What Are We Doing?!

Last night I read a computer print out that my husband brought home that is titled: "Walking with Jesus, Abiding in Christ - A Faith of Action" (Mark 11:27-33)  When I finished reading what was written I was convicted in my spirit.

The Word of God is suppose to convict us, and keep us on the straight and narrow.

I started thinking about how we like to boast about how blessed we are, how good God has been to us, and how favor ain't fair, but I never hear us talking about what we have done for or with God!

How many hours a week do we give God?  Are we consistent and presistent in the things of God?  Do we attend church services on Sunday and Bible study night regularly?  Do we wait until Sunday to open our Bibles?  How often do we pray, and what or who do we pray for?  Do we feed the homeless, and give aide to strangers, orphans, and widows (SOW)?  And, if we did, when was the last time?  Imagine how much more God can do with, through, and for us if we had a better relationship with Him!

We want so much from God, but we are not willing to do what it takes on our part to get what we need from Him.  Doesn't the Bible say: "To whom much is given, much is required."

Come on Christians, let's get our act together.  God surely deserves better and more from us. 

Road Closed (LET YOUR SPIRIT LEAD YOU!)

We are children of the King.  We are a Spirit; with a soul; housed in a body.  We must be Spirit led in all things, at all times.

As my husband and I walked a new trail recently, and the signs said that one trail was closed and directed us to take an alternate trail.  We let our Spirits lead us, and stayed on the, supposedly, closed road.  We came upon the backside of a row of restuarants, and stopped at a quaint little spot to refresh ourselves.  Because we let our Spirits lead us we found out and saw many new things, had an enjoyable time, but the most important thing we learned is that even signs can be misleading.

People will speak into our lives, but our Spirit has to be careful not to receive and/or believe everything that is said.  There will be many signs along the way, figuratively and literally, but the only signs that qualify with us are from God.  We have to pray, and ask God for direction about the rest.

My Godmother, Aunt Mamie, always said: "Believe half of what you see, and none of what you hear."  Seems to me that there is some validity to that saying.

I heard Rev. Creflo Dollar teaching on having a spirit led life this morning.

If we continue to listen for God's voice, and look for His signs; He will show and tell us about the same thing in different ways.

We must not let life detour us from what God has for us, and, more importantly, what He has for us to do.  We must not forget that we walk by faith and not by sight.

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body.  So it is with the body of Christ.  Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free.  But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.  I Corinthians 12:12 & 13 (NLT)

God Forgives and So Should We

Can you imagine holding a grudge against someone for more than 20 years, yet many of us do this.  A gruge like this doesn't hurt the person it's aimed at, but keeps the holder in a perpetual state of mental bondage. Allowing someone to take up negative space in your head is self-destroying and serves no good.

I've heard people on television talk about how much they hate, and will never forgive the person that killed or murdered their love one.  Now, someone who has suffered such an atrocity surely has a right to feel the way they do, but they have only allowed the perpetrator to have more control over their life, and they will be in bondage to them until they forgive. 

Forgiveness does not come easy for most of us.  Our natural instinct is to recoil in self-protection when we've been injured.  We don't naturally overflow with mercy, grace, and forgiveness when we've been wronged, but we only hurt ourselves.

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 (NIV)

I Tried It My Way !

For so long I tried to do things my way, never conceding that my way didn't really work.  Oh yes, we can be fooled into thinking that the way we do things, the manner in which we handle situations is the correct way.  But when I look back over my life, I hear Dr. Phil asking: " so how's that working for you?"

I realized now that the things I controlled or tried to do on my own were pretty much the failures, and all the successes I've had had nothing to do with me, but were what God had for or did for me.  When I realized that God really is in control of my life is when doors opened, opportunities presented themselves to me, and others around me.

Killing the flesh (the old man) is very hard to do, especially the older you are, but it must be done to allow God to have his way in your life.  We all want the best that life has to offer, and the best way to achieve this is to put everything in the Lord's hands.  People may argue that they see non-Christians achieving just as much or more as Christians do, but we know all they will achieve is earthly success.  And, most of the time, while people are working so hard for earthly success, it is costing them something more percious and priceless - a real realtionship with God, special times with family, and even their health.  We know the more important success is with our heavenly Father, because the things of this world are temporary.  The rewards with Him are eternal and overflowing.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't
try to figure out everything on your own. (Proverbs 3:5-6/The Message)

Giving Thanks Daily !

I pray that all of you had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.  My wife and I had a truly wonderful and blessed one.

The preparation of all the delicious food is a warm family tradition for most; and the time spent together is a joyous occasion.  Yes, the fourth Thursday of November is looked forward to annually.  But, when we look at the sacrifice made on our behalf by Jesus to pardon us, so that we can have life everlasting, it should bring up inside of us a daily thanksgiving.

There are so many things to be thankful for every day of our lives, and every minute of every hour.  We are still breathing, and living. Thank You God.  We are not what we should be, but thanks be to God we are not what we use to be.  We must be thankful for the fact that when we mess up God gives us another chance to get it right.  Our lives may not be what we want them to be because of our weaknesses and short comings, but the joy of the Lord is our strength while we work on positive change.  We may not have everything we want, but we do have everything we need.  We may have lost love ones who were near and dear to us, but let's honor them by being thankful for and celebrating the living.  We must even be thankful for trials and tribulations.  Hard times are just growing experiences.  Remember the old saying: "What doesn't kill you will make you stronger."  This is a true fact.  God loved the world so much that He gave the life of His only son for you and for me; and Jesus willingly died on the cross, and then He selflessly left so that Holy Spirit could come and be our constant keeper and comforter.  They did all of this while you and I were still sinners.  How great is our God.  We have to be super thankful for all He has; is, and will do for us!

Psalm 118:21
I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.

WHO IS GOD?

Say what! Who is God?! Are you kidding me?

If you don't know, you better ask somebody.  And if you do know or think you know, this is still a wise question to ask ourselves everyday.  We need to ask ourselves every day Who is God so we can answer ourselves, and remind ourselves Who He is:

He is the reason we wake up every morning.  First of all He exhales so that we can inhale.  Second of all, He keeps us through the day.  And, last, but not least, He is the reason why we can put head to pillow and sleep peacefully.  He never sleeps nor slumbers.

He is the Way Maker

He is alpha and omega; He is the beginning and the end; He is the first and the last; He is Genesis and Revelation

He is the Great I am

He is Lord and Savior

He is Jehovah-Jireh (My Provider)

He is the Good Shepherd

He is Abba (Father)

He is the one and only, true, and living God

He is Yeshua (Jesus)

He is Holy Spirit (Ghost)

He is the Holy Trinity

"Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone."  And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.  And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.  Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9/NLT)

This is Why He is God, and We Are Not!

Man can be fickled; fake, and phony any day of the week, but thank God, "Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever more."

We are quick to point out each others faults even though we have many of our own faults, but God (Who is faultless) covers our faults and gives us an opportunity to correct them.  That is why He is God.

God extends mercy and grace to us.  His mercy spares us from what we do deserve, and His grace gives us what we don't deserve!  That is why He is God.

How many of us make the mistake of being judgemental of those that we believe don't measure up based on our perspective.  This is not unconditional love.  Jesus loves the sinner not the sin.  No matter what, He loves all of us unconditionally.  That is why He is God.

But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
For there is no respect of persons with God. (Romans 2:10&11/KJV)

Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are His. (Psalm 100:3A/NLT)

Needless to say, we can never be perfect like God, but we can strive every day to get as close as possible to godly perfection.  Remember, Holy Spirit (God in us) will always be there to help us along the way.