Thanksgiving
Posted by IzzaBoutChu! on Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Hello Lord,
I just wanted to tell You that I am so thankful for all that you have done for me this past year. It started off really bad....but improved along the way. You know what problems I am addressing here. We are still addressing finances after the world market plummeted...but You knew that it was coming and have been prepared the entire time....and here we mortal fools were panicking...for what? You have all bases covered. I thank You for that.
The funny thing is that the people who were hardest hit were the people who had something tangible to begin with. Those of us who had little by comparison seemed to worry...but not panic like some others. Cliff and I talked about this: If we lost everything....we would still be alive and have You....and still be rich because of that. Look at Job. He lost everything...but He still had You ....and look how much You blessed Him in the end. You were there when he needed You the most.
Because of some of these reflections, I realized that You are ALWAYS there for me...to love me....to rescue me...like a father rescues his little child. When a parent watches a child, he allows the child to exercise his or her limitations and boundaries. You know how a little one will put their toe in a spot that they know they are not supposed to touch as they blatantly watch you watch them. They continue this to see what your reaction will be. They are testing the waters. We, as the children of God, do the same thing. We get tempted and think about what we are doing...and the fact that we are not supposed to be doing it. It could be eating that last piece of pumpkin pie, smoking cigarettes when you supposedly gave them up, a drop of alcohol that is totally off limits...we all have our vices. But, we will be tempted and I can picture our Father sitting off to the side and watching us watch Him as we give in or not give in to our temptations. We know that the rest of the world isn't looking....that we are all alone....except for Father. He is probably looking at us thinking...are you going to do it? You know what will happen. Come on....don't do it...you know that you can do without it.....come on.... That is the difference between our own fathers and our heavenly Father. Our own fathers don't allow us to have free will...but God our Father does. And, if we have a relationship with Him and are listening to Him...we may be able to stop the temptation in its tracks....but if we don't have a relationship.....then you know that we aren't listening and that we will give into the temptation. Does He turn His back on us when we don't relate to Him? Of course not....He is always with us....whether we know that He is there or not. He loves us in spite of ourselves. Like I said earlier...there is no time line in heaven. He is everywhere all of the time. I think that there is some sort of quantum physics involved there somewhere beyond our comprehension....even for experts in this area...so....as I was saying...God already knows the outcome. How else do we think that He had John write the end of the Bible?!
Now, from the other point of view....if there is no time line in heaven....does it matter when we decide to give our lives to the Lord? After all, you might argue...God already knows the outcome...and maybe you will give your life and maybe you won't. Again, I have to bring up free will. He will never force you...and even if there is no time line in heaven, there is a time line here on earth. Our days are always numbered. We will either die and wake up in heaven or hell. We are not all knowing like God....we don't know when we will draw our last breath. It could be 20-50 years from now....or it could be tonight...or tomorrow. If that were to happen, I feel good that I know God and live my life for Jesus as my Savior. I already know that when I take my last breath and wake up, I will be looking into the eyes of Jesus forever. So, while we are on the subject, do you know who you will wake up and see after your last breath here on earth? Will you see Jesus or satan? You do realize that from that point on....it will be forever and that you will never be able to go back? I hope to see you in heaven...but if you are not sure....then please pray that God will awaken the Holy Spirit within you so that you can see through the eyes of a believer. It isn't hard at all.
The only thing that you have to do is to tell God what you have done wrong in your life....you know confess your sins. Then, like a child who talks to his father and says "I'm sorry Daddy....I won't do it anymore."....and yet you know that they do. God knows this is an imperfect world. So, even when you tell Him that you are sorry....He knows that temptation may still get the best of you. Here is the kicker....He doesn't really care because if you do the next step, then you can make mistakes and still be with Him in heaven. So, what is the next step? You have admitted your mistakes and have asked him to forgive you....now you must tell Him that you know that He sent His Son, Jesus, here to be slaughtered like a lamb so that those mistakes that you made can be forgiven. In the old days, they used to kill animals to represent sin....they killed the sin. Well, Jesus killed sin for us. It was the only way that God could save us. He allowed His own Son to take the death of our sins with Him. After Jesus did that, not only did he lock the pits of hell up so that his followers can't go there....He went back up into Heaven...even though He was dead on the cross...He...because he is God....was resurrected. He has the victory. It is kind of like the movies when the good guy is killed...or so you thought....and then find out that he wasn't killed and saves the day. Well, that is what happened with Jesus...only He really WAS killed and came back to life to save the day. Boy, did that put a thorn in satan's tail. So...you asked for forgiveness...and now you tell God that you believe that Jesus is His Son...died...and came alive again...and rose to heaven where He is sitting right now. Here is the glorious part...Jesus is coming back soon to take us believers up to heaven with him. There is going to be a lot of trouble here on earth. If you think that things are bad now....this is nothing compared to what is coming next.
Here is the thing....I explained how you can get to heaven and didn't involve any scriptures or quotes. I am just trying to explain or paraphrase what is going on. If you are serious about this, you shouldn't just take my word for it..you should get an easy to read, Bible and see for yourself. A lot of people will say that it is too hard to understand the Bible. If you do not believe that Jesus is your Savior, then you either won't understand it, or it will read like a classroom textbook. You will read a lot of stories, but won't understand the messages. That is not the way that it was intended. It is a living Book. Once you have have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and are willing to live your life according to His Word, then you will be what is called "Born Again". Once you are Born Again, you will begin to understand the Bible because the Holy Spirit lives within us and explains things to us. The closer you become to God, the more you will understand the Words in the Bible. When you read a passage one day...you may get one message....but when you read the same passage the next day, you may get an entirely different meaning...because the Bible is a Living Book...the Words are Alive to those who seek discernment.
So...now that you understand the processes, you have a choice...eternity in Heaven frolicking with Jesus....or eternity in hell burning forever in pain with demons tearing at your flesh. But, fear should not be your motivator. You should do this because deep, deep, deep down inside, you know that something is amiss..and you want more. You can never be satiated...no matter what you do...you shop until you drop and you have lots of stuff...and yet something is missing. You shoot up and feel great for a while...but what you are really seeking is love and understanding....you want to block out the world and numb yourself against your life....the needles and pills can't give you what you are really seeking. You might have a wonderful job and feel like you are on top of the world....or at least that is how you portray yourself to others....but when you are alone, counting your trophies....you used to enjoy doing that...but lately....it isn't enough...you feel empty and maybe even apathetic about it all....you are looking for something with more meaning....look to Jesus. Or, you might be a Muslim, or Jewish.....you have Allah...or Yahweh....you follow all of the rules...you do everything according to rules and law established but your religion...but something within you resents having to follow these rules day in and day out....you feel guilty for feeling this way and would never admit these feelings to others around you. Well, guess what? Jesus came to destroy rules because they make us sin more....even when we follow them....we sometimes become resentful for having to follow them and feeling that way is sinful.
Jesus is the Way...He is the Truth...and He is the Life. You can't get to the Father except through Jesus. If you accept Jesus into your life....then you can have a relationship with the Father-God, His Son-Jesus, and The Holy Spirit....the mystery of the Holy Trinity. I don't fully understand this relationship..the blessed Trinity.....but through faith...I believe it. Faith the size of a mustard seed is all that you will ever need to believe..and God will meet you where you are at. So....please consider joining the ranks. And forgive me for this long, long blog. I just felt moved in the middle of the second paragraph to say all that I have said....perhaps the Holy Spirit whispered to you through my fingers?
I just wanted to tell You that I am so thankful for all that you have done for me this past year. It started off really bad....but improved along the way. You know what problems I am addressing here. We are still addressing finances after the world market plummeted...but You knew that it was coming and have been prepared the entire time....and here we mortal fools were panicking...for what? You have all bases covered. I thank You for that.
The funny thing is that the people who were hardest hit were the people who had something tangible to begin with. Those of us who had little by comparison seemed to worry...but not panic like some others. Cliff and I talked about this: If we lost everything....we would still be alive and have You....and still be rich because of that. Look at Job. He lost everything...but He still had You ....and look how much You blessed Him in the end. You were there when he needed You the most.
Because of some of these reflections, I realized that You are ALWAYS there for me...to love me....to rescue me...like a father rescues his little child. When a parent watches a child, he allows the child to exercise his or her limitations and boundaries. You know how a little one will put their toe in a spot that they know they are not supposed to touch as they blatantly watch you watch them. They continue this to see what your reaction will be. They are testing the waters. We, as the children of God, do the same thing. We get tempted and think about what we are doing...and the fact that we are not supposed to be doing it. It could be eating that last piece of pumpkin pie, smoking cigarettes when you supposedly gave them up, a drop of alcohol that is totally off limits...we all have our vices. But, we will be tempted and I can picture our Father sitting off to the side and watching us watch Him as we give in or not give in to our temptations. We know that the rest of the world isn't looking....that we are all alone....except for Father. He is probably looking at us thinking...are you going to do it? You know what will happen. Come on....don't do it...you know that you can do without it.....come on.... That is the difference between our own fathers and our heavenly Father. Our own fathers don't allow us to have free will...but God our Father does. And, if we have a relationship with Him and are listening to Him...we may be able to stop the temptation in its tracks....but if we don't have a relationship.....then you know that we aren't listening and that we will give into the temptation. Does He turn His back on us when we don't relate to Him? Of course not....He is always with us....whether we know that He is there or not. He loves us in spite of ourselves. Like I said earlier...there is no time line in heaven. He is everywhere all of the time. I think that there is some sort of quantum physics involved there somewhere beyond our comprehension....even for experts in this area...so....as I was saying...God already knows the outcome. How else do we think that He had John write the end of the Bible?!
Now, from the other point of view....if there is no time line in heaven....does it matter when we decide to give our lives to the Lord? After all, you might argue...God already knows the outcome...and maybe you will give your life and maybe you won't. Again, I have to bring up free will. He will never force you...and even if there is no time line in heaven, there is a time line here on earth. Our days are always numbered. We will either die and wake up in heaven or hell. We are not all knowing like God....we don't know when we will draw our last breath. It could be 20-50 years from now....or it could be tonight...or tomorrow. If that were to happen, I feel good that I know God and live my life for Jesus as my Savior. I already know that when I take my last breath and wake up, I will be looking into the eyes of Jesus forever. So, while we are on the subject, do you know who you will wake up and see after your last breath here on earth? Will you see Jesus or satan? You do realize that from that point on....it will be forever and that you will never be able to go back? I hope to see you in heaven...but if you are not sure....then please pray that God will awaken the Holy Spirit within you so that you can see through the eyes of a believer. It isn't hard at all.
The only thing that you have to do is to tell God what you have done wrong in your life....you know confess your sins. Then, like a child who talks to his father and says "I'm sorry Daddy....I won't do it anymore."....and yet you know that they do. God knows this is an imperfect world. So, even when you tell Him that you are sorry....He knows that temptation may still get the best of you. Here is the kicker....He doesn't really care because if you do the next step, then you can make mistakes and still be with Him in heaven. So, what is the next step? You have admitted your mistakes and have asked him to forgive you....now you must tell Him that you know that He sent His Son, Jesus, here to be slaughtered like a lamb so that those mistakes that you made can be forgiven. In the old days, they used to kill animals to represent sin....they killed the sin. Well, Jesus killed sin for us. It was the only way that God could save us. He allowed His own Son to take the death of our sins with Him. After Jesus did that, not only did he lock the pits of hell up so that his followers can't go there....He went back up into Heaven...even though He was dead on the cross...He...because he is God....was resurrected. He has the victory. It is kind of like the movies when the good guy is killed...or so you thought....and then find out that he wasn't killed and saves the day. Well, that is what happened with Jesus...only He really WAS killed and came back to life to save the day. Boy, did that put a thorn in satan's tail. So...you asked for forgiveness...and now you tell God that you believe that Jesus is His Son...died...and came alive again...and rose to heaven where He is sitting right now. Here is the glorious part...Jesus is coming back soon to take us believers up to heaven with him. There is going to be a lot of trouble here on earth. If you think that things are bad now....this is nothing compared to what is coming next.
Here is the thing....I explained how you can get to heaven and didn't involve any scriptures or quotes. I am just trying to explain or paraphrase what is going on. If you are serious about this, you shouldn't just take my word for it..you should get an easy to read, Bible and see for yourself. A lot of people will say that it is too hard to understand the Bible. If you do not believe that Jesus is your Savior, then you either won't understand it, or it will read like a classroom textbook. You will read a lot of stories, but won't understand the messages. That is not the way that it was intended. It is a living Book. Once you have have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior and are willing to live your life according to His Word, then you will be what is called "Born Again". Once you are Born Again, you will begin to understand the Bible because the Holy Spirit lives within us and explains things to us. The closer you become to God, the more you will understand the Words in the Bible. When you read a passage one day...you may get one message....but when you read the same passage the next day, you may get an entirely different meaning...because the Bible is a Living Book...the Words are Alive to those who seek discernment.
So...now that you understand the processes, you have a choice...eternity in Heaven frolicking with Jesus....or eternity in hell burning forever in pain with demons tearing at your flesh. But, fear should not be your motivator. You should do this because deep, deep, deep down inside, you know that something is amiss..and you want more. You can never be satiated...no matter what you do...you shop until you drop and you have lots of stuff...and yet something is missing. You shoot up and feel great for a while...but what you are really seeking is love and understanding....you want to block out the world and numb yourself against your life....the needles and pills can't give you what you are really seeking. You might have a wonderful job and feel like you are on top of the world....or at least that is how you portray yourself to others....but when you are alone, counting your trophies....you used to enjoy doing that...but lately....it isn't enough...you feel empty and maybe even apathetic about it all....you are looking for something with more meaning....look to Jesus. Or, you might be a Muslim, or Jewish.....you have Allah...or Yahweh....you follow all of the rules...you do everything according to rules and law established but your religion...but something within you resents having to follow these rules day in and day out....you feel guilty for feeling this way and would never admit these feelings to others around you. Well, guess what? Jesus came to destroy rules because they make us sin more....even when we follow them....we sometimes become resentful for having to follow them and feeling that way is sinful.
Jesus is the Way...He is the Truth...and He is the Life. You can't get to the Father except through Jesus. If you accept Jesus into your life....then you can have a relationship with the Father-God, His Son-Jesus, and The Holy Spirit....the mystery of the Holy Trinity. I don't fully understand this relationship..the blessed Trinity.....but through faith...I believe it. Faith the size of a mustard seed is all that you will ever need to believe..and God will meet you where you are at. So....please consider joining the ranks. And forgive me for this long, long blog. I just felt moved in the middle of the second paragraph to say all that I have said....perhaps the Holy Spirit whispered to you through my fingers?
Tags: jesus born again heaven or hell time quantum physics
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