Closer Walk

My life is not what I thought it would be.

There are trials and tribulations I thought I would never have.

I always thought having God in my life would make everything perfect.

Sometimes it makes things hard.

Just a closer walk with thee.

Trials and tribulations I will see.

Though through them all you will be.

Just a closer walk with thee.

It seems that just when life starts going great, something happens.

A trial or tribulation that God uses to teach me discipline.

Handing my life over to God is difficult.

I know how I want things to be, but God has different plans.

Just a closer walk with thee.

Trials and tribulations I will see.

Though through them all you will be.

Just a closer walk with thee.

Because I see things one way, and God sees them another way, life can be hard.

I never knew it could be this hard.

I just have to remember that God loves me and only wants what is best.

Lead me and guide me.  Love me and teach me.  

God's Voice

The closer we get to being Christ-like the harder Satan works on us.  He does not want us to be Christ-like; Satan loves only himself, so he wants us to be Satan-like.  The ONLY way we can beat him is through prayer and meditation.  Pray for God's guidance and for the Holy Spirit to be with you.  Meditate as much as you can so you can hear God's voice and be used by him.  Read The Bible and learn scripture, so when Satan comes knocking, you can use God's word to throw him off your back.  Pray that God will keep him off your back, out of your head, and away from you.  When you get overwhelmed and feel like you could scream, remember, this is Satan working overtime.  Satan has picked you to pick on.  He has gotten inside you and is really working hard.  PRAY! Pray, like you have never prayed before, that God will get Satan out of you.  Go to a place where it is quiet and where you will not be interrupted or disturbed.  Talk to God!  Tell him how you are feeling!  Ask him for help!

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hears and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."  It will help "settle" you down and bring God's peace to your heart, instead of Satan's anxiety.  Satan uses anxiety and worry to take over our mind, our body, our will.  We need the Holy Spirit to bring peace and the only way to do that is to pray.   God loves us and wants peace for us, but we have to pray.
Sometimes in order to have peace, God places on our heart something or things we must do before we can have peace.  If he does this, pray diligently about how to handle the situation.  Don't just go out and act.  Pray that God will show you the way to handle what he puts on your heart.  Sometimes, however, Satan will put things on your heart.  Satan knows God and God's ways.  He was God's angel, and he will conceal himself and try to act like God.  We must pray God will give us the discernment to know the difference between God's voice and Satan's voice.  When we make time to spend quality, quite time with God, we get to know God's voice.  So we must listen and learn to know God's voice, so we can do God's will, not Satan's.

Your Friend, Your Father, Your Savior

God, are you out there?  

Yes, my child I am right here, hearing every word you say.

I listen in the darkness, when you are “alone”. I listen in the light, when you are surrounded.

I do what is right for you, not what you want.  You may think I am not here, but I am.

When you are scared, unsure, afraid, happy, glad, upset, sad; you can talk to me and I will always listen.

I am your friend, your father, your Savior.

I like it when you talk to me. 

It makes me happy. 

When you don’t, I am still here, but I am afraid to help you.

Will you like my help?

Will you shut it out?

Will you shut me out?

I only want what is best for you.

I know it hurts sometimes, but I love you.  I would never hurt you, without it bringing pleasure later.

If you look at your life, you will see that the things that have hurt you, were for the best. 

At the time you would not agree, but now, I hope you see.

I love you!

I am your friend, your father, your Savior.

Believe in me, talk to me, pray to me.

I will always be here.  Even when you don’t think I am.

I am waiting, watching, listening for your call for help.

When I hear it, I act. 

Remember, my time and your time are two different things.

My time is eternity, your time is now.

It may take longer than you like, but I will help you!

I am your friend, your father, your Savior.

“What should I do?” you ask me.

You should put your faith, your life in my hands.

But what if…?

No what ifs! I love you, I will protect you!

Why did it happen to me?

I love you, I will protect you, but I want you to be strong. 

Adversity makes you strong.

Remember, I will never put anything on you, you cannot handle.

When your load gets too heavy, place it on my shoulders.

I will carry your burdens and take care of them

I am your friend, your father, your Savior.

                                                March 29, 2000

Christ-Like

The goal of all true Christians is to become Christ-like.  We strive to be like Jesus.  So, what does being "like Jesus" mean in the world we live in today?  I think it means we have to have "Christ-ears," "Christ-eyes" and "Christ-hearts."

Jesus could hear the hurt in the voices of the people he met by really, truly listening with his ears.  He took the time to really listen to how people said things.  When someone would ask him for help, he would listen with an open heart.  He was never too busy to listen.  He did all he could for those who asked.  We, as Christians, need to use our "Christ-ears" to really listen to the people we are talking to.  We need to listen to hear what the person is really saying.  If we hear, in a person's voice she is hurting, we need to ask if there is anything we can do.  We need listen with our "Christ-like" ears.

Jesus could see when a person had a need.  Not just a physical need, but a spiritual need.  He could see the goodness in every person he met, from the prostitute to the tax collector, from Martha and Mary to Zacchaeus.   We, as Christians, need to focus our eyes on other people, so we can strengthen our "Christ-eyes."  We need to use our "Christ-ears" to hear what is NOT being said, and our "Christ-eyes" to see what can be done to help.  Doing good things in the name of Jesus is great, but if we can see what others need and help them to fulfill those needs, that is glorious.  That is seeing with "Christ-eyes."

Along with "Christ-ears" and "Christ-eyes," we must have a "Christ-heart."  Jesus put God first, then the people and then himself.  When he was tired, he preached.  When he was hungry, he fed the masses.  When he was lonely, he prayed.  When he wanted to stop, he healed.  We need to do the same.  We need to get our "Christ-heart" pumping to do good works at all times.  When we are at the mall and see a woman with two children struggling with the door, we need to put on a smile and help her.  When we see the truck driver trying to turn into traffic, we need to smile and let him out.

In a world where time seems to slip away, and we rely on everything fast-paced, we need to slow down, listen to people with our "Christ-ears,' look at the world with our "Christ-eyes" and let our "Christ-heart" guide us.  Once we tune in our ears, focus our eyes, and strengthen our heart, we can hear and see who needs help, and use our heart to help them.

As Christians, we are trying to become Christ-like.  Christ gave his all for you and me.  Shouldn't we give our all for him by helping others in Christ's name?

God's Glory

Every day we look around and see YOUR glory
We don't realize it
We over look it
We don't think about it
We forget it

Every day miracles are happening
A baby is born
A sickness is cured
A person laughs
A person cries

Every day we lose ourselves
We stray from Your word
We forget to pray
We don't get "still" and listen
We do what we want to do

Every day we find YOU
We look around and see YOUR glory
We are involved with a miracle
We find ourselves
We come back to YOU