If you are a Christian and have accepted Christ as your Savior, I have heard so many stories that true believers die peacefully. There have been times I have been fearful and prayed and received unbelievable courage. I read about some in the Bible that had courage beyond description. The Israelites would go into battle knowing that God would protect them and they would win. Faith determines confidence!

I want to share some families stories that we know are accurate showing how God works in times of crises. Recently, one of my cousins who I was close to, passed away. We had two summer jobs together. We played baseball in college. He was older and someone I always looked up to. He was everyone’s friend. Later in life he was called to be a minister and I was just out of the Navy studying to get a degree so if I had to go back into the Navy, it would be as an officer and not as an enlisted man. Thus, the reason we were in college together at the same time. He spent about 40 years as a minster before retiring.

He had a dream, while living in Idaho, that took place in Alaska. He did not know why he was there but he was walking past a train and a stranger got off and asked if he could walk with him. They walked quite a ways and the man said: you do not know who I am, do you? My cousin said no. He said I am Jesus. My cousing asked: “Are you my Jesus?” He said he was. My cousin said: “Will I go to heaven because my attitude is not always what it should be?” He said: “Yes, you were forgiven a long time ago.” Jesus told him he was going to take him to Heaven. He asked Jesus if his wife was going with him. Jesus said no, she must stay a while longer. However, there will be a time when all three of us will walk together.

My cousin was in poor health and was in a nursing and rehab facility. He fell and was taken to the hospital for diagnosis. The only thing they found was a very serious blockage of the bowels. The doctor said if we do not operate you may only have hours to live. If we operate, you will wear a bag outside for the rest of your life. He told the doctor the Lord was waiting for him and he did not want the operation. He peacefully passed away the next day.

My wife’s father was a minister.  He passed away in 1974.  This was said in the hospital.  Dad had a massive heart attack and then two years later another. When he was in the hospital dying, Mom was standing by his bedside, I wasn’t there. She told me later what he did. He reached over and took her hand, looked up into her eyes and said: “You know Honey, I have preached it all of my life and now that I am here, it’s real!” With that, he went to be with the Lord. When the time comes, will you be ready to meet the Lord?

An aunt and uncle were seriously injured passing over a railroad crossing and were hit by a train near Olympia, Washington. My aunt was in serious condition. A cousin and his wife arrived from Ontario, Oregon where he was a minister. He told his mother not to worry, everyone in his church and Christians all over the district were praying for her. She said, “I am praying that God will take me home. Now whose prayers do you think He is going to answer?” That night she passed away approximately 2:00 a.m. My cousin’s daughter who was 12 at the time, said that an image of her grandmother came to her and sat on her bed and said, “Do not worry, I am going now. Be a good girl, I want to meet you in heaven.” She was then gone. The next morning at 6:00 a.m. My cousin called the friends where his children were staying. He told them that his mother had died. They said, “We know about it, your daughter had awakened us early this morning and told us that her grandmother came to her last night to say goodbye.”

I have seen and heard so many supernatural stories that increased my faith tremendously. Let me share some more.

My grandfather, on my mother’s side, was a part-time preacher and a farmer. This wasn’t unusual as our family tree shows that our family came to Pennsylvania in 1709 to a Quaker settlement. Many generations of our family were farmer/preachers. One was a general during the Civil War. Our fathers were cousins and on our father’s side, many generations were dedicated Christian laymen. We have a very strong Christian heritage.

Since a week ago it was Veteran’s Day I want to share some events.  In the early part of World War II, another cousin met with my grandpa. He was one of nine of my cousins who had enlisted in the armed forces during World War II. He was told by my grandpa that each day he prayed for all of his grandchildren, but especially for those serving in the armed forces. Our grandpa was assured that God would protect each of his grandchildren during the war and afterward, each would return. He was so certain that he told all our families we should not worry.

One was a Navy pilot and had flown 112 missions in the south pacific. On one of his return flights, his engine quit and he crashed on the shore of a small island, Upola Point, Western Samoa. He was knocked unconscious and the plane was on fire. The executive officer of the squadron saw what had happened and landed his plane on the beach. He ran over and pulled him out before the plane was consumed by fire and saved his life. The officer radioed for help. A short time later a PBY seaplane landed with a rubber raft  and he was then brought to the airplane on a rubber raft. By the time the plane arrived my cousin could hear what was happening but he could not see.

Another cousin, his ship, the U.S.S. Windham, was one day out of Australia heading to New Guinea loaded with 55 gallon barrels of gasoline. He was on watch and notified the bridge at 8:00 p.m. that another ship was on the horizon. It was time for him to be relieved from duty and he went below deck to get a cup of coffee. A short time later, he heard the ship’s whistle blasting. He went topside to see what was happening. About the time he went on deck he heard a ship ram into the starboard side of his ship. Later it was discovered that it was an American ship. One wonders how in a vast ocean two ships could collide.

Around 2 a.m., the day of the tragedy, his mother, my aunt, awoke and had a feeling she needed to pray for him. Throughout the night and into the early morning she vacuumed the entire house while continually praying that God would protect her son.

One of my uncles, who most of the family prayed for, the next day was driving one of his logging trucks also felt the need to pray for our cousin. It was months later at a family reunion that they shared these stories. It should be pointed out that our uncle was raised in a Christian home, but did not profess to be a Christian.

Another cousin had his first tour of duty in the Atlantic. One afternoon a German U-boat, off the coast of Sicily, torpedoed his ship causing it to sink. After many hours, he and many others were picked out of the water by another ship. A few hours later an enemy bomber dropped a bomb hitting the ship he had boarded. He was transferred to another ship just before the second one sank. It was quite an exciting day. He ended up in a hospital in Italy and received a purple heart. He rarely talked about his experiences and it was difficult to get much out of him.

Another cousin was a navy 3rd class petty officer and a corpsman. He was involved in the invasion of Iwo Jima. He was in a medical group that would treat the injured marines and then take them to the hospital ship. He had been on previous invasions, but on this one they were losing a number of men. If you read your history books, this was a pretty devastating battle for both sides. For two straight days and nights he and his medical group were treating the injured and then transporting the wounded back to the ship. They worked tirelessly without a break. One of the men he was treating died and the doctor asked him, “What did you do for him?” He replied, “I gave him three pints of blood.” The doctor said, “Then you killed him.” Our cousin, without thinking, hauled off and hit the officer. This cousin was a fairly good football player and this wasn’t too out of character under the circumstances. The officer demanded that he be taken on the next boat back to the ship and wait until he returned. He left on the next boat. Later, an artillery shell hit the boat that the doctor and the other corpsmen took back to the ship and there were no survivors.

He was ashamed to tell this story. As he was telling one of my cousins what had happen many years’ later, tears came to his eyes. When he was done, He was told: our grandpa said we would all be coming back. Had you not hit that Lt. you would have never made it back. It was God’s intervention that you are here today and alive.”

Another cousin was a buck-sergeant in the army. He belonged to a tank division. He was a point man directing the tanks against the enemy. Often they had a four-man group that would drive a jeep to the enemy lines. They then would go on foot, scout out the enemy and advise the tanks which direction they should go.

He saw active service in France, Luxemburg, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. The life expectancy for these point men was very slim. Some lasted only a few days. He realized it was only God’s protection that he or any of these men came back alive.

There are many more stories that make us aware of a loving God who is ready to protect us. Many do not realize the courage that comes at a time of crisis. If you are that true believer, there will come a time when you will not fear death because you know it is God’s will and Christ will be waiting in Heaven to walk with you. I could probably share another 100 supernatural stories. Hopefully, this will help you to understand our God.

Do you live life knowing that someday you will die? Is death to you and end of life or the beginning of a new life? The reason I ask is because we all know that desperate people do desperate things. Is your life partly desperate or is your life filled with hope that things will only get better? Do you live without sufficient hope? If so, you must learn that there is life after death and it can be more fulfilling than what we will witness on earth. Hope does not always come from ourselves but from beyond.

Life can present all kinds of pressures and we may do things under pressure that we may not do when things are positive. If your hope is living in preparation for eternity with God you probably will live a different life from having no hope after death. Are you living life with a purpose or kind of drifting with whatever happens will happen?

II Corinthians 12:8 – 9 – “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Humans do not live without facing problems and some can be very serious. How we address these situations can definitely affect our lives. The Bible tells us that the apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh that was a handicap. He prayed three times that God would heal him and remove the thorn. God answered him by saying: “My grace is sufficient”. Meaning that whatever problem we encounter it may not go away just because we pray. So what do we do when the problem does not go away? We too must realize that God’s grace is all that we need.

Your marriage is not working out and there seems to be no hope for reconciliation. Your hope comes from knowing that God’s grace can get you through it. God’s promise is He will take us through what we don’t think we can get through. God may show us the beginning and He may show us the end. He just fails to show us the in between part that we have to deal with.

Sometimes Christians believe that if they encounter a major problem, that God is not with them or He would not have allowed it to happen. Through 2008 and 2009 many found themselves in financial trouble and some were facing their homes being foreclosed. Some asked for my advice as to what they should do and how could this happen to them. There situation, to them, seemed hopeless. They could not understand how this could have happen. A loving God is not showing His love to us! They could not understand how God was with them. Do you think they would have had to endure the heavy pressure of possible bankruptcy if they understood what God meant when He told Paul: “My grace is sufficient”?   In the Bible, Job said: how could my children die and God still be with me. It is a question many ask.

Let us define grace. It is God’s love and kindness that is given to someone that does not deserve it. It is often interpreted to mean God gives to us love, joy, pleasure, peace and the power to live life by His ways through the Holy Spirit. It is God’s grace that forgives us of our sins and provides salvation to the lost, though we do not deserve it. It is God’s grace that answers our prayers. If the answer is no, the lesson will provide an inner strength and an experience that we need to learn from.

Many believers struggle with grace, which is given through Jesus Christ, believing that they must work and earn their way to heaven. Too often we set ourselves personal standards that we cannot reach or the church or church people do it for us. Frustrated and discouraged by not meeting these “so called” man-made requirements, we feel like failures and unworthy to be children of God.

Do we allow our past sins or baggage to determine who we are today? Do we dwell on our past or live with hope for the future? Over the years I have met with a number of Christians and find that many really struggle with the feeling of being unworthy. To some degree I think most of us have at times felt that way.

Our greatest hope in life is knowing God’s grace can make us into a new person with a new faith and beliefs knowing that a place in heaven has been prepared for each believer in Christ. Therefore, we live life in expectation of eternity and what it offers. Many will prepare most of their lives, financially, for retirement and spend little in preparation for life after death. Which is more important?

Ephesians 1:3 – 6 – “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” NLT

Most are uncomfortable giving the Lord complete control, like our money or other assets. Repentance at salvation is a singular event while true surrender is an ongoing process. Many have never willingly surrendered to the Holy Spirit, and so they find life to be very challenging. As a result, there is little change in their lives and behavior. If there is little change, is it hard to believe God has adopted you and truly loves you? So if you do not see yourself as God says He sees you, whose fault is it?

In order to grasp the idea of a surrendered life, we must first realize as Christians that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Second, we must accept that God has always loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. (Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could love ourselves as God loves us or see ourselves as God sees us?) Third, God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. How does it feel to be one of God’s children? Don’t you believe that God will take care of His children in eternity? THAT IS OUR HOPE! So we should live life on earth with great anticipation for life after death knowing God has a purpose and plan for each of us. May each problem we face be preparation for what we will need in heaven. If this is true, then God’s grace is sufficient!

It is possible that when we live on earth 1000 years with Christ, we will need the experiences we have had while on earth. We are not all going to be farmers during that time. Maybe today’s problems are preparation for those times.

There are numerous Scriptures that tell us we have a choice.  The problem is: we too often make the wrong decision.  We believe our way will be more fun, exciting and prosperous than God’s way.  God has a plan for everyone that is born.  He offers us wisdom in order to show us how to live a wisely life.  This wisely life does not always come from knowledge but it comes from heavenly wisdom.  That wisdom takes preparation and without that preparation we miss God’s ways.  Heavenly wisdom cannot come without reading God’s manual for living life.  It must also come from His Spirit’s direction that is within a Christ believer.  Whose outcome would you prefer: God’s or yours?

If we disregard God’s ways we are more apt to have unusual frustration and less confidence.  God knows what will make us a more complete person than we do.  Since He knows us completely and gives us a part of Himself, His Spirit, why do we so many times ignore His purpose and direction?

Isaiah 55:8 – 9 – “’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.  ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Matthew 7:13 – 14 – “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it.”

God’s ultimate goal is for each Christian to become like Christ.  Have you studied the Bible enough to know how to emulate Jesus?  This requires changing from our self-centered nature to having a God-centered nature.  The more we become Christ-like the more we will be blessed.  God will not give us blessings we cannot handle.  Have you read the results of many who have won millions of dollars from a lottery?  We have seen what happens to many very successful and prosperous people.  They cannot cope well with success and often become egotistical or excessively greedy.

Proverbs 2:1 – 7 “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding— indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,”

From experience God meets my needs as promised.  Materially, there is nothing I need or want that God has not given me.  In addition, I have lived without stress, having peace, confidence and prosperity.  That doesn’t mean Christians live without facing, sometimes very serious problems.  It is problems that God “often” allow to help teach us how to prepare for life’s unintended consequences.  My office has been robbed and I have had health issues and supernatural healing.  Each time I learned to make changes.  Other times I have come close to having car accidents and just misses.  I immediately thank God for His intervention and then I become a more defensive driver.

I have had financial, personal, work-related problems and each time I gained wisdom going trough testing and temptation.  My faith allowed me to know God would show me a way through it and He has. Much of the wisdom I gained, I believe resulted from problems.

I have seen God’s hand in my life that I feel safe and at peace knowing He is with me at all times wanting what is best for me.  As the above Scripture states, I have tried to live an upright and blameless life.  I have tried to please God and emulate Christ to my best ability.  I know I will never reach perfection on this earth but God has a better life for me in eternity as long as I follow His ways and not my ways.

I have given my personal experiences as a testimony that God will keep His promises if we live according to His ways.

Ecclesiastes 2:26a – “To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.”

There are three kinds of pride: a good pride, a bad pride and an arrogant pride. Pride may have more affect on our lives and attitudes than we realize. A good pride is seeking knowledge with a pure heart that has love for God, others and self. There is nothing wrong with being confident and having pride in what we accomplish. As long as we have the right attitude coming from humility.

An arrogant pride can interfere with a love for God and others. We may think we are better than others or we are indispensible by thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. We have a self-centered nature from birth that wants to promote an arrogant pride. This arrogant pride can cause envy, jealousy, greed, hate, boastful bragging, etc. This pride has a tendency to want the attention of others. Hopefully, as we mature we are able to develop some humility.

Having what I call a bad pride is when we become angry, frustrated or disgusted because someone or we may have made a mistake. Anger can be the result of an injured pride. Do we or others think we are inhuman? Do we believe that we and others are incapable of never making an error or cause bad judgments? I have seen people lose their tempers over insignificant mistakes, by others and themselves. One of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control and that is not to be overly prideful.

I have been to a number of leadership seminars. They teach the importance of when a leader makes a mistake is to own up to it, as quickly as possible. An arrogant pride will try to blame others or the circumstance. Scripture teaches that we are to admit we are sinners, needing forgiveness and need the willingness to repent and move forward.

Proverbs 8:13 – “To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech.”

Proverbs 11:2 – “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

An individual with an arrogant pride tends to cause disgrace to themselves. A wise person with wisdom tends to be humble. An arrogant pride would want to impress you with my blogs. A bad pride is I need your attention. A good pride is hoping the Holy Spirit will inspire me to write something from 50 plus years of Christian experience that will help you have a better life. As a Christian, it is praying daily that the Holy Spirit will give you guidance and check you when you use the wrong pride. If you have a problem with pride you will be checked. However, many times people do not realize that anger and frustration is caused by that injured pride. Often you cannot fix the problem if you do not know what is causing it.
John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

If we want to live life to the fullest, we must overcome negative pride. Realize that it takes spiritual growth and maturity which is a process that we must go through. It is changing who we are to who God has planned for us to be. It may be best described by the following illustration: If we are not enjoying life like Christ intended we must ask ourselves; as Christians shouldn’t we be living that extra-ordinary life style? God created an ugly old worm, called a caterpillar that crawls along the ground with all kinds of obstacles blocking its way. After a time, this worm is instantaneously transformed into an insect called a butterfly, which is one of the most graceful and beautiful of all insects. What kind of life are we living, like the caterpillar or the butterfly? As a result of our self-centered nature, we were born ‘caterpillar-like’. But Christ came to offer us a ‘butterfly-like’ life. If God can transform a caterpillar into a butterfly, can’t He transform a sinner into one of His children? The Bible says God will bring our life into a new dimension. (“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!” II Corinthians 5:17). As a caterpillar, I made all kinds of mistakes. I had a problem with pride and a bad attitude. As a converted caterpillar to a butterfly, the Spirit has set me free from the law of sin and death that had been given to the caterpillar. (Romans 8:2)

Do we feel liberated and free from a caterpillar-like life? To become a butterfly requires being born again into a new life that we might be forgiven of our sins and become free. For that to happen we had to accept Christ as our Savior so we could be forgiven of our past, present and future sins in order that we might become free. Do we believe that it is possible to completely change and live as a new person? Do we sense His power, His love and His guidance in our lives? Do we believe God wants anything but the best for us? Scripture tells us if we accept the truth it will set us free to become whatever we dream to be. Then why would we ever let a bad or an arrogant pride keep us living like a caterpillar? The Bible emphasizes the need for spiritual wisdom and humility. This is why the Bible instructs us to develop the mind of Christ and not be prideful.

The Bible teaches us to inquire of God before making decisions.  Do we? The Old Testament teaches the importance of asking God for directions before making any decision.  King Saul made decisions without asking God and was not obedient when he did receive God’s guidance. King David asked and responded exactly to what God’s directions were.  King Saul did not receive God’s approval and King David was a man after God’s own heart.  The greatest gift God gave King Solomon was wisdom?  Are we wise enough to make important decisions?  That does not mean we should wait for God to give us a sign or an inner conviction on every choice.  In many cases we need to do adequate research and seek advice of other Christians.  I find the answer to a question is answered from what I read or those whose advice I consider worthy.  However, that does not mean I did not pray prior to doing my research. 

“In all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths.” — Proverbs 3:6 (NIV)

If you have decisions to make, who do you want giving directions?  God knows everything about us and knows what our future will be.  Don’t you think His guidance would be the best?  Then should we not pray for His directions before we make any decision?  Do we not want God to direct our path down the road of life?  God will guide us one step at a time and He will never advise us to do anything contrary to Scripture. 

Ephesians 1:17 – “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”

Just think how different we would be if we have received the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. I believe it is available and something we should pray for if we don’t have.  I have a number of clients who have made some very unwise decisions.  When they made the decision they did not consider the unintended consequence.  They had to take bankruptcy, some lost their homes and others have struggled financially.   Don’t we realize that God knows the result before we ever make the decision?  God loves us and wants what is best for us. 

Wouldn’t we prefer leaders who have Godly wisdom rather than an arrogant, know-it-all, worldly leader making decisions?  Just because we have knowledge does not necessarily make us wise.  Do we allow knowledge to take precedence over wisdom?  Knowledge would encourage us to make decisions based on what we know and wisdom would be to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance.  Just because everyone is doing it does not make it the thing we are to do.  Christians have an advantage if we have the faith to wait on God. 

Every one of us has a worldly nature and a spiritual nature.  The two natures are in conflict with each other because the worldly nature is self-serving and the spiritual nature is God-serving.  Therefore, the condition of our spiritual heart determines the kinds of decisions we make.  Business decisions, job decisions, family decisions and personal decisions are all affected by our true nature or heart. 

Countless Scriptures make the point that spiritual health is a direct outgrowth of our spiritual natures winning the conflict taking place within us. 

Galatians 5:16 – 18 – “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Paul is reminding Christians they had received the Holy Spirit and now must live by the Spirit.  There may be times when we will have relapses.  But if we live in the Spirit, we will have a supernatural power that will help us overcome our selfish desires and lusts. Our commitment and personal relationship with Christ will help determine the strength of that supernatural power.  Most of the time, our self-centered nature and the Holy Spirit within us will be in conflict.  Our carnal nature will put us before everyone else.  The conflict might be to what extent are we willing to share with others?  Are we good stewards of our time, our love and our possessions?  Are we continually progressing in our daily surrender to Christ?  Our spiritual health helps determine the kind of decisions we will make.  A strong Christian who is living to please God will take the time to pray prior to making major decisions.  What believer does not want to live to please God? 

If you are a risk taker you will find times when you will be rejected.  Taking a risk and failing is a form of rejection.  How we handle rejection can be determined by how we see ourselves.  Are we confident with a positive attitude or are we unsure of ourselves with an attitude toward the negative?  Having been in sales most of my adult life has provided many times to have been subjected to rejection.

Being able to handle rejection can result from experience or allowing Scripture and the Holy Spirit preparing you to overcome life’s rejections.  We learn from the Bible that God can use rejection to mold who He wants us to be.  Rejection does not always have to be a form of failure.  We know that God opens doors but He also closes them.  A closed door is often a rejection.  God’s rejection and possibly rejection from others can change the direction we are heading.

What you believe about yourself can determine your behavior.  What do you think is best: for the world to shape who you are or God Who loves you and wants what is best for you?

What kind of a self-image would you like?  We live in a negative world.  Read the newspaper or listen to TV and you hear about what’s bad.  Rarely do good deeds or positive stories in the media sell.   How often parents, ministers, teachers or friends have questioned your appearance or intelligence.  Have you been ridiculed for an unintentional remark?  Have you received a distorted picture of who you are?  Wouldn’t it be better to have a healthy self-image?

The Bible tells us that God loves us.  We were created in God’s image and only slightly lower than the angels.  Jesus told us we can do what He did and in fact we could do some things even greater.  He puts no limits or requirements for us to attain.  How do you think God feels when we are negative and afraid to take risks?  As believers of Christ we have God’s Spirit dwelling within us.

The Bible repeatedly says God is not interested in our works but He cares about what is in our hearts.  Is His love really in our hearts?  If so we have learned there can be no hate or a lack of forgiveness.  What God requires can only be obtained by allowing the Holy Spirit to change who we are.  This is why we cannot allow the Holy Spirit to be ignored.  We must let the Holy Spirit become very active in our daily lives.  If we are not seeing supernatural occurrences from time to time we probably have not made the Holy Spirit our partner.  So shouldn’t we expect the Holy Spirit to be manifest in everything we do?  He will if we pray and ask for His help. He will not force Himself onto us.

Within us God created needs that we must feel we “belong”, that we feel “worthy” and that we have a feeling of being “competent”.  If we cannot fulfill each of these three needs we will not become the person God wants us to be.  If we are not that complete person it is difficult to become a quality person.  A dysfunctional background and personal hang ups can create problems in dealing with people.   Many parents, managers and teachers come with so many emotional problems that they have no idea how to develop and motivate people or raise their children.  A result is the feeling of rejection.

As Christians, Scripture tells us how each of the three needs can be met.  Romans 8:14 – 16 – “because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”  Do you believe and act as one of God’s children?

We belong because we have been adopted into God’s family.  It is our job as Christians to make sure everyone has an awareness of belonging.  Children must believe they belong, big-time to the family.  Many non-believers have problems feeling that they belong and possibly never have.  They may do whatever they believe is necessary to become accepted, liked or loved, even if it takes being immoral.  Character is very important in being truly loved.  Feeling loved and accepted can build one’s character!

Romans 5:6 – 8 – “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God wanted us to know, ungodly or not, believer or doubter, each one of us was worthy in His eyes.  He sent Christ to die for us because He wants to develop a relationship with us through Christ and give us His love.  Knowing Christ loves us should make us experience a sense of worthiness.  Do we realize how important it is that we, as a person, see ourselves as being valuable?  How many times have you felt inept?  If we continually think negative things about ourselves we can become a negative person.  Think positive things and people will be more inclined to be around us.  How we see ourselves can be projected to others and that is how they will see us also.  Have you ever worked for or had a parent who couldn’t make simple decisions?  They just never wanted to make a mistake.

Ephesians 3:20 – “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”  God has given to us His Spirit so that we might achieve anything He would ever ask us to do.  God expects us to be competent achievers and we can.

If you have never felt that you were accepted, were worthy or had the ability to achieve, God can change you.   The Bibles says the problems we bring into the family as parents can be carried on to the fourth generation—unless we allow God to change us.

Probably the major thing I received from college was that most everyone was average.  Occasionally there were some who were exceptionally brilliant but too often they didn’t have common sense.   The realization that I could achieve was vital in my development because I understood there was not as much competition as I had expected.

We must feel loved, accepted and secure.  We will then have the foundation to become a better parent or leader.  It is then we can instill in others the three basic needs God created that must be fulfilled.  Imagine working for a leader who makes you feel how important you are to the organization, how essential you have been in getting the job done right and how you have made this a better place to work.  Or, the boss or parent that is continually critical and ignores your contributions.  Who motivates you the most?

If you want to overcome the feeling of being rejected, start each day with prayer asking specifically for the Spirit within us to guide in everything we do throughout the day.  The last thing each day, take a minute and thank the Holy Spirit for being active in our lives.  After a time we will begin to realize and recognize that God’s Spirit lives within us and is actively changing our behavior.   We will then begin to realize that we as Christians have been given a unique advantage in living our lives.  We too will learn there are many blessings that God wants to give to us through the Holy Spirit within.  Are a few minutes daily worth God’s blessings and developing who we are to become, so we can overcome the feelings of rejection?

I have found this information that I believe is worth sharing.  This takes the place of my blog for today.

From:  Prophecy News Watch

Josh McDowell, an apologist and evangelist, spoke at Southern Evangelical Seminary’s Christian Apologetics conference on three culture changes that create a “perfect storm” that challenges and poses a threat to the church.

McDowell says the first is an epistemological shift that is occurring regarding Biblical truths due to modern perspectives on God’s word.

“We’ve had a major shift in what truth is and where it comes from. We’ve gone from being God-centered to self-centered, from being objective to being subjective and from being internal to external,” he said.

He argues that the truth that the church upholds is merely viewed as personal opinion by some people, especially young individuals due to the idea that most think that God is dead.

“In 1991, 51 percent of evangelical young adults said there is no truth apart from their own views. Today, that number is 91 percent,” said McDowell.

The respected apologist also says the Internet’s “exploding information” plays a major factor in challenging the way young people view culture, the church and their moral views. According to his research, millions of youths take in about 34GB of Internet data each day, which is equivalent to the amount of lyrics found in 8,160 songs.

“Every pastor, youth pastor, and every parent is in competition with the Internet and the information it is spreading,” said McDowell. “Most young people don’t get their news from CNN or CBS, they get it from bloggers. There are about 181 million bloggers vying for the attention of your children.”

The unlimited amount of online information that people have access to have caused an increase in skepticism that will only continue to become more pervasive, says McDowell.

“If you don’t believe me, go around and talk to young people in colleges and in junior high. Go and make ‘truth statements’ and you’ll hear them say, ‘How do you know that’s true?’ There’s so much out there,” said McDowell. “[For] every kid, even Christians, the age of the Internet is wearing down their convictions because they think tomorrow they’ll find something else.”

He continued, “Fifteen to 20 years ago, the questions that you used to hear at universities about faith, Jesus and the Bible, about skepticisms, questioning what you believe in; questions that you used to hear in the last two years of college are now being asked by 10- and 11-year-olds. It’s coming all right down through Facebook.”

During his message, he also told pastors they cannot pastor the same way they have been for the last 20 years while telling parents they cannot raise their children the same way they were raised because the Internet has changed “everything.”

“Twenty years ago, the phrase was, ‘if you don’t reach a young person by 18, you probably won’t reach them. Now, atheists and agnostics have the same access to your kids as you do, it’s just one click away. The internet has leveled the playing field and now if you don’t reach a child by their 12th birthday, you won’t reach them.”

In the same manner, McDowell emphasized that young people are increasingly becoming addicted to pornography, adding that it is the greatest threat to the body of Christ in 2,000 years.

“This is destroying pastors, youth pastors and more Christians than anything by far in history,” said McDowell. “The number one demographic is 12- to 25-year-olds, there’s no difference in and out of the church.”

He added that 50 percent of fundamental, evangelical pastors watch porn while 80 percent of youth pastors have a problem with porn as well. McDowell pointed out that porn provides only a momentary satisfaction and porn addicts often seek other opportunities to satisfy their sexual desires.

“The average person starts with heterosexual sex then after a while, that no longer satisfies, then there’s anal, from anal there’s oral, from oral to homo, from homo to bestiality then to children,” said McDowell.

He continued, “The sad thing is, after child pornography doesn’t satisfy, where do you go? Pornography is why sex-trafficking, sex abuse and rape are major issues, they (addicts) end up living it out, it becomes a reality.”

He also advised parents to not shelter their children from “what’s out there” but rather prepare them for the first time they will inevitably encounter information overload on the Internet and porn.

“You cannot protect your child from watching pornography, if you think you can, then you’re the problem, mom. If you’re sitting there thinking, ‘I can protect my child,’ then you’ll end up losing them and the stats are on my side.”

He added, “It’s as dumb as saying, ‘you can’t ever listen to music,’ in our culture. You can’t go through life without listening to music, and now, you’re not going to go through life without watching porn. Those mothers who say they’re going to prepare their child will win, those who say they will protect them will lose.”

Each time I study the Old Testament I am reminded of a nature of God that seems to be completely different from His nature in the New Testament. In the Book of I Samuel, God tells the prophet that He wants Samuel to anoint Israel’s first king to be Saul. God foreknows what kind of king Saul will be. I believe Saul was chosen as an illustration for following generations to see one nature of God, His wrath. Since man was made in the image of God it is also possible for us to have two separate natures.

God tells Samuel to tell King Saul that He has a task for him to perform. I Samuel 15:3 – “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’” But Saul did not obey God. Verses 8 and 9 – “He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.” God said to Samuel: verse 10 – “Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: ‘I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.’ Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.”

I Samuel 16:14 – “Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.” Scripture continues to tell that Samuel dies and God or another prophet will not speak to King Saul. Saul goes to inquire of a medium, absolutely against God’s law. The medium brings back Samuel from the dead to speak to King Saul. Samuel rose from the grave by the medium. I Samuel 28:16 – “Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy?” This was because of King Saul’s disobedience to God. As a result Saul is no longer king and David becomes the second king of Israel.
King David breaks a number of God’s commandments but he always asks God what he is to do and he does them exactly as God requires. He never attacks others without first asking God’s permission. David was extremely obedient and he pleased God.

In the New Testament we see another nature of God. We see a God of love and grace. It is a nature that man can also obtain through belief in Jesus Christ. Which nature do we chose?
One of my favorite chapters in the Bible that I have written about previously, is clearly defined when Paul writes to the church in Corinth and tells them how God expects them to live. The church appears to have been living under the nature God shows in the Old Testament. There were all kinds of selfish problems in the church. Who was the most righteous, who had the most special gifts? As we study the following Scripture keep in mind the importance of being obedient to God’s Will.

I Corinthians 13:1 – 3 – “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

We are told no matter how many spiritual gifts we have been given, if we do not have love our gifts are worthless. We may have the gifts of tongues, prophecy or preaching. It is possible to understand all mysteries and have all knowledge and not have love, we will develop a spirit of being judgmental. We may have the gift of giving but if we give out of duty and lack love our treasures in heaven may be less than we expect.

I Corinthians 13:4 – 7 – “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

Love is having patience with people but not necessarily with normal events of life. Love is being kind in dealing with people. An unkind Christian lacks love. If we want positive responses from others, they normally come when we are kind and thoughtful in dealing with people. A person with love will not boast. We realize how unworthy we can be were it not for Christ’s death and resurrection. Love keeps us humble and it never offends. Love forgives and holds no grudges. Love is trusting and takes God at His word. The worst thing a Christian can have is a negative attitude resulting from a lack of having a loving spirit.

I Corinthians 13:8 – 13 – “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

There may be a time when all the things we take pride in, pass away. However, we can still have love. Satan can never take away God’s love for man and man’s love for God. We must remember that without love and holiness we will never know the mysteries of God or live with Him in eternity. Great as hope and faith are, love is greater. Faith without love can be cold. Hope without love is the potential to miss opportunities. Love is the passion that gives us faith and hope. I believe people today are confused about love. One of the greatest human qualities is love. True love or unconditional love comes from God. Love instigates unselfish service and kindness to others. Faith is the acceptance of God’s message. Hope is looking forward to God’s arrival of His permanent kingdom. It is so important to realize that we will never become a part of that kingdom without love. God is love and only those who love will be accepted. Love provides faith and love makes hope possible.

Let us look at the importance of love. The ultimate gift of love was given by Christ on the cross. Love keeps us from yielding to temptation. You may have heard some people sing very well. But some sing from a heart of love and you can tell the difference. Love gives us power, charisma and a different attitude. Christ says they will know my people by their love. The love we have been given by God needs to be given to others. This is our main mission and purpose, to love God and others and the reason we were created.

Do you want the nature of King Saul or King David? Are we living to please self or to please God? To please God our nature must become spiritual. We must allow our sinful, self-centered nature to die out. We must live as chapter 13 above tells us to live. Otherwise, we could be separated from God forever.

A recent study of prisoners found that if you could encourage them to forgive others and forgive themselves it will change their lives and their chances of being incarcerated again is dramatically reduced.  I heard this on the radio and have tried to find that study but haven’t.  This information didn’t surprise me because a major reason that Christ came as the Messiah was to forgive those who accepted Jesus as the son of God and accept Him as their Savior. It is a life changing experience to be forgiven, released from guilt and have all previous and future sins eradicated.  To God, forgiving is a must for us!  Enough of a requirement that man needed to have a “forgiving spirit”, that He sent Christ to teach us the power of forgiveness in order for us to live the life God had planned for us.  An unforgiving spirit will stifle man’s peace and happiness and prohibit living an ordained moral and ethical life.

Many people grow up in dysfunctional homes.  They have been abused mentally or physically.  Sometimes in life something bad has happened that develops this unforgiving spirit.  Our self-centered nature causes emotions of resentment, hatred, holding grudges and a passionate urge for revenge or to get even, somehow or someway.  We may have been taken advantage of and until we get even, justice has not been accomplished.  It is possible we could have emotions that just seem to run wild and uncontrollable.   Too often people make dumb choices and end up with extremely negative attitudes, periods of self-doubt and self-pity and often having that “unforgiving spirit”.  It is this spirit that causes them to be at war within themselves and with the world.   Our resentments can become so bad that we fail to make moral and logical decisions thus leading to jail time.  Don’t you think it possible that being unable to forgive can drive someone to commit criminal acts?  If you are a parent and have three or more children, chances are you have repeatedly seen revengeful acts.  One causes the other to get even.  In fact, we are hearing of children killing parents or a brother or sister because of their inability to forgive.  It seems because of our unforgiving spirits we our living in a chaotic world that is getting worse.  When Jesus said: at the end-times we would be living like the people lived during Noah’s life-time?  How bad was it that God regretted having created man and destroyed them by a flood?

If you have had a problem forgiving someone or yourself, it is because our carnal nature is not to forgive but to get even.  So how do you convince a person the importance of forgiving, even non-believers?  The Bible is full of Scriptures that tells us that forgiving may benefit us more than the person we feel we are unable to forgive.  But since it is our nature to be unforgiving, this is why Christ taught the importance that each of us must be released from this emotional grip on our heart that causes stress and often injurious to one’s health, in addition to sometimes evil actions.

In Scripture Jesus told His disciples that if anyone held a grudge against another person or if they became angry or bitter over something that was done to them or if they had an unforgiving heart they had better get over it if they wanted their prayers answered.  Being self-centered human beings that we are and having a carnal nature, it is sometimes difficult to overlook something that someone has done to us. Life is not always just a “big bowl of cherries”.   However, if we as Christians or any human wants to remain healthy, we had better learn to get rid of the baggage of anger, bitterness and having an unforgiving spirit.

Matthew 6:14 – 15 – “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Matthew 18:21 – 22 – “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?  Up to seven times?”   Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”  Peter asked if seven times was enough and Jesus said it was 77 times or there is no limit.”

Colossians 3:13 – “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Mark 11:25 – “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Do we live to please God with our attitudes and our actions?  God’s mercy and compassion has forgiven us of our sins.  It is now required that we forgive others as He has forgiven us.  Scripture says that if we are unwilling to forgive others we shall not become one with Christ.  But you may say: You have no idea what others have done to you.  My answer would be, have you ever been placed on a cross and asked God to forgive them for they do not know what they are doing?  Living a Christian life is so different from how the world lives.  If we are trying to live a Christian life on our own without the Holy Spirit’s guidance, chances are we will fail.  It is only when we totally die out to self, allow the Holy Spirit to completely guide us, that we will become more and more Christ-like.  The sooner we begin listening to the Holy Spirit the sooner we will become spiritually mature and the more we will be blessed.  Then we can expect to see more blessings in our lives.  Scripture says: God wants to bless us!  Are we allowing Him to?  Chances are it will not happen as long as we have an unforgiving spirit influencing our thoughts and actions.

Our church has a ministry: “God Behind Bars” led by Jake Bodine.  Think what would happen if every prisoner could develop and have a forgiving spirit.  The unforgiving spirit is a negative, addictive spirit that wants control and it is possible this unforgiving spirit caused them to be in jail.  In most cases, one cannot change without the assistance of the Holy Spirit.  But if we could eradicate this unforgiving spirit world-wide, what a difference we would see. However, chances Satan, the great deceiver, would not let that happen.  When Christ returns to rule for a 1000 years we will live with a forgiving spirit as we will have a Christ-like mind.  It is possible for believers today!