Visiting with a neighbor guy I over heard his wife say to their dog, go to your dad. The dog kept jumping up on her so she wanted to send it to her husband, so she told the dog to go to his dad.
That got me to thinking, who’s our father? Are we children of the most high, what does that mean? Is it like the woman indicated, just simply the owner is considered the father? If God is our Father what does/will that make us?
What does it mean to say God is our Father, please feel free to share.
As a child growing up my siblings and I were all alone, and a stranger tried to get into our front door. My brother was first to hold the door yelling and then one of my sister then the other, the stranger was pushing hard and then finally all four of us held the door until he left. We called the police and discovered it was a man that lived on the next block he was just very drunk and thought he was at his house. As I remember that story I realize the great truth to glean from it. The harder a stranger tries to get in, the harder one will resist him. Yet a friend is allowed to walk right in. When we share with others our beliefs, we can quickly become as strangers to them, because we are basically threatening their beliefs. But if we just share our belief in a none confrontational way we are still invited in as a friend, and if the soil is right the seed will grab root.
The harder we push our beliefs the more the other resists, it not only hardens their heart but it also hardens ours. What we give is what we get. As our lives reflect God, those in need will come to us to get what we have, and that softens our hearts when another turns to us in need. As the word we share with them heals them we to are healed, we get what we give.
Psa 91:9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Mar_9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Joh_14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
As believers we CAN’T loose, even during times of trials there are blessings within if we are willing to believe the word of God. Imagine the most horrible punishment and execution, and yet through it the greatest gift is bestowed upon man, salvation. In your darkest hour look up and give God glory for the blessing is about to follow, just believe.
Rom_8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
In our city in Missouri we have about five inches of snow right now, 10-13 inch possible. 17 degrees with a wind chill of 7. Our airport is shut down and the freeways have one working lane. The news is advising people to stay home unless it is an emergency. But we know people; they are why the freeway only have one lane all the stalled cars are setting in the other three lanes. LOL It hadn’t snowed like this for many years, the moisture is truly appreciated. Snow is actually better than rain, as it melts slowly there is less run off.
Tonight on the news they said what percentage of gays bisexual and transgender live in Mo and in KS. In Missouri they said 3.3% in KS they said 3.7%
Over the years I have visited friend’s posts and been to different church denominations with friends. I have found there are many various beliefs, and each declaring theirs comes straight from the bible. There are different versions of the bible, but for the most part the various beliefs are based upon their different understandings of the same verses.
Who is right, that is what it boils down to. The word tells us by their fruit you shall know them. Jesus tells us in John 8:32 that the truth sets us free, but free of what is the question? Jesus goes onto tell us that those that commit sin are the servants to sin, so we are shown we are made free of sin by the truth. In other words, those that know the truth are set free of sin and you shall know them by the fruits of their lives.
Joh_14:17 Even the Spirit of truth… Joh_15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth…
Rom_8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit (of truth) do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Over the years of being a Christian I have developed a way of thinking, it is trying to think about others over my self. Because of that it seems much easier to view rude behavior.
On my walk yesterday these are occurrences I consider rude behavior which those doing them I am sure never even thought about. But for Christians putting others first is our goal, to take into consideration how we affect those around us. I just wanted to share how often rude behavior is done and how unless you are thinking about others you will never see it.
There were bike riders on the walking track, which the sign says they are not to be there. But the rude part is they would have the walkers move over for them. Then of course there were those that walked in groups talking, and instead of moving over those passing would have to move off the track. There was also an elderly man, instead of cleaning his lungs out in the grass he spit on the track. Then there were dog walkers who instead of taking their dog to the dog park they took them to the people park. Which is only bad because dogs want to scent every where and the children playing in the grass were exposed to it. The worst part is many allowed their dogs to use the restroom all through out the park and never cleaned it up, which is also a city ordinance. Dog and cat waste can contain harmful bacteria, such as E. coli. In our city we are advised to bury the waste 12 inches deep or flush it down the toilet to prevent contamination of the water ways.
They had signs along the trail leading to the track with location numbers to give if there is an emergency, but all of the signs have been torn down by the teenagers. At the cross walks where motorists are to give way to the walkers, it doesn’t work that way, cars make the walkers wait. Many people eat at the park, and many left their trash on the tables after they were done.
Miss judging, or a good deed at the expense of another.
What would you think if you have just a couple of items and you walk up to the express lane, that is for ten items or less and a person has a cart full of groceries?
Would you have bad thoughts about the person?
That happened to me, but I was the person with the cart full. I was in a long line waiting patently and no one was at the express lane, so the cashier motioned me over. I told her I had a lot more than ten items, but she said it didn’t matter no one was at her line. The moment the cashier started ringing up my groceries several more people showed up, with less than ten items. I doubt if any of them thought that the cashier was being nice and waved me over. Perhaps if I wouldn’t be such a large man one of them might have mentioned how it seemed I couldn’t count. As I pondered how the cashier being nice to me caused the purpose of her lane to be sacrificed, it was no longer an express lane as she checked all my groceries out.
Perhaps there were two lessons to learn from this. Judge the action not the person, and a nice deed at the expense of breaking the rules doesn’t qualify as a nice deed. If someone else is forced to sacrifice so another can do a nice deed, who is actually giving and who is actually taking? The cashier thought she was doing a nice deed for me, but the people it cost were those that came to the express lane that stood behind me.
It is in first discovering the value of forgiving that makes forgiving others more desirable. Forgive, and we shall be forgiven Luke_6:37, if that was our only reason then we would be as those that give just to receive. It is in knowing it is for our healing that we forgive others, and not just to obtain forgiveness.
To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and then to discover that prisoner was you.
Forgiveness and repentance run hand in hand, as we see with the woman that anointed Jesus’ feet, how she being forgiven of so much caused her to love more. Luke 7:47
But without the law/rules how would we know just how much we sin. Romans 7:9 Jesus said if you were blind you would have no sins, if one does not know it is wrong then how can it be counted unto them as sin? Joh_9:41How could it cause a need to repent without knowing an error was made?
It is in our spiritual growth we learn the law/rules, the commandments which allow the Holy Spirit to convict us of when we break them. This leads us to need to repent to remove the guilt which comes from the feeling of conviction. Joh_16:8
The more we grow the more we are able to be convicted of, causing the need to repent, feeling that forgiveness allows us to experience the love of God which allows us to be able to show that love to others, through our forgiving of them. As we show love to others our healing grows.
How can we give, what we do not have, the more we have of the feeling of forgiveness the more we are able to give it to others, with a desire to do so.
