How now shall we know God's personal will?

I have been thinking about this for quite some time. Someone in my Sunday School class said she didn't think that God really cared about the mundane in our lives. After all, why would He care what dress we wore or if our shoes were comfortable? He has so many more important things on His mind. Like what He has in mind for the Bride of Christ, World events, things like that. Which is an excellent overview of the kinds of Wills of God. His perfect will, His absolute will, His divine will, His personal will for each of His children. There is a personal will because, by golly, He designed our good works before the foundation of the world.

I believe that He is intensely interested in His people. He cares if you are late for work or if you are hungry or if you are dressed in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

All that said, I read somewhere that George Muller said, "our outward man is not fit for work unless our inward man eats God's Word." I am reminded so much of Jesus sitting by that well in Samaria, hot, tired, thirsty and hungry, but He talked to a woman. When His disciples returned with food pressing Him to eat, He replied that He had "food to eat which you do not know." It's that Spiritual thing which supplies the soul far beyond any kind of satisfaction the body could possibly know - including chocolate brownies hot from the oven.

Fact: We should steep ourselves in God's Word every day. Not this one verse a day with a few paragraphs of devotional (I am not saying that isn't good! It is. It is just that 10 minutes a day is not enough!) Never wait until a problem needs solving or a decision needs to be made to open the Bible, then expect some Holy Oracle to spill forth giving you exact instructions. Your mind won't be prepared to hear exact instructions unless you are prayed up, read up, and revved up, and shored up in Christ. You may get a notion of what to do, but it won't be like as if you were rooted in Scripture.

Fact: There is much to be learned with Context. It is far too easy to get something that isn't entirely Biblical or to skew doctrine when only reading Proof Texts rather than the whole discussion. How does one know truth from fiction if one does not know the whole story? With this same premise, how does one know God's complete will, if one isn't familiar with the Bible? The first place to go to know and understand His will is understanding how He dealth with His people. Abraham was created to be His friend. David was a man after His own heart. Jesus was His only begotten and beloved Son. And there are lessons upon lessons in how Jesus dealt with his followers.

Fact: Confession of sin opens the floodgates of your relationship with God. When temptation rears its ugly head, the mind reels with its heady steam, the body follows the thoughts and pursues a course of action that the soul knows is wrong, this action puts the soul, mind, and body at odds with God. Disobedience is the wall between you and God. Confession is that which tears the wall down. If the wall is up, the ears are closed and there's no hearing God, no matter how much you want to hear Him, you can't. Confess that sin (both of commission and ommission). It is the only way to restoration and revival. Otherwise you are in a Spiritual Coma.

Fact: You probably already know God's will on most things in your life. You know to dress modestly. You know that a job which is morally or legally wrong is against God's 10 commandment teachings. You know if He has given you a propensity toward the mechanical (working with your hands) or the physical (carpentry/construction) or the mental (math acumen or writing ability). Some people are better at certain things than other people. It is what makes the world go round and round.

Taking these facts in consideration, we can then walk a fairly straight path into God's personal will for our life's choices.

Asking yourself a few questions will help to generate some answers that will result in making godly decisions.

Is it a legal, moral, spiritually correct thing to do? Most people would say, "Well, duh!" Then again, perhaps this is why there are so many people becoming Christians in prison. This also includes all those possibilities that could hurt or harm other people. We are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.

Did God make a promise in the Bible about this thing you are considering? You may or may not be amazed at how many promises God has made that pertain to our daily Christian living. Hey, that's an excellent topic for another post or column at Live As If.org.

Are all the doors truly locked, or is there something that God is wanting you to do, but you are actually resisting Him? I cannot tell you how many times I have had to do something that I really did not want to do, but I went ahead and did it because I knew it was what God wanted me to do. Then, after doing it I was blessed immensely. So many times, God is testing to see if we really mean it when we sing, "I Surrender All, all to Thee, my Precious Savior, I surrender all."

During consideration of one or another of your choices, do you have peace in your soul? This is something that a lot of Christians will tell you: You can't depend upon your feelings. I think that is a bit of poppycock. The Holy Spirit is alive and well dwelling inside us. When we grieve Him, our soul hurts. When He rejoices, our soul also rejoices. This is because our soul is one with the Holy Spirit. It is He who makes us Spiritually Alive! He lets us know when we are confronted with temptation not to go down that path. He nags us when it is time to confess and get back right with God. It is the Holy Spirit that urges us, prays for us, interprets our deep groanings, and who seals us against all things Satanic or demonic. That is who should be in control of our feelings and when we get that Gut-Feeling of peace, then the decision should be settled. Often times, the decision to do a particular thing is not reasonable or justifiable, but extremely peaceful. Go with the peace path because that is part of the Fruit of the Spirit.

Can you absolutely ask God to enable you to do what ever it is? Because of the first question, it would be ridiculous to ask God to help you rob a gas station... but, there are other things that may not be so obviously unethical or immoral, but just as wrong. Such as asking God to give you a promotion even though you are not qualified for the position. Asking God to bless your course of action without discussing it with Him in the first place is probably the fastest way to failure in a venture. The Acopulco Divers always study the waves before diving off those cliffs, why should any Christian check to see how deep the water is by diving?

The Refreshing

The man gave the bolt a final twist and stepped back from under the hood of the car. He wiped his grimy hands on a rag and then stuffed it in his back pocket. He gave a satisfied sigh as he headed to the office and the coffee pot. The coffee was strong and fresh, just like he liked it. Tossing a grin to Gertrude, his part time office help, he said, “Gertie, call Kent Boudreaux and let him know his car is ready and he can pick it up any time today.”

With only a little regret, he set his cup down and headed to back the car from the bay and bring in another to work on. Thank goodness God was good to provide so much work when the economy was so bad. Just as the back wheels cleared the bay doors, one of them ran over something. He didn’t have a clue what it could have been, since it had only been a couple of hours since he’d driven the car in the bay. Then his heart constricted and he groaned in sudden agony.

Alfie’s job was to meet and greet all customers that came into the shop. His throne was the cushioned chair that was next to the desk. Sure it was grimy, but it was comfortable for a small, snowy white, very fluffy dog. Normally, Alfie rarely ventured into the bay area. He preferred the cool office and comfy cushion to the cool, but mucky shop floor. Alfie was the beloved owner of the man and his family, which was his other job, to give love and happiness to those he loved best.

The man climbed from the car, dreading what he must find. Sure enough, Alfie was laying still and flat under the car. Tears welled up, and his heart wrenched again. Suddenly, the bright day darkened to night. The dog must have scooted out the door when he got coffee. Even though he wasn’t allowed in the shop, the dog had obviously disobeyed the standing command.

He cradled the little dog in his arms, unsure of what to do. The lifeless form just lay there, head lolled back and tiny pink tongue slack instead of happily panting. The shop owner sat down in a grease-smudged chair with the dog across his lap. What should he do? How would he tell his sweet wife and those precious girls what had happened to Alfie? Finally, he decided to put the dog in the dog food bag, and place him in the dumpster. In this concrete garden, there wasn’t anywhere to bury a pet.

The rest of the day, he worried and fretted how to tell the family they had lost one of their own that day. There was no good way, so he blurted it out as soon as he made it home. Rain began to patter against the home’s windows and it seemed God was sharing the family’s grief.
Next morning, what was normally a joy to hop out of bed and head to work became a heavy chore. Sighing heavily, all the way to work, he opened the shop for daily work, sans his beloved, tiny, fluffy employee.

The coffee had just finished brewing when the owner of the neighboring body shop burst into the office. “Are you going to tell me why your dog is in the dumpster?”

“Well, Jeb, I know he’s in the dumpster. I didn’t have any place else to put him. I ran over him yesterday.

“No, you don’t understand. Your dog is barking and jumping and trying to get out of that dumpster!”

“What? Are you kidding me?” With joyful heart, the man ran to the dumpster and grabbed up that fluffy bundle of excitement. That little pink tongue was exploring every inch of his face. That little dog had only been knocked out, and the most refreshing rain, that gift from God, had refreshed and revived him. Alfie wasn’t dead, after all, he just needed reviving.

How many Christians today look dead? How many are asleep at the wheel or get knocked silly by being someplace they are not supposed to be? Disobedience breaks fellowship with the LORD, and we can’t afford that when we need to be ready for that great and glorious day the Father looks at the Son and says, “Go get Your Bride, Son.” Glory!

Paul tells the Ephesians in chapter two verse one and following: 2:1 In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins. 2 At that time you followed the world's evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God. 3 Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger.

Paul was talking about how they acted as unbelievers, but I am thinking it sounds a lot like Believers of today. The Bride of Christ is sick these days, sick with the evil ways of the world. We can be like the Rich Young Ruler and say: These commands I have kept, I have not sinned.

But, how many of us have watched a movie lately in which God’s name was blasphemed? How many of us worry and fret, harbor anger… bitterness… jealousy, seek vengeance, are critical of others, controlling, gossip, pray by rote, fudge the truth, go places we shouldn’t go, do things in secret that we’d die if it were printed on the front page of the newspaper? How many pirate music? How many think if it doesn’t hurt anyone, it’s okay? How many haven’t returned something that was borrowed? How many of us allow work, family, hobbies, play time come first instead of the LORD?

How many of us have given up on a brother or sister in Christ because he looks dead? How often have we thrown a sibling in the dumpster without thought to the prayers of a righteous man and the resuscitation process laid out by Jesus in Matthew 18: 15-17?

Nothing happens in secret that will not be found out, and nothing done in the dark will not be brought to light. But, why would a front page news story matter more than what God thinks of us? How could it matter more than our precious relationship and that refreshing rain from above?

Revive us LORD Jesus, send your refreshing rain of blessings, wash us clean, and awaken us from our dead sleep. Help us watch and be ready… The Bride awaits her Groom. Come LORD Jesus and find Your Bride doing the mighty works prepared before the foundation of the world. AMEN.

This column was inspired by one of my favorite preachers, Dr. Preston Nix. He is an Associate Professor at New Orleans Baptist Seminary, and he is leading us in revival this week.

Between us and the bad guys

Every so often something comes in the inbox that just gives tremendous pause. I have a huge respect for all our military, especially those in the Air Force because my Dad was a Staff Sargeant in the Air Force... I was born into the Air Force.

On 8 June 2005 the following item appeared in the Albuquerque Tribune:

Air Force Capt. Jeremy Fresques, a Farmington native and Farmington High School graduate, joined a growing list of New Mexicans who have died in the war on terrorism, when the surveillance plane in which he flew crashed last week 80 miles northeast of Baghdad. Three of his U.S. colleagues and an Iraqi airman also were killed. Fresques was awarded the Bronze Medal posthumously Friday.

Fresques was 26. He left behind a wife — also an Air Force captain — and his parents. His sacrifice — and theirs — in the name of our nation's security and the cause of democracy was immense. Col. O.G. Mannon, commander of the 16th Special Operations Wing, rightly called Fresques and his comrades "heroes." We regard Fresques and all men and women with New Mexico connections as family and hold them deeply in our hearts.¹

Capt. Fresques was killed in the line of duty on Memorial Day 2005, a month before he was to return home, and news of his death was conveyed that day to Lt. Col. Scott Pleus, commander of the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Arizona, where Capt. Fresques had previously been stationed. Lt. Col. Pleus, along with a chaplain and a medical technician, drove that evening to Yuma, Arizona, to undertake the sad duty of notifying Capt. Fresques' parents of their loss.

About a week later, Lt. Col. Pleus was notified that a memorial service would be held for Capt. Fresques in Sun City, Arizona, on 15 June and that a fly-by from Luke AFB had been requested as part of the service in Capt. Fresques' honor. Lt. Col. Pleus quickly assented:

Of course we would do it. It's a four-ship formation. They fly straight and level over the gravesite and then, directly over the service, the No. 3 plane pulls away while the others fly straight ahead. Symbolically he's headed for heaven. It's the highest form of respect we can pay to a fallen airman.

Everyone involved in such a service considers it an honor. The fliers. The honor guard. The bugler who plays taps. All of us.²

While preparing to head from Glendale to Sun City (a distance of about 6 miles) for the memorial service, four F-16 fighter jets from Luke AFB flew a holding pattern over Glendale's Arrowhead Mall, prompting a local resident unaware of their purpose to send a sarcastic letter of complaint to the editor of The Arizona Republic:

A letter to the Editor;

Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base: Whom do we thank for the morning air show?

Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 a.m., a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune!

Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns' early-bird special?

Any response would be appreciated.

Tom MacRae, Peoria³


The correspondent received a response from Col. Robin Rand, commander of Luke AFB's 56th Fighter Wing, in the pages of that same newspaper the following day:


Luke Air Force Base was asked to respond to a letter writer's question about a "morning air show" he observed recently ("A wake-up call from Luke's jets," Letters, Thursday):

The "wake-up call" witnessed the morning of June 15 was a formation of F-16 jets from Luke Air Force Base lining up for a memorial service in Sun City at the gravesite for Air Force Capt. Jeremy Fresques, an officer assigned to Air Force Special Operations. Fresques gave his life in defense of our country while serving in Iraq.

It is unfortunate that at a time when our nation is at war someone would believe we have less than honorable and professional reasons for such a mission.

The commander of the fighter squadron was given the difficult duty of informing the family of Capt. Fresques on Memorial Day that the officer, a husband, son and Arizonan, had died in Iraq.

On behalf of the men and women at Luke Air Force Base, we continue to keep Jeremy and his family in our thoughts and prayers.

Col. Robin Rand
Luke Air Force Base⁴

Four days later, the newpaper also published a reponse from Lt. Col. Pleus himself:

Regarding "A wake-up call from Luke's jets":

On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four-ship of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt Jeremy Fresques.

Capt. Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a.m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend.

Based on the letter writer's recount of the flyby, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the president of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.

A four-ship flyby is a display of respect the Air Force pays to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, "Whom do we thank for the morning air show?"

The 56th Fighter Wing will call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.


Lt. Col. Scott Pleus
Luke Air Force Base⁵


To his credit, the complainant, Mr. MacRae, tendered a written apology which was published in The Republic on 9 July:

Regarding "Flyby honoring fallen comrade" (Letters, June 28):

I read with increasing embarrassment and humility the response to my unfortunate letter to The Republic concerning an Air Force flyby ("A wake-up call from Luke's jets," Letters, June 23).

I had no idea of the significance of the flyby, and would never have insulted such a fine and respectful display had I known.

I have received many calls from the fine airmen who are serving or have served at Luke, and I have attempted to explain my side and apologized for any discomfort my letter has caused.

This was simply an uninformed citizen complaining about noise.

I have been made aware in both written and verbal communications of the four-ship flyby, and my heart goes out to each and every lost serviceman and woman in this war in which we are engaged.

I have been called un-American by an unknown caller and I feel that I must address that. I served in the U.S. Navy and am a Vietnam veteran. I love my country and respect the jobs that the service organizations are doing.

Please accept my heartfelt apologies.

Tom MacRae, Peoria⁶

The URL SNOPES page is http://www.snopes.com/politics/military/wakeup.asp

Sources taken from the SNOPES page.

1. The Albuquerque Tribune. "Editorial: Bouquets & Brickbats."

8 June 2005.

2. Montini, E.J. "Mission of Honor Managed to Fly Under Our Radar."

The Arizona Republic. 26 June 2005.

3. The Arizona Republic. "A Wake-Up Call from Luke's Jets."

Letters to the Editor. 23 June 2005.

4. The Arizona Republic. "'Wake-Up' Flight Was Memorial Service."

Letters to the Editor. 24 June 2005.

5. The Arizona Republic. "Flyby Honored Fallen Comrade." Letters to the Editor. 28 June 2005.

6. The Arizona Republic. "An Apology from the Heart to the Airmen of Luke."

Letters to the Editor. 9 July 2005.

Are you a Democrat, Republican, or Southerner?

Found while trying to recoup some lost data on my crashed computer... Certainly, I did not write it, but saved it for your pleasure today.

Are you a democrat, republican, or a Southerner

Here is a little test that will help you decide. The answer can be found by posing the following question: You're walking down a deserted street with your wife and two small children.

Suddenly, an Islamic Terrorist with a huge knife comes around the corner, locks eyes with you, screams obscenities, praises Allah, raises the knife, and charges at you. You are carrying a Glock cal 40, and you are an expert shot. You have mere seconds before he reaches you and your family. What do you do? ________________________________________________________________

Democrat's Answer:
Well, that's not enough information to answer the question!
Does the man look poor! Or oppressed?
Have I ever done anything to him that would inspire him to attack?
Could we run away?
What does my wife think?
What about the kids?
Could I possibly swing the gun like a club and knock the knife out of his hand?
What does the law say about this situation?
Does the Glock have appropriate safety built into it?
Why am I carrying a loaded gun anyway, and what kind of message does this send to society and to my children?
Is it possible he'd be happy with just killing me?
Does he definitely want to kill me, or would he be content just to wound me?
If I were to grab his knees and hold on, could my family get away while he was stabbing me?Should I call 9-1-1?
Why is this street so deserted?
We need to raise taxes, have a paint and weed day and make this happier, healthier street that would discourage such behavior.
This is all so confusing! I need to debate this with some friends for few days and try to come to a consensus.

_________________________________________________________________

Republican's Answer: BANG!

________________________________________________________________________
Southerner's Answer: BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click.....(sounds of reloading). BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! click

Daughter: "Nice grouping, Daddy! Were those the Winchester Silver Tips or Hollow Points?

Son: Can I shoot the next one!

Wife: You ain't taking that to the Taxidermist!

Cloaking is see-through technology

Problem: an ugly refinery belching smoke is blocking your bayou sunset view and the noise is pounding in tune to your headache and destroying your peace and quiet.
Solution: cloak the ugly sight and dampen the noise with your handy-dandy cloaking device.

Okay, that solution is still a bit into the future, but it is not as farfetched today as it was back in the 1960s. Listen, hear the StarTrek theme in the background? Scotty bellows from the speaker, “The Klingons just uncloaked, Keptan, I’m giving ‘er all she’s got.”

That was science fiction. This is real technology. The theory is that light would bend around the object being cloaked so that the light behind the object would appear in front of it, making the object invisible. “It’s an artificial mirage,” says David Schurig, a researcher at Duke University. The microwaves aimed at an object, in this case it was a copper cylinder about 5 inches in diameter, just pass over and around the object without detecting its presence, like water flows over and around rocks in a stream.

This cloaking thingy made those copper cylinders invisible to microwaves. But, of course, the cylinders were there and the scientists were watching and the cylinders never left their sight. So, they were invisible but not invisible. It was technology creating a space warp. No kidding, that is exactly how it was described.

Actually, this cloaking device is one of those milestones that we knew would happen way back in the ‘60s (dark ages to you youngun’s), which I wasn’t sure I’d see in my lifetime. Kids have a way of believing things that seem impossible are possible. It was a hoot to get in the closet and pretend to be transported to another planet, holding on to my hair brush as my communicator with my trusty transistor radio as my tricorder. I would conquer what ever particular planet I was transported to and still be home for lunch.

Today we enjoy lots of things that were science fiction back in the dark ages. The communicator is our hand-held device that allows communication between persons that are a world apart, only we call them mobile phones. The tricorder, a device that sees into the body and detects illnesses and cancers, we call an MRI and a PET scan. Oh, and the photon torpedo? We call that laser surgery. We have talking computers and even brainwave activated computers. Automatic sliding doors, once science fiction are now quite common.

Two things, no three, are left to be invented: the transporter, the light saber, and the reconstituter, a device that goes beyond the microwave because it delivers every thing from pot roast to apples to Earl Gray tea.

It is astounding to me that technology is catching up to man’s dreams. It’s true, there really is nothing new under the sun. Man has already thought about it, but the trick is figuring out how to make it work for real.

God's handiwork

Sometimes it is impossible to understand some people do not believe there is a God much less that Jesus saves. When I see things like this, I stand in awesome wonder at the universe created by Him. How great Thou art, oh mighty and wonderous God.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind. He gave us peace in Him and through Him. How can anyone deny it?

Not only that, but we are His handiwork as well. All I want to do is bring Him glory and if I can, make Him proud of me. Thank goodness I am still under construction.

I was the only person in the entire world that saw this glorious display that morning. Coffee in hand, I glanced out the back door and was stunned at the beauty. I dashed for the camera and just at the exact right moment, took the picture. It was in God's perfect timing I could record His glorious design. This, my dear friends, is too precious to keep to myself.

If God could possibly consider me worthy enough to create this display just for me, how much more He loves you and me... how much more is His desire to protect us and bring us peace, and draw us close to him beneath His wings like a mother hen and her chicks.

Blessed be the name of the LORD!

What is going on in Washington DC?

Have you heard the latest? The Census will now be conducted out of the White House instead on done by the Dept. of Commerce. What makes Obama think he OR his staff OR anyone he can shake out of the bushes is qualified enough to conduct this important tool which almost everything governmental revolves around and is driven by...

Poverty levels determine who gets first crack at numerous grants and subsidies.
Percentages of color determine diversity percentages (and don't let anyone tell you that America is not driven by diversity percentages)
Numbers of people determines how many representatives each state has in Washington. DUH!
Numbers of people also determines amounts of money each state receives automatically from the federal government.
Guesstimates will prevail, rather than actual head count... How is that fair and balanced?

The huge question is this: Doesn't this NEW president without any experience have enough to do getting acclaimated without taking on this huge, monumental task of counting heads?

HooRAY for Rep. Marsha Blackburn R-Tennesee. Someone is paying attention in the House, but is it enough?

In God We Trust...

I am so delighted I live in a state that supports our national motto to the point that every school room in every public school in the state has our motto nicely framed and hung on the wall...

In God We Trust... is how we became this great nation.

I am sick and tired of having homosexuality being shoved in my face as "normal". It is not. But, this column isn't about homosexuality. It is about all kinds of seductive sin that the Great Deceiver seduces us into, weaving a web so tight we cannot move.

I do not believe homosexuality is biological. I strongly believe it is a well-seeded lie by Satan to subvert God in a person's life. The farther away Satan can make God seem the less likely that person will seek His comfort and rest. This lie perpetuates humans unbelief in God's power, and it matters not whether the person is homo-, bi-, or heterosexual.

Anyone who has experienced a seduction by Satan or has believed his lies has lived through hell. Not only have they been sucked into sin by that old Deceiver and Father of Lies, but they usually have willingly walked into the web and got themselves goodly stuck.

It is a classic devil lie, but so cleverly concealed that it appears harmless! So, I'll just have coffee with her/him. What's the harm in that? So I'll drop her off at her house, what's the harm in that? So, I'll just drop in and say hi, what's the harm in that? After justifying and reasoning, the soul becomse immune to the urgent tugging of the Holy Spirit. Soon, the person finds himself in a quagmire of sin. That could be any Christian out there if they are not careful!

Whether a person begins in slavery to sexual desires or falls into it after becoming a Christian, the person can be or actually is redeemed--delievered from that Egypt! However, there will be many walks through the fires of testing which include successes as well as failures, turn that corner with unbelief in God's power within you and you go right back into slavery to sin. That's that vicious cycle any Christian can fall into.But! Begin in slavery to sexual desires then be delivered from slavery, walk through those fires of testing with believing God--not just belief in Him because the Israelites knew Him and His power. They had experienced it first hand. They had no belief in His power within them. They were afraid of those giants and thought they were grasshoppers beside them and so they were because of their prevailing unbelief in God's power within them personally. False evidence appearing real...FEAR.

A Christian must believe God's power to break the bonds of slavery with a prevailing belief...a continuing belief... that God's power within the soul will break that sin stronghold and the slavery cycle is broken. You enter into the Promised Land! Prevailing belief because we all experience doubts at one time or another. This is true of any seductive sin, not just homosexuality.

Don't believe Satan because he's the father of lies. Don't believe the World because that is the road back to slavery. Believe God and His power and His desire for us to conquer sinful habits. Delight in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart! The cross Christians bear is the persecution of the world against us because it sees Jesus in us and hates Jesus. That is the cross. It is being in a place we do not belong and where we do not fit in...we do not conform. That births persecution and that is the cross -- not sinful tendencies which God has the power to break those strongholds.

The Cross that Jesus died upon is not a burden that we bear...it is a brand that we wear! God has not left us powerless!!!

We have the whole armor of God to put on but we must put it on. If a person has the indwelling Holy Spirit but has a sinful past. In Jesus name -- SO WHAT!?! That is precisely why Jesus stayed on the cross. So long as we honor what He did on the cross and work in our Salvation to honor Him. Jesus forgave us, so why can't we forgive each other? We are a pure spotless, wrinkle-free, no pimples or warts Bride of Christ. There is no reason to keep wearing the stigma! Jesus put on those old clothes and wore them to the cross and He nailed them there! Why do we beat each other up with past sins? Why do Christians staple labels onto people and make them wear them because they lived sinfully in the past? And why do Christians allow it? Why do Christians keep putting on those old labels and keep wearing the shame?? Unforgiveness is a habitual way of thinking and we act upon our thoughts!

Put on the whole armor of God and stand firm against Satan and he will flee! Forgiveness releases God's Power within us. Believe God... He's right! He's right!

(From a November Live As If... column)

I am really quite terrified of the things I'm seeing our President do. It's very similar to the first meeting the then new governor of Louisiana (Blanco). She met with some homosexuals who were having a problem with a Louisiana law which said sexual deviants could not work in childcare centers. She gave them the key to open that door WHICH blocked child care center owners from background checks to weed out the pedophiles from working at their centers. It makes me gag. If we Christians do not stand up and fight for our beliefs, we are opening the door to Satan. We'll have to face a disapointed Bridegroom. That is so very sad for us.

God's special ways

I think I've figured out why I lost my job. No, I still have no clue why the executive board decided to let me go... But, I do have some insight into why God allowed it.

I have let so many things go so I could focus on my work. Things like posting here and visiting my friends' blogs, and writing really GOOD columns for Live As If... rather than rehashing other things I've written. I think I've become stagnant. That is the kind of water that gets spewed from the mouth. The only good thing about it, is that it can be poured on seeds and they will sprout and grow. Now, I must open up to Him and let Him pour some of the refreshing living water in and on me so that I will be a pleasing fragrance to the LORD, again.

If you would be blessed, go read this. David Meigs is a Christian Writer friend whom I met on a Christian writing forum. He loves the LORD with all his heart and it shows all over his writing. What an awesome and wonderful God we serve. We can always depend upon Him. His strength, His blessings. Wonderful, Savior, there is no way to out give Him.

perpetual starter

Sometimes I think I am God's starter. He is constantly putting me in places where I am allowed to start so many good things, then He takes me out of that situation seemingly for no reason.

I lost my job on Friday. No reason given except they said they wanted the Chamber to go in a different direction. Let's see... The Chamber has more money in the bank that it had ever had before, it has more members than it ever had before. We had 6 new members within the first two weeks of the year... and they want the Chamber to go in a different direction. I hate to think which direction they want it to go.

Ah well, God will bless me in a different way, I have no doubt. He never takes away something without giving something back of much greater value. I've experienced this many times over. He will provide, not because I deserve it, but because He promised it... not because I believe it, but because God keeps His promises.

What's the matter with me?

I am looking at this beautiful blog that I literally slaved over for several years and I've let it go more than a month without posting anything here. I don't know what the matter is.

I think of something and I'll want to blog about it... but then think, oh I can't say that, it's too personal. Or I can't talk about that because too many people come here and they'll know who I'm talking about. I must lead too public a life, or perhaps I'm becoming to politic.

So, I've spead myself very thin, with not much meat at any one place except Live As If... I don't even know if my computer will hold up much longer.

Perhaps holding back from spilling one's guts is the proper thing to do, but how will anyone learn if the guts are not spilled?

So perhaps the lesson is not in choosing what to say, but in choosing what not to say. Frankly, I wish I had more time. I'd love to do more hand crafts, to read more GOOD books, to write more, study more, go to more classes, to finish my quilt I started 3 years ago... Perhaps, it is all about choices. Choosing how to spend the 24/7 I've been given.

Mercy

...not sacrifice
Matthew 12:6-8 But I say to you, One greater than the temple is here. 7 But if you had known what this is, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice," you would not have condemned the guiltless. (Hosea 6:6 ) 8 For the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.
I was watching the news the other day and there was this young girl whose dad had been murdered and the reporter asked her what she was hoping for. She said she needed the murderer to be given the death penalty and even that wasn't good enough for her revenge. This wasn't the first time I've noticed this. On those 48 Hours Murder-She-Wrote type shows where they explore murderous crimes, the families of the victims almost invariably have a deep seated bitterness and unwholesome anger which they express with tears and gritted teeth.
What good does that do? Not one slender whit, which happens to be much smaller than a splinter, by the way.

Mercy and forgiveness is valued by God much greater than sacrifice is. If the Hebrews had learned this... the Jews had learned this, then they would never have turned from Jesus. Therefore, how can we be different? Mercy is that thing that God gave us while we were still sinners. Forgiveness is what He gave us as He watched His Son go to the cross. According to the world, that is impossible. I look around and see so much hate and so much unforgiveness and bitterness. What is so sad is that most people cannot see unforgiveness for the cancer it is. How much energy is wasted by harboring hatred and unforgiveness. It does not mean that we have to fraternize with those who have hurt us, nor do we have to allow them the opportunity to do it to us again. Jesus said to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16).
How do we do that?

First be willing to let go of the hurt. If we keep rolling that hurt around in mind, nurturing the anger, nursing the hurt, reveling in the injustice of it all... we are merely playing into Satan's hands and opening our armor for the fiery dart of bitterness. Make no mistake, we can hide our feelings from friends and loved ones, but we cannot hide them from Satan. He knows our weakness and exploits it to the hilt of that dart. There is the sting. Not the hurt from the betrayal or the hurtful words or the lack of support. Examine that and see if it is really as bad as it feels. Sometimes, we blow things out of proportion and add importance to nit-picky things. Oh, come on, you can think of at least one time when you did that. I can think of a dozen. I am not belittling that really huge thing like infidelity. Been there, too. That kind of anger takes several years to work through. But, oh how great freedom felt when I finally let that last bit of anger go.

Second, decide to give mercy and to forgive. It absolutely is a decision. Just like deciding to lose weight or quit smoking or deciding on a worship lifestyle instead of a worldly lifestyle.

Third, understand it will take lots of time. We have the Holy Spirit inside us and we have the mind of Christ, but we are not God. It takes a lot longer for us because we've got so much more to influence us. The world, our friends and acquaintances who "egg" us on.

Fourth, set the thoughts of anger aside. Paul said to get angry but do not sin. That kind of anger is over some injustice. Nothing hurts a child of God that is a just hurt. God does not hurt us. He may discipline us and chastise us for our unruly behavior, but He will never harm us or hurt us. It is our pride that gets hurt so often, and when it is bruised, it is painful. So setting aside the thoughts also includes setting aside pride. It only gets in the way of forgiveness and sets a flame to anger. God does not like it when someone messes with His kid. His vengence is so much wiser and so much better than ours ever could be. The question here is how can we expect mercy and forgiveness from God when we harbor unforgiveness toward a brother or sister in Christ?

It is commanded that we forgive our brothers and sisters in Christ anything. That hard verse comes to mind. Forgive or your Father in Heaven will not forgive you. But a much better one expresses God's heart.

Luke 6:37 Judge not, and in no way be judged. Do not condemn, and in no way you will be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and good measure will be given to you, pressed down and shaken together, and running over, they will give into your bosom. For the same measure which you measure, it will be measured back to you.

If that isn't "What goes around comes around," I don't know what is.

“But what about unbelievers?” Good, no excellent question. Ever notice how Jesus so often answered a question with a question? Can a believer nurture anger and bitterness toward someone not a believer and still be given the blessings of God, or even have room in the heart for God?

This is a repeat from Live as if... I am finding it too difficult to come up with fresh stuff AND move AND handle the blog at Picayune Chamber AND do a newsletter AND do a weekly E-zine AND do a weekly Update. I've got things that need doing and I am so appreciative of the three people who come here for being so patient while I get some things done. AMEN.

Spread too thin

I am spread way too thin these days. I keep thinking about this Chamber of Commerce exec who said, "Do just a few things really well."

Jesus did so very many things extremely well, except He chose not to change stubborn hearts. It's one of those things that makes you go hmmmm. Jesus could have changed them, He could have touched those inner souls and could have, with the brush of His hand bent the stiffest of necks. Yet, He chose not to.

It's that freedom of choice thing that gets so many people hot under the collar.

Jesus presented the Truth and He left it up to those who were listening to believe... or not believe.

Compare...
Hot, tired and thirsty He asks a woman for a drink and winds up telling her all about living water. She drank eagerly and brought all from her village who would come with her to drink of this living water.

After crossing the Sea of Gallilee, he tells his disciples (more than 500 of them) that His body is the Bread of Life and that anyone coming to Him would never go hungry or thirsty again. And this made many of His disciples sick at their stomachs, so they turned their backs on Him and left Him that day, never to return down that dusty road.

The same choice only much different decisions.

Because Jesus spoke to a Samaritan woman, an entire village heard the Gospel and was saved during the three days Jesus stayed there performing no miracles, just speaking Truth.

Because Jesus said He was the Son of God and spoke the truth about being the Bread of Life, thousands of Jews chose to ignore His teachings and cling to the religous leaders.

It isn't about doing something really well. It isn't about doing anything. It is about believing truth. Do you believe?

But I have no husband

The message of the Cross is "No Stones". There are two stories that come to mind which convey this strongly and Jesus is prominant in both. One is the woman who was caught in adultery and brought before Jesus, the other is the Woman at the Well. Can't you just feel the heat of that day? It was the sixth hour. Jesus was weary from His journey. He was hot and He was thirsty, but that didn't stop Him from recruiting a most unlikely missionary. Someone who was counted as worthless in her village, but would be instrumental in the salvation of the entire village...

Jesus instructed her before He told her to go call her husband, and He did a lot more than tell her she was living in adultery.

He spoke to her... Jews of that day lived in mortal hatred of Samaritans who they called curs and halfbreeds. They so dispised the Samaritans they would walk 100 miles out of the way around the country God gave to Joseph's descendants just to not come into contact with the tainted soil.

He asked a drink of her... Jews would have rather endured a time of torturous thirst rather than ask anything from a Samaritan.

He did not draw back from her... This was the heat of the day at the 6th hour. She came to the well at that time most likely because "decent" women shunned her and men found extreme fault with her. Most likely because she was barren. Men cast her aside, usually women did not ask or obtain divorces, but men had no compunction if they were not given heirs. Most likely she was beautiful and had a good personality or at least could cook well becaue she had been married five times. But now, having been cast off five times, she was probably getting on in years, not as beautiful as in her youth and no hope for giving fruit from her womb so the man she was currently living with had not married her. She was a stigma, considered far below worthiness, yet our LORD not only spoke to her, not only asked of her, but leaned forward and taught her about living water.

He told her what she had done... Any gypsy can foretell the future in broad general terms, but no one unless gifted by God can tell you what you did yesterday or five years ago with accuracy. Jesus said she had had five husbands and was now living with a man not her husband. At no time in the conversation did Jesus say, "You are an adulterer." Nor did He say, "You are living in adultery." He simply spoke facts without condemnation or judgement.

She perceived... The woman recognized the truth He spoke and called Him a prophet.

She asked... The woman asked about worship. She called Him on the Jewish tradition that worship could only take place in Jerusalem. When Jesus told her point blank that Samaritans didn't know what they worshiped and that salvation came from the Jews, meaning that the Messiah would be from the Royal Lineage of David, she accepted the truth without argument as most of the Jews gave Him.

When Jesus told her He was the Messiah...

She became a missionary... The woman went to her village and rounded up everyone who would listen to her. I can hear her excitment and I know her eagerness. She didn't say, "Go listen to Him." She said, "Come hear Him, is He not the Christ?" She was herding them toward Jesus as if their lives depended on it, which they did. "He told me everything I did."

She was saved not condemned... So often today we see sin and glorify the sin by hate, by accusation, by condemnation, by pointing fingers and by gossip, by shunning, by ostracising, by cold shoulders, by casting off, by hurtful words and actions.

Everything that woman felt... the rejection, the wounded heart because every man she married divorced her, all her friends denied her, words of condemnation and scorn lacerated her and scarred her soul... and yet, everything she felt, Jesus felt.

Jesus forgave. Jesus loved. Jesus died, and now He lives. Amen.

The message of the Cross is "No Stones"

Movie cliche's

These from Matthew Boice. He seems to know something about Star Wars:

Buttons are impervious to the Force; you can use the Force to fling an object at a button, but not to press the button directly.

Everyone falling from a great height is strong enough to grab a non-elastic rope or cable, stopping their descent instantaneously, without ripping their arms off. Also, a superhero in a standing position can catch you 4 feet above the ground without hurting you. The lesson is, just don't hit the ground and you'll be fine.

Even though turning on a light doesn't eject the bulb from its socket, giving a person an electric shock will fling him over a counter (there is always a counter or a table or a hand cart) and across the room.

Electricity prefers to travel through the air just outside of an actual conductor to give it that neat crackly lightning effect.

Castration and groin injuries change the pitch of a man's voice as if he had never had testosterone in the first place.

Guns have no recoil.

No airliner can survive an action movie without a gunshot causing decompression. Luckily, having half the fuselage ripped off will not change the aerodynamics of the plane.

A ghost possessing a living person uses that person's lips and tongue to form sounds, but it uses someone else's vocal cords.

Some thoughts of my own...

It is necessary for the heroine to pant when she’s been scared because this allows the audience to not have to hold their breath. (I thought everyone knew this.)

People actually do go into shock at traumatic events like car wrecks and erupting volcanoes but only those that do not have a last name in the credits or who are known as ‘man on highway’ or ‘waitress no. 2’ die.

Cars are always crashed end over end or take 3 flips in the air. The reason for this is so that there is a reason for all the fake blood or for the broken ankle which makes it necessary for the female to be carried over 50 miles of desert.

Which reminds me that broken ankles, twisted ankles or sprained ankles never swell up in movies, nor do they turn blue. It only takes about an hour and the thing’s perfectly healed.

That reminds me that bruises, cuts, scrapes and vast amounts of blood loss are miraculously healed in the matter of a few moments, but a broken pair of glasses must be mended with a white piece of tape for the entire movie.

Action movie actors can run faster than cars.

It only takes 30 seconds to teach someone how to dance good enough to win an award – at the max an hour.

It is perfectly all right to wake up and kiss your mate without brushing your teeth. In the movies there is no such thing as morning breath.

It is absolutely necessary in horror movies for the victim to lock all the doors and windows with the homicidal maniac inside the house.

Arbitrary endings are out of fashion.... THANK you!

It is critical to make a movie from a book that actually had no foul language and put foul language in it for exactly what reason I have no clue.

What are some things YOU have noticed?

Deep spring waters that never run dry

Isaiah 58 hold dear words of promise:

If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your gloom shall be as the noon day. The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In... the Mouth of the LORD has spoken.

But sometimes Ifeel so very dry, parched and panting for Him like the deer pants for water. I thirst for more of Him. It is not with a faint heart that I reach out for Him. It is with confidence that I know He will fill me up, if I look up. I am saved with no effort on my part except to believe He is Who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. It is with no effort on my part that I live the Christian life except to determine I will not allow anything to come between me and my first Love. Without that, I am lost. Not because God has dropped me from His hand. I am lost wholly on my part, my side of therelationship. I have not cracked open my Bible or have not prayed. From God's vantage point, there is no wall. There is a difficult thing to understand.

Trinity Yachts

I heard something yesterday from the president of Trinity Yachts. He said when he was sitting with a man who was buying a yacht from him, the papers were piled high and there was at least twenty places for them both to sign. The man looked at him and said, "This is the last time I want to see this contract. If it ever has to come out again, that means that one of us is lying."

I find that so telling, and so true. Why don't we think that way anymore?

Things that seem like a good idea

Have you ever had a brain spasm when you thought something was a really good idea and then it turned out it was fabulously lousy?

We're having a CASA fund raiser next Saturday and the committee thought it would be great if the firefighters and crimefighters had a little contest on who could sell the most tickets. On the surface, that looks fun and great! But...

My advice to you is if you have one of these Brain Spasms, that you think it all the way though first. These guys did not have any "buy in". That's the only thing I can think of why they didn't sell any tickets. I would think that helping children who have been abused would be something just about everyone would care enough about to sell at least 1 $5 ticket for some really great fried chicken. Well... no. It didn't happen. I'm not so happy about that.

However, I have put it in God's hands. The main thing with this was to get community awareness and that is what is happening. So we'll see what God causes to happen.
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Who is Cindy McCain?

I found this very interesting ... and astoundingly, it is true.

McCain's Better Half (Cindy)
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted Thursday, May 01, 2008 4:20 PM PT
Election 2008: Cindy Hensley McCain has been disparaged as a trophy wife, a Barbie, an heiress with fancy purses, even the Paris Hilton of politics. But there's more to the picture than meets the eye:
Yes, Mrs. McCain is the perfectly coiffed blonde standing dutifully behind the senator during his speeches. And yes, she wears stylish clothing and carries a Prada purse. And it's true she doesn't say much. But feminist critics who write her off as a 'stand-by-your-man' shrinking violet are selling her short. In many ways, Cindy McCain stacks up sturdier than Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama. And she'd make a more impressive first lady.

Mrs. McCain: More than meets the eye.

While Obama's wife has been hating America, complaining about the war and undermining our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, McCain's wife has been worrying about her sons who actually are fighting or planning to fight in the war on terror. One, in fact, was until a few months ago deployed in Iraq during some of the worst violence.

You don't hear the McCains talk about it, but their 19-year-old Marine, Jimmy, is preparing for his second tour of duty. Their 21-year-old son, Jack, is poised to graduate from Annapolis and also could join the Marines as a second lieutenant. The couple made the decision not to draw attention to their sons out of respect for other families with sons and daughters in harm's way.
Cindy also says she doesn't want to risk falling apart on the campaign trail talking about Jimmy who was so young when he enlisted she had to sign consent forms for his medical tests before he could report for duty and potentially upsetting parents of soldiers who are serving or have been killed.

The McCains want to make sure their boys get no special treatment. Same goes for their five other children, including a daughter they adopted from Bangladesh. During a visit to Mother Teresa's orphanage there, Cindy noticed a dying baby .. The orphanage could not provide the medical care needed to save her life. So she brought the child home to America for the surgery she desperately needed. The baby is now their healthy, 16-year-old daughter, Bridget.
Though all seven McCain children including two Sen. McCain adopted from his first marriage are supportive of their father, they prefer their privacy to the glare of the campaign trail. Another daughter, Meghan, 23, helps him behind d the scenes.

Cindy McCain not only cherishes her children, but also her country, which in an election year filled with America-bashing, is a refreshing novelty. She seethed when she heard Michelle Obama' s unpatriotic remarks that she only recently grew proud of America. 'I am very proud of my country,' Mrs. McCain asserted.

She also may be tougher than the other women in the race. While Hillary thinks she's come under sniper fire on mission trips abroad, Cindy has actually seen violence. She witnessed a boy get blown up by a mine in Kuwait during a trip with an international group that removes land mines from war-torn countries.

Mrs. McCain also is a hands-on philanthropist. She sits on the board of Operation Smile, which arranges for plastic surgeons to fix cleft palates and other birth defects. She also has helped organize relief missions to Micronesia.

During a scuba-diving vacation to the islands, Mrs. McCain took a friend to a local hospital to have a cut treated. She was shocked, and saddened, by what she saw.

'They opened the door to the OR, where the supplies were, and there were two cats and a whole bunch of rats climbing out of the sterile supplies,' she recalled. 'They had no X-ray machine, no beds. To me, it was devastating because it was a U.S. trust territory.'

As soon as she returned home, she arranged for medical equipment and teams of doctors to be sent to treat the island children.

Michelle Obama may contribute to CARE, which fights global poverty and works to empower poor women. Cindy sits on its board.

While the Democrat women talk about helping the poor and needy, Cindy McCain actually rolls up her sleeves and does it. Who's the out-of-touch elitist?