INVESTMENT and RETURN? or WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR TALENTS?

Grace is God’s meeting you where you are in order to bring you to where He is. God does not meet us where we are to leave us where we are or to pat us on the back for what WE are doing. God meets us where we are—in our sin, in our weakness, in our immaturity—to help and enable us to transform to His standards and His way of doing things.

One of the problems we face in the world today is that everywhere the Spirit shows up, manifesting Himself through signs and wonders, His presence is repeatedly misunderstood. We use His presence to justify our immature earthly values and even known sin. We think His presence is God’s confirmation that we are on the right track, that we are working according to God’s will.

When God sees that our level of sin and immaturity no longer holds any expectation for bringing us back into conformity to His plan, He will withdraw and cease imparting Himself to us. While He is patient, the Lord will not pour Himself out in us only to be misused to reinforce our earthly desires.

Jesus made a very costly investment of His blood in us. He expects a return on his investment. If that return is not met, there will be consequences.

Jesus’ parables about planting and harvest shows us clearly that God expects a return for his great investment in our lives. This can also be seen in the parable of the ‘talents’ and also in Christ’s ministry.

We see him withdrawing from various communities. He came bringing healing and deliverance and yet he could see that it wasn’t having an impact on the their souls, so He withdrew from them.

Firstly, we are to believe in Christ for what He has done for us on the cross to pay the penalty and to forgive us of our sins.

Jn. 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name.
Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house
.
Secondly, we are to surrender our lives as dedicated followers of His Spirit to lead us into all truth and to do the will of God. This is not a one time event but should be a continual surrendering.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Thirdly, we must obey His will, through the teaching of the Holy Spirit - at all costs.

Act 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Act 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
Rom 6:16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Heb. 5:9 And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey Him.

By obeying the leading of the Spirit, we are moved past the "knowledge of the truth" to the actual "Knowing of the Father" and His will for our lives.
This is the ultimate return God wants on his investment.

Our obedience must start with repentance. Repentance is the submitting of a receiving heart to the lordship of Christ. We demonstrate this by our actions of obedience to the commands of the Spirit. Those actions are the "fruit" and the "work" of the Spirit in our lives and demonstrate that our faith is active, evident and living. When we repent and submit, the Holy Spirit sets his seal of possession on our lives. This is separate from the gifts and powers he may impart to a believer.

One may be forgiven of sins, washed by the blood, and even receive limited access to the Holy Spirit’s powers. Yet without repentance, he may still fall away, reversing the effects of salvation, drawing back to perdition and to eternal damnation. Assurance of our eternal salvation is tied to the demonstration of our fruit of obedience. We can only get that assurance if we know we have fully and totally surrendered our all to the Spirit of Lord Jesus. Our minds, our spirits, our souls, our bodies, all that we posses. Any other assurance is false.

We tend to think that because God pours out his spirit on a man or their ministry, that they are ‘right’ with God or doing things right. We think it is his seal of approval.

So what happens when God’s spirit is poured on human flesh.

Man is made of the dust of the ground. As flesh, he is but dirt.
The Spirit is likened to rain and to fire. If the Spirit is received by the flesh without submitting one’s will to God’s will, in total surrender, you get the same result as when you pour water on dirt.

You get MUD.
You get something to get stuck in!

But if the Spirit is received, not only as water, but also as a cleansing fire to help us to be totally submitted and obedient, it will bring us to the truth and separate us for the Lord’s purpose.

Instead of becoming muddied, we become transformed into a vessel able to truly hold and display God's will, power and mind.

If we are not totally conformed to submit to the Spirit, then we (flesh) can corrupt the Spirit that is poured on us and can change the truth of God into a lie.

Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections:
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
Luke 11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

So there is a condition to receiving the Spirit that determines whether we get the mind of God. The fact that the Spirit is received is not a guarantee of the accuracy or completeness of His mind (His Will) in us.

For this reason, a judgment seat awaits all believers, not just unbelievers.

At the judgment seat, we will give account for how well we allowed the Lord to perfect His investment in our souls.

It is very important that we know this - the salvation of every believer's soul is to be proven by fire. There will be great loss on the part of many believers at that time, as their fleshly deeds will be burned away.
All who try to escape God’s divine process in order to preserve their own way of thinking and living now, will lose it then.

By not submitting to the leading of God’s spirit - towards His Higher Calling for your life, you will be affected in ways you can’t even imagine.

What are you doing with the investment God has placed in your life?

BLOOD SPEAKS???

Recently I stumbled across a little ‘gem’ that I wanted to share with you.

Maybe this isn’t new to you but I was so blessed by it.

Did you know that blood SPEAKS?

In Genesis 4:10 God says that the blood of Abel cried out to him from the soil. (We also know that ‘life is in the blood’).

In the original the word is plural, thy brother's bloods. Could this mean, not only Abel’s blood, but the blood of all those that might have descended from him had he lived?

As I pondered this verse and thought about blood, I began to realize that people are listening to what blood has to say every day. I had never really thought of it before.

When a young girl gets her first monthly flow of blood it tells her that she is finally becoming a woman. She is now capable of bearing children of her own.

When a woman gets her monthly flow, it is speaking to her. It is telling her that her body has gone through a cycle to prepare itself for conceiving a child. The flow tells her that no child was conceived during this cycle. It also tells her that each and every month she is being prepared for a wonderful act of procreation.

Even the lack of blood speaks to her, telling her that she has conceived. (or that something else is wrong with her body)

When we see blood on a child or on ourselves, it is speaking warning. It is telling us that something has happened to the body that needs attention. Maybe we just have a simple cut but it is still an indication that something is out of the ordinary, something has happened to our body that shouldn’t have.

Large amounts of blood indicate a bigger problem. The larger the amount, the greater the need to get medical attention.

Have you ever had a blood test?
Doctors and nurses listen to what blood is saying every day. By looking at our blood and listening to what it has to say, a doctor can diagnose what is going on in our bodies. So in a sense it is also a warning system.

Our blood flows through out the body day in and day out like a little soldier on guard. Checking and rechecking every little part of us. Then when needed, the blood brings news (speaks) about various things happening in your body.

Isn’t that amazing?

Blood is also a ‘tattle tale’. If you have taken alcohol, drugs or had sex with someone you shouldn’t have, the blood will tell about it. It can’t help but tell the truth about all it learns about the body.

Blood also seems to be able to tell various things about a person like who their parents were, and if they are prone to getting various diseases.

Abel’s blood "cried".

When innocent blood is taken from a person, human ears may not be able to hear it’s voice, but it has a voice that reaches God and cries out for vengeance. Murder is one of the sins that cry to heaven.

The blood applied to the door posts in Exodus 12:13 told the destroyer of the Lord God to pass over that house and not harm the inhabitants therein.

Have you applied the Blood of Jesus to your heart that the destroyer might pass over you in the final day of Judgement?

Jesus’ blood is the only thing that can deliver your soul and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Please, listen to His blood. It calls out to you.

1 Corinthians 3:5-end (Con’t)

Who are the Pentecostals? Who are the Baptists? Who are the Catholics? Who are the Seventh Day Adventists? Who are any of the individual denominations?

Aren’t they all just ministers that God has given to help us believe in Jesus?

One may plant and another may help us to grow but it is only God that increases his family and our knowledge.

So then one denomination is no better than the other. They are really nothing in God’s eyes. They are all foolish.

God is ultimately all that is truly important.

We will be rewarded for our own labour.

In the end, the individual efforts of each person will be found to be useless - unless it has helped to build the WHOLE body of Christ.

We are workers TOGETHER for God’s end, for God’s purpose.
The work we do together HAS to be directed by God’s Spirit because we are working together with him.
We are his building and his builders. We should be building so that the WHOLE structure is sound and secure. It is only in togetherness and unity of Spirit, that anything of value can be accomplished.

Various denominations may lay the foundations, but as individuals, we form the parts of that building.

As fellow builders ourselves, we have to be very careful. We have to be sure that the original foundation being laid is Spirit led before we ever try to do any building on your own.

We have to know that Jesus Christ is the firm foundation and all else is rubbish, foolishness, and of no eternal value. Get rid of anything else. It does nothing. It doesn’t help the foundation one bit.

The foundation of Jesus Christ stands alone.

Set your heart, mind, soul and strength on that firm foundation. All the rest is foolish trappings.

Now if any man has built anything on this foundation - whether it was good works, doctrine, traditions, programs, etc. it will all be revealed in the end.

Every MAN’S work will be manifested and tried by God’s fire. The fire will determine if it was Spirit led or if it originated in the heart and will of man.

Did it profit the whole body or just the individual? It will all be revealed.

After this cleansing fire, some of the building will be left standing. This will be the work that was done according to the Holy Spirit’s directing our lives to do God’s will.

Being obedient to God’s spirit will bring rewards.
But any work done in man’s own power, without the Spirit’s direction will be burned.

We WILL suffer loss.

We will know where we failed and will see our inner motives and desires.

We will still be saved - but Oh... the pain we will suffer when we realize how selfish and foolish we were all along.

It is going to hurt and hurt a lot - like being burned with fire.

Ouch!

Do you want to suffer the loss and pain your own thinking will cause you when your prideful living is finally revealed by his cleansing fire. You will regret that you didn’t do it his way all along.

Shouldn’t we strive to do it God’s way to begin with to avoid this pain and loss?

Jointly and individually we are God’s temple.

Does God need earthly buildings to dwell in?

No.

He has us, his body, built on the foundation of Jesus.

God’s Spirit dwells in THAT temple.

God’s temple is Holy. (Morally blameless, ceremoniously consecrated)

This isn’t speaking of the natural or physical man but is speaking of the spiritual man.

We tend to think that by doing certain things to and with our bodies we are defiling God’s temple.

It is not the outward appearance that is important.
It is not even what goes into the natural man that matters.

It is all about the Spirit in us, in our spiritual body.

Defiling God’s temple is not allowing the Holy Spirit to have full and complete control.

That includes full control of our mind, spirit, soul and body. That includes individuals as well as the rest of the body of Christ.

Doing things are own way - without the Holy Spirit’s direction is defiling God’s temple.

The temple is Holy - it is consecrated and set aside, because God’s Spirit lives there.

If you do not allow God’s spirit to have full control, holiness is gone, The temple becomes defiled.

If ANY one, defiles (spoils, ruins, corrupts) the temple of God, God will destroy him.

What?

Isn’t that a little harsh?
Those are strong words.

Anyone who is not a part of God’s temple, or defiles that temple in any way, will be destroyed.

God’s spirit will not live in a prison. He wants to live in a temple.

Don’t deceive yourself into thinking that this isn’t true. Instead go back to being a fool so at least then God can feed you the milk so you will get some nourishment and continue to grow.

If you are stubborn, or just can’t be bothered with any of this stuff, because you think you know it all and have all the answers - then go ahead. God wouldn’t stop you.

He’s taken many in their own craftiness.
He will let you continue to think you are wise beyond your years and have all the answers.
He knows all our thoughts.
To him they are all foolish and vain. They are totally useless to him or anyone else.

Please, don’t look to men or to your own ways of thinking for answers.

Go directly to God.

Seek His fullness, power and direction.

Give Him first place in your life every moment of every day.

Ask God to continually fill you more and more with His Spirit.

If you really want it, he will give it to you.

Everything you could possibly want or need is made available to you through this union with God’s spirit.

You are God’s child if you keep his commandments.
Jesus’ death and resurrection made it all possible.
Build on this foundation.

Don’t take my word for it.

ASK GOD.

UNITY IN THE BODY OF CHRIST - HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE IT?

I’d like to talk a little about the Apostle Paul first and then give my understand of 1 Corinthians 1-3.

Paul was a man who was very zealous of what he believed. He was so ardent about his faith in God that he was willing to go out kill and persecute these new believers that he believed were making a mockery of his God and his beliefs. He was a very learned man, taught by some of the best preachers of his day. He knew God’s word backwards and forwards. He loved God with all that was in him. He was a totally faithful man and yet -
He was totally wrong!
Jesus had to stop him in his tracks and blind him, just to get his attention.
Paul’s life tells us that it doesn’t matter:
How much zeal we have for God,
How much education we have,
Which church we attend,
How much of the bible we have memorized or learned,
Who we learn from, or what we learn from pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.
It is all wrong.

It is foolishness and vanity.

You see Paul had tried doing things in his own flesh for years. He thought he was doing God’s will but he was lacking the main ingredient to serving God - The Holy Spirit.
After meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, he obviously believed that Jesus was Lord and God but he still needed the infilling, full power, full release, of the Holy Spirit working in and through him in his life.
Jesus sent him to Ananias. His blindness was healed and he received the Holy Ghost.

I hope the Lord Jesus is stopping you in your tracks right now and removing the scales from your eyes.

Chapters 1:21-3:4

How can we prevent division in the church?
How can we all speak and teach the same things?
How can we be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgements?

As I read Chapter 2:2, I understand Paul to be saying that he emptied himself of everything he had ever known - except Jesus and him crucified. Paul was willing to put aside every idea of his own, every preconceived notion he had and all previous learning he had received to 'know only Jesus and him crucified'.

Are we willing to do that?

God tells us that preaching is foolishness.

What?....... Preaching is foolishness??
Yep! God says so.

You know what?

God chose that way to reach the saved anyway. It pleased him to save people through foolish preaching.
Isn’t it incredible how God works?
God is pleased to use foolish things of this world to confound those who think they are so smart.

Aren’t we silly?

We thought all those pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc. were so special. We thought God picked them because of their learning and because they seemed to know so much. We even thought they were picked because of their holy living or their devotion to studying God’s word.

Uh, uh, no way!...

They are picked not only because they are foolish, but because they are weak as well. God tells us this in his word and yet when some seemingly great man of God falls, we are amazed. Why are we so surprised?
After all, they aren't only foolish and weak, they are also human.

So why does God choose to do things this way?

Because he doesn’t want any man (flesh) to get the Glory or Praise. He doesn't want any man to think he is something special when it is God himself that uses that person. He wants all the glory for Himself.

It is only by continually being in Christ Jesus that we can really know and understand God’s wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

It has to be a continuing moment by moment walk. We have to be in constant communication with him.

How can we do this?

God so lovingly sent his Holy Spirit to indwell and lead us. It is only by God’s Spirit that we can even live and move and have our being.

Pastors, teachers, Evangelists, all of us, should strive to know nothing, nothing, nothing - but Christ and him crucified. When I say know, I mean really really know him.

We should preach and teach and walk and talk and live our daily lives ONLY in the demonstration and power of the Holy Spirit. Our faith should not be based in any teaching that has come from any man, book, television/radio show etc. Our faith should originate from only listening to the moment by moment directions of the Holy Spirit.

We should be speaking wisdom to our brothers and sisters in the Lord as the Spirit directs us. Not worldly wisdom, but the spirit directed wisdom that only comes from being so in-tune to His voice and His voice alone.

This spirit directed wisdom will reveal mysteries and deep secrets of God.

We can’t begin to comprehend all the things that God wants to show us through our close walk with Him and through the controlling power of the Holy Spirit in us. There are so many things he wants us to see, hear and know. He is longing to share the deep things with His children.

In our own strength we can search, preach, teach, or memorize the Bible and all it has to say but in the end - it is all foolishness. We might as well give it all up as it is useless anyway.

He tells us in His Word that NO MAN knows the things of God. Only the Spirit of God knows everything.

The only way we can ever know anything is if we are living in constant communication with God’s Spirit. We can go to him with anything and everything and the Holy Spirit will reveal things to us.

God has arranged it so that together, as brothers and sisters in Christ, we can compare the spiritual mysteries and revelations he gives us, with other brothers and sisters who are also joined to God's spirit and getting their own spiritual mysteries and revelations.

He doesn't do this to cause division. He does it to build us up and help us to learn more and more as we share and encourage one another.

The problem is that most of us don’t live in that constant communion with God’s spirit.

No matter how grown up we think we are, or how many years we’ve been a Christian, we are just little babies and can only handle the milk of the word.

Very few men and women have ever passed the baby stage.
Some have progressed to the pablum stage and some even to the strained food stage.

When someone gets a deep revelation from God they try to share it through human ideas or human experiences. They try to share it with believers who are not ready to be fed the meat that God has given them.

No wonder there is so much division and confusion.

They should be preparing the people to be able to totally rely on the Holy spirit’s leading and guidance, before they ever even try to share the deep things of God.

In our humanness alone, we just cannot comprehend the deep things of God, no matter how hard we try. It is only through the revelation of the Holy Spirit in us that we can understand.

Why is there so much division and confusion in the churches today?

Because flesh is trying to assert itself above God. Flesh is trying to beat out the other guy. Flesh is trying to understand the things of God and rationalize them. Flesh wants to be in control.

I don’t care how spiritual you think you are. I don’t care if you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit or not. I don’t care if you speak with tongues, interpret, prophecy or any of the other giftings from the Holy Spirit. If you are not living in constant communication with God’s Holy Spirit you are missing the mark and you are still a baby in Christ.

We must allow God’s spirit inside of us to reign and rule. It is only through the Christ like mind that God has given us that we receive spiritual truth and discernment. We must allow God’s spirit to teach us and judge all things.

Paul was telling the Corinthians that he had to speak to them like he was speaking to babies because they were still carnal and not able to receive the deep mysteries yet.

He says that envying, strife and division was a sign of being carnal, being babies.

Uh... HELLO CHURCH!! Wake up. Ga ga goo goo.

You can get together in your non denominational buildings, you can start programs like promise keepers, you can try to unite all believers together through one program or another, you can get like minded believers to march for Jesus and proclaim their love for him, you can walk like Jesus walked and talk like Jesus talked and even dress like Jesus dressed, you can praise and sing hallejah at the top of your lungs,
BUT
if you are not TOTALLY submitted to God’s spirit, it is all foolishness.
You are still a baby, you are still carnal, because you are still trying to do it in your own flesh.

It just can’t be done any other way, PERIOD.

Unity will never be achieved until each and every individual believer unites with God’s spirit first.
It is only then that God’s spirit can unite the body of Christ.
It is what he intended in the first place.

Are you part of the Problem?
Are you willing to make the changes to become part of the Solution?
It is your choice.

Who loves you baby?

GOD IS CALLING YOU

I have been a strong believer for 30 some years now. I believed what I believed and was always ready to give an answer. I love the Lord with all I know how. I was baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit. I even speak in tongues. God has used me to bring words of knowledge and prophecies and interpretation of tongues in various church services. The gifts of the spirit are not new to me.

Yet the following verses always bothered me.

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I have also questioned for many years, why aren’t we seeing miracles in the church today like they did in the book of Acts? Where is the power?
I worried that I may be a Laodician - neither hot nor cold - so I prayed for many years asking God to give me back not only my first love - but a better love.

Some would say I back slid badly. I believe it was all part of God’s plan to bring me back to the beginning.

Something unbelievable and drastic has happened in my inner life.
God has been speaking to me so forcefully and telling me to seek HIM first and His righteousness and listen to NO man. Listen only to Father God. Seek his wisdom, his knowledge his guidance etc. and to try to tell others to do the same.

The time is too short and we must get right with God. Our outer man has been doing all the right things and going through all the motions, but our inner man is full of rotteness, dead man’s bones, and ideas we have gleaned from others, NOT from Father God himself. He is tired of it and wants his body to be cleansed from ALL the worldly influences it has subjected itself to.

His body today has a "form of Godliness" but where is the power? Where is the Victory? Where is the abundant life?

Please, somebody, tell me; WHY WHY WHY would any non believer even WANT to be a Christian today? What is so special about being a Christian? (Besides escaping Hell)

We have just as many if not more divorce in the church, we have Christians going to psychiatrists and counselors because they just can’t handle the stress of everyday life. We claim that God is love but act nothing like loving people. We care only about ourselves and our wants and needs. We beg for money to send to missions and build big beautiful building so we can sit comfortably and get our ears tickled. We have hundreds of so called "Christian" denominations because we can’t agree on the simplest things. And we judge. Boy do we judge! We think we know everything and our beliefs are the only RIGHT beliefs - AND WE CAN PROVE IT through Scripture.

God is sick and tired of us playing church and playing Christianity without really knowing what it is all about. He is calling out a people who are willing - truly willing - to lay down their lives for HIM - NO MATTER WHAT THE COSTS. That is His TRUE BODY.

I had (and continue) to go before God and repent of everything I have ever learned under any man's teaching. I had to give up all my preconceived ideas and it is a very hard thing to do. I had to let go and let God. I had to be willing to get to the place where I was willing to let go of EVERY SINGLE THING I have or have believed in, except for Jesus and the basics of salvation.

I had to be willing to let go of my family, friends, house, money - EVERYTHING and seek only Him and him alone. Did God give me a sound mind - yes, but I had to be willing to give that to him as well and all my ideas of what I should or shouldn’t do. Did God give me His word in the scriptures - yes, but I had to be willing to give that to him as well.

But what if people thought I was going off the deep end and was really going crazy? So what? I had to give those thoughts to God as well. Even if they put me in a mental institute, that is o.k. with me God as long as I have Jesus in my life. He is my master, my Lord, my redeemer, my Father, my lover, my friend, my all. He controls each and every aspect of my life. He knows what is best for me better than I do. He can take care of all my loved ones. He can supply any and all needs that may come my way. I had to let God out of the box I had put him in. I had to be willing to kneel at his feet and cry out to him with all my heart, mind, soul and strength. Then I had to be willing to wait for His reply. If that meant not moving from that place for days on end - so be it. Was I willing to do it for Him? How badly did I really want Him?

We give our lives to Christ and ask Him to become Lord and Saviour of our lives and we are born again. Old things pass away and all becomes new. Our lives change for a much better life. We are born into God’s family. Then somewhere along the line, we hit an age where we seem to know what is best and we take over the reigns of our life. We go to church for fellowship and begin to load our minds with the teachings of men. We may even check out the things they teach and find them in the Bible and what they teach may even be truth.

Did we ask God which church we should go to or if we should go to any ‘church’ at all.

How did the people in the book of Acts do it?
Are we doing it like they did?
Where are we told to build churches and get together and have men teach us?

You may tell me that God is sitting on the throne of your life and he is in complete control of everything.
Oh, is that so?
Let me ask you a few questions.

When was the last time someone was healed when your shadow passed over them?
How many people have you raised from the dead?
How many people have you laid hands on and they were healed?
Do you own a car or live in a house? How big is your house and how many bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.?
Do you have money in the bank?

I could go on but I am hoping that you get the idea.

Look at Christ’s life or the life of the Apostles. Does your life look anything like theirs? If not - you are missing the mark.

I am not saying that God cannot bless us and supply nice things for us. I am saying that our lives and everything we own is a reflection of Christ. If we have anything above and beyond our basic needs, we should be sharing it with other brothers and sisters in Christ. We should be going to God continually and asking Him what we should be doing with anything we have.

You might give to the church and to missions and that may be good - if God directed you to do it personally.

What about your neighbour, the homeless person on the street, the prostitute, etc.? (they are all our neighbours)
Did God tell us that they can supply their own needs or did he tell us to love our neighbour AS OURSELVES?

We may ask, "But God, what if they use the money I give them to drink or take drugs? " God will most likely tell you that it is His business and not yours.

The important thing is that you ask GOD. He will direct you, and yes, sometimes he may tell you to give that old bum on the corner $100.00. Only God knows where that person will spend eternity. So what, if God wants him to enjoy a beer or two before he spends eternity in hell. That is up to God. But what if that money really showed him that there is a loving God. We will not know this side of heaven.

A wise steward does what his master instructs, no matter how foolish it may seem to him.

We are to love the Lord our God with ALL our hearts, ALL our minds, ALL our souls, and ALL our strength and we are to love our neighbours AS ourselves. All means ALL.

Don’t take my word for it - Go directly to God. Do not leave his feet till you have the answers.

Are you willing to pray the HARD PRAYERS? Are you willing to be obedient? If not, I suggest you get rid of your Bible as it wouldn’t do you a bit of good - if God isn’t directing your reading.

I have changed some of the words in the following passages.

Phi 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the KNOWLEDGE of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have will willingly suffer the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Phi 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is according to men’s teachings, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
Phi 3:10 That I may KNOW him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Phi 3:11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.
Phi 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Phi 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Phi 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of THE HIGH CALLING of God in Christ Jesus.
Phi 3:15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Phi 3:16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.

For examples of the kind of life we should be living you might want to read books about Smith Wigglesworth.

If this all seems like foolishness, try rereading 1 Cor. Chapter 1-3

Sorry all, but I really felt the need to preach.

God is still working on me and the prayers were very hard to do but so far it is more than worth it. I believe I was taken to the very presence of God in my spirit and thought I was going to die. But you know what? I didn't care. Just to be in His presence was....words cannot express. I am hearing his voice nearly every moment and carrying on conversations with him. I break into worship and crying steady. My heart is yearning for you dear family and friends. You helped me through many troubled times and I want so much to share this joy with you.

Please Go to Father God. He is waiting for you.