Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.
26 [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”] Mark 11:25-27
Am I the only one that remember this simplistic, juvenile prayer? Where we went before God before we went to bed, simply to ask him to watch over us, protect those whom we love, and then if we were to slip into eternity to be the rescuer of our souls.
Jesus told His disciples that when you pray....if you have anything against ANYONE that you need to forgive them....so that God can forgive you of your transgressions. REAL TALK, I'm pretty sure you transgressed GOD today.
Think about it: were you completely honest with HIM about your feelings about your boss? How about did you follow through on all of the Spirit promptings today? Did you give when He instructed you to? Did you say what He told you to say to your children, your husband, etc?
Ok maybe you knocked those out of the park....howabout did you spend any REAL quiet time with Him? If so you should have a journal with what He shared with you? See I said STOP IT, because we can deceive ourselves in our pious prayers and wonder why GOD hasn't answered. Or wondered why do I feel like He's not listening, or that they are bouncing off the walls or ceiling. I simply submit to you.....did you forgive as well as ask forgiveness?
I pray the LORD my soul to keep, If I should die before I wake, I hope I've spent this prayer cleaning my slate of any hate....so that when I stand before to take my first eternal breath, I hear the LORD say now you can enter into my rest. GOD BLESS...LGLP
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death Prov. 16:25 ( & 14:12)
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life." John 14:6
Every last one of us are on a journey....and that journey is called life. From deciding who are friends will be, to where we want to live, to what schools will we have our kids enrolled into, all they up to who I'm going to marry, and prayerfully spend my last days with.
With thousands of choices to make daily, how does one make not just good choices, but GOD choices without GOD? Simply put you can't. In order to make GOD-like, or choices that please GOD, one must be walking in relationship with Him daily. Your day has to more than start and end with Him, there has to be intentional steps to include Him with you during your decision making during the day. Which is why in Col. 3:23 Paul reminds us to do EVERYTHING as if we are doing to for GOD Himself.
So as I'm preparing for the message for this Sunday it dawned on me as we live in this post modern culture where tolerance is not enough......NO...they WANT APPROVAL. They want us to say we are willing to allow THAT* in our lives, into our very hearts. So the question is......the WAY in which you are going/heading does it lead to ETERNAL LIFE or DEATH? Solmon said there is a way, a method that a man chooses that he thinks is the right way, and it's utterly wrong, while Jesus said HE IS THE WAY. So are you choosing a way, or His way? Simply put this comes down to a LIFE or DEATH ISSUE. Jesus was tolerant.....but there were things He didn't approve of, and we should be no different. See you Sunday for THYATIRA, meanwhile LGLP (in case you didn't know LOVE GOD, LOVE PEOPLE) !!
* denotes - anything that you have had a standard against, that now you are willing to concede the truth for and allow into your heart, and eventually you become totally passive towards.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Each one of us has a LIST OF THINGS to do today. Some of us are anal enough to have it actually written down. Some of us it's in our head. Some of us....the list is floating around, and there is essentially no order in of which we will accomplish the things to do today, which to our demise we could totally miss doing what are really the most important things one the lists. Reading the above scripture forewarns us about how we walk through the day. One way will invovle us fulfilling our flesh's desires, while wrecking lives all along the way, while the other way creates an enviroment that invites the presence of the Spirit of God in all we do, and everywhere we go. One involves breaking the law, while another will leave people speechless.
I actually think that this blog is actually a true emergency blog.....because as many of us have already begun our day, what would GOD say we've already accomplished? Would it be dressing ourselves? Getting our morning cup of coffee (or in my case cappuchino/cocoa)? Would it have been getting everybody off to where they needed to be on time? Would it be getting to work on time? Or having the first meeting? Here's the real emergency.....our culture has a list, we have a list, and GOD has a list, and depending upon which one we view as the MOST IMPORTANT will we either try to do all of them, which is like this train pictured veering off the tracks, barrelling towards destruction. Or we have become wise to realizing that really there is, and should be ONE LIST.
See JESUS gave us THE LIST when He said in Luke 10 (26-28 NLT): Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
27 The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”
I venture to say if this is not your No. 1 and No. 2 on your list, you aren't living....you are existing, and like the train above your flesh is on a collision course that you will decimate anyone, and anything in your path. But maybe, just maybe Loving GOD and Loving People are your 1 and 2, and before you break your arm patting yourself on your back....can I make sure no. 3 is correct? Paul said in Colossians (3:23 NIV) to the people of Colossae: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,.....
So as you stop what you are doing, and look at your list, your checklist of accomplishments already for this day......I simply ask you ARE THESE YOUR TOP THREE, for if they are....the other things on your list may also get accomplished by your EXECUTION of these three, and if not....at least you kept the FIRST THING, FIRST...and may the peace of GOD put your heart at ease regarding anything else you feel the pressure to get done. LGLP
