Upon first glance, Obadiah is pretty scary. Obadiah was a man and a prophet who lived in Judah (southern Israel at the time). Obadiah's name meant servant or worshiper of the LORD. This book of the Bible is a prophetic book, with a vision that depicts the outcome of an ancient feud between Edom and Judah. The people of Edom were related to those in Judah, yet the Edomites continually harassed, attacked and looted their northern neighbors. The people of Edom rejoiced and gloated over the problems and misfortune that fell upon their brothers in Judah, and took advantage of it by acting out maliciously.

Now when I first started reading this book, I thought to myself, "What in the heck? Why do I care about this?" And so I purposely moved onto something else.

Yet time and time again I would open my Bible and it would fall right to the first page of Obadiah.

After about the fifth or sixth time, I literally picked up my Bible and peered at the pages to see if maybe there was a crease or dog-eared corner or something in the seam that made the Bible fall open to that page... yet I found nothing.

One time I even put away my big study Bible and tried it with my travel Bible. The first page I opened up to was 1 Corinthians, where I had previously highlighted one particular verse:

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

I pondered on that for a moment while I was reading it. I remember waaaay back in the day when I first picked up the Bible -- a New International Version -- and thought to myself after reading some of it, "I don't get any of this. It's mumbo jumbo. Nothing makes sense." But THEN after I accepted Christ and received the Holy Spirit as a born-again, I picked up the Bible and saw different words. They were no longer a puzzle, with many confusing pieces strewn everywhere making no sense. Now I had seen the bigger picture, and every little piece made perfect sense. The words were lessons, stories, teachings that came from God. And I understood it all. Our pastor had talked about that passage in one of our Sunday services, and I absolutely understood what that meant. Without the Holy Spirit within you, the Bible is just a bunch of weird, boring words that make no sense. WITH the Holy Spirit, it all becomes clear and illuminated.

So after reading that passage, I prayed again. Then I shut the Bible, sat still for a minute, and opened it back up. Guess where it fell? That's right... Obadiah.

Crazy, isn't it? Okay, so some could say it was coincidence. Some funky new-age people might say that I was focusing on it, and my metaphysical forces found the right page. Personally, I knew that it was time I dug in and read those verses. I needed to figure out what they meant and really study them.

And do you know what I discovered? It's not as scary and strange as I first thought. When I first read it, almost every line talked about God's anger and wrath. I was reading about punishment and terror. I didn't want to think or read about a God like this! I knew and read about a God that was loving, patient, kind, merciful. These verses scared me. Why would He punish us? What was the purpose of this book in the Bible? Why do we need to fear God? Why would anyone want to read that? How are we supposed to understand this "wrath" of God?

After much studying and praying, I finally understood that this punishment was not meant for you and me. And it's not just historical in nature, either.

When Obadiah had this vision, he saw the punishment and destruction that the LORD was going to pour out onto Edom. The people of Edom were proud, haughty, scoffing, mocking people who enjoyed tormenting their neighbors in Judah. This prophecy of Obadiah showed readers that the LORD was not about to let Edom get away with it. The people of Israel were/are God's people, and He was going to humble their nation and show them that no one -- not even brothers or neighbors -- can mess with His children and get away with it.

We Christians are God's people. God loves us -- He wants every person to find Him and accept His gift of salvation. When we accept His son -- Jesus -- as our messiah and savior, we become The LORD's children as well. And just like parents today are with their children, the LORD loves us, cherishes us, and protects us.

Unfortunately, there are people who mess with His children. Back in Obadiah's time, the people of Edom cared nothing for God, and cared even less for His people. They were evil and overcome with sin and pride. They had no desire to seek God. They had no desire to respect and help and love His children in Israel. They had no intentions of letting the land of Judah exist in peace. They made it known that they were superior... that they had the right to do and say what they wanted... they thought they were invincible and better than the people of Judah.

Amazingly enough, these situations exist today in two forms:

1) Many nations are enemies with Israel -- God's nation. Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, etc. Actually, the only true ally to Israel is the United States. There are thousands and thousands of articles, commentaries, books, videos, etc. on this topic. Way too much to get into here... but feel free to Google to learn more.

and

2) Personal attacks by non-believers on God's children. In just my life alone, I have many examples of this. One of the ones I'll mention is my many attempts to have online discussions with atheists. You see, sometimes I spend my time browsing different discussion groups and boards to discuss and debate Christianity over atheism (or other religions). Of course I don't expect those people who oppose Christianity to drop everything, have an epiphany and suddenly change their colors. What I do hope is that I explain things in such a way or answer questions with meaningful examples so that I plant a seed of doubt in their minds. My intentions are to at least get them to be open-minded and thinking about the possibility that Christ is indeed the answer.

Now I completely welcome and enjoy a healthy debate, and I encourage others on the 'net to express their views or ask questions or argue a point. What I cannot stand, though, is the sheer disrespect and vile abuse that atheists throw our way. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not generalizing an entire category of people. I've talked to many wonderfully spoken and very nice atheists. Heck, I used to be one myself. But after doing this kind of work on the internet, I've come to realize that Christ has many enemies. Simply for being a Christian, I have made many enemies. These people just don't argue back their point, they harass us Christians. They defile God's word. They spew venom and bile and anger and sarcasm. They mock us, laugh at us, abuse us and refuse to respect Christianity in any way.

Spending one or two evenings with these kinds of atheists is one thing. Spending night after night with them becomes wearying, frustrating, scary and depressing. Take it from me -- it sucks. It's hard work. It's exhausting. I am a person full of love and grace for mankind. I know that The LORD has much more love and grace and forgiveness than I -- more than I can ever even imagine. But while I believe that everyone deserves love and forgiveness and mercy, there are some that deserve punishment. There are some out there -- just like the people of Edom -- who get their kicks out of messing with God's children.

I believe now that the message of Obadiah is for all those times I sat here in horror, reading a particularly filthy, disgusting message from a non-believer. I know that the promise of God's protection and his revenge for those that oppose us is our justice for all of those scoffers. It literally sickens me to read what some people have to say about God, Christ, and Christians. They're like school-age bullies times ten. At first you feel sorry for them and want to help them. You try to see things from their point of view and you attempt to reason with them. Then you think about avoiding them, but you realize that you're running and hiding, and that you need to confront them. You try again, only this time with a little more authority and strength. Yet still the bullies beat you up. Eventually it gets to the point that after so many times of getting beat up and knowing that they are enjoying every minute of it, you just wish for their punishment. You wish someone would beat them up in return and lock them in a room. You want to be protected and saved, and you want justice. The book of Obadiah shows us that we will soon have our day of reckoning.

It really bothered me. These people really struck a nerve with me. A good example to see for yourself is here on the Yahoo Answers Religion & Spirituality board: Yahoo Answers Link

Often I'll go on there to help people with their religion and spirituality questions, or to spread the message of Christianity. This forum is a place where people around the world can ask a question about anything, and get answers back virtually in real-time. You can be an asker, or an answerer. I tend to be an answerer.

And while I usually manage to keep my calm and be peaceful while explaining things about Christianity, most of the time I find myself in awe at the kinds of people on that board. It makes me ill. Some innocent gal might get on the board, not knowing what she's walking into, and ask, "How have you been touched by God?" When I see a question like that, I groan. I know ahead of time the type of answers this poor girl is going to get, and it ain't pretty. Some Christians are on there, giving legitimate and heart-felt answers. But most are atheist bullies, waiting to pounce on the next victim. I was appalled to even learn that there were masses of people like this in our world (mostly from our country). One time I remember putting the computer aside after reading a particularly vulgar comment and saying (with tears in my eyes), "LORD, what has happened? Who are these people??? I'm ashamed and embarrassed that these humans live on this earth. Forgive them, and find a way to reach them. It is so sick and wrong... I can't wait for the day where this earth is filled only with believers."

Yet night after night of reading that kind of filth and hatred made me feel less and less sympathetic, and more and more angry.

The Lord says in the vision of Obadiah:

The day of the LORD is near
for all nations.
As you have done, it will be done to you;
your deeds will return upon your own head.
(Obadiah 1:17)

It's not cruel. It's not mean. It's not unforgiving. It's righteousness. Atonement. Justice. Retribution.

Just look for yourselves the kinds of things people are saying. Just now I went into the Yahoo Religion and Spirituality board and pulled out a random sampling of things people said. Caution... some of these things are quite vulgar. The most shocking thing is that all of these sick, blasphemous quotes were taken from posts that were written in the last 12 hours. JUST in the last 12 hours. My reason for posting these things is nothing more than to expose the fact that there are many, many people like this out there. There is hope and love and forgiveness for those who need it and deserve it and ask for it. But for these people? They're asking for something else entirely. It's instances like this that actually make me glad that God gives back what people have given him:


--Why are Christians on Yahoo Answers Religion & Spirituality board… thought this was meant for REAL ANSWERS, not imagined ones?

-- Perhaps it is YOU who is gay-phobic and needs to get a LIFE… I also happen to be accepting of gay people. So step into the year 2008 and get a CLUE jabrony!

-- Your pastor is completely bullshitting you. What part of your bible says anything to even remotely suggest this absurd claim?

-- They (Christians) whine about atheists, Muslims, anyone different than them, because they don't want to take responsibility for the fact that it is their culture and religion that has failed. Many Christians, (not all) refuse to take their heads out of their biblical @sses to see the facts that are really there.

-- Should the bible, Jesus and God be put into the book of world records for the longest running rumor?

--- As far as your homophobic views, you can shove them up your bigoted back side!

--I second that motion! Also, the camel-herders who created the rumor should be inducted into the Jokers Hall of Fame for pulling it off for this long.

--Hell is really a resort that “God” doesn't want us to enjoy.

--There is scant credible evidence for an 'historical jesus'. There is absolutely NO credible evidence for a 'son of god jesus'. Believing in magic is something we are all supposed to grow out of.

--Maybe Atheists get thumbs up because other people can actually read what the write and they pose intelligent questions rather than quoting the Bible ad nauseum. Wish we could we say the same thing about your ramblings.

--Jesus has returned, and he's cutting my grass as we speak.

--Wouldn’t it be better if they updated the bible and added in a few car chases, global disasters and monsters? Then even more people would read it wouldn’t they?

-- He (Jesus) was the greatest con man in history.

--You are using your beliefs to scare me? Pathetic. I don't believe in sins of the magical man in the sky so why would you use that to scare me?

--F@#ck the (nonexistent) holy spirit.

--I am proud to say I deny the Holy Spirit. I say that without any fear or hesitation. I do not accept or submit to the superstitions and fear based thinking dictated by the bible or it's foolish followers. I have no desire at all to be saved by the cartoon god written about in the bible, which was clearly written by men.

--Think how much more humankind would have progressed if science had not been held back by religion for centuries.

--People believe in god mostly because of tradition, hallucination, or wishful thinking. Or any combination of the three.

--Once the christians stop slapping 'under god' on everything they see. Oh and once they admit they are monkeys.... and god is a banana...

--A question for Christians: If God came to us and said (in his really deep godly voice) "I am not real! stop believing this @#$%!" Would you admit atheists were right? Haha

--This is the only way to justify christianity. They first need to create a artificial big hollow inside you and try to fill it with belief of salvation.

--Christians need to put a sweaty, smelly, sock in it and go crawl back into the hole that they came from. There is no religion more full of it then the Christian religion.

--The bible is just a book and not real, deal with it. Let your friend believe what he wants and make money and live his only life in luxury while you sit around and wait for heaven.

--If you blindly follow a religion you and your religion blow. If there was a god he’d hit me with lightning, then i would believe, but until then, god can suck my lollipop.

--If you want to make sure that your friend does not live under satans influence then there is an easy solution. Stop believing in made up fairy tales like God and Satan and then you will find that your friend is actually fine and that you were acting like a douche and you will never have to worry about silly little invisible men again.

--Your belief will NOT convince those who have a rational, scientific mind. You can preach till your mythical Hell freezes over and without witnesses who have been there and returned from either place, these places will remain mythical creations to non-believers.

--Hell is a man made concept designed to keep Christianity going back to church and tithing, thereby keeping the coffers full.

--I'm an Atheist, and I most definitely have an agenda. I would like to see an enlightened world, free of religion.

-- I usually touch myself when thinking about god.

--Why don't YOU try Atheism? Then you will find out for yourself! You will realize how foolish the belief in a god is. You'll read history books and find out how Christianity evolved. Skip going to church Sundays, and sleep in! Give your money to science where it actually does good, instead of to a greedy preacher! Do experiments praying for something unusual and see that none of your prayers get answered! Try it! You'll like it!

--If you are referencing the Biblical god, absolutely not. I don't worship monsters. Actually, come to think of it, any being that requires its creation to *worship* it is ridiculous to begin with.

--Because Christians like this are sick bigots intent on harming the life chances of others…. I say shame on them. I would cross the street to avoid being contaminated by their shadow.

--God is a sadistic piece of sh!t who likes to see others suffer.

--No you twit - there is no God - we blame his vacuous followers for junk science and unfounded bigotry.

--Christians are out killing people every day in the name of their God. Christians are destroying our planet because they think the end is near. Christians are over populating the earth because their leaders tell them not to use birth control. Excuse us if we are rude to them on the Internet!

--As we keep telling you morons, if you would STOP trying to FORCE your religions into the public laws and institutions of our nations, then we'd have less reason to oppose your pudding minded lunacy.

-(Christians are) intolerant, egotistical, hate filled and bigoted!! Eschewing education, science, evolution works of fiction and much, much more. Christians are the only religion opposing human rights and persecuting gays, pro choice and so much more - but far worse whilst they demand freedom of religion they deny it to all non Christians and persecute them!!!

--Because I'm not gullible enough to believe anything in the bible.

--There are far too many better returns on other investments than to put 10% of your income into something that will never, EVER pay off.

--(God is) at best, a tyrant. At worst, a homicidal and sadistic psychopath.

--If all christians stop crusading against science, culture, art, sex and sexuality, religious freedom and such, and stop telling everybody else they're going to be tortured throughout eternity unless they join you, I assure you that you won't encounter nearly as much hostility.

--We judge you (Christians) because you are trashing our planet. You are dangerous. You kill people. You lie, cheat, and steal because you can get away with it, in your little minds.

--Yeah, he (Jesus) told a crap load of people to tell their kids to annoy the living s*hit out of the "non -believers", and the snow ball started rolling...

--I've been living in sin for a while now, and I rather like it. The question is, are you AFRAID of having a little brother/sister? (You mom likes the sin as well).

--I don't accept God because he doesn't exist. And I live my "sinful" life and love it. ~Atheist and Lesbian

--When I do (rarely) go to church - I take from the plate.... 'god knows' he doesn't need it ;)

--I can't wait to sit on a couch in Hell and smoke weed with Satan.

--Hell is living on earth with Christians, watching them trash our planet!

--To me, hell is answering the door to find some dude standing there with a bible in hand.