Facing Temptation

First, realize that nothing that tempts you is anything new. People have always been tempted by that same thing.

God is always available to help you, though. Always.

And He won't allow any temptation to be stronger than you can resist. He says so. It may not seem like it, but He says it's true. There may be times when it seems impossible to resist, but it's not.

When we are tempted God will give us a way out of it so that we don't have to give in to it. He promised!

1 Corinthians 10:13

Be careful of what you think

Every time I come across something like this, I can't help but stop and thank God for His wisdom. He told us first, but finally, scientists are figuring it out. We are what we think.

Imagination itself can produce brain changes. Be careful about what you think, because the mere act of thinking about an action has been shown to produce the same brain changes as actually performing it. 
- Neuroplasticity Redefines Our Understanding of the Brain

Does that strike you the way it did me?

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Matthew 5:28 KJV

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he
Proverbs 23:7 KJV

All You Have to Do

I don't recall reading that the disciples ever asked Jesus to lead them; at least not the way that seems common now. We pray that He would guide us and lead us and allow us to be a part of whatever He is doing.

I do that and I know that many others do.

And so I started to pray that way yet again when the  Spirit of the Lord stopped me. "If you want Me to lead you, all you have to do is... follow."

That's it; that's all. Just follow.

I don't even need to explain it. When we follow Jesus, He leads us. Every day, every minute, every second. Just follow.

The least thing

Luke 12: 25-26 - And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?

Do you see what Jesus said? I didn't, until just recently. He said that thinking ourselves into growing taller is that "which is least." The least thing? I don't know about you, but it sounds pretty large to me.

And then He said, that if we can't even do that, what makes us think we can do the rest? The rest being taking care of ourselves. The verses go on to say  that we should consider the lilies of the field, how they are taken care of by God.

We fool ourselves when we think we are taking care of ourselves. It's only by the loving kindness of our Lord that we are clothed and fed. Don't be fooled.

Loving Oneself

"From the eyes of an extra-sensitive child, loving is everything. But from the eyes of God, seeing that we have learned to love ourselves first is everything." (http://talentdevelop.com/articles/EBACIAC.html)

While that article is very secular, it makes a good point. Paul said, "no one ever hated his own flesh." (Ephesians 5:29) And Jesus said, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12:31). (Leviticus 19:18)

It seems apparent that a well balanced Christian should like and accept himself. After all, hasn't God accepted us? And didn't He create us? We say so, but too often, we don't believe it.

Loving oneself doesn't mean to the detriment or hurt to other people. Loving oneself is not a selfish or self centered. On the contrary, it means that we truly accept ourselves, even knowing our faults. That makes it so much easier to reach out to others without judgement.

Losing oneself

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and for the gospel's; the same shall save it. Mark 9:35

I thought I knew what it meant, but when I read it again, it dawned on me that in the back of my mind, losing one's life has always meant physically. I knew it wasn't limited to that, but when I would read that verse, I saw visions of Christians in an arena with lions, or being burned at the stake or beheaded by terrorists. The depth that should have been there, just wasn't.

After a short round of giving myself up to the direction God wanted me to go yesterday, I read those words again and saw it. We have no right to our emotions and anxieties when we give ourselves up to God. We die - lose our lives - daily, as Paul said.

When we are sold out to God (and most of us go in and out of that condition), our greatest desire is to do what God asks of us, even if means giving up the way we feel about something or our own plans and hopes.

Miracles

I was reading in Mark today and the passage from Mark 3:23 to Mark 3:29 stood out to me. As I was thinking about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, I was reminded of a time when I went to a church that fell into the "Toronto Blessing" type of movement and how uncomfortable that made me feel.

It's a story for a different time, but I was then reminded of and looked up Revelation 16:14 "For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." and again, "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." (Rev. 19:20)

It's pretty clear that satan works miracles (remember the guys who threw down their staffs and they turned into snakes, just like Moses' staff had?) and if he does, how are we to tell which is which, and how can we keep from committing that sin of blasphemy?

As quickly as I asked, God answered, "By their fruits you will know them."

I wish all my questions were answered that quickly and clearly.

Walking

Walking

Tell you something--
One day I looked at my soul and I said
...soul...
What are you doing
Why are you sitting there...
You've got two feet.
Get up and walk.
And soul said, that's a long road up there
And I said, yeah. Just start walking.
And soul said its too hard, that road...
And then Jesus stepped in. He said "child".
I said what, Lord.
...just like that...
And He said, 'see that road'? and I said yes,
He said, 'its a long one'. I said yes, Lord.
And He said, 'Its pretty tough, too'.
Yes, Lord.
He said-
You know I've already been there,
But I'll walk it again with you, child.
Here, take my hand.
Get up.
Start walking.
Walk, child!
So I did. I took His hand and I started walking.
Sometimes I walk slowly, sometimes I climb over things
and fall down the other side; He always catches me.
Sometimes, I run and skip for joy, some days He carries me,
some days I crawl, some days I fly.
But mostly I just walk.
And walk
One step, and another, walking.
Sometimes it seems like I'm all alone,
and I look for someone--anyone. Then I remember.
And when I look straight up the road, there He is,
Waiting for me.
Every time.
I just take another step.
And keep on walking.

If you knew

If you knew just where He brought me from

And where I should have been

Then you'd know how much I love Him

And why I pray for you, my friend.

They Just Don't Know His Name

Did you ever get a revelation or an understanding that you couldn't put into words? There is nothing to describe what God has shown me about Who He is.

Other gods? No. All of it is our God, not known by His name.

I came across this "Intuition: A Healing Tool That Most Doctors Have Forgotten" and found it interesting because I personally have had things like that happen to me. I have struggled with this because it has seemed to be "not quite right" somehow.

I know God led me to this because I have been struggling more than usual lately. As I read, I knew what they were talking about on a much larger scale than they did.

What is this "intuition" they're talking about? Some mystical, forgotten knowledge as they say? In a way, yes. We are conditioned to compartmentalize our lives. This part goes here, that part goes there. Who we are at work sometimes has little resemblance to who we are in other parts of our lives.

As we compartmentalize our lives, we do the same to our minds and our spirits. (Unconscious minds, subconscious, whatever term seems to fit). We might "feel" something then dismiss it because it doesn't fit with what we are doing.

But this "thing" that we "feel" is more than just a thought. It's input from God Himself because... He is in all. He is best described as "I Am." He is. That's all there is to it.

There are no other gods because there cannot be. There is no room for another god. There are only two forces, two beings, two spirits and we adhere to one or the other. There are no other choices.

But I'm not saying it well. Read the article and tell me if it strikes you as very sad. These great minds are blinded to the truth, yet they have a glimmer of it. They just don't know His Name.

One of These Little Ones

Matthew 18:2-3 and 8.

And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, "Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." I have read these verses over, maybe hundreds of times, but this is the first time I saw it this way:

When a person is converted, he is a child in the Lord; "born again." The new birth makes us trusting and vulnerable, just like a child. If anyone offends a newly born again child in the Lord, that is to say, to cause a new Christian to question or abandon his salvation, it would be better for that person if "a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."

I know it's been there all this time, but it just connected in my spirit. Was Jesus likening the child to a new believer? If He wasn't particularly doing that, it's still a valid connection to make for us.

A Part, Not Apart

I was late getting started to work the other day, so my time with God was a little hurried. I didn't like the feeling of hurriedly reading the Bible and praying so I could get on with my day.

Writing it out makes it seem even more awful, but that day I told God that I didn't want to have leave His presence and go to work.

What did He say? "Let me be a part of your day, not apart from it."

Real Christians

Thinking things over, I was inspired to look up "real Christians." I guess I'm not the only one who finds it hard to swallow the concept of Christians being "nice" and without personal problems. Of course, we know everyone has problems, but Christians don't have serious problems, right?

This stems from looking for a forum online where I could feel at ease. I didn't find one, in case you want to know.

What I did find was a board for "Non Christians asking for prayer," And "Non Christians with serious questions." Maybe I should have posed as a non Christian. '
Being a Christian does not mean that we are squeaky clean and nice all the time. We have bouts of anger, we have doubts and fears, and yes, we have addictions and ugly sins. Can't talk about that, though. Then we would look just like the world.

Well, no, we wouldn't. We are not like the world and if we are real and honest, we will never look like the world. What person battles an addiction with Christ on his side and doesn't give God the glory? What Christian, who, after spending an evening weeping before God, does not demonstrate power and victory?

Like the world? Oh, no... Real Christians are approachable by those who do not know Him. Real Christians don't always "have it all  together" but real Christians know, without a doubt, where to go to get it all together and they know, without a doubt that they are grounded on the Rock that will never, never fail them. No matter what.

Spirit of Truth

Although we are told that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7), and that confusion is not of God  (1 Corinthians 14:33), there are still times when we must fight that battle.

Confusion in the spirit can be devastating. It can seem impossible to discern right from wrong - God's voice from the imposter who comes as "an angel of light."

The stock advice says to compare the voice with what's in the Bible, but even then, it can be difficult.

The only way - and it's often hard work - is to pray until the light comes through. Even then, we must wait on God to reveal it to us.

He will. He promises that He will be with us always and He will, no matter what we are "feeling."

For His Purpose

More often than not, what God does is done despite us, and not because of us. If you don't believe me, read Psalm 106. His people forgot the things He had done, over and over. They made an idol and they complained about His provision, yet hecontinued, undeterred, with His plan. From them would come the Messiah and it needed to be done a certain way.

Today, He continues with a purpose; with one end result in mind and that is to secure the Bride of His Anointed, His Son. In spite of us, He will drag us complaining if must be, or bring us along peacefully, to do what He wants done next to fulfill everything He has set out to do.

Chipping Away

Sometimes when we struggle with a sin and find it hard to get the victory over it, it's like a chick hatching. He has to work at it to gain strength for his new life outside the shell. It's the same way with us.

We cry out to God for help and sometimes He simply waits, allowing us to chip our way through the problem.

Not that we can overcome it on our own; it's all under His watchful eye. He knows when to help and when to wait it out so we can learn or see or gain strength - whatever it is we need.