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LOOK OUT!  HERE COMES ANOTHER BRICK!!!
 

Has anyone figured out this old world yet???  It seems things get crazier and crazier as each day passes.  The last article dealt with the brick wall that keeps us busy, either by tearing it down, or just by running into it.  Well, personally I’ve been hitting it on a regular basis lately.  Not all the bricks I hit were recognized at first.  I really had a hard time trying to figure out what on earth was happening.  Then it finally sunk in, that the bricks that were being hurled at me were more emotional than anything.  I was bombarded with things like frustration, impatience, and anger.  If that wasn‘t enough to deal with, I had realized that I was in a rather bad state of despair.  YUK! 

What really upset me was the fact that all these things gradually snuck up on me.  If the enemy can’t get you one way, he will always keep a lookout for those bricks.  Sometimes they get past our armor and causes things to go everywhere but the place they are suppose to.  It is a common experience for people who minister to be engulfed in the very thing that they are tying to help someone else with.

Take for example; people who pray for the sick will usually have to deal with some sort of sickness or injury.  It is like - “Do we really practice what we preach?”  If we try to encourage someone, then we usually are faced with some sort of trial or crisis - large and small.  It makes us come to terms with ourselves.  It makes us really examine our own belief system.  Of course it is a good thing to examine ourselves on a regular basis to see if we are still in line with what God’s Word says. 

It is like standing in front of a mirror, just looking, giving our self a good going over.  “Is my hair just a little grayer than it was a month ago?”  Or, “Is my expression good or bad?”  “Is it a face that shows happiness and kindness, or does is seem gruff with a snarl or scowl that yells ---ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT NOW?????”   No one likes to see what is in front of themselves at various times.  We would all like to see the wonderful, delightful, happy, giving sharing (shall I go on?) person that other people see. 

The Word says that we shall know people by their fruits.  Ya know, those little things we do everyday that we don’t realize that others see.  It really makes a person sit up and take notice about what others see in us - in our body language as well as the expressions on our face.  When we have these experiences, we really need to be careful that we are not being the targets of one of the bricks that the enemy throws at us.  A good test to see if this experience is from God or Satan is to see if it lines up with the Word.

We have a little checklist to go by.

First - What does the Word say about us according to God?

            1.         We are His children.

                        (John 1:12-13, Romans 8:16, Matthew 5:9)

            2.         We are joint heirs with Jesus.

                        (Galatians 4:1-7)

            3.         We are grafted into the vine. 

                        (John 15:1-13)

            4.         We are brought by His blood. 

                        (John 6:53-58, Acts 20:28,Hebrews 9:13-15)

            5.         We are created in His image.

                        (Colossians 3:12-17, Genesis 1:26-27)

            6.         God chastises His children - those whom He loves.

                        (Hebrews 12:5-6, John 15:1-3)

Secondly - Is it coming from Satan?

            1.         He comes to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:9-10)

            2.         Condemnation  (Romans 8:1)

            3.         Ask, “Do I feel as if there is no hope?”  (Psalms 62:1-8)

            4.         Feeling that you can’t trust God.  (Psalms 62:1-8)

            5.         Feeling of being defeated.  (Isaiah 43:1-13)

Now would be a good time to read ALL of Romans 8.  Yes, this is a lot of Scripture, but it is necessary, so Read it NOW! 

So, after looking at things according to the Word and not our feelings, what have you decided?  HALLELUJAH!!!  WE ARE ALL OF THE LOVE THAT GOD SAYS WE ARE!!!

Sometimes we have to sit back, take a long look and make that attitude adjustment.  One thing I’ve learned is that Jesus never makes us go through a situation for NO REASON!  We can only decide how it is going to affect us.  I’ve learned to quit fighting God and yield to His instruction.  I guarantee it is easier to only go around that mountain once, and learn what I need to, than to keep going around and around and around till I finally realize that my resistance is futile.  Just do it the first time, get it over with, and go on.  I heard something that really applies to this.  “You don’t get a second chance to do the right thing the first time.”  It seems so simple, yet, it says a great deal.

If we have given our hearts and lives to Jesus, then we have yielded our will to His will, and He is simply trying to change us - to His likeness.  I have also learned that rebellion is a great big “NO!” “NO!”  in our walk with Him.  Just think how we feel when children rebel or flat outright disobey and we get frustrated and try to get them to simply obey.  Well, multiply that by ten “kazillion” (a term my youngest grandson likes to use for a rather large quantity) and that is how God feels when we, the apple of His eye, do not cooperate.

God doesn’t want a bunch of puppets that He can play with when He wants something to entertain Himself.  He wants fellowship with us,  His creation, His children.  He wants that fellowship to be filled with everything imaginable and more!  He wants us to wonder about every aspect of all creation.  He tells us in proverbs 9:10, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.  Now please read Psalms 128:1-4.  How awesome is that?  He wants us to get to know Him, to walk with Him everyday and in the nighttimes He wants us to meditate on Him. 

We have been afraid to ask Him some things because we have been told not to question God.  This is a different kind of questioning. This is seeking Him in everything, leaning not on our own understanding but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.  When you reach that place in your relationship with God that you can talk to Him about anything, you know that you in that intimate place that only you and Him can go. 

So many people long with all their hearts to have that place and never really get there.  Why?  If you desire it, then why won’t it happen?  In my experience, it is because we want it, but aren’t willing to do anything to get it.  We aren’t willing to change, or give up those areas of our lives that could allow God to change us.  Sometimes we are so full of ourselves, that there is no room for anyone else.  When a couple falls in love, they do anything to spend time with each other, their new love.  They are willing to open themselves up and yield everything of himself or herself to someone else.  God is no different.  He wants us to share our thoughts, our hopes, and our dreams, our everything with Him---NO I have not lost my mind --. 

You think, “He already knows everything about me, why should I take the time or energy to tell Him anything?”  That, my friend, is the beginning of a real solid foundation in your relationship.  When you open up YOU and share ALL of you with Him, it builds something very special.  TRUST.  Remember, He keeps our secrets - does not gossip, and always listens.  There have been times in the middle of the night that just pouring my heart out to Him was all that kept me sane.  All the worries rolled over onto Him.

My frustration about an unchangeable situation melted and peace filled up the place the frustration held.  Then I had more room for Him and His character.  Love being the greatest thing according to I Corinthians 13.  I would exchange everything for that kind of perfect love.  So, when I look into that mirror and do a self-exam, I’ll be able to see Him more than I did before.  Our goal is to be like Him.  Oh my, what a wonderful thought, to see Him in me!  To see Him, I hope is what we all want to see.

I hope this little encouragement has helped someone.  I know that the trials I’ve faced this past month has really brought me to a greater place with Him.  We always have a choice to let the challenges change us…for good, or, for bad.  Which way do you choose?  I pray only the very best for you.  A statement made to me during a very devastating time in my life has remained true to this day.  “The trials we face forms and shapes our character.  If you don’t have trials, then we really don’t grow very fast.”  This old truth is said in many different ways, but the best way is so simple.  “It is not WHAT that is dished our in life that matters, it is the way we deal with WHAT is dished out in life matters.”  How are we dealing?

P.S.

As I finished writing this article, my dearest friend went to be with the Lord.  She had been in a wheelchair all of her life, and is now WALKING on the street of gold and dancing before God!  She gave me this computer when she could no longer do things, and I promised that the ministry to the world would go on and hopefully it will.  All the past, present, and future words written are dedicated to you, Sandra, in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  Enjoy, my dear, being with our Father!  I will miss you greatly!