LOVE = OBEDIENCE AND SACRIFICE

 Good Afternoon to All!

Have you ever thought about how easy we have it?  I'm talking about being obedient to God.  In the Old Testament, there are many examples, but several really brought how easy we have it home to me.  God has Never asked me to place any of my loved ones on an altar and kill them.  He has Never told me to just up and leave my home country and everything behind.  He definitely has Never made me be in charge of leading millions of people out of bondage.  

In the New Testament, He does give us many commands and expects us to obey them IF WE LOVE HIM.
KEEP His commandments.  This is according to John 14:15.  This does not mean just following the "big" Ten. 

If you will notice, you won't find anywhere in the Bible where He asks us to do anything, or even make a suggestion.  It is always a statement, which in turn is another word for command.  He never says "will you please..., or it would be nice it you would.....  It is always do this or that.  

Again, He tells us "if you love Me, keep my commandments.  He tells us to "enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. (Psalm 100:4)  He told Peter to tell the people to Repent, be baptized everyone of you in the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST for the remission of your sins and you SHALL receive the Holy Ghost.  (Acts 2:38)  

If we love Him, WE need to take the initiative and make the effort to show Him.  As one example, in Exodus 3:1-4, Moses came to the Mountain of Horeb.  He notices the bush is burning, so he looks a little closer only to see that it is not being consumed.  It says that he said I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.  This tells me that he is curious, wants to involve himself more and shows more interest.  God told him to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground, so he did just that showing the willingness to please God.  He wants us to show that extra willingness to please Him.  
 Just as we go out of our way to please our loved ones and spouses, we should do as much or MORE for him.

We are to make that extra effort. God will not force us to do anything.  It has to come from within us.  If we want His help, We have to step up and ask Him.  We also have to show our faith in Him that He will do whatever it is that we need.   Just as in healing.  God is a healer, but WE MUST put up the effort to believe that He will do it.  After all, on the Cross, His last words were "IT IS FINISHED".  Meaning He has done His part. Now it's up to us to believe and have faith in Him.

He doesn't want us to read His Word like it is no different than a newspaper or a magazine.  He wants us to take an interest in it and study it so that we can learn more about Him, and the way He wants us to live. 

A relationship is impossible to have without knowing each other.  He knows us so well that He knows the number of hairs on our head.  His word tells us that He knew us before we were born (hows that for those people that don't think fetus' are babies?) That right there tells me that I need to get to know Him better, which means reading and studying His Word, praying and carrying on conversations with Him.  

We are in the last days.  His time is definitely drawing nigh.  Just listen to the news and study your Bible and you will see how close we truly are.  

God loves sacrifice and He loves obedience.  Therefore, we must give Him both.  Disobedience is a sin and as we all know, sin is not allowed in heaven.  Think about that one. 

I know this post was a bit all over the place, but I had so many thoughts roaming around in my head that I wanted to talk about them all.  LOL!

Have a Wonderful Afternoon and Evening, and May God Bless!

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"OBEDIENCE IS THE KEY"

Good Evening To All!

Obedient lives are not perfect lives. God knows that it is inevitable that humans will sin, after all He knows everything about us. He created us, He saw us fall from grace when Adam and Eve allowed themselves to be beguiled by the devil.

This being said, it does not mean that we can intentionally sin, ask forgiveness and do it again. REPENTANCE is a HUGE word. It means we must CHANGE our ways and not do it again. Yes, we will invariably sin again as we are human, but the important thing here is to quit doing the sin which we confessed to God, and asked forgiveness. This is exactly why Paul said "I die daily". Because being human, he had to continually ask forgiveness for his "human frailties and turn away from the sins which he asked God to forgive him.

Another thing, when we get down on our knees to ask Him for His forgiveness of our sins, we HAVE TO be SINCERE. We must have a godly sorrow. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 states (Paul writing to the Corinthians) (9) Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. for your were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from is in nothing. (10) For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

God leaves no room in His commands for private interpretations or personal opinions about obedience. Our Lord makes it very clear how He feels about the subject. He has stated how much He loves sacrifice, but He made sure we understand that He treasures obedience even more.

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy god, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. Deuteronomy 30:15-16

There are several more verses in Deuteronomy alone about obedience.

In the New Testament, we find "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in Me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Philippians 4:9

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but who soever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:19

If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. Job 36:11

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love. John 15;10

(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.) Romans 2:13

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. 1 John 2:17

Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.
Psalm 106:3

And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him: . . . Hebrews 5:9

Verily, verily I say unto you, If a man keep my says, he shall never see death. John 8:51

This is the ONE VERSE that hits home EVERY time I read it.

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Matthew 7:21

I don't know how the importance of to God could be made any plainer. Yes, God provided us with the "gift" of Salvation, but without an intimate relationship with God, and obedience to Him and His Word, it is as if we walk up to a Complete stranger or even an acquaintance and ask them to buy us a brand new car. "It's not going to happen".

We need to be vigilant and diligent about our love and relationship with God. If we love Him, we need to show it by adhering to His Will and His Word. We need to OBEY Him.

Please take some time to do some soul-searching. Re-evaluate your "relationship with your Heavenly Father and check your spirit. Yes, you love Him, but do you love Him enough to sacrifice Your will for His? Will you obey Him to secure your place in Heaven?

I pray that each and every person that reads this blog knows that I am telling you this with an attitude of Christian love, and I look forward to meeting you up in the clouds with our Lord when that day comes, so I ask you to do that for me.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"LET'S TOPPLE OUR WALLS WITH OBEDIENCE"

Good Evening to All!

(2) And the Lord said to Joshua: "See! I have given Jericho into your hand, it's king and the mighty men of valor. (3) You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. (4) And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark. But the seven day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. (5) It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. and the people shall go up every man straight before him." (6:2-5) (20) So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. and it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. (21) And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword.
Joshua 6:2-5; 20-21

If a feat of this magnitude could be accomplished by simply obeying God's commands, can you imagine what obedience to His Word and commands could do in ours?

The collapse of the wall of Jericho served to remind the Israelites how powerful God truly was (and is), He was and is the most powerful force to be reckoned with by His enemies. He is more powerful than any "man-made structures or armies. He is more powerful and bigger than any problem that can come against us.

He can provide the plans for us to overcome any "seemingly immovable mountain or wall that stands in our way.

I say all of this, but there are TWO THINGS that I can think of that can stand in our way. . . . US. We ourselves. We are our own worst enemies. We are the ones who place limitations on God because of "lack of faith", and the other is disobedience. If we constantly disobey God we will eventually get to where we are unable to hear his still small voice within our spirit. We must also remember that God will not force us to allow Him to help or guide us. It is still ultimately our decision.

I cannot count the times I have heard people who got into trouble or developed major problems say "I had a feeling I should not have done that, or I knew something would go wrong. If they would have listened to that "voice" inside, or gone with that "feeling", they would have been listening to the voice in their spirit guiding them in the right direction.

That is what tells us what we should and should not do. That is what guides us. If we continually ignore it, or hear it but choose to do otherwise, or even hear it and delay in doing it, but eventually accomplish it, that is considered disobedience. I know this because He says if He tells us or prompts us to do something, and we don't do it, He will get someone else to do it. When this happens, we not only miss the blessing that would come with our obedience, but it disappoints God, just like when your children disobey you it disappoints you.

God will not tell us to do anything that He does not equip us for. Not only that, but He will be with us as we do it to guide us. All we have to do is step out in faith, believing in Him and knowing that He knows what He is doing, trust Him, and remember, "If God Be For Us, Who Can Be Against Us? Just remember that obedience is the key. Also, remember that God LOVES sacrifice, but He even places obedience above sacrifice.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"GOD SPEAKS THROUGH PROMPTINGS"

Good Evening to All!

I am speaking the truth in Christ. I am not lying; my conscience [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit bearing witness with me. (Romans 9:1 AMP.)

In tonight's verse, Paul writes about being "prompted" by the Holy Spirit. "Promptings or nudges from the Holy Spirit are one way that God speaks to us. It's like a little voice inside me say do this or don't do that. For example, your spouse upsets you and you want to say something so bad you can "taste it", but something inside says "don't do it, so you keep your cool and everything blows over in a short time. It you had spoken out, your spouse might have left you, or God forbid hit you, or any number of things. The Holy Spirit is within us to guide us and teach us. If we follow His prompting, we can't go wrong. After all, God is omniscient, or all knowing. He is omnipotent, or all powerful, and omnipresent, everywhere. Why should we even entertain the idea that He wouldn't know what is best for us so we don't need to follow His voice or prompting? It is called prompting because as humans we have free will, therefore God, or "the Holy Spirit" with in us will not force us to do anything. it is our choice as to which path we want to follow, although it is much more prudent to follow the righteous path to God by following His nudges.

Don't make the mistake that ALL of the promptings are some big important decisions. He can and does prompt us about little things such as waiting a little later to leave for work for some reason, (then it turns out there is a pile up accident on the street that you normally travel right about the time you would have normally been there. That would be what I call "a God thing". Another is to apply for a certain job even if you don't really think you want it or could get it. If He prompts you to do it, then do it. There is a reason for it, and it bound to be a good one.

The same goes if He prompts you NOT to do something. We need to obey His voice at all times. Not doing so or even delaying to do so is disobedience to God and that is a big NO-NO. I have done that before, and felt guilty for a long time. I remember one time I was driving down the road in a hurry to get to town, (I'm always in a hurry. I'm one of those that doesn't like to take my sweet time getting anywhere). Anyway, there was a car stalled on the side of the road. Just as I passed them, I had the feeling I should stop and see if they needed help. Well, I was in too big a hurry and decided against it.

I have felt bad about that ever since, and often wondered if they got help. You never know on the highway what can happen. What if because I didn't stop, a person with shall we say "no scruples or conscience" stopped and did something to them? It would be my fault for not stopping. Anyway, I still think about that, and it happened many months ago. What if because I didn't pay my tithe the church was short that amount of money paying their bills? My fault again.

All I'm saying is it is better to heed God's Word, and His promptings. It will reassure our trip to heaven, because if we listen to the Holy Spirit, He won't misguide us and we won't get off the path to God. He uses our obedience to teach us more about Him. For example, you've heard "you reap what you sow" . Everything you do will return to you . If you treat people good, they in turn will treat you good in general. If you sow "good seeds" then good will return to you.

Another example of prompting is when the Lord prompted me to go over to one of the Ladies and put my hand on her shoulder and pray. I didn't know why God chose me, because I am not an "elder" in the church, and I still consider myself to be not a baby Christian, but not a "mature Christine either. I have only had a serious relationship with God for 12 years and considering that the lady I was prompted to pray for has been an elder in the church for many, many, many years, I couldn't understand why me. Also, I didn't know what she was needing to be ministered to about, but I trusted God because He knew, and He knew why He chose me. As I said, I hesitated a little bit, but I did it anyway. After church, she came up to me and told me that I has said just what she needed to hear because it hit the nail on the head, Of course, I won't relay it here because it is personal, but lets just say that God definitely ministered to her spirit by my praying for her. He told me in my heart what to say.

It is His prompting you when you get the "urge" that you need to call someone and check on them.

People discount it by using terms such as "a voice inside me", or I don't know why I felt this, but I just got the feeling I needed to let you know this or that. It's the Holy Spirit prompting you to do what's right. Now, this being said, you must realize that other voices can get in your head too. If you are prompted to do something, but it doesn't sound quite right, check your Bibles. If it doesn't line up with the Word of God, it's NOT FROM GOD. I mean let's face it. people can know right from wrong without being a Christian. The thing is, if you are a Christian, and get this "uneasiness" about what this voice is wanting you to do, check you Bible.

LOL! To show how positive I am about this, I started to say "even if you aren't a Christian, check your Bibles. Of course there are lots of people who own Bibles who are not Christians. It may be they've had Bibles handed down to them from family members as keepsakes, or they are "backslidden Christians, (people who used to have a relationship with God, and/or went to church but quit). There are lots of reasons for people to own Bibles. Anyway, if you aren't sure where the thought or nudge is coming from, check your Bible. I can't say that enough because in this day and time people are being deceived right and left. They are being told that certain practices that are an abomination to God in the Bible are now "socially acceptable". NOT SO! God is the same today, yesterday and FOREVER! What was a sin in Biblical times is still a sin today. The only difference is that we have an "advocate with the Father through Jesus Christ" and can be forgiven for them forever if we have repented and turned away from sin.

We must be sensitive to "nudges" from the Holy Spirit, no matter how small they may be, because we ourselves don't know how big of an impact on someone's life our obedience to God is going to be.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

Bible Challenge-OBEDIENCE TO GOD

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Good Evening to All!

Tonight's Bible Challenge is something we all need to be concerned with; obedience to God, so get you Bibles out, and your pens or pencils ready along with a sheet of paper. I am hoping someday I will figure out how to be able make it where you can just check a box and then check your answers at the end, but until then I guess this way will have to do.

1. Counting Noah, how many people obeyed God's commands, boarded the ark, and survived the flood? (Genesis 7:13)

2. The first altar to God recorded in the Bible was built by ___________. (Genesis 8:20)
a) Adam
b) Noah
c) Abraham
d) Jacob

3. Because Lot's wife disobeyed the angel's instructions in fleeing Sodom and looked back, what happened to her? (Genesis 18:1-26)
a) she was killed in the rain of fire and brimstone
b) she was struck dumb
c) she was blinded by the explosions
d) she turned to salt

4. The famous human offering, agonizingly tied to an altar by his obedient father because God commanded it, was __________. (Genesis 22:1-19)
a) Abel
b) Isaac
c) Jacob
d) Samuel

5. By god's instructions, when the Israelites offered sacrifices, they were to: (Leviticus 1:3, 2:1, 3:1 etc)
a) sacrifice defective livestock or grain, trusting God to make it perfect.
b) sacrifice swine as a token of giving up their sinful ways
c) sacrifice their best products, carefully chosen and prepared
d) never defile a sacrifice with olive oil

6. According to Samuel, obedience to the Lord is better than __________. (2 Samuel 15:2)

7. This son diverted the Israelites' obedience from is father. (2 Samuel 15:1-6)
a) Simeon
b) Absalom
c) Zedekiah
d) Jezebel

8. What turned the aging Solomon from the path of obedience to one of idolatry? (1 Kings 11:4)
a) wealth
b) paranoia
c) his wives
d) his children

9. When Daniel as a youth was brought to Nebuchadnezzar's court, he kept himself clean according to Old Testament law by: (Daniel 1:8)
a) singing a psalm of David before every meal
b) refusing to eat unleavened bread
c) refusing to drink water from the Babylonian pool
d) refusing to dine on royal meat and wine

10. The first martyr known to have died for his devotion to Christ was (Acts 7:54-60)
a) Andrew
b) Luke
c) Matthias
d) Stephen

Love Him? Obey Him

Good Afternoon to All!

Answers to the Bible Challenge- Teachings

1. c) godly fear (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7)
2. b) wisdom (Proverbs 4:7)
3. b) speech (Proverbs 15:1)
4. a) the virtuous woman (Proverbs 31)
5. d) all of the above (Job 21:13, Prov. 21:17, Luke 8:14)
6. no prophet is welcome in his hometown (Luke 4:16-30)
7. a sequence of blessings (Matthew 5:3-12)
8. Jesus (Matthew 6:25-27)
9. a judge you (Matthew 7:1-2)
10. b) free (John 8:32)

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Love Him? Obey Him

If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. (John 14:15 Amp. version)

If ye love Me, keep my commandments. (KJV)

Reference Verses: Christ's Words-- Mat. 28:20, John 13:34, 21, 15:10, 14, Acts 10:42, John 3:23.
Obedience--Deut. 26:16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thin heart, and with all thy soul. Next ref. (Deut. 32:46)

Obedience- Better than Sacrifice--1 Sam. 15:22--An Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Next ref. (Jeremiah 7:23)

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In the verse for today, Jesus says we demonstrate our love for Him by obedience to what He says. Whenever I think about hearing from God, I keep coming back to the fact that we won't hear Him clearly if we are not obeying Him in what we already know to do. Without obedience we have a guilty conscience. As long as we have that guilty conscience, we cannot have faith and confidence (see 1 John 3:20-24).

The goals of a Christian should be quite different from the goals of a nonbeliever. Those who are not serving God want money, position, power, and things, but as Christians, our primary goal should be to obey and glorify God. I went to church for many years without giving a great deal of thought to obeying God. I was following a religious formula hoping that would make me acceptable to God, but I had not made a full commitment to be guided daily by His principles. Open your entire life to God and invite the Holy Spirit as Your Teacher in life. Do your best to obey His directions, and when you fail, ask for forgiveness and begin again. Don't waste time and energy feeling guilty, because in Christ we can always have a new beginning. Pray about obedience, study it, and actively pursue it every day. In this way, we demonstrate our love for God.

God's Word for you Today: NO matter how hard we try not to, we all make mistakes, but as long as we refuse to give up we will reach our goals.

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As I have said in times past, Jesus' commands are more than just the Ten written on the tablet. Yes, those are VERY important. After all, I remember Jesus saying that the second commandment embodies them all. To Love One another....

We must contend though, that Jesus NEVER requested ANYTHING. He always told His people what to do. He always stated consequences of what would happen if we didn't do what He said. If we look at it that way, then EVERYTHING He told us to do was a commandment . Of course, I understand that because there are different faiths, people look at the commands in different light, even though the words are the same. For example, take the scripture1 Cor. 11:15 which says that a woman's long hair is her glory and is to be used as a head covering and 1 Peter 3;3 which says:Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting of the hair and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornamented of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. While the Pentecostal faith takes these verses literally, and do not believe the cutting of women's hair, or wearing unnecessary silver or gold jewelry (we do wear wedding rings and watches). Other faiths tend to concentrate on the part of the scripture that says God looks at the hearts of people. While this is true, why then would He make it a point to tell us not to do this if He doesn't care?

The reason I bring this up is not because of this specific scripture, but to show that there are many commands that people tend to think of as "not important" or not as I say "a heaven or hell issue". This being said, while I do believe people will go to heaven even if they cut their hair or wear jewelry, this comes under the heading of "obedience to God". How much is too much disobedience? How much disobedience will God allow us before He says "enough"? I don't know about y'all, but I really don't want to find out. Therefore, if I read something in His Word that He says is an abomination, or that He abhors, or even if He says just don't do it, I plan on doing my best, to abide by His wishes. I am definitely NOT SAYING that I will never disobey, because just as Joyce said earlier, we all make mistakes.

Another thought just came to mind also. One of my favorite contemporary Christian songs is "Do You Still Feel the Nails". It is an older song, but it rings so true. It is talking about the Crucifixion of Christ and His nail-scarred hands. It asks Christ this question. Do you still feeling the nails every time I fail? Do you
hear the crowds cry crucify again? In other words Christ died for our sins, our transgressions and our failures to stay away from sin. Does He still feel the nails in His hands every time we let Him down by disobeying Him or sinning?

Just some Food for Thought. If we cannot obey the small things He asks of us, what are we going to do when the BIG temptations and questions come up?

Good night to all and May God Bless.


Devotional taken from "Joyce Meyer's Hearing from GOD Each Morning"
References from: KJV Holy Bible
Thompson Chain-reference KJV Holy Bible
Amplified Version Holy Bible

A Physical and Spiritual "Workout"

Image by . SantiMB . via Flickr

Image via Flickr

Good Evening to One and All!

I was under the impression that I was starting my day off right by going to Curves and doing my workout. Little did I know that when I got there, my hopes would be dashed by the "dastardly scales". I weighed in 2 weeks ago, and then kept forgot to do it last week. For our "weight loss class we are supposed to weigh in once a week). Anyway, I should have known better because this week, I have been hungrier than usual. So, I go "bust a gut" and work out then I'd go to Sonic and get a breakfast burrito. That's what you call unadulterated will power (Ha!) I had the will power to believe that I would work (them) off. NOT! I've had 2 or 3 this week. Anyway, long story short, I weighed today and I've gained 2.5 pounds. I would like to fast, but I'm not strong enough to cook supper for hubby and then leave it alone. I know, I know, I always say "with God's help....., my problem is God wants to help me, but I won't let Him. I say "I'm gonna fast, then open up the fridge to get a bottle of water and see all kinds of good stuff and here I go. I think the only way I could fast more than one meal is if I chain the fridge shut and through away the key. Giving it to hubby wouldn't work cause I'd just make him miserable til he gave in and opened it. I know cause I did the same with cigarettes, until God decided enough talk and delivered me from them. Four years now. Anyway, I've said all of this so that now that it's out in the open, I will feel accountable and start losing. I am going to make it a point to tell y'all every week whether I gain or lose and how much. I was at 17o, and gained up to 174 and as of today 176.5. My long term goal is 135, but at this point, I would be happy to see 165 again (my low after I started Curves.) Ok, enough about the depressing stuff.

Now for what I love to talk about.

"Daily Inspiration from the NIV"

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for ech one should carry his own load.

Galatians 6:2-5

This passage kind of had me befuzzled for a little bit. I mean I understood the words, but even though I know that God does not contradict Himself, that's what it seemed to be doing at first look. I mean the first sentence says to carry each other's burdens, and the last sentence says to carry his own load. I did some checking and this is what I found. According to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible , (let me start at the beginning so you know I'm not taking it out of context.) Verse 1 says, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, (sin), you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Look to yourself, lest you too be tempted. [Now, vs. 2-5] Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (3) For if any one thinks he is something, when he in nothing, he deceives himself. (4)But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. (5)For each man will have to bear his own load.

I had not thought of it in those terms. I thought of "burdens" as being "natural" troubles, such as finances, or family problems. Spiritual had not entered into my mind. I had always felt bad when I could not help out people in need financially. I would try to give food, clothing, and that sort of thing, but I didn't think about their spiritual needs. I think one reason for that is because I felt inadequate. I never felt like I was educated enough or "Bible savvy", or spiritual enough myself to be talking to anyone about spiritual matters. I have since gained "some" confidence and started to open up to people. I still feel inadequate, although, I have learned that if I pray first and ask God to prepare the hearts of those with whom I come in contact, and ask that He give me the words He wants them to hear, I have no problem. Luckily for me, God always finds a way to interject His Words into the conversation I'm having.

God Is So Good! He has come to my rescue so many times when I have wanted to talk to someone, but didn't know how. I'm glad I finally learned to listen. Yeah, I still argue with Him sometimes saying that I don't know what to say, or "they probably don't want to hear what I have to say, ( first of all, it's not important what I have to say, it's important what He has to say, and I'm just the "mouthpiece".) I sometimes forget that. I have to remember that when I don't do what God is "nudging" me to do, that is the same as disobeying Him. There is a saying which I learned, I just need to put it into practice. To delay is to disobey. When God is nudging us to do something (that still small voice is saying"talk to Him, pray with her) and we tell ourselves they won't want us to, or I'd be embarrassed to go up to that person and ask them if I can pray) then we are delaying and disobeying God's command. (He doesn't request, He commands). Even though I never hear God scream do this or that, nowhere in the Bible have I seen "God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, or asked Moses to deliver His people. He told them to do so .

God gave His (human) life for our salvation, and He expects us to show Him the love, respect and consideration by abiding by His wishes. This is the "least" we can do.

Sometimes I worry that I come across as some zealous fanatic. Well, I don't mean to . I just get so excited when I start talking about Him and how wonderful He is. He has brought me out of some pretty dark places in my life, and I know that I cannot repay Him, so the next best thing is to spread His wonderful news, and how I feel about Him. I also consider the word fanatic somewhat a compliment, because I am definitely a "fan" of God. He is my refuge in time of trouble, and my rock. Best of all, He is my "friend" which sticks closer than a brother, whom I can always depend on and will Never let me down.

I hope that you have a close relationship like that with Him because it feels so wonderful. A lot of times, when I start talking to someone about Him, I get just like a skiddish school girl, goosebumps and all. Of course, I know that the feeling I am having is the Holy Ghost within me guiding me in what to say to the person with whom I'm talking.

Good Night All, and May God Bless!

PJ