greatest earthly example of heavenly forgiveness

I had the greatest experience today. I experienced the greatest earthly example of heavenly forgiveness.Indulge me for just a minute to set up the story.I had a friend in high school who was very dear to me.We were very close.We helped each other through those awkward teenage years. We never really dated but he was the first "love of my life". He broke my heart after choosing to befriend a new group of people to be "cool". Then,I did some "not so nice" things to him. We grew apart needless to say. Feelings between us ranged from love,rage.hurt to disappointment,confusion,betrayal,revenge,compassion,etc. Despite all this,I believe we somehow managed to always have a special place in our hearts for the other person.However,we had gotten to the point where we would "gnarl" at each other if we saw each other out. We got to the nonspeaking point a few years back and it's been that way for a long time. For me,that was really hard to have both extremes of feelings for him. I always hated seeing him out because it brought back all those conflicting emotions.I think i'd known that I'd forgiven him a long time ago but had never known for sure.also,i was sure that he would never forgive me. Well,a situation
arose that left me with very little option but to call my friend for a "business" matter.
I had left a message at his office yesterday and had said anyone in the office could call me.To my surprise,he actually called and left a message for me. So,today,I called him back. When I said who it was you could almost sense him smiling from ear to ear. We conducted our business and then he asked me a couple of questions which required me to reveal a little of my personal life to answer. He was very kind and compassionate. I thanked him for his help and he said "call me anytime.I'm always here". I can't tell you how much that conversation helped me. I knew without any doubt that I had truly forgiven him.All I could sense in my heart was love for my long lost friend.I also sensed the same from him.He wasn't just cordial but showed genuine interest in me and my welfare. Don't get me wrong.we probably won't talk again anytime soon and we could never get along long term.I know that now.
But,this guy means the world to me and always will.I feel safe in saying the same for him.There have been signs over the years that he still cared about me and today just confirmed that. We both could be so bitter and really tell each other off for all the things that have happened between us.We probably would even have justification for suing each other,etc. I can't stress how bitter our friendship has been at times. however,today was a great earthly example of heavenly forgiveness.when we were talking,it was like nothing bad had ever happened between us.You could just hear the love and compassion between us. We not only were cordial but showed a true interest in each other and compassion for each other. That was nothing short of a miracle. I was reminded later about true forgiveness. The bible teaches that forgiveness is "wiping the slate clean" and "seeing that person as holy and pure without blame".How many times do we say we forgive someone but really haven't? how many times do we truly forgive someone but never forget? I believe the Bible teaches that to forgive is to forget.It's to view the other person as trustworthy and without blame.
So,I go to bed tonight having learned a very important lesson about forgiveness.




"Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart."
1 Peter 1:21-23

SongFest 2007 and two words

tonight I went to songfest 2007 at the civic center.I was invited to attend as I'm not really a fan of gospel music.I have to tell you though I really really enjoyed it.
I got to hear Karen Peck and New River,Jeff and Sheri Easter and Gold City.Someone who reads this will appreciate that :) some of you won't know at all whose these people are.I also got to meet Jeff and Sheri Easter personally backstage.That was cool as they are BIG in gospel music. I even had heard of them and I listen to very little gospel music.I can tell you that Jeff and Sheri are such a great couple and God has really blessed them musically. Sheri sang a song tonight called "she loved".she said she wrote the song as someone had challenged her to come up with two words she wanted to be used to describe her and use to remember her by after she passed away.That got me to thinking what I would like my two words to be. I have decided that "pure rock" are mine.I want to be known for my purity of heart,body and mind.I also want to be known as a rock that was steadfast in my faith and never waivering despite trials/temptations.
So,of course,I want to know what you'd like your two words to be. I'd love to hear from you and hear your words and reasons behind them.
Also,let me encourage you to listen to some of the people's music I have mentioned.They are actually pretty good. It never hurts to expand your mind :)

Hugs and love,
alicia

Does God want us to be happy and prosperous?

(taken from blog,the Autry Adventure.I completely agree with Marcie on this one
and couldn't have expressed it any better.I've talked with others on this very issue and had to soul search myself in regards to this. I believe COMPLETELY in the conclusion Marcie comes to and what she has to say about this subject)


This is a question that has plaqued me over the past several months. Now, I don't want to go into talking about our infertility and all the thousands of questions that has brought up. That would show my great lack of faith and I'm not ready to be that transparent on the blog! I'll save that for my small group of friends. But this idea of health and happiness, well it just doesn't make much sense to me.

I am often faced directly with questions about this. I don't want to go into specifics, but there are a few people in my life who believe that a part of faith is believing that what you ask for will happen. I do not argue this point. I do believe that is what faith is, "the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen." But here is where my questions lie.

I know that faith is believing that what you ask for is going to happen. But I also believe in the absolute soverienty of God. I believe that God can and will heal people if it is done for his glory. I also believe that God reveals himself through sickness. It is an absolute lie to say that God's will is for all of his children to be healed. What about Paul?

Paul prayed three times that the thorn in his flesh be removed. It was not. Because God revealed to him that through his weakness Christ was shown. "My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9). So when we demand things from God, whether it be healing or a change in circumstances, I believe that sometimes we are missing out on what we can learn through our weakness.

It bothers me that millions of Americans hold strongly to the belief that God desires for us to be happy, healthy, and prosperous. I do not dare say that God does not want his children to be happy....but what I do say is that the source of that happiness doesn't come in ways that modern day culture would suggest. Quit the opposite I'm sure.

It bothers me, but it doesn't surprise me. Most of us don't want to be challanged. We don't want things to come along and mess up our perfect little utopias that we have created for ourselves. So we don't dig deeper. We don't pursue true Godliness. Because if we are completly honest with ourselves, we don't want to live as Jesus did. We don't want to spend our time with sinners, beggers, the sick and the desolate. We are plaqued by our comfort.

So does God want us to be happy, healthy, and prosperous? My answer to this question is yes, he does. But those words take on a dramatically different meaning when looked at through the lens of Christ. He does want us to be happy....absolutely content in any circumstances we are in becuase we know he is in control. To quote John Piper "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in him."

He does want us to be healthy. We should be good stewards of our bodies and our gifts, but we all know that we are going to die. Disease happens, sickness happens. We live in a fallen world. Our bodies and our healthiness will not be all it is supposed to be this side of heaven. So in the end he has promised us new bodies. Spirtual bodies, without disease and sickness. But those things are to come after this life.

I also believe that he does want us to be prosperous. Not so much with wealth, but prosperous in the things of the spirit. Wealthy with generosity, self control, humility, etc... If we have all of these things, we realize the need for financial gain is of little importance. And once again, we will not recieve our rewards this side of heaven. All Christ has promised us is himself.

So through sickness, disease, infertility, poverty, war, and all kinds of hurt...the response should be submissiveness to what God is trying to accomplish in our lives for his glory. Maybe we will be healed, and if so that is great. Then we know we have witnessed a miracle. But maybe we won't. And that is ok to.

Habits

(*******Again,stolen from a friend's blog but he's just SO DARN good :) *******)


There are "good habits" and "bad habits." In the King James Version, the word "habit" does not appear; however, the word "wont" does. For example: "He came out, and went, as he was wont, to the Mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him." [According to Strong: "wont" is a primary verb; to be used (by habit or conventionality); neuter perfect participle usage: --be custom (manner, wont).] Jesus could be said to have had "good habits."

The Apostles knew of the "good habit" of prayer in a certain place: "On the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made." In another Scripture certain people are said to have developed the "bad habit" of not going to church: "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching."(NIV) Paul warns that young widows may get into a "bad habit" - "they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to."(NIV) So the possibility of both good and bad habits exists.

But living on the basis of "I have always done it this way" could be ungodly. It has been my "habit" to prepare a few daily articles that addresses Christian living. Ordinarily I will begin the next day's article as early as the day I send out the present day's article and thus be preparing it all week.etc...

Last week I didn't. I spent more time sitting, thinking, and doing nothing than I have in a long while. Other than our task of witnessing every day and conducting a Music Ministry, I was pretty much non-productive. As day after day went by, I was aware time was running out. What will I do? Perhaps I could just cut and paste an article by Spurgeon or some other writer. People, like you, will be expecting my blog and bulletins and I don't want to let them down. I was feeling the pressure of my "habit" and it was bringing me under condemnation. Am I just lazy? What is going on? I have the "don'ts" and nothing is coming to mind that I could write. The Lord has given me no thoughts or time to express them.

As is my custom in my Christian walk, when I begin to fall under condemnation, I simply bring it before Father. "Lord, I just don't have anything to write. I confess to You that I don't even want to write and until you bring about a change in me, I am not going to write. I am in Your hands. I am at peace and without condemnation in the Lord Jesus Christ. I will rest in You. Your will be done. Amen."

Late in the day, after the usual time for sending out the daily posts, I happened to meet with a dear brother and he made reference to the fact that he hadn't received his daily post. Immediately I was tempted to slip under condemnation for breaking my "habit". Immediately I "rested" in my position of "no condemnation" knowing Father had not brought about a change after I confessed my helplessness apart from His gracious intervention. And that was that.

"Chamber's tells us, "The right thing to do with habits is to lose them in the life of the Lord, until every habit is so practiced that there is no conscious habit at all." Our Subtle Idol could be our little Christian habit: the habit of prayer at stated times, or the habit of Bible reading. Watch how our Father will upset those times if we begin to worship our habit instead of what the habit symbolizes – saying, "No, I can't do that just now, I am praying; it is my hour with God." No, it is my hour with my habit.

We should recognize the defect and then look for the opportunity of exercising ourselves along the line of being open to the spontaneous leading of the Spirit. We must never let a habit grip us so tightly that we are not sensitive to Father's bringing us into His purpose to do His work His way at His time even though it interferes with our "good habit."

We humans resist change. Habits seem to lend us sameness; something we can anticipate, something we can expect, knowing how and when it will begin and even more importantly, how it will turn out. Tozer said, "The immutability of God appears in its most perfect beauty when viewed against the mutability of man. In God no change is possible; in men change is impossible to escape. Neither the man is fixed nor his world, and he – and it – are in constant flux."

Years ago a woman in the church attended told me she was discovering how to live a spontaneous life as a Christian. She said that many times during the day she would stop and ask herself, "Is this the way I have ALWAYS done this? Father, do you want me to do it a different way or at another time or perhaps not at all?" She found a check in her spirit, a red light, each time she realized she was doing something the way she had ALWAYS done it. She told me that examining her habits had opened up a whole new relationship of dependence on Father. She said she began to see that she had been depending on the goodness of her "habit" instead of the immediate leading of the Holy Spirit.

I recall when my daughter was quite small and barged into the room where I was having my "quiet time with Father." I scolded her for intruding. She had interfered with my perceived "ideal," my habit. After she left crying and upset, I couldn't even refocus. It was as if Father had left the room with my little girl. I called for her to come back and I apologized and comforted her. We spent the rest of my "quiet time" together. We talked and shared and loved each other. I had made a subtle idol of my "quiet time" to the point I acted in "unlove" toward my precious little girl. It was all under the banner of keeping my "good habit."

If you have some "good habits", perhaps you should let God press through in that particular circumstance until you gain Him, and life becomes the simple life of a child. Be sure you have not allowed the subtle idol of habits to rob you of the Holy Spirit's leading. Hold on to everything loosely, being open to His will and His leading in everything you do.

"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols."

In Christ's Love,
John J. McCall

an update

Hey everyone ! i haven't posted anything myself lately so I thought it was about time. It's the middle of the summer and it's HOT !!!!! Things have been CRAZY lately for me.June was a blur with work,my sister's baby shower and several birthday showers.
Also,I was sick for a week or so.So,now July is here.I loved that I got to see fireworks and go swimming all in the first week of July.I went to a baseball game,ate watermelon and drank lemondade.So,I feel like I'm truly in summer mode now.
i'd like to take a minute to tell you that I've also been through alot of trials lately.Some I would have never guessed i'd go through in my life.God and I have had many heart to hearts lately and I've done MASSIVE bible reading and reading of biblical books.It has truly been a test in my life.But,as scripture states"testing of your faith
produces perseverance". I am on the "upswing" of all of this and I'm so grateful for a God who loves me and NEVER gives up on me. So,let me just be a testament that you can survive some of life's hardest things and still know your Lord and learn more about Him.If you want more details,don't hesistate to ask me.i'll be glad to share.also,if you're reading this and feel you're right there with me,I'd love to pray for you.so,just let me know.
Finally,Anna Elizabeth will be here SOON !!!!! i cannot wait :) Allison is due early August. My neices are soooooo precious to me.Madelyn is now 2 and just the "sweetest diva" you've ever known ! You should have seen her the other night with the purse i got her for her birthday.She was WAY more interested in it than anything else I got her.
Well,I better run for now as I've got things to do. Love to you all and I hope to hear from you soon :)


Hugs,
Alicia

self pity

Nothing about myself disgusts me more than my times of self-pity. Self-pity is the strongest evidence of a mind completely misdirected. God never intended our minds to be on ourselves. We are not even to examine ourselves, much less feel pity for ourselves.

One of the strongest temptations for self-pity was a back in 1994 when I was arrested. I was shocked as plain-clothed officers suddenly surrounded me, handcuffed me and carted me off to jail. As a matter of fact, I was in three different jails over a one-week period. I was facing a maximum of two 99-year sentences for something I did not even do. I had no money and really no defense. Needless to say, I was feeling very threatened.

Even though the District Attorney would later tell the judge to throw the case out of the court, which she did immediately, it was to be a ten-week ordeal full of mystery and uncertainty before I would know the out come.

I remember how I felt. Alone in my cell, I had no idea what was going on. As I lay on a thin pad on top of a cement slab: I wept, I prayed, I had a growing sense of self-pity. I couldn't sleep amidst all the cries and screams coming from the other cells. It was so weird, unlike anything I had ever experienced. It felt like a nightmare. It seemed so unreal, but having to keep knocking the roaches off my arm as I lay there made me aware of how real it was. It was no dream!

The doctor that examined me before I was put in the first cell panicked when she took my blood pressure. She insisted that the officer put me in a cell near her station so she could fetch me to her office and check on me through the night. She was especially concerned when she learned that I had had a heart attack a few years before from my motorcycle accident.

It was at this time that I had the second worse case of self-pity in my life. The worse case of self-pity was in the third jail. I was told that a very generous benefactor was providing $100,000 cash for my bail. Thinking that when they called me from the cellblock they were going to release me, it was a most crushing realization that before the money arrived, I was being transferred to another city and another jail instead.

In the third jail I was so upset and disappointed. I was thrown into a cell they called "the tank" along with about fifteen other guys. The cell was quite small and everyone was lying all over the floor with hardly any space to walk. I had positioned myself on a small bench in the corner.

For twelve hours I sat in the corner sulking. My back hurt. The bench was so high my feet didn't touch the floor and it was extremely uncomfortable. Even though in the previous jail I was a witness through counsel to many inmates, but until the Lord adjusted my perception, in this jail I just sulked in self-pity.

It was as if the Lord said to me, "Where is the crown of thorns? I don't see any blood. Where are the nails? I don't see a cross. Where are the jeering and mocking? I don't see you in that much discomfort. When did they scourge you? Are you really suffering as much as you think?" With that my attitude finally changed and I focused my mind on the One this was all about. After that, He allowed me to witness to the entire group of men in that cell for over two hours answering questions and sharing Christ. Sometimes the cell was so quiet you could hear them breathing. Other times the cell would explode with laughter.

When I allowed myself to be filled with self-pity, I was worthless to the Lord. I was paralyzed with my eyes on ME. Until I set my mind on HIM, nothing was going to happen in the power of the Spirit of Christ within me. As long as I was going to "mind the things of the flesh" there would be no witness of Him through me to these men. I was the only Christian in the cell.

Once I set my mind on "things above" a sweet door of utterance was given me even to the biggest, meanest, drug dealer in that cell. The Lord, in His mercy, allowed me to "redeem the time." If fact, when my lawyer finally arrived and had them call my name to go into a conference room, stepping over the bodies of the men between me and the cell door, each one would say, "God bless you." By the time I had reached the cell door, tears were streaming down my face. I turned and raised my hand to heaven and said, "And the Lord bless you and reveal Himself to you." With that, the cell echoed with, "Don't forget to pray for us." Arms were waving through the bars as the officer led me away for my release on bail and one after another I heard them crying out, "Pray for me!"

At least three different times Jesus' anger and fury was kindled against things He utterly despised. The cleansing of the Temple, His verbal attack of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, and the time Peter told Him to have self-pity.

Satan tempted Jesus to have self-pity at least twice. "And when he (Jesus) had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Jesus refused to ever practice self-pity. Self-pity will never be justified in us either.

Yes, Jesus resisted the call to self-pity with great force. Jesus rebuked Peter harshly. "He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." Can you imagine hearing Jesus attributing your words to Satan? Imagine hearing Jesus say that you are "an offence unto me."

Why did Jesus give this severe reprimand to Peter? Doesn't it seem too harsh? When you see what the margin of the King James Version reveals about what Peter said, you will see that such a severe response from Jesus shows His utter contempt for SELF-PITY.

Here is the text: "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. {Be it far from thee = in the Greek: Pity thyself}" Peter was calling on Jesus to pity Himself and Jesus would not only have nothing to do with such thoughts, but resisted with a harsh reprimand. Being every bit man, Jesus would not allow the slightest thought of self-pity to enter His mind.

Another powerful demonstration of Jesus' refusal of self-pity was at the time they made Simon carry the cross for Jesus. (By the way, this powerful demonstration of Jesus not being a weak "victim" is not portrayed in the "Passion" movie) "And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children." Jesus did not want them to think that pity for Him was to be any credit to them. Without Him as their Savior, they and their children would be forever separated from God. Jesus would have none of their pity and He put things into a proper perspective for these women and for us.

Jesus was born for this purpose. No amount of weeping and carrying on was going to deter Him from His determined goal. Our way to resist the powerful temptation to self-pity is exactly what I finally did in that cell with all those men: The setting of my mind was by "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." Looking away from ourselves unto Jesus will bring us to a place we can say with Paul, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

With this attitude we will be most like Jesus. Obey the Scripture that tells us, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps."

"Dear children, keep yourselves from idols," especially the subtle idol of SELF-PITY.

In Christ's Grip,
John J. McCall

accountability

***** I've been posting from my friend John McCall lately. I'll post some of my own thoughts soon.He's just been doing such a good job lately of expressing things that have been on my heart too. So,i've let him do the writing for both of us :) ********

How do I become more accountable?

P s a l m 1 1 9 : 9 , 6 6 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules. . . . Now teach me good judgment and knowledge.

P s a l m 1 : 1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked.
To become more accountable, follow God's commands as outlined in his word, the Bible. And choose wise friends to whom you can feel free and safe to give an account of yourself.

What happens when there is no more accountability?

J u d g e s 1 7 : 6 The people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

1 S a m u e l 1 3 : 1 1 - 1 2 Saul replied, "I saw . . . you didn't arrive when you said you would . . .I felt obliged to offer the burnt offering myself."
Left unaccountable, we will always lean towards sin.

How can we choose people to hold us accountable?

1 K i n g s 1 2 : 8 - 1 0 Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders and instead asked the opinion of young men who had grown up with him. . . . The young men replied, "[Tell them] 'If you think he was hard on you, just wait and see what I'll be like!' "
Our closest friends may not always be the best advisers, especially if their counsel is not consistent with God's word.

How can I effectively hold someone else accountable?

E x o d u s 1 8 : 2 1 - 2 2 Find some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. . . . They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you.

T i t u s 1 : 7 - 8 He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered. . . . He must live wisely and be fair. He must live a devout and disciplined life.
If we are going to serve others by holding them accountable, we must be wise, honest, godly, and trustworthy.

Does God really hold us accountable for all our actions?

E c c l e s i a s t e s 1 1 : 9 Young man, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do; take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.
Enjoy life, but stay within God's guidelines. God will hold us accountable for everything we do, and who wants to explain ungodliness to a holy God on the Day of Judgment?

P R O M I S E F R O M G O D : 1 J o h n 2 : 3 How can we be sure that we belong to him? By obeying his commandments.

In Christ,
John J. McCall

Subtle Idols

***** Taken from a friend's blog *********

Can Christians have idols? What is the cause of depression? Could it be idolatry? Read my next series to challenge you to examine our wonderful God and His sufficiency.

My ministry is mainly to the Non-Christian, but Christians are sometimes depressed too.This next "series" will be in Subtle Idols.

Did you know that depression could be the result of idolatry? There may be a very tiny number of people that have a "chemical imbalance," but I doubt that anybody reading this falls into that category. If there are any at all, there are very few in the world.

I have fought depression from time to time, even recently. My thought processes go something like this: "Father, I serve the Body of Christ the best I can. I have sacrificed in so many ways. I work so many hours. I go beyond the 'call of duty' and I give and I give and I give. I would think that I should at least be able to pay the rent on time. I would think that You would let us have a life without the struggle of financial burden. After all, I serve many times without any remuneration at all. Sometimes I see people leave our office with not only having received counsel, but I give them Bibles, articles, books, tapes and tape players. Many times I do not receive a dime for what I have done for Your people."

Isn't that sick? I would think Father would want to slap me upside my head. Did you catch all the times the word "I" appears in that sickening self-pitying display of selfish self-centeredness? You would think it was all about ME. I was actually accusing God of not being as good to me as He ought to be. You would think I had been listening to Satan in the garden. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." I was eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. I had double vision, I doubted God's goodness in the situation. Will my prayer be answered? Not according to James, "For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."

Here's how it usually works:

* I ENVY the way it "should" be. It should be "other" than it is according to my concept of GOOD AND EVIL.
* I am filled with SELF PITY. I think it is not fair. I think it ought to be as I see it should be. I see the way it is as being evil.
* I become ANGRY. They/it/she/he ought to be better to me. After all, they/it/he/she is wrong and I am right. I even have Scripture to prove it.
* I become DEPRESSED. I don't know why I feel this way. Maybe I need to go to the doctor and get something. Maybe I have a chemical imbalance.
* If I don't do something about the DEPRESSION (preferably by setting my mind on Him instead of my ideal) it turns into SELF-DESTRUCTION. Not that I want to commit suicide, but I start making stupid decisions that are not in anybody's best interest because of my state of mind and being out of fellowship with God, or "minding the things of the flesh."

With my mind on MY IDEAL, I begin to cascade down into the blackest of holes: self-destructive behavior. Why? It is because of my IDOLATRY. How can it be called idolatry? Because I was thinking my ideal would be better than the way God has it. I may even have based my ideal on the Bible. The bottom line is: MY IDEAL was not coming to pass so I was going to be upset about it and take the slide downward.

Now I wasn't going to be so bold as to actually say this to God. No. I was angry and depressed about the way it was, deceiving myself that I was angry at things being as they are; but I was actually angry with God. I may even have been so upset as to take it out on my visible wife (by having a negative response to any thing she has to say or do) because I am actually angry with my invisible God. When we are not focused on Him, by faith, and seeing His beautiful Sovereign love for us, we tend to be at odds with everyone with whom we have to do in the visible realm, especially those closest to us.

Spurgeon said, "Often depression of spirit and great misery of soul are removed as soon as we quit our idols and bow ourselves in obedience before the living God."

This double vision, or seeing evil brings darkness into our soul that will manifest itself through our mouths and in our moods. "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" The way we "see" things has a profound effect on our mental attitude and our mental health.

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." As I have mentioned before, the word "pure" in the original Greek means "unmixed." Mixed would mean "unstable" or "double" or "evil" or "good and evil" and not seeing God in the situation. And, even as Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and were immediately "afraid," so we, when we see life based on our perception of good and evil, will also be afraid. We are at that time, in a sense, without God, not seeing God in it.

So, as I look at my situation and determine in my perception of good and evil that this is not as good as it would be if I were God, I have made my IDEAL an IDOL. It is subtle, isn't it? I would never think that I would have an idol in my life. I used to wonder why the New Testament has verses about idols. "Little children, keep yourselves from idols." But I see that an idol can be what I call my ideal. I see that living my life toward what I perceive is an ideal can actually be serving an idol.

"Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?" I would never bow down to a graven image, but has my imagination carved out a perfection that I bow down to and worship? Do my plans and what I think "should be" turn out to be idolatry? Do I have a SUBTLE IDOL?

As a Christian, the Spirit of the Living God is in me. "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." Either my God is the true God and He works "all things together for (my) good" and "His purpose" or I am serving a false god, the god of my ideal, which may be myself and my concepts of good and evil.

I am not calling you to examine yourself. I am calling you to examine your God. Do you truly serve God or what you have carved out as your ideal? There are at least two ways to commit idolatry: To serve a false god or to serve the true God in a false way. I can find myself praying for God to bless MY plans instead of seeking HIS will. I can be trying to bring His shore to my boat instead of bringing my boat to His shore. Our praying correctly will be aligning ourselves with Him instead of trying to align Him with our plans or our ideal, which subtly becomes OUR IDOL.

God is our Refuge

**GOD IS OUR REFUGE**

Ps 9:9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

Ps 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Ps 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard [him], and saved him out of all his troubles.

Ps 34:17 [The righteous] cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.

Ps 32:7 Thou [art] my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.

Ps 37:39 But the salvation of the righteous [is] of the LORD: [he is] their strength in the time of trouble.

Ps 46:1 God [is] our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Ps 50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

Ps 59:16 But I will sing of thy power; yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning: for thou hast been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.

Ps 60:11 Give us help from trouble: for vain [is] the help of man.

Ps 86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

Ps 91:15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I [will be] with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.

Ps 94:12-14 Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord, and teach out of Your law, that You may give him power to keep himself calm in the days of adversity, until the [inevitable] pit of corruption is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not cast off nor spurn His people, neither will He abandon His heritage.

Ps 107:6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, [and] he delivered them out of their distresses.

Ps 107:13 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, [and] he saved them out of their distresses.

Ps 107:19 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, [and] he saveth them out of their distresses.

Ps 107:28 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

Ps 108:12 Give us help from trouble: for vain [is] the help of man.

Ps 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.

Is 40:29 He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound].

2 Cor 3:5 Not that we are fit (qualified and sufficient in ability) of ourselves to form personal judgments or to claim or count anything as coming from us, but our power and ability and sufficiency are from God.

2Cor 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

something wasn't right in the universe

(****** taken from a friend's blog ********)



Do you read your Bible on a daily basis? If so, you are statistically in the minority. Lately it's my personal goal to read the Bible and pray every single day. This morning, however, I hit the snooze about ten times so I skipped my morning Bible intake and prayer. Now, my point here is not to be legalistic about Bible intake, but rather to share how it affected me...

Something today just wasn't right in the universe. It was like going a day without brushing your teeth. Something just didn't set right. And you know---that's a wonderful feeling. It's wonderful because I hunger to read the Word of God---and when I don't, it feels funny. I know many of you are thinking what's the big deal. So what if you skip a day or two here and there. But, I think that's a dangerous road to travel if we dare to call ourselves a follower of Jesus, yet become complacent in the area of disciplined Bible intake.

In fact, how can I conform daily to the image of Jesus if I don't practice this sacred discipline of infusing my lifeless body with the Living Water? How can I expect to have power to live victoriously in Christ if I don't consider His ways and precepts? I can't store up on grace for tomorrow, but I must daily avail myself to Christ for all things.

Paul puts it even better when he says:
"Discipline yourselves for the purpose of godliness." (1 Timothy 4:7b)