I’ve felt the Holy Spirit lead me to this topic of “Decision Making”, and I feel it is a very important topic. The one thing which comes to mind, and I’m reminded of, is the amount of Christian’s I’ve met who cant make simple decisions, mostly about the right course of actions, which are in line with God’s will. I have seen so many Christians go astray and even fall away from Christ all together. Even, I myself, have fallen victim to this line of thinking, doing my will and not God’s, and I am eternally grateful that He (God) has brought me back to Him and I was wise enough to listen to His calling.
Now I am going to write this in a six (6) bite size, part series. This is due to several people who have read my previous posts, and said they were good but long. I want to make them, easier to read and understand, so you can read them on the go if need be. I would also like to ask, you listen to my words, I sense The Holy Spirit wants to speak with several of you.
Index:
Part 1: Where Does Wisdom and Understanding Come From?
What Is Wisdom?
What Is Understanding?
Where does Wisdom and Understanding come from?
This will depend upon who you ask. Some will say through life experience, some thought reading books and/or science journals, others through documentaries. But where do they get it from? I personally believe wisdom and understanding comes partly from knowledge. Now as I see it, knowledge comes from various sources, however, you have to look at who is writing these articles of information, and giving advice, including the motivation behind what they say and write, etc.
For example: If you wanted to learn about teeth, you would go to a dentist or/and veterinarian and look into dentist and veterinarian science journals etc. After all they know about human and animal teeth. You wouldn’t go to the local used car dealership and ask a used car salesman. On top of this, you NEED to know the person you are asking, has a good track record, for example: You wouldn’t ask a womaniser and wife beater, or a woman who mentally and physically abuses her husband and children about advice on how to have a loving and wholesome marriage and family life. You wouldn’t ask a manipulator who’s agenda is unknown to help you with something personal. So having the right information is important, from the correct sources.
So we know having the correct sources are important. However it doesn’t say WHERE wisdom or understanding come from. I want to start by looking at Proverbs. Now if you like ‘Quotable Quotes’ or Bumper Sticker Slogans, you’ll love Proverbs. It’s unlike any other book in the Bible. It’s mostly a collection of one or two short sayings on various topics like, Family Life, Work, Money, Being Honourable, Being Honest, Getting Along With Others, and soooooo much more. It’s worth noting though many parts of Proverbs don’t explicitly mention God, the sayings were gathered to help us follow God in everything we do. It’s also worth noting, Jesus used these type of short, to the point sayings regularly in His teachings.
So lets start by looking at Proverbs Chapter 1: verse 7 (NCV)“Knowledge begins with respect for theLord, but fools hate wisdom and discipline“. We also need to look at Proverbs Chapter 2: verse 6 and 7 (NCV) “Only theLordgives wisdom; he gives knowledge and understanding. He stores up wisdom for those who are honest. Like a shield he protects the innocent.“ You may also wish to check out the New Living Translation (NLT). So we see here, God gives wisdom and knowledge to those who are honest. Which for example, if you look at authors who write text books for learning, in this case we will look at a physicist who writes a study book for a university (College for those in the United States) students on string theory, then you know that author must have some integrity and be honest in their work, to be officially published. So through being honest God will give you wisdom and knowledge.
So what is Wisdom? And what is Understanding?
I’ve placed these two questions together, because I believe they can But not always go together. Let me explain by this example: The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Wisdom’ as “Capacity of judging rightly in matters relating to life and conduct”, and ‘Understanding’ “Is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object”. Okay, now I know some of you will probably went “WHAT???”. Don’t worry, I’ll break it down For you. The general idea is this and what I feel the Holy Spirit showing me. Knowledge is an accumulation of information. Understanding is how it works, and Wisdom is knowing how to use that information for the desired outcome. So for example, If you are told to boil an egg for 3 minutes, the white part would be hard boiled but the yoke runny and you want the yoke hard boiled too, knowledge has given you a time frame to work with, understanding the concept of boiling and egg in water is how it happens and wisdom would say cook it longer, however, how much longer? This then would come with experience and experimentation, so you may try an extra minute, if that wasn’t long enough, the next time you’d try one (1) and a half (0.5) minutes, and keep going up half a minute until you get it just how you want it. That then adds to your Knowledge. Likewise, we can be blessed with wisdom and understanding, with a side portion of experience.
In “Decision Making: How Do I Choose? (Part 2 of 6), we will look at:
First let me thank everyone who has given me feedback on the last few posts, the feedback about “Drunk On Spirits: The Mis-Information” and “Brokenness: A Fix It Guide” has been great, Thank you. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed them and the positive comments on the Biblical Text and Doctrine being Biblically sound, gives me great encouragement and hope for the future posts I write.
I’ve also listened to comments that even though you’ve enjoyed reading them, they have been a bit long. I’ve prayed and meditated on this, and I’ve felt the Holy Spirit say I should based my posts on God’s Creation Blueprint. With this in mind, I will be doing them as a 6 (six) Part Series’. The reason behind this, is so that you have a main topic, with six sub-heading, and a sub-heading will be posted each day for six days and then you’ll have a seventh day to pray, meditate and see what God reveals to you (God created everything in six days and rested on the seventh – Book Of Genesis).
I’m planning to have the first series starting to be posted this Monday. If you haven’t read my previous posts, you should, everything I write leads on from the next and I sometimes link things into previous topics I’ve talked about.
And… as well as learning how talented I am as a writer lol (I know I’m modest lol), you may find The Holy Spirit reveals something to you. So well worth the read.
Thanks again for all who have read my posts and don’t forget to follow me.
I’ve felt recently with all the issues in the world, I should write about brokenness. When we look at brokenness, whether it’s to do with the world as a whole, or a particular country or region, or even City or town, we need to look at the people and individuals in them. What I mean by that, is this… If you have a barrel of apples and one goes bad, then quickly over a short period of time the others to will turn bad. However if the rotten apple is removed quickly, then the other apples will start to go off less quickly. Likewise, if you have a leader of a country who has issues, whether they be mental health issues, believe it’s okay to stand on the common man (woman or/and child), to get what they want and/or do unscrupulous acts to dominate and get what they want, or do under the table dealings to gain power or riches, then that country, or region will become broken too, under their leadership.
We have seen this with various leaders throughout history, and even today. The most notorious would be Hitler. He came to power, even though he believed and started what is now known as the white supremacy movement, this was because, he was able to help his country in a time of difficulty, and was able to make jobs for those who needed them, amongst other things, so became influential. It was only when he gained true power and the German people started to follow him, that he brought more of his white supremacy actions into practice. Which those people who followed his beliefs, we now know as Nazi’s, and we see who suffered the most? The Jews. Tens of thousands murdered for nothing more than a man who was power hungry and sick in the head. Now, I’m not going to go into the full history of Hitler, The Great War, how Hitler rose to power and World War II. That would take to long, you would get bored and stop reading. That is a topic you can google in your spare time. What I want to do, is use him briefly as an example and comment on a few things, including things to look out for in todays leaders, and even ourselves… and before I get inundated with people saying you are not like Hitler, I am not saying you are. I am pointing out a couple of things which we should take note of in ourselves, to better ourselves, to make us less broken and more nicer human beings, and through that, and God’s guidance, become Unbroken.
We all feel broken at times, some more than others. On this topic of brokenness, I want to touch on various sub-headings. These will be:
Brokenness.
Come As You Are.
Not Worthy.
Made Worthy.
Satan’s Lies.
Soulmate – Love Finding.
God’s Promises.
Accepting Jesus.
Will It Get Better Or Worse?
Footprints In The Sand.
Father’s Love letter.
I use these headings, because they touch on the areas we NEED to focus on and know about. I will use various examples, including various links and text, so that way, we can be healed and can become whole again. As individuals, as a nation and as a world.
Brokenness:
“Brokenness”… As I previously stated, we are all broken to one extent or another. The way I saw myself, when I looked at myself for this several years back, and what I felt the Holy Spirit showing me, was this. Imagine ‘Michelangelo’s David’ or ‘Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker’. Now I’ll use just Michelangelo’s David here and it is a true master piece, one of a kind, made by one of the most impressive artists/sculptures in known history. I saw myself as this, when I look back to when I was a baby, first born. So much potential. So much lay before me, with endless possibilities, perfectly made. Then as outside forces start to play with how you behave, the way you think, the things you learn, or don’t learn, the way people interact or lack of interaction. Are you disciplined for bad behaviour, and praised for good behaviour, where you learn good behaviour is better or does your parents laugh at you pulling hard on someone’s hair? So you learn to do it more, to get attention? The wrong attention.
These factors can either encourage you in a good and wholesome way, where you can have true virtue and a good moral compass, or start to break you down and make you unhappy, feel worthless and broken. This breaking down was what the Holy Spirit showed me, about ‘Michelangelo’s David’ and myself. It was as if a sandstorm was constantly hitting the beautiful marble, and slowly but surely making the glossiness deteriorate, and then started to show pitting, and with this wearing over time, this beautiful statue, started looking like a concrete block. Not able to be made out to what it once was, an amazing piece of art and sculpture, perfectly formed and detailed.
Because God knows where you are at in life, and that life will always throw you curve balls. Things you don’t expect. Know this, God isn’t judging our brokenness. He never has and never will. He isn’t making you suffer for something you have done, or your parents have done or haven’t done. Or anything like that. Instead He is reaching out, with out stretched arms welcoming you, and waiting on you to allow Him to give you a loving hug and the acceptance you have wanted for so long. Matthew Chapter 11 verse 28 to 30 (NCV) shows this: “Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The burden that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light.”
The Parable of the Lost Son – New International Version (NIV)
‘Jesus continued:“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”‘
So what do we take from this? We see several things happening here.
First of all we see a young man who didn’t want to work, wanted his share of an inheritance and to go and live a life he thought he wanted. Which we see later on, he ends up in ruin and deciding to go back to his father.
Second, we see the older son who was obedient to his father and worked hard on the land, his father owned, and shared in everything his father had. At that time, it would have been expected of the sons to run the family business.
The third is we see a father, who obviously worked hard all his life to gain what he had, as he had livestock and paid servants, to decide to give his younger son half his wealth. This would have been like you saying to your mother or father, I wish you were dead so I could have your money. Then to see his son run off and live a life which wasn’t wholesome or virtuous, and turning his back on his family, would have been even more devastating to them.
Fourthly, we see the young son, loose everything and all the people he paid parties for etc, not be there when he needed them, and they were fickle friends, to the point he had to ask for work and even when he was working, he was still hungry, and withering away, he had little clothes to wear and didn’t’t even have shoes on he is feet. No one helped him. This would have been an all time low, and desperate time for him, and for those who suffer with severe depression, anxiety and stress, you will understand what he would have been going through.
Fifthly, You see the young son, start to gain insight. Start to gain wisdom. He realised that he had dishonoured his father, the teachings his father taught him and that even his fathers servants were better off than he was right now. I bet he looked back and thought, what was I thinking going off, paying for lavish parties and paying women for sexual favours. So he decided to go home, where he knew he could at least ask to work for his father, so he could live, and not worry about where his next meal was going to be coming from. In doing so, he humbled himself to be a servant and not expected to be a son.
Sixth, While the young son was still far way, his father recognised him. Now that is amazing, you can imagine this young man, who is most likely covered in dirt, with not much to ware, no shoes on his feet and likely to be under weight and withdrawn from the lack of food and has walked a long way (imagine if you walked 50 miles on an empty stomach and no shoes on your feet and little more than a towel wrapped around your waist). and yet his father recognised him and ran to him, embraced him and told his servants, this is my son, whom I love. Give him clothes to wear, shoes to put on his feet, a ring on his finger (which probably was a signet ring which showed he belonged to his father house and his father’s son) and not only feed him, but to give him the best food, the fatted calf, so we can celebrate his return to his father. Imagine the unconditional love his father must have had for his young son. A son who would have been classed as being dead to his family, who turned his back on his family and his father. I think most of us would have begged with our tails between our legs when we approached our families to help us, after we have basically told them to drop dead and took their money. Imagine what was going though this young man’s head as he saw his father running as fast as he could to him from a distance. He probably thought his father was going to attack him. An attack back then, could lead to death. To then be treated with love, understanding and mercy. That his father showed Grace. That’s something we all need, and something we need to show more off.
Seventh point, the oldest son finds out his brother has returned, and then getting angry because he wasn’t treated with the same things his younger, more naive, disobedient brother was given, especially as his younger brother basically said “stuff you, I’m off” and he (the older brother) had stayed with his father and worked the fields.
Eighth, His father explaining that he loves both his sons. He thought he wouldn’t see his son again and his prayers for his sons safe return, had been answered. That his son who was dead to them, and didn’t want to know them, had realised his mistakes and come home to be a good servant, but his father didn’t want him as a serpent, he wanted his son back. And for the father to explain, that he didn’t need to kill a young goat for his older son, because his son shared in everything he had already.
This is a powerful message, of how a father can love a child so much, that even when a child basically wishes his father dead and takes half what his father owns, to show compassion, unconditional love and understand to that son. Like this return of the prodigal son, we saw him believing he wasn’t worthy, which is the next subheading.
Not Worthy.
We all feel we are not worthy at times. We wonder about how can someone love us or want to spend time with us. We have self doubt and feel we are not worthy of various things at times. We may even do things or keep repeating the same things, which make us feel unworthy. We are our own worst critic. So as Christian’s we find ourselves saying things like, ‘How can God use me if I’m broken?’, or ‘Why would God want me?’, or ‘I’m nothing special’.
I want you to know something right now. Everything you have gone through. Everything you have experienced, helps you to learn from those experiences. They help you become stronger and more experienced. Like the younger son in Luke, he lost everything he had gained, before he learnt the truth about humility, grace and mercy. You’ve heard the saying “What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger”, this is what that is based upon. It’s part of life experience. From that learning, and becoming less broken, we then are able to help others, who are going through or been through the same things we have had to endure. So by having brokenness, God will bring healing and through that, which God helps us through, we can help others. So don’t feel bad about things. Just give it to God. He will make you worthy. And how do I become worthy?
Made Worthy.
So through these difficult times, and even if we feel unworthy, if we turn to Christ, and through coming to Him, and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we are made worthy. Then because He takes your sin (sin is something which dishonours God), and forgives us, like the father in Luke to his younger son, we become worthy, because we are now made worthy, we can receive God’s blessings upon us and we can start to be healed and made whole again. Colossians Chapter 1 verses 10 to 14 (NCV) says this: “so that you will live the kind of life that honours and pleases the Lord in every way. You will produce fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient.And you will joyfully give thanks to the Father who has made youable to have a share in all that he has prepared for his people in the kingdom of light.God has freed us from the power of darkness, and he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son.The Son paid for our sins,and in him we have forgiveness“
Remember I mentioned ‘Michelangelo’s David’ going from Marble to concrete. Well God is the sculpture and because he knows how we are made (Psalm 139: v14 “I praise youbecause I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful, I know that full well.“), he is able to use techniques which a sculpture knows and restore the pitted marble which looks like concrete, back to what it originally looked like, with the perfection and shine it originally had. And as He is the Original Sculpture of you, and knows how you work, He can fix and restore you to that beautiful creation He made you to be, and wants you to be. So why do I believe I’m not worthy?
Satan’s Lies.
As I showed in my last entry/blog, demons lie and they try to deceive you. They are very good at it and had thousands of years to practice their technique. The way to think about it is this: If you know someone, say a friend or a neighbour, work colleague, school friend or even a family member, who constantly lies or twists the truth. They become known as a lier and become untrustworthy. You learn to avoid them and ignore what they say. Another example is the story of ‘the boy who cried wolf’ (You can read this story here if you don’t know it: The Boy Who Cried Wolf). So, if we know a fallen angel lies, is deceitful, twists the truth and untrustworthy, we can learn to ignore and avoid what they try to tell us, or when they try and manipulate the truth, and even tell them to “Bog Off” if they come around. A bit like a door to door salesman who puts his foot in the door to stop you closing it… You stamp on the demons foot. Soon they will get the hint to not come knocking, as they will see you will not be goated in and will see you always turning to God, like Job did, in the book of Job.
One of the best images I have seen is the one below. It is also the one I share with my Christian female friends when they feel spiritually down.
Soulmate – Love Finding.
As humans (Christians and none Christians) we have a lie within ourselves, where we believe, ‘If I meet someone’ or ‘If I fall in love’ or ‘If I get married’, then everything will be okay, and I will be happy… Well I’m sorry to break this to you. If you are unhappy with yourself, your situation in life, then meeting someone, falling in love with them and even marrying them, won’t fix the issues. I speak from experience with this, and an example of this, would be what an old school friend of mine went through.
Now this was about 20 plus years ago, and my friend, I will call him ‘Mac’. Now Mac met his girlfriend, (I’ll call her Bonny) when I went on a date with a young lady (I was about 18 I think at the time and she was 17), we went on a double date (myself, Mac, my date and Bonny her friend) and even though this lady and I didn’t work out, Mac and his new found love, Bonny started dating. Over about 6 months I saw them move in together and rent a home, I moved away, due to a relationship and work of my own at the time, and I lost contact with Mac. About 5 years later, I found Mac online on social media, and I sent him a message and we met up, and went for a drink. He told me he had married Bonny, and was currently going through some issues, which had been happening for some time. which seemed to be about 6 months after they moved in together. He explained that he had married Bonny and within the space of a year, she was chatting and messaging a guy at her work and things were heading as though Mac and Bonny would split up, and Bonny would end up with this guy from work.
Apparently, Bonny and this guy had been sending sexual messages to each other and photos. At the time I was training as a Counsellor and I probed a little bit and found that it was Bonny’s idea to get married, and both Mac and Bonny thought it would solve the issues and arguments they were having. Now a year on and Bonny was in no blatant terms, cheating on Mac, even though nothing physical had happened between Bonny and this guy as far as I am aware. Mac said that Bonny and Mac both wanted to work things out, however they didn’t know what to do.
I advised it would be worth two things happening, the first is if Bonny was serious about her and Mac, then she needs to block this guys number from work, and even look for a transfer to another branch of the company she worked for, and the second would be for them to see a marriage counsellor, and I would be happy to refer them or recommend several to choose from. After about two weeks I met up with Mac again and he told me that Bonny didn’t want to see a marriage counsellor and she didn’t like Mac talking to me about their issues, (I believe this was because she didn’t want to be judged by someone else and telling her she needs to act her age and be faithful and commit to the vows she had made) even though Mac desperately needed to talk to someone to get this off his chest.
Mac told me, Bonny refused outright to block this guy from work or transfer to another store (transferring wouldn’t have made any difference to Bonny, other than it would be a different store and she wouldn’t see this guy at work). I explained to Mac, that it sounds like she wanted to keep seeing this guy at work and she wasn’t serious about her and Mac. Now Mac didn’t want to hear this, however, I predicted, if she continued on the road she was travelling on, she would end up sleeping with the guy at work and Mac would be left even more heartbroken. Because a marriage takes two to work. A relationship can not be one person giving and the other taking all the time. The best relationships I’ve had and seen are where the man gives himself in service to her and she does likewise to him, and Christ at the centre of the relationship. This is what is called a “Give/Give” relationship.
Now Mac cut contact with me, however about a year later he reached out and I found out he and Bonny separated, she had slept with the guy from work and Mac and Bonny were in the process of getting a divorce. Mac explained he had been on a date site met a latino lady and they were starting out as friends but they appeared to be better matched for each other. He even considered moving abroad to be closer to this lady.
There are several things I want to cover in this. The first is, please read my entry/blog on relationships. I think you will find that useful in a lot of ways.
The second is this. Both Mac and Bonny THOUGHT, if they got married, everything would be great. If there are issues to start with, there will still be issues if you marry, unless you both are willing to compromise, and running into marriage, won’t solve any problems. In fact it will make problems worse. The amount of young men and women I see getting divorced or already divorced, is staggering. I believe this to be because they will think it will solve issues they have in their relationships. Or that it will bring them true happiness.
I get asked at least once a fortnight, why I am not married from various people. They say I seem like a great guy and have a lot to offer a lady… That maybe true, but so is my response. I plan to marry once and never divorce, I want to marry a woman who I match perfectly with, like two parts of the same jigsaw puzzle, Mentally, Spiritually and Physically, where we keep Christ at the centre of our relationship. I want her to be my best friend and the mother of my children. When I meet such a woman and I am blessed by her companionship, and the timing is right, then I’ll ask her to marry me. It has took me almost 40 years to learn this. I’m in no rush to marry, especially the wrong person for the wrong reasons.
Thirdly… That desire you have in your heart to love and be loved in return. That is a longing all humans have, you are not alone in that, but only a few experience. Let me clear this up for you, I’m not saying you want find love. What I’m saying is, that the love you desire (and I’m not talking about about lust or physical attraction), the love you desire is that from God, and can only be filled by God. Once you accept Him into your lives, He will move mountains for you. I remember when I accepted Jesus into my life and from the day I got baptised, I felt God’s love on me for a whole month and I couldn’t stop singing. Anyone who knows me, I don’t sing, I sing flat like nails down a chalk board. And I sang in public, in the shops, on the bus and I didn’t care because I was singing to my God and He thought it was beautiful. So having a God shaped hole in your heart, can ONLY be filled by a God shaped block, nothing else won’t fit.
Fourthly. If you have issues in your life, ask God to help you with them, if they are mental health issues, physical issues, addiction issues or any other form of issues, God wants you to ask him to help you. He wants to help you and as I said earlier, YOU ARE WORTHY of His love.
Finally. Don’t go with a short term fix, go with the true solution to any problem. The Holy Spirit will always guide you, all you need to do is ask and God will ALWAYS keep His promises.
God’s Promises.
According to one account there are 3,573 promises in the Bible, that’s just over 9.7 years worth, if you read one each day. The word “Promise” itself occurs over 50 times in the King James Version, and God keeps His promises. So with a track record of over three and a half thousand kept promises, you know when God makes a promise He keeps it.
Some of these promises I want to touch on briefly, the first is: Psalm Chapter 89 verse 34(King James Version), which says this “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips“, the ‘New Century Version’ translates to “I will not break my agreement nor change what I have said”. I feel this is one of the most important promises God’s made. No matter what God says, He will do, He will keep his word.
The next promise I want to look at is in the book of Genesis Chapter 17 verse 1 to 10(New Century Version), which says “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, theLordappeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Obey me and do what is right.I will make an agreement between us, and I will make you the ancestor of many people. “Then Abram bowed facedown on the ground. God said to him,“I am making my agreement with you: I will make you the father of many nations.I am changing your name from Abram to Abraham because I am making you a father of many nations.I will give you many descendants. New nations will be born from you, and kings will come from you.And I will make an agreement between me and you and all your descendants from now on: I will be your God and the God of all your descendants.You live in the land of Canaan now as a stranger, but I will give you and your descendants all this land forever. And I will be the God of your descendants.” Then God said to Abraham, “You and your descendants must keep this agreement from now on.This is my agreement with you and all your descendants, which you must obey: Every male among you must be circumcised“.
This shows God, when humans were in their infancy being promised that he will be our God. Not only that, but if you read carefully you can see God promising every Christian descendent (Follower of God), if they follow Him (God) then our descendents will flourish and be prosperous too. This doesn’t just mean biological decedents but the people we bring to Christ, so our Spiritual decedents.
The next is Jeremiah Chapter 31 verse 27 to 37(New Century Version), which says “TheLordsays, “The time is coming when I will help the families of Israel and Judah and their children and animals to grow.In the past I watched over Israel and Judah, to pull them up and tear them down, to destroy them and bring them disaster. But now I will watch over them to build them up and make them strong,” says theLord.
“At that time people will no longer say:
‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and that caused the children to grind their teeth from the sour taste.’
Instead, each person will die for his own sin; the person who eats sour grapes will grind his own teeth.
The New Agreement
“Look, the time is coming,” says theLord, “when I will make a new agreement with the people of Israel and the people of Judah. It will not be like the agreement I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt. I was a husband to them, but they broke that agreement,” says theLord. “This is the agreement I will make with the people of Israel at that time,” says theLord: “I will put my teachings in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. People will no longer have to teach their neighbors and relatives to know theLord, because all people will know me, from the least to the most important,” says theLord. “I will forgive them for the wicked things they did, and I will not remember their sins anymore.”
The Lord Will Never Leave Israel
TheLordmakes the sun shine in the day and the moon and stars to shine at night. He stirs up the sea so that its waves crash on the shore. TheLordAll-Powerful is his name.
This is what theLordsays:
“Only if these laws should ever fail,” says theLord, “will Israel’s descendants ever stop being a nation before me.”
This is what theLordsays:
“Only if people can measure the sky above and learn the secrets of the earth below, will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of what they have done,” says theLord.“
Here we see a promise which God makes, saying He will make a new agreement which we can be saved by Jesus, who put his (God’s) teaching on the minds and written on our hearts (verses 33 and 34).
Accepting Jesus.
This is something I have written about before, however I feel it beneficial to write about it here to.
We have seen so far, that being broken isn’t a bad thing, and Jesus calls us to Him, to “Come as you are”. That He wants a loving relationship with you, and you have read about some of the promises God has made to those who turn to Him.
I want to make you a promise. If you accept Jesus into your life, you will be healed of your brokenness. He will come into your life and make you whole again. No matter where you are in your walk in life, or situation or the mind set you find yourself in. I also promise, you will have joy in your heart. I make this promise because God, makes these promises to.
Will It Get Better Or Worse?
This is a good question, and I will not lie. I have my ups and downs. I have good days, like today, or bad days like earlier this week. I’ve had some really bad days and some amazing days. I’ve come to realise, even though I can have bad days, either with health, situations etc, a lot of it is down to the mind set I have. I find if I do my Bible Study, Meditation on the word of God and I pray after breakfast, my day is more productive and better all round. Writing my blog on various topics helps with my positive outlook. Knowing there are people out there going through what I’m going through and people finding my experiences helpful, helps change my outlook on life and situations. But most of all, knowing I’m not alone though it all, because I have a God with me, Jesus speaking to the father on my behalf and having the Holy Spirit guide me, makes everything worth while. This brings me to the last part of my blog.
Footprints In The Sand:
This is an amazing poem. It has helped me so many times over the years and at times I have struggled to know what to do. When I felt down and broken, empty inside and alone, I read this.
The Poem reads thus:
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints. Other times there were one set of footprints.
This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow, or defeat. I could only see one set of footprints.
So I said to the Lord, “You promised me, Lord, that if I followed You. You would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why. When I have needed You most, You have not been there for me?”
The Lord replied “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints is when I carried you”
Author Unknown
An artistic rendering of the scene the poetry inspires
I also want to share “The Father’s Love Letter”, which is the various promises of God in a letter format to you. It shows God’s true nature towards us and how much He does love you. Here are a couple of links you may wish to check out and the first one is the Father’s Love Letter in a video format. I especially love this one as it is spot on to what the Bible teaches us about God and His character: The Father’s Love Letter Video
You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1 I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2 I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3 Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew 10:29-31 For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27 In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28 For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28 I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5 I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12 You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16 I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26 You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14 I knit you together in your mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 And brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6 I have been misrepresented by those who don’t know me. John 8:41-44 I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16 And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1 Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1 I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11 For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48 Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17 For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33 My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11 Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3 My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalm 139:17-18 And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40 For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5 I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41 And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3 If you seek me with all your heart,you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29 Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13 I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20 For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18 As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11 One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4 And I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4 I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23 For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26 He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3 He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31 And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10 I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32 If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23 And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39 Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7 I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is… Will you be my child? John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32
Love, Your Dad… Almighty God
My Final Thoughts:
My Final Thoughts… Know this, No matter what you are going through, whether it be, how do I speak to my family and friends about being homosexual, how do I speak to my partner, husband or wife about my gambling/ debt issue, or any issue you are currently going through. God is here with you, He loves you and wants you to ask Him for help. Allow Him to support you, watch over you and protect you. You will be amazed at what He can do in your life and how amazing He will make situations in your life become.
If you have decided to ask Jesus into your life, and you mean it with all your heart, say this simple prayer:
“Jesus, Thank you for dying for me on the cross. I am sorry for the things I do, which are against your will. Please forgive me. Please come into my life, and make me anew in you. Show me the path you want me to walk and please speak into all areas of my life. In your name I ask this, Amen”
God will start to work in your life. If you would like me to pray with you about anything in particular, then send me a message and I will be happy to do that. If you need help finding a church which is local to you, one which has sound Biblical teaching, then please message me and I will see where the Holy Spirit is guiding you to attend and grow.
I finally pray (talk to God) this:
“Lord Jesus, Thank you for everyone who reads this, thank you for the things you have taught me through the difficult times I have been through. Thank you for showing me and keep repeatedly showing, you are with me and you never leave my side. Let those who read this, see you for who you are, the One True God, a God of Love and Peace, who has their best interests at heart. Help them to grow in you and find a Christian home in a local church. In your name I ask this, Amen”
Over the last few days, I’ve felt God telling me I need to get back into blogging as I let it fall by the way side, due to other things I needed or wanted to do. With this in mind and as I was not sure what topic to write about, I found God guiding me to a car show, which a friend of mine runs. After the show, I got introduce to a gentleman, who said he was a minister in a Christian Spiritual Church. This is the topic I felt God telling me to write about.
Anyone who has read my blog and knows me, I question everything, and research completely and rightly so. This gentleman, I will call him Tom (not his real name) said that their “church” looks at spirits which most none believes would call ghosts, and he proceeded to show me photos on his phone of what looked like ghostly shadowy people in old dark buildings. Has I trained in photo editing, and have friends who are professional web and image designers, these photos could have been photoshopped and manipulated quite easily. However, Tom believed these “spirits” where human spirits who roamed the earth, talking and appearing to him and other people, one of which was a woman who appeared to one of their Sunday school teachers and she conversed back. This to me was very concerning as a practicing Christian, and having a some what understanding of the spiritual realm. As well as what this Sunday school teacher would be teaching these young children.
I will be blunt here and say I say with true conviction, that what Tom believes, what Tom calls a place a church is a cult and does not teach the true teachings of Christ. This is when I started to discuss with Tom the teachings of Christ and what the Bible say Christians should believe. Christians believe and are told directly from Christ, the ONLY way to the Father in Heaven is through Him (Jesus). If you believe Jesus is the Son of God, He (Jesus) died for your wrong doings (Sins), rose again on the third day and ascended to heaven, then you are saved. You can read this in Romans Chapter 10, verse 9 & 10, which says “(EVS) Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the Dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved”. John Chapter 3 verse 16 & 17 says “(NCV) God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through him. The book of John is a good book to read and Chapter 3 says a lot on this topic.
So I’ve explained what the foundations of Christianity is and I then explained that there are ‘Spirits’ on Earth, but not the ones people believe in as ‘ghosts’. This is where Tom looked puzzled and for anyone reading this, I’ll explain like I did to Tom. There are two types of Spirits in our world, and they are all called Angels, some are the ones we picture as beautiful and white wings and follow God and does His bidding, the others are fallen Angels, like satan and what we call demons. (I personally don’t believe Angels of any sort look like they have been in a DAZ washing powder commercial or demons wear black because it looks cool). Then there are Souls, which humans have, these are a form of Spirit but different to those fore mentioned. This is because God breathed life into man and this spirit (soul) came from the Holy Spirit (God’s Spirit), the Book of Genesis Chapter 2 verse 7 says “(NIV) The Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being”.
So now we have understanding of what a Spirit is and what a Soul is. Now, lets look at what happens when we die… Yes that is a big topic, however I’m going to simplify it so that you don’t have to do five years of Bible College and have a doctorate in Christianity lol.
When we die, from what I know from 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 verses 12 to 28 says “(NCV) Now since we preached that Christ was raised from the dead, why do some of you say that people will not be raised from the dead? If no one is ever raised from the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is worth nothing, and your faith is worth nothing. And also, we are guilty of lying about God, because we testified of him that he raised Christ from the dead. But if people are not raised from the dead, then God never raised Christ. If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith has nothing to it; you are still guilty of your sins. And those in Christ who have already died are lost. If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world. But Christ has truly been raised from the dead—the first one and proof that those who sleep in death will also be raised. Death has come because of what one man did, but the rising from death also comes because of one man. In Adam all of us die. In the same way, in Christ all of us will be made alive again. But everyone will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was first to be raised. When Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life, and then the end will come. At that time Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities, and powers, and he will hand over the kingdom to God the Father. Christ must rule until he puts all enemies under his control. The last enemy to be destroyed will be death. The Scripture says that God put all things under his control. When it says “all things” are under him, it is clear this does not include God himself. God is the One who put everything under his control. After everything has been put under the Son, then he will put himself under God, who had put all things under him. Then God will be the complete ruler over everything.
I want to touch upon a couple of passages or parts of here, These are verses 20, 23 and 24 which say this “(20) … and proof that those who sleep in death will be raised”, “(23 and 24) … when Christ comes again, those who belong to Him (Christ) will be raised to life, and then the end will come. At that time Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities and powers.” So from this, as far as I’m aware, our soul stays with our bodies, whether we are buried, cremated or anything else which is done fore burial. Then Christ will return, which then the ones who follow Christ will Raise to life (Heaven), and the end will come. Those who do not believe will stay dead. I take it from this, when Christians who haven’t died will raise to Heaven together with those who were buried etc. Jesus will then destroy those who appose God, including satan and the other demons, who will be cast into hell for all of eternity.
This now brings me to what people see as spirits of loved ones at the end of their beds, sat like their Grandfather or Grandmother for example. These are spirits but not human souls. As I explained earlier, these are fallen Angels (demons) who know enough about a person (ie; Grandfather, Grandmother etc) to imitate them and make themselves look like and sound like the person they are pretending to be. You might ask why demons would do this??? That’s easy to explain. For this you have to look at satan and his personality. A good and in-depth description can be found via this link https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_69.cfm. satan’s personality in the Bible is described as: Proud, Fierce and Cruel, Powerful, Deceitful and Subtle. Now all demons have these traits, because they don’t have any part of God’s Goodness in them, and when you read about them, you will see they are ‘deceitful and subtle, cruel’ in their approach to trying to trick us and to make us believe lies, which seem like truths. Check this link out for some of the lies demons, especially satan tries to make you believe: https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_90.cfm. Now these fallen angels (spirits) know where they are going, this I showed in the previous Bible passages earlier, however you may also like to read Revelations Chapter 20, paying attention to verse 10, which says “(NCV) and satan, who tricked them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur with the beast and the false prophet. They will be punished day and night for ever and ever.” So because the fallen angels know where they are heading, to the lake of burning sulphur, they want to take as many people as possible with them. Now on this premise, if those who don’t know or actively deny God are already going to hell. So fallen angels need to only focus on three types of people, the first are Christians as they are going to Heaven, the second are would be Christians, as they will become Christians and gain access to Heaven, and the third are none Christians but are gullible to believe the lies and help spread false doctrine, or lies about who God is or that He (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit) doesn’t exist. So this is why we have people seeing so called ghosts, spirits etc of loved one or a “spirit” haunting a place. Drunk on Spirit hunting. It is evil spirits trying to stop you from receiving and having the FULL Potential, and love God has created you for.
I say this prayer for anyone who reads this and for those who don’t…
“Lord Jesus, Thank you for being our God and Lord and Saviour. Thank you for your Love for us. I bring before you now, those who read this and those who do not. Bring Peace into their lives which only you can do. Protect them from all evil spirits who wish to do them harm and cause them to suffer. Let your Guardian Angels protect them. Bring them under your guidance and help them to know your love and understanding. If they do not know you Lord, bring them into your loving arms and show them you are their true God and Saviour, Amen”.
If you would like Jesus in your life, for Him to speak into your situation and help you on the journey you are currently travelling on, Please open your heart to Him and recite this prayer.
“Jesus, I have heard of your word and I want you in my life, I am sorry for all the tings I have done to dishonour you. Please forgive me. Please come into my life and show me how you want me to live and please build me up to love you, love myself and love others as you did. Please let your Holy Spirit come upon me, and please guide me to a Church which is filled with the Holy Spirit. In your name I ask this, Lord Jesus, Amen”
If you said this with an open heart and meant it, it will happen. I would further advise you look for a Protestant, Evangelical or Baptist Church (I recommend these as these have sound teaching of Christ, even though there are other churches out there, you will be safe with these). If you need help in finding a Christian Church which will help you grow in God, please feel free to message me and I will help source one in your local area, and I will be happy to help you in your walk with Christ.
BobOnLife 
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