Growing Your Capacity to Love

Growing Your Capacity to Love
By Greg Baker

We’re all born with the capacity to love. After all, we are born in God’s image. For some, that capacity is limited only to self, which usually makes it difficult to love others. In a nut shell, our capacity to love is dependent upon our ability to absorb, accept, and deal with being hurt by someone else.

Loving someone isn’t the euphoria and paradise that so much of our main stream philosophy tends to portray. In fact, the more love you give someone the greater the chances will be that they’ll hurt you. It doesn’t mean that they will do so intentionally, but either way, their ability to hurt you emotionally, psychologically, and even spiritually increase proportionally to the degree of love you show them.

If you truly love someone, you make sacrifices for them. You open yourself up to them and tie parts of yourself to them emotionally and spiritually. This is a big deal. Getting cussed out by a stranger doesn’t hurt near as much as being cussed out by someone you really love.

So, if you love, then you’re going to get hurt. This isn’t something to be afraid of, nor is it something that you should ignore. It is just a fact of life. I would rather love and be hurt than never to love and never to be hurt. Not loving someone does more damage to your spirit and emotions than being hurt by someone you do love.

The benefits of loving people can far out strip the down side of being hurt. If you have enough people that you are loving, you always have people to retreat to when another of them hurt you. But loving people gives you a much more positive outlook on life. It allows you to experience peace with your surroundings and circumstances. Yes, love people. It is so worth it.

HOW TO GROW YOUR CAPACITY TO LOVE

The more pain and emotional trauma you can absorb and deal with the greater your capacity to love others. It sounds like a rotten trade off, but it’s not. If you can’t handle being hurt, you’ll build walls between you and people. You’ll withdraw into yourself, carry a chip on your shoulder, and generally push people away. You won’t experience a close relationship, and it could lead you to begin to hate yourself.

I pastor a Church and I look to love every one that steps in the doors. This means that each of them, in their own way, has the ability to hurt me. I accept that. And, indeed, I’ve been hurt by many of them. But I strive not to take things so personally in life. I try to be a shock absorber. I don’t crack under the pain, I just absorb it and shunt it off.

You keep so many more relationships if you can do that. I can’t recall the times that I’ve managed to strengthen a relationship because I absorbed the pain inflicted on me by someone else. If husbands would learn to do this for their wives, they would have the position and ability to strengthen their marriage to such a strong degree. If wives could learn to do this for their husbands, they wouldn’t feel so alone and find they have a unique position to strengthen their marriage.

When you get hurt, you get defensive. You take a position and start lobbing verbal artillery shells at the object of perceived attack. Instead of absorbing the hurt and looking for a solution, injured people usually make the situation even worse. You start building walls that shuts out everyone.

TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS

1. Don’t take things so personally.

2. Don’t focus on your pain. Instead, focus on the other person and what might be done to fix the relationship. If you can repair the relationship, your pain will be relieved.

3. Think of yourself as a shock absorber. Look for the best in people instead of the worst.

4. Don’t quit because you get hurt. You only got hurt because you cared. That in itself is worth the price.

5. If you handle it right, you have the opportunity to strengthen the relationship.

6. Remember, you’ve probably hurt people too.

The larger your capacity to love, the greater your happiness can be. Oh, you’ll get hurt here and there, but dealing with it right will allow you to retain your joy.

Please visit our website at: http://www.fitlyspoken.org For more books and resources to build Christ honoring relationships, express yourself, and develop stronger communication and social skills.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS-MAKE A WEBSITE

The Way

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope  and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11

GEICO, Allstate, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Fidelis; there are many different insurance companies. There are many different kinds of insurances.  There’s life insurance, health insurance, car insurance, flood insurance, house insurance, pet insurance, and there’s even now car maintenance insurance.  People feel safer when they know they insured.  Amen but, how safe can this type of insurance really make you?

Life insurance can only be benefited from in the event of your or someone’s death.  Something would actually have to happen to your car for your car insurance to take effect, and health insurance is there for when your heath fails. Whether it’s just a cold or if it’s full blown cancer, you still have to be in a bad way to benefit from the insurance.  And what’s the best thing that could happen with these insurances, the best case scenario?  Well if you’re not dead, your car is not wrecked and you and your family is not sick…..you get to pay the insurance company, and feel safe.

But, how would you really like to be “in good hands.”  I mean the best hands.  Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I would like to present to you….a better than life insurance….the eternal life insurance established over 2,000 years ago.  An insurance that you can benefit from whether you are sick or well.  Those other types insurance talk about constant coverage but don’t pay your premium and see how constant that coverage is.  With our plan you’re covered under the blood of Jesus Christ our savior and redeemer.  But wait—there’s more; regular life insurance ends with the physical death of the policy holder. It provides for his or her funeral expense and may even give saved up money or possessions to loved ones.  I tell you that there is an insurance that provides your sweetest benefit after your physical death.  Membership and compliance guarantees eternal life in heaven in the presence of our Holy Father.  I’ll let that sink in for a moment.

This type of life insurance—or a better term might be life assurance, is insurance for your soul.  It works great not only in the hereafter but right now.  You’re able to have joy, peace, and contentment houses and land, the whole nine.  Our Father owns all of this and if you only believe with your heart and confess with mouth that our elder brother and savior Jesus Christ died for our sins on a cross and resurrected himself on the 3^rd day you too can become a policyholder.  Let me apologize because in my excitement I’m getting ahead of myself.

Let me tell you a little bit about our organization.  The name of our organization is called The Way.  Our founder is all mighty God who resides in heaven.  Our C.E.C. and co-founder is Jesus who currently resides in heaven at our Father’s right hand.  Our vice president and co-founder in charge of training and also runs the help desk, our comforter the precious Holy Ghost.  Down my chain of command or my upline are Bishop Frazier, Elder Campbell and finally Pastor and Deacon Robinson.

Our instruction manual or standard operating procedure (S.O.P) for short consists of 66 books and as of 2007 approximately 7.5 billion have been distributed world wide.  Talk about a best seller.  All or a part of it has been printed in over 2.370 languages.  Our members today,  number between 1.5 and 2.2 billion believers.  Some famous retirees in our organization consist of Brother John, Brother Matthew, Brother Timothy and Bishop Fuller.

The way is available to everyone, all nations and all races.  Our Master’s plan is so elegant,  yet so simple that even the most educated and smartest person couldn’t mess it up by over thinking things.  In fact,  in Matthew 18:4 of our instruction manual Jesus said this (And he said “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.) The way was not always available to us all; up until approximately 2,000 years ago the way was a hand to adhere to system called the Law and only God’s original people the Jews had the rights to it.  Even when Jesus came down to earth to simplify the system it still wasn’t available to us.  But thanks to one of our pioneering representatives, Brother Paul (and the Jews rejection and crucifixion of our savior and C.E.O. Jesus) we are all, worldwide, privy to this pearl of great price.

You may by now be thinking what is the cost for something so wonderful.  Well worry not, for the premium has been paid in blood no less by our Lord and savior (our C.E.O if you will).  All you have to do is believe on Him, believe that he actually did pay that price for us and do this while the blood is still running warm in your veins.  And with that belief comes membership and with membership your name will be written in the Lamb Book at our corporate headquarters in Heaven.

Let me give you a few examples by way of personal testimony, what the way can do for you.  When I was a younger man I could end up in places and situation that make the hair stand on the back of my neck but whatever situation that was lurking m never revealed itself.  How many people know that before you ever enroll in this great plan, someone who already knows the way will put you on their policy?  All they have to do is bring your name up when they’re on their upline communicating with our C.E.O.  No doubt our pastor and deacon had a group policy for most of us back then.

My daughter gave us cause for concern with headache and a disturbing prognosis from her doctor.  It resulted in a couple of trips to Chapel Hill.  I myself got sick in 09; my condition could have had serious consequences.  In both cases we used a medical insurance through my job called Medcost.  I was lucky to have it but how many of you know that medcost was just my supplementary or secondary insurance.  The way was, and is my first to go.

Now as I’ve said before, the cost of membership has been paid in full.  As I ‘m sure you’ll remember someone said; salvation is free but it costs to keep it.  You must supply a sanctified life a godly life.  You must stay in contact with your C.E.O. on your upline constantly.  You must read your instruction manual daily.  And you love your brother as you love yourself, maybe better.  Our organization is a lean green efficient company. We keep advertisement costs down by using word of mouth, in fact every member is compelled to go out into the hedges and hi ways and tell people about our C.E.O. and the way.

As I conclude, keep in mind being on someone else’s policy will not get your name written in the Book of Life.  You need to secure a personal policy.  If you do not know the way tonight you are in a good place at a most opportune time. If you wish to secure for yourself a policy of peace that surpasses all understanding all you need to do is come down to the alter and you name can be added right now.  So don’t be without coverage a minute longer get yourself a peculiar policy.  Become one of us a royal priesthood come with us, on the way.

-Brother Darrin Johnson

A Passionate Christian Woman

A Passionate Christian Woman
By C. Maggie Woychik

What is a passionate Christian woman? Well, she’s not a woman who’s perfect, peerless or guiltless, but as human as you and me. A passionate Christian woman simply has a passion for the things of God and is driven to do something about it.
This woman thirsts for God. God is the driving force of her existence, the meaning behind her life. She doesn’t live primarily for the latest fads, fashions, or fancies, but for God. She cares little for fame or fortune, recognition or reward. Instead, she has experienced the intense satisfaction of a personal relationship with a holy God, and as a deer longs for a cool, refreshing stream to enjoy, so she longs for her God.
She hungers for Truth. In a mixed-up world where wrong often seems right, a passionate believer pursues God’s Truth with intensity. Never one to accept mere human opinion or feeling-based experience, she considers God’s Word to be as necessary to her as her daily food. She has a Berean mindset (Acts 17:11), persistently compares the spoken word to the written Word, and sifts it to find the Truth. A passionate Christian
woman is passionate about the Bible, for therein God has revealed His heart and mind for mankind.
She loves others with godly passion. She demonstrates sincere concern, models unconditional love, and does her utmost to influence those around her for heaven. She doesn’t portray one who has arrived, but one who knows where she’s going. Then she coaxes and encourages and helps others to join her on her journey. Her love is practical, pure and positive. The motivation for her outreach is her up-reach to God, and she does it with fervency and attention to detail.
She lives today with tomorrow in mind. A passionate Christian woman knows her time is limited. She is acutely aware that her life is as a drop in the bucket of time and eternity. She will pass off the scene all too quickly with only her influence remaining. She realizes she has no second chance, no life “held over on account of rain”.
So she lives each day to its fullest with this goal in mind: to follow hard on the heels of the very God in whom we live and breathe and have our being. This woman lives with a vengence, committed to going out with a bang instead of a whimper. She fulfills today’s duties while focusing on the future.
Finally, a passionate Christian woman avoids sin so she can gain intimacy with God. Though the world allures and tempts, this believer knows her boundaries and accepts her playground. She doesn’t walk the fence row, desirous of the apple across the
way. She romps and ranges in the field God has given her, content to run home at the end of the day with clean hands and a pure conscience.
Is this a description of a perfect Christian woman? No, but of a passionate one. These women don’t have boundless energy, super-human strength, or a superior spirituality. In fact, they are utterly ordinary ones who fail, fall, and are tired at the end of the day. They are tested and found wanting all too often. But they have heard from God through His Word, seen Him work in their lives, and have experienced peace, answered prayer, and comfort through the Holy Spirit. Now their heart is fixed, their commitment firm, their joy complete. They learn and grow, and find purpose in mundane tasks and the every day routine of living.
A passionate Christian woman thirsts after God, hungers for His Word, has a sincere concern for others, and lives today with tomorrow in mind. She avoids sin so she can maintain a close relationship with her Creator and Lord. She is a passionate believer living a purposeful life. She is alive with a passion for God!

Copyright 2009, C. Maggie Woychik. Maggie has over 70 published articles, poems and book reviews under her belt. Her first book is due out fall, 2009 – I Run to the Hills: Reflections on the Christian Journey. You can locate her at http://www.msghomeschoolauthors.blogspot.com or http://www.cmaggiewoychik.com.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS-MAKE A WEBSITE

Top Ten Anti-Christian Attacks in 2009

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

For quite some time now Christians in the U.S have had freedoms that our counterparts elsewhere (i.e. China) could never imagine.  However, as we progress further into the last days Western Christians are now beginning to feel the pangs of persecution.

The Christian Anti-Defamation Commission (CADC) has released its list of the top ten incidents of anti-Christian defamation, bigotry and discrimination in the US from last year. The list was selected by the subscribers to CADC’s e-mail list and was selected from a list of twenty of CADC’s top stories from 2009.

“It is arguable that anti-Christian hatred has spilled over into material forms of persecution in 2009,” said Dr. Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission. “Christians were killed and bullied for their witness, ministers and churches threatened with violence and vandalized for standing for marriage, and Christians were fired for not compromising their faith. If these are not bona fide examples of persecution, than I wonder what more it might take?”

The Top Ten Anti-Christian headlines for 2009 according to CADC subscribers are,

10. Pro-life Pastor Reverend Walter Hoye of Oakland, CA was jailed for exercising peaceful, pro-life speech.

9. Rev. Fred Winters was murdered while preaching in his pulpit in Maryville, Illinois.

8. HBO’s program “Curb Your Enthusiasm” aired an episode where the main actor urinates on painting of Jesus. When confronted HBO would not apologize.

7. The overt homosexual participation in Obama’s presidential inaugural events by “Bishop” Vickie Eugene Robinson, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington D. C., and a homosexual marching band.

6. Police called to East Jessamine Middle School in Lexington, Kentucky to stop 8th graders from praying during their lunch break for a student whose mother was tragically killed.

5. Pro-life activist Jim Pullion was murdered in front of his granddaughter’s high school for showing the truth about abortion.

4. An activist judge ordered a home school mom in New Hampshire to stop home schooling her daughter because the little girl “reflected too strongly” her mother’s Christian faith.

3. The Federal Department of Homeland Security issued a report entitled “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate” that labeled conservative Christians extremists and potential terrorists.

2. President Obama’s appointment of radical anti- Christians like homosexual activist Kevin Jennings as the “safe school czar;” pro-abortion advocate Kathleen Seblius made Secretary of Human and Health Services, and Chai Feldblum, pro-homosexual and anti-religious liberty judge nominated for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

1. The Federal Hate Crimes Bill that attacks religious liberty and freedom of speech. For the first time in our history ministers are vulnerable to investigation and prosecution for telling the truth about homosexuality.

Just a Reminder for all the Mothers

According to Titus 2:5 it is important that a young woman keep her home. She is “to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to [her] husband, so that no one will malign the Word of God.”  Unfortunately, our society has taken this out of context and we have placed more importance on keeping up appearances than anything else.  I ran across this great poem today that was a refreshing reminder of what my most important role in my home is…raising my children. Too many days are spent focusing on the aesthetics and not on the tasks that have true value, real merit and will place an indelible mark on the future.

I Took His Hand and Followed
Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,I didn’t make the bed,

I took his hand and followed Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring, My little son and I…

Exploring all the great outdoors Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,We wandered through a wood…

My kitchen wasn’t swept today, But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade, And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest, Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young, We climbed a sunlit hill…

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky, We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected, That I didn’t brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth, Will know, or even care.

But that I’ve helped my little boy, To noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world, May look and see and know.

Although it appears that the author of the poem was referring to educating her son in general, Christian mothers (which should really be all mothers) have the added responsibility of raising our children in God-centered homes.  A mother’s faithful instruction multiplies to bless others as her children grow into mature servants of God. 2 Tim. 1:5

2 Timothy 1:5 (ASV)
⁵ having been reminded of the unfeigned faith that is in thee; which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and, I am persuaded, in thee also.

Be blessed…

Lord, Please Bless My Mess

Hello Lord.

Its me again.  I know we haven’t been speaking quite as often as we used to.  I used to hear from you all the time.  I guess we’ve both been a little busy.  It happens.  Anyway,  since we last spoke a lot of things have happened and well, I was wondering if you could do me a solid?

Lord, I know that you told me that if I would seek you first you would take care of the rest.  And I truly am sorry that I haven’t made it to church lately but, Sunday is the only day I get a chance to spend with (fill in the blank).  He really seems to be in to me! I understand that we may be unequally yoked now but,  I am sure that once he gets to know me he will want to know you too.

I know that it is your desire that I remain sexually pure, sanctifying myself. You created sex to be a beautiful expression of love between a man and a woman who are joined in marriage.  But, we love each other and we are going to get married anyway.  Besides, no one is perfect and everyone is doing it anyway.

Once, I make it back to church I promise I will start tithing again.  I just had a few things that I really needed to buy and I knew that you would understand.  Anyway, there is this (fill in the blank) concert coming to town and I would really love to go.  Lord, could you please help me get tickets.  I understand that their music talks about all of the things that you hate but, I just like the beats.

Pastor, called and tried to tell me that I shouldn’t forsake assembling together with the congregation and that I really shouldn’t do this and that.  But, I know that I have a relationship with you.  You know my heart.

Thank you so much Lord, you always come through just when I need you.

-Amen.

At first glance the above might sound like one of the most ridiculous prayers that you have ever heard.  However, many of us pray similar prayers all the time.  Read more

Thy Will Be Done?

This evening during our bedtime routine my seven year old and I made an agreement to teach my two year old The Lord’s Prayer. We decided to begin immediately.  As we began to recite each line and await our student’s response I began to reflect on each line…Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

I paused for a moment as I began to consider the gravity of such a declaration.  I had to ask myself if I really wanted God’s will to be done. If I were to examine my behavior and actions would they reflect the submission of my will to that of the Father’s?  The honest answer would be that I, like many, have been inconsistent.  It has been a matter of convenience and all too often I have ignored what I know to be God’s will because it might put me in an uncomfortable position or cause me to rely on something besides my own understanding.  However, the desire to be found pleasing in His sight is far greater and offers a more gracious and valuable reward.  So, what exactly does God’s will entail?

The will can be defined as desire; decision-making capacity; by choice, without reluctance.  Often, we pray one of three ways.  First, we pray for God to lead or guide us in a particular matter or situation and never inquire as to what His will is for us. Second, we ask God to reveal, or make His will known to us and we merely attempt to include God into our will.  Or finally, we ask to be taught to do God’s will.

When we pray for guidance we are not trusting the Lord.  The steps of a good man are ordered, not guided, by the Lord.  On the occasions that we desire knowledge of God’s will it is useless for us to ask for any such revelation when we have no intention of being completely obedient.  However, when we seek to be taught how to do God’s will we become tremendously useful to the kingdom.  The psalmist David requested on numerous occasions to be taught to do the master’s will.  (Psalm 51:12; 143:10) As such, he was described as a man after God’s own heart.  Even when he sinned his desire to reconcile his broken relationship was so great that he readily submitted his will.

God teaches us in three ways. First, by his word. Secondly, he illuminates our minds by the Spirit. Thirdly, he imprints it in our hearts and maketh us obedient to the same; for the servant who knoweth the will of his master, and doeth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes: Luke 12:47.—Archibald Symson.—Treasury of David, The

Teach me to do thy will. We are to pray that God would teach us to know, and then teach us to do, his will. Knowledge without obedience is lame, obedience without knowledge is blind; and we must never hope for acceptance if we offer the blind and the lame to God.—Vincent Alsop (-1703), in “The Morning Exercises.”

—Treasury of David, The

Jesus said to Pilate: “Thou couldest have no power against Me, except it were given thee from above.” In everything that came on Him, He saw God’s will: it was all the cup the Father gave Him. When believers learn to see God’s will in everything that comes to us painful or pleasing, great or small, then the prayer, Thy will be done, becomes our unceasing expression of submission as well as praise!

My prayer is that as I make the petition, Thy will be done, that God continually transforms my will to His.  The object of God’s will is holiness.  Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord…Hebrews 12:14.

Good Health God’s Way

Squandering Time

While sitting down today I began to reflect on my life.  I began chronicling what my life would have been like if I had gotten saved, and stayed saved, when I was younger.  For all intensive purposes, I am still quite young now.  What I mean is how much work could I have accomplished for the kingdom if I had not been ashamed to name the name of Christ in my pre-teen, teen, and college years?  I realized that is something I would never know.

Of course, the enemy began to attempt to make me feel like I had already squandered the best years of my life. I began to question how useful or effective I am now in comparison to how effective I could have been when I was not a wife and mother.

And I will restore or replace for you the years that the locust has eaten… And you shall eat in plenty and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord, your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you. And My people shall never be put to shame.  Joel 2:25-26 Amp.

This passage ministered to me!  Oh. how refreshing it is to be reminded that the plague of locusts of lukewarmness, worldiness and fornication, to name a few, are far from us.  Because of grace we can spend the rest of our days serving the Lord with our whole hearts!  We can submit in total surrender and become vessels that can be fashioned however the Potter chooses.

Jesus, accomplished a great deal in His three years of earthly ministry.  Moreover, in John 14:12 he stated, “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father.”

This scripture reminded me that I am an asset to the kingdom.  Each of us in an ex-something.  Each of us has wasted valuable time at one point or another.  God is looking for young men and women like Joshua who He can fill with His spirit and who will do great exploits for the Kingdom of God.

As parents, we must encourage our children to serve the Lord while they are still young and to keep His Word because that is what will prolong their life many years and bring prosperity (Proverbs 3: 1-2).  As believers we should encourage any and all youth that we encounter to trust in the Lord and allow willingly allow His will to be manifested in their lives and not squander their youth.

Blessings…

Sticking to the Plan

We are on a spiritual high when we feel in every fiber of our being that we have heard the voice and the Lord and we have been given an assignment.  Every assignment has a set of instructions, especially with God.  God likes order.  So, we have our assignment and we have been given express instructions to accomplish a specific task. We’re motivated, excited and ready to be used by God!  We hope to successfully accomplish the tasks that we set out to do.

However, sometimes even our most well intended motives are either misunderstood, we realize that they changed somewhere along the way, or we allow ourselves to be detoured. Everyone usually has an agenda when they endeavor to do something; whether it is conscious or unconscious.  Pleasing God should be at the top of that list.

Whether we are sharing the Gospel with someone who is lost or we are interacting with other members of the Body of Christ it is important not to allow our motives or instructions to be changed.  Anything can cause us to waver in our intent.  We may become concerned about a particular individual or groups’ opinion or their feelings.  Someone may suggest something that seems to be a great addition to our plan so we alter the original plan.  Yes, it is important to be compassionate but, not at the cost of a soul–ours or theirs.  Our message must not become watered down. It’s in the details.

Take for example the man of God from Judah (1 Kings 13).  God had given him specific instructions as to what he should do after he spoke with King Jeroboam.  He was not to eat or drink anything while on his mission (1 Kings 13:9) nor was he to return home by the way he came.  After successfully resisting an offer of a fine meal with the king which included a gift, because of his instructions, the man of God made his way to another route.  Along the way he allowed himself to be deceived by a seemingly well intended old prophet.(1 Kings 13:18)  The prophet claimed that an angel came to him by the Word of the Lord and instructed him to take the man of God back to his home for a meal.  The man of God lost his life as a result of not sticking to the plan.

The man of God from Judah died because he listened to someone claiming to have a message from God rather than God himself.  We often alter the plan because someone has a “Word from the Lord” that seems easier than the instructions God gave us, their idea has a detail that intrigues us. The TRUTHS of God many times DO NOT feel good or are not what we want to believe, BUT they ARE the Truths of God never the less. Feelings do not count, compliance with scripture and obedience to it are the only things that count.

A few points we can apply to following instructions are:

• God is not the author of confusion. We will never receive mixed messages from God or any message that contradicts His Word from Him.
• Every good idea is not a God idea.  Everything that glitters is not gold.  Just because it sounds good doesn’t mean it is good or good for us.
• Follow the instructions that God has given to you. Just because we have seen it work for someone else it may not be God’s will for us. Each believer is given a gift(s) and some of us may have the same gift.  However, our method of application may be different or our focus is different.
• Test everything against the Word of God. Any messages received should stand when tested with the Word.  God can speak to you just as well as he can anyone else if you are willing to listen.
• STICK TO THE PLAN! When you are certain of your instructions do not lean to your own understanding or anyone else’s for that matter.  God requires obedience of all that he employs.  One act of disobedience cost Moses his entrance into the promised land!  All of the things he had previously done did not matter.  He failed to trust God’s direction.

We must insure at all costs that we do not alter or change the plans or instructions that God has given to us.  It could cost us more than we are willing to pay in the long run.

Remember, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way.  Psalm 37:23 KJV

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