Wanting Something

Do you have friends or family who only come around when they need something? I do too. When I look up and see them coming, I know they've got some kind of problem they need help with. I don't care to help them and I always do, but it would be nice if they came to see me now and then just because they like me. It kind of makes you feel used, doesn't it?
Friends spend time with each other because they enjoy each other's company. Families should love each other just because they're blood. Spending time with someone shows them that you care; after all, what do you have that's more precious and irreplaceable than your time? Going to see someone when you're not after anything but their company lets that person know how much you value them!
There are Christians who only go to God when they're sick or in trouble. They never pray until hard times hit. Christians are not only God's friends, but his family as well. Spending time alone with him every day, especially when we're not asking for something, tells him that we really care. It lets him know that we're after him, not just the things he can give us. It's not that he minds our asking for what we need; I believe it is his great pleasure to give us our heart's desires. But to only hear from us when we're in need must make him feel used just like it does us!
Spend some time with your Heavenly Father today. Just go to him and talk to him about your life. Tell him how things are going. Fellowship with him; communicate with him one on one. Sure, he knows what's going on in your life without you telling him, but that's not the point. He's looking for fellowship, not information. It's not what your saying, but just that your there talking with him. We were created to enjoy him and be enjoyed by him!

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Brother Bashing

I absolutely hate to see one Christian bash another! I know the world thinks we're all a little wacko, but they really don't understand us. The Bible even says that God's ways are foolishness to the world. But for one Christian to talk badly about another Christian's beliefs is unacceptable.
I heard a world renowned evangelist say on TV, "If you believe stuff like that, you're a fool!", talking about something a particular denomination does in their church services. First of all, who is he to judge someone else's servant. Those people serve God, not him! If they are to be judged, let God judge them!; they belong to him! Secondly, the Bible often tells us to do something and then says "...and even more so to the brethren.". We are to be especially kind and generous and helpful to our brothers and sisters! Thirdly, Jesus says that people will know we are his because we love each other! Fool is not a term of endearment! Lastly, a house divided against itself can't stand. If we can't agree, let's at least agree to disagree so that we show a united front! We are much more alike than we are different.
We are brothers and sisters and we will spend eternity together. We may as well learn to get along now. Besides, what ever happened to the old adage: "If you can't say something good, don't say anything at all."?

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Help for Sale

I have a pet peeve. I hate to see a Christian brother or sister on TV talk about a book they've written that will "change your life!" only to find out that it costs $19.95. If I need my life changed but I don't have $19.95, am I just out of luck? If I'm not only messed up but poor as well, what then? Add to that the hurtful knowledge that there is help out there, I just can't afford it!
I know that books, tapes and CD's are sold all the time to raise funds. And I know that those funds are used to send missionaries, build churches, feed the hungry and all kinds of other wonderful and godly things. But to build up someone's hope and then attach a price to it!; I just don't see it as being the "Christian thing to do"!
It seems to me I remember Jesus saying to his disciples, "Freely you have received, freely give." Anything a Christian has that is any good, he received it from God and it was free.You may say "Well, all the money I make goes to God." God doesn't need your money, he needs you to help make someone's life easier! If you do that, he'll cause the money you need to come in!
There has got to be a better way of doing things. I wonder if I will ever see someone appear on TV and say "This book will make such a difference in you life, it will bless you and help you so much, that I am selling my house to get enough money to give a copy of it to anyone who needs it!" Now that is the Christian thing to do!

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The Proof of Love

Giving is the proof of love. Talk is cheap; anyone can say "I love you." Giving, on the other hand, costs the giver something and only those who truly love are willing to do it. How many marriages fail after a short period of time even though two people promised to love each other "'till death do us part"? Marriage means giving and they weren't willing to give. Lust is taking and no giving; Love is giving with no thought to taking. It's nice to receive, but people who really love give because they love, not to get something in return.
People who say they love but refuse to give, are mistaken. When you love, you will always want to give. Jesus proved his love by giving his life. Our parents prove their love by giving their time, money and protection. A believer proves his/her love by giving control of his/her life to God. Husbands and wives prove their love by giving up their "singleness" in favor of their new union; they essentially give themselves to each other!
True love never dies because true love never stops giving. True love is a covenant, not a contract. A contract says "I will do my part as long as you do your part."; Love says "I will do my part regardless of whether you do your part or not.". Maybe that helps explain our high divorce rate. People are making contracts instead of covenants.
I believe that until we learn to love God, we can't really love anyone else. When you give your whole life away, giving anything else is easy. When we have given everything we are, giving anything we have is simple. God is love and when we have him we understand what love really is!

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Not Welcome

Sometimes I think about the people who settled this country.They were hard-working, sensible people who came here looking for freedom; freedom to worship God, freedom to think and speak as they wanted, freedom to have their own opinions about things, freedom to live their lives as they wished without government interference. They were people who expected everyone to pull their own weight, but would help their neighbor when he couldn't help himself. They were people of character who believed in God and hard work; people who took pride in themselves and in their ability to run their own lives. And then I think.... those people would not be welcome in the United States of America today! The very people who made this the greatest country in the world would not be welcome.Their superstitious ideas and simple-minded way of seeing things would not be tolerated! Talk about politically incorrect!; these people actually believed in right and wrong! They actually believed in God and worshiped Him! They actually believed that people were responsible for their actions and punished them when they broke the law! They had such strange ideas! What kind of country could be built on ideas like those!
We have pretty much abandoned every idea they held dear! We belittle and even prosecute anyone who would dare return to such beliefs! We've progressed beyond their simple-minded ways!
We need to remember that when you pull the foundation out from under a three-story house, even the top story falls! It doesn't matter how high and lofty we think we have built up this country, they built the foundation. And if the foundation crumbles, the whole thing will come down!

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Too Late Now

"A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument." Rob Walford

The argument that God doesn't exist won't matter to someone who has felt his awesome presence. The argument that God doesn't talk to people anymore won't matter to someone who has heard his voice deep down inside himself. The argument that God doesn't heal people anymore won't matter to someone who has felt his touch and had pain and disease disappear. The argument that God doesn't care about people, he just sits in Heaven and watches things unfold, won't matter to someone who has had their prayers answered and a way made where there was no way before. Experience trumps argument every time!
It's too late now to tell me that God won't or can't or doesn't want to. He has already ruined all those arguments in my life. He has saved me; I have felt his manifest presence; He has healed me from disease; He has made a way out of horrible situations where none existed before; He has used me to bless others! I am a man with many experiences, so the arguments against God are worthless. God was, is and is to come!
The Bible says that those who come to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. First, we must believe that He is. Second, we must believe that when we seek Him, we will find Him and he will give us what we need. Some people never get past the first thing. Some people believe that God exists, but don't believe that He is willing to help. The Bible says we must fulfill both criteria to come to God.
I am not close-minded. I just know what I know. I am convinced of what I have experienced. An argument against my experiences won't sway me. It's too late now for that!

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Faith Moves

The test of faith is the movement it causes. Or, as James puts it, "faith without works is dead...". If we say we have faith, but it never moves us to do anything, we have no faith. Talk is cheap and easy, movement cost sacrifice and effort.
Works don't save us (the just shall live by faith) and works don't make us righteous before God (Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness). But works prove that we truly are living by faith and that we have God's righteousness. We get the cart before the horse as they say. We tend to think that the good things we do produce righteousness, when actually, it's the righteousness that comes as a free gift from God through faith in Jesus that causes us to do the good things we do.
You've heard it said that we aren't saved by good works, but saved to do good works. It's like the story of the two natives in the jungle of Brazil who saw a man water skiing behind a power boat. They thought the reason the boat was going so fast was because the man behind it was pushing it with the rope! If we say we have faith, but that faith isn't causing us to do something, we are fooling ourselves! You can't see faith, but you can see the movement that having faith causes! You can't see life, but the movement of the body proves that life is there! You can't see the wind, but when you see the leaves dancing around and the flags rustling you know the wind is blowing! Faith moves us! If there's no works (movement), then there's no faith.

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The Company You Keep

It is a fact that people tend to judge you by the company you keep. In other words, if you hang out with trouble-makers, people will probably label you a trouble-maker too. Is it fair?; probably not! But that's how it is.
My post today doesn't concern watching who we hang out with, although that would certainly be worthwhile. This post concerns those who call themselves "Christian" and then live any old lifestyle they want. They say that they pray and hang out with Jesus and they eagerly associate themselves with him, but don't live as he said to live. Jesus once said "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?"! If you don't obey him, why do you call yourself his?
People who are not believers in Christ are judging Jesus by the lives of those who call themselves by his name. Talk about not being fair! Maybe they don't realize it, but they are defaming his name and one day they will have to answer to him for it. I believe they will also be held accountable for the blood of anyone who decided against trusting Jesus because of what they saw these people doing! People are watching us every day to see if we have what they are looking for, or if we are just hypocrites.
None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes. But when we do, we need to make it right with God quickly. We need to ask him to help us reflect his image better and carry his name with honor.

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The Heart of a Fool

Psalms 14:1 "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God'." (NASB)

I have often wondered why people fight so hard to prove that there is no God. They go to extreme lengths to say "There is no God". They are willing to take a much greater leap of faith to believe against God than they accuse us of taking when we say there is a God! Most, if not all, of the so-called "proofs" against God's existence have been shot full of holes by the same science that we have always been accused of denying! The outright anger one runs into when talking about God's existence is overwhelming. Some people not only don't believe in God, they don't want anyone to believe in God and they're determined to prove that he does not exist at any cost!
I have come to understand that it's not just God that these people are against. It's not, as they proclaim, that they think religion is pure superstition or that man "made God up" to solve mysteries they could not solve. I believe the reason is as old as the world itself; people don't want to be ruled over! People don't want to be told what to do! Just as the people cried out in one of Jesus' parables "we will not have him rule over us!", so people are crying out still today. If there is a God, then he surely has the right to tell us what to do. If he created us and is watching over us every day from Heaven, he has the right to expect our obedience. People want to do "whatever is right in their own eyes" and not be told what is right and what is wrong. If they can disprove God, man can rule over himself without battling their conscience.
Not believing in God will never make him not exist. It's like a child who puts his hands over his face and thinks that no one can see him! God is, always has been and always will be! I AM THAT I AM is his name! Science and archeology are continuously proving the Bible true. The day is coming when there will be enough proof for anyone because we will be standing before God. He will be right there in front of us! Wouldn't we feel foolish saying "I didn't know you were real."?!

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Why Am I Here?

We all have a purpose. We all have a mission. We all need to have a vision. None of us are mistakes, contrary to what we may have been told. We are here for a reason. God gave us life for a purpose, his purpose! He didn't cause us to be alive just to have something to do! And I firmly believe he didn't give us life and then say "Now what am I going to do with this one?". He's not waiting to see what we become, he's waiting to see if we become what he created us to become! Will we seek his will and catch a vision for our lives or will we just exist and let life live us!?
A great man of God once said that if we catch God's vision for our lives and begin to live that vision, the world will make a place for us. I believe there is something special about each one of us , something unique that God has placed within us. When we find that thing, the world will see it's need of us and make room for us. I know that as Christians we are not of this world system, but we do live in this world and we are called to make a difference here. We are salt and light. When we find that uniqueness in ourselves and live it out, God will bless the world through us!
Maybe your mother or father told you that you were a mistake; they are wrong! Maybe a teacher or someone else in authority made you feel like you weren't as good as everyone else; they are wrong! Maybe you have told yourself that you are insignificant; you are wrong! God gives life and not one person has ever been born into this world without his giving them life. What we do with that life is up to us, but he has given us purpose! Treasure is worth digging for, so we need to dig!
If you know your purpose; if you have a vision for your life, go for it! God will help you! He has placed in your life everything you need to fulfill your purpose! If you don't know your purpose, ask God to show you what it is. He knows! and he doesn't mind your asking! "If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won't correct you for asking." James 1:5 CEV
You are important, as important as anyone else on Earth! You have a purpose and a mission and a vision! The world needs your gifts and talents whether it knows it or not! You are a gift from God to the world! No one can do what you can do like you can do it, you are as unique as your fingerprints!
I am not trying to stroke your ego or "pump you up" mentally. I just want you to see your true value. You have a mission and if you don't complete it, the whole world will be lacking because of it.

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