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The Adventures of Big Sweety – Chapter 2


Beaver Creek Ranch

Chapter Two

At first, things were a struggle. Not the farm. No, Pop was away enough that everyone else had learned how to do just about everything that needed doing. But for Big Sweety, taking on those unique skills that his Dad brought home with him, became his responsibility. He was glad his Dad had taught him so much about electrical wiring, plumbing, carpentry, painting and all the things that go into turning a house into a home. He had no idea how much work his Dad must have done between adventures in the NAVY. He had lots of opportunity to apply those skills.

Between him and Momma Sweety, the “young ‘uns” had everything they needed to grow up, get an education, and learn to be responsible adults. But Big Sweety had to stay home and help his Momma. Pop’s death was hard on her, and although she always had a song in her heart, and smiled a lot, sometimes, she would get that far away look, and then would go be alone somewhere on the farm. Big Sweety understood. He had to do that, too, sometimes.

Every time Big Sweety and Momma Sweety had a break, though, Big Sweety had to hit the books and do a lot of homework. He thought his Momma was the toughest teacher he ever had. When he took his Senior Year finals, though, he had made the highest scores in the county. Several colleges wrote him saying they would sure love to have him at their school. They offered to pay for everything. He wasn’t sure, yet, that he wanted to go. While he thought about things, he poured himself into the work of the farm. That was two years ago, and he was still thinking.

Momma Sweety knew all along that Dad had been teaching Big Sweety about shooting and survival skills. One day, she came up to him and said, “Sweety, you need to go git yer brothers and teach ‘em how to do all those things your Poppa taught you. They’re old enough, now, and it is time fer ’em to learn.”

Big Sweety looked at his mom as if the poor woman had grown an extra head. “Um…H..how did you know about that?”, stammered Big Sweety.

“Son,” Momma Sweety said, “ a woman grows eyes everywhere when she becomes a Momma. They ain’t no such thing as a secret on my farm. A rooster don’t catch a bug without my knowin’ about it.  Now git. Take your brothers and teach ’em how to grow up’n do the “man things” yer dad taught you…and take Daisy, with you too.”

“DAISY?!?!?”, Big Sweety was exasperated at that. “Momma, Daisy is a girl. What’s she need to learn all that stuff for?”

Momma Sweety looked Big Sweety right in the eye and said, “Lookie here, young ‘un. My girls are gonna grow up and know everything your Daddy taught you. I ain’t gonna have no fainting daffodils on my farm. No sirree. A girl can do just about as many things as a boy can do, and they can do some things boys don’t even know exist. So I ain’t gonna have no arguin’. Go git yer sister and teach her just like your poppa taught you.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Said Big Sweety. He knew better than argue with Momma Sweety when she got that look in her eyes. That stare could put the fear of God in a statue. He might be twice her size, and stronger than anyone around, but he was not about to cross Momma Sweety when she starts glancing at the big wooden spoon. She was always telling him, “You still ain’t too old for me to spank, boy!”. He believed her. Besides, he really loved her a lot. She was strong and soft at the same time. Besides, he needed most of those spankings. He was glad she knew when to hug him, and when to swat him. He figured he has to have the best mom in the world.

He went and got Daisy, Dan and “Hassle”, and taught them what his poppa taught him. He also taught them how to do all the things poppa had done to make a house a home. He knew that men played as important a role as women did when it comes to making a home. It’s just that they see different things as being important.

Funny how life just picks up and keeps moving. That was fine with Big Sweety. He had a naturally sunny disposition, and welcomed each new challenge. Nothing seemed to really get Big Sweety down. He has a kind heart, a generous nature, and his Momma was always sayn’, “That pup ain’t never met a stranger!” Which is true. He wanted everyone around him to feel welcome and part of the experience, what ever the experience at the time was.

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FAITH TO BE RECKLESS


David G. Perkins

“FAITH IS NOT BELIEF WITHOUT PROOF, BUT TRUST WITHOUT RESERVATION.” – Anon

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Heb 11:1 – ESV

FACTOID: “The assurance of things hoped for (elpizomenōn hupostasis). Hupostasis is a very common word from Aristotle on and comes from huphistēmi (hupo, under, histēmi, intransitive), what stands under anything (a building, a contract, a promise). ” From Robertson’s Word Pictures

In this case, it is used as a contract of deed. Faith is the TITLE-DEED of things hoped for. It is the document that states clearly that you can have confidence in God‘s promises.

 FIRST THINGS FIRST

Faith is the Title Deed That says, “Because you have believed in Jesus Christ, you have inherited eternal life.” Almost everyone knows John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave…

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The Ethics of Hell


David G. Perkins

[NOTE: I have kept a copy of this article preserved and encrypted in the event that it is somehow altered by a person or persons other than me.]

“Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. “Ecc 3:16 -17

THE SETTING:

Ray Charles can see that the Government of the United States has abandoned all that is holy, moral, legal and right. Oftentimes, I stand in stupefied wonder that “We the People” have let this happen.

The condition we are in today didn’t happen overnight, either. I remember vividly, in the 1960’s, when God was being kicked out of school. Today, there is a concerted and…

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More on The Ethics of Hell (What Makes Us Unworthy of Christ)


“For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”16:7b NASB

from http://www.blueletterbible.org/

C.S. Lewis is one of my most favorite Authors.  In his great work, “Mere Christianity“, Lewis had this to say about ethics:

All quotes are from “Mere Christianity”:

“One man may be so placed that his anger sheds the blood of thousands and another so placed that however angry he gets he will only be laughed at. But the little mark on the soul may be much the same in both. Each has done something to himself which, until he repents, will make it harder for him to keep out of the rage next time he is tempted, and will make the rage worse when he does fall into it. Each of them, if he seriously turns to God, can have that twist in the central man straightened out again; each is, in the long run, doomed if he will not. The bigness or smallness of the thing, seen from outside, is not what really matters.”

“Good people know about both good and evil. Bad people do not know about either.”

“While the rule of chastity is the same for all Christians at all times, the rule of propriety changes. A girl in the Pacific Islands wearing hardly any clothes and a Victorian lady completely covered in clothes might both be equally ‘modest’; proper or decent, according to the standards of their own societies; and both, for all we could tell by their dress, might be equally chaste (or equally unchaste).

It all boils down to what is in our hearts.

It doesn’t matter what others think about what is in our hearts, although most of us crave the adoration and approval of some one.

In fact, outward appearances can be quite deceiving.  Planned Parenthood is a very good example.  They claim to offer medical services for females, that, without their help, all females would be deprived of.  The intent of the founder of Planned Parenthood was that all “undesirable races and people” be either eliminated or reduced to manageable numbers.  It was the writings of that founder that inspired Hitler.  He wrote about it in his own diseased journals.  Both Planned Parenthood and Hitler have lived up to the intent of their desires.

Now, that may be an extreme case of the ethics of Hell.  But let that serve as a good example.

As Christians, we are to be more like Christ.  As we grow in the knowledge of Jesus, and the Spirit of God works in you, to become more Christ Like, you will find that the decisions you make are more eternal than you think.

I will give you another example.  Say you, as a Christian, run across a person in genuine need.  It doesn’t matter what that need is, you fill in the blanks.  I actually heard a brother in the Lord say, “I would have helped that person, but I don’t know but that God may be putting that person through that thing in order to grow that person up.”

What that brother failed to realize, as he was doing the wrong thing for the right reason, is; Maybe God put that person in YOUR life just to see what YOU would do, and in failing to do that, whatever act of Grace, or Mercy you should have done, you yourself missed out on the growth, the blessing, the grace and the mercy for yourself.   None of us, unless God has spoken directly to you about a person, knows what is really going on with someone.   But when God places them in our path, we are to act toward them just as we would want God to act toward us.  Let us stop making excuses for our unfaithfulness.

So you will know, and we will all be accountable for our gifts of knowledge, I am going to spell out some of the “Ethics of Hell”.

1. Doing the wrong thing.   example: Orphaned children in Puerto Rico are being rounded up daily, and used as sex slaves.  After they are used up in that trade, they are taken out to the edges of town and used as target practice for criminals, gangs, and some police officers, and their police dogs.   God forgive me and all the rest of us who know this and do nothing about it.  God make us able to do something about it.

2. Doing the wrong thing for the right reason.  example:  I see someone in need, but I do not have the resources to meet that need.  Instead of asking for God’s provision for that person, or consulting someone who is in a better position to help, you steal something and give it to them, believing God will look the other way.  That is the Robin Hood stuff that our current Government is made of.   If you do harm to one person in order to do good for another, you have still been part of the harm.  

3. Doing the right thing for the wrong reason. example: You know of a family in need. You meet that need, but not in the way that your right hand does not know what your left hand is doing.  You meet that need simply so others will recognize how “spiritual and Christian” you are.  Publicity is probably not your only motive, either.  You probably are slowly positioning yourself so that enough people will think highly enough of you so you can impose your personal agenda on others.  God has His own agenda, and doesn’t need yours.  

4. Doing Nothing at all.  example – Take any of the examples above, and do nothing at all about it.  Don’t pray about it, don’t help, don’t get involved.  don’t feel compassion for others.  Don’t feel mercy or grace.  I guarantee, if you do this, you will get from God exactly what you have put into it.

You don’t need anyone’s permission to obey God, and do the right thing.  You WILL be laughed at, despised, called names, and people will actually try to stop you, some will even be “Christians” and other well-intentioned dragons.

Do it any way.  Cross that street.  Give to that person in need.  Stand between evil and the ones who will commit that evil.  The reason you weren’t raptured the day you got saved is that God is not done with your NEW LIFE.  It will be better for you to do this and lose everything than to commit the ethics of hell and save your own skin.

The simple fact of my writing this means I will be put to the test.  If you have actually read this far, then you are also accountable.  Just be careful of your intentions.  Whatever you do, what ever you don’t do, say, or think (As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he) know that God is seeing your INTENTION.  Whatever it is you intend, it will also be done to you, in the same measure.  This is why we are not to worry about what others will think of us.

We are free, by the Blood of Jesus Christ to be called the sons and daughters of God.  We have been given the authority of Jesus to do what Jesus has commanded all of us to do.

Let’s be about it.

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Do You Love Me? (The Concentric Circles of Love)


So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.” John 21:15

This is for all of us who are looking for home.  This is for all of us who have been rejected and condemned by the church.  This is for you who, in one form or another, walked in service to Christ, but did something stupid, and have fallen out of relationship to Him.  This is for those of us who have, for a season, felt the loss when God let you have your way, cut the moorings from his shore, and your ship drifted, alone, lost at sea.

You miss the joy of your salvation.  You miss the sweet fellowship you had in your Bible studies, worship, and prayers.  You miss the embrace and fellowship of other, like-minded, servants of Christ.

You have been shunned by friends, family, and strangers. You think, “But they don’t know what is in my heart!”  No, they don’t, and chances are, they never will.  You have to accept some realities, and it is not easy.

Is the joy of your salvation an echo of things past?  Is the sweet embrace of the Holy Spirit now just an ache of longing?

Is the weight of your sin so unbearable that sometimes, you wonder if people are right about you, that you cannot be redeemed, that you are better off dead, that you would do more people a favor if you just went away?

I have good news for you. You are wrong.  People are wrong.  And God is waiting with His arms outstretched, waiting with all his heart for you to come home.

I can tell you this because I have just gone through this.

There was a time in Peter’s life that he swore to Jesus “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” (Mat 26:33) Jesus told Peter,  “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” (Matt 26:34)

Peter was a strong and courageous, if not a bit hot headed, man.  The thought of denying Jesus never occurred to him. He rested in his own strength to stand with Christ when things really hit the fan.

But when they did, Peter denied Christ three times before the rooster crowed.

“And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”  And he went out and wept bitterly.” Matt 26:75

Now, you weren’t at the arrest and trial of Christ, AND you are not Peter.  But, you were saved, and you were serving.  And you did something that separated you from God’s loving fellowship.  You suddenly understood what the first part of the verse in Isa 54:7 meant:  “For a small moment have I forsaken thee;”  and now you want to have the rest of that verse apply to you as well: “but with great mercies will I gather thee.”

After my fall from God, I went out and wept bitterly.  I could feel His absence as loudly as a clap of thunder.  I know it is not conventional theology to say that for a season God will separate Himself from you, but He will, and does as He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

I used to tell my wife that I want to return to His fellowship,  but I have no way of knowing how to get back to Him.  The good news, as you will eventually discover, is that you have not even left the palm of His hand.  He has simply left you to your own devices for a season.

Eventually, and my wife will attest to this, eventually, if returning is your hearts true yearning and intent, then you will have the support of the entire Kingdom of Heaven.

CIRCLE 1:  Draw a circle around yourself (Not really, but in your mind).  Include in that circle everything that is currently you.  You have to be totally honest, here.  Include all that you perceive is good and from God, and in a separate pile, include all you have said, or done, that is not of God.  You will know what those things are by the way they reveal your relationship to God.  Everything you do either accepts Christ as your Lord, or it rejects Christ as Lord.  Even though the hurt you have caused was to others, as well, in the end, it is a behavior that ultimately denies Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

God may do you like He did me, and have me pick up every little behavior that denied Him, and address each one on an individual basis.  But I am, and you can ask my wife, a Jack Ass.  It takes me longer to do things because I am stubborn.

Eventually, God will show you that, because you have confessed your sin, He has dealt with them.  He promises us all that He has thrown them as far away as the East is from the West.  That he has trampled them underfoot, and remembers them no more.  That He has cast them into the sea of forgetfulness.  Jesus died for ALL of our sin, past, present and future.  That is not a license to sin, it is the permission to forgive yourself if you have repented.

Accept this forgiveness, and forgive yourself.  Your judgment is not greater than God’s.  If He has forgiven you, then you are forgiven, PERIOD.  This may take time, or it might be instant.  In the end, you will know the joy of your salvation.  There is no sin you can commit that is so bad that God will not forgive you, if it is in your heart to repent.  All sin is a denial of Christs work on the cross.  Be forgiven.  You will be free.

CIRCLE 2:  Now, draw a larger circle around that first circle.  The first circle represents God dealing with you, and you doing business with God.

Circle 2 contains all the people your sin has directly affected.

You are forgiven, but not forgotten.  You have hurt people you love.  You must lay your offering at the alter and seek forgiveness for all the hurt you have done.  This is an ongoing process, and may not be able to be accomplished overnight.  But it is necessary.  And it is good, albeit a hard thing to do.  You have to overcome your fear of rejection, your fear of not being taken seriously, and possible the reality that you may not be forgiven.  There really is nothing you can do about that, but you must, with all Godly intention, seek forgiveness for the harm you have done.  Whatever happens from your effort, God will show you how it is a blessing.  Some loss happens, but if you stand in your faith, God will see it through.  Many times, healing happens.  And it will be good, and fruitful for both of you.

CIRCLE 3: These are the people that you did not sin against, but are really angry because you have hurt someone thy love when you sinned.  Listen closely.  You still have to do business with them.  You have to obey God in this.  Forgive their hatred and the terrible, and hurtful things they have said to you and about you.  And seek their forgiveness.  It would help a lot if the person or persons in the second circle would go with you, and help smooth things over, so that they can see that a genuine change has happened in your heart.

They will either accept that you are redeemed, or not.  They will either forgive you or not.  You do not know the hearts of men (or women), but God does.  He knows where they are in their walk, you don’t.  He knows where they need work, you don’t, and unless God uses you to affect their changes, you have no business interfering with the work God is doing in their lives.  BUT, you do get to love them. You do get to pray with them and for them.

Take care of this business.  Don’t worry about the outcomes.  Your walk doesn’t depend on how people in the second and third circle treat you, what they say about you, or if they believe you.  Your walk depends ONLY on your obedience to God.  He has called you to return to His embrace.  He has cleansed you of your sin.  He has demonstrated His overwhelming love for you.

Peter denied Christ three times.  In order to restore Peter, Jesus asked Peter, three times, if Peter loved him.  This sealed Peter in his love for Christ.  Peter eventually did die for the sake of the Gospel.

This leads to

CIRCLE 4:  Now you have done all you can to be redeemed to God, your beloved friends and loved ones, and the people who were affected by your behavior.

YOU ARE  FREE!

Be free to serve.  Be recklessly abandoned to Christ and His service for you.  This is the 4th circle.  Jesus said:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matt 28:20

Now you feel his call.  You do not need anyone’s permission to obey.  Lay your hindrances at God’s feet, and He will clear the way for you to serve Christ.  It IS your call, and God’s gift is without repentance.

Go, be about it.


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Faith, Uncategorized

The Jewels in Your Crown: Forgiveness, Part 2


“and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matt 6:12 – Part of “The Lord’s Prayer” given by Jesus Christ

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  Matt 6:15-16 – Spoken by Jesus Christ

I apologize for the inevitable length of this installment.  I am doing my best to condense this without leaving out the important stuff.  There will be other parts following this one, but this part will help complete the groundwork of the battlefield of life where Forgiveness is our greatest weapon.

A great deal of this depends on you.  It depends on the state of your heart, and your willingness to genuinely forgive.  I will be covering this in this installment.  I appreciate your patience and indulgence with the length of this article.

In part one I covered a few of the stumbling blocks in our daily walk in Christ, where it comes to forgiveness.

1. Being willing and desiring to forgive.  It is MY WILL that is forgiving or unforgiving.

2. Rehearsing over and over again the litany of wrongs done to you.

3. Pride – the belief that the person who offended you ought to know you are offended and ought to come to you to ask for forgiveness, that YOU shouldn’t have to go to them.  (This one is a whopper, as Jesus himself went to the people who needed forgiveness instead of the other way around.)

4. Fear – Fear of being taken advantage of, Fear of rejection, fear of being misunderstood.

Most of our unforgiveness toward others can be boiled down to these 4 things.  I have no doubt you can come up with more than this list, but I think these are the roots of unforgiveness.

Sometimes these stumbling blocks hang around, impeding your walk for various reasons.  Perhaps you have to continue to forgive someone who insists on hurting you.  Perhaps you are angry at them, or angry for some other reason.  Perhaps you harbor anger and don’t even know it.

Before anyone decides I should walk in their shoes, let me tell you.  I have been hurt deeply by people I love completely.   The details are none of your business, but I genuinely do understand the intense pain of betrayal, of intentional deception, of abandonment by brothers in the Lord.  I have been disowned, cursed, gossiped about, lied to, and some have done far worse things than this to me.  So believe me when I tell you, I understand the pain of the deep hurt by loved ones.

When this type of hurt happens, you feel as if you are in an explosion.  Nothing is the same again, ever.  It takes time even to realize how real this situation is.  It takes time to regain your bearings from the intensity of this sudden hurt.  Your friends may abandon or betray you, your loved ones will offer you anything but hope and mercy and grace.  Those closest to you will judge you.

These are hurts that take time to get over.  The hard part about this hurt is, if you are not careful, you will let anger and bitterness grow roots and take over your heart and mind.  When this happens, your ability to love and trust and commune with the Living God is impeded by the bitterness that flows in your veins.

I am begging you today, if this is you, find a way to stop yourself from getting deeper involved in the anger and bitterness.  The last 20 years of my life are the result of me losing my bearings, and taking matters in my own hands.

When Jesus was instructing the disciples on how to pray, He included this phrase, “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matt 6:12.  After that, He continued to instruct his disciples saying, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  Matt 6:15-16

You will know when you have unforgiveness because your joy in the lord is diminished, your communion with Him feels incomplete.  You have a stumbling block keeping your walk from being joyous,, fulfilling and growing.  You are at a standstill with God.

Listen to these hints from the Spirit of God.  If there is unforgiveness between you and God, it is likely because you have unforgiveness between you and someone else.  Or unconfessed sin. God will wait right there with you, as long as it takes until you take care of your business.  The good news is that God will be with you because He always empowers obedience to Him.

If God acted in any other way toward you, while you hold bitterness and unforgiveness and anger in your heart, then He would be contradicting His own nature.  He would be condoning sin.

Jesus taught that we reap what we sow.  An unforgiving spirit affects every aspect of your life.  It will come back to you with interest.  When it does, this is when anger and bitterness can set root.

An unforgiving spirit will generate in you a critical spirit.  Unforgiveness is detrimental and destructive, and will influence everything else you try to do.  If you find yourself being overly critical or overly cynical, there is a chance you are harboring unforgiveness, that has given root to bitterness.

When Jesus was teaching the disciples about forgiveness, Peter (A man I can clearly identify with), asked Jesus:  “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?”

“Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matt 18:21-22

Was Jesus telling Peter you have to forgive someone 490 times, then all bets are off?  No.  Forgiveness takes practice, and Jesus was telling Peter you must forgive repeatedly.  The good news is that, the more you do it, the better you get at doing it.

In other words, Jesus was telling Peter, and the others, that there is no measuring rod.  I can tell you that, by the time you get in to the habit of forgiving, you actually lose count.  We do not return insult for insult, but we bless those who curse us, and pray for those who despitefully use us.  When you get in this habit of this kind of Grace and Mercy, forgiveness will grow in your heart until you have a joy about forgiving.  In other words, When you can learn to forgive, you will find there is NO LIMIT on forgiveness.

Forgiveness comes from your heart, not your lips.  How many times has someone said or done something to offend you, and immediately they said “I’m Sorry”, and you said “I forgive you”.  Then after they left, you couldn’t wait to tell everyone you know how you were wronged?

So the burning question here is, since Jesus has forgiven you ALL you have done against God, how many times and things will you forgive others?

Unless forgiveness comes from the heart, it is not forgiveness. You don’t really have to forget, either.  If it is genuine forgiveness, when it comes to your mind later on, it will be in the form of lessons learned.

To not forgive means you would rather wear the chains of slavery to anger and bitterness.  Some people actually fall in love with their anger and bitterness.  It gives them something to wallow in as an excuse to not do business with God.  It feeds our vanity to be this way.  We get to present ourselves as the wronged ones, and try to illicit sympathy form others, so you can look like you are really suffering for your faith.

THIS is really a faithless act, and is sin, too.  It is pride and fear that keeps you in chains.

Who are you angry with?  What did they say or do that means they can never be forgiven?  What have you said or done that means God can never forgive you?  Do you want differential treatment over this issue?  In order to be forgiven, you have to forgive.  You cannot get rid of this anger or hurt by running away from it.  You have to put your offering down and go deal with it.  You have to let the Holy Spirit deal through you for healing to really happen.

Hurt is hard, Especially when it is repeated hurt, willful hurt, intentional hurt.  No person who deeply loves can just switch off the hurt. It is a process.  It may not come instantly.

Here is the process that leads to forgiveness.  You may have to do this every 5 minutes, or every day, or as often as it takes until the Spirit of God has worked in you to forgive.

STEP 1:  ANGER  You have to acknowledge your anger.  Confess it before the Lord.  Lay it at His feet.  He loves you and cares for you.

Make this confession after you have asked forgiveness for sin and anger: “Because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I have experienced God’s total forgiveness in my life”.  “I have been saved by his grace, His love, and His mercy.”  “All of my forgiveness has come from God.”

FORGIVENESS is one of the very first gifts God gives you.  Forgiveness is ongoing in your life, because you are human, and make mistakes.  But God is HAPPY and DESIRING to forgive.  It is His joy to do this in your heart.  He will show you, that the forgiveness that began at the Cross, is still going on today, in you, in your life.  He will give you the gift of forgiveness.  Do business with God first.  Forgiveness is a gift that will grow in your heart the more of it you give away.  God has been doing this for you every day of your whole life.

Make this confession:  “I AM FORGIVEN!”  Keep doing this until it becomes real to you.  It is oftentimes a process.  But the anger has to go away.

STEP 2:  BE WILLING. Be willing to confess your anger, hostility, rage, resentment, and whatever feelings you have toward that person.  Ask God to forgive your anger and hurt for that person.  BE SPECIFIC.  When you are specific, it breaks the bondage.  You must be willing to deal with it specifically and personally.  If you are genuinely confessing something, you have to deal with it.  God will wait for you to do this, and He will empower your obedience.

STEP 3:   THE WORD.  Learn that your unforgiveness is a violation of the word of God.  If I have an unforgiving spirit, I have sinned against God and others.  Know what the Bible has to say about forgiveness and unforgiveness.  Look it up in your Bible index.  You have to know the word, confess the word, and recognize this in your heart.  Out of the overflow of your heart, comes the issue of your lips.

STEP 4:  ASK GOD to forgive you.  Be specific about what you have said, or done, or felt in your heart against the person who hurt you.  God will take that and relieve you of it.   Confess all of it.  You may have to do this a few times as things float to the surface.

There is nothing in the scriptures about CONDITIONAL forgiveness.  The Bible doesn’t say, “Ask your brother to forgive you UNLESS…he rejects you, misunderstands you, or it is just too painful for you.”  You will not find that in the Bible.

We are to forgive no matter what.  No matter the outcome.  No matter the consequences.  Even if that person doubles up on your pain, forgive anyway.

So, here we are dealing with the root of the problem.  It is an act of will that you forgive.  It was an act of will that Jesus died for you.  Jesus prayed at the garden, “Not MY will, father, but thine.”  God helped Jesus align Jesus will with the father’s will.  In the same manner, God will empower you to align your will with His if you ask from deep in your heart.  You have to be willing.

You may have to go to that brother and ask him or her to forgive you for your unforgiveness toward him or her.  You have an attitude in your heart. You have judged him unworthy of forgiveness.  Even IF he has wronged you, you still need to go to that person and ask him to forgive you of your attitude for him.

Pray this:  “By an act of MY will, Father, and by the power of the Holy spirit that lives within me, Father, I lay down my anger, my bitterness, my ‘right’ to be offended, my hurt.  I lay them all down at your feet,.”

This stops being about your feelings when you do this.  It becomes an act of your will.  Say, “I choose to lay it down”.  You will that God takes it from you.  If you leave this at the Father’s feet, God will remove the hurt from your life.  Acknowledge His forgiveness as you lay down your anger.  There may be MANY people you are angry with. Be willing to do this for each and every one of them.

It is a process.

God will let you know if you need to go to that person or not.  God will strengthen you to admit and gracefully confess to that person the conflict, as you seek forgiveness from that person about your attitude toward him.

If God sends you to that person, and you talk to him, DON’T ENUMERATE THE LIST OF THINGS DONE WRONG AGAINST YOU.  Remember what it says in II Corinthians that Love does not keep an accounting of the wrongs done against it.  God is Love, and His Spirit abides in you.  You don’t need to rehearse all the wrongs done against you to that person.  It will only make things worse.   Confess the attitude you have had toward that person, ask his forgiveness for your attitude, and leave it at that.  God will do the rest.

Genuine forgiveness does not build up a legal case, or a defense for your hurt, and say, “I will forgive you BUT.”  There are no buts to forgiveness.  You either forgive or you don’t.  Forgiveness is an act of grace, mercy, and unconditional love.  Forgiveness is given with no limitations or demands.

Don’t front-load your imagination about forgiveness.  In other words, don’t try to predict what his reaction will be.  You may be surprised at his reaction.

When you genuinely forgive others, not only do you set yourself free of the chains that bind your walk with God, but in the act of forgiving, you also set that person free of those same chains.

There is a true and genuine feeling of freedom when you allow God to work in you to remove the stumbling blocks of unforgiveness and anger.  I know this because I have been doing this.  The more I do this, the more free I feel in my heart and soul.  Anger becomes a last resort for me, instead of a first reaction.

BUT SUPPOSE THEY LIVE 1000 MILES AWAY, OR ARE ALREADY DEAD?

Ask yourself, “Is the unforgiveness still in my heart?”  If the answer is “yes” then you have a stumbling block.  Forgive them anyway.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION:  Get two chairs.  Set them 2 feet apart facing each other.  You sit in one, and and you imagine that that person is sitting in the other one.  Tell that person exactly what you would say if they were really sitting in that chair.  Confess your attitude.  Ask forgiveness.  Chances are, if that person were a real difficulty in your life, you will have to do this several times before it gets real, and you forgive.  Just do it.  Ask their forgiveness for your attitude.   (I got this exercise from Charles Stanley).

Once you deal with that issue, claim the forgiveness by faith.  then tell yourself, “That is the end of THAT!”  If it turns out that it is not the end of that, do it again until it is.  I promise you, one day, you will get up from that chair, and you will be genuinely free of unforgiveness.

HOW Will I KNOW WHEN I HAVE REALLY FORGIVEN THEM?

I’ll tell you how you will know.  And I have experienced this repeatedly, so I know this is a fact.

The next time you think about them, there will not be any “static” in your heart toward them.  You will have a sense of freedom from that burden.  The harsh feelings are gone.  You will feel compassion for them and hope the best for them.  Somehow, you will be able to accept them as they are.  If the grievance is over a terrible wrong this person has done, let God have His way with that person.  It is not your place to hold unforgiveness.

When you are really and truly set free, you will be able to say in your heart, “Thank you God for teaching me about your grace.  Thank you for this lesson I would have not have learned if you had not brought me through this.  You have genuinely turned my curse into a blessing.”

This is not a one time thing.  You will have to forgive over and over in your walk.  How many times?  70 X 7.

I love you in the Lord.

Let me know if you need prayer for anything.

I am your little brother in Christ Jesus.

David G. Perkins

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The Jewels in Your Crown: Forgiveness Part 1


David G. Perkins

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. EPH 4:32 KJV

Definitions: 
kind – χρηστός – chrestos – good, be ye good…., gracious, be ye gracious…., easy, take it easy on each other.
tenderhearted – εὔσπλαγχνος – eusplagchnos, – pitiful, tender-hearted.  Have pity. The Greek workd picture here is a picture of it coming from your guts.  The Greeks felt that strong emotion, passion and genuine emotion came from your guts.  Have pity flowing out of you.  Have tenderheartedness flow from you. 
forgiving – χαρίζομαι – charizomai – to grant as a favor, that is, gratuitously (freely, undeservedly), in kindness (see def above), pardon or rescue: – deliver, (frankly) forgive, (freely) give, grant.
Keep on becoming kind to each other. Have pity, and favor, and grace, however undeservedly, forgive even as God forgave you for the sake of Christ.
A few years ago…

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My Daughter The Author


My Daughter, Hannah, just turned 15.  Last year, she completed the first draft of her first book.  She allowed me to work as her draft editor.  Below is the introduction to her book.  The working title is “INDIGO CHILD“.

This is her work, and it is copyrighted.  I thought that, tonight, instead of posting more of my stuff, I would post hers.  Her goal is to get this first book published before she is 16.
The only contribution I have made to it is strictly technical.  The story and words are entirely her own work.  While I complete the first draft edit, she is working on Book Two of this series.
Let me know what you think.
INDIGO CHILD

Introduction

”I’m not quite sure if I want to believe your story.” the Judge said to the man sitting next to me, then looked directly at me. “But I may believe the child, he looks innocent enough.” “Tell me how this all got started, boy. How did you end up here exactly?”

I wasn’t ready for that. I had been lost in this man’s office. For a brief moment I had forgotten my pain, the stitches, the healing bones. The last time I saw an office this elaborate was in that other place…that other time, not very long ago, but it already seemed like another world.

Rich dark wood and leather furniture. Bookshelves as tall as three men. Secretarial stations here and there. The sun penetrated stained glass windows, revealing the dust motes floating in all the colors of the rainbow. This place spoke of power, but not of evil. I felt a sense of weight, that whatever I did, whatever I said, it had better be the truth.

“Young man, ” the baritone voice broke through my reverie, “You are trying my patience. Speak up!”

I looked directly at him. He was old, with graying hair that surrounded his otherwise bald head. His deep brown eyes, with the circles of fatigue penetrated my soul. It was as if he were a living lie detector.

When he told me to “Speak up!”, it wasn’t loud, but carried the authority of a cracking whip.

I choked on my words, trying to put them into place so that I didn’t sound like an idiot. How could I sum up my life in one simple paragraph? I knew I couldn’t. It was just one of those stories that had to be told, detail by detail, from the very beginning.

The entire office had fallen silent. The court reporter was the only quiet movement in the room, silently and diligently recording every sound and gesture. It was as if I were suddenly the most interesting thing in the room. All eyes were on me.

It was so hard to stay brave now when I knew that if I put one word out of place, it could cost me my life.

I glanced around as I rose to my feet. I felt a warm, strong hand on my back and knew it was the man sitting next to me, steadying my broken body. Our lives depended on each other’s. I felt instant relief by his touch, knowing that no matter what, we would make it through. Like a family. Of course.

“From the very beginning?”, I asked him, making sure.

“Yes. From the very beginning, when you think this first started.”

I let out a deep breath, knowing this would be a long story. A story that would be hard to tell, one that I was almost afraid to speak of. But I had to do it. I met the man’s penetrating eyes, looking as serious as I could.

I told him exactly what had happened…from day one.

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Sometimes The Blank Page Wins


writers_blockThis time for sure.

I came in like a lion and placed my hands on the keyboard, ready to write words in such a way that readers would be captivated, and fellow word-smiths would stand and applaud.

The blank page looked looked scintillating; inviting, daring me to paint her canvas with a journey of delight and adventure.

My hands were poised.

My thesaurus like mind was generating explosive and compelling prose.

I embraced the blank page in a fevered grasp and started typing.

But the page was only playing with me.  She let me believe I had the upper hand, that she was unable to resist the blazing presence of my fiery mind.

She stopped me dead in my tracks and asked, “Have you started yet?” 

I was undone.

Instead of being steely strong, issuing wells of prose, my words lay there, shriveled up and pathetic.

I choked, I lost my momentum, the rhythm of my words were not right.  I fumbled and lowered my hands.

In that single phrase,  I knew there was no way I was going to have my way with this page.

The blank page won.  And this is all I have to show for it.

As I left the room, I heard her say, “It’s OK, it happens to every word-smith now and then.”

 

 

 

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WATCH YOUR ASS!


I had a friend who I consider to be a brother. If he ever called me for help, I would be there. This friend once shared the following story with me. It helped me prioritize a few things.

A long time ago, in ancient Israel, an old man took his grandson to market with him. He loaded up his ass (That is what they called donkeys in the ancient languages) with his goods for sale, and sat his grandson on top.

In order to get into Jerusalem, he had to cross a bridge that connected his village to a neighboring Palestinian territory. As he was walking the ass, with his grandson on top, he heard two of the Palestine locals shouting to each other:

“Hey, Abdul, do you see how selfish that boy is, making his elder walk while he rides?”, shouted Ahmed.

ABDUL: “I see that, some children have no manners!”

So, the old man took his grandson off the ass and put himself on it and tried crossing the bridge again.

“Hey, Ahmed, do you see how cruel that old man is being, making that boy walk while he rides in comfort on the ass?’, shouted Abdul

AHMED: “I see that, some old men have no manners!”

So, the old man stopped, placed his grandson on top of the ass with himself, so they both can ride together, and not walk, then they started across the bridge, yet again.

“Hey, Abdul, do you see how cruel that old man and the boy are being to the ass, making the poor beast carry all that load?”, shouted Ahmed

ABDUL: “Some people don’t even care about their own livestock!”

SO, the old man placed his grandson on top of the ass, made sure his goods for sale were securely secured on the ass, and then picked up the ass and carried it.

Half way across the bridge, the old man tripped on a loose board, sending the ass, his grandson and himself in to the river below.

The old man could hear Abdul and Ahmed laughing as he plunged in to the water.

The Moral of the story:  If you try to please everybody, you can loose your ass.

“When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Pro 16:7 – ESV

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HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?


Walk as Children of LightA long time ago, while I was trying to be a student at Seminary, I attended a small church in Fort Worth, TX.  This particular church had more Seminary professors per square foot than almost any other church in Fort Worth.   I always wondered why this church was as small as it was.  The Pastor, another Phd. grad from Seminary, was trying with all his might to get this church to wake up and get about the task of evangelizing.

The Pastor was really working on this, one Sunday morning.  His sermon was full of urgency for the call of Christians to obey the will of God.  While he was preaching, the free verse narrative came to my mind.  When I originally posted this on my old web site, I thought I was giving a clarion call to the church.  What I only recently came to understand is…

…God was talking to ME.

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

     I was lying there in the garden, almost asleep.  A man came up the pathway, stopped and leaned his hands on the gate.  He looked around and asked if the garden was mine.  I told him it was not mine, butI was keeping it for my Master.  He asked if I knew much about gardening.

“Well, of course I do!”, I replied.

I told him that I had been to the best schools of gardening, and would probably forget  more about gardening in one day, than he would learn in a year.  Inundated him with a deluge of information from my knowledge of gardening.  I felt that would surely quiet my unwelcome guest.

There was a moment of silence.  Perhaps I had been too hard on him.  I felt justified, though, he did disturb my rest.

He looked at me and said:

Have you been a gardener so long, yet without fruit?

Do you know all about the soils, yet have not tilled one foot of furrow?

Are all the seeds familiar with you, but you have not put one in to the ground?

See, the weeds outnumber the leaves on the trees, the thistles are more abundant than the flowers.

What kind of Husbandman would let his masters’ garden fall to such disarray?

You boast of being a gardener but have no fruit for all your knowledge.

How sad for you when the Master comes to judge the fruit of your labor.

I sat there in stunned silence, at a complete loss for words.  I noticed, as he vanished before my very eyes, that the gate on which he had been resting was bloody from wounds that had pierced his hands.

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The Return To God: Part IV – God Will Send You …


I recently re-read the book of Exodus. Imagine how mind blowing it was to be Moses and go through all that. I got the following things out of that story of Moses on the Mountain with God (Exodus Chapter 3).

God will send you to do a task.

The craggy earth gave way to what appeared to be good grazing ground, and a pool of water. Mount Horeb was considered a holy mountain, but Jethro, his father in law, happened to have exclusive rights to that stretch of real estate. One minute, you are a prince of Egypt, and here you are, 40 years later, herding sheep that don’t even belong to you. But, since you married the bosses daughter, you need to do your share.  Ahh  Zipporah, what a babe. Moses knew he had really lucked out when he married her. In their more frisky moments, he called her “Zippo“, because she was such a fiery wench. Little did Moses know that Bikers all around the world would be lighting their cigarettes with a lighter named after her. Her fiery disposition could, however, be a bit difficult to deal with. She was a hometown girl, and had a good gig what with her dad being the High Priest of Midian, AND a wealthy land owner. She wasn’t all that impressed with that whole, “I USED to be a Prince in Egypt.”, thing. Oh well, the land of the Midianites wasn’t so bad, and life was sure simpler out here than it was in Egypt. OK, maybe people didn’t blow trumpets and bow every time you entered a room, but still, being the son-in-law of the boss had its’ advantages.

The sheep were irritable and wanted to stop, and were giving him little irritated glances that told him “A Shepherd SHEPS, so step on it!!” He let them find the grass, and decided he’d grab some water, eat a snack, and maybe relax a bit. But as he was walking to the pond, he saw a thing he never had seen before. A bright light, looking like fire, inside a bush, and the bush was not being burned.  He definitely wanted to check that out, as all he had been seeing for days was the rear ends of sheep. The change of scenery was inviting.

He approached the burning bush with some sense of amazement. The closer he got, the faster he wanted to go. This is where he later wondered if he’s been better off taking that left turn at the base of Horeb. He heard a voice call to him, “Moses, MOSESSSSS!” (Well that’s how it sounded when Charles Heston was Moses, OK!) His left brain, the logical side, said in way that nasally way most tax accountants use when they tell you, “you cannot possibly deduct dental floss as a business expense!”, his left brain told Moses , “Shut up Moses! Don’t say anything, maybe the voice will think you didn’t hear it!“, but his Right Brain, not even being aware there are rules or social graces, said, “Here I am!!“. The left brain gave the right brain a glare that could melt tungsten. Left brain went off sulking as Moses took off his Mountain Climber Flip Flops.

We know what happened here, that God told Moses He had not forgotten His people, and that He was their God. That He had heard their cries for help, and that their Egyptian task masters were being cruel, and it was time for all that to come to an end. Then He told Moses this:

“Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:10 ESV

Except for the sounds of a flame not consuming the bush, the only other sound that could be heard was the sound of sheep, nervously chewing the grass, and anticipating their first opportunity to be irritated at Moses, again. This will become a common theme in Moses life over the next 40 years. We can only hope he is taking good notes.

After looking around to make sure he wasn’t being mistaken for another Moses that might hopefully be standing right behind him, and seeing that he was, in fact, the only human being careless enough to go tromping around the Holy Mountain, Moses stood there with his mouth open, as if his jaw muscles had grown too tired to keep working, and were taking a coffee break.

He thought a myriad of thoughts that kept leaping and tripping all over each other. This was exacerbated by the fact that the Left Brain had not quite decided to let the whole Right Brain shouting out loud thing go just yet.

So, God waited.

He created Moses, just like he created the rest of us. He knew that Moses would need a moment to collect himself, and to get his thoughts, such as they were, under control.

Moses finally got a grip on himself enough to ask God some questions.

What ever it is that God asks you to do, He will be with you.

 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He (GOD) said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” Exodus 3:11- 12 ESV

See, Moses hadn’t been a prince of Egypt for some time, as Zippo was often reminding him. Besides that, there was that whole, “I murdered an Egyptian Guard” thing. Zippo was always telling him, “Moses, Moses, that was such a long time ago. You don’t even look like the Moses on the wanted posters. THAT Moses was young and handsome! YOU look like…well, lets just say that you have a lot of inner beauty, OK? ”

Once Moses got past all the excuses he could think of to NOT be deliverer of Israel, Friend of God, Law Giver, and Holy Land tour guide, he realized all he had to do now was convince Zippo that: He had a nice chat with the Living God on a mountain, and God wants him to go back to Egypt to free the Hebrew slaved and lead them to Caanan so they can take the land back from the remnants of the fallen ones, and call it Israel.  All I will say of that is that the ensuing conversation is where Zippo earned her reputation for being fiery. No one dared cross her after that.

God will empower you to do that task.

Moses said to God, “Ok, so let’s say that I actually get past the guards at the gate, then get past the security check point at the palace, and get past the palace guards that guard the throne room of Pharaoh, let’s say all that actually happens. I just go up to Pharoah and say “Let My People Go!” and he’s gonna go “OK, Sure!”??

I am going to look all jumped up and crazy. How is anyone going to believe a thing I say?

The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” (Moses) said, “A staff.” And (the LORD) said, “Throw it on the ground.” So (Moses) threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—” Exo 4:2 – 4 ESV

Moses was dumbfounded. THAT was some very cool stuff the Lord had in mind. Then Moses asked “Will this trick work on Zippo??”

God will never tell you to do something except that he will be there to see it through.

God let Moses practice that “stick to snake” miracle out a few times, just to make sure he got the timing down, and that Moses didn’t grab the wrong end of the snake. While he was warming up to this idea, he asked God, “So, I am going all by myself to confront an entire nation in order to free the Hebrew slaves?” God reminded him that, no, Aaron will go along to serve as Moses’s mouthpiece, but what’s more important is that GOD will be there all the time. He told Moses:

“So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.” Exodus 3:20

Don’t be afraid to do what God has called you to do.

“Let me get this straight,” said Moses as he practiced picking up the snake again. He got it backwards the try before and threw the snake down instead of throwing the stick down. That almost turned out wrong.

“After you do all these to miracles in Egypt, the Hebrews will let me lead them out of the land of Egypt and just follow me out the gates?”

At the risk of being overly redundant, God said: “And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’ But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go. “ Exodus 3:18 -20 ESV

The Blessings don’t begin until you have walked in your purpose from God.

By this time, Moses was beginning to buy in to this whole, “Deliverer of Israel from Egypt” thing. He told God he will do it, had the afore mentioned “discussion” with Zipporah, and put his sandals back on. God told Moses he had made the right choice and assured Moses:

“And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and when you go, you shall not go empty, but each woman shall ask of her neighbor, and any woman who lives in her house, for silver and gold jewelry, and for clothing. You shall put them on your sons and on your daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians.” Exodus 3:21-22 ESV

OK, So I am not Moses:

But I am a child of God.

I was created for a purpose.

Now that I have returned to God, God will show me that purpose.

I may not be asked to do the mighty acts of Moses. But I know that the acts I will do will be because God will be there to work through me. He will lead the way for me. He will be ever present through the good stuff and the bad times. He will empower me to do the things he has asked me to do. The degree of the power I see God work will be in proportion to the degree I have faith in He who sent me.

This is the same for you.

No matter how crazy it sounds, do whatever God asks you to do. You will be blessed.

 

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The Return to God, Part III : God Will Tell You Of His Plan.


[Dear readers, I mixed up the order of this topic a bit. I appreciate your understanding. There is a reason.]

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. – Jer 29:11 ESV

Before you were born. God knew you would exist. He planned for you to be here. He knew you while you were being knit together in your mother’s womb. He made plans for you. He wants to tell you His plans for you. Now that you have returned, or will soon return, he wants to show you what He will do in your life.

I argued with God, “How can you say you have made plans for me when my life has been so messed up?!?”

or

“God, I have messed up my life so much, there is NO WAY you can restore me to the plans you made for me!”

After 20 years of running, about 6 years ago, I returned to God. I had repented. I had confessed. I felt the cleansing wash of forgiveness and grace consume me, and drive me through the rapids right over the fall, deep in to His mercy. And I was made whole again.

And He held me. He loved me. And he welcomed me home. He let me rest a bit. I was tired from all that running from Him. And he healed my hurts, most of them self inflicted, some not so much. He soothed my anger. And I am not angry, now. He fed me through daily readings of His Word. He listened as I prayed, and talked to me when I listened. For the first time in my life, I knew what it meant to be still, and know God. And it was GOOD.

And then he told me what He has planned for me. You don’t get to know what that is, because it is personal, and strictly between God, Me and my family. And it will bear fruit only when I obey and submit.

This is what God will do with you, too. He will take you through the same steps. He will then tell you all about why you even exist. That was always a big question for me. Why do I exist? Like the Psalm says,

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:14 – 16 ESV

He has known all about you, how you were made, that you are created because He has a plan for you. He has every day of your life numbered, and, if you will, He will show you what he plans for your life, and it will be Good.

What will God do for all that time you have spent away from His presence? God is in the miracle working field. It is part of His resume. He will take every wrong turn and make it make sense, and make it right, and you will learn from your past, as you forgive yourself of your past.

God will then Set your feet firmly in the eternal today. By that I mean, you will begin to recognize that, especially at first, you will need to be still, and just have today. Pray today. Listen today. Read His word today. Go to bed, and repeat that process. And as you develop obedience to this process, He will talk to you in that “still small voice”. He will make certain scriptures show up just as you need to read them, and you will begin to see a pattern. The Bible will be come for your heart and mind what good food is to your body. And you will grow.

As you grow, your love of God will grow, your praise of what Jesus Christ will increase, and you will see that you have been forgiven much, and you will know you are now the brother or sister of Jesus Christ, and He intends to share His inheritance with you. And you will see that all those broken roads have led you right to the loving embrace of Christ and his forgiveness of you. And you will understand:

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 ESV

“But what about all the hurtful things I have done to others and others have done to me?”

I asked that too.

You will learn to forgive, and you will find a way to seek forgiveness from those you have hurt. You will be led by the grace of God to seek out any one you have done wrong, and seek restitution. You will understand the importance of laying your offerings down at the altar, and seeking forgiveness of others. Then you will see that your offering has been made worthy.  And you will understand what it means to love one another.

This IS part of the plan. To be free from your sin and guilt, and to be set free from the debt you owe others.

“What if they don’t forgive me?”

Some will, some might not.

You cannot control what others will do and will not do. You can only obey the will of God. To be like Jesus Christ is God’s will for you. And you just need to obey. You will be amazed how free your soul feels after you have done this.

The growth and completion of your character will take the rest of your life. That is the good and the bad news. But the best news is that, in the book of John, chapter 15, we can read how Jesus promised you he will send the Holy Spirit to walk beside you, and teach you as you grow and go.

His will is that you be just like Jesus Christ.

That is His will.

And as you begin to do this, you will discover you have certain gifts, some spiritual, some material, some physical talents. And you will discover that all these gifts complement each other, and you will hear the voice of the Spirit of God guide you in the practice of using these gifts to glorify the Father, that others will be drawn to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

God will tell you of His plans for you.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6

Like I said, I know what God’s plan is for my life. About 4 months ago, he began preparing me for my calling. About 6 or 7 weeks ago, he put me in a place and time that I am more able to pursue this plan.

I promise you, that now you have returned to Him, he will take you through all these steps. And He will show you His plans for you, and they are GOOD!

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jer 29:11 ESV

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Faith, Uncategorized

THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF PRINCESS CALLIE


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For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jer 29:11-13 ESV

I heard the plaintive cries of my cat Callie.   Once again, she was standing in total immobility at the opened back door. She clearly wanted to go outside, but last time she made the attempt, a leaf fell off a tree, causing her to have massive heart failure.  The fright was just too much for her.  I, of course, applied CPR.

If you have read my earlier blogs on Callie, you know she has a certain…quality of personality ranging somewhere between stark raving fear, and unbridled panic.

I went to the door, that I had previously opened so she could go out, and waited for her to screw up the courage to do so.   She looked up at me and meowed again. I knew she wouldn’t make a move unless I went out first.

I did.

She followed.

She called on me, and my presence gave her the courage to do what I wanted her to do.

Just like God has been doing for me.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.  Psa 23:4  ESV

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