Our Father …

April 23rd, 2012

One day I started to pray the Lord’s prayer for myself. I was half way through, when it seemed that God spoke and said, “Go Back”  It seems that He wanted me to think about what I was saying, to meditate on the full meaning of every word and phrase.

I went back and started doing that, but I sort of skimmed over the first two words. There didn’t seem to be anything profound about those words. But, once again, He said, “Go back”

So I started over and said, “Our Father” and He said, “Go back”. There wasn’t but one word left. So I slowly and deliberately said, “Our”. And the inspiration started to flow.

This wasn’t just about me. He was the Father of others also. He cared about them as much as He did me. He wanted me to care about those whom He cared for. He wanted me to open my eyes and see from a different perspective.

A  little tune and some words began to come to mind.

“He’s the Father of others, the Father of many, the Father of more than me.” I sang that over and over again and then started singing something like this. “He’s the Father of my wife, Father of my son and Father of my daughter too. He holds them in His hand and He wants me to care for them, more than I already do.’ Each new verse found me including the names of many other people and other categories of people.

Somewhere along the way, He let me know that the only people I had to love and forgive were those for whom He died. That opened up a whole new world of praying and interceding. Life was more than MY problems, my troubles and wanting help for me.

Later, much later, I realized that the rest of the Lord’s prayer was about us. Give us this day….forgive us our trespasses…deliver us from evil. I knew I could never pray just for myself any more. Whatever I was facing, others were facing similar problems. So I started praying for myself  and others who had the same problem I had. I didn’t have to know who they were. I just had to pray for those kinds of people. I had to make sure that God helped the many and that He would help more than me.

I’m starting to care about the hundreds and the thousands out there that are going through the same testings, temptations, trials, tribulations, and troubles as myself…and many are going through worse things than I can even imagine. God wants me to care about them, pray for them, and love them as much as I love myself.

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One Step At a Time

March 17th, 2012

Dear Estelle,

You asked me to comment on ‘putting one foot in front of the other; – that means you already know a little bit about that process.

My job is to take what you already know and make it easier to do. Would that be okay? You see, the real key to the whole thing is wrapped up in one word, motivation.

If the Russians had captured you and told you that you had to walk a thousand miles, one step at a time, you might do it (or die because you refused). But, you would never like one step of the journey. Not the first and not the last.

If your abusive husband had a stick and was beating you on the back and screaming at you to ‘go home’ – all you would have to do is ‘put one foot in front of the other’ – right? That sounds simple enough. But, it’s not so simple when your mind is in anguish and  your heart is troubled and you are afraid of what he is going to do when you get there.

If you were in a snow storm that became a blizzard, you would know better than to sit down or lay down, because you would freeze to death. All you have to do to save your life is to keep walking, one step at a time, one foot in front of the other. But, in a blizzard you don’t even know if you are going in the right direction. You could ‘put one foot in front of the other all night long’ and find out in the morning that you had been going around in circles and still too far from civilization to save yourself.

So, there is no magical thing about ‘one step at a time’. If you are going the wrong way that one step each time is taking you one step away from salvation and freedom. It’s making things worse instead of better. So, if you are hell-bent on continuing to go in the wrong direction, you might as well give up now, lay down and rest and refuse to budge one inch—even if it kills  you. So what, if one foot in front of the other is taking you further out into the desert you might as well die now instead of later.

The next key word then is: ‘Direction’. You have to know you are going in the right direction to be motivated enough to keep it up for very long. Will drugs take you in the right direction? Yes, absolutely yes—if you are planning on living in poverty, going to prison, or ending up in the mental hospital or the morgue. Have you ever heard of drugs taking anyone, anywhere good?

What about alcoholism, smoking cigarettes, or playing hopscotch on the freeway in front of an 18-wheeler? You can do anything you want to in life. It doesn’t have to be good, right, normal or holy. I’m not going to stop you.

But, if you are wanting some good advice and righteous counsel, then I’m going to urge you to look at your planned destination. If you are planning on going to hell, there are 75 freeways heading in that direction, 925 paved highways as well and 2342 dirt roads, along with enumerable trails and half trails. Consistently and enduringly putting one foot in front of another to get there holds no advantage for the traveler and no reward for the doer.

Now, if you are believing that heaven is worth any amount of struggle, difficulty, stress, distress, adversity, trouble, pain, anguish, sorrow and hard times…well shucks this is right up my ally.

I’d be glad to point you in the right direction, then motivate you, inspire  you and encourage you in any way I can.

If that’s our destination, then anything we go through in this life is worth it all, even if we are burned over half of our body, even if we go to 17 funerals, even if we live in poverty all our life, even if we get assailed with 13 diseases, 9 afflictions, one handicap and 4,956 irritations.

This life is temporary. As soon as our spirit leaves the body we enter into a sublime peace that we’ve never felt on the earth. We are exposed to the beauty of colors we’ve never seen before and fragrances that are a thousand times better than anything we’ve smelled down here. The light and the love is divine, so intense, so pure, and so desirable we would never want to come back to earthly love.

Besides that, God gives us rewards in this life for choosing the right way and for sticking with it—no matter what.

You see, the fruit of the Holy Spirit is ‘self control’ and that’s what we develop when we refuse to turn to the left or the right and when we refuse to turn around and go back.

Endurance is a character quality that every angel has and every earthling needs. Tolerance and forbearance helps us to endure peacefully and joyfully. That’s what we use to ignore insults, slander, rocks in our shoes, cold weather, extreme heat and anything else that wants to discourage us and lead us into depression and deep despair. Patience is what it takes to endure for a long time, it is a good quality of character while we are waiting for the end to come in sight.

Anybody can wait, but one man waits in anger, criticism and hate. Another waits in self pity, moaning, groaning and whining. Impatient people are not happy people and they don’t let the people around them remain happy. But, the patient person waits in hope, in faith, in peace and even with joy and happiness.

Perseverance is taking one step at a time for a long time, and through severe situations. That’s what persevere means. Per means ‘through’ and severe means severe. The man who perseveres through all kinds of hindrances, obstacles, hurdles, upsets, detours, road blocks and adversities of all kinds — is the man who enjoys earthly success as well as heavenly rewards.

Any old wimp can give up. It doesn’t take any special skill, no extra talent, no special knowledge or learning and no self discipline at all. If you want to live above ground you have to stick your neck out, be willing to take a risk, and struggle to stay there. But, any old wimp or worm can burrow down in the ground and hide their faces from the reality of what it takes to overcome.

It’s not just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other, if every step you take you are whining, “Oh me” “Oh My”  “Poor me, poor me”. And what good does it do us if every step we take evokes a curse word and then another and then another and another. Ain’t no sense ‘steppin’ at all if you’re going to be angry all the way. The more you complain, the harder each step becomes, but if you laugh, skip, sing and shout for joy, your mind and your body actually activate more energy for your body and more feel good feelings for your brain. That’s when you can step faster and with longer steps and with joy in your heart. It is possible, even when you are in pain.

One night I was in excruciating pain and I kept saying, “Though my body suffers, yet my spirit rejoices.” “Though my body suffers, yet my spirit rejoices’. That made the pain more bearable and made the night go faster. The next day sometime, I was healed without a doctor or medicine of any kind. God rewarded me for the right attitude while I was putting one foot in front of the other. He can do it for you as well.

 

 

 

 

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Ch. 87 – Seeing God In Everything

March 17th, 2012

Blessed are the pure in heart -

 

My friend Jerry was an alcoholic. He had tried many times to quit, but none of it seemed to work for him.

In the process of being judged and criticized by well meaning hypocrites, Jerry himself became very critical.

The reason he liked me is because I was more accepting of him, just like he was. I didn’t judge him, try to change him or control him. I just loved him and acted like a friend. He needed that.

He let me talk ‘God talk’ to him all the time, because it was stuff that wasn’t against him and it was usually some interesting concept that he hadn’t thought of before.

My habit in life was to look at natural events and then look for the spiritual truth that was parallel to it. In other words, I looked for every day parables in everything I did.

Well, one day I was coming up with another one of my spiritual truths from natural events and Jerry exclaimed, “Do you see God in everything?”  My answer was: “Pretty much so.”

 

Later in life, I was in Mexico with my dad. He was an ex-alcoholic and quite critical as well. One day he was pointing out all the negative things he could think of concerning the people we were staying with.

Back then I had not learned to just let the critical people be. Most of the time, they cannot be changed by me, so it’s better just to be ‘forbearing’ with them. That means, “Let them be wrong and bad without confronting them’.

Well, this particular time, I kept coming up with a positive statement about the people every time he mentioned something negative. He, finally, couldn’t take it anymore and snapped: “Do  you think God is in everything?” That’s when I shut up.

I was actually a bit sick that day and when it came time for church, I decided to stay home. Church was actually a conference outside under the trees, just down the hill below the house I was staying in.

While they were singing, I felt an urge to go to the window and look down where they were. I couldn’t believe it, I saw dozens of little lights ascending to heaven and then other lights coming down from heaven. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

Somehow, I automatically knew the lights were the praises of the saints ascending to God.  And in turn, the blessings were coming back down from God upon the people.

I knew that God’s simple message to me was that a lifestyle of praising God will produce a lifetime of blessings in return.

I laid back down on the bed and while meditating, I thought, “Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God –

in everything.”

I knew that if I would keep my mind stayed on Him,

he would let me see His works in everything

and His perspective about everyone.

 

A truth He later shared with me was this: “No matter how wrong and bad people are, Jesus is still worthy of praise. Therefore, it is always appropriate to praise God and it’s always best to stay in an attitude of worship, even (especially) when you’re in the presence of negative, antagonistic people. Halleleujah!

 

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Ch. 86 – 14 Years of Good Luck

March 17th, 2012

How to Be Blessed By God

Break a mirror and shout Halleleujah!

When we moved from a tiny trailer in Saraland, Alabama to a normal size house in 8 mile, Alabama, we needed furniture. Our friend Jerry Murph said he had an extra dresser he would give us.

So we borrowed a pick-up, went to his house and started moving the dresser. He thought we could just leave the mirror attached and still move it. But, while we were putting it in the pick-up, it fell to one side and shattered the mirror.

I think Jerry cursed or got upset in some way, but I immediately exclaimed, “Praise God! That means we are going to have seven years of blessings!” Halleleujah!

Jerry kept apologizing and I kept praising God. Finally Jerry said, “I’ve got another dresser in the house, you can have it instead.” So we exchanged the bad one for the good one and made it all the way home. I said; “See, God’s already blessing us.”

We got it in the house and Jerry left to return the pickup. As we started assembling it, I got the mirror in place and had to go get a screwdriver or something. So, I told my daughter Debbie to hold the mirror in place. She didn’t understand exactly what I wanted so when I let go of the mirror, it crashed and broke in pieces.

I was momentarily stunned. That was the 2nd mirror in one night. The whole family entered into a silent moment of mourning. Debbie thought I was going to be mad at her. And the rest of the family knew it was a calamity.

Suddenly, I started laughing and praising God. I got hilariously happy and declared, “Now, we are going to have 14 years of Blessings. Halleleujah!”

It seemed a shame to waste all those good pieces of mirror. My mind went into overdrive and I left the room. I was looking for the souvenirs we had brought home from Thailand. They were two beautiful picture frames with a hand carved Thai Dancer in each one. I simply removed the carvings and we had two matching picture frames.

I hauled my treasure back into the living room and told the family we were not going to waste those pieces of mirror. I picked out some choice pieces and started randomly gluing them onto the backboard of the frame. I asked the kids to help me and soon we were laughing and having the most fun we’ve ever had as a family.

I put one piece on that looked like a mountain. The kids added some clouds on either side of it. It was just a haphazard but artistic creation. I’ll never forget the joy we felt in salvaging pieces of that broken mirror and the bonding effect it had on our family.

We still had too many pieces to waste so we scrounged up another frame and strategically placed the mirror pieces so that it spelled out, “Jesus is Lord”

We’ve moved back to Texas since then, but those creative frames still decorate the walls of our home – a silent witness that we are indeed blessed by God and that Jesus is The Lord of our household and Lord over all the circumstances of our lives.

God was effectively teaching me to praise Him in all kind of situations and circumstances. He said, “In everything, GIVE THANKS, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I was starting to love this new way of living. It was easy on the mind and good for the soul. Halleleujah!

 

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When ‘Gay’ Happens

March 4th, 2012

What to do

When

‘Gay’ Happens !

 

          That all depends. If it’s happening to you, that’s one thing. If it’s happening to a friend or a family member, then we have a whole new ball game on our hands.

First of all, nobody likes for anybody to be mad at them. And nobody likes to be judged by anybody. And if anybody has even a few experiences with someone of the same sex, they are not going to want everyone to find out.

Why? Nobody likes to be judged harshly. Nobody likes to feel out of place. Everybody wants to be a part of a bigger group. They want to belong. And if the group is likely to ‘turn on them’ they are going to live in fear of discovery, fear of reprisals and the totally horrible ‘fear of rejection’.

Mental and emotional upheavals are certain for anyone who has a tendency to ‘float their boat’ in the direction of the gay life. The gradual ‘floating’ process will soon turn into a ‘fight for life’ as the slow moving river turns into “the whitewater rapids’. It’s too late to get out of the boat or even try to steer for shore and it’s too early to abandon ship.

Confusion sets in when a person feels that they’ve already chosen a secret life style and they don’t really want to let it go. But, there are so many other relationships at stake, that if they stay like they are, they are going to rock the boat and endanger people that they love. People that don’t understand. People who will never ‘condone’ that difference and yet people they love and don’t want to sacrifice for their own preferences.

For a while, there is nothing but torment while a person is being pulled in two different directions at the same time. Suicide is often considered as an almost welcome solution. But, then you have nothing. No lifestyle at all. And death doesn’t seem to be an acceptable alternative.

So you have to live with the torment, until you make a choice and then you have to live with the negative outcomes of either choice. This doesn’t sound like very much fun to me.

If this sounds like you, then you already know what I’m talking about. If it sounds like someone you know and love, then you need to try to understand what they are going through.

 

What’s worse is when a person has a foot in two worlds and doesn’t want to let go of either one. The word for that is ‘bi-sexual’ – enjoying the perks from both worlds. But, the ‘straight’ world doesn’t even understand that. In fact, most of them don’t understand any of it at all. They are repulsed by the very idea. Do you think they are ever going to let any one from the other world feel good about themselves? Not hardly. They are going to come down on them, too hard, too fast and unrelentingly so. Woe be to the one who has friends and loved ones that fit that description.

What are they afraid of?  They are afraid that if they act like they understand, it will look like they condone that lifestyle. They don’t want to take that chance, so they have to be dead set against it. To the person who still wants to be loved and understood, that is a devastating blow to the heart. The mom loves her kid, but she doesn’t want him to think it’s okay to go down that road. She then lives in the torment of, “Lord, what do I do? Lord, what shall I say? Oh God, help me.”  Her little world is in a shambles. She’s being torn in two different directions at the same time.

How does a kid say, “I love you mom, but I still want to be gay and I want you to approve of it, like it, or at least go along with it.”  How does the mom say, “I love you son, but I can never approve of that lifestyle and I can’t just act like it’s all right.”

She doesn’t have to decide. Usually, the dad or someone else says mean and hateful things to the kid and he runs away, just to find some peace and freedom. And her heart is torn apart again and she worries about the kid she loves being out there in that big, black, dark world where she can’t go.

 

Every situation is different, all the players are different and none of the circumstances are the same … so there is not one answer that fits all. That’s impossible. Every individual and every family has to find the best possible way to deal with their own lives and their own problems.

 

But, maybe some general information can be of help in certain situations. First of all, there are always going to be stubborn, arrogant religious people who will adamantly declare that God hates homosexuals and that all homosexuals are going to hell. They are the extremists and they don’t seem to want to budge from their opinions at all.

Most medicines have side effects. Well, this is a side effect of living the gay lifestyle. These kind of people will come out of the woodwork. It’s just part of life. So, what do you do with the side effects?

A gay person can hate these kind of people, but hate is very detrimental to the immune system, to the function of the heart and increases the wrong kind of hormones and chemicals into the brain.

Yes, a person has a right to hate if they want to. But, why would they want to hurt themselves because someone else is bad? No psychologist is ever going to suggest to a person that maybe they should include a little hate in their life to increase their peace and happiness.

Hate sometimes turns into thoughts of murder and is there anyone in the world who would recommend murder as an alternative lifestyle? It’s one thing to want to be gay, it’s another thing to excuse it, justify it, defend it or promote it — but, to link hate and murder with it, then you are definitely stepping over the line.

Most of the damage though, comes from family members. A member of the family cares about how other members in the family treat them. When family members have the wrong reaction, there is disappointment, hurt, pain, feelings of rejection, anger and eventually rejection of those who have rejected them.

These are side effects of one problem and sometimes the side effects are worse and more dangerous than the problem. Does any mother wish that her kid would turn out gay. Probably not, but does she look forward to seeing them blowing their brains out in the bedroom? Absolutely not! Does she wish for the day when her kid will run away from home? No Way!

So, somehow, she has to walk the tightrope. She has to let her kid know that she loves him or her and that she will always be a loving mother no matter what choices they make. Many a mother has watched while her baby has been on death row for years and then executed.. Did she ever encourage him to murder people? Not hardly. But, can she stop loving him because he ended up being a murderer? No, not if she has a true mother’s heart. She can’t condone murder, she can’t encourage it and she can’t let the kid think it’s the best choice in the world. Instead, she carries the pain of that knowledge with her all the way to her own grave.

When a boy or a girl chooses the gay lifestyle, they are automatically the cause of family fights. They pit the mother against the dad, as one defends him and the other attacks him. They bring some shame and pain on the whole family when classmates, friends and church people find out the truth. That’s when the whole family begins to be ‘shunned’ to some extent or another. Of course, the ultimate blame falls on the head of the one who made that choice.

The gay individual carries an even greater sense of guilt and shame and pain, knowing that their personal preferences have thrown the whole family into an uproar of strife or into ‘an intensive care unit’ of pain.

Not too many people can handle even this amount of inner conflict. But, on top of this they have to deal with conflicting issues of the heart concerning the mate or mates they have chosen. They endure more rejection and grief and pain when the first partner moves on and they have to look for someone else to fill the emptiness in their soul. Petty bickering in their own little world can eat them up and keep them from peace and happiness. Would you say they live a life of ‘torment’?  Probably so.

They need someone to love them, care for them and pray for them. Contrary to public opinion God does not hate them. God understands all the workings of the gay mind and thoughts. He understands their feelings and  emotions. He knows all the details of their activities and behavior and He still loves them. He is looking for someone who will side with Him in seeking for their healing from the side effects. Someone who will care about where they are coming from and care deeply about their future. Is that you?

You don’t have to tell God what to do with their lives. Just ask Him to love them, and to lead and guide them into the best possible path for their future. It will take some time, but little by little you will see them walking in greater calmness and peace and you will see them making some good decisions for their lives. God is smarter and wiser than all of us and He knows the best way to deal with each individual.

Even if you think the gay lifestyle is wrong, let me ask you a question. If your son were having an epileptic seizure, would you think that was good or bad? Would you think there was something wrong with your son? Would you then, throw him outside, because that is not proper behavior for a normal son? Would you holler and scream at him and say, “No son of mine is going to have uncontrollable seizures in my house.” Or would you take him to see a doctor and have some tests run to determine the cause and see if there is a possible cure?

If your kid was in a coma or throwing up blood, would you think that is natural, normal and to be expected? Would you tell them to ‘move out’ if they expect to keep doing those kinds of things?

Even if the gay lifestyle is not normal, natural and to be expected of all your kids, what do you think a proper response should be? If you subtract love from a hurting person, will that make them hurt less?

If your kid robbed a liquor store and got shot in the process, and if you were by his bedside in the hospital, hoping he wouldn’t die, would you be screaming at him, telling him what a low-life he is and asking him how he could do this to his family? Is that the time to tell him how bad he is and how wrong robbery is and that he should have known better?

Our choice of words, the tone of our voice and the timing of certain talks make all the difference in the world. Be wise as a fox and harmless as a dove, especially with your own flesh and blood.

Sometimes, if we can use an analogy that they understand, then they can apply it to their own situation and not feel rejected, judged or hated because of who they are or who they have become.

For instance, a girl has horribly crossed eyes. People are uncomfortable when they look at her. So kids become cruel and call her names. Adults look away and ignore her. But, the mother wraps her in her arms and says, “I love you, baby girl. I love you just like you are. I know you aren’t just like everybody else, but even if you had no eyes, I would still love you.

For instance, a boy has a horrible stutter. Everybody feels uncomfortable just trying to listen to him for two minutes. The kids are cruel and make fun of him and the adults listen for a few seconds and then turn away. It is too difficult for them to pretend that he is normal and they are too selfish to endure something uncomfortable if they don’t have to. But, the dad takes him fishing and says, ‘Son, I love you just like you are. I know everybody doesn’t stutter like you do, so yes you are different, and if I could fix your problem, I would. But, as long as the world stands, I’m going to love you. You are a part of me.

Another kid has one leg that is shorter than the other one. He has to wear an entire leg brace because that leg is also weaker than a normal leg. The kid limps along and other kids get tired of trying to walk slowly, so they run ahead and leave him by himself. Even the adults are not patient enough to walk with him, so they make excuses as to where they need to be. But, his mom and dad both, have learned to adjust their whole life to make him feel more comfortable with his handicap. Do they tell him he is so normal that everybody ought to have a leg brace? No. Because that’s not true. But, they are going to love him just as he is and adapt to the difficulties of his lifestyle as much as they can.

Do I need to go on? There are 655 other maladies, deformities, handicaps, diseases and troubles that mothers and fathers put up with, endure and make the most of – without letting their kids feel unloved. This is just another one.

Sure, everyone thinks that this lifestyle is a matter of choice, just like they think a drug addict could choose to say “NO’ to drugs if he wanted to, just like they think an alcoholic does have a choice of whether to drink or not. Yes, they also believe that every fat person could be thin if they wanted to. But, it’s never that simple or that easy. There are factors involved in each scenario that no one fully understands, especially the people who have never had that problem. That just means they are not qualified to say anything on the subject, unless they’ve been there, unless they’ve experienced it first hand.

Is it harder to be a ‘gay’ person or the ‘gay’ person’s family. Who knows? Every individual is unique and every situation is different. Let us all try to learn to walk in love toward everyone who has a problem that we don’t have.

Someone once said, “I complained because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” I came along and changed it to say, “Instead of complaining because I had no shoes, I pushed the wheelchair of the man who had no feet.” This way, we were both thankful for my feet, even if I didn’t have any shoes. ”Thankfulness is good, all the way around.”

From this day forth, someone is going to patiently walk with the cripple, be the eyes for the blind, help a stutterer succeed and make a gay person feel like someone in the straight world cares.  So be it.

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Ch. 85 – Hearing From God

March 4th, 2012

Ch. 85 – (Taken from ‘Life After Death’)

When we moved to 8- mile Alabama, there was no phone in the house we rented. The telephone company had to send a man out to install all the necessary equipment.

Well, they sent a black man. That’s no problem for me, since we grew up in the North and had good relationships with black people.

Anyway, while I was sitting and watching him do his work, I thought to myself, “If I had been prejudiced and wouldn’t let a black man in my house, I would not be able to have a phone. I would be cut off from the outside world. No matter how many people out there had phones, I would not be able to speak with any of them. All because of some stupid racial prejudice.

Suddenly, I realized that millions of people have hundreds of types of prejudice, dogmatic opinions and other hang ups which limit their usefulness in society and cut them off from benefits and blessings that they could otherwise receive.

 

The next thing I thought of, was that the two-way communication I wanted was impossible without the right equipment installed within the house. And God was telling me, that’s why so many people cannot hear my voice. They will not allow the Holy Spirit to grant them the means to hear from me. Unless I plant the ‘receiver’ in them, it’s the same as not even having a phone. They are spiritually ignorant of what they need or too stubborn and proud to give the Holy Spirit such access to their lives.

 

People are spiritually deprived because of the absence of the right spiritual equipment, and because of that, their inability to receive and understand the voice of God.

And many are spiritually deprived simply because they ignorantly shut out certain religious people from their fellowship, simply because of a religious prejudice. And they also despise un-churched people or what they call ‘sinners’ that God has sent to be a blessing in their lives.

 

Jesus was saying, “Come unto me, learn of me, I am meek and lowly in heart, I will teach you the value of true humility and through humility you will obtain grace to overcome and find rest for your soul”

 

I will never forget that day or the lessons I learned from that experience, because it was God Himself, talking to me, telling me what I needed to know in order to succeed in life and to obtain favor from Him.

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Ch. 84 – Blame Me! Blame Me!

February 26th, 2012

I can handle the blame!

             I was now a ‘bonafide grunt’ for Mathew’s Electric. I was hired on to be part of an electrical crew. Electrician’s helper was my official title. I had never had any electrical experience of any kind in my life. I had never even tried to put in a switch or electrical socket in my own homes. Talk about green. I was deep, deep green.

            In other words, I was ignorant and totally eaten up with ignorance. That doesn’t mean I was dumb. It just means that I didn’t know anything. And all the guys took advantage of that.

            The Master Electrician on the jobs had been into electricity for over 30 years. We will call him M.E. and the boss’s boy had been around electricity all his life. We will call him B.B.  They rode me mercilessly. It’s not easy working with someone who doesn’t know what a junction box is or what # 12 Romex wire is. They resented me being there, because they knew the boss hired me because I was from the church and needed help. Even the helpers got their laughs out of razzing me.

            They would ask me to go get the wire stretchers and then laugh when I had to ask what they looked like and laugh hilariously when I found out there was no such thing. 

            I tried hard to do right and to learn fast. Anyone with an inferiority complex is craving to fit in and dying for acceptance. I didn’t get it there. But, I couldn’t quit. So, I had to ‘deal with it’. I couldn’t deal with things on my own anymore. I had to go to the help desk. I had to pray. I would cry and pray all the way home and then pray some more after I got there.

            Without even realizing it, God showed up. One day the M.E. was hollering and screaming, wanting to know who did a certain wrong thing. That wasn’t unusual. Most of the times ‘nobody would admit to the wrong if it couldn’t be proved who did it’. This was one of those times, but suddenly I had an inspiration. I raised my hand and said, “I’ll take the blame!” Everything got quiet. The M.E. stared at me and then quietly asked, “Did you do it?”  I said, “No. But, I’ll take the blame. I can handle it.” I had to fight hard to not laugh, but a few little snickers escaped from the other guys who thought that was funny. The boss was being humiliated so he just changed the subject and we went on with work.

            The very next day, he started hollering, wanting to know who screwed up. I raised my hand and said, “I did it.” I wouldn’t have ever done that or done it so quickly, but I remembered my blame game from the day before. Instantly the thought ran through my head, “You accepted blame yesterday when it wasn’t your fault, so why not do it just as calmly when it is?” He asked, “Did you really?” When I said ‘yes’ and apologized, he dropped the case immediately. I confessed and it was over. It didn’t hurt a bit.

            I loved it. I loved it. Something good happened in me that day. I knew I could face the truth about myself and my mistakes and not have to lie or cringe in fear of the repercussions.

            I went on to analyze what happened and realized that all my life I had lived on the ‘defensive edge’ of life. When anyone accused me, blamed me, or criticized me, I would always react defensively. The defensiveness would start on the inside, then I would either lie or explain or make excuses or blame someone else, or, or, or…

            Somewhere down the line I read about a fellow who lived by the motto:

“No Attack!  No Defense!”

 

            I started practicing that same motto. It was not easy at first, but I soon learned new ways to react to certain people and circumstances of life. All I had to do was to ‘be honest’ not defensive. Be willing to ‘Accept the Blame’ instead of trying to ‘Pass The Buck’ or weasel out of  ‘accountability’ somehow.

            I learned that the devil is the ‘Accuser of the brethren’ who continually accuses us before the Heavenly Father, night and day. An accusation is an attack of sorts. I didn’t want to side with the prosecuting attorney of hell, so even in my mind, I would let go of my accusations against others. It didn’t make any difference if I was right and they were wrong, God didn’t create me to ‘prove anyone wrong’. I was made to manifest the nature of Jesus Christ. I was here to forgive people and to help them get better or intercede for them so that God would help them.

            Over time, my self confidence rose 75% just because I didn’t have to be afraid of the truth and I didn’t have to be afraid of ‘condemnation attacks’ from others.  To this day, some people still think I’m wrong and bad in certain areas of life, just because I wouldn’t defend myself or explain the real facts that were hidden to them. Sure, the devil tried to make me worry about what they would think and what they would say to others.  But, I sucked it up and laughed it off. I knew Jesus had been falsely accused without saying a Word. I wanted to follow Him.

            Besides that, Jesus said, “When they lie about you, rejoice and be exceedingly glad.” So, I even did that. If Jesus said, “Eat Oatmeal” I would probably do that, whether I like oatmeal or not. For some reason, His words are worth doing, obeying and honoring. These reactions soon delivered me from the fear of what the devil could do to me. He couldn’t intimidate me or terrify me any more. There is nothing so bad in life that God won’t walk me through it. And He who walks with God, walks in peace.

            Anything I say, “I’ve learned from God” is subject to a greater scrutiny. Because, my record is pock-marked with degrees of failure, struggle, success, more failure, more practice and more success. I can never seem to do anything perfectly. So I never even reach for perfect anymore. I just strive for improvement, one little degree at a time. In ten years all those little degrees, mixed with some failures, have put me way up the ladder – and perfection may be far away, but not as far as it was.

            Now, I am constantly running across people who are absolutely defensive and will never admit to being wrong in any way, shape or form. They lie, they make excuses, they blame others, they deny that it happened or that they had any involvement in the matter or they justify their actions with 1 real reason and six phony ones.  They are the most difficult people to live with. But, their spouses or kids or parents feel like they just have to confront them about their reactions again and again. That’s the cause for much strife, anger and even hate in the homes.

            There is a time to confront and there are times when all the confrontation in the world will not change a person for the better. It is better to ask God for wisdom to know what to do, in any given circumstance or with the particular person that you have to deal with.

            I’ve found, that sometimes, it is better to not confront at all and to forgive repetively and obsessively, while you are asking God to do whatever He can in their lives. Sometimes, when you complain about a certain noise in your car, the mechanic will go to the other end or the other side and start working. Why? Because he knows the source of the problem is somewhere else apart from the cause or the symptom. God may not change a thing to suit you. But, He may be effectively working within their thoughts, their emotions, their dreams or with some other behavior first.

            The dad is weaving all over the road. The daughter is scared. She hollers at her day to be still, to drive straight, to hold his hands and arms in a certain way and all because she wants to correct the problem immediately. But, she doesn’t know that he just went around the corner and drank a fourth of a pint of whiskey – straight. And no telling how much before that. No advice or confrontation is going to make the guy drive right for a while. God has to get to the root, the source and then the cause of any problem. You will just have to trust and pray and be patient and continue to trust and pray some more and be forbearing and trust and pray and be long suffering and trust and pray and be loving and kind and trust and pray some more.

            By the time you end your life, God may not have changed the individual you were praying for, but you will be much more peaceful, patient, kind, loving, contented, happy in spite of difficulties, forbearing, longsuffering and full of faith and trust in God. Anything wrong with that? Those are Eternal, Divine Character Qualities that can never be taken from you. God knew what He was doing all along. He’s trustworthy. Trust Him.

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Ch. 82 – Rejoice In Calamity

February 26th, 2012

Mobile, Alabama – Here we come!

            Once God freed my mind up from the fear of choosing and the fear of making mistakes, I made my decision. We were moving to Mobile, Alabama.

            I wasn’t sure that’s what I was supposed to do, but I wanted to see if it would work out. I at least wanted to say, “I tried.”

            Our first home was a rented trailer in a mobile home park in Saraland. A member of my brother’s church had an electrical business and offered to give me a job. I was to be an electrician’s helper. That meant that when the team went out, I was the one who dug the ditches, ran to the truck for parts and ran to the electrical shops to buy what we had failed to provide ahead of time. I did everything that nobody else wanted to do.

            I had never worked around electricity before. This was a totally new gig for me and I felt ‘inferior’ to everyone else there. In my lifetime, I’d had thirty some different kinds of jobs and would eventually make that forty. On every job, the first day was a new visit with an old friend of mine – inferiority. I struggled to be an equal, but I never was. I was the newcomer, the odd man out, the wimp on board. Some things never seem to change.

            I got my first paycheck and was heading home and stopped at the bank first to cash my check. They gave the money back to me in a small bank envelope. My next stop was at a grocery store in a small strip mall. I got the items that we needed and stepped up to the check out counter. THE ENVELOPE WAS GONE! I searched in all my pockets, looked in the car, and scoured the parking lot for the lost envelope. But, it was nowhere to be found.

            An entire paycheck was gone! Totally gone! I went back and retraced my steps into the store, down every aisle and back out to my parking spot. I couldn’t afford to lose that money.

            I dreaded facing my wife and having to tell her that I had no rent money, no grocery money and no money for gas. I never realized how fast depression can creep into your skull, but it was there in force by the time I pulled into the trailer park. I think she even went back to help me look again.

            Years before, God had tried to teach me to honor the scripture that says, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” And I did do that, every once in a while – but it wasn’t a part of my every day way of living yet. But, I was reminded to ‘try again’.

            Sure, I did it – half heartedly. The depression was so deep and so strong that I couldn’t do it joyfully or from my heart. Then a scripture came so forcibly to my mind, “Rejoice with him who rejoices.” God wanted me to do that and the only person I could think of that might be rejoicing would be the person who found my money. Yes, I could see them getting pretty excited about finding so much money and no name to go with it. If they couldn’t return it, then they would have to keep it. Sure, THEY would be happy! (With my money)

            Now, God was saying, “Be happy with them! Rejoice with them at their good fortune!”  I could not do that. Not at first anyway.

            Then I pictured a little old widow lady at home, crying her eyes out. She was praying and reminding God she was on a fixed income and that was not enough to meet some unexpected extra needs that had come up. She reminded God of the time He sent Peter to get a gold coin out of the mouth of a fish. She reminded Him that “With God all things are possible.” She expressed her belief in Him, her trust in Him and her faith in His word.

            And then God says, “Go to the store!” But, she couldn’t do that, she didn’t have any money. And God repeats His command, “Go to the store.” So, she obeys, shaking her head all the way. She’s there, now what? The only thing left to do is ‘go in’, so she does. But, half way there she sees an envelope. She hates clutter so she picks it up to be thrown away when she gets to the store. But, it’s not just an envelope. There’s money inside. Lots of it! It’s just what she needs to meet the extra obligations. There is no name attached so she can’t return it. She starts thanking God all the way home.

            It’s Wednesday, so she goes to church that night and gives testimony as to how God miraculously gave her an envelope of money just when she needed it most. Everyone in the church breaks out with joy and rejoicing over her good fortune. And God is telling me, “Rejoice with her and rejoice with them!”

            Suddenly His command doesn’t seem so strange anymore. If my loss became her gain and she praised God intensely, how could I be depressed? God would be glorified in it all.

            I knew the story probably wasn’t literally what happened, but it let me see how God could possibly want me to rejoice over my loss. So, I did, cheerfully and enthusiastically.

            I don’t know how our needs were met at that particular time, but evidently they were.

            Later, we moved to another house in 8-mile, Alabama. It was a run down house, but it had a big, big front yard and back yard, plenty of room for the kids to play. And the rent was cheaper.

            About 3 months later, I was once again in deep, deep depression. I don’t even remember why. All I know is that I could not leave the bedroom for any reason. I couldn’t even get off the bed. I couldn’t even pray for myself, so I asked God to have someone pray for me.  My wife would come to the door and ask me to get up and I would holler for her to leave me alone.

            But, maybe 15 or 30 minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Our friends had come to see us. My wife insisted that I had to get up. So, I gathered my wits about me, put on my social face and went out to see them. While they were in the process of sitting down, their young son Eric walked across the room with a little brown envelope in his hand. That was the same kind of envelope my money had been in. I exclaimed, “Eric, let me see what you have!”

            He had actually been heading across the room to give it to me. As he handed it to me, I opened it to see all the money that I had lost. All of it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Where did you get this?”

            Then, the dad told me the story. Eric had been begging his dad for something at the store and his day said, “Eric we don’t have any money.” So Eric responded, “If I can get some money, will you let me have it?” The dad asked, “Where can you get any money?” That’s when Eric replied, “I found some under our refrigerator.” He went and got the envelope and showed it to his dad. Of course, the dad had heard all about my loss at the grocery store and realized that the money was probably mine.

            That’s when I remembered, before I went to the store, I had stopped at their house. Eric and I had been wrestling in the kitchen and the envelope probably fell from my pocket and got kicked under the fridge. In three months, I had never even thought about my stop at their house. God had hidden that from me until the time was right. He had wanted to ‘test’ me to see if I would give thanks in everything and if I would rejoice with those who rejoice – even if it was at my expense. And in due time, He gave me my money back.

            When I rejoiced at God’s command, I had no idea I was rejoicing with myself (three months later). I have since trusted God to rejoice in all kinds of disappointments, delays, losses, pain and even tragedy.

            Rejoicing in the midst of testings, trials, tribulations, trouble and distress is “a way of life’ that God has advocated and ordained for me. I have walked in that grace over and over and over again and I’m no worse off then if I hadn’t. In fact, I’m better off. I’ve lived more contentedly in times of trouble and lived more peaceably with others in conflict and enjoyed more happiness than the average Joe.

            I can recommend that kind of a lifestyle for anyone if they will only do it as unto the Lord and not from necessity, duty or coercion.

            That class I was in, I call, “Rejoice in Calamity – 101” or better yet, “Embrace Adversity until it Loves You Back”. No matter what you name that ‘learning process’ it is one of the building blocks of being an over-comer and becoming ‘more than a conqueror’.  It is the introductory chapter of, “Keys to Triumphant Living”.

            Perhaps I have set the pace for others to follow. I hope so, and if you do, you’ll never regret it. For some reason, giving thanks and rejoicing, keeps you back from regrets, remorse, depression, retaliation, resentment, negativity, bitterness, anger, hate, despair, despondency, feeling sorry for yourself and a host of other mental and emotional ills. Why would anyone prefer those kinds of reactions to life’s difficulties when God can give you a cheerful countenance in any kind of weather? 

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Ch. 83 – Envy – A Deadly Weapon

February 26th, 2012

Envy – A Deadly Weapon

In all my life, I had never thought much about envy. But, when I went to Mobile and saw my littlest and youngest brother succeeding in ministry, whereas I had bombed out royally….something tried to take control of my life.

He was pastoring a church and I was a nobody sitting on the sidelines. It was as if the coach had ‘benched’ me and put someone else in to quarterback in my stead. He was not only pastoring, but running a bookstore out of the church. He was on the radio. He was going ‘all out’ and I was stalled on the side of the road.

He was seven years younger than me and being blessed more than me. Something started to ‘eat me up’. It was a miserable feeling. Finally, God called it by name, ‘Envy’! And He showed me how deadly it can be.

 

Satan is The Father of Envy

Envy began with satan, who wanted the position that God had and thought it should be his. So God created the world and invented people. What does satan do? He tells them God has a wisdom they don’t have and they need access to that wisdom. He causes them to rebel and disobey. He planted his nature in their hearts. He gave them the thought that God had something that they should have and he urged them to take it.

Cain and Abel

Adam and Eve had two boys and God blessed the younger one instead of the first born. Cain figured he should have gotten the blessing. Abel had what should have been his. That’s what he was led to believe. He felt demoted (like satan felt) and got angry (like satan was) and rose up and killed his brother.

Jesus said satan was a ‘murderer’ from the beginning. Who did he murder? Where did rebellion, disobedience, envy and murder come from? It came from the heart of hell.

Joseph & his brothers

God reminded me of Joseph. He was the younger brother who was given the coat of many colors, signifying some kind of favoritism from his mother. Then, he gets a dream that sounds like God is going to exalt him above them.

What happened? Envy crept in their hearts. Envy is the prelude to hatred and hatred thinks the solution is murder. Yes, his brothers dug a pit for him and threw him into it. They were going to leave him to die. Instead, they pulled him out and sold him to a caravan of foreigners coming through.

Now Jesus and Paul

The Bible says that ‘through envy’ the scribes and Pharisees delivered Jesus up to be crucified.  Cain, Joseph and Jesus were all betrayed by envy and sentenced to die. But, that’s not all. Some Jews in one town were moved by envy toward Paul and had him dragged out of town to be stoned. Murder was in their hearts, but like Joseph he was spared. They left him for dead, but he lived anyway.

God was telling me how diabolical and deadly envy can be. It belongs in a class of crime that includes hatred and murder. I had not been given any inclination to ‘hate’ yet – but, if I had given in to envy, the hate would be sure to follow.

Yes, envy is a deadly weapon. It is satan’s weapon against the ones who accept it as a part of their own nature. From then on, they are destroyed from within and become destroyers of the peace and well being of others.

Be Happy With Those Who Succeed

 

The Bible tells us to “Rejoice with those who rejoice” and God was telling me to ‘rejoice in another man’s good fortune’ instead of simmering in resentment and bitterness toward him.

God spoke to me of Esau and Jacob and how the elder was called to serve the younger. If it had not been for the wisdom of God, Esau would have killed Jacob. How humiliating is it for the older boy to serve his younger brother?

But, Jesus asked me to come to Him, saying, “Come unto me, learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall have rest for your soul.”  Envy is conceived in a heart of pride and pride is the deadliest of sins. So, I humbled myself to serve my youngest brother with joy.

An electrical contractor in the church gave me a job, working with his crew as a helper. That means, ‘no experience needed’.

The man had a big piece of property full of old, tall trees and a two-story house. He had a Cadillac, trucks, a couple warehouses and other equipment. He had so much and I had so little. I was living in a rented trailer in a mobile home park. The contrast was great. But, what can you expect. I had never owned a home, property or anything more expensive than an old used car.

That’s when I realized, all my life I had envied the rich, coveted what others had or was jealous toward those more gifted and more talented than me. These were feelings I had never identified and acknowledged before. But, God wanted me to know the truth, so THE TRUTH could set me free.

Anyway, no matter what I did have or could do, I was always a little unhappy because of what I didn’t have or couldn’t do. Talk about inferior. Someone asked me, “Do you know why you have an inferiority complex?” I answered, “No” and they said, “Because you are inferior.”

Nobody likes to be humiliated. Nobody likes to feel inferior. And it’s hard not to have bad feelings toward those who are taller than you, richer than you, more handsome than you, more gifted than you, brighter than you and more successful than you.

Every day when I showed up for work, I knew I was in a battle for my soul. I knew envy was from the devil and he was using my circumstances to open me up to his demons, his nature and eventually to his destruction. He wanted me to ‘partner with him’ against those who had been ‘blessed’ by God.

Like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, I had to struggle with ‘strong cryings and tears’, just to resist the encroachments of hell against my soul.

My brother seemed to be blessed by God. My boss seemed to be blessed by God. I was told not to envy anyone who is blessed, but to find my own way to also be blessed by God. And I remembered Abraham. God told him, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.”

So I considered my boss to be one of the ‘children of Abraham’. I determined to ‘bless him’ in any way I could. I saw that the grounds all around the warehouses were covered in tall, tall grass – like tall as me. It was a jungle out there. So after work, before I left for home I would cut some of the tall grass down.

When I did, I found rolls and rolls of copper wire that had been left over from past jobs. I got permission to gather it all up and sell it. The first truck load brought in just over a thousand dollars which I gave to my boss. But, I was still finding more copper, so I took in a second load which brought in a little more than the first load. .

But, this time, my boss said I could keep the money for myself! Halleleujah! I was blessed because I tried to bless those whom God was blessing. It worked! It worked!

That wasn’t the end of my struggle with ‘envy’, but it got me going in the right direction. I was to rejoice with those who rejoiced. I was to be happy for people that had more than me and those who could do more than me. In fact, I was to be willing to serve them with gladness and joy. Jesus said, “He who would be the greatest among you must become the ‘servant of all’. The pathway to greatness is meekness and humility. I was being told to ‘accept’ being on the lower rung of the ladder and to praise God if I happen to be the low man on the totem pole. There was a complete mind adjustment to be embraced and that big of a change does not happen over night. God was going to be reminding me ‘over and over again’ how to live this new life of faith in Christ and obedience to His will.

God wanted to make sure I didn’t ‘over rate’ myself, so He gave me the scripture which says, “Esteem others to be better than yourself.”  I’ll never, ever forget my stupid, first response to that scripture. I asked, “But God, what if I am better than them?”

Since then, I’ve seen others I grew up with. Many of them I considered to be ‘less than’ me or ‘inferior’ to me or ‘lacking something’ that I had or was. Guess what, the good traits they had caused them to advance, increase and excel. Today, they live in nicer houses, drive better cars, have better jobs and enjoy many advantages that I can’t even hope for. Some of them are owners of big companies, managing many employees or the pastors of successful churches and leaders in other ways that I can never attain to.

God was starting His own ‘reality’ show with me. He wanted me to wake up to the reality of who I really was. He wanted me to admit to my weaknesses, my lack, and my ‘little’ ways that would always keep me ‘little’. And He wanted me to be happy with all that and to strive to become more like Him.

He didn’t want me to be rich, talented, and successful. He knew those things would blind me to the real ‘will of God’ for my future. He wanted me to ‘be content’ where ever I was and with whatever circumstances I faced and with what ever I had or didn’t have. Contentment is the core of happiness and the key to peace or the key to happiness and the core of real peace.

He wanted me to possess ‘Divine Love’, the love that doesn’t exalt itself, is not proud and does not boast. He wanted me to have a love that was willing to serve ‘the least’ in the Kingdom of God and to do it with the right thoughts, feelings and attitudes.

He wanted to make me great by making me willing to become the servant to all kinds of people. He wanted to introduce me to the real Christ of the Gospels. Scripture says, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. He died for the weak, the bad, the inferior, the rebellious, that hateful and those who were totally unlike Him.

The Love of God is meekness, lowliness, humility and the urge to build up the weak, to strengthen the fallen, to show mercy to the malefactors, and to forgive those who deserve no forgiveness – that they might someday be revived, restored, redeemed and be able to become ‘more than conquerors’ through Him who loved them and gave Himself for them.

It’s not all about me and what I can do and what I’ve become and where I live and how successful I seem. It’s all about becoming His hand extended, reaching our to the oppressed and walking in a fruitfulness that only the Spirit of God can produce in and through us. I had a lot, lot more to learn, that’s for sure.

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The Will of God

February 1st, 2012

The Will of God

 

When there are two roads before you and you don’t know which road God wants you to take, there is a bit of worry, anxiety and fear that you might make the wrong decision.

I vacillated between two roads for weeks on end. I had an opportunity to go to Mobile Alabama and help my brother in his church. But, I worried that if that was not the will of God and I did it anyway, bad things were bound to happen to me. So, I was afraid to make that decision.

But, if I stayed in Utopia where we were and God had wanted me to go to Alabama and I didn’t step out in faith and obey Him, surely bad things would happen to me because I had missed the will of God.

One day I was convinced that I should go. The next day I felt that I had to stay. Back and forth the tug of war continued, until in desperation I cried out, “God! God! Please tell me what you will is. I want to do your will!”

Suddenly, quiet thoughts began going through my mind. It was as if God was speaking to me and saying:

“My will is:

for you to live by my principles,

to obey my laws

and to have a great respect for my commandments

—no matter where you are in the world.

If I want you in a particular geographical place

and you get out of my will as to where you should live,

it is a small thing for me to get you back to where you were.

 

But, even if you are in the right place,

and your heart is not right with me,

and you are despising My laws, My principles and My words,

then it is very difficult for me to get you to conform to My will for your life.”

 

That let me know that God was not interested so much in where I lived and what opportunities I embraced, as much as He was interested in teaching me His ways, His laws, and getting me to actually live by those principles.

The fear was gone, the bondage of Satan was broken. I knew I could make any decision I wanted to, as long as I paid attention to what God really wanted. And, personally, I wanted to go to Mobile. I wanted change. I wanted to see where that road would go. So, I packed up my family and we moved.

The Bible says: “Whatever is not of ‘faith’ is sin.” That means that if we cannot do something in all good conscience and have peace and confidence in our decision, we are violating a principle of God. He never wants us to live in doubt, uncertainty and nagging regrets.

The Bible also says: “The work of righteousness (or right decisions) is peace and the effect of righteousness (right decisions) is quietness and confidence forever.” When I make a decision or am about to and my peace disappears, I run back to God and talk it over. It may be something that I really want, but if He knows it is not good for me, He lets my spirit within me to be at unrest and disquieted. That’s a sign that I can’t go forward until my heart is at peace again.

He may want me to take a road that has a lot of curves in it and unknown outcomes. It may be a road that I know will call for difficulty, stress and struggle. That may be the reason I don’t want that road. But, His will is for me to walk in total trust that He will guide me, protect me, provide for me and go before me, working things out as I go. It’s very difficult to make those kinds of choices for my future, but if I keep praying, an angel of the Lord will minister to me and take away my doubts, my fears and my hesitation to make that choice. He will give me a quietness, a peace  and a determination to accept the struggles long before I get there, knowing God is with me.

The Bible says: “God is the God of peace.”  It also says: “Jesus is the Prince of Peace”. And it further declares that the Holy Spirit is: “The Spirit of Peace”.

Scripture says: “These three are one and they agree in one.” There is total unity in heaven over everything. Jesus will never go contrary to the Father and the Holy Spirit will not fight against the Word of God.  When your heart and mind line up with these three, you will definitely walk in peace, even if it never comes until you give in, give up, let go, submit and surrender to something that you are fighting against.

You may not even be aware that you are fighting against God, but there may be another spirit, in, on or around you that is fighting against God to keep you from being set free and walking in the joy of the Lord.  That spirit may speak loudly with strong thoughts and reasonings that you think are your own, but when you get quiet before the Lord and say, “Not my will, but thine be done, Lord” (And really mean it), then God speaks peace to your mind, your spirit, and your soul. Dare to trust Him. He can do a good job of guiding your life through the right paths and to a good destination. Amen. Amen. And so be it!
 

 

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