miscellaneous items
Sometimes as new Christian we don't always understand why God brings trials & tribulation into our daily lives. It's isn't because He wants to. After we get saved we enter into God's school. School is supposed to prepare us for life as an adult. Well, once we're saved God has to teach us lessons in order to prepare us for eternal life. We don't just get saved & know all overnight. We have to learn in order to grow & become strong in our faith. In my personal opinion I think we have to have a lot of preparation because of what we will see or ex- perience in the end. I imagine it will be quite a mental undertaking to see & accept what's coming in the eternal life & to see the things that must take place beforehand. In those last remaining years it's hard telling what we'll see or experience or what God will have us doing. Makes me wonder what all eternity will hold that we require so much preparation. Should be interesting.
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After we are saved, we are supposed to become Christ-like. We are to learn to be Christ-like. However, if you're anything like me...that's a task in itself. Even for God Almighty. Why? Because human beings have a difficult time bending to God's will. Instead, we insist that He has to snap us like twigs. Christ prefers not to. But, for the stubborn at heart a gentle nudge isn't always enough. For example: I can not seem to let go of my anger. God keeps telling me to put it down like He did with Moses & his stick. But, I insist on hanging on to that little bugger of an emotion as if it were a friend of mine. So now, God is basically spanking me with my own sin in order to get me to surrender. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm trying to bring glory to God & make Him pleased with me & my ways. We have to learn to find balance in today's stressful world. For those who have anger management problems it helps to do a few things:
1. Spend some quiet time each day with God, whether it be in prayer, reading your bible, reading a devotional or all of the above.
2. Plenty of rest helps make for emotional balance.
3. Regular exercise helps rid the body of stress.
4. Find something you enjoy that helps you to relax in your surroundings; music, reading, knitting, or simply petting your cat.
God sees every aspect of our lives. He's watching. I try to imagine Him physically in the room with me...seeing me in my angry state & being terribly disappointed in me. It helps me to focus on trying behave in a way that would put a tender smile on His face.
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While reading in Spurgeon's "Morning by Morning" today, he wrote about separation. Genesis 7:16�"And they that went in, went in male & female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: & the Lord shut him in." He was speaking of Noah & all the inhabitants of the ark. Noah was so shut in that no evil could reach him. So shut in that he had no desire to come out. And who could blame him? Outside the ark was death, darkness & tragedy. Inside was life, light & peace. Life is the same way today for many. I myself, I prefer to be shut in. I look out my window�I know what lurks beyond the ark that is my home. I have no desire to go out any more than need be. I pretty much have all I need right here at home where Christ lives. I can still reach out & touch the world one computer monitor at a time. There is evil here on the internet but, not like what lurks outside in the real world. This I can turn off if it becomes too much. Reality has no off switch. There is no door that can be closed to what happens outside the house. It isn't until I am shut in at home with Christ, where I feel the most blessed joy of separation. Some may think it odd to be so shut in as to shut out the world but, that is exactly what I desire. Not completely�just enough to remain modestly untouched by the sins of the world that surround my entire being each day. Some may think�"You can't witness to people or soul win if you're closed up in the house all the time!" Wanna bet? I'm doing it right now. *grin* Where there's His will, there's a way! I no longer desire to leave my home unless I need something at the store or for brief outings. I no longer desire to go out & mingle among the filth this world has to offer. Take a good, hard look around at the various surroundings you're in each day & tell me if your heart desires to be there or communing with God. Some people are called to go out into this world & get in people's faces & tell them about Jesus & chance whatever reaction they get. They have the skills to do it. I do not. All I have is the mind & heart God gave me & my love of writing.
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Forgiveness is a difficult thing for humans to manage most times. It baffles me that the Lord could be so forgiving with all of us since the beginning of time. I would have grown sick of it all years ago & unleashed the wrath & wiped this place out! Good thing I'm not God. *grin* Forgiveness takes a certain amount of surrender that most people just can't rip their greedy little grip from. They want it all no matter what the cost. To themselves or to others. They don't care if they hurt you at all. As long as they are happy, that's all that matters in their selfish little world. I work with several who are like that. Some of them profess to be devout Christians yet they commit the same sins over & over, day after day. It doesn't seem to sink in that what they're doing isn't nice & it's just wrong. What makes it bad is that these behaviors spread like an infection to the other people around them. This makes the environment terribly full of sin & quite miserable to be in each day. This one lady I work with is so hateful & so unhappy at all times that she's always being mean to me or mad at me for some petty little thing. Mostly because she just doesn't understand how to work with people who have disabilities. I even pray for us BOTH before I go to work. It helped some today. Thank God! However, as angry as I am with her & as much as I desire to be totally rotten to her, God has helped me to forgive her & given me the strength to be nice to her when I least want to. I wondered today if she's one of those Christians who thinks she's saved by her "works" alone. Or if she's only Christian on Sunday's...(more likely that hour at church at best). *sigh* So terribly sad! She has no clue what she's missing out on! Wondering why? It's because I try not to communicate with her unless I have to anymore & I try to keep it brief. Especially since my talking, laughing, or breathing in general puts her on the verge of a nervous breakdown whenever she has to work with me. Oh please! *rolling my eyes* She just can't handle the joy of Christ in my heart. Maybe because she doesn't have it & doesn't know how to get it. That's even more sad. Please pray with me for "PeggySue" so that God can help her to find that same Christ-like joy & peace.
