Monday, December 12, 2011
Our Lord's Prayer
This was sent to me and requested by a dear friend:
Our Lord's Prayer
I cannot say "Our" if my religion has no room for others and their needs.
I cannot say "Father" if I do not demonstrate this relationship in my daily life.
I cannot say "Who Art In Heaven" if all my interests and pursuits are in earthly things.
I cannot say "Hallowed Be Thy Name" if I, who am called by his name, am not holy.
I cannot say "Thy Kingdom Come" if I am unwilling to give up my own sovereignty and accept the righteous reign of God.
I cannot say "Thy Will Be Done" if I am unwilling or resentful of having it in my life.
I cannot say "On Earth As It Is In Heaven" unless I am truly ready to give myself to his service here and now.
I cannot say "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" without expending honest effort for it or by ignoring the genuine needs of my fellowmen.
I cannot say "Forgive Us Our Trespasses As We Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us" if I continue to harbor a grudge against anyone.
I cannot say "Lead Us Not Into Temptation" if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am likely to be tempted.
I cannot say "Deliver Us From Evil" if I am not prepared to fight in the spiritual realm with the weapon of prayer.
I cannot say "Thine Is The Kingdom" if I do not give the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject.
I cannot say "Thine Is The Power" if I fear what my neighbors and friends may say or do.
I cannot say "Thine Is The Glory" if I am seeking my own glory first.
I cannot say "Forever" if I am too anxious about each day's affairs.
I cannot say "Amen" unless I honestly say, "cost what it may, this is my prayer".
It is not about how you start the race but how you end the race.
Friday, December 9, 2011
2 Kings
Second Kings is the story of the divided kingdom of the Hebrews: Israel and Judah. Each kingdom had its own kings and its own priests and its own prophets. But one thing they had in common: their governments went from bad to worse with only a few exceptions. The people continued to disregard God even though He sent prophets again and again to set them straight.
Through the years, each kingdom became a weakling spiritually and morally. After years of disobedience and struggle, they became sitting duscks for the larger nations around them. Assyria, a nation know fir its cruelty in warfare, eventually attacked Israel. Babylon, a rich and strong nation to the south, attacked Judah. The Hebrew people were carried away from their countries to be slaves and prisoners in a foreign place.
The Hebrew people continued to lose their land because they wouldn’t listen to God. They wouldn’t listen to Him about how to govern their land or how to treat each other. They wouldn’t listen to Him about how to worship and who to worship. This is their story so that we can learn from their mistakes.
The purpose of 2 Kings is to teach us that no nation marked by moral and spiritual decay can survive. The theme are the lessons from the ruin of Israel and Judah and it was written in 590-550 BC.
1 Kings
First Kings picks up right where Second Samuel leaves off. In First and Second Samuel, the Hebrews got their first king, Saul, and their second king David. In the first half of First Kings, David’s son Solomon takes over the throne, and boy what a throne he made of it. King Solomon was like a superstar in Israel. He was as rich as a rock star, as glamorous as a movie star, and as smart as a Wall Street millionaire. He could wheel and deal and network and schmoose with the best.
The last half of First kings tells the other side of the story. After Solomon’s reign, the kingdom started falling to pieces. What was a united kingdom became two separate kingdoms with their own kings and their own big mistakes.
The purpose of 1 Kings once again tells us that it is especially important for leaders to be fully committed to the Lord. The theme is the lessons from the dividing of the united kingdom and the date of writing is 590-570 BC.
2 Samuel
As you start on the second part of this epic called Second Samuel,, King Saul’s worst fears come true: David replaces Saul as king. You’ve probably heard of King David. He was an ancestor of Jesus. He built the first temple and he wrote a lot of the Psalms. He was the original Renaissance man. There are more stories in the Bible about David than about anyone else except Jesus Himself!
God called David a man after His own heart. That’s why David’s story is such an encouragement to us. He wasn’t’ a perfect man, but he loved God and God was pleased with that.
There are a lot of sad tales and mishaps in Second Samuel but it’s a book that shows us that God’s concern is not that we never foul up. His concern is that we keep coming back to Him and starting over. David was a man who understood that.
The purpose of Second Samuel is that the most committed believer can fail and constantly needs God’s grace. The overall theme is King David being the forerunner of the Messiah.
2 Samuel was written in 1050-750 BC.
1 Samuel
Reading the First Samuel is like watching a home movie of the Hebrew Nation! It’s a family history in real-time and with the skeletons all hanging out of the closets.
This starts with Samuel as a child being raised by the church. He grows up to be a national leader, a judge and a prophet. His real claim to fame, though, is that he anointed the first king of Israel, King Saul.
Saul was a warrior kind of king. He protected his territory and fought off the bad guys. This time in history would have looked a little like an Arabian Knights episode with shields and horses and armor. Saul’s downfall began when he got violently jealous of an up-and-coming leader named David.
Saul Eventually lost his mind and then his life while he was losing his kingdom. He’s an example to us of someone who failed to do things God’s way and lost it all.
The purpose of the Book of 1 Samuel is to teach that in leaders, character and commitment does count.
The theme of 1 Samuel is that God Is Working in History!
1 Samuel was written in 1050-750 BC.
Ruth
Ruth
The Book of Ruth is a story about a woman and, of all people, her mother-in-law. This Book is much like a chick-flick. It has all the elements: drama, tragedy, danger, loyalty, flirtation, a love story, brave women, an honorable man, a marriage, and a baby.
This is actually a story, that. First of all, shows us something about the Jewish culture. It also reveals an important link in the genetic chain that led to Jesus Christ. Finally, it tells us a lot about the kind of people we should be: People that stick by their families and ask for the love they need and honor their cultural traditions.
The Book of Ruth is about the kind of love that draws people together and then helps them stay that way. It’s about the kind of lovev that you need in your life. The first key to finding it is recognizing the right kind of people to as for it from. Ruth was one.
The purpose of the Book of Ruth is show us that faithful people live godly lives in the worst of times. Its theme tells us that God’s sovereign intervention brings universal redemption. The date in which the Book of Ruth was written is unknown according to my Bible. This may have changed or may be available elsewhere but at the time my bible was written it was unknown.
The Book of Ruth is a story about a woman and, of all people, her mother-in-law. This Book is much like a chick-flick. It has all the elements: drama, tragedy, danger, loyalty, flirtation, a love story, brave women, an honorable man, a marriage, and a baby.
This is actually a story, that. First of all, shows us something about the Jewish culture. It also reveals an important link in the genetic chain that led to Jesus Christ. Finally, it tells us a lot about the kind of people we should be: People that stick by their families and ask for the love they need and honor their cultural traditions.
The Book of Ruth is about the kind of love that draws people together and then helps them stay that way. It’s about the kind of lovev that you need in your life. The first key to finding it is recognizing the right kind of people to as for it from. Ruth was one.
The purpose of the Book of Ruth is show us that faithful people live godly lives in the worst of times. Its theme tells us that God’s sovereign intervention brings universal redemption. The date in which the Book of Ruth was written is unknown according to my Bible. This may have changed or may be available elsewhere but at the time my bible was written it was unknown.
Judges
I have given up on the proverbs for now. I will get back to them when my heart feels that is what I should be writing about.
I have decided that going back to writing the history of each book of the Bible is what I should be doing at this time. I know, I bounce around quite a bit, but please just stick with me. I can’t write about something when my heart isn’t fully in it!
So I ended with Joshua several months back now. I am starting today with the next book, Judges. Feel free to look back and read the history of the other chapters as well.
Judges
In their earliest days the Hebrews were a family led by a dad named Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons. Their descendants grew to be a nation of slaves in Egypt, a country that was led by the Pharaoh. Then they became exiles led by Moses. Then they became an army led by Joshua. Then came the Book of Judges.
The Book of Judges is about a time in the life of the Hebrews before they had a king. When they needed to make decisions, they went to a judge, a national leader. A judge was sort of like a king, but no castle or crown or bowing—just a leader.
During the time of the judges, the Hebrews went up and down like a morality yo-yo. They would obey God if they were listeing to a good judge. Then that judge would die and the people would fall away again. In fact, the phrase you’ll most often read about in this book is “and everyone did as he saw fit…” When you read that in Judges, you know that it means, “and here they go again –doing their own thing no matter what God wants.” Then another Judge would come into leadership and they’d clean up their act for a while.
The purpose of the Book of Judges was to show us that what we fail to learn from history we must often learn by painful experience. The Book has multiple themes including apostasy, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. It was written around 1043-1004 BC.
I have decided that going back to writing the history of each book of the Bible is what I should be doing at this time. I know, I bounce around quite a bit, but please just stick with me. I can’t write about something when my heart isn’t fully in it!
So I ended with Joshua several months back now. I am starting today with the next book, Judges. Feel free to look back and read the history of the other chapters as well.
Judges
In their earliest days the Hebrews were a family led by a dad named Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons. Their descendants grew to be a nation of slaves in Egypt, a country that was led by the Pharaoh. Then they became exiles led by Moses. Then they became an army led by Joshua. Then came the Book of Judges.
The Book of Judges is about a time in the life of the Hebrews before they had a king. When they needed to make decisions, they went to a judge, a national leader. A judge was sort of like a king, but no castle or crown or bowing—just a leader.
During the time of the judges, the Hebrews went up and down like a morality yo-yo. They would obey God if they were listeing to a good judge. Then that judge would die and the people would fall away again. In fact, the phrase you’ll most often read about in this book is “and everyone did as he saw fit…” When you read that in Judges, you know that it means, “and here they go again –doing their own thing no matter what God wants.” Then another Judge would come into leadership and they’d clean up their act for a while.
The purpose of the Book of Judges was to show us that what we fail to learn from history we must often learn by painful experience. The Book has multiple themes including apostasy, oppression, repentance, and deliverance. It was written around 1043-1004 BC.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Proverbs 5
Proverbs 5 is one of many warnings about the dangers of adultery that are found in the book of Proverbs. This chapter also tells married couples how to live so that we can avoid the path of adultery –that only leads to destruction.
This chapter reminds us to be attentive to Wisdom “that you may exercise proper discrimination and discretion and your lips may guard and keep knowledge and the wise answer [to temptation]” (v2)
Whether you are married or plan to be married one day it is hard in society today to use discrimination and discretion when it comes to relating to the opposite sex.
On a personal note, when my relationship ended I felt I needed to be with a man, and I would have sex with just about anyone so that I could feel wanted. Over 4 ½ years ago I made the conscious decision to follow God’s rules on this and I quit being promiscuous and I decided to go on a “sex strike” until I am married. Now, after living the way I had since I was abused for the first time when I was 12 this wasn’t exactly an easy decision to make. I found that men really had no interest in me once I had decided that I was going to wait to be married. I lost what I had thought were my “friends” yet I stuck to my guns and have held firm in my conviction that I will wait until I am married before I have a physically intimate relationship with anyone. It was damaging my soul to be giving pieces of myself to these people who didn’t care about me, who were just using me. On top of that, I have two children who I need to set a positive example for so that they can hopefully learn from my mistakes (not that I regret my children, but life was and is hard because of decisions I made as a kid) and maybe even enter into a courtship type relationship that is God centered. I would love so much for their first kiss to be on their wedding days and intimacy to be with their husband or wife. I know God has forgiven me for my sinful behaviour but it is definitely hard to forgive myself. I pray to the Lord to send me the man who was created to be my other half, who will understand my past and accept it, knowing that I have given my life to Christ Jesus not only to better myself, but to better my family and to be as pure as possible when the one who God sends does come along. This is one of the reasons why I call myself a born again-again Christian. Although I had accepted Jesus as my Lord and saviour years and years ago it wasn’t until Easter 07 that I was truly reborn and decided to not only accept Jesus as my saviour, but to focus on His Wisdom and the Word so that I could live a life that would make Him proud!
Now, back to Proverbs 5; Two sins of the flesh that Satan uses in the world to gain control over people are sexual immorality and adultery. The world has decided to listen to Satan’s ways and pushes adultery through media and literature as if it was no big deal at all. Actually, it is more normal now for a person to marry after having multiple partners than it is for a virgin to marry in North America. Our divorce rates are also nearly 50%! Because we are overly exposed to this on every channel, every news cast, every political scandal it has become normal for infidelity or adultery.
If you look at your Bible and study the Word and learn Gods Wisdom you will see quite quickly that God’s perspective of these immoral actions is that ‘Sin will kill you—and adultery is one of the biggest killers.’ Adultery steals your happiness. It destroys marriage. It ruins other people’s lives. It kills trust. It is one of the most dangerous temptations a man or a woman can ever yield to! The bible warns us that the feet of the adulteress “go down to death; her steps take hold of Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead)” (v5). The person who commits adultery “loses sight of and walks not in the path of life” (v6)
When you are faced with the beginning of a possible adulterous moment you need to say NO to evil and get yourself out of the situation before you allow the devil to take hold of you. It is often nice when a young woman or man flirts with you, especially if you have a wife and kids at home and she is too busy taking care of the family then to flatter you. Once you allow this young woman to flirt or you flirt back you have committed a moral sin. You are allowing Satan in. If you are telling yourself it is okay because you are only talking or having fellowship you are lying to yourself. Satan is the father of all lies! Do not give in to this attention. Instead, tell the person you are happily married and that you have no intention of jeopardizing your family because of flattery. If they laugh you off or continue with their behaviour cut them out of your life. Do NOT give Satan a foothold over your heart, your soul and your physical body. You cannot afford to even flirt around with the thought of adultery. It’s an extremely strong and dangerous force. Just turn away from the path of evil. Follow wisdom’s counsel: “Avoid the very scenes of temptation” (v8). You don’t have any business enjoying someone else’s company of the opposite sex if your spouse isn’t there with you. You’re p laying a deadly game and the consequences are terrible to consider. “Lest you give honor to others and your years to those without mercy…. And you groan and mourn when your end comes (vv 9,11).
Hebrews 13:4 tells us about the honor of intimacy that should be reserved only for your spouse: “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge”. Notice it doesn’t say MAY judge, it says GOD WILL JUDGE!!! God is not playing when he tells us to keep our marital bed sacred (or any bed you may use, sorry no hotel loophole on this), He is very serious and tells us we WILL be judged if we do not bring honor to our marriage and stay true to ourselves, our spouse and to Him. God expects the covenant of marriage to be honored.
“Drink waters out of your own cistern [of a pure marriage relationship], and fresh running waters out of your own well” (v15). We are to full enjoy our relationship with our own spouse! This piece of scripture is also Gods answer to sexually transmitted diseases. If we only drink waters out of our own cistern there will be no chance of spreading or catching an STD! Many couples in our society find out that their partner has been unfaithful when they go in for their annual check-up and are diagnosed with a potentially fatal STD. I recall watching a woman on TV talking about her husband being unfaithful to her by having sexual relations with men while he was travelling for work. She found out she was HIV positive during routine blood tests during her annual examination. How devastated she must have been to have not only found out her husband was cheating, but he had also given her a death sentence!
The bible goes on to say, “Let your fountain [of human life] be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], and rejoice in the wife of your youth” (v18). This scripture tells us that God has set aside treasures for those who drink from their own cistern and one of those treasures is finding joy in the person you married!
God doesn’t want us to be like the adulterer: “His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked man, and he shall be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack of discipline and instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray and be lost” (vv22-23)
God created the family – it’s His own design. And for you who have no family, God Himself has placed you in His. “God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell….” (Psalm 68:6).
God wanted a family around Him, so He created man and woman and told them to be fruitful and multiply – He said He will bless our seed – our family. God has purposed that one man and one woman come together in marriage and produce sons and daughters to surround them all of their days. And “the gift goes on” – grandchildren, great-grandchildren. There is no end to blessing in the families of God. Each generation should be stronger. There is no blessing greater than a family. Faithfulness to the marriage covenant keeps the family intact.
Gloria Copeland’s Wisdom for Today
Don’t feed our mind (through television, movies books, etc.) on the world’s message that “adultery is no big deal”
Don’t even toy around with the thought of adultery.
Make the decision to give honor to the one you married by staying faithful.
Although, today I did reword some things, remove some things and add some things, there are many direct quotes from Gloria Copeland's book Hidden Treasures I once again found today's reading very inspirational especially while I wait for the one who God plans for me to marry!
If you have a daughter who is beginning to show interest in boys there is a very special book called “Before You Meet Prince Charming” by Sarah Mally. I have ordered it for my daughter for Christmas from Chapters. It is about saving yourself for the one God has created for you and keeping your heart pure. It is a fairy tale that is scripture based. I have not yet received my copy but I have heard wonderful things about it. It was even mentioned on an episode of TLC’s show 19 Kids and Counting. My daughter is only 9 and I have heard it is for a slightly older group of girls but I plan to read it with her if she can’t read it herself. I am very excited!!
This chapter reminds us to be attentive to Wisdom “that you may exercise proper discrimination and discretion and your lips may guard and keep knowledge and the wise answer [to temptation]” (v2)
Whether you are married or plan to be married one day it is hard in society today to use discrimination and discretion when it comes to relating to the opposite sex.
On a personal note, when my relationship ended I felt I needed to be with a man, and I would have sex with just about anyone so that I could feel wanted. Over 4 ½ years ago I made the conscious decision to follow God’s rules on this and I quit being promiscuous and I decided to go on a “sex strike” until I am married. Now, after living the way I had since I was abused for the first time when I was 12 this wasn’t exactly an easy decision to make. I found that men really had no interest in me once I had decided that I was going to wait to be married. I lost what I had thought were my “friends” yet I stuck to my guns and have held firm in my conviction that I will wait until I am married before I have a physically intimate relationship with anyone. It was damaging my soul to be giving pieces of myself to these people who didn’t care about me, who were just using me. On top of that, I have two children who I need to set a positive example for so that they can hopefully learn from my mistakes (not that I regret my children, but life was and is hard because of decisions I made as a kid) and maybe even enter into a courtship type relationship that is God centered. I would love so much for their first kiss to be on their wedding days and intimacy to be with their husband or wife. I know God has forgiven me for my sinful behaviour but it is definitely hard to forgive myself. I pray to the Lord to send me the man who was created to be my other half, who will understand my past and accept it, knowing that I have given my life to Christ Jesus not only to better myself, but to better my family and to be as pure as possible when the one who God sends does come along. This is one of the reasons why I call myself a born again-again Christian. Although I had accepted Jesus as my Lord and saviour years and years ago it wasn’t until Easter 07 that I was truly reborn and decided to not only accept Jesus as my saviour, but to focus on His Wisdom and the Word so that I could live a life that would make Him proud!
Now, back to Proverbs 5; Two sins of the flesh that Satan uses in the world to gain control over people are sexual immorality and adultery. The world has decided to listen to Satan’s ways and pushes adultery through media and literature as if it was no big deal at all. Actually, it is more normal now for a person to marry after having multiple partners than it is for a virgin to marry in North America. Our divorce rates are also nearly 50%! Because we are overly exposed to this on every channel, every news cast, every political scandal it has become normal for infidelity or adultery.
If you look at your Bible and study the Word and learn Gods Wisdom you will see quite quickly that God’s perspective of these immoral actions is that ‘Sin will kill you—and adultery is one of the biggest killers.’ Adultery steals your happiness. It destroys marriage. It ruins other people’s lives. It kills trust. It is one of the most dangerous temptations a man or a woman can ever yield to! The bible warns us that the feet of the adulteress “go down to death; her steps take hold of Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead)” (v5). The person who commits adultery “loses sight of and walks not in the path of life” (v6)
When you are faced with the beginning of a possible adulterous moment you need to say NO to evil and get yourself out of the situation before you allow the devil to take hold of you. It is often nice when a young woman or man flirts with you, especially if you have a wife and kids at home and she is too busy taking care of the family then to flatter you. Once you allow this young woman to flirt or you flirt back you have committed a moral sin. You are allowing Satan in. If you are telling yourself it is okay because you are only talking or having fellowship you are lying to yourself. Satan is the father of all lies! Do not give in to this attention. Instead, tell the person you are happily married and that you have no intention of jeopardizing your family because of flattery. If they laugh you off or continue with their behaviour cut them out of your life. Do NOT give Satan a foothold over your heart, your soul and your physical body. You cannot afford to even flirt around with the thought of adultery. It’s an extremely strong and dangerous force. Just turn away from the path of evil. Follow wisdom’s counsel: “Avoid the very scenes of temptation” (v8). You don’t have any business enjoying someone else’s company of the opposite sex if your spouse isn’t there with you. You’re p laying a deadly game and the consequences are terrible to consider. “Lest you give honor to others and your years to those without mercy…. And you groan and mourn when your end comes (vv 9,11).
Hebrews 13:4 tells us about the honor of intimacy that should be reserved only for your spouse: “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge”. Notice it doesn’t say MAY judge, it says GOD WILL JUDGE!!! God is not playing when he tells us to keep our marital bed sacred (or any bed you may use, sorry no hotel loophole on this), He is very serious and tells us we WILL be judged if we do not bring honor to our marriage and stay true to ourselves, our spouse and to Him. God expects the covenant of marriage to be honored.
“Drink waters out of your own cistern [of a pure marriage relationship], and fresh running waters out of your own well” (v15). We are to full enjoy our relationship with our own spouse! This piece of scripture is also Gods answer to sexually transmitted diseases. If we only drink waters out of our own cistern there will be no chance of spreading or catching an STD! Many couples in our society find out that their partner has been unfaithful when they go in for their annual check-up and are diagnosed with a potentially fatal STD. I recall watching a woman on TV talking about her husband being unfaithful to her by having sexual relations with men while he was travelling for work. She found out she was HIV positive during routine blood tests during her annual examination. How devastated she must have been to have not only found out her husband was cheating, but he had also given her a death sentence!
The bible goes on to say, “Let your fountain [of human life] be blessed [with the rewards of fidelity], and rejoice in the wife of your youth” (v18). This scripture tells us that God has set aside treasures for those who drink from their own cistern and one of those treasures is finding joy in the person you married!
God doesn’t want us to be like the adulterer: “His own iniquities shall ensnare the wicked man, and he shall be held with the cords of his sin. He will die for lack of discipline and instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray and be lost” (vv22-23)
God created the family – it’s His own design. And for you who have no family, God Himself has placed you in His. “God places the solitary in families and gives the desolate a home in which to dwell….” (Psalm 68:6).
God wanted a family around Him, so He created man and woman and told them to be fruitful and multiply – He said He will bless our seed – our family. God has purposed that one man and one woman come together in marriage and produce sons and daughters to surround them all of their days. And “the gift goes on” – grandchildren, great-grandchildren. There is no end to blessing in the families of God. Each generation should be stronger. There is no blessing greater than a family. Faithfulness to the marriage covenant keeps the family intact.
Gloria Copeland’s Wisdom for Today
Don’t feed our mind (through television, movies books, etc.) on the world’s message that “adultery is no big deal”
Don’t even toy around with the thought of adultery.
Make the decision to give honor to the one you married by staying faithful.
Although, today I did reword some things, remove some things and add some things, there are many direct quotes from Gloria Copeland's book Hidden Treasures I once again found today's reading very inspirational especially while I wait for the one who God plans for me to marry!
If you have a daughter who is beginning to show interest in boys there is a very special book called “Before You Meet Prince Charming” by Sarah Mally. I have ordered it for my daughter for Christmas from Chapters. It is about saving yourself for the one God has created for you and keeping your heart pure. It is a fairy tale that is scripture based. I have not yet received my copy but I have heard wonderful things about it. It was even mentioned on an episode of TLC’s show 19 Kids and Counting. My daughter is only 9 and I have heard it is for a slightly older group of girls but I plan to read it with her if she can’t read it herself. I am very excited!!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Proverbs 4
Since I am still not feeling well much of this is going to be written verbatim straight from Gloria Copeland’s book “Hidden Treasures”. I ask that everyone please pray for my body to heal. Thanks. God bless you all!
'Proverbs 4 is a very important chapter, not only in the book of Proverbs but also in the entire Bible. It holds the key to divine health, to divine prosperity and to walking in the spirit at all times.
This key can be summarized in two words – get wisdom: “The beginning of Wisdom is: get Wisdom (skillful and godly Wisdom)! [For skillful and godly Wisdom is the principal thing.] And with all you have gotten, get understanding (discernment, comprehension, and interpretation) (V7 AMP)”
God says that His wisdom is the principal thing. That word “principal” means first in importance. Why is wisdom so important?
Proverbs 4:6 (AMP) gives us one answer: “Forsake not [Wisdom], and she will keep, defend, and protect you; love her, and she will guard you.” Wisdom keeps, defends and protects us from the evil strategies of our enemy –Satan.
But here’s the main reason wisdom is first in importance. When you have God’s wisdom, you have the key to everything else.
Solomon understood this. When he was a young man about to become king, God asked him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
Solomon replied, “I want wisdom, I want to know how to judge these people wisely. I don’t know how to go out or come in unless the Lord tells me” (1 kings 3:7-9 author’s paraphrase)
Because Solomon was humble and asked only for wisdom, God gave him not only a wise and understanding heart, but riches and honor as well.
But later Solomon didn’t hold fast to wisdom. He went after heathen women, bringing them into his household.
Solomon, the wisest of all men, had the ability to walk with God and follow His ways. He knew what was right. He could have followed after his father David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). David made mistakes, but he quickly repented and restored his fellowship with God.
But when Solomon went astray, he didn’t return to walking in God’s ways, and the consequences of his sin affected not only himself and his own descendants, but the future generations of an entire nation.
So let that be a lesson to you. You may know the wisdom of God; you may have the ability to walk in the wisdom of God. But even then, you can still choose to go your own way.
It’s no different with us than it was with Solomon. We choose. Do we want to go our own way and be cursed with the world? Or do we want to follow God and be blessed?
Exalt Wisdom
God tells us what we are to do with wisdom once we obtain it: “Prize Wisdom highly and exalt her, and she will exalt and promote you; she will bring you to honor when you embrace her” (Proverbs 4:8, AMP).
If you want to be promoted in life, this verse tells you the way to do it. Prize wisdom highly and exalt her, and she will exalt and promote you. In other words, go after wisdom and do what wisdom says. Make your life and your decisions revolve around the wisdom of God.
When you do that, wisdom will promote you. She will bring you honor when you embrace her, fulfilling what God has promised: “Those who honor Me I will honor (1 Samuel 2:20, AMP)
Led in Paths of Uprightness
We’ve been talking a lot about wisdom, but here’s a good definition of what wisdom is: “I have taught you in the way of skillful and godly Wisdom [which is comprehensive insight into the ways and purpose of God]; I have led you I paths of uprightness” (Proverbs 4:11, AMP).
When you have comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God, and you are walking in those ways, then you are walking in wisdom. You are in a position for God to lead you in paths of uprightness.
God tells you what kind of help you can expect as you walk His paths; “When you walk, your steps shall not be hampered [your path will be clear and open]; and when you run, you shall not stumble” (v12 AMP).
I read in Maclaren’s Exposition of Holy Scripture and interesting explanation of this verse. Maclaren explained that the phrase “when you walk” refers to our daily walk with God.
You see, most of our lives are not lives in the spectacular. We live in the daily routine of things. But our everyday lives aren’t supposed to be a monotonous drudgery. God is saying that with His wisdom, we can be blessed as we walk through that daily routine. We can be at peace and prosperous no matter what we’re doing.
Then Maclaren makes the point that the phrase “when you run” in verse 12 refers to those times in our lives when something spectacular occurs or a significant milestone takes place. In those special times when extra momentum may be required to achieve something great, wisdom says, “As you run with Me, you won’t stumble.” I like that!
So whether we’re living our everyday lives or getting ready to achieve a milestone in our lives, God’s wisdom will lead us on the paths of uprightness. It will keep us from falling or stumbling. Our path will be clear and open, and our steps will not be hindered.
Learn to Flow With God
We can see why wisdom is so important for us to have in both the big and small events of our lives. That’s why God exhorts us to take firm hold of instruction. That lets you know what a weak, half-hearted hold just isn’t going to work. You’ll never be able to walk in Wisdom and be a “wimpy Christian”!
Why not? Because the whole world is trying to pull you in a direction contrary to God’s direction. The world goes one way, and god goes the other way. God’s way brings blessing and the world’s way brings a curse. And if you don’t take fast hold of God’s instruction, you’ll be swept away by what the world says and believes.
So hold fast to God’s wisdom, knowing that it is your life. Learn to flow with God as a way of life so you aren’t swept away by the deadly currents of the world.
I once read a definition of the word “flow” that used a stick flowing down a river as an example. That’s the way we’re supposed to flow with God. You see, because we’re God’s children a river of His blessings and his will surrounds our lives. All we have to do is just act like that stick floating down the river. We just need to lean not on our own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all of our ways and then flow down the current of God’s will and His wisdom until we arrive at the destiny He has planned for us.
You know, you may not think you can do a lot of things, but I know you can be like a stick! You can spend time with God in His Word and in prayer until you get to the place where you can hear Him. And then day by day, one step at a time, you can flow with Him the way a stick flows down a river. Let his momentum take you where He wants you to go. Then when you come to the end of your spiritual race and finish your God-appointed course, you will receive the crown of righteousness that God has laid up for those who love Him (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
Avoid the Path of the Wicked
Proverbs 4:14-19 contrasts the clear and open path of the upright with the path of the wicked. For example, “the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble” (v 19 AMP).
Now, the path of the wicked isn’t the path that your heart (your spirit man) wants to take. The Holy Spirit dwells within you to lead and guide you. Therefore, the natural thing for you to do is walk with God.
So Satan tries to figure out a way to pull you off the path you know is right, that’s why he uses various temptations to solicit you to evil, including people around you who are living in sin. People like that often want to pull you into sin because your righteousness is an affront to them (v16). They would feel less convicted if you would join in with them.
So how do you keep from being pulled onto the path of evil? You “avoid it, do not go on it; turn from it and pass on (v15 AMP). In other words, you do what James 4:7 says: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Just keep yourself riveted on the path of the righteous, no matter what Satan throws at you to you off. That’s the path that “is like the light of dawn, that shines more and more (brighter and clearer) until [reaches its full strength and glorify in] the prefect day [to be prepared]” Proverbs 4:18, AMP). You can live in the light of God’s wisdom in the midst of a very dark world!
Attend to God’s Words
Proverbs 4:20-23 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture in the entire Bible. I teach on these verses quite frequently, because they show us how to walk with God so that His word and His wisdom are continually being made life and health to our flesh. This is divine wisdom for divine health!
The first step is pay attention to God’s words. “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings” (v20). “To attend” means to give attention to. For example, if you were a nurse attending to a patient, you would have to give our full attention to taking care of his needs.
Well, in order to get anywhere in our walk with God, we will have to give Him our full attention. We aren’t going to hear him if our attention is focused on something else. He’s a gentleman. He won’t force Himself on us.
Wisdom will cry aloud, but if you don’t hear her instruction, you’ll suffer the consequences. And you won’t hear God’s wisdom if you don’t give Him your attention.
So how do we attend to God’s words? First, we are to incline our ear to the Word (v 20_. Then we must keep on hearing God’s Word. “Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart” (v21).
You are to keep the Word coming in through your ears and your eyes so it stays in your heart. You see, you’ll forget what the Word says if you don’t constantly feed on it.
But as you hear the Word and keep it in front of your eyes, it becomes integrated into the very center of your being; it becomes an inseparable part of you. And as it becomes the motivator and the decision-maker of your life, you begin to walk “securely and in confident trust… without fear or dread of evil (proverbs 1:33 AMP).
Keep the Word in the Midst of Your Heart
Do you want the Word to become life, and healing, and health to all your flesh (Proverbs 4:22 AMP)? Well, the way you stay healed and whole, not only in your physical body but in every area of your life, is to keep the Word in the midst of your heart. How? By attending to God’s Word. By keeping it in front of your eyes and going into your ears.
When Ken and I first started “inclining our ears” to God’s Word, we listened to reel-to-reel teaching tapes. We listened to those tapes day and night until the Word was deposited in our hearts in abundance. Then we learned that hearing the Word wasn’t a one-time proposition. We had to keep that Word in the midst of our hearts by giving attention to the Word continually.
You see, you just can’t let your faith take a vacation; you have to keep your faith strong. The only way to do that is to continually cause it to come into your ears and to keep it before your eyes. Romans 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing and hearing….
That’s basically what God told Joshua to do. God said to Joshua, “Keep My Word in your mouth, and meditate on it day and night so that you do it! Then you will have good success” (Joshua 1:8 authors paraphrase).
Joshua had to keep God’s Word, talk God’s Word, meditate God’s Word and continually act on God’s Word. In other words, he had to keep the Word of god in the midst of his heart where it could talk to him.
The Issues of Life
You’ll have to keep God’s Word in the midst of your heart if you’re going to fulfill the next verse: “Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life” (proverbs 4:23, AMP).
Let’s find out what these forces or issues of life are that keep your heart full of God. These are the divine forces that make your life worth living; “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
The fruit of the spirit help you walk in victory. If any of these forces of life are not manifested in your life, then in that area you have a weakness. The devil will target that weak area of your life so he can defeat you.
For instance, if you have developed every fruit of the spirit except self-control, then the devil will use your lack of discipline to hinder you. Self-control is a spiritual force that was given to help you keep yourself disciplined and your body under control so you can fulfill your God-given responsibilities.
Patience is a spiritual force that will keep you stead even under severe test and trial. It’s the power that undergirds your faith. Patience doesn’t yield to circumstances and will keep you from giving up. It doesn’t quit, no matter what’s happening in your life.
All the spiritual forces God has given us are powerful. And if you will stay in living contact with God through His Word and in prayer, they will all issue forth from your heart like a fountain.
God gave me a picture once of what these issues or outgoings of the Spirit are like in our lives. I was in the Philippines getting ready to conduct a healing service, thinking about this very subject. I happened to look out of my hotel window, and I saw in the plaza below a beautiful, huge fountain shooting water high in the air.
Then God spoke to y spirit, saying, “You can’t put trash in the opening where the water gushes out of that fountain. The water will wash away the trash.
“And if the volume of water was turned up so high that the fountain spouted in to the air, the force of the water would be so strong, no trash could even get close to the opening.”
The Lord continued, “That’s the way you are to be in the realm of the spirit. The issues of life should overflow from your heart in such a great measure that nothing of the world can enter your spirit, soul or body to contaminate it.”
That illustration helped me see that in order to keep things going well in our lives, we are to maintain a constant overflow of these spiritual forces of issues of God’s life. As we spend time with God and give Him our attention, those issues of life that come from God and His Word will keep our bodies well. Proverbs 4:22 teaches us how to get well and how to stay well. Take God’s Word like medicine! For they (God’s words) will keep our thinking straight. They will also keep us strong and aggressive to walk in the wisdom of God in every area of life.
We read earlier that you find favor with God and man when you bind truth and loving-kindness about your neck and let those qualities become a part of you (proverbs 3:3-4). Well, the same is true with these spiritual forces issuing out of your heart. They produce supernatural favor in your life as well.
People love to be around someone who is full of love, joy and peace. They love to be around a person who is patient and gentle.
You can see how guarding you heart and allowing these forces of life to flow forth from you gives you favor with others. Besides that, you are so much happier yourself when you are joyful and patient!
Walking in love and joy improves your personality 150 percent. It makes you more personable. It makes people want to be around you.
The fruit of the spirit come forth from your heart. In fact, everything supernatural that you receive from God proceeds out of your heart- everything. That’s where the Holy Spirit lives. That’s where your deposit of the Word is. That’s why you have to keep your heart pure and full of God.
You can’t play around with the world’s sin and expect to walk in these issues of life. You have to honor God and give Him first place. You must let Him have full reign in your heart and give the Word your full attention. You must talk to Him in prayer, listening for His confidential communion and secret counsel, which is so necessary if you want to walk free on this earth (proverbs 3:32).
So make wisdom the principal thing in your life. Incline your ear to God’s Word, and keep it ever before your eyes. Above all else, guard your heart diligently, for out of it flow all of the divine forces of the life of God to bring you victory and make life worth living!
Wisdom for Today
When the enemy’s solicitation to evil comes, don’t fellowship with it, think about it or even consider it. Turn away from it and move on!
Deposit an abundance of God’s Word in your heart today. Find time to hear the Word, meditate on the Word and talk the Word.
Guard your heart – and let the issues of God’s life overflow out of your spirit!'
-Gloria Copeland
I would like to add that I copied this entire chapter from Gloria Copeland’s book “Hidden Treasure’s”. If you would like to purchase your own copy of this book visit http://kcm.org I re-typed the entire chapter so I apologize if I have made grammar or spelling errors that are not present in the original copy. Thank you all and God bless!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Proverbs 3
Proverbs 3 tells us about some of the blessings that we will receive from walking hand in hand with God, His word and His ways. “My son, forget not my law or teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments”. (v1 AMP) You have to keep God’s commandments in order to become secure from the temptations of the enemy –Satan.
Gloria Copeland describes a temptation as “a solicitation to evil”. She goes on to say that when your heart keeps Gods words you won’t even allow yourself to think about committing adultery or some other sin just to suit yourself. You won’t even consider displeasing God just for a moment’s pleasure.
“Length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you” (v2 AMP). This is what you can expect from using God’s treasures in the way He commands us to. We can have heaven on earth. This verse tells us that we can have peace and a long life just by following His word, His ways!
Another of His hidden treasures that allows us to live in His blessings: “Let not mercy and kindness [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and truth [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart” (v 3 AMP). How blessed we are to be able to keep mercy and kindness and truth with us at all times. We are to keep them bound to us and written in our hearts for future use. “So shall you find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight [or judgement] of God and man” (v4 AMP). If you walk in love you will be loved back for we sow what we reap (Galatians 6:7).
Being guided by the Lord is a ‘supernatural’ experience that you can count on and expect as you “lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding” (v5 AMP). When you “in all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him (v6 AMP) God rises up within you and with His wisdom gives you direction to victory! As we acknowledge God in all ways He will fulfill his promises to us “He will direct and make straight and plain your paths” (v6 AMP).
Becoming healthy physically is much easier than one would think. God tells us many times throughout the scripture how simple it is yet we chose to not listen and try to fix things on our own, often getting nowhere. “Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil” (v7 AMP). You cannot be wise in both your eyes and Gods. So you need to walk in Wisdom and then you will increase and blessings will come your way. Walk in His ways and you will bring “health to your nerves, sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones” (v8 AMP).
Living without debt and having enough to live with isn’t always easy in today’s economy, but it must be done. We must trust the lord to provide all that we need and we must work hard to keep His commandments. “Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the first fruits of all your income” (v9 AMP). We are told many times that we must pay our tithe. To me, this doesn’t necessarily mean to your church, but it does mean giving money to a worthy cause in God’s name. Since I don’t believe in church I pay my “tithe” to local charities that are dear to my heart ones that help battered women and children, and funding for children’s sports. Ten percent of what you receive belongs to our Lord and that ten percent is what you give to your cause. You give it anonymously and in His name. You pray on what you should give to, and who and you do it, happily, knowing it is Gods will. Just like you pay your bills each month you pay God as well. You honor Him with “your capital and sufficiency” (v9 AMP) doing this will have an amazing effect; “your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine” (v10 AMP)
Another way the Lord has blessed us is through his chastening “My son do not despise or shrink from the chastening of the Lord…neither be weary of or impatient about or loathe or abhor His reproof” (v11 AMP) “Whom the Lord loves He corrects , even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights” (v 12 AMP)
When you go after Gods Wisdom, you’ll find out that “length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and honor” (v16 AMP)
When we walk in God’s Wisdom, our paths in life are peaceful. Her “ways are highways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold on her; and happy is everyone who holds her fast” (v17-18 AMP).
“The Lord by skillful and Godly Wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding He has established the heavens” (v 19 AMP)
“Do not resentfully envy and be jealous of an unscrupulous, grasping man, and choose none of his ways. For the perverse are an abomination to the Lord”. (v31-32 AMP) “Unscrupulous” is the opposite of the way we need to walk with the Lord in order to receive His riches and blessings. An unscrupulous person is turned away from God. “His confidential communion and secret counsel are with the righteous” (v32) “The curse of the Lord is in and on the house of the wicked, but He declares blessed the home of the just and consistently righteous” (v33 AMP) “The wise shall inherit glory but shame is the highest rank conferred on fools” (v 35).
The more you read the Word the more it becomes written on your heart. This is one of the reasons I do this blog. I hope that people read it, but it is honestly for me to be able to learn the word better and read it, comprehend it, and apply it to my life and I pray that anyone who reads it can benefit from it in the way that I have so far. Following “Hidden Treasures” by Gloria Copeland for this Proverbs excursion has been extremely helpful. I have read this book several times, but to read it, write from it, write about it and type out each piece of scripture has been an insurmountable blessing to my relationship with the Lord. It is amazing how truly awesome our God is and when you read His words and place them into the bank filled with His teachings and love you come to see and notice the changes not only in your day to day life, but into your regular thoughts, and your values and morals. I can honestly say I came from a world where I was betrayed by what I thought was the Lord and because of my learning through bible studies, wonderful books, fellowship, and the Bible itself I have changed my ways. This is why I say I am born again, again! When I was born again the first time I did accept Jesus into my heart and into my soul and life but I wasn’t able to experience God the way I had wanted to and I grew frustrated by this. Wondering why He hadn’t come to me when I prayed Him into me! I had a suicide attempt and in my own blood wrote on the wall that I was such a horrible person that God wouldn’t even take me home. I have since realized that God wants me to be in Heaven with Him, but He has plans for me here and I need to live this life and hopefully help and educated people through my own life experiences. I have chosen to believe that God would not want for all my pain both physical and emotional to be in vain, that I am here to do something with it. What it is exactly I am not sure yet, but as the seasons and weather change so do the seasons of my life and each day opens up to a new person and a new world that I can hopefully be an asset to. I still have my down days, I still ask God why, on occasion. Deep down though, I know why and I am content with that. I am here because it is God’s will. I don’t need a better explanation that that J
Gloria Copeland’s Wisdom for Today
Acknowledge God in all of your ways today.
Walk in loving kindness toward others. Be quick to forgive, quick to bless, quick to help.
When God shows you an area of your life that isn’t in line with the Word, simply receive His chastening and make the necessary correction.
Gloria Copeland describes a temptation as “a solicitation to evil”. She goes on to say that when your heart keeps Gods words you won’t even allow yourself to think about committing adultery or some other sin just to suit yourself. You won’t even consider displeasing God just for a moment’s pleasure.
“Length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you” (v2 AMP). This is what you can expect from using God’s treasures in the way He commands us to. We can have heaven on earth. This verse tells us that we can have peace and a long life just by following His word, His ways!
Another of His hidden treasures that allows us to live in His blessings: “Let not mercy and kindness [shutting out all hatred and selfishness] and truth [shutting out all deliberate hypocrisy or falsehood] forsake you; bind them about your neck, write them upon the tablet of your heart” (v 3 AMP). How blessed we are to be able to keep mercy and kindness and truth with us at all times. We are to keep them bound to us and written in our hearts for future use. “So shall you find favor, good understanding, and high esteem in the sight [or judgement] of God and man” (v4 AMP). If you walk in love you will be loved back for we sow what we reap (Galatians 6:7).
Being guided by the Lord is a ‘supernatural’ experience that you can count on and expect as you “lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding” (v5 AMP). When you “in all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him (v6 AMP) God rises up within you and with His wisdom gives you direction to victory! As we acknowledge God in all ways He will fulfill his promises to us “He will direct and make straight and plain your paths” (v6 AMP).
Becoming healthy physically is much easier than one would think. God tells us many times throughout the scripture how simple it is yet we chose to not listen and try to fix things on our own, often getting nowhere. “Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn [entirely] away from evil” (v7 AMP). You cannot be wise in both your eyes and Gods. So you need to walk in Wisdom and then you will increase and blessings will come your way. Walk in His ways and you will bring “health to your nerves, sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones” (v8 AMP).
Living without debt and having enough to live with isn’t always easy in today’s economy, but it must be done. We must trust the lord to provide all that we need and we must work hard to keep His commandments. “Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the first fruits of all your income” (v9 AMP). We are told many times that we must pay our tithe. To me, this doesn’t necessarily mean to your church, but it does mean giving money to a worthy cause in God’s name. Since I don’t believe in church I pay my “tithe” to local charities that are dear to my heart ones that help battered women and children, and funding for children’s sports. Ten percent of what you receive belongs to our Lord and that ten percent is what you give to your cause. You give it anonymously and in His name. You pray on what you should give to, and who and you do it, happily, knowing it is Gods will. Just like you pay your bills each month you pay God as well. You honor Him with “your capital and sufficiency” (v9 AMP) doing this will have an amazing effect; “your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine” (v10 AMP)
Another way the Lord has blessed us is through his chastening “My son do not despise or shrink from the chastening of the Lord…neither be weary of or impatient about or loathe or abhor His reproof” (v11 AMP) “Whom the Lord loves He corrects , even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights” (v 12 AMP)
When you go after Gods Wisdom, you’ll find out that “length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and honor” (v16 AMP)
When we walk in God’s Wisdom, our paths in life are peaceful. Her “ways are highways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold on her; and happy is everyone who holds her fast” (v17-18 AMP).
“The Lord by skillful and Godly Wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding He has established the heavens” (v 19 AMP)
“Do not resentfully envy and be jealous of an unscrupulous, grasping man, and choose none of his ways. For the perverse are an abomination to the Lord”. (v31-32 AMP) “Unscrupulous” is the opposite of the way we need to walk with the Lord in order to receive His riches and blessings. An unscrupulous person is turned away from God. “His confidential communion and secret counsel are with the righteous” (v32) “The curse of the Lord is in and on the house of the wicked, but He declares blessed the home of the just and consistently righteous” (v33 AMP) “The wise shall inherit glory but shame is the highest rank conferred on fools” (v 35).
The more you read the Word the more it becomes written on your heart. This is one of the reasons I do this blog. I hope that people read it, but it is honestly for me to be able to learn the word better and read it, comprehend it, and apply it to my life and I pray that anyone who reads it can benefit from it in the way that I have so far. Following “Hidden Treasures” by Gloria Copeland for this Proverbs excursion has been extremely helpful. I have read this book several times, but to read it, write from it, write about it and type out each piece of scripture has been an insurmountable blessing to my relationship with the Lord. It is amazing how truly awesome our God is and when you read His words and place them into the bank filled with His teachings and love you come to see and notice the changes not only in your day to day life, but into your regular thoughts, and your values and morals. I can honestly say I came from a world where I was betrayed by what I thought was the Lord and because of my learning through bible studies, wonderful books, fellowship, and the Bible itself I have changed my ways. This is why I say I am born again, again! When I was born again the first time I did accept Jesus into my heart and into my soul and life but I wasn’t able to experience God the way I had wanted to and I grew frustrated by this. Wondering why He hadn’t come to me when I prayed Him into me! I had a suicide attempt and in my own blood wrote on the wall that I was such a horrible person that God wouldn’t even take me home. I have since realized that God wants me to be in Heaven with Him, but He has plans for me here and I need to live this life and hopefully help and educated people through my own life experiences. I have chosen to believe that God would not want for all my pain both physical and emotional to be in vain, that I am here to do something with it. What it is exactly I am not sure yet, but as the seasons and weather change so do the seasons of my life and each day opens up to a new person and a new world that I can hopefully be an asset to. I still have my down days, I still ask God why, on occasion. Deep down though, I know why and I am content with that. I am here because it is God’s will. I don’t need a better explanation that that J
Gloria Copeland’s Wisdom for Today
Acknowledge God in all of your ways today.
Walk in loving kindness toward others. Be quick to forgive, quick to bless, quick to help.
When God shows you an area of your life that isn’t in line with the Word, simply receive His chastening and make the necessary correction.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Proverbs Chapter 2
Proverbs Chapter 2
I decided that I wouldn’t post the entire Chapter but instead just do the writing, still with the help of Gloria Copeland’s book “Hidden Treasures”
“My son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you” (v1) We should take this verse as a direct communication from God to us. The entire Bible was divinely inspired and He used it to speak to us about all things. This verse tells us to treasure His words and make it the final authority in your life. “Making your ear attentive to skillful and godly Wisdom and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding [applying all your powers to the quest for it]” (v2 AMP)
This scripture agrees with James 1:5-6, which says when you want wisdom you must ask for it in faith and not waver. This proverb takes the thought further and tells you to direct your mind and your heart toward Gods wisdom. Therefore, you have to go after the wisdom and word of the Lord and apply all your powers of concentration, energy and effort, to obtain his Wisdom. It has to not only be a desire but a need that becomes your quest in life. You must “search for skillful and godly Wisdom as for hidden treasures"(v4 AMP). You have to be driven to this treasure the way those who are not born again go after material wealth. Fortunately, no one ever seeks God without finding Him. He is always there waiting for His herd of sheep to come back to Him, our Shepherd!
When you obey Gods words and the treasures in them that you find you have found “the knowledge of [our omniscient] God!” (v5) At this point you will be abundant in victory in your life, thanks to placing God as the master of your heart, body, and soul. You can be confident of this because “the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (v6 AMP). The only thing you will ever hear from Gods mouth is the truth. He does not lie, He does not deceive. In fact, He says Satan is the father of all lies! You may ask yourself “if I am created in Gods image, then why can I lie?” This question is easily answered. We are created in His image, but we were granted free will. He wanted for us to have heaven on earth, but when the serpent came to eve and LIED to her and convinced her to eat of the tree of knowledge our eyes were suddenly opened to the lies and the deception that has come to be a human trait. Lying is not from God, but from Satan and we see this throughout the entire biblie, starting in Genesis! Now, it is up to us to use our free will to learn about Gods treasures and plans for our lives, accept His word as truth, and practice it in our daily life, while resisting the evil that Satan tempts us with in our daily living.
Not everyone can so easily find the treasures God has hidden for us. Only those who have been born again and accept His truth are able to see what is plainly placed before all of us. That’s because “He hides away sound and godly Wisodm and stores it for the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him)” (v7 AMP). As I said before, He is always ready to be found and His Wisdom is always available, we just must seek it with a faith-filled heart and use it in the way He intended it to be used. This said, many people use the biblical teachings to become successful financially but they miss out on the biggest point! They are successful on earth but are not able to get into heaven because they did not give their lives to the Lord, they did not accept Jesus on the cross. They weren’t born again. They only USED God to do the devils work! We must pray for these people so that they can truly experience God. I often say “even Satan can read, even Satan can quote scripture”. When you are at church or out in public you mustn’t look at someone because of their success in life, you must look at them with Gods eyes and see if they are “practicing what they preach” or are just putting on a show. You should NEVER judge someone, but you should pray for those who need prayer, even those who don’t believe they need prayers, chances are they need it the most!
God is a “shield to those who walk uprightly and in integrity” (v 7 AMP)
His ways have been proven to work over and over and over again through history. As a matter of fact, this year is the 400th year that the King James Version of the Bible has been in print! This isn’t by default or mistake. It is because Gods Wisdom, guidance and unwavering love works and is the truth. Other books are lucky to be in print for ten years because they don’t speak the truth. The bible says “He preserves the way of His saints” (v8 AMP)
Once you have put yourself in alignment with God instead of against Him “you will understand righteousness, justice, and fair dealing; yes, you will understand every good path” (v9 AMP). You will come to understand because “skillful and godly Wisdom shall enter into your heart” (v10 AMP) and “discretion shall watch over you, understanding shall keep you” (v11 AMP). Another good reason discretion watches over you is “to deliver you from the way of evil and the evil men” (v12 AMP). Discretion not only delivers you from temptations and mistakes, but it also delivers you from people who could harm you. Evil men are defined as those “who forsake the paths of the uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, Who rejoice to do evil and delight in the perverseness of evil” (v 13-14 AMP). Then you can “walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the [consistently] righteous” (v 20 AMP). That shield of protection is the reward of the upright, whom God promises “shall dwell in the land, and the men of integrity, blameless and complete [in God’s sight], shall remain in it” (v20 AMP)
Great rewards are waiting for those who decide to make the effort to treasure Gods words and great dangers await those who do not. Do you treasure Gods words and make them the foundation of your life? Do you walk the walk and talk the talk? Or, do you read the bible and toss those treasures aside for worldly goods?
Gloria Copeland's Wisdom for Today
Direct your heart and mind toward God’s wisdom and knowledge.
Expect to hear from God today; don’t miss Him in the little things.
Walk in discretion. Resist temptation as soon as it confronts you.
I decided that I wouldn’t post the entire Chapter but instead just do the writing, still with the help of Gloria Copeland’s book “Hidden Treasures”
“My son, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you” (v1) We should take this verse as a direct communication from God to us. The entire Bible was divinely inspired and He used it to speak to us about all things. This verse tells us to treasure His words and make it the final authority in your life. “Making your ear attentive to skillful and godly Wisdom and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding [applying all your powers to the quest for it]” (v2 AMP)
This scripture agrees with James 1:5-6, which says when you want wisdom you must ask for it in faith and not waver. This proverb takes the thought further and tells you to direct your mind and your heart toward Gods wisdom. Therefore, you have to go after the wisdom and word of the Lord and apply all your powers of concentration, energy and effort, to obtain his Wisdom. It has to not only be a desire but a need that becomes your quest in life. You must “search for skillful and godly Wisdom as for hidden treasures"(v4 AMP). You have to be driven to this treasure the way those who are not born again go after material wealth. Fortunately, no one ever seeks God without finding Him. He is always there waiting for His herd of sheep to come back to Him, our Shepherd!
When you obey Gods words and the treasures in them that you find you have found “the knowledge of [our omniscient] God!” (v5) At this point you will be abundant in victory in your life, thanks to placing God as the master of your heart, body, and soul. You can be confident of this because “the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding” (v6 AMP). The only thing you will ever hear from Gods mouth is the truth. He does not lie, He does not deceive. In fact, He says Satan is the father of all lies! You may ask yourself “if I am created in Gods image, then why can I lie?” This question is easily answered. We are created in His image, but we were granted free will. He wanted for us to have heaven on earth, but when the serpent came to eve and LIED to her and convinced her to eat of the tree of knowledge our eyes were suddenly opened to the lies and the deception that has come to be a human trait. Lying is not from God, but from Satan and we see this throughout the entire biblie, starting in Genesis! Now, it is up to us to use our free will to learn about Gods treasures and plans for our lives, accept His word as truth, and practice it in our daily life, while resisting the evil that Satan tempts us with in our daily living.
Not everyone can so easily find the treasures God has hidden for us. Only those who have been born again and accept His truth are able to see what is plainly placed before all of us. That’s because “He hides away sound and godly Wisodm and stores it for the righteous (those who are upright and in right standing with Him)” (v7 AMP). As I said before, He is always ready to be found and His Wisdom is always available, we just must seek it with a faith-filled heart and use it in the way He intended it to be used. This said, many people use the biblical teachings to become successful financially but they miss out on the biggest point! They are successful on earth but are not able to get into heaven because they did not give their lives to the Lord, they did not accept Jesus on the cross. They weren’t born again. They only USED God to do the devils work! We must pray for these people so that they can truly experience God. I often say “even Satan can read, even Satan can quote scripture”. When you are at church or out in public you mustn’t look at someone because of their success in life, you must look at them with Gods eyes and see if they are “practicing what they preach” or are just putting on a show. You should NEVER judge someone, but you should pray for those who need prayer, even those who don’t believe they need prayers, chances are they need it the most!
God is a “shield to those who walk uprightly and in integrity” (v 7 AMP)
His ways have been proven to work over and over and over again through history. As a matter of fact, this year is the 400th year that the King James Version of the Bible has been in print! This isn’t by default or mistake. It is because Gods Wisdom, guidance and unwavering love works and is the truth. Other books are lucky to be in print for ten years because they don’t speak the truth. The bible says “He preserves the way of His saints” (v8 AMP)
Once you have put yourself in alignment with God instead of against Him “you will understand righteousness, justice, and fair dealing; yes, you will understand every good path” (v9 AMP). You will come to understand because “skillful and godly Wisdom shall enter into your heart” (v10 AMP) and “discretion shall watch over you, understanding shall keep you” (v11 AMP). Another good reason discretion watches over you is “to deliver you from the way of evil and the evil men” (v12 AMP). Discretion not only delivers you from temptations and mistakes, but it also delivers you from people who could harm you. Evil men are defined as those “who forsake the paths of the uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, Who rejoice to do evil and delight in the perverseness of evil” (v 13-14 AMP). Then you can “walk in the way of good men, and keep to the paths of the [consistently] righteous” (v 20 AMP). That shield of protection is the reward of the upright, whom God promises “shall dwell in the land, and the men of integrity, blameless and complete [in God’s sight], shall remain in it” (v20 AMP)
Great rewards are waiting for those who decide to make the effort to treasure Gods words and great dangers await those who do not. Do you treasure Gods words and make them the foundation of your life? Do you walk the walk and talk the talk? Or, do you read the bible and toss those treasures aside for worldly goods?
Gloria Copeland's Wisdom for Today
Direct your heart and mind toward God’s wisdom and knowledge.
Expect to hear from God today; don’t miss Him in the little things.
Walk in discretion. Resist temptation as soon as it confronts you.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
My Attempt at Proverbs!
Proverb:1:1: The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel;
Proverb:1:2: To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
Proverb:1:3: To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
Proverb:1:4: To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
Proverb:1:5: A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
Proverb:1:6: To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
Proverb:1:7: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverb:1:8: My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Proverb:1:9: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
Proverb:1:10: My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Proverb:1:11: If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:
Proverb:1:12: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
Proverb:1:13: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil:
Proverb:1:14: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:
Proverb:1:15: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path:
Proverb:1:16: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.
Proverb:1:17: Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.
Proverb:1:18: And they lay wait for their own blood; they lurk privily for their own lives.
Proverb:1:19: So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.
Proverb:1:20: Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:
Proverb:1:21: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying,
Proverb:1:22: How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Proverb:1:23: Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Proverb:1:24: Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
Proverb:1:25: But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
Proverb:1:26: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
Proverb:1:27: When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
Proverb:1:28: Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:
Proverb:1:29: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:
Proverb:1:30: They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.
Proverb:1:31: Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.
Proverb:1:32: For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.
Proverb:1:33: But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
I am going to attempt to do 31 Days of Proverbs, explaining all 31 Chapters to the best of my ability at a pace of one per day. At least, that is my goal! I will be basing my writings on those of Gloria Copeland and her book “Hidden Treasures”.
The book of Proverbs was written by Solomon, inspired by God and almost immediately we are told why:
“That people may know skillful and godly Wisdom and instruction, discern and comprehend the words of understanding and insight. (1:2 AMP)
The greatest blessing God has given us through this Wisdom is the understanding and insight that will allow living on earth as though we were already in Heaven. When you choose God and his ways you are immediately at an advantage in life. We are able to live in the kingdom of God today, we don’t have to wait. We are “citizens of heaven” (Philippians 3:20, NIV) and meant to live in this earth with the blessings and power of God.
When we were born we were born with His spirit living inside of us, to teach us and direct us. We are no longer just in this world but in His world as well. When we accepted Christ as our Lord and saviour and became born again we were removed from the kingdom of darkness and entered into the kingdom of Light-Jesus. We can only truly work in Gods kingdom if we use His Wisdom- His way of doing and being right!
Unfortunately, if you don’t use the Wisdom, or Word, of God that is readily available to us as believers you will continue to live the same life you did before you were born again. Making positive changes in your life using his Wisdom and word is the only way to truly experience heaven, both on earth and in the afterlife.
Many people don’t know how to live for God. They WANT to live for God, but it is definitely not easy to pick up the Bible and find what you need when you need it. It can even become daunting and frustrating. If you are anything like me, you struggle to remember the scripture verbatim and struggle even more with recalling the chapter and verse numbers. The goals, however, is to carry on and work diligently to bring His Word to life in your own life. It’s okay to know hardly anything about God’s Word. We are born not knowing how to spell or do math, but as we practice we learn and soon enough the Word of God will not only be flowing freely from your lips, but it will also help to dictate your morals and values in your daily life. As soon as you start to learn more, co-operating with Him to overcome your problems will become simpler. His Word will immediately begin change in your life for the better.
The book of Proverbs gives us “instruction in wise dealing and the discipline of wise thoughtfulness, righteousness, justice and integrity (1:3 AMP).
God created earth to be a copy of heaven and one day this will be done. The earth was created by the word and the wisdom of God and it responds to the word and wisdom of God. Prayer is powerful and that is because God created us in his image. He did not will sickness upon nor did he create war or strife. Those are human errors that can be attributed to Satan manipulating us and trying his best to turn us from God.
Experience isn’t necessarily the best teacher. The best teacher is God our Father. He has laid before us a book of how to live righteously (to be right with God) yet so many of us struggle to find our own way and ignore what is black white and sometimes red laying before us begging to be read and applied to our living. God tells us what works and we can be like Moses and the Israelites and wander through the dessert for many years or we can just listen to Gods word, strengthen our faith and obtain those promised riches now, no matter what your age. The Proverbs are not meant for a certain age or group of people. They teach ALL of us the Wisdom we need to have in order to be strong in our faith, our lives, and in Christ Jesus. “The wise also will hear and increase in learning, and the person of understanding will acquire skill and attain to sound counsel [so that he may be able to steer his course rightly] (v .5 AMP)
Where do we start in our quest for godly wisdom? God tells us EXACTLY where to begin “The reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise skillful and godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline (1.7, AMP). Walking in the fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom. In fact it is the only place to start! Without fearing the Lord you do not hold yourself accountable for your actions to a higher power. Handing over your life to the lord after living a life for yourself isn’t an easy thing to do, but when you fear the Lord and know that you can only be saved through him things become clear. You know that the only way to have a happy life is to allow God to guide you where you need to be. The more you change your life to line up with God’s Word, the more honor you are giving God in your life. “For them that honor me I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30) I often remind people in my life, and myself to praise God daily, because without giving thanks and praise you become unappreciative of all that we have been blessed with in such abundance. What more could you want? God knows what you could want and need and when he sees fit He will supply you with everything, for that is the covenant he created with us when Jesus died on the cross to save us from this world.
Choosing to follow your own path and not what He says causes the foolish to “eat of the fruit of their own way (1:31 AMP)
Greed “takes away the lives of its possessors” (v.19 AMP). This is why God tells us to not covet or lust. These actions can take over our sound minds and quickly create all kinds of problems in your life, including your marriage, your relationship with your children, and God himself. I am sure greed is something we have all experienced at some point, the biggest thing is to NOT act on it, no matter how tempting. Stay strong in the Word. Allow yourself to ask God for forgiveness and move on. Mistakes will be made, we are human.
It is encouraging to know that “Wisdom cries aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the markets” (v20 AMP)
Wisdom does not hide from us. She screams out for us in the streets wanting us to hear her voice and turn to God to live a life of Wisdom.
Proverbs 1:25-32 gives a clear idea of what happens to those who do nothing with Wisdoms counsel. When their “panic comes as a storm and desolation (v27) and they finally turn to wisdom for help, they’ll find out that they have to “eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices” (v 31). Although they seek wisdom early and diligently they will not find her (v28). That’s the way sin is. That is why god tells us not to do it. He warns us that “the backsliding of the simple shall slay them, and the careless ease [self-confident] fools shall destroy them” (v 32).
"But whoso hearkens to me [Wisdom] shall dwell securely and in confident trust and shall be quiet, without fear or dread of evil” (v 33)
Gloria Copeland’s Wisdom for Today
Honor God is every choice or decision you make today.
Make the quality decision, “Whether it seems easy or difficult, I will do what the Word says.”
Tell the Lord today, “Show me where I’m wrong. Reveal to be the things I need to know”
In most of this writing I have reworded it and added and subtracted to my liking. There are, however, some sentences that I needed to use the way the original author wrote them as she described things in a way I could never do. For more of Gloria Copeland’s books or to read her original work please go to http://kcm.ca and purchase the book “Hidden Treasures Abundant living in the riches of proverbs”
Gloria Copeland’s Wisdom for Today
Honor God is every choice or decision you make today.
Make the quality decision, “Whether it seems easy or difficult, I will do what the Word says.”
Tell the Lord today, “Show me where I’m wrong. Reveal to be the things I need to know”
In most of this writing I have reworded it and added and subtracted to my liking. There are, however, some sentences that I needed to use the way the original author wrote them as she described things in a way I could never do. For more of Gloria Copeland’s books or to read her original work please go to http://kcm.ca and purchase the book “Hidden Treasures Abundant living in the riches of proverbs”
Monday, October 24, 2011
I Saw The Light!
“My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow Me.” - John 10:27
“The sheep follow Him, because they recognize His voice.” -John 10:4
Do you ever sit and wonder when God will speak to you and answer your prayers? I am sure you do. His voice isn’t always easy to hear especially when you don’t know how to listen. This reminds me of the old saying ‘a watched pot never boils’. I may be young as I am only 26 years old, but over the last few years of my life I have not only been able to learn to pray but I have learned to pray that the Lords’ will be done, and not my own. I also have opened my eyes, ears, heart and soul to the miracles He produces for us every single day. Do I miss some of His answers? YES! How do I know what I am doing is ‘okay’ with God? I know because I prayed about it, I asked Him to take my hand and guide me and I trust His ever powerful light to lead me away from the darkness and into the place in this world where I am meant to be. He has shown me so many miracles, not only for my own life, but in the lives of those I love. I never once asked Him to do a specific thing, but rather I ask the Lord to allow people to see the truth as He sees it so that our lives can reflect His will. This has proved very effective for me in my prayers. It has truly been a blessing for me to pray the way I do, because I am not let down or disappointed when a prayer is answered. It is answered according to the plan He has set for each of us and this is shown over and over and over again if you care to look at each moment as a blessing and an opportunity to learn in His name, instead of letting the world bring you down.
The Lord of God is my Shepherd and I shall not want (psalm 23) I know that as long as I allow His staff and His rod to guide me that I will never fall behind or be lost to the darkness again. This is His promise to each of His children. He sits and He waits for every single one of us to recognize that we cannot have a successful life without Him being our rock, and our guidance. Then we will come home to Him and hopefully follow His word and listen for Him to speak to us in all that we do. He is always there, He has all the time in the world for us to come back to Him, back to the Truth, back to unconditional Love. He is all of these things, He is all that is good.
“My home is within you” -Psalm 87:7
“I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness”
-John 12:46
God our Father lives within our soul whether you feel Him or not. He is the voice that tells you what is right and what is wrong. He is our conscience. He is the light that brings us through the dark parts of our lives and into the happiness that resonates around us. When you are looking for meaning regarding a situation ask Him. He is there to answer you. Now you just have to realize that when you talk out loud or ask for something good or even bad that you are really praying to the one true God- Jesus. He hears your voice, your thoughts and He whispers to you about what is right and wrong. Your conscience is God and God is in you.
“The sheep follow Him, because they recognize His voice.” -John 10:4
Do you ever sit and wonder when God will speak to you and answer your prayers? I am sure you do. His voice isn’t always easy to hear especially when you don’t know how to listen. This reminds me of the old saying ‘a watched pot never boils’. I may be young as I am only 26 years old, but over the last few years of my life I have not only been able to learn to pray but I have learned to pray that the Lords’ will be done, and not my own. I also have opened my eyes, ears, heart and soul to the miracles He produces for us every single day. Do I miss some of His answers? YES! How do I know what I am doing is ‘okay’ with God? I know because I prayed about it, I asked Him to take my hand and guide me and I trust His ever powerful light to lead me away from the darkness and into the place in this world where I am meant to be. He has shown me so many miracles, not only for my own life, but in the lives of those I love. I never once asked Him to do a specific thing, but rather I ask the Lord to allow people to see the truth as He sees it so that our lives can reflect His will. This has proved very effective for me in my prayers. It has truly been a blessing for me to pray the way I do, because I am not let down or disappointed when a prayer is answered. It is answered according to the plan He has set for each of us and this is shown over and over and over again if you care to look at each moment as a blessing and an opportunity to learn in His name, instead of letting the world bring you down.
The Lord of God is my Shepherd and I shall not want (psalm 23) I know that as long as I allow His staff and His rod to guide me that I will never fall behind or be lost to the darkness again. This is His promise to each of His children. He sits and He waits for every single one of us to recognize that we cannot have a successful life without Him being our rock, and our guidance. Then we will come home to Him and hopefully follow His word and listen for Him to speak to us in all that we do. He is always there, He has all the time in the world for us to come back to Him, back to the Truth, back to unconditional Love. He is all of these things, He is all that is good.
“My home is within you” -Psalm 87:7
“I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness”
-John 12:46
God our Father lives within our soul whether you feel Him or not. He is the voice that tells you what is right and what is wrong. He is our conscience. He is the light that brings us through the dark parts of our lives and into the happiness that resonates around us. When you are looking for meaning regarding a situation ask Him. He is there to answer you. Now you just have to realize that when you talk out loud or ask for something good or even bad that you are really praying to the one true God- Jesus. He hears your voice, your thoughts and He whispers to you about what is right and wrong. Your conscience is God and God is in you.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
In Mourning
When sorrows assail us or terrors draw nigh,
His love will not fail us, He’ll guide with His eye;
And when we are fainting and ready to fail,
He’ll give what is lacking and make us prevail
-Anonymous
This fall has been hard on me mentally. I have been doing a lot of mourning and I have been holding it in because the last time I expressed how I felt about all this I was told “get over it”. Getting over the death of your unborn child isn’t something you can “get over”. Anyone who has ever experienced true, unconditional love knows and understands that. Yet, there I was stopped in my tracks by someone whom I thought I had loved all these years. Then those three words spilled from his mouth and I realized I had no clue what love was. What it really was. I tail spinned, not in the way I normally would but instead I shut everyone out and decided I could trust only me and God. I have come to realize over this last year and a bit that those three words are probably the most hurtful, rude, and painful thing I have experienced in my life. I will likely never experience any pain like that again. Yet here I am and I am sitting here sad and not being very open with those who love me because I am afraid of those three words coming out of the mouths I trust yet again. It is astonishing to me how three little words can completely change the course of your entire thought pattern and your entire life. I regret that he said those words to me but I don’t regret that I walked away. I don’t regret that I have moved on and that I have placed God first in my life. I regret that he will probably die alone and miserable and I can’t change that. He made his choice with those three words. He made it again and again by standing by his three words. My love for him will never go away; although it is forever altered and changed I love him because God tells us we must love all people the way that He loves us. I can do that. I can even forgive him for what he said because it’s how he feels and I can’t judge someone for their feelings.
It has been hard to move forward with one less person in my circle of trust. One less person to depend on and to know they care. I have filled that void with God. I know He is my rock, my strength. He will carry me through life and he will fill in where I lack. God is a loving God and that love is unconditional for me an all people, whether they have faith or not.
I know that when I have thrown in the towel and lay down and beg God to release me from the pain of life that He answers my prayer in the way that is His will for my life. I may stay in bed all day and mope. I may be depressed and angry at the world, at man, but my God is always there for me to wipe away my tears, to hold my hair and to guide my heart. Even though I am currently mourning the losses of my life Gods light is shining bright like a beacon in the dark and I know His light will not run me ashore or lead me into the dangers I fear. He is my shepherd and I am proud to call Him Father!
His love will not fail us, He’ll guide with His eye;
And when we are fainting and ready to fail,
He’ll give what is lacking and make us prevail
-Anonymous
This fall has been hard on me mentally. I have been doing a lot of mourning and I have been holding it in because the last time I expressed how I felt about all this I was told “get over it”. Getting over the death of your unborn child isn’t something you can “get over”. Anyone who has ever experienced true, unconditional love knows and understands that. Yet, there I was stopped in my tracks by someone whom I thought I had loved all these years. Then those three words spilled from his mouth and I realized I had no clue what love was. What it really was. I tail spinned, not in the way I normally would but instead I shut everyone out and decided I could trust only me and God. I have come to realize over this last year and a bit that those three words are probably the most hurtful, rude, and painful thing I have experienced in my life. I will likely never experience any pain like that again. Yet here I am and I am sitting here sad and not being very open with those who love me because I am afraid of those three words coming out of the mouths I trust yet again. It is astonishing to me how three little words can completely change the course of your entire thought pattern and your entire life. I regret that he said those words to me but I don’t regret that I walked away. I don’t regret that I have moved on and that I have placed God first in my life. I regret that he will probably die alone and miserable and I can’t change that. He made his choice with those three words. He made it again and again by standing by his three words. My love for him will never go away; although it is forever altered and changed I love him because God tells us we must love all people the way that He loves us. I can do that. I can even forgive him for what he said because it’s how he feels and I can’t judge someone for their feelings.
It has been hard to move forward with one less person in my circle of trust. One less person to depend on and to know they care. I have filled that void with God. I know He is my rock, my strength. He will carry me through life and he will fill in where I lack. God is a loving God and that love is unconditional for me an all people, whether they have faith or not.
I know that when I have thrown in the towel and lay down and beg God to release me from the pain of life that He answers my prayer in the way that is His will for my life. I may stay in bed all day and mope. I may be depressed and angry at the world, at man, but my God is always there for me to wipe away my tears, to hold my hair and to guide my heart. Even though I am currently mourning the losses of my life Gods light is shining bright like a beacon in the dark and I know His light will not run me ashore or lead me into the dangers I fear. He is my shepherd and I am proud to call Him Father!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Worry!
“Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts?” Luke 24:38
Everybody worries, no matter how strong your faith in the Lord is you worry. We worry about our work, our families, money, what others thing about us. We worry when we feel bad. What do you do when you are troubled or worried? Some people keep it to themselves believing that no one would understand or that they would be a burden. Jesus wanted the apostles to tell him all about their worries and his words weren’t just for the apostles. He’s talking to you and me too. He’s listening right now. The first person you should go to is the Lord when you have a worry. Hand everything to Him. Talk to Christian friends. Ask for prayers. We were not created to help ourselves; we were created to depend on the Most High! He WANTS a relationship with us as much as we NEED a relationship with him. Part of any good relationship is communication. So communicate with the Father, give Him thanks and praise for all that you have and ask him to help you with what you don’t understand. Do not be troubled. Do not allow yourself to become weakened in spirit because this is when ungodly thoughts will come in and try to bring you down further. Instead, raise up take Gods hand and allow Him to guide you.
“Jesus hears what worries me today”
Psalm 69
Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein
Everybody worries, no matter how strong your faith in the Lord is you worry. We worry about our work, our families, money, what others thing about us. We worry when we feel bad. What do you do when you are troubled or worried? Some people keep it to themselves believing that no one would understand or that they would be a burden. Jesus wanted the apostles to tell him all about their worries and his words weren’t just for the apostles. He’s talking to you and me too. He’s listening right now. The first person you should go to is the Lord when you have a worry. Hand everything to Him. Talk to Christian friends. Ask for prayers. We were not created to help ourselves; we were created to depend on the Most High! He WANTS a relationship with us as much as we NEED a relationship with him. Part of any good relationship is communication. So communicate with the Father, give Him thanks and praise for all that you have and ask him to help you with what you don’t understand. Do not be troubled. Do not allow yourself to become weakened in spirit because this is when ungodly thoughts will come in and try to bring you down further. Instead, raise up take Gods hand and allow Him to guide you.
“Jesus hears what worries me today”
Psalm 69
Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and everything that moveth therein. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein
Monday, October 10, 2011
Finding Thanks
Finding Thanks in a world of chaos can definitely be hard these days. It seems as though all you here is one complaint after another which can easily bring you down emotionally and physically. The fact is that we must all remain strong in our faith with the Lord and if we look around and don’t see a single thing to be thankful for then we really need to sit back and take inventory. The smallest things are gifts from the Lord. The roof over your head, whether it’s your own, a friends or a shelter. The beautiful weather and the moon and the stars. Your family, your friends, your pets. Unfortunately on this list we often forget to give thanks for God! I am so grateful that I am His child and that He is my Father. I will go to Heaven because of His sacrifice for me. My children will remain safe and my angels were saved from the pains of this world and brought straight up into His arms. How blessed they are for that. I know that for me it is hard but that is just my human nature. When I pass I will be reunited with the Lord and my children who have been taken care of by the Most High! In spite of the pain that evil tries to make me feel I have to keep strong in my faith and know that this profound love was not in vain. It was for a reason and that reason came from God which changed my life forever. My heart has love in it that wouldn’t have existed had God not sent me angels to love. I am truly blessed!
My list of things to be thankful for started four years ago when I was in my deepest of depressions. I was told by a social worker that I should take inventory and right down three things every single day in a journal that I was grateful for. At first this was difficult. It was hard to be grateful for anything. I would sit there with one thing written down (usually my children) and I would stare at the two blank slots below, as though if I stared long enough they would magically fill in. I grew frustrated with this “project” and I often abandoned it. I was reading the Bible and doing Bible studies at this time. Soon enough three things weren’t enough. I was grateful for so many things that I had always taken for granted. Things that many may believe to be silly, but I wasn’t seeing through my eyes anymore, instead I was seeing the world through Gods eyes. Suddenly every color was beautiful, I was thankful for purple and orange and green. I was happy to have pencil crayons so I could draw the water and leaves and trees that I so desperately missed. I was thankful that I had a home to come back to with two beautiful children waiting. I was excited to make coffee or have something to eat! My list grew and grew and before I knew it I was filing up every line in my journal with things I was thankful for. I know this is redundant but giving Praise to the Lord Jesus and having Him open my eyes to the beauty that is life really changed my thought process.
Some days, I am not grateful, I am not happy. I am sad and depressed and I don’t want to be here anymore. I have begged the Lord to scoop me up and take me home, but it isn’t my time to go. I know that now. I also know that even at my most irrational God will prevail and rational life will greet me on the other side. God does not see my wounds as scars. He created me without scars without injury or sickness and I know that by His stripes I am healed. Maybe not today, but in His perfect timing I will return to Him and I will be healed and I will be whole and I will be grateful for the life I had because I saw things and met people that I never would have experienced had I not experienced the pains I have felt. Everything has an opposite for me my darkness opens my world to the light –God!
My list of things to be thankful for started four years ago when I was in my deepest of depressions. I was told by a social worker that I should take inventory and right down three things every single day in a journal that I was grateful for. At first this was difficult. It was hard to be grateful for anything. I would sit there with one thing written down (usually my children) and I would stare at the two blank slots below, as though if I stared long enough they would magically fill in. I grew frustrated with this “project” and I often abandoned it. I was reading the Bible and doing Bible studies at this time. Soon enough three things weren’t enough. I was grateful for so many things that I had always taken for granted. Things that many may believe to be silly, but I wasn’t seeing through my eyes anymore, instead I was seeing the world through Gods eyes. Suddenly every color was beautiful, I was thankful for purple and orange and green. I was happy to have pencil crayons so I could draw the water and leaves and trees that I so desperately missed. I was thankful that I had a home to come back to with two beautiful children waiting. I was excited to make coffee or have something to eat! My list grew and grew and before I knew it I was filing up every line in my journal with things I was thankful for. I know this is redundant but giving Praise to the Lord Jesus and having Him open my eyes to the beauty that is life really changed my thought process.
Some days, I am not grateful, I am not happy. I am sad and depressed and I don’t want to be here anymore. I have begged the Lord to scoop me up and take me home, but it isn’t my time to go. I know that now. I also know that even at my most irrational God will prevail and rational life will greet me on the other side. God does not see my wounds as scars. He created me without scars without injury or sickness and I know that by His stripes I am healed. Maybe not today, but in His perfect timing I will return to Him and I will be healed and I will be whole and I will be grateful for the life I had because I saw things and met people that I never would have experienced had I not experienced the pains I have felt. Everything has an opposite for me my darkness opens my world to the light –God!
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Don't Worry About Tomorrow
M't:6:33: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
M't:6:34: Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
For me personally, this is hard. I struggle to let go of yesterday and to not worry about tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong. I pray and I do what I mentally can to hand over everything in my life to the Lord Jesus. Seeking the kingdom of God is easy. It is the worrying about tomorrow that I struggle with. Having a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder doesn’t always allow me to not panic about the next minute or second, never mind tomorrow! Thankfully, when I do fear for my life, I KNOW that I do not have to worry about the afterlife because I am saved through Jesus blood on the cross and the covenant His dying represents. I know I am saved because I believe! I am going to Heaven because I have faith and I know that God knows I do my best to hand over every aspect of my life to Him. I continue to learn in His name and study on His word. I may not be able to quote the Bible with a reference but I study it and I have formed a relationship with God because of it. I see the truth He has created for my life and I strive to make the Father proud. One day I know I will have His word engrained in every fibre of my being and I will be able to quote and reference without thinking about it. I may not know what will happen from moment to moment or day to day but I do know that God will be holding my hand the whole way and for that I am eternally grateful!
M't:6:34: Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
For me personally, this is hard. I struggle to let go of yesterday and to not worry about tomorrow. Don’t get me wrong. I pray and I do what I mentally can to hand over everything in my life to the Lord Jesus. Seeking the kingdom of God is easy. It is the worrying about tomorrow that I struggle with. Having a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder doesn’t always allow me to not panic about the next minute or second, never mind tomorrow! Thankfully, when I do fear for my life, I KNOW that I do not have to worry about the afterlife because I am saved through Jesus blood on the cross and the covenant His dying represents. I know I am saved because I believe! I am going to Heaven because I have faith and I know that God knows I do my best to hand over every aspect of my life to Him. I continue to learn in His name and study on His word. I may not be able to quote the Bible with a reference but I study it and I have formed a relationship with God because of it. I see the truth He has created for my life and I strive to make the Father proud. One day I know I will have His word engrained in every fibre of my being and I will be able to quote and reference without thinking about it. I may not know what will happen from moment to moment or day to day but I do know that God will be holding my hand the whole way and for that I am eternally grateful!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Very Raw Side of Me
Today’s Blog is actually going to be a part of my Facebook post today. I know that that isn’t exactly spiritual, but the message here, and I am not even going to pull out my Bible, is that I survived! I survived a living hell and so did she. Not only did we survive but thousands upon thousands have survived as well. Our families are whole and our minds are healing and for me that is because of God.
My faith was lost because of God, a minister, my ex- father in law, preached that my “behaviour” was why I needed to be “punished” and that I couldn’t “obey” and therefore my “punishment” and “training” was necessary. I was also threatened to be sold to the highest bidder and locked in a cage.
So today, I don’t post about the Lord Jesus directly, instead I post about what He saved me from and how you really need to watch out for those wolves in sheep’s clothing that you may trust because of their “authority”. I remind myself almost daily that even Satan knows scripture; he is a fallen angel after all.
My prayer for today is that God brings peace to all those who are suffering at the hands of another person, whether it’s happening today or years ago. I ask that He brings healing to each of us and that those of us who felt that it was God who hurt us can turn back to Him the way I have and hand their lives over to Him, knowing it was man who caused the pain, NOT God!
My Facebook Posts:
Reading Jaycee Dugard’s book "A Stolen Life" and she says at the beginning that she doesn’t expect you to understand because if you understand then you would of experienced it and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone... well unfortunately I have been in tears since page 2, its like reading my own life story, except I wasn’t taken from my family, I was only threatened that if I said anything we would all be killed.... She talks about being raped for the first time and what went through her mind and her body and I am remembering my own tragic moments, only I was a year older than she was when it began for me..... I can't even call myself triggered at this point. I feel like the gun is loaded, aimed at my head and is about to be pulled.... it hurts me so bad to know another person has felt how I felt... and she had to have felt it worse because she was separated, at least I didn’t have to go through that too... -sigh-
My Second Facebook Post:
Well, I am now more than halfway through the book and I am seeing what happened to her and how it happened to me, the mind games, the threats, the manipulation, the being able to go into a Wal-Mart and not say a word about the invisible chains that you feel holding you where you should be. It’s been six years since I escaped and I still wake up in the night and can feel the restraints on my wrists ankles and throat, and then I look around and realize I am in my safe haven that no one knows exists. Six years and every click, knock or bang causes every hair on my body to stand up thinking today is the day they are going to take me back. Jaycee says in her book that it was really hard to let her kids go to school because she had always homeschooled them and felt scared about what was out there that she couldn’t control, and then she reminds herself that only 1% of abductions are stranger abductions and that gives her some peace. I often wonder if I am as over protective and on guard for the same reasons... maybe I am trying to protect myself more so than the kids because I know exactly how messed up this world is.... For some reason people trust me and over the past 7 years of my life many people I have spoken to or met have revealed to me some form of abuse and I wonder if every single one of those people stood up and said "I WAS VICTIMIZED TOO" what that would do to those statistics... the world we know doesn’t scare me, it’s the one we don’t know that terrifies me and plagues my thoughts. Until we all group together and unite as one without fear no one will ever know the truth about what happens behind closed doors. Unfortunately fear keeps that invisible chain pulled tight and it takes years for people to reveal the truth if they reveal it at all.... I have to stop writing now, I am too upset.... sorry
My faith was lost because of God, a minister, my ex- father in law, preached that my “behaviour” was why I needed to be “punished” and that I couldn’t “obey” and therefore my “punishment” and “training” was necessary. I was also threatened to be sold to the highest bidder and locked in a cage.
So today, I don’t post about the Lord Jesus directly, instead I post about what He saved me from and how you really need to watch out for those wolves in sheep’s clothing that you may trust because of their “authority”. I remind myself almost daily that even Satan knows scripture; he is a fallen angel after all.
My prayer for today is that God brings peace to all those who are suffering at the hands of another person, whether it’s happening today or years ago. I ask that He brings healing to each of us and that those of us who felt that it was God who hurt us can turn back to Him the way I have and hand their lives over to Him, knowing it was man who caused the pain, NOT God!
My Facebook Posts:
Reading Jaycee Dugard’s book "A Stolen Life" and she says at the beginning that she doesn’t expect you to understand because if you understand then you would of experienced it and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone... well unfortunately I have been in tears since page 2, its like reading my own life story, except I wasn’t taken from my family, I was only threatened that if I said anything we would all be killed.... She talks about being raped for the first time and what went through her mind and her body and I am remembering my own tragic moments, only I was a year older than she was when it began for me..... I can't even call myself triggered at this point. I feel like the gun is loaded, aimed at my head and is about to be pulled.... it hurts me so bad to know another person has felt how I felt... and she had to have felt it worse because she was separated, at least I didn’t have to go through that too... -sigh-
My Second Facebook Post:
Well, I am now more than halfway through the book and I am seeing what happened to her and how it happened to me, the mind games, the threats, the manipulation, the being able to go into a Wal-Mart and not say a word about the invisible chains that you feel holding you where you should be. It’s been six years since I escaped and I still wake up in the night and can feel the restraints on my wrists ankles and throat, and then I look around and realize I am in my safe haven that no one knows exists. Six years and every click, knock or bang causes every hair on my body to stand up thinking today is the day they are going to take me back. Jaycee says in her book that it was really hard to let her kids go to school because she had always homeschooled them and felt scared about what was out there that she couldn’t control, and then she reminds herself that only 1% of abductions are stranger abductions and that gives her some peace. I often wonder if I am as over protective and on guard for the same reasons... maybe I am trying to protect myself more so than the kids because I know exactly how messed up this world is.... For some reason people trust me and over the past 7 years of my life many people I have spoken to or met have revealed to me some form of abuse and I wonder if every single one of those people stood up and said "I WAS VICTIMIZED TOO" what that would do to those statistics... the world we know doesn’t scare me, it’s the one we don’t know that terrifies me and plagues my thoughts. Until we all group together and unite as one without fear no one will ever know the truth about what happens behind closed doors. Unfortunately fear keeps that invisible chain pulled tight and it takes years for people to reveal the truth if they reveal it at all.... I have to stop writing now, I am too upset.... sorry
Saturday, October 1, 2011
God and Science One in the Same
“Because Truth is infinite, error should be known as nothing. Because Truth is omnipotent in goodness, error, Truth’s opposite, has no might. Evil is but the counterpoise of nothingness. The greatest wrong is but a supposititious opposite of the highest right. The confidence inspired by Science lies in the fact that Truth is real and error is unreal. Error is a coward before Truth. Divine Science insists that time will prove all this. Both truth and error have come nearer than ever before to the apprehension of mortals, and truth will become still clearer as error is self-destroyed.”
When God created Heaven and earth, humans, animals and all the creeping creatures, the lakes the land dark and night, He sat back afterwards and saw that it was good. God did not create evil. Evil was created by the free will God granted all of us, including His angels. Satan is just that, an ex –angel. He decided he could do things better than the Lord and he took off down to earth to plant seeds of evil into our thoughts, our lives, the world in which we live. God did not create sickness. He did not create war. He did not create negativity in any way. Evil or Satan, created all of these things and we allow them into our lives when we are weakened by smaller evil things. Did God dump the trash and put you in a bad mood? NO! The trash fell as a result of carelessness and gravity and because Satan had already planted the seed of anger deep within you the dumped trash allows you to reach the boiling point and become completely angry. That anger does EXACTLY what Satan wanted it to do. It has a ripple effect that causes hostility and anger and a general “cut through it with a knife” atmosphere. Science has proved that negative emotions have a negative reaction on the people and animals around you. Many Christians believe that science is for those who have no god and no faith, that they need things to be spelled out in black and white. This isn’t the case for many. Science and God go hand in hand and as science continues to progress we are able to see the miracles that are God in a way that people couldn’t do before. If science encourages faith to grow then it is a good thing, whether others believe it or not. I have referred to it before and I am going to do it again quickly here, but I believe that science has given us the opportunity to watch Gods miracles as if Jesus himself were standing here in front of us. Premature babies who would have NO chance at life live because of Gods work in medicine; cancer victims have more time and are often deemed cancer free! Is this because of doctors? No, it is because God gave these mere mortals the ability to cure and to learn. Whether your doctor is a man of God, a man of science, or both he is divinely guided by the healing powers of the Lord –whether he likes it or not!
I think I will just add in here that I should have died many times in my short life and that because of my “inability to die” my doctor now has a faith that he never had before. I lived when other patients wouldn’t have and this altered his way of thinking. He may not be a Christian now, but he has faith and if that seed of faith continues to grow he will one day be saved. The last time I almost died, he said to me “God obviously has a reason for you to be here”. I was very proud of my doctor on that day. He said it without even thinking about it because God is working in him. He has since admitted to me that he finds that patients who have an unwavering faith often survive the un-survivable and that those who have no faith often pass of the most routine things. God created us whole, without illness and that is the Truth that we need to open our eyes to. Illness is a lie.
When God created Heaven and earth, humans, animals and all the creeping creatures, the lakes the land dark and night, He sat back afterwards and saw that it was good. God did not create evil. Evil was created by the free will God granted all of us, including His angels. Satan is just that, an ex –angel. He decided he could do things better than the Lord and he took off down to earth to plant seeds of evil into our thoughts, our lives, the world in which we live. God did not create sickness. He did not create war. He did not create negativity in any way. Evil or Satan, created all of these things and we allow them into our lives when we are weakened by smaller evil things. Did God dump the trash and put you in a bad mood? NO! The trash fell as a result of carelessness and gravity and because Satan had already planted the seed of anger deep within you the dumped trash allows you to reach the boiling point and become completely angry. That anger does EXACTLY what Satan wanted it to do. It has a ripple effect that causes hostility and anger and a general “cut through it with a knife” atmosphere. Science has proved that negative emotions have a negative reaction on the people and animals around you. Many Christians believe that science is for those who have no god and no faith, that they need things to be spelled out in black and white. This isn’t the case for many. Science and God go hand in hand and as science continues to progress we are able to see the miracles that are God in a way that people couldn’t do before. If science encourages faith to grow then it is a good thing, whether others believe it or not. I have referred to it before and I am going to do it again quickly here, but I believe that science has given us the opportunity to watch Gods miracles as if Jesus himself were standing here in front of us. Premature babies who would have NO chance at life live because of Gods work in medicine; cancer victims have more time and are often deemed cancer free! Is this because of doctors? No, it is because God gave these mere mortals the ability to cure and to learn. Whether your doctor is a man of God, a man of science, or both he is divinely guided by the healing powers of the Lord –whether he likes it or not!
I think I will just add in here that I should have died many times in my short life and that because of my “inability to die” my doctor now has a faith that he never had before. I lived when other patients wouldn’t have and this altered his way of thinking. He may not be a Christian now, but he has faith and if that seed of faith continues to grow he will one day be saved. The last time I almost died, he said to me “God obviously has a reason for you to be here”. I was very proud of my doctor on that day. He said it without even thinking about it because God is working in him. He has since admitted to me that he finds that patients who have an unwavering faith often survive the un-survivable and that those who have no faith often pass of the most routine things. God created us whole, without illness and that is the Truth that we need to open our eyes to. Illness is a lie.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Let the Light of the Lord Shine Bright!
“If we would open their prison doors for the sick, we must first learn to bind up the broken-hearted. If we would heal by the Spirit, we must not hide the talent of spiritual healing under the napkin of its form…. This is what is meant by seeking Truth, Christ, not “for the loaves and fishes,” nor, like the Pharisee, with the arrogance of rank and display of scholarship, but like Mary Magdalene, from the summit of devout consecration, with the oil of gladness and the perfume of gratitude, with tears of repentance and with those hairs all numbered by the Father.” -Mary Baker Eddy
“Ye are the salt of the earth.” “ Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”
-the Word of the Lord
“Let us watch, work, and pray that this salt lose not its saltness, and that this light be not hid, but radiate and glow into noontide glory” –Mary Baker Eddy
This tells us that we really are all sinners as the Bible depicts Mary of Magdala to be. We must drop to our knees and serve the Lord with gladness, gratitude and repentance, knowing that God is our creator and He knows every cell that creates us, the number of hairs on our heads. We are His children and we should not hide our faith from the world. We must stand proud as a Christ loving being and introduce the world to Jesus Christ, our one and only Saviour!
“Ye are the salt of the earth.” “ Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”
-the Word of the Lord
“Let us watch, work, and pray that this salt lose not its saltness, and that this light be not hid, but radiate and glow into noontide glory” –Mary Baker Eddy
This tells us that we really are all sinners as the Bible depicts Mary of Magdala to be. We must drop to our knees and serve the Lord with gladness, gratitude and repentance, knowing that God is our creator and He knows every cell that creates us, the number of hairs on our heads. We are His children and we should not hide our faith from the world. We must stand proud as a Christ loving being and introduce the world to Jesus Christ, our one and only Saviour!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Matter Vs God
“We must destroy the false belief that life and intelligence are in matter, and plant ourselves upon what is pure and perfect. Paul said, ‘Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.’ Sooner or later we shall learn that the fetters of man’s finite capacity are forged by the illusion that he lives in body instead of in Soul, in matter instead of in Spirit.
Matter does not express Spirit. God is infinite omnipresent Spirit. If Spirit is all and is everywhere, what and where is matter? Remember the truth is greater than error and we cannot put the greater into less. Soul is Spirit, and Spirit is greater than body. If Spirit were once within the body, Spirit would be finite, and therefore could not be Spirit.” –Mary Baker Eddy
Now, I realize that this is one of the more difficult things I have quoted lately as it was originally accepted by congress in 1875. I am not sure of the date in which it was written, but the English is definitely old and I apologize for that.
However, this reading is in my opinion rather important as it adds a different perspective on all things as we have become accustomed to “matter” being a god of sorts in our world today. The quote starts out saying very blatantly that we MUST destroy the FALSE belief that life and intelligence are in matter! Why does it say this? Because we as a being give so much power to that which has no soul, no power, and no spirit. We can even go so far as to allow an inanimate unfeeling object to control our emotions and even ruin our day! What power we give to these things that are really powerless until we allow Satan in and give him a foothold through our objects!! Do you NEED a computer to live? NO! Do you need 4 pots to make dinner for your family? NO! So why is it that when our computer doesn’t work right that we become so easily angered and even agitated by it? Why is it that when the dishes weren’t done that we allow it to cause strife between ourselves and our children and our partner? It is after all just a pot!
Matter does not express Spirit because it can’t! It is not a living being and in Spirit does not even exist. The truth is greater than error, because the Truth is God! God is Love! God is Spirit! Because of this God cannot be in matter as He is above it, He is better than matter. He is GOD!
I pray no one found this small teaching too confusing as I know it is old and a little off the wall. I did what I could to explain it, but for me it is already explained and I think if you are well versed in English it should be a simple reading. Explaining the power that is God is something that most can’t do and I found this reading to explain the difference between God and the physical world. I hope you enjoyed this reading as I may use this author again.
Matter does not express Spirit. God is infinite omnipresent Spirit. If Spirit is all and is everywhere, what and where is matter? Remember the truth is greater than error and we cannot put the greater into less. Soul is Spirit, and Spirit is greater than body. If Spirit were once within the body, Spirit would be finite, and therefore could not be Spirit.” –Mary Baker Eddy
Now, I realize that this is one of the more difficult things I have quoted lately as it was originally accepted by congress in 1875. I am not sure of the date in which it was written, but the English is definitely old and I apologize for that.
However, this reading is in my opinion rather important as it adds a different perspective on all things as we have become accustomed to “matter” being a god of sorts in our world today. The quote starts out saying very blatantly that we MUST destroy the FALSE belief that life and intelligence are in matter! Why does it say this? Because we as a being give so much power to that which has no soul, no power, and no spirit. We can even go so far as to allow an inanimate unfeeling object to control our emotions and even ruin our day! What power we give to these things that are really powerless until we allow Satan in and give him a foothold through our objects!! Do you NEED a computer to live? NO! Do you need 4 pots to make dinner for your family? NO! So why is it that when our computer doesn’t work right that we become so easily angered and even agitated by it? Why is it that when the dishes weren’t done that we allow it to cause strife between ourselves and our children and our partner? It is after all just a pot!
Matter does not express Spirit because it can’t! It is not a living being and in Spirit does not even exist. The truth is greater than error, because the Truth is God! God is Love! God is Spirit! Because of this God cannot be in matter as He is above it, He is better than matter. He is GOD!
I pray no one found this small teaching too confusing as I know it is old and a little off the wall. I did what I could to explain it, but for me it is already explained and I think if you are well versed in English it should be a simple reading. Explaining the power that is God is something that most can’t do and I found this reading to explain the difference between God and the physical world. I hope you enjoyed this reading as I may use this author again.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Accepting Without Fear
“Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.’” Matthew 28:10
“Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord…’” John 20:18
When we read the story of Jesus resurrection we probably wonder “why would they have been afraid?” or “What would they be scared of?” The truth is that this was new and unexpected. No one had ever risen from the dead before! This was completely new and different, even to Jesus’ disciples. This is why when Jesus first saw the disciples he said “do not be afraid”. Sometimes Gods wonderful gifts can come as a big surprise causing us to be fearful to accept them. That said we must remember Gods words and not be afraid.
Mary of Magdala was so excited to tell about Jesus being raised from the dead. Much like you feel about good news, a pregnancy or an engagement or even a miracle you have witnessed. You burst with delight and that is what Mary was doing only a million times bigger. Jesus was fulfilling the prophecies written years and years before and being a Jew everyone knew of these stories. Imagine something you had always expected (like the second coming) and being the FIRST to see it? You probably can’t even fathom what that would feel like yet that is exactly what Mary of Magdala was going through. Fortunately, this isn’t just history! Jesus is STILL alive! He is STILL giving us life and mercy. Are you ready to follow Mary of Magdala and share that good news?
‘May I not be afraid to let you in and change me, Jesus!’
‘Jesus, I’m happy to share the new life you give me.’
“Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord…’” John 20:18
When we read the story of Jesus resurrection we probably wonder “why would they have been afraid?” or “What would they be scared of?” The truth is that this was new and unexpected. No one had ever risen from the dead before! This was completely new and different, even to Jesus’ disciples. This is why when Jesus first saw the disciples he said “do not be afraid”. Sometimes Gods wonderful gifts can come as a big surprise causing us to be fearful to accept them. That said we must remember Gods words and not be afraid.
Mary of Magdala was so excited to tell about Jesus being raised from the dead. Much like you feel about good news, a pregnancy or an engagement or even a miracle you have witnessed. You burst with delight and that is what Mary was doing only a million times bigger. Jesus was fulfilling the prophecies written years and years before and being a Jew everyone knew of these stories. Imagine something you had always expected (like the second coming) and being the FIRST to see it? You probably can’t even fathom what that would feel like yet that is exactly what Mary of Magdala was going through. Fortunately, this isn’t just history! Jesus is STILL alive! He is STILL giving us life and mercy. Are you ready to follow Mary of Magdala and share that good news?
‘May I not be afraid to let you in and change me, Jesus!’
‘Jesus, I’m happy to share the new life you give me.’
Friday, September 23, 2011
Miracles
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put Him” John 20:2
Mary of Magdala and Peter didn’t understand what was going on or where Jesus body had went. They were not prepared to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. It took baby steps, but little by little they began to understand. Most of the time, faith and understanding don’t come at the same time.
Some people say “to see is to believe” and my response to that is if you need to “see” a miracle and you don’t believe you have, you are not looking hard enough. Miracles are everywhere! Childbirth is a miracle, babies being born half way through a pregnancy and growing into adults and parents themselves is a miracle. Someone surviving the un-survivable is a miracle. There is no coincidence. God sets forth riddles that we may not always comprehend but at the end of the day your life is full of miracles- big and small! Now step back and look at the world through the innocence of a child, take inventory and you will see what you didn’t see before. Miracles in everything, everywhere, all the time! Stop doubting the way Thomas did because seeing is everywhere. Praise the Lord!
‘Lord, you are the Saviour of the world. Thank you for all your kindness to us’
Mary of Magdala and Peter didn’t understand what was going on or where Jesus body had went. They were not prepared to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. It took baby steps, but little by little they began to understand. Most of the time, faith and understanding don’t come at the same time.
Some people say “to see is to believe” and my response to that is if you need to “see” a miracle and you don’t believe you have, you are not looking hard enough. Miracles are everywhere! Childbirth is a miracle, babies being born half way through a pregnancy and growing into adults and parents themselves is a miracle. Someone surviving the un-survivable is a miracle. There is no coincidence. God sets forth riddles that we may not always comprehend but at the end of the day your life is full of miracles- big and small! Now step back and look at the world through the innocence of a child, take inventory and you will see what you didn’t see before. Miracles in everything, everywhere, all the time! Stop doubting the way Thomas did because seeing is everywhere. Praise the Lord!
‘Lord, you are the Saviour of the world. Thank you for all your kindness to us’
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Faith
“Thou has also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.” Psalm 18:35
A Poem
Faith July 8th, 2007 by myself, Marisa Slusarcyk
Tingling flows through me
Signs from Heaven or hell?
The swelling subsided
My eyes begin to well
I pray to the Lord up above
For signs of salvation
Like that of the dove
My children are safe
I thank Him for our release
Now I ask that my anguish may cease
The ghosts from my past
Will torture me less
My Lord who saved me
That awful mess
His chains bound me
The devil held the key
I sit now, in this cold cell
Absorbed in faith
That he will no longer dwell
In my heart is the Lord
Please hear our prayers
Allow us to grow
To make friends who truly care
Stop the pain we all feel
Show us the way
That we may enter your kingdom
Our final day
A Poem
Faith July 8th, 2007 by myself, Marisa Slusarcyk
Tingling flows through me
Signs from Heaven or hell?
The swelling subsided
My eyes begin to well
I pray to the Lord up above
For signs of salvation
Like that of the dove
My children are safe
I thank Him for our release
Now I ask that my anguish may cease
The ghosts from my past
Will torture me less
My Lord who saved me
That awful mess
His chains bound me
The devil held the key
I sit now, in this cold cell
Absorbed in faith
That he will no longer dwell
In my heart is the Lord
Please hear our prayers
Allow us to grow
To make friends who truly care
Stop the pain we all feel
Show us the way
That we may enter your kingdom
Our final day
My Strength and Courage is the Lord
“My strength and my courage is the Lord, and He has been my saviour. He is my God, I praise Him.” Exodus 15:2
Biblically speaking, this passage is talking about the Israelites being led out of Egypt and being saved from pharaoh’s army.
However, on a personal level, for me it is about being led out of abuse, anger, hate and nearly being killed. It is a personal deliverance that I was able to achieve because of the Lord and because while I was walking through my own personal dessert not necessarily being strong in the word, I was strong in my faith and God stayed right beside me shepherding me in the right direction towards where I am today. He ushered me away from Satan and his evil ways. When I was down, He covered any foothold Satan could get on me and because of that my journey through the dessert didn’t take the 40 years it took the Israelites. My faith never wavered even when my trust did. Because of that, I am safe, my family is safe and God is the ruler of my life. I look forward to what the future holds and that is something I didn’t always have.
Praise God!!
“Let us savor the sweetness of salvation and the joy of knowing where our strength, courage and happiness come from” –Living Faith Daily Catholic Devotional
Biblically speaking, this passage is talking about the Israelites being led out of Egypt and being saved from pharaoh’s army.
However, on a personal level, for me it is about being led out of abuse, anger, hate and nearly being killed. It is a personal deliverance that I was able to achieve because of the Lord and because while I was walking through my own personal dessert not necessarily being strong in the word, I was strong in my faith and God stayed right beside me shepherding me in the right direction towards where I am today. He ushered me away from Satan and his evil ways. When I was down, He covered any foothold Satan could get on me and because of that my journey through the dessert didn’t take the 40 years it took the Israelites. My faith never wavered even when my trust did. Because of that, I am safe, my family is safe and God is the ruler of my life. I look forward to what the future holds and that is something I didn’t always have.
Praise God!!
“Let us savor the sweetness of salvation and the joy of knowing where our strength, courage and happiness come from” –Living Faith Daily Catholic Devotional
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
His Only Begotten Son
“The Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus. Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?’” John 18:10-11
Jesus could have choose to fight back the way Peter did. Instead He did what the Father wanted Him to do. Many people have asked why the Father would want Jesus to die on the cross and there really is no good answer as to why He had to die in this way. I suppose it could have just been a product of the times. Today He would die by firing squad, electric chair, or lethal injection. Crucifixion was how they followed through with the death sentence in Jesus time and place. That said, the mind of God will always be a mystery to us. We can only thank Him for giving His only son so that we may have eternal life without pain and suffering. We are so blessed because of this sacrifice and instead of questioning it, we need to just say THANK YOU LORD and be happy that we have been given such a wonderful gift. Jesus showed us just how much He loves us by going through the pain and suffering He did so that WE could be saved!
‘Your love O Lord, is a mystery, Thank You!’
Jesus could have choose to fight back the way Peter did. Instead He did what the Father wanted Him to do. Many people have asked why the Father would want Jesus to die on the cross and there really is no good answer as to why He had to die in this way. I suppose it could have just been a product of the times. Today He would die by firing squad, electric chair, or lethal injection. Crucifixion was how they followed through with the death sentence in Jesus time and place. That said, the mind of God will always be a mystery to us. We can only thank Him for giving His only son so that we may have eternal life without pain and suffering. We are so blessed because of this sacrifice and instead of questioning it, we need to just say THANK YOU LORD and be happy that we have been given such a wonderful gift. Jesus showed us just how much He loves us by going through the pain and suffering He did so that WE could be saved!
‘Your love O Lord, is a mystery, Thank You!’
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